Have you checked out Kiva?

Have you clicked on the Kiva link yet? I was on Kiva just a few minutes ago. Man, it's inspiring. People are on fire today. I watched a loan for a man in Ghana become fully funded in under 4 minutes. I kept hitting the refresh button and was amazed at how quickly the requested loan amount was being fulfilled. As people are lending, their profiles pop up at the bottom at the page. It's so fun to see people from all over the world joining together. Truly inspiring.

High school memories

Adriana tagged me. I've never been tagged before. At least not that I'm aware of. So I'm going to answer all of these high school related questions. Here goes.....

1. What school did you attend? Virgin Valley High School
2. Mascot: Bulldog
3. School colors: green and white
4. Did you have school spirit? Yeah, I think so. I had no vicious feelings towards other schools but I Moapa games were definately some of the main highlights of the year.
5. Drive or take the bus? I walked home or Maggie would be nice enough to take us home. Luckily Maggie was able to drive us until I had my license. Holy cow, I remember walking home in some pretty extreme heat. And let me tell you folks, we did not live close to the school.
6. Did you ever skip? I'm pretty sure I didn't. I was pretty straight laced.
7. Ever have detention? Heck no.
8.What did you think of freshman year? Loved it. We were the first freshman class to begin at the new high school. This school was a huge deal since it was the only one in Mesquite and brand new Clark County school district school buildings put Idaho schools to shame, let me tell you.
9. Was lunchtime fun? not really, spent it in seminary. Brother Anderson was great but it required a lot of chasing in one school period.
10. Did you eat school lunch or bagged lunch? My entire primary and secondary school career consisted of me looking forward to eating school lunch. I didn't realize how wierd that was until I came to Idaho and realized that NOBODY here wants to eat school lunch. I swear it was different in Mesquite back then. EVERYBODY ate school lunch. Even the "coolest" kids stood in line and waited. Must've been a small town thing. Call me wierd, but I loved school lunch to the bitter end.
11.Did you go to all the football games? Yes, all the varsity home games. There was something almost magical about home football games. I loved the atmosphere. Plus, I had to dance at halftime. I loved and hated drill team. It was fun and so lame at the same time. That must've been a small town thing too. I can barely watch us on a home video without being totally embarrased but the town in general enjoyed the school spirit we added.
12. Friends with the cheerleaders? I guess some. I was one at one time or another. I developed a healthy distaste for cheerleading and some of the ditzes in it. whatever...
13. Were you considered popular? I don't know. I was friends with a lot of people cool and uncool, but I definately went through a lot of the typical angst. Gaining friends, some friends turning cold towards me for no apparent reason... In general I had plenty of friends.
14. Involved in any clubs? FHA up through Junior year. Had fun being in the state presidency. I had to follow in Maggie's footsteps. By senior year, I was over it. I think Ms. Stroup was disappointed but I wanted to simplify that year.
15. Favorite subject: hmmm...lunch....ha ha! Man, I don't know....It's been so long..I remember I loved Mr. Vogel's science class.
16. Who was your favorite teacher: Mr. Vogel, Mr. Reese, Penny Whittwer, Mrs. Bennett
17. Least favorite teacher: the typing teacher, what's her name? I've blocked it I think. She was truly a mean person. Seriously she should've been repremanded. I wish I'd had the courage to stand up to her. She deserved it. But we were all scared of her. Except Rochelle Bowler. Ha Ha! she used to make her so mad! Oh, you gotta love Rochelle.
18. Who did you hang out with? Paige Bales my senior year.
19. Were you part of a clique? Geez I hope not. That was certainly not my intention. I really was nice to everyone.
20. Were you dating? occasionaly I suppose. James from Moapa was the closest thing to "dating" someone. I got over that fast and broke his heart. I'm pretty sure he got over it fast too. He was so nice. dang, maybe I should've dated him more. I had a relentless crush on Mario Biasi most of my high school career. It was against my better judgement but I couldn't help it. However he was dating (whats her name) and I couldn't fault him since she was sooo pretty and also one of the nicest people in school.
21. graduation year: 1995
22. Aside from school what were your weekends like? Lame. Mom made me come home by 9pm. I had the strictest curfew of everyone. When I was a senior she let up and I had more freedom.
23. What are your best highschool memories? Seriously, I do not look back at high school with very fond feelings. I think high school was so disappointing for me because I really felt like I was nice to everyone and yet there were enough cliques and closed minded people that I felt held back or something. I think my best memories are of trips I took out of town. The French trip...AWESOME....., Washington D.C. trip.....AWESOME....those were the best.
okay, but I do remember looking at the eclipse in Mr. Bartlett's computer class. He made our class fun. Another: secretly playing with Jacob Jensen in Mr. Vogel's science class. I was a senior and he was probably a freshman. I loved acting like a freshman with him! I liked him more than any of the lame guys in my grade so I actually asked him to be my escort at the drill team review. We had so much fun together. I remember him being a little mean to some uncool kids in class and I would lecture him on being kind to others. I think he listened a little bit.
24.Do you miss being in high school? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
25. Would you do it all again if you could. HECK NOOOOOOOO!

Laci's first day of Preschool

Well, I have no picture. Laci would not let me take one! I have pictures of Brigham doing most everything for the first time and Laci just refuses. I could have forced her I guess, but I didn't. That just didn't seem right either. However, I will probably force her to hold still for 2 seconds next week and I'll take one. It would be wrong not to have a picture I think.
Laci likes school. It's not very far from our house so that wins points with me. Joy school fell through at the end of the summer which was a bit of a relief since I dreaded getting all of that together again with the other moms. I found an a little ad for this school in the classifieds so I was a little nervous about it but I don't think I could've planned for a better school. The teacher is a sweet and energetic mom who is a lot of fun and has a great curriculum. Laci warmed up to her very quickly. She cried a little the first day and then was fine. Now she can't wait to go. One of the other little girls asked her if she would be her friend and Laci was very excited about that. "I have two new friends!" was her remark to me.
The big, big plus for me is that it's three days a week for 2 1/2 hours at a time. Oh yeah baby! I'm loving it! I am using that time to get exercise, finally, sit by myself, and maybe clean a little bit. If the darn house wasn't for sale I would NOT be wasting my free time by cleaning. oh well.

I love my angels

I believe in guardian angels. I remember first learning they were real when I read a story about some children at a school. I believe they had an intruder with a gun and some of the children literally saw their guardian angels help them out windows. It was a real event and I've never forgotten that moment when I first learned they were real. There is also that story about the angels helping the pioneers with the handcarts. I love these stories. They remind me that we aren't alone in this life and there are spirits on the other side rooting for us.
I like to think that deceased grandparents are very possibly guardian angels. Or parents, or any other family, if they're deceased. Why wouldn't they be? They are the closest to you. I believe that regardless of how busy they are on the other side, if they love you, they stay aware of you.

Today I was down in the "dungeon" replacing a filter in our water line. To make a tedious story short, I left out the rubber gasket while reasembling the body of the filter and water started spraying everywhere when I turned the water main back on. Once I turned off the valve and the spraying stopped I tried to unscrew the top (this is not a short version, is it...) and it would not budge. I tried to push the water pressure release button and it wouldn't budge either. It seemed like I'd created a super tight seal. I started getting worried because I was by myself, the water to the entire house was shut off, I was yanking this thing around which could not be good, and was making NO progress. So what did I do? I did what any smart person would do :), I started shouting for my guardian angels! After a second, I tried again with no luck. It felt like it was cemented on. So I kept shouting. "Guardian angels, where are you? I NEED YOU! Grandma Davison, Grandpa Davison, I NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE COME!" So then I tried unscrewing this thing again and it popped off. No trouble at all! Of course, I have no scientific proof that someone helped me, but I think it's good to always err on the side of angels. I think if you want them to be a real part of your life you need to have faith that they're really there, not too far away.
I also talk to my grandpa White sometimes. I think he listens. I know he loves all of us grandkids and is watching us grow in life.

Brigham's First Day of First Grade!

Brigham had his first day of school on Monday. He was SO excited...for lunch. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? :) He was decked out in his new clothes. A Hulk shirt and super hero lunch box. I drove him to school because he was nervous about remembering where his classroom was. I took my camera because I thought I could shoot a little video of him waiting for school to start. It would be fun to look at later I figured. When we pulled up to the school, he saw where he was supposed to line up and jumped out of the car and was gone. Barely a good bye. Okay, well, so much for that I guess! Is he too cool for mom already?
When I picked him up from school I asked how it was. His answer was "SOOOOO.....(I'm expecting AWESOME!) Terrible!" What? He couldn't give me any concrete reasons. Apparently it felt like such a long day. That's understandable. On the bright side, his favorite part of school was indeed lunch!
Yesterday was his second day. He got off the bus and seemed very upbeat about school so I think he's getting used to it. Of course his excitement is mostly about lunch.

I did it!

My brain hurts. Literally, it hurts. As some might know, math is my enemy. Numbers are my enemy. I still count on my fingers. In kindergarten I could not fathom 1+1 =2. In college I learned that miracles still happen when I got a D in basic algebra. I picked my major based on the fact it had the least amount of math classes. I hate numbers. Get it? Well, since sudoku has become popular and touts it's brain building power, I knew that I could use the help. However, I take one look at it and feel dizzy. When I was at my cousin's Shannan's house this weekend she was playing it so I got her to teach me how to play. Her games were too advanced so I searched online and found beach sudoku on AARP.com! ha ha! This was perfect: a number game, minus the numbers. After she gave me the basic lesson I played a few games of EASY beach sudoku. I got it! I understood the concept. So since I've been home I decided to graduate from arranging beach balls and crabs to real numbers. I found sudokukingdom.com I started out nice and easy on the "VERY EASY" mode. Okay, survived that. Victory! Then I moved up to "EASY" mode and got through that. another proud accomplishment. So then I moved on to "MEDIUM" It started out not too bad but I quickly came up against a brick wall. I started panicking. Literally. I was dizzy, agitated, wanted to cry. I was reliving my math class nightmare. But I couldn't let it beat me. I was determined that I was going to conquer this stinking game or the numbers would've really beat me. I fought through the mild panic attack and refocused......and I did it! I got through it! My brain is still aching but hopefully it's because I forced a few nerve endings to connect. I doubt I'll be doing "HARD" sudoku ANYTIME soon, but if I can keep at medum I'll consider it a success!

Marta is in Guatemala

My sister Marta is in Guatemala. She went over to help at an orphanage that her friends have created. Guatemala is a mess right now in regards to their care of orphaned children. The government will not allow adoptions of any kind. They made this law because children and babies were being adopted and then their organs were being sold on the black market. Unbelievable I know, but it is true. Instead of finding ways to prevent this from happening they outlawed adoption all together. Lots and lots of babies, including children, are being abandoned every day. There is no room for them. Marta's told me horror stories of the conditions.
She helped with a big drive that her and others spearheaded to get supplies for this little orphange. It was great to be a part of. She e-mailed last night and this is what she said:

Hello everyone!!
WOW!!! It's crazy here!!! Yesterday we just received an 8 day old baby!!! What___!!! His name is Levi and he is adorable!!! mandy and I are his primary caretakers...and it's awesome! He is such a good baby...but we don't know what the heck we are doing..but it's all good. I can't wait to tell everyone more about all the kids and show you pictures. They have amazingly sad stories..but are so strong. I have no idea how a mom can give up her 8 day old baby. She already has 3, but cannot care for him. My emotions are maxed out, but I love these kids. Even when their behavioral promlems come out. They have so many issues...but love so hard.
Anyway, I gotta go...but I had to tell everyone about the infant. It's so freaky that he's here.,...and so easily. It's like finding a stray cat....that easy.....shocking.
Okay.....I'm exhausted!!!!

Marta is not experienced with babies. I cannot believe she is mothering a newborn with another inexperienced girl. I feel sad for Marta that she will be coming home in a few days and will have to leave the baby behind. I think there is a good chance she will be bonded with it. Oh man... what can you say..... Marta is so brave.

Lovin' Lagoon

Laci was soooo nervous about the ferris wheel but one she was on she didn't want to get off. We rode it two times for her.
Conner and Laci on the speedway. Surely it's not called the speedway, what is it?
Laci and Conner on their rides of choice.

I realized I don't have too many pictures of Brigham but that's because Brigham turned out to be a thrill seeker. He was going on all of the "scary" rides with the guys and some of the girls. I spent most of my time with Laci. Her favorite ride was the train that travels at 1 mile per hour around a big loop. She wanted to ride it again and again. Thank heavens Gina was pregnant. Next year I may not have any other adult to hang out with my wimpy self, oh yeah, and Laci. If she turns into a daredevil, I'm in trouble.

For the record, Maggie and Jeff came with all of their kids. John and Gina came with theirs. I was there with Brigham and Laci and mom came too. Later on we also met up with cousin April and Brad and their kids. April hung out with us for a while. She went on the Odysea ride with Brigham. That was very nice of her. She got soaked. I think Brigham was supposed to pull on a lever but he didn't know it so she was right in line with the spraying water. Maggie had the same problem and was SOAKED. It was hilarious.

We had a great time. Nephi had to work unfortunately. His co-worker had surgery so he had no choice but to work. I missed him. He would've enjoyed it I think and the kids would've loved having him there too. Next year we should be living in Ogden. He should be able to go for sure. We all had so much fun we all agree this is our new family reunion tradition.

Having a blast at Lagoon!

Laci and cousin Conner on the baby boats
Brigham having fun on the bumper cars
Laci loved riding the kitty, her other favorite was the dog. We rode this several times....
Gina and Brianna on the ferris wheel with us.
Brigham is second to the back. This was pretty tame for him, turns out he likes the scary stuff but he liked this too.

This sounds good

I read this on another website. I wanted to post it so I can try them. I LOVE french fries.

The French Fry

Breakaway StylePosted Tue, May 27, 2008, 4:28 pm PDT

Is there anyone on earth who doesn't like a good batch of fries?
There's plenty of debate on how to make the perfect french fry, and most of it deals with technique: do you fry them twice, as they do in Belgium (the Mecca of many FF connoisseurs)? Which oil, at what temperature? Which potato variety?
Until I discovered a new way to make fries, I rarely made them: I never knew what to do with the large quantities of used oil and was put off by the sheer mess (not to mention health concerns) of using that much oil. I tried making oven-baked fries a number of times, but they just didn't do it for me -- they always seemed a little sodden and not nearly crisp enough.
My discovery: Using a nonstick wok, only about two tablespoons of olive oil, and a few cups of very thinly sliced Russet potatoes (skins on), it's possible to make some very tasty fries.
The key is first to swish the cut potatoes around in a large bowl of cold water, which releases a lot of their starch, and then to dry them thoroughly with a clean towel. You then heat up the oil in the wok over maximum heat and cook them, constantly stirring, for about ten minutes, or until they turn golden. All the oil is absorbed by the potatoes, which turn crispy and cook quickly.

If the deep-fryer turns you off, try this technique, and tell us how you made your fries even more breakaway.

this is random....

I've been looking at the reusable shopping bags for some time now at grocery stores. It just seemed like something I should be doing since it's an easy way to help the environment. Some reasons I put it off was, well, #1: paying $1 for each bag, #2: some of the bags seem ugly, dumb reason I know, #3: Peer pressure. Would I look like a dork?, #4: Are they practical to lug around with you?
Well, I was in Fred Meyer the other day and they of course had all of theirs out on display. I loved them. They were all black with a subtle print on them. They also have 2 different sizes. I ended up buying a total of 10.

I LOVE THEM.
So, to answer my above concerns....
#1 yeah, it cost me 10 bucks but it was o.k. Every grocery store gives you a 4-5 cents bag refund when you use reusable bags in their store. (It doesnt' matter what store the bags came from) So if you end up using 6 of the bags they subtract around 30 cents from your bill.

#2 okay, some look better than others which doesn't really matter anyway, but I really love my black bags. They're almost sleek. I feel cool lugging my groceries around.

#3 I don't feel like a dork at all. I actually feel very hip. As you walk out the store with your cart full of these bags, passing everyone with their plastic ones, you feel like you're making a statement. I also think more people will follow suit when they see others using them.

#4 They're not a hassle. I just keep a pile in my trunk and when I go shopping I take as many as I'll probably need and throw them into the shopping cart until check out. Sure, it's more work than not using them but big deal. They're also very strong. They don't rip, no double bagging. They don't cut through your hand when you're carring 5 heavy bags at once. They even help insulate your cold items a little.

I really don't ever want to go back to plastic. If you've ever read anything about the negative impact plastic bags have on different facets of the environment, you learn that they are surprisingly harmful in the quantities that people use them.

So You Think You Can Dance

so, anybody that reads my blog occasionaly might notice that I love the SYTYCD show. The season finale is this week. They go on tour this fall and I got a ticket! 5th row to be exact!!!! I have to go by myself since I don't know anybody that gives a darn about it but that's o.k. I'm just so happy to be going. I decided to go ahead and a buy premium parking ticket also since I'll be be myself. It should reduce stress since I won't have to search for parking, walk 2 blocks in the dark, risk murder (ha ha), etc. This way I get to park in a special lot right next to the E center with a special entrace into the building. I think the extra fee is worth some peace of mind. I can't wait!

okay, it looks like we're moving

So, it looks like we're moving. Not to Bend...but to the South Ogden area. We went down to a job interview over a week ago and they loved him and Nephi was impressed with the opportunity. They invited me to come and sit in on the whole interview process so it was really interesting. I figured out pretty quickly that this was the type of setting that Nephi has wanted for a long time. As a certified hand therapist he would work basicaly side by side with the hand surgeons to ensure the best possible care for the patients. It's what he's tried to have in Idaho Falls but it has been futile. These people seem to really appreciate his specialization and understand how it also will boost their company. It's about time. Our home is on the market now. Not the best time to sell a house. We're not making any money on it but hopefully it will be worth it for us in the long run. I posted the address for the virtual tour if anyone wants to check it out. We've already had two showings. Hopefully it will continue. The century 21 caravan comes through this Thursday and next Tuesday is the general mls tour which will include realtors from all over town. Hopefully the exposure will help get the job done. I am trying to rely on faith that if this is what we should be doing it will come together. (hopefully not before the interest rates get much higher. ugh...) Wish us luck!

Bend Oregon

So as many of my loyal readers have read (ha ha), we went to Bend, OR to look at a therapy job that Nephi had been interested in for a couple of years. On paper it sounded like the perfect job. Well, we went to check it out and Nephi didn't love it as much as he imagined he would. There were different reasons but I don't feel like going into detail...in short...it just didn't gel in the end. Bend is definately pretty but in my opinion not necessarily more beautiful than Idaho Falls. We really thought we would be impressed and love it there, but that just wasn't the case. One reason is that their real estate has gone down the tubes. Of course that translates into lots of good prices now since tons of homes are sitting empty, but on the flipside, there are tons of homes sitting empty. The neighborhoods there were sad to me. Lots of nice homes sitting on tiny city size lots with weeds growing up around them. The city is so overbuilt the realtor couldn't even say how this would repair itself positively in the near future. It was a shame and personally, it made me appreciate Idaho Falls even more than I already do.
Anyhow, heres some pictures taken from the hotel and the last one I believe I took while out and about.

the best part of the trip

Staying at the hotel was the best part of the trip for sure. Because our vacations are always trips to Mesquite we never need to stay in a motel (Thanks Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Robin). Hotels have had a mysterious allure to my kids for awhile so this was very exciting to them. We stayed in the Ameritel Inn, which by the way was awesome. The Ameritel in Bend is probably one of the best the chain owns. It was so nice, almost upscale feeling, and to the kids delight, our room was on the third floor. We took the elevator many times and the kids never stopped loving it.

side note: we stayed in the Ameritel in Boise and it wasn't as nice. Kind of stuck in the 80's. Cool if you like flashbacks.

Fun Land

On Friday, Laci's "real" birthday we walked over to Tautphaus park to play at the big playground but it was quite busy so the kids didn't want to stay. The kids didn't want to have to go home though so we decided to walk a little further to Fun Land just for fun. Brigham was so excited about the ferris wheel and Laci wanted to get on the Merry Go Round. They started begging to go on the rides. I warned Brigham that he'd have to ride the ferris wheel by himself because Laci refused to ride it and I couldn't leave her alone. He didn't mind, so I thought, "Hey, why not." We walked back home so I could get some money and then walked back. Brigham rode the ferris wheel twice and Laci rode the Merry Go Round three times. It's a small enough amusement park that I could sit on the grass, hand out tickets and watch. There were two teenage boys that walked around and started rides up for the kids. WE HAD A BLAST! The kids were having a fun time and I enjoyed watching them. I really would like to have been on the ferris wheel with Brigham but maybe next time. In the picture, Brigham is in the red seat on the far upper left of the picture. You can see his head looking down. Gina, I look forward to when you all come. The kids will have fun doing these rides together!

Brigham turned 6! / Brigham's favorite things.....

Brigham had a birthday party also. His party had a whole different vibe and for some reason I never took pictures! Whoops. sorry.... Brigham pretty much ran his own party. He really liked being in charge and the two boys that were there, Carson Look, and Bracken Beck, didn't seem to mind. He had a pirate theme and had pirate cupcakes. They had a scavenger hunt and the "buried" treasures were pirate swords for all the boys hidden in the dryer. They loved it.

Here's some info on Brigham.... (will finish later)

Laci's favorite things...

In honor of Laci's 4th birthday I'm giving her a chance to talk about the things that she loves...

(I will finish this later. I just had to make sure I got this spot saved for this)

Laci turns 4

Laci finally turned four! I wasn't in a hurry but Laci sure was. We celebrated her birthday days early but Laci didn't care. She figured the second she had a birthday party she became four and nobody was going to tell her any different. So we didn't! All of Laci's joy school friends made it to the party and her 'longtime' friend Sydney Conrad also. I've always wanted to make a doll cake so I was able to indulge and try it. It would be safe to say that it was a hit! The girls marveled at it and I admit I felt pretty proud. At the party they played pin the jewel on the tiara, ate pizza, painted resin puppies, had cake and ice cream. I think it was pretty succesful. I think Laci's favorite gift was the barbie doll from Sydney C. that changes hair color in water. Laci stood at the bathroom sink for a long time after the party trying it out. Happy Birthday Laci!

My version of Flashback Friday this week. (Last Season!)

Oh, I just love Neil.