Circus

Jake and I took the kids to the circus on opening day Wed. Sept 22,2010. We have gone to the circus for the past four years and hope to continue this tradition because both of my kids and I enjoy going. I know that Jake doesn't care to go but he goes and dispite what he says he aways seems to have a good time.
I missed my favorite part of th circus because "Little Miss" had to go to the bathroom but in the following picture is the final scene in which you can see my favorite act. The clowns have always been my favorite act.

Leighton's favorite part is the motorcycles in the shpere and on the high wire.


Xia's favorite part of course is the animals namely the tigers and elephants.


This is a picture that I took during the pre-show in which you get to go on the floor and see all the costumes and meet some of the clowns.

State Fair

I took the kids to the state fair with GIna and her family on Friday the 17. We had a lot of fun dispite how i thought it was going to turn out because both the kids were pretty tired after school.
When we got there we started in the rides where each of the kids went on the fun houses and then rode in the spinning dragons (which remind me of the teacups in Disney land). Leighton was so cute with the younger kids. Gina was with a friend that had a little boy that was about 4 and he kept an eye on him and Linclon while they were on the rides. This is the five kids in the spinning dragons.




This is a picture a Swiss cow. I have never seen a cow this big. It had the horns and all. It reminded me of the movie Hiedi and the cows you see in the Alps on the show. Both of the kids looked so small standing in front of it.



While we were going through Leighton's favorite part (the animals) we saw a week old calf that was born at the fair. The owner was allowing the kids to pet it. It is at times like these that I wish Leighton didn't have my allergies because he loves animals so much. (Not sure why this is underlined but I haven't been able to undo it please try to ignore it)




They also got to pet a big cow. Anthony got talking to the owner and it turns out that Gina knows the family that owns them in Kamas.



Leighton let the sheep nibble his hand. He thought this was fun. I love how he is with kids and animals. He is so sweet with both.



Leighton also took his money so that he could play games. He is just like his dad. He played darts and was able to hit all but one balloon so he got a stuffed tiger (just what he needs another stuffed animal). Here he is with his stuffed tiger.

September 11, Remembered

I really enjoyed yesterday. K-Bull 93 did a tribute to 9/11 where they mixed songs with calls from victims of the attacks from the people on the plane that took it back and crashed in the field or Virgina to calls made by children who lost a parent or parents to the attacks. As I listened to these with my children I retold them of what had happened on that day 9 years ago. We also pulled out my flag that is titled "flag of honor" that has all the names of the victims printed on it and proudly flew it outside on our flag pole.

I also was able to watch the commercial that Budweiser aired during the Superbowl that year that I sadly missed. As I watched this commercial of the Claude Dales kneeling in front of the statue of Liberty I still get chills because of how reverent that moment is.

I will never forget that day and will do all that I can to make sure that my children don't either. My oldest was only 4 months old when it happened but he knows about it because I make sure that he and Xia know why it is Patriots day and why all those that were lost were so important to us.

I can still recall to this day what I was doing at the time of the attacks. I was at the time opening for Learning Tree and was at work at 6:00 in the morning all of my parents were coming in talking about the planes that went down and I just kept thinking this is nothing new because there had been so many stories of plane crashes in the news that I just kind of brushed it off. Then I get a call from Amy and she says to me "we aren't talking about the plane crashes" so I asked her what the big deal was and she said that two planes had just crashed into the twin towers and our nation was under attack. I remember feeling so alone at the time and just wanting to hold my baby in my arms and know that everything was going to be okay. Then when I got home from school and was able to see the news coverage for the first time of all of the people jumping out of the buildings and running from the scene. I kept on trying to figure out why someone would want to cause so much pain to so many people.

While I was telling this to my kids in the car with tears in my eyes I still cannot answer the one question that they asked "why did someone want to hurt all those people" I wish I had the answer but I still don't.

I have great pride for this nation of ours and all the freedoms that so many others don't get. I am grateful to all the armed forces for all that they do to keep my family and me free and safe. I hope that my children never have to feel the sorrow that the whole nation felt on the fateful day 9 years ago.

I WILL NEVER FORGET AND MAKE SURE THAT MY CHILDREN NEVER FORGET THOSE THAT LOST THEIR LIVES ON 9/11/01

What a day!

So Xia was up all night on Tues. Sept. 7 with what she tells me is a ear ache (granted she doesn't start out this way at 11 its not until 3:30 in the morning that she says this) so I give her motrin and hope that's the end. It usually is because she hates the doc. Well I get her to school on Wed. and about a hour into I get a call that she is throwing up. Well needless to say I was hoping it was just going to be the one time and it would pass but it didn't. She threw up again so I had to go and get her. She was asleep so I thought I was in the clear and could take her to the doc. When I woke her up to take her home she immediately tells me she feels much better now and doesn't need to go to the doctors. I think okay maybe it is just her gag reflex and all the draining from her nose that caused the throwing up. So we go back to school where she lays down until 3 and is then up to her old self again on the go and talking. Well at 4:30 we go to the University of Utah after hours because Joe her doc couldn't get her in until Friday. At the after hours I thought "great we will get right in and out after only a 5 min. wait in the waiting room" Boy was I wrong. 3 hours later we finally see the doc. to find out she has two ear infections and when asked if she gets those often I said no she has only had 4. Boy was I wrong. apparently she has had enough to leave major scar tissue on her eardrum. She just doesn't say anything.

The plus was that she slept from 8 to 7 this morning with no interruptions.

Ouch! Lessons from Bear Lake

So we went to Bear Lake like we have every Labor day Weekend for the past 5 years and I learned three very important facts; 1. It doesn't matter how many times you apply sunscreen if you are in the sun for 9 hours each day you WILL get sunburned! 2. The older you get the less friendly water sports are on you body. 3. It doesn't matter how much weight I lose swimsuits aren't flattering after having kids!.

I learned all three of these lessons the hard way. Right now my back, shoulders, legs, face, and scalp are all sunburned. Now you might say wear a higher SPF. Well I was wearing a 45 SPF and it was applied 3 times in the 9 hours we were in the sun. The saddest part of that is I remember spending the day outside growing up and not having sunscreen on and not getting sunburned. Where did those days go? Then I introduced my sister-in-law Trina to the wonderful world of water sports. I got her on the wave runners and the tube for the first time. I remember both of those being fun and not so painful. Needless to say the older I get the more I realize that water sports are not made for the human body. Every muscle in my body hurts even muscles I didn't know I had hurt! And finally that no matter how much weight I lose I don't like how I look in a swim suit. As long as I don't have to see myself I let myself believe that I look okay in one. I got this really cute 20's inspired swimsuit for this year and I thought I looked cute in it and everyone else said it was flattering. To all of you thank you but then Jake took a picture of me and needless to say. I look terrible. Now don't get me wrong I am slowly getting to the point where I like my weight and feel I look good in most of my close but me and swimsuits have never really been friends and that relationship was made worse by the post baby body. As long as I have cloths on I'm fine but please don't take picture of me in a swim suit ever again.

Now on to the fun stuff. My kids had a blast. Xia is such a beach baby its funny. She lived in her swimsuit the whole time and enjoyed every second we were there. This is her playing in the tide.

The girls. This was on Uncle Keiths boat.Pictured are Xia, Aria, and Navy.

Xia in the sand drawing with Navy.

Of my two Leighton reminds me of me when I was younger. He absolutely loves little kids and they love him. During this picture he is helping LIncoln get to the boat.

Leighton also has to bring rocks home from wherever he visits. This time he was able to pick three to bring home but this was his collection.

That was this years fun in a nut shell. Thanks Uncle Keith for the memories.