a sad day...

Yesterday the kids (mine and the neighbors) were out in the backyard playing. Adam was standing near the slide when all of the sudden I hear screaming. You are probably thinking to yourself, "Well that's normal..." But this time it wasn't - it was sad, loud, and a very pained screaming. I ran over to see what was wrong and sure enough he had been stung my a hornet. I looked under the slide and there was the biggest hornet's nest that I and my neighbor had ever seen. Poor Adam - he was really upset, luckily taking pictures seemed to distract him for a few minutes before the crying started again. Needless to say we bought some hornet and wasp killer that night and Scott took care of the little pests!

hum-drum to fun fun!!!

Life during the week = hum drum.....BUT life during the weekend = FUN FUN!!!

This last weekend we had such fun. Scott took Friday off and we went to Lagoon (it was our stake's Lagoon Day, which meant we got a discount). My sister Renee was so incredible kind and came with us with a free entrance pass. She was such a great sport and basically just watched Grace while we took Adam and Lily on the rides. Then at about three when they (Adam and Grace) got tired she took the kids home so that Scott and I could enjoy the rest of the day playing without kids. Poor Lily, she could have stayed all day, but she had to go home as well because there was no way she could all the rides that Scott and I were doing (even though she is tall enough for every single one of them - I was amazed). I assured her that we were going to come back next year. The day was such a blast!!!
This is on the Tidal Wave (the big boat that goes back and forth). Adam was terrified!!! I made him go on because I thought he would have such a blast. Once the ride got started and I remembered just how high it goes I felt really bad - his little body was shaking he was so scared. Luckily I don't think he is scarred for life. In fact he seemed to get over it by the time we were off the boat.

I love how Lily has her arms up in this picture - talk about teaching them young...
Then from Lagoon we met Renee and the kids at her house, packed up the cars and went to their cabin up near Evanston, WY. We spent the weekend there four-wheeling, digging in the dirt (the kids did that part), and swinging on the swings. It was a great place and was so nice of them to invite us. We got home Sunday morning in time for church. Thanks Nay for such a FUN weekend and a great respite from my sometimes hum-drum life!!!!

Scott taking Adam and Gracie on the four-wheeler. Gracie loved it - Adam, not so much!

Lily and I getting ready to embark on our long adventure (it really was an adventure - we got caught in a hale storm and neither of us has ever been so freezing)

Lily riding on the back of Uncle Ryan's four-wheeler - doesn't she look so cute and tiny with that big helmet on! We thought she looked pretty cute.

Scott and Lily at the lake that we went four-wheeling to - this is just before the hale hit us hard.

me?

It is a well-known fact that here in Utah if you have a mountain then you need to put a letter on it. I know the environmentalists think this is a gross violation of the sanctity of the hills, but I really like it.

So up near my parents house there is a letter U on the mountain; standing for Uintah. One day when we were driving home Adam noticed the letter. Here is how the conversation went:

Adam (in a very high-pitched voice): MOM! There is a number on the mountain!!!

Emily: It's not a number - it is a letter.

Adam: MOM! There's a letter on the mountain!

Emily: Yep

Adam: What letter is it Mom?

Emily: The letter U

Adam: The letter ME?!

Emily and Scott: laugh, laugh, laugh

Now everytime we see the letter U we think of Adam - funny boy!

so much fun

I have had such a fun few days. Thursday I got together with some of the girls from the "Birdie" cast - it was nice to see them again. Also on Thursday, Gracie was being so cute. Lily had gotten some of the dress-ups out and Gracie was trying them on. In this picture she is wearing an Aurora outfit with two pairs of wings. She paraded around the house like this for a while. She was so proud of herself.

Then Friday night I went with my friend Wendy (the neighbor with the fun waterslide) to a scrapbooking crop. I am not a scrapbooker - I attempted it about a year and a half ago, but just never fell in love with it. The first time I met Wendy she asked me if I like to scrapbook - needless to say, she is really into it. She told me how every month a bunch of them get together and go to a crop - that means they go to a scrapbooking store from about 6 pm to midnight and they scrapbook. Sounds miserable right! I though it did, but I decided to have an open mind and give it a try. It was such fun - we ordered dinner and ate at the store. The store also provides free fountain drinks and snacks all night. Plus you can use all their stuff like the fancy scissors and die-cut stuff and a bunch more things that I had never heard of. It is also nice because then if you need anything you can just buy it there and you only end up getting what you need and will use. The other great thing is that everyone has such great ideas and I just loved being in that creative environment! Midnight came much faster than I thought and amazingly enough I wasn't even tired (I can probably thank the Diet Coke for that one). I am totally going again next month! FUN!!!! This is Wendy and me around midnight getting ready to pack up.

Last night was also GREAT!!! I went up to Logan with my parents to see the opera "Aida." It was spectacular! We love opera, but most of the world doesn't. As a result, we don't get a whole lot of opportunities to see opera. So this was a thrill for me. Every year up in Logan at this time they have to Utah Festival Opera where they run a couple different shows (not all operas). My parents were going and I caught wind of it and decided to be the third wheel. Scott was kind enough to stay home with the kids for the second night in a row. It was beautiful and the actors were incredible - truly beautiful voices. Plus I was amazed at how well they put this grand production on in a relatively small theater (traditionally it is don outside with live elephants and all - it is supposed to be BIG). Well worth the money and it was so nice spending time with my parents. This a picture from the paper - this woman played Amneris, who is Pharaoh's daughter - I thought she was the best one in the show. The woman who played Aida was also really really good.

I have had a busy couple of days, and I am tired. But it is a good tired.

speaking of hair.....

I am having major hair dilemmas lately. I am tired of basically having no style. So I was thinking I could go with one of these looks (I know theirs is longer, but it will give me something to work towards - like I am actually doing any "work" to get my hair longer). Of course I will never look like Reese Witherspoon or Jessica Alba (dang it!), but hopefully one of their hairstyles would work for me. Tell me which one you think I ought to go with...

chocolate sauce

Saturday I decided I needed a little change. So I dyed my hair. It is sort of a rosewood color, which means that in the light it looks really red and all the rest of the time it looks just sort of auburn. I am not totally convinced, but it is a fun change anyway.

While I was dying it in the bathroom Lily walked in. I was at the point where I was putting the dye on my hair and it is dispensed in a bottle that sort of looks like sauce ought to be in it. She looked very puzzled and then asked, "Why are you putting chocolate sauce on your hair?" I guess to a 5 year old it would look pretty funny!

buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks...NOW!!!

On Monday for Family Night we went to a Salt Lake Bees Baseball game. We all took the TRAX to the ballpark (it stops a block away) and my parents met us there. It was a blast - and can't you tell that Gracie was just loving it! Actually, she was so tired and not loving it at all. We ended up leaving after the 5th inning, and Lily went with my parents for a sleepover. According to my dad it turned out to be a great game and the Bees won!

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I almost forgot to mention...Gracie was almost hit by a foul ball. Seriously, it would have hit her (and most likely killed her) if the seat in front of her hadn't been there. It was actually pretty scary. The guy in front of us gave her the ball, which I thought was pretty nice of him.

a grandma named dearie

Today is my Grandma Dearie's 90th birthday. I would love to list 90 things about her that I love, but I am afraid it would be very long and very boring for most of you since you don't know her. I will say, though, that there are more than 90 things about Dearie that I do love. She has been such a wonderful Grandmother. She is smart and classy and we all just adore her.

For her birthday so much of my extended family came into town to celebrate. I have relatives that came from New Hampshire, Puerto Rico (my cousin is an FBI agent there), California, and Boston to just name few. It was so much fun to see them and I am reminded of just how entertaining they all are!

Another noteworthy event from the weekend is that we were able to dedicate a new grave for my grandpa. He died 16 years ago and was originally buried in the Provo cemetery. Since no one (except Jen and her family) lives in Utah county anymore the family decided to have him moved to the Salt Lake Cemetery. He now buried near his parents and in-laws, many other relatives, and several prophets and church leaders. It is a beautiful (and crowded) cemetery and it seems to make a lot more sense for him to be there rather than in Provo. My dad was able to give the dedicatory prayer and it was just such a nice experience (other than Adam and Gracie feeling the need to step on every headstone there and Adam almost knocking one over).

It was a wonderful weekend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA DEARIE!!!!! We love you so much.

This is the whole group that was at the cemetary. I am on the far right - Scott was chasing Gracie around.

This is Grandma Dearie and her five children. From left to right; Aunt Catharine (4th child), Uncle Kurt (2), Uncle David (5), Uncle Tom (3), my Dad (1)

Grandma listening the Uncle Tom's speech about how great she is...

Renee and Tubby were having a great time eating the popcorn - well maybe that was just Tubby.

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Just as a note, her name really isn't Dearie; it's Mildred, but we have been calling her that since I was a little girl. The story behind how she got the name is very cute - when my cousin Eliza was a newly walking toddler Grandma was beckoning her to come by saying, "Come to me dearie, come to me..." Eliza must have thought it was her name and started calling her Grandma Dearie. The name stuck and we have been calling her that ever since.

yankee doodle day

Waiting for the parade to start

Red, White, and Blue cupcakes
Our own little fireworks show - the kids loved it!

I love the Fourth of July! It is my favorite holiday by far. Let me tell you why...

-It is always warm - who wouldn't love a holiday that allows for flip-flops all day!

-I love BBQ food and fresh fruit.

-Isn't great that there isn't any gift-giving pressure on the Fourth? I love that I don't have to worry about getting the kids that special gift - all they care about is a cupcake and fireworks. Man that is easy (and much cheaper)!

-Speaking of fireworks - I love them. Even though I really hate heights, I still love to climb up on the roof with Scott after the kids are in bed and watching the firework throughout the valley.

-I love parades!

-I love all the American flags - there is just something so stirring about seeing so many at once.

Quite frankly I think it is the best holiday of the year! We had a crackerjack day yesterday, proving again to me of just how much I love the Fourth of July!!!!

Oh and one more thing - parades in Utah are hilarious! People line the streets with Super Soakers and all sorts of water throwing devices. When the parade starts so do the water fights. The parade-goers starts shooting everyone that goes by and the people in the parade shoot back. It was so funny. At first I couldn't believe it was happening and then when I saw that no one gets upset about it I thought it was pretty entertaining. They don't squirt the beauty queens or anything like that, but everyone else is fair game. It was such fun!

life is a picnic

A couple days ago the kids and I took the TRAX into Salt Lake and had a picnic on Temple Square. Scott was going to meet us, but got stuck in a meeting - we were bummed. Temple Square was fun anyway and the kids did remarkably well at following directions and staying relatively close to me. It was a great day!

I just love Lily's little poses in front of the fountain and temple - she is getting to be so funny!

holy hilarious!

She just makes me laugh....and laugh....and laugh!