Festive, Family-Filled Fourth

What happens when 7 adults and 8 kids go to the pool? You bring a TON of stuff! Chairs, umbrellas, towels, lots of sunscreen, life jackets, treats, drinks, cameras, books, magazines, and on and on. It's a wonder anyone ever ends up getting wet.

Randy missed a couple spots as he lathered up in SPF 30.

The pool had been emptied before we got there because of an "incident" from a small child (ew). It was empty for an hour and I'm sure they filled it with oodles of chemicals, then we let all the kids go in. None of the adults were that keen on going in the "poo pool".

The boys ventured out.

Whitney got some serious height as she practiced her dive (at least her hands are diving).


I wore my swim get-up, but was very happy to sit in the shade and read. Whenever I do this it reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where Elaine wears a huge hat at the beach and Jerry says, "And then there's Maude!"

Adam read too!

The crazy thing was that the kids got to play in the water for about 15 minutes, then the pool was cleared for the hourly chlorine check (even though the pool had just been closed for an hour), then they got to swim for another 20 minutes or so before the pool was cleared again for a 2nd "incident." What the? We ended up leaving because it was going to be closed for another hour and then reopen for 30 minutes until they closed for the night. Good Hell!

We caravaned to Adam and Amy's house for a BBQ.

I got out of my swim get-up and was putting on my dry clothes when I realize I'd forgotten to bring a bra! I ended up wearing my swimsuit under my clothes so as to be somewhat supported. It's a good thing I hadn't gone swimming or it would have been a very uncomfortable and embarrassing day for me!


This was seriously a burger to remember. It had ranch dip, lettuce, tomato, and avocado slices. I'm dreaming of it now...


We celebrated my birthday, and I'm happy to report that I wasn't mental at all! It probably helped that it wasn't my actual birthday (whereas in the past it used to bug me to celebrate it early) because I had no expectations and didn't feel like it was "my" day.

I got a Visa gift card from Adam & Amy (I'm going to buy postage online with it, woohoo), a Barnes & Noble gift card from Robyn and Jared, an iHome type thing from Randy and the kids (so I can listen to my iPod in the other side of the house), and my mom's old Kitchen Aid mixer (big surprise) and a gift card for the movie theater from my parents.

Lori made this festive and tasty cake. (The frosting was particularly great.)

They sang our traditional birthday song, "Happy, happy birthday, may all your dreams come true. Happy, happy birthday to you, to you, to you, ole!" I forgot to make a wish when I blew out the candles, oh dear.

Andrew loved the strawberry ice cream.

I love taking miscellaneous shots of the group like this because they're totally candid and capture the family-filled feeling we had going on.


The glow necklaces Amy gave the kids were a serious hit. They were so into them they weren't that interested in the fireworks.


Landon did some fire dancing with his sparklers, good times.


I'm bummed that this photo is blurry, but it still captures the backyard view we had of the fireworks going on in the valley below.

**Do you like to read at the pool?
Do you know which Seinfeld
episode I'm talking about?
What do you think of bra substitution?
What would be on your burger to remember?
Did you watch fireworks?**

Sunday Thoughts

"Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it
seems that the birds don't sing and bells don't ring.
Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity,
those who are happiest seem to have a way of
learning from difficult times, becoming
stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."
--Joseph B. Wirthlin

Oh So Early, But Oh So Fun

It was rather handy that I didn't sleep at all on Wednesday night because it made getting up to get ready for our annual outing to the balloon launch in Provo easier than usual. I was in the shower at 4:45am! That is just wrong.


Part of the allure of the balloon launch is our breakfast of McDonald's hash browns, biscuits and orange drink. Sure we could get this breakfast any time, but the fact that Randy and Landon walk over to McDonald's to get it and that we eat while the balloons are filling just makes it that much better.

I love this photo Michelle took.

Somehow Eva was cold, though the morning was strangely warm, and Max offered to share his blanket with her. I thought this made a very cute scene of these 14 and 4 year old siblings.


We love having a practically hands-on view of the balloons filling up. We were situated right next to Smokey the Bear and found it amusing to see him without his nose inflated, it filled up last.


Look at the time on Randy's watch! I am so NOT the early riser that I couldn't believe we'd already been there almost an hour and it was only 7:20am. Wow.


I love seeing the sun come up from behind the mountains like this. It's transforms everything in such a short amount of time.

Whitney had the coziest set up of all.

Eva had some issues that morning. She didn't like the sound of the balloons filling or the smell (though none of us could smell anything, even me with my super sniffer). She was tired and wanted to go home and go back to bed (what the?). Michelle was able to distract her at various times, but Eva kept coming back to her disgruntled state. It was kind of funny. (Photo by Michelle.)

Someone was handing out these Frisbees/halos, which made for a good time.

Here is Lucas playing the Devil rather than the angel.

Frisbee fun.

Photo by Michelle.

Max was chasing Whitney with the Frisbee halo and she was running and hiding like her life depended on it. We didn't know why, but it was funny to watch.


Landon and Lucas both had unruly hair that caused much cringing for Michelle and I, but they still make a cute couple of friends.

I love this picture of Michelle and the kids taking a self-portrait.

It turned out that the balloons didn't end up taking off because the weather report said a storm would be blowing in during the next hour. It looked sunny and beautiful to us, but Mother Nature is a fickle mistress and we wouldn't want any balloonists to be blown far away from home.

**Have you been to a balloon launch?
What would you order for breakfast from McDonald's?
Have you ever showered at 4:45am?
Do you have any traditions like this?**

Five for Friday--Poor Taste Edition

1. I can't believe it's July already! I feel like I literally missed the month of June because of our long trip. It was a great vacation, but really did a number on me time-warp wise. In other news, I love this photo calendar I made through Costco.com, turning the page each month is fun.


2. I discovered a new and fabulous treat this week (because I really needed another treat in my life, seriously at some point the word "treat" loses its meaning right). I usually take my pebble ice straight up, but this week made Tang for the first time in years (or possibly ever) and poured it over the ice. It made for a most delicious, chilly delight. The only problem is that I drink/chew/snarf it so quickly that it's bordering on obsession and causes my bladder to fill at an abnormally fast rate.



3. Can you see something less-than-charming in the back, left corner of this photo? Ah yes, it's 5 pounds of horse crap right in front of our house! Fortunately I did NOT see it come to be (if you know what I mean), but I'm scandalized none-the-less. That is a huge load of crap is it not? Shouldn't the rider have come back later with a shovel and a bucket to remove this? How is it going to go away?? It's so big that every time I go outside my eyes immediately target it. Gross!


4. Whitney and I went to see Ice Age 3 in 3D yesterday while Landon was at Lucas' house for the day. It was a double kick in the crotch as the tickets cost $2 more each because it's in 3D (I did NOT know this before getting there) and then because the movie was pretty lame (3D is kind of annoying). Whitney liked it, but I actually dozed multiple times (of course, I hadn't slept the night before, but still).


5. We had a crazy rain storm the other day that produces sheets of blowing rain. That's so rare for Utah in July! I'm enjoying the cooler temperatures and greener mountains and lawns (we haven't even been watering ours), but it's truly weird.

**Do you make your own calendars?
Do you like Tang?
Would the horse deposit offend you?
How do you feel about 3D movies?
Do you like the rain?**

A Plague Upon My House

Last night I DID NOT SLEEP except for some possible dozing on the couch between 3 and 4 AM. What is up with my universe? I've had 2.5 weeks of rough nights with choppy sleep, but last night was the worst so far. I'm a wreck. How can this be when I am so fond of the cozy? I'm now taking Ambien donations and am accepting offers for someone to club me over the head.

**What do you do when you can't sleep?**

You're Going to O.D. on Nostalgia

Contest--I'll send something to the first person who can name the movie my title comes from. (Little side note: For the longest time I thought the quote was, "You're going to O.D. on the style gel.")


During my stay in Michigan, Betsy brought out folders of notes I'd written to her during classes in high school (there were A LOT of them, no wonder I had a B average) and many letters I'd sent her while I was at BYU.


Reading those notes was kind of like looking at a car accident, I just couldn't look away. It was painful and amusing to read the high school notes because I had selectively forgotten some aspects of my character...namely the insecure, fat obsessed, boy crazy teenager parts. I even sounded like Betsy's stalker in some of the notes (good grief).


I don't remember any of that, and am trying to overlook those because they were from the early years, those painful 14-15 year old years of trying to find my place. Also horrifying to me was my use of the word your, instead of you're...oh the shame.


Some of the good aspects of reading the notes were their time-capsule qualities. I made reference to the TV shows we were watching back then (Moonlighting, 30 Something, The Cosby Show), the foods we were eating, the classes we were taking, family issues (my poor parents), weekend plans and so on. I also loved reading the humorous parts where I cracked myself up. I still do that, especially when I write letters to Betsy, so it was fun to see that over 20 years later we still share that part of our friendship.

I received a bunch of good mail while I was on my trip (it's so great to come home to good mail) and even received a couple letters during my trip. Claudia sent me one in Illinois and one in Michigan (much to Betsy's amazement).


Natasha sent me this cute "J" magnet last month right before I left. My fridge is covered in various "J" magnets, which I quite enjoy.


This is the card Claudia sent me while I was in Illinois. It was one of her patented, swirling text cards.


This is the letter she sent me while I was in Michigan. Betsy's amazement made it that much sweeter.



Last month Robyn totally surprised me by sending me 2 fabulous gift cards (just because) and the $10 bill I'd recently sent her in gratitude for taking care of all the Mother's Day stuff for our family gathering. I could not have been more surprised and delighted by these gifts and her nice note.


I came home from my trip to find this marvelous necklace from Lisa! She took my favorite photo from Women's Conference and turned it into a necklace for me, Michelle and Kristi. What a thoughtful thing to do, I love it!!


Jen M. sent me this really nice card while I was on my trip. I seriously think thoughtful cards that make reference to things I've written in a card or on my blog are my favorite kinds of good mail because they give me such an emotional lift. I'm sure we all think nice things about various people's blogs and have been impacted by our blog friends, but it's really a great gift when someone takes the time to tell that person.


I got this thank you card from Eva and just had to laugh at her giant "E".


Claudia sent me this fun envelope which included a letter and some magazine clippings. She has such a way with good mail.


Kim Sue sent me this nice note (sorry for the blurry photo). I always appreciate her kind words.



I also came home to this letter from Claudia (she's a prolific writer).


Melinda sent me a nice thank you note for some labels I'd recently sent her.


Laurie M. also has a way of writing such great cards; her thoughtfulness and sincerity are totally apparent and welcomed.


Natasha is so great to send me postcards from her many travels.


When I came over to pick up Eva and Lucas to go swimming last week, Michelle gave me this shirt. She'd been shopping for girl's camp and had gotten one for herself and had generously gotten one for me as well.


That brings me to today's good mail offering from Patsy. She sent this very festive 4th of July envelope with a note, JCWs coupon (woohoo) and an article about the traffic woes in Utah County. I'm living them, but don't get the paper so I hadn't read about them. Thanks Patsy!

**Did you recognize the movie quote?
Have you ever gotten mail on vacation?
Did write a lot of notes in high school?
Is it hard for you to read stuff you
wrote when you were a lot younger?**