SF Zoo

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the SF Zoo. Ellie definitely enjoyed the trip. Besides a little issue with some cotton candy, we had a great day. None of us had ever been to the SF Zoo before and I can't honestly remember the last time I had been to any zoo. (Man we really need to have a baby so we can go do these fun things again!) We were a little nervous to visit the tigers but we made it out okay.

The Beach

On Friday we were able to go to the beach for the afternoon. It was really fun. The weather was a bit chilly for my taste so I did not get into the water like some people. The scenery was beautiful though and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Baby Blessing

We went to San Francisco this past weekend for the blessing of our new nephew Benjamin. It was such a great trip and such a great opportunity for us. We are so glad to be part of such a great family and so happy that we were able to be there to support Mike and Maile and also to be there to see Benjamin (and Ellie too!)

Here are some pictures of that precious baby. He is so good. You hardly heard a peep out of him the entire weekend. Seriously!

Autumn Test

Since we are talking fall right now I took this quiz just to see what it had to say. It was pretty accurate I guess. Try it for yourself and see what you think! Your Autumn Test Results

You are a dynamic, vibrant person. You aren't afraid to pursue your passions. When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy. You embrace change. You love change. You see change as a rebirth. You find novelty to be the most comforting thing in the world. You love anything that's new or unusual. Your ideal day is spent in contemplation. You enjoy a quiet day where you can take time to think and day dream. You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

The Autumn Test

Changing Seasons

Today is the first day of FALL! You wouldn't really know it around here but I can always pretend. I would love to live in a place where there are actually seasons... Oh to dream! But we get HOT and then all of a sudden it is freezing... That is what usually happens around here. So the few weeks (and I mean few) that we actually have nice weather are wonderful. It is still in the high, high 90s right now and that doesn't seem like Fall to me. But if they tell me it is Fall I am going to believe them and going to start acting like it is. That means the decorations are going to start showing up around my house and soup will start being cooked and the before you know it Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas will soon be here!

WEEKEND WRAP-UP

We really had a nice weekend. Got some rest, got a few things done and were able to just relax and get ready for the busy week ahead of us and the trip we are trying to prepare for....

* Had a great talk with Lina from Sweden who lives in the UK!
* Went to a Celebrate Life party for our friends, who lost a loved one
* Had dinner with friends
* Washed the cars (okay Dan did)
* Did some organizing and cleaning in the house
* Made our Halloween cards
* Watched the Steelers lose their first game (we are still in mourning)
* Watched our Primary Program at church
* Did some work that I hadn't finished on Friday (oops!)

We are now ready for the week and hopefully ready to head out of town on Thursday night! YEAH!!!

ARRR you ready for today???

Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day... Don't believe me? Take a look HERE and see for yourself....

It is just another fun day to celebrate and and get a little crazy... but not too crazy. I have put on my favorite pirate loving T-shirt and am ready to celebrate the day. Don't know how much talking like a pirate I will do, but at least I am showing my support with wearing my shirt that says "I love Pirates"... that works for me!

Friends

Yesterday I had the chance to sit down with a friend of mine that I haven't actually talked to in a while and it was great. I see this person all the time but never really "talk" to her. I decided it was time that we actually sat down and talked, and it was great.

I am so blessed to have so many great friends in my life. A lot of my friends are people that I don't see on a regular basis. Some of them are people who live far away, or who I don't talk to that often but they are some of the most important people in my life and I am so lucky to have them in my life. I am so thankful for the relationships that I do have with them and to know that I can call on them no matter what and that no matter how much time has passed we can always pick up right where we have left off.

That is what I love about this whole blogging thing and the computer. I have been able to re-connect with some of these friends that I speak of because of blogging and the computer. I am now able to be in contact with people from my past and see how they are and tell them about me and my family. It is wonderful. I have also been able to make new friends on here as well. It is a great connector.

I think that I am blabbing but I also think that many can relate to what I am saying (I hope!). I love my friends and I feel lucky to have so many. I wish many of them were closer, but I am thankful for the times that we have to spend together and cherish the memories that we make.

WEEKEND WRAP-UP: Marvin and Maria

We had visitors in town this weekend and had an unexpected change in plans....

Marvin and Maria arrived from LA late on Thursday night. We made our way out to a late night dinner to start our weekend off right. After a long night.... heading to bed at 5:30am..... Marvin noticed that his eye was really hurting. He didn't get much sleep and woke up early to go to get some eye drops. We had planned on going out to the lake on Friday but plans quickly changed. He ended up at the eye doctor and found out that he had a viral infection in his eye. He was now taking 3 different eye drops 9 times a day.... wow! No jet skis for us.

We decided to just hit the outlets instead. Maria and I were okay with this change in plans. We shopped the day away and then went to Buca Di Beppo's for dinner on Friday.

Saturday we had to go back to the eye doctor for Marvin to be checked again. His eye was pretty swollen in the morning but they said the infection looked better but that he had a pretty bad abrasion on it. Nothing to serious would be in the plans for today. We headed home to hang out. The boys watched hours, and hours of football while us girls soaked up some summer sun in the backyard. For dinner we had Claim Jumper. Maria and I then decided we wanted to see a movie so we went to watch "The Women"... the boys did not join us!

We had a great weekend. Not quite what we planned but still tons of fun and great to see them and enjoy our time together. Marvin felt bad that he "ruined" the trip but it didn't matter to us. The lake will be there next time and we can always try it again when they come back to visit us again.

Grab some Popcorn!

Okay... so Kami, over at the Biggie Blog, had a fun idea. Her family usually gets together and has a movie night, showing clips of their favorite movies, and she decided it would be fun to do it over the "blogosphere". I wanted to play along and so here are some of my favs!

1. The Notebook: This is one of my all-time favorite movies... I loved this mix of scenes with the music of Chris Daughtry... Great combo!

2. DIRTY DANCING: Another great movie. I love the feeling of a care-free summer and all of the great songs and dancing of course. And I love a happy ending too.

3. BETTER OFF DEAD: A great little 80's comedy. The whole movie is hilarious and I love it so much that I can't stand to part with my VHS of it... yes, I said VHS.

Measuring a Year!!!

Wow... A whole year of blogging has gone by. I seriously can't believe that. My friend Kirsten got me started and I thought "okay sure, I will give it a try. I don't know what I will say or what I will write about but she seems excited about it so I will try it out". A year later here I am and love it. So how do I measure my life and my last year?

365 days

190 posts

12 long months

2 birthdays later (Dan 28, Me 27)

1 anniversary (6 years all together)

1 new nephew (born 7/22/08)

1 missed grandma (passed away 12/1/07)

1 year of waiting for our adoption

2 dance shows completed (Christmas and Spring)

2 visits from out of the country (Lina and Hanna)

2 jet skis purchased ( Hours of fun)

1 new work truck purchased (Dan's in heaven)

1 new air conditioner purchased (necessity)

1 new water heater purchased (necessity)

1 amazing anniversary trip to Brianhead (6 years)

531 pages in the Book of Mormon (the Hinckley Challenge)

7 days of no Television (Turn-off Week)

1 new garage door opener (necessity)

10 years out of high school (are we really THAT old?)

1 jump from a plane (Dan and Marvin)

16 days of pride (watching the Olympics)

7 days of stamping (Stampin' Up Convention)

3 days of adoption (FSA National Convention)

2 of the happiest people in the world.

This has been a long year. One of ups and down. Challenges- financially, spiritually, and emotionally, but at the end of it all we could not really ask for more. We are excited about the future and look forward to adding more to our list next year. We are not sure how it is going to fit into our already filled lives but we are excited to see it happen. We are blessed and live a great life!

**click on something and re-live the year with us!**

Remembering...

So I don't want to be depressing today and don't want to talk all about 7 years ago and that horrible day, but I can't let 9/11/08 go by and not take a moment to reflect and remember. You just can't help it.

I think all of us can remember exactly where we were when we saw, or heard, that the towers had fallen. SHOCK! I remember watching and just not knowing what it really meant and what was to come. Who would have thought that 7 years later our world would be the way it is... still.

I have to be completely honest and say that I don't really think I was very patriotic before Sept. 11th. I wasn't anti-American by any means, but I didn't really think about it one way or another. Well, that has changed for sure. I love my country and I am proud to be an American. I am also proud of something else. I am proud of my dad. He is a Vietnam Veteran and I am proud of that. I am proud of him and the service he gave for this, his, country. I never really thought of it before and didn't really care much about it. I knew he was in the Army and that he went to Vietnam but that was it. Now sometimes we go places and they ask for all of the Veterans to stand and my dad does.... wow, the pride I have when he stands is amazing. I love my dad and appreciate what he did. I appreciate all of the people who have served, are serving, and will serve for us and our country. Thank you!