Give a Day Get a Day

We donated some blankets to a non-profit agency and in return we received free Disneyland passes. This was a cheaper trip, but you know that you cannot go to Disneyland and not spend some money. This was probably the funnest trip we have had. It was so laid back and enjoyable. Kevin even loved it, and he hates crowds. Here is a picture of Kev with a crazy hat. He wanted to buy it and bring it home. Little did he know, he is not a true red-head.


My cuties in the front of Disneyland. This truly was the happiest place on earth for us.

I was all about the pictures this vacation. My kids got sick of me snapping shots of them. This is in front of California Adventure, although we did not go in to California Adventure. We only got one pass to either park, and we chose Disneyland.

Closest Thing to Fall in Vegas

Fall in Nevada=75 degrees, wind, dirt, fake pumpkin patches. This ranch had placed pumpkins all over the ranch to make it look like fall. It also had pony rides, hayrides, animals to pet, and a nice buffet of treats (goldfish, peanuts, pickles, and tortilla chips). Although it was nothing like Utah's cornmazes and pumpkin patch, we had tons of fun.

Sariah wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up. She would make a cute one, dont you think?

Kristen still had a hint of her childhood tonight. She wanted to go on a pony ride and do a fish pond. I asked her if she thought she was too big for this, and she said "no way." Glad to see she is not "all teenager" yet.

Arianna was in heaven. She loves animals. She got to pet/feed goats, donkeys, horses, and ponies. This donkey tried to eat her hair. She was just a giggling and a giggling.

Las Vegas Fun

Las Vegas Temple-We let the kids touch the temple, so that it could touch them back.

First day of school in Nevada

Red Rock Canyon-very hot. We could only stay for a few minutes, but it was beautiful. We will have to go back in the cooler weather.

Simple pleasures

I love the quote by Euripides, "the greatest pleasure of life is love." I decided that I needed to awaken my mind to the simple pleasures in life, and to feel more love from those around me. I realized that I have been dwelling on the negatives and missing all of the positives. When I chose this mindset it was amazing to find what has brought me pleasure. For my own record I am writing just a few.

1. Sariah: We were playing Old Maid a few nights ago. While playing for her first time ever, Sariah got the Old Maid very first. She started giggling and began looking at us. My cousin asked her if she had the Old Maid and she just couldn't lie, she said "YYEEESss". She started to laugh, and then like most of us did when we were kids, she held that Old Maid up higher than the rest of the cards to make sure that my cousin would pick it. So my cousin very valiantly selected that Old Maid (wink, wink), and Sariah began to giggle so hard that we all broke out into laughter. I found joy in this.

2. Arianna: Last night Arianna began to stare at my feet. I started to ask her what she was doing, when all of the sudden she ran off. She returned a few minutes later with some lotion in hand and said, "Mom, I know that dad usually rubs your feet and puts lotion on them when they are dry, and I was wondering if I could do this for you." So she lovingly rubbed my dry, grose feet with lotion. I found joy in this.

3. Kristen: Besides always being willing to babysit for free, she has picked up cooking. She came to me at lunchtime and asked what we wanted for lunch. Before I knew it, she had made lunch for all of us. She has also been willing to pick up extra chores without complaint. I have found joy in this.

4. Friends/family: I have recently had many people drop in to check on me and invite me to spend time with them. I have felt so much love from those surrounding me. I think that people come into our life right when we need them the most. Thanks to those who have felt inspired to be with me, and have followed those promptings.

5. Husband: He has so diligently called me a couple of times a day. Even though he hates to talk on the phone, he has made sure that he has given me plenty of time to talk and share my feelings. He has been great at complimenting me and making sure I feel loved. I find so much joy in his love.

Well enough for now, but I have felt much happier with these new set of eyes.

What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

Well,

What happened in Vegas was moving Kevin. What stayed in Vegas was Kevin. Unfortunately he remains there and we remain in Utah. Apparently Arianna is a daddies girl, because she has cried every night for him. This makes me cry, and I even saw him today. We are a house full of emotional girls. I hope that no one is wanting to come and spend "happy time" with us.

So, while I was in Las Vegas I decided to go running by myself. While I was running I had to go the bathroom really bad. I saw a restroom about a half a mile away so I decided to speed up and make a pit stop. As I got to the bathroom (which, by the way, I barely made it to in time), a big burly man came running up close to me and scared me to death. He was talking loudly to himself and throwing his arms all over the place. I thought "Oh great he is going to rape and murder me, and no one is going to know that I am missing until Kevin gets home from work, and then it will be way to late to save me (a little dramatic I know, but you should have seen the man)." Well, after hiding in the stalls for awhile I came out and he was stopped a few feet away from me. I began to panic and wonder what I was to do. I was a couple of miles away from his cousin's house and there was no escape. Lucky for me, he turned around a began to walk the other way. I waited for awhile for him to gain some distance from me and I began to run home. I made it home successfully, without any incidents. I then thought about how I was going to feel when I actually moved down to Vegas. Hopefully I will be able to find a running partner. No one is going to measure up to Jen. She has been the best partner ever. I am trying to talk her into moving to Vegas with us. She has declined everytime. How rude!

So, no success for selling our house as of yet. I am beginning to wonder what this is all about. I have felt strongly that it is going to sell soon, but what does "soon" mean. We are trying to have faith and do what the Lord wants us to, so at times I get discouraged with the lack of interest in our home, especially when I hear that other homes in our area are selling. I just want to be with Kevin, and I wonder if that it too much to ask. I already miss him terribly, and we are only on day one of his absence. What am I to do?

Cami and I turned 33 on Tuesday and we decided to go to the tulip festival with our children (who happen to be off track for four weeks). About half of the tulips were in bloom. It was beautiful.



I took these lovely pics with my new phone camera. Only problem is, I do not know how to zoom in. So, you cannot see my children very well. We had fun anyways. We were all super hot and we discussed how fun it is going to be in the heat of Vegas. What are we thinking?

Every birthday I am reminded how high maintenance I am as a wife. I always expect some grandiose birthday extravanganza (not really, just the perfect gift), and to my wondering surprise, not what I expected. I feel so disappointed, and then I feel bad for Kevin, because he really does try. I just want him to be inside of my head and think like me :-). I know that I expect too much and I am trying to reframe my thinking, but my mom was always so good at getting us the perfect surprise. Poor guy, he just hates holidays because he feels like he can never do anything right. Is there any hope for us?

Yeah,

May 7, 2009=GRADUATION. I thought that it would never come. Kevin said that it went fast, and it was not as hard as he thought it was going to be (I was glad to hear that!). Do you all remember how skeptical he was about me going in the first place? Well we made it. My last day of the semester is April 24, 2009. It is so close.

For those of you that would like to attend the MSW convocation it is at 7:30pm at the Kingsbury Hall. Anyone is welcome, but no one needs to feel obligated to come.