National Anthem at Rodeo

So thankful I only have 2 kids

Yesterday was such a stressful “MOM” day, but we made it through with just slight ego damage.  We are not a sporty family, but Kinlee loves volleyball.  Yesterday she tried out for the 7^th grade volleyball team and sadly did not make it.  I would like to think it isn’t political and they just chose kids on their merit, but sometimes one has to wonder .  Needless to say I had one sad Kinlee, which is heartbreaking and I even shed a few tears.  As Jerika read me the letter Kinlee received she got to the bottom of the letter and it said Kinlee was invited to be the manager of the team, however.  Some of you who know me well know I was the volleyball manager for years in high school.  It goes back to the not sporty thing, but I really wanted to be where my friends were and they were all on the volleyball team.  And I had just as much fun doing that and supporting them as I would have being on the team. That being said, I explained that to Kinlee and told her I would call the coach and see what was involved and then Kinlee could make her own decision.  I called the coach and you could hear a little bit of fear in her voice (I do have a very small reputation for being a little confrontational if I don’t agree with something) and I am pretty sure she was elated to hear that I was just calling to see about the manager job and not to freak out. I found out the manager goes to all the practices and practices with the girls and travels with them but just takes stats at the game instead of playing.  I relayed this information to Kinlee and you would have thought I had handed her the world on a silver platter.  She is so excited, she just wants to play and what better way to keep her in the loop so she can try again next year.  So, Kinlee will be the 7^th grade volleyball manager next year, YEAH Kinlee!!

Part 2 of my day included Jerika getting Sr. pictures for the Year Book.  They go to a local photographer and have them taken at their studio, which requires an appointment.  However, there was still a lot of waiting and it was a little stressful there too.  We did pick a picture we both liked though and moved onto our next adventure.

Which was Jerika singing the National Anthem at a rodeo.  I have pictures and story to follow in a later post.

Pedicure

So, my girls are at camp this week, well Jerika was and now she’s somewhere else.  Anyway, today I talked to my friend Miriam (love her) and we decided to go to dinner since none of my kids were home.  We were meeting in Rexburg at 6:30 and I didn’t really want to go home and come back.  So, I could either stay and work some necessary overtime or I could find something else to do in this big city.  Decision made, I would go get a pedicure, I deserve it right?  So I made the appointment at the only place in town that has oriental people (I didn’t want anyone I knew rubbing my feet, yep I am weird like that)  As I was leaving work I was telling the ladies at work that the last time I ventured out doing something like this for myself (which was actually a gift from someone else) it was a massage.  Then I proceeded to tell them about my mortification level when the masseuse was a man and I had no clue until I got there.  Anyway long story short, I checked in to get my pedicure yesterday and you guessed it, a man is doing my pedicure.  I am okay with that however, when he started rubbing my feet I realize he only has 3 fingers.  Really, you can’t make this stuff up.  He was super nice and did a good job, however he and the other 2 workers in talked the entire time (fast) and whatever they were talking about the whole time was super funny (to them). The rest of us non oriental people just sat around in dazed confusion.  I would consider having another pedicure but I don’t know how I feel about not understanding anything they people working on me are saying.  Ok, that’s all.

Mothers Day pics

Lydia's Baptism

Lydia’s baptism was in Terreton, which isn’t too far in the grand scheme of things, but seems really far because it is all deserted desertlike land.  Anyway we were there early and the only people from our family that didn’t come was Nakia’s family because they were at a reunion.  My point being that several people travelled far to attend.  Such as Shelby and Catie who came from Utah and the rest of us were closer, but still far enough.  As one of the other little girls was getting baptized I overhead one of her parents ask the bishopric member presiding if he could be a witness.  They only had one grandpa there to witness and nobody else from their family.  As I looked around that little room, I realized that little girl only had her parents, one set of grandparents and young siblings there with her on her special day.  It really put into perspective how supportive my family is and how much we are willing to do for each other.  This makes me so thankful to be a member of this family and makes me appreciate them even more.

July 24th Celebration - Pioneer Day

People Who Took Time to Hang With Us

One of the reasons I love going to Utah is because some of my very favorite people live in Utah. So, we make a huge effort to visit all of those people while we are there.  Sometimes my very cute brother gets slightly angry while we are there and don't spend all of our time with him.  But, he becoming much more understanding, especially this time since we stayed with him 3 nights and still fit others in.  Since it was during the week, he still had to work too so that helped a little.

One of these days I am hoping Jerika will actually make a nice face while getting her picture taken. The weird thing is they were all staring at the wall so I really don't get their look at all. Weirdos for sure. I love these 3 even Austin, he is so good to Kelsie.

Ashy & I.  Matt had to look after the dogs so we got her all to ourselves.  My had was pretty much a necessity this week, because we were getting up so early there was no possible way I was going to get up early enough to do my hair.

 

Catie and Shelby.  He is so happy and we just love her too.

 

This is our friend Kaylee, we have know her for a few years. We met her through Jana feel like we have known her forever. She found out we were in Utah and so we met up for dinner and had a blast.

Four and 1/2 of my most favorite girls.  (Get it, one of them is pregnant with another girl)

Shari and Jana.  Shari's mom and Shari raised mine and Jana's kids. Now Shari teaches school and lives in Utah so she is on our list of people to see too.

Tonia and Allison. They will always be my Vegas friends, but they both live in Spanish Fork and we laughed so hard this night. 

Tricia (old roomy).  It seems like we can always pick up where we left off.

Oops out of order.  Ashy and Matt. We had to at least see him once while we were there.

 

Holly aka my very best friend.  We moved into the house across the street from her when I was 3 and that was all it took.  We were together all time since. When she comes here she has to much family to visit that it is hard to get time with her.  So, I make sure to stop and see her and we talked for hours this day. I didn't know for sure if I would really stop, but her husband who is my friend on facebook ratted me out (since Holly doesn't have a facebook).  But, I was really glad I stopped. 

THANKS EVERYONE FOR MAKING TIME FOR US!!  I LOVE YOU ALL!! 

 

Oops almost forgot a picture on my phone.  Adrian and Natalie made time to have lunch with us as we left town on Saturday.  Thanks guys we love you too. 

American Idol Day 2

Day 2 consisted of us getting there by 5:00, which was the time stated on the instructions we received the day before.  This time however we were not separated into sections, however we were “cattled inside barriers .  I am not really sure why we had to be there so early, because they had scheduled promo stuff that started right after the sun came up.  This promo stuff consisted of everyone standing on the steps of the Energy Solutions arena and yelling various things, such as “welcome to Salt Lake City” “welcome back to Salt Lake City”, “welcome to Utah”, you get the idea.  We did this for about an hour in the mugginess, good thing it was early morning and not as hot as it could have been.  I was not super impressed with the director or whoever he was, needless to say he was a little unnecessarily  grumpy with everyone.  I realize he has done this a thousand times before, but he really needed to take a chill pill.  We met the cutest couple from Preston, Idaho on this day and they were the so sweet, we are still wondering if she made it through. We are hoping so and will vote for her if she did.  After that we went inside and did some more promo stuff and watched a short video. Then the auditions began. 

The main question that everyone keeps asking is if we saw the judges.  Well, here is the process….  There were about 8 tables set up with 2 judges (voice people from the group night) and they would go in front of those judges and sing for 40 to 60 seconds and they would decide if they went to round 2.  So, that day there were 3 rounds if you make it through the 3^rd round, you get to come back and sing for the judges sometime in October.  So we don’t know who the judges are and she didn’t make it through round 1.  They did tell her she had an amazing voice and to practice singing more in public.  HAHA, I told her so, but do teenagers listen, nope.  So, we were done with the whole process by about 10 a.m. and went back to Shelby’s to sleep.

SO LOUD!!

Have you ever thought about how loud you are?  I know that is a weird question, but this week because of some changes in my life I have experienced LOUD in many new ways.

I am going to be honest, I have been overly aware of loud things most of my adult life and can’t take much commotion at all.  Some of my least favorite loud things are loud chewing, loud children in my car (my kids are super quiet in the car, but that is a story for another day), loud televisions, music and various other things that really aren’t loud but seem so loud to me.  I realized a few weeks ago that my brother may feel the same way about loud.   I was tapping my fingernails on his table and he about came unglued, I know it wasn't so much loud but maybe more annoying.  So, now this has me thinking back to our childhood and if we were not allowed to be loud, but I don't recall.  Anyway, I digress, so back to the current loud that I hear.  Some things in life really don’t have to be loud, like typing, eating, unwrapping a piece of candy, sitting in your chair, talking, did I say eating, sneezing, chewing gum, stapling, drawer closing, laughing and so many more that I never realized could be so loud. There can and should be a certain amount of consideration in all things, and I really don’t think I am super sensitive to noises either.  But, sometimes we should just stop for a minute, and ask ourselves, “am I being respectful to those around me”. 

Kinlee was a loud child and Sheila (day care person) even gave her a book once called Too Loud Lily.  She has gotten a little better, but after having my super quiet Jerika, Kinlee was a change of pace and couldn’t be as easily quieted.  My mom even tried to convince her several times that there was a button on her stomach that would help “turn her down” (didn’t work.)  However, she is not loud in an annoying way either and it is just her voice and not the things she does, which makes a huge difference. 

So, next time you are doing something that shouldn’t be loud be aware of others around you and realize that yes, you might be louder than you need to be.

Inspirational Blogging

I know I go through this phase about once a year where I want to “be an inspirational blogger”.  I know that sounds really strange and I don’t really have much to offer, but I just wish I was one of those people.  I am a huge blog stalker, which I think is a direct result of only having 2 children and a husband that is only home on weekends.  There are some days that those blogs literally pull me through my day and night of course and I am thankful for that and wish I could do that for others.  I have a very cute cousin that blogs often and she is an inspiration to me.  But, she does amazing things and I often feel like I don’t have much to offer as far as that goes. Maybe one of these days I will pull myself from my house at night and make things happen. I think right now I am in a place where I don’t feel as if I am truly needed.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want a sick husband or kids, or anything like that, but they are all 3 pretty self-sufficient right now and don’t require as much as they used to.  That being said, I am super thankful for my life right now for many reasons and I don’t really have a lot to blog about (once again not asking for stress in my life).  But, I just think it would be fun to be an inspiration through the written word.  Maybe right now I should just focus on keeping my blog updated with what we are doing in our lives.  That’s all, thanks for stopping by.