Our 4th!

For the 4th of July, we were invited to our friend's house, The Norrs, for a BBQ and swimming.

Carli showed off her swimming skills and had a blast with a pool full of girls!

Jack wrestled with the Bishop and ate everything he could get his hands on.

Then we went to the Track for a show and fireworks.
The pre-fireworks show was 4 country singer- impersonators. (Reba, Garth, Shania and Meryl Haggard).
Then the fireworks began...oooo...aaaah!

Jack was amazing! He never cried with any of the loud pops of the fireworks, but just watched them with fascination!
Bridger did this!

I don't think that he even saw or heard one firework!

Hope you had a Great 4th of July!

Auntie Terra!

Some people are born with nephews and nieces already. It will have taken me 33 1/2 years to become an aunt. But the news was much anticipated and well worth the long wait. I am so excited for my children that they will have their first cousin to play with. I can remember playing with my cousins. They lived close and we grew up like brothers and sisters. We always had a blast as kids.

Raina(4 years younger than me), Jonathan (6 years younger than me), U. Dale and A. Winnie

My cousins lived 3 blocks over and we spent so many nights at each others houses. I was bossy and mean and would play anything as long as I was in charge. I wonder how they ever put up with me.

My Aunt and Uncle were big influences in my life because they introduced the church to me. They also set such a big example to me in my life and I found myself wishing I could be crafty, creative and oh- so- elegant like my Aunt.

I hope that I deserve the "Aunt" title. It is a big thing to me and I just am counting down the days. (In fact I have a ticker on my sidebar to remind me-I'm not crazy about this or anything uh?!?).

Congratulations to the Expecting Parents!

Amy and Nathan (Jon's sis and bil)

(Just remember labor bites and Lamaze doesn't work!- epidurals are wonderful- they make you all warm and tingly...oh great, now I want one!)

What are you favorite baby names?

A Bloggers Bounty!

Sonja has introduced me to MOF (My Online Friends). It is kind of like a chatroom for LDS sisters. I am learning all kinds of things there and I LOVE it! (Ever wonder where I learned to make Carli a dress using a men's shirt- or the idea for cake- waffles?!?!) There are a few blogs that I have recently discovered and found them so cool- that I thought I would share with everyone!

Click HERE for stinkin funny (and so -cute) LDS cards. (You will find some funny ones towards the bottom of the page!)

Click HERE for $ saving coupons and free samples (I have already gotten couple of samples in the mail!)

Click HERE for Super Duper CUTE ideas for girl's hair (Carli wouldn't let me do any of these with her hair- so I will pass this awesome blog to someone who can use it!) If you do any of these on your dd... post them on your bloggie! I wanna see!!!

If you know of any cool sites.... let me know! I love technology! I am learning LOTS of little things!

Nakie Chubby Bubby

Recipe for cute pic.

1 camera

1 Nakie chubby baby

1 ordinary thing, big enough to fit baby.

These just say it all!

He is gonna "love" these when he gets older!

Happy Birthday, My Darlin' Lil' Boy!!!

My lil' Bridgie turned 4 today. He is turning into such a wonderful and loving person. He has such a happy spirit and spreads the love every chance that he gets!

What did we do to celebrate the big 0-4???

Bridger chose panda cupcakes for the big party!

Then we called up these cuties to accompany us to Chuck E. Cheese (every 4yr olds dream place)

"Yes Dallin- this is going on the blog!!!"

"I hope all your wishes and dream come true, little one!"

Beautiful Day!

One of the things that I love about living here is that we often have beautiful days (weather-wise). Today was one of those days! The evening was beautiful! Warm with a comfortable breeze!
I have lived in a place where the heat is completely past intolerable and in a place that only has 2 seasons: Winter and July! So I am in love with where we are settled! Thank You Dear Heavenly Father for this scrumptious day!

Australian Day Camp!

Nolan had cub scout day camp this week. It was a blast! He said he had a lot of fun! The theme was "The Outback!" This was right up Nolan's alley! He loved learning about the animals that live in Australia and making some neat crafts based on items that are used there.
Amy did a wonderful job setting this up! When I went to help out I was amazed by all that there was to do. (But I forgot my camera- so I will have to bum pix off of a friend!) Here's somethings that Nolan made at Camp.

Waffle- Cake Update

Can you say YUMMMMMM! So tonight we made Butter Pecan (Duncan Hines mix) cake waffles with white -chocolate- almond frosting! (The butter pecan cake waffles taste like waffles that already have the syrup mixed in them- yum!) That's like 10 lbs right there! Man- we're gonna be in trouble tomorrow!!!

Let Em' Eat Cake!!!

This is my new favorite Dessert! Take a cake mix (any flavor) and mix batter accoding to directions. Grease up the ol' waffle iron.... and you have cake- waffles! Just don't blame me for all the weight that you are gonna gain!Did I mention that they make perfect- sized portions...

and they freeze nicely?!!?

So far we have tried: Devils food, yellow, white, and angel foodcake (which didn't work very well and smelled like burnt kettle corn).

You can have your cake waffles and eat em' too!

My Dads!

My father died when I was a Jr. in high school. I was daddy's little girl and had a hard time when he left the world. But I had 16 beautiful years with him. He taught me so much and took such pride in my values. Looking back, he had such patience with us when we sometimes didn't deserve it. I wish that he could meet my children. I get so sad sometimes that they will never know him and how wonderful he was. On this father's Day, I will remember him by telling one of my favorite stories of my dad. My Dad worked as a waiter for Bally's Casino in Vegas. He went to work at 3pm and didn't come home until around midnight and we didn't get to see him after we got home from school. I remember one night we we came home from our mother's house. Dad was called into work and wasn't able to be there. We hadn't seen us much that week and I think that he missed us. We walked in and Grandpa told us that Dad had something special for us. In the corner, on a desk was a bunch of gum-drops, marshmallows and toothpicks. Dad had drawn up some diagrams of a craft for us, by making 3d structures using all those objects. He even had made some examples. I remember walking in and feeling totally amazed and loved by what he did for us. Dad was always so creative and loved doing activities with us. Even though he wasn't there to do it with us, he still thought of us through his devotion and time. I will always remember that and now I write it down so that my children can one day read it!
When the Lord closes a door, He opens a window. I never expected to have another father. When I married Jon, he came with his own Mom and Dad (who knew- hehe). I have gotten to know and love my Father in Law for his gentleness and thoughtfulness. Every conversation of ours always starts off with him asking me about the weather. It is something I have come to love and expect. I met my Fil for the first time b4 Jon and I were married. By then end of our visit, I remember that he gave me a hug and then shook Jon's hand as we were leaving. I felt so excited and special that I got a huge hug and Jon just got a handshake! I still feel special by his sweet hugs and big smile! Thanks for all you do Dad!

Happy Father's Day!

I chose this song on my playlist in memory of my father. It was one of his Favorites and I heard stories of him driving his best friend crazy by playing it over and over and over again!

Big Fish!!!

Here are the pix that I got from Aaron (Jonny's Bro) from their fishing trip at Sund's Lodge. It looks like they had a blast. I know my freezer full of halibut is happy too!!! Jon, Grandpa Paul, Aaron and Nolan

"I want to show this to Mom!"

"What's for Dinner, Hon?"

"So Dad, I was thinking... lets buy a boat!"

Here are the cute cabins that they stayed in! Nolan (and Jon) caught the big fish one night, so he got to sit in the "The Big Fish Chair"

The guys came back with the best stories and the biggest smiles on their faces!

I am so glad that they had such a blast!

Jon came home and curled up with this:

I wonder where we are going next!?

Our Canadian Experience...

I'm gonna start with day 2. (Day 1 was fun- but since we went to a food market-place - I didn't really get any good pix) On our first full day, the men left to go fishing at Sund's Lodge. (Nathan stayed behind protect the ladies! Thanx Nathan- Vancouver was a lil' scary!) (Those pix I am gonna hafta post later- Jon let me take the camera- but I will have to bum pics from his bro to post!)
On our 2nd full day, we went to Stanley Park. There we went to: The Aquarium

This is so much fun!

Under water creatures are fascinating to look at!

Is that a sea lion that Jack is cuddling with?- Cute!

We were outside watching the pregnant Beluga Whale- when we stopped for a group shot!

(We were hoping that she would pop while we were there as she was on 24 hr. watch- but no such luck- Meet the new lil' one Here!)

Then we went to see the totem poles:

Where we saw this view of an old light house:

Here is the bridge that we saw from our lunch spot!

I'm such a chicken! Elvon said that we were going to go up Quail mountain and ride in a gondola! I was really excited to ride in an exotic boat in a mountain lake. But when we got up there, I quickly realized that she meant for us to go on a sky-tram ride. They are supported by cables. (CABLES!- c'mon- really?) So, I didn't go ahead to all the fun, but told Carli to capture it on film. (I'm a good mom uh?- I was scared, but sent my children... figure that one out!) Here are a couple of the pix that she took:

On the sky-tram

Gramma Elvon

A bird trainer and her bird, Phil. Bridger put out his arm for the bird to come to him too- they said it was too cute!

They also saw lumber jacks with chainsaws that made all kind of tree- carvingsThe next morning, I could hardly get the kids up!

But we they finally got it together, we went to Victoria Island on a ferry."C'mon Aunt Amy- Isn't Carli good at taking pics?"

It was fun to be on the ferry. It was really large and had resturants and shops. (Of course, I just read my book most of the time!)Once we got there, we went to the Butchart Gardens. It was lovely. So many different flowers and landscapes to look at. This was one of my favs. It was a water show in the valley of the Sunken Garden.Carli got photo- happy!

Carli and Gramma stopped to "smell the roses"!!!

I don't have any pics for this... but we had an "experience" in Victoria. While we were in Canada, there was a tri-athalon going on. We were walking down the street looking at shops in Victoria, when all of a sudden we heard bicycle bells and whooping and hollering. I though, "Oh! The tri-althelethes are gonna ride past us" and got my camera out. All of a sudden my mil says "Oh no- they're naked." THIS rode past us. There was about 50 of them. I quickly had to hide Carli's eyes (the lil' ones were sleeping). It was one of the funniest freakin' things that I ever saw- I just Laughed hard afterward and then had a small talk with Carli- Oh! man!- only in Canada!

The Last day, we went to the Science Center and we let the kiddies play! It was tons of fun- and of course we all had to touch everything! Science is fun, Hon! That night we ate at the Macaroni Grill- I had never been there - but it was soooo good! (And it was in an old, converted mansion!)

All-in all we had a great time! I loved the European influence there in Canada. (I loved the English accents- it felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie!)

What are your plans now that summer is here?!?

Back From Canada- Eh?

We got back last night! I have a lot to do today. We had tons of fun! I am dragging along today- so we will see how much actually gets done! My baby-girl, Carli went to Utah with Jon's family for 2 weeks. I am sure gonna miss her! She is such a big helper to me! I will post more pics later today or tom.

Carli sure learned to talk "Canadian"- eh!!!

Oh! Canada- Here we Come!

Yipee! We have needed a vacation so badly! We are cheating and leaving a little b4 school is out. We are going to Vancouver, Canada. I have never been there before and am excited just to see something new (and to read books in the car on the way there!) Jonny's family is coming with us! The boys (Jon's Dad, brother, Nolan and Jon) are going fishing in a strange remote area that they are flying to (after we get to Vancouver) and the non- fishers (everyone else) is going to explore the city of Vancouver and hopefully Victoria.

We we get back we will have plenty of pix and experiences to share! But for now- here are some Canadian funnies:

A True Canadian
It's Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and a man makes his way to his seat right at center ice. He sits down, noticing that the seat next to him is empty. He leans over and asks his neighbor if someone will be sitting there. "No," says the neighbor. "The seat is empty." "This is incredible", said the man. "Who in their right mind would have a seat like this for final game of the Stanley Cup playoffs and not use it?" The neighbor says "Well, actually, the seat belongs to me. I was supposed to come with my wife, but she passed away. This is the first Stanley Cup we haven't been to together since we got married in 1967." "Oh ... I'm sorry to hear that. That's terrible. But couldn't you find someone else, a friend or relative, or even a neighbor to take the seat?" The man shakes his head "No, they're all at the funeral."


Canada VS United States
This is an actual radio conversation between a United States Navy aircraft carrier (U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln) and Canadian authorities off the coast off Newfoundland in October 1995. (The radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on 10/10/95 as authorized by the Freedom of Information Act.)

CANADIANS:Please divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
AMERICANS:Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.
CANADIANS:Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
AMERICANS:This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.
CANADIANS:No, I say again, you divert YOUR course.
AMERICANS:This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln. The second largest ship in the United States Atlantic fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers, and numerous support vessels. I demand that you change your course15 degrees north...I say again...That's one-five degrees north.... or counter-measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship!
CANADIANS:We are a lighthouse. Your call


Canadian Tourism Humour
The most unusual questions tourists have asked at information bureaus across the country.
**From Tourism Toronto, a toll free info and reservations line:
-Why do French Canadians have a different accent from other Canadians?
-How do I apply for the Canadian Express Card?
-What's this Boxing Day in Toronto, do you box on that day?
-I heard about that new law and I'd like to find out... uh, my girlfriend would like to know the best places to go topless in Toronto.
-Caller: How far is Boston from Toronto?Counselor: About 900 kilometers, or 565 miles. Caller: So if I drive using miles, it won't take me as long to get there? Is that what you're saying?
-Can I take the subway to Vancouver?
-Good afternoon, I'm entertaining some executives, and would like to know where they can ride llamas.
-What information do you have on Italy?

Have a Great Week!

I have put the Bare Naked Ladies on my playlist- as Jon has told me they are from Canada!