Mo Tab at Red Rocks.

We had a great night at Red Rocks Amphitheater listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They were amazing! The weather was fabulous and the views were spectacular. Sam and I went with my mom and dad and we all had such a good time. President Monson was in attendance which was really special. We were 47 rows up so we couldn't see him very well but he stood and waved to everyone. It is always a great feeling to know that you are in the presents of the prophet. The Choir is very different on tour than they are at General Conference. It was very entertaining and several songs gave me chills. They tour every other year so if you get the chance to see them in 2011 I highly recommend it. We saw them at the Pepsi Center in 2005 and It was worth it to see them again and it was great to be there with my parents.

Photo Tricks- Sunbursts

The following info is found on ehow.com

Have you ever seen photographs where the sun is shaped like a perfect star, with beautiful rays radiating away from a central point? This phenomenon is known as the sunburst or starburst effect and can be easily achieved by adjusting the aperture of the lens on your digital camera. All you need besides a camera is the ability to access this one manual function that is also known as f-stop. All digital SLR cameras have this ability, and many point and shoot digital cameras do as well. Look in your camera’s instruction manual to find out whether you can adjust the aperture of your lens and if you can, then read on to find out how to create this amazing effect with the sun!
Step 1
Wait for a sunny day.
Step 2
Set your digital camera’s shooting mode to either Aperture Priority Mode (often indicated with the letter A or Av) or Manual Mode (often indicated with the letter M).
Step 3
Adjust your lens aperture (also called f-stop) to the smallest opening (for example f/22 or f/36). A smaller hole allows the sun’s light to become like a sunburst or starburst. See the tips section for a more thorough explanation of how aperture is measured.
Step 4
If you are shooting in Aperture Priority Mode, then your camera will choose an appropriate shutter speed to complement your chosen f-stop. If you are shooting in Manual Mode, then you will need to choose a shutter speed yourself.
Step 5
After you have adjusted your settings, you are ready to shoot the sun and achieve the sunburst effect.

"Car"versations #3

I got to hear this little gem while driving this morning with the girls and two of their friends. Gracie's friend, Abby, is 4 years old.

Friend- "Gracie, I just learned something new."

Gracie- "What?"

Friend- "Butts have muscles."

Monday Madness

The girls started Vacation Bible School today. Then we went to the pool to swim and soak up some sun. This is my sun burnt leg. Can you see where I put sun screen and where I didn't?

Then we came home and started the High School Musical Marathon.

Well the girls started the High School Musical Marathon, I started painting my kitchen cabinets. This is what they look like now.

And this is a sneak peek of what they will look like when I am done.

And this last picture is for Nate, Bryce and McKay. We love you and miss you! Have fun with Grandma and Grandpa.

My face is pretty sun burnt too and I did use sun screen on it. I guess I got a little caught up in the whole soaking up the sun idea, but it was like the first nice sunny day we've had all summer so I just couldn't help myself.

George Washington

This is Gracie's pet rollie pollie. She named him George Washington. She made him a house out of white paper plates because George Washington has to live in the White House.

"for awhile"

I had a hard time going to sleep last night but when I did I was totally out of it, so when I woke up this morning and found Gracie in my bed I had no idea how long she had been there. I asked her "How long have you been here?" She answered, "For awhile." Then she says, "Did that remind you I something?" I had no idea what she was getting at so I said, "nooo". Then she says, in that hello, duh kind of way, "Edward and Bella". Then I got it. You know the part of Twilight where Edward and Bella are in the woods and Bella says, "How old are you?" and Edward says "17", and Bella says "How long have you been 17?" and Edward says, "for awhile". Yap, my 5 year old is quoting Twilight. That's my girl

Weekend Pictures!

Here we are at Mt. Rushmore

And at the reptile gardens.

This is "Fluffy" a 1 year old alligator,

and one of the giant tortoises "Methuselah" was celebrating his 128th birthday.

Here are some of the water park pictures.

And some shots of the long drive through Wyoming.

It worked!

We were only gone three days and half of two of those days were spent driving, but it worked! I feel refueled and like I might actually survive these summer days at home with my children. A feat that seemed rather unlikely last week. It wasn't perfect. At least 16 hours were spent driving in the car. With a DVD player that was not working. We managed to watch the first hour of four or five movies. While we were there though, things went pretty well. Mt. Rushmore was...well it was a large rock with four heads carved into it. I'm not saying that it wasn't worth seeing, it is, but we had seen it before and it hasn't changed in the last three years. The day we were there the weather was nice and we enjoyed walking the .5 miles around the presidential trail. We also visited the Reptile Gardens. It was really cool and we had a good time. The highlight of the trip was the indoor water park in our hotel. We spent lots and lots of hours there and had lots and lots of fun. It was just what I needed.

I'm getting my vacation!

Tomorrow we are taking off, heading out, hitting the road. After Sam read my blog the other day, he first bought be Chipotle for dinner then he booked a hotel in South Dakota. The hotel has a water park in it! The kids are stoked. I'm glad to be getting away. Well once I get through the laundry and the packing I'll be glad to be getting away. A least I don't have to worry about cleaning the house today. Sam took care of that last night while I was at scouts with the boys. Does it sound like maybe he owes me for something? Ya he does!

Therapy

I've been having a hard time, a really hard time. There, I said it. I'm having a really hard time. Just to be clear, this post is not a cry for help or sympathy or anything like that. Really. Thanks to Heather, I'm now having a little less of a hard time than I was before, but still a hard time. If it were possible for me to stay in bed all day I totally would. A few months ago I was good. Better than I've been in a long time. I had focus and motivation and I was pretty happy. Then things happened. Life happened. And lets face it. Life isn't easy. Life can be messy. Life is hard. I don't always handle it well. Right now I'm not handling it well. This morning when I dropped Abby off at school for her summer program I saw my friend Heather. That's what this post is really about. Heather is an amazing friend. I'm so blessed to have found her. She let me sit in the school parking lot and literally cry on her shoulder. I don't remember the last time I did that with a friend. She pointed out that as we get older it's harder to make close friends because we are so busy and friendships take a lot of work. I totally agree. Then she said that being friends with me has always been easy. I feel the same way about her. Our friendship just kind of fell into our laps. And it came at a time when I really needed it. Today I really needed it. Sooo, any way, I'll be okay. This too shall pass, and with great friends around hopefully it will pass soon.

"Take me away from here"

I want a vacation! I don't even need it to be by myself this time. The whole family can come. I'm totally fine with that. I just need a vacation. Want, need, whatever. It could be to the beach or to the mountains. Camping in tents or at a resort. Maybe camping on the beach or staying at a mountain resort, or the other way around. Lake Powell isn't until the end of August. I can't wait until the end of August. I'll lose my mind if I have to wait until the end of August. We could go to Yellowstone or Mt. Rushmore. Ooohh, maybe San Diego, or the Sand Dunes. I've never been to Florida, we could drive to Florida. Something relaxing. That's really my only requirement. I just want to be with my kids and my husband and not think about cleaning the house or making dinner or getting the kids to do their chores.
We've had a rough start to our summer. It hasn't really warmed up yet. In fact some days have been down right cold, and I'm not adjusting well to the loss of freedom I'm experiencing with all of the kids being home all day. I think that maybe a little family vacation might be just what I need to reset my attitude and start enjoying my summer. I don't know. It would be worth a shot though. Right? Right? I mean it couldn't hurt.
By the way, Sam, could you bring home take-out? I'm thinking Chipotle, chicken burrito bowl. You know what I like.

RAIN

I love the rain because...

it turns everything green and fresh and alive,


the sky is amazing when a storm is rolling in,


and my kids love it.

I like being the crazy neighbor who lets
her kids run down the street in the rain.
I just hope that someday my kids will remember how cool I am.