Black Rock

Yesterday after church- we went out for family fun time. We ended up at Black Rock, on the shore of the great Salt Lake. It was a bit chilly- and we just threw rocks in the water, climbed to the top, and commented on the salty, smelly water- but we all had FUN!
I was a dingbat and forgot the camera- so I found a page on line and it had an interesting history! I just thought it was a cool rock on the way home! I think we are gonna go again with our camera- on a warmer day!

http://www.twc-transcribing.com/greatsaltlake/BlackRockSunsetBeach/Blackrock000.htm

In case you were wondering....

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.ogg (help·info), also spelled -koniosis) is, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, "a factitious word alleged to mean 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust found in volcanoes' but occurring chiefly as an instance of a very long word."^[1]. It was coined to serve as the longest English word and is the longest word ever to appear in an English language dictionary. This 45-letter word, referred to as P45^[2], first appeared in the 1939 supplement to the Merriam-Webster New International Dictionary, Second Edition^[3]. It is listed in the current edition of several dictionaries.^[4] A condition meeting the word's definition is normally called silicosis.


It is not the longest word ever however. I am sure my dad can pronounce this word.

It was a strange day- so a strange post is fitting.

A GREAT Easter!

We had a LOVELY day. Fantastic speakers in Church! (really!) The weather was so beautiful. Had a GREAT dinner, a fun egg hunt, and best of all- WONDERFUL COMPANY!

Dave's parents came down bearing armfuls of delicious cookies and YUMMY scalloped potatoes. ( I commented that she had made REAL fresh potatoes instead of frozen hashbrowns- and she said " We thought about frozen, but you were worth the work." awww. So Nice!!!) Thanks for coming!!!

I even made my VERY FIRST Pineapple upside down cake. It was great...in fact... I wonder if we have any left?!

(Dave far in the background, Kira, Jordan, Grandma, and Nicole)

Aladins Castle is no more

Aladin's Castle was the largest arcade in Cache Valley and remain so through out my childhood. It had such a draw from me that a friend and/or brother and I would ride our bikes 15 miles one way, into town to hang out and play Arcade games until our money ran out. Going back to an arcade even as an adult (child in a larger body) still brings back a large amount of excitement and memories that only an arcade can. The sounds, the smell, the lights, the 360X480 resolution graphics. it just can't be duplicated even with the latest and greatest of technology.

Why do I bring this up? Gabrielle and I took Jordan and our nephew Eli, to an arcade last night. we paid our admission handed out the bags of nickels and we went to find our games of choice to play to our hearts content. I tried a couple of newer games, found some old classics and after about 15 minutes I ran into Jordan who had a whole hand full of tickets. and had torn through his nickels in about 10 minutes. This is from the kid who learned to add and subtract from counting money and can find coins by smell. so putting money in a machine isn't his first choice in how to spend it. but when a game to get tickets lasts only a few seconds and your goal is 600 tickets why wait! I was really enjoying an old classic Smash TV (big money big prizes) and could have played it for an hour or more on the same amount of money. longer if my childhood skills had remained intact. It almost makes me sad to see that an arcade to my kids means I hope I can get that cheap toy and a new game holds no thrill.

I'm not sure what causes the polar opposites for entertainment at an arcade, I know it's not the games because they play the same games with the same old graphics on our computer. Perhaps its raised from starting out with an Xbox as your first gaming console.

An arcade for me is about the game, starting from the beginning rather than continuing so you get more out of your money. trying to beat the game or get further than you did last time. Not a plastic toy that I cloud buy at wal-mart. It saddens me to say it but I think that the Aladins castles of the world are fading fast, and soon it will be hard to find an arcade. why would a kid ride a bike to an arcade and hang out with friends if they can do it from home.

No more teachers no more books...

Remember when you were a child, and the focal point of your life was the last day of school? ALL year, you would look forward for that warm day, near the first of June, when you left the halls of your school for an entire summer. Shorts, swimming, flip-flops, PBJ's on the fly, sleepovers, camp trips, staying up late, bikes, skates, tents, pools, sleep- all of it- It consumed the whole last month of school. Gave us purpose.

Now we are grown-ups. Summer vacation is called Friday. We look froward to it all week. Warm? Who cares! Sleep, books, PJ's all day, NOT eating on the fly, movies, popcorn, relaxation. Gives us purpose.

Today is a very welcomed Friday! It has been a long week. Nothing serious, no problems- Waking up at 3:20 wears a girl out, and all I can do is cheer FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY!!!

YaY Weekend!

Moving Mitchell (aka: Dad)

In the past 6 weeks we have packed and moved my dad from Ogden to here and back again. Its all been for the best on every move. We have worn ourselves out (especially my Dad, who has a progressive form of MS) I wanted to share one tidbit of what could be the novel : Moving Mitchell.



Yesterday we had almost finished packing the two mini vans- JAMMED packed. We had just put his queen sized bed on top of his van and were trying to strap it down for the drive. Dad on one side of the van , Dave and I on the other. Something at top happened when I realized I had been whipped by the fully stretched bungee cord in the back. The pain was horribly sharp andpainful. It knocked the words from my mouth as I staggered away trying not to cry. Dave was calling to me asking if I had been hit and running to me. I finally resolved to start to cry from pain when I turned around and saw my dad on the ground face down and blood. I cried out that I was fine and ran to my dad. ( my back pain diminished to nothing at the sight of him) I did not know if he was conscience or not- calling to him he assured me he was ok. Blood pouring from his head I ran for a towel seeing his hands shaking from the pressure he was applying to his head. I drove him to the ER. ( a huge 4 blocks hee hee) 10 staples later, we left fit as fiddles and laughing from the scare. We proceeded to HIS birthday party at Jessica's with his thumper of a headache.

(I am fine- I have a monster bruise with a knot the size of my fist on my back. It is the color of a red rider wagon and I hurt so badly- I am having a hard time standing and sitting- but will be ok with some Advil.)

As a side note- the party was fun! ( great great soup!) and we took some FUNNY pictures of Dave and Timm in this funny cubby Jess has in her new house. Enjoy!

Have you ever heard...

Scheherazade: symphonic suite? Last night we were fortunate to go to the Orchestra at Temple Square's Spring performance. It was such a glorious thing! They were conducted by a quest conductor who is the conductor of a Symphony in Holland. ( a nice big one, but Of course I have already forgotten the name...when I get the program out of the car- I can update.) They played "Air" from Bach, and parts of Beethoven's 7th. (yah not really my favorite Beethoven) And ended with Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade: symphonic suite. Its from the romantic period, basically 1001 Arabian Nights. (You know the one... where the sultan would marry a new virgin over and over and kill them the next morning. Then he marries the princess who tells him a bed time story- but does not finish it, until the next night then starts a new one...until he pardons her from death? See! I knew you knew it!)
I had heard bits and pieces before, but this was so incredible. The beautiful violinist hit the highest possible note and carried and carried it to perfection, sending chills through the perfect acoustically sound room. It was so moving- I wish I could share!

wonderful night, wonderful music- nice to be edified that way sometimes.

6 things I want to write about.

My Nephew Skyler, has tagged my brother in law, Shawn, who in turn tagged me. Thank you?

• One. Nicole is my 12 year old. She is an amazing girl. When she was born and I looked into her eyes, I knew that we KNEW each other. We were once the best of friends and we knew everything there was to know about one another. She looked at me saying the same thing to me. We are so much alike its not funny. We have the same dumb sense of humor. the same temper, and the same stubborn streak. We drive each other bonkers because we are so much alike. Yet we are great friends. One thing of interest- Nicole has a knack for cooking. She can make food with great flavor. Her scrambled eggs do not need added salt of pepper, her baked goods are the perfect golden brown, and she can already tell when a recipie "needs something."

• Two. Jordan is my 10 year old son. He is always the helper. the one who sees a need and tries to fill it. He is a crazy kid who has no need to read fiction. " What do I want to read about something fake for? I need to learn something." He reads encyclopedias, fact and trivia books, and scores and scores of science books. One interesting things about Jordan- By the time he was 3- I was convinced he was the worst child on the planet, and may be the death of me. He was always naughty, he would NOT go to get, he would be bouncing off walls at 2 in the morning, and then be back at it by 6:30. That was about the time we found out he had sleep apnea. After a sleep study (he woke up for that 70 times a night) we learned that this little boy had never really had a good night of sleep! He has surgery and within a month he was a totally different person. A sweet delightful person who was not the crazy terror we had known before.

Three. Kira is my 6 year old daughter. She is a ball full of spunk! she makes us cry with laughter on a regular basis. she is the biggest "snugglebug" in the entire world- and no matter what else is going on- she will worm her way onto your lap by the end of a movie! Kira loves to draw and read, and play, and help, and mother, and make messes, and organize, and sleep.

• She is the most well rounded kid I have ever met. A fun fact about Kira- She has the biggest mouth ever! EVER! It was the first thing I noticed about her. Because of this mouth, she has the cutes funniest and loudest cry of anyone I know- and the cute , sweetest, most infectious grin of anyone I know. 3 cheers for big mouths!
• Four. Bauer is our Dog. He is a papered mini Schnauzer who is almost the size of a standard schnauzer. I am convinced that he is much like Clifford- the big red dog. He grew and grew because we love him so much. I never thought I could love a dog as much as I love him. He is Mr. Important around here who thinks he is a human. He will ignore his food all day until we are all sitting down to dinner- where he will eat at his bowl. Our dinner = his dinner.
• Five. I love my extended family and friends to a fault. I get disappointed when I can't spend time with them, and take it as a personal offense if they do not want to spend time with us. I try to call as much as possible- but will stop calling when I feel like I am making all the effort. See- Fault. That is not the most kind or grown up way- maybe its a defense mechinism.
  
• Six. I have HORRIBLE kitchen things! I love love love to cook- but my kitchen stuff is garbage. I have 1 cookie sheet, 1 cake pan, no rubber scraper, duller than death knives, mixing bowls ? What are those? The list goes on and on... I actually had only one pot until I moved here (Thank you Dad!) I would cook then dump to make another item. I would LOVE a great kitchen, but when the money is there- I see my kids need shoes, Dave needs new work clothes, the house needs new floors- whatever- yah so I have a terrible kitchen...But I can cook- so is it that big of a deal?

Thank you for the chance to share- Anyone who wants to be tagged please do it! I will have to harrass you all if I do not see some posts soon. :P

Congrats to James and Jessica!

Silly. I did not take one picture of the house! On our way home from visiting our parents, Dave and I stopped to see Jess and James in their new home! It their first home and they just finished moving in last night! Its so darling! It was built in the 50s? maybe? IT look so nice and big for them! I love it- even some of the funny remodeled in the 70s quirks! ( I will HAVE to get a picture of the diagonal wall! Its Awesome!!) We are sooo excited for them!

When we arrived they decided they needed dinner so we ran off with them. Thanks Jess and James for including us! I am very grateful for them and my family who wants to stay close. It just takes a little effort- our relationships are all we take with us.

Everyone except Mark & Timm...for a good reason!

This weekend we spent time with family, and took sooo many pictures, I have 74 that I can't post. But I wanted to post one of everyone. This is a picture of my beautiful sisters.Sam and her mommy after her blessing. She smiles so cute. I think she looks a lot like Mark.
Jack LOVES Samantha. He is a mighty cute muffin himself!
Nicole, Hollee, and Alison. James with his usual monster look!







Some one who does not know how to strike a pose. (and someone should tell her to do a root touch up! Maybe she will see this!)
and...someone who does!
BRaxton- who always have the sweetest smile.










Kira, Andrew, and Eli playing with toys.





Last...who would be sneaking off with a wallet?!



No pictures of Mark were taken. EXCEPT one which he would kill me if I posted it! Timm on the other hand would love for me to post the ones Dave took of him, however I love you all and know you do not want to see close ups of his belly.

You are welcome.