What do the 'Weather People' know anyways?!

Sometimes there are no words for Utah weather. If you like something different every day, Utah is the place for you. If you like anything close to a normal weather pattern and normal seasons, maybe you should put a big black X over Utah on your "Where to Move" list! Wondering what brought such spite towards the weather and the poor people who predict it? Well let me just tell you!

"THE BLIZZARD"
So the weather people (by the way, I'm not even sure who these "people" are) predicted a huge blizzard that was coming to Utah. They predicted white-out conditions, ice on roads, and inches of snow. They also suggested no travel and for businesses to let employees out in time to travel home before the storm started. So that's exactly what happened. People spent 2 days preparing for this storm that was going to be coming our way. Fuzz (Meriam) and I were so excited! We couldn't wait for the weather to change. I mean, they were making such a big deal out of it that we assumed it had to be good, right? WRONG! At least for us. We waited and waited and it never came. We thought it was starting. The temperature dropped and it started to snow a little, and then it stopped and that was the blizzard for us. We were so disappointed. But don't worry. I still got to experience the blizzard. For some reason it really didn't come past the point of the mountain. Early the next morning (ok, it was like 7, but that seems early for me) I had to drive to Riverton to go to a training for work. So I left a little early to give me some time, and my drive to the point of the mountain wasn't bad. The roads were dry to about Lehi and then they were just wet. But when I got to the point of the mountain there was seriously a line where the snowing and icy roads started. It was crazy. It was wet and slushy and icy and slick. So even though I begrudged the weather people for predicting a blizzard that never came to my house, I was at least a little happy that I got to see it a little without really experiencing it. And that was our blizzard experience.

NEXT...

"SOME SNOW"
That's how it was forecast...as a snow storm. I didn't even know it was coming. I was walking through work on Saturday and a nurse asked me if I was ready for the storm. I asked what storm because I had heard nothing about it, and she told me some snow was coming. That night I watched the weather and they said some snow was coming, but they never warned people. Well, they should have. I have to be to Bountiful on Sunday mornings at 0900 am. I usually leave my house about 7:50 and I get to work a little early. Well this Sunday morning grandpa knocked at my door at about 0650 and told me I should probably get up right then because it was snowy outside and it was going to take me longer to get to work. I thought he was being over-dramatic (that sometimes happens with old people) so I got up and went to look out the window. And to my surprise, we had about 8 inches of snow and it was still coming down. So grandpa went out to shovel and I started getting ready for work. I left for work by 0715 and didn't get there until 0910. And it was the scariest 2 hours ever!! I literally got to work and said a prayer of gratitude that I made it alive and unharmed. I have never been so scared while driving ever in my life, and I've been driving for 11 years. It was awful! When I left my house the city plows were out, but we don't really live on a "big street" so there was no way they had come down our road or the roads close to my house yet. But when I got to the road that led to the freeway the road was plowed and salted, so I figured maybe I was being paranoid and it wasn't too bad. And then I got on the freeway and my dance with the death started. There are no words to say how bad it was. I don't know if the plows had been on the freeway yet, but it sure didn't look like it. (Finally as I was driving through Salt Lake I saw 4 plows out on the freeway, but they were all going South and I was going North.) I drive 50 miles each direction to work. I did not drive more than 30 miles an hour the whole way there, and that was too fast most of the time. At one point a car in front me when into a spin and about 1 second later my car slid from the far left lane across all 4 lanes and ended up in the 5th lane which is the carpool lane. And there were too many times to count that I had no traction...I could push on the gas or brake and nothing happened...I was at the mercy of the road. There were 3 times when I came within an inch of slamming into the guard rail, and about 7 times that the car next to or behind me or myself would spin out and come within inches of hitting each other. And once I finally made it to Bountiful and got off the freeway, I almost crashed into a light pole and I think it was only by the mercy of Heaven that I didn't. I still don't understand how my car stopped without hitting the pole. Never before in my life have I been so scared. There were several times when I almost pulled over and called my boss to tell him I couldn't make it. The only reason I didn't do that was because I was too afraid to pull over because I knew I would be stuck, and being stuck on the side of the road was the least safe place to be with all the cars sliding and spinning on the road.

So I finally made it to work and called my dad and grandpa to tell them I was alive (they were both worried about it). I didn't even get there in time to unlock the door. Thank goodness the nurses know I drive from Utah County and opened the door for me because they figured I was stuck somewhere on the snowy roads. And then, I had to shovel. We have people who come and plow our parking lots and shovel our walks, but they do several IHC facilities and until they make it to us it's my responsibility. So I was out there in the snow shoveling the walks and the stairs and the ambulance entrance and the wheelchair ramps and the employee entrance. Let me just say this for the record...I am not a snow shoveling type of person. I have brothers and boy cousins, so that was never one of my jobs. I have no idea how much salt to put on the sidewalks or anything like that. And I'm pretty sure I hate it. But I did it and then had to keep doing it about every hour for the rest of my shift due to the continuing snow and the fact that the shovelers had come once and weren't coming back until the evening. And then, when I FINALLY got the walks and everything clean and it FINALLY stopped snowing, the stupid snowplow guy came through and pushed all the snow from the parking lot right in front of the main stairs, the ambulance entrance and the wheelchair ramp. So then I was stuck trying to shovel piles of dirty snow out of the way. Whew! Sounds exhausting, right? Never have I been so sad to have to leave work though, even after all of that. Now I must admit, my drive home was better because the roads had been plowed, but by time I went home the slush and water had started to freeze on the roads, so it was no better. It was so awful and made me wonder how smart I really am to work in Bountiful through the winter season. Hello, I'm pretty sure I'm in more danger driving to work than I am actually being at work, even if there are bad guys!

So those were the 2 storms...the blizzard which was like 100 snowflakes and nothing else, and the little snow storm which turned out to be the scariest storm I can remember in awhile. (Now I know, if any of you live in the places that actually got the blizzard you might think I'm crazy, but I didn't so I feel like it's ok for me to complain about it!) *deep breath* I am just trying to pretend like the nice weather people haven't forecast another snow storm later this week...right in the middle of my 5 work days. Blech!!

Ok, now that you've listen to my whole self-tragic story, I thought I'd show you a few pictures of the said "snow storm" that scared me. And a few other pictures that I thought were nice. :) Hey, it's my blog so I can do what I want, right? (And just for the record, I stole all of these pics off the KSL website. I took some pictures here but I'm having some camera issues, so when I fix it I'll post those too...with a much shorter story, I promise!

This is a picture of the Salt Lake LDS Temple with the snow on the trees. Looks so serene. If only the snow was always this pretty!

Here is what pretty much all of Northern Utah looked like. I think there was anything from 5 inches to like 17 inches of snow accumulation in Northern Utah (not counting the mountains) depending on where you lived. We get more than most of the rest of Orem/Provo because we live up close to the mountain/canyon.

It all looks so pretty when you're at home and don't have to go out in it!

There needs to be about 100 more of these than there were. Ok, I'm sure there are a ton, and the news said they dropped several hundred tons of salt just in Salt Lake, so I'm sure there was salt and sand everywhere, but when you're driving on snowy roads you can't help but wonder where the plows are...

Yes my friends, there was definitely enough snow to use a snow plow. Maybe I should tell the clinic to invest in one of these...it would make "shoveling" more easy! :)

This look at the roads really doesn't do it justice. You can see that there is still snow and you can't really see the asphalt, but it looks so much less scary in pictures!

Ok, this one does it a little more justice. You would think that having lived in Utah my whole life I would be more used to it, but I have never really had the need to drive that far in the snow, ever, until I started this job.

And this is pretty much what my whole commute looked like, along with white knuckles and a terrified look on my face! Let me just say that I have never been so excited to have a few days off work! And the funny thing is, I love the winter, just not when I have to drive in it!

Thanksgiving

Today I am grateful for...

*My job, even when I get grumpy that I have to work on Thanksgiving and then get stuck an hour late waiting for some lady to get her kid to pee so we could finish her tests and get her out so the employees could leave and I could set the alarm.

*My family, even when they give me a headache and I'm rude to them because they didn't answer their phone so I had to get out of the car and freeze to do a job they could have done if they had only answered their phones.

*My friends, even though I pick fights with them sometimes because I say the wrong thing because I let myself get annoyed at my family and job and need someone to take it out on and they are the easy target.

*My car, even when it doesn't always work and I think the tires are flat so I have to borrow my grandpa's car that has so much clutter in it that it throws me into a total OCD fit and I have to take a few deep breaths before coming home only to find out it was ice on my tires.

*A home, even when it was filled with people who wouldn't stop talking and even when it's so cold I think I'm living in a freezer and there is ice on the inside of my bedroom window that I have to scrape off like it's my car just to see outside.

*The beautiful world, that I get to see alot of during my 2 hour minimum commute every day for 5 days a week and even when enjoying the beauty sometimes means trying to stay safe among all the crazy people out there.

*The church, even when I haven't been able to go for about 3 months and don't really know anyone except the old people my grandparents sit by and my home/visiting teachers and the bishopric.

*My scriptures, even though sometimes I choose not to read them or read them and don't really understand them and especially the new scriptures my bishop gave me as a gift for being "inactive" and so I remember the ward knows I don't go to church.

I know it sounds like I'm complaining, but I actually do find joy and humor in these things. Nothing beats driving an hour and a half to and from work on Sundays listening to church music and just enjoying life and then being totally cut off my a car who almost makes me crash. I find it ironic how there can be so much bad and crazy and weird in the same place there is so much good. And if my life were perfect it would be totally boring and I would be missing out on alot of blessings and alot of lessons. My life really is good and I really do have so many things to be grateful for.

I have health insurance. I have a job. I have a car. I have clothes. I have coats and gloves. I have blankets and a bed to lay down in at night. I have family who cares (sometimes too much). I have friends who don't give up on me even when sometimes they should. I have the church. I have prayer as a way to communicate with my Heavenly Father. I have a bishop who won't forget about me even when I don't make it to church often. I have school. I have hobbies. I have my health. I have my life.

I hope you all remember the things you have in life and find time to be grateful for them. I know sometimes it seems like we are in the gutter, but there is always someone who has it worse. And just think about how awesome the world would be if we all found the good in our lives and then helped those who are struggling to find the good in theirs.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

My tiny little problem with a REALLY BIG BUG!!

So I had what some might call a "situation" today. Let me tell you about it.

It all started when I went to work. Oh, if only I had stayed home! So I was walking around the halls, deterring non-existent bad guys from committing some type of unknown crime, and then I saw it.

And it was scary!

And it was gross!

And it was BIG!

It was a humongous bug that looked like it was part fly and part monster with legs and antlers and scary bug eyes. (For the sake of this story, we can call him Hank.) So for those of you who don't know, I have a HUGE fear of bugs. And the moment I laid eyes on Hank...I knew...he must go.

Oh, but how do I make him go? How do I get rid of Hank the monster-fly??

Smush him, right?! Well, easier said than done. Hank turned out to be the kind of bug who jumps and then flies around a little and then leaps and buzzes. And every time he stopped he would turn and look at me with his gross monster eyes. I kept trying to smush him, but he was too fast for me. And the more I tried to smush, the more he jumped around.

And he was getting angry.

And everybody hates an angry Hank.

But then he made his mistake. He turned his eyes the other way for just a second. And what did I do in that second? That's right folks. I stepped on him. And I smushed him. Poor Hank was no more.

Well, kind of.

There lay Hank, in all his smushed monster bug glory, with his gross bug eyes looking at me through their death.

Now, the only thing I hate more than bugs, is having to touch a bug with a tissue. It doesn't matter if they're alive or dead. I hate that you can feel their little bug bones breaking. But I'm the security guard. I protect against bad guys. If I can stand up to bad guys the least I can do is pick up a bug in a tissue, right?!

WRONG!!

I went and got a tissue, but I just couldn't talk myself into wiping up poor Hank. But I couldn't leave him laying smushed on the tile floor, right?

Well, wrong again! I left him.

I had every intention of going to ask one of the nurses who is less afraid of bugs to come wipe up Hank for me, but they were busy, so I didn't. So Hank kept "sleeping" on the floor.

Well, my job of deterring bad guys from committing unknown crimes involves me walking through the clinic for pretty much my whole shift. That's 8 hours.

Now, let me give you a little time line:
0900 I get to work
0930 I smush Hank
5pm I go home

So for those of you doing the math, if I left Hank laying on the floor until I went home he would be there for 7 1/2 hours. But no tough security officer is going to leave a HUGE smushed bug on the floor of a health clinic for that long, right?

Wrong...yet again!

And every time I walked past Hank I would look at him, and he would look at me with his monster bug death eyes, and I would gag a little and make a yucky face, and then I would walk on by. Yes folks, I left my monster bug friend Hank laying smushed on the floor for 7 1/2 hours until the next security guard (who thankfully was a boy who is not afraid of monster bugs such as Hank) got to work and could wipe him up with a tissue for me.

See my tiny little problem I had with a REALLY BIG BUG?!?!

RIP Hank 11/20/10
x[

A road trip to Vegas! (Belated...of course!)

In August I was going down to Vegas for a few days. I was supposed to be testing for a job with LVMPD, but at the very last minute I decided not to do it. I just didn't have a good feeling about it. But I already had time off work and money saved up for the trip, so I decided to go anyways. I am so glad I did! It was so much fun. And I didn't want to travel alone, so I took Meriam with me. We had so much fun. There were times when we laughed until we were crying. It was an awesome road trip even though it was like 1000 degrees! (Ok, it was only 105 degrees...95 in the middle of the night, but it felt hotter than that!) So here are some pictures of our trip. We mostly just did alot of walking and sight-seeing! :D

All of these pictures with bugs and flowers were taken in the Bellagio. I love the atrium area that they decorate. And it smelled amazing! We have tons more pictures than this, but most of them are on Meriam's camera and computer. So this has to be good enough for now. At least it's a post, right?! :P

This is a first!

Wow! This is total a first! I have never gone a month without 2 or more posts since I started blogging, and then apparently I fell of the face of the earth in August. Only 1 post in August and ZERO in September AND October?!? And already it's half way through November and I'm finally just posting now?! Wow...slacker doesn't even begin to describe me! I know these are such lame excuses, but I have been so busy! I work 5 days a week right now, and I work them all in Bountiful. For those of you who don't know where that is, it's an hour away (each direction) IF the traffic and weather are perfect (something that rarely happens) so I feel like half my life now is spent commuting. (Don't worry about the winter coming, I'm pretending like it's never going to snow on a day I have to drive. A girl can have her dreams, right?!) By time I get home from work 3 days a week it's after midnight and I usually am not in much of a blogging mood. The other 2 days (my weekends) I get home by 6 in the evening, but then I usually have to cook dinner and get all my laundry and chores done. And my 2 days off each week? Usually spent babysitting. So I'm very happy and I LOVE my job. But I just haven't found much time for blogging. I'm going to try to be better. I get on the internet at least once a week to check my email, so I am going to try to post at least something little when I'm on the computer. We'll see how it goes. No promises! :)

So I don't have anything new to report lately. And even if I did, my head is a little foggy right now with what I swear is the worst head cold I have had in a year. I do have some pictures I'll post, but I'll do them in their own posts so I feel better about blogging lately! :P

I had a few funny things happen to me at work though that I'll share. I think most of you know, but for those of you who don't, I'm a security officer. I am "stationed" out of IMED (the IHC hospital in Murray) but my team isn't at the hospital. We are at the corporate offices, insurance and billing buildings, and the health clinics. I work all my shifts at the Bountiful Clinic. They have a pharmacy, lab/radiology, doctor offices and Instacare/Kidscare. When I'm there usually only the Instacare/Kidscare is open, but on the weekends the Pharmacy is open for a bit. Bountiful is a pretty small town and usually I don't have any problems. Mostly I spend my shifts just walking around patrolling the parking lots and lobby.

Funny story #1... One day this guy came in with his mom who was the patient. The guy was in his 30's. When his mom went back to be seen by the doctor, this guy stayed in the lobby. As I was walking through, he stands up and comes over to me. And he says "It's a good thing I'm not in a fighting mood. Because I could take you down with you just being a girl security officer and all." At first I thought he was kidding, so I just ignored him and walked away. Then after his mom came out and they were leaving he came back over to me and started walking around me looking at me like I was at a museum or something. Then he says "Are you real?" I said "Excuse me?" And he said "I just didn't know that there was such a thing as a GIRL security officer. Why would ANYBODY EVER hire a girl, when they could just hire a MAN?!?" And then he walked away! Can you believe it? I was like in shock that this random guy first tells me he could beat me up and then tells me he thinks I'm stupid and they would be better off with a girl. And as he walks away he says "What do they think she's going to do to a bad guy, 'girl punch' him and hope he runs away? Ha!" So I said (to myself of course...) "I'm pretty sure I can take down ANY man, and once he's down, there are about 6 girl nurses in the back who would be more than happy to 'girl punch' him while he's down." And then I walked away. I know, I probably shouldn't have said anything back to him, but seriously? Who says to the security officer that it's a good thing he's not in a fighting mood because he could totally beat me up?

Funny story #2... I was walking outside in the parking lot one day checking the exterior doors. There is one on the East side that is right out next to the sidewalk. As I was walking to check the door I see this dirty, scruffy looking guy walking towards me. He walks right up to me and asks "Hey, can I bum a cigarette off you?" I said "I'm sorry, but I don't have any. I don't smoke" And this guy says "WOW!!! Seriously? Because you TOTALLY look like a smoker!" So I said "Nope, sorry. Not a smoker." And he says "WOW! Interesting!" And just walks off giving me this look like he just can't believe that I'm not a smoker. Ha Ha! I don't know where all these people come from, but they sure are interesting. About as interesting as the guy I saw waiting for the bus with his horse. Yep, that's right. He was standing at the bus stop, waiting for the bus, with his full size horse with his reigns and his cowboy hat. Such a funny place! :)

Well, that's about all I've got to share in this post. But please come back to my blog soon (if there are any of you who still read it with my 3 month hiatus) because I promise there will be more posts! :)

Busy, Busy!

I can't believe it's been a whole month since I've posted anything. That is SO not like me! It's the longest I've ever gone without posting something! Life has just been so crazy lately. I have been working 5 swing shifts a week and that requires 5 nights of my week walking around being a security officer and not blogging. I don't really have a good excuse as to why I haven't blogged on my 2 days off each week other than I'm just too tired to do it! :) I keep telling myself that I will download my latest pictures so I can blog something, but I don't do the pictures and it all goes downhill from there!

Work is going amazing! I seriously love it and still can't believe I got hired. I'm not such a huge fan of the commute most days...seeing how it adds around 1 1/2-2 hours total to my shift each day, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to have this job!

There hasn't been alot going on other than work lately. I was able to make it to Idaho for a few days for our family reunion and Meriam and I just took a quick 3 day trip to Vegas to chill and visit family. Those were nice (and needed) vacations! And I have this whole week off work! I worked Sunday night and now don't work again until Tuesday...so 8 days off! I'm hoping to catch up on reading blogs, catch up on blogging myself and catch up on so many other things! I've made a list of things to do and now I just need to start crossing things off and see how far I make it.

Most exciting thing I've done today? I made banana bread with Fuzz and Gus and I FINALLY cleaned my room! I feel so much better about life now that my room is clean. And eating banana bread as a treat doesn't hurt much either!

Oh, guess what? Most of you know my little brother Russell and his wife Marie have moved to Guatemala. They have been down there about 2 months now and they are running a community center. The other day Russell called to talk to my grandpa. I knew something was up because he doesn't call often since it costs 3 cents a second to call here. After my grandpa hung up the phone he told us what had happened. Apparently a guy on the street came up to Russell, pulled out a knife and told Russ to give over everything he had of worth. The guy took Russ's backpack and looked in it taking his expensive camera and some other things. He then took Russ's wallet. Russell told us he didn't have any cash in his wallet but he had some credit cards. So the robber took his credit cards and happened to grab his temple recommend too. As he was looking at what he had taken he notice the temple recommend and asked Russell if he was a Mormon. Russell said he was and the robber said "Oh, I don't want to rob a Mormon" and gave Russell back ALL of his things. Can I just say how grateful I am that Russell and Marie are living right? I'm so grateful they are being watched over. I'm grateful that Russell is worthy to carry his temple recommend, because without it we don't know what might have happened. I'm grateful that this robber, for whatever reason, has respect for Mormons. I don't know if he was treated nicely by a member once or if he just knows about the church or what, but Russell was kept safe because this guy had respect for Mormons. What a HUGE blessing. The prayers being said on behalf of Russell and Marie since they've left have been answered. So thank you to all of you who have kept them in your prayers. We love you and thank you!

I guess that's now for all. I will try my best to post more before I go back to work! :)

Slacker!

I have been such a slacker at blogging lately...both posting and reading others blogs. It's not like I've been super busy, just super lazy apparently. I promise some new posts are coming...and I'll try to make them exciting! :)

So here is a little run-down on what has been going on in my life the last few weeks (and what you can look forward to reading about in future posts)...

I got a new job! I am a security officer for IMC (the IHC hospital in Murray) and my first official day is tomorrow! I am so excited and it is such an answer to my prayers!

I turned 27 and celebrated with my family over the course of 3 days. It was low-key but fun and I have some awesome goals for this year of my life.

We celebrated the 4th of July!

I made an ADORABLE Pocahontas outfit for baby Katherine (her mom and I spent an afternoon making it) and I have the cutest picture of our work! :)

Well, I'm sure that more has happened but I can't think of anything specific. Life has been kind of quiet lately and I've enjoyed it. Sometimes it's nice to have a break from the "demands" of life and just not have anything to worry about. But tomorrow everything changes. I start working full time and so things will be a little busier. I'm not sure my schedule yet, but I am promising myself (in front of all my friends) that I will get caught up on my blog this week. (I'm hoping if it's in writing that I'll be more likely to do it! =P I guess we'll see!)

My New Calling

I got a new calling a few weeks ago in church. I am a Nursery Teacher! I have seriously loved every second of it so far! We have the cutest kids and they are so smart. I love the things kids say and I love how close to Heavenly Father they are. They say the sweetest things and truly have such sweet and innocent testimonies. It has been so fun for me to have a calling in the primary. I went to Young Adult Wards right after graduating from high school and hadn't been to a family ward until I moved in with my grandparents. So I was excited to have a calling out of Relief Society! It has been awesome and it makes me so much more excited to go to church each Sunday!

Backstreet Boys Concert

A few weeks ago I went to the Backstreet Boys concert! Lori bought Meriam tickets for her birthday. They bought 4 so that Meriam and Lori could both take a friend. At the last minute Lori's friend had to back out, so they invited me. I was so excited. It was the first "real concert" I'd ever been to other than the Beach Boys concert when I was really little. So it was me, Lori, Meriam and her friend Zyanya. It was so much fun. I don't think a girl is ever too old for Backstreet Boys! :)
Me and Zyanya

Lori and Meriam

THE BACKSTREET BOYS!! =P

They were the "big thing" when I was in high school so it was fun to reminisce!

They were so good and I'm glad I got to go see them!

Lori's Remodel

I mentioned several weeks ago that Grandpa, Rickey and I were remodeling both of Lori's bathroom. It took us a 3 weeks and was ALOT of hard work! It was such a fun experience though. I learned so much about construction and patience. And I learned that I never want to be a contractor or construction worker! :) Anyways, I thought I would post some pictures of before, during and after. I stole these from Lori's facebook because she was the only one smart enough to remember to take pictures!

This is before...white walls, white porcelain tile floor and a very old sink (which is kind of hidden).
This is after 1 of the walls and most of the floor was torn out.

Here is the picture with NOTHING in the bathroom but the bathtub (which shortly after this was put on it's side on the middle of the room), grandpa (who is standing in the cellar between the floorboards) and the floorboards and studs. I remember thinking during this stage that we were never going to finish!

Here is the after picture of Lori's bathroom. I couldn't find a before. But everything is new...the floor (which I did myself and you can kind of see) the toilet, the walls and wall color, the mirror (which is a medicine cabinet that grandpa and I recessed into the wall) the rack and the vanity.

And an after of the hall bathroom...new walls and wall color, toilet, sink/vanity, medicine cabinet, slate tile floor and bath splash around the shower (which is hidden behind the camera). I think we did an amazing job for 3 amateurs! :)

Strawberry Days Parade

I LOVE STRAWBERRY DAYS! It's so much fun and every year I have a good time! I didn't go to the carnival or the park at all, but I did go the parade, fire barbeque and rodeo. The rodeo will be it's own post (too many pictures!) but I thought I would post about the parade and barbeque. Unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures. We were babysitting Katherine that day and she occupied our time and I forgot about the camera.

The parade was the morning after Meriam's birthday bash, so luckily we were already gathered in PG at my moms house. Jessie, Me, Meriam and Agustina (along with baby Katherine) met Mom, Rickey and Mari at the parade. We were originally told that my dad would be walking in the parade with the fire department, but once we arrived we realized he was on duty. That meant he couldn't be in the parade because he had to be with the ambulance and fire truck NOT in the parade in case of emergency. We were sad, but we were like 1/2 a block from where his fire truck was parked so we still got to see him which was fun. The parade was awesome! It wasn't too long, the weather was perfect, and we had so much fun. We also took our friends little girl with us (she's 2 I think) so it was fun to see her have fun and get treats.

After the parade we went over to the fire station and the firemen had an awesome barbeque for their employees and families. It was fun to get to see and visit with dad (he had been working non-stop for a week straight) and just hang out for awhile. The firemen are AWESOME and I'm always excited to get to participate in fire things with my dad. Then after the barbeque we went home for a nap, took the baby home to her mom, showered and got ready, and then...RODEO!! It was such a fun day.

Like I said...not too many pictures, but here are the few (ahem...2) I took! :)
Mom with Rickey in the background. It was such awesome weather AND we were in the shade which made it even that much better.

And a picture of baby Katherine. She had so much fun at the parade. She was dancing and waving. We told her momma that as soon as she walks on her own and is old enough, she needs to be put in a dance class because this little girl has rhythm! :)

Birthdays x3

In June we have 3 birthdays in a row. Meriam is first on the 18th, then Russell on the 19th and my dad on the 20th. ALSO...Fathers Day falls on one of those days each year, so we have a busy week. This year Russell turned 23! We didn't really celebrate for his birthday because they were having a yard sale and packing to move to Guatemala. Dad's birthday was Fathers Day this year so we went to his house for dinner and presents. It was low-key since he had been working the whole week leading up to the big day.

Meriams birthday this year was a PARTY! :) We had so much fun! It started out with a picnic up the canyon with my family and her siblings and a few friends. We had alot of fun. We also had a barbeque that day so after our picnic we headed home to get the food ready. We had so much fun at the barbeque and there were alot of people there...my family, Meriam's family (both her moms and dads sides), some friends, Scott's family and the grandparents. We had an awesome dinner and then hurried to the movies. Meriam wanted to watch Toy Story 3 for her birthday (it opened that day) so we all went. And when I say "all" I mean ALL! We had 14 adults, 3 kids and 1 senior and took up almost 2 full rows at the movie theater. It was so fun and everyone enjoyed it. After the movie a few of us went to my moms house and went swimming until midnight and then played games and watched tv. It was an awesome day and I think Meriam enjoyed herself. She turned the big 17 and she's awesome and deserved to have an incredible day!

And now a few pictures! :)

Here is a picture of the movie group as we were getting ready to leave. The group includes: Grandpa, Abe, Sabah, Abdel, Lori, Me, James, Sami, Russell, Marie, Becky, Jessie, Fuzz (Meriam), Zyanya, Agustina, Marren, Cameron and Mason. It was way fun!

A picture of grandpa, Abdel and Sabah getting ready for the movie. We wanted to get a good picture of grandpa in his 3D glasses but Abdel got in the way! :) It's ok though...you can still see how cute he looked!

Here is Meriam's cake. We had a photo shoot the morning of her birthday and then went to Maceys and had them print a picture on edible paper. Meriam really wanted a picture of her dog on top of the cake!

I have tons more pictures but, as always, I'm having issues with blogger wanting to publish my pictures. All in all though we had a great weekend and I hope that Russell, Dad and Meriam felt the love and had awesome birthdays!