alone and away

Over President's Day Weekend, Josh and I went to Utah to spend a few days alone together. Ammon stayed with Grandma T. in Salmon, and the other 3 boys stayed with Grandma P. in Tremonton. We left home on Saturday, and after stopping in Tremonton for a bit, Josh and I continued on to SLC. We went to see the play "To Kill A Mockingbird" at the Midvale Main Street Theater. I love watching plays in the theater! This was a particulary neat theater, with regular chairs instead of auditorium seating, and the chairs all are placed behind little tables, so you can eat as you watch. I loved it! Some of my high school friends were involved in this play, so I enjoyed the experience even more because of that. Usually, Josh doesn't like watching plays, but he thought the actors did a great job, and he liked the storyline. After the play, we went out to eat at Denny's with Eve and Mark, two of my high school friends. We had a fabulous time talking and laughing and I loved every minute of that evening!

On Sunday morning, Josh and I laid around at the hotel watching TV and browsing the internet. It was very peaceful and relaxing knowing that we had no agenda or schedule or kids to attend to. Around lunchtime, we decided to venture out. I was delighted to see snow had arrived overnight! I had been wishing and hoping for snow all winter in Salmon, but it never came, so it was a lovely surprise!

We decided to take a drive to Park City, about 30 mintues away. I had never been there before, even though I grew up in Utah. I had always pictured in my mind what it would look like, but it wasn't as pretty as I thought it would be so I was a little disappointed. It was very busy, though, because of the new snow and it being a Sunday on a holiday weekend.

We drove down a few of the streets in Park City, just getting a feel for the place. It's very similar to the town of Sun Valley, Idaho. The ski hill is right next to the town, but the mountains aren't that steep.

I was fascinated, however, by one of the ski lifts that was actually IN town. As the skiers came down the hill, they continue skiing on a bridge that's built over the road, in order to get a ride back up the hill on the ski lift.

After lunch in town, we decided to stop at the Olympic Park on the outskirts of town. They were celebrating 10 years since the 2002 Olympics that were held in Salt Lake City.

I reminisced to a date 10 years ago on that same weekend when Josh and I went to see some of the Olympic sites in downtown SLC. Here's a flash from the Past...Josh and I 10 years ago:

We looked around at the Olympic museum in the Olympic Park. It was so interesting to look at the photos and memorabilia and remember what transpired at the '02 Olympics.

On Sunday night, we ate at Dave's Famous BBQ. We wanted to try something new, and had never been there before. It sounded really good, but the food was just okay. But regardless of the food, being alone with my husband at a restaurant was wonderful!

Afterwards, we went and saw the movie "The Gray" in the theater. I hated it. Josh chose what we watched, and since I made him come along to the play with me the night before, I went along with what movie he wanted to see. I don't recommend it...everybody dies and I thought it was awful and depressing.

On Monday morning, we checked out of the hotel, picked up our children, and drove home to Salmon. Getting away for just two nights with the love of my life was refreshing, and I look forward to our couple's vacation every year. We usually go in February, because that's when we receive our tax returns. This year's mini-vacation almost didn't happen because we spent all of our tax returns to pay off the travel trailer and other things. But Josh had to purchase a mower for the golf course from a company in SLC, so the golf course paid for our gas to go pick it up, and we decided to make a weekend out of it. I'm so glad we did! It's good for me to get away, I always feel rejuvenated coming home!

My Love, My Valentines

The week of Valentine's Day was a crazy one for me.
On Monday morning the 13th, Josh left for 2 nights to Boise for work meetings. He helps me so much around the house and with the boys, and I miss him tremendously when he leaves.

I took Kanyon to the babysitter in the morning on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and picked him up on my lunch hour each day to take him to preschool.

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, my 5th grade students were performing their "Rockin' to the Oldies" program twice each day, so I was super busy with preparations and with their shows in the mornings and afternoons.

On Monday night, for Family Home Evening, I had the boys each write cards to their brothers and attach a candy of their choice to them because Valentine's Day was the following day.

Valentine's Day is a special holiday for me, and since Josh was gone this year for it, I had hoped that he would remember it would be happening in his absence. I looked all over the house for a secret note or a gift he left behind for me, but I couldn't find any. I thought he had forgotten, so I was sad on Tuesday morning. That same morning one of my 5th grade classes had a not-so-good performance, so I was down about that, too. But during my lunch hour, the secretary at the school informed me that I'd received some flowers, and it totally made a difference in my day. Josh HAD remembered after all! And the card was written in his handwriting, so I knew that he had remembered it before he ever left for Boise. The flowers were so beautiful!

That afternoon, Jonah and Micah's class had their Valentine's party. Each student was required to bring a home-made invention for their Valentine's box. Micah really wanted a Spongebob one, so I took a yellow Golden Grahams box after we finished eating the cereal, cut off the lid, and painted a Spongebob face on it.

Jonah had no idea what he wanted, so I looked for items around the house that could be used. It took a week to figure out what we wanted to do, but we finally decided upon a snowman. I took an old Halloween bucket, spray painted it blue, then painted a layer of white over it. I took an ice cream bucket lid and cut the edge off to fit over a cookie dough container, then spray painted it all black. Then I cut a hole in the bottom of the cookie dough container, and glued it upside-down onto the white halloween bucket as a hat. Then I painted on a black mouth, an orange carrot nose, and glued 2 buttons as the eyes to finish the look.

Both boys liked their inventions, and they had fun during their class party!

On Tuesday night, the boys hid their valentines for their brothers around the house, and we took turns searching each room to find the hidden valentines. They liked reading what their brothers said about them, and eating the candy. We also opened the Valentine's package that my mom sent.

On Wednesday night, I had to be in 3 different places within one hour, and I didn't know how I was going to do it. But thankfully, Josh's meetings ended early, and he came home on Wednesday evening instead of Wednesday late night, and he helped me chauffer the kids again.

I was SOOOO happy to have him back! I sure love that man; he proposed to me on Valentine's Day 14 years ago, and I'm more in love with him now than ever!  

five

Our youngest son Kanyon turned 5 years old in February. My baby is growing up...he is so smart; he tells me that his preschool teacher says he can skip Kindergarten! He's done so well the past few years, and I love seeing his progress. I'm sad knowing that my youngest son is leaving behind toddlerhood.

He celebrated his special day in 3 different ways. The first one was the preschool party. He got to pick a special snack to take to preschool to share with his classmates. He decided he wanted chocolate creamies and donut holes, and he helped pass them out to his class. They sang Happy Birthday to him and then they all ate. They loved his choices, of course!

We had a family celebration for him in Idaho Falls. He chose to spend the night in a hotel, go swimming, and go ice skating. We went indoor ice skating at the Idaho Falls ice rink, but they didn't have any walkers like the Logan Rink had, so he didn't really enjoy it. His favorite part was a tiny little patch of ice that was right next to the hockey players' bench! He spent a lot of time on that!

The rest of us all got hockey skates, and we tried learning to skate on them. They are different than figure skates, but by the end of the public skate time, we were all doing pretty good!

We went swimming at the public swimming pool during the family fun swim time in the evening. It was the biggest indoor swimming pool the boys have ever been to. They were all so happy! The younger boys went down slides, Ammon practiced swimming, and Josh and Ammon jumped off the diving boards.

As we were taking a break from swimming in their hot tub, somebody puked in the pool and everybody had to get out. Thankfully, we got a really good half hour of swim time in before that happened. So we soaked in the hot tub a little longer and then went back to the hotel.

After we got back home from the birthday trip, we had our third party for Kanyon: opening gifts and eating cake and ice cream. Grandma T. came over to join us for the festivities, too.

One of his favorite gifts was the electronic Thomas the Train toothbrush from Grandma P. He was so happy! He brushed his teeth every 10 minutes that night with it!

He had three gifts that he kept repeatedly asking for: a monster truck that you can drive that isn't a remote control, a real crashing derby car, and a gray sniper rifle. Those were some pretty big requests for a little boy! Josh found a toy sniper rifle for him online, and he was so happy!

He also got a lego star wars DS game, a Kirbyland wii game, clothes, books, and a few more toys. For his birthday dessert, he chose to have a chocolate cake and chocolate creamies (again).

Happy Birthday, Kanyon! We love you so much!

At the age of 5, some of Kanyon's favorites are:

Buddies: Wyatt Nelson, Hudson Bertram, and Aidan Oliverson

TV show: Tom & Jerry, Thomas the Train

Movie: Despicable Me 

Wii games: Just Dance, Lego Indiana "Johns", Lego Star Wars, GoldenEye 

Activities: singing, learning ABC's, counting, playing with uncles and cousins, riding scooter 

Food: plain hot dogs w/BBQ sauce, fruit snacks, vanilla yogurt, bread, vanilla pudding

Toys: trucks, tractors, cars, marbles

Games: Charades, Blokus

for the Pats lover in the fam

For years, Ammon's favorite NFL team has been the Patriots. So he was very excited when the Pats made it to the Superbowl this year! I like to host Superbowl parties every year, but I wasn't in the mood for one this year. The week before the Superbowl, the boys starting asking who was coming over for the Superbowl this year, and I kept telling them that I wasn't going to have a party...so nobody was coming. But a few days prior to the big day, I decided that we should have one for Ammon since his team was in it, after all. I thought it would be fun for Ammon if the people who came were his friends, so I invited his friend Hunter's family. Ashley and the kids came over for our mini superbowl party and we had a lot of fun together! Josh and Ammon watched the game with Hunter, and the other kids all played, while us ladies talked and ate in the kitchen! The best part of the Superbowl (besides the commercials) is the food, after all!

Every year before the game begins, I like to have a little contest. Everyone guesses which team they think will win and what the score will be. Whoever gets the closest wins a prize (usually chocolate or candy). It was half and half this year between votes for the Pats and votes for the Giants. Ultimately, it was the Giants who won, and Hunter had the closest score guess, so he walked away with the chocolate prize. Even though Ammon was disappointed that the Patriots didn't win, we were all glad that our friends came over to spend the day with us, and we all got full on great snack food. (Oh...and I was happy with Madonna's half-time show because it hasn't been that great for the past several years.) Better luck next time, Ammon!

Projects

I am in charge of the inside of our house.

Josh is in charge of the outside.

I put the pictures on the walls, decide what furniture will go where, decorate it how I want.

He does the landscaping, plants the trees, mows and waters the lawn, clips the shrubs. 

We both decided to tackle a few projects this late winter to help us feel more productive and less depressed from the winter blues.

My biggest project was this:

I found a food storage container in the loft of the ranch shop, and I carried it up to our house. I vacuumed off the spiderwebs, scrubbed it from top to bottom, and brought it inside. I rearranged some items in the kitchen and dining area so it would fit, and I went through all of our food storage items in the cupboards, and put all that would fit onto the food storage shelf. It was a full day's project, and it made me feel so good! I've been wanting to buy a rotating food storage unit for a while now, and I was so happy to find this for free!

Josh's biggest project was this:
He's wanted to create a rock walkway for years. He likes the looks of them and their natural appearance. He picked a portion of our backyard to work on, between the deck and the cement steps. He thawed the ground that was frozen and cut out grass between the back doors. He found rocks all around our place that had a flat edge, he placed the rocks one at a time in the designated area, and he got some sand to place in and under the rocks. It took him 3 days to finish the walkway, and it looks great! I was so proud of him and his work! This photo is of him placing some rocks on the half-finished walkway. 

Derby Driving

Now that Jonah and Micah are 8, they are in cub scouts. At the end of January, it was the annual pinewood derby contest. Each boy was given a block of wood and 4 tires at the beginning of the month, and they had to come up with the design of the car they wanted to create. Jonah wanted to make a truck, and Micah wanted a race car. Josh helped them cut out the shape that they wanted and then he showed them how to sand their vehicles.

 After they were sanded smooth, Josh took them to the store to pick what color of paint they wanted. Jonah picked a light blue color, and Micah picked bright orange. Josh helped them paint their vehicles, and put several coats of spray paint on them. Then I helped the boys with the detailing. Jonah wanted windows on his truck, and he wanted his bedliner red and yellow. Micah wanted windows on his race car and he wanted flames painted on the front. Then Josh attached the wheels and the derby car and truck were ready to roll! Jonah and Micah were so happy with the final product!

We arrived at the scout meeting on a Friday night, and the boys' cars were weighed. Both Jonah and Micah's cars were on the lighter side: they are supposed to weigh 5 ounces or less, and they each weighed around 3.5 ounces. Josh thought we shouldn't add any more weights to the cars, so we left them as is.

There were scouts from two troops in attendance, and the boys all took turns racing against each other. There were about 15 boys, and the races lasted 2 1/2 hours. It was the longest pinewood derby I've ever been to. Jonah and Micah's cars weren't the fastest, and they only won a few races each. Towards the end of the meeting, I added a few pins to Jonah's and a quarter to Micah's, and they each won a couple of races after that. I was so proud of them, because even though they were losing far more than they were winning throughout the competition, they were happy for others who won and they didn't become visibly upset.

It was fun to watch them race against each other, too! The racecar and truck were pretty evenly made, and they each won different races against each other!

The boys had a fun night and even though they didn't come home with the first-place trophy, they were happy with their cars and they had a good time racing with their friends.

good day, good week, good month

Ammon turned 12 on January 11. His birthday was on a Wednesday, so we celebrated that evening after school was out. He picked his favorite meal for dinner; we ate steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, and cream corn. It was a delicious meal, thanks to Josh who made it!

After dinner, he opened presents from Josh & I, Grandma & Grandpa T., and Grandma & Grandpa P.

He got a scout backpack, new scriptures and a football scripture bag, the game "Ticket to Ride", and a gameboy game from Josh & I. He received new clothes, a new white shirt and tie, and a book from Grandma & Grandpa P. And he was given bullets for his rifle and cash from Grandma & Grandpa T.

He wanted bread pudding and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Grandma & Grandpa T. joined us for gifts and dessert, and we all sang Happy Birthday to Ammon as he blew out the candles.

This year was Ammon's turn to have a friend party. He invited 6 boys to come spend the night on Friday the 13th. They arrived in the evening, and played flag football outside until the sun went down and it got too cold to play.

After the boys came inside, we ate Taco Soup for dinner, then they all congregated in the family room to play electronics. Some of them played "Super Smash Bros" on the wii, and the rest of them played a computer game with Ammon.

After that, some of the boys played Ammon's new "Ticket to Ride" game with him, and the rest of them wrestled and watched a movie. Then they gathered around to have Ammon open their gifts.

And of course we had dessert with candles, and we sang to Ammon again. This time, Ammon opted for brownies with ice cream.

I had forgotten how much I don't like having kid sleepovers. The boys all slept in Ammon's room that night, and they wouldn't calm down. I went in at 11:00 to tell them to be quiet and turned off a movie, then I went back in at 12:00 and took away the laptop. Josh went in at 1:00am and told them to turn off their ipods, and it was announced to us at breakfast the next morning that a few of the boys stayed awake til 5:00am!! But, Ammon had a fun time and so did the boys, and now I don't have to worry about doing it again for 2 years!

Ammon couldn't wait to turn 12 because he could finally go to Young Men's instead of Primary at church, he could receive the Priesthood and serve the Sacrament, and he could be old enough to finally go hunting! On Sunday, January 22, he was ordained by his father and he received the Priesthood, and he was able to pass the Sacrament. He did a great job and it was wonderful to see him participate!

The last week of January, at the Middle School Assembly, Ammon was chosen to be the "Student of the Month". He has been wanting to receive the medal and having the honor of that title since he became a student at the Middle School in 5th grade last year. He has been aspiring for it and has been working hard, and he was so happy to finally receive the award! I was so proud of him!

January was a good month for him...He had a family birthday party, a friend birthday party, he received the priesthood and started going to Young Mens, he earned the "Student of the Month" award at school, and he bought himself an Ipod with money he's earned and received as gifts. It was all good things for him, and a great way to start the new year!

11 Tag

I've been tagged...
It's been a long time since the last blog tagging. Thanks, Alyssa. This was interesting!

THE RULES:
1. Post these rules
2. Post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions provided by the one who tagged you
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag
5. Tag 11 people

11 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME:

1. When I'm in front of other people and I'm expected to speak, I get nervous. Like every week in Sunday School class when I teach. Or every time one of my music classes at school has a parent performance and I have to introduce myself. And when I get nervous, I sweat in my armpits and have really rapid and high speech. I hate how my body responds to my nervousness!

2. I like to take pictures of hamburgers from different restaurants right before I eat them. But I never do anything with the photos.

3. I love Arby's French Dip & Swiss. I love the thinly sliced roast beef, the melted white cheese, the crispy thick bread, and the saucy au jus. I crave it all the time!

4. My real name is Michaela. I didn't know how to spell it correctly until the 4th grade because when I learned how to spell my name in Kindergarten, I spelled the name I knew myself as: Kala. (Which is so much easier and shorter!) We had a test in 4th grade and the teacher told me to use my real name. It was the kind of test where you had to fill in little circles for each letter of your name, and I was so nervous because I had no idea which circle to fill in first: the "E" or the "A" after the "MICH". I did the wrong one.

5. I don't like dogs. When I was a child, my neighbor's little dog bit my ear and I had to go have shots. And my dad's dog was really big and used to jump on my shoulders and dry hump me, and he used to slobber a lot and since his head was the same height as my butt, whenever he sniffed me he got me wet. Ew. No matter how much my boys ask, we will NEVER have a dog.

6. My favorite acting part I ever had was a "Doo-Wop" girl in the play "Little Shop of Horrors" during my senior year of High School. That also happens to be the last play I was in, and the last part I played. I miss the theater tremendously.

7. I have never liked the color pink. I'm a blue kind of girl.

8. I like driving stick-shift. It makes me feel like I'm a race-car driver and I have so much power. My first car was a stick-shift, and it was actually Josh's Honda. He taught me to drive it when we got engaged, and then he let me take it to college.

9. I want to be a contestant on the Amazing Race, and as I watch the show each Sunday, I imagine myself being one. But I know that I would be just like all the competitors that I hate. The reality of that vision keeps me from really pursuing that wish.

10. I love singing harmony. I've loved it ever since I was in junior high. Even though I was one of only 3 kids in my Jr. High choir class that didn't get picked to go to Honor Choir at USU, I pursued my desire to be a 2nd Soprano. I felt validated from not being included in that 8th grade event when I got accepted into the Madrigal Choir my senior year of High School as one of the four 2nd sopranos.

11. I like feet. I like massaging my feet, as well as others'. I used to suck my toes (when I was younger and could reach them) because I liked it. I like the way sandals make feet look. I like how everyone's feet look so different. I'm fascinated by feet!

11 QUESTIONS I WAS ASKED:

1. Worst/best/awkward date story?
When I was a sophomore in high school, I was madly in love with a senior named Daniel. I couldn't wait to turn 16 in August so that I could date. Daniel graduated in May, and I wasn't sure if I'd ever get the chance to date him. After my 16th birthday, my very first date was a double date. I went with a guy, and we doubled with his sister whose date was...DANIEL! It was awkward for me, because I wanted to be on the date with Daniel, not the guy who I was with. We went to the fair, and walked around, and danced, and then my date took me home. Last year, I saw the home video that was taken the night of that date...and I totally zoomed in on Daniel and practically ignored my date, so judging by that video, I'm sure the rest of the night was something like that and that my date felt awkward too, with all my of inattentiveness towards him!

2. Dream vacation?

A two-week vacation alone with Josh to travel all over Scotland and Ireland and England together. It sounds like heaven to me.

3. What do you like best about yourself?

I like my blue eyes, my straight teeth, my ability to sing harmony, and the ability to speak loudly (especially since my husband has such a quiet voice!).

4. Tell me about a time your heart was broken.

My heart is always broken at the end of a good thing...at the end of a marriage, at the end of living in a particular place, at the end of a loved one's life, and most recently, my heart has been broken over the end of a good friendship. For the past two months, my heart has been hurting because of the end of a 5-year friendship. My heart is broken over things that were said and done that are unforgiven, and I miss my friend terribly.

5. If you could do anything in the whole wide world what would it be?

I wish I had millions of dollars to build a new school in Salmon that is so desperately needed, since the community continues to refuse to vote to build one.

6. First movie star crush?

When I was in the 3rd grade, our family lived in a townhouse. Our neighbors who had the corner townhouse had daughters my age, and they watched Dirty Dancing every week. My mom wouldn't let me go over there or watch that movie. But I somehow managed to once...and I fell in love with Patrick Swayze at first sight. Dangit, he was hot!!! RIP, Patrick Swayze.

7. Favorite holiday and why?

I love Halloween. I like dressing up, I like getting chocolate, I like the autumn atmosphere, I like the funky decorations, I like all the quirky parties.

8. Guilty pleasure?
Lindt chocolates. I keep a stash by my bed, and I eat one almost every day.

9. Secret wish?

I wish that I could fly. I had a recurring dream as a child that I could float in the air down the hallways of my home. I was always disappointed when I woke up and realized that I actually couldn't.

10. Fashion Icon?

Umm...Okay, I don't do fashion. The majority of the shoes and clothes in my closet are hand-me-downs, or pre-owned. I don't know how to apply make-up. I don't know how to match colors together, so I tend to dress myself in mono-chromatic clothes. I don't watch fashion shows, or read fashion magazines, or keep up with any trends of any kind (except for the B.U.M. Equipment movement in junior high, because everyone knows you have to keep up with styles in junior high to fit in...thank goodness those days are decades behind me!).

11. Best day ever story?

In 2008, Josh and I went on a 10-day vacation to England. It was the first time I'd ever been out of the USA, the first time I'd been on a plane, the first time I'd spent so many days alone with Josh since we'd had kids. The very best day of that trip was the day we were in Scotland. We woke up in a quaint little Bed & Breakfast. We drove to a nearby old castle. We walked around the castle ourselves, and there was nobody else touring during that time. It was early morning, and it was peaceful, serene, relaxing, and I was filled with extreme joy and tranquility. It was amazing and I've never forgotten the way I felt in that country, in that castle, with my husband by my side. After that, we went to an old Scottish golf course and walked around, and Josh was so happy. It was the last full day of our vacation, and one of my favorite days ever.

 

 

MY 11 QUESTIONS:

1. What's one of the hardest decisions you've ever made?

2. What's one of your biggest dreams you have for your life?

3. What's one character trait you have that you hope that your children won't?

4. What's one of your most romantic experiences?

5. What's one of that happiest moments of your past?

6. If you could be a character in a book or story, who would you be?

7. If you were stranded on an island with only 3 other people, who would you pick?

8. If you had to eat just one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

9. If you could live wherever you wanted in the world, where would it be?

10. What helps you fall asleep at night?

11. What gets you going in the morning? 

 

 

11 PEOPLE I'M TAGGING:

1. Tawna

2. Jen

3. Emily

4. Darcy

5. Candise

6. Melissa

7. Holly

8. Linette

9. Gina

10. D'Neill

11. Heidi

food, glorious food...while we're in the mood

When I was in the 6th grade, I was in the High School musical production of "Oliver". I played an orphan, and I never forgot the words to the song "Food, glorious food". I sing it in my head once in a while, and I think about it whenever I eat a really good dish. Speaking of a really good dish...

In January, I went with some friends to Boise to celebrate Amanda's birthday. We spent two nights there, and had a grand ole time. While we were there, we ate at our favorite Boise eatery: The Cheesecake Factory. We always eat there whenever we are celebrating an occasion. We love their cheesecakes, and their super large, super delicious entrees.

I was in the mood for something different on that trip to The Cheesecake Factory, and I had such a hard time deciding on what to order off their 24-page menu. I decided on a whim to order the Lettuce Wraps. And that was the best decision I made that entire weekend. It was SOOOOO delicious.

I thought about my lettuce wraps later that night as I was consuming my red velvet cheesecake. I thought about them again the following day as we were driving home to Salmon. I thought about them  the next week as I ate food from the school cafeteria. I loved that meal so much, that I can remember the taste of those wraps even now, two months after consuming them.

And I'm craving some of those delicious lettuce wraps from the Cheesecake Factory right about now...