Ya just gotta laugh

So Jared had the opportunity to sleep in ‘til 8:00 this morning since he’s taking a ½ day off today.  So what does Chloe (my cat) do at 6am?  First she starts playing with a plastic grocery bag that is on the bedroom floor.  Jared threw a pillow at her so she stopped.  A few minutes later, she jumps up on the bed and starts meowing and Jared yells, “Just get up and get her what she wants—she won’t stop until you do!!!”  So I finally had to get up and turn on the tap in the bathtub for her for a couple minutes then I went and filled her food bowl.  She doesn’t always do that, BTW—I usually put food in her bowl before I got to bed to keep that from happening but I had forgotten.  Yes, I have a very spoiled cat but I love her.  And I have to laugh that, of all days for her to meow incessantly early in the morning, it had to be a day that Jared could have slept in.  Hee hee!  Sorry, Jared!

Facebook!

Ack! I have a new addiction! I finally joined Facebook yesterday, after several friends and family told me about it a while back. If you love getting in touch with people you’ve lost contact with over the years, or if you love to stay in contact with people, you must join. BEWARE, however, it is very addicting! I’m not feeling well today so I spent much of the day resting and watching TV and the rest of the day on Facebook! I have gotten back in touch with tons of friends I haven’t seen or spoken to in years. It’s fun to see what all my LSU Tigerband peeps have done since they graduated. So cool!

BTW, it is hot as h*** here!!! It is 98* right now—The Weather Channel says it feels like 103! Yep, I’m staying indoors!!!

Youth trip to Nauvoo

All I can say is wow! I had so much fun with the youth and it was a truly spiritually uplifting experience. The only down part was having to drive overnight Tuesday night to get there Wednesday morning and overnight Friday night to get back home Saturday morning. Here are some of the things we did:

Wed.: Watched a film, “Remembering Nauvoo” in the Visitor’s Center and walked through the Women’s Garden (the girls took goofy pictures with all of the statues); the kids did baptisms in the temple (my job was handing them towels as they exited the font and it was so neat to be able to see the baptisms and see their faces as they finished—there were some baptisms where I felt the Spirit really strong); watched the “High Hopes and River Boats” show (a musical drama documented from histories and journals of early Nauvoo residents); walked down the Nauvoo main street and visited some of the shops with my group of four girls

Thurs.: Walked the 3-mile hand cart trek with the kids {the weather was awesome—really cool and breezy—we were so blessed!}; took pictures at the temple; went on the horse-drawn wagon tour of Old Nauvoo; toured some of the Nauvoo sites (Family Living Center where we made a rope and learned how to make bread and candles; got cookies at the Scovil Bakery; played games at Pioneer Pastimes; got a “prairie diamond” at the blacksmith shop and a Nauvoo brick from the brickyard); watched the “Sunset on the Mississippi Show” (a really fun variety show featuring senior missionaries and young performing missionaries); went to the Nauvoo Pageant—A Tribute to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The pageant was AWESOME!!! The actors, music, story, costumes and props were all fantastic! Probably my favorite part of the trip.

Fri.: Walked around Old Nauvoo; watched the “Just Plain Anna Amanda” show—a short musical play; had lunch, played games, and watched some of the youth in a stick pulling competition at Pioneer Pastimes; took my group of girls to get ice cream; watched the “Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration” movie; drove to Carthage Jail and had a testimony meeting. Between the movie, the jail tour, and the testimony meetings, my eyes were swollen from crying so much. It’s been a while since I felt the Spirit that strongly for such a long period of time. Even the tour guide at Carthage Jail cried a bit and said she rarely gets that emotional but she really felt the Spirit with our group—I was bawling, BTW.

I loved, loved, loved Nauvoo. I really want to take Jared now.

I’ll just add a few of my favorite pictures but I’m not even going to edit them to make them look better, like I usually do—these are straight out of my camera:

{My girls in the Women’s Garden}:

{Me & my group of girls}:

{The beautiful Nauvoo Temple}:

{My group on the trek}:

{The Pageant}:

{Stick pulling competition!}:

{Carthage Jail}:

Brenna's Baby Blessing

Sweet little Brenna was blessed on Sunday. We drove to their ward for the blessing. Jared left after sacrament to go teach Elder's quorum in our ward then go to work. I went to Primary to observe (as a stake Primary presidency counselor). After church, Becky's nephew was ordained to the Aaronic priesthood then we went had tons of food at Becky's parents' house with family and friends. It was a fun day. Here are some pics of Brenna in her blessing dress and her proud parents:

Isn't she an angel?! She is 7 weeks old today. She is getting chubby. I love chubby babies! :)

I had to leave the dinner not long after I ate to go to a fireside about Nauvoo and a meeting for everyone going on the stake youth trip to Nauvoo this week. We are leaving tonight, driving all night to get there in the morning. We are doing baptisms in temple tomorrow (I can't wait to see that temple!) then spend the rest of the day touring and seeing shows, etc. Thursday and Friday is all touring and shows, too. We are driving home all night Friday. I'm sure I'll have a blast and you know I'll have lots of pics to share when I get back! :) I'd better get going and finish packing!!!

American Idol Concert!!!

So Kiki and I got to go to this concert in Salt Lake City Monday night. All I can say is WOW!!! We had so much fun! Most of them were completely awesome! It was the loudest concert I have EVER been to! SO much screaming, especially for David A. The screaming didn't stop AT ALL the whole time he was on stage. I've never seen anything like it. I'm not kidding when I say I think I have permanent hearing damage.

Here's my order of faves, with commentary:
1. David A.--he sounded sooooo unbelievably awesome! And his stage presence just keeps getting better and better! He's moving more and is exuding more confidence. He's very humble still, though, and would chuckle between songs at all the applause and screaming. He was so adorable! He even cried at the end of "When You Say You Love Me" because of all the applause and screaming, then said "See what you made me do!" He loved singing for his home crowd. SO cute! I can't wait for his CD to come out!
2. David C.--sounded awesome. Total opposite of David A. as far as receiving applause, etc.--he eats it up and even did this one long part where the band just kept playing this interlude while he went to each section of the stage to get applause and screaming from each side of the audience. I'm sure I will buy his CD, too.
3. Michael J.--loved his performances! Such a great stage presence!
4. Brooke W.--sounded better than any time on the show. I would go see her in person any time, just would like it in a smaller setting so I could hear her better. Her rendition of "Yellow" was amazing!
5. Jason C.--love his singer/songwriter vibe. He sounded great, too.
6. Carly S.--sounded great! Such a powerful voice.
7. Chikezie--gets my award for most improved! Wow! He was so fun to watch and sounded really good!
8. Kristy Lee--sounded better than on the show. Don't like the way she stands, though. Dumb little criticism, I know.
9. Syesha--sounded good but just didn't hold my attention. I think part of the problem is she did such recent songs and, let's face it, she is definitely no Rihanna, Alicia Keys, or Beyoncé!
10. Ramielle--I wanted to like her. She's so cute. But she sounded really bad--lots of pitch problems--and had zero stage presence. Just plain boring.

If any of you are wondering what each contestant is singing on the tour, here's the setlist:

Chikezie:
1, “I Believe to My Soul” (Donny Hathaway)
2, “Caught Up” (Usher)
3, “So High” (John Legend)
Ramiele Malubay:
4, “I Want You Back” (The Jackson Five)
5, “Love Will Lead You Back” (Taylor Dayne)
6, “If I Never See Your Face Again” (Maroon 5 featuring Rihanna)
Michael Johns:
7, “We Will Rock You”/”We Are the Champions” medley (Queen),
8, “It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right” (Dolly Parton)
9, “Dream On” (Aerosmith)
Kristy Lee Cook:
10, “Squeezin’ the Love Outta You” (Carolyn Dawn Johnson)
11, “God Bless the USA” (Lee Greenwood)
12, “Cowgirls” (Kerry Harvick)
Carly Smithson:
13, “Bring Me to Life” (Evanescence)
14, “Crazy on You” (Heart)
15, “I Drove All Night” (Cyndi Lauper)
Brooke White:
16, “Let It Be” (The Beatles)
17, “1234″ (Feist)
18, “Yellow” (Coldplay)
Group medley (just the bottom 6):
“Pride (In the Name of Love)” (U2)
Intermission
Jason Castro:
“Over the Rainbow” (Israel Kamakawiwo’ole version)
“Crazy” (Gnarls Barkley)
“Daydream” (The Lovin’ Spoonful)
Syesha Mercado:
“Umbrella” (Rihanna)
“If I Ain’t Got You” (Alicia Keys)
“Listen” (Beyoncé)
David Archuleta:
“Angels” (Robbie Williams)
“Apologize” (OneRepublic)
“Stand by Me”/”Beautiful Girls” (Ben E. King/Sean Kingston)
“When You Say You Love Me” (Josh Groban)
David Cook:
“Hello” (Lionel Richie)
“The Time of My Life” (2008 “American Idol” Songwriter’s Competition winner; first single for David Cook)
“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (Aerosmith)
“My Hero” (Foo Fighters)
“Billie Jean” (Chris Cornell version of Michael Jackson song)
Group encore:
“Don’t Stop the Music” (Rihanna)

Just so you can get a taste of what it was like while David A. was performing, check out this video:


I'm so glad we got to go to the concert together! One of my favorite concerts so far!

The rest of my Utah trip

Sunday night we went to my BIL's parents' house. One of his little brothers was ordained as an Elder, which they did at their house then we had dinner with the whole family. Carma loves hanging out with one of her cousins (a boy) that is her age. They are so cute together and he even danced with her:



Monday, I had a great time playing hide 'n' go seek with Judson and Carma. Kiki and I went to the American Idol concert that night! Will make a whole other post about that! :)

Tuesday, I babysat while Kiki went to an appt. then we went and ate lunch and went and got stuff we needed at the church distribution ctr. That night, my sister, Nikki, came over and we played Guitar Hero and Super Mario Brothers for a couple of hours. We were laughing like crazy! :)

Kiki and the kids and I went and met a friend, Jamie, and her two kids for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It was so good to see her! Then, Kiki brought me to the airport and I flew home. It was really sad to leave her and the kids but it was good to get home and be with Jared last night. I'm itching to get some scrapbooking done, so I'll end his here and do a quick post about the concert. Just a couple of random pics and a video before I go:

{I taught Carma how to do thumbs up and say "Cool, dude!" but she doesn't always do the thumbs, sometimes she does her index fingers, ha ha}:

{How handsome is this boy?! This was at Cracker Barrel yesterday}:

{Carma is one funny girl! Here's she is doing her "Hmm, I wonder" thing where she taps her index finger on her cheek when she's thinking.}:


Utah was GREAT but it's good to be home!!!!

My Birthday and the Wedding

Last Saturday (7/5) was my birthday. Michael took Carma to his parents' house (where Judson had spent the night) and Kiki went to Home Depot--she brought back bacon, egg, and cheese croissants and fruit tarts home for us for breakfast. When Michael and the kids got home, we hung out until Jared got there (he flew in and rented a car); then we waited for a babysitter for Carma and went and played lazer tag with a big group of boys and 2 men. All the adults (6 of us) were on one team and all the boys (8 of them) on the other team. We beat them, of course, and Jared came in first; I came in third. Afterwards, we played glow-in-the dark putt-putt. That night, we all went and ate dinner at Winger's--Nikki and Levi met us there. Then we went home and played Settlers and ate the asphalt pies we took home from Winger's. It was a great birthday! Here are pics from eating out:

The next morning, we ate breakfast with Kiki and the kids, then we drove to Jared's mom's house. We went to church at her ward. After church, Ryan (the groom) and his family came over for dinner and we hung out and played games that night. The rest of the week went like this:

Mon.: We went shopping with one of Jared's sisters and her DH and baby girl--I had to buy shirts and shoes for the wedding to match everyone else. We had a BBQ at the house with Ryan's family.

Tues.: Stephanie received her endowments in the Mount Timpanogos temple then everyone went and ate lunch at a Chinese buffet. All the girls then drove to Salt Lake City and spent the night at a relative's house. We hung out, ate strawberry shortcake, played a game, and Stephanie opened presents from us.

Wed.: Went back to the house and played with our nieces and one nephew all day. That night was spent getting ready for the wedding and hanging out.

Thurs.: Left at 7am for the wedding at the Bountiful temple. We took pictures for a couple of hours after the wedding then we all had lunch at Tucano's. We babysat two of our nieces when we got back to the house then some of us played in the backyard that evening. We watched the wedding video of one of his sisters before going to bed.

Fri.: Jared and his little brother went fishing with their grandpa and his brother. After they got home and gutted and cleaned the fish, we hung out then got ready for the reception. The reception, which was held at Jared's grandpa's house, was lovely and we even danced a bit and had a great time. Here are some pics from the wedding and reception:

Yesterday, Jared drove me to Kiki's house before he went to the airport and flew home. We got there really early so I had to wait for the kids to wake up. When they did, Carma had "chocolate toast" (toast with Nutella) and I couldn't help snapping some pics:
Judson went to a friend's birthday party and I played with Carma while Kiki napped then we went shopping at Wal-Mart. After dinner, the kids were put to bed and we watched "Dan in Real Life" If you haven't seen that movie, I think you should! It is SO CUTE!

We've just been hanging out this morning until it's time to go to church--they don't go until 1:00. Actually, I need to go get ready now. I'll post in day or two to add more pictures! :)

Independence Day and stuff

On Thursday, Kiki and I took the kids to the canyon for a picnic:

We also got in the COLD river but the kids loved it, especially Carma--she was splashing all around!:

Yesterday (on the 4th), I took the kids on a walk to the park. Juddy rode his skateboard. Isn't the scenery amazing?

They had a great time at the park, and Carma even went down the slide by herself!

After we got home from the park, we watched "Jungle Book" then went to Michael's brother's house. The kids swam; Kiki and I played Rock Band and Apples to Apples with some of the family there.

Carma LOVES the water!!!

After we left their house, we came back to Kiki & Michael's to make some food, then we headed over to his parents' house. We had BBQ'd chicken, pork, and ham shishkabobs, potato salad, 3 different pastas, bacon-wrapped shrimp kabobs, eclair cake, and homemade ice cream. It was all yummy! Some of the guys set off small fireworks and we watched the city fireworks from afar. Carma was OOHing and AAHing like crazy! It was a fun Independence Day.

Funny story: Michael's dad put on his military uniform and gave a patriotic presentation. Carma kept calling him Prince Charming and told him, "Prince Charming, you look handsome!" Then, during his presentation, she kept saying, "Yes, your highness!" We were all cracking up! She says the funniest things!

Speaking of Carma, check out this video of her singing "Part of Your World" from Little Mermaid. She is quite the little singer! :)

Today is my birthday and we're gonna do some fun things later--I'll post about it some time soon. Meanwhile, I'll be having a blast here in Utah! :)

In Utah!

Kiki, Judson & Carma picked me up from the airport yesterday. We stopped and ate at Chili's, then went and got Sub-Zero ice cream. Yum! Pics from the ice cream parlor:




I took a nap when we got to Kiki's because I didn't sleep the night before and got up at 3:45 to catch my 5:45 flight.

Last night, I babysat the kids while Kiki and Michael went to Ikea to buy a big girl bed for Carma. She loves it!

Today, Kiki, Judson, Carma and I went to see "Wall-E":

It was a really cute movie! Afterwords, we went at ate a snack at Costco and shopped for a bit. I did some shopping at Wal-Mart, then Kiki made this awesome Chicken & Artichoke soup for dinner and I made pralines that were SO good!!! [Recipes for both are on Ronnie's Recipe blog listed on my sidebar.] We just hung out tonight, which was really nice. I'm having a great time and I'm sure I'll continue to have fun! I hope all of you are having a great summer!