Cousins......

Anyone else out there experiencing Miley mania in their homes? Well, my boys LOVE her...and Addison squeals everytime she hears her songs or sees her on TV. For the longest time I wouldnt allow my kids to watch Hannah Montana....not that its bad, but my oldest is only 7 and I just thought it might be a bit mature for their age. I do however have Alec here on occasion (my nearly 14 year old step-son)and like a lot of 13/14 year old boys, he thinks she is "hot" and wants to watch the show...... . So, I kindof have to pick my battles and letting them watch Hannah Montana was one that I gave in on. But, I figured I'd better mention to Alec that she is related to us. This fact did not change his opinion of her....big shock. Ian asked me the other day to explain just how he and Miley were related so after 4 hours of research on the computer and a number of calls to Kentucky, here is what we discovered: my husband Denver and Billy Ray Cyrus are 5th cousins. Their Great-Great-Great Grandfathers were brothers. So, there you go, mystery solved. Almost. We also discovered a couple of situations where there may be some "illegitimacy" going on if you know what I mean. There was some conflicting infomation on whose father was whose and even some people whose information seemed to stop cold after a few lines..... we read some interesting stories about babies being born to showgirls on the Ohio river and being "dumped" at their supposed fathers house to be raised. Crazy stuff. I decided to skip that information and just tell Ian that he and Miley are 6th cousins, if there is such a thing, so technically they could marry and their kids wouldnt look weird!

On another Miley note. I have now officially entered 250 times into a contest to win tickets for the Stadium of Fire show in Provo.....which Miley Cyrus is headlining incidentally. 4 tickets plus 4 meet and greet passes not to mention one of the biggest firework shows in the state. How cool would that be to tell the kids we won. I cant even imagine the joy.......wish us luck!

Sunday at the Park.....

So we went to the park again today....it's becoming a Sunday tradition. It beats wasting gas going on a Sunday drive which we used to enjoy. The city built this new neighborhood park near our house so we thought we would check it out. The playground is sortof Ikea meets Jungle Jim with its odd shapes and interesting construction. Anyway, the kids had a great time....although the little sit and spin chair ended up being too much as you can see from Ian's traumatic face in the slide show. He was not happy. I may have given Evan whiplash after I spun him too fast on the same chair.....oops!

Best Buds.....

Evan had the opportunity to go with a friend of his from school to an indoor amusement park. This boy's name is Zack and he and Evan were in Kindergarten together. Zack came to Evan's birthday party and I noticed he was extremely shy. More so than Evan has ever been. I think that is why he clicks so well with Evan. Evan was beside himself with excitement over the prospect of going with someone else to a place like Hollywood Connection. Denver and I have taken Alec there a couple of times when he was around Evan's age. But, we havent been back which is strange considering we have 3 children. They have bumper cars and a roller coaster among other things as well as plenty of video games and other ticket wielding contraptions. He had a blast to say the least and they took these pictures together which I thought were adorable. You have to click on the picture so it will bring up a larger version of it. Evans face is hilarious in a couple of them. Remember when we used go to the mall with our girl friends and sit in the photo booth and take pictures together! I used to LOVE that....I still have a few of those laying around somewhere...I will have to dig them out and show the kids.

Also, can I just say how much I LOVE my scanner.....it is my most favorite toy right now and I am getting ready to scan all of our pictures into the computer to preserve on disc forever. Love it!

Attn: Postmaster General

Well, Im off to retrieve my final paycheck from the Post Office. Yes folks, I said final. Apparently the United States Postal Service has so much time and money on their hands that they dont care to train new people instead of keeping those that are already trained and typing much faster than the requirement. I guess it's more exciting this way..... The job that I did was technically what they call a temporary appointment and could go away at any time. Without warning or any kind of professional courtesy either. This is my experience and frankly I now have a better insight into why people sometimes "go postal". At this point, I have spoken to the Union twice as well as 4 or 5 other people at the REC and have not gotten any further in understanding this. So, I am going to pick up my check and move on.....but I think I may still write a letter to the big Postmaster in the sky, that is Washington DC. I doubt he cares what little ole me has to say about how horribly unfair and inconsiderate I think his organization is but it will feel good to vent anyway. And if any of you out there are considering working at the REC, my suggestion is dont. According to the Postal Workers Union, "they are all a bunch of catty females who get rid of people just because they dont like their choice of shoes"...... and its true apparently. The word is my supervisor ended my appointment "for vindictive reasons"....considering the fact that we have NEVER spoken to each other in the whole month that she was my supervisor I cant imagine what I did to tick her off. Maybe it was my shoes :)

Oops....

In my previous post I put a link to the blog that I mentioned "I think this world is Perfect".... Apparently I did it wrong (Im still learning......)and it was not taking people to the correct site. It is now fixed with my apologies......

Perspective.....

So, I love to read blogs. Im sortof a blog stalker....or not sortof, AM a blog stalker. But there is so much entertainment out there. I have found some really good writing and even though I dont know these people from Adam, or Eve, I find myself drawn to stories of their daily lives simply because of the way they express themselves. I envy people that can write like that.

So, one of my favorite blogs "I think this world is Perfect" posted a snippet today of something his little girl said that I found so funny. He was pouring himself a cup of coffee and she said: "I can't wait until I'm old enough to drink coffee. And then, when I'm that old, I'm going to have a TV in my room, and I can watch it. Yay!!!"
Man, dont you miss being a kid and having that kindof perspective? The simplicity of being a child and wishing for things that adults take for granted or just find silly. Anyway, I just thought it was so cute....had to share. If she only knew that being an adult means so much more than a cup of coffee and a personal TV... she'd wish to stay little forever :)

Chained to My House.....

You know things are pretty bad when you decide not to take a simple drive around town in order to conserve gas. We have 2 vehicles....a minivan and a mid-size car. The car is driven by Denver and only to work and back. The minivan is self explanatory and our main source of transportation. Denver has been driving the van to work the past few days however due to the fact that his car was out of gas and the van still had some in it. So, yesterday we went to the gas station and paid $3.99 for gas. Some may think that is a good deal by comparison. However, I felt like throwing up. We only put $45 in each vehicle.....$90 for gas! And it didnt even give us 3/4 of a tank! It is outrageous. Something has to be done. I dont consider myself a politically knowledgable person. I simply dont have time to sit and read about all of that. I make my decision (for voting) based on some knowledge but mostly a gut feeling (shudder...I know) but lately I have been trying to read up on things because I dont really have a good feeling about either candidate. I feel like all politicians are liars and crooks at some level so I just have a hard time looking at any of them objectively as people let alone as our future President. All I know is that the gas problem is out of control and as un-important a problem as it may seem to some, considering that there are men and women dying in the name of freedom right now, in my world it is the MAIN problem and one that is hurting worse every day. I feel like a prisoner in my own home...unable to go anywhere for fear of wasting gas. And they wonder why the economy sucks so bad and why people arent out shopping and spending money....they are saving that money to put in their cars! Ok, Im done. I know everyone feels the same way.....I miss the days when $12 filled up my car.

Summer Nights....

We enjoyed our Sunday today. Mainly because we received the good news that we dont have to change wards. They have reorganized our Stake and because we sortof live right on the outskirts of our particular ward, we were pretty sure they were going to cast us off into another ward. Thankfully, they have combined us completely with another and so the 2 years we have spent getting to know people will not have been wasted! I had become resolved to the idea though and was beginning to think that it wouldnt be so bad to meet new people, but now we have the opportunity to get to know the new people while staying with the old. Best scenario possible! Of course, this means all new leadership which equals all new callings......I have a feeling I will be utilized for something very soon.

It was near 95 degrees today but so nice and cool this evening in the backyard.... I had some fun taking pictures of the kids, minus Ian who was down at his friends house playing their Wii.

These are our grapes that are just beginning to bloom.... The vine has grown clear up a willow tree in the yard behind us... so high we wont be able to get the grapes! Evan and Addison enjoying the cool night in our backyard......we LOVE summer! Addison hasnt figured out how to smile just yet but we love her anyway.

One More Time....

We thought baseball was over but today they had closing ceremonies during which they handed out pictures and of course the most coveted part about playing sports.......THE TROPHY. Evan is the most excited to finally have another trophy to add to his growing collection. Ian could take it or leave it. Funny, but I dont remember everyone getting trophy's in my day just because you played.....back then, trophys were for winning. Oh well....they are happy and so I am happy especially because those trophy's cost $75 and a lot of Saturday mornings with only a few hours of sleep!

Garden Family......

So I was outside weeding in the yard today (4 hours of it). We have a serious snail problem and usually I am quick to grab them and huck them into the road...cruel I know...but today I noticed these 2 snails slithering together up a rock. Suddenly one of them sortof lifted up its head and this little white slug looking thing crawled out....then I noticed it had big long eyes just like a snail and realized that it was probably a baby snail without its shell! Well, obviously I didnt have the heart to throw them out on the street so I let the little family stay and even took pictures. Notice the baby up in the right corner of the picture. The snails never left each other and so Im wondering....do snails mate for life?

Yum....

I have a serious addiction to warm, homemade rolls. It gets even worse when butter, cinnamon, and sugar are added! I made these last night with a fabulous roll recipe that I use ALL the time. I am currently compiling some of my favorite recipes to put on a "recipe blog"....yes Melanie, Im finally giving in.... However, I cant come up with a snazzy name for it. Any ideas? As soon as I name it, I will publish it. Denver said I should call it "Vannies Vittles"....you can see why Im still on the fence.

My Little Entrenpreneur.....

Those of you that know Evan, know how creative he can be. Of my 2 sons, he has the largest imagination and it is a joy to watch. But it can also be painful and hard for him to understand when other people dont appreciate his genius ideas! Take for instance the time he wanted to sell water from the tap in my own cups for $1.00 each. He made the sign and everything. I kicked myself for not taking pictures of it, so this time I didn't forget. Yesterday I noticed Evan was sitting cross legged in the driveway with a box sitting next to him. I went out to see what he was doing and he started crying because nobody would buy his potion. It seems funny now, but at the time he was genuinely hurting over this. I looked at his sign and realized the problem...he was charging $60 for it. An old spaghetti sauce jar filled with water, chocolate milk, and blue paint. It took Evan a few hours to come to grips with the fact that his price was unreasonable. Also, he said next time he will.... "make a potion that really works....this one was a fake potion"

The sign reads:

Posion of Evan and Sophia
onli $60
Thank You

I cried over this last night because he was so embarrassed and hurt and I didnt know how to explain it to him nor could I make him feel better. If I had $60 I would have bought it from him. I just love him and his great ideas.....

Summer.....Finally.

Well, the summer here has had a slow start. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you dont like the heat. For me, personally, I prefer the heat to the cold so I am happy that warm weather appears to be here to stay.....at least until September! We enjoyed some time at the park yesterday but had to wait until 6 p.m. to go in order to avoid 94 degree heat. That is one thing that I love about Utah.....it may be hot during the day but it always cools off at night.

Fathers Day continued....

So, I finally got a scanner and I decided it would be funny to post an old picture of Denver for Fathers Day.... I had a really hard time deciding which picture to use. Denver and I did not agree on the first choice....lets just say that perms were in and his didnt look so good. Anyway, I decided on this one because, well he just looks good!

The other 2 pictures are my faves. Notice the resemeblence to our daughter!

Happy Fathers Day.....

I've been upstairs....cooking....and reflecting on what I might write here to honor Fathers Day. You have to understand that the word Father has taken on new meaning this year for our family. First, the passing of my Grandfather....and Grand he was in many many ways. I look at his children......my mom for instance, and see what an incredible influence he was in their lives. How much good he taught them and what an example he set for them not only in spiritual matters but also in the world. Then, I think about my Father in-law. All of sudden, his life has been given a time limit. Suddenly the small things that may have mattered a little before, have taken on a life of their own in importance. All the things that our Fathers are so quietly aware of need to be expressed.....no feeling left unspoken. The way it really should be anyway. My own father also has a time limit.....in fact it could even be shorter than Don's. We probably wont be given any warning.....I am aware of this now more than ever and so, every conversation I can have with him matters. I feel very fortunate to have had both of my Grandfathers and my Dad for as long as I have. I know that I am blessed because of this.

So, this Fathers Day I just want to say I LOVE YOU Dad......and, I LOVE YOU Don....and, of course, I LOVE YOU Denver. You all mean so much to me in so many unique and different ways, you make my life and my childrens lives better each day that you are a part of them.

Now, Im off to finish a "mans meal"....Pot Roast, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, carrots.....and of course, no meal in this house would be complete without cake!

Happy Fathers Day!

Baseball....

Today they took pictures for Baseball....then played their game. Saturday is their last game! I cant believe how fast that 2 months went. Unbelievable. The time is just slipping by.....Here are a couple of final pictures from this season.

Surprise Flowers....

I happened outside today (a rare occurence) and saw the strangest thing growing out from under our grapevines. Check out how these roses are growing.....it almost looks like something that was groomed to grow this way. Very weird....and it is growing out of some kind of bush that is definitely not a rose bush. Can you tell I have ZERO horticultural knowledge.......

New Music.....

My music tastes have taken a turn for the mellow recently..... Had lots to reflect on lately and the music seems appropriate. So for now.....sit back and relax. Im sure trying to!

Here We Go.....

We are going to make a real attempt today to potty train Addison .....with a little help from Dora the Explorer! My previous attempts have been half hearted but Im feeling motivated today so we'll see how it goes. We've already been through one pair of undies today and she wasnt happy about it so that is a good sign! Wish us luck.....

Ian's Play.....

Im so grateful to Deb Habig for forwarding some of the pictures she took at Ian's school play. Since I was too spastic to remember my camera! Here are a few pictures of Ian playing 'Papa Bear' in "Golidlocks and the Three Bears" and also playing the snake handler in "Liza Lou". It was a great way to end 1st grade and the kids really worked hard!

Hallelujah!......

Wow....6 days without my computer and I am FINALLY reconnected with the world! I cannot tell you what a relief it is. I had no idea how much I really used my computer until I didnt have it. Long story short I dediced to play the role of computer geek and "clean up" my files. Let me give you some advice....unless you are well trained, DONT DO IT! The best I can come up with is that in my eagerness to delete all of those mystery files that never seem to be used, I deleted a very important file. Suddenly I couldnt connect to the internet anymore. So, I put in the disk that I was given originally to "re-install" my MSN files and apparently the disk is corrupted which then made my problem even worse. Not even the phone help in India could fix it. So, I reluctantly spent the last 7 hours copying my files (pictures, music, text) onto disks....9 of them to be exact....and then hit the RESTORE button and erased the hard drive back to its original state when the computer was purchased. Then I put in the "new, non-corrupted MSN cd" and....1 hour later.....I can breathe again. I actually had to look a phone number up in the phone book yesterday! I know.....I know. Pretty sad. I just LOVE my computer and use it for everything, even looking up phone numbers. So anyway, here we are. I still have hours to go of loading those CD's I made with all my personal files but I will do it tomorrow. I also have to re-load all of my printers, palm, camera....etc.....what a pain. Again, take my advice and dont delete anything if you arent sure what its for!

By the way.....Gpa's funeral was really nice and I would like to thank all of you for your nice comments and well wishes. We will miss him but know that he is in a much better place. Also, for Denvers dad.....he is out of the hospital now. He just started his first round of Chemo and wasnt feeling too great afterward. Hopefully it will do some good in shrinking everything. The doctor says that if everything goes well and Don does what he should, he could live a good 2 years. We are grateful for every extra day we can get. So, thanks for your prayers in his behalf.

My Little Papa Bear....

Ok, so I am managing a quick post here about Ian. Today he performed in a short play at school. They did Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Ian played the part of Papa Bear. He was practicing for this months ago and I thought it was already over with. I just found out a few days ago that they were performing it for the first time this week. I was very happy to be able to go.

Ian played his part brilliantly and, in perfect Ian fashion, also played everyone elses parts. I watched him nod his head to keep the rhythm for everybody and if the other bears happened to pause before they started their lines, Ian would look right at them and start telling them their lines.....and not in a whisper either. Thats my Ian. What would the world do without him to keep it in order? I know my world would crumble.....

Unfortunately, ditzy Vanessa ran off without the camera so, I will hope that the other moms who offered to email me some pictures will follow through and then I will post a few at a later date.

We're Still Here.....

Sorry I havent been keeping up my blogging standards this week. Things have been nuts between my Gpa's funeral and having guests and the kids last week of school. Grandpa's funeral is on Friday and me and some of my cousins are singing a song.....it will be pretty if I can get through it. My mom came into town over the weekend and stayed with us....she and my dad will be back tomorrow for the funeral and are staying with us. So, I think I will try to post something at least by Friday night.....but please forgive me if I dont. I will catch up next week.