Garbage Man Truck

My cute little boy LOVES the garbage truck. He calls it the garbage man truck. Every Friday when he hears it coming down the street he goes running outside as fast as he can while yelling "the garbage man truck is here!" He will stand at the curb and patiently wait for it to get to our house. As the truck drives up he says hi to the driver. He watches intently as the garbage cans are dumped. Then he waves bye to the truck as it drives away.



Well, Caysen had a special visitor come to his pre-school. That's right, the garbage man truck came. Caysen was in heaven! He showed the kids how the truck worked and also talked about recycling.



Then he let Caysen dress-up in the "garbage man truck" clothes.

Kitchen Remodel

The day we bought our house I hated the counter tops. They were grey, white and black speckled fir mica. Soooo ugly and they didn't match anything! Finally, after seven years of living here we got new granite counter tops in the kitchen and both bathrooms. We decided on a nice neutral color of granite. We made the kitchen counter step up so we have a bar. John had to build a wall so it would step up and to support the weight of the granite. We had to put bead board on the front to cover the 2x4's john used to build the wall. It turned out really nice. I love it! It is a nice face lift for our home and makes a big difference. Here are some before and after pictures.

Easter 2011

This year we spent Easter in SLC with my mom and dad because we were already in town for my grandma's birthday party. I love spending holidays with my family. I don't want my mom and dad to be alone. With my kids being the only grandkids it makes it fun for Papa and B-Ma to spend the holidays with their grandkids.

Aunt Courtney helped us color eggs. This is always a favorite for my kids! Our tradition includes coloring eggs the night before and leaving them out for the Easter Bunny to hide. Then in the morning we have to find the eggs so we can eat them for breakfast. This year the Easter Bunny had new hiding places because we were at B-ma and Papa's house. He hide Whitney's basket in the closet downstairs in the play room and he hide Caysen's basket behind the curtain in the living room.


My kids got spoiled with three egg hunts! Before we went to SLC our ward had an Easter breakfast and an egg hunt for the kids. The day before Easter we took the kids on an egg hunt at the park with our friends April and Richard and their kids. The kids got to see the Easter bunny and have their picture taken with him. Then on Easter B-Ma put together an egg hunt in her yard for the kids. She filled plastic eggs with prizes like candy, money and toys! The kids loved it!


Another tradition is to buy new matching church outfits for the kids and take their pictures. Here are a few of the many photos I took.

My Grandma Turns 90!

My only grandparent I have left accomlished a new milestone. She made it to the grand age of 90! I love my grandma Eulalia May Blair. She will always have a special place in my heart because I was named after her, I was born in the month of May, I named my daughter Whitney after her and she was also born in the month of May. We took a trip to SLC for the special event. We had a big birthday party in my parents backyard. All of the family came which was great! it had been a long time since I had seen a lot of my cousins. My Aunt Beckie had a video put together as a surprise for my Grandma. It included photos of my grandma growing up, photos of her children and grandchildren and interviews from her children. It was a touching video that brought tears to my eyes and many others. We had a nice BBQ meal with delicious sides and some homemade cupcakes for dessert. Grandma got spoiled with gifts and had a great time!

Broken Femur

I went to SLC for a photo shoot. John was supposed to stay home with the kids but he wanted to go snowboarding with his friends. He called and asked my friend Melanie if she could watch the kids while he went snowboarding. I had my photo shoot for the Mrs. Utah pageant. After the photo shoot I went to the mall to shop for an evening gown. I was enjoying myself when suddenly I got a phone call from John's friend Sam. He told me that John had broke his femur but that he was going to be okay. I was in a panic thinking about my kids and the fact that I was out of town and now John would not be returning home to them. I immediately called Johns mom but she did not answer. I called his sister Becca and she didn't answer either but I got a hold of her husband Fred. He said they could come to St. George to care for the kids and be at the hospital with John. I was thinking maybe John was trying some kind of a crazy trick but he said he went to the side of the slope by the trees and followed his friend over a little bump. There was a turn after the bump and John didn't have enough time to turn and miss the trees so he threw his body to the side but his leg hit the tree. He tried moving his leg but only the top half moved and he knew it was broken. His friends got help and they put him on a sled and took him down the mountain to the clinic. He was in excruciating pain but they claimed they were not aloud to give him anything and that he had to wait for the paramedic to come. The ambulance ended up getting stuck in the snow on its way up Beaver mountain. John was put in the back of a pick up truck and taken down the mountain to the ambulance. By this point it had been 2 1/2 or 3 hours with no pain meds! They gave him morphine when he got in the ambulance but that didn't do anything for his pain so they gave him something stronger. He was taken to Cedar City but they did not have proper equipment for surgery so the ambulance had to drive in a blizzard to St. George. The ambulance ended up having engine problems along the way so they stopped at a Wal-Mart in Cedar city to get parts. The driver did not know how to fix the problem so John had to walk him through it while he was drugged up and laying on a stretcher. He finally made it after a 4 hour journey from Beaver to St. George. I left SLC first thing in the morning so I could get back to the kids and see John. He ended up having surgery. He had to get a steel rod drilled through his hip and down through the center of the femur with a screw to hold it in place. it will be permanent. It is going to be a long recovery and he won't be able to wake board for awhile or work for a couple weeks. HE is using a walker right now and will slowly graduate to crutches. Here is a picture of his x-ray.

Mrs. Utah US Continental

I can't believe I was crowned the new Mrs. Utah US Continental. After several pageants I finally got to experience my crowning moment as my dream came true. My husband, kids and parents were there to support me during this journey. My journey was long and exhausting as I prepared mentally, physically and emotionally for the pageant. I spent countless hours finding the perfect evening gown and the best aerobic wear that was the most flattering for my not so perfect body. I spent more time at the gym than usual trying to get into shape for the pageant. I spent a lot of time filling out my application and judges biography form. I also spent time driving to SLC for meetings and photo shoots and the actual competition. Of course you can't take part in a pageant without all that glamorous stuff so I spent more time getting my hair done, buying new make up, getting a tan, getting my nails done.....But, I think I spent the most time preparing my platform. I put a lot of thought into what would be the right platform for me. I decided on "Reach Out And Make A Difference". Because of my experience with fund raising, community service and helping others I felt it was a perfect platform for me. I am so excited as I embark on this new journey.

Disnayland

It's a tradition every year that my mom and I take the kids to Disneyland over spring break. This year Grandma Z came with us. Usually St. George has an earlier spring break than everyone else which ends up being the last weekend before the busy peak hours start. This makes it nice because the lines are not that bad. For some reason this year Disneyland was PACKED! I guess the spring break schedule changed for some states. Instead of it being the last weekend before the peak season it ended up being the first weekend of peak season. It was horrible! We tried to make the best of it. Whitney went on the Tower of Terror the last time we came to Disneyland and it scared the crap out of her. This year she absolutely refused to go on it again but my mom and I talked Suzan into going on it. She didn't know what to expect. It was so funny to see her reaction. I think it kind of scared her too. Caysen was in car heaven when he saw Mater and Mcqueen. He was checking out the wheels and their mouths. He was starring and touching and loving it! He couldn't get enough and we had to drag him away! Even though Whitney is seven years old she still insists on being in a stroller. She says it's not fair that Caysen gets to sit in a stroller. So we always rent a stroller. Besides, it makes it easier for us to get around and do things faster if we can just push the kids. Whitney NEVER takes naps! Ithought it was funny that she actually fell asleep in the stroller. Crazy how us adults are the ones doing all the work yet we have more energy than the kids and can't get enough of Disneyland but the kids get so worn out LOL. I wonder if she will still be in a stroller when she is 10?