One more thing I didn't have my camera for:

When we had some government-assisted apartments in our ward about 2 years ago, we had gotten pretty close to a cute little grandma named Marta. She is from Argentina and so, of course, she loves Mike since that's where he served his mission-and the fact that he's very loveable! She speaks really broken English, but if I listen hard, I can understand what she's saying. When we get together, she and Mike speak in Spanish. The kids and I get a kick out of hearing Mike speak in Spanish.

She makes us empanadas! The kids love them! We just got a batch after the new year. She sent them home with our Bishop (who also keeps in touch with her). She has been calling asking Mike for advice because of some legal (this cute lady was accused by someone in the apartments of mischief) and money problems....so we have been chatting more than usual lately (giving her advice and sympathy).

We told her that we would come over Monday for FHE. Mike called and told her we were coming around 7:30pm. We got there, chatted for a bit, played with her dog and pretty soon she had us sit at the table. This cute lady had made us empanadas again! We had already eaten....but we had to eat this meal she prepared for us! *Bye-bye diet :)* They are delicious!
She had also made a dessert....something like a cookie with jam on it....but it was in a big pan.

Anyway, I thought a few times while we were sitting there that I would love to have a picture of us with Marta. Our kids love her. She has our Christmas card picture from 2 years ago on her fridge. She is poor....yet, she knows we love her empanadas and makes sure we have enough to eat whenever we visit. (We have taken her some groceries once and always return her plates with a treat on it).

I just wanted to make sure I journaled that we have this cute lady in our life. She is so funny...we learned how her husband died this time around. He was only 48 and was in some civil unrest in Argentina and was killed. She said he kept telling her that they needed to learn English. She didn't believe him and said he studied and she only did a little. And then she said...'and now look at me!' She has 2 kids....one lives in Sandy, the other in California. I don't know how she got in Kville...maybe another story for another time.

I Wanna Soak Up the Sun!

Mike is out of town, so that means I don't go to bed very early....and it's a good time to catch up my blog!

(Someday I will use my Photoshop Elements to fix the red eye and doctor up my photos...someday)

We made a trek this weekend to try to find the sun! The smog has been soooo bad this past week or so and it had finally made us want to flee! So, Mike got off a little early on Friday and we headed south! We made a quick (not) stop in Lehi for some sushi.....kind of becoming a tradition- and didn't end up getting into S.G. until about 8:30p, but plenty of time to grab a few things at the grocery store and then hang out watching 'Willy Wonka' with the kids. The kids love having their own rooms and the tv's in each room are a huge bonus! Brandon takes turns sleeping in each room....

We woke up the next morning wanting to see the sunshine and were so excited to get out and enjoy some January outdoor activities, but it was RAINING! We thought...we just drove 4 hours for this!?!?!? Even though it was raining, it was still warmer than Kville, so we loaded up the kids and did a little shopping.

Diva Sydney showing off her new clothes
I think the girls have finally come into their own as shoppers when we walked through the doors of Childrens Place and they were like kids in a candy store! Within one minute, they had each picked out 2 complete outfits! Mike & Brandon decided this was too much mania for them and headed toward the toy store (KB-which is now out of business). I calmed the girls down, set some limits and then we picked out some cute clothes.
It was fun for me to see them sooooo excited!
Brandon's new rockstar shirt...and army guy pants-picked out by Dad-he likes having a boy!
Amanda getting her camera ready....we need to learn how to download her photos....sounds like a job for Daddy. Amanda showing us her new clothes and cute polka-dot shoes!

After shopping, we went to In-n-Out Burger! A brand new addition to the S.G. area! We got there early as we expected it to get crowded.....and it got crowded! By the time we left, there were 20 cars in the drive-through-Twenty! We told the kids that Uncle Evan loves this place and each had a fry in his honor. Evan was deployed this month and left on Tuesday for Krygstan (I'll have to look up how to spell that correctly). We are proud of him and his service to our country and are praying daily for his safe return and for Jamie & the kids.
Love you guys!
We needed to find some shoes for Amanda for the girls' theater class performance which is this Saturday. This will be their last show as we are pulling them out...just trying to simplify a bit. Anyway, the production is High School Musical and Amanda is one of a few Sharpay's. Sydney is a cheerleader. Amanda needed high heels she can dance in, so we walked from lunch over to Payless Shoes. Again....shopping mania commenced! It was so strange!
The girls had the best time trying on all sorts of shoes! Amanda wears a 3 to 4 in kids sizes and was so excited to find out that she can wear a 6 in womens sizes! This started..."Can I have this?" Each girl left with 2 pairs of shoes, I got a pair of shoes and we got Brandon another pair of sneakers as his are getting small.
Mike was smart and didn't join us at the shoe store until we were done. He and B went to Best Buy and picked up Lego Star Wars for the Wii. That equals boy happy!
Present for Brandon?
Or Mike's present to himself?
After that morning, we decided we needed a break! So we went to a movie. We saw 'Hotel for Dogs' a Disney type movie about kids who take in homeless dogs and make a new home in an abandoned old hotel. Cute for kids....we were bored. Then, this started the whole "Can we get a new dog?" begging from our kids again. We are holding out for the right time. Mater has made us dog-shy about getting another dog although I think we both would like the kids to have one while they grow up. If we could only have Tucker and Bax back!
After the movie, we called Kay & Bud. Kay answered the phone and made fun of us for bringing the fog and rain to St. George! Aaron & his little family and some friends were also down for the weekend. K&B had Staci's kids all week, so Stace & Kev were also on their way to pick up their kids. We went to their house for dinner and a good visit.
They warmed up the hot tub to 98+, but didn't warm up the pool...it was about 60 degrees. The kids got some borrowed suits and jumped in the hot tub. It wasn't long before they all were in the pool! And even some, like 4 year old Tate, were going down the slide! Crazy! I wish I had my camera with me.
We had a great time visiting and the kids LOVED hanging out with Staci's kids! It was a fun surprise in our weekend! We haven't seen Bud & Kay since last Easter. We were giggling at how cute Bud was, because when he saw Mike was wearing his Sugar Bowl Champs locker room hat, he went and got his....the were twiners! Then, Bud tried to sell it to Kevin for $50!

After a lazy Sunday morning, complete with the blueberry muffins Brandon had been asking for, we started cleaning up and packing to come home.

The girls writing in the guest book the details of our trip and a thank you to G&G Arv!

We started driving in snow about Fillmore (right, Mikey?) and it was solid until we got to SL. We stopped for dinner in Draper....just glad to be past point of the mountain and not stuck in snowy traffic. We hydroplaned a few times over our trek! Then, onto G&G Arv's for a family get together. We tried to make it to Gibby's, but it didn't happen and we were a little anxious to get home before the snow made it harder.

We pulled into the driveway about 9:15p. Brandon was BEGGING Mike to play their new Star Wars game. So, as I put the girls to bed, Mike was a stellar Dad and played Wii with Brandon for a little while. The next morning, Brandon woke up wanting to play Wii with his Dad again and Mike stayed home from work for a little while to grant his 3 year olds wish. He is so sweet!

Mike late for work....

So, the verdict on our weekend? Completely worth the drive! We had a great time as a family, the sun came out eventually and renewed our spirits, and we were able to relax!

Eagle Eye

Our cute neighbor, Taye, came running to our house the other day to inform us that there was a bald Eagle in the trees behind our houses! Although you can't see it well in this picture, it was really quite cool! The kids were so excited! I got out the binoculars for a close-up view and was quite enthralled. I was just glad we didn't have a small dog outside at that time!

And then, Brandon needed some camera time with his string cheese trick.

I was just trying to document his bed hair!

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day!
I found this quote on my friend Kim's blog. I LOVE it! I hope she doesn't mind me borrowing it

Live your life in such a way
That when your feet hit the
Floor in the morning
Satan shudders and says,
'Oh, crap...she's awake!'

Utes on Parade!

Kate, Coze, Garrett, Sydney & Amanda with her U
I took the kids downtown last Friday to watch our Utah Football Team in their victory parade! We picked up Darin from his office and parked at Roger's office building. We met up with Staci Medina & her kids and Cozette & her kids.
There were A LOT of people downtown for this party!
Brandon just wasn't feeling himself and kept asking to go home. I guess that's what 2 ear infections and a sinus infection will do to ya. We kind of lost Staci & Cozette when the parade started. There were so many people, and Brandon was sick. Because I had to carry him, I didn't want to fight the crowd to get closer and we just sat back, climbed up on the Traxx curb and watched from a distance. Darin took my camera and got us some pictures.
From the Traxx curb
The parade ended in Washington Square at the City/County Building. We stayed for the pep rally party! Too many politicians spoke, Coach Whit, Brian Johnson (quarterback), confetti flew and the fans cheered! We wore our beads that Mike brought us back from the Sugar Bowl.
(Terrible pic of me, but some lady was goosing me with her stroller! - Cute kids, though!)
We had a great time and although it was a little harder to do with a sick Brandon, I'm glad we did it! It would be great if we did it again next year!! Go Utes!

Snow Fun!

One night, about bedtime, the kids decided to go play in the snow! We got hit hard with quite a few storms in a row one week and it gave us a good base to play in. The kids got snow brick makers for Christmas, so they decided to build a fort! The boys across the street were building one in their backyard (with the help of their four-wheeler-they piled up snow in a corner and made a 'door'), so the competition was on!Amanda & Brandon working out the building area. Amanda was so cute to help Brandon build.

Sydney was working hard! When she sets her mind to something, it gets done!

A short stop for some snow angels! I think this might be Brandon's first one! Way to go, bud!

Brandon helps Amanda with her snow angel before they go back to work....

About this time, Mike woke up (remember, he's really sick!) and felt like a bad Dad because he wasn't out playing in the snow with his kids! So, he got his snow clothes on and went out to help!

They got a really good start on a great fort. The sad thing is the next day the sun came out and slowly started to melt their creation! By Day 3, there wasn't any sign of a fort anywhere! But, they have the good memories!!!

Just a side note: while the family was out playing, I was in the house working. I had the washer and dryer going, the dishwasher, the microwave and when I turned on the vacuum and started vacuuming....I blew a fuse! It was kind of funny because it turned off the outside lights and garage lights! Mental note not to do that again!

I am a Utah Man, Sir!

Here is the report from Sugar Bowl! I will retell it as well as I can...and Mikey can correct me if needed. He was so excited to go! I'm so glad everything worked out so he could! Mike went with his brothers, Scott & Doug and his Dad, Jim.

They ate at this place: Mothers...some famous place in New Orleans. Mike said their 'famous' sandwich was fine, but nothing to brag about! Here are the boys walking down Bourbon Street. Mike said it's pretty amazing the racey stuff they have out in the window fronts. Definitely not a place for our kids!

Lots of 'Bama fans. Just the opposite of when we went to the Fiesta Bowl and it was mostly Utah fans!

They went to the hotel as the team was getting on the buses to go to the SuperDome! They slapped high fives and Mike told Coach Whit, 'Good luck' and Coach Whit said, "Thanks" and Mike says this is why they won! Way to go, honey!

Coach Whittingham

Here is a building still broken from Hurricane Katrina - Mike just thought it was interesting.

Walking to the game....

The SuperDome!

Go Utah! They would spend a lot of time scoring in this end zone! Utah fans - and Mike & co. sat right above the band

Game on!

Hey Utes! Have a Sugar Bowl Trophy!!!

Bringing it to the fans!

Mike had a GREAT time! But he did say he missed us! When they had left the game, they went looking for a place to eat dinner. Mike started feeling sick! When he got home, he slept for 2 days straight! Full on fever, chills, out cold. At least it held off until after the big game! Go Utes!