San Francisco Weekend

Jake & I were able to take a weekend trip back to San Francisco without our kids!! He is getting ready to start building his practice, so the company he is working with to get equipment paid for us to go to the dental convention. Jake was able to go to many vendors there & pick out most the equipment he will be using in his office. It is a large convention, so we did a lot of walking (& standing) as we looked around. I tried to stay interested in most of the decisions, but there were some things that were just hard to stay focused on as Jake talked to the representatives. He seems very excited about all his choices, so I am happy for him.
While we were there, we were able to do some things outside of the convention. I did a little shopping downtown & fortunately it didn't break the bank. I definitely could have done some more walking around at the stores, but it's probably best I didn't. We went to some great restaurants, watched part of a Giants game (from the back fence that is right on the field--actually not a bad view), listened to Lance Armstrong speak & did a little sightseeing & reminiscing as we drove around. We had a great time, but realized we are glad to not be living there permanently--traffic, fast-paced, crime, expense, dirty, etc...we loved living there while we were there, but we are very happy to be where we are now.

The Blazzards & us attempted to eat an Earthquake at Ghirardelhi--we actually did it!!









We ate at a really fancy restaurant--The Campton Hotel Restaurant (I think that's what it's called) located in Union Square. We went with the Blazzards & Coach. This is the food that I ordered. Despite how it looks, it tasted pretty good. It was a unique experience for us all.









The Blazzards & us ate at my family's favorite restaurant in SF--Eric's. It is a great Chinese place that is fast, good prices & great food!!









We weren't real close to the stage for Lance Armstrong's speech, but I got somewhat of a good picture off the jumbo screen.









It was great to be together with some of my closest friends--Lisa Dana & Heather Blazzard.

"Time Out For Women"

Martha (my sister) and I went to the Deseret Book's "Time Out For Women" conference here in Boise. I had never been to one before, but heard a little about it. About a month ago, I got a flyer in the mail about it, so I read through it & when I realized who the speakers would be, I knew I wanted to go. The hostess was Mary Ellen Edmonds--she is hilarious!! As the day went on, she got funnier & funnier. The musical guest was Kenneth Cope--he sang inbetween the speakers. The speakers were

Jane Clayson Johnson (used to be on the Early Show until she decided to stay home & be a mother), Stephen Robinson (BYU professor & wrote "Believing Christ" & "Following Christ"), Chris Stewart (military pilot & writes a series of books)




and Sheri Dew (former RS General Presidency counselor & president of Deseret Book). All the speakers were amazing. The topics were so uplifting & just made you feel like you were a renewed person ready to go back to your life & take challanges head on. They were entertaining, personal, spiritual, just fantastic talks!! There were about 2600 women there--I was so surprised. I thought maybe 300. Boy was I wrong. They had sold out so the room was packed. Martha & I commented many times how glad we were that we were there & I would love to go again next year. They have other programs--Time Out for Couples & Time Out for Women & Girls. I'm sure all of them are worth going to. I would recommend this program to anyone if they were questioning whether or not to go. I rarely take time to do things for myself & to have an entire day to have the spirit talk to me & focus on what's important in life really is a boost to your self-esteem. I took so many notes & have replayed many thoughts that were shared back through my mind. Being a woman, a daughter of God, a mother--all of these things are titles to be proud of, not frowned upon. I need to realize I am making a difference in this world. It may be only within the walls of my home, but there are 5 daughters of our Heavenly Father that I am influencing & I want that influence to be for good.

Crypto Disease

I've heard about this Crypto Disease that's been going around in Utah & Idaho. It's a disease that you can get from swallowing water--pools, lakes, rivers, etc. It's passed from feces so it can also be passed if someone has changed diapers or not washed their hands after going to the bathroom then they can pass it from having it on their hands, too. It has to be swallowed--that just sounds so gross to me. It can take 2-10 days from when you were contaminated to show up & it can last 1-2 weeks.
The week of Sept. 2nd, my kids took turns having a little sickness--mostly diahrea, their stomachs hurting a little, too. It lasted a few days each & then it was over. On Sept. 8th (Sat), I started feeling sick & figured it was what they had. By Monday, I was on the couch & having a hard time getting off & helping the kids. I had this terrible pain in my stomach, diahrea, bloated, gassy, just miserable. I couldn't eat anything & this lasted into Tues. On Tues, I felt nauseated & had a headached plus the other symptoms. By Wed, I was feeling much better until that afternoon. I started getting these awful cramps in my stomach. They were so bad I was laying on the floor & couldn't get up. Nicole had dance, but I knew there was no way I could get her there. I somehow called a friend to take her for me--the cramping was so bad I could hardly get any words out. The cramping lasted for about 1/2 an hour & then they finally went away. The next day I woke up feeling pretty good, so I went ahead & tried eating--I had a lunch date with some friends. Eating just wasn't what my body wanted. Everytime I ate, this pain in my stomach came back or got worse. I didn't eat much until Sat. for lunch & I tried a salad--not a good choice. My stomach pains came right back. I figured that maybe if I didn't eat anymore than the pains might finally go away. Sunday I stayed home from church. I was feeling better, but I was so drained from not eating all week. By Sunday night I was feeling pretty good, so I ate some Ritz crackers. They tasted so good that I ate half the package. Monday went pretty good--still tired, but I ate a lot more. I probably shouldn't have had the popcorn last night cause the pain is back a little this morning, but hopefully I'll have more energy from getting some food. I'm on about day 10 so it's got to be getting out of my system soon. I'm just glad my kids didn't get it as bad as I did. Jake never got it (thank goodness), but all the girls did. They've handled it really well so I really don't know how long each one had it.

Allie's 3rd birthday

Allie turned 3 today!! She has been so cute about her birthday coming up. She's invited all kinds of people to her birthday party (which there was no birthday party besides the family one). We've been trying to teach her that she is no longer 2 & so she will say she is now 5. She definitely acts 5 sometimes. Maybe she wants to go to Kindergarten so she thinks if she says she is 5 then she will be. Who knows. The day started out pretty normal--got up, got the kids off to school, got dressed & then headed off to Wal-Mart. She loves apple juice & we've been out, so I thought we'd get her some for her day. While there, she kept asking for a cookie from the bakery. I told her she could choose--a cookie or go get a Krispy Kreme donut. To my surprise, she chose the cookie. I think she is one who wants satisfaction now. We went & got the free cookie & she was happy. I took her to the dollar store & let her pick out a balloon. I wasn't surprised when she picked Dora. We got home & decorated cupcakes for her dessert then did things around the house until her sisters got home. She really didn't talk about her birthday much. I wasn't sure if she really knew what was going on. We had her birthday dinner--mac N cheese, hot dogs (not my favorite, but it's what she asked for) & then it was time for presents. She had them all set in front of her & she began opening one after another. She barely looked at one before off to the next one. When she was all done, she asked Jake if he could go to the store & get more presents for her to open up. I think she thought that part was fun. She was now ready for her cupcake. She was so excited to eat it. After she blew out the candle, she didn't say anything until the cupcake was gone. She was savoring every bite. The little pleasures in life. Happy Birthday Allie!! Your family loves you!!

My baby isn't a baby anymore...

My baby is growing up too fast! She is changing everyday & it makes me sad to see her leaving the little baby stage & moving towards the toddler stage. She is so much fun & we all just adore her. Her latest milestones are clapping, waving "hi", doing the sign language sign "more", sticking out her tongue, mimicking laughs, and she is now crawling. I haven't wanted her to learn to crawl cause now I can't keep her in one spot, but I guess we can't hold them back in life. It is so fun to watch her & see her concentrate on what her body is doing & try to make it go where she wants it to go. It is amazing these little ones can learn all that they do in such a short time.
She also is quite the chatterbox. She makes all kinds of sounds & is realizing that she can express her opinion with these sounds while also arching or kicking her body around. I think the frustration tantrums may start soon. =(


Brooklyn is showing us how she claps. She sees anyone clap, even on TV, & she joins in --using her whole body.



Brooklyn crawling across the room to some snacks...














Brooklyn loves to stick out her tongue...

Storm on the lake

We took the kids & some cousins to the lake on Friday. The weather report said 30% chance of thunderstorms, so we decided to go ahead & go--it was a small chance. We played in the water for a couple of hours--tried wakeboarding some more, rode the tube, did some swimming--we were having a great time. We'll the clouds starting coming in & we noticed on the mountain nearby dust blowing all over. We figured we had a little time left, so Melissa said she'd wakeboard one more time. We got her in the water & before we could get the boat ready to go, the wind picked up & there were waves all over--white caps!! The boat was being pushed into the bushes on the shore, the boat was rocking all over--it was getting crazy! My 6 year old neice fell & hit her head on the window- fortunately it didn't crack her head open. We noticed some cars on the roadside had pulled over to make sure we were ok & not stuck in the storm. We hurried & got Melissa in the boat & took off towards the dock. We left our tube on a floating dock & when we went back to get it, it was blown off into the bushes. We decided to go back later & get it. By now we had a seen a few strikes of lightening. The kids had huddled under the front cover on the boat & water was splashing all over--I couldn't get to the shore fast enough. We docked the boat & just ran to some cover on the shore. The sheriff came later & said there was a storm warning for at least 3 more hours. We decided it wasn't worth it to wait it out. Jake & my sister-in-law, Lucy, got the tube, put the boat on the trailer & we headed home. Not the sunniest day on the lake, but a memorable one. We feel we were very lucky no one got hurt.

Melissa in the water as the wind picks up & starts making bigger waves.














The kids hiding under the front cover of the boat as the water is splashing over the top.