Another Weekend - More Birthday's

June 26th

This weekend was a birthday party for Paul's Grandpa, he turned 80 this year. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and celebrate with Paul (Grandpa). The theme was a Luau and Vonda and her brother and Sister went all out. Paul's uncle added onto his house to make the kitchen/living room area larger. Anytime there is something going on where a lot of space will be needed we do it there, it is a perfect space to have everyone over to.

The Birthday Boy

After a lot of the guest left we pulled out the limbo stick.

I don't want to forget my Sister, her birthday was on the 27th. We went to visit her and the kids but I did not remember to get any pictures.

Because it seems like we have spent every weekend in down with our parents, living out of our suitcases and sleeping where ever we could find a bed, we decided that we would go home on Saturday night so that we could be up for church on Sunday. It is just so nice to sleep in our own bed and be in our own place.

What a Weekend

Minnetonka Cave

We had a lot of plans for this last weekend but non of them worked out so on Friday night Paul suggested that we go up to the Minnetonka Caves up by Bear Lake. It was a lot of fun to take a day trip and get away. The good news about taking a leisurely day trip is that it didn't matter that the map quest directions that we printed off were wrong. We just backtracked and asked for some directions. When we got to the cave the next available tour was at 4 o'clock and it was only 2. Of course it was raining so we made ourselves a sandwich in the car and took a nap. It was a fun little tour and just nice to get out for a bit.

You guessed it, The Entrance

Paul said this one looked like a little monkey, sure enough
they call this the Monkey Skull

Kermit's Castle

The wedding room

Of course we can't go to Bear Lake without getting a Raspberry shake

When we finally made it down the mountain we kept waiting for our phones to get service so we could see if anyone had sent us any news about our sister-in-law and the baby, she was being induced at 11:30. Since we didn't have any messages Paul called his mom to see how things were going. As it turns out it was not until 11:30 p.m. not 11:30 a.m.

Just about ever weekend since school has been out we have been down in SLC for different things. This weekend we had decided that we were going to stay at home and be able to see the new baby and sister-in-law next weekend when we come down. I think Paul saw the excitement in my face when we realized that we had not missed anything. When put together with other things that were happening over the weekend we still ended up down there.

We got to the Hospital at about 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning and visited for a while. My parents house was pretty close so we decided to head over there after a bit and get some sleep. Since it was Fathers day on Sunday everyone came over, half of the family lives there and the others do not want to miss out on my mom's Sunday roast, so it does not usually take a special occasion to find everyone there on a Sunday. We were also celebrating our nephews birthday so he opened his presents before dinner. He was so excited that his mom got him a jersey outfit he practically jumped out of his clothes to get changed.

Swim Trunks from Grandma

Ball and bate from his Aunt and Uncle (not us, oops)

In his new Jersey from mom

Helping Grandpa open his Father's day present

Happy Fathers Day

My brother and his wife bought a 4wheeler, my nephew calls it the motorcycle,
he and his sister wanted a turn to go out on it.

Look Ma' no hands

Enjoying a wonderful Sunday afternoon ride

Another Uncle teaching him how to ride the dog

Right after dinner Paul got a text from his brother saying that the baby was born. I'm not one that likes to push my way in or hover over people so we left about a half hour later hoping that we would miss the crowd. By the time we got there most everyone had cleared out so Paul and I got to hold her for a long time. Then the nurses took the baby to bath her and so they could move the mom into another room. It was nice to be able to stay and visit for a bit, we did not get out of there until 10:00. Our wonderful Sister-in-law let us just hangout and visit with them even though I was sure she was so tired. I think it was really fun for Paul and his brother to be able to spend some time together too.

The Uncle

The Aunt

Paul is really excited. This is the first niece on his side.

As we were leaving there was a page for an LDS Elder, it was a little bit confusing trying to figure out what was going on but Paul was the only one who answered, they asked him to go back up to the Women's Center for a blessing.

Being so late by the time we got out of there we decided to spend the night at my parents again. I, of course, was fine with this because that meant we would pass by the hospital on our way home and we could stop and see the baby again and her mom and dad. I LOVE being an aunt. We couldn't help ourselves so we stopped at Wal-mart and got some balloons and a little stuffed animal, as well as a soda and some treats for the new parents. Pauls brother seemed especially excited about the Mt. Dew.

Look at all that dark hair.

To the Logan City bike thief..........I WIN

Note: This ended up being a bit of a longer post. Enjoy.

I love having my bike up here but we haven not been able to use it much because it has rained so much. My friend has also asked me to start training with her for a bike ride next spring. I love bike riding and this would be great to have someone to go with. The tire on the bike has been flat for a couple of days so yesterday before Paul went to work he got the holes patched. On Monday night I closed all the windows and locked the doors but stayed up all night doing laundry and cleaning.

We visited with Pauls grandma over the weekend and were told that she went into the Hospital on Sunday some time. They said that she has the H1N1 flu. (Side note: we hope you are doing well Grandma) So instead of getting done all the chores I wanted to do around the house I spent the whole night disinfecting everything and doing laundry - I washed everything.

At 7 in the morning I finally went to bed and did not get up until noon this morning. I told Paul that when I put the tire on the bike it still seemed a little flat. At noon I rolled out of bed and we were going to take a look at the tire. When we went out to look at it my bike was gone. We walked around all of the town homes and then decided to get in the car and drive around for a bit. After about an hour and half or two we came home so that I could make some phone calls and because it was now past lunch time and both of us were hungry.

I called the police station to let them know so that if my bike was turned in I could get it back. The officer told me not to approach anyone. If I saw it in someones yard that I was supposed to call into the police and they would come and take care of it. If someone was riding my bike then I was supposed to try and follow them until they stopped and then get a hold of the police to come and get it for me. This all sounded easy enough.

Our Neighbors came over and we told them what had happened. My friend offered to drive me around to the Pawnshops in town to see if someone tried to get money for it. About six I tried to get a hold of her but she was busy and a bunch of other things happened to set us back.

We had driven around our neighborhood a little bit then decided to head north up Main. As we talked I looked down every street and alley. I knew if I was going to find my bike it had to be today when it was stolen or who knows what would end up of my bike when the thief was done with it. At 4th North I saw two boys on some bikes and you better believe that one of them was mine. I have been asked how I was able to tell it was my bike while we were driving down the road and the kid was on the bike as well? This was the first and only bike I have ever bought. I did not know in the 7th grade I was pretty much done growing so the bike would still be a good fit when I got older. This wonderful blue bike and I have been through a lot. Summer rides with my cousins, neighborhood outings with Chancy, countless camping trips and a number of crashes. The other thing is the brand of the bike, it is not made any more, they went out of business a year or two after I bought mine and chances are that not too many people are holding onto bikes as old as mine.

As I see my bike I was thinking of what the officer told me "just follow them and then let us know where they are at. We'll come get it." But I was so excited that I actually found my bike that has been with me for more than half my life that I just wanted it back. My friend pulled out of traffic and and slams on her breaks. Before she had come to a full stop I had the door open and jumped out of the Trooper, this was not the smartest thing to do since I was in flip-flops and was not wearing my brace on my ankle. I decided not to yell anything at the kid on my bike until he got closer so I did not cause a scene and so he did not have the chance to dart into the parking lot and get away from us. I walked in front of his friend who road around me and stepped in front of the kid who was on my bike. He actually stopped for me so I straddled the front wheel.

Me: Get off my bike, I'm taking it home.
Josh: What do you mean?
Me: This is my bike, and I'm taking it home.
Josh: It's mine.
Me: Where did you get it?
Josh: A Friend.
Me: Who's the friend?
Josh: Well I found it at Willow Park so it's mine.
Me: What? how do you even come to that conclusion?
Josh: Well I found it so it's mine.
Me: You found a perfectly usable and well maintained bike at the park and you were just going to take it instead of taking it to the Police Station?
Josh: Well, Ya.
Me: OK, Get off. I'm taking my bike home.
Josh: What do you mean it's mine.
Me: IT'S MINE AND I'M TAKING IT. GET OFF!!!!!

Mean while, as Josh and I were getting to know each other, his friend road off and left him. He finally got off at which point I told him to have a pleasant walk home. I asked the kid for his name and he told us Josh, who knows if that was really his name. My friend then took me for ice cream to celebrate.

I am so happy to have my bike back. We would not have the money to buy a new bike if I could not find mine. I did not realize how sentimental I was over my bike until I had mine back. It sucks to loose something or misplace stuff. But when someone takes something that you have worked for it feels so violating.

Logan City Bike Thief: 0
Me: 1

Look Alike

On Sunday we went over to a friends house to have a BBQ and play some games. Janelle is a great one to play games with. She is competitive and loves to learn new games. There is always the three of us and there is always a couple of random friends. Since we were doing game night at her house she invited some friends from her ward to come and join us. Paul and I were sitting on the sofa when her friends came over and before anything else was said one of them walked over to me and told me that I looked like the blond on the TV show Heroes. I, however, have never seen the show so I had no idea who she was talking about. Paul said he could see it. After we got home I got on the Internet to find a picture and put them together.
What do you think?


The rest of the night was pretty good. Janelle had gotten a Wii for Christmas and normally I am NOT one who likes video games, I just didn't grow up with them. But the Wii is something I can do. With all of those ridiculous games and when you lean with the controller it actually leans in the games too. Of course I was really excited to play so we spent most of the time on the Wii until everyone went home and Paul and I were left. Then we pulled out the board game Carrcassonne. I could not get anything to go my way so I decided that I was going to go for the farm land points at the end of the game. Long story short: it was intense but I was able to pull it off.

Four Things About Me

I got an e-mail from one of Paul's aunts and thought it would be fun to put it on here to share.

Four JOBS I have had in my life:
1. Interior Design Intern - HKS Architects
2. Office Administrator - Raser Technologies
3. Editorial Assistant - Creating Keepsakes Magazine
4. CNA

Four MOVIES I've watched more than once:
1. Sandra Bullock Movies
2. Meg Ryan Movies
3. EverAfter
4. All the movies we have, I had a lot of time to watch movies while I spent endless hours in the Interior Design Studio for School

Four places I have LIVED:
1. Logan, Utah
2. Indianapolis, Indiana
3. Minnesota
4. Wisconsin

Four places I have BEEN:
1. Nauvoo & Carthage
2. Yellowstone
3. Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
4. Niagra Falls, Canada & USA

Four of my favorite FOODS:
1. Any kind of Chinese Chicken - NO veggies
2. Mom's Sunday dinner
3. Paul's BBQ chicken
4. Zuppa Soup

Four places I WOULD RATHER BE right now:
1. Victoria Island, Canada
2. Anywhere with Paul
3. Camping
4. Recife, Brazil

Things I am looking forward to THIS YEAR:
1. Anniversary Trip
2. NOT starting school in the fall
3. Temple Trip
4. Finding a job

Four TV shows that I watch:
1. Dancing with the Stars
2. Still Standing
3. 24
4. NCIS

New Hobby

I was looking through some pictures of a friend and saw a really cute crocheted hat. I have not been able to find a job and the ones that are available my doctor told me I can't take them since I would spend most of the time standing. To help me fill my time I asked my friend for the pattern to her hat but there was no way I was going to be able to figure it out. The most I have done is really simple scarves with the basic stitch. So I sent the pattern to my Aunt to try and help me figure it out. That night, Friday, I decided that I should try to figure out some of the basics so that when I saw my Aunt on Sunday I would be able to better understand what she was talking about. From a website of free crochet patterns I found a beanie that looked pretty easy (the stripped one). My friend came over and we sat in front of the computer looking up stitches on YouTube to figure it out and by the time she left we both had a beanie. I made two more that weekend, but took one of them apart because I didn't like the way it turned out.

When I saw my Aunt last Sunday she showed me how to do the spiral using the front post stitch. Then I made the pink/brown beanie with the spiral using the basic pattern from the brown one but just changed it up a little bit.

Jon Schmidt

I saw a special on the news about Jon Schmidt and the success that he is having with his arrangment of Love Story meets Viva La Vida. Then a friend posted it on her blog and I thought I would do the same. If you have a subwoofer hooked up to your computer make sure it is on. It is one of those that puts a smile on your face. Both of the songs are great and amazing together.

ENJOY!!!