Kenny

I'm not a huge fan of attending concerts

or a fan of large crowds

But I do enjoy good friends

good people watching

and country music.

Which made last Thursday night a BLAST at the Kenny Chesney concert.

Thanks Jacquie, for putting this together!

Wings

While sitting through Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, Emma entertained me immensely!

__________________

Emma: "Mommy, does Jesus live in there?" (Pointing at the A/C vent)

Me: "No, Jesus lives in heaven."

Emma: "Mommy, is heaven in there?" (Pointing at the A/C vent again)

__________________

Emma: "Mom, do you have wings?" (Flipping my sagging tricep - aka Relief Society arm)

Me: "No!"

Emma: "Can you fly with your wings?"

Me: "Stop touching me!"

__________________

The funniest part of the day was driving my boys up to spend the night at my parent's house. On the way home, Emma was being persnickety about her little girlfriends.

I made a comment about being nice to them that she didn't like.

Emma: "I'm gonna call the cops on you!"

Me: "I'll do it for you"

I flipped open my phone and 'dialed' the police and reported my bad behavior. Emma starts throwing a fit that I've reported myself to the police.

I cruise off the freeway at our exit only to find a HUGE accident. Police by the dozen with lights swirling are WAITING to TAKE ME AWAY!

Emma FREAKS! at this point because now I'm going to jail with the cops.

Oh, the joy of mentally torturing your child!

She won't be wanting to report me to the cops again . . .

Viqueens

I was waiting to post what my next big endeavor is going to be.

Waiting to finalize the whole big deal ~

And find 11 friends who are as equally stupid awesome as I am.

But today, I have got to post my intentions ~

Before I cut myself off the team because I'm overwhelmed.

I therefore proclaim my intention to run the Ragnar Relay!

Tah-Dah!

What is a Ragnar Relay?

Imagine this: RED ROCK then VIEWS OF THE STRIP at night then more RED ROCK. You and 11 of your closest friends running relay-style day and night. Starting in the red rock oasis of VALLEY OF FIRE State Park, your team of 12 maniacs will be embarking on a 180 MILE ADVENTURE-FEST sure to fill all of your desires. The party in your van will only get better as you leap frog your way past the breathtaking views of LAKE MEAD, stunning views of the strip at night and then onto the majestic cliffs of RED ROCK CANY0N The race (and your stamina) will wrap up at Red Rock Casino in the one and only city of sin, LAS VEGAS, NV.

Most days this sounds like TERRIFIC fun -- but after miserable running experiences this week, I'm ready to find my own replacement.

Photo Homework

Here's some of my results from the Outdoor Lighting class last Thursday.

It was great, challenging and made me think!

Not sure these are great, but I am loving the practice.

No sun flares - but an okay sunset.

Torture

Here's how I torture Josh while waiting for Emma at swim lessons.

He hates it.

But I don't focus on how Emma looks like she's drowning,

And I become more familiar with my new 55mm lens.

Good times!

If only I could incorporate zit popping with photo taking it would be TRUE torture for him!

Hunger Games

Thanks to my friend, Stephanie, for finding this game on-line.

If you haven't read the book -- you should!

Can't wait for September!

Click HERE, or the picture, to go to the game.

Gene Pool

Saturday I took a stroll near my local Gene Pool.

Here's what I saw:

(My mom and 3 Aunties - eerie similarities . . . . )

(My FAVORITE Cousins, Aunt & Uncle! They are so nicely getting their photo taken)

(My family 'trying' to have our photo taken)

(SUCCESS!?)



(My cousin's son - come on, that's pretty good photo, right?)

I think it'll be a while before I get that close to the pool again . . . . .

A-Camping We Shall Go

I think I'm missing him more than he's missing me~

Holy Crap!

A day after announcing changes to my funeral plans look what happened:

http://collinsfuneralhome.com/vincent-wendy


and here's what a great gal Wendy Vincent was:

http://wendyvincent.blogspot.com/


It's a little unsettling, isn't it?

My heartfelt sympathies to this family. It's sounds like the world is missing a very wonderful person.

Sadly, you're all still stuck with me.

Better Glimpse

Emma is mad at me today

for not knocking on the neighbors door

to see if she could play.

I sent her up to the door by herself.

While I watched.

Emma said she's telling Heavenly Father on me.

And he's gonna be REAL mad.

I laughed.

Then she cried,

"You don't like me!"

My heart broke!

I professed my love.

And made her walk up to the door alone anyway.

I may, or may not, be in trouble with God.



Slightly better quilt photos than last night:

Note: Hornets no-likey being covered by quilts

Hearts & Stars

Better photos will come, but it's late at night and my quilt is FINALLY finished.

It's not my favorite.

In fact, I've hated it and swore at it . . . repeatedly.

But now that it's done

I tolerate it

Maybe even like it.

Which one of my 5 quilting projects shall I finish next?

Yes, 5 is NOT the actual number of unfinished projects,

but let's not go there.

Updated Funeral Plans

I've received new insight for my funeral plans.

Please follow these guidelines per my instructions:

1. Pallbearers wear baseball caps

In memory of the ball caps I always use to wear. I think this is a better choice than having them wear pajama pants which I have a passion for also.

2. Pay the crowd control police officers out of my estate.

I hate to see the toll that MJ's funeral had on the state of California, so please use the money from my estate to save Pleasant Grove from the same situation. I figure we'll need officers to channel overflow parking into the rec center and the drag. That will probably mean some crossing guards on 2nd south and closing a few other streets for the procession.

3. Have the speakers all say that I meant the world to them or that I was everything to them!

This seems to work especially well if you get some fabulous athlete to come and spout these lies about me. Apparently true, sincere sentiments aren't necessary at a funeral service.

4. T-Shirts!

Yes, print lots of T-shirts!! I want my name and photo for sale the minute I die. Nothing would please me more than my name plastered on everyone's chest.

I'll keep pondering other instructions for my funeral, but that's good so far.

Under Pressure

I'm embarking on a new journey this week.

It's incredibly scary to me . . .

And it requires 11 friends to do it with.

In finding 11 crazy wonderful people to join me

I inadvertantly traded Pressure for Encouragement.

Stress bucket that I am, feels bad my words were poorly chosen.

**************

What I meant to convey was:

I think you can do this

And this journey will be rewarding.

I would like you to join me.

But trust yourself to tell me no if you can't do it.

******************

I had no idea that the line between pressure and encouragement could be crossed so easily.

Have you ever found this line to be delicate?

Tradition

Can it be a holiday tradition

that I never seem to do the same thing each 4th of July?

Josh wondered if we even had a tradition for the 4th.

After recounting everything we've done the past few years . . .

I realize we never do the same thing.

We don't watch fireworks from the same place,

we don't have a picnic each year, we don't always see our extended family.

I felt guilty . . . but then decided I'm really not the

"Keeper of Tradition" type of mom.

I admit, I wish we did more tradition things --

but it's hard to get it all organized

and match schedules with everyone.

I was pretty darn happy this year

with making last minute plans

with my parents and chillin' at the park.

I think it turned out pretty good!


(Plus a great opportunity to try out more photo taking skillz)

Freedom of the Press

After starting my July 4th Holiday with a browse of my favorite MSNBC website I came to realize just how much freedom of the press means to me.

I can't imagine that if I lived in any other country there would be so many 'intriguing' stories to be read in the news.

For instance:

1. Students get X-rated surprise in class DVD

In this story a teacher made an end-of-school-year video for each of students. Unfortunately, she forgot to remove a clip of her having sex. What an education each student got! Melanie, I put this in here for you. Aren't you glad you didn't make a video for each of your students this year?

2. Police: Arizona woman led sons on crime spree

Here you can read all about how to get your house payment and car payments made
by driving the get-away car for your pre-teen boys. I can imagine what
these boy's chore charts look like: Monday - Rob a Bank / Tuesday - Steal
Cell Phone / Wednesday - Take Candy From a Baby.

3. Dognapper Demands Sex

This is just WRONG for so many reasons. Maybe the thing that bothered me
most . .. the dog's clothes!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

4. Father Says He Shot Sons for Refusing Chores

Let's just say that each of my boys have been made aware of these new
consequences for not doing chores. Also, I noted that maybe my 20+ year
old children should MOVE OUT!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Ah . . . Freedom of the Press. It's just one more beautiful part of this holiday!