The song I can't escape

This morning I was listening to Christmas music while I was getting ready for work. Suddenly, "Feliz Navidad" started to play. How did that get on my i-pod? (Oh yeah, a friend gave me a Christmas mix and I didn't look it over very carefully before I added it to my play list. Dumb me.) I quickly ran and changed it. Then I sat down to eat breakfast. And while I was watching the morning show, they played that song as an intro to a cooking segment. As I was driving to work, again the same annoying song came on. I thought I was stuck in some weird alter dimension that only plays that song. That is probably one of the worst Christmas songs. It is extremely repetitive and therefore twice as annoying.

A few years ago, I went to a work Christmas party and the band they had there played that song not once, but twice (one with maracas and one without--big difference). I thought I would go insane. And now I can't stand to hear that song. But it seems that anywhere I go, that stupid song follows. Why?!! Is there some conspiracy to slowly drive me insane?

Some Assembly Required

Alright, I realize that its been too long since my last post. The truth is that I was hoping to put up pictures of all my Christmas decorations. Since they still aren't done, I figured I'd at least put up pictures of my tree.

But before I do that let me tell you a little story about that tree... I braved the crowds Black Friday morning to get my tree for a bargain $49. I loved it since it's 7.5' tall, pre-lit, and uses LED's. I love a good deal. Well, I decided to put it up the following Monday. I fluffed the bottom layer and decided I better look for the main cord before it got too hard to find. So I crawled around on the floor and looked and looked, but couldn't find it. I thought, "it can't be this hard to find, there are usually several giant warning tags on a main cord."
C'mon, why did they do such a great job hiding the cord? Fifteen minutes later (did I mention I'm stubborn), I finally decided to look at the directions. They decided to hide the cord in the middle section of the tree. Arghhh!!! (So glad I wasted the time crawling on the floor.) I put the middle section in and fluffed it and gave up. This is what my tree looked like for the next few days.
I lost heart and didn't feel like doing much decorating. I put the top and the ribbon on on Thursday and finally got around to finishing it on Saturday. Here's the end result:
Notice, there's no tree topper. I can't find one I like. I'm fairly traditional about that and want a good star or angel for the top (sorry no fluffies or bows will do). I guess that's not the thing these days so the main stream stores only carry a limited selection. I guess it will have to wait until next year or better yet...after Christmas clearance.

My Current Obsession

Ok, so I've become a bit decorating obsessed...with my porch. I know, it probably seems totally weird. The thing is, I have dreamed of having a porch area since I was a little girl. (My family always teases me that I was the most practical kid ever...bet you didn't know a kid could dream of having a porch.) So now that I'm in my new house and it has a great porch, I've become obsessed with decorating it for the holidays. I found the perfect witch themed decor for Halloween. I also have the perfect fall wreath, pumpkins, and corn stalks that are there right now.

Now that it's coming time decorate for Christmas, I've been on a mad hunt for just the right inspiration. Here are some of my favorite pics I've found.

My porch isn't this big, but I like the lighted trees.

Love the homey feel of this one.

Do you think it would be too obsessive paint my door red? I just love this one!!!

Totally classy idea that could be slightly changed and used year-round.

How cute is this? So simple and yet so great.

I think this one would be fairly cheap and simple to pull off, especially if you already have the pots.

Ok, I don't have the money for these, but aren't they gorgeous?

Fun substitution for a wreath.

So I also got some good ideas at Tai Pan, but I don't have any pictures. I promise to post pictures of my fabulous porch once it's done. I hope these inspired you too.

Mom's Birthday

So I'm really slow about posting. We had mom's birthday last Saturday and I'm just posting about it now. Oh well, life gets busy.

We planned mom's party more like a 6th birthday instead of a 60th. We sent out invitations and planned games and activities around that theme. We decided to make it a princess themed party. Since Michelle and I were in charge of invitations, we decided to add the line "Prince and Princess costumes optional." This was a bit of a joke and more of a way to get the point across that it was a child themed party. We had no idea anyone would actually dress up. I was chastised because I actually have at least 3 princess costumes, but like I said, I didn't know that was part of the plan.


When mom arrived she got a wand, tiara, and cape. We played musical chairs (one kids version and one adult version) and pin the tail on the donkey and had a pinata. We also had a craft table so that guests could make their own princess wands. We ate pizza, breadsticks and salad and we had a cupcake tower. Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. Although we forgot a few things, I think it all went pretty well. Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Musical chairs--the kids version

Adult version (they were more competitive than you might think)

Mom took a few swats at the pinata before the kids took over

Barbie Girls

A couple of Saturdays ago, Michelle brought her girls to my house for a visit. I've always wanted my nieces and nephews to visit often so I made sure I had toys to play with and things for them to do. I pulled out my old box of Barbies and let Abby and Ellie play with them. They loved it! Abby became fascinated with a wind up mixer and Ellie loved the Heart Family bike (you know the one with two seats for the Mom and Dad and two seat for the twins). I noticed how pathetic my old homemade (the ones I made) Barbie clothes were, but I have some great accessories. I also have the entire Heart Family (even if Ken's head keeps falling off). I loved those Barbies and had a very difficult time giving them up when I was younger. Now, it's so much fun to watch them being enjoyed by another generation. And every time they come over, that's the first thing Abby asks about. Good thing I saved them. :)

Why would you knit that?

Many of you will remember the email I sent several months ago with that horrible boob scarf that someone knitted. (If not here's the link). I hope you got a good laugh from that. For more horrible, tacky and gross things that people knit please visit http://whywouldyouknitthat.blogspot.com/. Just be careful of who's looking at it with you (some things are not appropriate for children). I promise a good laugh and you will definitely wonder, "Why would you knit that?"

Vote For Broccoli

I got this article in my email today and thought it was truly powerful. I have difficulty expressing my political views and the reason I vote the way I do. This article summed it all up for me. It also helped me to refocus on who I should be voting for and why. I hope you'll read it and reflect on your own decisions. Here's the link: http://www.thoughtsalive.com/2006/10/vote-for-broccoli.html

I'm not the most politically outspoken gal, but I feel a great responsibility this election more than any other (maybe its my age) to vote responsibly. I've come to realize that I must really research the candidates and even look outside the two party system (thanks for the challenge Mike). If I want the world to be better, then I can't sit idly by and watch it deteriorate. I have to do my part.

Oh My Wordle!

If you want to try something fun, go to http://wordle.net/ and type in random text or your blog address. It takes the words and creates fun word art. It give more prominence to the words you use most often. I love typography so I think its really cool. This is what mine came up with when I typed in my blog address. I never realized I use the word "really" so often. I changed the colors to be fall themed and the font to something I like. I guess this fits my mood right now. I hope to see one on your blog soon.

I'm Home!

I made the long, long trip home on Sunday. In all, I spent 22 hours traveling from the time I left the hotel in the morning till the time I made it home that night. Needless to say, I have no desire to get on another airplane any time soon. The flights home were awful since I was sick the whole way home. I'm so happy I had aisle seats, but all I really wanted the whole way was my own bed. My ankles swelled up nice and big. I was able to get a foot massage at the San Francisco airport so they went down a little before I got home.

I went to Mom's house for Sunday dinner instead of going straight home. I really missed everyone and wanted to talk to people about my trip. By the time I left, I was so exhausted and unable to think clearly. When I got home, I fell asleep quickly. I spent the whole day Monday sleeping and doing laundry. I hadn't planned to take a comp day, but I was just so exhausted.

It's so good to be home and to be with people I know and that speak ENGLISH. I really appreciate my life and all the blessings I enjoy living in the USA! Just a reminder that no matter how bad things get, we are still so very, very, very blessed to live here.

I walked and walked and walked and....

Yesterday, we drove two hours (each way) to Guanzou to attend the Canton fair. It is a gigantic trade show. There were so many Chinese factories and distributors exhibiting there. We walked 6 of the floors. There were 14 halls and each hall had 2-4 levels which amounts to 33 floors. I don't know if you can understand just how big that is so here's a picture:
As you can see from the picture, each hall has over a thousand vendors. Every so often I'd start to sing, "Pioneer children sang as the walked and walked and walked and walked and walked..." Each time I say "walked" it sounds more and more tired. By the time we got back to our rooms last night, I was so exhausted. Oh well, it really was a good day! We had a lot of fun too.

Too bad that today, I really don't feel good. Maybe it was that awful ham and cheese sandwich I ate for lunch yesterday.

Laundry Service

My clothes have never been treated so well. I had to send my clothes out to be laundered. They ironed my jeans and t-shirts (I never do this). At home, I'm lucky to get them hung up or folded before I wear them again (sometimes they come straight from the basket). Oh well, here my clothes get the royal treatment. Hmmm... laundry service at home. How would it be?

They hung my pants up in the closet and wrapped my t-shirts in tissue paper and placed them in this basket.

Eating in China

Nothing terribly exciting has been happening for the past couple days (just attending a trade show and finishing up a visit with a factory). I thought I'd post tonight about eating in China.

They take their food very seriously here. Especially for guests. They want to serve you their very best which includes seafood and fish--not things I enjoy. They also use every part of the animal and I mean every part--duck heads, pig heads, duck and chicken feet, pig feet, cow lung, cow tongue, really anything and everything. It is the norm here to have fish served whole--yes, it's still looking at you. They pride themselves on having the freshest food. In fact, they want to show you how fresh it is and that's the reason for the "live" menu (things were really still alive when we walked through). I met one guy here who said he was once served a fish that was so "fresh" that every time he stuck his fork in it, the fish's mouth opened. Here is the best picture I could find online of a "live" menu:
This is fairly close to what I saw only the fish were still in tanks and buckets, still swimming around. Oh, and the food wasn't covered with plastic wrap.

Traditional service style here is called "round table." They take you into a room and everyone sits around a round table with a lazy susan in the center. They only bring out one or two dishes at a time and set it on the lazy susan. They turn the lazy susan and always offer it to you first since you are their guest of honor. You can understand why there would be a lot of pressure to eat everything you're offered regardless of whether or not you actually want it. For this reason, I have tried things that I never would have otherwise. They love to watch your reaction and get great pleasure out of your enjoyment (or lack thereof in my case). You only take a little (two or three bites worth) at a time and pass it on to the next person. New dishes are added one at a time and each one is always offered to the guest first. Since the table is always being turned, there is always food in front of you. Here is a picture I found online:
This shows two things that aren't typical--plain rice (I have to beg for it since it is considered common food) and it looks like they brought out all the food at once--but this will give you a pretty good idea of what its like.

Manners during eating are very different than in the states. They always bring out a hot towel to start with. You wipe your hands and face before you eat. They eat very quickly here and eat a lot at these dinners. Literally, it feels like a race to consume everything. Before you finish one thing, they're already offering something new. They also chew loudly and slurp a lot. This can really get on my nerves. Not a whole lot of talking goes on during the meal, but there's a lot of noise. At the end of the meal, they pull out the toothpicks and start picking their teeth. They also smoke when they're finished. They don't generally do this in front of me (they leave the room). I think it must be because I'm a woman because other people I work with say this isn't the case for them. Oh, and for dessert, they bring out a fruit of some kind. Normal desserts are fairly uncommon here.

I hope I don't sound too critical. Really, it is just a different culture and I'm merely pointing out the differences. They are a very kind people and want to give and show you their very best. Some things that I really enjoy while I'm here are their fruits and vegetables. They have some unique fruits that are very yummy. And it is customary to have fruit plate delivered to your room every night. I really enjoy the way they prepare their vegetables. They are very tasty. I may try to imitate some of it at home.

There you go. When you come to China, you'll know what to expect.

Funny Stuff In China

I'm pretty tired tonight so I'm going to keep this short and tell this story through pictures.

We got a little silly after working all day in a hot, humid environment. I took this picture to demonstrate the massive size of the box that the machine I'm working on will come in. (Thanks Owen for being kind enough to oblige). It's actually more suited for two small children, but a grown man, as you can see, also fits.
Here is picture of yet another round table dinner. Gee golly I love these! I ate way too much of food I don't really like (it's one of those social things here). Really though, this one was probably the best one I've been to. It much more casual and fun. Pictured are Jack, Denn, Ken (all from our China office), Me, Owen and Edward (both from ATL). One woman among men.

Here's a picture of the room I'm staying in tonight. As you can see, it's the ideal room for a peeping tom. Really, why would they do this...a window into the bathroom? I put the shade down in there immediately after taking this picture. It creeped me out way too much.

Pop-U-Lar

Yesterday, I went to the copy mall with Ken and his girlfriend. It was kind of fun at first. Everyone was so happy to see me. They all wanted me to see their stuff and of course buy it. I was very popular. After a while though, it got a little annoying with people grabbing me and wanting me to go into their store. I found a store that I felt good about and went in. I started looking at catalogs and pointed out some stuff I liked. They brought it from their "warehouse" and I picked out the ones I wanted. Then the bargaining started. Exhausting! I left with a few things, but I wasn't able to get everything I wanted. I was so tired of the whole process that I just decided to leave. I'm hoping I get another opportunity to shop while I'm here. We'll see.

Ok, here's a funny picture:

I guess it really is true. There really is a Walmart on every corner. There's also an underground Walmart just up the street from my hotel. Talk about world domination! (Ok, here's something funny. I saw this and told Ken I wanted to take a picture. He said we could do it after dinner. I thought we were going to walk up the street a bit. It wasn't far. But no, he insisted on driving and we got in horrible traffic. I'm sure he thought I was crazy for wanting to get a picture, but he was nice enough to oblige. Thanks Ken for going to all the trouble to satisfy some crazy American. :)

On Jet Lag, Smiles, and Proposals

I thought that I was doing fine until about 5:00 yesterday (Friday). We were riding in a car on the way back from visiting a factory. Suddenly it hit, jet lag. I kept dozing and then I kept wondering when we'd get back to the hotel. All I wanted was my bed. The car we were riding in had trouble so we had to pull over and catch a taxi. When I finally made it back to my room (about 6:30), I crashed. I woke up around 8:30 and got ready for bed. I didn't wake up again until 8:00 this morning. So much for my thoughts that I beat it. Oh well, I'm glad we finished early so I could go to bed early.

Yesterday I learned how to make it through with a smile. My driver came to pick me up at my hotel in HK and he didn't speak any English. So we drove in silence. We went through customs (odd experience, very surreal, like a scene from a movie). Anyway, we made it to my hotel where I met up with Ken from our China office here. It was great to hear him speak English.

We went to the first factory. No one spoke English so I had to rely completely on Ken for translation. The whole time I was touring the factory, there was some girl taking pictures of us. Then the owner insisted on getting his picture taken with me (smile). He took us to some restaurant where we walked through what can best be described as a live menu and picked out what we wanted to eat (or rather they picked it out and I pointed out some things I could tolerate). Then we went to a "round table" room to wait to be served. (I should've recognized this as a "round table" dinner.) Anyway, I ate some pretty odd stuff, but I made it through with a smile. When the owner found out I was single and that I owned a house, he proposed. Lucky me. (nervous "help me" smile)

We went to the second factory. This time both people we met with spoke a fair amount of English. Several times I didn't understand their English so I simply nodded and smiled. I toured their factory and learned more about mold making and injection molding. Very interesting! Oh and as we were leaving their factory, I spotted a large rat (cringe) scurrying through the trash. Luckily I was in the car so I felt a little safer. If not, I might have screamed. Oh and I experienced true grid lock. We literally moved only a few inches per minute until we reached a main highway. Super fun!

I don't have any great pictures to share other than these two of my room and the view out my window. (I really wanted to get one of the "live menu," but I didn't want to seem weird.)

Trip to China

I made it to China! I've essentially been traveling for a full day. I woke up at 4:45am and drove to airport to make my 8:30 flight to San Francisco. I had a four hour layover before I boarded my flight for Hong Kong. I snapped this picture of my plane.


As you can see, it is quite a large plane. This is like one of those planes you see on the movies with an upper floor (I think first class) and really nice business class seats (with oodles of room and fully reclining seats). I, of course, passed by those seats (I haven't made enough trips to China to earn business class yet, thank goodness). But, I didn't have to go all the way to the back. The company was nice enough to book me an aisle seat in Economy Plus. Now you might not think that three inches is much extra room, but on a long international flight, it makes a huge difference. So...I'm very grateful for three extra inches (oh, and the aisle seat was nice too).

Once I got on the plane, I quickly put on my neck pillow, face mask, and ear plugs and covered myself with a blanket. I was out so fast (I only got an hour of sleep the night before) that I don't even remember take off. I slept about 5 hours (gotta love face masks and ear plugs to block out the world) and woke up only because my seat mate needed to get up (she had to really poke me). I read, watched movies and napped until I arrived here in HK. Once I got off the plane, I quickly felt like cattle--following the crowd to board the train, being herded through immigration, and then herded onto the hotel shuttle (moooo!!). Two things that assaulted me as I left the plane--oppressive hot humidity and the smell of BO. The smell is nauseating. Its one of things you have to deal with while you're over here.

Anyway, I made it to my hotel and now I'm ready for bed. Good thing I only got an hour of sleep before I left. I'm already on their schedule. So while you are waking up, I'm going to sleep (its almost 10:00pm as I write this). Gotta love the 14 hour time difference. I have to wake up early to meet my driver so that I can go to mainland China tomorrow. So good night for me and good morning for you.

Leaf Peeking

During the 2 hour break between the Saturday sessions of conference, Mom and I went leaf peeking. We drove through American Fork canyon and up around the Alpine Loop. The colors were spectacular. We didn't get out of the car since it was raining, but the view was still fabulous. The yellow of the aspens was almost flouresent. I loved the contrast of the light green, yellow, orange, and red against the deep green of the evergreens. I understand that the leafs are at their peak right now so we caught it just right. (So take the opportunity for a drive before its gone.) Here are some pictures from our trip:

Alpine Loop

Upper Falls--Provo Canyon

I just wanted to make sure I got to enjoy this before I traipse off to China. I have a feeling that when I come back all of this will be gone and the winter winds will be blowing. I love the fall--cooler air, fall colors, pumpkins, more restful pace, and warmer clothes. I pulled out my sweaters and jackets. They looked so good to me. I remember looking at them in the spring and not wanting to ever see them again. Now, I can appreciate their softness and warmth. I guess I just really appreciate the change of seasons.

Doin' the can can

Ok, so the title of this post is a little deceiving. As much as I love to dance, I can't say I know how to do the can can. But, I do know how to can. I love canning. I look forward to this season every year. Its my fall hobby. I know it doesn't always make a ton of financial sense, but since I enjoy it and since what I make tastes so good its worth it. I love the homemade salsa, spaghetti sauce, apricot butter, apricot leather, plum/apple leather, peaches, and plum jam. I'm so spoiled that I can't imagine buying these things at the store since they just wouldn't taste as good. I also love seeing all that I've made sitting on my shelves. I get sense of personal satisfaction every time I see all the bottles lined up.

Last Wednesday and Friday, I went to Mom's house and canned peaches. Julie and Kaisa joined us on Friday. It was a lot of fun to spend the time together and with our combined efforts we were able to do more in less time. Also, Jeanette and Michelle benefited from our labors since they weren't able to come. Kaisa really enjoyed being there and helping. I'm so happy that she is learning this valuable skill. Kaisa, Julie and I did the peeling and mom did the other stuff. I think mom had the hard job. Anyway, we all had a lot of fun and now have a lot of yummy canned peaches. Here are some pictures from our evening:

Fun with Abby and Ellie

Last Monday (Sep. 15), Michelle and Russ went to a work party and asked me to watch Abby and Ellie. I loved it. I got to spoil them a little. I took them to Cold Stone. Abby and Ellie both got pink (strawberry) ice cream. Abby chose sprinkles for her ice cream and I chose strawberries for Ellie. It was so much fun watching them enjoy their ice cream and listening to all the fun things they had to say. I love simple moments like this! I feel so lucky to be an aunt. I need to take time to spoil all the nieces and nephews.

Fitting It All In

I know this is late, but I thought I'd update this anyway.

--Sep. 5-7
Mom and I went down to visit Jeanette, Chris and Tyler at their new place in St. George. It was so nice to spend time with them. We went with Jeanette and Tyler to the Brigham Young House, Jacob Hamlin House, and Snow Canyon (Chris was working). We also found a great quilt store. That night, we went swimming in Jeanette and Chris's pool (fancy eh?). It was a great visit. I hope to visit them again soon (if they'll let me). Here are some pics from our visit. We got a picture of all of us together at the Brigham Young house, but it's on Mom's camera.

Mom and Tyler at the Jacob Hamlin house

Snuggling with Tyler (he kept whispering gibberish in my ear--what a fun little boy)

--Labor Day Weekend

I was invited to tag along with Marla and Dave and Mom on their trip to Panguitch Lake. Marla and Dave have friends (Al and LaRue) that are camp hosts there. They were so kind and a lot of fun to meet. They have a beautiful fifth wheel that they live in for the summer so they have guests stay in the Ranger Cabin. We had a fabulous view of the lake. It was so peaceful and absolutely beautiful. I can understand why they keep coming back every year. (Hmmm...maybe I'll be a camp host when I retire.) We go there late Friday night (Mom, Marla and Dave stayed longer than planned at a funeral and we had to stop to fix a flat tire on the trailer). Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast at the Panguitch lake lodge and went for a fabulous ride on the four-wheelers. Here are some pictures:

The view from the reservoir to where we started.
(the arrow shows where the next picture was taken)

The view from the top down to Yankee Meadows Reservoir.
(the arrow shows where the last picture was taken)

This last picture was taken after the ride. Don't I look great all covered in dirt? We were only able to ride the one day since the weather was too cold and wet the other two days we were there. We rode in Marla and Dave's Explorer. The scenery was no less spectacular and it was kind of nice to stay a little cleaner. Every morning and night we had visitors at our camp. Two does and their fawns. Here's a pic I was able to snap.

Closing Ceremony

I just read Jeanette's post on the Olympics and I thought I'd record my own experience. I was quite the faithful fan and saw a lot of the events. I stayed up far too late just to catch the best events and interviews with the athletes. I saw great examples of sportsmanship and rooted (occasionally screaming at the TV) for my favorite athletes. I witnessed the inevitable dumb questions from the sportscasters. I also hoped on a few occasions that a competitor would mess up (I know shameful). I saw Michael Phelps win 7 of his 8 golds. I also watched a lot of the volleyball matches of Kerri Walsh and Misti May-Treanor and I even saw them win gold (p.s. I wish they'd wear more clothing when they play). I got choked up when I heard our national anthem. I'd say caught some of the best moments of these Olympics. So you might be shocked to hear that I'm glad they're over. The reasons...I need to do my canning, get my boxes unpacked, paint my office, clean and organize my house, weed my yard, mow my lawn, get to know my neighbors, and get to bed at a decent hour. All of these things were neglected while I was glued to the television for the Olympics. But like I said, I did enjoy myself so I guess it was worth it.

Update on last post: I am now sleeping fine in my new house. I check the doors 2-3 times and make sure they're all locked and secured before I go to bed (I can thank mom for that obsession) and that seems to help me not hear the noises as much. I do occasionally find myself wondering where I am at night when I wake up, but I soon come to my senses and figure it out. One thing that does keep me up is wondering if I'm missing paying a bill. If anyone has some great organized way to remember when everything is due, I'd love to hear suggestions. Anyway, things are going very well in the new house. I love that the kids play in the streets and that their parents come out at night to watch them. Its a great opportunity to socialize and meet people. I love my neighbor Sandy who lives across the street. I can tell we're going to be great friends. She was the first to welcome me to the neighborhood and has made consistent effort since to get to know me. This is great since I'm so shy.

Things that go bump in the night

Everyone keeps asking me how I'm sleeping at my new place...to be honest, not all that great. It's getting better, but I still get startled by every creak or bump I hear at night. I'm very grateful for the white noise provided by the fan in my bedroom (thanks for the help, Russ). I'm sure it would be a whole lot worse without it. The other day I left the curtains on the sliding glass door open. When I got home that night, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw my own reflection. I consider myself a very independent kind of girl and this fear is a little embarrassing. I know it will go away with time. It's just a little hard right now.

I do love my house though. I love taking care of it and having a sense of ownership in something. My neighbors are very nice. Its so exciting to feel like a part of a neighborhood (something I've missed since I was very young). People have also been very kind to me in my new ward. It's kind of nice that the ward was recently split. I don't stick out so much as a "newbie" (I hate sticking out) and everyone is just trying to get to know everyone else. It's really good all around.

My Summer Vacation

It seems that everyone I talk to is ready for summer to be over...it's so hot! I keep saying that my summer is just beginning. I have been so busy with work, school and the new house that I haven't had a chance to enjoy it yet. So if you don't mind, please start wishing that summer will last (or at least stop wishing it will end).

Here's what I've been doing to make the most of my short summer:

--Wednesday August 6

Julie and Gary were nice enough to invite me to spend the day at Lagoon with their family. I haven't been in probably five years. Things have really changed. I think the rides are a lot better. I had a blast riding the rides with Wyatt, Blake, Kaisa, Gary and Julie. Poor Julie, her neck was hurting the whole day. She didn't feel like riding much, but at least she was able to go on a few slides at Lagoona Beach. The worst was that she got whiplash on "Wicked".

The rest of us had a blast. Thanks again for inviting me. Here are some pics from our day:

Wyatt and me on the Sky Ride

Kaisa, Blake, Wyatt and Gary on the Log Ride.

Kaisa, Wyatt, and Blake waiting to ride the bumper cars.


Greta enjoying her new stuffed walrus and Wyatt's stuffed shark (No, she's not sleeping; she just hated the flash)

---Sunday August 10- Wednesday August 13

This year for the annual Sego family "camping" trip we went to Timber Lakes (above Heber). My mom found a wonderful cabin for us with plenty of room for everyone. It had a great area for the kids to be noisy and play and two bunk rooms for the boys and girls to sleep. I shared one of the master bedrooms with mom and the other one housed Jennifer and Craig for two nights and Grandma and Grandpa for one night. There were four bedrooms upstairs where Julie and Gary, Jeanette, Michelle and Russ, and Jeremy and Dana stayed (oh, and a loft where Jen and Craig spent one night). It also had a huge kitchen and great room where we spent a lot of time together talking, eating, and playing. The surrounding area was so beautiful and peaceful. All around the cabin there were aspens and wildflowers. There was also a big pond across the way (close enough to enjoy it's beauty, but not too close to be dangerous or suffer too much from the mosquitoes).

Every night, Wyatt and Abby made me take them on a walk and we always ended up at the pond. They were so much fun and made me laugh. The second night we added some additional kids to our evening walk.

Emily, Elise, Abby, Amy, David, and Wyatt pose for a picture on our evening walk.

The last night we were there, I took Abby and Wyatt to the pond to throw rocks in the water. I showed them how each rock made "rings" in the water. After that, they were competing to see who could make the biggest rings. Each one was sure they'd won. I'm not sure how they could tell, but, hey they both won so that's a good thing.

While we were at the cabin, the women managed to get away to go shopping at the outlet mall in Park City. Jeanette brought Tyler and he became my little buddy for the trip. He's quite the talker (jibber-jabber). I taught him to hide in the clothing racks (you can thank me for that later, Jeanette). He enjoyed smelling the soap at Bath and Body Works (don't tell Chris). What a fun a patient little boy.

Greta was my little shadow the whole trip. She'd follow me around the cabin and cry until I picked her up. She sat with me every morning while I ate breakfast and anytime I sat down, she wanted to sit on my lap. It's awfully nice to feel so loved. Here's a picture of Greta and Tyler snuggling with me on our first night at the cabin (Ellie tried to sit with us but left because it was a little crowded).

Ellie was so busy the whole time. She's almost outgrown the snuggling stage. :( I did get her to go on walks with me. However, now she loves to run instead of walk. This led to a few falls on uneven ground. That little girl has a lot of spunk and adventure in her. No wonder she needs her sleep. Here's a picture of her on my shoulders after she fell asleep on one of our walks.


A couple of years ago, I started a pajama fashion show with the girls. This year they wouldn't let me forget. On our second night there, the girls strutted their stuff on the stairs and did their best turns and posed on the landing for our best fashion show yet. Here they are in all their glory.

Awards: Most Couture-Amy, Best Bum Shot-Elise, Best Runway Walk-Kaisa and Grace, Best Hair-Emily, Best Pose-Abby

When the boys saw that I gave out Airheads Candy for awards, they decided they needed to do a fashion show of their own. They did their best fight poses instead of turns and fashion poses. Yep, they're boys.

Awards: Best Matched Pajamas-Eric, Most Eclectic Pajamas-John, Most Fashionable Pajamas-Blake, Best Fight Pose-Brad and David, Best Smile-Wyatt

On Tuesday, we all went to the Alpine Slides. Everyone rode except Michelle (8 months pregnant), Julie (injured neck), Jeanette (tending Tyler), and the three littlest ones (Ellie, Tyler, Greta). I was lucky enough to ride with Lucy. She's such a mellow kid and I think she enjoyed it (hard to tell). I think we got a bum sled and track because I was pushing forward the whole way and at times I was worried we would stop. Oh well, it was probably best since I had Lucy with me. I don't have any pictures of us at the bottom, but here everyone is getting ready to go down.

We had so much fun together. The best part was just being together. With everyone so busy and Jeanette moving to St. George, sometimes we don't get to spend a lot of time all together. This was a welcome opportunity to have some fun as a family again. Maybe next year we can convince Mike and his family to come.

I'd say I've done a pretty good job packing in the fun into my short summer. It's not over yet and I'm determined to enjoy it as much as possible.