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.

Hello for the first time

So...I was inspired to start my own blog after receiving news that my sister Jeanette had begun one (I think Michelle deserves credit for being the first in the family). I'm not sure how many people I'll even tell about this, but I thought it might be fun to keep up with close friends and family. I know, I know. I see my family quite often, but its strange how much I find out by reading their blogs. I guess that when you come from a large family, you forget who you've told something to. I find that I tell the same people things over and over and by the time I'm done, I think everyone knows. (Now I understand how you feel, mom.)

So...here's to some great future posts.