Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Kids from 2nd Ward



I love living in Southern Utah...but I also miss my friends from Sandy.  I had many "sisters" there and we helped to raise each other's children.  I also served many years in the Young Womens and those girls were like my daughters.  That is why I get so excited when these kids come to stay for a few days.  It helps that I live at Zion National Park's front door and that I am St. George's  neighbor !

Ian Lee, Adam Lee and Court McMullin came to stay this past week.  They were so nice and did some honey-do things for me.  I love having men around!  Big strong capable young men that just make me feel taken care of.  Thanks boys for helping  make my outside look better :)


Also, Thursday was Court's 24th birthday.  I went the day before to order him a birthday cake from the local grocery store.  I told the man taking my order,  "This is for a 24 year old guy, so I want it to be masculine.  No roses or flowers."  He asked me if balloons and streamers would be okay.  Of course!  Imagine my surprise when I arrived the next day to pick up the cake.  It was done in pastel pinks and blues.  The plastic balloons were baby colors as well.  Obviously the order-taker and the baker did not communicate.  So I left with a cake meant for a baby shower...not a grown man's birthday party!  I let Court know the baker must not have known whether he was Court or Courtney...and whether he was 1 or 25.  Court was a good sport about it and said, "I am a metrosexual baby."



On Friday night, I was excited to have Katelin and Cassidy Cook join the group. They were on their way to a family reunion in St. George.  We stayed up late catching up and remembering.  It was so fun!



Saturday morning came too quickly and after breakfast they were all off.  Thanks for coming and bringing a smile to my face.  You are all welcome anytime!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Our Salt Lake Getaway

We had a fun-filled week in Salt Lake.  June 13th was Brooklyn's seventeenth birthday.  She was excited to be in Salt Lake where she could see some captioned movies.  She chose to see The Avengers.  After the movie, we headed over to Red Robin where we enjoyed a late dinner and a humongous piece of cake.


The next day was also an exciting one.  Brandon was graduating from the Police Academy as a Sandy City Police Officer.  I am so proud of him.  Once he married Amber he recognized the importance of getting a career and supporting his little family.  When he was younger he wanted to be a firefighter, then he wanted to be an entrepreneur - opening a store/concert venue for local artists.  Eventually he decided he wanted to be a detective.  Becoming a police officer is the first step on that road.  He began taking classes at University of Phoenix.  He also applied for the police academy.  Their were 167 applicants and openings for only six.  His character, his mission experience, his bilingual abilities and his skills all brought him to the point that he became one of the six.  After a grueling few months of learning, growth and testing he got to this graduation ceremony.  He received a certificate for Superior Physical Fitness as well as his diploma.  I am his mama so I can say he still looks like my little boy dressing up in a Halloween costume...but I know he is now a man and will be serving and protecting many people in our home community.  I love you Brandon and I am so proud of you!


After the ceremony we had a quick lunch at Rumbi Grill.


This might be a good place to add that I am so thankful for Amber.  She is beautiful, funny, smart and caring.  She makes Brandon a better man.  I know they will go through life having fun no matter what they are doing - this picture is proof of that! 

Later that evening, I took Brandon and Brooklyn to his favorite restaurant, The Dodo (by Sugarhouse Park), for another congratulatory meal. Amber was at home getting his surprise party ready.  As we drove up to the gated community, there was a sign letting the world know we now had an Officer in our midst.  When he entered the Adamson's home he found many family and friends there.  He was so excited to see Adam, Dano and Greg, his good friends since childhood.  The Adamsons also had a great cake, donuts and some peaches (the Fuzz).  It was a fun time.  Many thanks to Sandy and Greg for taking such good care of my boy. 



The night before we left, Brandon suggested we go to a baseball game.  I love the view from the Spring Mobile Ballpark Stadium.  A night of hot dogs, snow cones, cotton candy and relaxation does a body good.  It was Christmas in June so wreathes were hanging around and Santa Claus was on the prowl.  He was looking to give a candy cane to any soul willing to do a dance.  Brandon and Amber were looking for a good time, so they made spectacles of themselves.  I love those two.  And then it was time to head back home.


I am so grateful we were able to stay at Wendy's Bed and Breakfast.  The late night talks, yummy breakfasts and never-ending tears made it a memorable time.  It was so comfortable and I am blessed to have friends like her.  Included in the trip was a visit to see Skip and Jenn Morgan, Rodworks and Fongs with Kim and Wendy, Andrea and Brooklyn had a U-Swirl date, and we were able to visit Laura and family and see her new baby.  It is also nice to have Ginger living at the halfway point so we can stop for a fun and much needed break.  The trip was wonderful and we had a really nice time!

This was the first time since leaving Sandy that I didn't feel sorrow and regret for leaving my home.  It was a testament to me that I am okay and that La Verkin is now where I consider home.  A great milestone for me!
















Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Captain America - Female Style


     Brooklyn had to dress up as a super-hero for a Girl's Camp skit.  I think she rocked this costume!

The Royalty Room

I found out that when your daughter becomes the Princess of the City, you also inherit the "Royalty Room".  It is more of a closet.  I was given the keys to the "Old White Church."  This is a building that some say is condemned, however city councils meetings, plays and voting is held in this building.  The Royalty Room lies in the basement down a dark stairway and a long hallway.  The ceiling tiles are falling down revealing beautiful sage green tin pieces underneath in.  I never go in there alone!

The first time Brooklyn and I looked in the Royalty Room we were met with a big mess.  It was easy to see there was a lot of useful supplies and decorations in there, but they would be very hard to access.  Brooklyn and I are neat-freaks and knew we needed to get that room organized pronto!

This is an example of what we found:

And this is what we did:

When all was said and done, we were hot and dirty and our disgust had turned to pride.  Brooklyn swept up the last of the mess and we were on our way to Dairy Queen for a drive-thru dinner and a shower.  See many princesses to begin their lives as Cinderella did...cleaning floors!






Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Brooklyn's Birthday

Some of Brooklyn's friends decided she had to have a birthday party.  She had some of her favorite people show up.

Christian Harrison, McKayla Thiriot, Whitnee Poulsen, Terisa, Shaniah and Brianna Williamson, Danyon Clark and Amanda Gubler.

                                                    We had a make-your-own pizza bar...

                           A yummy snack bar and they could also make their own snowcones.

Brooklyn was a pro at blowing out her one candle...seventeen just wouldn't fit on that little cupcake!

                      Happy birthday beautiful girl and may all your wishes and dreams come true.



Saturday, June 9, 2012

Texas Aunties

Aunt Judy Rehkop and Aunt Elaine Guantt

It is always fun when I can be with my Texas Aunties.  They make me smile and they make me laugh.  I love their Texas accents and I love that they love my dad as much as I do.  I am so lucky they took the time to stop at Ihop so we could catch up over breakfast!

And where Aunt Judy is, Shana is sure to be too!  I love having cousins that live only 30 minutes away...I only wish we could see more of each other.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

The Yard Reveal

I just wanted to give a sneak-peek on this blog. The rest of the yard will be on my blog which covers the rest of the reveal. http://thetransformationofagirlandherhouse.blogspot.com



Many of you know I bought a house I hadn't seen in a town I had never heard of. This is what I drove up to! I will include before and afters in each photo collage. With a lot of love, sweat and creativity - Brooklyn and I have finally finished our front, back and side yards. We love it!




Feel free to travel over to my other blog to see the rest of the reveal!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

This is one of the reasons I haven't been blogging...

My computer went on the fritz...the hard drive crashed so I had to buy a new one. The audio driver wasn't installed, so I had to send it back. Now it won't charge :( . And then to top matters off, the cover came unhinged, and seeing as I had already paid over $100 to get that fixed a few months ago...I knew I was not going to pay that again!



So this was my solution...these brackets make it more of a desktop than a laptop...but whatever works right?

Coming this weekend...the other reason I haven't been blogging lately. Get ready for the big reveal...the yard!!!