Florida!

So after our quick, but awesome time in NYC we headed down south to Florida. It was HOT HOT HOT! We had a great time visiting Universal Orlando, Universal Islands of Adventure, Siesta Key Beach, Cocoa Beach, and hanging out at our resort. We opted out of Disney World because our kids are more into the thrill rides than Disney princesses and such. We were kind of bummed because the huge new Harry Potter world wasn't opening until the following weekend, but much to our surprise they were letting people in for a few hours for a sneak peek. We were headed to a roller coaster and suddenly found ourselves in the middle of Harry Potter world. Way cool! We were a little sunburned, a whole lot exhausted, and had a weeks worth of great memories by the end of our trip!

Universal Orlando


Jurassic Park


The water rides SAVED us! We ended up soaking wet, and LOVED it!


Tyson and I with the Harry Potter Castle behind us


This picture is for my bro in law Michael...the Ron Jon Surf Shop...where he used to go school shopping! Bring back memories Michael?


YIKES!



Popeye and Olive Oil stopped by for a visit!


The following pictures are for Becky and Brenda...my sisters who are HUGE Harry Potter fans! I KNOW they would have LOVED all this...I didn't really get most of it! So fast forward if you aren't a Harry Potter fan!

The Castle






A big bird??


A huge hallway with pictures on it...and the pictures CHANGED before your eyes...or the people moved in them. It was way cool!


Dumbledorf's library. (sorry...NO idea how to spell his name?)




A candy shop complete with chocolate covered frogs!


The Hogwarts Express!


People were drinking this stuff like it was real beer! Guess I should have tried it!


Ok Becky and Brenda...I hope you enjoyed that! My camera battery went dead trying to help you feel the Harry Potter spirit! Now, back to our trip....


Brian and the girls enjoying the ocean.


Our one and only tennis experience at the resort. We decided it was too HOT for tennis in Florida!



Goofing around in the pool!


I took a lot more video than I did pictures, and I don't have the patience to load them tonight....maybe later? But don't count on it! In other news:

Kylie left yesterday for Trek. I am feeling a bit anxious about her trip, and maybe a little tiny bit of how a Mom feels sending their son out on a mission. (except it is 4 days not 2 years!) I am SOOO glad she is going, but really hoping and praying she has a great time, and returns home safe. I know it is going to be so hard for her, but I hope she learns and grows from the experience. They went to Martins Cove and the weather called for 90 degrees each day, with not a shade tree to be found in the place, so I've heard. Oh man, I hope she survives! We have been sewing our little hearts out getting her skirt, bonnet, bloomers, and aprons ready. Heather had just got back from her Trek, so she had plenty of great ideas for us, helped us sew, and loaned us her spare clothes. She saved us big time! We had to have her at the church at 3am this morning! YIKES! She was upbeat and happy at 2:30am, so I couldn't ask for more than that!

Heather hard at work sewing! I would have helped...but I had to take pictures!



Kylie cutting out her bloomers


Think we made them big enough? Maybe she was going to sneak Sydney in there with her!


The cutest pioneer ever! Keep her in your prayers the next few days! :0)


Brian and I are leaving tomorrow for Puerto Rico for our 15th anniversary trip. Good thing I am quitting jetBlue soon, these trips are getting ridiculous! Ridiculous in a good way!

New York City!

About the last 5 years Kylie has wanted to go to New York. I let her keep dreaming, hoping that her rich fiance would take her someday. Then I got a job for an airline. It happened to be that New York was one of the 2 cities that have a non-stop flight from SLC. PERFECT! So, it was only natural that New York was our FIRST big vacation spot this year. (As it turned out we couldn't get out of SLC standby, so we had to drive to Vegas and leave from there. jeBlue really needs to figure out that 2000 employees and 3 flights a day really STINKS!!) Anyway, My sweet Aunt Deeann drove us to the airport and let us park the rotten tomato at her house for the week. And...we were off! Kylie sang New York songs and giggled with delight. She was sooo excited that she didn't sleep at all on the red eye over. Neither did Brian or I. We suddenly felt rejuvenated once we landed in the big city, and hit the ground running! It was hot, hot in NY, but that didn't slow us down! We had the BEST tour guide ever, my brother in law Shawn, who has lived in NY before. He helped us to see more in a day and a half than most people see in twice that much time. Never mind the blisters we had...it was totally worth it! He also kept us away from places where we might potentially be gunned down or who knows what! Kevin and Corbin, and Grandma joined us from Atlanta, and it was sooo great for Tyson to have a buddy with him for once. Those boys had a blast together! Here are some photos of our trip.

After flying all night, we stopped for breakfast at the JFK airport. We didn't dare head out of the airport until we had our trusty tour guide with us!


Brooklyn Bridge


On the Staten Island Ferry


Statue of Liberty
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Brian and I with NYC behind us


Brian having a 20 min power nap on the Ferry. Red eye flights are BRUTAL!


Tyson and Corbin with their NY hats! Are they cool or what?


Sydney and I at ground zero


The gang in front of the Empire State Building


Times Square at night


Tyson and Corbin loving Times Square


Rockefeller Center (where they film the Today Show)


Inside the NBA Store...a life size bobble head of Shaq. Seriously his calves were twice the size of Brian's arms! This guy is HUGE! It was almost unreal! Except that it was real!


Central Park. It is HUGE....50 square blocks! Beautiful too!


The END.

My little Burrito

Every morning when I go in to wake up Tyson for school, this is what how I find him.


Wrapped nice and snug, just like a little burrito. I slowly start to unwrap him, and I sing a great liitle song I learned at girls camp. It is called "Hey burrito!" I will spare you the words, mostly because I don't remember them all. We learn the best songs at girls camp! Oh how I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE snuggling my little burrito. It is the best part of my morning!

I can't Explain It!!

I can't explain it. It makes NO sense at all. Really, it shouldn't have happened. All I can tell you is that it DID HAPPEN! It really DID! I got a job at Vista Heights Middle School, as the Lead Secretary! Surely there were hundreds of more qualified applicants. Apparently they NEVER hire from outside of the district, and without lead secretary experience. If you are thinking miracle....well SO I AM I! I feel so blessed and lucky...and I am soo excited. This is the brand new middle school that my girls will be going to next year, and then Tyson a few years later. The Principal said he felt strongly that I was the perfect person for the job, and he is so excited to have me on board. I start in August. I am sad to leave jetBlue but the hours did not allow me to go to church on a regular basis, and I am having to work holidays and nights. It has been rough! Who'd have thought I would miss going to church so much? J/K! The school hours, although full time, are going to ROCK! I have a Financial Secretary, an Attendance Secretary, and a Registrar all with tons of experience who are hopefully going to help me get trained and ready to go by the time school starts. I can't wait!!

On to other news! The girls just had their first long course meet of the season. MAN it is a LONG way from one end of the pool to the other. I guess that is why they call it LONG course! The girls did great, but were pretty beat by the time it was over, since they swam 3 events each! Tyson and I have been having some fun going to the hills near our house and shooting his bb gun. We set up pop cans and make them our targets. Although it is not my FAVORITE thing to do, I love how excited he gets, and spending a little one on one time with him. We are down to 3 weeks of school left. I don't know who is more burned out on homework at this point...me or the kids. Does every mother feel this way towards the end of the school year? I am just ready for some good ol' lazy summer days! We have some fun trips planned before I lose flight benefits, so we are ready for summer to be here!

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day! My Mom is too far away. Seriously too far away! I LOVE my Mom soo unbelievably much. She is patient, wise, giving, supportive, understanding, and beautiful. I am so incredibly blessed to have her. She has gone through alot with me. And I mean ALOT! I can't imagine the patience, time, money, and energy that was spent on my many medical adventures. Surely she sacrificed much to take care of her sickly child...me! The worry, stress and unkown of having a heart baby in the early 1970's is hard for me to comprehend. Babies did not survive back then like they do today. Yet, it seemed effortless for her. How does she make motherhood look so easy, when I struggle just to get everyone, fed, clothed, and to school everyday? My mother has many talents. A few of which include sewing, playing the piano, and being a great nurse. I am a little bitter however, that she didn't pass on any of her talents to me! The way she is patient with my Father and his many "hobbies", is inspiring. How she gracefully endures through trials and the calm, encouraging support she gives us children during times of trial, is a great example to everyone around her. Heavenly Father knew I needed someone great to be my Mom. He sent me the best. Happy Mothers Day Mom. I love you with all my heart! xoxoxoxo

What is it with me and Olympic Games?

When I was 9 years old my twin sister, Heather, and I came up with a game we called "the Olympics." About the only event I really remember competing in was the hurdles. Here is why. We set up a laundry basket towards the end of our long hallway. We would run down the hall and jump over the basket. Whoever jumped the furthest over the laundry basket was the winner. I'm sure we jumped pretty far, with our long legs and all. All was going well until one jump, my foot caught the end of the laundry basket and I went down. My elbow hit a random 2x4 that was lying around from the current remodel project Dad was in the middle of. OUCH! It hurt sooo bad! Since I was never overly dramatic, nobody even blinked an eye when I started to scream bloody murder. I went in to show my Dad the injury, absolutely hysterical. Mom was at some kind of a church meeting. Well, Dad, being the sympathetic guy he is, simply said "I think you just need to go to bed." There was no mark at all on my arm. No bruise, no swelling, not even a red mark! How could that be? It hurt sooo bad! Being the obedient child that I was, I headed straight to bed. About 2 hours later I still hadn't fallen asleep. My arm was KILLING me! I figured my Mom would be home, and maybe I would get a little more sympathy from her. I went into her room and showed her my arm. Much to both of our surprise, it was HUGE and swollen, and hard as a rock. Thankfully my nurse of a mother took me straight to the hospital where I was taken back for emergency surgery. I had to stay AWAKE for the surgery because I had just eaten pizza a few hours earlier. I had cracked the growth plate in my elbow and it was hemorrhaging inside. They cut it open from my elbow to my wrist, and just left it open for about a week for the swelling to go down. They tried 3 different times to go in and close it, but it was too swollen each time. So, a week in the hospital and a scar a foot long later, I am good to go.
So last night Brian, Tyson, and I went to pack meeting which was a "Cub Olympics." Fun, fun time! As we were leaving I thought I would give the hurdles one more try. I was wearing flip flops and when I landed my ankle twisted. I should have remembered hurdles do not like me. Or maybe the Olympics do not like me. Anyway, my ankle is swollen and bruised, and probably sprained or something. Just when I was finally getting back into running after 2 mos off! Urgg. Curse those hurdles!

Surrounded

This is what I am surrounded by. I LOVE it! These mountains are one of my favorite things about Utah. Yes, I hate the snow. But I really, really love the mountains. This morning I went on a little walk, and at the top of a hill near my house I just stared down at the beautiful mountains on all sides of me. Somehow, everytime I really take time to look at the mountains it puts life into perspective. They are so grand, so enormous, and so breathtaking. They could only have been formed by our Creator. They remind me that every day life is so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It makes me realize there is a plan for each of us, and we are not in control. It lifts me up and gives me hope, peace, and pure happiness. I am so grateful for the beauty that surrounds me. And I am especially glad the snow is high in the mountains right now, and not in the valley. Just as it should be! Spring just might be finding it's way here. Just maybe.