Final Family Highlights

Here are some final highlights from my week with my sister LeAnn and her family. It was really fun and great to spend time with LeAnn and her boys. I miss them lots because I don’t get to the see them very often. I especially enjoyed my time with Matt since I hadn’t seen him since he was three years old. Hopefully, now that he’s older, we won’t be strangers!

TiggerWhen the group dropped me off at home last Tuesday, the kitties got really scared because there were so many people in our place all at once. Dax stayed under our bed while Cassie and Tigger ran downstairs. Cassie realized this wasn’t the place to go so he headed back upstairs and under the bed at top speed, almost running into my nephew Christopher. Luckily, Christopher jumped out of the way just in the knick of time. Tigger, on the other hand, found a place to hide.

On Friday afternoon, the group (LeAnn, my sister Caryn’s entourage, and my mom) went to Antelope Island to swim in the Great Salt Lake. I almost joined them after work, but I’m glad I didn’t for two very good reasons: the water’s nasty and there are bugs everywhere. LeAnn captured this video of a seagull “hoovering” some bugs. Near the end, you can really see how many bugs there are. Most of the family came home with several bug bites. *shudders*

Bird KillersWhile everyone was at Antelope Island, Matt and Christopher decided to swim to Egg Island, an island where the seagulls lay eggs and hatch their young. Matt decided he wanted a keepsake and stole a baby seagull from its mother. The mother was frantic and tried to scare them away, but in the end, Matt and Christopher won. They swam back to the main island with the baby seagull. The adults were very upset when they found out what they’d done. But, instead of having the boys swim the baby back to its mother, they left the baby on a grassy part of the shore, hoping it’ll survive. (I’m upset by this because it’s inevitable that the baby’s going to die.) On the way home, LeAnn started to call the boys, “bird killers.” I was doodling on a napkin during dinner and it ended up as a nice picture for Matt and Christopher. I think it’s quite appropriate, don’t you?

I think the neatest part about this entire experience is that LeAnn got to have all three of her boys together for the first time in six years. Before LeAnn and Matt left (Wyatt and Dustin are staying with Caryn for a few weeks), LeAnn wanted to get a picture of all of them together. I know it must’ve been nice for her.

Matt, LeAnn, Wyatt, & Dustin

Cloe Cloe’s (my old kitty) life has been upset for the last two weeks due to so many people being around all the time. While everyone was there, she only came out to visit at night when things had calmed down a bit. Once the coast was clear, she decided to hang out with the family again. I miss her a lot, but I’m glad she’s as happy as she is.  And, I’m glad my parents enjoy having her around.

Mushrooms

Today, my parents, my sister LeAnn, her boyfriend John, his mom Mary Ann, and my nephew Dustin went to Temple Square. LeAnn hadn’t been there in at least 10 years, probably longer so she wanted to go. She also wanted to take John, Mary Ann, and my nephew Matt there as well. Matt wasn’t up for it so I stayed home with him and my nephew Wyatt. Since I “watched” them at my parents’ all day, she brought me back something cool!

Nintendo Mushroom Candy Dishes

Aren’t they awesome? I absolutely love them! They’re made by Nintendo and they’re candy holders. They came with mushroom-shaped, Sweet-Tarts-style candy. They’re a royal pain to open, but I think they’re awesome. I like putting their “hats” on sideways to make them look like gangsters. Right now, they’re on my desk at work.

Tagged by Danylle

3 Joys in My Life

  1. Spending time with my family and friends
  2. Reading
  3. My blog

3 of My Fears

  1. Losing Corey
  2. Spiders
  3. Australia–they don’t have to be rational fears ;)

3 of My Goals

  1. Finish school
  2. Read The Book of Mormon by the end of the year
  3. Read fifty books by the end of the year

3 of My Currents Obsessions

  1. Anything related to Stephenie Meyer
  2. Reading
  3. Ewan McGregor

3 Random Facts About Me

  1. I’m a lefty
  2. I love the cold
  3. I don’t like gravy, so I put ketchup on my mashed potatoes

3 People I Tag

  1. Megan
  2. Amber
  3. Meagan

Park City

Yesterday was the last day I had to spend with my sister LeAnn and the others because I had to go back to work today. Fortunately, they’re not leaving until Sunday morning so after work on Friday, I’m going to go back up to my parents’ and spend Saturday with them too.

We had so much fun yesterday! :D We decided to go to Park City. We went to Park City by way of Weber Canyon so we could show LeAnn’s boyfriend John, his mom Mary Ann, and my nephew Matt Devil’s Slide.

Devil's Slide

Once we got to Park City, we rode the Alpine Slide, Alpine Coaster, and the ZipRider. The Alpine Coaster was the best! We all wanted to ride it again, but at $18 per person, there was no way that was going to happen.

Matt, Me, Brandon, Caryn, & Christopher

At Park City At Park City

Mary Ann & Mom on the ZipRider Me & Brandon on the ZipRider

As we were leaving, my nephews Matt, Christopher, and Brandon jumped about five feet from a high sidewalk ledge to a tiny roof. They were about to jump about eight feet to another ledge, but their moms told them not to. They climbed up there instead of jumping. ;)

Matt, Brandon, & Christopher Christopher, Matt, & Brandon

On our way home from Park City, we stopped off at Burger King for dinner. Brandon dared me to order my food in “deaf” talk. (It’s a talent I’ve had since I was about nine years old. In fact, I embarrassed Caryn once because I talked “deaf” to a guy she liked and he thought I was really deaf. :lol: ) I accepted the dare and the lady behind the register didn’t know any different. It was awesome!

Because I had to be home for work today, my family decided to drive home by way of Provo so they could drop me off and so LeAnn could see Orem High. We decided to stop off at Bridal Veil Falls for a bit. The kids had a blast in the water. Matt, Christopher, and Brandon hiked up to the upper ledge of the waterfall. My younger nephews (Dustin, Scottie, Wyatt, and Noah) hiked up a ways too, but they didn’t make it up as high as Matt.

Bridal Veil Falls Bridal Veil Falls

Christopher & Robert Noah

Matt & Brandon Matt & Brandon

At Bridal Veil Falls Brian, Dad, & Mom

Joely, Me, & Brian Noah, Brian & Joely Scottie, Me, & Joely

Robert Scottie, Wyatt, Christopher, Mackenzie, & Robert Dustin & Joely

Promontory Point

Yesterday was a lot of fun too. Since yesterday was my nephew Christopher’s birthday, he wanted to have a movie night and invited my other nephews, Matt, Dustin, and Wyatt, over to his house. With the kids gone, I helped my sister LeAnn learn how to use her new MacBook a little better.  LeAnn and I played games for most of the day with her boyfriend John, his mother Mary Ann, and my parents. :D We played Chicken Foot, of which LeAnn and I tied for winner, and Mille Bournes, which we didn’t end up finishing so we could go get Matt. (Dustin and Wyatt wanted to sleep over, whereas Matt didn’t since he’s not used to being around so many kids at a time. :lol: )

LeAnn, John, and I picked up Matt. Christopher and Brandon (my other nephew) decided to come too, so they could sleep over at my parents’. Since I’m more familiar with Utah roads, I drove my dad’s car. Everything went great on the way. On the way back, however, it was a different story. One of the things I’ve always been proud of is that in the 14 years I’ve been driving, I hadn’t received a ticket of any kind. Notice how that last sentence said “hadn’t” instead of “haven’t”?  Yeah, I can no longer say that. :?

My Speeding Ticket

I was given a ticket for driving 80 mph in a 55-mph zone and in a construction zone, which means the fine is doubled! :oops: Ouch! :? I hadn’t had a chance to slow down before the cop pulled me over, but I know that’s just a cop out (no pun intended).

I hadn’t seen Christopher and Brandon for almost two years, so it was a lot of fun to spend some time with them and see how much they’ve grown up! We took silly pictures on my computer, played Guitar Hero, and just hung out. I also helped LeAnn install and configure some programs on her computer as well.

Brandon, Me, & Christopher Christopher, Brandon, & Me Brandon, Christopher, & Me

While we were taking pictures, Cloe came up to love me. So, I even got a picture of me with her. :D I’m so glad she still loves me and remembers that I’m still her mom. ;)

Me & Cloe

We didn’t end up going to bed until around 5:00 am. 8O I still had to get up around 8:30 because my family wanted to go do something before it got too hot outside. (It was a noble idea to get out there before it heated up, but it failed miserably.) Around 9:30, Caryn (my older sister) and the rest of the kids showed up! Just like with Christopher and Brandon, I hadn’t seen any of them for about two years and I actually had never met Caryn’s youngest (Joely). So, it was really cool to see everyone again!

I wanted to show Caryn the pictures I had taken of Brandon, Christopher, and me last night. Once the other kids saw what I was doing, they wanted to get into the action because it looked like so much fun.

Me, Noah, Robert, & Mackenzie Brandon, Mackenzie, Joely, Caryn, Brian, Scottie, & Me Brandon & Robert

My dad inherited some guns from his dad when he died. When I was little, he used to take my siblings and me shooting. We used to shoot aluminum cans and stuff like that. We always had a good time, so LeAnn wanted to take her boys shooting. So that’s what we decided to do after going to Promontory Point to see the place where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met when they built the Transcontinental railroad.

Riding in the Car to Promontory Point Riding in the Car to Promontory Point

At Promontory Point

Unfortunately, all the shooting ranges we went to were closed, so we weren’t able to go. But, we still had fun seeing the trains, getting some grub, and after we got back to my parents’ house, most of the family went to a park to feed some geese. I didn’t go because I fell asleep on my parents’ bed after calling Corey on the phone. :lol:

Christopher & Matt Matt & Christopher

Noah Dad & Joely

Wyatt didn’t go either because he was tired too. After we both woke up, I took a picture of us using my computer. :)

Wyatt & Me