Huh? Really, Gabe?

Last Friday was Grandparents Day at Gabe's School. My Mom and Dad drove down from Idaho for the special occasion. I was in SLC for the afternoon, so Mom and Dad were sweet enough to take care of all of the details AND take Emma with them. They attended the program and then went back to pick up Gabe for lunch. After lunch they were to take him back to school to finish the rest of the school day. So, they take him to lunch and Gabe proceeds to tell them that Jesse told him that he didn't have to go back to school after the lunch date with Grandma and Grandpa. He could just come home with them. Huh...too bad no one remembers Jesse saying that... But Gabe got a free afternoon at home. Slick.

A Week in Review...

I think we had a pretty mellow week...not a whole lot exciting going on. Not that I'm complaining about that. Here are a few highlights:

• Jesse working on the fence...again.
• Gabe's Pack Meeting - they made S'Mores.
• Our Stake 5K Run.
• The Women's General Broadcast. I love President Uchdorf.
  
• Emma tooting in church last Sunday and saying really loud: "Can you smell it?"
• Gabe making cookies for a Scout Achievement and FHE - Emma was his helper:
  

She was so excited to help! Have you ever seen a dirtier face??

Flashback Friday...

April 7, 2007

I can't believe it has been 18 months....Jesse's parents return home from their mission to Athens Greece next Monday. So excited! The countdown has begun!

Math What??

I apologize now for the offensive language - don't read if you can't handle it!!

Yesterday, I was doing homework with Gabe. He is learning about sentence structure and when they are a command, statement, etc. One assignment was to write a command from a teacher to a student. He wanted to write: Do the math sheet. But this is what it said:

Do the math shit.

I feel the same way sometimes.

A Week In Review...

Another CRAZY week gone by.... Here are some highlights:

• The Scrapbook USA Expo - so much work, but so much fun! I have the priveledge to work with an amazing group of women from Robert's! This year, I taught two classes. It was awesome to have some familiar faces on Friday (my sisters, Paula and Shenell, and neices, Ashlee and Nicole) and Saturday (my neighbors and friends -Betsy and Jen.) Thanks, you guys, for coming! It made my day!

• We took Gabe to see Peter Brienholt on Saturday night at Thanksgiving Point. We have been to his concert before and always have a good time singing and dancing. I think Gabe was a little embarrassed by his parents. We went down to the stage to dance, but Gabe wanted nothing to do with that! It was a special treat to have the Bagley's sit right next to us! Next year, we should just go together :)
  

• My Mom had Miss Emma for EIGHT days (yes, count them - 8) while I got ready for the Expo. I really do love my mom so much and appreciate how much she helps me out. I couldn't have made it through the past two weeks without her. And just the icing on the cake - she sent me home with fresh canned pears and homemade salsa. Love you, Mom!
• Jesse started the fence in the back yard. Such a huge project...
• AND he made a flagstone path to our pergola. He is so handy.
  
• Our good friends, the Bennett's, welcomed a new baby to their family! Thanks for letting me get a sneak peek at him! He is adorable!
• Sushi - haven't mentioned that one in a while. It was exceptionally good that night. Anyone else love Ginza?
  

A Week In Review...

The highlight of my week was definitely my Mom coming to visit! Jesse was in New York, so she came to help me out! And help me out she did! She not only took care of my children, but she managed to deep clean my oven, microwave, and wash a few windows. So, we had to treat ourselves to one of these...


And then we bought Emma some of these...because my Mom VOLUNTEERED to potty train Emma. Who does that? My mom does. She is a saint.

On Saturday night, we headed over to Thanksgiving Point Gardens to see this band...

I love spending time with my boys!


And last, but not least - on Saturday morning I participated in the Utah Marathon Relay with 4 other gals from the gym. Each team has 5 runners who each run 5.2 miles. We had two teams - one just women (the one below) and a mixed (which I never got a shot of). The mixed team actually came in ahead of us...darn them.

But our Women's Team took first place in the Women's Division! Woohoo!!

Flashback Friday...

Ah, Fall....I love that we live in a beautiful area where we can experience all of the seasons. For some reason, we have a lot of family pictures taken in the fall. Probably because I start to think about Christmas Cards. These pictures were taken in 2002 when Gabe was 3. We are in Idaho in someone's gorgeous backyard.

ps. I still have that rocken levi jacket trimmed with fur hidden in the back of a dark, basement closet. You can borrow it if you need to.


An action photo...
Traditional "walking away" photo...
And the standard "Engagement Photo"...even though we were already married...
Amen.

Growing up in a Small Town...

Most of you know that I grew up in the tiny town of Malad, Idaho - population less than 2000 (at least while I was growing up.) I can honestly say that I loved my childhood in a small rural town - of course, I knew nothing different. But growing up in rural Idaho is interesting...here is a list I found on a High School Buddies Blog - they are all so true! I could relate to almost every one of them! Thanks, Nichole!!

"You know you're from Malad when..."
-Your last name is either Hess, Evans, Williams, Thomas or Jones.
-You are mostly Welsh.
-You are the shortest of all of your friends.
-Your favorite adolescent activities were pumice jumping, playing Sardines, Rambo or toilet-papering.
-You went to school with at least four of your cousins.
-Your schoolteachers were your friends parents.
-Your schoolteachers confuse you for your older siblings.
-Your parents are either farmers, schoolteachers or work at Hess Pumice, La-Z-Boy, Thiokol or Nucor.
-As you drive you have the urge to wave at people in passing cars.
-You are slightly suspcious of traffic lights.
-You laugh when people don't understand four-way stops.
-Drive a car from the previous decade and was probably previously driven by your older siblings.
-You knew everyone in your graduating class.
-Know gossip about your friends before they do.
-Miss the mountains when you leave home.
-Use words like 'borrow pit, 'jockey box' and 'sluffing school'.
-Samaria isn't a place in Israel, Saint John isn't a Catholic saint, Stone isn't another name for a rock, the Summit isn't the peak of a mountain...
-You've had the same haircutter, doctor or dentist for your entire life.
-You knew some of your teachers by their first names and may have had their #s in your phone.
-You have hiked to the M.
-You remember the time that school and church was cancelled for a week because of the flu.
-You remember the pipe bomb that was diffused in the courthouse parking lot.
-You laugh at all the "Lotto-Day Saints" that come up from Utah to play the lottery when it gets huge.
-You miss Paula's Sandwich Shop.
-Whenever you come home you have to eat at the Drive-In, the Dude Ranch or Tillie's just to make the trip complete.
-Your summer jobs were provided by the city or county (cemetery, parks, lifeguarding, road crew), or worked on the family farm or on the sod farms.
-You've had some of the same friends since Kindergarten.
-You go anywhere and someone knows somebody from Malad.
-Your parents are best-friends with your best-friends parents.
-You had a specific parking spot at the high school.
-You could find your parents pictures in the old school yearbooks and the senior class pictures in the halls of the high school.
-You've learned, from sad experience, that the weather in Idaho can change with the drop of a hat.
-You have no qualms with playing in the rain.
-Humidity kills you.
-You have one rockin' farmer's tan and your lips are always chapped.
-Know what 4-H is and have entered a project in the county fair.
-Once a year you go to Lagoon and the State Fair.
-Compare the 4th of July fireworks with the previous year and the result is always different.
-You love the unique festivities in Malad like The Welsh Festival and the Christmas Parade.
-On the last day of school you rode your bike to school, had a waterfight or went swimming.
-A Friday night isn't fulfilled unless you cruise Main Street, hang out at the corner or eat at the Drive-in.
-You've become adept at entertaining yourself no matter how bleak and boring your situation may be.
-When you leave home you realize that not everyone is as awesome as people from Malad."

Flashback Friday...

I grew up with 4 sisters and no brothers. We lived in a hormonally charged home! (My poor Dad.) But I love having all sisters. We are all spaced out over about 12 years, but still can find something in common. Four of us had babies the same year. That has been fun, as the 4 babies are all almost 9. My dream is to one day all go on a Girls Trip- somewhere we have never been before and without our husbands or children. And we'd take Mom, of course. Someday... Love you, girls!

Here we are my Senior Year.
This one is in 2000.