Happy

I really like this! I hope my kids would have this same answer :)

We Chirp

You may have noticed this button on my side bar, but I have yet to explain what it is all about.   My cousin, Raydar Love, has joined forces with a few of her fellow blogger buddies and created a great place to share ideas, plug artists, and create an open forum where others can share their thoughts.  I have to say, I have loved reading this blog... and I am not just posting about this because it gives me an extra entry in the latest give away ;)  Actually, I have been wanting to share this with you for a while... I really think you should check it out, you may get hooked like I did!  

 

To get there, you can click on the "We Chirp" logo above or click on it from my blog roll.  They are always at the top of the list because they are always updating regularly.  

~ Enjoy~ 

20 things about me... from my kids point of view

Tonight I interviewed my boys, they had to answer 20 questions about me.  I think it's pretty funny some of the things they came up with.  It was a task within itself just to keep them interested in answering all of my questions, but after a little bribery for some computer time, I was able to get my answers.  Thanks for the fun idea, Jelina!  

1. What is something I always say to you?

Zach- What are you doing?

Cam- be nice

2. What makes me happy?

Zach- Me

Cam- when I be nice

3. What makes me sad?

Zach- Not seeing me

Cam- when I be naughty

4. How do I make you laugh?

Zach- by tickling me

Cam- read me a book

5. What do you think I was like when I was little?

Zach- you were like me, 5.

Cam- played with a doll

6. How old am I?

Zach- 15

Cam- What? you're 3 like me? (I tried to show him on my fingers)

7. How tall am I?

Zach- taller than me

Cam- taller than Zach is

8. What is my favorite thing to do?

Zach- Watch movies with me

Cam- clean up

9. What do I do when you're not around?

Zach- work

Cam- be sad

10. What am I really good at?

Zach- Playing games with me

Cam- clean up

11. What am I NOT really good at?

Zach- doing the dishes (sad, but true)

Cam- Dad (not quite sure what that means)

12. What is my job?

Zach- work in Park City

Cam- clean up

13. What is my favorite food?

Zach- cauliflower

Cam- hamburgers (??? I pretty much, hardly ever eat hamburgers) 

14. What makes you proud of me?

Zach- play dinosaur games with me

Cam- when you be nice

15. If I were a cartoon character, who would I be?

Zach- Lisa, from The Simpsons (Haha!)

Cam- Princess (awe) 

16. What do you and I do together?

Zach- Play dinosaur games

Cam- we play puzzles

17. How are we the same?

Zach- we both have owies (after a thorough inspection of the both of us)

Cam- because I love you. (that doesn't really answer the question, but I'll take it!)

18. How are you and I different?

Zach- because I'm smaller and your bigger.

Cam- just because

19. Where is my favorite place to go?

Zach- The Park

Cam- work

20. How do you know that I love you?

Zach- you do nice things for me

Cam- make me happy

To go private, or not to go private?

That is the question...

KSL did a story recently on the dangers of blogging. I just want to know how everyone feels. I am definelty thinking about going private and I know a lot of you are too. My thing is, I happen to know that very few people look at my blog (I have a couple of sneaky little tools that tell me when someone has clicked on my page and a few details about them. I can usually figure out who they are.) Honestly, very rarely does someone look at it that I can't figure out who they are. Also, there are those rare instances that an old friend will find me through somebody elses blog and leave me a message and I am thrilled to hear from them! That is one of the things I really love about blogging. I totally understand the dangers, but if I don't feel that I have any creepers than do I really need to worry? I have not been posting as often as usual because I have been struggling with this question. 

So check out the link here to the KSL story ( http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4699330 ) and then I want to hear what you think. There are also some good points in the comments section of that story.

DinosaurBoySuperHero

Zach has started a blog, but it is a private blog.  This will be a fun way for him to share all of his favorite games, photos, videos and new discoveries.  If you would like an invitation to view his blog please just email me or leave your email here as a comment (I will delete it once we have added you)  I guarantee anyone who visits will quickly learn a thing or two about dinosaurs that you did not know before ;)

This is fun, Pass it on.

I have seen this on a few other blogs and I have enjoyed thinking back through my experiences with my friends and coming up with a favorite memory. Plus, I just wanted a reason to post this picture of me with my brothers :) 

Anyways, here's what you need to do...

1. As a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew/know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

... oh, and remember, my Mother reads this blog so try not to embarrass me ;)

Mooney Look-alike Meter

I figured I'd better go to the pros with this one. Since the day Zach was born we have been told by everyone that he looks exactly like Greg. As he gets older I get told more and more that he looks like me. So here is what the test results came back with...  hmmm  interesting.

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Vintage pics - Pedigree

And then there's Cam. When he was a baby people said he had a lot more of me in him than Zach did, but as he gets older we get told more and more that he looks just like Greg. The test concludes that.... drum roll please....  I'm starting to think it's a haox.  

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Maybe someone else better try this and see if you get any different results.  

I am Pocahantas

Everyone is doing it... So I will too.  I have to admit, I am pretty excited to be Pocahantas.  I've never seen the movie, but from what I've heard she seems pretty cool :)

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Take the quiz!  It's fun! 

Don't give up on me!

I don't know why I feel the need to explain things, I just don't want you to think that I have quit checking your blogs, commenting, and posting because I don't care.  That's definitely NOT the case.  My internet service has been suspended AGAIN!  I am sooooo frustrated.  They don't just turn it off, instead they just make it so slow that it is extremely annoying.  Of course, I can't just walk away and wait 30 days for it to come back to normal, instead I sit here and try and try and try to load your page.  It honestly takes about 5 minutes to load the words, but I never get to see the pictures.  And it takes an additional 10 minutes if I try to leave a comment, but half the time it just says error and makes me try again...  sooooooo frustrating! I NEED my internet for entertainment, a window to my friends, and a look at what other Moms are dealing with. I am twitching from withdrawls, it's pathetic! 

We are having a new satellite internet service installed this week.  Up here in the boonies, that is our only option.  We have no phone lines and obviously no DSL.  I just hope they call for an installation appointment soon.  I don't know how much more of this I can take!

On the bright side...  It looks like summer is finally here.... Today is mine and Greg's 4th Anniversary....  We leave for Lake Powell in 1 week!!!  

I will have a lot of catching up to do once I get my internet back :)

Here's a quick look at what we have been up to...  

We had a fun day at Lagoon with Kristen last week.  We met her daughter, Hannah, for the first time.  We were all instant friends!  Such good kids we have.  

Zach had his last day of preschool celebration.  Here he is with Cam and one of his buddies from school.  I will post more on this when I can.  It was really cute!

My best friend Casey and her sister Jen, (who is married to my brother, Jake)  Two of the cutest pregnant ladies I have ever seen!  I am really upset that this picture turned out blurry.  But I still had to post it because it's just one of those beautiful moments in life! 

Lots and LOTS of yard work going on around here!  We are prepping for some sod... gotta have some grass for the kids to romp in!  We finally dared to plant all of our flowers and trees, hopefully they are tough enough to live through the last 2 nights of snow!

Tag... you're it!

I am in need of blogging material and I am a good sport, so I will play along.

I got tagged by Chris...

3 Joys:
*My family

*My Deck

*Any day that I get to spend morning to night with Greg, Zach and Cam.  


3 Fears:
* Spiders

* Caves/ long tunnels

* Loosing someone I care about.


3 Goals:
* Hopefully get some more traveling in soon.

* Open our own snowboard shop.

* Raise my boys to become compassionate, caring, polite young men.

3 Current Obsessions/Collections:
* Blogging!

* My yard- if the snow and rain would ever quit!!!

* I can't stop thinking about our Lake Powell trip coming up in the end of June!!!!!!!!  I need to become obsessed with the gym!!!!


3 Surprising Facts (or maybe not "surprising" but 3 facts anyways)
* Greg got us in trouble with our internet provider for downloading too much music.  So we have been punished with a month of frustratingly sssslllllooooowwww internet speeds.  We will be back to normal on the 28th!!!!  Then I will be back to my normal, blogging, socializing self!

* Greg and I ordered 2 kayaks to take to the lake.  They should be here soon!  I think once they are here kayaking will become a new obsession for me! 
* I am working 4 days a week.  My kids have been coming with me 3 of them while I work in the stockroom.  It sounds like a great set up, I know, I thought so too in the beginning.  I am realizing what a great multi-tasker I am.  Trying to accomplish my many projects at work, constantly cleaning up after my kids, while keeping them from fighting or playing too loud makes for a VERY hard job!  I feel like my head is going to explode by the time I go home.  One thing's for sure... I think I am helping to provide a source of birth control for all the young bucks that work there!!!!


3 places I would eat everyday:
* Chris's for dinner!

* Happy Sumo Sushi

* Ben's cookies (I'm so bad!) 

3 places I will NOT eat
* Rubios Fish Tacos (we got green fish there one time and I am ruined for life)

* I have a real hard time choking down airplain food, no matter how long the flight is.
* I want to put "street vendor taco stands" on here, but the truth is... they scare me to death, but man their good!


3 Fellow Bloggers to Tag (okay 4):

* Kristin

* Liz

* Mom

* Kim

I am putting you 4 down because you haven't posted for a while, but anyone who wants to play along would be great! 

While I'm at it I will play along with Rachel's nickname game from a while back.

Here are my nicknames that I can think of... ( I really don't have that many so I added Zach, Cam and Greg too) 

Sue

Suz

Suzie

Suzana

Suzana Chicada

Mama

Grandma (Greg calls me that... rude huh) 

Zach's Nicknames

My Yaks (what he called himself when he couldn't say Zach... it stuck)

Turkish

Chubby

Dino Boy

Big Brother

Cam's nicknames

Turkey

Cam Cam

Nakey Bum (he spends a lot of time pant-less these days because of potty training.)

Little Brother

My Baby

Zebra (Greg wanted to name him this, as his REAL name, seriously... so this is what Greg calls him, but it is NOT on his birth certificate)

Greg's Nicknames

Mooney

Moon Dogg

Moon Doggy Dogg

Moon Man

I am sure there are plenty more.  I am having a brain fart... if you can think of any more then throw them out there....  Let's hear some of your nick names.

For the Twilight Fans

For those of you who are like me and love the Twilight books I have found a few things to occupy your time until the new book comes out on August 2nd.  I think it's kind of funny that I can't get enough.  I want to know more.  So I was surfing the net a little bit one day and I found that there are MySpace pages for all of the characters with the actual cast members for the movie. 

Edward's MySpace

Bella's Myspace

You can click on these two links and then go to their friends to find all of the other characters. But if you haven't finished all 3 books yet, then don't look too deep.   You may get more info then  you are ready for :)

I was a little bit unsure about who they have chosen to play Edward, at first.  I didn't think "Cedric" from Harry Potter was a good pick, but after looking at more of his pictures and reading what they thought of him at his audition, I think he will be good.  They said they had hundreds of people try out and they were starting to feel that they would never find the right fit for the part, but after Robert Pattinson had his audition they said the search was over, he was exactly what they were looking for.  So I guess we just have to trust in their decision.  I do LOVE who they chose for Bella.  She is exactly how I imagined her.  

Don't watch this clip if you aren't ready to see what the movie sets will be like.  It has pictures of the cast and sets from the upcoming movie... Fun!

Click HERE to go to Stephanie Meyer's website for lots of other details!

      

About My Valentine

I've been tagged by Melanie who, by the way, I have been reacquainted with recently thanks to blogging. We have been friends since Elementary School, but it has been years since we have seen each other or talked.   It's kind of interesting how life has a way of bringing friends back together, it really is such a small, small world...

Now, back to the subject...

ABOUT MY HUSBAND, GREG:

How Long have you been married? It will be 4 years in June.

How long did you date? Ummm... Let's see... We started dating in 1999, we got married in 2004, so 5 years!

How old is he? He's a young buck, I totally robbed the cradle, he's 29.

Who eats more? That depends on the day.

Who is taller? Greg is! I love that I can wear as high of heels as I want and he will always be taller than me!

Who said "I Love You" first? I did! I'm still not sure if he heard me the first time because there was no response. I think he did hear me... I probably scared the crap out him!

Who sings better? No contest... He does!!!

Who is smarter? Again... I would say Greg is... He has a photographic memory, it's amazing.

Who does the dishes? That would be me 99% of the time.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Greg.

Who pays the bills? Me, I am a bit of a freak. It is one of the only things that I am totally obsessive-compulsive about.

Who cooks dinner? We take turns or we both cook together.

Who is more stubborn? Greg definitely is!!!

Who kissed who first? I think it was mutual?

Who asked who out? Neither, I would say our first date was when we went to see "The Blair Witch Project" with a bunch of friends. I guess it was mutual. (That movie was so scary, I couldn't sleep for weeks!)

Who proposed? Greg did, the night before we got married... I kind of suckered him in by just going ahead and planning our wedding. I think he was trying to torchure me by making me wait for so long for an official proposal... see how stubborn he is!

Who has more friends? Greg does, for sure! He's a people magnet, he makes friends everywhere he goes, and nobody ever forgets him. He's great!

Who has more siblings? Greg has 3 and I have 2.

Who will I tag... Leslie. Mom. Mary. Chris. Barb. Anyone who wants to participate.

I just want to read!!!

I am just getting started reading Twilight.  I got all 3 books for Christmas and I have been told by many that they are really good...  But I have a serious problem... every time I sit down to read I totally crash out!  No matter how good the book is!  I try so hard to keep my eyes open, but without fail within 15 minutes I am out cold...  It's driving me NUTS because so far, I really like this book!  If I ever finish I will let you know what I think,  but don't count on it any time soon.  
By the way, does anyone else have this problem or is it just me?  

Charity Water

I have been inspired by a combination of Rachel and Leslie's most recent posts. So I want to share this really cool charity that I have found...
or that has found me...

I have been receiving emails from Charity Water for about a year now. I am so lame, a lot of the time I have just deleted them thinking "I don't have time to read this." I obviously signed up for it somewhere because now that I have taken the time to read about what they do I realize what a wonderful, wonderful charity it is.

Rachel's post about not knowing what is going on in the news struck a cord with me and reminded me of this article on Cyclone Sidr that destroyed much of Bangladesh on November 15th 2007. I didn't even know about it until I read about it on Jan 8th 2008. There is so much happening in the world that I don't know about. I need to make it a priority to know what is going on in the rest of the world.



Leslie's post about how priviliged we are here in the U.S. was a big reminder to me of how truly blessed we really are and not just as far as material posessions go, but even as far as what to us is "the simple things" like water and food. Her post reminded me to share with you what Charity Water does. Please check out their website and watch some of the videos. It is amazing to me that as little as $60 can bring clean drinkable water to people who do not have it. People are dying or living with horrible diseases because they can not properly clean wounds or drink water that is not contaminated. Something that is so accessible and normal to us is not even available in other parts of the world. What is pennies to us is far beyond what they can afford.
 

$60 will rebuild a broken well in Bangladesh.
$750 will dig and build a brand new well.
$20 buys you a bottle of water and 100% of proceeds goes towards bringing clean water to people all over the world.

I think it is really neat what they are doing so I thought I would share with you. I am thinking I got on their mailing list at the Sundance Film Festival last year because it looks like that is where they shot the interview in the clip. I hope so because Sundance starts up again this Thursday. I am going to look for them!!!

I wish I could afford to just quit my job and go to work volunteering for this kind of charitable organization. How wonderful would that be???

Mom's Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my
children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor
and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a
shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my
list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter
with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry
room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time
in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple,
which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze,
but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy
aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh
month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint
resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a
television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking
animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the
crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes,
Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't
fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without
the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting 'Don't eat in
the living room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my
voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can
only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough
time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the
luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being
served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to
brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare
ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would
be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house
without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized
crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my
feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.
Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and
come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave
crumbs on the carpet. 

Yours Always,

MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep
my children, healthy, safe and of course, young enough to always believe in Santa.

*Santa has asked that this gets passed on to all the mommies you know

Click To Give

I just want to share this very cool thing that I have discovered. If you notice over on my "Daily Clicks" list to the right I have a link that says "Click to Give" Well, if you click on it you can help give women free mammograms... so cool!!! But that's not all, while you are there you can also go to the tabs across the top of the page and on each of those you can click to give to other things like fighting hunger, childrens healthcare, saving rainforests, and others. You can go there and click every day. I just think it's really neat and I thought you might too.

Also, check out "Click to Win" for a link to The Travel Channel where you can win a vacation.
(Of course, since I told you about it if you win, you have to take me) :)
GET CLICKIN!!!

"She Who is a Mother"

Before I was a Mom;

I made and ate hot meals,
I had unstained clothing,
I brushed my hair every day,
I had quiet conversations on the phone,
I slept as late as I wanted and I slept all night long.

Before I was a Mom;
I cleaned my house each day,
I never tripped over toys or forgot lullabies,
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous,
I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on, or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom;
I never thought about immunizations,
I never held a screaming child so the doctors could give shots,
I never looked into teary eyes and cried,
I never felt my heart break into pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt,
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

Before I was a Mom;
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down,
I never sat up late hours of the night watching a baby sleep,
I never got up in the middle of the night to make sure everything was okay,
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

Before I was a Mom;
I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts and my body,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside of my body,
I didn't know that having something so small could make me feel so important,
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a mom.

Before I was a Mom;
I never knew that something so small could effect my life so much,
I never knew that I could love someone so much,
I never knew I would love being a Mom,
I didn't know the bond between a Mother and her child,
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much.
- Sharon L. Twitchell -

I have read this poem many times as one of those emails that goes around over and over again. I read it the first few times before I had children. I enjoyed it then, but did not truly understand it. Now I laugh and cry every time I read it because it is all so true to me. The picture at the top was given to me on the day Zach was born by a few of my good friends who had children before me...
I think it is beautiful!

Cast Your Vote

POLL CLOSED. RESULTS ARE IN THE COMMENTS
I have added a poll on the right hand side for a costume contest from the Halloween Birthday Bash. You can scroll down a few posts to see the pictures again. Sorry, I didn't get pictures of everyone (Bryan) but he looked great. So... whether you were there or not, whether you normally comment or not, I want your vote. If you have kids, or anyone else who may want to, please let them vote too. (Since only like 5 people actually normally read this)

There is one for adult and one for kids... also put in a comment if you think someone deserves sexiest, scariest, funniest, or any other title... Thanks!!!

:)

It's Dumping... I'm Jonesing!

This time of year I always have a very anxious feeling in my stomach. I JUST CAN'T WAIT until there is at least an 80" base at Brighton. Excuse me for a moment while I slip into my day dream...

...I wake up in the morning and find that it has dumped another foot or more of fresh powder. Greg and I throw on our snowboarding pants, grab the rest of our gear and jump in the car, after clearing off a foot of light, powdery snow from the hood and windshield. We drop by Einsteins for a bagel and coffee to eat on the ride up the canyon. They are stopping all the vehicles at the mouth of Big Cottonwood to make sure you have 4x4 or chains. That's always the first sign of an epic day. When we finally get into the canyon it's dumping so hard we can barely see the road, it's a long ride up the canyon and we have the stereo CRANKED, we always give a shout out to the brothers lost in the struggle. Once we get to Brighton there is not even a whole row of cars in the parking lot. That is always the second sign of an epic day. Greg does a few donuts in the parking lot and I am screaming at him to STOP! (of course, if it was me driving, and I was in the bug, I would have done the same thing). Mollys windows are snow drifted, Milly wont even open for a few more hours due to avalanche control, I have a huge adrenaline rush already pumping through my body. The day is going to be a good one...

Oh, that felt good! Of course, we happened to have a babysitter on that epic day, or maybe it was 5 years ago, either way, it was AWESOME and it was fun to go back there in my mind.

Tagged???

I think I got tagged by Rachel, but I'm not sure how it works. I'll be a sport and play along.

So I'm supposed to tell you these things about me:

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I had spent the summer living on Maui with a bunch of friends. I moved back to Utah and worked at a Golf course as a lawn mower. I was waiting for the snow to fly so I could go back to work at Brighton. I think this was the year I moved in with Kim Carroll for the winter.

What was I doing 5 years ago?
Greg and I just got back from Costa Rica where we were robbed of everything except the clothes on our back (which was just a swim suit since we were out surfing at the time). We ended up spending the rest of our trip in a hotel in the capitol city, San Jose. (completely not the kind of trip we had planned) But we met some very interesting people and we have a million crazy and funny stories. Oh man, I might just have to do a blog about that trip.
It was rough coming home because while we were away my dear friend Doug passed away, I realy miss him, and I still feel like he might call at any time :(

What was I doing 1 year ago?
We just signed the papers on our Rockport property and were seriously wondering if we were completely NUTS for doing it!!!

What was I doing yesterday?
Lazy morning, but the evening was eventful, Greg and I went out to see Harry Potter again and had dinner at Squaters. A night out without the munchkins. It was fun!!!

5 Places I'de rather be (in no specific order)
1) A sandy beach somewhere tropical. Drinking Cervesas with good friends.
2) Snowboarding a foot or more of steep, fresh powder!!!
3) Camping in the desert.
4) At Grandma Janes with Grandma Jane.
5) Snuggling with my boys (they are having a sleepover tonight at Wawas)

5 Treats/ Snacks I love.
1) Milk Chocolate
2) Cookie Dough Ice Cream
3) Ben's chocolate chip cookies
4) Sushi
5) Smore's

What would I do with $1 Million Dollars?
I would invest in property somewhere tropical. Make our Rockport home just how we want it. Make a generous donation to charity.

All time top 5 TV shows:
1) Survivor
2) Sienfeld
3) The Simpsons
4) Lost
5) The Joe Schmoe Show
6) Rock of Love
7) Hogan Knows Best
8) Rob and Big
I know that's more than 5, but they are all SO GOOD!


5 People to tag:
Beth
Mary
Leslie
Chuck and Barb
??? I don't think anyone else looks at my blog, but if you do, you're tagged too!!!

Just do it. It's kind of interesting to pin point what was going on in your life 1, 5, and 10 years ago.

:)