Fair Days

It's county fair time in my city right now. It's been years since we've gone to the fair. I'm not a big fan of 1) the heat (it was 100+ degrees today) 2) the dust 3) the crowds; but since our daughter was home for the weekend, I suggested we go to the fair.

Due to the heat, we didn't even leave home until 2:30 pm but boy was it still hot outside. We were meeting my sister and BIL there so the first thing we did was get a cool drink and find some shade. We watched this group of ladies perform while waiting for my sister.

A cute group of cloggers. I don't know how they kept themselves from fainting with the heat, wearing long sleeves, and black no less, and with all of their strenuous activity. Notice the one on the far left, she had to be at least 70, but she kept up with the best of them.

Again, to escape the heat, we ventured into the buildings to check out the exhibits. Right when we walked in the door, we ran into Robin. This is a picture of Robin and my daughter Courtney. Robin's daughter Mackenzie is Courtney's long time best friend and roommate in college (Arizona State University). I suggested we take this picture and send it to Mackenzie on Facebook.


No visit to the fair is ever complete without seeing the animals. This is really what a county fair is all about isn't it? This little thing was making so much noise. First of all, he wasn't happy about being tied up to the fence and secondly, he was about to get bathed and he must have known it. He was wanting no part of either.


I also found out today that I've got more than a few daredevils in my family. Courtney and my sister Kim were all too eager to give this a try...


One of those bungee jump rides that shoots straight up in the air at 100 mph!




These two didn't want to look like chickens so they had to take the plunge too. Yep, my husband and BIL Michael. Seriously, am I the only sane one in the bunch!?!



The daredevils...

When was the last time you went to a county fair?

Would you ride in one of these bungee jump contraptions?

It's Friday

And I'm nosy...

So here's the question: Do any of you love the sight of pumpkins as much as I do!


I seriously love them!

Another Year Older

I used to really dislike having birthdays, just hated getting older I guess, but with age comes wisdom.

I now embrace my birthday and look at each year as an accomplishment and a blessing. I embrace all that has been given to me...and it has been plenty!

So here I sit with all that comes along with being "over the hill"...but content, and certainly thankful for another year!

Happy Birthday to me!

Oh No...Not Again!

Yep, computer problems!

My old computer died at the beginning of summer. I'd only had it for about 2 years but the hard drive gave out. I bought another laptop, same brand, just about same everything and all was fine and dandy until this morning. We've been away so I was catching up on my blog reading this morning and everything was working great. I turned off the computer and a few hours later my husband wanted to use the computer to download some songs and nothing. I mean nothing!

He was nice enough to run the computer to Best Buy to have it checked out and guess what...the hard drive gave out...again! It will be fixed for free but you'd better believe I won't be buying an HP next time. We have 4 laptops in this family and I'm the only one that has had any computer problems...and I'm the only one with an HP.

I won't have my computer back for 2 weeks so I'll be using my husband's computer when I can. I hope I don't miss too much of your Fall and Halloween decorating!

Benefits Of Blogging...

The one thing that I've enjoyed most about blogging is the relationships that have developed over the last year and a half. Although I had hoped for friendships to be made, I never dreamed I'd become close friends with other bloggers like I have. I have blogging friends that feel like family and friendships that I know will last forever!

For me, another benefit from blogging has been learning about other religions. For example, I have met and become close friends with many wonderful blogging women who are Mormon. Honestly, I didn't know much about the Mormon faith and what I did know was incorrect. Through blogging, I have been educated. I now have a new found respect and understanding of the Mormon faith, and I have a great respect for my Mormon women friends. Ladies, I so admire the devotion to faith, family, and service that you have. You inspire me daily!

If I've learned anything, I've learned of the great reverence for the temple, the love of the prophets, and especially the love of President Gordon B. Hinckley. So now knowing all of this, when I saw a VHS tape at a thrift store recently, I knew I had to buy it. The VHS is in it's original wrapper and has never been opened. The tape is called "An Evening of Celebration...with President Gordon B. Hinckley", celebrating his 90th birthday at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. It features the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square as well as other guests.


I picked up this tape with my friends in mind, thinking you may like to add this to your collection. If you're interested, just leave me a comment. I'd love to pass it on to someone who would enjoy having it.

When I'm out and about and I see something special, I'm always thinking "oh, my blogging friend_______ would love that" or "that would look great in _______ house!" I feel such a connection with many of you. It's a beautiful thing, the closeness and friendships that women develop. The only thing that would make it perfect were if we were all neighbors. Now wouldn't that be awesome!

It's Friday

Sheesh, it's Friday again already! Seriously, where does the time go!?!

I wanted to post something today but felt that the usual "Friday's Question" wasn't appropriate for today. Today is a solemn day. Today is a day for remembrance, not for silly Friday questions.

Today I was able to go about my life, business as usual. Sadly though, that wasn't the case for thousands of families who lost loved ones on 9/11. I went about my business but all the while my mind was on them. Today I thought about the innocent people who perished on 9/11 and I thought about the families and how their lives have changed.

I will never forget the brutality of it all!

I will never forget the sickness in the pit of my stomach that something like this could (and did) happen in America!

I will never forget the faces of those who were missing. Thousands and thousands of photos pinned up everywhere. Photos posted by frantic, worried loved ones!

I will never forget the images of people running, with dust and soot on their faces, and total fear in their eyes!

I will never forget how many children lost their fathers/mothers, how many husbands/wives lost a spouse, how many parents lost their child, how many brothers/sisters lost a sibling, and the list goes on!










I WILL NEVER FORGET!

It Was Very Bittersweet...

In 1999, we bought a brand new Bayliner boat. We live within 30 minutes of 2 lakes and thought boating would be a fun family activity while the kids were growing up, and it definitely was. Over the years, the kids and their friends have had so much fun tubing and wakeboarding and alot of wonderful memories were made while boating...really fun memories! Unfortunately though, times change, kids grow up, and we realized our boating days had come to an end. With no kids at home (sadly, our kids don't even live in the same city as us any more), and Howard and I now enjoying an RV, the boat got no use. We figured out today that the poor thing had sat on the side of our house getting no attention for the last 3 years. We knew it was time to sell but we just hadn't made any effort to do it.

I guess at one of our monthly campouts, Howard had casually mentioned to a camping club friend that we were going to be selling the boat. Our friend said his boss Ryan was looking for a boat, and if it was ok, he would tell him about ours. Long story short, Ryan called us and we started the ball rolling.

Ryan, his wife, and their 2 beautiful little girls drove 3 hours to our house today and it was love at first sight when they saw the boat. We had emailed them pictures but it sure made us feel good when Ryan said the boat was so much better than he had expected. It was exactly what they had been looking for!

All in all, they were at our house for about 4 hours and we really got a feel for how wonderful this family is. Seeing them drive away with the boat was hard but it was alot easier knowing that it was being passed on to a young family who would now be making their own fun family memories with it. They didn't know it, but they were exactly the type of family we were hoping for!

So tonight, our boat has a new home. I'm sure it will take us months to adjust to the fact that it's not on the side of the house any more or the fact that I won't catch a glimpse of it outside the laundry room window each day.

To say the least, today has been very bittersweet.

P.S. I asked them to take a picture of themselves on the boat when they take it out for the first time and email it to us. They said they would...and I really hope they do!