SPIDERS AND LP!!

I was downstairs in the office, minding my own business, when out of nowhere a HUGE spider tried to attack me! I fought it off with all of my might, and about 10 tissues, then pinched it good in my hand so I felt, and heard, it's HUGE spider body POP!! ARGH!! I hate spiders!

The picture is a little blurry because I was shaking in my boots while trying to snap a picture! Boy was this SCARY!!

And now for a much happier subject... ONLY 9 DAYS TIL WE LEAVE FOR POWELL!!

WE ARE SOOOOO EXCITED!!

12 DAYS!!

Thanks to Mat for this awesome picture from our trip in 2007! We sure wish you guys were coming this year! Bummer for you!

16 DAYS UNTIL LAKE POWELL!!

We are getting soooo excited!!

Shawna

S is for SMART, she loves math!

H because she's HAPPY, most of the time!

A her smile is ADORABLE!

W She always WINS at games!

N NICE, she thinks of others often!

A ABSOLUTELY OUR PERFECT SHAWNA!

It is so unbelievable that my baby is in her last year of elementary school! She has become such a beautiful and smart young lady and I'm so proud of her. She makes me laugh with her jokes, she bores me with her stories (but I still love to hear them!) and she is a best friend to her big sister! I am so grateful to have her and I hope she knows how much she means to our family, it wouldn't be the same without her!

SURPRISE!!

August 25th is my mother-in-laws birthday. This year we got together and threw a big SURPRISE party and boy was she shocked! It's been a long time since all her kids and grandkids were in the same place at once and I think it meant the world to her! WE LOVE YOU GLADYS! Hope your bday was memorable!

Time flies... OREGON!

I can't believe how fast time flies! We went to the Oregon Coast almost a month ago and I haven't found time to blog until now! WOW! Well, here's a quick synopsis of our trip, and thanks to Aunt Mickey and Uncle Gary for inviting us to crash their vacation!! WE HAD A BLAST!
July 25th we left and headed towards Oregon, we stayed in Boise the first night then headed to Portland. We stayed in Portland the second day/night and had so much fun there. We took an awesome jetboat ride, it was so fun cruising around the river and then they'd swing us around and do 360's! WOW What a rush! And we got to see a ton of sights in a short amount of time! This is a picture of the girls and Darrell in front of the Willamette Falls. Then we went to the Saturday market, a bunch of street vendors with good food and merchandise, YUM and FUN!

After Portland we headed to the beach and a bunch of fun in the sun! We stayed at the beach in the background of this picture. It was pretty cool outside, highs in the low 70's, and the water was freezing but the girls still insisted on swimming in the ocean!

We also saw a bunch of wildlife, the neatest things were the starfish and sealions!

There's so much to do! We went to the Lewis and Clark Museum which was so neat! We also went to Astoria (where I had the best fish and chips in my life!) And the Cannon Beach shops are so quaint! We also saw where the end of Goonies was filmed in Cannon Beach, the Goonies house in Astoria and the school where Kindergarten Cop was filmed!

We also drove across this scary bridge, TWICE!!

Our beach house was really neat too! It was nice to get up in the mornings to the sound of the ocean, the nice cool temps, relaxation and fun! You gotta go!

What is this world coming to...

So, I did it! I ran out of gas for the first time in my driving history! What a nut I am. My Mother-in-Law gave me great advice, the top of the tank runs just as well as the bottom does! I think I'll keep that in mind! Anyway, I was on my way to Sam's for gas, it's literally around the block from home. On 7800 south just before the right turn to Jordan Landing BAM my car quit. Lucky for me and Annie (she was with me) I was able to get to the side of the road, turn on my hazards and call for help because of course I didn't have the gas can with me. In the 15-20 minutes we were waiting we sat on the lawn in the shade and talked. I'm amazed at the number of people who traveled that road while 2 women (1 just a kid) sat there with an obviously broken car, and didn't stop to see if they could offer a hand. There were 2 men in a car who did stop, and while I didn't need help I thought that was nice and thanked them. But 2 men out of the hundreds who passed is amanzing to me! The worse case was a man in a pick up truck who yelled obscenities at us while he was stopped at the light. He was screaming about pushing the car out of the road (remember I said I was able to get it to the side of the road) and yelled swear words at us. I just wonder what kind of world we're living in when 2 women who have obvious car trouble are left to push a car (a big heavy car I might add) out of the road by themselves while some jerk yells at them. I just hope all of us raising girls and boys are teaching them the value of helping our neighbors (and even strangers when needed!) not to mention the Golden Rule!