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!

Girl Scouts, YAY!

We went to Girl Scout Troop Camp this week with our troop, it was a lot of fun! We went to Trefoil Ranch, the horse camp up Provo Canyon.

Shawna and Annie rode Lucky, the pretty black horse. My horse was also black, he's named Fisban.

We also did eachothers hair.

And of course we ate GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!

With 8 girls and 2 leaders there were bound to be squabbles but all in all it was a really fun time!

Celebrate, Celebrate, Celebrate!

We started our 4th by Celebrating at the West Jordan park. We walked around and looked at the booths, ate dinner and had ice cream, and walked around the Veterans Memorial thinking about those who fought for our freedoms. Then we found our spot for fireworks. It was awesome sitting on the grass watching the bursts explode right above our heads.

On the 5th we were lucky enough to spend the day with Crystal and her family, celebrating her 18th birthday! Happy Birthday Crystal!! We had so much fun at Park City, riding the Alpine Slide, the Alpine Coaster and the Zip Line! We love spending time with Crystal and her family, we're so proud of what a wonderful young woman she's grown up to be!

And finally we finished our celebrating by going to the Western Stampede and cheering all those cowboys and cowgirls while they rodeoed it up! It's becoming a yearly tradition and we have such a great time!

Happy 4th of July!!

Annie and Shawna started their celebrating by having Aunt Becky paint their finger and toe nails. How cute! We are so grateful to be living in this wonderful country! Happy Independence Day!!

Nanny Nanny

While we were in Yellowstone my dad was talking to the girls and somehow they started talking about mammals. My dad asked if they new the only mammal that laid eggs, of course we thought and thought but couldn't figure out the answer. It's the Duck Billed Platypus! He said, then when I asked if that was it, only 1 mammal that laid eggs instead of giving live birth he said there might be another but he couldn't think of what it was. Well, yesterday Shawna was playing on the computer and the game she was playing asked all kinds of questions, one of which was what do the Duck Billed Platypus and the Spiny Anteater have in common? You guessed it! They're both the only mammals that lay eggs instead of live birth! Shawna came running downstairs and asked if she could call her Grandpa, she left the funniest message that he was wrong and 2 mammals lay eggs! It was such a Nanny Nanny moment! Then Grandpa made sure to return her call saying he wasn't exactly wrong he just couldn't remember the 2nd mammal! It made me laugh!

Yellowstone 2008

We were so lucky to go to Yellowstone this last week! It was beautiful with all the spring flowers and the animals were so active, but mostly I liked getting away with my family and just spending time hanging out and sharing nature with my husband and kids. We had such a good time we're planning on going back next year and we can hardly wait!