St. George Escapade

Ta da!!! I'm back to the blogging world. I have so much to catch up on, but I'm too tired to do it all in one sitting. So tonight I will focus on the St. George trip to Tuachan with the Relief Society sisters (go Somerset ward!). We went to see Les Mis with a little shopping on the side beforehand. I got to ride along with Kellie and Leslie -- fun, entertaining conversations were had by all. And remember ladies, what is said in Kellie's car, stays in Kellie's car. :) Actually, in all honesty, we're pretty un-Vegas-like. Disappointing, I know -- nothing too salacious to confess. :)

Les Mis was wonderful!!! The setting at Tuachan made it perfect. I've seen the traveling Broadway show twice, but this version was far superior. First off, let me tell you that I've been known as a rock -- someone who never cries. I was the one girl at girl's camp who never wept during testimony meeting (all four years!). I rarely showed emotion. Now I have to take it all back -- I'm not sure if it's because I'm a mom, or aging makes me more sentimental, but I was so emotional during the production. I was just amazed at the vocal talent, and of course, the story line was powerful. I've decided that I'm glad I wasn't blessed with an amazing singing voice. If I had to perform, I would cry the whole time thinking, "My voice is so beautiful . . . I'm too moved by my gift!" Fortunately I was a spectator, so only the girls around me noticed my sniffling (thanks to Tricia and Kellie for not openly mocking :) ). I had a blast, and I'm looking foward to other girl jaunts in the future (Wicked, perhaps?).



The whole gang


Julie, Karin, Kristina, Kellie, Tricia, Leslie, and Moi

Busy, busy, busy!!!

Okay, my posts have been so lame as of late, but my level of life insanity has reached its peak. First off, I went to St. George on Saturday with the Relief Society to see "Les Mis" at Tuachan. Oh, my goodness! What a production! We were gone the entire day and didn't get home until 1 a.m. I'll post more on that later. Sunday was crazy . . . Church, Alyssa's birthday party (she turns 2 on Thursday, but we celebrated with Jer's parents on Sunday), and then I had to interview a family for a newspaper article. "Huh?" you ask. Every year an LDS group puts out a Family Week insert into the Las Vegas Review Journal. With my BYU Public Relations connections, I volunteered to write an article -- at the time thinking it was no big deal. I thought, "Hey, I was a big shot reporter for the BYU Daily Universe, so of course I'm capable of one silly article!!" (okay, I wasn't a big shot, but I wanted to stress my confidence level). However, what the HECK was I thinking? That was ten years ago!!!! I've started writing, and I'm utterly perplexed. How do I attribute? Where's the flow? What about the transitional sentence at the beginning of each paragraph? Seriously, I'm a mess trying to remember those days when I actually knew something. Forgive my venting. Anyway, any computer time needs to be spent on that (since the deadline is in a few days), so blog postings will have to be suspended for now. Please don't cry -- I will return. On top of all this madness, my house needs a major overhaul and we're going to Disneyland this weekend. No rest for the weary.

Stay tuned for these future posts: St. George trip, the Pumpkin Patch, and Alyssa' birthday party. I'm actually writing this to remind myself.

I've been tagged!

Here's the deal --
Look in your computer picture files. Choose the fourth folder, fourth picture and then TALK about it...



This was taken when Jayce was about four or five months-old. I was camera crazy back then, so this same shot was repeated over and over again. As baby-ish as he looked, I always thought he had wise eyes. I think I bought that sleeper at Old Navy. I'm also guessing that the family room (where he was posing) was clean -- that was the back in the day when Jayce was harmless as far as disasters went. I miss those days. Anyone want to come and clean my family room? After Tornado Alyssa this afternoon, I need help! :)

I tag Tricia, Holli, Jennifer, David, and Kellie (and anyone else, for that matter)

Playhouse Disney

On Saturday, Jayce and I were able to go to Playhouse Disney with Tricia, Shane, and Trevor (thanks, guys -- and Julie!). I had taken Jayce last year by myself, but this year was much better with his buddy, Shane. I guess I'm not cool enough.


Okay, $27!!! (There was a pretzel in there as well, but seriously?). I swear, Disney doesn't make a killing from ticket sales . . . it's all merchandising. The refreshments were only slightly outrageous ($4 for the drink, $3 for the pretzel), but $20 for the wand thingy? Robbery! I was a willing victim, I guess. But how could I deny Jayce . . .


. . . a chance to play "swords" with Shane? Throughout the show they were having duels. As much as Jayce loved the show, I think he liked the sword fight better. Just leave it to our boys to imagine weaponry. By the way, how cool are those sunglasses hanging off his shirt? He takes after his dad. He's too cool to be my son.


Here's a very happy camper!



And here's a shot of Mom and Jayce. I'm providing proof that I did take him somewhere that he actually appreciated.

Okay, I was trying to be all sneaky and illegal by taking a picture of the characters. So what does this picture say? It says I need a new camera! Jer? Guess I deserved it -- no photos allowed. :(

Apple Orchard Adventures

I'm behind on posting, but this is actually pretty significant. On September 13, 2007, my blog was born (sniff, sniff). My very first post had to do with our apple orchard playgroup. Well, here we go again. The circle of life!
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Well, this year's trip wasn't as successful as last time, due to the dramatic, tear-filled tirades by my daughter. I think she was a bit under the weather, so she was having no part in the apple picking fun. Jayce was tired of walking through the rows of inedible vegetables (besides a couple of squash, we were unsuccessful in scoring great finds). Anyway, since my children are more independent now, they don't "go with the flow" as easily. They're opinionated little people who express their disapproval. By the end of our adventure, they were more than ready to leave. Fortunately, the company of Kellie, Tricia, and Leslie kept me sane. Despite my grumpy kids, they still wore smiles on their faces. Thanks, girls!


Thanks, Tricia, for this great pic of Jayce. He was quite pleased with his apples and loved eating them the following week.



And, Kellie, thanks for the pictures of Alyssa. They provided the perfect description of our day. If Alyssa wasn't listless in the stroller (see above), she was crying (see below).




You know, I try to make an effort to do fun things with the kids, but sometimes it's a bust. However, all I can do is keep trying and maybe someday they'll appreciate my efforts. Or maybe not. And that's okay. :)