The Last of My Summer Entertainment List Checked Off!

Lelu is in the top middle swing and Mr. T and Caden are in the bottom leftish area.

Why has a place that has so many happy memories from my childhood turned into such torture as an adult? We used to go every summer that we'd come to Utah to visit our grandparents. It was the highlite for me. Do I now see it with jaded eyes or is it just grosser?

I promised my kids, as well as our friends the Maxwells promised their kids we'd go to Lagoon this summer. It always seemed too hot to go and let's face it, it's not something I was looking forward to. Unbelievably, yesterday was the only Saturday that Lelu did not have a soccer game, so we went for it. For Lagoon, it was the best possible day. The weather was perfect in the 70's and it wasn't too crowded. The kids loved it as much as I remember loving it. I even went on Wicked, which I must say is aptly named. B was a good sport and just followed along carrying the backpack, staying with Ari when needed (she does not like "scary" rides). He rode a few of the non-twirling, jerking or nauseating rides. I was the only one who got completely soaked on Rattlesnake Rapids. We were out of there by 6:00 when all the spooks really come out. They each had a friend to hang out with. D went to homecoming last night so was busy with the day date etc. Blog for that coming soon when he gets the photos.

Even though it was a good day, I know we wouldn't get that lucky again. I won't be making that promise again for a few years.

I Wish It Were a Cute Little Alien...

My home is in a state of chaos and reconstruction. A little leak from my ice maker in my island went unnoticed over a few months because it was trapped under my island. There a forest of mold grew happily "with the best environment" undetected until I started to smell something. That's a really bad sign, by the way! What I thought would be an ice maker repair turned into Pandora's box. With each person called to come check it out, I got worse and worse news. They needed to remove my granite and try not to break it. If they broke it, then I would have to replace all of my granite. I just figured with everything else that was going wrong they would break it. Oh that darn pessimistic attitude I've tried exorcise! But they DID NOT break it! Hooray! However, my island is completely torn out and the basement ceiling is torn down. These photos are of the kitchen containment area. I wish I would have taken photos of the guys in white suits with masks and the hoses coming out my door into vans - it looked like a smaller version of the "ET containment area". Every surface had to be hepa vacuumed (whatever that means) and sprayed with sporicide. Then we had the "industrial hygienist" (code word for goofy Icabod Cranish microbiologist) come back and test again. THANK HEAVENS WE PASSED!

The worst part has been the comings and goings of construction workers. I realized just how vulnerable I am being at home alone during the day. Our home owner's insurance is covering everything except the ice maker repair - I thought that was funny! We've been told, however, that they will be suing whoever they deem responsible - plumber & home builder or ice maker manufacturer.

Someone has got to take the blame, right? It can't ever be the CRAP HAPPENS! I should be repaired by next week and B's teaching me some self defense moves. Phew!

Blog Worthy But Without Photos, Sorry!

It's not that we haven't been up to anything blog worthy the last 2 weeks, I've just become so addicted to adding photos and I never even took my camera out of my bag.

Last weekend, B had his work users group meeting up at the Stein Erickson in Deer Valley. This is where his clients all come to hear the latest updates and things they are working on. They come from all over the country. Taz got a smoking deal because the Stein is under construction. All his clients loved it there, but I don't think they'll get the same deal again. I went up for a couple days to mingle with his clients and relax. I went hiking by myself one morning. It's 8500 feet up there and holy cow could I feel it. I got my heartrate up to 190! I was jamming to my ipod and all these songs kept coming on with lyrics that was exactly like the soundtrack to my hike. Like "Suprisingly good to be moving around" or "Don't you shiver, shiver" as I'm putting my jacket back on and I am shivering from sweating and cold air. Or "A spider web is tangled up with me, Oh no what's this? A spider web and I'm caught in the middle," as I am pulling spider webs off my face that I walked through. It made me think of "The Truman Show". It was awesome but a little creepy too.

D asked a girl to homecoming and it became quite a production too. It's so unbelievable the efforts these kids go to just to ask someone to a dance. He had 5 boxes with clues and toys in them to go with the clues. Then she came back and decorated his room with army guys (some of the toys from a box) and a sign that said "It'd take an army to keep me from going to homecoming with you". So yesterday I asked D when homecoming is and he didn't even know. I think he better find out.

We are now in the full swing of fall sports. Lelu is playing competitive soccer. So Sagan, as much as I prided myself on NOT being a soccer mom. I am now an official soccer mom. Another never gone down in history (I'll never have a minivan, I'll never have more than 4 kids....) Yesterday was a tough game because no one had mowed the lawn on the soccer field and the grass was about 8 inches long. The ball would only go about a yard every time someone kicked it and these poor girls were working twice as hard to run in it. Mr. T starts flag football this week too. One more year until he can play tackle.

All the coordinating it takes to get kids from place to place is exhausting. Do we do this because we all have dreams of producing another Steve Young, Mia Hamm or Shawn Johnson? I do like that it keeps the kids in shape, but sometimes I wonder.

Flashback Photos

Sometimes I look at my little Ari and think I'm looking in a time capsule mirror. Even that expression on my face, I've seen on hers 1000 times. It's not just looks either - it's personality, which really scares me. My mantra is "She will use her strength for good or evil and I am praying, teaching, watching and hoping for good!"