Addiction

It seems like most of my blogs lately have been by my brother in law.  I guess I need to get on here more often.

If you haven't noticed my new feature, it is my book shelf.  I have been lost in the world of books lately.  Rocky gets so mad when I read, basically because I kind of check out of reality for a while.  Reading is kind of like my heroin, or crack.  I just can't get enough.  Unfortunately, I am a really fast reader, so I finish books within a few days, which always leaves me searching for something new to read.  And I love to buy books.  For most people, this is a waste, since many only read books once.  I, however, can read them over and over again.  I can't tell you how many times I have read "The Glass Lake" or "Beach Music."  I have also read the Harry Potter series about 5 times so far (and I just started to read HP in the past year).  I have tried to read longer books, like "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" but that just got a little to technical/boring for me.  It did take me a while to finish.  I recommend all books on my shelf right now, with the exception of "The Host."  I didn't hate it, but I just don't know how I feel about it right now.  I finished it last night, and will have to read it again to give it a second chance.  I am considering taking the kids to the gym and dropping them off at the child center so I can go and lounge by the pool and read.  Is that wrong?

Here are some recent pics of the kids:

This is Ciara and her friend Sophie in Denver.  They were playing naked for some reason.

Ciara at her school program.

Ciara with her teacher, Miss Marci.

One of Caden, so he doesn't feel left out.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Rocky! In honor of this special day, you get to ignore your chores, such as shaving my back. Yay!

Another Explanation

So, as many of you may have guessed, the last post was again my brother in law (sorry to disappoint you, Jacque).  Thanks a lot, Brandon.  I will have my revenge.  It did make me laugh.  And no, I won't be putting pictures of the poop on here.  Yesterday Ciara had her end of year program for school.  It is just so cute to see all the kids singing, or not singing and sitting there.  Her recital is also coming up, and I cannot wait to see her in her costume on stage.  I will post picture of both soon (sorry, no poop pictures).  And yesterday my sister and I went to the most fun exercise class ever.  It is called Dance Jam.  We were both a little self conscious at the beginning, but then we kind of got into it.  I could hardly move at the end, and we were both drenched with sweat.  It was so fun.  Oh, there was one more thing I was going to mention.  For anyone looking for a really good book, read Three Cups of Tea.  It was incredible.  It is the true story of this man who decided to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  He believes (and I agree) that the solution to the violence and war is education, not violence.  It is a true testament to what one person can actually do.  

Photos coming soon

I just took the biggest dump. If anyone still wonders where the lost city of Atlantis is, I think I just crapped it out. It's like a new brown continent. Peanutia, or Craptopia. Or maybe Cornopolis. 

Hmm. I might need a clothes hanger or a small shovel to break this up. Otherwise, it's never going to flush. 

Hey Rocky, get the camera!

(I'll post pictures soon)

I LOVE Denver

We recently took a trip back to Denver.  I had forgotten how much I miss it.  We ate at the Smiling Moose almost everyday, had some Bonnie Brae ice cream, went to the Museum of Nature and Science, and got to play with old friends.  I have missed my friends there so much, but didn't quite realize it until I went back.  I forgot how comfortable I am just hanging out with all of them.  It was kind of hard to leave.  It was a bit difficult being in just one hotel room for 3 nights.  We tried to have Caden and Ciara share a bed, but that didn't work.  Caden is just a maniac.  He wouldn't let Ciara sleep.  So I slept with her, and Rocky tried to sleep with Caden.  Didn't work.  Caden thrashed so much he eventually fell out of the bed at around midnight.  I went and got in bed with them, and after he buried his head in my stomach, and tried to open my eyes and mouth with his fat little finger, he fell asleep.  The next morning, I immediately called down to have a crib sent up.  He slept wonderfully in that.  Both kids even took naps each day we were there.  I thought it might be impossible, but it worked.  They were both really great in the car as well.  And I have to give credit to the in car DVD player.  What a miracle.  Worked like a charm.  I have one complaint about the ride home.  Rocky forgot his wallet, so I had to drive the ENTIRE way home.  I don't recommend driving for that long.  It sucked.  On another subject. . . it amazes me how much Ciara is learning every Sunday.  She is really starting to grasp certain church ideas.  First, she was really worried about the Holy Ghost, because someone had nailed him to the wall.  I tried to explain that it was Jesus, not the Holy Ghost, and that he wasn't nailed to the wall, but to the cross.  She didn't believe me.  A few weeks later, she seemed to get the right idea, but wanted to know where the Holy Ghost lives.  I said he lives in every one's heart.  That wasn't good enough either.  She kept asking to see him, and she wanted him to come over and play.  But she did get the heart idea.  A few days later, she was laying on my chest, and looked up at me and said, "Mom, I can hear the Holy Ghost."  Now, her big thing is Jesus.  She really wants to play with him.  She was knocking on the window the other day, and she tells me, "Mom, Jesus wants to come over and play.  Can we invite him over?"  I tried to explain that Jesus is up in Heaven with Heavenly Father.  She then asks me if heaven is where you go when you die, where the angels are.  I said yes.  Which then prompts here to say, "But mom, Jesus came back.  He died, and then he came back, so why is he up in heaven."  I tried to explain that heaven is his home, but she was just so sure that he came back, and wasn't dead.  I was quite shocked that she seemed to understand the basics of the resurrection.  She still talks about inviting Jesus over to play.  And one more subject change . . . I was so excited to see Sex and the City over the weekend!  It lived up to all my expectations.  I can't wait to see it again.  If any of you haven't seen it, and need someone to see it with, let me know.  I will TOTALLY go again.

Week In Review

I was at first a little sad about the American Idol decision, but have since come to terms with it.  I have decided that David Cook has a better sense of who he is, and is less likely to be corrupted by the "biz."  And also, after listening to them both on a CD, Cook's voice carries over better onto the CD.  Archuleta still sounds great, but not nearly as moving as on the stage.  Hopefully Archuleta will get a bit more mature, and get a better sense of who he is, instead of who his family/dad wants him to be, and them maybe he will be ready for celebrity.  

And all hail Grey's.  I know, I comment on it every week, but I am just so happy after I watch it.  I was so psyched that Meredith seems to have gotten over her issues, and I loved the ending.  I was so shocked with the Callie/Erica kiss, and just loved every minute of it.   

We are leaving on Sunday to go to Denver.  How psyched am I?  Ciara has been talking about it non stop since we decided to go.  I don't know how much she actually remembers, but she is very excited to see all her friends.  I am just excited to be there again, and to see the city, the parks, and all my friends.  Rocky is looking forward to eating at the Smiling Moose 3 times a day, and possibly Heidi's as well.  I am not looking forward to the long drive with the 2 kids, but they have gotten to the age where they are relatively good travelers.  And having the TV in the car helps as well.

Rocky has finally consented to get Ciara's ears pierced.  I was surprised at how expensive it has become!  I went and looked at Sweet and Sassy, the salon where she had her princess party.  Like most places, you purchase the earrings, and the piercing is free.  Well, I was shocked to discover that the earrings were $35.  I thought that maybe this placed was just way over priced.  I looked online at Claire's, and they are also the same price.  Has it been that long since I had something pierced?  Oh well.  She is so excited, she can't wait.  I keep telling her that might hurt, but she says it won't.  She had such a good time looking at all the different earrings, and was disappointed that we weren't piercing them right away.  I explained that we have to wait for Aunt Lori to come with us.  Since our Aunt took us to get our ears pierced, Lori has decided that it is the Aunt's job.  So next Saturday is the big day.  I will let you all know how it goes.  And if anyone knows of a good place to get pierced (besides the mall, or Sweet and Sassy) let me know!  And I will blog again upon our return to SLC.

City Mouse and Country Mouse

Yesterday, Rocky and I took the day to drive around and visit different areas that we want to live in.  No, I am not talking about driving around Sandy, or South Jordan.  We drove to Morgan, Heber, and then to Lehi.  It was a lot of driving.  Rocky seems to have got it in his head that we need to move to a smaller town.  I am a little afraid of this.  I have never really lived in a small town.  OK, Tulsa is not all that metropolitan, but it is larger than any of those towns I previously mentioned, and it was not my favorite place to live.  (and yes, I know that Lehi doesn't qualify either, but we really aren't considering moving to Utah county.)  Our first stop was Morgan.  I don't know how I first heard of Morgan, but I have a feeling it was when Rocky decided he wanted to move to Liberty or Eden.  Neither of these are really that close to Park City (where his office will be).  So I looked at a map, and discovered Morgan.  I did some research online, and found that home prices are pretty decent, and I researched the schools. Didn't seem too bad, but still, I am hesitant.  I am just a little terrified to live so far away from civilization.  Morgan is about 40 minutes from Park City, and maybe 20 from Ogden.  So that means it is a good hour to Salt Lake.  That just seems like a long drive.  But to my surprise, I actually liked Morgan.  I was really surprised.  We stopped to eat lunch there, and there were many young families, and none of them looked like hicks.  No one had wranglers on, and I didn't see one cowboy hat.  We even talked to a couple about living there, and they only had good things to say.  We saw some really cute houses as well.  And according to the internet, the schools look pretty decent.  In the 11th grades tests, Morgan school district scored 3rd in the state (pretty good, I think).  There is a lot of new construction, and it is just a pretty area.  One of the main reasons I am even considering leaving is due to pollution.  You may think this isn't a big enough problem to leave, but Caden has been on a nebulizer since he was 9 months old.  On bad pollution days, I notice a definite difference in his breathing.  So our hope is to help him get better by going to an area with little pollution.  It was so pretty, and so quiet.  Our next stop was Heber.  I have been to Heber before, but usually just to pass through.  I was so surprised at how it had grown!  It was so busy, with people EVERYWHERE.  No so small town.  However, Heber is expensive.  We can hardly afford anything.  And the places we can afford, although they are newly built, are the ghetto.  The yards are all full of dandelions, or they have just removed all the grass.  There are also cars parked everywhere!  Besides having 2 car garages, they would have another 2 cars in the driveway, plus maybe another on the street, and one on the dandelion/dirt yard.  Not somewhere we really want to live.  Since Rocky's office will be in Park City, Heber is a logical choice.  We cannot afford anything in Park City, and Heber is the only city around that I will consider.  I hope no one reading this comes from any of these places, but I refuse to live in Coalville, Hoytsville, or any other ville up in that area.  I once worked in Park City, and I worked with some people from these small areas, and there are not too many things nice I can say about them (Nicole C., I am sure you remember them).  They were everything I couldn't stand, and embodied all that is evil about small towns.  So you might understand my hesitancy to move to one of those places.  Also, we noticed a haze around Heber.  It seems as though the SLC pollution is making its way up the mountains.  I know it is better than SLC, but still, if we are getting away, shouldn't we pick a clean air place?  Lehi was just a stop to see some new golf course homes.  Rocky did some work for the builder, so we get a discount and wanted to check it out.  We are both really against living in Utah county, but these houses were really cute, but so out of the way for a commute to Park City.  So that was our day.  All in all, we both really loved Morgan.  That is probably our first choice, but we are not moving anytime soon.  I am waiting for Rocky's office to be permanently there (he is still in Sandy for the time being).  And I wanted to know if any of you had grown up in a small town, and if you liked it.  I just worry about the kids, and if this would be beneficial to them, or not. And I worry about being bored.  No gym, no movie theatres, no nice restaurants . . .  Oh well, we aren't moving yet, and who knows if we will.  Just something we are considering.