Family Pictures and the Thief!!!

On Saturday we got up early to beat the heat and took some family pictures. Besides the humidity and the havoc it causes on my hair, I think they turned out really well!


This one is my favorite







The family tree



Me and my hubby!



I like this one too.



After the pictures on Sat we went to breakfast at IHOP. Kelvin's dad dropped his photos off at Walgreen's and then we went home. He asked us to pick up the photos which we agreed to do while he was helping his brother move. Krystal and I left to run some errands and while Kelvin stayed home we went to pick up the pictures. I gave the ticket to the guy and he gave me the disc. Krystal bought some stuff and the cashier looked at me when she was done and asked if I paid for the pictures. I said they were previously paid for and I was just picking them up. She obviously didn't believe me because she asked me where was my receipt. I told her that the guy behind the counter took it. She said "he took it" and I said "yes"! "He took your receipt", "yes" I said again. Then we left as she was still crazy suspicious. It was a little offensive to me because I do not steal things, I am a very honest person. Well later that night over dinner, his dad asked me if I picked up the pictures and I told him I had. When he asked how much he owed me, my face dropped and I looked at Krystal mortified!! Everyone started laughing as they realized by my look that I had walked out of Walgreen's without paying for the pictures! Needleess to say I was endlessly teased for the rest of the day for stealing! His dad went back and paid for the pictures so I can rest in peace and remain an honest women.

The Puzzle Masters

This last Thursday while browsing through walmart, we found some puzzles. We thought they looked cool and started to browse through them. After some thought, we decided that maybe we should pick one up. We had run out of things to do and out of money to do the things we wanted, and since we would be here for another 2 weeks, we decided why not!! There were so many different puzzles to choose from and when we had it narrowed down to two, we finally made our choice. It was a puzzle with beautiful colors and all wooden pieces which we both loved because it would last a lot longer. We also got a storage carrier so it could be mobile. The carrier was such a great purchace. We moved the puzzle from our bed, to the counter, and then to his parents house. It was worth every penny!

Now, I am decent at puzzles and I like them. I grew up watching my mom do one every Christmas and helped out now and then. But Kelvin is SO good!! He would put things together and see pieces so fast i was amazed. And when we took the puzzle to his parents house, his mom got in on the action and was the same as Kelvin!! Watching those two go was amazing. I would leave for a little bit and then come back and they had accomplished a lot. They both also put puzzles together every Christmas for his little sister Krystal. This was a very difficult puzzle to put together becasue the pieces were similar in color so you didn't know what went on what side. But after a couple of days, it was finished. It is so beautiful and the colors are so vibrant. We all had a lot of fun putting it together and were proud of our hard work when it was done.



Hard at work!




I love that we are all up, watching a movie and putting the puzzle together and his dad is sound asleep in the background. Classic!




The end of the line! Please don't mind his "finger". He really didn't mean to do that, but it was the only picture of the final piece that I wanted to post it.




The finished product. Isn't it great? The picture was taken at an angle, it's really not crooked.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

If you haven't seen the movie and don't want anything spoiled for you, don't read this post. We finally went to see Harry Potter this morning. Everyone was pretty excited to see it. Krystal, Lisa, Brandon, Kelvin and myself and his dad all went together. The entire theater was laughing throughout the movie. It was really pretty good. I would rate it the best one they have done yet. The ending was quite anti-climatic though. There was a big fight scene in the book when the Death Eaters make it into Hogwarts between them and the students, but that was not portrayed in the movie. They just waltzed in and then waltzed out without any resistance. It would have been a lot better if they had done some type of fight or resistance. The moment that had been building up the whole movie just fizzled. All in all though, we all really liked the movie and I do want to see it again. It did however get you excited for the next movies. I believe that they both come out next year. One in the summer and the other in Dec.


The girls all sitting in the back seat on the way to the movie. Don't think I was quite ready for that picture.




Krystal and Brandon waiting patiently for the movie. Brandon had walking pneumonia and still came. What a trooper.




And Kelvin, myself, and his dad all waiting for the movie with a full bag of popcorn. The guys ate most of it before the movie even started.



Just have to add, we spent this weekend at Kelvin's parents house and I don't think I have ever been so unprepared. We met them at the Dallas Temple on Thursday night to do family sealings and when we were through Kelvin turned to me and asked me if I brought shoes. Now he was at work all day so I packed our bags for the 2 nights we would be there and I am usually a really good packer. Very rarely do I forget things, and if I do it's usually something small and no big deal to wait until we get home. This time however, I forgot almost everything. We went to the temple dressed up obviously, and I forgot to pack both of us our normal shoes. Then I remembered that I forgot to pack pants. When I checked, luckily I had for some reason thrown in a dirty pair of shorts for me, but not for poor Kelvin. He had nothing except a few shirts, pajamas and clean garments. Then I realized I forgot deodorant too. Oops! At least we had stuff to shower with. Thankfully though we stopped at a Target and they were having a clearance on shoes so I was able to get a pair for me for $5. Kelvin didn't want to get shoes for him. He said his Sunday shoes would work just fine. But he did however find a watch for $20 that he really liked. His old one has been bothering him for a long time. It unclasps way too easily and does it all the time on it's own. When we went to have the band replaced, they told us they can't replace it with a remanufactured band so he would have to buy a new watch. He didn't want to spend a lot of money on one so when he found this one for $20 we both jumped at it. So he did get something good out of my forgetfulness. Along with many other miscellaneous items forgotten, it made for a pretty interesting weekend. Thankfully Kelvin was able to borrow a pair of jeans from his dad so he didn't have to go around everywhere in basketball/pajama shorts. Crazy weekend and so weird that I forgot such necessities. We made it through and needless to say, I will be triple checking our bags for weekend stays from now on.

What do you think?

Everywhere I go I get told that I look like Kimberly Williams Paisley, Star of "Father of the Bride" and married to Brad Paisley the country singer. In fact it started when I was a young teenager and has continued to increase these past few years. So judging by these pictures, i'm wondering what do you think? Do you see it or not? Sorry they are not the best of pictures to judge by and I wish I could get them side by side but you will have to work with what I got!

The trip to Utah

Last week I flew into Utah to take over the station while my dad went on trek with the stake. I got in on Tuesday and left on Sat. When I flew in and saw my mom's van I started walking to where she was parked. I noticed someone was walking toward me but didn't recognize who it was so didn't think anything of it. After a few seconds I realized that it was actually Matt!! The kid has grown at least 2 inches since we left a month and a half ago. I couldn't believe my eyes. He is so tall and getting so handsome. I won't know what to do when the kid starts dating in Jan. We then ran to our apt to drop off a suitcase I was leaving there so Kelvin and I would have less to drive back in Aug. Then we went to the station and I took over being service writer. After work Stephen arraigned for the family to go to dinner. Everyone was able to come except Rich and Summer who were in Arizona and Kelvin who was in Texas. It was good to see everyone and we had a great time. I also got to meet my new nephew for the first time.


My dad has been taking about putting horns on one of his four wheelers for a long time. He finally found some as you can see. The red horn on the front actually makes the sound of a bull.




Isn't he getting so handsome?




This was just such a cute picture of Sammy I had to post it.




One half of the table at Brick Oven




And the other half




Braden is such a daddy's boy.




He was onery when we got to the restaurant but started to perk up and was playing with this knife and singing a song. So I snuck in a picture where I could.




Rachel is getting to be such a beauty.




Rachel and Nathan two crazy and fun kids.




My mom, me and Jayce.




Isn't he precious? He looks just like Braden did as a baby. In fact if you put Braden's picture next to Jayce's picture, I bet you couldn't tell the difference.




This is her first taste of a lemon. She also tried a jalepeno but I didn't have the camera ready at that moment.




Braden got really funny by the end of dinner. He was doing anything we told him too. Including eating the Parmesan Cheese and Red Pepper from the table. It's so great being an aunt. Of course it helps when you have lots of brothers who also encourage the same types of behavior.



On Wed I went to work and then spent the rest of the night catching up with old friends. Thursday after work I went up to Ed and Marta's and they took me out for Jamba Juice. It was great to see them. I forgot my camera so I have no pictures of them which is sad because Jordan has grown a little. Felicia was at girls camp and Jennifer was out so I didn't get to see them until Sat. After work on Friday my mom and I watched Sammy while Dave and Paula took a couple of loads of their boxes to their new condo. Amy and the kids also came over so I got spend a little more time with them before I left the next day. Then we went to Dave and Paula's new place. The condo is beautiful! They are so excited about it. Saturday I got everything packed up and ready to go then went to Heidi's and got to see her Hawaii pictures. She and Jeremy spent a week there with her sister and brother in law. The pictures were gorgeous! It made me a little jealous that we haven't been anywhere. But when you are poor and your husband is still in school, it gets to wait a little. Heidi made us feel better about that telling me they never got to do anything until they were both out of school. She then took me to the airport where we made a little stop at Ed and Marta's again because Marta forgot to get one thing for Krystal. I got to see Jennifer and Felicia before I left which was nice. Then went to the airport and got sick on the flight home. It was wonderful to be back with Kelvin again. I know he missed me. When we got to the car he had one of my favorite movies waiting for me, "The Game Plan" and my favorite game Rummikub. I have been eying the movie for a long time eveytime we went to Walmart but it was never in the $5 bin which is were we buy most of our movies. So I figured that we would just wait until it went for a better deal than $7. Kelvin broke down and bought it for me anyway. Such a sweetheart. The Texas heat is a killer, but it's nice to be back. We only have a bout 4 weeks left here and then we go back to Utah. We aren't sure if we will come back to Texas next summer or not. We don't like moving and being in transit all the time. But we will see what happens. As for now, we are going to enjoy the last few weeks we have here and have all the fun we can.

The 4th of July

The day started off with us going to the doctor because I had been pretty sick for over a week, and found out that I got some bacteria/parasite from water! The doctor asked about traveling and camping and also about drinking any well water. I have no idea where I picked it up but have been doing better since I started the antibiotics I was put on. We could have done a full blown test to discover what species it was and where it possibly came from, but that would have cost a lot of money, and we don't have any insurance right now. After that was a great lunch! Grilled chicken, grilled zucchini, corn on the cob, and pasta salad! I loved every bite of that meal. Then we watched the movie "Valkyrie" (I think that's how you spell it) with Tom Cruise. I must say I wasn't interested in seeing the movie because Tom Cruise does not come off like the German type. He doesn't even have an accent in the movie. But the movie was based on actual events which I didn't know, and it turned out pretty good. Sad though.

We waited for Krystal to come home from work so we could go to the crowning event, the TEA party in Dallas! I had been looking forward to this for a while. It was nice to be able to do something to take a stand and try to fight for what I believe. There were some incredible speakers. The first one we heard was from Nevada and was pretty funny. The best story he told was about a brothel in Vegas. Prostitution is legal in Nevada and it is one of the most profitable businesses in the world. There was a brothel owner who owned the establishment for many years and made millions each year but didn't pay his taxes. So when the government came to throw him in jail he fled the country and now lives in Brazil somewhere. The federal government came in and instead of shutting the place down and selling off the assets, they run the place to try to get in with all the profits made. The business failed in less than a year. So if the government can't run the most successful and profitable business in the world, what makes them think they can run health care? That story got a good laugh! It was inspiring and motivated me to take a stand and try to do something more.

Question: Do you know what TEA stands for in these protests? (The answer at the end of this post)


Listening to the speaker




Don't mind the sweat ridden face, it was hot and I am still not quite used to the humidity.




One of the guys on stage was a member of the Monkeys band. When he got on stage some of the older women went crazy and started screaming. They ran up to the stage and held their hands out for him to touch. He obliged them and they started dancing, eyes locked on him! It was so funny.




They made a large Declaration of Independence that we got to sign!




Kelvin making his mark




Can you find both of our names? Hint, Kelvin signed with his middle name.




The TEA party was held at Southfork Ranch which was actually the place where the TV show "Dallas" was filmed. That is the main house in the background. It was beautiful. The specks in the picture were from things in the air floating all around.




After the TEA party we went back to Frisco to see the fireworks. And not without our own rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" in the car on the drive. If only I would have been recording at that moment!












TEA= Taxed Enough Already
Congratulations to those who answered correctly. And to those who did not know, you learned something new today!

Ripley's Believe it or Not

They have here in Texas a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. CREEPY......but of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity. So on Friday (the 3rd) we decided to check it all out. The guys and Krystal all got work off so it could be a family event and we had a great time! There was a wax museum we went through first and then the Ripley's museum. I think we all liked the wax museum better than the Ripley's. There are some skin crawling, weird things people do to themselves that blows my mind. Why for instance would a man want to hang himself by the skin of his back on a human mobile? Weird, but that's Ripley!


There are A LOT of pictures to follow so just beware.


In front of the museum are these dinosaurs that we had fun with.




Kelvin made Krystal go up and talk to this one.




Ready to go in.




Hannah Montana This one is for you Felicia!




Star Trekin'




We are our own three stooge material!




There were wax molds of all the Presidents to this date. It was a big line, but really cool to see all the men that have lead this country side by side. Here are the ones from the latest generations. President Obama was in another display.




"Well, you see Oprah....."




Yes! We can figure this thing out together!




Someone doesn't like David Letterman.




"We're off to see the Wizard....." (This was actually the Wizard of Oz section)




"NO! Don't do it Harry!"




"I knew I should have brought my sword."




The founding fathers with the constitution!




They had a whole section dedicated to the life of Christ. From the birth, to teaching the the temple as a child, the cruxifiction, the resurrection and many other scenes in between. It was really cool that they would respect his life so much to have a big section in his honor.



Me at the tomb




He tested his strength against his father and brother in law and emerged victorious!



The three studs! They all did really well, I unfortunatly didn't get a video of all three of them doing the challenge.




My very own Peter Pan!




Sometimes I wish I had a fairy godmother to help me get dressed for parties!




Hmmm....Not quite long enough is it.




This is a picture of the last supper but it's all done in postage stamps.




This is an exact replica of the tallest man in the world.




Davinci!




The picture doesn't show it well, but the rocks were glowing. It was a do you dare walk across the hot lava rocks thing! Ooooo




Ha Ha Ha!! Just kidding. I really wouldn't. But if I could, no...but really!




AWWWWW!!




I tried to relieve the poor skull of his jewels but was unsucessful.