The Simple Things in life

Today I was looking out the big spacious window next to my desk. I'm 5 stories up and I have a great view of the west side of the valley. I love to watch the clouds roll in, and the balloons take off from the local car dealership nearby. Simple things, yet things that really make me happy. From my window I can literally see the seasons change. We just found out that our company is moving to the 2nd floor and I will have no window. It's amazing how just subtracting this window will make a huge impact on my everyday life now. No more runaway balloons, and no more amazing sunrises and thunderstorms. It's the simple things in life that truly make us happy. Here are a few simple things in my life that make me happy:

- When my husband puts his hand under my thigh when we get in bed for the night.
- Listening to my books on my MP3 player at work.
- Making dinner
- Reading through my "Better Homes and Garden"
- Receiving text messages
- When my parents stop by the house unexpectedly
- the smile I get when I'm done doing someone's hair
- When Sam greets me at the door
- talking on the phone with my sister's
- teaching primary
- Kisses from Scott when he gets home
- "Friends"
- The water cooler at work
- Decorating
- Clorox wipes
- When the Dr. bill states "0 balance due"
- Peanut butter
- Thai Chili Gardens (Scott and I both get giddy)
- Shopping at Costco
- Taking trips to Eagle Mountain(it's true Brett & Mindy, we enjoy it)
- Taking pictures
- My window at work!

Take the time to just reflect on the simple things, it will surprise you what truly makes you happy!

Bee's ball

Tuesday, Rheina called me up and asked if we were interested in going to a Bee's baseball game. She had four tickets and wanted to share. Scott HATES baseball and I love it and since we rarely ever go I said yes. All Wednesday I was looking forward to the game, something fun and different to do. Scott on the other hand was in a bad mood. We were determined to make that all change for him when we got to the game (plus it was "Hotdog Wednesday" all hotdogs a buck!) A buck for a hotdog, Scott WAS going to like it!

Here we are after we had our hotdogs, I told you Scott was going to cheer up!

This guy desperately wanted a fly-ball. He had his mitt on his left hand and his huge fishing net in the right hand. Every time someone got up to bat, he had a hold of his net and mitt. He actually got a ball. His hard work finally paid off.

This guy played for the Colorado Sky Sox's. He was so cocky that he hardly ever had his mitt on. He would just walk around 1st base holding his glove. His coolness finally shone through when he missed a catch during the last inning. What a dork!

Here we are with the "BEE"

Scott and Spencer were so determined to finish off all the sunflower seeds before the end of the game. Yippy, they did it!

Thanks Rheina and Spencer, we had a great time.

Happy Anniversary Honey, I bought you some brakes!

For the last couple of weeks I've been having problems with my brakes. There has been a lot of high pitched squeaks and horrible grinding noises. There have been times where I've applied the brakes so hard that I felt like Fred Flintstone.

I was fearful for my life and I expressed my concern to Scott. So, we took the car in for a diagnostic test to make sure it was the brakes. It was, and the damage was so bad that the brakes were totally gone, and the brake pads had worn down to the "rotary girder" ( I don't know if that's the term, but it reminded me of Tommy Boy) So simply, they were as bad as brakes, or no brakes, can get. So obviously for my anniversary gift, I got new brakes. No worries ladies, this is exactly what I wanted. For my safety, peace of mind, and due to the fact that we can't go without a vehicle. Scott was planning on repairing and replacing the brakes and "rotary girder" himself, but after calculating we realized that it would take him 10 hrs to complete the job, vs. 2 hrs it would take the car shop. So, goodbye house remodel money, hello brake repair money. Geez, it was expensive!

As Monica from "Friends" once said, "Welcome to being an adult, it SUCKS, but you'll love it!

So, for our anniversary we ate out at our favorite restaurant (the Thai Chili Gardens) and went and caught a late night movie. We enjoyed each other's company, had a great time laughing and reflected on all the things we've been through, and the great memories we've created, plus all the safety we received while using our new brakes!

Copper or Wool

Around this time of year, I get a little anxious.
Shott has always had this Knack for making anniversary's, birthday's, holiday's, and some everyday's special. With our seventh wedding anniversary approaching this weekend, I'm a little on edge.
"What great idea does he have up his sleeve this time."
As a tribute to Shott and all the great things he done for me over the years. I want to share a few of my fondest memories:

- During our third month of marriage I came home to the tent up in our living room. We cooked hot dogs over the grill and roasted smore's over a candle.

- After school one night I came out to find my car decorated with confetti and roses. Inside was a personalized card telling me to "hurry home". I hurried home so fast I ran a red light. (This was the first and last time I've received a ticket.)

- Our Bahama trip was Shott's idea. He surprised me with the idea, and then planned everything.

- On Valentine's day one year, Shott sent an acapella group to sing to me along with a bouquet of flowers.

- During one paticular bad day Shott sent me a season of "Friends" to cheer me up. He spent the night watching the whole season with me.

- The day I graduated from College, I came out to find my car covered with the biggest card I have ever seen. It was almost as long as the car. Inside it read, "Congratulations on your BIG day, Here's to our BIG future. Your BIG gift to recognize this BIG day is in the BIG trunk of your car. Love, your BIG husband. Come home and I'll give you a BIG kiss." In the trunk was a beautifully wrapped gift from which, after it was un-wrapped, revealed my Cannon digital camera.

- On our fifth wedding anniversary, Shott made me his first music video montage. He also surprised me with plane tickets to California.

- I love Jack Johnson. On our sixth wedding anniversary Shott surprised me with tickets to see Jack Johnson perform at the Gorge amphitheater in Washington.

- This last winter Shott surprised me with a snowmobile trip up to Hardware Ranch to see the Elk. Later we spent the night at the beautiful Alaskan Inn with a complimentary spa basket that to my surprise, Shott had put together.

- Yesterday I came home to my Kitchen totally (totally meaning: All cupboards closed, all countertops washed off, and every little dish put back exactly where it goes) clean and laundry in the washer.

They say that the traditional anniversary gift for your seventh year is either Copper or Wool. Whatever the plan is for the weekend, it will sure beat out pennies and coats! Thanks babe for making EVERYTHING special!!

Our Random Weekend

So, are weekend started out with us coming home to no dog greeting us at the door. Let's go back a couple of days: Earlier in the week Scott and I had left some garbage down in the basement. We had used the Albertson's grocery bag as a small garbage. Inside was wrappers from some cheetos, a candy bar, and some other great stuff. During the whole week Sam hadn't touched the sack. Proof of how great our obedience training had been. Wrong!

When Sam didn't greet us at the door Scott went down stairs to find Sam whimpering in the deepest, darkest corner of the basement. She was totally wrapped up in the Albertson's grocery bag and there were wrappers strewn all around the room. She knew she was in trouble and she couldn't hide the evidence. We laughed so hard we couldn't even get mad. Instead, as punishment, we made her go upstairs and walk around the yard for a while with the bag on. It was Hilarious!!

So, there's this urban legend going around about Mentos and Diet Coke. We've been told that if you strategically place mentos in a bottle of diet coke you get this awesome geyser that shoots from the top of the bottle. Friday night we went to the store, picked up a few liters of Diet Coke and some Mentos. Here's proof that it works! We had fun. On Sunday we were watching Myth Busters on the Discovery channel (one of our favorite shows) and they tested this same "urban legend" It was awesome. If you want to know the secret, you'll have to go to the Discovery Channel web site. And it ONLY works with Diet Coke and mint Mentos. Have fun!

Since we haven't been able to get out and do some serious camping this summer we thought we would do some here in our back yard. Right as we put up the tent and settled in for the night we got hit with a huge thunder and lighting storm. It was awesome!!!! And we made it through the night. Of course Scott had the fan and the lap top with him to keep his mind off the storm.

Saturday, we were putting our base boards in and we could hear some racket going on outside. We put the hammer and nails down and opened up the door to a huge hail storm. It rained and hailed on and off for almost two hours. Here's pictures of some of the hail that came down over the course of two hours.

Scott playing in the hail storm

"These are my sons, Walker, and Texas Ranger" -Talladega Nights

So last night we had a "Walker and Texas Ranger" moment. About 3-4 times during the summer and fall months Shott and I will take a drive with my parents up to the Copper Mine farm fields to watch the deer graze in the evenings. It's a nice time to quickly get away from the city and take in a little country. The farm fields are protected by Kennecott land and there are some pretty nice looking wildlife to behold.
So last night we all had our binoculars out watching the big Bucks grazing in the hay fields. About 5 min. Into watching the deer a man with his 2 boys and wife pull up in a Chevy SUV. He gets out and comes over and asks if we could see the "36" spread" (referring to one of the big bucks)

My Dad says, "no, just small ones out tonight."

" Do you mind if I look through your Scope?"

"Sure, no problem, help yourself."

As the man was looking through the scope, I noticed in my binoculars a flock of Turkeys heading toward some of the deer in the pasture.

"Hey dad, I think I see some turkeys out there."

"Turkeys, you see the turkey's out there", the man said.

"Yeah, just over to the left of the deer."

"Oh, Wow, can my boys take a look, they've been wanting to see them there turkeys for a while."

"Sure", I said, "they can look through my binoculars."

So the man turns toward the truck and yells out to his boys, "Hunter, Fisher, come over and see these turkeys."

HUNTER, FISHER! Are you kidding me. As soon as the names left the man's lips my mom turned into the cab of the truck and started to laugh. Shott was laughing so hard he had to slide back behind the truck. My dad and I gave each other looks and tried desperately not to react!

Just earlier that evening we had been talking about how hilarious that part in the new Will Ferrell movie was. You know, the one where he has named his two boys, Walker and Texas Ranger. The hilarity of the movie was so close to the surface that we had no choice but to react to such a similarity. After the man and his family left we spent the rest of the time coming up with the rest of their children's names. Like Fawn, Archer, Trigger, and Feather. I know, we're bad but it sure did give us a good laugh. Maybe you had to be there, but we sure did enjoy it!

Parade of Homes

So over the weekend Shott and I attended our first Parade of Homes here in the valley. Our first stop was up on the east side. We were shuttled up to see the 7.5 million dollar home. The exterior was beautiful. Something you'd picture right out of Europe. The inside was unbelievable and totally impractical. Huge chandeliers and an indoor swimming pool designed to look as if you were swimming in some remote lake up in the mountains. There were secret rooms and an elevator. Totally out of control, and totally un-inviting, but very entertaining and a perfect example of the eccentric! Our next stop ended up being our favorite home of the day. It was in Holladay, just a few blocks from where our old apartments were. It was nestled in some trees. This home was only valued at 3.5 million! Everything about it was amazing. Like most of these million dollar homes, it had it's pool, indoor gym, theater room, a craft room to make Martha Stewart yearn with desire, and an amazing kitchen and great room. But the feature I loved the most were the rooms designed for the kids. As you walked into the basement to your left there was this cool playhouse. As you walked through the little door it opened up into this amazing little (big room) house equipped with mini stairs with a kitchen and a living room. It had a closet full of dress up clothes and a small hardwood area for tap dancing and ballet. For a child this was heaven. Saturday we went through 5 homes in 7 hrs. all of them had some cool rooms or features just for kids. It gave Shott and I such great ideas that we could apply in our own home. By the end of the 5th home Shott was done. He actually was done after the second home. Even though he complained A LOT, he stuck with it! The tickets we purchased allows us to see 32 homes here in the valley and after just 5 we were totally worn out. I'll be taking my mom with me later this week. Shott's very happy about that!
Speaking of homes, Shott and I just moved Spencer and Rheina into their new home in West Valley. It's a great home with a lot of potential. Last night we were helping them hook up their washer and dryer and found that there were some pipes that were leaking in the basement. Welcome to owning your own home, right! I'll get some pictures posted soon. (Spencer is aware of these blogs but with the military and driving trucks all day he hasn't had time yet.)
Shott and I have also been taking trips down to Eagle Mountain to see how Brett and Mindy's house is progressing. We've really enjoyed our trips down there. Their house is coming along I think quicker then what was expected. It's beautiful at Eagle Mountain and the quite is very serine. Last time we were there a thunderstorm was rolling through.
Shott and I love our home and the progress we've made. We've also enjoyed watching others in the family get into their own home as well. Yeah, over the weekend we saw some amazing homes, homes we'll never be able to build in this life time. Some too eccentric to really be called a "home". One thing we walked away with from this experience is realizing that we have a home, our haven from the "world"!