"telling it like it is"

Sometimes I worry about saying the wrong thing so much that I just don't say anything at all, ok, I do it a lot. However, recently I have felt that, with age, not only comes poundage but the ability to not be so inhibited. Not to say that I don't have a long way to go but, I am doing better. I say this because I just attended a memorial service for a friend, fellow blogger and member of my ward who was remembered as being fun and, "telling it like it is." I always enjoyed reading her blog and looked forward for the next, partly because she was so candid and frank with her feelings. Her death was sudden and shocking. I have found myself asking, "How can this be?" even though I know the answer. She leaves behind a beautiful, young family and many friends that will miss her dearly. My heart goes out to them. Life can be so fragile. Her friends and husband told funny stories about her and we laughed and cried together. Even in her passing, I am encouraged and inspired by her example and the memories of her family and friends. In fact, we were able to "Celebrate her Life" because of their willingness to "tell it like it is."

"Talking Smack"

With the start of the summer olympics, all the drama, suspense and cheering came to a pinnacle last night during the mens, 400x100 relay! The French were favored to win the event and even told the press that they were going to "....smash the U.S., that's what we came for." Strong words that the Americans pinned up in the locker room for a bit of inspiration. The relay started and the French were looking strong and ahead of the rest for most of the race. In fact, during the last leg, the American, Jason Lezak, was a whole body length behind. He was thinking that there was no way to pull it off and then he said to himself, "This is the Olympics, anything can happen." And the last 10 - 15 meters he pulled ahead and won the French by a touch! I love when the underdog wins or when someone talks smack and loses! Already, the olympics are just as inspiring, sappy and crazy as years past and it has only begun! I am amazed by the ages of some of these athletes, Jason Lezak, the anchor on the mens team, is 33. The U.S. also has, Dara Torres, a female swimmer, who is 40 something and Great Brittain also has a gymnast that is 33. Crazy! Can't wait for more events and more drama!

Here are the Frenchmen after the race! Whose talking now?

"Bah Humbug"

Ok, it's late and I'm in a bad mood and need to just write. So, I have come to some of your blogs for commic relief, entertainment, etc. and I have to say that it is working! Maybe it's the lack of sleep I'm getting because of the book I am currently reading, "Breaking Dawn." My husband gets up at 4:00 a.m. to get ready for work and he found me in my closet (a.k.a. my office) reading a couple of days ago. I had lost track of the time. In fact, I finally got him hooked on the series now as well! Anyway, I need to finish this book so that I can get some sleep and return to normalcy. I'm off to my office to finish! Good Night!

Yeah!

I love flowers! Not the formal, perfect bouquet that you see in a store but, the kind that is plucked from a homegrown garden in someone's yard. While I am trying my hand at arranging my own garden, I visited a friends yesterday that has an amazing garden. Troy and I commented on our favorites and she surprised us by coming by with a bunch of them today, Yeah! I told her that it was like Christmas for me. There is just nothing like the comfort and decor of real flowers in my home. I prefer the look of hand picked wildflower types for many reasons, one of them being my ability (or lack thereof) to arrange them. This is not a talent of mine but, I find that arrangements with such flowers don't have to look perfect (at least to me). This realization has given me the confidence to display them. I don't admit this very often but, my husband is even better at arranging them than I am. He is also a better cook, what is wrong here? Oh well. Anyway, sunflowers are one of my favorites! Before we moved to Moses Lake I used to plant several varieties every year. I haven't found a good spot for them at our new home yet so, I have felt a little deprived. However, not today, I have been re-motivated!

Troy's favorite are the Gladiolas. Aren't they beautiful? I have never been a big fan of these but I have to admit these are just beautiful and so colorful. It was also easy to put them together because they are so tall and thick. It is kind of my way of forcing myself to try to be creative and I think I like it. I have enjoyed trying to figure out how to put my own garden together and there is a lot of trial and error going on but, I have decided to just relax and enjoy the process of creation. It doesn't have to happen quickly, it is a learning process and I really enjoy that. It is kind of like being an artist. I love driving by homes and seeing the landscape and how creative people can be. It is a way to put your own personality into your home. It also helps to have friends who are already pro's and willing to help with their experience. A dear friend of mine has the following saying in her home, "May all your Weeds be Wildflowers." I love it not only for the flower reference but for life in general. Life is really as good as we think it is, isn't it?

"Summer Luvin"

Kate loves being outside in the summertime. We call her our little Pocahontas because she gets so dang, dark! She is all about the thrills as well. I have to say, my girls tend to be a little more on the adventuresome side than my boys. After the initial shock to my system of seeing her come screaming down the hill, (imagining all sorts of cuts and stitches that were sure to happen any second), I decided to keep my mouth shut and let her have some fun!

Brawley Girl

This morning I woke up, freezing! I couldn't seem to warm up. When Troy goes to bed he opens all the windows and turns the fan on to cool the house off. Come afternoon, the house is still cool and it feels good. However, it is always very cold in the morning. A coat just isn't cutting it either. So, I told the kids that we needed to get into my bed and snuggle up and maybe that would do the trick. Well, Alex proceeded to tell me that I was just a, "Brawley girl." I laughed and thought to myself, "Yeah, I guess I am." Brawley is my hometown and is a smeltering, humid 115 in the summertime. Here are a few pictures. You would walk out the door and instantly sweat. I never owned more than one, very light jacket at a time and that was more of a fashion statement than a necessity. There was never any guessing on what the weather would be like - HOT and SUNNY!

We were always barefoot. Walking down to Thrifty's for a ten cent ice cream cone with my sister and friend was one of the coolest things we did and swimming in canals. Pools were never heated and sunburns left us quaranteened to the house for days. I remember getting out of the tub once and not being able to tell the difference in my body temperature. I will be one wrinkly granny.



Here is a picture of the sand dunes that were close by, Glamis. They were huge and always a HOT spot. Just looking at them makes me feel warmer. Although, you couldn't bear enjoying them at least until November. The specs in the middle of the picture are ATV's and trucks.

Since moving to the northwest, I have fallen in love with the beautiful landscape, evergreens, mountains, flowers, etc. however, I will always be a "Brawley Girl."

Crazy Fan Girls

Troy and I had been trying to think of something to surprise Alexis with because of her GREAT report card this year and finally decided on..... taking her to her first concert, The American Idols Live Concert. Her reaction when we told her was.... Crazy Fan Girl, Woo Hoo! Yes, Troy was happy that he wouldn't have to tag along on this one as well, ha ha. I decided to make a day of it since we would have to travel to Tacoma for it. We ate out, went shopping at the outlets, WooHoo and ended the day by going to a great concert! I know I have been a little crazy about these top ten but, they were REALLY Good! I thought they all sounded much better in person than they did on TV. The people that I didn't think sounded very good on the show, sounded great live! Even David Cook, he was good! And of course, my favorites (David Archuleta, Michael Johns and Carly Smithson) were even better as well. Here we are going into the Tacoma Dome right before the concert. Alex took most of the photos because she didn't want to miss anything.


After the show Alex wanted to try to get some autographs from the idols and I wasn't very thrilled about it because we were driving home that night but it was her day so, I caved. We waited for awhile and we got a few autographs but our favorites were still missing. Then Michael Johns came out and I was a little starstruck by him, he was great. Then, finally came David Archuleta, he didn't have much time so he couldn't sign autographs but high fived everyone in line. Here is a picture just before he got to us. Alex was so funny, she looked back at me and said, "Mom, he is so cute!" Ha, Ha!


I had to include a picture of Michael because well, he's just a cutie. He also stopped signing autographs right before he got to us. She was not happy about that, neither was I.

We had a great day: Shopping $$, tickets to the concert $$$, being a crazy fan girl with my daughter = priceless!