Tuesday, June 30, 2009

{I'm meltingggggg....}



Email of the day......from Aunt E
She writes:
"It's so HOT!! My boobs sweat, my legs stick together...not in a good way, and there are not enough beers or liquids to cool us down!"
This is why we love Utah and hate Arizona in the summer.....Consider this a Public Service announcement for all traveling to the "Dry Heat"
Don't say we didn't warn you!!!!!!
{Dog Gammit}
~Miss Kitty sittin' Pritty~
Name's Barf. I'm a Mog, half man half dog. I'm my own best friend.
-Spaceballs

Monday, June 29, 2009

{How'd that happen??}




Who knew that my picture and quote was on a metal plaque???
{Amazing Grace}
On Sunday, we met the DeVries family and friends, up Big Cottonwood canyon. We were all there to celebrate Aunt Grace. She retired this year from teaching elementary aged children. Aunt Grace lives by her name. She is always positive, extremely active, patient, kind and very loving. I just adore Grace......I feel like a cling on when I'm around her because I savor being close to her. She has that mothering softness that gives me comfort. I just hope now that she is retired, we will still see her. Work held her back from being a vagabond, pro golfer, camp leader, and rollerblade extraordinaire. She is inspiring and I am so happy for her!


Jeff and Heather brought Grace these balloons that were tied to a chair and ended up in the trees. With each POP, the sound echoed through the canyon, sounding like gun shots. Everyone would flinch and "EEK" when one burst. I love the simplicity of this pic.

With group effort from all that attended, we had an awesome buffet going on. BBQ hot dogs & hamburgers, many salads, chips, and desserts up the ying yang!!!! Ahhhhh, the day was peaceful, cool, calm, and belly stuffed goodness.

We all needed to work off the brownies in a big way, so we started hiking....and hiking.....and hiking!

This was our destination!! We all made it to the top! Good job family!





Only in Utah people!!!!!!



Melanie and Cody were so great to entertain all of the kids.......they ARE the DINKS* of the family........maybe they just needed a birth control reminder!?!
*DINKS= Dual Income....No KidS

Dad enjoyed himself by winning multiple games of Phase 10. Hey! There is nothing wrong with Phase 10.......the box says 60 or older.....good times for the "mature" folks!

The kiddos wore themselves out my climbing trees, treasure hunting, volleyball, horseshoes, and hiding from Zip in a game called "We will hide for long periods of time, and you will NEVER seek us!" So sad :(
For Reals!!!!!!!! What the hell is up with Pop's face???? His head wants to explode off his neck! He looks like that creepy CHUCKY doll. Try not to have nightmares!!


My tomato headed boy, Pop, noticed this dragonfly sunbathing on a stick..........He knows how much I love dragonflies, and called me over to see. It was very large and had the most beautiful blueish/purple wings.
Ok.........I'm not fighting with Motha Nature anymore. In fact, I'm giving a shout out of love right now....pounding my heart and throwing peace sign!
She facilitated a beautiful day for us to honor our Amazing Grace.
Thanks MN!









{Braves Baseball Update}



I haven't posted the results of the last few games....
but they continued to kick butt.
Our final game was a couple weeks ago.
The Braves did great!!
They finished the season with a 2nd place trophy!


Their first trading cards
Handsome lil'devils aren't they?


See my boys????? One on each end.






Saturday, June 27, 2009

{A generational gift}

Hey! Guess what? I like my mother-in-law! Not something you are used to hearing??? I know!!! Carol and I have always loved each other....and have learned to accept one another for who we are. She was put to the test with me! I show up in her life with big ass hair and whore-ish make-up. "Here I am to take your son! Oh! Trust me! I'm a good girl!?!?! You just can't see how good I am past my mini skirt and raccoon eyes." She had her doubts........for good reason. She saw through my hardcore facade and cradled me into her life with a lot of love and support. We both are always proud to say that we really do like each other.

I have been so fortunate to earn Carol's trust with her prized possessions. She has given me most of the families picture albums......priceless!



These plates hang on my wall in my dining room. These were given to Carol and Jack as a wedding gift. They are also priceless to me.



This dining and buffet set was an anniversary gift to Carol from Jack. I believe for their 10th. These pieces have been a love of Carol's, and I know that it was very hard for her to part with. She saw that I had a larger area to showcase the set, and unselfishly allowed me to put them in my home. I take pride and cherish these items. I'm glad that she can visit all of her heirlooms when she stops in.


Now comes the big one!!!! About 7 years ago, Carol decided to disperse some of her valuable jewels. My sister-in-law Sheila received a pair of diamond earrings. And I received this.....




A 3 diamond solitaire ring that holds Carol's original engagement diamond in the center! I have had this ring in my safe all these years. At the boys' baseball game last week, Carol sincerely offered for me to use the diamonds to make myself a new wedding ring.......I'm teared up right now just typing this! Oh my Gosh! That was exactly what I needed! Something that had sentimental value and love behind it. She is so good to me. I had Randy get the ring out of the safe so that I could look at it again, and get a vision of what I could design it into. As I have it on my finger.....I am thinking that maybe I should just leave it as it is. I don't know just yet what the end result will be, but whatever the decision is, my ring comes with generations of love and commitment and honor.

Friday, June 26, 2009


{COME RAIN OR SWINE}
Disclaimer: This is gonna be a ginormous post.....sit back, get a drink of choice, grab some munchies. I hope it was worth the wait and that you find enjoyment and humor in what is to come.....

The Bandaid Extravaganza started off with a Series of Unfortunate Events.I will refer to them as SUE.
{SUE #1}

I arrived promptly at noon on Friday at the SL International Airport.
Purpose: Pick up Chelise flying in from AZ!
It was one of those slow motion sequences....arms wide open...running toward each other with hearts flowing from our eyes. I swear I heard violin playing in the background!
Chelise and I grab each other, hop around, do a little happy dance, throw her suit case in the back and hit the peddle heading West.
All the while......her purse is sitting on the curb. Alone. Lonely. And full of cash.It was around the first airport turn that we realized the purse was NOT in the car!!!!!!
Holy Shit! Holy Shit! Holy Shit!
Hyperventilate!!!!! Hurry! Go back around!
Please be there! Oh my Gahhhhh! Please be there!
Doing 90 mph in the round-about wasn't fast enough to recover the purse.
It was gone! Nobody had seen it.
The next two hours were spent interviewing strangers and filling out a police report.
Poor Chelise! Her eyes were like fat red donuts from bawling. Her spirit was crushed from feeling like a dumb ass. And she was pissed because she has no money. If there was a positive moment, it was when she realized her I.D. was in her back pocket and her phone was still in her hand. She could at least drink and call someone who cares.

Which is what she did...she called Justin and timidly asked what she should do. He told her that if I would lend her some money, then she should still continue on her trip as planned. Awe.....such a sweetheart! Chelise took a deep breath....and said, "I'm over it! Let's get this partayyyyy started!" For those of you that don't know us......we are die hards!
With Paula leading the way in her car, we headed for our destination......ELKO!!!!
Biker Rally
5 bands
Beer!
We checked into the Red Lion around 5 pm.....and climbed the 3 flights to our room.
It took 3 trips with the 3 of us to get it all in. Something about that 3!
Hey! It's not a full on girls trip with out:
CD player, CD's, Coffee pot, Starbucks coffee, chips, dips, samwhich stuff, fattening munchies, v-8, water and BUD LIGHT! Not to mention, lots 0' luggage....a girl needs a variety of clothing to choose from OK!
After having kickass girl talk for 1 1/2 hours we got ready, and headed toward the fairgrounds for the butt rock trio.


We had VIP tickets waiting for us. I couldn't wait to see what VIP entailed.

If we only knew what was in store..............

This is what our hair looked like when we left the room
Lookin' good....lookin' good!

Apparently this was quite the humdinger of events......the Elko Fire Dept was on hand to stand around and do nothing. Firemen! It's a hard life.


It was uncomfortable at first.......we did NOT fit in. We were big city girls in a rural dead end town. Because of that, we were looked at like movie stars! We got, "they're not from around here" with a twangy backwoods accent. Chelise suggested that we buck up and blend in with the crowd. We ordered our 280 oz of bud light/shot of jager combo. Both for a steal at $6! We took swigs and started throwing horns! Yelling "ROCK ON!" "Wahoo!" "Yahhhh!". Being in VIP didn't mean shit! It just put us 4 feet closer to the band and down with want-to-be rockers that had serious mullets, B.O., and few teeth! It was awesome!!!!! We 3 are closet white trash. The outer shell is a pink bubbly champagne....the inner core is Keystone Light.



Great White's lead singer come gimping up on stage. Gimping is an understatement. The dude should have had a laid flat wheelchair. Chelise swore he must have a peg leg! Ah, Ya think??!?He explained that he was in a horrible car accident and broke his pelvis, femur, something, something, big toe, something, knee cap, something, ear lobe. His doctor told him that he absolutely was not in good enough shape to continue touring. Holding up the birdie finger, he says, " I told that doctor that he can take that diagnosis and go f**k himself! I'm going on tour!" The crowd cheered hysterically. That kind of line is exactly what butt-rockers love to hear! Then the band started their first song......ok the only song! The singer's microphone wasn't working. I guess it was just Chelise, Paula and I that realized it though. The band and the toothless crowd carried on belting out the words to the song. Was it just us?????..........the three of us were making deaf gestures with our fingers....."I caun't hewr ew" "tuwrn up yor micwofone". Just then, a pack of Jumaliya's, Chelise's name for 2 large black men who take their roadie jobs very seriously, almost ran over Paula to get to the microphone problem. I saw it coming.......Paulaaaaaaa! Nooooooooooo! Her little feet scooted away just in time. Whew! That was close! We snuggled her into us...vowing to never put her in harms way again. That's when motha nature came with vengeance!


{SUE #2}


It started with sprinkle, sprinkle......added some hardcore lightning......sprinkle, drop, drop, bigger drop, bigger drop, pounding rain. The umbrella was a mini from the dollar store. It's coverage was slight. My back side was against the bottom of the tilted umbrella, which meant ALL of the run off was running down ME!!!! Soaked....totally soaked! I tell the girls, "We HAVE to get to cover. I'm making a run for the bleechers.....follow me!" I'm in the lead, Paula directly behind, and Chelise raking the crowd with the umbrella behind her. Sorry...oops sorry...excuse me....sorry........hitting and snagging bystanders all the way.


Once under shelter, we laughed so hard we could have pee'd our pants! Maybe it was just me almost peeing my pants....I've been known to do that.


This is what our hair looked like after! Sheets of rain coming down...thunder & lightning. A moment in time that was exhilarating.....I felt so alive. Have you ever danced, ran, laughed, loved in the rain? It's as natural of a high you will ever get.



Great White's equipment was soaked. The rain came through the cheesy tarp cover and saturated every piece. I hope insurance covers natural disasters. The only real unfortunate event in this, is that the concert was now over....one non-heard song. That's it! just one! non-heard! It was a fun experience all in the same. I would do it all again, with nothing changed!

We dripped back to our hotel....kicked our dirt splattered feet up, and carried on with girl talk. We talked soooo long, that I had mostly dried out! What I am about to tell you is pathetic and has only happened this one time! I swear! I am getting so comfortable in my own skin and age, that I wore the exact same outfit that night to the Stockmans!!!!!! An entire suitcase with at least 10 different outfit changes, and I keep my stank drenched clothes on! Sooooo not what I would have done in past years. I had a "I just want to have fun" attitude! Plus, I was buzzed and just didn't give a hoot! Chelise and Paula got all hottied up and we strutted for the shuttle. The shuttle to the land of "are we really witnessing this?" The Stockman's hosts the Biker Babe Contest every year. From what I've been told, they have a managery of alcoholic shots behind the scenes for the contestants to devour. I'm not going to be able to go into great detail about the what the "babes" did to win the contest. It would make my fingers feel dirty just typing it. I'm sure you can use your imagination.......even then, it was still probably worse in real life! A professional "dancer" won the contest....she was deserving. I hope her winners package consisted of advil, bandaids, and a sheet to put over her head of shame in the morning! There you go!



The packed to capacity club cleared out after the contest was over. We were one of maybe 5 tables left to enjoy our band friends, The Midnight Riders. They sing a wide range of songs. From hard core rock to slow country. We danced to the very end. We were in a large crowd of guys and gals group jumping, when a young fella said, "I've watched MTV and danced in front of a mirror my WHOLE life for a moment like this!" We were at grown up prom. Feeling young and vivacious. Not a care of what our moves looked like or what our hair had sweated into or that our feet were throbbing and swollen.

Young girl happiness in the purest form!

No prozac can compare.

{SUE #3}

The club had the nerve to kick us out and close.......who closes at 3 am???? My hell! We took time to walk the parking lot....in the rain....and admire the bikes on show. This man, we will call Bob, was riding out of the lot when we commented on what an awesome bike he had. I also told him I was glad that he wears a helmet :) He offered to let us take a pic. At a bike rally, you MUST sit on a bike at least once.....that was the posted rules......and I'm not a rule breaker! The time flew and before we knew it, it was 3:45.....our shuttle stops service at 4. Run girls Run!!!!!!!! I see the shuttle! It's waiting for us. Ten feet before the shuttle door and it drives off! It seriously left us standing there........in the rain! The POURING rain! Awe man! We walk back to the Stockman's......insist that the front desk old lady radio the stupid ass shuttle driver to come back. The stupid driver and the cracked old lady argue for 5 minutes. She looks at me and says, "He said No!" Alrighty then! Can we get a cab? You will just have to wait out by the Post Office and one should be coming around. Yah, thanks! Thanks a lot! We walk to the P.O., in the rain. Here comes a taxi girls!!! I'm going to hail my first taxi!!!!! I'm so excited! I want to make it look like I'm on the streets of NYC! With my smile big and arm stretched long......"TAXI, over here....TAXI! .....TAXI! ...TAXI!" My voice getting louder and stronger with every shout. Doing 40mph, he went splashing by! Not even a slow down!!!! Mercy me! Finally 10 minutes later, a nice taxi man picked us up and kindly drove us back to our hotel at a discounted price. Sometimes there is a ray of sunlight in a thunder storm.


A little more laughing and reliving the night until our heads dropped at 5 am.



The next day, we all had a slight headache, and not a lot of sleep. We were in no mood to screw around with the mops. It was a good hat day! It was also the day that we all had to face......Paula leaving the group. She needed to head back to SLC for Father's Day. If it wasn't for the love that Chelise and I have for Jay D, we would have wrapped her up and held her hostage for another day. It changes the dynamics of things when one person is missing. After lunch, we gave our goodbye's and parted ways.


{SUE #4}
Chelise realizes that she parked her truck at the airport in a $25/day lot!!!!!! For 5 days!!!! OUCH!!



{SUE #5}
Chelise and I wandered on down to where all the action was going on. Closed off streets for a mile, booths, bands, beer, freaks of nature in stilettos, awesome bikes and happy people having a good time. All of the wonderful things I like to be surrounded by. Then why was I not feeling right? Why can I not get energy to even laugh? Why do my legs want to collapse? Why is my head pounding to every sound? I don't even have it in me to take pictures of this circus. Am I really that hung over???????? I thought I better chug a beer and do the hair of the dog thing, or I'm gonna feel like shit the rest of the night. We decided to take the car back to the hotel, freshen up, and ride the shuttle back so we wouldn't have to drink and drive. Once I walked into our room, it went down hill from there. My stomach swelled to the size of a 5 month prego. My body was so achy. My head going bumbum bumbum bumbum! It was the damn SWINE!!!!!! Chelise was so understanding and cool about just kickin' it in the room. We watched 3 men and a baby, Chelsea Lately, some MAD TV and fell asleep for 12 hours!


Needless to say, the ONLY dancing I was doing was that pepto dance.....you know, the one with the hands on the mouth, stomach and bum




And...the ONLY shots I was doing was the pink stuff. Pepto was my little friend Saturday night.

{SUE #6}

While leaving the hotel, Chelise's phone drops from her pocket, is dragged by her suit case and left in the parking lot. Luckily someone turned it in to security. We named the phone Jack......cuz he's all jacked up! She scraped him up pretty good.

{SUE -1}

Her good news came once we were back in Salt Lake......someone turned in her purse! It was waiting for her at the Hertz rental car. There still are some honest people out there, although I guess they felt that they deserved a $200 reward. Her cash was all that was missing. We were just glad the rest of the purse was back.

That would be the end of {SUE} and the end............. of our girls trip.


List of awesome phrases from last weekend:
*I get drippy pits when I'm nervous
*I'm half horney (meant to say half drunk)
*M-T to the efin V
*The Jumbaliya's are coming
*He's got a peg leg
*Look at those homemade chaps!...OMG! she's got a wig on too!
*Are those nipple rings?
*We've gone through 3 rolls of T.P!!!!!
*Pa Pa Pa Please!


It is called "Girls trip" because we are able to find our inner child/teenager/carefree spirit. Just be a young girl again for a few short days! It is medicine for your soul. It is a fountain of youth. It is a belly laugh with no wrinkles. When, as women, did we loose ourselves in responsibilites? Are we not the same core person before children and marriage? I believe we are. My girls trip weekends are proof that I am. This last weekend, I truly felt 18 years old again. The group dancing, splashing in puddles, and silly friend talk. I swear......I feel less wrinkled and grey today. My spirit is happy, I am playful with my children, and my sexuality has been overflowing with my husband.

EVERYONE BENEFITS!!!
Vote YES to Girl's Trips!!!!

{Words, words, words}
Feeling better today......
Working on the novel. I am serious! The girls trip is turning into a novel.
It's going to take some time.
Stay with me people...stay with me.
{Angels and Demons}



Farrah Fawcett

I love her name
I wanted to have her hair
I wanted to have her smile
I wanted to have her killer body!

She was my favorite Charlie's Angel


She said F.U. to her cancer, and put up a good fight.
The cancer demon dominated.
I was sad.
I am really sad for her life partner, family and friends.
She deserved more media remembrance yesterday.

She was overshadowed by Michael Jackson's death........unjust!



{Let us not forget.......}
*The single most known person around the WORLD
*Changed music and dance forever
*Gave us songs that take us back to specific times in our lives
With all of the influence and talent he had,
Let us not forget........
He was a sick man that preyed on children.
I was in shock, but did not shed a tear.



Thursday, June 25, 2009

{When pigs fly!! or so I thought}


I seriously thought I was immune to that nasty pandemic called the "Swine Flu"!
I mean......I wash after EVERY toilet use.....
I use clorox on EVERY surface possible in my home.....
I have a large pump bottle of antibacterial that the boys use frequently........AND
I'm as white as a bowl of milk, so I'm pretty sure I'm not hispanic!
You would think that all of these things would keep me from contracting pig shit!
I guess there is no way to get around it.
If your gonna get it, your gonna get it.
This is EXACTLY how I have felt for over 11 days now. The doctor said that the medication for the H1-N1 has to be given within 48 hours to have any effect. At this point, I'm no longer contagious, but I will have to let it work it's own way out of my system. It can take up to 3 weeks!!!! Stupid Swine Flu!!!!!!!! Ruins everything.......including one entire day of my girls trip! That story to come.....eventually......arghhhh this sucks!


Wednesday, June 24, 2009

{Randy and Janin Jackman}
June 24, 1975

Thinking of my Uncle Randy.......especially today.
I'm so sorry........love you!
{KUH KUH POO POO}


I'm not myself......feel like shit......going to doctor tomorrow.
Need energy to post my girls trip
It takes energy just to try to explain an re-live it
Just know this........F- to the U- to the N!!!!!!
Holla!!!!!!!
{It was a good year....}

I just went outside to look for my child, Zip.....the one who has fended for himself ALL day. He is such a good kid! Anyway, I peek out the garage door and see him on his bike. He says, "hey mom....how ya feeling?" I answer and ask what he's up to. With 3 other children by his side, he says, "Oh, we are just telling Arturro* how great seven is going to be for him. It was probably my best year....don't you think mom? I think it was seven that I learned how to really have fun in life. Seven is a good year to be. Sometimes I wish I was seven again. I just wanted Arturro* to know what seven would be like."

Awe! My baby......I love these moments

*Arturro: Not to be confused with a churro.....although both are from Mexico.
*Arturro: An almost seven year old boy that lives across street. His brother's name is Menudo. Yes, their mother should be hung by her nose hairs for those names!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

{The Founding Fathers}


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Jack~
Randy's Dad
My Father-in-law
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tallest/biggest true man I've ever been privileged to know.

Jack had as much love and kindness as his large stature. He was unjudgemental and a true pillar to this world. I am grateful that my boys have wonderful memories with Grandpa Jack. He was a great factor in my marrying into the family. He and I had our own relationship that I learned from and value. I see so much of Jack in Randy. Great things. Looks, morals, family values and work ethics.

I miss Jack in our lives. I think he would be proud of the father Randy is to our sons.

We love you Jack


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Dal~
My Dad
Damon's Dad
Brandon, Elisha, & Adam's Dad
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your dad sure is nice looking"
I've heard it my entire life by women around the globe

I'm proud to look like my dad

I'm proud that it was the three of us strong


I'm proud that he gave me my brother

I'm especially proud that my dad and I have one of the closest relationships a daughter and father can have. I need him. He needs me. We need coffee time together. We need D.I. time together. We need movie time together. We need chocolate cake time together. It's the simple things that I enjoy the most with dad. He is the only person I call dad.....he is the only person that will ever fill those shoes for me.
My dad=unwavering love, lay in front of a bulldozer for me kind of love.

I'm proud of the commitment he has made to be the "GRAMPA OF THE LIFETIME" to my sons. He shines with them. They are half full without grandpa time.
I am proud that my dad's heart is so big that he loves them too......as his own. He helped raise them into the kind, wonderful people that they are.
We love you dad

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Randy~
My babies' Daddy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He's HOT stuff!

Randy gets better looking each year


His commitment to our family and his love for our sons, is testament to what a REAL MAN is!
He works his ass off every day. His first thoughts are of me and the boys. Our happiness is his glory. That is the truth.

My man on his bike= oooooo la la

My man with his sons=heart feel explosion of love

I will conceitedly admit, that I chose a beautiful, strong, man to be my husband and father of my children. We will raise good men because of the role model that he is.
Happy Fathers Day Babe!
We love you