Maren's Baptism

Look who turned 8 years old and wanted to be baptized!! Maren was absolutely beaming on her baptism day! She walked around holding the edges of her dress like she was a princess and a smile from ear to ear! The most special part of that day...her primary teacher went to Israel and brought back a bottle of water from the River Jordan. We put that water in with her baptism water so she could be baptized in the same water as Jesus was!! Wow! Gives me chills just thinking about it! What a special day!

San Francisco Weekend

We decided that we needed a vacation after our family vacation. So I met Andrew in San Francisco for the weekend after his business meetings. We walked everywhere! The Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Boudin Bakery Museum. Then to the Ferry Building where they were having a huge farmer's market. Almost jumped on to a ferry to Sausalito but we would've had to wait an hour. So we walked to Chinatown and looked around there. Saw some dancing dragons letting off firecrackers. Walked to the Museum of Modern art and expanded our cultural awareness. Took in a movie and had some dinner. Went swimming. That was Saturday. Sunday we avoided the Gay Pride Parade (sorry to disappoint...no pictures of this event...) and headed for the Golden Gate Park where we saw more art at the De Young Museum. They were hosting the Chihuly Exhibit (which was in Salt Lake during the Olympics, if you caught it there) who is a world famous glass blower. We are big fans! Then headed to the Japanese Tea Garden, Stow Lake and the dutch windmill. Had lunch at the Beach Chalet with a band playing good music. (My fourth beach in a year, by the way...) Then finally made it to the Golden Gate Bridge after a bus fiasco that wasn't our fault. We only had about ten minutes to spare at the bridge before we had to turn around and get back to our hotel and make our flight home. It was windy and cold in San Francisco. Only about 63 degrees as a high and not much sun. I guess the wild fires were not helping and a cold front coming in late Sunday were the problem. I think it was a really nice, quiet weekend away. I think we need one of these vacations about every four weeks...

New Matt!!! Love it!!!

Here She Is

I didn't think she'd be outside my bedroom door
first thing this morning!! She's so cute!!

The Bountiful Zoo--I should charge admission

Yes, the neighborhood has gained a new resident. A moose. Yes, a moose!! We've had all sorts of wildlife sightings over the years...Deer, raccoons, ducks, weasel, wild turkey, eagle, bobcat, fox, coyote, all types of birds and their nests and babies, peacock, mongoose, mice, dogs and cats...
And now, moose. I guess she likes our next door neighbor's backyard because of the pond and waterlilies. And has now taken to wandering the streets!! I'm still trying to get a picture but she's very elusive. If I get one, I'll post it! Until then, admission rates start at...

California Dreamin'

Just got back from our annual Disney vacation. Had a good time. We took two extra boys with us so our teenagers wouldn't be bored and the car was quite heavy! We did Disneyland, Universal Studios, Sea World, the beach, and St. George. Now I need a relaxing vacation to get over my family vacation!! The only crazy thing that happened was the boys getting stuck in the elevator for 25 minutes! But we got a free dinner out of that one!! Enjoy some pictures...

Attempting Culture

Andrew thought it would be great to get a bundle of Symphony tickets when we received mail about the upcoming events. So Andrew bought tickets to four events. The Messiah sing-in, the video games live, Carmina Burana, and Don Giovanni. Great, right? You'd think so. Except they all turned into the cursed tickets. All. In one way or another.
The first event, Messiah sing-in... I had some throat problem, either laryngitis or a severe sore throat so singing was rough. And the last time Andrew had really sung, he was a tenor...not anymore. This event was just a minor hiccup.
Event #2...the video games live... We took the boys with us because they would get a kick out of it...except I was sick again. Bad flu/cold. So Tim took one of his friends in my place and they had a great time.
The third event, Carmina Burana... The waitress at Buca di Beppo was SO SLOW that we missed the entire first act. And the symphony doesn't let you in until the intermission. However, it turned out that the whole first act was something entirely different to fill time. Carmina Burana is only an hour so they gave a bonus performance of something else! So all turned out all right!
The last and best of all the game, Don Giovanni... I was SO SICK!! All the kids had been sick with the flu and throwing up...well, it was my turn. Great! The best and most expensive show and I'm stupidly sick. Well we went anyway. 8:00 show, I can make it. We just won't go to dinner first. My stomach turning, I got ready and laid back down again for a half hour before we left. When we finally arrived at the Capitol Theater at 7:40, I walked in to an empty lobby. Where were all the people? Did I come on the wrong day? Did no one want to see the great Mozart's work? NO! THE SHOW STARTED AT 7:30, NOT 8:00 LIKE ANDREW SAID! Aaahhh! We are cursed. The worst part is that I was just laying around waiting for the right time to leave. If Andrew had just looked at the tickets we would have left at the right time. We just wanted to be a little more cultured and these tickets were cursed.
Now anytime Andrew tells me a time to be somewhere I raise my eyebrows and ask if he's sure. And he laughs and double checks the schedule. I can't believe how often I was sick this year! I blame my clients coming in to get their hair done when they have pneumonia. Maybe next year we'll get it right...maybe.