A Selfish Post

Today, I'm dreaming of a few things that I would like to own. I know, it's a totally selfish post, but it's my blog, so I can do these kinds of things. Maybe if I write it down, I'll somehow achieve it.

I want to start doing this...

I'm hoping that maybe I'll feel better. Lately I've had some serious pain in my lower back (where my herniated discs are) and into my hips. Not good. So I think it's time to join the treadmill world and some additional something for core strength. And I've always wanted to be more flexible. This is my goal. When I have an action plan, I'll post it here with my goal. Thanks to some good pals for reminding me that this is important. (You can see them here, here, here, and here.)

And since we bought a Wii a couple weeks ago, I also want one of these: I think it would just be benefical and my mom has one. She uses hers almost daily. So I think it would be a worthy investment.

Just because, I want one of each of these:

I also want to do new family pictures. Our last real family picture was at my little sister's wedding 3 years ago. I think it's time. Don't you?

Maybe one of these....I go back and forth. But today, I definetly need one of these:

On the pratical side of life, I also want the following three things:

Yeah, it's true, I'm looking, but it would be great to have something sooner than later so that we can afford the things below.

That's what I'm dreaming about today. A new start, a new adventure and a few material things that I don't really need, but definetly want.

Happy Monday All!

9/11

Today is the 10th anniversary of the tragedy that affected our country on so many levels. It is the day that 4 planes were taken hostage by a radical terrorist group and changed my life forever. I am sad that Libbi will not know how this impacted my life, that she will only know about this tragedy through TV specials and discussions in history class. I truly hope that her generation will NEVER see something like this and that the impact will always be something we talk about, not something she has to experience. I am sad that she doesn’t understand the significance of the pledge of allegiance each morning in school or that impact of the national anthem. I know that some of that responsibility lies on our shoulders as her parents and I want her to know how grateful I am to be an American. To have that knowledge and to know what it means. She informed me the other day that they do recite the pledge every morning, I’m so grateful for that. I think it is important for our children to celebrate our nation’s history each day. To remember what all of our soldiers and their families have sacrificed so that we have the right and opportunity to be free and to practice what we believe. Libbi and I had a conversation last week about what 9/11 means and why it is so important. I was telling her the story about where I was and that day is still etched in my memories as if it were yesterday. For my own account, in the instance that this memory becomes less vivid for me, I want to know what happened to me that day.

On Tuesday morning of September 11, 2001, I was just getting into the routine of being a Senior. For some reason that morning as I got ready for school, I was not listening to the radio. I missed all the news reports and the information as it was happening. When I walked into my first period (Mrs. Ott’s chemistry class) I overheard some people talking about the first plane hitting the first tower. I was only briefly listening and I wasn’t processing the information. That day happened to be lab day and Mrs. Ott quickly put us in the lab to complete the assignment. About half way through the lab, Mrs. Ott came in to inform us that a second plane had just hit the second tower. She was visibly upset, but again, I was still trying to process what all this meant. She would not allow us out of the lab until our assignment was finished. This class ended and I made my way through the high school out to our portable classrooms for my sociology class. This is where the biggest impact to me came. I walked into that room and my sociology teacher was parked in front of his TV in a red chair. I don’t think he even took role that day; class wasn’t anything other than watching news reports and trying to process this information. I think we had a loose discussion about what this meant. I walked out of class in a daze and somehow made it to my psychology class. I don’t remember much about that day from there. I’m not even sure we talked about it at home as a family. I was 17 and self absorbed in my world and my routine. It took a few days for the full impact of what had happened to sink in and to be real to me. I remember that morning and I remember the disbelief that this was truly happening on our soil, in my home and the fear of being attacked. New York, DC and Pennsylvania seemed so far away, but my heart broke for the families that will be affected by this tragedy for the rest of their lives.
The greatest impact to me came a year or so later as a freshman at Utah State. When I had the opportunity to go to a memorial on the quad on the one year anniversary. To participate in that moment of silence. I remember having Family Home Evening in my front room in Logan. Where one of the young men, who happened to be part of the army was listening to a small radio, listening to see if his life would be affected by a deployment. He did end up being deployed during my sophomore year. This is when it became real to me. When I knew that this was not going to be something that the United States was going to let become something that happened. We would stand up and fight for our rights and our freedom.

This year, as I sat on the couch explaining to Libbi what 9/11 means and why it’s important, I had tears in my eyes. When I turned 18, my mom put together a book of letters to me. I don’t think she will ever know how much that book means to me. That’s a post for another day, the reason I mention it is because there is a portion of the letter my Grandpa Parrish wrote to me that I remember often. At 18, his future was decided for him. He would be drafted and sent across the sea to fight for my freedom and my rights. His words to me said, you are 18 and you have the opportunity to go and choose something different than I did. I can only imagine that the way I felt on 9/11/01 is similar to the way the United States felt on the morning of December 7, 1941. My Grandpa is my hero. He is loving and kind, full of inspiration and positivity. Even having been drafted and sent to fight, he is humble about his experiences, that he went to fight for his country and for the freedom I am still able to experience today.

With the attacks on 9/11, it sent many families into a direct effect of war and loss. I have seen families be affected and know many people that I graduated with that have accepted the call to serve our country and how their families are affected by their selfless act of service. I want them to know, how grateful I am to their willingness and their continued service to our country. I have close family who have been affected personally with deployments and military life. I can’t imagine how they do it, but I’m grateful for their strength.

As I’ve watched multiple things today about 9/11 and how it affected our life 10 years ago. I have been teary eyed as I see what has impacted the lives of many. I’m glad we have the 4th of July to celebrate our independence with celebrations and fun things. I’m grateful that September 11, is a somber day. A day of remembrance and a day of reflection. I’m proud to be an American and that these radical terrorist will never be able to take that away from me. I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I’ll never forget the men and women, who will forever be heroes, who have given of their lives and their time to defend that right for me.

I will Learn to Forgive.

I will NEVER Forget.

August Adventures

August was full of lots of fun. Kyle took his vacation and we had some fun close to home. It was nice to have him home and available for family fun. He spent quite a few of his days off on his motorcycle enjoying the time he had to ride. Here are some highlights:

Day One:
Liberty Park, Paddle boats and some lunch.



Day Two:
We used our day passes for Cowabunga Bay for an afternoon of fun. It was a little chilly but we still had fun. Libbi went up to one of the tallest slides with Kyle. (I don’t do tunnel slides, it has something to do with the closterphobia factor). It’s a very small water park, but fun. I think Libbi would have had more fun if we had taken somebody her age to play with. There was a small wind blowing that day and the slides are all on a large structure, so with the wind blowing, it was a little chilly to stand in the lines. But, we had fun and enjoyed ourselves.

Day Four:
We had some lunch at Red Robin and wandered through the mall. We stopped to feed the ducks that afternoon at the local cannel. Libbi had fun throwing bread over the fence to the ducks, goats, sheep and geese.

Day Five:
We had a fairly boring day. Nothing much happened.

Day six: Kyle’s Birthday!
Kyle and I took the opportunity to go riding up at Bountiful. Libbi spent the afternoon with Grandma. Happy Birthday to Kyle! You are an amazing and loving dad. I love you more today than I did 8 years ago.

We also had the opportunity to take Libbi to Lagoon for the first time. We enjoyed a day with some of Kyle’s co-workers and their families. Thanks again for a day of fun. We took Libbi on the log flume and Colossus very first and she loved them. We also ran into Miss Jen and Miss Julie from Libbi’s daycare and so Libbi and I spent some time in kiddie land riding rides with Zane and Alicia.

As August came to an end, Marriott and I ended our contract of employment. It was unexpected and not planned. I’m sad about it. I’m upset, I’m worried and concerned, but I have to stay positive. Otherwise the day gets the best of me and I’ll become unproductive, unmotivated and unable to function. I know there are reasons I was allowed to be employed there. I made some amazing friends that I hope to stay in touch with and I want them to know how much they mean to me and how grateful I am to each of them for their friendship. They made work a little bit of home and a little easier to tolerate. I know there is a reason I worked there and that reason changed almost daily. It’s time for a new adventure I guess. But it’s hard and job hunting is not how I would like to ideally spend my day.

Libbi also started first grade this year. She is in Mrs. Kwak’s class and enjoying first grade for the most part. It’s been an interesting couple of weeks as we learned a new normal. She is such a smart girl. We have already had our first parent teacher conference and learned that she is doing exceptionally well and that her Dibble scores are high. I’m so proud of her and all that she is learning and how smart she is.

We also had the opportunity to celebrate birthdays for both my dad and Kyle’s great-Grandma Ila. I love family birthday dinners at my grandparent’s house. It seems like such a piece of home and I love those memories. I’m so grateful that Libbi will have memories like that.
Great –Grandma Ila turned 97 this year. She is such a cute grandma and we have some great pictures from her birthday party.

We ended our summer on Labor day. Libbi enjoyed a day with my family at Boondocks in Kaysville. I’m so glad that she has such a great relationship with my family. Kyle and I went out to five mile pass for a day of riding.

One morning, when I took Libbi to school, she wanted to say Hello to her cousin Bailey (who recently moved to Maine), so we stopped in to say hi!

Yay for August and the fun we’ve had.

Some July Fun?

Well, since I know you are all curious....this is what we've been up to in July.

We started the month celebrating Libbi's birthday. With what my sister Kjerstin says was the longest birthday celebration EVER. She might even have called it longer than her birthday celebrations. I think that is open for debate. Anyway.... We let Libbi open some of her presents early.

Walking up at 6:00 am to open presents before daycare

(All the presents opened. New Ballet Shoes, New Tap Shoes and a leotard)

Since she's been dancing around the house, we thought we'd give her a crash course in dance lessons this summer. We signed her up with a fabulous studio in Centerville. She went to dance after a fun day at Grandma's. After her crash course, she's decided she likes ballet and tumbling, doesn't care much for jazz and hates tap. I think it's mostly because her shoes are too small. I promise, when I ordered them, they were the right size, she's just growing that fast.

(After her first day of dance class)

We also had a fun swim party with Aunt Eileen and Aunt Nancy and Eileen's friend Cynthia and her grand daughter Tori. We had lots of fun swimming and playing and eating cake. Thanks again for a great party!
We also took Amanda to do a fun 6 year old photo shoot. But let's be honest, that definetly deserves it's own post. Watch for some of the favorites to be posted later. Let's just say, its stated with this: After all that fun, we celebrated her actual birthday with dinner at Grandma's. Her dinner menu included roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, zucchini, watermelon, rolls and chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I don't have any pictures....I'll have to see if my mom took any good ones.

On her actual birthday we did lots of things she wanted to do. Like went to lunch at the mall. Rode the carousel in the mall. Headed to Hollywood connection for a movie, some arcade games and some ice cream. She decided before the movie started that she would rather go swimming, so we went to the Murray city pool for some swimming fun. The girl is fearless. She went off the diving board multiple times (with her life jacket) swam to the side and went down the waterslide all by herself. Enjoy some birthday fun photo's. (Maybe even a video...but I'm not sure how to get it on here.)

Look, she's finally big enough to ride it. I'm still a little apprehensive about the whole thing.

The birthday fun ended with a night stay at the Springhill Suites in Lehi at Thanksgiving point. We had fun swimming and wandering around Thanksgiving point and enjoying a nice little drive in the 'new' bronco. This is one of those things that I love about my job. Sometimes all you need is a quick night away and one of my benefits is a deeply discounted option.

We also got the privledge of visiting our local Instacare for some stiches. The boys had gone out to ride their motorcycles and to give Cody a test run. I got a phone call about 11:30 am that said "Meet me in the ER" I'd like to tell you this is the first time I've received a phone call similar to this. But it's not. At least I wasn't at work this time. Anyway, we called and verified that instacare could do stitches and headed that direction. Basically, the story became that he had cut his leg open on a bolt. (Period) While working on a bike. (Period) This is what it looks like:

It's a bloody mess!

Stitches All Cleaned Up
Stitches Cleaned Up 2

Finally, our month ended with the end of the mud terrian tire era.

And then this happend:
A crack in the windshield.....grrr!


Ok, so that's July in a nutshell.

Thought for the Day Part 3

I saw this on somebodies facebook status, but I like it. Food for thought.

"Apologizing doesn't mean that You were Wrong and the Other is Right. It only means that you Value the Relationship More than Your Ego."

Happy Birthday Libbi

A Birthday Poem for Libbi. Who was born 6 years ago today!

When I was One, I had just begun.

When I was Two, I was still brand new.

When I was Three, I was just only Me.

When I was Four, I was not much more.

When I was Five, I was barely alive.

But now that I'm Six, I'm clever as clever. So I think I'll stay Six now forever and ever!

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl!

Our lives are better since you came into them. Enjoy this year. You are a smart and amazing girl with a crazy zest for life.

We Love You!

Mom and Dad

Just a little update

June has been a crazy month for us. It started with Libbi graduating from Kindergarten. She did so well this last year and has learned so much. We are so proud of her and all the things she's done this last year. I can't belive my baby is now a big first grader. Oh and she was only tardy once and didn't miss one day of school all year! Way to go Libbi! Take a look at the difference between last Fall and this Spring.

The next grand adventure was co-hosting Amanda's bridal shower with her now mother in law Sheri. We had a great afternoon! Enjoy some pictures!

Her Towel/Make up cake. Sheri put the cake part together. She did an amazing job. The hardest part was keeping it a secret because I just wanted to tell her about it.

Reading some love from the box of things her mom sent to us to give to her. Yup, we made her cry! But it was a good cry.

These were all the pictures I had. I was busy doing other things.

The next grand adventure were going with Amanda to do her bridal's. Again, I didn't take any pictures but you can see them by clicking here. Christy did an amazing job. After working with her this month on the wedding, I see some family pictures coming up soon. (As a plug for her, because she's just so cute and fun, I added her blog button to the side, click on it and look at her work.) Thanks to Amanda for allowing me to stand in and be there for her this last month. It was exhausting and stressful and so much fun. I'd do it all again if she asked.

Kyle and I celebrated 8 years together this month over Father's day weekend. It's been a crazy 8 years and I love him more now than I ever thought I could. Sorry, no pictures from our date, but thanks to my mom and dad for watching Libbi. We had a great weekend of fun.

Libbi has also perfected riding her bike. She's not quite ready to lose the training wheels, but her confidence has sored and it's hard to keep her off of it.

On Father's day weekend, Libbi went with my parents and sisters to see Mr. Popper's Penguin's. (I have to find that book) at the Gateway during the same time as an art festival of side walk chalk. Here is Libbi's chalk drawings.

We ended the month with the wedding of two of the best friends we could ask for. We couldn't be happier for these two. Again, I was busy doing other things, so I only have a few pictures. I'm going to have to borrow a few from Lauren. Thanks for taking pictures.

Libbi decided she was bored and it would be easier to sit on the floor for the rest of the ceremony.

Amanda with her bridesmaids (Sami and Katie) and flower girl.

The whole bridal party.

I'd like to say we get to relax for the rest of the summer, but we don't. Libbi's 6th birthday is about to come up and now that the wedding is over, it's time to focus on her.