Human Pyramid

The Leishman's stopped by for dinner on their way home from California. As they were "calming" down and getting ready to leave my Mom had the idea to have them make a pyramid. This was the second one and we had to have the camera ready because it was a little heavy on Tanner. They did enjoy it and it made a good blog entry!

1st Snow!?!!?!!?

This afternoon as I was waking up from an afternoon nap, I heard my Mom say there was some white stuff falling out of the sky and it was BIG flakes coming down. I decided that it was time to get up out of bed and investigate. (I figured it would be a good blog opportunity.) Here is the back deck getting covered in the white stuff.

Here is my car getting covered. I don't mind having this kind of white stuff because it will melt away soon.

It's kind of odd to see the green grass and the leaves on the tree covered in snow because in the winter time everything is dead and barren when in it snows.

See the summer lawn decorations are still out and they were getting covered. I just had to take a picture of it. I know that this is the first of many snowfalls to come but none of them have the feeling of that first snowfall.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!

I wanted to give a shout out to my brother, Ryan on his birthday! I am SO grateful that you are in our family. Ryan is always SO upbeat, positive and willing to help anyone. I love the fact that Ryan isn't afraid to say/show his emotions for those he cares about! I am SO happy that you found Alisa and that you two are truly SO happy together! Have a WONDERFUL day!!! Happy Birthday! I love you!!!

Cedar City and the Goo Goo Dolls!!!!

It all started back in March at Novell's Brainshare and the Goo Goo Dolls came for our concert. That was the first time we saw them and only 6 months later we were on our way to see them for the 3rd time. (See June posts for details of the 2nd concert in Vegas.) They were coming to Cedar City and with it only being a 3 hour drive there was NO way we were passing it up! Jennifer, Catherine (Jenn's sister) and I got tickets for the concert and headed out to Cedar City. Jenn is apart of the fan club and she put in for the "Meet and Greet" lottery and won! Here she is all ready to go meet John and the rest of the band!! Doesn't she look HOT?!?!!?

After Jenn left for the "Meet and Greet" there was some time to kill before Catherine and I needed to head over for the concert. So, what a better way then to pass the time then to have a little fun with the camera?!?!? I would like you all to know that this was my one and only try for the night. I was very happy with it. Catherine took a couple pictures but she deleted them so I couldn't post them.

The concert was at the Centrum Arena on the SUU campus (so it wasn't very big.) But I have to say we had AMAZING seats...5th Row!!! Normally, I am not into taking pictures at concerts but when you are on the 5th row...how can you NOT take pictures?!?!!?

When we got to the Arena we met up with Jenn and talked to her for just a minute about the Meet and Greet and then she said she was going up by the stage to take a few pictures and would be back. Well, do you honestly think she came back to the 5th row after being up by the stage???? She didn't and had an AWESOME time up front. But for the rest of us, this is the view we had from the 5th row. They put on a GREAT show and played for about 90 minutes, it felt like it was just one big party!!! They talked a little to the audience (which I like because I like them to acknowledge that we are there) but they played A LOT!!!!

After the crowds cleared we were able to catch up with Jenn again. Do you think she is just a little EXCITED???? I personally LOVE the tongue sticking out!

Catherine just chillin' after the concert. It really was GREAT!!!

Notice that there is a blank space here??? Well, I did have a picture of myself here from after the concert but I decided that I really didn't like the picture, so since this is my blog I took it out.

Here's a picture of what the stage kind of looked liked. We were a little late in realizing we should have taken a picture of the stage.

Saturday morning we woke up to LOTS of rain and wind, which made part of the drive home a lot fun! But what would a road trip with Wendy be without car pictures? It wouldn't be a complete road trip is the answer to that question. I will warn you, I'm not 100% happy with my picture but given the home that it was in spots I will take it. It was REALLY odd to not use cruise control at all on the way home.

Jenn did take another one but I just thought that this one was too funny and since she forgot to erase it...I put it on the blog! :)

We gave Catherine the camera to take a picture of herself. Well, I do believe that she has found out how entertaining it can be to take random pictures of yourself with the camera. I was laughing SO hard when I would look in the mirror and see some of the faces she was coming up with. She deleted a lot before she gave the camera back but I still have some good ones. I will be posting more at another time. :) But this one just makes me laugh.

It was a quick trip but it was A LOT of fun at the same time. Just to let you know things in Cedar City stay open later on the weekends then they do in Salt Lake and Provo. We went to Chili's after the concert and found out that they stay open until midnight on the weekends, what a concept. We also found out that the Goo Goo Dolls went to Chili's the night before the concert, just another little FYI.

One more....

You Should Visit Brazil

If you're looking for an extreme yet chill vacation, Brazil is perfect for you. Go wild at Carnaval, get lost in the Amazon, and relax checking out the beautiful people on the beach.

What Latin American Country Should You Visit?

Need I say more????

If you are bored.....

My sister, Amy found this website and I got a little carried away taking quizzes and posting them to my blog. But most of the quizzes I would have to say are pretty close to my personality. Try it...you will like it! :)

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

You Are A Chocolate Ice Cream Girl

Dramatic. Powerful. Flirty.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISFP)

Your personality type is caring, peaceful, artistic, and calm. Only about 7% of all people have your personality, including 8% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

You Are Dr. Pepper

You're very unique and funky, yet you still have a bit of traditionalism to you. People who like you think they have great taste... and they usually do. Your best soda match: Root Beer Stay away from: 7 Up

What Kind of Soda Are You?

Your Stress Level is: 23%

You are slightly prone to stress, but generally you keep it under control. You know how to relax and take things as they come, even when your worlds seems to be falling apart. Occasionally, you do let yourself get stressed out, but you snap out of it pretty quickly.

How Stressed Are You?

You Are Summer!

Outgoing Friendly Flirty Cute Fun

What Season Woman Are You?

Damien Rice...who?!?!!?

Well, that is exactly what I was saying as I was looking up and purchasing tickets for his concert. But you know me...I can't pass up a concert so I bought them and went to his concert last night. It was only at UVSC so that tells you that it was rather a small affair. According to wikipedia.org, he is an Irish Folk singer. Which in my book means...MELLOW!!! I realized this after I bought the tickets, but I thought that this will be a new experience for me. To be honest I was afraid I was going to fall asleep during the show...but to my surprise I didn't and I was entertained, pretty much the whole time. He was really funny when he spoke to the audience, so that was a plus. Yes, most of his songs were mellow but it was fun to listen to them live. Although I have never been to a concert where the audience sat the WHOLE time and didn't sing along with any songs. It was just different, but it was cool at the same time. He did play 4 songs during the encore, which was way cool. They had more of a "rock" kind of feel to them and that is when I actually saw people standing, moving to the music and singing along. (I put 4 in bold because if you are LUCKY you will get a 3 song encore, lately it's been more like a 2 song encore.) All in all it was a good show. Now will I ever go see him again...we will see. Oh, here is a short article about Damien Rice, http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2007/09/07/2007-09-07_damien_rice_stirs_up_deep_emotions.html

September Birthdays

Last Sunday we celebrated the September Birthdays in the family. Jodi was the host our the party and did a fabulous job! Here are some random pictures of the activities that went on during the get together. Here is Seth learning how to walk on Aunt Jodi's tramp.

I gave Amy my camera to get some pictures of Seth on the tramp. And her is one of my favorite ones. Thank goodness for the safety netting! It also just makes me laugh to see his little face all smashed up against the netting.

Claire and her Grandma having some bonding time. She was all smiles for the camera and anyone who would talk to her.

The kids swinging in the swing set. My Mom was pushing Talmage and Brenna for a little bit and Brenna tells my Mom, "I need to work on my pumps." So cute!

Mike showing us how it to use the "Rip Stik".

Here are the birthday boys...Ryan with his electric bug zapper. I know that he will have a lot of fun with that present. He will be turning 23 on the 26th...where does the time go?

McKay's birthday was on the 3rd and the got the "Rip Stik" for his bday. He is already a pro! He turned 8, so that means Cub Scouts...here comes McKay! And he will be getting baptized next month!

Here is Tanner sporting his new Yankee hat. It's perfect for him...his favorite team with Provo's colors. What could be better? He turned 11 on the 10th. I tell you I remember when all of the September birthday boys were born! My how time flies! Happy Birthday Boys!!!

On the way home.....

This is where we started our day. It was SO nice to be able sleep without setting an alarm. They have REALLY comfy beds and with hotel curtains the room was SO dark, we were able to sleep and sleep! It was heaven! A perfect way to end the trip, with a relaxing day and only driving 6 hours home! Side note here: both of our Dads called before noon to see where we were and they were both shocked when we answered "Boise!" Since we had extended our trip by a day we made sure we took full advantage of it. Therefore, we took our time getting ready and then headed out to visit Jenn's friend. We had a nice visit with them but finally we realized it was time that we start heading towards Utah. But not before we made a stop at...

Yes, we had to go to Baja Fresh! We used to have a couple in Salt Lake but for some reason they left the state! And I have been SO sad about that fact. I just LOVE their food. For fast food Mexican, I think it is great! I have to tell you that it was what I remembered, they did not disappoint! In fact as we were we decided that we needed to get some food "to go" for the car ride home. Chips, Salsa (they have REALLY good Pico) and Guacamole (my favorite!) Here is their link http://www.bajafresh.com/jump.jsp?itemID=0&itemType=HOME_PAGE to heop you locate the nearest Baja Fresh to you for when you travel out of state. Alright, so now that we have been feed, it was time for the inevitable...the drive home.

What would a road trip be with Wendy without having pictures in the car?????? The answer..."It wouldn't be a true road trip without car pictures." (At least now that I have my camera and it follows almost where ever I go.) It is a dangerous thing for me to have a camera and be bored. The batteries in my camera were dying so I wasn't able to take that many pictures.

Here's Jenn, just driving away. We made it home with no traffic or problems from construction. BUT we did have rain most of the way home. It wasn't bad until we hit Draper and then it got REALLY bad coming down the point of the mountain until American Fork. The wind was out of control and that didn't help the rain. I was just grateful that when we made it home to Springville, there was only wind and no rain for unloading the car!


I have another side note for you...Throughout the entire trip, which included driving in three different states with construction and traffic we never experienced one OUNCE of road rage. But just crossing the Utah border...low and behold guess what showed up again????? That would be road rage!!!! You gotta love driving in Utah, right? NOT!!!! I was SO impressed that when people saw the sign that a line would end in a mile or two everyone would get over and at the merge point we didn't have to put on the breaks at all. It was SO smooth!!! Why can't that happen here? It drives me nuts!!!! I just had to throw that side note in. It was a pleasure to drive outside the state of Utah, even if the speed limit in Oregon was ONLY 65!!! As you can see we had a great trip! It was relaxing and SO much fun to see new places!!! Once again, Thank You Jenn for being such a great tour guide!!! The trip was just what I needed!!!

Northwest Trip Day 4

Labor Day!!! The "plan" was to drive all the way from Salem, OR to Springville, UT all in one day. A REALLY long day of driving, but I was up for it because I knew the end result would have me sleeping in my own bed! (I LOVE my bed and I miss it when I am away!!!) We left Salem around 8:30am and started making our way out of town. We did a quick drive by the Portland Temple, it was really beautiful. Sorry, I don't have a picture as it was a drive by. But if you want to see a picture of the Portland Temple go to http://hanksphotography.blogspot.com
Alright so we are on the road home but first we needed to make another semi quick stop. We had to stop to see Multnomah Falls, which is about 30 miles outside of Portland. I have to say if you are ever driving through you really should stop and check it out. One thing that you need to make sure you do is to eat at the Lodge. It was SOOOO good!!!! I loved their biscuits, but the other food was way yummy, too! We had a great view of the falls while we wait, so it was totally worth it! You can check it out at http://www.multnomahfallslodge.com/
Here are a few pictures of the falls...

Another picture of the falls, they were really pretty!

This is just a picture of the nature around the falls.

One more picture of the falls. This is kind of what we saw while we were eating breakfast. It was a great way to enjoy the morning. It actually was a little chilly which was kind of nice.

And how could I forget...the Multnomah Falls Lodge. So, there is a nice bit of nature around and for those of you who are really outdoorsy you can go hike and stuff. Then you also have the restaurant and don't forget there is a gift shop as well. If you are passing through, it is totally worth it to stop for a little and take a break.

After the falls, we were REALLY on our way home. We had good music, pillows, books, DVD player, snacks...and A/C???? A little while after the falls the A/C stopped blowing air. Like on full blast nothing at all. We thought it was a little odd because Jenn's car is a 2006 and nothing out of the ordinary happened to the car. The temperature of the car stayed the same, so we just kept going. Driving through Eastern Oregon is not like driving around Portland. It was a little on the warm side. (Boise was 101 that day so Eastern Oregon was in the 90s.) We had the windows cracked and at times we had the sunroof open. Because we couldn't get any air to come out of the vent either. It wasn't the most pleasant ride that I have ever been on but not the most uncomfortable either. We just kind of looked at it as another adventure! And one to make us really grateful to actually have A/C in our cars. We made it to Boise and we were totally ready to take a little break from the HOT car. Our plan was to visit Jenn's friend for a little bit, grab some dinner and then head back out on the road. Well, when we got to the friend's house, they weren't home. But Jenn's Dad was having her checkout her car to see if she could see anything wrong with it. While Jenn was talking to her Dad I called mine, because I figured two Dad's can be better then one, right? By this time it was almost 7pm on a holiday. We decided that we were going to stay in Boise and get this A/C thing figured out. I called the hotel that we had stayed at a few days earlier and we were in luck, they had room. We made a stop at Fred Meyer's (yes, Fred Meyer's does exist outside of the state of Utah) and headed to the hotel. Still with no A/C, as we were getting closer to the hotel I turned it on just for kicks and giggles to see what it would do. You will never believe it but came on FULL FORCE!!! Apparently, it froze up on us and needed time to thaw. Without car trouble to worry about we were ready to enjoy our evening. A shower was the first thing on the agenda because we felt like we had been at the lake all day. (Sorry no before pictures...it wasn't exactly a picture perfect moment.) Then we headed out for some good food. We found the Cheesecake Factory Thursday night and headed back there. Here are our "after" pictures...Jenn with her Chinese Chicken Salad. Looks pretty cool, huh? Oh and doesn't she look SOOO pretty?

Here I am with my Mango something salad. I can't remember the full name but I remember there were mangoes in it! It was really good! And it felt SO good to get cleaned up, put on cute clothes and go out. That is such a girl comment! And it was SO much fun! Then we went back to the hotel and totally CRASHED! So much for really going out on the town. But we were tired, we played a lot in Oregon!