Vacation 2009

We were lucky enough to enjoy visitors last month. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Rachel and Great Grandpa were able to come see us for almost a week from Kansas. After they stayed and played for a while, we all headed down to Utah for a family reunion. Be prepared for some insane cuteness in shocking quantities.

Our daughter loves the water (like most toddlers) and one day while playing with our visitors, Alyson had a brilliant notion. Why not keep some of this water for later? I was at work, so I'm glad Mom's as much of a paparazzo as I am. :)

Can't forget the sunscreen! Alyson loves to put lotion on - fortunately she's a whitey so she has a lot of that to look forward to in her life.

Hanging out at home while waiting for dinner. Check out my little girl - "Hey, Go long!"

Alyson with Great-Grandpa


Alyson's first baseball game with Grandpa, Grandma, Mommy and Aunt Rachel.

Oh yes, Grandpa knows what we like.

Heading to Utah. Alyson did such a good job! We had quite an adventure actually. While driving through a wind storm in Idaho, the truck in front of us lost a piece of its trailer. Yes, the flat 1'x5' piece of hard liner blew off of the trailer and into us. Fortunately it didn't come through our windshield or it would have wiped Alyson and me out.

We caught up with the driver and he pulled over to help us assess the damage. There wasn't much thank goodness - just a couple scratches that weren't that deep, scuffs on the passenger side mirror and a majorly bent antenna. I wish I had a picture of it - it was actually comical - almost a perfect 90% angle in the antenna - it added a nice touch of goofusness.

All in all, the experience added about an hour to our trip to get everything settled, and the rest of the trip was uneventful. This picture is Alyson playing with Grandpa towards the end of the trip.

Daddy and Alyson sleeping right before the reunion. Soak it up while you can, honey. :)

Grandma holding Alyson at Aunt Virginia's house. Not much interesting going on, but I love this picture, so it's in here.

The day after the reunion, a partial post party dessert was in order. Here, we're waiting for a table big enough for our group so that we can enjoy insanely good brownie sundaes.

Grandma, Grandpa and Alyson at Deseret Book in Orem after dessert.

That night, (Independence Day) we were lucky enough to go to the Stadium of Fire. Thanks Mom! (I mean Grandma) We had a great time. This massive flag had been used in many displays and events over the years and for the first time had the opportunity to fly free. It was beautiful and impressive.

Grandma, Grandpa and Alyson getting settled in our seats before the Stadium of Fire started.

After the major sponsors completed their drawings and introductions, we were treated to a four fighter jet flyover with live feed of the lead pilot. Veerrry cool.

Aly loved it, but of course, she is going to be a fighter pilot someday (or navy seal, or astronaught...)

My sister Rachel and me at the Stadium of Fire. Aren't we cute?

Alyson and Grandma applauding the Stadium of Fire dancers (before they broke out the fire dancing - that was insane).

We all loved being at the front of our section. It was easy to get in and out (easy escape turned out to be a very good thing at the end when there was a stampeded for the doors) and the added bonus was that Alyson just couldn't get enough of draping herself over it.

Oh, look! A couple of Black Hawk helicopters are coming for a flyover!

Yes, Alyson definitely loved those...

...and was looking for more.

Rachel and our cousin Brett.

It was shockingly loud there. We were treated to two different musical presentations. Shedaisy and the Jonas Brothers were both there and though I'm sure they did sound checks that day, it was too loud. You could hear it perfectly with your ears covered. The worst part though was not the bands. It was the shrieking, insane, beside themselves teenage fans. I was worried I'd have permanent hearing damage.

Looks like Mom and Dad (I mean Grandma and Grandpa) were worried about the same thing. :)

What a good sport - too loud, but still a good fan.

The beautiful, massive flag that was highlighted earlier was ready to be retired. I'd only learned that day that the approved and appropriate way to retire a flag is by burning. It has such a negative reputation, but it's respectful when done correctly. This had a marine escort and salute and a verbal salute highlighting the history and service of the flag. It was humbling to observe it.

Aly got lots of snuggles that evening - we were worried about the loud cheering and booms of the fireworks. I didn't think that she'd let us keep anything over her ears, otherwise I'd have brought her something to wear. I think being held close with our hands over her ears may have made her nervous, but maybe she was a little on her own. She was a very good sport though - she loved seeing the lights and the pretty colors, just not a fan of the noise.

The day we had to head home, Alyson got to play with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa's dog Emma. She was so cute following her around.

She even wanted to follow her through her special door.

Playing Ring around the rosie with Great-Grandma

Sitting with Great-Grandma before heading back home.

So that Mom (I mean Grandma) could prove that I do exist, she tooks some pictures of Aly and me. Look! I'm not just a voice in cyberspace!

Playing with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa's merry go round.

More random sisterly cuteness.

Ooh, Dad (I mean Grandpa) wants in on the merry go round action.

Mom, Rachel and me before heading home.

Oh, and Alyson has discovered the doggie door again.

But how do you get IN it?

Ohhhh! By opening the door!

I hope you've enjoyed our photo vacation. We had a blast!

Family Update

Well, it's been a while since I've simply posted on what's going on in our family, so here it is! My annual company picnic was Saturday and we had a BLAST! Prepare yourself for lots of fun, and even more adorable pictures, you may be on overload when I'm done with you. :)

We started out the day by having barbecue for lunch - at which point Alyson spilled soda all over herself and got sticky. Thank goodness she likes being wet!

Next, we went for our first (of I'm not going to tell you how many) cotton candy cones. Yes, Aly got to taste it, our neighbor Lisa went with us and helped Alyson to become even more sticky. :)

And what carnival is complete without fun booths like ring toss and bean bag toss. Alyson's favorite was the bubbles.

She liked it so much, she found another booth with bubbles and got herself really soapy. Hmmm, now all we need is some water and we'll be set!

JACKPOT!!! A wading pool! (I love the look on her face - priceless)

She had such a blast. She's such an adventure girl - she loves to splash and be splashed. Good thing too, since Daddy kept getting her!

Thank goodness we brought a towel and a change of clothes - these got soaked. No more soda though. :)

After we changed Alyson, Erik got to compete in the Tug-Of-War challenge as a member of the Human Resources team. They won of course. Well, I guess not of course. The first team the battled didn't realize that they had to get more than one person across the line and thought they won. Ahh, sweet victory - even if it's because the other team messed up. The second team they battled was a true and profound victory. The team heaved, heaved, heaved until they beat the other team into submission! Go team go!

Towards the end of the fair, Erik and Alyson were able to try out the bega bouncy slide!!! My co-worker's daughter Chloe was going to try to take her down, but we were nervous about her getting her up there. So Daddy took over and it's all history from there. My little girl is officially a daredevil. I won't be surprised if she ends up as a firefighter or astronaut or navy seal!

There's a bump at the end that makes them fly into the big puffy wall - she loved the whole thing so much that she had to go again!

I think Erik had even more fun that she did! Can you blame him with such a cute running buddy?

To really wind things down, we sat over by the auction and snacked on more cotton candy, blueberry cobbler and in Aly's case, yummy cheese crackers! Man, a day gorging on delicious food and not ending up with a tummy ache is a perfect day in my opinion!

Thus ends our version of Saturday's events. Look forward to an installment on fence installation! Wow, Daddy and Lisa are working hard! Alyson and I are of course working hard at remaining too cute for words and too pregnant to be helpful.

:) Love to all!

The erosion of our language

This post is more of a rant about the erosion of our language as detailed below in a few of the most common (and one very uncommon) widely spread things that irk me. Enjoy (or don't).

1. "A whole nother": There is no such thing as a "nother". They mean of course "Another" or "A completely different". This is so widely used, that it's in movies, the radio and even well educated newscasters. I only recognized this travesty when I used it myself one day and thought, "Wait, that doesn't sound right" and haven't stopped hearing it since.
2. "Till" instead of "'til": A till is a cash register, or the action that prepares soil for planting. 'Til is the shortening of the word "Until". Most times when an author means 'til, they type till and somehow it doesn't get caught by the editors. I guess they're all just on the lookout for incorrect "There, They're, Their" usages instead. I'm surpirsed at how many get it wrong.
3. "Myself": Many people misuse "myself" because they were terrified by their English teachers to use the word "me" at the end of a sentance. The problem is that they're using it the wrong way. Only I can do something to myself. Only you can do something to yourself. They use it as in "If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact myself." So many people say it that it doesn't even sound as wrong as it rightfully should. When you are acting on something, you use "I". (Rachel and I are going to the movies). When you are being acted upon, you use "me". (That burger was too spicy for me). When you are acting upon yourself, you use "myself". (I want to kick myself).
4. As a whole, music will be the downfall of our language. Most to blame is Rap, of course closely followed by R&B & Country. For instance: R&B - Usher's Burn uses the unique phrasing: "We done been fell apart". Ugh. Another: Country - Tim McGraw's I Like It employs the following: "I throwed out my shoulder but I won her that teddy bear." Not quite as bad, but it's certainly incredibly lazy for a probably very well spoken guy.

That's it. That's all. I've done a lot of griping lately, but I think I'm done. I've been saving this one up.