Cure for the summertime blues...

The girls and I got to spend all of last week up in Utah with family and friends. Phil joined us up there on Wednesday night. We all had a great time and it was a much needed break from the heat. We've been taking a lot of breaks this summer but, what can I say, this heat is brutal!

As if the heat weren't enough...

Sorry! I have to have a little gripe session. One thing that drives me absolutely insane living in the "desert", is bugs. There are these cricket like bugs that infest the trees. They make this really annoying buzzing sound, not the soothing crickets that you hear at night in the mountains. They only do it in the summertime when it is really hot. So, it is almost unbearable to even attempt to go out your front door. At least we are going to have a reprieve for a week! Yeehaw! We are off to Utah while Phil is in California working. He is going to join us later in the week, so we can go to Jordan's wedding. Yay! Even the kids are so excited that they can't stand it. I am actually really looking forward to running in the mornings while in Utah too. I was going to post pictures of our backyard but, there have been a couple of things that they have to re-do so, I will post those when we return.

Training for the Ironman?

For those of you who know him, my husband has a funny sense of humor. We've come to an agreement that he is better at ironing than I am. And he likes his shirts wrinkle free. So, I resigned from my job at ironing and I'm not for rehire. He now has ironing marathons where he irons all of his shirts in one night. It usually takes him a couple of hours. It's kind of a joke between us now. Tonight he told me (while he was ironing) that he is training for the "Ironman", while winking at me. At first I thought he was serious and then it dawned on me what he meant. It was kind of comical. I'm thankful that he keeps me laughing!

The Natural...

The first day of swim lessons Allie's teacher had her back-stroking. She normally doesn't like to even try to swim on her back. But, she was doing it like a little natural. It was awesome! She loves to be in the water and lives in her swimsuit (which is so faded that I'm scouring the clearance racks now.) I've learned that swimsuits do not work for hand-me-downs.

Sometimes peer pressure is a good thing...

Allie and Ash started swim lessons this week and we were worried that Ash would freak out because she has been terrified of water going above her shoulders. Well, to our pleasant surprise she will actually put her face under water now. It helps for her to have other kids her age doing the same thing. I was shocked to see her "bobbing", when the teacher asked her to.

Hooray for Ashlie!

Sometimes a girl just needs her Daddy...

Livvy is getting to the point of not taking naps as often anymore. So, one Sunday afternoon she was having a post-church meltdown and Phil took her upstairs to help her calm down. They both ended up crashing for a good Sunday afternoon nap. He is so good with our girls and they go crazy when he comes home from work.

P.S. She picked out her own clothes.

Memories...

Okay, anyone can post comments on this.


1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you have of me or my family. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

This is fun so, play the game with us!

Family Vacation: The Beach

We left Las Vegas at about 10:30 on Wednesday morning and got to Dana Point, CA at about 2:30. We couldn't believe how nice the weather was. It was 76 degrees and felt perfect. We stayed at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and it was so nice. Because Phil stayed at a Marriott for more than 50 nights last year he is now a platinum member. So, we used his reward points for the hotel, plus they upgraded our room and added a suite onto it. The best part about it is that we had two bathrooms. They brought us milk and cookies at night and it was wonderful to not have to make the beds everyday. Just staying there made it a real vacation.

After we unpacked the car we went to the beach (100 yards away.) :)

The kids loved digging in the sand and looking for seashells. Our little beach bum, Allie loved the body surfing and didn't want to leave to go get dinner.

Ash and Liv were also in heaven on the beach. Liv liked chasing the seagulls and Ash was so excited about every seashell she found. (She is still proudly displaying her favorites.)

The kids each took turns being buried in the sand. Allie was the only one brave enough to be buried up to her neck. Ashlie said she felt like a mermaid.

Family Vacation: Sea World

On Thursday after breakfast we headed down to San Diego to Sea World. The kids got a kick out of seeing the dolphins and Shamu. It was so hot and despite lots of sunscreen, we all got a little sunburned. But, we had a great time! Allie and Ash say that they now want to be whale and dolphin trainers when they grow up. It was fun for Phillip and I to see the kids enjoy something that we also enjoyed as kids.

We sat in the splash zone but, no luck for us. We were all dying to be splashed because it was so hot.

We took I-5 from Dana Point down to San Deigo. We left at about 9 and so it was still kind of misty driving next to the ocean. The sun was just starting to break through when we came around a corner and there was the San Diego Temple. It was so beautiful and we were all in awe at how much so, that I didn't bother to take out the camera so, I took a picture from the car on the way back. This temple is truly one of the most beautiful that I've ever seen!

Family Vacation: Relaxing...then an Angel's Baseball Game

On Friday we were all so tired after spending the previous day at Sea World so, we hung out at the pool and relaxed. Later on in the afternoon we drove up to Anaheim, went to a nice steakhouse for dinner and then went to the Angels/Red Sox game. We were actually almost in the minority with our Angels garb on. There were a lot of Red Sox fans there. The kids made it all 9 innings and LOVED the fireworks afterwards. Allie and Ash crashed in the car on the way back to Dana Point and Livvy was still jabbering the whole way. They all slept great and so did Mom and Dad.

Family Vacation: Disneyland...the happiest place on earth.

Okay so, I don't know what were thinking trying to cram all of this into one vacation but, we went to Disneyland on Saturday. The kids (of course) were so excited.

They got to see Snow White, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan and Pocahontas and Nancy from Enchanted. Then of course we had to go to the Princess shop afterward and get the princess ear hats, with their names embroidered on the back.

The kids love the teacups. Phil had to go with them because it makes me turn green. Livvy is in there too but, she is sitting by Phil's right arm.

Of course we couldn't miss Dumbo! We had to wait for about 90 minutes to get on because they had a problem with the ride.

We went on 5 rides in about 7 hours and the kids were all so tired and begging to go back to the hotel to swim, so we didn't argue! We stopped in the Downtown Disney District for some dinner and ice cream and then headed back to Dana Point for some swimming and a good nights rest before returning home on Sunday. We had a great time and our only regret is that we wish we could have stretched it out into a few more days on the beach and relaxation.

No more diapers for Livvy!

I can't believe that my baby is such a big girl now. She is pretty much potty trained with the exception of night-time. It's nice for her to have big sisters to help her too!

(I'll be posting our vacation pics soon, so stay tuned!)

Just a clarification for you rabid Ute fans...

On my favorite things list I had Utah and Football listed right together. This confused a few of our Ute fan friends. So, I thought I had better clarify for them that we actually have not turned to the dark side. Ha ha. Love you all though!

Runner's high?

Well, today it was a good running day in Las Vegas. Keep in mind that it is July 12th, so that would normally be impossible. Summer running in Las Vegas usually is either done on a treadmill or at 5:30 in the morning. Both of which I hate so I have been a huge slacker since it started getting hot. Also, I have not run more than six miles since we moved here. Today was a different story and I'm having a hard time figuring out why. About midnight last night we had a storm roll through, no rain but lots of lightning and thunder. I woke up at about six to take the dog out and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as hot as it has been, due to the cloud cover. I was still tired so I went back to bed. I got up again at 7:30 thinking I really should go run and take advantage of the cloud cover. So, I did, thinking that I would do my normal three mile route that I usually have to drag myself through. I started out dealing with major side stitches and it took me a good mile of walk/running to work through it, I figured I'd be lucky to finish two miles today. I got to the 1.5 mile mark and felt remarkably well so, I altered my course thinking I would run 4-5 miles instead. I ended up getting slightly turned around due to the crazy layout of the streets here. However, I wasn't upset. Ask Phil how my mental condition deteriorates when I realize I have to run farther than I planned. I actually felt awesome! I ended up running seven miles of hills today. I am so happy to know that I still have some gumption left in me. Today is one of those days that I desperately needed to get myself motivated once again. Call it runner's high? Whatever it is, I'll take it!

Our trip to Utah...Home Sweet Home

We took off on Wednesday afternoon, July 2nd and headed up to Salt Lake. When we left Las Vegas it was 113 degrees, we stopped in Cedar City for dinner and it was a "cool" 93 degrees. It sure felt a lot cooler to us. The kids did great in the car and we made the trip in 5 hours and 40 minutes. Which is a record. We didn't go any faster than 78 mph.
Ashlie got to ride on the tractor with Grandpa Chase and she loved it! She helped him mow the entire front and back lawns and didn't really care to get off when they were done.

The kids played outside almost the entire time we were there and loved every minute of it. Daisy loved meandering around in the Chase's backyard too. We had a great time and it was hard to head back to Vegas when it was all over! The next few posts detail our adventures while there.