St. George, Utah

We spent the last couple days in St. George so Craig could attend a Utah Builder's Conference. We actually stayed in Hurricane (20 minute drive north of St. George) which is just outside the entrance to Zion National Park. St. George will always have a place in my heart for these three reasons.
1. My parents were married in the St. George Temple

2. I spent my family summer vacations in St. George. It was only a 6 hour drive from where we grew up in CA so we'd stay there a couple days and then head to Orem to visit relatives. Some years we'd just stay in St. George for the week and then head home nicely tanned from spending all day at the hotel pool.

3. The St. George Temple is my favorite of all temples. Maybe because I visited it every year as a child but it is such a bright white building painted against the red rocks in the background that you can't help look at it in awe of its beauty.

Funny that after many years (too many!!) that I still could find my way around. We arrived Thursday afternoon and dropped Craig off at the Dixie Center for registration. I found an elementary school down the street with a playground so the kids could play. We ate dinner then headed back to the hotel to take the kids swimming in the indoor pool. Briana could care less about getting wet and just sat in the floatie we brought with us. Brandon on the other hand could not get enough splashing around the pool and hated the fact that we had to hold onto him while in the water. Then of course when it was time to get out, he threw a HUGE FIT!!

Friday Craig was at his conference all day so I took the kids for a drive out to Snow Canyon State Park - a place I loved to go to as a kid. I got the kids out of the car a couple times to do some short easy trails and they loved kicking around the red sand and picking up rocks.

Here is Briana petting a rock saying "cute" over and over treating it like she does her stuffed animals.

As I was looking up at the rocks, I saw two people climbing up the cliff. You can hardly make them out but they look like little specks in the middle/bottom of the picture. It gives you perspective just how massive this cliff is.

We stopped at a picnic area to have a snack and take in the scenery.

The rest of our day went something like this: lunch, naps, parks, scenic drive, pick up Craig, dinner, pool, bedtime.

Saturday we checked out of the hotel but before heading home we went to the temple to walk around the grounds. It could not have been a better day without a cloud in the sky. Brandon was not being a team player and pretty much cried the whole time we were there so that is why he is missing in most of the pictures.

Easter Day

Happy Easter!! We started our morning off with warm coffee cake from the oven with orange juice. Then we handed the kids their Easter baskets. Most of the stuff they got were things from both grandparents and each got a DVD that we bought from Target a month ago and saved them specifically for their baskets so they'd have some fun stuff to go along with easter candy. Brandon got the Madagascar DVD, two matchbox cars, and some eggs with candy. Briana got the Ratatouille DVD, disney princess cards, a fiesta food play set, and eggs with candy. They both had a blast with the fake food fixing plates for Craig and I all morning. Craig has the worst cold right now so he decided to stay home with Brandon which means that Briana and I were the only ones dressed in our Sunday best for pictures.

Egg Hunt

Our church had an Easter egg hunt this morning. We had to provide 1-2 dozen candy-filled eggs and a bag of wrapped candy to the organizer's house by Thursday. They held the egg hunt in three church member's backyards and had the kids split up by age. Briana was all about collecting eggs and candy but Brandon had other things on his mind.

Craig helped Brandon pick up some eggs and candy but it was shortlived. This is what he did for the rest of the egg hunt.

Easter Pictures

I have two Easter dresses for Briana so I thought I'd take some pictures of the kids now with one of her dresses and have her wear the other one for Sunday. I figure Sunday pictures will have some of Craig and I in them too.

1st Attempt-Tuesday: The kids were rested from their afternoon naps and had a snack so I thought I was well prepared with candy too for bribery if needed. I started with Briana first since she is easy as far as giving instructions to. I got some good ones of her. Then I tried the both of them. Once I added Brandon into the equation, things headed on a downward spiral. I would ask Brandon to give Briana a hug and he would pretty much strangle her. They both were moving so much that most of the pictures came out blurry. The candy bribe pretty much backfired on me because that was all Brandon wanted one he saw it and wouldn't sit still for anything. I got so frustrated that I called it quits knowing that I didn't get many good pictures.

Brandon is eating M&M's while Briana is checking her inventory in her hand

This would of been a cute picture if Brandon's mouth wasn't full of candy

Let go of her neck - she needs to breathe!!


2nd Attempt-Wednesday: This time I waited until after dinner. I started with Brandon and got him laughing so I got some good ones of him. Then I tried them both together again. It went much better but I was spent once it was all over.


The candy dish that they couldn't get enough of

A good picture with both of them looking at the camera - FINALLY!!

The Days of Being a Kid

I would love to go back to those days of being a kid, watching TV, playing with toys, running around the house without a care in the world. When adults need a break and just want to relax, we should all take notes from our kids because they know how to do it right. Kick back, relax, enjoy a good movie, and let all the stress from the world be forgotten for a moment.

Briana's New Purse

I was going through some storage boxes in the basement and came across a bunch of purses that I used during my pre-children days. I put a couple aside that I planned to get rid of when Briana came over picking one up by the strap and put it on her shoulder. She is such a girly-girl and felt so special to be walking around with one of mommy's purses and her favorite doll.

TV Drama

Well, it finally happened...our TV died on us yesterday. It came on in the morning but later in the day I went to turn it on and nothing. It just quit on us because there were no signs that it was struggling at all and it wasn't even that old. Craig tried everything to revive it but it was too late. This is so NOT GOOD!! So now we have a decision to make. Do we go with the BIG DADDY TV that Craig has been eyeing for awhile (52 inch LCD) along with a hefty price tag or get something smaller for now? My thought is that we should go ahead and get the TV we really want since we have to fork out money for one anyway. But my money-conscious husband who I love dearly went with the more affordable option - a 37 inch LCD TV. Once we moved the old 37 inch TV out of the entertainment center, Craig spent the next 1 1/2 hours getting the new TV set up and hooked up to all the other electronic equipment. Then the unthinkable happened. For some reason, Craig decided to plug the old TV into another outlet just to see if anything happens. What happened was that it came back to life!! Who knows why it didn't work earlier but now it's back up and running with no problems. Okay...what the crap!! Now what do we do? We have yet to come to a decision.

When they were babies...

I've been working on organizing all my digital pictures in the computer and I've realized how much I miss the baby stage when my kids were little. Not that it was always fun and games with two babies but I have to admit it was easier at times and just look at those cute faces!!

The Memoirs of Cleopatra

Since everything on TV is re-runs, I've been reading a ton lately getting books from the library. I just finished reading a book last night called “The Memoirs of Cleopatra” by Margaret George which was 957 pages and I loved it. I knew nothing about the life of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and have always been interested in the stories of Egypt and about the Egyptians. One day while reading, I read a paragraph that I had to read over a couple times and found to be very true. It made me think about my life right now and our current situation with Craig's job or lack thereof. At any time, things can be going your way and then in an instant it can be taken away whether it is due to job, family, health, whatever. How quickly it can evaporate from feeling of security and stability to stress and uncertainty. Here it is:

It is almost impossible to describe happiness, because at the time it feels entirely natural, as if all the rest of your life has been the aberration; only in retrospect does it swim into focus as the rare and precious thing it is. When it is present, it seems to be eternal, abiding forever, and there is no need to examine it or clutch it. Later, when it has evaporated, you stare in dismay at your empty palm, where only a little of the perfume lingers to prove that once it was there,

and now is flown.

5 down - 5 more to go!!

I have lost 5 pounds since the new year which is such an accomplishment for me because I usually have to be big-time motivated like a vacation with bathing suits involved to do it. I totally pigged out at Christmas and then getting back home, I had one pair of jeans that still fit. Most of my weight has come off since I gave up all sweets after Valentine's Day. That's right. No chocolate, cookies, cakes, candy, and ice cream. This has been very hard for me because I have a major sweet tooth but I was determined mainly because my husband didn't think I could do it. I also try to go to the gym at least 4 times a week which has helped my weight loss as well. I can have sweets again at Easter and I'm already planning on making sugar cookies (my favorite) to celebrate. I hope that after Easter I can go back to limiting my sweets and keep the weight off. If I can lose a couple more pounds then great. If I can lose 5 more pounds that would be awesome. It is just nice to be able to fit into all the jeans in my closet - even those that I haven't worn in a year!!