San Francisco and Lake Tahoe

Matt, his dad and brother (George and Nathan) all had union meetings in San Francisco this summer. So of course, the wives had to go along for the trip! :) I will start with a word to the wise though. 6 adults + very crowded minivan + extremely long ride = not the best time. However, we all survived, and we have some quite memorable experiences and stories. ("Is Nathan Driving?")
We were able to do something fun every night we were there. We arrived in SanFran on the 4th of July. That meant that we got to watch the fireworks over the bay. What a fun experience! Before the show we ate at a yummy seafood restaurant. I have to say that FRESH seafood is the best! We had a little time to explore before the fireworks. It was fun to go into all the shops on the wharf.
The fireworks were amazing. They actually had two of the same show going off at the same time at different spots so everyone would have a great view. They were so beautiful. It sure does put 'The Biggest Show In Idaho' to shame.
The next day Matthew and Nathan had some hazmat classes and George had a golf tournament so me, Paige and LaRae went on a city tour. I've gotta say that it was a little boring just driving around town in a bus, but we somehow got on the bus for free and it was something to do. AND lunch was provided. It was YUMMY!!! We had salad, a seafood enchilada, and homemade ice cream. Oh, and this will make you super jealous... we got to see the house were 'Full House' was filmed. I know, you are hating... :)

The Golden Gate Bridge was cool to see again. It hadn't really changed much since Matt and I saw it in 2007. It kind of feels like if you go to SanFran you HAVE to see the bridge though. There is so much history involved in it.
On Monday the boys all had meetings and once again, we somehow got on a tour for free. This one went to Muir Woods. We crossed the GGB into Salsalito and after a short drive we were suddenly in a red wood forest! It was amazing. It was such a beautiful day. Once we entered the forest it was so peaceful. It is crazy to think that as close to the city as we were that a place like that could exist. I loved it. If we ever make it back to SanFran, I hope we can make time for the woods.
That night we got invited to go on a dinner cruise. Now, I know this sounds like dinner on a cruise ship, but it is not. It was a medium sized boat and dinner was self serve buffet style. It was pretty good, but we were a little disappointed because we had such high expectations. We did get to cruise past Alcatraz and under the GGB, so that was fun. Paige even thought that it would be a good idea to walk out on the deck. Um, it was super windy, and her dress was knee lenght... Yeah, you get the picture...

The last day before we left we slept in! YAY! (Except the boys... they had meetings.) We did a little shopping around our hotel. I must say I was too scared to even walk into most of the stores because I didn't even want to see the price tags.
That night we went to a Giant's baseball game. Their stadium ROCKS! Two sides of AT&T park are surrounded by the bay. That means that the view was awesome. The union hosted a tailgate party before the game for us. It was a little windy outside, but it was still fun. Once inside the stadium we enjoyed some YUMMY garlic fries. (One of my clients told me this was a must.) The game was great. The Giants won.

Matt and me at the game

We were here while the sun was setting, so the view was always changing. No matter what time you looked out over the stadium it was such a pretty view.

The last day we were there Nathan INSISTED that we ride a cable car. I gotta tell you... It wasn't worth the $5.oo per person ONE WAY! After our wonderful ride we had to pay to ride the bus back to our hotel. Oh well. The boys were in meetings, so they didn't really get to see very much of the city, so I guess Nathan was allowed to pick one thing to do. :)

After SanFran we drove to Lake Tahoe. Matt's older brother Michael and his family live about 20 minutes outside of Tahoe, so we rented a condo and stayed to visit and play for a few days. Tahoe was so beautiful! The water was a little chilly, but it was so fun to play on a beach and lay in the sun.

Paige, Nathan, Matt and me

My cute nephews, Benjamin and Abram
A view of the lake.

We had a great vacation, but 10 days is WAY too long to be away from our little man. My mom kept him for us. I probably drove her crazy calling 5 times a day to talk to him and check on him. Her and Caitlyn made sure to send plenty of picture messages and videos so that I wouldn't have a complete meltdown. I don't want to be away from him for awhile though, that is for sure!

A few old blogs. :)

So I deleted my myspace account... FINALLY! (call me dumb, but i couldn't figure out how to do it.) These were a few of the blogs that I had posted on my page. I didn't want to loose them because I think they were funny. I might be the only one who thought they were, but I did. So here you are... a few OLD blogs from last fall. :) Enjoy.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Project: Backyard... Current mood: amused
So it occurred to me today, that maybe, just maybe, our neighbors hate us not because we are bad people, but because our backyard sucks...
Here is a quick update. Last summer I accidentally left Matt in charge of the house for a week while I was out of town... BAD IDEA!!!! Two horrible things happened... 1) He decided the dishes needed to be SUPER clean, so he used liquid dish soap in the dishwasher. Go ahead! Try it! If you happen to have a linoleum floor it will probably bubble up as a result of the overwhelming amount of suds running out of the dishwasher. To fix this, put something heavy on the floor to glue it back down. 2) He rented a back-hoe and did some 'yard work.'
By 'yard work' I mean rip out three rock retaining walls and create a 25 foot cliff. Just in case you are wondering, we have 8 neighbor kids next door so that was a scarey thing to have! I was pretty sure one of them would die prematurely by falling off the cliff. Also resulting from this yard work was a broken sprinkler pipe which in turn flooded our neighbor's basement. This lead to their insurance company filing a lawsuit against us. FUN!
Well, this weekend he rented a back-hoe yet again. I decided it would be best if I stayed indoors and didn't look out the window. This proved to be a good idea as he dropped a boulder down the hill into our other neighbors backyard. Luckily it did not bounce through their sliding doors...
We made it through the weekend without any major damage! This includes the phone line running across the yard, oh, and also relocating a utility box that we are actually not supposed to touch...
So maybe someday when we have a pretty backyard and a fence people in the neighborhood will think we are cool.

Monday, September 29, 2008
STUPID DOG!!! Current mood: aggravated
I know I'm not a doctor, but I am pretty sure that one of the twins (Copper) is bulimic.
Well the other day I mentioned to Matt that Copper was getting fat and showed that I could hardly feel his ribs. I said "It's like he's put on some winter weight, but it is summer..."
Well, every morning I feed him, and unless it is human food he usually ignores it. Then if we leave of awhile and come back, he waits until we are both busy. Last night I was washing my face and Matt was getting Parker ready for bed. And that is when it happened. He ran into the kitchen, gobbled half the bowl of dog food, and drank about 10 gallons of water. He is a binge eater!
20 minutes later... two giant piles of throw up. Don't worry that he had just been outside. He waits till he's been let back inside. I think he wants us to know about his problem so he can get help. It was back outside for him and we cleaned up the mess.
20 minutes later... we are saying our 'goodnight prayer' and he sneaks over behind the bed and another giant pile....
Well, at this point, I've had it. We move the bed to clean up the mess, and Matt notices that the pistol is now on my side. I take it out, hand it to him, and tell him to take care of Copper.... HAHAHAHA! Of course he said no, and I was kidding...
...But then I thought about it... He has violated the carpet in EVERY room of our entire house. He has caused THOUSANDS of dollars worth of damage...
Anyone want a new dog? He's potty trained!!! :)

Sunday, November 02, 2008
Spoiled Halloween Brat!!! Current mood: surprised
Let me tell you about a spoiled little Halloween brat.... I mean.... Adorable little girl....
So Matt and I were planning on going to his parent's house for Halloween, so we didn't bother with buying any candy. (Let's face it... I would have been the one eating it anyway.) But then I realized at about 4:30 on Halloween that we wouldn't be leaving our house till around 6 or 7. What if a few Trick-or-Treaters stopped by before then? What would be give them?
We discovered two packages of fruit snacks and a variety pack of individually wrapped chips (you know Doritos, Cheetos, Lays...) in our cupboards. That would work! Heck! It will even fill up their bags faster! :)
Well, some friends stopped by with their two kids and both kids were happy as clams with their bags of Cheetos. I felt pretty confident about this whole chip situation we were in... And then she came to the door...
A precious little girl and three other friends knocked and said the famous phrase. I smiled and went to deliver the goods when the following takes place.
Little girl: "I DON'T LIKE CHIPS!!!"
Me: "Oh! I'm sorry. That is all I have. Don't you like Cheetos?" And I try to give her a bag.
Little girl: "WELL, I DO, BUT I GUESS I JUST WANT CANDY!"
And with that she turned around and walked away... Maybe the fruit snacks would have gone over better. HAHA! Kids are so funny (and blunt). You have to love them! I hope she got all the candy she could ever wish for and more! :)

Tick Warning! Very important. Please read!

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings, and I have even done it
myself a couple times unintentionally but this one is real, and it's very important.

TICK WARNING!

If someone comes to your door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warm weather and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up,

DO NOT DO IT!! THIS IS A SCAM!!

They only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid.

A little late...

I know that it is late, but I still want to dedicate a post to two very important people in my life. My dad and my husband. :)

My dad is so amazing. It is kind of hard for me to think of all the things he does, and not start to get a little teary. I think that most girls think that their dads are evil while they are growing up. Up intil about my sophomore year, I sure did. But looking back, I have realized just how much he cared about me and loved me.

I can't even begin to list all of the things he has done for me, but I do want to share one thing that he did that I will forever hold in my heart. I bet he doesn't even remember it, but it meant the world to me.

I made the mistake of running track my junior year... what a joke! I wasn't very good, and I had horrible shin splints. I always felt bad about my running because my older sister was so fast and so amazing. At one of our meets in Kemmerer I was forced into running the 2 mile. Are you kidding me? My legs hurt so bad. I knew there was no chance of getting anywhere close to even a decent time.

Well, I was running my race. I was in so much pain. I think a couple of people had even lapped me. I felt horrible. Not even my teammates or coaches were cheering me on. As I ran past the bleachers about the fifth time I heard, "Come on Melanie! You are doing great! Keep Going!" It was my dad. He made it to the meet in the middle of my race. When no one else was there to care, he came. I almost stopped running and turned around to look at him. After that I knew I could finish.

Even now when I am running up the last hill before I get to my house, I think of my dad cheering me on.

He is still like that today. He is there when we need him the most. He is an amazing guy. I am so thankful for my dad. I love him so very, VERY much. :)

P.S. My dad is also the best grandpa in the world. (He had an amazing trainer... his dad, of course!) I just wanted to clear that up in case anyone else thought their dad was the best grandpa...

And for my next victim... My husband, Matthew, is the best! He is such an amazing man. I am so lucky to be married to him. He is such a great father. Parker loves him so much. We are truly blessed to have such an awesome man in our lives. I never have to worry when I leave the two of them together. My house might look like it has exploded when I get home, but Parker is still in one piece and he is safe and happy. :)

I always catch Matt peaking on on Parker while he is sleeping. He just stands there staring and smiling. My favorite thing is when Matt puts him to bed and I go in to check on them and they are both asleep in the rocking chair snuggling. It is just so precious.

I love my little family so much! I am so lucky to have such an amazing hubby. He is the best! :D

Busy, busy, busy!

This last couple of weeks have been crazy. I guess that I will just start things in the order that they happened. Leslie had her little man, Tucker Jackson Howe, on May 23. :) I got up early the next morning and headed down to visit. The second I got on the interstate I began having problems. The brakes on the Trailblazer have been locking up and as it turns out, that is a BAD thing to have happen while the car is in drive with your foot on the gas. I had to take the first exit and turn around. Luckily Matt got it fixed (I love my honey! He is so good with cars, and if he doesn't know how to fix it he learns.) and I was able to make it down for a quick visit a few days later. Tucker is so cute and seems so tiny! It is hard to believe that my little man was that small just one year ago. Here are a few pics.

My mom bought them matching outfits, but neither of them were feeling too photogenic.

Good thing Tucker had on his shades... Mommy tried to burn the house down! :)

Can you believe the difference a year makes?

While up in Boise we received news that my grandpa had passed away. I was so, so sad. But I know that it is a blessing because he was suffering so much. He has been in a nursing home for the past few months. I know that he missed Grandma so much and he is happy to finally be home.

Saturday the 30th was PURE CRAZINESS!

My sister-in-law Carrie and I decided to compete in a triathlon up in Rigby, Idaho. (Would you believe we BOTH forgot our cameras?) I had so much fun! We started out in the Lake for about a 1/2 mile swim. I have to say that it is extremely disorienting to swim and not see be able to see what is up ahead or lane lines when you look down. For this reason it took me quite awhile to be brave enough to put my head in the water. I finally did though, and once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad. Next was our 13 mile bike ride! I must say that the special padded bike shorts were well worth the $30 investment... We finished off with a 3.1 mile run. I know that doing all of this back-to-back sounds crazy, but it was a blast! I am looking forward to doing more, hopefully this summer. :) My ultimate goal (I know it wasn't a lofty one) was to finish in under 2 hours. I beat it! I clocked in at 1:48.37. Wow!

After our triathlon we had to hurry home to get ready for Kobe's baptism, Conner's baby blessing, and Heidi and Zach's wedding... We both made it on time and were all cleaned up and presentable. (I don't think anyone would have been impressed if we would have shown up smelling 'lake-fresh' with our numbers pinned on us and written on our arms and legs.) It was a very touching day. Anthony baptised Kobe and Tyler and Matthew both gave talks. What a special day for Kobe. Heidi and Zach both looked very nice. The advice their bishop gave them was amazing and their vows were beautiful.

After all of this we all headed out to George and LaRae's house for a BBQ. The food was yummy and the weather even cooperated. The storm passed us by and we were all able to stay outside and enjoy the day.

It was also Parker's 1st birthday!!! By the time we got to his cake he was pretty tired, so he didn't go to crazy with it, but he was still really cute. I cannot believe that my baby is already 1! This year has been amazing and it has goon by so fast. I love being a mommy. I love my family so much. Matt and I have been blessed with the most beautiful little baby. We really do have it all. Just in case you can't tell, his little cake was a puppy... it was made out of two cupcakes and 15 pounds of frosting. :)
Sunday morning Matt and I headed to Washington for Grandpa's funeral on Monday. It was a very long drive, but Parker really was such a good little boy. Grandpa's funeral was so good. Uncle Scott gave the life sketch and Uncle Tom and Kelly gave talks. It was so nice to learn things about my Grandpa and to hear some stories that I had forgotten about. A few members of the Navy were waiting at the cemetery when we arrived. The service they performed was amazing. My aunt Chandra was right. It felt sacred. These three men had never even met Grandpa, and yet they had so much respect and love for our family. It is something that I will never forget.
While in Washington, Parker came down with a HORRIBLE case of the stomach flu. My poor little man was so sick. I am so thankful for my parents. They were staying in the room next door to us. They came right over when I called them at 3 in the morning and my dad helped Matt give Parker a blessing. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I love you. It took about a week, but Parker finally started feeling better and he is good-as-new.

Well, I guess that is about it. Life is crazy, but what's new?

My Sweet Grandpa Jackson

Grandpa passed away early this morning. In a sense I am so very sad, but I also have been crying tears of joy. Grandma left almost seven years ago, and I know he has missed her so very much. He has been wanting to go home for a long time. These last few months he has not been doing well and I have been so sad to think of him suffering. My last memories of him were last August when I went to visit him with my family. I didn't want to go because it was such a long drive with my baby. I am so glad that I did. Grandpa was so cute with Parker. He loved him so much. He kept asking to hold him and told me what a good job making him I had done. I am so thankful for the man that he was and for the boy he has raised to be my father. I love you, Grandpa J. Thank you for all the mule rides to the 'Grand Canyon' and for all of the stories and laughter you shared with us. Thank you for letting us destroy your garden so we could make a roadside 'Grandpa's Garden' stand. Thank you for the millions of toot-sie rolls you pulled out of our ears. Thank you for all the memories you left for us to cherish. Love, Sally :)

Goodbye to a Horrible Week!

Well, I really am glad to see the end of this week...
Monday - Our GrandAm dashboard went out. Apparently Nathan's Explorer sent a back charge when Matthew jump started it for him.
Tuesday - A visit from Mother Nature.... I guess it is better than the alternative though.
Wednesday - No comment!!!
Thursday - BeefCake (a.k.a. our walking food storage) ran away. We did locate him and his brother Dinna at about 9p.m. It was too dark to catch them.... They are black.
Friday - Went to catch BeefCake and he ran onto the Fort Hall Indian Reservation's sacred burial grounds. We can go there if we don't mind being arrested.... The Fish and Game talked to the Tribal committee and on Monday we can PURCHASE a permit, and with their assistance we can go try to locate BeefCake and Dinna. If and when we catch them they are going straight to the auction and finding a new home. Hopefully we will be able to find another suitable 'food storage' that will stay in It's pasture. Also, our Trailblazer decided to have issues.... So far the tally is up to $300+ and they still don't know what is going on.
Did I mention we have been paying our tithing? Good thing! I hate to think of what would happen if we weren't!
Yeah, I'm glad this week is over!