Taylor Swift Concert

photo from Deseret News website

This week, Sam surprised me with tickets to Taylor Swift. He was the surprised one when we got there and he was just about the only guy in the place (except for dads bringing their 8 yr old daughters!)

It was so much fun though. She really puts on a great show with dancers and a cool set and video clips, etc. She had about 16 costume changes and even came through the crowd at one point hugging everyone along the way. She is a class act.

Sam and I have been to a lot of country concerts over the years and this one was very different--no hats and wranglers, no beer flowing, and no people grinding on each other--it was all teenage girls!

It was a good night! Thanks babe!

photo from Deseret News website

We are going to Kenny Chesney/Sugarland and Trace Atkins/Toby Keith later in the summer and I'm sure we'll get the chance to really mingle with the country folk then. I'll try to remember my camera for those concerts.

Spring Photos of the Kiddies

Every year around Easter, I get my kids pictures taken by one of my favorite photographers Joanne Steveson. She is really traditional and simple and I like to use her for formal indoor photos.

I am really late in posting these but here are some of my favorites:

Our 10 Year Anniversary Trip to Kauai

Rather than bore you with a day by day travelogue of the whole trip--I give you my condensed version in the same format as our annual Christmas card.

Kauai 2009: It was the Best of Times...It Was the Worst of Times

1. I began the trip with a deep dark spray-on tan.

By the end of the trip, I had splotchy legs, albino feet and a pretty sweet “tan line” on my chest.

2. We enjoyed 7 days at the Marriott Kauai Beach Club Resort in exchange for sitting through a "90 minute" timeshare presentation.

Unbeknownst to us, 90 minutes really means 3 hours of psychological warfare.

3. We rediscovered our adventurous sides by hiking to Kipu falls where we flung ourselves into a pool of water on a rope swing.

We discovered that being adventurous increased our appetites, and we ate four square meals a day.

4. Sam and I both got lei’d in Kauai.


Unfortunately it was at church (by the Relief Society President!)

5. We took a four hour boat tour of the beautiful Na Pali coastline.




I got sea sick and spent the four hours just trying not to barf off the side of the boat.

Me in sick-town. When they pulled out the sandwiches, I had to get in the water just to avoid seeing people eat.

6. Thanks to my sis-in-law Heidi, we discovered you can get a wicked white trash apple pie a la mode at McDonald’s by ordering their fried (not baked) apple pies with an ice-cream cone on the side.

Sam rear-ended a guy in McDonald’s drive-thru on one of our trips to get this delicacy.

7. We kayaked up the Wailua river and hiked to Secret Falls.




Instead of enjoying the scenery, Sam thought we were in the Olympic time trials and made sure we passed every other kayak on the river.

8. We visited several Kauai landmarks such as Waimea Canyon, Queen’s Bath, and Spouting Horn.

We took more pleasure in visiting Kauai's eateries such as Puka Dogs, Jo Jo’s Shave Ice and Scotty’s BBQ.

9. We rekindled our romance by taking long walks on the beach at night.

We then extinguished that flame by both collapsing into our separate double beds in the hotel room.

10. For the red eye flight home, I took a Benadryl and an Ambien and slept like a baby.

I have no recollection of getting off the plane or riding home from the airport with Sam’s parents. His family is now staging a drug intervention for me.

I'm Home

Sam and I just returned from a week in Kauai. We almost didn't come home but I missed my chubby baby so much I had to return. I will post about our trip in a couple days after I get out from under the mountain of laundry.

This is not me and Sam. Basically every other couple at the resort got it on in the pool. More to come!

Jon and Kate Plus 8 Plus the Other Woman

Most of you have seen that US weekly is reporting that Jon of Jon and Kate Plus 8 is having an affair with a 23 year old woman. I know it's true because Us has photos and I believe anything written in People and Us magazines. The Star is another story. Us is always reporting that Kate may be having an affair with her bodyguard.

For those of you who don't have a clue what I'm talking about (like my husband)--Jon and Kate have a reality show on TLC. They have eight children--8 yr old twins and 4 yr old sextuplets. I don't know why this story makes me sad. I've only seen the show a few times. I prefer not to spend my tv time watching the chaos I already have at home. I prefer high society like this. But I digress. It is the same sadness I felt when I heard Nick and Jessica were breaking up. I guess I'm just so tired of seeing Hollywood couples not make it.

Apparently, Jon was going out with his friends and hitting the clubs while Kate was on tour promoting her new book and the show. It makes no sense to me. What is a married man (with 8 kids!) doing going to clubs? Obviously, he is looking for something. I have to wonder though, if they didn't have a show, if they didn't have the huge house TLC bought them, if they were just Jon and Kate living in rural PA with eight kids, would he have done this? I doubt it. I think there is a mentality in Hollywood (and I use the term "Hollywood" in a generic way because it happens anytime someone gets some fame or notoriety) that when a person becomes famous they began to feel entitled and sexy and awesome. Look at the guy? Should he be out having an affair? I don't know if Kate is having an affair or not but give me a break!

Thoughts? Are you people still going to watch the show? Set the DVR, at least we have this to look forward to:

Dear Lizzie is Dreamy

I had my ladies' luncheon at Dear Lizzie today and it did not disappoint. That store is like the cutest girl stuff ever on steroids. The walls are chocolate brown with pink and white accents and chandeliers everywhere. They also have the cutest jewelry I've ever seen. The food was so yummy. I highly recommend the mint brownie. The most fun part was that we sat around a little coffee table in these overstuffed chairs. I felt like I was having lunch with my girlfriends in someone's living room. I only wished I could have invited more friends. Thanks Mandee and Dear Lizzie!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

"All women become like their mothers.
That is their tragedy.
No man does.
That is his."

- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

Each year that goes by, I feel like I'm turning more and more into my mother. If you know my mom, you would understand why I feel like I'm bragging when I say that. My mom is beautiful, sweet, smart and completely devoted to her family. I know I'm not as beautiful and certainly not as sweet as she is but I hope that I have inherited some of her mothering abilities.

So much of the time, I feel like the good-enough mom. I don't do crafts with my kids, I don't read Parenting magazine (I can't stand it!) and I never make food into funny shapes. I rarely get down on the floor and play with my kids, I haul them to the mall too much and buy them soft pretzels to keep them happy. I yell too much.

But you know what? My mom never made crafts with us either. She dragged us to the mall and she even yelled at us now and then. But she is the best mom in the world because I knew how much she loved me. She took me shopping by myself (I have no idea where my siblings were) and bought me Girbaud jeans because they were in style and I had to have them. She let me stay home from school even when she knew I wasn't sick because I didn't have my homework done. She stayed up late helping me to make the coolest Valentines box or the most scary pumpkin for the Halloween contest. She was always coming to school in her sweaty work-out clothes to bring me my lunch or my homework that I forgot. She took me with her and her friends to see concerts like Michael Bolton and Stevie Wonder!


Remember that scene in the Ya Ya Sisterhood, where the little girl chickens out and doesn't ride in the plane when all the other kids are doing it? Then later in the day, after they have come home, the little girl decides she just has to ride in the plane. Her mom drives her back to where the plane is. She has to beg and plead and pay the pilot to take her daughter back up again. I cry everytime I watch that part of the movie because it reminds me of my mom. She constantly did stuff like that for us.

The one thing I do everyday is tell my kids that I love them and kiss and hug and snuggle them. I'm lucky--because I have three kids who all love to snuggle with me. They know I love them and really, that is all I care about.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! You taught me what really matters when it comes to being a mom. You're the best and I hope your day is perfect!

Gettin' er Done

Last summer, my kids never wanted to go outside. Maybe it had something to do with our old swing set (the only photo I have of it is a winter photo):


So I convinced Sam that we needed to buy the behemoth swingset on display at Costco. "Come on," I said, "You're good with your hands, I bet you could put that bad boy up in one weekend." He reluctantly agreed. (I won't mention the fact that he almost had to sell a kidney to pay for the thing!)

After getting the 7 huge boxes home, he laid out all of his supplies.

He even set up a work table in the backyard complete with all of his tools and the how-to dvd (yes, it comes with one!) set up on the portable dvd player. If it had been me, I would have just opened the first box and started drilling.

After working for an entire day (some of it with his dad) Sam came inside cursing the thing. He was delighted to find he had a third degree burn on the back of his neck. The next day, he soldiered on (with a dish towel hooked onto the back of his hat to cover his neck--sexy.) The goggles gave him instant street cred.

Fast forward a week. This was Ryan every day as Sam worked:

Ryan hates to be inside when anyone is outside--especially dad. Finally, the Behemoth was finished.



Look how much fun they are having:

Look how much he enjoys being outside:

Look at that smile:

I ask Sam if those faces make it all worth it. His reply "Probably not."

I Love Me Some Chicken

Remember on Seinfeld when Kramer couldn't get enough of the Kenny Rogers Roasters Chicken? That is one of my favorite episodes.

The crazy thing is, as much as I hate birds, I love me some good chicken. I have always loved KFC. I know that in saying that, I'm sort of admitting I'm trashy. The Colonel knew what he was doing when he combined those 11 herbs and spices. Don't forget the savory mashed potatoes, the warm buttery bisquits--it is all soooo good.

Growing up, we had KFC at many family gatherings. Then I started dating Sam. His entire family met at Thanksgiving Point for a party. Someone brought the KFC and I felt right at home.

Now the Colonel has really outdone himself. Have you heard about the Kentucky GRILLED chicken? It has the same 11 herbs and spices but with a lot less fat and calories. I even visited the KFC website and got the nutritional info. A breast only has 180 calories, 4 grams of fat and 35 grams of protein! Crap--I could do a commercial for this stuff.

It's your lucky day because Oprah is giving everyone a free meal (two pieces of chicken, two sides and a bisquit!) Just go to the link and print out the coupon. You can only print it out until midnight tonight but it is good through May (but not Mother's Day--the Colonel wants moms to have a decent meal that day!) Mandee, I know how you feel about KFC and you have permission to pass!

Here is the link again. Do it today. Then let me know if the new chicken is any good!