I Wish . . .

I found lame things more fun!

Here's the story . . . tonight my friend Brenda wanted us to go to the Lehi City Horse Parade (if you have a horse, you can be in a parade). It was an experiment because we didn't know how lame/exciting it would turn out to be. So she went early and saved a spot and when we were half way there we realized we forgot our chairs and turned around. After that we'd missed the parade where Brenda was but she went on and on about how cute it was and that it was definitely a must-do annual event and so on. So, we hurried to the end of the parade route so we could still see it. We were honestly running.

Turns out it was Laame! The best part was when the horses would poop and all the kids would go crazy. Of course the girls loved it so it was worth it in the end.

This is why I LOVE Brenda! Brenda finds so much enjoyment out of the smallest things! She really loves life and all its little moments.

So, I was thinking how much more great would life be if I found lame things more fun . . .

(And just because a picture is always more fun. This is one of my favorites of Addison when she was just little older than Ollie.)

Notes for Today: Girls played in pool for the 3rd day this week for 2 hours. $25 . . . well spent! Addison calls it her big 20 inch pool (no concept of measurement).

Addison and I finished Harry Potter 2: The Chamber of Secrets and started 3 tonight. She loves these books!

Dreams Really Do Come True . . .

Ansen has heard from a reliable source that there will be an . . . .

on the corner of State and University in the University Mall parking lot where Joe's Crab Shack was. Life has never been so good!

(While we've been waiting for this moment, we're sad because

now it's going to loose its special-ness. Oh, and we wanted to be the franchise owners. )

Ansen and Addison were reading a newspaper article about a bald eagle that got bonic beak. Ansen was explaining that bald eagles were becoming extinct.

Well, what about the hairy eagles? Are they extinct?
-Addison, age 5

Welcome Back Stupid!

I turned 28 on April 30, so Happy Birthday to me 2 months late! I've decided that the avenue I'm going to take for the next year of my life is free-spirited (which sometimes can be translated into stupidity). Yes, that's right. I'm starting to wonder what happened to the young, spirited, fun person. Oh, wait I know what happened - a house payment, life insurance, retirement, kids, church callings, work, etc.

I think I've turned into a lethal combination . . . an adult AND an accountant.

So my goal for this year . . . Although I am going to be responsible for the physical, emotional and spiritual well being of me and my children and I will not give reason for Ansen to worry sick about me (I had/have some time issues-that may be a later blog) and of course I'll still maintain my stringent budget, I am going to go back to what I really think is me . . .

Free Spirit, Wacky, Spontaneous, Giggly Loud Me!

I'm hoping this won't be too hard since I still do stupid stuff all the time, I'm just going to make sure I keep laughing at myself.

So, welcome back Stupid!

Why do I even try?

Last time Ansen was out of town, I made Pasta-Roni and veggies. Addison and Olivia LOVED it. Addison raved and raved about how that was the best meal I've ever made and can I PLEASE make it for Daddy (ummm, he's had it. That's all we ate through all 5 years of college). I whipped up a gourmet box of Pasta-Roni again this week with some vegetables and Addison was so thrilled. Ansen got home late and when he started eating his plate Olivia got up and ended up eating his whole dinner too.

Tonight I made manicotti, salad, vegetables and french bread. Could I get anyone to eat a bite? That would be no. Addison suggested that if I made better meals like the pasta then she'd eat it all. Great idea. I think Pasta-Roni comes in about 10 different flavors so that should work great.

Thank you Victoria!

I've needed a new bra for probably about a year now, but I've always despised bra shopping and that was even before I had lovely little Olivia. Olivia really takes the fun out of any shopping experience and I find myself being the mom who you hear begging and bribingtheir child to please shut the door and please stop crawling under the stall, etc. Anyway, I'm just putting this out there for anyone who needs this little FYI.

I got a $10 off coupon in the mail to Victoria's Secrets. I've never really shopped there because I really feel like you're paying $20 for the bra and $20 for the little pink bag and tissue paper that says Victoria's Secret. I am now singing a different tune. They have this magical thing called the bra box. They give you every bra they make in your size in a box. You go into the dressing room once, try them all on and make your selection. If you're interested you can get opinions and advice from the sales associate assigned to dressing room duty. Once you make your selection, the sales associate writes it down and then walks you out to where your bra of choice is, and shows you the drawer of your size in the many colors available.

I think at this phase in life, I'm am happy to pay $20 for the quick, effortless shopping experience and $15 (with my coupon) for the bra. And as an extra bonus, I LOVE my new bra. So, thank you Victoria from the mother of Olivia Hatch (the shopping disaster). Now if they could figure out the nursing bra . . . Oh and someone please let me know if I can get the same shopping experience for less.

Graduation for Addie!

Before I start . . . In the previous post I meant to call it Grave-sighting rather than Grave-siding. Ansen said I probably looked like an idiot to most people, but that's what my family calls it . . . plus he pointed this out 5 days after I made the post as if there was anything I could do about looking like an idiot at that point. Anyway, moving on . . .

Pre-School Graduation! Addison graduated from a whole year of pre-school. She loved it and I think it accomplished my goal for it . . . socialization and taking instruction from someone other than me. She had her own speaking part . . . "We have had some much fun at pre-school this year. We'd like to tell our parents thanks for sending us" and she blew a big two-handed kiss.

We were so proud that she felt no obligation to make a big farting noise in the micro-phone, she kept her mouth at a good 2 inch distance rather than sucking on the micro-phone as she spoke and she gave her big cheeser smile like we practiced.

Gravesighting . . .

Memorial Day . . . . hmmmm. We go gravesighting every year on Sunday (as to not ruin the real holiday). It's like sight seeing, only you're just looking at graves. We've done it forever. We used to come to Utah on vacation and go gravesighting with my Grandma Watkins. Ryan and I would try to pretend we magically fell asleep at every stop, but it never worked. Ryan says that the best thing about living in Ohio is that he doesn't know anyone in the ground. We always have a review of family heritage and history and then there's a quiz to follow.

Anyway, this year the dutiful daughter (me) and dutiful son (Jeffrey) went. Ansen volunteered to stay home with the sleeping Olivia (plus is was the Indi 500). We gave Addison the choice to stay home with Ansen and take a nap or come with me and Banna for a little drive and a picnic at the park (oh, I mean a long, long drive, looking at gravestones, listening to family genealogy/history and then eventually a small picnic in the trunk of the car in the middle of a graveyard while it started to rain). She unsuspectingly picked the latter.

We always only see the Watkins side (dad's side) and so this year my mom strongly requested to see the Sharp side which is a little bit longer drive to Vernon and St. John. As usual we found some fun. We made up a new game where you scream out the window at animals hoping to scare them as we drive by (we had lots of success) and then laugh. It evolved from Jeff and I being car sick and needing the windows down into quite the entertainment. We also learned some new words from the local we got directions from . . . Take a horse-shoe (U-turn), and a Dog leg (just a turn).

Here's some pictures, mostly for my extended family in case they're interested. We went to both the houses that my Grandma and Grandpa Sharp grew up in. Someone still lives in my Grandpa's and my Grandma's they've built a new house in front of it that a distant family member still lives in.

Grandpa Sharp's House-Vernon

Grandma Sharp's House-St. John

This is the Ajax grave sight in St. John. It's actually Grandpa's family, but was buried by Grandma's house. She said that growing up they always wondered who this sad Ajax guy was with no family. Then she married into the family of him. It's the Ajax that owned the store that eventually burned down.

Here's what Jeff and I thought was creepy. In the St. John cemetery there are mounds of dirt where the casket was buried. We're used to the flat, grass park-like cemeteries, so we found this cemetery "interesting."