The Toaster

As I mentioned before, Rob and I decided to buy another vehicle. We always thought the Honda Element was UGLY! So ugly. But we just happened to start looking into them. After test driving it we loved it! We really wanted an orange or green one but only black was offered in our price range. They don't seem so ugly anymore. And I can tell you after a summer full of camping trips and long drives in the canyon, we LOVE this car. It fits everything we ever need, including the kitchen sink! I think we are going to be very happy with this purchase.

Old Honda

Rob and I decided we needed a second car. While looking for a car to buy we saw this old Honda in the showroom at a dealership. Rob laughed because he said his dad drove one just like this one when he was younger. I think that color is horrible. How funny the dealership would put that on display in their show room. It's crazy how old things can be so entertaining. While Rob and I were in Louisiana we loved going to the antique shops. They have way better antiques there than can be found in Utah! I remember being floored by the prices listed in a JCPenny catalog one of the shops had. Now I don't know why someone would want to buy the catalog but it was crazy to see all the things they had in the catalog and the prices listed. I am sure those prices seemed so expensive when the catalog was brand new.

Family Summer Visit

My brother Randy and his family came to visit this summer. We always love to see them! He has the cutest little girls. They are definitely independent. My mother says I have been independent since I was 2. I guess it's just in the family. We had fun jumping on the trampoline, playing spooky ghost games, listening to all their stories, watching cartoons, reading bedtime stories to them, and much, much more! They are so much fun! We also love playing with our other nieces and nephews. They are so silly. It makes you appreciate family that much more.

As you can see, the grandchildren really look up to their grandpa. If Rob and I ever have kids, I hope they look up to my parents like I did growing up. They are full of knowledge. I am still constantly asking them for advice and knowledge on all sorts of topics. Aren't parents great!

One Of The Many Things I Learned From Steven...

I was training to run the 5K on July 4th in Layton city. My brother Steven was showing me good stretches to do before the run. He is pretty much the only runner I know. My parents and I used to go to all his races when he was in high school. I can learn a lot from my siblings!

Michael Jackson

A radio announcer yesterday said that everyone will remember where they were when they heard Michael Jackson died. The co-announcer said, "Well ya, it was yesterday." It was only a couple of days ago but I do think I will always remember where I was when Rob told me Michael Jackson had died. He is a legend. For better or worse the whole world know who he is. I told Rob I would be interested in knowing how long it took at least one person in every city to know Michael Jackson was dead. I say about a half hour or less. With the internet news travels fast! I didn't really know who Michael Jackson was until I met Rob. I am sure I heard his music but I have never been very good with identifying people with the movies they are in or the songs they sing. I'm getting better. Michael Jackson had some really good music. He also had some really weird music. But there are a few songs Rob and I still dance to when having a romantic dinner together. I admit he really struggled personally and I feel bad for him that he could really figure things out. I think most people would agree that he needed to NOT have any plastic surgery. He looked WAY better black then white. They talked a lot on the TV about how much he was in debt. How does someone get millions of dollars in debt? Seriously? Maybe people didn't look at his credit when giving him a loan or something. They just said, "Oh you are Michael Jackson. Here is a million dollars. Pay me back when you can." That just boggles my mind. But despite all his struggles he produced some good music. My children will know his music. And just think, he will now be able to know the truth and maybe finally be able to figure things out once and for all. Thanks for the music Michael Jackson!

No Doubt - Paramore Concert!

Rob and I had the chance to go to a No Doubt - Paramore concert. They played at the ECenter which, in my opion, is a great venue. We also like going to concerts at the Usana Ampa Theater. When we got to the concert I was completely surprised. Our seats were right next to one of my high school friends who I haven't talked to since I graduated. I guess we really needed to get back in touch. It was great to see her. The concert actually had three bands play. The first band was called "The Sound". Rob and I had never heard of them before. They had a pretty good sound but almost every other word was the "F" word so it cheapened their music. Isn't that sad that bands don't have enough imagination to come up with lyrics without a bunch of "F" words? I mean, come on! That was the only lame part of the whole night.

The next band to play was Paramore. For all you Twilight fans out there you know who Paramore is. For those who aren't as addicted to Twilight as I am they are a new band. I'm actually not sure how "new" they are, but I think they really made their break by playing in the Twilight movie. They were very entertaining. I know we would go to a concert if they were the main band playing. They were that good! And I have to admit, I am jealous of Hayley's (main singer chick) hair! I would love to have the guts to dye my hair bright red. Who knows, maybe someday. I'm not sure I could pull it off though. But I think she looks great with red hair. If you get the chance to see Paramore in concert I would highly recommend them. Sometimes Rob and I wonder if we should go to a concert because we really like the music but are afraid of what kind of crowd it would bring. This crowd was good so we were happy about that.

The main and last band to play was No Doubt. No Doubt has been around for a very long time but I didn't really know anything about them until I met Rob. He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES No Doubt. They were awesome! Between Paramore and No Doubt I didn't have much of a voice the next day. Gwen (main singer chick) is also very entertaining. She even had a little girl come up on stage with her. Hugged her, took pictures with her, and probably made that little girls year! She also brought her 2 year old son up on stage and had us sing Happy Birthday to him. At first he had sound proof head phones on and when Gwen took them off so he could hear us singing I think it was too loud for him because he wanted her to put them right back on. He is super cute. And man, Gwen doesn't look like she has any kids. She is in great shape. The only really strange part was the drummer. He was freakin' me out. For the last few songs he came out in a tutu. That's right a pink tutu. I have heard it takes a REAL man to wear pink but that is taking it the extreme! Rob and I try to be open minded but that was just a little too weird for me. Overall the concert was excellent and we will definately go again if we have the chance!

Thinking Things Though

Today on the way to work Rob and I saw a car with a "Y" on it for the BYU college. After taking a second look at the sticker we had to laugh because they had positioned the sticker right on top of one of their rear brake lights. So when the car brakes, red lights come through their blue colored school. I'm not sure they really thought that through before they put the sticker on. Kind of funny though!

Books On CD

For the longest time I always felt bad when people would talk about all the books they were reading and I could never join in the conversation. I just never had time to sit down and read a book. My life is too crazy busy for that. So I slowly started to listen to the books on CD. And I absolutely love it! Now I finally feel like I can join in the conversation. The other thing is sometimes I get great ideas from the books. Rob has been having some trouble with his 11 year old boy primary class. Well I recently listened to a book where it talked about going into the classroom with a bag full of licorice. Once the kids have settled down enough you tell them that you would like to teach them a lesson but if they start to talk and you get board because you can't teach them the lesson then you will start to eat the licorice. If they listen and participate in the class then you won't get board and eat all the licorice and then there will be enough left at the end of class for everyone. But if they talk a ton then you continue to each the licorice and there probably won't be enough left for everyone at the end of class. Rob hasn't tried it yet but I will let you know how it goes. Some of the books I get are a little crazy and some are very interesting. It is kind of just the luck of the draw right now. I learned a ton more about he Spanish Influenza in one book. Well anyway, I would have to say I am a big fan of books on CD.

The Mom Song

I'm not sure where Rob got this but I think it is super funny!

Maggie

This is the newest member of our family. Rob and I made the fatal mistake of going into PetSmart on Saturday. We saw Maggie and obviously couldn't leave without her. We rescued her from the Animal Humane Society or something like that. She has adjusted quickly to our little family. However, we are used to a lazy dog (Cody) and Maggie is nothing but lazy. I think we just bought our form of exercise for this year. But we love her! Cody really liked her in the store but once we got her home he wasn't sure he wanted to share his mommy and daddy with any other doggie. But as you can see they are also adjusting to each other. This little family teaches us patients which I know will come in handy when we finally start having kids.