I finished my MBA

after my last class last night. Yippee, time to celebrate. I wish I could say I'm enjoying the day after but I'm really tired and my mind is already racing ahead of other things I need to get busy on like applying to BYU and studying for the GRE. I have @ a three week break before I start my marketing classes.

Herb Garden

I planted my herb garden on Saturday. I planted some mint, parsley, basil, thyme, and rosemary. I couldn't find any cilantro. I went down to Home Depot to see what I could put on it for the bugs because they have been eating the veggie planter and the guy sold me some powder stuff to sprinkle on. I went over on Sunday and by the evening the mint had fallen over from the heat. I watered everything and hopefully it revived itself. I am going over again today. Wow, probably cheaper just to buy the herbs at the store. I found most of them at the Sunflower Market and they aren't even that expensive. Oh well, see how it goes. I like Barbara's comment of bringing them in in a pot during the winter. I'll have to see. I have a hard time with plants in the house. I equate plants with bugs and don't want any inside. I know its crazy but its a mental thing and I just see bugs when I see plants.

Ty left for Colorado

on Saturday for a week. We are going to miss him.

And one of me!

BBQ and Pioneer Day

We decided to cook hotdogs and smores Friday night. I was off from work for Pioneer Day (state holiday) and we had worked in the yard all day. It was a lot of fun and I can't remember the last time I have done it. It took a while to get a fire started. Michael soaked some of the wood in gasoline because he was struggling. I guess it is true what they say about your memory being the first thing to go. Those boy scout years are a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away. Actually, I think I'm the one who finally got it going. Of course he did a better job at cooking his hotdog. I didn't cook mine long enough. It was still good though.

Penney's took down

a display bed and made it available for employee's to purchase at 80% off. Michael hopped right on it for me which was a good thing as there were a lot wishing they could have gotten it. Michael even came over and put it together. The only negative is we thought it was a queen and it is only a full so we have to fudge a little with my mattress.It has made such a difference in my room. Thanks Michael!

Mutti called me

at 9:00 p.m. last night to come over and see what had been done on the yard. We have been working hard for a few weeks trying to complete the back yard and making some good progress. I am off on Friday for Pioneer Day and hoping we can get most of it completed. All the planter boxes have been built. I am taking one to plant some herbs. I want to plant mint, chives, parsley, basil, cilantro, rosemary. We will see how long I can keep the plants alive. I'm not very good because it simply takes too much time.

Happy Birthday Tyler, 18

Tyler turned 18 on July 17th. We all celebrated as a family at Ruby River on Friday and then again on Sunday for our usual family celebration. Spoiled kid received gifts on both days. I have finally learned that if I buy a golf polo shirt for him he will wear it. Finally something besides t-shirts.

Tyler started a blog

called "Ballroom Blitz." He got a new camera for his birthday from grandma and Onkel Michael. His birthday is Saturday. I was going to let him go to Korea with Taekwondo for his birthday but the trip fell through. We are now going down to Cedar City next month for the Shakespearean Festival and to take a tour of Southern Utah University, where Tyler wants to go to school. I can't believe he will be 18. He is such a great young man. He was asked by a girl he knows to go to Harry Potter midnight show last night. I heard him come in during the night. Hopefully he had fun. Can't wait to see the film.
Check out his blog at http://tyler-ballroomblitz.blogspot.com/
He has done a great job on it.

Walking 12 Miles

Yes, you read correctly - 12! We are trying to get ready for the 1/2 marathon on August 8th, which we still need to register for. Last night was our first big walk. Neither of us really wanted to do it but knew we had to. I was ready to turn around at mile 2 and at Bridal Veil but just kept going. It felt like we would never make it back to the car. Surprisingly neither of us was really sore today. I think it helped that we stretched after walking. It probably would have helped had we done before walking. We were both totally exhausted.
I went home (@ 10:00 p.m.) and just sat in front of the T.V. Tyler was watching Bizarre Foods. I mentioned to him that I was going grocery shopping on Thursday as I hadn't had time this week to go. He informed me we had nothing to snack on so I asked if he was hungry. I had cooked dinner before walking. I started going through a list of things he could have and he kept saying no. I mentioned an omelet and he said no and I just sighed with relief because I didn't want to get up and cook it. My relief was short lived because two seconds later he changed his mind.
At least it wasn't as bad as for Linda. When she got home her husband reminded her that she was taking her mother-in-law to the airport at 4:00 a.m. I think I would have cried.

3000 for Samantha

The sound is awful and you can tell how loud it was. Sorry, it was from my camera. Wishing you could have been there.

More Stadium Pics

After Show
SheDaisy

Fireworks

Jonas Brothers

Fireworks

Stadium of Fire

The "Y"

Tyler and I went to Stadium of Fire Saturday night. I was planning on taking Samantha because the headline act was the Jonas Brothers. It is too bad they moved because she would have loved it. Traffic was of course crazy but we had a parking pass for across the street. They had all the roads around the stadium blocked off so it took us 1/2 hour to go one block before we could turn in. Our seats were on the west end in section C. Where you walk in from the south end to C was packed with young girls hoping to catch a glimps of the Jonas Brothers so we walked around to the west entrance.

Makoaa was the major sponsor and someone didn't do a great job negotiating their contract. They were passing out juice samples which BYU was confiscating because you can't bring in any outside food or beverages.
The stadium went crazy for Jonas Brothers. Girls were screaming histarically. They was a girl down from us @ 20 who was with her boyfriend going nuts. So funny. We didn't know any of the songs but from what I can remember they played Paranoid, Love Bug, and 3,000 (for Samantha).

Afterwards we went to the aftershow which is basically a room with food. They had a freezer of ice cream bars (Twix, Snicker, Dove). Unfortunately it was late and I was tired and I only ate one. I wanted to eat them all.

More Parade Pictures

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July 4th - Grand Parade

American Fork High School - they are an amazing band and so disciplined.

We decided to go watch the parade on Saturday but we sat upstairs where it was air conditioned and away from the crowds. Parents were ignoring their kids who were playing in the street and acting up. Once kid ran in front of one of the trucks in the parade. The parents just ignored him. One of the parade riders on the truck had to step down to make sure nobody else ran in front of the them. These were not small trucks. They also threw candy on the side and of course the kids went nuts fighting over it but that was nothing to the free t-shirts. The kids swarmed them and were just taking them and once again the parents sat on the side doing nothing. We saw a group of kids fighting over one shirt and deciding on rock, paper, scizzors to determine the winner. It was a plain, ugly t-shirt. We were glad to have the peace and quiet of our windowed room.

Movie & Dinner

David wanted to go see Transformers Friday night, which I was not really excited to see. I had heard it was not that great and I can't stand Megan Fox. I think she has a cheap look to her, like Pamela Anderson. So I talked him in to seeing the Proposal instead. Michael and Mutti went with us. Afterwards we walked by Red Robin and were debating on going in. Michael and David had not eaten yet but Grandma and I had. We decided to just go home and went outdoors and Mutti saw the outside fire pit at Red Robin so we turned around and went back. Of course I ate anyway and when I got home was sick all night. It was fun though and worth it. We enjoyed sitting outside.

Getting ready for the Parade

This is Provo. It is 3:05 p.m. and crowds were informed by Provo City they could begin reserving a parade spot at 3:00 p.m. As you can see it goes fast. This is really a case of if you snooze you lose and many will be sleeping out overnight. They anticipate every year crowds of 250,000 to watch the parade. Insane!

Disneyland Fireworks

I stole this from a friends blog - thanks Stephen! Our tickets came the other day for our trip in October. I'm sad Samantha can't come with us because she would love the new fireworks with Tinkerbell. We are staying at the Castle Inn this year and looks like a lot of fun, not that we spend much time at the hotel. We of course have our usual reservation for the character breakfast on Main Street, the Blue Bayou where we always get the Monte Cristo and a mint julip, and Ariel's Grotto. Michael was watching Samantha Brown and her favorite place is the Napa Rose at Grand California.

Food

I purchased some fresh pineapple last week and got a recipe off FoodNetwork, Tyler Florence, for grilling and thought I would grill that and some steak. We also roasted corn in the oven (also Tyler Florence although I didn't make the dressing). I love roasting potatoes and vegetables. So easy especially the corn. I decided to do it on Saturday and invited the family over. It turned out so yummy. Even the steak was great. I think I am turning out to be a good cook. I love my new stove grill although a pain to clean. The sugar, butter and spices of course bubbled up and turned black. Would have made a great sauce so maybe next time I will grill the pineapple and just cook the spices in a pan and pour it on top. One day when I have time - ha,ha - I want to try baking. I can never get anything to come out of the pan, and yes I grease and flour it. That's the first thing everyone says but seriously, I cannot get cakes out of the pan. I think it is an altitude problem. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

I am trying to eat more fruits and vegetables so am making a salad every day at work. Some days it is not satisfying and I would love a hamburger and fries but I am hoping to have more energy and feel better. Of course losing weight is always a bonus. So I went to the Sunflower market on state street and love it! If you live in Utah County you should give it a try. They have the nicest produce I have seen and some really great deals. I was able to get raspberries for my salad for $.88. They also have a large variety of organic produce if that is something you are interested in. Outside they have a lot of potted herbs. When my mom gets all the garden boxes filled I want to plant an herb garden.

Rural Housing Development Corp

RHDC sent me a couple of newsletters in which they mentioned me. I really believe in their program and the Executive Director does a great job. Everyone I know has a home but if you know of anyone tired of renting or looking for a home please share with them the information. It is a self-help program which requires a minimum of 35 hours of labor per week but they do such a great and they are really nice homes. You can check them out at http://www.rhdchome.com.