M's won again? What's going on?

I had another week-end of lonely because my honey was out of town and Tiana was busy as usual. So I decided I wasn't going to feel sorry for myself, I would do something fun on a Saturday night. Many wonderful things went through my head but here is the rundown of my actual activities.
1. K-mart for a baby present and just wandering
2. Parking lot conversation on phone with my Mom for her birthday
3. Wendy's for dinner to keep that sink shining
4. Blockbuster for some movies
5. Checked on M's and they were winning....again, had to watch
6. Got over at 10:00pm, too tired to watch movies
7. Worked on lesson for YW
8. Checked E-mails
9. Tiana got home so I could go to bed!!!!

Glad Ted is home ...again!

I love pink!

I went to a baby shower today for the Mom of a girl in my YW class at church. It's #5 for her and it made me hurt just to watch her. She is a few days overdue and is darling, just looked tired and ready to be done. Okay, but she is having a girl, and she received the cutest baby stuff ever! I am a maniac when it comes to pink anyway because Summer is due in November, but this stuff was beyond cute! I am in big trouble having one of each (boy and girl) to buy for. There goes the savings dear....

SINK

OK...here are the promised pictures. It took all night to find these on my computer, but as Delynn says, this is just helping my computer skills. Though the faucet looks gold, it is not...just some lovely afternoon sun.

The Sink

Hooray

Yipee....I have a working sink, faucet and garbage disposal!!! I am so excited. It is so nice and shiny though I simply can't cook and then have to clean the pans in my new sink. It might ruin the new sparkle and shine. (code for: Ted is gone, Tiana is out on another fabulous date, and I am going somewhere other than home for dinner!)

Cute pregnant Summer and Trevor

Trev and Summer

Cute Taylor and still no faucet...

This is a picture of my parents and Ted and I and our Nephew Taylor just after he came out of the Timpenogas Temple. He is currently at the CTM (MTC in the states)in Sao Paulo and will leave in a few months to head to his mission in Rio De Janero.
Okay....still waiting for new faucet! Still no use of the kitchen sink. Much worse news than that....Ted is leaving again for Reno this time to watch of course a Japanese player who is playing in an independant league up there. I will be taking him to the airport very early (5:45am) and then he doesn't get home until monday night! At least there won't be jet-lag involved.

If the plumber struggled...

I am glad we hired a plumber today, that's all I can say. Our previous owners used liquid nails to put in the kitchen sink and lot's of creative pipes and valves just to make our lives miserable. Luckily, our plumber persevered and
after 2 and a 1/2 hours of carefully prying and using a blow torch to melt the glue...we got the sink out with out cracking or breaking the counter top. All was going good and then we opened the box of the new sink, ahhhhh. It was cracked and chipped. Back to Home Depot for the 2nd time. Of course they didn't have that same one so we found a different one at Home Depot #3. The Plumber (his name is Brian, by now we are definately on a first name basis) and Ted eagerly drop in the new sink and ....you guessed it, it doesn't fit. The plumber said to Ted "How good are you with a saw?" Ted said "fine if I had a saw" The plumber said "I have a saw out in my truck, but I am a plumber not a carpenter" Soooo Ted had to make 2 different cuts in the counter to get the new sink to fit in. We had measured just right, sinks are pretty standard, it's just our previous home owners had kinda jerry-rigged the other one in. Now things are going along pretty smooth, disposal is all in , new pipes and valves are in and then we take out the new faucet. Our first clue that there might be trouble on the horizan was when the plumber said "oh, I have never heard of that brand before and realized we picked the most beautiful one made in CHINA! Defective...so after another couple of hours of getting it all in and not getting water out of the faucet it's back to Home Depot #4. A very much longer story short.....it has to get finished tomorrow. Oh, so I am just practicing with random pictures everyday so I don't forget how to do this! Casey in a tree back in February at the family time with Grandma Bonnie at the Mesa, Temple.

things don't only break while Ted's gone!

Okay, we learned that things in the house can break while Ted's in town!!!! This is really a new discovery. He had only been home a day, when I mentioned we had been having trouble with the disposal in the kitchen. He got under the sink to flip the switch and that didn't help. He kept nosing around down there and the whole disposal cracked and fell....and a pipe is broken. Not really the way I wanted this to happen, but I am getting a new disposal, sink and faucet!!! (the faucet was already broken) After living in a house for 25 years....everything breaks!

This is Tiana at the Book of Mormon pageant before a performance. She worked long and hard and learned a lot and hopefully loved it...she said she did.

My beautiful daughter

I am working hard on getting the pictures going, so I will start with a beautiful picture of Tiana. This is from the spring at one of the two Prom's she went to.

Casey....Papa's home!

I am so glad Ted is back. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I love having my best friend back to talk to. Sunday is always so busy and yet so peaceful and uplifting. We had the best fireside tonight for just the Young Women. We talked about "Tools for Success" in life. We used analogy's for several different tools and we had some great discussions. It was a good spirit there and I think the girls really enjoyed it too. Ted is really going to teach me the picture thing and maybe my blog will be a bit more interesting. Tiana is loving diving, though she is really sore and tired at night when she comes home from practice. She sleeps well.

Living my life vicariously......

Yes, I am living my life vicariously through Tiana!!! She has gotten to do so may fun things in her life these past few years (3 EFY's, Nanny for 10 days in Hawaii, Australia, Mexico on the beach, to name a few). Last night, I got to stay home all alone, while she went to "The Wigwam Resort" for her good friends 16th birthday. It is a beautiful and wildly expensive resort in Litchfield Park. The group is her friends family, the girl who's b-day it is and Tiana and one other girl. They had to bring a fancy dress for a "fancy" dinner last night. It wasn't going to be until 8:00pm and they would get there and be hungry @4:00, so they were ordering some room service. The best part is this....they(the 3 girls)....are getting massages, pedicures, and manicures this morning and then they are hanging out at the pool for several hours. How would it be? So fun, I really am excited for her. She is having a blast.

Heidco

Tiana brought 4 friends home for lunch today and one of the girls had never been to the house. She kept saying, "I feel like I am in freakin Costco there is so much food here". They went on and on discussing this and decided they should call our house Heidco instead of Costco. Amazing how far we have come on that name....full circle?

Memory's

Last night Ty and Ash and I stayed up until 1:30 am on a visit down memory lane. We talked about how Grandpa Church used to come home from work and read the newspaper and how when I was little I wanted his attention when he got home from work. So instead of waiting around to be noticed, I would hit the paper down and climb up on his lap for a hug. Another memory involving Grandpa came to me while we were reading a "Farm Animals" book to Casey. I suddenly remembered Grandpa's amazing ability to "Moo" better than any cow out there. Then of course when we were bowling and trying to give Tiana some tips on getting the ball down the alley straight, I found myself quoting my Dad on how to walk, bend your knees and keep your thumb straight up in the follow through. (of course that is advice for the beginner who hasn't begun to master the fancy spins and curves) Thanks for the great memory's Dad.

We have another diving girl!

Tiana came home from school yesterday and informed me that she decided she wanted to be on the dive team. She is really excited. The only other girl on the team has never been on a diving team, only a little gymnastics. They are learning together. She started today. Tiana dove on a little city team for 3 years when we first moved down here, so she has a little experience. I am happy for her. I was also excited for her fantastic job she did singing at the Stake Seminary Orientation. There were 6 girls and they sang "Joseph Smith's First Prayer". She had a solo part and had to hit a very high note that she was nervous about. She sang out with confidence and hit the high note with no problems! Proud Mama moment.
On a sadder note, I am going through withdrawls. Ty and Ash left this morning and Tiff and Derrick headed to Kanab for 5 days. Ted is still in Japan/Korea until the 20th and that leaves me with the games put away and the house staying clean and the fridge full. Boring in other words! We just had a great time and miss them already.

I love the Priesthood

I really am thankful for the Priesthood in my life. This past few weeks I have witnessed several beautiful blessings given and know they have been such a strength to the receiver. I am also thankful I was able to spend some time in the Temple with some of my kids. We did sealings and had the same sealer that officiated in Tiffini and Derricks sealing. He was so awesome and he always teaches so much. It was such a peaceful and warm feeling. I am so glad we have had such fun family time this past 3 weeks with Ty and Ashley here. Everyone has been able to spend some time here and it has been wonderful. Now Ashley gets to go 3 years straight, with no summer breaks. They'll be back for Christmas, but then they and Trev and Summer will be leaving for a long time. I hope Ted is getting lot's of Frequent Flyer miles for me!
I know this sounds really dumb, but I am thankful to be getting back on a decent schedule. We have been "burning the midnight oil" and it will be good to be getting a little more sleep. I really love summer, but it seems I am always ready for school to start when it is over. I miss the days of back-to-school shopping. I always loved getting new backpacks, shoes and supplies with the kids. Tiana and I had a little fun doing this, but she is such a good planner, I think we were ready last June. We were thankful to have Ashley here to help Tiana with her Math homework tonight. We wish she could be around every night to be the tutor. It's been along time since I have had any math, let alone this stuff.

Today was a crazy day! Tiana was in and out with all sorts of Student Council business (Freshmen orientation, putting on the dance tonight for the freshmen, and then just the Council is having a sleepover/calendaring event at the HS) Didn't see much of her....so much for having her home! Had a fun day with Ty and Ash though. We went to lunch at Olive Garden and then did a little shopping, then ran a few errands that included Costco (3 prescriptions and pictures). Contrary to Tiff and Derrick's experiences in Arizona, I quite like the place. I love waking up to blue skies and a warm pool to jump into. I like the warm hug at night when you come out of the extra cold theatre. I like having all the great memories of raising my kids here. I like knowing all the bargain places to shop (for home accesories, baby clothes, etc.). I like my house. I have finally gotten most of the house where I want it and I love walking in and seeing my cute house! I realize I am being a little random here, I am just all over the place today in my brain. School is starting Monday and I have several lunch dates already lined up. I miss my friends over the summer. I will miss Ty and Ash though, when they go home on wednesday. It's been a fun 3 weeks.

I am so excited!! I am picking up Tiana from the airport in about an hour. Tiana has been in Utah for about 10 days. She was able to go to EFY and then spend some great time with Grandma and cousins in Pleasant Grove. They all went and saw Fiddler on the Roof at an outdoor theatre and then Tiana was able to go on a double date that includes 2 temples, ice-skating, a trip to D.I for a sweatshirt and tennis shoes, a trip up the canyon behind Bountiful temple and foil dinners and smores over real live fire!!! (That's rare in AZ) I'd say that's a pretty good date! Anyway, Happy Day!

Ok...we are all still figuring this thing out. We are trying on the pictures, but I am a bit of a novice at this anyway, so the pictures might take awhile. I can't get any of my kids to quit playing long enough to teach me. Ted is also going to try to get his blog set up while he is in Japan. I will figure this thing out someday! Thanks again Devin.

Well today was a great day!! It started out with blue sky's and a quick swim in the pool with some of my favorite people. Tiffini and Casey and I headed out about 8:45am and then we were joined by Ty and Ash. We hung out almost 2 hours and just had a nice relaxing time. Then we all did some cleaning and organizing ugh! At 1:00 pm we loaded up the van and headed to see our favorite "Blockbuster" employee. (Trevor) We took him to lunch and then he let us pick out some free movies. He get's 5 movies/games a week free as a benefit. We are helping him use all his perks. While we were eating lunch Trevor got a phone call from Summer saying she got 4 tickets to the Diamondbacks game and with Trev getting 2 free as a perk for being a "player" they had enough for a triple date. So off went Derrick and Tiff, Ty and Ash and Trev and Summer to the ballgame tonight. Little did they know, I got the best night of all! A night with my little Casey boy. We had such a fun time just playing and gigling. I can hardly wait for grandbaby #2 to get here.

Hello everyone-
I am excited to start blogging! Hopefully this will help me keep a journal of sorts and help our family keep in touch. I need to figure out how to do the pictures because Trev and Summer and the new baby will be in Portland and I will NEED to see pictures. I am baking Tyler's 26th birthday cake as we speak and I am wondering where did the time go? We are feeling lucky to have him and Ashley with us on his birthday. We are having a blast having so much family here for 3 weeks. We are swimming every day, sometimes several times a day! We are playing lot's of games.....Clue, Cannasta, Crazy Rook and Scum to name a few. We are eating awful (lot's of junk food) except when we go out. Then we stuff ourselves full because it tastes so good! There has been some early morning golf, and a little shopping now and then. We have seen a few so-so movies and then it's always back to games. It's going to pretty boring around here when everyone leaves. Ted actually leaves tonight for Japan and Korea.