Tonight was my niece Tricia's wedding reception. It was so much fun to visit with my family and hang out. We had a wonderful evening! (...and I am getting tired of reminding everyone that mom likes ME best...and dad came up just to see ME...because he likes me best too!)

My shady garden

Our new yard doesn't have a garden spot and I didn't know what to do with the empty flower bed that is under our deck, so in May I decided that I would love to have some squash and tomatoes. JT said that it was futile since the area is shaded for most of the day, but I didn't let that squash (he he he) my enthusiasm. We have been getting a few zuchinni and yellow squash, and even a few of the early girl tomatoes. So for future information...a garden likes sun, but it is not COMPLETELY necessary! :)


JT was the most excited about planting some beefsteak tomatoes and we finally picked our first one today! Unfortunately it was not much bigger than a cherry tomato!

And top off the day with BBQ squash...YUM!

Full of Hot Air...the balloon...not me!

I just have to say that I love being at the school with Bri. They had an assembly for the kids and I took a few minutes to stop by and see what they were doing. (And luckily I keep my camera in my purse!) A paraplegic ballonist came by. He told the kids about how nothing should ever stop them from living their dreams. He was working on getting his balloon pilot license when he was in an auto accident and broke his spine. He went forward anyway and was able to have his balloon reworked so that he could sit on a seat rather than inside a basket. He was truely amazing! They got to see him set up and inflate his balloon. The only unfortunate part was that while blowing it up the flame got too close to the fabric and burned a hole into it, so he could not raise it up off of the ground. But it was still fun for the kids to be able to see the balloon up close!

Its a small world...

After work today Bri and I stopped to talk to her teacher in the hallway. I mentioned to him that he has the same name as my brother-in-law, but that I didn't even realize it until JT mentioned it...I guess I am pretty slow. So we got talking about family relationships and he asked me where I grew up and my maiden name. He said "I had a great aunt from Provo with the same last name, her name was Donna"..."MY MOM'S name was Donna"..."What are your mom's brothers names...Paul is my grandpa!" So, he is my cousin Susan's son, and we both remembered being at the same family reunions together...(Remember when my mom broke her cheekbone and was all bruised up. She wouldn't look at the camera so in all the pictures of her she has her head turned to the side!) When I told him I was named after my grandmother, his great-grandmother, he said that hadn't registered to him!


So (funny, ha, ha), Bri's teacher is her second cousin! I came home and pulled out grandma Durrant's pictures and showed her what he looked like as a little boy, she thought that was great! (He is the 4-year-old in the blue shirt).

A drive by visit!

Dad and Elaine came to visit last Friday. It was after I got off work and I was on my way to Marf's house so I could be there when they came. Marf called and said they were there, I got there five minutes later and they left literally ten minutes after I got there. I always love to see them and visit, but seem to get a better visit when I go to them because then they don't fret about getting stuck in traffic getting back home.

Dad also teased that he was never going to come back up to see us again because he hates driving through Salt Lake, and it didn't matter anyway because he is so old he probably won't be around too long anyway. We proceeded to tease him that he was going to die tomorrow just because he said that...lucky for us he is still around! He is a great dad and I love that he takes time to come and see us, even when he is uncomfortable with the driving.

Lizzy had her cute Aaliyah and Tyler there to visit too, (She lives across the street from Marf). I took some cute pictures of her and the baby but didn't get anyone else in the pics with dad and Elaine, SORRY!

(Also, on a side note, look how cute Lizzy's hair is, she had just gotten it done and it looks SO good!)

I messed up my slide shows when I closed down my blog last month. I apologize for repeating them but in order to have them show up on my blog I had to put them on again. :)

Our Home 2008...again

Here are our trip pictures, again...

Loving my new job!

So, school started two weeks ago and with that brought my new job. I have really been enjoying working at Bri's school, and I think she likes having me there too. I have a classroom that I share with the ESL (English second language) teacher and we also have half of the room being taken up by an online library, which means there are huge bookshelves with things for people who home school to come in and check out to use for their children.

My job is actually two jobs. I am a ground duty (Marf, don't even say it...) and I work out on the playground for morning and lunch recess. The rest of my day is doing SEM, which is the part-time gifted and talented program for our school district. It stands for Schoolwide Enrichment Model. I have not yet begun working with the students, but have been trying to figure out what the heck I am supposed to be doing. The person that had this position last year purged everything and I have no idea what she did or where to start. I had training today and am starting to figure out what is expected. I am also in charge of the student council, which will be fun helping the students have a fun year and learn leadership.

Speaking of leadership, my calling is going good. I am starting to get into a groove with my job and I don't think it will be a problem or get in the way. A bishop has to work full-time to support his family and still make time for his calling, how much easier will it be for me to work my non-stress job where I get off at 3:30 and still have plenty of time to come home and take care of the sisters in our ward.

Bri got to go play at her cousin's house today for few hours. They really have a lot of fun together. They went out and swam in the pool and played. We always tell them they can play together or talk on the phone...as long as there is no "planning". Well, they didn't listen today and begged for a sleepover. I am a mean mom and didn't feel like it tonight so we said no. We will have plenty of time for a sleepover another time. They left the room joking that they were going to go and compare how mean their moms are, I bet they decided that Bri has the meanest mom! She makes me laugh. I love her silly personality!

JT got his new work car and absolutely hates it. He needs a 4-wheel drive vehicle for work because he has to drive to Idaho and Wyoming during the winter months several times. The only 4-wheel drive car that they offered him was a Jeep Patriot, which is WAY to small for him to carry all of his samples and the things that he needs every day. His mission now is to see how fast it takes him to put 60,000 miles on a vehicle, his goal is 1-1/2 years...he is well on his way, we have had it since Wednesday and it already has 200 miles on it!

We had been hoping to have some good news, but the only good news that I can offer is that we are all healthy and happy and I absolutely love my family...we are PERFECT! Thanks to everyone who cared. :)