Losing it!

My mind, that is! I remember I used to be so smart and somewhat cool. But, now not so much . . . .

So I love walking everywhere, since we are so close to everything. All the main stores and the bank I need to go to are all within 3 miles of my house, so I go "green" by walking everywhere. (Well, I hate the whole green thing, but I do love to walk).

Well, as I walking home from the store today with Tyler asleep in the jog stroller, I started feeling a little dizzy and my vision was off. I thought it might be the heat, so I kept drinking water. It was such a weird feeling, I felt I might faint. So, when I got home and took off my sun glasses, I realized one of the lenses was missing. I had walked all the way home with only one lense in my sunglasses. What a dork!

At least I figured out why I was dizzy and sort of double visioned. I'm no longer even a bit cool!

My New Job

No, it's not another paper route (no, I didn't deliver papers on my bike - even though that thought makes me laugh, too). Oh, did I tell you, I quit that job? Yeah, it had something to do with waking up super early EVERY morning and making pennies. Not to mention people yelling at you for dumb things. Yep, I was a quitter.

Anyway, I think I found the best job ever (besides being a mom). Or rather, it found me. Two guys in my ward own a Property Management Company, and they asked me to help them with their Accounting and Marketing. The best part is that I get to work from home (which was a huge concern if I couldn't), and I get to set my own hours. The pay isn't what I was used to, but it's not bad. So far, I've been working for them for 3 weeks. And, the truth is: I really love it.

We really feel like it's a huge blessing, too, especially since I still get to be home with Tyler.


P.S. If you ever need to rent a house or apartment in St. George, I can hook you up. :)

Happy Easter!

This was the first Easter I could do anything with Tyler, since he is starting to get old enough to have some fun. I was excited to take him to his first Easter Egg hunt, so I looe in the newspaper and found two that were close enough to go to. Although it was drizzling outside, I still wanted to go. Tyler was very excited to look for "treats". But sometimes daddy's don't understand that you really do have to be there on time, if not early, to participate in the the 30 seconds of fun. So we just barely missed the first one. Oh well, there was still one left. But, alas, the "rain or shine" hunt didn't happen. I was sad and Tyler was a little disappointed since I had pumped him up to go hunting for treats. Better luck next year!

As for our own festivities, I actually planned ahead this holiday. I set out the easter baskets Saturday night (I mean the Easter Bunny did), and then "hid" the easter eggs in the living room and hall. I wasn't sure if Tyler would get it, until Easter morning when I heard him walking down the hall and picking up the eggs. Then came to my side of the bed to show me the "treats" in the eggs. He was very excited. I guess it doesn't take long for a kid to smell candy or figure out games involving sweets.

Then we went to church and enjoyed the nice reminder of our Savior's sacrifice and resurrection. My class of 7-year olds were even pretty good and listened to the lesson (a special Easter lesson the Resurrection), which was treat enough for me.

After church, we did our own little Easter Egg hunt on the front lawn. Tyler loved it and got so excited every time he found another eggs. It was a truly great day!

My Little Singer

Tyler is quite the cute little singer. He started singing several months ago, but I can never catch him on tape (he usually stops when he sees the camera). He usually makes up song with words and sentences he knows. I love it.

A couple weeks ago, my mom got out a primary CD, and he started to sing. I had to share.

Another Visit

Last weekend my sister Julie and her family came to visit. It was the first time they had been able to visit since we moved here, so I was very excited. I think Tyler had the most fun of everyone. He loved all the attention he got from his cousins and all the kid interaction. I think they all had a great time.

Since they were here, we decided to show them around the area for a bit. Our husbands thought it would be a great idea to go for the "short" ride to see the Hoover Dam. I wasn't as sure as they were about it being only 1 1/2 hours way, but it sounded fun anyway, so off we went. Three hours later we arrived at the Hoover Dam, and found out the last tour had just left. That was okay, since we were so annoyed with all the traffic that we just wanted to get away.

In an effort not to "waste" the drive (and to appease the crying toddlers), we decided to stop at a more family friendly casino for dinner. It actually turned out quite nice. There was a sun room with a nice garden and waterfall, which the kids loved. They even had robotic animals, which was neat until the bear roared and scared Tyler half to death. We ate at TGI Fridays and then headed back home.

Later, we went geocaching. It was my first time geocaching, and I thought it was pretty interesting. The kids loved it. Julie was really good at it. What a fun family activity.

It was a great visit. Thanks for coming down, Julie and familly!

Wilted Flower

Have you ever had one of those days that you thought you looked better than you did (while interacting with several people) and then looked in the mirror to realize that you look horrible? That was my day today. I recently started a new job (I'll tell you about it later) working from home (it's legit!-no survey taking here), and I met with both my boss and another girl who works for the company. The whole time I met with them I thought, "Yeah, I look good." I had put a little makeup on this morning, so I "thought" I looked decent (as in not a homeless, rag-a-muffin). . . . Until I looked in the mirror, and boy do I look like a person who has given up on life!!! Very Scary!!! Somehow, between 9:00 am and 2:00 pm, my makeup has completely worn off and my "outfit" looks very stay-at-home-momish in a very bad way (I'm getting rid of my comfort pants). I'm sorry there will be no pictures.

Several years ago my sister and I read a "Cathy" comic strip where Cathy had just got home from a date and looked in the mirror only to discover she looked like a horrible mess. So, she combed her hair and fixed her makeup, and tried to convince herself that's really how she had really looked on the date. Yeah, that's how I felt today. (Sorry, I tried to find the comic strip, but to no avail.)

Squeaky Cheese and the Polygamists

My mom and Becca stopped by for a visit on Monday and Tuesday on the way home from visiting my cousins in Arizona. It was a nice, but short little visit. With not much else to do on Tuesday, we decided to go for a little drive to Colorado City (yes, that Colorado City). I've driven past Colorado City a couple of times, but I've never really stopped or driven through the town. But, it turns out they make cheese; even better, they make squeaky cheese (i.e. cheese curds - a family favorite). So, we decided to take the little 35 minute jaunt to check it out.

As expected, the town is full of large to very large, unfinished houses (this is intentional, so they don't have to pay taxes). The women and children are dressed in old-fashioned dresses and attire (bluish gray dresses made from the same pattern are most common among the women and cotton button down shirts for the men and boys). But, in the middle of town, there is a nice big dairy. Since this was truly our destination, of course, we stopped. And the cheese curds were deliciously squeaky (very fresh!). It turns out there is even a small Community College there, too. Very interesting.

But, did you know there are actually two different Polygamist groups in that area? I didn't. If you keep on going another 1/2 - 1 mile or so past Colorado City, there is another completely different Polygamist group in a city call Central. The feeling is very different in Central. The houses are very, very large (mansions) and beautiful and finished! They have huge yards with very nice fences, playhouses, cars, and stuff. The yards and town are all very nicely manicured with expensive landscaping. And the women and children appeared to be dressed in more modern attire. I found this very interesting as well. (Apparently, my mom had seen a special on this group on a talk show or something. I guess they are very educated and modern there. They just simply choose to live a polygamist lifestyle, but they send their kids to college rather than marrying them super young and the kids get to choose whether they want to choose the lifestyle for themselves or not).

Anyway, I guess I have a better understanding of the different types of groups there are. And, although I don't agree with their lifestyle, I can understand them better when I see them at the store or garage sales or whereever. And I can definitely appreciate their cheese!