HELP!!!

Jean and I have the ever so fortunate opportunity to give talks in church in two Sundays. YIKES! Besides the fact that I am not into public speaking per se, I would like a little help from my friends as I can't seem to talk my way out of it...Our topic is Heroes from the Book of Mormon. I was thinking to share a few stories about how I was inspired by BOM people, but thought it would also be interesting (not to mention lengthen my talk--Jean will appreciate that) to get some stories from friends that I could plagiarize (giving you all the credit of course--so I guess borrow is a better word). If you would be willing to take a few minutes out of your day and email me or post a story of how you have been inspired, I WOULD LOVE YOU FOREVER!! Okay, chances are I probably will anyway, but you know what I mean...THANKS!!!!

Things I am learning about being prego...

--Zofran is an amazing drug...if you have morning sickness, DEMAND Zofran from your doc (let your insurance suck it up and eat the cost--it is well worth the fight with them!)
--I can no longer suck in my gut, I suck and nothing happens...guess I have extra stuff in there filling in the previously voided areas...and as a side note, I hit a high point yesterday when my niece asked to feel my baby so I guided her hand to where to feel and she says, "Wow, your belly is huge!" That is a good thing, right????? Please comfort me, haha.
--I have a new found love for Cheetos (maybe this should be the blame for the waistline instead of the baby...nah, the baby is the cause, for sure!!)
--Long flights are no longer the sole cause for my elephantitis...can I just tell you how much I dislike the feeling of swollen ankles and feet? I really don't like it. I can't even stand to look at them after a day on my feet...it makes me feel strange inside, like watching contortionists...
--Every woman seems to have horror stories about giving birth, which doesn't make sense to me, because I keep hearing that women forget the pain blah blah blah and that is why they keep having babies...well, the stories they share with me surely are pain-filled and it doesn't sound like they have really forgotten. I guess by the end of the year I will be able to join yet another strange club of women that don't really make sense, joy! =)
--Maybe I have more patience than previously I have given myself credit for. We find out on Aug 5 (8 days...who's counting???) whether we are having a boy or girl. But the point of that is, I am proud to say that I did not cave in and head to the mall for an early ultrasound. There is some hope for patience in motherhood!!!

Picnic in AF canyon!

Last night, prior to getting out of the house, Abbie wanted to show off her new make-up that Grandma bought her and lucky man that he is, Jean got to be her test subject. (We don't test on animals...just humans!) The eyeshadow in his eyebrows was quite dashing, but it quickly got rubbed off!

I learned on the drive up the canyon that the combination of two little girls and a camera can get things rolling and pretty entertaining. Emma and Abbie love to play photographer...which got Jean's imagination going...
Jean (I guess following the beauty theme from earlier) decided to style my hair into Cousin It and of course, Emma had to join in on the action! I think that we are way stylin! When Jean was snapping the photo I had to really fight the urge to smile, I think I still did in the end, not that you can tell, haha.
We got to the site and the girls and Reba (dog) immediately were off to explore the hill and river.
My mama almost got the smore right out of Amy's hand...sneaky little....they were a hot commodity, especially because we discovered Dallin was a graham cracker monster and was downing our supply!
I had to make sure Emma did my roasting because I repeatedly set the marshmallows on fire (well more accurately couldn't distinguish the fire)...so I am easily distracted, give me a break!
Abbie was so into her smore that she didn't even notice me literally in her face taking pictures. Can you just see the enjoyment in her face?
Dallin is really a cute little boy that will bring a smile to your face! He was very happy with the combination of his two favorite things, his mom and being outside!
Can I just add that I love the mountains in Utah!!! This is such a beautiful state!
We also got to chase prairie dogs, the girls got to pet a fish (thanks to a nice fisherman), watch horses go by and saw deer! So that summarizes our outing last night to the canyon, it was pretty great times!

Viva Las Vegas!!

My fave free tourist attraction. The Bellagio. Love the water show. Last weekend, Jean and I went down to Vegas to visit my parents, Cherilyn and Spencer, as my parents just bought a new house in Vegas. And, according to me, the trip wouldn't be complete w/o the Bellagio.
We had to kill some time between each show, so we (and by we, I mean I) went a little crazy with the camera...and took a million pictures of everyone and made Cherilyn take a million of Jean and I. After taking so many, you would think that I would have at least one I really liked. Oh well, I will take what I get!
Unfortunately, we didn't get any pics at the house, but you can look at Cherilyn's blog for a pretty good collection of the house. My parents found a great deal on a great house and we are super excited that one day they will be closer to Utah!
Too bad my brother Spencer had a date or he would be included in these pics...I guess a worthy cause though! =) We had a great time hanging out with him too, he always cracks me up...and Spencer, sorry about breaking your homemade "skateboard"!!! You can break something of ours next time you make it to Utah...
Well, it was a quick weekend and we ran from dawn until way past dusk, but had a great time! Thanks Mom and Dad for having us down!

How to burn your money in 15 minutes....

First Happy Fourth of July! I love good 4th celebrations that must include fireworks, which leads me to my "how to" for the day. Fireworks--exact definition of burning your money. You go spend precious money on all these entertainment promises and then what do you do? Set them on fire. Now that is my kind of fun!!! Except I learned a very valuable lesson this year...it is way better to let your neighbors set their money on fire and then watch theirs!!! I, for one, am too cheap to spend lots of money on fireworks (though I love love love them) so I just end up buying things like ground bloomers and poppers. But if you discover neighbors like my brother has who quite literally spent no less than thousands on their firework festivities you can get your own little free show without having to get stuck in city traffic at the city fireworks! What a deal!!! Thank you neighbors! P.S. I do recommend blue planets...pretty good show for $10. Hope you had a great fourth!!!!