Stadium of Fire

The day finally came!! We bought these stadium tickets back in March! (March 4 to be exact. I had to go back through all my email to find the tickets because it had been so long!).

Anyway, this is a family tradition of Charley's and we've sort of adopted it. We are going to try to go every other year or so. The last time we went was when Miley was there. Last year we didn't have kids (and it was Jonas Brothers) so we didn't go. But this year was Brad Paisley. How can you pass that up? I haven't seen Brad since the time I met him back stage, and I love his music.

Last time we were late, so this time Charley wanted to leave extra early. We left at 5:30. Got to Provo at 6:15. Um, no traffic this time, we had two hours until it started. Went right to a parking lot and walked up to the stadium. It was a VERY HOT 98 degrees!

We didn't eat before because Charley didn't want to risk being late. So at the stadium we grabbed snacks and water. Nate was so excited they had a Nathan's Hot Dogs there! That's what he got for his snack.

Then it was the hike to our seats. Keep in mind, we bought the most inexpensive seats there were. Bleacher, way high up. We did know this going in. What we did not know, is exactly how HIGH the seats were. As we started hiking up, we were in the EAST bleachers... which happened to be the only section in the sun at that time of night. It was also facing the sun. These balls were at the half way point. They use them in Brad's show. I've seen before where they bounce the balls during one of his songs.

When we finally got to our seats, we were on the VERY last row. Those steps are steep... I thought I was going to die half way up. And then we had to sit there in the sun for 45 minutes. We were DYING of heat!! Note to self: No more seats on the East side! We wanted more water, but weren't about to take the HIKE back down to get some. Here's a view of the stage from our seats. I got an email last Tuesday saying that Brad's crew was already in town building the biggest stage in Stadium of Fire's history. Hmmm. Not sure this stage looked all that big, but it was cool, none the less.

Soon, the show started. The announcers came out, and then we could see the parachuters. The plane actually dropped them out right above our heads. There were 5 of them, and the last one down brought the flag... I'm so impressed how they can land right on the field!

They also line the field with dancers, and service men. They have a salute to them. The pledge. The national Anthem (sung by David Archuletta that was awesome. Started as a video of when he was 12, moved to real time). And then the flyover. It was right above our heads.. or so it seamed... and rumbled the entire stadium! I just love all the patriotism there.

As the program started, and the sun started to go down, we actually decided we had the best seats. There was a fence behind us that we could lean against. (The other rows had the option to purchase a stadium seat or $5 to lean against). We had a seat back built in. We stood up and looked over the fence (I had to stand on my tip toes to see over) and there was a grassy shady area there. We are going to go sit there next year!!! LOL. Also, we were able to stand on our seats (because they give you a very narrow 12 inches of bum space and it was quite crowded) and see everything. We stood the entire time!!

I have a hard time getting my husband to smile in pictures. After Nate attempting about 20 shots and a lesson in smiling, this was the best photo we could get:

And of course, what Stadium is noted for... the fireworks show. Charley and I have a running debate on whose fireworks are better. Stadium's or Disneyland's. Although Stadium fireworks are pretty awesome, nothing (in my book) will ever top Disneyland! Now, it could be the fact that you are just standing on main street, and they are all Disney themed, I'm not sure. But none the less, they are better. And stadium is a close second :)

I'm glad we went to Stadium this year. It was awesome. After a 2 hour traffic jam back to Salt Lake city, we were starving!! So, we stopped at Village Inn on the way home. (It was 1 AM by this time!). Had an awesome breakfast before heading home to bed.

Happy 4th to all of our family & friends. We are so grateful for the country we live in and the freedom we enjoy. Thank you to everyone who made that possible. Including our three nephews currently serving: Carl, Matt & Chris. We love you all.

Teacher Appreciation

Last week was Nate's last week of school. Jen and I decided it would be fun to send a teacher appreciation gift every day for the last week. (I know, teacher appreciation was back in April, but going along with my "wait until the last minute" nature, I waited until the last week of school!).

We crafted EVERY night. Kind of reminded me of boutique season. It is always fun to get together and craft. Every time I do it, I remember how much I miss it.

So here's Monday's gift. A stack of 10 cards that say "A Note from Mrs. Brighton" in a cute little matching box:

Tuesday's gift was this little gift box. Inside is a box of Theater candy. I think Reeses Pieces. And attached is a little post it note key ring. Nate wrote on the inside of the post it note.. "OWL always remember Mrs. Brighton"

I've seen several versions of this on the internet and various blogs. They are so cute!! I was going to do a 6 pack, but at Walmart, there was only ONE six pack left in the whole store. So, we thought that one bottle looked just as cute.

And these are giant clothespin photo frames. I actually had a picture of Nate on the first day of school standing next to Mrs. Brighton's door-- pointing to the poster of all the kids names on it. It was perfect! I matted it and stuck it in the clothespin. We also wrapped a SKOR candy bar with a tag that said "Mrs. Brighton helped me to achieve high Skors"

And finally Friday. Since it was July 1st, and the last day of school, we gave this to her on Friday. It is three rolo sticks wrapped to look like dynamite. They turned out so cute!!! Package two of them up in a painted box and there you have it.

Nate loved giving his teacher gifts throughout the year, and I know Mrs. Brighton loved them also. She always took the time to send home notes of thanks. Actually, Friday, after the week was over, the thank you card she sent home was the ones that we gave her on Monday. I smiled as I opened it. I'm glad that she will put them to use.

Next year is kind of sad. It will be the last year I make things for Nate's teachers. And I'll be doing it solo... as Tyler will be going to Jr. High.... It's a sad day for Nate as he rode his bike to school for the last time with Ty. But one more year, and I will be the mom of a Jr. High boy myself.... Yikes!!!

Jump Team

Nate has been participating in an after school jump rope club.

I have to admit, I had no idea what they did there, just that they stayed after school to jump rope. Nate mentioned "passing off" tricks, and jump offs, but other than that, he didn't really talk a lot about it.

Last week, they had their Jump Team Assembly. WOWZA... was I impressed at all the stuff they can do with a jump rope!!! A lot of the neighborhood kids participated and it was so fun to go and watch what they had been learning all year!

They had solos, duets, group tricks. The jumped with short ropes, long ropes, two ropes. Teams, and everything. They also had awards!

Nate earned the "Master Jumper" award. He was so proud of it. I know he has worked hard, even went over and passed off tricks while they were off track. He really felt like he accomplished something, and he's looking forward to doing it again next year!

Nate & Tyler with their Master Jumper awards. Nate is really going to miss Tyler next year!

Second Honeymoon?

Well, sort of.

Rewind 3 Years: For honeymoon, we went to California. (It was actually a trip that we already had scheduled before we decided to get married. It seemed fitting to get married the day we were supposed to leave on our trip... LOL!) We were married at 1 PM on a Wed afternoon and then went straight to the airport to fly out. We had purchased a plane ticket for Nate, but with our change of plans to get married, Charley and I flew out, and Nate drove to California with our close friends, Stacey & Denise. It worked out that Charley and I had Wednesday night and all day thursday by ourselves and then Nate arrived Friday morning. Wednesday night (our wedding night) we got into Anaheim late, around 8 PM. We had annual passes, but decided to wait for everyone to get there before we went to Disney. So we walked across the street for dinner at Ruths Chris. A very high class steakhouse that you definitely only visit on special occasions. The next day we went to Knotts Berry Farm and then to a Dodgers baseball game that night.

Now back to present time: My husband is very sentimental. He loves the little things. For our sealing, he wanted to recreate that honeymoon for us. Turns out we have a $75 gift card to Ruths Chris, and it's still off season for Knotts. So that's what we planned.

We left Idaho late Saturday night, to drive home. We made a couple stops on the way out of town and got home around 2 AM. We had to be to the airport at 5 AM to catch our flight. On the drive back, Nate wasn't feeling well. He had terrible allergies and was having a hard time breathing. He also said his ear hurt. So I didn't feel comfortable leaving him at a friend's house, and I couldn't call family at 2 in the morning! So, we decided to take him with us. We went home, unpacked our Idaho stuff, repacked for California, slept for 2 hours, then it was off to the airport.

We arrived Sunday morning around 9 AM. Checked into the Knotts Hotel and crashed!! We were so tired that we slept right through the baseball game. It's ok, much needed rest. We just had a nice relaxing day. That evening we went and ate at Ruth's Chris. We went there for the first time on our wedding night, and have been every year for our anniversary since. The food & the service is amazing.

This is what greeted us at our table:

Little heart shaped confetti. Nate went with us last year, and he was there again with us this year. He loves the place. So fancy for a kid. He was most excited about the dessert that came with his kids meal:

And Look what they brought out for us...

I love how they make your experience there so memorable. From the ambiance to the food to the service to the little things that make you feel important. They even call you by name!

The next day it was off to Knotts. We love theme parks and roller coasters- Knotts is actually one of Nate's favorites. I like it too. It's smaller, but has that "country-ranch" feel to it. It wasn't busy at all. In fact, we had done everything we wanted in 3 hours and then left We got a great deal through the internet- $129 for the room and two tickets to the park. Just had to buy a child pass for Nate. So we feel like we got our moneys worth.

This is the first ride we rode. Of course, it's a water ride, and you get SOAKED!! Good thing we had all day to dry off. Just looking at the hills makes me wonder how the boat doesn't flip over on the way down...

After Knotts we just got something to eat and headed back to the airport. It was just a quick 2 day/1 night get away. Something familiar and inexpensive. And it really was even nice to have Nate there. I know he had a good time, and it was a great time with just the 3 of us. We did have a couple bumps at the airport- something wrong with the cabin temp on the airplane, and the captain hurt his back- so we sat on the runway for 3 hours until they fixed it and found a new captain. But overall, we had a great time!

Oh, one last thing-- You know the Disney fans that we are... We are always on the lookout for "Hidden Mickeys"... This is the one we found in our rental car...

For Eternity...

June 4th, 2011- A day that Charley and I have looked forward to since the day we decided to get married. It's our 3rd anniversary, and the day we became Eternal Companions.

After a year and a half of paperwork, we finally had a temple clearance. We've been through trials & tests of faith, but we made it. We love and appreciate each other more, and are stronger because of it. And we did it together. We always knew that "one thing" is missing in our marriage. The special promises that only eternal couples share. We had wanted to be sealed for our second anniversary, but our 3rd anniversary was perfect.

We had hired a photographer to come and take some family pictures since most of the family would be together. Overall, the pictures look nice, but the picture above is my favorite. I did some iphoto editing- cropped it, blurred it, antiqued it, and I love it. It will always remind me of this day.

A couple months after we were married, we were able to tour the open house of the new Twin Falls temple. I've never seen a city more excited to get a temple. A city that was use to driving for 2 plus hours to get to the nearest temple. The city that Charley grew up in! We knew right then, that was the temple we wanted to be sealed in.

Charley's parents are ordinance workers in the Twin Falls Temple. And it turns out that Charley's old Stake President- The one who sent him out on his mission- is the Twin Falls Temple President. It was an honor and a blessing to be sealed by President Karl Nelson. The council he gave was beautiful... and yes, I remember *most* of it! We were surrounded by family and friends. It truly was an amazing day. We are so grateful to those family and friends that drove the distance to share it with us.

After the sealing, we all went outside for family pictures. I think the biggest stress of the day was finding a dress!! It was hard to find something that I liked- something simple that could be worn for future temple visits, as well as dressy enough for pictures. I finally found something that fit my personality. Well, and that FIT period! Here are some more of the pictures that the photographer took:

The pictures didn't turn out as great as I had hoped. Only because it was really windy, we were looking into the sun, and Charley's glasses automatically darken. He keeps saying he looks like he's in the C.I.A.... But, to the photographers credit, she gave us our disc three hours later before we left to come back to Salt Lake!!!

And then you know me, I can't resist. I was behind taking pictures of my own with my phone. These are just a couple snapshots, but I love them!

When Charley and I got married, we bought matching wedding bands. They are tungsten. Inexpensive (the are metal, not gold), but VERY durable. My wedding band was actually a men's ring. I loved it. I told him that I would rather wait until we went to the temple to get a wedding ring. He's kept this in the back of his mind all this time, and knew this was what I wanted. A couple months ago we went looking for rings. I found a VERY expensive one that I loved at the mall. Luckily, I have a friend at work who's husband is a jeweler. He owns his own Jewelry store in the District. (If anyone is looking for a ring or any jewelry, he's amazing!). I took him a picture of the ring, and he & his jeweler made it for me. It was a lot less expensive. It's actually been sitting in our cupboard for a couple weeks. I put it on for an hour or so, then put it back in the box and told Charley I didn't want it until it was official.. on the 4th.

So that's what he did... Right after the sealing, and right before pictures....And here's the ring!

I LOVE it! It's the prettiest ring I have ever seen, and it's mine! It's a princess cut "bridge over water" setting. It's actually two separate rings, the inner band comes out. And yes I have NAILS for the very first time in my life. (That's a whole story in itself, but more or less, a couple friends talked me into it... saying it would make my pictures and my ring stand out more...). Ok, but a small confession- only because my close friends and family are the only ones that read my blog. The center stone is a CZ. The jeweler told me not to tell anyone, and nobody would ever know! Could you tell?? Nope, really- you can't. I'm only telling because I don't want everyone to think that I paid $6000 for a ring, because that's how much it would have been had the center stone been real! Wowza!! I'd be sick to my stomach if I ever lost it. I'm more of a simple person. I cared more about the design of the ring than the value of the stone. So for me, It's perfect!!

So, yes, the day was perfect. Everything I had imagined it would be. After the sealing we all went to Golden Corral for dinner. We visited a little and then we were on our way back to Salt Lake.. We had a small getaway that we had to be to the airport for the next morning. (See next post). But one last picture... This is what the sunset looked like as we were driving out of town. A beautiful sunset for a beautiful day.

Nate's First Paid Job!!

Well, it's kind of a job, but It was paid by me... LOL...

Nate's been begging for a couple years now to mow the lawn to earn money. The weather has FINALLY stopped raining, and we're able to mow the lawn. Charley taught him how. The downside is that our lawnmower isn't self propelled, and our front yard is sloped so Nate had a really hard time pushing it up the hills. I think he now knows why I DISLIKE mowing the lawn!! Believe me, if I would've thought he could handle the lawnmower & the hills earlier, the job would have been his!

Fortunately, the back yard is nice and flat. Rectangle shaped with no obstructions to mow around. (Now that the giant swing set is in Idaho). So, he was able to mow the back lawn and earn a few extra dollars. I had to take a picture though, just because he looked so grown up doing it.

Friday the 13th!

So I have never been a firm believer of bad luck on Friday the 13th. I changed my mind today.

Driving to work for some reason I took a different route to work. I went up Bangerter. One light up I see a motorcycle cop pulling out behind me.

"Uh-OH!" I start thinking to myself. Ok, I wasn't speeding. My seat belt is on. I'm not texting. My plates aren't expired. What on earth am I getting pulled over for? As he directs me to pull over to the LEFT up ahead, there's already 5 cars and 5 more motorcycle cops. He walks right up to me and says "The reason I pulled you over is because you were speeding"

Now, I know they probably get this all the time, but I was shocked!! I never speed! LOL. In fact when I called Charley to tell him that I got a speeding ticket, he laughed. And said, "You don't even go 65 on the freeway!" No kidding. I wasn't in a hurry, I didn't pass anyone. I really think he was up in the night.

But, needless to say... I'm 36 years old, and I got my first speeding ticket today.

Why oh Why...

... is it so hard to blog?? I'm stumped. Believe it or not, I love to blog. I love to read them and I love to update. But for some reason, I'm averaging about 6 months between posts!! I think what happens is I just get so behind that I just get overwhelmed. So here's my attempt to get back on the blogging train.

It's Mother's day. Every time Mother's day comes around, I feel so honored and grateful to be a mom. I am a mom to a wonderful 11 year old boy. I really thought I would have more children. I didn't want to stop after one child. Apparently Heavenly Father had other plans in store for me. When I divorced, I thought my dreams of more children were over. I have since been blessed with two beautiful step daughters. Although I have no idea if more children are in store for me, I am grateful for what I have. A family who adores me.

I have had a wonderful day. Time spent with family. At church I watched as Nate sang with the primary for the last time on Mother's Day. Yes, I practically had to push him out off his seat to go up there, but when I asked him to go up and sing for me the last time, he did it. And he did a great job. It seems like just yesterday I was so excited to watch him sing on Mother's day for the very FIRST time!! Watching him, I realize that he is the reason I strive to be a better mom every day. He needs me and depends on me, and even though he may not realize, he motivates me to be a better person.

Nate's Recital

It's that time of year again- Spring Recital!

Nate participated in his 3rd recital. I remember back to his first recital. He had only been taking piano lessons for 6 weeks. It's amazing what they learn in a couple of years!! I even watched his this year's recital vs. last years, and can really see the improvement a year makes.

This year's recital was at Riverton music again. Nate's had a lot of support from family. Charley and I were there as well as Dave, Dayna, Dayna's 3 kids, Grandpa R, and Grandpa M.

He looked so handsome, and he did awesome!!

Birthday Weekend...

36. Not a milestone birthday, but I did have a wonderful one. My actual birthday was on Monday, so it was more like a weekend of celebrating.

Friday started with these. Charley ordered them to be delivered on my birthday, but I guess the place messed up and delivered them early. Either way, they sure were yummy!!

Friday night we were able to go to the Grizzlies Hockey game. We bought these "Pass of all Passes" from Groupon. They are season passes to Raging waters, select Real Salt Lake games, Select Hockey games, Season passes to the Blaze (indoor arena football), Rocky Mountain Raceway passes... and some other fun things. All for $39 a person. It was such a great deal.

Anyway, back to the game. Michelle's family went with us and she had an extra ticket so we were able to bring Tyler. They boys had so much fun. They made a poster for one of the radio DJ's that was there in the luxury suite. They were trying to get an invite! The other side of the poster said "The guy behind me can't see" Which was such a true statement! Who wouldn't invite these cute boys to the suite?? Well, no invite, but they sure had fun trying!

They had this Quick Cash place there doing a "Spin the wheel" promo. You got to spin the wheel and if it landed on "BOX" then you got to choose one of the 8 boxes. 1 of the boxes had a ring in it, the other 7 were empty. Charley spun the wheel and won a marquis diamond ring. Then Nate goes and spins... lands on box, and can you believe he chose the correct box too? He also won a ring. Me, what did I win? Oh-- $5 of my next cash loan. Guess I'm not as lucky! We actually took the rings to the cash store the next day and sold them for cash. Nate is going to use the $30 they gave us for his ring to buy a DS game.

Saturday was the George Strait/Reba concert. I was SO excited for this!!! A friend at work, her mom works for Larry Miller and was able to get us presale tickets-- so in other words we had awesome seats. I have been waiting for this concert for so long. When I found out that they were coming to Salt Lake the weekend of my birthday, I told Charley that was all I wanted for my present. So like a good husband, he took me :)

The concert was awesome!! It was over 4 hours long. With two HUGE stars, how could it not be though. Reba came out first. She was beautiful as always. George closed it out. But as I always say, it's a good thing he sings well, because he's not so entertaining. He doesn't get into it much. We actually left during his encore because it was 11:30 and we were starving. And on the way home, it was a blizzard.

When we got home, our car looked like this:

And yes, that was on April 2nd. What a crazy spring we are having!!

Sunday was conference. Have to admit, it's my favorite Sunday of the year. I love being able to lounge around and watch conference on TV. And, it's always the weekend of my birthday. So, if my birthday is ever on a Sunday, I don't have to get up and get ready! I get to relax all day!

And Monday-- finally after a weekend of celebrating, the day had arrived. I did have to go into work at 6 AM which was not so fun. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a morning person. But when I arrived at work, this is what greeted me:

Going in early does have it's benefits. I did get to leave at noon! I went and met my family (Mom & Dad, Erin & boys, Tyler & Bryan, Michelle & Kelly and Charley) for lunch at Applebees. It was so nice to be off work early, and visit. No rush to be anywhere. After that, I went home to relax. Soon after, a knock at the door-- It was Heather & family bringing me yummy cupcakes:

Aren't the Mickey sprinkles adorable?? And Rocky Road Ice cream. Boy, do they know me, or what?? After they left, I met some friends (Stacey, Denise, Carlos, Christian, Ellie & Janine for dinner at Mandarin. Love that place. But it's kind of pricey and far, so we don't get there often. About once a year on my birthday!! LOL.

So, as you can see, I had a wonderful birthday & weekend. So much packed into it, filled with my wonderful family and great friends. Thank you to everyone who sent me cards, called me, text me, and sent FB messages. You all truly made my day brighter!