the one about our cool local radio station

Our local radio station, X94, does a big giveaway game on the air every summer called concentration. I have been determined to follow along this year. It is a lot like the classic children's game Memory. You have to keep track of prizes as they are revealed. You are in charge of your own game board. This is mine. Every hour or so, they tell you to call in and the 9th caller gets to play. They say 2 numbers and try to make a match. Easy enough, right? WRONG! I am horribly unlucky and have NEVER made it through to be the 9th caller. Or ANY caller for that matter! Last week, I heard one of the prizes revealed and I knew we HAD TO WIN IT! I had been listening carefully for the match, and when it was revealed I was ready to play!!! It was a new hot water heater. Ours is in bad shape. It gets worse and worse with every shower we take. It is electric and old and we can't even fill up the bath tub! Anyway, I knew, with my luck I would never get through. So I called the one person who has been incredibly lucky lately. I knew he wouldn't let me down! Good old Brett. (Remember the trip he won? The $300 he won on the penny slots in Wendover? Yah, he is lucky. Me??? Not so much.) I also recruited Cara to help me out. We were all at or jobs "working" and we had all been listening when they announced that it was time to call. We all dialed the best we could. I was calling form the work phone and my cell phone. So was Cara. Brett called a couple of times from his work phone. I never got through. Cara got through as #3. I hadn't heard from Brett and figured he was busy at work. I knew we were losers. A few minutes after you call, they play that call on the radio. I was pretty ticked because I figured someone would win it that didn't even need it or didn't really care about it. They started to play the call. I was sitting there all bummed, and I heard Brett's voice on the air!!! HE WON!!! Can you believe that? He hardly even tried. He is so dang lucky! Oh well, the last few times he has been lucky, I have benefited too, so YEAH! Anyway, Quayd and I ran to the radio station today to pick up the gift certificate. In the car we had the radio on. We were listening to Charlie and Brandon. I told Quayd that when we walked inside, those guys would be inside talking and we would probably be able to hear them. He thought that was so cool. We stepped in and quickly, Brandon walked out. He started talking to Quayd and then said, "Come with me!" We followed him and he gave Quayd one of the new AWESOME X94 t-shirts, then took us on a tour of the station. It was so cool. I was not prepared, so of course, no pictures. Dang. But it made Quayd's whole day. He loved it! As soon as we got home, he put on the t-shirt and has been wearing it ever since. Brett called and made arrangements to get our new hot water heater. It is gas so it will be SO much better than the old piece of crap we have now. THANK YOU X94!!!! Everybody should listen! It is the BEST radio station EVER!!!!

the one about our fun night

We had so much fun tonight! Not anything special, just fun all around. Brett, Quayd, Spencer and I all went to McDonalds for dinner. We had a few errands to run, then came home and started packing for our big trip to the city tomorrow. Uuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrcccccccccccchhhhhhhhh..... Wanna know why we are going to SLC? We are FINALLY going to have a hearing about Brett's motorcycle accident that happened 2 YEARS AGO!!! We decided to make a weekend of it. We are gonna hit the zoo, the air show in Ogden and run by Spencer's parents house so Brett and I can meet them and get some of Spencer's things. We are gonna stay with our good friends Tony and Melanie and we are SO excited to spend the weekend relaxing and hanging out with them. Ok, back to our fun night.... Brett, Quayd, Spence and I started playing catch and pretending to be College Woman's Fast Pitch Softball players, since they have been watching a lot of the College World Series lately. We all pitched a few, the I decided I wanted to bat. Once we started doing that, Brayden and Brennen came over.



We all took turns hitting the softball, pitching, and chasing them down the road. Stupid fun, but fun, nonetheless. It started getting dark and hard to see. I took a hard hit to the shin, Spence took one to the toes, (of course we were all wearing flip flops!) Brett about got hit in the face by one that I hit. So it was game off. The Galley kids came down to get Brayden so they could ride bikes to 7-11. Danette and I didn't really think the two little boys should be riding in the dark, so I drove them and Spencer to get a treat. We got back around 10:00 and everyone was ready to play night games. I was still trying to get packed, but Brett and Spence were right out there in the middle of it all! They were so funny and everyone had so much fun. It wasn't anything special, just one of those silly, fun summer nights! I love summer and I hope we have many more of these fun nights!!!

the one about our river trip

A few weeks ago, Brett and Talia's friend, Crystal, invited us to go with them rafting on the Green River. I have to admit... I was very hesitant at first. It was through a section of water that I have never been on before, and.... I don't know. I was just feeling uncomfortable about going since I didn't know anyone. Brett talked me into it and let me tell you... IT WAS A BLAST! I ended up knowing one of the girls that went. We went to High school together and we were really good friends. I am so glad we went. Quayd was able to go with us, and that made it even more fun. He loved it, of course. He has been on the river before, but like me, only from Flaming George Dam to Little Hole. This trip was from Rainbow Park to Split Mountain. It was beautiful! The water was so fast and there were tons of rapids! It was chilly, but totally worth it. I don't have very good pictures. Sorry. I didn't take a camera and these were from a cell phone.

the one about the worst blogger EVER!

I am so sorry that I have been such a terrible blogger lately. I have plenty to blog about, just no time to do it. I am hoping that things will settle down a bit now that school is out. May is always a busy month at school because of testing, programs and field trips. We have had all of those things! I was able to go with Quayd on his field trip this year. We went to a green house and learned about different types of plants. Then we went to the Sheriff's department, took a tour of the jail, the 911 call center and got to see the K-9 cop search for drugs. It was really cool and super interesting. We went to the park after wards and had lunch. This is Rylan, Shade and Quayd waiting to see the K-9 Cop. Quayd's class had two programs this year. One was a "Celebration of the Arts." They sang a little, danced a little and had some of their art work for sale. The other was their class program that showed off some of the things they have learned this year.

We were so lucky this year for Quayd to get such an amazing teacher! Mrs. Green is everything you could ask for in a teacher. She is so cute with the kids and they all just adore her. Quayd learned so much this year and he spent thie entire year at the top of his class. His test scores were all above what they needed to be and he is reading chapter books. It was a great year. We only wish he could have Mrs. Green throughout all of Elementary School. I have been making these fun things at my Brother's store (I'll get to that later) and I couldn't resist making this for Mrs. Green. I thought it turned out so cute, so I had to post it.
School is not the only thing keeping me busy. After I quit the hotel, my Brother and Danette asked me to help them out a little in their store. One of their girls had quit and they weren't sure what they were going to do to replace her. I filled in for a few shifts and they decided they wanted me to stay. I was super excited! I started working in April for two days a week. I have totally loved it! It has been so good for me to tune back into my creative side. I have made so many fun things, changed displays and made posters for the store. It is a nice little get away for me. I have so much fun there!!! Quayd can go with me if he wants and when he goes, he doesn't mind it. Its very flexible and the other girl that works is awesome! We trade days when we need to and she is cool about it. Here are a few things I have made.
Other things keeping me busy.... I am officially a FaceBook addict so I spend way too much time there. I was getting really bad about playing FarmTown on FaceBook, but it was getting ridiculous, so I quit that. And I have been reading and listening to a lot of good books on tape.
Lately though, my books have become a type of sedative for me. As soon as I start reading or listening, I get REALLY Sleepy and fall asleep. Oh well. One way or another, I enjoy it!!!

Ok, now... this is probably the biggest thing keeping me busy. We have had a pretty big change here in our house and living situation. If you read my blog at all, you know about my buddy Spencer. I met him at the hotel and we have been good friends for awhile now. I don't know a whole lot of details, except that he has a.... well..... "colorful" past. He got into some trouble, but he is trying to work through it. He has been living with his sister, but she and her husband and 2 little boys have been moving and having all kinds of stress and drama in their lives! They are moving to one place for 8 weeks until their house is ready, then they will be moving again. (Poor girl!) Anyway, that and some other circumstances kind of left Spencer in a bind; as far as his living situation was concerned. We have an extra room and we were just in a position to take him in, so we did. It has worked out PERFECTLY! He is such a good kid and I just love him to death. He just needed a fresh start and it just kind of fell into place. I don't really care much about the past, we are just trying to focus on the future. It has been a delight having him here! Quayd ADORES him and calls him his step-brother. Spence is helping coach Quayd's T-Ball team (thank goodness! Brett and GJ need all the help they can get!) I wish I had a better picture, but this is all I have. I love to take care of people, so I cook him grilled cheese sandwiches at all hours of the day and night. I fixed up his room nice and I wash his clothes. I have always said that he is my boyfriend, so this is the perfect situation... My husband upstairs and my boyfriend downstairs! My cute little Spencie! We don't know for sure how long he will be here so we are just taking it one day at a time. We all just love him and he is doing so well, so hopefully it will continue to work for a long time!

Anyway, thank you for not giving up on me. I am sorry I have been a naughty blogger, but I will try to be better. Now that I have two children, it might be tough! But I will try my best! :)

the one about our trip to Indy

How can I even begin to tell you how amazing our trip was?!?!

We left Friday evening and drove to SLC to stay with my Uncle. We had a pretty early flight on Saturday morning so we hated to get up super early for a 3 hour drive. Uncle Kim was a wonderful host! We meant to go to sleep at a decent time but we ended up visiting with Kim and Jayme until about midnight. It was so fun to see them and we are so grateful they let us stay.

Saturday morning, we went to the airport, boarded our flight and flew to Minneapolis. We only had about 20 minutes to get to our connecting flight and it was clear across the airport! We had just enough time to use the restroom, then it was time to go! We met a cute lady on the flight and we stayed busy chatting it up with her so our flight went super fast!

When we arrived in Indianapolis, there was a Lincoln Electric representative waiting for us. She gave us some information, waited for us to gather our luggage, and got us set up on a shuttle to the hotel. We had such a crazy busy morning, we hadn't had time to eat yet, so we were starving! But by the time we got to Indiana, it was almost 5:00 and dinner was at 6:30. We just toughed it out, but by the time we got to the restaurant, we were SO HUNGRY! It was YUMMY Italian food and they sat it up on a buffet. We were total pigs and scarfed so much food!! The restaurant was so cool. It sat on the bank of a beautiful lake and we were able to watch the sunset. It was gorgeous. I took this picture with my phone, so it isn't the best, but trust me... it was amazing. Anyway, after we ate, we sat outside on the deck at the restaurant and made some friends. It was mostly husband and wife couples on the trip so it was easy to chat it up. After dinner, we were taken back to the hotel in the shuttle buses. There was a sports bar/pub close by, so we went there with several couples and watched the Nuggets/Lakers game.

We had to meet in the hotel lobby at 7:30 so we could leave for the race. We had a police escort waiting for us! It was crazy!

This was our cute little friend Sandy. We hung out with her and her husband all weekend. They were so much fun!! We totally loved them! There were two officers on motorcycles that stopped traffic and led the way for us. I am not 100% sure WHY we had an escort, but it sure was cool. We were in these big white vans with tinted windows, so it was fun to watch all of the people on the streets looking at us trying to figure out who was so important or famous to get such special treatment. Nobody famous.... Just us!



Once we got to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, (IMS) we totally had rock star parking. We were right by the garages! We got to take an all access tour of the garages and pit areas, as well as walk onto the track and see the famous yard of bricks. Brett was super excited to see anything related to Danica Patrick. These are tires from her pit stop on the track, and her car in the garage.

Nearly as giddy as Brett, I was way excited to see anything that had to do with Helio Castraneves. He is such a little cutie pie! I was cheering for him the whole time! It actually turned out that our suite was sitting right by his pit stop! So every time he came in for a pit, we could see EVERYTHING! This is his car in the garage. It was so cool that Helio actually won the race! I am sure it was because I was cheering so loudly for him! This is just as we walked onto the track. We got to meet the driver of the super cute pink car. He came to our suite, signed autographs and answered questions. It was SO COOL!


I really hate to bore you with all of my pictures, but if you would like to, you can click here and view the entire album on my Facebook page. You don't have to have Facebook to see them. It is a free public link. I have lots of great pictures there! Including some HILARIOUS pictures of weird people. It was PRIME people watching territory!

This was truly one of the most thrilling experiences of my entire life. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I loved it. It was cool that Brett and I got to share this great experience together. The only t hing that would have made it better was if Quayd could have been there with us. We both loved it and we are officially Indy Car Racing Fans!!!

the one about my sweet friend

Since we got home from Wendover, I have had a nasty cold. In Fact, everyone has been asking me if I have swine flu. No, its not swine flu! Just allergies/cold crap. I get it a couple times a year and the sucky part is that because of my heart issues, I cannot take ANYTHING to relieve it. So I usually have to spend a couple of days in bed, then I start feeling better. That is exactly what happened this time. Anyway, they other day, Tara came by to check on me and she brought me the sweetest gift! She brought these cute tulips, a Diet Pepsi and some Oreo cakesters. I hadn't eaten lunch yet that day and it just hit the spot. My tulips are still super beautiful. Thank you Tara for thinking of me.

I am so sad for the Galley's today. Last night I got a call from Tara. She was hysterical. Her 2 youngest kids were down at my house playing. Tara had just walked outside and saw Winston, their cat, in the road. He had been hit. She didn't know what to do. This was their first pet tragedy. I went right down and we made a plan. Brett came down a little bit later and dug a hole so we could bury him. We gathered all of the kids and told them. They were all able to pet him, tell him goodbye, then Brett took care of the rest. It was so sad. We babysat Winnie a few times and we loved him like he was our cat. He was actually Itty Bitty's brother. We got them at the same time. :(

This is Winston and Itty Bitty at Christmas. We were decorating for Christmas and they had climbed clear up Tara's tree and they were wrestling in it. It was so funny. Poor babies.

So again, thank you Tara and I am so sorry for your loss.