ROCK ON: A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE!

So Em and I ventured out to see the POLICE concert last night, which totally rocked! Sting is pretty HOT for an old man! Em made the comment that "I hope I look that good when I'm that old."

I guess we'll have to take up yoga now.

The concert totally took me back to our cruisin' days of high school and our post-high school trip where I discovered that Sting was their lead singer. You see, I grew up pretty sheltered and didn't listen to a lot of "rock" music. I was a HUGE STING fan, but had no idea he was the lead singer of the POLICE. Embarrasing, I know, but funny to look back on now. Emily made so much fun of me then and we still get a good laugh about it.

JULY BIRTHDAYS!

We have 3 July birthdays--all within a week of each other. Cullen turned 9 on July 14th, Cady turned 3 on July 16, and Laci turns 5 on July 21st. We celebrated early this year since my parents left for the MTC on July 7th. We had one big party on July 1st. Cullen decorated his own cake with a representation of "slither", his pet snake depicted with 9 gumdrops (symbolizing that he is now 9). Laci had a princess castle, and Cady had a kitty cat.

Kind of crazy, but lots of fun!

FAREWELL

Mom and Dad left this morning for their mission to Brazil. They stopped by our house this morning before they left for the airport. They looked so official with their missionary badges! I didn't think I would get emotional, but I did shed a few tears. Cullen understands what it means for them to leave for 18 months, but I don't think the other kids do, so they were just excited to see Grandma and Grandpa. I'm excited to have them doing what they love, but it will be hard to be without them for that long! We love you!

Lava Hot Springs!

This year for our family vacation we decided to go somewhere new. So we packed up our sunscreen and headed to Lava Hot Springs. I had never been there, so I didn't know what to expect. We headed up Friday June 13 and got there about 8pm. A little late to swim so we just chilled in the hotel. Early the next morning we got up, sunscreened up (except Josh who decided he didn't need it) and headed for the pool. The kids were sooooo excited! When we got there, we disappointedly discovered that it didn't open until 12! What kind of water resort doesn't open 'til 12??? So we headed across town and dipped our feet in the natural hot pools. We only went in the "coolest" (temperature) hot pool and about burned our feet off. We eventually got used to the heat and leasurely soaked for an hour. The kids didn't like the idea of not splashing, so we decided to go to the park for an hour and have lunch while waiting for the pool to open.

Finally the pool opened. We played all day and had a fabulous time! Laci and Cullen loved the huge waterslides. Cullen immediately found a friend and they went on the slides non-stop. Just before we left, Cullen took me on them. The red slide was super fun but I wasn't so sure about the green one. It is fully enclosed and I am super claustrophobic, so I had a little aneurysm on the way down. I really had to talk myself through it. Amazingly, I made it out alive!!! Things we do for our kids! After dinner we decided to head back to the hot pools. When we got there, Josh realized what a mistake it had been to not use sunscreen. He couldn't even dip a toe into the hot water without excruciating pain. So we didn't stay there long. We walked around downtown for a little bit to waste time, got some ice cream and headed back to the hotel. The kids escaped major sunburn. Josh was red as a lobster and his feet were blistered. My scalp, shoulders and chest were burnt and my chest ended up with split thickness burns. It still has not resolved all the way. OUCH! I guess I missed a few spots with sunscreen. We all slept well that night. The next morning we headed home. It was a quick, but really fun trip. And of course the kids loved it!

Another Year Wiser

Why is it that we shun getting older? Yes, today is my birthday and I am another year older. Someone at work today said, "22 today, huh?" "RIGGGHHHHT . . . . " I agreed. But would I willingly go back to 22? I don't think so. Look at all I have done, accomplished, learned, and yes, even suffered. Would I give all that up just to start over? Why is getting older such a bad thing? Maybe instead we should call it getting "wiser".

Hopefully that is what we are doing.

So today I proudly say, I AM 33 YEARS WISER!

BRAZIL - - HERE WE COME!!

My parents got their mission call 1 1/2 months ago, before I started blogging, but I thought I should dedicate a post to their call. BRAZIL MACEIO MISSION. You can imagine how stoked my dad is! He has always wanted to go back to Brazil. That is where he served when he was 19. They invited Catherine (my sister) and I to come over while they opened their call. I took pictures about every 3 seconds while they were opening it. Here are a few of the best ones. They leave July 7th! It seemed so far away when they received their call, but it's only a month away now!

True Love's Kiss

Last night, Laci, Cady and I were laying on my bed watching a movie. Laci leaned over and gave me a kiss, then asked, "Mommy, will you give me a True Love's Kiss?" I laughed and told her, " I can't -- but I can give you a Mommy kiss." She then asked me who she could get a 'true love's kiss' from. I told her that she'd have to wait until she's older when she has a boyfriend or a husband. I think we've watched Enchanted too many times at our house!!