Saturday, June 27, 2009

milestone

I've been watching it coming for the past couple weeks, but my run this morning OFFICIALLY put me above 300 miles since the middle of February.

Goal of the summer... SURVIVE the Provo River Trail 1/2 marathon on my anniversary (of all days): August 8.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Officially Self-Employed


As of last Friday, my husband achieved the status he has been working HARD for the past 5 years to achieve: Small Business Owner/Self-employed. Craftsman Hardwood Flooring is now his little business.

Our floor (part new oak and part original 1948 floor) was his first project, and just this week he completed his first official job.

So if you are in the market for a floor refinish, new installation, or repair of your current wood floor, let me tell you why you should contact MY HUSBAND Hayden:

He's a perfectionist... if he doesn't like how something looks, he fixes it til he does (even if I think it looks "just fine")
He has worked for one of Utah's PREMIER hardwood companies for the past 2 years (he worked on Michael Jordan's home in Park City this past year, along with several other multi-million dollar homes).
He is just getting his clientele built up, so his prices are AMAZING.
He travels to wherever he needs to in order to get the job done.

I put his brochure picture on (click on it for the enlarged version)... it has all his prices, contact information, and services on it.

I'm pretty proud of Hayden.
Give him a call 801 440 4372...(tell him I sent you)



Sunday, June 21, 2009

"daddy"

dear daddy...
~thanks so much for spoiling me and feeding me chocolate milk on a regular basis.
~thanks for taking me to the park (or in the TRUCK) when mom won't
~thanks for letting me take baths with you. I love it!
~thanks for cuddling with me on the couch.
~thanks for loving me SO much

love
Aspen

Saturday, June 20, 2009

My Dad

What can I say about my dad that just ONE of these pictures doesn't cover?

*My kids love him... even if he is a relentless tease!

*Hard work & I are good friends because of what my dad taught me.

*I have many memories that have stuck with me over the years:
~horseback fishing trip into the Uintah's
~riding club meets in Heber, and the accompanying car trouble that seemed to come with trying to pull the horse trailer in our good old Dodge truck.
~watching dad try calf roping for the first (and last) time ever.
~having him at my ball games, and getting tips after the games.
~help with moving, rewiring lights, painting, and general fix-it man on the several houses we've lived in.
~trip to Louisiana, and getting to stop by the National Cowboy museum.
~singing TWANG TWANG TWANG to his music on the car stereo (my sarcastic ode to country music... which now I LOVE the old stuff he listened to then).
~driving through Denver and getting to eat at Casa Bonita.

Thanks Dad for all the memories, and for the love you have shown us.
Happy FATHER'S DAY!

Friday, June 12, 2009

3 sons???


Somehow the neighbor kid has adopted us. Not sure how we lucked out, but more often than not, by the time we have pulled in the drive way after picking up the boys, he is there and waiting for Brenden, so he can chill and hang out with him for the weekend.

How did this happen? Not exactly sure. I can only speculate. Perhaps it is the meals that we have on a regular basis, whereas his mom has apparently taken "a year off from cooking" (not kidding... that's his exact phrase) and the KID CAN EAT!!!! Perhaps it is the nice clean house we have here (which is contrast to his house).

Well, lucky me... it is now summer vacation, and we have somehow acquired a 3rd son. The following transcript is how to tell when the neighbor kid needs to GO HOME:
me: "Brenden, you need to shower... you're hair smells"
Brend: "I showered yesterday"
me: "no. that was two days ago"
Brend: (to the neighbor kid) "Hey, I don't remember... did I shower today?"
**met with ROARS of laughter by all of us**

Grandma Toni SKILLS

Me, being the list maker that I am, did a little backwards planning and this is what I came up with:

If Hayden is redoing the floor next week, and I want a new vent put in our bedroom, then I will have to replace it before then. AND... if I am doing the vent, I might as well replace the old base boards as well. AND... if I am doing the base boards, then I might as well just patch the wall and ceiling where the water leak left damage. AND... if I do that, I might as well just paint the bedroom and ceiling. And all of this done by Sunday because I leave Monday morning for a workshop in Park City (oh and did I mention we have to move all the furniture before the floors can be started?).

YEAH... I make my list/day harder than it needs to be. Yesterday I ripped everything out. Today I TRIED (tried being the key word) to make the hole in the bedroom wall look like a wall again. Where is my Grandma Toni and her skills when I need her?

Anyone who knows my Grandma Toni knows the magic she can work on any project. Magic is an understatement... she has SKILLS. I just fake it. As long as I fake it well enough to make Hayden think I did a great job :) Thank heavens I have a little Grandma Toni blood running through my veins.

Tomorrow's job is the sanding down all of the patch work, touch it up... and then PAINT and put in the new vents.






I think I did pretty good. The before and during pictures don't show much... but I impressed myself.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

my little claim to "fame"


The Sunday paper (Salt Lake Tribune) had an article on Zion National Park. I knew my great grandfather had surveyed the park in the early 1900's, so I thought I'd look at the article out of curiosity and SURE ENOUGH... there it was. A mark on their timeline with Leo A. Snow's name on it. If you click on the picture, it blows it up so it is readable. The original link to the article is here.

Pretty cool.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Lake Powell

what a FUN vacation we had at Lake Powell.  Even though it was June, the water was GREAT (75*), the days were warm and beautiful... and best of all, we got to SHARE our little piece of heaven with Hayden (and Aspen).

Hayden says his favorite parts were the exploring.  We went to a couple different canyons up the channel from Bullfrog, Hole in the Rock, and hiked up some hills and rocks.  Anything in the little boat was Hayden's thing.   

Aspen was just in heaven, in general. Water... sand... and a BOAT???  Oh baby.  It was actually pretty funny to watch.  She is so OCD about making sure everything is CLEAN on her body, that getting sand on her feet when she would walk, just about sent her into a fit.  She eventually found the water bucket at the front of the houseboat, and entertained herself by dipping her hand in the sand, walking up the ramp, washing off the sand.  Rinse and repeat... and repeat... and repeat.

The houseboat has a slide on it, which Aspen took to be part of a PARK.  We accommodated her little "park" idea for awhile... putting her at the top of the slide and then catching her before it dropped into the water.  When we caught her climbing the stairs to the top, we figured it was time for a "reality check".  One drop down the slide... and INTO the water was all it took.  I have never heard her scream quite like that.  Needless to say, she didn't want anything to do with the slide again for the rest of the trip.

We were able to get out on the water a couple days.  Brenden is our wake-boarder, and I have long since given up on getting up on slalom, so I settled for the tube.  Got Hayden onto the tube... and even got some pictures to prove it to his grandchildren someday.

The day before we headed home was a windy day (understatement) so we ended up inside the houseboat playing games and watching movies.  We LOVE Lake Powell!

THANKS DAD & MOM for a great trip!!  

Now if I can just get all the sand out of my house... and clothes... and truck.

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