I am Catching Up!

I only have about three more drafts to finish! YIPPPPPEEEE!

Happy Birthday to Lo

Lorie and Mallory came to see us this weekend and we visited and celebrated her birthday. It seems like months and months since we have seen them, and it has only been weeks. The kids really enjoyed playing with Mallory, but they quickly found out changing Mallory's diaper was not as exciting as it used to be.

Mallory managed to make a very messy diaper right after we finished dinner, and Lorie, Sierra and Tanner played the best 2 out of 3 Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who had to change it!

As you can see ---- Lorie lost -- and you can tell by Sierra and Tanner's faces they were VERY excited about that!Mallory had not forgotten Lacey that was for sure. She started "talking" to here as soon as she saw her -- in other works she was constantly saying "AAAKKKK, AAAKKKK, AAAKKKK". Lacey seemed to understand her perfectly!

Harley, on the other hand was a much different story. He wanted nothing to do with her and he found her quite annoying! Harley barked more this weekend then he has for his entire life. Every time Mallory came around he was off and running. He could not get away from her -- even when he was sleeping.

Mallory found his bed quite comfy and his food delectable! Notice Harley is no where in the pictures -- that is because I believe he was really afraid of her -- hee hee!

We hung out Friday night and relaxed as we marveled at Mallory's new skittles! She is growing fast and furious. Lorie and I watched a very cute movie --The Holiday -- Sierra was babysitting, Tanner was hanging out with friends, and Polo was snoring on the other couch.

On Saturday we hung out more and had some marathon Rummikub games going on. Saturday night we had a "mini" birthday party for Lorie with a few of her favorite things -- presents, salmon, asparagus, mushrooms and chocolate cake with ice cream.

It was a nice weekend and great to see them -- On Sunday night they went back to San Diego much to our chagrin!

Dinner Anyone? (or is it breakfast?)

Tanner decided when we were at the grocery store he wanted to cook dinner that night for the family. So I said sure, "What do you have in mind?" He quickly replied he makes a killer breakfast pizza. I was a little puzzled because I had never had his breakfast pizza, but he said he had made it before. Hmmmm. Maybe it was a dish from Nate VanBuskirks party -- yes, that was it. Anyway, since we were at the store I asked what ingredients we needed and he starting naming them and we started putting them in our cart.

Well, breakfast pizza takes lots of work -- dough, bacon, eggs, mile, avocados, salsa -- and we had to gt started by 4:45 PM in order to have dinner by 6:oo PM. Tanner said -- that is way too early, and I instinctively knew cooking with Tanner would take some time. Guess who was right?
It is never of test of who is right or wrong, it is just a test of whether it is good no not. Well, I am here to say it was VERY good -- yummy in our tummy good!



Great job Tanner -- we have a little chef in our midst.

drafts...drafts...drafts...

Just so you know -- I am posting as you are reading! You have to look below for updates!

Never in my life have I been much of a procrastinator because I am someone who want to get things done! I have to admit I am dragging when it comes to blogging, and it is not because I don't like to it, it is that I have so many things on my mind I want to say. I have 10 "drafts" in waiting, so I technically AM very behind in my blogging. I don't have the writing skills of some best selling author, so it takes me a little longer.

Sometimes I think my writing has to be bigger than it needs to be -- I have to give up some of this control......

My commitment to myself is to get on stick -- get it done and quit whining! Sounds like I am talking to my kids about their homework!

So I am on a mission to finish.

HOORAY to the end of Summer!

Jamie Elrod, Chris Wong, Nancy Duteau, Susie Redick, Me,

Candace Dunphy, Chris Moore, Laura Alcorn

So now the truth is out -- this is what I do while the family is away. I invite my most favorite friends over for dinner, music, conversation, wine or sodas, and to talk about what is going on in our lives. It is so hard to believe we only can manage to do this once a year!

I really do cherish the time I have with the girls, and it is so ironic we spend most of the night talking about our families, our hopes for our families and how our families enrich us by keeping us busy, motivated and feeling loved (at least most of the time). There are many friends who could not make it here tonight, but we toasted them as well.

To all the girls -- thanks for always helping me to end the summer with a bang! I am blessed to have such a wonderful family, and I am equally blessed to have such wonderful supportive friends.

HOME ALONE!

Well, I know I am treated like a princess at the end of summer because for nine or ten days Polo takes the kids to Utah for their annual DADDY vacation trip. Trust me it truly is a vacation for all of us. The kids, and Polo, don't have to listen to me say get up; brush your teeth; yes, you do have to take a bath; no you can't do that; pick up your room; yes, you still have to take a bath; you get the picture.

Polo is a loving Dad and a wonderful husband, and the best gift he gives me each year is a week to be at home without the kids and without him. I am not saying I don't love my family, but I believe this time gives us all the opportunity to rejuvenate ourselves as we wind down the summer and prepare for the beginning of another school year.

I help to pack the kids, load the car, make goodies, pack snacks, and make sure they have games, movies, books to keep occupied for the twelve hour trip. By the time they are backing out of the driveway I am jumping for joy because my summer vacation is here too!

Now, you may wonder what exactly a woman does when she is home alone with all of this free time on her hands. Let me tell you, whatever you are thinking couldn't be further from the truth.
For example, I am sure you would not think cleaning out six closets would be high on the list of priorities. Perhaps you wouldn't think cleaning all the cabinets in the garage (nine of them) would be there either. Even cleaning the entire garage, all 758 square feet -- which by the way is larger than my first apartment -- would ever make the top 10. However, all of these things were accomplished! I know Goodwill is making money from our household this fall as I made four trips with my car full of goodies.
I know all of this does not sound all that exciting, but let me tell you it is! It is energizing to get so many things done and not being interrupted by 1001 questions from the kids, or Polo for that matter. Now when you add to the fact that the Olympics were on during this time, you can just imagine how much sleep I got -- little! There is one thing for sure -- I really do enjoy myself when they are gone, but I sure do miss the hectic, fun, funny, loud times, and I do look forward to their return! So while they are away I will do my best to fully enjoy the quiet!

UTAH -- here comes the family --Please return them safely

Well, the family arrived safe and sound to the Dawson's home. Flyn Dawson is one of Polo's good friends and Polo always bums a few nights stay when he is in Utah. This year the kid's cousin, Michael, joined in on the fun of Park City. The kids have been telling Michael about all the fun they have every year in Utah and Michael decided this year he did not want to miss out on the fun. He was not disappointed!

Another plus this year was the Barney family, unbeknown to us, was vacationing at the exact same place during the exact same week! Now what is so good about that is they have a son Andrew who is Tanner's age and a daughter Maddie who is Sierra's age. So hanging around was a big thing!

Sierra and Tanner had a great time showing everyone the ropes, as they were the "professionals" of Park City fun. They convinced Polo, Michael and Julie Barney (the other mom) that spending $50 for an all day pass for all the rides was a bargain! This year that turned out to be true, because according to Polo and the kids, they left early in the morning, came home for lunch and returned for late dinner. I think Polo really had a relaxing day!

FISHING WITH GRANDMA AND GRANDPA
The other exciting part of the trip was that Grandma and Grandpa had their motor home up in an area close to Park City so they hooked up with Polo and the kids. Grandpa got the boys all set up to catch some fish and Tanner absolutely loved this part of the trip.

When talking with him he said it was his favorite part -- he even wanted to go back the next day to fish again, or was it for Grandma's breakfast? Either way it was great they got to spend so much time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Sierra got to hangout with Grandma in the car and they had some real quality time talking about life, dreams and hopes for the future.





Grandma told me she really enjoyed this too!

The Copper Mine-

Polo took the kids to a copper mine where they got to see the Kennecott Mine.

This is an actual size of the tires on the trucks which are used to bring the minerals up from the canyon. Tanner said the tires are about 15 feet tall but he said looking at them from the top deck made them look small. Kennecott Mine is the world's largest open pit copper mine. Flyn's father used the Director of Operations for this mine but is now retired

This mine puts out about 70 million tons of copper per year and they mine everyday except for Christmas. They get 90 percent copper, 5 percent gold and the other 5 percent represents all other types of minerals.
On the day they were there the mine actually had to shut down due to an accident. Whenever there is an accident they shut it down to conduct a safety meeting

The aerial view does not make the trucks look so big. Here are Flyn and Polo hamming it up for the kids

HIKING

Paige Dawson, Sierra, Tanner and Michael pose for the umpteenth time -- this is Dad just taking pictures like Mom asked him to do. See -- I know what goes on in Utah doesn't stay in Utah!

Hiking was another was to pass some fun time because it was unbelievably gorgeous everywhere they went. They hiked around Mirror lake which is an extremely high altitude lake. They cold walk the entire circumference of the lake on a path.

It was filled with ducks and beautiful scenery. They all enjoyed being able to stay outside for more than five minutes without burning their feet or sweating to death like they do in La Quinta.

Tanner said when they were walking around the lake they found a rock formation that looked like the head of Mickey Mouse -- Tanner thought that was cool.

Horses ----- Horses -----Horses ---- hitting the trail is the most popular event

Tanner gets a starter lesson on the haybale horse!

Sierra's horse was named Lefty, Tanner's was Mouse, Michael's was Dakota and Dad's was Cowgirl. Dad is never satisfied with the names the owners give to the horses so he promptly renames all of them -- Sierra's horse was re-named Widowmaker, Tanner's was re-named Shorty McMuffin, Michael's was re-named Bronco Killer and dad re-named his Widowmaker II. I guess he was losing his creativity after all the re-namings. After the re-naming ceremony they were off for their two hour trip around the mountains. Sierra was complaining her bum was hurting and her legs were tired -- yep, that's my girl! Dad said his big bum was sore as well --

I'm Not kidding, it's still the Olympics!

Day Nine, ten, eleven ....etc.... -- crawling to bed most nights, others I am falling asleep on the couch while watching the Olympics. Who wants to miss history being made? NOT ME!!! On the note of history (another added benefit of watching the olympics, I can tell my kids it is historical!), can you say Michael Phelps!

Here are some of my favortie photos from the events ----

Really cannot get enough of the Olympics -- it has me totally tired!

Tanner is 11!

Now I thought summer went by so fast, but where did 11 years go -- SO FAST! On August 18 Tanner turned 11, and I really had to wonder where these years went, and why they went so quickly. It is a birthday tradition to cook the birthday boy his breakfast of choice in bed. This year Tanner wanted me to make for him my Christmas breakfast casserole, so his wish was my command. You can tell by the smile on his face that he is one happy camper.

For Tanner's birthday we had taken him to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars at the theatre. He was so excited a movie actually was released on his birthday weekend -- it was a first. He loved it and was glad we all went (although I do recall Dad snoring during the movie).

That evening we decided to invite some family and neighborhood kids over for some cake and ice cream -- it was a blast (that was what Tanner said). Tanner decided this year he did not want a birthday cake, he wanted Pumpkin Pie (I am seeing a theme here -- Christmas Casserole, Pumpkin Pie... I think he is in a hurry to get to the holidays!), so what birthday boy wants, birthday boy gets. The funny thing was -- there were lots of folks who wanted the pumpkin pie, not me I am a CHOCOLATE CAKE girl! All in all it was a great day and we all enjoyed helping Tanner celebrate his special day. He got some of the COOLEST cards which kept entertaining us for weeks to come.

Still the Olympics

Oh my -- the Olympics are so exhausting! Who knew having the opportunity to watch the Olympics 24/7 for the first time would prove to be disastrous to my health? Who knew there would be so many different sports available for my viewing pleasure? Who knew each night (or early morning as it were) when Polo would raise from slumber and ask, "what time is it sweetie?", I would say 2 AM, 3AM or whatever ridiculous hour.

The worst part is I still would get up around 7 AM and start another day, all while continuing to watch the Olympics during the day as well. One can only imagine the beauty routine required to keep up with this lack of sleep.

I could feel the pride and patriotism for my country grow every time I saw an American compete and/or win. I really felt watching the Olympics was a way I can contribute to spirit the athletes could feel through the television. I mean, am I right???

If I didn't watch with such fervor how would I have gotten to see all the special Mary Carillo side stories which gave us a more in depth view of the people of China. How would I have ever been able to see the Water Cube (officially the National Aquatics Centre).

How else would I have known that the Water Cube design was based on the natural formation of soap bubbles? How could I have know there was a "Pants Building" (officially the Central Chinese Television building)? Well, you get my point. I did not want to miss anything!

So yes, I am tired, I look haggard, and I am neglecting my family -- but is for the greater good -- the Olympics! I know my family understands, they are happy because I still manage to keep them fed and their clothes clean!

If washing and ironing were an Olympic sport I think I would win a gold medal!