Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

The Historic Heber Valley Railroad

We had the fun opportunity this past weekend to spend an evening up in Heber and take our kids on the old "Heber Creeper." This old railroad is truly an antique and so much fun to ride. The kids enjoyed looking out at the beautiful scenery, looking for animals, and watching the train conductor work. (video 1). However, Cassidy eventually got bored and she decided to do what she does best. (video 2).

Video 1 above, Video 2 below

Sleepy Mckay

Mckay has been without his "pluggy" for over a month now. Mom and Dad have been happy to see him look like a big boy and not a big baby. The only down side to the pluggy being gone is Mckay struggles to go to sleep without it. He loves to cuddle with Mom or Dad while he is going to sleep, however, we don't cuddle every night.

When we don't cuddle, sometimes we pay the price. Mckay will come out of bed over and over again. This particular night he had come out many times and he knew that we were serious and he needed to go to sleep. I guess we didn't specify well enough that we wanted him to sleep in his bed.

A weekend away for mom

For those that don't know, I am a Sign Language Interpreter. I love my job and that variety that it brings to my life. I love working in a field that is continually changing and growing. I have a goal to become a Professional Level Interpreter. Currently I am state Novice Certified and have national Education Certifications. This year I have joined a mentor program that will help me achieve my goal. Three times this year I attend weekend retreats that are full of workshops, activities and lots of fun. While Taylor was home bailing water out of the flooded basement, I was spending a lovely evening in Park City. Above is the picture of the million dollar cabin we stayed at. A special thanks to my sweet husband Taylor, thank you for supporting me in my goals and dealing with the kids (who have more fun with Dad) while I am away from the family.

Cassidy and Mckay have new bunk beds in their rooms. I was excited to tell Cassidy that Mom got to sleep on the top bunk in the room I was sleeping in.

On my weekends away, all communication is in American Sign Language. I enjoyed several meals with this view. The meals were mostly quiet and peaceful. Typically all you would hear was laughter. There were humming birds that lived on the trees to the left. I don't think that I have ever seen so many hummingbirds in my life.

This is the awesome group that I lived with for 4 days. We all have a blast and learn a lot.

Watering the Basement!

Watering the Basement

Inspired by my daughter Cassidy

Oh what a night, I had me yesterday
When I suddenly learned, to my dismay,
that morning dear daughter had played with the hose.
It wasn't turned off, and the water did flow.

After turning the nozzle to close all the way,
I realized the water had been on all day.
I glanced to my left and loudly did yell,
The water had filled both window wells.

The windows struggled to handle the pressure,
and allowed the water to freely enter.
I bailed with intensity far from a whim,
like on a raft with a leak, and I couldn’t swim.

My efforts to bail seemed to matter so little,
as the saturated ground filled the wells middle.
Only after three hours of constantly bailing,
Did the water level drop and the windows stop failing.

The basement floor damage included wet clothes,
saturated blankets, pillows and photos.
With the exception of a Mission bought watercolor,
Each item was saved, no worse than another.

So if you have children, who happen to play,
With your garden hose- early on in the day,
Secure the main valve and protect your home,
Or you’ll bail til midnight and write stupid poems.

Would you say we have a Plethora of new posts?

Herriman Sprinkler Park

This video is entitled, "Mckay making his Mom nervous."

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

One Cute Date!

I truly believe that our Triple A baseball team, The Salt Lake Bees, has one of the prettiest settings in all of baseball. Sadly, the Bees lost 8-0.

Bunk Beds

It was finally time to upgrade to Bunk Beds. Thankfully Ikea made it financially possible. Sadly, they are such a fun "toy" now that it is even harder to get them to go to sleep. AAHH!

"Mom, Dad, come see how my room looks from down here."

"Mom, Dad, come see how my room looks from up here."

"Dad, climb up here again."

"Mom, come lay down by me."

"Dad, watch me swing."

"Mom, watch me climb up all by myself."

"Mom" "Dad" "Mom" "Dad"

.............maybe it was too soon.

Ensign Men Fishing Trip

Some of the most beautiful country around.


We hiked, we fished, we swam in the lake, we slept on the hard ground, we fished some more, we hiked back down. All in all, it was a success!

We are pointing at the 'Bear Country' sign. However, the biggest animal we saw on the trip was a very terrifying looking, possibly man eating....squirrel.

Apology to the Construction Worker

I would like to extend an apology to a construction worker who is performing his duties near my place of employment. Truth be told, I don't care too much for road construction and it can be quite frustrating. While at work yesterday, the street adjoining my office parking lot was torn out, and reduced to one lane serving both directions. This required the construction workers to stand and direct traffic with the familiar "SLOW" sign or the "STOP" sign. I however was trying to exit my office parking lot in the middle of all this, requiring an additional worker to facilitate my exit.

There was another construction worker holding an orange flag. Noticing my predicament, he motioned to other drivers with the orange flag, thus creating a space for me to exit. I quickly exited the parking lot and drove the direction his orange flag was pointing. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, I gave him a rather enthusiastic wave.

It was at this very moment, I realized my error.

You see this helpful construction worker only had ONE arm. He was using this one arm to hold the orange flag, and therefore could not acknowledge my enthusiastic wave, because he must continue to hold the orange flag steady, so as not to confuse other drivers.

I am sorry one-armed construction worker for reminding you that you only have one arm. Thank you for creating space for me to exit my office parking lot. I really appreciate it. When I see you again, I plan on expressing my thanks, with a simple head nod.