The Leonardo

My amazing sister was able to get us tickets to The Leonardo Museum.  It is an all hands on museum that focuses a lot on the arts but they also have a section on genetics where they are doing genetic research and an area where you can feel what it is like to be someone who has a handicap.  It was so amazing and most importantly, fun.  All the pictures I took are from the area with all the art stuff you can do.  I also took a bunch of video but for some reason it won't play nice and download from my phone.  If I figure it out I will add it.  

Before I show you all the pictures I also want to add another part that they had.  There is a huge human rights museum that focuses on the Civil Rights movement from the 1960's.  There was a volunteer there at the beginning of the exhibit that explained how the Civil Right movement really was able to move forward and that it was from all the students who had access to camera's.  He talked about how the people in the South would earn $.50 to $3.00 per day and so the people who were working and supporting their families couldn't stop work to put a voice to what they truly wanted and needed so it was the college students that really made everything move forward.  The pictures in the exhibit are all from the 1960's but there are many that look like they could have been taken yesterday.  I have never been to the South so there was much that shocked me when I saw how the African American population lived, worked, and were treated.  I think we all have an idea but until I saw some of those pictures I never truly appreciated how their lives were.  It is an amazing exhibit!!

Below are some of the pictures that I took of our fun.

Kenny and Kelton making a stop motion movie.  I did   record it and will add it later if  possible.

Taylor and Becca drawing pictures on the board that are shown on the large screen in the back.

Grandma Shauna and Kelton on the other side of the table doing the same  thing.  You can see the screen a little better in this picture.

One of the things you can do is watercolor painting on the computer.  This was my attempt at watercolors.  Yep,my art level is still at about 3rd grade.

This interactive exhibit is beautiful!  It is supposed to sense you and move and light up according to your emotions and the carbon dioxide in your breath.  It did that a little bit, it was just more fun to look at than try to make it work.

My men looking at the living exhibit  and trying to make the feathers move.

Taylor at the desk where you draw yourself.  He wouldn't keep his picture.  He wouldn't even let me see it.

Kenny is sitting next to Taylor drawing his own self portrait.  He did a really good job.

Kelton in the room where you could  move and dance and make the animated person the a T.V, screen  do what you are doing.  Once again, I recorded this but can't add it at this moment.  It was so cool.

Taylor in the same room making the  Knight dance.  Taylor even got the animated guy on his head when he tried to do some football move.  I did record him and I even got Kenny when he went in there but will add them when I figure out how.  I even took a turn in there but my mom has that picture, so, to bad but I don't  have it and can't add it.

We had so much fun together as a family, Thank You Becca for taking us.

A Jazz Game or A Jimmer Game

Kenny was able to get us tickets to the Jazz game on Saturday night. I was so excited to have a date night. We get a lot of evenings alone but we don't get to go out and do something very often.  So, this was a big night for us.  It really should have been just a perfect time but I let my snarky side out early in the evening and then it didn't want to go away (I'm thinking of blaming my cousin, it could be her influence that is helping me to foster this side of me.  Please note the level of sarcasm here.).

It all started when we were parking and the parking attendant asked me to move my car over. The guy beside me insisted on backing into his spot but he was way to far over so while I waited for him to move the parking attendant spoke with someone in a car behind me and then when I hadn't moved fast enough for him he came to tell me to move again.  I informed him that I was trying to move but and that is when he cut me off and spoke to me like I was 3 years old and said that he would help me.  Gee Thanks! Like I don't know how to back up my car.  I rolled my window down and as he "helped" me back up I caught his attention and explained that I can only move as fast as the people around me and that I had to wait for the guy next to me and then for the car behind me and that unless he wanted me to back into someone (I was thinking especially him) then he needed to be patient. I finished by yelling out my window as I pulled forward that he didn't need to treat me like an idiot. I am still embarrassed that I actually yelled at him.

Once inside it was wonderful and we sat next to one of Kenny's coworker's and his wife who were both very nice.  Once they started to announce the players for the teams my snarky side came back out.  When they announced Jimmer, who now plays for the Kings, the crowd went crazy and gave him a huge welcome.  They cheered more for him than the entire Jazz team.  That is how it went through the whole game.  I couldn't believe how the people there would give him encouragement and cheer for him and barely notice what the Jazz players were doing.  It became very clear, very quickly that for the majority of the people there that there was only  one player on the entire court and that was Jimmer.  I felt so embarrassed for "our" team.  There were some boos from the crowd at times when Jimmer had the ball but overall there should have been much more support for our Jazz.  I had so many comments during the game that I won't share here because I already shared my slight freak out moment with the parking attendant and that was bad enough, everyone would hate me if I shared half of what I thought and shared with Kenny during the game.  Kenny finally decided that the whole place was off (there was a disturbance in the force) because we had so many people from UT county there for the game.

We really did have a ton of fun and even spent some time remembering our first date and where we sat.  I am so proud that the Jazz won the game!!!  It was a good night that I will remember for a very long time and not because of who was there but because I got to enjoy so much time with my husband watching a sport we both enjoy while eating ice cream.

The North Invades, Maybe

When I took my first accounting class my professor was obsessed with the  idea that all great invasions came from the North.  Well, Canada,  being our northern Country bordering us, my professor insisted that one day Canada would invade America and take over.  With the 2012 election under way and those interested in running for the top office have begun their campaigns, we now have a new party that whether they are serious or not have announced  their interest in the campaign.

The new party is The Canada Party.  

Below is the link to their website and a video explaining their platform. 

(If you are sensitive to some language, I need to warn you that there are a couple of words you may not like  but this is really funny)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/924885865/the-canada-party-america-but-better

I never took my professor serious, but this could be the first sign that he may have known something we didn't and that he wasn't just off his rocker.  Funny thing is, this is about all I remember from an entire semester of accounting  :)

I hope everyone gets a good laugh like I did.  Politics are so serious (they really should be, there is a lot at stake) but we can still keep our sense of humor and enjoy a good laugh.

A Solicitor and Pink Paisley Pants

Now that it has been almost a month since I have last blogged I should probably apologize for being such a bad blogger.  Life has just been normal and boring which is nice but it also makes it hard to write about things.

Now for something funny.  People have a way of knowing when you are having a bad day and the other day I was having one of those days when I was really rockin' the fat housewife look.  I'm not even saying that to be mean, I really had that disheveled look going.  Picture it:  Me, black long sleeve T-shirt (from the day before and wrinkled), pink pajama pants that have dark pink and white paisley patterns, tan socks (at 6 am I thought they were white, it doesn't make it any better but it helps explain my train of thought).  So far you should have this picture of me from the neck down where nothing matches. Now to add the neck up: oily face (no hormones = me at 14 all over again) which has spread to my crazy hair so my hair is cucky at the temples, bangs that are split down the middle from my c-pap and massive bed head in the back.  Now put that all together.  I have no credibility at all for anything in life, I shouldn't even be out of bed like this.

Someone knocks on the door and of course, whooosh, the boys and the dog are at the door swinging it wide open.  And, yes, they really did make that noise.  I stumble over to the door and it is a solicitor.  Really! I don't want to deal with this.  I gather what little I have mentally for that day together and approach the door tell him off before he has a chance to say more than "wow, big dog, I hope you fed it breakfast."  He in turn gets that ha, you are so not funny grin and then I quickly turn it into my I don't like you mean face and inform him that "this is a no soliciting area and that I need to ask him to leave now. And I'm not very interesting anyway."

Right there, at the I'm not very interesting part, ya, combine that with how I looked and I lost all credibility. I'm not really sure if I had any to begin with but there was none when he left because he walked away laughing and repeating me. I quickly yelled behind him that "I wasn't interested!" and then shut the door.  I had fed Maggie breakfast but I think she really needed a snack right about then.  I just couldn't decide if she could have him for laughing at me or if she could have me for, well, being me.

Juliet by Anne Fortier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly loved this story. I am such a sucker for a good love story..I am a complete hopeless romantic.  I also enjoyed how Ms. Fortier brought so much attention on family history.  It makes me want to do more of my family history and find out more about my ancestors. I have no greats hopes of finding out that I am related to any famous people or have a famous story written about my ancestors but it was so interesting to see how the two tied together to make this a fun read.  I also enjoyed reading about the sisters and how their relationship was and how they were finally to come together and get on the same page so they could appreciate having each other. Reading about how the families believed in the old family lore and based so much of their lives on the old blessings and curses. My Grandma's family is from Italy and I know how much old family lore and wives tales impact those families who still believe them.  Just one more part of the story that I could relate to.


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Fresh Air

My Sister in Law called and needed some help the other day.  She had a final to take for one of her classes that she is working on for her Masters degree and needed someone to watch her cute little punkin.  How could I say no?  I loaded up the boys and had also made arrangement's  to have Seth come with us and then bring him home so he could have a sleepover with the boys before school started again.  I couldn't believe how warm it was that day.  We went to McDonald's for lunch and to play a little on the inside playground but it was so nice that we quickly abandoned that idea and went to the playground at the elementary school by my sister in law's house.  I took so many more pictures of the kids, but I'm still trying to figure out my new phone and somehow I only sent half of the pictures to my email.  Without checking to make sure all the pictures made it to my email I deleted some of the pictures.  Major lesson learned!  However, these are some of the cutest pictures that I did get that day. I am still in shock that we could play outside in January.

I love this picture of Kelton.  I can't believe how tall he has grown.  he looks so old here.

Seth and Kelton.  I tried to get T to climb and get in there but then they all started to move and it was all over, I couldn't get all of them in the picture.  

After some coaxing...I did get all of them together for one picture.
Kelton, Audrey, Taylor, and Seth.

We all had so much fun and it was amazing watching Audrey keep up with the boys and try to play soccer with them.  She just didn't slow down at all, she was right there running her little legs off keeping up them boys.  I am so glad that I got to have time with them and create these memories for all of us.

Christmas 2011

FINALLY!!!!!  I have time to quickly add pictures from our Christmas.  As usual, we kept with our tradition of spending Christmas Eve with my family having our Italian dinner and then opening up presents from Grandma's Chris and Shauna.  We had such a fun time!!!  We just ate and ate and ate and then had dessert and then hoped  that we wouldn't pop :)  

Christmas morning was wonderful.  We had a lazy morning getting up and opening up the presents that Santa brought for the boys.  They were completely spoiled!!!  

The spread!!!!  Look at all that wonderful food.

White clam sauce and macaroni.    

Red sauce with the few sausages and the lone meatball  that was left after we dug in.

Halibut and Calamari.  It just wouldn't be Christmas  without any of this.

Our Chef Chrissy!!!!

Grandma Sauna and Kelton.  I just love this picture of them together.

KP duty :)  Unfortunately we couldn't finish because it was time to open presents.

Kenny with his most coveted present EVER!  He has always wanted an Eagles jersey with his name on it and the year he was born.  Something is starting to smell a little stinky and it isn't the fish.

The boys got matching Ute jackets.  They love all of their Utah  gear.  Wonder what they would do if they ever opened up something that was BYU? hmmmm.

My boys in their jersey's...all of their teams played over Christmas weekend and they all won.  Does it get any better?

Oh My! What could this be?

A Kindle!!!!! Holy something!  I can't believe I got a Kindle.

T got his orange blanket that he wanted.  First the jersey then the Kindle and now the blanket...spoiled!!!  Now I know  it is not the fish.  :)

When we got home we gave Maggie her present from her "Aunt Maggie".  It was a hit!

Oh no, the stockings.  Santa left so much that they were bulging and he had to put a present on top of the stocking holders.

T examining the first few contents of his stocking.  Soon he would find out that it was full of  underwear and socks.

Kelton starting with the first few pieces of candy that he had before he found his socks and underwear.  It is amazing how Santa knows what you need.

Oh no!  Santa broke one of the rules of our home...no war video games.  Somehow Kelton ended up with 2 call of duty games.  So need to have a talk with Santa before next year.

Taylor got his Transformer that he wanted that is also a NASCAR.  I think the stink followed us home from Grandma's.  

Even after opening her stocking, Maggie's favorite present was the one she got from her Aunt Maggie.  So stinkin cute!

Kelton also got a model from Santa and he had to build it that morning.

Taylor got more transformer's and had them out and transformed before breakfast was even thought of.

Later we attended Church and were blessed by the Christmas program that the Choir performed for us.  We only went to church for one hour but it was so uplifting to be able to attend Church and keep that focus on Christ and all that he did for us because he was born.  Being able to attend Church on Christmas was amazing.  I will remember how we tried and succeeded a little more this year to remember Christ this year while we were blessed by his love.

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas as well and were able to feel the love of our Savior at this important time.