Lost and Found

For one of Taylor's classes, he has study hall in the library and the lost and found is located in the library.  I guess he checks the lost and found regularly and last week noticed that there was a watch in there.  He came home on Friday with this watch on his wrist.  I asked him about it and he said that it had been in the lost and found and it had been there for a while (found out a while equates 3 days) so he took it.  I didn't get to much more from him, but later when his Grandma came home the conversation went more like this:

Grandma: Where did you get that watch?
T: I found it in the lost and found.
Grandma: Was it yours?
T: No, it was lost and I found it!

Now T has a watch that beeps every hour and the alarm went off a couple times and he couldn't figure out how to stop it.  My response, well you found it =)

I love how kids think and reason.  Don't always love all the teaching that has to follow some of these decisions, but it always keeps life interesting.

Rabbits

Medical bills reproduce like rabbits !

It could also be like Field of Dreams...If you pay them, more will come.

I'm just sayin :)

January

January slunk in with much after Christmas cleaning, getting back into our "school" routine and COLD!

January always comes with cold temperatures (close to half the month was below freezing and in the teens for daytime highs), inversion, fog, and snow.  This is the first year that I remember having to experience freezing rain.  

On with our life and how this month has been a blur (or maybe I have just been blocking it each day) for the month of January.  I started the year off with my mom in the hospital with pneumonia.  On January 1st, while parking at the hospital, I hit a truck.  Oh, happy day & Happy Freaking New Year!  Mom got out of the hospital and has been doing wonderful. 

About the time we were starting to lose all viability from the smog, I decided to take down our Christmas Tree.  It was the middle of the month and the longest time I had ever left a tree up...ever!  While twisting myself and the tree up with my sad attempt to take the lights off the tree, I got myself stuck between the tree, wall and love seat. I was so tired that I couldn't move the love seat any more and in my ever so stubborn way, started to push myself up from the floor while wedged in my little triangle.  Just when I thought I had myself going in the right direction, I realized that I was falling and shooting across the living room.

As soon as the realization struck me that I was not going up but across the room I mumbled a quick "Oh Shit" as the truth of what was going on hit me.  I was heading straight at Taylor (he was laying on the couch) and quickly (didn't know that was still a speed I could hit) twisted so that I would land on the tote with our decorations that had just been neatly tucked away.

Taylor's first response was total shock and then he said, "mom, you broke the tote!"  After a few seconds he looked at me and asked if I was okay, followed with a "how did you not break a rib?"  He may forever regret asking me this question because I answered him honestly...my boob broke the fall!  I hurt so bad, I had landed on my right side smashing my arm, boob, and face.  I had to lay there to catch my breath and take assessment of the situation, since nothing was broken it was time to laugh (gently, I still hurt).

On the day of our infamous Ice Storm, Kenny had to drive to work (just shy of 40 miles on I-80 and I-15). We had several horrible accidents on the roads all over Salt Lake County that morning and Kenny was luck enough to be in the middle of one of the worst accidents that morning.  He was just driving through the interchange that takes you from I-80 onto part of I-15 before you can head East on I-80 again to get off on State Street.  Before he could get to far into that whole transition of his drive the accident began.  He said there were trucks and cars sliding all over the place and then all he could think of was NASCAR...when there is a wreck you want to drive low to try to make through without hitting any of the wrecked cars or have them hit you.  All he could think while watching what was occurring around him was "drive low, drive low."  

He has been watched over by many angels this month and has been very blessed.  With the ice storm, the horrible fog (mixed with the inversion) and now snow, he has not been involved in any accidents.  I am truly thankful for his safety!

Looking back over this month we have had so many adventures that would be difficult to mention here without turning one blog post into a novel.  I should have blogging as one of my new years resolutions :)

We have had many trips and falls, one accident, much sliding (mostly on feet) on the ice, attended a car show (no we are not buying a new car, at least for now) and fell in love with the Mini Coopers, went to the movies, I started college again, lots of homework for me and the boys, new semester for the boys, celebrated my moms birthday, watched lots of football, and spent lots of time together at home curled up in blankets watching movies and just spending time together.

Now that January is over I can say that we survived!! 

My 2 stories and little list of things above might not sound like a lot but I'm pretty sure there was more, I just can't remember.  I did find out 2 big accomplishments for my boys:

Kelton finished his make up credits in 2 weeks for 2 of his classes that he struggled with and is now in a theater class in school. He is going to be in a play!!

Taylor was moved into Honors Science with the new semester.  He didn't tell me until yesterday!

I am so proud of them and all their hard work.

May we all stay on our feet (haa haa) as we head into February.

May it also warm up a little as well :)

New Year

Now that we are a few days into 2013 I have to take a moment to stop and reflect on all that I have been blessed with.  I need to take a moment to say thank you for having a wonderful and supportive husband.  He is so loving, patient and overall the best person for me.  I need to say how very honored I am to have Kelton and Taylor as my sons.  They both are so strong in their beliefs and opinions, I am very proud of them for that strength, they add that strength to me every day.  Both boys are so smart. Like any mother of teenagers, I wish they could see how smart they are.  I want them both to know how much I love them and how proud of them I am. (someone, please tell them I wrote this. They are teenage boys, they won't read their moms silly blog)

I am thankful that Kenny is such a hard working man.  He takes care of our family and provides for us so well.  When I think of this I think of all the families out there that are struggling and or don't have what they need, I am reminded of how blessed we are that we have our needs met and even get to enjoy some of our wants.  We have a roof over our heads, food to eat, clothes to wear, dependable cars to drive, and even got to go to the movies this weekend (which was entertaining in more than one way if you saw Facebook). Having someone attend the movie with you is, as one person said it, " shit ass drunk" always brings extra entertainment.  Now if you hear one of ask if you were S.A.D. you will understand (I hope).

This is also the perfect time to reflect on all things that I hold dear to my heart.  Along with family I am taking this time to ponder on all the things which the Lord has blessed me with.  I keep these things close to my heart and often struggle with them but I know that these precious truths are, well, true.  I am thankful that I threw myself together and went to church yesterday.  I don't always like to attend fast and testimony meeting, but it helped to remind me why I make the choices I do and to remind me how important God is in my life.  And, yes, I know I swore in the previous paragraph and am now talking about my faith.  I'm having a hard time being too serious this morning.

I am also trying to learn how to use my new laptop and I keep hitting something on the mouse pad that is moving my curser all over the screen.  It has made typing this a little frustrating and slightly comical.  This is why I can't get to serious, not with my curer bouncing all over what I'm writing.

With this new year has come some hard parenting moments, lots of comical moments, reconnecting with loved ones, me becoming a student again and lots of hope. I hope that all of you can look at this new year that can bring whatever it wants, with hope.  I hope we can all find some humor in the things that come to us this year. 

I think my theme for this year will be HOPE, HUMOR, & LOVE!

First Snow

We had our first snow in the mountains today.  I'm so excited to have these first signs of winter, even though it is only 3 days after the first day of fall.

Found a couple pictures of the dusting that 2 of the ski resorts received today and just had to share.  I love how the snow looks with all the fall color!!

Alta Ski Resort 9-25-12

Canyons Resort 9-25-12

Peek into being a Homemaker

I like to joke and say that I'm the CEO, or maybe more appropriately the CFO, of our family.  As a homemaker, there is a lot that gets done while everyone is away from home that I don't think anyone thinks about.  It truly is one of the hardest jobs that I have done and there is no training, manual or a manager to turn to for help.  You can talk with other people in your "line of work" but everyone is going to do things differently from you so that it suites their situation.  I like to hear other ideas and some of them have helped me a lot.  Others just are not for me.

While I have been doing my crazy Monday morning it made me think of all that I have done and how long it took me to do what should have been a few simple things.  I should know that if I think it is going to be simple then it will take twice as long as it should.

Here is a "simple" list of things that I do (some more than once) most days.

*dishes (by hand, we don't have a dishwasher right now)
*laundry...clothes have to be washed and dried, they don't just appear in the closet clean on their own.
*grocery shopping...food, like clothes, don't just appear.
*pay bills and balance accounts...always takes more time I think it will.
*dust
* vacuum
*cook...this also involves planning a menu, preparing the food and finally cooking.  This is usually followed by some gnashing and gnawing of the teeth because someone is never happy.
*run all errands...grocery shopping fall under this as well as anything else that needs to be done.  Today it will include going to the car insurance agent to sign a cancellation paper, the bank to get lunch money for kids, picking up kids from school, and checking the mail.
*make all phone calls...there is many phone calls that are needed and not just to visit.  Although I can do a lot of visiting :)
*the bathroom....need I say more!?
*doctor, dentist and orthodontist appointments....this includes making the appointments for everyone in the family, driving myself and kids to all appointments and making sure they are all in my calendar so I can keep all of them organized and not overlapping.  I only have 2 kids, I have no idea how I would do that with more kids.  I admire all parents with mad scheduling skills!

There are other times when you get to do fun things like have lunch with a friend, get together and craft with friends or family, or simply curl up with a good book.  Other times I find myself happily in the service of others and helping with things that need to be done whether it is watching kids, running errands, or simply being a listening ear.

Staying at home is rewarding and gives so much to our family to have me home.  It doesn't mean that every day is easy or that I have fully adjusted to being at home, even after 2 years.  However, I see so many positive things happening to my family now that I am at home.  I loved working but am very blessed to be home to take care of my family and myself.

I'm sure there are things that are left off of my list, these are just the things that I am trying to tackle today.  Now that I have had my blog break it's time to tackle my list again.  I hope everyone is having a productive and happy Monday!

A Great Empire

Taylor just got home from school and somehow got on the topic of his hair and how thick and curly it is.  He insists that he has a worse time than any girl trying to do his hair because it is just full of knots and his comb is always getting stuck.  He then started to talk about who is to blame if he goes bald. He is going to blame his dad for one type of baldness and Uncle Steve (Kenny's Uncle) for a different type.  I didn't have the heart to explain that he can't blame Uncle Steve because he is related by marriage, therefore genetics don't come into play.

Either way, Taylor announced that when/if he does lose his hair and start to bald he is just going to shave it off and not try to hang onto "this once great empire" that he has.

What 13 year old even thinks about losing his hair let alone calling it a great empire?

You gotta love this kid!!

What the......

Kenny stopped at a gas station in Salt Lake to grab a drink on the way home from work the other night and saw this car in the parking lot.  He was trying to be inconspicuous about taking the picture but was having a hard time juggling his drink and his phone so he finally just set his drink down and took the picture. I know he already posted this on Facebook, but I had to share it here as well.  

There is a lot on this car, it's just crazy!  Good luck trying to pick out all the stuff that is attached to it. 

He has seen it one more time since taking this picture.  I'm still in shock that someone is out there driving this around.  I guess that's what they're after though, that shock factor.

Ducati's and Dingy's

I'm reading a book right now where the lead character doesn't know what a Ducati is.  How does someone not know what that is?  Okay, maybe it's not that obvious that it is one of the supreme motorcycles out there.  Kenny would love one and is very jealous of my cousin's "very sexy redhead".  My cousin just got his baby, a beautiful red Ducati.

Kennys dream "red head"

There was just something about thinking about my husbands dream bike and then thinking of some of the things that I dream of and it just made me realize how high I have my sights set.  I really shouldn't think of things that are so far out of reach.  Some of those things are just normal things that most everyone has and others are out there with the Ducati.

My dream car is this:

Reality:

Still a very nice car, but no Mercedes :) However, I was told that when you pull up in this car you can look very bad ass!  I'll take that.

I'm sure we all have those moments where we just dream so big that it feels like we are falling short of even reaching the basics.  There are days when my family feels more like this:

Honestly...take out the beer and cigarettes and it really is like this :)

When in reality we really are closer to normal but not quit like this:

Could you just imagine Kenny in a bow tie? hee hee :)

One of the things that I always think of is that we are all in the same boat, relatively speaking.  Some of us get to cruise around in this:

While others are blessed with this:

 For the most part, I think most of us are somewhere in the middle. I know the trick is being happy with what we have and I am truly happy with my family and the many cars that we have owned (except for the 2 minivans, did not like those).  I love having dreams and goals to reach. I love that we all have fun together as a family and it doesn't take lots of money or proving anything to anyone.  We just can love each other and enjoy.  But, there are those times when it would just be nice to pull up in that Mercedes (Maybe at Lego Land).  

I guess my point in all of this is that we all need that moment to take a step back and take inventory of where we are at and what we have.  That moment came for me and I have to say that I am really happy with what I see.  I may not be super mom with the chocolate cake (at least not everyday) and I might not get to pull up in my little 2 seat-er sports car but I do have an amazing family that I get to spend everyday with bobbing around through this life.

New Blog

This may not be new to many of you and I have been using many of the suggestions and recipes on this blog for a while, but I just added it to my list of blogs and wanted to share how amazing this woman is.  So far, all of the things on this blog that I have tried have worked wonderful and has made me excited to do laundry, has saved some of my clothes from being thrown out (which has saved me money, always a good thing) and even made me excited to try the cleaning suggestions.  I just got done going over some of the suggestions and can't wait to go scrub my bathroom, of all things!

I know that "One good thing by Jillee" is already very successful and I'm proud to help further that success by maybe adding one more reader.  She is wonderful and puts so much work into her blog.  If you don't already know about her blog, please check it out.

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/

Parking Lots

There are so many other things for me to blog about and to catch up on.  We have been working on putting in a bathroom in my Mother-in-Law's basement so we can move in to her home in a month and I have pictures and memories from Fathers Day.  It will come this week, but for now I have another, actually pointless, thought to share.

While leaving Walmart the other day I had the most random thought.  How many people leave the store and can't remember where they parked? It made me wonder what it was like during the days of horse and wagon.  I know people who have not just lost their car but have gone to the wrong car.  One instance, the person got into the wrong car and drove off before realizing they had the wrong car and returned it.

So, did anyone lose their horse and wagon? Did anyone ever load up and drive off with the wrong rig? I know the horses were branded but it was a horse...not like today where we have different styles and brands. Does anyone ever wonder about these things? 

Better yet, what about when cars first were introduced...did anyone ever jump into the wrong model T? It's not like there was much difference between those early cars.

Welcome through my trap door :)
Just a random thought for the day. Hope everyone has a good day.

Political Fun

Most of you have seen this on Facebook but I had to add it to by blog also. I love that it is finally a political cartoon that is just fun and isn't pointing fingers or being mean, just some good old fashion fun. At least that is what I think.  My whole family was laughing so hard when we first saw this last night.

by  Mark Wallengren

Just in case this is to small, I will add the link to Facebook as well.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/p480x480/576327_3494682399640_1048959364_3203801_389978312_n.jpg

Spring

My favorite time of the year is officially here as of tomorrow!

 I love spring! 

 The smell of rain and early spring flowers. The look of snow with those early flowers poking through. This is the time of the year when I celebrate my birthday and my two son's birthdays.  It is also my Step-Mom's birthday. This is when my anniversary is and my best friends.  It is also when we remember our Savior and that He does live.

There is so much hope that comes with this time of year.  I think even more so than when we celebrate New Years.  It is a time of renewal as we watch all the plants come back from their winter sleep.  The colors are bright and bold and speak of new life.  Everything around us promises of warm weather, more flowers to come, blossoms on the trees and sunshine.  There is so much beauty around us that I hope we can take a moment to enjoy all it has to offer.

Our View

 Kelton took these pictures yesterday while it was snowing.  This is the view we have of the mountains from our home.  This first picture is while it is snowing.  I like this picture and Kelton has it for his wallpaper now.

This picture was taken later in the afternoon after the snow had stopped.  I love this picture. I love how he can just zoom right to the mountain peaks and get these shots.

 I am constantly amazed by the beauty that we are surrounded by.  Heavenly Father put all of this here for us to enjoy.  The views we have are a constant proof that He loves us and wants us to be surrounded by beautiful things.

Alter Ego

When I went to the library this week there was a paper with the title, "what literary character would you be?"  For some reason that idea has stuck with me.  Being the drama queen that I am I think it would depend on the day to know which character I would want to be and then there is the question I have come up with that wonders if a television script can count as literature.  I feel that that is a very legitimate question.  It would let me add in so many more alter egos.

Somewhere in my head I think I live most of my life in the early years of our Country in the South.  I am a total, wanna be, Southern Belle.  In fact that is where my nickname came from, just a little trivia for you all. I'm pretty sure that if we did have lives before this one mine was one of a nice Southern woman.  At any given time I can picture myself sitting on a large front porch drinking lemonade and wearing a lovely, elegant hoop dress with a beautiful matching hat.  My home would be one of the very traditional large plantation homes that would be surrounded by sprawling green lawns with trees and farther on large fields of cotton and or tobacco.  I used to watch Gone with the Wind a lot when I was young, that should help explain some of this.

There are other days that I am part of a good love story.  I could be any one of the characters from a Jane Austen book or most any other of the good love stories that I have read.  I am a hopeless romantic and love to read and see how each relationship comes together and how the whole story unfolds.  I love the Austen stories because they are so romantic and set in the beautiful English countryside.  They wear my favorite style of dress, empire waist dresses are the best!  They have elegant dances and parties (just like my first example) and are very proper.  I'm not to sure about having a complete life of luxury--some of the things that they do would drive me insane.  I would have to be stimulated more unless I go with the idea that if that is just what I'm used to then that is just what I would do.  I'm also not so sure about being too proper.  I have a feeling that I would struggle there as well.

Still with the love story idea I also love a good fantasy love story like Twilight or the more adult Fever Series. I can visit Forks or Dublin almost anytime and even when I do allow myself to get sucked back into one of those books my boys know I am gone for the duration.  None of the stories that I have read are really healthy relationships but then again they are fiction and just to be enjoyed.

Now to the television part.  If these can be included it would encompass what my real life is more like.  I love watching the Middle.  We fit into that dysfunctional family to some degree.  I have never missed one of my boys birthday's but there are so many other things that I can relate to.  Those feelings of frustration as a mother and wife when things just don't go right.  When something breaks and you just don't have the money right then to barely repair it let alone buy something new.  When life takes over and you begin to think that romance is a thing of the past (doesn't help when this happens just as you begin reading a wonderful love story).  It really doesn't matter how well I try to plan--if I try to put together a planned family day or vacation it all falls apart and nothing ends up as I had planned. I could definitely be the mom on that show.

Last but not least, as long as I can include television, I would have to be able to embrace the mom from Home Improvement.  Living in a house with all men, Jill is totally one I can relate with.  I am consistently surrounded by bodily functions, tools, and other forms of mayhem.  I love my guys but would appreciate some things to be left alone and as they came from the store (or dealership).  I would love to not be outnumbered during most all conversations and then have to listen to my topic switched to one that includes any number of bodily functions being laughed about.  As much as I love the laughter, the topic can get old (at least for a girl).  I guess my topics can get old for them also. They can get bored with clothes, hair, polish colors and new recipes.  I don't see how though :)

In the end, my life is so interesting that I should learn to enjoy my very own character and just keep sharing my own experiences with you all and maybe someday I will be able to put some of these ideas and stories into some kind of order and get my character published for all to read.  It would be really funny to see someone want to be this character.

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.

X-Wings in the morning

While driving Kenny to work the other morning (Monday) I told him to have a good day.  Kenny's reply was that he would try.  Before I go any further you need to know that he has successfully turned me into a Star Wars geek.  So, my reply was, "do or do not, there is no try."  Ya, I know, but give me some credit...it was 6:30 in the morning and I was in horrible pain from my stupid back.  Kenny didn't even miss a beat. He quickly replied that he "would drop an x-wing on me."

It is a really good thing that x-wings aren't real.  It is also a really good thing that we don't have any at home, my boys quickly reminded me that all of their x-wings are in storage.

I'm still trying to decide which was funnier...the boys taking the whole x-wing part so literal or that Kenny said he wanted to drop one on me.  The scary part is that most of our morning drives are that random :)

Showing Gratitude

November? Already?!

Out of all the different times of the year, this is the time that we usually spend focusing on the things that we are grateful for.  I like seeing how so many of you are doing a post every day on Facebook and sharing the things that you are thankful for in your life.  I seem to have very little computer time any more, my boys have taken over.  Besides that, I would forget to share something everyday.  From here until Thanksgiving I will be pretty busy, so I thought I would make a list of things in my life that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for:
1)   My life
2)   My husband
3)   My children
4)   All of my family
5)   All of Kenny's family (just in case someone out there might think they weren't included in #4)
6)   My faith
7)   Prayers and Priesthood blessings
8)   A home to live in
9)   Food to eat
10) A reliable car
11) All of our season's and the amazing weather and plants that each brings.
12) Modern medicine
13) Our Maggie dog
14) The Scriptures
15) Enough money to pay our bills
16) Shriners Hospital and Dr. Carroll
17) Did I say my children, they crack me up!
18) Good friends...most of which we have had since high school.
19) My Dad and my Mom...they both taught me so much and continue to
20) Kenny's Mom...She has taught me so much since we met
21) My sister...She is so strong and independent and has a motorcycle (jealous!)
22) Books...I would be lost without my books
23) Christmas and Easter....my favorite holiday's for so many reasons.
24) Health Insurance....that is after the deductible has been met :)
25) Did I mention my husband...He deserves to be mentioned many times after our last summer
26) My freedom and this amazing Country that I am blessed to live in
27) Having my children in their charter school
28) My education
29) A husband who can fix just about anything...did I mention him already?
30) My amazing support system which includes my family, friends and ward family. Without whom I would be lost.

Most of these are in the right order but some could be rearranged and placed higher.  If I could (which I could, this is my list) I would list everything as #1.  There really isn't a good way to place any of these in order of importance since they are all important and mean so much to me.

While Driving

While I was driving to pick Kenny up from work I was looking around and noticing some of the things around me.  As I drove I wished that I had a camera attached to me or my car somehow so that I could capture the things that I saw.  Instead, I found some pictures that are close to what I saw or remind me of how the things I saw was almost from the past.

Being in the city (okay, suburb, but still the city), the picture below looks like the freeway as I merge on in the morning when taking Kenny to work.  Always busy and crazy and for the most part not to bad to drive in other than the few (or many) idiots that decide they also need to drive to work.

This is what we woke up to this morning.  The first real snow storm for the season. It always seem that no one can remember to drive in the snow for the first couple big storms.

As much as I love a bright sunny day...I love seeing a dark sky bringing in a storm.  I am always amazed at how many different colors and shades of grey, blue and black you can find in storm clouds.

While driving one day I saw a small group of boys that were playing baseball in the grass in front of a church.  It reminded me of when I was a child and even the stories that my mom and uncle will share about their childhood.  When all the kids would gather in the street for an impromptu game of baseball or kick the can.

Our last home had a front porch that we would sit on and visit in the evening.  We would just enjoy sitting there in the quiet and catch up on the day or plan for the weekend or visit with neighbors that were out walking and would stop to say hi.  I love seeing families sitting on their front porches and visiting while I drive by.  It is one of our requirements for our next home, we need to have a front porch again.  That is Kenny's request, mine is to have the rocking chairs that are in the picture below.

I think this has to be my favorite part of my day.  On my way home from taking Kenny to work and again when we are on our way home in the evening, we have a view of the Jordan River Temple.  As we come down Redwood Road and just as we hit the top of the hill right before 7000 south we have a perfect view of the Temple lit up.  What a perfect way to start and end my day.

There are so many things that I see as I am driving around town and wish that there was a way to capture them just as I see them while I am driving past them.  There are so many images that brighten my day and make everything wonderful.  I don't always notice just the nice things, I do notice the people driving drunk and texting and just plain distracted.  I'm not perfect either, I have been known to line bump :)

Focusing on the good is always so much better!