Foxxxy

Bill and some of his buddies went to Jackson yesterday to play their discount golf at the Teton Pines and they saw a fox while they were golfing. They watched it pounce on a mouse and eat it then followed it a little. I thought it was cool since I have never really seen a fox close up. I thought I would post the picture.

Age old Question

You know how women always ask men what they're thinking? And men say nothing. I have a little insight tonight. I am sitting on the bed blogging our Vegas trip, and Bill, laying on the bed next to me is taking pictures of his toes! He asked me to download them so we could see how far we could zoom in and what we could see! See they really are thinking of NOTHING! He's laughing at how funny he is right now! Snaggly Nasty Toes!

VEGAS BABY!!!

I am sure most of you know that Bill and I went to Vegas last monday and came back Thursday night, oh well if you didn't you do now! I really appreciate my mom and dad coming up to watch the kids too. Its always nice to be able to get away for a couple of days just the two of us. And its nice to have parents who are willing to help out. Monday we left our house around 3:15 but decided to get the tire on our car fixed before we left so we didn't come back to a flat. It took longer than expected and we didn't leave IF until 4pm. By the time we got to SLC we had no time...btw just incase anyone needs a heads up. If your running late and park in long term parking, park near bus pick up number 12 since its the last pickup before heading to the airport, not...say...number four which has 8 stops before heading over to the terminal. We made it to check in our bag with maybe a minute to spare. By the time we made it to our gate they were already almost done loading. Left at 8 got to vegas at 8:35 (Vegas time), picked up our car rental and headed to our hotel. We stayed at the Southpoint. Waaaaayyyyy at the south end of the strip. I wouldn't try to walk anywhere from there!

Tuesday we got up, had breakfast, and drove out to the Las Vegas Temple to do a session, we got there to hit the 10:30 session. Its a very beautiful Temple. The set up on the inside is different from any temple I've ever been in, and the Celestial room is stark white. Very pretty.

By the time we got back to the hotel, changed, and got to the strip it was about 3:30. We parked at Ceasars Palace since we were going to the Cher concert that night. We walked 3 miles north to the stratosphere, checking out all the hotels on the way, then walked another 3 back...checking out the hotels on the other side of the street. By the time we got back to Ceasars we were starving and our feet hurt like crazy. So we went into McClarens Irish pub and ate at the burger king in the back. Then hurried over to Ceasars so we wouldn't be late for Cher. We got in sat down, had a great chat with a couple from Illinois, we thought they were getting ready to start and some guy got on and announced Cher's concert was cancelled and our tickets will be refunded. We all just sat there dumbfounded. Cher was the reason we got tickets to Vegas in the first place. That's why we went! Anyway at 7:45 when you leave the Colosseum there wasn't time to get tickets to a different show and we were so bummed, we drove around a little. Bill let me out to catch the end of the Pirate show at Treasure Island (its outside) and we went back to the hotel. It was very disappointing. :-(

Wednesday we got up and thought we'd catch breakfast by the hand at McDonalds, but first we went to Bass Pro Shop and the Virginian to see the aquarium tanks they have there. But we took to long and missed breakfast at McDonalds. Today we parked at Mandalay Bay, because that's where our show was tonight. We ate at "The House of Blues" in the hotel then proceeded our long walk for the day. It was noon by the time we got finished with breakfast. We walked to Ceasars and then back to Mandalay. This time we had more time so our walk wasn't as fast and we looked inside more of the Hotels. Besides our legs were pretty sore I'm not sure we coulda walked fast today! I'll put pictures below of the hotels we saw. Vegas is a different kind of place too, just looking at the outside of the buildings is as interesting if not more so of whats inside. Since we don't drink or gamble we had time to see most everything we wanted, but time does get away from you. We saw the weird animatronics show at Ceasars Shops, outdoor preserve at the Flamingo and the lions at the MGM. We saw the coke store (with t-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles) and the M&M store, four floors of everything M&M you can imagine. About 4pm we were beat and decided to go back to the hotel for lunch, to rest and to freshen up a little before going to Mamma Mia! at 7:30, walking for 4 hours in 98 degree weather makes you a little stinky and sweaty! We were excited for Mamma Mia and was there by 7pm for our seats. IT WAS THE BEST SHOW I"VE EVER BEEN TO! I have loved ABBA since I was a kid listening to the eight track in my best friends moms car. Its amazing to write a play around a greatest hits album and have it work. Every song that started Bill and I would look at each other in amazement, it works! Anyway I loved the show and would see it again and again if I could. After the show we went over to Bellagio and watched a couple of the fountain shows. Went in to the hotel and saw the worlds largest Chocolate fountain. By that time it was eleven and way past our bedtime so we headed back to the hotel. Still completely elated by the great show.

Thursday was the day we were heading out, but didn't need to be back with our car until 3pm. We decided we didn't have the energy or desire to walk anymore, so we drove out to Hoover Dam. I don't ever remember being there and it was pretty cool. Amazing how big it is. Bill and I were talking about the economic downturn we have been facing in our country and how different the world is now. Then the government created jobs by building stuff, now government just hands money out and you don't even have to do anything for it. After we looked around there for a while we drove back to Vegas. We never did make it to old downtown at night so we decided to go check it out quick before we left. It would be really cool to see at night all lit up.

All in all we had a really great trip. The only thing that could have made it better was seeing Cher! Oh well I guess that means we have to go back! Oh yeah and being able to fly out of IF instead of SLC would've been nice too, seriously who closes an airport!

Muffins with Mom

Every school year Hillview Elementary School has a morning when the kids come early to school and have "muffins with mom". Friday the 12th of September was it this year, and here we are, me and my girls eating our muffins! Jesse came and had a muffin too, but he still thinks burritos with brother would be the best!

What does she do all day?

No picture this time, just deep thoughts by...well not Jack Handy, but Tammie! :-) Everyone keeps asking me what I am going to do with all the spare time I have since the kids are all now in school. I really have a ton of things to keep me busy, but...I seem to be getting NONE of them done. This darned computer is what I end up wasting a majority of my time on. I get up in the morning, fully intending to exercise, clean, and then attempt one of the many tasks I have on my list. I usually go to check my email first, then ten minutes of checking my email ends up an hour to an hour and a half later, sometimes I exercise sometimes I don't. I'll answer a phone call from my mom or someone else and that kills another hour. Then I shower, do some cleaning, run a few errands and before you know it its time for the kids to be home from school. WHAT?!?! What happened to my free day? I wanted to bake or scrapbook or organize my closets or clean the plant shelves or go through the 3 years each of Martha Stewart and Family Fun Magazines I have or turn all my negatives into digital images. See I have stuff to do! I guess I need to be more schedule oriented and make sure I follow it. Sidetracked Home Executive at work huh? It just sound so boooorrrrriiiiinnnngggg to follow a schedule! Any Ideas I am open for suggestions?!?!

Abbie turns 9!

Sunday, September 7th

Abbie's 9th Birthday

Today was a great day. Abbie was so excited to have her birthday. Friday night we let her have a sleep over with a friend, Alexa, and we went to dinner at what used to be the 5 and diner and then went to the movies and saw Wall-e. Saturday Risa and Ray came up from Pocatello we hadn't seen them since they got back to the USA, so it was really great to see them. Sunday, we all woke up around 7am showered and got ready for church. Being fast sunday we didn't get breakfast (except Cierra). We waited for Grandma and Grandpa McCammon to come up and go to church with us and then left for church. After church I had a scout meeting so Bill and his mom finished up making dinner and when I got home from my meeting and Jesse got back from doing sacrament to the shut-ins we ate. For dessert Abbie didn't wan't cake she wanted lemon bars. Originally she wanted me to make lemon bars and then lemon cookies in the same size pan (like bar cookies) then put the cookie on top of the lemon bar and cut. It seemed redundant so I talked her out of it and baked a cherry pie instead. We put candles in the lemon bars and sang happy birthday and then let her open presents. She got a bull frog webkinz from gma and gpa Christensen, 2 shirts and a pair of jeans from gma and gpa McCammon, and from Jesse, Cierra, Bill and I she got 3 pairs of earrings, a Abby Hayes book and another webkinz, a pink kitty. She was very excited! Thanks Everyone.

On a side note at 4pm the high councilor from our ward came over and gave Jesse a stake youth calling to be on the Youth Activity Committee for the stake. That should be fun for him if he really gets involved in it. He'll be set apart next week at the first meeting.

Grandpa and Grandma left shortly after Brother Brower left and we just enjoyed our evening together.

Here's a picture of Abbie with some of her gifts.

The Parade :-(

This picture is of Abbie, Kristina (cousin) and Cierra. Ok, Labor Day weekend is IT in Wellsville. Its the celebration of the city and they call it 'Founders Day'. We love Founders Day, but we definately make fun of it a little too. Most years when we are there its Fast Sunday (it wasn't this year) and the whole Sacrament meeting is life long citizens bearing their testimony of Wellsville the city of Zion. Its a great place, its just funny to see the passion that they have for their city. The morning began with rain, and gun powder in the form of a cannon they start shooting at 5 am while driving the city streets. Jesse and I were going to run in the 5K, at 7am, but it was raining and needless to say I am a fair weather runner. Jesse was very disappointed, but he got over it. At 8 am Bills dad did a great "the works" breakfast at his house for all of us, with bacon and sausage and eggs and pancakes. Always yummy and hits the spot, and gets us ready for the parade. The parade which we thought was going to be cancelled because of the rain ended up going on and we sat through the rain. Umbrellas, blankets, and a canopy were key. The parade was shorter than usual, probably because most of the entries didn't show up because of the rain. On the plus side the kids got a lot more candy and when they threw string cheese sticks they were still cold! This would have been the perfect parade for popscicles not to melt! After the parade got over some of us went back to Grandpa and Grandmas house while others go to the all exciting "Sham Battle". Where men and women re-enact a battle between indians and settlers. Most years they light a little cardboard house on fire for the climax...but not this year. They actually made a wood house, just to watch it burn! After, the kids went down to the square to have some watermelon and buy stuff at the carnival. We had lunch at the house and sat around and visited. Bill's dad took his younger brother Jason and his wife and two kids to the airport to go back to Boston for the school year (they had been here all summer). Its always fun to see them and look forward to the possiblity of them moving to Pocatello when he finishes school next year. Anyway, our weekend was fun, and definately not uneventful. A special thanks needs to go to Chris and Teressa (Bills sister and her husband) for the hospitality of their house, Thanks Guys your the greatest!

Jackson's Birthday Party

While we were in Utah this weekend, Bills sister Tammy had her little boy's 1st Birthday Party. His name is Jackson and he's very cute. It was kind of a Jungle theme with a giraffe cake. And he even practiced his walking for us. Here are a few pictures of his day.

They're Golden!

This past weekend was a very special event in my family. We celebrated my parents 50th Anniversary! It was a beautiful day for two of the greatest people in the world! I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD! In the morning we met at the temple and did an endowment session. With my brother and his wife and one daughter, my sister and her husband, of course mom and dad, my moms older brother and his wife and her older sister. Its always a great feeling to stand in the Celestial Room with your family, knowing that is what you pray for and work toward as a parent. Having your kids with you forever! I don't want to wish away their childhood, but I can't wait for that experience with my own kids! It was a very special time. After the temple we went back to pick up the kids from Bills' sister Teressa's house and I made some pies and finished my salad. Then we went to the luncheon in their behalf (I was late, by a 1/2 hour, of course) it began at 2:30 at a park near where my brother Chuck lives. We had lunch and dessert, and my moms sister made a 50th cake and we had mom and dad feed it too each other...it was too cute! We then just sat around and visited until about 6pm and watched the kids play at the park. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't elaborate, but it was a fun and special day. I hope they enjoyed their day as much as I did.