DONE!!!

Well, I finished reading HP Sunday afternoon, but I haven't posted until now. I'm sure I could've posted before though, since I really wasn't reading during all my spare time. I would have finished it Friday evening, but Ron and I decided that we would finally go see Pirate's 3 that night. Now that we have a kid in the house of babysitting age, we are actually able to see more movies in the theater than at any other time in our marriage. The only drawback is that they have to be late movies, as Riley can't get the kids to bed herself....Nicole is less than cooperative about bedtime, even for us, and Jared has a hard time when mommy and daddy aren't both around at bedtime. But I digress....back to reviews:

Pirates 3: Good film, but WAY TOO LONG!!!! They could've cut at least an hour of stuff and still had a good movie with the same outcome. Johnny Depp is really quite odd, and therefore plays Captain Jack well. I'm hoping for no more Pirates sequels though, and will just be happy to check out the redone ride at Disneyland.

Harry Potter: Good story, but I'm glad it's over. I liked that we were able to find out more about Dumbledore, although I didn't like some of the info! Snape provided some good info as well. I think the book could've been shorter. Lot's of time with Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting around in the tent not knowing what to do. It reminded me a little of the Disney version of The Jungle Book....the vultures in the tree...."What do you want to do?" "I don't know, what do you want to do?...To avoid spoilers, I am personally happy with how it ended, although I am still confused a bit by some of the storylines and plot twists. I figured I'd avoid too much thought about it, so I checked out an online forum last night. Some of my questions were explained, and I noticed some things I missed, but I still am wondering about one thing. But since I'm not obsessed with all things Harry Potter, I'm not too stressed about it! I was a bit surprised by the number of characters that did die, but they did have a wizard war, so I suppose it was expected to have a few casualties! I was very impressed with the overall theme of "motherly love". Now that the books are concluded, it will be interesting to see how long the Potter mania will continue....I guess we still have 2 more movies to go!

This week is a crazy one. Soccer Camp, Enrichment Night, getting ready for a week in Colorado...I'm tired already! I'll try and blog about the kids more this week...we'll see.

I'm still here...is anyone else?!

Sorry for the blogging lag.....I'm recovering from the migraine I fell victim to Thursday night(three days of head pain....ack! I've never had one like that!), and now I'm trying to get through Harry Potter 7.....Usually I'm a bit quicker, but since it's the last (snif), I'm taking it slow and relishing it....that and the kids just aren't letting me sit with my book all day. What? They want attention? SHEESH!

So, I'm off to bed to read! Maybe I'll get to sleep before 1 am tonight, and hopefully I won't have dreams full of HP characters once I get to sleep....last night was dreams about the Burrow and Bill and Fleur's wedding.....must be a migraine side effect!

More later!

Happy #4 Jared!!!

Jared, age 3

Another year passes, and my little boy is not staying so little! Today Jared turned four. How could that be? Time sure flies...it seems like just yesterday that I was falling in love with this beautiful little bald-headed baby in the hospital. Now he's counting down the days until preschool, and is already planning on us taking his training wheels off, because he's four now, and doesn't need then anymore. Not to mention, his buddies, Tanner and Emma, have their training wheels off, and they turned 4 in May!

I love Jared. He has incredible beautiful blue eyes, and awesome strawberry blonde hair, with a bit more emphasis on the strawberry! The kid is going to be tall, and in my biased opinion, very handsome. Jared loves to cuddle, and will just be walking past me sometimes during the day, and say, "Mommy, I love you."

He has a little too much fun playing with Nicole, and many times will have a ballerina tutu on, just like his big sister. We have hope for him though...he loves all super-heroes, Star Wars, and wants to be Darth Vader for Halloween. When he practices t-ball in the back yard, he seems to be a bit of a switch hitter at this point...we'll see what happens as he gets bigger.

The kid loves his blankie. Wherever we go, "tiny blank" comes along...in the car to run errands, to church and Primary, all through the house...I think he'll even have it on the field with him this fall when he starts playing soccer.

Jared loving "tiny blank" right out of the dryer

We had a fun day. We had a party with four friends, and went to "Kangaroo Zoo", a big building here with a bunch of big jump and slide on inflatable toys. After successfully tiring them all out, we came home for cake and presents, then later tonight, the Grandparents came by for more cake and presents. Jared is VERY excited about getting a new helmet & skateboard, some more matchbox cars, legos, and just a bunch of new stuff. All in all, a good day to turn four!

Happy Birthday Bubba!

Jared's when-you-tell-him-to smile...looks painful, doesn't it?!

Jared last week at his 1st baseball game....we lasted 3 inning in our seats, then it was off to the playground for 2 more innings, then home!

My Daddy was my favorite pal....

My dad was an awesome guy. He was tall, 6'4", strong, and had huge hands. Just look at 'em! He had what he called "sausage fingers". As a little girl, when I would hold his hand, it was only holding on to 1-2 fingers, because there was no way to hold his WHOLE hand!

I miss those hands!

My dad left this mortal existence July 2, 2005, a little over two years ago. It was an unexpected exit, which made it all the harder. It is still difficult to have him missing out on my kids. Although I'm sure if he could talk to me, he'd tell me he can hear Nicole screaming from heaven(she can be really loud!). He'd think Jared was awesome. I just know he'd be "Boppa's" little buddy. And Ellie...wow...he'd be blown away by Ellie. I know I am biased, but she is one beautiful baby, and we have those Nicoll genes of his to thank for the dark eyelashes and brows that girl has! He never met her here on earth, but I know he had some words of advice and a special send-off for her as her sweet spirit came into my life.

My dad was not a man of many words...unless you were a college age stranger, then he'd talk to you! I am opposite of quiet. I wanted to hear about his life, family, and growing up. I'd pull stories out of him every so often. I'm kicking myself now that I didn't get them on tape.

As stated in his obituary, my daddy collected hobbies. He'd pick up on something, make sure he got all the gear to go with it, and then not really do all that much with it! Fishing rods, fishing flies, woodcarving, sourdough bread making, cookbooks(he'd read them, never actually make anything!). A few hobbies he did excel at were gardening, salsa-making, and dutch oven cooking. Thank goodness for the food he shared with us!

My dad gave me a love of music. Whether it was genetic, environmental, or a combination of both, I sucked into his love of music. Classical and Bluegrass being the favorites. The man loved his Beethoven, and passed it on to his daughter!

My dad had an extensive LDS book library. He loved reading the scriptures, and studying other books and commentaries about them. He always took the adult education classes at BYU. My dad's greatest gift to his family was his unfailing testimony of Jesus Christ as our loving Savior. I am so thankful he was my daddy, and even though I know where he is, and that I'll see him again, I miss him.

Harry Potter 5

I will admit it. I am a Potter-head.

When Ron and I tried to go to Pirates 3 last Friday night I bought tickets to this morning's 9:15 showing.(Pirates 3 was sold out....grrr.....no, we haven't seen it yet, although Riley has, TWICE!)

Ignore what the negative reviews may say, it was very good. In my humble, know-nothing about films opinion, the best so far. Awesome special effects, and the actors are really getting better as they mature. The best new character: Helena Bonham-Carter as Bellatrix LeStrange. She played crazy evil witch VERY WELL!

The movie made me want to come home and read the book again, because you know, they had to leave a lot out of the film. Which means if I'm reading #5 again, I'll have to follow it with #6, and I'll have to get both of them read in the next 10 days before #7 is released. It could be done....gotta run, I have to read!

One of my favorite places

One of my newfound fun and favorite places to visit is Ouray Colorado. Funny thing, I used to live about 2 hours north of there, and remember some friends of mine went there alot, but my parents never took us there. Come to think of it, when we lived in Colorado, we didn't go much of anywhere...occasionally to Paonia (Colorado), Utah, or Arizona, but we unfortunately didn't explore much of the fabulous state that we lived in.

For a few years, my brother Russ would go back home to AZ detouring through Colorado, and Ouray.....quite the detour!!! He always had fun things to say about it. So last year, Ron and I unanimously decided to forego Disneyland for "The Switzerland of America", and we were not disappointed! We hiked to beautiful waterfalls, soaked in the hot springs, walked along the Uncompahgre river, explored some awesome ghost towns, drove the Million $$ Highway, fell in love with Yankee Boy Basin, and even toured a gold mine. I was also able to see my old childhood town, Cedaredge, which somehow shrunk in the last 25 years since I'd been there.

Imagine a quaint green valley surrounded by 10-12,000 foot peaks, and you have Ouray. Add in some darling Victorian homes, many which have been lovingly restored, reminiscent of Park City. This place is wholly unspoiled. It will never grow to be huge, with million $$ mansions, or film festivals. The valley is too small.

Anywhere you go out of Ouray, and even in the town itself, you will see why the place even existed, and that is the mining industry. The mining is gone now, although the old ghost towns and buildings remain, accessible by 4WD.

It was last years trip there, along with our excursions to a friends cabin in Wyoming, that really spurred Ron's interest and purchase of our ATV's. We are very excited to take them to Colorado and explore some places we couldn't get to with our Durango!

Why am I talking about Colorado now, when we aren't going there until August? Well, because my brothers and sister are going this week. We were invited, and are sad to not be able to join them, but Ron's bishopric responsibilities prevented us going on vacation in July. Sigh. It's going to be a long month until I get there!

Here are some views from last years trip:

Seven month old Ellie at 12,500 ft elevation Yankee Boy Basin

The family at Animas Forks...Riley found out on this excursion that it
really is cold at 12,000 feet, especially when a rainstorm comes in!

Nicole and Jared check out the inside of the boarding house at Animas Forks

I may never go to IKEA again....at least not with my kids

***WARNING!!*** What follows is one of I'm sure many to come, vent posts. This particular one may cause increased blood pressure and heart palpitations.

Little girl, little girl, little girl for sale!!!! Heck, after my day last Tuesday with her, I'd GIVE her away!

The grannies(my mom and aunt) decided that last Tuesday was IKEA day. It starts with them calling me on the way there to tell me they're gonna be late. So I arrive at 10, and I'm already 5th in line for the "small land" playplace they have there...and because everyone in Utah has 4-5 kids, it filled up and mine didn't get in.....1st breakdown of the day for the kids. So I head into the downstairs part for some things I need to get for a wedding present. Jared's breakdown continues with him claiming he's "too tired to walk" so I need to carry him, which I don't, and that "he's HUNGRY". Of course he is, he's ALWAYS hungry....I swear to you the kid has a tapeworm! Throughout the whining he proceeds to climb up on every display or low shelf we pass, with me asking him to get down and stop. Then he picks the one shelf that isn't attached correctly and it CRASHES (loudly) the 4 inches to the floor. He screams, runs, and tries to hide while the IKEA workers that are right there come make sure he's okay. He's fine, just rattled and embarrassed. At least he finally quit climbing on stuff.

So then we head back to the front while I call the grannies to see if they've arrived....yes, they are upstairs, looking for us. So I head up, and find one of them. My mom has gone off on her own looking for us. So we wait for her to traverse the maze of the store and come back to where we are. We had the sense to wait in one spot for her. By this time, I should've just gone home. The kids were done. But no, I decide to endure. About 10 minutes later, Jared went up to an emergency exit door, and tried to push it open.

IKEA has a really nice and loud alarm system if you try and escape out of one of those emergency exits.

After apologizing to the worker for the alarm, some more enduring, and bribing Jared to shut it about how he's starving with an alarm clock(his choice!?!), we get to the food. Goes okay, although after 1 1/2 meatballs Jared announces he's full and wants to go. Wha? What happened to starving? We make him sit there while we finish eating, and my mom finally cajoles him to eat some more meatballs....of course she had to feed them to him while nearly begging him to eat them. He kept pushing on the table and I nearly got our 2 meals in my lap twice. Normally we sit them in the little "kids eating area", but it was full when we got there...again, everyone has 4-5 kids...

Is it over yet you ask.....oh no......has your heart rate increased yet?

We finish eating, and head downstairs. I've already been there, but I decide to see if the kids act better after some nourishment. Nope, just more energy to burn off. Nicole at this point is climbing on a display to apparently host a cooking segment, and I'm being ignored as I tell her to get off five times. At this point, I'm done, so I tell my mom that we are going to just head for the check-out. Nicole then LOSES it and throws herself screaming on the floor. At this point I will remind you that she's 5 1/2! I pick her up, tell her to stop, she screams and goes down again....we repeat the scenario another two times....at which point I take away the 49 cent stuffed alligator that she's chosen to buy and tell her that her behavior no longer warrants a prize, just a quick trip out of the store. I resist the urge to pull her arm out of it's socket and beat her with it, but quickly look for the "short-cut" signs pointing me to the checkout, dragging her screaming at the top of her lungs with me pushing Ellie in the cart.....my mom is trying to keep up with Jared who is wondering what in the heck is going on. Everyone in the store is wondering what the heck is going on, I'm sure thinking I'm trying to kidnap the child, but then realizing that no, why would anyone try to kidnap a child that acts like that?!

As we reach the checkout, she yells at me, telling me she doesn't love me anymore....thanks Nicole, I'm so glad you just told all of IKEA that precious sentiment.

I'm guessing that all the screaming by now has caused her blood pressure to rise(mine certainly was), because at the checkout she starts in with a NOSEBLEED! Fantastic! Good thing grandmommy had some tissue.

By the time I was walking out of the store I wanted to cry. I didn't though, because I was still too stinking mad at her for acting like that. I told her it may be a very, very long time before I take her back to IKEA.....if I ever want to go back.....too many bad memories now....and the embarrassment....ugh!

Bless you for reading my vent. I only hope and pray that today is better, and that you have a good day!

This story should make ANYONE feel better about their child's behavior!

The Beginning

I have found that as I've discovered the blogging world, I've become somewhat intrigued. I find myself checking a few daily, some written by friends, and others by perfect strangers. I have discovered new ways to entertain and teach my kids, new recipes to try, and some cute things to make. (And adding projects isn't exactly a good thing. If I ever figure out how to extend my day to 36 hours, I might actually get my "to do" project pile a little smaller....I might have to take a picture of my craft room one day and post it.....it's good for a laugh as I can hardly walk through it these days!)

I have found some blogs, especially written by people I know, as a great way to get to know new friends better, and catch up with old.

I think maybe the the biggest impetus to me starting this, is that I'll get my computer "fix" (hi, my name is Andrea, and I am addicted to my computer), AND I'll get some journaling done.....so yes, this blog will contain random ramblings of ME! There will be stories about my kids, that I may someday find humorous, musings about life in general, vents of really stressful days, and memories of mine.

I just hope that a few of you that I invite to read this blog will actually look at it, and if so inclined, comment.....if I think someone is out there reading it, I might actually try to write more frequently.....you know, that guilty conscience thing that Mormon women are REALLY good at!

To finish off my inaugural post, I'll try and post a picture.....it's of the kids, OF COURSE, and a bit outdated (taken a little over a year ago), but I think it's cute!

Clockwise from top: Riley, Nicole, Ellie, Jared