Spilker Spotlight

Samantha's Fantasy Story

2010-11-12T13:18:00.004-07:00

Here is a story written by Samantha in 6th grade. Hope you enjoy reading it. I typed it so please forgive all the " and , in the wrong places. I used to be an Ace at grammar but now I am at Ace at Speed Diaper Changes!

Wolf Bane

My name is Violet. I have short black hair and I’m the shortest kid in class. I have a strong will and like to stick up for others and myself. I protest when I have to. Well that’s pretty much me.

I woke up with my alarm beeping so I pressed snooze. My mom came in and said “Violet, I packed everything and you are ready to go girl!” Today was the day I started Wolf Bane boarding school. I got up and got in my uniform. My uniform has a white shirt with small cuffs and a red sweater vest with a broach that says WB with red socks and a purple skirt. I told Reena, my Golden Retriever, that she is brave, sweet, and loyal. She looked at me, got up and went downstairs. I followed.

I got all my stuff in the car and Reena in the trunk. Then we went to school. The castle was made of red brick. The drive there seemed like forever because my mom likes to live far away from really anything.

As we pulled up they lowered the bridge and I gathered my trunk and dog. I took a deep breath, said “bye” to my mom and walked up to the wood door. I heard it clank behind me as I stepped in the boundaries of the school. Reena whimpered. Quite frankly, so did I. We walked in and it was a black brick room with a pearl statue of a school girl with water leaking out of her eyes. There were black candles all over with a dim depressing light. On the floor were four square sets of grates. It was creepy like a sad sort of dungeon. And then I saw my friend Shyly.

Everything changed. The sad statue turned into a smiling girl, knees bent and holding the face of a happy dog. The candles were white and bright and the floor was white and black checkered with no grates. I smiled. Shyly was still there. I dropped my bag and ran to hug her. Shyly has been my best friend since Pups Day Care.

Shyly has long brown hair with very green eyes. She easily gets scared off. She was lonely until we met. We finally managed to pull each other from our arms. It was then I remembered the room changed so I said “Hey Shyly, My…I…Did this...Oh, nothing. I’m just excited to see you!” The thing was I didn’t want Shyly freaking out about me seeing things. I’m sure it was just my eyes playing a trick on me.

Okay, I haven’t exactly told you everything about me. Well I went to Pups Pre School, Dog Elementary, and now Wolf Bane Junior High. I’m a werewolf.

I have been a werewolf since I was born. Actually, so is everyone else in this school. We all learn how to cope with it. We each have a pet dog to keep us company and assist us. When we are a wolf they calm us down so we don’t go around scratching and snarling. None of us change until we turn 11 years old. I am expecting the change soon. Oh, one more thing, an adult werewolf can learn to control changing. They can choose to shift in the day or night. At 11 they can only shift at night.

“So, have you shifted yet?” I said.

“No. You?” she said gently. Then we were interrupted by the jerk.

“So are you girls lost or what? Oh I see reunited again. You girl dogs are always so sensitive!” Then he looked at me “You…you, um, can I talk to you? He said with a sneer. The jerk I am talking to is Roderick Salamander. He is a bully. I know him from last year. Only last year he bullied all the kids and he is from a long line of heritage to this school. Last summer he started secretly meeting with other kids. No one knew what it was about except for the group.

I replied in a snooty voice “AS IF!”

“Alright Vi, then I’ll see you in room #11” Shyly smiled and quietly jogged away.

“Well Roderick, where is your dog?” I again said snottily.

“I don’t believe in that crap” he said with a threatening snarl.

“Oh don’t you?” I still teased.

“Anyway, you saw the true features of the room when you came in right?” Roderick
said sharply.

“Yeah, why?” I said.

He smiled a devilish smile and raised a golden dog statue. Its eyes stared glowing. Suddenly everything became slow and dreamy. I heard an echo telling me to follow Roderick. Then Reena barked in a sharp pitch taking me out of my daze. I looked frightenedly at Roderick. Then I got my trunk and led Reena away.

What was that? What was I thinking? I was definitely mad. It was night already. I ran to room #11. I told Shyly what happened. Shyly and her little poodle, Lulu were listening intently. “Um, you sure it was a dog statue with yellow eyes Vi?” Shyly said concerned.

“Yes, it was…weird.” I almost said scary but I am never scared.

“That was The Mind Dog. He controls minds! I read it in “Dogs to Avoid” she stammered.

“Well, let’s sleep on it (yawn). You know, catch 40 winks” I said.

“Sure” she said as she plopped on her pillow and I quickly copied her.

The next thing I know I am I am waking to Shyly screaming. “What is it Shyly?”

“The dogs are gone!” she said half crying.

“What? No!” We were both exasperated. Then everything went fuzzy. I was panting, my arms were growing hair. Suddenly I was shifting.

I tried to stay calm, thinking about all good things. Without my dog by my side at my first shift, it could be fatal. I could go on a rampage! Instead I found myself being stabbed with a needle by my friend Shyly. The injection contained sleeping medicine.

When I woke up I said bashfully, “Sorry, I was scared.”

“It’s alright. I gave myself a small dose too. It was kind of weird you know, injecting your best friend with a needle full of medicine.” She frankly spoke.

“We have to get those dogs now!” I said half yelling.

“I know” she said. “But where are they and who took them?”

“I know I saw an illusion in the front room. Maybe I can make it happen again. I know Roderick did it! I mean, come on, he told me he didn’t believe in having a dog help you tame your rage!” I said.

“You’re right. Let’s go!” she said nervously. We walked out of our room quietly.

By now everyone was a werewolf and scratching and howling in their rooms. It gave me chills. We saw thousands of dog paw prints leading to the exact spot where in my illusion there were grates in the floor. We pulled some tile away from the floor and there was a hatch!

“Come on!” I yelled as I opened the hatch and jumped down. I was falling for a split second then instinctually kicked and landed on my feet. Boom! Dust swirled around me. “It’s clear. Wait… I see the dogs! Come on! Come!”

Shyly hesitated then jumped and copied my exact move. “Where are the dogs?” she asked. “They aren’t here!”

“I just said that so you would come down!” I said teasingly.

“Arrgh! Violet!” Shyly yelled.

“Why are you girls down so soon?” said a chilling voice behind me. It was Roderick.

“Oh, great! Shyly, you go run and find the dogs while I take care of our little baby brother Roderick!” I said putting my fists up.

“Okay” Shyly said racing down the corridor.

“Let’s roll” Roderick said with a smile.

I then felt my breath hastening and my hair growing and my body shifting. Then as I watched, he turned into a scruffy black wolf. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was a very brown wolf. Suddenly a thousand dogs came running down the hall to attack Roderick. Leading the attack was my best friend Shyly, a scrawny white wolf. Roderick was easily defeated thanks to all the school dogs!

“That’s enough!” I barked. “Roderick, or baby brother if you prefer, get us out!”

“Alright, alright. You stomp your paw on the brick with the dragon on it. It’s in the middle.” Roderick cried like a baby.

I did as he said and the floors switched. The bottom floor with the chamber was now the top floor. I shifted back in to my human form along with Shyly and Roderick. As soon as I saw we were all okay I got up and opened all the dormitory doors. The dogs ran to their owners and everyone became calm because they had their dogs with them.

Then all the teachers came out of their wolf forms and told me I did good!
They told me I saved the school from Roderick who was using the mind dog statue to control the teachers and some students.
I looked at Shyly and said “Shyly, thanks! You are the best friend anyone could have!”

Then all of a sudden I get tackled by Reena. She pinned me to the floor and stared licking me. I finally got a chance to get up and hugged her back. Shyly gave Lulu and Reena a dog treat. I realized this year was going to be good.

The End

Samantha is on TV!

2010-08-02T15:52:00.004-06:00

Samantha got to be a model for Academy Attire on the TV show Good Things Utah this morning! It was great fun. I took Felicity and we all got to sit in the audience and watch the show. Here is a video of her segment.

http://www.abc4.com/content/about_4/gtu/featured_on/story/School-Uniforms/ct8jDiPCjUKzCNJ9mGv65A.cspx?articleID=99298

New Giveaway & Review Blog

2010-02-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends.

I have started a Giveaway and Review blog called Solutions Sleuth - A Giveaway & Review Blog. It is about seeking Solutions to everyday problems by searching for offers and products that truly enhance and simplify life instead of filling our landfills.

Go check it out! I hope to be able to give each and every one of you some cool stuff. I have some candy and Cd's coming to giveaway really soon so keep watching.

PLEASE become a follower and tell your friends and family about it.

http://www.solutionssleuth.blogspot.com

Girls, by Sarah Spilker

2009-12-16T14:51:00.001-07:00

I'd like to share my Walgreens Photo Center photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

Luke is getting so BIG!

2009-10-25T08:41:00.002-06:00

I cannot even believe it has been 8 months since Luke was born! Crazy how time flies. Luke is so much fun. He is learning to crawl. He hasn't quite figures out how to keep his tummy off the ground but he is doing the army crawl and is incredibly fast! Sometimes I set him down and come back in just a minute and he is halfway across the room!

He is a good eater. He likes baby food, unlike the girls. He is a horrible sleeper! He still is waking up 3-4-5 times every night! And just these past two weeks has really fought going down for naps. He will go right to sleep at night when I put him in his cradle and I don't have to hold him for him to nap like I did with Felicity so it isn't quite as hard, but still, I stink at getting babies to sleep well. I checked out 5 books at the library and they all said let them cry it out or just live with it. Well, there is no way I can let him cry and cry and cry until he makes himself sick. I think that is just bad parenting and I'm not gonna do it. I guess I have to live with it.

Luke loves to play with things. He checks out everything and always has to have a toy or a watch or something to play with. He definitely has my tempermant. He will be perfectly fine for a really long time, longer than you would expect, and then...crash. When he has had it, he's had it. And you better get him what he needs now! Other than that, he is a really happy baby! He is so easy to make laugh. The quickest way is to toss him in the air! When he is sleepy, he can't decide whether to laugh or cry so it comes out as a sad laugh. You have to hear it to get what I'm talking about.

We all adore our Lukey Boy!

Felicity is in Preschool

2009-10-25T08:33:00.002-06:00

Felicity started preschool in September. She was quite nervous to go the first several times and in fact really hates to leave but once she is there she loves it! In fact, she says at the end of almost every day "I wont cry about going to preschool anymore". They do so many cute art projects and have tons of fun.

Her favorite thing is playing puppets. They have had a guest police officer, a fireman, and taken a field trip to the Animal Hospital.

Sammie at a New School

2009-10-25T08:21:00.004-06:00

Sammie is in a new school this year. Legacy Preparatory Academy. The first day of their school year they called and said they had an unexpected opening and Sammie could take it if we want. We stressed like never before on whether or not to take it. Well, we did and it was the best decision EVER! School has been 100% better for her. No kidding. She just got her grades and got three A+, 2 A's, one C, and the most impressive, a B in math!!!!!!! She loves her new school. It really is the best. Sammie comes home and immediately starts on her homework without even being told. And she feels smart now! That is the best thing I could ever hope for.

Sammie has already had a ton of fun activities there. Last week the 5th grade took a field trip to North Canyon Park to film plays of Native American Legends. Sammie had the part of a turtle and did awesome! The whole family went up to watch them perform their plays. They have a field trip scheduled just about every month. Lots of fun!

Thank You Legacy and Thank you Heavenly Father for making it possible!

Still Kickin'

2009-08-17T11:44:00.002-06:00

Okay, this is officially the longest break in blogging I have taken. Life has been crazy busy but really good. It would take me a year to blog all the stuff we've done this summer so I'm just gonna list a few.

Finish landscaping the steep back yard hill (for the second time, long story for another post) and the rock walls. Thanks P's for your help!
Lagoon!
Sammie's "Camp Out" Birthday party
Work, work, work, work, + Princess Camp Work
Quick trip to St. George for an Ivins Friends Reuinion
A spoiled birthday with a new MP3 player and a new Digital Camera!
Bountiful Summer Fest International
Tons of other workin on the house and yard stuff I can't think of right now.

Have you ever heard that song "I was too busy being in Love" by Doug Stone? That's how my life feels right now. I have a ton of sewing projects, decorating, catchin' up on friends blogs to do but just too busy havin fun with my kids and sweet hubby. Remember how much I just LOVE being pregnant? Well, being a mom is a million times more rewarding than being pregnant was awful (does that make any sense). Anyway, what I am trying to say is I love being a mom. I love my girls and Luke. Luke is so much fun. I just enjoy every single second of it. Even when he will hardly eat during the day and then wake up EVERY 2 hours and 5 minutes during the night and must nurse for 15-20 minutes. I'm not getting much sleep but that is okay. I kinda miss him when I am sleeping anyway. He and Felicity are napping right now unusually early and together, doesn't happen often. Which gives me just a few minutes to blog. I'll make some time to detail some summer events and especially little Lukey growin' up soon. Until then........

If i had taken the timeTo write down a few lines

Everytime that you crossed this heart of mine

I'd put them all in a book

How much time would that have took

The words and years have a way of slipping back

Oh no! Too bad, there goes the chance that i had

I could have written a play so sweet and so funny

Given old Mr. Shakespere a run for his money

Written the words to the prettiest tuneT

hat would never leave a dry eye in the room

My only excuse for not doing enoughI was too busy being in love

Yes I was too busy being in love

Brand new phrases appear everytime you are near

All this words you inspire after all these years

But i never reached for a pen

Break the mood that im in

Before I knew that the words were gone again

Oh no! Too bad, there goes the chance that i had

I could have written a play so sweet and so funny

Given old Mr. Shakespere a run for his money

Written the words to the prettiest tune

That would never leave a dry eye in the room

My only excuse for not doing enoughI was too busy being in love

Yes I was too busy being in love

I could have written the poem to make younglovers crazy

I could have written the movie for Hepburn and Tracey

Most beautiful song and it starts with your name

Written my way into fortune and fame

But i have no regrets for not doing enough

I was too busy being in love

Yes i was too busy being in love

Imaginary Friends

2009-06-04T00:22:00.001-06:00

We spent today with a brand new puppy. His name is Charley. He was so cute, Felicity held him all day and took him for many walks. She even taught him how to jump and roll over and sit and to heel and even skip. Charley is a good dog. He learned all of this today!!

Felicity just loves her little puppy. Who ever thought a tiny little magnet on the end of a string could be so much fun?

Transcontinental Rail Road Ride

2009-06-01T09:49:00.007-06:00

This is J.W.'s first Post!!

My buddy Justus and I decided to go ride the old Transcontinental Railroad trail here in Utah. We were looking for something close and not still covered in snow. The trail is mostly the old railroad grade that was finished here in Utah at Promontory on May 10th, 1869. This is the Golden Spike location. The trail has historic information along the way and goes through a couple of ghost town cemeteries.

We made it a overnighter and rode from Golden Spike Historic site to Lucin, Utah. Then we turned south for Wendover, Nevada. That's where the Bonneville Salt Flats are.

We gassed up and started back home. We rode until 11:30 at night and camped for the night. We cooked our tinfoil dinners and went to sleep, at least I tried. The ground was very hard and Justus is a pretty good snorer. The next morning we woke up at about 7:30, broke camp and had breakfast and headed back to the truck. We got there at about 1:00 pm.

We stopped and took in all the info and sites along the way. In all we rode 16 hrs or so including stops and for 290 miles!

The trail is mostly flat rail road grade and is super easy riding but here is the amazing thing.
On the first day Justus stopped and had a flat, not a big deal we had a flat kit and even a small DC compressor. We had it fixed in probably ten minutes or so and started again. After about 3 miles Justus had a flat again in the same tire. What are the chances? We fixed it up and started again. Maybe 5 miles later Justus has another flat same tire, but this time there is a old rail spike sticking out of his tire. Justus is pretty pissed by now and were starting to think we might run out of plugs for the tire. Then it donned on me, that stinking spike must have been sucked up in the tire from the first flat! Then it punctured the tire two times from the inside out. Not a single flat after that for the rest of the ride. So if you ever decide to ride a railroad grade bring a flat kit and spin the tire after fixing to see if the little bugger is still in there.

We saw some antelope, rabbits, lizards, hornytoads, several birds, and one other person on the trail. There was a ton of sun and the temp was great! The views were awesome and it was fun to think about the old trains working their way along the very grade we were riding. We visited two cemeteries and three places were towns used to be. There are signed along the grade giving mileage from SFO and a brief history of the location. Most of the ride is in the complete middle of nowhere the closest to anything we ever got was about 10 miles from highway 30 for about 5 miles of the grade, excluding Wendover.

It was a complete blast and I can't wait for the next trip!

Sammie's School Play "UTAH!"

2009-05-29T12:30:00.004-06:00

Sammie has been studying Utah history in school this year. She performed in the 4th grade play Utah. Sammie has been looking forward to performing in this play ever since she was in 1st grade.

She played the part of a Spanish Explorer and a Mormon Pioneer. She did so awesome! She smiled all the time and did all the actions to the songs just right and sang so well. I am so proud of you Sammie.

Grandma Hancey made the bonnett and apron for her pioneer costume. Gma & Gpa Hancey even came up to see her perform! It was so great of them. Thank you.

Stuff & Things

2009-05-21T21:50:00.002-06:00

Has it really been that long since I posted???? Whew, time flies! Every minute felt like a day when I was pregnant and now time is just zipping by. SLOW DOWN!!!

Well I'll start with the latest and go backwards.

Dillon, J.W.'s youngest brother, is living with us. He is a pretty nice kid so it is not as bad as I was expecting it to be.

Sammie is working really hard and anxious about her upcoming school play, "Utah"

Felicity turned 3 and is the funniest thing ever. I will post some pictures of her.

Luke was blessed. J.W. gave him a beautiful blessing and most of my family was here and it was wonderful! We had a really nice day. I will post some pics too.

I started working again. I work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I don't know how I ended up working 3 evenings, oh yes, I said yes at different times and then realized it was 3 nights a week! It sounds worse than it is because 2 of the days are only for 1 hour but I teach so add another hour for lesson prep.

I haven't lost the prego weight yet. It really ticks me off. I am going to the gym but it is not working yet. I have a session with a trainer tomorrow so we will see how that goes. I hate that so many of the girls around me have kids and then 2 weeks later are back in their size 2 jeans!!!! I can never be friends with them. Just kidding. Sort of.

Life is good! I have the most fantastic hubby in the world and he is so good about helping out with the kids and treating me nice. I just have to remember not to wake him at night or he is up and will not go back to sleep. Last night I asked him to get Luke at 4 am after getting up with him every hour and then he never went back to sleep.

J.W. is obsessed with his latest project. He wants to put mantles around the see-through fireplace and build cabinets on the side and an entertainment type center for the top for a TV to sit on. He is completely obsessing about it. He looks at sites online for hours and hours to find the wood and is thinking up plans over and over on how to build it. It is consuming him!!! I am not complaining though, I know he will end up with a fantastic result. He is amazing at what he can create. I just love the quirkiness about him dreaming up the plans forever and ever and ever. He's the best.

Felicity -ese

2009-04-27T16:17:00.004-06:00

My baby girl turns three this week and I am just reflecting on how adorable and funny she is. Her language skills are growing every day but dang, she says the funniest and cutest things.

Yesterday we were making rice crispy treats (sidenote - she LOVES to cook. Sammie's friends were over and Felicity really wanted to play with them but the big meanies had other plans so I was just trying to keep her busy). I used some big chocolate marshmallows and put them in the microwave. I took them out for her to stir up and she looked inside and nearly jumped off the counter! "OOOOH, That's freakin me out! That's freakin me out!, Get it away!" The marshmallows had expanded and puffed up really big and because they were chocolate they really did look kinda creepy. She thought it looked like a "big creepy turtle". Needless to say we threw those creepy marshmallows in the garbage and started over with just the small regular white ones. Problem solved.

I love the way she says certain words. She is growing up so quickly that she has outgrown a lot of them but these are my favs:

Woowee: Movie
Lewkey: Luke
Singers: Fingers
Sunny: Funny
Sishy: Fishy
Sossill: Fossil
Sork: Fork
Gwatchy: scratchy
Gix it: Fix it
Color Boops: Pink Cowgirl Boots (this is my fav)

REE REE Important: Really, really important
Fff FFf Sire Truck: She can say the "F" sound now, just hasn't quite put it with the other letters yet.
I can't ba leed my eyes!
Your Makin Me Ungry!: Angry
You have to practice gentle MaMa - when I am fixing her hair

Wookee wants her binky. J.W. tells her every time - HIS binkie Luke's a boy! So now she says Wookee a boy wants his binkie!!

J.W. and the girls were sitting down already in the restaurant and I was coming from home and met them there. I go to their booth and Felicity jumps up "Would you like to join us?"

Since she is turning 3 we really have tried to get rid of the binkie. She loves that thing more than life itself and I swear she would have it on her first date if she could. But, after some strong encouragement for weeks she decided she wanted to be a big girl and throw it in the garbage! Yeah!!!! Well, that was two weeks ago. The first couple days my adorable, fun loving, sweet little ball of energy turned into a terrible two, royal pain in the butt, brat, little less sweet.

When she is being so sad and miserable without it and begging for it I almost give in and give it to her. Afterall what is it really hurting? It makes her happy and comfortable. It is just socially unacceptable. Do I really care what other people think? Yeah, kinda.

I caved and she can have the bikie while she is in bed. Now she is almost not asking for it during the day. But guess what? She sneaks up into her bed with her binkie and takes a nap now all by herself!!! This from my little girl who would not sleep a wink for the first 2 years unless I was holding her and would never take a nap unless she fell asleep in the car or I layed down with her! I really can't believe it. It's a good thing I guess because she really does much better with a nap. If she doesn't have a nap you can almost guarantee at about 5:30 or 6 a major meltdown!

Square Foot Gardening

2009-04-14T16:44:00.003-06:00

I am feeling ambitious and planting a garden. I stumbled across this cool garden site call Square Foot Gardening. http://www.squarefootgardening.com/. I have built my "square" and filled it with a soil mix and am just waiting for a good day to plant.

What do you plant in your garden? I am going to plant tomatoes, basil, onions, zucchini and I am not sure what else. Probably some green peppers. What have you had success with?

UPDATE: I just found out there is a gardening conference at the Salt Palace on Saturday and the guest speaker is the inventor of SFG. Anyone interested in going?

Monkeying Around

2009-04-10T13:43:00.002-06:00

Aren't these monkeys cute?? My sister Jenny made one and sent me the link to a pattern. I showed Sammie and she just had to have one. I took the girls to the store and let them pick out their very own fabric. Felicity did amazingly great for a two-year old! Her monkey is the red one. The patterns complement each other nicely.

I had a ton of fun making these while Luke slept. My mom would be proud, I backstitched and clipped the threads and everything. I made these while my MIL was here for a week helping take care of the kids and the house while I recovered from surgery so I actually finished them! Well, I take that back. They are not finished because Sammie's monkey still needs her shoes and a bow in her hair.

Intentions

2009-04-10T12:08:00.002-06:00

It's been said the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It's a good thing I have fire insurance because I am full of good intentions. I have a million things I "intend" to do but can't seem to get them done.

For example, I have "intended" to post a million things on this blog but I can never seem to get it done. In fact I have a couple posts in the draft stages I haven't been able to finish. Every time I sit down to my computer for a few seconds somehow a blazing alarm goes off to the girls and it's their cue to suddenly be needy. Sammie always needs help looking at this site or that or wants to talk and Felicity wants me to hold her and read her a story. I am really good at multi-tasking except for reading and talking at the same time so my little tenderheart Sammie gets all offended that I am ignoring her and Felicity messes with my mouse and keyboard and Luke is usually on my lap too so that leaves only one hand (at best) for typing. In fact, It has taken me 1/2 hour just to write this so far because I have helped Sammie twice and made Felicity a bread with Jelly and Peanut Butter with no "Lid" on it. Now I have crumbs everywhere! I did get a "Thanks Pal!" from Felicity. That was pretty cute.

I have a billion and ten sewing projects I "intend" to get done. I have the fabric and most of the patterns.

I "intend" to plant a garden this year.

I "intend" to repot some house plants today - cross your fingers.

I have been "intending" to vacuum out the van since the beginning of December.

I "intend" to finally get some scrapbook pages done of the girls, and now Luke.

I feel so unaccomplished! And Frustrated!!! I have not adjusted to being a mom of "3" at all. How did my mom do it with FIVE!! That's crazy!

Okay, I have been interrupted 15 more times since I made the sandwich. No Kidding. And now Luke needs to be fed.

I "intended" to write down a list of all the things I wanted to do but someone else needs me - Oh FORGET IT!!!!

Treehouse Museum

2009-03-30T17:43:00.004-06:00

Friday afternoon the family, all FIVE of us, went to the Tree House Museum in Ogden. It is a fantastic children's museum with tons of hands on activities to do. I would love to open a museum like this in St. George because they don't have anything like this there and I know it would do awesome. Of course, that is just a dream. I could never really do anything that big and important. And if I tried, I would never finish it.

Baby Update

2009-02-19T16:33:00.002-07:00

Okay, so I started having contractions on Tuesday. Not the real serious "I'm gonna die" type pains, but still they were there for about 2 hours. My back and hip is totally killing me but J.W. is home and making me rest a lot and not pick up Felicity and that really helps a ton. Oh what will I do when he is gone for 4 days again! I dread that.

I went to the Dr. today totally set to have him say, "Oh, things are progessing nicely. Let's see you at the hospital Saturday and have this baby!" Well, things did not go as I had hoped. There is still no change from last week. It looks like I will be waiting until my due date. I am so dissappointed!

Felicity is doing really well on potty training! I think it may stick this time. J.W. really inspired her to stay dry by telling her about Disneyland and going to D-land when she is all trained. I hope she can wait that long because it will be at least May or June. Anyone want to go with us?

25 Random Thoughts

2009-02-11T11:36:00.003-07:00

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I have chronic insomnia and don't think I've slept throught the night in about 6 years. When I am teaching dance I can't fall asleep because I usually have annoying preschool songs stuck in my head or I am thinking up ballet combinations over and over.

2. I still have a Christmas ringtone on my cellphone. I don't even think about changing it until it rings or and then I completely forget about it.

3. I really don't like having a dog and wish we didn't but can see how much the girls & J.W. love her and benefit from having her so I put up with it.

4. I absolutely adore everything about my husband and feel so lucky he is in love with me too. He can fix or make anything (except dinner). He is almost ALWAYS right (really). He treats the girls and I like princesses. I can totally overlook the moodiness because he makes up for it in so many other ways.

5. I think all children are beautiful and special but secretly think mine are the most beautiful, special, sweet, funny, best kids in the whole world. In general they are much better than me and I wonder how I was able to get such angels. I'm not biased : )

6. I feel lucky and priveledged to be able to bring a child into this world but at the same time I HATE absolutely every single second of being pregnant. I feel incredibly guilty about this and just wish I could be grateful to even have children. Especially since it took so long to get Felicity!

7. I am counting my blessings that I haven't puked my guts out in 3 + weeks. Well, I haven't taken my prenatal vitamins or iron pills in that long either.

8. My greatest fantasy is to have a maid, chef, personal trainer and a masseuse.

9. I love going on J.W.'s overnights even though travel time is often as long as the stay. Even though I just see the airport and hotel and a tiny bit of the city it is still fun to be somewhere else. I can't wait till I can ditch the girls and go just by myself (did I really say that?)

10. I was on # 15 of this silly thing when Felcitiy messed with the buttons on my keyboard and erased it all! I know the first 10 aren't the same because my memory lately (prego brain) is shot and I don't have a clue what I wrote before.

11. I love gardening and want my yard to be beautiful. I love to pull weeds. My favorite flowers are bleeding hearts and Peonys. I don't have any Peonys yet.

12. I have a serious problem finishing things. I completely avoid putting the "finishing touches" on most of my projects and the things I do because then I can say I'm still working on them and don't judge me! I even skip the last couple pages of a lot of books.

13. I love to read and could waste an entire day reading a good book.

14. I hate scrapbooking but love taking pictures and looking at other people's scrapbook pages. I wish I could make pages like them... but I hate it.

15. I wonder how a tiny little two year old has so much to say...all the time! She never stops talking! I really think it's cute though. Most of the time.

16. I still think the snow is a novelty and really don't mind it ...yet. But I really, really miss the Fresno Fog and a lot of things about living in California.

17. I have so many projects to do on my house. It's only 3 years old but I keep finding things I want to improve or change. Most of them involve J.W. doing them : ). I love my house.

18. I have the same dreams over and over and over. One reoccurring dream is my teeth falling out. Another one is bubblegum stuck in my teeth! Gross! Analyze that.

19. Since I was little I have been paranoid of robbers coming into my house while I am sleeping. I remember being terrified and laying so still and trying not to move. That is probably why I am so bad at sleeping issues with my kids and sit with them until they fall asleep.

20. I'm really not that bad of a typist or speller but this keyboard really sucks and is not displaying the words as quick as I am typing them. How annoying!

21. I am not a gamer at all and don't really like playing video games but lately have been hooked on Animal Crossing. So are Sammie and J.W.

22. I could never be anorexic because I feel really terrible and sick when I don't eat.

23. 25? Really. I have run out of things.

24. I have so many ideas to do my girls hair in beautiful, funky or fun ways but they both hate getting their hair done at all. This really bums be out.

25. I just noticed how many of my posts say hate and all of my sister Jenny's say LOVE. Hmmmmm.

Finally an Update!

2009-02-07T13:03:00.003-07:00

I know I haven't posted in awhile. Sorry. I am just so dang uncomfortable I don't want it to be a "poor me" fest.

My sister Jenny and my mom threw me a really nice baby shower last Saturday. It was really fun. I was shocked at how many people came by. Thank you all so much! I guess I really do have some friends! I got so many nice baby gifts. I can't wait to hold the little guy in the cuddly blankies and cute outfits! Thank you so much Mom and Jenny for all you did.

I have not had any more gall bladder attack/pains! Thank goodness. I am doing really good at eating low fat but I am sooooo craving a huge bacon cheeseburger! I can't seem to cut down on the carbs though! I eat way too much of them. In a few weeks when the calories will really matter I will have to work on low-cal too! Oh what a pain!

I only have 3 weeks left! Yeah!!!!! I really can't wait.

I can't find my camera at the moment so I will post a pic or two in a bit.

Snow Days

2009-01-18T10:10:00.003-07:00

I love the back yard in the snow!

The girls and J.W. love sledding at the park.

I HATE the dog dragging snow in the house.

Sammie's Ski Field Trip

2009-01-13T10:42:00.005-07:00

Sammie got to go skiing for the very first time. She was so totally excited! In fact, she woke me up at 3:30 and then at 5:00 to see if it was time to go yet! That was earlier than Christmas morning! The school planned an awesome field trip to Deer Valley Ski Resort. She looked so cute in her ski gear. She was really excited to get a cute girly pair of pink skis (she pretends to be butch but I know there is a princess in there!) They got to ride on a "real" fancy charter bus with movie players and a bathroom. She skied for a couple of hours and had an instructor the entire time for her and only 2 other kids! She was proud that her instructor was impressed with her quick abilities. J.W. got excited about her skiing too and hopefully it is something they will be able to do together. Thanks Muir for a great field trip!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-31T13:01:00.005-07:00

Well, another Christmas down! We had a super fantastic time. Christmas Eve we had my grandparents, Jenny's family and my parents over for a nice dinner. We had a ton of really tasty food.

Christmas morning was soooo fun!!! The girls were so cute and thankful for every present they received. Felicity kept saying "This is so exciting" and "This Awesome". Sammie's favorite present was her Nintendo DS and Felicity's was her play kitchen. I have to take a picture of her with her cute apron and chef hat (Thanks Cody & Cyndee).

We spent the day playing with new toys, playing Rock Band, watching movies and playing board games. That night we had a nice dinner with a bunch more yummy food. It was a great day but I am looking forward to next year when I am more maneuverable and in less pain.

Grandma's Fairy Party

2008-12-18T21:54:00.003-07:00

Here are some really cute pictures from Grandma's Fairy Party Thanksgiving weekend. The girls loved it! The fairy cakes were so super cute. Thanks for all the effot Grandma.

A Week in St. George

2008-12-05T14:27:00.010-07:00

Well, we survived a week in St. George. We had a great time. First we visited with Cody and his kids...

Then we made a stop at Grandma & Grandpa Brooks' before they took off for another 10 days in Disney World.

Next Sammie and I went to Tuachan High School for Kaya's fall dance performance, Boundless. It was great! Kaya choreographed one of the dances performed. The music was all really good choices. I really liked most of the choreography, even though it is contemporary and not my favorite, ballet of course. I didn't get a picture of Kaya...bummer! She did fantastic! It was so fun to watch her. Thanks for inviting us.

We finally made it to my parents at about 11:00 Monday night. On Tuesday J.W., Randy, Cody, and my Dad went on a dirt bike/Quad ride in Santa Clara somewhere. They didn't get to ride for long because J.W. had an oil problem with his bike and of course set off to the motorcycle shop to fix it but they didn't have the right part so no more riding!

On Wednesday Sammie got to go to her Aunt Oyunn's class at Red Mtn Elementary and do Thanksgiving celebrations. She learned so much about the pilgrims. She absolutely loved it. Felicity stayed home with me and helped me make some pies. Obviously she had a good time!

We went to Grandma & Grandpa Spilkers for lunch with J.W.'s dad and to decorate for Christmas. J.W. got roped into hanging lights and Sammie had to pick the pomegranites in the back yard. It had just rained and every time she picked one she got showered with water and leaves! She got soaked!

Here is a picture of Mom and Dad preparing for the big feast! The turkey was delicious, as always, and the food was fantastic, and the table settings were beautiful! Thank you for all your hard work!

Happy Birthday J.W.!!!!

2008-11-21T15:15:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Honey!!!

Okay, so I am a little late with this post. Did you expect anything different? Sammie made a really cute "Happy Birthday" banner from flying charts and Felicity made Daddy some kind of a picture with mountains on it (I'm guessing because he likes to ride in the mountains). He also got a new pair of tennis shoes and some hiking boots and a psp game.

When he came home from his trip he took the girls to see Body Worlds at The Leonardo downtown. This was Sammie's present to him. I didn't go because I just can't handle looking at "once living" bodies with no skin. They all really enjoyed the exhibit. Sammie wrote some really cool pictures and observations down in a notebook they gave her at the mueseum. I am going to keep that forever!!!

I can't believe my man is sooooo old!!!!! Thirty-four used to seem decades away. But ya know what, I'm only nine months behind!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Say Cheese

2008-11-11T04:10:00.003-07:00

Felicity just loves to get her picture taken. Good thing since I haven't gotten professional shots done since her 1 year birthday. I really intend to every weekend, it just hasn't happened yet. Whenever she is feeling cute she says "take a picture". I almost always have the camera handy, but if not, she is happy with a pretend one, as long as you say "cute" after the click!

Another ATV Trip

2008-11-11T03:44:00.008-07:00

J.W. just finished 6 days home and so after he worked his little butt off cleaning the house for me, mowing the lawn, winterizing a million different machines in the garage (No kidding), and doing the laundry, we thought he deserved a break.

We went to this place he discovered from his moto-head buddies called the Knolls. It is about halfway to Wendover. It was really fun. There we sand dunes and also lots of hills with trails to ride on. It had just rained the day before so the sand was perfect! We were the only ones out there and had the place entirely to ourselves. I know we would not have liked it half as well if the dunes were crowded with people and we were worrying about the crazies running into us.

Here is a picture of J riding around in a "bowl". I tried it once but my balance is so off that it was just too scary for me.

J.W.'s latest adjustments to Sammie's ride really made a difference. He switched the gas from a thumb type push thingy to a twist grip. Sammie's poor little thumb used to get so sore after just a half hour of riding! He also put on a new rear shock and now she's not bouncing around so much. Sammie did awesome! She rode for a really long time all around the dunes. She is becoming quite the good little rider.

Of course, being the little beach bum that she is, she had to take a break playing in the sand.

I rode with Felicity for just a little bit on the 4 wheeler but as much fun as it was, it was not comfortable at all so Felicity and I spent the afternoon in the truck watching DVD's and reading and snacking. It was a very fun day even if we didn't get to ride that much.

Airplane Decorating

2008-11-03T17:34:00.002-07:00

I got the baby's crib bedding in the mail and I LOVE IT! I am excited to do an aviation themed nursery, although I'm not sure where that will be yet. Let me know if you find anything cute that would go along with this set! I only got the crib bedding, not the accessories.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-31T10:21:00.004-06:00

We had some neighbors over last night to do some pumpkin carving. They turned out really great. This was the first year Sammie carved her pumpkin entirely on her own and she did fantastic! Hers is the witch. Felicity chose Blue and he turned out so cute! I did the party bat and J.W. did the Haunted House. The Haunted House is my favorite pumpkin ever! It is definetely the winner! Our neighbors did the Fright This Way and the Ghost. Although it was fun, I missed having our party. Next year we are bringing it back! Mark your calendars so you don't miss it!

Oh yeah, how could I forgot Felicity's pumpkin? She did it all by herself. When she was finished she sang "Happy Birthday to you" in her most dramatic and loud singing voice. It was funny.

Halloween Mini Golf 10-16-2008

2008-10-31T10:14:00.004-06:00

We went mini golfing with Jenny and her kids. They had the whole place decorated for Halloween and had spooky music playing. It was really cute and fun. Sammie is a great putter. With some practice I'm sure she could be an expert golfer. JW did dang good. As for me... I had to take a six on almost every hole. I wasn't trying my hardest and I couldn't stand for me than a couple minutes due to the pain in my hip and back so that is my excuse. After this little adventure we decided there is no way I could make it for a trip to Disneyland so that is off the books! BUMMER!

One Wild Night

2008-10-28T17:06:00.006-06:00

Sammie was in a dance recital last night. It was a Halloween show. There were about 15 or so dance numbers, a bunch of skits and a professional magician. It is put on by my studio every year. Sammie is taking Hip Hop classes this year and she rocks at it! I think Hip Hop is totally her genre. She wore a cool skeleton costume and they used black lights so it looked really cool. I only got to watch her dance from the wings but from what I could see she did awesome! I got to watch her rehearsal and I know she did great in those.

I had two of my classes perform last night, both preschool. They did really great. I was very proud of them. I need to get them to smile more though.

One Wild Night is an understatement for my night last night. I was backstage trying to keep the kids from tearing down the school while they weren't dancing. I had a billion kids back there and only 3 people! It was awful! I did have things planned to keep them entertained but my help ditched as soon as the show started. As always, Sammie was a huge help. She helped glue the little witch craft together for the little ones and read stories to them and kept them from escaping the room. It was all very stressful. Consequently, I could not sleep last night. I had the stupid preschool songs going in my head all night and couldn't shut them up! I woke up this morning with a huge migraine. I took some Tylenol and that didn't help. It has been with me all day and hopefully I can kick it to the curb soon cause it's making me crazy!

Halloween Preview

2008-10-16T09:58:00.005-06:00

We took the girls to a Halloween Party at the Library last night. It was CROWDED but they had a lot of fun hearing spooky stories, doing crafts, going through an obstacle course, and getting balloon animals. Sammie chose a Monkey to go with her Pirate costume and Felicity chose a white "cycle". She had fun vroooming her motorcycle around on the ground until it popped a little. Then the new game was bite, bite, bite until it popped! Of course then the monkey was in danger so we found a safe place in the cupboard away from the little biter.

The girls costumes turned out really great if I do say so myself! I sewed all morning to get them finished up but I am really happy with the way they turned out. Our little bo peep says "AAARGH" just like her big sister pirate! Sammie is such a fantastic and sweet big sister, she took such good care of Felicity and made sure she could see the storytellers and was having fun.

Felicity saw the back of a ninja turtle and was mesmerized. She walked around to the front and stared at him then ran and got the camera from Dad and just had to take a picture of it. Pretty good picture taking for a two year old!

Sammie's Poem

2008-10-15T16:15:00.000-06:00

Love is Strong like a Tree

But also Soft and Fuzzy

Our Love will never Fall

I Love You

By Samantha

The First Snow of Winter!!!*

2008-10-12T11:17:00.004-06:00

I can't believe we have snow already! Isn't Oct. 12 a little premature? The leaves haven't even turned colors yet. So many tree branches broke because none of them have lost their leaves yet. My tomatoe plants and pumkin patch is now ruined. The last time it snowed it was May 1 so we only had 5 months without snow! Sammie is terribly worried it will snow on Halloween and ruin the whole day. She prays for a sunny day on Halloween every night.

I don't know who was more excited, the girls or the dog.
As soon as Felicity saw there was snow on the ground she ran to the closet to put on her "keep warm" (AKA Snowbibs) We just bought them and told her they will keep her warm in the snow, hence the name. She also had to put on her "boops". The girls and the dog had fun generally making a mess.

It's A Boy!

2008-10-09T07:36:00.005-06:00

What an exciting (and surprising) day. I got to have another ultrasound of the baby and guess what? It's a Boy! I didn't think I would be shocked but I was. This pregnancy doesn't feel much different than the other two except I am a little less sick. But still sick enough. The ultrasound also showed that the placenta is covering the cervix which means I will have to have a c-section if it doesn't move. I will get another ultrasound at 28 weeks and I am sure everything will turn out fine then.

I am really nervous to have a boy. I do girls just great. I know about girls. I like girls. I am nervous that the little guy will see that I don't have a clue what I am doing and not like me. J.W. keeps telling me boys are easy, just keep them away from sharp things and explosives. I am excited for J.W. He won't be totally outnumbered now. I do hear really great things about boys so that is very encouraging. And I have some really cool nephews.

I am really happy about getting to decorate an aviation bedroom. I picked out a really cool crib bedding set I am hoping to win on ebay. It is navy blue and maroon with airplanes of course.

I am totally panicked about the autism epidemic. It occurs in boys way more than girls. Why can't they just figure out the cause already?

Here is a picture from the ultrasound. If you scroll to the very bottom of the page you can see a ticker of how big he is now and how much longer I have to be pregnant.

Million Dollar Garage

2008-10-04T10:29:00.006-06:00

J.W. has worked really hard this summer (I know, no shocker there, he is always working hard) to finish up our garage. It looks fantastic. He put shelves up along two walls, painted and textured the walls and ceiling, put up a shop light, installed an outlet for a fridge and painted the floor. J is fantastic at organizing and has a spot for everything. He even has the bike on some easy to use hoists to keep them out of the way when not in use.

The only thing not completely finished is his workshop. That will just take some money to get all the parts he needs. Thanks J for working so hard to make our home beautiful!

Mini Cheerleader

2008-09-13T04:21:00.004-06:00

Sammie got to perform at halftime at the Woods Cross High School football game. She took a mini-cheer class and learned some cheers and a dance. She had a lot of fun. Felicity had a blast watching Sammie and trying to do the cheers with her. Go WildCats!!!

Happy Anniversary

2008-09-13T04:18:00.003-06:00

J.W. and I have been married 14 years!!!! I really can't believe it. It seems like yesterday (I know...so cliche). J.W. - thanks so much for marrying me. It has been a fantastic 14 years and I know the next 14 will be just as great. I love you with all my heart.

Reading

2008-09-06T23:13:00.002-06:00

Since I have had a couple weeks of work I have gotten back into reading. Two books were totally a bomb! One of them was Housekeeping. I picked it up at the library from the Staff Recommends display and the other one was The Waiting Time. What a bunch of depressing books! I decided I am not going to waste my time taking chances on books and only read highly recommend eds.

I know some of you are just going to die when you read this but guess what? I read Twilight. Yep! If you don't know I have a huge ridiculously insane paranoia of The V's. I can't even say their name without my heart hiding in my stomach. I have heard this book series was really great and wanted to read it but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I reserved the book at the Library a couple times but chickened out and didn't actually check it out when it came in. I was hoping to use this as some kind of therapy to get over this. Well, once the book was in my hands I didn't have a problem reading it. I had nightmares the first night and I will not read the book at night but the V's in this book are so different than the ones that terrify my dreams that it really seems like two separate things. Book two - New Moon - I balled my eyes out! Seriously, I couldn't stop crying for like three hours! Good books. I am looking forward to finishing the series.

Which brings me to Good Reads. Hey everyone who reads this PLEASE Please Please (I'm still waiting DAD) sign up at www.goodreads.com. It's a really cool online book club.

Summer is Over!

2008-09-06T22:34:00.003-06:00

Well, I offically have to say goodbye to Summer 2008!! I have to say it was a really great one! Here are some of the highlights of our summer.

Camping at Bountiful Peak

Raging Waters - For my Birthday Celebration
Exploring SLC - Gygel gardens, Cathedral of the Madeline, and something else I can't remember
Reunion at Zion National Park & visiting St. George
Camping up American Fork Canyon and not sleeping one single wink because I was terrified Bears were going to thrash through our tent and eat my girls.
Seeing the huge landslide caused by the rain when trying to return from American Fork Canyon
3 Week Break from work!
ATV ride with J.W. and Felicity up Farmington Canyon and discovering this super cool lake I was dying to go swimming in! (I have got to post a picture)

I am really torn about Sammie being back in school. I know it keeps her busy and is good for her but I sure miss her! But I know Felicity misses her even more than I do.

I don't know how next summer will stack up - I don't think we'll make it camping but just mayber, we can take a super great vacation to Hawaii or something. We'll see!

Computer Busted!

2008-08-20T11:54:00.002-06:00

Well, if anyone has noticed, I haven't updated my blog in a while. My computer is totally busted! The 80 gig hard drive is full and has bad sectors so I gotta get a new one. BUMMER. I just hope J.W. can retreive all my information on it.

My wonderful camera is malfunctioning too!!!! And my cell phone! EEERRGH!!! I feel like a malfunction magnet. Technology is great when it is working, but when it's not it is such a pain in the rosta.

I promise when my pc is back up and running I will be a better blogger. If anyone cares....... Until then.... Ta Ta For Now

Camping

2008-07-13T19:26:00.004-06:00

We went on an overnight camp last week up the mountain to Bountiful Peak. It was so beautiful up there! I think I counted 15 different wild flowers in bloom. It was amazing. It wasn't too hot, maybe 80 degrees but the bugs were out in full force.

Of course we took the ATV's and went on some awesome rides! We had a great time. Well, Sammie had her first little accident (Don't freak out mom!). We were going up a pretty rocky trail with a slope on the left side and Sammie hit a rock and leaned the wrong way and fell off her four wheeler on the slope side! I think she must have still been holding on the handlebars because the 4W rolled over and pushed her down the slope. Luckily there were a lot of trees that she was able to hang onto until I could get up there to come and get her. It was scary but she didn't even get a single scrape. I just can't wait till we can get her in the ATV class so many she can manuever a little better.

Reena (the dog) was begging to go with us so we let her come along. She was happy and trotting right along with us until about the last 20 minutes or so of the 2+ hours. Then she was really worn out and slowing down a lot. The next day the poor thing was so sore she could barely move! I felt so bad for her! It made it really easy to keep her around camp though. She is a good dog and fun to take camping.

We had fun playing catch, even though I am afraid of the ball! Sammie was really getting good. Felicity was so dang cute, I don't know where she picked this up but every time she would throw the ball she would say "whoa baby, baby, baby!" It was hilarious. She loved camping. And what's even funnier is she loved going down to the potty! That one I just can't figure out. The restrooms were absolutely horrible! I think it may have just been that every time one of us had to "go" all the girls went together. Of course, both the girls loved the fire and smores.

We had a great trip and amazingly didn't forget anything too important (like the sleeping bags, or the food!) I think we may be learning! We plan on going camping in two weeks and I hope it goes just as good as this one!

Samantha's Mystery Birthday Party

2008-07-13T19:11:00.004-06:00

Well my little angel turned NINE this past July 4! I can't believe how time flies! She had a super fun American Girl Samantha Mystery party this year. She invited 8 of her friends and they all dressed in 1900's dress. They had a formal dinner with goblets and everything which they thought was really cool. They watched the Samantha AG movie and played some games.

I made some salt water taffy and we tried to do a taffy pull. Wow was that ever a horrible MESS! We had taffy from floor to ceiling and wall to wall! The taffy wouldn't pull it would just melt and run all over their hands and my floors! That was such a disaster and I don't ever recommend doing it!

The girls all read a mystery script that came with the AG Mystery game and solved a mystery by figuring out clues. Sammie is such a good little actress! She did really well acting out her parts. They had pretty fun. It was a long party but considering they watched it movie it wasn't too bad. Sammie actually wanted to have a sleep over but a lot of her friends aren't allowed those so the late night worked out great!

Sammie got some really excellent presents! Thank you millions everybody! Sammie was using her very best manners and thanked everyone immensely. It was really cute. I think she got 8 books total so she has been busy reading! Thank goodness because reading hasn't really interested her before.

J.W. and I gave Sammie a digital camera (I know she is totally spoiled, but she is such a good kid and so grateful for everything!), a sleuth kit just like Nancy Drew's which she has been carrying around everywhere, and a couple other odd & ends I can't remember at the moment. Gma & Gpa Hancey gave her this really cool costume designer kit which I just can't wait to get my hands on!

I am so grateful I get to be Sammie's mother. She really is my little angel. She is always trying to do the right thing and is so thoughtful of other people's feelings. I love you Sammie!

2008 Dance Recital

2008-06-27T21:35:00.004-06:00

Sammie had her 2008 year end dance recital. She danced to the song "Walking on Sunshine". She did awesome! Felicity was sick and her fever really started going up the last half hour of the show so we had to forgo the usual ice cream parlor trip.

Sammie is looking forward to a summer with no dance and then in the fall she will reevaluate which classes she wants to take.

Happy 80th Grandma Spilker!

2008-06-27T20:47:00.004-06:00

On June 13-15 we went to a resort on the east side of Zion National Park to celebrate J.W.'s grandma's 80th birthday! Happy Birthday Grandma Spilker! She is a great lady. J.W. loves the memory of when he was little and Grandma Spilker would take him and his brother swimming or something and then give them $1 or $2 or change and say "Now don't tell your Grandpa!"

We had a nice reunion with everyone. Marsha came down from SLC, Clark & Janet and all their kids except Nick came from St. George & Mesquite. Janna & John from Mesa, and two of their 4 kids. Mike and Ann from St. George and all their kids except the one on a mission. Chuck and Connie and 2 of their 4 kids from St. George. J.W.'s dad was the only child of Grandma Spilkers not there but we came so that was good. A lot of J.W.'s cousins are now married with kids of their own! It's crazy! I really wish we could do reunions more often.

We stayed at the Zion Mountain Resort. The have a huge herd of buffalo there! No kidding! Felicity liked the "Moose", I think she may be trying to say moos? Sammie had a fun time playing with her second cousins until the poor little thing got sick! She had a fever and just wanted to sleep, sleep, sleep and no play. Which anyone who knows Sammie knows she is all about play, play, play and no sleep! Luckily she was only sick for one day.

We went 4-wheelin at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes which we found out we didn't like. Too sandy and dusty and fast.

J.W. and I went on an absolutely killer ride on Sunday morning. Just the two of us, all by ourselves. I think it was the first date we've had in years! No kidding. The ride was cool, there was lots of rock obstacles, hard road and sandy road, lots of cedar trees everywhere and then we got down into the canyon and there were sheer rock walls shooting up. It was really beautiful. I want to do that ride again! We had a great time.

School's Out

2008-05-31T21:20:00.003-06:00

HOOORAY! Summertime! Sammie is finally outa school. I am really glad (so far). I can't wait to have a super summer of vacationing and playing and camping and swimming and sun and all that fun stuff. I'll keep you posted on our summer adventures.

Great Big Guns

2008-05-31T21:13:00.002-06:00

Why aren't my arms the size of incredible Hulk's? I carry Felicity around 24/7. If I am not holding her and am standing still for literally more than 1 second she is standing on my feet demanding "HOED JEW" in her most forceful two year old voice. She weighs only about 21 lbs. but still after hours and hours of holding her my arms are aching!

Actually, now that I vented about it I feel lots better. Felicity is the cuddliest baby on the planet! She is so cute and sweet and it just makes me feel so happy and like everything is right with the world to hold her in my arms.

Felicity just started singing her first "real" song. It's the barney song from the end of his show but she doesn't watch barney and didn't get it from there. That "I love you, you love me song" ... you know the one? Well, her dance class ended with that song everytime. She has to give everybody in the room a great big hug when it comes to that part of the song. It's really cute. Hey, I otta record her and put her on here singing. I'll try to figure that one out.

Scratch & Dent Sale

2008-05-31T21:01:00.004-06:00

Well, I did it again! I ran the minivan into a post a the gas station and made another scratch & dent to add to the collection! This makes at least #4.

Let me try and count them. 1 - I ran into the neighbors mailbox and made a big dent and scratch. 2 - Backed into Jenny's car and took her mirror off! 3 & 4 - backed into the garbage can and broke the tail light and had to replace it. Yep, you read it right, I did it twice. 5 - driving down the road to close to the side and took my neighbors side mirror off of his truck. 6 - Dent in the front bumper - don't even remember how! 7 - Dent in the back bumper - don't remember how. But luckily (if I can use the word LUCK with this mess) I have never injured anyone or never been injured myself in the thing. It is just TOO BIG! I was mean to drive a little sports car like a Ferrari or something.

Along with the fender benders I have had the worst luck with tires. I got a flat on the freeway during rush hour. A nice kid and his mom stopped and changed the tire for me. And while pulling into the gas station I got a flat somehow. And Oh Yeah, at our 1200 S house I backed out of the driveway and ran over the water faucet and sprinkler box and wrecked the tire and the faucet! Whew!

Now, if this car was a lifer like J's old truck and I had it for 15 years maybe this wouldn't be so unusual but the thing is, I've only had this van for a little over three years!

So I guess my question is....would anyone be willing to take this thing off my hands for me so I can get something smaller and hopefully make the streets a little safer?

ATV-ing at Golden Spike

2008-05-12T12:31:00.004-06:00

J.W. took the fam bam out on Saturday for our first real ATV trip together. J.W. rode his dirt bike, Felicity and I were on the 4 Wheeler and Sammie rode her 4 wheeler. We drove the truck and trailer out to the middle of absolutely nowhere, about 30 minutes past "Golden Spike" and then unloaded the bikes. J. found this place in a trail guide and it is along the edge of the Great Salt Lake. Surprisingly, there were quite a few people out there already. Some even with their RV.

We rode from the place we unloaded to a place called Kelton Ghost town. It took us about 3 hrs (?) to get there. We were all really excited to see a Ghost town, but Kelton turned out to be a huge dissapointment. There wasn't a single structure standing, we saw remnants of some foundations but that is it.

We wen't to the cemetary a little further and that was pretty cool. Sammie found some bones and teeth of some kind of animal and just had to bring them home for further investigation. She said she needed to study them if she is going to be a travelling veteranarian someday.

Before we left we got the coordinates to a geocache at Kelton. We found it and Sammie picked out a cute Skechers bracelet. Geocaching was my favorite part of the day.

It was time to head back to the truck at about 5 pm. Sammie was getting pretty tired. J.W. had the idea to ride ahead really fast and get the truck and come and pick us up. That was a good plan. Sammie likes to go about 10-14 miles per hour so it was easy for J.W. to ride ahead and come back. Poor little Sammie's thumb got too tired to push the gas anymore so after about 30 minutes I tied a rope to my ride and pulled Sammie home. Felicity fell asleep sitting in front of me and we rode that way for another 45 minutes or so before JW rescued us.

We stopped at Fazzoli's for dinner and made it back home at about 9:45 or so. The girls went straight to sleep. We were all dusty and tired but we had a really fun time. We can't wait to go again.

Happy Birthday TWO you!

2008-05-12T12:19:00.004-06:00

Well, My little baby turned two! She had a wonderful "Bubble Bash" party! She is so in love with bubbles! My sis Jenny and her family and our Friends "the P's" from Fresno joined in the celebration with us. We did bubble art, blew lots and lots of bubbles, rode the Escalade around, ate dinner and cake and of course opened presents.

She loved every single present she got! Thanks tons and tons to everyone who sent her a present. She really loves the tea set, and the monkey shirt, and the V-Smile, and well, really all of them. What a lucky girl.

Felicity is really an adorable two year old. She has a lot of "real" words she uses very well to communicate but is hilarious with her jabbering. She jabbers all the time and tells all kinds of stories. My favorite are the stories with sound effects of crashes! It's super cute. She still loves to sing and dance. Her favorite movie has got to be Enchanted. She gets so pretend scared every time the big troll comes and tries to eat the princess. I think her favorite color might be yellow, she really likes ducks. The other day we went to IFA and they had a huge tower of baby chicks and ducks. We spent probably 30 minutes petting and watching them. She really got a kick out of it. Too bad Sammie was in school. My little "Nature Girl, Animal Lover" would have really enjoyed it too I think.

Blogging Update

2008-05-12T12:17:00.001-06:00

Okay, updating this blog is not going to be nearly as easy as I thought. I plan to update every week but it hasn't happened so far. I will try to cram something in today.

New Truck

2008-04-25T11:02:00.004-06:00

Guess What? I Finally convinced J.W. he needed a new truck. Well, maybe it wasn't so much as me convincing him as the fact that our family doesn't even fit in the truck. But really I think it was that he can't pull his trailer and 4 wheelers very well with it! Whatever the reason, he finally got a new one!

The Ranger, believe it or not, is still running okay. J.W. has had it for 15 years! The truck has 180,000 + miles on it. It has a leaky transmission seal or something like that but it works fine. He is going to give it to his mom because she has been without a vehicle for 3 or 4 months or something like that.

J.W. has always wanted a Dodge Dakota since forever so that it what he tried to find. If you know J.W., you know he is a total internet shopper. He looked online for quite awhile. I made him go to a dealership so I could touch & feel & see what a Dakota even is! We found one at a dealership, it had a "Cowgirl Up" decal on the back and that kind of deterred J.W. from getting that one (along with a bunch of other mess). Well, he found one on the internet that was perfect for him, great price, right color, everything. Only problem.... it was in Idaho Falls. He was actually so excited about wanting that truck and getting that truck he couldn't sleep!

Well, guess what? We took a 36 minute flight to Idaho Falls on Tuesday and he bought it! It's a really cool truck. It's blue, just like he wanted, has 4 doors, 4 wheel drive, and all the bells and whistles. It is stick shift, which makes it fun to drive. We had a really nice drive home and got Sammie from a friends house.

And guess what else? My crappy minivan is in the shop getting a stupid expensive repair done just so it can pass inspection, although it drives just fine. But the good news is, I get to drive the new truck! J.W. took the Ranger to work for five days. Sammie and Felicity both love the truck. Felicity keeps saying "coooool truck". Sammie just loves it, almost as much as her 4 wheeler.

So, how long is the longest you have ever kept a vehicle? Anyone beat 15 years? Okay, the rule is, it has to be the primary vehicle you drive. Anyone, Anyone? I'll bet no one can beat that.

Here it is.

WHACK! Sammie's New 'Do

2008-04-25T10:57:00.002-06:00

So J.W. came to me Monday when I got home from work and said "Sammie needs to talk to you, it's a girl thing". Oh great, I thought. Wassup? Trouble with friends? Well, Sammie took a deep breath and sat me down and said "Mom, I want to cut my hair". That was schocking! I said okay, well just think about it for a little while and if you still want to you can cut it. I could tell it was the only thing on her mind at all when she went to bed that night and the next morning that is all she could talk about. When she got home from school on Tuesday she begged and begged and really begged to go to the salon. Here are some pictures ......

I'm gonna miss that long, beautiful, silky, shiny hair. Except the tangles in the morning. I really think it looks super cute. Sammie loves it. It will much better for swimming and washing her own hair and brushing her own hair which was all but impossible before. She insists on donating her hair to Locks of Love for cancer patients although I begged her to let me keep it and make a hair piece from it. The total length cut off turned out to be 15"!

Blogging

2008-04-14T00:29:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I am gonna try this blogging thing. I've tried Myspace and Facebook and haven't really gotten into them so we will see how long this thing lasts. But for now this is just a test and I am getting very dizzy seeing how it is 2 1/2 hours past my bedtime! Hopefully I will get this figured out soon!