Sleeping Under The Stars...

Mike Jr had a couple of friends stay over Friday Night...

  

Good Morning Boys!

A Super Read...

Have you read the The Hourglass Door yet?  Well book two, The Golden Spiral, has been out for a few weeks now.  I finally got my hands on a library copy and was not able to put it down.  It captivated me just as much as the first book!  If you liked Twilight, you will love this series too.  Personally, I need to read both of them over again ASAP. :)

Who Provides Your Internet?

We have been contemplating switching over to Qwest Internet (DSL) from Comcast.  It is a substantial savings, however, they only have 1.5mbps available in my neighborhood till the end of the summer.  I'm worried about the speeds.  I am pretty impatient when it comes to waiting for pages to load etc.

Who do you have your Internet service through?  Are you happy with it?

Happy Fathers Day...

“Any man can be a father,

but it takes a special person to be a dad”

-Anonymous

My two favorite Dads...

I love you guys. :)

Happy Fathers Day!

Why Is It...

... you can list hundreds of things you DON'T like about yourself

 but then struggle to come up with things you DO?

Do you ever wonder if

there are actually people out there

who look in the mirror

and are completely HAPPY with what they see?

Do you ever wonder if

there are actually people out there

who are REALLY overjoyed

with who they are and what they do?

Some days it is overwhelming

thinking about all the things

I want to CHANGE about myself...

...whether it be

body

soul

heart

mind

all of the above...

Do ya know what I mean?

The Breakfast Of Champions...

+

=

Heaven!

I finally found where I can get crumpets in Utah...

The fam luuuuuuuurves them.

...some of them ate FOUR!

I feel like watching Sense & Sensibility or

Young Victoria and eating more crumpets...

Who wants to come and join me for a crumpet party???

Lagoon... Check!

Finally, after almost three years of living in Utah, our family went to Lagoon for our first time last week thanks to Dee's friend K who got us some $10 passes.  The kids brought some friends along so Mike and I got to spend some quality time together.  The park is pretty small compared to the other theme parks we have visited, but I kind of liked that aspect, plus there were not really any lines since it was a Monday.

The "Wicked" was my favorite ride... it seriously made me laugh so Mike & I rode that a few times.  The "Rocket" was also fun but Mr-I-Don't-Like-Heights wouldn't ride it with me so I rode with the kids.  One of the park employees thought it would be funny to go into the back of the Terroride and jump out at me and Mike which almost made me pee my pants since I had already gone through once and wasn't expecting that.  I think they just like to pick on the old people! 

The kids all swore up and down that I wouldn't get wet on the Log Flume... LIARS!!!! I got absolutely drenched. The Spider, tilt-a-whirl and scrambler were more of my favs.

The food prices in there were not as bad as some of the other parks we have visited (although we did take lunch in the cooler... just bought snacks).  I ♥ the Snowies over by the Wicked ride... Tigers Blood is yummilicious... they were big enough to share and only $4!  And the brownies and cinnamon rolls were HUGE for just a couple of dollars each!  My favorite thing they do is give you huge cups of iced water for 25 cents (refills are free).  It means you don't have to carry a water bottle around or pay tons of money for bottled water! 

I felt like a kid again as we walked around, ate food, went on the rides and laughed.  I didn't remember to take a lot of pics and one of the kids friends, Kyle, had already left when I remembered to take them at the end of the day but here is what I had from my camera phone...

Flashback Friday...

This week I visited England using Google Earth... 

This is a current pic of the house I grew up in

on Tilehurst Rd in Reading, England.

It was built in the late 1930's, early 1940's!

And here is the hospital I was born in...

Royal Berkshire Hospital, which was opened in 1839.

It's very first patron was Queen Victoria.

Last year when I went back to England

for the first time in about 18 years,

for my Granddad's funeral,

I visited both of these places.

I also visited my primary (elementary) school

and saw parks and streets that I remembered.

My Granddad's funeral was held in

the same church I attended until I moved here.

I saw people I hadn't seen since I was 12.

I love the architecture.

I love the streets and the shops.

I love the road signs.

I love the double decker buses.

I love the taxi's.

I love the countryside.

I love the castles.

I love the people... especially my family that are still there.

I love all the treats that I still crave...

Sticky Toffee Pudding, English Chocolate, Skips,

Marmite, Golden Syrup, Salad Cream, Caramel Wafers,

Jammie Dodgers, Jaffa Cakes, Sausage Rolls,

Meat Pies, Cornish Pasties, Fish & Chips...

As Americanized as I may have become,

and as much as I love America,

I still have an incredibly great love for my home country,

and sometimes, I yearn to be there.

National Donut Day...

How can I have the word "Donut" in my blog title and not celebrate the fact that TODAY is NATIONAL DONUT DAY!!! :)  Do you know how this day came about?  The event was created by the Salvation Army in 1938 as a fundraiser to help the needy during the Great Depression and to honor the women who served donuts to the soldiers during WWI.  It is always the first Friday in June.

Today Krispy Kreme is giving away a free donut to their customers at many locations.  Dunkin Donuts offers a free donut with a beverage purchase.  Check their websites to see which locations are participating, or just visit your favorite donut hot spot and pick up a box of donuts to share with your family!  They will be happy you did. :)

What's Different?

Can you tell the difference?

Before...

After...

I'll give you a hint...

It's gonna cost us a few thousand dollars. :(

Look Who Got A Haircut...

We had to get it cut short... she was so matted :(

But she looks so tiny and cute...

You can't help but cuddle and love her! :)

From The Mountains To The Valley's...

We had a lovely family gathering at Mum & Dad's for Memorial Day.  My favorite part of the day was when we went for a hike up the mountain.  Well, to be fair... the boys hiked UP the mountain.  The girls drove up and then hiked ALONG the mountain.  The view was absolutely breathtaking! 

Looking over to the West...

Dee, all windblown but still smiling...

Carole, Mum & Jessika...

Mike Jr taking a sec...

Some of the boys hiked all the way to the Draper Temple! 

(That is quite a hike.)

I met them there with the car to drive them

home and get this pic as a reminder...

Many thanks and prayers for all the soldiers, (and their families),

that have fought to protect this beautiful land as well as other lands too. ♥