A Day in the Park

Here are some pictures that my sis-in-law took when we were visiting them the day after Thanksgiving:

Here is my dad with Braedi and Kendall. He is such a cute grandpa, especially when it comes to being a total sweetheart with his granddaughters.


Something about being in the Arizona sun again... That was a great nap!!
And thank you, Christy, for the candid shot. :)


We were playing Keep Away with a kick ball, which was fun. The kids loved it until their turn in the middle took too long. Then you had to kick it close enough that they could get it and get out of the middle.

Thanksgiving in Phoenix

I am grateful for family!!

This Thanksgiving we spent with my family in Phoenix. We haven't been down to visit since last Christmas, so this visit was overdue!

Before we left, we desperately needed to get new front tires on my car. Patrick found a pair at the shop where he works and put them on the car. I needed to get them balanced before the long drive, so on Tuesday before Turkey Day, I went to Discount. They balanced one tire, then pulled the other one off and noticed a huge bubble. They wanted to charge us $190 for one pair of new tires, so we left and Patrick put on a new-old tire at the shop. Wednesday morning, he went to Big O Tires and bought 4 new tires for a much better deal. So, YEAH!!!, I have all new tires on my car!! This winter will be so much more pleasant with some traction.

It was so rainy on Wednesday. 2/3 of our trip was in rain. We opted to drive through Vegas to have nicer roads to tolerate the weather. We stopped in Mesquite to eat a $4.99 Prime Rib meal only to find out that the super sweet deal started at 4pm. Well, it was only 2:30pm in Nevada. We still ate pretty good food, though.

We stopped and bought some firecrackers. :) Fun!

We waited patiently through rush hour in Las Vegas. Not fun.

And we pulled in around 11:30pm at my parents' house in Phoenix.

Patrick was starting to feel like he was getting sick at the beginning of the drive, and by the time we got to Phoenix, he was definitely sick. Poor guy had to deal with that during the whole vacation. It stinks to be sick at someone else's house. It's so much nicer to lay on your own couch, use your own toilet, and leave your tissues on your own floor. :) Fortunately, we stayed in my parents' pop-up trailer in the driveway, so we had privacy and space as needed.

My mom made an awesome Thanksgiving meal. We had sweet potatoes, stuffing, peas, mashed potatoes (that my dad makes, and they are awesome), turkey, my mom's heavenly rolls, a big veggie tray with some veggies from their garden, cranberry sauce, pumpkin-cream cheese pie, pecan pie, and a butterscotch pie and chocolate pie that my brother made with silken tofu.

I ate waaaaaaay to much!

Friday, we went to one of my brother's house in Surprise. We ate lunch at his place with my parents, Patrick and me, my brother Jeremiah's family, and my brother Jonathan's family. The grandkids made a couple bottle rockets, and we went to the park to launch them and play. It was a fun day. One of the things I hate the most about living a state away from a majority of the family is missing out on the grandkids growing up. They are so incredibly cute.

After the park, we went back to Jeremiah's, ate dinner, put on a movie for the kids, and we adults played a game. It was so fun to hang out with my brothers and their wives and my parents. We had a riot playing the game.

Saturday, my parents, my brother Philip, Patrick and I went to the cafe where Philip works and ate lunch. It's a vegetarian and vegan place called Chakra 4 Herb & Tea House. I LOVED the food. The herb selection is huge, and it's just a great place with great energy. (That's the hippie in me!)

We spent the evening with Jonathan and Ashlee. We ate dinner over there, played with the kids for a tiny bit, had family prayer with them, then watched The Bucket List and drank mate. I seriously LOVE my family to death!!

After that, we went over to my good friend Jenny's house and spent a couple hours with her, catching up and sharing a ton of laughs.

Sunday, we packed up our stuff, ate my mom's yummy cinnamon rolls, and left Phoenix around 11:30am. Later than we wanted to leave, but it was good to not be rushed.

We drove to Winslow to try to find an old friend of Patrick's. We couldn't find her, which is a bummer, but the drive was beautiful. Then we headed to Flagstaff to get on the 89, which we took to Page, then drove to Kanab, then up the 89 to the 40 or 70...I'm not sure as I was dead asleep. Then over to I-15 and home to SLC!! We rolled in around 2:30am. What a long day. I love my car, but I'm currently quite sick of her. :)

So, that was our trip. Patrick's health is much better, and my body was able to fight off his cold until the drive home. Now I'm congested and dealing with sinus pressure. I wish sharing colds was more difficult. Smooching a sick hubby doesn't help, I'm sure.

Now, for December and Christmas...

1990...What the....??

So by now you might understand that Patrick is a total hot-rodder. Any vehicle less than 25 years old is new by his standards, and nearly a sin for him to drive. It pains him that I own and he has to sometimes drive my 1998 Accord. It would kill him if I earned the Pontiac Vibe or G6 through Mary Kay and actually took the car instead of the cash ($375/month) which could be wisely invested in fixing up a proper hot rod that could be painted an appropriate shade of pink.

Anyway, the point is that my grease-monkey-hot-rodding-hubby is the proud (??) new owner of a 1990 Corolla.

I have to pause for a minute so I can have a good chuckle!

Okay, chuckling has subsided. His boss sold him the car for $100 to use on days he can't ride his Triumph to work during the winter. It needs a few inexpensive repairs, so it's really a great deal. Sure it's a hunka junk, but it drives.

I followed Patrick to the place where he was doing emissions on the Corolla, and it was just odd to see him driving that itty bitty car. He swears it will be a total of 2 weeks that he might drive the car during the winter. And quite naturally, he'll make sure it has a loud exhaust, shoots out firebombs out the back, and a questionable paint job. Just 'cause. (shaking my head...)



P.S. There's an awesome camera on a super sale that I want to get. If that pans out, you better believe I'll get some pictures up here of the new beauty!!

New Background & Picture

I updated our background for this season of Thanksgiving and changed the picture to one that has appropriate colors. I don't love this picture of us, but it'll do. One thing I want to do in the next month or so is to get some pictures taken of us by someone who knows what they are doing. Maybe I'll hit up my sister-in-law while we're in Phoenix for Thanksgiving. She has a knack for photography. Their family blog is full of super cute family and kid pictures. If/When it happens, I'll be sure to post them!

My Grease Monkey is Back!!!!! And I LOVE It !!!!!

And I guess I should post about Patrick's new job!! :) I have feeling this one is going to stick. He's working at

Scott's Auto & Clutch & Towing

as a mechanic. He's so great as a mechanic. He's got his tools at the shop and is working hard. His boss, Scott, loves his work. We are so grateful that he found a great job!!

So, if anyone in or around Salt Lake City needs any work done on their car or needs to be towed, here's their information:

Scott's Auto & Clutch & Towing

144 W Crystal Ave
Salt Lake City, UT 84115

(801) 485-4089‎


Patrick has had a side job this week, too...being my personal nurse. Let me tell you, he's good as a nurse! I'm grateful he was able to be home a bit more this week to help take care of me. I was having really high fevers, inflammation in my joints, headaches, and a strange rash on my arms, neck/chest, and legs. I'm rehydrated now because of Patrick giving me everything from the gentle glance to the stern stare until I drink more fluids. What a great guy.

Two of Patrick's FAVORITE Shows

The Simpsons...love the human-like characterization done by this artist (Spacecoyote)! It almost creeps me out. And at the same time, I think it would be brilliant if they did an episode with all the characters looking like this! Seriously, he did a fabulous job. :)

Futurama, also done by Spacecoyote. I love this one as well. We're sad Futurama is over, as far as new episodes and seasons. Thank goodness for tv on DVD!!!

New Helmet

Patrick got his new helmet in the mail today. It's a pilot's helmet from.... Fill in the blanks. :) You either know and recognize it or you don't.

Already???

This is what I woke up to this morning. The first real snow of the year. I'm freezing just thinking about it! I hear It's around seventy in phoenix... lucky people.:)

Patrick's New Job

Patrick started a new job today as a waiter at Acme Burger in Salt Lake City. We're super excited for him to have a job!!!

Patrick's Baby

On August 12th (we think), Patrick got his Triumph Bonneville. It was seriously like taking a kid to a toy store to pick out a toy he's been drooling over for months. Something along the lines of Ralphie dreaming about getting a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas. Here are a few pictures from the exciting occasion:

Waiting to sign the paperwork.
A supportive wife. :)
Patrick sitting on the Triumph Thruxton...he wanted that one, but it just wasn't as comfortable as the Bonneville.
The salesman brought out Patrick's Bonneville.

Patrick's first perch on his new girlfriend.

The close-up. Look at that grin!

The beautiful and sexy Triumph Bonneville.

Patrick brought her outside, ready to ride off into the sunset.

And off into the sunset he rides...