Want something free?

Got an email from a friend this morning about this great deal for nursing mothers (or as a gift). They are really stylish nursing covers. Normally they cost $32, but if you put in the discount code box "onefree" it takes off the $32, and you just pay $8.95 for shipping. I bought the "Jones". Check it out at uddercovers.com. Which by the way I think is a gross name. ha.

Freedom isn't free

We live in an area where there are many retirement communities, hence many veterans. We are continually touched by the many sincere words of thanks and encouragement that Dave receives when he is in uniform and out in public. On Friday night Dave took a break from work to go out to dinner with me. A gentleman came up and thanked Dave for his service and said he would like to pay for our dinner. This has actually happened a few times since we have lived here. Even as we left the restaurant other older gentlemen offered words of appreciation.

The older generation understands sacrifice for the freedoms we have a little more than the younger generation I fear. Patriotism is taught in the home first. Are we teaching our children the love of freedom and the price that others have paid for our freedom.? Also the price that we must be willing to continually pay to ensure we always enjoy it?

What a blessing to live in this great nation and enjoy the freedoms we do. I forget so often. I am thankful for the reminder given to me by the freedom loving veterans in our area.

oh, and any time you would like to take us out to dinner we are available. ha ha ha.

Enjoy the quotes below......

These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." -Thomas Paine

"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, For then it costs nothing to be a patriot."

-Mark Twain

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty." -John F. Kennedy

"We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights." -Felix Frankfurter

"The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men." -Samuel Adams

"No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation."

-Douglas MacArthur

They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~Abraham Lincoln

Lots of rambling about everything that comes to mind

Most people know fall is coming when the weather turns crisper, and the leaves start to change colors. I know it's fall is on it's way when I drive past my neighbor Joe's garage and see hanging body parts. Let the decorating begin.

Only in arizona do you need air conditioning units out in your garage when you are decorating for Halloween.

Joe is so proud of his werewolf that he made this year out of one of his christmas reindeer.

always nice to see a ripped off leg amongst the boxes. Don't worry, Joe isn't demented or scary. ok, maybe a little. ha ha. Now you know the real reason we need to move. ha ha. Actually I will miss this the most. All the Holiday fun on our street.

-Did I ever tell you that my reunion was fun! I had to leave early I was so exhausted and hoarse from talking to everyone. Here, I was so embarrassed about being pregnant and I find out that so many had just had a baby, some their first. I guess it isn't the southern california norm to get married in your early twenties and have 6 kids. ha ha. This is my friend Erica I am with in the pic.

-I had a dream last night that i had a few tattoos that were colorful on my legs. I really don't like tattoos truth be told. (i know, very random. that's me!)

-Rebecca hands me her progress reports this morning as she jumps out of the car for school. She had 3 F's. I am so mad. No wonder she has been so grumpy lately (more than usual, smile.)

-My office is finally clean after months. Should i actually scrapbook a page or two. This is probably the last page that I did 2 years ago. sad but true.

-I am happy the the temps are going down,

but sad that the pool water is getting cooler. I am trying to use it as much as possible before it gets too cold. It is the perfect spot to read the new Dan Brown book that I bought. woo-hoo.

-A girl at school told Lizzie that her eyes look like they are going to pop out. Why would she say that? ha ha. Don't worry Liz. I had a guy tell me I looked like Marti Feldman once. Thanks! You know seeing this picture, I do kinda.

-We successfully pulled off, in the past two weeks, 2 birthday parties. One for Leah, and one for Lizzie. and I didn't take even one picture! Sometimes I am just not in the mood. They are 8 and 9 now. Lizzie's baptism is October 10th for those interested in coming.

-Jacob and RAchel have appts. to get their patriarchal blessings next month. Very exciting.

-I finally felt well enough to go to the temple and I went with Dave on Saturday and some -friends on Tues. It felt wonderful to be there. It really is Heaven on earth.

- I finally tried a little mexican restaurant by the temple called Rosa's. It was so yummy. I highly recommend it. It is on Mesa drive, north of the temple, in the McDonalds parking lot. Perfect spot to eat for after the temple. The sweet green salsa made me very happy.

-My latest cravings are frosted shredded wheat, string cheese, and apples. Also for some reason Red Robin has been hitting the spot. Unusual for me. I had a new sandwich there yesterday that was so good. A chicken breast sandwich with mozzarella cheese, marinated tomatoes, a pesto sauce, and on a soft ciabatta roll. It was scrumptious. Oh also, a hawaiian hearthrob smoothie. Delish!!! Who wants to go with me today?


'Fame' Theatrical Trailer @ Yahoo! Video

-I am really excited to go and see the movie FAme!!! It is PG woo-hoo!! I think I will surprise Rachel and get her out of school today to see it. (she is getting all A's) She has been so amazing during this pregnancy. She has helped with everything and everyone. She does the laundry and dishes and helps the kids with their homework (apparently not so much with Rebecca. frown.) Plus lately she has been so nice. I knew she must have a goal . Sure enough I saw this on her bedroom mirror. How awesome that the young women's program (for girls 12-18) at church teaches them and has them set goals on many different areas. Some are listed above. I know it made a difference for me when I was a teenager. When you are most self centered you are taught to think of others before yourself, and to improve yourself every day.
-Now that I watch tv all the time since I have to lay down a lot I am finding shows I like. Have you seen the Mentalist? Thursday nights at 9 pm, try it. I really need tivo though.
-I have been watching the price is right almost every morning. I know, get a life right? I used to watch this show every morning during the summer when I was young. I loved it! I actually wrote in to the show and asked if they would have a teen day for the show. They said no, but sent me some tickets to the show. I kept them safe under my mattress. I remember vividly kneeling in prayer as a family one summer morning and my mom saying it just wasn't possible for her to go on the date that I had the tickets (i was too young to go). I was crushed! Maybe that is what I should do for my fortieth birthday. Wouldn't that be hysterical? Who's in? How should we design our shirts?

on a sad note (depending on who you are) we no longer have roxy. We left on vacation for three weeks this summer, and when we came back she was gone. Dave had taken her to the humane society. Nice. Poor Roxy. Some of you may never read my blog again after hearing of Dave's animal cruelty. What can I say...it was either roxy or dave had to leave. Besides, DAve doesn't chew and ruin everything in the backyard either.

Speaking of Dave, he leaves today for a radiology conference at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. I really wish I could go. I usually go to all of his conferences (free vacay for me. smile). I just can't physically handle even this. Crazy but true. I must stay close to my couch, refrigerator, pool, and bathroom. Yes, it has come to this. I can't wait to not feel nauseous anymore, not have to go to the bathroom every 10 mins., and sleep in my bed again on my stomach. 6 WEEKS!!!

Is it wrong to want my back yard to look like this?

-Well, i am off. I need to eat and go get rachel. Happy weekend!!!

i love him.

I think this kid should be on American idol. I would definitely vote for him. I posted a song with him in it a year ago, i went and found it again. I love this song. I love his voice. is it possible for dave to have a voice like his after we die. ha.

Lake Powell '09

I have always wanted to go to Lake Powell. Everyone is always talking about how amazing it is, and that it is their favorite place on earth. Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful friends, we got to experience the infamous Lake Powell. We were not disappointed. Here are some of our first glimpses as we pulled out of the docks and hit open water. I'll never forget the wind blowing on my face and the peacefulness of this beautiful place. Here is our fearless captain, Brent. Wow it is a lot of work to get everything ready and running smoothly all the time. I appreciated so much how much time Brent put in to make this a fabulous trip for everyone. Thanks skipper. Dave was in total heaven. He kept saying to me that it made him want to be shanghaied and sail the 7 seas (dreaming of being a pirate again). I explained to him that being shanghied and put to work chained up wasn't quite the same as this experience filled with boating, jet skiing, playing and eating to his heart's content and then a long nap. Ha. DAve just really enjoyed the whole work aspect of it. Tying ropes down, securing the brig (i don't know what that means exactly), swabbing the deck etc. You know pirates work.

classic paige.

Some of the kids rode next to the houseboat on the jet skis. Pure heaven for them. Dave and Brent took the ski boat out earlier that morning to find and save a good spot. They did a great job.

The jet skiers got there first.

We were in the perfect cove. Lots of great beach, calm water, rocks to climb and explore. The kids got busy.

I set up camp as well. I was either here or in the water the whole time. Which was great by me.

Others took off on the boat.


The girls were busy making sand chairs.






(i couldn't resist putting this picture on. Sorry Leah)

The finished project.

I couldn't get over how soft and squishy the sand was. The kids just loved to throw it at each other.

Welcome back!
Blake and Wyatt.

Tanner.

Jacob, Rachel, and Ashley. These guys went non stop all day. They would take out the jet skis on their own and wake board, and do the tube. I can't imagine there is a better feeling of freedom than that for a teenager. Besides that they played games, watched movies, and ate tons of junk food.

I think my favorite part of the trip was just watching the three grown men get to act like teenage boys again. Hanging out and laughing together, planning crazy new stunts to do. To hear them be able to just let go and laugh was wonderful. You know, Dad's work really hard and always have to be the responsible ones. They did plenty of dangerously stupid things this trip to feel young again. ha. For instance.....

sliding down steep cliff faces on knee boards. They responsibly wore flippers to protect their feet. ha ha. They had names for all the runs with different levels of difficulty. The easiest being "cupcake" and they hardest "T-REx."

Watching Lizzie fly around like a wet noodle on the tube was a highlight. This girl has no fear

Jacob was very upset that I wasn't able to be his personal photographer on the trip and capture all of his wake boarding, skiing, knee boarding, tubing, cliff jumping. I really couldn't go with everyone most of the time. I really regret especially not seeing and photographing the cliff jumping and the slot canyon hike that they went on. Lizzie became known as the dare devil. She was jumping off 35 ft. cliffs over and over. She wanted to go higher and Dave wouldn't let her. She did everything without hesitation and did it over and over. Who would have thought that my 7 yr. old is an adrenaline junkie.

A trip to the famous sand slide.

Everyone up at the top.

and running down.

Melanie, Megan and I were telling our husbands to keep their eyes focused on us with all of the young girls with bikinis and augmented bodies around. It wasn't hard for Dave. I mean, look what i have to offer. And it is all real baby!!! ha ha.

He couldn't resist of course. Although this move almost put me into labor. ha ha.

How special are Melanie and Jeff?

and Megaen and Brent.

On the way back a little jump.

Jeff being very dramatic. ha.

Is this scout camp?

Then there was the "swing of dreams" that the guys rigged up. Although it turned out to be a nightmare for the middle aged bodies the next day. ha ha.

Brent doing the frog dive. ha ha.

Jacob.
and lizzie. Who went so many times, i don't know how her little arms could stand it. This girl is so strong though she doesn't look it. You should see her do push ups.

Ahhhhhhh, sunday has arrived. After church it's nap time. It was cool to see that not many boats were out on sunday and lots of people leaving the docks in church clothes.

Church was actually one of the best things about going to Lake Powell. The congregation was mostly Navajo Indian. What a special people they are. It was the sunday where the whole meeting is devoted to the sharing of personal testimony. Anyone can come up. I will never forget this little navajo old man getting up and than being surprised by his large voice, presence, and spirit. His testimony was so powerful. I felt the Holy Ghost so strongly and knew that what he spoke was true, as he testified of the Savior and his restored gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith. Each testimony after was just as beautiful. Even visitors were moved to get up, mostly recent converts. Their happiness at having found this church and how their lives were changed made me feel so motivated to be more actively sharing what i know to be true and the happiness it brings me. -it was wonderful to be there. so grateful.

The rest of the afternoon the kids played games.

And I had a lot of fun conducting "interviews" with the kids. I would take one kid and ask all about them. Kids love this. Give it a try. I like to video tape my kids when we are at home. everyone loves to feel special and that what they think and feel are important. Even Jacob was asking for one. I was trying to get to know the other kids better and mine just got too jealous. Maybe with their permission I will share some of the info I learned about them. smile. another post.

i love this little guy (Blake wellman).

We went on a sunset boat ride that night and it was so beautiful but the pictures were just too dark to do it justice.

Playing "Quelf" (a funny board game) Brent had to make snorkel gear out of household items and wear it the whole game. The adults had big plans to play board games every night, but we were so dang tired by 9pm we just passed out! ha. We did manage to one night.

So that's it. No more pictures. My body gave into heat and exhaustion the last couple of days and i went to the emergency room on the last morning. My cough came back really bad and I felt like i couldn't breathe. Aren't I fun?! I felt bad that i couldn't be myself, but such is life.

A big thanks to the Martineaus, our gracious hosts. Dave said on the way home that it was his favorite vacation he had ever been on!