Memorial day

I am honored to share this poem with you all on the start of this Memorial Day weekend. I am proud to be married to a United States Sailor. He is a veteran. He loves his family, his friends, his job, and his country. He willingly goes to battle when needed. He's not the only one. Today, please remember to give thanks to our armed services, and remember those who have fallen.

Enjoy this poem!

One year ago today he learned his reason for being,

He stood in awe, unable to believe what it was he was seeing.

He saw the planes come rushing by,

For days after, all he could do is ask "Why?"

Where he was and what he was doing, he will always remember,

Much like those who lived through a December.

He drew closer to both family and friends,

Desperately trying to allow his heart to mend.

Once the fear and confusion passed him by,

And he overcame the constant urge to cry,

He became resolute and dedicated

To find by whom this evil deed was perpetrated.

One year later it is he who stands with shipmates together,

Out here on the front line, it makes him feel better.

He does not ask for sympathy or praise,

Only for the opportunity to live out his God given days.

He sweats and toils doing a job that must be done,

Wondering what his friend at home might be doing for fun.

He gladly works all through the night,

Ensuring that his ship is ready for the coming fight.

Deep down inside he wishes that a fight were not in need,

But rest you assured, that he is ready indeed.

As he does his seemingly thankless tasks,

It is only a home, safe and free for which he asks.

You ask who this person might be,

And why is he referred to only as "he"?

This person is familiar to almost everyone,

It is not just a "he" but also a father, a mother, a daughter and a son.

They have left you behind to sail on the sea,

Never really knowing what their destination will be.

Fear not for their safety, they are in God's hands,

They will do whatever their nation demands.

They have devoted their lives to their country and to you,

You ask what it is that they do.

They are the men and women of the US naval service,

They are the men and women who now live with a purpose.

so....I've been 39 for a week!

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I updated. Sorry...CRAZY CRAZY WEEK! I turned 39 last monday. It was AWESOME. Thank you to everyone who called me...it just proves what I've known all along...You love me..you really love me!
I have blogged part one of my bucket list. Make sure you check it out. I'll get part 2 out there real soon. If you have any suggestions, by all means, let me know!( when you look at my bucket list take special note of the picture..I truly believe that if we have guardian angels, that one would be mine..it explains A LOT!)
Happy Birthday to Courtney, Rick and Becca.
Happy Anniversary to Becca and Justin!
Good luck to Pam and Casey this week. Congratulations to Matt!
(Courtney F. I heard you looked beautiful for the prom..I need to see the pictures)
Have a great week and check back for part 2! Take the poll, and drop me a line if you get a chance!

Happy Birthday Rick!

My Father in Law celebrated his Birthday yesterday! Happy Birthday Pop!

Happy Birthday/Happy Anniversary Becca

My beautiful niece Rebecca celebrated her birthday on the 16th. Happy Happy Birthday!

She is also celebrating her 1 year wedding anniversary..Good job Justin!

My new motto to live by

Every year, on my birthday, I choose a quote or a saying to be my motto for the year. I write it down and I keep it with me. I try to say it at least once a day. Here's the new motto:

If you planted hope today in any hopeless heart,
If someone's burden was lighter because you did your part,
If you caused a laugh that chased a tear away,
If tonight your name is mentioned when someone kneels to pray,
Then your day was well spent!

My Bucket List (part 1)

Here it is: Part 1 of my bucket list. It's been great hearing from old friends who gave me great suggestions. A huge thanks to Nan who helped me along with the "Wish List" These are in no particular order.

1. Get back to Maine for the Camp Waziyatah reunion. (Dru and Mist..I'm there..just tell me when)
2. Ladies weekend with the girls.
3. A cruise to ANYWHERE
4. A complete Wadley reunion.
4. Take a trip to Navoo, Kirtland, and Palmyra
5.Read a book every week
6. Float down the Truckee river
7. Bungee jump
8.Go mountain climbing
9. Get over my fear of Horses
10. Go to Sea World and actually get close to the Shark tank....(John, you know this one may kill me)
11.Step on a scale and not curse the Fat Gods
12.Use my time wisely
13. Learn to box
14. Take Dance lessons
15. Actually learn about Soccer
16. Start saving for my trip to Europe
17. Vote...
18. Decide what I want ot be when I grow up
19. Dance in a rain storm
20. Learn Sign Language
21. Do a Random Act of Kindness every day
22. Say hi to my neighbors
23.See my family more than once a year!
24. Lose 75 lbs...
25. Bribe my doctor for the lap band so that I can accomplish #24
26. If I don't accomplish #24 or #25, buy a lot of red fur and become Mrs. Clause and be happy about it!
27. Spend more time playing with Macen
28. Spend more time enjoying my husband
29. Go to the St. George temple with my mom and dad
30. Sheer a sheep
31. Milk a cow
32. Go bone-digging
33. Clean a cemetary
34. call my friend Beth at least once a month
35. Visit Texas.. (I'm so bad, I mess with Texas)
36. watch a bird hatch
37. Give everyone a chance to be a friend
38. go shopping with Pam and Courtney
39. look into adoption...
40. Have a house that people love to visit!

The Drive home from Reno

I thought I would blog some pitures of Northern Nevada! This is one of the views from the highway on our way home from Reno. It's pretty huh?

Here's a view of the Truckee River. On hot days you'll see people all along the water (all the way to Reno) jumping in and floating down the river!

Here's the view from our truck. I think I'll miss the wide open spaces the most when we head back to Virginia..

Pretty Boy Geran

Here's Geran advertising to all the single girls who read this..Interested ladies? Give me a call...I'll hook you up!

Going to Reno

The Saturday before my birthday, Grant took Me, Macen, Nan, and Geran to Reno. Here's the peanut gallery in the back seat!

We went to Chili's for lunch. Here's Nan and Geran!

Macen and Grant! (Grant with his normal face!)

It's Friday night at the Race Track..(Sort Of)

Here's the racers..Macen looking confident, Grant looking Grumpy..

What's got two thumbs and loves to race?

This guy!

Macen and his Go-cart

Here's thumbs up from Macen. His Go-Kart is ready to rumble!

Getting ready to leave the pit!

Ready! Go!

Go-carts on Fridays!

This is Macen and Daddy sharing a ride. Macen was getting tired of driving his own..(he kept driving into the Pit)

Here's Grant in his Go-cart.

Here's my boys racing....Macen won! (He cheated a little bit!)

Quote for the day!

All I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother.

-Abraham Lincoln

You know you're a mom when:

You Know You're A Mom When...

* You count the number of sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they are equal.

* You want to take out a contract on the kid who broke your child's favorite toy and made him/her cry.

* You have time to shave only one leg at a time.

* You hide in the bathroom to be alone.

* Your child throws up and you catch it.

* Someone else's kid throws up at a party and you keep eating.

* You consider finger paint to be a controlled substance.

* You mastered the art of placing food on a plate without anything touching.

* Your child insists that you read "Once upon a Potty" out loud in the lobby of the doctor's office and you do it.

* You hire a baby sitter because you haven't been out with your husband in ages, then you spend half the night talking about and checking on the kids.

* You hope ketchup is a vegetable because it's the only one your child eats.

* You find yourself cutting your husband's sandwiches into unusual shapes.

* You fast-forward through the scene when the hunter shoots Bambi's mother.

* You obsess when your child clings to you upon parting during his first month at school, then you obsess when he skips in without looking back.

* You can't bear to give away baby clothes--it's so final.

* You hear your mother's voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "Not in your good clothes."

* You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.

* You read that the average-five-year old asks 437 questions a day and feel proud that your kid is "above average."

*Your feet stick to grape jelly on the kitchen floor..... and you don't care.

*When the kids are fighting, you threaten to lock them in a room together and not let them out until someone's bleeding.

*You can't find your cordless phone, so you ask a friend to call you, and you run around the house madly, following the sound until you locate the phone downstairs in the laundry basket.

*Your idea of a good day is making it through without a child leaking bodily fluids on you.

*Popsicles become a food staple.

*Your favorite television show is a cartoon.

*You're willing to kiss your child's boo-boo, regardless of what body part it happens to be on.

*You're so desperate for adult conversation that you spill your guts to the telemarketer that calls and HE hangs up on YOU!

*Spit is your number one cleaning agent.

*You buy cereal with marshmallows in it.

*You cling to the high moral ground on toy weapons; but your child chews his toast into the shape of a gun anyway.

*You're up each night until 11 PM vacuuming, dusting, wiping, washing, drying, loading, unloading, shopping, cooking, driving, flushing, ironing, sweeping, picking up, changing sheets, changing diapers, bathing, helping with homework, paying bills, budgeting, clipping coupons, folding clothes,putting to bed, dragging out of bed, brushing, chasing, buckling, feeding (them, NOT you), PLUS swinging, playing baseball, bike riding, pushing trucks, cuddling dolls, rollerblading, basketball, football, catch, bubbles, sprinklers, slides, nature walks, coloring, crafts, jumping rope, PLUS raking, trimming, planting, edging, mowing, gardening, painting, and walking the dog. You get up at 5:30 AM and you have no time to eat, sleep, drink or go to the bathroom, and yet ... you still managed to gain 10 pounds.

Happy Mothers Day

Here's to the Woman...who knows where she's going and will keep on until she gets there...

Who knows not only what she wants from life, but what she has to offer in return...

Here's to the Woman... who is loyal to family and friends...

Who expects no more from others than she is willing to give...

Here's to the Woman... who guides and inspires not by quoting others philosophies but by living her own good example...

Who accepts both victories and disappointments with the same grace and can rise above life's challenges and move on...

Here's to the Woman... who gives the gifts of her thoughtfulness...

Who shows her caring with a word of support, her understanding with a smile, a woman who brings joy to others just by being herself...

Thank you Mom, Linda, and all the other Mom's in my life. You set the standards for greatness, humility, humor, and love! Without your example I couldn't be half the person I am now!

It's a Beautiful world!

We live in an awesome world.

Make it an awesome day.

Peace To All and May God Bless You

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.

Sara, thanks for sending this..

I needed it!

It RAINED!

Our little town of Fallon rarely gets moisture. If it does rain it usually feels like your just getting spit on. Yesterday evening, the clouds moved in (as you can see in the above picture) and it actually rained!

We even got a little hail!

It stormed on and off for about an hour and then the sun started to reappear!

The Dogs

Here's Scout. He's going in to the vet next week for a little "removal" surgery. He's a pretty dog isn't he? A little update on his burial adventures: he's decided that any bone that bear might take from him needs to be hidden..the problem is he doesn't remember where he buries things so he digs up EVERYTHING! It's pretty funny to watch though!

Here's my Bear. He's actually lost a few pounds this month!!

Weekly update

Hi everyone! I'm a little late with the update. The weekend got away from me! Friday night Grant and I went on a date! (well, sort of) We went to a Retired Chief BBQ at the club. It was great fun. Geran babysat for us. Macen had a blast!
Grant went to Top Gun on Saturday, so Macen and I spent the day cleaning. He's getting really good and scrubbing the toilet!
Brittany showed up at around 11:30 pm on Saturday. She had a great time at the Fernley Prom. (She better have..she came all the way from Texas to go)
I did get to talk to my friend Michele from Hawaii. I can't believe how much I miss her! She needs to get back to Fallon. (Michele, I'm so glad Dean is better)
Sunday, Grant was on Duty. Brit, Macen and I went to church. We had the traditional brunch at the galley, and I came home and slept. Brittany's boyfriend came over...seriously, I think Grant was trying to drive them crazy! We had a great Sunday dinner..Nan and Geran came over!
Monday was busy! I kept trying to sit down and update the blog but it never seemed to work out! Today has been much quieter!
Okay..Mothers day is Sunday ! I will update again before that but I just wanted to do a shoutout to all the moms out there..especially mine. I learn so much from just watching you. I am honored to be in the club!
Well, that's it for now. Take the poll, leave a comment..and remember, if you have anymore bucket list ideas for me let me know. (Dru..your idea is a definate one...I'll see you soon!)

Why I don't fish!

Eye Test

Okay..this is funny!!! See if you can read the sign..you can't can you? Now, pull the corner of you eyes so you look chinese//now read the sign....