HAWAIIAN VACATION ORDEAL

Sister S got to go visit her good friend that is attending BYU Hawaii. She had a great time and loved Hawaii, but it ended up being a pricey trip...

Sister S in front of the house I grew up going to with my family every year.

She got to swim with sharks!

Sister S at the famous (to me) Hukilau Beach. I have such a great memories of that beach.

Sister S dropped her phone off a cliff on the last day there. It was not good for more than one reason, because when she got back to Las Vegas she went to drive home and found that the car had been stolen. She kept having to borrow people's phones on the street to call us and tell us what she was doing. She ended up catching a bus to Cedar City just to get her out of creepy Vegas and we met her there at 2 am. It was quite a night. I am not sure why they wanted to steal a '94 Honda Civic, but I guess it happens all the time. The car had over 300,000 miles on it and lots of great memories for our kids, so it meant way more to us than to whoever took it. There has been a week of mourning at our house for the Hot Tamale, may it rest in peace.

ZOO DAY

Princess P had never been to the Zoo, so we decided to take a little trip to SLC yesterday and go to the one there. We invited one of Princess P's friends and her mom to join us. It was a really fun day!

Princess P and Miss K ride the lions. They are very tame at this zoo.

They even have dinosaurs at this zoo. Amazing!

Riding the train.

 On the way home we had a tire miracle! We got lost getting back on the freeway after buying some delicious, gourmet cookies and this guy in the car next to us points to my rear tire and tells me it's flat. I looked the other way and there was a Big O tire store right there. If we had gotten on the freeway it would have been bad! My car didn't come with a spare (don't even get me started on that), so we would have been waiting for a tow truck, paying and arm and a leg for that and then having to wait to have it fixed. Instead, I pulled into the tire store and a VERY nice guy changed our tire right there in the parking lot. We were there maybe 20 minutes! There are some pretty cool people out there and we sure were grateful that day! Blessings from heaven come in lots of different ways! 

My SnapChat while we waited for the tire to be changed. haha!

MAPLE CANYON ICE

Sister S had a visitor from her mission to Florida and he had never seen snow before (he's from Jamaica originally) so we decided to take him to Maple Canyon to see all the ice falls. We wanted to see them too. I'd never been to Maple Canyon in the winter.

Sister S, Me, and Florida S.

We hiked the short little hike up box canyon. It's a fun, short, simple hike and very fun. It was beautiful with the ice and snow.

Nature is amazing!

Ice fall

Car selfie

I got my poor little car stuck. Big C was very unhappy about having to come get us, but we tried to get it out for almost an hour. It was't one of my finest driving moments...

My poor, stuck little car.

A NEW CAR

Our mini van suddenly sold last Saturday, so I made Big C go North to the metropolis Friday to test drive some cars. This is the one I decided on. It is a Hyundai Elantra. I am SOOO happy! Yay for me!

Our new Elantra.

Me with my cute new car.

I love driving it! It is really a fun car to drive and has all the new techie stuff too, like Bluetooth for my phone, hook ups for the iPods, and all the seats are even heated (front and back)! I don't even know what to do with myself now! I feel utterly and completely spoiled! How did we get so blessed?

Here's the dealership photo of Big C and I.

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO CHANGE A TIRE?

My Laurels actually wanted an activity to learn how to change a tire on a car. I had Big C teach it since some of the other dads were involved in other activities that night. He did a great job and I know the girls loved learning it. It had been snowing that day, so Big C lit a fire in the stove in his garage so we could do it in there and be warm and out of the mud and wet. It turned out perfect!

Big C was great to have the girls do everything. He taught them how to look everything up in their owner's manuals because every car is different. Then we went into my house and ate chocolate muffins and milk. A successful activity!

MINIVAN ANYONE?

Big C told me that as soon as I sell my minivan I can get a new car. I want to get a sedan. I am sick of driving around in a huge car all by myself. 

The problem is, no one wants minivans anymore. They want cross overs and SUV's.

I hope somebody with a big family buys it soon. It really has been a great car. Never a problem. Come on, you know you want it!

HOMECOMING 2012

Last night was A's first Homecoming date (actually, I think it was his first date, period). They played pool and ping pong at a friend's home then went bowling. After that they came to our house where Big C and I made dinner for them.

Cheers! The Group.

They boys bought nice, big steaks and Big C grilled them to perfection and there was also a yummy salad made by one of the moms with baked potatoes, fruit salad and homemade rolls. A was in heaven! Aside from the attack of the flies, all went well and they ate lots.

'69 Camero and the guys.

Some of the girls needed a LONG time to get ready, so the guys took the girls home and went to the Malt Shop and had 'The Hog Trough' (a huge banana split). I can't believe they were still hungry after dinner, but A says they ate the whole thing.

The dressed up group. (A is in the white tie).

When they were all ready, they came back here for photos. They all looked so nice. And then they went and danced the night away!!

Goofy group!

And that was Homecoming 2012!

OUR LAST PINEWOOD DERBY

I am not a fan of the Pinewood Derby. I know, I'm a horrible person. I just hate how it turns into a thing for the Dads not the boys. I think they should put together the kits at den meeting and let the dads come and watch later. But, I'll get off my soapbox and tell you about our latest experience...

Little C had the fastest car last night! We were blown away because he used his car from last YEAR! Funny, huh?

Here he is with the winning car and the certificate. He was very happy. He'd never won before.

Here is Princess P (on the right), watching the action.

Here is Little C with both cars. The one on the left is the slowest car ever made and that is why he used his one from last year. He insisted on making his car this year into the Bugatti Veyron SS (fastest car in the world- at one point or another).

This is it. Here is a link to watch it in action. (I am not really a car person, but it is pretty exciting, and a beautiful car to boot).

This is the Big C/Little C pinewood derby version. Ironic, is it not, how it was the slowest car there last night. So Little C could claim he had the fastest car and the slowest car there. I'm just glad our days of Pinewood Drama are over.