Happy are we......

I love the Zoo! I don't know what it is about it that makes me get all giddy inside, but for some reason its one of my favorite places to go. I love looking at the animals, smelling the "Zoo" smell and walking through the beautiful grounds, it just takes me right back to my childhood!

This year the girls and I decided to head out to Salt Lake City and experience the Zoo (for our Friday Field Trip)...without any little kids (because we didn't have any to go with), which was a first for me! As much as I love going with little children and watching their faces light up as they see the animals and try to talk to them, we had a great time as "grown up kids"....wandering, laughing, talking and enjoying each others company....OH and the animals were fun to see too~

Dayna, Kim and Halle ready for our "day at the zoo"~

starting out the day with a little sunscreen. Not sure it was worth the $8 that Kim

paid for this little stick at the gift shop...

since those of us WHO didn't apply it, didn't get any color to our skin....

Our infamous "In the MOUTH of the Lion" pictures that we take each and every time we

take a trip to the zoo!

Yes....we did A LOT OF LAUGHING ...A LOT!!! Kim keeps us in stitches all of the time!

We took A LOT of pictures of EVERY thing that moved, that included each other!

Kim's favorite animal has always been the giraffe's...

and ALWAYS has her picture taken with them.

I personally am a fan of the HIPPO's (yes, I realize these are NOT hippo's)...BUT

since our zoo NO longer houses hippo's, I settle for the elephants~

THIS weird creature is one of the strangest animals I have ever seen...sort of a cross

between a rabbit and a deer...a freak of nature if you ask me~

MY MONKEYS...!!!!

AND...the zoo wouldn't be the same without some "Dippin Dots"...to cool down!

I think this flamingo has been here since I was first introduced to the zoo....YES, it looks THAT OLD!

"YES....that IS a REAL Dinosaur!!!"....is what the little boy standing out in front was telling his mom...ha ha ha....gotta LOVE kids!

And then it was time to go....Funny how Dayna looks ELATED...and the other two are looking so sad, even if it is just for the picture....ha ha ha~

We had such a fun day!!! After the Zoo we went DI (second hand store) shopping. Dayna and I are totally into FUNKY JUNK makeovers...in fact I think we are a LITTLE obsessed with it! We love making other peoples TRASH into OUR treasures. We hopped from one DI to another, looking for cheap finds that we could update and make our own. FORTUNATELY for me, I found this ADORABLE OLD folding chair that I am going to make over (your going to LOVE this)...and only paid $3 for it (watch for my make over SOON)...seriously, I am loving the DI and garage sales...I think I'm becoming an addict (nope, I'm not ready for intervention yet...), but I'm okay with it!

I love spending time with my girls...I hope they enjoy it as much as I do.

It really doesn't matter what we do together,

we laugh A LOT and continue to make so MANY wonderful memories!!!

Taking Cover~

*Note....forgive some of the blurry pictures, a few of them were taken from my window...which for some reason made them a bit blurry~

After having a beautiful sun shine filled day,

the rain hit hard and heavy last night, leaving a pond in front of my house,

and forcing everyone to take cover!

The water slowly crept up my driveway and on my lawn~

I don't know if I've ever seen the rain come down that hard...and that heavy!

It was so heavy that I couldn't see the hills that are just behind the house.

Rain like that makes "EVERYONE" take cover...including this VERY LARGE

June BUG who landed on my window screen to get out of the down pour....needless to say, I took his picture THEN I

flipped him off to find a better place to perch...sorry bug lovers, I am not a fan of them!

The awful storm left many areas close by at the mercy of flash flooding. Many roads are washed out, homes are flooded and people are cleaning up this morning....wish Mother Nature would settle down a bit, it seems she is full of a lot of hate and anger and is determined to cause havoc in peoples lives everywhere!

Satisfied Customer!

After being diagnosed with TIA's and a Protein S deficiency(several years ago), I was put on anticoagulant's and was told that I had to wear a medical bracelet. I don't like to bring attention to myself in any way, shape or form....SO I searched high and low for something "fashionable" that I could wear...something that looked stylish yet wouldn't stand out to the world (I know...medical bracelets are SUPPOSED to stand out BUT......I'm a woman, I want pretty not necessarily practical ~) I found a place online that sold "just the metal plate",engraved with my medical condition...it was just plain and simple...yet functional. It seemed PERFECT....woo hoo! So I bought it!

I was thrilled because having "just the plate" meant that I could make a "stylish" bracelet to hook onto it and no one would even notice that I was wearing it! I made a brown beaded bracelet, a black beaded one and a cream one. BUT I eventually found 2 problems with my homemade beaded bracelets:

1. IT IS (the bracelet) SUPPOSED to be noticeable in case of emergency 2. The bracelets looked extremely tacky! After wearing my "tacky" bracelet for months I broke down and just hooked an ugly chain to it and wore it faithfully on my wrist. It wasn't long before the metal plate was scratched and the engraved words were worn off, making the bracelet useless in the case of an emergency situation....not too long after that, the chain broke and I no longer had any way of letting emergency personnel know of my condition if I was in some sort of an accident and wasn't able to speak...which left me feeling a bit weary and nervous. Needless to say, I had to get another one~ so the search was on for a new, BETTER bracelet, something that would last for a long time.

During my original search for medical bracelets, I looked online on the "MedicAlert" site (afterall, they are the Professional when it comes to things like this). I wanted something a little more "fancy" and "unnoticeable" than what they had to offer and I didn't want to pay what they were asking for a bracelet...so I went somewhere else to purchase one...WELL, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR (I seem to have to learn the hard way sometimes) that's for sure. THIS time we did it the right way...we went to medicalert.org and bought something that would last. Yes, my medical bracelet is big, its bulky and its noticeable...but its exactly what I need.

The engraving on the metal plate is deep and the top is covered with a thick plastic coating. It's made to last...where as the other one evidently wasn't.

No one likes to wear a medical bracelet...especially me. They get in the way, they are a nuisance and they bring attention to my arm...all of which I DON'T like! BUT...if I was ever in an accident (since I've been known to be in "JUST A FEW" of those) and was unconscious or unable to speak, I would be very thankful that I had it.

SOOOOO...the moral of my post is:

If you have to wear a medical bracelet...get one from the professionals. Don't waste your time "lolly gagging" around the internet or searching at the Mall...take my advice and go to medicalert.org and purchase one. It's worth the few extra dollars to have one that will serve its purpose and LAST (plus the people there are so nice and helpful...they are awesome)!

PS~ just for the record, I am not affiliated with, nor do I work for MedicAlert...I'm just a "satisfied" customer, passing on a bit of helpful information to anyone who might be interested.

It's who I am~

Living in a small town I've had the opportunity to get to know many people whom I claim as family even though we are not related by blood. I've grown to love and adore many children in our area as well...claiming many (along side my own adorable children, of course) to be my own. I coached our high school drill team for 7 years and grew to love each and every girl that I taught. I claim them as my own daughters, having experienced many up's and down's in their lives both on AND off the gym floor. They each grew a special place in my heart and I treasure the time I've had with all of them. I've taught many different classes in our church, some have given me the opportunity to get to know and love the children and youth in our area, many whom I have watched grow up to have families of their own. I am so grateful for the people in our area that have raised such wonderful children and have allowed me to be a part of their lives too.

We have lived in the same house for over 20 years. We've seen neighbors come and go and even seen some come back again. We are some of the few "old timers" that have stuck around our little neighborhood and buried our roots deep into the ground. Several years back we had some neighbors move in next door. They had 3 adorable little boys at the time, and have since added 1 more to the crew. From the time they moved in, I feel in love with these little guys. They were so sweet, so lovable and just genuinely great kids....and seriously so stinkin cute, who wouldn't love them?! We "adopted" them right into our family and quickly became "Aunt Julie and Uncle Deron". They come over almost daily- to hang out, play cars, swing on the swings, jump on the tramp and eat treats. They are so much fun!! Our sweet little neighbor girl, Kloee, that lives just down the street, asked me one day if I would be her "aunt" too? She is adorable. I was honored that she wanted to be in our little adopted family too. She comes over frequently as well. Sometimes just to visit and hang out and other times she comes over and helps me with whatever I am doing. I love my little adopted nephews and niece, they make me smile....ALOT! The other day, Jackson and Kloee came over for a visit. We visited and read stories and THEN IT STARTED to POUR!!! Talk about a down pour...it rained and rained and rained!!! It came down fast and hard!

...making puddles everywhere.

SINCE we've had rain off and on for weeks, and a very wet winter,

the water has a hard time soaking into the ground....therefore I found

it running down my garage stairs and even some running down the wall of my

basement storage room...all of which left me feeling a bit un-easy.

I watched it carefully, but decided since it wasn't an EMERGENCY quite yet

I would mix up some cookies and let the kids decorate them.

What a better way to wait out a rain storm...right?!

Jackson and Kloee had a blast.

They decorated a cookie specifically for each member of their family.

It was so cute watching and listening to them as they discussed who got what

cookie and WHY they made that cookie the way they did for that particular

family member. They put a lot of thought and "sprinkles" into their cookies.

Some of their cookies had a FEW sprinkles and then

some had even a few more sprinkles...some had a little bit of frosting

and others had piles of it...it was hilarious!

We decorated cookies until the rain stopped...and then the kids

wanted to run home to share their treats with their families.

Its so fun being an "adopted Aunt"!

Ahhh...this is the life~

One of my favorite things about summer (besides EVERYTHING) is sitting outside in the evening, enjoying my family and the warm weather....SO Monday evening we decided to have a sweet barbecue and play a little COMPETITIVE game of croquet...GREAT TIMES are what summer is all about!

Halle's all smiles as she hits her croquet ball through the wire rings~

Todd, taking his croquet game "really serious"~

Deron concentrating as he goes for the kill~

A great night full of fun, food and family....and a lot of BIG smiles!

Can't beat a great evening out in the back yard in the middle of July!

Say "CHEESE"~

Can't get enough of this adorable little love bug.

He loves the camera and as soon as you say his name

and he see's that you have the camera in hand

he puts on his "CHEESY GRIN"...

its so stinkin CUTE!

My adorable grandson has given me a new meaning

to the word "SMILE"....because that's

what I do when I see him!!

HE ALWAYS makes me SMILE!

Another day in Paridse

If your from UTAH chances are you have seen the Upper Stillwater spill over the dam at least once...if not, your missing out on a glorious sight! I've been lucky enough to see it more than once...BUT this year (if you haven't seen it already) its spilling like I have never seen it spill before. IT'S a sight to behold, thats for sure. When standing at quite a distance, you can fill the mist coming from the fall of the water. It's an breath taking and one that you should definitely take a gander at if your in the area!

We took a drive up the canyon to see Upper Stillwater with Deron's family on the 4th of July for a little "look see" and a family picnic. We were a few of MANY onlookers who also wanted to partake of this beautiful sight too. I'm amazed at the amount of water that is flowing over the top of the dam....along with the tree's that are teetering over the top as well...maybe someday they will actually come tumbling over the edge...I would love to be there when they do (can you imagine the SPLASH the would make?)!

Our own little local "Niagara Falls"~

...with the tree's about to come over the edge...but in all reality,

they probably have 12 feet of trunk left on the other side that's keeping them from crashing

to the bottom of the falls~

Deron's 14 year old nephew showing us HOW to man handle a gate~

Cameron with Deron's niece...

The kids down by the water...getting soaked~

The BEST OF FRIENDS~ Deron and Cameron~

We got to have a "picnic" for all of about 15-20 minutes before the rain came

and washed our fun away....BOO!

The river was roaring...but thats to be expected with the amount of water that's

coming over the spillway.

All the campsites in the campground that were close to the river were closed...

which makes for pretty sparse pickin's when it came time to pick a picnic site on July 4th~

Inspite of the inclement whether conditions, we had a short and sweet, fun time.

We ate a hot dog...some were a bit soggy from the onset of rain, but that's the

kind of thing we've come to expect in our neck of the woods!