Mamma Mia!!

Three words: GO SEE IT! I went last week with my mom and Grandma and it was so fun. I personally LOVE musicals so I was very excited to go see this movie. One Warning: This is a total chick flick. That said: there were lots of men in the theater I was in and they were laughing too! Meryl Streep is now my new favorite actress. She is amazing at whatever she does and singing and dancing is now on her list! I have to admit that when Pierce Brosnan started singing, my mom and I both looked at each other and laughed thinking "James Bond is singing and dancing!" That was a little strange but nonetheless he was good and the movie was one crack up after another. I also love Abba music. I have been grooving to Dancing Queen since I was little so I instantly downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes when I got home. Love it!

I give it two thumbs up with an A+++++!!

Somethings to think about...

Even though I really don't like Jay Leno I got this in an email and felt I should post it. It really makes sense and makes me think hard about what I have to be grateful for even though we live in an imperfect world and an imperfect society.

Something to think about from Jay Leno….

----- 'As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark. The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and wants a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?

B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J..You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.

K..Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

L .. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.

The Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or a talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain, OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry, ungrateful behind every day?

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a 'general' discharge, an 'other than honorable' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the Media. If it bleeds, it leads, and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner?

The Media knows this and Media outlets are 'for-profit' corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' themselves in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have in this country. There is exponentially more good than bad! We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day or at least be thankful and appreciative.'

'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

Jay Leno

Please keep this in circulation. There are so many people who need to read this and grasp the truth of it all. If we're not careful, we may get a president that will make us wish for President Bush again.

Google Reader!

I have to share with anyone who might look that Google reader has saved me many hours per day of surfing from blog to blog to try to keep up my BLOG stalking. Go to https://www.google.com/reader and check it out. Al you do is put in the URLs of the Blogs and other websites the you may frequent and it will list all new posts when you log in right there in front of you on one page. No need to surf and open every BLOG to see whats new. I even set this to be my home page so its right there when I open up by browser. I still surf a little probably just purely out of habit but this has saved me many annoyed looks from my husband. Give it a try!!

Fireworks and the color Purple

Our 4th of July began with our Ward/neighborhood's Independence Day pancake breakfast. Its pretty cool as our ward sponsors the event but invites the entire neighborhood so we get many of our neighbors there with their kids.

Braiden and the 2 other Cub Scouts there performed the flag raising ceremony. Braiden was very proud of him self since this was his first time doing it and he really had no help from any leaders. He just winged it.

Paige was all decked out in Red, White and Blue of course. You wont see me in any of these pics because, as you will learn, I was covered in purple. (And I had just woken up so I looked like i had been beat up).

After the breakfast the kids all get to participate in the "Parade" that follows a fire truck around the neighborhood, however, this year there was an emergency so the firetruck did not make it. It turned out to be an interesting parade. I think the kids were a little baffled as to why they were allowed to ride their bikes in the street this one time. Paige and Cameron love their little Red Wagon. Braiden wishes he was 3 again so he can ride in it.

That evening we went to a BBQ at friends house and then went home and did our own firework extravaganza in our driveway. It always amazes me how men seem to be born with this "pyro-maniac" tendency. No matter what age, they are more than excited to get in there and try to catch something on fire. Not Paige!! When those fireworks started, she bolted in the other direction. I caught this shot right before she pretty much headed for the hills.

SO remember when I told you that I was covered with purple? Well, this is why. See that lovely color on the wall behind Eric? And see Eric's look of "Please don't ever make me stay up until midnight, drawing 75 stripes on walls with you again"? Well that is what we did over our 3 day weekend. Beginning Thursday afternoon when I got off work through Saturday evening, we painted Paige's room for the final time until I move out of this house. I really mean it this time...

I got this brilliant idea to paint stripes in her room. Originally I was just going to do purple. Then I decided to do two shades of purple, one for the lower walls and one for the upper vaulted part. THEN- I made the mistake of looking through the idea books at Home Depot and saw these great striped walls and thought "How hard can it be?" HA!! How hard? So then I was talking to my friend at work about faux painting and thought "Hey! I should rag paint the stripes!! I AM A GENIUS!!

Well about 20 hours, 6 rolls of tape and 40 bruises on my legs later...the end result is adorable!! And so are Paige and Cameron in this picture..

I am so happy with the results. Believe it or not, purple is actually a very versatile color. You can put anything from pumpkin orange to fire engine red to cotton candy pink with it and it all looks cute. I remember that my mom always made sure that we had cute rooms while we were growing up. That is one of the things I looked forward to the most about having my own kids. Paige better appreciate my bruises and broken nails. If I could do it all over again, I would have gone to interior design school. Helping save lives is good and stuff but making people's houses prettier would be a super fun job...maybe

I had to throw this in too. Paige fell asleep in the car the other day with her sunglasses on upside-down. In case you were wondering, I broke out the camera and took this pic behind my head whilst driving 80 mph on I-15. Anything for a good blogging op.