Is this insomnia?

Recently I have been waking up between 1 and 2:00 am and I am up from anywhere between 15 minutes to 3 ½ hours. I don’t know if this is because I have a lot on my mind or if this is my body preparing me for the baby’s schedule, either way it sucks!
I’d love to dose off and awake refreshed in the morning, ya like that is going to happen anytime in the next 3 years.

Here is a list of the things I have done with my time:

Written blog entries
Laid in bed watching the clock
Laundry
Got up and prayed
Written bills out
Read
Filled out paperwork
Get a drink of water
Do a house check, doors locked (check), kids asleep (check), garage shut (check)
Written in my journal

I have yet to find something that helps me fall back to sleep quickly. I have even taken Tylenol PM when I don’t have the kids, and I still wake up!
Sometimes I feel like my mind just won’t turn off. I have things I lay awake and worry about like how I hate sleeping alone, even thought Kyle is usually next to me; I still miss the comfort of having someone hold ME, or how I am going to manage the house, a job, a newborn and 4 other kids with out support from a spouse. But sometimes I think about things that would not typically keep a person up at night like what chores I need to get done, or what I need to get at the grocery store, or what to wear to work.
I am sure someone has advise on how to get back to sleep, I sure could use some so please let me know!

On Golden Pond

Last week I got a call at work that the pump on the pond stopped working. I ran home to see if there was anything I could do. After moving the rock that covers the pump and filter, I just stood there staring at it. Thinking to myself, I have NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NOW THAT I AM HERE, I guess I had that look all over my face because Alexis quickly yelled “Brittany, call your dad because you know mom won’t” I guess she knows me pretty well. Donovan came over and fixed a part that “I broke” and got a stick out of the pump, then left. It was working but not as well as it had been. I called to thank him for getting it running and he said it needed to be cleaned. Not something I can do on my own, and pregnant. He offered to come over to help, and he did. Saturday I helped him, the best I knew how, for 6hours in the sun, clean out the pond. Removing the filters, cleaning them, draining the pond, catching the fish, getting the rocks out of the bottom, spraying the rocks to get the algae and moss off , Donovan said this was simulating spring run off it was a lot of work that I know I could not have done alone. The only incident with the project was when bubbles the largest of the Koi fish jumped out of the bucket we were holding them in and Brittany freaked out worried that bubbles was going to die. Picture a pregnant woman bending over trying to hold onto a big slimy fish that was wiggling all over the place, ya Alexis thought it was funny too. The pond is crystal clear and running so well, so thank-you Donovan for helping me.

Boy or Girl?

I have had several people ask if I know what I am having yet, and the answer is no, not yet. I find out at my next appointment. I was right on the border at the last appointment and, well to be honest my OB is not very good at determining the sex of a child. I know, I know, you would think it would be important to be able to read an ultrasound with some type of accuracy in his line of business. But this is the guy that told me that Courtney was a boy, and he told my friend Katie that she was having a girl, both were wrong, so I don’t put too much faith in what he says anymore. I went to an ultrasound specialist with Kyle, and she had to bet me her house that he was a boy before I would believe her. So we will just see what he says next month. Everyone pray for a boy, Kyle needs a buddy.

Strawberry Days Rodeo

You can’t live in Pleasant Grove and not participate in something to do with Strawberry Days unless you’re a hermit or you moved in with your sister and you’re not a real Pleasant Grove resident. (Still love you sissy!)
For my family we stopped doing the carnival, someone always gets sick and it is way to expensive and to be honest the carnies kinda freak me out and it brings out the scary people in town. The parade is way too early in the morning, and I have no desire to stake out my spot along a road two days before. So that leaves us with the rodeo.

So first let me start with the pitch for the PG rodeo right off the city web site:
“The Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days Rodeo is one of the very best professional rodeos in the West. Nationally ranked cowboys from all over the United States participate in the four nights of the rodeo. Specialty shows and events are included, along with the popular bull riding, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bare back riding, calf roping, barrel racing, wild cow milking contest, and much more.”

Last night was family night at the rodeo, kids under 10 get in free, this is not as cool as it was when my kids were little but I only had to pay for 3 out of five, not that bad, but that meant everyone with kids in town was going to be there, and they were.

My friend Melanie went early and had a perfect spot staked out on the bleachers. With an hour to kill before it started we had “dinner”, hamburgers, nachos and the first round of strawberries and cream. Kyle and I walked around and looked at the bulls, cows and horses. Kyle was more impressed with the tractor that was circling the arena making the dirt look good.

When the rodeo got started Kyle was 100% impressed he was clapping and bouncing to the music most of the evening. I tried to teach him to say “Oh-no” when someone was bucked off, he translated that to a “NO-NO!” as he scowled and shook his finger at them. So we had to change it to “dang-it.” When the team roping came out and the announcer said “get-er done!” we decided that is what we needed to teach him to say, but Kyle was not going for it.

The “entertainment” portion of the evening was two motocross riders doing jumps in the arena. I am not sure when motocross and rodeos teamed up but this is the third time I have seen a motorcycle act at a rodeo. Kinda weird, but they were good and had Courtney covering her mouth and turning away several times as they did their jumps.

The wild cow milking was one of the highlights of the evening. Last night was no exception, one guy grabbed the neck of a cow and was dragged across the length of the arena, didn’t slow the cow down but it made for a good laugh for the crowd. Personally I don’t see what the enjoyment of actually participating in something like this would be, but it sure is fun to watch!

Over all it was a good night. There was an arena record broken for team roping, none of the participants were hurt, (except that guy that sat by us that did the wild cow milking contest, he was limping the rest of the night), the second round of strawberries and cream were as good as the first, and the kids had a great time.

My mom had planned on going with us but was not able to make it and my aunt Chris is in town from California and they decided they want to go. I guess I will go again tonight, you don't have to twist my arm, who can resist being surrounded by good-looking cowboys in tight jeans?

If you ask Kyle how a cow gives a kiss, this is what you get.

A Paid Detective Mouse

On Monday Brittany was up sick until around 2 am. I thought she had heat exhaustion from playing outside in the 90 degree weather on the super slip and slide (her birthday gift from grandma Hannah) all day, with little to eat or drink. But I think I was wrong. I left work early yesterday because I was tired and not feeling well myself, hence the fact that I think I was wrong about the heat exhaustion. I went to bed when I got home and I must have needed the rest because sometime in the evening Alexis came in and asked me a question and I do not recall this happening. But when I left for work this morning there was a note on the kitchen table that read as follows:

Mom,
Last night I asked you what I should take for my sunburn and you told me "a mease" I asked what that was and you told me a paid detective mouse. I said are you sure and you said have I ever lied to you and so if I don't see you please call me and explain what you meant.

Well, Alexis, I hope you found something for that burn, and I am not sure what I meant by telling you that. Thanks for the note though, it gave me a good laugh

My Jedi Name

From the research I have done, discovering your “Jedi Name” came out on a cereal box quite a few years ago and was a huge hit. It must still be something cool because it appears to be a popular Google search, I say this because a friend and co-worker of mine is getting hits from around the world from people googling “My Jedi Name”. At this time she is #9 on the Google list if you do a search for My Jedi Name.
So in order to keep up my hits from around the world I am trying to see if Jedi Name gets me any hits from a glazy far, far away (so if you are not from Utah please leave a comment, it is the only way I can top her recent hit from Iran.)

Oh and if you truly want to know how to get your Jedi Name here is the one of the many methods that I found on my search:

Jedi first name:
1) Take the first 3 letters of your last name. 2) Combine with the first 2 letters of your first name.Jedi last name 1) Take the first 3 letters of your mothers maiden name.2) Combine with the first 3 letters of the town or city you were born in.

So if we meet in a galaxy far, far away, you can call me BUNLO BURLAN.

A 4 wheeler of his own

A while back I wrote about how Kyle wanted to go on the 4 wheeler each and every time he went outside. Well nothing has changed, he still wants to ride at every chance he can. So I found a temporary fix to this issue, I got him his own. Granted it is mostly plastic and only goes 2 MPH tops but that is fast enough for him to take off down the driveway and half way across the cul-de-sac before you can catch him. The girls think it is fun to “take him for a walk” as he rides along trying to run them over.

Time for a haircut.

Finally a haircut! Kyle’s hair was getting so long, but each time I tried to go get it cut something came up or by the time we would remember everything was closed. One night I even tried to get him into Wal-Mart to get it cut, but they were booked up, seriously?
So on the way to SLC to drop off Alexis to see her dad I made it a point to get it done before we left town. Ahhh, so much better!

Flying the friendly skies!

Let me start by telling you that I had my driver’s license renewed. The last time I had my picture taken for a license was the day before I had Courtney, almost 13 years ago. The Utah driver’s license has changed and well I could no longer get the little sticker for the back to extend the expiration date. So two days before it expired I went to get it renewed. The new “digital” license can take up to a few weeks to be mailed so in the mean time they give you a paper copy of the license to use.
Fast forward to a week later, I flew to California with my boss, to meet with my client in San Jose for a quarterly business review (QBR). The actual meeting lasts about 45 minutes; the rest of the time is all about PR.
Going through Salt Lake International was a breeze, the lines were not bad, the e-ticket counter is easy to get to and use, and the line for security moved quickly. I hand the security agent my ticket and my “paper drivers license” and with out even a flinch he lets me through, he has obviously see one of these before.
The following day for our return flight out of San Francisco Airport (SFO) I am expecting nothing less than the easy process we had in SLC, with the exception that the airport is 5 times as big and has 20 times more people (slightly exaggerated).
Getting our e-ticket, pain in the butt! It was a long line that took forever with Nazi women directing traffic to the open terminals. Security was questionable. After patiently standing in a super long line, I get to the security agent, hand him my e-ticket and my paper drivers license, he then turns to the “head of security” and asks if he has ever seen anything like this and asks if it is real (obviously not from Utah). The more qualified security agent then asks me for another form of identification. I have a credit card, I show him, “anything else?” he asks.. umm a Costco card, I pull it out to show him, and because it had a digital image of me on the back that was good enough. He says “That works, your good to go” and lets me go through the gates… a COSTCO CARD?! This is our improved national airport security?
All Costco members welcome to the friendly skies!

“I want snow on Timp”

For years when my girls would ask me what I wanted for my birthday I would reply with “Snow on Timp” and they would give me a look like how in the heck are we going to do that?!
We live at the base of this beautiful mountain called Timp, or Timpanogos Mountain. I love to look at how it changes through out the seasons here in Utah. When I was young my dad pointed out that the mountain looked like a sleeping Indian princess I thought that was cool, and when I heard the Legend of Timpanogos I thought it was really sad and depressing, but I don’t believe that I will ever think that there is another mountain that compares to this one.
I always remember snow on Timp in June when I was growing up; not much just a little near the peak. When my girls were a little younger we were experiencing drought conditions for several years. The snow melted quickly and we did not have snow on Timp for years; that was when my birthday wish started.
For the past few years we have had snow on Timp in June left over from storms in the spring. This year I will also get my wish again. It was snowing yesterday in the mountains and Timp was dusted with a nice white coat, it looks absolutely beautiful. I am sure it will still be there on Sunday when my birthday rolls around.

This is one of the many Willie Holdman pictures of Timpanogos that I love!

Smokey the Scary Bear

I took the kids to the Pleasant Grove Fireman’s Breakfast this last weekend. It has become more or less a family tradition to attend each year. The price of breakfast is donated to help cover the expenses at the station and it is always good eaten.
This was Kyle’s first experience and he was extremely excited about seeing the trucks and the ambulance and he enjoyed looking at all of the people, as long as he was being held.
As we sat down to eat he realized we were a little to close to that furry mascot of the fire department, no not a spotted dog, but Smokey the Bear. He was giving hugs to all the kids and waving to those eating. Just the sight of him sent Kyle into a panic. That bear was not going to even look at him; Kyle buried his face into my arm and was not going to turn around for anything. When Brittany announced that she was going to go give Smokey a hug it truly scared Kyle. He watched Brittany and Courtney walk up and hug that large brown fuzzy creature. Kyle had a look of fear on his face the whole time.
Smokey tried to wave and say hi to Kyle, but Kyle was not going to give him the satisfaction. It was not till Smokey started to leave the room and he turned one more time and waved to Kyle, who by this time was keeping a watchful eye on him, and Kyle waved back and said Bu-Bye with a tone of relief in his voice.
Maybe next year he will think that Smokey is ok.

Kyle is glued to Courtney in the firetruck, but had fun driving and pulling the cord for the horn.

Brittany makes herself at home in the cab and thinks that the head phones are great because you can not hear anything anyone is saying to you. I think she wants a set for at home.

Thanksgiving Point Policy

I love to go to the Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. My kids love to go to the Farm Country and see the baby cows and take a wagon ride. They enjoy the Children’s Garden where they can run through the water that surrounds Noah’s Arch. It is a great place to hang out with family.
I enjoy the walk on the beautifully manicured pathways that lead to different types of gardens including The Secret Garden, The Rose Garden, The Italian Garden, The Creek Garden and many others. It is such picturesque place that you can not help but enjoy yourself.

Did I say picturesque, oh I did, because it is beautiful. But don’t even think about pulling out a camera while you are there. I just so happens that there is a $75 fee for taking pictures on site, at least of people, a $100 if you want to go into the main gardens. It does not matter if the picture is of your own child or bridal shots by a professional photographer, the fee applies.
Oh and don’t say you didn’t know! They don’t care. How do I know this? Well as my sisters “lighting technician” (I hold the reflector) I recently helped out with senior pictures for a family friend. I happen to be the only person with a credit card on me and their for the one that had to pay the EVIL FEE! The worst part… we were done. She was taking the last picture as we got caught.
To go on record, Tracy that slurpee that bought me afterwards did not cover what you owe me.