BBQ Party @ Mulitalo's (4/26)

So this is what happens when Rylee says, "Can I have a few friends over for a cookout?"

Kids from all over town show up ... like about 45 of them! Good thing they all planned ahead and brought the supplies for the BBQ! My package of hot dog and bag of chips wouldn't have done it -- maybe it would have ended up like the loaves and the fishes?!

Rory & Baylee sat on the sidelines to watch the games for awhile. Then Rory got hooked up with one of Ry's friends that had a long board and a weird skateboard and I didn't see him until after dark.

As always, Baylee was having a great time ... can't you tell? STINK FACE!

Rylee's made a new friend from Roosevelt; she's my boss's niece ... and she's so cute and nice. And quiet. I keep hoping that Vanessa will rub off just a little on Rylee! I can dream?!

And, lastly, the football buddies that are still around since 7th grade. They call me mom and spend a lot of time at our house ... does that mean I'm responsible for them? Meet Austin & Seth!

Just one more piece of evidence ....

That I have the greatest job in the world!

This is a picture of me, Nikki & Erin hiking around in the Devil's Garden at Moab. We took all the girls and staff again this year for a three-day adventure. And it was an adventure! Freezing cold at night, but beautiful every day! Highlight: hiking up to Delicate Arch in record time (I was in the turtle group last year!). Lowlight: trying to wash the black face paint off after skit night (I was Randy Jackson from American Idol in the skit ... yeah,DOG!)

Rylee's track meet: Tooele Invitational (4/19)

State-Qualifying throw in the shot put!

Here's some fun pix of Rylee at the home meet a few weeks ago. She qualified for state in both discus and shot put at this meet. That means we'll be at BYU in mid-May for the big time. So proud of her!

Here he is .... Mr. America!

OKAY, so enough of you have asked for a bit more detail about my romantic trip to Savannah and my "new friend" ... so here's a bit more detail, including a recent picture!

This is a picture of us at the airport. Obvious, huh?! This is me looking alot happier than I felt. I hate to have to say goodbye! Since our last visit, Jamero's been home in Georgia, holding down the fort, taking care of his girls, and staying in touch with me. (That is, when I am decent enough to return his phone calls. Sometimes I'm such a jerk!) I'm sure glad for the loving kindness of family & friends. (For my sistas, maybe you'll be happy to know that it's not only you guys that sometimes don't get a return call. OK, maybe not happy ... I don't know why I do that. I'm working on it!)

Now, what else to say ... I guess that's the update! We are spending lots of time on the phone to keep in touch and we're both staying really busy with managing the "rest of our lives" ... you know kids, work, church ... all the important stuff!

Last, but not least ... ALOHA!

I wanted to show off my mad hula skills ... posed in front of the statues that were made in my image out in front of the Hilton. I don't know how they got my likeness so "right"?!

We rented a convertible for the week. Are you kidding me that this is work?! We had the top down almost all of the time, even in several light rainstorms, just cuz we could. Hey, it's HAWAII! I didn't understand the big deal about a convertible ... now I get it! THIS is how I roll!


We stopped at a little cove that we had visited earlier to see some huge hawaiian sea turtles. There were more turtles on this day, but most of the picture taking got focused on the HOT surfers that were getting ready to head out to catch a wave. Here's Shanna with one of the beautiful Hawaiian boys!

At the end of our business meetings, we went with a large group of folks to dinner near the Hilton. A little place called Hula Grill. The food was incredible. I had a wonderful local fish called mongchung, otherwise known as Hawaiian butter fish. It was delicious. I ended my meal with this lovely Hawaiian version of creme brulee ... served in a carved out pineapple. And took the little flower afterwards to wear in my hair. Great night!

A few more Hawaii highlites!

We had lots of fun adventures on Wednesday. After hours at the swap meet, we headed up the coastline for a drive. About mid-day, we stopped at a botanical garden on the way up the coast. We walked around in the open gardens for a bit to see some beautiful plants, then I stopped for a quick drink ...

I also climbed part way up a really HUGE tree, just for kicks!

At just about sunset, we were back in Waikiki. I felt like I needed some snorkeling practice to gear up for our big adventure to Hanauma Bay at the end of the week. So I geared up and got out in the surf. After a few minutes of practing breathing, diving, clearing my tube, etc., I decided to head to shore, cuz it was getting cold and dark. While drying off, and with some mild coaxing from the girls, I was convinced that it would be funny to take a nude photo ... nothin' on but the snorkel! (I'm not really naked, just undone enough to make it look like it. The tiny cigarette butt was a last-minute addition to add to the overall artistic effect in the picture.)

Sometimes what seems funny at the time, is really quite disturbing when you see it in photo form. I swear we laughed so hard I thought that I'd peed my pants. Now, I'm wondering .... WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

Some highlights from Hawaii ...

Here's a picture of us girls at the swap meet. We arrived early -- like 6 am -- to get in some good shopping. We spent several hours browsing and spending money. This was the first stop of our very long, very adventurous day!

Shanna & I went out to Pearl Harbor on Tuesday afternoon. We spent several hours touring the museums, seeing a film, and having some snacks. I had one of the best hot dogs I've ever eaten at the snack shop. (I'm all about the food!)

Being out at the memorial was a humbling, sad experience. There was such reverence there. It was quite disconcerting to think that something so awful and devastating happened in such a peaceful, beautiful place. It was a special experience to be there -- glad we went.



Wednesday was a BIG day for us! We drove around in the convertible all day, and saw almost the entire Hawaiian coast. We stopped at the Dole Plantation to tour the grounds and grab a snack. It was so cool to see all the varieties of pineapples! I had a BBQ kalua pork sandwich; the sauce was made with pineapples and the sandwich was topped with crushed pineapple. Sounds weird, but it was really delicious!

Last night, after meetings, we went to the beach for several hours. I got some practice snorkeling in preparation for our trip to Haunama Bay tomorrow. The water was cold and a bit murky, but it was fun. Then we laid on the beach while I dried off. And acted like silly, junior high girls. At one point, I got dared to take off my clothes and leave my snorkel on for a sexy picture. Never one to back down from a dare, I got creative about how I could make it look like I was "sans clothes" without actually scaring all the beachgoers away. More pictures to come ... stay tuned!

Hawaii ... so far!

This seems like a strange first picture of Hawaii, but I had to share! We had a BIG day yesterday. Got up at 4 am, went to the swap meet at the stadium at 6 am, then spent the day touring all over the island. However, the highlight and lowlight of the day happened right around the time of this picture. Lowlight of the day: being asked if I was part of a gay couple by a timeshare salesman. (I love my boss, Shanna, but not like that!) Highlight of the day, leaving Senor Frogs after dinner, we passed Bulgari and ran into the most beautiful man guarding the door there. I acted like a silly school girl; you can tell how comfortable I am in this picture. Brother, sometimes I am such a dork. But ..... WOW! How did he get so pretty?!

Anyway, more details of the trip to follow ... check back in a few days!

Rylee's track meet: Provo Invitational

Rylee had her third track meet yesterday in Provo. She competes in four events: the shot put, the discus, the javelin, and the girls 4-by-100 relay.

(stock photos used to protect Rylee's identity ... kinda like a superhero!)

In her last meet (last weekend in St. George) she scratched out in discus, took eleventh place in shot put, and placed 17th in javelin. She was disappointed; I told her she did great for such a big meet and for only doing these events this year. She's on the Varsity team and competing mostly agains much older kids that have been doing track for several years. But, as you know, she doesn't like to lose and has worked extra hard this week to be ready for yesterday.

(Yet another fake photo used to protect "wonder woman" --- or could it be that I didn't take my camera to the event? Good job, mom!)

So, anyway ... she did great at the Invitational yesterday! She placed 2nd in discus, 3rd place in javelin and 3rd place in shot put. And the girls relay team beat 'em all!

She's a superstar!

TRAVEL RECORD for 2007/2008

I thought I should write down quickly (for my posterity?) a record of the places I've been in the past year, since last summer.

Here goes:

July 2007: Cedar City, UT
August 2007: New York City, Connecticut
August 2007: Granite Creek, WY (work camping trip with kids)
August 2007: Miami & Tampa, FL
September 2007: Sun Valley, ID (Kendrick-Burley wedding extravaganza!)
November 2007: Hollywood, CA
January 2008: Wendover, UT (Air Supply concert)
January 2008: Los Angeles, CA
February 2008: Atlanta & Savannah, GA
February 2008: Las Vegas, NV
March 2008: Charlotte/Asheville, NC - Greenville/Columbia/Charleston, SC - Savannah, GA

Rylee's Spring Break Party

I just had to share a few pix from Rylee's "little" get-together at our house over spring break. This whole thing started with a question ... "Can I invite some girls over for a sleepover & to watch movies?" SURE! Then, as is often the case with Ry (bless her heart!), it just kind of evolved. Needless to say, the sleepover plans got bagged, replaced with pizza, music and movies with a whole group of friends. They just kept coming ...

I went to get pizza at about 8 pm. When I got home, they were in the middle of doing "tattoos" with a sharpie marker. How did this happen? (I got an honorary tattoo as the hostess mom.)

There's never a dull moment with Rylee! One of the things that I love best about her is how comfortable and fun she is to be around. Even as an annoying teenager, I still find myself laughing at her and I'm constantly surprised by how many times in any given week, as I'm around town in Tooele, someone will ask if I'm Rylee's mom. I don't know where she got this talent!?

Love ya, Ry!!!!