We're in Albuquerque this week!

I hope it's okay for me to post about something other than a home decorating project,

but after a very LONG drive (two days!) we are in Albuquerque to spend Hannah's "fall break" with Alice's family.We got here on Saturday afternoon and luckily, Dave had managed to get 4 tickets in the BYU section to the UNM vs. BYU game. CJ had a great time and it's always fun when your team wins - GO COUGARS!!!
Today we are picking Haley up from school and riding the tram up to Sandia peak to hike around and have a picnic lunch. Fun! And maybe dinner at Gardunos...

Happy Briefcase, Delos and Misty!

Hope you both have a very happy day!

Corner Canyon Hike

About a mile from our house, there is a mountain side and canyon behind the new Draper Temple called Corner Canyon. It's about a one and a half or two mile hike to the top. A little stream, Corner Canyon Creek flows down through the canyon. I hiked it this morning and thought I would share a few pictures.

This is Ghost Falls, a small but pleasant waterfall near the top of Corner Canyon.

The trees are still mostly green near the bottom of the canyon but as you get near the top, they're turning to lovely fall colors.

On the way up and from the top of the canyon, I used the telephoto and took a picture of the valley and the backside of the Draper Temple (under construction). You can see it's coming along pretty well. The groundbreaking was in August of 2006 so it should be completed about a year from now.

Antelope Island

This past Saturday while I watched my neighbor's kids, Dave took our kids out to Antelope Island. It's not too far from our house and they were having a fall festival of sorts. Early that morning they had hot air balloons but they didn't get out there early enough for that. Here are a few pictures of what they did while they were there. Everything cost money and Isaac backed out of the climbing wall...if I had been there I would've asked for a refund! But they had a good time anyway. I wish I could've gone. Maybe next time! Check out Isaac's slide moves:

Just so you know

I have hijacked the Larson family blog. I was trying to create a blog that my whole family would post on. It didn't work out. My sister Alice won't even answer the invite; Delos only posted for his kids while he was in Israel; James refuses...as soon as I mentioned I had done it he instantly had his wife create her own blog so he wouldn't have to; Ellen refuses to post; Sara does only when she's finished decorating a portion of her house. So it turns out I'm really the only one who posts regularly and it's starting to feel weird. The end result: I've created my very own blog. I have a link to it on the side, it's currently called "Something" and the site is emilyssomething.blogspot.com (notice the double "s" in the middle). I was going to wait to tell everyone until I had come up with a title and made it cute like my friend Lynette's but we're having trouble getting Microsoft Word and that is an essential part of the cuteness, per Lynette's instructions. So in the meantime, I will post on the Larson family blog things that my family would care about, and things on my blog that I care about (which is mostly what I've been doing on this blog and feeling weird about). So, if you care, you can check out my own blog. Otherwise, keep reading this one. It's a good one. Another piece of information: I will be changing the address of this blog in a few days. Instead of foleysrgreat (since that's not my family's surname) it will be something else. I haven't decided what yet. I'll let you know before it happens. Decisions take me a while.

I have no idea if this is real, but it's funny anyway.

My sister-in-law Stacy posted this today. HI-LARIOUS. Watch it. Right now. You'll laugh.

My latest home improvement project...

So, with my dining room done, I'm on to my next project. I decided that I wanted shelves above our "computer niche" which is upstairs in the hallway between Hannah and Charlie's bedrooms. I really like this space, but we don't use it much so I was hoping the shelves would make it both more functional and more attractive. We debated asking my dad to fly out and do it but I decided to look into contractors first. So I called around, got a few bids and 1 week and $150 later, voila! We now have shelves above our computer niche! As you can see, the shelves are nothing special, but it was fun to be able to put a lot of our books and stuff on them. Now, I'm looking for chairs to go there as well...
I'm kind of liking this one from Ikea. I'm wondering if it looks a little too modern for my house though. It comes in several colors and is pretty inexpensive - which is a big plus since we need two. Any opinions or ideas? Once the chairs are purchased, I'm trying to decide what to do next: my bedroom and bathroom (which is a BIG job, will be expensive and take quite a bit of time) or Charlie's room (mostly painting and re-organizing). Stay tuned!

I'm sick of being sick (aka "my pity party")...

Well people, I need to vent tonight and since my husband is out of town, I guess the blog will have to suffice. Even though Delos thinks SINUS INFECTIONS ARE FAKE, I have one - a bad one. One that 3 weeks and 10 days of antibiotics didn't touch. According to my Doctor (who called me this afternoon) this is not unusual. Apparently, the sinuses are not well supplied by blood vessels which means that antibiotics, travelling via the blood, are sometimes less effective. What it all boils down to for me is that I have now been sick for 22 days. And I'm sick of it. My head really hurts and I cough until I gag and I haven't had a good night's sleep for WAY too long and my family is tired of me being tired and sick and grouchy. Tomorrow morning after I drop my kids off, I will pick up my next round of antibiotics (and hope that they don't make me as queasy and dizzy as the last ones did) and some cough medicine with codeine and I will hopefully start sleeping again and start feeling better soon.

For anyone who's a mom (or ever HAD one)...

This made me laugh...how often have you said (or heard) these phrases???

Noah "Walking"

Here's Noah walking around with the laundry basket. he's actually been taking real steps on his own (just a few at a time) for a few days. Fun!

Politically (In)correct

I rear ended a car this morning...I tell you, I knew it was going to be a really bad day!

The driver got out of the other car, and he was a dwarf!!

He looked up at me and said 'I am not Happy!'

So I said, 'Well, which one are you then?'

That's how the fight started...

Random Thoughts

The boys at an aquarium.

How long has that soggy sucker stick been on the floor in my bedroom? I can't even remember the last time one of my kids had a sucker and I just now saw it for the first time. Gross.

Where is that white t-shirt? It's my favorite and it's not in my closet or the dirty laundry.

Where should I keep extra sheets and pillowcases? I've moved them from room to room and closet to closet for weeks now and I still can't find a place I like them.

Our dumpster is disgusting. People don't walk in to throw stuff away, they just lob it over the wall. Most people miss.

Yesterday a very odd woman who lives in our complex was out front as Dave walked out to take the missionaries home (and I was walking out with the boys to go for a walk). Elder Gomez shook her hand and then she told the rest of us "Don't touch me, I have dog poopies." What? She'd been picking up dog poop with her BARE HAND and throwing it in the dumpster. She goes "What? It's not dangerous?" then smells her hand "and it doesn't smell." Oh, okay. Go ahead then, finish the job. Poor Elder Gomez was wiping his hand on the pants of his suit the minute she turned her back. I hope he washed his hands when he got home. I hope she did too. Last week she offered me a taste of her fresh from Hawaii coconut. I'm glad I declined (she was sticking her fingers in and licking them off).

I just noticed a gigantic crack right down the middle of my cute black candlestick. How annoying.

None of the clocks in my house are right. How can every single clock in the house be that wrong? Some are more than a half hour different than the others. Does anybody know what time it is?

I hate cleaning bathtubs.

I want a new couch.

I slept all night last night for the first time in over a year.

I stole this from somebody I don't know

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet & current car):

Chip Taurus

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):

World Class Chocolate Snickerdoodle...I don't think that one worked. Nobody would be afraid of someone named Snickerdoodle.

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME:

E-Fo (I think...this one didn't have instructions)

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color, favorite animal):

Red Tiger

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born):

Larson Albuquerque. I like that one. Couldn't you see me on Days romancing Austin or something?

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first):
Fol-Em

7. SUPERHERO NAME (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink):

The Green Margarita (virgin from Gardunos).

8. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers):

Daris Lloyd

9. I decided not to do this one.

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother’s & father’s middle names ):

Kay Wayne

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter):

Johnston Jackson

12. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, flower):

Spring Tulip

13. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”):

Strawberry Shorty (whoa, that's almost a real cartoon character!)



14. HIPPY NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):

Raisin Bran Crunch Maple (or is that Cereal Maple? I don't know).

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”):

The Skiing Rain Tour

Did you see this at the Emmy's?

I am still laughing about this. Sooo funny!

How did you spend your summer vacation?

My attempt at making friends

A few girls in our ward went to a children's museum in Ogden today and my neighbor Allison invited me to come along. We've hung out outside with our kids a few times and she's really nice, so I was very excited. The museum turned out to be closed, but we went to a place next door where you can fly in a huge wind chamber, surf in this awesome surfing pool, there's a huge climbing wall, you can play putt-putt in the dark, tons of stuff. Anyway, while the kids were running around and playing, my "friend" Allison got a call from her husband...her house was on fire. She lives in the building across the street from mine, on the 2nd floor like us. In case you think I'm kidding, here's a picture of the fire truck in our parking lot. I feel so bad for her. She has a 3 month old and a 15-month-old. Another neighbor has the kids while they're out talking to the fire investigators. I took lunch over for the little boy and she's going to bring the baby over here when he's ready for a nap (the neighbor who has them doesn't have any kids, so she was at a loss as to what to feed them, where to put them, etc.). I sure hope they have insurance.

Visit to Cascade Springs

Today I decided to drive up to Cascade Springs. It's a pretty area a few miles off the Alpine Loop, above Aspen Grove. I drove up through Provo Canyon past Aspen Grove and then on over to Cascade Springs. I then came back by driving on over the Alpine loop and down through American Fork Canyon. Since I've been told I can't do any strenuous hiking, this was a nice drive and then a leisurely walk on improved trails and boardwalks.

Cascade Springs is an area of a few acres where the water just "bubbles up" out of the ground.

It then forms into a beautiful, clear stream that flows down the mountain side. It flows year round at a constant rate of about 15 cubic feet/second ( 8 million gallons a day) and a constant temperature of 48 degrees F.

T

Then it flows out onto limestone shelves and forms a marshy area with lots of small waterfalls and pools (which are filled with brown trout - no fishing allowed). It finally flows into a stream that eventually joins up in Deer Creek, just below the Deer Creek Reservoir.

About 3 years ago the forest service started a "controlled burn" some distance from here which got "out of control" and burned over the whole area, but as you can see, fortunately nature is beginning to restore the area to its natural beauty.

I thought that the Alpine Loop might be filled with fall colors, but as you can see they are just starting. Nevertheless, it's starting to look pretty good.

I love the mountains and streams. It's good for my soul!!



Posted by Dad (See Emily, with your original coaching I can do a blog!

Honest Opinion

I put two of my four iron decorations up above my mantle but now I'm not sure if I like it. I need some honest opinions here--anyone who has one can tell me. I may or may not listen to your opinion, I just have a hard time deciding (and I won't be offended if you don't like it at all!) I can move them down and put two more above these ones, I can leave the two how they are, or I could put these above my bed instead and find something else above the mantle. What do you think?

# 1

Just Breathe - I know I already put a bunch from this blog, but this truly is number one. If you haven't read any of the top ten this week, read this one.

# 2

Great Cathedrals - Ellen posted it on this blog and it's good for me to read now and then...it gives me a boost.

# 3

Let's Clear the Air (a.k.a. the Mommy Monster) - I thought I was the only one who turned into the Mommy Monster by the end of the day (see this post). I'm so glad to know other people do too, even if I don't know them.

# 4

Living Vicariously - I don't know these people, but the pictures are amazing. I'll make it to Italy. Someday.

# 5

Triathlon - Okay, this one is purely selfish, but I'm still amazed that I did a triathlon. This is my cousin Debbie's post about it and it's a neat glimpse into the day with our whole family--cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, parents...it was awesome. I am awesome.

# 6

This entire blog - I know you can't read the whole thing, so here are a few of my favorites (Yes, this counts as one):

• Confessions (these are all hilarious, but I specifically identify with #2)
• Hey Bert
• ...so what!
• identity crisis.

# 7

All Gone!! What?? Where?? - I think most moms can identify with the terror those words can bring.

# 8

Adventures in Grocery Shopping - So funny...and relate-able, having actually done this to my mom a few times.

# 9

Apologize - Anything with Ron and Hermione deserves a spot on the top ten. Those kids have very expressive faces!! (watch the video below or click on the title "Apologize" to see the blog where it was initially posted)

# 10

Great pictures - Ellen told me about this blog, and I have to say the photos are amazing. If I had known about this place when James and Holly still lived in Tualatin, I may have made a special trip to get family pictures taken. I want the holiday cards too. Wow.

My Top Ten Favorite Blog Posts

Most of you know I have a blog obsession. It's probably not quite healthy, but there are several things I love about blogs:

1 - keeping in touch. There are several people I have kept in better touch with simply because I can link to their blog through mine.

2 - honesty. For some reason, the anonymity of the internet breeds honesty (for some of us at least). It makes me feel better about myself to know that other people have flaws, too.

3 - a glimpse into someone else's life. Even if I don't know these people at all (and I don't know lots of the people on my top ten list), it's this strange voyeurism that is very satisfying for me. I don't know why.

4- journaling. I have never been a consistent journal writer, but I am a very consistent blogger. So does this count if I'm journaling my life on my blog?

Above is a list of my top ten favorite blogs. Happy reading!

I'm a grouch.

Do other peoples' kids fuss ALL DAY? By the end of the day, does anybody else feel like hiding anywhere (even a garbage can) just to get away from their kids for a few minutes? After you get home from 3 hours of church where you wrestled your kids the entire time and didn't hear a thing, let alone feel like you were learning something, do you ever feel like crying and say "WHAT'S THE POINT?!" Why do I even bother taking them? Why don't I just stay home and wrestle them here, instead of in a dress and high heels with people watching? Do you ever just need a treat, so you make a pan of brownies, and as you take them out of the oven and set them on the counter, the hot pad slips and the entire pan falls upside down on the floor? Well it happens to me. And I eat them anyway. After all, I've been hiding in a trash can all day. What's a little floor dirt?

Got Junk?

Our garage sale turnout was pretty good, but nobody wanted the big stuff (stove, dryer, entertainment center, bookcases, TVs, baby swing)...that's all the stuff that for some reason I thought would sell first, but nope! People seriously came and bought JUNK. Weird. Anybody want a treadmill for $20?

the great bang disaster of 2007

That's right. I tried to trim my own bangs on Tuesday. No, you can't see a picture. Yes, they're awful. Any suggestions?

Attention:

I'm sorry to usurp Charlie's attention, but this is important: FREE SHIPPING AT J.CREW.
Use code FS0904. Back to Charlie.

Back to School for Charlie

Well people, I managed to get some nasty bug on my trip to Utah, so I've been sick since I got home on Monday afternoon. But, Charlie started preschool on Tuesday morning and I wanted him to get the same "back-to-school" attention that Hannah did. So here he is on Tuesday morning just before we left the house.
He kept making funny expressions when I tried to get him to smile so this is our best shot! Anyway, he was excited to use his backpack and take a lunch to school. When I asked him if he was excited for school he said, "yeah, that's where I learn about Jesus and the ABC's". When I picked him up and asked him what he learned , he told me, "ones and A's".

Em, I'm going to do a post from your tag, but maybe once I'm feeling better...

Where's Bill?

The new season of kids shows started this week. So in excitement, Tuesday morning we turned on Curious George to see a brand new episode. Now let me say I love Curious George. Isaac likes it fine, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't watch it every day if I didn't like watching it so much. It's so funny. That George gets into such hijinx. Okay. Back to Tuesday morning. Here it comes! A brand new George! But wait...something's wrong. The narrator. He's different! It's not William H. Macy anymore. What? Where is he? How could he not be the narrator anymore? This new guy is fine, but come on, Bill's an academy award nominee! He's been in classic movies like "Wild Hogs" and "Jurassic Park III"...it's a real loss and a major tragedy. So I say, bring back Bill. George just isn't the same without him.

Random Thoughts

Where did the word "tummy" come from? It doesn't sound like "stomach". I can see how the "tom" in stomach may be similar, but not really. It's the cutest word for a non-cute word for a weird part of the body. I love it.

too many Dave's

A few months ago we got a book from the library by Dr. Seuss called "Sneetches and other stories." In the book was a story I had never seen but I thought it fit our family rather well. It's called "Too Many Dave's." For those of you who don't know, my dad is a Dave. My brother Delos's first name is David. My oldest sister Alice married a Dave. I married a Dave. Alice named her first son David Logan (he goes by Logan). Delos named his second son David. I named my second son David Noah (he goes by Noah). I have a cousin named David...and guess what his last name is? Davidson. No, I'm not kidding. So what is it with the name Dave? Why is it so popular? I can tell you I named Noah that because I really admire my husband and think he's a good man and wanted his name to be perpetuated. Not that I don't admire my dad or my brother, but Noah is specifically named after his own dad, which I think is neat. So what is it with my family and Dave's? It's weird. But I like that my family has

Too Many Dave's

Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCave
Had twenty-three sons, and she named them all Dave?
Well, she did. And that wasn't a smart thing to do.
You see, when she wants one, and calls out
"Yoo-Hoo! Come into the house, Dave!" she doesn't get one.
All twenty-three Daves of hers come on the run!
This makes things quite difficult at the McCaves'
As you can imagine, with so many Daves.
And often she wishes that, when they were born,
She had named one of them Bodkin Van Horn.
And one of them Hoos-Foos. And one of them Snimm.
And one of them Hot-Shot. And one Sunny Jim.
And one of them Shadrack. And one of them Blinkey.
And one of them Stuffy. And one of them Stinkey.
Another one Putt-Putt. Another one Moon Face.
Another one Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face.
And one of them Ziggy. And one Soggy Muff.
One Buffalo Bill. And one Biffalo Buff.
And one of them Sneepy. And one Weepy Weed.
And one Paris Garters. And one Harris Tweed.
And one of them Sir Michael Carmichael Zutt.
And one of them Oliver Boliver Butt.
And one of them Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate . . . .
But she didn't do it. And now it's too late.

Another Tag!

My husband...

What is his name? Dave

How long have you been together? We met in August 2000

How long did you date? 11 months

How old is he? 29

Who eats more? I hate to say it. Me.

Who said I love you first? Dave

Who is taller? Dave

Who sings better? Me

Who is smarter? Dave

Whose temper is worse? Me

Who does the laundry? Always me

Who does the dishes? Me

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Dave (if you're laying in bed)

Who pays the bills? Me

Who mows the lawn? No lawn...but the grass we have here is mowed by the HOA

Who cooks dinner? Me

Who drives when you are together? Dave, unless I don't want him messing up my seat/mirror set-up, then I do.

Who is more stubborn? Me

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me...Dave is generally not wrong. (see the smartness question)

Whose parents do you see the most? Mine

Who kissed who first? Dave kissed me.

Who asked who out? We never went out on dates.

Who proposed? Dave

Who is more sensitive? Jessica would probably say Dave, I would say me

Who has more friends? Neither of us have any

Who has more siblings? we have the same number of siblings

Who wears the pants in the family? we both wear pants, but I wear skirts on Sunday....heh heh heh

I tag all the girls who publish on this blog (Sara, Alice, Ellen, Holly, and Misty if she lets me invite her), and anyone else who would like to.

One?!

Has it been one year already?

It was just yesterday that I was so hot, pregnant, and uncomfortable...having contractions during Sharing Time...my friend Lynette timing them for me and urging me to go to the hospital...and me saying "No, no, I have contractions all the time. I'm getting induced tomorrow!"...then a frantic drive to the hospital, no time for an epidural, and a sweet baby boy born less than two hours later.





It has been a year! I can't believe how big my No-man is and how fast the time has gone. Now on to the funnest age...learning to walk, learning to talk, and being my best bud. Happy birthday Noah!

Noah's First Birthday!

I can't believe my Noah is turning ONE tomorrow! We celebrated today because the family was up visiting and looking at our new place, so here are some pictures of his birthday party! His giant Costco cake:

Noah got steadily sadder as we tried to force him to eat cake. He just didn't want it, which is weird because he always wants to eat (especially treats!) He ate it later, though.

"I'm finished!" Getting ready to open presents:
He won't eat cake, but giraffes are no problem.
Mad-dogging Abby for trying to look at his presents. He was feeling very possessive (Isaac wouldn't let him play with his own new toys).

Happy birthday kid!

A few Swiss Days' pics

Here are a few pictures of the Swiss Days' fun. I love that we set up chairs under trees so we have a place to meet and sit, eat, relax, and leave purchases to empty our hands for more treasures. This is the girls on the way out: me, Sara, Misty, Alice, and Ellen. Mom had already gone to the car.

Sara and Mom

Ellen and Alice enjoying the shade

It sure was fun! Can't wait to do it again next year!