Swiss Days 2007

Nestled in the beautiful Wasatch Mountains of Utah is a little town settled by the Swiss called Midway Utah. I love Midway for several reasons but the two favorite are 1) Johnsons Mill Bed & Breakfast (where Ryan and I honeymooned) 2) the Annual Swiss Days festivities.

Yesterday Jolea and I took our annual early morning drive to Midway. This year my dear friend Emily came with us. It was her first Swiss Days. We love the anticipation of what we will find at the booths. Mostly I always leave with the thought "Why didn't I think to do that; I could make a ton of money". I tell you, some of the things people make and then sell at outrageous prices is just genious. Of course we can't leave until we've heard a little yodeling while standing in line for Swiss Tacos. It was a great morning and I came home with a pocket full of darling magnets and a darling polar fleece jacket for my little Max--who by the way fared the crowds very well. Until next year...

DIAPER DUTY FOR LIFE

i think i changed more diapers today than I do in 3 days. my guys are sick. both of them. i'm nurse mommy/wife for a while i think. as i was literally changing diapers minutes apart, i thought to myself..."get used to it...you're gonna be doin' this for a long, long time". i suppose you have to be okay with that when you sign up for this.

The best part of my day...

Some Do, Some Don't

So, yesterday I was walking with my little group of stroller mama's in our neighborhood and I was having a conversation with one of them. We were discussing our callings, mine-YW, hers-Primary. She was mentioning that she wouldn't really like a calling in YW. I mentioned that I thought Primary would be more difficult for me than YW, only because I think my eternal calling is going to be with teenagers. She then stated that she wasn't so big on kids either. I was hoping that she didn't take my comment as an inference that I didn't like kids. Because I do. I love kids in fact. Most all kids.

Sometimes I just assume that if people have children of their own, they generally like all kids. Well, that's what happens when you assume. It's not the case. Some people just prefer their own kids. I suppose I can understand; I for example like my own dog (supposing I had one still), or other dogs that I know. But I don't love all dogs.

Kids are just funny. Last week we were waiting at a restaurant. There were a few families sitting in the lobby and one little girl walked up to another little girl, and without saying anything, just started pulling off her backpack. She was determined to have it. Her mother quickly explained to the other mother that her little girl had a back pack just like that at home and thought that somehow this complete stranger had stole it from her. I laughed out loud.

When would you ever see a dog do that?

If any of you have wondered what our family has been up to for the past month, the posts prior to this should explain everything. We have had a wonderful month with visits from both Ryan's family and mine. It's not very often that our siblings from far away states make it out to Utah, so when they do, we relish in it. If you take away the one sick week in between, it is up there with one of the best months of summer ever.

Now that our families are back in Nebraska, Texas & Idaho and we have rid ourselves of the sickness that plagued our lives for a week, life is slowly returning to normal. It's always sad when everyone goes, but always nice to return to some sort of routine. Max is finally sleeping in his own bed again and Ryan didn't have to take off one day this past week. I think I have the laundry just about caught up and all the underwear is folded and put away finally.

Without "something" going on, I feel kind of lost...oh, wait...excuse me while I go plan my Young Women's meetings for tomorrow, put my baby to bed, get the sheets out of the dryer and make the bed and some bottles.

A visit from Steve's Family

Family Fishing Trip

Cory's Family Visits Utah Part 1!

Our little guy loves to giggle. His Uncle Mark can get him going pretty good. It's one of my favorite sounds in the whole world.

MORMON BARBIE

In celebration of Barbie's 40th birthday, Mattel has created a 'Mormon Barbie' for the folks in Utah. The most popular, Celestial Barbie, comes with 8.4 children. She wears a mid-calf flower print Laura Ashley dress with conservative flats (no heels), a bow in her flowing shoulder-length hair, with puffy bangs.

Barbie wears a permanent smile and comes with her own bread making machine, store of wheat, list of ways to feed a family of 12 on less than $200 a week, casserole recipes, and year's supply of green Jell-O. Also available MAV (Dodge/Ford/Nissan/whatever mini-van, otherwise known as a Mormon Assault Vehicle). When you pull the cord in her back she sheds real tears and says, "You have such a special spirit, Sister," and "Love ya."

Occasionally you can find one that says "Oh, my heck!" but this is a manufacturer's defect. Celestial Barbie would never say "heck." You can buy a Celestial Ken to go with Celestial Barbie, but he's hard to find (he's always off fulfilling some priesthood calling, so he's rarely home).

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you Jeff. Glad we could celebrate it with you. Hope this year brings everything you deserve and more.

Provo River 1/2 Marathon!

LAGOON SMELLS WEIRD

Today was the Loveless Family annual outing to Lagoon. Every summer, Ryan's family packs up their coolers and kids and we hit Utah's version of Disneyland...except that it isn't quite like Disneyland at all. And it smells weird...a mixture of funnel cakes, cigarette smoke, chlorine, petting zoo, and that mystery smell. It was a long day, but fun. Ryan and I conquered Wicked, the new ride, twice. I did it once with my eyes closed and once with them open. And we hit all the other big rides...all three of them. Every year, another Loveless brother succumbs to the motion sickness plague, and slowly but surely, they retire yet more and more rides. This year it was Jeff. Mark didn't even make it this year. We missed him. However, a new Loveless made his Lagoon debut. Max was all over that carousel. Next year we are going to be spending the day trying to keep him out of those giant water drops that shoot up out of the ground. Oh, there's nothing like a day at Lagoon.

FAMILY IS FOREVER

A few weeks ago, my adorable oldest sister, Cory, and her darling family came to Utah from Texas for a week to visit. I was reminded of how much I really miss my siblings and all the "good ole' times". We've all grown, changed, and added much to our lives, but being with Cory always reminds me of things that just never change. Something about her is constant. It's so nice.

We had a heck of a week with trips and outings all over Utah. She and her family experienced their first Pioneer Days in SLC along with a quick day at Temple Square. Carrie, Kelsey, Jolea, Jim, Mom, Eli, Gram and all in-laws and nieces and nephews got together. We sure missed not having Ashley with us. It was just one darling short of being complete. It was so nice to have Gram come and visit from New Mexico. I just miss them all. I have the most wonderful siblings and family in the world. It's always crazy, chaotic, and wonderful when we are all together. I've come to love the sheer chaos that is created when we are all together. I hope it never changes.

DOWN IN THE DUMPS....

It means something totally new to me now. I've been sick. Really sick. In fact, I don't ever remember a time when I've been more sick. It started last Sunday just before church. Then it went full throttle after church. I don't remember much between then and now except for many trips to the bathroom, a large bucket beside my bed, and a shot that hurt like *@#! I actually lost a whole day somehow. Honestly, I don't remember Tuesday at all. I didn't realize it until Ryan pointed out that it was Wednesday. I have had a lot of sleep and little food. I do not recommend this diet to anyone. I'm sure the 10 lbs. I lost will come back as soon as I can stomach solids well again. I just want to thank all those very loving individuals who have helped me and my family out this week...and also a thank you to those who saw me looking as aweful as I do and were kind enough to keep it to themsleves. I realize I'm close bringing the unibrow back; I'll take care of it soon, I promise. And to my devoted husband, you didn't have to and you did. Thank you. I'm so grateful.