We're so glad that Daddy came home!!

On July 8th 2009 Brian came home from Qatar, Saudi Arabia.
We were so thrilled to have him home!

The first thing we did was take him out to lunch for some good 'ol American BBQ!

Since Brian came home, life has been busy and packed with fun! I will begin posting updates on our activities and try to get this blog a little bit caught up over the next few weeks. We've had so much fun being reunited and getting back to life as usual.

Rockin' the Wall!

What a blast this was! I organized this climbing wall event for our Relief Society Sisters. We didn't get as large of a turn out as we expected.. but, all the more wall for the rest of us to climb! We had so much fun! I can't wait to go again. And, waking up this morning wasn't as bad as
I thought, I am mildly sore but ready for more!

Group Photo
(We took this picture at the end, so some of the group had left)

Getting ready to climb for the first time, and laughing because my friend Shelly is pretending she doesn't remember how to belay.... or was she pretending?

Made it to the top! I was surprised with myself!
It was so much harder in some ways than I thought it would be.
It was the going down that really got to me... just let go... No Way!

It may have been the way down that gave me this....
I was still trying to hug the wall.

It's hard to tell from this picture, cause it's zoomed in,
but this was by far the hardest wall, and my favorite!
See the straps on my gear?
I am hanging on more than climbing here!

Giving my friend Amber a high five when she makes it to the top!

Computer Crack

Facebook boasts "200 Million Active Users"

"Reach over 200 million active users on Facebook. Learn how to connect your business to real customers through Facebook Ads."

I do find it somewhat disconcerting... here I am browsing Facebook for the 100th time since I woke up this morning.... wondering "Am I addicted?"

When Facebook actually refers to me as a "User".... I need a 12 step program!

At the Dog Park

Last Saturday we met with some friends to let Baylor get play at the dog park.
He had a ton of fun as you'll see in the pics below...

Baylor "casing the joint" ... he likes to check everything out first

Here he is saying hello to some new and old friends, I just finished telling one of my friends there, how glad I am that he is always the biggest dog there,
and doesn't get all dirty and slobbered on...

Let the games begin! Baylor and his buddy Toby love to wrestle...
when they are through, Toby is always covered in drool and dust and mud...
and always leaves the park and heads straight for the bath! Not Baylor... until...

(cue music, earth rumbles)...........Enter Cosmo, the Mastiff!

Here is Cosmo with Toby, and two of his young owners...
And Cosmo and Baylor at the "bar" together
Whoa!
What a Dog!!

Pine Wood Derby

We had the Boy Scout Pine Wood Derby at church on Friday night, coupled with a Chili Cook-off and another Pine Wood Derby in which all ages could race. M1 and M2 raced Dad and Mom's cars from a race we entered in 2001; a race car and a long black hearse. M3 just got to run around the gym and play. And even though the same cars that took 1st and 2nd in the race in 2001, this time the same cars placed 4th and 5th, or so (not real sure)... we all had a lot of fun!

And last but not least, tiny little video clips. You'll want to watch one after the other to get the idea of the skit. Sorry, my camera only takes short clips and apparently takes a very long time to write them to disk, so this is a few very short snippets from a skit
some of the youth at church put on... it was HI-LAR-IOUS!!

Rockin' the night away!

Friday night I hosted our Girls Night Out. We started out the night with making a baby quilt and donating "spa" items to an expectant mother in our ward, just because. We watched and sang to "Mama Mia" a fun movie that I had never seen and still didn't really watch... I was having to much fun talking. I also invited a woman in our ward who is a whiz at knitting to teach me how to knit (I know, I know, I can see Anne cringe). At church we are all making hats for a humanitarian project so I thought it would be a good time to learn, turns out, it's very hard for a long time right-handed knitter to teach a lefty. So, it may be a while longer before I gain that skill. After the movie ended we had a lot of woman at the party and decided to pull out Rock Band! We were laughing and having so much fun, it was then I pulled out the camera, so I don't have pictures from the beginning of the night and most of the other woman had left already, it was late... but here are some of the pictures we took. It was very fun! I can't wait for the next Girls Night Out!! Hope you have fun looking at these...

Lori and Megan belting it out

"The Band"

Alexis at the drums for the first time

Ashley gettin' into her groove

Alexis sings some sweet songs

Shelly and Megan rockin' it

Michelle, wondering if I took the pic yet... "and why are you taking a picture of me?"

Yvonne, making her husband Trey proud!

Kirsten and Lori, it's a miracle we haven't gotten booed off stage!

Yvonne and Shelly, they've got some guitar skills

"We want you!"

Our band groupies, Jan and Heidi

Rock on!!

M2 reads Riddle Book to Dad

Dear Daddy, I hope you like the video I made for you on screen, because I read the Riddle book, and it was very funny to me, so I always laughed in the middle of the reading. So I hope you like all the jokes! So bye! From Madison McIntyre (giggling).