Super-mega-awsome weekend!

It's been such a crazy weekend! And I've really been lacking in my blogging. Sorry! I'll try to keep this as short as possible, but I'm warning you, it was a big weekend and LOTS of pictures!

So, like I mentioned a couple of posts ago, it was Strawberry Days here in my little home town. I get so excited every year because this is kind of my kick-off to summer.

So we got an early start to the weekend on Thursday. After Bryant went and took a final at school, we decided to take Ace out for strawberries and cream down at the city carnival.


(I had a ton of these over the weekend. Soooooo good!)


Ace is the KING of puppy-dog eyes. (Well, I know he is a puppy but he still does it so well) You can't help but give in.


Ace did so well at the Carnival that we decided to take him to the park.
He was being really adventurous and checking out the entire park.


That night, I took Ace to obedience school. My parents had signed their dog Sadie up but she had been fixed that morning and couldn't make it to the first class so I asked if I could take Ace. He did really well. At first he was scared and tried to back under the stool I was sitting on, but once he realized how nice the little chocolate lab puppy was next to us, he was happy as a clam. And I was so proud of him because Bryant and I have already taught him to sit and stay so I felt like the proud mama with the kindergartner who could already read.

Friday, we went to the PRCA rodeo!My parents, my sister, my brothers and their friends all came too.

Yeehaw!My little brother Sawyer. Rockin' his pink shirt for the "tough enough to wear pink" night for the Susan G Komen for the cure breast cancer awareness.

My brother Colter (on the Left) and his friend Christian (right) rockin' out the pink too.

My little sister being adorable like always.

Isn't my hubby a hunk?


Wild cow milking.

Saturday we went to the parade! I was in the strawberry days parade all throughout high school, and over the past few years I have been out of town or working so I haven't had a chance to watch the whole thing through for a while. This year, my little brother Sawyer got to be in it with his FFA team.


You can't really see him cause he is on the other side of the street in the back. But see that little crate on the trailer by the front? Those are his chickens! One even layed an egg during the parade hahaha!

After the parade, I still had about an hour before I had to go to work so Bryant and I took my little sister to Parkers to get some yummy burgers for lunch.

(I don't know why his shirt looks like it has yellow stripes on it...)

Sunday was Fathers day and after church we went to my grandpa Bushell's house for dinner with my aunts and uncles and my cousin, his wife and their adorable baby girl. It was so nice out that we all ate outside (my favorite place to eat in the summer!) Afterwards, we went to my grandma and grandpa Peacocks house and got to visit with my cousins there too.

My mom, Bryant and I came up with a good present for my dad. Bryant and I are getting a new computer since this one is about to kick the bucket (this post has taken 2 days to write its getting so bad, plus, the screen is going out and there are lines all throughout it.) And we found a deal that if you buy a mac, you get a free itouch, which works great because I really really really want a mac and I already have an itouch that Bryant gave me for Christmas last year. Originally Bryant was going to get the new Iphone and I was going to take his old one and give my dad my itouch, but with this computer deal, Bryant is going to keep his old iphone, I'm going to get a new, regular phone and I keep my itouch and give my dad the new one.

He's really excited and so am I!

So our weekend was so much fun and exciting that this one seems to be dragging a lot. Bryant is a coach at a basketball camp for the next two weeks so he is gone from 9am to 9pm every day and I'm not scheduled to work until this weekend so I'm feeling really lazy and bored and lonely. So I have decided to head off to the craft store as soon as I finish this to get going on some 4th of July projects.

Sorry this was so long, but you can't say I didn't warn you!

Have a great day everyone!

(P.S. I just remembered that I'll be in Norther California for the 4th of July! Woo! We leave next weekend!)

The Strongest Man in the World!

Growing up, there was a show called Pete and Pete.
It was about two brothers both named Pete and one of the characters on the show was named Artie, "the strongest man in the world!" He was really just a geeky guy in a striped outfit but he was pretty funny. My dad and I used to watch it all the time and we would joke that my dad was Artie, the strongest man in the world.

(This was taken at my aunts wedding. My dads the 2nd one from the left showing off his muscles)

But over the years he really has proved to be one of the strongest men in the world.
Seven years ago my dad had a stroke (he's only in his 40's now, which makes him way too young to have a stroke). The first year was extremely hard. He was in the hospital for weeks and weeks and in rehab for weeks on end as well.

But despite everything, my dad is still the amazing person he has always been. He's one of the funniest people you will ever meet. He's incredibly talented with his artwork (he has a show coming up later this year, check back in a couple of months for more info!) He's incredibly smart. He knows a little bit about everything so you can ask him any question you can think of and it's like he's a walking encyclopedia. He's also one of the most supportive people in the world. You can go to him with anything, and he will give his opinion, tell you what he thinks is best, but totally support you in what you decide. He's also just great to talk to. I love going out to his garage while he's silk screening and just talk with him about anything.

Also, did I mention he's a pretty good cook?

I love my dad so much. And i'm grateful for everything he's done for me.

Happy Father's Day dad. You really are the strongest man in the world.

Ace's day out

This week is Strawberry Days in my hometown.
EVERYONE loves strawberry days!


Today was the children's parade down by the high school. We have been going to this for years. All of my family, myself included has been in it at one point or another. All of the stakes in the town have all of their primary kids come and participate, and there is usually a theme that the kids can dress up along with (pioneers, cowboys, heroes etc) and this year they were supposed to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grew up. My little sister Sage went as a Paleontologist. Most kids were policemen, firemen, or batman and she chose a paleontologist. (She's a smart kid and LOVES math and biology, which makes her a weird and super cool 11 year old) She was all dressed up in my button down cowgirl shirt and a sunhat, complete with a rock and a brush.

She was super adorable!

I went with my dad to watch and I decided to take Ace with us. I take him for walks and I've thrown him in the car to run errands and such, but other than the few people who we come across on our walks and the neighbor kids that come over to play in our backyard, Ace really hasn't been around a huge group of people. So this was going to be interesting.

He did really well for the first little bit. He was really curious and really excited. He would go up and sniff at people but as soon as someone went to pet him he would flinch and hide behind me.
There were a few kids that he would allow a full on petting episode, and for some reason, he wanted to lick all of there feet, which made the kids squeal and laugh.

Once we got settled onto a lawn and the kids started down the street, he would act like he was really excited and ready to play, but after a couple of minutes, he would come and sit on my lap (all 57+ pounds of him!) like he was being shy. The only time I had a problem with him is when a little itty bitty dog walked by in the parade and Ace started jumping in the air like he was a circus dog and nearly ripped my arm out of it's socket with the leash.

I'm still debating if I want to take him to the big parade Saturday. Probably not seeing as there will be horses and a ton of other dogs. I think I'll assimilate him into society slowly. Next time, maybe just a picnic in the park on a puppy play date or something.

Another huge problem with the parade was the WIND! It was crazy!!! On the news they said that in some areas in Utah it was over 75 miles an hour. That's hurricane speeds people!


This is the aftermath of the wind and my hair. (I think I look a bit crazy in this photo. And tired, which I'm am. Sorry!)


Also, notice I have no makeup either. That's thanks to dust and dirt being blown into my eyes, plus allergies going berzerk which caused a lot of eye-rubbing all day.

It was exhausting trying to hold on to Ace in all of the excitement and battling the wind, but it was really fun. I love strawberry days...

The Sandlot

Ok so I just hit my head really hard.
I was ducking under the deck to turn on the hose to give Ace a drink when my allergies made me sneeze a few times, and when I was done I stood up strait, smacking the top of my head on a wooden beam. So I apologize if anything in this post doesn't make sense.

So it was a good weekend overall. Friday night Bryant and I decided to go on a date since we haven't been on one in a while. We decided to go to Texas Roadhouse because we both are huge fans of steak. When we walk in, it's super crowded so we ask the hostess how long the wait is. She says it's only a 20 to 30 minute wait maximum, which we thought was awesome, seeing as it was probably going to be a 45 minute wait anywhere else.
So we sit and wait...
and wait...
and wait...
and wait...

Until, we realize it's been 45 minutes. We ask the hostess how much longer and she says that we are up next. Ok sounds good. So we wait...
and wait...
and wait..
and wait.

It's been an hour. We ask again. Oh yeah, you're up next!
So again, we wait...
and... well you get the idea.

(this is the moose in the lobby. I got bored and started taking pics of random things)

And hour and 15 minutes in and a guy walks in and says he has a group of 12, and no reservation. Oh right this way the hostess says.

Seriously???

A party of 12 gets right in and a party of two has been there for an hour and 15 min!???
We finally had had it. I was starving and grumpy. Bryant once again goes up and asks when we are going to get to be seated. The hostess checks our ticket. Oh you guys are up next!

One hour and thirty minutes after we walked through the door, we get seated. And let me tell you, I am in one bad mood. Thankfully, our server was super nice and really fast. If he wasn't I probably would have chewed him out over nothing.

After we ate, Bryant asked to talk to the manager. When she came out, we told her how awesome our server was and how he really turned our experience there around. However, when we mentioned we had been waiting in the lobby for an hour and a half after they told us it was a 20 minute wait, she just shrugged and said "oh, i'm sorry" then literally walked away. It will be a long time before I go back.

Saturday was the Orem Summerfest parade and Bryant got to be in it! He works for missionary mall and they had a float in it. The pics I took are on my other camera, hopefully I can get them downloaded soon. I went with my best friend Katie and my little sister Sage and Bryant met up with us afterwords to get some Chinese food and we watched the fireworks.

Sunday, we went to church like we do every Sunday. We had a rootbeer float party for our primary class because we promised them last week that if they were good they would get them. They were all good this week too except one kid who wouldn't sing or participate in sharing time, and when I asked him why, he told me that church was dumb, that I was dumb and that the songs were dumb and too hard. When I told him to not say mean things or else he wouldn't get a rootbeer float, he said I could go ahead and have his because he liked being mean more than he liked rootbeer floats. If he was my kid, he would have got a definite thump on the head. What a punk.

After church, my parents invited us up for hamburgers and bratwursts. Afterwords, my brother invited us to the baseball fields to play some baseball.

(Bryant is the one in the black shirt and jeans)


This is my brother Colter. He and Bryant both hit home runs!

It was a lot of fun. I counted 13 kids, but a few more showed up later on too. The youngest was cute little Walker, who was missing all of his front teeth and the bats were bigger than him.


But don't let his size fool you, that kid has a arm and his can hit at least a double (well, maybe with some help from the big kids)

As for today, I got out and did a bit of yard work, met up with Bryant at his work for lunch, and finished modpoging a flower pot. Now I'm off to go cook some lemon chicken for dinner!

S'mores and Puppies

This morning I was so exhausted. I woke up about four times between 9 and 11:30 and each time I just couldn't roll out of bed. I would go back to sleep after a couple minutes of trying. And not just dozing off for a bit, I mean completely zonked, crazy dreams included (one about walking seals on leashes, one involving Bruce Willis, a bus and a cave, and so forth...)

Bleh.

Finally I got up and ran a few errands with my dad and my little sister around 1:00.
When I got home, Bryant had come home for a bit inbetween classes and I had about an hour before I had to go to work so I asked him to come sit outside on the chair swing with me.




My brothers had moved the chair swing from the deck to the corner of the back yard and also set up some chairs so they could fit more people around the fire pit to do s'mores last night so we were comfy and cozy in the shade of the aspen trees and evergreen.




We even let Ace out without a leash and he enjoyed eating leftover marshmallows that had fallen into the grass. He didn't quite know how to eat them so he would munch it for a bit, spit it out, then try again.


He eventually settled for graham crackers that I had. See how patient he is? I'm so proud that he doesn't grab at food in your hand. You can pretty much place it in his mouth before he will take it.


(Yuck don't mind my knees there!)

Can you see the yellow clumps of pollen on his face? He was being a wild jungle dog and running through the tall grass on the hill, getting covered in it!



His other favorite thing to do? He would army-crawl under the swing from the side then wiggle his head out the front under our legs and watch us read. It was so funny I couldn't get over it!


After work Bryant and I were invited by my friend Janine and her husband Jon's to come roast some s'mores at their house with our friend Jessica and her husband Brandon. I got there a bit late and Bryant was still playing basketball so he didn't come but it was still fun just to get to hang out. I get so bored by myself at home. Even after a year I am still adjusting to the non-roommate (well unless you count Bryant as a roommate haha!) lifestyle where someone was always home to hang out with. And if not, all your friends lived in the same building at least.

Anyways, Janine and Jon have been dog-sitting for the last little while and I fell in love with Rosie, the little Dachshund puppy!



While I was there, I realized that I have a real problem. I talk about Ace WAY too much (I mean, he's the main subject of most of my blog posts) and I consider him almost like my own kid. People always talk about their kids and when I hear things like "potty training little Timmy took so long!" I just want to join in and say "tell me about it! It took us 4 months before Ace learned to go outside!" or when people talk about how cute it was when their kid was playing with their toys or something I want to tell them how adorable Ace is when he sleeps with his stuffed football.

Geeze Louise!

Well, I think i'm done talking about my puppy for the night. I kind of wish he was in tonight so we could watch a late night movie together since Bryant is already asleep and I'm wide awake from sleeping in so long today.

Sweet dreams everyone!

P.S. I just wanted everyone to know that Ace pointed at a robin today! He was running around chewing on things when suddenly he was quiet. Bryant and I both turned around to see what happened to him and there he was, stiff as a board with his paw up and curled under him looking intently at a robin on the ground, and when it flew off, he took after it! I was so proud of him!!!

I love having Saturdays off...

I had such a busy Saturday.

But it was fantastic!

I began the day by doing some much needed kitchen cleaning. My dishes were piling over the sink and my recycling had overflowed the can, and my couch was playing house with random junk and bags. I also did a thorough dusting.

Tomorrow, I tackle the table and the desk so I have room to take out my sewing machine, which is also collecting some serious dust.


In the afternoon I went to the Bijou Market in Orem with my friends Katie, Sarah and Jill. It was really hot outside, but it was nice going out and supporting some of the local vendors out there. I even got myself and awesome ring!



(sorry for the fuzziness)

After the market, the three of us went and got some Hawaiian shave ice, yum!

Then Bryant and I went to Pirate Island! It was our friend Jon's birthday and his wife Janine put together a really awesome party. We had never been there but last year they had a big pirate ship in all the city parades to advertise for it. It was kind of like chuck-e-cheese meets Disneyland. The food was good and the theme of the place was pretty fun. It kind of made me want to pull out last Halloween's Peter Pan costume and run around looking for Captain Hook!



Today I had to work all day. I was super bummed too because I had a dream last night that I went to work. No storyline or funny incident or crazy things happened in my dream, it was just simply what I do every day at work. So I woke up feeling a bit like I had wasted a perfectly good nights worth of dreaming, and as I left work this evening It felt oddly like I had been working 2 shifts in a row.

This weeks going to be busy too. Tomorrow is another softball game, and It's Summer Fest in Orem! Bryant is going to be in the parade again and I can't wait to go watch him!

Well, It's off to grab some PJ's and curl up next to my husband and read, enjoying the sound of the summer rain outside. Good night!