I would like to....

1. Have a haircut that I love
2. Live in foreign country for at least a year
3. Go on a cycling trip with Rick
4. Have an interesting blog
5. Speak a foreign language fluently
6. Visit a new city every year
7. Teach my kids what it means to be truly happy
8. Have my teeth straightened
9. Make a difference
10. Have a job I love
11. Have a killer, hip wardrobe
12. Take another tap dance class
13. Hire a maid
14. Cook more
15. Lead a healthy lifestyle
16. Be more outgoing
17. Inspire someone
18. Immerse myself in humanitarian work
19. Not care about "stuff"
20. Finish the "to do" list around the house.
21. Remember to save when I add things to my blog via the iphone app. 

Weekend Report

This weekend was all about SUNSHINE. Rick and I took a nice bike ride. Thanks to the TDF trainer, I was able to go farther with less effort on this ride than any ride last year. (Although, I was a wimp last year so that isn't saying much). I'm looking forward to a fun biking season.

We also did a lot of yard work. I took a few pics of the yard....

Daffodils. They smell lovely.

A few of the tulips that survived the deer this Spring

More tulips- aren't they pretty! I love how full they are.

Here you can see all the tulip stumps. :(  I'm going to sprinkle wildflower seeds here for later season flowers. At the top we've planted some strawberries that we are hoping will spread through the area, act as ground cover, and give us some yummy treats. The area at the bottom of the pic and below is where we planted a variety of ground cover last year that were supposed to spread quickly, although it's still looking sparse.This area is a work in progress.

I'm excited about this. (Can't remember it's name.) It's supposed to grow quite large and is really pretty. I think I'm going to buy one more. Notice the dead hydrangeas. They didn't make it through the winter. :(  I was excited about them last year and don't want to pull them out yet.

Bad exposure on this, but I'm really excited about these- which I also can't remember what they are called. I'll post more pics when they bloom.

Spring Break

We are usually stuck at home on Spring Break since Rick's break is not the same week as the boys. Although I don't really like the crowds associated with traveling during holidays anyway. I'd say the week was a success as we had a lot going on.

There was playing: 

 

Before Christmas I found a Groupon for an annual family membership to the Planetarium. We finally activated it and spent a little time there on Monday. 

 

 Star show on black holes. Yes, I have become a zombie.

 

 That day we also checked out the new mall downtown. Amazing. The glass roof opens on warm days. The boys each got a pair of pants from H&M.

  

 Thursday we went to the new Natural History Museum. What an amazing place. I highly recommend a visit. Lot of hands-on exhibits and excellent dinosaur displays.

The building itself is incredible. This is from the upper floor deck that overlooks the valley.

There was family time:

Easter was a little crazy. Saturday morning we went to my mom's for lunch and big family egg hunt.

Zane, Isaac and Katie

Josh

 

Darren brought a RC plane and promptly crashed it into the tree. Will tried to retrieve it. 

All the kiddos with their loot.

Saturday afternoon I hosted (at my parent's house) a "Big Kid" egg hunt. Eggs with cash and gift certificates. We invited the college kids on both sides of the family to join Zane and Isaac. Then we made pizzas on the grill- delish!

I didn't get a pic of Rick's family party. Rick's nieces spent the night with us, then Rick's brother and sister and their families came over on Sunday for dinner and egg hunt for the little kids.

Rick and I went to see Maya's dance recital. (Heidi's dance school). Heidi did such a great job with the kids and Maya dances just like her mama! So pretty.

Maya's tap dance

Heidi and Maya

We did some Spring Cleaning

Zane dusted all of our blinds and Isaac cleaned the window sills/frames. If you've seen how many windows we have in our house, you know this is no small chore. They did a great job!

I cleaned out the pantry. This is before and after. Notice you can see the pantry floor now.

The boys also had a lot of time staring at this:

And playing this:

All in all, a balanced week- fun, family, work, play, and relaxing.

Girls Weekend

 A lovely weekend in St. George with my mom and sisters. Here's what went down:

 

Glitter toes all around

 

 Breakfast at the Bear Paw

 

 Mom's breakfast "Alpine Tea" (spiced hot cider with a splash of OJ -yum)

Airshow with the Blue Angels. Awesome! We didn't even know about the show when we planned the trip. My friend, Riikka, scored us free tickets. Thanks Riikka!!

 

You can't really tell, but there is a wing-walker on the top of the plane. It was scary.

 

More Blue Angels

 

We all bought new sunglasses at Christensen's. 

 

I think this is a fun pic of Heidi and me. I took it to show Rick my glasses.

There was lots of shopping, some movie watching, catching up with friends (Chardell and Riikka), and basic  girly-ness. Good times. Thanks my sisters and mom. I love you!

Have You Seen This Show?

If you haven't watched the first two seasons of Downton Abbey STOP - GO WATCH THEM. Then we can discuss properly.

Let's go by character:

 

Dowager Countess, Violet Crawley. (Interpretation for Americans -A dowager is a widow who holds a title or property, or dower, derived from her deceased husband. As an adjective, "dowager" usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In loose popular usage, dowager as a stand-alone noun may refer to any elderly widow, especially one who is wealthy or behaves with dignity.)

By far the best character in show. We wouldn't expect any less from Maggie Smith. Catch some classic moments here.

Lord Grantham, Robert Crawley. OK, confused American here. For the first few episodes I couldn't figure out if his last name was Grantham or Crawley. The daughters are Lady Mary, etc so why isn't he Lord Crawley?

Speaking of dumming it down for Americans- apparently they cut out about 2 hours from season 1 for the American broadcast. It seems we need things a little faster paced over here and they edited a lot of detail in the first episode about rights of inheritance that would have been over our heads. I'm not sure if I'm offended or relieved. I will have to get my hands on the DVD's though and rewatch season 1 to see what I missed.

Lady Grantham, Cora Crawley. Love her. (Remember how cute she was in the 80s flick, She's Having a Baby.) Loving wife and mother, with a bit snobby rich American. Apparently, it was not uncommon at that time for broke Englishmen with titles to marry rich American's to save their estates.

The Sisters Crawley- Lady Mary is stinker. I think she deserved to marry the evil newspaper guy. While Edith has her evil moments (writing the Turkish embassy), I like her. Her family brushes her aside, but she has a big heart. I hope things work out for her and that older dude.  Sybil is my favorite of the Ladys Crawley. One of the only characters who has stayed true to her morals. She knows herself and does what she thinks is right. Love her.

But most importantly - may I please play dress up in their closets!

Matthew Crawley - Our hero. I wanted him to be with Levinia as I think she better matched his moral character. I was mad at the writers for making him have that moment when he kissed Mary and admitted he'd rather be with her. I think it didn't match the individual they created. Although, I admit that it was a satisfying ending to Season 2 to have him propose to Mary.

Mrs. Crowley. Another of my favorite characters. (OK, I guess they are all my fav.) She's a bit of busybody, but driven by pure motives. My heart goes out to her. It would be difficult to be thrown into that world and snubbed by everyone.

OK- these are my REAL favorite characters. Aren't they everyone's? Bates and Anna. What a pair. I love how he never compromises his integrity. I think it's because he has a troubled past and knows how important it is to have honor.  (Yes, I know he's not a real person). And our cute hardworking Anna. She deserves some happiness- and better wardrobe. (I read how they joke on the set when the Crawley sisters get all the pretty dresses and she is in the same uniform almost all of the time.)

 

And the two we all love to hate. I think it is silly they let Thomas back in the house when he stole from them. Not realistic, but the writers had to get him back there somehow, because every show needs a villian. I'm back and forth on O'Brien. She has her moments of compassion- or is that just guilt for the soap debacle.

Looking forward to Shirley making her debut next season as Lady Crawley's mother from America. Who wouldn't enjoy watching her go the rounds with Maggie Smith. Good times ahead.

Alright - let's discuss!