Machine Operator!

I operated my frist Skidsteer last night. It was awesome. The only bad part was I hadn't eaten in a while so the diesel smell got to me after a while. I'm not a pro yet, but I'm hoping. Thanks to Isaac for letting me borrow his toy.

Deloy and Nellie Mayes Family Reunion

Just a few more updates about the reunion. Thanks for being patient with all of them.

Dinner on the 2nd will be at Mike and Nicole's. They live on the corner of Nevada and 5th, across the street from Haskell's Furniture. If you could bring the following that night, please let me know:
-Drinks
-Shredded Cheese
-Olives-Refried Beans
-Sour Cream
-Ranch
-Sliced tomatoes
-Anything else you might want on your Navajo Tacos
-Veggies/Fruits
-Dessert(other toppings have already been spoken for)

On Saturday the 4th, Gail Collins will open the pool for the family in the afternoon. I am not sure of the exact time, but bring your swimming suits!

That evening, the following foods are needed for the hotdog roast. Please let me know if you could bring something:
-Dessert
-Chips
-Drinks
-Salads
-Veggies/Fruits

Adrin and Ella will be at her parents house for fireworks, but they have offered their driveway/field to light of any fireworks that shouldn't be lit around children. Anyhow, I am excited to see everyone. Please let me know if you have any questions. Love ya!

UT Trip

Last week was spent in Utah. I left on Monday. It's not my favorite drive to make...too long. And yet, I'm moving back there. What am I thinking? (Guess I'm not). I spent most of my time driving between Lehi, Logan, Draper, Provo, and Lehi again.

This is the Draper temple. I was able to do a session there inbetween all of my driving and visiting friends. I loved the Celestial room. The ceiling went up into the spire and was rounded off. Beautiful.

This is the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. I went to the open house. I stayed in Lehi with my cousin's family. My ticket was for 9 a.m. I didn't wake up until 8:30 and it takes at least 30 minutes to get there. I rushed to get ready and quickly left. It took me forever to find the road that the temple was on. The map I had was NO help. I ended up going the wrong way on a road. With all of that, I was only an hour late. I was a little frazzled by the time I got there. I popped my trunk and put my purse in there. Hmm, forgot that I put my keys in my purse before I did that. Yup, I locked the keys in my car! I have NEVER done that. Good thing I was at a temple in UT. There was a cop there on duty for the security at the open house. He was able to get in quickly, thank goodness. No charge, either. Later that day, I was still frazzled from everything and tipped over a display at Bath and Body Works. Yup, quite a day.

These are my friends Coral and Jewell. I worked with them at BYU before the mission. I hadn't seen them in years. We went to good old Brick Oven in Provo. Yum, yum. I miss my BYU friends. We had some good times.


This is my friend and old roommate Jenner. We lived together over 10 years ago. Yikes! And that's her cute baby Jane. (She wasn't feeling well, thus the stare.) It was so good to see her, too. Again, it had been years. What a horrible friend I am!

Overall it was a good trip. I found housing for school in Logan...a cute 2 bedroom with LOTS of closet space. I'm not looking forward to moving again, but I am looking foward to decorating the apartment, hopefully with the help of my sister-in-law Nicole. ;)

Mandi's Sealing

Mandi let me know that they are being sealed at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 3. Guests should be there by 5:30. Also, I made a mistake on the 4th. The 4th is a SATURDAY, not a Friday. ;)

Mayes Family Reunion

So, my mom (with the help of a few others) finally decided on plans for the reunion at the beginning of July. The evening of July 2 (Thursday) we'll have Navajo tacos. Yum, yum. This will most likely take place at Mike and Nicole's house, since our yard is full of rivets from trucks. Thursday the 3rd is when Mandi and her family are being sealed in the Billings temple. We're not sure of the time, but she wanted late afternoon. Friday morning is the breakfast for the extended family. It's at the park close to our house. That evening is a hot dog roast and Richard and Linda's. We will also watch a movie outside. Then, those that want to light fireworks can head over to Adrin's across the field. Those that just want to watch (those with little ones) can stay at Richard and Linda's and see from there.

Well, let me know if you have any questions. Wahoo!

Graduation

Kirk has officially 'graduated' from high school. I use the term graduate loosely, as he turned 21 and aged out of the school system. I can't believe that he's that old. He left his school in Thermopolis yesterday and is home for the weekend. He'll go to his new place in Worland next week, if they are ready for him. (long story there) Anyways, congrats to Kirk!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Robert

It's Uncle Robert's birthday today. He is 60 years old. I know that he calls most of us on our birthdays. We should give him a call. He is staying with his mom during the week and can be reached at 307-754-3847. On the weekends he is at home and can be contacted at 307-548-6316. Hope it's a happy one!

What is red and smelly?

I'm sure you could come up with a lot of answers, but the true answer is ME. This morning I forgot to put on deoderant. I can't remember ever doing that before. And guess what today was at school? Fun day...3 hours outside. I'm grateful it was cool enough that I didn't sweat too much. I didn't want to stink out anyone. So, now I'm red and stinky. I didn't think we would be outside all that long, so I didn't put on sunscreen. It's only my arms and face, but it's bad enough to be uncomfortable. Time for more lotion. . . to help the redness and the smell. :)

Pictures

As promised:

Hannah and Whitney doing "trickies"


Hayden wondering when he'll get to play with his gifts.

Hannah and Whitney in jammies.

Hannah, Bryan, Hayden and Chelsey

Mike, Wilson, Nicole, and Whitney

A Wonderful Weekend

I had a wonderful weekend with my family. A bit of a contradiction, you might think. Spending time with family, all of us in the same house, and I ENJOYED all of it. Oh, there was a moment that I didn't enjoy too much. But the rest was great. Here are some highlights from the weekend. (Pictures will be in the next post.)

-Seeing Hannah and Whitney play with each other. They got along great.
-Watching Whitney be a mother hen to the other kids. She always made sure they were okay and had enough food.
-Holding Wilson until he fell asleep.
-Watching Hayden as he opened his birthday gifts. To be more accurate, Hannah and Whitney opened and played with them while he watched. He didn't even throw a fit.
-Taking Hannah shopping with me and her having to go down the Barbie isles SLOWLY.
-Mowing Bryan's lawn. (sick that I enjoy this, but I do)
-Listening to Bryan and Chelsey speak at Church. (I was in the lobby with Hayden for most of it, so I didn't get to hear everything.)
-Changing diapers and taking the girls to go potty.
-Listening to Hannah and Whitney encourage each other to go potty and telling others loudly when they each accomplished this. (Even during church)
-Just being with family.

So, there you have it. I promised pictures and they will come. There are so many darn cute ones. I don't think I exaggerate when I say they are the cutest nephews and nieces in the world!

TOFW

I just spent the last 24 hours in Billings. I went to Time Out for Women with my mom, Aunt Juanita, and sister-in-law Nicole (with Wilson, the boy). Yesterday I was exausted and kind of didn't want to go, but I am SO very glad that I did. It was great. We got to hear Kristen Oaks (Elder Oaks' wife); Jennie Oaks-Baker (Elder Oaks' daughter); Hillary Weeks; Chris Stewart, and author; Kim Nelson, a hillarious author; Chris Belcher (yes, Belcher, but she says the husband is worth it); and another lady I don't remember her name, but she was funny, too. It was a great way to spend the weekend. I feel so uplifted. I wish I could do something like that more often, like very other month, to help me keep perspective. Plus, it was great to spend time with the girls. I got to see friends I hadn't seen in forever (shoutout to Carlee:)). It was GREAT. If you ever get the chance, be sure to go.

Last weekend was my birthday. We spent Saturday in Billings. You can see pictures on my mom's blog and on Nicole's blog. We went swimming and the kids LOVED it. It was a busy weekend and I was very tired afterwards, but it was great. What a way to spend a birthday. Thanks to all who made it special.

Shopped 'till I DROPPED

For those of you who really know me, you know I'm not much of a shopper. It's okay once in a great while. Well, today was a shopping extravaganza. My mom, sister-in-law Nicole, and her 2 kids left Lovell this morning at 7:30. My mom had a doctor's appointment for most of the morning. After that, we hit the stores. Let me tell you, flip flops are not supportive enough for the type of footwear needed to walk 4 stores (doesn't seem like many, but imagine an average time of over an hour each), chase a 2 year old, make numerous trips to the car to change diapers, etc. Needless to say, my body is worn out. Too bad my brain doesn't feel the same. A few highlights from the day:

-Whitney riding the "alligator" at the hospital (elevator)

-Wilson and his bubble smiles (blowing bubbles at me)

-My mom being out of it after anasthesiology (sp?)

-Buying pants at Old Navy for $.97 (yes, 97 CENTS, can't go wrong)

-Going crazy at Michael's (the store) for Easter

-Everyone telling me my daughter is so cute (Whitney)

-Changing Wilson's diaper more times than I can remember (2 BIG ones)

-Taking Whitney to the bathroom more times that I can remember

Overall, it was a great day. I was supposed to go to UT this weekend, but felt I needed to stay home. Glad I did.

Girls' Night

Since all of the boys, except for Wilson, went to Priesthood Session tonight, the girls decided to get together and go bowling. It was a blast to watch the little ones. They actually did better than the adults. It was a blast. Thanks to all that came.

This is everyone that went.

Sariah, Matty, Whitney, Anastyn, Bekah

Anastyn and Whitney

They loved playing on the stairs.

Bekah Boo

Bruises

Before church I was talking to a couple of my cousin's kids who are 4 and 6 years old. The 6 year old asked me why I have so many bruises on my face (acne). I tried to tell him they were zits. He had a hard time saying the word. His 4 year old sister told him they were nipples, not zits. He looked even more confused. After trying not to laugh, I told him they were pimples, not nipples. His reply was, "Good, because if you had nipples all over your face, you'd have babies sucking on you all of the time for food." I had to laugh out loud at that.

Blogging

I can't believe it's been more than a month since I last blogged. Much has happened, but I didn't feel like it was all that exciting. Just life, eh? Plus, my internet access at home has been sketchy the last few days. So, I apologize that I don't have pictures in this post.

About a month ago I went to Rexburg for a visit. I "visited" the eye doctor and the dentist. My real visits were with friends. I stayed with the Wilde family, whom I miss much. The kids are so darn cute. I met with friends for dinner each night I was there. I have to say that I am glad I have moved on, but I still miss it there. Mostly the friends.

This last weekend the whole family, except Kirk, was together. Whitney turned 2 and Wilson was blessed. Wilson is turning into such a cutie pie. He still has bouts with collic, but his little personality is starting to shine through. Of course, all my nieces and nephews are absolutely adorable. And I don't believe it's biased at all to say that. :)

I taught in Relief Society this last Sunday. It went better than the time before. At least, I didn't cry afterwards because I thought it was so bad.

Last week I got an upper resperitory infection. I was out for about 4 days. It was not a good one. I finally went to the doctor, which I put off because of no insurance, and he gave me drugs. He was hesitant, but felt it might help. I love drugs! At least antibiotics.

Not much else going on. I got a rejection letter from Purdue, so I will be headed to USU for sure in the fall. My mom is sure it's an answer to her prayers that I won't go so far away. I don't know...it might be punishment for her to have me around so much. :)