THE UNDERWEAR BRIGADE

WOW!!!!! My husband was looking through some of his pictures on his computer and came across this photo! I think my girls must have been extremely bored that day because they sure paid a lot of attention to the details of their outfits. I think that this was taken about 4 years ago when we lived in Spanish Fork. One thing is for sure - they sure have a lot of creativity! WOW!!!!

THE FOG !!!!!!!

I live in an area called Warm Springs and this morning I can see why it is called that!!! As I was driving my daughter to early morning Seminary this morning around 5:30 am, I noticed a low lying thick fog over the warm river. It wound all the way through the valley, wherever the river was. The Springs are approximately 70 to 80 degrees and this morning the temperature was around 48 degrees and so the cool fog was forming because the air was cooler than the water. It is a pretty sight and so I had to take some pictures. The pictures that I took don't do it justice but hopefully you will be able to see what I mean!!!

6 Things I LOVE

I am writing this post because one of my lovely Young Women - MISS KANANI ROBERTS - tagged me and I didn't want to let her down so here goes:
6 THINGS I LOVE:

1. First of all I LOVE my husband! He is the greatest guy in the world! He has a few quirky hobbies like plants and bug collecting but I LOVE him just the same and he supports me in everything (usually)!!
2. I LOVE my children! I have 1 boy and 3 girls and they are all different and yet the same in many ways! I LOVE to follow them around to their different activities and support them whenever I can. They are so awesome!
3. I LOVE Chocolate covered cinammon bears!!! They are my favorite of all time. I pretty much LOVE any kind of cinammon candy (lips, hearts etc.) and my kids are always giving me theirs because I guess they didn't inherit my LOVE for cinammon!!
4. I LOVE shopping! I know that sounds lame but I really do LOVE it and I always have (just ask my Mom). I LOVE to go with my friend Kris or my daughters. I do get worn out and I do have to have money or it just isn't as fun!
5. I LOVE being pampered! I LOVE going to the beauty salon and having my hair done, eyebrows waxed , manicure, pedicure and anything else I can think of. I always wonder if I should have gone to beauty school because I really LOVE that kind of stuff! Unfortunately(ha,ha) my two older daughters have inherited that from me because I think they like to be pampered too much!!!
6. I LOVE being around Youth! I LOVE teenagers, believe it or not, and I think they are awesome. I used to work in the front office at a local high school and I was around teenagers all the time and I formed some great friendships. I also LOVED being around my young women(I still call them that even though I have been released for a year). They were awesome girls and I miss them and LOVE them!!!

I think I could have made my list go on and on and on! These 6 things that I LOVE are some of my top ones but when I think about it I really have a lot of LOVES .

I want to tag Delite Orton, Sorena Marble, Brianne Marble, Lexie Marble, Lana Bown and MJ Halterman. Get to work guys because I hope to see your new posts really soon!

BROTHERLY LOVE !!!!

I just had to take these pictures of Holden and Maison LOVE WRESTLING!!! I am amazed at the love that they show for each other and how much better they get along the older they get. I think it helped that Holden was away for 5 1/2 months because I think that his sisters really missed him and he has come home changed in some ways! You will have to excuse his PINK BOXERS because they are showing a little more than usual due to the wrestling!!!! (Imagine that!!)

WHAT IS SHE WEARING?

The girls and I were cleaning out their closets and dejunking and Sadie started to take some of the clothes that we were putting in the give away pile and put them on. Pretty soon she came up with a pretty special outfit. She put on a hat, some really oversized pants, something for a cape, and she went outside to sit in the ranger and command the animals. I looked outside the window and found her there and proceeded to take pictures of her because she was so funny and she was just talking and singing to the animals and directing them with her big stick. What will she think of next!!!!

AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN !!!! WILL IT EVER STOP!!!!

Once again it was a beautiful Saturday and my 2 older girls felt the need to take pictures. I really don't know what they intend to do with them all but I think both of their cameras and mine included are loaded with their so called "MODEL PICTURES" . I really think that they just like to go have fun and see what funny poses they can come up with. It doesn't hurt that they look pretty good in them too! Who know maybe one day they will either grow up to really be models or photographers or who knows?!!!!

SADIE

It is basketball season and once again our dear Sadie is right in the middle of it!!! She loves being able to do lots of things and living in a small community she can pretty much guarantee having quite a bit of playing time! Once again her team consists of mostly girls. They do have 2 boys that do help out the team quite a lot. She is having a lot of fun except it is hard for their team because most of the other teams are all boys and 4th and 5th grade boys are usually quite competitive! GO SADIE!!!

LOS ANGELES HERE WE COME!!!!!

On February 20th, Hallie is going to go to Los Angeles on a field trip. Her high school is able to take the entire Freshman class on a field trip to see the Japanese/American National Museum and the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. The are to meet at 4:00 am and then travel to Barstow for breakfast and then at 10:00 am they get to tour the Japanese/American National Museum and then they eat their lunches on the way to the Holocaust Museum and then they are done around 4:00 pm and they head back for home and will arrive around 10:00 or 11:00 pm. The students have to do a project on the field trip after they get back home and so she will be gathering a lot of information for that project. This sounds like an awesome experience and I am really glad that she gets to go on this once in a lifetime trip.!!!

SMARTY PANTS

Maison came home the other day with a letter from the school saying that she was selected to represent schools across our state and nation by participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. It is given by the U.S. Department of Education and tells us what American students know and can do in key subject areas. It is the only ongoing nationally representative assessment that provides this valuable information. She wasn't as pleased as I was because it meant that she had to take a 90 minute test on all of these subjects. I proceeded to tell her that it was an honor to be selected because you are smart. Being smart can get you far in life, especially when it comes to college and scholarships!!!!! Sometimes I think our kids don't want to act smart because other kids may think they are NERDS!!! Way to go Maison!!

DRUGS AND OUR CHILDREN

OK - you are going to have to forgive me because I am going to rant again and I will try not to be too long but there is something important that I have to say!!!!
Last night I went to an informative meeting at our High School that was put on by the Las Vegas Metro Police. They discussed the drug problem that is going on and that is slowly creeping into our small valley from the big city. As most of you know, I worked at a High School for about 4 years and I feel like I know quite a bit and am fairly knowledgeable regarding drugs and what to look for. While at the High School I had to deal with drug problems - teenagers getting drunk at lunch, a student who took 45 Coricidin pills at once and had his heart beating out of his chest, dealt with two students who were smoking marijuana in the bathroom at school and actually had to go in the bathroom and retrieve the marijuana and paraphenalia and then watch them get body searched by the police officer, students fights and too many more to count. Even though I have had these experiences, I still learned a lot and I wanted to share a little bit of the information with you:
There are the illegal drugs - Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, & Marijuana. He talked a lot about Marijuana (depressant) because it is called the Gateway drug to all other drugs, which means that if people smoke Marijuana they are more likely to take other drugs. 70% of teens that are in treatment are there for Marijuana use. Onset of effects is almost immediate and lasts 1 -2 hours. There is 4 times the risk of cancer compared to cigarettes and a few of the street names are Weed/Bud/420/Smoke/Cronic (something interesting is 420 stands for April 20 which is National Pot Smoking Day). Cocaine(stimulant) has an immediate onset of effectiveness and lasts only 20-40 minutes when injected, snorted, etc. When it is smoked it lasts only 5-15 minutes and so that is why people are constantly doing it. Street names - Coke/Snow/Blow/Toot/Nose Candy. Heroin (depressant) has an onset of 10-20 seconds and lasts 4-5 hours and they say that the first time using it is the best high ever and that all heroin users are always trying to get that same high and can never achieve it. Street names - H/Harry/Heaven or Hell Dust/Horse. Meth (Stimulant) - onset within 2 minutes and lasts 24-36 hours. Street names - tweek/ICE/glass/speed/crank/crystal.
Then we move on to the most used and scariest drugs and they are the Prescription Drugs. Narcotics: Oxycontin/Vicodin/Percocet
Stimulants: Ritalin/Dexedrine/Adderall
Depressants: Xanax/Valium
Kids are having Pharming parties where they go into their parents, grandparents homes and find all the prescription drugs they can find and take them to parties and just try them to see what will happen. SCARY, SCARY!!!! Kids think because they are prescribed by a doctor that it is okay to take them and that if 1 pill will do something then imagine what 2 or 3 or 40 will do!!!
Other drugs are Ecstasy - looks like candy but gives severe muscle cramps and so you will see people hugging a lot and having suckers or pacifiers because of jaw cramps. Inhalants - anything from Dust spray for computers to whip cream canisters can be used to make people high. 3 out of 10 first time users will die and it causes permanent brain damage. DMX (Dextromethorphan) - this is found in most cold medicines like Vicks 44/ Robitussin/Coricidin. It is very often called Skittling because they look like red skittles. Another scary drug is GHB - which is often called the date rape drug - it is odorless, tasteless and people usually put in a drink for someone to take without knowing and then when they are helpless they either steal from them or abuse them. Please tell your children to not ever take anything from anyone except their parents!!
I know that is a lot of information and I left out a ton of it out but it was very informative and so I really strongly suggest that if any of you have an opportunity to hear information like this - PLEASE DO SO! We can't be in the dark about the scary world that our kids have to live in and we need to be aware of the signs. I didn't talk about the warning signs but hopefully you know your children and you can tell when they act different and things start to fall apart, which they will if they are taking drugs of any kind.! Hopefully some of this is informative to someone and will help!!

WHAT AN EXTRA LARGE HEAD !!!!!!!!

SORRY ROBERT!!!!!! I was cleaning off the dresser in my bedroom this morning and look at what I came across. It was turned upside down because apparently my husband didn't want anyone to see it. His coworkers must have taken this picture of him at a luncheon for his birthday. It looks like they took him to Ruby River and had a good time laughing at him in this GORGEOUS hat. Once again - SORRY - but I just couldn't resist !!!!!

SADIE IN THE NEWSPAPER

Once again - our dear Sadie is in the local newspaper! She has been in the newspaper 3 times since we have moved here. I think they like to photograph her because she has such a great personality and smile. The Art and Music teacher at the Elementary School started teaching ballroom dance classes in the morning before school to the 4th and 5th graders. Sadie has really enjoyed it and the teacher was able to get quite a lot of boys to do it so that the girls would have real partners and not have to dance with each other. He is going to take a group of them around to the other schools to demonstrate their dance skills. At least someone in the family will know how to ballroom dance!!!!!!

IDOLS OR NOT? YOU DECIDE !!!!

This may seem silly to some of you but last night I watched Katie Couric's Grammy interviews. She interviewed several people but the ones that I watched were Lil Wayne and Taylor Swift. Such a difference between the two of them. I wanted to comment on Lil Wayne's interview though. Let me start off by saying that he is asked in the interview if he considers himself to be a role model for people and he said that he was not nor had he ever considered himself to be a role model. It is just amazing to me to see how Satan works in our large world today! How is it that a person can have such control over our young people and be such a bad example? I find it really interesting when people in the acting or music industry say that they are not examples to our youth or to anyone - when in reality they are just who are young people look up to. I tried to post a video of the interview but I couldn't get it to work. If you want to watch it you can see it on YouTube. He admits to being a gangsta and says that he does what he wants and answers to no one. He drinks prescription cough medicine and smokes weed all the time. He claims that he likes it and will continue to do it even though he has been arrested several times for drug possession. He is tattooed everywhere and from what I am told by my daughters the teardrop tattoos on his face are for the number of people that he has killed. I have a hard time seeing how we, as a society, can accept things like this and allow him to make millions of dollars when he should probably be in jail. It has just bothered me since I watched this interview because I know that my children and even myself have listened to his music. Some of it is quite catchy and it is easy to see where kids would like it. If you don't like that kind of music then lucky you, but there are examples of this throughout anything in this world. We need to stand up for goodness and not let Satan take ahold of our youth. We should be the role models for our kids and not HOLLYWOOD!

UPDATE ON FIRE!!!!

I thought that I would update you on the blog I posted yesterday about the Church on fire. We found out that it was faulty equipment that burned down the Church! They had laid new carpet and were trying to get rid of the smell with fans and supposedly that is what caused the fire. They said that the office where the records were was the only thing that was saved, which I found amazing, because the rest of the building burned down to the ground. It was the first Church ever built in the Moapa Valley and quite a sad thing to the community to have it burned down!

THE CHURCH IS ON FIRE !!!!!!!!

WOW !!!!!!! I awoke this morning to the sound of my daughter Hallie telling me that the Church was on fire and that her ride couldn't take her to Seminary because he had to go fight the fire. I jumped out of bed and told her to go ahead and get ready and that I would take them to Seminary. We meet at the Elementary school every morning to catch her ride and so we went there to pick up the other girls. The school is right by our Church and I couldn't see anything going on. There were no fire trucks or smoke and so we were quite relieved. The girls that Hallie rides with said that their dad got a call this morning that the Church was on fire and so we didn't know what to think! I told them that maybe something over in Logandale was on fire and that we would probably see it when we drove over to the Seminary. When we got over into the valley we could immediately tell that it was the "White Church" (that is what they call it) that was on fire. The whole building was engulfed in flames and the place was full of policemen and firefighters. We couldn't get up close to see it because it is on the main road and they had it blocked off but we were diverted onto another road and had a clear view of the whole building. It was really sad because you could still see the steeple and the front of the building but you could tell that the whole rest of the building was in total flames. We don't attend church in that building but it was a very sad moment that sent chills up and down my spine and I even shed a tear. My children were quite affected by it as well and I could tell in their demeanor. At this time I still do not know the cause of the fire - it could have been faulty equipment or someone could have intentionally done it. I took some pictures but it was still dark and I was too far away. I know that people have had churches burned down before but I have never witnessed it until now and it is kind of a weird feeling. IT IS A SAD DAY!!!!!

THE CORNY BIRTHDAY VIDEO!

Wow - 19 years ago on February 1, 1990, Holden Robert Johnson was born and look at him today! I know that this video isn't the most flattering shot of him but I just couldn't resist!!!

THE BIG 19 !!!!!!!!!!

WOW!!!! Could I possibly be old enough to have a 19 year old child? It seems to be the truth!! Holden just moved back home this last weekend just in time for his birthday! I took some fabulous pictures of him on his birthday and I am sure that he would want me to shred them, but I am going to share them with you because isn't that what mothers do?!!! He is an awesome kid (just look past the goofy disheveled hair look)!!! WE LOVE YOU & HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

LAS VEGAS

A week ago my parents came for a visit. They have a condo in St. George and when they come down they always come to visit us which is a real treat. My dad wanted to go into Vegas to see the new City Center that they are building. He is an Architect, go figure!!! We had a good day but endured a lot of walking and for my aging parents it is kind of hard but they kept saying that they could keep going and so on we went. We had fun at the fountains at the Bellagio and at the Forum Shops in Caesars Palace. Vegas is really not a very pretty place to visit especially with all of the pornography around. My kids always want to visit and then when we are there they can't wait to leave. I didn't take very many pictures but I thought I would post those that I did! ENJOY!!!