The 24th of July Parade

This whole float is made out of fabric


I thought the crickets on this one were funny


Proof that both Mom and I were there

Flashback Friday: 1989 (ish) Chicago

Flashback Friday: Chicago 2003

We're getting ready to go to Chicago in a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd share pictures from previous visits.

Jeff and me on the jet skis

The New Computer

If you've been around me the last six months or so, you know that my laptop was dying. Slowly and noisily! It's been long and slow, but I finally got a new computer!!! It's a fast little beauty! If you're rather techno, here's the specs: 23" wide screen monitor, 4 core processor, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB Hard Drive, DVD RW and Windows 7. I love it! And I can't end without a special thanks to Katrina and Aaron! You guys are fantastic friends!

Bastille Day 2010

As usual, Bastille Day was a ton of fun. There was great food and wonderful friends. And then, of course, there was The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Flashback Friday: Three March Babies

Sadly, my cousin didn't come on the 15th. She liked the 30th much better. And yes, they did spell my name wrong.

Flashback Friday: Summer of 1983

These were taken down at my Grandma Darlin's house. (My grandma used to call us all darlin's and one day my oldest brother called her Grandma Darlin' and the name stuck!)

The New Hippo Poole

For my niece's birthday we bought her a little pool. This week I actually blew it up and we tried it out. I think it was a hit!

New Carpet

A couple of weeks ago my mom decided we needed new carpet in her bedroom and Victoria's bedroom. We went and picked it out and then this last week we got it laid. I must say, cleaning out the rooms and moving the furniture was by far the worst part. However, removing the carpet, staples and a couple of tack strips was the hardest part. Many, many hours have been spent on this project, but I think the results were worth it.

Mom's room before



After




Victoria's room before



Victoria's room after the furniture and carpet had been taken out



Victoria's room after



And I just had to throw this one in. My niece had a blast playing in, on and around all of the furniture.

Salt Lake Temple Remodeling

Early Saturday morning, as in 12:00 am, I went with at least twenty other members of my ward down to the Salt Lake Temple to help with the remodeling of the temple. Our shift was from 12:00 am to 4:00 am. We were able to go in some of the tunnels around temple square, specifically the tunnel from the Conference Center to the temple.

Most of my ward spent their time in two of the ordinance rooms removing chairs, salvaging the metal and plastic and pulling up the carpet. I helped with the chairs for about ten minutes and then went with two other girls to take down some of the wallpaper by the locker rooms. We only had to take it down about a foot from the ceiling because they were going to redo the ceiling. Evidently there was asbestos in it.

Then, one of the other girls and I became the go-to girls for the guy in charge. We moved furniture, took down drapery poles, gathered screws, taped down protective covering over the floors and swept a white, chalky dust on the carpet removed floorboards so they were no longer sticky. Amazingly, the time flew by.

A couple of guys from the ward had to mess with sheet metal and the heating ducts. I think that was the worst and dirtiest job. It was fun to help out, especially with a lot of friends. Although, it was really great to walk through the maze of hallways and find out where a great number of the doors led to. I got home at 4:30 am, took a shower and was in bed around 5:00 am. I didn't wake up until 11:30 am. It was worth it though.

Flashback Friday: 1988 Lake Tahoe

The summer of 1988 my family and my cousins went to Lake Tahoe for our summer vacation. Our parents rented a condo that we all stayed in. It was a lot of fun. I got to room with two of my cousins.

I don't remember a lot about this vacation, I was only five. I do remember driving to get there in our family's mini-van. My mom had bought me a couple paper doll sets to play with at the condo. She even let me look at them in the car on the way. The only issue was that I couldn't punch them out. Obviously she didn't want me to lose them before we even arrived. I was a little irritated, so I punched out the tabs on most of the dresses. I know. What a little rule breaker I was.

These pictures were taken at the beach with my cousin Haley.

Beware of the Note Takers

A man has been coming in all week and mostly has been obnoxious to the librarians I work with. He is trying to get money back for extra pages printed, but never has the "extra" pages handy. Or he needs more help than we can give on the computer. Well, I guess after one particularly fun episode the patron told Chlarson that he was taking down notes on him so that he could send him (meaning Chlarson) to prison.