4th of JULY!!!

So 4th of July is my most favorite holiday! We had a really fun filled family weekend. We went to Pirates cove on Saturday, which was really fun. My parents ward had a parade/breakfast for everyone, so on Sunday we decorated our bikes for the parade. Thanks for that Dad! We had so much fun decorating! Then we went to the parade/breakfast on Monday morning. We then did our traditional Thornton celebration with many of our friends. I LOVE this holiday! It was a beautiful night with great music and great friends!

Emma helped her cousins decorate their bikes

I helped Emma decorate her's

I love my sisters!

All the girls

Kids too...

There was much sparkler action during the course of the night

My dad was the master bike decorator! He helped everyone.

And here's the parade

Sea Camp

So Emma, my travelling child just got back from San Diego. She had the opportunity to go to Sea Camp with her school. She had so much fun! She made new friends, and even got a boy that constantly pestered her at school to think she was a "cool chick". That cracks me up! I'm so thankful she has the opportunity to do these things, and that she loves it! She's ok being on a trip without me, and I'm thankful that I don't need to worry whether or not she's doing the right thing...at least not yet!

Hm...not sure about this one.

Friends

Shark Mouth

Ya...she dissected a squid...gross!

Oh the Ocean...

50 Random Things About Me

At the request/challenge of my friend Jennie...here's my list. What a fun activity! Everyone should try it. You get to remember a lot about yourself.

1. I love the color purple(the actual color…not the movie)
2. My favorite holiday is the 4th of July
3. I wish I loved to cook
4. My secret dream is to be an actress on Broadway
5. I’m addicted to lotion and chap stic
6. I don’t eat the ends of sandwiches, and I eat pizza with a fork
7. 50 things??
8. I used to be a nail biter, quit a few years ago, but still it is a nervous habit
9. I wish I could live in a different country for a time
10. I really like people who smell good…especially men
11. One of my favorite food smells is sautéed garlic and onions in butter…Yummy!
12. Clean laundry makes me happy (mostly the smell of it)
13. I like cleaning the bathroom
14. I’m addicted to my iPhone and everything on it
15. I’m a little bit afraid to get married
16. Like my friend Erin…I have a lot swimming around in my head, and not very many people know the inner workings of my brain
17. I take my blood pressure almost every night I work
18. I’m scared of death
19. I’m a doodler. I don’t know how to just listen when sitting in a class
20. I’ve been a faithful journal writer since I was 8
21. I get a little jealous of other peoples accomplishments
22. Exsanguinate and Deoxyribonucleic acid are probably my favorite medical terms
23. I’ve never had a broken bone
24. My first job was at Nicolos Pizza
25. I was “asked to leave” Ricks college…my parents loved that one…
26. I wish smoking wasn’t bad for me
27. I have to chew gum…I love it
28. I love chocolate with caramel inside…Delicious!
29. I think most people suck at driving
30. I have road rage…just ask Emma
31. I want a King sized bed
32. I will always have a loud stereo system in my car
33. I really like People.com
34. I’m a bit of a control freak
35. I’m trying to learn how to be a better money saver
36. I love tattoos…at least cool ones
37. I act tough…really I’m not…I’m actually really emotional
38. I hated school all of my growing up life…I ditched a lot
39. I rarely shave my legs…gross I know
40. I used to eat my steak well done(gross), then I learned about medium rare(delicious)
41. I love homemade whipped cream
42. I suck at sending or giving bday cards…I always call though
43. I wish I could knit/crochet/be crafty...I’m really not though
44. I hate leaving a voicemail
45. Emma and I used to have tea parties when she was a little girl, and we used our English accents
46. I love, love, love Hagaan Daaz Coffee Icecream….LOVE
47. This has been kind of fun…creating this list
48. I’ve always had a good relationship with my mom…I never wasn’t a fan of her
49. I don’t check out books from the library…I have to buy them
50. I think having an office job may just be the worst job ever
    

NYC BABY!!!

So…I’ve been in school for…well for a long time! Emma and I haven’t done many fun trips just her and I. Well, now that school is over and I’m in the money making world now, we can afford to go on some fun vacations! Fun! So we went to NYC. Emma’s always wanted to go there, so we went. We went without many reservations to anything. We took each day as it came and did whatever came up. It was great. I learned a lot about Emma, which sounds weird because she’s my daughter and I live with her, but you learn a lot about someone when you’re with them constantly for 7 days. I loved spending lots of time with her. We did all the touristy things…Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, 5th Ave shopping, Central Park, Shows, Times Square, The Met, rode the subway EVERYWHERE, and walked…A LOT!! I’d love to make this a yearly activity…going on a fun vacation. That’s my goal I think. Here are some pics of our trip.

The Plaza Hotel…Emma was dying to stay here, however it was…after a little research…$1000.00 per night…Um…sorry honey.

Our VERY rainy cloudy day to see the Statue of Liberty.

My very good friend Josie came from NJ to see us. Thanks Josie!

Well..I can’t figure out how to separate these pics, but anyway…we went to Serendipity and waited 2.5 hrs to eat. The food wasn’t great…but this was a delicious dessert. Frozen hot chocolate. It’s kind of what they are known for. It was delicious. The fountain and lamp were in the same place close to ground zero. I just though it was cool that this lamp was lit with real flames…COOL!

Emma does love ugly dolls!

…and chocolate.

On the Brooklyn Bridge. It was really cold and windy!

This was at the wax museum. Wow! Whoever does these is SO good!

Times square…It reminds me of Vegas!

Well whoever knows us, knows we LOVE Wicked. We waited in line for the lottery, but of course didn’t get it, so I bought tix for the night before we left. It was FABULOUS!! See the excitement on our faces?

I’m exhausted!! Goodbye New York! Till next time! We had a blast!

Rockies Game

So through my work we do get a few perks. The one most recently taken advantage of was going to the Rockies game. It was totally fun! We had pretty great seats. The game itself wasn't super exciting, but oh how I love the atmosphere of being at the field. This was the only game we were able to make it to this summer...sad! Emma and I took some silly pics...so I'd thought I'd share.

Fireworks show at the game

Love this pic...

Interesting way of eating a cone?

We tried to...at least I tried to look crosseyed. Emma is great at it..I clearly suck at it.

Me

Cute pic...

Since my last post...

Wow, how life has played out since my last post. My Emma turned 12! Holy amazing! I remember being 12! She's so much more mature than I was. We had a family bday party to celebrate Emma and Caroline. Caroline turned 7! Later we'll have a friend bday at Jungle Quest at her request. Emma also got to go to TN to see her Dad, then to girls camp. Phew! She had an incredibly busy summer! I missed her a lot. I'm so glad she's home now.

Also as most everyone knows, my sweet sister Emily passed away in July. It's been a tough past month or so. Things like this most definitely strengthen one's faith and has made me really question what I really believe. Knowing about the Plan of Salvation, and relying on the spirit has really helped me.

Anyway, we really have had a really fun summer. I worked a lot, and Emma played a lot! We have a really fun trip to NY planned for this winter, so that's our next exciting thing to look forward to. These pics are out of order, because I'm kinda retarded and can't figure out how to organize the pics to go in order. Whatever. Maybe I need to do them one at a time.

Sweet Emily and her kiddo's Caroline and Ryan. I will miss her so much.

At the funeral. This is a classic pic. My brothers hugging my mama in the background. Thanks Anndee for these pics.

Also at the funeral. We had to sing...that was special.

Emma's first day of 7th grade. She's a pro! She wasn't nervous at all.

Girls Camp. These were her bunk mates.

Katie, Ann, Sara and Emma

Same crew, but with Rhoda, their camp leader. We love her!

Emma gearing up for the ropes course.

Emma and Caroline's combined bday.

Of course she insisted on an icecream cake.

They got all kinds of fun presents!

What a cute cousin picture!

It just wouldn't be Emma without a silly face picture!