Salon Day with the Girls

Emily has been dying to see The Host...
She calls me about it every week, "When can we go see it?"
Her daughter, Julianna even says, "Are we going to see that movie about aliens?"
So because Kyle was working on Saturday morning I told Emily we could see it then.
Just a movie, turned into a day at the Beauty School.
I called and invited my Grandmas and my baby sister, I even tried to get kyle to come along.

We all got our hair washed, Emily and her girls got a cut.
But you can't leave without curls.

Also, have you ever been to the Coachmans on 1300 S. State? Great food, best servers and amazing value!
After lunch we traded laura for Kyle and we all went to the show.
Just before the feature started the fire alarm went off, which was no trouble, added excitement to our day:)
Poor kyle had Reagan fall asleep on him and she sleeps hot!
What a fun Saturday.

Gun Safety

Does anyone else feel like getting your concealed carry permit is like one of those here today gone tomorrow trends?  I keep seeing people advertising classes on their Facebook accounts like it's a Tupperware party.
It's like back in high school when everyone was playing the guitar, so I bought one, I had and still have no clue how to use it, but I'm cool because I have one right?

I'm all about supporting the 2nd amendment  and gun safety, but I don't think that every mom should have one in their diaper bag... you know  "just- in -case".  Anyone who wants a gun should be allowed to own and carry a gun (permitted they aren't felons or aren't mentally sound etc) but I do believe that we don't have enough gun education.  So I decided to get myself ed-u-micated...

Kyle, Daniel, Megan, My Dad and I went to Doug's Shoot'n Sports, where we received some great instruction and perfected our aim.

Megan wasn't much for the noise, but wasn't a bad shot:)

Laura couldn't get enough of the 22
Daniel, Kyle and My Dad shot the big guns.
I got to shoot a little bit of everything.

I was surprised by how much I don't know about guns and how the movies portray them SO different than they are (this really shouldn't surprise me, what is displayed accurately in the movies?!)

The handguns we used where REALLY LOUD!  They also had a huge kickback, big enough to through you on your behind if you don't plant your feet just right.
Also, you have to pull the trigger back quite a ways, its not just a little flick of your finger.
Lastly, every gun is different, of the 5 guns I shot, not one felt the same.  Hitting the middle of the bullseye was difficult, but hitting the paper wasn't bad.

Before I went shooting with Kyle, I may have been a little anti-gun... but now I feel quite differently. It was good to learn a little bit about them.

PS Megan, I think I know what we are doing for your birthday:)

Kyle's amazing shots in the black!  Mine are the outside ones.

The Miracle of Life

Utah Schools in the 8th Grade require a class called Health.
They teach you about all sorts of things, like how smoking turns your lungs black, that a balanced diet doesn't consist of Grandma B's pink frosted and candy sprinkled cookies from the vending machine and that the best way to prevent an STD is abstinence.
Then they have you watch this awful movie called the Miracle of Life.  It is PBS's inside look at making a baby.  I can still vividly see the makeout session it featured, where they had cameras on the inside of the peoples mouths--yuck.  That's when I stared to get sick and I was allowed to sit in the hall and hold my head and belly.
I guess I missed out on a lot that day, because I know nothing about pregnancy, getting preggers or having babies.
No joke at a baby shower the other day, one of the girls said "well, I didn't think I was ovulating..". I guess it is just me then who doesn't know when I'm ovulating or not!
Well on with the story.
A few weeks ago, one of my bestest friends and is going straight to heaven kind of sweet girl called me and sheepishly asked if I would take pictures of her having her baby.
Not gross pictures that reveal anything.
But more of a growing trend that they call a birth story--where those raw human emotions and feelings are captured on film (or digitally these days).
I was ecstatic!  I'm nothing close to a good, or even an ok photographer, but Kyle did buy me a DSLR a few years ago so sometimes I feel fancy:)
As previously stated I can be somewhat of a queasy pansy, so a few of my loved ones were worried about me being a liability.  I myself even thought I might end up on the hospital floor.

The day of her induction (which I found out has nothing to do with the hall of fame) came.  After work I drove hastily to the hospital and followed the directions from the text message and the pink numbers on the walls.  I even gave the right code to get in and everything.
I quietly knocked at Delivery Suite 1.
No answer.
So I opened the door and went right in.
Everything was just as I pictured it.
My beautiful friend was in a hospital gown sitting on the bed with a white sheet covering her, her husband was in a rocker by her side and her sweet sister was on a rolling chair facing the others.
They are such kind and loving people and graciously accept me and all of my faults.  Right when I walked in I could feel the love that they have and share.
This was a special room, where magical things happen.
She was only dilated to a 4, so we sat around and chatted.
Mamma was happy and smiling, like it was a normal day.
We all debated on what they should name her and laughed about how when I was asked how big the baby would be, I replied 20 inches...
The next thing we knew, she was dilated to a 10.  The nurse looked a little concerned and said she didn't want to catch the baby, so she would run and get the doctor.  The darling doctor along with his staff came in, being prewarned about the crazy camera lady (me).  I told them I had already taken hundreds of pictures.

Next thing I know there is a bright shining light which gave me knots in my stomach and quickened all my senses. And then she began pushing.  I snapped pictures and snapped pictures and somewhere in between the bright light and the first cry of the beautiful baby girl, I had this overwhelming feeling of happiness, joy, peace and serenity come over me.  It was almost like I was on sacred ground witnessing a miracle.  And I was, I truly was.
Tears formed in my eyes and the air was so clear I could barely breathe.  Time slowed down, but everything went so quickly.  Dad's face almost melted my heart and the baby was so much like an angel, I couldn't believe she didn't have wings.
Witnessing a birth brings one so close to heaven, I'm sure the angels are there saying good luck and goodbye for now to their loved one as we welcome them into this world.

This baby was pink and perfect.  She had a head full of hair and hardly cried at all.
She had a intimate bonding moment with her Mom, Dad, Aunt and Grandparents.
And then they gave me the biggest honor of all, I got to hold her.
Holding her close to me, warmed my heart, but it did so much more than that. It almost felt cleansing and rejuvenating.
After the miracle, all of the congratulations and more pictures than the nursing staff could handle, I left the place where magic happens.  I was so emotionally raw, uplifted but almost drained. I couldn't believe that I just witnessed such an important event and the rest of the world was going on like nothing happened.
It made me think more about my life and those I loved.

After a few days baby girl finally got a name.
So grateful I was able to have this experience.
God bless the sweet children.

Valentines @ Megaplex

Sledding, Soldier style

With speeds up to 30 miles per hour, you fly down a steep, slippery hill on a tube made of rubber.   

The rules are simple, dig your heels into the snow before you hit the fence.

 screaming is a must.

After the exhilarating ride, you hook your tube up to a machine, that pulls you back up the hill, just so you can  do it all over again.

Don't move too much, your tube will unhook.  You may end up pulling yourself up the mountain.

Who is crazy enough to join us on this adventure?  The McMickells.  

They are always so much fun to have around, but they do need snow pants.

If you can't feel your finger or toes, no need to worry, you can warm them up by the fire later, right now we are having fun.

 Try going down in groups, on your bum or on your tummy.  If you are brave, you will go down on your knees.  You spin and fly.

 Try lying down on the ride up, the night is cold, clear, serene. The moon is bright.
Breathe in the beauty all around you.
And get ready to slide again.

Almost Paradise

Imagine the softest sand beneath your feet,
a beach chair with your towel on it,
the warm sun beating down on your skin,
a new sundress on your shoulders and one of those books you have a hard time putting down in your hand.
Sounds like Paradise.

but it isn't...
because your other half isn't there
you left him at home
making it a lonely, almost paradise

This last week I was lucky enough to be my Oma's (Grandma in Dutch) companion for a 7 day Caribbean Cruise. It was beautiful but I missed my Kyle, I wrote him a letter everyday (of which I still need to get out of my packed suitcase) and I even saved him the chocolates they put on your bed (since I got home on Sunday morning, I've eaten 2 of the 5, opps!)   But enough about eating and crying and eating more...
lets talk about the trip of a lifetime, with a lady I adore!

We left on Friday afternoon to avoid a Red- Eye.  After 8 hours of flying, we were pooped and passed out pretty quickly!
In the morning Oma and I grabbed breakfast at the hotel and went out to sit by the pool.  We weren't alone.
There was one really tan man in a red speedo, that was so small I was worried we may have an adult show on our hands!  Then a really large man walks by and Oma says "that woman isn't wearing a top! Oh... I guess it isn't a woman".  We died laughing.
That's one of the best things about Oma, she is always laughing.
After someone stole our van taxi, (it took forever to get another van) we were on our way!

After a lot of eating and no sleeping, we were ready for some fun on the ship.

Oddly enough I was one of the 10 youngest travelers on board (or so it felt) everywhere we went, someone would say 'Oh, it's so nice to see someone young"!  Weird.

We spent close to $40 trying to win $500 out of this machine,

There is so much to say and so little time... but I will say, I danced every night away and had a great time.  Glad to be home with my Kyle, but now I call Oma everyother day because I miss her too!