Heathly Family

(Dinner from the other night. Adult, Toddler and baby dish)


For the past three weeks Spencer and I have undertaken a healthier way of living. We mostly eat greens and fresh now and excercise five days a week. I only had to modify my diet a little bit but Spencer has changed his way of eating completely. After we lose the weight we have gained over the years, we would still like to stay close to this way of living. Both of us have felt a difference and we like it. We only have two more months until my side of the family's biggest loser weigh in on November 21st. We are hoping to win the grand prize. Wish us luck!

Pigtails, Finally!

We can finally put Nora's hair in pigtails! Not the wispy pigtails, pigtails with some substance. What a cutie.

Water Fun & Fall Hopes

(Nora and her cousin Caleb a couple of weeks ago)

Although it may be Fall, we still have some nice weather weeks in Vegas before it will be too cold to go to the water parks. I love water parks and summer weather but I look forward to Fall weather or at least visiting places that have Fall weather. It is one of my favorite times of the year. Just thinking about it makes me want to go buy apple cider and bake some pumpkin pie.















(I thought this picture was so funny of cousin Ava, such a cutie)

(my sweet baby Aubrey)

Play by Play

It was fun to watch Aubrey's reaction to the water squirting out of the ground. She didn't think it was very funny when I put her in the middle of the sprinklers (for lack of a better word). Aubrey likes water, but only water that will stand still for her. I can also, announce that she is a walking toddler!

Vegas Has a Zoo?

Well then, where are all the zoo animals? Did we make a wrong turn and end up at a chicken coop. All I can see are chicken's walking around and a fake rubber turtle in a pond. Well, atleast Nora likes to chase chickens, but where are the rest of the animals?




























Fossa? Hmm, where is it? Is it a plant? According to the sign, it is a catlike animal. Sounds kinda cool, wish I could see it.






















Well, there they are. There are some zoo animals. The lady did say their lions were the main attraction. I just didn't know they were one of the only attractions.


Warning: This experience was exaggerated quite a bit. Do not let it deter you from visiting our local zoo. After watching the lions eat we were able to find many different types of animals including a few that are on the endangered species list. The Vegas Zoo is a great zoo to visit with small children. You can get through everything in about an hour, kids are able to feed the chickens and local birds, and there is a petting zoo.

After visiting, I felt sad that the Vegas community doesn't support the zoo very well. Yet, my mind keeps racing with ideas of ways to raise money, find volunteers, and get the zoo more visitor friendly. Hmm, maybe I should be going into animal conservation. I wonder if the zoo would be willing to listen and consider any of my ideas.

If you would like to donate or volunteer at the zoo you can find more info here.

Library Lending Kit

I have seen this before, but the more I see it, the more I want it. I lend out and also borrow many books. How nice it would be to keep track of my own the old school way.

Lazy Afternoon

I guess I got too busy to post about having family in town a few weeks back. I'll have to post more pictures once I edit them. The guest of honor was Caleb (Nora's cousin on Spencer's side), and Clark and Tiffany. Caleb and Nora were inseparable while they stayed, which isn't that hard in our small home but Nora loved it.

One lazy Sunday afternoon while they were here Grandpa pulled out Nora's current favorite puzzle. These are activities I remember growing up with. The picture brought back memories of family get togethers and family puzzle projects. The lounging in the backround happened quite a bit too. There always seems to be lounging, possibly a game, and a puzzle going on when I get together with family.

What family activities do you do when you get together with family?

Spooktacular

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Once summer ends, I can't wait to get through August and September. Hence, the reason why I posted a Halloween book in August! Well I was recently directed to Amy Atlas's site. I wish Amy lived closer so I could use her wonderful talent at a shindig of my own - lucky New Yorker's. Here is a Halloween display she did. Very cool and very spooktacular.

{via Oh Happy Day}

Sing

Spencer just recently clued me in on our church's website dedicated to helping people sing. There is an interactive player, so those who wish to sing parts can learn how to do so. The site is so cool. Definitely worth taking a looksie.

{pic via Sing London, which is also very cool}

Happy Birthday Darleen

Today is my sister Darleen's 30th birthday! Happy birthday Darleen. I hope this 30th year brings you joy and happinees.

Here are some reasons I love my sister:

-She or I will call each other almost everyday to chat.
-She is one of the best people to vent frustrations on.
-She is amazingly talented.
-She is a great shopping buddy.
-She is an amazing mother.
-She has been a wonderful sister to me even through my rough years.

I love you Darleen. Happy birthday.

Comments Please

So, this is a test. I am curious what others think about my writing. Here is an excerpt to a book I hope to finish one day. There are rules for commenting though so read carefully: If you make a comment please stay positive in your thoughts. Comment on two things that you like and two things that you think I could do better.

Side note - Sorry for the layout, blogger was not cooperating with me today. Also, this is just a small scene from what I have done and the plot in no way has been revealed yet. I am just hoping to find out how my writing style will be received. Enjoy.

-the desert sunset outside of Las Vegas-

"Hey sweetie, can I come in?" I heard my mom say through the door.

"Yeah, the door’s open," I replied, still looking for something to wear.
I turned to see my mom peeking her head into my room.

"I brought you up some breakfast," she said, opening the door to reveal a tray with a plate of bacon, toast and two sunny side-up eggs – my favorite. There was even a glass of orange juice and a cloth napkin under the knife and fork.

"Wow mom, what’s the occasion?" I said sarcastically.

"Well, I thought it being your first day of high school I’d make you something to start the day off right but if you don’t want it I can save it for Ryan when he wakes up. I know he would love to eat this without . . . questioning," she said. The word questioning was minced with hurt and frustration.

The move to Vegas had not affected my brother in the same way it had me. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, he was excited about the change. This bothered me, but he was my little brother and most things he did bothered me. So, Ryan was not in on the pleading debates about the move with my parents or the screaming matches. He completely accepted the reason our parents gave about why we had to move. I, on the other hand, wouldn’t give in. Their reason about Dad finding a better job, better pay and a better position in the financial firm in Vegas was lame to me. There were jobs in San Diego he could have taken. I would have even been more sympathetic if we had moved to LA, but Las Vegas? What could Las Vegas offer a financial advisor? Plus, my mom was still working full-time, so the pay couldn't be that good.

I realized the breakfast was not something special for my first day of school. The breakfast was, in a sense, a peace offering for the unexpected move. For taking me away from my friends, my home, my life. For knowing that it would be hard on me to start over again. For feeling sorry for me. And for me, the breakfast was not enough to say sorry. If I had not been so hungry I probably would have played defiant and told her to save it for Ryan.

"No mom, I want to eat it. Thanks," I said, hoping my thanks sounded sincere, "Besides, Ryan likes his eggs scrambled."

© 2008 Marleen Gunnerson

Thank You

At times, it is hard for me to keep in mind that my baby is growing up. Her short, little body might be the reason for that. Aubrey is 14 months as of today. A few days ago, she started taking more than one step and although I probably wouldn't say she is "walking". She is definitely on her way. I am sure in a week or so I will be able to report that she is walking.

Because of how young she looks and feels, I found the following very cool --

Last evening and during the whole day for that matter, Aubrey, was cranky. When Aubrey is this way Nora and I like to say that Aubrey has her cranky pants on. So, Aubrey had the pants hiked up pretty high last night when I was preparing her bottle as I held her in one of my arms. She constantly was whining her baby talk frustrations until I finished the bottle. I headed over to find a pillow to lay her on. As I gave her the bottle and before she started drinking it she looked at me and in a very sincere and relieved voice said, "thank you."

This mind you is the fourth time she has said this to me. The first time she said thank you I brushed it off as a fluke thing. When she did again I thought, is she for real? This now is the fourth and how my baby learned how to say thank you and understand when to say it is beyond me. This must be something she was born with.

As a mother, all I have and want to say is . . . thank you.

Very Clever

Spencer and I found this while researching free laptops. Enjoy.

Dear Tech Support,

Last year, I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications (which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0).

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1. Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I’ve tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do?

Signed,

Desperate

To read a Clever Dude's response click hear.

Busy Bee

I am feeling the pressure of the week so I won't be able to blog. Plus, I need to make a fabulous dinner for the missionaries tonight. Maybe you will get lucky and find some of my work from my writing class next week to critique for me. I need all the help I can get.

I wish you a wonderfully less busy week.

{photo via Nick Kalkounis Photography}