Adirondack Mountains

We packed up the van & canoe last Friday & headed to a cabin in the Adirondack Mountains. We rented it from some friends from church. It was a much needed 'get away'. It's about 3 hours away. The cabin was perfect. Right on Deep Lake. The lake was RIGHT in the backyard, So, Emily & Matt wore life vests the whole time they were outside. We arrived around 6pm, got something together for dinner & put our sheets on the beds. The first thing Adam asked was 'where's the dishwasher?' I said 'it's you!' Oh, the things we couldn't live without! We had a great time fishing, canoeing, paddle boating & exploring. I think they found 5 or 6 salimanders & a ton of tiny frogs (I mean tiny, 2 could have fit on one penny) They were so small. The boys did find a huge toad. Emily wouldn't have anything to do with that! She liked the small ones ok, not that big thing though. We had a great time & hope to do it again soon. Here are some pics:

The Cabin

Eric & Matt on the small dock

Tiny frogs in Matthew's hand

Matt's huge frog

Matt, Adam & Eric in the paddle boat

Emily & mom on the dock

Dad & Emily in the canoe

We were in town for a parade one day & Emily decided they had too many weeds on the walkway. So, she started pulling weeds while we were watching the parade. That's my girl!

Lil' Firemen & woman at the parade

THE FISHING
There wasn't much to catch, but the kids had fun. Emily caught her first fish. All by herself. It flopped off of the hook before I could get a picture, so you'll just have to believe me. All we caught were small crappies. We were hoping for something more, but oh well. Here are some pics:

Adam & Dad

Matt's big fish!

Craig's big fish

(can you see it?)LOL

Boys in the paddle boat

Emily's first time fishing. She's using moms new pink fishing pole too.

The Dentist

I hate the dentist. I REALLY do. It's not that I'm scared of it, or don't like 'him', but it's the smell, the cost, the problems. There's always problems, no matter how well I brush & floss. My teeth have been predisposed to rot! Craig can brush every other day & only floss when there's something stuck in between his teeth & come back from the dentist with tiny cavities or none at all! (Ok-that's an exaggeration). It's not fair, that's what I have to say about it. I went in for a routine cleaning, like I do every six months. They did the normal X-rays & cleaning. Then the dentist wanted to see me to fix a small cavity (which was known about before my appt). Well, I get back to see the Dr. & he tells me that a root canal that I had done 6 years ago had failed. It was infected, absesed & HAD to be pulled. No other options! I was so upset! At first I told him 'NO' & he said 'YES, Lisa it has to be done. We can do it right now, it won't take very long.' 'I wasn't prepared for this! I came for a cleaning' I said. So, needless to say, my tooth was pulled. I drove the whole way home from Rochester crying, changing my gauze every five minutes while trying to listen to my GPS to get home. I was so mad.
One, because I had taken such good care of my teeth
Two, nobody wants a hole in their mouth (Do you?)
Three, I just went in for a cleaning!
Four, it was going to be $2500 to fix it!
Five, I already paid $1000 to have the root canal.
Six, no matter how well I took care of my teeth it wouldn't matter about this.
I could go on......
Anyway, a week later, the throbbing has finally stopped. I would wake up in the middle of the night in so much pain. I couldn't believe it. So, for now I have a hole in my mouth, & in 3 weeks I can go back & get it fixed (for a small fortune), & smell that awful smell & hopefully not run into any more problems! They did let me keep the tooth though. Thank you! Yuck! I told you I hate the dentist. No pics for this post!

I've Been Tagged!

Five

10 years ago I...1- had 2 little boys, Adam & Eric. 2-lived in an appt. in St. George. 3-was getting ready to move to NY. 4-was just as happy as I am now 5-weighed less!

5 things on today's "to do" list...1- Work out 2-pick raspberries 3- Do deliveries for Craig 4-Homework (I really hate homework) 5-Do more laundry

5 snacks I enjoy...1- chocolate 2-fruit 3-chips & salsa 4–yogurt 5-apples

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...1-Buy a bigger house w/ more land 2- Buy a BIG boat 3- Help the poor 4-Help my extended family 5-pay more taxes, that's for sure!

5 places I have lived...1- Hurricane, UT 2- St. George,UT 3- Toquerville,UT 4- Bloomfield, NY 5- Manchester, NY

5 jobs that I have had 1- Yogurt House 2- The Meadows 3- Cleaning houses 4- transporting kids w/disabilities 5- Working for Craig

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Lyanna
Mindy
Rachelle
Brandi
Jen G.

Neilson Family

I recieved an email from LDSliving.com about a couple who was in a plane crash last month. Stephanie & Christian Neilson. They are both badly burned & receiving skin grafts. They are LDS & have 4 children. Stephanie is a big 'blogger' & now her sister is taking things over for her, blogging about their hospitalization & recovery. She also is taking care of 3 of their 4 children. This story inspired me to be a better mother, to be stronger in the Gospel & to be grateful for everything that I have. I hope it inspires you too. The accident was on August 16th, so the blogging about the family begins then. The link to her blog is above, called C Jane. Let me know what you think.

Back to School!

Today the boys went back to school! We had a good start getting Adam up at 6:30 to catch the 7am bus. He actually woke up on time considering he couldn't sleep last night. He had a great time at school. It was his first year to have a locker & different teachers for different classes. He did great & really liked it.

Adam-6th grade

Then I woke Eric & Matt at 7:45 to catch the 8:30 bus. All was going well until Matthew decided to put his arms & knees inside his shirt while eating his cereal because he was cold (I didn't know this). Well, needless to say, milk & cereal went everywhere!! He had bumped his bowl & spilled it all down the front of him (his new clothes). I kept thinking 'don't cry over spilled milk'. So, I got up to help him. He was still sitting perfectly still. I noticed that milk was running down the chair to his bum, so I told him to get up & kind of 'helped' him get up (he says I pushed him). I didn't know his knees were still in his shirt & boom went Matthew on the kitchen floor, flat on his face. His arms & knees were still in his shirt & there was no way to catch himself. So, he has a huge purple bruise on his cheek that we iced for 20 minutes before the bus came. Meanwhile he's crying & doesn't want to go to school & asked me why I pushed him!! (Which I DID NOT)! I felt so bad though. So, we changed his clothes & got him to stop crying. I always take the kids pictures before they get on the bus the first day, so I told him to smile (like that was possible). So, he gave me THE most fake smile ever. But, after all was said & done he went to school & did just fine. I did tell him not to tell anyone at school that I pushed him though. I would definately be visited by Child Protective Services!! LOL Anyway, I felt really bad. I really wanted to keep him home because he was so upset, but he was fine by the time the bus came. What a mess! Let's hope for a better start tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Eric- 5th grade

Matthew-1st grade

Can you see his swollen left cheek?

Viva Las Vegas!

Warning: This is a long post!

Craig & I just got back from Las Vegas last night. We had so much fun! We DID go to the convention & got lots of information to help the business grow, but we also had fun. We stayed at the Luxor Hotel. We saw a show called KA' by Cirque Du Soleil (sp). It was amazing! It's definately worth it. Craig & I left there in awe! We couldn't take any pics (cameras weren't allowed). So, you'll just have to take my word! I could scan my ticket & post it if you don't believe me!

Next, we went to the Titanic museum. When we bought our tickets we were given a boarding pass that was just like the ones given on the ship. It had a real passengers' name on it & who they were traveling with. Women were given womens' names, and Men got mens' names. Some of the museum was set up to look like the ship, like the deck. They also had a few rooms set up to look real. It was very interesting to see all the artifacts & hear the stories behind some of the passengers. At the end of the tour we could look on the wall where the list of passengers was & see if we 'lived' or 'died'. It was really neat. So sad to hear that that many people lost their lives & it could have been prevented. It was really interesting to hear that so many of them had a bad feeling about going on the ship in the first place. When it was sinking, one wife wouldn't leave her husband behind on the ship, so she stayed with him & their 6 children & none of them made it. It made me think of what I would do......What would you do?

The building of the Titanic

The Deck.

They actually had it freezing cold out there & you could

hear the waves & see the stars in the 'sky'.

One of the bedrooms

The staircase

This 'glacier' was actually really ice.

You could touch it & it was cold.

By the way, I lived, but Craig wasn't so lucky!

We also met up with some friends from NY that had just moved back to Vegas last year, Rachelle & Jeff. We went to the Bellagio Buffet with them & ate WAY too much! They have 3 boys & just found out the day we got there that they're having a girl in January. Congratulations! It was great to see them. Thanks for dinner guys!

Jeff & Craig

Lisa & Rachelle

We HAD to stop at the Chapel by the Courthouse. It was a must! LOL It was closed down, but the sign was still there.

We were in a hurry to take our picture or our car was going to be towed!

It's hot in Vegas! (Just in case you didn't know that). Walking anywhere is like a hairdryer blowing on you. (Oh, by the way, bring comfy shoes) So, Craig & I got an aqua massage (You don't get wet). If you haven't before, you need to try it. It was hard to relax because my feet are ticklish and the water kept squirting the bottom of my feet & I would laugh. It feels a little strange on your fanny too. If nothing else it felt good to not be on my feet for 15 minutes.

After 2 days in Vegas (which was plenty) we headed for St. George.

You can see the smog as we left town (yuck).

I forgot how many good friends I have in St. George. It was so good to see them & meet some of their children & husbands. On the way to St. George we stopped at Heidi's house in Logandale. She just had surgery a week & a half ago (she wanted to make sure everyone knew that before they saw the picture-lol) She looks great! Her family is so cute. Craig really enjoyed talking with Jason, they are so much alike! We had a lot to catch up on & are so grateful they let us stop & say 'hi'. Heidi wasn't up to having a girls' night out with us just yet, so I'm glad we stopped to chat. Thanks guys.

The Bakers

Craig, Lisa, Heidi & Jason

Heidi & Lisa

Broc, Kim, Ava, Sofie & Jack

Brandi & Lisa

We went to Angie (Craig's sister) & Shane's house for dinner & celebrated Angie's & Nikki's birthdays. We had a good time with them. Her kids have all grown up so fast. Wow! When I met Craig, the youngest was in diapers & now he's taller than me! Here are some pics:

Beth & Angie (Craig's sisters)

We got to take a ride on Shane's bike. Craig was in love (with the bike, that is)!

Lisa & Craig on Shane's Bike

The next day I did some shopping with my mom to get some souvenirs for the kids & then headed to dinner with friends from high school. We went to Buffalo's Southwestern Cafe', in Hurricane. It was so nice to catch up on each others' lives & get reacquainted. I think we were in the restaurant for 3 hours! I had a blast! I hope they did too. Thanks girls!

Girls' Night Out

On the way home this plane was so close we could see the landing gear! Too close for comfort!

Go Speed Racer!!

We took a much needed break from work the other day (I've been working for Craig lately) & went to ride the go carts! It was so fun! Who wouldv'e thought that 5 minutes around a track would be that fun? It was great! 5 minutes actually seemed like a little too long, but the kids had a blast! Then it was back to work! Here are some pics of our go cart adventure!

At the race track

Matt, Eric, Adam & Emily

Emily

Matthew

Eric

Adam

Lisa & Emily