Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

One of my very favorite things to do when I was a kid was to run through the sprinklers . I always knew it was finally summer when my mom felt it was warm enough to give into our begging and let us play in the spray. It is amazing to think how many hours we entertained ourselves with the ice cold water! I remember that we would dare each other to see who could sit on the sprinkler the longest. Yesterday was extremely hot! Very few people ventured outside of their air conditioned houses. Since Bubba and I felt cooped up from being inside, we decided to brave the heat and go outside. When he picked up the hose, I immediately began reminising of my childhood and the fun we had with the sprinklers. What GREAT memories! Summer has always been my favorite time of the year.

Today is my last day off for a long while (school starts again next week) so I invited my sisters and their cute little guys over for a swimming party! They had such a grand time splashing in the water, playing ring-a-round the rosies, and running, running, and running around! I can't believe how enjoyable it is to just watch toddlers play together! What a great way to spend my last day off!

On Memorial Day Donny did a benefit concert at Utah State University with Jessie Clark Funk and the The American Festival Chorus and Orchestra. Jodi was right on top of things and got us great tickets! We decided that we would give our husbands the opportunity to see Donny's great talent, so we planned a double date. We went to Cafe Sabor for dinner - usually a fantastic place - however, after a VERY long time, and several bowls of chips, we discovered that somehow they lost our order and we had to leave before we could enjoy our dinner. (Don't worry, they apologized and made it right.) We ended up taking our food to go, and just sat on the lawn scarfing it down and hardly enjoying it because we were late. The American Festival Chorus and Orchestra performed various patriotic numbers. They were very good. After that, Jessie Clark Funk sang for us. She is wonderful! She has an incredible voice and was very fun to watch. (sorry, my pictures of Jessie didn't turn out very good...

Is there anything greater than going to the zoo with a toddler? Yesterday Sha ndra, Kalel, and I had a great adventu re at Hogle Zoo. Bubba loves animals, and he had a terrific time watching them. He liked watching the elephants getting a drink of water. The black bears were having a fine time wrestling with each othe r and Bu bba wa totally enthralled! He was a little nervous, and wanted to be held most of the day, especially when we were right next to the giraffes! There was a little baby giraffe that was so very adorable! There was also a little snow leopard cub climbing and jumping a ll ov er his mother. Bubba thought that was very funny. He was very impressed with the big tiger - and he demonstrated his growling ability for the tiger! He really enjoyed the train ride, even though he didn't quite understand what was going on. His very favorite part of the day was in the gift shop where we got him a little bag of play animals. He played with the tiger and snow leopard mama...

This year, even though I really wasn't in shape (just got through with finals, remember), Shandra and I decided to run the Intermountain Donor Services 5k Fun/Run. I love doing this run because we do it in honor of BJ each year. The first year that I ran this race was in Salt Lake, and it was huge! over 700 participants. Because it was so large, they decided to divide it into two courses, and the last two years we have run in Ogden. The participation in considerably smaller in Ogden - I think that there were only about 50 participants, but it is still a lot of fun with very little pressure. The course starts at the stadium at Weber State University and goes along Skyline drive. It is a beautiful run. This year instead of going around the Dee Events Center, we ran down to the front of the campus, almost to Harrison, all along the west side of the campus, and then finished by running all the way back up the hill to the top of the stadium. Needless to say, the last part was a KILLER!...

Apparently all my concentration lately has been directed at studying and working and studying, (did I mention studying?). Yesterday, I looked outside and realized that it is August! Where did the summer go? Summer is my very favorite time of the year. I love walking in bare feet, backyard bbq's, quick trips to the canyon, swimming at the pool and all of the other fun activities that warm weather brings. This year, I have done none of that! What was I thinking - starting college in summer semester? I must have been crazy! Here is the good news - I not only survived but did pretty darn good for an old lady who hasn't studied for years and years! I'm very happy with my grades, and even more than that, I'm very happy to be learning again. I like exercising my brain. This semester without a doubt was the hardest thing I have ever done (with the obvious exception of losing BJ). I worked harder than I have ever worked before - in fact, Tasha said that I was becoming a "...

I love blogging! I love reading other blogs and I love keeping record of my life in words and pictures and sharing them with others. So, it is with sad emotions that I admit that I must quit for awhile. I knew that when I started back to school my life would get much more busy, but what I didn't realize was that the first class that I am taking would demand every minute of my time - and even more, I'm afraid. I've very excited about my new adventures, but nervous about the time it will require. So - farewell for awhile. I'm off to a my new adventure . I'll be back in about 11 weeks! (If my class hasn't killed me first!)