Birthdays in April

Fancy pants Elayna

Kim and Max

Kris and Bailey

This month is the twins and Laineys birthday.

Today is my sisters birthdays, Kim and Kris.

The twins might have the same birthday but have influenced my life in different ways.

Kim was born first, she's the sibling that I remember took care me when I was young. Kim would always dress me up and buy me cute clothes. I remember when she went to Hawaii she brought me back a hula outfit and a stuffed koala bear. I still have the bear today, it's always been my favorite stuffed animal. Sometimes when I really would throw a fit about going to preschool, Kim (and Kris) would take me to their college classes. I LOVED it! I had fun times in the backyard with the twin learning gymnastic moves. When I moved to Utah, I would go and visit Kim and my friends every summer for a week. Kim would take us to the drive in movie and Lava Hot Springs to go rafting down the river. One visit I got food poisoning and Kim took care of me for a week.

I've also see Kim as a guardian. When I was young Kim and I were out at the reservoir. We were floating in a canoe and a boat came too close and tipped us over. I was too young to swim and didn't have a life jacket. I just remember swallowing a lot of water and then feeling Kim grab me and pulling me up. Another time Curtis and I were riding home with Kim and we hit a patch of ice. We started spinning and heading for the traffic at the stop light. I don't know how, but Kim was about to get us to stop by hitting a snow bank.

I remember when Kim got into her car wreck. I was thinking that our family would never be the same if she was to leave it. I'm so glad she is part of our family and continues to influence my life is positive ways.

Kris has always been the fun loving sister. She always tries to do nice things for everyone. One of my birthdays she took out all the sisters to Dracula ballet and out to eat. Kira and I got to get pedicures too. She loves to organize family events and we have had great times going camping with the family. Although we haven't for a few years, camping has always been a fun time being with the siblings...... we need to start doing it again. One year we all played football on the beach and Curtis ended up getting a wicked sunburn. That year there was a fire alert so at night we couldn't have a fire! HAHAHA!

Kris always puts extra effort into making family gathering special... which we don't always appreciate. Like the time Kris tried to get us to write a little poem about the person we had for christmas! Some of the siblings participated... some of us were not having any of it! HAHAHA! Bless Kris, she tries so hard to make everyone feel special and loved.

I don't feel I got close to Kris until I was older. Especially when she moved to SLC. When I was younger I felt like Kris was much more into hanging out with Curtis and Kim was the twin that hung out with me. I'm glad as the older I get the more I get to know Kris and bond with her on a personal level.

Also Tomorrow is Laineys birthday. I still remember the day she was born. Marks first child and the first grandchild in like 6 years. The whole family was sooooo excited and we waited for hours for her to come. Kim, Kris, Curtis, Sophia, Mom and Dad, Tay and myself were all in the waiting room. She was such cute baby and we really doted on her. She is now an energetic kid and a big sister (on her way x2).

So Happy Birthday to Kim and Kris and Lainey... I love you all.

kendyl's faith in humanity is restored

Today at work we took our residence to a Rockies game.  We had 7 people in wheelchairs 2 of which can wheel themselves.  When we arrived there was not wheelchair access, we asked an officer if we could pull up closer to the stadium to get them safely to the ball park, but his response was "No, why do you think those barricades are there?" So we had to park a few blocks away and get them out.  Then the driver had to go pick up the other half.  I sat there with the first arrivals and we enjoyed the sun.  However, after waiting for 20 minutes I realized my residence would soon need water.  A man who was standing by us then came up to our group and asked if he could buy us some water.  His name was Joe. 

Then when everyone arrived and we started wheeling them a few blocks to the stadium we realized more of the people besides 2 were going to need assistance to get there. Jen and I took turns going back and forth getting the residence. Finally a nice lady, Jill offered to help get the residence safely to the stadium AND their seats. 

These random acts of kindness today have restored my faith that people still can be selfless and kind in this world.   So I will try to repay the world back for today.   

Also the game was great... the Rockies ended up winning!

On a side note I also started riding my bike to work. It takes me about 30 min both ways. It has been a relatively easy transition from driving, plus I get my workout for the day at the same time.  Not to mention save money and the environment.  

I also have started getting my garden ready. Tay and I cleared all the rocks from the yard and this weekend I will turn the dirt, add some fertilizer, and map out my garden. We do have a drip system in our yard and I think I will utilize that for my garden. I planted some bulbs (lilies) last weekend and the squirrels are already digging them up. I will have to go buy some hot chill peppers and sprinkle them on the ground and see if that helps. I think my garden should be fine from the squirrels because it is in the backyard and the dogs have a doggie door so they can chase them off.  The dogs LOVE to chase squirrels and will stare up at the trees for hours waiting for them.  Aspen, being the good little herding dog she is, has the patients to wait for them. 

Well, that is all for now.  I'm super tired from the sun, wheeling around people and life in general. Bye!

It's time to get real

Now that we are into our new house I'm thinking about what we need verus what we want.  It's hard because you get caught up in what you want to put in your house and things start to add up.  I have to keep reminding myself life is NOT about spending it's about living.  I just want to keep a realistic perspective... I don't need things to define who I am.  Now that we are getting tax returns and rebates, and rental deposit back I think about what I can spend it on.  But I know for the next few years I would like to save for my schooling  AND make sure we have a good savings. 

I love this quote from Fight Club "We work jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need." 

On a side note if you haven't watched the movie or read the book you need to. Many people have the impression that it is about guys beating each other up, but it's really a comment about consumerism and becoming conscious of yourself.

What I really would like to spend my extra money on is traveling... exploring the world!

SO... to simplify my life I have made a few goals for the next few months:

I have a Starbucks addiction!!- I will start making my own Soy Chai's at home and use my own recycled containers. 

I will NOT purchase as a form of entertainment- I will go outside work on my garden, walk the dogs or bike rides!

Garage sale- It's time to get the clutter out of our lives and not replace it with more. 

Compost- I've wanted to make a compost for a few years now... we tried one year but we didn't do it right... this year I'm trying again!

 

I'll report back to let you know how it's going. 

Pics of new house!

This is where a table will go.

Kitchen

Kitchen and Dog

Upstairs bathroom

Original vent covers

This is our backyard that our dogs and cats love!

NEW HOUSE

After much trial and tribulation we are finally in our new house. We moved in on Saturday and Sunday. All Monday I cleaned our rental for 8.5 hours!!
It's nice to know we have our own house and we don't have to worry about people popping by to look at the house at all hours of the day.
Some of my favorite features of the house are:
pictures will come soon
The big backyard (the dogs and cats are loving it!)
The nice updated kitchen (Tay and I like to listen to music and eat together in there)
Central Air (say goodbye to our AC!)
2 good sized bedrooms (never had that before!)
The style (the seller tried to preserve the integrity of the house and saved the original BIG entrance door, all doorknobs, and vent covers.)

I know many of you want to see pictures... I have to wait for my Internet to be hooked up at home... down point of our home, the cable wiring is old and they need to install new ones for DSL.