WILD, WACKY, and WONDERFUL CALIFORNIA

I could think of a few other words for California right now but on this day we enjoyed the

WILD, WACKY, and WONDERFUL CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR!

Each county has their own exhibit and highlights things from their county and every year we take a picture in front of our very own PLACER county exhibit!

And of course we come to the FAIR for the FOOD!

But our favorite thing at the fair is the ANIMALS!

So you can imagine my disappointment (disgust really) when we found out that they now charge $3.00 a child to enter the petting zoo!

There were plenty of animals you could look at through cages, but it's just not the same.

(in case you were wondering we didn't go in the petting zoo - I had just paid a fortune just to get them into the fair - I was not about to pay money for them to pet animals when every other year they have gotten to do it for free)

It put me in a little bit of a bad mood.

Since it was the still the beginning of the day I knew I needed to change my attitude.

I wanted the day to be fun.

So we moved on to the COWS!

I mean who can't be in a good mood around cows?

Oh yeah - this kid hates cows?

Doesn't he know his Great-Grandpa was a dairy farmer?

BUT, California came through.

We came upon this little exhibit. . .

Kristopher was chosen to go up on stage and participate in a little demonstration on TREES and all the great things we can get from TREES!

AND THEN. . .

The boys got to go rope climbing!

We did a lot of other fun things during the day too.

We watched some fun shows.

We had some good treats.

We saw some really funny people (who I don't think were even trying to be funny)

but nothing could compare to the ROPE CLIMBING!

You know by this picture the day had to be a success. . .

If for no other reason I captured a picture of this kid with his real smile, and it still melts me every time I see it!

Funerals, Family, and Food

When we found out my Grandpa had passed away we began making plans to attend the funeral.

Why was I so shocked that plane tickets would be so expensive on a 2 day notice?

After going back and forth about whether the whole family should go we decided it would be in the best interest to leave the boys home and take Kara with us to the funeral (she's still free)!

We left early in the morning and spent some time in the airport just staring at the airplanes.

I was armed with toys, snacks, puzzles, you name it I had it. . .

and she didn't need any of it.

She only needed dad's lap and the clouds outside. She was fascinated.

We even managed a little nap on the second flight.

The funeral was really good.

I have not seen some of my extended family in years and it was so neat to see all of my mom's brothers and their families.

My sister gave an amazing talk about some of the memories she had with my Grandpa.

I directed (yes I waved my arm - but probably not in the right time) all of my Grandpa's grandkids, great-grandkids, and great-great-grandkids, in a medley of primary songs.

The entire stage was filled in the chapel.

I had to stand down in front to lead them and as they all sang 

"Families Can Be Together Forever" 

I could feel the spirit so strong.

It was such a testimony of family to me.

My Grandpa was in the Navy and was given full honors at his funeral.

So neat.

Kyle was so sweet and bought pink flowers to take with us to the cemetary so we could give them to my mom.

I got a little emotional when I saw my daughter who is named after my mom sitting there next to her. It's the closest she will be to her in this life.

Really though, the highlight of the day for me was having my 2 brothers and my 3 sisters all together. 

I made them all pose in the 103 degree heat for this picture.

(but I'm the oldest and they do what I say)

FOOD

One morning we woke up and took a drive up to Ogden.

We hadn't been back since we moved almost 9 years ago.

We drove by the old house, drove up the canyon, visited the campus of Weber State where Kyle graduated,

and we couldn't leave without eating at JAKE'S OVER THE TOP!

Kara did not know what to do with herself. She had an entire kids meal to herself! No getting the leftovers from her brothers this time!

And you better believe that Strawberry Milkshake was ALL MINE!

On Sunday my Dad's brother and his wife hosted a lunch for all of my dad's side of the family. 

It was such a bonus to get to see that side of the family while we there as well.

I was bound and determined to get a picture of Kara and my brother Kasey.

This is how they all turned out!

I was able to catch these little gems!

Just look at those looks that Kara is giving him!

And try I did to get a picture with my dad and Kara. . .

This is as close as he could get to her without making her scream!

I could blame her attitude on the fact that she was either on a plane, in a car seat, or sitting in a funeral for the past 3 days.

But I think she just liked being with her mom and dad all by herself.  That's never happened. And I have to say it was kinda fun only having one child for a few days!

First Day

Kristopher started Kindergarten today.

And he didn't even need me.

In fact he was dressed for afternoon kindergarten at 6:12 am this morning!

He just wanted to be dropped off when Kale went to school so he could just "wait for the afternoon".

As I watched him walk into the classroom I wasn't sad.

I was excited because he was excited!

I took Kara's hand and we started back for the car when I heard,

"MOM".

I turned around and Kris has his head out the door and yells,

"DON'T FORGET TO PICK ME UP AFTER SCHOOL!"

I waved and before I could even say, "I love you" he was back inside the classroom.

We took pictures after school today rather than before school.

You see while one of my children couldn't wait to start school

my oldest child was pacing around the house this morning with a stomach ache.

He gets so nervous.

Once we pulled up he saw friends and was fine.

I watched from a distance as my 4th grader walked with his class into the classroom.

Here's the after the first day photo shoot!

And after having to wake my daughter up from a nap to come and pick the boys up from school, they decided they wanted to walk home together and I let them.

Kale came right home and did his homework before he headed into the playroom for some X-box stress relief.

Kris told me he made a new friend. I asked who, and he said "I don't know his name but he has a green shirt and he's my new best friend!"

I love Kindergarten!

I think the first day was a success. . .

Now if tomorrow can just go as smoothly!

My Grandpa

My Grandpa, Lloyd Keith Schlappi passed away yesterday.

This is the last picture I have of him.

I knew it would be my last visit with him.

During our short visit we talked about "dancing in the kitchen"

I will always remember standing on my grandpa's feet and dancing through the house.

I even found this picture and my mom had written on the back,

"dancing with Grandpa"

Last night my kids were asking me about my Grandpa. I told them this story.

My Grandpa was a counselor in the Manti Temple Presidency for many years. One summer when I was 9 years old I got to go stay with them for a few days in their little apartment at the bottom of temple hill. While they would work in the temple for a few hours I would stay at their apartment and color and eat grandma's treats and watch The Price is Right. One morning the phone rang and it my Grandpa. He told me to put my church dress on and meet him at the temple and he would be waiting for me.

As I was walking up the hill I remember being nervous because I didn't see my Grandpa.

And then just as I got up to the temple the temple door opened and my Grandpa was standing there all in white and gave me a hug.

He held my hand and we walked inside the temple.

For a minute I thought maybe I was doing something wrong because I knew I wasn't old enough to go in the temple yet, but I also knew that my Grandpa wouldn't take me anywhere I wasn't supposed to go.

I remember seeing the chandelier in the temple and thinking to myself that this was the most beautiful place I had ever been in.

Turns out my Grandpa just wanted to have lunch with me. He took me downstairs to the cafeteria and we had lunch with my Grandma.

I look back on that day and realize that is the day I knew that someday I would be married in the temple.

Twelve summers later my Grandpa sealed Kyle and I in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple for time and all eternity.

My Grandpa was holding my mom's hand as she passed away. He kept talking to her right until the end. He was crying and I knew how hard that was for him as a father to see his only daughter pass on before him.

I know yesterday there was an amazing reunion as my mom was with both her parents again. How happy my Grandpa must have been to see them both dressed in white waiting for him.

He must have been as happy as I was on that summer day when my Grandpa all dressed in white was waiting for me.

I will miss you Grandpa.

He remembered the horse. . .

So on Saturday night for our Anniversary Kyle took me to

Old Town Sacramento and surprised me

with a horse drawn buggy ride and dinner.

He remembered our conversation from last week driving home from our little wedding getaway where I had told him that obviously I wouldn't change how or where we got married but that a part of me loved the drama of watching that bride ride in on a horse.

I loved my surprise. And I loved snuggling with my husband through the streets of Old Town in the back of that buggy way more than I ever would have liked having a horse at my wedding!

Weddings, Reflections, and Anniversaries

Last weekend Kyle and I went to a wedding.

And we drove over 2 hours to get there.

And we drove through some of the best "old" towns I have ever seen.

And in those "old" towns they had some amazing "old" churches.

And we finally arrived. . .

And this sign greeted us.

I like to call it "the towns priorities!"

The wedding was beautiful.

The bride rode in on a white horse.

The couple was so happy.

The food and cake were amazing.

And we had so much fun.

Kyle even ran into the parents of one of his best friends from high school.

Really we had a great night.

And as we were driving home we couldn't help but talk about our wedding 12 years earlier.

I didn't ride in on a white horse,

although the color white played a key role in our wedding.

Our day was just as beautiful.

Our cake was just as amazing.

And we were just as happy, maybe even happier.

And 12 years later we're still just as happy (and beautiful). . .  right hun?

Happy Anniversary!

Fruits of our labor

The other day I came out of the laundry room with a basket full of laundry to fold and out the back window I saw this. . .

I dropped the basket of laundry and grabbed the camera!

My heart melted.

After an impromptu water fight with the hose my boys cooled off and relaxed by picking homegrown tomatoes off the vine and talked and laughed for a good 20 minutes with each other.

Does Summer Get Any Better Than That?

It reminded me of that day way back in April when we planted those tomatoes.

Kara was a helper that day (and her hair was so much shorter)!

And here you have it. . .

8 tomato plants

I thought I would have so many tomatoes I wouldn't know what to do.

I had visions of canning spaghetti sauce, salsa, and whole tomatoes.

Now don't get me wrong.

We have tomatoes. We have lots of tomatoes.

But we are having way too much fun eating them to even think about putting any of them in a jar.

BLT's for dinner,

Sliced tomatoes with a little pepper for lunch,

More salads then you can even imagine,

and as you can tell my family can eat them just like apples!

Who am I to tell my boys they can't have a tomato when they want one?

And as a bonus my husband set every one of those tomatoes (and our bell peppers, and zucchini) all on a drip system so I don't have to water them by hand every day!

(That is probably why they are growing so good this year)

This is Kristopher's drip system. . .

He planted a weed and hooked up a drip system just like his dad!

It was another HOT day in August. . .

Ummm, wait a minute no it wasn't.

We woke up to overcast skies.

In August?

My air conditioner didn't kick on the entire day.

In August?

I wore a little sweater to the park.

In August?

Wait - we went to the park in the middle of the day in August?

In August?

Yes we did and it turned out to be a little windier than I had anticipated.

After attempting to eat a picnic lunch and after chasing about 10 baggies out to the baseball field we gave up on that idea and decided to play!

Even Kale's hair couldn't escape the wind!

And Kristopher mastered the monkey bars!

And then the WIND blew him off!

And I know I've talked about this before.

About how my son weighs nothing.

About how my son is in like the 14th percentile.

Just in case you don't believe me I think the wind is blowing him off the slide too!

A fun day was had by us all.