Happy Birthday Edith Ann!

I told you there was a lot of celebrating this year with many of our friends turning the Big 40! This time is was Sandra May's turn. Or as I like to call her, Edith Ann. Sandra & I have had many fun memories together going back 25 or more years. Not only with her; but, her family as a whole. Plenty of camping trips, Lake Powell excursions, and many nights at the Lark Sandunes are the first to come to mind. "The Crazy May's" I always liked to call them! :} She gets her nick-name from a time we were in Lake Powell together. The goofy girls that we were (are) decided we were going to be "these dorky girls from the south" for the weekend, her name being Edith Ann & mine Birtha Jane. We had the accent going & all. Sure it turned the boys away, but, we didn't care, we had fun with it! :} And it's stuck ever since! Ha Ha....

I told you they were silly right? So, of course she had to get some "old gifts", like this package of depends that she had to model! :}
To celebrate, they had a camp out in thier back yard. They live up in Herriman, up on hills which gives you a great view of the valley & actually feel like you're camping. Loved it! They had the fire pit going, the boys were crusin' thier remote control cards around the playful yard, good times! No reason to let good friendships die, right?! :}

I also really enjoyed seeing long time friend, Sonya. Her, Hellig (Sherrie Kelly) & I used to be inseperable. And it doesn't matter that sometimes years go by...it's like just leaving where you left off the next time we see each other! And yea, we had to include the pics on a stick at this party too! Heidi & Tracey just don't miss out on anything anymore! :}

Memorial Day with the family

To enjoy the holiday, and celebrate some May birthdays, our family got together to spend more quality time together. We enjoyed good food & fun times at Grandma's house. There's so many memories of good times with the family on her patio, it's a happy place! :}

Really, she's such a cute Grandma! :}

The kids always enjoy time with the cousins!

TC & Jenn

And I don't know what it is about this chair Glenn & Sherrie (my always silly siblings!) are sitting in; but, it also brings such sentimental feelings. I remember climbing all over it as a young child & loved how it reclined. When we lived at their house for a bit, or whenever we got to stay over, we would love to sleep in it when we could!

Colleen sure makes a cute Grandma herself! :}

Dad getting his laughs in! Have I told you how much I love my family?! :}

Of course, let's not forget the true meaning of Memorial Day. To honor our veterans who have lost their lives, while fighting for our freedom & keeping our country safe. I hope everyone takes time out to appreciate each & every person in the military who have fought & continue to fight for us!! God Bless them!!

And though it's true meaning is in honor of the military, it's also a great time to stop & think about your loved ones who have passed on before you. May you always keep the memories alive & not let them be forgotten! :}

Doug's Latest Project

You know, I love how Doug gets these ideas in his head & figures out how to put it together. He's good at that! For his brithday, he wanted to get what he needed to create this little fountain in the backyard. We've been looking at these clay pots for a while; but, they were pretty pricy. We found a steal & that's all he needed to get him going!

There's something so calming about hearing the running water as it hits the rocks. I feel like I'm right next to a stream. It certainly has added a nice touch to the patio! :}

Friends & Our Mountains...what more could you ask for?!

To help celebrate the holiday weekend, we decided to spend a fun filled day in our beautiful canyons with good friends. Despite the heavy rainfall all weekend, we were not going to let that stop us! By the time we got up there, it had finally cleared & it was nice blue skies. The kids were anxious to go adventure, like they love to do! We enjoyed picnicing, great conversations & lots of laughs together!

Looks like Aleaha is snowboarding, without the board!

These 3 are just too cute together! :} Of course you have to do some hiking while you're in the canyons. We took the kids up the trek to 'Donut Falls', one of our favorite spots. It gets it's name for the rock that has the hole in the top where the water falls through. It's fun to go underneath it in the cove (when it's warmer that is! :}) It really is a pretty spot to see!

Cute Megan, all grown up now! (well, still silly obviously! :})
Of course Dylan just HAS to go out there on the log!

Then...all of a sudden, BOOM! Here comes the rain again! No warning, no light sprinkles...just came down hard. Since we were at the top, we just had to deal with it & get our wet selves back to the camp. It's all about the adventure, right? :}

"Oh Mommy, I'm soaked!!"
It was beautiful though, and love being amongst the clouds in the sky!
You know the boys loved getting all muddy! :}
Rain was not going to stop us from making smores either! (or certainly stop Dylan from being the entertainer either! :}) Though, a little hard to keep the fire going with the rain & wet wood! :}
"Ummmm...this is the best smore EVER!"
Cute girls!
Julie, the very determined Master of the Marshmellows!
She made sure everyone got one though, despite having to restart the fire a few times!
"Caveman want steak!"

Oh, fun times!! Aaaahhhh.....gotta love it!

And this year's American Idol is.....

KRIS ALLEN!!

Just being honest, I was very surprised! Not to say he isn't good...of course he is, or he wouldn't have been there! But, he just kind of quietly snook up each week. Adam Lambert, the runner up, seemeds to have it in the bag. Sure he was extreme, and too much so for many; but, he just seemed to all ready be there & on a different level. His years of theatrical performing was paying off, he knew how to keep you entertained! But, how do you compare singers/entertainers? They all bring thier own thing. Especially in a show like this. How to you compare apples to oranges? Is any one style of music better than another? No, not if you ask me. Regardless, they had some great talent this year & each week kept me entertained (except those weeks that my kids cancelled my recording! Dang kids! :})

The anticipation was killing me! (especially since I had to watch it 2 hours later! :})

I believe he was as shocked as many of us were!He honorably gave credit to Adam who he said was the Idol himself!
The Top 13 Finalists doing thier thing

It was so fun this season to have a home town favorite. Even better, it was our friend's (Jill from Jazzercise) daughter, Megan. Really...how cute is she?! Kaley asked the other day if she can ever meet her. She loves her! I'm assuming she'll be pretty busy for a while; but, I'm sure some day! :} And Dylan...well, as an observant 11 year old, he loves her too. Because "She's HOOOOTTTTT!" :} Again, just going to be honest here & giving my own personal opinion. Call it the rocker in me, whatever. But, who really gave us the best performance of the night? Who kept me thoroughly entertained & has had me watch it over a few times all ready? Adam...he rocks! Now add Adam with KISS (Serious? Who would have EVER thought you'd see KISS on American Idol?!)...WOW, that was awesome! I realize some people aren't into that, I understand. But, it's all about an entertaining show, right? Adam's got it going on for sure! Despite not winning the big title....he's still going to go very far I'm sure! And since I am a musical expert (ha ha).....that is a fact! :}

There were so many other great performances during the night. Really, it was such a fun show to watch! All kinds of Legends came on the stage, like......

Queen

Rod Stewart

Even Steve Martin (I didn't even know he had a band & a CD out!)

Kris singing along with Keith Urban

I loved the performance with Allison & Cyndi Lauper, it was a beautiful rendition of "True Colors"Danny singing w/ Lionel Richee

You've also got to love Jason Mraz!
And Santana....oh heck yea! There is no one who plays like Carlos Santana!!

One of my favorite singers this year, last year's winner, David Cook. He gave us an amazing performance of a song called "Permanent", in honor of his brother who just passed away from cancer recently.

Another great season has come to an end. Kudo's to the producers of American Idol for making it a very entertaining one at that! Congratulations to Kris!!