Pioneer Day 09

On the 24th of July, we had a block party to celebrate Pioneer Day. They had all sorts of fun activities for the adults and children. We had a blast....

Watermelon eating contest...Kenlee got 3rd place!

Kenlee and Samantha
The adults played a frozen t-shirt game. They took a t-shirt and folded it up, soaked it in water, put it in a plastic bag and froze it. The first team to put the t-shirt on wins!
We won!!! (So it was mostly Justin)

Then we had a race with adults on kids's bikes and skooters.

Cory, Gary and Justin

What a spectacular finish....

My race...they say I got 3rd place, but really I smoked them.

(There was a bit of cheating in this race.)

Renewing My Driver's License

I was so blown away by my experience this morning that I had to tell everyone about it. My driver's license expires on my birthday, which is Friday. I thought this morning would be as good of a time as any to renew it. After veiwing the website, I found the nearest location to be in Draper on Minuteman Drive. They open at 7am, to my surprise. (I assume to make up for being closed on Friday)
I arrived at about 7:35am.
First off....I had a little trouble actually getting to the right parking area, but eventually accomplished that. When I went in, I filled out the form and stood in line to get my number (I was the only one in line). As soon as he handed me my number they were calling it to be served at one of the stations. Keep in mind, I had only actually been in the building for like 4 minutes max. I was greeted at the station by a very pleasant woman....not your typical rude, I hate my life and this job sucks type person....which I totally expected. I was amazed, she was very friendly and made my experience very pleasant. She even let me take my picture over when the first one didn't turn out well.
I would say in all, I was there only 10 minutes. Can you believe it!!!!! I was only 15 minutes late for work and that was because I stopped for a Jamba Juice. I don't know if this was a fluke and I just happened to go at the perfect time or what. Whatever the case....I'll take it as an early Birthday present :)

Johnson Family Reunion 2009

On Saturday we attended the Johnson Family Reunion. Justin's great grandparents on his mother's side were Grandma & Grandpa J. I didn't ever get to meet Grandpa J, he passed on before I was in the family and Granda J passed away shortly after Kenlee was born. I have heard many wonderful stories about them. They were very caring, giving and accepting and have a special place in many hearts.
I have a special picture of Grandma J holding Kenlee when she was a baby. I'll have to scan it and add it here. later.
I'm not sure how many people were in attendance, but we were a crowd. Here are some pictures of the festivities

Justin and Kenlee listening to the live band!
Brett, Justin, Me and Stacey

Kenlee and cousins feeding the ducks

Justin and Kenlee by the stream

Summer Update

Not everything is about me.... This is what has been going on with the family:
Kenlee has a long extended summer vacation because she has gone from track A to track D. She is loving not having homework and playing with her friends. She isn't a big fan of daycare and i wish I didn't have to send her there. We are trying to help her become more independent so that some day she will be able to stay home by herself (maybe 6th grade?). She still has some maturing to do before that will happen.
Justin is staying really busy at work. The summer time is usually the most busy season of the year. At home he stays busy with his fish hobby. He recently bought 6 tanks to breed fish in. The fish will become food for the bigger fish eventually. Keeping all the water changed and making sure the fish are fed and healthy can be a lot of work! Right now he has a total of 12 aquariums going!

More updates to come........Later!

Diets are stupid!

I just thought I would take a minute to say how bad being on a diet makes me feel.......

I was starving Monday morning, I didn't get a chance to get breakfast so I had a Fiber 1 bar that was in my desk at work. By the time lunch rolled around, I was famished! I drove over to Walmart on my lunch break to get some cereal and milk for breakfast for the rest of the week so that I wouldn't have another morning like that morning. I was feeling a little naughty and thought I could just stop at the Mc Donalds and get a Filet-O-Fish (love them) or McNuggets, they weren't too high in calories. After a lot on inner debating, I decided not to......I got a small package of Carl Budding meat and a loaf of Sara Lee "Delightful" bread (its actually really good and only 45 calories a slice). I was so proud of myself. When I got home Monday night, I had another low calorie sandwich. I was doing great as far as calories were concerned. Then I got on the scale.....I had gained 2 pounds!!! NO kidding! I was beyond upset! I know that my weight fluctuates during the course of a day, but not 2 whole entire pounds!! I immediately put on my running shoes and set out to sweat off some of this weight. I only went a couple miles and decided I wanted to change it up a little. I got home and put in my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (which I haven't done for over a month). I felt so much better when I got done and today my muscles are a little sore...that's a good sign! I just needed to change my routine a little.
...Which brings me to today. I get to work and someone bought donuts. I am not a huge fan of donuts, but this donut place makes the best brownies ever! And wouldn't you know it, they had one saved for me. So I ate it.....and then I had a glazed donut. They were soooooooooooooo good!! Now I feel terrible...this is why I hate diets, they make me feel out of control and like I am a huge failure!
So, I have a new plan. I will lose those 5 pounds that I really want to lose, it just might take me a while longer to do it. I am not giving myself a deadline. I will continue to exercise as much as possible and do my best not to eat crap.... and that's it!

Dieting again

It's a little over 2 weeks until my birthday, July 24th. I am making a new goal to lose 5 more lbs by then. I am putting this on my blog to make myself accountable. I want to be that same weight that is on my driver's license, which expires on my birthday. The funny thing is, Justin says I most likely lied on my driver's license and I probably do weigh what I weighed then, so true....But who doesn't lie about their weight on their driver's license? This is the last leg of my weight loss and I know I can do it. If I can reach this last goal, I will be happy (hopefully).
I have lost a total of 22lbs since February and dropped 3 sizes in my clothes! If I can do it, anyone can!

July 4th in Bountiful

We celebrated the 4th of July in Bountiful with Justin's family. Justin was mostly in charge of lighting the fireworks. Ken, Justin's dad, had a turn with the punk too!
Here are some pictures:Ken (Grandpa/Dad) put a nice twist on the boring old fountains. It's hard to see in this picture, but he attached the firework to the end of a long pole and extended it in the air!

Justin with Alex, our nephew. They were bonding over a common interest, FIRE!

I'm holding my nephew, Avery. Ken, Natalie and Rob in the background.

Ashlie, Olivia, Kenlee and Justin
Lesson on Safety? Maybe....

Cowabunga!

After coming back from Vegas, we took a few extra days off to relax at home. On Thursday, we decided to go to Cowabunga Bay, the new water park that just opened in Draper. They have a bunch of waterslides and a lazy river. The weather was mild and so the waterslide area was freezing! I thought it was a little overpriced. I think if we go again, the weather will have to be a lot warmer, so we can actually enjoy the waterslides.

Note the goggles...Kenlee wore them the whole time...my daughter!

I thought her face was hilarious on this one!

Las Vegas 09

Our trip to Las Vegas went well. We went for 4 days, Friday until Tuesday. We had a lot of fun! It was hot, around 100 the whole time. That actually isn't too bad, I've been when it's hotter in Vegas, not so fun! The hotel we stayed at, The Golden Nugget, was nice and we had a great view. The best part, it was NON-smoking. It's crazy how just being in a casino and breathing that smoke can make you sick! At least at night we could breathe. I definetly like staying in the old part of Vegas, Fremont Street, the traffic (foot and automobile) is much better! Also, it is a lot more affordable!

The view from our room in the day.Our view at night!!