Here she comes...

Walking down the street... You know the song, right? I love when Kate's dressed up like this because she really gets into the role, puting on a whole new persona. I don't know if you can see the purse right off but it's fun to watch her mess with the purse and try and get things in and out of it with her oversized gloves in the way.

Today, I saw a long-time-ago co-worker from JC Penney (Melissa Miles for my JCP friends) and her son had on dress-up heels! Mis-matching ones! It was too funny. My friend was so cute about it, too. I love that. And who wouldn't want to wear dress up heels? They are so rewarding. They make those awesome clip-clopping sounds. They are sparkly. Why should little girls have all the fun?

P.S. It's Scott's 32nd Birthday today! Go Scott! We had a fun day and I think his favorite birthday gift was that tomorrow's deposition for that crazy law suit was postponed a month or so! And tied, or a close second, was Kate's birthday loves. She laid them on pretty thick when he stopped in after lunch on his way to a bid in Layton. We love you Scotty-boy! XOXO

Respite: an interval of rest or relief

We spent the week at Scott's parents' cabin and was that ever a retreat! This is the best vacation spot for us. It's close. It's inexpensive and well-stocked with anything and everything anyone might want (Thank you Kathy). You don't have to deal with crowds, tips, shopping, or ornery people. You can sleep in, go to bed late, hike, look at beautiful, mountain scenery, or do absolutely nothing.

My favorite part was hiking up to the lookout several times and playing Lucky Unders (a card game).
Scott's favorite part was driving us in the Ranger all over the cabin area and seeing the elk.
Kate's favorite part was playing old maid & go fish repeatedly.

This is Kate on our way to the cabin, clutching her favorite, flower dress. She wore it constantly. Her favorite dress-up shoes broke the day before we left for the cabin so we bought her a new pair in Kimball Junction and she wore them up at the cabin in all the gravel and mud with her favorite flower dress. Not quite the mountain attire you would expect for 40-50 degree weather. Try telling that to her. My mom, dad, sister, and nephew came up Monday night for dinner and a hike and my cousin and her family came up to stay overnight on Thursday and then my parents came up again-because no one could have too much of that place-on Friday for dinner and more hiking.Above is Scott driving us around in the Ranger. He could live at the cabin. Everyday I half expect him to say, "Julie, let's sell our house and buy the cabin from Mom & Dad." Here's Kate with my cousin, Ann, and her daughter, Lydia. Ann's husband, Dan, and their son, Tanner.

Kate with Tanner. Move over Zac and James, Kate has a new boyfriend! By the way, should I wait to tell Kate that she probably shouldn't marry her second cousin or is it best to let her know now?

This is a picture of Buck Hollow where we saw tons of wildlife: a few random deer, three buck, 18-head of elk etc.

Varmints

We've had varmints living in the basement in our wood burning stove. At first it was scary. We'd be downstairs watching a movie and we'd hear scratching and banging noises. But this year, about a month ago, we hear purring. We had an expert tells us that they are for sure Raccoons. So our little friend who comes back every year nested with her little babies in our fireplace. I am so stupid. I thought it was cute at first. But when our expert/friend reminded me of the feces & urine I remembered all the times Scott has asked me to buy air fresheners for downstairs because the basement always smelled not quite right to him. Since our home has been around since the 70's I always assumed it's just the smell of an old house. We washed the carpet, nope still smelly. We painted the walls, nope still smelly. Now what are we going to do?

We were advised to wait out the nesting period and when we know for sure they are all gone, we should put a cap on the chimney and wait for the feces and urine to dry up and set the remnants ablaze this winter. I say we should take the whole ugly thing down brick-by-brick and start with a clean slate. If I got my way it would cost quite a bit. Money. That's all I need. More of it. Lots and lots.

If I had some money, I would redo the basement ceiling and put in pot lights. I would get new carpet downstairs. I would buy new windows. I would throw a ton of money into the yard. We could probably spend $30,000 in the yard alone because of the huge drop-off that needs a new retaining wall and just some new plants and trees would be nice. It's so hard to wait. But I know if I wait long enough, all my ideas of what I think I need will change anyway.

We're only taking half our month's salary these days so I know my wishes are a pipe dream. Scott's last employee quit yesterday so now it's just Scott, Jeff, and Todd--and Todd hasn't worked with the business for over a month. Luckily he's had work to keep him busy at the townhomes that his wife manages.

But two bits of fun: Scott started guitar lessons yesterday (that came totally out of the blue for me but that's what he's doing), and the manager at Repartee asked me to be the featured, local artist for their Gallery Stroll June 26.

Kathy's 7 Grandkids & One on the Way

We gathered the Bangerter grandkids for pictures to give to Grandma B for her Mother's Day gift. Jeff and Anna's baby will be due in July so we really need to get together again at Christmas so we stay current. Yesterday, we celebrated Kathy's birthday. I wonder if she would mind if I told how old she is? Well, let's just say she is proud of her soon to be 8 grandkids and we'll leave it at that. The grandkids really are her joy. They're a cute bunch.

Zac, Kate, Whitney, Suzie, Ashlee, Jessica, & Hailey Kristi called a friend of the family to take the pictures and she took these of Kate. This is the one very big perk to not having a sibling for Kate, she got more camera face-time.

I like this one. When I was looking at it with Kate, she said that Sleeping Beauty does it like that.

God Principle: Wait

So I experienced what I call a God Principle.

Sometimes it happens that everyday life as a parent reminds me of what our Heavenly Father goes through with us.

The other day, I was wiping Kate's hands with a wet, soapy rag at the dinner table right before we ate instead of making her go to the bathroom to wash up because she was so tired.

In the process of washing her up, the table got all soap-sudsy. As I walked to the sink to get a dry towel, I said, "Oh, I'll get a towel to clean that up." But she made a fuss and didn't stop to hear me tell her that I was taking care of it. She swished it around all over her side of the table and moved her plate back and forth over the mess until the soap suds were all over. By the time I got to the table with the towel she had made a doozy of a mess with the bubbles.

A "zap" of understanding came to me. Sometimes we are like Kate. We don't receive God's comforting words that He is on His way to help. We don't ask for His help. We just take it upon ourselves to "fix" the problem with our limited knowledge of how things work. We don't know God's ways. We don't know He is coming and that He will help us. And that when He helps us, it will be so much better than anything we could think of or hope for.

So the next time you find yourself in a similar situation with spiritual "soap suds all over your kitchen table," just stop and ask for help. If the help is slower to come than you'd like (which it often is), hold to it, listen for comfort, wait for His hand to clear the mess. He's on His way. If the mess is never cleaned up, it was probably not that big of a deal anyway so focus on the yummy dinner He prepared for you and the clean hands He gave you.

Farewell Shark Bait & Ooh-Ha-Ha

Yesterday, it was time to say goodbye to our adopted fish: little Shark Bait and Ooh-Ha-Ha. We've had them in our custody for what seems like a year but they've grown too big for our little aquarium. We took them on due to a Domestic Pet Neglect case. The Department of Fish and Pet Services contacted me and removed the fish from their home.

Maybe that's not exactly how it happened. All I remember is that my mom complained to my sister, Jill, that Slimy & Squirmy weren't being fed and their tank was always filthy so Jill talked to the little fishies' kid-parent, my nephew James, and agreed to find them a more suitable home. I hope James won't be sad to see his fish released to the home Kate and I chose for them.



This pond already has two Koi and one Goldfish. During the winter months, the pond freezes over and the fish live underneath eating the underwater flora.

"Make friends little guys."

"We won't be far away and we'll come visit you soon."

"Oh look, they are introducing each other."


Kate taking a few milliseconds to say "Good Bye."

Boys Are Stinky

I've already mentioned Kate's sniffer and how acute her sense of smell is. Well, today, after dinner, Scott and I had Kate all tucked in her bed and as Scott's custom, he was kneeling beside her bed, using his elbows to lean on the mattress. As he was talking to her before prayer she crinkled up her nose and got all in a tussy. She complained, "Eww, what's that smell? Daddy, what did you do?" And Scott knowingly chuckled and admitted that he just had one of those Doritos burps. Upon learning the root of her problem Kate fussed as she pushed him away, "Ahhhhhh! Go away Daddy! Ewwww. Boys are stinky! Go Away!"

Scott and I were laughing hysterically! We couldn't get over it!

We're in the market for a trampoline now instead of a swing set. We think Kate will enjoy it more because she is such a rough-and-tumble, big-bodied, gymnastic type. We'll go to the park if she ever needs to fulfill her swinging or sliding fix--we're already paying taxes for a few swing sets at nearby city parks, might as well take full advantage.

Oh, I had my first facial treatment this past week. Last week I went in for a consultation for my acne and the girl did extractions and set me up with a chemical peel yesterday. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll finally be able to get a handle on my acne. It's been over a decade of trying everything. For the run-down... The new line of products for this go-around: cleanser, tonic, and sunscreen cost $85. The chemical peel and two sessions of extractions cost $65.

After the lady spent an hour poking my face with needles and scrubbing it with ACID the girl at the front desk had the nerve to ask if I wanted to pay a tip! Even more surprising, I didn't leave one. HA! Go Me! I figure I'll be coming back for at least two more peels in the next month so if I like what a see, then she'll get a tip. I still can't believe I didn't tip her. If you want a good laugh, just come look at all my pitifulness My skin is so tight right now, and red, I can barely open my mouth to put a forkful of food in it! It's great! But don't think it'll help me loose weight. I'll probably eat more just to get through it. HA!

So that's what I'm up to these days. Oh, and Scott took a paycheck Monday! Wahoo! Of course it might be the only one this month. Who knows? I still can't believe we made it an entire month without a paycheck. Can you believe that? Honestly, last month was the greatest month we've ever had. We had so many blessings come that we can't even tell that we didn't get a paycheck. Things at work are still day-to-day but I know we'll be fine. We've seen amazing things happen. I think Scott is watching Crocodile Dundee. I think I'll try to beg him to run to DQ for a French Silk Blizzard. And then, I will be in heaven.