The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I only like to give 5 stars to books I absolutely can't put down.  This would keep me up all hours of the morning!


I had heard this book was good, but the story really didn't sound very appealing to me.  I finally picked it up and just thought "what the heck" and I LOVED it!  I thought this book was very interesting.  I loved the inner debates Katniss goes through during the whole book.  I loved watching Katniss and Peeta's relationship grow.  Peeta seemed kind of weak at first, but slowly I realized he was a strong character.  I finished this book in about a week.  I couldn't put it down.


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The Fair

At the end of August we went to the FAIR!  We were honestly surprised at how awesome it was.  It was probably the best fair I have ever been too.  It wasn't to incredibly hot and just tons of fun things to do!  So lets get to it...

Thanks to Lagoon Grant loves the Merry-Go-Round.  This one was pretty cool, but not nearly the animal selection at Lagoon.  You were pretty much limited to a horse, if you wanted to go up and down.

Grant thought this was a super cool ride!  These quads, four wheelers, ATV's, or whatever you want to call them went super fast!  He thought it was a riot!  I had to take about 40 pictures before I got some without being blurry.  This ride was really fast!

This smile is a genuine "I am having the time of my life" type of smile!

A quick side note. At Lagoon the ride like this is called "Skallywag."  It is his favorite.  Lucky for us all the other kids think it is a lame ride so Grant can just get back on over and over.  If we are lucky, the ride operator will just let the ride keep going until someone else gets in line.  That makes our day!

This ride is the same concept, but obviously not as cool.

This giant swing was actually pretty fun!  Grant was a little nervous at first but once it got going he was just fine.

They had a sea lion show, that we missed seeing by just a few minutes.  The other cool thing we got to do was catch butterflies.  Honestly, Grant was probably the best at catching butterflies.  He thought they were so cool.  It was fun to see them up close.  One thing we learned is that if you touch their wings with your fingers the oil from our skin "melts" away their wings.  Eventually they will die because they can't fly.  That's why they provided high tech butterfly catching sticks a.k.a. q-tips.

Alright here comes a soap box!

This sacred cattle slash camel creature from India is called a Zebu.  I saw one of these things when I was a child.  I thought it was kind of cool at first, because it was the closest thing I had ever seen with "my name" on it.  (I always wanted my own personalized kid license plate, pencils, stickers, bags, bottles, books, key chains, etc with. my. name. It never happened!)  So these animals were always kind of cool until....

you translate it to SPANISH!  Now look at it.  It has a cute little "dash" over the U, but it is still my name!  I no longer think this is cute or adorable.  I don't appreciate knowing this.  Kyle of course thought it was funny, but he stopped teasing me when he realized it really hurt my feelings. 

In the past people have asked me if I am named after this animal because it has a grand appearance on Veggie Tales.  I will NEVER. EVER. watch Veggie Tales because of it.   I have been called everything in the book:  kuh-buh, See-boo, say-boo, caleb (in high school by my English teacher), boo- see, and a few others.  I know I have expressed my dislike for my name at times.  I really wish I could have a regular name that people can say right, unique would be fine if it was easy to say.  

Alright, moving on....

Grant loved the petting zoo part.  He liked the fact the sheep licked his hand.  He thought it tickled.

This long horn was a true long horn.  Those horns are at least 3 feet apart.

This was my favorite pig!  Look at how big he is!  It was incredible.  I had to pay 50 cents to see him and take a picture.  At that price I thought I better show him off!

SLP Friends

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True Talent

Maybe it is because it is past 11 o'clock at night....maybe I am really tired...maybe I have a strange sense of humor. No matter the case this video made me laugh so hard I cried. It is 22 seconds of sure bliss. I hope you enjoy!

I am 30!

I turned 30 on the 3rd of September.  I am ok with it.  I really was hoping to have 2 children by the time I was 30, but that obviously did not happen.  Looking back at what I have accomplished in the last 10 years I am pretty pleased.  

I graduated from USU with a Bachelor's and Master's Degree.  I have moved at least 7 times.  I married to my sweetheart.  Together we bought 3 cars and 1 house.  I have changed jobs 3 times since I graduated.  I have been pregnant twice and have one wonderful son.  My testimony has grown and is stronger than before.  I have endured many trials and have become one tough cookie!  I have picked up running and have run quite a few 5K's and a 10K.  

I wanted to go for a run on my birthday.  I came home to a Luau Party!  I was all sweaty and gross, but my boys were so excited!  Kyle got me all dressed for my birthday party!  Grant wanted me to open my presents before I got in the shower!  

Kyle went all out for the big 30!  We had tropical banners and balloons to set the scene.  I was very impressed at how well he did.  I am so lucky to have a hubby that cares about little things like parties.  

Kyle and Grant got me this really nice running jacket.  Now the weather is cooling off I am going to need a light jacket to go running in.  Fall weather is cool for running, but  sometimes it is really cold when you first start.  I was excited for this  cute jacket!

I love memory foam pillows!  I have a really nice one, but a few months ago Grant was sleeping on it for a nap and had an accident.  The bottom corner of the pillow got pee on it.  I tried washing it, but the smell really never went away.  It was my favorite pillow in all the world!  Kyle got me a new one so I don't have to fall asleep to the fragrance of pee.

Kyle also decided I needed a little prank gift for the big day!  I got this to help with my old lady hearing.

Grant wanted to get doughnuts for me and since Krispy Kreme is right across the street from Zurcher's they got doughnuts!  They sure are mighty tasty! 

We spent most of the afternoon driving go-carts and playing miniature golf.  We were having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures.  Kyle took me to one of my favorite restaurants: Tucano's!  It was a wonderful day.  I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!

Up, Up and ...Stay

Over Labor Day weekend we went to "Glow Night" at the park.  It was pretty incredible.  I have never seen hot air balloons up close like this before.  We didn't see them fly or anything, but it was still beautiful.  

This is for all those Coke lovers!  Especially my Cindy!

My Goal: So Close

I made a goal towards the end of my to run 100 miles before my birthday.  I fell short 4.7 miles. I am a little bummed but considering that I had to keep converting miles to kilometers and did some minor miscalculations I am still pretty proud.  I have to say I really tried.