Family + D-Backs = FUN!!

While Kevin's parents were visiting last weekend we all went to a D-Backs game.

We had a blast!!! (even though you can't tell by the looks on Tanner and Treyson's faces!!)

Extreme (Pool) Make-Over

For some reason our pool decided to become a money pit over the past 6 months. It has not been fun or exciting to put money into the "pit", but I have to admit that the outcome is quite nice. As with most things in our house (due to the cheap, short-cut-taking- do-everything-as-fast-and-sloppy-as-he-possibly-can-previous owner) the pool decking was not done properly the first time (nor was the kitchen sink plumbing...but that's another story) and was in serious need to be re-done. See pictures below:

So, Kevin called Jorge Castro and his band of Mexican singers (yes, you heard me right...SINGERS) to come and fix our pit. They showed up every morning singing, and would break into song occasionally throughout the day as they worked. It made me laugh. The kids thought it was pretty great, too.

As worried as I was about Jorge and his band of workers...I mean-singers...they did a wonderful, quick job. Here's a few pictures of the finished pool deck and patio:

As it turns out, we decided that since we had just put all the money into fixing the decking that we may as well empty the pool and have the tile cleaned and acid washed. I had tried, the day previous to the draining, to go out and clean the pool tile with some Lime Away...

Ya, well, that didn't work. So we contacted Vern of Aqua Patrol Pool Service (also Ty's baseball coach) to come and work his pool magic. Here's some pictures during the draining and cleaning:I'll post some pictures of the completed project once Vern comes today to add all the chemicals and start the pool. We can't wait to hop in...hopefully this weekend!!!

Start Spreadin' The News...

It's been a while since I've posted and thought I'd better get my act together and update my blog. I think I'll start with my trip to New York...
It all started on the 14th... (disclaimer--all times are approximate)
Monday, April 14th
8:30 p.m.--kiss the kids and hubby, throw my suitcase in the truck and leave my house--suddenly realize that I don't have my cell phone. Turn around, run in the house and search frantically for the lost phone.
8:35 p.m.--call my cell phone from the house phone while the kids are running around trying to find it.
8:40 p.m.--still can't find it. Decide to go back out to the car, while calling the cell phone, to see if I can hear it out there...
8:41 p.m.--BINGO!! It was in my suitcase...must have fallen in when I was packing.
8:43 p.m.--re-kiss the kids and hubby and get on my way.
8:55 p.m.--arrive at Rachel's...throw her stuff in the truck and head to the airport.
9:20 p.m.--arrive at the airport--go through security and wait for flight.
10:20 p.m.--on the plane and on our way!!!
Tuesday, the 15th
6:something a.m.--arrive at JFK airport and make our way to the train to take us into NYC.
Nearly 7 a.m.--finally figured out which train to get on and head to Jamaica Station in the Bronx.

After 7 a.m.--arrive at Jamaica station and board the E train to take us downtown...it's rush hour and the train is PACKED!!
7:30 a.m.--arrive at the 42nd Street station and get off the train...
7:32 a.m.--emerged from the subway and try to figure out which way to go to get to our hotel.
7:35 a.m.--turn around and walk the other way to get to our hotel...
7:45 a.m.--arrive at our hotel!!! Hoping for an early check-in...suddenly the red-eye isn't seeming like such a smart idea....soooooooo tired!!
7:50 a.m.--Early Check-In----YEEESSSSSSSSS!
8:00 a.m.--laughing at our teeny, tiny little room...change clothes and head out to find some breakfast.

The rest of the day is such a blur...

We ate breakfast at McDonalds in Time Square...I know, I know...McDonald's is gross, but at that point we just wanted some food and it's the first thing we found. Here's a picture of me at Time Square:

The only thing I really wanted to see while I was in NYC (besides Josh) was Ground Zero, so after we ate breakfast and walked around Time Square, we got back on the Subway and headed to Ground Zero. I couldn't believe how emotional I was as I walked up to the sight. I was overwhelmed by the size of the area. It took me some time to be able to process the magnitude of it all. We walked the perimeter of the area and just took our time taking it all in.
Here's some pictures from the sight: By this point the lack of sleep was seriously kicking in so we decided to head back to our hotel and catch a nap. Unfortunately I was a little too keyed up to get any sleep, so I rested as much as I could. ;)
After a bit of rest we decided to go to the Empire State Building. I had seen it when I was in New York after high school graduation, but had never been to the top. It was amazing!! What a view!! Here's a really freaky picture of me at the top. The Statue of Liberty was in the background but I don't think you can see it very well in the picture. From there we headed back to our hotel to get ready to go to dinner and the concert. We got back on the subway (for the hundredth time) and headed to the venue. When we got there we had to get in line to receive our tickets. We finally got up to the will call area and was told that they weren't ready to hand out the tickets yet, and that we would need to come back a little later. We decided to go have dinner since we were assured that the "tickets are reserved seating" and since we were also told that we would have the "best seats in the house" we weren't worried about hurrying. (I'm adding something here--it's now Saturday night--because I forgot about it until last night...on our way to dinner we saw Donny Osmond going into a jewelry shop with his son. He's not as tall as I thought he was. That's all I really have to say about that.) We went to a cool little cafe called the Bouchon Bakery Restaurant which was right in the middle of the Time Warner Center. We had this incredible view of Columbus Circle and Central Park (to the left--with all the trees): After we finished dinner we went back upstairs to get our tickets and had to get in another long line. Here' a picture of us standing in line. We're about half way back...I'm in the white shirt (in front of the lady in the white coat):
When we got up to the table to get our tickets she couldn't find my name on the list...OF COURSE...so I stood there in a panic trying to think of every possible name it could be listed under. Well, after what felt like 20 minutes (but was most likely only about 30 seconds) she found my name and gave us our tickets. I took one look at them and nearly burst into tears...instead of having the "best seats in the house" we actually had the WORST seats in the house...BALCONY--and not the 1st balcony...it was the 3rd!! I told her that she just have been mistaken and that we were told we were to have the "best seats in the house" and she proceeded to tell me that there must have been a mix up, and that they weren't told that the Fan Club members were supposed to have the best seats. So, I sulked up to my seat on THE 3rd BALCONY and waited...still sulking...
Finally, I looked at Rachel and she was thinking exactly the same thing...we were going to go down to the main level and wait until they seated us closer. Super long story short...we ended up about 20 rows back and had an excellent view of Josh. Front row would have been better, but this wasn't nearly as bad as the balcony.
The show was amazing!! Josh sounded better than ever and was interacting with the audience between songs. After he finished his set (about 12 songs) we were told that if we wanted to wait about 15 minutes there would be a little "surprise". Of course we waited, and were lucky enough to hear Josh and Idina Menzel ("Wicked", "Rent", and "Enchanted"-- Married to Taye Diggs--wow!)sing a duet of Josh's song, "Awake". She had taped her PBS special the night before, with Josh as her special guest, but needed to re-record the song they did together...lucky for us!! She was funny, but has a dirty mouth...who knew?? When they finished we made our way out of the venue like walking zombies--the lack of sleep was seriously kicking in by this point--got back on the subway to our hotel and literally dove into bed. I can't believe how tired I was!!! I found out later that Josh signed autographs after the show, but by that point the only thing I could think about was SLEEP!!!
Wednesday, the 16th
7:30 a.m.--made our way to the Newark airport via taxi (EXPENSIVE!!!) and headed home.
It was an amazing whirl-wind of a trip and I loved every minute of it!!

Good Eats

I was tagged by Sara for my 10 favorite places to eat. This was really hard, but I think I've narrowed it down to 10...with a couple of extras. I will also note that the only one in any particular order is the restaurant in the #1 spot because it's my all time favorite. Here it goes...

1. Gecko Grill --their Southwest Shrimp Burro is to die for!!!
2. Sushi Eye In Motion or Go Sushi (in SLC)-- the Shrimp Tempura Roll and Vegas Roll are the best at both places!!
3. Macaroni Grill/Carrabbas/Olive Garden--when I want Italian, any of these will do. The Pasta Milano at Macaroni Grill is my very favorite!!
4. Blimpie--my favorite in the "sandwich" category--the "Blimpie Best" is simply the best!!
5. Paradise Bakery--I love their chicken salad sandwich and their zesty tomato soup.
6. The Phoenicia Grill--for a gyro, it's my favorite place!
7. The Brick Oven--when I'm in Provo I love to go eat here. I don't know if it's because I like the food, or if it's nostalgia for my college days that draws me to it. ;)
8. The Claim Jumper--one of my all time favorites for a good steak and yummy bread!
9. Parker's Drive In/Purple Turtle/Taco Amigo--once again, I think it's a nostalgia thing. The food is probably really gross, but I love being "home" and going to eat at one of these restaurants.
10. Del Taco--for fast food this has to be one of my favorites. I love their crispy tacos. Also, there's nothing better than "Taco Tuesday" when I can feed my whole family for $10!!!

I tag Melissa, Nikkel, and Katherine!! Have fun!!

I WON, I WON, I WON!!!!

I can't believe it!!! I've never won anything...EVER!!!

Watch out NYC because I'm coming!!!

I WON tickets to see JOSH in a private concert to be taped for PBS Special in NYC next Tuesday!!!

I can't hardly wait!!!

What Day Is It??

I'm posting this at the risk of having my husband be very mad at me. He was just asking me what I was doing and I told him I was writing about him . He told me he'd be really mad if I told this story, but I have to. It's just one of those things that makes him so endearing to me. It's one of the reasons why I love him so much. So at the risk of having an angry hubby, I'm going to post it anyway. Feel free to laugh...
I did!!

So, I was in the bathroom getting ready this morning when Kevin came storming in. I could tell that he was all worked up about something...the conversation went something like this:

Kevin: You'll never guess what our Arizona legislature passed last night.
Me: (just looking at him, wondering why he was so livid)
Kevin: They're going to start charging a toll for the freeways. $2.02 to drive on the 202, $1.01 to drive on the 101, and $.51 for driving on the 51. Can you believe how asinine that is? And do you know when they're going to start??? TOMORROW. TOMORROW!!
Me: hmmm (thinking he was trying to fool me ) And how do you think they're going to enforce this when they don't have any toll booths set up on the freeways? (realizing he was dead serious and trying not to laugh out loud)
Kevin: They're collecting the tolls at the on-ramps.
Me: Honey, do you know what day it is?
Kevin: What does that have to do with anything? They were talking about it on the radio this morning.
Me: Babe, it's April Fools Day and I think you've been fooled.
Kevin: (staring at me) Can they do that on the radio?

And this, my friends, is one of the reasons why I love my hubby sooooo much!! He's the best! Thanks, Kev, for filling my life with love and laughter!!
I love you!!