Ouch.

I was bitten by one of these this week. I thought it was a mosquito bite, but it kept looking worse and worse everday. Finally this morning I went to the doctor and it seems I've been bitten by this:

It's a Hobo Spider. I don't know what is worse -- having a gross bite on my leg, or just knowing that at some point I had a spider crawling on me and I didn't know it!! Ewww!

My bite isn't near as disgusting as most of the bites I saw on-line, which is good, but the doctor is worried because my bite is sinking in and becoming dark in the center. This could mean my skin is dying and apparently there is no way to stop it. Fabulous!

I'll keep you posted. I won't post pictures though.
This is a family friendly blog, afterall.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I love this picture. It says it all . . . you are the best, most hands-on grandma around. You make wonderful memories for our family. It's only fitting that your birthday is a state holiday in Utah!

Have a fabulous birthday!!

R-O-D-E-O

On Monday night we headed up to Ogden for the annual Pioneer Days Rodeo.

I have not always been a fan of the rodeo. It's VERY hot. It involves a lot of dirt, stinky animals and sweaty people. This was our 3rd trip to the Ogden rodeo. I reluctantly agreed to go this year mainly because the kids really wanted to go & Suzy really put the pressure on. And I must admit, I really had a blast this time! I know, it's amazing.

Going to the rodeo is like stepping into another world. It's a world I was never a part of and now I find it facinating.

Before we left, we made sure we all had hats and umbrellas and suncreen to protect us from the scorching sun. Emma fully embraced her cowgirl persona:

When we got to the rodeo, it was hot, but not scorching. I was so happy!

We started our evening off with some good old-fashioned rodeo junk food. Foot-long corndogs, curly fries, navajo tacos and snowcones. Suzy looks so happy in this picture because she's finally eating the curly fries she'd been talking about all day.

Jacob is not really enjoying the heat. Of course you'll notice he is shaded by grandma & grandpa's umbrella and he's eating a snowcone. How rough can it be?

The rodeo started off with a bunch of skydivers. Very cool and patriotic.

Sophie, Allie & Emma were in heaven when they got to meet all the rodeo queens. Emma & Sophie actually asked each one for an autograph. Emma asked me how she could become a rodeo queen and I told her she had been born into the wrong family for that. Sorry sweetie!

Some very "rodeo-looking" shots:

Allie, Emma & Sophie. Take note of our awesome front-row seats. Good job Suzy.

This shot reminds me of Friday Night Lights.

More rodeo junk food. Over-priced churros that were hard as a rock.

Emma with the Rodeo Clown. He was really funny.

The highlight of the night was definitely the bull-riding. It's crazy to see it in person. It's terrifying actually. Take a look:

The night ended with some motorcycle stunt riders.

They did stuff like this:

It's better to see it like this though:

We didn't get home until 1 a.m. and we were all exhausted the next day, but I'm pretty sure we'll be going next year.

They're friends!

Yesterday I walked by the girl's room and saw this:


Sammy was sound asleep on Emma's bunk. Nothing unsual about that. Sammy sleeps for about 18 hours a day, afterall. But upon further investigation, I discovered this:

They're friends! They really like eachother! Well, "like" may be a strong word, but they're hanging out together! I'm so happy. I was very worried that they'd never really get along.

All that worry for nothing.

By the way, isn't the girl's new bedding cute?

Thanks for helping me with that mom!

Two Peas in a Pod

We were lucky to have cousin Shannon with us for almost two weeks this summer! Emma & Shannon may live far apart, but within minutes of seeing eachother, they are like long lost twins.

Take a look at some of their adventures:

Sad to say goodbye...

Thanks for the fun times Shannon! See you this Christmas!!

Lazy Sunday

It seems like we've been busy since the day school let out for the summer. In fact, yesterday was the first Sunday of the summer that we were just home by ourselves, as a family. So after barbecuing some hamburgers, we decided to take a lazy Sunday drive.

First stop . . . Squaw Peak. Joseph rides his bike up here about 3 times a week. He's insane! Our car struggled to get up to the peak! It was worth the drive though. Absolutely beautiful.





Next stop . . . Bridal Veil Falls. Very pretty, and very crowded. We hadn't been here in a long time. The kids had fun splashing around and skipping rocks.







Final stop . . . Sundance. I haven't been there in over a year. I guess since I no longer get the awesome discount at the General Store . . . it's not as much fun :) It was as lovely as ever and of course Joseph got to visit with lots of old friends.

Fabulous

Joseph & I took the kids and cousin Shannon to see this at the Hale Center Theater this week. It was absolutely fabulous. If you haven't been to the Hale Center Theater before, this is the play you should start with.