James Taylor In Concert!!!

Do any of you have a singer that you grew up listening to because your parents loved them and every time you listen to them they take you back to nothing but good memories with your family? Well for me that's James Taylor! I've known his songs for as long as I can remember, his calming chords and distinctive voice always put me at ease whenever I listen to him. I've always dreamed of hearing him sing in person and tonight that dream came true. I went with a girl friend who I didn't really know that well until recently, but James brought us together. While I was sitting in that audience listening to "Copperline" and "Fire and Rain" I had visions of singing along to him with my Dad while driving alone together from Eureka, CA to Provo, UT. I also pictured my Dad sitting in the middle of our living room with the surround sound turned way up and still wearing his headphones for the best sound possible as if enjoying his own personal concert. The only thing that would've made tonight any better would be to have my parents sitting next to me in those concert seats. With all the chaos that was October I didn't even realize until I was at the concert that I hadn't mentioned me going to the concert to my parents. So I called them during an intermission and shared the good news that their daughter was right where they wish they were. I think I almost cried 3 times that night, first was when I was expecting a good half hour or so of an opening act and then who should walk on stage first, but James Taylor himself. How I wished I was one of the fortunate people in the front row shaking his hand. The second time was when he started strumming the first chords to "You've Got a Friend" and I realized how many times I've listened to that song and have been comforted by that song and here I am hearing him sing it in person. Then the third time was when I went to record him singing and my camera gave me a "lens error" which means I got absolutely NO pictures or video!!! I could cry right now thinking about it. So I went online and stole one that looked the same as he did tonight. He might have even been wearing the same shirt. I loved hearing the stories behind songs I knew so well and seeing him jump around on stage as his band took off in their own solos. I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for when his tours bring him once again to Boise and I will definitely be buying tickets for my parents and will have the joy of sitting next to them while listening to the songs that they had shared with me throughout my childhood. Nothing but good memories!

BOO at the ZOO

We decided to give the kids a little trick-or-treat warm up and took them to the "Boo at the Zoo" today. They had stands set up all over the zoo for the kids to trick-or-treat at and lots of fun activities for them. The kids had fun. Here are a few shots of them in their costumes! When we got home the kids dove into their stashes of candy and Johnny insisted on having a sucker for each hand, of course.

Casuals

I stopped by Old Navy the other day while I was running errands and they had a bunch of their little girl casual dresses on sale. All Alex has are very dressy princess type dresses right now and I thought these would be fun for this winter to wear with her warm tights and cute new socks. I picked up a couple of different styles.

Pumpkin Patch

This week we went with our preschool class to the Pumpkin Patch. Johnny came along and loved the hay ride on the tractor. This pumpkin patch doesn't clear away all the vines like one's I've been to in the past so Johnny was tripping every other step and falling into the prickly pumpkin vines. I was not impressed. I don't think I will come back to this one again. Anyway, Alex had to go potty REALLY bad and started running back to steps where the tractor picks you up (not that the tractor was coming anytime soon). We had to hike a ways out to find any pumpkins that were small enough because they have a rule that the kids have to be able to carry them or you pay more. So I found two that were a good size for my kids; Alex was too far away to even hear me and Johnny was still trying to walk all over the vines and falling every 30 seconds. So I put Johnny on my back and carried the two pumpkins hunched over because Johnny has no grip. Other than that the kids had fun. It was warm and the air was crisp, a perfect combination. We brought home our two smaller pumpkins and sat them next to our 4 big pumpkins that we grew in our garden this year. I'll have to make a point this weekend to bring out the pumpkin carving stuff or it won't happen. I can't believe how fast October flew by. But as the saying goes..."Time flies when you're having fun!"

Smylies, Music, Snow

I did it! I drove 7 hours in the car with the kids all by myself! Ok, it was more like 5 1/2 hours of driving, but you can't drive straight through with two kids and one adult. Stopping periodically is a necessity, thus the 7 hours. It all started when I saw that a friend from school was performing in Park City and called up my dearest friend Sarah Smylie to see if she'd like to go too. We went to the concert to see Sara Bareilles (http://www.sarabmusic.com/) who was opening for Paulo Nutini. Sara did an awesome job; a long way from her leading role in our high school musical "Little Shop of Horrors". So nice to be able to enjoy music with an old friend (and a new friend) and take a break from growing up for a few hours.

In the picture below is me on the left, Lindsey (my new friend, she's good friends with Sarah S.), Sara Bareilles (Singer!), and of course Sarah Smylie (my old friend...that's right Sarah--old).

Sarah and I both share a love for photography and a love for our extremely cute kids. She has a daughter Alex's age, Grace, as well as one Johnny's age, that's Ruby. So we decided to take them on a photo shoot, where we stumbled upon this beautiful stone amphitheater. I thought getting two kids to smile at the same time was hard enough, try four. We did get some cute ones though, I can't wait to go through them all. Here's a sneak peak.

While we were there we had plans to visit two great friends who both have new baby boys and plans kept changing because of weather and time and I missed them both. So sorry Celeste and Cindy! I will be more organized next time! My kid's Auntie Jojo was a must see and she was so kind as to meet us half way at a Chuck E Cheese in Sandy for a couple of hours. Her boyfriend Brett came as well who I think enjoyed the games as much as the kids did. They ran like crazy trying every game possible and collecting as many tickets as possible. Luckily we'll be going to Jo's for Thanksgiving so we'll have lots of time to hang out then.
On our way out the door to visit Jolene, Grace asked me if we were leaving for home. I told her we were just visiting the kid's Aunt and we would be back later that day. Alex rushed over to Grace for a hug and said "I'll miss you while I'm gone". Grace returned it with a big bear hug, almost lifting Alex off the floor and said "best friends forever, right?" It was so cute! I really hope they do keep the friendship they built during our visit.

We were planning to leave Sunday but when we woke up that morning with 3 inches of snow on our car we decided to extend our stay another night. I'm not a fan of driving in the snow, especially for such a long distance and with two kids to keep entertained, there was no way I was starting out my day with icy Salt Lake City traffic. So I stuck around for another day and the kids got to enjoy their first snow of the season. I tried to not use the same pictures as Sarah did on her blog so if you'd like to see a few more visit http://www.smyliesforever.blogspot.com/.

Thanks Sarah, fun times as always! I don't think a "bad time" is possible around you. And most importantly, thanks for the yummy homemade pita bread and chocolate chip pumpkin bread. You warmed my soul AND my stomach this weekend!

Viva Las Vegas!

Last weekend found me in fabulous Las Vegas with Brad, his sister Jolene and her boyfriend Brett. Last year around this time we were watching the BYU vs UNLV football game in Provo and since they play each other every year we knew that the game would be held in Vegas in 2007 so we decided on a trip. We got there Friday afternoon and caught a show, walked the strip Saturday to check out the different casinos and visit M&M World. We took a ride on New York, New York's Manhattan Express roller coaster. We sat all the way in the back and I realized by the butterflies in my stomach that it had been a long time since my last roller coaster ride. The weather was beautiful and I much preferred walking around outside in the sunshine and fresh air over the smoke filled, dark casino rooms. We played a little and I won some and lost some, I think I ended up about $4 in the hole. I can see how people can loose lots of money in there though, all you have to do is look at a screen and push a button. I tried to stay near the penny and nickle machines because I didn't like seeing my money decrease with every push of the button. The highlight of the weekend for me was the BYU vs UNLV game that night. It was a fun game to watch and half of the audience was made up of faithful BYU fans coming to support. Apparently Vegas is a popular road trip amongst the BYU students. Might just be back there in 2 years when they play each other again!

Since I knew I'd have time to kill on the plane I borrowed a book from a friend that lots of people were reading for book club this month. I usually try to stay away from books because I have no self control when I'm into a book and I stress very easily when I'm way behind on my "to do" list because my nose has been in a book all day. Well it was nice to have something to read during my spare time and it made the flights fly by even faster. I finished it that weekend and made the mistake of reading the first chapter of the next book (which they so graciously provide at the end of the first book). When I went to return it to my friend on Monday I was determined I wasn't going to pick up the second book until I got back from my trip to Utah I'm taking this week. However when she took the book out of my hands and asked me if I wanted the second one, my no came out as a yes and I couldn't make myself take it back. So with everything I was suppose to get done yesterday I finished about half and now today is over booked. Last night around 11pm I closed the book mid paragraph and tossed it into my husbands car, running up the stairs so I wouldn't be temped to go get it out again. He won't be back until 7:30 tonight so I should have plenty of time to get everything done today. This is a seriously good series and I only hope she has the 4th one written before I finish the 3rd. Ok, so if you're wondering what series this is that I'm talking about you might have already read it. It's Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. She is a most talented writer so if you haven't had the pleasure, go pick up/barrow a copy soon. You'll love it!

Too Cute to Pass Up!

This is my neighbor's little girl. She has the cutest brown curls and soft smile.
I stole her for a photo shoot this morning. To see more pictures follow this link http://picasaweb.google.com/DayKids/Madison
Too cute!

Weekend with the Girls

I have a friend who has been working on building a cabin in Cascade for about 3 years now. Upon it's completion her husband and 3 sons had a "guy's" weekend at the cabin and so she in return decided to have a "girl's" weekend last Friday. Since she doesn't have any girls of her own she invited friends from our ward to join her for an over-nighter. There were 17 of us total and she actually had a bed for everyone to sleep in. This cabin is big and beautiful. Not that we did much sleeping. I think my head hit the pillow around 4:30am. We stayed up all night talking about everything under the sun and eating cheese and chocolate fondue. Friday evening Alex had a birthday party to go to. Her friend hand delivered the pretty princess invitation earlier that week and Alex was so excited to go. I thought for a second about having her skip it so I could make it to dinner in Cascade since I was in charge of bringing some of the food and I was already the last one arriving there that night. But Brad being the softy that he is, told me that there was no way she could miss the party; so once he got home from work, I took off for Cascade and he drove Alex (and our neighbor's girl) to the party, then hung out with Johnny for a couple of hours until it was time to pick her up. Then took both of the kids with him to Home Depot for some parts he needed for the cabin. And then drove to Cascade by himself with both of the kids. Now to some of you this may not seem like much but normally Brad would turn anyone of these tasks down without further questions. But he couldn't think of letting Alex miss a birthday party that she wanted to go to. I probably would've stayed home, sulking that I wasn't in Cascade so Alex wouldn't have to miss the party anyway, but I'm so glad I didn't have to and that he was so willing to step up to the plate. I even suggested he pick her up a little early so she wouldn't have cake and ice cream for dinner and then drive 1 1/2 hours in the car (seeing as though she often gets car sick on that ride anyway). But he wanted her to be able to enjoy all parts of the party and eat all the cake and ice cream she wanted so he hung around as long as needed for his little girl to enjoy being a little girl.

I know what you're thinking...

I know what you're thinking, "a tutu on a boy?" Johnny sees his sister dressing up in these fun outfits all the time. We do have some boy dress up clothes but not much and they just aren't the same. But Johnny did his best to pick out the "manliest" outfit possible out of Alex's room. He found a blue tutu (a great boy color) and the necklace that Alex refers to as "Dad's" necklace. Brad got it at a company party to help him win a door prize. When he got home he gave it to Alex and the kids still refer to it as "Dad's". So if Dad can wear it, why can't Johnny? And the glasses are his own. So as you can see, there's nothing girly about this ensemble. I'm sure he won't think that 14 years from now when I'm showing these pictures to his girlfriends.

I present to you, Mr. & Mrs. Matthias Knudsen

My little brother, Matt, got married in the Redland, CA temple; September 15, 2007 to Vanessa Avilez. Ok, so it's taken awhile to get this blog up I know. A CD with all of the pictures on it is on it's way. I was a dork and left my camera at the hotel the day of the wedding. I stole my Mom's camera but that of course went home with her with all of the pictures I took. But my sister was good enough to post some on the web and I stole these shots from there. After looking through the pictures I am sad that my kids weren't there. It would've been so expensive to fly them down and it would've been so crazy with them there. They would've had to be babysat the whole time while we were in the temple for both the endowment sessions and the marriage. Not to mention nap times and bedtimes that would need to be fit in. It would've been crazy but it would've been worth it for the pictures. Alex was sad that she wasn't going but mostly just because she wanted to see Vanessa's wedding dress. And Vanessa's dress was stunning, I made sure a picture was sent to our email right away so Alex could see it.

Brad and I had a nice time however without the kids. I would like to reinstate that I do wish the kids were there for the pictures but that's the only time I missed them. We had a blast relaxing at the pool, staying up late and of course sleeping in. We walked around downtown Palm Springs and did some shopping and ate at some nice little restaurants. We were free to do whatever we wanted with our free time, it was a beautiful weekend.

After the partying was over we headed back home to Idaho while everyone else made their way to the North Coast. Matt and Vanessa honeymooned on the ocean in Trinidad while my Mom and sisters prepared for a reception in their honor the following weekend. I almost packed up my kids and made the drive out there but I had too many responsibilities, it wouldn't have been practical. We haven't had a family picture taken since before Johnny was born and I am determined to have both my husband AND my kids at the next Knudsen family reunion.


CONGRATULATIONS MATT AND VANESSA!

Ok, and one of me and Brad. :o)