Was that Thunder?

The greatest event our city offers to some may guess is the Kentucky Derby but in reality it is Thunder over Louisville. This is an annual firework show over the river. It takes place two weeks before the Derby. We are die hards and go every year! This year was the first time we went with friends.

Parking is always a mess. You have to park in certain areas and then walk down to the water front. Ryan had dropped me and the kids off while he parked the car. I totally thought I would get to the waterfront before him and I would have a place all saved for us. Well, he parked way closer than where he dropped me off. I had two strollers and all our stuff. I pushed the big stroller with Lacey in it and all our bags and Aidan pushed Cassidy in the little stroller. Aidan would trade off with Lacey pushing. At some points they were both tired so I had one sit in the front seat of the double stroller and steer the stroller with Cassidy in it. So I was essentially pushing both strollers but Aidan was steering the one Cassidy was in. It was a crazy mess. We walked over two miles just to get to our spot. It took and hour and forty minutes. Yeah it was insane and I was so tired.

We had a great spot on the lawn with our friends. We had lots of snacks and treats to keep us occupied while we waited for the show to start. Two barges shoot off fireworks that mirror each other on each side of the bridge and then fireworks are shot off the bridge as well. The whole thing is choreographed to music.

Each year our kids have hated the fireworks. It is too loud and too late at night. We often consider getting them a sitter and just the two of us go. But there will be one year they surprise us and finally like them so we keep bringing them.


We were prepared though. We had two sets of headphones used at the gun range and then earplugs. Cassidy was startled by the first fire works. She held on tight to me the whole show but didn't really cry. She just watched in amazement and a little concern.

Lacey on the other hand full on zonked out for the whole show. She didn't twitch at all to the noise. She seriously missed the whole thing.

Aidan surprised us and didn't use the earplugs and liked it. It was his year. Yeah!



I loved it as I always do. Loved the music, the colors and the volume of fireworks they shot off. It is truly the best fireworks show ever.

Here is a taste..........

Accepting Reality

After a few years time I have finally faced the reality that my wedding ring no longer fits me. I kept hoping somehow it would fit again without turning my whole finger numb. But, I faced the truth and finally had it resized. I went from a 4 1/2 to a 5 1/2. A whole size! It was hard to accept the fact that I am not the same size I was when I was married. Thank goodness we don't have to try and fit in our wedding dresses again. Now that would be a very sad day.

Now that it has been resized, I love having it fit. It feels brand new again and I keep staring at it like I did when I first was given it. I look forward to putting it on instead of resenting it because it didn't fit any more. I still love it and love wearing it again.

That which we call a Rose...

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Cassidy Rose!

We call Cassidy, Dee Dee, all the time. I figured she would pick up on that as her name. But when I asked her one day Dee Dee what? and she said Rose, it took me by surprise. That is her middle name. I do call her that a lot, but it was so cute to hear her say it. I hadn't taught her that or rehearsed it with her. She just picked it up from me saying it. Isn't it adorable?

Brian Regan

Over the holidays my sister brought three DVDs of the comedian Brian Regan for us to watch. He was so funny and Ryan and I took to his humor quickly. As we watched videos on YouTube we decided to see if he was on tour. We were so excited when we saw his tour was coming to our town. We saw him last night. When we bought the tickets we had tried to look at the theater map to see where our seats were but we couldn't find where CC was. When we were actually there and were led to our seats we were a little shocked. They had put three rows of folding chairs in front of the row where the regular theaters seats began. We were in the third row of those folding chairs, in the center. He was so close to us it wasn't almost uncomfortable but I was laughing too hard to care. Ryan and I had such a great time. We love laughing and especially laughing together. We have continued to quote his bits and still find ourselves laughing. He takes everyday simple things and makes them so funny. One of our favorites is when he talks about passengers sitting in first class and how you feel like such a peon walking past them to get to the coach seats. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9em-ZCddWk&feature=related ) He has such funny facial expressions and is so animated which makes it all the funnier. All the bits we had seen on DVD and on the internet were clean so we were hoping he was still clean in person. He is! That is the best thing about him is that he is entirely clean. No swear words, no inappropriate humor. Just clean. So go check him out.

http://www.brianregan.com/experience-av.html

I decided that if I was a queen I would definitely have a court jester. Wouldn't it be great to just have someone around that all they were in charge of doing was making you laugh?

From the Office of the First Presidency!

My mom called me today and immediately just started reading me a letter she and my dad had received in the mail. I thought she was reading me a letter my dad had received and already talked to me about but I got confused when I heard my son's name mentioned. Then it clicked. Remember the story where Aidan called the neighbor boy Uchtdorf ? My dad enjoyed the story so much he felt the need to write the story to Pres. Uchtdorf himself. My dad had told me awhile ago that he had done that. I was a little embarrassed but didn't think much of it. Well, the letter my parents received was from the office of the First Presidency, from President Uchtdorf.

I was laughing so hard when my mom was done reading it to me. I was in shock and a little embarrassed. I hope he took the story well. But honestly to hear him write about MY OWN son and reference MY FAMILY was amazing. For one tiny moment, President Uchtdorf was thinking about MY FAMILY. We really love him and look forward to every time he speaks. We have a special place in our hearts for him because of who he is and also because he is a pilot. We felt honored he had replied to our silly story. Aidan was beaming when he read the actual letter. It will be something he will treasure for a lifetime.

Is this a problem?

What mom? I was thirsty.

HO HO, La La, and Money

Cassidy has begun to make up nicknames for people. She has a little friend that she calls LoLo. It is cute to hear talk about her, which is a lot. Well, while in Utah everytime my dad came over to Blake's house he would walk in saying "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!" Cassidy got very excited everytime she heard him and started saying Ho Ho Ho herself. Then we realized that when she talked about Grandpa she called him Ho Ho. If my mom came over without my dad she would say "Where's ho ho?" It was so cute. Even still she calls him Ho Ho. I love it!

I was trying to teach Cassidy, her cousin Madison's name. She goes by Maddie a lot so that's what we worked on. The first couple of times she called her Money. I thought it was so funny so I didn't correct her. After spending some time with "Money", Cassidy started to say it a little better so sometimes it would actually sound like Maddie. Otherwise, it is still Money.

Then, My sister Melinda came to Utah for a bit too and somehow she was given the nickname La La. Yes all these names are starting to sound like the Teletubbies which she has never ever seen. It is fun though to have her recognize family and call them by their names, or at least the names she has given them.