Lucinda Williams?

Have you heard of her? Have you heard her music? She is absolutely amazing! My husband introduced me to her. Here are a few reasons why I adore Lucinda Williams.

-She is the most amazing songwriter
-She sounds just as good live (or maybe better) as she does on CD
-She can blend Rock, Folk, Country, and Americana like no other
-She has the most terrific and wonderful voice
-She can rock the guitar
-Her songs tell a story
-There is not another artist who sounds like her, she is one of a kind
-She has won 3 grammys and has been nominated 10 times

If you have not heard her music...check her out! She was not one of my favorites at first but as I listened to her music more often and listened to the lyrics closely she has become one of my favorites. You can check out a few of her songs on my playlist.

Cedar City and School

We went down to Cedar City last weekend and had a great time. We got there a bit late and Tasha was babysitting. So we waited for her to get done and went to dinner. This was at about 10:30 pm, but we were just so happy to see her it didn't matter. By the way, me of all people did not feel like taking pictures. So I stole these off my sister in law Emilee's blog. Sorry Emilee!



You gotta have a picture of just Me and Emilee!



We went to bed late and got up early and went to breakfast. Then we were off to St. George. On the way down to St. George we got pulled over by the wonderful Utah Highway Patrol. I am sure he thought he was busting a bunch of drug dealers. See, we moved here from Florida. The car we bought in Florida after my accident has shall we say "dark tint" on the windows. There is no laws about tint in Florida, probably because it is hot and bloody sunny all of the time. So when we moved here we decided we would wait until our registration expired to re-register the car...totally illegal but we like to live on the edge. We have been driving for months in Provo and Salt Lake and never had a problem. So the "kind" officer asked us all sorts of questions and told us how much tint we could legally have and pointed out how dark our was...hello! like we didn't notice. So he proceeded to tell us it is an instant $1,000 fine, etc. I know he was just doing his job, but it was still frustrating. Anyway, we decided that when we got home we would scrape the tint off the front windows, behind the driver it can be as dark as you want. on the way home from Cedar every time we saw a cop Dennis would scream..."Roll 'em down!" We wanted to avoid a confrontation at all costs.

Alright! Back to the trip. We went to St. George and went shopping for the day. I forgot how painful it is to shop. We were buying Tasha some school clothes, but she had a budget so she was uber picky. But I can't really blame her. By the end of the day, Dennis wanted to hang himself in the bathroom. He hates shopping more than anything in life, so he was a great sport dealing with it all day. While in St. George we stopped at In N Out. I haven't had an In N Out burger in years so it was great! I also ran into some great friends there...go figure! They were coming back from Lake Powell...so jealous.

You can see how happy Dennis is after a full day of shopping with one more store to go!



So we came home and had a great Sunday! Now for the school part. Everyone has been posting about their kids first day of school. Well, yesterday was my baby's first day of school. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture since he left for school before I got home from work. Dennis is starting an HVAC apprenticeship program at MATC. He is so excited. He came home last night with the biggest smile. Of course he is the smartest person in his class...OF COURSE! He wore his new shirt we bought in St. George and looked so cute! Honey, I am so proud of you!

Update

Well, the two people that read my blog have asked for an update so here it is. We are both doing well and pretty much the same! Dennis is still very involved with the scouts. He is really looking forward to BYU football season. September was supposed to be "My Month". Dennis informed me that September was my month since he has been so busy this summer with the scouts. Then he found out there are some BYU football games in September. So "My Month" turned into my month during the week and football on the weekends. Gotta love him!

I am doing well. Staying busy at work. As some of you know I am in the process of losing weight. I am not doing some crazy diet. I am doing Weight Watchers. Their theory is to count points. it is pretty basic. The food that is junk and bad for you is high points. The healthy stuff is low points. So basically you are just eating healthy. It is amazing what just eating the right foods will do for you! Anyway, last night at my weigh in I was pleasantly surprised. I have officially lost 35 pounds! I still have a ways to go, but at least I am on my way.

A few weekends ago Dennis and I had our first date in months. We went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. Then we did something we have not done in a long time. We drove up to Squaw Peak. No, not to make out. Just to watch the sunset and look into the valley. We have been in Florida for a few years so enjoying the beauty of the mountains was much needed. It was a beautiful night. A little chilly and it had been raining earlier in the evening. For you Utah folk, if you have not been to Squaw Peak lately...Go! it is so beautiful and it is a quick drive. I sometimes forget the places we have in our own backyard.

Here I am sitting on a rock...obviously.



And Dennis...again under protest. He hates pictures.



This is us taking our own picture. We do not have the self portrait ability that Emilee does.



A view of the sunset.



And a look into the valley...



We are headed to Cedar city for the weekend. I will post all about it when we return. Hope you are all well.

August 1-3, 2008

Dennis, Myself, Emilee, and Marlene went to Karen's cabin this past weekend. Thank you Karen for letting us enjoy your cabin! We had such a great time! We arrived late on Friday night. Us girls got cozied up on the couch to talk. Dennis being the hardworker he is got started right away fixing the plumbing. We stayed up very late talking and just enjoying each others company. Saturday was filled with 4-wheelings, fishing, campfire, cleaning, eating, etc. Sunday morning we woke up early. The crew went for an early morning fish, but unfortuantely did not catch anything. After that, we had breakfast, cleaned up and headed back to the city. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

When we were driving up we came across some sheep. This picture was too beautiful not to take.



View from the reservoir at sunset



Dennis fishing Saturday evening



Marlene didn't care for the fishing part. But she did enjoy spending time with her Dad and her aunt.



Right before our 4 wheeler ride. Boy! Did we get dirty!



In 1988 they discovered a fossil of a Wooly Mammoth. This is the information center we went to on our 4-Wheeler ride.



This is the three of us around the campfire. Dennis loves taking pictures!



Dennis bought the cheap marshmallows and then left them in the truck. By the time we got to the they were all stuck together. Getting them out of the package they looked like this on the stick.



Emilee and I saw two shooting stars. We are convinced this means our wish is "guaranteed" This is us after we got our guarantee. My eyes are wide because the flash was so bright and I could hardly keep my eyes open.



And Finally...the view from the cabin.



Sorry for the long post! Hope you enjoyed the photos.