Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Mexico was wonderful! I had a hard time coming back to reality. I told Jim we should just have the kids sent down to us and we could stay there. Loved it! We left on Tuesday morning and had plenty of time to relax by the pool and enjoy the warmth before the sun went down. We went for a walk around the area where we were staying and was greeted by several "locals". This one is one of the biggest ones we saw around our condo.

This is a Dolphin Discovery center that was within walking distance from us. You could pay to swim with the dolphins or watch them as you ate, there was about 8 restaurants in the area along with shopping and conveniences.

We spent a couple days on the local beaches. We drove around to find some secluded ones to avoid the tourist traps. This beach was great except it was very windy that day, so I didn't get a lot of pictures because I didn't want to get sand it my camera, but I did manage to get a picture of this little crab that was digging a hole close to where we were lounging.

TULUM: On Thursday we found a business card in the condo of a lady anthropologist who gives Book of Mormon tours around the ruin sites. We thought it would be interesting so we called and met up with her on Friday morning at 8am. She first took us to Tulum, a well known ruin site, and gave us accounts of the Book of Mormon and tied the ruins and the area around us to them. At first I found myself believing everything she was saying, but I had a thought to just take if for what it was worth. She made some interesting probabilities, and they quite possibly may be true, but I try not to be too gullible and believe everything I hear. Regardless, it was a very interesting tour and I enjoyed the sites and listening to her tell us what she has learned and researched herself. The site of Tulum is believed to be where temple ordinances occured. A very sacred area and all the buildings served their own sacred purpose.

The ocean views from Tulum were breathtaking. Where the white cap waves are is where one of the worlds longest coral reef is. She said that this was a great protection for Tulum because invading ships where unable to go over the coral.

EK BALAM: After our tour of Tulum, Ruth drove us to Ek Balam. A newer site that was discovered in 1997. Our first adventure was getting to meet "Lola" the boa constrictor. The guys disappered when this picture was taken. They aren't snake people. I suppose I would have done the same thing if there was a spider involved. I had to pay the guy a dollar to let me get a picture with her.

We were able to climb the stairs on the buildings in Ek Balam, unlike Tulum where everything was roped off. Quite a physical feat. Stair Masters have nothing on these stairs!

This picture is from the top of one of the tallest pyramids I have ever seen. Ok, I haven't seen that many in my life, but this one is very tall. I would have to guess 5 or 6 stories high. We could actually see the ocean from up here.

Bad thing is that once you where up there, you had to get back down. A very challenging thing to do for someone who is extremely scared of heights. My palms are sweating just thinking about it. I made it down though, one step at a time, on my tush.

Ruth said that she and her LDS archaeologist friends claim that this is a baptisimal font. And the way she explained it, it makes sense and possibly could have been.

This is a water collection area. The stones are placed tilted so that when it rained the water would drain into an under ground storage well.

After a really hot jungle tour, we were ready to be cooled off. Ruth took us to a cenote to do just that. A cenote is a giant sink hole that is 40 to 60 feet deep and has under ground rivers. The water is from the rain and there are catfish in it. At first I didn't think going into stagnant green water was such a good idea, but I was too hot to care at that moment. So in we all went. It was refreshingly cool, but like I said, green. The roots of the near by trees travelled down to get water. A very cool exposed root system.

Here are the 4 of us being cooled off. Jim and I and our friends, Josh and Dana.

Saturday, Jim and I went into Playa to do some shopping and enjoy our last day there.

Sunday it rained all morning, Mexico was sad that we were leaving. I know I was. Except I could probably do without the rain, as refreshing as it was while it was actually raining, it was humidity overload when the sun came back out. It made it very hard to take a deep breath. This is the view from the deck on the condo we were staying at. You can't see the rain but it was coming down very hard.
Farewell to Mexico! Hopefully I don't have to wait another 7 years before I can go back. I was really picking up the language quite well. Anyone for hambugesea con queso y limonada?

Happy Birthday, Kortlan!

5 years ago I was at Lagoon 9 months pregnant with Kortlan on the Saturday before his birthday. How fitting it was to be at Lagoon with him the Saturday before his birthday 5 years later. Kortlan's day began with a surprise gift in the garage. He didn't see it at first and we had to point it out to him. He loves his new bike and rides it almost daily.

We went to Lagoon with some friends of ours. All the kids had so much fun.

My favorite was watching all of them float down the Rattlesnake Rapids and get completely drenched. I think it is so funny that everyone tries to duck out of the way of the water. There is just no hiding from it!

A little Wild Mouse to dry out Kort's hair!

At the end of the day, what really counts is the friends you were there with and how many prizes Daddy won for you!

Back at the house, we had a pirate party. I found this pirate cake at the local Smith's. Kortlan loved it and asked that we not eat it so he could save it to play with.

On Monday, the actual day of his birthday, I took him to Toys R Us for a shopping spree just him and me. He got to pick out 3 things that he just couldn't live without. Here is one of them.

Four Things

I have never been "Tagged" for anything and I suppose I am a Kim in the sense of any and all, so here goes my reply to Nancy's tag:

Four jobs that I have had in my life:

Dairy Queen night shifts got me through high school

OSU research fields weeder got me through the summers

Blockbuster, ZCMI Juniors department manager, and Radio DJ

(all at the same time, talk about time management!)

IKON Office Solutions Admin. Assistant

Four movies I could watch over and over:

Somewhere in Time

Sweet Home Alabama

Legally Blonde

Star Wars (all episodes)

Four places that I have lived:

Corvallis, OR (17 years)

Pocatello, ID (5 years)

Windsor, CO (3 years)

Mesquite, NV (3 1/2 years)

currently in Layton, UT waiting to see how long this move lasts

Four television shows that I watch:

ER

Dancing with the stars

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

American Idol

Four places I have gone or will go on vacation:

Spain

Caribbean cruise including Cozumel, Princess Cays, Grand Caymans, & Jamaica

Disney World

Playa del Carmen (Cancun) Mexico this Tuesday! Happy Anniversary to us!

Four websites I visit almost daily:

All your blogs

Kohl's to see if they have any cute dresses in yet

Hollister to see if they have any new shirts in yet

Zappos to see if they have any great shoe sales

Four favorite foods:

Italian anything

Steak and Potatoes

Citrus Salmon from Mimi's Cafe - Yummy!

Mexican

Four things I would like to learn or be better at:

Piano

Singing

Photography

Interior Design

Four places I would rather be right now:

I don't know that I would want to be anywhere else than here in my home with my family.

(As much as this is true I am really excited to be on the beach in Cancun!)

Four people who I tag:

Mom

Kari

Kristen (both of you!)

Teala (that means you have to set up your own blog now! :)

You are laughing at me right now, aren't you?)

Wednesday and Thursday Nights

While Jim and I were doing this:
Kendrie was doing this:

Carpet is getting laid in the playroom as I am typing this. I will get an after picture in a few hours.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

My sister missionary returned to Temple Square on Wednesday. She flew in from her 4 month mission transfer in Georgia. She will be at Temple Square until the end of her mission in September. I so miss her and can't wait to see her. However, I don't want to be a pest, but it is so hard being so close and not go down there to see her. I know she has a higher calling right now than meeting my selfish needs, I will try to refrain from driving down there. Anyway, I picked up my mom from the airport on Tuesday night and Wednesday we made Kourtney's favorite: Macaroni Salad. We drove it down to Temple Square and left it in the break room refrigerator so she would have it when she got back that afternoon. While we were there I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures. It was such a beautiful day. There was a couple getting their wedding pictures taken in front of the temple and Kortlan told me to take their picture. He thought it was so awesome that they got married there. I didn't take a picture of them, I felt weird taking someone else's wedding pictures, especially ones I didn't know. But these are a few of my favorites from that day:

Can you imagine the how the world would be if every single person lived according to these laws and statutes? What a wonderful dream! One of my favorites, especially during this time of war:

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty

What a strong, powerful sentence! It gives me goose bumps.

We arrived at the newly remodeled Tabernacle just in time to hear the acoustic demonstration. Without a microphone, we were able to here a pin drop so loud that it sounded like a spoon hitting the floor. Amazing acoustics in a beautiful and unique building.

Sunbeams

Some of you have probably seen this floating around in the email system, but my mom got an ear full about my Sunbeam class and she emailed it to me. The first time I read it I found it funny, but now that I am in that situation I laughed. Enjoy

This is originally from a physician in Utah:

I work part-time as a teacher of family doctors. The program provides training on psychiatric disorders and emphasizes the importance of emotional support. The new doctors are given plenty of time in clinic to visit with their patients and learn about their challenges. One of our interns who has never lived in Utah and knows nothing about Mormons is still struggling to understand the cultural climate here. Last week he was interviewing a new patient and stumbled on what he thought was a raging psychosis.

Doctor: "Well, Mrs. Olsen, we've talked about your high blood pressure and your medications. Are you experiencing any particular stress in your life?
Patient: "Oh, yes! It's the Sunbeams. They're driving me crazy."
Doctor (very surprised): "The sunbeams?"
Patient: "Yes. I've never had trouble with them before, but this group won't sit still. They bounce all over the room, and run out the door and down the hall."
Doctor (reaching for a pen): "Have you told anyone about this?"
Patient: "Of course. I told the president."
Doctor: "Really! What did the president tell you?"
Patient: "She said Sunbeams are like that I'm just going to have to learn to deal with them.
Doctor (concerned that he may be missing something): "I know people who are sensitive to sunbeams. Do they cause you a rash or anything?"
Patient (confused): "A rash? No."
Doctor: "What's the biggest problem they're creating?"
Patient: "It's the noise. They just won't quit talking."
Doctor (astonished): "The sun beams are talking to you?"
Patient: "Well, yes. But mostly they talk to each other."
Doctor (scribbling furiously in the chart): "I see. Can anyone else hear them talking?"
Patient (after a moment of stunned silence): "You're not LDS, are you?"

Partner's Western Riding

We like to keep our kids involved in things that interest them. Kendrie has been our guinea pig for this since she is the oldest and gets to try stuff out before we know if she is going to like it or not. She has been involved in soccer, ballet, tap, jazz dance, hip hop dance, gymnastics, and swimming. Since moving to Utah, we were not sure what to get her involved in. She said she wanted to be in soccer again, however the first 2 go arounds she just stood there and picked the grass, so we weren't too sure about that. We haven't found a dance studio less than 8 miles from our house, so that hasn't gone over very well. So we have been keeping our eyes open.

About 2 months ago we were driving the back way home and drove past a little ranch that had a sign by the road that said "Partner's Western Riding Lessons - call for appointment". Kendrie flipped out! Ever since she has watched Dreamer and Flicka she has been obsessed with horses and tells everyone that she is going to be a rancher when she grows up. (I guess I better start selling some more swimming suits!) Anyway, I called to ask questions and wound up putting her on the waiting list. This past Sunday night, I was called and Kendrie started her riding lessons yesterday afternoon. I didn't tell her about it before school, I knew she wouldn't concentrate on her work. I picked her up from school, took her home for a snack and then headed over there, still no word about where we were going. We pulled up to the ranch and she said "Hey, this is where the riding lessons are at, why are we here?" I said, "Well, I guess if this is where the lessons are then we are at the right place, because you start your riding lessons right now." I wish I had had the video going! She was dancing, hoopin' and hollerin', saying thank you thank you thank you over and over really fast. It was fun to see her excitement.

Kortlan on the other hand was quite upset that Kendrie got to go and not him. He tried so hard to hold back the tears, but they flowed anyway. After waiting for students to arrive for their lesson, one of them didn't show up and the instructor told Kortlan that he could take her place. He lit up like a firecracker! With helmet on and some borrowed cowboy boots, he took a hold of Rambo and enjoyed the day with Kendrie. He is now on the waiting list.

My mom has been here for about a week. I have been helping her get some scrapbooking done. For those of you who know about the Creative Memories Power Sort Box (it holds up to 2,400 photos), she has 5 of them overflowing with photos ranging from 1965 to now. Anyway, she brought the one filled with grandkids pictures and we have scrapbooked close to 70 pages (front and back) over the past week. She went to the riding lesson with us and this cat decided that it was not going to leave her alone until she picked him up. He was quite pleased with his determination and followed after her until we left.

I was very impressed with the owner/instructors of Partner's. They are very knowledgeable and knew how to teach kids the safety of horses as well as the fun. I have to admit I am somewhat jealous. I have always liked horses, I just haven't had very many good experiences with them. I have only been on 3 horses that I can recall. 1 bucked me off, 1 took off running while I screamed, holding on to the saddle for dear life, and the other one decided that it was going to teach me how to jump over creeks. Not good outcomes of any of the 3. But I still really like horses and I was proud to see my kids not be afraid of them and take charge and really enjoy themselves. This is one "involvement" that I don't think I will be disappointed with.

A Hot One!

You would think that living in Nevada for almost 4 years, I would be more accustomed to the heat. I'm not. In fact I am writing this at 11pm because my bedroom is too hot to sleep in. Last Thursday an air conditioning company showed up at my door and told me that the builder had called and wanted them to check to see if the air conditioner in my house was charged up and ready to go. Well, he discovered that the air conditioner wasn't even hooked up! He told me he would be back Friday afternoon. "I'll will definitely be here tomorrow afternoon to get it hooked up." These were his exact words! Did he show up? No. I didn't really think that we would need it right now, so I wasn't that worried about it. However, today was 89 degrees!!! The hottest day of the year and our air conditioner wasn't hooked up! Again, to make matters worse, we have an East facing house, so the really hot afternoon sun was in the not-yet-covered kitchen and family room windows. I had a candy bar sitting on the counter and it melted. Anyway, I think I am going to go sleep on the top bunk of Kort's bunk bed, it is much cooler down there. I looked at the thermostat before we went to bed, it read 91. And Jim wanted to put in a sauna! Boy, is that air conditioning company going to get an ear full in the morning. Here's hoping for cooler days!

Hapari Swimwear

I saw these swimming suits being introduced on a local Salt Lake City TV show called Studio 5. I am always on the look for a new swimming suit, I have yet to find one that is comfortable, stylish, and covers what I need covered. In the past 2 years I have bought about 5 swimming suits pretty much just out of desperation, but was never satisfied with the fit or the wear, especially after they got wet. I always seemed to be tugging and pulling. Well, these suits impressed me and I looked online and contacted the owner. She invited me to a home party not far from my home. She explained the company and how the suits work. I dove right in. These suits have something for everyone. There was about 25 women of ALL different shapes and sizes and every single one of them bought at least one of the tops. These suits are so versatile that you can wear the tops 4 different ways! Anyway, I couldn't help myself. I asked her to hire me as a representative for her company. I will now be doing home parties and hopefully helping women and girls (the sizes start at 7/8 for little girls all the way up to XL in women's) find a solution to their swimming suit woes. They are also coming out with "Captains Quarters"- an under-swim-trunks swimming brief for boys and men in the near future.

I don't believe in trying to sell something that one doesn't believe in. I believe in these suits. I believe that it shouldn't matter how many kids you have had, whether you work out or not, if you have things to hide or enhance, everyone should be able to comfortably and modestly enjoy fun in the sun.

If you are interested in finding out more about these suits, please let me know. If you would like to host an online or home party, please let me know. The hostess receives 50% off a suit of her choice with a party total of $250. The average home party total is $1,000 - once this amount is reached, the hostess receives a FREE suit.

Below is an explanation of the Hapari Swimwear company. Again, please let me know if you would like to know more, I would love to tell you about it.

"Let our secrets enhance the curves you love and hide the curves you don't!"

The most exciting and important thing about Hapari is that our swimwear offers 4 things that no other swimwear designer offers!
1. Every suit is made with hidden tabs which allow it to be worn 4 different ways.
2. Every suit is offered in average or long. What this means is that the average will usually meet the waist and the long are 2" longer, therefore covering up those middles completely!
3. Every suit has secret pockets specially made for silicone inserts; "Illusions". The pockets are made in such a way that no one will ever see them and the Illusions will never fall out.
4. Hapari offers a special Tummy Tuk and High Brief line to give extra support in a common problem area—our tummies!
We hope that Hapari will allow any body type to feel beautiful and confident in our swimwear! Suits are all sold to mix and match as separates with all tops priced at $54.95 and all bottoms are $29.95. We sell through home parties, which allows a discount and opportunity to earn a free suit for the hostess. There are so many different fabrics to choose from, take a look at a few of them at www.hapari.com .

Eye Patches

Yesterday I stayed in my pajamas for most of the morning. I didn't do laundry and I didn't clean anything. It was a nice morning. Jim called me around noon and asked me to be ready to leave the house at 3:30, it was a surprise. So I got showered and dressed and curled my hair and put makeup on, not knowing where I was going. Come to find out, one of my birthday presents was a 55 minute pedicure with salt rub exfoliation and a 55 minute body massage with honey butter. It was fabulous! I am a little sore in the shoulders this morning but only because I asked her to dig in deep to get the knots out of them. And my toes are pretty again. I had a really nice french pedicure about a month ago and 2 weeks after they were done I kicked the heel of my wedge sandals and cracked my big toe nail in half, ruining my paint job. So I cut as much of the nail down as I could and waited for them to grow out again.

After a relaxing 2 hours of pampering, we went out to dinner and then home for ice cream cake. That was Kort's present to me, mint chocolate chip with chocolate cake and rainbow frosting ice cream cake. He was so proud that he picked this cake out all by himself.

My sister Kelli called to wish me a happy birthday and we had a good chat for about an hour. We were talking about our childhood and bringing up stories that made us think, if we only knew then what we know now. Isn't that so true? But life doesn't work that way, it is what we learn from situations that make us learn what we know today, so we can say if only we knew. Anyway, one of the stories we were talking about made her remember that I used to always take her stuff, which is true, I did. Her stuff was always more fun than mine. And on this line of stories I told her that I still to this day can not eat a bag of mini eggs without thinking about taking hers. She didn't remember this, so I retold what happened. When I was about 12 I used to leave my hard contacts in too long and they would dry my eyes out, causing the corneas to crack a little. I would have to go to the doctor and have ointment put in them and then I had to wear patches on my eyes for a couple days. Anyway, it was after Easter and I, of course, had eaten all of my mini eggs, but Kelli still had some. So I asked her if I could have some and she gave me one, but only one. I decided I wanted more and she wouldn't give me any, so I felt my way down the hall and into the bedroom where she kept her stash. Now remember that I have big white gauze patches on both my eyes, I am sure I looked ridiculous. Anyway, she had followed me the whole way and watched me take her mini eggs. This embarrassed me to death but what could I say, I was caught with my hand in the mini egg jar. As I was telling her this she just laughed and said, well, what life lesson did you learn from that?

This is the life lesson of eye patches:

When you have big gauze eye patches on and can't see anything, it doesn't mean that everyone else can't see either.

(To the tune of Happy Birthday to you!)

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday to me

I am now thirty-three!

This was a very long thought out blog entry. The creativity is just flowing today, I don't know how to contain it. Flowing like cold molasses! I hope it is just because it is early and not due to the lack of youth I see to be suffering from! Bring on the cake!

The kids and I went to Lagoon for my party on Saturday, Jim was out of town. We had a lot of fun. It is always fun to see the excitement in the kids, they couldn't hold still. Oh, wait, that's because they had to go to the bathroom. We rode ride after ride, and played games and ate amusement park food. But, this morning I feel my age, or lack of muscle tone, maybe both. Anyway, my neck and back hurt so bad and the only reason for this that I can think of is riding rollercoasters for 3 hours. Oh, to have the youthful springy muscles that don't scream at the slightest jerky movements. Ok, they aren't that slight, I am really surprised the kids necks don't hurt. And yet, we keep going back. Maybe my body will build up an immunity to it!

For today, I plan on reading my new No. 1 Ladie's Detective Agency book (#8) and eating left over Easter candy, waiting for my dinner date with my family.

Happy Day to You!

Kendrie's Special Day

Kendrie was baptized on Saturday. We invited friends and family to join us to celebrate this special occasion. She was so giddy all morning long. We had to practically sit on her to calm her down a few times. She put this crown on her head and told us that she is Princess Kendrie and should be addressed as such. Funny girl!

Jim and I gave Kendrie her first set of scriptures. We bought her a quad and had her name imprinted on it. She couldn't believe they had scriptures with her name on it! It took a little explaining to get that one figured out. She has been reading them since Sunday. She was up before 8 this morning reading the Book of Mormon and told me that she is going to have it all read before Christmas this year.

Kendrie and her cousin Kaden played the piano for us. Mostly it was Heart and Soul. I still have it stuck in my head. It was cute to see them play together. Kaden just started lessons. I haven't found a teacher for Kendrie yet. Hopefully soon and then they can play us concertos for the next family gathering!

My dad took this picture of Kendrie kneeling in front of the font from the reflection in the mirror above the font.

I have never been to a Stake baptism before, especially in Utah. There was 2 Wards with a total of 6 kids. Kendrie was last, I guess someone had to be, why not us. Anyway, it was great to have our families and friends with us. It was such a special day.

Our Family