Man I'm So Boring...But I Did Go To The Lake!

So I've had some complaints...("some" being one from Sharon)...I haven't been blogging a lot. I wish that I could say that I've been so busy or caught up in such exciting things...but in actuality...I just haven't had a lot to say. I get it...I'm lame.

This past weekend, actually, I did get to go to Bear Lake and had a great time with great friends. Kristi, William and I drove over and met Lacy, Val, Sarah and Sarah's kids, Sam and Emily. So much fun to spend time chatting and laughing like old times! Our campsite was pretty nice, not too crowded, and maybe best of all...had flushing toilets and showers. There is nothing quite as lovely as "roughing it" without having to smell like you're "roughing it." Also, without having to smell anyone else's...anything. =)

My camera was never in the right place at the right time...(I kept putting it in the wrong bag)...so I didn't get many pictures...but here are a few from the trip.

The Lake That I Love

William...going to give the whale/dolphin/floatie a try...

Nothing compares to a Bear Lake Pedicure...

Me and Emily. I really wanted to take her home with me!!

Josie!

My oldest niece, Josie, arrived today for her yearly week's visit. That girl makes me laugh so hard...I can't wait to hang out with her! Woohoo! I hear person after person say that she reminds them so much of me...but I really have to beg to differ. She's way cooler. ; )

Those Little Rascals...(and Taylor!)

Yes…the day finally came! I feel like Kristi and I have been planning this trip to Cheyenne for about nine years…it seems like forever ago that we bought our tickets! Finally, though…July 19^th arrived, and we were on our way to see Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts in concert! Woohoo!!

We got to Cheyenne fairly early, and did a little shopping…(who can resist a little out of town shopping when you get the chance?)…and then headed over to Frontier Park. We had brought extra cash to pay for parking, but were lucky enough to get a spot on the street right across from the Park, which was awesome.

We wandered around the Park for a while, which was fine…but I think Disneyland has spoiled us. I used to be fairly impressed with the Midway and Carnival at Frontier Park…but this year…it didn’t do that much for me. I mean…it’s just not the Magic Kingdom, you know? Oh well…we weren’t there to ride the Zipper…we were there for some SWEET concert action!

After waiting for what seemed like WAY too long, they finally let us in to the stadium. Our seats were really good, and the concert was GREAT. Taylor did a great job…I can’t even imagine being 18 and writing songs like she does and being on a major tour! I think she’s adorable and I love her music.There was a group of girls behind us that I honestly think were going to have heart attacks at every mention of her name. Honestly…they LOVE themselves some Taylor Swift. Once Taylor finished, in fact, they didn’t even stay for Rascal Flatts…who were the headliners! Crazy! I mean, I really loved Taylor…but even if she was the main attraction for me, I would have stayed for the rest…I mean…they’d already paid to be there, right? Oh well…I guess it didn’t really matter to me…

Rascal Flatts was everything I hoped they’d be. Lots of fun…great entertainers…and of course…their music is FABULOUS!!! At one point, Joe Don looked straight at me, pointed with his guitar, and winked. Because he has a crush on me, I’m pretty sure. I mean…he actually looked straight into the camera that was feeding to the big screen, pointed his guitar, and winked…but you KNOW he only did it because he knew that I would be watching. If I weren’t so against home-wrecking, I might be tempted to entertain his obvious obsession with me…but alas…I’m going to ignore his advances and encourage him to stay with his Playboy Bunny wife and new son. I’m just pro-family like that.

Anyway…long story short…(I mean, I can only go on so long about how good the show was)…it was a GREAT night...I had a ball! Hooray for great country music!! Woohoo!

Saturday Fun

Well, it’s Monday which is usually a bummer, but I had a really good weekend, so that makes it a little easier to take!

On Saturday, Kristi and I got Tyler, Marcus and Nicolas together to play. For some reason, I didn’t take any real pictures…but I was video-ing up a storm. SO not like me…but what can you do? Anyway, the boys had fun jumping on the trampoline together, and outdid each other with their cool tricks!

Then we went to the church to play basketball, but mostly ended up just roughhousing around! You know how little boys are! Any prop they can find…turns into something fun.

Marcus decided to give Nicolas a ride on a “tow rope” that they found…(it was actually an old piece of volleyball net)…

But when Nicolas tried to return the favor for both Marcus AND Tyler…he had a few problems…

After wearing ourselves out in the gym, we all went out to lunch, and the boys had fun with the new Transformers toys from their Happy Meals.

As much fun as we were all having, we had to call the “play time” to an end, as Tyler had visitors to see at home, and Kristi and I had to depart for our next adventure…Cheyenne Frontier Days! (Stay tuned for that report, later today!)

Freaky Friday

When I got into my car this morning, I noticed an ambulance, lights flashing, in the middle of the next intersection on Mitchell.

As I was approaching, I realized that there was nobody bustling around…and thought, “Oh…they must be in the house…” I am a total rubber necker, I think…I just WANT to know what was going on. I know the lady who lives in that house. Is she okay? Is her husband? What’s happening??? There were no clues, though…and I was left wondering.

It was in the middle of my wondering that I glanced to the right and noticed the bike in the tree.

Now, you would think, that if, at an intersection, there is an ambulance with lights flashing, and a bike up in the middle of a tree…that maybe those two things might be related. I mean…how many weird things can be going on in one intersection at the same time without them having SOMETHING in common? Who knows?

Unless the ambulance driver and an airborne cyclist decided to meet my up the street neighbor for some morning coffee, I have no explanation.

Late Arrival

I was up way too late last night, waiting for my parents to get home from San Diego. They originally weren’t going to even be home until 11:00-ish, but after discovering a flat tire when they got to the parking lot, they were delayed a bit longer. Ordinarily I would be okay to go to bed…I’m not a “worry and stay up” type of gal. I’m a “man I love sleeping” type of girl. I had to stay up, though, because they were bringing a couple of stowaways back with them. Marcus and Nicolas are here for a visit, and I couldn’t resist the idea of getting some hugs before I went to bed. So…I’m really tired today…but it was worth it to get some loves from those Coca boys!

And I Thought One Tanning Room Mishap Was Enough

I’m pretty sure my life would be a lot easier if I weren’t so vain. You know…I wouldn’t have to do my hair, or put makeup on in the morning. I could sleep for, like, 45 extra minutes every day. That would be the life! Except that I AM vain, and frankly…I wouldn’t let myself leave the house…ever…if I didn’t “fix myself up” every day. I guess that would allow me to sleep for, like, 24 extra hours every day...but, you know…I’m sure I’d get sick of excessive sleep and relaxation eventually. Like…ten years from now.

It is my vanity that leads me to tan several times a week. We’ve talked about my tanning love before. We’ve talked about the potentially humiliating positions said love has put me in. I don’t think that any bad tanning experience will EVER rival my original bad tanning experience, (in case you missed it, read about it here) I think that the cosmos are working to make sure that every once in a while I rue the day that I discovered the glorious effects of a sun bed.

Today I was getting ready to tan, and I set my pants on the chair next to the bed. See, I’ve learned a thing or two, I didn’t set anything on the top of the bed anymore! Anyway…I brushed against said chair and my pants slid off. No biggie…it’s not like I’ve never thrown a pair of my pants on the floor before. So…I finished putting my lotion on, and then reached down to grab my pants so they wouldn’t get wrinkled.

Instead of coming effortlessly off of the floor, however, my pants resisted. Knowing that pants don’t generally have a mind of their own, I leaned down for further inspection. I thought maybe the chair leg was on them or something. Not sure how I thought that might have happened…but you know…what else are you going to think? I don’t know…maybe you’d think that somehow your pants got entangled INSIDE the freaking fan that is sitting by the chair. If you would think that...you'd be right.

I don’t even know how it happened….but my pants were sucked inside the fan. Mostly they slid right out…except for the button…which had decided it was too big to slide through the bars. Um…so HOW in the crap did the button get through the bars in the first place? I DON’T KNOW! At first I thought it was just kind of funny. "Oh, the crazy things that happen to Janine in the tanning room." I even took a picture to send to my friends:

Of course, I thought it was funny because you’d think it wouldn’t be that hard to get the freaking button flush with my pants to pull it out the other way…but it was NOT happening. Like, the little fan bars are spaced too close together for me to get my finger through to press the button up against the rest of the cloth…so it just kept catching when I tried to pull it out. When I would release the pressure, it would sort of relax itself, almost fully against the material…but then as soon as I tried to ease it out…it would flip around again. I wanted to scream! What the freaking crap???

Of course my “get ready” time expired and my tanning bed came on. I considered just getting in the bed, but I didn’t want to have to wrestle with the freaking fan AFTER my tan…because I already have a reputation down there for taking forever and making ridiculously loud noises after tanning. So…the death-match with the fan was on, in the glow of ultra-violet light. I was totally stressing out because my tanning minutes were ebbing away, and I couldn’t get my freaking button out of the fan. I don’t pay for my monthly membership to get second hand rays from a bed that I’m not even in! ARGH!!!

Finally…after about 5 minutes of my tanning time had passed, I got the button out. I felt like punching my pants in the face, but they don't have a face, and I didn’t have time. I desperately hurried into the bed to get the most out of my remaining time…but I can TOTALLY tell that I’m 5 minutes less tan than I should be. : (

I’m starting to think that I need to just start tanning fully clothed in order to avoid clothing mishaps in the tanning room. I’ve already left the room with soaking wet arm pits…like a soggy butt and sweaty back would be any worse. At least I would keep all of my clothes under my control at all times.