Zoo Pals!

I have no idea whose butt that is in this shot, and I didn't even notice her at the time. Oops.



Hogle Zoo has come a long way since I was a kid. The train is the same, as is the Giraffe "display", but the Rhinos and Elephants have a whole new habitat thanks to millions of taxpayer dollars.
Emma and Mags on the train. I couldn't believe Maggie went without me. I just didn't feel like unloading a sleeping kid, a diaper bag and a camera all for a 5 minute ride.

Thank you, delay wash.

Flylady, eat your heart out. With a tiny baby taking up most of my mornings, a load a day has turned into a load at 4:00 in the morning that was loaded the night before. Now I can keep up, and not have to worry about stinky, mildewy clothes that have been sitting in water all night long. Genius!

Self Portrait Tuesday

This weeks Self Portrait Tuesday:

Hello!



I am: Keli Clayton
I live: in Utah
I love: my family, friends, laughing, swimming, golf, summer, food, traveling, saying the first thing that pops in my head, anything fun!
I hate: having my picture taken, boring people, politics, watching what I say.
I need: a housekeeper, a cook, better self-esteem, to watch what I say.
I want: a new car, my kids to be happy, summer to last all year, to be more social, to be less judgmental, to always have fun!

That's pretty much me in a nutshell. Enjoy the heavily retouched photo.

Here it is!

Here is the famed helmet. This is going to be G's precious skull candy for the next 3-6 months.

An eye for an eye?

Last week we were excited to see my dad with a new truck. His turn has been passed over a couple of times by other, more pressing vehicle needs. It was about time he upgraded. After all, his old Dodge was over 4 years old and had nearly 30,000 miles on it! The travesty! Sean and I decided to take the new member of the family for a speedy test drive while Poppa stayed and watched the kiddies. We drove out of the neighborhood and started looking around at all the nifty gadgets and gizmos. An MP3 dock, a laptop capable center console, extra cupholders, rogue teeth. Teeth you ask? Yes, I reply. Here, in the cupholder, sits a perfectly good incisor. Well, maybe "perfectly" is a little bit of a stretch, but it's a tooth, nonetheless. What is this, gas costs an arm and a leg, crime is punished with an eye for an eye, and new trucks cost teeth? Remind me to enjoy my old car for a while longer. I'm not ready to give up my teeth. Besides, our tooth fairy pays $5 for teeth, and that's nearly a gallon of gas these days!

So there you have it. The story of the rogue tooth. Hopefully this is the last of the new trucks, I'm not sure the dealership can get much of a return on a rotted out molar.

I've been inspi(red)

After seeing so many cute new crafty ideas out there, and also seeing Grannybabs' new sewing room, I'm thinking of getting myself a sewing machine. I have all sorts of aspirations of quilts, clothes, aprons, and other crafts, and I'm pretty sure Mom-in-law won't appreciate me invading her home every day all summer long. Besides, I think I need to show my girls that an old dog can learn new tricks.

So I'm taking suggestions. Any help will be much appreciated, since I have basically no knowledge of sewing or machines.

Red Butte

Yesterday was spent doing two wonderful things. First, we were able to walk through Red Butte Gardens at the University of Utah, and enjoy all the beauty that is nature. For the record, this was Maggie's personal Hell. She hates nature. Bugs, flowers, plants, wildlife, bees, it all scares the crap out of her. Which is why she is nowhere to be seen in this cute picture of Nunn and her Grandkids in "Granny's Garden". She was hiding next to me to get away from the bees.





The other wonderful thing was very unexpected. As we approached the turn into Red Butte, there were several signs telling us the Indigo Girls concert was sold out. Wow, one of my all time fave bands, and they were here in Salt Lake! Too bad it was sold out. Oh well. Well, as we were walking through the gardens, turns out the Gals themselves were doing their warm-up and sound checks. We got to hear several great IG songs. It was a nice treat to be walking through the lavender fields, listening to great acoustic music, and enjoying it all with my family. Makes me very grateful for the blessings I have.

Okay, okay, no more mushy stuff. We then returned to Nunn and Poppa's house for Rock Creek Pizza and slip and slide action. Good times.

Self Portrait Tuesday

This weeks self portrait Tuesday included having a loved one take a picture of you (or me, in this case), and tell you (me) what they love about it. I've decided to pass on this SPT. Not a surprise for those of you that know me. I hate, hate, hate having my picture taken. I know the camera adds ten pounds, but why does it seem like I must have dozens of cameras on me? Maybe I can scrounge up something I'll actually not be disgusted by and put it up, but it's doubtful. So stay tuned for next weeks SPT. Sorry to disappoint.

Personal DNA

Take your own personal DNA test. Interesting.

Space oddysey

Last night we were privy to a special flyover. The International Space Station made a pass across our night sky at precisely 10:56 PM. The kids thought it was pretty cool to see the bright light zoom across the sky, knowing that there were people aboard. Tonight it will appear again, and if we had a decent telescope, we would be able to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis undock from the Space Station. Neat stuff.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

We love you, and we're so glad you're our dad!


You rock!

Anyone who can help?

Okay, I've never copped to being a computer person, but I've learned a lot through blogging. Although I admit, I still have PLENTY to learn. Plenty. Like this:

How do I change the font on my posts and titles? I downloaded a cute "Will and Grace" font, and it's installed, but when I click on the font button on the posting page, it's not there. Just the same old ones. FYI, for any helpers out there, I use Firefox, and an iMac.

Self Portrait Tuesday

Sorry, I'm a day late. Crazy day yesterday.

Self Portrait Tuesday:
As American as apple pie.

Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain. For purple mountain majesty, above the fruited plain.

These are beautiful mountains that sum up to me what America means. Strength, freedom, majesty, recreation, and life-giving.

Ye Helmut of Olde

We had our doctor visit today. Gretta officially has the weirdest shaped head I've ever seen. And it appears the Surgeon concurs. So in a week to ten days from today, she will no longer be known as Gretta, but as Helmut. Yes people, she will be wearing a helmet. Hopefully a cute, pink camo helmet. And hopefully it will only take 3 months to correct that weird shaped head. Then she can resume being the worlds cutest baby.

Happy Father's Day, and Park City Fun!

Well, the weekend shaped up nicely for us. After a crazy week of school getting out for Emma, and late work nights for Sean, we decided to head up to Park City for a quick weekend trip. Some serious relaxation was in order. Park City is so beautiful this time of year. Not too hot, and close enough that we can get there in a half hour, and still feel like we're on vacation. We did lots of fun touristy stuff that we always mean to do, but never make time for. Emma, Maggie and I rode the chair lift up the mountain to see the valley below. Sean and Gretta shopped for sweatshirts while we were on our little jaunt. We rode the main street trolley, and had lunch at the Park City Pizza and Noodle Factory. Yummy! We all took a nap on Saturday afternoon after our long day of shopping, sightseeing, and of course swimming. You'd think having a pool at home would deter the need to swim on vacation, but I think it just makes it more appealing.




And now on to the "Happy Father's Day" portion of our entertainment. Sean hit a road hazard last week and blew out a tire. "A" tire. As in ONE. But what does needing one new $200 tire mean in man talk? New 20" wheels and tires, of course! I guess they never grow up. Oh well, now I'm off the hook for a gift, and he's happy as a clam. For now. I'm sure it won't be long until he wants a chip to make the truck that much faster. Men. Ha! What can ya do?

Happy Birthday Jill!

Thirty four, forever more?

Happy Birthday Livvy!

She's 7, and so cute!

Love you Livvy!

Self Portrait Tuesday

This weeks Self Portrait Tuesday:

The colors of your world. I think it was more of a task to find a favorite color, but I just love color. Most colors. And I'm not afraid to show it. I'm pretty sure this is the most colorful stairwell I've ever seen.

Summer has begun!

Saturday consisted of several things. First, waking up at the butt crack of dawn to feed a hungry babe. Second, making 2 pans of chicken enchiladas, 1 pan of beef enchiladas, 1 pan of au gratin potatoes, and a run to Target for cheese.
Third, spending the remainder of the afternoon laying out by the pool, worshiping the skin cancer Gods. And fourth, participating in a Ward progressive dinner. It was interesting. I think every Ward has it's weirdo's, and somehow we got paired with all of them! Lucky us! I guess no ward will ever compare to the Ward you grew up in, right?
Which leads me to a dilemma.

If you could move back to your home ward, would you? Would it be weird to go back "home" as a grown up when you grew up there?

And what if it meant living in an older home? Would you?

Yesterday

What was yesterday, you ask?

Well, first of all, it was my parents' 39th anniversary.

And apparently it was the anniversary of several others as well.

Second, it was a blue moon.

And third, my dad had his appendix rupture!

So I guess this means their appendversary only comes once in a blue moon!

HA!