Scout Camp

Marc and I came up to scout camp tonight to support Devin, his lone Deacon. It's really pretty here! Thanks Grandma Susie for watching the kids.

Sent from my sweet, pink Blackberry Pearl

SERIOUSLY??

Will???? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! :(

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Battle Of The Marshmallows

Chloe reached up on the pantry shelf
To grab down the bag of sugar
She didn't listen to her mom yelling "No!"
Because she is such a booger
Mom grabbed at the bag, Chloe held on tight
Who knew it would turn into such a fight
The bag was ripped, the mallows spilled
Chloe reached down to get her fill






And the Battle was won

Due To My Fun Night...

I haven't seen So You Think You Can Dance yet!! Aaaaaaa!

Mamma Mia!

Last night I went to see Mamma Mia with my mom, my sis & mother-in-law, and my cousin and aunt. I thought it would be a cute movie, but I didn't expect to love it as much as I did! The setting was gorgeous. I want to take a vacation to Greece now! All of the actors did a great job and the music was really good. It was hilarious too! I bet it was really fun to be in that movie. My favorite part of the night? Dancing in the movie theater to the closing credits and having the rest of the theater stare at us like we were crazy...because we are! Thanks for a fun night everyone!!

GO SEE IT!

My New Friend

(Never mind how dirty my toaster oven is...)

I was reading a blog online of a mom who cooks everything in her toaster oven. I thought that she might be a little coo coo for cocoa puffs because she hosts a frugal living site and some of her ideas are a little out there. Well, it's been so hot that I decided to give it a try....and it actually works just like a regular oven. Who would've thought?? :) So far, I have baked enchiladas and spaghetti meatballs in it and today I put it to the final test - cookies! Hooray for not heating the whole house!!

Sent from my sweet, pink Blackberry Pearl

Alzheimer's Memory Walk

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease that is currently the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Sadly, there isn't a cure. But with the proper treatment of symptoms and support, life can be better for the millions of American's living with Alzheimer's.

Each year, the Alzheimer's Association holds the Alzheimer's Memory Walk in more than 600 communities to help raise money to contribute to Alzheimer’s support programs, treatments and research. Since 1989, Memory Walk has raised more than $200 million to help those battling Alzheimer's disease.

The Alzheimer's Association is looking for people like us to help volunteer as a team captain or to participate in Memory Walk. A typical Memory walk is 2-3 miles and is held in the fall. 3 walks will be held in Utah on the following dates:

SALT LAKE CITY
Date: September 6, 2008
Location: Creekside Park

OGDEN
Date: September 20, 2008
Location: Riverdale Park

ST. GEORGE
Date: November 8, 2008
Location: Sun River Park



If you are interested in helping a good cause, you can find more information online regarding registration for the walks as well as other ways to volunteer or donate.

Musical Monday - Old School Janet

I used to have a VHS tape full of Janet video's I taped from MTV (back when they actually played videos...) and I would stand in front of the TV for hours memorizing the dance to this song. It was probably pretty amusing to watch a 10 year old try to dance around with a chair!

Flashback Friday - Some Things Never Change

Who can resist taking a picture with a gorilla? Ryan was so little in the first picture..hee hee!

SYTYCD Results - Week 6

:( I'm sad to see Kherington and Gev go. They both had a rough week...

Who Knew?

Some of you may have noticed that my music player is missing. Well, it's not missing, I just moved it to the footer of my blog. And it no longer automatically plays when you open my page. Why? Apparently there is a group called BAM! - Bloggers Against Music. Here is their description:

Are you sick and tired of blogs that automatically bombard you with their loud and obnoxious music? Do you frantically scroll down endless sidebars looking for that music/video stop button?Are you frustrated with having to sit through 20+ seconds of music some blogger put on their site? If so, join BAM! - BLOGGERS AGAINST MUSIC! Now, don’t be daft… We aren’t against music all together, some of us LOVE music but we are against MUSIC ON BLOGS THAT WE DIDN’T ASK TO HEAR!

Someone kindly (ha!) told me about this group and I kind of agreed with them. So I made an adjustment to my music player, but it's still there for your enjoyment if you want it!

Jumping on the bandwagon...

I've left a bunch of messages on your blogs, so I guess it's my turn to post this!

1. Add a comment on my blog and leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot just do anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments!

So You Think You Can Dance Recap - Week 6

(Note: Fox must be cracking down on people releasing pictures and video, so I'm not sure that I'll have any this week...)

Yay! New couple pairings and solos start this week! I like it when America gets to do the elimination instead of the judges. I also like it when you get to see each individual dancer when they aren't in "panic" mode and trying to dance for their life. There was a surprise right at the beginning of the show - Jessica has a few broken ribs and she's out of the competition! So Comfort is back! (Sal - you should be happy!!)

One tradition I would like to see go away? When everyone makes a stupid face and holds up their number while Cat reads off their phone number.


Couples

Joshua and Courtney

#1 - I thought this was a good pairing since Katee & Courtney are both contemporary dancers and Joshua & Gev are hip hop. They did really good, although Joshua was creeping me out a little with all his touching of Courtney during the judging. I guess he's really happy to have been paired with her! I also wasn't feeling his ponytail. Yuk!

#2 - Double yuk on Joshua's ponytail and the shirt. But I LOVED Courtney in this piece. It flowed really well. Joshua has stepped up and really learned how to do different styles of dance.

Mark and Kherington

#1 - Ouch. There was trouble right out of the gate with this piece. Their turns were off and then Mark almost didn't get his arm over Kherington's head during her turn. They looked completely uncomfortable the whole time.

#2 - They were much more comfortable with this piece. But it wasn't exciting at all. They are in trouble.... "Canned Heat" reminds me of Center Stage - I love that movie! (Don't even remind me that Napoleon Dynamite ruined it...)

Comfort and Twitch

#1 - Fake it 'til you make it. That had to be their motto during this piece. They both looked like they were faking it. Badly. Very loose turns. Blah.

#2 - Thank goodness for a hip hop routine!! Yay! They really showed what they could do with this piece. Comfort needs to close her mouth when she dances though! I love Chris Brown. I'm glad they used this song.

Katee and Will

#1 - Yay! I was hoping to see them together because they are the strongest dancers. I liked this piece by Tyce, but I don't think it showcased them very well.

#2 - HOLY. COW. My favorite of the night. Will's pirouette gave me chills! Too bad Katee's foot got stuck under her leg - it would have been perfect otherwise!

Chelsie and Gev

#1 - Chelsie is again the stronger dancer of the pair. I thought the choreography was interesting, especially with the song Sonia used.

#2 - Again, Gev is lucky he has Chelsie....Meh.

Solos

Chelsie - Good, as always.


Gev - Was it just me or did it look like his foot got stuck on his leg hop? Other than that, it was good.

Courtney - Good too. The large shirt always seems to say "contemporary". :)


Mark - I wondered if he would do this piece because they showed a clip of him doing in during Vegas week. He is quirky, but I think he did his style well.


Comfort - I'm still not a fan of her solos...

Twitch - He seemed a little uncomfortable doing his solo tonight. Something was off. I just can't put my finger on it.

Katee- I love "This Woman's Work". I think she did a great job and I liked her dress.

Will - He didn't get going for a few seconds, but I thought it was good once he started.

Kherington -It was alright. Did you check out her little booty shake at the end there??

Joshua - Bringin out the Michael Jackson. I thought he did a great job. It always takes me by surprise when he does hip hop because he does so well at the other genres.


Predictions?

Bottom 2:
Kherington & Comfort
Mark & Gev

Eliminated: Sadly, I have to go with Kherington and Gev.

Seriously...WHAT IS THAT??!!??

Chloe was yelling from the bathroom that she wanted to AASH, AASH! (wash her hands) When I got to the bathroom, this is what I found in her hot little hand:



After my screaming and dry heaving subsided, I discovered it was actually a chocolate marshmallow. Whew! Chloe thinks I'm crazy now. Just take a look at her face! I was laughing so hard the picture is blurry.

It's Addicting...

So I've never really been a scrapbooker. But digital scrapbooking in wonderful! I love it that I don't have to perfectly cut and measure and glue. Hooray! I guess it's kind of the same roadblock I have with writing in a journal. It's just much easier for me to type on my blog! I will be posting a few of my creations soon...

SYTYCD Par-tay!

Anyone interested in coming over to watch So You Think You Can Dance tomorrow? We have high definition!

FHE

Family home evening at Brick Oven with the Parkinsons. Table for 9?? Sheesh, we have a lot of kids....

Sing it with me -

On Monday night the world around
Happy families can be found
Doing what they know is right
Monday's having family night
Home evening, home evening
That's the night we like the best
Home evening, home evening
Having it our family's blessed....

Sent from my sweet, pink Blackberry Pearl

Musical Monday - Madonna and JT

Why? Because this is Chloe's favorite song...tick, tock, tick, tock.

Warning: Hazardous Road

Sunday - A day to enjoy a leisurely drive with your family. We used to do it all the time when I was little. We would go up to Bridal Veil and feed the ducks. What do we do now that I'm a Blaser? We take our 3 children up a road that has a large sign with bold letters saying:



Should this deter us from taking our Sunday drive? Nah! The road was pretty bumpy, but it was beautiful! Especially when we got to the top where there was a huge field of wildflowers and you could see Strawberry Reservoir in the distance.



We counted 15 squirrels that were almost put to death by Red Rocker (Marc's truck). We also played the rhyming game and "I Spy". We only lasted about 3 hours before the kids lost it and mass hysteria ensued. I guess we better take a few more family drives to get ready for our 6 hour flight to Hawaii! Thanks to Marc for taking us on a fun family adventure!

(Note to self: KFC is NOT a car friendly meal choice...)

Who is....Heidi Montag??

This was a real question on Jeopardy. As much as I love "The Hills" and reality TV - can Jeopardy be SERIOUS??

Flashback Friday - The Child Who Never Smiled

My parents had a friend take some pictures of me and I wouldn't smile! I was camera shy. (I still am!) My hair used to be really, really thin. When they took it out of the ponytail, I looked like I had been electrocuted :)

SYTYCD Results

As sad as I was to see Thayne go, the judges got it right this week. But I was surprised by the bottom 3! Make sure you vote for your favorite couple!!! I also loved the big flower in Cat's hair. Very Carrie/Sex and the City.

So You Think You Can Dance Recap - Week 5

(Pictures to Follow Shortly!)

First of all, I loved Cat's look this week! She actually looked summery and fresh not stiff and boring like last week. On another note - earth to Mary Murphy! You are judging, not ballroom dancing. Terrible, terrible outfit and jewelry. Get a stylist!

Mark and Chelsie

#1 - Loved it! Chelsie really worked the dress and hair - muy caliente! :) Chelsie is a much stronger dancer than Mark, so it will be interesting to see how he does when they switch partners next week. Mark even looked a little Latin with his hair whoop-dee-doo. I thought it was hilarious when they said Alex Da Silva looked like the Brazilian Bono. I thought the same thing about his glasses!



#2 - They rock it again. I love Tyce Diorio's choreography.



Comfort and Thayne

#1 - I totally agreed with the judges - there was no connection during this dance. At all. Comfort obviously thinks she is the greatest dancer. I would have to completely disagree with her! I'm ready for her to go this week. Poor Cat - sticking up for them and then getting reprimanded by Nigel. I bet she won't do that again!



#2 - I usually love Mandy Moore, so I was really disappointed by this piece because it didn't excite me at all. Meh.

Will and Jessica

#1 - This was really interesting and beautiful. I'm glad Will was the one to do it because he has incredible lines (and body!). It was nice to see something a little different. I'm glad I didn't watch it with Lila though - wow! I didn't really agree with them about Jessica holding her own against Will though. I felt like he was just able to "showcase" her better with this type of choreography. Unfortunately, I didn't mute Mary before she made her dumb Tarzan comment...



#2 - I don't really like the Quickstep, so I didn't really like this piece. Jessica was blah. Again. I was glad Mia said what everyone was thinking - Will looks tired of carrying her and he needs another partner.

Courtney and Gev

#1 - The return of Pacha and Anya! I'm glad they are using more of the dancers from past years as choreographers. I liked this piece. I thought they danced it well. (Did you get "the message"?)



#2 - Even though all of the pieces have a theme, I feel like Courtney and Gev keep getting the really "theme-y" pieces. First, sight-seeing in NY and now a jungle expedition? I thought this one was ok. Even though I like both Courtney and Gev, they don't seem to POP! like some of the others do. They might be in trouble again this week.



Twitchington

#1 - I love Lil C's Krump choreography because it's so BUCK! It's just so street and gritty - I think it would be really fun to dance. I thought they did a great job with this, even though Kherington pooped out at the end. Twitch rocked it.



#2 - I wasn't thrilled with this. They seemed to be counting (...5,6,7,8 and 1,2....)

Katee and Joshua

#1 - I don't normally like this genre, but I liked this choreography. Katee did a great job. Joshua did well too, but his outfit made him look...chubby, I guess. I was impressed by his turns though - he is still a b-boy!



#2 - Bollywood! This is something new too..and I loved it! If they are going to start doing cultural dance, they should do a hula/haka! I loved the ending pose.



In honor of Bollywood, here is my favorite Bollywood clip...enjoy!



Predictions?

Bottom 3 - Comfort and Thayne, Courtney and Gev, Katee and Joshua
Eliminated - Comfort and Thayne

Daddy-Daughter Date

Last night Marc and Lila had a daddy-daughter date. They met Mark Jensen and his boys, Nate, Nick and Jake, and rode Trax up to the Bees game. It sounds like they had a blast!



The Jensen's still have a chance to get some polynesian blood into their family. I think Jake and Lila are destined to date someday.... Jake can go on his mission and Lila will be about 21 when he gets home. Sounds just right to me! :)

Seriously

I'm done with the layout tweaking for now. My brain hurts from all the creating!

Skadoosh

"There is no charge for awesomeness... or attractiveness. " Go see Kung Fu Panda - it's hilarious!

Chloe's New Vocabulary

Chloe has started saying new words every day!! It's so fun to see her develop her own personality. (As if she didn't have enough of one with her facial expressions!) I need to get some video clips of her talking before they really turn into "words". One of my favorite new things she is doing is singing along to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Choo Choo Soul on the Disney Channel. She always knows when to say "Oh Toodles!" during MMC and she sings along to the "All Aboard" song with CCS.

Notice all of these words are in caps. It's because she screams them...

HAAALP = Help. And she usually wants help to do something she shouldn't be doing.

ANNA! OWIE! = She wants to go see Rhianna and Owen. (I'm sure she wants to see Kailey too, but we haven't learned her name yet!)

ELCOME = You're welcome. But she always says it when she means to say thank you!

POOOOO = She wants to swim in the pool.

I SEE = This is what she calls Max. I'm guessing it's because Lila always says, "Can I SEE Max?"

KETCHUUUP = Any sort of dip. Ranch, ketchup, whatever.

For being so hard to take care of sometimes, she sure is entertaining.

Are You Squinting To Read This?

Glasses are expensive. So would you be surprised if I told you that you can get frames starting at just $8? Well you can from zennioptical.com! You will find huge selection of frames, with single vision lens, sun sensor (potochromic) lens, tinted sunglasses lens, bifocal lens and progressive lens. With such a large selection available, anyone can find what they are looking for! What is the secret to Zenni’s low prices? They only sell their own manufactured frames direct to the customer, with no middlemen and virtually no advertising budget. The site is easy to navigate, with the categories displayed on the left side of the screen. You can also view 24 of their most popular models at the same time right from the home page! Shipping and handling is always a flat fee of $4.95, no matter how many glasses are included in the order. Wow! Check it out!

Waiting Anxiously

Dad and Max - wishing football season was here.

Sent from my sweet, pink Blackberry Pearl

Tired

Chloe decided to take a rest in the pool. Oh to be a kid again.

Sent from my sweet, pink Blackberry Pearl

Happy 4th of July!

I didn't go to the parade today. I have too many little kids to sit still for that long! Here is my favorite memory from last year. A man who lived across the street from where we were sitting on the parade route got up on his roof and played the National Anthem, Jimmy Hendrix style! It was awesome. You've gotta love the guy at the end of the clip who is standing there so proudly with his hat over his heart. God Bless America.

Rigged!

There has been talk online that SYTYCD has been kicking off partners regardless of one partner being stronger than another dancer. Now I believe the talk! I don't think Matt should have gone. Hmmm.... But I was pretty close with my prediction!

A Beach In Utah?

Welcome to Spanish Oaks Reservior.

Sent from my sweet, pink Blackberry Pearl

So You Think You Can Dance Recap

Disclaimer: The views, conclusions, findings and opinions of the author are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the reader. So get over it if you don't agree!! (Just Kidding)

First, I have to get this off of my chest.... I CANNOT STAND MARY MURPHY. I've stopped listening to her comments and just fast forward or mute her. Her voice hurts my brain.

There was a lot going on this episode with every couple doing 2 dances. I bet it was pretty intense for them to learn so much in a short period of time.

Will and Jessica




#1 - It was ok...



#2 - I've been a closet Heart fan for a long time. One of my first memories was listening to my Dad's Heart record (Yes, record. One you play with a needle...) with gigantic headphones when I wasn't even in Kindergarten yet. So I was excited to see a lyrical to this song :) Will is becoming one of my favorite dancers on the show. Most of the time, the really great contemporary male dancers have a "feminine" quality to them even though they have strong bodies. That's not the case with Will. Wow. Please keep your shirt off for every number! Still not a Jessica fan. I'd like to see Will with a different partner.


Comfort and Thayne

#1 & #2 - I like Comfort and Thayne together better than Comfort and Chris. I really liked "Cool". Comfort seemed a lot more "comfortable" (hee hee) with Thayne.





Kourtni and Matt



#1 & #2 - I don't like Kourtni either. I thought the Hip Hop piece was really boring and the Mambo looked really awkward. Blah. You can tell how off Kourtni was in the Hip Hop piece by this picture. Get your knee up, Girl!



Chelsie and Mark



#1 & #2 - I really like Chelsie and Mark as a couple. I think they will be in the Top 3.




Twitchington

#1 - I loved Kherington in this piece. She was really into it and it was a different side of her. Yay! Props to Twitch for his abs too.




#2 - Mia Michaels is all sorts of cra-a-zay....there is some weird stuff going on in her head. But I loved this piece - the bed prop, the concept and the dance all went really well together. Twitch was really featured and he did a great job in portraying the story. I loved Kherington's bed hair! :)



Katee and Joshua

#1 - Again, more of Mia Michaels and her crazyness. But I loved this one too! It drew you in right from the beginning with the walking forward and back. I also loved the costumes and Katee's hair. Katee and Joshua are still my favorite couple.



#2 - Benji is back with some more costume ugliness. Joshua struggled with this style a little bit.




Courtney and Gev

#1 - Ra - if you are reading this, I thought about you right away when they started playing "Lights, Camera, Action". You know why :) It wasn't that exciting. I agreed with Napoleon that Gev was thinking too hard.




#2 - This was also not that exciting...There was way too much pointing going on. I guess they were supposed to be sightseeing??




Whew....So what are my predictions?


Bottom 3 - Comfort and Thayne, Kourtni and Matt, Courtney and Gev


Eliminated - Kourtni and Gev (This may be wishful thinking - I'd like to see Courtney and Matt together...)


We'll see how it really turns out!

Welcome Gracie Nicole Jensen!

Amy - I can't believe you look so beautiful right after giving birth!!! Congrats to you, Devin and Easton on an adorable new addition to your family. (Thanks to Jamie - I stole her picture!)

Blog Backgrounds

I'm learning how to make my own backgrounds, so forgive me for all the changes!

The Picture Search

First, answer these questions...

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your nickname.

The concept:

* Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search .

* Using only the first page, pick an image.

* Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into FD’s Mosaic Maker.

* Voilà - you have a custom mosaic picture of you!

My answers:

1. Cammi

2. Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica

3. Timpanogos High School

4. Pink

5. David Beckham

6. Diet Dr Pepper

7. New York

8. Brownie with ice cream

9. Patient

10. The Sun

11. Crazy

12. Cammo