Two cuties and one last day

Kimby and Katherine are growing up so quickly. It is so fun to see them learn so much in such a short amount of time. The fact that kids learn so quickly will never cease to amaze me. It's fun to watch.

(I bought this outfit for Kimby when we went to England 2 years ago--now there's a new England fan in the mix!)
Katherine has recently discovered the "crawl to the stairs" game, where she crawls as fast as she can until someone runs after her. It's fun to watch her smile and giggle, but man is it tiring! :)

Every time I see Katherine she becomes more and more of a toddler. She likes to walk around the room (holding on, of course) and she giggles with every step she takes. What a cutie!

My last day at the mail center was last Friday. It was kind of sad to say goodbye to some of my favorite people in the world. I'm not upset though...I need to move on. I'll visit them too. It's not like I'm going anywhere. :) Here are a few pictures of my last day...

Since it was Amanda's last day as a full-time employee, we both got a cake and presents from Bob and Julie. We both got cheese (yum yum) and I got a crossword book--I've already started using it, but it's hard without Bob-o-pedia :) ) Anyway, about 5 minutes before we shut the window, I was attacked with red ink stamps. Nice. I would have been more upset (as I have in the past) if I didn't know that alcohol takes the ink off pretty easily. Luckily enough for me, we had alcohol wipes at the mail center!

The Olympics and Chesterfield

Most of you are familiar enough with me to know that I am obsessed with the Olympics-- summer, winter, it makes no difference. I think every part of it is amazing (well, except watching the marathon--yawn!!). I have been glued to the tv during the entire 8 days it has been on--cheering on Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak, Aaron Peirsol, Ryan Lochte, Dara Torres, Misty May-Treanor and Keri Walsh, "the thin beast" (Phil Dalhausser) and Todd Rogers, Raj Bhavsar, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson...wow. I could go on and on. What an amazing week!! Who could forget those amazing photo-finishes-- the 100m butterfly...enough to make my heart stop (if I hadn't known already that he had won!). One of the best wins for the Americans had to have been the 4x100 free relay. That was an amazing comeback by Lezak!! (It also doesn't hurt that they beat out the trash-talking Frenchies!!) :) Anyway, I've definitely enjoyed the Olympics so far!


Today I took a break from the Olympics and went to Chesterfield with Jamie, Malorie, Jamison and Becky. We saw some old houses and other buildings restored to their original states. We walked a long way today and my feet are suffering from it! Anyway, I had fun. It's always fun to see how excited Jamie gets when he views any kind of historical artifact. He really is a history buff.

(the old church)

(as you can tell, this is the blacksmith's shop) (this is a house there--it used to belong to the bishop)

I'm sure you all know by now that Michael Phelps has done what no other Olympian has ever done--8 golds in 1 Olympic Games (total gold count- 14 golds and 2 bronzes)! He set 7 world records and won in amazingly dramatic fashion. Hats off to Michael Phelps for being the best Olympian EVER!

My "little appendage" turned one!!

It's hard for me to believe that Katherine is a year old already! We had a party for her the day before her birthday (on Thursday). She was one happy girl!

"I'm cute...and I know it!"

"Ooooh...what is this??"
"I spy Ashee!!"

She had a good time with her cake! Spencer, Spencer, Spencer...that's all I can say about Katherine's cake. Anyway, she was an adorable "birthday girl" (even though she was confused by all the attention!).

"My fingers taste really yummy!!"

Melanie, Spencer and the girls took off to Lava and Bear Lake for a few days so I haven't seen the girls since last Thursday. I'm missing them...especially Katherine's grin when she sees me and Kimby's hugs and "I love you's". They are self-esteem boosters. :) I wish everyone lived closer (Jeff and Jen, Justin and Callie), but I am grateful that we are close enough that we can see each other often.

Family Reunion

A couple of weeks ago my family and I had the opportunity to get together for our 8th annual family reunion. This was just my immediate family (brothers, sister, their spouses, kids). We always have a great time (although it can be crazy!). This year we went to Jeff's and Jen's house. We spent time playing Rock Band, went to a fish hatchery, had ice cream, went geocaching, went swimming (with the pool all to ourselves), ate out, and went to Shoshone Falls--where we did more geocaching. Those were all just the planned activities. We had a lot of fun just hanging out, playing Ultimate Frisbee, British Bulldog, etc. Anyway, I really had a good time. I know that Jeff and Jen were stressed (particularly Jen) but hopefully the good memories outweigh the bad. Cheers guys!

Anyway, you all know that my life is pathetic right now. No one needs to remind me of it. I am fully aware. I am still trying to decide about applying for two different kinds of jobs--between PSR and working for the school district. The school district pays significantly less, but it would be stable. As far as I'm concerned, PSR jobs are always risky. Anyway, that's where I am right now. I also do not have a place to live during the fall as Olivia signed a one semester contract with the Elms and they don't have any room for me. I don't have any other friends to live with, and getting my own apartment is out of the question (I would be even more of a hermit than I already am). So yes, I am going to be living at home. Anyway, there you go. Thrilling.

Try it!

So...I'm copying Jen's blog here. Try it out! I had fun on Jen's! :)
Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memeory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark... get set... blog those memories!

The Fourth of July baby--and WIMBLEDON!!

The fourth of July is always one of my favorite holidays--warm weather, parade, food...but most important--FIREWORKS! Ironically enough, I used to be TERRIFIED of fireworks. Now, I can't get enough. Weird. Anyway, Jeff, Jen, Kammi and London all came for the 4th and we had a great time. We played a little basketball, wiffle ball and more basketball. Katherine decided this weekend that she couldn't get enough of me. I don't know if she'll keep it up, but it was definitely a self-esteem builder :) (that one's for you Jen). Hope everyone's fourth of July was fun! Oh, I almost forgot...Wimbledon is one of the highlights of my year. This year Venus Williams took her 5th singles title and she and Serena won doubles. Oh, and the "King of Grass" fell on his...bum. :) What did you think I was going to say??

A new Palm and Hairspray!

It's pretty late to be starting a new post but I just got done watching Hairspray and can't get the songs out of my head. It was really good! I hadn't seen it yet because no one really wanted to watch it with me. I finally went to Hollywood Video yesterday and got a bunch of movies to watch by myself. Hairspray was one of them.

The other big news from today (as if watching Hairspray was big news) I got a new phone! Stressful and scary, but I finally did it!

It's a Palm Centro. I had to add $30 a month to my plan for the internet and email features and about $6 a month for insurance. That scared me a little but I was willing to give it a try when I found out I could cancel the internet if I wanted to. That would bring me down a little closer to what I had been paying before. I had to get a new phone because my battery was wearing down on my Razor and it is cheaper for me (Verizon--new every two) to get a new phone than to get a battery. This phone was free! (I had to pay for a memory card and a cover for it). Anyway...that's my big news. Hairspray and new phone. Kind of an exciting day.:)