I think Jayda was a little chilly....

I guess it's time to break out Jayda's coats...yes, she has coats...and yes, I am aware she is a dog...and yes, I probably need therapy :)

It's Official...

Thanksgiving is over ((SNIFF)), but there is a silver lining. The Christmas music ban has been lifted. So, bring on the BING CROSBY. Sorry Dad...and Buzz!!

Happy 14th Birthday Boo!

You may be bigger than me now....but you will always be my Lil' Cowboy.

Isn't he handsome?

When did I get so old?

I was going through pix the other day and found this one of Christian and I. I have to admit I got a little misty-eyed. This is back when he was my little cowboy. When he stayed over he would come and get me out of bed (thus me lookin so pretty) as soon he woke up so he could play cowboy. He would have to put on my hat and boots and I got to be the horse. I taught him all the words to "Wakin' to Jerusalem" by the time he was 2 and he would run around singing at the top of his lungs. Now, he is 5'7 and turning 14 next week. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up. He's gotten so big I can't pick on him anymore (Well, I can, but it just ends badly for me). He'll be in High School next year and driving legally the year after that. It makes you stop and reflect and I realize...I'm getting old.

The Mighty Fishermen

Some pics from the boys fishing trip to Salmon, ID. They didn't catch any keepers (can't keep the wild Steelhead...Factory fish only!), but it looks like a pretty good time. No girls were allowed, not that we would want to go. 8 boys in an enclosed snowmobile trailer is not my idea of fun.

Jayda strikes again....

Just when we thought we had seen it all, Jayda does something you would never expect from a dog. Tonight Buzz and I got locked out of our house. This was a little bewildering because we know we didn't lock it when we left. But there we were stuck on the porch in the dark with no way in (I'm much better at remembering to lock windows;). Buzz was a good boyscout and picked the lock...a freaky, but useful talent of his...and we made it inside. Jayda had been up to her usually tricks and managed to get a box of Buzz's donuts off the counter and leave a trail of them through the living room. But the really interesting find was when I checked the lock on the door knob. The door knob was covered in doggie drool. Mystery solved! We now know who locked the door. Our guess is she decided to try and open the door to go chase something and managed to hit the lock instead.

Sad Day...

My Grandma Vella passed away yesterday morning. She is the heart of our Sparks Family and she is going to be missed very much...but we are happy knowing she is now re-uniting with Grandpa Gleneth. I'm very grateful to her for allowing Buzz and I to live in her home in Clarkston for all these years. I love living here with all the memories of her and my Grandpa around me.

Grandma's first vist to Disneyland.

Grandma on splash mountain. We didn't tell her about the drop at the end!

My life's playlist.

I was reading a article in a magazine the other day about people and their playlists. It was kind of poking fun at all of us with our infinite playlists on our blogs and ipods, etc. It was pretty insightful, however! It said that we all set our lives to a playlist. You know those special songs that represent times and people in our lives...Your all time favorite songs. It asked you to think about your "Top 5" playlist. Well, It got me thinking, so I had to give it a try. It was a challenge to narrow it to down to 5, but I did it.

Here are my songs. In no particular order. Feel free to listen along.

1- I cross my Heart by George Strait. This has been Buzz and my song since High School. I walked down the aisle to this song and we danced our first dance on our wedding day. I get a little misty-eyed when I hear it.

2-Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. Yes, I am the the typical pilot cliche. This is the "Top Gun" song. Whenever I hear a turbine engine spooling up...this song is playing in my head. Every pilot loves this song...and bomber jackets w/ sunglasses ;)

3-Its My Life by Bon Jovi. Its not my playlist without Bon Jovi and this is my favorite Bon Jovi song of all time. No song sums me up like this song.

4-Drift Away by Uncle Cracker. There a ton versions of this classic, but this one is my fav. It is my happy song. Nothing symbolic or poetic. I can just tune out and feel the beat. Its good for the soul.

5-Waiting on a Woman by Brad Paisley. This song reminds me of my Gram and Gramps. They are my picture-perfect love story.

Whats yours?

Stupid Truck Driver!

So, today I'm a little bit peeved and I need to vent. Driving home from SLC today a stupid construction truck decided to pull out of the center median and onto I-15 right in front me. I had to slam on my brakes going 70 MPH..Okay maybe it more like 80, ... to avoid ramming my civic up its freaking tail pipe. Stupid thing is...there was no construction on that entire stretch of road. Then, once death was narrowly avoided, the truck launched a huge rock at my windshield. I now have a rock chip the size of quarter in the dead center of my windshield which cracked out in about 30 directions. It looks kind of like a little spider-web. If thats not bad enough, I got 2 more lovely little divots notched out of my windshield as the rock bounced off. Then, the jerk had the nerve to flip me off when I passed him. I may have honked my horn at him in unkind manner when he tried to kill me or it is possible he saw my birdy finger when he looked in his rear-view mirror, BUT HE TRIED TO KILL ME and broke my windshield. Stupid, (BLEEP) truck driver!!!!

and you thought I couldn't vent without swearing. Heehee ;)

What is wrong with this picture!

This is Jayda's new dog bed with comfy suede blanket. It's super fluffy and warm. Any dog would be lucky to have such a plush doggie bed. BUT WHERE IS JAYDA??

Here she is....

IN OUR BED!

Home...for 7 days.

For the first time in 3 years I'm going to be home for 7 whole days. An entire week without stepping foot in an airport, or airplane, or hotel. I'm so excited... or at least I thought I was. Today was day 1 and I'm already BORED!! I'm still working from home all week, but it is increadibly boring and quiet.

Should of known...

Jayda has this weird life of duality. She does everything in 2.

2 truck encounters
2 ear infections
2 tumors removed...each had to be re-stitched 2 times
2 splayed toenails...2 vet visits each
2 runs to vet to be stitched up after Thunderstorms (reason she is full-time house dog)
1 case of auto-immune syndrome... attacked BOTH eyes (no worries....eyes are perfect now)
1 scratched cornea....fighting with 2 dogs (she was protecting Tanny the pug so she is forgiven)

So can anyone guess the reason for this little trip down memory lane. Yup. You guessed it.

GRASS SEED-#2 is now stuck in her ear. Same ear 2x. Leading to vet visit number 2 in 2 weeks. Costing us a total of $200 bucks. Isn't life ironic!!

No one be surprised if you see Jayda running around in ear muffs. She still has one perfectly good ear that is prime for 2 more grass seeds.

I'm the worst Mommy ever...

Everyone knows I'm a little OCD when it comes to Jayda. I'm a little nuts with collars, coats, toe nail polish. The dog has her own "diaper bag" she takes with her on overnights to Grammy's and Aunt Min's. I'm the worst with Jayda and the Vet. If she gets a runny nose I think she needs to go to the doc. Most of the visits are usually needed as Jayda has had her share of trauma, but I admit I take it to extremes at times. Thus, last Thursday when she came home with her ear bugging her I decided I needed to let her tough it out. Well...my Mom had to persuade me to let her tough it out. I was all for calling off the SFO trip so I could rush her to the vet. I realized that was nuts even for me. So, off to SFO we went while Jayda stayed home. A day or so later she was fine...or so we thought. I woke up this morning to Jayda shaking her head uncontrollably and pawing at her ear. I looked in her ear to find a bunch of gunk draining out of it. Of course I freaked and called the vet. Buzz took her in this afternoon and guess what? Jayda had a grass seed stuck inside her ear. It was so deep she had to be knocked out in order to get it out. Plus she has to be on two different medications. I let my sweet puppy walk around with grass stuck in her ear for an entire week. I'm the worst Mommy ever. Good thing I don't have human children to neglect.

San Fran

We ran away to San Francisco for a quick mini vacation over the weekend. It was so much fun. I love San Fran, but I'm still a Cali girl at heart. The best part is Jason and Cami went with us. We did all sorts of cool stuff like a Bay cruise, Alcatraz, and Go-Cars through the streets of San Francisco. The cars are by far the funnest way to see the sights of the City. Especially, when Buzz and Jason have to push the cars up the hill! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We also had lots of super yummy food. If you like seafood you have to eat at Scoma's on the Wharf. THE BEST SEAFOOD EVER.!! We also did the Hard Rock Cafe which is always a vacation must. I can't wait to go back. 2 1/2 days is just not enough time to see and do everything San Fran has to offer. We had a few minor set backs along the way from lost hotel reservations and over-sold flights, but all in all it was a fun time. Thanks Jason and Cami for going with us and being such good sports ;) Sorry for those super AM airport showtimes...and BART rides.

Happy 8th Birthday Jayda

We love you Peanut!!

4 Years ago today we adopted our beautiful "dogter", Jayda. Our lives have never been they same since. We don't know her official B-date, so we count it as today. We are very lucky she picked my Dad's truck to run in front of that day in Hyde Park. My Dad being the worlds biggest dog lover, slammed on his brakes and rescued Jayda from the on-coming traffic. He put her in the truck next to a terrified Mindy who feed her doughnuts until they found Jayda's home. Fate had it that they were looking for a new home for Jayda because she had issues with getting out of her kennel. They never mentioned that she was the Great Houdini and no kennel on earth would hold her. That would have been nice to know before we bought a $800 dog run that turned out to useless...but that is another story. Buzz had always wanted a Boxer, so my Dad took him to see Jayda...and it was love at first sight. Jayda came to live us a few days later.

Jayda made us a family and we don't know what we would do without her. She is truly the center of our universe and our pride and joy. I know we are a little dog crazy, but we couldn't love her more if she was was an actual child There has never been a dog with so much personality and feeling as Jayda. She is truly more human than dog. Not to mention smart. It is a little freaky at times. Unfortunately, now she is getting to be a little older she is starting to slow down a tiny bit, but thats okay with us. That just means a few less dog fights to break up...Thank goodness. We hope we have many, many more years to spend with her.

Enjoy the Jayda slide show. I had to share some of my favorite Jayda pix from one of my many Jayda photo files. There are a ton more, but I didn't have time to go through them all.

Hapy 4th of July!

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday. There is always so much fun stuff to do. I love fireworks! I hope everyone has a fun weekend! Poor Jayda will be home hiding under the desk. She doesn't take after her Mommy. She HATES fireworks. Poor thing gets scared to death. So much for the big, tough boxer.

Happy Anniversary!

Can you believe today is our 6th wedding anniversary. We can't either, it seems like yesterday. Time goes by way to quickly when your having fun. I was feeling nostalgic and looking through all our wedding pictures. I had to share some of my favorites.

We are heading back to Depoe Bay to celebrate later in July. We got kinda hooked when went there on our Honeymoon. We go back every chance we get. It has to be the most perfect place on earth. To us anyway...

Happy Anniversary Honey!. I love you.

What happens when your bored...

You've probably noticed I've had a little too much time on my hands and added some "extras" to the blog. This is what happens when you get stuck at the airport for 5 hours with nothing to do. Have fun playing fetch with the puppy! It makes me laugh every time (I'm very easily amused:) I finally have a dog that plays fetch the "right way". Anyone who has played fetch with Jayda knows what I'm talking about.

Also, I apologize for the additions to the playlist...Well not really. There is something about Summer and my need for 80's music. It reminds me of High School (ya I know it wasn't in the 80's, but I listened to then too). My first and ever lasting crush is Bon Jovi. So, enjoy rocking out with me. There is also some ACDC and Ozzy mixed in for you die hards. Sorry Mom! I know how much you love OZZY.

Happys Father's Day.

To all of our Dads and Grandpa's

Thank you for all your love and support...and for being you. Hope you have a great day.

We love you!!

(Grampy Kim)

(Grampy Farrell)

(Grandpa Schvaneveldt giving Bryli some luvs)

"My Daddy"

My favorite Jayda pic ever. No one messes with her daddy or her back-hoe

This Father's day was extra special since we got to spend it with all of our Dads this year. We started the day off in Westin and got to spend time with Grandpa Schvaneveldt and Farrell (that would be Buzz's Dad Brent...don't ask:) We got to see everyone and eat tons of yummy food. Then we went to a cook out at my Mom and Dad's house with Mindy and the kids. We kind of watched them eat since we were so stuffed, but we had room for Key Lime Pie. We ended the night off with a grass fight and game of Phase 10. It was a lot of fun...except for the part when Christian fed me a hand full of grass with mud still attached. Thanks bunches Boo! or was it Kassidy? I couldn't tell from the bottom of the doggie pile. And a special thanks to my dear, sweet husband who inspired this torture. And to Jayda too. My own sweet dog who took me down line-backer style so I could be viciously attacked by family. I love you all so very much!

There is one person we didn't get to see yesterday. We miss him very much, but he is forever in our hearts.

I love you Gramps!

(Grandpa Dallas. Halloween Cookies 07)

"Because someone we love is in heaven, there is always a little heaven in our home"

Fishing Trip! (sorry no pix)

Buzz has been going through withdrawal from fishing since the steel head run has shutdown for the season. So, Saturday he and Jayda decided to pack-up and head to the lake. Since it was free-fishing day in Idaho, he asked me to go with him. It must be love as I'm sure there is some law about taking your wife fishing. We had tons of fun! and it only rained a little! Jayda isn't much of a fishin' dog though. She kept knocking the poles over and whined non-stop. My husband has declared himself "king of the lake" with the best catch of the day. It was a massive catch. It had to be-at most- 5 inches long. He is so proud ;) You gotta love Buzz's sense of humor. But at least he caught something. I got nadda...except for the weeds a couple dozen times. Buzz was sweet for putting up with me. I still think he only took me so he had an excuse to buy a new fishing pole ;) JK!

We finished off the day with dinner back at camp with Brent, Charlene,Jackie, and John. Brent made the best pork chops ever. Jackie scones weren't too bad either. Yum-O!!

Joys of home coming...

I love to come home to find Jayda waiting in the window. Then she meets at the door and jumps around doing her little "wiggly butt" dance (think full body wag) and howling. Then after I put my bags down I get the full body tackle with kisses. It's almost worth being gone for a few days just to get the joy of homecoming.

Today when I got home I got extra special treatment. I got a good 10 minutes of love and attention from Jayda. When she finally let me up off the floor, she made a bee-line for the door. I thought she needed to potty, but she was making a get away. I went into the kitchen and found the surprise Jayda had left me. She must of got bored of watching Food Network on TV and decided to try her hand at cooking on her own. Cuz I had stuff everywhere!! A bag of hot dog buns, loaf a bread, chips, and croutons where relocated to the floor along with the entire contents of the recycle bin. Her deluxe doggy feeder had been moved to the center of the room and its contents had been thrown around. A toppled chair and vacuum finished off the chaos. I closed my eyes and walked down the hall to the bathroom. It was more like waded because she also decided to help rearrange the laundry I had separated in the hall way. Once I actually made it to the bathroom I found a empty Gatorade bottle in the bath tub.

I managed to get Jayda back inside and put her in time-out while I cleaned the mess up. I then sat down at my computer to catch up on emails. Jayda decided it was time to make a truce so she hopped up on the love seat and stuck her head over for me to pet her from where I sat in the computer chair. At the first sign of forgiveness she leaped off the love seat and into my lap. Jayda not being a good size to be a lap dog knocked me and the chair off-balance and all three of us went over backwards. As I was laying there on my back staring at the ceiling, Jayda (who managed to land on her feet) walked over and gave me kisses. I just busted out laughing. You can't stay mad at Jayda for long. It's good to me home!!

Horsey Ride....

Yesterday was tons of fun because we got to help Mindy babysit Mary Katherine...aka "Baby Cakes". Mary Katherine is the daughter of one of Mindy's friends from work and is one of the cutest, happiest babies ever. Mindy and the kids get to babysit on occasion. It is so much fun having a baby around to play with....unless your Jayda.

You would think of the size difference would be a little scary for Mary Katherine, but its not. Jayda was by far the funnest toy in the room. Buzz was giving her horsey rides on Jayda around the living room. Mary Katherine would giggle and bounce up and down. Jayda would just walk around with a very annoyed look on her face.

The funniest of the day was when Mindy was holding her up so she could pet Jayda and play with her ears. This kid wasn't happy unless Jayda was in reach. Mary Katherine just leaned over and laid a big, droolly, kiss on Jayda and of course Jayda tried to return the favor (I intervened before Jayda could lay one on her). This kid is fearless! Sorry to all you Moms who are cringing at this photo. The baby was properly sanitized after taking the photo.

Sorry the pics aren't that great. They were taken with Mindy's camera phone.

Expert Traveler...or Not!

Just when I think I've become an expert traveler, I do something kinda stupid. For those of you who have traveled with me know that I used to be an over-packer. Not anymore! With every mile traveled, I've learned to downsize. One of my favorite possessions is my 20 Inch roller-board suitcase with interlocking carry-on pieces. My lunch bag, flight bag, and computer case all hook on and off for easy airport navigation. Best of all there isn't an overhead bin it doesn't fit in. It is Awesome! And I refuse to go anywhere with out it. If it doesn't fit it in my suit case, it doesn't go. Which is the set up for my stupidity on my latest adventure as a road warrior.

I started the week off flying a 2-day trip and flowed into 2 days in my SGU office. So I had to pack for 4 days total: 2 days as a pilot and 2 days as corporate dweller. By the time I got all required items for both, my suitcase was a little full. It was a little hot once I got SGU which inspired a trip to the outlet mall in search of some summer office attire. Well, my hunt was successful...I"m also an excellent shopper ;) Buzz even got some new Polo's. This caused a dilemma because I had to fit it all in my suitcase. After much struggle I managed to get it all into my suitcase...except for one gym shoe. No problem, I had plenty of room in my computer case for it. Off I went to the airport to catch my flight to SLC. Everything was going great, I had my bag checked (which I never do), ID, boarding pass, computer and liquids out and ready, and shoes off all ready to go through a screener. I even made it through the metal detector without beeping on the first try. Victory was mine. That is when I noticed all the TSA agents gathering around the screen on the x-ray machine. What had I forgot now.? Then I saw them pull my one shoe from my bag. Gulp! I'm an idiot. Do you remember why we have to take our shoes off to go through security. Someone tried to bring down an airliner post 9-11 with explosives in their shoes. Now, here I'm going through security plus one shoe in a computer case and no suitcase. This appears to be a little strange. Luckily, after explaining the story to TSA they re-screened my shoe separately gave it a swab test and sent me on my way. I know this doesn't sound all that embarrassing to you guys, but it was mortifying for me. These people know me and I'm supposed to be a little smarter than this when it comes to air travel.

Jayda's new game...

So Sunday's at our house are lazy days. We hang out and recouperate from our long week and spend some much needed family time together. This usually invovles giving lots of love and attention to Jayda. She has to play with all of her toys, wrestle with her Dad, eat Sunday dinner (she gets whatever we eat on Sunday), lots and lots of belly rubs and naps. Today was no different...except for one thing. She didn't want to play with any of her toys today. So, she and her Dad came up with a new game using a spare piece of pipe that was lying around. I'm not sure what we call this game, but it is pretty simple. Buzz barks at her through the pipe and she sticks her head in the pipe to try and give him kisses. She was getting mad because she couldn't quite reach him through the pipe and kept trying to stick her head in farther. She finally gave up and decided to take a nap, but not until we had a pretty good laugh. You gotta love Jayda! There is never a dull moment. I had to share a picture with you so you can laugh along with us.

I told you we were boring...

So, in 5 days I have nothing interesting to Blog about. I told you we have pretty boring lives. We been doing nothing but working. I've been in my SGU office (that is St. George to non-flying folk) since Monday and didn't get back until last night. On the bright side, I finished a training module I've been putting together for the last 6 weeks. Now maybe I can quit working on it in my sleep and get some rest. Buzz is busy working in the dirt now the rain has finally stopped. Jayda has been home being a pissy puppy. She can't go to work with Buzz on his current job because it is right on the highway. After 2 run-ins with vehicles we thought she would be safer at home. Not to mention saving on Vet bills. Hopefully, the weekend will be more entertaining. Tomorrow we get to SLC for the car race!

FYI-Air Show at Hill AFB next Saturday. We're going if anyone wants to come with.

Happy Memorial Day...

In all the fun of holiday weekend its easy to forget the purpose of Memorial Day! I first want to say Thank You to all of men and women who have fought and died for our Country...past and present. I'd also like to thank our troops who are currently serving. I especially want to express my gratitude to my friends who are on active duty. They risk their lives everyday to keep our skies and borders safe. I'm very grateful for the sacrifices they and their families have made for our Country. I'm very proud to have them as friends and I pray they..and all our soldiers...come home safe and sound. God Bless them and America.!

May we never forget the price of Freedom...

What did we do for the Holiday Weekend? A little of everything. We went to the Hill Air Force Museum (yup, again!) and then we went to Night of the Museum 2. We spent Sunday morning helping Grandma Sybil with flowers (my favorite part of Memorial Day!). Then we got to hang out with the rest of our families. It was tons of fun! Especially playing Clue with Seth and Lyra. I couldn't of done it without my helper Pyper. I also got to hang with Hannah and play "Beauty Salon".

As for today, well holiday is almost over :( I'm getting ready to head to the airport to catch a flight, Buzz is hanging out, and Jayda...Well, this is what Jayda is doing right now.

She's a little tuckered out from playing with the kids and Evona. Its a rough life!

Family Band...!

(I know...not a band pix, but I forgot my camera)

This week our family has been supporting the Arts. First Kassidy's piano recital and last night was our nephew Christian's band concert. Christian did awesome on his Clarinet and proved you can be cool and be in band. We couldn't be prouder of him since he comes from a long-line of Clarinet players...Grandpa Kim, Grandma Jane, and Me (although I was more of a squeaker!) I'm sad to say that this was Christian's last band concert as he is retiring from band...and orchestra (we were hoping to see his return to the viola). He has decided to pursue other "extra curricular" activities in 8th grade. This had me a little worried since my extra curricular activities usually invovled sluffing, but not Christian. He is trying to decide between taking Reading or Shakespear. SERIOUSLY!! I'm have no idea what my sister feeds her children. She is raising a couple of Einsteins.

Move over Mozart...

I have to take a moment to brag. Tonight I went to my nieces Kassidy's piano recital. She did amazing and she played a very complicated piece called Caribbean Surf. I would have been amazed to hear anyone play that arrangement, but the fact it came from her left me in complete awe. She is only 11! Kassidy is becoming a very accomplished pianist. I'm so very proud of her.

Here It Is!!

So after much anticipation, here is the debut of the Buzz and Kari Blog...Jayda too. I decided it was time to join in on all the blogging fun. I need something to do with all my extra time when I'm on the road. I can't promise much content as we lead a pretty boring life. It will, however, contain a lot of Jayda. I need something to do with all the adorable Jayda pix in my camera. She is the center of our universe after all. Hope you enjoy!!