Happy Belated Birthday Kassidy!

I know I'm a little bit behind schedule, but Kassidy turned 12 on April 18. I can't believe my lil Kassy is 12...and in 6th grade...and now in mutual. Gulp!! It really makes me feel old when I realized that the first time I took Buzz to meet my fam was at her baby blessing. Now, she is a beautiful, intelligent, young woman. I love that she is sooooo much like me...most of the time. Sometimes it feels like I'm arguing with myself and that is incredibly annoying. SORRY MINDY!! I feel honored that I got invited to her "friends" B-day swim party. I guess I'm not so old and un-cool after all. However, she did introduce me to her friends as her weird Aunt who acts totally crazy. I'm still not sure how I should take that.

28 and Wiser....

I spent my first entire day as a 28 year old learning a lot of valuable things....

1.) Having a tire blow-out doing 80 mph is as unpleasant as imagined
(no worries...car and I are both okay. Just scared the hell out of me and whacked a few weeds).

2.) Getting the tire jack out of the storage bin in the trunk of 2004 Honda Civic requires extensive mechanical aptitude (FYI-you must push all the way to the right until it clicks, push forward till clicks, then pull up. That only took me 10 mins to figure out in a freaking rain storm. Am I nuts for thinking that this should be written somewhere? Its not....I checked! All it said was "remove jack"! GEE, That's helpful!! )

3.) Changing tire by myself is a skill that I already possessed thanks to the many lessons from my Dad and Buzz. Its getting the lug nuts loose that's a BITCH.

4.) Jumping up and down on tire iron (while attached to lug-nuts) and holding onto car will loosen lug nuts.

5.) Utah is blessed to have many highway patrol and state troopers, but they do not view flat tire as cause for alarm. None of those who passed stopped to help me change tire despite me jumping up and down on tire iron attached to car like a freaking monkey. (I'm sure it looked like I had the situation under control)

6.) The few mins I left hazard lights on with the ignition off while I sat on side of road pulling myself together before I got out of the car was enough to kill 6 year old battery. This renders tire changing skills very unnecessary. (Ya. I know! Good to know my years of advanced systems training really paid off on this one.)

7.) I have the greatest husband in the world. He very quickly left work, picked up a new car battery, and drove an hour to rescue me. (I already new I had the greatest husband ever...But the fact that he did this without laughing at the stupidity of stranding myself on the side of road due to a dead battery makes me eternally grateful)

I think I've gained enough wisdom for ahwile! Let's hope the remainder of my 28th year is a little less eventful.

The Black Hole...

Anyone who has been to our house probably knows about our "Black Hole". The lovely barren area of lawn that is void of all life except for weeds. We tore down a bunch of dead choke cherry bushes and an old shed when moved in. Except for the new fire pit and rock wall-ette (we can't really call it wall since it's a foot high), nothing has been successful in reclaiming the area. We've tried to kill the weeds and plant grass. But we've manged to kill the grass and grow more weeds.

Last Fall, the kitchen sink decided to quit draining all together. So, Buzz being the handy-man that he is, dug-up and replaced all the rusted out drain lines. The sink is now working perfectly. However, we were left with this mess. The Black Hole now encompasses the entire south-lawn.

Now, it's Spring, We've decided it was time to try and bring some vegetation back into the "hole" So, we made a trip to Lowe's for grass seed and came back with some extras. Lilacs and Boxwood! Which are now planted around the perimeter in an attempt to make a screen for our fire pit. Spring fever must have made us delusional...because Buzz and I don't do plant's. We kill everything we've ever planted. We try, but we both get so busy we forget to water them. Thank goodness Jayda is good at reminding us when she is out of food and water. Nevertheless, there are finally some green life forms in the black hole...for the time being!

Technology can be a @#$*!

It today's world we have the advantage of being in constant communication with each other. Cell phones, texting, Facebook, email, and there is even Skype and video voicemail all at our fingertips in mere nano seconds. But today I realized that all this wonderful technology has just given me more and much faster ways to stick my foot in my mouth.

Saying Goodbye...

Being home turned out to be bitter sweet. I made it home to say good-bye to my Gram for the last time last night. Minutes after posting last night, I got a call that she had taken a turn. I was able to spend some time with her and say good-bye before she passed away peacefully in her sleep. The world is now as it should be. Sybil is once again with her Dallas. Guess he finally got tired of waiting on her. Now, the hard part. Me figuring out how to get my world back on its axis. She was an amazing, strong, beautiful woman and I was blessed to know her. She was my original Co-Pilot and I'm not quite sure how to finish this flight without her. I love you Gram.

HOME SWEET HOME

It good to be home. I even get to stay here for 4 or 5 days. I may have the greatest office view ever...but when you've spent 9 out of the last 11 days on the road...it starts loosing some of it's appeal.

FYI...

No, I am not pregnant. I just put on 15 pounds. But I appreciate all those who have to keep reminding me of this little fact. Now, I've got that off my chest....off to the treadmill:)

Day at the office...

Thought I'd share some views from my office. I have the coolest job ever! Then again I might be a little biased. Off the Right Wing: Wind River Range at altitude 25,000 feetOff the left wing: Tetons at altitude 25,000 feet and 80 miles away

(later that night)
Straight off the nose: Sunset over Southern Utah at altitude 26,000 feet

By the way, for anybody who is worried, the Autopilot was on when I snapped these pix :)

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.