Coming Soon...

Paul McCartney (#3!!)

Paul McCartney announced this morning that his tour is coming to Las Vegas at the MGM Grand on June 10, 2011.

Guess who already has their tickets......?

MEEEEEEE!! (and Bryant and Garrett)

In honor of this momentous occasion, I decided to post some pictures from the previous "MACCA" Concerts we went to:

The Inaugural Concert: March 28, 2010, Glendale Arizona.

Our seats were amazing!

Concert #2 was July 13, 2010 at Rio Tinto in Sandy, Utah. It was fun to have my parents and Bryant's parents there to experience it too.

Again, we had great seats! (It was SUPER hot that day, but it was still great!) They had an amazing firework show during "Live and Let Die".

So now the Third (and probably final) Paul McCartney concert that we will go to will be in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand!

This summer is looking to be the BEST EVER!

Washington, D.C.

So...I'm pretty excited.

Bryant, Garrett (his brother), and I are going to Washington, D.C. in July!

Maybe all my excitement comes from the 7 SEASONS of "The West Wing" that I've consumed lately. (I love you, Aaron Sorkin...and Rob Lowe)

Maybe it's because I recently watched "All The President's Men".

Maybe it's because I was in D.C.for a day in July of 2006 and loved every second of it (minus the awful humidity and temperatures in the high 90's. Bleh).

Maybe it's because my sweet little husband is totally and completely obsessed with history and politics and it's been his dream to visit all the sites D.C. has to offer.........Pretty sure it's a combination of EVERYTHING.

Another awesome perk to visiting D.C. is we will be able to hang out with the cutest couple ever: DAVE & BECCA!Dave is a high-rolla, working for Senator Bennett's office at the Capitol Building, while attending law school at the same time. (Incredibly impressive!)

So far we've applied for tours at The While House, Library of Congress, U.S. Capitol, and the U.S. Supreme Court. We have our conformation for the Library of Congress and we're keeping our fingers crossed on the other three.

Bottom line: I'M EXCITED!!

Addendum to "Dewey Dog"

I FOUND IT!!!

I actually found the picture of Dewey and I that I was positive I had lost!

Look how ADORABLE he was!!

(Ignore how hot I was. I was 11, give me a break!)

Here is the picture demonstrating how he earned his name.

(Also pictured is "Daisy", our Red Bone Hound. Still not sure what happened to her. There are conspiracy theories floating around that my dad "took her for a ride" in the back of his truck. I'm not pointing any fingers.........*cough*)

I thought this last picture was cute.

Growing up, my mom was notorious for bringing in the cats from the garage and letting them curl up on her feet while she took a nap on the love-seat. Dewey wanted in on the action!

Ok. I'm officially done with Dewey pictures.

:)

Top 5 Most Wanted Puppies

Alright everyone, first I'd like to apologize for the super depressing Dewey post. (It's all out of my system!)

Since Dewey's passing, I've had an unquenchable urge to get a puppy. I know, I know...it's a bad idea. All they do is poop, bark, eat, chew EVERYTHING,...and love you to pieces! Baah! It's ridiculous how bad I want a dog. I've even purchased two books to prepare me for motherhood...of a baby puppy: "Training Your Labrador Retriever", and "Labrador Retrievers for Dummies." They're actually pretty interesting books.

And so I've compiled a list of my Top 5 Most Wanted Puppies:

5. English Mastiff

Big, huuuuuge dog? Yes please! For some reason I've always prefered big dogs to little ones. Maybe it's because I associate little dogs with excessive barking. Also, my next door neighbors own 3 little yappy Yorkies. I'm always tempted to drop kick them when they start barking...which is ALL.THE.TIME. Mastiffs are normally good natured, calm, easygoing, and surprisingly gentle for their size. Bryant seems to think it would be "awesome" to have a dog this big. I think it would be a great dog, if we had a pasture for it to graze in. Also along with having a big dog, so goes the saying, "The bigger the dog, the bigger the poop!" Also, could you imagine how expensive it would be to feed that beast?

4. Great Dane

I guess I'm continuing on with my large dog obsession. All of the problems that go along with the Mastiff would be almost the exact same with a Great Dane (minus the obsessive slobber). I attached the picture of the Great Dane and the chihuahua to show what it would look like when Emily Gladfelder's puppies play with a Great Dane. Great Danes are adorable though. (Who doesn't love Scooby Doo?) Another downside to large dogs: Shorter life expectancy: Somewhere around 8 years. :(

3. It's a Tie: Alaskan Malamute & Blood Hound

Ok, I actually know where the Malamute obsession comes from. When I was little, maybe 4 or 5, my aunt and uncle lived in Alaska. One summer when they came to Idaho to visit, my uncle brought me a t-shirt that had a pack of Malamute puppies on the front that said, "Almost a Team" or some other cheesy line. I looooved that shirt. I thought it was the coolest thing ever...then I discovered "101 Dalmatians" and that started a whole different obsession, but that's another topic. A few people have mentioned that Utah's climate is too hot for a Malamute. Are you SERIOUS? Have you ever been to Logan? The warmest it ever gets is low 90's and that's only for a few weeks in July. The rest of the time it's somewhere in the 40's from September though May. (That's not even an exaggeration.) So as much as I'd love a Malamute, they are very athletic dogs and require a lot of exercise. For that I'd get the "PetZen Dog Tredmill." Great idea, right? :)

The other dog that is a definite tie for 3rd would be the Bloodhound.

Look at those ears!! And that wrinkly skin! Ahh, so cute! When I was growing up we had a Red Bone hound named Daisy. She was the laziest dog you had ever seen, but she was also the cutest!) The problem with hounds is their loud, distinct bark. And they're nocturnal. I could just picture being all curled up in bed in the middle of the night and having my hound freak out over any noise. Not a great idea. And again with the slobber. Yuck.

2. French Bulldog

Meet "Princess Ruby Beth", named after my niece: Camri Beth (see photo), who was named after her mother, Reesa Beth, who was named after her mother, Ramona Beth, who was named after her aunt...Beth. Random? Most definitely. But Ruby has quite the pedigree! French Bulldogs are super fun as pets. My sister has had both English and French bulldogs and I seem to like French a little more. They're obviously a lot smaller and more energetic. The biggest problem with French Bulldogs is the price tag. Most go for $2,500+. Maybe my sister will let me have a puppy for letting her stay at my house while she brings Ruby to Orem for her vet visits? (HINT! HINT!!)

And the number one spot goes to...(shocker)

1. (Yellow) Labrador Retriever

You have no soul if you look at this and tell me it doesn't make your heart melt! Yellow labrador retrievers aren't the most popular dog choice of families for no reason! They're mellow, super loving, good sized, and the best dogs ever. I don't care what anyone says. I'm right.

Now I just need for people to help me convince my mean husband to let me get a puppy. :) Any help is greatly appreciated. :)

"Dewey Dog"

On Valentines Day of 2000, my dad surprised my mom and I by bringing home the world’s cutest yellow Labrador retriever puppy. He had gone out to a farm in Hyrum, Utah to pick him up and he had even purchased a big red bow to tie on his collar for presentation. While driving, the puppy was barking like crazy inside the cardboard box he was in. My dad decided to let him out and the puppy proceeded to crawl over and put his head on my dad’s lap while he drove the rest of the way home. That was the beginning of their 11-year friendship. (I’m DYING to insert the picture of the puppy and I from the night we got him, but I can’t find it!! BAAH!! It’s driving me crazy!) **This is basically what he looked like...

Our family struggled for a few days trying to decide what to name the puppy. One afternoon we discovered that he had broken into a case of Mountain Dew cans, carried one out into the yard, and began to drink all of the contents. The obvious name choice was “Dewey”.

During the time that we had Dewey my sister Josie had a Siamese cat named Princess Fuzz-e. It was seriously a possessed cat! (Yes, even feistier than Edgar!) One summer she had had a batch of wild kittens and it was time to try and get rid of them all (And by that I mean take them to a loving, caring family…). My dad and I were out in our garage trying to catch the little buggers when Princess attacked my dad. Dewey was observing and he quickly attacked Princess in response. My dad later proclaimed, “Dewey saved my life!” He also added, “Dewey is #1 in my book.”

Every summer when I would mow the law, Dewey would get super excited. Once our trailer behind the four-wheeler was full of grass clippings I would go across the farmyard, through the gates leading to the pasture and Dewey would run beside me every step of the way. He loved to chase the cows out of my way, and then go for a quick swim in the canal before we would head back to the house.

Sunday afternoons during the summer would generally lead to my family all lounging out on the front porch while Brock would play with the grandkids and Clay would hit golf balls into the surrounding hay fields. Most of us would end up sitting on the grass. Dewey was quick to slither up next to you, wait for the right moment, and then proceed to nudge his head into your lap in hopes of you scratching behind his ears. Everyone would get annoyed with him and tell him, “GO AWAY, DEWEY!” He’d slink away to the flower garden, wait a few minutes, then belly-crawl back to try again. (It was probably the cutest thing he did.)

One Spring my mom and I decided to take Dewey to the vet for his annual check-up. We had him in the back of my dad’s truck while driving on the main highway from Preston to Richmond. Once we had passed Pepperidge Farm someone caught up to us and told us to pull over because our dog fell out of the truck a little ways back (while we were going 60 mph!). We were positive he was dead on the side of the road. After we circled back, we drove for a ways and we never saw him. We decided to go over to the smoking area outside Pepperidge. There we found our sweet Dewey, loving all the ear-scratches and attention from the ladies outside. (No physical injuries were sustained in his fall; he timed it just right and rolled into the tall grass off the road.)

A few weeks ago my parents found Dewey lying dead on our neighbors law across the farmyard. My dad took him down over the hill to the area of trees where we kids used to play in our tree house when we were little. There he buried him and spoke a few words (since my dad has had plenty of experience conducing funerals in his +18 months as Bishop). “You were a good dog, Dewey. You never met a person you didn’t like. You’ll be missed.”

V-Day #3!

Happy Valentine's Day to the BEST.HUSBAND.EVER!

Love You, Bry!