A Lesson from Visiting Teaching

Did you know that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser can get pen off of walls, rugs, showers, cabinets, doors, toilets, mirrors, and even out of tile grout? Neither did I. Well at least not until my visiting teachers came over yesterday. See Exhibts A-F below and the story to follow.

Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:Exhibit C:
Exhibit D:

Exhibit E:
Exhibit F:
I wiped it off of the tile floors and glass surfaces (toilet, shower door, mirrors etc.) before I thought to take pictures so it was actually worse than the pictures, if you can believe it!

One of my visiting teachers brought along her 2 year old daughter and proceeded to pay NO attention to her the entire visit. It was really quite uncomfortable. She was jumping on the couch and her mother said/did NOTHING. I used my awesome Aunt skills to coax her down with a toy, but you can't exactly yell at/boss around a strangers kid, can you?

So while we were chatting, the little "Picasso" snuck away down the hall and the mother didn't go get her. When I realized that the little girl was gone, I went looking for her (note again, that it was ME, not her mom) I found the little girl pen in hand, Jose's desk drawer was "mysteriously" open, and ink was everywhere!!! What a disaster. So then I had to tattle on the little girl to her mother, who I've only even met like twice. The worst part is that the mom didn't even seem to feel that bad about it. I would have been sobbing if my child had done that. Let's just say that if they ever want to VT again, we're doing it at the park, or a restaurant. Not at my house (or my parent's house as the case may be).

But don't worry, you can all breathe a sigh of relief (especially you mom & dad)..... it ALL came off. Every last swipe of it! Above left is what my magic eraser looked like when it was done, and the right is what they look like out of the box (if you've never seen one). They truly work MIRACLES. "Yes Virginia, there is a Mr. Clean." Oh and here's a picture of the door from Exhibit B for proof.
So what was the lesson, you ask?

1. If you ever have to take your kids to anyone's house, watch them like a hawk. Or better yet, leave them at home with their dad or a sitter.
2. Sometimes it is better to miss a visit than leave an everlasting mark of your visit. Trust me, I'll be telling this story at every VT workshop the rest of my life! HA!
3. I never want to be that kind of mom.
4. Mr. Clean is the PERFECT man. Not only is he extremely buff and macho, but he also really knows how to do housework! He's like your own personal Tony "Micelli" Danza!
5. Mr. Clean is also an angel. Did you ever notice his heavenly glow on the box? I think his gold hoop earring is actually a small halo that fell off his head and landed on his ear.


Sorry if you think I'm a rude-o. I was extremely nice, polite, and gracious to the mother -- just like my mom taught me to be. But I am human, I have rage, and I must blog.

I Wish I were...

Here....



Standing here...

And Jose was here.....

And we were staying here...

And relaxing here...

Then maybe I'd have lunch again here...

But maybe not go here...that guy was a little shady...

Especially considering we let him drop us off here....

But don't worry, he remembered to pick us up here.....

But here was nice...

And here we made some Canadian friends to take our picture...

And had a night out on the town here...

But mostly I just wish I was still here...

I'm Baaack......

Wow. 10 weeks, 6 states, 2 countries and I'm finally back. It's been quite the adventure, but I am SO happy to be back home. But being back home isn't all roses - I came back to 2 terrible colds (both of us are sick) and a mountain of laundry....12 loads to be exact. In fact I returned to realize I didn't get to unpack from Cabo or our Ski Trip before leaving again. But sadder than all that was THIS.....


Yes, that is right. Our sad, little, pathetic Charlie Brown Christmas Tree was still up in the living room. Jose said when I put it up that he was "Embarrassed" by it and didn't want anyone to see it. I guess that included me, because I somehow managed to avoid looking at it for 10 straight weeks. Wasn't that nice of me to leave it up for him while I was away?

Don't worry Anna and Mom, the tree is packed away and the laundry is all done.

With all of that out of the way, I guess I can take life off of "pause" and get back to normal. That is if someone can pry the Tivo remote out of my hands...

Hoover Dam and Home

On the way home from Vegas we also stopped at the Hoover Dam just long enough for a few photos. After all the playing we were pretty anxious to get back home. I'm sure the Dam Tour had lots of interesting things to learn, but maybe next time!

We made some friends from Detriot who snapped this picture of us. They told us what a horrible place it is. I can't wait to move there this summer!

Eventually we made it home in one piece and have relaxed for a day or two. Tomorrow morning we head off to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for more fun! Adios Amigos!!

Viva Las Vegas

So if you haven't figured it out yet, we're on a massive 6 week vacation. On the way home from Utah we decided to stop in Vegas for a few days and try our luck! We visited the hotels/casinos, ate great food, caught a show, went shopping and just enjoyed the city and everything it has to offer. Well, not everything, but we had a good time. The crazies were out in full force being New Years and all.

Here I am just minutes after my proud victory in the New York, New York Casino. I won $55 in the dime slots off 2 dollars!!! Not bad for my first time back in Vegas when I am actually old enough to gamble!
Here's Jose on the strip with our hotel behind him. We stayed at the recently re-imaged Planet Hollywood. We did lots of walking on our trip and at one point had to stop and buy Jose flip flops so he could make it back!
And we of course made time to catch a show of the fountains at the Bellagio. We could actually see it out our hotel window. Ocean's 11 anyone?

And here I am doing a little people watching in the shops at the Palazzo (the new part of the Venetian). We went to see "Jersey Boys" there (HIGHLY reccomended!) but we were a little early. We didn't quite realize that UT & NV were in different time zones. Oops!

On a side note, Vegas is a great place to go right now with the struggling economy. Rooms are super cheap and we even got our seats upgraded free at the show because it didn't sell out. And if you can manage to win some money, it makes it even cheaper! : )

Skiing

While we were in UT, we went up to Deer Valley for a fun filled day of skiing. There had been massive amounts of snow and it was a gorgeous day. Jim was a great teacher for Jose and he picked it up pretty quick. The first hour was a little rough, but it was smooth sailing after that. It felt great to get out there on the snow and it was fun to enjoy it together for the first time.

Here's Jose trying on his boots. They take a little help the first time around.

Here we are on the tram up to the lodge! Do they look excited or what?

We started the day out easy with some basics and technique. (See the little line of toddlers behind us?). And wow, I look awesome in goggles.

One of the many gorgeous views up on the mountain.

Relaxing on the "beach" chair after a fun long day of skiing. We never thought we'd make it all the way until 4pm!

Thanks Jim for a fun day, great tips, and for being brave enough to keep taking of your gloves to snap pictures!

I'll post more "action" pictures of the skiing when I get them!

S.L.C.

After a great trip to Dallas, one day later we loaded up the car and headed to Salt Lake for Christmas!

The first part of the trip was beautiful (see above: the edges of what leads to the Grand Canyon) but it got down right treatcherous after we hit Kanab. Jose was a champ and safely navigated us through miles and miles of white to reach SLC. At one point I think I went about 60 miles without breathing. We were very happy to arrive, and so was the Volvo!

Luckily, we were greated by lots of smiling faces and happy hosts to make our holiday so special!

Sorry Jim & Laura...seems I missed the photos of you two! And sorry for some of the blurry shots - I'm still figuring out how to best use my new camera.

We know there was Christmas cheer because Anna even got Jose to play a game (and I got the picture to prove it)!!

Jose also got to enjoy his first White Christmas ever! The snow was beautiful, especially once we didn't have to drive in it.

We also spent time visiting my Grandma Pugh who is in her late 90's. We took this picture of her house (the house my dad grew up in) after the big snowstorm on Christmas Day.

And we also went to a Jazz game with Jim & Laura. They played Jose's fave team, the Mavs, but sadly the Jazz won.

We also took Jose skiing for the first time, but I think it deserves its own post! Thank you to all of our wonderful hosts and hostesses!! WE LOVE YOU!