He's eight, he's great, he's....

The mighty Justin!!! My sweet boy turned 8 yesterday and man do I love him! He is so curious in life - ask him to figure something out and he will plug away until he's got it. He has life figured out at such a tender age - play now, work can be done another day. He has these amazing green eyes and gorgeous, unruly, curly hair that he wishes would just lay flat. I love that he is Randy's buddy and protector of his family. Only he is allowed to tease his siblings - anyone else had better WATCH OUT!! I am excited to see what the future holds for such a brilliant master-mind. He is taking a HUGE step in the right direction by choosing to get baptized on Saturday, November 1st. Way to go buddy- you are a great example to many. We love you so much and are glad you came to our family.

Cruise 2008, Part 2 - St. Maarten

So here is beautiful St. Maarten. My favorite part of this trip was seeing more of this awesome world that Heavenly Father created. It is so amazing how lucky we were to see this island. It was very hot and humid but the sights were worth it. We did some shopping and then we were off to snuba and snorkel. Once I get those pictures developed off my water camera I will try to scan and post them. I hope I get to come back to this beautiful island and see more of it.

Cruise 2008, Part 1 continued

OK, so here are some more ship happenings. We loved getting all dressed up every night. The entertainment was OK, but you can't complain because you're stuck on a ship with nowhere else to go! So lots more to come in the days ahead - enjoy!

Cruise 2008, Part 1

So I have some really awesome pictures of our cruise. I love my digital camera. Remember when you had 10 rolls of film and you were so scared to take a picture because a better one may be coming up soon so don't waste a shot on THAT. Well, no more! I took soooo many pictures on our cruise - if you want to see them all you will have to make an appointment to see them (that is, after I print them and put them in an album - no, not scrapbook, album.) This first post is about ship happenings. There was a lot to do, but crazy enough, we mostly just walked and walked and walked (familiar tune stuck in your head now, huh?) around the ship watching all the people that think it's ok to wear the WRONG bathing suit for your body type. Oh yeah, if you ever feel self conscious wearing a bathing suit, go on a cruise and put those worries behind!

This is a picture over Galveston, Texas. Gorgeous sunset. It was sad to think that there used to be a lot of houses along the coast.

You and me, baby! All week long!!

Just in case there are any icebergs in the Caribbean

Goodbye, Miami - see you in a week!

Every night we had a different roommate

These last 2 pictures are our waiters. Maureen is from Jamaica and a spitfire! Jtindera is from India and is funny. He was very reserved at first, but then when he found out we liked jokes he couldn't stop. A lot of fun every night!

Customer Service

So here is what I think about customer service. It is for the CUSTOMER. I am sorry if you had a bad day before you came to work, but it is not my fault, don't take it out on me. I have worked in customer service my whole working life and my customers never knew I was having a bad day.

Example: Our TV is broken. We went from watching a 43" to now a 13". We need to fix our TV. We have a warranty and the company doing the work is Keith's something or other down in Orem. They told me they would order the new color wheel last week and they didn't order it until yesterday. Then they said it would take at least a full business week for the part to come in and then they would call to set up an appointment to come fix the TV. Bleh. (side note: this is why companies sell you warranty plans - they make money from the plan and then it is nearly impossible to use your warranty that you get so fed up and buy a new TV.)
Now, it is bad enough that Keith's whatever company didn't order my part when they said they would, but then they put this really nasty girl on phone duty. She was very short with me, kept hmming and haaing, put me on hold a bunch and then (get this) HUNG UP ON ME! I wasn't even rude to her for having to put up with my 13" for another 2 weeks (at least!) Now I understand that she is having a bad day. Maybe her goldfish died or maybe her husband bought the wrong brand of unmentionables. I am sorry for the goldfish and while I know it is irritating about the wrong brand (been there, done that) but... IT'S NOT THE CUSTOMER'S FAULT!!!

Please, please, please, if you work in customer service, put your bad days in your back pocket to deal with on your breaks or when you get home. I am sorry that sometimes customers are mean too. Remember though, we all may be having a bad day and it is up to each of us to smile anyways and get along.

I've Been Tagged

1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen counter
2. Where is your significant other? watching alcs playoffs in the kitchen
3. Your hair color? reddish brown
4. Your mother? Jeannie
5. Your father? Tom
6. Your favorite thing? Hanging out with my hubby and kids
7. Your dream last night? I really can't remember.
8. Your dream/goal? To figure out how to be a better mom, housewife, servant in the Church
9. The room you're in? Office
10. Your hobby? Reading (really though, who has time for hobbies?)
11. Your fear?Not having Randy and my kids with me
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? In better control of my life and household! Just plain happy!
13. Where were you last night? At SEP's for Kaylee and Enrichment cooking class at Jen's
14. What you're not? In control of my crazy life!
15. One of your wish-list items? a new wardrobe!
16. Where you grew up? Englewood, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Sandy, Utah
17. The last thing you did?Ate pizza
18. What are you wearing?Black shirt, green pants and black shoes
19. Your TV?alcs baseball game
20. Your pet? why have pets - I have 4 kids!
21. Your computer? On
22. Your mood? tired - it's the end of the day
23. Missing someone? My family who are too far away to hug
24. Your car? Ford Expedition
25. Something you're not wearing? My wedding ring.
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Fun and memorable
28. Love someone? Randy and of course Kaylee, Justin, Ethan and Emily
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Today (sad, sad tv show)

I don't like to name people to tag, but you are welcome to respond if you would like.

Awesome cruise

We are back from our awesome cruise now. It was a blast and now I can't stop thinking about the next time we might be able to go on another cruise. We are thinking about taking our kids on one someday. I know they would love all the sights and fun time in the sun and water. I will post some pictures once Emily stops pulling on my sleeve and I can think more clearly!