MIKE & COREY 1999
December 19, 2012
THE DAY IMAGINATION DIED
Corey wrote this for her 11th grade AP English class. I thought it was pretty powerful insight from a child's perspective.
MIKE & COREY 1999
When you’re a child, you’re invincible and on top of the world. The lines between childhood and maturity, reality, imagination, even good and bad, seem to blur. Then things get serious, for some sooner than others. I was lucky enough to be smart and loving by nature, but I was cursed with responsibility and forced maturity at the age of five. Unfamiliar rooms became all too familiar. Friend’s houses became like my own and the owners became my extended family. My one year old sister and my eight year old brother became my closest friends while my mom was a visitor and my dad became a stranger. Unfortunately, I understood, just not enough. Even the flu was a terrifying ordeal in my mind. The thought of sickness brought depression. Hiding my sadness and my tears, I was brave. I held my head high as an example to my siblings. My fears only known by my pillow; my life became a game of hiding. Hiding emotions; hiding from people; hiding from my problems; it never ended. Imagination died that day. I buried it the day cancer buried my Dad.
MIKE & COREY 1999
June 21, 2009
Thanksgiving Point ~ The Museum of Ancient Life
May 15, 2009
My posts are going to be a little out of order but I'm going to post the easy things first! I promise there will be Hawaii photos to follow!!
I took Erika on a few field trips during her 3 weeks off track in May. We hadn't ever been to The Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point so that is one of the places we went. We also watched an IMAX film, "African Adventure."
My posts are going to be a little out of order but I'm going to post the easy things first! I promise there will be Hawaii photos to follow!!
I took Erika on a few field trips during her 3 weeks off track in May. We hadn't ever been to The Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point so that is one of the places we went. We also watched an IMAX film, "African Adventure."
April 27, 2009
March 25, 2009
Doggie Daycare
I doubt anyone is even checking my blog now because I have been such a slacker. Anyway, this post is just really silly but the pictures are so funny, I had to share. The pictures are taken with my cell phone so again, not the best!
We are getting ready to go on a quick trip and I have been worrying about what to do with the dogs. I didn't want to ask anyone to watch 2 good sized dogs. So, I have been doing a lot of reading and researching online to find a place for them to go. I had decided on calling one of the places, then a guy at my work was looking at a doggie cam online. It just so happens that was the one that I was going to check out. There are many places that won't even consider taking a pitbull mix.
So, there is a 4 page application to fill out, shot records, county tags, everything you could imagine, including an emergency "mom"! Then, they were to come in for a 15 minute "interview", if they passed that they were required to stay at least 6 hours. After they passed that they would let me know if they would be willing to keep them for boarding. Quite a process but I was actually very impressed and not really concerned about leaving the dogs there.
It took them 10 minutes and they were playing with all their new friends. They didn't have any problems and the owners said they were wonderful! (Which I already knew) It took Rico less than 2 minutes to fall asleep when he got into the car.
Notice the lip on the door but the smile on his face! Yes, he smiles when he's happy!
He was fine sleeping like he was but Erika had to wake him up. It took her a while, he was completely worn out.
Trying to get comfortable again.
His foot stuck in the seatbelt and he didn't even care!
We are getting ready to go on a quick trip and I have been worrying about what to do with the dogs. I didn't want to ask anyone to watch 2 good sized dogs. So, I have been doing a lot of reading and researching online to find a place for them to go. I had decided on calling one of the places, then a guy at my work was looking at a doggie cam online. It just so happens that was the one that I was going to check out. There are many places that won't even consider taking a pitbull mix.
So, there is a 4 page application to fill out, shot records, county tags, everything you could imagine, including an emergency "mom"! Then, they were to come in for a 15 minute "interview", if they passed that they were required to stay at least 6 hours. After they passed that they would let me know if they would be willing to keep them for boarding. Quite a process but I was actually very impressed and not really concerned about leaving the dogs there.
It took them 10 minutes and they were playing with all their new friends. They didn't have any problems and the owners said they were wonderful! (Which I already knew) It took Rico less than 2 minutes to fall asleep when he got into the car.
Notice the lip on the door but the smile on his face! Yes, he smiles when he's happy!
He was fine sleeping like he was but Erika had to wake him up. It took her a while, he was completely worn out.
Trying to get comfortable again.
His foot stuck in the seatbelt and he didn't even care!
January 09, 2009
Bedtime
This is just too cute not to share. This is what I found last night when I went to bed. The dog was also asleep until I got the camera out. This is usually the scene I see every night when I go to bed.
I don't know how this happened. I have NEVER had a dog sleep on the bed and especially NOT under the covers! She thinks that's where she belongs though. Usually right on top of my legs. I am glad she doesn't really shed.
The cat is angry at all of us because the dog took over his spot.
How has this happened? I'm sharing my nice big bed with an 8 year old and now a dog! Will Erika ever sleep in her own bed? She promises it will be before she's 20!! That's good to know. :-)
I don't know how this happened. I have NEVER had a dog sleep on the bed and especially NOT under the covers! She thinks that's where she belongs though. Usually right on top of my legs. I am glad she doesn't really shed.
The cat is angry at all of us because the dog took over his spot.
How has this happened? I'm sharing my nice big bed with an 8 year old and now a dog! Will Erika ever sleep in her own bed? She promises it will be before she's 20!! That's good to know. :-)
January 07, 2009
Dinner with the Christensen's
Yes I know these posts are all out of order but that is just how it is!
In October, I found my old friend Kristin (Kimberlin) Christensen on facebook (another reason you should get on there if you aren't!!). I haven't seen her for way too long! They live just south of us about 50 miles. She invited us to her house for dinner and we had a great time. She's got a great family!
Erika on the porch. Such a cute house!
A lake on the adjoining property, they swim in it during the summer.
Corey and Barbie
Barbie not so happy!
Kimber, Mark, Erika, Kristin, Corey, Paula, Justine, and Colton
Notice Erika holding hands with Mark, it's a problem! She does it to everyone. I think she just misses having her Dad around.
In October, I found my old friend Kristin (Kimberlin) Christensen on facebook (another reason you should get on there if you aren't!!). I haven't seen her for way too long! They live just south of us about 50 miles. She invited us to her house for dinner and we had a great time. She's got a great family!
Erika on the porch. Such a cute house!
A lake on the adjoining property, they swim in it during the summer.
Corey and Barbie
Barbie not so happy!
Kimber, Mark, Erika, Kristin, Corey, Paula, Justine, and Colton
Notice Erika holding hands with Mark, it's a problem! She does it to everyone. I think she just misses having her Dad around.
January 06, 2009
Thanksgiving 2008
Once again we packed up and drove to Winslow for Thanksgiving.
The kids were worried about missing more school so we didn't leave until after 2pm. That was a mistake! We had barely crossed over the mountains when the snow started to fall and it was already dark. What a long drive - we had snow, rain, fog, deer, coyotes and racoons! CRAZY!!
I failed to take very many pictures, I'm disappointed about that. Diane, Carl, Stacey, Ryan and Caden came on Friday. I had lunch with Virginia and Yolanda on Friday. Judy and Steven also came from Phoenix on Saturday. We had lots of company but it was great to see everyone. I miss my family and friends for sure.
Virginia, Paula and Yolanda - That was so great! I'm not even sure the last time we all got together.
Rest area - Dog stop! Colton's picture of the sun (technically the rail-always dreaming of snowboarding). We brought a puppy back to Jesse and Amber in Provo. That's 3 dogs and 3 kids in the car for 11+ hours! It was much longer on the way home.
Tawny
Denise and Grandma Jerry
Daniel, Cindy and Dad
We stayed with Dona and Gerry this year. I think we wore them out with all of our company!
Erika, Lyndsay and Corey
Mike and Cindy
Lyndsay and Colton
As many grandkids as we could find at the moment!
Cindy, Daniel, Mom and Paula - Missing my oldest brother David
Diane and Bean, the hosts of Thanksgiving dinner every year!
The kids were worried about missing more school so we didn't leave until after 2pm. That was a mistake! We had barely crossed over the mountains when the snow started to fall and it was already dark. What a long drive - we had snow, rain, fog, deer, coyotes and racoons! CRAZY!!
I failed to take very many pictures, I'm disappointed about that. Diane, Carl, Stacey, Ryan and Caden came on Friday. I had lunch with Virginia and Yolanda on Friday. Judy and Steven also came from Phoenix on Saturday. We had lots of company but it was great to see everyone. I miss my family and friends for sure.
Virginia, Paula and Yolanda - That was so great! I'm not even sure the last time we all got together.
Rest area - Dog stop! Colton's picture of the sun (technically the rail-always dreaming of snowboarding). We brought a puppy back to Jesse and Amber in Provo. That's 3 dogs and 3 kids in the car for 11+ hours! It was much longer on the way home.
Tawny
Denise and Grandma Jerry
Daniel, Cindy and Dad
We stayed with Dona and Gerry this year. I think we wore them out with all of our company!
Erika, Lyndsay and Corey
Mike and Cindy
Lyndsay and Colton
As many grandkids as we could find at the moment!
Cindy, Daniel, Mom and Paula - Missing my oldest brother David
Diane and Bean, the hosts of Thanksgiving dinner every year!
The Moon
Colton set up the tripod to get a picture of the moon on Dec 12, 2008.
The moon was about 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than other full moons, the last time this occured was in 1993.
Izzy at school
Erika has been begging me for years to take the dog or cat to school. Rico is just too much for me to handle with that many people around. He's 4 now but still too big and strong for me to control in a crowd.
Since we got Izzy, Erika was determined to take her to school. She asked me every day to walk her to school so the kids could see her dog. I didn't really think a dog at school first thing in the morning was the best idea (for the teacher's sake). So on the last day of school before Christmas break, Corey and I took Izzy to 3rd grade. Erika even dressed her up for the occasion!
According to Colton - this is humiliating!
There were a few kids that weren't crazy about the idea, one was even standing on his chair.
Most of them were chasing the dog around the room, I'm sure Ms. Giles was glad that they only had 30 minutes left of class. It was a little wild!
Since we got Izzy, Erika was determined to take her to school. She asked me every day to walk her to school so the kids could see her dog. I didn't really think a dog at school first thing in the morning was the best idea (for the teacher's sake). So on the last day of school before Christmas break, Corey and I took Izzy to 3rd grade. Erika even dressed her up for the occasion!
According to Colton - this is humiliating!
There were a few kids that weren't crazy about the idea, one was even standing on his chair.
Most of them were chasing the dog around the room, I'm sure Ms. Giles was glad that they only had 30 minutes left of class. It was a little wild!
January 05, 2009
More dog pictures
Playing in the snow
Rico at full speed!
Izzy jumping in the snow. She doesn't like to stay out too long, she doesn't have enough fur.
Where does the time go?
As you can see I have taken a few months off from blogging. I don't have any excuses so I won't even try. I'm hoping life improves and I can get out of this rut I'm in.
We went to Winslow for Thanksgiving and saw lots of old friends and family. We had a great time, it was the first time traveling with 2 dogs. That was an adventure.
We spent a quiet Christmas at home. I bought a new camera and have pictures to download so I will hopefully get some posted soon.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
We went to Winslow for Thanksgiving and saw lots of old friends and family. We had a great time, it was the first time traveling with 2 dogs. That was an adventure.
We spent a quiet Christmas at home. I bought a new camera and have pictures to download so I will hopefully get some posted soon.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
November 15, 2008
The new Burch baby
What am I thinking??? We did not need another dog!
Our neighbor Debbie works at South Salt Lake animal shelter and she was going to bring a microchip home for Rico. Corey decided to go with her to pick it up and help her feed the animals on the weekend. That's all there was to it!
I said "NO, No more pets!" So we took Rico to the shelter and checked her out anyway. Corey was right - she was a great dog. Debbie let us bring her home to try her out overnight. Things were actually fine. Rico had to put her in her place a few times but now they are great friends. I think he's actually happier having someone to play with. She fits in great and she is so sweet, she loves to snuggle and thinks she's a lap dog!
We finally all agreed on the name Izzy and she's learning to come to it, she's about 6 months old.
Erika and Izzy
Corey, Paula and Izzy
Colton and Izzy
Rico and Izzy playing
They only look ferocious!!
Buddies
Our neighbor Debbie works at South Salt Lake animal shelter and she was going to bring a microchip home for Rico. Corey decided to go with her to pick it up and help her feed the animals on the weekend. That's all there was to it!
I said "NO, No more pets!" So we took Rico to the shelter and checked her out anyway. Corey was right - she was a great dog. Debbie let us bring her home to try her out overnight. Things were actually fine. Rico had to put her in her place a few times but now they are great friends. I think he's actually happier having someone to play with. She fits in great and she is so sweet, she loves to snuggle and thinks she's a lap dog!
We finally all agreed on the name Izzy and she's learning to come to it, she's about 6 months old.
Erika and Izzy
Corey, Paula and Izzy
Colton and Izzy
Rico and Izzy playing
They only look ferocious!!
Buddies
October 17, 2008
Paris September 08
I've been working on this post for over a month and just can't get it finished. So I am just going to add some pictures and be done with it! I'm sorry it is so long.
Paris was the last city on our tour. We spent two nights with the tour group and then an extra two nights on our own. When we got to Paris we took a nighttime city tour, it was really pretty. I wish the pictures had come out a little nicer though. The next morning we took another city tour, we basically saw all the same things as we did during the nighttime tour.
After lunch a small group went to the Palace of Versailles. We had private guide so that was nice and then we had some time to walk in the Gardens. It was very beautiful. Three Kings of France lived there, Marie Antoinette was one of the wives.
After that tour, we had the bus drop us off with some people we met from Ohio. We walked through Notre Dame Cathedral and went to the Louvre and took pictures. Then we had a fun dinner with them before finding our way back to the hotel. Erika took an instant liking to Dave. She wanted to hold his hand all day. I felt bad because they were on vacation to get away from kids and here is my child hanging all over him! He was a good sport about it though, he didn't have any girls at home.
The next morning we slept in a little and missed everyone leaving because they all had flights to catch. I took the girls down the street to find a luggage store we had passed the night before. Erika's backpack was ripping and mine was so full we couldn't stuff one more thing into it. So we ended up buying 2 new suitcases that we didn't really need. We had tried to pack very light but the backpacks were not quite big enough for everything. It wasn't like we bought a ton of souveniers or anything either.
The kids waiting in the subway station
Pantheon
Louvre
Colton and Erika at the Louvre
Corey at Luxembourg Gardens
This was a game in the park. The girls gave it a try even though the questions were in French.
Luxembourg Gardens
Riding the carousel at Luxembourg Gardens. The girls were given sticks and a man held out rings for them to try to get on their sticks as they went past. When all the rings were gone he stopped the ride. Weird!
Napolean's burial place
View from the Eiffel Tower
Next to the Eiffel Tower
Corey and Erika with Ivo and Don from Ohio
Colton on the Eiffel Tower
Erika in her new beret on the Eiffel Tower
Corey on the Eiffel Tower
View from the Eiffel Tower
The Gardens at the Palace of Versailles
Colton at Versailles
The "King's Bed". What is really funny is that the Queen's bed was larger!
Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
Statue in the street by our hotel
Versailles
Erika at Versailles
Inside Notre Dame
Notre Dame. I'm not sure why I don't have a better picture of it.
Big Head statue -- not my kid laying on it!
Arc de Triomphe
Opera House
Montmartre - There are artists all over the place around there.
Erika, Dave from Ohio, and Corey
The girls and Steven having dinner at Montmartre.
The Eiffel Tower will be blue with yellow stars, representing the EU flag, for six months. It is to mark the start of France's six-month presidency of the European Union.
Paris was the last city on our tour. We spent two nights with the tour group and then an extra two nights on our own. When we got to Paris we took a nighttime city tour, it was really pretty. I wish the pictures had come out a little nicer though. The next morning we took another city tour, we basically saw all the same things as we did during the nighttime tour.
After lunch a small group went to the Palace of Versailles. We had private guide so that was nice and then we had some time to walk in the Gardens. It was very beautiful. Three Kings of France lived there, Marie Antoinette was one of the wives.
After that tour, we had the bus drop us off with some people we met from Ohio. We walked through Notre Dame Cathedral and went to the Louvre and took pictures. Then we had a fun dinner with them before finding our way back to the hotel. Erika took an instant liking to Dave. She wanted to hold his hand all day. I felt bad because they were on vacation to get away from kids and here is my child hanging all over him! He was a good sport about it though, he didn't have any girls at home.
The next morning we slept in a little and missed everyone leaving because they all had flights to catch. I took the girls down the street to find a luggage store we had passed the night before. Erika's backpack was ripping and mine was so full we couldn't stuff one more thing into it. So we ended up buying 2 new suitcases that we didn't really need. We had tried to pack very light but the backpacks were not quite big enough for everything. It wasn't like we bought a ton of souveniers or anything either.
The kids waiting in the subway station
Pantheon
Louvre
Colton and Erika at the Louvre
Corey at Luxembourg Gardens
This was a game in the park. The girls gave it a try even though the questions were in French.
Luxembourg Gardens
Riding the carousel at Luxembourg Gardens. The girls were given sticks and a man held out rings for them to try to get on their sticks as they went past. When all the rings were gone he stopped the ride. Weird!
Napolean's burial place
View from the Eiffel Tower
Next to the Eiffel Tower
Corey and Erika with Ivo and Don from Ohio
Colton on the Eiffel Tower
Erika in her new beret on the Eiffel Tower
Corey on the Eiffel Tower
View from the Eiffel Tower
The Gardens at the Palace of Versailles
Colton at Versailles
The "King's Bed". What is really funny is that the Queen's bed was larger!
Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
Statue in the street by our hotel
Versailles
Erika at Versailles
Inside Notre Dame
Notre Dame. I'm not sure why I don't have a better picture of it.
Big Head statue -- not my kid laying on it!
Arc de Triomphe
Opera House
Montmartre - There are artists all over the place around there.
Erika, Dave from Ohio, and Corey
The girls and Steven having dinner at Montmartre.
The Eiffel Tower will be blue with yellow stars, representing the EU flag, for six months. It is to mark the start of France's six-month presidency of the European Union.
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