While Brian was chilling with Miss Utah...

....Ryanna and I were in Montana soaking in some wonderful family time! So here's the deal. A few weeks ago when Brian agreed to MC the pageant I was really excited and just assumed I would be there to support him and all that. Well I casually mentioned that I couldn't wait to be there and Brian (already nervous at the prospect of what he was doing) kinda freaked out at the thought of me being there. He (nicely) explained how my presence would not be helpful and would only serve to make him more nervous....I kind of thought that was a crock so I said the only way I wouldn't be there is if he found a way to get me out of town (aka plane ticket to Montana). Well we started checking air fare and it was totally unaffordable. So as the day approached I would tease Brian but agreed I wouldn't be there if that was what he really wanted. As a consolation prize he did want me to go with him to the rehearsal and luncheon so that was nice of him. The Wednesday before the pageant I was feeling the urge to go home and had a brilliant thought. I thought to myself, "Self, there is still one option you haven't checked out...flying out of Grand Junction, CO." Grand Junction is closer than Denver or Salt Lake. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Well one quick transaction later Brian had booked me a flight to Montana through Grand Junction leaving Friday and returning Tuesday...for only $150!!! It was meant to be.
(Brian might not appreciate this photo but it's his own fault. I wanted a picture of him in his tux and apparantly it was too painful to give me that one request. First he put on the shirt and jacket while still in his ripped up cargo shorts. Then he went back in the dressing room and came back out with his t-shirt on with his tuxedo pants...COME ON!!)
Ryanna is a natural born flyer. It helps that the flights were all under an hour and a half long. We did have one melt down but a nice old lady came to my rescue and distracted Ryanna by shaking a lanyard in her face. Thank goodness Ryanna has a lanyard fettish. On another flight a guy walked down the ailse with a lanyard on and Ryanna started yelling "OWIE OWIE OWIEEEEE!!!!" How do you explain to the other passangers that you're not beating your child. Instead she is just calling out for a coveted lanyard.....of course.

Ryanna really seemed to remember my family. She played from sun up to sun down. On Sunday morning while I was getting ready she wanted Kayla to carry her everywhere and threw a fit when it was Kayla's turn to go get ready. She sure LOVES all her uncles and aunts(not just in Montana, we're lucky to have so much support). I never had to coax her to sleep. She went right to sleep when I put her in her bed - beautiful. She loved jabbering to everyone and anytime she saw my Dad she would point and say Bumpa Bumpa! Very cute. Montana is so beautiful and open. This is my parent's back yard and where I grew up from the age of 3. I am so blessed to have the unconditional love and support from my parents and all of my family. I spent some time hearing about my grandparent's history. My goal is to write a family history starting with my Grandma and Grandpa Scoffield. They grew up north of Salt Lake. I thought one story my Grandma told me was so cute. When she was in 6th grade her teacher asked each student to share what they wanted to be when they grew up. She stood up and said, "I want to live in Montana and own a horse." BOY did that wish come true!! I wonder if she ever imagined just how many horses she would own. I'll have to share more fun stories about them later (like when they were 17 and Grandpa had Grandma out until 3 in the morning!!!! My Great Grandma kept a journal and on that night it said, "Donny better watch out!" - LOVE IT). Tragedy struck on Sunday when I forgot to bring my brain and Benedryl to church. I left Ryanna in the nursury and they had peanut butter with their snack. HOW COULD I FORGET TO TELL THEM!!!! Well, she had reaction so my awesome little brother Jared rushed me to the store to buy benedryl and then home to recuperate. Her face and chest were covered in welts. I WILL NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN!!! I was sick with myself all day. You can see in the pic below irration on her chest, neck, and face. Good thing Uncle Jared was up for playing with her. She grabbed one popper and handed him the other and they set off to walk laps around the house till she was too tired and crashed. Thanks Jared for being my lifesaver that day. We love you!!!
By Monday Ryanna was feeling much better and ready to pound on the piano, play at Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's house, and visit the Hargroves. Tannis and Am are really into natural medicine so they did some work on Ryanna and I to hopefully help with her allergies. Thanks guys!!!

Uncle Nath taught Ryanna the art of rocking all by herself. She never tired of having playmates everywhere she looked. The music you hear is Nathan's Van Halen CD. It's funny how things that used to sound like hard rock now sound pretty mellow. I'm glad he doesn't just follow the "trendy" music of the day.

Catch up on July Fun

This summer has been so much fun!!!! In the last month we've taken Ryanna swimming countless times, gone golfing as a family, seen two parades, had our first house guests, and enjoyed being with friends old and new.

At the drive in with Dad. We saw Kung Fu Panda which Ryanna enjoyed but the sleepier she felt the crazier she acted. I think the next time we do that it will be a Mommy Daddy date.
Our awesome friends came and parked next to us. Ryanna spends lots of time with these boys. She and Benson were right at home in the pack-n-play together. It reminds me of the time they took a nap together in that thing - so cute!
Happy 24th of July!!! Here we're at the parade which Ryanna loved. By the way these pictures are in no way in order.
I can feed myself and paint all at the same time. Waa hahahhahahahhaaaa!
First ice cream cone. Yes, I said the first. Go ahead and tell me Ryanna is deprived. I've heard it all before. ;)

These are some of my favorite gals in the ENTIRE world. These girls were my roomies at BYU and I can honestly say we are friends for life. The fact that they drove clear to Vernal just to spend a few hours with me and Ryanna prove their love and devotion to that big green dinosaur....or to me as their friend. I love them!!!
4th of July parade and the first sucker I've just let Ryanna have...again I'm a mean Mommy.
We hiked up and saw some petroglyphs a few miles out of town. Just ignore the grafetti defacing the historical site.
Brian shares his love for all sports with Ryanna and she seems to catch on quick. She certainly doesn't get that from me. Water fun: basically the only thing that makes the summer heat bearable.

Since I have the time...

I might as well post something.

Kristin is out of town at her parents. The deal was, she wouldn't come the my event on Saturday if I would buy her a ticket to Montana to visit her family... so I did. She is there, I am here.

So what was the big event? The Miss UBIC scholarship pagent. No, I didn't enter as a contestant, I was asked to be the Master of ceremonies... something I have never done. I got the request because I work at the 'cool' radio station. The first two people at the station turned it down because they were scared... I wanted to turn it down but because of my willingness to do stuff other people don't want to do, I reluctantly agreed. Now, I am not trying to be the guy who is trying to come across as the 'good guy' because I did it when I didn't want to but was really excited and blah blah blah. I was scared to death. I had nightmares Friday night about the pagent and all the things that could go wrong. The reason I wouldn't let Kristin be there was because I didn't want her to see me doing something 'potentially' embarassing. So thats why!

Anyway, a little side note, I got to MC with MISS UTAH! I was pretty excited about that, I have never met nor talked to a beauty queen. I wanted to see if they were the stereotypical pretty and ditzy girls. I wanted to see what these award winning beautys were really like. Miss Utah, newly crowned just two weeks ago, was really cool... I must admit. She is only 18, she is really a GOOD girl and not a ditz. For much of the day I was with her and her sister either at the luncheon, the practice/run through of the program, dinner and the show. It was a good time. In the picture below is Miss Utah on the Right, the now former Miss Uintah Basin on the left and the NEW Miss Uintah Basin in the middle (the one I announced as the winner on Saturday).

I posed for pictures with all of these ladies, but I don't have them. I had them taken for my future resume needs and also as a momento... the lady who took them still has to email them to me.

So, Miss Utah is going to be in the Miss America Pagent in January. You remember the former Miss Utah who did push-ups on stage?? Yeah, big shoes to fill... but she will do great.

Now, just so Kristin doesn't get the wrong idea, I have a purpose for writing all of this for everyone. I am very reflective on life this weekend, more than usual. Reflective of good things. Being around these amazing women have reminded me what I need to be grateful for and also they have helped me remember the beautiful things in life. It is so easy to get caught up in the frustrations of life. A busy day at work, stress at work, your favorite TV show being cancelled, tough days in your marriage etc... but what we should really do is remember what is beautiful and why we believe the things we believe. The girls that I hung out with are all members of the church. They are all faithful and not ashamed to share what they believe. IN fact, in Miss Utah's Bio she lists the Young Womanhood award as one of her best and favorite accomplishments.

While at dinner at the Hollow Moon Cafe for dinner before the show, I sat on the end of the table next to Miss Utah and across from her sister. I was amazed at the bond they have and surprised that the conversation the entire night between us 3 and one other lady was entirely spiritual. Miss Utah's sister, recently married, told stories of her desire to serve a mission and then how her husband swept her up and kept her from going (Ring a bell Kristin?). We talked about marriage and its ups and downs and the various missionary roles we can play even while married and not on a full-time mission.

Without writing a book, which I could at this point about last night, I will sum it up with this:

Once again, I am amazed at how wonderful these girls were last night. They reminded me of the great choice I made in a wife. They also gave me a new appreciation of the entire Miss America pagent system. Although there are some traditional things like the "swim suit competition" and the "evening gown competition" that can seem so shallow (even though I guess it is a 'beauty pagent'), there should be a lot of credit to the rest of the program for the good that they do. Any girl that participates needs a platform to change the world. They need to really believe in it and work for it. It isn't just a bunch of pretty girls showing up in varioius places representing her states, counties, or country. These girls really do live virtuous lives and are great examples to be followed.

Don't worry, my pics will be up soon! :)

House tour with before and after pics

Welcome to our home!
Come on in. First on the tour is the garage/man cave. The door into the garage is on your immediate left upon entering the front door.

Brian managed to shimmy the car into the garage sideways...don't ask me how.
And welcome to the man cave. For anyone who is unfamiliar with what makes up a man cave you just need to have a TV, a couch and other media paraphanelia. Ideally a man cave would have a gaming system but if you have a mean wife (i.e. me) that isn't included. (Love you Bri for being so great about that!!!) A man cave can be messy and should have a plentiful stash of snacks and beverages. Also, I realize I have insanely white legs but what can you do.
Now if you'll just follow me up stairs.
At the top of the stair is a little entryway and the bathroom.
BATHROOM BEFORE PIC: Note the cupboards and the floor. Yuck! This is actually the upstairs bathroom.
BATHROOM AFTER PIC: I painted the cupboards a cream color and had the floors replaced. I didn't have a before pic of the downstairs bath but it looked pretty much the same as the picture above.
KITCHEN BEFORE PIC: Bleah.....
KITCHEN AFTER PICS: Step 1 painted ceiling white. Step 2 prepped and primed cupboards. Step 3 painted wall red (3 coats before I was happy with it). Step 3 paint cupboard base. Step 4 replace kitchen floor (Brian is now a pro!). Step 5 replace gross stove for new stove - hooray! Step 6 paint cupboard doors, replace hardware and put on doors. Step 7 touch up paint. This was definately the biggest project we took on!

LIVING ROOM BEFORE PIC: What you can't see in the photo is the 3 big holes in the wall and the hole in the ceiling. Note the scrappy carpet. EWWWW!
LIVING ROOM AFTER PIC: Step 1 painted ceiling white. Step 2 had a drywall guy come fix the huge holes. Step 3 had walls painted tan (thanks Josh G!). Step 4 painted green wall (Bri picked the green and I picked the red). Step 5 had carpets replaced.

This is the TV and surround that Brian got for his birthday. He had been begging for an HD TV for 3 years and I could tell he was about to go buy one so I took matters into my own hands. Luckily he is happy with it even though it isn't the 50" he would have picked out.
Well there you go!!!!! The entire house got new carpet and floors which we love. I think we'll take a break before we redo the bedrooms upstairs. Hope you like it cause we LOVE it!!

Anyone want to give me $1000 a month to stay home?

I am a teacher, it is the summer time and I should be home most of the day. But not in my case. I have been so busy the last few days that I welcome this weekend, where besides now and four hours on Saturday, I don't work until Monday morning.

Being so busy, its really hard to spend good quality time with my baby. She isn't usually awake before I leave in the morning. She takes her nap for two of the few hours I am home. And then she goes to sleep before I get back from job #2. Makes me think I don't want to do it anymore... the job #2. But I can't leave it. I have quit radio 4 times in my life and each time I crawl back, making it harder and harder to find a job. AND I need to extra cash from job #2. So, thank goodness I can stroll on my own blog and see those lovely pictures anytime.

Happy 4th, I am currently filling in for the morning show. Can't wait for the next hour to go by. I need a break... a real vacation.