GO UTES!

I just had to post this, especially after tonight’s game:


Yeah, I'm one happy Utah fan!

Grandma McKinlay

My grandma passed away two weeks ago and during that time I have been reading tributes to her on different family blogs. I have been wanting to write my own tribute to my grandma but my emotions have been so close to the surface that it has been difficult to write. Even now I am having a hard time; it's difficult to put in to words what she means to me. Now, this will not be nearly as eloquent as my siblings posts but…

My grandma McKinlay has been a key figure in my life since I was born and has helped shape the woman that I am today. Her unconditional love helped me though some challenging times as I matured and I am forever grateful for her influence and example. She is truly amazing. Growing up I loved more than anything to spend time, especially one on one time, with my grandma. And as I got older I treasured my time with her even more, though sometimes there at the end she didn‘t know who I was. I love her so very much and I am going to miss her terribly. I am so very thankful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and I look forward to the day when I get to hug grandma again. I thank my Heavenly Father for my angel grandmother and hope that I can live worthy to be with her again. I love you grandma!


***The pics were taken by my cousin Emily Ann at the funeral on Monday. Thanks for letting me steal them Em!

Cousins

A younger picture of my grandma

My mom and her brother Doug

My brothers- Shawn, Steve, and Mike

Me and my cousin Summer

Siblings-Mar, Kate, and Shawn

Mar and baby Addie

Mar and Kate

Happy Halloween!

I spent a little time today reflecting on Halloween's past and how much fun I always had. I may not dress up or go trick or treating anymore but I still enjoy Halloween. My siblings still dress up and insist that we continue with the food traditions (chili dogs, hot cider, and doughnuts) that my mom started years ago. This year my parents are in Las Vegs but that still didn't stop us from doing the things that we have done for years. We sure had fun. I hope you all had an enjoyable day.

The Halloween fun continues at This Is The Place Heritage Park's 'Haunted Village'

The observation was made Saturday night that we do more activities related to Halloween then we do Christmas. I wonder why that is? Who knows? I do know that a bunch of the Sloanies went to This Is The Place Heritage Park's 'Haunted Village' on Saturday night. It was not at all what we were expecting but it turned out to be fun all the same. We even saw the Headless Horseman riding through the park!

Now, I hate being scared so I generally avoid all things scary at Halloween and scary movies the rest of the year. So, when we got to the park and I realized that the Haunted Village was a haunted house of sorts I wanted to turn around and go home. I stuck it out though and it turned out to be kind of fun. My brothers were full of shenanigans and encouraged the actors throughout the park to scare their sisters. Steven got me good a couple of times and I screamed quite a bit more than I had intended (I was going to be oh so tough). At the end though, I think we decided that it was not as bad as we thought that it would be and that we might like to do it again next year.

Sam Hawk and Haunted Canyon Shenanigans

My sister, Kathryn loves Halloween and the fun things that come with that silly holiday. So, Saturday night my siblings, my mom, and I went down to Provo for some Korean food at Sam Hawk and to ride the Heber Valley Railroad's Haunted Canyon. This was the third time we have taken this ride and as always were were not disappointed. The characters from the Provo Canyon Urban Legends (the stories) that were piped in to the train car were in good form and it was fun to interact with them. Plus, there were a couple of additions to the ride which included the train stopping twice and sitting in the dark one of the two times it stopped. Now, the ride is a bit cheesey but it is still fun and, let's be honest, the Sloan siblings know how to make their own fun, and we sure had fun. And of course, Addie was the subject of a lot of attention; she's just so stinkin' cute.

If you ever have the opportunity to take this ride, do it!

The After Session Session

Saturday night after the Priesthood session of General Conference Becky and I hosted a party- a rather large party by our standards. The attraction? Jeff Tueller and Danny Wood! Jeff and Danny started paying guitar together about three years ago and are both very talented musicians. It’s hard to explain their chemistry or “the Jeff and Danny experience” as I have come to call chilling with them while they jam. Anyway, for the last two years Danny has been serving a mission in Macon, Georgia and has recently returned home to his adoring fans. So, Saturday night was to be a welcome home party for Danny and the boys did not disappoint! The party was awesome and the music was great. Danny's still got it after two years of hardly picking up a guitar and Jeff was awesome as usual. I love these two guys so much and I am so happy to have them playing together again. It just makes my heart happy. So, enjoy the pictures (Danny is in the red t-shirt).

Experimenting

I spent some time today experimenting with different templates for my blog (thanks for the inspiration Mel) which is why it looks a bit different. I'm trying this layout for now but I may change it next week. I also hope to have some more pictures to post next Monday or Tuesday (most of you have not seen my new hair cut) so stay tuned. In the mean time I am open to your feedback. Does this look like me or what?

Lava Hot Springs 2008

I have been meaning to post this for several weeks now but I needed to "borrow" some pictures from Trish. Yeah, I took my camera but I spent so much time around the water that I hardly took any. Plus, Trish takes much better pictures than I do. So, as the title says it all. I spent August 22-23 in Lava Hot Springs with my ward and had an awesome time! We spent our time camping, swimming, cooking in the hot pools, and making new friends. One of the things that I love about out of town ward activities is the opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and the chance to get to know people that you may otherwise not cross paths with. After the car ride up and back I feel a little more tightly bonded to Trish, Chris, and Travis (the ride up and back was an adventure). I am so thankful to be a part of my ward and for the amazing friends that I have there.

An Evening with Brian Regan

Karen, Me, Travis, and Becky

I have become a recent fan of Brian Regan thanks to my good friend Travis. He started quoting it to me in the spring and when I told him that I was only a little familiar with the comedian he promptly lent me one of his CD’s. Needless to say that it has been a long time since I have laughed so hard. So, when Travis found out that Brian Regan would be coming in “concert” in August he asked me if I was interested in going. Of course I was very interested. I decided that since the “concert” was a couple of weeks before Becky’s birthday that it might be a good birthday present for her. So, on August 15 I joined Travis, Becky, and Becky for a night of laughter at the Amphitheater at Thanksgiving Point. It was a beautiful night for the show and we had a great time together. If you are not familiar with Brian Regan you may want to check out some of his stuff- you know where to go for video clips.

Shopping 101

So, my friends and I were invited to a garden party last Saturday and as noted on the invitation, the dress was cocktail attire. I thought to myself, “what the heck is cocktail attire?” So, being the best friend that she is, Trish took me shopping. I had been shopping with Trish before but I have never been the one doing the shopping so I not prepared for the results. Needless to say Trish is my lucky charm! We went to Brickyard Plaza to start and ended up doing everything right there. We went in to a dress store that I would never had gone in to on my own “just to look” but since Trish suggested it I was game. She hit the discount racks and started looking for items in my size. She pull almost anything off and handing it to me to try on. She pulled two dresses off the rack that I was going to try on just to humor her but they ended up being the dresses that I bought. I left the store with two amazingly flattering dresses, one for the party and one for church.

As a side note, the dresses are not what I would have bought for myself or even looked at but thanks to Trish I had to come out of my clothing comfort zone. Then I found the perfect shoes at TJ Max. We then went in to Mervyn's where I found the perfect pair of red shoes ( I have been looking for them forever!). We left Brickyard having fulfilled our shopping agenda and in half the time.

Now, the party dress is super cute but the church dress is the one that seems to have the magic. I often get compliments on my appearance at church but Sunday I got a lot of compliments on my dress. Sorry, not pictures were taken on Sunday but the next time I wear the magical dress I’ll be sure to post them.

Yep, it’s time to change my image a little. Thanks for boosting my self-esteem Trish!

July Rundown

WOW! I know that it's been almost a month since I have posted so I beg everyone’s forgiveness; July was a very busy month both personally and at work. I spent the month of July playing with my friends. I think I have now seen all the movies that I wanted to see this summer. Yep, I’ve seen a lot of movies but I would have to say that the best one that I saw (twice) is Iron Man. I may see it a third time.

The pictures posted are from the Days of ‘47 Parade which was really fun. I remember as a kid I always wanted to go downtown for the parade on the 24th of July but because of the logistics of the event I was never able to go. Well, since I have lived in the Avenues I have gone to the parade several times (I am within walking distance of the parade route). I like to invite my friends to come along since it makes it more fun so this year Trish and some of our friends from our ward joined us. We didn’t camp out for a spot so we got lucky when we found a shady spot just in front of the Brigham Apartments. We had a great time; I have dome pretty great friends!

The month ended with Stampin’ Up!’s annual convention which I had the lucky pleasure of working. I opted to stay at the Hotel Monaco while I was working convention and I am so glad that I did. My days started at 6:30 or so and did not end until 7 pm or later so it was nice to go back to my room and not have any distractions. I just fell in to bed. But even though my days were long I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with people that I would otherwise not get to know. I made some great new friends during that week. Convention really is a lot of fun if you can get past being exhausted all the time.

And, I know you are all dying for an update on my 4 x 10 schedule. It’s still really great. I have my body trained to get up at 4:30 am and for the most part I can make it though my day without any chemical assistance. I really like having my Wednesdays to rest and play. All in all, July was a great month and I can’t believe that we are halfway though August.

I’ll try to be better about posting this month. Peace out!

Trish and Travis

Me

Me and Trish

Me and Steve

Cute Karen!

Andy, Karen, and Fielding

Me and Andy testing our personal space. Yeah, he doesn't have any. :)

4 x 10’s

Yep, I have jumped on the “4 x 10 work week” bandwagon that has been in the news quite a lot lately. I was offered the 4 x 10 shift almost a year and a half ago but I really had no desire to change my beloved schedule. I mean, in order to be to work by 7 I need to be up and going by 4:45 and that is only if I have packed my lunch the night before. Who in their right mind would want to get up that early? Plus, it also means that I need to be in bed no later than 9 so it kind of hinders my social life during the week. But, with the continual rise of gas prices combined with my desire for some down time in the middle of the week I took the leap (last week was my first 4 x 10 week). I now work 7-5:30 with Wednesdays off so I never work more than two days in a row. And to be honest, I have not really noticed much of a difference which makes me wonder why I didn’t jump on this ages ago when it was first offered? Oh I know, it was my need for sleep.

So far so good but I’ll keep you posted!

Pickin’ Peas with Grandma Homer

Most of you know that I live next door to my roommates grandma but what you may not know is that Grandma Homer is 92 years old but you may not know it to look at her. She is still really active. Anyway, for as long as I have known her she has planted something of a garden in our backyard(we share the driveway and the backyard) and she always shares the spoils. Well, last night when I got home from work Grandma Homer was standing in the middle if her pea patch eating peas she had just picked. She looked so cute just standing there smiling that I could not help but laugh. I went in to the house and quickly wolfed down a bowl of cereal and then went out to visit with grandma. She gets really lonely these days and I felt impressed to go out and visit with her. As I approached her she said “Do you want to pick peas with me Melissa?” to which I replied “I sure do”. We spent the next twenty minutes or so picking and eating peas out of the garden while I asked her questions about the other plants in the garden and how well she thinks her tomatoes are going to do this year.

She then invited me in to see her freshly washed windows in the basement and I got my yearly tour of the basement. She has given me the history of the finished basement many times but she never remembers so I just pretend like I had never heard her stories before. I actually do that with most of our conversations. I have heard almost all of her stories at least a dozen times but she never remembers that she has told them to me before so I always humor her and act like I have never heard them before. Good thing I have had years of practice with my own grandma. I would have to say; however, that the highlight of my visit with grandma (other than the fresh peas) was when she got on the HealthRider that she has in her basement and demonstrated how it worked. I will never forget the image of that 92 year old grandma riding the HealthRider. So funny!

Maybe Grandma Homer will be out pickin’ peas again tonight. She’s so cute!

Friends

I love my family but over the last several days I have been pondering just how blessed I am to have the friends that I have, especially right now. I have been struggling with some pretty intense emotions lately and even though I tend to work through them on my own, I know that I am surrounded by good friends who are there for me should I need them. Last night, as I was driving home from a friend’s house, I thought about some friends who have really impacted my life and wow, I have been blessed!

I want to express my gratitude to Trish, Karen, and Alisa for their tender love and care. I really love you girls! And Nicole, thanks for the confidence and encouragement. It means a lot to me. I also want to thank Chris and Nate for being two of the best guy friends that a girl could ask for. I appreciate you more than you could ever know.

There’s no doubt about it, I have (and have had) some awesome friends!

Utah Highland Games 2008 Part 2

I wanted to post a few more pictures from the Highland Games. I felt the need to post more "kilt" pictures, plus most of the pictures that I posted earlier in the week are linked to Facebook (thanks Trish) so if you do not see them I apologize. I cannot access Facebook at work (it's blocked) so when I view my blog at work the pictures cannot be seen. If this is the case for you, I apologize. If you can see the pics then I hope you will enjoy these as well. I sure love my friends!

I love the bagpipes!

Chris, Tonya, and Andy
Darren and Trish

Geoff, Trish, and Darren

Tonya and Travis

Yes, this is a man...

Utah Highland Games 2008

So, last Saturday I went down to Thanksgiving Point with some friends to enjoy the 2008 Utah Highland Games and Scottish Festival. My good friend Trish is from Scotland and is in an singing group called Citrine that performed at the festival. So, we had the opportunity to support her and have some fun together as friends. It was fun to walk around the festival and observe the Scottish patriotism. I felt a twinge of it myself (my many of my ancestors on my mom's side are from Scotland) especially when the bagpipes started playing. It was also cool to see kilts in the different clan colors but I must admit, I have never seen so many men in kilts before. Ah, fun times. Thanks Trish for such a fun day! Enjoy the pics of me and my friends!

Travis, Trish and LeAnn

Tonya and Melissa

This is the crew (minus Tonya who was taking the picture).

This was the perfect photo opportunity for Trish LeAnn, Trish, and Me

Chris could not resist this photo opportunity either. So silly!

Tonya and Geoff chillin' on the grass.Me sharing some pics with Geoff. What was my hair doingMe, Travis, and LeAnn

Octopus Rose

I wanted to take a quick minute and post some pictures that I took of "Octopus Rose" this week. We call this particular rose bush Octopus Rose because she is huge and her branches are really long. I love having this bush in the backyard because her roses are so fragrant and I love to keep a small bouquet by my bed. Ah, I love summer! Anyway, when I got home from work on Wednesday Rose looked to droopy and sad from all the rain that I could not resist taking some pictures.

Girls in Blue

I have been meaning to post this picture for a while now and figured that today was a good day to do it. This picture was taken on a Sunday a couple of weeks ago where it seemed that many members of our ward were wearing some shade of blue. I guess blue is very in this season. So, thanks to Trish for taking this picture with her new Blackberry (for some strange reason I was without my camera that Sunday). I love spring!

Here's Tonya, Trish, Me, and Karen.

Don Giovanni

I love the opera and last Saturday night I had the opportunity to go see Don Giovanni with a couple of friends. We had a great time. The music was great, the company was awesome, and the after party was quite an experience. My friend Tonya belongs to a group called Vivace and as a member of Vivace she receives discounts on tickets as well as an invitation to an exclusive party with other Vivace members as well as the cast after the opera. Since Annette and I were her guests we were able to attend the after party as well. It was interesting to observe the different people at the party and I was really glad that Annette was there because I felt very much out of my element. The food was great and the ambiance was fabulous but the best part was to observe the members of the cast milling about and visiting with the “after party” guests. All in all it was beautiful night full of wonderful music, food, and friends. Thanks ladies!

I caught Tonya right after she had taken a bite of food. Yeah, I'm a great friend.

Annette looking fab!

Three glamorous women!

“I Saw God Today”

There are a lot of reasons why I love living in the Avenues but the number one reason is that I am within walking distance of several parks. And I love taking walks, especially during the spring and summer months, through the Avenues. Last night my good friend Trish and I walked from my house on 4th Avenue down to Memory Grove. We hit the Freedom Trail at the end of the park and as I walked I could not help but notice the peace I felt (even with the number of people and dogs on the trail). It was certainly a beautiful Sabbath day and I relished the opportunity to absorb the beauty around me. The trees are still in the flowering stage and the grass on the hill and in the park is lush and green. Nature certainly is beautiful. This brings me to the subject of my post. “I Saw God Today” by George Strait is one of my favorite songs on Country radio right now. The song is about noticing the hand of the Lord in the things around us. I usually try and notice but ever since this song was released my awareness seems to be heightened. We sure are blessed with abundant beauty.

Have you seen God today? Take a walk and enjoy the splendor!

Out with April and in with May

Where in the world did the month go? I swear April just started! It is a little unnerving how fast time flies for me these days. I remember when I was young and I could not wait until summer vacation and the time just seemed to drag. As an adult time seems to be the one thing that I don’t have enough of. I was thinking about Marianne today and the fact that Baby Girl will be here in a matter of weeks. My mind went back to when she announced to the family in November that she was pregnant and that she was due the end of May. At the time May seemed so far away but here it is knocking on our door and we’ll have a new baby in our family before too long. Crazy! I need more time!

I wonder if there is a way to slow the summer down? September is going to be here all too soon accompanied by cold. *sigh*

I Heart Alias

I have my favorite television shows that I like to watch on DVD and right now I am re-watching all five seasons of Alias. Several years ago my friends and I used have Alias parties where we would congregate at someone’s apartment and we’d watch a disk or two of a season and then we would watch the current episode. It was always hard to turn it off. And we always had to abide by “Matt’s Rules of Order” which meant that you couldn’t talk or ask questions during the show. Yeah, those were some fun times during the Royal Farms Apartments days.

Right now I am in the middle of season two, which in my opinion is the best season of the five. It also seems that I have forgotten how much I love Alias because I can’t seem to get enough. I start watching a disk and I have to make myself turn it off so that I go to bed at a timely manner. And because I watch it at night it totally influences my dreams. I know that I had an Alias type dream last night though I really don’t remember the content of the dream. This used to happen to me when I watched a lot of Lost and I know this happens to a couple of my siblings (right Mike and Mar?).

If you haven’t ever watched Alias and you are looking for an action packed show to watch you may consider giving this one a try. After I am done with Alias I’m going to start on Moonlighting. Ah, good times.

Arches 2008

Last weekend the crazies (the Sloan siblings) went down to Arches for some camping fun. My roommate Becky and Mike’s best friend Jeff (or Jeffe) also came along for the fun. The campsite was awesome and we managed to have fun even with the rip roaring wind that hindered some of the things that everyone wanted to do. The epic light saber battle that Dan had been referring to all week commenced almost immediately after the boys rolled in to camp. Man, that was funny to watch. We also spent a little time at The Windows which proved to be manageable in the wind. And thanks to Jesse for bringing the awesome tent; it was a cool place to hang out.

When we got home yesterday we were wind blown/sand blasted, filthy, and sunburned. Some of us are burned worse than others (especially on the knees). I have an awesome outline of the band-aid I had on all weekend (I fell and skinned my knee Friday night). Yeah, I’m cool! Enjoy the pictures.

Steven, Kate and I are chillin' in the tent eating Shawn's gummy worms.

Shot from The Windows

Another shot from Windows

Kate is chiilin' while the other crazies get their act together.

Yeah, Dan is cool!

Jesse getting wind blown
Mel catching some rays

One of the views from camp

Dan the light saber king!

This is me at The Windows!