There Goes the Neighborhood

As a renter in a very upity neighborhood, I understand the standards that should be upheld by all the residents - and I try my hardest to follow along. We don't have loud parties, we don't have hordes of people over at our house taking up parking on our small little street, we put our garbage out on garbage day, we plant flowers in our small garden, we mow our lawn - pretty much we are the best renters this small neighborhood could ask for.


A month or so ago, our yard was infested with dandelions. We went back in forth whether or not to fertilize it ourselves or just hire somone to do it. We eventually ended up hiring someone, and now our lawn looks fabulous. But for a few weeks, our lawn looked like crap. We would mow it regularly in an attempt to minimize the look of the dandelions. Much to our avail, it didn't work all that well.

With that said, there are two little old ladies that live at the end of our street. I call them the neighborhood police - for this reason only:

In the midst of our dandelion fiasco, I was sitting in my front room looking out the window and notice this dual of double trouble walking towards our house. They stopped at the corner of our yard. They both turned to look at our house and put their hands on their hips. I knew what they were looking at. Those damned dandelions. Being inside, I couldn't hear what they were saying, but this is what I imagined the conversation to be:

Lady #1: Oh my goodness, will you look at this yard?
Lady #2: There are dandelions everywhere! (she is pointing mind you)
Lady #1: This is completely unacceptable. This is ruining our neighborhood!
Lady #2: I am going to call their landlord and complain.
Lady #1: I will call too, we can't let the neighborhood be ruined by renters like these!!!

Since the fertilizing, I think our yard looks very good. We even have flower pots on our front porch. However, I have been mistaken.

Just two days ago, Mackenzi and I were sitting in our front room and I saw the neighbordhood police walking our way. It looks like the only purpose of their little strole was to come and look at our lawn again. The walked straight to our lawns edge and put their hands on their hips and they stared at our lawn. I ran to my room to get my camera so I could document this, but they had turned and started walking away by the time I took the picture.


WTF? Our yard is in fabulous condition.

I don't know why these old ladies have it out for us. Gosh, my life is so difficult!

Food & Family Trump All

Since yesterday was the official first day of summer, what better way to celebrate than to spend an evening outside at a BBQ? Every Thursday night during the summer Hidden Valley has a BBQ out on the back patio. This has quickly become one of my favorite events to go to. Great food, great weather and even better scenery. Thanks mom and dad for letting me tag along. The only missing piece was Alex (well, and Austin but he doesn't count right now). I am sure Alex will soon learn that good food and family can certainly trump hanging out with friends.

Tourist or Tourist?

f this doesn't say "tourist", I don't know what does. Safari hats, tennis shoes, floral shirts, big bag with water bottle and pastey white legs - I couldn't have asked for a better photo op on my lunch break today. Thanks random family of three for making my day.

The Odds Were in Our Favor....Sometimes

This past weekend my ward took a day trip down to do a session in the Manti temple and attend the annual Manti pageant. Since 2 1/2 hours each way is a lot to drive in one day, me, Kenzi, Justin, Adam and Sammy decided to make it a weekend affair and headed down Friday after work and camped it. Adam has a family place down there so we decided to camp out on his front lawn under the stars. Adam packed up one of his 4-wheelers to bring down, however we ended up not having time. Such a shame, it would have been so much fun to tool around Manti on 4-wheelers!




The next morning we got up and met up with everyone from the ward at the temple.



(After looking at this picture, the odds definitely were not in our favor. With the whole ward together, the ratio of boys to girls was probably 1:6. Awesome!)

After the session, we headed back to Adam's place to change our clothes and meet everyone for a BBQ. There happened to be a garage sale at a house right by Adam's and so we stopped and the boys had some fun. Each item was 25 cents. If you bought 10 items, you could have all of them for $1. So the boys bought 10 items - matching shirts and all. They planned to wear said matching shirts to the BBQ and pageant. I was reminded of my elementary school days where my friends and I would plan to wear matching outfits to school. Little did I know that guys in their late 20's and early 30's did the same thing! It was quite comical actually.











The BBQ was great, the pageant was great, it was all just great. After the pageant we camped it again on Adam's lawn and headed back Sunday morning. My favorite part of the whole weekend is when we would lay out our stuff to sleep at night. Kenzi and I would go inside to get ready for bed, and we would come out and the boys had separated us (me and kenz). Apparently, we had to sleep boy girl, boy girl - boy. The odds were definitely in our favor. However, as much as a good scandalous story would really top off this weekend, I have to report that we all behaved ourselves.






It was a fabulous weekend full of friends, laughter and lots of good memories. Hopefully there will be more fun road trips this summer!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!

I just wanted to give a shout out to my wonderful parents and say...

Happy 30th Anniversary!

Look at what joy 30 years of marriage can bring!

June 17, 1977

A very happy day to start a very happy family! Love you guys!

Costco is Great!

What is it about Costco that is so great? I swear, I go there with intentions to only buy toilet paper, and I walk out of there spending $60. How does that happen? Do I really need a giant tub of peanut butter? Or that enormous box of Gushers? Yes, apparently I do. I did once buy one of those giant boxes of Gushers and ate it practically by myself in about 2 weeks. I would try and pawn packages of Gushers on Katelyn, Kristine and Megan so I wouldn't feel like I ate the whole box. But who was I kinding? I pretty much ate the whole box myself.

In my recent adventure to Costco, I discovered that I matched some of the merchandise perfectly. Who knew that a t-shirt I bought two years ago at Target (love Target...that's a whole other blog entry) would end up matching a DVD package? Yes, I am a walking advertisement.


And in true Natalie fashion, I took a picture to document and blog about.

Guilty Pleasures...

Some of you might know me so well that none the below "guilty pleasures" are a surprise...but maybe not.

1. ABCFamily movies - ABC Family has some seriously good original movies. I became hooked years ago when I watched one called, This Time Around. It was about a cute PR Executive that gets put on a new account her firm aquired. Turns out her client just happens to be her junior high crush that tortured her and made her switch schools from embarrassment. Brian Austin Green from Beverely Hills 90210 plays the client. Another favorite is Lucky 7. This one even features Dr. McDreamy... a.k.a Patrick Dempsy.

2. Apple Beer - Yes. I like to sit in my couch and open up a bottle of Apple Beer every once and a while. It tastes much like sparkling cider, but a little less tart. Plus, i love looking at people's faces when they see me holding a bottle and for a split second think it is actual beer.

3. Online Shopping - Online shopping is the best. Once you order something, you have to wait. Yes, that is the annoying part. BUT, the best part is driving down my street to see a bright shiny package (ok, not really, more like a ugly brown package) sitting on my porch. It is like Christmas morning. I seriously get that giggly feeling in my stomach. A package delievered right to my front door! It's the best!

4. Chocolate - nuf' said.

5. French Fries - I have an addiction. I love french fries. I think I could eat them everyday. i could probably tell you all the good french fry joints around the valley. Recently I have been craving Crown Burger fries. Man, those are good.

6. Clean Laundry - I love the smell of fresh, clean laundry. I will admit that sometimes I like it so much I don't put my laundry away. I keep it in the basket and let it sit at the foot of my bed. Oh wait, that part has to do with laziness too. But, I recently found (thanks to Megan) the best smelling fabric softener. Purchased at Hip & Humble, "Beach something or other" (I can't remember the name) will now be constantly stocked in my laundry room. There is nothing better than putting on a fresh, clean, good smelling piece of clothing. I guess this isn't so much a "guilty pleasure" - more like just a "pleasure".

7. PerezHilton.com - For those that get offended easily, this is not the site for you. However, for trashy celeb gossip, this is the site for you. i visit it daily. Mainly in the mornings when I first get to work. That way i can impress people with my knowledge of celeb on-goings so early in the morning.

8. Mary-Kate and Ashley Movies - Don't judge me. I started liking these movies years ago. So what if I started liking them when i was 20?? I mainly like the ones where they are teenagers and go on some sort of adventure. Both girls ususally end up with some sort of lame love interest. I blame this "guilty pleasure" on the fact that I grew up watching Full House. I guess I owe it to the Olson twins to watch these movies.

9. Chick-flick Books - There is nothing better than reading a light, easy read after a long day of work. I believe I have become the queen of finding great "chick-flick" books over the years. My favorites include, Can You Keep a Secret, Emily's Reason's Why Not, Always a Bridesmaid, Confessions of a Shop-a-holic....the list could go on.

10. TV shows like The Hills and Laguna Beach - Normally I don't watch MTV, but for these two shows, i set the DVR months before. There is nothing like watching rich, spoiled white kids fight over boys, money, clothes and boys. When does the next season start? I better check my TV!

I hope each of you that read this entry feel like you know me just a little bit better. For those of you that have a blog, post your guilty pleasures so I can get to know you a little better :)

As I Sit at My Desk...

As I am working ever so hard today, I received a picture message from Kristine:


"Here's what we are doing today... How's work?"

I hate my life. Ok, I don't. I just wish i was independently wealthy and could jet set on fun vacations whenever I wanted.

I text her back and said, "I hate you"

And I am Still Sore.

Rich, Ratha, Shaun and crew decided that their new sport this summer would be rock climbing. Apparently it is a good workout and blah blah blah. This past week I went with them to a rock climbing gym AND to a spot up Big Cottonwood to do the real thing. And yes, I am still sore. As many of you that know me know, I have no upper body strength. Or any sort of strength for that matter. So, attempting to climb a very tall wall took me about 10 minutes. No lie.




Yes, that is me at the top. I was sweaty and shaky, but it was a nice feeling to know that I made it to the top with minimal cursing and no threats to quit.

I also will not lie when I say I will not be making this a regular activity of mine. After somehow making it to the top, my poor little nails were ripped to shreds. Perfectly manicured nails and rock climbing do not work well together.

Here are a just a few random pictures from the rest of the evening. All in all I had a great time and I am sure I will be going again.

Apparently I Need an Attitude Change

After clicking on a few random blogs today, i found an entry by someone that I couldn't pass up the challenge. Go to google and type in "natalie needs" (or your first name and then "needs") and type in the first ten responses. No lie, these are what came up, in this exact order.. my comments are in bold:

1. Natalie needs a nightie
2. Natalie needs to give John his space (WTF? who's John)
3. Natalie needs to illustrate her points more thoroughly
4. Natalie needs what Natalie wants (my personal favorite)
5. Natalie needs convincing
6. Natalie needs some cash (true. very true)
7. Natalie needs some watering if you want to her live
8. Natalie needs wide open spaces
9. Natalie needs to open up a little more on her date (maybe that is why I am still single?)
10. Natalie needs to lighten up

That was fun.

Bold Move, or Bad Move?

I did it. I cut bangs! Ok, I didn't cut them, my hair lady Tiffany cut them. Katelyn can attest that I swore I would never cut full bangs. I said it many of times. However, by some unforeseen force I was sitting in the chair and thought, "what the heck". Really, they aren't that thick and I am sure I could sweep them over if I get sick of them. But, I had to document this by taking a picture.


Definitely not a cute picture of me - but you get the gist.


The jury is still out on whether or not I like them. This could have been a really stupid move given the it is now summer and bangs and water don't really work well together.

So You Think You Can Dance????

For all of you who didn't know me back in high school, I used to be a dancer. I wasn't necessarily the best dancer, but I still consider myself a dancer at one point in my life. I still love to watch people dance and I secretly wish I would have kept up on that talent. And since I didn't, I will live vicariously through the dancers on So You Think You Can Dance. If you haven't seen the first two seasons of this show, it doesn't matter. But I highly recommend you start watching. Season 3 started two weeks ago and now that initial tryouts are over - here comes the good stuff. Each Wednesday and Thursday nights of the entire summer, my DVR will be working it's magic to record my favorite show.


Seriously watch it. You won't be disappointed!

Lock Your Doors!

This past weekend I somehow convinced Mackenzi to go see the new movie Mr. Brooks.

Mackenzi doesn't watch rated R. I tell her that this seemingly good choice of hers to refrain from R rated movies puts a damper on my movie watching choices. Yes, ok, I watch rated R. I do try to be selective, but some might say it that is hypocritical. Whatever.

So, after nearly scaring ourselves to death watching the movie, we got in Mackenzi's car in the Gateway parking garage and headed home. Now, it was about 12:30 in the morning and when we exited the parking garage, we turned right in front of a large group of homeless people. I commented to Mackenzi that I felt bad for these people, but that it was at least nice weather for them right now.

With all the freaking construction around Gateway, we were hurded into a lane surrounded by orange construction cones. We had one car in front of us when we were stopped at a red light. All of a sudden Mackenzi screams, "Oh my gosh, the doors aren't locked!" She quickly locks the doors and I turned to see what she was freaking out about. That is when a long haired, old-man homeless guy was walking straight up to Mackenzi's window yelling at us.

All of a sudden Mackenzi and I were clutching hands like little kids would do when they are scared. All we could do was look the other way. We couldn't go anywhere - the light was red and we were surrounded by construction cones. We both sat there not wanting to move a muscle - in fear that moving would envoke some sort of response from the man outside the window.

The light turned green and we finally were able to get away. Really, the story doensn't sound that scary, but if you had just seen a scary movie about a serial killer - you would be scared too.

Six Adults, Zero Children

It's true. The Harris family are all adults now. Yesterday Alex graduated from Olympus High School, my alma-mater, and boy did he seem happy. Compared to Austin's graduation where beach balls were being tossed amoungst the students during the key speakers, Alex's class was very well behaved - and I think I only almost feel asleep once.

Congrats Al!