Our castle and our keep

Our house

In the middle of our street

If you want to see the inside you'll have to come visit us.

Family Fued

I thought our game nights were intense, but at least when we are sore losers we just go to another room and pout - nothing like this. Sheesh!


ksl.com - 2 men arrested following separate game incidents

Groves Family Mega Party

Right now would be the appropriate time to post the obligitory travel report from our family vacation last week with my extended family.
But we were too busy doing these things






that I forgot to take pictures. Do I feel bad? Nope.

Big Kids

Over the 4th of July we took a little weekend trip to see Mike's family. Besides eating lots of good food, eating lots of junk food, playing indoor games, and playing outdoor games - we decided it would be fun to take the kids (Mike's brother, sister, and her family were also visiting) to the Crayola Crayon Factory.

Turns out you don't actually get to see the factory, but you see a demonstration of how crayons are made and then spend the rest of the time walking around trying out all of Crayola's different products.

The "kids" had a great time with all of the art projects they made!

Take me to the Fair!

A few weeks ago we had our niece and nephews for the evening and decided to take them to our city's little carnival. They had so many adventures!

Flying a spaceship:

4 wheeling through the desert:


Riding on the back of a green lady bug (the landing is the hardest part and obviously takes lots of concentration):

The little one had to stay in the same ride the whole time, but he provided lots of moral support to the others.

Aren't these kids the cutest? We couldn't like them more than if they were our own (ok maybe a little bit more if they were ours, but not much)!

Summer Nights

In case any of you have been wondering why I haven't posted anything in the last month it's because we were busy working with my family and some friends on


Transforming this ...



into all of this...









(The show was Guys and Dolls)


And these pictures don't even show how all the moving doors, panels, and flaps worked together to make each new scene!

Needless to say there were hours upons hours of work (sometimes going until 3 or 4 in the morning) put into this. But, the show must go on! AND we got the stamp of approval from the toughest stage design critics in the state - Grandma and Grandpa Dodge.

We took a couple of weeks to catch up on sleep and spend some time with Mike's family back East (pitures to come soon) but ...

Planning/Construction on the next set starts Wednesday!
See you in September!

Handmade By Me!

I only do these sort of posts if I think they are really cool, and this one is:

OK! So this is how this works...The first 3 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me, just for you. Of course there are some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! :)
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done some time within the next year.
4. You have no clue what it will be.
5. I will send it anywhere! It doesn't matter where you live!

The catch? The catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on their blog. The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!!

(I was the first to sign up on my friend's blog, so now I'm doing my part...)

If you don't have a blog you can still comment and just make three things for whoever you'd like instead of waiting for them to sign up.

Be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

06/01

June 1st is an important day. To find out some reasons why go here:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do

and enter 6/1


Another reason it is an important day is because important people were born this day like the following:

Brigham Young
Marilyn Monroe
Morgan Freeman
Dr. Bill Burgoyne (my father-in-law)
and me

Now before you start judging me for selfishly blogging about my own birthday, just remember, if I hadn't been born you would have one less blog to waste your time reading. Just think about that.

In the criminal justice world

I don’t mean to dwell on the unpleasant, but I was thinking last night that if something horrible ever happened to me or someone I love I would like the following team assigned to the case:

Dr. Brennan and the Smithsonian crew heading up the forensics
Agent Booth and Detectives Green and Lupo on the investigation
The Lightman Group handling all of the interrogations
District Attorney Jack McCoy prosecuting the suspects (with ADA Connie just for Mike)

After I had carefully thought all of that out I also thought this:

Maybe I should make tomorrow a “no tv” night...

Hey Mom - look what I did!

Every summer growing up my mom would take my sisters and I to a craft or fabric store with the assignment to pick out a project that we would work on while we were out of school.

I picked a lot of projects, I started a lot projects, and now my mom has a box full of unfinished projects sitting her in basement.

This winter I decided it was time I finally saw a project through to the end - I made a baby blanket for one of my closest friends expecting a son in a few weeks.




There may be more than a few uneven stitches in it, and I spent a lot of time with the seam ripper, but hey - it's finished!

Road Rage

This morning driving to work I was patiently going 25 miles per hour (the posted and enforced speed limit) through the neighborhood when I white impala got behind me and impatiently rode my tail all the way to the main street.

I waited for traffic clear and found a moment of opportunity to safely turn left over the railroad tracks and onto the road. The impala did not wait but quickly screeched out into the road, giving the drivers in the oncoming lanes I'm sure a bit of a rush.

I approached the next intersection, which is a 4-way stop, at the regular speed limit preparing to turn right. The impala sped past me and as the driver also prepared to turn at the 4-way stop I noticed that he didn't even bother with a turn signal.

I thought "What a rude driver. Seriously." Then I pulled up behind him and noticed the license plate:

Government Vehicle - For Official Use Only


There has got be a good joke or analogy someone can make of this story.

Shopping Spree

I usually don't like to go shopping for myself, and I usually don't write mushy things about how wonderful Mike is on my blog.
But this weekend is an exception.

I thought I was going to a girls lunch out on Saturday. Really, that was just part of the plan to get me out of the house. As we were all leaving, I found out that Mike had arranged for the girls to "kidnap" me with specific instructions on how we were to spend our afternoon: shopping.

We all had envelopes of cash (provided by a work bonus, so not anything I was planning on) and had to spend our entire amount spoiling ourselves at the Park City outlets that day.

Mike had planned it well. There was no way I could get out of being practical with the money. My only option was to shut up and shop. So I did.

With a spending budget and a staff of personal fashion experts (my sisters) I actually had a great time shopping.

I love Mike for thinking of me and treating me to a worry-free self-indulgent day. He is such an awesome husband!

Roommate Reunion

This week the girls of Alta 312 were reunited for a few hours (we missed you Sarah and Brittany)!

This week the guys of WQ 6 also all got together for a few hours.


It's great to have friends that you know will be some of your favorite people in the world for the rest if your life.

Luck o' The Irish

St.Patrick's Day is one of our favorite holidays and Mike has some Irish blood in him. So in honor of the day and our heritage, here are some Irish thoughts for all of you:

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we’ll know them by their limping.

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the kind of people He gives it to!

May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.

May you have food and raiment, a soft pillow for your head. May you be forty years in heaven before the devil knows you’re dead.

May you get all your wishes but one,
so that you will always have something to strive for!

Some Guinness was spilled on the barroom floor
when the pub was shut for the night.
Out of his hole crept a wee brown mouse
and stood in the pale moonlight.
He lapped up the frothy brew from the floor,
then back on his haunches he sat.
And all night long you could hear him roar,
'Bring on the cat!'

What are the Odds?

Mike and I took a short trip to the fabulous city of Las Vegas this weekend. While I am not ready to be regular bookie yet, I did learn a few things about numbers, chance, and luck while there.

2 for 1 - the deal we got on our hotel and all of our food since Mike was officially there on business.

10 to 6 - the ratio of advertisements for call girls and burlesque shows to advertisements for the Donny and Marie Osmond show. I never would have guessed I'd be seeing so much Donny and Marie in that city.

100 to 3 - people per square foot on "the strip" compared to "old downtown Vegas."

0 to 1 - the chance that we will ever buy the kind of car we rented, a Chevy HHR.

1,000 to 20 - the cash some people carelessly drop versus what we so tightly budgeted for as "fun" money.

1 to 3 - the chance of being asked to show ID when sitting down at any betting table.(or maybe we just look that old?)

1,000,000,000 to 1 - the odds of Mike convincing me to put all of our life savings on the roulette table.

Language Barriers

So the other week at church I saw a sign up list for people to volunteer at some ESL classes that the community has organized helping people who are trying to learn English.

It has been a while since I have volunteered for anything so I thought it wouldn't hurt to put my name down. I could step in for an hour here or there when needed, sure.

Well, I misunderstood the information I read and found out later that in putting my name down I had committed myself to TEACH the class EVERY Tuesday for the next 12 WEEKS!

Talk about a communication problem.

The Happiest Day of our Lives

On Sunday February 1st, 2009 Michael and Shaina celebrated an important milestone in their relationship and their future.

The couple chose to keep things simple, joined only by a few close friends and family:

They looked stunning in their formal wear:

The cake was as delicious as it was beautiful:

The traditional first slice:

In lieu of gifts, the couple kindly asks that all congratulations be sent in the form of cash donations.

Moving on Up (or South or whatever)

Basement Apartment rented in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

2 bedrooms (yes, 2) 1 bath
washer/dryer not included - but owning your own is kinda nice
utilities included: Internet, Direct TV, and DVR
Huge pantry in the kitchen
secret staircase to nowhere behind bookshelf

1st month's rent includes leaky drain that will soak the carpet in the master bedroom, but deposit covers game night with the great family that lives upstairs.

Perfect for a nice, incredibly good-looking couple relocating from Draper. Close to freeway, shopping, movies, and restaurants. 12 minute commute to popular offices in Orem.


I love the bathroom, weird I know but it's the only place where I am perfectly happy with the way it looks.



One more picture needs to be hung, but otherwise a comfortable and cozy home.

Pictures don't do it justice, this is one you must come see in person! Call immediately to make an appointment!

Have You Ever....

gone snowshoeing? Mike and I went this weekend with my cousin Rachel and Mike's brother Ben. Turns out, it's a lot of fun. If you get a chance, go.

Holiday Update

I figured I would finally get around to putting up some pictures from Christmas (like finally getting around to taking down the decorations from Christmas). The thing is, I didn't take very many pictures. But I will tell you that we had a great time with Mike's mom in town and all of the fun things my family had planned, and Mike's birthday.

2 days after Christmas we took on the airport craziness and went to PA for 8 days to see Mike's dad Bill and stepmom Sally. That was a nice week of mostly relaxing in front of the fire and sleeping in.

We did get away to New York City for a day and saw the Christmas tree at Rockafeller, ate at a trendy NY restaurant, and ran into a celebrity (Keith Olberman). Of course we "caught a show" on Broadway (a comedy called Alfred Hitchcock's 39 Steps), and it was too cold to walk around the city so we took the subway, which was fast, but smelled bad.

The best part of the holidays though was having the Burgoyne men (Mike, Bill, and Grandpa) together in Pittsburgh

And playing with Bill's woodworking power tools

Even I got into the fun (with adult supervision of course)