Whew! I made it through!

Just as quickly as it crept up on me, it is gone. I am always shocked at how fast the holidays come and go and it seems I don't even have time to enjoy it before it's over. We had an amazing Christmas as usual. I received bounteous gifts and loved the excitement in my children's faces. My amazing husband spoils me terribly, no matter how persistently I beg him not to. He has great taste and has always been very perceptive and thoughtful with my presents. We spent a lot of great quality time with our awesome families, ate WAY too much chubby food, and OH how I have loved sleeping in. I'm not getting any extra sleep though, thanks RockBand 2! I am so very blessed and once again find myself thinking, why me? So many amazing people in the world deserve what I have and a lot of times, I don't. I am so eternally grateful for EVERYTHING in my life-good and bad. Without the rain, there are no rainbows!

my cute elf kids

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I Think I Can Breathe Now.....Maybe?

Whoa! What a whirl wind my life has been the past few weeks! I have been going a hundred miles an hour since before Thanksgiving and am just now thinking it may slow down. I love Christmas so much, but it seems a lot of times I am almost too busy to enjoy it. I would love to sit by my fire and listen to beautiful holiday tunes and relax. Maybe the next 10 days (crazy!) will allow me some down time. We went to Geoff's family Christmas party this weekend and had a great time as usual. It is so much work and so much "crap" to pack that sometimes I think we are insane! We stay for 2 nights at a cabin just 40 minutes away, but we pack more than if we were going to Europe for 3 weeks! My Armada was so full of stuff I had to hold a box on my lap and had stuff piled at my feet, so I couldn't even move. We enjoyed delicious food and ate more "chubby stuff" than we ever should have. We played games and argued over ridiculous answers at Scattegories. We bundled and unbundled the children too many times to count. We made adorable crafts and listen to Christmas carols. Geoff's Mom goes all out and does a too cute nativity with all the kids. She puts so much time, effort and money into this little re-enactment that she deserves way more credit than we give her. Jourdan was an angel and was the cutest thing you have ever seen! Shae made an excellent Wise man, and Ashton was pretty pumped about being Joseph. It was so cute! We all fought over the Trivial Pursuit 80's game I brought as my gift for the exchange, but after we tried to play it we were glad we didn't get it because we all felt like huge idiots and couldn't answer any of the questions. I'll stick with the Battleship game I won and feel smart playing it! We stayed up way to late and didn't sleep that well, so now I will need a few days to catch up on my Z's. It started to snow pretty good on Sat. evening, so we were all so excited, it looked so beautiful up there. Our late night conversations turned a little "racy" but we were all laughing so hard that it was too hilarious to stop! Somehow we came home with way more junk than we went with so my car was packed to much to even take our stuff home, we had to send some of it with Geoff's parents and will get it later. All in all we had a blast and we look forward to next year and the craziness of it all. Geoff's family is awesome and I love them all. Thanks for the great weekend! Good Times, Good Times. The cousins in Bethlehem
Ashton as Joseph


Wise "man" Shae- she graciously gave her role as Mary to a disgruntled cousin who later that day punched her in her face, nice payback huh?

Doesn't he look sweet? Well, he wasn't! He was torturing "Mary" through the whole show, and then beat up another angel and made him cry. Looks are decieving!

Giving Thanks

Today I gave my first sharing time in Primary. It's funny how those sweet children can be so intimidating. On a casual situation, I am so comfortable with kids, but it must be something about standing up there and actually having all the focus on myself (which I despise, I am so not a look at me type of chick) that pretty much makes me nervous. Anyway, it went well and I feel like the children responded well and learned from me, which is all that matters. Of course it was about giving thanks, but instead of the huge list I could have rambled off for hours of what I am thankful for, I focused on the #1 thing in the world I give thanks to me Heavenly Father for daily, that being my testimony. How scary a world not to have that. I love having the knowledge of what's to come, of what I should be doing, of things to stay away from, what comfort I have in my soul just knowing these things. I'm not saying I'm doing a perfect job of living with this knowledge, but it makes me feel good just knowing and trying.

This next week will be crazy busy for me, and although I would love to post everyday about random things, I will refrain and just post today for the week to come. I have so much to be grateful for. My "cornucopia" is over-flowing and I love my life. (I used a cornucopia for sharing time). My list of Thanks will be so very small in comparison to all my thanks, but I will just give a short version of my Bible sized book of blessings.

I am so thankful for my home. I love my house, this city, country and world I live in, I wouldn't change it for anything.

I am eternally grateful for my parents. The best on earth! They would do anything for me, and always have. My Dad is a friend to everyone (which scared us on several occasions as kids!) and is always trying his best to make me happy. He is definatley a "pleaser" which is where I get my in-ability to say no to anyone (thanks for that one Dad!) He is as freindly as they come and we usually chew him out for this trait, but I know he will be blessed for his need to talk to everyone anywhere. My Mom is a friend to few, but a best to me. I don't mean she is unkind to anyone, she just hasn't ever needed to have girlfriends, she is best friends with her kids, her Mom and her sisters. She is all about her family and has never needed to venture out of the home to feel like she is needed in the world. She would do anything any of us ever asked of her and has always puts her family first. They are both amazing confidants and that is probably why we all live within 15 minutes of them (5 kids,) we would "die" if we lived far from our Mommy and Daddy!

My own children and my husband are my world. I have the best partner on the planet. He supports me in all I do and never bats and eye. We have an amazing relationship that gets better with every breath. I love him dearly. My children are the coolest kids ever! They are beautiful and good and are true examples to me daily. (On occasion Ashton is the wrong example, but none the less, he is an example!) Our family is an example of true love, and I can not even fathom my life with out one of them. I am also thankful for awesome sisters and brother. They are the best and I love them all so much. I am so grateful they are all still my friends after my teenage years and my not so sweet treatement of them. They are also best friends to me.

I am thankful for my body. As unattractive as it may be, I give thanks daily for it. Touching my Jourdan's soft skin, smelling a fresh cut pine tree, tasting a juicy piece of watermelon, seeing my Ashton's contagious grin. I treasure the things my body does for my soul. I love being able to walk, to lie down in my bed and sleep well, to cook dinner with my hands and feed my family. I am so grateful for the things that most of us take for granted, most of the time. Sometimes I just stop and think of little things and give thanks to Heavenly Father for them.

I am most of the time, the most grateful for the things I "don't" have. I am a worry-er by nature. I have worried my entire life about needless issue that I'm sure have taken several years off my life and have given me a few unwanted wrinkles. I have gotten better in that past few years and I try to look at the eternal prospective more, but you really can't change yourself and your deep core issues. I am often aware of the trials and misfortunes that God has so graciously not placed on my plate. Maybe at a later point, I will be faced with them, but for now, I am so thankful for the lack of these in my life. So many people deal with so much anguish.

I seem to be getting a bit long-winded on my short version, so I will end there. But just know that I could go on for hours and type for days the thing I am grateful for. I love life, I love my lot in life, I love you all and I am thankful for my never-ending blessings. I feel like I should end as I would at the pulpit, but I guess I won't, that would be awkward and if you know me well, I am NOT thankful for awkward!

Premature Celebration?

I know it is a "sore" subject of the blogging community, but like I said on my last post-I'm selfish! Most people, I have found don't like to listen to others blog music. I myself enjoy others choice of tunes and look forward to hearing what they are listening to in that period of their life. I personally put music on my play list that I want to listen to when I am reading and posting. With that said, I am prematurely changing my tunes to Christmas music! I know, the wrath of the "pre-Thanksgiving celebration haters" unite against me!! Truthfully, I have been listening to these tasty tidbits in my car for several weeks now, thanks to that cool station that starts on Halloween night with the jingly stuff. I get such a happy and spirited feeling when I hear Christmas music, I feel sad on the 26th that it is another year away. It is a huge part of my holiday's and it truly makes me happier or lifts my spirits no matter what is happening around me. So buck up everyone and enjoy, or hit mute and curse me as you read. Merry Christmas!

I'm Looking Kind of Selfish!

I just realized that my past several posts have been about me. What a jerk I am! My kids are my life and maybe that's why when I sit down with this computer I go to selfish mode, but really, believe me, they are still here, lurking in my shadow every moment of my day. I really wouldn't have it any other way, I love them all so much, they are so full of life and energy. I can't get my Ashton to be quiet for two seconds. Wow is he ever loud and squeely (I think that word doesn't exist, but it fits him perfectly, so I am using it anyway!) Shae is on the edge of little girl and tween- aagh! Jourden is still my very close shadow and is getting to be pretty hilarious with what he says. I have neglected to post any pics of them on Halloween, and we had Halloween at our house for a full week. Shae wore her costume 5 times and it just so happens to be the cheapest costume she has had in her 10 years of life, funny how that works huh? We had an awesome holiday and really enjoyed ourselves.

Cutest Lion Ever!-Jourden

Toughest Ninja on the Planet!-Ashton

Creepiest Dead Bride Around-Shae(I know it's hard to make such a pretty face creepy)



Geoff and I even dressed up this year and went to a "grown-up" party, our friends are so fun.
Anyway, I guess it's better late than never, so enjoy the pictures. I dyed my own contacts and saw red all night, yes I am crazy, and no I didn't know if I would be blind in the morning, but it looked cool!

Deadwood Saloon

Murder at the Deadwood Saloon

Henrietta High-Stakes and El Guapo

The Gang-Everyone looked SO good!

Marshal Dalton questions Billy-The-Bartender, Montgomery Money and Banker Bob

Murder, Mystery and Mayhem at our house! We hosted a murder Mystery party Saturday that was so DARN fun. Geoff and I have been planning and ordering and plotting and scheming for nearly 2 months now and we finally had the big Shindig. It turned out to be more than we expected and we were so pleased with all of our family and friends amazing costumes. Everyone went above and beyond my expectations and made our night unforgettable. We had good food, good laughs and a rootin'-tootin' good time. My house was transformed into the Deadwood Saloon and I must admit, it looked really authentic. Although I was pretty worried about it starting fire because of all the oil lamps and candles I had lit! I ended up having to play two characters because of last minute cancellations, so it kind of made things to difficult to really get into playing the game, but I did win best dressed and I credit that to my awesome wig-so great! Geoff was dressing as El Guapo because we had 21 people for a 20 person party so we added a dirty Mexican bandit to the guest list, but again at the last minute, he had to play the Saloon owner and looked a little out of character, non the less, he looked hilarious. We have the best family ever and my cousin and his wife drove from Ogden to come and Geoff's brother and sis-in-law came from Provo, my three sisters and their husbands, my brother, two of my cousins, and two couples of good friends rounded out the Saloon patrons. There was some great acting going on, lying, cheating and stealing (good job Ryder) and of the 19 of us there, only my Sis Traci was up on her detective skills and won the Smokin' Gun award. I had some old time player piano music downloaded and we all drank from mugs and "beer" bottles (root of course). Geoff had an old time camera under the black cloak an took old time photos. The night turned out perfect and it was worth all the time we put in. Thanks Y'all for makin' it such a hootin' hollerin' good time.

SO Busy!!

I don't think I have ever been this busy in my life. Whoa, the past few weeks, probably about 3 maybe even 4, have been absolute craziness for me. It is still going I must add, I feel like laying in bed ALL day and zoning out everything that must be done. This chaos all came before I was called to be the Primary president last Sunday- yeah I know, believe it! So now I will have crazy all the time. I am really excited, and I LOVE working with kids, they are so much easier to feel comfortable around compared to scary grown-ups. I know life will continue to be chaotic for at least 3 more months, then hopefully something will happen and time will maybe slow down about 10 light years. I still love to blog and read, so I plan to keep it up as much as before, but I guess we'll see. This isn't good-bye, just maybe see ya later, later than I wish!

Child of the 80's

This quiz was totally rad! What really freaked me out was I truly got 100%. I must admit, the 80's were like the coolest decade ever! I saw an exact replica of some acid was jeans in Target the other day. Exactly the same down to the three buttons on the bottom of the tight leg-sweet! Nothing comes close to those awesome synthetic beats from high-tech keyboard. Nothing compares to the music of the 80's. Good Times, Good Times!

You Are 100% A Child of the 80s

There's hardly a moment of the 80s that you missed out on. Was there ever a better decade? As if!

Are You a Child of an 80s?

AAAAGHHH!!!!

Never give a stressed-out Mom a pumpkin and a power tool!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

"8" Tag

8 TV Shows I watch:
We don't have TV in our house right now, an AXE bodyspray commercial put Geoff over the "smut" tolerance point and we had our Dish shut off, it has been actually pretty nice!
"If" I watched, it would be these:

• House
• Biggest Loser
• Discovery Health (anything on this channel-love it)
• The Hills (I know, shut-up)
• Survivor
• UFC (I know, shut-up again)
• Amazing Race
• Jon and Kate Plus 8

8 Things I did yesterday:

• folded laundry- forever! I always wash, but despise folding and putting away!
• went on a walk
• read to Jourden
• thought about and coveted my parents all day (Disneyland again!)
• had twins sisters over for dinner
• cleaned up puke-daily!
• got a UPS delivery- I love getting packages in the mail
• slept like a rock!

8 Things I look forward to:

• Murder Mystery at the Deadwood Saloon- woo hoo
• The Holidays
• Disneyland- next visit better be soon!
• November 5th!
• snow
• after Thanksgiving sales- I love a bargain
• temple on Saturday
• end of the recession

8 Places I like to eat:

• My Grandmas house
• PF Changs
• Samurai 21
• My backyard
• Cheesecake Factory
• Indian Creek lakeside
• Mimi's Cafe
• Macaroni Grill

8 Things on my Wish list:

• debt free- no mortgage would be so dreamy
• Smart ForTwo
• Buick Enclave (I know Buick= Grandma, but I totally dig this car!)
• more patience with my children
• to be skinny again- yes hard to believe, I once was
• butcher block island
• white Christmas
• Peace on Earth- okay, I will settle for just in my home

8 People I tag:

• Brie
• Jamie
• Alicia
• Marti
• Jo
• Stacy
• Anyone else who hasn't been tagged yet-if you want to.

Guilty Pleasure

I have been trying to "DO" better at life. I find myself lacking in so many ways and I have realized this all along, but as of just recently, I have not been content just being "good." The more blessed I am, the more I realize I need to do more. By do more, I am referring to my spiritual well-being I guess. I am what I would consider righteous, but I should try to become "really-righteous" I am so happy with my new found desire to do so, but at the same time, I am recognizing what I call my "guilty-pleasures"! I won't go to Hell (hopefully) for these little pieces of excitement, but I do realize I get no rewards in Heaven, and maybe even a few punishments on earth. But, some I do enjoy so much and would have serious issues giving them up, so for now, leave me alone (yes I am talking to you conscience!) and let me have my naughty moment.

A "few" of my guilty pleasures (and I mean only a few):

• Internet- I could sit here for hours, and I have mounds of laundry!
• Swedish Fish- I can eat them till I'm sick
• Newly arrested inmates- I snoop almost daily on the Iron County bookings
• Hershey Bliss- So delicious, so fattening
• Sleeping in- it hardly ever happens, but when it does.....mmmmm!
• Soda- not a lot, it is SO not good for you, but it is so satisfying
• Reading- not really bad, unless you are a Mom to 3 with oodles of cleaning!
• Costa Vida- the whole family likes it, but I really should just cook dinner
• Sneaking into the jacuzzi alone at night- no one needs to know do they?
• "Making out" like a teenager with my hubby- eww gross! (my kids think)
• My cleaning lady- isn't that MY job?
• A new pair of shoes- I only pretend to feel bad
• Talking to that one friend who always has juicy news- I don't ask for it!
• Sunday nap- not often, but I do have a family I ignore for a few hours

I could go on forever, but I am beginning to sound like a ginormous loser and I am starting to feel some guilt coming on, so I must quit! I can't afford to waist my guilt on this silly post, I have much better things to fret over!

Just a Few Pics of the Happiest Place on Earth!

Going Through Withdrawls!!!

This economy Stinks!! Since my dear hubby is self-employed, in the construction field none the less, we aren't necessarily rollin' in the dough right now. Any one who's been in this line of work can understand the feast or famine life we live. We are grateful to be "making it" and paying our bills, but we would definitely like to be back where we were 2 years ago. I am not complaining, don't get me wrong, I am extremely blessed and have more than I could ask for, but darn it, I am supposed to be at my favorite place on earth right this very minute, and instead I am screaming at my children and freakin out about my house that looks like a bomb went off in. UEA is an awesome time to get a mini vacation and give one last hurrah for decent weather, instead I am blogging for enjoyment and no travel is planned for the next long while. Nothing (almost nothing) makes me happier than DISNEYLAND!! I have been there so many times I could never count them. Jourden has been 8 times- he's 2. It is definitely an addiction that runs rampant through my family. Just as alcoholism can be hereditary, this is for my family. My parents often visit without any children, and they and all four of my siblings, and their spouses and kids have annual passes- and we all live here, and whenever any of us have an extra 10 dollars we head to Anaheim. Call us crazy-Geoff certainly does, but it is our veins. My awesome hubby (who is not the biggest fan) is so great to let me frequent the parks (I love them both) way more than he would like. He complains every time I mention the next time we should go, but ends up taking us anyway. He even flew there last trip and surprised us because he didn't go down with us. (He is a closet Disneyland fan!) I know of several people there right now and I am not jealous of the masses of crowds that UEA (Utah Enters Anaheim-not the real term, but fits better) brings, but I am still jealous no matter how crowded it is. HalloweenTime is so dang fun there. We went to Mickeys Halloween Treat last year and had so much fun. My kids literally filled an entire suitcase with candy from trick-or-treating in the park, and we still have some of that candy from a year ago! I bet it weighed 40 pounds and I am not exaggerating!

I guess I will just have to dream, until a few more people dare brave the crap economy and build a house or two, COME ON PEOPLE, I need my Fix!!

Fun Weekend

I must admit, on occasion, I need a break from the monotony of the daily grind. I'm sure none of you can understand that, right? Eight years ago we went to the Haunted Forest in American Fork with some of Geoffs family. We ALL (don't lie Geoff) got scared and had a total blast. Literally scared the pee out of his sister and we have talked about how much fun we had for all these years since. So we planned a child free weekend to do it again. Thanks to my parents, we were able to go for 2 nights and enjoy a much needed date with each other. The big plans of a huge group dwindled down to his sister Brie and her Fiance Tony and ourselves, staying with Geoffs brother Greg and his wife Becky; it was their 5 year anniversary and they so graciously gave us their awesome bed and slept on the floor-THANKS guys, I hope you celebrate alone and have a little more romantic date! We went shopping for Halloween stuff, shopped for flower girl dresses, ate like glutenous pigs (several times!) and laughed at each other rocking out on Rock Band. We decided of all the haunted house there are in northern Utah, we would try the same one that scared us so bad before. No one peed this time and a few of us got wounded- including me, but we still had a blast and laughed a lot. I think we had more adrenaline pumping through our veins than we thought we did, and we all knocked out that night pretty hard. The four of us who went up together decided to go to the Body Worlds exhibit the next day and drove to Salt Lake from Provo. WOW! I loved looking at the human body in that way. I now know exactly what every organ, bone, vein, muscle, tendon and a few tumors look like up close and personal-way cool! We headed home after more overeating and a little more shopping. We had a great weekend and enjoyed spending time with his little bro and sis. I always love seeing my kids after a day or two away and even though getting caught up on the laundry and cleaning after trips away really stinks, I still love being a stay at home Mom to my adorable, loud, fighting, messy kids!

Les Miserables- AWESOME!

Oh WOW! I love Tuacahn in Ivins. I have been fortunate enough to have seen several performances there, and every time I leave, I am in awe of what an amazing experience I just witnessed. The last production I watched there was Utah! and it has been a few years. I was there this spring with Shae to see the Colbie Callait concert, since then I have been wishing I would go, all summer long I kept putting off getting tickets because I guess I am just lazy? Well my sisters called me (via conference call-Ha Ha) and wondered if I would get the tickets online and go with them. My Mom and brother had attended the night before and had them pretty riled about what an excellent production it was. Since Les Miserables is one of the best musicals ever, it didn't take much prodding and I was in. As luck would have it, we ended up buying fantastic 7th row seats and headed to St George Thursday afternoon. My older sister has a 6 month old breast-feeding baby, so that was kind of tricky, but we worked it out and headed to Tuacahn. Beautiful weather, awesome seats, great company, and an outstanding production- OMGosh! If you have never been to that amphi-theatre, do it! So, so good, it was a true Broadway production. I think I will take Geoff to it next week and see it one more time- really. I loved it!

Murder Mystery

This past Saturday we were invited to a Murder Mystery dinner party, hosted by Geoff's little sis Brie and her boyfriend Tony. She asked us about 4 week ago if we would be able to come, and from then, you don't even know how much excitement and anticipation I was experiencing!! I have always wanted to attend one of these events, maybe because I am a big fan of CLUE the game, plus I love getting out and doing things. No one can ever accuse me of being a home body. We were given our "assignment" which was our character for the night. I was going to be Jean Thoughtful- the family psychologist, and Geoff was Neal Worthers- the chauffeur. We started planning our costumes and getting good ideas for making the most of an adult dress up party. After two trips to St George, DI twice, Catholic Thrift store, the other thrift store, Spirit Halloween, Partyland, several trips to Wal-Mart, many phone calls and Internet sites, we finally decided we were costumed out! Since Geoff is a big guy, it's hard enough finding regular clothes that fit him, much less a chauffeur costume? It ended up so awesome, he won the best dressed award and looked so dang good! Everyone there looked perfect for their part so I was pretty happy he won. Geoff ended up being the murderer which he was really pumped about. We had to lie, blackmail, bribe and sweet talk each other out of money (we were each given $500 to start) I only gave money to "Neal"-Geoff and ended up with 250, He ended with 3800 or something crazy, he dominated the night-he won it all! We had SO much fun. I am going to do one of these parties in a few months because it was such a blast. Although, I am a little concerned at what a great liar my husband was!

All About Ashton

So I have been putting off doing the spotlight on Ashton, only because he is so totally hilarious, that I wanted to remember some of his classic lines, and was racking my brain trying to get them. As I have mentioned before, my "memory" with those type of things stinks, so that is why the delay on the new post. He has given me a few new ones just this week that I will mention though. First, he is my adorable 7 year old with sparkling blue eyes and huge lovable grin. He has caused me to have a lot of "freak-out" screaming episodes that I swore I would never have with my children. But, no matter how mad you are at your little stinkers, you love them just the same as your other not so naughty children. I often think of that and thank my Heavenly Father that he is the same kind of parent, He loves me even after my "naughty" choices and I can only be grateful for that. Ashton is an awesome soccer player, he was on a pretty crappy team this year and he and one other boy pretty much won every game those little guys played. His favorite thing in life is video games and I use that for leverage a lot. He would play non stop if I let him, but he also would spend hours catching lizards, fishing, shooting any and everything with his guns. He is great on his dirt bike and he can pretty much master anything you give him in just a few minutes. He is excellent at math, doesn't love reading so much. He is definitely a mans man. Since he has been able to talk, he has had a true attraction to "hot chicks". I am not exaggerating this either, his Dad never calls a girl a hot chick, he came up with that one out of the blue, he really and truly started saying he loved girls, years ago. Yes, I have worried ever since. Just a few days ago, he was doing home work and having a hard time staying on task, he said to me "Mom, I'm not a smart kid... I'm real good at gettin' chicks". He is such a character! Since he was three he has told us about being an army soldier and killing the "Germans", yes, he is stuck a few wars back, but he absolutely knows he wants to be a soldier as his job when he grows up. Ashton is a rough and tumble kind of kid, but he has a very tender heart. He cried for literally days (off and on of course) because of some movie he saw at a friends house (mind you he never went to this friends house again) I guess there was a baby that drowned in a pool and he was so sad for that baby, that he could not shake it for a very long time. He says some very heartfelt things when he sees little kids or animals hurt. Another funny thing he said just yesterday was about the little boy across the street. He went over to his house to see if he could play and came back a minute later and said "Chad (Dad) said he couldn't play" ME: Why not? "He said he has a pink eye. Who cares, why would I care if his eye was pink!" I started laughing-duh why does it matter what color your eye is anyway? He is always cracking me up. I do love my Ashton so very much, he is a little hugger and kisser and is always complimenting me, I do need that! I am so glad I am his Mom and I know how boring it would get around here without him.

12 Wonderful Years!!

Today marks 12 years of marriage to my sweetheart Geoff. I feel like I'm not old enough to married that long, but who am I kidding! I had big plans for a much needed getaway, but parent duties got to my conscience, and we stayed in town to catch Ashton's last soccer game-he is so good! We were okay with sticking around because Geoffs little sis Brie had a murder mystery dinner party that we were so totally excited to dress up for and attend we could hardly contain ourselves (okay myself) I will post about that tomorrow and I can't wait to do so- yeah!!! Anyway, back to 12 years ago, we had a civil marriage and were sealed in the Manti temple almost 2 years later. That was a truly amazing experience because we had our then 5 month old Shae in her "celestial" white dress and it was such a spiritual experience. I can honestly say we have had an amazingly wonderful time together and admittedly some not so perfect moments, but the good definitely outweighs the bad. He is my "soul mate" and as cheesy as that sounds, I am often scared by how eerily alike we are. It makes for few arguments and a lot of fun times. I love spending time with him and I can truly say he is my best friend. I still get that little flutter in my stomach when he pulls into the driveway. He is always respectful to me and never belittles me or hurts my feelings (purposely-ha ha, after all, I am still a woman ).

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE: *I am perfect and have done nothing wrong-ever!
*We all know how husbands mature SO much slower than us!

IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH: *3 very unhealthy pregnancies, including months of bed rest, Life flight emergencies, premature babies, and weeks in NICU's, he was a way better housewife than me!!
*Big guys are tough on their joints! Knee surgeries, bad back, elbows, and shoulders makes for a lot of "down time". And, men are always WAY sicker than women when we catch the same bug -right? (ha ha sorry guys you are bad whiners)

FOR RICHER OF POORER: *We started out in a single-wide trailer with a hole in the floor (straight through the carpet to the outside!) a leaking roof (it rained inside and out-literally) a very bad gas leak that we kept trying to get "diagnosed" to no avail (it stunk like natural gas constantly) One working burner on a stinky stove. Neither of us were employed (not because we were losers!) We had one working car (my tiny CRX) And we were as happy as could be!!!
*We are now living comfortably in an awesome neighborhood. Geoff does work in the construction field, so we still have our times, it is either feast or famine, but he has made a fantastic life for me and my children and has given us more than we could ask for.

I love him so so much and I am so lucky he found me. I dream of our next 12-20-40 years together and I can't wait!! Happy Anniversary Babe!!!!!!
(I had scanning issues- I don't know what I am doing, so you will have to click the pic to see how awesome we were in 1996-funny!)

Who Wouldn't Love That FACE!?

My Big Manly Betty Crocker

Geoff has always been great in the kitchen. He likes to cook- even though he doesn't do it often, he is really good at it. Growing up he was always helping his Mom in the kitchen, and from what I hear, his Mom was always in the kitchen! There were 9 kids in a combined family and she pretty much made a lot of great food- from scratch! Some of our family favorites are her recipes I now make. He makes awesome candy at Christmas time, and he gets really excited to get in the kitchen, crank the Christmas carol's and cook long into the night. His candy is fantastic and he makes so much, we have to get a loan to pay for the ingredients every year! Well, he is on a canning/bottling kick right now and it is going to be great. He first made strawberry jelly a few nights ago. (Isn't it pretty -that is it in the picture) It is delish and he was pretty glad he had success at his first (as a grown-up) canning experience. The next day, he made strawberry freezer jam, which I haven't tried yet, but it looks yummy. Today we bought 2 bushels (boxes, whatever the correct term is)of pears, 2 boxes peaches, a box of tomato's, 27 pounds ohicken, 12 packages of hot dogs (we are trying one of our fave dinners to see if it will bottle good), 16 pounds of butter, and a partridge in a pear tree! Sounds like I have a great week ahead of me. Geoff is going to help me and he is actually kind of happy to get it all going. He has rambled off a huge list of everything he wants to try and it sounds like we will have quite an awesome supply of "whatever we need" in our food storage. Isn't he great, love him!! Wish us luck and happy canning!

I LOVE My Country

America is the greatest! I have always been a lover of my country, I remember as a child taking the flag raising duty so seriously and vowing to never let that flag touch the ground. To me, today is the most patriotic day of the year. Sad that we even have this "day", but at the same time, what an amazing uproar of love of the USA came about because of such a tragic loss. I rarely cry- but I rarely have dry eyes when I think of my awesome country. Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" has never been sung and left me dry eyed. My spirit soars when I say the Pledge of Allegiance. My voice cracks and I sound terrible when I sing "The Star Spangled Banner", because I am on the verge of alligator tears rolling down my cheeks. Any member of the Armed Forces, dressed in uniform will make my heart swell with pride and I have to contain myself from kissing and hugging them and telling them I Love them- (how weird to have a crazy random lady kiss you in Wal-Mart!) Nothing gets my pride swelling and my adrenaline pumping more than a fighter jet roaring over my head and hurting my ears. I may be alone on this one, but who else crys over an F-16? I love the United States of America, I pledge my allegiance to my country, I love my fighting men and women--God Bless the USA!!!

Why Up The Nose?!!

Why do all little kids stick things up their nose? Not just their fingers, I'm talking actual objects. I did it as a kid, my husband did it, we both remember how traumatizing it was too! Well it was Jourden's turn yesterday. I don't know when he did it, I didn't notice it until yesterday morning when he was laying down, I saw a white thing up there and felt the side of his nostril and sure enough, there was a hard white something lodged up there. Who knows, it might have been there for days, Geoff says he had been picking his nose for the past few days and that was a new thing for him (he has stopped that lovely habit since the dislodging, thank Heaven!) After trying to tweeze it out, suck it out (thanks for the use of the central vac Jamie!) blow it out (2 year olds don't really get the gist of blow harder!) I had no luck. Poor kid thought I was trying to kill him or something, but the doctor would have done the same thing- only with better tools, and charged me out the wazoo! It finally took Dad and Mom pinning him down with real force to get it out, and that only dislodged it, Jourden actually got it out with an accidental blow after we set him free. Turns out it was an eraser from a retractable pencil. Hopefully his turn is over and we won't be doing that ever again! (The penny in the pic is just to show the size of the eraser!)

Being close is the best!!!

I love my family! From reading this blog you probably already got that, but I mean I love my WHOLE family. Geoff will often say how great it would be to live far away from our families, so when we went to visit it would be a grand event and we would miss them and all that fun stuff. It does sound fun to go home for the holidays and be so excited to spend a good solid week with family and catch up on things, but actually I'd prefer it just that way it is. My entire family (Mom, Dad, 3 sisters(their hubby's and 9 kids), a brother, my Grandma and lots of others)all live within 20 miles of each other, and Geoff has 2 sisters that live in Cedar City and his parents are in Beaver, so we are so blessed to be close. I love having sisters to call for taxi and tending services, in-laws to get together with and BBQ, and parents to invade on a hungry-don't-feel-like-cooking-Sunday's. My sister blessed her baby today in Parowan so again we were able to spend the afternoon with all the cousins and still come home and sleep in our own beds. I love to see my sweet Grandma who will cook the entire time she has company just to be sure everyone has something they like and is totally stuffed and sick by the time they leave. (She always has an awesome garden to raid all summer long and I never have to buy a store bought tomato or cucumber!) Family birthday parties always have to be separate from the "friend" party because 40 people gets a little overwhelming when your trying to bust a pinata! It is ALWAYS crazy and loud- 7 screamers under 4 years old in one room is a big anxiety attack waiting to happen!! Then add 5 more with only a few more years under their belt and you have total and complete chaos. We tolerate it pretty well, with the exception of Geoff who threatens to leave at least 5 times before he can't take it anymore!! I love my parents who support my kids in all they do and watch how excited my Ashton is when Grandpa gets to watch him play ball. I have an amazing close-knit family that is just right here, how lucky am I?!!

Best Daughter Ever!

I have decided to spotlight my children one at a time because I think they are so wonderful. I will start with my amazing Shae-first because she is first, and second because we have embarked on a new "adventure" that hopefully will turn out awesome, for now we will "cope" with the learning process. CELLO! She started orchestra today in school and with some coaxing from Dad and myself, she will be learning how to play the cello. We couldn't possibly handle hearing a 10 year old learn how to run a bow across violin strings, so we thought the cello would be far less torturous to ourselves and we talked her into it. We decided to purchase instead of rent, and cellos are not CHEAP!! So she has to play until she is 80, or we have threatened her with dire consequences. She will be taking lessons for $80 a month (whoa!)from a teacher who plays an $80,000 dollar cello -yes that is the correct amount of zero's! So you see why the death threat if she quits! Anyway pray for our ears and sanity, we hope she loves it! On with the spotlight of her, she is a truly amazing girl. She is always kind and loving, and only on occasion, after tremendous torture, will she defend herself and fight with her brother. She is always helpful to me and I have taken great advantage of that fact. She watches her brothers almost daily. She is an awesome athlete. Loves soccer and is a true star. She picked up on basketball immediately after starting and is great. She's an awesome softball player who made All-Stars this year, and she wishes she could play volleyball but doesn't really have much opportunity here in Cedar. She loves rock climbing, hiking, swimming, and making crafts. Shae is super smart and I have never ever had an issue with her at school. She has a true spirituality about her that shines, she is one of those souls that is just born righteous. (Some of us aren't!) She loves being a girl, in fact she has gel nails on right now.(thanx Jame) She always wants to be right in the middle of it all- she got that one from her Mom! She would eat tomato's and potatoes all day everyday and she loves rice. Her favorite shows are: Jon and Kate Plus 8, So You Think You Can Dance, and American Idol. Her fave music is country and pop-she loves Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift and Colbie Calliet. She loves being with the family, I hope that never changes. I never have to ask her twice, she is such a sweetheart. Shae is so very tender-hearted, she'll cry if you hurt her feelings, and she'll cry if she hurts yours. I love her SO much, she is a beautiful soul in a beautiful body- My amazing daughter.
Click on her picture to see her perfect little face close up- LOVE it!