3 JOYS:
My Family
My Friends
Movies
3 FEARS:
Loosing one of my children
My kids growing up
Being kidnapped - I have feared this since I was a little girl
3 GOALS:
Lose 15 pounds
Be a better wife and mother
Go on a Mediterranean Cruise
3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS:
Twilight Series
Shopping (it's a sickness)
Anything Chocolate - I have a huge sweet tooth
3 RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT ME:
I love to travel- especially anywhere I can layout, get a tan and read a good book
I would love to be motivational speaker
I love parties! (planning, hosting and attending)
3 PEOPLE I TAG:
Melissa
Ali
Becca
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
WEDDING EXTRAVAGANZA
What cute babies most of us were, some of us were sumo babies and others of us had to grow into our stomachs, cheeks and legs. All us of had a great adolescent period (its a good thing we met our spouses after this time in our lives).
The highlight of the evening had to be when Rusty and Stoney cut the cake! Several of us joined in the fun after. The cake was pretty tasty!
We had a great time with tons of laughter, thank to the honored guests who attended...
Mr. & Mrs. Stoney Winterton
Mr. & Mrs. Chip Galloway
Mr. & Mrs. Mitch Maylett
Mr. & Mrs. Rusty Bentley
Mr. & Mrs. Brad Jones
Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Willden
Thursday, July 17, 2008
NO MORE CHUCK-E-CHEESE PLEASE
We took our kids to Chuck-E-Cheese Tuesday night and what an experience it was. Dan had promised the kids earlier that month that we would go, (it was a bribe for us to be able to go out without them and have them stay home with the babysitter).
This was not our first experience at Chuck-E-Cheese, but I hope it was our last! We ordered our pizza and tokens ($45.00 later) and proceeded to play games while our dinner was cooking. A 1/3 of the games were broken and then 1/2 of the games that were working, would not work properly, take your token or not spit out any tickets. The whole point of Chuck-E-Cheese is to be able to get prizes with your tickets at the end of the experience so everyone goes home happy!
As our pizza arrived, we realized it was doughy in the middle and sent it back for a new pizza. The kind employees gave us some more tokens for our inconvenience (yeah). When our new pizza arrived, it was still doughy. Rather than send it back again, we ate it anyway. While eating dinner the puppet show came on, it was really exciting, especially when you can't hear it because the volume is set on mute!
After dinner the kids proceeded to spend there tokens, the faster they get rid of them, the quicker we get out of there.
During the middle of the token finale, Jaxson got one of his migraine headaches, but still wanted to turn in his tickets for a prize. He was about to vomit when I sent him to the bathroom and told Dan to follow him in. The great thing about the bathrooms at Chuck-E-Cheese is they have an automatic flushing system. As Jaxson was kneeling over the toilet to throw up, the toilet kept flushing which sprayed toilet water all over his face. Dan had to wash his face off before exiting the bathroom. We then proceeded to turn in his tickets to the ticket machine counter, 3/4 of the way through we noticed the machine was not counting his tickets. At that point I pressed the receipt button, however the ticket machine stopped working completely and would not print a receipt. We went up to the counter and told the prize lady about our experience and she was kind enough to give Jaxson a blow up sword worth 200 tickets and a barf bag for the ride home.
At this point I told Madi we needed to go because Jaxson was not feeling well, she still had tokens to use, so she decided to use the remaining tokens on a basketball game, which actually spit out a lot of tickets. While playing the game, someone knocked over her ticket cup and spilt them all over the floor, all the kids around her decided the tickets were free game and stole them all! When Madison was done playing she realized her tickets were gone and began sobbing. I still had some tickets left over from the other kids and told her she could have them and that it would be OK. (During this time Jaxson was laying down on a bench trying to rest.) She put herself back together and ended up leaving the prize counter happy with a chap stick and candy.
To sum it all up; doughy dinner, malfunctioning games, stingy tickets, broken machines, crying kids, sick kids, toilet water in face and stealing. The only redeeming quality was the nice lady behind the prize counter. I think it was a pretty fun family night. LET'S DO IT AGAIN SOMETIME SOON!
This was not our first experience at Chuck-E-Cheese, but I hope it was our last! We ordered our pizza and tokens ($45.00 later) and proceeded to play games while our dinner was cooking. A 1/3 of the games were broken and then 1/2 of the games that were working, would not work properly, take your token or not spit out any tickets. The whole point of Chuck-E-Cheese is to be able to get prizes with your tickets at the end of the experience so everyone goes home happy!
As our pizza arrived, we realized it was doughy in the middle and sent it back for a new pizza. The kind employees gave us some more tokens for our inconvenience (yeah). When our new pizza arrived, it was still doughy. Rather than send it back again, we ate it anyway. While eating dinner the puppet show came on, it was really exciting, especially when you can't hear it because the volume is set on mute!
After dinner the kids proceeded to spend there tokens, the faster they get rid of them, the quicker we get out of there.
During the middle of the token finale, Jaxson got one of his migraine headaches, but still wanted to turn in his tickets for a prize. He was about to vomit when I sent him to the bathroom and told Dan to follow him in. The great thing about the bathrooms at Chuck-E-Cheese is they have an automatic flushing system. As Jaxson was kneeling over the toilet to throw up, the toilet kept flushing which sprayed toilet water all over his face. Dan had to wash his face off before exiting the bathroom. We then proceeded to turn in his tickets to the ticket machine counter, 3/4 of the way through we noticed the machine was not counting his tickets. At that point I pressed the receipt button, however the ticket machine stopped working completely and would not print a receipt. We went up to the counter and told the prize lady about our experience and she was kind enough to give Jaxson a blow up sword worth 200 tickets and a barf bag for the ride home.
At this point I told Madi we needed to go because Jaxson was not feeling well, she still had tokens to use, so she decided to use the remaining tokens on a basketball game, which actually spit out a lot of tickets. While playing the game, someone knocked over her ticket cup and spilt them all over the floor, all the kids around her decided the tickets were free game and stole them all! When Madison was done playing she realized her tickets were gone and began sobbing. I still had some tickets left over from the other kids and told her she could have them and that it would be OK. (During this time Jaxson was laying down on a bench trying to rest.) She put herself back together and ended up leaving the prize counter happy with a chap stick and candy.
To sum it all up; doughy dinner, malfunctioning games, stingy tickets, broken machines, crying kids, sick kids, toilet water in face and stealing. The only redeeming quality was the nice lady behind the prize counter. I think it was a pretty fun family night. LET'S DO IT AGAIN SOMETIME SOON!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
FANTASTIC FRIENDS
Forget the kids and their playgroups, we are all about our friends and neighbors. Dan and I are having the time of our lives right now because so many of you keep us in stitches, not to mention the secret personalities we have uncovered getting to know each of you. We always look forward to a night out amongst friends and the barrel of laughs that comes with it. Some of our favorite memories include:
1. A good old game of OLD MARGARETTE!
2. Good Times!
3. ROCKBAND Junkies and Newbies
4. Do you like good music
5. Would you rather...
6. My Best Friend T-Shirts
7. Yen and Yo
8. I'm going in (swim, swim)
9. Peeing your pants laughing or jumping
10. Anything with Justin Timberlake
11. Guys Night Out
12. Going Dancing in your Pajamas
13. The Perfect Dinner Host (Heidi)
14. People Watching
15. Eddie
16. Sun Tanning Babes
17. Tennis Pro's
18. Twilight Series
19. Temple Cafeteria
20. Cobra
21. Who Got the Deal
22. VIP - Usana Tickets
23. Primary Voices
24. Freezer Meals and Movies
25. BUNCO - Girls Night
26. Foyer Sunday School
27. I'm Just Happy To Be Here
28. Dance Dance Revolution
29. Well Hello Big Dollop!
30. Pedicures, anytime
30. Pedicures, anytime
Needless to say are are extremely lucky to have so many fantastic friends!
Although we laugh a lot, I am extremely grateful to those of you who lift me up when I'm feeling down and those who are always there to lend a helping hand or listening ear. I truly appreciate your kindness and friendship.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
POKA DOTS
I have wanted to paint the kids playroom for quite some time, however I always found that I had an excuse to do something else instead. (PRIORITIES - go figure) Well, I finally broke out the paint bucket and some very tall ladders a couple of weeks ago and this is the end result! It only took me about 3 coats of paint in each color, waiting for nap time, working well into evening hours after everyone else was asleep for about 4-5 days.
In the middle of my painting job, my darling, little, mischievous, Reagan decided to do some painting herself. It all happening one morning after I left the red paint out on the table, I was in between coats and was waiting for the paint to dry. I asked Jaxson to shut the door behind me, however he didn't. Reagan decided to shut herself in the playroom by closing the door behind her. As I walked across the hallway into my room I looked over at the door to make sure it was shut (and it was), little did I know Reagan was already in the playroom. Her favorite thing to do right know is climb on chairs and tables. After a few minutes had passed, I heard Reagan crying, I knew without a doubt where she was and ran across the hall into the playroom. Sure enough she was standing on the chair mixing her hands around in the red paint all over the table and keyboard. I would have taken her picture, but I was too worried about getting the paint off her and the rest of the playroom before it dried. What a sight to see, and I knew it was going to happen before it did. I can't entirely blame Jaxson for not shutting the door, I should have just put the lid on the paint can to prevent it. I was able to remove the paint and lucky for me, she did not even get a drop on the carpet!
I'm glad it's done, other that a few decorating items on the walls. The kids love it and I think it turned out pretty cute as well.
GIRLS CAMP
I spent last week at girls camp and both myself and my family survived! Thank you to Melissa, Ali and Jen for watching my kids while I was gone (and of course Dan). What a fun experience it was to be away for a few days and gain a stronger testimony of the gospel. I had the privilege of working with the youth leaders in the stake, these are all 4th,5th and 6th year girls. We went a so-called overnight hike the first night and just walking through the trees made me wonder if this was what the sacred grove looked like when Joesph Smith knelt down in prayer. I could imagine the light shining through the trees and peace he must of felt when our Father in Heaven and His Son personally appeared to him. The scenery on this hike was needless to say, amazing! Due to no tents and much wildlife around we hiked back down the mountain and the girls all slept under the pavilion. (Good thing, because it rained that night)
The following day we had the opportunity to go canoeing! I have always had a small fear of canoeing, because I didn't want to tip over. Well that fear is now gone because, sure enough Jodi Pierce, Rachel Cazier and I were the first ones on the lake to tip over! The canoe landed right on top of us. The initial shock of the water was cold, other than that we just laughed. After we got out the water, I realized how heavy my jeans were being soaked to the bone. It only took about 5 hours to dry out. Later that afternoon I facilitated one of the ropes course activities for the youth leaders. I loved doing this because we got to bring the gospel into each scenario and how we can use it in our daily lives.
One of the great things about girls camp is you get to be silly and sing a lot of silly songs. For our Wednesday night performance, the stake leaders did a rendition of "I hope they call me on a mission," western style. We made huge belt buckles and chaps, I even made a stick pony for the event. I think we thought we were funnier than we actually were.
Every morning and evening we would gather as a stake to do a devotional and flag ceremony. During this event all members have role call. Each ward makes up a chant to let everyone know they are present! The stake even got in on the action. My favorite chant was to the tune of Toby Keith's song "I Wanna Talk About Me." Here is our version:
Wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one stake camp leaders
What we think
What we like
What we know
What we want
What we see
I like talkin' about young women usually
But occasionally THEY DRIVE ME CRAZY!
I conducted the morning devotional on Wednesday morning. The theme for the day was 'I know Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world and that He died for me.' I shared the following story, which touches me every time I read it.
THE BRIDGE
There was a sizable turn bridge which spanned a major river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river parallel with the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge. At certain times each day, a train would come along, and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river allowing the train to cross. The bridge was just wide enough for a train to cross it.
A switch man sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed. One evening as the switch man was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight , and caught sight of the trains light. He stepped to the controls and waited until the train was within the prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but to his terror he found the locking control didn't work. If the bridge was not locked securely into position it would wobble back and forth at the ends, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard.
He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across to the other side where there was a lever which he could use to operate the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train passed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on his strength.
Then, coming across the bridge form the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound which made his blood run cold! "Daddy, Daddy, where are you?" His four year old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run, Run!," but the train was too close. The tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left the lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety, but he realized he could not get back to the lever in time. Either the people on the train or his little son must die.
He took just a moment to make his decision. The train sped swiftly and safely on its way, and no one aboard was ever aware of the time broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of a sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the lever long after the train had passed.
They didn't see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked to tell his wife how he had sacrificed their son.
Now, if you can comprehend the emotions which went through this man's heart, you can perhaps begin to understand the feelings of our Heavenly Father when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life.
Can there be any wonder why he caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when his Son died? And how does He feel when we speed along through life without giving a thought to what was done for us through Jesus Christ?
I have a testimony of this gospel. I know Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, because we can be redeemed through him. He suffered not only for our sins, but for our sorrows and our fears. The third article of faith states: We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. I know that by doing our part and by making proper decisions we can have eternal life, with our families and our Father in Heaven.
I was able to take part in the 10th wards testimony meeting on Wednesday evening and was truly touched by these young girls testimonies. They are remarkable young women and my hope is that Madison will have good, strong friends as she enters the young women's program in the next two years. I am very blessed to be a part of Country Crossing 10th Ward. I love the neighborhood and friendships my family has made over the past four years. Like the song says "It feels like home to me."
I am grateful I had the opportunity to go to girls camp and for the opportunity I had to have my faith and testimony increase.
The following day we had the opportunity to go canoeing! I have always had a small fear of canoeing, because I didn't want to tip over. Well that fear is now gone because, sure enough Jodi Pierce, Rachel Cazier and I were the first ones on the lake to tip over! The canoe landed right on top of us. The initial shock of the water was cold, other than that we just laughed. After we got out the water, I realized how heavy my jeans were being soaked to the bone. It only took about 5 hours to dry out. Later that afternoon I facilitated one of the ropes course activities for the youth leaders. I loved doing this because we got to bring the gospel into each scenario and how we can use it in our daily lives.
One of the great things about girls camp is you get to be silly and sing a lot of silly songs. For our Wednesday night performance, the stake leaders did a rendition of "I hope they call me on a mission," western style. We made huge belt buckles and chaps, I even made a stick pony for the event. I think we thought we were funnier than we actually were.
Every morning and evening we would gather as a stake to do a devotional and flag ceremony. During this event all members have role call. Each ward makes up a chant to let everyone know they are present! The stake even got in on the action. My favorite chant was to the tune of Toby Keith's song "I Wanna Talk About Me." Here is our version:
Wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one stake camp leaders
What we think
What we like
What we know
What we want
What we see
I like talkin' about young women usually
But occasionally THEY DRIVE ME CRAZY!
I conducted the morning devotional on Wednesday morning. The theme for the day was 'I know Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world and that He died for me.' I shared the following story, which touches me every time I read it.
THE BRIDGE
There was a sizable turn bridge which spanned a major river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river parallel with the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge. At certain times each day, a train would come along, and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river allowing the train to cross. The bridge was just wide enough for a train to cross it.
A switch man sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed. One evening as the switch man was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight , and caught sight of the trains light. He stepped to the controls and waited until the train was within the prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but to his terror he found the locking control didn't work. If the bridge was not locked securely into position it would wobble back and forth at the ends, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard.
He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across to the other side where there was a lever which he could use to operate the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train passed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on his strength.
Then, coming across the bridge form the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound which made his blood run cold! "Daddy, Daddy, where are you?" His four year old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run, Run!," but the train was too close. The tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left the lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety, but he realized he could not get back to the lever in time. Either the people on the train or his little son must die.
He took just a moment to make his decision. The train sped swiftly and safely on its way, and no one aboard was ever aware of the time broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of a sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the lever long after the train had passed.
They didn't see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked to tell his wife how he had sacrificed their son.
Now, if you can comprehend the emotions which went through this man's heart, you can perhaps begin to understand the feelings of our Heavenly Father when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life.
Can there be any wonder why he caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when his Son died? And how does He feel when we speed along through life without giving a thought to what was done for us through Jesus Christ?
I have a testimony of this gospel. I know Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, because we can be redeemed through him. He suffered not only for our sins, but for our sorrows and our fears. The third article of faith states: We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. I know that by doing our part and by making proper decisions we can have eternal life, with our families and our Father in Heaven.
I was able to take part in the 10th wards testimony meeting on Wednesday evening and was truly touched by these young girls testimonies. They are remarkable young women and my hope is that Madison will have good, strong friends as she enters the young women's program in the next two years. I am very blessed to be a part of Country Crossing 10th Ward. I love the neighborhood and friendships my family has made over the past four years. Like the song says "It feels like home to me."
I am grateful I had the opportunity to go to girls camp and for the opportunity I had to have my faith and testimony increase.
Monday, July 7, 2008
STADIUM OF FIRE
We were lucky to have been given free tickets to the Stadium of Fire this year! My parents were nice enough to watch Reagan so We could enjoy the show with Madi and Jaxson. Madi is a huge Miley Cyrus fan and was excited from the beginning. Jaxson tried to put on a too cool attitude and say he didn't like Miley Cyrus, however on the way up to the show we ran into our next door neighbors and his best friend Mathis Clarke and then he changed his tune! Dan and I had never been to the Stadium of Fire before, so this was a fun experience for the whole family.
They opened up the show with the Air Force parachuting in to the stadium and bringing a HUGE flag onto the field for the pledge of allegiance and national anthem. Before the entertainment began, they brought in several families of our troops serving in Iraq to join the celebration. They had a satellite set up and some of the families actually got to talk with their spouses and Dads. It was very touching being there and knowing there are people willing to serve to protect us and to protect the freedoms that we enjoy and take for granted every day. (One of my favorite parts was when one of the soldiers held up a Utah jersey for everyone to see and chanted "Go Utes". Being in the BYU stadium, it was awesome.) The Blue Man Group performed, which was Jaxson's favorite part. They were funny, however I think we lost some of the humor being is a big outdoor arena. I think I would perform to see them up close. Miley was a huge hit with Madison, she was dancing and singing along to most of the songs! The fireworks were my favorite part! It was amazing that most of the fireworks were shot off from inside the stadium. We had ashes falling all over us! The music for the firework show were all from big movies, such as; Indiana Jones, Rocky, ET, Titanic, etc. Only the finale was patriotic songs! The air was full of smoke and Dan did not enjoy that but I thought it was amazing. The other great thing was it only took us an hour to get home! What a fun experience, next year we will however be back at Sandy City.
They opened up the show with the Air Force parachuting in to the stadium and bringing a HUGE flag onto the field for the pledge of allegiance and national anthem. Before the entertainment began, they brought in several families of our troops serving in Iraq to join the celebration. They had a satellite set up and some of the families actually got to talk with their spouses and Dads. It was very touching being there and knowing there are people willing to serve to protect us and to protect the freedoms that we enjoy and take for granted every day. (One of my favorite parts was when one of the soldiers held up a Utah jersey for everyone to see and chanted "Go Utes". Being in the BYU stadium, it was awesome.) The Blue Man Group performed, which was Jaxson's favorite part. They were funny, however I think we lost some of the humor being is a big outdoor arena. I think I would perform to see them up close. Miley was a huge hit with Madison, she was dancing and singing along to most of the songs! The fireworks were my favorite part! It was amazing that most of the fireworks were shot off from inside the stadium. We had ashes falling all over us! The music for the firework show were all from big movies, such as; Indiana Jones, Rocky, ET, Titanic, etc. Only the finale was patriotic songs! The air was full of smoke and Dan did not enjoy that but I thought it was amazing. The other great thing was it only took us an hour to get home! What a fun experience, next year we will however be back at Sandy City.
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