I'm almost out of my rut

Ok, so I have totally slacked on my blog, but don't give up on me yet. I have my computer set up in my house the way I want it, and soon you'll receive an update. Check back in soon!

Stuck in a Rut

Help! As you may or may not know, Chad is gove every other day which means when it comes to dinner on those days, it often gets a little scary. Brooklyn's food of choice is cereal or Wendy's. I need ideas of quick, easy, kid friendly meals that I can make when Chad is at work. All ideas would be SO welcome!

Also, I need to go meet my new neighbors and want to bring them some type of treat. Does anyone have any good recipes for something that is easy to make and goes a long way? What would be a good treat from a neighbor that you don't know yet? .... My neighbors aren't extremely friendly yet, I'm trying to win them over!

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The Wasatch Back

For those of you who don't know about the wasatach back, let me explain give you a little background on it. It is a 180.5 mile run from Logan to Park City that you do with a team of 12. Well in about January, Cathy Gilmore asked me if I'd do it with her and I said sure. (What was I thinking!) Mind you, I loved to run before Chad and I got married, but I have not ran more than 5 times in the 8 years we've been married! I thought this will be a good way to get me into something that I enjoyed once upon a time. So I said sure, I'd do it and signed up with a bunch of people from our old ward.

That meant I had to get in shape and get in shape fast! Training became hard with selling a house, ending school, and moving and then unpacking. I did my best, but knew a part of this race was going to be completed by gutting it out.

Our team included Jene Peart, Peter Colasurdo, Kim Tucker, Kim's 2 daughters Kim and Denise and 1 son John, Alison Linnell, Mindy Larsen, I roped Chad into it, and Steve Tucker was going to run and couldn't so he found a friend Ben to run his leg, and Cathy ended up being too crazy, so her sister ran in her place. Our team was divided into 2 vans. Laura, Chad, Denise, Kim the younger, Ben and I were in van 2. We were the second group of runners. Cathy was our driver and she was awesome! Each person in the race runs 3 different legs.

This is Kim and Denise. This is of course before we began running!
This is Chad waiting to run his 1st leg in 95 degree heat. He was awesome though!
This is me on my first leg.
My leg began at Snow Basin. I had a little over 3 mile run up the road to Snow Basin. It was insane and totally harder than anything I imagined. When I trained hills it wasn't in the 90 degree heat. I also had a little time to catch my breath! Not with this hill. It's incline was 5% with not one moment of flatness or leveling off! Because of my inexperience, I didn't know how to do the race. See your team would stop every once in awhile and cheer you on and give you water. The water just made it harder for me... My breathing got messed up (remember I was panting, it was one steep hill!), so I ended up walking in a few spots which disappoints me just a bit. Jene and Mindy taught me at the end for my last leg, just to wear a cold handkerchief around you neck, which I did for leg 3, and did it helped more!

Notice those nice retarded things around my legs? Well I have never had a problem with my knees until 2 weeks before this race. My knees started killing. (I live on Advil now). I bought these to help with me knees. After my first run I felt great and my knee did too!


My second run was at 5 in morning. I ran up to and around Rockport. It was about 5 1/2 miles of beautiulness. The sun was just coming up and I kicked butt! It was awesome! Too bad everyone in my van was asleep and missed it! But on the run, I only wore one retarded knee thing and from the moment I started, my right knee began to hurt (which is opposite of the one that had been giving me fits!). I totally ran through, but started compensating, which by the end of the run, my legs were killing!

So after our van finished our first leg we had from about 8-11 to sleep. We went to East Canyon Lake and tried to rest, but it was impossible. We had one man yelling at everyone and everything because he rented a Yert and no one told him that 7000 runners were coming through. He was quite humorous watch! We ran from 12-6 for our second runs and had from about 7-11 to sleep. We went to South Summit and tried to sleep at the school. I think I got about 1/2 hour of sleep the entire run. For those of you who know me, know that this is killer! And then to have to sit in squishy stinky van for most of the time... what was I thinking?

Chad's last run was 1/2 way up Guardsman Pass. It was 3.6 miles. He ran up the first 1/2 and Ben ran up the 2nd 1/2 in the heat of the day. (I guess things could have been worse, I could have had that run). I don't know honestly whose run was harder, Chad's or Ben's. Chad's first half miles was relatively flat, but he made the same elevation change that Ben had in 4 miles, so needeless to say, they were both awesome!!

Here is Chad thinking, what in the heck did I sign him up for this for? But can I just tell you how proud he made me. He was the best. Running is not his thing, he hardly trained for this. I mean, he's totally in shape and works out all the time, but he detest running distances. He did this all for me. I couldn't have done this without him there. He truly is the best!

Here is my last run. It was 5 miles long, and was supposed to be the easiest, but it was anything but that! By the time it came to be my turn, I could hardly walk my legs were so sore. I totally gutted it out, but I ran the entire time. I got lost on this leg and no one from my team could cheer me on because I was on this long extremely straight rail trail that went on forever! I didn't even know if I was going the right way! By the end, I was in tears it hurt so bad, and I was so proud of myself. Notice the cool handkerchief to cool me off! It totally worked.

So yes, I ran 13 and 1/2 of the toughest miles of my life. One of my top 10 accomplishments in my life. Everyone keeps asking me if I am going to do it again next year. Right now, I can't even hardly wobble to the bathroom and I am so tired my head is spinning. I just don't know. But I am dang proud of everyone on my team and myself. They were so fun to be with and each person did such an incredible job! WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!

Thanks also to my mom for watching sick kids. Not an easy thing to do!

Goodbye all, I'm going to sleep! I am supposed to have a date at Lagoon on Tuesday, I need to be able to walk by then!

An exciting week

An exciting thing happened this week... one that I've been looking forward to forever... I became an aunt. My sister had her baby on Tuesday. George was born around 10 that night after much labor and pain! But he is SO cute and my sister is recovering. Because things were a little hectic that night with my sister... (She lost a lot of blood and went into shock) I still don't know the details even though I was at the hospital awaiting the details! He was 7 lbs. 13 oz. Don't have a clue how long. If anyone knows or cares, you can let me know! Both he and Les are doing extremely well though. Brooklyn is totally in love and wants to visit about 3 times a day. She's also announced she likes this baby better than the other one... when asked who the other one was, she announced, you know, my sister.

One funny story. She woke up Wednesday morning and came in and asked first thing about baby George. I announced he was SO cute. She then looks at me and says. Well you still look like my mommy, not an aunt. (She's been telling me for weeks she didn't want me to be an aunt.) I was then able to explain to her that I am her mom and always will be, but I get to be George's aunt too! It made Chad and I laugh pretty good!

A lot of catching up!

Well I have to say that I seriously didn't even know if anyone was still checking my blog because it's been so long since I have updated, but after being stopped by 2 different people and both asking me when I am going to update, I decided I better get back in the game!
Needless to say, the last few months have been perhaps the craziest of my life. We are moved in, for those of you wondering... we are almost unpacked. I'd feel better if pictures were hung, but I want to recarpet and paint and I have just got to decide when and where and get going on all the projects! Everyone keeps asking me what's the best thing about the house. One is that my kids have separate bedrooms and so they don't wake each other up! Another is 3 bathrooms instead of just one. I love all the windows and light. We have a huge yard, and I'd love it if I knew anything about yards. Hopefully soon I will have some time to get some stuff done!
But, I do miss our other house. It was small and cozy and it just had a nice feel to it, if it makes any sense. I really miss our neighbors! I haven't even talked to one of ours yet. I keep wanting to go make cookies and meet them, but it's just another thing to do and I already feel so behind! Our ward seems good and I think I will like them, but there are 3 totally different neighborhoods and we are referred to "east LA" What does that mean? Everyone keeps telling me, oh you live in east LA. I laugh, not really knowing what that means! But because there are no active members by us, nor little kids, it means we have some work to do... in finding friends...getting to know people... all that fun stuff! The one thing I was really excited about moving to a new ward was that Chad would hopefully be home before and after church, but alas, he has a new calling and has to stay after each Sunday because he is now the financial clerk. Just goes to show that I can't get too greedy! But anyway here is a picture of our house. I promise that VERY soon we are going to have a house warming party and anyone who reads my blog will be invited! You just have to let me know if you wanna come!
I can't believe it, but Jacee turned 1 on the 31st of May. She is the best baby, although since she's turned one she's started sticking up for herself. Just goes to show that I am not going to have a passive baby!

Brooklyn had her dance performace last week. She did so GOOD! I hate dance, it's on the day I worked late and it was always so crazy geting her there between getting home, eating dinner, changing clothes, and getting her there before 5:30. For those of you who know and love Brooklyn, you know she can drag her feet with the best of them, so she was no help getting there. We were late almost every week (which is my biggest pet peeve) but somehow Brooklyn know every dance and was incredible. I was way impressed!

Okay so I don't have my contacts in and I don't know how to move pictures so I uploaded some of the wrong pictures. I am going to have to do some more downloading, but it'll be on a different post!

We're Moving... and need boxes!

Well, it's official... we're moving. But to all me friends in the ward, my sister is buying my house and you all will love her! Please be as nice to her as everyone has been to me! We're not sure on a date, but I am thinking we'll be here for about a month. My aunt says the loan will take no time at all, but we're trying to get the best interest rate possible! When we get all settled I am planning on having a big potluck dinner for everyone, so let's hope it gets warm real soon!

If anyone has extra boxes lying around, please let me know, or for those who have moved recently, let me know the best ways to collect them. When 3 people in your family are moving at once, it requires many boxes to be used!! Next time I am over at my aunt's house, I'll get pictures for everyone... and I've got more to post soon. Brooklyn just turned 4 on Friday...

Our Getaway

Brooklyn has been asking for the past 6+ months to go to a hotel and go swimming. Well since I have the week off for Spring Break, Chad got some time off, and it's Brooklyn's birthday this week, we decided to rent a hotel room with an indoor swimming pool and take the girls for our own little family getaway. I scoured the internet and found the cheapest place downtown with an indoor pool to be the Shilo Inn. (Brooklyn doesn't care what the room looks like, right...) so off we went. We decided to let the girls take a nap before we left, and of course Brooklyn got out of bed 4 times. We finally made it downtown at around 6:15...

After we finished checking in, I asked the clerk, "Now where's the pool?" "Oh," she replies, "it's broken." Little miss Brooklyn is sitting next to me, heartbroken. You could see the tears in her eyes. I then explain to the clerk that this is the reason we chose this hotel and why we came downtown. She finally admitted that we could use the Hilton's pool which was across the street.

So we dropped off our stuff, and went to dinner. We ended up at the Olive Garden because it was close and the wait wasn't long at all.
After dinner we ventured off to the Hilton to look at their pool. Of course you needed a key to get in, so we were on our way back to our hotel when Mary Beth and Charlie asked us if we wanted to go for a ride. Chad had been saying all week how fun he thought it'd be, and since swimming wasn't working, we sucked up our pride and purchased a carriage ride around downtown. Mary Beth was awesome and Brooklyn loved every minute of it. Her head was sticking out of the carriage the whole time. Charlie even lost a horseshoe as we were on our tour, so she got to see the horseshoe up close. Here's our lovely family shot!
Well first thing we did this morning was go swimming. For all who know me well, I hate to swim, especially when it's cold. This pool was cold, but both Jacee and Brooklyn loved every minute of it! We swam until we had to go eat...we couldn't loose our free breakfast... and Brooklyn kept asking if we could go again. Unfortunately, we couldn't. Walking back and forth across the street and down the road just takes some of the fun out of swimming.
After we ate and showered, we went to the Clark Planetarium. It was a little too old for Brooklyn, but she had fun watching the movie in the dome theater. After the planetarium, we went and got lunch.
By the time we got home both girls had crashed, but we had a super time! (Even if the pool wasn't working... getaways are just what a family needs!)

Easter

Because I really don't know how to do this, all these pictures are out of order! But you'll get the gist! These are pictures of my girls in their easter dresses. Thanks to grandma, they look awfully cute!

The day before Easter we went to the park by Chad's fire station for an easter egg hunt. I thought it began at 8, so in my mad rush to get out the door, I didn't bring coats. Instead, all I brought was a sweatshirt and found her red jacket in my trunk. It ended up being that the egg hunt wasn't until 8:30, so we spent a 1/2 hour waiting in the cold. We all froze!

And because Brooklyn was too cold to take her hands out of her pocket, this is the amount of goods that she got. The age division was 3 and under... most 1 year olds who were properly dressed walked away with more treats than Brooklyn!

And here's a picture of my girls together on Easter!

Traveling Help

We want to take a trip to Disneyland over UEA (October). Does anyone know the best way to plan a trip? Chad wants to fly. I started looking at rates and they don't look great. When is the best time to book a flight and should we use a travel agent? Is there a best place on the internet to use? Looking for all words of wisdom!

Disney Princesses

First off, I have no idea why this is underlining or in blue font, so if someone knows what the heck I have done, please let me know!

Last night Chad and I took Brooklyn on a special date to see the Disney on Ice, Princesses. Laura, Kenedy would love it!

Our date began at Westminister College where Chad and Brooklyn help me collect old reading books for our district. This left no time for Brooklyn to take a nap, only adding to the excitement and adventure of an already packed night.

We arrived at Gateway, went and exchanged a few clothes then went to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Pizza is Brooklyn's favorite food, much to the chagrin of me, but since it was her special night, I agreed and ordered a salad instead. Everywhere you looked, princesses surrounded us, but this is by far my favorite prince and princess!

We had a few minutes to waste after dinner, so we went to Barnes and Nobles where I got a cookbook that I have wanted since Christmas and got Brooklyn an Easter book. We changed clothes and then went to see the princesses!
Brooklyn really wanted to be Cinderella, but I wouldn't let her since she was Cinderella for Halloween when she was 2. Her dress is TRASHED because she has worn it continously since that day 1 1/2 years ago. She has a beautiful Snow White dress that she wore last Halloween, but instead decided to be Sleeping Beauty. (Ironically Sleeping Beauty is her favorite movie but she never plays in this dress!)
The show has all the princesses perform. Chad took pictures of all of them, but my favorite was Ariel. I just couldn't upload all the pictures I wanted.
As you can see, Brooklyn really just wanted to watch the show. She didn't like getting her picture taken. The show was actually PERFECT for kids. The pacing was fast and the length was perfect. Brooklyn loved every minute of it! In fact before the show began we told her she could pick out a prize. She wasn't even interested in that, she just wanted to get in to see the princesses! I thought for sure she'd want a wand that lights up or a glowing crown, which most girls picked out. Instead she wanted an Ariel necklace. When I asked her if she wanted a treat, she saw the Cotton Candy and asked what it was. I told her and said it is a shame that any 4 year old doesn't know what Cotton Candy is. I forked out the $10.00 yes... the price is true, I couldn't believe it. Lucky for me, she hated it. I guess I won't have to worry about being ripped off again!
Here is a picture of all of us on our little date. Brooklyn tired, and grouchy- but we had a wonderful time together and after the show went and got some Ice Cream. Yes, one day Chad took Brooklyn out for ice cream on a date and now EVERY date must include ice cream. And guess what... my kids actually slept in til 7:30 today. That is the first time since I can remember when that I wasn't out of bed before 6ish!

One Word

My friend Carrie sent this and since I really don't have very many people's e-mail address to respond, I'd thought I'd post it. Besides, I've feelin' no pressure since I spent all day yesterday cleaning my basement spic 'n span and my RS lesson is complete.... So here goes:

1. Where is your cell phone? Charger
2. Your significant other? Chad
3. Your hair? Thick
4. Your mother? Amazing
5. Your father? Joker
6. Your favorite thing? Reading
7. Your dream last night? Lesson
8. Your favorite drink? Water
9. Your dream/goal? Cruise
10. The room you're in? Office
11. Your Ex? Notta
12. Your fear? Failing
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Rich!
14. Where were you last night? WardParty
15. What you're not? Adventurous
16. Muffins? Blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? New Car
18. Where you grew up? Murray
19. The last thing you did? Laundry
20. What are you wearing? Sweater
21. Your TV? Old
22. Your pet? FISH! (I'm not saying it like it's a good thing either)
23. Your computer? sufficient
24. Your life? Fast-paced
25. Your mood? Tired
26. Missing someone? Stacey
27. Your car? Accord
28. Something you're not wearing? Earrings
29 Favorite Store? any (If no kids are involved!)
30. Your summer? relaxing
31. Like someone? Kids
32. Your favorite color? Red
33. When is the last time you laughed? Today
34. Last time you cried? Nana's funeral
35. Who will/would re-post this? Amber?

Tagging-A way to get Jill to update!

It's official... the only way I can remember to update is by a little pressure... So Amber, thanks for keeping me going on this blog thing.

So here's your chance to get to know me:

A- Attached or single: Attached (thank goodness... don't want to be single again for anything! Besides, I love my catch!)
B- Best Friends: I have many! Chad's my VERY best friend but I love my girlfriends too. Shamae, Stacey and Amber, and who could live without their mommy dearest? I'm so lucky to have so many awesome friends!
C- Cake or Pie: Pie (Banana Cream to be specific)
D- Day of choice: Friday; I love not working and having an extra day to get things done!
E- Essential item: Cell phone
F- Favorite color: Red
G- Gummy bears or worms: what... if it doesn't have peanut butter, I really don't love it!
H- Hometown: Murray
I- Indulgences: Lying down and reading a good book for a few hours with NO kids or husband interrupting me!
J- January or July: July... it's warm, need we day more?
K- Kids: Brooklyn (almost 4) and Jacee (9 months)
L- Life is not complete without: My family
M-Marriage Date: November 3, 2000
N- Number of Siblings: 2, A younger sister and brother
O- Oranges or apples: Apples, You can dip them in peanut butter for a good treat!
P- Phobias or fears: My greatest fear is that I will fail or have to sing in front of anyone! and I HATE spiders!
Q- Quotes: "Don't pray for challenges to meet your abilities, pray for abilities to meet your challenges".
R- Reason to smile: Chad, my girls, and no more waking up in the middle of the night!
S- Season: Spring
T- Tag three friends: Cathy, Amy and Holly Strong
U- Unknown fact about me: I hate procrastinating and am unable to "fly by the seat of my pants!"
V-Very favorite store: I have a few favorites, Gymboree and Nordstrom since that is the ONLY store that I can buy shoes from
W- Worst habit: Biting my nails when I get nervous.
X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasounds.... I love being pregnant! (Sorry Carrie, you're probably thinking I am pretty crazy right now!
Y- Your favorite food: Peanut Butter
Z- Zodiac: Capricorn

A little catching up...

Sorry it has taken me so long to write anything. You know you're slacking when people blog you to say get on the ball! I keep thinking of all these things to write about, but never do, so you'll hear about a whole bunch of random things at once!

First of all, the most exciting news...

It's a boy!

No, I'm not having another baby, but I might as well be, because I am so excited! I finally get to be an aunt! My sister is pregnant and due in June. I can't wait! My kids ADORE my sister. I can't wait to have that relationship. I do have nieces and nephews on Chad's side of the family, but they are all out of high school and it's just not the same as cute little kids!

The next picture is of Jacee. She is the BEST baby and one of my favorite things about her is that anytime she wakes up, she pulls the bumper pad down so she can see out. I mean EVERYTIME you to in there, you see this cute little face smiling at you. Most of the time time she's kicking her feet a hundred miles an hour too. There's a permanent crease in my bumper pads now from all the pulling... But seeing her cute smiling face each time is so worth it!

Everyone is seeming to have new bedspreads. I do too! Chad had to work on Valentine's day, so we had a date the day after. We were going to go to breakfast, but we got there too late and since because we had massages, we missed out on breakfast. After the massage, we went to the quilt store at Gardner Village and browsed. I liked this bedspread because it was the colors of my room and truly hated the one I picked before. All of their quilts were on sale, and I thought it was only 89.00. I thought I was getting a great bargain! But of course, with my luck, almost all of them were on sale. Mine wasn't, and I didn't get near the deal I thinking I was getting. I ended spending way more than I planned, but I still like it! Today I even went and bought more pillows and like it even better! Happy Valentine's day to me!
One of the main reasons I haven't blogged for so long is work is crazy! For those of you who don't know, I was supposed to work 1/2 time since school started, but a week before it did start, my partner's husband got transferred. I was working 3/5 time until Christmas when the district found me a new partner. I was so excited to go 1/2 time, (the difference is only 3 1/2 hours a week, but it makes all the difference!) but 2 weeks ago, my new partner quit. I am not sure why, but I am in a quandry about what to do. I think I will try to finish the year 1/2 time, but am clueless about what to do next year.

I have been praying pretty hard about what to do next year... stay 1/2 time or go back to 3/5 time, because emotionally this year has been so hard for me. I finally felt like I got an answer that I was supposed to stay 1/2 time and felt inspired about who to ask to job share with me. It was like the first time this year I have felt peaceful about this whole situtation. Well I thought for sure she'd say yes since I felt so inspired. But on Friday, she called to say as much as she wants to, she doesn't want to move her kids from the school they are at.

I should also mention that the district has made an exception for me to work 1/2 time. They don't let any other teacher do it. I feel pretty pressured to make it work, because I am a little afraid the HR guy won't let me keep doing it with all the problems this year and the exception that has been made, unless I find someone really good. I know of no one!

I feel comforted that at least I finally got an answer to work 1/2 time. Hopefully, it'll work out! I really don't want to have to work 3/5 time!

So these are the main highlights of the past month. I'll try to do better at staying up to date, and if anyone has got any great advice for me, I'll take it!

Thum

On Saturday, I took Brooklyn to Instacare for antibiotics #3 for her earaches. While at Target Pharmacy I see behind their shelf, on the counter, a little bottle called, "Thum." Well, it's stuff you put on fingers to help stop sucking your thumb and biting your nails. As all of you know, Brooklyn has a pretty bad habit of thumb sucking and hair twirling, and for $2.99 I thought I'd give it a try. (Now remember Brooklyn hasn't slept real well because of her earache.)

So by the time we get home from the pharmacy, it's time to eat lunch and take a nap. While Brooklyn is playing on the floor, I paint this stuff on her finger and her thumb because, well, heck, I want her to stop sucking her thumb right.

Well, I go downstairs and Chad attempts to put Brooklyn down for her nap. As she puts her finger in her mouth, she starts crying that it's spicy and runs and puts the thumb into a glass of water on the counter. At which point Chad goes and gets the bottle and reads the ingredients and directions and asks me if I have done the same. Let me share:

Directions: Apply to dry FINGERNAILS twice a day to help break the habit of nail biting and thumb sucking.

Ingredients: Cayenne pepper extract, citric acid, isopropyl alcohol, acetone, lacquer.

Caution: Thum rubbed on eyes will cause stinging, relieve by washing with cold water. Do not use on babies too young to realize repeated rubbing causes stinging. If evidence of skin irritation appears, discontinue use and apply cream or lotion. Thum is flammable: keep away from heat and open flame. Thum will stain clothing and furniture finishes.

So smart me, puts this not only on her nails, but entire thumb, while she is sick, without explaining to her what I am doing.

Needless to say, Brooklyn didn't get a nap that day, her thumb was red, swollen, and sore, and I have had to repeatedly promise not to use that stuff again. She was able to taste it for over 12 hours. Most of all Chad and I got a good laugh and I have probably blown a good chance to stop sucking her thumb.

Note to all thumb sucking moms: Thum is dangerous. Before using, explain what you're doing, don't use when your kid's sick, and most of all don't put it anywhere but on the nail! Enjoy a good laugh on me!

One More Thing

So last night I went into Brooklyn's room to get her jammies and this is what I found:

I don't know if you can tell from the picture or not, but all of her little people are perfectly lined up at the castle. (Brooklyn has quite the thing for lining things up). If you look, at the top of the castle, is the car mechanic. I started laughing so much because it was like all these people were worshipping the mechanic. So much for teaching Brooklyn the commandment "thou shalt not worship graven images," or do you think Heavenly Father got the same kick out if I did? Maybe he'll make an exception for plastic ones!

Playing in the Snow

Chad and I both had Monday off, so we promised Brooklyn we would make a snowman. We went out and tried, but found the snow too powdery, so we instead, just played (which I am sad to say is the first time I have ever played in the snow with Brooklyn.) This is as big as our snowman got!


Sometimes playing with Dad is just way more fun than mom!

More hockey!

Normally, one hockey game in a day is plenty for me, but after Chad's game everyone went out to dinner for Diane's (Chad's mom) birthday. Then, my mom took my girls home and Chad and I went to the Grizzlies game. Before we got married, this was Chad's idea of a perfect date. We went to more than I care to admit. Luckily, I taught him some other things we can do for a date now... But we had fun! Chad's mom and dad came to the game along with our nephew Josh and his girlfriend Ashby and daughter Kambrie, my cousin Cache and some other people we knew, but I don't have pictures of!

Dinner at Cracker Barrel.
Jim and Diane (our favorite babysitters!)

Cache and his friends...(girls, he's available!)
Josh, Ashby and Kambrie
And here is Chad and I on our first date in forever.. (sometimes where you go on a date doesn't matter near as much as going!)

Guns and Hoses

Firefighters 11- Cops 5

This is my cute firefighter! On Saturday Chad played in the Guns and Hoses hockey game to benefit cancer research. It was a lot of fun. Both of our families came and cheered Chad on. Hockey is Chad's number one passion. He didn't start playing until after we got married. (Which I find absolutely shocking). He is extremely athletic, but I would never have the nerve to go join a team when everyone else played high school or college hockey. But he goes out, competes and does such an incredible job and loves every minute of it! My version of an action shot!
My girls with my sister
This is Chad's family... his mom, dad, sister, niece and nephew.
We had lots of fun. You should have heard Brooklyn cheering... Go Burnside! It cracked me up!

Doing the tag thing...

Thanks Amy for clueing me in....

4 jobs I've had...
1. Head Customer Service at Ross department stores
2. Party Person (I don't remember my job title) at The Little Gym
3. Oakcrest Counselor
4. 2nd grade teacher and now Reading Specialist

4 movies I could watch over and over again....
*** I'm barely able to make it through a movie once without falling asleep. So instead, I'll do my favorite books...
1. The Time Traveler's Wife
2. Any Harry Potter Book
3. Gone with the Wind
4. Any Mary Higgins Clark book

4 places that I've lived...
1. West Jordan, Utah
2. South Salt Lake, Utah (that's as adventurous as I get!)
3. Logan, Utah
4. Murray, Utah

4 T.V. Shows I love...
1. The Biggest Loser
2. Survivor
3. Oprah
4. The news (I know pretty pathetic) I also really like a lot of the shows on TLC

4 places I have vacationed....
1. Oahu, Hawaii
2. San Francisco, California
3. Orlando, Florida,
4. New York, New York

4 foods I love...
1. Fry Sauce
2. Bread (sweet rolls, donuts, rolls, you get the idea)
3. Peanut Butter
4. Honey Mustard
(I know they really aren't meals, but my chances of liking it are much greater if these ingredients are included!)

4 sites I visit often (I don't get on the internet daily)...
1. zionsbank.com
2. google.com
3. blogger.com
4. winderfarms.com

4 places I'd rather be right now...
1. Getting a massage
2. Getting a full night's sleep
3. On a trip with Chad ANYWHERE
4. Reading a good book with no interruptions!

4 people I am tagging!
1. Leslie... it's time to update!
2. Amber Nelson
3. Anyone else out there who hasn't been tagged?

Tagging

What in the world is tagging? Yes, I know, I told all of you I am new to this... and I really don't have a clue what it means! Can someone tell me what to do? (Sorry Amy!)

Fish

For the last 7 1/2 years Chad has always begged me to set up his fish aquarium. Let me preface this by saying, I am NOT an animal person. I'm scared of dogs and don't like the smell nor mess of other animals. So you would think fish would be the perfect pet for me, but my experiences with fish haven't been so great either. In college my roommates and I decided to have goldfish. When I was changing the water, I forgot to plug the drain and one went down the disposal. Needless to say, I felt awful having to turn on the disposal soon after. And in high school, again changing the water, I burned one to death. I am not one you want to take care of your animals.

Well, back to my story, Chad has been pleading with me to set up his old tank. It looks old and cheap, but after 7 years of begging, I gave in... But when he was cleaning it out, it broke... (oh, darn). I thought that was the end of fish.

But then my mom came to me, asking what in the world she could get Chad for his birthday and Christmas. I came up with the idea of a new aquarium, knowing how excited he would be. So my mom bought this nice aquarium and stand, and then we just had to put it together. We spent an entire night putting the aquarium together. The girls were so cute, and Brooklyn was Daddy's helper. Here are pictures of them working together. I had to throw a picture of Jacee in just because she is SUCH a good baby and was being perfect the entire time.

This is Brooklyn sorting the pieces. Her job was to hand Dad the pieces that he needed. She now knows the names of all the parts better than I do!
Here are Dad and Brooklyn reading the directions together... TOO CUTE!
Well, no one told me how long it took to actually get an aquarium ready. I didn't realize you had to get rocks before you could put water in. Then you have to let the water do it's thing for 48 hours before you add fish. Finally last Monday we added fish. Brooklyn is so exicted. She named the fish, Chad, Jill, Brooklyn, and Jacee. Of course, Jill is the fish that always eats... what does that mean?
So as I was taking a picture of the aquarium to post this, I just realized Jacee died. Brooklyn is going to be devastated and of course Chad is working tonight. I'll have to update you on the calamity of the fish's death. (I told you I wasn't great at keeping fish alive.) I guess it's good that Petco has a 15 day guarantee!

Eating out

Can I just say that everything becomes more difficult with kids? Saturday I had a list of about 20 things to do. We needed to take back things, go shopping for food and our night ended by going to dinner with our friends to exchange Christmas/birthday gifts. All I was worried about was getting the kids down for a nap because I didn't want to do dinner with no naps. We all know what that leads to...

Well by the time Chad got his haircut, showered, and we finished Brooklyn's Meet Your Teacher Breakfast, it was 11:30 and we still needed to go to my mom's house to get receipts... now we are talking about noon and the kids haven't eaten, and now it's almost nap time. Luckily, my mother in law saved up again by letting us (chad and I) go shopping alone. It was like going out on a date... we are getting desperate when Mervyn's and Costco becomes our date. It was fun to be alone and Chad even put gel in his hair, shaved (that's usually only for days he works at the fire station) and had cologne on. We enjoyed our time immensely, but after going to Mervyn's to exchange some clothes for Chad and Costco, our date was short lived.

We picked up the kids, dropped off the food, and were off to Target and Famous Footwear. We then ran to Red Robin. We met our friends, the Sabins, who have kids the same age as ours. Did I say it's not the same with kids? During dinner we had tears about 3 times, 2 drinks spilled, and we saw our waitress only once. Not quite the experience I remembered before kids...

But really we had fun and you may not guess it from the picture, but Chad even had fun too. (Doesn't he look good , even if he is rolling his eyes)

These are our friends Shamae and Addy. Addy and Brooklyn are 9 days apart and act like sisters. They are constanly fighting, but love each other to death! After dinner we went back to the Sabin's house for dessert and exchanged presents. We had been trying to get together since the 20th of December, but we have each had sick kids. Thankfully, we are all healthy and we had lots of fun playing. Here is a picture of the girls playing dress-up! Thanks Sabin's for the good food, fun, and presents!

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is at the funniest stage. Her 2 favorite things in the world... make-up and dress-up. Daily we play nurse, which is what she insists that she is going to be. Just like her aunt Wawa. Chad keeps trying to talk her into being a doctor (after working in the ER he insists that nurses only deal with throw-up and poop.) It's the doctors who have the easy job.

My mom gave her all these dress-ups and that's what we play all the time. I am battling her about make-up too, but don't have any pictures... I'll have to get the make-up... she wears more than me most of the time.

Here are some cute pictures of her.

Here she is playing Nurse. I know the pictures aren't too flattering, but anyone who has played nurse with Brooklyn will appreciate it! (And my new brother in law is an incredibly good sport!)

Just like Daddy...

Brooklyn the chef.