the one about my hatred for scary stuff

It's Halloween! For the most part, I really love Halloween. For those who know me well, you know that I am a big fat chicken and I HATE HATE HATE scary stuff. I hate scary movies, scary creatures, I am scared of the dark, thunder and lightening, and I especially hate being startled. I really can't handle it. You will never find me at a haunted house, haunted movies, haunted woods, or haunted ANYTHING! Sometimes when the previews for scary movies come on, I change the channel. That is how much I hate it. You will all think I am a big baby when I tell you this because people say these movies aren't even that scary, but I have watched The Sixth Sense and The Blair Witch Project and they both scared the living crap out of me. I decided, NEVER AGAIN! No kidding, I still have nightmares about the Blair Witch Project.

I mentioned how I hate being startled; it's true. Let me tell you a few stories..

Janice used to love to scare me, and at Bunco one time, it was at my house and I had gone to the bathroom. When I came out, she was standing around the dark corner and she jumped out at me. I screamed for like a week! I was all nervous to come out of my bathroom for a few days. So now, I make sure I don't drink much on Bunco night so I don't have to pee. But when ever I try to pay her back, she is isn't even phased by my "BOO!" She is lots tougher than me and she loves scary movies. She doesn't really try to scare me anymore because she knows how much I hate it.

Here is another startle story. I got an email last year around Halloween. It was one of those that you are watching the video and something jumps out and scares you. Well, no kidding, I FREAKED!!!!! My heart was racing for the longest time. It actually made me cry it scared me so bad. Then like a week later, I got another one that was some kind of an IQ test and it says, "Study the two maps and find the differences." I was all into it. I was going to prove how smart I was. Well, holy crap. Something flew out at me and screamed and I seriously ran up my stairs screaming and FREAKING OUT! I was so upset. I decided from then on, that I would be very cautious about opening forwards. Infact, I seldom open any of them because I am afraid someone is going to try to scare me.

I am a big fat baby.

I could go on and on about being a fradey cat, but I won't. It must seem weird to you that I love Halloween so much. It seems weird to me too. But I only love the cute stuff. The harvest things, the parties, the candy, the pumpkins and all of that cool stuff. I love to decorate my house for Halloween, but most of my stuff is Harvest/Fall stuff. Then I can leave it up a while, until I put my Christmas tree and decor up before Thanksgiving. I love the holidays!

Last night Gleneita, Talia, Quayd and I went to the Annual Pumpkin Festival.

We go together about every year. Brett isn't all that into it, so we take Quayd and have lots of fun. Brayden and Brennen always carve pumpkins and enter them in the festival so we like to try and find them. Brayden is in 4-H and his group was in charge of the refreshments, but the lines were so long and it started to rain, so we didn't get to enjoy. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner instead. We walked through all of the pumpkin displays and they made a maze out of hay bails. Quayd loved the maze! They also had a huge bon fire. We had a fun night!

I don't usually dress up, but Kathy and I decided it would be fun to dress up for Curves this morning. I wore a witch costume and Kathy was a bat. We really aren't very cute at 6:00 in the morning. Costumes or not. We are dorks! Not many people dressed up, but it was fun. There was a cowgirl there and we got quite a kick out of her! I came home and showered instantly and I do not plan of dressing up again today! I have a cute Old Navy Halloween shirt, so that will be the extent of my dressing up.

Now it is time to prepare myself for this long day! I need to map out our trick-or-treating route and get the crimson chin in costume! He is excited. And so am I. Happy Halloween everybody! Tune in tomorrow for pictures!

the one about journaling

Every Monday night, Gibler's whole family gets together for Family Home Evening. They have a lesson, an activity and dinner. Last night, we were lucky enough to be invited. They take turns hosting it, but this week it was Gibbie's turn. We were so excited and grateful to be a part of it! We had breakfast food for dinner and it was delicious. The lesson was on journals and it made me realize how truly important it is for us to document our lives. I am grateful I have been getting back into my journaling. Even though most of my entries are just my blog, I still feel like I am doing my part to keep a record of me and my family. I look forward every day to the personal time I get to spend journaling. I have told this story many times before, but allow me to tell it again. The moment I found out I was pregnant, nearly 6 years ago, I decided that I needed to keep a very detailed record of the entire experience. I started the moment my pregnancy suspicions were confirmed. I typed it on the computer, printed it, and kept it in a cute 3 ring binder. I still have this journal today and I go back and read it often. It is one of my most prized posessions. If my house ever caught on fire, that journal would be one of the first things I went for. I don't think it is a coincidence that I was so faithful to keep that journal. I truly feel like I was inspired. I think Heavenly father knew the trials I would endure so He helped me record it all. In detail, I wrote about every appointment, every kick, every bit of morning sickness, I mean EVERYTHING! Now knowing that I will never experience pregnancy again, I treasure that book. I have actually been going through it recently. I read an entry or two each night before I go to bed. I was such a dork! But it is so fun to see my excitement as I went through that monumental time in my life. How fun for Quayd to get to read all about it when he is older. I would love to know my mother's excitement (or dissapointment :)) when she was pregnant with me. If nothing else, Quayd will know that he was loved from the very first moment of his life!!!


Brett's Denver Broncos played Monday night football last night. He and Kayle locked themselves in Gibler's basement so they could watch them loose. Our lives STOP for the Broncos. Kayle is just as bad, so I am glad they have each other. They sat down there and discussed the offense, the defense, strategy, and what they would do if they were on the coaching staff. Kayle even said he was ready to suit up and play if they needed him. We came home during the half and the phone was ringing. It was Gleneita. She started throwing out her strategy and game plan too. She is just as bad as the boys! I like to know how they are doing and stuff, but I don't really get into it that much. I love for them to win because it makes our home a happy place for the rest of the week!


When I left for Curves this morning at 6:00, it was pouring rain. But it was lots warmer at 50 degrees. It looks like it is just going to be a yucky rainy day. It makes we want soup, hot cider and homemade bread. Tonight is the Pumpkin Festival in Jensen. It is really cool to walk through the Jensen park and see all of the creative pumpkins. I really love it. They serve the BEST hot chocolate ever. Brett doesn't love to go, so I usually go with Gleneita and Quayd. Kimmie also talked about going tonight, so we will see. Hope it's not too cold. Speaking of pumpkins, Quayd insisted we carve his last night. He drew the face, mom gutted it, and dad used the knife to carve it. It is cute, and he did a good job.



Kandice called me last night from the hospital. Her baby is sick. He started throwing up really bad last night and they admitted him. He was super dehydrated so he is on IV fluids. Poor baby. She called to see if I could bring her a clean shirt because Kayler threw up all over hers. She also asked if I could bring her a treat. Quayd and I dipped Halloween shaped pretzels in white chocolate yesterday, so I took her some of those, a pudding, and I stopped at 7-11 to get her some nachos and a Pepsi. I hope it helped her. I just love her so much. I worry about her and her kids. When they get sick, they get REALLY sick. She is such a great friend to me and I depend on her so much. I love you K!


Well, I hope my post finds all of my readers well. I love you all!

the one about Quayd

So, I am going to copy cat Kandice and dedicate an entire days worth of blogging to the people that I love the most. Don't be offended if you don't see your name right away (Ma) it will just depend on my mood and what ever experiences I had with that person.

I have kind of been a baby lately. I am just over emotional and have been a little freaky lately. I know that I can't have anymore babies and 94% of the time, I am fine with it. But occasionally I struggle. I am always CRAZY excited and happy for my friends having babies. I never get upset about that stuff. I promise. But I just get a little sad sometimes. I do the "Why me?" and the "It's not fair" thing about 6% of the time. Anyway, I get emotional and sentimental with every one of Quayd's milestones. Every Birthday is hard on me. I just get a little sad to think that he is growing so fast. He is becoming so independent and smart. Several things happened this summer that really hit me hard. Such as; saying good bye to the training wheels and riding a two wheel bike. He doesn't like his "baby toys" anymore, now he is into action figures and scary stuff. He prepared for Kindergarten. He learned all of his letters and numbers and is starting to read. He turned 5. He is better on the computer than I am. He spent the night, THE WHOLE NIGHT, at a friends house. Anyway, just stuff like that. He just grew up too much this summer. He is not only 5, but he is a mature 5 year old. I just can't believe it is going so fast. I miss my baby boy, but I also LOVE watching him get older. I really dreaded Kindergarten, but, surprise, I kinda love it. This is such a fun stage. He is making friends and learning so much. I love working with him everyday on his reading, helping him with his homework and just sitting down and discussing the days events. He is so special. I wish I could write all of the amazing things he says and does.

When Brett's Dad died, Quayd was very upset. He will be the only grandchild that will remember his Grandpa. They had a very special relationship. Quayd was definately Papa's boy. We tried to explain it all to him the best we could, but it broke our hearts when he cried and said he missed his Papa. At the funeral, when we closed the casket, we all walked up, kissed Mike and told him good-bye. Quayd was nervous to touch him, but finally did, right at the end. As we had the family prayer, Quayd just started to sob. While we walked into the Chapel, I carried him as he cried and I think the whole room cried with him as they saw his sad face. He talked for days about the Resurrection and asked if Papa would come back to life in 3 days like Jesus did. He also told us that now Papa is perfect and that he is singing with the angels. What 5 year old thinks of this stuff? At his Primary Program, he told us he thinks he got Papa's beautiful singing voice and that he thinks he was there listening to him. As Halloween approaches, he was very concerned about Papa not having a pumpkin, so we took one to his grave. Quayd sat right down and started talking to his Papa like he was just sitting right there. And he probably was. What an amazing kid.

Quayd has so many friends. He and Brennen are great buddies, but they fight a lot. When they get mad at each other, Quayd will be devastated, but Brennen just goes on his merry little way, unphased. It breaks Quayd's heart. That is the kind of person he is. But it's so funny, when he gets really mad at Brennen, he tells him that he wants to break up with him! I actually think they are broken up right now.

A couple weeks ago, we invited Gleneita over for dinner. Before she got there, Quayd told me that when he gets big, I can come over to his house for dinner anytime I want. "You don't even have to ask," he told me. Then he said, "I won't mind, and neither will Taylor." Cute huh!

He had a friend, Drake, spend the night last night. They played and played and had so much fun, but when it came time to go to sleep, he wanted to sleep in his bed. His bed is on mom and dad's floor. (Yes, I am a sucker!) We told him that he needed to sleep in his bed we made for them in the living room, or else Drake would be sad. Quayd was just so emotional. Finally, Drake went to sleep and so did Brett. I was waiting for Quayd to drift off before I could relax. About 11:00 Quayd came into my room and cried to me. He asked if I could just come in the living room with him for a minute. I agreed. When I got in there, he asked me to rock him in my chair. (I am kind of tearing up right now telling this story.) He climbed up on my lap and I rocked him to sleep. And I cried. And I cried some more. My baby boy still needs me! He still depends on me and sometimes he wants me to rock him to sleep. I just sat and stared at him, crying, like I used to when he was tiny. I kissed him all over and told him I loved him and I prayed to Heavenly Father, thanking him for sending me this special boy. Although he went to sleep almost instantly, I stayed up until 1:00 rocking him. It was one of the most amazing nights.

These are just a few of the special things about Quayd that I cherish. I don't know how I got so lucky. He is amazing. Brett and I joke that Quayd is what happens when 2 wrongs make a right! It's true. We don't deserve such a great kid. I guess Heavenly Father knew that we were idiots and that we needed a good one to teach us and keep us on the right path. I think I mentioned before that I print my blog entries and keep them in my journal. So Quayd, someday whe you are reading this, please know how much I love you. You are the most amazing person in the world. Thanks you for everything you have taught me so far. I can't wait to watch you grow some more. But please, don't forget, Mommy is ALWAYS here to rock you to sleep. I love you baby boy!

the one about being tagged

I love an excuse to blog! It is my new favorite activity. Although, I find it hard to really talk and brag about myself. I think I have a pretty average life. Nothing to exciting but not WAY boring. Just Average. So when I got the invite from Ramanda to play this "TAG" game, I welcomed the opportunity. Bear with me as I take on the challenge!!

The rules:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Here goes!!

Fact #1: I love being a girl! I am so grateful that I am a woman and I love every part of it. (Ok, except about every 28 days for like a week. I don't LOVE that part of being a woman.) I cannot imagine how incomplete I would feel if I were a yucky, stinky boy. I don't really love my body or anything, but I am glad I have the girl parts. Girls get all of the good stuff. We get, most importantly, the mom thing. I think I say this in every single post, but I am so grateful that I am a mother. There is no greater blessing in the whole world. I feel like Heavenly Father must love me sosososososososososososososo much to trust me with one of His special spirits. He must think I am really great to let me experience pregnancy, motherhood, and, most importantly, womanhood. Our beloved Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley said this of women: “Woman is God’s supreme creation. Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the night, after the waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was woman created; and only then was the work pronounced complete and good." I am not like a feminist or anything, I am just proud to be a woman. I feel like women have a very sacred roll on this Earth and I am thankful to be a part of it.

Fact #2: I have some weird OCD issues. I am not really a germ-a-phobe or a clean freak, but I am a little freaky about letters and numbers. I am also freaky about cabinet doors and drawers being open, crumbs on tables and counters, stray hairs, crooked pictures, dust, and clutter. Please don't misunderstand me. Again, I am NOT a clean freak. Walk in my house and you will see. And these things, in NO WAY, bother me anywhere but in my own home. I want my home to be a place where people like to come and relax. That they can just walk in and sit down. Wear your shoes in or take them off, I don't care. Put your feet on the furniture, eat in the living room, whatever, I don't care, just get comfortable. Ok, now lets talk about the letters and numbers thing. I get really freaked out by names and the way you spell them. For instance, my friend Kimmie is married to Kayle, they have Kasen, Kenna and Kaylee. That is great. I love that. It is very harmonic. We have Brett, Mandy and Quayd. It is good too, because none are the same. Holly really stressed me out when her last baby was not given an "S" name. She has Alison, Scott, Spencer and Jacob. Now the Alison thing is ok because she is a girl. If Jacob had been a girl, he would have needed an "A" name. (Sorry Holly, no offense. I love your kids and their names, this is just the HELL that I live in!) Janice's twin, Frances has Marcus, McKayla and Cambree. Great names, but the "C" threw off the whole dynamics of her family. My Brother, Brandon, has Brayden and Brennen. Now if they were to have anther child and it was a boy, of course, go with the "B" thing, but a girl would need a "D" name, like Danette. If we ever had another child, it could not have a "B," an "M," or a "Q." Then two people would be left out. It's weird, huh. Now the number thing isn't as weird, but still kinda strange. I remember most phone numbers, any bank account number that I have ever had, my High School locker combination, and I can tell you the exact price of almost anything at the grocery store. But I don't remember these things just to remember them, I can like see them in a pattern in my mind. It's all pattern-ey and color coded. I know, I'm a freak. I am not intellegent or anything so it's not anything like that. Infact, Brett says I am an idiot savant when it comes to certain things. I think that is an insult. Maybe I shouldn't be proud of that. Oh Well.

Fact #3: I hate games. I really do. I play in a Bunco group. I love the group and I love to get together, but sometimes I dread the game. I hate board games, Nintendo, XBOX, cards, Arcades, computer games ... all of it. I hate it all. Although, I really love Guitar Hero on Playstation 2. And I am really good at it. It is another one of Brett's idiot savant things.

Fact #4: I love to be silly. I just love to be able to let loose and be a goof ball. I love being a kid. Here are some pictures we took last night on a double date with our friends, Gibler and Kayle.





We were just being stupid and it was so much fun.
Fact 5: I love to cook. I love to try new things and share them with my family and friends. I cook for my grandparents occasionally and I just love it. When ever I make a treat, I always run some next door. It probably drives them crazy, but it makes me feel so good.

Fact 6: I like canned meat. And bologna. Gross huh. I'm sorry. Don't judge me.

So those are my facts. Sorry some of them are a little long. What did I tell ya? pretty boring. Anyway, Kandice, Hope, Janice, Alison and Ramanda (I don't have 6 blog friends yet, I am still new!) please take this challenge. I will be checking on you to make sure you do it.

the one about the school Halloween party

So I have had a crazy two days... so busy infact, I didn't have time to blog yesterday and I feel a little weird about it. All day yesterday, I would think, "I need to blog about this," or "That would be a good blog topic." Of course, it is all forgotten today. So off to new things.

First thing, I am playing on a Women's City League Volleyball team and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I always thought I hated volleyball. I actually thought I hated all sports. I had no confidence and I know I am not super athletic but about a year ago, I decided to try to play for fun and guess what? IT REALLY IS FUN! So Janice put a team together this year and I jumped at the opportunity to play. We just started a couple of weeks ago and I am already dreading the season coming to an end. I am really not any good, but I sure have a great time. In the spring, I got a wild hair and decided to play softball. I put a team together. We had fun, BUT NEVER AGAIN! It was a nightmare trying to make sure I had a team and calling and reminding everyone. It was a joke. Towards the end, we had to forfeit several games and it sucked. And it was super embarassing. But back to volleyball, my baby sis-in-law, Talia, plays with us and I am so glad. (She played softball too.) I just love her to death. She is only 18, but she is truly one of my very best friends. She is so much more mature than an 18 year old girl. She is a good listener, gives good advice and she is just a total sweet heart. Sometimes she will just come over to see Quayd and I and I just LOVE it. She is so special to me. I started dating Brett when she was 7. Holy crap she was cute! But now she is HOT! I have so many memories of her just being a silly little girl and now being a crazy teenager. She is such a good sister, aunt and friend. Ok, I keep changing the subject.... back to VOLLEYBALL! We lost our very first game on October 11th. We won our game on (my birthday) October 18th. Last night we had two games; won one, lost one. Its so fun. This is our team.
Back Row: Stacey, Kristie, Tara, Rusti, Amy. Front Row: Lani, Janice, Me and Talia is the lone ranger on the middle row. Our team name is "Rockstars." We are self-sponsored, so we got to name ourselves. We are actually pretty decent. We are on the lowest/worst league, but we aren't loosing every game. That's good, right? And most importantly, we are having a BLAST!

Ok, my next item of business is Quayd's Halloween Party at school today. It was so much fun. I was the head mom in charge, and I had three other mom's there to help. This is what we did... First, all of the kids decorated a brown paper bag to put all of their goodies in. Then we broke them up into groups of 5 and we had 4 different centers. They all rotated through the different centers. We had a bowling game. It was two liter pop bottles decorated like ghosts and they rolled a gord to knock them over. We had a Halloween Bingo game. Hot potato, but it was a witch's broom and they played the song "Monster Mash." Finally, we decorated Nutter Butter cookies as ghosts. Then after they completed all of the centers, they hit a piniata. This cute little girl, Alexa is the one who broke it and she was so excited! She didn't care about what was inside, she was just so thrilled that she crushed it. She told me, "I have never broken a piniata before!" She was as excited as I would be if I won the lottery. It was so cute.
This is Quayd and his little crush, Brinklee. She is such a cute little girl. Quayd's best friends at school are Brinklee and Raymond (Quayd and Raymond are sitting next to each other in the class picture, Raymond is wearing a black t-shirt with green stuff on it.) They are all three such good kids, I am glad they are friends. Well, I was very pleased with how the party turned out. I was nervous about it, but it came together well. I am again, so grateful for the opportunity to help in Quayd's class. It means the world to me. Really.

the one about exercise, candy and Chick-Fil-A

UPDATE: Before I forget, the Crimson Chin costume has arrived at the Lane home, and I have one VERY excited boy! He has been wearing it a little, and it is darling! I will not post pictures, though, until Halloween. I want to captivate my readers and keep you coming back!

Infact, I need to thank all of my faithful readers. So many people have told me that they read my blog, and I am so FLATTERED!!! I truly have the most boring life and I am just so honored that you really care enough about me to read it. (snif, snif) And I feel like i have really started something here. Now 2 of my friends have started blogging because of me! Janice and Kandice, Way to go!

So I have been going to Curves for the last couple of weeks. I really quite enjoy it. I wasn't sure if I would, but I really do. My workout buddy, Kathy, comes and picks me up around 6:00 am. Sometimes, Gibler comes with us, so we swing by her house. We have a porch light signal. If the porch light is on, Kathy stops. If it is off, she knows to drive on by. Gib did come today, but she wasn't feeling well again. Poor girl. Anyway, we visit, catch up on all of the gossip and she brings me home by 6:45. Speaking of exercise, I have noticed that the older I get, the more I sweat. Is that normal? I seriously sweat like a big fat pig. I have to get a towel and dry off my sickening fat head several times during my workout. Gross, huh. And I also had to get weight lifting gloves to use while I go around the circut. My baby soft hands were starting to get calluses and they hurt super bad. So I look like a dork, but I don't care. I look like a dork anyway. We finish our workout, stretch, and head home. When I get out of her car, I jump into Brett's truck, start it and turn the heat on so it will be nice and warm for him to leave by 7:00. I visit with him for a second and our day begins. I TRY to blog at that time, but it doesn't always work. Today it did. It is 7:20 am right now, and look at me go! By 8:15-ish, I wake prince-charming and get his day started. It doesn't come without a fight. He is a little bear in the morning. But a cute little bear!

Today, I am going Visiting Teaching with my partner and friend Holly at 11:00.

Last night, Quayd's buddy Kasen had a piano recital. It was a Halloween concert. They wore their costumes and played Halloween music. He did so great! He was adorable as Captain America. He had asked Quayd to come a long time ago and Quayd was pretty excited. Way to go Kasen!

Now I would like to talk about candy. I am really not a big candy person, but I get on "kicks" for certain things. I really don't love chocolate. I will eat it, but it is not my favorite. Although, sometimes, I just crave a little chocolate something. I love licorice. Black or red (not that chocolate crap). I like old fashioned black licorice flavored stuff. Yum. Gleneita, my mom, and my cute grandpa, Pop, love black licorice too. Gleneita hates anything that oozes but she likes Slap Sticks and all of that weird old lady licorice mix candy. My mom kinda does too. Pop likes all of it, but we always get him these black licorice chewy pipe things at the candy store. I guess he likes them. He eats them and doesn't complain! Brett is so freaking picky. He makes me crazy. He hates peanut butter, nuts (except peanut M&M's), chewy mysterious things, any weird textures or anything that might melt or change consistency in heat or cold. he loves gummy bears, but only a certain brand (Haribo). He likes Skittles, Starbursts, Mambas, Kit Kat, Rolos, Caramellos, and the apple pie apples at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I was really on a cinnamon Jolly Rancher kick for awhile, but it is finally starting to fade. I love peanut butter anything. Reece's, Reece's pieces, Butterfinger, Fast Break, and chick-o-sticks. Is that what they are called? I am really into caramels right now. So here I sit at my computer downing a whole bag. Meanwhile, I can't figure out why I am fat and I just tried to convince all of you that I am really not a candy person.

Chick-o-sticks made me think of a funny story. I am a small town girl, never really traveled much before I was married. My mom and I would go to SLC occasionally and we would always see this restaraunt in the malls. Chick-Fil-A. You know what I'm talking about. Well this will be hard to explain in text, but we FOREVER thought it was Chick-Fil-a, making the "a" short. We always thought it was the weirdest name for an eating establishment. Well a few years ago I told Brett that I have always wanted to eat at Chick-Fil-a. He laughed and laughed and has teased me ever since. I did finally eat there with Janice last summer and I must say, it was delicious.

Wow, what a boring blog. Sorry readers. Hope I didn't disappoint.

the one about Quayd's day at school

On Tuesdays, I go into Quayd's class and help out. I LOVE it! I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to do it. Quayd is still at the age that he thinks its cool for his mom to come to school with him, but I shudder at the thought of him deciding he would rather I park down the block to drop him off. My heart just swells with love and pride when I see him in "big boy" settings. I am always so proud of what a good boy he is. So, I observed many things in his class today. Allow me to share...

Observation #1. He loves to go to school and eat breakfast in the cafeteria. Usually, his buddy Kasen goes with him. So today, we, as usual, were running late. We fly over to Kasen's, pick him up and head for school. Quayd likes me to eat with him on the days that I help in class. I don't usually eat, I just buy a milk and sit with him. It's very hard, though, not to take care of him like I do at home. I wanted to get his tray for him, tell the lady his name, open his milk, spread butter on his muffin, dump his tray and wipe his sweet face when he was all finished. But I can't. He has to learn this stuff on his own. But I certainly didn't fight him when he wanted to hold my hand on his way to class!

Observation #2. We get to class and I watch him cheerfully tell his teacher, "Good Morning!" He hangs his backpack and takes his seat. When it was time, he stood, placed his hand over his heart, and said the Pledge of Allegiance. (I am a huge dork! I am very patriotic and I sorta tear up when I hear the entire school reciting the Pledge in unison, and knowing that my sweet 5 year old is among them and knows it word for word.) They were then instructed on the days events and the learning began. They worked on the letter "I" for their phonics lesson, worked on numbers a little, talked about how important it is to brush and floss, he passed off his Pre-Reader books, and passed off the lower-case "d" in his handwriting lesson. What a smartie!

Observation #3. When the class was divided into "Centers," Quayd was placed with kids who are on his same learning level. They were in groups of 5. It is amazing to see the difference in each child as they conquer different skills. Quayd, I am proud to say, is in the top of his class. Even though he is the youngest, by far. While they were in "centers," they were in the "kitchen" area. The kids in his group were being very silly and loud. Not bad, just loud. Mrs. R. had to get after them a bit, and told them if they couldn't be quiet they would have to sit with their heads down. Quayd straightened right up and was as quiet as a mouse. I was working with one of the groups on their handwriting skills and I knew it wasn't my place to get involved. So I observed. Three of the others couldn't stop! (They were actually being so silly and cute. It was fun to watch.) So teacher sent them all to sit with their heads down. Well, Quayd was DEVASTATED! He hates to be in trouble and it broke his tender little heart to know that he had to put his head down. To him, that is the worst punishment. I looked over at him and realized he was sobbing. I finally walked over to his desk and told him that it was ok and that sometimes we get in trouble. He told me that he didn't want to be "a bad kid." I assured him that he was not a bad kid and that we all make mistakes. Mrs. R. released them from their prison and allowed them to play again. The other kids weren't even phased by the punishment. Quayd walked right over to his teacher and said, "I am so sorry Mrs. R. I will never be bad again." She told him she was sorry and that she shouldn't have put him in time out because he was being good. Then he was fine. He got over it very quickly, but I know it is not something he will soon forget.

Observation #4. Quayd has a little crush on an adorable girl named Brinklee. They played at recess together, they sit next to each other and they hang out as much as they can.

Observation #5. His friend, Raymond, was absent today.

Observation #6. I really should have been a Kindergarten teacher. I thought about it, but didn't want to go to school. I would have been good at it. It would have been rewarding. Oh well.

Observation #7. I am so fortunate to be a mother and to be loved so much. I am blessed to be able to stay at home and care for my son and have the opportunity to help at his school.

And my final observation is that Quayd is the cutest, sweetest, kindest and most handsome boy that has ever gone through Elementary school. Ever.

the one about our pets

When I was trying to decide what to blog about today, I asked my friend Kandice for a topic. She suggested I talk about my pets. That is a good Idea, but very surprising coming from her. She isn't a big animal fan. Although, her cute daughter has wanted a pet FOREVER but she is really allergic so they have avoided it for as long as possible. Until Kandice's in-laws got involved. They researched and studied and found a breed of dog that can stay outside, doesn't shed, and is good with kids. I can't remember the breed, but they did get it. Kandice was a little mad at first, but it's funny because she has taken quite a liking to the dog! It's name is Dexter and they all just love it. Its kinda funny.

Well, over the years I have decided that I am definately a CAT person, not a dog person. I like other people's dogs. Well, not really. I just don't love them. I believe that all animals are God's creatures and I love them, but I just don't want one. I am a TERRIBLE dog owner. Don't get me wrong, I am nice and all, but like, they pee and stuff. They are too hard to train and I am not smart enough to figure it all out. We got a dog when Quayd was about 18 months old, and we really loved her. Her name was Miffy. Quayd called her Mippy. She was so dumb, but so sweet and loving. She was a pretty good dog. But she kindof got ran over. By us. It was awful. It was on Mother's Day a few years ago and we were just leaving for Church, I think. Well she was outside, not chained up (I know, we are stupid) and she came running to follow us. I could see her on my side. I told Brett to slow down, and he said, she will stop. She usually did. But then..... THUD. We pulled over, turned around, and there she was, in the middle of the road. Not Alive. (sorry, I couldn't say the "D" word.) Quayd says, "What Mippy doing?" Anyway, we burried her, and felt like total idiots. It sucked. For the longest time, Quayd (he was 2 1/2 then) would say, "We had a dog. Mippy. But my dad runned her ober." Isn't that just a terrible story?

We have had cat(s), though, through our entire marriage. And I have had at least one since I was a little girl. My cat I had since about 4th grade was a big beautiful grey persian. His name was Kitty. Then in high school I got another cat, a siamese manx and her name was also Kitty. So the persian became Big Kitty. A few months later... Kitty became Mama Kitty. So I had Mama Kitty and Big Kitty. Then she had babies. So we had Big Kitty, Mama Kitty, Black and White Kitty, Orange Kitty, and Mulit-colored Kitty. And another aby kitty that kinda had some problems. They all had no tails but this one had a deformed back end. It couldn't control its poop either. So my mom and I made little diapers and stuff. But we eventually had to put it down. It was so sad. We went into the vet BAWLING! Anyway... So after I got married, we got a kitten. Its name was (no joke) Mmmmmmmmmmmmmbebbbbessss. We would say it all wierd and she would come running. We lived in an apartment and we weren't supposed to have pets. We got caught and the landlord to us we had to get rid of her. We were devastated, so we bought a house. Can you believe that? We are so dumb. She eventually got hurt or in a fight or something and we took her to the vet. They put her on antibiotics and she had a weird allergic reaction and her heart stopped. And we had another cat at the time that I couldnt resist at Wal-mart. His name was Ray-do. Long story. Anyway, during the time Mmmmmmmmmmmmmbebbbbessss was at the vet, Ray-do fell down our stairs and was paralized. They tried several things to help him, but he never regained feeling in his back legs. So two days after Mmmmmmmmmmmmmbebbbbessss, we had to put Ray-do down. It was awful. We also had two lab mut dogs, Cyprus and Jasper. When we moved up by Brett's mom and dad's, they got into the neighbors chicken coops. Then they wouldn't stay out of them and were killing lots of chickens. So we had to give them away. A few months after the cat fiasco, we adopted Skeet from the animal shelter. We still have him today. He is our baby. He and Quayd love each other so much. Skeet sleeps on Brett and I all night and sometimes he sleeps with Quayd. When i found out I was pregnant, it was like Skeet knew exactly what was going on. He was in the Nursery all the time. He would hop up in the crib, snoop in the drawers and closet and if people came to see the nursery, he was right there in the middle of it. After we had Quayd, it was just as bad. But he would hop up in the crib and sleep with Quayd. He is such a good cat. We love him just like he is one of our kids. We also have Orange. We have had him about 2 years. He is so dumb! But we love him too. He is Quayd's cat. Quayd packs him all over and just smothers him to death, but Orange doesn't care. We got a puppy about a year ago, but it just didn't work out, so my mom has him now. (Sorry about that, Mom.) So there. That is our animal story. We have great adventures, don't ya think?

the one about our Primary Program

Today was our Primary Program at Church. Can I just tell you that Quayd is, hands down, the cutest boy ever? He looked so handsome in his new suit and he said both of his parts very well. He was also one of the loudest singers. He took it very serious and he did a great job! We were so proud of him. I am a Primary teacher, so I had to "babysit" on the stand. I got placed by some of the "naughty" boys, so I didn't feel like I really got to enjoy the program. Although, when I hear the children sing "Listen, Listen" and "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," it's hard not to feel the spirt. Gleneita and Talia came to support and that really meant a lot. It was a very special program. We had a full house! Lots of Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and more. My friend Kimmie's son, also Quayd's best friend, Kasen, played a violin solo, "I am a Child of God," which was very beautiful. My friend Holly and her daughter Alison sang a duet. Anyway, I could go on and on, but I won't. But I will say this... We have, of course, been sad and missing my Father-in-Law a lot. Mike wouldn't have missed this for anything. I told Quayd that I know without a doubt that his Papa was there watching and listening to him and that I know he must have been very proud. Brett said that during one part of the program, he could feel his Dad right there. Pretty awesome. I say all of the time that I know Mike really isn't that far away.

We came home from Church and I had to take some pictures of my handome boy and his handsome daddy. Then brett took one of Quayd and I. Well, Quayd didn't want to be left out, so he took one of Brett and I.

So that was our day. Hopefully the rest of it will be spent relaxing. I wish you all a great Sunday!!!

the one about our cruise

Because I really have nothing very exciting to talk about today, I am going to cover our family vacation. We have only been home for a couple weeks, so it is still new news! I wish we were still on Vacation. It was so nice and warm and beautiful. Then we came home to the arctic. I swear when we left for vacation, it was summer. But we came home to fall. Not just the beginning of fall, but hard-core, freezing, leaf falling, stormy, cold fall. I actually love fall though. It is, no-doubt, my favorite season. I love the changing colors, the chill in the air, and the anticipation of the holidays. Ok, enough of the real world, lets talk vacation!

We left on Sunday, September 23rd. We drove to Denver, flew the red-eye to Atlanta, switched planes and continued to Miami. Once we got to Miami, it was monday morning. We took a Royal Caribbean transfer bus to Ft. Lauderdale and boarded the ship. The first thing we did on the ship was eat, and then sleep. We didn't sleep well on the plane the night before so we were EXAUSTED! Quayd actually slept well on the plane, but not mom and dad! Our stateroom had a nice king sized bed and a bunk bed that folded down from the celing. We all just piled in that big bed and crashed! After our nap we kinda wandered the ship and tried to see everything. IMPOSSIBLE! The ship was huge. If you are not familiar with a cruise let me explain the dinner stuff. Beacause now I am an expert. You either eat dinner at 6:00 or 8:30. We had the 8:30 meal. When you go in to eat the first night, you go to an assigned seat and that is where you sit for every dinner. The three of us were seated at a table with Brett's uncle Chad and his wife Marcie. They were so much fun! You have the same head waiter, waiter, and assistant waiter every night. We LOVED our wait staff. They were so much fun. In this picture, from left to right; Chad, waiter Sebastian from Honduras, Brett, Quayd, our head waiter Ajay, Marcie, Me, and our assistant waiter "Bread Boy" Bradley from Jamaica. Every night we had a different menu and you choose from about 5 different appetizers, entrees and desserts. Chad and I were very brave and tried lots of different stuff, but Brett and Marcie were not so much. The rest of our group was seated near us at 2 different tables. We had 17 in our group. The 5 of us, Grandma and Grandpa, Gleneita, Talia, Michele, Maria, Rhonda, CJ, the other Marcie, Braden, Brandon and Brynn. The rest of the meals were served at a restaraunt on the top flor called the Windjammer. It was buffet style. The food was really good. We ate very well! I think we all gained 5-10 lbs. No joke!

So on Tuesday we arrived in Key West, Florida. It was super cool and we had lots of fun there. We just kinda wandered the stores and hung out. Grandma, Gleneita and Rhonda took Quayd on a train ride tour that went through the town, so Brett and I were alone. We bought all kinds of tourist garb and just had a great time. I have no pictures from this day because I couldn't find the Camera battery and I was sure I left it at home charging. I eventually found it Thursday night. I'm an idiot.

Wednesday was our favorite day! Cozumel, Mexico. Grandma, Michele, Brett, Quayd and I went to a place called Paradise Beach and had a GREAT time! They had snorkeling, kayaking, water trampoline, food, drink, and all kinds of fun stuff. We had so much fun there. We saw tons of fish and found some cool sea shells while snorkeling and we brought a few home. A couple of the ones we found had living creatures in them and we couldnt get them out so we had to leave them. One small, very cool shell, had an occupant, and my discusting husband used the fork from his lunch, stabbed it and pulled it out. He flicked it into the ocean near some swimming children and we saw these 3 HUGE fish come right up to eat it. It was so sick! But crazy funny. People were screaming and grabbing their kids. I just looked at Brett and we shared a "oops" glance and then we giggled, packed up our stuff and decided it was time to leave. We also shopped in the city and just had a great time. We bought Mexican Vanilla Extract for our family and friends. Good prize, huh?

Thursday was Belize day. Hot, humid, stinky, nasty Belize day. I shouldn't say that, because it was kinda cool. I don't think all parts of Belize were as bad as the part we went to. Actually it has one of the biggest reefs in the world and we should have gone snorkeling, but we didn't. Chad served his mission in Honduras and Belize so we went with him to see some of the places he lived, the Church and a few cool things. It was seriously so stinking hot and humid though, it was almost miserable. It was still cool though. I mean, how many people do you know that have been to Belize? I know 16! After returning to the ship, I found my camera battery so we took lots of pictures.



Friday, we were at Sea all day, heading back to Ft. Lauderdale. It was a beautiful day. we hung out at the pool almost all day.

Quayd hung out with Braden most of the time, but he also made friends with this cute little boy named Matthew.

I forgot to mention that every single day, we took a nap in our big fat king size bed. Cool huh.

On Saturday morning, we left the ship and headed for the airport. We were kinda sad to leave. It was such a fun vacation. Lots of memories. Quayd was such a good boy and I am so glad we took him. He is a wonderful traveler. Seldom complains. What a kid. 5 years old and a world traveler. He was so funny on the airplane(s). He just though it was so neat that they brought around drinks and treats. So on our first flight from Denver to Atlanta, he fell asleep and missed the snack cart. He stayed asleep while we switched planes and during the flight from Altanta to Miami, he finally woke as we were landing and was so mad that he had missed the treats. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he had actually missed it on two flights. Coming home, he was determined to stay awake. He got really sleepy and I promised him I would wake him up when the cart came around. Well I tried and tried, but he wouldn't stir. I don't know why, but the airplane just put him right to sleep!
Again, when we were landing, he was MAD! So when we left Atlanta, heading back to Denver, he tired so hard to stay awake because he didn't want to miss it! And he didn't! He asked the lady for extra peanuts to bring home for Pop, because he knew that Pop loves peanuts. He also got to meet the pilot, and sit in the cockpit.

I have more pictures on a slideshow on my myspace page if you would like to look. www.myspace.com/crafty_mandy

This was such a cool vacation. We will definately crusie again!

the one about the forgotten friends

Well apparently I have offended a couple of people that I failed to mention in previous posts, so allow me to do so now. I can't decided which one to name first because they both made threatening phone calls to me wondering why I hadn't dedicated an entire post to them. They are probably the two people who love me more than anybody else on the planet, (and they both reminded me of this when they called) so how could I have forgotten? Ok, I am going with my gut here and I am going to cover JAY first. (Sorry mom, keep reading.)

My beloved friend Jay and I have been friends since 2nd grade. Besides me, Jay is probably the biggest dork I know. We were never "romanticly" involved, just best friends. Although, I secretly wanted to be his first kiss when everyone in high school was obsessed with his virgin lips. And I was jealous when old "what's her name" robbed that kiss. But I also knew that my slutty lips were tainted and he needed a nicer girl to be his first kiss. Oh, and I had a boyfriend. By the way, he was one of the first people to wish me happy birthday yesterday and I didn't mention it on my "Birthday" post on purpose. I knew I was going to blog all about him in the future, so I saved that information. And secretly, I kinda wanted to avoid talking about him yesterday just to irritate him. He has been checking my blog to see if his name has come up and I knew if I didn't say anything about him calling me, it would really work him over. It actually meant the WORLD to me that he called me yesterday. And every year for that matter. I don't really like him to know this, but I adore him and will always consider him my best friend. We can go months without talking, and we just pick up right where we left off. We can each always say something embarassing or offensive to the other one, and that is what makes out relationship so special. A few years ago, we had a little conversation about, ummmm, how do I say this, um.. "preference." I guess that is a good enough word. He knows what I am talking about. Well, I was so excited that he was coming to me with some important info, so after I made a complete ass of myself, he told me that he was kidding. Then at our class reunion this summer, a similar thing happened at the park. I'm going to leave it at that. But these things happen to us all of the time and I LOVE it! That story that makes no sense to anybody besides us, and it is just the tip of the ice berg. I wanted to find a picture of us to post, and this is all I could find. Jay has this special gift of pulling the most retarded faces when the camera is involved. So this was the most normal I could find and it's over 10 years old!!! We thought we were pretty attractive people, but man. We were dogs!

Anyway, I am so sorry that you were offended Jay. (you freak!) I love you to death and I always will. Thanks for all you do for me and thanks for taking care of Gleneita at the bank. She needs all the help she can get!! ;)

The other very important person in my life is my mommy. She must have been confused that this was a blog about me, because she was sure it was supposed to be all about her. So here is some stuff about her. First of all, She is also a freak when the camera is around, but instead of pulling stupid faces, she freaks out and hides. So finding a picture of her was difficult. But I did reacll some pictures of us at a "certain wedding" several years ago. We have lots of fun and I love my mom to death. She is a strong woman and she has taught me a lot about being a strong independent woman. I am sorry that you felt left out mom. You know I love you! You always look out for me and I appreciate that more that you will ever know.

Ma and Jay, I want you both to know that you are two of my favorite people in the whole wide world. I count on you both lots. Don't be babies! ;)

the one about my 29th birthday

So here I sit at the end of my 29th Birthday endulging in, what I promise to be my LAST cupcake EVER! Or at least for the day. Yah, we will see about that! My friend Holly, the super-baker, made her famous cupcakes for my Birthday party launch with the girls, and I got to keep the extras. But there are only 3 left, so the temptation is nearly over. I guess I could just eat them all and have the temptation out of my life forever. But then what good was my workout today? And what good will it be tomorrow? Ohhhh, if only this was the biggest dilema I faced in my life!

Anyway, on to the good stuff... My first Birthday wish came from Brett when he woke me up at midnight to wish me a Happy day. Then at 6:00 a.m. I went to Curves to bust a move with my workout partner, Kathy. When I got home, Brett was putting up the big inflatable birthday cake that I bought to put up for everybody's Birthday. He said that since I put it out for everyone else, he was gonna put it out for me. Sweet huh. After that, I watched the news, and enjoyed some peace before I had to wake little prince charming, who is really not all that charming when he awakens. I got him off to school with his pumpkin that had to be turned in today for the Fall Carnival tonight.
Then my mom and grandma took me to 7-11 Ranch for cinnamon rolls. YUM! For lunch, my girls, Janice, Holly, and Kandice took me to lunch at Curry Manor. It was so yummy, but the service was sure slow. Afterwards, we came to my home and had Holly's yummy cupcakes and I opened my gifts. Holly gave me this super cute antique-ie stitched thing in a frame that says, "Friendship is a special place inside ones heart." Kandice gave me my favorite scented candle, a wick trimmer, a candle lighter, and a little treat from Little Sweet Pea. The candle lighter and wick trimmer is actually funny because she came over to my house a few weeks ago and I had a candle burning. Well she was really worked over the length of my wick. She was just sure I was gonna burn my house down! So she watched and watched it, then finally said she couldn't stand it anymore and blew the candle out, found some scissors, and trimmed the wick. When she went to relight it, is all I had was a cigarette lighter (who knows where it came from) and she was stressed about it. Holy cow, she is funny. So I will be so grateful for the wick trimmer and lighter. Jani gave me a CUTE fall decoration and a Maurices gift certificate. YEAH! They stayed and chatted for awhile, which I was so grateful for. It was so fun to just visit. I was able to hold sweet baby Jacob. Although, he was a little fussy today, but still sweet. I also got to love on my favorite little girl in the world, Morgan. She is my buddy. I love her so much. She is Janice's baby and I think she loves me almost as much as I love her. She just turned 2. She is a special girl and I just adore her. If something ever were to happen to Greg and Janice, I know I wouldn't get her, but I sure would put up one hell of a fight! That is kind of a creepy thing to say, huh? Sorry about that. I should probably keep some of those thoughts private. Anyway, then Quayd and I had a little nap before Grandma Galley stopped by. We had a nice little visit with her. I admire, adore, love, respect and cherish this woman. Whenever I talk to her, I just feel it necesary to bear my soul. I'm sure it drives her crazy. But I really feel like I can just tell her anything. Once she left, I decided to get some dinner started and start getting ready for Quayd's big school carnival! The carnival was fine. It was so crowded!!! It was really stressing me out because we couldn't move or hear anything. But the crowd eventually cleared out and we had a little bit more fun. Quayd and I went alone and Brett met up with us there. Janice had to help in a booth so we took Taylor around and had a great time. Wow, won't they make beautiful babies? They are so cute and Quayd is certain that they will marry someday. I am sure Taylor will make a lovely daughter-in-law for me.

Then we met up with Kimmie Gibler and her family. I broke out the camera and snapped a few pictures. This is Quayd and Kasen just hangin' out. They are best buds, and aren't they cute? Kasen looks a little freaked out, huh?

So then Bretty was playing with the camera and took some pics of me and old Gibler. They were all awful of one or both of us, except this one. Cute, huh! Ohhhh, she is so pretty. She is having a hard time right now. I won't advertise her story on the WWW., but I am thinking about her tons right now. I hope she can get her "medical" stuff taken care of soon and move past this terrible trial. I love you Gib!

Anyway, the carnival was ok, but I jokingly said at one point that I couldn't believe I was spending my Birthday there. I was totally kidding, because in all reality, the only place I would really like to be on my Birthday (or any day for that matter!) is with Quayd when he is having fun. But he overheard it and when we got home, he told me that he was sorry I had a bad Birthday and that I had to go to that carnival. I felt like a big fat jerk. I was really kidding with my friends. I need to be more careful with what I say. If you are ever reading this Quayd, (I do print and save my blogs in my journal) I am so sorry. I love doing those things with you. When you grow up, I hope you remember all of the fun things that we did together. I try my best to be a fun mom and I always want you to know that I treasure those moments above all else! I love you, buddy!!!

Sorry, I had to get a little sentimental there. But allow me to tell you a cute thing that happened at the carnival. This is a typical Quayd thing. He says this stuff all the time, and I try to remember and write things down, so here is the record of this one... We kept talking about the Cake Walk. He was hesitant to do the cake walk, but when we were getting ready to pack up and leave, Kasen talked him into it. I just couldn't imagine why he didn't want to do it. It was a cake walk, for crying out loud! So off they go. They came back with a cookie and a root beer and Quayd sat down to enjoy his winnings. Suddenly, he turned around and said, " Mom, guess what? We didn't even have to step on any cakes!" Oh, he is so cute. We just cracked up. I mean, why else would he think it was anything but stepping on cakes!?!? Oh, I love kids and the things they say. Especially mine. Here is Quayd sitting on the stage by the cake walk. Well, what a great Birthday. I am so blessed and so grateful for the life that I have and all of the blessings I enjoy every day. Of course, my #1 blessing is this precious little boy. And I guess his dad is in a close 2nd place! I am so happy to be a mom. There is nothing in this world better than being a mom. Brett says that being a dad is better, but it can't be. It causes quite an arguement actually, but I know that I am right on this one. Motherhood is the greatest blessing. Thank you to everyone that helped to make my birthday special. And my everyday special.

By the way, I have since had two more cupcakes, leaving only one more. I guess I should polish it off too because when you eat crap on your birthday, the calories don't count. Right?

the one about "friends"

Maybe, if you are a Friends fan, you have noticed that all of my entries are titled as "the one about..." Well, I mentioned in my very first post that I am a HUGE fan of the t.v. show Friends and all of the Friends episodes are titled that way. So that is my subliminal message that I want to hang with Rachel, Ross, Pheobe, Joey, Monica and Mrs. Cha-nand-oler Bong. (fans will get that;) )

Anyway, those aren't the only FRIENDS I want to talk about today. I seriously have the coolest group of friends EVER! I hate to talk about them incase someone is forgotten and feelings are hurt, but I do want to mention a few special ones. (In no particular order)

Kandice. She and I have been friends for about 3 1/2 years (right, K?). She was in my ward when we lived in our little house by Brett's parents. We were both in Young Women's together and we just hit it off. Actually, I was super intimidated by her at first. She had two adorable kids and just seemed to have it all together. She is a few years younger than me, but is wise beyond her years. She is the one I call when I really need a listening ear. Don't get me wrong, all of my friends are great listeners, but Kandice is my therapist. I also have this strange urge to protect her. If I think anyone is being mean to her, I get MAD! Neither of us have a sister, and I just feel like she is my little sis, and I have to watch out for her. Yet, it is probably the other way around. She is the one protecting and looking out for me. She is not a touchy-feeley emotional girl. But she is one of the most spiritual and amazing people I know. Her Faith is so strong and she just knows that if she prays enough, she will be ok. I love that.

Moving on...
Janice. I met Jani through a friend of mine, Valeri, that was in her ward. Janice was puting together a Bunco group and asked Valeri to join and also asked if she had a friend that might like it. Well, I got invited and I have been in this Bunco group for over 4 years now. After a few months of seeing her at bunco, we hit it off and started hangin' out. Our friendship has had its ups and downs, lots of ups and few downs, I should say, and we do pretty well. We have a good time. She is a workout freak and she inspires the crap out of me. She has ran 4 marathons. 26.2 miles!!! That is amazing. Her most recent one was in St. George on October 6th. She beat her personal best with a time of 3:27. She is so cool and so determined and dedicated. She has really influenced me to take a more healthy approach to my lifestyle. We worked out together for awhile and she really taught me that it can actually be FUN to exercise. We have gone on a few road trips together, and we have a BLAST! But aside from all of that, she is a great friend. She is silly, crazy, funny, adorable, and I just love her guts! Her oldest daughter will be my daughter-in-law some day (according to Quayd), so we will be friends forever!

Holly. Holly moved into my ward a couple of years ago. She really dislikes it here and I make it my personal mission to show her that its not such a bad place! Holly is amazing. She is the best ccok in the world. She comes from a long line of very spiritual, strong people. She has shown me a different side of family and religion. That sounds weird, but we just come from such different backgrounds and, well, she is just awesome. I can't explain it. Ok. Let me try an example. Brett and I were talking about babies and familes the other night and he made this comment. This really sums it all up. Holly and her husband just had their 4th baby. A boy, Jacob. Brett said that when baby Jacob was in Heaven and Heavenly Father took him aside and told him he would be coming to Holly's home, everyone was probably totally jealous. It would be a wonderful place to be. Jake is a very lucky boy. She has created a very "home-ey" home. It is not the home that she wants to be in forever, but it is a home of love and I am very envious.

Kimmie Gibler. What a crack up. Holy crap, she is so funny and onery and mean and I just love it! She kills me! She has the 3 most beautiful kids (besides Quayd) ever! She is such a great mom and she takes such good care of her family. Her son and Quayd are best friends. I can't think of a better kid that I would like Quayd to be with. One of her girls is in my Primary class and I just love her to pieces. She is just like her mom, a total pistol! I really love old Gibler. And I really love her parents and siblings. Brett and I hang with them a lot and they are our best camping buddies. Gib and I go way back. We grew up in the same neighborhood and I have just known her forever. Her parents are some of the best people on the planet and I consider them my friends too, and Quayd thinks that Nan is just another one of his grandmas. Gibler is a great friend. I love her.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends. I wish I could say more and more about all of them. I hope they all know how much I love them.

Here is a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley
"Be careful of your friends. They can make you or break you. Be generous in helping the unfortunate and those in distress. But bind to your friends of your own kind. Friends who will encourage you, stand with you, live as you desire to live: who will enjoy the same kind of entertainment, and who will resist the evil that you determine to resist."

the one about President Hinckley

When we were watching General Conference, something funny happened during the Saturday morning session that made everyone laugh. Brett and I kept rewinding the TiVo to figure it out, but we just couldn't tell. The camera didn't show it and its view at that moment was on the Choir. My friend Leisa sent me an email the other day that described the incident. Here it is:

"THIS is what happened at the Saturday session of conference that made everyone laugh...
After President Hinckley finished with the sustaining of the officers of the church during the Saturday morning session, Elder Eyring had moved into his new seat on the stand. Unfortunately, they didn't show this on TV, but when President Hinckley turned around, he stood there for a moment looking at Elder Eyring (probably with the little twinkle in his eye), then picked up his cane and "knighted" him on his shoulder and head. Here's the picture from it."

I love it! Our prophet is so funny and cute and I just love him! That is so him and it just cracked me up. Now that I am figuring out this blogger thing a little more and I am starting to get the picture add in thing (thanks Ramanda!) I thought it would be a fun post.

the one about my love story

So many topics to write about... where shall I begin. I think I'll tell you about how I met my husband. yah. That sounds good.

We go way back. Brett and I met like a million years age when I was in 6th grade. (Ok, like 17 years ago. No way. Really? 17? Let me double check my math. Holy freaking crap. I am old enought to remember 17 years ago!!! I can even remember 20 and 25 years ago. That sounds so old! Funny story about remembering things that are old... When we moved into our house 3 years ago, we had to repaint the whole interior. It is my great-Grandma Karrens house and she is now in the care center. My gandparents live next door and my sweet, wonderful, handy and very frugal grandpa was just floored that we actually planned on painting all of it. ((trust me, it was awful and really needed it!)) So he says to me, "Well I just painted the whole interior a few years ago. Let me think... It was the year we moved down here from Maeser." Yah, Grandpa. My mom was in Jr. High when you moved down here from Maeser! What a goof. Ok, you just witnessed my ADD. that was quite a little tangent I went off on there. Back to my story.) So I met Brett when I was staying with my dad for a weekend and he was doing some house calls. He was a T.V. repairman. The Lane's had a big screen t.v. and it was having some issues. I went with dad and just hung out while he worked on the set. There were these two obnoxious, roudy boys running around and I recognized one of them from school. It was Brandon Lane and the other one must have been his little brother. I think I had art or something with Brandon. Well, nothing monumental happened or anything, I just remeber that. So as I got a little older, I got to know both of the Lane boys, who were total jerks, by the way. In High School, I was involved with the plays and musicals, and so was Brett. Again, total jerk. When I was a junior, I was on the yearbook staff and we were recruiting for the next year staff. Everyone wanted Brett Lane because he was so funny, and witty and cool. Whatever. JERK! When my Senoir year began, I got to know Brett, a junior, better and just realized what a fun and cool guy he really was. He was dating one of my friends, and we ended up double dating to Sadies. Well they eventually broke up, so I made my move. Here is the scandalous story. I was going to the Homecoming Dance with my crush, Cody Olsen and Brett had asked my friend Arielle. Brett and I started hanging out tons during Homecoming week while we were in charge of the Yearbook Homecoming float, which was being constructed at my house. Well, one night, we were just chilling at my house and we ended up kissing on my couch. Cool. Then the next day, some more. And more. Well we totally developed feelings for each other and decided we wanted to "be an item." So as the Homecoming dance neared, we really wanted to go together, but already had dates. Well, we were all in the same friend circle, so we just asked our dates if they would like to switch dates. Being flaky High School kids, we all agreed. So we switched. We thought all was well, but it ended up pissing off the dates and they spread all kinds of rumors about us the night of the dance. They told the whole school that we had S-E-X! But we didn't. That was the night of another school dance! ;) After Homecoming, we ended up going to Brett's house and hanging out with his parents. We talked and hung out for HOURS! It was so much fun. That was the beginning of many double dates with my in-law's!

So, I had to wait for Brett to graduate before we would get married. and a few months after his graduation, WE DID! September 19, 1998.

9 years ago. We lived in a cute little apartment for just over a year, then bought a house in a great neighborhood. We started going to Church and were sealed in the Vernal Temple July 22, 2000. Then 2 years after that, on August 30, 2002, we were blessed with our awesome son, Quayd. Shortly after that, we moved into a little house near Brett's parents. It was a strange time for us. We were mad at the world for the trial that we had experienced when we had our son (long story), so we rebelled a little and quit going to Church, but shortly after that, we went right back. Then in July 2004, we moved into the house we are in now. My great-grandparents house. And we love it. We are very blessed and we have a great marriage. (This was taken June 2007) And that is the beginning of my love story. TO BE CONTINUED...

the one about the crimson chin

oh me, oh my. My 5 year old son is so freaking funny. He is a very smart, witty and determined boy. He knows what he wants and how to get it. Let me explain..

He is very into PIRATES right now. Anything and everything that has to do with pirates, he knows every last detail. We play pirates, we eat like pirates, we talk like pirates, (arrrrrrrrrr...) you get the point. So for his Birthday party, of course, the theme was pirates. He was VIP at school and we had to take a pirate treat. Well halloween is right around the corner and can you guess the costume??? You got it. A Pirate. But not just any old pirate. A pirate with a bandana, not a hat, a make-up sponged beard, no earring, a brown bag hanging from the belt that has bubble gum coins in it and a carrier thing to hook on his back that he can put his sword in. Can we buy this costume? NO WAY! He wants mom to make it. So I have brain stormed and studied so I could get every last detail just right. I found the perfect fabric for the pants. blah blah blah. I have not started this project yet, but I do have it visualized and ready to go. Well, until this morning....... We are getting ready for school, like we usually do at 8:30 am. We are very "routine-ey". I wake him up around 8:10. We snuggle and watch cartoons for a few minutes, I put him in the bath, get him dressed, do a little breakfast, and we are off for school. Well somewhere between cartoon snuggle time and bath time, Quayd got a brilliant idea that he wants to be the Crimson Chin from his favorite cartoon The Fairly Odd Parents. Panic over took me. Where in the world can I find this costume??? I can sew, but I certainly cannot pull that off. Wal-Mart? yah right. Well, you will never believe it. I found it on the internet (thank you costumecity.com) and he was thrilled. So we looked it over, thought it was totally hilarious, decided it was in our price range (ha ha) and ordered it. It's on its way. And I have made Quayd's day. Does life get any better than that? Knowing that as his mommy, I have the power to make or break his entire trick-or-treating experience. Love it! Being a mom is the greatest!

the one about me

Let's talk about me...

I am a Mother, I am a wife, I am a friend, I am a daughter, a daughter-in-law, a grand-daughter, I am a Mormon, a crafter, a quilter, a cook and lots of other things, but those are probably the most important to me.

I like to scrapbook, sew, make cards, organize and take care of everyone around me. I consider myself a nurturer. I love children. I love the innocence of a child and I know that they are the closest thing to perfect that we will ever know. I love the show friends and most of my daily vocabulary comes from that show. I love playing Volleyball. As strange as it sounds, I like planning big parties and events and I don't freak out over public speaking. Everyone accuses me of biting of more than I can chew.. but you know what? I can always chew it just fine. I am constantly busy and I always have a full plate. But I love it! Life is too short to be bored.

I am a total dork! I'm cooky, I am random and I can find humor in any situation, but at the drop of a hat I can burst into tears over nothing. I am over-sensitive, emotional and I am a little OCD over lots of strange things. But I don't care. Because I am me and, most days, I like me.

As a little girl, I was pretty happy, I think. I don't think I gave my parents too much trouble. I was a spoiled brat, but I was the only girl and the baby. What do you expect? I have one older Brother, Brandon. I look up to him a lot. I don't want him to know that though, so don't tell him! ;) He is married and has 2 awesome boys... Brayden 11, and Brennen 6.

My parents divorced when I was 12. My mom still lives close by. How close you ask? 2 doors down! And brother is next door and the greatest grandparents ever are my other next door neighbors. I love it! My husband might disagree, but I love it. My two little nephews are the greatest and I love that they are so close to me. I love for them to come hang with me. Brayd used to come over lots, but he just getting to old and cool for his nerdy Aunt Mandy anymore. My Dad and his wife live in Tulsa, OK. I don't get to see him as much as I would like, but we try our best to stay in touch.

I married my high school sweetheart, Brett, September 19, 1998. We got married right here in our hometown where we still live today. We have a great relationship. We argue like every other couple does, but you know... I just love him so much. I really do. We communicate well, we laught a lot, and when I am with him, I just want to be my very best. I try everyday to pamper him because I want him to know that I realize how lucky I am to be married to such a good guy. He drives me crazy. But I love him.

We were married for 4 years by the time we had our only child, Quayd. It was not easy getting him here, so he is our one and only. I will have to tell that big scary story in another blog.

Brett has 2 Brothers and 1 Sister. Brandon and his wife (my dear friend) Brynn have one son, Beau'D. He is adorable, and so funny. He is gonna keep him mommy and daddy on their toes! Cory has 1 daughter, Shaelynn, and 2 sons, Kelby and Branson. Kelby is a total daddy's boy and Branson is precious. Stright from Heaven. And the baby Talia... What can I say about the girl who is wise beyond her years, who is one of my best friends, who I can trust with ANYTHING and she is 11 years younger than me. I have never met anyone like her and I love her to death.

My mother-in-law, Gleneita, is another one of my very best friends. We are strangely close. It is not your typical mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship. She rocks. She is the strongest woman i know and I want to be just like her when I grow up. We recently lost my dear father-in-law, Mike. We too were very close. He filled a huge void in my life and I will forever treasure my time with him.

Well, that is all I have to say about me. I am sure there will be lots more in the future. Stay tuned...