the one about a letter to Santa

Soooooooo, what do you think of my new layout? Cute, huh. I am very impressed. My friend, Stephanie did it for me. She is Janice's sister in-law. Her blog is super cute so I asked her how to do it. She sent me this big long email about how to change it, and is all I got out of it was:

BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlah click this BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlah select that BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah it's super easy BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah but if you want me to do it for you, I will. BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah

Well, the only thing I read was the part about, "I will do it for you." Bless you, Steph. I totally love it. You did a great job. I feel like I owe you something. I am a computer idiot, but anything else you need or want.... YOU GOT IT!
I have to tell you this super cute story... The other day, I went into a cute little store in town that my brother and his wife own. I wanted to get a few new things for my Christmas tree. I saw this super cute ornament that says, "Letters to Santa." You roll up your letter and stuff it inside. I just loved it and thought it would be cute on my red tree. I bought it and left it in the sack until I was ready to decorate. When I got ready to put it on my tree, I noticed there was a paper inside. I must have assumed that it was supposed to be there at first, but upon looking, I couls see it had handwriting on it. I pulled it out and realized it was a letter. It said:
Dear Santa,
I have been good.
Anika Joye Bolton

So then I assumed (and you know what happens when you assume!) it was part of the decoration, but I recognized the name signed on it. DUH! It is my friend Cara's daughter, and Cara works for Brandon and Danette in their store. Well I was so excited when I realized what I had in my posession and what power I now hold to make this sweet little girl's Christmas a little bit more magical. I have since written a little letter of my own.

Dear Anika,
I was shopping in Vernal last weekend and I visited a store called The Country Bear. I was trying to find some special gifts for all of the good Mommy’s and Daddy’s on my list. Well, I noticed an ornament on a Christmas tree that said, “Letters to Santa.” I thought I could see something inside, and I was right! It was a letter from YOU!!! I just wanted to let you know that I have been watching and I know that you have been a very good girl. I know you are doing very well at school at Discovery Elementary. I have also been watching your big brother, Riley and baby sister, Heber and I know they are great kids too. You are all right at the top of my good list. My elves are working on something really special just for you this Christmas. Please continue to be a good girl and take good care of your family. Do you want to know something else? I LOVE YOU!!!!!! Have a Merry Christmas and I hope you like what I bring for you.

Love,
Santa

I am mailing it today. If you know Cara, please don't tell her. I want it to be a secret for as long as I can, but it was just to good not to pass on to my blog friends.

I do need to cut this short because I am subbing today and I need to finish getting ready, then wake up prince charming and get him off to school. He is going to Taylors today to ride the bus to school with her. He is SO excited. He loves his Taylor.

the one about my new friend and some old ones

I totally made a new friend today and I am super excited about it. Let me tell you a little bit about her. Her name is Kim and this is her blog. http://berezay.blogspot.com/ which is super fun and cute, by the way. It's a must see. Now I have 3 friends and an Uncle named Kim. Kim, her husband and 4 children just moved to town and into our ward. Jason works for Lowe's and he is here to open the new Lowe's store that is coming to town! Yippee! I love Lowe's and I am super excited about it. Their four kids have made a GREAT addition to our primary and I have enjoyed getting to know them over the last few weeks. I don't have any of them in my Sunbeams class, but they do have a daughter in Quayd's class. I don't really know much more about these guys, but I am excited to get to know them better. Kim was tons of fun!

Anyway, I went to Janice's today to rescue her from her "Christmas Hell." Bless her sweet heart, she really struggles with Christmas. I know she has lots of personal reasons that I won't broadcast, but she has been super down this holiday season and I knew I needed to step in and help. I gathered my creativity ammo and went right over. Actually, we went to lunch first and had some delicious chineese food. Then we went to this was cool home decor store and got a few things. Janice was coloring Holly's hair today and while she was working, I was decorating. And my new friend Kim was there to offer her creative eye. Tari even stopped by for a second, then Kandice came too. Our kids are drawing names for Christmas gifts and we are going to have a little Christmas Praty for them in a few weeks. So we took care of the drawing names thing today. Janice's tree turned out great, if I do say so myself. I hope it helped her through her little "rut." I wish I knew what to do for her, but I don't. I love her to death. I try to listen and be there for her but I know I am not very good at it. It's hard. Janice, please know that I am ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS here for you. I love you!

We are going to have a girls night out on Friday. We are planning to go have pedicures, then to dinner and a movie. FUN HUH?!?!? I can't wait. I need it, bad. While Janice and I were going through her closet 'O' decorations, she found something that she had bought for me for my Birthday and forgot about it. So she gave it to me today! Cool huh! I told her to just save it for Christmas, but secretly, I hoped she would give it to me today! ;) It is a cute sign that says "Friends become our chosen family." I love it. It is so cute! Thanks Janice. Again, I love you! Aren't friends great? Mine are. I need a bumper sticker that says, "My friends aren't Honor Students, but they are better than your friends!"

the one about my gosh dang Christmas decorations

Well, it took an insane amount of time, but I finally finished decorating my house and cleaning up the mess. phhewwwww...

Maybe you don't understand. I am a FREAK about my decorations. My tree is a huge deal to me. It has to be PERFECT! It went up pretty fast, but the rest... I really struggled with. I love Christmas and all, but I am just not feeling it as much this year. Maybe because there is no snow and the weather has been decent. I don't know. Everything is beautiful now and I am so pleased. Now I can start reading my Christmas books then hopefully the holiday spirit will take over. I have 4 Christmas trees. One is Quayd's. I let him do his own because I am such a terrible mother, I won't let him help with mine. I told you, I am a freak! Here are a few pictures of my decor. The photos really don't do it justice, so pretend they are like 10 times prettier.

This is tree #1. the main one, in my living room.

Tree #2, Quayd's tree in his room.

Tree #3, also in my living room, but a smaller, more "outdoors-ey" version.


And finally, my 4th tree in my kitchen.
Definately a bad picture. But you get the point.

My dorky husband came home tonight as I was fixing dinner and he said, "So when do all of the people come?" I couldn't figure out what he was saying. He asked again, "When do all of the people get here?" I was puzzled. He finally, with a huge grin on his face, said, "You know, for the Festival of Trees!" Ha ha. He thinks he is so funny. After nine years he is still shocked every Christmas to see the insane amount of time and work I put into my decor. It is one of my "things." I can't help it. We usually do lots of lights outside too, but we are Bah-Humbug-ing them this year. I did a few but nothing like years past. It always turns into a huge fight between Brett and I, so I gave him the option to skip out. He agreed. We argue because I like them a certain way, and he likes them another, he usually falls off the roof, I laugh at him and we end up not speaking for a week. And yes, he has fallen off the roof more than once! If you know him, you know how accident prone he is. So was his dad and so are his brothers. I can't stop myself though. When he gets hurt, it is funny. Here is another story of him getting mad at me for laughing at his pain. You need to know that I am already giggling as I prepare to tell this story. He was taking the swamp cooler out of the window about 2 years ago. He was standing on a lawn chair that had a metal frame and canvas strips across it. It was a very nice and sturdy chair. So we thought. Suddenly, the canvas gave, and his feet broke through the chair. He was holding the swamp cooler and he just fell right through. He landed perfectly on his feet as if nothing had happened, but it was so funny. I know that when his feet hit the ground, it jarred his legs a little and I am sure it hurt, but it was HYSTERICAL! My brother happened to be watching too and we still laugh about it. I am laughing out loud now. Ok, time for another story about Brett. We have Sky Chairs. If you don't know what they are, here is a picture from their website. They are super cool. So a few years ago, Brett was sitting in his sky chair on the patio with our sweet 2 year old son in his lap. Suddenly the hook holding the chair broke and he fell right on his butt. He was totally relaxed and can you imagine how much it had to hurt? In those chairs you are kind of, almost reclined so he hit right on his tail bone. He didn't even know it had happened until he heard the sound and hit the ground. He describes the sound of it breaking as an ear piercing "PING!" I am terrible, but that is FUNNY! Quayd was fine. But there was a nice cushion between him and the ground! Poor Brett. I could go on and on, but I won't. I am still giggling picturing him standing there holding that swamp cooler in the middle of the broken chair. he he he he he

Tomorrow, I help in Quayd's class then I am going over to my grandma's to decorate her tree. Then on Thursday, I am decorating Kandice's mom's tree. Yippee! I am super excited. But I should probably get moving so I can get to bed and go to Curves early in the morning. I usually go after I take Quayd to school if I don't have anything going, but tomorrow I have a busy day. I love you all! thanks for sharing a laugh about my poor husband!

the one about my Thanksgiving weekend

We had such a great weekend. Quayd was off of school starting Wednesday, and Brett was off work since Thursday. We just had a nice, lazy weekend. Of course, we ate ourselves silly on Thanksgiving. It was wonderful, as always. We did something a little different this year. We usually go to my mom's for lunch and Aunt Debbies for dinner. But this year, Gleneita wanted to cook at her house, so we had to skip out on my mom's this year. We went to Gleneita's around 12:30 and ate around 1:30ish. I was in charge of rolls and orange rolls. I love making rolls! Really I do, and I am pretty good at it! My Grandparents came with us to Gleneita's, which was a wonderful treat. Also there, were Grandma and Grandpa Galley, Deanna, Alan, Bridgette, Cory, Emilee and boys, Talia, Michele and her kids, Randy, Marcie and kids and us. It was perfect. We stayed at Gleneita's playing games until it was time to go to Debbie's. I was in charge of rolls for that meal too. It was fun too. Lots of people, family, food and great fun!

Friday morning, I slept in until about 9:30. No early shopping for me this year! I did end up going to Wal-Mart around 10:30 am to see of the couple of things I wanted were still there, and they were. They were items that I wanted, but that weren't important enough to get up and go at 5:00 am. Just small, cheap items. Downtown, our city had "Holly Days." It was just fun activities going on around town to promote the small businesses. There was a parade of lights at dusk. We watched it, then went and had some dinner. Quayd wanted to ride the train at "Holly Days," then we went and watched the fireworks. It was so much fun. I just love doing stuff like that with my family. Brett and Quayd are my best friends and I love hanging with them.

Oh, speaking of friends, my long weekend started with a late craft night with Kandice on Wednesday. We were making some fun Christmas gifts! Can't tell you what, though! She came over around 7:00 pm and left around 3:00 am!!! Somewhere in the middle, we went to Wal-Mart and 7-11 for treats. We had a blast. She is so much fun!

Anyway, back on track here... Saturday was pretty uneventful. I ran a few errands but that was really it. I worked on my Christmas decorations. Oh, Quayd was invited to a Birthday party at the movie theater and it was at 10:00 am. He was able to bring his family, so Brett and I went. It was Bee Movie and it was cute. Quayd and I had already seen it and we still enjoyed it! Gibler was there with her girls and we sat by them. Quayd actually wanted to sit with the kids up front. So we didn't hear from him the entire time. We could see him, and he was so cute. He looked so big. Santa Clause was at a local bookstore from 11-1 and Quayd knew about it, so he insisted we go. As soon as we walked in, he was on the hunt for Santa. He found him and ran up and gave him a HUGE hug. He told him a few of the things he wanted and thanked him for the things he got last year. He is such a good boy. He also wanted to buy this "magic" key to hang outside on Christmas Eve so Santa can use the door instead of the chimney if he wants.

Today, Sunday, we went to Church and during sacrament meeting, Brett and I had a little "nose flicking" war and it ended in me having a runny nose and leaving sacrament early. I walked out in the hall and giggled as my nose stung, ran and twitched!! This continued all afternoon. I finished up my decorations in the afternoon and then Ga and I went to the Trees for Charity display. They auction will be tomorrow, but they have a viewing open to the public all weekend. There were some beautiful trees. It was so awesome. My sweet Grandma teared up reading the descriptions of about half of the trees. Some of the stories and causes are just amazing. There are so many generous people in our community and I hope those charities get all of the money they need! There is a family in our town who recently lost their dad to cancer. He left a wife and two small children. A few of the trees were going to support his family and they deserve it so much. I don't really know this family personally, but they have been in my thoughts and prayers so much lately.

We had a talk with Quayd tonight to remind him how important it is to do our chores and homework everynight because Santa is watching so close! We also asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He told us several things. He is insisting on a toy rabbit, some airplanes and pirate ships. He has also mentioned a dirt bike and a new X-Box. We need to keep weeding out the list because some of the other things are pretty random and we aren't sure if they even exist, like "a boy play house with real live people inside," and "a boat that is made out of wood that has paddles and you can sit in it and pretend you are on the lake." He also mentioned a HUGE box. Just a box. But we told him it might be difficult for Santa to fit that in his bag. Mom and Dad might have to do some research. (Anyone getting a new fridge anytime soon? CALL ME!) He is such an easy kid though, anything will make him happy. And we know Santa will be able to use some of his magic and find all of the PERFECT things!!

the one about getting into Christmas

I just read Kandice's blog entry for today and it totally inspired me to get in the Christmas spirit. Well, I kind of was already into it, but she inspired me more. After helping in Quayd's class today I took him on a date. (He loves it when I call it a date! I guess because then he knows it is just special mom and Quayd time.) But I let him choose where we would go for lunch which was, of course, Chineese Buffet. Then we went to the local LDS Bookstore and found a new Christmas CD. It is Lauri Carrigan, Christmas Wish. We also got Josh Groban, Noel the other night. That was Brett's pick. It is very good, by the way. In primary, our WONDERFUL chorister (Holly) has been teaching us The Nativity Song and I LOVE it. I have never really heard it because I didn't go to church much as a child. It is so pretty and I have the Children's Primary Songbook on CD so we have had it running on repeat non stop. I am listening to it now. "This is the season, Beloved of the year, sing a rhyme, Christmas time soon will be here.." I was also in the mood for a good read, but nothing too long and complicated, so I got these two short Christmas books. "A Return to Christmas" by Chris Heimerdinger and "A Christmas Melody" by Anita Stansfield. I am glad to pass them along as I finish them, so let me know if you want to read them. Infact, a better idea! All of my friends who like to read should all find a good Christmas story and we could pass them around this season. What do you think??? I know Kandice, Janice, and Holly will be in.... Tari? Alison? Anyone else? One of mine is like 147 pages and the other is around 220. Perfect for a lazy day.

I can't believe it, Thanksgiving is still 2 days away and I am going to put up my Christmas tree either today or tomorrow and I have Christmas music going. Oh well, I love it. I always get into it early. It's really the only thing early about me. I am late for nearly EVERYTHING!

Well, this is kind of a short post, but I am going to go clean my house and get it ready to spread some Christmas cheer. I love you all. Have a great Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the one about being thankful

Can I just say......? I love Thanksgiving. I really do. I love the feeling of it all. The family, the love, the food (of course), the cooking, the smells, and I even kinda like the football. Don't tell Brett though. He gets too excited when I say positive things about football. I don't want to give him any ideas. Anyway, fall is my favorite season too. I just really love this time of year. Even though we are entering the ugly part of fall, I still love it.

I have so much to be thankful for, too. I am really extra blessed and I am sorry for all of you because I know I have it better than all of you. Sorry. It's true. I have the very best child in the entire world. It doesn't get any better than him. I have the best husband. I have the best friends. I have the best grandparents ever. My mom is the best. My mother-in-law and the rest of my in-laws are the VERY best! I love my big brother and all of my brother and sister in-laws and my sweet nephews. I have the cutest car. I have the greatest cat. And even though it is still new and not really super permanant, I love my new job as a substitute teacher. I subbed again today, first graders. LOVE IT! They were super great. I also feel like I have the best calling in the whole world. Some my disagree, but I am the Sunbeams teacher (3-4 year olds) and I just love it. I am also the enrichment leader, and I am starting to love that. Sorta.

I am not super thankful for this though.... one cute little girl in my class totally puked all over the playground. Raunchy. I ate school lunch with my class today and I saw everything I ate on the black asphault. I nearly lost my own. But I had to be super tough and tone down the gag reflexes. I got her to the bathroom, cleaned up a little bit and another teacher came to my rescue to take her to the office. I had to get back to the playground because I was on recess duty. Then I had to sit there and look t it because the custodian was busy. Ohhh, it gets worse... there was this other super cute girl in my class who was jumprope-ing right in the middle of the puke. the jump rope was spreading it all over. All of the kids were crazy facinated with the vomit. I have never seen anything like it. Seriously, it took all I had not to lose my own lunch. Just thinking about it is getting me a little sick.

So, my mother-in-law called last night to see if we would all like to go to dinner and a movie. Of course I jumped on the opportunity! We went to wingers and I had a burger. It was so good. then we went to Fred Clause. It was sorta corny, but cute. I really quite like "corny." Gleneita does too, so we often like to hit the retarded movies. It takes every ounce of begging I have to get Brett to a movie, so I thought that if I threw in the "your mom is loanly" card, he might budge. He did. And he was a good sport. I think he hated it actually, but he didn't complain. Quayd LOVED it and Gleneita and I thought it was good. we went to BEE Movie a few weeks ago, and Quayd got invited to a Birthday party this weekend where we will watch it again. Sounds good to me! He is my movie buddy. Well, no, Janice and Kandice are my REAL movie buddies. We go see all of the chick flicks. But Quayd is pretty good company too and he likes it when we can say we are going on a "date."

I am just feeling really grateful today. My heart is super full and I just really love my life. I wish I could tell everyone on a personal level just how I feel about them and how much they have enriched my life, but I am not that good with words. I feel like I add too many "likes," "maybe this sounds dumb's" and "I'm sorry's" in my conversations. Anyway, to all of my friends, family and readers, I love you! Thank you for making my life so easy and special. I am the luck, luckiest girl.... in the world!!!!

the one about my first 2 sub jobs

I don't really have much time to write today, but I wanted to share my latest news on the job front. I had my first 2 substitute teaching jobs! And I feel really good about them both. I hope I didn't totally suck. The kids seemed to like me ok and we completed all of the things the teachers asked me to. So we will see. I guess if those teachers call me again, I must have done ok, right? Yesterday I worked with 4th graders and today I taught 1st graders. I have another job Monday with a first grade class at another school.

Yippee!!!!

the one about enrichment

There is this cute thing going around my neighborhood. It's the fun knock and run thing that you do at Halloween, but it is actually a Thanksgiving theme. There is a nice letter about how we serve one another and how we are thankful for friends and family. Then you hang a sign on your door that says, "Someone is thankful for me." After you have been hit, you have to hit 5 more families. Who ever came up with this idea (wink wink, Tari) is pure genious. We all love to get a special treat at the holidays, but this one is the best yet. Not only do you get a treat, you actually know that someone thought of you and is thankful for you.

Let me tell you how we got hit. We were watching T.V. in the living room Tuesday evening and get a knock knock at the door. Brett answered it and it was a cute little boy from Quayd's primary class. He gave Brett the papers and a tin of cookies. We were so excited! Now you are supposed to make copies of the letter and sign, then hang the sign on your door. Well I didn't hang it right away because I knew I would go make copies first thing in the morning. Well it was not 10 minutes later and "Knock Knock Knock!" We got hit again!! So we got double the treats and we were super excited and felt super loved. Last night I had enrichment meeting, so we didn't deliver our treats, but we will tonight. So, thank you to those people who stopped by with a treat. We are thankful for you too!!!

Let me just tell you about enrichment. I am the enrichment leader in my ward and I am always looking for something new and interesting to try. My dear, sweet, beautiful, talented friend Kandice came to my ward to do a presentation on organizing your life. It was WONDERFUL!!! She did this presentation for her ward and got a great response, so I made her come and do it for mine. She did an amazing job. I was so proud of her. I actually learned a few things about her that I didn't know and I definately learned some things I can do to better organize myself. I know I said it last night, but Thank you Kandice. It really meant a lot to me that you would step out of your comfort zone and do that for me. You are a great friend! You are so knowledgeable and everybody was talking last night after you left about how wonderful it was. For a refreshment, I made this YUMMY pumpkin cake that had a layer of cream cheese in the middle and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. We also served hot apple cider. It was heavenly. Kandice provided me with the recipe, and I am so grateful! It was a hit. I had some left over and took a piece to my grandparents last night, and they gobbled it right up.

I am thankful for Kandice, and enrichment, and my family, and my friends, and my callings, and the treats that came to my door!!!

the one about my turkey sound

I can make an amazing turkey gobble sound. It's true. It is quite amazing, actually. Medically I must have some extra cartlidge in my throat or something because a sound that divine should not come from a human. If you see me around, ask me about it and maybe, if you play your cards right, I might do it for you. But it will require you to share a strange talent with me. Infact, blog about it. I love to share my gifts with the world, but please know that I will not do it in most public places because it is a little intense and tends to frighten small children.

The reason I bring this up is because I had to utilize this gift while helping in Quayd's class today. I actually had to bribe the kids in my "centers" group to finish a project. There was a picture of a leaf, corn, rake, pumpkin, and other fall items. They had to write the word exactly how it was shown by the picture. They were getting bored, so I told them if they got to the turkey page, I would do my turkey sound. Well, it worked. And after recess, I totally did it and they were facinated. And I am sure Mrs. R was impressed. NOT! (I bet I don't get a substitute job from her anytime soon!)

I also had to break out the gobble at Bingo the other night. They had a raffle for turkeys. When Brett and I won one, I was inspired to gobble. It just came over me and I couldn't stop it.

Thank you for sticking through this terrible blog so you could learn another bizarre fact about me. I love this time of year, not only because it gives me lots of opportunities to show of this skill, but also because it remends me to be thankful for all of the real gifts I posess. Please share with me your strange talents. Let us all be grateful for ALL of our blessings.

the one about my Holly-day

So, I am official. I am a substitute teacher. Cool huh. I got my "Welcome to the School District" letter today. I can start as soon as I get a call. I am so excited!

Today, I had such a great day with my dear friend Holly. About a week ago, she asked me to help her make a baby quilt for her new baby niece. Her name is Sydney and she is quite a little miracle. She was born 3 months early (on September 27th and wasn't due until January 27th) and is doing surprisingly well. Holly found some cute material and asked if I could machine quilt it for her if she put it all together. Well, I love machine quilting, so I was super excited. My friend Robyn has a quilting machine, so we went to her new house and quilted. I got Quayd off to school and then Holly came to pick me up. Holly, Spencer and baby Jacob came along too. Robyn is so sweet and a total blast to be with so I was glad to hang out with her. I need to get my butt sewing again and go play with her. Anyway, after we sewed, she brought me home. We sat in my driveway and visited for awhile. I looked at the clock and saw that is was time to get Quayd so I asked her to take me to the school so we could get him and still visit. Then we decided that we hadn't had enough of each other so we went to lunch. We talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked. It was GREAT! Once we left lunch, we ran a little Christmas shopping errand then she brought me home. Baby Jake was hungry, Holly needed to potty and Quayd and Spencer were having fun playing, so she came in for awhile. We talked and talked some more while Jake had a bottle.

Holly is such a special friend to me and I appreciate her more than she will ever know. She is a wonderful example to me. She is a great listener and I love hanging out with her. We haven't seen much of each other for awhile, just busy lives I guess, but I really miss her. She has four great kids and Spencer is my little buddy. He yelled "Hi Mandy!" in sacrament meeting yesterday because he was so excited to see me. I don't think he stopped talking to me this whole day. He told me knock-knock jokes, all kinds of stories, songs and he told me how he kissed Baby Jake in the library. He was so much fun. I think he was about to drive Holly nuts, but I loved it. When Holly was running her errand, I stayed in the car with the kids so she wouldn't have to haul them in. Jake started to cry and I asked Quayd to look in Jake's carseat for a binky. Quayd found it and put it in his mouth. He stopped crying and Quayd was so proud of himself for helping the baby. Of course, Jacob started to cry again, so when the binky wouldn't work, Quayd talked to him, played peek-a-boo, touched him and danced for him. It was so cute. I hope he grows up to love babies and kids as much as I do! Holly is going out of town for a couple of days and I get to help her with Scott a little. He is such a good boy and I am glad he and Quayd are friends. And I am glad that Holly and I are friends too!

Speaking of friends, I went with Holly, Kandice and Janice to BINGO Saturday night. Brett, Gleneita, Talia and Kandice's mom Julie came too. We had a blast. Seriously, it was so much fun. My only wish is that I could have looked a little bit more stupid in this picture. I don't know what is wrong with me that I take such a bad picture lately. Or maybe I am just realizing what a dog I really am. Interesting. Janice won Bingo once, and almost another time! Right, Janni? ;) and Brett and I won a turkey in the turkey raffle. But that was our only winnings. It was still fun though. Brett, Gleneita and I go every year. And we always see Tara and usually sit by her. It was no different this year. She was there with Shae, the spaz that broke her collar bone playing football with some friends. Not cute BOY friends though. (Duh, Shae!) We have so much fun every year, and one thing is for sure, we NEVER EVER win!!!

the one about playing catch up

I have been so busy this week and I haven't had time to blog. I am amazed at the people that have called or written to make sure we were ok. Thank you, my faithful friends, for being concerned. I say that i have been busy, yet I don't feel like I have accomplished anything. Well, I guess I did accomplish something sorta big. Big for me. Something I have been wanting to do for awhile now. It happened on Thursday. But I won't tell you that easy.... I will go through my week and you can find out when you get there!

Monday: We had a little family home evening lesson about working and helping out around the house. Lately I have felt like I am all alone in this department. Quayd is old enough to do his chores, but he somehow finds a way to get out of it. So we started an allowance program and we talked about tithing. So far so good. We will see how it works. Then after FHE and dinner, Quayd and I went with some friends to see Bee Movie. Brett doesn't just love the movies so we left him home. The movie was cute. Quayd loved it! Morgan was all over me the whole time, and I loved that. She is my little buddy and I just love her to death. She wanted to sit with her BF, me and her BoyF, Quayd. It was great. Janice and Greg kept apologizing about it, but seriously. I loved it. It means a lot to me to have a 2 year old that loves me that much. Kandice said she thought the movie was dumb, but I kinda liked it. I know the kids loved it, but Janice, Tari, Tara.. what did you think?

Tuesday: I did my usual... helped in Quayd's class. This has turned out to be my favorite time of every week. I love the kids in his class. I love his teacher and I just love being at school. A little known fact about me... I wanted to go into Elementary Education when I "grew up." I have one year of college under my belt and since helping in Quayd's class, I have realized how much I really love it and have actually started to consider going back to school. Shhhhhh....... don't tell anyone.

Wednesday: BUNCO! It was at Marcie's house this month and it started out great. Marcie always makes super good food. She had Chicken enchiladas and chips and salsa. She has 3 different kinds of yummy salsa and finished it all off with orange rolls. So good!!! Well just as we were getting ready to start rolling, Brett called my cell phone and told me that Quayd started throwing up EVERYWHERE! Well we all know how weak Brett's stomach is. (For those of you who don't know, he passed out during my C-Section because he couldn't handle the smell.) I could hear Quayd crying for me in the background, so I thought I better go and help out. I came home, rubbed Quayd's little back as he leaned over the toilet and watched Brett dry heave as he cleaned up the mess in the bedroom. We just got it all cleaned up and I rocked Quayd in the front room, and he puked all over me! This went on all night. He threw up hard until aobut 11:00 pm and at least once an hour until 5:00 am. It was a long night. He really moped around on Thursday, but he started feeling better that evening and was able to go back to school on Friday. Now he is back to normal. Brett also got some new teeth since his got all busted up after his motorcycle accident in September.

Thursday: This was the day I said I did something that I have been wanting to do for awhile now.... I built it up to be a big deal, and it's really not, so I hope you aren't dissapointed. I have been thinking about becoming a substitute teacher for quite sometime now. I metioned how much I love being in the classroom and I though it might be a good way to decided if it is something I would really like to persue. Quayd is getting older now and I need something to do, so I thought a part time job where I can make my own hours is a good idea. Anyway, they offer a substitute orientation at the school district office about 3 or 4 times a year. I have been planning on going for a few weeks now but then Quayd got sick. I called the office to see when they might do it again but it wasn't until February so I knew I needed to go. Quayd hadn't thrown up for awhile, so I called around, and everyone was very willing to help, but he decided he wanted to go to Ga and Pop's to be rocked. They said he did fine, and my orientation was about 3 hours long. I had to go to the jail to be fingerprinted. It was super scary. I have never been to the jail before. And I hope I never have to go again. I passed all of my stuff off and as soon as my background check comes back, (24-48 hours) I am good to teach in the district! For now, I just want to stay at Quayd's school. Then maybe next year when he is full day, I can do some more. We will seehow it all works out. I am actually pretty excited to start!
Later Thursday, I had volleyball. We lost both games. But it sure was fun!!!

Friday: Friday was my catch up on crap around the house day. I cleaned and worked all day. As I was vacuuming with my 30 year old vacuum, the bag broke and I had dirt flying EVERYWHERE! I ran to the store to get a bag. They didn't have one, so I went to another store, and another. Apparently, they don't make those bags anymore, because I am the only one in the U.S. who still uses this piece of &%$^ vacuum. So i had to buy another one. I just got a $50 one cuz I didn't really want to spend money on a vacuum right now. I got home, started putting it together and had major buyers remourse. But what was I supposed to do? So I called Brett, thinking he would be so mad that I bought a new vacuum, but he said, "Oh, it's about time. We needed one bad." So I got it all put together, still having major regrets. I plugged it in, turned it on and..... I THINK I AM IN LOVE!!!!! It really sucks! Like, REALLY sucks good! I couldn't believe how clean my carpet looks. It almost looks like I shampooed it. So my buyers remourse is gone. And I have a new best friend.

So that is my week. Not to exciting. In review, we had the stomach flu, substitiue teacher orientation, new teeth, and a new, super sucky vacuum!

the one about my sick obsession

Is there anything cooler than searching your skin and finding a huge white or black head that is ripe for the picking? I sure don't think so. I love it when I find such a treasure and when I squeeze it, GOOD STUFF comes out. I get a little freaky sometimes and I can't stop myself so I will have a scabbed face for a week. I BEG Brett to let me get a hold of him because he always has some good ones. But a word of advice, don't try to be sneaky and pick at Brett because he has a hot temper and a low pain tolerance. He occasionally lets me get a big juicy one, but it comes with a hefty price tag. I won't go into details.

My poor family and friends know what a freak I am, so they allow me to get my fix when I can. When we were on our cruise a month ago, we got a knock-knock-knock at our state room door. I opened it and it was cute little Talia. She said she had a present for me. "What could it be?" I wondered. Candy? Roses? A new shirt? No! To my surprise, it was a HUGE zit! She let me pop it and it was wonderful. And one time this last summer, Cory called me and told me he had a real beauty on his nose and that he would be down in a while for me to pop it. Sweet!

My mom got me the coolest mirror for my Birthday that magnifies 8 times! She has one and knows I have been coveting it for a long time. It has a bright light and I just adore it. Janni bought me a sweet tool that estheticians use and I love it. It brings me so much joy. It is my prized posession. I also have some super pointy tweezers, sharp cuticle trimmers and the Pampered Chef orange peeler tool, and I use those for all sorts of picking. I love this Neutrogena deep cleaning astringent and Germ-X. If a product says, "Deep Cleansing," "Anti-Bacterial," or "Sharp Pionty Devil Tool," then you can guarantee I will buy it. These are a few of my favorite things!!!

Yesterday, I started picking at myself with my tool, then convinced Brett to let me get some blackheads on his nose. Apparently I got a little rough and he wanted to pay me back, so he took the tool to my neck. He noticed some monsters in between my chins but he couldn't get them. I knew that Kimmie Gibler would be so excited, since we share the same obsession, so I headed off to her house. She turned on her big spot light, layed me down on the couch and picked away. It was great. We both got our high.

So anyway, that is another little fact about me. I know, kinda gross. Don't be discusted, embrace it! If you find a pesky clogged pore, CALL ME! I'm yours. I will drop anthing to get a hold of it. So it might hurt a little, but pain is temporary. A flawless complexion is forever!!!!

the one about ice skating

Last evening, Gibler and I went to Maurices to spend my Birthday gift certificates. (Thanks Janni and Talia!) I got two pair of pants and two shirts. Gibbie got pants, a shirt some lotion and perfume. When I got home, Brett got a wild hair to go ice skating. He had already asked Brayden and Brennen and they were ready to go! I really pretty much hate ice skating. I did skate a lap though, then I got behind the camera. I am much more comfortable there. Uncle Gary brought Eli and Amelia. He doesn't skate either so I sat and visited with him. This was Brayden, Brennen and Quayds first time on the ice and I have to brag! They all three did AWESOME! The two little boys got skates that attach to your shoes and they have two blades. They worked it! I was so proud. The other Braden was there too and he helped all of the boys. It was so much fun. I have to tell a funny thing that Quayd said, though. He had come off the ice by Gary and I and took off his ice skates. Instantly, he wanted them back on. Brett had come over too, and Quayd asked dear old dad to re-attach the skates. Brett said, "No, I'm going to skate." So I told him to come over to me and I would put them on. Gary and I were just talking away as I did my work. Suddenly, Quayd said, "Thanks mom. You are the best mom ever." I thanked him, loved on him and told him that he was the best son ever. Then he looked at Gary and said, "Gary, you are the best Grandpa ever." Gary is totally not a grandpa yet. It was so funny, but so sweet. Ok, now I will let the pictures tell the story.




It was a huge change from the days earlier activities. We took Quayd's four-wheeler and let him ride for a few hours. It was so nice and sunny. It was t-shirt weather, then we had to bundle up to go ice skating. What a fun day, though. We are so blessed to live in a time and place where we can take a whole day and just have fun. Besides being a Mother, being an Aunt is my greatest gift.

the one about Ga

Not much excitement around here today. But that is a good thing. I slept in and went to Curves around 10:00 am. (Nice change from 6:00 am) Then when I got home I went to check on my sweet grandma and next door neighbor. She just got home from SLC last night after having back surgery. She is doing well. She is in quite a bit of pain, but all in all, doing well. She has struggled with lower back problems for so long, so I hope this will help her out. Infact, she will make a great blog topic today.

My Grandma Doris has been one of my closest friends for as long as I can remember. My brother was the first grandchild, and he started calleg her Ga. He is 34 now, and the name has stuck. Everyone calls her Ga. Several years ago, she commented that she would walk through the grocery store and from every direction people would be saying, "Hi Ga!" Brayden started calling her Da a little bit, so now the little boys call her that sometimes. Ga wasn't really the bake cookies kind of grandma, but she is the most nurturing grandma ever. She makes us all feel so loved and special. I remember her always scratching my back and I see her doing the same for her great-grandsons. My brother and I have one cousin, Brooke, and we are the only grandkids. I am the baby, and I am the most loved. (But I am sure she tells the other 2 that they are the most loved too, so that is probably not true.) Ga worked forever as the county historian and she has some huge accomplishments under her belt. One being, she is the author of many history books. Everyone around here knows and loves her. I could go on and on about how great everyone else thinks she is, but this is my blog. So I will tell why I think she is great. I love to help her out. She helps me all of the time so I love being able to pay her back. Today, I went over and helped wash her hair and get her dressed. Then I changed the bandage on her back. We all knew that my sweet grandpa, Pop, would probably pass out if he had to see it, so I gladly stepped in! It is a pretty small incision so dangit, there wasn't even any good stuff. Then she said she was hungry and some soup sounded good. I made soup for dinner the other night and had some leftover, so I brought her a bowl. She was in too much pain to really sit up, so I told her to relax and I fed her in bed. I loved it! We just sat and talked and laughed at how much of the soup didn't make it into her mouth. I hope I can continue to do those things for her for many years to come. I just love her so much. For a few years while I was in Jr. High and High School I lived with her and Pop. I treasure that time. We had lots of fun. She taught me how to paint, sew and opened up my love for art and crafts. She is so creative and talented and I am grateful that a little bit rubbed off on me. For years and years, we would go to a local mexican restraunt every Saturday and order the "special burrito." Then we would go to town and get groceries and stuff. It is harder for her to get around now, so we don't get to do that as often, but I love it when we do. I usually help her get all of her Chirstmas shopping done and sometimes we even venture out to the city. I took her to her first Jazz game, and we have been to plays, musicals, quilt shows, art shows, movies, concerts, about every craft or fabric store on this side of the Mississippi, DisneyLand, Phoenix, Las Vegas and tons of places in between. She has helped me through some rough times, and has been there to celebrate my good times. I am very proud to be her grandaughter. I hope she is proud of me too.


I also want to mention today that Brett took Quayd and Brennen four-wheeler riding this afternoon. He snapped some great pictures that I would love to share. They went to some of Brett's uncle's farm property. Later, Brandon, Danette and Brayden came and rode the big four-wheeler for awhile. The little boys were hilarious. They laughed, screamed, and squeeled the whole time. They were so cute! They had a blast. Sometimes little boys just need to be little boys!

the one about my father-in-law

I totally forgot to post this picture yesterday. It is Talia. Is she hot or what?
She was having a crappy day yesterday and I was super worried about her. Then I got sidetracked and forgot to put her hot picture on my blog! She was having a bad "Dad" day, as we call it around here. That brings me to todays blog topic...

My Amazing Father in Law, who I miss so much. He was a great man, and I love him so much. The things I will talk about, are my experiences and opinions. This is MY relationship with Mike.

He was born 2/28/1956 and passed away recently, August 29, 2007. He endured many health trials in his 51 years. Much more than any person should ever have to deal with. I met him probably about 11 years ago, and he filled a huge void in my life. We had a very untypical father-in-law/ daughter-in-law relationship. Possibly on the verge of inappropriate! Besides my husband and maybe my mom about 29 years ago, no one person has ever grabbed my butt so much in my life. And vice versa! Or called me out of the blue to ask, in a sultry voice, "What are you wearing?" We talked about everything! He knew more about me than almost anyone. He also knew a different side of me. A side that nobody knows or understands. After I had my baby, I had a pretty tough time. It is a long story and I have to be in just the right mood to talk about it. Someday I will share all of the details on my blog, but not today. Anyway, when things all started going down that day (September 4th 2002) Mike was the one who was there for me. Not because nobody else wanted to be there, but because HE knew what was going on. He stood up for me and made sure I was getting the proper health care. He took care of my baby while I was being poked, prodded and tested to hell and back. He drove my husband and son to SLC while I was being lifeflighted. He got them there safely, comforted my husband, and knew just what to do and say once they arrived. His was the first voice I heard when I was in the ER at the U of U. The most wonderful, warm, beautiful, comforting sound I could have heard! I was in a drug induced coma and the doctors told Brett that I wouldn't be able to hear him, but that they could take a few moments to see me. Well I heard them! I heard the doctors say those words and I will never forget it. (I get a little teary-eyed talking about it.) I was on a ventilator and I couldn't move. I couldn't even open my eyes. But Brett and Mike walked in and Mike said to Brett, "She can probably hear you. The doctors don't think so, but she probably can. Tell her the things you think she wants to hear." And he told me exactly what I needed to hear. That they were there with me, that my baby was there and that I was going to be ok. That was all I needed to know. I was super frustrated that I couldn't give them a sign to tell them that I could hear. And then a tear trickled down my face, and Brett said, "Look, I think she can hear me." Mike told him that I must have been trying to give them a sign and that must have been it. I know that sounds like nothing, but to me, it was huge. It was one of those "life" moments that I will NEVER forget! Mike was so in tune with me and my spirit at that time that he was able to communicate to me the things I needed to know. I am forever grateful for that. Brett was one of the speakers at the funeral and he made the comment that because of his dad, he has a wife today. It is so true. I know that Mike saved me. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for him. I hate saying this because I hate to freak anybody out, but Mike and I both had near-death experiences. It is a very private thing to me and nobody really gets it. But Mike did. We had that in common and we could talk about it for HOURS! I know that Mike was not afraid of death. I know that he had a choice to make and he finally made the choice to rest. I find a lot of peace in knowing that he is finally out of pain and that he is perfect. I don't feel like he is all that far away from us. Quayd told my mom that he still talks to Papa. I love that. I love knowing that my son feels like he has somebody he can talk to anytime. Quayd and Mike were super close, and I know that Papa is watching out for him.


A couple of years ago at Lagoon, Mike and I decided to go on this ride, and we HATED it! Well, I hated it and Mike did too, but he enjoyed hearing me scream like a little baby.
Oh, we had so much fun. He was a total nut! And he somehow made everyone feel like they were special. I could tell him a story and he made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. But he did that for everybody! We all felt special around Mike. And we felt like he was special too. I try to be strong for Brett but sometimes it really hits me. I metioned how Talia had a bad "Dad" day yesterday. Quayd did too. When I picked him up from school, he was crying a little. I asked him what was wrong and he told me some story about how he had lost some game at school or something. Then he said, "and I am just really sad that Papa died." Sad. Brett has a bad "Dad" day occasionally and I am kind of having one today. It's weird. I miss him like crazy.

the one about Halloween

Well, here he is. The Crimson Chin. Along with his trusty sidekicks, Captain America (Kasen) and Wonder Woman (Kenna). Are they cute, or what?

Halloween was great. Since there was no school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Quayd has gotten really used to sleeping in. So we just relaxed all morning. My Grandma is having back surgery in SLC today and they had to leave yesterday so we Trick-or-Treated them around lunch time. Then I made some chicken salad sandwiches for my Grandparents, my mom, Brayden, Brennen, Quayd and myself. I used white bread and cut the sandwiches in the shape of a ghost. I used sliced olives and pimentos for the faces. They were super cute, and they tasted great too. My cute grandpa always gives the boys one of those HUGE Hershey's bars for Halloween and that is Quayd's favorite thing. He looks forward to it all year. At their house yeterday, he couldn't get into it quick enough! As he was stuffing it in his cute face, my mom asked all of the boys what their favorite candy was. Brayden said Twix, but soon changed to 3 Musketeers. Then back and forth for a few minutes. Brennen liked what ever Brayden said. (I am sure most of that was the annoying little brother in him copying whatever his big brother said!) They finally settled on Twix and my mom asks, "What about you, Quayd?" He looks at her with chocolate all over his face and says, "Big."

We had Trunk-or-Treat and Bread and Soup dinner at the Church starting at 5:30. It was fun, but we had TONS of people so it was super hectic. Then we did the usual running to the grandma's, teachers, and close friends. We stopped at Quayd's old pre-school so he could see Mrs. Young. She and her husband were Dorothy and the Scarecrow. Our dorky, cross-dressing friend, Jay, was the Wicked Witch. They were so cute! I had to go out and get my camera for a picture. I told them that they were definately blog-worthy! Here they are! And their little dog too!

Speaking of witches, my mom has dressed up as a witch for so long! I cant really remember her being anything else. She loves to be a witch for Halloween and sometimes just to be weird and dress up. She has proudly been size 9 witch, size 20 witch, glitter witch, black hair witch, granny witch and my personal favorite, slut witch. When Brayden was little, my mom was, of course, a witch and he was petrified of her! He went around calling her Granny witch for YEARS! Well she was so sure yesterday that she was going to dress up and scare the boys. She got all witched up and walked to our houses. She came to see Quayd first. Not scared. Then went to Brayden and Brennen's. Not scared. I laughed at her today when she told me that they all three just looked at her and said, "Hi Granny." She was so disapointed.

Today I hit the "after-Halloween" sale at Wal-Mart and got Quayd some super hero costumes for dress up. I found Superman, Spiderman and a Ninja Turtle. He was thrilled!

Now it is November. Time to start preparing for my favorite time of year, CHRISTMAS! Hip hip horray! Quayd went back to school today, the Halloween decorations are coming down, and after we get over the sugar high, life can get back to normal.