the one about Brayd-O

Happy Birthday to you....
Happy Birthday to you....
Happy Birthday dear Brayden....
Happy Birthday to you!!!!

My sweet little nephew Brayden is 12 today. I can't believe it. He is such a special boy and I love him so much. I adore him, actually.

He is one of my best friends. Seriously.
Before he was born, I was the youngest in the family. I was 17 when he came along. I was SO EXCITED to have a nephew. But also a little nervous to give up my place as "baby of the family." It turned out that Brayden and I bonded wonderfully and instantly. We have been close since day one.

In honor of Brayden turning 12, I am going to make a top 12 list of the millions of things that I LOVE LOVE LOVE about him!!

#12. He is very creative, artistic and talented. Sometimes he will come over to my house and we will make cards or scrapbook for HOURS. We have the best talks and we have so much fun.

#11. He is very involved in 4-H. I am so proud of him and all of his accomplishments. (This picture was from the county fair last summer. The 3 boys entered their rabbits in the 4-H part of the fair and they all got blue ribbons.)

#10. He is so freaking funny!!! He is just a riot! I love talking to him because he always knows what to say to make me smile. He tells silly jokes all of the time, but he is usually laughing so hard while telling the joke that you never really get the whole thing. But you just laught because he is so funny laughing at himself. He has been known to pee his pants when he laughs too hard. He was funny like that when he was little too. He would get so mad at me sometimes for teasing him and stuff, so he wouldn't talk to me for awhile. But if I tried to get him to talk to me, he would turn up his nose and me and make this funny little "Hummm," sound. It was so cute! He also got mad at his cat one day when I was babysitting him at his house. She ran under the bed and Brayden didn't think I was nearby, and he called her a naughty name! It was too funny. He said, "Dumb b*&@% went under the bed." I just giggled at him.

#9. He is so handsome. The older he gets, the better looking her gets. And he was SUPER cute to start with!

#8. He is such a good cousin to Quayd. He looks out for him and makes sure all of the bigger kids are being nice to him.
#7. He loves to go to the movies with me. We don't really get to go super often, but he is always game whenever I am. And he likes chineese food like me.

#6. He also loves to go shopping. A few years ago when my mom had one of her many surguries, Brayden and I took her out to SLC. We dumped ma off and went to town! We had so much fun.

#5. He tells it how it is. If you want to know, just ask Brayden.

#4. He doesn't care what others think of him, and I really admire that. I wish I could be more like that.

#3. A few months ago, Brayden, Quayd and I were going to dinner and a movie. While we were at dinner, Brayden opened up and told me all about his "love life." Of course, I would never broadcast that information, but I was so touched that he would talk to me about it. I love that he trusts me and tells me that stuff. Sometimes he will come over after school and tell me all about his day and all about his friends. It seriously means the world to me. I hope he will always feel like he can come to me with that stuff.

#2. He is a cuddlebug. He will STILL come and hug me all of the time, in public or private. He doesn't care who is around. And if we are watching t.v. or something, he will still snuggle me on the couch. It is so cool. He isn't worried that he will be to big of a dork if he still snuggles his dorky aunt Mandy. And he is very sensitive. He doesn't want to hurt people or see anyone mad. He was that way when he was tiny too. He would say in his cute sweet little voice, "Don't holl-a (holler) at me." It was so cute, and Brett and I say that to each other all the time and it makes us think of our sweet little Brayden.

and the #1 reason that I love Brayden, is that he loves me too! We always have fun together, and although there is no way he could ever love me as much as I love him, he still loves me and that is good enough for me. I love you buddy! As big as an elephant! (He used to tell me that when he was little too. "Mandy, I love you as big as an elephant!") Happy Birthday! I will love you forever.

the one about Grandpa Galley

This is Grandma and Grandpa Galley. Aren't they cute??? This weeked we clebrated Grandpa's 80th Birthday. It was so much fun! All of his kids were here and most of their families. Rod Came down from Wyoming, Chad came from California, and Rhonda's family came from Castledale. (Ty even brought his future bride. Way to go Ty!) Everyone else lives in town so they didn't have to travel as far.
We met at the Church in the morning and we all brought pot luck. We had a big yummy lunch, lots of games, and as usual with the Galley's, lots of laughs. We can get together and play the STUPIDEST games, but have a total blast. Fruit Basket Tip-Over was my personal favorite. It was intense and all but like 3 adults played. Even cute little Grandpa got in on it. He is the best sport of all though, so its not unusual to see him playing the silly games with us. He is the biggest kid in the group. We also played a little Hokey Pokey.


One of my personal favorite parts of the day was the video Gary had put together. It was a bunch of photos from Grandpa's past. And after we watched it, we did a little "This is your life" thing and we all told our favorite storys of Grandpa.

I love these people so much!!!
Thank you Tara for all of the great pictures. Especially the "cupcake" photo shoot! (wink, wink) They are so much fun and I am so glad to be a part of this awesome family. Happy 80th Birthday Grandpa! I love you so much!!!

the one about the wrestling singlet

I know, I know. You all want to know about the wrestling get up on my last post. I knew this would happen, and I am really not afraid to talk about it. Obviously, or I wouldn't have posted the thing in the first place.

So here is the story...

About a year ago, I was starting a women's softball team. I had gathered a few of my friends and we put together a FUN team. A LOSING team, but a FUN team. Anyway, I needed some cleats. Brett's little brother Cory and I wear the same size shoes (I don't know who that is more embarrassing for, me or Cory...), and he had an extra pair. Cory wasn't sure where the cleats were, so we went up to Brett's mom and dads house to search for them. While searching through all of Cory's stuff from high school, we found his wrestling stuff. K, you need to know, Cory is TINY! Well I just thought it would be so funny to squeeze my fat arse in the tiny uniform. I never would have imagined that it would fit. Well, I guess it really didn't fit, but, somehow, against all odds, I was able to get in it. My father-in-law was there and he thought that whole thing was hysterical, as well as Gleneita, Talia and Brett. Talia went straight for the camera. I don't know what possessed me to pose. So that isn't even the funny part. Right after that picture was taken, I was prancing around being an idiot, and I heard someone starting to open the door. I FREAKED! I didn't want anyone to see me! (Duh, there were already 4 witnesses and a camera) so Talia captured this photo just as Cory was coming in the door. Like, I hate to sound boastful or anything, but that is freaking funny! My reaction is hilarious!!

So there it is. The story of the Wrestling Singlet.

the one about Lunch Lady Land

So I am sure you are wondering what in the world this post could be about with that crazy title. Tell me, what do you think of when you hear the phrase, "Lunch Lady?" C'mon, be honest.... Hair Net? Plastic gloves? Big nasty mole? Sloppy Joe?

Well I am here to defend the everyday lunch lady. I think she has gotten a bad reputation and when you think of her, I know you picture this: Or possibly, this:
Or for all of you Survivor fans, THIS:
Well, guess what. Get those preconceived notions out of your head. NOW! And when you think lunch lady, start thinking this:

Oh yah. It's true. I have made a career move and I am officially a lunch lady. I started today, and I must say, I had a great day.

Allow me to explain... I will keep it short and sweet. My old job was great, but just not working out. The software program wasn't working and it was causing me MUCH stress. When I was hired, I was told it would be until the end of this school year, and then they would determine renewal by the success of the program. Well, there was no success there! Really, the program just didn't work. It was super frustrating. I knew I needed to start looking if I wanted to keep working for the school district. I had thought about lunch stuff for next year, but then a job became available at Quayd's school and I just hated to pass it up. These "good" jobs don't come along too often, and a lot of times, once you are a lunch lady, you are always a lunch lady. Not a lot of turnover. As for now, furthering my education is definitely on hold, for other reasons that I will go into another time. I just felt like this move was a good choice for me. NO STRESS!!!! YIPPEE! The kitchen I work at is very small and there are only two of us, plus the cashier. (Shout out to Jamie!) Right around lunch time, a lady from another school comes to help us serve. And then I come home. My hours are 10-2. I am very excited and proud to be a lunch lady!

Quayd thinks it is great. I think it is great. All of the kids at school think its great. Brett, still not convinced, but he will see.... its not all bad. He did make this comment though..... "Its easier to fantasize about a "naughty teacher's aide" than a LUNCH LADY!" And my sweet, almost 12 year old nephew said, "Mandy. SERIOUSLY. Lunch Lady? That is quite a step down from substitute teacher. Don't you think?" I said in return, "Well, don't you think your lunch ladies are cool?" He kept the straightest face ever and said, "Um. NO!"

Oh well. I am happy with my decision. So stop thinking this... and start thinking.... THIS!!!! OOPS! I mean this.... And don't forget...

the one about Kandice's birthday

Happy Birthday Kandice!!!!!!!

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my awesome friend Kandice, on her 25th Birthday. I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon with her. I took her to lunch at Gandolfo's, then we went back to her house and just hung out. It was a relaxing day, but super fun! I am so glad I got to spend this day with her. I love you Kandice!

the one about Easter

I have kind of been an Easter scrooge this year, for a couple of reasons.

#1. It was just to early this year. Easter should not be on March 23rd. I don't care what you think. We need a couple more weeks to get ready.

#2. HELLO!!! There is still snow on the ground!

#3. We ALWAYS go camping for Easter, but not this year.

It was a cause and effect thing. Because of my reason #1 and #2, we didn't get to do reason #3. Errrrrrrr!

But I tried my very best to be a good sport, and I think we ended up having a nice weekend. It was super relaxing, and that was wonderful. A few weeks ago I bought a new book, and I was able to start and finish it. If you are looking for a quick good read, I reccomend it. I really love Nichols Sparks, and his newest book is called The Choice.

I got to take Quayd and do a few fun Easter things on Saturday. As I mentioned before, we are usually camping and I don't think Quayd has ever been on a real live Easter egg hunt. Let me explain what his idea of an Easter egg hunt is..... When I first married Brett, I went with his family for a fun Easter campout. I was told there would be an Easter egg hunt, so to bring candy. I was glad to! So we had been camping for a few days, and on Saturday it was just about time for the big event. I gathered up my candy and I was ready to hide it. Well everyone started walking toward this big dirt/sagebrush clearing. I wondered where on Earth we would hide it, but I went with it. All of a sudden I notice these crazy women throwing their candy all over in the dirt! Again, I just went with it. When it was time to turn the kids loose, they just freaked out! They loved it! They just ran and picked up nasty dirty candy and they were all really happy about it. I seriously thought it was the strangest thing I had ever seen. Until we went to "roll" eggs. That came later that afternoon. We all hiked our butts off up a big scary steep rock. Once we got to the top, everyone throws their eggs to the bottom. It is a game to see whose can tumble the farthest before breaking. The more eggs you take, the more fun you have, so each kid brings as many dozen eggs as they can carry to the top of the rock! WEIRD! But now, these silly strange things have become a major part of my Easter tradition. I love it and I look forward to it every year. I really missed it this year. For another "in-laws" side to this crazy Easter tradition, read Brett's Aunt Tara's blog post for today. It was super funny!

Something else that Brett, Quayd, Brayden and Brennen did on Saturday, was putting firecrackers in hard bolied eggs and blowing them up. They did this for hours and loved it. Boys!

As I metioned before, I couldn't really get into the Easter spirit this year. Until yesterday, my whole purpose for celebrating Easter was for this... (I LOVE these things!!!!!)
Seriously, that was all I really cared about. But then Brett and I had a nice long talk about religion, Easter, spirituality, love, family, and I finally remembered that Easter is really about this. And most importantly, this...

the one about Quayd's Grandparents program

Quayd had a Grandparents program at school the other day. Holy crap, it was so cute! His school teacher does the cutest stuff! They recited several poems and each child had a chance to tell why they think their Grandparents are special. Quayd said, "My Grandparents are special because they make me ice cream cones." My grandparents are so cute to make him an ice cream cone any time he wants one. Last summer, he got so used to going over there every afternoon. He would look at the clock around 3:00 or 4:00 and say, "It's ice cream time! Pop is probably waiting for me." And off he would go. It was so cute. And I love it that when his teacher told him to think of why his Grandparents are special, that is what he thought of. One of the poems they recited was about how Grandpa snores." Quayd said it was all about pop, because he snores when he takes a nap in his chair.

My mom and Gleneita also came. It meant so much to me to have them all there. Quayd is so lucky to have such awesome grandparents. Each person had the opportunity to write Quayd a letter and his teacher put it in his portfolio. we won't get that until the end of the year, so I am not sure what all of the letters said, but I am super excited to read them. What a treasure for Quayd! (and me!)

the one about Quayd's mission

How cute is this! Quayd had a Primary Activity this week and they all got called on missions. I just love how handsome he looks. Maybe someday he really will go on a mission and I can look back at how cute he looked when he was 5 in 2008. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

(by the way... I have started a blog for Quayd and if you are reading it, you have already read about his mission. I will really try hard not to "double-post" stuff, but this picture was just too cute to pass up!)

the one about taking Quayd to the Dentist

Here is a little background to prepare you for todays blog entry...

I can handle the Dentist. I don't LOVE to go or anything, but I am ok when I am there. Fortunatly, I have only had a few small cavities and never had to experience something traumatic at the Dentist.

Brett on the other hand.... has had horrible Dentist experiences. His mom and two brothers (and maybe Talia too) don't have enamel on their teeth and it causes them to decay and crumble in their mouths. They have gone through lots of trauma at the Dentist.

So about 12 years ago, I met a nice guy named Brett. We really liked each other and two years later decided to seal the deal and get married. About 2 years after that we thought we would like to bring a child into the family. It took a little bit of time for that child to come, but once he did, it was the greatest thing that could have happened to us. He seems to have gotten the better traits from each of us, making him a pretty good mix. He is built like his dad, has his dads thick hair, metabolism and his dads cute butt. On the otherhand, he is sensitive like his mom (most of the time that is good thing) and has his moms eyes.

So when it came to dental stuff, we were sure he would have mom's healthy teeth. I mean, why wouldn't he? WRONG-O!!!! They suck.

He has had this tooth bothering him off and on for a few weeks, and trying to get into a dentist in this town proved to be a joke. We have a family Dentist that we all love, but we weren't picky. Although, it was our family Dentist we ended up seeing. We were on the waiting list for a cancelation, but the next available appointmet was weeks away. This last weekend the toothache got really bad and we ended up calling the dentist at home. He called in an antibiotic and said he would get us in this week.

Well, today was the day. The ailing tooth was his bottom back right molar. There was a lot of decay on the tooth and he was afraid the nerve/root was dead. If that were the case, the tooth would have to be pulled. The Dentist decided the tooth was worth saving and he worked on it for quite awhile. I made Brett come with us because I simply can't handle hearing or seeing my baby in pain. I knew Quayd needed me, but I knew I needed Brett. Once they started working on the tooth, I went out to the waiting room. At one point, I could hear him crying and I got so upset I had to go for a walk outside. Once it was almost fixed, I went in and took this picture. Then they cleaned him up and we came home. I called work and said I couldn't come today because I needed to take care of him. He needed his Mommy. I made him a nice bed on the couch and we are hanging out watching cartoons. He hasn't complained much since we have been hope, except he keeps asking when his lips won't feel so fuzzy. Sad huh. Look at his sweet little face.

the one about my sweet new ride

Check this baby out!


Oh Yah!!!! I got me a sweet new BIKE!! I won it on the radio. Sorta. I bid on it on the Annual Radio Auction, and I had the winning bid. So, I won, but I still have to pay. But I got a KILLER deal. A $300 bike for $125. It rides super nice and I totally love it. I have wanted a bike just like this for quite awhile now, so I couldn't be happier. Quayd and I ride bikes TONS in the summer. We go to the park, get shaved ice, go out to lunch, go to the summer luch program at the school, the store, and wherever else our 4 legs and 4 wheels take us! (It used to be 6 wheels! Quayd really perfected the two wheel bike thing last summer!) Anyway, I am wicked excited to get movin on my new bike. I couldn't be more happy! I have really been wanting a scooter, but this will just have to do for another year!

the one about MORE SNOW!!!

Seriously? This is what I woke up to on Sunday morning. Are you kidding me? It is the middle of March and I am super sick of all of the stinking snow! We are going on 6 months of winter hell. I have tried to optimistic and grateful, but come on. Enough is enough. It is March, so lets start having some rain, at least. Everytime it snows though, Quayd gets so excited. He loves it. I love it to a point. But, do you wanna know why he loves it so much???

You guessed it... SLEDDING! This was right in front of my Grandma's house and he was having a blast! There was just enough grass at the botom to stop him from falling in the ditch. Crazy Kid!

the one about funny things Quayd has said today

Quayd has said enough funny things today that I can dedicate an entire post to it. So although it might be boring to you, I will treasure it forever!!!

Amelia came over this afternoon, and she had a huge robe on. Not sure why, just an Amelia thing I guess, but anyway, they started playing Wii and she took the robe off. Quayd goes, "Ohhh baby. Lookin' good!"

So they start playing Tony Hawk and Ameila screamed a little. Quayd says, "You scream like a little girl." and Amelia goes, "I am a little girl."

This one is kind of sad, but funny. So please don't think we are weirdos. We have never EVER talked about this kind of stuff, or made these kind of motions, but he did it anyway. Who knows..... K, he got in a little bit of trouble last night and he just freaks if he gets in trouble over ANYTHING! I was talking to Brett on the phone about last nights "incident." Quayd was crying that we were talking about it. He goes in the kitchen and gets a fork. He comes back to where I am and gives me the fork. I whispered, "What is this for?" He had the saddest little face and makes a motion for me to take it and poke it in his heart. I just started laughing at him. It was so strange and funny. So then we had a big talk about how we don't harm ourselves when we are sad, blah blah blah.

This thing also refers to last night. This morning, he says, "You know when I was in trouble last night?" I say, "Yes." Then he says, "When you and dad were mad, I thought you guys didn't believe in love anymore."

We also had a talk about Tony Hawk today. I asked him if he knew that Tony Hawk was a real person. He said no. So I pull www.tonyhawk.com up on the internet. Quayd was so excited he could hardly stand it. He says, "Wow, a real live skateboarder!" He just couldn't believe it." He goes, "The real Tony Hawk even looks like the guy on my Tony Hawk game." I said, "Yah, that is kinda what they try for." Then he says, "Next time I get on the computer, I don't want to play stupid kid games. I want to watch Tony Hawk's sweet moves!"

Oh he is funny!!!!!!!

the one about my big brother update

So now you know that I LOVE Big Brother, right? Well I have some information that will make all of you big fans wicked jealous of me! Ne ner ne ner!!!

Remember I told you yesterday that I have Showtime and I watch Big Brother After Dark?

And if you watched big Brother's live show last night you will know that they Head of Household competition wasn't over when the show was over.

Welllllllllllllllllll, here is my big news..... I know who won HOH, and you don't!!! It was down to the three pictured here and that is all I am going to say. If you really want to know, I will tell you, but I don't want to ruin it for all of you who want to wait CLEAR UNTIL SUNDAY NIGHT to find out. he he he. I am really not that mean to ruin it for the 1 of you that reads my blog and watches Big Brother. (I got your back, Kim B.)

I will say this though... it ended with lots of crying, cheering and PUKE! Oh yah, I said puke. It was good stuff. I know most of you are thinking that I am about the biggest Lame-O you have ever met. And you wanna know what I have to say about that?? I know. I am a Lame-O. And I don't even care. Seriously, this stupid show brings me almost as much joy as being a wife and mother does. Sick. Sick, sick sick.

the one about reality t.v.

Ohhhhhhh baby! I LOVE t.v. and especailly reality t.v. Since there has been this stupid writers strike, I have really depended on reality t.v. to give me my t.v. fix. I know what you are thinking.... LOSER!! But I just don't care, dangit. I love it and you can't judge me for that!!!

So I feel the need to tell you all about my very favorite Reality show in the whole wide world. It is kind of my guilty pleasure....

Big Brother! I seriously love this show so much. i am totally addicted and I look forward to it all of the time. I was so excited that they decided to have it in the winter this year so i didn't have to wait until summer to get wrapped up in it. Seriously, I am a little embarassed about it, but i don't care, i totally love it. Here is a photo of this season's cast. I even have Showtime so I can watch Big Brother After Dark. That is live feed from the ohouse every night from 10:00pm until 1:00am. No wonder I have trouble sleeping. This season, I am really cheering for James and Chelsia. I love them and would love to see them go far in the game. I also like Ryan, Josh and Adam. And Sheila a little bit. So there you go... my guilty pleasure show.

I have a few other favorites.... American Idol. I am really loving Brooke White and David Archuleta I am not a huge fan of the rocker chick, or the country girl. but I really like Jason Castro. He is a cutie and I really like his style. I could see myself buying David A., Brooke or Jason's CD, so I think they should win. And I should get to go to the final with 10 of my friends. I would take Brett, Quayd (one of the show's youngest fans), Kandice, Jamie, Janice, Stephanie (don't know if she is a fan, but I think she is fun to hang with), Uncle Kim, Holly, Emily A. and Elaine C. from school. Not becasue we are best friends or anything, but because she likes the show and I would like to see her have a good time. And she is cool! We could hang. And if I didn't mention your name and you are a big American Idol fan, I guess I would tell Jason, David and Brooke to let me invite you too. They won't mind. They are way cool like that!

I also love Biggest Loser. My favorite part of watching this show is the weekly competition I have with Brett to see who can eat more junk food before the weigh-in! This week, Girl Scout Cookies were our treat of choice!

Another guilty pleasure show that I love is the Bachelor. I know, I know, its so corny, but I can't help it. I get so wrapped up in it.

I also like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It always makes me feel so good, like there are still a few good people out there in the world!

Anyway, this is another sad look into the life of me.

My name is Mandy, and I am addicted to reality T.V.