the one about our jazz trip

We came to SLC today for our Annual Galley family Jazz extravaganza. Brett and Quayd are at the pool right now and I am sitting in the hotel room listening to my iPod (LOVE IT!!!) and doing a little blogging. Tomorrow we are going to the Apple Store so I can get a case and some screen protectors for my precious iPod. I am so worried about it getting scratched that I am a little scared to use it. I have some amazing music on it and one of my most favorite movies in the whole world... Notting Hill. I also have a couple of games and a bunch of pictures. I so love it. Yes, Ramanda. I have really come a long way in the the world of iPod. I even downloaded my songs, movies and pictures... all by myself. I didn't even have to bug Shae.

Anyway, enough about my iPod, lets get back to our big adventure. Let me just say that my car is the suckiest thing EVER in the snow. We were worried to drive it to Salt Lake because it has been so stormy. We did ok all the way here, then we got to the I-80/I-15 interchange. Brett was driving and we hit a really slick spot when we were getting of on our exit. We started sliding all over the place and hit into a snow bank. It was like slow motion. Shae rode out with us and she and Quayd were in the back. We hit on the passenger side, front corner, right where I was. That was cool because I would rather me get hurt than anyone else, but we were almost to a stop by the time we hit, so nobody got hurt. It was so weird though. We still hit pretty hard though and we were just sick to think about what damage it did to our car. We were able to drive away and when we got to our Hotel we checked it out and we can't find any damage. I am so thrilled, but surprised. It was pretty crazy. It all happened so fast and we immedietly got back on the road, so I didn't get a picture. Dang.

We made it to the hotel, then rode with the Galley's to dinner. We went to this cool Italian place called Buca di Beppe. It was so delicious. It was family style dining so were just ordered big plates and we all shared. YUMMY!!!
Ahhhh, look at Marcie's big cute belly. SURPRISE!! ;)

This is a picture of Tara and Shae's boyfriend.

From dinner, we went to our game. It was a good game. The Jazz won. Nothing too exciting except that Brynn fell down and landed on some people. That was prettycrazy. She is fine. A little embarassed and sore.
Drake and Quayd were LOVING the game. They were so cute watching it.
Then Beau'D wanted to get in on the action. He just wants to be one of the big boys. We did have another crazy thing happen at the game.... Brett and I walked down to get a drink. Quayd didn't want to go, he had just been for a snowcone with Gleneita. He was sitting right in front of her, just watching the game. Brett and I had been gone for a few minutes and Gleneita said he just dissappeared. By the time she realized what was happening, he was clear down the bleachers. Cory and Talia ran after him. In the meantime, Brett and I had got our drinks and were heading back up to our seats. Gleneita asked if we had seen Quayd, Cory or Talia. She told us what happened and Brett took off to look for him. I just stood there. I didn't know if I should go look for him or what. Gleneita told me in detail want happened and we figured it out. He had his snowcone in his hand when he left. He needed more flavor on it. I guess you can pick your own flavor and squirt it on your snowcone. I sent Brett a text message telling him to head for the snowcone stand. Pretty quick, good old Quayd was headed back up the stairs. Alone. I sent text messages to Cory, T and Brett telling them he was back. When Quayd got back up to his seat I was like, "Quayd!! Where did you go?" So casually, in total Quayd fashion, he says, "I just had to go get more stuff on my snowcone." I said, "Buddy! You can't just run off like that. What if you got lost?" Again, in pure Quayd style, "I knew where I was going. Just to the snowcone place then back to 'MM'(that was our section). I wasn't going to get lost." Then I said, "Well, you still can't take off like that. We were so scared and someone could have taken you." He just rolled his eyes at me and promised not to do it again. We were all about to have a heart atack. Little stinker.

After the game, walking back to the car, Quayd and Amelia found this snow cave on the sidewalk. They decided a hobo must have made it. They are obsessed with hobos.

So far, our trip has been super fun. We still have 2 days left, so we will see what other fun and excitement we can stir up with the Galleys. :)

FAST FORWARD....
Now it is Saturday. I didn't post yet because I was having trouble loading the pictures. Now it seems to be cooperating a little more, so we are gonna try again. Today was just a laid back day of shopping and fun. I made it to the Apple Store so now I feel like I can protect my new precious baby. It's all hooked up with a clear acrylic case and a clear sheet for the screen. I feel so much better now. That was the only thing I cared about doing while we were in SLC. The only thing Brett cared about was getting a new tattoo. He got that today. I will have to post pictures later. We haven't taken any yet. It is pretty cool though. The only things Quayd cared about was swimming in the hotel pool and going to Toys-R-Us for some PlayMobil toys. We did those things today too. So mission(s) accomplished. Tomorrow we are going to head home. Yuck. Back to our Christmas mess. I wish I could go hame and magically have my tree in its box, toys put away, laundry done and everything put back together. Oh well. It is so fun to be able to get away for a few days. It was a well-needed break after a hectic holiday season.

the one about Quayds freaky teeth

The last week or so, I have been noticing something weird going on with Quayd's mouth. He is six, and I know that loose teeth start happening at this point, but I have noticed that his mouth just looks different and he is sorta speaking with a tiny lisp. Probably nobody else would notice it, it is that tiny, but I am with him all the time. His two bottom front teeth are starting to get loose, but not super loose. I remembered when sweet little Taylor started getting loose teeth, everything started to spread to make way for her new teeth. He mouth looked really "gappy" and, not weird, but different. I assumed that is what was going on with Quayder. So a couple of nights ago, I was really examining his mouth. His gums were swollen around the bottom and really tender to the touch. I finally figured out what was going on... His new teeth are pushing through! They are breaking the surface right behind his baby teeth! It is so weird. You can kinda see it in this picture. They are barely starting to peek out, but they are super swollen. That is why he has a little lisp. Of course, there is no dentist available right now, due to the holiday, so I told him he better get wiggling those babies. Our goal is to have them out before he goes back to school, or else.... DENTIST!

the one about Christmas 2008

Phewwwwwww....... It's finally over.

I don't know what my deal was this year, but I just never really got into Christmas. We had an amazing time, everything was perfect, Quayd was spoiled, I was spoiled... seriously, everything was perfect. But I am SO GLAD its over.

On Christmas Eve, we always go to my Grandma's and have dinner and gift exchange. We have done it for as long as I can remember. I always look forward to it. We always have a great time, awesome food and perfect gifts. This year did not disappoint. We had turkey, ham, funeral potatoes, veggies, rolls, and lots more. My Grandparent's, Mom, Brother and his family and me and my family were there. Ten people total. Quayd got a bunch of those magnetic things. One set is even a roller coaster thing and he was in seventh heaven! He also got a mini table-top pool table. It is super cute!!!! I got a nice new digital camera. My camera has finally had it, so that is why there are no pictures. Anyway, it was great!! Probably the best gift was having my grandma home, and doing MUCH BETTER!!!!

After we got home, we got everything ready for Santa. We were all so tired, so we all went to be around 9:00. Quayd was so tired that by 9:30 he was sound asleep. Brett and I were crazy tired too, so we "took care of a few things" and we were in bed by 9:41. I don't remember anything after that until 7:00 am. Then we woke up to find this......

Quayd did well from Santa, as you can see. He got a huge dump truck that was clear full of goodies. He got a bunch more of his favorite mini airplanes, a globe, tons of space ships, a firetruck set, a gumball machine, a wii game, a Nintendo DS with 4 games and a bunch of other stuff. It is so hard not to spoil him. So instead of fighting it, we just go for it and spoil the crap out of him. He is such a good boy though, he deserves every bit of it. I am so excited, because Quayd and Brett surprised me (sorta) with and iPod touch!!!! I wanted one so bad and I was sure there was no way we could pull it off, but good old Brett came through for me. It is such a cute story. Last week, I had a NASTY stomach flu. I felt horrible and I had been throwing up and pooping for 2 days straight. I had asked Brett to stop and get me some Sprite on his way home from work. He came home and asked Quayd to go with him to the store. I really didn't think much of it. I just assumed that Brett was trying to get Quayd out of my hair so I could rest. Later that night when Brett was in the shower, I was putting stuff away that he had bought at Wal-Mart. in a bag of goodies, there were some brand new ear buds, pink. I thought it was weird but I didn't want to say anything in case it was a surprise. I seriously LOVE surprises and I love to be surprised. (However, I HATE to be startled, so don't ever try to surprise me by hiding and shouting, "SURPRISE!" That would just take all of the good stuff out of the surprise.) So Brett gets out of the shower and comes into the kitchen and says, "Oh. I got these for you. I know your iPod ear buds hurt your ears." That was it. I was like, "Bummer." Anyway, fast forward a bit.... The next morning, while I was putting on my makeup, I was charging this no-name brand mP4 player that Brett won at work. I had come to terms that I was not getting my iPod touch. Quayd walked into the bathroom and asked, "Mom, what is that?" I said, "It's sorta like an iPod." Then, so innocently, he says, "Oh. Like the one me and Dad got for you?" I just sat there. I asked, "Did you and Dad get me an iPod?" He got really upset, shouted, "MAYBE!" and ran out of the room. I felt so bad for finding out and even worse that he was upset that he thought he ruined the surprise. I never said another word and just pretended like I had no idea. I told Brett the story, and although he was disappointed, he agreed that we wouldn't tell Quayd about the mess up. So they wrapped it all up for me and put it under the tree. When Quayd gave it to me today, he was SO excited. (seriously, so was I!!!) He still has no idea that I knew and he was so proud to give it to me. I have played with it all day. I got all of the songs that I could ever desire on it. It is SO COOL!!!!! I love it. Thank you so much Brett and Quayd. I love it so much. It means so much to me that you would go to all that trouble to stash money and secretly buy it for me. Brett, I love you. You are the best!!

We were able to relax for a few hours before heading to Gleneita's. Brett had a nap and Quayd and I went next door to see what Brayden and Brennen got. They too, did well.

We went to Gleneita's at 10:00 am. This year we decided to draw names so it cut WAY back on the cost of gifts. We all still left with nice stuff and it was great. Talia took pictures for me since my new camera wasn't charged yet.
We were just relaxing on the floor while all the kids ran around us.




Isn't Branson about the cutest thing you have ever seen???





Cory, Quayd and Branson wrestled forever!! I don't know who had more fun.



Beau'D had this flat ball that he kept wearing as a hat. What a nut!




We had such a great Christmas. Tons of wonderful memories, laughs, gifts and everything else. I am so grateful for my awesome family, wonderful husband and beautiful son. I am also grateful that Christmas is over for a whole year.

Now, we are preparing for our annual trip to SLC to the Jazz game with the Galley family. We are leaving around noon Friday and coming home on Sunday. Wish us luck!!!

the one about some Christmas happenings

Holy crap. I am so sorry to all of my faithful blog fans that I haven't posted in 2 1/2 weeks. I think that is the longest it has ever been in between posts. I am super sorry. I have been so busy. Like so busy in fact, that I have barely had time to stalk all of you. So now that I have spent a few days catching up on all of your lives, I can catch you up on mine.

Quayd had his first grade Christmas program last week. It was so cute! All of the classes sang some songs together, but then each class did something alone. They were able to perform and make it more personal. Quayd's class did a puppet show to the 12 Days of Christmas. They went through the whole song with their puppets and it was SO CUTE! I don't want you to have to watch the whole thing, so here it is starting at 12 and going down. Quayd is "4 calling birds."

The crazy kid at the end is Quayd's buddy Rylan. He is a nut!!! We love him!

We also had Quayd's class party. I love to help with the parties and stuff, so thanks to my rockin' boss, I was able to leave work for awhile and go help.




Another big event was the Holiday Inn Christmas party. Of course, Tara and I planned it. We wouldn't have had a party otherwise. Tara and I pushed for it, therefore got stuck with it. It was ok though. We had lots of fun. We played BINGO and we even had some sweet prizes. Tara and I went to tons of local businesses and worked out some trades. They gave us gift certificates, we gave them a free night stay. That worked out awesome! We also did a white elephant gift exchange, pot luck, and an ugly Christmas outfit contest. There were only like 5 people that dressed up. Brett and I were 2 of them. I am sorry for the obscenity. Brett "grabbed something" right before the picture was taken, and that was the only picture we got. Yes, we are wearing sequined berets. This is Spencer's hot outfit. He totally won, by the way.
And here are a few more random pictures of the party.



We also had the Galley Christmas party the other night. It was fun, as usual. Santa came and brought all of the kids pajamas. It is always fun to see all of the Galley's and it is such a treat to have the Gardiner's come from Castledale. Poor Amy. She had some weird allergic reaction to something and started swelling and itching everywhere. Rhonda actually had to take her to the hospital and she had to stay over night. It was totally weird. Poor girl. If it is going to happen to someone though, it would be her!!!! Love ya Amy!!!

I don't want to go into details because my heart is totally broken over this, as well as Quayd's heart, but we no longer have Itty Bitty Kitty. She just couldn't get over the peeing on the bed thing. It actually got way worse. We tried EVERYTHING!! Anyway, I don't really want to talk about it so I never will again. Please don't ask. And DON'T bring it up to Quayd!!!!!! End of story. I do want to share these cute pictures of cute little Itty with her brother Winston at the Galley's house when I was helping Tara decorate her trees.



A couple of weeks ago, I was over at Aunt Debbie's decorating her tree. Quayd noticed a picture of Brett's dad. I just watched him, to see how he would react. He stood there staring for a few minutes, in silence. He didn't say a word, but went on playing. I didn't bring it up, but on our way home, he said, "Mom, can we go up to the cemetery and decorate Papa's grave?" Of course I said yes. We had bought some things to take up there, so we came home, got the stuff and headed to the cemetery. I am always so amazed at Quayd's reverence there. He gets it. He is such a special kid. We worked hard to decorate it just how Quayd wanted it. Whenever we go there, and its time to leave, Quayd always kneels down and tells Papa that he loves him. Its so awesome. This is our work. Obviously this was a couple of weeks ago because now we have almost 6" of snow on the ground! Our flags are still there from Veteran's Day. I am so glad that Quayd remembers his Papa. He was 1 day away from being 5 when Mike died, so really, he could have gone either way. I don't think it is coincidence that he remembers him so well. He even remembers a lot about the funeral. We talked about it in the car on the way home that day. So amazing. What a great kid. How in the world did I ever deserve him? Even though there are SO many differences between Mary and I, I always think of her at this time of year and how lucky she must have felt to be the mother of the savior. What a sacrifice she made. Being a mom is the greatest blessing ever, and like Mary, I was blessed with the sweetest, kindest most beautiful son ever.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

the one for my neighbors

Now, don't get me wrong here.... And don't think I am being a scrooge..... But after much thought, consideration, stress, and a list of pros and cons, I have decided NOT to do the neighbor gift thing this year. Every year I work so hard making treats, trying so hard to get them just perfect, then I spend even more time delivering to all of my wonderful neighbors. It gets to be overwhelming, stressful, time consuming and expensive. I had an epiphany tonight while I was cleaning my house. I realized that my house was a mess, I have been traveling and haven't even unpacked yet, I haven't had a minute to make a nice home cooked meal for just the three of us, let alone sit down at the same time and eat it, and my laundry is stacked to the celing, as well as my dishes. I was, however, excited to think that most of my Christmas shopping is done this year and my Christmas cards will be dropped in the mail on Monday. Then panic took over me as I realized that I hadn't decided on a neighbor gift..... ERRRRRRR.... So that is when it hit me. I really need to eliminate stress in my life, and that is one place I feel like I can do it. My main focus this year is my beautiful 6 year old little boy that is so excited for Christmas he can hardly stand it. He is excited to see Santa and even more excited to see what he is going to leave for him this year. I also want to focus on Christ and the sacrifice he made for us, as well as the sacrifice by Mary and Joseph. No matter what is happening in my life, I know the REAL reason for Christmas. And I will never forget that. So as I sat in my living room tonight thinking of all of these things..... I realized; I don't need to do a neighbor gift to have a great Christmas or to remind me that I have wonderful neighbors and friends who I love. I know who loves me and I know who my true friends are. So there. I don't need a treat to tell me that! ;)

Thank you for hearing my rant.

So to all of my friends, scratch me off your neighbor gift list and when you see us, tell us "Merry Christmas!" That is good enough for me and my family. We love you!!!

the one about my trip with Tara

So I am home from my big trip to the big city. Tara and I had so much fun. Last night when I got into bed I realized that I was just exhausted. Then I realized that my face hurt and I think it was from the non-stop laughing!!! Tara has many gifts and talents. I will not name them all today, but one of her "special" gifts is her ability to make me laugh CONSTANTLY!!! Oh my gosh, she is such a nut. And she comes up with the most random weird things to say. I find myself really pondering the unbelievable things that come out of her mouth, then I just have to remember.... "its just Tara." Other times I think, "TARA!! Filter!!" She lacks that part of her brain that actually filters things out. It's like a chemical imbalance or something. Sometimes I wonder if we were created from the same mold because we are so much alike in so many ways. One of us can start a thought and the other will finish it. Usually it is funny or obscene. But sometimes it is serious and deep. I have told her more about me than probably anyone. And she has known me for a LONG time! Not many secrets there. And YIKES! I know more about her and Gary than I even wish to think about. I just shuddered thinking about it. Ok, happy place.... happy place. ;) When we are together, we can talk about ANYTHING. We have nicknames for everyone. Some of them are, (and I won't tell who they go with!! Nobody you know, I am sure. Mostly people from work) Big Tuna, Sharon, huffer, Meth, hacker, Bobby, Casper/Pigtails (same person), Rick or Mike or Ken (same person, again), and Snaggle. We have code words. Some of the mean something and others are just strange things we shout. "Balls" and "Trapeze" are our new favorites. Don't ask any questions... Remember, they are code words. Anyway, enough about that... I love this woman and I am so glad she is my friend. Nuff said.

So.... On to our trip. We left Monday before lunch and headed straight for the Park City outlet mall. We bought so much stuff! Of course, most of it was for Christmas, but we did get a couple of things for ourselves. Once it started getting dark and we were getting hungry, we headed for SLC. I needed to go to Michael's for my brother then it was Cafe' Rio time!! YUMMMMMY! My car was getting pretty loaded and we were getting pretty tires, so we headed for our hotel. We stayed at the Airport Holiday Inn West. It was pretty nice. Our training was in the conference center in that Hotel, so that was handy. Tuesday morning was the first day of our class. We learned quite a bit, but a lot of it was stuff that didn't apply to us or to our Hotel. We went shopping again after class. We got a lot more done. Spent a lot more money and had a lot more fun. Went back to the Hotel, slept, and went to class Wednesday morning. On our lunch, I wanted to go to Mrs. Backer's Pastry shop so I could get my mom a nice Birthday cake. They have the yummiest cakes EVER! They also have heavenly eclairs, cookies and anything else you can imagine. It is such a cute little shop! I love going in there.
Then we had to head back to class and finish up. We were out of there by about 3:15. We had one more shopping stop, then we were headed home. I am glad we went, mostly because of all of the shopping I got done, but also because I was able to see some of the ins and outs of our Hotel. It was cool. And we had so much fun. Seriously. My poor car was loaded to the top!!! Its a good thing our last purchase was so small. ;) Good times with Tara. TRAPEZE!!!!!