the one about the fire station

Brett has been a very busy boy the last few months. He is the assistant chief of the Jensen Fire Department. He has weekly meetings, monthly meetings, district meetings and recently, new fire station planning meetings. They broke ground on their new fire station this fall and it was completed this month. They had a big open house and celebration called, "Christmas at the Fire House" on December 12th. They had a flag raising ceremony, "hose" cutting, dedicatory prayer and they honored past fire chiefs and officers. They also had a really nice dinner and games for the kids. It was really awesome.







Sometimes Brett's constant meetings drive me CRAZY, but really, deep down, I am really proud of him. It was cool to see him in his element at the fire station. He organized, took charge and he made his wife very proud!

the one about an ice cream cone

Tonight, we had the funniest thing happen. Of course, with Quayd around, every moment is a laugh waiting to happen. I was in a super rauncher mood tonight and I was totally on edge. I don't know why, I was just grouchy. Well when all of this happened, i couldn't help but laugh, then Brett decided to type the whole thing in his words. So here it is. Brett's version......

Quayd has a new favorite treat. It is home style ice cream cones. It seems like every time I turnaround he is asking me to make him one. They are a huge pain in the butt to make because the ice cream is at least negative 20 degrees and its like carving stone. Any way he asked me to make him one tonight and I flat out refused. He whined to Mandy until she gave in and went to make him one. She no more than got into kitchen and I heard her say “If you don't like the way I do it, then go have your DAD make the damn thing for you.” This was followed by her stomping into the living room and sitting down. I couldn't help but laugh. I asked Quayd to come and tell me what happened. His words were ”I was just standing there watching her make my ice cream cone, and she was digging for the ice cream scooper. I told her that is not how Dad makes it, he just uses a spoon.” While he was telling me this story he is looking at me with that confused look that all men get. You know the one when we are thinking "What the hell am I in trouble for now?" So I tell him that he really can’t say stuff like that to his mom. Girls don't like to hear stuff like that. I then told him that when he got married that it is not a good idea to say things like, "Well my mom makes it this way." Then I told him, "I don’t get it Quayd. Girls are just weird. I then I asked Mandy if she was going to go finish making it and she said, "Hell no!" I told Quayd to go say he was sorry. So he says to her “I am sorry mom, I was not judging you or anything like that.” Well what else could she do but go make his ice cream cone? Morals of the story: it is easier to have dad make the cones, and ALL women (even moms) are impossible to understand!!!!!


So that is Brett's version. That was a total father/son "man" moment. We have laughed about it all night. It did put me in a better mood, I must admit. I realize that women are difficult to understand. I don't really get myself sometimes. So how sad that poor Quayd was just trying to help, but actually said something that burns me to the core. I will never forget, as newlyweds, Brett told me that He liked the way his mom made spaghetti better than the way I did. Well, I bet you can guess just how many times I have made spaghetti since that day!!! I still tease him about that!

the one about Quayd and Santa

Wednesday night was the Fire District Christmas Party. It is a big party for all of the fire fighters and their families in all of the fire departments in our county. It is a pretty fun party. They had AMAZING food! It was all dutch oven food. SO GOOD! Anyway, Santa was able to stop by and Quayd was pretty stoked! We have been asking Quayd for weeks what he wanted for Christmas and he would never really give us a clear answer. It was always things like, "toys for my puppy," or "I don't care." So when we found out Santa was going to be there, we told him he better get thinking because this would probably be his only chance to tell him. Right before Santa showed up, Quayd told me he was going to tell him that he wanted an AirSoft gun. It is similar to a BB Gun, but it shoots little plastic pellets. YIKES! Brett and I were surprised that he even knew what it was. I didn't know, I had to ask Brett! Anyway, before we had time to tell him to rethink his wish list, Santa walked in the door and Quayd ran to get in line. We were kind of dumbfounded. When it was Quayd's turn, I took this very high quality picture with my cell phone, then we couln't wait to hear about the visit he had with Santa. Get ready..... this is FUNNY!

us: "Quayd, how was Santa?"

Quayd: "good."

us: "What did you tell him you wanted?"

Quayd: "An AirSoft gun."

us: "And what did Santa say?"

Quayd: (looking very defeated) "He said, 'You'll shoot your eye out.'"




BaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a GREAT and very funny Santa!!! Gotta love Santa, and you gotta love 'A Christmas Story'! We will have to see what Santa really comes up with.

the one about SNOW!

I love snow. I am so glad it has been snowing for the last couple of days. I love that it is so fresh, white, clean and makes everything seem so peaceful and beautiful. Nothing gives me Christmas spirit like SNOW!

This is my front window from the outside.


When I got out of bed this morning (at 10:30!) I could see that I needed to shovel some more. Brett cleared it all last night, but it needed some more work after snowing all night. My cute little Grandpa was out shoveling too so I went over and helped him. I took Finny with me and he had so much fun playing in the snow! It snowed the whole time I was shoveling and I couldn't believe how beautiful the snow flakes were today. Even more so that I remember. They were perfect and looked like something I would work for hours trying to cut out of paper. I just stood there for several minutes looking at the snow and enjoying the beauty. Here are a few flakes that landed on my coat. Beautiful!!!

the one about the golf tee candy

Oh my heck, Quayd is the funniest kid ever!!!

Last week at school was "Santa's Secret Shop." If you have school aged children, you know that this is a little store at school that the kids can buy gifts for their family members all by themselves, wrap them and keep it a surprise. Quayd came home with an envelope for money and a list to fill out. I wrote on the list that he could spend 3-5 dollars on Brett and I, buy something for his puppy and get something for himself. I put $13 dollars in the envelope. He came home with his little wrapped gifts and asked if he could open the one for himself. I said "yes." He was sitting by me, but I wasn't paying total attention to what he was doing, however, he was saying how excited he was to open and eat this gift. He tore it open and pulled the item out of its box. The next thing I hear was, "Ewwwwwww!!! This isn't CANDY!" He had pulled one of the tees out and tried to bite it. Of course, he had me attention now. I looked at it. Examined it. Then asked him why he thought it was candy. He said, "Well that is what the box said and I have been excited all day to eat it." Still puzzled, I pull the box out of the trash and this is what I saw. How cute is that!?!?!

the one about Finn

So, we took the plunge. We are now the proud owners of a puppy. We were so NOT in the market for a puppy, but suddenly one kina fell into our laps. Here's the story.

Last Wednesday was the first day of the Thanksgiving break. There was no school and I had to work, so Quayd just came with me. There is a massage place next door to our shop. The lady that runs the massage place, Lisa, called me that morning and asked if her mom could bring some puppies down to sell. Lisa's mom was in town for the holiday and she had some puppies to get rid of. I told her it was fine. Once she came to the store I got the whole story on the puppies. Its actually kinda funny. Lisa's mom has a full blood shitzu male and female and a full blood poodle. Well, the male got a hold of both females and they both had puppies within a week of each other. (scandalous!) So they had 9 adorable puppies to sell. By the time she came to Vernal, there were only 5 left. She brought the kennel into the store, and of course, we had to look. Well the weirdest thing happened... one puppy just fell in love with Quayd. Whenever Quayd would walk into the room where the puppies were, the puppy just got so excited to see him. Quayd would open the door to the kennel and the pup would run right to him. Puppy would hear his voice and start to whine. You get the idea. So anyway, Brett came down to the store on his lunch and Quayd couldn't wait to show him the babies. Brett walked into the room with him and saw that puppy get so excited and it melted his heart. Really, I had NO INTENTIONS of getting a dog. Dogs are hard and a lot of work! However, I am a sucker and as soon as Brett asked me if I thought we should get one I was all for it!But I wanted Brett to make the call because I knew if he wasn't on board, it was a no-go. I didn't want him to be mad at me when the puppy did naughty stuff. So, Brett and Quayd talked about it and made the decision. They brought him home and the rest is history! We discussed several names, but I came up with the winner. His name is Finn. I love the show Glee and I totally love the character Finn, so there you go.

Because of the busy shopping weekend, I worked nearly every day. Brett and Quayd were in charge of Finn and they did a great job. He is seriously such a good dog! He is super smart and is catching on to the potty training thing very well. He has eaten his own poop a couple of times and it has totally grossed us all out, so hopefully that is just a puppy thing and he well grow out of it. He goes to work with me when I work and he is just the best little baby! Everyone loves him because he is so sweet, cuddly and adorable.

This will probably sound so stupid, but just the way it all happened, I really think Finn was meant to be in our little family. We needed him! It has been so good for all of us and we are just crazy about him. Quayd gets so loanly sometimes and it just breaks my heart. But now he has Finn who just adores Quayd and is willing to whatever Quayd wants him to do. Quayd drives cars on him, blasts him off like a rocket, and Finny watches him play the Wii. They are best buds and I am so glad we got him. He wasn't cheep, but worth every penny. I keep telling Brett that instead of Quayd picking the best puppy, the puppy picked the best little boy. I guess they kinda picked each other. Whatever you call it, I am so glad they found each other. Our little family needed little Finn and we didn't even know it!

the one about Thanksgiving

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving! It was nothing like our usual Thanksgivings, but maybe that is what made it so nice. We have been able to spend Thanksgiving with both of our families almost every year since we have been married. My family usually eats around noon and the Lane family eats in the evening. This year, Grandma Lane changed her dinner to the night before. (It was GREAT, by the way! Hopefully a new tradition.) My family all had different plans this year and we ended up not having a dinner together. Excuse me while I sound very ungrateful for a minute... My family is small. 10 people when we are all together. We all live right here together and see each other nearly everyday. We get together for every Birthday, so really, it wasn't that big of a deal that we didn't eat together for one year. I actually saw every member of my family today and visited with all of them, except Brayden. And he is my buddy. Whats up with that??? Anyway, I realize how fortunate I am to have my family so close and I couldn't love them anymore, but it was kind of a refreshing change to do something different today. Since those two dinners were changed/cancelled, we had no plans for today. I was chatting with my good friend Lindsay the other day and they were going to be alone too, so we decided to have our Thanksgiving dinner together. It was so great! She cooked the turkey, gravy and stuffing. I did the mashed potatoes, pies and rolls. We met at their house at 2:00 and our meal was DEEEE-LISH! Lindsay's turkey was absolutely perfect and her stuffing was TO DIE FOR! I have to brag for a second and say that my rolls were perfect!! My pies turned out great too. And in my mind, no Thanksgiving is complete without my famous orange rolls! It was so much fun to make dinner for our families and we did a pretty dang good job if I do say so myself. It was so nice to visit with Brian, Lindsay and their beautiful kids today. I am so grateful for wonderful friends who wanted to join forces with us this year.

My roll dough turned out PERFECT today! It raised beautifully and it was so nice and fluffy. I made crescent rolls but forgot to take pix of them. Sad, because they were pretty. However, I did get some pictures of the orange rolls. The best part of Thanksgiving is, of course, LEFTOVERS! Lindsay was a sweetheart to share her beautiful turkey with us.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been writing things that I am thankful for on my FaceBook status. I tried to do it every day, but realistically...well... it just didn't happen. I did pretty good though. Of course I am thankful for millions of other things too, but here are just a few that I covered on FaceBook. I thought it was a perfect thing to add to my Thanksgiving blog post.

Monday, November 9
Today (and everyday) I am thankful for my beautiful little family. My amazing husband and my precious son make my life worth living! I love living with 2 "men" that love me, appreciate me, protect me, and respect me.

Tuesday, November 10
Today I am thankful for my big brother. I know, I know, CORNY! We have gotten so close over the last year and I am just so glad that we have a good relationship. Our families get together every weekend for games, our boys are best buddies and even our spouses are friends. I LOVE the relationship we have created. I love and adore my brother! He is such a good example to me!!!

Wednesday, November 11
Today, I am thankful for all of the brave men and women who have served or who are currently serving our country. I am also grateful for their families who live without them so I can be free. What a HUGE sacrifice! My Grandfather is a Korean war Veteran and I am so proud of him! Thank you soldiers, veterans, their families and even to our Government who all sacrifice and work so hard for our freedom. Happy Veterans Day!

Thursday, November 12
Today I am thankful for my 3 Sisters-in-law! Danette; SIL 17 years. We are SO close. She is strong, smart, determined and a good example to me. Talia; 11 years and she is the funniest, coolest sweetest girl on earth. She is very wise for her age and I admire her!!! Brynn; SIL for 9 years. We were meant to be sisters! We are GREAT FRIENDS and we are so much alike. She is always there when I need her and she is the BEST!

Friday, November 13
Today, I am grateful for my creativity. Is that weird? I hate to sound boastful or anything, but I love that I can think of something I want to make, visualize it, think about it for a few minutes and then create it. It comes very naturally to me. Everyone has their own special gifts and talents and I am so grateful I have found mine and I am able to use it every day.

Saturday, November 14
I am having a blast in Wendover with my hubby! Today, I am thankful for him and all the fun times we have together! He is the best guy EVER!

Sunday, November 15
I am glad to be home from our mini-vaca to Wendover. That brings me to today’s thankful post. I am so thankful for my home. It is not perfect, by any means, but it is nice, clean, warm and there is so much love here, it literally overflows!

Wednesday, November 18
Today, I gotta say, I am thankful for my FRIENDS! I know some of the most AMAZNG WOMEN in the whole world and I am so glad to be able to call them my friends. I don't want to mention names, because I will forget someone, I am certain. So please, if you are my friend.... I'm talking about you!!!!!

Thursday, November 19
I rid of that horrid 24 hour flu thing. Ewwwww. That brings me to my thankful post of the day.... SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO thankful for healthy, solid, regular bowel movements.

Friday, November 20, 2009
Today, I am so thankful for my amazing job!!! It is so much fun! I love helping people, I love making cute things, putting together displays, coming up with ads..... I just love EVERYTHING about it. Its the best job EVER!

Sunday, November 22
Today I am SO thankful for my amazing friend Lindsay!!

Monday, November 23
Today I am TOTALLY thankful for Christmas music. I LOVE IT!!! I have not started playing it yet, however, I am working on my Christmas playlist for my iPod.

Tuesday, November 24
Today I am so thankful to be an Aunt to the best boys on the planet! Besides being a mom, it is the GREATEST job a woman can have!!!! Of course, it helps that I have the most awesome, smart, adorable and amazing nephews EVER!!!! 

Of course, I am so thankful for my family, my home, my friends, my pets, Brett's job, and many other things. This was such a great holiday and it couldn't have been more perfect. It was very laid back and casual, which is just what we like! I love Thanksgiving! I love the harvest, the comfort foods, the smells and most importanatly, the kick off to my FAVE time of year.... CHRISTMAS!!!! Yes, I already have my Christmas decor up! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Here is a little teaser for something you will be seeing on my blog in the next couple of days.

the one about our new family pictures

I am so excited! My super great photographer friend Lindsay did it again and took some awesome family pictures of us! I am so pleased with the way they turned out. I am such a freak and I like to have everything perfect.... right down to socks and earrings. I worried and worried about every little detail and I am pretty sure I was about to drive Lindsay NUTS by the time we were done, but I am so happy with the end result. All of my stress and worry paid off! I will only share a few of my very favorite pix so my post isn't super long and over loaded with pictures. If you are interested though, here is a link so you can see them all. click here

the one about my surprise trip

Brett and I have been trying really hard to go on dates and have more alone time lately. Since we had Quayd, we just quit having date nights and stuff. We finally realized how important it is for us to have this time together so we have been working on it. I know for people with large families, it is difficult to make it work, but believe me, it is hard for our little family too! The biggest challenge we face is that we have always included Quayd in everything! It is so hard not to though, he is our best friend and we hate to leave him out! He is such an easy child to take everywhere and often, it is easier to take him along that to try to figure out a sitter.

Earlier last week, Brett asked me if I would like to go on a date with him the upcoming weekend. I assumed it was just dinner or something. He wouldn't give me much info but told me he would take care of everything. Who can argue with that?!? As the weekend got closer, he started giving me little bits of info and by Thursday, I knew we were going to Wendover for the whole weekend. He had already worked out all of the details for Quayd, room reservations, spending money and the whole deal. It was so wonderful! Now, keep in mind that Brett is a very non-romantic person. Like, possibly the most non-romantic person ever. So this was a pretty big deal to me. He got us a VERY nice room at a VERY nice hotel/casino. Sorry for the not so great pictures. They were taken with my phone because I didn't take the camera. Stupid, right!?!





I couldn't have asked for a better mini vaca and I couldn't have gone with a better guy! Well, maybe a little 7 year old guy that I know!