the one about some old stuff

Can you believe this is my 300th post!?!

I have been wanting/needing to catch up on some stuff, but I have misplaced my camera. I know, sad, right? Anyway, I finally decided to just do some catch up on some old stuff that has been piling up.

First of all.. I LOVE this weather, I love Fall and I love Thanksgiving. This truly is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it. I did notice, however, that the leaves and stuff are past their beauty. It is starting to get into that ugly pre-winter stuff. But it has been so nice lately, that I don't really care. Its amazing and I love it! I am also reminded of all of the things I have to be thankful for. I have noticed that many of my friends have been blogging once a day about the things they are thankful for. I love that, and I love reading them. I would love to commit to that, but considering my recent posting track record, I probably wouldn't make it. I know I have said this before, but I love blogging, I just don't have time. Actually, I have time, I just don't spend my time wisely. I am a chronic time waster.

Well, lets play catch up, shall we?

We no longer have roommates. (phewwwww...) We had 2 this summer and now they are both gone. My buddy Spencer moved in last Spring, and he left in August. He was ready to move on, and I don't blame him. He needed to find a job and he wasn't having any luck here. He moved back to the Wasatch Front to be near his family. We also had Brett's friend Morgan. He moved here mid-July and left at the end of October. It was fun having both of them, but I am also glad to have my home and my life back.

Quayd finished his flag football season last month. He liked it ok, but he is super excited to play tackle football next year. Now we have started indoor soccer. Brett and I are coaching. It is kind of a pain to coach, but I enjoy being so involved. Plus, we are the perfect candidates for coaching since we only have one child. That way we have no distractions and we don't have to worry about taking care of other children. Oh and also because we are huge suckers. Brett and I were playing co-ed softball and it ended in September. That kept us very busy. Now women's volleyball has started. Our team isn't very good, but we have fun. I have to keep reminding myself that it is just for fun.

Brett got a big fat promotion at work a few months ago, and I am not sure if I ever mentioned it. He now takes care of outside sales and he does a great job at it! I have been very happy to see him take more pride in his work and to finally enjoy what he is doing. He takes very good care of his customers and they take care of him too. I am so proud of him!

Same old, same old at The Country Bear. Here are a couple of the fun things I have made this month.

I am still loving working there. It is a VERY LOW STRESS job and that is what I love the most about it. Also, I love being able to use my creativity on a daily basis. Sometimes, my craft projects get put on the back burner, but making all of these fun things for work forces me to do it, and I LOVE it!

Quayd has become quite the little hunter. You know, Brett hunts but he is not an EVERY WEEKEND kind of hunter. Actually, he hasn't even had a tag for anything for about 5 years. He likes to go when asked, but doesn't make a huge effort to do so otherwise. Me? Hunt? NO THANK YOU! My father-in-law was a very avid hunter, and so is Brett's brother Cory. A few months ago, Cory asked Brett and Quayd to go with him to hunt prairie dogs. I figured Quayd would be bored of that in no time, but he actually LOVED it. They sent this picture to me. They helped Quayd with the gun, and he shot this himself. (Sorry if it is gross or disturbing to anyone!!) Brett said that Quayd got so hyped up over shooting! So after that, Quayd started begging to go prairie dog hunting every weekend. Once Elk season rolled around, Cory had a tag for the book cliffs. He invited Brett and Quayd to go with him. They went early one morning and came back that night. We figured Quayd would get bored. Well he didn't. He LOVED every second of it. So the next weekend, they decided to take a tent and stay all night so they could get up early and go. (It was still fairly warm at this time.) That night when they were going to bed, all three of them were still and quiet and Cory did an Elk call. They heard bull Elk calling back to it. They weren't very far away. Within 400 yards. Brett said Quayd was FREAKING out, he was so excited!!! They called back and forth for a little while, then finally went to bed. First thing in the morning, Quayd was ready to hunt. Unfortunately, they didn't get anything that day. But Cory got one during that next week while hunting with some friends. Quayd was excited for Cory, but disappointed that he missed out. A couple weekends later, Brett's friend Todd and his boy had tags for diamond mountain so they decided to take our trailer up and camp for the weekend. Quayd was more excited than anyone!!! Again, no luck on the hunt, but he still had a great time. The next hunt is in December. Brett's Grandpa Lane and his twin brother Elmer have tags for Elk in Colorado. They are both getting pretty old and not in the best of health, so Brett and Cory are going to go along. Oh, and guess who else will be going??? Yep, good old Quayd! It has always been cool to me how when the weather starts to turn cold, and the feeling of harvest sets in some men have this instinct that makes them want to hunt. It's like a survival instinct or something. I see it in myself too as a woman. I always feel like I need to stock pile food and can fresh fruits and veggies. Maybe I am crazy, but I notice this about Brett and I every year. I could see it in Mike, I see it Cory and I am sure I will see it more and more in Quayd as the years go by. Pretty cool stuff. On a funny note, Cory came over and dinner with us tonight. Quayd asked him, "When we goin' huntin' again?" Cory said something about deer or something and Quayd pipes in, "Well I know where we can get us a nice deer. Out in the book cliffs! We saw lots of nice ones when we were out there." He said it like an old pro. Just like he had hunted them a thousand times before.

Ok, on to other things. The status report on Triple Scoops Ice Cream, since many of you have asked, was good. We did well, for just starting out. We were able to get ourselves out there and get recognized in some of the neighborhoods. I am glad we have a head start for next Spring. We made a few mistakes, and we learned from them, but we will be pumped up and ready to go in a few months. I am so proud of my nephew Brayden. He has been an awesome business partner! He is very involved and works hard to make Triple Scoops a success. We are hoping to get involved in the community Holly Days celebration in a few weeks, which includes a parade of lights. That is still in the works though.

Another news tidbit, is that I celebrated my 31st Birthday last month. It was very laid back and not too exciting. Which is GREAT! My Birthday was on a Sunday. The Friday night before my Birthday, my buddies Kandice and Jamie took me to dinner and a movie. We had Casa Rios then went to The Stepfather. (Intense!) Saturday, Brett took me out for dinner and we met up with some friends at Club XS. It was ok. The morning of my Birthday, we went to breakfast with my Brother and his family. That night, we had baked potato bar with my family at my Grandma's house. Monday, I went to breakfast with Holly and Kandice. That was about it. Oh! On Monday mornings, I help in Quayd's class, so that Monday I took treats with me. I told them that they are all my friends so I wanted to have a treat to share with them. We had donuts and orange juice. It was fun, and the kids thought it was super cool. They are happy with any chance for a treat, right? Here are some of the awesome gifts I got. This is my new favorite thing on Earth, besides the two people that gave it to me.
Brett and Quayd got me this nice, soft blankie. I have been dropping hints for one for quite sometime, so I am glad Brett finally took the bait. I love it! It is so soft and I cuddle up in it all the time. Kandice got me this awesome necklace! And Grandma Galley brought this by on my Birthday.
She is so sweet, and her bread was AMAZING! It didn't last very long. This was my cake from my family party. Holy Delish!!!! It was awesome. I love white cake and white frosting. And last but not least, Holly made me some of her amazing cupcakes, and gave me this adorable turkey.
It was a great Birthday. I didn't mind turning 31. 30 didn't bother me either. Age is just a number, right? I actually enjoy being in my thirties. It makes me feel more grown up and more respected. People take a 31 year old woman way more serious than they take a 25 year old. Maybe not, maybe that is just in my head, but it makes me feel better. I feel like I am officially grown up now. I have been married 11 years, I have a 7 year old and I am in my thirties.

Ok, I guess I will end it there. I will post more when I find my camera. Hopefully soon. It's not to far away because I just had it the other day. I have some great Halloween pictures to share! Happy 300th post!!!!!!! Thanks for reading! :)

the one about... well... lots of stuff!

Why have I been such a slacker blogger lately? I feel like I just go and go and go and life is so busy and hectic, and sadly, some of the things I love the most get neglected. Blogging is one of the big ones. Also reading, scrapbooking and if you ask Brett, he thinks he is getting neglected lately. Sorry honey.

Anyway, I am pretty excited this evening because tomorrow I am going to SLC with Tara. We have to go to a training thing for work. It's pretty cool. We get paid to go, plus our room is paid for, food and mileage. Tara and I always have so much fun together, so I know the laughs will be abundant! When I was telling my mom about our big adventure, she said, "Oh no. That will be trouble." I was so confused. Trouble? Like did she think we were going to fight or something. I don't think Tara and I have ever had a fight of any kind. My mom was like, "Duh. Because you guys will have so much fun." Oh. I get it. I will give a full update when I get home. Anyway....

Our Thanksgiving was nice. My sweet little grandma was able to come home the day before so we were able to have dinner with her. She is still in pretty rough shape. She probably shouldn't have come home quite yet, but she was determined to be home for Thanksgiving. I had to work that evening so I missed dinner with Brett's family. Brett fixed me a plate and he and Quayd brought it to me at the hotel. Then we decided to spend the night there in a nice king suite. It was awesome. Quayd loved being right in between us in that huge bed. Brett and I always wish for a king sized bed but I know that Quayd would make himself right at home in the middle every night. And he is such a little snuggler it is hard to say no. Of course, I have many things to be thankful for. My husband, my beautiful son, my family, my home and great friends. Really though, this year, I was just thankful to have my grandma home.

In our town, the Friday after Thanksgiving is a huge celebration. It's called Holly Days. There are activities all day, a parade of lights in the evening, more activities and it all ends with a fireworks display. Every year, my brother makes a float for the parade. (Remember, my Grandma was supposed to be the Grand Marshal? She didn't get to do it, but they said they would ask her again.) Brandon turned his four-wheeler into Santa's sleigh. As he was constructing his float on Friday, Quayd decided that he wanted to be in the parade too. So he and Brett made a float for his four-wheeler. It was so cute. I was working so I didn't even really know what was going on with it, but when I got home I was so excited!! I wish Brett would have taken pictures of the construction, but we did get a few as we were getting it to main street. The floats were so big and awkward we couldn't load them in the truck, so they had to drive them. And of course, the other two wouldn't ride in the car with us, they had to go on the four-wheelers!



Here are a few pictures from the parade. Not very good pictures, but pictures, nonetheless.
Here are the boys riding the Christmas train thing after the parade. This is from the fireworks show. View from the car, of course. Burrrrr...
Ok, enough of that.

Saturday morning/afternoon, I got to hang with my old buddies Janice and Kandice. Janice was in town for the holiday and I was so excited to see her and hang with her. I have missed her a lot since she ran away to Kentucky. I have missed her beautiful little girls too and I was so excited to get to see them. And Morgan remembered me!!! The three of us went to the local craft fair, lunch at Don Pedros, shopping and to Lee nails for pedicures.
It was great fun. We also went to Arby's and had one of their new shakes. YUM-O!!! You oughta try one.

So....... if you know me at all, you know what a freak I am about Christmas decorating. I really like to have my tree up by Thanksgiving and I don't like anyone to help me. I really freak out about it, so I stayed up until 3:00 am the night before Thanksgiving so I could get it perfect. Speaking of my weird tree obsession, this is a funny story about me, but I don't want to type it... so if you are interested, go to Tara's blog to read all about it. Anyway, I love my tree. It is just how I wanted it and I am glad I was freaky and got it all done. Everyone knows not to touch it or try to move anything around. Just look, and enjoy. Itty Bitty is still learning this, so she has really been working me the last few days as she climbs up the middle and pulls out my sparkly red sticks!!! Errrrrrr...... Maybe the pound isn't sounding so bad after all.....I know I sound like a big ogre for not letting my family help, but seriously... Brett wouldn't help if I begged him too, and Quayd has his own tree in his room that he gets to do all by himself. So there. Here are a few pictures of my home decor. These are the baskets on either side of my "Proclamation to the World/Picture of Christ/The Living Christ" picture in my living room. I change them with every season.
Here is my favorite decoration in the world, my nativity set. I got it last year, and I was so excited to get it out again this year. It's hard to see in the picture, but I have lights behind it so it really makes it glow. It looks so awesome. This is another one of my favorite things. Jamie gave it to me a couple of years ago for Christmas and I just love it. It lights up. It is so cute. And of course.... my beautiful tree. Drumroll please............................ The picture doesn't do it much justice. Oh! And this is Quayd's calendar that he gets each year. (I still have a couple gifts to put on it.) Starting December 1st he gets a small gift a day. Usually school supplies, and dollar items. He loves it and I love doing it for him. I start buying stuff way early, looking for cheap, small items that will fit. I love it. He is always so grateful and looks forward to it all year. I am glad we are able to do that for him. See... having one child isn't all bad.

Well, I think that is all for this blog entry. Thanks for sticking it out. I know it was a long one. :)

the one about the big 3 - 0!!!

thirty (thûrt-E)
Noun
pl -ties
1. the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
2. a numeral, 30 or XXX, representing this number
3. something representing or consisting of thirty units
Adjective
amounting to thirty: thirty miles
thirtieth adjn

Yah. I am 30 today. I don't really know what to think, other then.... HOLY CRAP! I AM 30!!!!!! 30 just seems so old. I don't really feel old, but it sure sounds old.

Here are some interesting things containing the number 30.
30 minute meals with Rachel Ray
The TV show "30 Rock"
The TV show "30something"
Thirty Years War 1618-1648
30 year Mortgages
30 30 is an ideal Midtown Manhattan hotel location, near Park Avenue
Thirty is the second point that is scored by one side in tennis

Some interesting things that happened in History on October 18th:
1867 - United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day. (Your welcome, Sarah Palin!)
1935 - Birth of Peter Boyle, American actor
1939 - Birth of Lee Harvey Oswald, purported American assassin of John F. Kennedy
Zac Efron born on October 18, 1987

Interesting things that happened in 1978:
The birth of the first "test-tube" baby, The signing of the Panama Canal Treaty. (Brett is obsessed with the Panama Canal, so I threw that one in for him.)
The top five shows of 1978 were All in the Family, Charlie's Angels, Three's Company, Happy Days, with the most popular being Laverne & Shirley

On the day of my birth, October 18, 1978, Grease was number one at the box office. And the number one song was "Kiss You All Over" by Exile.

I would like to celebrate ME for a second and write 30 things I love about my 30th Birthday...
1. I love being healthy!!!!!
2. I love being Quayd's mom
3. I love being Brett's wife
4. I love my family and friends
5. I love these guys... 6. I love that I am a woman.
7. I love that, even though I am not perfect, I have people that love me.
8. I love my car.
9. I love my job.
10. I love that Kandice took me out for a fun night on the town to ring in my 30th Birthday!!!

11. I love that while we were out, I saw my best buddy, Jay!!!
12. I love my new coat, Thanks Bretty!!!
13.I love that Cara wanted to make sure to be the first one to wish me Happy Birthday, so she brought me a super cute candy gift package. It was from her and Debra, and even though I thought I took a picture of it with my cell phone... I didn't.
14. I love that Brett cleaned the kitchen for me while I was out.
15. I love that I am going to go to dinner with my family tonight.
16. I love that Quayd still likes to snuggle me.
17. I love that Brett still likes to snuggle me.
18. I love that I have such a great friend (Kandice) and that we are comfortable enough with each other that we spent 1 1/2 hours skinny dipping in a hot tub tonight, just talking about everything and nothing. (Of course it was dark. I mean REALLY Dark!)
19. I love that my house is all decorated with my Halloween stuff.
20. I love that I was able to reference my birthday to a test tube baby. That is FUNNY!
21. I love that I was able to go see Nights in Rodanthe before it left our local theater. (Thanks Brett. It meant a lot to me that you took me!)
22. I love that my Birthday is in the fall. It is such a pretty time of year and I love it!!!
23. I love Diet Pepsi.
24. I love that Brett, Quayd and I have the BEST family ever. We are so lucky to have each other and even though having one child is not at all what we planned for, it works for us and we love it!
25. I love that it has been 6 years since my health/heart ordeal and I am feeling better than ever.
26. I love that I have been married for 10 years! Isn't that cool!?!?!?
27. I love that I have my blog so I can record all of these crazy feelings.
28. I love that I have friends and family who read my blog.
29. I love that Tara is going to cover for me at work so I can have the day off! (She doesn't know that yet! ;)
30. But most of all, I LOVE that I am 30!!! Seriously. 30 is great, and I am so glad I have finally reached that milestone. I love my Birthday and I am so excited that it is TODAY!!! Rock on 30!!!!!!!

happy birthday to me!

the one about the end of summer

I just can't believe that summer is coming to an end. It went by way to fast. It doesn't even really feel like there was a break from school. We had fun all summer though. I can't complain. It was very busy though, and I have to say that I am glad school is starting. Not because I want Quayd to be gone!!! But because I am ready for the routine. Anyway, we will talk about that stuff later. Lets talk about a few things that we did to wrap up our summer.

Last Friday, Holly called Kandice and I to invite us to go to lunch and to the local Showcase of Homes. We had a great time! We drove around and looked in some of the nicest newest homes in our area.
We had a yummy lunch at Arby's too. Sweet little Alison was a good sport to watch Quayd for me while we played all afternoon. Kandice had to leave before me, so Holly and I ran around town, planned a BBQ and went to the grocery store. That evening, I had to go to a Jewelry Party at Aunt Debbie's house and Holly came too. Then we came back to my house and had a swimming/BBQ at my brother's pool. Brandon and his family were on vacation and we were pool sitting. It was fun having the Olsen's over.
We don't get to do much with them because we are all so busy all of the time, so it worked out perfectly. The kids had a blast swimming and the grown ups had a blast eating the GREAT food! Brett cooked chicken on the grill, Holly made a salad and root beer floats, Lavell provided the corn from his garden, I did fresh fruit and veggies and it was just the PERFECT summer meal. It's always yummy when Holly is involved, but I believe this meal was exceptionally delish! Thanks to the Olsen's for coming over and playing with us!



As I was loading the pictures from my camera to my computer, I remembered these pictures. Remember when I was telling you about the crazy things Quayd was saying at the Doctor's office? Well we found out that he needed two more shots! He had all of his Kindergarten shots last year, but they changed it and added a shot. Plus, they told me that he didn't have a Hep A shot last summer. (Which was wrong, I came home and found the record of it. Errrrrrrr!) He also had a strange thing on his back. we weren't sure if it was a skin tag or what. It turned out to be a wart, so they froze it off. OUCH! I felt so bad for him, but it needed to go away. It was super big and it got caught on lots of things. It irritated him a lot too. It was super ugly. Here are some before pictures.
It is still kinda blistered, so I will post after pictures later. Besides, he is still a little apprehensive about anyone getting close to it. He was so brave, by the way, but he did cry and I had to comfort him, so I wasn't able to take pictures at the Doctor's office.

Quayd had Kasen over the other day to play and we went swimming. Kasen looked so funny, but he wouldn't take these goggles off the whole time!!
Really, I just feel like summer has flown by. I am sad and happy at the same time. The end of summer always means a new school year, and a Birthday! Only 4 more days, Quayd!!!