Christmas and Family

We had the first family Christmas party with out my grandpa last Saturday, and while the day was a hard one, we all still had a good time. We all brought a dollar store gift wrapped for the game of Bingo(which I have discovered I have NO luck in) the kids had a great time playing and winning.. much to my chagrin since it took me FOREVER to get Bingo~! It was alot of fun.

My grandma and aunt Kelly picked up 2 gingerbread houses on sale for the kids to put together, the boys against the girls.. this is a pix of Kaleb, Grayson and James getting ready to build a house. They had the help of Skyelor and her friend ... and Rachael was helping the girls.... Needless to say.. the boys house fell .. might be in part to Elliott "sneaking" fingers of frosting.. or it could be because Skyelor and her friend couldnt get the hang of the frosting.. whatever the reason, the boys house crumbled while the girls house was absolutely adorable. I unfortunately dont have pix of that house but it looked as a gingerbread house should.

Then we all sat down and had dinner so that we could get to the "opening of the gifts"! The kids were so excited that once they had the go ahead the paper flew, kids diappeared, cries of delight were heard but couldnt see which kid was happy! My nephew opened his slowly and when he saw that it was batteries he screamed " Batteries? Batteries? who gave me batteries?????" LOL! My grandma was prepared and gave batteries as part of the boys gifts.

So much fun to get together with family that is still growing! I love you all very much and am ever so grateful to have you in my life and to get to call you family is a blessing!

My Christmas wish this year will be that anyone reading this will hug their family just a little closer and for just a little longer this year. That you will never let a day go by without telling your family how much they mean to you, its been a year of loss in my family as well as others around me this year, I just hope that everyone who is in my life knows how BLESSED I am to have them!



Merry Christmas to you all, hope its a great one! Love you much!

Work Christmas Party and the Sweater Vest!

So, this is my boss Dave. It has come to the attention of those working here at Conservice that Dave hates.. absolutely HATES sweater vests, much to the delight of those in our accounting department that continue to wear them just because he feels that way! Well at the company Christmas party last week, those faithful sweater vest wearers all wore their sweater vests and then actually had the nerve to present Dave with his own mongrammed sweater vest! It was fantastic! Dave was a good sport about it, put the vest on and walked around and modeled it~ which is when I snapped the pix with him posing. Then he made the comment that this would be the ONLY time anyone saw a sweater vest on him.... WRONG!!! cuz here he is in all his glory~!

It was good time had by all at the party, I thought the food was good.. the company was superub! I had a great date for the dinner (even though I felt like crap) it was a great time!!!

Cant wait until next year!

Picture Day!

Kaleb was 4 the last time we had pictures taken of us(other than the ones family has taken)together. We made an appointment with Michelle Hansen to get our pix done. It was fantastic weather just the perfect temperature! We met out by the park and ride in logan proceeded to take picture after picture. Kaleb proceeded to talk Trace's ear off!! :) Ahhh kids..
I have to say that I was worried that I wouldnt like the pictures(cuz I never do if I am in them) but I was so surprised at how much I LOVED them!!!
I am going to post a couple of us that I love. I would totally recommend Michelle to anyone looking to get pictures taken!!! She has a blog http://www.photographybymichelleh.blogspot.com/ check her out!!
Thanks Michelle and Trace so much for the time spend on the pictures! You guys rock!!
I had a hard time choosing my favorite between the ones of us together, but the one of Kaleb! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I like all of the edits that she did on this one!

Happy Birthday Kiddo!!!

Ok, so I wasnt near a computer on Friday 11/28 and I was really busy on Wed.. so that being said I want to take just a minute to wish my son Kaleb a very Happy Happy Birthday!!!
He wanted to have his cousin Grayson come up and stay the weekend and go bowling with a couple of friends.. which we did and he had a blast! I have pictures, but alas, the camera is now in Yuma AZ with grandma. I will put some up when she gets back.
For Kaleb's birthday present from me, I changed the decorations in his room from the jungle that he had to a TOTAL Skatebording room. I was able to get this great bedspread in the spring, and I found some great skateboarding vinyl clings for his walls since we cant paint! He stayed at my moms on Thanksgiving night and I went home and put his room together... then I went and picked him up on Friday and took him home to see his present! Which he loved! When he showed it off to Grayson, Grayson told him man! your so lucky!!! Kaleb was like yeah I am dude! It was great.
Anyway! I just wanted to take a minute and tell anyone who reads this how much I love my son, and how grateful I am to be his mom. I know without a doubt that I was born so that I could be his mom! He constantly says things that make me laugh, and sometimes cry, but thats life and we all learn. I have never regretted having him and give thanks to God every single day that I get to keep him and love him!
I will post pix of his room and the bowling party when I have the camera back.

Twilight... the Movie

Ok so I went to the opening night of the movie, stood in line for over an hour, fought random weird women over "saved" seats.... laughed at something Laura's mom said, then something Laura said just as the movie started.... then it was down to serious viewing!!!

I have to say... I was a bit disappointed with the movie... I admit that my expectations were high and maybe that is why I didnt like it as much as everyone else did. I thought that Bella was really inarticulate and I didnt get that from the book at all so that bugged me and there were other little things that bothered me cuz they were out of sequence from what was in the book.

I did have a ton of fun with the people that I went with and will more than likely watch the movie again once its out on video, so that I can really think on it. I have also started to re- read the books just to remind myself how much I actually loved them.

I know that I'm sure that there are people out there that LOVED the movie, just as Im sure that I may hear how crazy I am.. dont bother.. I know that Im crazy... and Im gonna stay that way. Here are a couple shots of me and the friends!!

This is Laura, Vaka, and me.. Im the pale one compared to the other two!


This is me and Jo

Posting???

Ok, so its been over a week since I last posted! So sorry... life just happened! I got busy, then I got sick and now I can actually take a minute to post.

Last Sunday, Kaleb and I attended church, for those of you that know us you know that it was the first time ever that Kaleb has been(not something I'm proud of) but there it is. He had a blast and really liked his class. He looked so handsome in his new church clothes! I will hopefully have pictures of that soon to blog.. Im thinking of putting them on our Christmas card this year. He certainly is growing up, he will be 8 a week !!!! I can hardly believe that he is that old already and that he tests me as much as he does! Guess he is more like me than I ever realized.

Well that about does it for me today... I am going to see Twilight tonight and am REALLY excited! I cant wait to post about it next week... I better not be disappointed!!!

Twilight!!!

Ok so I have become another Book/Movie crazy fan! I am so EXCITED to see the Twilight movie that comes out in just 8 days. I took a little test to see who I was an this is what it said. Hope to see you all at the movies! If you see it before me .... better not spoil it!


Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Happy Veterans Day!

So tomorrow is Veterans Day so I wanted to take just a few minutes and say thank you to a few soldiers in my life that have served or are currently serving in the military and let them know that they are not forgotten today and so that they know that they arent forgotten any day of the year! So I personally want to THANK my uncle Steve, who is currently serving in Iraq now. I also want to give my thanks to my cousin Zan, my uncle Rod, my friend Bobby and to my late grandpa Syd for all their service through out the years. Thanks guys for your sacrifice and for your actions while in service. I am proud to have each and everyone of you in my lives!

Thank you to the families of the service men and women who are serving now for the sacrifice and hard work that they do each day. I sleep better at night knowing that we have men and women fighting to keep this nation safe, its not an easy job by any means, and I am glad that they do it so selflessly.

Here is a prayer that I found for our Veterans- one which I will read each day!

A Veteran’s Day Prayer

Dear Lord,

Today we honor our veterans, worthy men and women who gave their best when they were called upon to serve and protect their country. We pray that you will bless them, Lord, for their unselfish service in the continual struggleto preserve our freedoms, our safety,and our country’s heritage, for all of us.

Bless them abundantly for the hardships they faced, for the sacrifices they made for their many different contributions to America’s victories over tyranny and oppression. We respect them, we thank them,we honor them, we are proud of them,and we pray that you will watch over these special people and bless them with peace and happiness.

In Jesus’ name we pray; Amen.
By Joanna Fuchs

I love you all... thanks!

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

November 6, 1934 - My grandma Judy was born and tomorrow 11/6/08 she will turn 74.

My grammy is the absolute best. She is so kind, loving and so dang funny! She never ceases to amaze me by the things that she has faced and over come. In 2007 my dear cute grandma had to have surgery on her knee, which then in turn caused her to have a major life threatening infection in her intestine which almost killed her. In fact its quite amazing that she is even alive today after all that she went through. She started a life flight which due to weather caused her to have to travel to Salt Lake City, and LDS Hospital by ambulance. That lead to abdominal surgery and a drug induced coma for her to get better. She did.. and we were all so blessed with more time with Grandma.

In early October 2008 she lost her dear husband of almost 55 years due to complications of Lung Cancer, and she is now on her own, and doing FABULOUSLY I might add. Im sure that some days are harder than others for her to face, but she is a strong woman and I know that she can make it~! I believe that the women in my family are as strong as they are because she is the head of this family, and she leads us by example.

I love my grandma more than anything and am so glad that she is still here with all of us!!

Happy Happy Birthday Granny Grunt!!!! I love you tons and tons!

P.S. this is for those that know the story to enjoy and those that dont to understand that in our family my grandma is quite the funny lady!!

Proud Moment!

Today started earlier than normal for Kaleb and I because today is Election Day so we went to VOTE! It was an amazing experience for me as not only a woman voting but also as a mom voting to be able to share that with my son.

It was great to see his excitement in the voting process, he was even able to "select" the button for the team that we wanted to see heading this great country that we live in! He was very proud of the fact that together "WE" voted! It was great to see him want to be a part of it all. I can only hope that as he gets older he will understand the importance of such votes and continue to live the life that he needs to in order to have the opportunity to vote when he is old enough.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

Today is my mom's 54th birthday! I just wanted to take a minute and tell her how much I love an appreciate all that she does for me! We are often laughing at ourselves or each other to the point of tears, and some days we drive each other insane (cuz we are so much alike) but I love her anyway!

She is a great example of what kind of mom I should be. She helps me out with Kaleb more than anyone else, without her I would be lost as to what to do with him when he gets off the bus and when I want to go out on the occasional weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!

Love You!

Trick -or- Treat

So this is a bit late for Halloween, but I wanted to get a pix of Kaleb on and this is the only one that I have. He is the storm trooper and my nephew Elliott is batman. They were able to come to my work to trick or treat before heading out that night when I got home from work. Man, did they clean up! Kaleb has an entire shopping bag full of candy.. some of which is making its way to the garbage! :)

Anyway.. just wanted to share the pix! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Two ways of making you smile!

Ok, so its been a busy week for me and I haven't had time to blog. I am working on a great craft for my sweet Grammy's birthday next week. I work on that after Kaleb is in bed until about 11 o'clock, surprising myself that I am enjoying the craftiness of it all. Thanks Jo!

Last night, I broke my cardinal rule of not doing anything on a school night by taking Kaleb and his friend Ethan to a corn maze, which was a TON of fun! I'm glad that I broke the rule and got to experience that with them. They are both 7 and decided that they wanted to experience the "Haunted River Trail" I tried to tell them that it was really, REALLY scary, but they told me that they were big tough boys!!! So we bought tickets, and we made it through 2 turns before the lights went out and the big tough boys were screamin and cryin! However, they were determined to keep going tears and all! Then when another person came out onto the trail on one side, they saw an opening on the other jumped the blocking haybales and RAN as fast as their little legs could carry them all the while, screaming as if Freddy or Jason were after them!! Ha, ha, ha, it was the funniest thing ever, until I caught up to them, and had to dry their tears. Then it broke my heart a little, and it was just one lesson learned, NEVER take them to a scary place again! I will include pixs of this little outing once I get them on my computer!

Work has been crazy busy, and on my lunches is when I have to add to the blog, but this week I have been running errands on lunch. So I am taking a minute now to add a picture that a friend sent to me today. This picture reminded me that I just need to take a few minutes and enjoy what's all around me on a daily basis, and thank God that I get to see it every day.

So as the caption on the picture in the email says... this is God's and my way of saying....

Have a Nice Day!

A boy can get older, but still LOVE the merry-go-round

So this Sunday my mom, myself and Kaleb all headed to the local Big K (which has fast become Kaleb's favorite store) to do a little "Christmas" shopping and take advantage of their lay-a-way program. Kaleb was great all through the store even though he wasnt feeling 100% up to par. He looked at every isle of toys with the eagle eye of an 8 year looking for the GREAT find of the day! All who have kids know what I'm talking about.

Kaleb left the store as I was checking out with my mom and when I came out of the store, my cute "big" boy was riding the merry-go-round in front of the store, laughing and having the time of his life! It brought a smile to my face to watch him ride round and round. It was great and I couldnt wait to share it with everyone! It's amazing to see such joy come from a $.25 ride, so my advice is let them ride if they want.. you can never been too big!

Support the soldiers by .... Adopting One!

Ok, so when my uncle was home for his 2 week leave for my grandpas funeral he told my mom about a program soldiers use called Soldiers Angels, it allows people to "adopt" them. Which just means that you commit to sending 1 letter a week, and 1 care package a month. You can just send cards and little treats to your adopted soldier. Doesnt have to be huge and elaborate, just something for them to get in the mail and something that tells them that they are appreciated for what they are doing for all of us over there. You may not support the war, but support those that choose to be where they because they believe in what they are doing.

With the holiday's coming up and the soldiers still being deployed I think that it would be a great thing to do for someone. So I am encouraging anyone that reads this to take a look at the website and see if one of the many programs interest you in anyway. They have teams that write letters to wounded soldiers, teams that take care of the families of the soldiers that are deployed. See if anything catches your eye and if its something that you and your family can do for someone else. You never know whose life you can touch with just a letter a week, a card, a small care package!

Thanks! Here is the website that you can go to. http://www.soldiersangels.com/

Tag! You're it !!

Ok, so Ive been tagged! Watch out you could be next!

TV shows I love to watch:
1. Army Wives
2. Ghost Whisperer
3. Criminal Minds
4. Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

Places I Love to Shop:
1. Walmart
2. Shopko
3. Kohls(Tony Hawk, need I say more?)
4. Borders
5. Target

Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. I worked
2. I worked on my craft project
3. I spent time with Kaleb.

Things I Look Forward To:
1. The weekend.
2. Seeing my grandma
3. Christmas! 63 days left
4. Payday

Things I Love About Fall:
1. Changing leaves
2. Warm (not HOT) days and cool evenings.
3. Sleeping with my windows open.
4. Fall colors.
5. HOCKEY!!!!!!
6. that WINTER is next!

Things On My Wish List:.
1. To pay off my debts
2. Go to Yellowstone with Kaleb.
3. Be happy with myself.
4. get healthy(whatever that entails)
5. to make sure that the important people in my life know how much I love them!

Okay, so I tag the following people:
1. Joni
2. Danie
3. Sarah

The Final Countdown!!!!

Ok, so if you know me then you know that Christmas is one of my FAVORITE holidays ever. I was always the one that counts down, listens to Christmas music starting in oh lets say September.. and I did all on my own. Other people thought I was crazy... and maybe I am!!! (ok no maybe about it!)

I have been lucky enough to not have to be alone in this holiday passion of mine..well for the past (almost) 11 years cuz thats when my brother married the other crazy one in the family AMBER! She has a much stronger passion for Christmas than I could ever have. So this post today is very much a part of her doing as well as mine. Just so that everyone is aware there are

64 days left until Christmas!!!

Better get to shopping!!!!

Happy Birthday Cousin!!!

Happy Birthday to my favorite Cousin!!!! As I was sitting here getting ready to blog for another day, I realized that it was his birthday, tomorrow and i couldnt let the day go by without telling everyone who read this all about him.

This picture was taken at Joe's Crab Shack (my all time favorite) in West Valley. I talked Zan into going with me so that we could spend some time together and talk. I had my son Kaleb and my cousin Grayson (Kaleb's age) and his daughter Mia with us. The boys went out to play immediatly after we got there, but Zan, Mia and myself sat down and ordered food. At one point during dinner Mia decided that she needed to give the waitress a Wet Willy! Zan blushed and explained that she couldnt just give those to anyone.

My cousin Zan is such a great dad to his 2 kids, Mia and Jex. He has always been there for me when ever I needed someone to talk to. I am glad that we both grew up to be the adults that we are, and Im even more blessed to call him my friend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Love ya much!

My favorite time of the year ...

Fall is one of the most beautiful times in this great state we live it. It also happens to be one of my most favorite seasons. I love the way the canyons look, the crisp morning air. Just a hint of winter thats on the way. Some people get depressed in the fall and winter due to lack of light and I just get energized! I absolutley LOVE fall and winter. The attached picture was taken up in Logan Canyon, less than 15 miles from my home. We Utah residents couldn't be any luckier than we are to live in this great place, and I am so happy that is FALL is finally here! I cant wait to do all the fun things that this season brings, corn mazes, pumpkin walks, carving pumpkins... and halloween. So much fun with family and friends I cant wait.

Late night texts and calls! Ah, friends!

I love to text more than anyone else I know. Sometimes its better than regular phone conversation(some people, UB, dont get that) but it is! I especially love the middle of the night texts from friends! I have had many a midnight conversation with old and new friends, this weekend I was able to have great text convo with one of my best friends, Joni!

She was at a party for her sister Mel, when she decided to text me about the party, and missing me... it was a great convo that lasted over 2 hours and I learned quite a bit from it.

1. That Jo missed me ... which is great!

2. That the Idaho girls.... love Jonis.. and want some too!!!! :)

3. That my best friend is a rockstar!!! and hilarious when drinking!

4. That I wasnt invited to what seems to be one of the best parties this year... hmmm wonder where MY

invite was?

I love ya Jo.. and cant wait for our next round of texts... Happy Texting !!!!

In Loving Memory

This world has lost a GREAT man. My grandpa, Syd Elliott. My grandpa was diagnosed with end stage lung cancer in April of this year, he lost that fight on 10/4/08 at the age of 73. He decided to fight this disease with everything in his being, and for that he became one of my heros! He fought hard to stay on this Earth so my grandma didnt have to be alone. He fought to his very last breath. He was one of the nicest men I know, he was well loved and will be well missed.

This mom's crazy life

This crazy life I call mine- what a mess it sometimes seems to be.. but I couldnt thrive if it were not a mess..