New Years Eve

I'm not a big fan of New Years Eve, truth be I think it's kind of a stupid Holiday! I struggle with change and the New Years always brings plenty of that, plus it's kind of boring. I'm pretty sure we will spend the night eating food and watching movies. Maybe we will play a game or two - Dave will love that - NOT!

My goal for this upcoming year is to be more organized. I haven't been good at that lately, hence the huge stack of papers that need to be filed or shredded. 2010 I'll be better at keep things organized. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year, may 2010 be a year of good things and joy!

Hurray it's down!

I always love to get all my Christmas decorations up and my tree decorated, but even more so, I love it when it all comes down. Everything feels so empty, bare and CLEAN! I'm not completeley to the clean part, but everything is down and put away. Tomorow I need to finish dusting and vacum 1 more time. I usually wait until after New Years to take all my things down, but it is a great feeling to have Christmas "put away" - so to speak. Now we can begin the New Year clean and organized. Maybe that's an indication of how the upcoming year will be - haha!

Last night was our Griffin family party. That's my mom's side of the family. Although we don't do much with them now that my mom and grandma our gone, it was alot of fun spending time with my cousins and aunts and uncles. We did a pot luck dinner - always interesting. Aparently alot of us thought alike. 3 crock pots full of little smokies. After dinner we played a game. Everyone had to bring a $5 gift that started with the letter "G" (Jenny's idea, it's kind ofher thing this year - whatever!) I ended up with grape jelly, Dave got goldfish which he traded with Jessy because she got a dvd of 17 hours of "gore". Kassy brought home germX hand sanatizer and Cody was the biggest winner with 2 6 packs of gatorade. Which I brought, but he wasn't willing to trade. He has almost half of them gone already, he has shared with Kassy, nice little guy! All in all it was a fun night. Would have been better had mom and grandma been there, but still it was good to be around family for the holidays.

After the party, Jessy ended up going to Kelly and Michelle's for a sleepover with Bailey. When I went to pick her up, she was a zombie. Michelle said they had stayed up late and watched "Twilight". What the heck. I admit openly that I am a HUGE fan of The Twilight series, but I haven't let Jessy watch it yet. I told her we would 1 of these first days - TOGETHER. All I can say is, "they are darn lucky she slept the rest of the night". Jessy is a pretty sensitive girl, doesn't like scarey AT ALL! Oh well, what do you do. Life moves on and on and on!

Speaking of moving on and on - it's almost 2010. Still can't believe it. where does the time go?!

Griffin Family Christmas Party

Had our annual family party with the Griffin's. Super fun - give more details tomorow. Night!

"Im so Bored"

How is it that only 2 days after Christmas my kids are already complaining about being bored? How can that be possible? I don't understand!!!! It could be a long week!

Last Day

Sad day....it was my last day in young womens. I miss the girls already!

The Day After

All the hype and now it's over. I can hardley believe it. My recycle bin runneth over with all the packages and paper from everything we have opened. I think the kids have tried out everything!

I start to get antsy after it's all over because of all the messes. Even though I will be sad to see my tree come down, as well as all my Christmas decorations, I love it when things are all put away and back to normal. Don't get my wrong, I love it when it goes up, but everything has it's season and the Christmas season is about over. Next week, it all comes down and the new year begins. To 2010 - may it be a great year!

Took the kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Squeakqual. Hmmmm, interesting. Dave didn't come with us because he and his brother were putting lights up. No not Christmas lights, canister lights around the house. They look AWESOME! Yea!

Merry Christmas

It came, it was Merry, and now it's over!

Meet Kalea

It's Christmas Eve and I wanted to take a quick minute and inroduce you to our new dog Kalea! She was an early gift to the kids!

WELCOME KALEA!

Merry Christmas!

READY!!!

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull everything off, but I did. I am ready for Christmas!!! As for Dave, that is another story. Him and the kids are going shopping tonight. That should be interesting!

Almost there!

Just spent the last couple of hours wrapping presents and Hooray, I am almost done. Gotta go run and grap a couple of last minute things and then I'll be ready. Good thing, Christmas is only 3 Sleeps away!

Whew - What a Day!

Got lots done today. Started at the gym at 5:30, came home got kids off to school, next took a shower, then wrapped, wrapped, wrapped. Can you get Carpel Tunnel from wrapping? I feel a little bit better about Christmas being 4 sleeps away. I helped out in Jessy's class, ran a couple of errands, picked up kids, rushed home, got Jessy ready for gymnastics, picked up a couple more gifts, dropped a few gifts off, grabbed a pizza - gobbled it down quick, went to Cody's 1st grade concert. May I just add he was the best singer there, and so stinkin CUTE. What a stud. After that we wasted a few minutes at Jordan Landing until it was time for our friend Lexi's dance recital. The kids are now all tucked in their bed. Blog entry is done, and I am going to go CRASH. Night!

1 last thing. I was sad to hear about the passing of Brittney Murphy. I thought she was a great actress. 1 of my favorite movies stares her and Ashton Kutcher - Just Married. If you haven't seen it, do, it's funny! Sad to see such a young stars life cut short.

A Day I was Dreading and Other Stuff

I've known for almost 2 weeks that I was being released from Young Womens. To some this might come as a relief, but for me it was DEVESTATING! I asked Brother Egbert several times if he was sure this was what was supposed to happen. He assured me that it was. I'm going to have to reley heavily on faith to get me threw this release. STRUGGILING! I miss the girls already. It has been hard to go to Young Womens the past few weeks and not burst into tears. I just want the girls to know how much I love them and how grateful I am for the opportunity I had to work with them. I know they are being left in good hands, but still it was hard to be "let go" after only a year. Just so they know I am sooooo coming to girls camp, even if I have to sneak in a duffle bag to get there!

Quick shout out to Chelsea and Kristen for sharing their talents today in Sacrament meeting. I have always known that Chelsea was a powerful, strong, and spiritual giant, but today she proved it even further. The talk she gave in church today was way beyong her years - impressive to say the least. Way to go Chelsea. Kristen performed a musical number on her Chello - took my breath away. Incredible doesn't even begin to cover how beautiful it sounded. What amazing Young Women. Honestly I feel as if these girls are the leaders not in need of leaders. They are going to do amazing things in their futures. Please continue to include me in your lives!!!! Can't forget LuAnn, Chelsea's mom. Her talk was incredible as well. I have always loved LuAnn and thought she was a neat lady, furthered my admiration for her today. Cody's been lucky to have her as his primary teacher this last year - He loves you LuAnn, he's gonna miss you.

On a positive note, I got put in as the Activity Day Girls Leader. Exciting part about that is Jessy starts coming in January, after she turns 8. I was glad she was excited about me being put in there, I wasn't sure how she would feel about that. I have some huge shoes to fill. Toni Worthington has been the leader for along time and she did the funnest things. Wish me luck!

Tonight the kids went with their Aunt Jenny to help her deliver her neighbor gifts. One of the perks of having kids is having them run your errands! It's very quiet at my house right now. I am expecting them home any minute now. It's a school day tomorow and it's time to get to bed.

While the kids were gone, you will never believe who came to our house tonight. It was Santa!!!! Can you believe it. To bad the kids missed him. I am pretty sure it was the real Santa, his beard didn't even look fake. I took a picture of him and Dave so I would have proof to show the kids when they got home. We saw Santa last night when we went to Grandpa Mike's house. He must be working on the naughty or nice list. Better make sure you are on task because Christmas is almost here.

Here are some pictures of todays Christmas outfits. I think everyone looked FABULOUS. Jessy got mad at something so there is no smiling for her, not like that is anything new. Cody on the other hand was all smiles and Kassy was somewhere in between. Gotta love pictures!

Karey and Kassy

Is that a hint of a smile that I see on not only Jessy's face but Dave's as well? Oh my gosh, it is a Christmas miracle!

Christmas is 5 sleeps away. Almost ready, are you?

SIX More Sleeps

Tonight we went to see the Luminars at the Cemetary. It was beautiful like always. I threw a few kisses to my favorite Angels. This time of year is when I miss mine and Dave's mom the MOST! They both loved Christmas.

Tomorow is the Sunday before Christmas, everyone has a new outfit to wear. The kids are gonna look so cute. Jessy's skirt is the coolest. Kassy and I both wish it would have come in our sizes. Black and Silver is this years color scheme. I'll post a picture tomorow.

Just FYI, there are six sleeps until Christmas!

AGHHHHHH!!!!

Christmas is in 1 WEEK! Are you ready???? I am almost there, got a few odds and ends, but the main stuff is finally purchase! HURRAY!!

Tonight Dave and I are going to Park City with some people from his work - Good Food, Good Friends, that's what the holidays are all about. My little brother and his wife are coming over to watch Jessy and Cody. Did I mention before that they are having a BABY! I am trying to prepare them for the "fun" of parenthood. Kassy is going to a show at the Clark Planatirium, dinner and ice skating with a friend. Talk about action packed evening.


Went to the gym again this morning. I can still barely walk, my legs are soooo stiff. Luckily we worked arms today, my arms aren't as wimpy as my legs. Love the feel of a good work out.

Happy Friday! Just think, in a week from now Christmas will almost be OVER!

Holiday Hussle

I'm smack dab in the middle of the holiday hussle and boy is it crazy. Today was a very successful shopping day, YEA! I wrapped up ALOT of things...it was great! Now if only all those things would just wrap themselves. 1 week from tonight is Christmas Eve, No pressure - haha. I'll be ready and if I'm not, it will come anyway!

My legs are burning something fierce. If you see me walking funny know that it is all thanks to Charity and Sandra, they are wipping me into shape - OUCH, I can barely walk. Gotta love suqats, lunges and dead lifts. I think tomorow is our arm work out, if all goes well I won't be able to move them by Saturday. Don't take me wrong, I am loving it, and in a weird, painful way, it feels great. I am so glad to finally have someone to go to the gym with. It's funner to go with others, plus it helps keep me motivated. Gotta love 5:30 am - NOT!

Not Working For Me

I can't say that it's been a bad day, but I can't say that it's been good either, a bit of both. Tonight, however, it's not working for me. Just can't bring myself to do any more than this. Sorry! Tomorow will be better.....I hope!

Great Concert

Way to go West Jordan Middle School Choirs, you rocked the auditorium! The 8th and 9th graders did a good job, but I have to admit I think the 7th graders totally had it going on! Way to go!! Kassy is a great singer, I am so proud of her, and she looked so dang cute tonight. I wonder if a certain boy (I won't name names) thought the same thing! How could he not, he would have had to be blind not to think so! Thanks to those of you who came and supported Kassy tonight. It meant alot to her as well as to me. We have such awesome friends and family members that we can always count on - thanks again. I took some pictures, I'll have to post them tomorow, Dave is on the computer that I down load pictures to. (Homework Time - OH JOY, and I don't mean the Christmas kind of Joy.)

Today I got a few more things done on my Christmas List. My goal is to have everything done by Saturday so that next week I can wrap, deliver, and spend time with my family. We'll see how that goes. I can't believe that tomorow brings single didget days until Christmas - 9 days, WOW!

Started out questionable - turned out to be a better day

I wasn't sure today was going to be a better day than yesterday when we woke up to discover our power had been out for awihle. It was extra cold in the house and dark, it would have been a perfect day to stay in bed - I was tempted, but we got everyone up and out the door all by candle light. After getting everyone off I began working on my Christmas Lists.....Yea, I love lists!!! I've been feeling a bit behind, but working on my lists helped a great deal! I then made my way down town to get new tires on the Tahoe - my they look good (whatever!) Really, thanks Dave for making sure my car is safe for Utah driving. My little brother (dad-to-be) and I then went to lunch. It was fun spending time with him, I always enjoy our conversations. Did I mention he is going to be a dad in June. I'm a bit excited about that! I then went and did a bit of Christmas shopping. Found a couple of PERFECT Gifts! Made my day as well as helped with my Christmas spirit. Next I ran to pick up kids from school, got Jessy off to gymnastics, home for a quick dinner, than off for a ride to look at Christmas Lights, I LOVE looking at Christmas Lights - I recomend Christmas Street. After a rough start, it turned out to be a pretty good day!

Hope you all had a marvelous Monday! Enjoy what's left off it!

PS. Thanks LuAnn for your comment on my Blog - your comments always make me feel better, and yes Dawn, I think a support group would be a good idea. Why is it that we women have a tendency to see our flaws not our strengthes? Hmmmm, first meetings topic! lol

Great Lesson - Thanks Heather

Today in Young Womens, Heather gave a great lesson. It was a lesson that I needed. I have a tendency to look at all of my faults and the things I am not good at rather then the things I do well and my positive traits (what are those again?) First Heather had us write our names on a piece of paper then put it under our chair. Next, on a different piece of paper, she had us all write down things that we saw as faults in ourselves. I didn't have enough time to write all of mine down or enough paper. Then she had us scratch off things that we couldn't change - I still had a super long list. Why is it that it's so easy for us to see the negative about ourselves, but so hard to see the positive? After going through our lists, we put our chairs in a circle and got our papers with our names on them. We passed the papers around the circle and everyone wrote something down about that person that impressed them. It was easy for me to write down positive things about the young women, they are all astonding girls who do marvelous things and will go places in their lives. However, if I would have had to write down positive things about myself, I don't think I could have come up with very many, if any. It was touching to read the things that others wrote down about me, your kind words helped lift my spirit. I will keep my card forever and read it often - especially on those days when I am feeling down and can't find the positives. Thanks Heather for such a powerful lesson and thanks girls and leaders for your kind words. They really helped me on a day when I was feeling down and not very strong. I love you guys - you really do teach me more than I think I possibly ever teach you.

Have a Super Sunday!

Lucky #13

13 of my favorite things about the Christmas Season:
1. Shopping the day after Thanksgiving
2. The Christmas Tree - when it's all done
3. Finding the Perfect Gift
4. Christmas Cards with pictures so I can see everyones family
5. Giving to others
6. The lights at Temple Square
7. Driving around the neighborhood to find who's house is decorated the BEST
8. Christmas Treats - Yummy
9. Reading Christmas books with my family
10. Spending time with family and friends
11. Wrapping presents
12. My kids faces on Christmas morning
13. Remembering the true meaning of Christmas - The Savior and his love for each of us!

Only 13 days until Christmas!

2 Weeks From Now...

Is it just me, or did Christmas come early this year? I am sure that someone stole a few days from the month cause there is no way that it is already December 11th! Usually by this time I have made lists and lists of things I've done, what I need to do, who has what, who needs what, I've started wrapping presents, and my neighbor gifts are ready to go. So not the case this year!!!! Neighbor gifts are no where near being ready, no gifts have been wrapped, and I wrote my first list today - it wasn't very impressive, Santa would be disappointed, hope he is doing better than I am this year. My question to all of you is, are you ready for Christmas or are you feeling behind like me? If you are ready, lie to me so I don't feel bad. If you aren't ready, I wish you good luck!

Hope this weekend finds you all "wrapping up" your holiday preparations! Happy Friday!

Frozen Pipes

I like snow, I like winter, but even I have my limits and the past few days temperatures are pushing them (or should I say freeeeezing them?) The temperature is a bit cold for my liking. Anything below 30 is just too darn cold. The pipes in my laundry room agree with me! I tried to do a batch of laundry and much to my dismay discovered that our pipes were frozen. Luckily not bad enough to burst. I turned the heat up to 80 and opened the heat vent in the laundry room all the way. Sat the floor heater on top of the washer and angled it at the wall, placed a bin under the faucets, shut the door and hoped for the best! After about an hour the pipes thawed out and water started flowing - glad I put the pins down. YEA!!! Dave said I need to run the washer everyday to keep the pipes from freezing again. Oh boy won't that be super fun! Truthfully I am just glad it was an easy fix. We had this happen once before and we ended up having to tear out the wall! What a pain, so I guess I'll be happy with doing a batch of laundry everyday!

I can't believe it is already Thursday - Wow where is the time going? Only 14 more days until Christmas. Better get your shopping done!

Waiting - Not so patiently

Have a headache that is wanting to be a migraine. Gotta love drugs, now all I have to do is wait for them to kick in. Not happening fast enough!

Snow Day #2 - LOVE IT

Dave came into our room this morning and said, "It snowed last night. I have to go to a meeting, but I'll come home and shovel after I am done - if you want me to, I know you like to shovel." I said, "heck no, I've got it!" I hopped out of bed and went out to shovel. Like I said yesterday, some of you might think I am weird for liking snow while others, I've leardned, like it as well - Yea LuAnn. However, you all might question my sanity when I say I LOVE TO SHOVEL SNOW! I'm not exactly sure why, but I just LOVE IT! My favorite is first thing in the morning when no one else has been out and it's untouched and perfect! I also love it late at night when it's dark, the snow sparkles and makes everything seem kind of magical. Snow like todays snow was the best, not to wet or heavy, I felt as if I was in a snow globe. It was fabulously fun! I will admit I am a bit sore from my shoveling (as well as my arm workout from the gym yesterday), but that is all part of the fun - feel the burn, love the burn! Dave has suggested buying a snowblower, I'm not sure how I feel about that... it might take away from the "fun" of it! Hope you all enjoy the snow - you have to admit it makes everything look beautiful! Just so you don't think I am to weird, I HATE TO DRIVE IN IT!

Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Snow Day

I know there are many of you that don't like the snow, but I LOVE IT! Can't say that I love the cold, but I do love the snow. It makes everything so clean and pretty and fills me with HOPE. Hope is one of my favorite things in the world, somedays it's the only thing that keeps me going. Hope that things will work out, Hope that we will make it through crazy times, Hope for happiness in the future, and Hope for greater things to come! This Holiday Season I wish for all of you to have HOPE in your lives.

Have a Marvelous Monday!

Seconds to Spare

Again, laying in my bed, almost asleep, when I realized I hadn't blogged for the day. So.....Blog!
Night!

Just Chillin on Saturday!

Not alot going on today, just hangin out at home. Have a Super Saturday!
(I know pretty boring, just not alot to say today.)

Coke in Hand - Thighs Burning

As many of you know I am addicted to Coca-Cola! My addiction has gotten pretty bad lately, I need to have at least 32 oz of Coke almost every day. Plus it has to be "good" coke, not grossy 7 Eleven coke, theres is terrible. Bateman's is ok, but the best coke comes from Apollo Burger or Hires (with vanilla - darn near Heaven). Do you think it might be time for an intervention? - or not! My coke looks so beautiful sitting next to me, it makes me smile just looking at it, knowing it is there for me to have a sip of when ever I want! Slurp, slurp - ahhh so yummy! Seriously though, don't mess with my COKE! lol Again, slurp, slurp!

I use to be really good at going to the gym, but when I pulled a muscle earlier this year and got migraines, (Which by the way I drank ALOT of Coke to help with the pain! Gotta, love it when the doctor tells you to drink caffine!) I stopped going. Anyway, after that I slacked off. I told myself all summer long that I was getting my exercise with the "stuff" I was doing with my kids. Unfortunatley Jeans don't lie so when I put my favorite pair of Jeans on and they didn't fit right, I decided it was time to hit the weights. I tried the 5:30 am thing again and I just couldn't do it so I started going after I dropped my kids off. I like 8:30 am alot better, but I felt as if I was wasting alot of my day. Still I couldn't seem to drag myself out of bed to make it any earlier. I was talking to my visiting teacher on Sunday and she told me that her and another lady in the ward go to the gym at 5:30 am. I got invited to go with them, YEA, finally someone to go with. Don't take me wrong, I still don't like going at 5:30 am, but when you have someone to go with it makes it alot easier plus, they have routines that they do. Somedays I felt as if my efforts were wasted due to my lack of knowledge of what weights to use and not having a routine! Thanks to Charity and Sandra for including me in their "fun"! This morning we did squats, lunges, dead lifts, and several other leg burning machines. It was GREAT! I honestly love the burn, it feels fabulous! I really thought I would be stiffer then I am, maybe my efforts haven't all been in vain after all!

Hope you all have a fun Friday!

Christmas is here!

The tree is decorated, the decorations are all in place, lights are twinkiling outside on the house (replaced the set that was out), and the calendar is filling up quickly. The Christmas season is here!

Happy Thursday!

Kudos to the YM

Way to go River 4th Ward YM for planning a great joint activity. Home made cards and cookies to be deliverd to people in the ward to boost their spirits this Holiday Season. Good Job!

Happy Wednesday!

Barely Made IT!

11:56 pm. I was laying in my bed, pondering my day, when I realized I hadn't blogged. Can't break my groove, now that I've got it on!

Official Christmas Tree Light count: 2800! That might change tomorow because ! of the branches looks bare, so I might have to go buy a set of 50 to fix it. I don't think I can handle it not being as bright as the rest of the branches. Hmmmm can you say OCD?!

Time is now 11:58. Logging off for the night. Happy 2 minutes left of Tuesday! NIGHT!

Christmas Tree Cutting Fun - Super Sized

It's hard to tell in this picture due to all the other trees around, but here's a picture of our Gigantor Christmas tree. I think it might be on the upwards of 20 feet!!!!
Mike and Jenny's tree seemed really big until Dave brought "The Grizwald Family Tree" down off the mountain. Dave is a freak of nature, that tree weighed a ton and he just heaved it over his shoulder like it was nothing. This picture busts me up.

It was lots of fun having Jenny and Mike with us this year. Sad we didn't hook up with our friends the Fischers, we've gone with them for years, but this year we got our locations mixed up. Can't wait to see what "Fish" drug off the mountain.

Did a little bit of sledding before we went and cut trees. Not very much snow, just enough to make a few runs down the hill. Hope we get some more snow soon!!

Jessy and Kassy both have head colds, but that didn't stop them from getting a run or to in.

All in all it was a super fun adventure, one we have been doing for 19 years now. I think we have only missed once, maybe twice. It's a fun family tradition, one I hope we can carry on for years to come. Now the real fun begins, Dave brought the tree in tonight. It touched the ceiling, so he cut 2 or so feet off. Can't wait to put the lights on - NOT! Feel free to come over and help!

Happy Last Day of November!

Do Over

This is my second post for the day, but the first one that showed up. I blogged earlier, but my computer kicked me off and I lost everything. I'm blogging from the lap top now, so I don't have access to my pictures, dang it. I wanted to show you the "Fagg Family" Christmas tree! It really is HUGE!!! Maybe tomorow my desktop will play nicely so I can post some pictures and you can see that I am not kidding. Can't wait to put the lights on it - not!

It was a great weekend. Yummy food, hanging with family, successful shopping, exciting tree adventures, sad football games, and dinner with the Missionaries - Whew I got tired just writing it all done.

Happy Sunday to you all!

PS. Good news, Dave fininshed his session of classes today, finals are done and turned in.
Bad news, next set of classes starts tomorow, the fun begins again!
Super proud of him for going back to school! Keep up the Good Work!

Go UTES

Really quick like and then tomorow I'll give a full run down. 2 minutes left of the BYU - U Game. Can the UTES pull it off? I sure hope so! Go UTES!! Gotta go watch the last few minutes!

Happy Saturday

PS. Got our tree today. If you've ever watched Christmas Vacation, you've seen our tree! It's HUGE!!!!

Super Quick!

This is gonna be super quick, but at least I'm gettin it in. I had a ball shopping with my sister today (gotta love Black Friday)! We passed my brothers path a couple of times and talked to my dad on the phone. Got some great deals and put a huge dent in my Christmas Shopping. I think I'm done with Kassy - Yea!

Gotta run, I've gotta get to work! Happy Friday!

PS. Tomorow is Tree cutting day, so exciting.

Gobble Gobble - Happy Turkey Day

The Macey's parade is on, the pies are made, Dave's playing football in a "turkey bowl", and the newspaper is her. Turkey dinner at 2:00 followed by Planet 51 at 4:40. Sounds like a perfect Thanksgiving Day!

The things that I am grateful for are endless, I couldn't possibly write them all down. So, here's 10 things that I am thankful for today:

1. My husband
2. My kids
3. My family
4. The Savior
5. The gospel
6. Great friends
7. Food to eat
8. Books to read
9. Changing seasons
10. Modern Technology

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember, sometimes when life gets crazy it's hard to see the big things to be thankful for, look for the little things. Little things are all around and they are the things that keep me going! I hope this Thanksgiving their are big things in your life to be grateful for as well as lots and lots of little things!

It's time to go scope the adds to plan my attack for Black Friday! I love shopping on Black Friday. It is one of my favorite family traditions, and I great way to burn off the Thanksgiving calories. The morning begins at Smith's Marketplace - I'm not sure why, but it just does! Maybe it's the free donuts and juice. What ever the case, it's lots of fun and I love being with my dad, my older brother and sister. Unfortunatley my little brother never got the "Black Friday bug". I don't understand that, but I won't hold it against him. Maybe one day we will get him hooked, but I'm not counting on it. It will be weird this year with dad not being with us. He is in Arizona spending some time with Pat's kids. I'm sure will have to call him just because that's what we do when we are waiting in lines.

May your turkey be tender, may your stuffing stuff you, may your mashed potatos not be lumpy and enjoy your PIE - lots and lots of PIE! YUM!

2 Weeks and Still going strong

It's been almost 2 weeks since I began the "Chelsea Challenge" and though some days it's been difficult, I am rather enjoying putting some of my thoughts out their for you all to read. Hope it's been somewhat interesting and hasn't bored you to tears.

Jessy is home sick, AGAIN! She has a head cold. I feel so bad for her, she has had a rough time these past few months and winter isn't even official here. Hope she can get over this quickly and that no one else gets it! It's not fun being sick!

Dave is smack dab in the middle of finals week. Oh boy, he is so happy - not! We will all be glad when this week is over. The only bad news is when he is finished, he immediatley starts his next set of classes, one of them being math! That'll be fun - haha. Just wanted to let you all know that I am really proud of him for going back to school. Not so easy when you are our age. Wish we would have figured that out sooner, like 20 years ago.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Baby News - I'm going to be an Aunt!

Are there things in the world that you don't ever think are going to happen and then when you least expect it, the news is dropped in your lap?! That's exactly what is going on in my world. Last night my little brother and his wife announced that they are having a baby in June!!!!! I can't believe it, my little brother is going to be a dad. CRAZY!!!! I am so excited for them, they will be such cute parents and I am sure they will have the cutest baby! I can't wait to find out what they are having - can't wait to shop! Congratulations Jared and Shanon.

Happy Birthday wishes to my dad, hope you have a great time in Arizona. My good buddy Denza, thanks for being such a great friend, and Sami Hooper who we miss tons.

Happy Tuesday to you all!

Short Week

Hurray it's Monday and it's a short week - so to speak!

I love Thanksgiving and the opportunity it gives us to reflect on the things we are grateful for. A couple of weeks ago we had a family home evening lesson where we made a list of things that we were grateful for . We couldn't put "big" things on the list, it had to be "small" things. I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that we came up with you.

Dave: Hagan Daz Chocolate, Chololate Chip Ice Cream, heat vents, movies.
Karey: Heated seats in the Tahoe, green gum, clocks.
Kassy: Flowers, stuffed animals, furnishings.
Jessy: Ponytail holders, sweats, hand sanatizer.
Cody: Flushy toilets, blue blankie, months of the year.
Aunt Jenny: Harmons ice, pink water bottle, fluffy pillow.


Sometimes in this crazy world it is hard to find "big" things to be grateful. Those are the days that I am grateful for the little things that keep me going.

Hope you can all find something to be grateful for this holiday season.

Happy Monday to you all!

Wrapping Things Up for the Week

I know that on the Calendar Sunday is the first day of the week, but I often feel as if it is the end of the week. It is the day I get to ponder over what has taken place during the week and contemplate what to do in the upcoming week. This past week has been very eventful, and the upcoming week is going to be even more so.

I figured today being Sunday (wrap it up day), it would be a perfect day to finish my thoughts about the fireside with Sister Dalton. One thing that really impressed me about the fireside is when Sister Dalton had all the priest that had come to the fireside stand up. A few whistles came from the balcony of the auditorium. Everyone giggled, even Sister Dalton, she made a comment that she felt like whistling as well. She then asked the girls to look around, "what do you feel?" The first thing that popped into my head was POWER. When she spoke again that is exactly what she said. Not just power but the priesthood power. I am so grateful for the priesthood power in my life. It has helped me on more than one occasion and I have truely seen its power in action. It really was an amazing Fireside. Sister Dalton's love for the Savior, the prophet, the gospel, and the youth was unquestionable as she spoke and shared her testimony. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to feel of the spirit so stongly. Her remarks made me question things in my own life and made me want to do better. Thanks to our great young womens lesson today - thanks Jamie - I am going to set some new goals for my future. I'll keep you posted as to how things pan out.

Last thing before I end, Happy Birthday to some of my favorite people: My best friend since birth, Kirsten - I miss you and wish you all the happiness in the world. My father-in-law, even though he is one of the grumpiest people I know (wonder where Dave get's it from - lol), I am so grateful for his presence in my families lives.

Happy Sunday to you all!

Saturday's Accomplishments

Another Saturday has come and is quickly on it's way out! Where do the weekends go? I think the weekends should be Monday - Thursday, Friday and Saturday week days and Sunday, well just be Sunday. Let's take a vote, all in favor say "I".

I got tons accomplished, if you don't believe me come by my house. The leafs are all raked up and I even mowed after I was done raking to make the grass look extra beautiful. I think I might be a bit OCD about a few things. When the wind blow and dropped a couple of leaves on my grass, I had to go pick them up. Whew, I'm sure glad it's not windy tonight! After the lawns were done I moved to Chrismtas Lights. Can you believe we are a month away from Christmas? I sure can't!! Anyway, got the Christmas lights all hung! Yea, one thing to mark off the Christmas preparation list.

This evening I took the girls to Target - gosh I love that store! They wanted to do some Christmas shopping. Jessy decided she liked looking for things she wanted rather, than for things to buy others. Her list is about a mile long. It was fun to hang, just me and my girls.

Ended the night with Pizza and now everyone is watching Star Trek. Better run so I don't miss anymore of the movie. Yes I am a "Trekey" Fan.

Happy Saturday!

The Reviews Are In - New Moon was a HUGE Success

After a lot of stress and anticipation, our sneek peak of New Moon was a huge success. It was kinda fun walking into the theatre and taking charge of how things ran for the night. There was a bit of a glich when the theatre people said we had to start seating immediatley because we told people they couldn't line up until 5 and then seating wouldn't begin until 5:30. Thanks to modern technology - texting - we were able to get the word out to most everyone and instantly the fans started pouring into the theatre. Again, I was a bit stressed, but everyone played nicely and seating went fairly well. We only had 1 group, that I know of, that didn't get to sit all together. Not to bad when you factor in 243 Twilight fans.

Thanks to all of you who joined me on the front row, you are awesome and saved me having to deal with alot of grief! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Not my seat of choice, but it worked, plus no one could growl at me because I was 1 of the people who put this thing together. I could have had any seat I wanted to, but instead I hung on the front row!

As for the movie itself; no movie is as good as the book, how can it be? In a book the author is able to give as much detail as they want, and Stephanie Meyer gives lots of details. In a movie the director doesn't have that ability, they have minutes to portray something that might have taken pages to describle in the book. I read a review this morning that was harsh on the scene where the months pass in New Moon, describing it as boring and long. To me, I thought the scene was perfect. It's exactly how I pictured it in the book, Bella sitting, wasting time, and feeling miserable. The review also said something about Bella and Edward and their lack of words and the annoying long gazes between the 2 of them. Again that didn't bother me, most of the book is what is going on inside Bella's head, not what she is saying to Edward.

The Wolf Pack - oh my gosh! I loved them, they brought humor and energy to the movie, as well as some serious six packs to gape at (come on, I know you all drooled a bit when you saw them). Taylor was amazing as Jacob! I am really glad that he was able to keep the role of Jacob, this movie wouldn't have been the same had they replaced him. (Still bugged that they replaced Victoria for the next one!)

The Cullens - loved them! They looked so much better this time around, the eyes, the hair - definatley better. Alice is one of my favorites, she had some great lines. One of my favorite lines of the movie was when she said, "I'll be back as soon as you put the dog out." There was a lot of great one liners not only by the vampires, but the werewolfs and humans to.

My shirt that I wore, thanks to Connie Meyers, had a picture of Edward and Jacob with the saying, "I can't decide". I think a better saying for my shirt would be, "I can't get enough! " Maybe that's what I'll do for my next shirt when Eclipse comes out in 221 days. I really love this series. I'll admit it I have read all the books multiple times, but I'm not saying how many times, that could be embarassing. They are just to fun!

Thanks to Stephanie Meyer for reminding me how much I love to read. I had put that passion a side until reading the Twilight Saga. I am glad to be back in reading mode, it's a great outlet. Dave might not agree, but he tolerates my closet reading - THANKS!

Again thanks to all of you who came and spent your evening with me. I hope you had as much fun as I did! Oh yes, I will be seeing this movie again in the NEAR future. Feel free to join me! Don't get your hopes up yet, but as of now, our name is on the list to do this again on June 29th when Eclipse comes out. We will see what happens - no guarantees, but it is definetley a possibilty. We learned alot this time around, so next time might be easier.

Happy Friday to you all - Yea we made it to the weekend! ENJOY

New Moon Day is HERE!

I didn't think this day would ever come, but it's here! You can feel the excitement in the air! Everywhere I go I run into one of my friends who is coming with me tonight. The most exciting part is I am going to a priemere. It starts at 6:00 pm. So when all of you midnight movie goers are getting ready to leave (or in your case much later - Michele - you crazy girl), I will be all done with my New Moon Experience. Not to done because you all know I will have to see it multiple times!!!! Can't wait for tomorows posting so I can give you all the glorious details about New Moon. Oh ya, did I mention that I'm a bit obsessed about the whole Twilight Saga. Did any of you get that? Hmm.

Werewolf or Vampire. Which team are you? I just can't decide!

Happy Thursday to you all.

Only 10 Minutes

I have 10 minutes before I have to be at Cody's class to help out, so this is going to be quick!

Last night was the fireside with Sister Dalton. She is amazing. I felt truly blessed by being in attendance. She filled the auditorium with the spirit, something I'm sure that a junior high auditorium is not use to. I am getting a bit ahead of myself. Before Sister Dalton spoke a yw choir performed. 2 girls from our ward, Jessica and Kassy (yes, my Kassy), sang in the choir. It was so beautiful and set the perfect tone for the meeting. A group of girls were in the auditorium while the rest of them waited in the hallways. The first group began singing and then the girls from the halls filled in and added their voices to the group. It gives me goose bumps even now thinking about it. It was very powerful to hear these girls singing. The yw who sang truely are choice spirits who have been saved for these latter days to be Keepers of His Light!

Oh my gosh, my 10 minutes is already up. I'll have to come back and finish this post later.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY - HUMP DAY!

Today is Tuesday

Just fyi, I like Tuesdays, they aren't the 1st day of the week, I don't have anything specific that I have to do (like help in someones class, yw, gymnastics, or climbing), and the weekend is 1 day closer! Hurray for Tuesdays!!

My plans were to get up early and go to the gym. Ha - so didn't happen. I did however make it to the gym after I dropped the kids off at school. I have to be honest, I hate going to the gym, but once I am there, I love it! Maybe one of these days I wll be a body builder - lol!!! Wouldn't that be funny?! YES!!!!

So much for nothing to do on Tuesday's. Tonight is a youth fireside. Sherri Dew is speaking. I am so excited, even if it does cut into my nothing to do on Tuesday happiness.

Last night I took Jessy to gymnastics. She is getting so good. I'm thinking about putting her in another day a week so she can excel even faster. I think it would be great for her, not so much for me because it would be another place to drive to and from, but oh well. I would have to make sure it doesn't fall on Tueday though!

Happy Tuesday!

Day 4 - Earlier rather than Later

Hello all, it's me again. 4 Days in a row with 361 to go!

Dawn, thanks for following, but what in the world were you doing up at such a gosh awful early time of day?

Michele, Hope I can keep you entertained and not bore you to death. If nothing else you can correct my spelling and grammer errors. I'm sure there are PLENTY!

This morning Kassy had a doctors appointment so after dropping Jessy and Cody off at school she and I headed towards the doctors office. We made it to the doctors office with loads of time to spare so we made a quick stop at McDonalds for breakfast. Hot chocolate and a Sausage Egg McMuffin - nutritious and delicious! It was fun hanging out with Kassy, we don't get to hang together just the 2 of us very often. She is growing up so fast and sometimes I feel as if I missing out on her life. What happened to my sweet baby girl? Kass, I know you are reading this as well as many of your friends, so I won't embarass you to much. I just wanted everyone to know that I am glad that Kassy is part of our family. She is so loving and generous. Her willingness to give is endless. I love her and appreciate all she does for me and for our family. Thanks Kassy Bug - Love you!

It's now 1:00 pm and the time to pick kids up from school will be here before I know it. Better go change the laundry and then run over to my friend Kristen's house. Can't wait to get my hands on her new little baby girl (Kate).

The best part about Monday is, you know that even though the weekend is over, you are on your way to the next weekend! Only 4 more days left. Happy Monday!

Day 3 - Just Barely

I just got home from work and remembered I hadn't blogged for the day. (Just in case you didn't know, I work at the Children's Place doing stock. I don't work very often or make "beans" for money, but the discount is fabulous! I totally love it! The people I work with are great and have always made me feel so welcome! Thanks ladies!) There's some super cute new things out, especially for girls, and all their holiday stuff is on sale. Just a little plug.

Taught my lesson in YW on Nutrition and the Word of Wisdom. I think it went okay. Any feed back from those of you that were there would be greatly appreciated. I still laugh thinking about me teaching about nutrition because I am not the best at it. Coke and Hot Tamales, don't they cover the basic food groups? Hmmmm.

Going to call it a wrap! Happy Sunday, what's left of it. Until tomorow!

Day 2 - The Chelsea Challenge

Thanks so much to all of you who commented yesterday. It made me feel so loved. I just need to figure out how to get all of your Blogs on to mine so that I can check up on your craziness, oops I meant lives. Michele, I think you might have to come for another visit because I am a total computer tard and pretty much forgot how to do most of the things you showed me how to do when I set my blog up. Andrea, I can't wait to check out your blog and see what is new in your life - your little girl is sooooo dang cute!

We made it to the temple last night - Yea! I'll tell you what, I am pretty sure that "someone" didn't want us to go. What an ordeal! Ordeal # 1, I couldn't find my temple recomend. Found my old one in my temple bag, but no sign of my new one. I knew I had one because I used it when we did baptisms for the dead not that long ago. I searched, but had no luck in finding it. I ran next door to the bishops house, he wasn't home but his wife had him call me. He said he could call over to the temple. I told him I'd look for awihle longer. Kassy came upstairs and asked what I was doing, told her I couldn't find my recommend, she said "this is the purse you took, did you look in it?" "Of course" I said. "How about this pocket? It feels like thers is something in it." She opened up the pocket and low and behold there was my recommend. Yea Kassy, you saved the day. Ordeal #2. The time was now 5:30 and no sign of Dave. I called and text him, but no response. He had had a really bad day and when I had talked to him earrlier he said he wasn't in the mood to go to the temple. I told him, "All the more reason to go." At 5:55pm he came through th door. So much for making the 6:00 session with the ward. Dave still wasn't sure he wanted to go, to bad for him our temple stuff was by the front door, I was all dressed and ready to go, and his clothes were laid out on the bed. Finally we made it out the door which lead us to ordeal #3 - TRAFFIC! The traffic was terrible. It took us almost 40 minutes to get to the temple. Now I am sure there are people in the world that would say, "It took you ONLY 40 minutes", but for us that was a long time. (I know, we are super lucky to have so many temples near by. Sometimes I take that for granted, ok let's be honest, I always take that for granted!) Horray we made it to the 7:00 session. We really need to be better about going. We don't have any excuse. I am reminded of the talks given in general conference, " if the bretheren can find it in their busy schedules to go to the temple, we should be able to find time as well." I am goint to try to be better in the future about "finding time". It was a perfect date night and I am glad that we went!

Now it is Saturday, Dave and I got up and went to the gym this morning - another perfect date! I didn't really want to go, but glad I did. Now it's time to finish cleaning the house and putting together a lesson. Dave thinks we should go on a ride this afternoon. I am pretty sure that will involve some kind of mud. Oh boy.

Happy Saturday to you all!

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH

Oh my gosh, I totally forgot to wish you all a happy and safe Friday the 13th!

The Chelsea Challenge - Day 1

As many of you may know, I have the word "SUCKER" printed across my forhead and I say yes to most everyone and everything. I am trying to be better at that, but I just feel guilty when I say no. Especially because there is so much in this world that needs to get done. Anyway, because of that I have a tendency to get myself involved in way to much and often stuggle to get everything done. To make things worse, I am dragging physically these days and can barley stand the idea of staying up past 9:00 (crazy because I am a night owl and 1:00 am seems early to me). I really need to go get my B12 shot, but like I said I don't usually make alot of time for myslef! I think that might be the norm for alot of us. Anyway, I didn't mean for this to be a winey post, so on to my real reason for this post. Last Sunday in YW's our YW class president challenged all of us to make a blog and update it on a daily basis. Making the blog sounded okay to me, but posting to it everyday seemed a little overwelming. Oh, who am I kidding, ALOT overwelming. We were told we could start whenever we wanted, but once we started, we had to post everyday! Chelsea, I accept your challenge! Here it goes!

The Chelsea Challenge - Day 1
Today I started my day dropping Jessy and Cody at school, stayed at the school for a PTA meeting (see paragraph above - can't say no). After the meeting it was time to take Kassy to school, I hate the late friday schedule, it is the pits. Came home and puttered around for awihle. Thought about going to the gym, but just couldn't bring myself to go. Maybe later. Came downstairs to work on my YW lesson for Sunday and decided I would start the "Chelsea Challenge. I have 1 short hour left before it is time to start picking kids up - AGAIN. I am hoping that Dave and I will be able to go to the temple tonight. We haven't been in awihle and I think it would be a great thing for both of us to go! I'll let you know in tomorows post if it worked out!

So there you go, there's my day. Honestly, don't feel obligated to read my daily posts, but know I am going to do my darndest to post. Hopefully it will get easier with time!

Happy wishes to you all.

While Dad is Away, Mom and Children will PLAY!

What a super fun Deer Widow's weekend we've had. Dave left thursday, and I'll admit I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, but I didn't let that get me down. Instead, I made the best out of it. I started off with treating myself to shopping and lunch with my sister on Thursday. Got some super cute stuff at Nordstroms. I hardly ever shop at Nordstroms, but when I heard they had a New Moon line of clothing, I had to go take a look. Really, I went because one of my YW (Kristen) is on the teen fashion board and got entered into a drawing for every card with her name that was turned in. I think we got 6 or 7 turned in for her. Hope she wins something fabulous! To shop at Nordstroms you have to have ALOT of money. Holy Cow - The boots I want are only $297. I'm sure Dave won't mind if I get those in brown and black. Haha!

Friday I watched my friend Denza's cute little girls, Kylee and Alexa. Wow, I forgot how crazy it is having little kids running around the house. My house isn't baby proof anymore, funny how things change. Friday afternoon Jessy and Cody both went to friends houses while Kassy, her friend Brianna, and I went back to Nordstroms to see Kristen in the New Moon Fashion Show. Kristen looked great in her "New Moon" clothes. After that I picked up kids and headed home to wash the car. It took me a really long time to wash my car though, because friends kept stopping by - not complaining, it was so good to see Scarlett, Stacey, Connie, and Jeanette. I love chatting with friends, just ask Dave or my kids. Later that night Denza and her girls came over and we picked up dinner and brought it back to the house so the kids could play, or in Kassy's case, "hang-out". It gave me another chance to chat with a friend. Sleep overs, late nights, and movies, perfect for a Friday Night.

Saturday brought more fun as well as work. We got up in the morning and went to watch our friend Mikayla's last soccer game of the season (which by the way if you read my previous post you know Cody had his last soccer game - Not as succesful as the others. Played a super hard time. Final Score was 6 - 2. Not in our favor. You win some you lose some.) Once the soccer game was over the work began, we headed home to do some chores. Good news - the house looks clean and the lawn is mowed. Reward for all our hard work, we went to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was a blast and we only had one small issue over a chair. Below are some pictures to show you how much fun we had. All in all, it was a pretty great weekend. Enjoy - we sure did!

Kassy, Cody, Karey and Jessy - Thanksgiving Point "Scarecrow Festival"

Mikayla, Jessy and Cody. Cody won't ever let me take his picture when I want to, but when I am trying to take someone elses picture he always seems to pop in! Jessy is so Bendy - Flexy!

Kassy and Kylee - Notice Cody trying to sneek in - AGAIN! Jessy in the background.

Alexa was such a trooper.

Karey and Denza.

End to a fantasic weekend. Would have been better if our dad's would have been there with us, but we made due without.

One more quick thing....On Thursday night when Jessy was saying her prayers she said, "Please bless my dad that he won't see a deer so he won't be able to shot it." Busted me up!! As of 9:00 tonight Jessy's prayer still was answered, no Deer for Dave. We will see what tomorow brings!

A Little Bit of This and a Whole Lot of That

HALLOWEEN SEASON
I love this time of year, it's my favorite. I love the changing leaves, the end of the harvest, the yummy smells of the season, the clothes that you wear this time of year (t-shirts, jeans, flip flops and a sweat shirt as needed), the excitement of Halloween, picking pumpkins, and going to see the witches at Gardner Village. It's the best time of the year!!!

Here are a few pictures from some of our recent Halloween adventures!

Picking pumpkins for family home evening.
The girls

The Boys

Kassy

Jessy

Cody

Gardner Village - The Witches
Dave - looking thrilled, as always!

Kassy, Cody and Jessy

WEEKEND AT THE CABIN

Thanks to Brian and Michele and their family for inviting us to spend the weekend at Michele's parents cabin. We had such a great time. The kids loved being with their cousins and Dave and I loved getting away. The best part about the weekend was that we didn't do a whole lot of anything. We lounged around ALOT, took a MUDDY ride, and played games (Michele, do you think our version of Apples to Apples would be as funny if we had played it earlier in the day?). What a fabulous way to spend a weekend!

Jessy, creating a masterpiece!

Nap time!

Jessy, Dave and Brody

Muddiest Ride EVER!!

I think we might need to get one of these - super fun!

SOCCER
The soccer season is quickly coming to a close. Cody's last game is Wednesday night. I have to admit I am going to miss watching him play soccer, but I won't miss the 2 games a week plus a practice.

When soccer season began I was a bit worried about Cody's "skills" or shall I say lack of. He ran really hard and alot, but usually he was running away from the ball, not to it. The first few games were almost painful to watch. I remember yelling at him several times to run to the ball. We almost had to ban Dave from coming because he would get so frustrated. As for his team, hmmm, not the greatest players. This was the first time playing for a few of them and some of them seem to live in lala land (Not a bad place to visit at the right time). The first few games we lost. Finally on the Saturday pictures were being taken, the team got their first win. It was a big one at that. 11 to 1. WOW! It did something to our team and all of a sudden they began playing!!! The next game was more of the same, not as high scoring, but still an impressive improvement over the first part of the season. Cody had 4 shots that night. 2 of them were just short and the other 2 blocked. He was happy about the win, but a bit sad that he hadn't gotten a goal. We reminded him that he played an important part by being a great defender and getting the ball to those who had scored. I yelled less at him to run to the ball and more at him to take it all the way!! He was EVERYWHERE!

On the way to last Saturday's game, Cody told Dave and I that he was going to get a goal. We said that would be great, but the most important thing was to just do his BEST. His best was AWESOME! He was unstopable! If he wasn't running down the field with the ball, he was taking it away from someone, passing it to someone else, blocking it, or making a goal - 3 goals to be exact. It was fun to see his face beam with pride each time he made a goal. Each time he got a goal he would hold up that many fingers to show us. At the end of the game he held up 3 fingers and kept those fingers up pretty much the rest of the day. As he ran down the field to give the other team five, I had to laugh when I noticed he wasn't giving 5's but 3's. Way to go Cody!!! 3 might be his new favorite number.

So, like I said, one game left. We are hoping for another win, and a few more goals. As for now HIGH "3's" to you all!

Cody is on the Dark Blue Team. There team name is Blue Fire Breathing Monsters. We call them Blue Fire for short!

Give me 3! Seriously he kept his fingers like that most of the day!

Whew! The end!

Tribute to my sister

God made us sisters, but we chose to be friends! Love to sisters everywhere!
Kassy and Jessy - sisters and friends!

You know that one person who's always there no matter what, loves you because of your faults and insecurities, doesn't care if you don't call everyday, but loves it when you do, is willing to do anything for you, you can disagree with and it doesn't matter because each of you are unique with your own unique style. We all should have at least one of those people in our lives, if not more. For me one of those people is my sister. I would be lost without her!! She is not only my sister, she is my best friend. The crazy thing about that is, I think back to our younger years and think, "hated her", the feeling was mutual. To put it mildly, we did NOT GET ALONG! She was way to cool to associate with the likes of me. LOL! I'm not sure exactly when that all changed, but I am so glad she came to her senses and realized just how cool I am - hehehe. She has been my "life savor" over and over and I can't even begin to express my apprecaitation, love and grattitude to her. Jen - Thanks for all you do for me. You are the best sister ever!

Hawaii
Yellowstone

Being silly

As to the rest of you who maybe reading my blog, I just want you to know how much I love and appreciate you. We may not be sisters through blood, but we are definatley sisters through love. Thanks to all of you for being their for me as well. I couldn't ask for better "sistas".

Book Reviews

I've been MIA for the past few weeks due to the fact that I have had my nose stuck in a book, actually several books. I thought I'd share with you some of my book "experiences". If you are interested, I've got a book list on my Blog that I will continue to add to.

I use to be a huge reader then I stopped because I didn't have time for it. Kassy really wanted to read The Twilight Series, but My sister-in-laws suggested I read it before letting Kassy read it to make sure I was okay with the "material". Once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. As many of you already know, I read the series multiple times - love it!! Just so you know, I let Kassy read the 1st 3, but told her we would have to read the 4th 1 together. She has opted to wait until she can read it on her own, which might be awihle. After months of obsessing with "Twilight", I decided it was time to move on to something new. My friend Monica suggested the "Hunger Games", by: Suzanne Collins. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do. (For you Twilight fans, Stephanie Meyer recommends this series as well. She says, "I was obsessed with this book I had to take it with me out to dinner and hide it under the edge of the so table so I wouldn't have to stop reading..." They really are that good. There are 3 in the series. Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and a third one to be released next August. If you are like me and hate waiting for the next book in a series, I would suggest waiting until next August to read them. If you can be patient, go for it NOW! I devoured both books as soon as I got my hands on them and can't wait for the third one. She left me totally hanging. I love Katniss and Peeta.

My little brother also felt as if I might need some help in getting over my Twilight obsession. He said I needed to, "broden my horizons". He gave me "The Secret Life of Bees" by: Sue Monk Kidd, which I loved and now want to watch the movie, and "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" by: Gregory Maguire - the author of Wicked. It is an interesting version of the Cinderella story. I struggled with it at first, I think because Cinderella is engraved in my head a totally different way and it was hard for me to see a different perspective. It was a little slow for my liking, however, in the end I liked how it was wrapped up and was proud of myself for going outside of my reading comfort zone.

Right before all the above mentioned books, I read a few of John Grishams books. "A Painted House", "The Broker" and "The king of Torts". All of these books were great, but then I think pretty much everything John Grisham has written has been great. He's got a whole list of books if you need a great read. I also read his newest one, but for the life of me I can't remember the name of it. It just came out in paperback.

My most recent readings have been from Richelle Mead and Alyson Noel. Richelle is the Author of "Vampire Academy". These books sucked me in just like "Twilight" did. I found myself pondering over the books when I wasn't reading them and becoming consumed by the characters. I loved Rose. She is a sassy half vampire, half human, wanna be guardian of her best friend Liss who is a full Mori vampire. I also love Dimitri he is Roses teacher/trainer/you'll have to read them to find out what else. There are 4 in this series that are out, with 2 more forth coming - AGH. Again, I can't wait for them to come out. Alsyon Noel is the Author of "Ever More" and "Blue Moon", another series that has one coming out next fall. This wasn't my favorite series, I think maybe because I always felt bad for the main character Ever, she has to go through so much. That being said, I still liked them and will read the next 1 as soon as it comes out. My biggest issue with both of these series is the language. Really, I don't understand why they have to throw in the swear words. I think that is one of the reason so many of us liked "The Twilight Series". They were written with such intense feeling that made us believe they were real and because the language for the most part was clean. I remember maybe 5 or less swear words in the entire series. Way to go Stephanie Meyer. I wish all writers would take her lead and clean up their writing.

So there are my book, reviews for the day. I've read a bunch more, but none that I feel as if I need to write anything about. As you can see I love to read. I think one of the main reasons I stopped reading was because I get so engrossed with a book that I can't do anything else. I just have to read and read and read and READ until it is done. That becomes an extremely huge problem when I read a series. If any of you have a book that you loved please let me know, I am always looking for a good book. Happy Reading to you all.

Journey of the Trail - Trek 2009

Recap of Trek 2009 - Tonight was our Family Reunion - It was great to see all of our "kids".

I have to admit, as a youth I never-ever-ever wanted to go on trek. My sister told me horror stories about the trek she went on, so when it was my turn to go I found every reason possible as to why I couldn't go. Years later I regreted not going so when Dave and I got asked tobe a Ma and Pa 8 years ago, I was so excited. Unfortunatley we couldnt go (pregnant with Jessy) so my fullfillment of trek dreams was crushed. Then 4 years later we were asked again to go as Ma and Pa and again we had to say no (Trek fell on Kassy's 8th birthday). As they say, third time is a charm, and it truely was. I was so excited when we got called as Ma and Pa, and yea, we could actually go. Dave was okay with the idea until he heard we had to sing, dance and play games. Our previous bishop wrote me in an email to tell Dave not to fear because not all Pioneers sand and danced, some were used for their muscle. That began to be my own personal joke. I wasn't taking Dave for anything but his "Srength"!

Preparing for Trek was a huge challenge, very time consuming and very expensive. I have joked that I've paid my fast offerings for the year in what I paid out in Trek - lol! Dave was super busy with work, school and come on let's be honest, play. He wasn't a ton of help in getting things put together. I do have to admit though, that I am a bit of a freak and have a tendency to go over board in preparing. (I know some of you are saying to yourselves right about now - REALLY?)

The time for trek finally came. I was nervous about leaving my kids, worried about my health, due to some health issues I had in the early spring and scared to death about pulling off a worth while experience for our Trek "family". But all my fears were soon erased. Our Trek Family - affectinatley known as "Da Mormons, surpassed all of my hopes of having a great family. Each one of them brought something special to our family. I feel honored to call them my kids and humbled to have them continue to call me their "TREK MA".

So here's the quick version of Trek - otherwise this could get a bit lengthy. Family: Pa - Dave, Ma - Karey, Big bro - John, Big sis - Jen, kids in no particular order - Sean, Chase, David, Wilson, Jordan, Heidi, Shandy and Lindsey. They made our family complete, they never complained, they helped out and as a bonus for Dave they weren't huge on playing games or singing songs - However our boys would sing little inserts of songs to entertain themselves as they walked. It was entertaining for all of us. The boys also played a game that I'll call kick the rock. I know, sounds kind of boring, but whatever entertains. Rules for the game, kick the rock until it goes off the trail! Our girls brought pretty amazing qualities with them. Heidi hurt her arm yet carried on. Shandy had blisters so bad she could hardley walk, yet she carried on. And Lindsey had 1 of her hands on the cart literally the whole time, carrying on. All of our kids hold a special place in my heart!

I know, I know, quick version! Fabulous Food, Great Games, Learning Opportunities and Spirital Growth sum up Trek pretty quickly. I am so glad that I was finally able to go. My hope is that in 4 years I will be able to go again and be there with Kassy. Just 1 final thing and then I'll wrap up this post. Like I said before I was taking Dave for his "strength" joking like meaning muscle, but what I got was his "strength" in so many other ways. 1 of the most powerful moments for me on Trek was when Dave was asked to fight in with the mormon battalion and had to leave. I was very aware of his strength leaving me and knowing that I had to pull the weight without him - something I do not EVER want to have to do again. Pulling the cart with my girls on the women's pull truely was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. As I came up over the top of the hill I couldn't look at Dave because I knew if I did Iwould lose it. Once the pull was over and the boys took the cart from us. Dave said "good job" Those words meant more then he will ever know. Dave at times drvies me CRAZY, but he truely is my strength (wow - sappy)!

So much more I could add, but I think I better call it a wrap. Below are some pictures of our incredible adventure. We are 'Da Mormons!!

Ward Family - Right before we loaded the buses

Ma and Pa

'Da Boys

'Da Girls

'Da End!