Count Down!!

As I ponder the month of July and all the fun we had, I am shocked to see how fast the summer is flying by! There aren't very many reasons to welcome August, except for the release of the long awaited book...Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer!! This book comes out SATURDAY!!!!!!!

And yes, I did pre-order my copy, along with one for my mom and sister...I can't wait til it arrives in my mail box...Mark, I am warning you now! I will be reading this book til I finish it...you might have to make dinner, change the diapers, clean the house, do the grocery shopping, feed the kids...Ok, maybe you might only have to do half the work I just mentioned!!

Oh, and not to mention the movie that has been made from the first book, Twilight! Click here to get a sneak peak of the movie...oh, I can't wait to see it! The movie comes out 12.12.08!!!

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!

My sister, Jen, turned 32 today!! So here are 32 reason why I love her so much:

1. She is so fun to go shopping with, seriously, we have such a good time.
2. One of the most generous persons I will EVER meet.
3. We have really good phone conversations, we can talk about anything and everything, we can laugh and cry all in the same phone call.
4. She helps me feel like a good mother, even when I don't feel like one myself!
5. Bryanna loves her just as much as (or more than) her own mommy! Bryanna is like candy in Jen's hands!

6. Her advice is really good, she knows when to give it and when to just listen.
7. She lets me come over and swim, WHENEVER, and we talk and swim and talk some more!
8. Jen takes us out to the lake and we have a grand 'ol time swimming off the back of her boat, tubing, and blaring our favorite music!

9. She has the most giving heart, is always willing to help me if I ever get into a bind, which seems to happen more than I would like!
10. Jen gives the best presents...Birthdays, Christmas, Anniversaries, I would try with all my might to give back as much as she has given me for the rest of my life and still not even it out.
11. She is an awesome mom and her example impacts me everyday.
12. Her trials have made her stronger, more resiliant & faithful.
13. Jen's thoughtfulness is amazing, she is always looking out for my benefit.
14. Jennifer is by far and away the best party Hostess ever!! Baby showers, bridal showers, graduation parties, birthday parties, Super Bowl Parties, you name it...she can do it, and does it WELL I might add!
15. Her tips on designing the interior of my home are so appreciated...thanks sis for getting your degree in Interior Design...I would have failed miserably:)
16. Her kids are a huge help to me when they come over and play or if they come with me to the park, movies, Chuck E Cheese...it truly is a blessing to live near cousins!
17. She is my favorite doubles tennis partner to play with...we have some serious fun on the tennis court...playing together is a blast!
18. Jen is such a wonderful grand daughter to our mom's parents...she is always doing kind deeds for them.
19. We have a blast doing lunch together...good food and great company can cure any ailment:)
20. Vacations are so fun with Jen and her family, the beach, cruises, disneyland!

21. Making homemade Carmel apples in the fall...need I say more?
22. Her signature persian rice makes mouth happy!!
23. Working out together isn't always fun...I mean if your doing a Body by Curtis video and can't walk the next day, but worth it!
24. Going on walks is much more fun because we can actually talk, unlike a Curtis video...
25. Jen can relate to all the personalities in our family!
26. We have SO MUCH fun just hanging out, shooting the breeze.
27. I learn lots from Jen just from what she has gone through and how positively it affects her.
28. Jennifer is a fiercly loyal friend (and sister) for life.

29. Her love for life is very contagious...its hard not to be having fun around her!
30. Jen is super friendly and can talk to anyone.
31. Her small acts of kindness impact in a big way.
32. She is a wonderful sister, daughter, wife, mother, sis-in-law, grand daughter!

We are all so blessed to have her in our family! Hope you have a very happy birthday Jennifer!!

Update with pictures!!

First of the updates...we went to the Shark Reef last week, and it was so fun!

Touching the Sting Ray...COOL!

They were so SLIMY!

Obteen & the kids...with sharks in the back round, but you can't see them in the tank

Jennifer and the kids


Camoto Dragon...ewe!

Three little cousins

Mommy and Bry

We had lots of fun learning new things about these creep creatures!!

Bryanna LOVES getting her picture taken, she was quite the poser:)




Pucker up...they are so sweet to eachother!

The wall being built for the Trampoline

Viola...it's done!!

Our Planter Boxes...now we need to run the sprinkler system. I tell ya, when one project is done, there is always another one lurking in the dark!!

In goes the Tramp!!

Although there is no landscaping YET, The kids still love going out there and jumping. Its nice to get them outside for a change when we are at home.

Thanks Mark...this was HUGE project, but you did it, in record time I might add! WE love it and appreciate all the work and effort you put in to getting it done!! Love you!

Tagged...

The rules:
1. List three items in each category
2. Tag three other people from whom you would like to hear
3. Get to know your friends and family

THREE FEARS:
I seem to be a very predictable person, especially to Mark so this may not surprise anyone!
1. Horror movies SCARE me to death...I actually think its part of my imagination, so that doesn't help when I hear noises in the middle of the night! Mark doesn't appreciate it when it does get the better of me and I wake him from his peaceful sleeping state! So I stay away from those movies.
2. Black Widow spiders...since moving to our new house, it was vacant for 6 months, and now I'm dealing with killing all the insects that invaded it. I have killed AT LEAST 7 Black Widow spiders...and I have lived to tell about it, a miracle!!
3. And of course, the most predictable, losing anyone in my family...Mark, my kids, my parents, sisters, grandparents...it would be unimaginably hard.

THREE JOYS:
1. Eating chocolate Hagan Daas ice cream with peanut butter chunks swirled into it...I know I shouldn't put this as the #1 joy, but it is so joyfully delicious!
2. Sleeping in after staying up late, sometimes Mark stays up with me too, and he doesn't always get to sleep in as late as I do (poor Mark!), but when I do get to sleep in, it fills my well almost to the tippy top!
3. Uninterrupted family time...i.e. VACATIONS! I love it when I have Mark all to myself for a period of time!

THREE OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS:
1. I have a rooster theme going in my kitchen, although it is not a very big collection, it IS a collection of which I need to expand upon!
2. Reality TV has become sort of an obsession...I watch episodes of these shows: American Idol, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, The Mole, I survived a Japanese Game Show, Dancing with the Stars, So you think you can dance, Wipe Out, America's Funniest Home Videos, Just for Laughs...there are probably more, but I just can't think of them right now. And don't worry, I don't watch them ALL, EVERY week...there are seasons ya know:). What really makes this obsession work is my handy dandy DVR...recording these shows and fast forwarding through commercials is the best way to watch tv these days!
3. I have to agree with Angie about her Dan obsession, although I'm not obsessed with Dan, it's MY husband, Mark, of whom I am rather obsessed with...in all good ways! Isn't that what helps make a good marriage? You have to be somewhat obsessed with each other to live together...forever is eternity!

THREE RANDOM FACTS:
1. Our backyard is coming along...and right at this moment, Mark is preparing to set our trampoline in the ground TODAY...pictures to come, I promise!
2. While I was at Utah State Univ. I took a Japanese class my freshman year. We had to take oral tests at my Sensei's office. So I arrived for a test and as I started to walk down the stairs, which were probably only 6 inches in width, my foot is NOT 6inches long, so you can guess the rest!! But for those of you who don't have quite the imagination, I slid down the stairs on my rump...and yes, I was wearing a SKIRT that day...just my luck, and to be even LUCKIER, there was a couple of fellow students at the bottom watching the WHOLE thing...Lucky me:) or should I say, lucky them...they might have gotten a peek of my unmentionables!!
3. Mark was sleep walking last night...it creeped me out because he JUMPED out of bed, around 1am last night, throwing the covers on me and then walked into the closet. I said, "Mark, what are you doing? Mark, where are you?" Then we walks back over the bed, climbs in and said, "I was dreaming of making a movie." Huh? Ok honey, just go back to bed!! Random, I know!

THREE GOALS:
1. Don't make a fool of myself while leading the Priesthood Choir in Sacrament this Sunday, I feel silly waving my arms around as I "direct" them in song! For those of you who have never directed a Choir, but like to sing in them...they are TWO VERY different things!
2. Now that I'm in the Music department of my ward, so to speak, it makes me think about talents, and which ones I would like to pursue more. One is playing the piano more often. I thought about trying to keep up my japanese somehow, but I don't have a plan yet. The piano seems a little more realistic, since I have a piano and don't have any japanese friends nearby...I guess I could make a goal on figuring out a plan for my Nihongo...(japanese for japanese)
3. Doing FHE every monday night...Mark and Bryanna (you could count Maddox too) LOVE it when I plan something...small or big, it is fun to do for EVERYONE.

I tag Heidi, Chandra and Kaerlig.

Kid Funnies...

BRYANNA:

Bry: "Mom, can I go in the T.V and play with them?" [she's watching the cartoon Hamilton on Noggin]
Me: "Sure Bryanna, but how are you going to do it?"
Bry: "I don't know! But it looks fun!"

**That is not the first time she has asked to go into the T.V.!!!

Bryanna's prayer Saturday night (mind you we were at the Lake ALL day):

"Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for this day. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the Lake and Hawaii..."

**She has been to Hawaii, but I doubt she really remembered it. I did make a scrapbook of the trip and she reads it occasionally, but I am still trying to figure that one out!! She asks to go to the beach and play EVERY day...seriously! A girl after my own heart!!


MADDOX:

My Bro-in-law (my sis's hubby) is an amazing father to his kids...and he is crazy about his niece and nephew as well. As Maddox is still a cute little marshmallow with rolls on his arms and legs, Obteen just loves it...and so a few new nicknames he came up with for Maddox is: PUFF-PUFF and FLUFFY!! How FUNNY is that????

Busy as a Honey Bee

I finally peeled myself out of bed this morning when I heard some funny noises coming from down stairs. My firstborn helped me throw on a roast in the crock pot on Monday for dinner, which meant peeling the carrots, and CUTTING them, along with the potatoes and onions. I think all that assistance was too much for her...she no longer wants to be the sou chef! I'm just glad she decided to use a butter knife instead of one of my really sharp Wusthof knifes.

Maddox has been so stinkin' cute these days, I just had to snap a shot of him this morning. He has been playing the role of Bashful from the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs lately. And it as landed him the spotlight on a few occasions...

Then moving onto the next little mess, Bryanna just doesn't think I'm fast enough to help get her little arts & crafts going these days! Again, I have a feeling she is growing up faster than I think she is. Somehow she found where I put the paint and got into it. I'm grateful that she wasn't wearing anything too special, unless you count your birthday suit and whitey tighties as special?

She actually did a pretty good job and didn't spill AND stayed pretty much in the lines. The first time we did this fun little project I hoovered over her shoulder watching EVERY MOVE!

I snapped this a few weeks ago when out of the blue, daddy and daughter snuggled on the couch and read a book...it was too good to pass up evidence that Mark occasionally DOES read to our kids:)

We finally have barstools in my kitchen now. I found these babies at Sam's Club! Style for not a lot of dough! It is fun to make these purchases because they are so PREMEDITATED, the anticipation is half the excitement!

We actually eat in the kitchen now instead of at the couch...on my list next is a bigger dining room table that seats more than four!!

Our fun weekend

Friday night, Mark took me out for a dinner and a movie. We went to Town Square and ate at Claim Jumpers and then walked over to the Rave theaters to see the premier of Batman: The Dark Knight. It was SO FUN to go on the first day of opening. Let me tell you how packed it was...it reminded me of the "olden days" when movies would come out for the first time maybe in color, or with sound...you know, that sort of thing. I think the death of Heath Ledger also helped create all the hype for the movie. I seriously am still in shock that he is dead! The role he played, The Joker, is a dark one, and he may have gotten too deep into the role, thus the problems with anxiety and sleeping...what a pitty...he was a talented actor and I absolutely loved him in "Ten Things I Hate About You" with Julia Styles. Batman was great, go see it!

Then on Saturday I went to the Lake with my sister and her family. It was tons of fun, I forgot my camera, which is a shame, because I missed out on some really good Kodak moments:) Maddox didn't love it as much as Bryanna and I, it was too hard for him to sleep on the boat, and he just couldn't help but be a little cranky...but it was fun.

Mark stayed home on Saturday to work on our backyard. We are putting a trampoline in-ground, and people...if we knew exactly how much work it really is, I would have said no!! Digging and removing all the dirt is a huge job...especially with the hard clay dirt that Vegas is famous for. There will be pictures to come of our backyard. Even though it has been a lot of work, I am getting really excited for it to come together. The wall will be built by the weekend, so this Saturday we should be half way with the trampoline all finished! WAHOO!!

Old Barn Co. Quilt Giveaway

First of all, I have to thank Natalie, after visiting your blog, I was introduced to this quilter...and what a fabulous quilt she has up for a giveaway!!! Isn't it absolutely gorgeous??? I do NOT have a sewing machine, but I have been thinking of getting one. But, will I then get hooked on making quilts, not just mending clothes and making simple things? After seeing this authentic and unique hand made quilt, I just might have to learn how to do this!! Actually, I know what you are all thinking...why do it myself, when I could just win this awesome quilt??? Yeah, might as well make a video so I can have an extra 50 points for the drawing!!! Learning to quilt was a good thought while it lasted:0 Who knows, "eventually" is such a good thought too!!

FHE & A Bryanna Funny

Last night we did FHE with another family, which usually happens about once or twice a month in our family. I would love to have it every Monday night, but I always find excuses not to. The biggest one for me is what lesson should I teach and how can I make it age appropriate for my kids? That always puzzles me. Then it leads to last minute preparation and a very thoughtless lesson. Now I have to say that there is no more room for excuses!! A (somewhat) new-found-love of mine, that makes FHE totally brainless and easy to do, is this wonderful FHE blog that has everything outlined to the T! My friend Natalie started it a while ago, and let me tell you...it takes alot of the work out of it, but makes you feel like FHE is still doable!

I hope you check out this FHE Blog and use it too...it has great ideas, lots of different topics with activities and refreshments to match...thanks Natalie, and let me know when you want a contribution too, I have been brainstorming some ideas!

Bryanna Funny of the Day:

Last night, Mark was watching the Home Run Derby.

Bryanna says to him, "Daddy, I don't want to watch Baseball."

PAUSE.....Mark and I both look at her waiting for her to manipulate us into turning on one of her favorite Barbie movies...She is thinking of what to say...

She then says, "I want to watch GOLF!" We cracked up off and on for the rest of the night!

Bryanna & Maddox Funnies!

On Monday, Mark's dad came to visit us for a few hours while he was in town. Bryanna was giving him a hug and set off a few BUTTONS on his phone that was in his front pocket. It started making a funny ring, so he took it out, and tried to figure out how to stop the noise. He said, "I don't know what BUTTONS she pushed!" Then Bryanna in a very serious tone replied, "Grandpa, did I push your BUTTONS?" HA HA HA HA!! We all busted at the seams!



I have had a severe back ache today and yesterday, and Mark caught Bryanna after climbing out of her tubby saying, "My back is killing me, my back hurts so bad, Daddy!" Didn't know I complained that much, but it really does hurt:)

Tonight, Bryanna came crying to me. I was consoling her and told her to tell Daddy what was bothering her. She walked right over to Mark and said, "Daddy, you bother me!"

According to Bryanna, she does NOT have blue eyes. Although she really does have blue eyes, she will NOT accept that answer. Bryanna believes and tells everyone that her eyes are PINk!

Bryanna says funny things all day long, and I should really take the time to write more her comedic stand up down!

Maddox pays attention to EVERYTHING. He is only 16 months old, but he knows what is going on, COMPLETELY! Let me explain something VERY funny that he does. When I am trying to get Bryanna to stop doing something, I count to three or she gets a time out/priviledge taken away. It usually works 95% of the time (Best thing I did was read the book 1-2-3 Magic). So when I count, I hold up my fingers, and half the time I am holding Maddox on my hip, so he sees my fingers pop up first hand. When I say "ONE", Maddox totally knows the routine and gets a huge smile on his face, then holds out his finger and says, "TWO"...by then, I am trying NOT to laugh and keep a straight face so that Bryanna knows I mean business...but it is so funny lately when Maddox is immitating me, I just can't help but start laughing.

These kids are the best and I am enjoying everyday with them, it truly is a blessing to be surrounded by innocent and pure children. I find it extremely refreshing and I am learning so much from them. I am even more happy when these funny moments come along, it is just so entertaining!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Today is my dad's 55th birthday! He is such a great dad, father-in-law, and Bumpa! My kids are CRAZY about their bumpa, esp Maddox! He has been such a steadfast and immovable example in my life of love, kindness, and generousity.


Believe it or not, during my mission, he wrote me three to five times a week! Now that is love and support!!! His letters kept my spirits high when the weather was a total iceberg and the language was impossible at times. I would be laughing, falling off my chair, splitting a gut, whenever I was reading his letters, it was just what I needed to boost my spirits. He has stepped in and helped me out in so many stages of my life, I am so grateful for him and that he is MY dad.



We are celebrating his birthday tonight like every other holiday or occasion...a BBQ and swim party!

Our 4th

Mom always has the cutest center pieces...we love that touch she has on holidays!

Dad on the Q, he's the expert...can't ever go wrong with him cooking!

The three stooges in the jacuzzi cave...some swimming before the big bash!

I couldn't help take a dip before the festivities...much needed cooling off time!

One of my specialties is making a layer jello cake every 4th! Looks like someone got to the grapes!!

Eight layers took a long time, but it was well worth it, and delicious!

The fireworks were super fun, Bryanna was a little scared from the noisy ones and hid behind her daddy:)

Nephew Dallyn was the pyro who put on a great show for us all!

Maddox had fun as well, but wasn't just content sitting on my lap the whole time, he wanted to be part of the action!

It was one firework after another!

Mom and Dad

Nana and Grandpa

Jen and Lexy

Obteen and Abby

The boys showing off their cute chubby tummies!

We had such a great time, even Nana got her swimsuit on that night and took a dip with the rest of us. Fabulous food, and even better company, the 4th was nothing but awesome!