Thanksgiving

I have to start off by saying how thankful I am for the life I have been given. For the wonderful husband that I have who continually provides for me & our kids without complaining, for the amazing 4 kids that Heavenly Father has entrusted me with, for the spirits that they carry with them that continually make me want to be a better person. I am most thankful for the gospel in my life. Where would I be without it...who knows. To have the knowledge of my Savior and his sacrifice for me and for the plan of salvation, just to know that I can be with those who have passed on if I live my life worthily, what a blessing. I am so thankful for where we currently live, the ward we are in, and the amazing friends that we have been blessed with. Life is great and I have very little complaints, and the ones I do hardly matter! The Lord has indeed blessed me with a amazing life that I am thankful for each and every day. What a blessing it is to be alive at this time in the world, we are continually faced with new trials everyday, but knowing that we wouldn't be sent here at this time if we couldn't make it helps me get through my days! I hope this next year brings on many more things to be thankful for, even if that means trying times.

This year for Thanksgiving we went to my parents house in Taylor. It was so great to get away for a few days, was just to bad that the weather was rainy and cold. We got to my parents house around 7:30 Wed night. The drive up there was long & pretty boring. Todd does not like to talk while driving. So for almost 14 years whenever we drive we just don't talk, probably one reason we haven't taken any real road trips, that would be like a slow boring death for us. He informed me on our drive home that he has conversations with himself in his head, so there is no need for "real conversations" ummm can you say PSYCHO, having conversations with himself in his head, who does that, apparently the man I love does. Anyhow, so we get to my parents, of course my mom has the house all clean & perfect, ready for my kids to mess it up! She has most of the Thanksgiving dinner already prepared. She has some little smokey sausages in the crockpot for us when we got there, which the kids really seemed to enjoy. I have never made them because Todd got sick on them one Christmas Eve, but he ate about 30 of them, so of course he was going to get sick. We ate & laughed & visited, always great to be back home with my parents. This year my brothers didn't visit. Michael & Clarice stayed in Pima & had their own Thanksgiving with Nolan & Trisha. Pat had Thanksgiving with Megan's family. So it was pretty quiet. Thanksgiving Day we ate & ate, the food was delicious as usual, wouldn't expect nothing less from my mom! Then I worked on making a baby blanket for my new nephew, which turned out to be the blanket from heck. We decided it would be such a great idea to do a blanket with peekos on it (the little triangle things around the edge of the blanket) well I had never done it before, and neither had my mom. So that was an interesting task of figuring it all out, we did though. Then I decide to use my Gma's sewing machine...big mistake. We didn't get along well, not sure why but it was not working. So we busted out my moms & I used hers to finish it. Maybe I am just used to my own, but I had the worst time binding that blanket together. Anyhow it turned out so stinking cute, I loved it, almost kept it for myself. While the blanket making is going on my dad & Todd are watching the annoying TV. They had to have watched like every annoying show possible that afternoon/evening. My mom was going crazy listening to it and I was about sick of it myself. I am so used to Hannah Montana, Zack & Cody, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, anything Disney, very seldom is our TV not on Disney, so I am not used to the constant bleeping of words & wondering what people are going to say or do next...with my kids sitting there watching. Not saying everything I watch is wholesome, I have my share of TV smut that I like, however never would I watch it in the same room as my kids, I reserve those shows for my guilty pleasures! The kids at least stayed in the office & played Nintendo most of the time & Makenna played the piano, trying to teach herself primary songs, I was very impressed with her diligence in figuring them out. I believe we got all the leftovers out a few times that evening, then finally went to bed. We got up early Friday morning...not for the Black Friday sales, but to go to the Temple. We went to the 8am session. I was glad to be in the temple, but luck would have it that during the session my nose kept running like a faucet, so I have my kleenex constantly wiping the nose, then I happen to look at the kleenex and it is all bloody, so there I am sitting there wiping my nose which keeps dripping blood, I have to ask my mom for a new kleenex, because I am determined that I will make it through the session, I do not want to have to get up. Luckily it wasn't a full on bloody nose, I have been fighting a head cold for a week now, I am still not sure why this happened at this point in time, but it did. So my temple experience wasn't as I hoped because I spent the whole time being paranoid about my nose. After the temple we hit Sonic for some Blackberry Sprites, then back home to the kids & my dad who was not feeling well, to much food I guess! I then finished the blanket, finally. Then we went to Shevell's to see if we could get a few Christmas gifts. We ended up getting several things & of course had to get some of the fudge they now make & sell, wow, yummy stuff. After that we picked Todd & the kids up and went to the movie. First pick was Madagascar, we get there, sold out of course, and we were totally early! We settled for Bolt. It was fine, the kids liked it, I slept through like the last 20 minutes of it. Then a quick trip to Wal Mart & I mean quick, Todd was not having any part of being at Wal Mart on the day after Thanksgiving. Back to Taylor, we then did another baby blanket. Then mom decides to go through my Gma's Christmas decorations & sort through them. That was fun to reminise about stuff. She let the kids pick out a few ornaments that they wanted, they really enjoyed looking at everything. Also after the temple the kids & my parents put up the Christmas tree, I think my mom really liked doing this with the kids, they of course loved it. So while she was finishing up with her organizing of things I watched Rocky Balboa with Todd & my Dad, we had just watched Cinderella Man on Thanksgiving night, seriously...more boxing movies? And in the previous week at home we had already watched most of the Rocky movies and Million Dollar Baby, hello...totally sick of boxing movies. After the Rocky movie my parents went to bed & we stayed up with the kids & watched Bridge to Tarabithia. It was pretty good, they seemed to like it. Finally it was bed time, it was like 1am. We woke up Saturday morning & had to pack up for home. We had a baptism at 4pm that Todd had to give the Holy Ghost talk in for his nephew. Another stop at the book store, then we were on our way back home on the long drive to Buckeye. Seriously seems like days to get home. We hate travelling in the car. I told Todd he should work on getting his pilots license, could be his new goal! Would make seeing my parents much easier! I am such a complainer, it is not like it takes that long, but it does feel like forever when you have a baby screaming, the 13 & 9 year old wrestling in a small area, and then Garret asking every question imaginable, it turns in to one of those when is this going to end moments! Anyhow it was a great Thanksgiving, pretty low key, but was nice to get away and be with my parents. They are amazing people and I am so thankful for them!

Goodbye to my 20's...hello 30's :)

So it finally happened...I am no longer in my 20's. What a sad day. I have been dreading that I would be 30 for the last 5 years. The fact that I am no longer in my 20's is hard to believe. Everyone says you are only as old as you feel, well sometimes I feel even older than 30, so thats not a great thing for me! I think having a 13 year old makes me feel older than I really am sometimes! I just hope that my 30's will be full of great times. When I ponder on my 20's I realize maybe they weren't as great as I thought they were. Definately some cherished moments, 3 of my kids were born in my 20's, but of course we all have moments that we are not proud of & I did have more than a few of those! So it is now time to let go & say goodbye to the 20's & hello to my 30's and embrace it & enjoy every minute of it to the fullest because I know how quickly time goes by and before I know it I will be even older with more knowledge & experience behind me...hopefully!

For my 30th birthday I honestly just wanted to be alone & away from everyone. I didn't need the constant happy birthday you are 30 reminder. So I scheduled a day at the spa. It was one of the greatest things I have done for myself all year! I told Todd it is something I want to do every year, it is a must! I went to Dolce Salon & Spa in Arrowhead. (www.dolcesalonspa.com) It was amazing, so pretty inside. It was just soothing looking at everything. My appt started at 10:30, I got there right on time (of course I wouldn't be late for this!) they immediately asked what I would like to drink & had me pick out what I wanted for lunch from the menu. I chose ice water to drink & then picked out a spinach & bacon salad. Then a girl came down the elevator & took me up the elevator to the locker room, gave me a lovely soft robe & a locker for my stuff. I changed in to the robe and put my things away, then she took me to the "relaxation room" which had such soothing music & waterfalls & windows, the view was of the 101, so not sure how relaxing that is to watch cars going 100 miles an hour, but it was peaceful. So the first "service" was a manicure. I can't even say when the last manicure I had was, like forever ago. I am a nail biter, so I was a little embarrassed at the shape my nails were in. I had even filed them the night before because they were looking pretty shabby. Anyhow I moved on to a spa pedicure, these I enjoy getting, however the last one I had was probably over the summer sometime...again can't even remember when. So after the mani & pedi it was back to the relaxation room, then the lady came & got me for my facial. I have had a facial done about a year ago and it was amazing, however this one was beyond amazing! It was so relaxing & soothing. The room was painted a really dark brown & then there was a huge crystal chandelier hanging above the table you lay on and she dimmed the lights really low, I was pretty close to falling asleep until she was finished & decided that it was time to work on my dirty pores problem...ouch...so much for relaxing, tears were flowing at this point! Then back to massaging the face, much better now! So after the facial they took me to the eating area for my lunch, which was one of the tastiest salads I have had in awhile, or I was just starving to death, I dunno. Anyway the lunch area was just as relaxing as the rest of the spa, except for the constant chomping of me devouring my salad. I seriously don't know why I was so hungry but I felt like I hadn't eaten in days or something! So after finishing my salad I went for my combination massage, it was amazing, I can't really think of another word to describe it! She first massaged with the stones which I had never had before, that was fabulous, then she moved on to doing the reflexology massaging. Lets just say I fell asleep, and the one thing that makes me realize I am old now is that I woke myself up because I was snoring. How embarrassing is that!! Anyway it was so great, I loved every minute of it. So after the massage it was time to get my hair done. I hadn't planned on getting it cut cuz I am trying to get a little more length on it, but she did thin it out for me & gave it more of a style, so that was great. After the hair it was on to getting my makeup done. It is always interesting to see what they are going to put on me since I have the red hair. I have only had a few make up sessions in my life...they all do the same thing that I have been doing since I started wearing make up in jr high, brown. It is the only thing that seems to look right. I have ventured out some to the greens, but usually go right back to the browns. After the makeup I was finished, all relaxed, and feeling the best I had felt since turning 30! By this time it was about 4:30, I had hoped to have time to go to Victoria's Secret to get a new bra which I badly need, but I totally forgot I was going to do that because I was on the phone with my Mom telling her about my amazing afternoon. So as I am half way home I am totally bummed because I forgot to stop there (and I have yet to go back for one, so i am still in desperate need of a new bra!) Anyway I got back home all relaxed with no worries or stresses. The original plan was to go out for Sushi which I love, but only get occassionally, however the kiddos were begging to go to dinner for my birthday and as a mom when the kids beg, you typically give in depending on the situation, so I gave in and there was no way were taking 4 kids out for Sushi, we would have to hit In N Out burger on the way there, I don't think they would enjoy it all that much. So I settled for...Cracker Barrell. We live in Buckeye...it is not like we have many dinner options & I didn't really want to drive further in to Litchfield for dinner with 4 kids. We went & ate then my kids who think they are sneaky of course had to tell our waitress that it was my birthday, so I got sang to & then we got a dessert. The kids loved it and for me, that made it all worth it. I still have not gotten that sushi birthday dinner, but someday it will happen. Todd did get me a Cheesecake, but everyone was to full from our brownie/ice cream from Cracker Barrell so we saved it for the next day. It was a great day, the spa was for sure something I needed to do. I think that as a mom I get so in to doing for everyone else that my needs or wants just go by the way side, because I am all about pleasing everyone & making sure everyone's needs are met and if mine aren't, well there is always tomorrow...or in 10 years! I highly recommend a day at the spa to any mom, it was well worth it! So as I enter the 30's phase of my life I am trying to have a greater appreciation for the things that I do have & for the experiences that are given to me each day. The task of being a good mom & wife are such a priority to me and serving others, not just my family is going to be one of my new goals. I feel like I have gone through the last few years just floating by without giving as much to myself to others as I should, I have been a little selfish & have kept my service to my family, however I have realized I need to venture out because there is so much need for service in the world today. So as I move on to my 30's I pray that I can be the person my Heavenly Father intended for me to be and do the things that would make Him happy and will make me a better person!

GOODBYE 20's, it was nice while I was there, but time has passed and a new phase has begun, so to that I say HELLO 30's!!

GRADUATION DAY!!

Well it finally happened! Todd is a college graduate. After 8 years in the making it is finally done with. I think he is glad it is done, however Sunday morning when he woke up he said I am not sure what to do with myself, I am going to have to set some more personal goals. I am glad to be married to someone who has the desire to set goals and achieve them, however sometimes I would just like him to sit back, relax, and enjoy life instead of moving on to the next thing. Maybe a part of me is jealous because I am not that way. I know what I would like to do, but because my biggest goal is to raise successful kids, I put any "personal goals" I may have to the side so I can work on the important goal of my kiddos. Anyhow what a great day it was. We went to the University of Phoenix Stadium for the graduation. His parents, Grandma Pat & Papa Tito, Grandma Stell & Papa Junior and his sister Lindy came to support him. My parents were also there, and Brennen, Mak, & Garret. We opted to leave Russ with Tiffany (our fabulous neighbor & Russy's 2nd mom) because it was going to be a long time to have to sit with a 10 month old and he wasn't feeling very well either. Todd had lots of support from all of us! It seriously felt like some kind of a dream, seeing him down there in his cap & gown waiting for his name to be called. I was so proud of him, it is such an accomplishment. He is the first college graduate on his Mom's side of the family, and I believe the second on his Dad's side. So everyone is very proud of him for sticking it out and finishing it. Saturday night Garret told Todd I want to be a graduate just like you...that was great and I know that was a big part of why he finished, he had to show the kids how important it is to get a college degree & mostly to finish what you start...even if it takes a looooong time!


So after the graduation we came home & got ready for our big celebration. We had invited just over 100 people to come, and we had around 90 show up (including kids)! It was so much fun. We had worked so hard to make it a fun party. The house we are living in didn't have a back yard, we are just renting it, but we talked with the owners & they let us put in landscaping. So we started the project in August and finished it last week, with lots of help from great friends & neighbors! Anyway so we had landscaped the yard, and I had been decorating the inside of the house for months, just working hard so things would be nice.

A few weeks ago Todd bought a pig from a guy in our ward, he fed it & fattened it up, then he killed it on Wed, poor pig, his name was BB, short for BBQ since that was his sole purpose in life! With the help of a friend (since this was his first time to do this sort of thing) they cut the pig up. Todd had built a below ground pit to cook the pig in. So after cutting the pig up it rested over night (mind you it was up in the air in gunny sacks hanging from some equipment at work!) he was worried all night that it was going to break and then the coyotes would eat it & we would have no meat. Luckily the meat was fine when he got to work the next day. He brought it home & we seasoned it up really good, then he went back to start his fire because he needed 2 feet of coals to cook the meat in. So he finally put the meat in to cook, talk about a nervous wreck! I felt like I was going to go crazy inside until I knew the meat was going to be fine, trying to feed that many people was not going to be an easy task if something went wrong with BB! Meat came out & was delicious!! We were so excited. Another task completed! With the help of our great friends we shredded all the meat up and I could finally relax!

So Saturday evening came, time for the party! People started showing up and the food was ready, we blessed it & dung in! From what everyone said it was very good. I was to busy making the rounds talking to everyone and keeping the food going. At one point I did manage to snag a plate, however I was interrupted for something & handed my plate off & never seen it again! Later that night I found out Todd never ate either! It was just nice to have that many family & friends at our house visiting & enjoying each other. It was such a great time, I was so glad that we were able to do it and celebrate that Todd had finally graduated!

Fun times with Makenna!

Me & Makenna

Kim, Me, & Tiff

Brylee, Taylor, & Mak

Brylee, Taylor, Marley, & Mak

On Friday night I took Makenna to the Carrie Underwood concert with some of our friends. It was a lot of fun to see how excited the girls were to go to the concert, it was the first concert for a few of them, so as you can imagine girls from the ages of 8-11...there was a lot of singing & screaming going on while we drove to the concert! I sat in the back with them, they taught me a new little song/chant they like to do...Whats that, a hat, a funky junky crazy hat, overslept, hair unsightly, trying to look like Kira Knightly, we've been there, we've done that, we see right through your funky hat. (I believe that is right!) Something from Wizards of Waverly Place. Anyhow they have body movements & the whole bit, you say it with lots of attitude. What a crack up! Totally takes me back to my days with my BFF Michelle, we would spend hours doing the different hand slapping chants, singing songs, like Going to the chapel and were gonna get married, that was one of the funnest summers of my life. We would sit in the motor home at Roosevelt Lake, it is like 120 degrees inside & we are playing a card game of Speed and listening to old tunes! Anyhow back to the concert, I will have to reminisce when I have more time! So we drove to the concert, got there took some pictures before we went in, then we found some food because we were all pretty hungry, got the girls all tshirts before so we didn't have to fight the crowds afterwards, found our seats, and the first act was Little Big Town. For those of you who know me you know I don't listen to much country music, I don't hate it or anything, I just prefer other stuff, so I honestly had no idea who they were. Turns out they weren't so bad, nothing fantastic, but they were pretty good. So when they finished it was time to wait for the big star of the evening to appear. We wait & wait, finally the 5 minute countdown begins, girls start screaming! We are down to the last minute, everyone starts to stand up, the girls are jumping up & down totally excited, we are having bets on if she comes out in a dress, pants, skirt, or what, well she pops out from the stage...and is wearing all black, dress/skirt, with black leggings, & sky high boots! Amazing! The girls are singing away, they know every word to every song. In fact on our drive to the concert we forgot the CD, however the girls said we don't need it & busted out singing All American Girl, not missing a beat or word! So cute! Anyway the concert was amazing, I would go see her anytime. The girls loved it. However Brylee, which is Makenna's BFF sacked out about 45 minutes in to the show, and if any of you know my Mak you will know she didn't make it either! LOL! I look at her & she has her head leaned to the side...eyes getting very heavy, she is singing the song, it is one of her favs she has been waiting to hear all night, next thing I know her eyes are closed...mouth still moving, then suddenly mouth stops moving & she is out!! How can anyone fall asleep at a concert?! The loud music the yelling & screaming, I was a little surprised, but it had been a long day with school & all and I am sure the anticipation of the event took up so much energy! So when it was over I woke her up & she was totally ok with falling asleep, she is a girl who needs her sleep, doesn't matter where she is or what she is doing, if she is tired, she will fall asleep, oddly enough her BFF is the exact same way, so it works out for them, they fall asleep while the rest of the girls are having a good time, but for them they don't feel like they are missing out because they have each other and they need their sleep! It was a fun time. I think I will wait a few more years before we do another night concert with her, or make sure it is on a Saturday where she can rest a bit before hand. It was a fun night & I am so glad I have a daughter that I can spend girl time with!

Big one is Makenna's, which me & her whipped out in no time after she finally gutted it! The little carved one is Garret's, and the next one is Brennen's, apparently it is supposed to be a headless guy holding his head, if I look closely at the picture I can see headless, but I don't see where he is holding his head?! And then the little sad uncarved pumpkin of Russy! Usually the pumpkin carving is a bigger deal at our house, however this year was a little busy, so the boys did it one day & then I helped Mak right before we went trick or treating.

Halloween 2008

This year for Halloween Brennen was some sort of scary ghoul, Mak was a 50's girl, Garret was an alligator, and Russ was a skeleton. We celebrated at our ward trunk or treat and then again on Halloween night. I missed out on the pumpkin carving of Bren & Garret so no pics of their fun, but did manage to sneak in a picture of Mak. Poor Russy, we didn't even have time to carve his, we were lucky to get Mak's done before heading out for candy! As usual they got more candy than was necessary! It was a fun time for them.