happy halloween

Pretty much the cutest elephant I have ever seen! He was a great sport about wearing his costume and telling everyone what the elephant says. You have to watch the video of Owen making an elephant noise, it is very cute!

We took Owen to Melissa's work, my work and Grandpa's work for trick or treating and then we went to Preston and did trunk or treating with his cousins.

It took him a few tries to get the hang of it, but once he did he had a great time. he picked out the tootsie rolls and kit kats and always wanted to be eating a treat. We had a lot of fun!

Owen really loved halloween this year. My mom goes all out for Halloween and he LOVED all her decorations. He danced with the animated ones and would spend the day in the living room playing with all of the halloween guys. The only thing he was scred of was the spiders, kinds funny cause there were some really ugly, scary creatures. He was so fun this year. He will probably be scared to death of it all next year.

These are just some random Halloween fun. He did not like to put masks on, but for some reason he loved the hockey mask. His grandma Harris gave him this outfit last year and he saw it in the box and wanted to put it on. He looks special in his tiny ghost suit.

jack-o-lanterns

Carving pumpkins is always a good time. It was fun to watch Owen this year. He liked watching me clean out my pumpkin but he wanted nothing to do with touching the guts and slime. It was pretty funny. Of course I kept trying to make him but he wasn't having it.

Owen and Jason picked out the pumpkins this year and of course Jas got the biggest ones they had, so we had a lot of guts.

I carved the owl, Jas carved the skeleton and Owen watched mom and dad carve his. He really liked having the candle lit inside.

Birthday shout out Finale

OCTOBER 28, 2008

My oldest sister Melanie...happy birthday to you!

- she is a great example to me in all aspects in life

- she is a hardworker

- she is very responsible and organized

- she is pregnant with her 5th child

- she pulls some great faces

- she gave me bald spots when I was little cause she told me stuff like my mom was in Paris making perfume and never coming back and that eating cold hot dogs was going to give me worms and make me die

- she is very crafty and creative

- she is a great decorator

- she sings opera like it's nobody's business(nostrils flared, eyes rolling and hands clasped)

- she makes up great sayings instead of using profanities

- she always gives good advice

- she does not sweat, just gets a really red face

- she looks great in a visor(you know what i am talking about Mel)

- she loves QVC

- she has more purses than anyone i know

- she is ten years older than me and one of my best friends

Hope you have a great year Mel. I love you!

the BIG 3 O

OCTOBER 24, 2008

THE BIG 3-0!!!

Holy crap, Amberly is 30! She is a cute, rad sweet sister of mine(that is what Amb always says).

- she makes everyone smile

- she gives a great hug

- she is a human whoopi cushion...for real

- she loves being 'special needs'

- she is embarrassing

- she loves to call people and is great at memorizing phone numbers

- she sometimes answers the door in her underwear

- she loves her neices and nephews

- she has a daily routine and does not like it to be disturbed

- she loves watching movies

- sometimes I am her ex-sister(when she gets mad)

- she gives you the pinky when she is mad at you

- she has a good heart and cares a lot about other people

- she loves sympathy and getting taken care of

- she is blind as a bat

- her fingers are connected. when fingers are moving on one hand then they are always moving on the other

- she goes to the gym 5 days a week and is getting so skinny

You are a great sister Amb! Our family would not be the same without you! Love you.

another happy birthday

Baby sis is 24 years old! Here's a little Melissa love...

- once she starts laughing she has a hard time stopping
- she has been known to pee her pants from time to time
- she is always wearing cute jewelry
- she is not very good at jumping over fences
- she sometimes sings very montonish...'hold me now. oh hold my heart'
- she has a great smile
- she is always there for me
- she is a good listener
- she does not like it when people take her stuff, so much in fact that she keeps a case book and writes down all of her things that are missing and who she suspects of taking them
- she's very organized
- she does not like it when I pop her toes
- she is very easy to whale on
- she is always flossing her teeth
- she makes me happy

Love you sis! Hope you have a great year!

Teenager...

Alexa is finally a teenager. She is so excited! I cannot believe she is already 13. Time flies. Here are just a few reasons I love her - she is the most responsible teenager I know

- she is crazy
- she makes random videos of herself

- she takes pictures of herself making every face imaginable

- she hates when other people are sad

- she is outgoing and fun

- she is a fashion queen

- she is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in

- she insists on sleeping in bed with me

- she is an amazing dancer

- she rocks guitar hero

- she has a contagious laugh

- she is always willing to help out

- she stays true to herself

- she has yet to hit her ugly stage...i'm thinking at this point, it's probably not happening

and a few pieces of advice for the teenage years to come...

- date a lot of different boys, don't limit yourself to just one(that does not mean to skank it up though)

- make a few really good girlfriends, you don't need too many of those. Girls are rotten sometimes

- decide what standards you want to have right now(make them high ones!)

- teenage years are supposed to be fun. don't stress too much, life is going to get harder later

- enjoy every minute of it!

Hope your first teeange year of life is all you are hoping for Lex! You are the greatest and I love you!

Wave of Light

I didn't light a candle today but I have remembered. I will always remember and I will be forever changed. I miscarried in February of 2006. I was 10 weeks along and so excited for our first doctor appointment. The doctor could not find a heartbeat. She did an ultrasound and still nothing. I had to be scheduled with the ultrasound tech. Tests were done. No heartbeat. All signs pointed to a pregnancy but I had an empty uterus. The doctor gave us an explanation of all the possibilities and scheduled me for surgery. We went home and I cried. I searched the internet and read about all the explanations the Doctor gave me. Jason was worried about how this was going to affect me physically. I was heartbroken. No one knew I was pregnant. I called my sisters and told my mom and dad. It was hard. Who knew losing something you never really had would be one of the most devastating things in your life?

Feeling like I failed. Like I had done something or didn't do something I should have. Feeling unsure of wanting to be pregnant again because of fear. Not wanting to talk about it in order to spare others from feeling uncomfortable. Being sad. Missing the baby I never had. Feeling love all around me. Flowers, gifts, cards and meals being brought to my house after surgery. Phone calls, long talks with Jason. Feeling like things were going to be okay. Feeling like the opportunity to have a baby was worth anything. Knowing that things were going to be okay.

I learned so much from this experience. I realized what a truly wonderful man I married. I realized that I am strong. I learned to appreciate each gift that I have been given. I learned to appreciate children and the amazing beings that they are. I was reassured of my faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that they do have a plan for us and that even though it's hard to understand, everything happens for a reason.

Since this experience in my life I have heard more stories and learned so much about losing a child. I have talked, cried and remembered with so many wonderful women. Everyone's story is different and everyone's story is important. I have heard many stories that do not lessen the significance of what I went through, but that make me so greatful, because it could have been harder. One of my client's called me today to let me know that her unborn child passed away last night. Her due date was November 11th. It is more common than I could have ever imagined.

Please take a moment to play with your kids today. Tell them you love them and get down on your knees and thank God that you were given these precious gifts, gifts that not everyone will be given in this life. Embrace each day and each moment, a child is not a nuisance or a hardship, a child is the most wonderful thing you will ever create. To everyone that has lost a child, whether during pregnancy or otherwise, you are not alone. Remember your little ones and be greatful for the lessons you learned through them. You will be with them again someday.

Cousin Ry

Happy Birthday!!! Ryan turned 27 years old on 10/9. Ryan's family, my family and a few friends celebrated Ryan by having a party at his house. Trisha is a great hostess. We had good food, fun games and lots of laughs. Trisha made up a quiz about Ryan and I came in second place..to Zach of all people, but he has worked with Ryan almost everyday for the last 12 years, so he should know him pretty well. Ryan is one of my most favorite people in the whole world. Here's some love and some memories of Ry...

- just look at this picture...who wouldn't love him?!?

- sitting in the hot tub for like 3 hours one night talking

- he does a great John Travolta from Grease. Go Grease Lightning!

- his biggest fear is a sasquatch(aka bigfoot)

- he stands up for what he believes in, doesn't conform

- playing 'hit the deck'

- we were never bored as kids. we could always think of something fun to do.

- he is an incredible volleyball player

- he's owned 17 cars in his 11 years of driving

- going to the golf course to look for balls

- always staying up all night talking

- he is an amazing artist

- he always makes me laugh

I hope you have a great year Ry. I love you!

Happy Birthday to my mom!

She is the best! What more to say...
- she watches my curious, busy-body boy all day for me while I work in her basement(yeah, that's how awesome my mom is)
- she always makes everything so special
- she is the most selfless, charitable person I know
- she loves a good hairy chest, the kind that billows out the top of the shirt
- she thinks poporn and diet coke are a healthy diet
- she is a night owl
- i may not have inherited her looks, but i definitely inherited her face making gene(i will show you proof of this on a different post. she is not as public with her faces, don't want to upset her on her birthday.)
- she loves a good bargain
- she stays in the bathtub til all her hot water is gone
- she is jumpy. people love to scare her because she screams at everything
- she is freakin festive! no holiday goes unnoticed in her house
- she rocks out to Wayne Newton(even went to his concert by herself)
- she teaches me how to be a better mom everyday


Hope your birthday was wonderful, mom! Thank you for all you do for me. Thank you for being such a great Grandma. Owen loves you and I love you too!

GAME FACE

Seriously, I don't know how a nice game of Apples to Apples turned into this...

...but it did. What are you going to do?

girl fun

This weekend marks our third annual girls getaway. We have made a tradition to take our mom to Sherwood Hills for a night for her birthday. A mom and her 6 daughters...what could be better? We go to Maddox for dinner, make a stop at Brigham Walmart(so much better than Logan's) and then stay up late in the hotel. We watched Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead on TV. Such a good, dumb movie. I gotta say, Sherwood Hills, not the best accommodations, but the room sleeps us all in a bed(minus Amb. she's a trooper) and it is a beautiful location. The next morning we had pumpkin spice donuts that Ang picked up from Krispy Kremes on her way into town and then we went to the matinee. We saw Nights in Rodanthe...cried our eyes out. It was good. Then we headed home.

Eating at Sherwood Hills. We had the peach creme pie for desert and it was delish! You gotta try it, only you have to wait til next year cause it's season ended this weekend. Keep it in mind though.

Traditional photo op in the hotel lobby and trying to find mom at Walmart in our Batman masks. Yes, we really did walk around the store like that..it's Brigham City Walmart, who doesn't walk around in batman masks?!?!

Every year it has rained or snowed for our weekend fun and this year followed suit. The weather was beautiful all week and then it dropped like 30 degrees and rained just in time for our getaway. Oh well, we still had a great time.

a sense of humor at 1 and 1/2 years

Owen is not a big Television watcher. He likes animals and he will watch sports, but he does not stay entertained by the TV. There is one thing on TV that always grabs his attention though, see for yourself...

Nothing like a one and a half year old loving The Office. What a cool kid! Here are some fun quotes for you to enjoy since we were deprived of our Office episode this week. Enjoy!

Michael: I saved a life — my own. Am I a hero? I really can’t say. But, yes.

Michael: Phyllis is getting married, and I am in the wedding party. She’s asked me to push her father’s wheelchair down the aisle. So basically, I am co-giving away the bride. Since I pay her salary, it is like, I am paying for the wedding. Which I’m happy to do. It’s a big day for Phyllis. But it’s an even bigger day for me. Employer of the Bride.

Michael: Society teaches us that having feelings and crying is bad and wrong. Well, that’s baloney. Because grief isn’t wrong. There’s such a thing as good grief. Just ask Charlie Brown.

Pam: People may laugh at you when you put the word “smell” into everyday phrases. Like “smell you later.” Or “smello.” But I promise you, it’s not funny, and they’re just being nice to you. Because you maybe, are their boss.

Dwight: Myth: wolves are dangerous to humans. Fact: you have a better chance of being hit by a meteorite than eaten by a wolf. Except if you wake up naked in the woods.

Hey check this out...enter to win a FREE HANDBAG handbagplanet.com

They are launching their site Oct 15th and are giving away 1 handbag every hour that day so go and enter!!