And The Winner Is...

Congratulations to Emily!! (From the Annie's Questions Post) Your name was picked by my oldest son. Sorry it is SO late but hey better late than never.

Email me your shipping info so I can send it on its merry way.

If you haven't checked out Emily's blog you should. She has the cutest little girl and the best sense of humor and perspective on life. I'm sure you'll love her blog as much as I do!

Michelle's Story Corner

I was reading on Cecily's blog about her first ski experience (which is pretty funny) and I remember this little fun time I had with my fam.

It was some years back (before kids) and we went skiing with my family. My brother was on the ski patrol at Snowbasin so we were able to get pretty good deals. We were very excited to get skiing so the three of us, my bro, hubby and myself, all went to get onto the lift. There was snow on the yellow line that tells you where to stand so we really couldn't see it very well and we kind of just guessed. Needless to say we miss judged where to stand and when the lift came around my bro didn't have a seat and he is pretty tall so the arm of the chair went between his legs lifting him up. I remember him saying, "Oh sh**!" as he fell over onto me. It was really hard to manage him and his long skies were making him even heavier not to mention the fact that his one leg was hanging over the arm of the lift. The ski lift operator saw there was a problem and stopped the lift. We were about 10-15 ft. from the bottom. It was all powder and I knew it would be a soft landing for him so I let go and kindly nudged him off. In my defense he was already slipping and I wouldn't be able to hold him much longer; plus like I said it was powder where he landed. I remember him looking up and yelling back at me, "You shoved me off!" He did manage to get on the chair behind us and we continued on our way...laughing hysterically all the way up and back down the mountain.

If you were to ask my bro about this particular event he would say simple, "She pushed me off".

(No one was hurt in the retelling of this story.)

Same day:

My dad had just gotten done with his ski lessons and wanted to tackle the green slope. So we head over to the lifts where there was a group of about 15 girls. My dad hadn't quite mastered his pie and was therefore unable to stop. He was heading straight for these girls flinging his arms wildly and yelling "Get out of the way". He plowed them over and headed straight for two girls waiting for the lift to come around. Yelling "Watch out!" he plowed into them also. He managed to turn around and the chair caught him in the stomach knocking him down.

Still Same Day and Trip:

My hubby and bro went up to ski some blacks and on the way down find a mouse half frozen. Wanting to be helpful and save this mouse my bro. picks it up and places it in his pocket. They hit some pretty bad moguls and my bro lost control falling on the mouse and killing it.

What ski trip stories do you have?

Sunday Quote

"To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes of the earth before the second coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling. The righteous woman's strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times. She has been placed here to help to enrich, to protect, and to guard the home - which is society's basic and most noble institution. Other institutions may falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help save the home, which may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and strife"

~Spencer W. Kimball

The Office Heroes

My two fave shows combined. Could life get any better?

Last nights Office was so good but WAY too short. After a month of hour long episodes I was getting too used to that. I need a full hour not 30 min.

Tagged By Hotmama

I've been tagged by hotmama to list 7 random things about myself. Of course I just poured out most of my addictions to all of you and now you want more!?! You better still like me after this.

1. After 3 kids I have bladder issues. If I'm jumping on a tramp, running, sneezing, you name it I pee (only a little, but still). Also I peed in my pants on a date with my hubby (we were dating at the time). I'm sure Cecily is dieing to hear this story so here goes:

We were at a haunted forest in Rexburg and we were almost done. Towards the end they sit you down on these hay barrels and tell you this scary story about a guy with a chain saw and these hikers; I'm sure you get the idea. Just before the story ends this guy comes out from behind us with a chainsaw. We all get up to run and my future husband (fh), in his hast to escape, shoves me and I fall over the hay. I get up and suddenly there is a hand on my shoulder and I hear the rev of the chainsaw in my ear. I scream and peed simultaneously and tear off running like mad. As I'm running I'm thinking that I can stop peeing but then the damage had been done so whats a little more?? I get out to find fh warming himself by the fire. NICE! I'm running for my life and he has no concern. We then leave and I quietly ask for a towel to sit on. He asks why and wouldn't leave it alone till I told him. To which is yells, "YOU PEED IN YOUR PANTS!" Everyone around just turned to look right at me. Yes, I married him.

2. I don't like looking at or holding my baby right after it's born. Blood makes me faint and I just need the baby to be cleaned off first. I'm happy my dh understands that about me. After G-man was born the Dr. put him right on my stomach and I started to panic. My dh grabs him and says lets clean him first. I don't even watch the delivery.

3. LOVE Jane Austen. I wasn't a fan till all my Texas friends turned me to it. We went to watch the new P&P and from that moment on I was hooked. My friend Katri let me borrow her complete set of Jane Austen novels. I have since watched the old P&P and can't decide which I like best.

YUMALICIOUS! How do you decide?? Manly men! (taunt taunt Crystal).

4. I LOVE to toilet paper. Even at my age I'm all for it. On the flip side I also don't mind being toilet papered. Our rule is if we catch you you clean it; If we don't kudos to you.

5. I have issues with flowers, especially red roses. I just think they are so cliche. Like everyone gets them. If I had to get flowers I like the random bouquet with the bright wild flowers. Truthfully flowers do nothing for me. I know, it's crazy. Most girls like flowers, I don't. I just figure if your going to spend $10+ buy me something that wont die.

6. I'm not big on sweets. Which is probably why I don't enjoy baking them, but I will for my kids. Not sure what it is. My mom told me that ever since I was little I wouldn't touch my birthday cake. As I got older I would have cakes at my party but not eat them. I will now just not a lot. It isn't my ideal thing. I LOVE VEGGIES!! Even when I was young I would rather have carrots or an apple instead of a cookie. My Korbin is like that to a point.

Small confession: I do like zingers. Now here is a sweet I can go to town on. Don't know what it is about them. Perhaps is that cream filling?

7. I can't spell worth crap. I use spell check for everything I write and I'll even resort to asking my 8 year old how to spell something. And don't get me started on math.

Now I must tag 7 People:

1. Megan

2. Laura

3. Renee

4. Shaka

5. Cecily

6. Christie

7. Aurora

Addictions: We All Have Them

shhh! for my blogolicious friends only. don't tell but besides blogging i have other addictions. so i'm coming out of the closet and announcing it for all the blog world to see.

1. ROOSTERS!! i LOVE them. any color, shape or size. doesn't matter i'll give them a happy home.

the white rooster plus my bday gift from katri last year. boy does she know me! the sad thing is that that isn't even a fourth of my collection. i have 2 boxes in the garage filled only with roosters: plates, pictures, salt/pepper shakers, big, little doesn't matter i got em.

here is my latest addition. i went to tai pan when i visited my mom and picked up this beautiful iron rooster. our rental just isn't big enough to hold this addiction.

2. lip gloss. what can i say. this is what i keep on me at all times. i just never know what flavor i'm feeling like.

k story time:

on my way home from Nashville i had to go through (i used the right spelling this time cecily) security and the mean guard opens my purse and takes all my lip glosses. they were liquid and not in a Ziploc bag. which wasn't a problem going out to Nashville. i was just told that they had to be together and not loose. i had them in my inside purse pocket but NO it needed to be in a baggy. i tried begging but to no avail. i turned and walked away very sad and, embarrassed as i am, i was crying. for lip gloss. i called my hubby and just cried on the phone to him. then a miracle i see this lady finishing a sandwich and she had a Ziploc bag with her. oh happy day! my lip gloss is saved! i ask her for the bag, didn't care that there were crumbs in it. race back to the check point and produced the baggy.

3. Mary Kay Signature Ultimate Mascara. LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

4. The Office - can't get enough of this show. i own ALL the seasons and watch them religiously. i even watch the deleted scenes and directors commentary. hmm wonder if that puts me borderline oc. whatever, i love jim!

5. goodmail ~ receiving / giving it ~ it's ALL good. it is just fun to open that mail box and find a sweet little something sent by beautiful people. it makes your day and you feel great because they HAD to be thinking of you in order to send it.

6. harry potter books. i own them all and reread them at least twice a year. i just get to where i miss his world of magic. so i pick up the books and settle in for a fun visit.

now to all you blogolicious people out there what are some of your addictions??

I Am Loved!

Today I got some good mail for my wonderful blog friend Wendi. She is SO dang cute making me this fun cd featuring songs by great artist such as: Fergie, Cascada, Pat Benatar, Gwen Stefani, Mandy Moore, Lifehouse and many others. Thank you so much Wendi for taking time out of your busy schedule to make me this fun cd.

She also threw in some yummy gummy life savors which I quickly gobbled up. Boy do I look tired here. I'm running off of 4 hours of sleep, it was a long night last night with G-man. So thank you again Wendi for the wonderful pick me up. I love all of my blogging friends and am so grateful for there thoughtfulness. Wendi is so beautiful both inside and out. If you haven't checked out her blog you really should.

Where Is He Today?

Two years ago today a beautiful baby boy made his entrance into the world. He was loved by all who saw him!

Where is he today?

Garrik Jaxon is now 2 years old and enjoys a quite life with his family. He is adored by his many fans - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents and brothers. He produces laughter for anyone that is around him. He has been known to be a bit selfish, mischievous, easy going, tolerant of his bothers, a dare devil and mom's baby. He enjoys playing with his cars, super hero's, coloring, following his brothers, playing soccer, trying to play PlayStation (this is what happen when you have two older brothers) and going to preschool. We sure do love this little guy and we are so very blessed to have him in our family. Happy Birthday G-man!

The Celebration!

Today didn't start out so great. This morning I took G into the Dr. and turns out he has croup and an ear infection. However after some good medicine and much needed sleep he was feeling up to a little party with the family. We gathered over at Nana and Grandpa's house for some good food and family time.

I made these Bloodshot Eyeball Cupcakes for his birthday. The other boys thought it was so cool and they have now decided to change their birthday to Halloween.

You can see the caramel peanut butter center. A little fuzzy but you get the idea.

The finished product. Pretty good for my first time EVER making something like this. (Sorry Crystal no sprinkles but here's looking at you!) Enjoy the cyber cupcake :).

Our G-man going to town on that eyeball cupcake. YUM!!

The birthday loot. Over all it was a great day for our little man. He made out like a bandit and had a great time. We love you G and Happy Birthday!

Just A Little Crazy

I was supposed to do the Tour De St. George this past Sat. but things didn't quite work out that way. Here is the 411: we went over Sat. morning @6:45 to register and get all our crap. Turns out that since we were late we didn't get a t-shirt AND they wouldn't have snacks for us on the stops. HUH?? Why don't you say that on your web site. Okay they say you may not get a t-shirt, so what. I want my food!! My hubby didn't want to fork out $100 for both of us if we weren't going to get what the other bikers got. My fil didn't feel right about biking along with them when we hadn't payed our money. So we left feeling VERY sad.

Then we got an idea. Lets do our own thing and ride the Huntsman loop Now I'm thinking this will be a piece of cake since old people do it so can I...Right!?! Wrong!! It kicked my butt. The Tour De St. George has NOTHING on the Huntsman loop. HOLY CRAP. Can we say a new found respect for the nearly dead. The whole thing is nothing but up hill. There is some flat row but for the most part up hill. My fil kept saying we can turn back at the wall if this is too much. Apparently we were doing the easy part of the course. We got to the wall and it was straight up hill. But it wasn't long so onward. Once we got to Gunlock I knew I was in way over my head but we had reached the point of no return so onward we went yet again. But this hill just kept going and going and going and going. I honestly thought there would be NO end. My fil and hubby ended up stopping and walking it. I was determined to ride it even if it killed me. And kill me it did. I was SO sore Sunday I didn't go to church. I want to do a post about this hill alone. I should go back in my car and take a picture of it. Although you never really appreciate it until you are on it. And to think the oldies do that in 2 hrs. 20 min and it took me 3 hrs and 15 min. So I bow down to the Q-tips and raisins for they truly are a mean biking machine.

Here is a description of the course from the Huntsman website:
start/end you will climb 3,000 feet in altitude; rollies, 1,700 foot gain/loss, upgrades mostly under 6% but one 9% (0.4 mile), one 6%-11% (1.1 mile). Long downhill, fast twisty, challenging
descent through scenic Snow Canyon State Park (reverse Hill Climb) near finish.

I'm sure I know what some, if not most, of you are thinking and the answer is YES! I am just a little bit crazy.

After we did the course my fil and I decided to ride back to his house while Blake drove the car. I just got done shedding some clothing because it was getting hot!

A note to Crystal: Your demand is noted and I'll be taking a picture of that hill from hell.

The Office - Whomever Argument

Too funny how they get into these little arguments. I was laughing so hard especially at Kevin!

Best lines from last night:
Darell "You need to access your uncrazy side."

Michael "I declair bankruptcy!" LOL :D! So like Micheal to think that was all it took.

Best moment:
When Jim kisses Pam. He sure does love italian food.

What your fav. moment/line?

One Sweet Treat

In honor of the Halloween season, here is a button/award for everyone to give to their favorite readers. Renee of Renee's Ramblings has awarded this award to me. Thanks Renee and I think your blog is a "Sweet Treat to Read" also.

Here's how it will work:
1. Once you've been awarded the Sweet Treat Award, make a post and award it to bloggers who you deem "One Sweet Treat to Read" everyday.
2. Make sure you inform those who you awarded that they have won!
3. Grab the button and proudly display it in your sidebar for all your old/new readers to see!

So here goes:
1. Laura
2. Megan
3. Wendi
4. Crystal
5. Mique
6. Shaka

Now it's your turn to pass this award on!

Annie's Questions

This came from my friend Katri's Summer Swap Buddy's Blog. I just thought it would be fun to give it a whirl.
If any of you carry this on, please leave a post so I can go read it. Especially you lurkers! I see you! :)
From Annie:So there are those emails/posts that get sent around that you fill out about yourself that are sometimes amusing, but most of the time not, so I decided to make my own - questions that I want to know the answers to about other people. If you are reading this right now, consider yourself tagged. I'll be checking your blog.

1. Three biggest fears? (Besides something bad happening to a family member) - spiders, falling on my bike because I can't clip out fast enough, putting foot in mouth (this actually happens more than I would like).
2. When was the last time you danced? With my G-man yesterday. With my husband??? It's been awhile.
3. Do you creep on stranger's blogs? No, I always try to leave a post.
4. If you could go back to be any age for a day, what age would you be and why? 20 and just married. It was just a fun time in our life. We didn't have money but we had fun together. I am looking forward to that again when the kids grow up. But for now I'm enjoying it all!
5. Are you a good liar? Not at all.
6. Do you judge someone when you can tell they've had elective cosmetic surgery? Nope! I wouldn't mind some myself.
7. If you have children, what's one thing that you always told yourself you'd never do when you had kids? If you don't have children, what's one thing you tell yourself you'll never do. (Psst! You. Yeah, you. The one without kids. Guess what? You'll probably do it.)
I would never let them be seen with dirty faces. HA! I would never allow them to eat in the car. Another HA! I would never forget one somewhere. Major HA! I'm sure there are more.
8. What's something that totally grosses you out? blood. I get sweaty and I have passed out before.
9. Do you ever delete forwards without reading them? Most of the time.
10. Do you ever lie to get out of obligations? I used to but now I just tell it like it is. I have learned that my time is precious to me and if I just don't want to do something then I don't.
11. Consider your body weight and your yearly income at their present states. Would you rather be 200 pounds heavier and $200,000 richer or stay at your present states? I like the way things are right now. I wouldn't change it no matter the money amount.
12. When was the last time you bought a pair of shoes and what were they? My black MUD shoes to go with my awesome new dress.
13. The Olympics. Take them or leave them? Love it all!
14. What's your favorite accent? Irish
15. What's your favorite scent? Clean, just anything that smells clean
16. Gum or breath mints? Gum
17. If you could look like any celebrity, who would it be? Hmm I would have to say Kelli Ripa
18. If you had the chance of looking like said celebrity in exchange for your thumbs would you do it? Well.... No I like my fingers too much. However I will admit that I would have thought about it.
19. Do you religiously wear sun screen? Nope.
20. Do you generally trust people/their motives or doubt people/their motives? Trust.
21. Would you describe yourself as a complicated person or is what you see what you get? What you see is what you get.
22. Do you watch what you eat? No but I eat healthy just because that is the type of food I like.
23. Do you watch what other people eat? No I'm too busy going to town on my own food to worry about what others are eating.
24. Do you judge how other people raise their kids? I honestly try not to. I know I don't want to be judged, especially on the mistakes I have made.
25. Do you judge people who dress poorly? No. I don't even care what other people are wearing, just what I'm wearing.
26. Do you judge people who are homely? I'm not sure on this one. I do notice when people try or don't try at all to do the best with what they have. I don't think I judge them, like I won't be nice to them if they are homely, but I do notice. (I liked Katri's answer on this so I'm leaving it)
27. Do you judge people who are overweight? No, but it does bug when they say they want to loose weight yet do nothing about it. They don't change anything about their lifestyle. My MIL does this and it drives me crazy.
28. Your interest in politics: High, Medium-High, Medium, Medium-Low, Low, Obsolete? I would say Medium - High
29. Favorite song of all time? Can't pick a favorite. I like too many songs.
30. Acoustic or electric? Don't Care, like them both
31. If you were a hermit, would you shave? I hate shaving now so if I were all alone heck no!
32. If you could shave your head without your significant other throwing a complete hissy, would you? No, I love my hair
33. What was your least favorite age? Teen years. Too much drama
34. How many times a day do you check your email? Too many times to count. (Annie's answer... amen!)
35. Are you in a tiff with anyone right now? Not to my knowledge

Thanks Katri, that was fun. Now if anyone actually reads all of that... leave a post and I'll draw a name in one week and send you a prize. Ready, set, go!

One Last Thing

Just wanted to post about one more thing today. Boy it has been a good blog day. Anyway back to the point at hand. Check out this spider that was on the side of my garage. It is a Tarantula. YES! you read that right. I wasn't aware that we would be living in a place that these spiders call home. But it makes sense. I mean the desert is my back yard. Darn, WHY did we have to rent SO close to the desert?? I was calm enough to snatch my camera and snap a picture of it. However, this picture doesn't do it justice seeing as how I was standing as far away as possible (the end of my driveway).

To give an idea of how big this thing was look next to it and you see the part of the garage (horizontal part that divides). Well I measured that and it is 3.5 inch's. From the picture you can see that the spider is about the same length as that panel. CRAZY!! Oh and one last thing, this should help you (me) sleep better. One of our neighbors found one in her scripture case last night. Can you just imagine pulling out your Scriptures to read and out falls the beast of all spiders. It is just giving me the heebie-jeebies.

Calling On Angels

I was SO excited to find some good, great, wonderful mail from Mique today! It made the hike to the mail box so VERY worth it. And it couldn't have come at a better time. I haven't blogged about this because I just don't want to sound ungrateful. But honestly the move here has really been very hard on me. It is just so small and different here. I have been having a hard couple of weeks so you can imagine what a wonderful pick me up this package was. Thanks Mique for being such a wonderful blog friend!

And here is what I found inside! Does Mique know me or what?!?! I was just admiring (turning greeeen with envy) Wendi's little Halloween goody she had gotten and wishing I had one of those pads. And NOW I DO along with some pens to go with it!

See my cool mug that my friend Laura gave me as a moving away gift? Now I have my mug for hot chocolate and my pen and paper for writing. Really, could life get any better!

Halloween Treats

I'm a little late posting this but better late than never! Last Saturday I made these yummy treats and gave them out to my neighbors (thanks Rochelle for posting that recipe!). And speaking of Rochelle, I followed the link she had for her cute tags and ordered some myself from Marta!

It was lots of fun to make but even more fun to deliver. What Halloween treats have you made?

Fall Break Fun

Dinosaur Museum

Well the weather here in sunny St. George has been so beautiful and nice. The high this week has been in the 70's. It really was a great week for Fall Break and some Fall fun. The boys were out of school from Wed. - Fri.. On Wed. we got up and headed over to the dinosaur museum. It isn't that big but the boys enjoyed looking at all the BIG Dino tracks.

Pumpkin Patch

On Thurs. we got together with some of the other moms and headed over to the pumpkin patch. We looked them up online and saw that they open @10 so we all met at the church at 9:45 to carpool. We show up and it is CLOSED. Apparently the time they have on the website was for last year and they haven't updated it. Lucky for us they allow us to hang around and play on their playground equipment for the next hour and a half. All the kids had a blast so we moms didn't mind hanging around.

Below: Korbin on the rope climb. G-man sliding down. This was the first time he would slide without help. It really did surprise me. I saw him go up the stairs but didn't expect to see him slide down. Guess he is growing up.




My little men on a John Deer. Their grandpa would be proud.

All the kids just before we went to find our pumpkins. Apparently we didn't break the trend here either...Check out all those boys!

Now I must tell you that ALL the pumpkin patch's I have been to the pumpkins were all cut and lined up in nice little rows. So you can imagine my surprise when I look out and see that these are still on the vines. There were saws hanging on the fences for our use to cut off the pumpkin. It really was beautiful standing there and seeing this garden of pumpkins. I don't think this picture does it justice. And of course the boys had a blast sawing off the pumpkins.






On the hayride.


Taking a ride on the Moo Coaster (interesting name). Hey the kids loved it!

As you can see, once the patch opened there was lots of fun to be had! Hope you enjoyed our day as much as we did.

The Office - 4.03 Jim/Pam scenes.

I know this is kind of long but it has all my fav parts from this weeks episode. It is great to see Jam back playing pranks on Dwight! Too funny!

Did I Really Do That?

I have a confession to make, it has been a while since I have cleaned (I mean REALLY cleaned) out my van. Sure I have washed it but nothing on the inside, unless you count the occasional quick clean. So on Monday I finally broke down and took it in to Fabulous Freddy's and got the Works; Wash, Armor All all the tires plus inside and vacuumed. They even took out all the seats. It was amazing how great my van looked.



After they were done I got ready to leave and saw this bag on my passenger seat. It just had some things that had fallen into the depths of the van. You know the lost shoe, or the socks you swear your washer ate, or the misplaced Game boy Game, or...

THIS!!

What is it you may ask? Oh only the check to Katri for the baby blanket she made for my new niece back in August! Yes, that's right! It obviously didn't make it into the mail drop like a good little letter. I know, your wondering how this could happen. I really do have a good explanation. You see the day I was mailing it, and I remember it well because it was the day before I left for the Josh Groban concert, I was mailing a bunch of stuff for our business: 250 news letters and birthday/anniversary cards. So it is understandable that this little letter got lost in all that...Right? Finding its lonely way into the depths of my van only to be found a month and a half later by a Fabulous Freddy employee.

Anyway, I mailed it on Tuesday. Really I did! I was planing to take a picture of me doing so but left my camera in my hurry to get out the door. Sorry Katri! Hope you can forgive me.

So what "blunders" have you made?