13 Years!!!

Well tomorrow is our wedding anniversary! I can't believe that it has been 13 years. Sometimes it seems like we have been married forever and other times it seems like it was just the other day. A lot has happened for us since we got hitched. We have four beautiful children, Blake has an awesome job, and thanks to that job I am a stay-at-home mother/part-time student.

We met at the CRC Institute. He came in and the first thing I saw was that he was carrying a motorcycle helmet. I think that riding motorcycles (bullet bikes) is totally hot. Not to mention that he was hot as well. So, since I knew the secretary really well she was able to look up his info for me (side note-I didn't ask her to do so, but I was glad for the info). I decided that I wanted to date this boy so I left a note at the institute for him. I wanted to know if he would go to a formal church dance with me. When I actually got to talk to him on the phone I made a slip-up and metioned his birthdate. He asked me how I knew and and at that point I was busted. I had already learned so much about him before I ever talked to him. I knew his full name, address, parents names, where he went on his mission, etc. I had to convince him that I wasn't a stalker. We ended up going on the date and that was it for me! I just kept falling more and more in love with this boy!!! That was in early 97. We were married on August, 16th 1997.


We have had our ups and downs as many couples have but I believe that the ups definitely outweigh the downs. Blake is my best friend and I will love him throughout all eternity. I love him more today than when I married him 13 years ago. He is such a strength for our family. I cannot imagine my life without this wonderful man by my side. He is my everything!!!

Halloween #1

Last night we had our annual family Halloween party!

I was a Spanish Dancer and Blake went as my escort!
This is my mom as Dr. Crazy Bones. You had to toss ping pong balls to decide what was going in your drink. Also in the pic is my neice Megan.

This is my sister Steph as Sally from the Nightmare before Christmas and my nephew David.

This is my sweet Janelle as a witch.

Savannah was in charge of making the body of our family monster. I can't wait to see how it all turned out.

Blake has found a new love!

Birthday!!!

Today I turn 31~

I just wanted to post that my hubby totally rocks. I am not usually a fan of cut flowers but he knows what I like and he surprised me with these and a gift card for 2 massages at Massage Envy!!! I am so super excited. He also tried to get me a gift card for 31 Flavors Baskin Robbins. He went to two stores and they didn't have any and one of them called another one and they didn't have any either. SOOOO, he printed up a pic and gave me money for ice cream!!! Flowers, massages, and ice cream. What more could a lady ask for!!!

Shelf Reliance is having another giveaway!!! A cool set of camping pans!!!

It is a sixteen piece cookset for four. They are polished stainless steel. The set consists of:

8qt pot with lid/frypan with coated handle

1qt pot with lid

2qt pot with lid

4 plates

4 cups

The set nests together and comes with a nylon storage bag

They are also giving away a Sparkie Fire Starter. The starter is set at the perfect angle to get maximum sparks. This makes it simple to use and great to have!!!!


The value of this giveaway more than $60.00~~~

Giveaway at my friends blog:

A blog that I have an occasion/obsession to reading is having a giveaway! This company sounds wonderful.

The giveaway is from the http://CaliforniaCaramelCompany.com. You should really check it out~

This is what she is giving away! A deluxe apple box!

http://www.havejoy.blogspot.com/

You should enter to win also even though I do hope that I win!!! :)

Shelf Reliance

Hey everyone!!! I just want to tell you about this wonderful site. It is called Shelf Reliance. They have some awesome products and wonderful ideas for using your food storage. You should really check them out!

www.shelfreliance.com

They also have giveaways every Friday! I won a few weeks ago and love the cansolidators that I won!!!

Have Joy Blog!!!

I just want to let everyone know about this wonderful blog that I follow! Nikki is a wonderful person with great insight! I love to read all of the great advice and the funs things that she comes up with.

She is having a contest right now and you should really check her out! You can go to: http://have-joy.blogspot.com

She is uplifting and informative all at the same time!

Southern Cali Fires

This picture is from the Associated Press. I just use it to show the type of work that Blake is doing and what the fire is doing to the beautiful hill down there.

The fires are raging in So-Cal. Blake has been down south working on a strike team since Sunday. He is working to keep people's houses standing. They are working 12 hour shifts and are doing good. Today he sent me this awsome picture. There are a couple of large cat preserves in the hills and they were trying to help make sure that the cats were taken care of. I love this picture the lions look like they haven't a care in the world. I just have to say that my hubby is super HOT!!! I love him so much and know that he is doing a great job!

Having a 2 year old!

Having a 2 year old feels a lot like being on suicide watch every day. They can get into so many things and makes messes in the blink of an eye. Here are some of Spencer's more recent "activities" that have made us crazy or mad or just laugh our heads off. WARNING... some of the things are gross!!!

Climbing out of his crib
Climbing up my headboard and then throwing himself off backwards
Climbing on the counter and eating 2 small boxes of see's chocolates
Taking his pants off in front of a group of girls just to hear them scream
Running into the parking lot
Taking off while in the middle of diaper changes, then peeing wherever he feels like it
Chewing on used tampon applicator(This is the fastest way for a toddler to get you to brush their teeth)
Taking off the diaper and then pooping in his hands and then wiping it on himself
Cleaning his own ears out with q-tips
Catching bees with his bare hands
Catching lots of bugs and giving them as presents
Throwing anything he thinks can act like a ball
Emptying out a whole box of kleenex

Spencer is a joy but a lot of work at the same time. He is very active and keeps me going from sun-up to sun-down. The drastic differences in boys and girls as all too visible in my household. Thank goodness I only have one boy. I think that if I had more I would be even crazier than I am right now.

So, to all of you out there with a 2-year old my heart goes out to you. I would offer to help but it seems as if I can't find the time. Lol

Crazy, Crazy Life

Ok, so it has been forever since my last post. I have been so busy since Blake has been at home. Spencer is turning 2 next week and all three of my girls are in softball. Thankfully I am done with yearbook so that is one thing that is behind me.

So, some recent news...Blake was just called as the Elder's Quorum President, and he goes in for surgery on his elbow May 15th. Hopefully this will take care of the issues that he has been having. He really would like to get back to work. He passed the written portion of the engineer's test and now he is on to the manipulative portion. He is such and awesome husband, father and firefighter. I know that he wishes that he was back at work but the kids have really enjoyed all of the time that he has been able to spend with them.

With Spencer turning 2 we are experiencing all of the fun moments that come with that. He has now learned to climb out of his crib so we put him in a toddler bed. He also has learned how to remove the child door locks. He is such a smart kid! It took me around 2 hours to get him to sleep in his new bed tonight. It will be hard but I know that if we just keep reinforcing the fact that this is where he is to sleep that eventually he will get it.

Pics coming soon! Once I get another chance to be alone at the computer!

Girl Scout Cookies

To all my friends and family!

My girls are taking orders for cookies. If you would like to know what kinds are available or if you want to order any please let me know!

THANKS!!!

Blake's Injury

These pictures were taken after I got him home and fed him.

Ok, Yesterday Blake fell off a ladder while doing some construction work. His feet slipped and got stuck in the rungs. He had no way to catch himself and he fell on his outstretched hand. So, consequently he dislocated both his forearm bones and has a piece of bone fragment floating in his elbow. He also has a small radial head fracture. We are going to see the orthopedist tomorrow and we will hopefully find out how long the recover is supposed to take and if he is going to need surgery. Please keep him in your prayers! We are hoping for no surgery and a quick recovery.

Mexican Riviera Cruise

Our first day and a half on the boat and our first port!

Boat drill! I got in trouble though because I didn't know that you are not supposed to take pictures while you are at the drill. Oh well!

This is the sunset in L.A. before we left. It is gorgeous but because of the fires there were ashes falling on everything.

FOOD, of course when you are on a cruise you need to eat and that we did. At least I was the one with the camera most of the time so I didn't get pics of me eating!

Our first port was Cabo San Lucas. The place is just beautiful. We had a ton of fun. On the boardwalk there were tons of people with iguanas this was the biggest one we saw and Blake just had to get our pictures with it. The lady who owned the lizard kept trying to put it on Blake's shoulder but it only wanted to be on his head. I was trying to take a picture of it on his shoulder but it moved before I could get it! It was really funny because it was very content on my shoulder or my head but with Blake all it wanted was to climb up on top of his head.

This was taken with an underwater camera! The water was so clear. It was a bit freaky when I saw a bunch of little fish swimming not far from where we were.

This is our boat from where we were swimming. It doesn't look as big as it really was. There were 14 decks. It was crazy and we kept getting turned around and walking the wrong way.

The Cabo Wabo Cantina was ok I guess. We didn't eat there because there was an hour wait. But, we did go in and look around. It was really noisy and it just seemed like any restaurant/bar you would find here.
Some kind people stopped to take this picture for us. We really loved this beach!

This is a dead fish that Blake stepped on. Of course he had to pick it up. It was really nasty!

I thought that it was hilarious to see a Hooters!

This is the little hole in the wall restaurant that we ate at instead of Cabo Wabo! You could see right into the kitchen from our table. It was crazy! This is just about the only picture where you will see me eating!

Blake had to get a Nacho Libre mask so that he could wrestle with the kids. I think that he has just as much fun as they do.

This is the beautiful sunset as we were leaving Cabo!

This was my favorite sunset of the whole trip! It was just stunning!

Ok, I am having a Scentsy Open House. It is going to be on Thursday, November 13th from 6-8 pm. Anyone who loves candles is welcome to attend. It is an open house so you can come anytime between 6 and 8. There are tons of scents and the warmers are really neat. If you do not have my address just leave a comment and I will send it to you! If you have any questions please let me know. And if you can't attend but would like to see a catalog just let me know. You can also go to http://www.scentsy.net/products.html to view all of their products!

Thanks!

Picture Tag!

Ok, here is the 4th picture from my 4th folder. It is from a trip up to the snow to go sking! Blake hates it when I take pictures of him while he is driving!

I would like to tag: Kara, Kathryn, Melissa, & Rachel! All you have to do is post the 4th picture from the 4th folder.

Great Hubby!

Ok, I have to brag for just a bit! My husband actually listened to me and got me what I wanted for my birthday and I didn't have to buy it for myself.

Also, he just passed all of the tests to be on the primary Acting Captains list. He will probably not get promoted from this list but now he can bump up and be a captain when people are out sick or on vacation. He had to study a ton and I am extremely proud of him!

30th Birthday!

Ok, so I am officially 30 now! I went out with family and some friends and it was a blast. Since my birthday is so close to Halloween I had people dress up. It was funny to see all of looks that poeple gave us. We went out to dinner and then went indoor golfing at a place called Monster Mini-Golf. It was really cool. Here is how Blake and I were dressed for the occasion!

Children

Ok, here is my dilema today. How do you help your children to reach their potential? I have a child who is behind in her school work and has definite power struggle issues. I found out today that she was trying to sign my name on a note that her teacher had sent home with her. It is not that she doesn't know how to do the work, it's just that she doesn't want to do it, and then lies to me and tells me that it is all done.

I struggle to be the best mom that I can be, but when you have a defiant child it seems like that harder I try to help her the worse it gets. I know that she had the capacity to accomplish anything but she won't do it.

I sometimes feel like I am failing with her and I don't know what to do. She is such a wonderful child and can be the sweetest person, but when she gets mad it is all downhill and it is a fast, steep hill and she can't stop herself.

I am going to try having a tutor work with her and maybe that way she might be able to get her work done and the friction between us can subside. Until then keep us in your prayers.

Jason Wright Contest

Hi friends! I'm participating in a contest to win free books for life. An author named Jason Wright has a new book in stores with a beautiful theme song by songwriter Cherie Call. It's about second verses in your life and I know you'll love it!

You can hear it for free right now at http://www.recoveringcharles.com

I hope you'll visit the site and join his email list. He won't SPAM you (I promise!) and you'll be the first to hear about events, contests, and even get sneak peeks at his manuscripts.

And be sure to check out his latest contest and enter MY name as your referrer when you sign up! That's how I hope to win his books for life :)

Kids Skater Video

Here is a video of the girls that Blake made. His cinematography skills are awesome. He took all of the video and edited it. Just a note, I was not present during most of the stunts and for that I am grateful. Watching my kids do tricks and stunts makes me extremely nervous! LOL