Happy Birthday Matt

Today is Matt's birthday. To celebrate his parents took us out to eat. Matt wanted to eat at Texas Road House, mmmm. I'm glad that 29 years ago he was born. :) He is a good dad, friend and husband. He does all that he can to make sure that we are taken care of. Happy birthday we love you!

Baby It's COLD Outside!

Okay so this morning I go out to my car and find that my car is all sparkly. At first I thought that it was just dew. Nope. It was FROST!!! I turned on the car heater to get the car warmed up and to try to defrost my winsheild. It wasn't working fast enough so I pull out a card from my wallet and began to scrape the frost from my windsheild.

The shavings from the frost.

This was the view from inside my car.

The temp outside this morning at around 7 am.

Yes that says 34 degrees. BRRR!!!! Man was it cold this morning. I'm grateful that I don't have to drive in the snow to work.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas . . .

Today for family night we finally decorated our christmas tree!! We had fun, and it only took us about an hour. Check out our pretty tree! (excuse the quality of the pictures, my camera is still having issues and so I took the pictures w/ my phone.)

Thanksgiving Weekend

Now that Thanksgiving is over I thought that I would post about it. Here's how it went. (sorry no pictures, my camera is having issues)

Day 1 - Woke up got dressed, opened the bathroom door to a very anxious 5 year old wanting to go play with his cousins. Of course I was not ready to go. Turned on the tv to the Macy's day parade to have him watch it. He really was not interested in watching it b/c he was asking me about every 5 mins if I was ready to go. That kid has a one track mind. Matt headed out to play some football with some friends and had fun. At about 10 am I was finally ready to go and so I gathered my items for the dish I was assigned, mashed potatoes, very easy to do. :) We got to my brother-in -laws house and hung out with everyone. Matt's sister was in town with her family and so that was fun to see her baby. By 1:30 pm everything was done, both turkeys cooked and all the sides dishes prepped, we actaully sat down to eat around 2:15 ish. It was nice to have an early dinner/lunch whatever you want to call it. By the time the evening rolled around everyone was ready for pie. yummy.

Day 2 - I had to go into to work. Bleh. :( But after I got home we headed back over to my brother-in-laws house to hang out some more. I was helping my niece with a murder mystery puzzle, which is tradition. Had fun and talked.

Day 3- Saturday, I ran a few errands, and got my Christmas cards mailed out. I can't believe that I got them out as early as I did. Go me! So if you gave me your address expect one in the mail very soon. :) I made some more clips for my Etsy store, I hope to have those listed soon, I just need to find a camera to borrow. Then at about 5:30 we headed back to my bro-in-laws for dinner. My niece and I worked more on the puzzle, but unfortunately we did not finish it, but did make a lot of progress on it.

Over all we had a great weekend and spent time with our family.

Look Mom!

Yesterday afternoon Scott comes running down stairs and excitedly says "I lost my tooth!" My baby has lost his first tooth. I can't believe that we are now entering the stage of loosing teeth. It's kinda weird to think of it.

So this morning when he woke up I asked what did the toothfairy bring you. He just shrugged his shoulder and so I told him to check under his pillow where he put his tooth. He lifted up the pillow and the expression on his face was priceless. He threw the pillow off the bed and said that he tooth was gone and he got some money. It wasn't much b/c the toothfairy is on a budget this year. Nonetheless he was excited with his 50 cents. So today we told him that he gets to pay tithing on it and he was really excited to give his tithing to the bishop.

Fall/Halloween 09

We have been busy this last week. It all started on Friday the 23rd with our new ward's Halloween Carnival. We got dressed played some fun games ate some good chili and hung out w/ great people. Then on Monday night we had family night at Mother Nature's Farm, where Scott got to decorate his own pumpkin. There was a fun hay maze, a bounce house and a hay ride.

Then on Friday the 30th we were invited to our old ward's Halloween party and had a blast with some old friends. We ate yummy food, not so good for you, roasted marshmallows and just had a great time. Halloween night I took Scott trick-o-treating around the neighborhood, then Megan, Jeremy and Adie stopped by and we did some more trick-o-treating and had a great time.

I've posted some pictures below. Enjoy!

Etsy!

I finally did it! I finally created an Etsy Shop to sell my craft items. Look at what I've listed so far.

Swap

Yesterday I received my fall swap gift!!

Yes, those are cards!! The girl who sent them to me likes to make cards for all different occassions. I love them!!

Swaperoos

My friend Kirsti started a Fall Swap and here is what I sent the person that I was given.




I can't wait to see what I get in return! Thanks Kirsti to think of something fun to do for the season. If you want to do it I think that she will be doing a winter swap. You can visit her blog Seasonal Swaperoos for an update or click on the button to the right.

Exciting

I just want to say that I have a new niece that joined the family on 10/2/09!! My sister delivered a healthy baby girl. Keely Rebecca Johnson. If you would like to see a picture click here. Momma and baby are doing great.

9/11 Anniversary

Today is the 8th anniversary of those who lost their lives to a terriorist attact in New York. I remember that day as if it were yesterday.

I was getting ready for school that morning and listening to the radio. When one of the DJ's said that an airplane had crashed into a building. I totally thought he was joking when he said and then it wasn't brought up again until I was on my way to school. Then said that another airplane hit another building. I didn't fully comprehend what happened until I walked into the institute building. This is where I found a few of my friends and a couple of teachers staring at the tv as the 2 buildings were being shown on fire. What!? What is going on? My friend proceeded to tell me that the 2 airplanes were hijacked and were purposely crashed into the Trade Tower buildings.

Why would anyone want to do such a horrible thing? Terriorist who hate us and our country, that's who!

That day I went to my first class, which happened to be american history, and my teacher told us to go find a tv on campus and count that as class and to write down our feelings of this day. So I went back to the institute building and sat in a vigil around the tv w/ my friends and fellow students, until it was time for me to go to work.

I get to work and my supervisor was shocked b/c she thought that someone had called me to tell me not to come in. I said no. Well she said go home and come in sat to make up my time. So I did just that and sat in front of the tv yet again this time w/ my aunt and grandparents, who I was living with at that time.

It was a very sad day for everyone, and I hope that we can all remember them today and honor them, as they were innocent bystanders to a horrific act of violence.

Total Slacker

Sorry I haven't posted anything new in awhile. Not much is happening right now. Scott loves school and is ready to tell me all about it when I get home from work. When something new comes up I will post it. But for now you have to endure a very boring post from me.

Check It Out!

I have started a new craft blog with a new name The Pink Senorita. Last night I was able to finish some flower clips and posted them on the blog. Check them out!

Click the image to go to the blog.

Totally Weird

This morning on my way to work I stopped at the Circle K by my work to fill up my car. I was minding my own business, waiting for the pump to click. Once it did I was on my way back to the driver side when the guy parked on the other side of the pump said.

"Excuse me miss, but you have really cute toes."

"Um, thanks, I like them too."

"Sorry, I have a foot fetish."

"Oh, ok."

I didn't know what to think. Then the conversasion continues.

"I know this may seem odd but would you mind if I took a picture of your feet?"

"Um, no." Afterall what could it hurt, I will never see this guy again. So I thought that I would humor him.

So he gets out his phone and took a picture of my toes. Weird! I will admit that I was very flattered by the fact that he noticed. Good thing my nail polish hadn't worn down to much. haha. I got back into my car and started to laugh a bit b/c it was the funniest thing that I have ever encountered before.

I will say this the man was very nice and polite and was not weird looking or anything like that. He was your average Joe on his way to work too. haha

I've always thought my toes were cute too, it's nice to have some validation to my vainess.

6 Years and Counting

Today is our 6 year anniversary.

It hasn't been the easiest 6 years but I know that we have definitely have grown from where we started at. We have a fun little boy that we love dearly and wouldn't trade him for the world.

We have had our ups and downs just like any married couple and the Lord has tried us again and again.

 

On Friday I asked Matt if he remembered that today was our anniversary and his reaction was no and then dissappoinment b/c he had forgotten. I didn't get upset b/c I knew that was probably the furthest thing from his mind given our current situation. We don't have a lot of funds right now so I was not expecting anything. We've done things in the past and this is the first year that we didn't. I'm not worried, b/c there is always next year.

Children . . . .

I thought that I would jot something down today just because I wanted something new other than my Harry Potter post. This morning I was reading the comics and came across these two comic strips that made me chuckle b/c they are true.


Here's the first one.

I had to laugh at this one b/c this how Scott reacts to an injury. He's okay when someone else looks at it but either Matt or I look at it he gets all dramatic. All I have to do is try to look at it and he wigs. haha

Then here is the second one.

I think this is how most kids think about their mom's bags/purses. I know that Scott does. I'm always pulling something out of my purse and he always asks if there is anything else in there. haha

We all love our children and their own unique way of thinking and acting. They make life enjoyable even when there are times when we just want to lock them in their room for the rest of their life.

Harry Potter

So we saw Harry Potter 6 last night and it was AWESOME!! Scott saw a little bit of the beginning before he fell asleep in Matt's lap. :)

I didn't expect this one to be as funny as it was. Maybe it was b/c of all of the love potions that were being passed around. We didn't have to wait in a line, we bought our tickets and sat right down. Everyone in the theater tried to squeeze into the middle section for the best view and we all laughed at the same time at the right scenes.

I've always been a Harry Potter fan. I love the books and the movies. This movie showed a lot of the major scenes that will be important in the final book. But it is always hard to put everything from the book onto screen. So I give them credit for doing the best they could.

Can't wait for the last movie to come out!

Moved

Today was moving day and it went pretty well. We had like 6 guys show up and help us out. We weren't sure if we were able to get all that we had into a 10x10 storage unit, but we did and had room to spare! Now we are getting situated in my in-laws house. We can't put all of our clothes away until my mother-in-law gets home from San Diego. She has some clothes stored in the closet that Matt and I will share. We will also be sharing a bathroom with his sister who is living here while she is nursing school. That will be interesting, as much as I love her, she is a "spirited" person to live with. She currently has full domain of the bathroom that she will eventually need to relinquish half to us. We'll see how that goes. That is all for now, we are going to jump in the pool and cool off.

Moving . . . .

Moving is a very time consuming and frustrating thing to do. We have been weeding through a bunch of stuff and have condensed a lot. But somehow I'm still finding things that I had forgotten that I had. You'd think that packing up a 2 bedroom apartment would be easy. Right? Think again. Once I started stacking up the boxes and containers I realized that I don't have room! As I sit here and look at the mound of boxes to my right I realize how am I going to get the dining room table, that I sold, out the door! I'll have to figure something out by tomorrow night.

The mound of growing boxes and containers.

Life Update

There are some changes happening to us. I think that the biggest one right now is the fact that we have to move. Not want to, but HAVE TO!! Total bummer, b/c we love our ward and the friends that we have made.

Given our financial situation we can no longer afford to pay rent in our current place or any where for that matter. Although Matt has a job it doesn't pay nearly enough and neither does mine. Our lease is up on July 13th, so we are packing up and moving. Where you might ask? We have made arrangements with Matt's parents and we are very lucky and appreciative that they were willing to let us move in. His dad gave us a limit, which is good. We hope to have some money saved and Matt with a new job by the time our "lease" with his parents is up. Hopefully the Navy works out for us, or he finds a better paying job so that we can move back.

Options

When Matt was laid off and struggling to find work he decided that he wanted to use his Russian skills in some type of job field. The fields that he was thinking of are the CIA, FBI and the Navy. He found out the CIA and FBI are a long process that won't guarantee him a job, so he has decided to become a Naval Officer and work in Intelligence.

At first I didn't know how I felt about it. But soon realized that he wasn't going to be an active duty solider but an officer so that put my worries to rest. Since then he has been faithfully filling out his applications and keeping in contact with his cousin, who is a Navy Seal assigned to the Pentagon. His uncle is also a retired Naval officer so between his cousin and uncle he has the connections he needs in order to become a Naval Officer.

This prospect kind of excites me b/c we will be able to see new places. Right now we are just waiting. He has a pretty good chance b/c he's a college graduate, who can speak Russian and has connection that can vouche for him as a good, hard and dedicated worker.

What brought this up is an article that I read in the paper today about people who have been laid off who are now turning to the Armed Services for a job. You can read the article here. I just found it interesting that we are doing just that.

I will keep you posted on the outcome.

Flashback: Honeymoon

This was taken about 6 years ago. We were on our honeymoon in Hawaii. Checkout the size that tree!! The cool thing about this particular tree is that the brown things that hang down from the branches grow to the ground and become part of the trunk.

Flashback: Scott and Friend

This picture was taken last 4th of July. Scott was fascinated by my friend Joyce's new baby girl Charlotte. But in this picture it looks like she is more fascinated with him than he is of her.

100th Post

I can't believe that I have reached the 100th mark on my blog. So in honor of my 100th post I thought that I would post some great news. Drum roll please . . . . . . . . .

MATT HAS A JOB!!!!

Whoo hoo!!

Yes, it's true and what's kinda ironic is that it's back at Pulte, where he was before. He is doing something different for a little bit less than what he was making before. But hey, it's a job that will pay the bills! That means that Scott is back at daycare, only for the summer until he starts school in August.

Matt started his job on Monday, ya ya I know I'm a few days late in posting this news, but I got busy. I'm excited that we are back to being a 2 income household. It's kind of a relief really.

Scott's 5th Birthday Party

Yesterday was Scott's birthday party at Peter Piper Pizza. It was probably the easiest party that I have done. All I did was call tell them the time and date and brought a few things. It was great! The kids had a lot of fun and the adults had fun talking and didn't have to really worry about the kids. Scott got a few presents from his friends and he loved the cake. Scott has been really into Ben 10 recently, it is a show on the cartoon network, and had asked for a Ben 10 cake. So my friend Rhonda said that she will make the cake and did an awesome job! Thanks Rhonda it was a yummy cake. Scott had a great time celebrating his 5th birthday. Thanks to all who came and shared in the celebration.

Birthday Boy with Rhonda and Kayla

Tortilla Flat

Last Saturday my friend Rhonda and I took the kids for a short day trip. We headed out to Tortilla Flat. All I have to say about it is if you blink you will miss it, b/c it is a small strip of a couple buildings on the side of the road. (click on the name to see more info) It is a few miles out side of town. It was fun, they have a great little restuarant that makes some pretty tasty burgers. The inside of the restaurant it pretty much covered in dollar bills signed by people who have stopped in. We did sign a dollar bill but I forgot to take a picture. Along the way we stopped at a view point of Canyon Lake. It was a beautiful sight.

On our way back we stopped at another little sight seeing place called Goldfield Ghost Town. (click on the name for more info) This place was bigger with a couple restaurants, a merchant store, a museum and a train station. It was a lot more fun to look around. There was even an antique photography studio, that Rhonda and I would love to come back to take pictures at. It was a fun way to spend the morning and the kids loved it.

Happy Birthday Scott

Today my little boy is 5!!! I can't believe that it has flown by so fast. He will start kindergarten in the fall. Am I old enough to have a 5 year?! Crazyiness!!! Well I just wanted to post something about my little man. He is a sweet boy, mischievious as all boys are and fun to be around. We love him with all our hearts. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT, mommy and daddy love you!!!!

Flashback: Bridal Shower

This picture was taken at my bridal shower ages ago! These are my lovely friend who are all married now. From left to right: Joyce (Udall) Wolfley, Leslie (Layman) Evans, and Amy (Nixon) Adair.

Weekend Events

This weekend was a very busy, but eventful one for Scott and I. With Matt out of town for a footy game in San Diego (that will be another post) I got to spent some quality time with my son. Friday started out with me getting a text from Rhonda, who was watching Scott until I got off of work, asking if I wanted to join her, Karen and the kids at the pool. Of course I accepted. We swam, more like the kids did while we visited. Then Karen had to go she was invited to TJ Grier's graduation party, so Rhonda and I hung out with Karen kids and ours. We ordered pizza and had ice cream for dessert while the kids watched the Barbie Nutcracker. Then came home and crashed out.

Saturday morning, Scott and I went grocery shopping, first to Fry's and then we headed out to the Ranch Market. Since my parents live out there we decided to first pop in and visit. We hung out for awhile, but then was time to go b/c they had errands to run and we still needed to finish our grocery shopping. We made our way over to the market, scored a great deal, again, and came home. When we got home we had some quiet time and I crashed out on the couched for about an hour. Then we had one more errand to run. We headed over to Walmart to get a few items, I bought a new swimsuit top, very cute. I try to post a picture later, Matt had the camera. Then I get a text from Rhonda asking if we wanted to join her and Kayla at the pool. What's funny is that Scott had been asking all day if were going to go swimming with Kayla. We enjoyed the cool water since it was a very HOT day!

As were swimming Rhonda had mentioned that she was going to take Kayla and her friend's son, Trey (sp?) to see the Race to Witch Mountain at the Tempe Cinema. I thought that would a fun way to spend an evening. It was a good movie and Scott sat through the entire thing. Good thing, I was worried that he would want to run around the theater.

Sunday was a lazy morning, waiting for 1pm to go to church. We went to church learned much and then afterwards headed over to my Grandma's house for dinner. It was a lot of fun. My grandma had invited, my brother and his wife, my cousin Ryan and his wife Susan, and my step-sister Sally and her husband, and we had special guests, the Missionaries. We enjoyed great food, Mexican, and fun company.

Now that I'm exhausted it's time to go back to work. ugh!

Husbands

For the past few days I've been reading a book called the Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger, it came highly recommended by my sister-in-law. Thanks Carree! As I started reading it at first I was shocked and then appalled by the way women actually act toward their husbands! I know that I haven't always put Matt first and I'll admit that, but some of these women are down right mean to their hubbies. It just makes me sad. What has this world come to? Apparently most women have been mean and disrespectful to their husbands pretty much since the feminist movement when activists fought for equality of women to men.

Just because you are married does not give you the right to push your husband aside and forget that he is human with needs and desires. Remember you chose to be married and to have a family and with that comes a husband. I'm writing this in hopes to enlight you and make you really think, are you treating your husband with the respect that he deserves as you husband and the head of your house. Being raised in the gospel I think that I have a better understanding of the role of a husband but there are times when I forget and a reminder is always good.

Since reading this book I've become more conscience of how I am treating Matt in hopes that he will notice my change of attitude and will reciprocate it back. You all know that saying, "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." I believe this is true when you are not happy with your life then the rest of the family suffers. If you can change your attitude about your life then you will see the difference in your family and in your husband and who knows, you might get some good rewards back. hehehe

So remember treat your husbands with the Respect and Love that they truly deserve to be your Life and Eternal Companions.

I Love Jesus

For Easter I bought Scott a small packet of pictures of Jesus to help him understand that Easter isn't just about the candy, eggs and gifts but that Easter is about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. So last night as I was helping him get ready for bed I saw this on his wall.

First I asked him where he found the tape and he said in the drawer by my purse. Okay, fine. Then I asked why he hung up the pictures. He said "Because I love Jesus." How precious is that. He knows who Jesus is and loves him. I can see that his testimony is growing, and that makes me proud to be his mother and that I'm teaching him well.

A deal or steal?

So given our current financial situation I have been thinking of ways to buy groceries for a lot less, mainly in the produce area. I thought about doing Bountiful Baskets, but decied against it because you get only what is in season and some random items. I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to my food. I want to get what I want and not something else. At work one day I was talking to my friend at lunch about what I was thinking and she said that I should buy my produce at that Ranch Market. Of course!! I haven't been there in years. Growing up we used to go there as often as possible. So this morning I made my way over to Greenfield and Main and scored the best deal ever!!! I bought a cart full of fruits and veggies for under $20! Yes under $20. I got a pineapple for $0.99, 3 containers of strawberries for $1! When I got home my produce drawer was bursting and I almost couldn't close it. haha I was wondering how all of it was going to fit in my fridge. But somehow I made it all fit. Check out my loot!

Flashback: Scott's Blessing Day

I found these pictures of Scott's blessing day, July 11, 2004. Look at how young we look. Wow I was thin, what happened?!! hahaha

Easter

Easter Sunday was a very nice relaxing day to spend with family. It was also the blessing day for our nephew Ryder. Since church starts at 8 am for JD and Allison instead of having an Easter dinner we decided to have an Easter brunch after church for the blessing celebration. It was quite a spread and wish I had taken a picture before we all dug in. Since no picture I will describe to you what we had. We had an egg casserole, which was very tasty that I had 2 helpings, muffins, fancy french toast and a lemon blueberry crumb coffee cake, and huge bowl of fruit.

Karen's Party

Last night my friend Karen had a party for her 30th birthday. It was night of good food, great friends and fun games. We had a great time hanging out and enjoying each other's company with out our kiddies and the husbands.

Karen and Rhonda

Karen and Niki

Friends

Wanna be Charlie's Angels