Merry Christmas

From our home to yours have a Merry Christmas!

Snow

So this weekend it snowed a couple of inches outside and I was out shoveling when the Bishop drove by and stopped and talked to me, when I finished shoveling I went inside to warm up and I wasn't inside more than 30 minutes I swear that he called and asked if he could come over and visit, on a Saturday right? Well I agreed that he could come and we set a time up for later that afternoon. Well he comes and the first thing he asked me is if I could shovel my driveway when his wife drives by, we started laughing. Then next thing out of his mouth is that he would like us to speak in church the next Sunday, we agreed and he gave us a topic, the whole time the only thing running through my head was YES! we didn't get a calling. WRONG, the next thing he asked us was to serve in the Primary of our ward, and let me add we have a HUGE primary. For 6 out of the 8 years we have been married I have served in the primary. I love the primary and we both are excited about this new adventure that we are going to be trying.

Since we have moved I didn't think anything about the snow and how much it would bring, well today when I left to go and catch my bus there was a FOOT of snow outside. I thought well that is okay I am wearing my boots no worries, no sooner did I turn the corner to walk down the street to the bus stop did a snow plow come by and cover my whole right side. When Brett went out to go to shovel the driveway and walks before he left for work ( only a hour had past since I left) he said there were 2 feet of snow. For crying in a bucket we ONLY moved 5 minutes up the hill. Kaiser and Sadie love the snow and think it's the neatest thing in the world to just go outside and roll in it. Snow aside we LOVE our new home. We love the location and our neighbors. I know it's weird for us to say neighbors.

On a side note I read a article in the ensign that encouraged people to not blog negativly and I have tried really hard not to. To my amazement it has put me in a good mood, looking for the GOOD in things instead of the bad. I sometimes feel as if some people say things just to see how others will react. Which bothers me a lot.

Thankful!

I know that I am a little bit late, but here it is anyway. We went to Idaho for thanksgiving this year and had a fun time. Harley is HUGE to say the least he weighs in at about 200 lbs and is 10 months old. Lets just say Harley is still a puppy and likes to jump like Kaiser does to get attention. Kaiser and Sadie loved playing with him and roaming the fields. I am so thankful that we went up. I am also very thankful for everything that I have right now. The number one thing I am thankful for is Brett and for the wonderful 9 years we have been together, he is the light of my life. I am thankful for our new home. I am thankful for our dogs, I know it sounds crazy but they are part of our family. I do miss the two that aren't with us anymore. I am thankful for both of our families. I am thankful for good friends. We hope that you all had a good Thanksgiving.

Bonus!

On Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure of going with Brett to take some photos of some ducks and birds. He had already been out for about 6 hours that morning, so we headed up to a undisclosed location to take some photos, there were lots of people there which wasn't the best but we dealt with it. He did come home with a couple of photos believe it or not of me. I really do love living with a photographer I never have to pay to get my picture taken what a bonus.

Raccoon's

Lets just say I HATE raccoon's.
Reason 1: Sadie got bit by one at our old house.
Reason 2: It's a lenghty story so stick with me (Brett this one is for you)
So last week while I was waiting for the bus in a brand new neighborhood, it was pitch black because of course it was 6:00 AM. I was just jamming to my ipod minding my own business, not bugging anyone, I know can you believe it??? Anyway back to my story, so just picture me all bundled up just jamming out and I see what looks like a cat come out of this yard and cross 3100 S. My very first thought was that BETTER not be a raccoon. I watched what I thought was the "Cat" slowly trot toward me, as it got closer I noticed that it's back was arched and I thought that is weird for a cat and the again I thought That BETTER not bee a raccoon. So it comes trotting even closer to me. As it got closer I noticed it wasn't a cat it was in fact a RACCOON. It came within 3 feet in front of me at the bus stop, I said some not nice words and went to move, all I could think about was poor Sadie Bug and how she got bit and I thought for sure that this raccoon was going to bite me. So I moved to my right and it scared the raccoon off. He didn't go quickly mind you, he started trotting down to the next bus stop and sure enough I heard a lady scream. So here is this raccoon out at all hours of the morning scaring the pants off of people. When I told Brett he was laughing so hard.

I am really not a slacker I am going to be posting pictures of our new home for those of you who want to see it AFTER I get all the furniture into place and pictures on the walls and boxes unloaded. We are getting more things unpacked and I swear we are NEVER moving again. We LOVE our new ward, it's about 1/8 the size of our old ward which in a way is nice. We have felt right at home and people are so nice. We miss people in our old ward, but we are loving our new ward, neighborhood and most importantly OUR home.

Captured Photography is giving away a FREE photoshoot! Click here to check out her awesome work and don't forget to enter.

Update

Well September has been a VERY busy month for us. We have been looking for a house for some time, we put A LOT of thought and prayer into what we were going to do, where we were going to live, etc. After much looking we found a home that we liked in Bountiful, we decided to offer on it and see what would happen, well the owners took our offer so it looks like we will be moving (big smile on my face) We bought a home in Bountiful on the East bench. We will be moving in October, so as you can tell, our house is filled with boxes in every room. The week after we found out we were moving Brett took a little trip to mexico to go Tarpin fishing, check out his blog for the story and to see some AMAZING photo's. (www.flytowater.com) We have had such a fun summer the only downside to it was we lost one incredible dog, Quigley passed away on Thursday Sept 24. He was a good buddy and we will miss him tons. I will post pictures of our home as soon as we move into it.

99 Things I Have (or have not) Done......

1. Started your own blog*
2. Slept under the stars*
3. Played in a band*
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland*
8. Climbed a mountain*
9. Held a praying mantis*
10. Sang a solo*
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea*
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning*
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables*
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight*
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill*
24. Built a snow fort*
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping*
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse*
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset*
31. Hit a home run*
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language*
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. *
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing*
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke*
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt*
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight*
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling*
52. Kissed in the rain*
53. Played in the mud*
54. Gone to a drive-in theater*
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business*
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen*
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason*
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma*
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy*
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt*
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person*
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car*
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible*
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating*
88. Had chickenpox*
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club*
93. Lost a loved one*
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone*
99. Been stung by a bee*

Nieces and Nephews

So some people always ask me why doesn't Brett take pictures of people? My response is he takes my picture all the time. Well Brett did me a HUGE favor and took some pictures of all of my nieces and nephews together for my mom for her birthday. He even took a couple of single ones. I really like the way that they turned out. So here are the pictures for you to see. There were some who just wanted to play in the dirt and some who got scrapes but all in all they turned out good.
The Kids......


Ashley.....


Taylor.......

Sarah.....

Here is a little bit of what we have been up to lately. About 2 weeks ago I went to Disneyland with my Niece Sarah and my mom. We left on a Tuesday and drove down and came back on the following Sunday. Sarah is FINALLY tall enough to ride all the "big" kid rides. She had a blast. I think her favorite ride was a toss up between Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain and Soaring Over California. I did take lots of pictures and I will post them at a later time. Thanks again Jimmy and Marla for letting me take her we had a BLAST!

Saving Madeline

I have just finished a book that will stick with me for maybe the rest of my life you may think I am joking but I am not. This book has something that I think everyone needs to be aware of. I don't like to think about people doing drugs and how it effects their lives but that is reality. In this book I learned how drugs can effect not only the person doing them but the people that love them the most. Rachel Ann Nunes has done a excellent job giving me a in site of what goes on when someone is trying to protect their loved ones who might be in trouble due to their drug addiction like Parker did with Madeline. It's tragic that Madeline's mother was more concerned about he next "hit" than she was about her children and in the end it lead to her being in jail for neglect. In this book you will learn that Parker was accused of "kidnapping" his own daughter to keep her out of danger from her mother when he found some meth sitting on the top of the T.V. when e picked her up for his weekly visit. Parker was doing what any parent in his situation would do and he took Madeline to keep her safe. Well as you can probably guess that didn't work out so great. Caitlin is Parker's attorney. I love the way that Rachel Ann Nunes give you a love story in the middle of trying to learn what happens to Madeline. There is one part of the book and I won't tell you what part it is, that I cried, I felt so helpless to the character and what was happening at the time.

This book helped me see how drugs effect your life and what they do to the families. I know I will be buying this book when it comes out. It is my favorite book of Rachel Ann Nunes. She did a excellent job telling a story about a hard subject.

Great 8

My how time flies when you are having fun. The last 8 years (on 8/3) been the best all thanks to my wonderful husband. I am so glad that we met. So I am a little bit late but he knows how grateful I am that he is in my life. I just wanted to let him know how grateful I am for him and for all that we have together. I am looking forward to spending eternity with him.
Thanks Babe.

I was sitting at work and I get a text message from Brett asking me what my shoe size was, I was SO busy(yes State workers do work) getting ready for a meeting I replied what my shoe size was and it wasn't until I was on my way home it clicked in my head wondering what he was up to and why he wanted to know my shoe size. Well when we got home from our camping trip there was a box sitting on the back porch and of course It was so HOT that all I wanted to do was unpack. Well he opens the box and calls my name to come and look what had come. When I was walking out the door I asked him what he had ordered now and he said it was a surprise for ME! Now let me back up for a minute to his defense he sent me a link to what he got me a few days before we left but like the text message I hurried and looked at it and went to a meeting and put it out of my mind until that Sunday afternoon when he showed me my very own pair of KEEN! I have been way jealous of his for about 2 years and he was so kind a loving to get me a pair. He is always surprising me like this. I have really enjoyed them. It's nice to have some protection for my toes. Here is a picture that was taken of them last night.

Reunion

We had a GREAT 24th of July. We had a family reunion on my mom's side of the family down at Fish Lake. We didn't leave to go down until the morning of the 24th. We packed the dogs, Brett's pontoon boat and some camping gear and we headed down for 3 days of fun. Brett dropped me and the dogs off at Fish Lake and went with his dad over to the Boulder Mountain. In ONE afternoon of fishing he caught over 100 fish. He brought 7 Brooke Fish(which are my favorite fish EVER) so that we could have a fish fry. My favorite part of camping is the camp fire. I can't wait for next year when we get to go again.

It’s that time of year, it’s gardening time. The property next to our home has been vacant forever, seriously there is nothing on it. It has been that way since I was a little kid. So this year, my parents, my brother and sister-in-law and us decided that we were going to plant a little garden on it. Mind you the lot is 1/3 acre and we planted HALF of that with…… Tomatoes, Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Sweet Potatoes, Anaheim Chilies, Jalapenos, Green Beans, Corn, Zucchini and Pumpkins. It is a good garden.

So the other night Brett was outside taking pictures of Dragon flies and Grasshoppers and I decided that I was going to weed the garden a little bit. Mind you I had tried to weed the garden last week while I was watching Ashley, Sarah, and Charlie. But Charlie decided that he was going to go help Brett with the watering by moving the sprinkler, so he kinks the hose and convinces Ashley to help him. How he convinced her I will never know. Well he is a smart little dude as soon as she got up to the sprinkler head he let the hose go and Ashley got soaked. Ashley was laughing, well Sarah didn’t see Ashley get wet so Charlie convinces Sarah to help, lets just say by the time Jimmy and Marla came to pick them up all three of them were wet. I wish we would have gotten pictures it was funny. Sorry Jimmy and Marla that they were wet when you got them back and thanks again for letting us have them. So back to my story, so Brett is outside taking pictures and I am weeding and all of the sudden I see a CANTALOUPE it was about the size of a apple. I also found some pumpkins and watermelon, Yep Marla we got cantaloupe, pumpkins and watermelon growing. I was so excited to see the hours that we have labored in weeding and watering this garden to pay off. We have had some zucchini that has been ripe, so I decided to make zucchini bread it turned out so good.

Here are some pictures of our garden.

All I can say is STOLEN GOODS! This is the BEST hat, while we were packing I put it on my head and forgot to take it off in the truck on our way up. Brett just couldn't resist snapping a shot of my stolen goods.

Last weekend we went to see Brett's mom and step-dad in Idaho. The dogs absolutely love it up there. They live on farm land and have this huge hay field that they dogs run in about 7 times, needless to say they were way worn out by the time we got home. Brett took lots of photos up there, most of them were of Kaiser, he was easier to photograph than Sadie was.
This is Harley, he is a English Mastiff, he is 5 months old and is taller than Kai and Bug and weighs more than they do. He loves it when we bring the dogs with us to see him.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Kai in the grass.



And of course our Bug was being stubborn and not wanting her picture taken so I had to stand out of range and call her hoping she would stop to see what I was doing.

Fathers Day

I would like to tell 4 GREAT men in my life, happy be-lated fathers day.

First to my Dad he is the BEST! I couldn't ask for a better Dad. He has always been there. If I ever need someone to talk to he is always there. I am so grateful I have him as a Dad. I love you Dad thanks for everything.

Second is to my father-in-law Lee. Thank You for raising such a great boy! You're are always making me laugh and teaching me new things when we go camping and you never make me feel like I am stupid and that any question I ask you, you make me feel like it's a important question even when they are dumb. I love you.

Third is to my other father-in-law Kevin. Kevin you are Hilarious you are always cracking jokes and making me laugh. I love spending time in your home you make me feel welcome. Thanks for letting us visit whenever and accepting me for who I am, and for letting me mow the lawn :) I love you Kev.

And Finally to Brett. I am so grateful to have you in my life. I want you to know how much I love and appreciate EVERYTHING that you do for our little family. I am grateful that you LOVE to fish and that you are trying to teach me. I love to just watch you and to hear you laugh. To hear you playing with the pups and walking them with me. I love to hear you talk with Jay about photography. I LOVE YOU.

Happy Fathers Day! I hope it was a good one for each of you.

Picture Time

Brett and I had the opportunity to have our pictures taken by a really good friend of ours and a photographer Jason Morrison. He did a awesome job and I am grateful that he was able to take them. Here are some that he took of both of us together and some solo's. I am loving how they turned out. I know I know I do have red hair and I am loving it. I was in the mood for something different and this is what happened. ENJOY!

Memorial Day

We went camping down at fish lake and it POURED on Saturday. Sunday we went hiking here are some of the pictures that Brett took of me and the dogs. Monday we packed and came home, we had to set up our tent since it was wet. We had a GREAT time even with the rain and of course the dogs LOVED it.















Brett took a lot more pictures these are just some. Thanks babe for a good time camping :)

The Last Two Weeks

The last two weeks have been really tough on me and Brett. First of all our basement flooded three times, yeah THREE times with SEWAGE water and everything the water touched we have to throw away can I just say DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA!!

For mothers day we went and visited with Brett's mom in Idaho and it was nice to get away for 3 days with nothing happening, our dogs LOVED it. They love running around on 32 acres about 7 times a day. Here are some pics that Brett took of Kaiser and Sadie.

When we got home on Sunday night I was laying on the couch by Kaiser and I noticed that our living room ceiling the paint was bubbling, we thought that it was water. Well it turns out it wasn't it was TERMITES! Yep we have termites in our house. The termite guy is going to come and get rid of them on Tuesday but in the meantime we have duct tape on our ceiling so that they don't keep falling out. Hopefully the second half of the month will go better than the first half has.

WOHOO!

I know, I know, I know, two posts in one week is freaking amazing coming from me. But I am so excited. In the last 2 years I have gained some weight. I decided last August that I was going to try my hardest to get the weight off, I just didn't feel good, I didn't like the way that I looked, blah blah blah. I started on the Atkins diet(a low carb high protein diet) in August, it's a hard diet and you have to be very disciplined. At first I wasn't so sure it was going to work and then one day I decided to weigh myself and noticed that I had lost 10lbs. It made me excited and I wanted to see if I could loose more. Between watching what I was eating and taking Kai and Sadie on walks, doing pilates I noticed that even more weight was coming off. I try and weigh myself every couple of week. So this morning I get on the scale thinking to myself this is crazy what in the freak am I doing, but I endured it and to my surprise to date I have lost 25lbs. (that equals 4 pant sizes and 1 shirt size) I am at the weight that I want I just need to maintain it. I am excited that I can wear a 2 piece swimsuit and not feel embarrased about all of the extra weight I am carrying. If you ask some people who know me they will tell you that I don't eat, however if you ask Brett he will tell you that I am always munching on foods. Like tonight I am taking my Mom and Ann out to get Cold Stone Ice Cream :) I can't wait.

So our friend Jason Morrison is a amazing photographer. He went with Brett on Sunday to go fishing up at lake canyon, which it was freezing cold -6 degrees, way to cold for me. He got some amazing shots of Brett.
As for a update on my feet, my right foot is completely healed :) not such good news for my left. I went to the doctor on Monday and he told me that the dead skin isn't coming out on it's own and he wants me to keep it really moist until Thursday and then I get to go back. Needless to say I am NOT happy about the fact that I GET to go back and see him. I have a new nickname for my niece Ashley it's Lou who, and for Porter it's Port.

So the last couple of weeks for me haven't been good. I have been living on VERY little sleep due to nightmares. I had to go back to the foot doctor because my one toe just wasn't getting better and what does he do? He has to numb it and pull out all this dead skin. I am hoping it's getting better, but know the kind of luck I have had lately it's not. The next night Brett was suppose to go to school but it got canceled due to a gas leak, we were both excited that he didn't have to go. So I go home and start making dinner. I was cutting up some lettuce for a salad and I cut a BIG chuck out of my finger. I stuck my bleeding finger in my mouth and ran out of the kitchen into the living room, by that time Brett came in to see what had happened. Call me a whimp but I was bawling it hurt so bad. We put a bandage and lots of gauze and pressure on it. It's slowly getting better, not as fast as I would like but that is life right? Needless to say Brett banned me from using knives. He is good to come and help me cut things up for dinner. What really sucks is it's on my index finger and I am finding I use that for EVERYTHING. Kaiser thinks I have a toy or something on my finger he keeps trying to bite it. I NEED a vacation. Luckily for me I am going to California for 12 days with some of my family. I can't wait, I even have a countdown going (that is for both you and me bug) I have also given my nieces and nephews nicknames. Sarah is my "BUG", Charlie is my "Monkey" Cooper is my "Coop" and I am still thinking of one for Ashley, and it's going to be GREAT! just like she is :)

Finally!

Tax season in our house is not a good season. For the last 7 years we have had to pay both state and federal A LOT of money. This year I was trying to optimistic. It kinda worked. Last Tuesday we turned our taxes into our CPA to have them done, well on Thursday night Brett gets a call from the CPA (the dreaded call is what we have called it in the past). I heard Brett tell him "well that isn't as much as in years past" at this point I am FREAKING out. Well Brett tells me how much we owe to the state, and then he tells me the federal and he pauses and then says to me "that is what we are getting back". At first I thought they were playing a joke on me (which he loves to do) that didn't turn out to be the case. I am so excited. After paying for so long we are excited to be getting something back. This means when I go with my Parents and my brother to California I can get a massage :) just what I need. If you are reading this and you have to pay to both state and federal, I understand if you are upset. I have been there before.

If you know Brett very well you will know that he doesn't like his picture taken. I just had to post this awesome picture that was taken of him last week. It is absolutely one of my favorites of him. Our friend took it while they were out taking pictures of the eagles at farming ton bay. To see the pictures that he captured go to http://www.flytowater.com

To me they are amazing. I am so proud of him and the hobby that he has. He has a knack for taking pictures that is for sure.

AGAIN!!

So it happened AGAIN! 8 years ago I had really bad ingrown toe nails. I went to the doctor and he did surgery on them. No harm right?? You would think that it would work right?? WRONG! After 8 years they came back. 2 months ago my feet really started hurting at first I didn't even give it much thought. I would just take off my shoes and call it good. Well it started getting worse, much worse. My feet would hurt ALL DAY! Which if you have ever had feet problems, it's the worst. So I gave in and called the doctor ( if you know me, you know that I HATE doctors). So as you can tell this was NOT something I was looking forward to. The doctor was confused on why it took so long to come back, but he said they were there and that I could either leave them or do the surgery. I voted to get it over with. So Yesterday had 2 ingrown toe nails removed. He also told me that all of my feet problem are genetic. My feet were numb until about 11:00 last night. So needless to say I am home today with my feet up and I am blogging. My feet hurt worse this time I think. The shots that they give you are HORRIBLE. If you don't believe me ask anyone who has had them. You can feel EVERYTHING go in. I asked Brett the other night why this couldn't happen in the summer. Needless to say it's snowing outside and I get to wear flip flops now until they get better. My feet have been cold now for the past couple of days so today I decided to take a pair of Toe socks that I have and cut the big toe off so that I can atleast wear socks. I thought it was a good idea that I had. Brett just shook his head and as laughing. I hope it's not like it was the last time I had this done and take MONTHS and MORE surgery to heal. As I was laying here today Kaiser was sniffing my toes (which hurt like crazy) trying to figure out why we were home in the middle of the day and why I wasn't playing with him. Brett has had the pas couple of days off to go and take pictures of some eagles. I will post some later today. He has been THE biggest blessing in my life and I am SO grateful that we are married.

It has FINALLY snowed, I am so excited. Our dogs love to go outside and play in the snow. Kaiser will run these huge laps and tries to get Sadie to join him. It is so funny to see him prancing about with his high jumps (with his ears flapping) that he does. Our backyard was horrible I thought I was going to lose a shoe when I would take the dogs out. It is super muddy when the snow melts almost to the point that I don't want to go outside. SO goes my life I guess.

I just found out that I am going to California for a week in April. I am going with my parents, my brother, my niece Sarah and my nephew Charlie. Brett is staying home for school and to take care of the puppies. I am excited for April to get here.

As you can probaly tell I am not the best blogger on the planet. Life has been crazy in our house. To sum it all up: SADIE IS IN HEAT! Kaiser is going nuts about it. He doesn't like all the barking she does in his direction for no apparent reason.
To top it all off Brett has started school again.

For New Years Eve we just stayed home with our pupps and watched some movies. On New Years Day we went to my parents house and hung out with my cousin and her family (which she has the cutest kids), and then I went home and cleaned the house and did some laundry.

We also watched the Sugar Bowl and we both agree that the UTES should have went to the National Championship. During the sugar bowl I went out and shoveled, the snow was so heavy. Kaiser and Sadie during the game slept the whole time. It is so funny to watch them sleep, Kaiser loves to wake up, which is about the time that I want her to sleep, so goes the life of a parent.

I saw this saying that sums up how I have been lately "Did youever stop to think, and forget to start again" I don't know why but my brain hasn't been working lately.
We hope that you all had a Happy New Year!