Getting some practice

So Brett and Angela came down to the valley this weekend to take their 3 yr old daughter Jade to the Disney Princess on Ice. She absolutely loved it! and I am sure they will have pics on their blog soon if you want to see those fun pics, but while they were out at the show....we got to get a little bit of practice for our future little ones with Payten. She is the cutest little thing with the biggest cheeks! But....she is definitely a mamas girl and is usually not very happy if mama isnt around. She actually did really well right at first, but about 20 minutes into the night, she figured out mom was gone and was not happy about it. She screamed for about 15-20 minutes without stopping. She actually was making herself hoarse and gave herself the hiccups, which just made her more mad. So i finally stopped trying to distract her and just rocked to sleep. (which only took like 5 minutes). She slept pretty much all night, but woke up right about the time she was really supposed to be going to bed. When she woke up she was in the best mood ever! she was all sorts of smiles and giggles so Eldon got out the camera. We just wanted to share since she is so adorable. Thanks Brett and Angela for coming down to play! We
had a blast!

Fixing my broken resolution

Ok...so everyone breaks resolutions right??? well, mine is not broken because I am fixing it right now so then its still good! Well one of my resolutions was to be better about keeping up on my blog....and then we got busy! So i am repenting and have blogged up to date now....but there was one blog catch up that i missed with the holidays. I got tagged like 3 times with virtually the same tag. I had forgotten about it, but was looking back through some comments and stuff and saw it....whoops! So here goes on my tag....sorry its late and probably lame, but i want my resolution to at least make it through the first month.

here are the rules of the tag...1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.2. Share 5-7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.4. Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here goes....
1. I know sign language. I would not say i am "fluent" anymore at least. I do not practice it near enough to still be fluent, but i learned sign language from some Deaf friends and then took classes at BYU. One of my part time jobs is to be a sign language interpreter for Special Olympics in Chandler.

2. I skipped 6th grade. I went right from 5th grade to 7th grade at the Jr. High. Nope, i am not bragging that I am super smart or anything... but i was fortunate enough to have amazing teachers in elementary school and to have an accelerated program in elementary school that put me at the top of my class so i took at test and past it and let me skip it. which PS was the best decision i think my parents made for me.

3. I have never broken a bone in my body. You would think that after 14 years of gymnastics, 12 years of diving, 16 years of off and on cheerleading, and many many years of dance, track, softball, basketball, volleyball, etc and 2 brothers i would have done more damage....but i have chipped off parts of my spine, had 4 surgeries, split my head open on the diving board, and sprained both wrists and both ankles multiple times.

4. I totally get hooked so easy on cheesy tv shows. Right now my ultimate favorites are (even if they are not in season currently) Heroes, So you think you can dance, American Idol, and pretty much every show on HGTV.

5. I kiss better than I cook! Well at least that is what the sign above my stove in my kitchen says :) I am not a big cooker. I want to be the little Molly Mormon homemaker, but i dont get home from work until 7 and sometimes later and i grew up on taco bell and hamburger helper (which i think is just fine). And my mom says that when she tried to get me to help cook so i would learn that i said i was going to have a maid and a cook when i grew up so i didnt need to....where is that maid and cook when i need them now ;)

6. I am allergic to gold. Really! i have had to pierce my ears probably at least 6 times because my mom is allergic to everything but gold and thought i would be the same....nope! it wasnt until i stopped wearing gold and switched to silver (due to fashion preferences) that i realized why i was always pulling at jewelry. But that just means i need to have the good stuff!

7. Last but not least, my body pops like I am a rice krispie (ya know....snap, crackle, pop). especially in the morning. From all those activities named in number 3, pretty much every bone, or at least the main ones pop. This is especially true in the morning. But this one is one that is very obvious if you spend more than an hour with me.

ok....so that took a little bit of thought, but now i have repented and will pass it on to....
1. Angela
2. Misti
3. Shelly Larson
4. Kristin
and 5. Beth.

Have fun girls. I usually dont do these when i receive them in emails but they are fun for the blog i think. it gives people the chance to get to know you just a little bit better.

Back to real life

The beginning of 2008 was pretty lazy for both Eldon and I. With my surgery, leaving my job (using much needed vacation time for a quick break) and lots of rainy days for no window washing.....We did really work a whole lot:) but unfortunately....it was too good to last, so today was back to work and the start of a new semester of school for Eldon and the start of a new job for me. Eldon is going to school at Chandler Gilbert Community College just working on getting generals out of the way and finding the direction he really wants to take for a career. This semester he added a business class. We will see if this helps his find what he is looking for or just fulfills a requirement. My new job is working for the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department. The city and the Arizona Diamondbacks just partnered to build the one and only fully wheelchair accessible little league baseball park in the nation....and they picked me to run the facility! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! just kidding. So far everything is going really good...its pretty slow (which is normal first week on the job stuff) but i think it will be really cool to help start this program and provide new services for kids who have always been left on the sidelines. That's why I got into this field in the first place! I am glad for a new start, a new semester and a new year, but i was really enjoying the vacation!

Car Shows and Makeovers

So what do these two things have in common??? One is what the boys like to do and the other is what the girls like to do. There was this big car show in Glendale on Saturday and Eldon went with his good friend Dusty and his son Brayton. The car show pictures actually came out really good (especially considering that it was two boys taking the pics) and made the show look really cool. I am sure Eldons favorite part was seeing Bumblebee from the movie "Transformers". they had the actual car that was used in the movie! And if you know Eldon, then you know that he loves that movie! While the boys were out and about Brittney (Dusty's wife) and I had fun playing with their little daughter Raylee, watching the movie "Hairspray" which I had been wanting to see but never did and getting a make over. Brittney is a hair stylist and also loves makeup, so we just played. It wasnt anything special, just some fun curls and new make up, but we had a blast. and who doesnt like to relax and get pampered anyways.....I sure do! It was a happy Saturday for sure. Thanks guys!

Rock Band Mania

So in an earlier blog I talked about getting the video game Rock Band and how much fun it is! Well, I still think it is so much fun to play, but the best is when you have friends or family over to play it! Then it is the most entertaining thing ever :) We had our friends Jason and Kristy over to play it and it is absolutely a riot! we recommend it to anyone and everyone! Even if you dont like video games (like me) this game is still way fun! Here are so rockin pics that we took. The funniest part of the night is that when we bought this game, it only took us like 2 days from playing it the first time to go out and buy it. Jason and Kristy went out (either that night or the very next day) and bought it to rock out on!

New Years Resolutions

So every New Years, we make resolutions only to break them about a week later. I am included in this normal tradition. Only each year, I really do set out to make those changes and stick with them. Some of them stick better than others, but in the spirit of things....i thought i would share a few of my resolutions.
1. I am girl and so of course my goal is to lose weight. But....the difference is, i started long before the New Year and am already headed toward my goal. I am 15 pounds down but I still have a long road ahead. The trick is....I went to my doctor and got real help, not just from the latest and greatest commercial items. It really is working....slowly....but it is working and makes me feel better to know that I am going about it on a healthy approach that will stick.

2.I want to stay in touch with my friends better this year. Even with this blog....I will blog like 10 things at a time when I have time but then let it go for several weeks and do that same thing. So I am going to stay on top of that this year and be better about emailing and calling. People are so important and it is amazing how quickly time goes by. I dont want to miss out on great friendships just because life gets busy.

3. I want my husband to feel more loved and appreciated. hopefully he already does and would say that I dont need to work on this. But I think it is so important to never take anyone for granted and spouses I think are the easiest to do that with. My husband is so incredibly amazing and I am so in love with him. Mind you, he is not perfect and neither am I, but I definitely think we are perfect for each other! He is so attentive and caring and so patient with my imperfections. I just dont know what I would do without him in my life! I love you Eldon and I hope you know that

4. I want to be more spiritual. We really do try hard, but it is so easy to forget to say prayers when you head hits the pillow or to read scriptures. I personally have never been good at morning prayers and this is still the case. It amazes me how quickly i be lazy at something so important! So this year, I am going to make extra effort to do the things I am supposed to do.

5. Last....well at least for this brief list, is to be better with my money. I have always been lucky enough to have enough money for the things I wanted and needed. yes there have been lots of times where I couldnt buy the shirt or go out or whatever, but I have really never had need to want. However....I have also never been a very good saver. I always just saved to get what I wanted that was that. We are really hoping to get into a house this year. My dad keeps reminding me that my budgets are always way out in left field...(Which isnt true. My budgets are totally legit, I just never stick to them. If I did, I would have no problems :) ). Anyways, so we have some big financial goals this year and we have the money to do it....If we are good and save and spend the way we should. Since I am the main one who is so good at depleting our funds, I am going to try really hard to restrain and hold out for the bigger wants....Like not having someone live above us where we can hear every footstep! Well good luck to everyone with their resolutions and with the New Year!

Surgery!?!

So I was so scared for my surgery yesterday! I was really more scared for after the surgery to be honest. I had a similar procedure about 4 years ago and ended up having a terrible reaction to the anesthesia and couldnt even keep water down for more than 2 days. It made everything terrible!!!! I so wasnt looking forward to that again! But everything went really great! Last time there were major complications and the surgery doubled the time it was supposed to take. This time the surgery was supposed to take about 2 hours....they were done right around 1 hour and they did more than double the stuff. The nurse said there were going to be alot of people in there doing alot of things...so maybe that is why it went faster. But so far....knock on wood....no nausea!! Hallelujah! I am really not sore at all....I havent even taken any pain medicine and its been more than 24 hours. Actually the sorest part is my shoulder from not being able to sleep on my tummy like usual :) It is tender, but the pain is totally less than the cramps I was having the last few months, so I can so handle this! I just have to say that I am soooo thankful for my husband! He is amazing! Not only did he give me a wonderful blessing that helped me to be calm and to not throw up, but he has been so attentive and just been really helpful! I love you Eldon! And thank you to everyone for your concern and calls and prayers. I know it helped! PS ignore the no make up in the pics, but the first one is the before I headed into surgery and the second one is a picture of my fat swollen tummy. They made several incisions, but this is the one i can show.

Happy 2008!

We hope that everyone has had a very happy New Years! We had a blast hanging out with our friends Dusty and Brittney and their adorable kids New Years Eve. But I was dumb and didnt take any pictures....so sorry, no picks of that. But I have to say Thanks for the fun!

Now I dont know about any of you, but 2008 started out amazing for me. I got to sleep in until 12:00 noon. that never happens, even when I want it to. Then my amazing husband came and cuddled with me for a while. The scale said I had lost 3 more pounds...even after the holidays Wahoo! Then we rocked out to rock band, I got to eat Gecko Grill for lunch (even if it was leftovers, it was still really yummy!) Then I finally got ready for the day and went out shopping! It would have been the best day ever, except the malls closed at like 6! I only got to shop for about an hour. If I would have known, I would have left earlier. I just figured I had all night. Oh well....in that hour I hit some great sales and got some cute new clothes! It is starting out to be an awesome year! I am excited! I hope everyone has an amazing 2008 as well!