Road trip ~ part 2

The rest of our trip was great fun. The highlight of our second day was doing a session in the Redlands temple with my family. That temple is special to me- all growing up our closest temple was in LA (hour drive). I was in Young Womens when that temple was built (5minutes from home) and they asked me, along with 9 other youth, to work at the dedication. (President Hinckley said HI to me!) So I was glad I finally got to go inside it for an actual session. SO beautiful.

And our last day was spent again, at Disneyland! Only this time we dropped Brody off with my parents at 6am and Tony and I got there before it even opened. We ran from ride to ride and did everything we wanted at both parks, by the time we met up with my family for lunch!

My awesome parents splurged on lunch for everyone. We went to the "Blue Bayou" - which is the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Carribean ride. I always said, "someday we should eat there" But I never thought I actually would. For those who are interested, the food is pretty good- and I'd say it's worth it to go at least once. Only, I wish our table was in a better location... half of us were facing a wall...

I love how intense I look in this picture...so determined... as you can see it paid off greatly as I sufficiently wasted Tony's score. Go me.

All in all, the trip was fabulous and this time I managed to arrive back in Arizona, unsunburned, and in one piece. I wish I could say the same for Tony and Brody though- who both got pretty bad ...colds? I'm not sure what they got, poor boys.

Road trip!

At first it was just going to be me and Brody... but I thought: Tony doesn't start school till next week- so I convinced him to ditch work for a few days and come party with us in Cali! And he did! It was a glorious time! We got to see my sister Anne and her family as well as my parents who flew in from Virginia. My dad got to meet his two newest grandsons for the first time since he's been home from Iraq. If we look tired and pale in these pictures it's because we slept on the floor and got hardly any sleep the night before... but don't worry friends, we got a hotel for the rest of the trip.

We had our own photo shoot with Mickey himself. Yeah, that's right.

I have and always will love Toontown. They let you drive their trolley!

We got pictures with practically every Disney character there that day. I'm always SO excited too- until we actually get up to the thing and I realize it's an actual person in there.. and then I get weirded out.

Tony got the lowest possible outcome on the Kiss-o-meter. Tough luck, kid. Turns out, my mom has more game than both of us!

We took so many pictures the first day I'm already sick of looking at them... so I'm only posting a few so far. BUT, it was a blast! I was so worried about taking a 5month old baby to a theme park.. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of hauling around a stroller all day and not even going on rides. But actually we got to take Brody on quite a few rides, and it was so cute to see him look around at everything. Anyway, there's more to the trip.. but I'm still waiting to get those pictures. Ttfn! Ta ta for now. (;

Post number 10

10 Things about me: that you may or may not already know...

1. Music is a big part of my life. I've played the piano since I was 5 and started taking lessons at 8. It makes me sad sometimes because I haven't seriously played since I was a senior in H.S. So I'm not any better than I was then- I think I'm actually worse! In addition to playing piano, I write my own songs. Which I LOVE to do.

2. I'm a runner.. not sure why. It started in H.S. when I wanted to lose some weight. My mom would wake me up at 4am to go running around town with her- since I had to be at seminary at 6am. I'm nothing like her- she's ran everything from turkey trots to marathons. But I'm positive I will always run!

3. I'm organized and a neat freak. I like everything to be in it's place.. even when I'm making dinner, I clean up while I go.

4. I love art... not so much going to art museums (although those are cool and I have gone to several) but, making my own! Sometime my senior year I started taking my old Seventeen magazines and cutting them up and I'd make mosaics. From the clippings I had, I made my own version of "Starry Night" and I made a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. Stuff like that. That, and sketching are my favs.

5. I started my own business after I graduated and moved to Virginia. I was a Dog Walker! Yes, it is a real job. Yes, people go to school for it. (OK- it's like a short course you take and get a license) Mine was called "Connie's Canine Care" haha! No lie, it's an official business in Arlington, Virginia... my mom now runs it. I was sponsored by the Metropolitan of Arlington- every new move-in they had, they referred them to me as their local dog walker. I saved a dog's life once- and I risked my own on occasion. It was a blast. I miss it!

6. I shop alone. Don't get me wrong, I do love going to the mall with my girlfriends! But I find I get much more accomplished when I go by myself. Tony is the WORST person to go with- he makes a face the whole time. So I prefer to go alone...

7. Although I graduated High School at 17, I didn't get my license until I was 18. All my other friends were driving at 15 and 16 but not me. And I didn't care... frankly, driving is a chore and I love it that Tony drives every time we go somewhere.

8. I'm just a plain white girl. I've been told I look... "authentic" but, I'm not that cool. I have the darkest hair in my whole family which is naturally curly. I loathe my curly hair. Which was a major trial in my teen years because I didn't want the boys to see me at the pool looking like a poodle. "trial". psh.

9. I went on a freak diet when I was in college- I ate nothing but whole grain stuff and I converted to soy milk. Truth is... I never saw any good come of it. I also banned myself from chocolate for a whole year! Truth is... NO good will ever come of that! Don't do it, friends!

10. And last but not least I'm a journaler. I've been a journal keeper pretty much since I could write. And right now I'm on journal #21. I still have all of them safely boxed up taking up space. My first ever journal entry started off, "I love matt. i want to mary him" haha! It's downright hilarious to go back and read them. For example, my "Goals for 1997" were, "1.find a boyfriend 2. be nicer 3. be cooler 4. be popular" Bahaha! The list goes on but I think that pretty much sums it up! What aspirations!

Ok, so there you have it. Also, Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad (yesterday!) 26 years! What an ecstatic pair! haha! (Sorry mom this is the only old picture I had- and neither of you look exactly happy...)

Brody is 5months old today, crazy!

My little sports freak.

My husband Tony created his own little blog. This is exciting for me. Especially since he's been so anti internet-socializing for the past long while. So welcome back, T! Tony is extremely passionate about his sports. Around my house it isn't spring, summer, winter... it's basketball, baseball, football season. It's all good.

Anyway, he's been on sports radio like 300 times so this'll be good for him.. and we won't be going over on our cell minutes again just so he can get a few sentences out. (Not that I care... call away babe!) If you like sports check it out. If not, he blogs about your next favorite thing... MEEEE. haha.

23

My birthday was amazing all thanks to my wonderful family. Tony got me the last two twilight books, a cute tote bag, and a see's candy gift card. My parents spoiled me too by sending our whole family to California, where we spent two of the days at Disneyland and California Adventure. I'll post about our trip when I get the rest of my pictures.

We went to Black Angus the day before since my birthday was on a Sunday this year. I wanted Brody to come along and celebrate with us.

I had to take a picture with my meal, although Tony and I both hate taking pictures with food. haha But check out that freakishly long french fry!

Me with my gifts from Tony. What good taste he has (:

I woke up to mini berry muffins and OJ. Tony set out a paper towel for me to eat on, and everything! (:

We had a little party with our primary kids, they are all so cute.

The day(s) ended up being pretty great!

Have You Seen Me???

'Kay, I thought about what ya'll can get me for my bday. "If I had one wish to make, this is the wish I would choose... I'd want an old straw hat, a pair of overalls, and a worn out pair of shoes..."

Well not quite. By the way, 2 dollars to the person who knows where that quote is from... and that means before you Google it. Hint: it's a movie. Hint #2: it's a classic. That is all. Moving on...

What I really want/crave/miss/dream about, is this:

But- GAH! They are no where to be found this side of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Infact, I can't even find them on the Hershey's website. Yes, I've searched high and low- including the world wide web. The madness started not too long ago... sometime during my pregnancy when someone asked me what my favorite candy bar was. They planned on buying it for me but had to get me something else because they "couldn't find it". Grrr. Anyway, I've had no such luck in my attempts to prove that person wrong- that they do infact exsist and that they are sold nation wide. Half a year later, I'm starting to think I'm the crazy one. Friends: if you come across this candy bar, buy it and enjoy it. And then buy me one because I'm CRAVING one like no other. That's my only birthday wish. G'nite.

That's one expensive cup of ice!

I was craving sweets one night (like everynight) so I had Tony convinced we needed to go to Golden Spoon. The place was packed (blast!) so I opted to go to Bahama Bucks. I LOVE their bahama rama mamas. This time I decided to just get a plain snowcone. I walked out of there, $4.08 cents poorer and began enjoying my treat. As I got half way down I realized I had no more syrup. My first instinct was to enjoy it anyway. But as soon as Tony asked if I wanted to go back and get more syrup, I decided they owed it to me; and I wouldn't look like a picky person for asking. So I went in and quietly told a worker I had a dry snowcone and the person yells out for all to hear "HEATHER! WAY TO GO! YOU'RE SKIMPING ON SYRUP AGAIN!" I felt SO bad for this girl! She looked SO embarrassed to have her singled out as a 'syrup skimper'. But that's another story... So as I waited, the owner (I'm guessing) asked for my punch card and gave me enough punches to get a free snowcone! Which to me is like winning the lottery. SO, I figured it was worth it to go back and ask after all...

Likewise, I opened up my TV bill for the month and realized it had gone up ANOTHER $10. This was the second time in the last few months we've had an increase. Outrageous. At first I figured it was a lost cause, who could argue with "the man". But after seeing an ad in the mail for the same thing we have, but for half the price, I decided to give the man a lil phone call. It was well worth it because they took the increase off for the next year and offered me extra channels (free) for the next six months! 'Kay, you must know, I'm not generally picky or constantly complining to get my way... promise. But I've found that it can never hurt to ask!

Moving along... a Happy Birthday to MIKE! My twin for the next few days(: I'm sad I wasn't there to put up streamers, make a cake, and do all the cheesy birthday stuff I usually do, but at least this year I could call! You're great mike... seriously, if it weren't for my awesome bro, I wouldn't have had some of my awesome summer adventures(:

Shout out to Perris

I wanted to acknoledge my baby brother Perris today because in about 2 days he'll be off serving in the Bilbao, Spain mission! I'm so proud of both my brothers for choosing to serve missions! I love you so much and I'll miss you, Perris!!

New Love, Old Love

I have a new love: reading books! I have a huge list I'm working on. Before anything else though, I'm reading the Twilight series with the rest of the female population so I can feel somewhat cool. I have to be like, the last girl in the Mormon world to get involved with Edward Cullen. But as of... well, like a few months ago, I caved. I read twilight in a matter of days and am almost finished with New Moon. I gotta say, it's trying my patience. I've found it's a lot slower. But maybe that's just me. Anyway it's great... I feel good to be reading more. However, I am a little frustrated with the new release of the last book though... everyone I know is giving it away for me! Gah!

And as for other things happening, Tony and I went to a diamondbacks game all thanks to the generosity of some friends, Bon and Jessie. Last season Tony and I went to like 10 games. This season we hadn't gone to any! And that is because finding a willing babysitter for 5 or 6 hours is next to impossible. BUT we did, and we had a great time! Not to mention awesome seats. We sat on the club box level! Instead of having to go get your own grub, they had a waiter taking orders. Nice. Anyway the game only lasted 2 hours! So I wasn't fretting so much about Brody. I think next time we go to a game we'll take him. After all, he's almost grown out of his 'lil diamondbacks shirt! Gosh I love baseball...

I'm such a mom now

Just thinkin....

Now I understand why my dad would always call my mom a "pack mule". It's because everywhere she went, she lugged around her purse (which is more commonly known as a duffle bag), at least one type of camera, and everyone else's crap. Now I'm the pack mule. Going to church each week is like going to summer camp. We're never without two huge bags in addition to the carrier. I'm a fulltime mommy body builder. The ironic part is that dispite all the weightlifting I do, my biceps stay the same. What's the deal with that??

AND ANOTHER THING::: it's not such a big thing, really... I've just noticed that ever since I've gotten married I have had nearly no opinion towards anything. Tony asks me what I want to watch on TV, I don't care. He asks me what I want to make for dinner, and I don't care. Granted those aren't such HUGE life altering decisions, but even when it comes to picking out my own child's name, I don't care! Tony has just about named our first 7 children. (And I think we're stopping at 5.) Anyway, I used to care about so much more! I've completely changed and I'm starting to get bored of myself. I don't even love things like music, like I used to. Well it's all going to stop. Would you like to know what inspired the change? Apple pie. Yup. The other day I was invited to make apple pies at a ladys house in my ward. She could almost be my grandmother... this was very unlike me. I usually pick friends more my age. But who was I to turn down her offer to supply all of the ingredients and teach me how to make homemade pies from scratch? So I didn't. I went and I made a pie and I had a blast! So I'm throwing out the old me- the sudden introvert who focuses too much on dirty diapers now to realize I should still allow my own progression. I'm of course still all about making my boys happy but I should focus more on me, too.

For starters, I've been listening to music more. And lately I'm really liking Sherwoods latest album: "A Different Light." Mike had it went I went to California for the couple days. I do realize I've missed out on lots more great music- all thanks to the rock I've been living under. So any suggestions on albums to check out? Anyway here's to the new me... any one of your grandma's free this friday night? (:

July happenings

The month of July was a fun one for me. I started babysitting, I had family come visit, and I made my first trip out of Arizona with just Brody and I. My sister Anne and her kids, as well as my brother Mike, came to Arizona for a couple days. So Brody got to meet his cousins on the Nelson side of things. We went to a splash park in Tempe the day they got here. I had no idea we had those around here and actually there are a ton of them. We picked one which ended up being a different one than we thought, so it wasn't as big and nice but no one was there so at least we got the place to ourselves.
Our fourth of July was spent mostly at my sister-in-laws for a BBQ and swim party. It's also Tony and my tradition to go see a movie in the morning so we saw "Get Smart". The only disappointing thing about the day was that we missed fireworks. Normally they'll watch them on their roof but because of a storm that was rolling in, we stayed in and just watched a movie. I'm starting to like the 4th of July more and more because it's one of the few holidays in which I don't have to give any thought to what to get people- or worry about what we're going to do that's fun for everyone. It could be the same thing every year for the rest of my life (movie, food, swim, fireworks), and I'll love it! I love not spending a butt load of money on gifts and still having a great day! haha! This picture cracks me up- I had no idea we were taking our family picture in front of a construction zone in their backyard. Oh well.

And as for my trip with Brody... we went to California for a very short 2 days. And I mean extremely short. For an extra 20 bucks I was going to change my flight to be there for an extra 3 days but it ended up working out great that I left when I did because Tony and I got to go to the movies with some friends one night, and the next day I had to rush Tony to the ER. It was good that I was here for him. So I flew out monday morning and flew home tuesday night. The days were spent chowing down on delicious mexican candy, Bubu Lubu, burning myself to a crisp at Huntington beach, and mostly being with my favorite people in the world, my family.

Before the trip, I was obsessed with the idea of taking sibling pictures- I wanted to take so many everywhere we went. But I only got a few.. meh. This summer has been awesome so far... and I just found out I may get to go back to California in a couple weeks. So cross your fingers for me... cause I really want to go!

Third times a charm?

This makes blog number 3 that I've made. The other two were made a bit reluctantly and I'm still not sure how long this one will last... but, we'll give it a whirl. As of right now I have no faithful readers... so I'm not sure what to include in this post. I guess I'll recap the last little while so all will know what's been going on with us. To start, Tony and I had a baby in March this year. He is the most adorable, loving, sweet bouncy baby boy I've ever seen and he's all MINE! I'm a very proud parent, as is Tony, and we can't get enough of his cuteness. He's now 4 months and just the other day we found him completely rolled over. So we're getting more and more excited for all his new developments to come.

On to other news, my dad is back safe and sound from his year tour in Iraq with the National Guard. I coundn't believe when he said he was going there- and we prayed every night for him to be OK. Glad that worry is over! My lil' brother Mike is also home from his Texas spanish-speaking mission! He did great! Since he's been back I've seen him numerous times and I'm so glad. I sure did miss that boy. And in two weeks my littlest brother Perris is leaving for his mission to Spain. I think it's funny all of the men in my family had/have to learn pretty much the same language on their missions. Anyway, because of all the recent arrivals and departures I've made a couple trips so far this summer that I'll have to post pictures of. Alas, that is another post for another day.