Saturday, January 30, 2010

Winning Things

I posted earlier this week about awesome things I've won from work... well as of today I have won the single most amazing thing anyone could ever possibly win.
Are you jealous? Because if you're not... you should be.

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Tie die + Bon Jovi = Most amazing T-Shirt ever.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

There is beauty all around...

it's this time of year that makes the summer months so worth it!
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We have tomatoes coming already!
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Pretty sky amidst the crazy storms of last week
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Yes, this is what our garden looks like in January!

Monday, January 25, 2010

The perks of a boring office job....

Free stuff. Seriously. I get it all the time. It is honestly the best part of my job.
Contests, giveaways, lunch meetings... they're always going on and they're always fun to win.


You may remember last year when we got to go Whitewater Rafting for an HP contest I won at work... well this year the contest was an "extreme" Hummer tour through the desert and we got to go again!


We met for the trip at a 19th century cowboy town in Pioneer, AZ (I highly recommend it for any large event - it was awesome!)


We played "cowboy" games: the hatchet toss, lassoing, quick draw and of course archery where Benson gained the nickname "Robin Hood" for the day. They then fed us lunch and we headed out in the hummers!

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It was a pretty intense four hour ride through the desert... think the Disneyland Indiana Jones ride for 4 hours straight - but it was SO much fun.

You can't really tell but in this picture we're headed almost straight down this hill...

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They stopped a few times along the way to tell us the history of the location - this was a really neat spot where the chief of the indian tribe lived - there are still rock walls standing from when they inhabited the area

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After the tour we went back to the "ranch" for dinner, cowboy singers,


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and Native American dancers

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all of which were very entertaining.

The night ended with s'mores by the bonfire and getting to see the Orion Nebula and Jupiter through a fancy schmancy telescope.

We're crossing our fingers that next year's trip is skydiving! :)

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Great to be 8

My niece Liberty is getting baptized this weekend so last Friday I took her out in her pretty white dress to take pictures at the temple. They turned out SO pretty - it helps that she's such a cute little girl! I can't believe how big she is getting!



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Mesa Arizona Kids Photographer
Gilbert Arizona Kids Photographer
Queen Creek Arizona Kids Photographer

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Old.

I remember times in my life when family members would comment on how big I was getting and how that made them feel "so old".... well now I know what they mean.




Pretty much overnight this little beaker on the right....



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has turned into this....



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It's one thing when your little brother gets taller than you and graduates high school... but your nephew? That should be illegal.


I might as well buy myself a walker and start stocking up on depends now, I'll need them soon enough.

Monday, January 18, 2010

The story of the cleaning elf

There has been a cleaning elf around my house lately. It's pretty amazing. Thanks to this elf I have:

- A clean front yard (no more ghetto rock/dirt pile!! woo hoo)
- A clean back porch
- A finished kitchen
- An organized office (seriously first time since we've owned this house)
- ALL of my laundry clean
- Bills paid
- My Christmas tree put away
- New flowers planted
- A re-organized bedroom including a new vanity for me to get ready in the morning (since I am blind and have to be THIS CLOSE to the mirror to get ready without my glasses on)
- A clean back yard (bye bye 4 foot weeds!)
- Some new decorations hung
- and The bedskirt I got a year ago put on my bed for the first time



Thanks little elf - I don't know how I'd even start to re-pay you for this!


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(Dear ASU: Please don't start classes tomorrow. I like having Benson home all day to take care of our house. kthnxbye)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Ringin in 2010!

We decided to celebrate the new year in lakeside this year at Nate & Heidi's new house!
Most of our family came along as well and we had lots of fun staying up late and playing in the snow!
New Years Eve!
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Sledding
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Reagan was offered a ride in the sled but insisted on walking...
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then he got snow on his gloves and was quite upset.
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Jake is apparently way too cool for sledding. He prefers being half buried in snow.
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Monday, January 11, 2010

done, Done, DONE!

That's right people... the kitchen re-model is officially DONE!
(If you don't remember the previous hideousness you can check out the before pictures here)
So after months of this
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and this
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and this
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this horrible thing...
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became....
THIS
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We're so proud.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

We wish you a merry Christmas...

This is one of three pictures I took at Christmas... all of which were on this couch of the same kids. It was too much fun having all the family around! We had three "first Christmas" babies around, Tanner and Shelly staying with us from Utah, Nate and Heidi down from Lakeside and lots of fun!

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Friday, January 8, 2010

San Diego

Benson and I took advantage of the $25 Southwest flights and our (finally) free schedules right after school ended and took a fun trip to San Diego and then to St. George! Unfortunately I didn't take one picture in Utah, but here's a few from California!

Plane ride there...
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Birch Aquarium
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Seaport Village
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Balboa Park
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Tidepools & Lighthouse in Point Loma
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Saturday, January 2, 2010

Out with the old and in with the new (year)

2009 was a good year...

January - A new niece

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February - Our first garden

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March - Finding out what Benson would look like at 300 lbs.

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April - Whitewater Rafting!

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May - Little Brother & Little sister #2 Graduate

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June - Trip to San Diego and LA to get Passports

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July - Mexico!

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August - Baby Niece #2 and Nacho Party!

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September - Starting our Kitchen Re-Model & Baby Niece #3

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October - U2!!!

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November - Still working on the re-model

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December - California & St. George

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Other things to note in 2009:
I was licensed as a CNA
We FINISHED the kitchen (finally, I'll post pictures soon)
Benson finished another semester with all A's
We served in the Temple
We were able to take lots of trips with friends and family


Here's to hoping 2010 is even better!