End of year questions December 30, 2008

My cousin Becky had these questions on her blog…so I am copying her. 

1.  What was my greatest accomplishment?

• I graduated with my Master’s degree and I lost 45 lbs. 

2.  What do I regret the most?

• I regret some of the arguments that I had with Joey. 
• I regret loosing my temper with my kids a few times….ok, a lot. 

3.  What was I most thankful for?

• My husband, my kids, my health, I have a lot to be thankful for.

4.  What will I change for next year?

• I would like to change my hair style.
• I would like to change my car.

5.  When did I feel the most loved?

• I felt truly loved when my co-workers dedicated a shrine to my existence.

6.  What was the most exciting thing that happened?

• I went to Las Vegas to see Mama Mia …it rocked and rolled.
• I started a blog
• I learned how to text message

7.  What am I most looking forward to?

• I’m really looking forward to summer break!  I’m planning a long road trip out to Kentucky!  I also just love summer break.  It is what I live for. 

new start December 28, 2008

We took a drive to Tremonten to see the house that my parents are building. They are planning to move back in the Spring.  Katie and Trevor have been doing the grunt work and we wanted to see their good works.  My mom said that they wanted to move to Tremonten because she didn’t want to live in a ”dump”.  I think she might have been refering to my house.  Lots are much cheaper when you live in the middle of nowhere, which means they can afford a nicer house. 

 

 It was VERY chilly and the roads were quite slick, but we survived.  Their house is going to be really nice, I think they’ll be happy with it.  Katie and Trev did a good job of picking out the lot.  It has a really pretty view of the mountains and a giant pasture.  They also have a GIGANTIC garage.  They’ll be able to fit six vehicles in that sucker.

 

After the tour, we drove back to Brigham to have lunch at Maddox.  Grandma Ge Ge gave us gift certificates so we enjoyed them together.  Maddox is delicious.  It is my favorite restaurant and yes, I had the turkey steak.

jammin’ December 28, 2008

We had Katie and Trev over for a little after-Christmas dinner.  With my brother in Boston, and my parents in Germany, there weren’t any other respresentatives of “my side” of the family. 

After dinner, I mentioned that our garbage disposal was broken.  Before I knew it, Trevor had taken the whole thing apart and declared the motor burned out.  Joey decided to go buy a new one since our handy man was there and all.  Trevor fixed it up good.  I probably would have went without a disposal for a very long time if it weren’t for him.

Afterwards, we jammed with the Rock Band that Joey got from his mom.  We cleaned up popcorn with the vacuum that I got from his mom.  It was a very special evening.

Before, During, Aftermath December 28, 2008

After all was said and done, this was the state of my living room after the Christmas morning masacre.  Bothof my children slept in till 9:00 am.  Joey and I were both awake by 8:00, and wondering why they were still asleep.  Didn’t they know that Santa had come?  We laid in bed reminiscing of Christmas’s past, when we’d have such a hard time falling asleep and counting down the minutes till we could wake up to open presents.  Good times. 

Tessa was thrilled with every one of her presents.  She exclaimed “wook mamma, wook mamma!” at each present.  We’d ask her, “What is it, Tessa?” and she’d say, “I don’t know!”  Every single present, without fail.  Her favorite was her baby, baby bottle and diaper bag. 

Nate tore through his presents like a hurricane.  He  has not yet learned how to be gracious and expressed his displeasure with certain gifts.  He even cried a little.  His favorite was his new tiny snow shovel.  He saw it at Checker Auto parts and fell in love.  He had a chance to shovel on the 26th. 

My gift from Joey showed up a couple weeks ago on my doorstep, un-wrapped, in this box.  Joey was really mad at Amazon.com because he had even paid extra for wrapping paper.  Regardless, I LOVE my new TV.  I also received a copy of the best movie ever made.

 

I got Joe Joe a new coat and a cozy new robe, which he put on immediately.  His old one had holes in it and it was time.  He was also happy to get the 11th season of Simpsonsand the Black Knight DVDs.  He was especially happy to have the “special edition” Black Knight, complete with a two sided “coin”.  I’m not sure why this coin is so cool…but he seemed happy.  If he’s happy, I’m happy.

Twas the night before Christmas December 28, 2008

We attended our traditional family get together at the condo.  This has been a tradition in Joey’s family for a long time.  I really like Joey’s family and I have loved this tradition from the first time I joined in, when we were still dating.  They have always made me feel at home .  They’re tradition is pretty laid back, consisting of presents and food, lots of food. 

Here is a picture of Averi Montana…Hannah’s little sister. 

In my family, we also had a Christmas Eve traditional dinner.  We would invite Grandma Aggie and Uncle Bob over each year.  After a fancy sit-down dinner of stuffed pork chops, we would then beg my dad to open just one present, which would of course, be our Christmas PJs. My parents have been in Germany for seven years, so it has put a damper on this tradition and the other side has been spoiled with our undivided attention.  Next year, however, my parents will be back and we might have to divide once again.

Baby shower December 24, 2008

We had a baby shower for Jenny.  She isn’t having her baby until June, but we aren’t likely to see her and thought it would be good to have one while she’s here.  Unfortunately, it snowed and everyone was too afraid to go out into the snow to come to the shower.  Not a single person, other than us, showed up.

I was especially disappointed that my blog fan, Holly, didn’t come.  She would have added a lot to the party because she is so awesome. I also made her a Christmas gift that I thought she’d like, but didn’t get to give it to her.

Well, we had fun without them. We had some taco salads that were easy, yet delicious.  Did I mention that I drove from Bountiful to Ogden (with two children) to get there?

Battle of the gingerbread December 22, 2008

 

This is a picture of what my sister calls a “gingerbread mansion”. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would just like to show everyone what a REAL gingerbread mansion looks like…

Ben-knee-hawn-nuhs December 22, 2008

My sister and brother inlaws, Jenny and Judd , are in town for Christmas.  Joey actually introduced the two of them.  Judd had been his long time friend and Jenny is his step-sister.  After Judd got rid of his religious ideals, Joey figured that they should meet.  They have been living in Kentucky and we don’t get to see them very often.  Judd suggested that all the “friends”  get together for a little slice and dice at Bennihanas. 

We have a lot of memories at Bennihanas, which we brought up over dinner.  One of my fondest memories was when I was pregnant (very pregnant) with Tessa.  I had licked my plate clean and I was still SO hungry that I then ordered a pizza from the piano bar that we attended.  I finished that off with some cheesecake.  Tessa was a VERY hungry baby. 

Another fun time was at the Bennihanas in Vegas.  Judd decided to pay for the girl that he didn’t like’s dinner, while the girl that he did like paid for her own.  Judd used to be a little mixed up with women.

Hawt Tub December 22, 2008

We took the students swimming for this year’s class Christmas party.  Despite the huge snow storm and trouble getting all FIVE wheelchairs over to the rec center, the kids had a blast.  It is a very fun thing to see these kids having fun in the water.  It was especially fun to get some of my non-mobile students in the water and to see their expressions of pure delight.  It must be very fun for them to feel so weight-less in the water. 

Of our 13 staff, only FOUR of us got in the water.  Kenzie is allergic to chlorine, so she gets a pass.  The rest of them, however, are LOSERS.  We made the non-swimmers go get the kids dressed while we enjoyed a little hot tub action. 

Is that a giant icicle, or are you just happy to see me? December 22, 2008

Joey is six foot three.