Kim's Photo-a-Day

Christmas Day

2012-02-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

M2B =) day 679. Sunday, December 25th happiness:

Happy Christmas.

I still love to see Joe's face as he peeks around the corner waiting to come in and see tree and presents.

His dad surprised him with a new guitar.
We spent the morning opening our gifts.
Some of us played with bubble wrap.
My two favorite guys.
Later we went to my mom and dad's house for lunch. We got to deliver their present to them.
I am going to miss having those chairs around. They have been in my house for a few weeks and I have seriously enjoyed them! I look forward to sitting in them on the back porch of the cabin.

We got to hang with this guy:

And eat some yummy food.

Then we went home and were lazy all afternoon/evening.

I love Christmas.

Happy Day!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-27T08:43:00.000-08:00

M2B =) day 678. Saturday, December 24th.

Saturday, December 24th happiness: Happy Christmas Eve!

We started off the morning with a Christmas Eve breakfast. Usually this is a Christmas day thing, but because Christmas is on Sunday, and we all have church, it just wasn't going to work out this time.

I don't know why, maybe because I was having too much fun enjoying my family, but I only took like 3 or 4 pictures this morning. I did get the important one:

my dad cooking the delicious steak and gravy. Thanks dad! In addition to breakfast, we all took a turn skyping with Jared's family. It was pretty cool.

Brian had to run off to work =( but Joe and I kept up our tradition of making gingerbread cookies for Santa....

...and then watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Tonight, we made the trek to see Brian's family.
Good times!
Here is what happens when you let Brian take over the camera. You get lovely shots like this...
....and this one:
There were many more like that too. He called them his "art" shots. Don't worry, he took some good ones too.

I tried to get a photo of everyone, but it looks like I missed grandma and Joe in this one.
Guess what the theme of the evening was:
Yup, that would be "Red Solo Cup". Guess how many times I heard them sing that song tonight? Guess how many times I never want to hear it again? =) It's ok. They had a fun time singing it together.

Joe and D worked on a puzzle that uncle Mark sent.
It was getting late, so we had to travel home so Joe could open his Christmas Eve jammies.
Not a bad way to spend the day.

Happy Day!

shopping, Organ Stop and lights

2012-01-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 673 - 677. Monday, December 19th - Friday, December 23rd happiness:

Monday, December 19th happiness: No School today! Woo hoo. I finally got to do a little Christmas shopping. I have never been this behind on the shopping - ever.

Tonight Joe and I watched a Christmas movie. It is one of our favorites. We have been waiting all season for it to come on. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa." We love it!

Today was a good day.

Tuesday, December 20th happiness: I have no photos today because I was too busy shopping. And guess what? I got it ALL done. Woo hoo! I hate shopping, but I made a plan, I set out and I didn't come home until it was finished. I won't lie. It feels good to get it out of the way.

Wednesday, December 21st: Today was Joe's last day of school. Woo hoo! Tonight Brian and Joe took me to see Sherlock Holmes, since I got sick last weekend and didn't get to see it with them. I LOVED IT! Love love loved it.

Thursday, December 22nd happiness: While I was out grocery shopping this morning, Joe cleaned my house. Best. Christmas. Present. Ever! I have it good.

Also, I have been wanting to have the kiddo's over for a while, but I have just been too busy. Today I was not. I had Rowan, Addy, Josh, Max and Evan over to watch a movie and eat popcorn and m&m's and just play. It was fun.

Tonight, we celebrated Michael's birthday at Organ Stop. I look forward to this all month long. I love Organ Stop.

Afterwards we stopped for gas on the way home and saw this:
Remind me never to eat at Rio Rico Mexican grill.

Friday, December 23rd happiness: Joe helped me wrap some presents today.
Tonight after Brian got home from work we went and looked at some Christmas lights.

We stopped at the Christmas village first. I love this place.

Next, Thanks to a tip from Sheri, we found The Nightmare Before Christmas house.

And finally, we went to a house that had a ton of lights, that were set to music. You tune in your car radio and watch the lights blink in time with the music. I love it. While we were there, these 2 cars pulled up.
Fun Stuff! I love Christmas.

Happy Day!

Rain and cheesecake and flowers and presents

2012-01-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 677 - 672. Tuesday, December 13th - Sunday, December 18th happiness:

Tuesday, December 13th happiness: Rain today! That is always good for some happiness.

Tonight I went to Cheesecake factory and got this:

It is caramel apple streusel cheesecake.

I got to go with some pretty awesome girls! We were celebrating Tawsha's birthday. Good times.

December 14th happiness: I went for a walk with Sheri tonight. I loved being out in the cold weather and I always love hanging out with Sheri.

Thursday, December 15th happiness: This morning was not great. I was feeling completely tired and overwhelmed this morning. Then I turn on the radio and "Move Along" was on. LOVE that song. It is one of my all time favorites. I love how music can instantly make things better.

Today in class was our Holiday Party/Mug Exchange. It was fun. I got lots of photos of the kids with their new hot chocolate mugs. And I got lots of fun pictures of them singing karaoke.

I also got some awesome Christmas gifts from my kids today. I think my favorite had to be this spoon:
Tonight, as per Christmas tradition, Joe and I went Christmas caroling with the Trezise family. Joe played guitar and we all sang. It was more fun than the boys are making it look in this photo.
Friday, December 16th happiness: Last day of school before Christmas break. Can I say WOO HOO?

The third graders got to go see a production of the Nutcracker. It was a dinner theater, so the kids got dressed in their fancy clothes. They got to eat lunch AND dessert, and then watch the play. Afterwards they got to meet the cast and get pictures and autographs. Good times.
Saturday, December 17th happiness: Brian and I did a little shopping today. It was fun to get out and about. We were supposed to go to the movies this afternoon, but I got super dizzy. So instead Brian and Joe went to see Sherlock Holmes and I took a nap. =(

Sunday, December 18th happiness: RAIN!
Sheri and I went to Grandmothers this afternoon to wrap presents. I got distracted by her gorgeous flowers and had to stop to take some shots on my way in.

This is Sheri, happy to be wrapping presents. (This is before illness set in)
I didn't have much to wrap, since I haven't really done any Christmas shopping yet. I had a couple of things, and then I helped Sheri with her things. Sadly, Sheri started to feel sick to her stomach and we had to leave a little early.

It was a good time while it lasted. Grandma is so nice to let us come every year and invade her home and use her wrapping paper and tags, and she always makes us the most beautiful bows for our presents. She is the best!

Happy day.

Gingerbread houses and Christmas songs

2012-01-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 673 - 676. Friday, December 9th - Monday, December 12th happiness:

Friday, December 9th happiness: I went to bed early last night, and I woke up today feeling so good! Nice!

Finished mom's tree today. Woo hoo.

Saturday, December 10th happiness: Today we did the annual gingerbread houses at my mom's. Usually, Joe gets distracted after a little bit and he goes off and hangs out with the guys. This year, other than choose the yellow color, he did the whole thing himself. I had this brilliant idea of how I wanted my house to look this year, but it was NOT working out. Starting with the fact that I made the yellow too bright. Joe took over for me and fixed it so it turned out super cute.

Right now I am kicking myself for not getting photos of any one else's houses.

Tonight was the Del Rio ward Christmas party. Brian, Joe and I came because Joe was performing with Dallin.

He hung out with the guys while they were waiting to go on.
Adam and Jared performed Silent Night. They were fantastic, of course.
Later, Alex and Dallin performed "I'm Gettin' Nothin' for Christmas" with the rest of the Young Men.
Finally, Joe and Dallin performed and original Christmas song. It was so good. I got chills and it brought a little tear to my eye. If you didn't get a chance to see it, both Dallin and Paul put the video on facebook, and you can also look it up on YouTube.
My future rock star! This was Joe's first time performing in front of a live audience (other than his family).

It was a fun night. Afterwards we got Rosati's pizza. A-mazing! So Yummy.

Sunday, December 11th happiness: After a long, busy week, I needed a day to unwind. I love lazy Sundays with nothing to do.

Monday, December 12th happiness: RAIN!

Happy Day!

White Elephant, the Grinch, and a song....

2011-12-29T06:49:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 668 - 672. Sunday, December 4th - Thursday, December 8th happiness:

Sunday, December 4th happiness: 1st Sunday of the month = FHE. I love my family.

My mom gave a lesson

and then...White Elephant!

There were some interesting gifts this year. I think Michael was happy with his leg lamp.
Joe was honored to receive the Taylor Lautner poster. This one is a repeat. If you get the poster, you get to sign the back and bring it back next year!
I think my favorite of the night was.....
It was fun, although I don't think the little ones quite understand the concept of White Elephant. I think next year they will have their own gift exchange.

Addy was smart though. She brought something she knew she would love - a Justin Bieber ornament. Of course, she was thrilled to go home with it. Smart girl.

Monday, December 5th happiness: I was looking for cards for my school kids today, and I found the best cards ever:
Woo hoo!

Also, today I bought what might be the best invention EVER. It fixes strings of Christmas lights. FOR REAL!
I have been dealing with Christmas lights for years now. And the worst part is when you bought new lights the year before, and the next year they don't work. Or, when they work and then you get them on the tree and they decide not to.

This year, when I did my mom's tree, she had like 15 strands of lights that didn't work. This little light fixer, fixed 10 of them, and it was soooo easy. I love it. I also had a strand on my tree that went out, and instead of having to unstring and replace, it took me like a minute to fix it with this thing. Love it!

Tuesday, December 6th happiness: I worked on my mom's tree tonight!

I had a good helper.

Thanks to Adam, she got a new tree topper this year.
Wednesday, December 7th happiness: I was at my moms working on her tree tonight, and I got to hear Dallin's new Christmas song. He is supposed to perform a song at their ward Christmas party on Saturday night. Joe was going to play the guitar while Dallin sang. They chose a few different Christmas songs and practiced, but Dallin wasn't very happy with any of them. So, he went downstairs for a bit, and wrote himself a brand new Christmas song to sing. It took him like 20 min. and it is amazing! I got to see him perform it tonight. Joe is going to play for him still, but here is Dallin doing a quick run through:
Thursday, December 8th happiness: Aunt Denise sent some of her Krispy Kookies to my mom's house. I was too busy enjoying their deliciousness to take a photo. And, my mom had a chocolate peppermint cupcake from Sweet Daddy's, that I got to sample. Pure deliciousness.

Happy Day!

Christmas traditions

2011-12-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 661 - 667. Sunday, November 27th - Saturday, December 3rd happiness:

Sunday, November 27th happiness: Joe and I watched Christmas movies today. Lots of cheesey Hallmark movie channel Christmas movies. I loved every minute of it.

Monday, November 28th happiness: Today we started MY favorite Christmas tradition - The nightly reading of Christmas stories. Each night we choose one story. We turn off all of the lights except for the Christmas village and the tree and we cozy up on the couch and read a story.

It is my favorite tradition because I always feel the spirit. Most nights I can't get through the story without crying. And it always reminds me of what Christmas is supposed to be about. Yes, the lights, and the gifts and the goodies are fun, but that is not what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. These stories remind me to think of others, and to try to give what service I can, and to try to help out someone who truly needs it. I love it!

The first story we always read is Joseph's favorite: Christmas Every Day!

Tuesday, November 29th happiness: Tonight Brian read HIS favorite Christmas story. It gets me every time. I cried, He cried. It's so good!
Sorry. I forgot to rotate the photo before I uploaded it. I'm not going back and changing it now. You will just have to rotate your head to the side. =)

Wednesday, November 30th happiness: Today was the first day in weeks that I didn't physically feel just awful. I may finally be kicking this thing! Woo Hoo.

Thursday, December 1st: I spent much of the afternoon/early evening at Sheri's house working on the lights on her tree. I had a little helper named Evan. He helped me sort the lights, and test them to see if they were still working. He wanted to put ornaments on the tree So badly, but I had to keep telling him to wait until the lights were done. It is so cute how excited he is.

Friday, December 2nd happiness: Lights on Sheri's tree - done! My little helper was so excited.

You may not recognize him though. He has recently acquired a cheeto 'stache:
Saturday, December 3rd happiness: Thanks to Joe, we participated in another Christmas tradition tonight - dinner at Serranos on the first Saturday of December, followed by looking at Christmas lights.

A couple of years ago, we happened to go to dinner with the Trezise family on the first Saturday in December. Joe declared it to be a new tradition and we have been doing it ever since. We did invite the rest of the family to join in on the fun too.

This year it was a little crazy as times and locations got moved at the last minute so we could make sure everyone could be there. We made it! The food was good, and the company was great!

You know what happens when you try to photograph teenage boys? They make faces at you!
Ro was being a stinker and wouldn't let me take his photo. Finally I told him that I didn't WANT to take his photo, I just wanted a photo of Josh. Guess who showed up in the background?
After Serranos it was temple lights. It was rainy and super cold - just how I like it. It also meant that there wasn't very many people there. No crowds. Yay!

We went with Sheri and Ian's family and Darrel and Trina's family.

When we got home, Brian made us a cozy fire. The perfect ending to a fun night.
Happy Day!

Thanksgiving and the Science Project

2011-12-15T16:44:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 655 - 660. Monday, November 21st - Saturday, November 26th happiness:

Monday, November 21st happiness: It was a beautiful cloudy day. Living in Arizona I will always appreciate cloudy days. They make me the happiest. I had to do both 3rd and 4th grade lunch today, so I got to be outside a lot today to enjoy it. Also, during pick up - sprinkles. I love it!

Tuesday, November 22nd happiness: I FINALLY slept last night without coughing every 5 minutes. I actually got some sleep. I don't feel like such a zombie today. Yay!

Wednesday, November 23rd happiness: It was crazy sock day at school today and I totally forgot! And I LOVE fun socks. Dang it! Thankfully many of the kids did not forget. It was fun to see all of the interesting socks today.

I even had one boy in our math class who wore his sisters rainbow strip socks. I wish I had gotten a picture of that!

Also, today was a 1/2 day. Woo hoo!

Thursday, November 24th happiness: HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Clouds today too! Much to be thankful for.

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Brian's family. It was fun.

Brian was happy to be there. So was Joe, even though he doesn't look like it in this photo:
Joe and D after stuffing their faces with yummy Thanksgiving food.
I think it has probably been a few years since I got a photo of the 3 of these guys together. I'm glad I made them pose for me. I had to snap it quick, since with teenagers, they weren't going to stand there for long.
We spent a lot of the afternoon out back. It was a beautifully cloudy day. We even saw a few sprinkles. Joe found ways to entertain himself...and us.
He and D spent a good while playing the "who can balance the cushion on their head longer" game.
I'm sad that I didn't get many photos of the rest of the family. I didn't want to take shots while everyone was stuffing their faces, and that was the only time that we were all sitting together. I should have wandered around more, shoving my camera in everyones faces. I know how people love that.

It was a happy day filled with lots of food and family. What else can you ask for?

Friday, November 25th happiness: I don't know if today made me happy, but I was sure relieved that Joe finally got some serious work done on his science project. He takes after his mom, and saved most of it for the last minute. It is due on Monday. We worked on it all day long.

All I can say is that I am sure grateful to uncle David who helped us out when we couldn't figure out how to read the voltmeter! Brian and Joe just showed up on his doorstep this afternoon looking sad and needing help, and he totally helped us out! Thanks SO much! We could not have figured this out without you.

Saturday, November 26th happiness: Joe and I worked on more science today. Yesterday he did all the research, bibliography, experiment conduction and charted all the info. Today he got to make a board and put all the info on it and make it look awesome. I seriously cannot believe that I didn't take a photo of the finished product. He really made it look great. He did it in yellow and blue and had photos and graphs and info. It took us ALL day, but it looked great and it is done! Huge sigh of relief.

While Joe and I were science-ing it up, Brian was being superman today! He put the Christmas lights up on the house. Then he replaced the doorbell, finally he went grocery shopping AND he brought me home chocolate amaretto gelato, which I have literally been thinking about and craving for like 3 weeks. He read my mind!
Tonight to celebrate being DONE with the science project, we went to Cherry street to see the lights.
I love that Joe is not too old to go see lights with his mom and dad. He loves all things Christmas, just like we do.
He also got to go see a movie with Adam tonight, and I got to sit on the couch and watch t.v. and do nothing for a while. It was seriously great.

Happy Day!

icky sicky

2011-12-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 648 - 654. Monday, November 14th - Sunday November 20th happiness:

Monday, November 14th happiness: Not so much happiness today as gratefulness. I was grateful to have a sick day I could use to stay home. I am grateful for naps and especially for nyquil.

Tuesday, November 15th happiness: Home sick again today. I did get out of bed long enough to stop by a friends baby shower.

The sad part was, all the food looked soooo good, and because of being sick, I can't taste anything right now. I did bring some things home for Brian though.

Wednesday, November 16th happiness: No more sick days, so I had to go back to work. Boo! To cheer myself up a bit, I had peppermint ice cream tonight. It felt SO good on my sore throat. I also hung up the ornaments we bought at Disneyland:

Oogie Boogie:
Lock, Shock, and Barrel:
And, of course, Jack:
All from The Nightmare Before Christmas. (are you surprised?)

Thursday, November 17th happiness: Finally had enough energy tonight to put up the Christmas Village.
It makes me happy.
Friday, November 18th: Movie night with the girls! I was a little concerned because I was still sick - including having a cough, and being prone to coughing fits that go on for 5 minutes at a time. I didn't want to be the annoying person in the theater driving everyone crazy, but I also was NOT going to miss out on girls night. Even if it was Breaking Dawn. The fun is in the waiting in line for an hour and chatting with everyone, and then going out for dessert afterwards =)

So, I came prepared, water, and cough drops on hand. It worked well for about 3/4 of the movie. Then Sheri leans over and makes a comment that I am doing well and haven't even really coughed at all. Well, you know how that works. No sooner had she said it, then I went into one of my 5 minute non stop coughing spells. No worries, I did exit the theater and take it into the bathroom. When I was done, I really wanted to just lie down and take a nap, but as I was in a public bathroom - gross. I did not go back to my seat. I just stood in the little hallway of the theater and watched the rest of the movie from there.

Afterwards we went to T.G.I.Friday's for dessert. Good times. They would have been better if I hadn't had a second coughing fit and have to get up and leave the table, but I survived.

Saturday, November 19th happiness: Joe and I had a lazy day of hanging out on the bed and watching Christmas movies. Yay! Guess who joined us?

Tonight, we had a "original McQueen 1st ward" young women get together. Now that we have been split 4 ways we don't get to see each other as much. We all got together tonight and hung out and ate delicious food and played games and laughed a lot. It was awesome!

Sunday, November 20th happiness: So I finally broke down and went to a care clinic today. I have acute sinusitis and acute bronchitis. Sheesh! I have been sick for about 11 days. Usually when I get sick, it lasts a couple of days. I take Nyquil, sleep a lot, and then I'm ok again. Not so this time. I kept thinking "this has gone on a long time, I'll feel better tomorrow". I guess for this one, I needed medication to get over. I got an inhaler, along with 2 other medications. sheesh!

On the happy side, while we were there we found the chocolate covered cherry m&m's that I like so much. Those things are impossible to find. I will have to wait to eat them though, as I STILL can't taste anything.

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

Disney!

2011-12-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 641 - 647. Monday, November 7th - Sunday, November 13th happiness:

Monday, November 7th happiness: Clouds...Rain...Cool weather...Today was GORGEOUS! I was lucky! I got to spend some time outside this afternoon. I was taking some photos at the temple. I was worried we might get rained out, but the weather was perfect. I love days like this, and I love them even more when I get to be outside in it!

Tuesday, November 8th happiness: Watching shows on the couch with Brian tonight! We are trying to catch up on some of our shows. Tonight we watched House. It was extra funny. I think it was possibly my favorite episode of House ever!
Wednesday, November 9th happiness: Finally! I have waited nearly a year for these. Brian got them for me!
Dear Hershey's: Your extra creamy solid milk chocolate bells are dreamy. The chocolate is soooo creamy good. If only you could make your Hershey's kisses taste like this, instead of dry, crumbly, sub par chocolate, I could enjoy your products year round.
Thursday, November 10th happiness: so....to say that Joe LOVES Disneyland would be a bit of an understatement. Seriously.

A few days ago Brian and I discussed MAYBE surprising him with a ticket to Disneyland for Christmas. So, When Brian announced 4 days ago that we would be going - this Thursday, I was a little surprised, to say the least. I was also a little bit overwhelmed, as I have a lot on my plate right now, and didn't have much free time to prepare for a trip. So, I've been a little stressed this week. However, today, I found myself getting a little excited. All day at school, I kept thinking about it. I had a little spring of excitement in my step today. After school, I picked up Joe. We got home and quickly packed a few things. By 6:00 we were on the road.

Best road trip ever. I think I slept the whole way! It seemed like it took 5 min. We got to the hotel late, and it was straight to sleep.

Friday, November 11th happiness: Ok, so going to Disneyland on a National Holiday (Veteran's Day) AND the first day of Christmas fireworks maybe was a little crazy. It was kind of wall to wall bodies. But we weren't going to let that stop us. We went straight to Space Mountain, got fast passes for later in the day and then stopped at Buzz Lightyear - one of MY favorites. The wait was only 15 min. Woo hoo!

Joe and I also love the Jungle Cruise, although it really does depend on if you get a funny guide or not. It's also great because there is hardly ever a line.
We were disappointed that Pirates was closed, but the Haunted Mansion Holiday MORE than made up for it. THIS is why we come to Disneyland in the Fall. They should leave it this way year round.
We love The Nightmare Before Christmas.
They have a different gingerbread house each year. Here is this year's version:
It was awesome.

The weather is another reason we come in the fall. Not too hot! I can handle crowds if the weather is nice.

The trees were gorgeous! So I may be a little obsessed with trees. Even at Disneyland, I find myself photographing them.
This was my favorite photo of the day, simply because he looks like he is standing in front of a fake backdrop.
We finally got to use our passes for space mountain. It was so fun. I love how our photo turned out, but I am too cheap to buy it!
In order to get a good seat for the fireworks show, we staked out a bench early and Brian and I took turns sitting on it, while the other went on rides with Joe. It was worth it. The show was amazing.
Last shot of the day:
I had to take a photo of the giant tree! We love coming at Christmas time. Everything is decorated and they play Christmas music in the park all day. Good times.

Saturday, November 12th happiness: Today was EXCELLENT. The weather called for a huge pacific storm today. It was cloudy and overcast all day long (my favorite) And the best part was that it kept people away. And, it never really even rained. We had some misty sprinkles in the evening, but not much. There was sooooo many less people here today.

We spent most of the day at California adventure. Tower of Terror (my all time favorite ride ever) was a walk on. We went like 5 times in a row. I finally had to stop, dang motion sickness. If it wasn't for that, I could have stayed on it all day. We got to do everything and almost no waiting. Also, no pictures today. I didn't want to lug my camera around all day. We went back to Disneyland at the end of the day and again, waaaay less people. Fantastic.

Brian decided that since he hasn't been on It's a Small World since he was a little kid, that it was time to try it again. The lights on the front are amazing. And, as a plus, it was the Christmas version instead of the regular one. However, it was still too much. Brian and Joe decided that they are probably good for life. No need to do it again. We stuck it out until almost midnight, but I am old now and was soooo tired. Still, it was a super fun day.

Sunday, November 13th happiness: We said goodbye to Joe's favorite hotel ever:

The ride home seemed much longer. I had a hard time sleeping, and I was feeling sick. Thank goodness for Nyquil. When we got home I took some and went straight to bed.

It was a fun trip.

Happy Day!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-11-25T08:11:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 635 - 640. Tuesday, November 1st - Sunday, November 6th happiness:

Tuesday, November 1st happiness: Joe and I went walking again this evening. It was great! I really enjoy getting outdoors and getting some exercise. I just wish that it wasn't so hot here year round. I REALLY can't exercise outdoors in the summer. I love that Joe will walk with me.

Wednesday, November 2nd happiness: This evening after our walk/run, Joe and I hung out at my mom's for a bit. I had been promising Josh that I would play a game with him. I brought Pokemon Sorry. It was one of Joe's favorite games when he was little. We played it all of the time. I played with Josh tonight. Evan came over and joined in the game and ended up beating us both. It was a lot of fun, and it reminded me of playing this game with Joe when he was little. Good times.

Thursday, November 3rd happiness: Brian and I bought a cranberry woods candle, and wallflowers at Bath and Body Works recently. I put the wallflowers in today, and turned on the candle, and the house smells fantastic!
Also, today was a half day at school, so I got some much needed cleaning done at home. Hooray for half days! Tonight as I walked, the sunset was gorgeous. That is one nice thing about Arizona. We have some fabulous sunsets here.

Friday, November 4th happiness: It was rainy and windy today. A perfectly wintery type of day. My favorite. I had another half day, so I started the tree today! I know that November is going to be a super busy month, and having the tree up makes all of us soooo happy, so I decided to go early this year. Yup, we went right from Halloween to Christmas. That's how we roll around here. And just because I have my tree up does not mean that I am a Thanksgiving skipper, or that I don't appreciate it. I do! I can be excited about Christmas and still like Thanksgiving!
By tonight, it was just a tiny tree on a stick, but it's a start!

Also tonight, Brian and I went in the hot tub while it was windy and rainy. It was fun!

Saturday, November 5th happiness: Bath and Body Works! Winter Candy Apple is finally here! Last year I waited too long, and I didn't get ANY. They were all out of it. We went early this year to make sure I didn't miss out on it. And they were buy 3 get 2 free. I LOVE it. It smells so yummy.
Finished the tree today! 3700 lights baby!
Joe helped me put the ornaments on! He started with his Disney ornament (of course)
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. And I love it!

Sunday, November 6th happiness: Joe and I put some more Christmas decorations around the house today. We are getting there!

Brian made us a delicious steak dinner tonight. I love that he cooks! I am spoiled.

Tonight was FHE at my moms. It's been a while since we had one and Joe was excited. It also happened to be Evan's birthday.

This picture is SO Evan. I love that shy face that he makes.
I had to throw in this one, because I love Ben's face in it!
There was a pinata for the kids. I was at a bad angle, and didn't get many good pictures of it. The one of Josh turned out the best.
I love my family.

Happy Day!

Happy Halloween Post

2011-11-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 632 - 634. Saturday, October 29th - Monday, October 31st happiness:

Saturday, October 29th happiness: Joe and I carved our pumpkins today. We stuck with The Nightmare Before Christmas theme. I did Oogie Boogie, and Joe did Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Brian gutted them for us, so all we had to do was carve!

We finished them just in time for Trunk or Treat, where we saw this guy:
And this awesome football player:
Joe decided he didn't want to dress up this year, but Michael still had some Halloween spirit!
Brian was even in a good mood! I didn't have to coerce him to go, AND he happily handed out candy to all the trick or treaters!
Happy Halloween mon!

That night, Joe and Michael decided (after watching an episode of The Middle) that they would dress up like Axel and his friends did, and go as "superheroes" and get lots of candy. If you haven't seen The Middle, and don't know who Axel is, then this outfit will probably not make sense to you. But here it is....
He was all ready for Monday night, until Michael called and said that it was a no go. He had to go somewhere with his family instead. Joe was bummed, but he still let me take his picture in his awesome costume, even though he didn't get a chance to follow through on their plans and wear it on Halloween.

Sunday, October 30th happiness: Joe and I ALWAYS go visit Grandmother on Halloween. Usually he is in costume, and we go on Halloween night, but this year I knew he wasn't going to dress up, and so we went a day early, just for a visit. We brought a couple of extra's with us. Michael and Joe kept Josh pretty entertained, while Sheri and I visited with Grandmother and Dawn. It was a fun visit. I really should go more often.

Monday, October 31st happiness: I was soooo happy today because I got to see 3 of my favorite kiddo's in the world. It feels like I haven't seen them in forever. They stopped by my mom's tonight to show off their Halloween costumes, so I invited myself over, of course, so I could see them too.

I was so happy to see them.

Later, Joe and I met up with the Trezise clan, who were going trick or treating with some friends, and we tagged along. Joe didn't want to dress up, but he still wanted to hang out with everyone else, and walk the neighborhood.

Brian showed up a little later and walked with us. He even carried Buzz when he got tired of walking.
I think Joe had a good time hanging out. It was a lot of fun.
Here is Xander showing me his "buttload" of candy.
Good times.

Happy Day!

Happy Feet and ghost stories

2011-11-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 627 - 631. Monday, October 24th - Friday, October 28th happiness.

Monday, October 24th happiness: Today Joe and I watched "Life and Death of a Pumpkin" on YouTube. Hilarious! If I knew how to link to it, I would. But I'm sure you can find it on YouTube fairly easily.

Tuesday, October 25th happiness: Corn Festival Field Trip. I got to take lots of cute photos of my kids in the corn maze.

After being on my feet all day, it felt good tonight to put on my cozy socks and sit on the couch. Happy Feet:

Wednesday, October 26th happiness: Now that the weather is starting to cool down a bit, I thought I'd start walking/jogging again. Joe went with me today. The weather was cloudy and cool and gorgeous. We even got rained on a little. I am waaay out of shape. Joe lapped me at least 3 times. But, it felt good to get out there again. Afterwards, we drove home with the windows down - fabulous.

Thursday, October 27th happiness: Book club tonight. This months book was a ghost story.
It was fun to hang out and chat, and eat, and tell ghost stories. Good times.

Friday, October 28th happiness: Since I stayed out later last night than I should have, all I could think about at work today was coming home and taking a nap. And, I did. It did not disappoint.

On a side note, I had a little spring in my step today because I had more happy feet.
I got those happy socks for a dollar! I love fun socks.

Tonight, Joe and I went to the Trezise house to watch Pearl Jam 20. I LOVED it!
Thanks for having us over Sheri!

Happy Day!

80's flashback

2011-11-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

M2B =) days 621 - 626. Tuesday, October 18th - Sunday, October 23rd happiness:

Tuesday, October 18th happiness: Back to school today. As I came to get my kids this morning off the playground to go into school, I was bombarded with hugs!

Tonight was our last time together as McQueen 1st ward young women's. =( We went out in style though. We had to dress in theme (of course). They chose 80's workout wear. I love these girls!

Wednesday, October 19th happiness: Joe and I hung out on the bed tonight and studied Espanol. I love hanging with Joe.

Thursday, October 20th happiness: Mrs. Johnson's birthday was during October break, so today the room mom's threw her a surprise birthday party. I made this happy birthday poster and had all the kids sign it at recess without her knowing. They loved surprising her.
Also, tonight my mom, Sheri, Alex and I, went and saw the re-make of Footloose. It was a little to much swearing and dirty dancing for my taste. I did love the guy who played Willard. He made the movie.
Even though I didn't love it, it is always fun to get out of the house especially if I get to hang with my mom and Sheri.

Friday, October 21st happiness: Hot Tub installed today! Woo hoo.

Saturday, October 22nd happiness: Dear 5 hour energy. Some days I cannot live without you. I love you!
Sunday, October 23rd happiness: I got to play a couple of games of Candyland with this kiddo tonight! Good times. I was having flashbacks to when I used to play the game with Adam when he was the same age.
Happy Day!

Cabin, Cookies and Red Devils

2011-11-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 615 - 620. Wednesday, October 12th - Monday, October 17th happiness:

Wednesday, October 12th happiness: One last long ranger ride to Christmas Tree Trail before we had to head home.

These boys (and I) seriously did not want to leave. It is just heavenly up here.
We finally made it home tonight. At the cabin, my mom kept telling me about the BEST apples ever. They are called Honey Crisp and I just HAD to try them. Tonight, when we got home, guess what Brian had bought? Yup - Honey Crisp apples. I had never heard of these before, and now, within like 2 days, I had 2 people telling me how fabulous they were. They not only, were good, but they were ginormous. Look at the size of that thing!
Thursday, October 13th happiness: Cookies from Sheri! Is there anything better?
Friday, October 14th happiness: Having a long, lazy day at home with Joe. I did all the laundry from our trip. He and Tiger hung out on the bed and kept me company. Also, we watched many episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Good times!
Saturday October 15th happiness: Wanda Witch Party! Woo hoo! I look forward to it every year. This year we were on The Red Devil's team. We were partnered with the Brande's, Jones', and the Munroes. What an awesome team to be on! I didn't bring my camera, so I had to steal this photo off of Maddy's blog.
We came in 4th this year. Not as good as we had hoped, but much better than last year. Last year we didn't even find all of the clues. Win or loose, it is always a ton of fun.

Sunday, October 16th: Today was a sad day. I had a Young Women's presidency this morning. We were going to be planning Young Women In Excellence. Instead, we found out that the wards are being re-aligned TODAY and that this would be our last week not only in young women's, but as a ward. None of us saw this coming. I think I was the saddest because I realized that I probably would not be in the same ward as the three other women that I am in the presidency with. That, and I wouldn't get to be in young women's with all of these wonderful girls. It was a rough day today.

It got even worse tonight when I went to the Stake meeting where they announced the new boundaries. Our ward got the worst of it. We were split 4 different ways with members going to 4 different wards. Most of the ward ended up together, and then 3 separate little neighborhoods went to 3 separate wards. To say I was sad was an understatement. I cried A LOT today.

Today was not a happy day, but I can still be grateful for all of the awesome friends that I have made in this ward, and for the time I did get to spend with these amazing young women. Next Sunday will be hard for sure, but all of those unfamiliar faces will just be opportunities to meet new friends, and more amazing people. Also. I know it seems like a silly thing, but I am so grateful for facebook, so that I can keep in touch with all of the families that I will miss so much.

Monday, October 17th happiness: Last day of October break (for me anyway, Joe doesn't go back to school until Wednesday). We decided to go see a movie tonight. But first we went to Paradise Bakery for dinner, and for Molasses cookies. Yum!

We saw The Big Year. I liked it a lot. I'm sure some people would find it boring, but I thought it was a really cute story about what is really important in life. I really liked it because it is RARE these days that you can find a movie that isn't filled with violence, or sex, or bad language, or that isn't all about special effects. I especially liked that the song at the closing credits of the movie was a GUSTER song. I love it!

Happy Day!

Oh, and this photo has nothing really to do with my post today, I just loved that I got this shot of Joe today. He was resting with Bob. He loves his cats.

Aspens

2011-10-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

M2B =) day 614. Tuesday, October 11th happiness:

ASPENS!

This is why I love to come to the cabin for October break. I love to see the changing of the leaves.

There were even a few red ones.

I went for a long drive by myself and enjoyed the trees.

When I got near Greens Peak, there was even a little left over snow. It made me ready for Christmas.

I was gone for about an hour, just driving, and then getting out and walking in the trees. It was so pretty and peaceful.

This may have been my favorite day of the trip.

Some of the leaves shimmered like gold, in the sun.

I stopped and made a wish on the way home.
I took this one for Joe. He and I share an affinity for dead trees.
Tonight I took Xander and Joe on a ranger ride to look for Elk. The moon was HUGE.
We saw 3 elk right away, and later saw a deer. We also saw several rabbits, squirrels, and even a chipmunk who was poised on a tree stump right next to the road. It was perfect.

On the way back, we stopped so Alex could use his elk call. We talked to the elk, and they talked back for a good long time.

Today was a great day.

CABIN

2011-10-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 609 - 613. Thursday, October 6th - Monday, October 10th happiness:

Thursday, October 6th happiness: CABIN! We left late this afternoon. Cabin = happiness.

Friday, October 7th happiness: I woke up to snow outside my window, and it snowed off and on all day. It was awesome. I had to go to town for some groceries, and was a little nervous about driving in the snow, but by the time I got to Show Low, it was sunny skies. When I got back to the cabin - heavy snow. It's weird that 10 min. away from the cabin was blue skies, but we didn't see them all day.

Brian drove up tonight to spend the weekend with us.

Saturday, October 8th happiness: We spent the day doing cabin stuff, like watching t.v., playing rock band, doing puzzles, playing card games, eating - lots, drinking hot chocolate and going for ranger rides.

This picture was taken shortly before I managed to tip the ranger on its side! Lucky Brian was there to come rescue us and help us tip it back up.

Sunday, October 9th: Lazy Sunday! Man the days here seem to last forever. I love it.

mmmm....strawberry shortcake.
Brian had to go back home tonight. We were sad to say goodbye, but the sunset as he was leaving was gorgeous.
It's so pretty up here.

Monday, October 10th happiness: Nertz! I love this game.
Joe and Xander played many games today. Many, many games.
Of course, there were ranger rides too.
Happy Day!

San Diego weekend

2011-10-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 604 - 608. Saturday, October 1st - Wednesday, October 5th happiness:

Saturday, October 1st happiness: Beach day! woo hoo. We slept in late, went to breakfast and then hit Target for some water, snacks, and magazines and then headed for Mission Beach, where we stayed ALL DAY LONG. I am in heaven!

We pretty much lounged all day long. It was fabulous.
We had to stay until sunset, of course.
I love beach days. There aren't enough of them, so I appreciate every one I get.

Sunday, October 2nd happiness: We dragged out our weekend as long as we could, but we finally had to say goodbye. We took one last look at the ocean from our hotel. I know it's hard to see, but some of that blue out there is actually water.
Then we headed home.

Of course we stopped at Kneader's on the way. This place is evil. It is good that they are located in Yuma, or I would go waaaay too much. We brought some treats home for Joe. He was NOT happy that he didn't get to go on this trip.
Let me just say that the chocolate chip pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting was TO DIE FOR. I was kicking myself later for not getting more of it. I am tempted to take a trip to Yuma just to get some more.

Finally, we made it home to this cute face:
In addition to sweet treats, we also brought him this fabulous t-shirt! even though it was only a couple of days, I sure did miss this kid.

Monday, October 3rd happiness: Today I washed piles of Laundry, did dishes and vacuumed. Even though cleaning is not my favorite, It sure feels good when things are done.

Tuesday, October 4th happiness: Today the weather was actually pretty nice (finally!) So I spent about 5 hours today doing some much needed yard work. It felt good to work outside. This afternoon I took Joe to hang out at mom's house, and guess who was there - Kevin! Woo hoo. It was fun to hang out and chat for a while. It's always a good day when Kevin is in town.

Wednesday, October 5th happiness: Spent the day driving around like a crazy person, getting errands done, and shopping to get ready for the cabin trip tomorrow. While I am not super fond of errands, if it means I get to go to the cabin, then I am happy to do it.

Also, I got to see Kevin again this afternoon. Two days in a row!

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

Too much cheesecake

2011-10-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 598 - 603. Sunday, September 25th - Friday, September 30th happiness:

Sunday, September 25th happiness: Today, I got these:

I am super excited about them. While I am totally not the jewelry wearing, girly girl, type girl. I love these earrings. A friend of mine made them to sell at a boutique yesterday. She had told me about them, and I knew I wanted them. Guitar pick earrings. Love it!

Also tonight - The Amazing Race started back up. I LOVE this show. Since I don't have the money to travel around and do fun things, I have to watch other people do it. It is my dream to be on this show.

Monday, September 26th happiness: Our school is having the scholastic book fair right now. When you buy a book, you get to fill out a raffle ticket and at the end of the day, there is a raffle to win a free poster. Guess who won today? That's right. Me!

When they announced my name over the speaker, the kids in my class clapped and cheered. They were so excited for me. When I came back from picking out my poster, a few of the kids had little notebooks they wanted me to sign. Yes, I gave out autographs today. Kids are hilarious. I love my job.
Tuesday, September 27th happiness: I went out for lunch today, and when I got back, these were at the front office for me:
I was a little surprised since my anniversary isn't for 2 days. I thought he forgot the date. He didn't. He just had another surprise in mind. They sure are gorgeous, but were not easy to get home.

Wednesday, September 28th happiness: Tonight for mutual, we had to do some planning for upcoming activities. What better place to plan, we decided, than at the Cheesecake factory? So we planned, and ate cheesecake and had a fabulous time.

Thursday, September 29th happiness: Happy Anniversary to me! We didn't really go out tonight to celebrate, since I found out that Brian is taking me to San Diego tomorrow after school for an anniversary weekend! Woo hoo! What we DID do, was order in some Olive Garden. And for dessert?
That's right! The pumpkin cheesecake is back! I wait all year for this stuff. Am I embarrassed to admit that I had cheesecake 2 nights in a row? NO. I probably should be, but I am not. It was sooooooo good.

Friday, September 30th happiness: I was so happy all day! All I could think about was San Diego! We left around 5:00. Beach day tomorrow. Woo hoo!

Happy Day!

Apparently I watch a lot of tv

2011-10-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

M2B happy days 590 - 597. Saturday, Sept. 17th - Saturday, September 24th happiness:

Saturday, Sept. 17th happiness: Today I am happy that I have dizzy pills. I took one and slept all day.

Sunday, September 18th happiness: Today I am so happy that I feel better than yesterday. Today was stake conference. Joe and I went together.

Also, I love President Jones. He is such an awesome guy!

Monday, September 19th happiness: Can I just say how much I love Max and Ben? I took them home from school today. I happened to have some celery that I had been snacking on that afternoon.

Ben asked, "May I please have a celery?" and Max immediately said, "May I please not!".
Also, Ben told me a joke, that may be my favorite joke ever.

"What is brown and sticky?"
"A stick". =)

Tuesday, September 20th happiness: Yay for September and the return of new television!

Tonight Brian and I watched Castle! I love me some Nathan Fillion.

Also tonight was the premiere of a new show:

I have been seeing commercials for this all summer and I have been so excited because I love Zooey Deschanel. She is so adorable.

Wednesday, September 21st happiness: I happened to be driving west tonight and caught the sunset. It was soooo gorgeous! I do love Arizona sunsets.

Also, tonight for mutual it was combined young men/young women. We had a chili cookoff. We split into 3 different teams, and then had 1 hour to make a salad, chili, and brownies. Each team was given the same ingredients, and we were also allowed to add some things of our own. The house we went to was awesome, and we had a lot of extras to add.

Joe and I both ended up on the green team. And guess who won? That's right! Go GREEN!

Winning is fun!

After mutual, Brian and I watched Modern Family together.

Ahhhh, Modern Family. How I've missed you. Hilarious.

Thursday, September 22nd happiness: Today was a rough day at school. First, we had a class kickball game, and then this afternoon, we had a popsicle party. Ya, my job is rough.

Tonight, Brian and I caught another new show. Person of Interest.
I had been seeing these commercials for a while too. Unlike New Girl, I was NOT excited for this one. It looked too intense for me. However, I did watch it with Brian, and I LOVED IT. It is a new show. I hope it does well, so it doesn't get cancelled. Jim Caviezel is awesome. This may be my new favorite show.

Saturday, September 24th happiness: Yay for season tickets to ASU football.
I had hours to myself tonight while Brian and Joe were at the game.

Happy Day.

Yummy!

2011-10-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 583- 589. Saturday, September 10th - Friday, September 16th happiness:

Saturday, September 10th happiness: Brian and I went to Bath and Body works today. All of the fall scents are out. Yay! We got a new wall flower. It is filled with Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin and now my house smells so good.

We also got some hand soap. We are going to smell yummy!
Tonight was stormy and awesome. The lights even went out at our house. We had to light a bunch of candles. It was kind of cool. We hung outside for a bit enjoying the breeze. We chatted with the neighbors, who were also outside enjoying the weather. Then, with nothing else to do, we decided to head out into the storm and go to Bahama Bucks. The weather was a little crazy and some traffic lights were out, but we made it safe and sound. It was a fun evening.

Sunday, September 11th happiness: I was not feeling well today at all! I tried to take a nap, but my spot was already taken
So, I had to settle for crashing on the couch. When I couldn't sleep anymore, I watched "The Thing Called Love". I like that movie.

Monday, September 12th happiness: We got a new grill on Saturday. So, with the weather being fairly nice in the evenings, Brian grilled me up a steak dinner tonight and we ate out on the patio. I loved it! I have a feeling we will be doing that a lot once the weather cools down.

Also, it was Joe's turn to pick what we did for family fun night. What do you think he picked? That's right....Bahama Bucks. The kid is now officially obsessed.

Tuesday, September 13th happiness: Rain and clouds today. Woo hoo!

Tonight Brian came home with the most delicious cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. EVER! Someone at work gave them to him. They were heavenly. She put a bit of almond flavoring in the icing and nuts on top. I am in love.... in ooey gooey, cinnamony, almondy, nutty, delicious love.
Also tonight, My friend sent me an e-mail with a link to awkwardfamilyphotos.com. I laughed and laughed. There are some fabulously awkward photos on there. I highly suggest you check it out. So funny.

Wednesday, September 14th happiness: For mutual tonight, we went and watched one of the girls perform in her high school play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun.

Thursday, September 15th happiness: Today was all about the music. Music just has a way of lifting my spirits and making everything better. Lately I cannot get enough of Nada Surf. I listened to it a lot today. Good stuff.

Friday, September 16th happiness: It was NFL day at school.
I don't know why they call it NFL day. It should be called Cardinal's day. The entire school was in Cardinal's colors. And, in the afternoon, they have all kinds of fun activities for the kids to do. I got to take all kinds of fun pictures of my kiddo's today.

Tonight Brian came home with this:
That's right. It is the first peppermint ice cream of the season! I am more than a little excited for the holidays coming up. And, NO it is not too early to be excited!

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

We Remember

2011-09-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 579 - 582. Tuesday, September 6th - Friday, September 9th happiness:

Tuesday, September 6th happiness: The kids at school have been reading Fantastic Mr. Fox. They love it.

Along with reading the story, they had to do projects. There were a number of things they could pick from. Some put on a play, others did a puppet show. There were dioramas, and drawings and one girl even wrote a song about one of the characters and sang it for the class. I loved seeing all of the creativity as they kids presented their Mr. Fox projects. I didn't want to post any photos of the kids, so instead you get Mr. Fox....

Also today:
We got back from the cabin yesterday, but I can't put my bag away because Tiger loves it so much. He found himself a new sleeping spot.

On a side note (a not-so-happy one) Joe has strep throat and a double ear infection. Poor kiddo. He is miserable!

Wednesday, September 7th happiness: Brian took my ring in yesterday to be cleaned, so today it is so nice and shiny and pretty. I keep looking at it all day. I like the sparkly ring =)

Also, tonight for mutual we went to the temple and watched the Testaments. Good stuff. Afterwards we went to Bahama Bucks. It's been such a long time since I've gone. I had forgotten how yummy it is. Strawberry Colada Bahama Rama Mama (that's with ice cream!) Yum!

Thursday, September 8th happiness: We learned about flowers in science today. The kids got to dissect their flowers and learn about all the different parts. I like flower day because I get to go home with the left over flowers. They sat on my desk all day. So pretty!
Also, tonight as I was coming out of the grocery store, I was wishing I had my camera with me. The sky was gorgeous. It was like a horizontal rainbow. Fabulous.

Friday, September 9th happiness: Today at school we had our September 11 commemoration. We had a school assembly this morning. We had special guests come: Firemen, Policemen, Military, Nurses, Volunteers, etc. we honored them. Each class picked a profession and wrote an essay that was read to each of the respective groups.

We also had a giant poster put up. Each child in the school was given a red, white, or blue ribbon, and they pinned it on the poster.
This afternoon we had the ROTC from Chandler High come and do a flag ceremony for the kids. It was really neat. Then the kids got to sing a song.
It was a great way to remember and pay our respects to those who died on 9/11, and for those who put their lives on the line every day to protect others.

It was a great day to be outside. We were actually a little afraid we might get rained out. We didn't!
The rain came tonight though! Woo hoo!

Happy Day!

Cabin

2011-09-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 577 - 578. Sunday, September 4th - Monday, September 5th happiness:

Sunday, September 5th happiness: We decided today that we needed it to rain. Michael did a rain dance for us, and a rain ceremony. He assured me that every time he does this, it works.

It totally did. Soon the dark clouds were rolling in! Thanks Michael!
Rain = mud, and mud = an unhappy girl.
Tonight we celebrated Darrel and Aaron's birthdays! For some reason, Darrel's wife only thinks he is 32. He wishes! We had to throw and extra candle on there for him.

Cheesecake and ice cream. Yummy!

Monday, September 5th happiness: As always, our cabin trip must come to a close. But, before I left, my mom took me on a nice long ranger ride down Christmas tree lane.
It was perfect!

Towards the end of our ride, a lady pulled out in front of us. I guess instead of taking her dogs for a walk. She took them for a ride.
The dogs loved having their faces in the wind. I felt sorry for the guy in the middle though. He couldn't find a spot to get his face in the breeze.

We also saw wild turkeys! I have never seen a turkey in the wild before. There were several of them, but they ran so fast, I only caught 2 on camera.
On the way back, we picked up a hitch hiker.
He was so cute, we couldn't resist.
We had to take a group photo before we left. Is it wrong that I think Rowan is so cute, even when he cries? He did NOT want to be in that photo.
This was a pretty great trip! I love my family. I was happy that Aaron and his kids could be here this weekend. It was so much fun. I really needed this.

Happy Day!

What it do, boo?

2011-09-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 575-576. Friday, September 2nd - Saturday, September 3rd happiness:

Friday, September 2nd: Today was kind of a hectic crazy day, add in that I was super tired, and lets just say it was not my best day so far. What was good about today? It ended at the cabin! Woo Hoo! Pine trees, cool air, clouds and rain. Days that last forever. So happy to be here.

Saturday, September 3rd happiness: This is the first thing I saw this morning:

I literally woke up, grabbed my camera and took a shot! Clouds and pine trees. So glad I am here.

Joe spent much of his time hanging on the balcony with Alex and Michael.
Ro and Evan found ways to keep entertained. Lightsabers = good times.
I made Joe take me for a ride on the ranger. He was happier about it that he seems here.
Later Brian and I went for a ride on the forest road. Gorgeous. I love seeing the sunflowers all along the road.
That night dad and Aaron roasted marshmallows with the little guys!
I gave Darrel his birthday present early:
That's right! Slang Flashcards. "Get hip in mere days!" "New and somewhat improved."

The cards were hilarious. They had a word on one side. On the other side there is a definition, synonyms, a picture and how to use the word in a sentence.

We had fun learning slang and practicing using our new slang on each other.

My favorite: "What it do, boo?"

Good times!

Happy Day!

Aug. 25 - Sept. 1

2011-09-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 567 - 574. Thursday, August 25th - Thursday, September 1st happiness:

Thursday, August 25th happiness: NO 122 DEGREES DOES NOT MAKE ME HAPPY!

I just had to photograph this. This is the 5th day in a row that it has been this hot and it is ridiculous.

So, what makes me happy today? AIR CONDITIONING. My air conditioning has been on the fritz. It only works some of the time, and when it does, it still doesn't cool down below 80. But, I am still grateful because 80 is waaaay less than 122. What did people do before air conditioning? I think they just melted away.

Tonight's happiness was Cold Stone Creamery. What is better than ice cream on a hot day? (maybe ice cream on a cold day? I love eating ice cream when it is cold). Anyway, a friend was visiting from out of town, so a few of us got together and went for ice cream. Good times.

Friday, August 26th happiness: GNO at LGO. I love a girls night out. Sheri took some of us girls to Le Grande Orange. It is a cute little shop/restaurant/gelato place. Good food, awesome company, fun atmosphere....what's not to love?

Saturday, August 27th happiness: AIR CONDITIONING! The air is fixed!!!!!!! We have been sweaty for so long, that we splurged today, and turned the air waaaay down. It was the hottest part of the day, and I was feeling cold! I might have even used my slanket. I am so happy to have a working air conditioner again.

I did have to be out and about for a few hours while it was being fixed. Too hot for me! I took Joe and Alex to Air Worx and then dropped them off at Arrowhead Pool. I went to the Library. I couldn't find my book for book club, but I did get a Victoria Holt book for $1.00. They were having a used book sale. I also went to Michael's and decided that I need a lot more money because they have a lot of stuff that I want!

Lastly, I stopped by my mom's for a bit and got to hang with this kid.

Man, I love that picture.

Sunday, August 28th happiness: Joe Ironed his shirt today. I really wanted to take a photo for my picture of the day, but he wouldn't let me.

Instead, you get Joe eating ice cream on the bed:
After church, Joe and I hung out and ate ice cream and talked. What a great way to spend the afternoon.

Monday, August 29th happiness: Joe and I watched Malcom in the Middle re-runs. This is possibly one of the funniest shows on t.v. ever. We can't stop laughing.

Tuesday, August 30th happiness: My favorite thing today was eating ice cream with Joe WHILE watching Malcom in the Middle re-runs. I like this new tradition we have started.

Wednesday, August 31st happiness: Today I got my first hug from one of my new third graders. Last year's class gives me hugs all the time. This was the first hug I've gotten from my new batch! Love my job.

Thursday, September 1st happiness: Our class does something called School Store. Once a week, we go around to the other classes and sell school related supplies, snack, and fun little toys. We always choose a charity to donate some of our proceeds to. I love it because the kids all research a charity and then present it to the class. Then the kids vote on which charity they want to support.

Today was the day they presented their charities. They did such a good job. It was interesting to see what they presented. Afterwards the kids voted. This year's charity:
I love the concept of school store, and that the kids in the class are so excited about giving help to others. One boy, who's charity didn't get picked, told me that he was still going to try to earn money on his own that he could donate. I love it.

Also today, 2 of the boys in my class told me I looked 20. I held back my - "you should get a closer look at my eye wrinkles" - response. I think they were trying to butter me up for something, but it made me laugh.

Another boy, as he was leaving waved and said, "bye Mrs. Horak, you look beautiful today."

Have I mentioned I love kids?

Happy Day.

Happy Birthday Addy

2011-09-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

M2B =) day 566. Wed. August 24th.

Wed. August 24th happiness: Today we got together to celebrate this girl's birthday!

I love this girl. She is cute and sassy and full of fun. I don't get to see her enough!
This was my favorite photo of her for the day. She was super happy to get a new helmet!

I love hanging out with my family. They are awesome. I took tons of photos, but here are a couple of my favorites:

Love the photos of Alex and Josh. Both of their faces crack me up here.

Loved this one too.
I had to get a photo of Evan in his goggles because he just looks AWESOME. Also, it reminds me of when Joe went everywhere wearing goggles. Love it.

And finally.....the many faces of Joe:

That last one was HIS personal favorite. I love that my kid is so silly and loves to make faces for the camera.

He is awesome!

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

August 17 - August 23

2011-09-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 559 - 565. Wednesday, August 17th - Tuesday, August 23rd happiness:

Wednesday, August 17th happiness: Tonight for mutual one of the girls taught us how to use polymer clay. We made teeny tiny bananas. I also made a tiny fried egg. We only had yellow and white clay, so our choices were limited. I took a photo next to my camera lens cap, so you could see just how miniature they are. They were so cute, and fun to make too!

Thursday, August 18th happiness: Tonight we had another "heart attack" mission. It was so much fun, especially because we totally did NOT get caught this time. Also, I ended up driving past her house like a week and a half later, and the hearts were still up. I hope this means that she liked them.

Friday, August 19th happiness: Happy Birthday to my mom! She is the most awesome person ever. I am so lucky to have her as a mom. My dad bought her these super cool 2 toned red roses. I had to take a picture.
The photo doesn't really do it justice. They were gorgeous.

Also, today was Joshua's birthday party. His birthday was earlier this month, but because of family work schedules, his party was today at Peter Piper Pizza, of course.
Joshua reminds me a lot of Joe in that fact that he is always in some sort of costume. Joe was the same way. He was always in costume. Today Josh was both Captain America......
....and Indiana Jones.
Michael's eyes are creeping me out a little in this photo, but Josh, I mean "Indy" looks pretty awesome.

After the party, I took Joe home, and then Brian and I went to Oregano's to meet up with some friends. It was good times!

Afterwards we all played "Just Dance". Ian and Chris were hilarious! I love that game!

Saturday, August 20th happiness: Sheri and I took my mom out to celebrate her birthday. We went to The Olive Garden for lunch and then we went and saw The Help.

Afterwards, at my mom's I had to have a piece of this:

It is my grandma's Italian Creme Cake, and it is to die for!

Sunday, August 21st happiness: I loved hanging out on the bed with Joe today and talking and eating Hershey's nuggets.

Monday, August 22nd happiness: Paradise Bakery Strawberry poppyseed salad for dinner and re-runs of SYTYCD = awesome.

Tuesday, August 23rd happiness: Sheri and I went to a movie tonight. We saw One Day.
I laughed, I cried, I watched Jim Sturgess for a couple of hours...what's not to love?

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

August 10 - August 16

2011-08-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 552 - 558. Wednesday, August 10th - Tuesday, August 16th happiness.

Wednesday, August 10th happiness: Happy Birthday to one of the cutest boys I know.

I got to spend this afternoon with family, celebrating this boy's birthday. It was great!

Tonight for mutual we played Book of Mormon clue. It was so fun!

Thursday, August 11th happiness: Tonight was the finale for So You Think You Can Dance. Melanie won! woo hoo! She was my favorite from the beginning. I love it when my favorite dancer of the season wins. This is only the second time that has happened (for me, anyway).

Friday, August 12th happiness: Girls night out tonight! We went and saw The Help. I almost never like books that have been made into movies. They are always disappointing to me. However, I have to say, that I loved this one. I think it was the casting. All of the characters were a perfect fit for me. It was so great.

Saturday, August 13th happiness: Today was long and exhausting. The best thing about today was definitely bed time. I have to say I was VERY happy to go to sleep tonight.

Sunday, August 14th happiness: Happy Feet!
I love my Nightmare Before Christmas socks. I have lots of them. I can have happy feet every night of the week!

Monday, August 15th happiness: Another August birthday for one of my beehives means another night of heart attacking. We almost got caught. While we were putting hearts on the garage door, it started to come up. He hurried and ran around the corner and waited in the side yard, while someone pulled out of the driveway and drove away. It was fun waiting in the dark and wondering if someone was going to come around the corner at any minute. It reminded me of when I was younger and we used to TP people's houses. Good times.

Tuesday, August 16th happiness: I think today might be the hottest day ever. So, when Ben suggested that we go to Sonic after school, I did not disagree. Ben, Max and I picked up Joe from school and headed to Sonic.

It was a grape creme slush for me!
Delicious!

Happy Day!

August 2 - 9th

2011-08-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 544 - 551. Tuesday, August 2nd - Tuesday, August 9th happiness:

Tuesday, August 2nd happiness: Well, I had to go back to work today. I was not ready, but you gotta do, what you gotta do. I felt like a zombie today, I was sooooo tired.

On the happy side, when I went outside to bring in my class today, a bunch of my kids from last year all ran up to me and surrounded me with hugs. I love my kids! Also, as we were walking inside, a girl from my class held my hand all the way to the classroom. Did I mention I love my job?

Wednesday, August 3rd happiness: Tonight for mutual, we went bowling. Love it!

Thursday, August 4th happiness: This afternoon Joe and I went to hang out at my mom's. My air conditioning is being temperamental. Today it has decided that it won't go below 85 degrees. Yuck! So, we went to my mom's where it was considerably cooler. Speaking of cool - I got to hang out with this cool kid:
Also tonight, Trina brought us dinner. She is so kind and thoughtful. I am still completely worn out from this last week. That, and the fact that my house is super hot right now made me so so so grateful that I did not have to cook tonight. Thank you!

Friday, August 5th happiness: It has been a looooong couple of weeks. I couldn't wait for Friday so I could finally get some rest. I took 2 valerian root tonight and slept 'til 10 the next day. It was fantastic!

Saturday, August 6th happiness: It was nice to be able to sleep in! Went to my mom's again today for a while. I got to hang with some awesome kids!

Darrel was there too! It was nice just to relax and hang out a bit. Later on today after we were home, Darrel brought over some cherries for Brian. So very thoughtful!

Sunday, August 7th happiness: So, once every 4 months I have to teach a combined lesson for all of the young women. Today was my turn. The lesson was on Scripture Study. I couldn't resist making this cute handout. It is made with Hershey's nuggets- my current favorite chocolate of choice. I've been eating waaaay to many of them.

I had to take a picture, because I knew any extra's wouldn't last.

Also, one of my girls has a birthday tomorrow, so tonight, the rest of the class and the beehive advisor and I went and "heart attacked" her house.

We totally got caught, but it was so much fun. I love my girls!

Monday, August 8th happiness: For family fun night tonight we watched Merry Madagascar. It's never too early to be in the Christmas spirit. I love this one too. It makes me laugh. We are now officially ready to put up our Christmas tree. I'm not kidding. I can't wait! Ok, so we won't put up the tree until November, but Brian and I MAY have listened to Christmas music when we went to sleep tonight.
Tuesday, August 9th happiness: Guess what Joe finally got back today?
He has been without it for at least a month. He has missed it so. I was happy to see him so happy! I love that Joe loves music as much as I do!

Happy Day!

Mission to be grateful

2011-08-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

M2B=) days 534 - 543. Saturday, July 23rd - Monday, August 1st.

I have decided instead of posting happiness for days 534 - 543, I am posting gratefulness. There are sooooo many things and people I have to be grateful for. I really hope I don't forget anyone!

Saturday, July 23rd gratefulness: Tonight Joe and I were hanging out at my mom's. My mom and dad had just walked in the door from a return home trip from the cabin, when my mom got a call. My sister Stacy had a seizure in the Walmart parking lot in Show Low. I am grateful that she was not alone when it happened. I am grateful that they were in town and near a hospital (literally next door to one), instead of 30 min. away at the cabin. I am grateful for capable doctors and for air vac. They flew her back to the valley. Mostly I am grateful that she is ok! I am glad that I was with family and I am thankful for prayer and for priesthood blessings.

I am also grateful for my sister Sheri today. I got to spend some time with her tonight, and she is awesome.

Sunday, July 24th gratefulness: I went to visit Stacy in the hospital today. I am glad that she is going to be ok. She better not scare us like this again! She is an awesome sister, and I love her so much!

Monday, July 25th gratefulness: Today was Joseph's first day of high school. I am so grateful for Joseph. I thoroughly enjoy being his mom. He is such a great kid and I am blessed to have him in my life.

Today was my first day of school too. I am grateful for lots of hugs from my last year kids as I pass them in the hallway. I am also grateful for a new batch of kiddos that I am sure I will just love.

Tonight Brian gave Joe and I our back to school blessings. I always feel better after a blessing.

Tuesday, July 26th gratefulness: Today was crazy! It is no fun to get a call from your husband and having him tell you that he passed out! I am thankful that he woke up, and was able to call me. I am thankful that I have an understanding teacher, who didn't ask questions, but just told me to go.

I am thankful to live so near a hospital, where we can get medical attention when we need it.

I am thankful for capable Dr.'s who can help when I can't.

We spent nearly 6 hours in the E.R. before Brian was finally admitted and brought to a room. I was very thankful when we finally got to a room.

Brian was very thankful when they finally brought him something to eat, even if it was only a lemon ice. They immediately put him on a liquid only diet. He had all kinds of tests and procedures to do, so liquids only. He ended up being on liquids only for 4 days. He was VERY grateful when he was finally able to eat again.

This is the only photo I took of the 6 days we were in the hospital. He was so happy to finally get his lemon ice.

Wednesday, July 27th gratefulness: Today I was thankful for people. I am grateful for all of the friends and family who texted, called, e-mailed, facebooked their well wishes and prayers for Brian. I know some really awesome people.

I am grateful for my mom for basically being Joe's taxi and picking him up from school, and for letting him hang out, and for feeding him, when I was at the hospital nearly 24-7.

I am so thankful for Sheri, aka Joseph's second mom. She let him crash at her house for 6 days straight. And made sure that he made it to school in the mornings.

I am thankful for Stacy, for offering to let Joe hang out with her and her family, even though she just got out of the hospital herself yesterday.

I am grateful for a young women's president and beehive advisor that I can just dump everything on at the last minute. I was in charge of our Wednesday night activity tonight, and I basically had to turn it over at the last minute. I love that people are so willing to help. Thank you Nikki and Shauna!

I am sure I will forget to thank people who helped me so much. Those 6 days in the hospital were a blur. If I forget you, I am sorry. I am just giving a blanket "thank you" to all of my friends and family. I love you guys.

Thursday, July 28th gratefulness: Brian had surgery tonight. I am thankful for modern medicine and doctors who know how to fix things that I have no clue about! I am thankful for my in-laws who sat with me the entire time, bought me dinner, and waited until he was awake, and back in his room before going home, even though it was very very late at night.

I am also thankful for a good visiting teacher who makes the best baked goods ever! She brought banana bread!

Friday, July 29th gratefulness: I am grateful for percocet. After trying many different medications all night long, the percocet he got this morning finally helped. At least he was able to finally get some sleep after a long, painful night.

I am also grateful for nurse Jeff who came in this morning. He was sooooooooo much better than the night staff we had last night.

Saturday, July 30th gratefulness: I am grateful for showers, and for in-laws who came and sat with Brian so I could go home and see Joe and take a shower, and feel normal for a bit. I am grateful for a sister in law who works at the hospital, who checked on Brian several times a day to make sure he was getting the care he needed, and who talked to all the right people when he wasn't!

Sunday, July 31st happiness: I am thankful for some really great friends who brought us dinner tonight. Thank you Karen and Brenna! Brian was supposed to come home today, but because of a fever, they wouldn't release him. We still got dinner and Joe and I got to spend some time together eating some really good food!

I am also thankful for good friends who came to the hospital today to see Brian and to give him a blessing, and to check on him! Like I said before, I know some really fantastic people.

Monday, August 1st gratefulness: I am grateful for a job, where my boss, and my teacher are so understanding, that I had to miss 4 1/2 days of work, during the first week of school. They covered for me and made sure that I stayed as long as I needed to.

I am most grateful that Brian got the ok to come home today. I have never been so happy to be home in my whole life!

I am thankful for Tia's family for bringing in dinner tonight. Joe said it was the best BBQ chicken he had ever tasted!

Mostly I am grateful that Brian got the help that he needed and that he is going to be ok. I am thankful that he is home!

July 16-22

2011-08-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 527 - 533. Saturday, July 16th - Friday, July 22nd happiness:

Saturday, July 16th happiness: Today I got to see this boy be baptized.

It was a fantastic day. Afterwards we had pizza and hung out at my mom's. I love my family.

Sunday, July 17th happiness: Joe and I played dominoes today. I love hanging with Joe. He is pretty much awesome.

Monday, July 18th happiness: Back to work today. The summer went by waaaaaay too fast. But I am lucky that I had such a great summer. Even though I had to go back to work, it was still nice to see everybody. My teacher that I work with gave me a big hug and she even took me to lunch. I am a lucky girl to have gotten such a great teacher to work with.

Tuesday, July 19th happiness: Joe and I took Brian to see Harry Potter. I loved it (again). However, I did not love the man sitting behind us, chomping his popcorn loudly, eating one kernel at a time, making it last for and hour and a half. I thought the popcorn would never run out!

Wednesday, July 20th happiness: Some days you just need it....
I love these!

Thursday, July 21st happiness: I didn't have to work today. Yay! I spent the day hanging out with this kid.
First, we had to go to the school for Freshman orientation. I am in serious denial that my kiddo is a freshman. Afterwards, we went to Olive Garden for lunch. Then we went shopping for some new school clothes. Then we ended the day with ice cream.

I love this kid. I really appreciate days like this. I love hanging out with him.

Friday, July 22nd happiness: Today was meet the teacher. I got to see all of the cute faces that are going to be in my class this year. I already have a favorite. He came back to the class like 4 times. He talked my ear off about books and Harry Potter (which he is reading now). I really do love my job.

Also, today was a half day, so I got to come home and take a nap! woo hoo!

Happy Day!

July 11-15

2011-08-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 522 - 526. Monday, July 11th - Friday, July 15th happiness

Monday, July 11th happiness: Today was a great day! We went to El Rancho for lunch. I had stuffed sopapillas with green sauce. Yum.

After lunch, My dad took the boys fishing while my mom and I braved the WalMart. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The sky looked like this, so the boys ended up getting rained out.

When my dad got back, I beat him at 5 crowns. =) Actually, he probably beat me, since I don't win often, but I sure have fun playing.
The boys made s'mores.
That night I made spaghetti tacos for dinner.
This was a first for all of them, so I had to take a photo. Don't be fooled by Michael's face. He liked them.
I thought they were pretty dang good.

Tuesday, July 12th happiness: More of the same (which is good!) Grandpa took the boys on a loooooooong ranger ride.
I made Mac and Cheese for dinner. It was a special request from Alex and Michael. Brian made it for them last time and they loved it. I had never made it before. This was my first attempt. I added bacon, so of course it was delicious.
We ate every bit of that. It was delicious.

Wednesday, July 13th happiness: Sadly, all good things must come to an end. And today, we had to go home = (

I made Joe take me on one last ranger ride.
I love this place!

Thursday, July 14th happiness: I was in a serious funk today. I do not like being here in the summer. I was grouchy and depressed all day.

Brian helped cheer me up tonight by watching SYTYCD with me and buying me Magnum ice cream bars. It worked! (mostly)

Friday, July 15th happiness: Harry Potter came out today, so OF COURSE Sheri and I took the kids to see it. And it was awesome of course. And it made me super happy.
Also, I love being this boys mom.
Happy Day!

July 5 - 10

2011-08-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

M2B=) days 516 - 521. Tuesday, July 5th - Sunday, July 10th happiness:

Tuesday, July 5th happiness: Sheri had to go to the doctor today and have some tests done. She was going to be put under, so I had to go with her so I could drive her home. I met some interesting people in the waiting room, and I had to go to Quizno's and get a diabetic lady a soda and a cookie. I can be helpful when I want to be. :)

Later, she was still pretty out of it, so I took her kids to the movie. Joe and Alex stayed behind, but I took Max, Ben and Evan. I love my nephews. It was fun to hang out with them. Evan was especially cute. He really liked the movie. Any time I get to hang out with the kids, is a good day!

Wednesday, July 6th happiness: I love that it is Summer. Not the oppressive heat, but the fact that I get to hang out with Joe all day. Today we spent a considerable amount of time on FAILblog. Too much time probably, but we were laughing so hard and having so much fun. Love it.

Today, we also went to my mom's so Joe could hang out with the boys. I enjoyed watching Michael "fly" his bird around. The bird isn't really flying. Michael just holds it in his hand and then walks quickly around the room moving his hand up and down so his bird feels like it is flying. It was pretty funny, and the bird really seems to like it. Odd.

Thursday, July 7th happiness: Speaking off odd......
Let's talk about Michael. Odd is probably a good word to describe him. Today I took Joe, Michael and Alex back up to the cabin. We got there in the evening, so we stopped at Little Caesars and picked up a $5.00 pizza for dinner. Michael really wanted me to take his photo in front of the "Hot and Ready" sign. I always thought that was a bit of a weird choice for advertisement. "Hot and Ready, only $5.00."

After I took this photo, Michael then proceeded to walk in, go right up to the counter, pulled out a half eaten bag of twizzlers, set it down on the counter and asked the employee if he could make a trade. His twizzlers for a pizza. I told Michael that next time he is waiting in the car. I love my nephews. Even the weird ones.

Friday, July 8th happiness: Any day I am at the cabin is a good day. I love the smell of the trees. I love the big sky that seems to go on forever. I love the clouds rolling in, in the afternoon with the promise of rain. I love the long lazy days that go on forever. I wish I never had to leave.

Brian drove up tonight to spend the weekend with us. Woo hoo!

Saturday, July 9th happiness: My dad kept the boys busy this morning. He would drive Alex and Michael to go get a bunch of rocks. Then they would dump them, and Joe had to put them down in the ditch area. I love it when my dad makes Joe work! It's good for him.
Although, at times, I'm not sure how much working was going on......
Dad let Alex drive the bobcat. He mastered it pretty quickly.
After work, there was time for play.....
Good times.

Sunday, July 10th happiness: We got some good rain today! Rain. I had almost forgotten what it looked like.

This afternoon it cleared up enough for Brian to take me on a ranger ride. :)

We saw a bunch of elk. When they saw us, they took off running. We drove up to the road and caught them crossing the road just in front of us. Awesome.
Sadly, Brian had to go home tonight, but I am glad he was able to come, even if it was just for a couple of days.

Happy Day!

July Cabin days

2011-08-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 512 - 515. Friday, July 1st - Monday, July 4th - 2011.

So it seems that every time I get close to catching up on this blog, something happens that puts me further behind. The last 2 weeks have been crazy with Brian being in the hospital, and all. Anyway, I'll try to do some catching up this week.

Here goes!

Friday, July 1st happiness: Guess what finally opened today?

I've known for a while that it's been coming, and have been on the lookout for when it finally opened. Today as I drove past, I saw the open sign. Woo hoo!

Even though we were leaving for the cabin this afternoon, we had to make a stop first.

The dream-cicle one was dreamy.
The ride up to the cabin was awesome. We saw TONS of elk. The best was this clearing. This is only a part of what was there. There had to be at least 60 or so. We pulled over and watched them for a bit. I love seeing the wildlife up here. It never gets old.
I love the cabin.

Tuesday, July 2nd happiness: One of my favorite things about the cabin is puzzles. Who has time for them at home? But I always get to do them at the cabin.
Also, I forced Brian to play lots of games of NERTZ with me. I love this game. Brian is sad because I beat him so much!
Sunday, July 3rd happiness: I had a puzzle helper today. Evan was awesome at doing this puzzle. He did like the whole bottom left corner himself. He surprised me with his awesome puzzle skills.
I spent a lot of time today on the back porch enjoying this:
The boys had fun hanging out. Can I just say how much I love Ben's face in this photo? Pure awesomeness.
My dad gave a fabulous family home evening lesson tonight. I think I might just have the best dad ever.
I love this picture of Max and my dad.
I had been trying to get Joe to play NERTZ with me all weekend and he refused. Alex and Ben finally talked him into trying it, and he liked it. He still won't play with me though because I am too fast.
Monday, July 4th happiness: Ian took the boys shooting today! Good times.
I am digging Max's boots. Sunday as we were getting ready for church, Sheri realized that not only did Max not have his church shoes, but he didn't have ANY shoes. How did we not notice this yesterday? She found him some snow boots he could wear outside.
Max and Brian hung out this afternoon. Max kept sneaking up on him and attacking him from behind. I love his face in this photo. He is clearly about to pounce! I also love that he is wearing a yellow blanket and he kind of blends into the wall.
We had a fabulous weekend. I love my family, and I love spending time with them. I love the relaxing feel of the cabin. Nothing pressing to do, just fun and relaxation. I love it here!
On the way home we saw the most ginormous rabbit ever. I made Brian turn around so I could take a picture. Only after I took it did I realize, that without a small normal size rabbit next to it, it would be hard to tell the exact size of this rabbit. Oh well. It was freakishly huge - about 3 times the size of the other rabbits we see around here.

We made it home tonight and were able to watch some fireworks from our backyard patio. Happy 4th of July. I love my country and I appreciate all of the freedoms and blessings that I have. I especially appreciate those men and women past and present who fight to protect those freedoms.

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

Finishing June

2011-07-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 506 - 511. Saturday, June 25th - Thursday, June 30th happiness:

Saturday, June 25th happiness: Today Joe and I cleaned. It is always such a good feeling when you get done. This afternoon we went and saw Super 8. I wasn't sure I wanted to see it. I liked it, mostly. It was very reminiscent of movies done in the 80's. The kids are the main characters and it is told from their point of view. Too much swearing though. The kids have potty mouths.

Also today, Brian surprised me with this:

I have had my eye on this picture for a while. He went and bought it for me.

I love it!

He also got this one for our bedroom. We decided to change it up and do a beach theme. We got a new bedspread. Next up - paint.

Sunday, June 26th happiness: So, for fathers day, we got Brian a smoker. It finally came, and we tried it out today. We had to do ribs first, of course. They were super yummy.
Tonight, Max and Ben came over to spend the night. We played a few games of 5 crowns. Then we had to stop because it was ridiculous how badly Max kept beating us. I swear every time he pulled a card he would say, "Oh, look! I got a joker."
I have decided that I may not be able to play 5 crowns with Max anymore. It's not good for my ego.

Monday, June 27th: The morning after. I think the boys had fun. I like having them over because it makes Joe happy to have friends to play with.

Tuesday, June 28th happiness: For part of Joe's father's day gift to Brian, he said he would take him to get gelato. (hmmm...perhaps Joe picked this because HE loves gelato??) Anyway, they went tonight. The sweeties brought me back some:
It is half Ferrero Rocher (If you don't know what that is, you SHOULD. Chocolate and hazlenut goodness), and half Chocolate Amaretto. I didn't know anything could be this good. I love my boys.

Also tonight, I went with my mom and dad to see this movie:
It's about the Willie and Martin handcart companies crossing the plains, and the miracles they experienced along the way. It was SO GREAT. We knew it wouldn't be in the theaters long, and it was only playing at the Cinemark, so we HAD to go see it. I am so glad I did.

Wednesday, June 29th happiness: Our mutual activity tonight - tubing the Salt River. While the planning part was a little bit of a headache, the actual activity was so great! We had clouds overhead, so not too sunny, and the water was cool enough, without being too cold - refreshing. And the kids of course, were fantastic! It was a lot of fun.

Thursday, June 30th happiness: Joe and I went with the Trezise clan to see Transformers 3 today. While I liked the first one, I didn't see the second, and I didn't really care if I saw the third or not. Maybe it was because I wasn't expecting much, but I really loved it.
Shia LaBeouf is ridiculous. He really makes the movie.

Also, tonight was book club. I don't always end up making it, but I wanted to go this time. I found the book very interesting, and I wanted to see what other people thought about it.

It wasn't our typical book club type book. No story line here. It is the first non-fiction book we have read. I had a hard time getting into it at first, it is more like a text book for a psychology class, but I thought that the information was so good, that I kept reading. It's not like a story, a quick read. I found myself having to re-read paragraphs, so I could understand the concept. I liked it. For the first time in a long time, I felt challenged, and I felt like I was learning something. It was like being back in school. I've forgotten how much I like that.

I also found it helpful. I am not naturally a positive person. It is something I struggle with and have to work at. I found this book helpful. Plus, going to book club is always great. You know you get to hang out with some great people.

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

Summer fun

2011-07-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 501 - 505. Monday, June 20th - Friday, June 24th happiness.

The problem with going out of town a lot in the summer, is that I get way behind on my happy blog. Oh well!

Monday, June 20th happiness: For Brian's birthday earlier this month, I went to Bath and Body works to buy him some of his favorite body wash. I've blogged about it before. This stuff smells fantastic! Anyway, I got some good news, and some bad news. Good news - it is 50% off. Bad news - it is 50% off because it is being discontinued! What???? How could they? I had to stock up.

I actually went back after this and bought 2 more. I would have bought them all if I had the money. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. But at least we have enough to smell fantastic for another year!

Tuesday, June 21st happiness: While I am a big fan of ice cream, I generally do not like ice cream bars. Weird, I know. There is something about having to bite into the ice cream with your front teeth, and then I absolutely hate biting into the bar, and getting the wooden stick. It is like fingernails on a chalk board. So, when Brian brought home this new ice cream bar, I wasn't super excited to try it.
Oh my holey moley is all I can say! These things are fantastic. It really is the chocolate coating that tastes sooooo good. No really - sooooo gooood!

The ones with the caramel are my favorite.
I later saw the commercial for the Magnum Ice Cream Bars, and it totally made sense to me why Brian decided to try them. It stars Rachel Bilson. No wonder why he thought they looked good!

Wednesday, June 22nd happiness: My mom and dad are using their time share in Scottsdale this week. They are taking turns letting the boys sleep over. They stay up late, play cards and swim in the awesome resort pool. Joe, Alex and Michael got to go tonight. Joe has been gone about an hour when we get a call. He has forgotten his swim suit. What? How do you go to a resort to swim, and forget your swim suit? So, Brian and I were kind enough to drive it out to him. I really think that Brian just wanted to drive his fast new car on the freeway.

While we were there, we had to play a couple of games of 5 crowns with my mom and dad. Love it!

Also tonight, Brian and I watched SYTYCD. I know I post about it a lot. But it makes me sooooooooooo happy. Tonight I fell in love with Cat Deeley's little yellow dress. She is like a little ray of sunshine anyway, and tonight, she especially looked like it. I am in love with this dress.
I may also love Cat Deeley just a little bit.

Thursday, June 23rd happiness: Today was a fun day. A do nothing but play all day, kind of day. Sheri and I drove out to Scottsdale to hang out with my mom and dad. The boys got to swim. Joe enjoyed throwing the younger kids around.
Michael was an awesome older brother, and took Josh all around the pool.
Max enjoyed the waterfall.
Josh and Evan loved the splash pad.
Apparently the boys did NOT want to have their photo taken after swimming.
It was too hot for my mom and I. We went back up to the room and played Nertz and 5 crowns.

After swimming for hours, the boys were hungry. My mom, Sheri and I picked up pizza and chocolate and soda (don't judge). We went back and ate pizza and watched SYTYCD, before heading home. All in all - a fantastic day!

Friday, June 24th happiness: After playing all day yesterday, Joe and I worked today. We cleaned in his room for hours. We braved the closet - took everything out and threw things away, gave things away, and put things away. He actually gave stuff away this time. Usually when we do the deep clean, he has a hard time parting with things, even if they don't fit, or he hasn't used them in years.

The little boys were happy he decided to part with some of his costumes that don't fit anymore.
Joshua reminds me a lot of Joe. He is never himself. He is always in character. Joe was always like that. He was never just "Joe". He was batman, or Clark Kent, or Clayton (from Tarzan), etc. Always someone else, and always in costume. Josh is the same way. He and Evan loved playing with the costumes. I'm glad someone else can enjoy them as much as he did.

Happy Day!

So long, San Diego

2011-07-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 498 - 500. Friday, June 17th - Sunday, June 19th.

Friday, June 17th happiness: The dolphins have been out in full force all week. It's been fun to see so many of them. Today, however, they were super close to shore. It was ridiculous.

The boys took advantage of the closeness. They took their boogie boards out into the water to see just how close they could get. Here is Dallin:

The sun finally came out for a bit today. It made the water look all sparkly.
And, for the first time all week, we got to see the sun set. Every other day, it has been too cloudy. Tonight, it was spectacular.

Saturday, June 18th happiness: Even though it is sad that we are going home. I am happy today because I got to spend a week with my toes in the sand. To quote Joe: "Don't be sad because it's over, smile because it happened."

I know this is a "happy" blog, but I just had to throw this in here. This is a picture of the saddest sign ever. =(
I WAS happy to stop at Kneaders bakery on the way home and get some delicious baked good. I was also happy to get home to see Tiger and Bob. Tiger misses me when I am gone.

Sunday, June 19th happiness: Happy Fathers Day! I made Brian a delicious dinner for fathers day today. It was awesome. I wish food didn't make me as happy as it does. I would be a lot thinner.

Happy Day!

Sea World

2011-07-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 496-497. Wednesday, June 15th - Thursday, June 16th happiness.

Wednesday, June 15th happiness: We did Sea World today. First stop - Atlantis. I no longer do this ride, or any other water rides, for that matter, but the boys went. They loved it of course.

The Walrus was putting on a show. He had his face right up against the glass. He would spit out his food, then suck it back in, then spit it out, and suck it back in. It was nasty, yet I couldn't look away.
I love me some polar bears. There were 3 of them out today. They look so cute and cuddly you almost want to climb in there with them, that is until you remember that they will probably eat your face off. Sigh....
Good news. The sky ride is now free. I've never been before. It takes you out over the bay and you can see all of San Diego. Pretty awesome. I only got scared once, I think!
Joe and Dallin spent most of the day on Atlantis, so Brian and I got to walk around leisurely and enjoy the park. The last time we were here, we kind of missed the dolphins. Which is both mine and Brian's favorite part, so we made sure we spent a long time there today. One of the dolphins came up to where I was at, put his tail up in the air, and totally splashed everyone. Then he put his face up and I swear he smiled. The best part was that right after that, he came right up and I totally got to pet him. He is my new favorite dolphin ever.
The best show of the day was of course, the Sea Lions.
We met Nemo.
Brian actually made friends with him. He would hold his finger out and slowly move it around. That little fish followed his finger wherever it went. It was so cute.
The flowers were gorgeous. They were like this everywhere. And they came in all different colors too.
This is what happens when I have to use the restroom, and I leave my camera with Brian. If you don't document it, no one will believe.
Final stop of the day was the Shamu show. And it's not the cheesy 'Believe' show either. It was new. Pretty good stuff.
The best part was that 'June Gloom' was in full swing. It was cloudy and quite cool all day. So cool in fact, that we had to stop and get sweatshirts for me and Joe. I will take June Gloom over Hot as an Oven any day.

Friday, June 17th happiness: I sat with my toes in the sand and watched this little guy for a long time today. He was pretty entertaining. The beach was cold today. Cold!!! In June!! That is unheard of. I enjoyed every second of it.
Dallin and Joe made some new friends. These girls were more their age and they are also from Arizona. Two plusses! The literally stood there like that talking for like 3 hours.
Tonight we walked down to Belmont Park. I left my camera behind, so no photos of Joe and Dallin riding the roller coaster or the other ride that I can't remember the name of that was so stinking cool. Oh well. We window shopped a bit, hung out and then went back to the condo and ate delicious pizza. Good times.

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

Mission Beach, baby!

2011-06-29T00:19:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 492 - 495. Saturday, June 11th - Tuesday, June 14th 2011.

Saturday, June 11th happiness: Today Brian and I discovered Cracker Barrel. We have never been before. We had gotten a gift card for Christmas and decided to try it today. We heard they have good breakfast there. They Do! We had to buy the pancake mix and syrup to take home with us. After we ate, we sat out front in the rocking chairs and dreamed we were on the front porch of the cabin. It's official. We are old!

Tonight's happiness: Joe made it home from Moab alive and in one piece. Woo hoo!

Sunday, June 12th happiness: San Diego! This morning we left dusty hot Arizona and this afternoon we were here:
Yes that is the view from the front window of our condo on the beach! I love saying that: "our condo on the beach". How do I get me one of those for real, and not just for a week?

Monday, June 13th happiness: Today was a perfect day.
I had my toes in the sand for hours.
I had my boys with me.

We brought Dallin with us. I guess girls really do like guys who play guitars. I think these girls were a little old for Dallin though. And yes, that girl did bring her own cow bell to play. Who owns their own cow bell? kind of awesome.
I was inside the condo at the time. Dallin was out front playing guitar when the girls showed up and asked him to play them some songs. Soon they were joined by a third friend. I could see out, but they couldn't see in. I had to snap this photo to send to Dallin's mom so she could see how he was spending his vacation. Joe was kicking himself for taking a shower and missing out on the fun.
The perfect day ended with Outback for dinner. Yum!

Tuesday, June 14th happiness: Happy Birthday to Dallin and Brian! Yes, they share the same birthday. We bought Dallin a boogie board for his birthday. Somehow Joe ended up with one too.
They spent most of the day in the water.
They would rotate between the cold ocean, and the warm hot tub. Back and forth they went all day.
This is our lifeguard. He watched over the boys while they were in the water. Thanks Mr. Lifeguard.
Of course, there was lots of guitar playing.
This plant was HUGE. No really. It was bigger than my head. I told Brian to go stick his head by the plant so we could compare how big the plant really was, but he refused me. =(
Oh happy summer beach day. How I love you Mission Beach.
The boys birthday ended with dinner at Olive Garden and cheesecake back at the condo.

Happy Day!

School's Out For Summer!

2011-06-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 482 - 491. Wednesday, June 1st - Friday, June 10th.

Wednesday, June 1st happiness: Today was Joe's last day of Jr. High School. When did he get so old? Anyway. I'm out of school...he's out of school... and we have all summer to hang out. I am soooo excited. Woo hoo!

Thursday, June 2nd happiness: Got some much needed cleaning done today. It's never fun to clean, but I love the result, so it's worth it. Also today, Joe was singing and Bob loved it. He got up, walked across the room, went and sat by Joe and just stared and listened while he sang. It was so cute.

Friday, June 3rd happiness: I went to IKEA today and got a DVD tower. Then, I put it together all by myself. woo hoo!
Today Joe and I also saw:
It was pretty much awesome.

Saturday, June 4th happiness: Went shopping with Joe this morning. Went shopping with Brian this afternoon. And later, Joe washed my car. Yay Joe!

Nice and clean. Chloe needed a bath. Thanks Joe!

Sunday, June 5th happiness: FHE talent show. Joe and Dallin performed. Joe played and did a little singing. Dallin was lead vocalist. The name of their band: Those Meddling Kids. They did awesome. Joe plays his guitar at home all of the time and plays tons of songs. But I think this has to be the first song I've heard him play all the way through, start to finish. They did so great!
James played the piano. He is so talented.
Anna did some cool acrobatic tricks for us.
And Emmy showed us her tricks on the trampoline.
Good times!

Monday, June 6th happiness: My last day with Joe before he leaves for his super scout trip tomorrow. We did some last minute shopping this morning. Then, it was off to see Kung Fu Panda 2 with Sheri and Trina and the kids. Loved it! I may have liked it more than the first one.
Then we had to get home and do some packing. He had to drop off his gear at 6:00 p.m. And tonight, Brian gave Joe a blessing. I am so happy that he gets to go have this adventure. But, as his mom, I worry and will definitely miss him. I think the blessing might have been more for me than for Joe.

Tuesday, June 7th happiness: So. At 3:30 this morning, I took Joe to the church to meet up with the scout group. They didn't end up leaving until after 4:00. They had a 10 hour drive ahead of them. I will miss Joe, but I know he will have the most awesome week. He gets to go mountain biking, white water rafting, rock climbing and hiking in Moab. He is going to have an awesome week. I went home and went back to bed. It was a lazy day after that. I had no get up and go today. Tonight it was ice cream and a movie, Salt, with Brian.

Wednesday, June 8th happiness: Tonight, Brian, Sheri and I went and saw Les Mis. Joe was originally supposed to go, but Brian got the tickets before we found out about his super scouting activity. So, we took Sheri with us instead. She is a fantastic date. =) I love Les Mis. It was so fantastic. I want to go again!

Thursday, June 9th happiness: I went and visited Adam at his new job at the Disney Store. I bought myself a yummy smelling candle. Then, I stopped at Paradise Bakery for lunch. And guess what???? The Summer Berry Salad is back!!!!! finally. They call it the Strawberry, Chicken Poppyseed Salad. But it is the SAME thing. I have been waiting for this since they took it away last fall. Woo hoo!
Friday, June 10th happiness: Watching So You Think You Can Dance, with Brian. I so love this show!

That's it for now.

Happy Day!

Finishing May

2011-06-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

M2B =) days 471 - 481. Saturday, May 21st - Tuesday, May 31st happiness:

Saturday, May 21st: Brian and Joe flew to Las Vegas to pick up Brian's new car and then they drove it home. This was Joe's first time in Las Vegas.

They didn't really get out and do anything, but Brian took Joe to see all of the hotels. Joe took lots of pictures. He loved it.
Ah, what a good boy I have. He took this one for me.....

There are so many shows playing in Vegas, we decided we need to go back soon.

Then, they had to stop off at the Hoover Dam, of course.

They drove all day, and finally made it home. To say Brian LOVES his new car is an understatement.
What did I do today? I scrapbooked. All. Day. Long.

Sunday, May 22nd happiness: I was feeling really sick today. I hate those days. Yesterday, the sixth graders put on their school play. Guys and Dolls. I love Guys and Dolls, and I really wanted to go. But, I HAVE to finish these scrapbooks by Wednesday, and I literally worked on them for like 15 hours yesterday. So, I had to miss the play. I was really happy that I was able to catch it on t.v. today.
So good. Also today, Brian cleaned our bathroom sinks. They were pretty dirty and now they are sparkly and clean. Yay!

Monday, May 23rd happiness: I got to see Kevin today. Yay! I happened to stop by my moms this afternoon and he brought Bremen over. It was fun to get to hang out for a bit. Kevin is awesome!

Tuesday, May 24th happiness: One of the teachers I work isn't coming back to the school next year, so as a goodbye to all the staff, she brought in mini bundt cakes. I got lemon. mmmm.....lemon bundt cake.....

Wednesday, May 25th happiness: The classroom I work in is in charge of the school store. That just means that on Thursdays, 2 students roll a cart around to every classroom and sell school related supplies - pencils, sharpeners, folders, etc. They sell some fun stuff too, bracelets, watches, rings, snacks. At the end of the year they present some of the profits they make from school store to a charity that they have decided on. Each kid presents a charity to the class, and then the class votes. This year they voted to support Casa Esperanza para Ninos.
It is an orphanage in Mexico. The Aunt of one of my kids started it. She knew she always wanted to open an orphanage and after traveling to Mexico, and seeing these kids living on the street and in storm drains, her heart went out to them. She knew that's where she wanted to help. Today she came to class and the kids presented her with a check. In return, she showed us some video of her kids and told them how the money would be used to help. It was a very moving experience. I loved it. The kids did too. It was fun to see the kids that they were helping.

Thursday, May 26th happiness: So, last night was a loooong night. I HAD to finish those scrapbooks to give to the kids today. I stayed up until 3:30 a.m., then took a nap until 5:00 a.m. and I still didn't finish. I had the last part of one book to do. Thankfully, Mrs. J. let me work on them during class. I finally finished around 2:00 p.m. Just in time for the surprise party we were throwing for the kids. I was sooooo tired, but when they saw those books, it was all worth it. They loved them. It made me happy. I am going to miss those kids.

Tonight was awesome. Nothing to do but sit on the couch, eat coldstone and watch SYTYCD - Heaven!

Friday, May 27th happiness: Last day of School! After this long month, I need a break!

Saturday, May 28th happiness: Joe and Brian left early this morning for a boys trip to the cabin. Yay for alone time and Yay for Father and son time. Also today was Bremen's Baptism. I was so glad I could go. It was awesome!

Sunday, May 29th happiness: Tonight on Facebook, Adam was posting Disney movie quotes, and he had a little contest! And Yes, I won. I love playing the movie quote game. The only disappointment was that he didn't have any quotes at all from MY favorite Disney movie. Oh well. He did quote Gargoyles, and I totally knew it. Joe and I used to LOVE Gargoyles. Good memories.

Monday, May 30 happiness: Brian and Joe made it home from the cabin today. So guess where we went this afternoon......

I love me some pirates.

Tuesday, May 31st happiness: I am loving summer all ready. Sleeping in, no stress, hanging out at my mom's. What's not to love. Also today, I got my prize for winning the Disney movie quote contest. It smells so so so so so so good. Thanks Adam!

And that is officially IT for May.

Happy Day!