Saturday, October 18, 2008

happy birthday keegan!


keegan turns 7 today & i swear she is turning 17!
we let the kids plan their day from the minute they wake up until we fall asleep.

here is keegans' day:
sleep in (that's my girl)
big breakfast including sausage, fruit, pancakes & oj
go to target & shop the dollar section :)
go shopping for new clothes
play games as a family
hip hop dance
go to sweet & sassy & get a makeover
eat at texas roadhouse
open presents
have mint brownies
watch movie & have a late night

what a great day!
she was so full of herself & loving every second of it.
happy birthday keegan!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

nothing

i am really excited about tomorrow. i have a full day planned of NOTHING. i am not sure what i will do but i do know that nothing is planned & i am positive it will not be productive. i really hope to stay in bed until i am too hungry to lay there anymore (i use to say, "sleep until noon" but there is no way - i wake up early no matter what & i need food before noon). i have a fridge full of food ready to eat, no errands that must be done, clean sheets on the bed, kids are out of school, no work deadlines, no commitments whatsoever. i am not sure about others, but days like this are VERY rare in my life! so, i am going to embrace it & enjoy every minute of it. it will probably be a pj day for sure. keegan's been wanting me to watch a chic flick with her, jake wants to play monopoly, i have a stack of magazines to catch up on, we also have CSI's recorded - not sure what i will end up doing & i am 100% ok with that!

the surprise party

we finally were able to celebrate steve's birthday. i had wanted to give steve a surprise party for his 40th & as it got closer i had the hardest time scheduling it. we ended up taking a last minute family trip, then he has his golf trip then we worked the following 2 weeks. in my head, i had changed the date 3x due to our schedule & others. i ended up having to do it after his b-day (which by the way, i looked like the loser wife that blew off the big day by saying, we'll celebrate it later). so, i planned it for wed.15th thinking it would be a great day since school is out thursday & friday -  it was kinda a weekend w/o being a weekend. i did not realize that it was the big hunt weekend & how many people were going to be out of town. i think i picked the worst possible date (sorry to those of you that were out of town).
anyways, it was great! steve had NO clue whatsoever. we were a little slow in making it back home (i know, super shocking). me & the kids came in first - that is when i told the kids that it was a surprise party for dad - there is no way i could of told them before & expect them to keep a secret. then after what seemed like forever, steve came in. he was shocked!! it was fun. we roasted steve & it was hilarious - thanks to everyone! 
tarren (a friend of mine that does weddings/corporate events) came in & decorate & did everything - she did a fabulous job! i could not of pulled it off without her. although, i must admit - it is a bit awkward knowing that you have a houseful of guests in your house & you have no control over what they are doing, seeing, or what you might have out that you should of put away- ha!  it was a fun night! thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with us.   
happy birthday steve!
forgot to take a group shot - duh. but got lots of good pics...


body worlds


we went to this exhibit hosted by the leonardo - it is here in slc for a few months. it is all real human specimens & quite a profound experience. it was very staggering to see how complex our bodies truly are. you could visually see firsthand the network of muscles, blood vessels, bones, organs, etc. it is one of those things that if given an opportunity you need to just go. steve & i decided it would be an good educational experience for jake & keegan. it was very graphic - but the kids LOVED it. i can understand how some parents do not feel like it is appropriate for children but i am glad we took the kids. it definitely promotes learning & wonder - left them with a thirst to learn more. we each had a audio tour - the kids version is shorter & more basic then the adult version. we listened to less than 1/2 - if i had gone by myself & could of focused on the audio is would of been worth it but since the kids had so many questions it was more of a waste than useful. they said it would take about a hour to go through - we were there 2.5 hours. 
* it was so funny, the first exhibit we saw keegan said, "oooh, mom I see, i can see mom, i can see that this one is a boy".  i bit my lip trying not to bust! and just replied, "yes, it is very obvious isn't it".

Sunday, October 12, 2008

happy 40th birthday, Steve!

wow- 40 use to seem so old - now it just seems so ... good!
we were in Kansas City during Steve's big day.

40 things about steve:
(these are random = no particular order)

1. he is VERY patient
2. he laughs with me
3. he loves spending time with his kids
4. a very hard worker
5. he is sensitive (he doesn't necessarily want everyone to know this)
6. he makes sure the house is always safe & secure
7. he shops & even tries to find deals/sales
8. he doesn't care what is for dinner (or even if there is dinner)
9. he is strong
10. he honors the priesthood
11. he is competitive & loves to play games
12. he does laundry (yes, all of it :)
13. he is generous & charitable
14. he can change a dirty diaper without being asked to or complaining about it
15. he compliments me often
16. he knows every sport (& every stat/record & every player & every game)
17. he can deal with Keegan when i can't
18. he never asks about $ (what i buy, how much i spend, etc)
19. he is never stressed
20. he has the biggest conscious
21. he is athletic & stays active
22. he puts the toilet seat down when he is finished
23. he loves watching cartoons with the kids
24. he'll give me back massages w/o me begging
25. he makes sure the cars are always full of gas
26. he showers before getting into bed
27. he always takes time to talk/listen
28. he is caring
29. he'll watch the same CSI episdoe several times w/me
30. he loves eating frozen cookie dough & ice cream in bed late at night
31. he always scoops/bags zoe's poop when we go on walks
32. he communicates with me first before making any plans
33. he is the best example of the perfect dad to our boys
34. he drives the speed limit
35. he shovels the sidewalk/driveway first thing in the morning
36. he always makes me his top priority
37. he gets out of bed to fart & always laughs afterwards
38. he makes sure the kids are always respectful
39. he has a very DRY sense of humor
40. he is so supportive in everything i do

Happy Birthday Babe! I couldn't ask for anything more!!!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

ty detmer charity dinner

steve & i were invited to sundance for a ty detmer charity dinner. it was beautiful & held here:




after socializing a bit & a delicious dinner - there was a live auction. can i just tell you how fascinated i am at auctions. the excitement is right up my alley. i don't know how the auctioneer can talk so fast & see everyone at once - simply amazing! well, i ended up bidding on a gun safe??? from when i started bidding on it there were 5 of us then just 2 of us back & forth. i ran the bid up $1000 & finally decided to let it go. after it sold to the other bidder for $3200 they right then offered another one to me for my last bid of $3100 so I took it. talk about being put on the spot. i think the bidder got a kick out of me & since i was the ONLY female all night that bid - he was having fun with it. this is my new purchase:



now what?

steve humored everyone by telling them the only gun we own is a 38 special that my grandmother gave me years ago. (She decided the gun probably did her no good being carried around in her purse since she knew she couldn't pull the trigger due to her arthritis). i have no intentions in collecting guns - just thought it would be good to have to store important documents & files. we have safe security box at the bank & it would be more convenient to have those things here.

i got it for a good deal too - apparently, the safe i got is about a $5000 safe. plus, it is a tax write-off & the money went to charity ... it doesn't get much better than that.

anybody know of any other auctions i can be entertained with? never know what i might bid on.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

fall family pictures

ok - so i decided a couple months ago that i wanted to get some FALL family pictures this year. we always get summer pictures (vacations & such) & we typically get christmas pictures but never have done any in the fall. so, i scheduled it for saturday. well, the weather in utah has been goregous. it has been in the low 80's & sunny - just beautiful. when i talked to the photographer earlier in the week they said that the leaves were all still green & not "fallish". i was a little disappointed & looked at rescheduling but realized they were either booked or we were out of town - the soonest we could reschedule would be end of october - which very well could be snow/winter here in utah.

so, i had to bribe steve & the kids for cooperation :) about 1 hour before our appointment the photographer called us & said that she was on site & it was SO windy. she said we could still do it but that we had the option to reschedule. well, we were all showered & almost ready so we went ahead & went for it. we got there & it was very overcast (perfect for pics) but thundering. we took 1 picture & then jake informed us all that he felt a raindrop. in less than 5 minutes, it was pouring. we went under a tree & they tried to take another shot. after that, we all ran across the park for coverage under a gazebo. can you visualize us all running, me in heels w/brock (which he did not like his hair getting WET), steve w/zoe (the dog trying to chase the leaves) & the kids as if they were going to melt. we took a few shots there (yes, wet hair & all). then, we decided it wasn't going to clear up & call it a day. the kids were great. the dog couldn't of been been better. steve was putting up with it all even though i know he wished he was at home watching football. i just forgot to bribe the weatherman ... i'll know better next time.

they think they got a couple shots - i am anxious to see. i'll have to post them, i am sure they will be comical.