Ruk Shuk

Heather and Joe gave us this fun new game for Christmas. You have a handful of rocks, and try to duplicate the rock formation shown on the card. It is much harder then it looks. Last night when we played we finally put away the timer, we all needed about 3x's the time allowed. So if you are looking for a new game that everyone can play we definitely recommend Ruk Shuk!

"It is one of man's curious idiosyncrasies to create difficulties for the pleasure of resolving them." ~Joseph de Maistre

Christmas Pictures

Here are the pictures that I promised on yesterdays post. We had a productive day out and about. We took Myles' bike in to be adjusted for him, got a microphone for Guitar Hero, and ran other misc. errands. This evening we have been shifting between laundry, Guitar Hero, laundry, Mario Kart, laundry.... you get the picture :)

Here is Shakierra, Myles, and I decorating our attempt at sugar-cookies.

Here is a shot of one of our home-made pizza's. Not so yummy, but it was still fun to make.

After all of the stocking stuffing!

Me, more then ready to head to bed! We were waiting until we knew Myles was sound asleep before bringing in his new bike.

The much anticipated presentation of the bike!! (yes, he is blind-folded)

Shakierra and Guitar Hero!
Myles schooling all of us on the Guitar! This kid Rocks!!

Brad concentrating oh-so-hard while ricking out. It is much harder then it looks!!

So there you have it, our holiday in pictures! Hope you have all recovered for the festivities.

"If Rock 'n Rolling is a crime then throw my @%# in jail!" -- Guitar Hero

Wonderful Christmas

We had a great Christmas! Right about now I am more then ready to head to bed and call it a day, but my sweet hubby is playing his new fishing game on the Wii, so I will blog instead. :)

Christmas Eve was a quiet quality-time kind of day. First off Heather and I went to Zumba and melted off enough calories for at least 2 plates full of cookies :) Then it was home with the fam. We baked and decorated sugar cookies, baked homemade pizza's for dinner, and watch ELF. Once the kids went to bed Brad and I went to work filling stockings, putting out a few last gifts, and getting Myles' bike out from the neighbors garage.

Today we woke up way early (5:40am) and started in on the presents. Myles LOVES his new bike! He cant wait to get out on the road with it. Shakierra scored with Guitar Hero and Mario Kart for the Wii. Brad got a new shop-vac, some more Bears gear, among other fun things. I got tons of great music. Brad knows that I have been wanting to replenish my Jimmy Buffet collection (since losing half of it in asset separation). So he stocked me up with enough JB to keep me grooving until the cows come home!!

I did take some pictures, but I am too stinking tired to post them at the moment. So stay posted for those goodies!!

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!" ~Hamilton Wright Mabie

Baking Burn Out

I really love to bake. But I am happy that the majority of the holiday baking is behind me. The boys ran a bunch of baked goodies to friends and neighbors this evening. There are still a few goodies on the list I have promised to make. Brad is jonesing for homemade sugar-cookies. I have never actually made sugar-cookies, so wish me luck!

Only one more day of work for both Brad and I and then it is Christmas Break!! Wahoo!! I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. I think Myles is going to always remember this year. I think this is the most excited I have ever been for what I am giving him, so it is bound to be a memorable year!

Ok, I know this was the most boring post ever, sorry. But I cant think of anything wildly funny to write about, and I have sewing calling my name, so I am outta here.

"If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done." ~Author Unknown

TGIF

Here is Myles' healing face. Poor kid! The picture really washes out the color in the cut and bruise. I told him not to worry, chics dig guys with war wounds :) When I was dropping him off at school one of his teachers was walking by and saw his face and said, "I see your Mom finally had enough of you!"

I am so glad it is Friday. With the snow storms I feel like I have either been at work or on the road to and from work 24/7. I will be more then happy to stay within a 5 mile radius of home this weekend. Tomorrow night we have the ward party and Sunday we are having a family Christmas dinner at the Alexander's. In between those parties I plan on going to Zumba, wrapping, baking, wrapping some more, and just plain relaxing.

BTW- Zumba is at the Lehi Legacy Center at 930am on Saturdays and at 8pm on Thursdays. for those of you who were wondering.

So I want to know how many of you couples out there in blog-world have a "song". Brad and My song is "Good Morning Beautiful" by Steve Holy. They don't play it on the radio often, but I heard it this morning (and smiled the entire time it was playing). So whats your song????

"The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!" ~Henry Ward Beecher

Donation time again

First off I want to wish my big bro, Rob, a very Happy B-day tomorrow!! I know I am certainly not aging, so I am sure the same goes for you. (good genes wink, wink)

Today was a much better day then yesterday (at least for me, Heather's household may beg to differ). Yesterday it took me over two hours to get to work in the lovely winter wonderland. But the roads were great again today and I was singing a happy tune!

This evening I donated blood again. I did sooooo much better than last time. Yippee!! I didn't get sweaty at all! I could sit up and read my book the entire time. My time was 5:22 (that's how long it took me to fill up my bag). That has got to be some kind of record, right?!?!?! So the next time I go that is the time to beat. Better start those fist pumps and get my veins ready for the challenge!!

Myles is at Young Men's tonight. When I asked what they were doing tonight he told me they were playing Ding-Dong-Ditch'em. I was flabbergasted that this would be a church activity! But of course there was more to the story. They would be leaving gifts on peoples porches and then ringing the bell and running so the recipient didn't know who left the treat.... Much better church activity!! Whew! (ok- I was about to post this and Myles just showed up with a bleeding face. While out and about the boys started throwing snowballs. Well the one that met Myles' face was an ice-ball. Poor kid!)

Over the past few months I have taken part in a Biggest Loser group. We have a blog where we each post our weekly progress, good or bad. You can post great links you have found, new classes, recommendations, etc... So with the new year rapidly approaching I was wondering if any of you would be interested in making our own kind of group. We would need to have enough so it is motivational and encouraging (instead of just me confessing to downing my weight in ice cream). So give me a shout if you would wanna join.

"I wish I had a pencil thin mustache
The boston blackie kind
A two toned ricky ricardo jacket
And an autographed picture of andy devine" -- Jimmy Buffett (one of my favorite JB songs)

Jump Around!!

That is exactly what the kids did this Saturday. "Jump on It" is a big warehouse filled with tons of trampolines. So the kids just go in and ump until their bodies cant take it anymore. Myles has become quite the Jump on It addict. So in order to deplete their energy and run some errands with out the kids all up in our business we dropped them off for 2 hours of bouncing fun. I was able to grab a few pictures when we came back to pick them up. As you can tell from pictures, they didn't have any fun at all, NOT!!

This is Myles' expression when told it was time to leave!

Shakierra was boarding the tramps. Theses snowboard types things are made of foam, great addition to the challenge of jumping for 2 hours straight!!Myles showing off his flipping skills!!

Even when I was young I wasn't brave enough to try these kind of tricks :)

OK, please excuse the music selection. I just couldn't resist a little "Jump Around" to go with these pictures!

"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned." ~Peter Marshall

Merry Bowling

Nothing says "Merry Christmas!" like a visit to your local bowling alley. At least that is what we decided at AFA this year. In an effort to cut costs we ditched the normal formal dinner and dressed it down a bit. So last Thursday we closed the office a little early and headed for Fat Cats. We had a blast! Heck, this was a whole lot better then cocktails and a fancy-shmancy dinner if you ask me.

Shop Till You Drop

That was my motto tonight. I hit both Target and Wal-mart for prizes for our upcoming work bowling party. My feet are sore and my pocket book is empty. But at least I am all prepared for the party now. I just need to wrap the prizes now, but that can wait until tomorrow. The upside of all this shopping (that isn't even for me) was that Wally World had spamonie ice cream!!! That is nearly impossible to find, so of course I had to get some. So I am enjoying a bowl of it as I type this post :) (aren't ya jealous!!)

Well it finally feels like winter outside. It has been down right COLD! It is times like this that make me feel bad for Brad working outdoors all through the night. The poor boy layers up like the little brother in the movie A Christmas Story!

I am happy to announce that my Christmas shopping is officially done!! WAHOO!! I still have projects to get done before the big day, but no more shopping. I love to shop and even I am burnt out. I love that our kids are old enough now that we can invest in a handful of larger meaningful gifts rather then tons of toys and crap. But of course Brad would argue that I still buy plenty of the "crap". :) But what can I say, I love gift giving!!

"Maybe its a Mans world, but Girls make it go round." -- Eddie Rabbit

Book Worm B-Day

I had a great birthday! Brad spoiled me with 5 books, a sweat-shirt, and of course the heating blanket that I have already been enjoying. We just got back from Baskin Robbins where I over-indulged (but heck, that's what b-days are for)!
Last night we had a blast playing Rock Band at Derick and Becky's house. Becky made yummy fajitas for dinner and killer brownie Sundays for dessert. Thanks guys for spoiling me for my b-day!!

Myles is home again. He left on Thursday night to go to California to hit Disneyland with his Dad. As usual, he is a bit worn out from the traveling. But we are happy that he made it home safely.

Well I am off to dive into one of my new books. Have a great week everyone!!

"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." ~Lucille Ball

ZUMBA

Ok, so I just got home from the best new class, ZUMBA!! It is a mixture of aerobics and salsa dancing. It was a blast! You have to shake everything you got and let your inhibitions fly...but when you do, the sweat starts a pourin'. I can tell my obliques and hips are going to be mega sore tomorrow after all of the hip shaking, but it will totally have been worth it.

So come join me at a class and let your inner Latin Goddess come out to play!!!!

"There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good." ~Edwin Denby

WARNING!! - Stop Exercising!!

Warning!! These pictures are graphic and not for the faint of heart!!

Poor Evie is the perfect specimen of what too much "Exercise" can do to you.

Look, here is Brad trying in vain to pull her from the elliptical after hours of striding away.

Notice how after so many long hours of exertion her eyes have gone "alien" (this is a common side affect of too much exercise)

The poor girl cant stop herself. She is so out of control she cant even keep her tongue in her mouth anymore!!! (oh the pity to see such self abuse)

Once again you see the alien eye phenomena. You will notice that the fat (aka- happy) dog's eyes are much less reflective.

Don't become just another statistic. Stand strong against this craze and eat a freakin' burger and fries, while your at it have a milk shake too!!

"I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing." ~Marsha Doble

Midway

I am soo proud of myself, I figured out the slide show thingy all by myself!!! So as you can see from the my FAB slide show we had a pretty down to earth / no-frills getaway. It was great!!

We went to the smallest bowling alley we have ever seen (in Heber)! The place was so old that the lanes weren't exactly level and the balls had gouges out of them. So much for our highly competitive intense game of bowling, sheesh!!

The kids (and that includes Brad) LOVED the Murphy bed that was in our condo. They took turns folding each other into the wall and laughing!! I am telling you, you have to be pretty desperate to find this all as funny as they seemed to! :)

We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner at the Inn on the Creek. It was great to dine with Heather & Joe (and girlies), and Andrea & Ryck (and girlies). It was soooo nice to just go eat and not worry about shopping, cooking, or cleaning. We wont do this every year, but for sure will add it to the rotation. After dinner Myles took Grace and Jane up to the Santa sleigh for a few pictures. Grace loved it, while Jane wasn't as keen on the whole idea. I am sure the management wanted to come out and tell us to take a hike. But seeing as we just paid a kidney and liver for dinner, they were smart enough to let us have our fun with the sleigh!!

The condo we stayed in was very cozy. The kids loved the craters, ping pong, pool, hot tub..... Brad and I loved that they had their own room! :)

One night while on the way to the pool we saw a deer walking through the parking lot. So Brad snagged the camera and took off like he worked for National Geographic! We finally followed after him in the car. He had followed the deer to the golf course at the Homestead and there were over a dozen deer on the green just chillin'. It was too cool! It was just getting dark, so the pictures didn't turn out too hot, but it was awesome to see.

Friday night Andrew, Kelly, and Eric came up to play games and go swimming. It was great to hang out with them for a while. So thanks for making the drive guys!!

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in." ~Robert Orben

Thanksgiving in Midway, UT

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

So far we are having a great Thanksgiving morning. Myles is off to the ward Turkey Bowl. I am finishing up laundry to pack for our family getaway. Shakierra is finishing up her chores (I swear that child only works in slow-motion). And Brad is laying on the couch moaning something like "I need TURKEY!".

We are heading up to have dinner at Inn on The Creek in Midway. Then we are staying in a condo there for the rest of the holiday weekend. We are taking lots of games and movies. It will be a weekend packed with "quality time". I figure we will probably run to the Park City outlets while we are up there too.

Brad's friend Eric will be staying at our house dog-sitting for us. He has done that before, so he totally knows what he is getting himself into. We bought the dogs yummy chew toys and have given them a stern talking-too about being polite to the house guest. Now will will just have to keep our fingers crossed that they don't lock him outside like they did to Mom and Dad. :)

We are Thankful to live in the Land of the Free, the good old U.S. of A.. We are Thankful to be blessed with so many wonderful friends and family. We live highly spoiled lives and try our darnedest not to take it for granted.

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart." ~Seneca

One Month Left

The count-down is officially on! One month left until Christmas and counting!!! So....who has even started their Christmas prep? We started early on our family gifts, but I have much shopping left to do for the immediate family. I placed an order today for a few things and went ahead and ordered a gift for myself (for the kids to give me - I so blame Dad for teaching me this tradition!!).

Brad was appalled at my Tree post. How could I even consider a fake tree?!?!? So tonight at Costco, he finally looks at the tree I wanted and was actually impressed. Long story short...we bought the tree. So I feel officially OLD now!

Myles is having a sleep over here tonight. Right now they are wrestling Evie & Lucy. Evie couldn't be happier about this turn of events. While Lucy seems to keep giving me a look as if asking "Are you sure I cant bite them?"

"Adolescents are not monsters. They are just people trying to learn how to make it among the adults in the world, who are probably not so sure themselves." ~Virginia Satir

Some like it HOT

I would surely fall into that category. I had asked Brad for a heating blanket for my upcoming birthday. But this week he surprised me with it early. He said he wanted to get as much use out of it as possible, so it was Happy B-Day me a little early :) I have been loving it! Even Evie is hooked on it. The blanket has dual controls, so of course with Brad working nights I only have one side turned on. Evie will NOT sleep on the cold side of the bed now no matter how much coaxing I try (smart girl). Even Brad is enjoying the extra heat (even though he swore he would never even turn his side on).

Myles is running around like crazy trying to get his chores done before heading off to the big rivalry game (BYU vs. Utah for those of you who live in a cave). I was lucky enough to get two tickets to the sold-out game. I was going to go with Myles, but gave-in to his charming boy power. So he and his friend Caleb will be having a "Man's Day". They will ride up on tracks with Caleb's Dad, so no worries there are adults going with them. The boys will be sitting alone though so please pray that we don't see them on national television later today being escorted off the field by security!!! Go UTES!!

Well I am doing laundry and such while Brad tries to grab a few hours of sleep. Then we are off to steal Gracie for a bit. She texted me this morning telling me she really needed a break from her old-fogy parents!!

"I have seen women walk right past a TV set with a football game on and - this always amazes me - not stop to watch, even if the TV is showing replays of what we call a "good hit," which is a tackle that causes at least one major internal organ to actually fly out of a player's body." ~Dave Barry

Twilight

My friend Leslie scored us some free premiere tickets to see Twilight this afternoon (before it was officially released). It was great!! It is a bit corny in a few spots, but hell it is about vampires and teenagers, corny is inevitable!! So a definite "Thumbs Up". I fell in love with Edward all over again. I might just have to read all the books again. I do have to admit that it is a total chic-flick. So ladies, be nice to your hubby, and don't make him go see it with you. It will only make even the best guy feel completely inadequate compared to (swoon) Edward. :)

It was great to hit the theater after work, my stress level is at it's breaking point. I think I manage my stress fairly well, but today I could have devoured 5 gallons of PB&C ice cream!! Times are definitely tough all around these days. I keep telling myself to "Count your Blessings!!". So if you are feeling strained these days, this quotes for you...

"When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Count your blessing; Name them one by one.
Count your blessings; See what God hath done."
Johnson Oatman (pg 241 hymn book)

Christmas Trees

This morning while driving to work I had a great idea for a subject I wanted to blog about. It was meaningful and I had lots to share on the subject. But alas, I seem to have forgotten that wonderful topic. Sorry folks!! I am sure it will come back to me before to long....so brace yourself for a great posting in the near future :)

I want to hear every ones arguments "for" or "against" Fake Christmas Trees.

I have always had to have a REAL tree. It is part of the holiday tradition for the family to go out on a cold night. The kids pick their favorite tree and then are over ruled by the tree Mom wants. You fight with the poky thing to load it in the car while inflicting as little damage as possible (both to the car and to the tree). You get home and drag the unruly thing in while letting all of the heat escape from the house. Get the stand attached, prop it up only to find it is crooked. Prop books under the stand until it is straight (but hope no one looks at it too hard because even that may make it tip over). Crawl under to water the tree while it's branches get snarled in your hair and at the same time fight off the dog that is trying to drink the water as you are poring it.... Don't even get me started on the placement of the lights!!!! And this is all to set it up, let alone the take down that causes half of the needles to fall off and find their way into every nook and cranny of your home to be vacuumed up over the next 6-9 months.

SO I am finally starting to consider a FAKE tree. I am so disappointed in myself, this must mean I am getting old. So please leave you thoughts on Christmas Tree fun.

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." - Erma Bombeck

Winter is in the Air

We had a great weekend. Friday night my little fam grabbed a quick dinner at El Pollo Loco (yummy!!) then I dropped the kids off at home and Brad took off for work and I headed off to see Mom at the hospital. Both Rob & Sri and Dennis & Tawny were there. It was fun to sit around and shoot the breeze with my brothers that I don't get to see often.

Saturday Shakierra and I cleaned house all morning while Myles was at a Scout Pow-Wow. Saturday evening we had "dinner/game night". I always love game nights!! It was Dennis Tawny, Joe & Heather, Derick & Becky, and us. We played several intense rounds of Chicken-Foot until things started getting hostile :) so we thought we better break for dessert. Then it was on to Scattergories. We had some great laughs, but still kept it fairly clean. Then it was on to the Wii. Can't wait to do it again soon!!!

Today the boys braved the roof and put up the Christmas Lights!!!!! I love it when the lights start showing up around the neighborhood, it makes me feel so festive!! Myles was in "hog heaven" getting to monkey around on the roof!! He even offered to clean the gutters if he could stay up there longer :)

Evie has started having a potty problem lately. Our Home Teacher mentioned that their Greyhound wont pee outside once it gets cold. So maybe it is that with her being so freaking skinny she is too cold when she goes out to be able to finish her business. So we have bought Evie her first sweatshirt!! Brad says this officially puts us on a whole new level of "weird". He says that costumes were one thing, but actual dog clothes...well that is just plain c-r-a-z-y!!!

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." ~Norman Vincent Peale

On the Mend

It appears that both Mom and Dad are on the mend!!! (Do a little happy dance)

Dad came home from the hospital this afternoon and is resting peacefully at home. He is stiff, but already able to get himself up and walk using his walker. Great Job Dad!!

We had a bit of a scare with Mom on Wednesday. Heather was trying to help Mom get up from her bed and into the bathroom, but Mom couldn't move at all. She had absolutely no strength or muscle control. So the ambulance was called and Mom was admitted to AF Hospital. After a long evening and night with no answers they finally discovered that she has pneumonia. By the amount of fluid in her lungs and her oxygen levels as they were, they say she has had it for several weeks!!!!! Well no wonder she was always short of breath, light headed, and her muscles fatigued to no-end....she had no oxygen! So now they are treating her with an arsenal of IV antibiotics. She should be in the hospital for 3-4 days and then if all goes well she should be coming home after that.

"Some of the secret joys of living are not found by rushing from point A to point B, but by inventing some imaginary letters along the way." ~Douglas Pagels

Productive Day

Well if the last few days have been ho-hum and sort of boring, today surely got us back on track. Today I:
did some laundry (good thing I actually like doing laundry),
got the garage door opener replaced (thanks Derick for referring us to a great repair-man),
did a bit of sewing,
read a little of my new book "The Longer Trip Home" (way funny so far),
prepared Sundays Primary lesson,
met my sweet hubby for lunch (yummy Greek food),poor Brad worked till 1pm today,
worked half a day (I could get used to that),
picked up Myles and went to Provo to see Dad at the hospital (he is doing awesome!!),
got Myles' hair cut (finally I have my sweet clean-cut boy back)
and now I am in my PJ's in front of the computer trying to convince myself that it is still too early to go to bed :)

So there you have it folks, a much more productive day!!

"The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God;
I call him Dad!"~Author Unknown

Whole lot of Nothing!

That is exactly what is going on here at the Jolley household. We are pretty boring folks as of late. This weekend I did some sewing, took Myles to a Merit Badge activity, went to church, did laundry... guess that about sums it up. So sorry for the lack of postings, but seriously you haven't missed much.

Today Dad went in and had Knee Surgery. He has a brand spanking new left knee now. He is doing well. He will be in the hospital for at least 3 days. I took Mom in for her blood test today and they decided she needed more of the good-stuff. So we hung out at the hospital (different hospital I might add) while Mom got 2 units of blood.

"It is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us--even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will."We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming."--Joseph B Wirthlin

Snow, Snow, Go Away!!

It was starting to snow when we left the gym last night, and I thought nothing of it. But then when I woke to a blizzard this morning I was nothin short of shocked!! So I knew it was going to take longer to get to get to work. But then as I was about to leave the gosh-dang garage door broke! So I had to drag Brad out of bed (poor guy had just fallen asleep). Now when I say it was "broke" I mean it, not even the emergency release would give!! So after quite a while of working on it Brad used a hammer to get the door dislodged from the chain so we could at least manually open the door. I know, this sounds drastic, but hell we had to get the cars out of there somehow!! So if anyone has a hidden talent of garage door maintenance knowledge... feel free to share the love!!
So I finally get out of there and on the road to work, but man the snow made traffic a freakin mess! It took me a full hour to get from my house to Bangeter HWY. So in all it took me nearly 2 hours to get to work. So I stayed late tonight to make up for the missed time.
So now you find me rambling about my pathetic day while I wait for my dinner to digest enough to safely mount the elliptical without tossing my cookies! I know...I really need to get out more :)

"When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap." ~Cynthia Heimel

Weekend Happenings

We tried to get good shots of the dogs in their Halloween costumes, but to no avail! The little hoodlums wouldn't hold still for nothin!! So here are the best shots we were able to capture. Lovely little Evie was a Cheer Leader and Lucy was the Football star!!!

By the end of the night Lucy was looking at me as if to say "Why oh why must you humiliate us like this year ofter year?!?!?" And my simple reply is "because my kids are too old for it, so now it passes on to the four-legged family members." :)

Saturday we went to Grandma and Grandpa Jolley's studio to have our family pictures taken. I really wanted the dogs in this years picture (oh foolish me). Lucy was great, as usual, but Evie...well if you have met her then no explanation is needed. But we made it thru pictures and I cant wait to see the finished product!!

Saturday night we went out on the town with Becky and Derick. By "the town" I mean American Fork. I know, we are some "wild and crazy guys"!! We chowed on Mexican food, bowled until our arms ached, and ate yummy ice cream! It was great fun. Cant wait to do it again :)

"A good friend is cheaper than therapy." ~Author Unknown

AFA Karaoke Party

Happy Halloween from AFA!!

We had our 3rd Annual Halloween Karaoke Contest here in the SLC office. It was a rockin' good time for all!! Here are a few shots for our adoring fans!!

Most of the Gang here in the SLC office.

Leslie aka Ozzy
Heather, Cathy and Ryan
April, Doug, and Amanda aka Run DMC
1st Place Winners!!

Chay, Jessica, Julie, and Sara-The Thriller Gals

Ryan

2nd Place Winner!!

Scott aka Count Dracula

Jason aka Prof. Snape (3rd Place Winner!!)

And here is the trophy stand!! We had to hand out a Rock Star to those that belted it out with the least inhabit ion!

Mosaic Madness

Heather had a great Photo-Mosaic on her blog. So of course we had to be big copy cats and give it a whirl. Each picture tells a little bit about us. So here goes nothin'!

April:

1.What is your first name? April

2. What is your favorite food? Pumpkin Muffin Tops

3. What school did you go to? Lakewood HS

4. What is your favorite color? Yellow

5. What is your favorite animal? Giraffe

6. Favorite Drink? Dr. Pepper

7. Dream Vacation? Bora Bora

8. Favorite Dessert? Baskin Robbins Ice Cream

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Forensic Specialist

10. What do you love most in life? Sunshine

11. One word to describe you? Stubborn

12. Your nickname? Ape

Brad:

1.What is your first name? Brad
2. What is your favorite food? Hamburgers
3. What school did you go to? West Jordan Jaguars
4. What is your favorite color? Blue-Green
5. What is your favorite animal? Bears
6. Favorite Drink? Kahlua
7. Dream Vacation? A Lake
8. Favorite Dessert? Pie
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Park Ranger
10. What do you love most in life? My Wife
11. One word to describe you? Monkey
12. Your nickname? Jolley

Myles:

1.What is your first name? Myles
2. What is your favorite food? Pineapple
3. What school did you go to? Willow Creek MS
4. What is your favorite color? Red
5. What is your favorite animal? Dog
6. Favorite Drink? Mt. Dew
7. Dream Vacation? Greece
8. Favorite Dessert? Ice Cream
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Pilot
10. What do you love most in life? Sports
11. One word to describe you? Funny
12. Your nickname? K-9

Here are the instructions if you want to give it a whirl!!

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

This quote is for my hubby :)

"You enter into a certain amount of madness when you marry a person with pets." ~Nora Ephron

Sweet Success

Tonight we finally had success with the Pumpkin Parfaits!!! The first go-around with them turned out not-so-good. I made the original batch with pumpkin-pie mix rather then just canned pumpkin. We simply grabbed the wrong can off of the shelf. So we got ready to take the dessert to Heather and Joe's and only then realized that it was a failed attempt (insert image of April pouting while rinsing it all down the sink). So tonight we had to share our success!! We took the parfaits over to H&J's/M&D's and everyone was more then happy to share in my celebration in conquering the parfait!!!

Happy B-Day D!

We want to wish a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BIG-D!!

We wish we could be there to celebrate with you bro!

For those of you not related to me, D (Dennis) is one of my big brothers. He lives in Reno, but we keep trying to intice he and Tawny to move to the beehive-state. D is 2 years older than me, and I am sure not getting older, so neither can he!!

This weekend Brad got a Pressure Washer. He has been looking at them lately to use to clean blinds, as an add on to his window-washing biz. So of course he needed to see how long it would take him to clean a house full of mini-blinds. I came home to sparkling WHITE blinds!!! Our blinds were embarrassingly grungy, but they look brand spanking new now! So thanks to my cute hubby for spending the afternoon cleaning!! :)

This evening I was a total bum. After dinner I fell asleep on the couch while watching MNF. I never do that!! We always are on the go. So while I felt a bit guilty of being a lump on the sofa, it was rather nice to do absolutely nothing tonight. :)

"There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother." ~Astrid Alauda

Ward Halloween Party

Myles's Joker costume was a hit last night at the Willow Park Ward Halloween Party. He won Best Costume for the Youth age group. He looked pretty creepy I must say. A couple of people didn't know who he was, the black hair made Myles unrecognizable.

Brad was a died in the wool Chicago Bears fan. Gggrrr!!!

Here is our neighbor Derick. Not sure what he was supposed to be... after-all he looks like this all the time! JK

I liked this close up of Myles. You can see his hair do better in this shot. And yes the makeup is supposed to look kind of messy (for those who haven't seen the most recent Batman movie).

We forgot to get any shots of me in my wrapper get-up. So you will have to be patient and wait for Halloween for those beauties!!

"Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, "Never take candy from strangers." And then they dressed me up and said, "Go beg for it." I didn’t know what to do! I’d knock on people’s doors and go, "Trick or treat." "No thank you."' -- Rita Rudner

DI, CoCoa, and a B-Day

First off we want to wish a big Happy Birthday to Andrew!!! (Brad's little brother) Hope you had a fun B-day!

This afternoon Brad and Myles went on a shopping spree at the DI. Myles was in need of some digs for his "Joker" costume. We have already bought the hair die and face pant, but he was lacking in the clothing department. They scored big time and now Myles is ready to creep people out at tomorrow nights church party!

Last year we discovered Stephen's Peppermint Hot Cocoa. But we figured out that it was just broken up candy canes in the cocoa mix. So now we make our own concoction rather then paying out the nose for it. Tonight we prepared a large batch to have on hand now that the nights are chilly.

One of our favorite past times is to speak for the dogs. You know, just giving a voice to what must be going thru their mind :) Come on... I know I am not the only one who does this!! Anyway this picture totally says "Please speak into my Good ear sonny" I took several pictures of the dogs tonight but they are all blurry. Little fidgety animals!!
"Inside every older person is a younger person - wondering what the hell happened."--Cora Harvey Armstrong