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

Scavenger Hunt

Our Ward is having a Scavenger Hunt competition. They took about 30 pictures of items that you can see from the side-walk when walking through the boundaries of our ward. Then you have to go around and write down what family lives at the house where that picture was taken. There will be prizes for this hunt at the Halloween Party this weekend. So we went out with our print out, clipboard, and pen and tackled the neighborhood! We saw other neighbors out and about with their families as well. Brad and I walked while Myles rode his skateboard. It got dark before we finished walking the entire neighborhood, but I think we only have one block left to cover. This turned out to be a lot more fun then I anticipated. But if some neighbors didn't know about this scavenger hunt, we must have looked extremely nosey!

Myles got home from Hawaii safe and sound. The poor guy is way tired! He voluntarily went to bed early!

"Condoms aren't completely safe. A friend of mine was wearing one and got hit by a bus." ~Bob Rubin

Gracie-Day

This Saturday we were jones-ing for a Gracie fix. So Heather and Joe were more then happy to hand her over for most of the day. We had a full day of going to a church activity, lunch at Rubio's, grocery shopping, laundry, a park outing.....

Grace would tell us each what horse we were allowed to ride. Then as soon as we got situated and teeter-tottering she would change horse assignments. (This went on for a LONG time!)
Grace did brave the slide solo. But the slide was hot to the touch, so she decided riding down on Shakierra's lap was much better. At one point Gracie went over and sat on a bench and told Shakierra to keep sliding and she would "just watch". So poor Shaierra thought she was finally done climbing the ladder to the slide.. but oh no! Gracie wasn't about to let her off that easily. So Shakierra was a good sport and kept going up the ladder and down the slide until Gracie was ready to move on to rolling down the grass hill. :)
This is how Gracie posed when I told her to "Smile pretty for the camera." Apparently at age 3 a "Smile" is a full-body action!!
And after our trip to the park the girls each had a cupcake. I think Grace was more interested in getting the eye-ball ring then the actual cupcake. She would pinch off some frosting and let Lucy lick it off of her fingers and giggle the whole time. It was too cute!!

Brad finally laid down to snooze on the couch while I did laundry. So when he woke up I had already taken Grace home. He was none to happy with me. I believe his exact words were "Why did you have to take her home? I wasn't done playing!" Does she have her Uncle Brad wrapped around her little finger or what!?!?!

Today was the Primary Program at church. So I was on the stand with our class during Sacrament today. They are a bunch of wiggle worms, but I guess at age 7 that is to be expected. Brad and I have been in Primary for about a month now and are actually really liking it. We have great kids in our class!!

Well I am making Jen's (sister-in-law) famous Pumpkin Parfaits for dessert tonight. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that they taste as yummy as when she made them. I will let you know how they turn out. (Just thinking about them makes my mouth water!!)

"A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault." ~John Henry Newman

What a Piece of Work

I am a wreck I tell you! Brad and I went to dinner at Spanky's in PG. It was way yummy, but I ate way too much. It is a 50's Diner type restaurant and we highly recommend it. Next door to Spanky's is Sub-Zero (a new ice cream shop). They mix the cream, flavoring, and candy in a bowl and then stir it under liquid nitrogen!!! It was way cool to watch. But man oh man, the cream did not like me! Brad really liked his ice cream, so I think it was just what I ordered. But I tell you, I am so bloated I could float off at any second!
Then to top it all off I am walking funny. I had a mole on the inside of my thigh that was getting aggravated. So rather then go to the doctor (way too time consuming) Brad cut it off for me last night. So I am walking funny because if my legs touch it kills!
So with getting up early to get to the airport, eating too much dinner, eating cream that isn't sitting well, and an open wound on my inner thigh...well let's just say I am a real Piece of Work. Poor Brad was probably happy to run out the door to work tonight, just to escape his whiny wife!!
Any-who! That was all probably TMI... so moving right along :)

Myles got off to Hawaii without a glitch. He should be landing in Kauai right as I am typing this. That kid never ceases to amaze me. We grabbed hot cocoa at the airport and he asked if he could get a snack to take on the plane. Being that I can rarely tell him no, I of course agreed. So he picks a Chicken Caesar Salad. I was like "It is 7am, you sure you don't want a muffin or something?!" But nope he wanted his freaking salad. I guess I can at least say that he definitely knows what he wants and when he wants it! :)

"Weekends don't pay as well as weekdays but at least there's football." ~S.A. Sachs

Tis the Season...To give Blood

What better season to donate blood then right before Halloween!! So that is exactly what I did today after work. Apparently I am a big sissy!! I was sweating profusely. The nurse dude had to wipe down the mat under my arm before we finished because the sweat running down my arm had started to pool on the mat. He said I should get more used to it the more often I donate. But he said given my strong reaction that donating platelets probably wouldn't be the best idea for me just yet. But I did it and am feeling fine now!! I plan on going in every 8 weeks to donate.

It was way easy to set up an appointment. Go to https://www.membersforlife.org/lewisclark/schedule.php and leave your info and they will call you to set up your appointment.

When I got home this evening Brad had a fire going in our fire pit out back. So we sat out there for a while enjoying the evening air. Evie LOVES fire!!! She was constantly trying to bite the flames. It is a hoot to watch!

Well it is early to bed for us tonight. Myles leaves first thing tomorrow for Hawaii.

"When you come to a fork in the road ... Take it." -- Yogi Berra

Change is in the Air

So much is going on these days. It feels like since I haven't seen you all in so long that you wouldn't even recognize us anymore (silly thought I know). But here are a few snap shoots from this weekend just to keep you all up to date with our latest "looks".

Yes, Brad and I are looking quite youthful as of late while Myles seems to have matured by a full decade. We really must get together more often so our change in appearance isn't so shocking next time!! :)

Jam Master April

Do you see the resemblance???(Hint, I am the one in the middle).....What??.... You don't see it!?!? Whatever!!

This past weekend I had my iPod on party-shuffle and "You be Illin" by Run DMC came on and a light went on in my head. This is the song I was meant to sing at this years Karaoke contest! So Brad helped me pick out my new digs (bling and all) at the DI. I have recruited two good-humored co-workers to be my "homies" for this gig. Don't you worry your little head, I will be sure and get lots of pictures to share with all my fans!!

When I was asking a gal at work to do this with me she just started laughing. I thought she was laughing at my idea, but nope, she loved the idea. She just found it hilarious that I had Run DMC on my iPod. I guess people at work just don't know the real me!!!

"The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." ~Benjamin Franklin

A Penny for your Thoughts

Tonight I went and had my hair colored. I love hair appointments because it gives me plenty of time to read (my hairdresser probably thinks I am highly un-social!). I just got my new book in the mail today too, so perfect timing. So the Red is back in my hair and I am well into the second book in the Outlander Series "Dragonfly in Amber".

Here are THREE questions to choose from. Pick at least one question and leave a comment with your response. (And you better do it too!!)

1) IF a photograph of one part of your body were used in an advertisement, which art would you want to be used, and for what product or service?

2) IF you could determine the careers of your children, what would you have them do, assuming they would be successful?

3) IF you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?

My Answers
1) This is a toss up between legs and hands. But assuming my legs would be tan in the picture I would have to go with them. Maybe for a razor ad or a lotion ad.

2) Once I started thinking on this one there was no end to the ideas. So for Shakierra I think I would say a Vet. She loves animals and isn't afraid of them at all. For Myles I would say a History Professor. This way he can travel & learn all about history that he loves so much and he would get to talk in front of large groups of people all the time :)

3) The Trapeze!! In real life this would scare the pee pee out of me, but it looks so cool!

"Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself." ~George Bernard Shaw

No longer a Boy, Not yet a Man

That is the stage that Myles is stuck in. We have been shopping for new church shoes for a few weeks now. But there seems to be an abyss in boys shoes between size 6-8. All of the kids departments stop at 6, but the men's only have as low as 8!! But we finally had success. We bought some very nice (a bit pricey though) church shoes at Dillard's this evening. So next time you see Myles all dressed up be sure to compliment him on his new shoes!

I woke up with a nasty headache, so I took a sick day. It was nice to spend the day with Brad. We run around all weekend doing house work, grocery shopping, helping the kids, etc.... that we hardly ever get to actually spend time together.

This afternoon was picture perfect. We have put up a sewing table in Shakierra's room. So I was upstairs sewing, Brad was in there ironing fabric for me, and through the open window we could hear Myles out front skate boarding with friends. It was the kind of scene that you think of as a little girl, when you think about how it will be when you are grown up :)

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses." ~Joyce Brothers

Cars

Myles is always talking about what kind of car he wants when he turns 16. He is truly obsessed with it. Well the other day a guy at work gave Brad a car stereo to use for building a radio box for use in the big rigs. So Brad brings in the old car stereo to Myles. He tells Myles that to save money we are going to start gathering car pieces as we find them and with any luck we will have enough to build him a complete car by the time he turns 16. You should have seen the look on Myles' face. His eyes were as big as saucers!!!

Tonight after dinner Myles started in again on the subject of his future wheels. So Myles mentions that he sure wishes they made electric cars so that he didn't have to worry about gas. Brad tells him "they do...but they don't go very fast". Myles asks "so how fast?". Brad "well fast enough to go on the freeway, but that is it." Myles "well I wasn't going to street race with it, jeesh!"

Our Quote for the day has been requested by Brad.

"Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and Like to Complain About Our Pets:
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.(That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly. Dogs and cats are better than kids ...they eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called, never drive your car, don't hang out with drug-using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, and don't need a gazillion dollars for college - and if they get pregnant, you can sell the children." -- from a funny email

How the Freak is it already October?!?!

Now I really have to buckle down and figure out my gig for my office Halloween Karaoke Contest. Any grand ideas out there? I am thinking of these; Charlie Daniels - Devil Went Down to Georgia, Jane Fonda (type person) - Let's Get Physical, or Wearing my Poodle Skirt - but not sure what I would sing. So if you have any pointers to make one of these acts spectacular or another idea lay it on me!!

Fall isn't my favorite season. So in an effort to be Pollyanna Sunshine, here are a few things worth loving Fall for.
Things I love about Fall:
Football- need I say more
Sleeping with the windows open- I love the cold crisp air while I snuggle under the blankets
Sweatshirts- they are so forgiving and comfy
Boots - no need for perfectly painted toe nails anymore

"I want a love like Johnny and June." -- Heidi Newfield