Reflections/Blessings

Hello World~

I have been trying to think of something a little different for this blog. I think since I've been doing it, I usually list or ramble on about a whole lot of things I'm thankful for. It is that time of year, right? I really can't come up with anything too different. This is the time of year where I reflect on not only things of this year, but of also in the past. You know, there are a ton of things that I can list, but I think this time I want to just briefly explain, or at least try to give some reason behind it. Because of that I don't want to list every possible thing, cause as I get going I can list things that you really don't think of and may take advantage of til about now. I guess I'll start my list in no particular order.

One of the things that is definitely at the top is my family, my husband in particular.I really can't figure out how I got so lucky. He is amazing and one of the most patient people I know. I'm so thankful to have his patience and love. I'm not the easiest person, but he is amazing. He has a way of putting things in perspective for me, even when i'm too stubborn to see things. I'm thankful that he is a priesthood holder and can take me to the Temple. I'm grateful for his testimony and for him wanting me to be a better person. I love to see when he is passionate about things. I love him for loving me. He's great!
My in-laws are pretty great too. You hear some pretty awful in law stories, but for the most part, I have pretty awesome ones! I mean, they have given us the opportunity to live in the house that we live in. Paul's sisters and their families are pretty great too! They have also given me beautiful nieces and nephews.
I'm also thankful for my family, especially my mom. She is a wonderful example and a very strong woman. I'm so lucky to have a mom who I'm close with and can also consider my friend. My brothers and sisters are pretty great too! My sister has also given me a beautiful niece and nephew who I just love playing with.
My religion is also something I am grateful to have. I love to know that we have the gospel in our lives and am thankful for the doctorine that we have. I love knowing that I can be with my family forever. I had a fear of death growing up and sometimes I think that I may still have it, and I love knowing what I know and knowing that death isn't the end. Its great comfort.
Good friends are also on my mind. Through the years, I have had some amazing friends and I'm thankful for every person that has been in my life. I'm thankful for the friendships I have had and still have. I'm grateful for love and support from people. Knowing you aren't alone and that there are other people to talk to makes me feel better when i'm just having "one of those days".
I can totally go on and on but these things have been on my mind lately. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

~Goodnight :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

This Halloween has actually been pretty fun and laid back. Thats good for me since I have never really gotten too much into it. It's been fun having a three day holiday weekend. We went to some friends on Friday night and had a little get together. Then Saturday we went and spent the day with my brothers and sister and family. My mom did a dinner at her house then we took Jack and Halle to Trick or Treat at Soda Row in DayBreak. That was crazy. It was fun seeing all the different costumes this year. I spent most of the just taking pictures of my adorable nieces and nephews. I loved the costumes this year. Halle was a pirate, Jack a monkey, Payton toad, Maclain mario, and Presley was Princess Peach. Joe was batman and CJ was DJ Pauly from Jersey Sore. I thought those costumes were creative. Hope everyone has a good and Happy Halloween!

Birthday Tributes and Weekend Fun

This weekend we were able to celebrate two birthdays in our family. Halle turned 4 on October 19th and Mary celebrated her birthday on October 18th. For those who don't know, Halle is my adorable niece. I just love her to pieces and am so thankful to have her in my life. She is so much fun to be around. She is a very active child and I just love her energy. Halle has a wonderful imagination and is so fun and creative. I could go on and on, but I won't. I do feel very lucky to be her aunt. For her birthday my sister threw her a Barbie and Zebra themed party. Her cake was beautiful. Her party was fun and busy. The first few collages are of her party.

We were also able to celebrate Mary's birthday. Mary is my sister-in-law. She is Paul's baby sister and is so much fun to be around. I love her to death. She is one of the friendliest people I know. She is very sweet and always willing to help. She has become one of my best friends and I'm glad to have her in my life. For her birthday my mother-in-law did our usual family dinners, but turned Mary's into a costume party. We had a delicious dinner and played a few games. It was a fun night. I hope you had a wonderful birthday.

My weekend was spent spending time with my family. I love these types of weekends. It was fun to celebrate birthdays on both sides. I hope everyone has a great October. Looks like Fall is finally on its way.

Gardner Village

Halloween is probably Paul's favorite time of the year. I love watching him get excited for it and doing different activities during the month. Ever since Paul and I have been together, we have made it a tradition to go to Gardner Village sometime in October to see the witches. Usually, this is followed by stopping at the bakery there and getting some pastries or cookies and some hot chocolate. I have always enjoyed this date and today was no different. I wasn't able to get many pictures today cause it was crazy busy getting ready for Witches Night, but we are planning to go again this next week. Usually we try to go on a weekend night when its not super crowded. This year we went during the day. Totally different experience. They had a lot of kids activities going on along with preparing for Witches Night. We were able to get decent pictures with the camera, which was nice. Hopefully my dad will go with us when he is here and we can use his for others at night. I want to get some of the new ones. There was a hula hoop one and a firefighter. My fave is the baseball witches and the witch flying in (I caught half of it) to an airport type thing. Its cool. Hope everyone has a good night.

OCTOBER

The most exciting thing going on this month was my trip to Iowa. I was lucky to be able to go back there for a couple of weeks to visit with my family. I was back there for the college and high school homecoming. It was fun to get to take a nice and relaxing vacation.

Me, Grandpa, and Kathy

Ella had her 3rd birthday while I was out there. We celebrated with a Dora party for her while my cousin was in town. The girls met on her actual birthday for lunch at the Shack. It was great! Sometimes, I actually miss that place.

The highschool had a lot of activities for homecoming. It was fun to see how everyone in the community participates. This year each class had a dance off. That was super fun to go to. The above picture is me, Keeley, Aunt Beth, and Tiff at the pep rally.

Cheerleaders riding in the parade.

Ke was a nominee for home coming queen. This is her and Max (I think) riding in the parade.

Aunt Heather and Aunt Beth. I have so much fun with them.

Grandpa and Aunt Beth

Grandpa and I downtown watching the homecoming parade.

It was totally fun for me to see my cousins and their dates for homecoming. I believe it was Tim and Tiff's first dance. It was fun to be there and see them get ready and meet the dates. They all looked great.

Jess, me, Ke, and Tiff

I truly hate saying goodbye, but I'm so glad I was able to go to Iowa. I always have a good time and enjoy spending time with my family. I'm happy though because now I'm counting down for my dad's trip out here to Utah for a visit. One week now! He will be here for Halloween. Yay!

September Happenings

I can't believe how the month of September flew by! We have had an interesting month.
We have been taking care of a cat which officially became ours. Or so we think. I have fallen in love with her. I swear she thinks she's a dog. She loves to fetch. No joke! We bought her a couple of toys and her favorite is a stick with a feather (which has been torn off) and a ball that rattles. She carries it up to us when she wants to play. When i'm done with it I usually throw it she'll go get it. I threw it down the hall a few times and she keeps bringing it back. Its pretty fun.
I also want to officially say that Paul found a new job! I'm so excited for him. We didn't really say much, so nobody really knows that he quit his job back in August. He took a phlebotomy class and has been looking for work in that. He has been applying for other jobs too even if not phlebotomy, since we both have to work, but I can finally say he found one. He is going to work as a phlebotomist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Its a good job and I'm very proud of him. What impressed me the most was that during his time off, he found a few temp jobs that weren't the best, but helped bring in an income. I was very proud that he would do things like that to take care of us. There are some people I know who don't really care and won't do anything until they have a real job, so that really impressed me. Not too much going on. I am now back in Iowa visiting my family and am glad to have made it safe. It's my first day here so I havn't done much but I'm glad to be able to see my family. I'll keep you updated. Happy end of September!

Happy 18th CJ

Happy 18th CJ!

For my baby brother's 18th party my mom decided to throw a surprise circus themed birthday party for him. It was so much fun. She rented a cotton candy machine, had an old fashioned popcorn maker, and grilled hot dogs and put them in old fashioned wrappers. The best surprise for him was his Glamour Kills cake. My mom had it specially made for him. It was awesome. The garage was decorated as a circus tent. It was fun to be able to celebrate with him. These were just some quick snapshots of his party. We love you CJ. Thanks for being a great brother!