Halloween 2010

Halloween 2010 was a lot of fun. Apparently my work really gets into it. So I worked with my team and we came up with a "Pinocchio" theme for Halloween. Seeing as how I was the only female, it seemed fitting that I would be the blue fairy. So I found a $10 dress at DI and made my wings. Also, Jared has been "dying" for me to go blonde. So I dyed my hair VERY blonde to go with the blue fairy theme. Here are the pictures:

Here is my with some other members of my team. They were the blue's brothers.

Then here is me with Xander when he came in for the trick or treating my work offered (as well as balloon animals)

And of course, Pinocchio:

Our team, Jiminy Cricket, Geppetto, Pinocchio and the Blue Fairy.
And, yes, our team did win the $50 gift certificate. We are all going to lunch on it!

The Meaning of Life

Today is a great day to bask in the meaning of life as it is 10/10/10, which everyone knows is 42 in binary...

Xander turned 5!!! (Post 1 of 2)

Well, it is happening. And there is nothing I can do to stop it. Not beg, plead or whine. Nothing is stopping my baby from growing up. That's right, my little baby boy turned 5 last weekend.

It started with presents from Grandma and Grandpa. They got him some Iron Man pajama's and some superhero decals to go on his super hero city walls. (pictures at the bottom).

Then Friday night Xander and Jared slept in the tent (who sleeps out in the tent in October, seriously. Luckily record warm temperatures made it fine). Here is Xander and I setting-up the tent.

Then (since it gets dark so early) we came in and made his birthday cupcakes (in his new Iron Man Pajamas)

The next morning we put in candles and sang "happy birthday"
He was super excited that he got some more items for his Batcave. He got Two Face.
And Riddler
And here he is, just realizing that he got "jokers hideout" (the bad guy version of the batcave".

I am sure you can imagine the epic battles we had all weekend between the bad guys and the good guys.

Then here are the pictures of Xander's Super Hero City room, with his awesome Super Hero decals.


Fun times.

Family BBQ - Post 2 of 2

So in September we had a big family BBQ. It was fun, lots of my siblings came. We all ate, and had a good time.

Here is Xander and Cole playing:

Emily, Clark, Avery, Wally and Lu:
Westin, Chelsea, Jim and Jared:

And my dear Grandma came. We tried to get a full generations picture, but (as always when taking family pictures) one of the kids didn't want to cooperate (I was just totally relieved that for once it wasn't my son.)
Clark took a bunch more pictures, but we will get those later. In the meantime enjoy!

Xanders room, flowers, school and feet

Well, this is a long post, filled with lots of stuff, so brace yourself for the long haul (you have been warned).

First of all, Xander has been hounding me for months now, that he is too old for his Nemo room, and that he wants it Red like "Ider Man" (aka Iron Man for those who don't speak Xanderese). I, of course, have been hesitant, as a red room is a bit much for a 4 year old. But, he finally wore on me, and I figured for his 5th birthday (next month) he deserved a new room.

So we went from this adorable little Nemo theme:

This this (note: This is a progression shot, not the finished result)

To this:
And then this:

Xander had a BLAST "helping" me paint.

And if I got a picture of him, he had to get a picture of me:

To this: (Finish result). For those who can't tell, it is a city scape at sunset (Super Hero City)

Bold and daring, I know, but it was exactly what he wanted, so it is exactly what he got. It only took my last few weekends to complete, but the end result is gorgeous!

Second, with kiddo's birthday coming up, we made him a countdown chain (he LOVES these things):

Also, my flowers are getting HUGE!!! So I had to snap some photos:

Then, of course, was Xander's first day of pre-school. I can't believe my baby is big enough to go to school, but he is. And he had a lot of fun. He said that there are "so many" friends to play with.

And last, but not least, Saturday night on my way out of Lowe's, I tripped and fell and fractured my foot. It hurts like the dickens when I put any weight on it. Sigh.

So, we spent this morning at the InstaCare. The doctor says I am lucky, if it were a few mm higher then I would probably need a pin in my foot, but for now, they are just going to watch it to make sure it heals OK. He says luckily everything is still aligned, so I just have to keep off my foot (which, of course, is my driving foot) for a few weeks so that the bones can heal. I two weeks they will check me, and if the bones are healing and still aligned, then all is well. If things have shifted at all, then I will need the pin after all.

Sigh, so combined with the fact I can't drive, Xander is sick, and Jared has a sprained back (oh, for those who don't know, Jared hurt his back a few weeks ago, and couldn't move. I had to stay home from work and take him to the doctor. He is getting better, but still sore) our family is ready for the up and up (I mean it couldn't get worse right?).

Anyhow, now you all know what I have been up to.

What happens in Vegas...

...will become clear to me tomorrow. I found out today at about 3:30 pm that I am headed to Vegas tomorrow for a few hours to do a presentation. It should prove interesting. Gotta love lack of planning on managements part huh?

On a side note, tomorrow is Xander's first day of school. It should be a fun day for him.

Mormon Ads

Last night for Young Women's we made Mormon Ads. The girls came up with the concept, layout, color scheme, etc. And I hurried and plopped it into photoshop. We put 4 to a page, then printed them out for their lockers.

I think the girls did an exceptional job, and thought I would share them.

Don't we have the most creative girls EVER!

Batteries

When I was a child, I often wondered why the batteries in my toys would run out so fast. Now that I'm a parent, I know why...

Summer School

I just had to brag for a minute. My husband just got his grades posted for summer. He got (4) A's and (1) B-. Grand total of 3.72 GPA for the semester. Great job Jared!

Random Lists...

Well, I am VERY behind in my blogging, so tonight you get some random lists:

1. Last weekend my grandpa turned 90. We had a big party for him. Good times had by all.
2. This weekend was my family reunion on my other side. Love seeing all the family. Once again, good times had by all.
3. This month we FINALLY have health insurance. Hooray! I am very relieved that nothing has happened MAJOR to us this past year, we could have really been hosed (I can't wait for the health care bill to kick in so we don't have to worry about not being able to get insurance in the future).
4. I dyed my hair last night, a deep burgundy red. I love it! (Inspired by my sisters hair and my cousin Megan's hair)
5. Jared just finished school for the summer semester. We are halfway through his Bachelors degree completion, two more semesters to go!
6. We finally have daycare/pre-school figured out for fall. I HATE that I have to send my son to day care/pre-school. But, I don't have much of a choice right now, and I couldn't ask for better people to watch my son for me (I have my visiting teachee Julie arranged to watch him. Her son is Xander's age, and they BOTH love playing with Batman stuff).
7. We are looking earnestly for a new car (we have been using my sister Emily's car (Thanks Em), and she comes back from DC in a week and will want it back. With me working and Jared going to school, we have reached that point where we HAVE to buy another car. Please keep your eyes/ears open for a good deal for us.

Sorry I don't have amazing pictures, but at least now you are up to date.

Time for some motivation

I was in need of some serious motivational images today, (I had a BAD day at work where I made a simple mistake, and cost the company thousands. OUCH! And my high heel broke, so I was wobbling around with half one shoe.) So I posted two of my favorite motivational posters:

Who wouldn't smile after seeing those?

Birthday Post

Yesterday was my 31st birthday, hep, thirty-one. It was a good day. Jared let me sleep in. I woke up to a brand new belgian waffle maker, and of course belgian waffles (yummy). I sat a relaxed and got new presents every hour or so from Xander (Jared took him to the dollar store and he bought me like $10 worth of gifts). It was fun to have my son be excited for my birthday too (In fact Friday when I got home from work he said to me: "Mom, let's go downstairs and play games." (that is where we keep our board games). So I said "OK" and went downstairs and started looking through our games. Then he said "No, not those ones, these ones." and drags me around to a remote corner of our basement, that I never go to, and shows me the stacks of presents he bought me for my birthday. I just laughed, and said, "I don't think I am supposed to see these, I better go upstairs and tell dad." It is cute having a 4 year old).

Then in the afternoon we went to my Aunt Nina's house for a Pool party. It ended up being really fun. Everyone in my family ended up coming, except my sister Em in DC (missed ya!). We played in the water for 3+ hours, and got exhausted. Afterwards everyone came to our house for an impromptu BBQ and cake (which ended up being a delicious cheesecake Jared made from scratch! Seriously delicious).

After everyone left it was about 8:00 pm. I got my last few toys and presents from Xander and a final gift of a lava lamp from Jared (I LOVE lava lamps, and the one he got me when we were dating, 9+ years ago, got broken. Sad day. So it was neat to get a new one from him).

We capped off the day by going to fireworks. I LOVE fireworks. So overall it was a great day!

This morning we are all VERY tired, and are rushing to get ready to go to my sisters baby blessing. But such is the life of hard partiers, right?

Fathers Day Weekend 2010 - Post 1 of 3

Note: I updated 3 posts today, so check-em all out.

This Fathers Day weekend was a busy one. It started with Xander and I sleeping on the trampoline. He was sooo excited and had sooo much fun.

Saturday morning we got up, and went to Toy Story 3. It was really good. Definitely a tear jerker. I cried more than once. But overall great story, it didn't disappoint.

Then we went to my parents for a barbecue. It was a lot of fun. We played in the water, ate food, and rode horses (well, Xander did, not us "old folks"). I forgot my camera, so hopefully my mom or sister will update with pictures.

Jared bought himself and early fathers day gift of Toy Story 3 for the PlayStation 3 (Jared worked on it while at Disney before he was laid off). He and Xander have played it almost non-stop (great 2 player game. Similar to the Lego games.)

Today was pretty laid back. Xander gave a talk in church, he did a great job. We napped, and played video games, and took a walk as a family.

After Xander went to bed we gave Jared a MUCH needed hair cut. We decided that since it was summer and he was home for a few weeks, we would give him a buzz. Here are the pictures:

Before:

After:

It will definitely be an adjustment. (He looks like his dad now). Anyhow, Happy Fathers Day everyone!

Flower Beds 2010 - Post 2 of 3

A few weekends ago, I purchased flowers from my Aunt Nina at a phenomenal discount. (Thanks Nina). I planted them right before I went to girls camp, and hadn't had a chance to take pictures until today. So here they are:

I can't wait to see how they turn out!