Happy Thanksgiving!

So I made it all month with out posting a single thing I was thankful for! I wanted to but everyone was doing it so I was being stubborn! BUT We just made it home from being with our families and I am fighting the "post vacation with family" depression so I thought I would blog about it so it could throw me full force into it! :)

I am soooo thankful to be home in my home. It is messy and the furniture doesn't match and our blankets have holes but they are mine. A home that B and I have built together with love and tears and heart ache and joy! I love my bed and that my kids get to sleep in beds that are warm. It took FOREVER to get here yesterday with the holiday traffic and the snow but it was worth it when we walked in! The only thing that could make it better would be if my home was closer to my families!

I am thankful my husband has a job. A lot of people don't and he gets to do something he is good at and he loves. I love that I get to do what I love too. I am a stay at home mommy first then a fitness instructor then an airbrush tan tech. I am thankful that B supports me pursuing things that make me happy too.

I am beyond thankful for my friends that I call family. I love my friends with a fierceness that is almost scary. I got to reconnect with friends this holiday season and I don't think there is a way that I could tell them how much I love and adore them with out it being creepy. I feel that way with a lot of friends and I just have to hold back. I sometimes let it slip and say I love you on the phone. (some of them I do all the time because hard as I try....my fierce adoration doesn't scare them!)

I am thankful for magic erasers because Juliet is thankful for markers.

I am thankful for fake nails. No matter how chubby I feel or greasy my hair is my nails look nice. (when I can afford it) It is vain and pretty useless but I like it!

I am thankful for my testimony. I love the Savior and finally have a personal relationship with him that I can feel everyday. I have worked hard for it and will continue to work to keep it.

It would be dumb to say I am thankful for my family and kids and hubby because DUH! Of course I am .... at the risk of sounding cheesy and cliche "they complete me!"

I have a lot to be thankful for but those are my Thanksgiving thankfuls for this year! Pictures of the trip and amazing holiday to come. Now I am thoroughly depressed! going to call my mommy! :)

AMAZING QUOTE!

I read this quote today and fell in love with it. I will think of it often especially over the holiday season......

"Steam (an incredible force of energy, powerful enough to move a train) is created when H2O reaches about 210-211 degrees. Yet, move up one degree to 212 degrees and water boils out of control. Keep in mind that by adding one more thing to your very busy plate you go from "full speed ahead" to "boiling out of control". ----Chalene Johnson

I don't want to "boil out of control".

Confessions of and unbalanced woman

More Confessions......

1. I hate to unload the dishwasher, mop, and put laundry away. I will load the dishwasher and fold the laundry and sweep 10x over with out complaint if I don't have to do the other. (I also hate to switch the laundry over and take out the trash....but I do it)

2. I usually like what Brandon orders better than what I order. 1/2 the time he will give me his cause he is not picky and loves everything. If he were smart he would have me order what he wanted then we could trade....but would I want it then? Who knows.

3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the show Steel Magnolias. It is cheesy but I think I connect to the friendships that these women have. They are strong and beautiful, hence "Steel Magnolias"

4. I have read ALL the Harry Potter books (more than once...3 times) and I LOVE THEM! After a marathon of reading once I called Hillary and left her a message saying that I wanted to clean my house but I lost my magic wand somewhere in the couch! When I am done reading them a little part of me thinks I am magic. Somehow I have told myself that the house and the feeding of the kids can wait til I'm done reading because I can whip something up with my magic. If only I could find my wand!

5. I hate egg nog. Sick. Thick.

6. I LOVE TRADITIONS! (not a big secret) They keep you grounded and feel like you have a purpose. I have to be careful not to do to many of them or they make my life not grounded and out of control. I hope my kids will keep up our traditions in their families. (Our longest standing tradition is BINGO after Thanksgiving dinner.....over 20 years.....my grandma made someone cry once by stealing their gifts.....new rule: no crying in BINGO)

7. I love the stationary isle at the store. I love packages of pens and new crayons and notepads. I think it makes me feel like I have a supply of something (like food storage) so I feel safe. Random. I like the smell of it too.

8. I have a paper planner and don't think I will ever switch to a digital anything in that regards because (see #7....I love stationary.) I also love to cross things off and make lists.....ahhhhhh making lists is good!

9. I want a new mini van. Mine is fine so it's not gonna happen for YEARS to come but I want a new one. Now.

10. I told Brandon "I would have to pray about it" the second time he asked me to marry him to make him squirm. Mean, I know. He called off the first engagement so I needed to make him sweat. I knew I was going to marry him, all ready prayed tons before hand. I did pray about it then so I didn't have to lie to him and I think I got a little reprimanded for being mean and using prayer as a pay back. :)

Happy Birthday old man! (yesterday)

Happy Birthday to my sweet daddy! (Yesterday!) He just turned 60! WHAT!?!??! I told him if he had raised us better we would have thrown him a HUGE party! I had NO idea he was turning 60. I will forever think of him as like 45 MAYBE 49. We called him last night and sang him a rousing birthday tune! He chuckled and thanked us. I asked him if he had had a good day and he said "yes! They sang to me in the nursery and gave me a cookie with pink frosting!" I love this man! He is the hardest worker I know. He has no desire to retire. He rarely complains. He is an amazing example of just getting it done! When we moved he came out to help us and I think he and I moved the majority of our home into storage. He was NONSTOP! It was hard to keep up! He also has a soft spot for his grand kids. I know they can all drive him crazy but I know he would take a bullet for any one of them. He can fix almost anything and will do anything for anyone! As a matter of fact a couple months ago he was walking their dog and came upon a cute elderly lady who's battery had died in her little scooter. She was on her way to Walgreens to fill her prescriptions. He took the dog home and got the car. He took the lady and her scooter back to her home then took her to fill her prescriptions and waited for her then took her home. A few weeks later in the "good deeds" section of the paper was a story about him. She had called the paper and told them of his service. She couldn't remember his name but she remembered that he was a military man and his grand kids lived with him. She wanted to thank him and was grateful there were people like him in the world. I have hundreds of stories of his service including him serving in nursery right now in church and snow blowing then entire neighborhood! He was a Green Beret in the Special Forces for a VERY long time. I know that he did things to protect our country that would shake me to my very core. I am so grateful for his service and sacrifice in that area and am soooo very proud. If anything were to ever "go down" in this world I feel forever lucky to have this man in my corner! I love this picture below for tons of reasons! He had come home from a 14 hour day at work. Exhausted and hungry, yet he let Juliet eat with him and was happy as could be. My dad almost ALWAYS has some sort of Military on him! A hat, a shirt or camo shorts. I also love that you can see his nubby birdy finger. He lost it from frost bite when he was on some military mission. Sad sure, but he LOVES to flip you off with it. Totally inappropriate but totally him. He always says "this is if you half pi** me off!"! So lame, and the joke was only a little funny the first 300 times. I would be really sad though if he didn't do it at least once in a while. He has a ton of lame sayings and phrases than I will cherish forever. (your mouth is writing checks your body can't cash...or something like that. "once" a classic!) He also picks you up to hug you even if it's the first time you meet him and usually calls you sweet heart or sweet cheeks. He is super friendly to the cashiers (like they are bff's and hang out all the time) I think it embarrasses my mom but I love it and I think I do it too now.
My dad is always up for adventure. He used to jump out of airplanes (with the military). He was really good at it and I loved going to the "drop zone" and watch him jump and try to guess which one he was. Then we would run out and "help" him pack his parachute. I think he had over 300 jumps. Very cool. All and all he is an amazing man. I adore him and all his quirks and even his faults. He is an amazing example and if you know him then consider yourself lucky!

memories

I heard a song today about growing up. In the song it said to take a picture in your mind of some of the things that won't be there when you are grown (but it said it way better than that:)! It gave me the idea to blog a few of my favorite child hood memories so my kids would have them and I wouldn't forget! I think this may become a regular blog post. Not that anyone else will care, but for me. :)

My dad used to have a motorcycle and when he would come home from work you could hear him coming up the street because he had a radio on it that he would blast. We would race to give him the first kiss. Sometimes he would give us a ride around the block. That was the best. It felt like you were flying! Sometimes he would drive you to Gas n Go and you would get a refill in a sweet mug. (My addiction to soda started early) I used to love to walk to gas n go too.

My little brother used to sit and watch my mom sew. He was fascinated by it. He was one of the cutest little boys ever. I remember when he started Jr. High I was soooo worried about him. I told my mom to use some of my school clothes money for him so he could have some cooler clothes because I wanted him to fit in. He did just fine.

I remember getting summer passes to Trafalga and walking to the water slide when our chores were done. We used to camp over Easter and on the deer hunt. We got out of school for like a week or longer and we had HUGE homework packets that seemed way more fun out of school than in. I remember laying on the driveway to dry off from the pool and sprinklers and playing cops and robbers on our bikes with the neighborhood. Ew and I remember once I got grounded to go to bed early for being sassy. I wouldn't let up so I ended up going to bed like at 5 pm and I could here all the kids in the front outside my window. THAT SUCKED.

My mom used to do craft fairs and would stay up all night sewing. I loved hearing that in the night. I loved going to the craft fairs with her and when she would let me make the change. I loved when people would oogle over her amazing things. I was soooo proud. To bad I can't sew. No patience. She used to stay up all night cleaning too. I would wake up to go to the bathroom like at 3 or 4 to the smell of pine sol. I loved that.

I remember getting square pumpkins from Arctic Circle at Halloween and in the summer we would get Happy Meals when they had the Lego prize. (I think that was really the only time we would get happy meals.....man did we appreciate them when we did.)

I was super jealous of my friend Stephanie because she had an Elvis and a Michael Jackson Barbie BUT she always shared so it was cool. I remember my mom gave us a "private drawer" to put our treasures in. (the top drawer of our dresser) I also knew I could trust her with not peeking in it because it was "private". I used to love it when she would come in and clean our room the "mom way". (she was fed up with the junk and needed to purge and get it clean) It always looked amazing when she was done! I loved it.

I have tons of memories of friends in our trailer park and friends I grew up with camping. I could go on and on with stories of them. Most of them did all the things I mentioned above with me.

I used to love it when my mom would make my Halloween costume. Our costumes were always the best. I also loved when she would do Breakfast for dinner.

I had a great child hood when I look back on it. I grew up in a trailer park and didn't know that we didn't have a lot of money until I moved out and moved back in and I still felt totally normal. My dad worked sometimes 3 jobs and my mom went to work when I was high school. I don't remember ever "wanting" for anything. (except once I wanted a white v neck t shirt from the gap....so dumb)

ramblings of a late night!

I'm up late (really late). Brandon would say it's because of my Sunday nap. I don't think so. I think my mind races on Sundays thinking of the upcoming week/weeks and I get it to slow down enough to sleep. It was a great Sunday. Testimonies were great. My kids were great in their classes and R.S. was amazing. I guess I am just feeling so blessed and full of peace that I wanted to put it out there so I could read it when life is a little less peaceful.

My kids are warm and have a place to sleep and food to eat (that they like). They get to go to a school and learn and grow. They have comfortable clothes to wear and they get to come home to me everyday! They are healthy and sheltered from much pain.

My husband gets to go to work every day and do something he loves. I always said one day that he would change the world somehow. On a small scale he changes our world ever day. He is an honorable person and he honors his priesthood. He isn't with out fault but he works every day to be better. I have no doubt that he loves me. That is pretty big! We have had bumps and bruises along the way but on the other side of the fire I know that he loves me and would choose me all over again. He is hilarious and sexy! He cares about all of us all the way down to the cat.

I get to be a stay at home mommy. I don't have to work outside the home for us to survive. There isn't a lot of extra but I know what I do is important. I get to have hobbies that I get paid for. My body isn't what it used to be but it has given me 4 healthy babies and I can still get up and down with out too much strife! I am grateful for the amazing things I can do with it. I have technology at my fingertips that connects me to family, friends, and loved ones. I get to journal and leave my family history via that technology. I have a ward family that I have grown to love and depend on. I miss Texas but I know this is where we are supposed to be. I am so grateful to have that knowledge and not have to flounder and question our decisions.

I could list on and on my blessings and the things I have. It is truly endless. I think of third world countries and parents that struggle to give their children water and food. I think of countries with war and pain. The worry that those parents have is almost to much to think about.

This holiday season will mean something different to me I think. I know we all say we are thankful and grateful for all we have but today, right now I am overwhelmed with that feeling! I hope to keep it through the hustle and "worry" of this season and carry it through the rest of the year. I am a very lucky lady.

Confessions of and unbalanced woman

More confessions......

#1 I hate water. (not much of a confession for some of you). I want to love it but it doesn't bring me nearly as much joy as diet coke. I know how good it is for me but it's just so boring. I HAVE to spice it up with flavor packets.

#2 I hate people who love water. Well, I don't hate them. I am jealous of them and want to talk bad about them so I feel better. I want to carry a water bottle every where I go and look healthy. I know my skin would look better and I would lose 10 lbs. I have no doubt of that.

#3 I am going to try to give up diet coke this year. I will have to change my driving routes and things I eat. I will need a ward fast and my name in every Temple in the world.

#4 I LOVE BREAKFAST FOOD! Pancakes, Waffles, French toast, hash browns, syrup, sausage, bacon, eggs (with pancakes) and a diet coke. My favorite breakfast place is Cracker Barrel! Holy Smack your Grandma good! Watch out Granny! Their cheese hash browns.....just made me pee!

#5 My favorite cartoon is Adventure Time. OH MY GOSH. SO FUNNY! So random.

#6 I bought a Glen Beck novel (it's a political fiction) to impress my hubby. I was reading in front of him and leaving it out so he would be impressed. I finally just told him. I think he was impressed. The only sad thing is (besides the fact I was TRYING to impress him) is that I can't get through the dang book because there are no vampires in it and frankly it is scaring me! Politics are scary!

#7 Brandon told me how to vote! Politics scare me! I don't want to know. I can't watch the news. It makes me sound like a kept woman AND like an air head but it scares me bad enough to buy my food storage and bullets and empty my checking accounts and home school my kids! No thanks.

#8 I think toots are funny! Gross I know. But seriously, how do you not laugh at such a funny noise! I am a 12 year old boy scout.

HOLY MOLY!

I think I am all caught up with the summer blogging! I may have this year completed before January! WOOO HOOO! I need to down load photos of Darby's birthday, Trunk or Treat/Halloween at Nickelodeon and our visit from Uncle Ryeley! YES! I can't believe this year is almost over. I thought I still had tons of time. That's what I get for blogging about the summer in October. We had a lot of stuff going on though that prevented me from staying caught up. We will have Thanksgiving and another trip to Utah, a couple parties with the ward and school, then Juliet's birthday and Christmas and New Year! I can't believe we are that close to being in 2011. I am committing now to live in the moment (and we all know I suck at that) so that I can enjoy my favorite time of the year (this time...fall....Thanksgiving.....Christmas) with out stressing it away or blinking my eyes and have it be gone! Isn't that how life goes though. All of a sudden you blink any your baby is 10? I remember everyone saying to enjoy it while it was here because it goes so fast. You never believe it though. Like when you are a teenager and you just want to be grown up! You have the rest of your life to be grown up! Just enjoy being a teenager right now!

I am going to enjoy these next few weeks AND enjoy my kids in all their crazy stressful glory! (I might even make time for my hubby! hee hee hee)

Austin and Jamie's wedding

We went to Utah for Austin and Jamie's wedding. Darby was one of the flower girls at the reception. She was so excited that they asked her. I DIDN'T GET A SINGLE PICTURE OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM!!!! What? Who does that? I would have but they needed extra help shuttling people. The reception didn't have parking so they had a shuttle set up and it got really busy so I went to help. It was a lot of fun because my dad and brother were the shuttle service so I got to hang with them all night.

This is a picture of Uncle Dustin with baby Jaylee. This is a little move that all the boys got from Papa Keith. We have pictures of Brandon doing it with all of our kids and with Papa doing it with Darby and even with Brandon when he was a baby. It scares me to death but I guess it's become a right of passage for all of them!
Brandon got to see a ton of his family. These are his dad's siblings and some of his cousins. Uncle Larrry is in the middle by B and Erin his wife. He hadn't seen them since his dad's funeral so he was really happy to get to spend some time with them!
This is his dad's sister Donna and her husband Dick. He is the patriarch of his stake. (I don't remember where they live) They are really fun to be with.
Another of Papa Keith's brothers (in- law). This is Uncle Don. He is the first one I met when Brandon and I were dating. I just adore him.
Chantelle and Bryce before the reception got under way! She is pregnant and they hadn't told anyone yet because they didn't want to take away from Austin and Jamie's day! I love them for that but it was sooooo hard to keep it in! Chantelle was working her booty off too! I kept wanting to yell at her and make her rest! (When the night was all over I think someone let it slip!) YAY! Congratulations! (I love Chantelle! She is fiesty and speaks her mind!)

Bryce and Mom J! She was so cute and so happy for Austin!

Mom J and Brandon! I love the lighting in this picture.

Me and B! We don't get a lot of pictures together because one of us is always behind the camera!
Me and Darby! The sun was starting to go down. Perfect lighting!
Darby was watching a creek, waiting for everything to get started. I thought she looked sooo cute. The photographer kept steeling candid shots of her too.

Such a beautiful girl!

The Getty

We went to the Getty Museum one Saturday this summer. It is free but parking is $20. You get to ride a tram up to the Museum and you could spend an entire day there (if you didn't have kids.) We did write up a scavenger hunt before we went in though. Things they had to find in the paintings. A King, A red hat, a tiger, a fight scene, a singer, etc. They had fun doing that but with that they wanted to RUN from painting to painting. I would love to go back with Brandon one day so we could enjoy it a little more and take some time. They have a little section for the kids that was like a mini hands on museum. Very cool! A GIANT dry erase board and art underneath it. You could draw all over it.
I wasn't sure if this was the best idea for Juliet. I have cleaned countless walls, dressers, cupboards, chairs, body parts with marker and crayon on them. She loved it and could have stayed there all day.
There was another section where the kids could decorate a mask. It was fun to see what they had all come up with. It was killing Brandon not to do one of his own.

"Smore" 4th of July please!

We got to spend 4th of July with my Aunt Andi and Uncle Spike. (they are 2 of my favorites....I even wanted to name Juliet Spike if she was a boy but Brandon said no. He was afraid a boy named Spike would get picked on......FOR REAL? Who picks on a boy named SPIKE?) SO my Uncle Spike's real name is Phil. I didn't know that until I was married. He has always been Spike to me. I thought my granny was soooo creative! I guess his friends who nick named him that were the creative ones. I had a HUGE crush on him and my Uncle Mike when I was little. He has always been there and I love him for that. My Aunt Andi has always been an amazing example. She is a great mom, a fun aunt, and an incredible wife. I remember her always having the spirit growing up and I wanted to feel like I felt when I was around her all the time. I adore her and would like to be more like her when I grow up!

SO, when we got to there house she had a fun game for us to play. She had frozen shirts and the first person to get it on was the winner. You could do anything you could think of to get them defrosted. (aside from hosing them down.) It was soooo much fun and hilarious to watch! Dash won! (I think my granny helped him though) All the rest of the kids were ticked because there was a prize.....that he ended up sharing. Here we are with our freazing cold shirts on!
After a super yummy bbq she pulled our GIANT marshmellows so we could have smores! MAX'S ALL TIME FAVORITES! All the kids thought it was so cool to have a fire in the back yard!
Smores are a very serious business!
Those Marshmellows really were HUGE!
delicious!
Juliet couldn't get enough of Aunt Andi. I think she knew too that she was the lady with all the ingredients. Andi is also a grandma (even though she doesn't look it) so she knows how to spoil the kiddos!
Malory got in on the action! (I don't have favorite cousins but IF i did it would be her!)
You can get a good look at that honker marshmellow there! Our smores were so big we had to have bowls!
I don't know if this was his second or third. I do know that he couldn't finish the third though! He looks done!
holy moly! She is so cute! I LOVE hanging out with her. She makes me laugh so hard! She is the best!
After smores were fireworks!
The kids had so much fun. Thanks to my amazing aunt and uncle!

my daddy

Just a cute picture because I love him! My face is honker in this picture and please someone buy me some crest white strips, BUT my dad looks amazing! I love you daddy!

Uncle Austin and Aunt Jamie

We were able to meet Uncle Austin's fiance this summer. We were in Utah the month before their wedding. We were able to drive back out the next month for their wedding and for Darby to be in the reception! We met them at Chuckee Cheese with Grandma Myrna! Uncle Austin with his bride to be! She is a fun cute girl and will be a fun addition to the Jeffords! I am a little biased BUT I think she is the lucky one. Austin is amazing and who wouldn't want to be a Jeffords, RIght? She is a good sport when I pinch Uncle Austin's booty! We'll see how she feels when I pinch hers! What?
The gang with Chuckee!

Face Book brings old friends!

I had fought face book FOREVER! On a girls weekend in Vegas, Nat and Tiff made me an account. I LOVE IT! I love that they were good enough friends to make me do it! Now FB isn't for everyone and I can definitely see the down sides of it. BUT my FAVORITE things about FB is that I have reconnected with some dear friends from child hood, I can keep tabs on my family in other states, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. People that I truly love but can't talk to every day. My BEST friend from grade school and growing up friend requested me! Stephanie Barker. We grew up together! We had sooooo many memories and just lost touch over the years. Being reconnected to her and her family has been a huge blessing in my life in so many ways. She grew into an amazing woman and mom and wife! I just adore her and her little sister. (we grew up with her too. she was Ryeley's best friend!) While we were in Utah we got to have a BBQ with them. It was just perfect!

Tiffany and me. She played with Ryeley more but Steph and I could get her to do our bidding for us. She was a pistol growing up BUT she is one of the sweetest people you could ever meet!
Me and Steph! I am soooo happy she is part of my life again! Yay!
This is all our kids. Mine, Ryeley's, Steph's and Tiff's! They ALL were acting a little bit too much like us when we were little! I wish we lived closer so we could let them grow up together too!

This is the Place Monument!

As all the post below reflect we went to "This is the Place Monument" while visiting Utah! We had a ton of fun!
A great place ya'll should visit.

"ruffin it"

While at The Monument the kids got to experience the way the pioneers had to work. Darby did some laundry. When she was done here she hung it to dry, then churned butter and worked in the garden. She was lucky in her shorts. Some of the other pioneer girls were in dresses and aprons.
Dash washes clothes. He got bored fast.
Here was an exercise that showed them how it felt to milk cows. There was a little wooden cow on the ropes and you had to pull the ropes to get them to the top. They had fun racing them.
Juliet loved watching them all!
The pioneers didn't have a ton of toys. This is one way they played.
No one but my dad could do it!
He said he had a set when he was younger.
To much fun!

petting zoo!

There was a mini farm at The Monument. Juliet wasn't to sure at first. She really wanted to love them but it was a little scary.
Max had no problems.
Papa worked with Juliet and she got a tiny bit braver!
Papa was showing Juliet that there was nothing to be scared of!
He was trying to get her to come over to him, but she was scared and you can see it was making him laugh. It is really cute when my dad laughs!
Max and a pig were having a face off.
Juliet found a creek and because she was with Papa he let her get in....with her shoes.....and they still smell like death to this day! He owes me new shoes for her!
Little houses. Juliet loved them! We couldn't get her out. My dad had to go in to get her. Not an easy task when the house is tiny and he is REALLY tall!
We tried to get a cute group shot for Nana but it's tuff to get everyone together at the same time! It was sooooo hot! You can see how sweaty they all are!
funny faces!
YAY!!!! We get to stop taking pictures and go play!