Jamie says my blog is fabulous...and what Jamie says goes. I've learned the hard way.

The coveted "Your Blog is Fabulous!" award.

Thank you Jamie, for awarding me this most highly esteemed award. I feel special. And a little guilty for copying your exact blog post.

Ok, here are the rules about this award:

Firstly - I must list 5 of my fabulous addictions:
1. Working out-Mainly cardio type things.
2. Reading-Mainly buying them first, which makes Jared mad.
3. Making Jared mad-Mainly for buying books all the time.
4. Sweets-Mainly chocolate.
5. Biggest Loser-I really can't believe it. I could look at everyone's before and after pictures every day and feel totally inspired every time.

Secondly - I must pass this award on to 5 other fabulous blogs:
I am awarding this to people who I find inspiring, entertaining, or just flat out hilarious.

Brian - It's inspiring that someone in Brian's mental state can formulate so many words together to almost make sense. Plus Jared secretly has a man crush on Brian. But don't worry Brian, he's read your blog and knows where you stand.

Katie and Joey - I like to see Luke, he's a funny little boy, just like his mom and dad. Plus Jared openly has a huge man crush on Joey.

Tiffany Simmons - Tiffany is VERY on top of things and I'm pretty sure she has a camera glued to her wrist.

Lindsey H - I like Lindsey's art. It's really amazing.

John and Misa - It's always an adventure...kinda like watching E.R. but in real life...and a bit more cat drama.

Congratulations, one and all!

Thirdly - I must post the rules:
The rules of this award are:
1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions(good luck understanding this): On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gadget. Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.

Christmas Tag

Christmas Tag:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper! Can't waste my ZCMI gift wrapping skills.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real. We had an artificial one we got from the dumpster in VA that we used when we went to Utah for Christmas, but we always buy a real one if we get to stay at home for the holidays.
3. When do you put up the tree? As soon after Thanksgiving as possible.
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years day.
5. Do you like eggnog? YYYEESSS!!! Except I always eat eggnog icecream. It lasts longer than drinking it.
6. Favorite gift received as child? Teddy Ruxpin doll that talked.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My brother and sister and their family. I don't know why.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Jared. He'll just exchange them if he doesn't like it.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? No. The only Christmas decorations we own have all been gifts and this hasn't been one yet.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail! I love to put everyone's pictures up on my fridge.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't really think of one that I recieved, but the worst Chritmas gift I ever gave was a bunch of chocolates in the same bag as rose smelly soap. The chocolates tasted like roses and it made my best friend amy throw up...hee hee hee.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? While You Were Sleeping.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually after Thanksgiving.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably.
15. Favorite thing to eat or drink at Christmas? I can't think of what they're called but they have toffee in the middle dipped in chocolate then dipped in nuts. And the yummy cinnamon almonds from the mall.
16. Lights on the tree? Of course, what kind of a question is that?
17. Favorite Christmas song? I thmight be called "Were You There" I'm not sure. But it's the prettiest Christmas song I've ever heard.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel to New York.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open jammies Christmas eve and the rest on Christmas morning. Sometimes I never wrap my presents and just wear them as soon as I buy them....At least that's what I've done lately.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? FM 100 playing Christmas music Waaay before Thanksgiving.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? An ornament we got in Florida for our first Christmas together. And I really like dark red and gold or red and silver or red, gold and silver.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? I'm usually stuffed full of sugar by the time dinner comes around I don't really have a favorite. But I do love the raspberry drink Grandma and Grandpa alwasy made and the banana bread with nuts and cream cheese.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? New couches, LASIK, a trip to New York and Hawaii...but I'd settle for all the things I've already bought myself and used already.
26. Favorite thing about Christmas? Sitting next to the Christmas tree after everyone is in bed and reading a good book.

10 things I am UNgrateful for...

This face.
JUST KIDDING!! I wouldn't do that. Here are some things I am grateful for:

A husband who will stay up all night talking with me even though he has to get up early and get ready for a long day of work.

Money. Sounds superficial I know but what I mean is...house, food, clothes, car, gas...I'm grateful we have enough money for our needs to be met and more!

A dad who has good work ethic, who taught me how to have a sense of humor and not be too pampered, who has taught me that supposabley-expecially-boughten have now been added to the English dictionary teaching me that we are progressive and capable of change. I am also grateful that he taught me to never sit on my tushy on a saturday and that he worked hard so I could have so many opportunties as a kid (and an adult)...violin, traveling, education, braces....

A mom who taught me to appreciate our beautiful world and all that is living in it, who laughs out loud and cries at the same time, and taught me that feeling sick is never a good enough excuse to get out of things. For giving me the memory of bribing me with a nice laffy taffy (since I was obviously pretending to be sick to get out of violin lessons) and then projectile vomiting pink all over my violin teacher's house later.

I am grateful that I had good friends who helped making good choices easy to do.

Kids who are healthy and laugh a lot.

I am grateful for in-laws. My family has more than tripled and I love every one of them.

I am grateful for my body and all that it is capable of doing.

Music.

Did I already mention Jared? I am really grateful for him. I really don't like to be mushy but I am so happy to have found him. He's kind, understanding, open minded, determined, fun, and cares so much to provide and protect our family. I certainly don't feel deserving of him but am so thankful to be with him.

I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful to know that I have a Heavenly Father who knows us and our needs. I am grateful for the scriptures. I am grateful to have a prophet on this earth to lead and guide us.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Huh?

So, I was at the gym a few weeks ago minding my own business when a trainer came up to me and said
Trainer: "you were looking at me wierd like you didn't know what you were doing"
Me:"Really?!? That's wierd because I wasn't. My contacts are bugging me, maybe that's what it was."
Trainer: "Hmm, well, do you have a trainer? Because I'd like to give you a free session.
Me thinking: I really don't want a free session for two reasons 1. waste of time 2.eventually will be a waste of money after he convinces me I need a personal trainer all the time.
Me: sure.
Trainer: Well what day would you like, I'm pretty much open all week?
Me: How about Friday?
Later after my workout...five minutes later to be exact.
Same trainer: "Hey, do you need a trainer?"
Me: "really?!? you JUST talked to me."
Trainer: "oh, that's right...don't forget Friday."
Friday rolls around and I don't really want to be doing this so I don't go seeking him out but I decide I'll be willing if he finds me. I walk in and he looks right past me and I go by him again and he still doesn't acknowledge me. So I went on with my own workout. He soon calls me and leaves me a message to tell me I missed my session. I walked up to him and said
Me: "Sorry I missed my session"
Trainer: "you were working out here this whole time?"
Me: "Yep."
Trainer: "Do you want to reschedule?"
Me thinking: Heck no! You're a wierdo!
Me: "I guess so, how about Tuesday."
Sooo, Tuesday I wake up sick and I cancel. He calls me Wednesday to see how I'm doing and if we can reschedule for Friday. So I go in this morning, still feeling a little sick and I wait around for him. A different trainer I've never met comes up and says
Stranger Trainer: "Hey," (while giving me a high five) "How are you? How did you eat, mm, ea,mem,...eat Andy again?"
Me:"How did I eat Andy?"
Stranger Trainer: "huh, um, yeah"
Old Trainer shows up and says
Old Trainer: "What was your name again?"
Me thinking: "HUH?!?! Who is this guy?"
Stranger Trainer: "Have you ever had a trainer before?"
Me: "No"
Stranger Trainer: "Why? Is it because you think we're ugly?"
Me thinking: What on earth is he talking about? These guys are soo wierd.
Me: "Yes"
Old Trainer: "I've seen you running in here and you come what like 5 days a week?"
Me: "yeah, I'm pretty consistent."
Old Trainer: "Well, I don't really know what to do soooo, if you just have any questions feel free to ask me."
Me: "so....we aren't going to do anything then?"
Old Trianer: "Well, I mean, if you want me to take you through a workout I can, it's just....you seem to know what you're doing."
Me thinking: You're wack dude! I would've got more accomplished if I was at home sleeping.

And finally...the last post for October!

This was our first Halloween back in Utah and we decided to spend it the Astle way. We started at Grandpa's house with some soup and goodies then headed off for what Jared called "extreme trick-or-treating"...meaning we trick-or-treated for more than 20 minutes.

Jackson and Tanner were supposed to be Ninja's but for some reason they found dress up clothes and decided those were cooler. So Jackson is once again superman and Tanner is once again a lion. If you can't tell, Jared was "Dave."

Here's Tanner, Jackson, Parker, Marcus, Stanton and Addy.

Jackson showing off his muscles

Tanner growling

Tiffany, Mick, and Addy.

Heather, Jason, and Parker


I missed pictures of Paul, Cindy, Marcus, Jennifer and Stanton. They were all cute. Tanner was partial to Jennifer the Dalmation dog. He adopted her as his mother while trick-or-treating which meant she was stuck carrying his trick-or-treat bag the whole time...hee hee

My dad was dressed as a guy just out of knee surgery...the kind where they remove bullets. It sounds like he liked his costume so much he's going to dress up as that guy for a few weeks. I didn't get a picture of him or the bullet but here is a pumpkin he carved.

Five of many for October....

Jackson was the VIP for preschool last week. That meant he got to take a poster he made of himself, share his favorite treat, and had kids in his class ask him questions.

He was really excited about being the V.I.P He's funny because the idea of having attention really excites him, but when it's time to actually get all the attention he seriously shies away from it.

He got to sit in front of the class while the other kids asked him questions about himself. It was really cute. They kept asking him what his favorite color was and the first time he said "black." Then when he got asked the same question again he just looked at me like "Are they serious?? What do I say, it hasn't changed yet?" Jackson's a funny kid.

four of many for October...

To be perfectly honest, the first four years of Jackson's life have been a bit stressful. With the newness of having our first baby, then having Tanner quickly after that, and always trying to keep Jackson from killing Tanner, then always tring to keep Tanner from wrecking the world, it wasn't my favorite time ever. BUT, things have really gotten a lot more fun now that the boys have tamed down a bit. Not to say they aren't still boys...but it's a lot more fun now.

Here we are carving our pumpkins. I didn't want their clothes to get nasty...hence the unders.

Jackson quickly realized how icky pumpkin guts are.

My boys.

Three of many for October...

Last weekend after we picked up our kids from Shelly and Jason's we headed up to Logan to see my best friend Amy and her family. We got some yummy grub at the Bluebird then headed over to the pumpkin walk in North Logan.

The kids weren't really into pictures that night..so this is as good as it gets. Here's Jackson, Aden, and Tanner.

I think Noah's Ark blew all the others out of the water.


This was Jackson's favorite. You can't see batman very well, but he's there up in the sky.

I always love to visit Logan. It's one of my favorite places in the world and it's just an extra plus that one of my favorite people live there. We had a great night.

Two of many for October...

We had a very exciting suprise last weekend. Our sister-in-law Shelly called us and told us they had a few days left of their condo up at Snowbird and said she'd take our kids while we spent a nice relaxing couple of days up there ALL BY OURSELVES!!! Needless to say we had a GREAT time and we really really like Shelly :)

The condo was gorgeous and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. We went out to eat at a nice restaurant in Sugar House then headed up to Snowbird where we spent most of the evening soaking in our own private hot tub on the balcony.

The next morning Jared let me choose what we were going to do (since it was my soon to be birthday) and of course we went hiking.

Here's Jared taking one of his many breaks...

This picture makes me laugh...he's so proud...and he actually thinks we're done with the hike. Little did Jared know we were going to the top of the snow capped mountain behind him.

Here he is after realizing what he's actaully agreed to do...

About half-way there...

Almost there!!!

We finally made it to the top. It took everything I had to convince Jared to climb back down the mountain. It took everything Jared had to try and convince me to take the tram back down...luckily I still had some left in me after the hike, so I won that battle. (BTW-Jared is not posing in this picture...he actually collapsed and layed there for a looooong while)...

He finally managed to lift his head and enjoy the view.

Here's Jared after realizing what he's capable of and proud that we climbed a big huge mountain.

Thank you Shelly and Jason!!!! It was the perfect weekend! And of course I love you Jared. Thanks for going hiking with me!

One of many for October...

We went to Gardner Village to see all the witches. If we found all the witches we got to get a big cookie for a quarter. Here we all are enjoying our time out there.





A few days later Tiffany and I went back with Addy and Tanner. We visited the petting zoo first then tried to convince Addy to take some pictures by the witches but our convincing wasn't convincing enough...

Here's cute little Tan-man

This is my favorite picture of Addy...

Addy thought holding the pumpkin was fun and after Tiffany strapped her in the stroller we were able to get one picutre of them in front of witch with a smile.

I am starting to worry about Global Warming...

So, it's already the middle of October and we are just barely getting snow.


Actually I'm NOT too excited for the snow, but it was really fun to see Jackson's face when he looked outside for the first time and saw the snow. He LOVES it!


Here are the boys watching the snow fall last night. I have to admit, it is really pretty and the first snow is always exciting. BUT...I'm still going to let the boys enjoy the snow while I go find wherever the polar bears are because apparently it's pretty warm up there.

Lake Powell

We were lucky enough to be invited to go to Lake Powell with my cousin Tiffany this last weekend. I've never been before and it was beautiful!! We couldn't have asked for better weather and the water was a perfect 80 degrees.

Here's Tiffany and Addy enjoying the boat ride.



This is as close as I got to wake boarding. I'm hoping next time I'll ride the board instead of just swim with it.


Jared shook off some rust and got up on the wake board and looked pretty good.


He also decided to become a fisherman. He thought it'd be best to start of small and then work up. He's even using a batman fishing pole.


Here are Jared and Mick proud of themselves for jumping off a rock and climbing back on.


Here's my little Tan-man.


Thanks Team Simmons for inviting us and showing us a great time!! We loved it!

I'm so ashamed!

I hate to admit it, but last Friday was the first time we've been up in the canyons since moving back to Utah!! Before we moved to VA I don't think I missed a week without going for a hike up in the mountains. It's really a cryin' shame that we haven't been more. But, I've gotten back in touch with one of my favorite friends from my childhood Lisa (Ruben) Moore and we went up to the canyons to make hobo dinners. Finally.

Here's Lisa's little girl Sydney and our boys.


Our fire died so we figured it meant our food was done. But some people aren't huge fans of overly rare hamburger, so the boys chopped up a big old tree and attempted to finish fixing our dinner. In the process we got a lot of smoke. But the food turned out to be pretty darn tastey.


Here's Lisa attempting to keep her twins out of the fire.


We finished off the night at Lisa and Josh's house with a little 'Ticket to Ride' America style. We got a little mountain and fire to please the misses and a little gaming to please the Jared. All in all it was a fun night!!

My grandparents have been two of the greatest examples in my life. This morning I lost my grandma. She helped me become the person that I am today. I am going to miss hearing her laugh-you could hear it from a mile away and you couldn't help but start laughing yourself. I am going to miss seeing her enter a room with a different shirt on every time she came in because she couldn't keep the shirt she had on clean. I am going to miss hearing her tell stories about Dedham and about Fish Friday. I am going to miss going to Jackson Hole with her. I am going to miss hearing her tell me how wonderful she thinks I am and that she prays for me. I am going to miss having her in the congregation everytime I play the violin. I am really going to miss watching my grandma and grandpa go walking hand in hand every day. I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful grandmother who loved her family so much and created so many wonderful memories for all of us to cherish. I am so thankful she was able to be such an important part of my life. I can't imagine living life without her. I am so grateful to know that families are forever and that we will be able to see her again.

I'm starting to see a trend....

I am a very routine oriented person and I like to do things my way and I have to do the same things the same way EVERY time. I have gotten better since having kids and marrying a man who is the antidote to OCD. But there are two things Jared has not been able to get in the way of and those are exercise and laundry. I'm pretty sure the one inevitabley leads to the other because I would never choose to do laundry everyday if it were avoidable. Perfect strangers (on several occasions) have come up to me at the gym and handed me a towel, hence the reason why everyday is laundry day around here.

SO I have noticed a trend when I do laundry, I have been trying to avoid it and pretend I don't actually buy the same pair of pants every time I go to the store, but I think it's time to admit that I might have a problem.

These are all the workouts pants I own. I ventured out and bought some gray shorts, but those are not to work out in. I wear them when I have to do laundry. And the blue capris was just an affair I had a long time ago. I keep them around for times I feel like living on the edge.



I have tried to overcome my problem, but I have realized that I am genetically pre-destined to be a little obsessive compulsive. Almost all of these shirts are from my mom.



Jared's starting to catch on too. I don't remember the last time he went into Target or Walmart without coming back out with a new pair of shorts. And yes, the ones on the left are swimming suits. But he still wears them as everyday shorts. I'm guessing because he doesn't have enough regular shorts to get by.



I don't mean to sound dramatic but I'm pretty sure Jared has a problem.