I can't belive I'm doing this.....

For any of you who haven't been sucked into the world of Facebook~ this tag has been going around for a while. For the longest time I decided I wasn't going to do it just because every one else was. But when my sister's all started to do it for each other, I didn't want to let them down.

Since I haven't had much to blog about lately, I decided to post the tag on here just to cover all my bases. So, for what it's worth, here is a list of 25 Random Things About Me.....

1. I have not eaten red meat in almost 6 months. (Big for me because my favorite meal forever has been steak and potatoes).
2. I really want a stamp in my passport~ I was very disappointed that we didn't get any while on our cruise :(
3. I hang dry almost all of my laundry (I only machine dry sheets/towels/socks/undies).
4. I want to take a photography class.
5. I really like to be warm, but I don't like wearing a lot of layers~ right now I am wearing shorts and have bare feet with my space heater on... good thing Korby doesn't read this :)
6. I LOVE math!
7. I don't like English and history.
8. I would like to start gardening.
9. I love my reusable shopping bags~ I use them for so many different things.
10. I want to get involved in a humanitarian non-profit organization.
11. I have become very particular about my kitchen sink (I wipe it down at least 5-6 times a day).
12. I think the beach is the most beautiful and peaceful place in the world, but I HATE the ocean!
13. It makes me sick to watch my blood being drawn, but I still donate blood every 8-10 weeks (I just have to look away the whole time).
14. I would love to be a massage therapist.
15. I can't decide if I like being brunette or blond?
16. I have started learning a little bit about natural medicine and want to get much more into it.
17. I love cleaning my house, but I hate cleaning my room.
18. Favorite chore: floors (sweep, mop and vac) Least favorite: oven, shower
19. My mom is my best friend.
20. I bought a book at CostCo this weekend out of pity~ the author was there with a giant stack of books to sign and no one was buying any (so far it is actually pretty good).
21. I absolutely LOVE to work out~ pilates, spin, power pump, step aerobics, yoga, zumba, kick boxing, racquetball, running~ some days I wish I could work out for 4 or 5 hours!
22. One day I want to go back to school and get my MBA.
23. I am really excited that I have started working on our food storage.
24. I handle all of our finances, budgeting and taxes.
25. Next year I am going to run a marathon (Korby is training for 1/2 iron man and climbing Mt. Rainer this year, so next year it is my turn to train for something).

Diet Coke and Heaven

So, Tanner continues to crack me up on just about a daily basis! Korby and Shayden were both out of town this past weekend, so it was just me, Tanner and Jackson hanging out. Well, one thing that I did to help get me through the weekend was buy some diet Coke (which I honestly don't drink very often). So, on Sunday as the boys were eating lunch before going to church I poured a large glass of it (to get me through the next three hours)! Jackson started asking for some and I had to explain to him that it was a drink for grown ups and not for kids. This is how the rest of the conversation went:

Tanner: Well, I've tried diet Coke before mom.

Me: That's okay Tanner. Kids just shouldn't drink it very much.

T: Well..... actually...... when I was up in heaven that is what Heavenly Father and Jesus like to drink.

Me: Oh really?!

T: Yea, that is their favorite drink. When it is snack time in heaven that is what Heavenly Father and Jesus drink and that's what they give the kids to drink too.

Me: Laughter...... more laughter....... started calling my mom to tell her that she didn't have to feel guilty for drinking diet Coke anymore since (according to Tanner) it is the beverage of choice up in heaven!

Cleaning House

The last couple of months I have been working on going through and cleaning out our house. And coming to the realization that we have WAY too much stuff! So far I have cleaned out the kids clothes, toys, books (just the really messed up ones~ I don't think my kids could have enough books) and stuffed animals and part of our storage room. I still have a lot that I want to go through but cleaning out also means cleaning up/organizing what's left, so we'll see what I get done this month. I'm thankful that we have a thrift store close to our house that will accept our donations and hopefully it will help someone else out.

This picture was taken a couple of months ago (notice the leaves on the tree in the background). Since then I have taken two more loads.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

January was not the best of months for me~ some small medical issues got a little crazy. But I am on the mend and I am hopeful that February will be a much better start to the year. One highlight of January was being able to go to the Draper Temple Open House. It was wonderful to be able to go with my kids. Shayden was pretty quiet but thought that everything was amazingly beautiful. Jackson was great just being held and was quite.

I walked through the entire time with Tanner! It was wonderful!!!!! As we were walking down a hallway (nothing really special about it)~ Tanner told me "I can feel the spirit here." What a sweetheart! A little later we were walking by the bridal room and there was a door partially opened. Tanner went over, opened it, walked in and said (in a not so quite voice) "Look mom! I found the Lord's bathroom!" The LDS temple's are called the House of the Lord. So in my little 4 year's old logic~ if this is the Lord's house, then that would be His bathroom!!!! What a funny little kid! At the end of the tour and as we walked out of the temple doors Tanner squeezed my hand and said "Mom, I felt the Holy Ghost the whole time." I knelt down to talk to him about how special the temple is, why they are so important and why he was able to feel the spirit there. I thought it was a very beautiful/special/journal worthy moment. His response "Yea, so can I have my fruit snacks now?" I LOVE this kid!!!!!

Draper Temple

New Look for the New Year

So, to start off the new year I decided to go with a new look. Here is a before picture just in case. Korby thought I was a stranger when I walked in the door and Jackson said my hair looks like chocolate. It will take a little getting used to, but I was ready for something different.

Mission accomplished!

Blue Light Special

Two things I wanted to work on in 2009 were building my food storage and saving money. My cousin introduced me to a grocery coupon program called Grocery Smarts and yesterday was my first shopping trip to Albertson's using coupons. I will preface it by saying it took me about 2 hours to prepare, but in the end it was well worth it.

Here is a list of what I got (my receipt was 5 feet long!):

*21 boxes of cereal
*4 bags of cereal
*24 boxes of Rice-a-Roni
*1 box of pancake mix
*1 box of muffin mix
*2 bottles of Pantene shampoo
*2 bottles of Pantene conditioner
*4 cans of Barbasol shaving cream
*2 Crest toothbrushes
*2 tubes of Crest toothpaste
*2 Loreal mascara
*1 Cover girl lip gloss
*1 Cover girl nail polish
*2 bottles of Vitamin E
*1 pineapple
*6 pounds of boneless/skinless chicken breasts (not pictured)
*8 cans of Progresso soup
*6 boxes of Puffs tissue
*2 bottles of liquid Tide
*6 boxes of Betty Crocker brownies
*6 boxes of Betty Crocker cake mix
*10 boxes of Betty Crocker potatoes

That is $400 worth of groceries~ I paid $178 and got $75 gift card to Albertson's. So, basically I bought 110 items worth $400 for $100!!!!!! Needless to say, I think I am off to a good start on my New Year's resolutions!!!! And for obvious reasons, I am pretty confident I will keep this one up! Now, if only I could be this successful with my journal writing.....

Christmas Recap

We had a lot of fun over Christmas. We loved spending time with friends and family. Here are just a couple of things we did:

We spent Christmas Eve with our kids walking around Temple Square looking that the nativities they had set up and admiring the beauty of the temple. We then went home and read the Christmas story before bed. It was a great way to spend the evening~ helping our kids focus on the importance of the meaning of Christmas.

Something I have discovered about my husband~ he REALLY likes to make gingerbread houses. He and the kids (mostly he) spent about 3 hours making this.

Tanner's Joy School group went to a nursing home and they acted out the Nativity story. He got to be a wise man and really liked that he got to hold a present.

Of course, we opened a lot of presents. But our present opening began on Nov 26th and didn't end until Dec 29th. It helped to have it spread out, so the kids didn't get overwhelmed at any one time. They were also able to enjoy their presents a couple at a time!


Jackson got some walkie talkies that he calls "hawkie tawkies." He doesn't have a clue how they work~ but he sure thinks they are cool.

Tanner is in love with Lego's these days and was soooo... excited to get this new set. *Side note~ the kids were getting ready to go swimming when they were opening these presents which is why they are in their bathing suits!

Shayden is in heaven with her i-pod that Santa brought her. It is fun that she still has the complete belief in Santa and was very impressed that Santa had already loaded all of her favorite songs on there, even though she hadn't told him what songs she liked!

The best part of Christmas~ being with my family and seeing my smiling kids! They truly are the best present I could ever ask for!