I tend to be a little cynical in my posts and may make it sound like I can't do anything except complain. I actually think I have a great life and am constantly wondering why I have been so lucky to have so many blessings and to have such a cushy life. Since it's the end of the year, I thought I'd think back and remember some of the things I am grateful for from 2008.
1. I made it through my first year as real, working, grown-up. I am grateful to have a job even if it's hard.
2. I am grateful for great health for both Seth and myself. Seth actually works on having good health, I'm just lucky to have been healthy. I think we're both extremely grateful that I have had a healthy pregnancy thus far.
3. I am grateful to be pregnant. As much as I have complained and wished this baby would just hurry up and get here, I've realized that I am pretty sure this baby is going to be worth all the inconveniences the pregnancy has brought me.
4. I am grateful to have a home and the added bonus of a home warranty which gifted us a new oven, dishwasher, and refrigerator all this year.
5. I am grateful for my extended family. I learned this year that being a grown-up means beginning to deal with grown-up problems. My family seems to have faced a lot of grown-up problems this year. Maybe it's been like this before, but now that I'm a grown-up too, I seem to be clued in to more of the problems. Nevertheless, I am grateful that those grown-ups that are going through these stinky times and for their example and for those that love them and surround them with support.
6. My job makes me grateful on nearly a daily basis for the childhood I had and the loving parents who raised me. I am grateful for a job that keeps my priorities in check and helps me remember what is most important in life.
7. I am very, very grateful for my marriage. I definitely didn't do anything special to deserve it and I know that not everyone gets as lucky as me.
My suitcase arrived Christmas Eve around 7:30. Santa didn't bring it, but still, it's a Christmas miracle.
On another note, it's 6:45 a.m. and I've been up since 3:00 a.m. when I had to go potty. I haven't been able to fall asleep since and I've tried a lot of things. I've been trying to watch Grey's or The Office online but it won't let me because I'm in Germany. No fair for Germans. I did sneak in two epidsodes of The Hills which was a complete waste of time, but there's not a lot to do at 4:30 a.m. Seth was up with me for about 2 of the 4 hours I've been awake. Everyone else is still sleeping. My computer says it's 10:47 p.m. which I'm guessing is what time it is in Utah.
We had a great Christmas this morning, well I guess yesterday morning. It was fun to have little kids around to open presents, it's makes the day so much more magical. The baby even got quite a few gifts this morning, which I got to open. We got to talk to Seth's sister, Nicole, who is serving a mission in Paris. She's probably the most positive, energetic, enthusiastic, hard working, missionary there is. She LOVES LOVES LOVES being a missionary. She's just a fun girl all around and it's been weird being in Belgium without her. After talking with her, we loaded up the cars and headed to Germany. We're staying on an Air Force base and visiting a couple of towns while we're here. We're staying in apartments on the base and they are actually really nice and it's been getting Seth thinking about going through the military to pay his last year of school. NO. THANKS. I'm all about living in another country and there's nothing wrong with military families, I just don't want my husband and soon to be father of my child to be deployed to Iraq just to save some medical school debt. NO. THANKS. Plus side of a military base though, Diet Pepsi. American Diet Pepsi. They only had Diet Coke out of the fountain so I got one of those tonight and bought a bottle of Diet Pepsi for tomorrow. Simple pleasures. American sodas are a big deal because the European Coke Light is not good. Neither is Mexican Coke Light. Can you tell I'm bored. I've been rambling on about the difference between EU coke and US coke. Have you fallen asleep? I wish I did.
What do you get when you have a delayed flight which causes you to miss your connecting flight which causes your bags to be transferred to another airline, then lost, then two of them found, but one of them still gone, yeah, the one with the clothes, and two days later wearing the same clothes?
It's true. I have it. The travel bug. I only blame Seth for growing up in such a cool place, close to so many cool things, and for having cool parents who still live close to all these cool things. I really, really want a vacation at the moment. Lucky for me we get to go to Belgium for Christmas and see more and do more cool things like this.
Us in Amsterdam (obviously) I'm on the D. Seth's on the T.
Us in Holland on the way to Amsterdam.
Seth and the infamous Panda suit in Pisa, Italy.
Me. Another town on Lake Como, Italy. On our way to get some more gelato most likely.
Us, on a balcony of our hotel in Bellagio, Italy. It's okay, you can be jealous.
I'm considering changing professions. I have my undergrad degree in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Social Work. I've debated about going back to school for a Masters in Social Work or Education. Both pay poop so the financial aspect doesn't really come into play. I realized how much fun it is to watch and help kids learn though! I always want to read stories with my kid clients when I do visits and especially love when they read to me. It's so cute watching kids sound out words! Kids can be stinky though, especially after recess. Although, I do go into stinky homes nearly every day. Did you know I have a client that lets her goats poop in her house? Oh, well I do. As awesome as it is to work with dope smoking, child abusing, goat loving, emotionally exhausting, house dirtying, law breaking people, I'm thinking that education may be the route for me. Plus, I have fond memories of my elementary school teachers for the most part, but I doubt most kids have fond memories of their caseworker. I don't know. I actually don't hate my job at all right now, but I've just been thinking I might be better at something else. Maybe a job where I don't have to carry travel-size Febreze every where I go. And maybe where I don't actually have conversations about whether or not the poop was from a goat or a dog, it is still poop, and it is still in the house, and it is not okay.
I just got a call from my friend Hailee about one of my old friends from middle school, Janessa Morrison Whatcott. Janessa gave birth to a sweet little boy last week, but he passed away just a few days later. My heart is aching for them and I can't even begin to imagine how they must be feeling.
If you think barfing stories are funny, read on. If not, then you should probably move on with your blog stalk.
I'm on my way to work today and exactly 1 1/4 miles away from my exit when, uh oh, I don't feel so good. My mouth started filling with saliva and I kept thinking, breathe, breathe, you'll make it to the exit. I made it to the exit, but didn't quite make it out of the car, or even close to out of the car.
I put my hand over my mouth, which now I realize was stupid because one hand can't catch much of anything when it's in a bodily fluid form. I was wearing sunglasses and somehow, I had my hand at the exact right angle to target the stuff right up into the spot between your face and the sunglasses. Yep, all over my face. ALL. OVER. In my eyes and everything. If that is not disgusting enough, it kept coming and got all over my pants, the steering wheel, the carpet, the stick shift, and even some splatters on the windshield and side window.
I was in complete shock. When I realized what had happened I panicked because in less than one hour I had a VERY important meeting, with VERY important people, which I had requested and planned and was supposed to facilitate and now I was completely covered in my breakfast and maybe some of dinner from the night before. Don't know, I couldn't really tell.
I started to head home to change and I was freaking out because I knew I didn't have time to change, clean the car, and get to my meeting in time. My mom came to the rescue and met me at home while I changed and she took me back to work. Yes, the car had to sit for several hours in this condition. I HAD NO CHOICE! And I did make it back in time for my meeting.
I was so mad because I actually got ready today and was wearing brand new maternity jeans that actually didn't look ridiculous on me. The jeans are now soaking in my tub while I am at work. Sick, I don't want to face it when I get home.
There is a silver lining to this story though. This afternoon I was able to take my car into Supersonic to get it shampooed and everything. Which by the way, super embarassing when you're like, "Um, can you clean these seats really well because someone puked on them." I didn't really feel bad for the guy when I got the bill though. Sheesh. (Praying Seth doesn't ask how much it cost) We had an accident with some jam about a year ago (I know, what's wrong with us??) but it got all hard and crusty and I could never get it out. A big thanks to Supersonic, who I really consider Super, got it out. AND they got out all of the grease marks from everytime Seth has put his bike in the back seat. Our car looks like NEW on the inside. Still can't say much for the outside though. Man, that car has issues. Or more like, WE have issues.
The only comparable vomit story I have for this is what my family affectionately calls, The Barf Slide. The title might be self explanatory, but I'll give a short explanation as this is a very long post. Taylor was sick one night and got up to go to the bathroom, she was about to enter the hall when she lost it. It kept coming so she had to get to the bathroom, she stepped into the hall which is hardwood and BAM! slipped and landed right in her own barf. The BAM! and the cry that came out of her after woke up everyone in the house.
Hopefully those who kept reading this far have a strong gag reflex and were able to finish! Sorry!
Seth just said, you should blog about me. He's definitely neglected on this thing. Here are some facts about Seth.
1. Seth likes donuts.
2. Seth would DIE without BYU football.
3. Seth played rugby for BYU during his undergrad years.
4. Ever heard of DanceSport? Probably not, but it's huge at BYU. (I know, dorks.) Seth won 1st place with his partner in the Two Step competition. He wore a western shirt with tassles.
5. Seth tried out for Cougarettes, but decided it was rude since there were girls who were taking it very seriously. He faked a pulled hammie.
6. Seth worked as a Chemical Engineer at ExxonMobil in Houston, TX for a year after his undergrad.
7. He got caught writing notes to another employee at a meeting. He got in trouble. :)
8. Seth likes cereal and goes crazy when it's on sale. We probably have 11 boxes of cereal on top of our fridge right now.
9. He has made me the favorite in my family.
10. He has a rockin bod. When our friend Amy P wanted me to go out with him she talked about him like this, "He has the body of a Greek god." Ok, Ok, I'll go out with him. Geez.
11. He's funny and thinks it's his job to make me funnier.
12. He's a fun uncle and sometimes teaches his nephew a few bad things like how to light paper on fire and then throw it in the backyard. My SIL and BIL have said they will get him back one day. Great.
13. He says he purposely tries to lay low at church to avoid high profile callings.
14. He can do really good accents. But don't worry, he doesn't do it so much that it's annoying. 15. He's BFF is Jerry Mullholland. He lives in Seattle, they talk everyday. So cute.
16. When Seth moved to Belgium (4th grade), the first kid he met at school asked, "Do you like to kill girls?" with a british/australian accent. Seth didn't know what to say so he said, "Yeah." The boy responded with his hand extended for a hand shake, "Right mate, you're wif us."
17. He loves to dance and has some good moves. Dancing at our wedding was one of the most entertaining things I've seen in my life.
18. He likes pillow talk and always wants to talk about "Hopes and Dreams"
19. He plans all our vacations and is super good at it.
20. He LOVES vacations.
21. His goal in life is to be filthy rich and not have to work. (Any suggestions?)
22. Seth is very easy going and doesn't take anything too seriously. Except Hopes and Dreams. 23. Seth is very, very humble. VERY.
24. Despite him avoiding callings, he has a huge knowledge and testimony of the gospel. I've gotta step it up to get even close to him. I really hope we don't end up in different kingdoms.
25. He LOVES to be outside.
26. Seth was the cutest little boy ever.
27. He has beautiful blue eyes.
28. He is very practical with money. By practical, I mean it likes to keep it and not spend it.
29. He loves exercise. He did a full Ironman when we were dating. That's over 12 hours of constant exercise. We decided to get married the weekend he did it. 30. He's going to be a really, really good dad.
We're having a BOY and are so so excited. We had the ultrasound today and it was so cool. Seth asked the ultrasound tech how confident he was in saying it was boy and the guy said, "Well either it's a boy or a girl with a penis." Yikes. That girl would have some serious issues. Rest assured folks, girls with weiners aren't very common. We're banking that ours is an actual boy. You can even see his little bum in one of the pictures and I've shown everyone at work today. Is that weird? I just love his bum. I'm kind of a bum person though. We saw his heart beating which was way cool and saw that he has two hands and two feet (phew). The tech said he's measuring on track and I'm still due March 8th, to the day, he said. I keep getting more and more excited as the day goes on. It feels a lot more real now. Does anyone know if with Fetal Photo you can actually see the shape of the baby's face? The ultrasound only really shows the bones, so right now his face kinda looks like Skeletor in the pics. We'll still love this little guy even if he does look like Skeletor, but I was just wondering. Seriously though, couldn't be happier. I can't wait for him to come now.
For this little treasure I was told about this weekend. Ever feel like blogs are a best life contest? Well Seth does. He'll love this new blog.
www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com
It totally made my day and I think will keep making my days.
Pregnancy is mean. At least this first part is. So, vegetables sound TOTALLY disgusting right now, especially raw ones. This has been causing Seth a lot of anxiety because he's really worried our baby is not getting enough vitamin ADEK, C, B series, Omega-3, folic acid, etc. But last night I thought Olive Garden minestrone and salad sounded delish. I was really proud of myself because I'd be eating salad all the veggies in the soup. We went, I ate. Seth got a pasta dish with shrimp which made me a little queasy but I didn't tell him because he really wanted shrimp. We ate our dinner, had nice conversation about what we would do if our hypothetical teenage daughter got knocked up, and tried to ignore our pushy waiter who kept bugging us every 3 minutes. No! I'm not done with my soup, go away! Then we left and since it was such a nice day thought we would walk around, but then I was too cold so we just walked to the car. Got in the car, Seth started to pull away from the curb.
Me: "Oh wait, stop, stop, stop."
Open car door, lean out the side. Bye bye nutritious veggies from Olive Garden and the rest of the food I ate today. Sure glad we spent $30 on puke.
Pregnancy is just mean.
I'm very behind on my Happy Birthday posts, I missed Seth's (how bad it that?!?) and my dad's. Here's a tribute to my dad though, only 17 days late. My dad is the King of Nicknames, so instead of posting 54 wonderful things about him, I decided to post 54 nicknames he has for people. Here we go:
1. Plum -my mom
2. Sweetin-my mom
3. Sugardee- me
4. Pete -my brother, Michael Bluth
5. Lanx -my sister, Lauren Bluth
6. Tates- my sister, Taylor Bluth
7. Dib- Steve Bluth
8. Iggingee-Kathy Wheatley
9. Nat Leatley- Natalie Wheatley
10. Cornley- John Wheatley
11. FweeBoy- Adam Bluth
12. Zimmers- Tim Bluth
13. E-Zoby- Toby Bluth
14. Lanky Logician- Amy Lam
15. Lynnwood- Lynn Coulam
16. Colby Coulam- Colby Miller
17. Robinski-Robyn Coulam
18. Coca-Coulam- Brekke Coulam
19. Megawatti- Meg Coulam Miller
20. Tyge- Tyler Bluth
21. Nurse- Mary Bluth
22. Big Al- Alan Bluth
23. Suede- Alan Bluth
24. Keepsie-Kathleen "Bonnie" Bluth (my dad's mom)
25. Garth Seth- Seth Quaely and sometimes my Seth.
26. Kelsey Grammer- Kelsey Saylor
27. Nickin- Nick Neihart
28. Wance- Lance Harrison
29. Koonkla- Jack Kunkler
30. Nogladot-me
31. K, K, K, Katie-Katie Lam
32. Kizatie- Katie Vargo
33. Macy Gray- Grace Nichols
34. Bobby Lam- Bob Lam
35. Marbs- Mary (something??)
36. Blakenship-Blake Parkinson
37. Rexer- Rex Wilcox
38. Halfi- Dave Halford
39. Squid- Steve McFarland
40. Sorence- Mike Sorenson
41. Johnson- Tom Johnson
42. Wanna- Bob Bluth
43. Stinks McDoggie- Maya-my dad's dog
44. Bird- Brent Bird
45. Patrick Me' Boy- Patrick Sadler
46. Bonnie- Kathleen Bluth (grandma)
47. Big Gordy- Gordon Bluth
48. Beave-Bryan Bluth
49. Wittle Doit Wittle- Courtney Bluth Little
50. Hey Tates Whoa Dates- my sister, Taylor Bluth
51. Stewman- Stu Petty
52. Stareci- Staci Shelton Davies
53. Stinky Stanx- my sister, Lauren Bluth
54. Mikey Chikey- my brother, Michael Bluth
...To name a few.
Happy Belated Birthday Dad! Everyone who meets you likes you instantly. You're so kind and genuine to everyone. Thanks for everything you do and all the nicknames you make up.
p.s. Fazsh is kind of a nickname from the kids to my dad. If you're ever seen Austin Powers 3 (the one with the swedish guy) you'll know where this comes from.
I know a lot of my posts have been negative lately, but I just gotta.
Did I have to start work at 4:30 this morning? Yes.
Have I had to entertain a 7 year old client all day long? Yes.
Did I try to bribe him to be good with all kinds of food, treats, and drinks? Yes.
Was he with me all day because his foster parents were not able to be reached? Yes.
Did I cry when I took this kid to a surgery because when he woke up crying from the anesthesia I wished he had his mom to rub his back and not me? Yes.
Did the nurse look at me like I was crazy? Yes.
Did I care? No.
Did the kid I had to entertain watch 3 movies on my laptop while I tried to work? Yes.
Is he driving me crazy at this point? Which is 13 hours later? Yes.
Is he cute? Yes.
But could any level of cuteness prevent craziness at this point? No.
Has this kid actually done an amazing job considering he's been stuck in my office all day long? Yes.
Did I have to run out of my office suddenly because pregnancy called and made me throw up every item I ingested today? Yes.
Do I feel like crying because I am so tired? Yes.
Have a listed enough things to complain about? Yes.
Was this enjoyable to read? No.
Am I sorry for doing yes another negative post? Yes. Sorry.
Are the foster parents ever going to come get him? Yes. in 10 minutes. Hallelujah!!!!
Is it weird that last night at the grocery store that I got nostalgic for elementary school as I walked down the school supplies isle? I was shopping for cleaning supplies that we have been seriously out of and our place is seriously dirty, and I wished I was buying a brand new 64 crayon Crayola box and picking out notebooks and mechanical pencils. The beginning of a new school year was always so exciting and so fun. I still remember getting so excited to wear my brand new, just pulled out of the box, Dr. Marten shoes and thinking I was looking so fly.
I guess getting new pens and post-its from the supply closet is kinda like getting new school supplies. But not really.
Do you hate me today? Because nothing, and I mean nothing, is going right at work today. I don't mean just not going right, but turning into COMPLETE DISASTERS! D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R.S. Please throw me a bone, I'm dying here.
-Heidi
p.s. Usually on days like this I call up Seth on my way home from work and ask him to meet me at Cafe Rio. Barbacoa Pork somehow always lifts my spirits.
Tagged.
3 joys. Seth. Family. Friends
3 fears. Fish. Someone I love dying. My work finding out how much time I waste online.
3 goals. Waste less time. Complete a triathalon this year(really hard to do with the fishy fear). Redecorate our condo.
3 current obsessions. Jon and Kate Plus 8. Blogs. Sleeping. I love it.
Whoa. I am lazy.
Seth just got his board scores back and he passed! Woo hoo! He did better than he thought he would but says he's neutral about his feelings on his score. Not happy, not bummed. I do know he did better than the national average, which is way awesome! Yay Sethy!
Did I use enough exclamation points?
This a fun little post I found on my friend Star's blog. What you do is, leave a comment on my blog and leave one memory you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a lot or a little, anything you remember!
Then, repost the instructions on your blog. I tag all ya'll.
I'm having a hard day. I don't feel like doing much. Here's the proof.
Number of items on my work to-do list today: 33
Number of items on my work to-do list that have been checked off:10
Number of blogs I've looked at today: 20
Number of wasted tax dollars spent on my paycheck today: Not that many because I don't get paid much anyway.
Nevertheless, sorry for wasting your tax dollars today folks. I'm just not in the mood for helping families and kids I guess. I'll be back tomorrow. I'm going to Maverik.
Mandz at the starting line!
Jamie and me at after our firsts legs. Look at our cute shirts!
This year was a blast, although we had a few minor mishaps the week prior and one minor incident during the race. Also, during the two hours we were able to sleep some random person kicked me (I was sleeping on the grass) and then some ladies came and stood over me and told me I needed to move or else I was going to get run over.
Working Girls-Amber, Abbie, and Me-We all work together at DCFS. We dressed up in Diva attire to cross the finish line.
For all of you who are unfamiliar with the Wasatch Back, it goes from Logan to Park City, about 180 miles. You have a team of 12 and starting from Logan you always have one person running until you reach Park City. Each team member runs 3 times with an average distance of 3 - 8 miles. You literally only get about 2 hours to sleep, but somehow this is fun.
Abs passing the baton off to Kacey. Abbie totally rocked this race. She had super hard legs but did way awesome. She's a little drenched in this pic, but it's not sweat. Diva's don't sweat, they glow.
This year our team name was "The Diva Dozen" and we had super cute shirts made by one of our team mates, Amanda Ogaard.
I forgot to mention that last minute we had a team member drop out (we actually had two drop out last minute) but this particular member was going to provide one of the cars. Luckily, my dad knows really awesome people like Tom LaPoint, yes that's right, of LaPoint Ford. Mr. LaPoint hooked us up with a way nice truck to use for the race for FREE! If you ever are need of a Ford truck, definitely go to LaPoint Ford first!
Half of the Dozen-Jamie Johns, Me, Kacey Ludlow, Abbie Ogaard, Amanda Ogaard, and Nicole Jamie's Roommate (I don't know her last name)
The other Half Dozen (not pictured)-Jade (Smith) Pew, Sierra (Smith) Pugh, Amber Rudd, Amy (Robbins) Petersen, Ashleee Andreasen, and Jessica LifeSaver (not her last name either, but she was our last minute girl who saved the team!)
I'm thinking I will take next year off, but that is probably a lie because I said the same thing last year.
Here's a special little treat from this guy:
Seth survived the boards and this is what he looked like when he got home. He said he thinks he did okay, but thinks he now has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of it. All week he has been thinking of questions he may or may not have missed.
Seth takes the boards today and man, does he seem nervous. He's been studying for the boards since he started Medical School, but has beens studying like a maniac for the past 5 weeks. Don't worry that he set 4 alarms this morning so he'd wake up on time. I've never known Seth to sleep through an alarm, but he just really wanted to make sure he didn't sleep in. I laugh because he gets so nervous, but always does well on tests.I am so excited to see this book thrown away! Not to mention the bazillion flash cards we have around our place. I admire Seth, I could never study this much, for this long. Heck, I couldn't even comprehend one flashcard, it's honestly like reading Japanese.
Thanks to all the friends and family who have encouraged Seth and wished him good luck on this big day! We'll let you know how it goes in about 4 weeks!
This weekend was awesome. I ran a 10K with my dad, had lunch with friends, had date night with Seth, and got new carpet!!! 
The awesomeness started with waking up dark and early Saturday morning to run the Crack of Dawn 10k with my dad in Emigration Canyon, downhill of course. I finished under an hour and thought I was pretty cool for doing that. I passed a bunch of people on the last 2 miles, which NEVER happens, so I thought I was even cooler for that part. I have experienced getting passed on many a races, but have never really experienced the pleasure of making others eat my dust. I thoroughly enjoyed it even if the people I passed were double my age. It was a rainy and cloudy day Saturday morning, so the Crack of Dawn thing didn't really pan out. My dad did awesome too, but he would deny that. We treated ourselves to the always delicious Einstein's bagel afterwards. 
After the race I waited for our new carpet! Such an exciting moment in my life as a home owner. It was a little awkard however because there was really nowhere for me to be because all of our stuff was crammed into the living room while the bedrooms were being carpeted. I kinda just sat in a corner and pretended to work on my Sunday School lesson/watch t.v. The carpet looks awesome and our apartment is starting to smell less and less of old people. 
Saturday afternoon I went to lunch with my dear old friends, Jamie and Amber. I've been friends with Jamie since the first grade. That's 18 years folks, yes, 18 years. I have so many funny memories with Jamie. I'll have to dedicate a post to that. Jamie, Amber, and I became BFFs from choir class in 7th grade. I think Jamie and I thought Amber had cute clothes or something and decided we should get to know her. Ha! The three of us went to lunch at the most wonderful restaurant in the world, Trio. I am totally obsessed with the place. I rode my bike to the restaurant with gas prices being like $50 a gallon. It was only a like 6 or so blocks away, but it's really hard to ride a bike with a big purse. We ate amazing food and talked for like 2 hours and I didn't want it to end. I love getting together with old friends.
Saturday night Seth and I went to the temple and then went to dinner at The Garden at JSMB. Seth decided the restaurant felt like a cafeteria and decided we shouldn't ever go there again. I thought it was okay, but our server wasn't the nicest. I think she was mad because I only ordered soup and therefore she figured I wouldn't leave a good tip. Loser.
WHERE. IS. MY. MONEY?! I've tried to wait patiently, but I just can't do it anymore. I've had your generous gift earmarked for some fabulous IKEA flooring and I would really like to purchase it as soon as possible.
Now, I am just a lowly state employee and as you know I get paid beans. You can imagine my excitement when the news of a stimulus package came about.
I've been very good this year, please send me my money.
Sincerely,
Heidi
Happy Birthday to two fabulous Herway women, Anita and Mel! I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful mother-in-law and sister-in-law! I definitely lucked out on the in-law department. I hope both of you have the best days ever and that you are spoiled and pampered to death, you definitely deserve it. Can't wait to spend time with both of you this summer and now in December too! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
I know I just barely complained about not getting to have fun this summer, but Seth and I were actually able to get away a couple of weekends ago. We went down to southern Utah for a little weekend vacation. I use the term vacation loosely since my idea of "vacation" does not usually involve camping. It was however, a vacation from the daily grind. Seth wanted to go to southern Utah to get ideas for a business venture that he has been dreaming, thinking, and talking about for the past several months. Stay tuned for details in the next several months. 
We took the long route to SoTah (Southern Utah). Here's Seth in Panguitch, enjoying a Sanguitch.
We made a stop in Bryce Canyon National Park and bought an Annual National Parks pass for 80 bones. Turns out it's not such a great deal since you can get into a lot of National Parks for free. We're going to make the most out of this pass by visiting as many of the National Parks as we can within driving distance. We're living on the egde. 
We spent our first night at Sand Hollow reservoir in Hurricane (pronounced Hurricun by locals). We didn't really fit in with the rest of the crowd since we forgot our ski boat, truck, 54 foot RV, 4-wheelers, and dirt bikes. The scenery was beautiful though. 
We spent the next day in Zions National Park and hiked Angels Landing. I had fun freaking Seth out by standing close to the edge. I thought it was funny, Seth did not. 
By the way, Euros LOVE national parks! We saw a lot of them in both Bryce and Zions.
That night we camped along the Virgin River and had a traditional camping dinner. Weiners and S'mores. We were very unprepared and didn't have any cooking or eating gear. We roasted our weiners the good old fashioned way with sticks we found. 
Sunday we stopped by my grandma's house to visit. This is what prompted my "wo is me" post from a couple of weeks ago.
We had a really good time and it was so great to be in the great outdoors for a couple of days. I was pretty impressed that I went two days without showering and handled it like a champ.
We also took the long route home and stopped by the Mountain Meadows Massacre site. Did anyone else that grew up in Utah think that it was a massacre of Mormons, not the other way around?
23 days til my next vacation and I can't wait!!!
My lovely mom turns the big 5-0 tomorrow. I am so grateful for my mom and totally look up to her in so many ways. Here are 50 wonderful things about my dear ol' mazsha.
1. She was born in Chester, Pennsylvania.
2. Grew up in Wilmington, Delaware.
3. She claims she could do pull-ups "forever" (we're not sure if we believe her)
4. She won a beauty contest as kid (or a Halloween costume contest, either way she was dressed up like a beauty queen).
5. She was horseback riding as a kid, and spooked her horse by screaming. The horse took off with her on it.
6. She first heard about the LDS church because she was in love with Donnie Osmond.
7. On a family trip to the West, they stopped at Temple Square. My mom filled out an information card.
8. Later that fall, 2 missionaries showed up at her front door.
9. Before she was baptized, she went to early morning seminary for a full year!
10. Her first day of church at an LDS ward, she wore a huge cross necklace around her neck. She couldn't figure out why everyone knew she wasn't a member.
11. She was baptized at 15 years old.
12. She was a homecoming queen candidate.
13. She found a great group of friends from her ward, and is still good friends with many of them to this day.
14. She graduated early from high school and went to college at BYU.
15. She did study abroad in Israel and got to go again a second time. Again, she made great friends there and is still friends with them too!
16. On her way back from Israel the first time, she toured Europe. She even visited her missionary boyfriend who was serving in Sweden. Ha!
17. She likes to bend the rules and push things to the limit.. (I love that about her!)
18. She met my dad in a student ward in SLC. My dad asked her out by sending her flowers and asked her out in the note that came with the flowers. My dad was really shy back then and never called my mom to follow up for the date. My mom had to call him to make sure the date was still on.
19. On Dec. 5th 1983, she became a mother to her favorite child.
20. She is a fabulous homemaker.
21. She makes world-famous mint brownies. They are in high demand at any family function or work party. It's funny though, because nobody in our immediate family likes them, not even her.
22. She makes the BEST missionary care packages. My brother was totally spoiled in El Salvador, I was spoiled in Russia, and she has also spoiled cousins who've served missions.
23. She loves watching my sisters play soccer.
24. She is her kids' biggest fan.
25. She loves tennis, both playing and watching. Lanx was born during Wimbeldon, which is probably why Lanx is my mom's true favorite child.
26. She lovews laying by the pool and getting tan. Mother like daughter.
27. She makes the most wonderful Sunday dinners. She loves having people over on Sundays and feeding them until they pop.
28. She loves a nice, cold Diet Pepsi.
29. She is very artistic and creative. We always had the best projects in school, because my mom practically did them for us.
30. She is a fabulous interior designer.
31. She's won awards at Parade of Homes.
32. She now is an interior designer for LDS temples.
33. She did the Nauvoo Temple.
34. She is a super hard and efficient worker. She can get things done 10 times faster and better than most people.
35. She's ultra-organized.
36. She is genuinely interested in other people.
37. She extremely empathetic toward others.
38. She cries in movies, while watching tv, commericials, and reading greeting cards.
39. She once missed an entire day of work to get caught up on episodes of 24.
40. She did the best braids in our hair when we were little.
41. She threw great birthday parties for us.
42. She took us to the pool practically everyday of the summer and has lots of dinners with fresh corn on the cob.
43. She's a movie buff. Loves, loves, loves them. Especially with movie theater popcorn, no butter please, but lots of salt.
44. She a talented seamstress. Pete and I have matching outfits to prove it.
45. She is a thoughtful gift giver.
46. She is always down for a pedicure.
47. She is beautiful and classy.
48. She always has gum.
49. She had a crush on Luke Staley's calves.
50. She stays in touch with old friends.
oops, too many great things, guess I'll keep going.
51. She loves Josh Groban.
52. She is often praised for the wonderful job she does at work.
53. She is very selfless
54. She has a strong testimony of the gospel and lives it everyday.
55. She's the #1 mom, sister, aunt, friend, daughter, mom-in-law, and wife!
Happy Birthday Mom!
I wish I had a picture to show you all my cutie mom, but luckily, most of you know what she looks like .
Bikram Yoga. The hardest thing I think I've done. First off, I'm not very flexible so yoga is hard anyway, but when you turn the heat up to 110 degrees and ad 40% humdity, well that's just insane! I started going to Bikram Yoga (also known as Hot Yoga) last week and have gone three times since. It's awesome, everyone is in as little as possible and sweats like crazy. You wouldn't think it'd be that hard but it is. My first day they gave me a little orientation..."Make sure to breathe in and out through your nose so you don't pass out." "If you feel like you are going to faint or throw up, just kneel down, or lay on your back." "Have fun!" Knowing there was a very good possibility of puking or passing out, I was a little nervous. I didn't barf or pass out, and ended up loving the class! It's 90 minutes long and at the end you feel such a sense of accomplishment and you feel like you lost 5 lbs. in water weight. The only bummer is it's way expensive. I signed up for an intro. pass which was super cheap, but a regular pass is like $300 a month! It's pretty clever of them to charge you a super cheap intro package, get you to absolutely love it, then charge you an arm to continue! I highly recommend trying Bikram if you already haven't. There's one in Sugarhouse and Sandy. 
I came to an awful realization over the weekend and it hit me even harder as I was driving to work today. This is my first summer as a full-fledged, 9 to 5, working class adult. I'm a tad devastated about the whole thing. I realized this over the weekend when I realized that most people had just finished their finals and were starting their Summer of Fun 2008.
The past two summers have been some of the best summers of my life!! The summer Seth and I were dating we went to Seattle together for his BFFs wedding, then to Coronado to meet the Herway fam, then to Hebgen Lake, then to San Francisco with my family, then back to San Francisco to watch Seth compete in an Ironman competition. (I think that was the order they went in). Then the first summer we were married we went to Havasupai, Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, and England. I know that I was VERY lucky to do all this fabulous things, but I think I got a bit spoiled because now I expect summers like this every summer!
I also have been very nostalgic today thinking about spending summers at my grandma's in St. George and going to the pool everyday and eating THE BEST lunches afterwards.
Now that I have to be a grown up and be responsible and Seth has to study for boards, all we get is a measly (sp?) 4 days of summer bliss. I'm at work right now and all I can think about is how bad I wish I was going to the pool everyday and eating Otter Pops. I can see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel though, because eventually I will have kids and I will be able to introduce them to the wonderful world of summers at the pool eating Otter Pops all day and playing night games at night.
Today is my sister Taylor's 17th (weird!) Birthday! For some reason I don't have any recent pictures of her on my computer so I had to use this one from dinner last night. She refused to make a normal face, but this is pretty typical for her. Here are 17 things about Tatsie:
1. She's a way good soccer player. She plays on a great Comp. team and will be team captain of her high school soccer team this coming fall.
2. She knows the lyrics to like every song, even the rap songs.
3. She is very non-judgemental.
4. She is a friend to everyone and is interested in all types of people.
5. She is our family's comic relief.
6. She loves You Tube.
7. She makes me feel good about my clothing style by every Sunday asking, "I borrow?"
8. She LOVES CPK pizzas.
9. She is a great listener and always seems interested in what you have to say (except when she's texting).
10. She's obsessed with text messaging.
11. She's BEAUTIFUL!
12. She's very humble and doesn't like attention. (except she went through a phase of flexing her biceps a lot)
13. She drives a blue VW Bug with a Yo Amo El Salvador sticker.
14. She is way good with kids, they love her.
15. She worked a burger place called Take 5 for a few weeks. Someone ordered a Fresh Lime. She didn't know that a Fresh Lime was a drink and handed the guy a lime.
16. She has a ear for the piano. She took lessons for several years but can play a lot of songs by ear.
17. She has an eye for photography and is very artistically creative.
I have a couple more...
18. She had surgery when she was a baby to remove a big lump above her eye. Her nickname then was Lumpy Keeg.
19. She was super scared of spiders and tornadoes when she was little.
20. She is easily embarrassed by her family.
21. She is a GREAT sister!!
Happy Birthday Tay, Tay-Tay, Fwiz, Fwiz o Biz, Biz, Biznatch, Tatsie, Lumpy Keeg, Sqeak, Taylow, Taylor!
