Random Stuff...

I have to APOLOGIZE that my posts are so FEW and FAR BETWEEN sometimes! Here are some RANDOM pictures and such!

This one is from Hardware Ranch, which was FOREVER ago, and I was going to do a post about it and haven't yet! I thought this was a FUNNY picture of the G-man. You can see his two bottom TEETH pretty well. Gavin is pretty SLOW at sprouting his teeth! He didn't get his first tooth until he was 11 months old, and now he is 15 months old and only has 3 teeth.

But I've been told that's a GOOD thing, so we will see!

My GRANDMA is quite the restaurant AFICIONADO (she is also a WONDERFUL cook!) and she LOVES this Thai food restaurant that is in Logan called "The Kamin". If I ever ask my grandma where she wants to eat, even if we are in Tremonton at the time, she ALWAYS says the Kamin. So the other night my mom and grandma came to Logan to eat there and INVITED us to go! Brent was working, so Gavin and I joined them. Here are a few pictures:

GAVIN and GRANDMA JONI checking out the CANDLES they had on the table...

By the way, I TRIED to get a picture of my grandma to DOCUMENT the occasion, but she pretty much REFUSES to have her picture taken. Maybe next time!

So today BRENT and I were watching a BASKETBALL game and GAVIN was playing in the next room. I was listening for him and when a commercial came on I went to check on him. I looked around the room and all I saw were toys and Gavin's PANTS! So I went around the house calling for him and this is what he looked like when I FOUND him...

HELP! His pants are too BIG and fall off because he is so SKINNY(these pants are size 12 months mind you)! I need to figure out how to put some MEAT on his bones!

Bag Tag!

I have been Bag Tagged by Deb! I've never heard of this before, but it looked fun so here goes!

I chose a non diaper bag also! This is a cute purse I actually got when we went on our trip to Vegas with Sean and Wendy. I loved it and I especially love the inside pattern. It matched my wallet, yay!

Okay, here are the contents:

- my wallet

- a coin purse I got in Hawaii

- 2 bottles of lotion (pineapple and jasmine vanilla...yum)

- coupons

- hair elastic and bobby pin

- my name badge for our "Life Strategies" class

- 4 pens

- realtor key

- car keys

- cell phone

- 2 things of lip gloss

- a Tide pen

- my Epi pen (allergies)

That's about it! Now I tag...Jazzy, Kendra, Natalie, Tami, Tawni and whoever else wants to do it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are a few pictures of us on Valentine's Day. Brent went snowboarding during the day and when he got home he brought me a dozen beautiful red roses! It was awesome! When he gave me the roses he mentioned that there was more to my present. More on that later.

Anyway, back to our Valentine's Day...my mom came through the canyon after work and watched Gavin for us so that we could go to dinner. My mom is so funny... she was joking that she wanted to wear a "Single Awareness Day" t-shirt to work! She works at Wal-mart and you can imagine how many people come through buying Valentine gifts for their significant other. So we (us and Ryan & Ronda) sent her flowers while she was at work to brighten her day! It made her happy and so we were happy! :)

After dinner Sean & Wendy came over to watch a movie with us and we also had dessert. One of Brent's favorite desserts is the "Pazookie" from Firehouse Pizza. He LOVES oatmeal raisin cookies so I bought some of those cookie skillets that they make them in and made him an oatmeal raisin Pazookie! I should have taken a picture! Anyway, it's basically a big cookie made on a skillet and after you bake it you put ice-cream and fudge/caramel on top! It was really good!

Oh yeah, so later Brent told me what the other part of my present was and it is that I get LASER EYE SURGERY! Wahoo! When he told me I was so happy that I cried! I have wanted eye surgery for so long and I am so excited! I have had glasses since I was in kindergarten and then I got contacts in 7th grade, so I have been dealing with glasses and contacts for a long time! Eye surgery would be the ultimate gift!

I just have to tell Brent thank-you for being so awesome. He is a great husband and father and he is THE hardest worker I've ever known. I am grateful that we found each other and that he chose me to be his wife! I love you honey! You're the best!

My Goals...

Sometimes I am pretty bad at setting goals, but lately I am doing much better! Brent and I started taking this class and it is really helping me to do the things I value! I think I just get going through life and get caught up in doing things that aren't so important. Anyway, one goal I have is to run a 1/2 marathon in Salt Lake in April. I am training with my wonderful sister-in-laws, Kristen and Jaimee, and Jaimee's awesome sister Rachel. It is so nice to have others to work out with, otherwise let's be honest, I probably wouldn't do it! I need the moral support.

Another goal I have is to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days to honor President Hinckley. (The Hinckley Challenge) If you're wondering what I'm talking about, check out http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/. Thanks to Donna and Natalie for spreading the word! Otherwise I probably wouldn't have found out about it. I definitely needed something to motivate me to read the Book of Mormon and this is it! I can read it and honor President Hinckley at the same time. Fabulous!

I decided to post this to give me even more motivation! I figure if everyone knows about it there's no backing out!

Our Funny Gavin!

Here are some recent pictures of Gavin...

Ready to hit the POWDER! Wahoo!

One of his favorite words is "hat" and lately he's been putting anything and everything he can on his head and calling it a "hat" (like this burp rag for instance)!

Grandpa Hirschi taught him that he can stick balls down his shirt...so that's what he does! Only it's usually one at a time, but today I think he was trying to see how many he could fit!

(Don't mind the messy face! I've realized it'a about impossible to keep this kid's face clean)
(Videos coming soon!)

TAG!

I was tagged by Tami!
A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I would have been 16. I was working at Taco Time and a Sophomore in High School. I played on my high school basketball team. I drove a navy blue Ford Taurus station wagon that my friends and I lovingly called “The Shaggin’ Wagon”. I loved doing anything with my friends.

5 things on my to do list today:
1. Take care of Gavin!
2. Sweep & mop wood floors, vacuum rugs
3. Do homework
4. Dishes, laundry, make the bed, you know…everyday stuff!
5. Go visiting teaching

Things I enjoy:
- Being with my boys! Brent and Gavin
- Hanging out with family and friends, doing pretty much anything.
- Chick flicks
- Staying up late talking to Brent about anything (lately politics is the main topic of conversation!)
- Being a mom
- A good book

What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire:Pay off debt, help family pay off debt, pay tithing, hire my mom or my mom-in-law to be nannies so that if I get really sick again next time I’m pregnant they can take care of Gavin for me! (this is not an announcement!), buy up some good real estate, take our families on a vacation, help my mom and grandma get into new houses, donate some to charity, buy some new clothes, shoes, etc. The list could go on and on!

3 of my bad habits:
1. Sometimes I spend too much time on the computer/internet. It is so interesting and there are so many new things to discover!
2. I bite my nails
3. Wearing my contacts way too much! My poor eyes have had it.

5 places I have lived:
1. Tremonton
2. Logan
3. North Logan
4. Millville
5. Bear Lake (does that count?)

5 jobs that I have had:
1. Taco Time of Tremonton
2. ITS (Information Technology Services @ USU…formerly known as SLS=Student Lab Services)
3. BLH Enterprises (watercraft rental worker & cabin cleaner for my then future brother-in-law Brian!)
4. Lowe’s
5. Icon Health & Fitness, Mt. Logan Chiropractic, Koskan Real Estate (I thought I’d just go ahead and list the rest of them on #5!)

5 Things people don't know about me: (I’m a pretty open person, so these were hard for me!)
1. I used to want to be a Marine Biologist, a Flight Attendant or an Interior Decorator.
2. I don’t like being alone. I love having people around.
3. I care way too much about what other people think.
4. I come from a family where there have been a lot of divorces. I was so happy when Brent told me that ‘divorce’ is not a word in his vocabulary.
5. I am working on getting a concealed weapons permit.

5 people I am tagging: Amanda, Krista, Erin, Jaimee, Deb (The first five links on our blog!) He he!

God be with you 'til we meet again...

Gordon B. Hinckley 1910-2008

I just wanted to give a little tribute to President Hinckley. Last night when I found out I was in shock, and I still don't think it has fully hit me yet. What a wonderful man he was! We owe so much to him. He truly is an example of kindness and love. I am so grateful that I was able to live on this earth during his time as president of the church. I know that the heavens are rejoicing to have him back in their presence! I just smile when I think of he and his sweetheart, Marjorie, holding hands again. You will be missed! We know that God will be with you until we meet again!

My Meeko

I have a chihuahua named Meeko. I have been feeling bad lately because ever since Gavin came along Meeko's been kind of left in the dust. I'm sure that anyone that has kids understands that when you have a baby your priorities change. Not that I don't love Meeko, but lately I've just been a little annoyed by her. I guess I focus so much of my attention on Gavin that she just gets in the way sometimes. My mom always used to say that Meeko was an "important training tool" meaning she was sort of preparing me, in a way, to have kids. We got Meeko back in 2002 when she was just a few months old. We got her because while we were gone on a trip to Hawaii our apartment was broken into. Needless to say I was paranoid after that and I wanted a dog that would bark if someone tried to come in. (I know she's little, but she has a good bark!)

Meeko is always by my side. If I am sitting down, she is on my lap. If I am laying down somewhere, she has to be curled up in a little ball right next to me. She is such a loyal little dog, and though she bugs me sometimes with her begging and barking, I must say that I love her!

I received this e-mail a while ago and thought it was an awesome tribute to dogs, so I had to share it.

A Dog's Purpose, from a 4-year-old

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer.

I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him.

Shane seemed so calm petting the old dog for the last time that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life-- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

If a dog was the teacher you would learn stuff like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.

Stop when you have had enough.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.