Snow Day

I LOVE the snow when there is no where that I have to be and I think that snow is an appropriate accessory for Christmas. That means that this morning I was ecstatic when I walked out my door to who knows how much snow! I'm just glad that I didn't have a timeline to dig my car out!

This is a video of Rush playing in the snow. I think it is the most hilarious thing to watch him literally hop around because the snow is way to deep for him. He loves the snow and he loves when anyone will throw him snowballs that he never can find. He really is just finding an excuse to bury his head in the snow and walk around. I just love him so much!
Sorry it's sideways, but it's pretty funny so crank your head to the left and press play!




He also loves when we shovel. He will wait so eagerly until you drop pounds of snow on top of him as he frantically tries to eat it before it hits the ground.






Needless to say, he is very tired after our snow day!

Santa's Helper

As some of you may know, I have been working up at the santa set at Valley Fair Mall. This job is perfect for me because I get a little bit of extra money coming in for the holidays and it also worked perfectly with my psycho school schedule. Originally it started out as me helping out my brother in law, Greg, but I think that this seasonal job has gotten me more in the Christmas spirit than anything else I could ever do. I just wanted to share some of the most precious experiences that I have had so far this season:

While I was at work today we got a group of like 8 little kids that were all cousins there with their aunt. They didn't have the money to get pictures taken, but they were able to still visit. There wasn't anyone else in line to see Santa at the time so we let this group take as much time as they wanted hanging out with Santa. The little kids in the group couldn't wait to sit on his lap and start rattling off their memorized lists. They took up the majority of the Santa's lap time. However, in the same group was a girl that couldn't have been more than ten. She is right at that age where she's too cool for everything and Christmas is beginning to lose that childhood magic that we all cherish so much. Although VERY reluctant, her aunt eventually convinced her to sit on Santa's lap. I am so blessed that I was standing right next to Santa when I heard her Christmas wish. She said, very quietly, "All I want is for my daddy to stop being sick all of the time. No more surgeries." Santa replied, "That just shows how wonderful of a person you are that you are thinking of someone else."
I had to go hide behind the register for a second so that I didn't burst into tears in front of that amazing little girl. She has probably dealt with more hard times than most children her age and unfortunately enough, it sounds like she the hard times are not over.I hope that wherever that little girl's father is that he knows how much his little girl loves him.

About ten minutes later I had another girl about the same age, maybe a little younger, come up to Santa and ask for her mom to get better. Santa asked if she wanted any toys and she said no, just her mom getting better could be her Christmas present. These children must be under so much stress and they are so selfless.

The last little child before our break had just lost his father and he seemed like he was kind of in a daze while he was waiting in line. When it was finally his turn, he lit up. He was about five so I don't know how much of his father's death and can understand at his age, but it was so precious to see him light up among all of the sadness that must be around him right now.

On a happier note, I had a group of about eight handicap adults come on to the set a couple of days ago. I started tearing up because of the sincerity in their joy. It was so precious to see people that were in their 30's and 40's still carrying that childhood magic of Christmas. You could tell that seeing Santa made their day.

Another benefit of working with Santa is that I am the coolest Aunt ever! Devin's niece would not believe that I work with Santa so she began to quiz be on Santa facts. Luckily for me, I love Christmas movies so I knew all of the answers to her questions. My favorite was when she asked me questions like, "Have you met Buddy the Elf?" and without hesitation said, "No, because Buddy moved to New York." After a series of questions, she finally believed me. She went from total disbelief to silence and awe. Her silence was broken by her making me promise to put in a good word for her with the big man :)

I still can't believe that the semester is over and Christmas is pretty much here. I'm sad that I am only working two more days, but I am so blessed that I am able to be surrounded by the little ones that make Christmas magical.




Did I mention how much I love this job?!

Black Friday

I can guarantee that we had a better Black Friday experience weather wise than all of our Utah friends. Devin and I "bundled up" in our fleeces and were perfectly content waiting outside at Target. We heard the news that Utah was nearing single digits and we felt very fortunate that Arizona was in the 40's at 3am. So yes, we waited at Target but we decided not to camp out. We really wanted to get a new TV this Black Friday, but all of the "amazing" deals were on brands that we had never heard of so we decided to keep looking around. We did however, get great deals on presents for almost everyone on our list this year. I made a list of everyone we were giving gifts to and the count got up in the twenties so Black Friday was a must! We had a couple of minor let downs (a long story would be sure to follow so I'll just have to tell you in person!) but overall Target was a success.
We went home and slept for a couple of hours and went on the mini-golf outing mentioned in my previous post. Then Devin convinced me to muster up enough courage to take on Walmart. Walmart on Black Friday has always seemed like the scariest thing someone could intentionally do to themselves, but it was later in the day so we went. We ended up finding more deals there than we had at Target. Without spoiling any gifts we got people, I can tell you about what we got for our home. We got a 46" Sony LCD TV and it is GREAT! We also got an LG Blu-Ray DVD player that can hook up to the internet so we can stream netflix straight to our TV...I can't wait! We also got a much needed printer. The printer was $20 and came with $30 worth of ink for free...I'd say we made out like bandits! We had a minor fiasco paying for our purchases because we were out of state and making a large purchase, VISA and UCCU thought our cards had been stolen. We had fraud services calling our phones non-stop and even after we verified who were were and verified the purchases, our cards were still frozen! We had to trick them by just going to the ATM and taking the money out that way. So luckily it all worked out and we got our TV we've been looking for for MONTHS! On the way down to Arizona Rush had the entire back seat, but on the way home, his luxury was compromised. We were just lucky to fit the TV in the back seat of my car with only 1" of clearance. We couldn't have planned it more perfectly if we had tried!

When we got back to Utah we rearranged everything and now our living room feels a lot more homey!

Thanksgiving 2010

This year for Thanksgiving, Devin and I ventured off on our own to visit my grandparents in Arizona. It was one of the best trips we've ever been on together. Devin was a trooper because he had just gotten back from working in California on Sunday at 5 am and we left Monday in the late afternoon. I wanted to get down there as soon as we could because we don't make it down there very often (Devin still hadn't even met them yet!) and I wanted to spend as much time with my grandparents as we could! It was so cute, when I told my grandma that we wanted to come, she said that she was tickled. I told Devin and he didn't believe that she would say tickled, but at Thanksgiving dinner, she said it again and he was amazed!
Our stay was very relaxing and we were able to bring Rush along! By the end of the trip, Rush was best friends with my grandparent's dog, Ben. Rush has so much fun having other dogs to run around with that he often forgets to settle down. But now that we are home, we are seeing the effects of the trip on Rush because he has been asleep non-stop since we got back. This is the position we find him in the majority of the time...

He had never been on a long car ride so on the way down he had a hard time falling asleep. I think that if he could talk he would have been constantly asking "Are we there yet." He never whined though and we were glad that he was invited!

Even though Rush can't talk, I know what his favorite part of the trip was. The doggy park. (I have to admit that it was one of my favorite parts of the trip too!) The Doggy Park has two fenced in areas where people can bring their dog(s) to run around with other dogs without leashes! It was amazing how well kept the area was and how many dogs were there! Pictures will come later, but while we were there, there were over 20 dogs! Rush was in HEAVEN! There were water bowls and tennis balls everywhere. Rush made so many friends and all of the adult loved him too! Every dog I saw, I wanted! There were about 4 other Shelties there and it was amazing how little Rush really is. I mean, we knew he was the runt of his litter, but compared to the other Shelties, Rush was dinky! Oh it was SO much fun!

Thanksgiving Day was great too! My Aunt Loraine, Uncle Randy, and Aunt Eileen came to my grandparent's house as well. It was fun for Devin to meet them and to share stories. (I got to show off all of my wedding pictures again and I appreciate their interest!) We ate and played games and watched the Macy's Parade. It was fun, but having all of my dad's siblings there made it hard that my parents weren't there as well! It was funny to hear stories about his childhood as the youngest of the family though! We had a really great time and my grandparents were so sweet and generous opening up their house to us.

The day after Thanksgiving was BLACK FRIDAY and I'll have to do an entire separate post, but Devin and I decided that we didn't want to waste our last full day there by sleeping so we slept for a little bit and then woke up at a decent hour. We all went mini-golfing and it was SO fun. To make all of you jealous I will let you know that Devin wore shorts and a T-shirt and didn't get cold once. I wore a light cardigan and got a little too warm. I wish I could move to Arizona in the winter and come back to Utah for the summers! That would be the life.

I guess I've gone on enough about our trip but it really was so amazing to take a little road trip with Devin to visit family. My Grandma said to me a couple days into our stay, "Well now we know why you wanted to come down here and show Devin off!" They just loved him and could tell how happy we were together. We had such a good time and we can't wait to take another trip down there!

Halloween Cake

I love Halloween! This was a cake that I made two years ago for my best friend Becky's Halloween party. I'm pretty proud of it considering that was two years ago and I feel like I've only gotten better!
I want to make a Halloween cake this year and I've got a couple of ideas, but I'm still open for new ideas. Go ahead, find a picture and challenge me! It can be fondant or butter cream but I'd have to say that I prefer working with fondant!

Books, Books, Books

In the last three weeks, I have had five midterms, three 300 page books to read, and too many papers to count. I'm not saying all of this to complain, but rather as an explanation as to where I disappeared to! I actually enjoy being busy, I just wish the stress that comes along with it would take a hike!
The three books I read have actually been the highlight of my school work. It was my favorite homework, but also my most time consuming homework. Over the summer I tried to read a lot and it was really the first time in my life that I was able to read for pure enjoyment. I am so grateful for the time I had over the summer to develop an interest in reading because it has come in handy this semester! I am so glad to be taking classes that I enjoy with material I can't wait to learn! (With the exception of one horrible, horrible class)I wanted to post something about the books that I've read so far so that anyone looking for good, powerful books could look into them.

Outliers: The Story of Success. By Malcolm Gladwell
This book which took home the #1 New York Times Bestseller for 11 consecutive weeks, was SO fun to read. This book basically gives several reasons how our nations most successful people got to the top. The reasons might surprise you. Malcolm goes on to explain that these people that seemingly are pure talent or have amazing knowledge and abilities have been given special opportunities (that were not earned) that allowed them to be as successful as they are. That may not be the most clear summary of the book, but it was highly enjoyable and the author had a great sense of humor. I can't wait to read his other books, "The Tipping Point," and "Blink" but they will probably have to wait until the summer or at least Christmas break!

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
This book was so powerful. This book is set up as a journal of the author's experiences posing as a black man in the south in the thick of black persecution. He dyes his skin by taking pills prescribed by a dermatologist and then using dye to make his skin even darker. By the end of his transformation, people that he had interacted with as a white man could no longer recognize him. He got a true and untainted perspective of how it felt to be discriminated against because of the color of your skin. This book recounts several experiences he had. This book was hard to read at times because it was painful to read about the things that he and the people around him experienced. This book does contain some language because the author "tells it like it is." I still loved it and would still recommend it!

There are no Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America by Alex Kotlowitz
This book goes into detail describing the life of two young colored boys with high dreams,growing up in the projects of Chicago in the 1980's. This book was powerful because it showed how discrimination strongly continued well after the Civil Rights Acts in the 1960's. It showed how helpless the people living in this area were and how they earnestly tried to make a better life for themselves. The two little boys promised themselves everyday that they would get out of the projects and graduate high school. Gangs were prevalent in their neighborhood and fatal shootings were very common especially in the summer months. This book depicts how even the youngest, most innocent children are forced to grow up as they watch their friends, neighborhood, and families deteriorate all around them. I loved this book, but I was so sad reading it wishing that the children of the projects could just relax and be children without fear of their lives. So powerful.


I loved all three of these books and I am so grateful because it made reading them enjoyable. I usually hate being forced to read something, but I couldn't put any of these books down. I think I'm going to write a little bit about every book I read just so that I can look back and remember them.

October 5th

I meant to write this yesterday but I'm having a hard time keeping up with the clock this week.
Anyways, I dropped by my parent's house yesterday where my mom reminded me what day it was. October 5th. This may not mean much to most people, but for me, that's the day I became part of my family. No, it's not my birthday, it's much more important than that. I was adopted when I was four and October 5th was the day that my (and my sister, Renee) adoption was official. In my family, we celebrated October 5th because that was the day our family was completed. I remember being told by my case workers that Renee and I were only living with our foster parents until they could find us a forever family, and we never quite felt like we belonged until we were adopted into our "forever family."
That day has affected everything about who I am. Everyone reading this, I know you as a result of that day. If my parent's had not adopted me, I would have grown up in poverty, with no real advantage in this life. Words cannot describe how blessed I feel. Thank you mom and dad for having that feeling that your family of 5 was missing someone and I'm grateful that the Lord placed Renee and I into the family to fill that void!

Happy Children's Day (yesterday)!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

The day has finally come that I get to go down to California and meet up with Devin to bring that boy home! It's been a long month without him but there have been hidden blessings in his absence...I feel like our love has grown stronger and the extra money definitely isn't a bad thing either! It was so weird living completely alone for an entire month. I've always either lived with my family, roommates, or Devin, but never completely alone. I didn't get scared even once (I think it had something to do with living near Atlanta for four months:)

This is the first time in my life that I'm kind of nervous to fly! I've always loved flying and having flown pretty much around the world, I'm a pretty seasoned flyer! BUT I had to read this book this last week for one of my classes and there was an entire chapter about plane crashes! I can't help but feel a twinge of nervousness! I've even thought out that since my flight is short,if I we crash, the plane won't catch fire as fast because there won't be as much jet fuel! haha I'm not super nervous but enough that I've thought about it!

Well, tomorrow we are going to Disneyland and the significance of this is that it will be my first time to Disneyland. Before everyone chokes or gasps because they can't imagine life without Disneyland, I can explain! I grew up in Wisconsin which is 20+ hours from Disney World and 35+ hours from Disneyland and with a family of 7, flying there wasn't really an option! I moved here in high school and got too involved with swimming and singing and everything else to make a trip down there! When Devin's family found out that I had never been, it pretty much brought them to tears. Even now after they are all aware of that fact, they are still shocked when I remind them that I have no idea what they are talking about! They go to Disneyland AT LEAST once a year and Devin's little 6 month old nephew has already been twice. I've been one-upped by a baby :(

Also, possibly on the agenda is Six Flags Magic Mountain! Devin and I got season passes to Six Flags in Georgia and we realized that the pass works at every park! We may be too tired from Disneyland to make it up there but it'll be fun and FREE!


So, I'm flying out there, we're going to Disneyland and I'm driving back with Devin. We're going to break up the driving by stopping in Vegas and I'm so excited! Vegas is always fun and it'll be nice not to drive the whole way in one day. As most of you will recall, Devin and I have done our fair share of driving in the last couple of months!

SOOOO...I guess we'll be back to real life on Tuesday, but until then...Devin and I are going to be out having the time of our lives! WOO HOO!

Remembering 09-09-09

Two days ago was Devin and my one year anniversary. I cannot believe how fast it went! It seems like yesterday we were surrounded by our family and closest friends being married in the Temple for eternity. Unfortunately, Devin is working in LA for the whole month of September, so we have not officially celebrated our anniversary yet, but that will make seeing him at the end of this month that much better.
I can't wait for what the future holds for us! I can't wait until we buy a house and have children and any other blessings the Lord gives us!

Moving In and Heading Out

Great News
Devin and I are moving into our apartment today! We will be living in the basement apartment of Devin's Dad's rental property. This is where we lived before we moved to Georgia and walking into the apartment brought back so many precious memories from our first married year! I'm so excited!

Horrific News
Devin will be leaving for LA tomorrow (Wednesday) to install more security systems. The original plan, after much prayer and careful consideration of all aspects of our lives, was for Devin to attend classes Monday and Wednesday at UVU and drive down to LA to work Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and drive home Sunday. However, last night, one of Devin's regional bosses pleaded with him to stay for the whole month and forgo school this semester. (Devin was only able to get into 2 classes anyway). He was made an offer that he couldn't pass up so here we are about to say goodbye for a month. I try not to think about it because the thought of him gone for a whole month just makes me cry.
Thinking positively, the good that will come out of this stinky situation is:
1) He will make very good money
2) He will still be able to take the same classes, just crammed into the second block of this semester.
3) I will fly down halfway through the month to visit and to CELEBRATE OUR 1 YEAR!
4) I'm taking a SUPER heavy school load so I will be plenty busy with reading and writing papers!

Although these are lame, they are the happy things that I will be clinging to for the next month! Rush and I will desperately miss Devin!

Savannah

Savannah was so pretty but I didn't get a lot of pictures around the city. We went down there without any plans so when we weren't at the beach (see Tybee Island post) or at the Wormsloe Planatation (see below), then we were just driving around. This sounds boring, but Savannah is actually set up in a way that driving around in circles is not only enjoyable, but educational. The City of Savannah has a ton of roundabouts with statues and parks in the center of them. So we literally drove around in circles. The houses there were so pretty and classy. Then we went out to dinner at Outback and the best part of that was that APX paid for it (we had dinner incentive money and half the office with us!) Then we took a walk down Riverstreet, which is literally a street with cute shops, diners, and bars along the river. The sun was setting and a saxophonist was playing songs to a huge crowd. It was so fun because he knew tons of songs and would play songs that matched the people that walked by. A woman dressed in all black walked by and he started playing the Darth Vader anthem. A woman dressed in a pink t-shirt and matching pink hat walked by and he played the Pink Panther theme song. A couple walked by hand in hand and he played "When I Fall in Love." He was very entertaining.

Wormsloe Plantation Ruins

While we were in Savannah driving around aimlessly finding things to do, we came across the Wormsloe Historic Site. It was $5 a person and so Devin, me, Dane, Eric, and Jeremy decided to soak up some history. We drove through an archway of live oaks covered in Spanish moss to get to the mini museum where we watched a short (low budget) production about the first settlers. The museum consisted of one room in which different artifacts dug up from the were displayed. It turns out that the Wormsloe Plantation was home to Noble Jones, a settler of the first Georgia colony. Noble Jones used tabby, a mixture of limestone, sand, and shells, to build fortifications at Wormsloe in 1740 for the defense of Savannah. In 1793, Noble Jones constructed new homes out of the tabby mixture and parts of the ruins are still standing today! They are the oldest structures in Georgia.




After the one roomed museum, we went on a mile nature walk in which we were able to see the ruins and the burial site for Noble Jones. Along the trail there were also homes built recently to show visitors what the homes looked like back then. The boys had fun pretending to sell a security system to the settlers and trying to upgrade them glass breaks for their two glass-less windows. They thoroughly investigated the one room home to find the perfect location for the panel...they're goofs!





Unfortunately, being the only girl also meant being subject to boy-entertainment including torturing the BIGGEST, UGLIEST, HAIRIEST and MOST COLORFUL spider I have EVER seen in the wild. They spent a good 15 minutes oogliing over it at a distance until one of the boys decided to ruin it's hard spun nest and capture it on a stick. It was pretty funny though because I have never seen a guy afraid of a spider until that day. Haha they were freaking out! Now they know how I feel every time I see ANY spider! I definately made sure to keep a safe distance (unless I was snapping a picture). Who knows what kind of horrible pain a spider like that could inflict! Sorry some of them are a little blurry! I was a little too concerned with not dying to make sure they weren't fuzzy!



I can't leave out the hermit crabs! While we were walking, the boys were once again sidetracked by hundreds of hermit crabs. I guess I can't blame them for that one though, because they were SO cool! There was a tree growing sideways over a sandy area covered in hundreds upon hundreds of holes in which little crabs were poking their heads in and out of. They all had one huge claw and one tiny claw and enjoyed walking sideways. I wasn't able to get good pictures because the crabs totally blend in to the sand. After oogling over these creatures, the boys once again began torturing these creatures. (Mothers of little boys-you think they grow up fast, but the truth is that they never do!) After at least another 15 minute detour, I knew we had to keep going. The only way to tear them away from their endeavors was to continue walking and saying come on, the park closed a half hour ago! I seriously felt like a sheep herder. Our 1 mile walk literally turned into an hour and a half adventure and I can guarantee that if you ask any of those boys what their favorite part was, they wouldn't list the tabby ruins or the ancient live oaks, but the deadly looking spiders and the hermit crabs!

Funny, Funny

Fun times at Tybee Beach

Tybee Island Beach

Tybee Island sits right on the Atlantic Ocean and is just east of Savannah. This past weekend, we took a mini trip to Savannah so we made sure to drive out to the beach! The water was SO warm and we definitely had a lot of fun!

PUPPY-sitting

This is my new friend CJ. He is 8 weeks old and his daddy, Clayton, is a salesman for APX. This means that he is gone all day and needs me to watch him. CJ and I are fast becoming bestest buds. He cuddles with me and is always inventing new games! I just love him! Clayton (CJ's actual owner) told me that if CJ is ever really bad and I need to call him by his full name it is Clayton Junior. When CJ got dropped off this morning he went crazy when he saw me! He couldn't stop jumping on me and licking me! I never want him to grow up!