Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays to all of our friends and family! You are all so good to me and drey! I am reminded every year at this time how good people really are. So i just wanted to post and tell each of you how much i appreciate all you've done for me.

I am so lucky to have the co-workers I do that are some of my best friends. They are my therapists, my counselors, my reality checkers and the people i turn to for honest opinions. I could never have gotten as far as i have with out so many of them. They never cease to amaze me with their abilities and how giving they are. They have helped me out more than they realize and i can only hope to be as good as people and nurses as they are. They are truly inspiring people and i'm lucky to know em...

My life long friends... My crazy crew... We are all so different but i love them all so much... They have been such accepting and good friends for the last 15 years. We've been through so much together. Even though our lives are crazy and i hardly get to see them, i can't imagine not being able to call and gripe about something and them telling me how it is. They have been there for me through some of my roughest times and i wouldn't be who i am without any of them.

And last, but definitely not least.... my family. Crazy as they are... they are mine, and i don't know where i'd be without them. My family is truly the fam that puts the 'fun' in dysfunctional... they have been the best sisters, brothers and parents i could have ever asked for. Although i am a daddy's girl at heart, my mom is my hero. She may think i'm trying to score some cool xmas present here, but its true. What would i do without my mom?! My walking stressball, never stopping, hard working, extremely talented mother. Shes such a good example to me and the best person i know...I love you mom! And my dad.. although i can't even begin to comprehend what he deals with every day, he still is my rock. i've always been John's girl and always will be. Although its hard, i am so lucky to be here with him every day that i am, and i hate when i forget that. He was, and still is, the best man i know. He would've done anything for me, i hope that he knows how good of a dad he was and what a great guy he was too. People will still tell me stories to this day that remind me of how giving he was.

So, now i'm done being all sappy... Here's my christmas card to those who don't get one, cause i'm too late and too cheap to send them...

(thanks so much again to kenz & kiley who took are kickin family pics for me!)

wrestlings over...

i must admit i'm sad. i loved watching this. it was my favorite, maybe cause the season was so short.... but here are some pictures of the boys at their wrestling tournament. grandpa john even came to watch! i can't wait til next year. they did so good! its been great for both of them!

Loopholes

You noticed how many loopholes there are to things now days? i have... and i learned this the hard way today...
So when my lap top began to crash i backed all my stuff up onto a hard drive... this was great. i could plug it in to whatever computer and have all my pictures and stuff right there. well last night while i was uploading pictures the hard drive decided to quit working...
So i ejected it, plugged it back in and of course... it wouldn't work. this hard drive is only two months old so its under warranty no big deal...... or so i thought.
i call the company this morning and
"you have a no workeen har dribe?" he asks.... "yes" (this was just the beginning of a wonderful conversation....) but cutting to the point, they would replace my hard drive because its still under warranty.
" so you'll put all my stuff on the new one?" i ask.
"oh no.. you need dayta backup it cost monee" "well how much?" "eet star at seben hunred dollars and deepeneen on how much work eet can be up to sirty nine hunred dollars"................
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"i'm sorry, i just had to pick my stomach out of my butt, but did you say it would cost ME '$700.00' and it could be up to $3900.00 to replace your crappy hard drive that i bought for $130.00!?!"

"yes mam"
... click....

so off i go to visit the geek squad....
he tests it out and of course it has to be sent out to recover all my data from it but its kind of expensive. "how much?" about two hundred and fifty. ok. i can handle that. this is my life line here i need it. so he gives me adivce on the whole 'shoulda coulda woulda' predicament i'm in.

back up your computer... well thats what this is...
then you back up your back up.... well that seems redundant but i sure will from now on. thanks.
are there any hard drives that guarantee their products and if not they back them up for you?
oh no. none of them do. its one of those loopholes they use to make money. thats why they want 700$ and we only charge 250$....
loophole... if i hear this word ever again i will cringe...


so the point. to all my photog friends and friends that use external hard drives.... back them up cause you will pay out the .... if they break.....due to, a loophole.


oh and happy holidays everyone :)

the girls reunion....

so Val is in town for Thanksgiving from Vegas so we decided to get all the girls together since its been since Val was like 5 months pregnant since we'd all been together... everyone laughed when i said to meet at fat jacks, but its been a couple years since Val had some so we did. it was so fun too see everyone and Drey even took some pictures of us!

wrestling......

ya buddy! i love to watch this... its classic... here are some pictures, i'm sure i'll keep you updated...

the little things that make you go...... gaaaah!

...... Like for instance.... i had one of my huge twist top rock stars while driving around taking pictures yesterday. Needless to say while i was wondering around i had to go to the bathroom. So i'm bookin it to the nearest gas station, i grab two dollars so i can buy something when i'm done. (I always feel guilty just using their bathroom.) So i get to the bathroom, its locked. theres a sign on it, 'Key for Bathroom is with Cashier'. So i go wait in line so i can ask. The guy cashier appeared to be a new one, so the girl mopping came and opened her register to help me. So when i asked for the key to the bathroom she rolls her eyes and reaches to get it, and looks around. "Someone must be in there already you'll have to wait."
'THANK YOU!' i smiled as big as i could. So i go wait by the bathroom, i'm waiting...... waiting...... waiting....... thinking at this point i should have just gone outside.... then the door clicks open... with a breeze and a foul sting in my nostrils a lady came hobbling out and says "Oh i'm sorry dear were you waiting?" 'No, i was just looking at these salads' i pretended to bend down and look at lettuce and onions and whatever else disgusting items people throw on em.. so, i wasn't even gonna be nice and buy anything after rude mopper and i for sure was not going to use that bathroom!

So i drive along to the next nearest gas station, a maverick. I look for the restroom sign and book it cause the tickle in my stomach is about to make me puke i have to pee so bad. i open the door, find a stall, and without even thinking.... i sit on a nice, WARM toilet seat.... gaaaaah! i hurry and squat like i normally do in public restrooms but by this time the damage was already done. Nothing more lovely then wondering how this toilet seat came to be so warm, so my need to puke turned from the tickle in my stomach to the gag reflex i couldn't control.....


i will leave you with this quote:


"its the little moments that make life big."

little late... so what

some pictures from our halloween day... Drey, also known as Darth Vader, had a kindergarten program and did so good on his part! then he had a parade at school. then we went to porters parade, and finally off to trunk or treat... i'm glad halloweening is over... i'm not the biggest halloweener around....

who lives here?........

i walked outside today.... and this is what i saw....

no, we are not white trash.... and no.... a mail'woman' does not live at this residence.......

and yes... this is infact.... a mail box....

mind you i bought this 'mailwoman' a new one like two mothers day's ago, but the bro hasn't put it up... maybe its time he did....

drey's new suit....

so i finally got him out of the super hero suit.... last sunday was Drey's primary program, and yes, i even woke up at 9a.m. on my only day off to go. but saturday night after work i had to go buy him some new church clothes cause his are to small, or too big, and the one good pair of dress pants he had have up and disappeared. my mom had said how drey wanted a suit like grandpa johns, so i decided to grab one. they were pretty dang cute. so after church we went to show Nae at the hospital how cute he looked. of course my camera was with me and i was glad, cause when we pulled up there was the CUTEST old car in the parking lot! SCORE! i need to find out who's it is and use it again! but we took some more in the common's area and i think he looks all growed up big! especially with his new hair cut... ;)

spider man....

so my son hit one of those stages where he ran around in the same clothes for 8 days straight... yeah, its great.. drey's choice of wear everywhere i can outfit? yes it was spider man and the halloween costume from LAST YEAR! so its a little "snug" to say it nicely... anyways, one day he's showing me how he REALLY is spiderman!

"watch me mom".....this is what i saw in the hallway...

i swear....

ooooohhhhhh yeah!

so it has probably been since around the time this photo was taken since this happened to me...

i've been used to the kick in the crotch that usually happens when buying gas, but oh no, not today. You see Crest, the wonderful gas station where i'm employed, has this little marketing thing goin on. If you pay cash for your gas, you get 7 cents off gallon. Now this may not seem like such a big deal to some, but when gas is $3.05/gallon, do the math.... Thats right, i paid $2.98/gallon. i'm sorry, but i was pretty dang excited. I can't remember the last time i paid under $3/gallon! too bad the only one to celebrate with me was lil Red... but since i saved SO much, i decided to feed my addiction and splurge on a refil!

...and for all you pay at the pumpers with debit cards, if you get a sinclair card you save 10 cents a gallon... just thought i'd share the love... so go visit crest, you may be as excited as me!

big red barn....

drey and i's trip to the big red barn. we went for ice cream and i explored for pictures of course. and of course drey was being a dork as usual. his new pose consists of closing his eyes and sticking his lips out.... i'm having to trick him into cute pictures. but he learned all about sap, and daddy long leg spiders. at one point he screamed just like a girl. i was so proud..... the rest are posted on the imaj blog..

FALL = the best time of the year

didn't you want a ticket to the gun show?

oh yes, i love the fall! love the colors, LOVE the weather and its volleyball season of course! drey wanted to go for a ride up the canyon to see the leaves changing colors. so we made the trip up and it was a blast. we walked throught the creek and drey learned all about 'moss' and "private property" and how to crawl under barbed wire... you know, lifes little lessons.... and i can never pass up a chance to take his pictures, he was so outta control running around though that every picture he was pullin a face, but i think i caught his personality a little better than usual. his favorite part was finding the little acorns and snail shell.. boys will be boys... and had to save them so he could run home and show nana... and he of course didn't like the outfit i picked out, so he ended up in his white under shirt... i swear... but you should all head up the canyon, its beautiful right now!

dangit.... i kinda like this kid...

is it just me? or is he pretty dang cute. i didn't plan on liking this "third born" of mine. cause i'm not big into the newborn stuff... why do i work where i do? but "Red," as i like to call him, is just getting to that fun age. so when the boys got their long, VERY LONG, anticipated Darth Vader & Storm Trooper costumes, jodi had me take some pictures of them, so i took some of red in his costume too... he's so funny...

six fantastic things about me

i decided to change the title, because there is nothing unspectacular about me... or my life.... yes its true. i have the best life. my kids is the best kid ever. i have the best job ever. i just love doing the things i love for fun! .....

ok, i'm done making fun.

fantastic quirk #1:
i'm 26 and still bite my nails

quirk #2:
i taught my kid in order to save time and water just to pee in the shower.

quirk #3:
i am one of the pickiest eaters ever, to this day my mom will still ask me if i want lettuce on my hamburgers.

quirk #4:
my cell phone holder is my cleavage.

quirk #5:
i am completely in love and addicted to guitar hero on my wii. (my sister also left out the quirk that she plays the star wars lego game on the wii more than the boys)

quirk #6:
apparently, due to popular belief, i argue. A LOT. i quite possibly can find an arguement in just about anything.

now i tag...

kal, mac, nae, tiff, whit, sheila

soccer

for those that know me, know i'm not a huge soccer fan. i have no desire to run that long or watch someone run that long. imagine working your butt off to get the ball within feet of a goal only to have someone boot it clear back to where you just came from.... nope, this sport was never meant for me...

that being said, my sister decided to sign the boys up for soccer... unfortunately i had rarely been able to go cause of work and such. so last week i finally got to go to a game. here's the rundown:

it was crappy weather to begin with, so i hoped it would get rained out.... Nope... they play rain or shine....

my kid was already flushed and sweating by the time i got there because some blonde 'Mia Hamm' was working the rest of the 5 year olds over.

so drey's team, yellow on this particular day, had a "throw in". (remember i don't know this sport or what these actions are called.) so the yellow boy throws it in, only to hit a yellow girl right in the face.... yes this was sad, not funny in the slightest!

but the crisis on the yellow team was eventually resolved. my sister was not kidding when she said she used the "swarm method." imagine the old cartoons where the swarm of bee's followed whomever they were after... thats the lil yellow team with the ball... and i swear they were actually buzzing... except for the few that chose to sit down on the field for a rest, or kind of just look at the cloudy sky with their fingers in their mouths, they didn't buzz. so, i call drey over at half time and ask, "is that little blonde girl better than you!?" to which he reply's "NO!" "then don't let her take the ball from you again!" i said, as any good mother would... so off he ran like my lil david beckham. so then the blue team gets the opportunity of a "goalie kick?" (reminder, i don't know soccer terms.) so he begins to back up towards the goal, which mind you is only 4 feet tall and maybe 3 feet wide... how they ever score a goal is beyond me, unless your david beckham or mia hamm of course ;)... so he's backing up for some speed and takes off at the ball. that dang huge net grabbed his cleat and face planted him right into the grass! ( i swear i did not laugh!) i only wished my camera was aimed at the right place, but unfortunatey was not. so the goalie brushed off the grass and tried again, succes for sure.

off runs lil mia hamm and david beckham. it was a battle for sure...

mia was pushing down kids on her own blue team in pursuit of a goal! so blue coach put her at goalie.

then up runs lil david beckham holding his side saying, "mom!.... my side hurts..... i can't.... breathe... good..." so i said, "good, that means your workin hard!"
so three whistles are blown, and the game is over... team yellow give team blue a cheer and they proceed to the best part of the game... the hand shake! it was about a 10 minute process for each child to find every child on the other team and give them a personal hand shake. what sportsmanship! so as the rain begins to drizzle Coach yellow takes team over for their treats, giant otter pops. who brings giant otter pops for treats on a day with rainy weather!?.... yes it was me....