We're Back

We are back from our fabulous Hawaiian Vacation and now need another vacation to catch up on sleep and recoup from this vacation. Don't worry pictures are coming but I need a nap first!!

Fun exercise...Getting to know you!!

So if you read this you have been tagged. Let's see how much we can learn about each other!Then at the end, tell us which of these things that you haven't done but really really want to. If there isn't anything on the list you really want to do that you haven't done tell us what it is.

(X) Gone on a blind date

(X) Skipped school

(X) Watched someone die

(X) Been to Canada

(X) Been to Mexico

(X) Been to Florida

(X) Been on a plane

(X) Been lost

(X) Been on the opposite side of the country

(X) Gone to Washington , DC

(X) Swam in the ocean

(X) Cried yourself to sleep

(X) Played cops and robbers

(X) Recently colored with crayons

( ) Been to Europe

( ) Been to Asia

( ) Saved a life

( ) Saved an animal's life

( ) SCUBA Dived

( ) Pilot an airplane

(X) Walked on a frozen lake

( ) Drank too much

(X) Hitch Hiked

(X) Sang Karaoke

(X) Paid for a meal with coins only?

(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?

(X) Made prank phone calls

(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose

(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue

(X) Danced in the rain

(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus

(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe

( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you cared about

(X) Blown bubbles

(X) Gone ice-skating

(X) Gone roller skating

(X) Gone to the movies

1. Any nicknames? Stace

2. Mother's name? Margaret

3. Favorite Drink? Strawberry Limeade from Sonic

4. Tattoos? No

5. Body Piercing? Just my ears.

6. How much do you love your job? Since it's staying at home with my kids...LOVE IT!!

7. Birthplace? Kentucky

8. Favorite vacation spot? Caribbean

9. Ever been to Africa ? No

10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Yes

11. Ever been on TV? Yes

12. Ever been in a car accident? Yes

13. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? 4 doors

15. Favorite Salad Dressing? Poppy seed

16. Favorite pie? Fresh Strawberry

17. Favorite number? 8

18. Favorite movie? Honestly don't have just one

19. Favorite holiday? Christmas

20. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake

21. Favorite food? Crab legs

22. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

23. Favorite brand of body wash? Bath and Body Works

24.. Favorite toothpaste? Whatever Brandon gets

25. Favorite smell? Vanilla

26. What do you do to relax? Put the kids to bed and do something that takes no effort

27. How do you see yourself in 10 years? More in shape, less stressed, and maybe back in school just to take classes for the heck of it

I really want to Scuba! I think the next thing I will work on is getting certified, especially before I take another beach vacation. I would also like to go to Africa and Europe.

He's Walking

My baby boy is walking. He's been taking more and more steps by himself and today I was able to capture it. He is starting to try and stay up and take steps more then crawling, but if something needs to be gotten in a hurry he still prefers to crawl. I was prepared for him to start walking while we were in Hawaii but I'm really happy I was able to see it rather then hear about it. Good going Beckam! You're growing up so fast.

Plate Overflowing

We are on the verge of leaving for Hawaii and so much needs to be done and the stress level is rising. Thank goodness for lists because they are all that is keeping my sanity in tact. My plate was a little more overflowing last week before I kicked somethings off until we get back from our vacation. I was trying to get the whole house photographed and a website up, but we're not going to really work on getting our place out there until after we get back, so I figured worrying about these couple of projects could wait until we get back as well. Now I just have to worry about getting the kids packed - they are not going to Hawaii just to be watched, getting me packed, checking what Brandon packed and make sure it works for what we have planned (yes I do this for every trip and there are times I've remembered some things for him), getting the laundry done so we can all get packed, get essential items together for the kids - ie toys, sippies, blankets, and bribe toys for Brylie, wash the dishes (so I don't have anything growing in my sink when I get back), clean out the fridge (so once again I don't have things growing when I get back), and make a last minute trip to the store. The best part is I have less then 20 hours to get it all done. Also, confession time, I'm a little bit thorough (Brandon would call it obsessive) with packing for the kids. I already think that whoever watches them is doing me a gigantic favor so I don't want to place any undo burden on them with the kids. So just know if you watch my kids in the future for an extended period of time they will come with excess clothes, diapers, toys, medicine, and excess insight into their personalities, their likes and dislikes, their schedule, and any other tidbits I think may make it easier to handle them all wrapped up in a binder. (Let's face it on any given day I can barely handle them and I'm around them 24/7.) It's not that I think people can't watch my kids, but I don't want people cursing my name repeatedly while they are watching my kids. The vacation is worth all the effort, but man it's a hassle getting there.

Jog that Memory

So my friend had this on her blog, and thought I would join in fun and do the same. It was fun to think of all the memories we had and all the crazy and fun things we had done toghether. So here it goes.....

1. Add a comment of a memory you have of the two of us together. It doesn't matter if you know me very well or just a little, it can be anything. It can be a recent memory or from way back. Once you leave a comment I will assume you are playing too.

2. Add these instructions to you own post and wait for the memories to start rolling in.

Today I'm Thankful For...

A few months ago someone if Relief Society talked about the Thankful journal they kept. She said no matter what the day was like she wrote down three things she was thankful for that day everyday. I'm not the best about keeping journals but for some reason I thought this would be a good idea to start. It took me a couple of weeks to start, but since then I've actually kept it everyday. Coming up with three things to write a day seemed a lot less daunting to keep up on then trying to sum up a full day, but there are days when three things don't come so easily. I'm still glad I have my thankful things to look back on such as being thankful for a husband who changes diapers, Sonic Happy hour, for a daughter who loves to run errands, and that tonight is not every night. If you want to do a fun experiment and have something fun to look back on, start a Thankful Journal.

Expectations - a little rant

The people that really know me know I try to live up to any expectation I know is put on me. If I know something is expected of me or I'm expected to live by a certain policy or rule, I try my hardest to meet it or live by it. And if I know there is something expected of me and I don't live up to it then I suffer the consequence. What really irks me and causes me to loose it is when I'm expected to live up to or by something that I have no idea exists. My feeling is if you expect something from me then fill me in, tell me what you want, etc. otherwise I can't be held to it and if it's not met, it's your fault. Such an instance occurred this week.

I found some items that I had meant to return to a store I frequent quite regularly. I must admit I had had these items for quite a while and honestly thought I had already returned them. When I saw that I still had the receipt for all the items I decided to try and return them. I scoured the receipt for a return policy, and return by date, or a receipt expiration date. There were none of these to be found so I thought I could return these things anytime, much like the Gap did until about a year ago. With my items and receipt in hand I headed to the store just to be told at the entrance they had a 90 day return policy. I asked where this policy was posted because it wasn't anywhere on the receipt or at their registers. They told me I could go to Customer Service (big fat joke of a name) and see what they would say. So I headed to Customer Service and there on the wall behind the register was the return policy. When they denied my return I asked again where, other then in Customer Service, was their policy posted and they said no where but because they had it posted here they could enforce it. Are you kidding me? After a couple of I understand but there's nothing I can do and because the line was growing quite long behind me, I decided not to pursue it any further with the customer service person.

As I was leaving I passed the little booth thing where other workers are standing and asked how I could talk to the manager (yeah I was miffed about this) and the lady asked how she could help. I went on to explain that I didn't see how I could be held to a policy that I didn't even know existed until I tried to return something. I pointed out that it wasn't at their registers and it wasn't anywhere on their receipt. She told me that it was their store's policy and not everyone needed to know about it because not everyone returned things. Once again...Are you kidding me? So now I have to eat the cost of the items because of a policy that I didn't even know existed and had no way of finding out existed except to visit their Customer service, which I know for everyone else must be a common occurrence. And I am a slave to this store at least for a few more months since it's the only place that provides what Beckam eats. So for the time being or until I know I'm not going to ever have to return anything there again, Brandon will be making the purchases there.

Happy Birthday USA

This year for the 4th of July we decided to join in some of the festivities our local communities put on. I'm very thankful that the main festivities we thought the kids would enjoy didn't start until 6pm so we didn't have to be outside in the blazing heat of the day. After getting some stuff done around the house, running some errands, and Brylie taking a late nap, we headed off for the parade and other activities. After catching the tail end of the parade, we went and staked out our picnic/watching fireworks spot and took Brylie to have some fun on the bounce houses. After that we came back to our great spot, enjoyed our dinner and snacks and waited for the fireworks to start. This was the first year we'd kept Brylie up to watch the fireworks, and she really doesn't like loud noises, so I was kind of worried how she would react when they started. I was thrilled when she loved them and didn't mind the noise at all. She kept commenting on how big and colorful they were. Beckam on the other hand could have cared less. I thought he would be mesmerized by them, but all he wanted to do was crawl around. He didn't give the fireworks a second look. We had a great 4th of July.

(I need to add Brylie calls the things in her hair her cheerleaders. I guess they look like pom poms to her.)

I'm so grateful for this land we live in and all the freedoms I enjoy because of it. I can't wait to teach my children about this country we live in and how lucky they are to be part of it.

For Sale

We're finally biting the bullet and selling our townhouse. We have more then outgrown it and with Brylie more then wanting a dog, we need a house with a real yard. (Brandon has agreed to the dog, I haven't!) Since Brandon is happy at his new job and plans on staying there for awhile, we feel pretty certain we will be staying in the Salt Lake valley for the foreseeable future. With that decision made I can start looking for a house. We were suppose to have our first showing Monday (which sent both Brandon and I into a cleaning/packing frenzy), but it was rescheduled last minute to Saturday. Here's to the fun of selling a house.