Alright, Alright!!

I've been reprimanded! I was tagged FOREVER ago but never got around to it and then I FORGOT (gasp!!)! Afton has just reminded me - SO, without further ado, here is ME in a nutshell! =)

I've been tagged by both Susan and Jill to post 7 random facts about myself - so here goes! AND - I'm going to do my best to shock and amaze!

1. I am about to own up to several bad habits such as: heal picking, nail biting, lip picking, nose picking, zit popping, AND to Nathan's chagrin - gum poking. Are you sufficiently grossed out by me? No? WELL, what if I told you that I have no qualms about picking OTHER peoples heals, nails, and zits? I have to know them pretty well though. Does that make me a little less disgusting?

2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE babies. Seriously - how can I ever be done having kids?

3. I do NOT miss high school. I miss the people - but not that time in my life. Thank goodness for Mandi!

4. I love hanging out with myself. =) I really love to be social and have friends but I really don't mind going shopping or out to eat by myself or just sitting home and reading or something.

5. I can be really bashful.

6. I like to always have a book that I'm reading.

7. I like my house to be CLEAN.

AND tagged by Jenny

Jobs I've held:
1. Subway sandwich artist - AND A DANG GOOD ONE AT THAT!!
2. Customer service representative at AXXESS Technologies
3. Sonic Carhop
4. Dental office - sterilization tech, front office odd job girl
5. Front office person at a dental office in Tucson

Places to go for a weekend getaway:
1. A hotel - any hotel! minus the kids.
2. To visit a friend. Sumer? JJ? - are you guys ready for us yet?? =) Haha!
3. The Beach
4. Disneyland
I would say AZ or ID but a weekend is just not long enough for that!! =)

Movies I Can Watch Over & Over:
1. Chick Flicks
2. Lord of the Rings - I can't get enough of the elf and his arrows!! =)
3. The Count of Monte Cristo
4. The Emperor's New Groove
5. Veggie Tales Silly Song Countdown
6. GOOD GRIEF! Let me just put you out of your misery and tell you that I LOVE movies and if we keep going with this you'll still be reading at midnight! =) It's a good think there isn't a question about books!

My Guilty Pleasures:
1. Ice-cream - CHOCOLATE ice-cream - pretty much on a daily basis. I love that stuff.
2. Massages and pedicures. Unfortunately I don't get to indulge in this pleasure too often.
3. Girl's nights out
4. FOOD.
5. Friends the TV show
6. The song - BABY GOT BACK. Seriously - it is so much fun but I can't even listen to it anymore because I feel so guilty. Have you ever listened to the words in that song?? YIKES!

Places I Have Lived:
1. Mesa, AZ
2. Greenville, NC
3. Gilbert, AZ
4. Tucson, AZ
5. West Hartford, CT

What were most likely the first things you thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time?
1.Gosh - he's cute and tons of fun! Watch. I'll probably end up marrying him. =)

Places I have Been on Vacation?
1. California - who hasn't?
2. Utah
3. Mexico
4. New Mexico
5. I consider our move across country to be a vacation! We did a lot of fun things on the way.
6. Cancun, MX
7. All over New England
8. Idaho

Favorite Foods
1. Hamburgers!
2. Chimichangas!
3. cereal
4. macaroni and tomato juice

If in a "jam" with your spouse, what tactics do you use to get out of the doghouse?
1. Apologize - it never, ever fails

Websites I visit (almost daily)
1. Hotmail
2. Google reader - everyone's blogs
3. Yahoo
4. MSN

Best 1st kiss landmarks.
Um - I don't really get this question. Am I supposed to choose the most romantic place I had a first kiss??

Places I'd Rather Be right now
1. Reading
2. Watching Lost
3. On a date with Nathan
4. Cancun

And there you go! I'd love to hear about you if you feel up to it! See ya!

5 months later...

Well - I downloaded tons of digital scrapbooking stuff back in March in hopes that I would get going on it. I don't know if you remember but I ran into some serious road blocks while trying to figure out Photoshop 7 so I pretty much gave up! Anyway - I decided to finish what I started - thus the new blog header. It's pretty ametuer, I know! It's my first attempt at anything digital so I'm totally proud of it and embarrassed of it at the same time. =) I can't figure out how to center it (any tips??) - oh well! Here's hoping I come up with something even more spiffy in the future!! See ya!

Camping!!

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We FINALLY got a chance to do a little camping and we took it!! We went to Cape Cod and camped at the same place we camped at last summer because we liked it so much. We got a nice campsite again and had such fun! We spent most of our time at this little beach called Wood Neck Beach. It is perfect for kids because it has an inlet (I think that's the word) that stays shallow and has tons of hermit crabs and other ocean wildlife. We were also lucky enough to find a HUGE blue crab! We got a brave little boy to catch it for us! We got a picture of it once it was in a bucket. You should have seen the fight he put up! He was snapping his pincers right and left! Pretty scary! I can't believe the kid kept at it! Keslie didn't like the water much. I think it makes her nervous that it moves! Anika LOVES it! We rented bikes and road them up and down the beautiful shoreline on Friday morning. We decided that we want a house there someday. It's so gorgeous!! The rest of the time we hung out at our campsite. We had some issues with our fire - we bought wet wood!! We couldn't get a fire going for the longest time and then once we did it was incredibly smoky! Oh well, we were able to make smores and that's what matters! We substituted the Hershey Bar with Peanut Butter cups and the results were DELICIOUS! I don't think I'll ever go back! The girls did great in their sleeping bags! I think they are happy to be in their own beds tonight though. Anika got mosquito bites all over her arm and on her chin. They are driving her crazy! Poor girl! I've been putting deodorant on her bites to help the itch (it really does help!). Hopefully they will be better by tomorrow. She is saying the scripture in Primary! This will be her first time to do something in Primary! Hopefully she doesn't do what I did. I bawled at my mom's feet while she gave my talk. I was such a shy little thing!
Anyway - Nathan starts school on Monday so life is going to be back to normal. My posting should be more regular and not always about vacations! I've got to write some updates on the girls and post some video! Soon!! Have a great Sunday!

This and That

Nathan - you are FREAKING awesome!!!

He got his board scores back guys! And he did amazing! I'm so proud of him! He worked really hard and I'm so glad that this test is behind him!!

Happy 16th b-day to Tessa!!

I'd like to welcome my Bosom friend, Mandi, to the blogging world!

Sumer, Richard and their 2 boys have left for good! We LOVE you guys!! Can't wait to visit!

Today somebody thought I was pregnant. WHAT??!! Nice. Some people just don't think before they speak. Here is how it happened. Nathan was talking to this guy while I was in the fitting room at Kohls and as I walked out I heard him say "So you have two kids? Your wife is pregnant with number 3, right?" It was something like that and it got pretty awkward when he said I wasn't. Nathan thinks that I shouldn't share my humiliation with the world - but what the heck. REALLY - I don't think I look pregnant (geesh I hope not) and by the way - I'm not! But it did kind of push me over the edge. No ice cream for me! Not until my birthday! And my yoga mat is my new best friend! Here's hoping it helps this wretched back of mine!!

Thanks for visiting us!

We had such a great weekend! Nathan's parents came to visit! On Saturday we went to the beach. The water was SO nice! Not cold at all! It was a perfect day to go to the beach. On Monday they watched the girls for us so that we could go out for a fun day outing. Nathan ended up having some sort of stomach bug all day so we kept it pretty simple. We went to see Harry Potter and then to Red Robins for lunch. The movie was the best one they've done so far! I actually really liked it and that's pretty unusual for me. If I read a book before the movie it's really hard for me to like the movie. I think I just feel sorry for all the people (Nathan) that are seeing the movie without reading the books because they are missing out on SO much!! Anyway - we had a wonderful time and it was so nice to have a break from the girls. Let's just say that they are having a hard time going back to NOT always getting their way and being spoiled rotten. =)

Thanks for coming to visit us!! We miss you already!

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SO!! What did you think??

I was only able to read bits of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this past weekend because Nathan's parents were in town. You can bet I picked it up first thing Saturday morning though and I did work my way through a good chunk of it by reading at night. I finished it today!! I'm just DYING to know what everyone thought of it!! My official review will soon be posted on my book club site - but I do want to say that I LOVED it!!

Round 2!

Well - for those of you that made it through the previous psycho long post and are just dying for more - here you go!!

Kelyn and I headed up to Rexburg, ID to visit our family on Tuesday evening. We drove straight through the night! It really isn't such a bad drive - especially when driving this:

Kelyn and I were pretty much in heaven because we both long for a Toyota Sienna on a daily basis. =) She was the best traveling companion ever and our kids were such champs. Samuel is a RIOT! He fell asleep around 11:00 and was up by 1:00. Two hours of sleep and he was ready to go!! They were all so pleasant for the trip up. =) I am proud to say that I made it from Mesa to Salt Lake in 10 hours and then it was another 3 hours from there to Rexburg. Really - not such a bad drive!
The welcome crew was waiting and upon arrival at the house we were immediately overtaken! I love my big, wonderful family! We had the BEST time up there (don't worry! You'll hear all about it!!).

First off - I just want to say that I am completely smitten with the town of Rexburg. There is a feeling there that is different from anywhere else. The neighborhoods are so quaint and happy and you can see the temple from almost anywhere you are. The children are running around barefoot and riding bikes and skipping from yard to yard and the parents don't even have to worry!! That is my very favorite part - how safe it feels/is. I feel like most kids nowadays are jipped but in Rexburg they are living the good life. I WANT that for my kids! I LOVE it there. It's definitely in the running for where we will settle down.

My dad came home during his lunch break to say hi when we first arrivied! Here is a cute picture of him with Keslie and my sister Hannah.



We were able to crash for a couple hours and then spent the remainder of the day enjoying everyone's company. Anika was in heaven - Carlie and Baylie let her hang out with them and play with their stuff. Here is a cute shot of Anika and my sister Carlie:


When my dad got home from work he took the kids for a walk in the wagon. We went along with him and got a little taste of the neighborhood.







My mom had tons of fun stuff planned for us while we were there! On Thursday we went to Yellowstone Bear World. Okay - this was seriously cool!! We got to FEED bears and see all sorts of other wildlife really close up! There was also a mini amusement park that the kids found quite enjoyable. The petting zoo had some animals that I've never been up close to before. Here are bunches of pictures from that day trip!

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On the way home from Bear World we stopped off at a ladies house that is raising baby raccoons. Um - I can't decide if I think they were cute. They looked a little rodentish to me! Plus - one was a little feisty!





That evening, Keslie was SO tired and fell asleep on Papa! I thought it was so cute!


AND - here is a cute one of my parents!


On Friday we went to the zoo in Idaho Falls. The tiger and the monkeys were my favorite! There was one monkey that was so loud and funny!





Here is Aunt Kensi reading a story to Anika. She did that a lot!


We went on a fun walk Sunday afternoon. It was so pretty - all the golden wheat fields - "amber waves of grain"! Here are some pics from the walk and then some other ones that we took! Britt and Brandon - we missed you guys! It wasn't complete without you!












We were so sad to leave and the whole lot of us were bawling like babies as we pulled away! It makes me so sad - when am I going to get up there again?!! The drive home was a little more difficult than the drive up. At one point we were so sleepy that we pulled over and Kelyn said a prayer that we would be able to wake up and be more alert. Well - the Lord definitely works in mysterious ways!! About 5 minutes later Anika was puking all over the place! We had to pull over in the middle of nowhere, in the pitch black and strip her down. We used anything we could get our hands on to clean up the mess - poor Kelyn - the very clothes on her back were used in the process! Thanks Kel!! Anyway - that perked us right up! We made it home safely and enjoyed one last day in AZ before the flight home. We were SO happy to see Nathan! The house was spotless when we walked in - he'd cleaned it top to bottom and had even thought to buy some flowers that sat waiting on the table. Seriously the best welcome home ever! And that about wraps it up!! Thank you thank you to both sets of our parents! We are so grateful for all that you do for us!

SO Much To Report!!

Well - we made it home, safe and sound! I'm very happy to report that our planes did not crash! I REALLY don't like to fly. =) We had SUCH a fun trip but missed Nathan terribly! I'm very happy to be home and the fact that Nathan is ALL mine for two weeks is the icing on the cake! We are hoping to have some fun adventures over the next several days. We'll see! Nathan will find out how he did on the boards sometime over the next few weeks. I'm sure that all of his hard work will pay off. He really is such a trooper!

SO - now I'm going to play catch up! I really should have tried to post a little bit while I was away because now the task is feeling quite daunting! Oh well - just try to bear with me - I should probably make this a bunch of mini-posts but I'm just not gonna!

Our flights went fabulously! My little girls are such angels! We flew into AZ on the 4th and we got to see some fireworks from the airplane. Anika thought that was pretty cool. We were stuck in Washington D.C. for several hours so luckily there were tons of shops and places to buy food! I enjoyed a delicious ice-cream cone from Ben and Jerry's scoop shop and I browsed through Borders for as long as the girls would let me. I found a few books that I am really excited to read!! First comes first though - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is being released this SATURDAY!! SO HAPPY ABOUT THAT!!

My stay in AZ was great! It didn't feel as stressful this time around - I was able to see people in groups instead of feeling like I needed to do individual visits - which made it a lot more relaxing. My M.I.L. (mother-in-law) spoiled us ROTTEN! We shopped til' we dropped! The Children's Place outlet was having some awesome sales so we pretty much amassed a whole new wardrobe for the girls and they both don pairs of incredibly cute CROC knock-offs from Joann fabrics complete with Jibbitz! It was so fun to get to spend time with her. She is so much fun and she has the best laugh! We took the girls out to the lake behind their new home to feed the ducks (duck) one morning. Keslie didn't really get that she was supposed to feed the ducks with the bread so she munched on it the whole way there. Here are a couple pictures from that. Carol is using the cane because she had just had surgery on her knee. By the time we left AZ she wasn't having to use it as much anymore! Yay!



On Friday night I took the girls over to Grammy's house for a little pizza get together! I got to see the whole Kivett clan and I'm SO mad I didn't take more pictures! Aunt Jolee had just gotten a brand spankin' new Canon camera and we were all trying to figure out how to use it. I was pretty impressed - there are so many fun features on her camera! After handling that thing - mine just didn't feel as cool. =) Here are the few pictures I did take that evening:

This is Keslie and her cousin Brayton (he's about a month older than her).


Aunt Brittney and Keslie (Isn't Britt such the cute pregnant girl?!!)


Aunt Jolee and the kids



The next morning we headed up to good ole' Show Low for the Owens family reunion. Regrettably, I only got to spend one day there - the festivities had been going on all week! I LOVED being in Show Low!! It was so fun to remember all the fun times I had up there as a kid. This time I got lots of pictures - but I wish I had gotten more of family. I made a bubbleshare album for these pictures since I had so many. I know - I really should mess with the photos to make the quality better - but I just don't want to take the time right now. I'll figure it out someday!! Some of these pictures I got from Aunt Shaunna - thank you!!

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I spent all day Sunday at the Wests'. Jordan and I watched a cheesy Mormon movie. It was cute and I had fun laughing at the cheesiness! It was great to just relax and hang out and dinner was GREAT!!

Papa playing blocks with the girls


Keslie in her cute new gauchos from Nana!


Anika and Kes being cute!


Aunt Jordan playing with Anika - I love this picture!


On Monday morning we had a little impromptu playgroup at Mandi's house! It was quite the reunion! The kids had a blast playing in the water and they all got along famously! We really didn't have to break up a single fight and we were there for a good long time. These girls are all such dear friends of mine - it was great to see them.

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For FHE on Monday night we went swimming and to McDonalds for a twist cone! I really think that this McDonalds might be the only one that still serves twist cones. What a huge bummer! It was so tasty!



Okay - I posted this picture strictly because Keslie is looking so darn cute in it!



On Tuesday I made myself an appt. to see the chiropractor. My lovely back is giving me such issues. I bet I have a pinched nerve or something. Anyway - it helped enough to get me through the LONG drive to Idaho! I'll post about the second half of my trip tomorrow - I have lots of Idaho pictures! We had such a blast!!

Well - off to bed!!

Good Luck Nathan!!

Us girls are SO proud of you and we love you so much. Only 2 more days until we get to see you - CAN'T WAIT!!

For those of you who don't know - Nathan is taking the boards tomorrow morning at 8:30. This test is a really big deal and he has been working extremeley hard. I don't know how he does it - up at 6:00 and to bed at midnight with hardly any breaks!! Sheesh - the guy is a champ!! Wish him luck - I know he'd appreciate any and all words of encouragement and prayers on his behalf!

Buena Suerte Nathan!!

Butterfly Craft

We try and do a craft every Monday so today we made these cardboard tube butterflies. =) You can tell that the girls did all their own painting and chose their own colors. I've been trying to make it a "learning" experience and I've been amazed at how much Anika takes to it! She is still talking about trees and birds. Today I tied it into recycling so we used the toilet paper tubes and scrap paper. She keeps chanting "reuse and recycle" over and over. It's awfully cute!

Elizabeth Park

Well - the roses are in full bloom at Elizabeth park - actually I think we caught them at the tail end of their short lives. It was a beautiful day today and it was so fun to go walk around this gorgeous park as a family!