Two Days!

About six months ago I told my sister, Alicia, that Jeremiah and I wanted to take a real vacation for our 10th Anniversary. She suggested a cruise (because they have been on three and thoroughly enjoyed them) and we decided to go together. In August we paid our deposit and in two days we leave for Miami where we will board our Carnival cruise Sunday afternoon with the Eastern Caribbean as our destination! We are SO excited and cannot wait to be warm again! We will be away for a week and will be sure to post as many pictures as possible when we get back.

I got tagged.

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 tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they are tagged

10 years ago I was: I'd just started dating the coolest man ever and was planning our first Valentine's Day (lasagna, cream cheese pie, and Don Juan DeMarco).

5 things on my 'to do' list today:
1. Feed the girls breakfast
2. Get Annalyce off to school
3. Go to a Young Women's Presidency Meeting
4. Attend Dance Festival practice and try to get the youth to dance
5. Pack for cruise (only five more days)

Things I would do if I became a billionaire:
1. Pay off all of our families student loans, cars, and mortgages.
2. Travel
3. Buy my husband a new car, maybe two if he's good
4. Help others in need

3 of my bad habits:
1. my temper, temper, temper
2. Staying up way too late
3. sugar addiction

5 (or 8) places I've lived:
1. Bremerton, WA
2. Chelan, WA
3. Olympia, WA
4. Ellensburg, WA
5. Provo/Orem, UT
6. Las Vegas, NV
7. Snohomish, WA
8. Puyallup, WA

5 jobs I've had
1. Pro Shop Attendant, Lake Chelan Municipal Golf Course, Chelan WA
2. Receptionist & Pro Shop Attendant, Indian Summer Golf & Country Club, Olympia WA
3. Secretary, Political Science Department, BYU
4. Volunteer Coordinator, Welcome Baby Program, United Way of Utah County (Annalyce's picture is still on their website too)
5. Homemaker A.K.A mom

Things most people don't know about me:
I got engaged at my senior prom . . . crazy and spontaneous and it didn't last long.

You've been tagged:
1. Elizabeth
2. Brittany
3. Erika
4. Mom

Oh to be warm again . . .

My first year in Las Vegas was miserable. And if you were to tell me that I would miss it when I moved I would have laughed at you. After two more years it was difficult to move and I have missed it more these last few months than I thought possible.

I miss my friends in the Elk Ridge Ward. I miss spending time with Missy. I miss the painted walls of my home (rentals are just too white). I miss the convenience of Jeremiah working only 15 minutes away. I miss walking barefoot through the house. I miss In n' Out Burger. I miss being so close to California and our friends and family there.

And today, I especially miss the winter temperatures. This morning I stood at the bus stop with Annalyce and my nose was cold, my ears were cold, my hands and my toes were cold and I thought to myself . . . "It's stinkin' COLD!" What did I expect it's 20 degrees outside and has been every morning this week. While in Vegas it is 48 degrees. That's gotta be rough!

There are many reasons why I am content to be back in Washington though. I am closer to family and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to see them almost weekly and watching my children become friends with their cousins. I also get to enjoy all the beauty the Pacific Northwest has to offer (mountains, the ocean, lakes and rivers). I have a view of Mt. Rainier almost everyday and it is glorious. I am surrounded by green, something Vegas rarely sees. And the sacrifice (rain) is worth it.

I am not sure that anything will ever compensate for the warmth of Vegas or the missed friendships . . . but at least the view warms my heart.

Nintendo DS

Although Jeremiah and I struggled with buying this present for Annalyce (we aren't really into video games and it is all she asked for), we have had a lot of fun watching her play it. She really gets into it!

Sisters

My sister, Erika, has been fighting cancer since February last year. In September, after chemotherapy and dropping five inches of height (and shrinking several sizes) she was told she was in remission. We were all thrilled! However, in October/November after some tests we found out she had breast cancer (in her lymph nodes), another tumor in her back and some hot spots on her brain. She began radiation treatments right away. My family decided to spend Christmas together in Boise. I, however, couldn't make it down since Jeremiah only had Christmas day off. So I flew in Christmas night and got to enjoy a couple of days with everyone. Erika wasn't feeling very well by the time I got there (she was exhausted), but we thoroughly enjoyed out impromptu photo shoot as sisters. Here are many of the pictures we took together. We were making silly faces and there are some great ones that Trent (Erika's hubby) took, these are the few I got. We were exhausted by the time we were done! Ha! I LOVE my sister's and am so grateful for their friendship. We continue to pray that Erika's body will fight off this disease and stay strong.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our Christmas was very quiet. Just the four of us. It very rarely feels like Christmas without extended family around, but we still enjoy the girls reactions to their gifts and Santa's surprises. It even snowed Christmas morning. It didn't stick, but the girls were thrilled to see the snow falling. They ran outside stayed long enough to pose for a picture and then ran back in when they realized how cold it was.

One of my New Year's resolutions . . . tell my friends and family about this blog I started back in October and keep up to date on my postings. I love looking at the blogs of friends. I may not be very good at calling or writing, but I regularly check out blogs and keep up to date on events in their lives. I figure I need to keep them up to date on our life. Although we have no pics of our New Year's celebration, we had a lot of fun. We spent it with good friends and family and played dice (10,000) most of the night. We went back for more on the 1st too! It was very enjoyable.

Pumpkin Carvin'

Last night for FHE we carved pumkins with the girls. We have been wanting to get a pumpkin patch all month, but other things have taken priority. So daddy suprised the girls with these pumpkins. What a great dad!