Tagged by Suz!

1. Link your tagger(Suz) and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.



1. I wash plastic silverware. Much to my Husband's dismay. I can't help it, throwing away a piece of silverware that can be used again seems like such a waste to me. I know this defeats the purpose of the ease of plastic silverware, but what can I say, I am my mother's daughter.


2. I match my hangers to my clothes. I know this sounds weird but I can't help it. For some reason it bothers me to see a hanger that doesn't match the shirt that it is holding. Cody has never been able to understand this quirky little thing about me. This problem has eased up a little by only purchasing white hangers. White matches just about everything.


3. I love popcorn. I really really do. When I was younger my Dad would make it for me every Sunday and I used to make it almost everyday after school. The other day Suzanne called me and told me that she had some connections and could get me a big bag of movie popcorn. Yummy! So she brought it over and it literally was in a huge garbage sack. My kind of snack. Add a pepsi and I am set.



4. I don't know how to do hair. I am seriously in need of help. I feel so bad for Hayden. I have tried to do my nieces hair and it is impossible. When I helped watch Averi about a month ago, she got totally annoyed with me. She finally said "Even I can do a ponytail!" Maybe Hayden's hair won't grow or she'll go bald then we'll be okay.


5. I love to read. I guess you could call me a nerd or a bookworm. I can start a book and finish it in one day, not because I read all day but because I read pretty fast. I love almost any kind of book and I am always searching for the next thing to read. The trouble now is finding the time to sit down and do it. This is one thing that I truly want to pass on to my children.



6. I crave volleyball. I know that you're thinking "Crave" might be the wrong word to use, but I really do. I would play everyday if I had the opportunity. If I go for long periods of time without it I feel like I am having withdrawals. I love it.



7. I love to sing. As I get older it seems there aren't as many opportunities to sing, but every chance I get I try to take it. I remember singing the National Anthem at a basketball/volleyball (?) game (remember girls), singing for the Jubilee of Trees, singing at the State Fair and messing up, singing in church, and singing at my friend Michelle's wedding. So fun! I love that I have this talent and although I'm not Kelly Clarkson (Sorry Cody) I still love to sing.

Do you SEE what I SEE?

About a month ago Carson came home from school and told me that he had failed a test. No not a math, spelling, or science test. A vision test. My first thought was "Yeah Right! " I know that I should have believed him since he is one of the most honest people that I know, but Carson has been wanting glasses for a few months. He thinks they are cool. So of course I was a little skeptical. I let it go for a couple of days until I ran into a friend of mine at a school carnival. Apparently she was the one who had given him the vision test and she said that he really didn't do very well. Okay, Okay so he is really good at faking blindness. A couple of days later after thinking about it I decided to go ahead and schedule an appointment with our Eye Doctor. He would be able to sort this out and explain to Carson that he didn't need glasses right? The day of the appointment arrived and I took Carson to the Dr. While I filled out the paperwork, they took Carson back to do a couple of tests. Then we both headed back to the exam room to see Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller came in and I explained that I really didn't think Carson needed glasses, but wanted to make sure. The testing began. Wait a minute, is that an S or a C? O or a D? ECOTSL.......... From where I was standing, Carson wasn't doing very well. I know that he knows his letters, I mean he is reading chapter books. Maybe it's okay to miss a few! I don't know! Dr. Miller checked a couple more things and then the lights came back on. This was the moment for the truth to be reveled. "Looks like someone needs glasses." Are you sure? "Definitely some near-sightedness." Wow, he really can't see! I guess I should have realized it, considering I am pretty much blind myself (-8 in both eyes). I started wearing THICK and I mean THICK glasses (Thanks Mom) when I was little and I was wearing hard contacts by the fifth grade. Of course Carson was totally excited. And although we didn't agree on the glasses he chose, I still think he looks great and it's great that he can see. It's always good to see!

One Generation to the next....

So the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we were feeling a little bit cooped up. We decided that the boys needed to get out of the house. We wanted to hike, but we didn't want to go too far since we needed to get back and help my Dad put up Christmas lights. We decided to put Hayden down for a nap and head up to the SugarLoaf (The Red Hill with the DIXIE on it). I remember my Mom taking us up there when I was little. I also remember bumper-jumping and night repelling off the D (not me-way to afraid of heights) when I was in High school. Who was in the car with us when we got chased?

The boys had a great time climbing and exploring and this time around I was the mom so I had a great time worrying that they were going to fall. It was a nice little adventure out of the house. Aren't we lucky to live close to such beautiful places. Crazy to be getting older and to take my kids somewhere that I went as a little kid. It was kind of surreal!

Happy 33rd Birthday Cody!

I took Cody to SLC this weekend to see Glenn Beck's show "The Christmas Sweater" for his birthday. Since we were gone I didn't have a chance to write anything about Cody for his birthday. I have seen other people do this on their blogs and I thought that it was a great idea and it also gives me a chance to write about some of the things that I truly love about my hubby. So here it goes, 33 things that I love about Cody in no particular order.



I LOVE........

1. Your patience for me. And boy do you need it.

2. The way you never expects anything from me. That sounds weird, but you truly think that everything I do is enough.

3. Your sunglasses. BACK TO 1989! I can't help it babe, I think you look hot.

4. You're an amazing father. Whether it's wrestling, playing trains or working in the yard, you will almost always find one of his boys with him. He loves our children so much and they know it. As I am sitting here typing this he is making capes for the boys out of towels. What a great guy.

5. You're sense of humor. You can always make me laugh which is a good thing unless I want to be mad at you. We can always find something to laugh about late at night and although most people would think we were dorks, for some reason we both think we are hilarious.

6. You are hardworking. One of the things that really attracted me to you was how hard you worked. You were always so focused on what you wanted to be and you worked really hard to accomplish it. Now that Cody is done with school, he works so hard to support our family. My mom and I always say that we know that if our husbands had to they would go work at McDonald's to make sure that we were taken care. I truly believe that is true, Cody is always concerned about our welfare. I know that I never have to worry about that.

7. Your willingness to serve. Cody came home from the priesthood session in October and I asked him what he learned. He said "We need to serve!" And he does. He is so willing to serve our Father in Heaven and I love that my boys get to see that.

8. You honor your priesthood. Thanks for always being willing to give me and our children blessings and for being worthy to do so.

9. Your soft spot for Hayden. Cody has completely fallen for Hayden. How lucky she is to have him as her Daddy.

10. Your dedication to us. You always put us first. You are truly committed to helping our family succeed. I have no doubts that your are totally loyal to me and to our family.

11. Your smile. I love to see you smile, especially the way your eyes crinkle up when you do. I always tease him that in pictures he looks miserable because he won't smile, but when you get to see the real one it is worth the wait.

12. Your eyes. You have the most beautiful eyes. They change often, but I love them the most when they are a deep forest green and the outer edge is a dark blue. They definitely sold me.

13. Your willingness to help. You always help me. Whether it is stopping by the grocery store on the way home or helping me straighten up, you do it without complaining. And even though I know that sometimes you would rather sit down after a long day at work, you still do it.

14. The way you call me before you come home to see if I need anything. Usually it's a pepsi if you know I am having a bad day. It's nice to know you are thinking about me.

15. Your love for the outdoors. I love that you love being outdoors and I love to hear you tell me about the name of a bird, bug/spider, etc... When we go on hikes you sees things that I don't even notice and you have such an appreciation for all that God has created.

16. How handy you are! When we were first married I had a hard time letting you take things apart ESPECIALLY CARS! But soon I realized that the things you took apart you could actually fix and you were saving us a lot of money. Thanks for being patient with my distrust.

17. The way you dance with me in the kitchen. Love it!

18. When you tell me I look beautiful even though I am wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt. This goes back to having no expectations of me. You love me for me.

19. Your speaking ablility. When we were in the college ward together I love hearing you teach Gospel Essentials. And even though I really went to that class just to look at you, I really loved to hear you teach. I still do.

20. The way you look in a hat.

21. The way you iron everything. Even though you have relaxed a little bit in the last ten years. You still always iron your shirts, even your polos. You have a thing about looking nice.

22. I love your gruff (facial hair). I know that you really like to be clean shaven, but sometimes you let it grow out for a couple of days because you know that I like it.

23. The way you mow the lawn in your HAT, long sleeve t-shirt, shorts and boots.

24. How hard you try to make me happy. I know that you can't stand it when I am sad and you always do everything in your power to make me smile. Lots of times without success, but you still keep trying.

25. Your strength. You always make me feel like everything is going to be okay. No matter what you help me to see that it will be okay.

26. Your love for my family. You are totally accepting of my family. Faults and all. Thanks for loving my family as much as I do.

27. Your laugh. I just heard you laughing in the other room and I realized how happy it makes me when I hear you laugh.

28. How focused you are on our goals. I know that making the decision to give up our house for a little while and move in with my Mom and Dad wasn't an easy one, but you are so totally focused on our goal of paying off our student loans that you put your pride aside and we took the plunge together.

29. Your calming influence. Let's face it, I have a tendency to get a LITTLE bit worked up. You always seem to be able to calm me down.

30. The way you hug me. It was hard to find a guy that was taller than me, but you are and I love it when you put your arms around me and hold me.

31. Our signal! Shhhhh.

32. Everything about you! That's right I love it all.

33. Our life together. Over the last almost 10 years we have had our ups and our downs. But I have never wanted to be anywhere but here with you. What a blessing you are to me. I love every aspect of this life that we have created together.

Love you Cody!