Shower Redo

I have been noticing lately that all the wonderful gifts that we received as wedding and shower presents have started to really show their age. Apparently the life span of things like towels, measuring spoons, hot pads and even dishes and silverware is about 19 years. Yes the dishes are still in pretty good shape but really are very outdated as far as their style. I am also growing tired of that one spot on all my hot pads that I still get burned through! I even actually broke a measuring spoon in half last week! And where do all the spoons go? My theory is pudding cups, I think when someone eats a pudding cup they accidentally throw the spoon away as well.

So here is what I am proposing: my 19th wedding anniversary is coming up in March. So how about one of you throw me a redo wedding shower and I will return the favor when you reach 19 years? If someone can make up a holiday around a rodent why not shower redos? It will soon be so hip, you'll see!

In Her Words

Here is Athena's birthday list in her own words:

high heels from Justice
trade tree house for trampoline
an itouch phone (only call parents)
paint room blue or purple

I like that she really tried to sell the iphone by mentioning that she would only use it to call us, her parents. Does she think there will be a lot of instances when she would need to call us from down the hall? It is a very short list so I guess we should be very thankful for that. Only 5 more days until she finds out how many items on the list are hers!

Turning Into Grandma

When I was a kid and would go to the grocery store with my grandma I always found it so funny that she knew all the workers. She would talk to all of them as if they were great friends. She would bring them treats and even little gifts on holidays. I never understood why grandma would want to be so friendly to all the employees at the grocery store. Until now! I know everyone at my Safeway. They all know me and don't even need to ask if I want my milk in a bag anymore. One of them, John has even been to a few of Hailey's shows at Ironwood. Now I don't really know a lot about these people, nor do they all know everything that goes on in my life, but it's still nice to have a few friendly words with someone while doing one of my most hated chores :) Grandma really did have a reason for what she was doing.

People that Blog

Here it is almost February again. When I started this blog my intention was to share a bit of day to day life with all our family and friends that live far away. However I find myself thinking that day to day life is just a little too boring to share with anyone. So I only post when there is a big event in life. Then I start to feel that I am not keeping in touch with everyone so I show up here and blab on and on about nothing. How do all those people out there find a topic to write about everyday?

Around our house early February means planning for Athena's birthday. She wants a party again, only a scaled down version this year. Four of her closest friends at our house for an afternoon of fun and games. There is a very special gift she has been wanting for a long time that I think we are about to give into. I can't believe my baby is just about 9! We measure her every year on her birthday and mark it on the closet door. She has been checking it lately and has almost grown 4" this year! She will most likely pass me by the time she is 10.

Hailey is back for her second semester of college. She has learned the trick of picking the schedule that works best for you this time around though. So no early mornings and no 4 hour breaks with nothing to do. She is still working at the movie theater and has seen just about every movie out right now, one of the perks is all the free movies she can watch!

Shawn has me working on a new sewing project. A heated jacket! It will either be a much cheaper version of a very expensive item, or a great way to electrocute himself. Keep your fingers crossed for a good outcome.

So there you have it. Just a little taste of what we have been up to.

Welcome 2010

Wow we sure sent 2009 off with a bang. I say good riddance to that crappy year, 2010 is a welcome hope. We had a very busy and fun holiday season though. It started out at 4 a.m on Christmas Eve. The weather was kind to us on our drive from Arizona to Utah, and even with a slight delay to save a dog that fell out of the truck in front of us we made it in about 11 1/2 hours! We were just in time for the festivities at my moms house. The chili and clam chowder were awesome, and the company enjoyable. It was nice getting to know Tyler's girlfriend Kelli a little better. The next day we were up bright and early for breakfast at mom and papa's. The kids have all grown so much and the girls were very excited to meet their new cousins Molly and Oliver. It was too bad the Gill boys were sick, we really missed seeing them. Dinner at Grandma Junes was a lot of fun too, so many new faces every year I've stopped trying to keep track, maybe we need to wear nametags! Saturday was a very nice brunch at the Fullmer's, thanks for having us and Jamen's family over. The kids had so much fun together, don't forget to send me that recipe Nancy ;) Once we had our Sconecutter fix we headed back to my moms so the girls could have a sleepover at Grandma's. Thanks Lynn and Jacque for stopping by it was so nice to see you both and catch up! Then it was on to Mickey's! A quick stop in Vegas to rest and take in a show, we saw the tournament of kings at the Excalibur. The girls loved it! Finally in California, Athena had one more practice in the hotel the night before she danced. Then they exchanged secret Santa gifts and off to bed! Early the next morning all ready to dance, I had to put my baby on a shuttle and hope she got ready all on her own! We headed over and found a seat, they did a great job, Athena was born to be a star! She looked like she was having the time of her life up there. Then we had a fun day riding rides with a couple of dance friends. I remember being in Disneyland with my best friend Nancy when we were in Stars so it was fun to watch Athena experience that as well. We had rain our second day but we made the best of it for about 6 hours then headed back to the hotel for dry clothes, room service and naps. Went back for a couple of hours that night and got Athena to ride California Screamin', now it's her new favorite! New Years Eve was a blast, there was music everywhere, and even though we actually rang in 2010 from the hotel room it was the best New Years Eve ever! 1,812 miles later we were back home in beautiful, warm Arizona. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and that 2010 brings you plenty of happiness!

Busy Blur

The past few weeks have been a busy blur of activity. We have had extra dance practices to get ready for Glendale Glitters, school plays, birthday parties and of course Thanksgiving.

Athena was in a play at school called Stone Soup. She was very excited to have one of the 3 biggest roles! She had several lines and even a short little singing solo. She did a great job and her music teacher commented that she learned from the best! (meaning Hailey) When she had music the next week she was sad that they weren't going to be practicing for the play anymore.


Here is a little clip from the play!



Then next was Thanksgiving. We had a really nice time, Hailey ended up not having to work, the Newtons came over to celebrate with us and I finally mastered gravy! I am usually too busy cooking to ever get any pictures but I got a few of the Guitar Hero session after dinner! I think the highlight of the game was Stephens Michael Jackson impersonation! Hilarious! It was a great day, and I don't care how ugly my Croc's are, being able to walk the day after was worth it!

Then just 2 days after Thanksgiving was the big dance performance at Glendale Glitters! It went by so fast. We hardly had time to change costumes let alone get any pictures other than the first costume. Athena had a great time though and the rain stayed away thank goodness.


I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that the next month is a happy time for everyone!

Happy Halloween!

It was so nice to not have school on Halloween this year. It gave me time to put curlers in Athena's hair, paint her nails and the girls carved their pumpkins. It was also nice to not have to rush through dineer! On Friday Athena had a fun party at school. Can you believe I forgot my camera?! Shawn surprised her by showing up for the party too, she loves when he is able to do that. They did a couple of crafts, including the cutest little bat pumpkins, and had some snacks. Then Saturday she went out trick-or-treating with Dad and Bubbles. She thinks her awesome costume got her extra candy, a few houses gave her 3-5 pieces because she looked so cute! She was only out about an hour but she had a great time and was done and ready to eat some of it. And since she is her fathers child, had to have a dose of Pepto around 9:00!