Happy - Julie

What makes me happy.

Well in no particular order.

Going to the temple.

Hearing Josh really laugh.

Watching Robert be a dad.

Having a really clean house. (and having it stay that way for more than a few hours)

Seeing Lilly smile. (she has the biggest cutest smile ever)

Listening to Josh play, sing and talk to himself. (so cute)

Robert bringing me flowers for now reason.

The sun shine. But also really big snow flakes. and a really hard rain storm.

getting a nap and having time to read or do something by myself.

Fudge stripe cookies. (usually I prefer oreo's, but lately it has been these cookies.)

There are really so many other things, but Already my list is long and Josh is tired of my being on the computer.

P.S. Sorry I have been off the map for a little while. But I will try to do better.

Aimee

I stopped by Aimee's today to see her and the boys. This was the only good shot I could get because Payton wanted to play instead of holding Tyson and it was time for Tyson to eat, hence Tyson's unhappy face. They are all doing well. Payton is happy as ever and is chatting away, he talks so much! Tyson is adorable and happy until he wants to be fed, as I learned today. :o) It was so nice to spend time with Aimee and the boys. Aimee says that they are all doing very well and will be blessing Tyson this Sunday in church.

Also, we talked about all of us getting together in August when you come through Krista. Julie, this would be a major hint to you if you were planning on coming up to see your parents at all this summer. Aimee said we have to start nagging you now Julie so that you can think about it.

Well, that's about it for right now. I just wanted to get this picture up for you guys.

Love ya!!!

Happy - Nicci

Ooh... Good question. There's a lot that makes me happy, and these are in no particular order.

Flowers

A clean house (I'm anal about clean floors, it drives my family nuts!)

Creamy peanut butter and oreos

Great friends

Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream

Sierra makes me really happy when she listens to me before I have to yell and get mad

Family

And last but not least, the annual fire fighter calendar!!!!! I buy one and get it signed every year and I don't feel the least bit guilty because all of the proceeds go to the burn foundation.

There's a lot more but these are the top picks

Happy-Krista

What makes you happy?

What makes me happy is a few things.

A clean house. Even though I really stink at keeping it clean, or getting it clean...I really enjoy it when it is. Including the bathrooms and kitchen.

A just washed quilt that I made. It's finished and ready to go on a bed or to a baby.

Potato soup. It's just one of those comfort foods.

Chris and Connor playing together. There is nothing better than that!

Oreos.

Nicci

I was just wondering how the job hunt has been going? I hope that things are going well for you. Know we love you and are thinking about you.

Julie

I was just wondering if any of you knew if Aimee had had her baby yet? How are things going for her?

Holiday

My favorite holiday by far, is Christmas. Maybe just the whole month of December. But definately Christmas is a part of it.

I love Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas presents, family around, all the good deeds...all the wonderful stories that come out at Christmas. AND the Christmas carols.

I love the celebrating of Jesus' birth. I think it's wonderful that a whole nation gets together, even if most of it is for the presents, to celebrate. If one person listens to a Christmas carol and goes to church, then it was worth it.

I'm not going to lie here. I love the presents too. I love the surprises. I love the thought that goes into presents. The making of some special presents. The look on little kids faces when they open presents.

I love that family comes around too. It's when brothers and sisters and cousins and grandparents get together and just be with each other.

So anyway that's my favorite with Thanksgiving a close second.

Favorite Holiday - Julie

So I have been thinking about this. I don't know that I really have a favorite holiday. There are things about each that I really like. So I thought that I would tell you about some of my favorite things from a few holidays.

So first, I really like that I can spend time with family on pretty much all holidays.

Most of these memories are from when I was younger.
On Valentine's Day, my parents would leave us a little present on the door step. Usually the present said it was from our Grandma Adams. They would put it on the door step and then ring the door bell. Then they would tell us that Grandma came and left it and went home. But it was always fun to answer the door and have presents there.

For Easter, we always did it on Saturday so the candy part was separate from the point of the holiday. When we would wake up Saturday morning, there would be trails of candy corn leading from our rooms to our baskets. Sometimes there were lots of trails, some would lead to nothing. It was always fun to go on the little scavenger hunt. (I plan to do this with my kids when they get a little older. I think it will be a lot of fun.)

The rest of the holidays, we mostly spent being together. My dad was usually able to get a little time off for each one. It was always nice to spend time with him. We did almost always do something special during the holidays. It was nice to be able to have something to look forward too. I must admit, I don't always do that now. I hope that when Josh gets a little bigger and starts to understand, I will have enough energy to actually do fun things for these days.

Favorite Holiday

I'm guessing that it is my turn to start. :o) So, what is you favorite holiday and why?

My favorite holiday is the Fourth of July. I love to watch the fireworks!!! I could watch them forever. I also like that it's warm outside and everyone gets together to BBQ and hang out and have a good time and stay out late and play games, but I always wait for it to get dark enough to start the show.

Easter was a close second because I love to eat the marshmellow candy called Chicks and Rabbits. I make myself sick by eating too many every year but Fourth of July is definately my top pick.

Love ya!!!

Super Power

If I could have any super power I would choose to be stretchy like Mrs. Incredible. That way, when Sierra runs away I would just have to reach for her and I could grab her and not have to run after her and yell all the time. I always wanted to be like Superman because he got a little bit of everything. But if I have to pick just one I would definately want to be stretchy.

Love ya!!!

Super-power - Julie

If you could have any superpower, which one would you pick and why?

I honestly don't know. It depends on what I am doing at the moment. Most of the time I would just like to be able to do everyting that I need to without getting tired. I don't think that is really a super power, but it should be.

I would like to be able to see through walls and see what Josh is doing when I can't see him.
Along with that, I would like to be able to read minds, that way I would know what Josh and Lilly need. Then I wouldn't have to guess all the time. That would be so great. Maybe that would be my first super power.

I would have to agree with Krista, being really stretchy would be nice, I could catch things that fall, I would also be able to bounce right back after I have a baby. That would be lovely.

I would also like to have super strength. With Josh and Lilly only being 18 months apart and Josh being a very cuddly boy, I am often holding both of them. Josh weighs 26 lbs and Lilly 11lbs, 11.5 oz. So when I do this, I get tired very quickly.

Well, I know that is more then one super power. But lots of the super heros have more than one power, so there is nothing wrong with wanting more than one right?

Love you all

Question-Krista

If you could have any superpower, which one would you pick and why?

Now this is a question I have pondered a lot, especially with the movies that Disney has put out.

I would love to be stretchy like Mrs. Incredible. She could do so much! But...I don't think I would be in half those situations. Although catching the milk off the table would be nice, I think I would just have more to trip over!!
I have also thought about mind reading...like Mel Gibson in What a Woman Wants, or Edward in Twilight. I am always wondering what other people are thinking. It would be nice to hear all the good things BUT I don't have enough confidence to hear all the bad. I think that one would be the most hurtful.


So then I thought about all the superpowers I knew and I liked Jasper's in Twilight the best. He could project a calming effect on people. We worry so much. We have friends that come over that are in the middle of a divorce, or dealing with a sick parent, or bills, or anything. It would be great to be able to have them over for dinner and gave them an hour or two of peacefulness.

The power doesn't take the problem away, just makes it seem manageable. Kinda like the temple. This is how when I'm in the temple, I feel. Going to the temple doesn't pay the bills or put money in our account but it does make it seem like we'll get through.

It's just peaceful.

Maybe that's why I go almost every week since the new year!! :)

Fear

My biggest physical fear is SNAKES. I have a HUGE, CRAZY fear of them.

I am like Julie. I can't watch movies with them, look at pictures, hear them or even think they are there. I will have nightmares. I just break down and cry.

Chris has always wanted to own a snake. like it's his life mission. I can't think of anything more scary to me. Having a snake in my house. Even a small one.

I think I would have nightmares every day, IF I could ever sleep. And if I had a new baby around....oh my gosh! I'm getting tense just thinking about it.

I used to like snakes. I would go for walks with my Grandma and pick up the gardener snakes for her.

Mr Riechel used to have one in his class room. I almost transferred out of his class because of it.

I don't know what made me change from liking them to being so scared of them, I can't walk down the pet store section with snakes. I make Chris go first. SERIOUSLY! I have even talked to a counselor about it, it's that big. But nothing. She said that I probably got scared so bad that it isn't a memory anymore. I blocked it from my brain.

I'm so scared to move. There are scary snakes in New Mexico and Florida. We'll just have to see.

Well anyway, there we go! Our fears are out there.

my biggest physical fear

I'm afraid of spiders. It sounds dumb because they are so little and I am big but I can not stand them. I still call my dad to come and kill them for me. There is one guy at work who will pick them up with a piece of paper and take them outside and I can't watch because it creeps me out. I was at a friend's house the other day and one dropped from the ceiling and I screamed like a little girl. He made fun of me all day... not nice of him at all. But there you have it, 'm afraid of spiders.

What is your biggest physical fear?

I would have to say that my biggist phsical fear is snakes. I know it seems silly, but I am really afraid of them. I still look away when I seem them on tv. I used to have horrible nightmares about them. They would keep me awake for a long time. I don't really know why I am afraid of them, I have never had any experiance of them. Even now I don't think about them because I don't want to have any nightmares.

So that would have to be my biggest fear. I think that is what the question meant. If not, well, that is how I answered it.

What about you guys?

Lotto

Sorry it has taken me so long to get this posted.

If I had as much money to spend as I wanted, lets see I would do what people might consider boring, but it is what I would do.

1. Pay tithing

2. Buy a house with property

3. Pay off any depts (if we have any)

4. Put enough in a bank accout for a years worth of an emergency fund

5. Buy at least one years food storage, as well as non food items

6. Buy a newer van

7. Buy a truck (Ford, the only good kind)

8. Go on a honeymoon with my hubby

9. Buy my dad a cabin or something that can be used for family reunions

10. Start savings funds for Missions and college for kids

Lotto

That's totally cool about her winning the Lotto! Okay, top ten things I would do if I won the Lotto:

1. Pay off my student loans

2. Pay off my car

3. Go to Hawaii with friends

4. Buy a house

5. Buy a new 4Runner with all the bells and whistles

6. Pay off my family's debt

7. Go back to South Dakota to see where I was born

8. Fly the family back to the mid-west for a family reunion of my mom and her sisters

9. Go to Hawaii and be lazy on the beach

10. Donate to the food allergy research foundation

Wow, that list was harder than I thought it would be. The first six were easy but the last four took some effort.

Good one!!!

Lotto

If you won the lottery, (just go with it) what would be the first ten things you would buy?

So I just watched some chick win a million dollars on Deal or No Deal! She was pregnant and Mormon. Love it!

Anyway it got me in the mood to think about what I would do with a million dollars. I think that the lottery is more than a million, right? I don't pay attention.

Anyway this is what I would buy first...

1. Property with a house in Colorado... more like a ranch

2. Me a Jetta with all the gadgets

3. A sewing machine, longarm.

4. Chris his dream car

5. A whole warerobe that fits!!

6. Oh I'd have to pay tithing.

7. a maid for 10 years

8. a cruise with my hubby and some great friends!

9. I'd pay off most of my families' debt

10. More land somewhere.

I know it's not very fun but that's alright. I'm pretty simple.

So what about you guys? What would you buy?

First Bicycle

Are we talking about a real bicycle or those little plastic 3-wheelers? I'll go with a real one... I think I was about four when I got my first bicycle. It was one of the ones with training wheels on it but because all of the other kids on my street were older than me I made my parents take the training wheels off so that I could be like the older kids. Both my mom and my dad taught me how to ride but I have a really great picture of my dad teaching me.

Family Update

So I guess it would be my turn to post and it looks like I have some catching up to do. Sorry it's been awhile... I am finally better and am almost done with my antibiotics. I had to go back to the doctor about a week and a half ago and she told me I had a sinus infection to go along with the pneumonia. Seriously, could my luck get any worse? But the antibiotics have cleared it almost all up and she cleared me to run outside again the other day. Yah!!! So now I have to wait to see when I go to the academy, but it looks like it will be the end of March. Julie, what day are you blessing Lilly? I'm going to try to get that weekend off. On to the rest of the clan...

Mom and Dad are doing well. Dad is still working for the same electrical company and they are keeping busy so mom is greatful that he has work. Mom just left her job at the hospital and will be moving to the Cancer Center which is a new center across the street from the hospital. She will be administering chemo-therapy to patients at the center and is very excited for the change. She agreed to be an on-call nurse for the hospital so she will work two shifts there a month when they need her.

Beth graduated from the UW right before Christmas. She was working for Starbucks until about two weeks ago when they started laying people off. Unfortunately she was one of nine to be layed off at her store alone. Now she is job hunting and trying to figure out what she wants to do.

Jessica is still not driving, which is starting to annoy mom. I don't mind so much because she get nervous when she drives so I rather her not be on the road... Other drivers are safer that way. :o) She is a senior this year and is in her second year of running start. She has decided that she wants to be a teacher so she is starting to take more education classes and is looking at universities that offer good teaching degrees.

Sarah is 14, which should explain it all. Boy she is mouthy! I had to apologize to mom the other day for ever acting like Sarah. She said that it is part of growing up and being a teenager but I still felt bad. Sarah is actually really good and helpful when she wants to be but everything just has to be done on her own terms right now. She makes me laugh though because she says some of the weirdest things and she absorbes some of the oddest facts.

Other than that, there's not a whole lot going on. Just work, work, and more work. Okay, off to the next post so that I can catch up to you guys.

Love ya!