Pumpkins+S'mores+Rock Band = FUN

The boys have finished another set of rotations and completed yet another Shelf Exam. The weather is cooling off, and Halloween is just around the corner. What else is there to do but...PARTY?!


What is a party without a little Rock Band?! Notice there is not one female in this picture. We're all off chatting away. The boys do seem to be taking this whole thing very seriously.

Carving some pumpkins...






...and roasting some 'mallows.



Our Results...

...a cat, a pirate, a vampire, a flaming fiery face, a Halloween greeting, some cute shapes, and a few smiling "jacks".

Group Shot:


Beware! When the clock strikes 12...


We had such a fun time. Thanks so much to everyone for coming and making it a great time!

Spiders

Behold: my first "project" with my beloved Cricut.


Yes, I have recently acquired a cricut. Before you go thinking I am rolling in wealth, no, I did not actually pay $300 for a scrapbooking cutting machine (although now that I have experienced the fun, I might have actually considered it). For those who don't know the story, about a month or two ago Brett and I were at our favorite Wednesday night date night location: an amazing furniture auction in downtown phoenix. I think almost every piece of furniture in our house has come from that auction, and they always have random house decor, appliances, and electronics that they sell as well. (Brett basically has a side business on Craigslist for all the video games and parts that he gets from there.) Well, this particular night as we were enjoying the mindless chatter of the auctioneer, I looked up and noticed the next item for bid was a Cricut! NO WAY!! "Bid, Bid!" I yelled at Brett. He looked at me like I was crazy but started the bidding...at $5! Apparently no one else there knew what this was, or what it was worth, because I ended up getting the thing for a total of $36.50! I was ecstatic, but a little nervous that I had possibly just purchased a broken or dead machine. To make a long story short, it works, and I am absolutely loving it. It has come in handy for several different scrapbook pages, but today was the first day I did "something else" with it. I was playing with one of my new cartridges when I realized it contained spiders and pumpkins. Perfect for the Halloween season! I debated about what kind of project I wanted to complete, and then finally settled on something pretty basic. I simply cut out a bunch of spiders and hung them from the chandelier over my dining table. Easy, but still, kinda cute. For some reason I think most Halloween decorations are ugly or tacky (and this one probably is too), but for some reason I like it. I'm still looking for the day when I finish a "REAL project," i.e. some sort of vinyl letter something, but for now this will do.
Happy Halloween!

Obsession

WARNING: Do NOT purchase anything you are obsessed with unless you have MUCH more willpower than I do.
Explanation: I have an unhealthy fixation with Fishy Crackers, so I try to avoid them at all cost. However, they were on a great sale last week, so I decided to splurge. Bad idea! Result: I have had Fishy Crackers for dinner FOUR nights in a row! Yes, I bought that many!

27 Reasons for 27 Years

Happy Birthday to my cutest hubby Brett! Today he turns 27 years old! To celebrate, I thought I would share 27 reasons why I am completely and utterly in love with him.

1. He will (almost) always watch a chick flick with me, and (usually) actually enjoy it.
2. When he raises his eyebrows he gets a series of forehead wrinkles that is to die for.
3. He is very even tempered and is not easily upset.
4. Periodically, after I have a long day of work, he will break out the massage table and lotion and offer me a full body massage.
5. He loves sweets ALMOST as much as me. My perfect partner in crime for midnight deserts.
6. He has a very strong testimony of the gospel and of his Savior Jesus Christ. I know he is able to use his Priesthood Power if I ever need it.
7. He doesn't study! I know this should be on my negative list, but when I heard of friends who were at the library until midnight every night, it made me grateful he was always home even before I got home from work. It made me even more grateful that he would also spend the rest of the night hanging out with me. Studying is overrated. :)
8. He has a never ending desire to satisfy me or make me happy.
9. When I fall asleep on the sofa, he carries me to bed instead of waking me up.
10. He absolutely adores kids. Kids absolutely adore him. His family calls him the "Pied Piper." He'll make the best father ever.
11. His football touchdown dance leaves much to be desired. :)
12. He has perpetually sweaty hands. Most people would never want to touch, let alone relish in, sweaty hands, but I think the sweat just helps make his hands more consistently soft and moisturized. Perfect for me to rub my dry and cracked hands on. :)
13. His smile is infectious. No matter how upset I am, it always makes me smile!
14. He is always warm. I think his internal temp. must be a standard 101 degrees. This helps reduce my seemingly eternal goosebumps and numb extremities.
15. He LOVES to snuggle me. How many boys actually LIKE to snuggle? Mine does!
16. He always takes care of Kenzie's "dingle berries" (poop that gets stuck in the hair around her bum.) Gross, huh?!
17. He's promised me someday he'll get me the baby white tiger I've been wanting for so long. :)
18. We both want and love everything to be clean and organized, but we both somehow end up being messy and disorganized most of the time.
19. He lets me kiss his eyelids, even though he thinks it's weird.
20. He is just as competitive and clever when it comes to games as I am. Games are ruthless in our house!
21.He is allergic to shellfish and doesn't like fish. Hooray! My mom always told me it didn't matter that I didn't like seafood, because someday I would have a husband for whom I would have to cook shrimp, tuna, salmon, or crab. I guess not.
22. His drumming skills on Rock Band are downright exceptional. Who needs a celebrity rock star, when I have my own at home?
23. He helps me make decisions....and helps me realize that most decisions I make are not life and death, and don't really matter.
24. He has gone to the store, by himself, to get me tampons. He even brought back the right kind!
25. He always gives me a bite of whatever he's eating because he knows eventually I'll ask.
26. He's got brains. He doesn't like to admit it, but he is one of the smartest people I know. Really helps with that no studying thing!
AND...
27. He loves me for me, despite all my faults and shortcomings.

Brett, I love you so much and am so blessed to have such an amazing husband. Happy birthday!

He Must Love Me

This afternoon, out of the blue, Brett volunteered to give me a pedicure! These were his results. Yes, he even did the flowers!

AHHHH!!!

Let's just say, I LOVE Arizona! I know I am biased becuase I grew up here, but where else do you get a nice long summer that gives you 6-7 months to swim, lay out, and go to the lake; followed by 5-6 months of a 50-70 degree winter. I'm in love. This is what I saw yesterday afternoon when I looked out our back window. Good luck to Brett if he ever tries to make me leave Arizona again! :)

I LOVE SWEETS!!

Why is it I always get a craving for something sweet on Sunday afternoon? I've decided it's because 1.)I'm home all day with nothing to do but eat, and 2.)I know I can not make a dash to Cold Stone or Paradise Bakery even if I want to. So... if anyone's in the mood for some fudge, come on over. I had to satisfy my urge, so I now have PLENTY to share!

Our Family Is Growing!

Before you jump to conclusions, no I'm not pregnant (although I can probably name a few people who would be thrilled at that news). Brett finally convinced me we need another dog! Yes, you heard that right. For about two years now, we've been talking about getting another little pooch to keep Kenzie occupied while we're gone during the day, but I havn't been too keen on the idea of having another animal to feed, take care of, and share my love with. Brett has continually assured me that Kenzie would be happier if she had a friend her own species, so I finally consented. We both agreed we did not want the hassel of a puppy (chewing, potty training, etc.), so we started looking for an adult dog. I searched the paper for a while, but surprise!, no one wants to give away their pet. Then my mom gave me the idea of checking the local pound and rescue programs. She recently brought a chihuaha home from the pound, and he turned out to be the sweetest, funnest dog ever. So, after a month or two of searching the pound weekly, we finally found our man. It was a little tricky becuase we wanted a dog about Kenzie's size (4 lbs.) that doesn't shed, so that didn't leave us many options. But yes, we found him. Our new addition is a little Yorkshire Terrier named Tucker. He's more solid than Kenzie (about 7 lbs.), but they look close to the same size. We brought him home from the pound about two weeks ago, but I wanted to postpone this post until I could take some pictures of him. It is the pound's mandate that all animals be spayed/nuetered before they are released into a home, so we were not able to give him a bath for 10 days after to keep his wound dry. Yuck! I couldn't wait for that 10 days to be up! He has since been bathed, groomed, and is now a pretty handsome little dude. He and Kenzie are working on getting to know each other, and they seem to be becoming better friends by the day. Here's to our new dog!


Isn't he adorable?!


The first night we brought him home, with his cone on. He was not a very happy camper.

Kenzie and Tucker together in our backyard

My Husband's Having an Affair

Yes, it's true. Brett is cheating on me. I guess this affair has been going on for two years now, but he used to balance the two relationships so well (usually, MUCH more in my favor!). This other relationship used to only take a few hours a week, but in the last few months it has become so much more demanding. Brett informed me a few days ago that he won't be sleeping with me for the next few weeks, and when I left the house this morning he said he won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. WHAT?! He's having sleepovers now?! I don't think I can handle this much longer! To the Offender: Won't you please leave us alone and let us go back to the way things used to be. At least a few months ago we could PRETEND you didn't exist. Medical school, I HATE YOU!

(Note: Brett is currently holed up at Maricopa County Hospital for his OBGYN rotation. He is working the night shift (from 6pm to 8am) for the next two weeks, so our schedules are completely opposite. Or, who knows? There might really be some sexy supermodel chick named Maricopa that has caught his eye. Hmmm...I think I need to look into this...)