Thanks A LOT Lisa!

So I was talking to my sister Lisa the other day on the phone and she told me I had to DVR Sharkboy and Lavagirl for Gavin. She said it was Keely's new favorite show. So I took her wonderful advice and did and I haven't heard the end of it. He is OBSESSED with this show! He would watch it 5 times a day if I would let him. I've had to limit him to once a day, but that doesn't stop him from asking. It's usually the first thing he asks for in the morning and then again several times throughout the day. Oh, by the way, did I say thanks Lisa? So the other night after Gavin was asleep I went in to give him a kiss on his warm, rosy cheeks (I have to do this every night) and he said, "Why did you make me out of lava?" This, of course, is a line from the movie. He's always been a sleep talker, but that was hilarious! You know a child has watched too much of something when he starts quoting it in his sleep.

I kept hoping this wouldn't happen :-(

So I've been tagged. Thank goodness it's only 6 things. And if anyone ever thinks of tagging me with 100 things, you have to know now that I will NEVER do it, 6 is hard enough. Anyway here it goes...

1. I think I'm a little OCD. And here are just a few example of why:

• I change my pillow case at least 3 times a week. I can't sleep if I feel like my face is lying on germs and bacteria.
• I get totally grossed out by things with a lot of seeds, like pomegranates or kiwi. I can still eat them as long as I don't look at them too closely.
• I hate it when homes or buildings have ivy or some foliage growing on it. I feel like I need to get a large spatula and scrape it off.
• My towels have to be folded a certain way. If I ever have company and they fold my towels, I have to go back and refold them. I can't stand not having them exactly right.
• I am obsessed with not getting germs. I wash Gavin's and my hands constantly. And I carry Wet Ones and antibacterial gel everywhere I go. But I think this is a good obsession. Hey, we hardly ever get sick.
  

The lists go on, but you get the picture.

2. I love to read! It's actually a bit of an addiction I would say. When I'm reading a good book, it consumes me. I literally can't put it down and everything in my life gets neglected. Laundry piles up, dishes go unwashed, furniture goes undusted, my husband goes unfed... It's really a problem. I'll try to pace myself, but every time I walk by the book I can seriously hear it calling my name. So I have to limit myself to how many books I can read a month.

3. I HATE saying "I'm sorry". Steve will attest to this. I guess you could say I have a little bit of stubborn streak. (I wonder where I get that?) Even when I know for sure I was totally 100% wrong, I can't do it. I would honestly rather eat a bar of soap. But hey, the first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

4. I kissed Mark Mcgrath, crazy! When I was 19 years old, I was at a Sugar Ray concert and he pulled me up on stage and laid one on me. Steve likes to tease me about it. Whenever we see him on TV he'll say, "look, its your boyfriend." Oh well, guess I'll never live that one down.

5. I love dogs, and I don't think my husband will ever let me have one. He HATES them! I had a dog named Charnise growing up. We got her right after my big brother, Mike, was born and she died a month after he left on his mission. She was a member of the family. It was really hard on all of us when she died. But I was happy to have had her in my life.

6. I was 3 weeks away from going into the MTC when Steve and I got engaged. I had a calling to Independence, Missouri. It was one of the hardest choices I've ever had to make. I was so excited to go on a mission, and I never was going to be one of "those girls." When I decided to go on a mission, that was it. Nothing was going to deter me. But then this great guy from my singles ward asked me out because he new I was going on a mission and thought he was safe (ha,ha). And 2 months later we were engaged, and 4 months after that, married. Although this was a very hard decision for me, I've never doubted for a second that I made the right choice. And here I am, 9 years later with an amazing husband and our wonderful boy. Obviously God knew what he was doing.

I don't know what the rules are, like how many people I'm suppose to tag. So I'm just tagging Laura, b/c I know how much she loves to talk about herself and Julee, because she never updates her blog. Also Steve was tagged by the same person who tagged me, so stay tuned.

Tree Hunting

We decided to get a real tree this year, since my whole family (except mom and dad of course) is going to be here for Christmas. We always had one growing up and I was feeling nostalgic. It was a last minute decision, so we got to the tree farm about 15 minutes before they closed. And that was way too much pressure to have to decide so fast. Plus all the really good ones had been tagged by the early birds. We were freezing though, so we probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. I hope it looks okay once we get it in our living room. We're crossing our fingers.

New York, New York!

I just got back from an amazing girls weekend in NY with some awesome friends, Lisa, Jana and Emily! We did a lot of shopping, eating, laughing, talking and saw a couple of shows. We were also able to hook up with a friend of ours that lives in New York, Emily D. It was wonderful to spend so much time with such fun girls. I forgot my camera, so you can go to Lisa's blog to see pics and read more about the trip.

Thank you girls for the belly laughs and pillow talk!

A Great 2 Weeks!

I know it's been a while since I posted, but things have been a little crazy around here. We just had our whole family here for 2 weeks. My mom and dad are leaving on a mission to Australia on the 12th and everyone came to spend time with them. Gavin had lots of fun with his cousins. And Steve had a lot of fun hiding in the basement with Dad and his brothers in law watching sports and playing XBOX. Luckily the basement was finished in time or we all would've gone nuts. It was really great to have everyone. I always love spending time with the family. We love you Mom and Dad and will miss you very much!!



P.S. Lisa finished her slide of the trip first, stealing the best song and the best pics. So I copied her song and used some of the same pics. If you want to see more pics you can go to Lisa's blog.

Such a Big Boy!

Gavin had a primary program today. And he did such a good job! He said his part all by himself without any help. We are so proud of him!

AT LEAST SOMEONE IS HAPPY ABOUT THE SNOW

Yesterday when it started raining Gavin asked me if he could play in the rain. So we put the raincoat and rain boots on and he ran out to play. A few minutes later he ran in and said, "Mom it's snowing!" I couldn't believe it, SNOW! Are you kidding me? Come on, I feel like Fall just started. I'm not ready for this. :-( I haven't even bought Gavin a new snowsuit or snow boots yet. I think I'm in denial, but Gavin loved it. He and his friends played out there for a good hour before I had to make him come in. And then we woke up this morning with a sheet of snow on the ground. That's it, I'm moving to Arizona!

What Were We Thinking????

As most of you know we are finishing our basement. It has turned into a love-hate relationship. We have tried to do most of it our selves. And when I say we I mean Steve. He has worked so hard and done an amazing job. And Gavin has been such a trooper. He's been so patient with us. But lately I'm just ready to wash my hands of it and hire the rest out. Our latest tasks have been finish work and painting and I thought no big deal, right? Wrong, I say again, what were we thinking? If I never have to spackle, caulk, sand, or tape again, it will be too soon. And Painting, YUCK! We have a deadline of the 22nd of OCTOBER (yes 2 days away). To be finished painting and ready for carpet! I hope we make it! Wish us luck!!! And yes I see the irony of my shirt.

Pumpkin Picking With Grandma Lynda.

We had lots of fun picking pumpkins, except when it came time to take the picture with Grandma. That mean look on his face wasn't because he didn't want a picture with Grandma. If you look in the left hand corner of the picture you can see a yellow squash looking thing with wort like things all over it (I have no idea what it really is). Well Gavin didn't want anything to do with that squash, let alone stand right next to it. It was totally grossing him out. Gavin OCD? nah :-)

Baby In The House

Julee and Ayden came to stay with us last week. Quickly it became evident that we don't have a baby friendly home. He's crawling all over the place and getting into everything. Cords, electronics, home decor, plastic bags, dog tails, you name it. As long as it's not any sort of a toy, Ayden will want to play with it. Luckily he had Julee, Grandma, Gavin, and me to monitor him. I don't know for sure how Julee keeps up with him at home. Gavin loved having him here and was very protective of him. Ayden loved playing with Gavin and watching him run around.

I going to give a little update on him since Julee is so terrible about it. (We love her anyway.) Ayden is almost 8 months old. He weights 23 pounds and is 29 inches long. He started crawling at about 6 1/2 months . His first words were hi, mom, and then Arah. Sorry Zeb. I know a lot of you probably don't believe me, but I heard it and I'm sticking to it.

Ayden is such a loving, cuddly boy. His mom has given him enough squeezes (we all know how Julee loves to squeeze) in his first 8 months that he has learned how to squeeze back. He'll sit and cuddle with anyone who wants for as long as they want. I love it!!

Zeb and Julee are great parents and they have a wonderful baby boy. We are so blessed to have that precious boy in our lives. We can't wait for then to come back and hopefully Zeb can Stay next time.