The Westwood Family

We are pet parents

2012-01-29T19:55:00.004-07:00

Scott came home from work the other day and handed me a piece of paper that said the following. Being a doggy mommy I thought it was hilarious.

Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and then Complain About Our Pets
1. The pets live here. You don’t.
2. If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.
(That’s why it’s called “fur”niture.)
3. To you, our pets are just animals. To us, they are an adopted
son/daughter who happens to be hairy, walks on all fours and doesn’t speak
clearly.
4. Dogs and cats are better than kids because:
- they don’t ask for money all the time
- they are easier to train
- they usually come when called
- they don’t hang out with drug-using friends
- they don’t need a gazillion dollars for a college education, and
- if they get pregnant, you can sell the children.

I am not sure who to give credit to for this brilliance but I thought it was funny. Now don't be offended if you have kids. We love kids and would give just about anything for one of our own, but for now you'll have to get used to the fact that I talk about my dog A LOT, because to us he is our hairy child. :) Seriously, who wouldn't love this face?
(This was Christmas morning, and he got a lot of Christmas presents, you know from us, and both grandparents, and our next door neighbors so with every present we unwrapped, he thought it was for him, thus the anticipating look. See, he's just like a kid.)

St. George

2012-01-18T16:20:00.002-07:00

To say that I'm exhausted is an understatement. Sunday I arrived home from spending almost 2 weeks in St. George. The company that I work for opened a center there and sent me and one of my other Price co-workers to help train the first group. There is something to be said about not having to cook or clean for 12 days but living in a hotel for more than a couple days, without family gets old and lonely. It was a good experience and I'm glad that I went but I was working evenings there and now that I don't have the option to sleep in anymore I'm tired all day long.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting SO many great people. We went to karaoke and sushi with our trainees and it made me realize once again how many awesome people there are in this world. I have felt a bit of sadness as I think of the possibility of moving away soon and leaving so many incredible friends but then I realize there are so many people I have yet to meet and become friends with. Anyway, that was a totally sidetracked thought... back to St. George.

The weekend that we were supposed to come home, Scott drove down with my co-workers family and we made a mini vacation out of it. I really haven't spent a whole lot of time in St. George through my years except for a night here or there on our way to California. So Scott and I decided to see the "sites" around town. We started out at Brigham Young's summer home, then to the St. George Tabernacle and then to the St. George Temple visitors center. We learned so much that day! Like for instance, did you know that the Temple was built on the outskirts of the original town because Brigham Young wanted it in the center of the valley and knew that eventually the valley would be full? And did you know that TONS of tour busses stop each year when they are traveling from Las Vegas to Zion's National Park because they can see the Temple off the freeway and so many people have asked to stop so now it is a regular stop for a lot of tours? And did you know that they send French speaking missionaries to St. George for that purpose of talking to tourists? And did you know that more French people are converted to the LDS faith because of visiting that visitor's center than in all of the proselytizing in France? Who knew? I sure didn't!

Anyway, it was so good to have that time with Scott and have no schedule or plans. It was also nice to see our dog again. Cosmo had visitation with my parents while I was gone. Scott was very very lonely and missed Cosmo a lot. Cosmo made it very clear how upset he was when we picked him up. Luckily he wasn't mad at me and he cuddled right into my neck. As for Scott, Cosmo wouldn't even look at him which means he's really mad because according to Cosmo, Scott has the tastiest most delectable face and Cosmo would lick it all day long if Scott would let him but Scott didn't even get one lick. Scott explained it well when one of his customers asked if we had kids, Scott said "No, but we have a dog that thinks he's human." So true, and that's why we love him!

Well, that's all for now, maybe I'll get caught up on posts and eventually tell you about our fun Christmas guests.

Recipe etiquette

2011-12-04T15:05:00.002-07:00

For all my blogging friends, here is a question for you... What is the rule about recipe etiquette in blogs? I know generally you acknowledge who you got the recipe from if you can remember. But I was thinking about starting a recipe blog for my sister and mom who are always asking me for recipes that I've tried and like but I don't want to get in trouble if it's from a recipe book. So does anyone know the etiquette/unwritten rule is there? Thanks in advance!

The happenings

2011-11-17T16:54:00.003-07:00

I think busy is not a strong enough word to describe our lives lately. This last month has been pure chaos. We were able to celebrate our 4 year anniversary and the majority of the rest of our lives have been consumed in work. Scott has been really busy at work, and I have been REALLY busy at work. I started a new position with the company I work for. I'm still a trainer but I'm over a new department here in Price called CaptionCall. The product came out about a year ago and they've had a department in the Salt Lake office but they just brought it to Price. It's potentially a huge step for my company and they are looking to open some new offices in the coming 6 months, so it's been fun to be a part of the beginning of something that is going to be huge for the company. The busy-ness hasn't come without it's hardships. I think I've had a break down at least once a week since starting this position and I've been so grateful that Scott has been so understanding. One particular week was really rough. I was working enormous amounts of overtime so the exhaustion was overwhelming and I was having some days where the words kept running through my head "life's not fair." But I have a great husband who let me cry for a very long time on his shoulder and the next day when I got in my car to go home from work I found these...
You can't look at Gerbera daisies and not smile, right? This did make my day and seriously aren't flowers the best? I received 3 sets of flowers in a 3 week period, one set for our anniversary, an arrangement from the VP of the company I work for thanking me for working so hard, and these. Of course the ones from Scott were my favorite, but I just love how flowers can lighten a rough day.

In other news we paid off our Honda, yay! We now have 2 cars bought and paid for. If all goes well we're hoping to be out of debt by May or June (Thanks Dave Ramsey!). Scott got me a gift certificate to get the car detailed so it's all pretty. I'm just hoping the car will last us a long time.
Other than that we are doing pretty good. We're to the point of trying to decide what is next for us and we have a list of options in front of us and the hard part is deciding which is the best. We'll probably be moving from Price in the next year which will be weird. I have grown to love the city and the people but we both know that this isn't our permanent home. This is the part of being an adult I hate, making life altering decisions. But I'm so glad I have Scott by my side through it all.

Family pictures

2011-11-03T18:02:00.006-06:00

This is a first for the Westwood family. After four years we made the effort to get some family pictures done (yes the dog is a part of our family). Maybe a little part of me was waiting for an addition to complete the photo, but alas it is not so. We had a great time with these photos and our photographer was great. Cosmo even behaved quite well. Here are some of our favorites...

4 years

2011-10-19T12:54:00.003-06:00

Has it really been that long? As I look back it seems so long ago yet it seems that the time has flown by so fast. Does that even make sense? We've had our ups and downs like any married couple has but I feel now that we are closer and stronger than ever. Fortunately bumps in the road and unforeseen obstacles can make you stronger if you let them. We haven't always grown from our trials but I feel that this year we have. Life doesn't always go according to plan but it's a lot easier if you use it to benefit and strengthen the relationships that you have. I was so lucky to find a guy that I could lean on during tough times. That would be the strength I needed when life is hard.

I.AM.LUCKY.

Here's to another year that will hopefully be the best one yet!

Fort Westwood

2011-09-17T14:43:00.003-06:00

A few days ago I was asking Scott if as a kid he ever made forts. I know that when I was growing up that was one of my favorite things to do in my basement. Made of blankets, chairs and TV trays we would make different rooms and tunnels to play in. It was something so simple yet so entertaining.

We had made plans this weekend to go camping. We have had something every weekend for probably 3 months and camping seems to get pushed to the back burner because work and family came first. But it rained yesterday. And Scott was pretty bummed. I had told him I'd camp with him in the backyard but it was still poring rain. So we decided to make a fort in the living room. It didn't have any tunnels and only had 1 room, but it was fun to remember what it is like to be a child.

This morning, I started to clean up and asked for Scott's help taking down the fort and he was bummed so we are leaving it up for a few more days. He plans on sleeping in it tonight... I told him I'm sleeping in my bed. But it was fun and this is an activity I can't wait to do with my own children one day. :)

Zero

2011-09-10T09:57:00.002-06:00

That's right, it says ZERO. A couple weeks ago we made some really big payments on my students loans and I can now say my education is MINE. I can't tell you what a great feeling it is after paying for4 years and not seeing the amount going down much, and now it's gone! All we have left on our credit report as far as debt is my car and Scott's school loan which we have a plan to pay both off by next May (knock on wood). When we moved here to Price we were swimming, just trying to stay afloat. Someone had given us Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover" for our wedding, we read it and it taught us how to best get out of debt as quickly as possible. I would recommend it to anyone, it really has some good advice. Having 2 incomes has been a huge blessing for us. Yay for one less bill!

Comments

2011-09-04T16:45:00.006-06:00

I guess some people have tried to make comments on this blog but the access has been denied. I didn't change my settings but I went in and tried to make it so any person could comment. If for some reason it denies you, email me at stephkay82 at hotmail dot com. I just wanted to make sure everyone knows I didn't block anyone from commenting. I love all comments. :)

Top 10

2011-09-03T23:07:00.004-06:00

As fall is quickly approaching I decided to make a list of the top 10 things I'm looking forward to this fall...

10. Less yard work.
9. Work slowing down.
8. Evening walks in a perfect temperature.
7. More time spent at home.
6. Anticipating and preparing for the holiday season.
5. Leaves changing colors.
4. General Conference
3. Seeing Mary Poppins at Capital Theater.
2. BYU football
1. Celebrating 4 years as the wife of an amazing man.

It's going to be good.

Summer adventures

2011-07-24T13:36:00.008-06:00

My cute niece Makenzie just graduated from High School. She decided that for her senior trip she wanted to come and spend a week in Price with Scott and me. I reminded her of what Price consisted of, and she still decided to come here. I was worried about what I was going to do to make this trip special, because really, you only get one senior trip. Unfortunately I could only take limited time off of work so she got to spend a lot of down time by herself but we tried to find some fun activities to make the trip memorable.

The day after she got here, we went to Scofield Resevoir where they were having "Pleasant Valley Days." Every town in central Utah, at some point in the summer, has an event like this with booths and good (greasy) food, entertainment and lots of other activities that brings everyone together. Being up in the mountains I anticipated the weather to be a little cooler. Boy was I wrong. We lasted for about an hour and a half before we were both miserable. We did stay to watch the "Rubby Ducky Derby" that they have each year. People can sponsor a rubber ducky, by paying $5, and win a price, if they come in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or last. The proceeds are donated to a local charity. I bought one and we watched the race. People line up on the banks of the river to see if their ducky wins a prize. It's a fun tradition for the community. Here we are waiting ever so patiently.
And here they finally came!
On the 4th we didn't have much to do during the day so we took a drive up to Joe's Valley Reservoir. We had never been up there but had heard good things. The weather didn't hold out long enough for us to do much, but it was a pretty drive and an every prettier reservoir. It makes me want a boat.
Playin' on the unstable dock.
The following weekend, my parents came down with Nick and Sydney (Kenzie's brother and sister). The kids had never been to Price in the 3 years that we had lived here and were excited to come down and see what it was all about.

My mom, Kenzie, Nick, Sydney and I went to the USU-CEU Dinosaur Museum. I am embarrassed to say that I had never been there before. I was pretty impressed by the artifacts that they have. They even have an alligator, and we happened to be there during feeding time. Watching an alligator eat live mice is pretty disturbing.

They had some fun activities for kids, including fossil brushing.
We had a great opportunity to take some fun pictures.
The next morning, Kenzie, Nick, Scott, my dad and I left my house at 5:30 and headed for Arches National Park, where we made the hike to Delicate Arch. It was hot, and we got lost, but we had a great time and the reward at the top of the trail is always worth it.

Nick, Dad and Kenz under the Arch.
We had some extra time before we were supposed to meet up with my mom and Syd in Moab, so we ventured over to some other Arches. Kenzie, Nick and I were too sore and hot to do anymore hiking so my dad and Scott made the hike to these Arches called the North and South Windows.
After meeting up with my mom and Syd, we drove 90 minutes south to a town called Bluff, Utah. We were all so exhausted and it was over 100 degrees outside but we were too close to this special little town not to go. Some of my ancestors helped settle this town and 3 years ago my dad, his siblings and some cousins went down and built a small cabin (in 3 days time) as a memorial to these pioneers.
A plaque about my great great grandmother.
It was such a fun and memorable week with Kenzie and some other members of my family. I'm so glad that they were able to come down to Price and spend some time.

Strawberries everyday

2011-06-29T18:36:00.004-06:00

Last year we planted 21 small strawberry bushes. Only 2 survived and it's a good thing because they have taken over the area! We only got a couple strawberries last year but this year we are getting quite a bit.

This is the bigger of the 2 bushes.
I usually pick them every other day. This is about how may I get every other day and they are mostly big and super sweet! It's awesome!

We also planted a raspberry bush. It was a scrawny little thing at the beginning of spring and it hasn't stopped growing since.
And my blackberry bush.It's going to be a berry good summer!

Missouri- Part duece

2011-06-25T21:55:00.006-06:00

Our trip to Missouri really was more than just dealing with the aftermath of a deadly tornado. I was able to get some girls time in with my 2 sister-in-laws who I ADORE. Seriously, I gained 3 amazing sisters-in-law when I got married and spending girl time with them is always a riot.

We were able to spend some time with friends while there. We had a BBQ at Scott's parents house and were able to visit and have an enjoyable time.

The Friday that we were there, Scott and I decided to be "touristy" and visit Branson. He had been there a few times before, but I never had. I have to say that it is one of the most beautiful cities. We didn't have time to take in any shows, but we drove around, ate some lunch, snapped some pictures, and did some shopping at the Tanger Outlets and Branson Landing.

Below are some pictures taken from the car (thus the low quality)

Branson Landing

On our way home from Branson, we met the fam at Lambert's. We never pass up a chance to go there when we are in Missouri. Great food and an awesome atmosphere. If you are ever in the Branson area, you won't be disappointed by making a stop to this place. It's about 25 minutes north of Branson in Ozark.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting this little angel, seen below... (Not Scott, I'm talking about the baby!)
This is baby Erin. She is our foster niece. She is such a sweet baby and it was so fun to play with and give loves to.

Well, that was our trip in a nutshell. Besides the tornado and the most horrid allergies I've had in my life, we had a pretty good time!

Happy Birthday Scotty the Hotty!

2011-06-13T16:03:00.005-06:00

My man is officially 1 year away from being the big 3-0. (Well, in all reality he's less than a year away since I'm 4 days late in blogging about his birthday.) I had to work up in SLC on his birthday but I was home by evening and we got to spend a nice evening at the "fancy" restaurant here in Price, and then he opened presents and we both fell asleep, super exciting. There was one present that I had to get to him late because it took some time to make, and I couldn't make it while he was at home. He's been talking for some time about a sherbert watermelon. I had no idea what that was, but apparently that was one of his favorite treats as a kid. He explained to me what it consisted of and I figured it couldn't be too hard to make. I used my trusty friend Google and of course it helped me find a way to make this tasty treat.

So here's what I did:

I got a metal 2 qt. metal bowl and wrapped it with plastic wrap. (SUPER important step)

Then I put a layer (about a pints worth) of soft lime sherbert along the bowl and stuck it in the freezer until it was pretty solid.
Then I put a layer of softened pineapple sherbert over the layer of lime sherbert (about a pint) and put it in the freezer to harden.

Then I took some softened raspberry sherbert and put it in a bowl (about 1 1/2- 2 pints worth of sherbert) and mixed some mini chocolate chips in it.

Then I filled up the rest of the bowl with that mixture and stuck it into the freezer til it was rock solid.

After it had set, I turned it upside-down on a plate and put it into the freezer until we were ready to eat it.

You can't tell by the look on his face but he was VERY excited about this. It was well worth the work just to see him so excited.

Here is how we served it, like a slice of watermelon, and it was oh so tasty!

I just have to say that I love this guy more and more everyday, and I've never been so happy. Here to many more birthdays to come!

Missouri- Part 1

2011-06-11T21:36:00.004-06:00

I finally found some time to blog, so I'm going to try and portray some of the things that happened on our trip. I keep going through it over and over again in my head, trying to find the best way to describe what we saw, what we experienced, some of it being very personal with no words to explain the impact of seeing some a tragedy first hand. You see pictures of the ruins of what used to be a person's home and town and it is nothing compared to seeing people searching through rubble for anything salvageable that they can find, anything that they can hold on to that will be a remnant from their life that so quickly turned upside down. The site, the smell, the air of despair and then hope, is very hard to express.

This trip was definitely not what we planned. We had decided we wanted to go to Missouri when nothing was going on (i.e. baptisms, weddings, holidays) because we have always gone when there is a reason to and we wanted to just go and spend as much quality time as we could with Scott’s parents. But when planning a vacation, you never say “How will my plans be affected if a natural disaster hits?” So here is part the story:

Let's start at the beginning...

Scott and I left for Missouri on a Friday night around 10 p.m. He had to work until then and we were anxious to leave, so we packed up and left. We drove through the night and after going through Vail, we started up Vail pass. Lo and behold, we hit snow. Bad snow. Scary snow. There were semis stuck in the slow lane, and farther up there was a car stuck in the passing lane. We felt really bad because we didn't feel like we could stop the car to help, not knowing if we could get going again, so we continued on.

Last time we drove to Missouri was in the month of November and we had no problems with snow, go figure.

We were able to stop in Kansas City and see the Kansas City temple which is being constructed. This will really nice for my in-laws who currently have to drive to Oklahoma City or St. Louis to attend the temple which is about 4 hours away from their home. Currently they live about 2 hours south of Kansas City.

The following day was Sunday. This was the day that the tornado tore through Joplin. Many lost their lives, but miracles happened that day. It was a miracle that we were at a fireside (an evening church meeting) an hour north of Joplin, when that fireside could have been in the Joplin Stake Center that demolished. It was a miracle that the 7 people in the Stake Center ran to the woman’s bathroom and it was one of the only rooms still standing. One of Scott’s cousins who lives in Joplin was home alone, her husband was gone, and she got in her bathtub with a mattress over her, I can’t imagine the horror. Scott’s other cousin and his wife gathered their children into the bathroom in their house, the only room without windows and they were lucky enough to be a little bit outside where the tornado hit.

Scott, his brother Matt, and his dad went into Joplin that night. Scott’s dad and mom own some apartments in Joplin and the residents had called to let them know that there was some damage to the buildings. Of course you can imagine the hesitation I had in letting Scott go into the city at this time. The news was telling of the chaos going on in the city. People were trying to get out, there were live electrical wires on the ground, in some places it smelled heavily of gas, and there was debri everywhere. Matt’s wife Christine was trying really hard to talk them out of going down there but I knew whether I fought it or not, nothing could keep Scott from going in to help. Luckily the properties only had minimal structural damage and they were able to board up the windows and get some water and candles to the tenants since the water had been contaminated and the electricity was out.

That week the LDS church came in and had a plan set forth to help the people of Joplin. Saturday we were able to go into Joplin and help people with their yards, and in cutting down limbs that were broken, put tarps on damaged roofs, and anything else that they might need help with. Scott’s aunt and I went door to door and filled out request forms for those that wanted help and a crew of about 30 people came behind us doing the work orders. I can’t even begin to express what an amazing experience this was. The first house that we went to, there was a little old man out in his yard trying to cut down a limb on his tree. (We were in a section of Joplin about 2 blocks away from the part where houses were gone, but most of the people we helped that day still had their homes and were able to live in them.) Anyway… this little old man has a saw in one hand and a pipe in the other, and he was trying really hard to cut this limb down. So we go up and start talking to him and his wife comes out of the house and we tell them who we are and what we would like to do for them, and this little old lady starts telling us that her husband is 95 and he’s trying to do this all by himself but she doesn’t want him to get hurt. She was more than willing to let us help her clean up her yard. After they gave us permission, the little old man came up and gave me this great big hug and told me thank you. His wife was so appreciative, she told us that if we needed a bathroom or water while we were working in that area that we could come on over. When I went back later to use the bathroom, she didn’t recognize me as the one that spoke to her first, but she said “You guys are guardian angels sent to us. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come.” Nothing can describe what we felt that day. We may have helped that day but the impact of others on us will never be forgotten.

One of my favorite things about this is experience was the sense of unity in the community. We bumped into other religious groups out helping people, and then other religious groups out in golf carts or trucks with food for those working. One truck stopped and fed our whole group hamburgers and drinks. Every corner on Main street had some organization that was giving away free food. I’ve never seen such a unified group with one purpose.

There are so many other stories to tell but the post is long enough. We did get to spent time with family and friends which was great. We did have some good times, and even got away for a day and went to Branson (which was beautiful, and quirky, and fun). But I’ll have to post about that later.

Here is a short video of Joplin that depicts what it was like a whole lot better than pictures. I have another video that's even better but it won't load.

Soon to come, "Missouri part 2" which will show the other parts of our trip.

Brief highlights and lowlights

2011-06-02T18:47:00.004-06:00

We got back Monday from a trip that we made to Missouri. We were there for a little over a week and it definitely wasn't what we had planned. My in-laws live about 10 miles away from Joplin Missouri and the second night that we were there was when the tornado came through. I will post more about our trip later, but I don't know when. I'm somewhat sleep deprived and my house is a mess, and I have no food in my fridge (yes I've been home for 3 days now and haven't grocery shopped) so I'm trying to be responsible and get things organized here before I spend take doing other things (like blogging a really long post). Below are some pictures from our trip. I'll fill you in on them later.

Vail Pass

Kansas City Temple (still being built)

One of hundreds of pictures we took of Joplin

Branson

Road trip ahead

2011-04-29T16:25:00.002-06:00

We are taking a road trip this coming summer to Scott's parent's house in Missouri. I really don't mind this drive. Going through the mountains of Colorado is just breathtaking and then you get to the other side of Denver and it's like Ugly-ville. Seriously, can we just get rid of Kansas and Nebraska cuz they are hands down the most boring states to drive through. But in all seriousness, I really like the time spent in the car with Scott. We've had so many good conversations over that 17 hour drive. And it's just a chance to get to know each other even better and spend some time with just us.

Well, in reality, there is only so much talking you can do in 17 hours (not to mention that any time I'm driving, Scott is snoozing) and so we generally will bring things to entertain ourselves. Scott's parents lent us some books on CD, so that will help the drive, we bring some trivia games and we always pack the iPod with good tunes. But each time I go on a road trip there are certain songs I have to have on my iPod or it wouldn't feel like a road trip. When I was growing up, we went on road trips most summers. Mainly to California in the station wagon (with vinyl seats that burnt your legs). But there were times that we would pack up Grandma and Grandpa's Winnebego and drive cross country, visiting family along the way, until we hit the east coast.

My dad would always have the same music to play on trips. The cassette tapes consisted of Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers, the "Top Gun" soundtrack, and occasionally the "Footloose" soundtrack. As I get ready for trips, the nostalgic part of me always makes sure I have this music on my iPod.

So, what do you do to make the time go faster on road trips? 17 hours is a lot to fill and we'll be going through Colorado in the dark and Kansas in the light. Ideas appreciated...

Fun family times

2011-04-12T16:50:00.003-06:00

This past week was one of the funnest of the year so far. My parents came down to Price on Monday to see the play that Scott was in. It was so nice to have them here, I love it when they come to visit. The next day Scott's parents came into town and were able to see Scott in the play closing night and then they stayed for a few more days. It was so much fun to spend some time with them here in Price. I learned how to make 2 new recipes (Sausage and corn casserole and chicken pot pie) that are 2 of Scott's favorites. They were both so yummy! Last time Scott's parents came into town Cosmo was under the weather and didn't want to be social at all, but he LOVED Scott's parents this time. After Grandma Westwood gave him a treat for the first time, he followed her around for the rest of the visit. He even put on his pouty face when they were packing up their car. It was such a great week and we are looking forward to spending more time with family in the coming months.

Nothing much else to report. But here is a picture from closing night of "The Odd Couple" for your enjoyment... Yep, that's my man, and I do love him so, maroon pants and all.

30 minutes

2011-03-30T19:00:00.002-06:00

Thirty minutes... that is what I set the timer for. I have had no motivation whatsoever to do anything all week long. So I decided that I would set the timer for 30 minutes and during that time I had to do chores. No distractions. Just as much work as I could do. I kinda felt like I was in adult time out. Punishment for days gone by with no housework.

Sometimes I don't know where to find the motivation to do the things I need to but this 30 minute rule worked out quite nicely. I was able to get quite a bit done. It was awesome. Also having company come to town is always a nice motivator to get things cleaned up.

If you have any advice on gaining motivation I'm open to suggestions.

Decisions Decisions

2011-03-19T14:03:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I really hate being a grown-up because it generally means you have to make grown-up decisions. These past few weeks we've had to make some tough decisions about the future, and the outcome was not what we thought it would be. Almost a year ago, we felt this urge that we needed to move to Logan after this school year was over. There was a possibility of a good job up there for Scott and we felt that Logan would be a great place for us to settle down for a while. As most of you know, living in Price has not been my favorite thing in the world. Besides having to drive the most dangerous highway in Utah to get to the nearest Target, it's just a whole different life style than what I grew up with.

Well, over the last few months, we have started to feel like Logan is not the place for us. I don't think it would be a bad thing to move there, I just don't think it would be the best thing. Our back-up plan was to move to SLC, where I could transfer to the SLC office for my work and Scott could work free lance for the company he worked for before we moved to Price. As we thought about it, we realized that didn't seem like the right move either.

Scott started looking online and applied to a few different places around the country. He had an interview with a company in LA. Some days we felt good about possibly moving to California and other days it just didn't feel right. The cost of living was the thing that scared me most.

So... one day Scott was looking through our local paper and found a job listing for a place here in Price. It was for the position for a manager at a local Verizon store. Jobs like these are rare here in Price and so Scott decided to give it a shot and apply. He was called the next morning and was set up for an interview. He passed the first interview and had a second one and they offered him the position. We honestly thought our time in Price was coming to an end but this just felt right to both of us. In the 3 years we've been married, we've never had 2 full-time incomes so this is going to be a really nice change.

I'm really glad that I don't have to leave my job. It's a really great one and I've enjoyed it more than any other job I've had. I'm also glad to be staying in our house here. When we were looking at moving, we were going to have to downsize and I couldn't figure out how we were going to fit all of our things in a 2-bedroom apartment.

I've really grown to love Price, and when we thought of moving, I would get really sad thinking of leaving all of my friends, and my great ward. I'm excited that we get to stay here for a while longer.

But I am still hoping that our next stop is Missouri. When I think of the future that's where I see us, and we always say that's the next step but we get a different answer than we are expecting.

Life without television

2011-03-04T21:13:00.003-07:00

It's been 5 days with no TV and I'm handling this better than I thought I would. It could partly be because we have had something every night this week so I didn't notice much. I did notice every night around 6 pm when reruns of "The Office" and "Friends" are playing. Even if I didn't sit down and watch them, I would usually turn them on for background noise while I was cooking. (Scott thinks I'm nuts to watch these on TV since I have both shows on DVD). Now I'm dependent on Pandora (have you tried the Glee station, GREAT music). Since we don't have cable I asked Scott to hook up my Super Nintendo so it's been "game on" in our house. I haven't lost my touch when it comes to Dr. Mario and I take a lot of pride in how good I am. I know it's not a huge accomplishment but it is one thing that I'm better at than Scott, which is rare (He seriously is so good at everything!) I am bummed that I am not able to watch American Idol. I was so skeptical when they swapped out the judges but I've rather enjoyed them. The only thing that annoys me is that they have to beep Jennifer Lopez in about every sentence that she says. Seriously, is it that necessary to curse in every sentence?

In other news... Scott will be in his last play at CEU March 31st-April 5. He has a role in "The Odd Couple". It is supposed to be hilarious, and I'm so excited to get to see him act again! We hope that some of you will be able to make it down to see him.

Bye-bye cable

2011-02-26T16:22:00.003-07:00

Well, it's bye-bye to cable TV in our home! We haven't been happy with our TV service for a long time. We have basic cable which is about 50 channels but we don't watch enough TV to justify keeping it (and all of the shows that we watch are available online). We considered getting rid of it a few months ago but our local provider requires that you have to have either phone or cable with your Internet, and there is no way we were giving up Internet. So we found a new company in town that will let us get Internet alone for a cheaper price. So we will be saving $40 a month which will be nice. We'll see how this pans out, I anticipate some withdrawals in the coming weeks.

Another Monday gone by...

2011-02-07T16:51:00.002-07:00

Not a whole lot to report on. Sickness has hit our home and Scott has been busy building a set for the upcoming play at the college. I'm getting tired of the cold and am so ready to be laying on a warm beach soaking up the sun.

Here's a picture that cheers me up. It's a long bone with meat in the middle but Cosmo knows it as his "stogie".

The wonderful Crockpot

2011-02-02T18:17:00.002-07:00

Lately I've had this obsession with my crockpot. I don't know how the working woman ever lived without them. I love trying new recipes and since I work full time I love being able to put something in the crockpot before I leave for work and not have to worry about throwing something together when I get home. I try to find recipes with ingredients that are common, and that are not too expensive to make.

The latest recipe that I made was White Chicken Chili. One of my co-workers made it for potluck day at work and everyone loved it. It's really good on a sub-zero frigid day like we've been having lately.

So here is the recipe. Also, I know that a lot of the people that read my blog have to eat a gluten-free diet and this is totally gluten free.

White Chicken Chili
3-4 cooked shredded chicken breasts (or 1 lb. browned ground turkey)
4 cans white beans (Northwest or navy)
8 oz. shredded pepperjack cheese (I tried to cube it thinking it would melt but it didn't).
8 oz. Sour cream (Some sour cream has gluten, Walmart brand sour cream is gluten free)
16 oz. picante salsa
Small can green chilis
1 tsp. cumin

Combine all ingredients and cook on high in the crockpot for 3-4 hours or until cheese is melted and it is warmed through. It's really good as a dip with tortilla strips or just served in a bowl as soup.

It never ceases to make me giggle

2011-01-24T21:46:00.001-07:00

I love this commercial... so funny!

Our year so far...

2011-01-21T21:00:00.004-07:00

Well, 2010 ended really well for us at the Westwood home. The beginning of 2011 was kind of a downer but things are looking up again. I'm getting over being sick and I'm finally starting to feel like myself again. Some things going on around our house... Scott's cousin called and said that he had a TV that was ours at his house. I don't recall this TV and Scott vaguely remembers it but it is a lot bigger than our 12 inch TV so we brought it home. The only bad thing about it is that it doesn't have a remote. SO... we programed this bad boy...
Someone gave this to us (I can't remember who), but they gave it to us thinking Scott would think it's funny. We both think it's funny and we programmed it to our TV. It can make laser sounds when you push the buttons. Although not "trekkies", we find great humor in this remote.

As for our boy...he has found his favorite place in the house and he goes and stands there until we open the blinds each day. Then he sits there all afternoon.
And last but not least, I have a fabulous husband who buys me flowers (that still look this amazing after 2 weeks). I love him more than words can express and I'm so grateful that for his unconditional love. I'm a lucky lucky girl!

The close of another year...

2011-01-02T16:39:00.003-07:00

Another year has come to a close and it's probably been the most eventful and the best close of a year we've had since we've been married. Our Christmas was awesome! I didn't take many pictures (which I know I will regret in years to come, and IS one of my resolutions), but here are a few...

Christmas Eve we had our favorite foods...
I cooked for quite a while to get this on, but it was so heavenly.

Christmas morning came and we rolled out of bed at around 9. It is so great to be able to get up when we felt like it.

Cosmo's Christmas picture.

The best part of the last week is that we got to spend so much time with family! Scott's parents, brother and his wife drove from Missouri and were able to spend a couple days with us here in Price. We also spent a lot of time with them throughout the week in SLC and Logan.

New Year's Eve we were able to spend some time with my family. We stayed with them while we were up there but we were so busy with Scott's family and other obligations that that was the only night we were able to spend some quality time with them and it was a lot of fun.

New Year's brought a visit to freezing Logan for a baptism for our nephew. We are always glad when we can attend special events in the lives of our family.

We are now home and there is no place we would rather be. We are excited for all of the adventures we have planned for this year and we know that each year is what you make it, so we plan on making this one the best one yet!

I love this place

2010-12-20T17:38:00.003-07:00

I know that you would never expect me to say that I love Price but I have grown to love it. Does it mean I want to stay here forever? Um... no. But there are some great things about living in a small town. Last night we were able to attend a community Christmas concert. It was a gathering involving 2 LDS stakes in Price, the Methodist congregation and the Lutheran congregation. It was so cool to be gathered with different people with different believes but having been brought together because of our belief in our Savior and being able to celebrate the commemoration of his birth. Things like this makes me love living in a small town.

Some other things going on in our lives:

As of right now, I'm a prisoner in our living room. I had the day off today and Scott and Grady (our landlord/friend) have been working on updating our bathroom. Our house is over 100 years old and a lot of the features in the house are over 50 years old, including our bathtub. It wasn't very good at draining and had caused some mold problems so they have spent the day taking out our old tub and installing a new one. This has forced me to lay around watching TV, having some much needed cuddle time with Cosmo and reading a book. I feel totally unproductive and cooped up but the end result is going to rock!

In other news, I'm not done with my Christmas shopping. That is on my agenda for this week. Also we are excited that we get to stay home for Christmas. Our plan is to have a Christmas Eve dinner and have a nice breakfast on Christmas morning and then we will stay in our jammies all day and snack on leftovers and watch movies... or Lost episodes. Scott's parents are driving from Missouri and will be here on Sunday night and then we will be spending the next week up in SLC. We are pretty excited to spend some time with them and with my family.

Scott got his first 4.0 ever! Granted he only took one class but I'm still pretty proud of him and his hard work. Also I'm loving my new position at work. I stay really busy and it makes my days go by very quickly, it's also very rewarding.

I really love this time of year and I try hard to take each moment and savor it. It's a time to reflect on how much we have and how abundantly blessed we are. I've been a little impatient lately and struggling to figure out why things aren't happening when I want them to happen, but I forget that everything always turns out how it should and I have to cling onto that faith and remember how much we've already been blessed with.

Last of all, we just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. One of these years we will do a Christmas card, but again the time has slipped away. I hope that Santa brings you everything on your list!

Black Friday

2010-11-26T22:02:00.002-07:00

Okay, call me crazy, insane, loony, mental, or whatever you want, but I went Black Friday shopping (for my first time) and I had so much fun! My sister (Jen), niece (Kenzie 17) and I got up and went to Target at 4 a.m. We made our lists the night before, carefully planned our strategy of how we were going to execute this mission. We got there as the end of the line (0f the super crazy people) that were entering the store. People were already exiting the story with their LCD TV's, so obviously they let people in a little early. The 3 of us went in expecting we wouldn't be buying everything on our list. To our surprise we all found everything on our list within 15 minutes (plus some things not on our lists).

Getting through the line took over an hour but it was so worth it! I saved $180, which was more than I spent. To my surprise there was no shoving or fighting over products. People were polite (besides some of the people that tried to cut in line). I really don't know why I haven't done this sooner. I will definitely be going out next year!

Still have 'em.

2010-11-15T21:27:00.003-07:00

Yup, 3 years later and we still have hundreds of the napkins that we used at our wedding receptions. It may be years til we are out of these bad boys, but these still bring back precious memories and a smile to my face... At least they are the perfect party napkin.

Clearance means good times!

2010-11-06T20:18:00.004-06:00

I was at Walmart today buying a few groceries and they had all of their leftover Halloween stuff on clearance up to 90% off. They had a whole shopping cart with dog Halloween costumes for $2 each. Originally I loaded up the cart with 5 different costumes but after standing there for a few minutes I had time to think of Scott's reaction and how I couldn't explain the need to purchase 5 different costumes for our dog. I limited it down to 2. One of them doesn't fit as well and I wish I would have picked out the hot dog costume instead but they are both so cute. (I even went back later today to get some others but the cart was almost empty.)

Luckily my dog was a good sport. I know he looked really upset in this picture but really he's just drugged. It's laundry day and he was having some anxiety issues.
And here is Cosmo in his second costume, it's a little small but still so funny.

I know I know, I'm sure a lot of you don't understand the relationship we have with our dog (my mom may be the only one that enjoys this post), but really he is our kid. Since we haven't been blessed with children yet, he fills some of that void. We love our boy and are so glad that he lives with us!

The happenings in our home

2010-10-25T19:59:00.002-06:00

We've been pretty busy around here. Scott just got back from a convention in Vegas. He was only gone for 2 days but Cosmo and I still missed him lots.

The governor made a visit to my work today. You know it's election time when he starts making his way to the small towns in the state. He seemed pretty nice. I got to talk with him for a minute and get my picture taken.

Scott got cast in a play! He will be in the production of "Our Town" at CEU. He is the "narrator", so he gets to talk to the audience and lay out the story throughout the play. I always love to watch him act. He loves it and he is so good at it. If anyone is interested in coming to see him, it is playing November 11-16.

And lastly, I got a different position at work. The title of my position is operations administrator/trainer. So I will be working with part of the operation side of things in our center and then I'll be training new hires when they start, along with maintaining quality assurance with current employees. I've been working as a supervisor for 2 years and this new position was kind of a lateral move, but I felt like I could grow a lot from this and get some experience in something different. So I'll be starting that next week and it will be a Monday-Friday which I have mixed feelings about. I love having a weekday day off but it will be nice to have Saturdays off again. I will also miss working 5-1:30, getting off of work early in the afternoon was nice. But not having to go to bed at 9 will also be nice. It should be a challenging but fun opportunity!

Another year!

2010-10-19T20:23:00.001-06:00

Today marks our 3^rd anniversary! It has been 3 years full of lots of love and lots of growing. We spent this past weekend in Salt Lake City. It was filled with many fun activities like shopping in Park City, going to a movie, attending Music and the Spoken Word, playing at the Clark Planetarium, more shopping, watching a move cuddled up in one of the comfiest beds I’ve ever slept in, and attending the temple. We also ate at most of our favorite places including Chinese Gourment, Pizza and Noodle Company in Park City, brunch at Little America (AH-MAZE-ING!!!), Applebees and Olive Garden. It was such a relaxing, fun filled, romantic weekend. It was exactly what we needed. Happy anniversary to my best friend and the love of my life! It’s been a great year and I’m so excited for the next!

A Much Needed Break

2010-09-27T16:15:00.003-06:00

I've realized that I've got a bit of an addiction... to social networking. I spent way too much time on Facebook and blog hopping. I've become more concerned about what is going on with others, than with what is going on with myself. I am in no way discrediting those that blog or Facebook but it's interfering with my growth and so I think it's time to take a break and re-evaluate some things. So I'm not disappearing, just doing something different for a while (I will probably last a week or so). But I figure if I can give up sugar, flour and dairy for 2 months, I can give up Facebook and blogging for a week.

Independence- And I ain't talkin' BYU

2010-09-19T09:00:00.003-06:00

As a lot of you know, Scott works a lot of long hours. He has to go up to SLC sometimes and will be gone for days at a time. I've learned that I can be a pretty independent person. There isn't much around the house I can't do for myself. (Although I still save some of those things for him when he gets home.) There is one thing that I just can't do for myself, and that involves big spiders. I have always been scared of spiders. But when I was 20, I had the most horrific experience with two spiders plus all their babies and it caused me such emotional distress that I had to have my mom sleep in my bed with me for a few days. Since then, when I see a big spider in my house, my head gets tingly and I start to hyperventilate. Is this something I need to overcome? Probably since our goal is to move to Missouri one day, the home of all big bugs. But I still have a major struggle with it.

So the other night, when I went to brush my teeth, I grabbed the toothpaste, which I keep in a cup with my nail scrub brush and I noticed that it was super dusty in there. I didn't think anything of it because our bathroom gets dusty very quickly. So I went about my business. So last night I went to get my toothpaste again and noticed that it was not dust in the cup but a huge spiderweb with a huge spider in there. I don't know how long it's been living there but I kinda freaked out. Scott was not home, so I had to figure out what I was going to do. There was no way I would be able to sleep if I knew it had access to me. So after the tingling in my head subsided and I took some deep breaths, I did this...
It took a lot of courage to even pick up the cup, but I flipped it over and for added security (who knows how freakishly strong it is) I put a bottle of hydrogen peroxide on top for weight. Luckily I'll see Scott tonight and I'll let him figure out how he is going to dispose of it from there. :)

Check this out!

2010-08-26T16:21:00.004-06:00

My cousin Laurel has written a book. She is truly inspiring and inspired. She spends her summers flying around the country speaking at girls camps and at firesides. She loves young women and she sees their potential. She has written another book and I can't wait to read it. You can find the book here and she wants so much for every young woman to read this that she is trying to keep the cost as low as possible. So if you know any young women that need some encouragement or that just need some reassurance in their life, I highly encourage this book. I'm not even a young woman anymore and I'm very excited to read it!

Congrats Laurel on your book! So excited to read it!

He did it!

2010-08-24T16:49:00.007-06:00

Scott, my dad, my brother Joey, my niece Ali-Jo, my brother-in-law Jimmy and my nephew Nick all set out to hike Mount Timpanogas... not the cave, but the top. Scott, Joey and Ali-Jo were the only ones to make it to the top but the others made a valiant effort. 20 miles, sore bodies, sunburns and many blisters on their feet later they made it to this...
The summit
He's on top of the world!
They signed the log book and wrote their names on a signature rock.
They were able to see to the south tip of the Great Salt Lake, all of Utah county, up to Jordanelle and Heber and even down to the south part of Emery county. Scott said it was so worth it even though he is still paying for it. I'm so happy that some of them made it all the way up.

I'm so boring

2010-08-20T15:11:00.002-06:00

So I don't really have much to post but we are alive. We are just keeping busy. I've been cooking dinner (planned ahead which is a miracle), I've given the dirty dog a bath (he's gotta be clean if he's going to sleep in our bed between us like he has been, I think he's been having nightmares or just gets cold), and just enjoying the last days of summer.

I finished the first season of Lost on DVD (thank goodness my sister has all the seasons), and I'm going through a bit of withdrawal because I finished it 3 days ago and the second season is up in West Jordan. I think I'll just get the rest of the seasons while I'm there so that I don't have to wait. I have to say I was a skeptic and I didn't want to give in to the craze, but I was hooked even though I know how it all ends.

Scott is hiking to the top of Timpanogas Mountain tomorrow with my dad, brother, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. They are all pretty excited about this and it's been a long time coming. Hopefully after that I'll have something more interesting to blog about. :)

Price City International days 2010

2010-08-07T21:18:00.002-06:00

Every year in Price, they have a festival for 3 days that includes entertainment, rides and local venders that sell food and merchandise. It's pretty much like a small fair. Scott got hired to do that light and sound for the entertainment. He worked long hours and it wasn't the smoothest experience but everything ended up working out. He did such a great job and so I'm proud of all the hard work he put into this.

He was in charge of arranging the entertainment as well. For the last night he got a couple of guys to come down from SLC that perform at a place called the Tavernacle. They are called "Dueling Pianos" and they play requests from the audience. It was SO much fun and everyone there had a blast.

The city counsel that approved the group were skeptical but as you can see in the picture below they had a blast. They probably had the most fun out of everyone (besides the high school "glee club"). This is them singing along to "Sweet Caroline."

Scott's cousin Jamin and her friend Leisl (that go to school down here at CEU) came down for the festivities. They are always fun to have around.
Cosmo is always glad when the girls come to visit. He has a crush on Leisl. They are so cute together!

How sad is this face?

2010-08-05T15:18:00.002-06:00

This is Cosmo, Cosmo has a problem. He has been diagnosed with anxiety. This condition makes Cosmo sick to his stomach and causes bad news at the Westwood home...

So this is the 3rd time in a few months that I've had to take Cosmo to the vet because of the trots. The first time they just gave him antibiotics and said it was a bug. This time I took him to a vet in Price and he said that Cosmo is suffering from anxiety. And looking back, each time this occurs there is a change of pace in our normal schedule. He also gets freaks out when we do laundry (he hates our washing machine because it squeals). But the good news is that he is being treated for his anxiety and we are happy that it's not something more serious.

Kenzie's visit

2010-08-04T15:54:00.003-06:00

My niece Kenzie has been asking for a while if she could come down and see us for a weekend and we were finally able to make it work. We took her down to San Rafael Swell "The mini Grand Canyon". Besides the car problems, we had a lot of fun. Here is some evidence of our fun!

This is the dinosaur footprint that we saw. The sun was at the wrong angle so it's not the greatest picture. We had a fun weekend together.

To my dear Ladybug...

2010-07-15T18:43:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it's been 2 years since you were relieved from your pain and got to go to doggy heaven. I get to see this fire hydrant everyday on my way to work and it always reminds me of you. You are still loved and we still miss you a lot!

Good family fun

2010-07-13T20:51:00.002-06:00

This is what happens when new camera + wig + family time are put together.

Yeah my dad is pretty cool.

And welcoming Max, the newest member of my sister's family. He was rescued from the shelter. He is a super sweet puppy and he is so good to put up with us putting a hat on him and taking his picture.
I think he looks like Cosmo. Yay for Max!

Lost camera :(

2010-07-03T14:24:00.002-06:00

I lost my camera last Saturday at a campground up the canyon here in Price. I shouldn't be so sad about a piece of metal but if you think about it, it's with me through a lot... Even though it was big and was only a 5 MP camera, it still makes me sad. I got it on Christmas, Cosmo's first Christmas in fact. It was there with me through multiple trips, through Cosmo's growing up years, through our courtship, engagement, at our wedding and was there during our newlywed days among many other milestones. We were looking at getting a new camera anyway but not this soon and were not going to get rid of that one. The good part is that I had dumped all of my pictures onto my computer so I didn't lose any of those. But I feel lucky it was only that and not something more important. It's not the end of the world but I won't be posting pictures for a while.

A summary of our amazing beach trip!

2010-06-18T21:37:00.006-06:00

So we are back from California and it was SO MUCH FUN! We got to spend some quality time with family which was great. Our days were filled with activities and adventures and we made so many memories.

The first day we drove to Vegas. I didn't get off work until 12, so we decided to just drive half way and get a good night's sleep instead of driving the whole way and then having to set up camp late at night. We stayed in a nice casino on the south end of the strip, and when I say the south end I'm talking 10-15 miles down from the city. So there wasn't a lot of traffic and when we got up that morning we were past all of the morning traffic which was awesome. Our room was really nice and super clean. There was even a phone next to the toilet. I don't like staying in casinos because I hate smelling like smoke but it wasn't too bad and we didn't stink afterward. We went that night to Buffalo Wild Wings. We were lucky enough to hit $.45 wing night, so I think we ended up ordering over 40 wings. It was super yummy.

Wednesday we drove through to California. We made some stops at some outlet malls and got some killer deals on a pair of sunglasses and some shoes for Scott and a purse for me. Then we went to lunch at a restaurant in Irvine called Houston's. They have awesome baby back ribs and since it was Scott's birthday I decided to take him there for lunch. He got the Prime Rib and I got the ribs. It was super good and such a cool atmosphere. After that we drove to the Newport Beach Temple since it was only 5 minutes away. I really love that temple, it is one of my favorites. Then we headed for Carlsbad to the beach. We were able to set up camp and his family had bought him a cake so we ate some yummy cake. (Do you like his awesome crown that the kids made him? He is such a great sport!)

On Thursday Scott's parents stayed with the kids while all of the adult children went to the San Diego Temple. They were doing some work on the outside but the inside was stunning. It seriously took my breath away. I can see why people love it so much. It was so great to be in the Temple with family. The rest of the day was spent at the beach with family and some extended family that happened to be on vacation as well.

Friday was Disneyland day! It was more exciting than Christmas morning for me. I've been wanting to go there since we got married and it just hadn't happened yet. We spent the day in the Disneyland park. It was so fun to be with the little kids and see their excitement. I went on Splash Mountain against my better judgment (not my favorite ride), and I got soaked. We did that ride at about 10 in the morning and I was completely dry by about 6 p.m. I think the favorite ride of the day was Space Mountain. That ride just makes me giggle and the little kids loved it! It was a long day and we were all exhausted by the end but it was well worth it!

(Scott convinced me to sit in the front instead of the second seat. I was the most soaked. Obviously he thought it was hilarious.)
Saturday we all slept in and then went to the beach. It was the only day that we spent on the beach that had sunshine. The rest of the days were cloudy and foggy. So I did what any girl would do that really wanted to live it up... I didn't wear sunscreen. Less than 2 hours in the sun and I was fried. It was pretty painful but now I have a nice bronzed tan in it's place. That evening we ventured down to Old Town San Diego. We went to the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. It is hands down the coolest, most high tech visitors center I've been to. Even the kids were so intrigued by the tour. It took about 45 minutes for the tour and then we went out back and panned for gold and made bricks and did some other activities. Then we went through some shops and decided to head back to camp.

(A random van we saw in San Diego, it was decorated in bird cages and ever had a bird cage in the front seat with a bird it in, so random!)

Sunday we went to the local ward in Carlsbad. The people there were so warm and welcoming. I love going to church out of state, it's always a positive experience. We took a Sunday nap and just chilled at the camp. It was fun to just spend the day relaxing.

Monday we went to a little taco shop in Encinitas and got some awesome Mexican food. Then one of my best friends Amber (who I worked with at Su Casa) came down from Corona to hang out on the beach with us. She brought her 2 darling kids and we just had fun visiting and playing in the sand. It was so good to catch up with her. I miss her a lot!
(How cute is this?!?!)

Tuesday we cleaned up camp and went to Disneyland again. We spent most of the day in California Adventure which was great cuz Scott had never been there. We went on a few rides and I got kinda motion sick so we went to a few shows in between some of the rides. We saw the Aladdin show which was awesome! It was like a 45 minute broadway play. That night we stayed with Amber in Corona and drove home the next day.
(This is me trying not to freak out, but it was so much fun!)
(Scott playing on Tom Sawyer's Island. I sat in the shade since I didn't feel well. He said he got a lot of weird looks exploring the island by himself.)

It was such a fun trip and I'm so sad it's over, but we really enjoyed ourselves and we enjoyed being with family!

Some ironic things from our trip...

Scott noticed that the most outdated ancient bathroom in all of Disneyland is in Tomorrowland. The most advanced bathroom was on Tom Sawyer's island.

Ants are not my friend and they were everywhere on the beach. I think I handled it quite well considering my dislike for them.

The longest line we experienced in the park was when Scott got a corndog for lunch in Disneyland. It took him 40 minutes.

The beach

2010-06-17T19:46:00.002-06:00

This is a sneak peak at our trip. The beach was beautiful...we had a blast...we made priceless memories... and spent a lot of time in the car. All in all it was an incredible trip (minus the ant infestation at the beach). I will post more later. Despite making sure my house was clean before I left I have mounds of sand covered laundry and stuff all over the place. I am going to responsible and do some work on that although I'd rather watch the Lakers/Celtic game and just chillin' with my doggy.

P.S. I took 5 pairs of flip-flops on the trip, however I only wore 3 of them during the trip. And I took 4 other pairs of shoes besides those. Don't mock, it never hurts to be prepared. :)

Is there such a thing as too many?

2010-06-02T20:16:00.003-06:00

I love love love flipflops. The hard part is trying to pick out which shoes to take to California. I am taking guesses on how pairs I take. And I have no problem taking as many as I need.

What defines a good time?

2010-06-02T20:05:00.002-06:00

A day at Grandma and Grandpa's Smith's cabin..

And the filthy dog to prove it. (He is usually pure white except his ears and tail.)

Good times, good times...

I'm coming Mickey!!!

2010-05-23T09:09:00.004-06:00

In honor of our trip to Cali I have changed the background of the blog once again. I tried to set a goal to no talk to Scott about it everyday but it hasn't happened yet. Some of you have asked where exactly we are going. Scott's family has a tradition of going camping on the beach of the 4th of July in Carlsbad. They don't do it as often since they moved to Missouri, but when we went back for Thanksgiving they told us that they wanted to do the trip this year. They usually go for 2 weeks but where they have to plan 2-3 day travel time each way we decided one week would be good. So we are camping on Carlsbad State Beach. We will be going to Disneyland (yippee!), exploring San Diego, and spending countless hours soaking up the sun on the beach.

I was talking to some co-workers about it and I was saying there is no where else that I would rather go this summer than southern Cal. They were boggled by this. But I haven't been in 5 years and that is the longest amount of time that I haven't been there. My parents are from Anaheim and my grandparents lived there until I was 8, so it was the vacation spot of choice. My mom's brothers worked for Disney so we would go down and stay with my grandma and then they would just usher us into the park. We got free souvenirs and all that good stuff. My brothers and sisters used to beg not to go there cuz they would get sick of it. But not me! When I go there, I feel like I'm home. There is nothing like driving through Barstow and going down Cajon Pass. At that point you roll your windows down and you can start to smell the combination of ocean and pollution. I know it doesn't sound like a pleasant smell but it is one of my favorite smells in the world.

Our second home

2010-05-20T19:36:00.002-06:00

We are relieved that if we are every homeless we will have a back-up plan. We are pretty excited about this and are ever more excited to use it on the beach in California and in the mountains this summer! Scott was so excited he even slept in it last night in the cold. Even the dog things it's totally awesome. Yay for summertime!

Westwood Family Update

2010-05-15T20:39:00.003-06:00

I am such a slacker! It has been a crazy month filled with twist and turns and by the end of the day I just want to go to bed and not blog. But I have so many fun pictures to share from the last month that I thought I better get on it...

So a month ago while Scott was out of town my mom came down and helped me plant some flowers and start a garden. Here are some pretty petunias that are on my front porch.

And my little strawberry bush that is finally growing. I planted 18 of these babies and about 5 are starting to form leaves. The others are still trying to survive my horrible soil. My neighbor ordered the plants online and they are supposed to produce huge strawberries.
My blackberry bush...
My raspberry bush (which is being eaten by some type of bug, if you have any suggestions of what to do about this, I am willing try anything.)
The vegetables will be planted next week. It will be fun to do a garden again.

In other news, our renter moved out. Yes we had a renter. She moved in last August and surprised us by randomly moving out a couple weeks ago. But that's okay, we feel it's for the best. But we had Scott's cousin Jamin living with us for 4 weeks and that was a blast. She is not a dog person, but a few days before she left she said she couldn't imagine living without a dog now. Her and Cosmo became bff's and he was super sad when she packed up. He would do this to her everytime she got home from school or work. He would sit like this until she would love him and play with him.
And this is how I found them one day. How cute is that!
And the last picture was just for fun. Cosmo had a sty in his eye and twice a day we would have to do compresses so Scott would wrap him in a blanket and hold him like a baby and I would do the compress. It got to the point where Scott would hold him for longer than necessary. And then they fell asleep one time. They are so cute together.
PS. 24 more days til we go to Cali!

May

2010-05-04T18:58:00.008-06:00

I love the month of May. I have so many good memories that happened during that month. This was generally the time that I would take a vacation because I would be done with school and couldn't wait any longer to get away and reward myself. Here are some fun memories I made in May. The pictures only go back 4 years because I didn't have a digital camera before then and I don't have the previous trips scanned. These were some of the funnest times I've had.

4 years ago I went on a trip with my cousin Laurel. She is my favorite cousin (sorry all other cousins). She has been a constant in my life and has always made me feel as special as a person should. We went on a temple trip. It started in Manti, we then went down to the Monticello Temple and then up to the Vernal temple. Random? Yes. Priceless? Yes! We had so much fun on that trip including staying in a B & B in Moab and taking an unplanned hike to the Delicate Arch.
3 years ago I went on 3 trips in May. This was my attempt to heal my heart. Luckily after the 3 trips it was repaired and I ended up living happily ever after. The first trip was to NYC with 5 of my girlfriends in my single's ward. It was so stinkin' fun! I'm so glad I was able to do something like that.

The next week I went to Vegas with my sister and 2 nieces. It was full of relaxation and fun in the sun!

And then came the Single's ward "Grover" trip the following week.

2 years ago we moved to Price, we didn't get a vacation that summer. But that was alright because we were together. :)

Last year Scott and I went to Las Vegas. It was our first trip since our honeymoon. It was fun to get away.

Next month we get to go to California, it's finally almost here and it is so needed for the both of us. We have both worked hard this past year and are ready to get away!

So very busy

2010-04-24T21:27:00.003-06:00

We have been super busy here lately but here is a fun picture to share. We had our annual Elmo Awards (CEU's version of the Oscars) and it's always fun to dress up and have a night out with fun and good laughs. I'll update more later with what's been going on...

We all scream for ice cream!

2010-04-08T20:09:00.002-06:00

I love conference weekend cuz that means Leatherby's. I haven't gone in a long time with my family but I was bound to go this year. This is my "Tracy's Peanut Butter Cup". It is the most divine dish of ice cream and topping in the world. I used to polish one of these bad boys off in no time. But I only got half way done with it. But that's okay, I got to eat the rest the next day during conference. It is so incredibly good!

Such a great and yummy tradition.

Paid off!

2010-03-25T15:15:00.002-06:00

Scott and I have been blessed more than we deserve this year. When we were positive we would owe a huge chunk of cash to the government for taxes, we actually got a return and were able to pay off my credit card. It was a huge surprise and relief to us! I had 2 goals at the beginning of the year... 1st I wanted to pay off my credit card by the time we went to California. And 2nd we wanted to be able to save up and pay for that trip with cash and not have to charge ANYTHING. When I made the goal about the credit card, there was no possible way we could possibly do it by June but here we are 2 and 1/2 months away and goal #1 is accomplished.

Do you ever feel that you receive more blessings than you possibly deserve? I certainly do!

3rd in the nation baby!

2010-03-24T20:13:00.002-06:00

There hasn't been much going on around here lately. We are still chugging along doing our thing. But we did have a fun little activity that I thought I would share. Our CEU Eagle Basketball team went to the NJCAA tournament and came in 3rd in the nation! They weren't even ranked but they excelled in the tournament and almost made it to the championship game. This is the furthest the basketball team has gotten in over 50 years so this is a big deal in Price. They held a parade for them and a little ceremony. Scott got to be in the parade. He drove this Yukon with the kids from the theater department in the trailer behind.

This is our team.

And this is them being honored by the mayor.
Now how often do you get to go to a parade in the middle of the week in March? Not very often and this was a big deal for our town. They made us proud!

Doesn't this make you want to go to Disneyland?

2010-03-09T17:30:00.002-07:00

We are going to California in 3 months and everyday I tell Scott how excited I am! It has been 5 years since I have been there which is the longest amount of time I've spent away from California. My parents are from Anaheim and my grandparents lived there until I was 10 so when I was young, we went to California almost every summer and got into Disneyland for free since my uncle worked there. The place never gets old to me. California is just familiar to me and I love it there, despite the smog and traffic. Thanks to my wonderful in-laws who are putting together this shindig so that we are all able to go. I've been begging Scott since we got married to go. Woo! CAN. NOT. WAIT!

I'm done! (This is said in a cheerful way)

2010-03-02T15:17:00.002-07:00

So it's been 2 months and I'm done with the cleanse. Although I feel healthier and lost weight, it was the wrong cleanse for what was wrong with me. The lesson learned through all of this is...

I do have self control and can go without sugar, flour, dairy, fruit, vinegar, artificial sweeteners, soda, chips, vegetable oil, beef, pork, all other meat that is not organic etc. for 2 months. I am a sugar-aholic and when I read about this cleanse I thought there was no way I could ever give it up but I did it!
When you feel something is wrong with your body, listen to it and don't leave the doctor's office until you get tests done that you think will help you. DON'T take no for answer. If I had done that with 3 of the specialists I went to, I would have been written a simple antibiotic 6 months ago and wouldn't have had to go through months of misery. Nobody knows your body better than you! And my experience is proof that even some of the best specialists out there can be wrong and will assume rather than testing to see. (And by the way, after taking 3 of the 40 pills prescribed, I'm already feeling so much better after months and months of being miserable.)
Eating healthy is much more expensive than eating unhealthy. How sad is that?
It is not fun to have to make separate meals for Scott and myself. So I have to find some healthy yummy recipes, because I want to eat healthy from now on but not as strict as I was. And my loving husband is totally supportive of that.
I am a totally grouch when going off of sugar cold turkey and it was probably best Scott had rehearsal at nights during that time.
Going out to eat, there are very few items at any restaurant that are healthy.
Juicing green vegetables tastes nasty!
Going off of the good food is a great start to a diet. This is just the start, gotta look good for California in 3 months!

Even though this didn't cure my problem, I'm glad I did it. BTW I'm starting out little by little with the food. I had a drizzle of ranch dressing on my salad last night and it was super yummy!

A weekend of temptations

2010-03-01T12:10:00.002-07:00

Scott and I went up to Salt Lake over the weekend for a few different events and it was definitely a weekend of temptation. It has officially been 2 months without sugar, flour, and dairy and after the first couple of weeks it wasn't so bad. I could easily resist things. Now I'm to the point where I still feel the same as day 1 (although my clothes fit better) and I just want to eat again. But I'm waiting to hear back from my doctor about a few things so I'm not going to ruin this eating streak until I know some things.

So this weekend was filled with some of my favorite things, that I had to resist and it was pretty tough. Here are some of my favorite things that I got to see this weekend...

Dunford chocolate cake donuts (The best cake donut in the world!) with a cold glass of milk.
Belgium waffles with strawberries, bananas and whipped cream.
Chicken salad sandwiches on crescents.
All sorts of fresh fruits.
Su Casa food... fajitas, refried beans, cheese...mmmm.
Ice cream and pie.
Really greasy onion rings.
Homemade chicken enchiladas.
Mom's homemade chicken enchiladas.
Fresh brewed root beer.
And last but not least... my favorite Easter candy... mini Cadbury eggs.

So if anyone asks, you can tell them that Stephanie Westwood does have self control and she is darn proud of that.

That old tattered shirt

2010-02-19T18:43:00.002-07:00

Okay, so I've had this shirt for about 9 years. It served me well as I served at Su Casa. It has endured salsa stains, black bean stains, soda stains, it has been with me through thick and thin (literally), dates, interviews, Sundays and many other occasions. I realized the other day that there was a big grease stain on it and I had just washed it, so I had to submit to the fact that it was time to part ways. However I used my bottle of Shout and it came out! The problem still remains that it is worn, it is faded, but I don't want to throw it away. I always give Scott grief because he has more shirts than I can count, some dating back to high school. So my question is, do you only wear clothes for a certain amount of years or do you wear them til they are haggard? Am I crazy to want to keep the shirt?

He loves me!

2010-02-15T20:00:00.003-07:00

Our Valentine's Day was so great! Scott got me some flowers, the kind that never die. They are so pretty and I love them! We cooked dinner for each other and ate by candlelight.
I cooked Scott meatloaf and green beans. It doesn't look great but Scott says it tasted good, so I'll take his word for it.
Scott made me stir-fry. It was SO good. I'm getting used to eating healthy. It just takes a lot more time to cook and is so much more expensive. I have learned to make food in large quantities so that it will last me for a week.

In other news...this is my green drink. I borrowed my SIL's juicer and I juiced my greens. I did something really dumb though, I juiced a clove of garlic with it. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But it made the drink hot and nasty. I will be trying it again without that.

A week ago Scott was in the play "1776" and I bought him this steak instead of flowers since he is not a fan of flowers. I thought I'd give him something more manly. He was pretty excited. This is him salivating before the first bite. Hmm... steak.

And finally, as Scott and I were cleaning the living room this morning, we put all of Cosmo's toys away and this is how we found him a few minutes later. In the middle of all of his toys chewing his bone. He is quite the character.

Our comic relief

2010-02-15T13:47:00.004-07:00

While most people blog about their children, I know that I tend to blog about our dog just as much. But he is so funny to us and we just enjoy having him here immensely. He has is quirks... like being so scared that he shakes, everytime we do laundry, but we find so much humor in him. He has the funniest personality and we love having him here. I told my SIL Sandra how after he gets a bath he will rub his body all over the carpet and she wanted to see video so I have posted a video below. Also when Scott gets home he will take off his hat and usually throw it towards the dog, and there is a video of what Cosmo does with it.

This weeks findings...

2010-02-02T20:00:00.002-07:00

Another random list of things I have learned this week or things that make me smile.

I learned that no matter how old I will get, some 1 on 1 time with my mom can fill the canteen. She always wants what is best for me. She's the best mom ever!
Sometimes a store like Good Earth is a huge blessing because it gives me some variety in the food I get to eat. I just wish I had one in Price.
Rice milk is so yummy! I had never had it but it is a sweet treat for me, even when it isn't the flavored kind. Next I will try soy milk.
This cleanse is a great weight loss plan. I am finally starting to feel better. The symptoms aren't gone yet but they aren't as bad as they were. 1 month down and haven't cheated once. I'm hoping to do this for at least one more month.
The power of the Priesthood is amazing and it's such a blessing to have a wonderful husband and father that are able to give me a blessing when I am feeling awful to give me some peace of mind and comfort.
Having a good friend at work can make all the difference in how you feel when there.
Cosmo being here is helped me not be as lonely while Scott is at rehearsals for a play. He is my little companion.
Having someone come and visit me here in Price is priceless. Sometimes I feel so disconnected from the rest of the world and having my parents and grandma come down this weekend is as exciting as Christmas.
I learned that Heavenly Father is always looking out for us and when we need some help he will provide it to us. He is good.
Healthy food can taste really good but man is it expensive to eat healthy and time consuming to make.
I love having the dishes done before I go to bed. Waking up to dirty dishes is no fun.
Living in a small town has it's benefits. I walked in and out of the driver's license division in 15 minutes with a new driver's license. The new process is a pain and I'm so glad I didn't have to do it up north where the wait times are up to 2 hours long.
My parents gave us their old treadmill and I think I finally have enough energy to start exercising and I'm pretty excited.
Seeing how excited Scott and Cosmo are to see each other after a full day and night apart is priceless. They are crazy about each other and it makes my heart happy. (But poor Cosmo is in mourning for the time that Scott is gone and just mopes around the house acting as if someone died.)
I have realized that I do have self control and the power to do what is best for my body. (It was tough watching most people in my family eat ice cream on Sunday, I miss ice cream but I did resist.)
Finding high quality avocados on sale 3/$1 is like finding gold, and I did stock up.
And finally, I found out I passed my notary exam and within 2 weeks I will be an official notary public!

My to-do list

2010-01-28T14:11:00.001-07:00

I have this huge long list of things I would like to do before going upstate for the weekend. Is it weird that one of those things is to watch the last episode of 24 and another one is to watch a movie I've had from Blockbuster for over a week? If it is on my to-do list, I don't feel guilty sitting down to do it.

On another note, I'm so glad I felt inspired to put a nap on that list...

3 weeks... no goods.

2010-01-27T19:03:00.003-07:00

Well I haven't been the most functional person lately. I am doing better than I was but I'm still pretty weak. I'm still detoxing and it's not the most pleasant experience, there is a lot of discomfort and fatigue that accompany it. I am glad that they encourage extra sleep because I don't feel as guilty taking a nap. I have to say it's been so great to have Cosmo here because he doesn't leave my side. He really is a man's best friend. We have such a great time together.

Well, I'm 3 weeks down, at least 3 more to go. It does get easier to resist all of the yummy food out there but some days are hard because you are so hungry but nothing tastes good. I know this will be worth it in the end. Hopefully I'll post some more cheerful things in the near future.

Mundane January

2010-01-15T17:25:00.003-07:00

I really don't like January. I think it's one of the most depressing months. I really don't like winter because I hate being cold (and I hate paying the heating bill) but I can put up with it when I know Christmas is coming. But once Christmas is over winter gets dull and tedious. I would much rather be having fun in the sun. But alas it is still a few months until that hope that spring will come again. So here are some of the good things that have happened that have kept my spirits high during this mundane January/not so fun cleanse...

The sun has been shining so far this month with no snow storms.
Having Cosmo here. It's so great to come home everyday to his wagging tail.
The power of Neosporin to heal my finger in a day when I sliced on a pair of cutlery scissors.
Having my mom come to visit and she washed the walls in my kitchen while I laid on the couch sick to my stomach, she is the best!
Finding spelt bread at the health food store that I can eat that is regularly $7/loaf on sale for $2. It tastes pretty good after not having any bread.
Finding out that a credit union in town is associated with my CU in Salt Lake and I can bank there for free.
Living off of one tank of gas for 3 and 1/2 weeks.
Reminding myself that we get to go to California in June to camp on the beach for a week and go to Disneyland with Scott's side of the family. Cannot wait!
Losing 5 lbs. in week 1 of the cleanse.
Reviving my dying plant.
Watching the first season of 24. I am now addicted to the show.
Cuddling in my snuggie.
Finding a puzzle at Walmart of San Diego and realizing that the Temple is in the background. And no the puzzle was not made in Utah.

So let's hope that February brings good things too. Hopefully a more healthy body, some more sunshine and some small moments that make this winter go by very quickly.

Week 1 is over

2010-01-10T21:18:00.003-07:00

Okay so here is the update on the food restrictions. I haven't cheated which really is the easy part. Although the food I'm eating is bland and is getting old real fast, I try not to let myself think about the foods I'm missing out on. I just think about the foods I can have. Some days I am so tired of the same food that I would rather be hungry than eat but I know that's not a good idea. My stomach has been growling for a week now, none of the food I eat seems to satisfy the hunger. I could eat more, but eating organically is incredibly expensive and so I have to conserve. My SIL Sandra asked why I could have Granny Smith apples and not other kinds. To be honest I'm not sure but I was excited to be able to have fruit so I didn't really care. I had one on one of the first few days and it was divine. I had one yesterday and I have been paying for it for 24 hours. So I think if I have anymore I will limit it to a slice and it will only be when I feel my blood sugar is low.

The first few days I thought this was going to be cake (Mmmm, cake), I didn't have any real side effects besides being hungry and incredibly grouchy. But the program said I would get worse before I got better and it has hit. Just the last couple days my symptoms have been magnified and I've been really weak. So I'm trying to push through this. Having the symptoms be worse makes me wonder if this is going to work but I am going to get through this.

On another note, my incredibly supportive, patient and loving husband made me dinner. It was the tastiest thing I've had all week.
It was gorgeous and so good. I got some pasta from the health food store that is gluten free and he mixed in some roasted vegetables and some grilled chicken with it. He is the best!

Adios sugar, dairy and flour (and anything that tastes good)!

2010-01-04T16:24:00.003-07:00

So I have chosen to give up sugar, dairy, flour, and all processed foods for 6 weeks. You may think this is for a weight loss purpose but it's actually for a health reason, (although the weight loss is a secondary reason). I've been having some symptoms for the last 8 months and have been to 4 specialists, and 1 regular doctor. I've had numerous blood tests, an MRI, 3 rounds of anti-biotics, and 5 rounds of another medication and I have gotten many different answers from the doctors about what is wrong with me. None of the things they say I have are serious but nothing they have done has helped and I'm miserable 90% of the time. So I have decided to take matters into my own hands and with the help of my sister-in-law I'm gonna rid this bugger the natural way. I honestly think that all of my symptoms are a result of a poor diet filled with junk and hormone ridden meat.

This is going to be the biggest challenge of my life, but I feel that I have more motivation to do it knowing that I will feel better after it's done. I have been off of sugar since the 1st, and today is my first day without dairy or flour. It has been a struggle so far. I can feel the withdrawals coming on and I'm sure I won't be pleasant to live with for the next week while this stuff is getting out of my system. So what can I eat you may ask? I can have meat (must be organic), vegtables (limited on the potatoes), almonds, cashews, lemons, limes, extra virgin olive oil, tofu (not sure if I will get to that point), soy or rice milk, Granny Smith apples, and there are some breads that I can have but you can only get them at a health food store and they are pretty pricey. Along with that I have to take certain vitamins and herbs to cleanse out my organs. So wish me luck people and I'll let you know how it turns off. If nothing else I will be healthier! Here's to a happy and healthy 2010!

Christmas time!

2009-12-26T18:41:00.003-07:00

Christmastime was great for us this year, (besides a stupid head cold). We were able to go up to SLC the weekend before Christmas. We had a family party with Scott's family. We went with some of my family to Temple Square and we had a family dinner with them.

I haven't been to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights in years. They have the most amazing nativity scene there.
My dad took this picture so he wasn't in it. It's my mom, me, Scott, Addison, Nick and Sydney. We had so much fun with them!
Scott and Addison. Grandpa and the girls while we were waiting for Trax.
Scott built a snowman while I was at work on Christmas. We had our Christmas! I had to work until 2:30 that day so I came home, got back in my jammies and we opened presents.
Cosmo got 3 toys and he loves all of them.
This is what we got. Yes I asked and hinted for a snuggie. I am always cold so I'm excited to use it!

The best present that we got for Christmas was this little guy. Cosmo is living with us now for good. He will sit down on the floor staring at us and he just wants to cuddle, so he will fall asleep on Scott's lap. This is the 2 of them sleeping. SO CUTE!

It is so fun to have him here. He is now 4 and 1/2 and he hasn't lived with us since we were married over 2 years ago. When we lived in West Jordan, I could at least see him when I wanted and he could come and visit with me. But when we moved to Price it was really hard on me. I couldn't leave my parent's house without crying. I had that pain where it felt like my heart was breaking each time we had to leave him. We have had "visitation" for the last few months to help wean him from my parents. They love him a lot and have been so great to care for him while I couldn't. It will be a big adjustment for them to not have him there but we are excited to have him be a part of our little family. I'm sure there will many adventures to share in the future!

Tis the season for... glitter

2009-12-16T16:32:00.002-07:00

I am afraid of spiders and I hate them to my very core. I have found that Scott feels the same way about glitter that I do about spiders. We got a Christmas card in the mail (from our neighbors next door, how funny is that!) and it was covered with glitter. They even know how much he despises glitter and they still sent it. So I opened it and he stood about 3 feet away from me and asked me to hold it open so that he could read it. I put it away but I still had glitter on my hands, so I chased him for a while threatening to wipe my hands on him. I know I'm not a very nice wife. I would be pretty upset if he did that to me with a spider. But it still cracks me up. Our poor daughters won't ever have a chance to experience glitter. Aw well!

Thanksgiving + Missouri = AWESOME!

2009-12-01T20:29:00.002-07:00

It was so much fun to go back to Missouri for Thanksgiving. The week consisted of the following: shopping, pie night (the night before Thankgiving, my in-laws invite tons of people to their house, and everyone brings any kind of pie like chicken pot pie, shepherds pie and dessert pie and we all pig out, this is so that we get the pie in and we can gorge on regular food on Thanksgiving), Thanksgiving feast, watching movies with the kids, going on a daddy/daughter day to see "New Moon" with my SIL's and my FIL, hanging out with friends, family pictures, games, the boys playing tennis, going to the park, more eating, our niece Makayla's baptism, BYU/Utah game, celebrating Christmas since we won't all be together, catching up on sleep and spending quality time with family.

To say the least, it was a blast. I didn't want to come home. The 17 hour drive (one way) was worth it. I'm so glad that we went. Here are some pictures from our family photo shoot.

This is the whole family. Scott's aunt that took the pictures still has some touch ups to do.

These are my awesome in-laws! I sure do love them. There were lots of other pictures of them, but I LOVE this picture.

Us.

And just for fun I added this picture. This is our niece BriLynn. She was holding a rock and she stuck it in her mouth. She is such a doll!

A race against time

2009-11-21T23:09:00.002-07:00

We are leaving for Missouri early early Tuesday morning for Thanksgiving and for about 4 days I have been going crazy. I go to work and come home and clean and do laundry and organize. I don't know why I have this urge to have my house so clean before I leave, but I think it's partly because I hate coming home to a dirty house and loads of laundry, so I am in a race against time. I have also had a talk to prepare for for Sunday. I am also worried about sleep. I have got to get a good night's sleep before we drive to Missouri because I can't sleep in a car, and 17 hours is a long time driving. The stress of worrying about sleep will make it hard to sleep.

I really am excited about this trip but I will be glad when I'm actually there in Missouri. Hopefully we won't have any setbacks and we can get there by Wednesday evening. I doubt I will be blogging before we leave, so I will go ahead and tell you some of the things that I am thankful for...

I'm thankful for my amazing husband. He is definitely my better half. He is so patient with my stubbornness and my short comings. As I tell him all the time "I won".

I'm thankful for my wonderful family. I have amazing parents that have taught me so much and been so supportive of me. I'm grateful for the rest of my family as well. And my in-laws, I've been blessed with great in-laws.

I'm thankful to be a member of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to have that light in my life.

I'm thankful for a job. It would not be my first pick of a job (obviously I would prefer something in the field I studied) but it supports us (and we have insurance) and I have made amazing friends from working there.

I'm thankful for my dog. He brings so much joy to my life. I truly do believe that a dog is a man's best friend. He doesn't judge me and when I am mad or sad he cheers me up.

I'm thankful to be living in a house. I love our retro crazy house. It's so nice to have so much room for all of our stuff.

I am thankful for this wonderful country I live in and the freedoms that I have.

I have so many other things I'm grateful for but it would take forever to list them. I am truly blessed! I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving and will take the chance to count the blessings in your lives!

Linger a little longer

2009-11-17T20:36:00.002-07:00

Scott has started his own blog. One thing that I absolutely love about him is that he is so knowledgeable in the gospel and is a deep thinker. I learn so much from him and I love hearing his perspective. Check it out!
www.swestwoodfamily2.blogspot.com

I'm a slacker

2009-11-11T18:32:00.003-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while because of this little guy.
I know I shouldn't blame him but we are having a great time with him. (Here is he laying by the fire, he loves it). He has just fit into our lives very nicely. We have had to sacrifice a bit in order to make sure that he is taken care of while we are at work/school but it is very worth it. He comes with us a lot of places. He is the "theater dog". He loves going to the theater at the college and he could sniff that place for hours and be happy. And the kids (college students) adore him. He keeps me very active and we get out a lot after I get home from work.

This is Cosmo on Halloween. Scott's cousin Jamin bought him this jersey. He is not posing, he is standing there stiff because he doesn't like to move in it.
We are taking him back to my parents house this weekend and I am trying not to think about it. I can't think about it without my heart hurting. We are going to bring him back over Christmas break but that will be 5 weeks away. It's been nice to have him around while Scott has been working late.

Some other happenings in our lives...

Christmas music has begun on the radio and for the first time I'm excited for it to start so early. Sometimes it doesn't quite feel like Christmas here in Price because I'm used to going to the mall and seeing the decorations all around town. Plus it doesn't snow much here (no complaints with that). So it's getting me excited for the holiday season and getting to be with family.

The countdown has begun and we are leaving for Missouri in 13 days. Next week will be dedicated cleaning my house and getting ready for a LONG 19 hour drive (Ick). We are praying for good weather. I don't want to drive in bad weather, nope I really don't.

Albertson's has turned into a Western Family store here in Price. I'm not usually a fan because I think that they hike up their prices because they know that people will still shop there in support of them being closed on Sundays. But... sometimes they have killer deals. I'm not afraid to say that I grocery shop at 3 different stores here. I like to save money, so sue me. It is nice to have it so close to us in case we need something quick. I would have gone across town before going to Albertson's because they were incredibly expensive.

And finally, the downside of moving... we have to speak in church a week from Sunday. Scott loves it, me...not so much. Oh well, life will go on. :)

A House of Order

2009-10-25T19:47:00.005-06:00

It is finally complete! After 2 and 1/2 months of living here, we are unpacked and organized in our new house. Living here with all this space, I don't know where we put all of our stuff in our last place. I have taken some pictures to give you all a virtual tour.

A little background on this house... it was build in 1898 and only had the master bedroom, the kitchen and the living room. No bathroom or upstairs, those were later added on. This house is considered "Howard's house". That is how everyone around here refers to it. Howard passed away about 4 years ago and he lived here for over 40 years. He and his wife raised some daughters here. Howard worked for a salvage yard. He would go to crash sites and salvage whatever he could. Therefore our house is a complete variety of randomness. He would bring things home and put them up in his house. For example the kitchen has 3 different types of textured walls and our master bath has an accordian door with a stain glassed window above it. At first I didn't know what to think, now I don't think twice about it. We love "Howard's house". Our landlords live next door and we love that. They are not only our landlords but the husband is Scott's boss/professor and they are both really good friends. They even let us have Cosmo here which has been a huge blessing.

So here is the tour....

This is the master bedroom. It is smaller than our last bedroom but we like it.

This the master bath. It's pretty good size with a shower.
One of my favorite features is this... Howard made a lot of stuff and I believe this is one of those homemade masterpieces. This comes in super handy since Scott and I like different kinds of toilet paper. And it has a magazine rack. This is our living room. It is pretty good size so we kind of split it into 2 seperate rooms, since we have enough couches to do this. So this part is Scott part/TV/exercise/office. (Yes you may spy Elmo and a Castle Grey Skull on Scott's desk). And you might be able to spot our teeny tiny TV. (We still have to get our projector fixed.)
This side is our formal living room. We usually only sit here when we have guests. But it is relaly nic to have the 2 separate living spaces.
This is our retro kitchen. It has a lot of space and some awesome homemade cabinets with groovy shelf paper. This is the main bathroom. It's a lot bigger than it looks.
This is one of the bedrooms upstairs. We use it mostly for extra clothes and our shoes. It has a desk in there too. There is another bedroom upstairs but I didn't take a picture of that one. We have someone renting from us that lives in that one. She is a student here in town and I work with her. It works out really well for all of us. Our basement... SO excited to have shelves to put food storage. I never thought I would be so happy about food storage but I love knowing what we have instead of it being packed into a cabinet.
This is a work bench that Scott will use.
Storage...
And our washer and drier space.

We love being here and I feel more at home here than I did in our last place. It is so nice not to hear neighbors above us. I always felt like I was sharing a house with other people. This place may be old but we love the character and history that it has.

And the last thing that makes a house a home is this guy...
He will be with us for 3 whole weeks this time!

2 whole years!

2009-10-19T11:31:00.002-06:00

Well it's been 2 years since we got married. It's great to say that we will get to see each other on this anniversary where I couldn't say that last year. We had a wonderful weekend together and it's always good to take that time to renew that love that brought you together. Happy anniversary to the man of my dreams!

(He was about to sneeze in this picture.)

Back in business!

2009-10-11T14:49:00.004-06:00

Scott was finally able to fix my computer and it is now virus free. There was a point where he suggested that I look into getting another computer because it looked so bleak, but he worked his magic over countless hours, and many late late nights, and it is finally all back together. He pretty much rocks my world!

So now I get to get used to using a PC again instead of a Mac. There will be some things that I will miss about a Mac (that frustrated me to no end when I first started using it), but I'm so glad to have my computer back up and running. What a blessing!

Another visit

2009-10-07T17:43:00.003-06:00

I know you guys probably get sick of me talking about my dog, but I love love love him! Not as much as I love Scott (just to be clear), but he is my baby. He came to visit for a week and it was so much fun! I know that most of you don't understand how you could love a dog so much but Scott's cousin Jamin was very skeptical and always made fun of how much I loved Cosmo, but she spent some time with him this week and she is so attached to him now. I think you just have to spend some time with him to understand his cute personality.

So here is a video of Cosmo and Scott playing. Cosmo has this fascination with hair. He likes to taste it and then it tickles his nose so has to scratch his whole body. When he does it to my hair he actually chews on it. It tickles a lot.

He got to know the CEU campus really well. This is a picture of the fountain that he accidentally jumped into last time he was with us. (Yes someone colored it green, I'm glad it wasn't green the time he jumped in.)

He took a lot of naps. I think it's so cute when he sleeps.

We are hoping to bring him down here permanently very soon. We can't wait!

Question: How do you get your husband to light the pilot light?

2009-09-27T15:20:00.002-06:00

Answer: Threaten to put a sweater on the dog.

Worked like a charm.

It should be a crime...

2009-09-23T20:08:00.004-06:00

I am anti- DWTS. I don't like watching tons of couples dance the same style every episode. Plus not a big fan of watching just ballroom. And I hate that their live band sings and ruins great classic songs, just wrong. I'm more of a "So You Think You Can Dance" fan because of the variety of dance that is portrayed. So DWTS does something to make me watch... They get stars on there that I want to see dance. I don't like supporting the show but I can't resist watching an over 50-year-old Donny Osmond shake it down. I just think it's entertaining.

They need to get stars that I don't care about to dance on the show. *Sigh*

Yet another background

2009-09-13T13:13:00.003-06:00

I know I haven't posted as often as usual but my computer is still having issues so I'm still using Scott's computer for everything. I will give a virtual tour of our home soon hopefully.

So as most of you have probably notices. I get really bored with backgrounds really quickly. But I found this one and couldn't resist. This one is for Scott. He has been a sport to let me have the blog be girly for the most part. So this background is for him. Gotta love the Deere!

(It will probably only last a month, there are tons of cute fall/Halloween ones out there to choose from.)

Gotta love it baby!

2009-09-06T10:50:00.007-06:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, that means college football has begun. And how else to start a great season than to beat a #3 team. I thought it was for sure going to be a losing situation, and I'm sure that Oklahoma thought it would be a sure winning situation. But the boys stepped up. Props to the great defense who kept us in there. I can't wait to see what this season has in store!

It was so fun to listen to the BYU fans being SO loud still 10 minutes after the game was over. It was have been so much fun to be there, but it was still so much fun to watch at home. What a great moment in Cougar history!

I LOVE MO!

2009-09-02T19:35:00.003-06:00

We got to go to Missouri in the beginning of August for Scott's brother's wedding. It was so much fun! We got to stay with my Aunt and Uncle in St. Louis and it was so much fun to spend time with them for a little bit. I love being there. We got to spend a lot of time with family and friends and it was so much fun. It didn't last long enough and I can't wait to go back for Thanksgiving.

One of the great things that we got to do while we were there was go to Lambert's. It's a restaurant half way between Springfield and Branson. They are always packed! It has great cooking and they have a guy that comes around with a cart full of hot rolls and he yells "Hot Rolls!" and you put your hands up and he throws you one from across the room. It's just a fun fun restaurant. If you are ever in the area, it's quite the experience.

There are also a few people that work there that come around with different sides. This is fried okra, and they just spoon it on a paper towel. So good!

This is table 1. We had to be split up since there were so many of us. Starting with me going around the table, there was me, Scott, Matt, Kristine, Makayla, Uncle Curtis, Aunt Colleen, Joseph, Karin, and Mike.

And this is table 2. Baby BriLynn, Kevin, Grandma Smith, Grandpa Smith, Mom, Dad, and Sandra. We were worried that it may be a little much for grandma and grandpa but they really enjoyed the atmosphere and catching rolls.

When we were done at our table, Scott and I moved to another table where all of his friends were sitting with their wives. It was an all inclusive trip to Lambert's. I'm so excited to go back in November!

Thank you to my wonderful husband!

2009-09-02T19:20:00.002-06:00

Scott got all of my pictures and documents off of the computer before he had to wipe it clean from the virus. He is the best! But my computer still isn't doing the greatest. It's been pooping out for a while, so I may have to get a new one, ugh. Not something that you like spending money on if you don't have it. So I'm going to endure to the end and wait until it is totally and completely unusable.

Something that makes me not smile.

2009-08-23T21:44:00.002-06:00

My computer has a virus. This is what happens when your virus protection lapses for 3 days. Scott is working hard to get my files off of it but there are no guarantees. Luckily he wiped off my system about a year ago and has all of my pictures from then back on an external hard drive. Bad news is that my pictures for the last year are not backed up on his hard drive. Wish us luck that we will get our files off! It will be a while 'til I blog about Missouri. That's what I get for procrastinating.

Some things that make me smile.

2009-08-18T18:16:00.004-06:00

Using my Kitchenaid Mixer for the first time. We got it for our wedding and I've always been intimidated by it. But it work amazingly well! I LOVE it.
Using that mixer to make cookies for Scott for when he came from his first day of school.

Having a new washer and dryer! My sister is getting new ones that are coming with her new house so she gave us these and they are so gorgeous, I love using them!

Having a toilet that works. This is the 3rd place we have lived while being married and each place has had toilet problem. Our first place we just had to live with. Our second place we got a new toilet after 3 weeks of living there and this time we got a new one after a week of living here. This is a toilet-to-go and it can flush 23 golf balls but the landlord advised us not to try it. Scott and I joke that I curse toilets. I'm thinking it might be true. But now we have this glorious masterpiece!

And last but not least, Scott putting away stuff in our new kitchen while wearing his new glasses. When he wears them, I feel like he's different, ya know, like Clark Kent. I think he looks super hot!

So many things to catch up on!

2009-08-14T16:11:00.002-06:00

So I'm going to start with what happened before our trip to Missouri. We had the chance to have Cosmo down here for a few days while we were transitioning into our new house. He was on the go with us non-stop and he had a blast! At night time when we would take him back home from wherever we had been, he would run around like a mad dog. He was just so excited, and then he would eat a good dinner and crash. He is such a funny dog. One thing that we learned about him while he was here was that he doesn't like parades. We took him to a local parade here in town and he sat on Scott's lap most of the time or under his chair.

The pictures were a bit faded out, we had the camera on the wrong setting, but there were numerous pictures taken of John Deere tractors.

I got to have Cosmo with me on my birthday which was awesome. It was a fun day for us. Scott brought me some lunch to my work and I got to show off Cosmo to all of my work friends.

Then we had to go up to SLC for my niece's baptism. It was really cool. She hates water so we were all kinda nervous that she would freak out but it all went well.

The remainder of the days before our trip were spent packing and cleaning. The night before our trip we were up until 2:30 and then got up at 6 to finish cleaning before leaving for our flight in SLC. I was so exhausted but it's over with and we are finally in our house! Woohoo!
This was taken a while ago before moved in so all of the junk out in front of it is gone. It's old but we really like it. We can't wait til it's all put together.

MIA

2009-08-12T19:28:00.002-06:00

It's been a long time since I have blogged and this will be nothing special but I thought I would give you an update. We are moved into our new place. We finished moving an hour before we left for SLC for the airport so we came home to boxes everywhere. We had a much needed fabulous vacation in Missouri. Can I just tell you how much I love that place? There are 4 places in this world that make me feel like I'm home, they are (in no particular order) my house, my parents house, my Aunt Larrie's house, and my in-law's house. It was so fun to be in 2 of them in Missouri. We got to visit family and friends and go to a beautiful wedding for Matt and Kristine. I honestly didn't want to come home and now I'm fighting the after-vacation blues. The only reason why I didn't cry when I left my in-law's is knowing that we will be back there for Thanksgiving but it came close. I will post pictures soon (the cord for the camera is MIA and I have no idea where to start looking).

Cosmo is 4!

2009-07-26T20:38:00.007-06:00

4 years ago today the cutest dog in the world was born (yes I am extremely biased!).

4 years ago my sister Michelle told me that she was going to buy a puppy for her kids. When she told me this, the puppy were only a few weeks old but they had already gone and picked theirs out. His temporary name was George. She told me that I should come with them to see the puppies when they went. They would go once a week, so that George could get to know them and seriously, who doesn't like to play with a bunch of stinkin cute puppies? So I went with her and her kids one day. There were 6 puppies, 2 girls and 4 boys. The girls and Michelle's boy puppy were the only ones that had been sold so far. There were 3 boy puppies left, Fred the mostly white puppy, Ferdinand the brown puppy, and Flint the black puppy. They were all so much fun and so lively. I remember Fred was different than the others. When everyone cuddled up for a nap, he was over in his own corner of the gated area snoozin alone. He liked to do his own thing. I played with each of the puppies but there was something about Fred that I couldn't get over. I don't know if it's because he reminded me of my dog Bandit from my childhood or if it was his silly looking conehead, but he pulled the strings on my heart. I remember kissing Fred goodbye and whispering that I would be back for him. I went home and told my parents about the cute puppies and they just told me not to think about it, they didn't want another dog. So I thought about it more but realized it wasn't an option. The breeder had told me that they would be putting an add in the paper over Labor Day weekend and that the puppies usually sold within the first day. Michelle got her puppy that next Tuesday and so I wanted to go and see him. They had named him Murphy. I took my mom with me (so that she could see how irresitiably cute they were). My mom is an animal lover and she thought Murphy was so cute. At this point, why she was in puppy heaven, I asked again if I could get the dog. She said I would have to call and ask my dad. So I called and he didn't answer, so I left him a message asking if I could get the puppy. When I got off the phone my mom said "Well if he isn't available to make the decision I guess that we will." So I called the breeder and asked if she still had the puppies or if they had been sold. She told me that surprisingly none of the puppies had been sold, and the 3 were still available. I told her to not sell Fred, that I would be coming to get him. She told me that I could pick him up that evening, she needed to put his things together and give him a bath. So that evening I had a canning assignment at the cannery to can corn. I went and sat there doing that for 4 hours, anticipating going to get him. I had my friend Brittnie with me, so we went over to the breeder's home and when we walked in, the breeder said that he was in the big rubbermaid container, so I walked over and looked in and he had his paws up on the side like he was trying to get out, he saw me and his tail went crazy. I picked him up and he gave me kisses and loved me. We left and drove home and the whole way he had the hiccups. He was the hiccup king when he was a puppy.

This is our "going home" picture at the breeder's house.

My mom loved him instantly, my dad tried not to and Lady flat out hated him. In time my dad came around (how can you not when the dog is excited like it's Christmas everytime you come home from work and wants to be by your side all the time?). He evens calls Cosmo up onto his bed at night. Hehehe, I love it! A couple months ago, he was laying in the front room and Cosmo went a cuddled beside him and he nuzzled him and said "You don't want to go and live with your momma huh?"

Cosmo is 4 now and for almost 2 of those years I haven't lived there. It's been hard, he was my little companion but we are looking forward to more visitation once we are in our new place. For the first few months after I moved out, he would wait up in the hallway for me. After I got him, I made it clear to the guys that I dated that we were a packaged deal, 2 for 1, they couldn't have one without the other. Good thing Scott loves him so much. He truly is such a great dog with so much love. It's a good thing that he has a grandma and grandpa that love him so much or it would be even hard to be apart from him.

Scott and I have discussed lately how we really think that he's a human. Really he is exactly like me. But he just does things that aren't typical of dogs. Those traits have really gotten more prominent since Lady passed on.

From the time Cosmo was a puppy he has loved to be cradled. He still likes it. He will paw at my mom to pick him up when she is sitting at the computer in the winter when he gets cold and he will fall asleep like that. Sure do love him!

So glad my dad didn't answer his phone that day at work! ;)

Missing you...

2009-07-16T19:56:00.003-06:00

It's been a year and you are still missed. I hope doggy heaven is fabulous!

We are moving

2009-07-09T16:55:00.004-06:00

Scott and I have been thinking about moving for a while. We have felt pretty cramped (which is funny because our last apartment was half this size) and we have wanted to move to a place where we could have Cosmo come and visit and eventually live. So our friends (the ones that gave us a garden plot) have a rental home next to theirs and they offered it to us. So the day before we go to Missouri, we will be making a mad rush to move into the house. We have realized that since we have been married we have been moving up in size and moving down on the era the places were built. This house is pretty old but our friends said that we could spice it up if we want so it will be a fun project. Plus we will have 3 full bedrooms and none of them will be a storage room like now. We will have a basement to store stuff! Woohoo!

My dad informed us that he only helps one child move a year. My sister bought a new house and is moving in a week and my brother just moved a couple weeks ago so we are hoping that he loves us enough to still help us. Hahaha...poor guy!

Another Garden Update

2009-07-09T16:29:00.003-06:00

Okay I'm sure that you are all tired of hearing about my garden, but this is really one of my passions lately. I get giddy when I see it, and seeing how fast it grows... and the fact that I haven't killed it yet has been nice. I don't have a great track record with plants so this has been a blast. Thanks to our great friends who have given us the space and have taught us what to do. They should get most of the credit.

Our onions are finally peaking out. I just planted them a couple weeks ago.
Our sugarsnap peas are finally growing up.
We were able to pick one pepper, it was small and had stopped growing and was turning a weird color so we haven't attempted to eat it yet. I think it stopped growing because these two started growing pretty close to it.

Our tomato bush is growing out of control and is growing quite a few tomatoes. Here is one of them. Can't wait for it to turn red!

We thought that our cucumber plant was dead. The stems were splitting and they weren't growing at all while the others were thriving. Well here it is. SO glad we didn't pull it out! It's growing like crazy!

Our strawberry bush is attempting to make more strawberries, hopefully we get some more soon. And our green beans have just grown so much!
We can't wait to eat our fresh veggies! I'm sure there will be more updates later.

I have arrived...

2009-07-01T20:32:00.002-06:00

Scott has been gone for a week and a half and I didn't want to post it in such a public place, because really, who knows who reads this. But it was extremely lonely and it's been SO great to have him home. So when we were driving back to Price he told me he wanted to give me my birthday present. But my birthday isn't until the 30th so I was kinda intrigued by that. I said no that night but the next day I came home from work and said I wanted it. So up above is what I got. I know, I know, I'm so behind the times, but I have never had an iPod. So he bought me this, and an armband, and the Nike Package. If you haven't heard of Nike iPod adapter, it's comes with a sensor thingy that you put in your shoe and depending on the tempo that you go, it picks a song on your iPod to match your tempo. He knows I get so bored while I exercise, so this was super thoughtful of him! I have finally arrived!

Wingin It!

2009-06-23T18:49:00.004-06:00

All I have to say is that it was bliss!

Ugh!

2009-06-22T14:55:00.001-06:00

I've put it off for too long. And I'm not allowed to play Super Nintendo til it's done.

Blast from the past

2009-06-21T20:35:00.003-06:00

I got a Super Nintendo when I was in high school for Christmas one year. It's been at my parents house all these years and I finally brought it home. Super Mario brings back so many floods of memories. I still rock at it though. It's been fun to relive those memories and have something new to do with some of my spare time. Scott said that it would make him appreciate his Xbox 360 even more. But it is SUPER fun!

Garden update

2009-06-20T20:01:00.002-06:00

We have strawberries!
And our pepper is getting so big!
Our sugarsnap pees are finally growing up.
And our green beans are growing like crazy!

Also we have our first little tomato. The neighbors that live around are all jealous because none of them have tomatoes coming up yet and we do.

On a sadder note, our cucumbers have killed over. Not sure why but they didn't succeed.

But I am still proud of us, being first time gardeners and all.

There is a first time for everything.

2009-06-20T19:53:00.004-06:00

For Scott's birthday week I tried to make him some special food, since he loves food. I made meatloaf for the first time. I know that probably sounds crazy but meatloaf is by far my least favorite dish in the world. I don't like ground beef at all and especially not with the meatloaf ingredients. But Scott loves it and I wanted to make it for him. It turned out really good and Scott was in heaven. It was actually pretty easy, I can't believe I've never made it before. Then on his birthday all he wanted was potato salad, pasta salad and smokies. It was super tasty. That's what he would have every year for his birthday. I need to branch out on cooking more often, it was fun!

Road Rage

2009-06-14T11:14:00.003-06:00

This has gotten worse since I've moved to a small town. Each time I come up to SLC I am reminded of how annoying drivers are here. I think that people need to retake driver's ed every 5 years. For instance, the left lane is called a "passing lane", it is not just an extra lane for traffic to hang out in. You use it to pass people and then you get over. If there is someone behind you going faster and wanting to pass you, it is now a law that you HAVE to move over for them, even if they are going 100 MPH, you are breaking the law by not moving over to let them pass. I'm not saying that Price drivers are better because they are still typical Utah drivers, but we don't have the traffic to make it obvious. I've driven in quite a few states in this country and Utah by far is the worst. (Now I don't know how any of my Utahn blogger friends are good or bad drivers so I'm not making a shot at any of you, just venting.)

So the 2 things that got me out of my frustrated mood?
and

Farewell Jo-Kenzie

2009-06-11T17:23:00.002-06:00

Scott's truck Jo-Kenzie (named by my nieces Ali-Jo and Kenzie) has been for sale for a year now and it finally sold! We loved this truck but with Scott going back to school we knew we couldn't keep it. Thanks to some help from Scott's parents it finally sold. It's a bitter/sweet departure but it will have a great time in Kentucky now.