Brownie Points...

Well I have not been the best at blogging the past few months.  Already 2 weeks have past since my last post, so this may turn out to be a long post!  

Last Friday Jared surprised me at work with a beautiful bouquet of my favorite flowers.... "Just because".  They were so beautiful and totally made my day.  I love it when he does things like that, it makes me appreciate him so much more!  He racked up the Browine points that day!!

Just wondering here.... What are brownie points suppose to be anyway?? Are they "Brown letter E" points or "Brownie like chocolate dessert" points? Who came up with this saying? Does anyone know the history behind the Brownie points phrase? Do you ever get to cash them in? What are the rules here?

Here are some pictures of my flowers... the pictures do not do them any justice! They were beautiful. The bright pink daisy is still alive and looking good!


I wish I was a talented photographer so I could take cool pictures... instead I just have pictures like this that I wish looked cool!

Last Saturday some of my friends from work went out to lunch to The Pizza Factory.  I am so glad I work with such great people.  It really makes a difference when you can enjoy your job!  We just talked and laughed... I love these moments when we get to be together out side of work!

Lisa, Nicole and Me.

Angela and Amanda. 

On Friday we had my Grandpa Jack's birthday party at my parents home.  It turned out really nice.  Grandpa Jack is a funny guy.  Jared loves to sit and talk with him. (He had to go to work so he was sad he only got to stay for a half an hour before he had to leave.) Xander loves to play and tease Grandpa.  Grandpa will tease Xander and say "Come here let me punch you in the nose!" Well the little critter has really picked up on this and now punches people in the nose! He got Grandpa Jack the other night.  To me it is really funny, to Breanne well.... she is the mother of the kid who hits other kids on the nose!  Is it bad if I still laugh? 

Grandpa playing with the kids. 

Breanne made this cute sign for Grandpa!

"An old Crab lives Here"

Yeah a smile!  My Dad doesn't smile for pictures but I caught them laughing!

My Dad and His Dad.

Grandma and Grandpa Jack

Me and Grandpa Jack.

It has been a fun and busy few weeks here are more small high lights of events. 

*** I planned our annual clinic summer party which was a lot of work but turned out well!  

*** Jared and I went out to dinner to Ruby River for date night.  I only mention this because they make the BEST coconut shrimp and I am craving it now again.....

*** Jared registered for his upcoming semester at UVU. I am still deciding if I am going to take a class or two. 

*** Nicole and I made oatmeal applesauce cookies, got a Slurpee, watched a movie and talked until 3 am.  I felt like I was in High School again, it was great! Thanks for the good times Cole, you are the best!

*** Jared is working his last Sunday grave yard shift at the Hospital!!! 

He was able to trade his Sunday shift for a Wednesday shift.  I am so excited!  We now can spend more time together on Sundays.

Now to back track a bit to some fun pictures that never made it to a post but should have....

A few weeks ago my sister-in-law Tiffany came up from Arizona for a few weeks with her girls Livy and Sophie.   While they were here my Mom wanted a picture of all of the grandchildren.  She had one of her friends come over and take some really cute pictures (that I don't have). I also took a few snap shots of the babies, they are so cute.  I just love all of these little kiddos SO much!!

My adorable (and oh so tan) nieces from Arizona

Livy and Spohie

Trying to get all these kids to smile and look in the same direction was nearly impossible!

Allie, Xander on Papa's lap, Sophie on Mamma's lap, Livy hidding behind Millie and Aubrie.

Little Sister Soph fell asleep in the swing..... 

This should be on the cover of Parenting magazine or something!

Double Choo-Choo Train?...

Someone's going to get hurt!

My niece Allie came over to see Jared's new guitar.  She wanted to play one of the guitars so we got Jared's old electric guitar out for her.  She sat down with it and just started playing and singing this twangy country sounding song.  "One day I was walkin' and I saw..." were the lyrics to her made up song. It was a total crack up!  I wish I could have recorded the moment but all I got was this snap shot of her singing with the guitar.

It is raining right now so I have the windows open.  I love the smell of rain!  I wish Jare was home so we could go on a walk in the rain.  Walks in the rain by your self aren't that fun:(           I better hurry and get to sleep so I can listen to the rain while I fall asleep.

Don't forget to help me out with my quest to know the rules and make up of the "Brownie points"!

The Sweet Sounds of an Ibanez

So I know it has just been a few hours since my last post... but I just need to let you all know how my surprise went for Jared!

I woke him up and told him to shower and get ready for work then to let me know when he was ready. I finished getting dinner in the oven while he was getting ready. When he was ready I had him come into the family room where I had the candy bar poster on the couch.



He read it and then I told him to follow me. I had him stand outside the bedroom door while I went inside so I could get his reaction on camera!

When he walked in he was totally shocked!!

He gave me a big hug and kiss and we both cried.... yes, you heard that right WE CRIED OVER A GUITAR!  He was speechless.... he just kept saying 'Thank You!' 'Thank You!!'   I had him get it out and take a look at it.

Then we came into the family room and he played for a bit. We ate dinner and talked for a while.  It was a great evening together.

Just look at that cheesy grin! He has the giddy/excited look on his face holding his new guitar!

Aahh, the sweet sound of an Ibanez guitar! I must say I don't know much about guitars but this new shinny guitar sounds amazing!

What a good day!!  I am so happy Jared loved his surprise.  

I think I just scored enough points to last me a few months... or years??

Looks like someone has some catch up to do!!

(I still like flowers... or diamonds Babe!)

Just kidding!! 

 He told me after I gave him the guitar that he had a surprise already in 

motion for me!  He knows that I want to go back to school and has been saving money to get me a new computer! How cool is that.  I am amazed that he would even do something like that.

  I actually went and met with the nursing advisor at UVU today.  My news from her was less than exciting!  If I started going to school full time this fall I could apply to the nursing program in fall of 2010.  There is an average of 160 - 250 applicants per semester, with 40 applications accepted per semester with the average GPA of 3.98 of those accepted!

Sounds almost impossible to me! My GPA is 3.68 which I would have thought was pretty good but apparently not as great as I thought!  So I guess we'll see if I change my major or what happens in the next few months!!  It feels like my dreams are not as close or as easy to obtain as I would have hoped!

Surprise for Jared!

So Jared just finished his final for his guitar class. Yahoo! We now have a month of summer left to be together. On friday Jared and I were out running errands and he wanted to stop at a local guitar shop, so we did. Well they had the EXACT guitar that he has been wanting for years there! To him it is like the holy grail of guitars, he was so excited to see it! The owner of the store was really cool. He brought him a cord to hook it into an amp and just play. So this guitar is all he has talked about (even more than before!) all weekend!

Well, because he has been working so hard and doing so well in school I thought he deserved a nice little payday! Yep, I just bought him that guitar. I am still a little in shock myself but I can't wait to wake him up so he can see it! I decided to make him a candy bar poster for the big announcement!


Hehe, here I am blogging about his sweet new guitar that he doesn't even know he has yet.... it is hiding in the laundry room. I feel like a giddy little school girl!! I will have to update with pictures of him with the new guitar. Hope everyone is having a fun afternoon!

I must admit it is a pretty sweet looking guitar!

Sawdust Daisy

Crafty? I'm not very crafty either but my sister Breanne is extremely talented when it comes to crafty things!! She has made half of the decorations in my home and I love them all! She now has created a way to share her love of creating and wood working for others to enjoy. She has named her crafts Sawdust Daisy. Click on the link (to the right in my list, I couldn't get the Title to link to her site!) and it will take you to her web page for you to view her crafts! If you like what you see leave a comment and order some new cute decorations for your own home. One of my favorite craft items that she makes are the wood block letters. She made our last name in block letters with red hearts for the 'o's. It looks so cute and I always get complements on them.

www.sawdustdaisy.blogspot.com

My Reflection on two years ago...

July 01, 2006....  Today was the day of our first date!  Jared and I had talked on the phone a few days earlier and planned to go out on Saturday for our first date.  Well, Saturday soon arrived and he came to my house to pick me up.  All the girls in the family were in my Dad's office with the blinds cracked so they could see him when he came to get me. 

 The first thing I noticed about Jared was his shirt.  He had a nice white lightly stripped button down shirt on and looked very good.  

The second thing I noticed was his White PT Cruiser.   - Strike 1 -   I hate PT Cruisers still to this day!  I think they are a hideous excuse for a car.  

We ended up having a very fun date!  We went to eat at Macaroni Grill first.  Brady and Kristina met us there.  Jared knew the manager and all of our meals were on the house!  I was really impressed by this. (Alright "Strike One" is now void!)  How often in real life does that happen?  

We then went to the roof of The Physician's Plaza in Provo to watch the  Fireworks from the Stadium of Fire.  It was a lot of fun and we really were able to talk and get to know each other.

After the fireworks Jared and I went back to his apartment.  I met some of his roommates and we talked for a few hours.  He tried to kiss me.... and was denied!  He wasn't just going to kiss me so he could just add another number to his list!!   I was amazed how we were able to just talk for so long!  He took me home and I thought "That was fun! I'll  never see him again though!"

To my surprise he sent me a text Sunday night.  We went on our next date on Monday July 3rd. We went and saw the new Superman Movie and then Jared had to go to work.

July 04, 2006... The day of our first kiss!  Just like on our firs date there were fireworks!! Jared came to my house to pick me up for our date.  He met my family and then we went to his parent's house and I met his family.  

July 06, 2006 Today we were officially exclusively dating.

August 17, 2006 - Jared said "I love you!"

September 2006 - We decided we are getting married.

October 2006 - We schedule our wedding day as May 04, 2007 in the Salt Lake Temple.

December 2006 - We let our families know that we are getting married!

January 2007 - We design my ring and have it made.  It was a long wait but so worth it... it is beautiful!

February 2007 - Making wedding plans.

March 03, 2007 - Jared officially purposes by visiting places we went on our first date and places that have meaning to us while dating!.... There were even fireworks after I said "Yes!" (That were not planned by Jared. Since our first date fireworks just go right along with us dating and our relationship!)

March 08, 2008 - Our Engagement pictures.

April 17, 2007 - Our Bridal pictures at Thanksgiving Point.

April 28, 2007 - I go through the Mt. Timp Temple.  It was an amazing day shared with family!

May 04, 2007 - OUR WEDDING DAY!!

FYI: These are some of our bridal pictures! I can't find were our wedding day pictures are at on the computer!

July is a fun sentimental month for us.  As you can see our relationship all started in this wonderful hot month!  I hope this July brings us a lot of new memories and fun.  

Construction!

Well, I believe my blog makeover is complete!! 

(and done in record time I believe... at least for me!)

I may change a few things here and there, but for the most part I really like the new look.

Hope you all enjoy the new scenery!

CONSTRUCTION ZONE!!

MY BLOG IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!

This is a much needed makeover that I hope takes just a few hours.....

I am not computer savvy so it may take a few days!

An update for Chana!

Chana thinks I am a slacker and need to update!

...and I can't disagree.  I really need a new post...

Well, I will update soon, but I don't have time right now.

More than needing an update this blog needs a complete makeover!!  I will work on that soon.

But my one quick update will be this...

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANA!!!

It was fun to see you again, hope you have a great day! 

P.S. Remember your one Birthday dinner at Los Hermones that I went with your family to?  You know that time I said "No way,  not like this!" I didn't want to go because I had like 60 pink sponge rollers in my hair! But I went anyway and we had a lot of fun.  Remember that?  We went and watched the fireworks after dinner too. Remember now?  I had a card for you but lost your address.... if I find your address then I will mail it!