Happy Birfday!

So I started creating this post on Wednesday, but was way too tired to finish. Had I stayed up to finish, this would not be a belated post...because my baby sister Jessica turned 15 on Wednesday! It is absolutely crazy that Jessica is so old now! So here is my ode to Jessica...15 of her BEST pictures, and 15 things I love about her:

1. She has become a drop dead gorgeous girl!

2. Her fun personality makes it easy to be around her (unless she's mad at you!)

3. She has a REALLY loud laugh, and you can't help but laugh at her laugh.


4. She is very photogenic...


5. ...unless she doesn't want a camera shoved in her face!

6. She's willing to do almost anything for the sake of a picture!7. She looks good wet!
8. She loves to take self portraits (any time I set my camera down, the next time I pick it up there are several pics of Jessi's face!) 9. Like her sister, she could probably rock it as a model!

10. She has really increased her fashion sense (hence the glasses that are as big as her face!)

11. She makes sitting in the freezing rain seem fun.

12. She's a really good swimmer

13. She ranks second in the "stupidest faces" contest (just behind Summer!)

14. She lets me make her do things that will make me laugh.

15. See #1...like I said, so gorgeous!

So happy bday Jess...I love you and am glad mom and dad decided to adopt you 15 years ago! (totally kidding...when we were little, we used to tell Jess that she was adopted...cause we are mean sisters!)

Boot Camp Update

Tuesday morning I woke up so excited to head off to my first ever boot camp session. I pulled on my work out clothes, laced up my shoes, grabbed my pink waterbottle and mat, and headed off. Within about 5 minutes, I was beginning to regret my decision! One girl actually ran out the door and started throwing up in the bushes, then spent the rest of the time flat on her back to try not to throw up any more. Luckily, I was able to survive and keep up with everyone else. The day after that first session I felt like I had been hit by a semi truck that then backed up and hit me again and again! Every muscle in my body was staging a revolt against me. Sitting, standing, walking...it all hurt. I would literally put off going to the bathroom just because it hurt so much to sit down on the toilet!

Saturday morning rolls around and as I am getting ready I keep telling myself, "It will all be worth it. Just think of the skinny jeans!" I am no longer excited. I am now dreading the thought of going. But we paid all that money, and I have this new cute pink yoga mat, so I have to go. Besides, 5 other teachers at my school are doing this boot camp and if I quit now they will all know that I am a wuss! Surprisingly, Saturday was so much better. It was still hardcore and intense, but they didn't make anyone throw up so that was a good sign. It was still difficult to breath at certain parts, and my legs felt like jello, but I was able to push myself through the pain and continue to keep up with everyone.

The best part of Saturday was the massages. One of my trainers is a masseuse and she had 3 of her masseuse friends come down to do FREE full body massages for all of us! I went home, showered, then headed back down for my massage. For one whole hour, I was in heaven! I was just about to fall asleep when she said she was finished, and as I stood up to get dressed my body felt a million times better. So this morning when I woke up, and I was expecting to be as sore as I was after the Tuesday work out, I was able to move without wincing in pain! Sure, my thighs are still a bit sore and my shoulders/arms are kind of tight, but nowhere near the pain I had felt before. Maybe, just maybe, I will be able to survive the next 5 weeks of boot camp. And maybe, just maybe, I will be able to once again wear those jeans that have been pushed to the back of my closet. I'll keep you posted.

To my mother...

I have been meaning to creating this post for several days now, but I never had the time to do it any justice. On August 20 my mom celebrated another year of her life, and what a fantastic life it is! My mom has always been and will always be my hero, my role model, my mentor, my favorite! For Summer's bday, I listed 18 things that I loved about her...but listing "44" things about my mom will take way to long, so I will just share some of the highlights:

1. She loves her children unconditionally. Regardless of how stupid we are or how bratty we act, mom loves us.


2. She taught me and continues to teach me everything I need to know. Even when I reached the age of "I am so much smarter than my parents" I continued to learn from my mother's example.


3. She has a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is firm in her convictions. Never once have I ever doubted my mother's faith. If she wasn't sharing her testimony with us, she was showing us through the way she lived her life.


4. She is the most creative woman ever made. From wood-work to cakes to sewing to scrapbooking, my mom can do it all...and she will do it better than you!


5. She loves my dad. I remember my parents dancing in the kitchen, smooching before dad left each morning, and holding hands. She showed me what a successful marriage is and how to maintain it.




I believe Abe Lincoln said it best: "All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother."


Happy Belated Birthday Mom! I love you THIS MUCH!

Birthday and Bootcamp

So my birthday is tomorrow...yeah for me! And this year my husband has spoiled me. What's that, you ask? How come my husband has already spoiled me if my birthday isn't until tomorrow? That answer is two-fold:
1. I hate to wait...I am extremely impatient!
2. I'm leaving WAY early tomorrow morning and won't be home until WAY late so in order to celebrate my birthday it needed to be done earlier.

So wanna know what I got? Okay, I'll tell you.

Last month (yes, last month) I got my first present...a new camera! My old one was all sorts of busted up so TJ saw a smokin' deal for a 12 megapixel camera on Woot.com, so he bought it for me. It's sweet and actually takes pictures that are not blurry.

Second, TJ bought me Breaking Dawn! I'm probably one of the last people to read it...but I was planning on reading my mom's copy but I have to wait for Mom, Summer, and Jessica to finish it before it is my turn. Now I have my own copy and I can read it in my free time (oh wait, that doesn't exist anymore...)

My third present starts tomorrow...BOOTCAMP! The gym and I are not friends, so in order to get my butt into shape, I need someone to basically yell at me and tell me what to do. So TJ let me sign up for a bootcamp with some other teacher friends from school. Its every Tuesday at 5 am, and Saturdays at 6 am (adding to the "no more free time" thing!). I went in on Saturday so they could do all my measurements and tell me I'm fat and whatnot...but in 6 weeks I will hopefully be in rockin shape. I'll keep you posted!

So that is my birthday celebrations thus far. Mom's coming to school for lunch tomorrow to bring me GECKOS (so not on my bootcamp diet, but it's my birthday and I'll eat if I want to!), so being 23 is looking pretty good so far.

It's SUMMER time!

My little sister Summer turned 18 on Aug. 6, so in honor of her birthday I give you "Ode to Summer"...18 of her BEST pictures and 18 reasons why I love her (in no particular order!)

She looks good in a tutu.

She makes the best stupid faces.
She wishes she was my twin.

She pretty photogenic......when she wants to be!
She knows how to acessorize

She likes to eat. Really, she likes to eat.
She knows how to party.
She looks good wet.

She never really joined a gang.
She's my "baby" sister
She has devil eyes.

She was homecoming queen.
She's "HOT"

She was a good bridesmaid!
She's politically active.
She can jump really well.

Oh Summy, I am going to miss you when you go away to college!

ThomasGrier.com

My husband is slightly a nerd...a fact that I was not fully aware of before I married him. Sometimes, he is a nerd in the "Star Wars/Trek" way. Other times, he is a nerd in the "completely obsessed with _________" way. Currently, his obsession is his website. Since he is not working right now (did I tell you he got laid off at Countrywide? Don't worry...he was planning on quitting anyway so it isn't a bad thing!)...but since he is not working right now, he has a lot of free time on his hands before school starts, and he is trying not to go crazy from boredom. So to fill up his free time, he has been teaching himself how to do all sorts of computer-y stuff. He is very proud of his blog and he has been working hard on it. One super cool fact about his blog is that we can make money off it! Anytime someone clicks on the sponsored links we make $$$$ (like, a nickel!). So if you ever have free time, just go visit the site and start clicking away!

Girls Night Out!

My oldest sister Calli lives in Kansas (which sucks) but she came out to visit for a couple of weeks (which rocked)...but it was the same time school started so I was not able to see her very much (which sucked) but the night before she left, all the girls went out for a super fun time (which rocked).

Gecko Grill...yum! Their chicken mango quesadillas, tacos, and burritos are oh so good! No joke...half of us ordered the tacos, the other half ordered the quesadillas. Yummy Yummy!
Summer was having some "issues" with the bean dip and her water...luckily our waiter is a good friend of ours and doesn't mind that we are all a little crazy! (Shout out to Golden!)
See the lady in purple behind us...
I don't think she liked us very much. We may or may not have been Shushed through the whole movie....But the movie was awesome...made us want to sing and laugh and dance in our seats (hence the shushing!)...Oh, PS: Pierce Brosnan cannot sing (but it's really funny) and I don't think I will ever look at Colin Firth the same way again (he has come a long way since Mr. Darcy!)
And we discovered that Summer is capable of making the world's stupidest faces.

Calli is super...she's my special sister!Hm...maybe we are all a little special...

Anyway, the night was great, the food way yummy, the movie was AWESOME, and the company was even better.