Declan-isms

My nephew, Declan, is the funniest 4 year old I know. This little boy is much too wise for his years and is constantly saying the most hilarious things. To top things off... the last year or so, he's been speaking with a Bostonian-like accent. So, this post is dedicated to my wise young nephew and the hysterical things that come from his mouth...

August 2010:
Declan saw Mike's shoulder sling sitting on our table and proceeded to make fun of his beloved Uncle Mike:

• Declan - "Is that you purse, Uncle Mike?"
• Mike - "No... that's the sling for my shoulder"
• Declan, in a mocking tone - "You have a purse for your shoulda!!"

  ...One week later...we went to my parents' house for dinner.  The first thing that Declan said to Uncle Mike was...  "Where's you purse for you shoulda, Uncle Mike?  ...hhhaaaaa!!"


September 11, 2010:
Looking at a fake yearbook filled with 80's pictures, he said "these humans look silly".

Just getting into my car, we had the following conversation:

• Declan - "You car smells pretty, Britty"
• Me - "Thanks, bud"
• Declan - "Yes, I like that smell. What do you call that smell, Britty?"
• Me - "It's called 'Caribbean Salsa'"
• Declan - "Oh... *silence* ...I don't like that smell anymore, I don't like salsa"

September 18, 2010:
Declan's in a soccer league this year. I've been trying to go to as many games as possible. For the last 2, Mike has been golfing with his brothers, leaving me to go to the games without him:

• Declan - "Hi Pritty, are you here to watch my socco game?"
• Me - "Yep!!"
• Declan - "Where's uncle Mike?"
• Me - "He couldn't make it today."
• Declan - "Oh... will you just go home and tell him to come instead?"

September 23, 2010:
Declan spent all week helping grandma Cheryl decorate for his favorite holiday - HADOWEEN (halloween). He LOVES halloween... he loves the treats, the costumes, the decor... and has been especially in love with Martha Stewart's halloween edition of her magazine. So, it was no surprise when Declan walked me all around my mom's house last night:

• Declan - "Come on Pritty, I gots to show you something"
• Me - "okay buddy"
• Declan - "close you eyes, Pritty" (he holds my hand as he leads me to a wall)
• Declan - "now open them!"
• Me - "oh no, what's that scary thing? Don't let it get me" (He shows me a vampire that he made with grandma)
• Declan - "It's a bampire!! Here, I'll hold you hand so that bampire won't bite you"

Nothing is better than spending time with this kid!!!!

 ...And, since no post is complete without pictures... here are some current ones of my favorite little guys:

:A Southern Adventure:

Well, we just got back from Atlanta... and it was the best trip, EVER!!  Since there were sooooo many pictures - I am putting them in a slide show for all to see!  :)

Meeting our big sister was the best experience that I thought I'd never have...  Bridgett is such a sweet person.  She's friendly, warm, and loving.  I felt like we really got to know her as a person, and I am so excited to call her my sister!!  We had so much fun together - it was like we'd finally found that missing piece to the puzzle...

Kyrie, Britty, and Bridgett - we met for the first time, in the Atlanta airport!!

Since there is so much to say, I think I'll just break it down, one day at a time, with our adventures... I'll try to keep it simple... 

Thursday - We got in at about 3:00 p.m.  Our first stop was to my cousin Bonnie's house for a quick shower.  After that, we went back to the airport to pick up Bridgett and her mom, Ronda.  Bridgett's mom, Ronda, is a very kind and sweet lady - she said great things about our dad all weekend long, and seemed to want to get to know me and Kyrie!! 

That night, we headed up north to Woodstock.  This is where our Aunt Joyce, Grandpa Robbie, and Aunt Jennie live. 

Friday - In the morning, Bonnie took me, Kyrie, Declan, and Lochlan to a park near our aunt's house.  It was AMAZING!!  Bonnie and I went for a 3 mile run, while Kyrie stayed with the boys and let Declan play on the HUGE jungle-gym.  A few hours later, we went back to Aunt Joy's house.  Bridgett's mom is a (talented) cake decorator.  Since it was our cousin Angie's birthday, Ronda made her a gorgeous cake... all the girls sat down and made roses, out of fondant icing, to go on top.  That night, we had a big BBQ and just took some time to relax and have fun with each other!!  Kyrie and I got to see Papa's cute little home... and his crazy dogs - boxer puppies that are almost fully grown - and a little on the hyper side!  Haha!

Saturday - We went to a great little pizza joint... then grabbed some fro-yo and gourmet cupcakes!!  I (being the clutz that I am) doused myself in chocolate frozen yogurt while wearing a white top!!  Go ME!

Sunday - Kyrie and I went to Six Flags Over Georgia with our sister, Bridgett; our cousins, Bonnie and Nadine; and (of course) Declan.  It was a great day!!  Declan was great, but by the time we left - he was done... it was a long walk to the car.  :)

Aunt Joyce and Ronda watched Lochlan for Kyrie while we were gone.  Lochlan is the BEST baby!!  He is always happy and entertains himself - by the time we got home, they were calling him "The Stepford Baby".

Monday - Shopping, Shopping, Shopping!!!  This time, it was me & Bonnie, Aunt Joy & Jennie (the pros), and Bridgett & Ronda.  I got some great prizes and found some stores that I LOVED - Utah really needs to get some more shops!  Kyrie and the boys spent the day with Papa - they all loved it! 

That night, we went for some traditional southern food - Chicken & Waffles!!  We ate at "Gladys Knight's Chicken & Waffles" - the food was great, but the company was SO much better!  This time, Bonnie's boyfriend, Shawn, came along - he made it pretty entertaining!!  He convinced everyone to get the Peach Cobbler by telling us that it's "Smack yo' mama good!!"...  Kyrie and I shared one, just because of that!!

Tuesday - Aunt Jennie, Papa, Kyrie, Ronda, Bridgett, and I took the boys (Dec and Loch) to the Georgia Aquarium.  It was huge!!  We had so much fun... Declan loved the 4-D movie, "Deepo".  Both of the boys were soooo good.  Kyrie and I drove ourselves - that's right, through ATLANTA - to the aquarium.  We had to get back to Joy's house all by ourselves - and thanks to Kyrie's memory, along with some assistance to GPS, we made it back to Woodstock in one piece. 

Tuesday night was hard.  Papa kept telling us how it had been the best week of his life and that he "wished he had just a few more days with all 6 granddaughters".  We had a great dinner, made my Aunt Jennie and Aunt Joy, and then it was time for the good-byes.  We were so sad to say good-bye to all of our family - there were so many tears shed... and when we hugged Bridgett good-bye, we just sobbed!

Wednesday:  Nothing too special... we flew home.  Declan entertained himself in the Atlanta airport, with glow sticks.  He even made a couple little friends.  The last flight, from Dallas was really turbulent, it was like a roller coaster - a really high up roller coaster, in the middle of a storm - but we survived!!

The whole trip was a success - Kyrie and I made it to and from Atlanta with a million bags, a strollers, 2 car seats, and 2 little ones without killing anyone!  We were able to catch up with our family members we haven't seen for a long time - and got to know the family members we'd never met... and we just had FUN!!!  The only thing that would have made the trip any better, would have been to have mom and dad there.

But for now, we're just waiting to plan a trip out to California to visit Bridgey and the rest of her family!!

Happy Anniversary!

On Tuesday the 6th, Mike and I celebrated our 4th anniversary!  I love my hubby even more now, than I did then. 

It was a funny day, though.  The last 2 anniversaries we've had have been less than spectacular.  They just fell on bad days...  our 3rd anniversary was only a few days after my dreaded eye surgery, so we didn't even leave the house... and I was blind!  This year, I was determined for it to be a good one.  All I wanted to do was go to dinner, get a dessert to-go, then go home and watch the Jazz game while we had our sweet treat.  Not too much to ask right... WRONG!!

On Monday night, I got sick... we're talking, up ALL night, praying to the porcelain toilet gods sick!!  I stayed home from work on Tuesday to try and get better so that we could have our anniversary celebration, this year.  Ha-ha - silly me... that was not going to happen...

Anyway, when Mike came home from work, I was trying to put on my "I'm all better" face, which actually worked for a while.  I convinced him that I was okay enough for our special dinner - I wasn't - and we shouldn't have gone.  I only ate about 4 bites of my pasta dinner and had 1 bite of dessert. 

Mike was really sweet... he had sympathy for me, and was trying to make the best of things.  On the way home from dinner, I said to him "so, I guess I ruined another one, didn't I?".  Giggling, he answered "yes, babe... yes you did" - he then leaned over and gave me a little kiss on the cheek.



When we got home to watch the Jazz game (that I REALLY wanted to watch), I just passed out on the couch. 

At least we got a couple pictures to remember our day:

Oh well, there's always next year... :)

My Friend, Leslie!

My co-workers are really like a second family... and why wouldn't they be?  I see them more during the week than I do my hubby.  In my 2 years on the Training and Development team at SelectHealth, I have made friendships that I hope will last forever.  It's amazing to me how each new person you meet touches your life in some way... sometimes big, sometimes small... but every one is unique.

One of my co-workers, Leslie, is an amazing example of someone who has touched my life... for the better!

Leslie is one of those amazing people who spends her life in the service of others.  She volunteers at the "Road Home" homeless shelter in SLC, and is always encouraging everyone on our team to give more to the needy.  She has really inspired our team to do more out reach for the less fortunate... and she does it completely selflessly - she does it for the spirit of service.

Recently, Leslie celebrated her 20th anniversary with our company.  To honor her, our team celebrated by taking her on a suprise lunch to her favorite restaurant (Settebello - pizzeria).  Our boss told her it was a mandatory team meeting... so all week, we kept up the guise - making her think that our boss had some bad news to deliver.  When we surprised her at the restaurant, she was shocked - and grateful that we weren't all losing our jobs!!

To celebrate the way that she has touched our lives, I made her a memory book.  This memory book contained a memory from all 20 members of our team - telling why they love Leslie.  I included pictures of our team and left a few pages blank so that she could fill them up with her favorite memories. 

Here is what mine read:
Leslie is inspiring!!!

"So many people talk about how they love to serve others... and even brag about doing it often. Leslie is the first person I’ve ever met that actually lives her life this way. Not only is she dedicated to serving others, but she does it without expecting praise in return. She serves others simply for the sake of loving service, itself.

*Leslie – you are the kind of person that I am striving to be – and I am so thankful for your wonderful example of kindness and love!!*"

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Okay, it's definitely been a long time since my last post.

I'll start with a sister update!!  On April 15th, 2010, I will officially meet my big sister, Bridgett.  My little sister, Kyrie, and I are flying into Atlanta to meet her for the first time. 

Now, this may seem a little odd, being that she lives in California and we live in Utah... but our dad's family is all from Georgia, so we've planned the trip so that we could be in Atlanta with our Grandfather.  This will be the first (and maybe only) time that he has all of his grandchildren together... 5 granddaughters and 2 great-grandsons.  It's going to be soooo much fun.  I am literally crawling out of my skin with excitement.  It's been a long time (too long) since I've been out there, so to see all of our family and meet Bridgett at the same time is a once in a lifetime opportunity.  But, pray for us... Kyrie and I are going out there sans hubbies... and with both of the little boys (Declan is 4 and Lochlan is only 8 months), we'll be needing all the help we can get!!


2010 has been a great year, so far: 

• January:
• 2 of Mike's cousins left for their LDS missions.  Julia will be in Nebraska and Brad is going to Guatemala.  They are going to do AwEsOmE!!

• February was great... nothing too special:
• For Valentine's Day, we went out to dinner (twice, once with Mike's mom) and Mike went to see "The Lovely Bones" with me.  I have to give him a lot of credit for that one... it's my favorite book, so he went just for me!!

• March - This month's been a lot busier than expected:
• March 1st is my mother-in-law's birthday.  To celebrate, her sister threw her her very own luau.  If you don't know, Mike's family has very close ties to the polynesian culture, so luaus are big in our family.  The most special part of the party was Mike's sister's, Patrice and Carly, dancing (hula and tahitian) just for their mom.  Those girls are 2 of the most beautiful dancers I have ever seen... just thinking about it makes me tear up!! 

Patrice, Jen (cousin), and Carly

• On the 6th, I went down to St. George with my friend, Dana, to be there for our BFF Jealin's baby's blessing (wow, that's a mouth full).  We arrived in the pouring rain at about 11:45 p.m, and headed back up to SLC around 4:30 the next afternoon, but it was soooo worth it.  We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our Linny and her adorable family. 

Linny and Madden

Linny's boys, Jeremy and Beck
• That same weekend, our little sister, Carly left to become a nanny in New Jersey... I still can't believe that she's gone.  So far, the family is treating her like a princess... they are getting a room ready to be her dance room - adding mirrors to the walls and a ballet bar, and have welcomed her to their home.  I think she's going to do great, but I miss her to pieces!!

Carly's senior pics

Well... now I feel a lot better... you're officially all caught up.  I'm going to try and be a lot better about my posts!!  :)

Let Me Introduce... My Big Sister!!

Thankgiving this year gave my family a whole new meaning to the word "thankful". 

This year, on Thanksgiving day, Kyrie and I made our first (ever) communication with our older half-sister, Bridgett.  We share the same wonderful Dad!!  Due to some unfortunate circumstances, my dad has not seen her since she was 2 years old... almost 31 years ago.  As you can imagine, we have never met her.

Kyrie and I were brought up knowing all about her.  Our parents have always kept a framed wallet size picture of her on display in their living room (it was all our dad had of her).  We talked about her with our Dad, who would usually get choked up at the mere mention of her name.  He loved and missed her everyday.  When we would say family prayers...  "Please bless grandma and grandpa, mommy and daddy..." our mom would always remind us to add "and please bless Bridgett".  Kyrie and I were raised to love her like we love each other... which (if you know us) is A LOT!!

It started on Wednesday morning, when Dad called me at work and said "Do you want to see a picture of your big sister?".  I burst into tears at even the thought of seeing a picture of her older than the 18 month child we'd grown up with.  I could hear Dad's tears through the phone.  Guess where we found her... Facebook!!  My dad's sister, Joyce, found her by accident late the night before and sent her a pretty generic message.  Joyce called him that night, which made him happy, and a little scared.  He stayed up all night thinking about it.

When I looked her up, the first thought I had was how much she looked like my aunts (Dad's sisters).  But, the more I kept looking, I noticed that she kind of looks like a brunette version of me (specifically my gigantic forehead and my eyes... which I got from my Dad).  I must have spent half of that morning crying...  thankfully, our friends at work were very loving and supportive.  I spoke to my dad and aunt about a million times that day.  Joyce was nice enough to let us look at her facebook messages (between her and my sister) and see Bridgett's pictures posted on her page.

This changed our world... for the better!!

The next morning (Thanksgiving), my aunt called me.  She told me that she had spoken to Bridgett on the phone and told her about her 2 little sisters and 2 nephews.  Bridgett burst into happy tears at the news.  She said that they talked a little about Dad and that Bridgett was pretty positive and happy about the whole thing.

I, immediately, sent her a message (and friend request) on Facebook.  Since then, Kyrie and I have been sending her messages left and right.  We plan on calling her (for the first time, ever) together and will hopefully be meeting her in the near future.  She seems like a wonderful, loving, and happy girl... I think we'll all get along great!!

Dad hasn't spoken to her yet.  He's over joyed, but at the same time, really nervous.  We're letting him take his time...

Words cannot express the range of emotions that our family is feeling.  We are so happy...  we truly believed that this day would never come.  We are so thankful for all our many, many blessings and for finally having our family complete!!

Below are some pictures of my new Big Sister - Bridgett:

On her wedding day!

Bridgett and Ricky (her sweet hubby)

Bridgett and her other half-sister (from her mother), Bonnie

My favorite one of her!

BLaCKouT

Halloween this year was a blast! 

We started out, by heading to my mom's house to make home made soup in pumpkin bread bowls.  This has become a family tradition in the last few years... my mom orders the breadbowls from Great Harvest, and for Halloween, they shape them like pumpkins and color them orange with green stems... they RoCK!

Mom made her traditional chili... mmmm... chili....  and I tried making a home made potato soup (Mike's mom's recipe).  Both soups turned out to be sooo yummy.  I would post pics of them, but they didn't last long enough to get a single pic.  :)

Declan came in his "hadoween costume".  He was Woody (from Toy Story) and Lochlan was a pumpkin.  Aren't they cute???

That night, Mike and I went to the U of U blackout game (against the Wyoming Cowboys), with a few of my friends from work.  The first half was a little sad... but luckily, we came back in the 2nd half and won!! 

Me and Mike

Ryan and Andrew

Star and JJ

Mark

Andrew, Mark, and Ryan

Basketball GiRLS!!

Last week at work was a blast!!  Our company held a 3 on 3 basketball tournament for anyone who wanted to participate.  They broke it up into 2 divisions - boys and girls.

Our fun-fearless Gianne was bound and determined to put a team together from the girls in our department.  Now, I am not the most coordinated girl around... and have never been much of an athlete, but I thought that this could be a pretty fun adventure. 

Together, with our good friend, Hilary... we made up Tres Leches... the best girls' b-ball team around!!

Me

Gianne

Hilary

Our Team Logo

As you can see, one of the many things that the 3 of us have in common, is our love of desserts; specifically cakes.  This, alone, should have told us that we were probably not going to win this amazing tournament... but we weren't going to give up just yet... besides, it was best out of 3.

The only other girl team to sign up was:  Powerpuff Slam Dunkers... 3 of the most athletic girls in the building. 

We knew that we might be in trouble... the Powerpuff Slam Dunkers... made up of Kelly, Jenni, Brittany, and Jessi... won the last 3 on 3 tournament between the girls' teams.  They are practically pros, they all played in high school and college. 

It wasn't until we got to the first game, that we realized what we were in for.  As we were warming up, each only making 2 out of about 300 shots... we remembered that the last time any of us had played basketball was probably in 8th grade gym class... 

…Yes, it was a massacre! 15-0

…and, yes… we were the ones who ended the game score-less :(

Ha-Ha!! Oh well, we had soooo much fun… and the other girls are all (literally) 6 ft tall. Gianne and Hilary (my awesome team mates) are about my size, so we didn’t stand a chance.

It was hilarious, though. Gianne travelled almost every time she got the ball. Every time we went in for a rebound, they’d just grab the ball from right over our heads. I just kept running, and running, and running (in circles around the court)… they couldn’t keep up when I ran!! When I passed, I’d almost roll the ball to Hilary or Gianne, because they were just so tall. 

Finally, it was my big chance... I needed to shoot, to score at least one point.  I heard a few of our cheerleaders (the boys from our department) keep saying to just throw it as hard and as high as I could toward the basket.  So... I shoot... and I miss, I must've thrown that ball straight up into the sky.  The next thing I knew... the PowerPuffs had the ball and were shooting toward yet another basket.

After that first game, we realized one key factor in our loss.  They had brought in subs.  What were we thinking?  How could we have had any chance of winning without subs???

That next game, we had some plans.  Finding a sub had been a fruitless effort.  It looked like we were done for when Hilary informed us that she had a really important meeting during the time of our game, but Gianne and I stayed positive.  Luckily, when we got to the court, the Powerpuffs love of the game helped us stay in it.  Rather than letting us forfeit, they gave up one of their most valued players to assist us.  That's right, we got Jenni "the killer" Crump!!

We got through the first half of the game having scored 4 points... 1 by default, and the other 3 from (you guessed it) Jenni.  Through out that first half, all I remember hearing was poor Jenni yelling for us to "stay on your man", "get to the basket", and my personal favorite "try to get the ball from them...".  She must have felt like she was trying to coach kindergarteners... but she kept a smile on her face the whole time.

The best part came during our time-outs.

Gianne and I were like little kids, just be-bopping around while poor, poor Jenni was lying on the ground... let's face it, that game had turned into more of a 3 on 1 game.  Gianne and I were not helping at all.

Toward the end, Gianne came up with a great game plan... which consisted mainly of me making a complete fool out of myself.  But, I decided to commit to it... for the team's sake. 

So there we were...  Gianne was getting ready to throw the ball back into play. 

As she passed the ball in to Jenni, I jumped down onto my hands and knees and began barking like a dog!!

Yes, that was the plan... me on my hands and knees, barking as loud as I could. 

Guess what happened....  we still lost....  but, Gianne did score 1 point for us. 
It gave us a final score of 15-5. 

I like to think that although I didn't score any points... that I still contributed with my committment to the one and only play we had up our sleeves.

Now, I bet you think that this little situation would make us never want to play again.  On the contrary... we came in 2nd overall among the women!!  We even got a great prize - $20 giftcard to the Larry H Miller theaters!!

I say, it was all worth it!!!

The Grass is Always Greener!

I can't believe that Mike and I have been in our house for a whole year!  Time has flown by so quickly, this year... I can hardly keep up.

One of our biggest accomplishments this summer was getting our grass in!!  Well, it was mostly Mike, but I did help with the weeding and 1 or 2 rolls of sod. 

Since we were given about 2,000 square feet of sod free, from our builders, we were sort of in a hurry to get it in by the end of September.  So for the month of August and the beginning of September, Mike, his dad, and brother (Daniel) worked tirelessly... trying to get the yard prepared.

About 3 weeks ago, Ivory Homes put in the yard for a spec home that they built across the street from us.  It seemed to us that they ordered a little too much, so for about 4 days after they'd finished the yard, we watched the extra sod sit there... waiting for its owners to come back and take it home.  We didn't think too much of it; after all, we were still prepping out yard and hadn't called the sod farm to deliver our free grass, yet.

It was around the 5th day that Mike, Todd, and Dan finished prepping the dirt directly in front of our porch.  Knowing that in about 2 more days, the sod across the street would go bad...  Mike and his "assistants" decided that the sod's new home would be our front yard!!  Yes, that is correct friends... we borrowed sod from the house across the street to complete our front yard!!

Don't worry... it's all been taken care of.  We finished up the entire front, sides, and some of the back yard.  Now, we're excited for the spring to get here... when we can finish the back yard and have friends and family over for a summer BBQ!!!

Here are some pics of our new, green, GRASS!!

 

Starting Over...

I realize that you're supposed to save resolutions for the beginning of a new year. I also realize that the new year is really only moments away.  But I was watching the rain yesterday morning, thinking how the rain cleanses the Earth and how everything seems to be re-awakened after a storm.

Watching the rain streak down the window, it suddenly dawned on me, I'm ready to make some changes in my life... and I'm starting now!!

Things I'm going to change:
I've been thinking a lot lately that I want to be more than I currently am. It seems to me that I'm a lot more inhibited than I ever let myself believe. I'm as insecure and self-conscious now as I was when I was 10 years old. I have a tendency to worry about things that I have no control over and I find myself staying up all night trying to fix things that really aren't broken. I seem to let anxiety run my life rather than ME, and I'm just not okay with this pattern I've created for myself.

Unfortunately, Mike has seen these negative things over and over again. Trying to help, he has constantly reminded me that I worry about things that don't matter... and I have to say that I completely agree with him!!

Also, I've gotten lazy. I don't know how this started, but it's stopping immediately. I am going to get back to the gym in full force. I am going to work on running (especially since it's something I used to actually like).

Who I am going to be:
I went through this phase, from about ages 22-25, where I felt really proud of myself. I was confident and worry-free. I was eating healthy, going to the gym regularly, and just enjoying life and all it had to offer! I was positive and had energy bursting out of my entire being at all times!!

I am going to find this person again, and become even more... I am going to break these negative patterns of anxiety induced debilitation. I am going to just let go, relax, and try to remember the things that are really important in life. I am going to be energetic and HAPPY!!!

How I'm going to do it:
Listening to conference yesterday really inspired me. President Monson spoke of service and how much joy it brings to the people being served, but also to the people doing the serving. At work, this year, we've been given a 1/2 day to do acts of service for the community. My team chose to do a snow cone-luau for the children and families at the Road Home shelter in SLC.

President Monson's talk made me think of how much I enjoyed that service project and how good I felt afterward.  So, I'm going to try and serve others in any way I can.

I'm going to let go of things that I cannot control. I'm going to stop over-analyzing every facet of my life. ...I'm going to relax.

I'm going to commit myself to getting healthy. This means the way I eat, exercise, and how I choose to handle situations.

Now, I know that this post sounds pretty negative, but there are some things that I think I do well and I'm going to try and become better at them:
-I'm a very trusting person. People don't really have to earn it, I just give it to them. This can be a good or bad thing (depending on how you look at it), but I choose to think of this as a great thing!
-I try to see the good in others. I refuse to believe that the world is anything but inherently good. I believe that most people want to do good things.
-I want others to be happy. I can't stand the thought of anyone in the world feeling lost or alone. I want people to know that they are special and that they have an important place in the world.

So there you have it... a pre-new year, new year's resolution!