Hand me down!!!!

Of course when you are a newlyweds you will take any furniture you can get. However, we got VERY lucky with our "hand-me-downs" We got a coffee table and end tables that were like new! We got book shelves, a computer desk, three dressers, a bed and headboard, an entire living room set, and a very nice dining room table. We have been very grateful for everything! If you were to look at the items in our house you would have no idea they were hand me downs! Recently we got a new hand me down from my Grandpa it was an AWESOME queen size bed with head board and nightstand. I love it, and it is SO comfortable! We got an amazing deal on that one! Even though we LOVE our Hand me downs, there are times for upgrades. Pictured here is my adorable husband on one of our hand me downs. This was actually our first hand me down! My Grandpa gave us this couch that we put a slip cover on before we got married. It has lasted 3 years and has worked out great! It is cute, but like I said we could use an upgrade.

What is a better upgrade, than another hand me down? As you can see my adorable husband can enjoy this one much more! This is the exact couch I would have picked out in the store. Lucky for me, my sisters house became a store! She got a couch from my grandpa so we bought hers! A thank you goes out to My Grandpa B, Christian's parent's, and My Grandma Bradford for thier Christmas Gifts. This couch is from them! It is a microfiber couch in the perfect tan color to match our living room and both ends recline as Christian is portraying. I have been wanting a new couch for awhile and we bought this one for half as much as the ones we were looking at and it is WAY better quality! I LOVE it! Jamie and Jon delivered it today and I couldn't have been more excited about it! Thanks again guys! You Rock! Your couch is home again!

So, on top of having an excellent day from getting our couch, we got to spend time with Jamie, Jon, Morgan, and Owen. Jon and Christian moved our old couch downstairs, and our new Awesome one inside. After they were done we all went to lunch at Panda Express! It was great to see them again and spend a little bit of time with them! Later that day I went to the Rod Works clearance center. My plan for the rest of my birthday money is to decorate our bedroom! I'm quite excited! I might even paint it! So, I bought a couple of things that you won't be able to see until I have completed my room. So, in a future blog you will see the final product! Get excited!!! I am!

After Rod Works I went to a Girl's dinner!!! I LOVE days off! Meghann, Christina, and I met up at the new Olive Garden in American Fork for a Girl's night! I LOVE girl's nights! and I LOVE Olive Garden! Christina worked with us during the Holidays, but doesn't anymore and we missed her so we decided we HAD to meet up. It was so great to catch up with her! We had a great time! However we were all stuffed by the time we were done!

So, Listen up girls! We decided we are definitely having a girl's night once a month. The third Wednesday of every month we will be getting together! We will go to dinner, movies, go to each other's houses, make cards, watch chick flicks, whatever we wanna do! and EVERY GIRL is invited! We will be moving them around from Salt Lake, Bountiful, Springville, Eagle Mountain, Riverton, wherever! The next one will be February 19th so I hope you can all make it! I will give you more details when it gets closer. Even if you have never come to a girl's night before, come join! Even if you only know one or two of the girls, come join! What better way to meet more friends! I'm pretty excited about this! Great idea Meghann!!!

See you girl's soon!!!

Crazy couple of days!!!

Well, I was so grateful for Sunday to come this week! Not only was I looking forward to a day off, but a day off that wasn't stressful! I had a good week, but some crazy things happened!

Monday we had an excellent dinner with the Thorpe Fam! We met at the Midvale Mining Company Restaurant. It was great almost everybody was able to come, and we hadn't seen each other since before Christmas. We had our own little room in the back so we were able to mingle a bunch! If you haven't been there, I suggest you go! It is great food at a pretty reasonable cost. Looks a little sketchy cuz it's just a little Ma and Pops place, but it's good. It was great to see everybody and I can't wait for next month!

So, that was the beginning of the week, I then had some things to look forward to, I was going to take Wednesday and Thursday off, go to Layton and hang out with my family. Sounded like a great plan until I got there, I went up on Tuesday night and hung out with my mom, just talking and staying up late. In the morning on Wednesday we were about to color my hair and my brother in law called to say he was going to take my sister to the hospital. She had mastitus, which is an infection you can get when you are breast feeding. She had just gotten over a bad cold, and the infection must have been caused by that. So, she was down for all of Wednesday and most of Thursday. So, my mom and I went over to her house to babysit the kids. So, it was a fun day for me, but not so much for Jamie. On Thursday she was beginning to feel better, but still needed some help, so I was there to play with the kids, clean the house, bathe and dress the kids, and help her out with Owen. I LOVED it, haha I can definitely say I'm ready to be a stay at home mom!!!

Wednesday was Kelby's birthday, so we had him open all of his gifts on the bed where jamie was lying down so she could see it all. Then since she was feeling a little better we took him to Mcdonald's for dinner. He was so excited to get whatever he wanted!! haha, he got a bunch of awesome Star Wars, pokemon, and Ben Ten stuff for his birthday!

Since Jamie was feeling better on Thursday we went to Classic Fun Center for kelby's birthday. It was awesome! We skated, played on the big blow up slides/toys, played in the arcade, and did lasertag. Kelby LOVED lasertag, and he was really good at it! We had the whole family there, but Christian, unfortunately. But we all had a good time! It's cool because they allow skates, rollerblades, scooters, and even strollers on the floor, so even owen got to go for a ride! It was a great place for a birthday party!!! I'm glad jamie was feeling better and got to enjoy it.

Shannon, Cody, Jeff, and Mom

How many Nana's will fight inside a blow up cage? Taylor loved it!

Friday Morning I woke up, got ready for work, and was thinking that I ended up having a great time. I did feel bad for Jamie, but was happy she was feeling better. So, I loaded up my car, and started it up, just then......
I hear a very loud clicking sound and the whole car is shaking, and there is a ton of exhaust smoke! So, long story short, I have to wait all day fro my car to be fixed. My mom nad I drove it over to Autozone (a very scary drive, I might add) and they tested it, turns out the 3rd cylinder was shot, we needed to replace the spark plugs, get a transmission flush, get an oil change and put it an additive. All I can say is I am SO SO SO grateful for my step dad, Jeff. He knows a ton about cars so, pretty much anytime something is wrong we buy the parts and he can fix it! So, yes, I got to have another day off of work and spend more time with the fam, but I would have rather gone to work then spend $130 bucks to fix my car!!! Oh well.

So, yes! I had fun, but along with it came some craziness! But jamie is doing great and my car is feeling better, so we are good to go!

Today was a great Sunday! I had a good lesson that the kids seemed to enjoy and the kids were pretty well behaved this week, we had a couple of rough patches, but overall I think it was a good class! Also, Christian got called to the primary today. He will be teaching the Valiant class 8-11 year olds. He is super excited!!! Already he has gone to sugardoodle.net for his lesson next week. haha He is glad he won't have to sit in Sunday School alone now. Even though we were both excited to start a Preach My Gospel class. Oh well, maybe next year. I am loving my calling so far! I have a great partner who helps out a ton! The kids are so cute too! I'm sure this year will be great!

I'm also sure, this next week will be great! hopefully my car and my family members will continue to be well!

Come Play With Me!!!!!

Well, since Mandy tagged me, I guess I have to take this little quiz, but I am going to do it a little bit different. It is supposed to be sections of 5 answers, but I am going to do 6, 3 for me and 3 for Christian. So, Here it goes! And remember if you are tagged on the bottom, I better see one of these on your blogs!!!

Tag...You're It!

Favorite TV Shows:
B:
1. One Tree Hill
2. Heroes
3. Amazing Race
C:
1. Heroes
2. Seinfeld
3. Family Guy

Favorite Restaurants:
B:
1. Olive Garden
2. Bajio
3. Chin Wah
C:
1. Olive Garden
2. Fuddruckers
3. Panda Express

Things that happened yesterday:
B:
1. Had fun with the Sunbeams
2. Folded Laundry (yuck)
3. Watched House Bunny
C:
1. Went to work
2. Watched Football
3. Got to kiss my adorable wife!!!

Things I look forward to:
B:
1. Having a baby!!!!
2. Not working (comes with the baby)
3. Sleep!
C:
1. Being a Daddy!!! (he really is)
2. The NFL Draft
3. Another Cruise

Favorite Disney Movies:
B:
1. The Little Mermaid
2. Wall-E
3. Enchanted
C:
1. Wall-E
2. Toy Story
3. Hercules

5 People I Tag:
1. Mandy
2. Jamie
3. Meghann
4. Natalie
5. Stephanie

Thanks Mandy!
Have Fun Girls!!!!

Our Day off!!

Well, Sundays and Thursdays are the BEST days of the week!!! Why, you ask? Because we don't have to go to work (well, most of the time) So, on our day off this past Thursday, we finally took down Christmas!!! haha I know I know so sad! The tradition is always to leave it up until after my birthday, but I guess I went a little far!!! haha
So, along with taking down Christmas comes cleaning the house! And our house needed it! I was also very glad when my husband willingly helped out! He dusted the whole house, including our fans, then he did a load of laundry (towels) and vacuumed the whole house! It was great to get some things accomplished!!!
Since we had done so much cleaning we both decided we needed to get out! We had gift cards from Christmas so we decided to go to a movie marathon. We went to Yes Man first. Pretty funny movie! Not as good as some of Jim Carey's work, but we laughed! Then we went shopping a little bit. If you haven't been to the district I suggest your go! It is like a mini Gateway! We LOVE it! So, we stopped at Claire's where they had a ton of clearance so Christian got some cute earrings!!! (ha! just seeing if you are paying attention!!!) then we went to Fanzz, Aero, and Zumiez. We went to Village Inn for dinner and then headed back to the theatre for a 3D Horror Flick! haha It was pretty scary, but the 3D was kinda pointless. Oh well, I don't remember the last time I saw a 3D movie!! It was fun!
So, we had a great day off!!! I love when we get things accomplished and have fun!!! We are so lucky to work at the same place and work the same shifts everyday!!! It is truly a blessing!!!
Then last night, Christian went to a Guy's Poker Night while I went to a movie with some girlfriends! We went to see 4 Christmases at the dollar theatre! It was so cute!!!! Great flick! Also, Christian won poker!!! So, he is now $60 bucks richer!!! Woohoo!!! That is always nice! He loves having his guys nights! I am glad we are able to have so much fun with our friends even though we are married! It is great to get out and hang with just the girls/guys once in awhile! I am glad my husband agrees! I love spending time with him, but we both need our "fun time" so it is great to be able to still do that!
So, we have had quite a fun time the last couple of days! Hopefully this next week is just as fun! We have the Thorpe Family Dinner and my nephew's birthday to look forward to, and I am going to spend a couple days in Layton which is always fun!!! Hope everybody is doing well! Have an excellent day and a wonderful weekend!!!

Locks of love!!!

That's right!!! It's gone! I chopped my very long hair off! I now have a steep A-line cut and I LOVE it!!! I have been talking about doing it for awhile, I was just nervous. So, after MUCH convincing from me and my sister my mom finally gave in and said she would do it! She was so worried that I was going to hate it afterwards she said she would NEVER be the one to do it! haha well, she did and no worries! I don't hate it at all!!! She did an amazing job! I guess 20 years of doing hair has paid off!!! haha Just playin Mom! We all know you are only 29 years old, so that is impossible!


Nobody could beleive I did it
because of how long it was before!!!
Can you?
This pic shows how crazy I am!


















We put my hair in a low braid and then my sister, Jamie did the first cut! She was SOOO excited to do it too! We just slowly made it into a complete hair cut after that. Now I love it!!! But I will admit, I was super scared to do it!

So, I chopped off about 10-12 inches in this very wierd looking braid. It was so wierd to hold my own hair! I am going to be donating it though, so it is all worth it! Christian was very worried at first, but ended up LOVING it!!! He can't stop talking about how much he likes my hair, which is a major plus because he likes long hair way more, so I was worried.




Here is the difference in the hair length,
and now my hair is even shorter,
but this is where we started out.
Crazy how drastic it is huh!!!
So, I amy be crazy, but I really do love it! If you know me at all, you know I like to change my hair a lot! the color, the length, the style. It's just so fun to play around with it! Already I have found 4 styles I can do with this length and it is so easy! I can curls it under, straighten it, flip it out (which looks awesome with the coloring job my mom did!) and then I can have the smallest little piggies sticking out the back which is always fun! Who doesn't like to wear pigtails? So, I am very glad I did it! Thanks Mom!

***Christmas in a nutshell***

Yes, this is Christmas morning.......Yikes!

We had a fabulous Christmas!!! Christmas eve, we did have to work but we closed at 4, so it was ok! That night we went to my mom's for a delicious Ham dinner, and some great festivities! We had a much smaller Christmas Eve celebration than we normally do, but it was still fun! After dinner we decorated cookies for Santa, had a white elephant present exchange, the kids all performed a song which included I wanna Hippo for Christmas by Morgan, I'm getting Nuttin for Christmas by Taylor, and Up on the Rooftop by Kelby. It was great! Their kids are so dang cute! Also that night I used the presentation that Christian's sister had made about the nativity with Josh Groban singing, and it was great! We listened to some Christmas songs and at the very end Nana read a new Christmas story and gave the kids new pj's. It was a great night!!! I love the new story tradition as well.

Nana and Taylor

Jamie and Morgan
(and Jon's backside)

That night we slept at Jamie's so we could be there when the kids woke up to Santa, it was very fun to see them get so excited!!! I remember my sister and I doing the same things! That morning we had my all time favorite breakfast! with hash browns, eggs, sausage, and cheese all mixed together and sweet rolls! It was tasty! We all opened our gifts and we all got way too spoiled, but it was fun!

Owen

Look how cute!

He is so innocent!

That night we went to the Smith family Christmas party which was a ton of fun! Another round of great food! It was so nice to see everybody and catch up! I can't believe how many kids there are now! We had a white elephant game there as well and it was hilarious! We ended up getting some very large very scary Santa heads that are supposed to go on your porch lights! Just wait until you get them at the party next year!!! ha ha That's right, I will be keeping them all year!!!

Yes, this is the scary Santa!!!

Robyn and Dale hosted this year

Well, Christmas was excellent! I am glad it is over so we can relax a little bit at work! Also, since it is over we got to take a couple of days off from work to have an awesome weekend!!! Including a great New Year!

****Happy 2009!!!!****

Christian, Jon, and Brandon at our party

We had a rockin New Year's!!! We went up to Layton on New Year's Eve and had a wonderful game night at my sister's! If you haven't played partini, you MUST play it soon! It was hilarious! We also played Mafia, which is ALWAYS included in our game nights and we also had a TON of great food! Just before midnight we watched the very sad Dick Clark and the very weird Ryan Seacrest bring in the new year on TV. Had our New Year's Eve kiss, and went to bed! ha ha! We slept over at her house that night, but we did have to work in the morning so we had to kinda call it an early evening. But it was WAY fun!!! We actually stayed in Layton from the 31st to the 4th! It was very fun too! We had to work on the 1st and 2nd, but went back to Layton afterwards.

On the 3rd, was my Birthday, YAY! But it was also my niece's baptism! That's right the first one to be baptized! Mom, don't you feel old! ha ha. It was a wonderful baptism and even Christian cried! We had all of the family their and Mandy was even able to come out, which Morgan was very excited for! She loves Mandy! After the baptism we had a luncheon with some very yummy food! We were able to visit with the family and play with the kids a little bit. We had a great time! And Taylor was just beaming all day!!!

For my birthday morning my mom decorated the house for me just like she did when I was little, I LOVE that tradition! She had these blocks that said Happy birthday, but for most of the day we kept switching out letters as you can see, many wished me a Rappy Birthdal!!! ha ha Then after the baptism me, Mandy, my mom, and Jamie went shopping, just the girls! It was so much fun to get out with them! I bought a Cheri Call CD, which I love and My mom bought me a cute coat for my birthday! After shopping we went to Olive Garden for my birthday dinner where I had an original Italian love song from our Waiter who was amazing!!! And he was pretty cute! ha ha, no worries Christian! It was great! The whole family came and Mandy and Marie and Lukas even came up! So that was great! Once we got back to my mom's house we watched a movie and Christian had made me a cake!!! So cute!!! It's just not your birthday without a cake! So, I had a great birthday!!! Thanks to all those who sent Birthday wishes!!!

Jon and Jamie

Marie and Lukas

Mom and Jeff