Super Fun Weekend!

We had some great fun these last few days! Now that I have Weekends off I can play with my friends and family more!

A bunch of us and our friends got together for a VERY fun outing. We went to the Cheesecake Factory, and OMG - YUM! Me and Christian, Kaycee and Austin, Jeff and Jessica, and Taryn and Nick all met up at the restaurant, got our name on the list, and then walked around the mall until it was time to eat. It was such a great night! We laughed like crazy! We ended up staying for a long time talking and laughing. We actually noticed all the tables around us had switched out parties, some twice! HAHA

Nick and Taryn

Austin and Kaycee

Jeff and Christian

I got some delicious orange chicken and Christian got spaghetti. After dinner (even though we were stuffed) we obviously had to get cheesecake! I got a banana cream piece and Christian got snickers. They were both incredible! So, it was a fabulous night!

Next we had another party planned with our friends! POKER NIGHT! We went to Ashlee's house and met up with a bunch of friends. Unfortunately Christian got out pretty early, but he had to work in the morning so it was probably good. So, he hung out for awhile, but ended up going home. I actually did pretty good! Almost won, but Shawn decided to destroy me! HAHA It was a ton of fun though! We ended around 12:30 and some of the guys said they wanted pancakes, so Meg, Ashlee, and I went upstairs to talk and make pancakes. We hung out until about 2am. It was super fun! Nice to just chill, without spending a ton of money! Good Times!

On Saturday Jamie and Jon got REAL Soccer game tickets, so we got to watch the kids! I love having them over! So fun! So, first, we had a little caesers picnic on the front lawn. Then we walked to the park to let the kids play. When we got back we watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks! It was a very fun night! In the morning we got to eat pancakes! The kids came to church with us, which I love! And then we drove to Layton for a birthday bbq for Cody. After dinner we played games.

It was a great weekend! Lots of fun with family and friends!

Good News!!!

Well, not much has been going on with us, but the job hunt ended! And I am sooo glad! Even though, I was really enjoying being home! HAHA Time for crafts, sewing, cleaning, and playing with friends and family! But I guess I knew it would end. I did need a job! And I found one!

I am now working for Simmons Mattress Company. I am so excited to work there! So far it is going great! It is lots to learn, but I am getting the hang of it. Luckily I am being trained by my friend so she is making it fun and not so scary! Best part of all, I finally get to feel what its like to have a real job. Weekends off, Holidays off (and paid) and a set schedule, and money I deserve! I have had the complete opposite for 6 years at my previous job! So, I really think I will enjoy this! I am technically the Payroll Manager, but I have a lot of other tasks. I have my own office! I am working in the office that is connected to the Simmons factory. It's pretty cool seeing how they make mattresses. Those tags and "do not remove" labels, ya, I make those! HAHA

This past week I had the chance to tend my neices and nephews for 4 days! My sister went on a cruise and dropped them off to me! It was super fun! We played, went to the park, Went to lunch with Grandpa B, went swimming, and played some more! I got to experience life as a stay at home mom~ Seriously, I have never worked so hard. Not a 9-5 job by any means! Maybe a 7-10 job. Crazy but so fun!!! Weird, but I didn't take any pics. Sad! But we had a lot of fun!

This weekend for Conference we have a tradition that we go to Layton. So, I am excited for that! We get together, stay up late playing, watch conference in our PJ's while we veg out. And then Saturday night we have a girl's night while the guys go to priesthood! Should be fun! So, I will post about that after.

Update #2

How do I go from blogging a few times a month to having to do 2 "update" blogs? Ugh! Oh well, here it goes for our February Update, I should really call it February and March update, since it will soon be over.

~Anywho~
How about I start updating, eh?

Well, in my previous post I talked about my friend Mandy who is pregnant. Things are going GREAT with her. They are busy planning, discussing, and arranging their new lives as parents-to-be! They have started to organize thier house and make room for a nursery, we are beginning to plan her baby shower and I am busy making her invitations! We are all so excited!!!

Also, in my previous post I talked about the strong little guy, Owen, who was recently diagnosed with diabetes. This is also going GREAT! Great for Owen, Mommy, Daddy, and siblings! We have all gotten down how to test him, give him shots, count carbs, measure food, and the list goes on and on. But overall we have realized this is definitely something we can handle!!! I am actually really excited for this weekend! My sister and Brother-in-law will be going on a cruise and leaving the children in the hands of me and Christian for half the week, and my mom and dad for the other half! I super excited! I get to see what being a stay at home mom really is! And they get to have a much needed vacation!


Let's see, what else has happened?
Well, I have another great friend who is also pregnant! We had a shower for her a few weekends ago and it was great! All the girls there were from High School so we were all able to catch up! It was so fun seeing everybody! It is so crazy how time flies! Every one of us is married, and everybody but myself and one other friend have a baby or are pregnant! So fun! It was a really fun time and Pattyanne got some really cool gifts!

I was also able to attend a concert downtown. It was the Up and Coming Tour at "In the Venue" My brother's band was actually playing in it. I headed there with a friend and met up with my mom and dad. They did AWESOME! Seriously! You know what you think of when you hear High School band, but it was great! They are all naturals! My brother is the lead singer, but he also wrote some of thier songs, and plays guitar on some songs. Pretty cool, hopefully they will be able to play at the Warped Tour! Check them out on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beacon-Hill/176506727280?ref=ts

I think the last update would be the update most of you already know, but for those of you that don't, here ya go.... At the end of February, I lost my job. Not such a great update, but an update non the less. I worked for Sportsman's Warehouse for almost 6 years. It was pretty crazy to lose it, but in all honesty it was such a relief! For about 3 months I had been nothing, but miserable! Unfortunately new management came in and it was pretty clear after a few months that I would no longer have my position. Shortly after that I was let go. However, I am truly excited for my next adventure! I am not sure what is next for me, but I do know that I am happy at the moment and I can't wait to have a position where I don't live at work, stress constantly about work, and get paid the amount I deserve to do work! And I am soooo excited to never work a Sunday again! To answer your question, yes, Christian does still work there. For now, he is still currently enjoying his position, and since he does not work directly with the new management like I did, he has not had any problems, and he definitely has not been miserable. So, at this time we are very grateful for Christian having his position! We are sure that something will come up soon for me. And yes, when it does you can expect another update! (Until then, if you know of anything, please let me know.) Thanks!

So, that is our update. Hope things are well with all of my readers. (the 3 of you) Hopefully, with all of my free time now I can update my blog more often! Guess we will see!

January in a nutshell

January was pretty quite for us. We worked, played, worked, and played a little more. We have gone to see some fun movies. We have gone to Jazz games. We have hung out with friends and family. But for the most part, nothing too exciting. However, there were some big things happening to those we love! So, we will update you on what's going on in the world around us!

First big thing was from my best friend, Mandy and her husband Troy! She is pregnant!!! I am so excited for her! She has wanted a baby for awhile and her husband actually had to get a reversal, so it could have taken a very long time to get pregnant. However, everything went great and she was able to get pregnant! She sent me a picture message of the pregnancy test that showed positive! I was so excited!!!

We hung out a few days ago and I brought her her first baby gift! We went shopping and she got a super cute diaper bag and some cute baby clothes! I am so excited for her!

She just went to her first appointment and everything is great! She is measuring correctly, and everything looks healthy. She had an ultrasound and was able to hear the heartbeat and get a picture! So, hopefully things continue to go well for her! Congrats guys!

The next big thing is from this cute little guy! It is a sad story, but one that

we can handle! Our family has come together already to support him and he is doing great!!!

My Sister's son, Owen was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last week. He is only 17 months old, but he is being such a trooper! He doesn't even cry when he gets his shots! Incredible!

This came at a huge shock for Jamie and Jon. This diabetes does not run in either side of the family. However, they have been able to learn a ton about the disease and are so happy that it is just a way of life now. He can still live a completely normal life, and almost a better one because he will be living so healthy with the way he eats. When I went to visit them in Primary Children's hospital they were all doing so well. I played with Owen just like I would have at home. Jamie and Jon were able to explain it all to us. They all seemed so "ok" with it. I think their doctor was awesome! He explained it so well so they would understand it was something they could handle, explained that it had nothing to do with them, they didn't do anything wrong, and that someday soon, it would become a way of life and it wouldn't be so scary. Jamie, Jon, and Owen are all being sooo strong! I am super impressed! So, it is very sad that Owen will be pricked on the finger and given a shot multiple times a day, but it is something that is very easy to deal with and since he was diagnosed so young, he will grow up with it and understand this is just his way of life! But Owen is still his happy, chipper self!

So, Our life has been full of surprises, but still full of fun! We are looking forward to February and March, and even more looking forward to Spring!!! We are done with winter! In February we have the Western Hunting Expo that we will be running for a week, which is always fun! In March my sister is going on a cruise for her anniversary so we get the kids for a week! Which is even more fun! I get to see what it's like to be a stay at home mom, which I am way excited for! I'm sure there will be more fun to come. Friday we have another Jazz game with our friends from work, We will be having a superbowl party, and I'm sure we will do something fun for Valentine's day. So, nothing too exciting coming up, but I'm sure it will be a fun February! Until then, Hope you have a wonderful day!

My Birthday gift!

For my birthday I had to work all day, so my birthday lasted for 4 days!

The night before my birthday Christian took me shopping, to dinner, and to the Jazz game!

I bought a new case for my phone, it's plaid with pink and brown. It's cute! We ate dinner in the food court, I got a yummy Subway sandwich and he got Panda Express. The Jazz was fun! I haven't been to a game in so long! Our seats weren't fantastic, but it was still fun. We had our binoculars, and Christian took some great pics with our new camera.

The day after my birthday our friends and us went out to Olive Garden! It was a great time! Lots of fun, great food, and my friends are so nice I even got gifts! I got some super cute jewelry, clothing, and a super cute scarf! Thanks for all those who came and gave me gifts!

On Tuesday my girlfriends took me to lunch! Roxsan, Meghann, Ally, and Kaycee all came with me to Wingers to celebrate somemore! It was great fun! And of course, more great food!

So, my birthday...s were great! Thanks friends!

For my birthday, I was able to get a new bedroom set!

I have been wanting one forever, and on Black Friday a really cute was on sale! So, I got this one! It is brown, khaki, and blue with little flowers. It came with the comforter, shams, skirt, and 3 decorative pillows!

Since our room before was maroon and green we had to change a few things in our room along with the bedset. So, I went to Robert's and found the square frame in the middle of the wall here. It was half off and the perfect colors! Then I replaced one of our candles with a cute blue one from tai pan, and I got another little frame from Robert's that was also half off! So, we redecorated our bedroom for under $100!!!

Above our window I have the word "LOVE" in wooden block letters. I painted them maroon for our bedroom before, and needed to change them for our new colors. So, instead of painting them I decided to cover them with scrapbook paper. It is a little difficult to see in this pic, but if you double click on it you should be able to enlarge it. Each paper is blue and brown colors with flowers, and then I added some extra flowers and ribbon to each one. They match my bedset perfectly!

So, I had a great birthday, and I am really excited for our new bedroom!

Christmas!!!!

Christmas this year was super fun! Boulter Christmas party, with yummy food, the white elephant pass around, the nativity, and lots of crazy kids! I'm so glad we continue this tradition with my mom's side of the family! It is so great to see everyone, and I know my grandpa loves it!

Christmas with Christian's family was also a great time! We had it at his parent's house where we ha an excellent ham dinner with funeral potatoes, mmmm..... We watched a very cool "testimonies of the Prophets" dvd, and exchanged gifts. This year we decided to put together a little photo book for his parents and they loved it! It showed pictures of them when they were little and pictures of their wedding and it had family pictures of each kid. It was really fun putting together and I'm really glad they liked it. It was another great Thorpe Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we went to my mom's for dinner. After dinner we made and decorated gingerbread houses. The kids loved it! After that I handed out a new ornament for each person to write their name on it and hang it on Nana's tree. Nana gave each grandkid a present to open and they were new jammies! The kids put them on and then Nana read them a new Christmas story. This is a new tradition my mom started and after she reads them the story she gives them the book. It is so cute! the last thing we did was watch the claymation The Santa Claus. We got back to Jamie's house where we were sleeping and set out cookies for santa and went to bed.
Christmas morning we went downstairs and Santa had come!!! The kids opened their Santa gifts and we all opened the gifts in our stockings. Christian and I both got a Vikings shirt from Santa! After that we all exchanged gifts, ate a super yummy breakfast, and then the kids played with their toys and we took a nap.
Christmas night we went to Robyn's house for the Smith family party. We all mingled for a bit, took some pictures, and then had a great dinner. After dinner we played the white elephant game and there were some very hilarious gifts. We got the lamp from a Christmas Story!

So, Our Christmas was Excellent! And with Christmas gone it means we don't have to work as much which is always a plus! Now it is on to festivities for New Year's and my birthday!!! Hope you all had a great Christmas!!!
(pics coming soon)

Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving this year was with Christian's family. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays....OK, let me rephrase that, I love Thanksgiving, but only because of Black Friday Deals!!! Ever since I was 18 years old I would go shopping with my Mom and Sister on Black Friday normally sometime around 4am! I know some of you think I am crazy, but when you hear the deals you will understand!

So, this year we ate at Christian's sister's house. On our way there we drove past a house that still had the paper on their driveway. Well, anybody who actually looks at the ads starts early in the moring, so I convinced Christian to stop so I could take the newspaper. Yes, I guess technically I stole the paper, but I did knock on their door and was fully prepared to ask them if I could have it, but nobody answered....so I just took it! HAHA!

So, I spent most of my time at Tiff's house looking through the ads. And we ended up getting a great deal on a Nikon D3000! An awesome camera I have wanted forever! With an additional zoom lens, and Nikon carry bag! I was super excited! We were able to order it on BestBuy.com, without having to go to the store super early!

Our Thanksgiving dinner was excellent! Yummy rolls, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, yams, and of course turkey! We had two! John made a special one that apparently he cooked upside down! AMAZING! It was so moist! We were all super stuffed so we waited a bit to eat dessert and while we waited we listened to Adam, our nephew, play the piano. He is an amazing player! He even writes his own songs!

It was a great Thanksgiving, and at the end we took a family picture. Great shot Dev! Thanks for a great meal and a fabulous time!

SHOPPING!!!!

So, since I got my Office Manager position 4 years ago I haven't been able to go shopping on Black Friday because I have had to work at 5am. So, I check out the ads and then tell my mom what to get me, and hope that it happens. Well, this year my friends and I decided we wanted to go out at midnight. So, after we left Tiff's house I slept on the way home, and slept for about 4 hours until it was time to go shopping! Mind you, this meant I wouldn't get anymore sleep because I would have to go to work! Good part about that though, two of the girl's that came with me also had to work. So, I met up at the mall with Mandy, Ally, and Tiff. Mandy told us when she got there that Troy had told her of secret midnight deals at Walmart! so we headed there instead of standing in line at the mall. So, the three of us met up with Kaycee and Meghann and Ashlee at Walmart. When the clock struck midnight the associates ripped open the pallets of deals and we started filling our carts! We got DVD's for $2 and $7, pyrex dishes for $9, Video games for $10, and I got a new bedset for $35 bucks! (normally $80) We got everything we wanted and had a blast!

After Walmart, we headed to Toys R US, but it was an hour wait just to get into the store so we bagged that idea and headed to Fashion Place mall. It was about 2:00am at this point. We shopped around a little bit there, but decided we wanted to go back to Southtowne Mall. When we got to Southtowne we shopped in most of the stores, but there weren't any crazy good deals so just played around with the camera and tried on the ugliest things we could find! It was great! At around 3:30am we were all starving so we decided to go to Denny's for dinner/breakfast. After sitting for about 15 minutes we all realized how tired we really were. But oh well, we had to go to work!

That day at work was interesting, but a lot of fun! I'm just glad I had my friends there to be loopy with me!