HAPPY MONDAY!!

I promised a 2nd giveaway back in October and I hope to have that posted in the next couple of days. Until then enjoy the following ...

Here is a portion the most recent parody by Hilary Weeks from the TOFW events for 2009. (just posted on YouTube.) There are 2 other parodies from this year which you will have to go to an event to see! HAPPY MONDAY!!!

Laundry!



In case you missed the songs from previous years...

2007 "My Favorite Things"


2008 Ultimate Mom "TO DO" List


"He Is" if you are not familar with Hilary's music.

Month in Review...

Since I have been absent from the blogging world for over a month I thought I would do a quick recap of what has been going on.


BABY BLESSING
Maya's baby blessing was this past Sunday. It was great to support a friend and her family. I wish I could have went to her home afterward but we had a family dinner to get to.


STATE OF PLAY
Also, this past weekend we went to see a movie. We hadn't BEEN to a movie in the theater for a while, it was nice to go on an official date. We decided to see the movie State of Play. It was a surprisingly good movie and we both enjoyed it. It may have been the low expectations we had before going but we weren't disappointed.

MY BROTHER
I did a post on my brother Lance last year about his struggles with drug addiction. And while he was unable to stay clean during his last release he was able over this past year to complete his sentence for good. He was released last week and is not longer on parole. He is finally in a place where he really wants to change his life and start his own family.

He agreed to go to a drug rehab in Long Beach California and has been there a week. So far he is doing great! He has been drug free for a year and they are working with him to stay that way. He has a girlfriend named Ashley who is super supportive and they seem really happy. Lance wrote me yesterday and he is running on the beach every morning, they are taking him body surfing today and he want to an Angels baseball game 2 nights ago. The goal of this rehab is to help the clients learn to have fun with out being high and to learn life skills that they haven't mastered yet. They will help him get a job locally and if he wants to go to school help him with that as well. I am excited for this new chapter in his life and our family is praying for his success!

WICKED!!
The highlight of this past month was going to see WICKED here in Utah. They are performing here for about 5 weeks. We stumbled upon an opportunity to get tickets with our dear friends Tim, Hilary and 3 of their darling daughters. We had a great time!

I know the show is sold out but if you have the chance to go DO IT! It was amazing! Even better than when we saw it in New York. Glinda's voice was incredible and she was so witty and clever with her portrayal of the character! We laughed almost the entire time. Even Brad gives it 2 thumbs up for the 2nd time.

EASTER

We had a fantastic Easter lesson for the YW by Brother Dallon. He did a great job helping the girls (and leaders!) understand the true meaning of Easter and why our Savior did it all for us. He really explained things in a simple, yet meaningful way and we all left filled. He has an incredible testimony of his Savior and were blessed to hear him teach.

We then headed to my parents for Easter dinner. We loved having the traditional deviled eggs and my mom's YUMMY strawberry pie!! Of course, with my brother's release a few days later my mom forgot we were all coming, so we had hamburgers and hot dogs! We still enjoyed ourselves and the food as well as conversation was fantastic! Love you mom and dad!

FAMILY DINNER

We had a family dinner with my cousin Troy and his family (minus Holly) and my parents. It was conference Sunday and we had a great time. We have so much fun with his family and we can always count on lots of laughter and great stories!

Well more to come! I am hoping to post a new video for the first time wish me luck!

WHY?

**disclaimer - I stole this post idea from Laurel ... Thanks Laurel! I had actually been thinking about doing something like this since I previewed the book a couple weeks ago... :D















I have been working in the youth program in our church for past 6 yrs, most recently as the YW President. My husband and I had the opportunity to preview this book a couple weeks ago and I have to say it is the perfect resource for youth ages 12-18, their parents and leaders! Especially since the most common question from a teen... or ANY child for that matter is - "WHY?"

This book was co-authored by John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat . It will be in Deseret Book stores next month but you can pre-order today here. I have had the opportunity to hear John speak a couple of times and have spoken with him about the youth of today and the struggles they are having. He is an amazing teacher and really connects with youth of all ages. You will love this book! They have a website set up with posts and content from the book as well.

Features answers to more than 100 questions, such as:

• Why do some people who break the commandments appear happy?
• Why shouldn’t I just “try” alcohol, just so I can see what it tastes like?
• Why is wearing two pairs of earrings such a big deal? Or is it?
• Why is it wrong to steady date someone if we both have high standards?
• Why is 16 the magical age— is it all that different from 15?
• Why is pornography a big deal if it doesn’t hurt anybody?
• Why shouldn’t I wear flip-flops to Church?
• Why do some people who pay tithing still not have a lot of money?
• Why should I talk to the bishop about certain sins?
  

Check out this video!

Also, John Hilton III has another fantastic book out that helps youth and adults alike with studying their scriptures.

Enjoy and if you have any thoughts about either book please share!!

HAPPY ST. PATTRICK's DAY!!

Ok... so I am part Irish and felt it my duty to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here are some corny St. Patty's day jokes for your enjoyment! Have a great day!


1. What is out on the lawn all summer and is Irish?
2. What do you call a fake stone in Ireland?
3. Why do frogs like St. Patrick's Day?
4. When is an Irish Potato not an Irish Potato?
5. What does it mean when you find a horseshoe?
6. Why did the elephant wear his green sneakers instead of his red ones?
7. Why is a river rich?
8. What does a leprechaun call a happy man wearing green?
9. Knock Knock Who's there?Irish! Irish Who?Irish you a happy St. Patrick's Day!
10. What do you get when you cross a pillowcase with a stone?
11. Why did St. Patrick drive all the snakes out of Ireland?
12. Have you ever heard of the 6-leaf clover? ?I haven't either!
13. What happens when a leprechaun falls into a river?
14. What do you call a diseased Irish criminal?

Answer key:
1. Paddy O'Furniture.
2. A sham rock.
3. Because they're always wearing green.
4. When it's a FRENCH fry!
5. Some poor horse is going barefoot!
6. The red ones were in the wash!
7. Because it has two banks.
8. A Jolly Green Giant.
9. Knock Knock Who's there?Irish! Irish Who?Irish you a happy St. Patrick's Day!
10.. A sham rock.
11. He couldn't afford plane fare submitted by Berta.
12. Have you ever heard of the 6-leaf clover? ?I haven't either!
13. He gets wet!
14. A leper con.

HOPE YOU ENJOY THE DAY!!

New arrivals...

Here are the updates on Linda and Melissa. You may remember me talking about Kim, Linda and Melissa all being pregnant and due within close a time frame of each other...see this post.


Well, the day has arrived. All babies have now entered this world and are all healthy.



Linda and Dan are the proud parents of Maya Isabella she was born at 4:09 am Feb 26th, 2009. She weighed 7lbs 9 oz. She is darling!

Melissa and Scott are the proud parents of Madeline Loran. She was born at 8:40am today March 2nd, 2009. She weighed 7lbs 13oz and is 20 1/2 inches. Super cute with tons of black hair!

CONGRATS to both sets of parents - Linda and Dan as well as Melissa and Scott!!

Friday humor...

Being in the financial industry I am talking with clients and the branches I support all day about the economy and the stock market. Good times! One of my collegues sent this to me a couple days ago and I thought I would post it for all to enjoy! I hope you smile at at least one or two... Have a great Friday!


CEO – Chief Embezzlement Officer


CFO - Corporate Fraud Officer



BULL MARKET – A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius


BEAR MARKET – a 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex.



VALUE INVESTING – The art of buying low and selling lower.



P/E RATIO – The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.



BROKER – What my financial planner has made me.



STANDARD & POOR – Your life in a nutshell.



STOCK ANALYST – Idiot who just downgraded your stock.



STOCK SPLIT – When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.



MARKET CORRECTION – The day after you buy stocks.



CASH FLOW – The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.



YAHOO – What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.



WINDOWS – What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo at $240 per share.



INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR – Past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.



PROFIT – an archaic word no longer in use.



I was going to change this to Diet Coke or Root Beer but just didn't sound the same so please forgive me!



If you had purchased $1000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you will have $49.00 today.



If you had purchased $1000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have $33.00 today.



If you had purchased $1000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you will have $0.00 today.



But---- if you had purchased $1000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund, you will have received $214.00. Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle.


It's called the 401-Keg.

Friend's new baby, a baptism and homecomings...

Some updates from the end of January and February. On Jan 31st at 2:25am, my dear friend Kim had a darling baby girl named Isabella. I would refer you to her blog but she doesn't have one...yet! So, here is a post I did recently on my cute friends.

Kim's cute family.

Then on Feb 7th our niece Lily was baptized by her dad. Isn't she darling!

I had the opportunity to be the chorister for the big event. I have lost that talent somewhere along the way. I guess the old adage is true... if you don't use it you loose it. I haven't lead music for a LONG time so I guess it is time to brush up on that skill!

Brad's sister Monica lives in the same ward as their parents and so the ward members have a lot of memories of Brad's family growing up. The current Bishop remarked about knowing Lily's mom and aunts growing up and how wonderful they were. He then said "Your uncle Brad on the other hand..." He was one of Brad's scout leaders and proceeded to tell some funny stories about Brad as a youth. By the time he finished, we were all laughing so hard we were in tears. We hear stories about Brad anytime we run into anyone from Brad's home ward and it is interesting to hear all the different perspectives of the same stories. All I can say is "Yep... that's my husband!".

We also attended 2 mission homecomings this month. Brad's cousin Sean came home from serving a mission in Los Angeles, California and my cousin Josh returned from the Indianapolis, Indiana mission. It was so great hearing each of their experiences and to see how much they had grown. They are both handsome boys so if there are any young ladies out there interested in meeting some great guys let me know! I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of them.

I also ran in to a long lost friend at Sean's homecoming that we knew when living in Memphis, TN. Kirstyn and I (along with 10-12 others) attended early morning seminary at 5:30am every morning before school. In order to get a parking spot at our high school, we had to be in the parking lot by 6:30am and school didn't start until 7:15am. I can't believe I did that for 2 YEARS! We would just hang out in the car/van for 45min before school listening to music and chatting. We even skipped school one time by staying in the van - in the parking lot. Really? Yea! Good times!

I also have 2 more good friends having babies within the week hopefully!

Upcoming post on our Jackson Hole snowmobiling trip... stay tuned!