Dump

Well, it's that time of year again. And no, I'm not talking about finals... although, it IS, indeed, that time. BUT the time of year I'm talking about is what I like to call "Phone Pic Dumping". Yes, it's a grand ol' time. So, without further ado...

Harlem Globe Trotters // Koda // Cuddle time in bed with Roxy // Dan and Caleb in cages // Pretty sunset at the preschool (1st house) // Cute mustached sisters // Ushering at the Megaplex // Dan and little Jack // SPED block collaboration activities // My cute "dogs" // Matching shirts with my dad // Beautiful sun shining through the clouds

Chloe Shoemake // Bunnies at Cal Ranch // Snuggling Hughes-y // Giving blood // Quoted in the school paper // Bowling at Christmas time // Straw-wrapper heart reminding me how much my husband loves me // Jack at Wendy's // Beautiful "castle" // Pet the bunny // Parents are the best

Excited about salt-water taffies // Bunny cuddling // SPED block collaboration activities // Sisters at the park // Blue skies // New house // Cell phone imprint // SUU in water color // Dog walking // New bangs // Families are forever

Pudding with Abby Dennett // Bikes with Erin // Toy time in ELED block // Beautiful October day // Good luck with practicum // Concert in the park // Cute mini vaseline fetish // Painting nails with Kailey Dennett // Dan and Becca eat froyo without me // Boots Dan will one day own // Football games with the husband

Long Day

Thursday nights in Cedar during the summer have become reserved for a little thing the Parks and Rec department set up as "The Concert in the Park Series". Each Thursday they have a different band or singer come in and perform under the pavilion at the park on Main while a few awesome peoples sit on the lawn to watch them. My family has gone to every one so far but last night was my first experience with it and it was wonderful! (We even got a pic with the lead singer, Jodi!)

The original plan was to go with my parents, Cole, Erin, and Christina but my dad got sick with something just as we were getting ready to go (poor guy!) so I took Erin and Chrissy. We set out our blankets on the lawn just a ways in front of the band (The Shaker's) and sat and laughed and listened. Cole met up with us a little bit after we got there and the four of us had such a good time! The band was really great and we even had a little picnic after walking over to Hermie's for some food. Yum!

The best part of the night had to have been watching these enthusiasts dance to the music right in front of the band. And when I say "dance to the music", I don't mean swaying back and forth or anything small like that. I mean arm swinging, head banging, and hopping from foot to foot. It was hilarious haha

We left a little before 9pm so Cole and Chrissy could go to a regional youth dance and so Erin and I could go pick up Koda to show to a family. We went to my house and picked up Koda then walked him up to my parents' house to play in the backyard while we waited for them to show up.

The family that came to look at him was actually a lady from my SpEd classes this last year named Mindy Lister and her son and two little daughters. They were looking at him specifically for her son, Josh, who is 16.

When I met Josh, he told me how his friend has a Boxer so he's been searching for a Boxer because he loves his friend's so much and that he used to have a dog as a kid but it had been hit by a car and he has wanted another ever since. As soon as he layed eyes on Koda, his whole face lit up and you could tell he was excited. His little sisters (probably around 7 and 5 yrs old) ran right over to Koda and started playing fetch with him and petting him. It was great!

I told them all the great things about Koda and Josh asked things like "Do you think he'd ride on a 4-wheeler with me?" or "Is he an outdoor and indoor dog so I could have him sleep with me at night?" I knew then that this was the family for Koda.

We've been hoping to have him go to a family that had kids he could play with and a place where he'd get the attention he needs. He is the best dog and he deserves to be treated wonderful and loved. So a short bit later Josh had paid me for Koda and we were loading his things up in my car to follow them to his new home.

Giving up Koda was the hardest thing! A lot harder than I thought it would be but I feel really good about where he's at and I know this is the best. Erin cried when the family bought him and my parents are really sad about it too. It's good to know that my family loved my dog like Dan and I did.

After the whole thing with Koda, I went out to see Dan. He'd been working all day yesterday on putting in sprinkler systems and landscaping for two yards for Inifinity Home Builders. And when I say "all day" I mean it! When I went over there it was 10pm! He hugged me and let me cry about Koda a little bit and then I watched him finish putting the final touches on the sprinkler system with Jeremy, Caleb, Brandon Terry, and Jared Rhoton. I can't believe they got two systems put in in one day! He is such a hard worker!

When we finally left around 11pm, we dropped off Caleb at his house and headed to Wendy's for a late dinner which we took home and ate in bed haha Then we watched Grey's Anatomy until both of us fell asleep. I'd say that after a long day, that's the best thing to do.

Fake Bums

Soooo, last night at work, I sold some tickets to a man who may have looked quite similar to a bum. He was fully equipped with a pack full of stuff, a ratty old beanie hat, full scraggly beard... the works. He bought an $8 ticket to The Dark Knight Rises and when I told him the price, he pulls out his tattered looking wallet and the contents were unbelievable! He paid me with only one of the numerous $100 bills he had in his wallet. No kidding! And guess where he's from? Pluto. Well, probably not, but that's what he told Jamie in concessions. haha Silly, silly, fake bum. (The picture above is a bum but not the bum I'm referring to...)  

Oh, apparently, on Wednesday, Koda proceeded to chow down all the mouse poison pellets we have in our laundry room. Yeah. Scary. And you're looking at the worst dog owner on the face of the earth who noticed the poison was all gone but thought that the mice had eaten it all because Koda couldn't have possibly been in my laundry room long enough to eat it all so she didn't say anything to anyone about it being gone. So good thing this dog owner has a wonderful husband who knows it had to have been Koda and made him throw up so he wouldn't die and calls the vet to ask what to do. Yeah, he's a good dog owner; nursing our dog back to health. When I got home from work, I felt awful thinking I could've possibly killed the dog just by pure accident and naivety so I sat by Koda on the floor for a full hour rubbing his belly. He loved it! I think I'm forgiven.

And in other news, today while blog-stalking, I've come to the conclusion that fashion bloggers are slowly killing me. Whenever I get done looking at their blogs complete with multiple cute outfits, I feel like my clothing is more similar to the bum at the movie theater's than theirs. haha It's killing me, Smalls!

We're gonna have a pool!

Well, we're moving in a month. We found a place in Three Fountains right by Cedar High School. I'm really excited! We'll be saving about $100 a month and we'll have a pool... ohhhh yessss! But we are having to give Koda away which is not so exciting. I will miss having a dog. Erin's really sad about it so we're taking him on a walk tonight because a girl is coming to look at buying him tomorrow... Ch-ch-ch-changes! haha But it should be good.

Yes, this is an illegally obtained photo taken with my camera phone of Bane during The Dark Knight Rises at Fids...

In other news, I did go to the screening of Batman with Becca and it was A-MAZE-ING (now to see it in the daytime with Dan when I won't fall asleep haha). Also, our house is beginning to feel like an episode of Hoarders what with my in-laws moving, our friend Tracy Rust moving, and us moving. We've collected so much stuff to sell at a yard sale this weekend (EVERYONE PLEASE COME haha). I can't wait until I can have my house back to normal... seriously.
In the mean time, I'm just working working and Dan is working working. Oh, life haha Don't ya just wish you could have all the money you ever needed and never have to work??

Enjoyable

Things I've enjoyed this last week:

♥ walking Koda with my sisters and then playing fetch in my parents' backyard

♥ watching my dad play in a horseshoe tournament

♥ a trip to the lake on the hill with Cole and Ronnie followed by pizza

♥ spending the 4th in Milford with Dan's family, Mark (my mother-in-law's friend), and his boys, Kaydon and Tyrell and going fishing at Kent's Lake

I'm also enjoying the clouds today. The weather is warm and humid so I'm hoping it rains... we could sure use it! Tonight Dan and I are going to do sparklers at our house. I'm excited!

Golden

Golden Year Birthday was truly golden.
The whole weekend was a blast and I got to spend it with almost all of my favorite people.

Friday night we went to the Groovefest and we got our first snow cones of the season from The Tiki Shack (mmm!). We hung out with both of our families and even Koda was there to share the evening with us. To finish out a great night, Dan surprised me with my birthday present a bit early!

Oh you guys, it is the best birthday present! SO FUN! Dan definitely did a good job! The camera is one of those instant ones where the picture just pops right out of the camera... ♥ love me some instant photos! I spent the whole rest of my night taking photos. Dan and his cousin, Alyssa, got to be my very first models. Lucky them!

Saturday was my actual birthday and I got to start it off by waking up at 8am to go pick up our Bountiful Basket with my mom and Alyssa. We love Bountiful Baskets... Such a good deal! Check it out. Serrrriously. Then we all got ready for the day and headed to the movie theater to watch Brave. What a cute movie! AND thanks to good ol' Facebook everyone at the theater wished me a happy birthday. haha It was fun!

After the movie, we decided to eat a late lunch at Lupita's Mexican Restaurant. It was very yummy and we even splurged a bit and tried some fried ice cream. Talk. About. Delicious. Oh. My. Gosh! If you have not tried the stuff before, then you MUST. It is glorious!

When we finished at Lupita's we decided to go have a looksie at the Antique Mall at the Depot on Main Street. They have a lot of beautiful old items and some fun hats hehe Aren't I sexy?

The rest of the evenings planned involved reservations at Milt's up the canyon but we ate such a late lunch that I was full and had kind of a stomach ache due to the fact that I ate ice cream and ice cream makes me a bit sick, unfortunately... SO, I asked Dan if it'd be ok if we cancelled our reservations and did something else. He said that'd be ok so we went home to lay down for a bit and relax. I ended up falling asleep on the couch on Dan's leg haha while he watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy. I woke up promptly after the show was over and Dan said he thought maybe a walk up the canyon would help us feel better and wake us up. He then told me I should change into something more comfortable like gym shorts and a t-shirt. I really tried to resist the clothing change but he was very insistent and then said I might want to be in something I wouldn't mind getting wet in... this is when I became suspicious of these plans to go "on a walk".

If I remember right, this is how Dan surprised me with dinner last year haha poor guy had to try to recover his surprise plans and we went to the canyon park. As we pulled in the parking lot, I began to see lots of familiar vehicles and that's when I knew... surprise party! haha Dan had reserved the park for my party, made me a cake, invited all our friends and family, filled up water balloons for water balloon volleyball, and prepared a BBQ all for me! Oh what a good time!

Cake was smashed into faces and hair and water balloon volleyball turned into a huge water fight so after the party, Dan and I headed home to clean up and to spend some time with just the two of us. We had a great conversation about life and the gospel (which was cool because our lesson in Gospel Principles was just a continuation of our conversation) and then Dan sang me "Happy Birthday" and gave me a kiss and I was officially 23!

Here's to a great year #23!

Songitors

I've found me a new fave online music site.

It's called Songza.fm and it's really rad!

Each day it says the day and then you get to pick what you'd like for that day.

Today I chose music for confidence. Rocker style.

Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top? Awesome. Basically.

Also, today, I'm reading Janitors by Tyler Whitesides.

It's preeeetty good so far and I plan to finish it today! Cross your fingers that I do!

I'm excited to read it because when I was doing practicum in St. George at East Elementary, the author came to speak to the kids and he was really exciting and funny to listen to talk about his book.

It's a series so I'm excited to start it.

In other news, my Grandma Barclay is in town.

Last night we got her to play with our dog, Koda, in my parents' backyard haha It was funny

I'm so glad she's here!

P.S. I'm maybe thinking of doing Weight Watchers or something similar... Anyone have any advice???

Chasing Sparks

Well, woke up late this morning cause I set my phone alarms to go off in the PM instead of the AM, so now I'm wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday (like a boss) and I didn't do my hair. I'm lookin' mighty fine right now.

In other news, we went shooting and then had a bonfire with some of our friends last night. It was great! I'm still shocked at the kick on the "big guns" so most of the time I was just laughing AND my sister, Becca, shoots guns better than me but that's just how it is I guess. Also, we ate dinner at Brad's and it was very yummy. Dan and I are now pretty much food-sessed with deep fried mushrooms and English chips. They are just so good, ya know!? We took Koda with us and he was so good! He loved being able to roam around in the sand and be free. And his favorite activity of the evening? Chasing the sparks from the bonfire. Hahaha. Oh, the life of a dog.

P.S. I finished all my finals up yesterday so I'm officially done with this semester! AND I found out that I passed the PRAXIS for elementary ed! Woohoo! Thanks to all my wonderful hubby, family, and friends for the encouragement. ♥ Love you guys!