Those Who Keep Me Sane

I often feel like I don't do much, besides work and school. Luckily I have some that make things happen in my life and help keep my brain from completely exploding (and lets be honest they keep me laughing pretty much 110% of the time). There are more (Kayla, Tristen, Broccoli--aka Josh, Cauliflower--aka Caleb) that help but these two are definitely the two that I talk to everyday and make life great. My life has always been full of great friends, those who have helped me right when I need to be and I'm extremely grateful for that and them. 

Last night we went to Trafalga Orem to do the XD theater, WinCo for snacks for me (and whilst I was having a panic attack when I couldn't find my wallet Derek was great and stepped in paid for everything and Liz was coming up with solutions on how to find where my wallet might be), and to Spoon It Up for yummy frozen yogurt. Our night was full of laughter, off the wall comments and just lots of plain fun. 

Whoopy Brea--Look Who's 23!

Way back in February my bestie turned 23! Where has time gone that we haven't gotten that old (I was talking with my Mom tonight about how close I'm getting to be a quarter of a century, to be honest not that excited about it). 

Brea and Darrell hosted a fun party at their house, it was fun to get together with all our Newport friends, we live so close but because of life we don't get to see each other all the time. 

I was in charge of the drink and because I've cut back on soda I wanted to a drink that didn't include any, I found this really yummy lemonade- it must have been a hit because the whole bowl got brought into the living room where we were eating. 

Probably the best picture of the whole night, Leah was trying to tell Addie to be a monkey and I caught in on camera :)

Look at those cute pregnant bellies, crazy that they both have had their babies now and that Abby is two months old and Carson is a month old!

You would have thought that it was Addie's party with all the attention that she gets :)

At one point Addie disappeared into her room and shut the door, Brea and Kimmy were trying to see what she was doing in there by herself.

Brea has become quite the master at making awesome and delicious ice cream cakes.

Kimmy kept clipping the hairbow on Addie's nose and then it would fall off, Addie thought it was the most funny thing in the world and kept on bringing it back to her so she could do it again. 

For my Birthday I decided to have a dinner with my closest friends, it was so much fun to have Leah, Jamie, Erin, J.J., Allisyn, Brea, Darrell, and Addie all together. I made dinner and afterwards we played games with some entertainment provided by the babies :)

Addie trying on Aunt Leah's glasses.

Jamie very serious during the games...had to make sure that the boys won :)

I promise I'm not as scary as I look :)

There was a buzzer and both girls thought that it should be kept in their hands...they were more than willing to crawl across the table to who was currently holding it.

The future pianist

Addie couldn't find her own pacifier so she stole her baby dolls.

Thanks guys for a fun night!

Lunch of Awesomeness!

Something that amazes me is that even though we don't all see each other everyday or all talk all the time whenever we get together it's like we haven't been apart. I love that we continually are a part of each others lives and that I will always have friendships from growing up. Lindsey was visiting from Idaho and so we all joined up for lunch in Orem. It was Mandy and Jamie's suggestion--a really yummy, cheap Mexican restaurant, we all felt like we were back at Mazatlan in Newport.

Mandy and Jamie...I can't believe that they have almost been married a year---oh how time flies!

The bros--Darrell and Clark

Cutie-pie Addie who thought she was one of the big kids and felt that she should be part of it all.

Lindsey and I...her hair looks awesome with the new color and extensions!

What under Addie, Brea, and I looked like as we were getting up from the table.

The whole group...Darrell, Clark, Jamie, Mandy, even Lance joined us, Lindsey, I, Addie, and Brea!

Double Duty

Sign that I'm getting older and lots of my friends are getting married...two bridal showers tomorrow with another one next weekend.

Day 26

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.

Friends (and Family)...they are amazing! They are always there to be silly, serious, adventurous, fun, and many other things with. I love them (the good ones that is) and they are always there ready to offer the support that I need.

Day 14

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

???????????

This one is a little hard for me...I don't currently have the "love of my life/eternal companion to conveniently put in this place (conveniently seems maybe a little harsh but I think that if I did have a "love of my life" he would go into this spot without thought). Next on the list would obviously come my family and friends...I think that having these people makes my life more full than it is, happier even, but I also don't think that my life would end if these people were to die (case in point my Dad). My life becomes a little sadder and I miss them like crazy but I think that if they left I could still continue living (how depressing is this?)

Growing Up

This Saturday we had another Newport gang breakfast...this time we invited all of those that were in our general age-group and their spouses/significant others. I wish that I had more pictures of our group growing up on my computer, but it is really amazing to look/think back about how lucky I am to have grown up with this awesome group of girls. Most of us have been together since we were little and still continue to be rather close. I love getting together with all of them and just having time to talk. It's amazing that even as we get older, our lives change (marriage, graduation, children, etc.) we still are able to connect and be as if we were still young.

The Ugly, The Bad, The...

A friend and I were having a discussion the other day about kids and how she isn't very excited about having them because all she seems to hear from people is the bad and ugly--"throwing up, weak, swollen (pregnancy), screaming, wetting the bed, not listening, coloring on things, etc." Why is it that so often when parents talk about having kids it always seems they talk about the bad and can't seem to remember any of the good. I understand that having kids isn't all peaches and cream that I should know ahead of time some of the hard (I like that instead of "bad) things that may happen but I also want to hear the good.

Like take this week at work for example---the two year old wet the bed while taking a nap, I'm probably not going to remember that part, but I am going to remember that my first day of work the 4 year old wanted to make sure that I was going to come back and watch them the next week. And my 2nd day of babysitting the 2 year old wanted to come home with me. I would much rather remember those tender and sweet moments than when I walked into the kitchen and found every single can on the floor (which the 4 year was very good about and put every single item away without me asking).

I still want to be a mom and work with kids, despite some of the horror stories I may have heard (and experienced myself), but there may be some who get completely discouraged and pushed away from the idea of being parents. So lets work on making our stories "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" not "The Ugly, The Bad, The...?"

(Sorry to be kind of negative...I've just had the same kind of conversation with a couple of friends lately about not wanting to have kids because all they hear is the negative stories and I don't want that to happen. I don't want to think it's all good and perfect but I want them to know that there are some wonderful moments with children too.)

Say Hello to My (New) Little Friend(s)

With the help of Katherine and her Mom I am the proud new owner of these two lovelies. I can't wait to travel with them :D