"Hottee of the Holiday"

AND IT BEGINS!!!
It's the fun filled game named
"The Hottee of the Holiday"
Send your pix to me via email, txt or blog! I'll post the top 3 Fav's online and everyone gets to vote on who they think is The Hottee of the Holiday!
We've started early this year! We're going Nation Wide! Enter as many times as you'd like! You get bonus points for being in the Picture with your Hottee! Winner gets a gift card to Chili's!!

Back To School

I think with the wonderful world of Facebook, blogs are becoming less used, that and they took away the common sense factor in making blogs look cute. What the heck? How on earth are we supposed to make cute layouts now?? Anyway, my blog is about going back to school. Yep its that time of year! I'm ususally the one supporting the Staples commercial where the Dad is flying down the isle on the shopping cart with a big grin singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". I love that commercial! But this year its a little different! I'm back in school! I start tomorrow at UVU, and I'm still singing that fun song! I'm excited to be back in school. After a whirlwind summer and trying to figure out what's next on my life road I decided to quit my job and go back to school. So here I am! I quit my job and I start school tomorrow! I'd probably me more nervous if I didn't know this was a really good thing. My sister thinks its a GREAT thing, she would like me to stop being married to my job.

Death-a-Thon!

I've been lucky enough to spend the last week and a half here in Fayetteville, North Carolina! I was shipped out to help Tara with her kids while she did this crazy insane thing they call a Triathalon. Apparently people actually pay big money to not only join this venture but then spend months on months training for it! They start out by swimming in real lake water, then they bike for like a billion miles through really pretty terrain and then if they aren't hospitalized they run until they puke and/or die. And they call this FUN!! They LOVE it!! And I'm so proud of Tara for making it to the finish line! She had a wonderful time and had that great smile of satisfaction! (I usually can get that look with just finishing my first Diet Coke of the day).

So while Tara was enjoying her death-a-thon, her kids and I were at home partying like ROCKSTARS!! No Rules! No Parents! And TONS of Wii Fit Plus!! (And as a side note, my 4 year old nephew, Zona, kicked our trash at almost EVERY game!!)

Amber is.........

sleeping. Wake me when I'm dead.

Happy Birthday Brooke!!

It is my sister Brooke's birthday! She is MUCH older than me, like by 15 years I think! Okay, maybe not that much older. I can't wait to go visit here this weekend! She lives in Rexberg, Idaho but is soon to move to Idaho Falls, which is closer to her work. Which is kind of sad, I'll miss the Bat Cave that she lives in now. My favorite memory of my sister Brooke is one at Christmas time when she was in high school. I had this Christmas stocking that when you pushed the button it would say "Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!". Well the batteries were dying and so you would get this long drawn out "Hooooo, Hooooo, Hooooo! Merrrrrry Chrrrrrrriiiiiisstmaaaaaas!". Well on Christmas morning, she was sitting back against the wall pulling out presents from the back of the tree when the stocking decided to wish her a Merry Christmas! She came flying out from behind the tree with a panicked, confused look on her face. I still get tears from laughing so hard at the memory! Its the only thing that makes me feel better after I hear her say "Tara is my favorite sister, Tracey is my second favorite and I don't have a third". Happy Birthday Brooke!!

These Quiet Moments..........

I just finished a hair cut on one of the boys in the group home. He got up early this morning in hopes I could cut his hair before I took him to his Mother's funeral. Its been a sad few days. I found out about his mother on Saturday & he was just told yesterday. It is sad to hear of someone ending their own life by their own hands. I've had several conversations with this kid since hearing about his mother. He's laughed, smiled and joked around with me. Its been weird knowing that his whole world is about to change and that its going to be a while before I see him smile, laugh or joke around again. I never expect these things to affect me much, the reality of the situation is that I didn't know her. But for whatever reason, this has really made an impact and I'm not quite sure why. But as I went about cutting his hair and attempted to take his mind off of what the day held for him, I kept going back to how sad it is that this young cute kid, would never be touched by his mother again. He would never be hugged by her again. She'd never ruffle his hair again. And what was even more saddening was the fact that she hadn't done any of these things in months. And again, the reality of the situation is that this was a blessing in disguise for him. And as I had all these thoughts running through my head he asked me if it was alright if he just sat with me until it was time to go. I'm sure I gave him a perplexed look because he followed that up with, its nice to just be able to sit and think around you.
I know when I was offered this position last summer, that it was where I needed to be. I have had no doubt that I was meant to be in this home at this time. This has been one of several quiet moments where I knew this is why I am where I am. That I was meant to help a lost little spirit find a place where they could think.

Happy May!!

I spent the majority of the month of May playing! I went to visit Tara and her family in Fayetteville, North Carolina for about a week. Her house is just beautiful! I love her dark hard wood floors! And her big backyard with the huge deck. North Carolina was beautiful, the weather was gorgeous! I'd love to go back and spend more time exploring the area. But we had to get back for Dahl & Haley's wedding. We flew home on a HORRIFIC airline, Yeah that's right! I'll say it again! I HATE DELTA!! They lost our luggage and Tara's two dogs!! They're IDIOTS!! Anyway we made it back and our luggage was finally found and we were able to go on with the wedding festivities! Dahl & Hayley were married in the Manti Temple. And then followed up with a reception at The Bungalow in Pleasant Grove. It was a beautiful reception center. They had an indoor area to sit down and eat and then a beautiful garden area where they had a line with both sets of parents and outdoor tables to sit at. Their colors were really fun along with the cake. I arrived a bit late, I know shocking! But in my defense! I did get up at 7:30 am to watch 11 kids and they didn't return to pick up their kids until almost 5 pm. I had to go home and get dolled up. Or at least less smelly!! But the reception was beautiful. They both looked fantastic and it was fun to meet Hayley's family. After we survived the Wedding we moved right into Piper's Baby Blessing. We left for Logan on Friday afternoon. And had a fun weekend riding horses, chasing Buffalo and staying off the alfalfa. Piper's blessing was very inspiring. She is such a special little girl. Like her sister she was blessed to have a love of animals. She was blessed with the gift of music in her life and to reach out to her grandmothers to teach and encourage her. She was also blessed to learn about her ancestors. To learn about them and find out who they are. It was a beautiful blessing and wonderful time to spend with family.