Happy 42 Mom and Dad

Growing up, I always thought it was so cool that my parents were only a week apart... I thought it was a sure sign of fate that they were supposed to be together! They each also have three girls in their family and one boy, another sure sign, but thats beside the point!

I guess I'll start with my mom since her's was yesterday! I feel so blessed to have the mom that I have! She is the kind of person that is always serving others. Growing up, I remember her always finding ways to serve our neighbors... she is such a great example to me. We have been best friends through thick and thin. Some fun memories that I share with my mom include:
-weeding together
-Dancing to That Thing You Do, while taking homework breaks
-Coming home from school and always having someone to talk to
-Laying on the end of her bed till late hours of the night and talking and laughing together
-She would leave me little notes in random places to remind me that she loved me
-Her doing cheers in the kitchen while waiting for dinner to be done
-Her never ending encouragement through each challenge and success I have been through
-She made me ditch calculus to go to lunch with her... it was totally worth it
-Taking me to the library the night before advanced theater auditions and making me get a monologue memorized, when I had gived up on the idea of trying out
-Watching Opra together

We have had some good times. I am so blessed to call her my best friend. She is one of the most positive people, and has such a fun sense of humor! I am so lucky to be blessed with her in my life! I love you mom! Happy Birthday!

Now for my dad. His birthday was on the 17. My dad is an amazing man, he has been through so much, and has learned from it all. He is a man of wisdom, he always views every situation through both points of view, and he is such a great dad to all his daughters. Some fun memories that I have with my dad include:
-Him getting down on one knee and asking me to accept my promise ring
-Him singin to the radio on long car drives
-Helping me with every paper I have ever written
-Brainstorming my oratory
-Having him in every audience that I have ever performed for
-Helping him learn how to text
-His to die for cookies... mmmmm
-Leaving me notes of encouragement stuck in the door, so when I came home late from rehearsals I would find it

O my, me and my dad have such a special bond. I can talk to him about anything, and its not weird. He is such a strength in my life and has helped me so much in becoming the person that I am today! I love you Dad, Happy Birthday.

Frank Sinatra "New York, New York"

This past weekend we made a boys trek to New York. The whole point of the trip was our visit to Yankee Stadium, which I will cover in a different post. We did all the tourist stuff, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, 5th Avenue, Ground Zero, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Chinatown and Lady Liberty. We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square and had some great food! It was an awesome trip.

In front of 30 Rockefeller Center, home of great comedic minds.



Times Square

Our weekend apart:(

Dixon comes home TODAY!!!!!

Hip hip!

Ok, let me give you a little idea of what its like to not have Dixon here, and having to be by myself. I got so scared at night, that I brought Lyla's kennel in our room so she could protect me. She looks especially ferrocious with that cone on her head... I'm sure she would do a great job protecting me (note the hint of sarcasm). She whined all night, because she wanted to be up on the bed with me, but ya know, I don't want to start that trend, it might get old really fast having her sleep with us.
I woke up routinely at two in the morning, turned on my lamp, walked around the house checking that the doors were still locked, then turned on the TV and watched it till five because I was so scared I (thank you reruns of Home Improvement for getting me through those lonely hours). It seriously was a long weekend. Basically, I'm a whimp... a BIG whimp.
So, my love gets home tonight, and I am so excited to get a good sleep! But before I get a good sleep, I'm so excited to hug him and be with him, and look at pictures, and hear all his stories of New York! Only a few more hours to go... I can do it!!
This is the first time that we have been away for more than a day, and I have missed my best friend. I've missed his smile, his laugh, the way he makes me laugh, his positive attitude, waking up next to him every morning, tickle fights, eating dinner together, having someone to come home to from work, his uplifting compliments, and just him! I love him so much... I'm so glad he's coming home!!!!!

Happy Dance!

Our life in Pictures

Lyla is a conehead. She got spayed on Saturday, so she has to wear this cone on her head for ten days straight. Its been humourous as we watch her run into things, and try to scratch her ears... hahaha! No worries tho, we spoil her, she has lots of treats and yummy minty water so her breath doesn't stink... now that is one lucky dog if you ask me!:)
This is us at the Jack Johnson concert... I know you can't see him, but Jack is behind us in the background performing... trust me on this one!
Hannah got on the Honor Roll at her school, so we got to go see LOVE with her at the Mirage. It was fantastic, I've never seen anything like it, there were people hangin from the ceiling doin cool tricks... and Beatles music! Ah, so fun!




Just US! Doesn't my husband look hot in this picture!:)

Thoughts

I have been in a pondering mood lately, these are some of the things that have been on my mind

-Everyone has their own perspective (paradigm) on everything that happens to them, their perspectives are not right or wrong... There is no right or wrong way to look at something, but its nice to be open to all kinds of perspectives

-I love the smell of freshly laundered clothes. That and pinesol. I don't know why, but they are so soothing to me.

-"process determines experienced reality more than reality determines experienced reality."

-I want to have the motivation and determination to run a marathon... I have the motivation till I actually get to the gym. Its a little intimidating.

-my thoughts are really fast and sparratic and because of that, I often feel tongue tied... I have a lot to say, but it never seems to come out how I want it said.

-How neat would it be to write a book on something that you are passionate about. I have so many things that I am so passionate about, I would love to write something!

-There is nothing more refreshing than going to a class where the teacher is excited to teach. I just think thats neat... because every day they have to teach the same thing maybe three times during the day, and yet third time around, they are still excited to teach about it. I would like to think that if I were a teacher, I would teach like that

-I learn so much from people. Whether it be a person I've observed from a distance, or someone that is a dear friend I learn from them. That is one of my favorite things to do: learn. There will never be a day that I won't want to learn something

-I really love little things. I love a phone call from a friend, a hug from Dixon, laughing at an inside joke, or even just reading a book.... Some may think of me as easily entertained, but I truly do love little things.

My Hero

I just want to take a minute to write about one of my heros. We all have a hero...someone that inspires us to be better, someone that is almost perfect in our eyes, someone that we admire and someone whom we would like to emulate. One of my heros is my Grandma Kathy. She has helped me through so much, and we have such a special bond. She is one of the most amazing women that I have ever met.
I admire everything about her, but I want to mention things in specific:

-She meets every challenge with a sense of humor, when your with her you can expect to laugh
- She is the most selfless person I know, I don't think I have ever heard her feel sorry for herself...ever.
- She is the best listener. She lets anyone talk on and on and she will just listen, she isn't critical, just understanding, and she offers her love and support
- She looks at her trials as blessing, and she has many of them, as we all do, but to her, they are all blessings
-She has a way of making everyone feel special
-She is such a hard worker, for a while she would teach school in the day and then work at her favorite store Christopher and Banks at night
-When she is at a party, she makes sure she talks to everyone, and makes them feel important
-She loves her kids and grandkids and loves to find ways to show us she loves us. Growing up we would get surprise valentine gifts on our doorstep and Grandma would come out and say "Surprise!"
-She is fashionable and always looks so stinkin cute... and helps me look cute and stylin also!
-She knows that her Heavenly Father loves her, and everyone is a child of god in her eyes.
-She has taught me to love everyone...not necessarily love everything they do, but love them as a person
-She makes the BEST macaroni salad ever. period.

I have just been thinkin a lot about her lately. She just recently found out that she has cancer, and yet she still has a smile on her face and finds humor in the situation. I am having a hard time with it, but I will try to go about it with the same attitude that she has. It hurts my heart that she has to meet this challenge. I continue to learn from her each day by her example. I just love her so much, I can't believe how incredibly lucky I am to have such an amazing example in my life. She has helped shape and mold me into the person I am. I can't thank my Father in Heaven enough for this best friend of mine! Thank you grandma for being my hero, my best friend, and my confidante! I love you!

Birthday Pics

Good News!

I finally got my birthday pictures, enjoy!

And the other Great news is that my wonderful family came and visited this weekend... but I still need to get those pictures, so stay tuned!