Thankful Week Five

November 26th - I am thankful for great friends who invited us to the Visalia Christmas parade.  I have been lonely in Visalia away from most of my college friends but we are making even more great friends and I hope they know how thankful I am for their kindness and friendship.

November 27th - I am thankful for my healthy body and for staying healthy this month.  I have always been lucky to be a pretty healthy person and I hope I don't ever take that for granted.

November 28th - I am thankful for my students.  I am especially thankful that they didn't forget everything I have taught them the last few months during their week off:)

November 29th -  I am thankful for rain and the cleansing power it has over everything.  I always feel that it helps to renew my soul even as it quenches the Earth. 

November 30th - I am so thankful for the temple and that we have a temple so close in Fresno.  I am also thankful for yummy dinners with great friends at the Cheesecake Factory. 

I have so much to be thankful for, including a husband who will serve me mac and cheese on the couch when I am feeling lazy. 

Thankful Week Four

November 19th - I am thankful for pie. Even after picking up 700 pies at 6am for Jeff's fundraiser, I still love pie!  My car smelled so good:)

November 20th - I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope and strength that it gives me every day. 

November 21st - I am thankful for days off.  And for a husband who volunteers to go to the store for me the day before Thanksgiving and searches all over Target for the perfect paper plates.  I really have an awesome husband.

November 22nd - I love Thanksgiving.  I love the food.  I love family.  And most importantly I love the spirit of the holiday.  I have an overwhelming feeling of gratitude as I look at all the things that I have been blessed with.  Even the trials of our lives are designed to help us to recognize our blessings and grow us into stronger people. 

November 23rd- I am so thankful for shopping adventures with Jeff and my family.  I love our black Friday shopping adventures and the traditions that we have created.  I think Jeff loves competitive shopping even more than me.

November 24th - I am thankful for Skype.  I miss my favorite sister very much but I am so grateful that technology that allows me to talk to her and see her beautiful face.  I can't wait to see her in a few weeks.

November 25th - I am thankful for my puppies that make me laugh and smile.  I even love the stinky one.

Thankful picture - I love my brother and husband.  And they love shopping for TV's for Janet and Ben! (P.S. I don't know why this picture is in black and white.)

Thankful Week Three

November 12th - I am thankful for days off to recharge my batteries.  Especially when I can spend them at home with Jeff.  It is so wonderful to live in country where we honor our servicemen and women both past and present.  I am so thankful for the freedoms that they protect everyday.

November 13th - I am thankful the beautiful, strong and compassionate and women in my Bunko group that I spend one evening a month with.  Their friendships mean more to me than they will ever know. 

November 14th - I am thankful for smiles and hugs and for sweet kids who turn my whole day around.

November 15th - I am thankful for my husband, everyday.  Especially when he buys me 12 boxes of my favorite candy even when I try to protest.

November 16th - I am thankful for Disneyland.  No matter how much life is getting me down Disneyland always cheers me up. 

November 17th - I am thankful for grandparents.  I am lucky to have known all of my own grandparents and now I am lucky enough to be able to hang out with Jeff's grandparents. Seeing how in love they are after almost 60 years is an inspiration to me.

November 18th - I am thankful for dinner with the missionaries tonight and for all the missionaries that have come into my life and turned into great friends.

Thankful picture - I am thankful for new friends, Disneyland and sweet babies that give me hope.

Thankful Week Two

November 5th - I am thankful hot chocolate and cool weather.  It makes it feel like Christmas!

November 6th - I am thankful I still get to play my French horn.  Every week it is hard to get my booty off the couch  but I do love playing with the local community band.  It makes me feel like a real musician who can play more than just the 5 notes I teach my beginners.

November 7th - I am thankful for my coworker Michelle who bought me dinner tonight and is always a great person to talk to.  I especially love how angry she will get on my behalf:)

November 8th - I am thankful that Jeff and I are such a good team (most of the time).  We had a little flea issue and had to clean the house from top to bottom but it went pretty smoothly and now the whole house is clean!

November 9th -  I am thankful for getting all my grades done so I could have a free weekend.  Also for funny movies.  We loved "Wreck-It-Ralph!"

November 10th - I am thankful for Jeff's band and his sweet kids that always make me feel loved and included.  I am also thankful marching band is OVER!!!!

November 11th - I am thankful my calling in Primary at church.  I have loved watching my little ones grow over the last two years.  I am sad to leave them but I am so thankful for new opportunities.

I am especially thankful for this little stinker.  He ALWAYS brightens my day!  

Thankful Week One

I try to find a little time everyday of the year to name the things I am thankful for but especially in the season of Thanksgiving.  This year I am going to try to write them down so that when I look back on this time in my life I can remember all the blessings that I had and the things that I considered most important.  I hope that being thankful is something I am remembered for, that I always found the time to count everyone of my blessings and tell the people that bless me daily how much I love them and appreciate them.  I don't think we can ever be thankful enough.

I am going to try to update this every week in November:

November 1st - I am thankful that my mom taught me how to cook.  I love cooking but even more I love that my food can cheer people up and make them feel better.  Especially potato soup for my husband:)

November 2nd - I am thankful for Fridays.  No matter how long a week feels, Friday always comes.

November 3rd - I am thankful for wonderful friends.  I made such great friends in college and I am so glad that when we get together it is like nothing has ever changed.

November 4th - I am thankful for Sundays.  I am thankful I can go to church and worship my Savior each week.

Thankful picture of the week:

I am thankful for students who think I am supah dupah dope.  Whatever that means...

 

Growing Up

Then...

I haven't kept in touch with very many people from high school but I was lucky to have made some lifelong friends.  One of my greatest friends got married yesterday and it hit me how far we have come from high school.  Somehow when you watch other people take the big life steps it hits you even more than when you take the same steps.  I can't believe how far we have come in the last 10 years.  I don't think we ever would have predicted we would be where we are, but of course we wouldn't have it any other way.  I am so luck have had Vanessa in my life and I hope she knows how much she has meant to me.

Now...

Vanessa taught me to love country music.  She supported me in all my crazy band activities, even though she didn't understand any of them.  I will never forget hiding out in the locker room to ditch school and take trips to the beach our senior year.  She taught me about love and life and being beautiful inside and out. She is one of the craftiest people I know but always encourages my projects and makes me feel so proud of my efforts.  And now as we grow and face struggles and challenges in life she is an inspiration to me as a wife and mother.

Now...

I hope that in many, many years from now we can sit on a porch somewhere and relieve every moment of our journey together. I love you VVB.

Day at the lake

Last Saturday we went out to the lake and had a great time hanging out with Mike, Janeece and Levi on their boat.  My brother was visiting and it was so fun hanging out with him and watching him learn to kneeboard.  Thanks for the awesome day, it was the perfect way to wrap up the summer!

He was awesome!

And very official looking! 

Grumpy baby.

 

 Levi had a good time too.  He loved the boat, swimming and eating snacks but especially loved napping!

Happy baby.

Sleepy baby.

 Jeff and Eric had a great time throwing each other off the tube.  I think Eric won 2-1 but I am not taking sides.  Mike and Janecce also went tubing but I had to hold Levi so no pictures:(

Good job Jeff!

I think the highlight of Jeff's day was driving the boat and throwing Mike into the water.  Silly boys!

Club 33

Look at the 33!

I just want to start off by saying I am a super stinking lucky girl!  

For any of my friends who are not Disney obsessed, Club 33 is an exclusive restaurant above New Orleans Square.  Walt designed the club as a place to bring sponsors and other super important people when they came to visit the park.  It is also attached to his private apartment, now known as the Dream Suite, through the kitchen.  The club is named after its address at 33 Royal St.  You have to get invited by a member of the Club and memberships are super duper expensive.  How did we get in you ask?  Long story short we are crazy and stayed in line all night for the opening of Cars Land in June and ended up next to a Club 33 Member who was a really cool guy.  He offered us a reservation for Jeff's birthday and of course we said yes!

But really all you need to know is that it was AWESOME!

I was lucky to be able to go with my handsome husband, Janet, Kristen, Ben and Paul.  We are all music teachers and have all had some challenging times lately and it was the perfect break from reality.  Sometimes you just need a break.

We got all dressed up, well the girls did, but the boys did shower :) and headed out.  It was way fun being dressed up in Disneyland, although heels are really not a good idea anytime.

Look its a doorbell! (NERD)

To get in your have to ring the doorbell and give your name.  Then you get called in and go upstairs.  You can take the super cool lift but it is very small so I opted for the non-claustrophobia inducing option.

Here we are waiting for the elevator. We look super snazzy!

Somehow I managed not to take any picture of the food, I guess I was too busy eating.  But let me tell you it was DELICIOUS!  And I am glad it was because it was EXPENSIVE!  Luckily we had birthday money, thanks mom! 

I do have a picture of my plate...

 The whole place is full of Disney history.  Like this table from Mary Poppins and this super pretty harpsichord.

After five yummy courses, watching half of Fantasmic! off the balcony and a few souvenirs it was time to say goodbye.  By this point the park was also closed so we had to leave:(  It was an amazing night that I desperately needed and will never forget.  

Also I am super proud of myself that I brought my camera and actually took pictures!

I like this picture.  Celebrity look!

Janet and Jeff:)  Two of my favorites!

Disneyland and best friends.  Perfection!

True love.

True love is going with your husband to three different Walmarts to hunt down color guard uniforms.  (Mostly so he doesn't look like a creeper shopping for girls clothes.)

I know he loves me because he forces me to get dessert when I am grumpy and leaves sweet notes when he packs my lunch.

We are a perfect match.  Most of the time.

 Also sometimes I trim his toenails.... that's TRUE LOVE! 

Take one...

Not sure how to start all of this off but I know someday I will be glad that I did.  I see so many of my awesome friends who are so good about writing down memories and taking pictures but I am not yet one of them.  It is important to have goals:) According to Jeff I have a horrible memory and maybe by writing things down now and then I can actually keep track of things.  Oh and maybe once in awhile I will take a picture or two.

Also I need a title for my blog, suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Overall life is pretty awesome.  I have a good job, a house I like a whole lot, the husband that is just right for me and great friends and family.  What more could a girl ask for?

Well cookies and the beach would help but we can't have everything.

I know it isn't much but it is a start! Thanks to the 2.3 people that will actually read this:)