My Mother-in-law: the rockstar

This weekend Sherry came to my house after a P.E Teachers conference in San Diego. She was telling us stories of her trip. She told us how she went to a class to learn how to "krump."She explained that she "battled" with other teams while she was krumping. If you don't know what that is, google it. I just couldn't help thinking, I have the coolest mother-in-law in the world. I know that she was probably front and center rockin it out during the Zumba classes she took, and I'm sure all the young girls around her were jealous. She is training for a marathon right now for petes sake! This woman is one of those people you look at and think, man I want to be like her. She is crazy! At the conference she went to she just covered her P.E teachers badge and walked herself right back stage to meet all the important people and celebrities. I'm telling you she is HANDS DOWN the most confident woman I know. So when Todd tells me I remind him of his mom, it is the biggest compliment he can pay me. But, also living up to the high high standard his mom set for me is a daunting task.

I could not have hand picked a better mother-in-law for me. God knew what he was doing when he paired us two up. She is exactly what I need. She doesn't make me feel stupid for not knowing how to make gravy, or set up a tent and never tries to meddle in Todd and I's life. She always tells me I look cute, and is constantly teaching me something new. We get no judging comments from her, just love. From what I hear that is rare in a mother-in-law. I am glad that she taught Todd that it is okay for women to have opinions. Because, our strong opinions are something Sherry and I have in common. I'm glad she taught him to be proud of who he was, I'm glad she taught him to respect and be tender with women, and I'm glad she raised the best man I know. Todd always tells me the stories of just him and his mom hanging out at home, or running errands together. He says that everyone would be sitting around watching T.V and she would always yell for Todd to come help her. He always asked "why do I always have to be the one to help you?" She said, because I know you will always do it. I'm glad she raised such a dependable boy for the both of us. Sherry, I love and appreciate you more I could ever say. You will always be a rockstar in my eyes.

46 dollars

46 Dollars spent on groceries in March. No, not because I'm amazing at couponing or have a stellar food storage. Just simply because we don't eat, we always forget to eat. Today at 6:00 I asked Todd "What have you eaten today?" He said, "um a couple hand fulls of Swedish Fish." He said "You?" I replied "a couple hand fulls of Marsh mellow Mateys." I thought the days of living off Simply Orange orange juice and toaster strudels ended when I got married... nope.

I feel like now would be a good time to apologize to my future children. I'm sorry that you will always be the kids that have to buy hot lunch. I'm sorry that 80% of our foods may be something pre packaged from Costco, I apologize that you will genetically inherit the need to end every meal with chocolate chips, I'm sorry that I would rather not eat than have left overs and because of that you may go unfed frequently. However I am not sorry that you will not be victims of childhood obesity.

Primary

Our 9 year old primary kids are the funniest. We LOVE teaching primary. I think I might refuse to ever be released. Yesterday we taught about building our lives on the Rock of the gospel. When we talked about what temptations that they are faced with here were some of the comments "Murder","kidnapping", "killing turtles" and "reading when you aren't supposed to in class"... WoW these kids have some tough challenges to deal with. We told them if they all brought their scriptures three weeks in a row we would have a cake with whatever they wanted on it. So in the closing prayer a little girl named Mckenzie said "bless that we can all bring our scriptures so that we can get a cake and ice cream with something on it." I literally had to bite my thumb as hard as I could not to laugh, and at one point in the prayer I still snickered a little bit. This is the second time this week I have left a church event with bleeding thumbs from biting so hard. I may or may not have had a little laughing incident at the temple the other day.


This picture is of my darling little niece Halle.

Todd Time

St Patricks day party with our friends,a fabulous shopping spree at gateway, a redbox, banana pancakes,an afternoon nap,nerd ropes and orange juice,an awesome Jimmer game = a great great weekend. The last few weekends we've been all over... actually four states in two weeks to be exact. We've had so much fun, but didn't get much Todd & Suzy time because we were always hangin out with the fam, or we were busy working and going to school. I am SUPER selfish when it comes to time with Todd. I love to have his undivded attention,actually don't function well when I don't get enough of it...think a four year old throwing a fit for attention type of deal. This weekend I got plenty of attention and love, my tank is now refilled and I am a happy happy girl.

I heart rectal tubes.

Rectal tube = maybe the best invention of the century. Just inserted my 7th rectal tube of my career... I'm thinking about writing a song about them entitled I heart rectal tubes. Awesome. Awesome job. Awesome Life.

My excited boy

I want to always remember how super stoked Todd was to get his new phone. We have been waiting for a year for our renewal to come up to get a cheaper phone. And today was the day, Todd and I were just chatting away and mid sentence Todd pulls out his new phone with this huge mischevious grin on his face. I apparently didn't remember today was the big renewal day. You would think it was his child he was so proud. He spent 30 minutes briefing me on all of the cool thing it could do. Growing up with a slightly stoic Dad, I really appreciate how Todd wears his emotions on his sleeve. Not in a girly dramatic way, but a always fun and keeps things exciting way.

Vegas, Jimmer and the Knights Inn

I am very proud to say that we only came out -15 dollars from our Vegas trip. Much better than we have done in the past. This is mostly thanks to Sahara's 1 dollar blackjack tables always being packed and never having enough seats for Todd and I. I'm still super bitter and am thinking about writing a letter. The high lite of the vegas trip was definitely the New Mexico vs BYU, or should I say vs Jimmer game. Jimmer had his career high of 52 points that game. The crowd was crazy, and everywhere you looked there was a number 32 jersey. Todd wore his with pride. All six of us were decked out in BYU gear.I thought of Aunt Pat often, especially when signing the BYU song, thinking of watching her do the raw raw raw part even when she was so sick on the couch. Made me miss her alot.

I thought state basketball last weekend was intense. NO COMPARISON to this game. We were all screaming and jumping and high fiving, and at one point I believe Todd was massaging the shoulders of the construction working UNLV fan in front of us??? At another point Zach was jumping up and down with more enthusiasm then a junior high cheerleader. I have serious concerns that Kellen may have shaken baby syndrome after having been jostled so much during the game. We pulled out a win. We all felt so stoked that we were at that historic game. Todd hasn't stopped talking about it since and finds a way to casually slip it into his conversation with every person he talks to... yes that includes the student loan office from the U.

That night was full of side splitting laughter. Everything was so random, we loved walking around and having strangers yell "Jimmer" and "Go Cougs", we loved being stalked by someone who thought he was Wyatts BF for life, we loved our Cheesecake factory food and the freaky talking gargoyle, we loved the view from the Stratosphere, we loved the BYU Bomber shirts people were wearing, we loved losing 15 bucks in two minutes...okay didn't so much love that part. Then that night, we loved our nice hotel beds. (Except for Dan who had to sleep on the floor)

Vegas day two was full of shopping, and laughing and depression as BYU got worked by San Diego. We ate at the Rio buffet and cracked crab legs and ate gelato till our hearts were content. The casinos were all packed so someone came up with the genius idea to go gamble in Mesquite instead...

Mesquite= more packed than Vegas, and we were all pretty tired since we arrived there at 2:00 a.m. We decided we could drive all the way home that night. After twenty minutes past Mesquite we decided that we couldn't. We spent forty five minutes trying to find the cheapest motel in St George. We did it... we found the cheapest. The Knights Inn baby. It was one of those creepers that you drive up to and that boasts having "weekly rates"--- I'm sure hourly rates too. Not the worst Todd and I have stayed at, but pretty bad. We got to our room to find a suspicious crusted substance on the blankets....so freaking disgusting. So we high tailed it out of there after laughing our heads off and made it to the next town. When the night finally ended at 4:17 a.m. I found myself in a King size bed with Me, Todd, Wyatt and Ashley. I ended up with my hands on Ashleys chest all night, and Todd had two night terrors where I had to prevent him from hitting the others in the bed. Zach, Lyndi and Kellen were only inches away from us on their little cot. We slept for six hours and headed back to real life. That was Todd and I's fifth trip to Vegas and probably the most fun one yet. Gotta Love the Vegas.

State

State basketball is my favorite holiday besides Christmas. This year we decided not to go because we didn't think anyone in my family was going. Then Todd woke me up on friday more exicited than a kid at Christmas and said "hey get up we are going to state in two hours." Apparently Zach and Wyatt decided to go and there was no way Todd was getting left behind. So we played hookie and off to Boise we went rehashing state memories and writing Todds school papers the whole way. State was actually the first time I met Todd as an adult. He and his friends came with Bryce to our hotel room. Apparently I was wearing a sweater over my swimsuit and gave Todd a very enthusiastic hand shake when I first met him. Yep a handshake.

Anyways state this year was a blast as usual. We surprised my parents and it was fun to see the look on their faces when they saw us. My dad started laughing and said "I thought we might see you here." It's a good thing their hotel had a pull out bed because we crashed with them. The first game was a nail biter and we were all packed into a little gym making it seem super intense. Trademark Dad screaming "WALK" at the refs. Trademark Todd copying Billy Hawkins "YOU BET". Trademark me having an anxiety attack because the game got too close. Trademark Mom jumping up at every three pointer and every good steal or score. I've watched hundreds of Madison basketball games with these people and it really one of my favorite things to do. We shopped, ate really good food and laughed till our sides hurt. Favorite stories were: Wyatt hitting a newborn baby in the head with a basketball, my Dad showing so much drama about a heart pizza, and just remebering past state experiences.

The championship game was so fun. We had to stand in line forever to even get into the Idaho center, it was jam packed. The biggest lead Madison ever had was by 2 points. It was back and forth the whole time. At one point Wyatt screamed "Are You FREAKING KIDDING ME" insanely loud at the ref, at another point Todd picked me up from where I was standing on the row below him and pulled me clear over the chair to the seat by him he was so excited. Little Riley was yelling "Guard number three." My mom was near tears because she was so happy Lincolns friend was out of his shooting rut. When something exciting happened we all high fived eachother. Overtime was pretty intense and then we pulled out the WIN! Zach quoted Billy Hawkins winning speech almost word for word before he said it. Very Funny. This year I would like to thank DENNYS,ZACH AND WYATT, TGI FRIDAYS, COMFORT INN'S ONE PERSON PULL OUT BED, IDAHO CENTER, BORAH FREAKIN HIGH SCHOOL AND THE FIRE MARSHALL OF BOISE COUNTY,BILLY HAWKINS, PEGGY HAWKINS, KYLE BLANCHARD, SCHWABBY, AND THE MAKERS OF TYLENOL EXTRA STRENGTH for making our state experience another one to remember. Winning two out of the four times Todd and I have watched the championships together aint half bad. GO CATS!

Kimberlee Joy

Kim, Kimberlee, Kimberlee Joy, Kimberlee Dawn, Kizerz, Kimmy, Kimmy Gibbler, KF,Kim Bop,... All names for my best friend who turns 24 today. Kim and I have been best friends plus or minus a few months here and there for thirteen crazy years of our lives. We know each other like the backs of our hands. I talk to her mostly every day. We've spent thousands of hours driving or sleeping in cars, having deep talks, laughing till we cried, actually crying,figuring out our lives our hopes,fears and our dreams. She is one of the first people I call when something really bad or really good happens. She can turn my mood from bad to good in an instant. She knows exactly what will make me laugh. She never takes herself or basically anything seriously, she is always positive and happy, she makes everyone feel comfortable, she makes me feel like I'm a comedian because she laughs at everything I say, next to Todd she is the most humble person I know, she is so forgiving and so unconditionally loving. She is one of those people that would do anything for anyone, and she puts everyone else first. She is my favorite person to be around (minus todd obviously). I love that she has no idea that she is any of these things. I know this sounds like a love letter, but I do love her with all of my heart. Through my whole life I've felt so proud to be her best friend. All through school I loved being the best friend of the most popular most pretty girl in the school. Right now she is reading this and laughing out loud, but it is totally true she was. I wanted to be exactly like her. I wanted her hair cut, her silver jacket that she wore like everyday in middle school, I wanted her handwriting, I wanted her make-up. I idolized her and still do to this day. Our friendship started making spice girl music video's in my parents gym in middle school. We were SuzyKim in high school..One word. We were inseperable, where one went the other followed. We lived together in college and found out who we were. And now here we are thirteen years later. Her trials are my trials, her triumphs are my triumphs, we lean on eachother so much. I love her more than there are even words to say. Kim, I am who I am because of you. You bring so much into my life, and I am unbelieveably grateful that you are my best friend. I know that a friendship like ours is very rare. Happy 24th birthday chica. I wonder what is in store for us this year...?

The Black Blanket

I had CRaAZZzY night at work last night. I'm talking pressure bags, slamming in blood, crazy low BP's, no doctor anywhere, working like crazy to keep the patient alive crazy night. I drove home like a zombie and climbed into bed. Usually I brief Todd on the happenings of the night but was to exhausted to even talk about it and just kissed him and fell asleep. I woke up to my windows covered with a black blanket and it was a total black out in my room. I had told Todd before I wished I had curtains to make it darker in our bedroom. Wish granted. I woke up and the first thing I saw was that black blanket taped to the window and I just smiled... He LoVeS Me.

Things to remember

Things I want to remember from my weekend: Todd and I finally got rid of our 1812 olive green washer and dryer. We bought a new one on KSL. The most terrible but best part of my day was when we were hauling the new ones up the stairs. Todd always seems to think I can do anything he can. Its cute that he has so much confidence in me, but it turned out to be quite the project. We got it out of the element (which Todd has named the Jimmer because it is compact and fast and awesome like Jimmer)we would walk three steps with the washer and I would make a comment like "I just pulled a muscle" and would put it down then another three steps and I'd say "babe my fingers are breaking, like really we need to stop" then another step then "Todd I really can't do this for real" one of our many put downs I somehow got my head stuck in between the rock pillar and the washer I started saying "ow ow ow" and so Todd put down his side of the washer and ran over to help me, then started laughing because my head was pinned and I was being so dramatic about it. We got out of the position and kept hauling that beast up the stairs. We had to keep stopping because we both would start laughing and I can't laugh that hard and hold something that heavy. It took us one hour to get the washer from the Jimmer upstairs. We then layed in bed and talked about how happy it was to be listening to the beautiful pur of the new washer.

I also want to remember how one of Todds scouts kept looking at Todd while he was passing the sacrament for the first time. He kept looking to Todd to make sure he was doing it right. Todd gave him thumbs up and the kid smiled and it just warmed my heart.

One more thing I want to remember was going coupon shopping at target together. I have way to much pride to go alone to do something like that so Todd came with me and we were like little kids as the register would ring up our deals. We were so excited. Todd laughed at me that I wanted to dress up cute to go so that the check out person wouldn't think we were so poor that we needed to coupon. Pride issue? Ya I think so...As we were leaving Todd was taking the cart back to Target and I saw him walking to the back of the parking lot to get a few stray carts and bring them back in. Who does this? Seriously.

Unprivitization

So one day I just up and made my blog private, which in retrospect was rude, because it made people feel like I just didn't invite them. I only invited my sisters and my mom. I used my blog as a journal and a place to brag shamelessly about Todd and express how obsessed I am with the amazing life we have together. I also filled it full of some deep feelings and talked about some of the trials I go through. I loved being able to write all of my thoughts down and to share what was going on in my life with my dearest friends. It then dawned on me that people that read my blog are probably people that have been dear friends to me at one point in my life or another. Friends dont' judge, they just love you. I deal with alot of death and know that relationships are the most important things we have. So in reading my blog you develop a relationship with me and I am grateful that you are getting to know me on a deeper level than just knowing what we did this weekend. So, after much thought I have decided to unprivitize my blog (not a word?), at least for a little while, then may properly go private. With a little disclaimer... It most likely at times will make you want to puke. I am a mushy, lovey dovey person and I think Todd hung the moon, he is my whole world and I will constantly be talking about how in love with us I am. Don't say I didn't warn you...I am going to write on here as if it is my journal. There are always ups and downs and if I want to I will write about them. So it mostly will be just words not pictures. I still have another blog for my sisters and mom to read when I have stuff to private or to annoyingly braggy for the whole world to read. So this is part of my life, and to most people who read it; You are part of my life and I love you...Welcome.

Lortab Lollapalooza.

Woke up at 4:00 pm and needed some tylenol. Went into the bathroom poured out two kind of big white pills into my hand and took them. I remember thinking hmm those are big tylenols. About an hour later I was telling Todd that I felt really good for just waking up, and that I felt kind of "Light" a half hour later I told todd I felt really shaky and nauseated and very ummm high. Todd then reminded me that I had put a few lortab in the tylenol bottle, just in case we ever needed anything stronger we would have it while we were out and about. I then went and looked at the pills and WHOOPS I took two lortab! I have never taken two lortab at a time in my life! I felt terrible and very sleepy and the problem was I had to be to work in an hour! Luckily, a nurse got called off and I just called and asked if he wanted to work the first four hours of my shift until i slept my high off. He said he glady would. And now here I sit at work at 3:00 AM still slightly buzzed. LESSON LEARNED. LORTAB IN TYLENOL BOTTLE = BAD IDEA.

Current Obsessions

Todd has all of his little obsessions, but together we have a few obsessions too. I thought it would be fun to document what we are obsessed with from time to time. Right now our obsessions are... Jimmer Fredette, puzzles, bejeweled on our itouches (last weekend we couldn't think of much to do so we sat on our bed and had a bejewled tournament for a few hours) our new Nook, Mumford and Sons music, secondhand seronade, bountiful baskets, making it to friday nights consumes many of our thoughts, Greys anatomy of course,Glee, In and Out, we are trying not to go grocery shopping all of February, I'm obsessed with the bachelor, working overtime for our trip, our humidifier, our new kitchen cabinents, todd is obsessed with can lights and wants one every 2 square inches, and we are now really into goat cheese.

Surprise

It was hard being away from Todd while I was in New York. He always sounded exhausted when I talked to him on the phone I just thought he was at home sleeping his life away. I found out why the exhaustion when I got home. He picked us up from the airport and had paint all over his clothes and sawdust in his hair...I wondered what was going on. I came home to the most wonderful surpise ever. Todd had basically completely redone our kitchen!!! It was something we had talked about doing sincewe moved in, redoing the cabinents and installing better lighting but I didn't imagine it happenign int eh near future. Todd spent the whole five days I was gone installing canned lights all over our kitchen, picking out and installing pendant lights above the island, taking our cabinents to get redone, painting the backsplash and deep cleaning everything. WHO DOES THIS????? Seriously, apparently my friends knew the whole time he was at home working on it. They were good secret keepers. When I walked into the kitchen I screamed and squealed for like 13 minutes straight. Todd said he couldn't sleep the night before he was so excited for when I saw it. AHHH.. the cutest.