Happy Birthday Dan!

This picture says a lot about my hubby. Really, it describes him to a T. He's sporting a wet suit because he's crazy enough to have already been skiing in the freezing cold water more than once. He's wearing his Oakley sunglasses...which is has always been obsessed with, and his face is crazy and fun.

I can't believe that he is 31 today. I am so lucky to have this guy.

Tonight Londyn decided to throw up in her bed. It happens at least once a week or so (no lie...it bites). He cleaned almost all of it up. What husband does that? Mine does.

I am lucky to have a guy that can fill in all the details of my "crazy" projects. He is the handiest guy I know and I'm sure he shutters every time he hears the words, "I have an idea, but I don't know how to do it."

He's the best worker and is very dedicated to his job. He is so dependable and he rarely takes time off. It's frustrating for me sometimes! :) He works his tail off for us. I'm willing to bet that almost every week since we moved to St. George he has worked above 40 hours a week. He is soooo good at what he does. When I was the manager, I cried when people yelled at me...not Dan. When people pull an attitude at him, he stands his ground and tells them what they need to hear. I'm so proud of him for being that way. Not many people could do his job with a smile and he has more patience than anyone I know.

I'm lucky because he does dishes and laundry. Wait a minute...he does more laundry than I do! Seriously.

I'm lucky because he gives me a break when I'm losing my mind. He understands me. He knows when I've hit my breaking point, and he steps right in to take over with the kiddos. It usually ends with him taking the kids on a drive to McDonalds to give me some quiet time without worrying about dinner. I appreciate that every so often.

I'm lucky to have a guy who likes to work in the yard. (I get in trouble if I mow the lawn...he wants the lines to be PERFECTLY diagonal).

I'm lucky to have a guy who likes to wash the car. I have to admit...this annoys me at times, but I enjoy having a clean car. It just cracks me up that it takes him TWO hours to do it. :)

I'm lucky to have a guy who honors his priesthood. I know that at any given moment my husband is worthy to give me or my children a priesthood blessing.

I'm lucky to have a husband who likes everyone and everyone likes. He's just a likable guy, and he ALWAYS takes my side when I need back up....ok most of the time.

I'm lucky to have a guy with a lot of enthusiasm. I love it when he laughs so hard that he cries. It cracks me up when he tries to convince me of something that is totally wrong. Like when he tried to tell me that he actually LIKES tomatoes...whatever I know you better than that!

It cracks me up when he looks at the sun to sneeze. What a wierdo...and I can hear it from a MILE away.

I love that I have a guy who will let me try to surprise him...which has NEVER happened in the almost 9 years of marriage. He tries to be surprised...but he's just too stinkin' detail oriented. He always finds the gift, or sees the receipt...aaaahhhhhh.

Maybe he'll be surprised about his gift in the morning. I guess we'll see!

Sure love you babe.

An Alligator!

A huge lizard came in my house yesterday. My front door was open, and I accidentally scared it inside. I was kind of scared of it so I told Connelly to run inside and try and scare it out. He ran in, and instantly the huge lizard ran straight out. The only problem was that I was standing right outside the door. It darted right at me, and I screamed bloody murder. My kids laughed and laughed at me, and I have to admit I probably would have won America's Funniest Videos if it had been taped.

The funniest part? Londyn yells, "An ALLIGATOR!" (Which I had never thought of this before, but it did look VERY much like a baby alligator.) The lizard was over a foot long with its tail.

Dirt anyone?

Our backyard is full of dirt. I got home from Cedar City last week, and this is what I found...kids COVERED from head to toe with white, powdery DIRT! I'll be so glad when our backyard is finished, but as of now we are making progress in baby steps!

This is what our backyard looked like "before" the project began:

Here is the "during" picture with the back wall about half done and the side wall complete.

And finally here is the after photos of the back wall being completed. Dan is on top of it, and has already planted trees in the back. Next project will be the sprinkler system and the grass. Stay tuned....that will happen in the next couple of weeks.

I had to put these pictures of Londyn on here. She is a little stinker who has ALWAYS been into everything. I found her making herself a bed out of the wrapping paper. AHHHHH.

Oaklyn and Connelly started T-ball this month, and they both LOVE it. It is soooo funny and they both crack me up. They are both learning a lot and I sure enjoy laughing for an hour each week at the funny things all the kids do. (Getting Oaklyn excited to play was a feat in itself, but once she got going, she was laughing and smiling the entire time!)

I also have to document one of the MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENTS OF MY LIFE that happened this last week.
Saturday was an Elder's Quorum BBQ for our ward and they were wrapping it up so the guys that were cooking decided to make some enormous pancakes with the remaining pancake batter. So, Rob our neighbor said, "Connelly come and look at this huge pancake." So, Connelly goes over to see it on the grill and says, "HOLY SHIT!" Oh my gosh....I have NEVER been so mortified in my life. It's one thing to hear your kids swear at home or in front of friends...etc. BUT...when they do it in front of the Elder's Quorum President...etc, life moves in SLOW MOTION.

Disclaimer: I know I am not perfect in the swearing arena...but I really don't say "Holy Shit" sooooo I'm guessing he learned this from "The Sandlot?" Who knows....honestly. If he would have said, "What the hell were you thinking" then I would have taken full credit.

What a day that was.

The other thing that I'm really excited/nervous about is that I just found out that I will be on the television show Studio 5 on Monday June 7th for All Things Thrifty. I'm soooo excited, and I have constant butterflies at the same time. Wish me luck!

I debated on whether to announce it, but I figured friends and family would want to know. :)

The Ulrich Family Happenings!

I have had the busiest two days! It all began with baptisms for the dead at six a.m. with the young women. Being in young women is sooo much fun. Getting up at six a.m. on a Saturday? (not so fun). After the baptisms I had the Young Women over for breakfast at my house. They are soooo stinkin' cute! Then I had a wedding shoot at the St. George Temple (SOOOOO stressful). I'm honestly contemplating never doing another wedding again. Then, that night I went to the reception to take pictures also. Well, after that was over, I had to prepare a talk to speak in Church on Mother's day! I think it went good, but I was super nervous! AHHHH, I'm so glad it is over. Dan spoiled me rotten, and just a minute ago, I heard him say " I can't wait until it's FATHER'S DAY!" Lol. What a stinker.

I had to show you my cute nephew Maddux Tyler Ulrich. What a stinkin handsome boy huh!?!? Congrats to Ty and Whitney!

Oaklyn had a dance recital and I can't believe how grown up she is getting! What a little cutie.

Look at how grown up she is! AND...look how skinny my husband is. He's a sexy Dada!

Mike and Jess came down a few weeks ago to go skiing and I snapped this picture of their cute little family. I love hanging out with these guys!

Jess and Oaklyn have the cutest relationship. Jess helps Oaklyn with dance and gymnastics and she just LOVES her Aunt Jessie.

The kids LOVE the boat. This is such a fun outing for us to do all together. The kids were posing for me to take pictures of them. Even Dan posed for me. :)

The projects never end around the house, and I'm so proud of Dan for doing this back splash in my kitchen. Dad came down to visit and helped Dan grout the back splash. It looks soooo good. I love that I have a handy man.

We also just put rocks on the side of the house. Thanks for all the help from Mike, Julie, and Dave.