Becky's House AFTER!!!

I thought it turned out SOOOO cute. It fits her personality perfectly. THANKS Becky for giving me such a FUN project!

Becky's House Before...

Becky is my neighbor. She is so funny! She came to me one day and asked me to decorate her house. Well, I didn't think she was serious. Well, she was! I absolutely love to decorate. In fact, I would do it for a living if I had any schooling to back it up. She brought me $200 to spend and said she trusted me. It was such a challenge, and I loved every minute of it. I had to show some before and after photos of the transformation. I actually forgot to take pictures before we took some of her original stuff out, so these pictures aren't completely accurate. She did have things on her shelves. :)

My blog design...

I have had so many people ask me about my blog design. I have the greatest friend ever named Kallie. She designed my blog. She has such a talent for it! Way to go KALLIE!! THANKS A MILLION.

I've been TAGGED!!

10 years ago:
I was a junior in high school. WOW. That seems like a million years ago. I loved my friends, and I loved dancing on the drill team. I was really skinny back then :). LOL! I worked on my family's farm in the summer, and I really HATED it. I look back on what it taught me, and I appreciate it now. I remember my dad coming into my room at about 1:00am and saying "up and at um" and I learned to HATE those words because of it. I gained a strong testimony during those late nights and long days driving the tractor. I remember praying a lot because I was scared, and I remember feeling the spirit really strong. I learned the value of work and to appreciate sleep.



5 things on my list today:
1. E-mail my professors about my comprehensive exam oral defense.
2. Send application to SLCC for a teaching job.
3. Give notices to all my tenants about a rent increase.
4. Get chili recipe from Julie for Ward chili cook off on Thurs.
5. Find black crocs (my husband gave them to me for Valentine's Day, and I lost them.)

What would I do if I became a millionaire:
This one is hard. I would build me a sweet house in St. George. I would have a casita so that anyone that wanted to come and stay could ANYTIME they wanted! I love visitors. I would travel a lot (with my cute hubby of course). I would take my kids to Disneyland. I would buy my hubby a boat. I would take care of my parents so they could retire. I would hire a maid (I would pay her a lot, so it would be worth it for her). I would re-decorate a lot. I would leave waitresses really big tips.

5 jobs I've had:
1. Property manager
2. SUU Adjunct professor
3. Telemarketing supervisor...OH THE GOOD 'OL DAYS :).
4. Discover Card customer service representative.
5. Farm worker (started working when I was about 12, I think).

5 Things that people don't know about me:
1. I grew up on a farm...sorry it's repeating the above.
2. I LOVE the movie "8 seconds".
3. I broke my leg in a car accident and it changed my life. I have never danced since.
4. I knew I was going to marry Dan before we even started dating.
5. I tried out for "MTV's Real World" and made it past the first couple rounds.

What snacks do I enjoy:
I love salty snacks. Chips and salsa or 7 layer dip is delicious to me!



3 bad habits:
1. I'm a messy person. I actually like my house to be clean, but I don't like cleaning it. My husband does a lot of the cleaning around here.
2. I put things away that other people are using. I see it, and put it in a drawer and then when they come back two seconds later for it, they can't find it.
3. I speak before I think. Sometimes I am a little too blunt and honest.

5 places I've lived: (I've only lived 4 places)
1. Holden
2. Cedar City
3. Murray
4. Cedar City again :)

I tag: Kallie, Shandie, Liz, and Makensy.

SKUNK update

We still haven't caught the skunk...just in case you were wondering :(. We have had several suggestions that we are trying. We have prevented him from getting into the house, but he has now found a nice, warm, home in the crawlspace! I feel like my brain has been over-taken by skunkisms (is that even a word??). My assistant manager and I have even started to DREAM about the skunk. Seriously, it stresses me out! Today, we bought a smaller trap and are trying sardines as bait. The thing we are HORRIFIED of, is that Mr. Skunk is actually MRS. SKUNK, and SHE IS WAITING TO HAVE "UP TO SIX" (thanks again Google) babies! Baby skunk season is steadily getting closer and closer (March/April, according to the Fish and Game people). Did I ever think I would care when Skunks have their babies....HECK NO!

What the...SKUNK!

So I never imagined I would be writing about a skunk in my blog. But, I have to admit that this little animal has been on my mind so much for the last week, that I had to document what a terrible experience this has been.

As a property manager, I deal with weird situations. BUT THIS TAKES THE CAKE...BY FAR! I had a tenant call me about a week ago with a "big problem." She said that she thought she had a skunk in her house. I told her we'd be right over to check out the "skunk." I secretly thought, "hmmm, I wonder what it really is, there's no way it's a skunk." So, I sent Dan to look. He called me immediately to say that it looks like a skunk, but it has spots. After a few minutes, and some help from Google, we found that our varmint was a "spotted skunk."

I wanted to see it for myself. So I got brave and went into the house. It was waiting for me in the hallway. I had my camera ready and snapped a few pictures. I decided to say, (which by the way I don't know what I was thinking!), "come here little guy." To my surprise it RAN straight at me, as if it was obeying my request. Of course I FREAKED out and ran away from it.

We are VERY lucky that we haven't been sprayed...yet. It loves this house. You might be wondering: A-why doesn't she call a pest control company? Well, let me tell ya, out of the phone book, only ONE company deals with skunks and they are in St. George. By the way, we finally got someone over there, and have set THREE traps. Nothing has worked. It's a SMART SKUNK. B-why doesn't she call animal control? Well, animal control doesn't deal with skunks either (if you can get them to answer the phone, which takes ALL DAY to get through) C-why doesn't she kill it? Well, at this point I'd love to, but spotted skunks are supposedly an endangered species, so I think it's against the law to kill them.

Well, today we found that it had been hording food into its den. We found lots of chips back behind the oven, under the dishwasher...etc. So, it had a stash of food, so that explains why it's not hungry enough to go into the traps for the food.

Dan went into the crawl space and found the little guy about a foot from his face, mind you. Luckily he didn't get sprayed, but he ran away and now we can't find him again!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHH!

If anyone has any suggestions, please, please, let me know. I've tried cat food and tuna fish. But so far, all we have caught in the traps is a CAT!

Girls Night Out!

Tonight I went to a movie with a few friends. It is so great to have fun with the girls sometimes. I love having late night conversations. I love talking about the gospel. I felt the spirit really strong tonight. I just needed to write down my feelings. :) I have good friends. Thanks guys.

Dan's Color is Black

Your color is black. The color of night. Serene and mysterious, black conjures up images of elegant evening gowns, dashing tuxedos, and gleaming limousines. Traditionally a symbol of success, black also represents power and an uncompromising demand for perfection. Not surprisingly, you tend to set challenging goals for yourself and do whatever it takes to achieve them — your strength of character is second to none. This unfaltering determination, along with your natural elegance, impresses people. But keep in mind that your personality might be intimidating to some. Try to temper your demanding side with a little softness — trust us, it won't kill you. Overall, though, black is the color of professionalism and achievement, which means it's clearly the color for you.

Brooke's color is GREEN!

Brooke, your true color is Green!

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum — reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. For you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!

Parent Teacher Conference

Today I decided that I needed to write down my feelings after going to Connelly's very first parent teacher conference. Connelly has worried me since he was very young. He is such a sweet little boy, but he didn't start talking when I thought he should. After having ear tubes put in, having multiple hearing checks, and doing many many tests on Autism, (we even went to a specialist in St. George), we have come the conclusion that he's behind, but we don't know why. I was extremely glad to find out that the Autism tests were negative, and I think he's doing much better, but today was an emotional day for me, his mom. I'm the one that needs to make sure he can recognize colors. I'm the one that should be teaching him to draw a square, a triangle, and circle. I'm the one who should be teaching him to take turns and to follow directions. I'm his mom, I feel like a failure. His teacher told us she was "concerned" which is all she needed to say. I love him so much. I love his smile, his giggle, his gorgeous brown eyes. I love his excitement, his temperament, and his mischievous looks. But, to hear that his teacher is "concerned" broke my heart. He has been attending a program called "Early Intervention" to give him a little extra help with his speech and such. They have had him going twice a week and would now like to increase it to four times a week. I'm so glad that programs like this exist. Connelly is improving, but sometimes I can't understand what he's saying. He struggles with structure and his attention span seems short. Sometimes he won't answer when I call his name. His teacher did say that he doesn't need medication, so it's not as bad as it could be. Dan and I have been thinking about moving lately, and have been praying for guidance in this area. Today, after hearing about Connelly, it makes me scared to take him away from this program. I don't want him to have to get used to new a teacher, and a new environment. But, I want to move on. I know Father in Heaven will guide us to the next step. It's just hard to be in limbo about our lives. I hope I can be strong. I just love him so much!!! I just want to do what's best for him.

Our cute Con Man!

Connelly is so proud to be wearing his "big boy" pants. He had to show me!

Connelly is such a sweet kid. He loves to "play a game" and asks me that about 100 times every day! He had so much fun playing out in the snow today. He loves his "sissy" and can't live with out her. He and Oaklyn are such best friends. They have a special bond that started out when he was born. Oaklyn was only 12 months old when Connelly was born, so they have lived together in the same room ever since. They love making tents together, and they love being mischievous together.

Silly Oakers!

She looks so sweet in this picture! Her blue eyes are so pretty!
The snow can be so much fun! The kids had a fun time out in the snow playing this afternoon.
Oaklyn has been so funny lately. She has decided that her hair isn't red, it's yellow. (I disagree...it's RED in EVERY way!) I heard her telling Connelly this morning that "Mommy and Daddy love each other." I'm glad she knows that her parents love each other, although, I'm not sure where that comment came from! She loves to sing, and we catch her singing the most random songs sometimes. The other day she was singing "It's the final countdown!" She interprets things a little off sometimes as kids do. The other day she said, "Mommy needs some peas and quiet." :)

Daddy's Girl...ZZZZZZ

Dan let me sleep all night long last night! I had a really bad day at work on Thursday, so, last night, Dan took the baby out into the front room and slept on the couch to help me get some sleep. I woke up at six and couldn't believe how refreshed I felt. I have the best husband ever! Londyn and Daddy are best buds! I thought this picture of them was absolutely darling.

Elli June, Oaklyn's best friend

Elli June moved away this week. It brought tears to my eyes to see the hurt on Oaklyn's face. Elli has been Oaklyn's very best friend for the past three years or so. They've played many many hours together. Elli always let Oaklyn boss her around. She didn't seem to mind playing the "prince" and loved to take Oaklyn to the make believe ball. She was always the sweetest little friend to Oaklyn. Oaklyn always blesses Elli June in her prayers. We'll miss her so much.

Oaklyn is growing up so fast. I can't believe she's four and a half. She's such a good helper around the house. She says the funniest things. The other day she said, "I'm freakin' out! The baby's crying is freakin' me out!" She loves to win (I wonder where she gets that from...lol). In fact when we're eating breakfast in the morning, she has to be the first one finished. She loves her dance class and loves to sing. Her blue eyes are so pretty and her red hair is so unique. Her newest favorite activity is to make a tent and play in it all day.

Man Cold....AAAAHHHH

I couldn't resist sharing this experience with all of you. I've been chuckling about it all day!

http://glumbert.com/wii/view.php?name=mancold

It's the end of the world! Dan has been sick for the past day or so, and he showed me this video (click link above). He was dead serious. It made me laugh that he thought that a "man cold" was actually a legitimate sickness. He spent several minutes trying to explain that colds "hit men harder" than anyone else. I laughed in his face.

If you have ever had a husband who is sick, you'll appreciate this link! HA HA! They are such babies when they are sick, aren't they!

I felt kind of bad for laughing, because he really is sick so I made him some Lipton Chicken Noodle soup. (This is the soup that he insists on when he's sick...no substitutions).