Happy Valentine's Day!

Ya know...I have an awesome husband. He is my partner in crime and has done so many awesome things for me lately. I have to show you a few of the things he's done just to brag about him for a minute. This is a picture of my master bedroom wall before he painted it.
Here it is after. Yes, he made this wall art too. He painted this wall, made the art, and painted the furniture.
He put up this back splash...doesn't it look AWESOME!?!?

AND....he just built this swing set (with help from Mike) for our back yard. The kids play and play and PLAY out there. I'm so proud of him. He's the handiest guy I've ever seen, and how lucky and I to have him around!?!

I LOVE LIVING IN ST. GEORGE! Have I told you that!?!? :)
He even does laundry! Yes, yes I am a lucky girl. I tend to take him for granted sometimes, but the thing is...he's the best husband in the world.

Happy Valentine's babe. Thanks for the flowers. Lately, I've been a big grouch. I'm pretty sure I'm the crappiest wife around sometimes. I literally ran in the door on Friday, saw the flowers and yelled THANKS FOR THE FLOWERS HONEY as I ran out the door for baptisms for the dead for YW.

As far as we are concerned though, this new year has been great so far. I am only teaching one class at Dixie this semester, and life has slowed down a bit. I can breathe again. At the end of 2009, I literally was so stressed that I couldn't take a deep breath. I guess that's what anxiety does. I'd never experienced that. But, I can feel air in my lungs again.

We have lived in our house of 7 months now. I can't believe how fast it has gone by. We are slowly acquiring furniture. We bought a bed like this one the other day for Connelly's room on Craigslist for $30.00. He is so excited to have a CAR bed!
Oaks is reading so well, and we can't believe how fast she is growing up! She LOVES the monkey bars.

I had to show this picture of Londyn. She was laughing her head off in the tub the other day when I did this to her hair! I remember doing this when I was a kid!

I'm pretty excited that All Things Thrifty got invited to be part of this decorating contest. Check it out, and VOTE for us. :)

We are hoping to start our backyard in the next few weeks. So, I'll be documenting the progress! Wish us luck!

New Calling.

I had an emotional day today, and I need to write down my feelings so that I can remember how I felt.

I got called to be in the Young Women Presidency this week in my ward. I'm so excited! I get to work closely with the Beehives. Today, I honestly couldn't stop crying. I was very emotional. I look up to the girl that I am replacing so much. She is darling. She has always been so kind to me, and I have BIG shoes to fill. I hugged her, and I LOST it. Tears and mascara...everywhere.

Here are a couple of the feelings that I have felt today:
Excitement
Joy
Love for the girls that I don't even know yet
Inadequacy
The Spirit
Busy
Self -consciousness
Gratitude
Awe of the current leaders
Fear
Warmth
Worry (about how my calling will impact Dan and the kids)
Trust in the Lord

I have had an overwhelming confirmation that I was chosen for a reason. I just need to figure out what that reason is. :) I can't tell you how wonderful it was to be called into the Bishop's office and receive this calling. I was impacted greatly by my Young Women leaders growing up. They each made an imprint on my heart, and I instantly had a flood of memories of those great times.

Then I forgot all the things that I'm good at...and could only focus on the things that I'm BAD at. I guess that is Satan's way of trying to influence us. I'm sure I'll get to know everyone fast, but I kind of felt like the "new kid" today. I was crying, and my makeup looked horrible. I was suddenly VERY aware of my Sunday wardrobe...how lame is that....I'm usually such a confident person. I guess that's what happens when I'm out of my comfort zone. It is good for me. One of the first things I thought about when I got the calling....I CAN'T WAIT for GIRLS' CAMP!!! Woot Woot!

Over all, I'm just EXCITED with a capital E.

Fablehaven...

Every once in awhile I start a book that I CANNOT put down. Dan's cousin recommended this book to me. I actually had it for a month before I started reading it, but once I started, I COULD NOT stop.

It's really good. I am already on the 3rd book! There are a total of 4 books out right now in the series, but another one is coming out in March. You should read it. :) Just prepare your husbands for laundry to pile up.

Toys UPDATE!

UPDATE:

If you want to donate toys, please bring me the toys to my house by 11:00am tomorrow (just leave them outside on the front porch, because I'll be teaching my class). Justin got the final plans and he has to leave earlier than planned to get his bags checked in.

I will be meeting Justin at 11:30.

THANK YOU to those that have already donated.

Do you have any TOYS to donate to the children of Haiti?

I have a friend named Justin Bowen who is leaving for Haiti in a few days. He will be traveling on a government plane and would like to gather as many small toys as possible to take to the children there.

Justin is part of an LDS group of volunteers that will be staying in Haiti for three weeks. Most of them served missions in Haiti, and know the native language. You can read more about the group in THIS article.

We have drop areas in: LAS VEGAS NEVADA, ST. GEORGE UTAH, CEDAR CITY UTAH and ALPINE UTAH.

He will be coming through the St. George area on Wednesday afternoon sometime, so we only have a little bit of time. Please get a hold of me if you would like to donate.

Leave me a comment with your e-mail address (if I don't already have it) and I'll get back to you ASAP.

THANKS!

2010 Resolution

I have decided that I only needed one main resolution this year. Yes, I realize it's a little late. But, hey that's how I roll sometimes.

Here it is:

SIMPLIFY!


I might need a reminder every two weeks or so. Anyone want to have the assignment to send me a reminder text? :)

Santa Pictures 2009

December seems like a blur! Dan worked so much, that it was a pretty CRAZY month. I wanted to hurry and post pictures of the kids and Santa. Londyn was terrified of him. The others could have sat on his lap all day.

I love this Santa. :) Doesn't he look like he just stepped out of the North Pole?

ummm. What a disaster.

Journal from Teaching Fall 2009

I've debated on going private for reasons like this one. I like to use my blog for a journal, since I don't keep one separate from this. So, don't feel like you need to read these, but I wanted to write down a few of my favorite evaluations from teaching last semester. It made me feel great, and I want to document them for the future.

I worked really hard and teaching last semester was a blast. I taught three classes, and found that was a little too much. It was great once I got there, but since I taught at 8am, it was a little too much hustle and bustle in the mornings. So, I decided to scale down to one class this semester. We'll see how it goes. :)

My goal as a professor is to create a friendly environment for students to learn. I learn every student's name so that they can feel comfortable asking questions if they have them. I think the more personal the class is, the more the class will participate.

Sometimes it feels good to get some feedback from OUTSIDE sources. :)

So, here are a few of my favorites:
1010 class:
I really liked this class. Brooke is an excellent professor. I would take her class again in a heartbeat.

We had class discussions, the teacher made sure that we all understood the content, and the whole class knew everyone's names in the class. It was actually my favorite class of the semester.

I learned a lot because she taught us the information in more than one way...we had assignments that didn't overload us, used the book, movies and her lectures. She's not monotone and actually built a relationship with our class.

She is very patient and willing to do all she can to help us students. She loves her job and it shows in how she teaches. Her enthusiasm for communications is awesome!

Brooke is AMAZING! She's such a great teacher and easy to learn from. It was fun, and she teaches in a very understandable way.

2110 Class #1:
it was fun!! i looked forward to coming to class everyday! fun lesson plans and interesting information!

It was fantastic!

Professor Ulrich is a really fun, enthusiastic teacher! She loves communications and it's easy to see. I have enjoyed being a part of her class, she's awesome!

AN AMAZING TEACHER!! OVERALL A GREAT, POSITIVE, INSIGHTFUL TEACHER WHO EXUDES HER PASSION FOR TEACHING CONTAGIOUSLY!! Best experience here at Dixie State College...You should commend her on her teaching abilities and the say she helps students when they have a question. Again, amazing teacher=great experience.

She was very caring. She cared about you as a student.

She was very fun and very easy to understand. She made you feel smart and feel like you could do anything. I learned a lot.

2110 Class #2:
This class really taught me to be more comfortable with myself and not be shy. I really learned a lot from this class. I will say this class has been the best class I've had from all my college years. EXCELLENT TEACHER AND COURSE.

It taught me how to communicate better and I will use it the rest of my life.

EVERYTHING!!! Brooke Ulrich is the best instructor I've had from all my college schooling. She definitely knows what she is talking about and makes it clear. I learned a countless amount of valuable information. I would encourage all the students to take a class with her!!!

She is a fabulous teacher! I really enjoyed being in her class. She made it fun for everyone. I recommended her to all my friend that are taking communications next semester.

I would recommend everyone to take a class from Brooke because then you will know how a real professor should teach their classes. This was such a fun class I really enjoyed it and I'm grateful that I had Brooke for my communications professor this semester.

I don't know how she did it with that many students in one class, but Brooke made that class an intimate experience. I think most of us have left this class as friends, amazing job Brooke! We had some great discussions in there. I hope I get to interact with the other student in more classes next semester. It was very informative and lots of fun.

2009 Major events in a Nutshell!

1. Buying our house!
2. Dan turning 30 and sending him to Boston for a "guys trip", and his awesome 80's prom party!
3. Starting All Things Thrifty
4. Dan wrecking his truck
5. Carving 50+ pumpkins with friends and family
6. Oaklyn starting 1st grade...doesn't seem like I should have a kid that old.
7. Playing co-ed Softball with Dan
8. Learning to shop with coupons
9. 10 year high school reunion
10. Taking a TON of pictures for both my family and others. :)
11. Going to Vegas a few times with friends
12. Teaching Connelly to ride his bike without training wheels
13. Learning how to reupholster
14. Teaching at Dixie college
15. Buying the minivan
16. Getting extensions...and then chopping off my hair after it was grown. I'm wishy washy. :)
17. Meeting some really sweet people.
18. Lots of visitors to St. George...love having a spare room!
19. Getting Sugar, our Shih Tzu
20. Watching our kids open presents on Christmas.

I'll be contemplating my resolutions. I haven't had time to finalize them in my head yet. Happy New Year! I can't believe it is 2010.

Christmas 2009!

Dan and I decided to stay home this year for Christmas morning. Now that we are in our house, we figured it was time to stay home and let Santa come to our house. (Every other year we have been with family). So, we had a quiet Christmas Eve. The kids had a blast making cookies and reindeer food. (Recipe for reindeer food: Quaker oats, red glitter, and silver glitter), and watched Christmas movies with the kids.

The kids woke up around 7:30am and were so excited that Santa found our house! The cookies were all gone and the reindeer ate the food! The kids couldn't hold back their enthusiasm! (AND Dan and I couldn't wait to see their faces!)

Here are a few pictures of the festivities.
Oaklyn asked for a computer from Santa, and Santa knew that Connelly would probably fight over Oaklyn's so he brought one for him too. (Santa is smart!) She also got make up, a few barbies, and a ton of art supplies (paper, markers, pencils, chalk...etc).
Connelly asked for a Nerf gun and was surprised to get TWO! He also got a transformer and a football. Grandpa Dave gave him a BYU football outfit. It is so cute! The back says "C. Ulrich" and his number is 66 (Dan's high school football number). CUTE idea huh!
Londyn asked Santa for "barbies" this year, but I must not have taken her picture with any of them. She got several barbies, a cleaning set and a sit and spin.
On Christmas day we headed to Salt Lake to meet up with Dan's family. It was fun to see everyone, as usual. Our family is growing! Soon Whitney and Ty will have a little boy to add to the mix! :)

To end the festivities we went to Holden for a fun dinner and sledding time with Grandpa Ken. The kids had a blast. I didn't think they would last very long since we live in St. George where we don't have snow, but they were out there for hours! Thanks Grandpa!
The only downfall? Coming home to a house that looked like a wrapping paper bomb went off inside!

Christmas Parties 2009

We had fun throwing together a little ugly Christmas Sweater parties for a few friends. It was fun getting together and laughing for a few hours. I especially loved playing Mafia! That CRACKED me up! Since when am I the person everyone is out to get? It was fun. Good times.

We also went to Mesquite and got crab legs for our annual Sharps/Ulrichs get together. Love these guys. I laughed so hard at the white elephant gifts. Thanks guys for the GREAT time!

The conversation I had with Londyn today

Londyn turned two on Nov. 17th, and shortly after we took her binky away. She has done pretty good except for nap time. She hasn't asked for it for weeks.

Well this is the conversation I had with her today:

Londyn: Mom, binky?

Mom: Your blanky is right over there.

Londyn: No Mom, not BLANKY, BINKY.

Mom: Oh honey, you don't need a binky.

Londyn: You're MEAN mom, MEAN. (This lasted for 15 minutes)

I look into her big blue eyes, and want to give her anything she asks for. (not that I am going to, but I WANT to).

THIS is why being a parent is so hard. I couldn't stop smiling because I really wanted to burst out laughing. What a little stinker.

Merry Christmas!

DAN: Even though turning 30 was a major life event this year, Dan is in better shape than ever. He stays extremely busy at work and tends to lose sleep over it at times. He also teaches the 13-14 year old Sunday School class, and does a great job. He got to travel to Boston this year on a "guys trip" (MAN he must have a good wife). He also lost a prized possession when he rolled his truck on the deer hunt. He has stayed very busy with "honey do" lists ever since we bought our home in July. Man am I lucky to have such a "handy" man DAN.

BROOKE: Can't sit still for longer than 5 minutes. I'm kind of a spaz (as you all know) and I dabble in a lot of things. I've had a lot of fun starting a thrifty website with a friend this year, and I'm still in LOVE with decorating. I also love teaching at Dixie college as an adjunct professor. I enjoy being a twilight fan (a nerdy one that goes to the midnight showing and all). I have also really enjoyed learning a lot about photography this year. I also cut off 8 1/2 inches of my hair when I needed a drastic change. Maybe it is because I got a minivan. :) (sidenote: LOVE the van...no kidding).

OAKLYN: "Oakers" is six and 1/4 (as she tells everyone) and can't wait to turn seven. She loves to dance and literally has to be the "best" at everything she does. She is extremely competitive. I wonder where she gets that from!?!? Her red hair is so unique, and is finally starting to thicken up. She is turning into such a beauty. She's growing so tall and suddenly all her pants are floods. She's my little helper and has had a lot of responsibilities to take care of the newest member of our family, Sugar (a shih tzu). Her favorite thing to do lately is to leave me notes all over the house that say "I love you." (I love this). She's doing great reading and is learning so much at school.

CONNELLY: Our five year old "Con Man" is also growing a ton. I'm learning that boys are extremely hard on clothes. His pants have holes in the knees in no time with this active little stud. He loves to play with his friends and gets along with everyone. He LOVES the mini van and calls the doors MAGIC for opening and closing automatically. He has quite the singing voice and loves to sing along with the the music on Mamma Mia the movie. He absolutely loves preschool and misses Oaklyn since she's gone all day to 1st grade.

LONDYN: Is our 2 year old climber who climbs on EVERYTHING. She literally can't be stopped. I've tried. She has successfully turned from our sweet little Londyn to a fit-throwing disaster at times. :( Most the time she is great, but I've been embarrassed horribly at the store because of her high pitched scream. She loves "shoogs" the puppy, and tells strangers all about her in the line at the check out counter. Just like her brother, she loves the movie Mamma Mia and sings along with the music. Her blond hair is getting so long!

So far we have a redhead, a brunette, and a blond. How lucky are we!?! (No mailman jokes).

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year. We love you all and hope to see you all soon.

My baby is TWO! I can't believe it!

Londyn turned 2 on Nov. 17th. I can't believe she is already TWO! She is growing up so fast, and I have realized lately that she is no longer a "baby" anymore. She's talking in full sentences, and the terrible twos are in full force (and have been for awhile).

Some of her favorite things lately:
*Sugar (her puppy). Sugar is the first thing she tells people about (even strangers).
*A Bow. She asks me to put a bow in her hair almost daily. It is so cute. The main reason she asks me is because her hair is so long that if I don't have a bow in her hair it gets in her eyes and she hates that.
*PIZZA, she absolutely loves it.
*Shoes, she finds everyone's shoes and wears them all over the house.
*Con-Yee, she loves her brother Connelly. Ever since Oaklyn has started 1st grade, Connelly and Londyn have developed a strong relationship. It is so cute. She yells his name CON-YEEEEE when she can't find him.
*LOST? Ever since we "lost" her binky, she thinks everything is LOST. For example I'll say go find your sippy cup and she'll just shrug her shoulders and say it's LOST. I guess she thinks since we didn't find the binky that she doesn't need to look for anything else either.
*SANTA. She is very aware of Santa even though she would NOT sit on his lap without screaming. She is quite intrigued with him from afar, but the second you get close, she freaks out. I ask her what Santa is going to bring, and she immediately says BARBIES! So cute.
*The trampoline. She's having an obsession with our trampoline, and it's hard to get her to get off.
*Mamma Mia and Buddy. She LOVES the movie mamma mia. She recognizes the music too. She is mesmorized by it. And lately she loves the movie ELF. Whenever she hears "Baby it's cold outside" she always says BUDDY!
*The phone. She tries to get me to call Daddy ALL DAY. She loves to talk on the phone.
*Purses. She insists on carrying a purse around. If I forget hers then she has to carry mine. I gave in the other day when we were out shopping and let her carry my purse in the store. WRONG IDEA. I got up to the check out stands and she had dropped my purse somewhere in the store. I immediately started to freak out (I am HELLO what an IDIOT I am to let my 2 year old carry around my purse). I found it after about 5 minutes of acting like a crazy lunitic searching the entire store.
*Beads. She loves to wear jewelry.
*Oakly. She has given Oaklyn a nickname Oakly. I have to admit when we named her Oaklyn we intended to call her Oakly. But, it hasn't really come up until now, and Londyn was the one that started it.
*To climb. She's always been a climber. It just freaks me out when she climbs out of the shopping cart when it's moving. I've caught her several times before she fell. The straps DON'T work either. Any suggestions from all you Moms out there on this problem? I'm afraid she's going to get hurt.

I love the above pictures of her above because she insisted on putting all of my photography props on when I got home from a photo shoot a month or so ago. She wanted every tutu, bowa, bow, purse, ring, necklace...etc on. She was one PINK poof ball, and I thought it was so cute I had to take some pictures of her.

She is at such a fun stage, but it's also really HARD. She's in the fit throwing, disasterous stage. I can't wait for the fits to end, but the fun part of this stage is so great. She loves attention and will even sing songs to get it. Tonight she was dancing to Santa claus is coming to town. How fun!

Thanksgiving!

We had Thanksgiving at my sister Adrian's house this year, and it was really fun to be all together with the entire family. Here I am with my sisters.
The kids had a BLAST with their cute cousins. Isn't this picture precious
My sister-in-law Aubrey has been labeled "Martha" after the pies that she made...take a look. Aren't they phenomenal!?!