. hey shorty.. it's your birthday .

it is a great day in deed. Jet turns one today, yep one. here are a few things you may or may not know about him.. 

he snores loudly when he sleeps
his farts are toxic, I am sure of this

he loves to cuddle and won't go to bed at night without touching someone
he loves squeeky toys, anything with a squeeker in it he is there

 hates the smell of nail polish

he is terrified of cats

will eat just about anything, trust us on that one

he barks while he eats, yes with food in his mouth, this is a new one

he thinks he is a lap dog, and does attempt almost daily to lay on your lap

he loves playing with daisy, she is his favorite

we flew to adopt him in Oklahoma city. he knew us for about 2 hours before we got on the plane home

his is very stubborn and very mischievous

he is very protective, if you feel sick of sad he is there and on guard

he is obsessed with car rides, like loves them

if you want him to go somewhere and he is being stubborn just ask him if he wants to race, he will go

we sure love this boy, he has brought unbelievable amounts of joy and laughter to us. so fluff, on your birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

love mom and dad

. cross the list, and fill you in .

alright, so I thought I would fill everyone in on my progress and let you know about a fun thing I decided to do, thanks to a few friends at work. So first off... the list.

6 { take a self portrait every month around the 28th for a year }

I have done this every month since my birthday. going strong!!

7 { journal once a week }

this is come later.. keep reading.

11 { push my photography business, i for sure want more business }

I have picked up a few jobs, but I am ALWAYS looking for new ones, so if you know anyone that wants or needs photos done let them know, I would love the business.

12 { only say nice things about others, be positive and someone people want to be around }

I am working on this, I realized this one is a tough one. Any tips?

16 { try 5 new dessert recipes }

I have tried 2, one was a huge hit - sopapilla cheesecake bars. yum!

19 { learn that it is okay to say no, and be fine with it }

I am also working on this.. so I will try to keep this up and work on it.

27 { make a snow angel }

 This is proving difficult. It has yet to snowed in Utah, yes I know it is January. Once it snows, all over it.

as for the fun thing that relates to #7. I decided to try out Project Life. it is a fun scrapbooking / journaling thing that you keep track of all your weeks in one fun book. So i decided to give it a try. I ordered some of the fun little cards today, and I am picking up my album at work soon so I can get started. This way I journal and I have photos. it will be great!! 

how are your new years resolutions or lists going? i would love to hear how it is going, and also if you have any fun resolutions that I could possibly steal.. fun!

.. 2011 at a glance or a stare ..

well as tradition here is a recap of this year. oh boy was it a year. 

. january .

we hit up a jazz game. pretty much ruled, we got to eat in the VIP room and get unlimited snacks. it was awesome.

. february .

i found out i had TOS {thoracic outlet syndrome} and went through a battery of tests to determine i had a extra baby rib in there. scheduled surgery for august. yep august was the first opening. shoot me. and cody applied for graduation!

. march .

i convinced cody to get a new puppy. we flew to oklahoma to pick up the little pup who was a champ on the plane. he went through about 10 names until we landed on jet. 

. april . 

cody finally graduated {sort of. he walked and still had a class to finish off}. it was a party. and he applied for a job with the air national guard. he did get an interview which apparently is a pretty hard thing to do your first try but was turned down only because his one test score was 4 points lower than the other candidate. 

. may . 

i started to eat healthier and getting my butt kicked weekly , 3x to be exact by my personal trainer. who has successfully tightened me up and helped me loose quite a few pounds. cody still worked hard at school and i just worked. 

. june . 

while working hard cody gave himself a hernia. oh boy. we scheduled surgery for the last day in june so he could have the 4th of july weekend to recover. 

. july . 

our days were filled with work and then taking jet on walks all over provo to enjoy the summer. we also started working out plans for our cruise. it is going to rock.

. august .

we went on a 7 day cruise to the south caribbean and it wast the BOMB. i loved every minute of it, minus being sea sick the first night. i had that baby rib removed just 4 days before my birthday. had my 27th birthday, drugged while laying in the lazy boy and watching football and movies, might have been one of the best birthdays ever. 

. september . 

we decided to get jet fixed after a slightly embarrassing BBQ at cody's house when he proceeded to hump our 6 year old cousin. yep embarrassing. so he got the chop. he did great and was back to himself that night.

. october .

cody went to memphis for a week and got to see the millions of packages, miles of conveyor belts and hundreds of planes in operation at the FEDEX headquarters. he also got to fly in the $8,000 an hour simulator to paris. he was smitten. we also went to thriller, annual tradition. 

. november .

cody went to SEMA, the largest car show in the world held in las vegas every november. he loved it, every minute of it. we got to watch one of cody's brothers get sealed to his sweetheart in the SLC temple, it was a treat. we celebrated 6 years of being 'stuck' together, and cody's 28th birthday.. geez oldy pants. i had my two wisdom teeth pulled. it was smooth, minus the cracking noises. i was healed up in three days and no swelling. we had thanksgiving, great food. and prepped for christmas

. december . 

we got ready for christmas. i helped my mom recover from a knee replacement that happened the middle of november.  jet got to see snow, it is a love / hate relationship. he loves the fluffy stuff hates the slush. he is kind of a pris. oh well we love him.

happy 2011 to you! hope yours was as good as ours!

.. helping a cause, a surrogate santa if you will ..

alright, so it is the season of giving you all.. and so i am going to give you another opportunity to help if you so choose. i think it is a great cause and could be super rewarding if you put in the effort.

my youngest brother j* is prepping his eagle project. he has decided to do a 'sub4santa' if you will. we are calling it 'surrogate santa'. we are trying to provide a christmas for multiple families that are in need of gifts and clothing. so if you have some spare change or wanna buy some clothes for those who need then this is the place for you. 

we are collecting stuff until the 20th of December and hope to have things dropped off that week to the families. so if you click here it will take you to the blog with all the info on it that you would need. or you can go to www.surrogatesanta.blogspot.com. and even if you can't help out, spread the word to those who might be able to help. remember every penny helps!

thanks peeps!!

happy holidays!!

.. a legend, at least in my house ..

well, today is a spectacular day indeed. 

it is my dad's birthday. no i will not do a list of things i love about him, it would be a book. seriously, he is old and everything would have a story. so i just thought i would list a few. and give you a great picture to look at.

this cute old guy is my pops. i am probably one of the luckiest people in the world to have him as my dad. he has been the best support and taught me great and wise things. this guy gave me my affinity for reading, it is a blessing and a curse. he also is the one who taught me how to work hard and to finish the job. he never shys away from what needs to be done, but rather jumps in with both feet and does it to the end. he taught me the importance of school and how important it is to have a degree. he spends countless hours hanging out with me, especially when cody worked saturdays and I was home alone. he would let me tag along to the grocery store, help him do the yard work and have drives where we could catch up and just talk. he is one of my greatest supports and truly a best friend. wouldn't trade him for the world. 

so dad, happy birthday. i am so glad you were born so I could come and have a great example of how to live life and be a good person. i will spare the embarrassing stuff, like your age. but just know you are old, but I love you. 

happy birthday pops

.. the date that comes every year & signifies how long you have been 'stuck' together ..

two posts in one day?!?! what in the?!?

okay.. it is because it is our anniversay. ha ha yep, 6 years. dang. so instead of the long post that i did last year i thought i would just list the lessons we learned with a picture..

. 2005.

. adjusting to change takes effort on both sides, and requires daily efforts for success .

. 2006 . 

. remembering each other every day makes all the difference in the world .

. 2007 . 

. having a family means more than you ever could imagine .

. 2008 . 

. a positive attitude can make all the difference in the world .

. 2009 . 

. hard work pays off, just stick to it .

. 2010 .

.  loss is one of the hardest life lessons, but if you stick together life isn't that bad .

. 2011 .

. giving 100% of yourself to the other pays off ten fold .

happy 6th anniversary babe, here is to yet another year being 'stuck' with you!

.. its your day of birth ..

alright so it is the hubby's birthday and since I haven't ever done this for him.. here are 28 reasons why I love Cody.

1. His hilarious sense of humor

{mini golf summer 2010}

2. the way he claims he will stay awake during movies but always falls asleep

3. the way he takes care of me when i am sick or hurt

4. how he loves jet and tyke

5. his willingness to put up with my retarded requests

6. his dedication to aviation

7. tickle fights in bed late at night, and how i always win

8. his sense of adventure and trying new things

{jazz game january 2011}

9. that he works for delta and i can fly for free {don't judge it is a rockin benefit}

{washington dc may 2011}

10. how his mind is made up of gears and oil {it revolves around cars and planes}

11. his sweet thoughts and gifts

12. his ability to handle my emotional swings and crazy rants

13. loving my family, even if they are crazy

14. being patient with me when i act retardedly

15. how he still loves me even when i make him sleep in 'coffin' sheets. {i have a thing with sheets in my bed. they have to be pulled tight with no wrinkles, i mean none. on our first night in our apartment i made the bed and he got it and asked me if i was trying to kill him by putting him in a coffin cause they were so tight}

16. how he knows when i say maybe i really mean yes, i just don't want to sound mean or demanding

17. how he believes in me and my dreams

18. his back / shoulder rubs, they are divine.

19. he allows me to have an addiction to books and reading

20. his family, they are some of the most wonderful people i know

21. how obsessive he is about his car {it is always the one to get cleaned and vacuumed, when we had tyke he wouldn't let him ride in his car because of his fur.}

22. how he supports my efforts to be healthier by working out and eating better

23. his bear hugs, seriously the best

24. his work ethics. he works 2 jobs and goes to school, and when i was in school he worked full time and did school so i could finish my degree

25. how he loves me for me

{maui august 2010}

26. how on our wedding day despite being sick and in the hospital he powered through the day, thanks to many naps, and made it one of the best days of my life

27. his beautiful blue eyes

28. because he is my knight in shining armor and i wouldn't trade him for the world.

{new years eve 2010}

happy birthday my prince!