Keelee

New Blog Address

2009-03-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, I really do have awesome friends! Seriously thank you all so much for your sweet comments, I feel so blessed to have such an amazing support system.
Okay so here's my new address, itsmekeelee.blogspot.com....hope to see you all there soon. I've been putting this off for a while now because every time I would sit down to transfer all my friends from this page to my new one I seriously wanted to cry because do you even know how LONG that would take??!! So, here's what made me day; Brooke texts me and says she added somethen cute to my blog...I get on and badda bing, she has transferred them for me!! Whatever! I told her I would've still stayed friends with her even if she hadn't done that but whatever, jk. I love you Brooke thanks soooo much!

Changes

2009-03-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

I know I've been a serious SLACKER in the blogging department and haven't been meeting my end of the bargain in displaying pics and posts for your viewing pleasure. Well, I do have a good excuse and promise to uphold my blogging obligations very soon.
There have been some huge decisions I have had to face in the last little while that have changed my life dramatically. As hard as and as heart breaking as it's been I'm trying to make the best of it and turn it into a positive situation. Some of you may know what's been going on and for those of you don't I promise everything is fine and the blog will be up and running in no time at all.
There are some things that I don't feel are necessary to post and are just a little too personal and hit too close to home to talk about just yet, but the basis of what is going on that Jackson and I are no longer going to be together. I feel slightly embarrassed to even have to announce this, partly because of my pride and partly because I can not for the life of my freaking self believe I am here again, but I know it'll come out in the works sooner or later and would much rather the info come straight form the source and not passed from one person to another and turned into something it's not, which is easy to do.
Jackson is a great person and I have zero animosity towards him. In fact I almost wish I did because it would make this situation a million times easier. One favor you can all for me is please don't be too quick to point the finger...meaning, this has been very difficult for both he and I and I'm sure very hard on our families and if there is one thing I have learned through this it is that our Heavenly Father is the only one that can judge, thank goodness, and Jackson is beating himself up over this enough and doesn't need anyone else to. He was a huge part of my life for a very long time & I hold he and his family in the highest regard and want them to know how much I love and respect them.
Marriage is something I take very seriously and it's hard not to feel like a failure when you have tried at something for sooo long and just can not seem to get it to work. That is why I am trying with my very best efforts to look back with no regrets and take everything I have learned to make me a better person and use it to strengthen me and use it for the future. I truly believe if you have learned from a situation, good or bad, then it's never in vain.
I have a great support system and do not know how I got so lucky. It's times like this that I feel closest to my Savior. I know I need him every second of the day to get through it which causes me to be completely dependent upon him. I have felt great peace and his overwhelming love for myself and for Jackson these passed few weeks and I know for a fact that there are many nights my sweet mom has had her arms around me giving me her comfort. It's crazy how sometimes trials can make your testimony grow so much!
I am absolutely okay and know it will only continue to get better. One of the things I hate most is when people feel sorry for me. I have hit a rough patch but will pick myself up and move on. I have such an amazing life full of people I love. I in no way feel cheated and am glad for the experiences I've been through. I feel very strong and know that one day I will be able to look back and understand a little more why certain things happen.
With that said, I will soon be changing my blog address and will post it asap so you all can change it on your friend list....I'm sure it'll be something lame like keeleeandwillis.blogspot.com, haha. Willis is my dog/child for those of you who don't know. Thank goodness for my stupid little dog!!! Whoa, that was a looong post, thanks for sticking it out. TTFN

"Good Things Utah"

2009-02-05T18:14:00.001-08:00

My Step-sis Jennifer has started up her own business, "Vintage Hem". They are these darling slips that go underneath skirts to add length and decor. Anyways she has done really well with it and has been on "Good Things Utah" in the past to kind of showcase them. If anyone is interested you should go to vintagehem.com and check them out, you'll love them.
"Good Things Utah" asked her to to be on again and she asked me if I would wear one of the outfits to show off her cute slips. It was a really fun experience to watch the show behind the scenes and then get to meet all the girls on the show. Thanks Jen for thinking of me!
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27th Birthday

2009-02-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

I can not believe I'm 27...it freaks me out actually!! I had an awesome birthday though, my husband is super good at suprises and planning fun things! We went to "Thaifoon" for dinner(One of my very favorite spots), then we went and stayed at "Little America" and just watched movies and ate TONS of junk.. so fun! The next morning he got me up early and we drove to Park City where we went shopping at the outlets all day and did lunch and stuff. Such a fun day!! Thanks babe, I love you.

This was the only pic we took. Please excuse my husbands scowl, it's pretty much a rule of his that he can't smile in pics....bugs me sooooo bad!!!!

Book Club

2009-01-21T18:53:00.000-08:00

This time Book Club was a Stephanies house. She made super delicious salads and brownies We ended up just hangen out and having a good time like usual. We read "Memory Keepers Daughter"....I'm almost done! Ha, I know I suck and need to quit slacken off so bad. Anyways, thus far it's an awesome book and totally has my attention! I'd for sure recommend it even though I'm not sure how it ends.
Oh my, why does this always end up happening when Brooke and I get together! Haha.
Us re-in acting a scene in the book where the baby is given away.
Shelby and Stephs darling baby.
Becca, Steph and Shelby.
Me,Mckayle and Brooke.

Happy Birthday Grandma Molly!!!

2009-01-11T12:40:00.000-08:00

I just wanted everyone to know that I have the sweetest, most Christ-like, beautiful grandma ever... and today is her Birthday! I am so lucky to have her in my life. She has always been very involved in all of her grandchildren lives and played such an important role as a great example to all of us. I love the fact that even though my mom isn't with us anymore I still have my grandma around as a constant reminder of my mom. Thank you Grandma for the great example you have always been and for giving me the best mom anyone could ask for.

Christmas Night

2008-12-28T21:46:00.001-08:00

Christmas night we went to my dads where we ate.....again, Holy Fat! Isn't that what Christmas is partly for though? Eating? I hope so because I always pretty much just bank on gaining ten lbs during the holidays. Anyways, we had a lot of fun just hangen out with everyone and spending time with my family. We are so blessed to be surrounded my so many people that love us and are there no matter what. My dad and Sam gave us a Blueray which went perfect with what I got Jacks. They are way too good to us.

Christmas Day

2008-12-28T21:25:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Christmas so much because all day long you get to be with the ones you love. Jacks and I woke up around nine thirty(how awesome is that)and opened up our presents from each other. He gave me this beautiful diamond necklace and I got him a T.V... we went a little overboard this year but figured that it won't always be that way. At around noon we went to Jacksons parents house where we had an awesome lunch and played the Mexican Train game!! My mother-in-law is truly the funnest person I know and is always coming up such fun games and things to do. Every time someone won a round they were to pick a box from all different sizes form under the tree which could possibly hold nothing, a one dollar bill, a ten, a twenty, a fifty or a big fat Benjamin...haha. So needless to say it was a pretty intense game. They spoil us pretty rotten. I love my in-laws soooo much and feel so lucky to have them, I am truly so very blessed. Christmas is so fun but I love it more than anything to remember that Jesus was born to our world, to live, die and atone for our sins.

Jackson and his Christmas present
Kelly and Grandma Jackson.
Waking up to this winter wonderland...Holy Crap that's a lot of snow!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-28T21:06:00.001-08:00

Ever since I can remember it has been a tradition to have Christmas Eve at my Grandma and Grandpa Eldredges' house. We always do a huge dinner and then typically tell some sort of Christmas story, then we open presents. I love my grandparents so much and am so grateful to have them as such a big part of my life. At dinner we each had these cool popper things on our plates and in them were these gold crowns that we then had to wear during dinner, it was pretty funny to see everyone wearing them. My aunts are always doing such cute and creative things. Our family seemed to have shrunk in the passed few years but this year it was so fun because it's beginning to get big again with people getting married and having babies....love it!

Seminary council reunion

2008-12-22T19:20:00.001-08:00

It has been a way long time since we've had a council get-together! There were a couple missing(Astyn, Stephanie)and Nate made it at the very end. I love this group of people so much and am so glad we are able to keep in touch, even it's only every few years. It was fun to see every ones kids and spouses... it's so weird to see everyones mini Me's, kinda freaks me out actually.
Thanks Marissa and Jake for letting us come to your house and make a mess of it! Even though it's been 8 years since we were in high school and doing the whole Council thing, I really feel that having that responsibility is what instilled the gospel in me and gave me the strong desire to have it in my life. That year really showed me what it means to have the spirit with you and the peace it brings to your life. I'm so grateful I had that experience and was able to be a part of it.

Fondant Cake Decorating

2008-12-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

K so lately I have been into that reality cake decorating show(I can't remember what it's called) and because of it I've had this burning desire to learn how to do 'Fondant cake decorating. We had a Christmas Party to go to and I was in charge of the dessert so I decided now would be the perfect time to test it out. They make it look SO easy on T.V. Well I'm here to tell ya it's not... at least for me anyways. My hands are stained red and my kitchen looks like a bomb exploded but it was SOOOO much fun....I may take this up a serious hobby and maybe next time it won't take me THREE hours. If anyone knows a good recipe for fondant will you please let me know. This may look good but the fondant I used tastes like GaRbAgE. The cake inside is killer(butter cream) but who wants to eat poo to get to the good stuff ya know?!

St. George

2008-12-13T17:05:00.000-08:00

My dad and his wife Sam bought this darling home in St. George so they invited Jacks and I to go down with them last weekend and help them move stuff in. It is such a darling house and Sam has decorated it beautifully. It's so fun, there is this cool trail right by their house that goes for miles and miles so Jacks and I would get up each morning and go for a long walk. Thanks so much for the invite Dad and Sam, Love ya.

29 years old!!!

2008-12-12T14:49:00.000-08:00

Even though I'm a day late I just wanted to give a quick 'shout out to my Hot husband and tell him "Happy Birthday"!! I'm am so grateful for him in my life and feel so lucky to have him not only as my husband but best friend. No marriage is perfect and we've definitely had out struggles but through it all I love him even more and at the end of the day love and respect him more than anyone in this world! Thank you Jacks for being such a great husband! HAPPY BIRTHDAY.....I know you'll end up reading this Jacks so don't pretend like you don't!

Jazz vs. Nets

2008-11-30T09:59:00.000-08:00

My Dad and Sam invited us to the Jazz game last night. Typically I'm not a huge fan of Jazz games but these seats were way too good to pass up. We were in the VIP section row 2, so even I had to enjoy it a little!! Too bad the Jazz got worked, better luck next time eh?

bLaCk FrIdAy

2008-11-30T09:43:00.001-08:00

My cute mother and sis-in-law and I have made it somewhat of a tradition to go shopping on Black Friday... what is wrong with us??! We sleep over at Kellys and then wake up at 4:30 in the freaking morning. Are you kidding me. I only see that time of morning once a year, on Black Friday. Although I'm still half asleep until around 8 a.m, but we have so much fun! I'm almost completely done Christmas shopping and I am ecstatic about that! Then we go back to Kellys and make her famous licorice caramels for hours for all our neighbors and my clients. This year poor Dallas got called into work so it was just Kelly and I making them but it was SOOO nice of Kelly to help us out. I am so lucky to have such fun in-laws that I LOVE to be with.

"Turkey Day"

2008-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

Lucky us got to have Thanksgiving twice...Holy Fat! We went to my dad's at one and had the best feast ever! Thank you Dad and Sam. Then at three thirty we went to Jacksons parents house where we ate once again and then played this fun card game called "Screw Your Neighbor". Jackson kicked some serious trash...it's a way entertaining game.

We have so much to be grateful for. Here's just a few of the things that stick out in my mind....
Our families *Our health *Our home and jobs *The gospel *To live in a free country *Willis *Our beautiful world/nature *Good friends *Chocolate *vacations!!

Santas Santas Santas

2008-11-21T21:47:00.001-08:00

I LOVE Christmas time oh my gosh! The Meaning, the music, the candy and treats, the X-Mas lights, the way everyone is So happy, the shopping and great deals, the snow, going to temple square, Christmas Trees, and especially putting up all my Santa Clauses!! I actually aquired them from my mom who started collecting them like 15 years ago and I have kept the tradition by adding one to the collection every year. There are probably about fifty by now. I LOVE them. HO HO HO....

"Indian Fusion"....Poo

2008-11-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

My little brothers and I have always liked to try out weird and different restaurants that people typically wouldn't try just for the fun of it! We have found some "stellar" places to eat by doing this!
I had the day off on Monday so Max and I decided to try out this new Indian place in Jordan Landing called "Indian Fusion". We pictured it being kinda like that restaurant on "Along Came Polly", you know, where Ben Steeler is sweating like a pig because the food is so hot. Anyways I thought it'd be good because I like weird stuff and I'm a huge fan of curry.
Okay, so have you ever eaten anything so acidic that it actually makes chunks of the roof of your mouth fall off? This happened to me. I'm eating this curry situation that looked like dump, no joke, and suddenly the roof of my mouth starts peeling off. Are you kidding me? Then, as you can see below, along with the bowl of dump they give me this contraption that looks like a chicken foot and tastes like....what I would imagine a chicken foot would. I mean, it might have honestly been a chicken foot.
I wasn't a huge fan, actually I'm no fan at all but I have to admit Max and I got a really good laugh at all the weird food, plus there is free entertainment. There is this huge screen that is always playing Indian music videos. So if you don't want to go for the food, go for the entertainment.

5 Years

2008-11-10T10:34:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was five years that my beautiful mom has been gone. It's so crazy how sometimes it feels like she was just here yesterday and other days it seems she's been gone 20 years! I miss her so much but I feel her around our family and in so many things we do. Every year on this day my family goes to her grave and we gather around and talk about all the good memories we have of her and how much we miss her, then we let balloons go like we did the day of her funeral. This may sound corny but it's actually very healing for me and I'm sure the rest of my family. I'm so grateful for eternal families, it is a serious driving force in my life. I have the best dad in the whole world and he has shown me and my brothers such faith and endurance when something like this happens. I am so proud of him and feel sooo lucky to have him as my dad!! We miss you mom!

Vegas...again

2008-11-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

This awesome Little pub we found.
Who needs Vegas buffets when you can bring em' right to your house. Here we have pizza, sushi and wings.... it sounded good at the time.
Jacks can NEVER miss the gym, not even on vacation. I wish I had that mans motivation!
Me trying to finish my book from our last book club meeting.(See Brooke?)
Me and Jacks

We are so lucky that Jacks parents have a home in Vegas that they so generously let us use whenever we want. Jacks and I planned this last minute trip just days before we actually went and it was so the much needed "getaway" we intended.
October has been a rough month to say the least and it was nice to have a few days with no distractions with just the two of us doing absolutely nothing, and I seriously mean nothing. We didn't even go to the strip once, we(you'll be sooo proud) didn't gamble one time, we just slept in, read, ate and ate, went to movies and hung out. My kind of vacation. Thanks Mark and Kelly!

Hallowizzity

2008-11-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Halloween, although this year was pretty low key and we had NO fun Halloween festivities to attend to(I know, huge losers)... with that said I am going to make it a point to have a crazy Halloween party next year. The last couple years at work we have tried to come up with a "theme" to coordinate our costumes with. Last year we were all different kinds of bugs and Jenny was a can of Raid. This year we decided to be the Zoo. Here we have A Cheetah, a lion, a Zebra, a bunny, and the Zoo Keeper... and a way confused chick that either didn't get the memo or thinks that Dick Tracy lives at the Zoo.
Other than that Jacks and I just stayed home and handed out candy. Have any of you ever watched "Poltergeist 2"? Well it was on T.V. that night and I was kind of watching it on and off and it totally screwed me up and now the T.V freaks me out. Laugh it up... you watch it then and see how you feel.

Book Meeting #3

2008-10-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

This month we read "Angry Housewives eating bon bons"....well I'm not quite finished yet but I totally intend to!!! The start was pretty slow but once ya get into it it's actually pretty funny. Our book club meeting took place at "Johnny Carinos" once again, it was MUCH better this time. In fact it was so bad last time that we were given over 90 bucks in gift certificates which is the only reason we went back. I must say though, they totally redeemed themselves!

BirthdaysBirthdaysBirthdays

2008-10-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

The month of October my family has soooo many Birthdays! My darling aunt Lynda had us all to her house for dinner so we could celebrate all of the Birthdays. It was such a good dinner! I love when we get the chance to be with all my aunts, uncles and cousins. They are so much fun to be around. Happy Birthday Dad, Max, Doug, Grandpa, Vanessa, Brock!!

Little Carson and I(My cousins' darling baby)

Max and Jacks....Dorks
Steph and Sayer

Grandma and Gramps

Me and Jacks

Sneak Preview

2008-10-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

Willis the Lobster

Haha, I don't care how mean you might think I am for dressing him up in this. It's probably the funniest thing I've seen since last year when I made him be a witch and I put a mole and eyeliner on him. This is what it's come to for me... I mean, a dog really shouldn't have to go through this, ha. I bet he can't wait till I finally have a kid to torture so it won't be him anymore!

PoKeR

2008-10-09T16:07:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while we have our fam over to play some cards or poker just for an excuse to be together....and we might have a few card sharks in our family! Plus being a Monday night it was a good "Family Home Evening" activity, ha, i'm totally kidding. My youngest brother Max killed us all!!

This is some serious biz!

Sam and Danny watchen some t.v.

Jake and Vanessa. So this was Vanessas first time and she killed us, took second place.

Yep, I'm one of the first out.
Jacks just happy to be playing!

General Conference

2008-10-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Every six months I look forward to Conference and feel so blessed that we can can get direct instructions through the leaders of our church and ultimately from our Heavenly Father.
This world is so crazy and there are so many scary and evil things that go on every day, but listening to Conference also gives great hope and strength to know that there is so much good in the world and potential for everyone who has lost their way.
I know for an absolute fact that the words the prophet speak are true and sent from God and I truly believe that if we follow their teachings our lives will be so blessed and make difficult things that happen to us in this life become that much easier to overcome.
I have sooo many flaws and things I need to work on but I know how forgiving our Heavenly Father is and that he will continually help us as long as we're trying.
My favorite talks were the ones about family and relations and how important it is that we put family first. It was said that it's the little things that really matter and that is what potentially keeps families together. Family prayer, just spending time together and putting each other and the gospel first. I'm so grateful for my family and especially for my wonderful husband. I love him so much and even on days that I feel like he is the biggest pain in the $%# ever I just have to see his big smile and then I suddenly forget that I'm mad. Life is so fragile and I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of the gospel and eternal families. I can't imagine not having that truth that we will all be together again one day. Family is the most important thing in the world to me and I feel so blessed for the people that have been placed in my life.
Sorry to get all sappy and emotional but I just think Conference does this to me and makes me realize what's important(puts me in check if you will) and how lucky we really are!

Girls Trip to Vegas

2008-10-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Why is it that most the pics that were taken are of us eating?
Tiff got in trouble for taking this so this is alll you;ll get of us gambling. Kat and Tiff even tried ot a couple times. So proud... I really should be a better example.
Mandalay Buffett. We ate sooo much. The desserts were the best part. I really did get one of each. Sick.
We went to the Paul Mitchell Salon where I suddenly decided to chop all my hair off. Vegas does that kinda crap to me.
leaving Vegas

What a fun flippen weekend a bunch of girls can have in Vegas that don't even DRINK! I'm sure people probably thought we were though, haha. My darling in-laws let me and five of my girl friends(Brooke, Jami, Liz, Kat and Tiff) stay in their home in Vegas. I just had bought a brand new camera to take with me the day befire we left and the second day we were there it ran out of batteries(I totally forgot the charger, duh!)so this post will be short and sweet. I had to steal all my friends pics of their blogs so it actually just might be easier to look at one of their blogs bacause they've already covered pretty much everything we did and have way more pics. The trip pretty much consisted of eating, talking, laughing, and eating some more, which is my idea of the perfect trip. I love every single one of these girls and had so much fun with them. Thank goodness for girlfriends!

Impulsive

2008-09-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ya know that analogy, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"? Ya well this sudden decision followed me all the way home! I have been trying SOOO hard to grow my hair out and have been so dedicated, haven't cut it in like a year and a half. Well last weekend me and a bunch of my girl friends decided to take a little girls trip to Vegas. So here's Brooke, Jami and I sitting in "New York, New York" talking about how hard it is to grow our hair out and how I wanna shoot myself everyday because longer hair is sooo much work and Jami says "we should go to the Paul Mitchell Salon right now and have them chop your hair off" and I'm like "okay" and ten minutes later I'm sitting in this guys chair. Are you kidding me? I seriously do not think things through at all. Then the man HACKS my hair off. I mean I asked for short hair but I really can not for the life of me remember me asking him to SHAVE the back up. I think he was nervous or something because he found out I was hair dresser too. He would not do well on "Shear Genius" the pressure would kill him. So besides the fact that my husband wakes up thinking there is a man in bed with him, I really like it. I totally feel more myself with short hair. I guess for the back...It'll grow.

BRINGEN IT BACK

2008-09-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

Before reading this please scan down to my playlist and click on the very first song on my playlist so you can feel the emotion as you read.
I have recently decided that I am going to start a weekly, maybe monthly post to give recognition to great songs that have long since died. This weeks will be "Valerie" by Steve Winwood. Before just throwing the towell in right now and moving on to the next blog, please just listen to Steve for a minute, he makes a whole lot of sense.
The reason this came about is because the other day I was running my little route I do with my dog, listening to my ipod and this song came on that I think I put on there possibly by accident. Right as the song started I felt the pavement under my feet glide smoother, even faster. My adrenaline rose form a 7 to a level 10 within seconds. Go ahead and laugh, for some of you limp Bizkit or Marylin Manson may be the answer, but for me, Steve definitely does it.
As I was saying, so there I was running along, the wind blowing my hair with the smell of fall in the air and for one split second... I was wishen my name was Valerie.
"Valerieeeeeeeeeeee call on me, Call on meeeeeeeeeeee, Valerieeeeeeeee
Come and seeeeeeeeeeeeeeee me, I'm the same boy I used to be.................."

Book Club Meeting #2

2008-09-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

Last night we met a Johnny Carinos where we had out second book club meeting, if that's really what you want to call it. The point of the whole book club "situation" is for each individual to read a particular book we've chosen as a whole for the month, read it and meet so we can talk about it. Other than the fact that 2 out of the 6 people that were there actually read the book, we talked a total of maybe 5 minutes about the book. So yet again just another excuse for a girls night...which i'm totally okay with!!The book we read was "The Secret Life of Bees", it is Darling and I highly recommend it. Very sweet, short and uplifting.
Since I no longer have a camera at this current moment in time let me try and paint a picture for ya so you can understand our resentment for Johnny freaking Carinos. We get there at seven p.m, order our food pretty soon after, waited an hour and a half till we got our food! Mind you, it's a Monday night, the restaurant is NOT busy at all... we were their main event! No refills, no "how are you guys doin", nothen. Our waitress was soooo rude, I believe her name was KIM, so if you happen to eat there please save your sanity by sliding right on by her to the next available table. Needless to say she was PISSED, later that night we had plates being flung at our table. No one actually saw her throwing them at us but I'm pretty sure we can put two and two together Kim!! Ha, I'm really not one to complain but it seriously was way ridiculous! Johnny Carino, you're off my list pal! Other than that we had a fun night... on to the next book!!

60th Wedding Anniversay

2008-09-23T22:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we had a Party for my sweet grandparents 60th wedding anniversary! 60 Years?? Wow, that's nuts.. it's no very often you hear of 60 year anniversaries. Though they have been through a lot together they have managed to stick by each others side and have their "Happily Ever After", which is what I think the ultimate goal in life. I am so grateful for my grandma and grandpa for first and for most raising the most wonderful mother I could ever ask for. I love being around my Grandma because so often I see glimpses of my mom in her. My Grandparents have always been such a huge part of our lives and always made it a point to spend time with each of us.
For the party we met at the "Harvest" restaurant in Lehi and then afterwards we all went to my aunt Claudia's house where we ate wedding cake, Watched a darling video my aunts made of my grandparents life together and then read the 60 things we all LOVE about them. It was so fun and I feel so lucky to have been able to share such a wonderful celebration with them. Happy Anniversary Grams and Gramps, I love you!

Rayce and Sayer

2008-09-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

I love any opportunity I get to take my darling niece and nepew and spend some time with them. My brother Jesse took Brooke out for her Birthday so Jacks and I got the kids for a few hours all to ourselves. They are such cute kids, they make me laugh!!

Sayer going down the slide all by herself.
The kids dropping rocks down the drain... so entertaining!
Jacks taken the kids for a ride on the mo-ped. When I took Sayer off she would just sit and scream, she loved it!

Chin Wah

2008-09-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

Lucky us got to hang with our good friends Jared and Daiana last weekend. It seems like when we hang out they never get to pick where we eat because my husband is a tad particular! Jared has always mentioned this "Chin Wah" place and it sounded like a dive so we'd kinda just brush that idea right off(kidding Jared), but this particular night we'd agreed to go. K so typically I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food but wow this place is pretty dang good and I'd highly recommend it! Thanks guys. Oh and for those that want to try it it's on about 9400 s and 750 e.

The next night the Springers had decided they just hadn't quite had enough of us so we went to their house with some other neighbors for out recent occurring Scone Sunday Event.

labor day

2008-09-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

We went with my fam bowling in the middle day, Sam, my dad and Jacks totally worked Jake, Max and I. Sadly, bowling has never been one of my strong points, I'm over it. Later that night we went to my dads where we had dinner, broke out "Rock Band", the boys played some Ping Pong and found complete entertainment in hitting each other with the balls as HARD as they could on the bare back(I'll never figure out boys, EVER), oh and of course Brooke and I never let an occasion pass without busten the camera out to take "ugly face" pictures of each other. Thanks dad and Sam for a fun night.

GUESS WHO??

2008-09-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

Can you guess who any of these people are... wow I'm glad I was born when I was!
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Thanks to Daiana, this yearbookyourself.com kept me entertained for hours, not to mention the fact that I was laughing SO hard all by myself with no one to share the moment with, hate when that happens.

Happy Anniversary!

2008-08-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

Today is our 2 year/6.5 year anniversary.... you pick. Technically we've been sealed for 6 1/2 years but since we were remarried it's just been 2, make sense?? Ha, Jacks and I often kid with each other and make jokes about events that have occurred by saying, "Did that happen the first time we were married or the second?" or he'll say things like, "I like my 2nd wife so much more than my first"(very funny), or "I'm so sorry but I still love my x-wife". I never thought we'd one day be able to look back and joke about things like that because at the time losing each other was worse then a death to us both and we had to decide what was really important and what really made us happy, and then change the things we both knew we couldn't live with out. It was pretty obvious after a while that each other was exactly what we couldn't live without, so we took a good year(after being divorced a year and a half already)and worked out every kink we could possibly find...haha, that was a rough year because we'd get close to getting remarried and then one of us would get scared and back away a little bit... then two days later realize that that option wasn't going to work either. What a roller coaster, our poor families were so confused!
I'm not going to say those were easy decisions or an easy time in either of our lives, but I will say it was soooo worth it. I used to be able to describe our marriage with words like; Fun, spontaneous, loving and great! Now I honestly can't find the words to describe the love and emotion I have for my husband. He is everything I need and I love him for who he is beyond words. I am so grateful for the gospel and know that Heavenly Father knows each one of us better than we know ourselves and will guide us(if we'll listen) in the right direction. Those few years were so difficult and I know the outcome was not just a coincident, I believe we all go through trials so we can learn and grow and in our situation, better appreciate each other! We are so blessed to have been through this and then to have ended up getting a second chance and turning it into a wonderful marriage, I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for giving us this opportunity. Happy Anniversary Baby!!

Here we are at age 19 and 21...SOOOO young, oh my gosh!!!

Seven years later. Love you Jackson!!

This year for our anniversary we drove up to Midway and stayed at a bed and breakfast, "Johnson Mill". K this is the cutest, most intimate little get away and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone!! You get to choose from a variety of rooms, ours was the "Carriage House", darling! You get complimentary access to anything in the main house, cookies, hot chocolate, the game room, the theater room, tons of dvd's to take back to your room and so on. Oh, then they have this HUGE pond,(I'd actually call it a small lake)where you can get in a little paddle boat or canoe and row around... even fish if you want to. SO much fun!! I kinda felt like I was in the movie "The Notebook", it's kind of a fantasy of mine. Then I realized we weren't surrounded by hundreds of swans...but there were some ducks.

That night we had reservations for dinner at the "Snake Creek Grill". Wow. The food here is ridiculous! It was so flippen good, it's a Must Try for sure! The next morning we had a super good breakfast that was complimentary with the room and then drove over to Swiss Days, my husband is such a good sport! I had never been there before but it is like a Big Honken Boutique, LOVED it! I found this booth called "Bumbles" where they sale interchangeable watches(thanks to Jami calling me and telling me about it) and needless to say bought WAY too much. Then we drove home and took the long route driving thought the mountains and checken out a ton of unreal houses. Anyways, we had an awesome anniversary and I'm looking forward to many, many more of them with the love of my life! Love you Jacks.

Lake Powell 2008

2008-08-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

Each year the Bennetts have their annual Powell trip in August. We go for an entire week on a house boat, it is sooo much fun! The trip pretty much consists of eating, playing board games, water skiing, wake boarding, battle tubing, jet skiing(although both of them broke on this trip), playing in the water, reading and just getting to spend time with each other, oh and did I mention eating? We had perfect weather and a killer camping spot. Everything was great with the exception of a couple mishaps. Jared crashed on the stand up jet ski and seriously tore his face up and Kelly somehow caught the flu a few days before we left so that was terrible, other than that we had a great time. Thanks so much Kelly and Mark for such a fun trip!
Every night we'd bust out the train game.
Check out the sick TAT we gave gram!
One day we came to this little beach and had lunch and then the boys found these super long switches and were doing "rock, paper, scissors" to see who'd get whacked... what a bunch of wierdo's. They had HUGE bruises and cuts all over their backs, totally deserved I think.
This is Cam, via "Speedo Man" and he's totally dead serious!
Isaac with the kiddies, Maysen and Bennett.
Ha....Don't ask
Battle tubes. This is a crazy enjoyment these boys have, they come off with bloody noses, massive bruises, ripped up life jackets and sometimes even black eyes.
So, not to brag, but my husband is hands down the mast amazing water skier I've ever seen. It's so fun to watch!

Just chillen on the house boat.

For more pics and details go to Dallas Coons Blog and my friend list!!

DEMOLITION DERBY

2008-08-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

Jacksons' brother Zach was able to get us tickets to the Demolition Derby in Weber for Saturday night. Can I just express to you my love for Demolition Derbys real fast? Love them! As a matter of fact most years Zach has actually souped a car of his very own and been a part of the Coal ville Demolition Derby in which I took part in a few years back and drove in the powder puff derby. I thought it would be kinda like bumper cars...yeah not so much! There were three couples that went to the Weber Derby, Jacks and I, Ashley and Cameron and Zach and his date Chelsea who I work with. My favorite, favorite part of Demolition Derbys is the fact that it is the most white trash, red neck event I have ever experienced, I find it totally entertaining!

Jacks, me, Ash, Cam
Zach and Chelsea

K so there is a slight chance that posting the following pictures may increase my chances of going to hell and I truly apologize if there are any true rednecks out there reading my blog and I happen offend someone. I in no way am intending to offend anyone. In my opinion if you go out in public like this, you are pretty much begging for people to take pictures of you and post em' on your blog. Thanks.

2008-08-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

It seems we rarely get the chance to spend a lot of time with my moms side of the family anymore so when we do get to see them it's so much fun! My aunt Claudia just built this beautiful new house in Lehi. It was so nice of her to have us all over for dinner last night so we could see it. Thanks Claudia!

"ScOnE sUnDaYs"

2008-07-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

Occasionally we get together with neighbors on Sunday nights and cook up some serious scones! Daiana and Jared are the ones that started this little ritual and I'm so glad they did because it's a super good excuse to get together, eat yourself silly and hang with your friends! For those of you that don't know Jackson and Jared it seems as though when they get together they become complete women.... as you can see in one of these pictures they are whippen out their Martha Stuart skills and riggen up that plastic bag as a funnel to pour the oil through, awe it's kinda cute, they were so proud of themselves. I had a previous blog about a month ago of Jacks and Jared talking about manicures and they actually brought out their kits and everything. We are just so happy our husbands have such a sensitive, domestic side to them! Thanks Daiana and Jared, we always have fun with you guys.

"Attack of the Killer Dog"

2008-07-23T17:59:00.001-07:00

Most mornings before I venture to work I take my child/dog Willis Daniel Bennett for a little stroll around the block so that he can get a little exercise for the day before my husband and I go to work. Is this so much to ask? Must I have drama in doing this? Anywho, there we were enjoying the beautiful morning when suddenly I see this wolf-like dog of a creature laying in his front yard(unchained I might add) looking at Willis as though he were a big fat juicy steak. As the wolf curled back his lips and got ready to pounce, this Wonder Woman zeal took over my body and just as the wolf grabbed Willis' leg I pounced and bear hugged the wolf, holding on for dear life as he dragged me like a rag doll across the street. Now please understand that this was in a neighborhood, people running, old ladies watering their gardens and so on. My spry little dog got out of the jaws of this creature and ran off and now the dog was snapping at me.... okay, what the hell!?
I somehow was able to get to my feet as I slid across the street and my dog and I ran all the way home. This sounds funny now, but I was hysterical at the time. Three things, 1- I will never go walking in that neighborhood again because of the evil wolf and because I'm too embarrassed to ever show my face there again. 2- Put your damn dog on a leash or chain and teach it some manners. 3- If I hadn't whipped out my Zena skills, willis and I would both be dead. Luckily Willis survived with a minor scrape on his precious little leg and I escaped with severe raspberries all up and down my leg from being dragged down the road.... oh and my dignity is pretty much gone.

The Little Things

2008-07-18T17:38:00.001-07:00

I had kind of a rough day the other day so my darling husband brought home these beautiful flowers for me right after he went and did the grocery shopping all by himself!! It's amazing how a couple of simple little things like this can make a girl fall in love all over again. I love my husband so much it's indescribable. The past 6 months have been a little rough going through a lot of fertility procedures and Jackson is always being so positive and encouraging. He just lets me cry and will hold me till I feel like I'm okay again. I'm so amazed at how going through things like this actually has made our relationship even better and stronger. I am so grateful that I have such a wonderful, supportive husband. I love you Jacks!

We'll Miss You Camille!!

2008-07-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

One of my very best friends is moving to Arizona this week so that her husband can attend Law school there. I am so excited for her and the new adventure that this will be for them but we will all miss her so much!! I'm so grateful for 'blogs' at this time so I can easily keep in touch with her and see what is going on in her life. Thursday night a bunch of us decided to get together and go to dinner to say Goodbye. We went to Johnny Carinos and I'm pretty sure they wanted to kick us out from how loud we were being! When we all get together it seems we always bring up the funny memories we had from high school...so one thing lead to another and we decided to go back to my house and watch all the many videos we made from when we were in Junior High and High school, haha so funny! We were so retarded, we always used to make music videos and dress up in weird clothes and record ourselves. Pretty sure we would have done it that very night had we had a camcorder on hand!!
The "clan" at Johnny Carinos
Camille and I
Us watching and laughing at the videos we made in highschool
Crystal and Camille
Katie and Jami. Doesn't she have the flippen cutest pregnant bump you have ever seen!!

Good luck Camille, We love you!!

MEMORIES!

2008-07-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Memory Lane...I got this from a friend's blog. I thought it would be fun! I hope you will play along. Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

'Viva Las Vegas'

2008-07-08T21:48:00.000-07:00

Over the fourth of July Me, Jacks, Dave, Melissa, Zach, Ryan and Alicia went to one of our favorite spots, Las Vegas baby. Having a big group like that makes it that much more fun!! It was so ridiculously HOT that is made it really hard to be outside... so shockingly enough we found ourselves inside restaurants eating most the time. What? It was hot okay?! We saw a couple of shows and they were so awesome. If you are ever in Vegas and have the opportunity to see the Circus Sole show "KA", you should jump on it. It is sooo entertaining and the stage was the coolest thing ever. We also saw "Mama Mia". A few of us had already seen this but Jacks and a couple of the others hadn't. It's darling and I LOVE the music. I can't wait to see the movie that is coming to theaters pretty soon! The one and only time we talked Ryan and Alicia into playing a little holdem with us they kicked our trash and took our money, how does that happen?? Pure luck I tell ya. Thanks everyone for the fun vacation!

Oakley Rodeo

2008-07-08T21:26:00.001-07:00

My dad and Sam took the whole fam to the Oakley Rodeo last Wednesday. I loved it, it was so much fun plus it's a great excuse to wear cowboy boots and a cute cowboy hat!
I love when they ride the bulls and horses but I've got to tell ya, it really bothers me when they rope the baby cows, it cruelty in my opinion... even worse, I was there supporting it. We had great entertainment and downed lots of cotton candy, sno cones and junk food.

The best part of all was at the very end they had some awesome fireworks! I felt very patriotic! Thanks dad and Sam for a really fun night!!!

Another Tag!!

2008-07-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

Here's how this "Tag" works. List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts about yourself. Then tag 5 people at the end of your post.

OK, here we go!

3 Joys:
- Husband, family and Dog
- Nature of any kind (being outside)
- The gospel

3 Fears:
- The thought of never having children.
- Forgetting special memories I have of my mom.
- Losing someone I love.

3 Goals (short term):
- Read at least one book a month(I know...this shouldn't be hard right?).
- Start eating healthier and get on a regular work out plan.
- Take another oil painting class...soon.

3 Current Obsessions:
- Frozen chocolate covered cinnamon bears(mmmmm, I think I'll go get one right now).
- My hair. I HATE it. I'm trying so hard to grow it out and all I can think about all day long is how I so badly want to cut it as I'm doing all these darling hair-do's to other people all day long!!
- This whole pregnancy ordeal. After you've been trying for so long it kinda starts to take a hold of ya, I'm really trying to not let it and just relax... easier said than done I'm finding.

3 Surprising Facts:
- For those of you that don't know me very well, my husband and I have been divorced and remarried and proud to say very happily married!(Doesn't happen every day)
- I'm way superstitious. I'm weird about certain numbers and orders of things... I just realized I might have a tad of o.c.d.
- I'm ridiculously good at tetris and will kill anyone! I actually have a callis on my thumb from playing it on my phone so much.

I tag Jami, Daiana, Kat, Dallas, Camille.

WELCOME HOME!

2008-06-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

My younger brother Jake returned home from his mission Tuesday night!! He served for two years in the Toronto, Cananda mission where he spoke Mandarin(Crazy). We are so HAPPY to have him back and so freaken proud of him for his dedication and hard work!! He was an amazing missionary and an awesome example to us all. Since his flight didn't come in till like 10:20 p.m. Tues night Brooke, Jess, me, Jacks and their kids decided to go to dinner to kill some time. It was such a long day, I would just randomly scream all day long, ha. After going to dinner we went to the airport where all his cute friends were waiting along with the whole Firth family. It was the neatest thing ever to see him coming down the stairs with a HUGE smile on his face!! We love you Jake!

Jake looked so good, so much more grown up, it kinda feaked me out actually. This was his first time meeting his niece Sayer!!

We have so many things to introduce to Jake... so we decided to have a big sleepover Friday night at Jess and Brookes where we will be playing the Wii, guitar hero, watching all the latest movies and catchen up on the last two years!!

Happy Birthday!!

2008-06-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today is my older brother Jesses Birthday as well as my moms!! So as I'm sure you can figure out, Jess was born on my moms birthday, how cool is that? Jess is 29, which is so freaken weird. Although we had our "outs" growing up because he felt the need to torture me relentlessly(haha, but no for real) I feel really lucky to have him as my brother. He has become the neatest guy and it's been so fun to watch him be a dad. It's seriously the cutest thing to see him with his baby girl, for being such a hard "a" he turns into the softest little teddy bear. Love you Jess!
Even though my mom is no longer here, I still feel the need to celebrate a little bit on her birthday. Birthdays were such a big deal to her, she made them so much fun!! I have made it somewhat of a tradition that on her birthday(since she's been gone)to hit two of her most very favorite spots, T.J Maxx and Maverick, ha. She seriously was obsessed with T.J Maxx and I'm pretty sure they knew her by name. Maverick was somewhere she stopped on a regular basis for their frozen yogurt and cheese bread... Every time we passed a Maverick she would put her hand over her heart, ha, funny stuff. Okay it's really late and I'm stupidly tired and I'm starting to ramble on so I'm gonna wrap this up I promise...I could go on and on and on with little stories about my mom, I miss her so much! I was trying to be positive today and think something that makes the situation a little lighter with her being gone and I came up with this, she will never have to become old! She passed away youthful and so beautiful, never having to go through the pains of old age! She will always be remembered as the vibrant and beautiful, fun Kathy! I love you so much mom! Happy Birthday!!

Happy Fathers Day!!!

2008-06-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

Mark
Jackson and his Grandma

For Fathers Day my sis-in-law Dallas made my father-in-law a darling scrapbook that took her many hours to put together. My father-in-law Mark is one of the most amazing people I know. He does more service then anyone I've ever met. If there were more people like him in this world, it would be such a better place to live. We love you so much Mark! My husband drove his new mo-ped to my in-laws and everyone took their turn riding on it. Even Jacksons cute Grandma was a good enough sport to take a little ride on the back. Every time they drove past the house you could hear her laughing and screaming at the same time! My moms dad is still alive and we are so glad to have him in our lives. He is such a neat man and a great example to me. My dads dad passed away when I was five but I still have a few vague memories of him. I look forward to the day I can get to know him better!
Daddy

I know everyone probably says this but I honestly, truly, really do have the neatest dad alive! I'm going to take a minute to brag about him here real quick. My dad is the biggest stud ever. For one thing he's like 55 and could kick anyones trash at any sport(other than you Jacks, xoxo), he's like the hottest 55 year old around(In High school my friends all called him Timpsta the Pimpsta), he comes off as super intimidating but is in fact the sweetest, kindest man in the world. He would drop anything to help anyone in need and I truly have more respect and adoration for him than I could ever explain. I feel so lucky to consider my dad as one of my very best friends. When my mom was sick for those three years my dad took such good care of her, he stood by her side no matter what the situation and when she passed away he handled it so incredibly well. I still had two little brothers at home and my dad had to step up and play dad and mom and be the strength that we all needed and still hold it together for himself. I'm so happy my dad has been fortunate enough to have two loves in his life. He met and married his current wife Sammy who is sooo good to him and I am very grateful to her for that. Hope you had a great Fathers Day, I love you so much Dad!!!

"Male Bonding"

2008-06-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend we hung out with our good friends Daiana and Jared who live right across the street from us. We had so much fun. Somehow I talked Daiana into coloring her hair(which she's never really done so this was a big step for her)...I was so proud!! What did Jacks and Jared do you wonder? Deeply discussed the proper way to manicure and take care of your nails. In fact Jared even whipped out his very own manicure set.... this gave a whole new meaning to MANicure. You're laughing right now but I kidd you not, they were dead freaken serious!! For real.

Alaskan Cruise

2008-06-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun trip!!! Kelly, Mark, Dallas, Isaac, Jackson and I all went on this cruise together. I would highly recommend this cruise to anyone. More than anything it was seriously one of the most beautiful places I have been yet. It was not at all what I expected and honestly I'm not sure what I expected but wow! Such a cool combination of scenery... The greenest green mountains you have ever seen with snow on the very tops and then was surrounded by the ocean. We were way lucky to have amazing weather, sunny and clear skies everyday, I think that's the part I really didn't expect. We were forced to relax because although we had great weather it wasn't like you could go lay out on the ship or anything. It was so fun to spend time with some of my in-laws and especially my darling husband. He is so much fun to go on trips with and it was so much fun to get that time together. So I probably gained ten pounds from eating like a freaken cow but I for sure got a six pack underneath it all from laughing so hard. I seriously don't know the last time I laughed that hard!! There were a couple days where we were at sea and didn't have a lot to do so we got pretty creative. So I'm retarded and started from the bottom so the pics begin at the bottom and then work their way up. Hope this gives you a glimpse at how beautiful Alaska really is. Would I wanna live there? Hell no.

Our last port was Victoria Canada, we weren't able to get a pics here but it was very beautiful as well. They had lots of cute and fun little shops where we spent most our time.

Jackson putting his head in the freezing waterfall, who does that.

This was our dinner waiter for dinner each night, Juan. We all fell in in love with him. He is from the Philippines and is gone like 8 months out of the year leaving his family behind so he can provide for them. He was such a funny guy.

2008-06-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

This had to be the best part of all!! This was our third port, Skagway, Alaska. At the last minute we decided to do a little plane ride. The plane was tiny! I love stuff like this, the rush is awesome. I have so many amazing pictures of our view but figure i've already made a novel out of this. We have an amazing and beautiful world we live in.

2008-06-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

This was our second port, Juneau, Alaska. I loved here. Juneau felt alot more civilized than Ketchikan. We decided to go fishing here, which was so fun to just be able to kick our feet up with a diet coke and be in paradise. The whole time we were in Alaska we had great weather. It stayed almost in the sixties the whole time and we had totally clear skies. We never caught any fish, actually didn't even get a bite, we were kinda sad but it was still a blast! Later that day we took a little tour and were able to stop at an enormous glacier, it looked like there was food coloring in it because it was sooo blue!

i don't know if you can tell from this pic but that bird is a bald eagle. They were flying down right in front of us grabbing fish out of the ocean... how come we couldn't catch any?
We decided to go fishing, and then learned later that day that the salmon don't really come for another month. Ha, it was super fun anyways!!
The enormous glacier.

2008-06-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

This was our first port, Ketchikan, Alaska. Though this was my least favorite of all the ports Ketchikan is very beautiful and quaint. There isn't much to do here as far as entertainment but you could honestly just walk around all day and stare at the beautiful scenery. The people of Ketchikan made it pretty clear that if you don't drink, you'd probably be pretty bored living here...so ya.
Mark and Kelly. This was our first formal night on the ship. I've never eaten so much in my whole life, it was awesome, ha.
Here are all the boys dressed up, this is the best one we could get. They weren't very cooperative.
What in the beautiful?
Sooo green
Here we are doing a hike. It was so humid and lush that there was moss growing on the trees and waterfalls everywhere.

2008-06-02T13:01:00.001-07:00

Here is where we started out the trip, Seattle Washington. We decided to spend a few days there since it's not very often we make it to Seattle before we started the Cruise. I love Seattle, it is so green and beautiful.

Here we are at Snoqualmie Falls... Sooo beautiful.

Eating at the "Crab Pot". I swear they dumped the ocean right out on our table. Isaac and I ordered some seafood situation where they poor everything right on your table...I ate things I never knew existed. I'm so over mussels and clams.
This is the horse races in Seattle. Dallas won a little bit so that made it fun!!

Two More Days!!

2008-05-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

I am so stupidly excited I don't even know what to do with my silly self! We go on our Alaskan Cruise not tomorrow...but the next day. I feel like a little kid in a car on the way to Disney land going, "Are we there yet, Are we there yet?" I've been super stressed though trying to get everything done and fit all my clients in before I leave. Yesterday I worked almost a 12 hour day, got home at 9:30 p.m. and my doll of a husband had this amazing dinner all ready me for me that he cooked all by himself. How damn cute is he? It's the little things like this that make you go, wow I love you! I love him so much and he's always doing cute little things like this to surprise me. With everything we've been through I just feel so blessed that it has turned out this great! I am so glad we got a second chance at it. He is my very best friend and I can't imagine life without him. We have quite the story don't we? I just have to laugh sometimes. Anyways, when I get back I'll post all of our cool Alaskan pics and tell all about it! I was feeling sad yesterday that we were about to leave this 90 degree weather to go to a frozen iceberg...but now I feel better that you'll all be in the rain, ha ha.

Puppet Show

2008-05-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

It's official, Rayce and I should be professional puppet makers. I was able to tend my darling niece and Nephew, Sayer and Rayce Saturday night. We had so much fun! Rayce and I made puppets so we could put a little show on... but then we realized there was no one to watch so Rayce decided that we should make tons of puppets to watch us do a puppet show, ha ha. While we were making them Rayce kept saying "let me show you how to do that" and "that's really good Keelee", he's such a sweet little boy! I love them so much and feel so lucky to have them in our lives, they are so much fun.

The sister I never had

2008-05-12T16:21:00.001-07:00

Today I hung out with my bbf Jami. We have been friends since we were 12 and I haven't been able to get rid of her since, haha. Jami truly is the sister I never had, I don't even really look at her like a girlfriend, she's as close to family as they come. She is such a good mom and I look up to her soo much. I don't know how she seems to juggle it all, wake up at 5 to work out, be a mom, work, be a wife, still have time to get all cute everyday, be sane and still have the time to hang out with me all the time! When I married my husband I had to make sure he was WELL aware that Jami and I are a package deal... you marry me you're pretty much taken her on too. Thanks Jame for being such a great friend, giving me great advice, always listening to me, giving more useless information than I can ever handle, for being honest and telling me I look terrible when I really do, for always feeding me your great food, being my very own Dr. Phil, and for being the sister I never had!! I love you

Mothers Day

2008-05-12T15:46:00.001-07:00

This Mothers Day was so fun and crazy busy. We woke up early so we could go to church with Jacksons parents Kelly and mark. May I just say that I am the luckiest girl ever to have the mother-in-law that I do! I love her sooo much. She is so much fun, like I would seriously just call her up to hang out with me because she is so freaken fun. She is soo generous and would do anything for her children. Thank you Kelly for raising such a wonderful husband for me!!! After church we went and visited my darling grandma Molly.She is like this ray of sunshine always smiling and happy no matter what! She reminds me alot of my mom and I feel the very closest to my mom when i'm around my grandma. My dads mom passed away about 8 years ago and I miss her sooo sooo much!! Then we went and put flowers in my moms grave, we sit there and kinda talk to her like she's standing right there, I know it's dorky but it's pretty theraputic for me. Afterwards we went to my dads because my cute little brother who is in Canada was able to call home for Mothers Day. He has grown up so much and is so spiritual. He comes home in 6 weeks, I seriously can't handle how excited I am! That evening we met all my in-laws at Macaroni Grill(This is our favorite place ever) for dinner. It was nice to not have to cook and clean and just give all the mothers a day off! Happy Mothers Day!!!!!

This is my studly youngest brother Max(in the middle) and my brother Jakes' two very best friend Garrett and Kurt. They came over to talk to Jake because he got to call home from his mission. Only six weeks left!!!!
Mwa. Oooh I just love him!!
My dad got his wife Sammy a yellow beach banana bike for mothers day. Here my dad and Jacks are trying it out... they looked so funny on it, it's pretty much the girliest bike i've ever seen.

Here we are with Jacks family at Macaroni Grill. Look how cute my mother-in-law is at the end, she's just opened her present, ha, she's so excited!
My hubby and I
All the girls

Race for the Cure

2008-05-12T15:26:00.001-07:00

After our girls night we woke up early and walked over to the Gateway where we did the "Race for the Cure". This is such an amazing cause and I am so gald I was able to do it. My aunt Lynda is a survivor of breast cancer and is now doing awesome!! it was so touching to see all these thousands and thousands of people all together in honor of certain individuals in their lives who have battled cancer. I hope this is something we make a tradition, I love it. Brooke, Claudia and I talked the entire walk, it was so fun to be out in the sun and be a part of this amazing event!
This is my darling aunt Lynda with her husband John. She is a survivor of breast cancer and is now in remission. I am so grateful that we still have her here, thank goodness! We love you Lynda!!
Me, Brooke, Claudia, Lynda, Bevan and her mom.
Here we are getting ready to do the 5k

Girls Weekend

2008-05-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a lot of these lately and I'm loven it!! Melis, Tiff, Lizz, Kat, Brooke and I decided to get a hotel downtown and have a little girls overnighter party. It was soo fun we went to dinner at "Z Tejas" and then we of course did a little shopping in Gateway, then headed back to the hotel where we acted like we were in Junior High all aver again. We played a few little pranks to the front desk, had a little pillow fight and played with eachothers hair and ate so much jusk food(well I did anyways) that I was sick to my stomach the next day!! We woke up early and did the 5k 'Race for the Cure' which was a really neat experience and I was so gald that I could be a part of it!!
Melissa and Kat
PiLlOw FiGhT
Tiff and Brooke
Brooke seducing some mannequin on the sidewalk of Gateway... we can't take her anywhere!

Z Tejas

2008-05-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

Here we are eating at Z Tejas
We get a little crazy with the cameras.
Me, Lizz and Kat
Melissa, Tiff and Brooke.

Happy Mothers Day Mom

2008-05-04T14:21:00.001-07:00

Kathryn Eldredge Firth 06/17/56-11/09/03

This time of year is always a little emotional for me seeing as how Mothers Day is next week and my moms birthday is coming up. I miss her so so so much. It'll be five years in November that she will been gone but there are times when it seems that it was just yesterday we were all just talking and laughing. I just wanted to give a little tribute to my mom to tell her how much I love and appreciate all she has done for me. She has left a legacy behind that will never be forgotten. Call me bias but I believe I truly had the best mom ever. She was the the most social, bubbly, fun, energetic, giving, humorous and beautiful woman that I have ever and probably will ever come to know. There are so many times that I would give anything to have just one hour with her to let her know how very much I love her and how grateful I am for all the many things she has done for me. Growing up she was constantly grinding my brothers and I how to always hold our heads high no matter the situation, to always remember who we are and what we stand for(such a typical mom thing to say), to always stay vertical when we went out on dates(ha ha),to never let anyone walk all over us and to always always hold the gospel as close to us as possible. Thank you so much mom. As my brothers and I were growing up she always made sure to spend one on one time with each of to make sure we knew we were important to her. She was always the best example and never wavered her beliefs or morals EVER under any circumstance. I can't wait for the day my husband and I have our own children, I only hope that I can portray the same love and example for my children that she did for us. One thing that has really helped me deal with her being gone is the fact that she always talked to us about how death is the beginning of a beautiful life and how when someone dies it is the most glorifying and happiest day of their existence and how it's the only the ones that are left behind that are hurting. This has given me great comfort and especially great drive to live my life in a way that we can all be together again. I'm so lucky to have had her in my life for as long as I did. I love you so much mom. Happy Mothers Day

Grateful for Girlfriends

2008-04-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Kristen and Steven
Jacks and I
Melissa and Dave

I just wanted to say how grateful I am for good friends. Last weekend we went out with two of my very good friends who I love so much. These two girls were there for me when I needed the very most support. Funny thing, Kristen actually was my babysitter when I was little, ha. As many of you know when I was 22 I went through a divorce, Kristen called me up because she was going through the same thing and from that moment on we became great supports to eachother. Melissa and Kristen have known eachother since they were 12 so I was lucky enough to meet Melissa through her. Melissa also got divorced shortly after us... needless to say we were quite the little man hating crew, haha. We spent the next couple years hanging out all the time, going on several trips which to this day I just think about and start laughing!! We had so many fun times and could write a book on funny dating stories, they got me through a tough time for sure. Now Melissa and I are both married and Kristen is soon to be married in August to an amazing guy named Steve. I'm so glad she found someone who makes her so happy. She just graduated from school with her Masters degree while working and taking care of her littl girl, I'm so proud of her. Melissa is almost 5 months pregant with a boy.. so exciting! I love that her cute hubby Dave and my hubby have become such good friends, it makes it so fun to double with them! Here we celebrating Kristens graduation and recent engagement at Tsunami, mmmmmm. I love you Guys!!!

Acupuncture

2008-04-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

I hope I spelled that right. Somehow I was talked into trying this chinese medicine practice. This morning I went with my dads wife to this wellness center in Layton to try out this so called all-healing method called acupuncture....One of the wierdest experiences of my life. I really had no idea what I was getting in to. This lady lays me down and just starts placing tiny needles all over my body. Now let me just give you the low down on how I feel about needles. HATE them. Call me a baby but seriously shots hurt me really bad, I think I have extra thick skin or something so it makes it harder for the needle to get through, i'm serious. Anyways without any warning this chick puts needles in my feet, knees, arms, ears and the freaking top of my head. A needle in the top of my head? I was so confused about that. Then the chick leaves me all alone in this wierd room with needles sticking out all over me... I looked like a human pin cushion. She left me there for 30 minutes and I figured out all on my own that you can not move AT ALL. Even when I lifted a finger it would send a shooting pain throughout my body. K so maybe I'm just way skeptical..but, what the hell??? Have any of you done this and how do you feel about it? Who knows, maybe this will be an awesome thing and I'll end up loving it but I just find it SOOO bizarre.

Tagged

2008-03-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here goes... 10 years ago I was a sophmore at Taylorsville High school. I was thinken I was pre-tty cool having just got my license(already gotten a speeding ticket). I drove around this little 89' Golf that everyone called the milk carton. The stereo got stolen out of it one night while I was worken at County Seat at the mall, so I went and bought this munchkin cordless radio to sport in it. Due to that mishap my dad made me get this crazy alarm system in it so every time I had to open the doors or lock it you'd think I was getting into this porche when really it was an 89' milk carton... I caught alot of crap for that, haha. Being 16 was such a fun age, not a care in the world and your biggest worry was what you were gonna wear the next day to school... those were the days.

5 Jobs that I have had:
-County Seat at Fashion place Mall
-Jordan Valley Health Club
-Texas Rhodehouse
-Super Salad
-Mirage Day Spa(current)

5 Places I have visited:
-New York
-Washington D.C.
-Victoria, Canada
-Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
-Bahamas

5 things on my to do list:
-I really would love to go to Europe someday!
-My dream is to one day write childrens books.
-Have children....
-Come up with some crazy idea that'll make us millions so we'll never have to worry about money, ha.
-Get organized. I have never been organized and I sooo want to be.

5 things you may not know:
-I've always had a little bit of o.c.d. I have some really wierd little habits that i'm sure would be deemed as o.c.d.
-I have a fantasy of being a famous singer and quite often when i'm alone I perform my very own concerts.
-I freeze everything, things taste so much beter super cold... twinkies, brownies, muffins, pudding, any kind of candy or chocolate.
-I'm always SUPER hot! We keep our house freezing all the time.
-I hide money. I'm like a chipmunk or something and hide money in wierd places. I'm not really sure why, I think I like physically watching the amounts get bigger or something but i've been known to forget about them before and then find them like a year later. Wierd, I know.

5 things that I am so thankful for:
-The gospel
-My husband and family
-My health
-Our circumstances(that we live in the U.S, have jobs, educations and a home).
-Nature. I love the outdoors and am always finding myself in amazement at how beautiful our world is.... the ocean. the mountains, flowers, sunsets, animals, trees, the winter, spring and fall. Love it!

I tag Brooke Firth, Daiana Springer, Jami Weight and Ashley Owens.

EaStEr

2008-03-25T23:01:00.000-07:00

I have the cutest mother-in-law, every year she comes up with the funnest games to play on Easter. This year we played this game where she filled eggs up with money(we're talken 20's, 50's and 100's) so it was pretty intense... we of course did not win, but it was so fun! There are only a couple of kids so far in the family so it's all of us adults playing the games...what will we do when there's a bunch of kids and we can no longer play?
This is my adorable nephew and neice Bennett and Maysen. They love the dog... Maysen buries her face into him whenever he comes near her, so cute!
This would be MY husband doing the dishes...what the??
My dad HATES getting his picture taken!! I just had to show off how handsome he is. This was Easter brunch at his house.

Happy Easter

2008-03-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

I love love love Easter!! It is by far my favorite holiday and here are the many reasons why.... the candy is ridiculous (peeps, malted eggs, cadberry eggs, jelly beans, mmmm), it means it's going to start warming up outside, flowers start to grow, everyone wants me to cut their hair off, Lake Powell is comen up, and the most important reason I love Easter is beacause it's a reminder to me of how blessed we are and how much has been done for us so even though we make mistakes we can fix them and try and better ourselves. I am sooo grateful for that because I mistakes allll the time and I 'so' want to be reunited with my mom again one day. That is serious motivation for me to live my life in the way I should. I miss her so much!! She had so many fun Easter traditions and I hope one day that I can I do those traditions with my kids.

The Old Stuff is The Good Stuff

2008-03-24T09:51:00.001-07:00

Okay... so I am well aware that my music choice may be a little behind the times and some of you have made it clear that I would make an excellent senior citizen....ha. Well i've come to terms and am just fine with it. For those of you that don't have a matured ear pallet, well you will never be able to appreciate the love for good music. The reason I'm bringing this up because I've actually had a couple people text me... not comment me but text me (so that it would immediately happen) to please change some of my music...haha. I think that's pretty freaken funny. I think it's partly my husbands fault, he is waaay worse than me. Sara Brightman, Kenny G, Peter Cetera, Bruce Hornsby, Kenny Loggins(my personal fav), Al Green... it's all there. Don't deny it, you like them too. So what i'm going to do is continue with these classic tunes in hopes that you too will develope the deserved love that should be credited to these fine bands. Thanks

The Gun Club

2008-03-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law(Jared) and I have had a few conversations lately about guns and why I don't think people should have loaded guns in their home. Yes it's true that I probably have this belief because of a lack of knowledge I might have about them...but still, I'm a lover not a fighter. Well, Jared somehow convinced me along with my mother-in-law, father-in-law and husband to join him at the gun club today so that I might gain some sort of love for guns and shooting them. Well, that didn't happen but I do have to admit that it might have been kind of fun...and if for some reason my hair dressing career faulters, I'll become a sniper, I'm a fantastic target! HA. My husband shot a .50 calibur and it about took his arm off. Needless to say , he will never have a gun in our house. If someone breaks in our house Willis will have to take them down, ya we're screwed.

Want a Cute page??

2008-03-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Okay so how cute is my page???!! How I wish I could take the credit...but I can't. My serioulsy talented sister-in-law Brooke actually just started a little business doing it. She actually is an Interior Designer so it makes sense she's so good at it(I'm just trying to make myself feel better becasuse I could never figure out or have the patience to do it)!! If you are interested you should hit her up, she's awesome! Go to her blog brookeandjessefirth.blogspot.com

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

2008-03-13T23:19:00.001-07:00

I got a serious kick out of this... Jacks won't be very happy about it when he sees it, haha. I'd have posted mine but they were all like old men. Nice.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Free genealogy - Family history

Our little trip to Vegas

2008-03-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

Jackson and I decided to take a short trip to Vegas this last weekend. It was so fun to just get away and not have to worry about work, the every day stresses and just be able to just hang out with eachother all day for a few days. Jacksons parents own a darling townhome in Vegas which makes it so convenient for us to sneak away every so often. While we were there we went found the neatest hikes in the west end of Vegas....although Jackson had to drag my but out of bed everyday to go! He's kind of a die hard when it comes to working out, but it's a dang good thing for my sake! We went to dinner every night (we totally revolve our trips around what we're going to eat, haha) and we actually entered into a couple of poker tournaments, ha! I know I know it's a bad habit... but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas right?

2008-03-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

This was honestly one of the funniest moments of my life. We were so excited to eat at this resteraunt and it was the Naaastiest places we've ever been, he was SO mad!

Right in font of the Silverton(where the tournamensts were). We spent alot of time here.

Here we are ready to go on a hike, it was sooo warm, AwEsOmE!

This Would be Jackson...right after losing. Oh, sad!!

2008-02-28T21:17:00.000-08:00

HUSBAND TAG
Who do you love? Jackson Ward Bennett
How long have you been married? Ha ha, I'm gonna round up - 6 1/2 years, I've earned it!
How long did you date? A little over a year although there was a tiny breakup.
Who said I love you first? Oh goll, he did on like our second date...it kind of freaked me out so I made him take me home and then I missed him after like three days.
Who is taller? Him, barely. If I wear heels I'm sometimes taller...he may not admit it but he totally likes it.
Who can sing better? Wow... that's a tough one. I think I'm amazing but everyone else begs to differ, ha ha. When we do our duo to "A whole New World" in the car he sounds pretty good though.
Who is smarter? There's lots of different kinds of smart.... okay he is by a looong shot.
Who does the laundry? I don't really do laundry, his family owns a drycleaners.
Who pays the bills? We switch off but usually him.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are facing the bed, I do.
Who mows the lawn? The one pro about living in a townhome is they do that for ya...bless H.O.A fees.
Who drives? Me, he drives like a grandpa, I could walk faster!
Jacks, I love you so much and feel so lucky to be your wife!!