Brandt & Valerie

1st's

2010-06-24T22:36:00.014-06:00

Here is yet another blanket post of some of the things that have happened in the not too distant past, specifically some firsts for Valerie and me.

1st 5K

Val decided to shock me once again with one of her spur-of-the-moment ideas. One day she told me that she was planning to run a 5k the next weekend and needed me to look it up and register her. I had no idea she had any interest in running, but she decided she wanted to do it (with a little help from her friend Melissa) and nothing was going to stop her. I know it doesn't require a lot of training like a marathon does, but she has been working out a lot lately and keeping herself in shape and it was just one more thing she did that made me proud of her. She has a way of doing little things like that all the time that inspire me to be a better person and to do more in my life, so thanks for that Val! I love you!!!

1st House

We finally decided we didn't want any money left over after paying our bills each month and buying a house seemed like a quick and easy way to take care of that. We are thankful to have a place of our own and to have enough space for all of our things now. So no worries family members who's homes have been acting as our personal storage units for several years now, we will finally be taking our stuff back, that's if you aren't already using it of course. Thanks to all those who have helped us out so much with the home-buying process and especially those who helped with the move. We can't thank you enough!

1st Project

Well as all the homeowners know, there is always a project to do, and we are glad to say that we have one of them out of the way. The one thing that we didn't know how to handle was the lack of closet space in the master bedroom. Yes, technically it is a walk-in, but it is taller than it is long or wide with 15 foot vaulted ceilings, and since you can't walk up the wall it wasn't really serving it's purpose. We didn't know what to do, but decided to just make a plan and go for it. We drew up a plan one night, and when we had it the way we wanted we called our GREAT friend Jared to see if he would bring his tools up and help us out. The next weekend he was here with his awesome wife and son and we went to work, well he and I anyway. Val and Brittany watched Parker and supervised the project. We built the whole thing in half a day, and Val and I caulked, puttied, and painted the next day, and by that night we were putting our clothes in. It was nice to see it come together just the way we had planned it and in such a short amount of time. It gives us hope that we can actually do some of the things we want to around here, but we couldn't have done it without Jared and his expertise and tools so once again, Thank you Jared! It is so nice to have our clothes on shelves instead of piles on the floor. Up was the only way we could go so we went up! The highest shelf is 9 1/2 feet tall, so needless to say a new step ladder was on the list of materials for this build.

1st Place Teacher!!!

Val has been loving her job, and I guess you can say she is doing pretty well at it too! If anyone has found there calling in life I think it is her. She, along with Rachel the other Special Ed teacher at A.F. Junior High have been doing some amazing things for the program there and they are starting to get recognition for it, which is pretty awesome when you consider that they both just finished their first full year of teaching. I won't go too much into detail about how it happened, you can talk to Val and I'm sure she would love to tell the story, but I will just say the parent of one of her students nominated her for the KSL Teacher Feature Teacher of the Week and she won. It was a big surprise to Val, so much so that when her principal pulled her aside to give her the heads-up that she had won she thought she was in trouble. Anyway, it was a great honor for her and it all came because of the love that she has for the work she does and for each one of her students! It was also a pretty sweet deal with all the prizes she got. Here is the link for the nomination letter and below are the details for all the goodies she got.

1. Free night at Anniversary Inn

2. A pair of season tickets to Hale Centre Theatre

3. $100 to La Caille (Plus the banquet for all this year's winners that was held at La Caille also)

4. $200 gift card to Smith's Market Place for class supplies

They also gave her a plaque and some other little things at the banquet along with the short feature on the Grant and Amanda show. All together it was pretty exciting for us. Thanks again Rachel for all of your help! You girls make a great team!

Arizona!

2010-06-18T21:35:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I know that this was a long time ago, but let's just face it, I am so behind! For Thanksgiving we went to my parent's house in AZ. I loved eating and reading on their back patio. I would LOVE to make this a permanent tradition for Thanksgiving!

After we completely filled up our bellies and let it settle, we went on a hike and watched the sunset. It felt so good to do something active after eating so much!

I think palm trees are BEAUTIFUL! I wish that we could have them in Utah. But then that would mean that we would have to be hot all year round. NO THANK YOU then. I would prefer just visiting palm trees! See you again this coming November, I'm crossing my fingers!

The next day we all went to a ghost town where I attempted to take family photos of my sister and her husband and boys. With a lot of Kristina's help I was able to get a few good ones in. I should probably post some of those pictures. Well that will give you something to look forward to for later! This is me and my brother eating some ice cream.

1st Disney Experience!

2010-06-10T17:19:00.007-06:00

I am 26 years old and this was my very first time I have ever been to DISNEYLAND. (Yes, I know that I was a deprived child.) For many years now I have had family and friends tell me everything about it, what to do when you are there, their favorite things there, etc. Since I am not a young (un-deprived) girl going for her first time, I thought that I could tell you what things I learned while at Disneyland.

#1. I learned that Sully is very nice in person!

#2. I learned that despite Captain Hook's huge friendly smile on his face, he may try to still your ring. Huh, Gentry!

#3. I learned that if you show your excitement to be at Disneyland people may take your picture and put it as a screen saver without your permission!

#4. I learned that Mallory is a little dare devil on Dumbo, going up and down with ease. I must say that I am really glad that her and I got to go on this for our 1st time together!

#5. I learned that my husband belongs to a secret club, so secret that I really shouldn't be posting this online. I retract statement #5 .

#6. I learned that the best time to be in the park is when it is raining. You can get on a ride without a wait and possibly get stuck on a ride!

#7. I learned that at the Happiest Place on Earth the signs really mean the opposite of what they say and that this particular ride you may walk off without your phone. Huh, Jannie!

#8. This one is for Sally! I learned that if one of your dear friends comes to visit you in Disneyland don't let them leave without taking a picture together. This was the best I could do. By the way Sally, I LOVED this drink right up to the last sip!

#9. I learned that when you buy a Dole Whip they make it to look like the Matterhorn. By "they," I really mean Brandt. The things you waste your time on.

#10. I learned that the LONG wait to get on this ride is very worth it! It was one of my top rides!

#11. I learned that I really like to take cheesy pictures!!! Look what might be a screen saver now. I just need to brake into your work now. Karma, karma, karma!

#12. I learned that when you go for your first time that they decorate it for your favorite holiday. Thanks you guys for calling them in advance for me. It really made it extra special!

#13. I learned that no matter what kind of shoes you bring, you will get bruises on your feet from walking like a pioneer walked, and walked, and walked, and walked. But worth every second.

#14. I learned that you can't control little kids that may at the last second decide to pop into your perfectly good picture. Some people's children. Oh look, her dad is doing it too. That's where she gets it from.

Six Pix for Six Years

2009-06-12T14:47:00.004-06:00

It's hard to believe that it has been six years already! I love you babe and look forward to the day when I'm posting sixty pix for sixty years! I LOVE YOU! Happy Anniversary! (Special thanks to Val's sister Kristina for taking such amazing pictures!)

Here We go Again

2009-02-19T17:18:00.019-07:00

Well, after a long break (mostly due to our lack of internet) we are back and just as boring as ever although we have had a few new developments in the past few months so here's a quick update. Lots of pictures and few words, so enjoy.

Early Thanksgiving dinner with some of our great friends from Logan. Sorry, our friend Sean has a condition that doesn't let him close his mouth, it's called childishness! Love ya Sean!

Happy Birthday Milhouse!!! Thanks for all the Memories.

Congratulations Val!!!!! After years of hard work and sleepless nights she graduated as a Severe Special Ed Teacher and is off and running with her own class. She loves what she does and is VERY good at it. Her ideas and methods are being adopted by the other teachers in the school and her kids love her too. I have never been so proud of anyone in my life and I am so happy for her. She cares so much for her students and the impact she is having in their lives is already noticeable. It's not the highest paying job in the world so my F430 has to wait, but it is incredibly rewarding in so many other ways not to mention how funny the kids are. If you want a good laugh just ask Val to tell you one of her stories. Way to go Babe!

Moving Day, at least the first one followed by three subsequent trips up. Let's just say this experience only confirms my desire to only want to move two more times in my life and one of those is to my grave. I won't go into great detail, but let's just say if you think you need to get rid of your junk, do it now before you move. I know it hurts to let go, but your back will hurt a lot more if you don't. Oh and by the way Shah, get your hands off my junk!

Val's Classroom. Okay so it's a portable and it isn't all the way finished in this picture, but you get the idea. She really likes it because it is by itself and she has a lot of room and with the new addition of the microwave and Mini-Fridge (Happy Valentine's Day) it is a perfect little spot for her and her kids.

Another year, another house for ants (Zoolander). Once again we had a blast doing Gingerbread Houses at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They are the best to keep this tradition up especially since they have to make so many of them. We love you guys and appreciate all you have done for us and for giving us this to look forward to every year!

Valentines was pretty low-key this year. We had an awesome Breakfast-for-Dinner with pink pancakes the night before with the Agrens and then spent Valentine's day with Gen, Shah, Gav and Mallory. We went to Little America for dinner and hung out downtown for the evening. The trip to the moon was nice and it was fun just to relax a little. The Mini-Fridge is the gift I gave to Val, and for all you haters it's what she wanted and it still as good as the day she got it! How are your flowers looking today? That's what I thought.

And finally, I have been working hard to increase my vertical leap, and I'm happy to say that I am finally to the point that I can dunk an 8 foot rim with ease.

Something To Think About...

2008-11-09T19:12:00.002-07:00

I went bowling with all of my special ed. students on Friday and they taught me a valuable lesson. Each one of them would get all excited after they bowled, it didn’t matter what their score was or the fact that they only knocked down 2 or 3 pins each turn, they were happy. They weren’t competitive, just happy for the opportunity to bowl. If they can be so happy over something so simple, it makes me wish we could all look at the positive side of things.

"Trick or Triit"

2008-11-01T00:11:00.007-06:00

As you can see we had a little theme for our pumpkins this year, but aside from that and the title I will spare you from any more "ii" jokes. It was another fairly uneventful Halloween this year. I guess that seems to be the way it goes until you have kids, so I will have to enjoy it while I can, although I have to admit the kids look pretty dang cute in those costumes.

Val and our neighbor Jessie took a couple of kids from the ward around because their mom was at home with a new-born and the dad is in the military, so that was a fun glimpse into the future for her.

I on the other hand stayed home to pass out candy to all 25 of the kids that came by (that is however triple last years turn-out) and as I do every year spent several hours doing my pumpkins. It is always something for me to look forward to and I even bought one of those fake pumpkins to try out this year. I am going to see how it turns out and if I like it I will use those from now on so I can just keep the ones I do and add to the collection each year. Well, hope everyone had a good Halloween this year, and now it's time to start letting out your pants in preparation for the "Real Holidays!"

Being Productive?

2008-08-11T13:19:00.008-06:00

So many people have asked me what I have been doing during my 2-month break from work and school. Besides catching up on sleep (AKA sleeping in), watching So You Think You Can Dance, Project Runway, and watching re-runs that I have already seen 3 or 4 times of Charmed, believe it or not I have spent some time doing productive or semi-productive things like…

Making beads and jewelry that I have sold to friends and family. Here are a few of my favorites…

Watering the garden (As you can tell from the picture the cherry tomatoes have turned red! This is so exciting for us!!!) and the grass, which is time consuming when you have to do it by hand.

Re-programming all my friends and family in my contact list on my new iPhone. Brandt and I love them! We highly suggest getting them, they are totally worth the money!!!

Going golfing for the first time in my life! Brandt says that I am the only person in the world who actually gets sad when the ball doesn’t land in the sand. Call me weird but my favorite part about golfing is hitting the ball out of the sand and chipping – I think that is what it is called. Ok so I need to tell you something that happened while golfing that was hilarious. At the 6th hole on the Logan River golf course there are a bunch of geese and I was scared that I would hit one. Brandt told me not to worry because he has golfed there many times and no one ever actually hits one. Well my first ball that I hit, hit a goose right in the buttocks- it literally scared the poop out of it. I love golfing and I will definitely go again.

A few other things that I have done but I don’t have pictures of are working out every night at 9pm with my friend Jessie, reading “No Doubt About It”, and attempting to cook. I’m not a natural born chef like Brandt is (it took me 3 hours to make lasagna, by the way Kristina thanks for the recipe, it was a hit!) but I figure after 5 years of marriage placing a bowl of Brandt’s favorite cereal in the oven and telling him that dinner’s in the oven is just not going to cut it anymore.

25 Years Old!!!

2008-08-06T11:40:00.006-06:00

It was my 25th Birthday on Monday! Some of my favorite things about my birthday were: Spending time with Brandt and our friends, having 2 parties (one on Monday and the other on Tuesday), and being blessed with awesome friends that made me a cake and put sprinklers on it. Some of my favorite gifts were: a cute pink and green apron that says, “Born to shop, forced to cook!” (Thanks Jessie and Sean, you guys know me so well) the only problem is that it is so cute that I don’t want to wear it and get it dirty, the movie “My Fair Lady”, and a gray purse! Thank you to all my family who called to wish me a Happy Birthday. That really helps make the day extra special!

One Of My Many Weaknesses

2008-07-31T15:56:00.002-06:00

I am only revealing this weakness to help those with the same weakness to keep this from happening to you and because it is a funny story- at least now it is. I am a fairly organized person but when it comes to mail – not so organized. Brandt and I pay some of our bills online and the rest are on auto-pay so we rarely check our mail. Once a week when I do check the mail I pull out all the fun stuff like wedding announcement or shower invitations and put the rest of the mail in a pile. After the pile accumulates for 1 to 2 months (this is so embarrassing). I have Brandt go through it and throw away the junk and file the important stuff. This last Saturday (July 26th) Brandt was going through the pile and saw “Jury Summons” that was sent on June 24th for Brandt to appear in court from July 9th through the 11th. As you can imagine our worry quickly turned to being freaked-out when we read the following, “If you fail to appear as directed, you will be in contempt of court and may be fined for up to $1,000 AND jailed for up to 30 days.”

Every 2nd Sunday for over a year now I have enjoyed people’s reaction when I tell them that Brandt (who is the Elders Quorum 2nd Counselor in our ward) is in jail. Just to later explain that he has a calling to teach Sunday School and translates Spanish to all the Logan criminals that attend the jail branch. But I never thought that I would be telling people that Brandt was in jail for up to 30 days for not showing up to jury duty, and it was entirely my fault.

After finding this mail in the pile all we could do was wait for Monday to come so that we could call and see what was going on. It turned out that that specific case was settled out of court. Besides lots of prayers, one good thing that came out of this was now I check my mail more and go through EVERYTHING before putting it in the pile and eventually maybe even get rid of the whole "pile" process.

Congratulations Gavin & Mallory!

2008-07-25T00:23:00.006-06:00

I know I'm not as fast or as thorough as Gentry, so if you want to see details from the whole day go here, but I figured I would put a few of our favorite pics from the day up as well. Really we just want to say congratulations to Gav and Mal and wish them the best! We love you guys!

What a cute couple!

I think Mallie is pictured-out, that's what 5 hours of sleep does to a 2 year old.
A couple of my favorite ladies!
Handsome pink tie'd devils!
What a great idea!
Signing off until next time.

July 2nd to July 6th

2008-07-16T13:01:00.008-06:00

My Family had a 5-day Reunion. Usually this would sound crazy but it was on my moms side and all I can say is that Mexicans and Polynesians sure know how to party! Unfortunately on the 2nd I was studying all night for a final for one of my classes. And on the 3rd I was taking a final and had to miss out going to Lake Jordanelle to Jet Ski with my family. This was a good thing though because I am allergic to something that is in that specific lake and 4 of the times that I have gone there I have broken out into hives. So instead Brandt and I went to see the Granite High School fire works with my friends. I was a little worried about how good the fire works would be if it was anything like the girl who sang the National Anthem, if so then we were in for a pitchy treat (Gavin, you know what I mean). Fortunately we were so impressed with how good the fire works were. I swear that the finally was 5 min. long.

On the 4th of July Brandt went golfing with the Davis’s which he does every year –all 18 holes. Later that night we had a big potluck dinner with my family and watched the fire works at Provo. They must have spent all of their money on getting Hannah Montana to perform there and ran out of money for the fireworks, GHS was so much better. But it was nice to see family that I haven’t seen in a really long time!

Along with everyone else, Brandt is just in love with my cousin Julie’s little baby. Isn’t she a cutie pie! Everyone knows that once Brandt holds her, no one else can hold her the rest of the night because he has got her.

On July 5th my family had a talent show. Ethan my nephew played his violin for everyone. I was so proud of him, he didn’t look nervous or mess up! Way to go Ethan!!!

On Sunday July 6th after church we had lunch together and a family home evening. This is a picture of my family with my grandma Escobedo.

And of course it isn’t the 4th of July without our tradition of Brandt painting my toenails. Good job babe, you did wonderful as you usually do!!!

My version of “I Just Forgot” by Mercer Mayer

2008-07-14T23:19:00.009-06:00

A while ago Brandt and I went camping with our good friends and neighbors Jessie and Sean, they live across the street (which in a trailer court it’s about 5 feet away). This was our first time ever having a more active role in planning a camping trip, so Brandt and I were way excited. We planned for this thing months in advance and it was only an overnighter.

Brandt remembered to bring his GPS and Palm Pilot…

I remembered to bring my eyelash curler…

We remembered to bring starbursts to roast on the fire, yumm…

Brandt even remembered to bring his “invention” to make biscuits for breakfast, which, by the way turned out beautiful!

See!

But we forgot to bring enough cash to pay for the camping spot at Bear Lake. Luckily we had enough loose change in our cars to pay the rest of the $23 fee. We also realized once we got there that all 4 of our tin foil dinners were still in our refrigerator at home, oops! So after we set up our tent, we drove to the town and had pizza. I hope that this doesn’t make people not want to go camping with us. I promise Brandt and I have learned from our mistakes.

Weekend With The Crawfords

2008-06-22T18:44:00.005-06:00

This weekend we went to Salt Lake and got to see Brandt's sister Gen. She had knee surgery on June 16th and will be on crutches for 4 weeks. Gen is so sweet, even though she is in pain and has a hard time getting around (which is really hard when you have an adorable 2 year old running around everywhere) she still has a smile on her face! She amazes me.
This is going to be my new sister-in-law! Mallory is marrying Brandt's brother Gavin on July 19th. I had a fun time at her bridal shower. Yes, we are going to have 2 Mallorys and 1 Valerie. Maybe I will name my first born daughter Valerie just to add to the confusion.
Little Mallory (my niece) is so cute. I wish that we could see her more often.
A tradition that we started last year and hopefully will continue each summer with the Crawfords is going to a drive in movie. I think Shah specifically asked me to put this picture on my blog. So this one's for you Shah.

Happy 5th Aniversary! I LOVE YOU BABE!

2008-06-19T17:59:00.008-06:00

June 12, 2008

This is the B&B where we stayed on Thursday night after the Cheescake Factory.

Here is my hot wife!

The gift basket that was in our room when we got there.

Wake up the bubbley, the Martinelli's Bubbley that is.

Val loved the robes. (I hope she didn't keep 'em)

That's a big tub!

What a view from the room.

$10 bucks says I win.

What's the fire code in buildings built before 1900???

Val's favorite part, and not just because she didn't have to cook it.

Garden Fever

2008-06-07T19:07:00.002-06:00

I have never been the garden type of person. Last year the only reason we had a garden is because my sweet momita saw all of my overgrown weeds and weeded and planted tomatoes for me when she came to visit us in Logan. This time when my mom came to visit me she once again saw my weeds and started to weed it for me. Although my mom likes to weed and garden I wanted her to relax during her visit, so I made her stop weeding and I promised her that I would weed and garden. Brandt and I planted tomatoes, cherry tomatoes (my favorite), cucumbers, and pumpkins. Later we will plant lettuce and peas. I am proud to say that gardening is definitely growing on me!

My New Hog

2008-05-18T23:20:00.002-06:00

Well, here's my new ride. I traded the van for it straight up, and yes I do get 100 miles to the gallon on this thing, at least! Just kidding, I didn't trade anything for it. It was my boss's husband's and he couldn't get it to run. He didn't have time to mess with it so he gave it to me. After a new battery and a new fuel line it fired right up, and the best part is that it has an alarm and remote start. My car doesn't even have that! It's fun to cruise around the neighborhood on, but you probably won't see me buzzing around town too much on it since it tops out at about 30 mph going straight down hill. Oh well, it's pretty fun anyway, and for free I sure can't complain about my new toy!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2008-05-06T18:35:00.003-06:00

Here are a few of my favorite kid quotes:

My niece Mallory:
Gentry (Mallory’s mom) says, “Mallory, say snow”
Mallory, “snow”
Gentry, “say man”
Mallory, “man”
Gentry, “say snowman”
Mallory, “see-mo”

My nephew Ethan:
When Ethan was little and I was at his house I accidentally said the word “stupid,” but before I could even finish saying it he said, “No fruit snacks for you!” I guess in his house that was the consequence for saying “bad words,” oops what was I thinking.

Ethan’s conversation with Uncle Brandt, “My dad says that video games are a waste of time. But I like wasting my time!”

On 3/26/08Ethan said, “Dad, I want to save my money that I earn for something really special.”
Mark (Ethan’s dad) said, “Oh really, what?”
Ethan, “I want to give it to Uncle Brandt and Tia Valerie so they can buy a house in Lehi and live closer to us.”

My nephew Tristan:
“Mom, how did Jesus make our bodies?”
My sister Veronika said, “Well…”
“Oh, I know. He just puts us together like Legos.”

“Mom, is Uncle James, Aunt Kristina, and ‘that other girl’ (referring to me, his aunt) coming with us?”

One of my favorite special ed. students in my practicum this semester:
After I sneezed he said, “Kazuntight! Did you know that word is Mexican?”

One day I was in the middle of teaching reading to this student and he told me, “You look stylin today!” Needless to say that made my day!

After class I said, “Good job! You earned a swedish fish!”
The student looked at the fish in his hand and then looked right into my eyes and said, “I wish you could earn a swedish fish.”

One of my ESL students when I was an ESL aid:One day out of the blue this student was leaving my class and said, “Happy March Day!” She said is so cute with her accent that even to this day I smile just thinking about it and it happened over 3 years ago.

School Highlights

2008-04-27T18:43:00.006-06:00

In my Applied Behavior Analysis class we did a behavior change project where we had to create and present a display explaining our intervention and the results.

Out of 40 people in the special education program that displayed a poster, I won the “Best Visual Poster Presentation Award” and some extra credit points for winning! I am sure that the decision was tough for the judges, because there where many other cute posters to choose from.

Here are all my classmates in the Special Ed. Severe program!

I am just pointing like a nerd at my name on the Deans List for having an overall GPA of a 3.5 or higher. I can’t believe that I only have one more semester left of school! Time has really flown by.

Sad or Happy Day?

2008-04-23T20:33:00.003-06:00

Today was a great day until I ate my last chocolate marshmallow egg. Every Easter I look forward to these little bundles of joy, and now I have to wait a whole year until I can buy 6 boxes of them again. It was fun while it lasted though!

Happy Armpit April!!!

2008-04-22T20:40:00.002-06:00

When Brandt told me that he was going to do “Mustache March,” I said that he could do it under one condition, if I could do “Armpit April!” I’ve only been growing it out for 22 days but it is coming in nice and thick, don't ya think?

First Heels & Then a Dress?

2008-04-18T15:29:00.002-06:00

I bought these shoes a few days ago and immediately fell in love with them. I plan on wearing them for Gavin and Mallory’s wedding! Now I just need to find a dress to go with these pink and green plaid shoes!!!

Birthday Wish

2008-04-15T20:08:00.006-06:00

So it was Brandt’s Birthday yesterday and I did a few things to try to make it special for him since we weren’t able to spend as much time together as we would have liked to. Brandt had to work all day and I had a night class that night. Don’t think that I am naturally this creative. I got the idea to decorate his car from my very creative sister. Thanks Gentry!

Have you ever wondered what 80 bottles of Gatorade looks like? Well I hope this answers you question. It was Brandt’s Birthday wish come true!

March Was Stachetastic!!!

2008-04-12T11:08:00.003-06:00

If I had to say what the best part of Mustache March was, I would definitely say it was the reaction people would give when they saw you for the first time with the Stache. So if these pictures are the first you have seen of it, have fun laughing. Hopefully this isn't the end of the monthly "let's see how dumb we can look" contests.

Fu Man Chu & Egg Fu Yung, The Perfect Easter Combination!

2008-03-27T23:26:00.004-06:00

I sure hope that everyone had a good Easter this year! Brandt and I like every year got to dye eggs at grandma and grandpa Kasteler’s house and watch our nephews go on an Easter egg hunt, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way!!!

Mustache March Is Here

2008-03-04T21:35:00.003-07:00

Well somehow I convinced Val to let me grow a mustache for the month of March, but she says it's the only time it will ever happen so I plan on doing as much with it as I can in the few short weeks we have left in the month. I will hopefully get some good pictures and will be able to post several times during March, so be on the lookout. I know, I'm a dork!

Babysitting!

2008-03-04T18:36:00.002-07:00

It was my friend Rachel’s five year anniversary and she asked me to baby sit her two little boys for three days. I just wish that she would have told me that they woke up at six in the morning before I agreed to watch them. Even though most of the time I was really tired it ended up to be a fun experience because my other friend Becca (who is in the photo) volunteered to keep me company and help me baby sit. We had a good time playing with the boys and watching Anne of Green Gable while the kids were asleep!

Welcome Home Milhouse!!!

2008-02-19T22:29:00.002-07:00

Today we finally got to pick up our car from the shop. It had been well over a month since it got hit and on top of the long wait to even get it in, they took an extra four days fixing it from what they told us it would take. Needless to say we are glad to have that over with. Finding the pony though, it was washed and vacuumed when we got it back, so it wasn't all bad.

Look, It's Sallerie

2008-02-19T22:15:00.002-07:00

On our way home from Island Park we got to stop in Pocatello and see our friends Sally and Kelly with their cute little baby Clara. It was great to see them and catch up a little bit on what's been happening in each other's lives. Sally made us a delicious dinner and we even had a little time to play Guitar Hero. It was a lot of fun! P.S. Thanks for the brownies, they were a great snack on the ride home.

Dashing Through The Snow...

2008-02-19T22:01:00.004-07:00

We had a blast this President's Day weekend up at the Davis' cabin in Island Park. It was Val's first time on a snow mobile, and the only time I could hear her scream was when I took her off the big jump. It was fun to be with the Davis family and just relax for a few days! I wish every weekend was 3 days (or more)!

We Finally Broke the Valentines Day Curse!!!

2008-02-15T20:05:00.001-07:00

Well we have had our fair share of really bad Valentines Days. To the point that last year we gave up and didn’t celebrate the dang holiday. Our first Valentines Day, Brandt chipped his front tooth on a “soft” taco and that pretty much ended that night early. Our second Valentines Day, I had food poisoning (need I say more). Our third Valentines Day, we bought a new piece of furniture and not knowing we both let go of it at the same time and it fell, causing a big hole in our wall and the piece of furniture broke right in half. Later that night we went to eat at Chili’s and the waitress spilled my drink right on my crouch and it looked like I peed my pants from the front and the back.
This Valentines Day we decided to put all of that behind us and start all over. This time it ended up being the best Valentines Day ever! After I woke up in the morning and while Brandt was at work I found a poem from Brandt on my dresser and it was a beginning of a treasure hunt. Brandt had little hearts hidden all over our house, each with a gift and all the hearts had little clever and personal sayings that Brandt wrote. It was so cute, and on the backside of the heart it had a clue as to where the next gift was. I took a picture of all the gifts and hearts that he gave me. It was the sweetest surprise that Brandt has ever done for me. I am so blessed to be married to him!!! Brandt is the BEST and I love him so much!
Later that night we went out to eat and then saw the movie 27 Dresses. I gave Brandt a sugar cookie that I frosted, a really nice coat, and golf shoes because he seriously can’t stop talking about how excited he is to go every day for free, thanks to his job.

A Visit From Las Vegas!

2008-02-15T20:00:00.003-07:00

My sister Veronika and her family came to visit us. I love my two sisters! They are some hot mamas.

Here are all 5 of my cute nephews!

A Lovely Dinner and a 4 Star Hotel Room!

2008-02-15T19:56:00.002-07:00

At this girls night out my friends and I ate dinner at Ground Stone and then stayed at the Little America Hotel for one night. It was so much fun!!!

Thanks M&D For Pimpin' My Ride

2008-02-15T19:52:00.002-07:00

Here's Kelsey's new car. We're excited for you dude! (make sure you don't do what the other girl did 2 posts down)

It's Blacktastic!!!

2008-02-15T19:41:00.003-07:00

This is my hair right after Carry died it black. I absolutely LOVE it!!!

What the Deuce?!!!

2008-01-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well, this is what Val came home to from Vegas. She left the car in front of Mark and Kristina's house and apparently it was too much of an obstacle for one driver. Luckily they left a note and we are getting it sorted out. The funny thing is that it happened in the middle of the day and there wasn't even any snow or ice to blame. Dang 16 year old drivers!(except you Kels)

Fun With Family and Each Other

2008-01-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

The thing we love most about the Christmas Season is the chance to see so much of our families. Not only were we able to see everyone here in Utah, Val even got to go to Vegas with Kristina and James to see the the Galley's. Her parents made the trip from Mesa making it the first time the Kurociks had all been together since our wedding over 4 years ago, WOW!

The True Meaning of Christmas

2008-01-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

I was excited to be able to set up our nativity scene this year. We don't have a lot of room in the front room for now, so we switch off between the tree and the nativity and this year it was the nativity's turn. I like to sit and just look at the people and imagine how it must have really been on that night over 2000 years ago. Even though it doesn't take up an entire room like Valerie's aunt's does, it still brings a lot of happiness into our home and really helps us remember what really matters during the Christmas Season.

You Might Have A Merry Redneck Christmas If...

2007-12-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well this just happens to be the finest display of lights we could find in Trailer Park this year. In a gracious effort to save the environment they decided to put the old gas-guzzler to better use as a cheery backdrop for the holiday season. Clark W... eat your heart out.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2007-12-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Where's the Beef?

It was another Gingerbread Festivas Miracle this year. We had a great time as always with this tradition that has been going on for about 20 years now. WOW!!! Thanks so much Grandma and Grandpa for always making this one of our favorite things to look forward to every year!

Fact: Most real ghosts find Halloween offensive!

2007-10-31T21:03:00.000-06:00

Well I really "Schruted" it this year! Val and I have had a fun time this halloween despite work and school. As you can see we carved a pumpkin (for 2 hours) and Val even roasted the seeds which turned out delicious! We've had 8 kids come trick-or-treating and with the night coming to a close I don't think we will have many more, so if the number on the bag was right and my math skills are still sharp we will have about 92 pieces of Gummi Monster Body Parts to finish off. That's okay with me though since Val wouldn't let me go out trick-or-treating this year. Hope everyone had a good Halloween also, and remember less than 2 months to do your Christmas shopping.

I'll Get You My Pretty

2007-10-27T10:42:00.000-06:00

This is my group of friends since Jr. High school. We try to get together every month. It doesn't always happen but when it does we have a lot of fun. This month we went to Gardner Village for witches night out. We missed you Annie, Shari, and Taryn.

Homecoming

2007-09-29T00:15:00.000-06:00

Val got herself all did-up to go to the Homecoming dance to help out with the Special Ed unit at SkyView Highschool. She is working there as part of her program for her major at school. She was able to spend the night dancing and helping to make this a very special night for all of the kids in the unit. Way to go Mrs. Crawford!

Val's Future Best Friend

2007-09-29T00:00:00.000-06:00

This is about as happy as you'll ever see Val. Our friends brought their new Yorkie puppy over for us to see and for Val it was love at first sight! She always said she wanted one someday, but now she can barely stop talking about it. If she doesn't have one by the time she graduates, this is what she says she wants (along with a list of other things).

Happy Birthday Preston

2007-09-10T23:35:00.000-06:00

Preston Brandt Davis born at 4:45 p.m. on August 29, 2007. Congratulations Trevor and Callie!

Wow, an update. I wasn't sure I still knew how!

2007-09-04T01:34:00.001-06:00

I know, it has been almost two years. I know, the pictures aren't even in order. I know, there aren't even descriptions with most of the pictures. I'm sorry! Hopefully this will catch you up a little bit on the uneventfulness of our lives and I promise that future updates will happen much more often. I want to try for at least weekly if not more often. Anyway, enjoy the new stuff and we'll see you again soon.

Wii Love To Goof Off With Family

2007-09-04T00:42:00.000-06:00

Dang, Mallory's good!

I'm going "Back to the Future"

"Quick Concha, take a picture."

Thanks Jenny Craig!

It's only 2:00 a.m., let's do a puzzle.

Just the Two of Us

2007-09-04T00:35:00.000-06:00

Ooooh, Cute
Hey bus-driver, MOVE THAT BUS!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2007-09-04T00:30:00.000-06:00

You've Had a Birthday Shout Hooray!

2007-09-04T00:22:00.000-06:00

Thanks for my Present Callie and Trevor

Val gave herself a great present playing softball. Her birthday surprise was waking up with her eye swollen shut.

Happy Birthday Milhouse! Wow, you're old!

Summer Fun

2007-09-04T00:13:00.000-06:00

The County Fair
Val's First Jewelry Sale

Brandt Overboard
Four Wheelin' in Island Park
Giddee-up cowgirl
Camping
Drive-In Dinner and a Movie

USA...USA...USA

2007-09-04T00:05:00.000-06:00

I promise I only do this to her toes, not my own and it's only once a year on the 4th. Here are a couple of our favorite ones.

Viva Las Vegcation

2007-09-04T00:01:00.000-06:00

Nowin's Home!!!

2007-09-03T23:59:00.000-06:00

Cinco de Mayo

2007-09-03T23:53:00.000-06:00

The Mexican blood shines through! Val is quite the pinata maker.

It's a Christmas Miracle!

2007-09-03T23:41:00.000-06:00

Ooooh, Scary!!!

2007-09-03T23:37:00.001-06:00

Finally Done and Lookin' Good!

2007-09-03T23:13:00.000-06:00

It took a LONG TIME, but it was worth the wait!

Gingerbread Festivas

2005-11-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

What a party! With about a hundred people crammed into the basement at Grandma and Grandpa's house tonight and about two hundred pounds of candy later we did the annual gingerbread houses. I think this was the biggest turn-out yet with about 35 houses being done and many people didn't do one because they had to watch all of the little ones and keep them out of trouble. The pics are just a few samples of the variety that can be found. This weeks entry includes a contest for Gavin to guess which house belongs to what person. Look at the picture of the houses lined up on the table and start from the left with #1 and go to the right to #7. The people to choose from include(in no particular order):Shah, Gentry(and baby), Brandt, Valerie, Kelsey, Riley, Carson. Put your answer in a comment. Good luck and have fun. Happy Holidays!
P.S. No peeking at the other pictures until your guesses have been made for obvious reasons.

What a difference a week makes!!!

2005-11-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well a week has passed, and although a lot got done, there is still much left to do. Needless to say they won't be in this week. The pictures do most of the talking, but there are still many little things that aren't visible that still need to be taken care of. With only a couple weeks left until Kimmers and Jeffy need to be out of there other house it looks like it will go down to the wire, but if all the subs stay on track everything should work out fine.

One week left??? We'll see.

2005-11-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

It took years for anything to happen at all, but once the ball started rolling it only picked up speed and now it's out of control. I seems like just yesterday we were waiting for a hole to be dug and now mom and dad are literally days away from the final walk-through and the big move. Greg says the end of the week, but they may need the crew from Extreme Makeover Home Edition to pull that one off. Either way though it is getting very close. Obviously this means that these pictures are a little out-of-date but they are the best I have since I only get down to West Jordan a couple times a month if I'm lucky. At least they will give you an idea of the progress and more currents ones will be posted in days to come.

It's Halloween Festivas!!!

2005-10-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

It was time for festivas at Grandma and Grandpa's tonight. Val and I spent the weekend at my parents and we were able to stay for the party on Sunday night. The pics are of the pumpkins that we did at mom and dad's on Saturday(until 1:30 in the morning) and there are also a few of the festivities on Sunday.

Oh Look, It's Little Nowi

2005-10-24T11:42:00.000-06:00

Oh look, it's little Nowi. Here are the pictures that we got from Kris and Scott while they were in Florida for an MBA Conference. They did a little sweet talking with president Farnsworth and got to see Gavin and his companion on Saturday. They said he is doing GREAT! It was a lot of fun to get the live report from them, but I think Kimm was a little jealous!

2005-08-15T22:44:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone, it's finally up and running and hopefully I will have some good stuff to put on here soon.