Our Fake Baby, Apollo

Yesterday, I listed "Apollo" as one of the "odd things" in my house and promised an explanation - here goes.

When Ryan & I were engaged, so were our besties, Brad & Eliesa. My other bestie, Katie, was pregnant with her little sweetheart Diva Eva. And the three of us - Katie, Eliesa & I, worked at the LAO.

During the summer months it got really boring, especially in the afternoons. We'd find things to keep us entertained when everyone was gone.

• Online Typing Tests
• Tomhaverfoods.com
• Stalking singles ward members
• Creating/posting for BYUStyle
• Running to the South End Market, AKA "South of the Border" for Diet Coke

But the weirdest turn those afternoons ever took was the day we created Apollo.

Katie was pregnant and we were talking about ugly babies. Because there are ugly babies. You know there are. We all like to pretend like babies are all perfect and beautiful, but the fact is that some babies are just scary and, as my dad would say "Give that monkey a banana."

To be sure that her baby wouldn't be ugly, she found a free site that takes photos of two interested parties and shows what their theoretical child would look like. If I'm remembering correctly, the first few came out looking troll-like, even though Katie and TJ are goodlooking people. Eliesa joined in with pictures of her and Brad, similar results. I'm serious. Go look at the babies on the front page of the website and you'll see what I mean.

They asked me several times to join in, but I wasn't having it. I was (and still slightly am) terrified of babies and being a mother. I didn't like to think about it. On top of that, my mother-in-law was (and still completely is) all about being a grandma.

Eventually, they pulled pictures of Ryan and me from Facebook and just did it for us. I was pretty scared actually, after seeing so many weird combinations from my friends, all of whom I thought were above average looking people.

But then, they showed me this. And I got over my baby fear. For about 15 seconds. I mean. Look at those curls and that devious little smile?

I emailed it to Ryan, who promptly named him Apollo and forwarded him to my mother-in-law, who promptly printed him out and taped him to her computer. She still affectionately refers to him as her "Little Grandbaby Apollo, who like Mac n Cheese and brings sticks in the house."

He now hangs on our fridge - each day making me slightly less scared for becoming parents.

Until I see a kid screaming uncontrollably at Walmart and then puke all down his front.

Reset button.

It's a Booze Cruise!!

On Tuesday We took a little cruise around the Na'Pali Coast and it was pretty awesome. We did it to celebrate Brookie's 21st birthday!!

The coast has small stretches of pristine beaches and miles of steep black cliffs with spikey spears known has Hawaiian Cathedrals. The volcanic rock makes for some cool snorkeling too. You guys... I was even brave enough to snorkel for like 15 mins!!! There were fish swimming all around me and I kept visualizing phantom sharks in the distance but I survived. 

The really cool part of the cruise was after dinner when everyone was enjoying Mai Tais and beer. Well, everyone except for us obviously. One of the crew came to ask us if we wanted a round. When we said no thanks, she looked around at us. 

"Are you guys all together?" I could see her trying to piece together our group, so I quickly explained and pointed. Mom, Dad, siblings, son-in-law. 

"So you're the mom? All 3 of these kids are yours?" She asked my mom, almost in wonder. 

"Damnnnnnn."

We all laughed and she just shook her head. "No offense! That's hard!"

"It's worth it!" My mom smiled. 

"I'm just impressed," the lady said. "Keeping a family together is hard." 

And I just thought.... No. It really isn't. When you know, as we do, that family is the #1 priority, and ACT LIKE IT, it isn't hard. It's a natural consequence. We've taken precautions and extra time to make sure our family was tight, and though we're far from perfect, we have achieved that goal. 

The conversation turned to where we were from, which turns to how we're Mormon. We were only briefly able to talk with her, but I really hope we left the impression on her of a happy family that has stuck together. 

I really hope she wants that, it resonates with her, and one day those missionaries will knock on her door and she'll get that eternal family and all the blessings that come with it. 

This gospel is pretty awesome and I hey to be with these weirdos forever. 

Don't Be a Bad Sport, Old Sport.

Who ISN'T talking about Gatsby?

I forced The Beard by pain of death to go to Gatsby this weekend on a double with Haley and her fiance Chris. He was less than thrilled. Who doesn't want to go to stuff they hate with someone who geeks out and dresses up for every occasion? Sounds pretty fun to me.

The Beard is a BIT of a contrarian. It's more extreme individualism. He's no robot. I am grateful for that. You like something? He hates it. If something is popular, it has to be garbage. It's not necessarily being a hipster. It's more that he just refuses to like/do/be things just because its expected.

He hates President Lincoln. If that tells you anything. Which it should.

He hated the book. "It's not a story! It's all this backstory and undeveloped characters and just because Fitzgerald writes amazing prose it's become this brainless classic!"

Therefore I guess he gets bonus points for sucking it up and going with me. I owe him like 100 hours of Red Sox baseball now. 

I disagree with him, however. Even though I also dislike the story, for the most part. Terrible people doing terrible things. The only real moral of the story is that you will lose things if you live carelessly. But I still liked the book because of it's few redeeming qualities, listed hereafter. The story sticks with you. I'm still thinking about it, days after seeing the movie.

I liked the movie more than the book and here's why - the parts of the book I liked the best were better represented in the movie than in my head.

The parties. Doesn't this just make you want to wear something sparkly and dance? I couldn't have pictured this in my head. The movie did a great job.

Gatsby's plan and backstory. I love that they took the time to explain and show where he'd been.

The infatuation, however selfish and unrealistic, between Gatsby and Daisy. I literally trembled (hate that I just used that word) at one of the romantic parts. Embarrassing, right?

And of course, the fashion. Goes without saying.

How can you not love it? The soundtrack has been on repeat since Saturday. I highly recommend it.

The Beard did say one thing that is 100% true.

"If at any point, ANY of the characters make the right decision, the book would have been over."

Gatsby is honest with Daisy about his upbringing/lack of wealth --> She either still loves him and commits or he realizes she's shallow and moves on. No book.

Gatsby is a hardworking, honest businessman --> He makes half as much money, accept reality, settles down with a nice women worth 20 Daisies. No book. 

Tom is a good husband to Daisy --> She loves him, doesn't wonder about Gatsby, no one gets their nose broken, no one gets hit by a car. No book.

Wilson is a good husband to Myrtle --> She loves him, doesn't cheat, no one gets their nose broken, no one gets hit by a car, Wilson doesn't shoot Gatsby. No book.

Myrtle doesn't step out on Wilson --> No one gets their nose broken, no one gets hit by a car, no one gets shot dead out of miscommunication. No book.

Nick doesn't facilitate the rendezvous between Daisy and Gatsby --> They don't have a torrid secret affair spanning East and West Egg. No book.

Daisy stops the car, takes responsibility for the accident --> No one gets murdered. We all learn about consequences. No book.

Because that IS the book - every character making every wrong decision and getting few, if any, consequences for it. In the end it's an allegory, though. Gatsby dies symbolically - they'll all meet their due eventually with the Great Depression quick on their heels. Excess breeds a fall from grace. Carelessness breeds despair. 

.... wickedness... never was.... happiness. Omg see what I did there?

And if they'd just joined the Church, just think how much happier their lives would be???

Her Hair is Full of Secrets

My mom is pretty cool. My friends have always been jealous of how cool of a mom I have.

A. My mom has always had great style and ALWAYS looks put together. Have you met my mom? Ever seen her with a greasy pony tail? Nope. Neither have I in 23 years. Those people exist in the universe. And Patti J is one of them.

B. A salon in my house stocked with every hair tool, product and makeup item the heart could desire - yeah, it's been pretty rad.

C. She's always super nice to everyone, all the time. She's a great listener (I think you probably have to be, to be a hairdresser) and everyone likes and trusts her. For this reason people tell her everything. She's the hub of all info and gossip you could ever hope to know.

Yesterday we went to the Draper temple - where I went through for the first time before we got married. I had Mother's Day on the mind and kept thinking of some of the greatest things about Patti B.

First, I obviously thought of when I went through the temple, since, you know, we were there. I remember every time I got nervous or confused, I just looked over at my mom next to me and she was just smiling and comfortable. I've watched my parents go to the temple every few Tuesdays pretty much my entire life. I remember thinking "If my mom does this and is happy and comfortable here so regularly, I can be too and that's what I want."

Then I thought about the first time I was really grateful for my mom and knew she loved me. I got my wisdom teeth out when I was 12 and I had to go to an oral surgeon because I had a random phantom extra tooth to be removed from my sinus cavity as well. It was pretty rough. I had to take a bunch of pain/antibiotic/puke my guts out pills every few hours, including during the night. I've always been really independent and could have easily set my own alarms and woken up to take my own pills responsibly. And I think my mom knew that. But she woke up every few hours during the night, even though she had to work, to make sure I took the pills and was feeling ok. I remember thinking "She doesn't have to do this. It must be a pain to wake up every few hours knowing she doesn't have to do this. But she's doing it, and its very reassuring to me."

She never missed a game!

Then I thought about the first time my mom made my jaw drop. We were at Seven Peaks and I was probably 10 or 12. She came to do the rope swing with us because Mitch was so little. She got in line. Ok Patti B. You're gonna rope swing? Wow. Alright.

She grabs the rope and takes a pretty aggressive jump. That's weird. She's planting her feet on the bottom knot. Ok that's a really high arc... what is sh---

SHE JUST DID A FREAKING BACKDIVE OFF THE ROPE SWING THAT'S MY MOM OMG OMG IS THAT MY MOM THAT CAN'T BE MY MOM OMG PEOPLE ARE CHEERING OMG THAT WAS UNREAL

My mom has literally never embarrassed me in my life. How many people can say that? Probably none. Sorry everyone.

I also acquired most of my fiesty-ness from my mom. She once called a lady in our ward and gave her the scariest talking to I've ever heard because she was rude to me after my 5th grade graduation and made me cry. It was awesome.

The thing I've grown to appreciate most about my mom as I've gotten older is that she takes care of herself and retained her own person. She runs every day. She even does Insanity now! As mentioned above, she always looks flawless, never sloppy. No one has ever or will ever accuse her of "letting herself go." She always made it a priority to go on dates with my dad alone every week - a tradition I want to adopt in my marriage when we have kids. She is always making friends and takes time to maintain her friendships. She loves to do hair, so she found a way to do it and still be a "stay at home mom." She reads often, keeps our house immaculate and makes the best bread you will ever eat. You'll never catch her sleeping past 10 on a weekend - because she has too much to do to make her life sparkle.

Your life sparkles just by touching hers. 

And it wouldn't be Mother's Day without mentioning my awesome Mother-in-Law. How I got so lucky to land a MIL that is so kind and welcoming, as well as just so COOL, I'll never know. Kitty made it a point to make me feel welcome in the family from the first moment I met her and I'll never forget that. She texts me about The Office, makes me my favorite delicious cupcakes and nurtures me like I'm one of her own. With so many of my friends around me stressing and complaining about crazy MILs, I have to quietly smile to myself. I don't want to rub it in their faces that not only is my MIL normal, but she's someone I WANT to spend time with whenever I can.

Love you Moms!

Day to Night

Yesterday I wore one of my new high-low dresses to school (my latest obsession. Bought 2 on my last shopping trip. Yikes.), and we had dinner with the Holdaways planned for that evening. I thought all day about my outfit change for dinner so I figured - Hey. Why not make this an outfit blog post? Voila. Here goes.

I'm 100% for changing your outfit multiple times a day. But ain't nobody got time for that. Usually when I do, it's around a staple piece - a pair of jeans, a shirt or in this case - a dress. It took me less than 15 minutes to completely change my look for a little family dinner date. 

For school I paired this coral-y high low dress with a navy blazer and navy flats to ground it a little (this dress can easily scream "Long Hair Don't Care Also I'm Obsessed With Mermaids") and to look professional. Normally heels would be a good option, but it was a project day where I was running around and Thursdays are always my toughest schedule days - therefore, comfy flats.

You ALWAYS need a belt with a plain column (uncinched/ungathered/otherwise plain-fronted) dress. So I added a thin gold one to complement the warm coral undertones. Throw on a blue necklace and throw a quick bend in my ends and that's a pretty standard school outfit for me.

 

Dress: F21, Flats: Famous Footwear, Blazer: Cotton On, Belt: Gap, Necklace: F21

For dinner (or any other evening activity) you want to have a little more fun with it. I swapped the blue blazer for a cheetah cropped cardigan. I swapped the flats for a dark heeled bootie. And obviously I swapped the gold belt for a black one.



















I touched up my makeup with a bit more powder, undereye concealer (thank you blue circles under my eyes for making me look like I work harder than I do), hot pink creme blush and a swipe of mascara. A blast of dry shampoo, a few turns of the curling iron and Danica went from a classic but boring school day look to fun night out look.

Dress: F21, Boots: Famous Footwear, Sweater: H&M, Belt: Gap

I like the flats look better. It wasn't until I looked at these pictures today that I realized how short the boots and sweater make me look by hitting at unflattering points. Curse you, curves. Just kidding. Love you lots.

I don't take it back. It was a fun outfit to wear anyway. 

YOLO.

I Put the "Dance" in Abundance Mentality

Over the last week, I got kind of nervous because we had all of a sudden booked  our week like we were single again - friends, family, appointments and funtivities every night. For some reason I've started this trend where I plan a couple of activities a week and try to leave other nights wide open - then I end up canceling my activities anyway out of... what? Laziness mostly. Fatigue. Fear that I won't be cool or have fun. Selfishness.

Instead, I accepted all of these funtivities and plans because I've been in excellent spirits (due to this fantastic weather, fun developments at school and the planning of a Vegas spring break trip next week - woot!) and I decided I should try to have the "abundance mentality" I liked so much in 7 Habits by Steven Covey.

The Abundance Mentality says that you shouldn't live like you have limited resources, a finite amount of energy or only a few spots in our heart for love and close friends. You should live like you have plenty of love, energy and time - especially for others. You find as you love more and more, you end up with more love to give and receive. You end up with more energy and more friends. More LIFE.

So when the Holdaway's called us to meet them at Culvers in AF for dinner when I'd just returned home sweaty and exhausted from a particularly awesome workout (post coming later this week) I was tempted to pass - but we went and it was awesome. I even came home with a new JCrew pencil skirt and striped sweater for $45. Yahtzee.

Also - Can we talk about how awesome the Traverse Mountain Outlets are? These are the bathrooms. They are nicer than my entire house - and bigger. And I secretly want a big floppy hat so I can pretend to be a celebrity at the pool this summer. Does anyone have one of these? Worth it?

Post-workout shopping - A Millenium Falcon t-shirt - Target, hoodie - Pac Sun, jeans - F21, high top sneakers - Forever Young shoes, hat - JCrew

When I was sore and tired from getting home late, knowing that our team was going to forfeit either way, I wanted to ditch my regional tournament bball game. The whole season our ward barely scraped 5 people together to play - but we made it to the regional tournament after sweeping the stake. Two of our women got hurt playing and we forfeited our first tournament game. But I showed up anyway. It was just me and my baller friend Brei - so we forfeited as predicted. But the other team had 8 girls and wanted to scrimmage so we got to play anyway! And we had an awesome time - and an awesome workout. Rewarded.

Wednesday we had a CDP with the Ashby's and made some of the most delicious tacos and guacamole and berry cobbler this state has ever seen. After stuffiing ourselves, Katie and I planned.... wait for it...... A giveaway! Check out my post tomorrow morning to enter!

Thursday was our one night to hunker down and relax. Which means popcorn, cuddling with Glen Coco and NBC shows. Are you serious Ann Perkins? Who is your hairstylist? And is anyone else insanely weirded out by the sperm donor situation?

These two

Friday was one of our beloved date nights with our besties the Findeis'. We met for dinner at our favorite Italian joint in Salt Lake - Tucci's. Wow. We ended up talking so long we missed our planned movie - Don't Stop Believing - that documentary about the Fillipino guy who joins Journey. Instead we went shopping at City Creek (a new Boston hat for Ryan, tons of spring essentials for me) and watched "Thank You For Smoking" back at our place. Man we love them.

Saturday morning I was tempted to lay in bed and just read all morning/day/evening always. But I didn't! I pushed myself to make use of my time. I slept in, mind you. But I got up, hit the gym, library and Sonic - of course. I had my protein shake and then we cleaned up our house! Chores! Can you believe it!

 Breakfast of Champions: Vanilla-Honey Greek yogurt with honey flax granola and blueberries, a protein shake and a 44 oz. Diet Dr. Pepper. 

 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and 1776 by David MuCullough

Saturday night we had another CDP with Caroline (newly returned from INDIA yikes) and her boyfriend Martin, with a guest appearance from our other high school BFF - Mckensie. Plenty of glory days-ing, gossiping and catching up.

What an awesome week. Am I tired? A little. But this abundance mentality thing is pretty freaking awesome. Give it a try. It definitely paid off for me. Get your hands on "Seven Habits for Highly Effective People" and your world will change.

Stay tuned this week for a giveaway, Workout Wednesday, the creepiest thing about me and more #JuniorHighProbs.

Thanks for reading! Love you all.

Smells Like Teen Spirit... Ew.

On Wednesday night my little (tall) brother competed in the Mr. Maple Mountain pageant. He was hilarious.

His catchphrase is "AMERICA!" He just shouts/whimpers/whines it all the time and it's kind of become his thing. He rented a Captain America suit from Taylormade, my adorable sister in law Haley helped him make a Captain America shield cake.

He wore the most disgusting and awesome silk Savers jacket, covered in American Flags, open and flowing for his 80's number of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" for the talent portion. Hilarious. Inspired by this:


He won the "Best Dancer" award for his enthusiastic moves during the opening dance. Super proud of that. He's so much fun and he did a great job using his humor to drive the whole competition. What a kid.

That kid is also checking off his mission interview with the bishop this week, with the Stake President interview close to follow. Yikes. Let's not talk about it anymore. Instead here's what I wore. (Anybody wanna peanut? Get it?)

I went with high waist trouser jeans which I am currently addicted to, forest green peplum, and purple heels for the jewel tone vibe. I guess. Trying to listen to some reader's feedback and post more outfit photos even though we are photography n00bs.

 We had a great time supporting Mitch and running into my students from last year, ending the night with the worst service of all time at IHOP. Literal quote:

"Ok, I think I still have some toast coming?" - my mom after waiting 40+ minutes for an omelette

"Oh yeah it's coming. The cook is new." - waiter that sucked/tried to impress us by mentioning he does Crossfit.

"What? So new he can't even make TOAST?!" - me, not waiting long enough for the waiter to walk away.

My bad.

6 Months for you, Glen Coco! You Go Glen Coco!

Sunday was Glen Coco's 6 month birthday!!!! Yeah. I'm one of those people. But, no, I didn't make him a pup-cake. It's real.

**To read our post when we first got Glen check here**

I can't believe he used to look like this.

But now he looks like this! (Notice the sock he's {unsuccessfully} trying to bury)

Man we love this little guy. Our little family just revolves around him. He's getting all puppy pad trained, not biting and slowly cutting down on the crazy barking. He's extra cuddly and he's learning tricks!

He even made it onto Dogshaming in his first 6 months. Pretty accomplished. Even if it was post-scary-haircut.

Not to mention I love that the Beard loves him. We got him knowing he'd be for me, and the Beard was reluctant to even have one. But fellow Beards bonded and now they are fast friends. :)

 

Two bearded goofballs in a pod. 

Try to tell me this isn't the best picture you've ever seen. 

Likes

• Stealing & hiding socks (see above)
• Sticking his butt in your face
• Eating leaves, paper, anything
• Playing fetch
• Our big blue blanket aka Glen's nap spot
• Humping his panda pillow pet (sorry?)

Dislikes

• Cold snow on his sensitive little paws
• His Darth Vader Halloween costume. It was a little too big and scared him so bad. So it'll have to wait until next year. :(
• Baths
• Waking up
• Lettuce
• Milo (the upstairs neighbor's Bernese Mountain dog. Same age as Glen, 50x the size and very VERY friendly)
• Vacuums & Washing Machines

Hilarious things he does:

When I'm asleep or reading or otherwise occupied, he gets his toy and drops it right on my face.

 Wake up Mom!

When I do yoga he attacks my ponytail and jumps on my back. Challenge Level: 10. I'm going to try to get some video because it's comedic slapstick gold.

When I'm asleep he sleeps above/against the top of my head on my pillow, and gets pissed if I have to change position.

When he knows he's in trouble he looks up at us with sad eyes and tries to nuzzle. It works.

When he jumps off the couch he leaps like he's trying to fly.

When I hide under a blanket and "cry" for him he wails and whines until he can find a way under the blanket. 

When we are eating he tries to catch the food between our plates and our mouths.

Boy, is he perfect. 

Russian to Come Home

Last night my cousin came home from her mission in Donestk, Ukraine! Her plane landed at 10:47 pm and a bona fide crazy crowd was gathered to welcome her back to Utah.

 

Me and Jess are the same age and grew up right around the corner from one another. Always in the same ward and schools, our families spending lots of time together, we were close. Even when we attended rival colleges. In fact, I think we became better friends during our college years, despite the Holy War. :)

She left right before I got married, which was a bummer, but we even moved my bachelorette party back a few weeks because I wanted Jess to attend. I was sad to not have her as a bridesmaid, but so proud of her for going on a mission! She surprised us all (well, maybe just me, idk) by declaring that her mission call was coming ("WHAT?! YOU PUT IN YOUR PAPERS?!!!!!" *head explodes* - me) in a week or so.

It was amazing to be there when she opened her call, sort of expecting South America, where her little brother Justin (my sister Brooke's age) was serving in Bolivia, instead seeing the Ukraine

"Russia!" - one of her relatives boldly declared. No. Almost. Close. Used to be. But no. Speaking Russian? Yes.

She put her life on hold to serve in some freezing cold country, learning a crazy freaking language, and became an amazing example to our whole family in the process.

And she's back! This was my first missionary welcoming party ever (Justin's is in 2 weeks!) and it was such a positive experience for me. We patiently (not) waited holding signs and balloons and for some inexplicable reason I started just bawling the moment I saw her on the escalator. It was really her!

Lisa, her mom, naturally got the first hug.

Then the family, including her 15 year old brother Josh who has grown  approximately 10 feet since she left.

Then me! I think I broke one of her ribs.

She seemed shell-shocked, exhausted (27 hours of flights and layovers can do that to you) and overwhelmed. There were a lot of hugs to go around. I'm sure she was relieved when we all finally left her well enough alone.

But man there is just nothing like a fresh missionary. I'm so glad she is home and I'm excited for Justin to get home too! The holidays will be so fun this year with everyone reunited. Also I'm calling that she will be engaged within the year and we won't be the only marrieds on this side of the fam. Calling it.

However. Not so excited about the way this whole event reminded me that little Mitch will be putting in his papers in a month or two. But the sooner he goes, the sooner he comes back. Right?

RIGHTTTTTTTTT?!

What are Marijuana Tablets?

What if, as a teacher, I took a strange liking to one of my students?

What if he was underage and I was a weirdo 40-something?

What if I followed him on Twitter?

What if I, after weirdly stalking his Twitter feed, noticed he had a party at his house over the weekend and one of his sketchy friends tweeted about having ecstasy at said party?

Would I ask the sketchy kid who tweeted about it? Would I ask the student who had the party, who is my student and and I respect?

Would I submit a concern to the administration, the people who's job is to deal with student discipline?

Or would I decide to announce to not one, but ALL of my classes the next day about the "ecstasy party" and the bad high school kids who would throw such a party, based solely on a tweet I saw while STALKING a TEENAGE BOY'S twitter feed?

No. The answer is - I wouldn't.

Because I'm not a psycho who follows her teenage male students on Twitter.

Because I have half a brain and understand that MAYBE a teenage boy can tweet something that isn't true simply for the comedic value. Call me crazy.

Because I would ask the real person who tweeted about ecstasy, not the respectable, stand-up young man who works so hard in my AP class and has never done anything remotely delinquent.

Because if I were concerned, I would address that stand-up young man personally, privately to ascertain the truth.

Because sharing that a kid who had a party last weekend (everyone knew about the party AND who threw it) was a bad kid and had drugs and alcohol at his party MIGHT be considered slander and is a generally terrible thing to share even if it WERE true. Which it isn't.

Because what would happen if that untrue information started being spread around town by people who don't know the stand-up young gentleman and might believe it?

Because I'm not only a normal human being, but I understand that as an educator I have a reasonable duty to be a positive influence and have a shred of integrity.

There is someone at Maple Mountain High School who does not share these values (also called common sense).

It's a good thing my little brother is the amazing kid that he is.

It's a good thing he has built such a good, honest, strong reputation that most people know he would never have ECSTASY at a party, or even be anywhere near it.

It's a good thing he's so mellow and such a good sport, which has enabled him to roll with this.

It's a good thing it wasn't me. Because she'd be sitting in front of the Board of Education explaining why she did all the aforementioned things.

My brother is the best kid I know, a worthy priesthood holder and a total drug-free rock star. And no, there was not ecstasy at his very clean, very Mormon party.

So the next time you want to make up some crap about a student and spread that around the school like a 13 year old girl, you better pick a different target than Mitchell Jeffrey Budge. 

Because no one messes with my family and gets away with it. You think this is bad? I get all my feisty from my momma. And you haven't even had to deal with her yet. Be afraid. Be very afraid. 

Manic Mondayz

Having all summer off, and then two weeks of no Mondays (first week of school and then Labor Day), I had forgotten how bad Mondays can suck. It even starts to hurt on Sunday morning when I realize my weekend is basically over. I have to make some adjustments to make Mondays do-able, what with my exhaustion, 200 grumbly 13 year olds, and a whole week of whining ahead of me (I still love it by the way).

I start by planning a new outfit that I'm excited about. It makes me feel better about climbing out of bed. This Monday I wore my new red pants - snagged at H&M for 30% off during Fashion's Night Out (blog post still pending).

I indulge in a little "treat yo self!" Sometimes I get a smoothie on the way to work. Sometimes I'll get an extra Diet Coke from the gas station during lunch. Sometimes I'll sneak a treat into my desk for that lull between 5th & 6th period. I'd never survive otherwise.

I try to exercise on Mondays. I shoot for 3 days a week, sometimes more, but I always try to make one of those days a Monday. I find it helps me to reset my sleep schedule that I completely screwed up over the weekend, and it just sets my week off in a great productive manner.

FHE! Don't get me wrong. We don't really do FHE, although we should. We try to set up Classy Dinner Parties (CDPs) as we call them, with our married friends for Monday nights whenever possible. It always keeps me excited all day long. Next week is soup in breadbowls and making caramel apples with the Findeis'.

Monday night we went to Happy Sumo with my family to celebrate the Beard and Mitch's birthdays! Mitch turns the big 18 on Saturday. Can you believe it? Most people think he's already 18, and he certainly acts it. This kid is as athletic as Brooke, smarter than me and cooler {taller} than both of us. He's the kind of kid who does the right thing because he wants to, not because anyone tells him or expects him to. I can't wait to judge and scare off all the girls that swarm him when he gets back from his mission in 3 (!) years. He's one of my best friends and I just love him so much.

Look how good looking my 2/3 favorite guys are? (Ed Budge not pictured, but also good looking.) Yes, this is how the Beard takes pictures. You should all be more thoroughly impressed with our engagement photos now.

Happy Birthday boys!

National Grandparents Day

Growing up I was so lucky to have both sets of grandparents within biking distance of my house. My friends who had to drive to other states over Thanksgiving Break were so jealous. We could see both families on any given holiday. I've been really close with my grandparents and it's been such a blessing.

Now my grandma Vy is all I have left, and she's the greatest. She works at the temple, gets down to play with her puppy Oscar and does Tai Chi. Allegedly she's the one I'm most like, and we get along really well. She's still got the classiest style for miles and I can only hope I look that good at her age.

My grandpa Harold passed away in the fall of 2008. It was kind of a hard, because I'd never lost a family member before, but also because one of my best friends, Britt Dalley had died right before we graduated that spring. He'd had dementia and Alzheimer's for years, and it wasn't too much of a surprise. I wasn't super close with my grandpa Harold, because I was pretty young and he spent a lot of his time with my older cousins, as he was a professor of psychology at BYU. The hardest thing was seeing my grandma and dad deal with it. I did feel some loss that I wouldn't be able to visit his office on campus or take one of his classes like my cousins.

Only a few months later, out of the blue, my grandpa Stan passed away. I was much closer with him. He lived right around the corner and we lived with him (in the house the Beard and I just vacated) when I was young. My grandpa Stan taught me how to change a tire, and was always encouraged my ambition to go to BYU and maybe even law school. He was a "good ole boy," quiet and hardworking. His death was much harder for me, especially because he was so healthy (we thought) and we spent so much time with them.

My grandma Nancy has always been the closest. We were the best of friends. We spent so much time together even as I got older. She was the first person I called to talk to when I landed back in the US from London. She was such an amazing example of compassion and cheerfulness. She was incredibly racist and old fashioned. She was just the best. For the 2 years she lived after my grandpa Stan passed away, she missed him terribly. She had been very unhealthy and in pain for years and years, and all she wanted was to "move on." So we saw it coming. Her death was probably the least shocking and most peaceful. I was so happy for her.

However, as time has passed since her death I find myself missing her more and more. She never met the Beard but would have LOVED him. She wasn't here to visit when I got my engagement ring. She wasn't at my wedding. I couldn't call her when funny things happened at school my first year of teaching. She won't be there to meet my first child. I wish she could be.

This picture was taken for my cousins Jessica, Justin, and Jake on missions, but I kept thinking it applied to my grandparents too. 

The day before I got married, my mom and aunt Lisa surprised me with a beautiful, delicate opal necklace. They were stones from my grandma, one for each of her granddaughters and my mom and Lisa had them made into these beautiful necklaces for our wedding days. I felt like she was with me and it was so comforting. As we lived in the "Old House" and used her Christmas decorations I felt so close to her and knew she wanted it that way.

You can kind of see the necklace here.

I wore the necklace today and felt really comforted at church when quotes on faith and love warmed my heart. I have been so lucky to have amazing grandparents, and now I have four more because the Beard's grandparents are still with us and remind me so much of both sets of mine.

Grandma & Grandpa Holdaway

I miss my grandparents, especially Grandma Nancy but thank goodness for the Plan of Salvation. I hope they are watching over me, but it also freaks me out. They'd be embarrassed by things that I do (the amount of popcorn I eat, probably) and say (Grandma Nancy probably wouldn't mind the swearing actually). So hopefully they only see the good stuff. :) I'm so glad I know they're happy and I'll see them again or life would be absolutely miserable. Families are forever. How great is that?!