Superbowl!

Are you ready for some football???

We partied at my dad's, of course, and even though my team lost (I still love you Ward!) we had a great time! Lots of food, laughing, football, more food - what could be better?

Me & my baby!

The kidlets with their Terrible Towels!

Me & my big sis sporting our love for the Steelers!

Me & baby sis - she cheered for the other guys :)

You should try new things Candace...

People tell me all the time that I need to try new things, eat more "grown-up foods," or expand my culinary horizons (thanks Amy)... so, this year I told myself that I would add in a some new recipes to our weekly menu. So far... not so impressed. What's so neat about struggling and stressing your way through making dinner, freaking out when you're not sure if the sauce has 'thickened' enough, not liking how it tastes after all that work, then getting depressed about all the money wasted on ingredients, then wanting to cry when you look at your kitchen and the Huge Freaking Mess that I get clean up?! How do people enjoy this?!

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law: "Tortellini with Proscuitto and Peas"
I'm not entirely sure why I picked it... I'm not a huge noodle fan and I'm picky with cheese... so why would I pick cheese filled noodles?! I must be crazy... though this is a step up from last week's failure with "Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce." Maybe I should just stay away from pasta?


Close up of the disaster...


The counter opposite my oven was just as messy with measuring cups, utensils, the recipe, etc. I'm sooo not looking forward to washing all those freaking dishes.

Any words of encouragement? I dare you to try! :)

FOR SALE!!!

For Sale!! JJ and I got this picnic basket for our wedding 3 years ago and we've never used it. It's really cool & I love that my aunts got it for us... we just haven't ever gone on a picnic. So it's for sale!

The inside contains plates, mugs, napkins and plastic ware (forks, spoons, & knives) - enough for four people.

There is an insulated compartment on the inside as well - keep your food toasty or cold!

If you're interested, just let me know and we'll talk price!!!

Also for sale is this KitchenAid attachment...

It slices and shreds! I got it for my birthday 3 years ago, again, never used... never removed from the box. I appreciate the present & thought, just don't need it. Let me know if interested and we'll talk price!

First come, first serve!! :)

Jazz Game

My sister called me on Monday and said, "Hey, I don't know if you have plans tonight, but that doesn't matter because you and JJ are coming to the Jazz Game tonight!!" So even though the tickets were ridiculously priced, we were 5 rows from the very freaking top, the hot dog I had was probably 4 days old, the Jazz lost and JJ sprained his ankle... it was a pretty good night :)

Our view of the game... look a little bit like ants, don't they??

Daddy & Barb

Amy & Jayson

Me & My Prince Charming

JJ stepped in just the wrong way and twisted his ankle... he's sprained it before, but last time it swelled to the size of a baseball. We're counting ourselves lucky that it only looks like an egg this time :) My poor baby!

Thanksgiving & The U

I know I'm late... and sidetracking from my Blog Challenge... but I don't care! :) Here's a post celebrating out Thanksgiving and the freaking awesome win during the U of U vs. BYU football game!

It's backwards because that's the way the pictures uploaded and there were just too many of them to want to spend the time fixing it... I'm sorry I'm lazy, but you do what you gotta do to get a post out there!

Here we go!

Me & my big brother sportin' our team colors.


Uncle Kelly wins coolest shirt :)


The Utes Win!!!!!!

(I made fun of Art all evening as he was the only Y fan... silly silly man...)


Thanksgiving!! We spent the turkey holiday with JJ's family this year, his cousin Joanna was sweet enough to host the event - You're amazing Joanna!! I'm know the amount of work, sweat, and pain it must have taken to put on such a shindig!

JJ & his Grandma - aren't they the cutest??


Me & my little sis-in-law Caitlin.


Here's JJ filling his plate... wait! That's the whole turkey!! :)


Merry Christmas to Grandma! (Early) Grandma called me some weeks ago and asked if I would print some pictures for her of our family reunion and of Grandpa's funeral. Well of course I said I would... but then JJ had this fantastic idea to get Grandma a digital photo frame; so she could have as many of my pictures that she wanted and some from her other grandkids too! So the Allison family and the Rockwells pitched in and we got her the frame - she was so surprised and just couldn't get over how sweet we were to get her such a great gift. All the kids/grandkids brought pictures to load onto it so it was all ready to go for her. She couldn't stop staring at it, I'm pretty sure she sat there until it had rotated through all the pictures.
We love you Grandma!!!


To put a sweet end to the evening: JJ was sitting in a chair with baby girl Corinne and was pretending to sleep and making quite the ruckus with his snoring... she just stared and stared! It was so stinkin' cute!

Day 7

Obviously it's been awhile since I posted Day 6, so this technically isn't day 7, but oh well, here is my answer anyway!

A picture of something/someone who has the biggest impact on you:

My original thought for this post was my parents; I mean who raises you to be who you are? Who’s traits, qualities and characteristics do you pick up, learn and take on as your own? They impacted who I am, my beliefs, morals, hobbies, lifestyle, etc. But then I thought, they raised me, I became a responsible adult, their job's are pretty much done (ok, so their job is never done, who am I kidding?)… So who else has had an impact on me? The answer is my incredible husband.

When JJ came into my life, I was forever changed. I dated a lot of guys, everyone knows that, some good, some not so good, but after all the dates, boyfriends, break-ups, I finally found the perfect guy for me. When JJ and I started our romance he stood out from all the rest almost immediately… Unlike all the other guys I had dated, JJ chased me … this just boggled my mind. It was usually the other way around - sad, but true. This made me stop and think that just maybe I was something worth having. That’s a big step for a girl with little to no self esteem! He courted me, pursued me, when I was a total girl and asked if we were ‘together’ or not, he told me he’d been calling me his girlfriend for two days already so I better get with it :) he was the first to say ‘I love you,’ and threw me for a total loop when he got down on one knee and popped the question.

When my JJ writes speechs or talks, he always starts by defining a word in his subject. So here I will list the synonyms for "impact": collide, shock, and bang. I think everyone of those can describe JJ’s entrance into my life. We collided into each others lives, he shocked me with his unconditional love, and then came the Big Bang (pun to our favorite TV show intended!), he took me to the temple, where we were married and became eternal companions. His presence in my life impacts me every day; he inspires me, supports me and accepts/loves me for who I am. He makes me want to be a better wife, a better person, a better daughter of God. He compliments me when I think I look my worst, he eats anything I make (or ruin for that matter), he holds me when I’m scared or when I’m upset… all these things making me feel like I’m ok with who I am. Makes me feel like, if he loves me… then maybe I can love me. No one has ever made me feel that way… I LOVE YOU JJ! Thank you for being in my life, being my husband, and having such a positive impact in my life!

Day 6

Day 6: Your favorite Super Hero and why...

BATMAN!!!!!

My very favorite Super Hero has always been Batman. When I was little, he was the only one that stuck out to me. Sure, Superman can fly, Flash can run fast, Spiderman can fling crap at people and climb walls, and the Hulk can turn green and smash stuff. But, Batman? He has his own cave for crying out loud! And....

He drives the coolest car,


has the most regale of all butlers,


he keeps all his wicked-awesome toys in a stylish utility belt,

and the biggest reason of all the game, is he isn’t restricted by a ‘super power.' He's just a normal, well-rounded individual with the ability to kick some serious butt. He's all around freaking awesome! He fights crime and crushes evil villains with human strength, wit, and mind. Plain and simple – Batman ROCKS!!




On a more serious note… my personal Super Hero is my mommy.

She is the most pure, sweet, and honest person I know. She’s thoughtful, caring, selfless, smart, funny, compassionate, sincere, kindhearted, considerate… insert any positive adjective you like, that’s my mom. She loves unconditional, genuinely cares about others and would do anything for any family member. She wants nothing but happiness for her kids and worries about us constantly. She's taught me so much, but I'm still constantly learning from her. I'd be one lucky girl if I grow up to half the woman she is... By the time my mom was my age she had gotten married, had 4 children and was going through one of the hardest times in a person's life - divorce. She did what she had to do, got a full time job and raised her kids to the best of her ability. And I, for one, think she did a pretty dang good job!

In case she reads this, I have to say just a couple of things that don't get said enough...
Mommy, I'm so impressed by your strength, your endurance, your faith, and your testimony. You have qualities I so wish I had; your unconditional love for our family, your ability to be politically correct in all situations, your ability forgive people... I wish I could move on and up from the hard situations life deals out like you. You are a wonderful, inspiring, amazing woman and mother. I'm so grateful that I got you as a Mommy. I love being your kid!
I love you sooooo much Mommy and I hope you know that.

Some fun times with Mommy...

Doing some shopping at the mall & stopped for some Pretzel Time!


Me & Mommy at the Zoo!


How freaking cool is my Mommy?? Shooting targets and fake animals at Cabela's!


Eatin' the tastiest burger & spicy fries in all the land at Rumrz!

Thank you for all the fun times Mommy!