20 year tag!

20 years ago....
1- I was 11
2- I was just getting ready to start the 6th grade
3- I had a really cute (but rather dumb!) dog names Muffin
4-I played Softball for the Red Devils....

10 years ago.....
1- I was getting ready to start my senior year at BYU
2- I was helping my bestfriend get ready for her wedding (I can't believe it has been 10 years)
3- I went to Florida with A"Lisha and Amy Byron (actually in September)
4 - I turned 21

5 years ago....
1- My Thomas had just turned 1
2- We were living in a nasty little house in South Jordan
3- I started my Masters Program at Utah State
4- I taught the Laurels in our South Jordan ward

3 years ago......
1- My little Kate was born
2- lived at my parents
3 - Moved from the worst apartments ever to be created (student housing - hence why we lived at my parents)
4- Became a supervisor at work.

1 year ago....
1- Was pregnant with Mattie
2- Was getting ready to send my husband off to the Army (not a great time for me!)
3- My honey came home from the army! (best day of my life!!)
4- Thomas played soccer for the first time (what a hoot!!)

So far this year I have...
1- Had my little Mattie
2- Gone on a trip to Montana
3- Been called to teach the 5 and 6 year olds in primary (heaven help!!!)
4- watched my children grow and become amazing little people

Yesterday I ....
1- Went to work
2- Talked to my friend Audrey who I haven't talked with in like 3 months!
3- Made awesome chicken enchiladas
4- Played outside with my kids

Today I ...
1- took my kids to their daycare
2- am at work
3- will be leaving work early
4- will make dinner again!!

Tomorrow I will...
1- Have fun with my family!!
2- avoid watching the parade on T.V. (can I tell you how much I hate parades!!)
3- watch fireworks
4- SLEEP IN!!

In the next year I will....
1- still be working (bummer!)
2- Go on a family vacation (not sure where)
3- Hopefully get new carpet!!
4- watch my children keep on growing!!!

Everyone else is...

Okay - Misty and A'lisha - this is fun!! So I thought I would give it a try as well!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I have together. It doesn't matter if you know 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 fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you!

New Pictures

'These are some pictures my dad found when he was cleaning out his camera. The first one is at Halloween (no duh!!) and the second one is Katie's dance recital. My kids are so dang cute!!! The new family picture (top right) was taken at Adam's wedding at Red Butte Garden. We couldn't get everyone cooperating at the same time - but it is still cute.

Some cool stuff!!

OK - so I received this email a couple of months ago from a lady at work and didn't think anything of it until the last couple of days. She was passing on information about something called a food "co-op". I was cleaning out my email box when I rediscovered this email. I looked into it a little bit more - and can I just say WOW!! For all of those out there who like a good deal and are into saving lots of money on groceries - check this out!
http://www.crossroads-u-c.org/cfc/index.html

You place your order by the middle of the month and at the end of the month you go and pick up your food. They have different things available every month but it is all fresh and I pay about half the cost. The best part about it is that there is no income requirement and it is all run by volunteers. You have to agree to volunteer two hours a month doing anything (helping at the co-op, helping at your kids school, scouts, other church callings, etc..) and that is basically your payment for the service. Neat concept that has apparently been going on for some time. So... try it out and let me know what you think!

Also, I found a new great recipe for all of those who are not interested in heating up your kitchen. I saw this on Good Things Utah and thought I would give it a try. Everybody loved it!! - Including picky Thomas who even ate the burrito with lettuce. So here is the recipe (side note... Best place to buy rotisserie chicken is at Costco or Sam's club because it is the best price as well as I just used the cheapest BBQ sauce I found at the store - and it was great!) Also - it does feed more than 4 people as suggested as well as you can make it go further by adding more beans and corn - whatever suits your fancy!

Enjoy everyone!!!

South West BBQ Chicken Burritos
Ingredients
1 2-lbs. roasted chicken, skin discarded, meat removed from bones and shredded (4 cups)
½ cup prepared barbecue sauce
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
½ cup frozen corn, thawed, or canned corn, drained
¼ cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 leaves romaine lettuce
4 10-inch whole-wheat tortillas2 limes, cut in wedges
Preparation:
1. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, barbecue sauce, beans, corn and sour cream; stir to combine. Cook until hot, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Assemble the wraps by placing a lettuce leaf in the center of each tortilla and topping with one-fourth of the chicken mixture; roll as you would a burrito. Slice in half diagonally and serve warm, with lime wedges and a side of coleslaw.
Serves 4.
Nutrition Information Per serving: 353 calories; 9 g fat (3 g sat, 3 g mono); 82 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrate; 33 g protein; 5 g fiber; 579 mg sodium

Happy Birthday Thomas!!

I am dedicating this post to my son Thomas because it is his birthday! Those of you who have known Thomas since the beginning are probably sitting there as amazed as I am that he is 6. Wow - time sure does fly. I am not sure where to start when it comes to this little boy. He is and will always be my miracle baby. As many of you are well aware, when I was 16 weeks pregnant with him I had to undergo major surgery to remove a tumor the size of a football from my ovary. To this day, I strongly feel that he is the reason that I am here today. I have this horrible fear of doctors, and when they said I had this "cyst" on my ovary I froze and refused to see a doctor. Well, getting pregnant with Thomas forced me to deal with the issue and get it taken care of. He is everything to me and I will forever be greatful to him for him being here.

To discuss a little bit about his personality - Thomas is probably one of the most active children I have ever met - He can out run anyone anytime and any where. He is like this little engine that never runs out of energy - until nightime when he basically just passes out. He is such a brave boy and a great help to his mom. He loves his sisters (most of the time) and is very willing to help out especially with his baby sister Mattie. Thomas has a love of legos, star wars, and Xbox. Thease are about the only things you can get him to sit still for for long periods of time. He also is one of the most excellent bike riders I have seen. He can get that thing going so fast I think mostly because he has no fear of getting hurt - definitely not like his mother. I have always felt that he will do great things. I know every mother feels that way about their children, but there is something in Thomas that tells me that he is meant to be here at this time to do something great. I can't wait to see what that is.

To all those who have helped Andrew and I in raising this sweet little boy - thank you!! Grandma Bonnie and Granpa Bill, Grandma Helen, and Julie and Adam - thank you for your time and love for Thomas. He may not understand the great influance you have had on his life, but I do and I will forever be greatful to you. I look forward to many more great and wonderful times with this sweet boy. Happy Birthday Honey - I love you!!!

Alright already!!!

Okay - I have been officially tagged twice -by both Misty and A'Lisha. So I will go ahead and tell you 8 quirks about me (this is really hard by the way - requires too much thinking!!)

1) I hate answering the phone at work. I don't know why - but I always have. Not only do I not answer the phone very often, I don't check my messages very much either. Stupid - I know. But I can't help it. I even tell everyone - if you call me you may not get an answer for a couple of weeks - email or IM is always your best option.

2) Cooked carrots - disgusting!!! I love raw carrots - but cooked ones are so gross. People always say they taste the same - but really they don't. I also think it is a texture thing - they are rather smooshy and frankly they smell bad.

3) Watching re-runs of "Without of Trace." I have to say that this is one of my new favorite shows - and I only watch it at 10:00 at night. Hello - it makes me stay up way to late -but I can't help it. I have decided though that watching this show at night helps me to unwind - from my very busy days. Also, I know this show is on during prime time as well - but it is just not the same for me. I am addicted to the late night showings on TBS - oh well what can I say.

4) KSL.com - I love KSL.com. Not only can you get the news - but I love to look at the classifieds. I do that almost daily - though I have only bought one thing in over 2 years from the classifieds. Pretty funny - I am not exactly sure why this is fun for me - but it is not a day without browsing the KSL classifieds.

5) I love looking at houses on the MLS - and no, we are not looking at moving yet. This has become quite a passion for me. I can probably tell you what areas have the most houses for sale, what the average is in the area and what schools your kids would go to. I have way too much fun doing this - and you never know when the information may come in handy.

6)I hate opening mail. When I get home, I will look in the mailbox to see what is there, and if nothing good is there - or there is a bill or something - I leave it in the mailbox for my husband. (I just wrote that and realized how dumb that is - now that is quirky!) I have nothing else to say about this.

7) I love phone games. I have Suduko and Mahjong on my cell phone and play them whenever I am in a meeting - because it is the only way I can pay attention. I think part of my son's ADHD problems come from me - I swear I am getting more attention deficit the older I get. I can't just sit somewhere - I have to be doing something - always!!

8) My feelings get hurt way to easy. I hate that about myself. I take things too personal and than I feel bad if things don't happen the way I think they should. This is something that I try to work on and can usually mask pretty well - but it is very hard for me to not get upset if things happen - even if they were unintentional.

Busy Busy Busy!!!

Ok - the last 2 months have been ultra crazy!! I have been to every little part of the state as well as I just got back from a fabulous (but quick) business trip to Montana. I can now breath! This time of year is really hard because of all the trainings and conferences that happen to hit all at the same time - as well as my yearly grant report. Seriously - I would really be ok with spreading things out a bit - sheesh!! Anyway, kids are doing well - Mattie has 2 teeth. They literally came up overnight. Maybe our "drool fest" will be on hold for awhile since her teeth have come in. We will see - I do seem to remember though, from past experiences, that some teeth do mean more teeth are coming - aghhhh!! Oh well - she is still so dang cute that it makes no difference anyway.

Well - Thomas has officially finished Kindergarten!!! Yeah - we made it. I can't say it was an easy year, but seeing the awesome changes Thomas has made makes the challenges worth every minute. He is matured so much and the fact that he is reading is soooo cool. He is such a smart kid!!! He is very ready for first grade - and was very ready to start yesterday. I had to be the bearer of bad news and tell him that he would have to wait for a few months to move on to another grade. He was not to happy about that but forgave me quickly when I gave him his new X-Box game (Lego Star Wars - HATE IT!!!). He was thrilled to have it - I have to say that I really can't stand it - it gives me a headache. Oh well - as long as he is happy I don't really care.

Kate is my newest fashion Diva. She has a comment for everyone's clothes. She will proudly tell you if she thinks what you are wearing is "icky" - If she didn't look so much like me I would wonder if she was really my child!! She is a priss - but a dang cute one!!! Her grandma Bonnie gave her the cutest flip flops (from Smiths marketplace - on sale for $3.00 - for all those interested) and she squealed like I have never heard before. She wore them all evening and I finally had to sneak them off her feet after she fell asleep. Crazy!!

Life is good - Andrew and I are proud parents of practically perfect children - what more could you ask for!!!!