Called to Serve

Just thought I'd let anyone who is interested know, my little (but actually bigger) brother Cade got his mission call today - to the......(drumroll??)
Chile Vina del Mar mission!
He doesn't leave till August 13th but he seems to be pretty excited. (As much as Cade ever shows)
I was oddly more wound up about it than he was. I was waiting for the moment the mailman came. He, on the other hand, had left to do his choring duties. I pulled it out the of mailbox, I called him repeatedly until he answered, and the conversation went as follows:
Me: "Cade it came!"
Him: "What? Talk louder."
Me: "Cade, it came!"
Him: "Alright."
Me: "I have to go to work so don't open it without me. Or, maybe I'll just save it so you can't open it."
Him: "Alright."
So as you can tell, he possess all the calmness in the world. He proceeded to do his work and "hurried" home to open it 4 hours later. Crazy kid. He is excited though, and we're happy for him. Congrats little bro, I know you secretly read my blog!

Changes

It's been awhile since I've posted mostly because I haven't felt like there has been anything exciting enough to document. But we have been busy!
First off, we moved out of the house we were renting. Since we will be leaving for the summer in a couple weeks we thought we should move before we were knee deep in finals. So my dad offered, or I guess I offered, one of the spare bedrooms in his basement. Two actually. One to store all our junk, and the other to live in. This also meant Bekka moving out of her bedroom so we could have a place to stay. (She volunteered, don't get me wrong.) As a sort of peace offering, I told her I would help her paint her old room that was watermelon red, to a more "mature" brown. It looks awesome if I do say so myself!
So now that we are semi-settled for a few more weeks, we've been trying to prepare for the next big move to Michigan. Nate's parents bought a new car around Christmas time and so they offered their "old" Passat to any of the kids for an awesome deal. We thought about for awhile, which on our time scale equals about a day, and decided that if we could sell my Honda before we leave, then we could make the upgrade to the Passat.
Because ksl.com is amazing, we were able to sell the Honda in less than a week! We posted all of the information one night around midnight, and by noon the next day we already received 3 calls! From that point on, we caught the sale bug and sold Nate's motor scooter and a mini-motorbike as well.
I was sad to see my little Honda go. It was my first car and I definitely had some fun times and crazy memories with it! (Kimi? :)


In the midst of all this we were able to make it down to St. George for Nate's Apx training weekend. The guys went four-wheeling and paint-balling, and the wives got treated with a pedicure!

And most importantly for me, my first encounter with Tai Pan! Let's just say it's good we don't have a house. Nate is worried from here on out. :)
So in recap, we have a new place to stay, a new car, and we're excited for our summer in Michigan!

Simon Says...

Usually I agree with Simon, but not tonight. I love Jason. He should win. But he might not.
Watch him and you will agree, or you should.
That is all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMuwfVSucQs

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone's Easter was as good as ours! (Nice and relaxing, with lots of yummy food) The Rabbit didn't quite make it to our house but he sure spoiled the siblings next door! (my brother and sisters) Nate and I spent most of Saturday at his family's and watched the nieces and nephews participate in the annual Buttars family egg hunt. Grandpa and Grandma go all out, it's awesome! Sunday we got to spend a little time at my aunt and uncle's, Lisa and LJ's, and then a bit more with the Buttars. Harli didn't even let a bloody nose slow her down! :)

Easter has kind of been a bittersweet day for me the last couple years because two years ago my Mom went to the hospital on Easter the day before she died. I've learned to appreciate the significance of the holiday more and more when I think about Christ's resurrection and the knowledge I have that, because of His sacrifice, I WILL see my Mom again!
Until then, I'll continue my Easter tradition of honoring my Mom by opening a Peeps package and letting the marshmellowy morsels turn stale. It might take me a few years to acquire a taste for the rock-hard rabbits she absolutely loved. I guess that's something only a true Peeps connoisseur understands.

"Wii" Love Nate!

I'll admit, I'm a bad wife. It was Nate's birthday on March 11 and I REALLY wanted to scan in some pictures of when he was little, then write him a birthday note. Well as you can tell, I'm a week late, and due to a broken scanner at my father's home, there are no cute childhood pics. (Don't worry, I was able to get my act together enough to invite some friends over for a birthday/Jazz game viewing with cake and ice cream.) He didn't get the total shaft.

We also got to spend last weekend in St. George at my aunt and uncle's awesome house. (If you ever happen upon our blog - THANKS again Brent and Dixie!) It was kind of our spring break and Nate's birthday weekend celebration. We had lots of fun relaxing, eating, and playing the Wii. As part of my Nate tribute, I thought I'd post this video, and I hope you find it as funny as I did. (You'll hear my annoying and embarrassing laughter)

**I tried extra hard to figure out how to flip the video right side up but it wasn't happening. It's still entertaining though.
Also, the zooming in of the butt was a failed attempt to capture his excessive shaking. ;)



I hope you had an awesome 24th birthday Nate! Thanks for being such a wonderful husband.

Why Nate is great:
There are lots of pictures...you have been warned!

~He is pretty much always happy - really.
~He is a hard worker!
~He has a tendency to be a poser...~He is very athletic and loves to play any and every sport.
~He loves to laugh, and his laugh is one of a kind.
~He is a great brother and brother-in-law.~He is optimistic and can find the good in every one and every thing.
~He is a friend to everybody!
~He loves all of my kisses.
~He makes a great Mario.
~He loves to pull goofy faces when I ask him to smile normal...~He can make a mean dish of mac and cheese.
~He took me to Memphis and trekked around all the nerdy Elvis sites cause he knew I'd love it.
~He is a silly uncle and his nieces and nephews love him lots!

And most importantly...he puts up with me!Happy late birthday Nathan J!

Tagged

10 years ago...Haha. I was a 6th grader (that's right) at Cedar Ridge Middle School...I was pretty much joined at the hip with Kimi Western, and we both had some pretty awesome glasses. Ala Carte was cool for lunch and I was "going out" with Cole Brower. Basically we wrote notes to each other and were seldom brave enough to look each other in the eye.

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire... 1) Go shopping like crazy, I'd get some cool designer purses 2) Pay off debt 3) Buy a house 4) Buy my family some cool stuff...a "cankle" job for Ashley ;) 5) SAVE of course

3 bad habits... 1) PROCRASTINATING...anything and everything 2) I don't eat as healthy as I should 3) A lot of people I know, and I agree, say I worry too much about what other people think.

5 places I have lived...1) North Logan 2) Smithfield 3) Kentucky 4) Rhode Island 5) Lewiston

5 jobs I have had... 1) Cleaning apartments....5 summers growing up. 2) Cleaning schools 3) Al's Sporting Goods 5) North Park preschool aide

Some things you may not know about me...I eat ketchup on pretty much everything...eggs, macaroni and cheese, roast, potatoes of any sort, etc. I pretty much idolize Elvis. I drink way too much Diet Coke. I "showed" pigs in the county fair when I was younger and I was Grand Showmen a couple times, that means I was the best at showing pigs! :) :) I can beat just about anyone at "Disney Scene It". I broke my foot when my Mom ran over it. Reeses peanut butter eggs are the best candy in the universe...my Dad got me addicted. That's all I can think of...feel free to add it you have anything else.

I tag Lauri, Kimi - so you will actually blog something, and Sharli. :)

aMeRiCaN iDoL

Who doesn't love American Idol? I'm a fan. It's on right now, but I prefer to wait for DVR then fast forward through commercials...it's more intense that way. I'd just like to get my votes out while it's still somewhat up in the air, so hear me out...
First off:
Jason Castro.
Call me crazy, which a large percentage of people might, I'm over it. Dreds and all, I like him. #1 - his eyes, and his voice kinda reminds me of Jason Mraz slash Gavin Degraw, which equals hot. He pulls some goofy looks and says some awkward things, I'll admit, but he's got some kind of funny "charm" if you will. I don't know if the rest of America sees it, or will see it, so I worry about his overall chances. But now you know, I like him.


David Cook:
There's not a whole lot to say about David besides he rocks! I like his Creed "ish" style voice and he can flat out play the guitar.


And of course, I've got to side with everyone in Utah, plus the nation's teenage girl population and say David Archuleta. Come on...Simon loves him, that says it all. He does have an amazing voice - his Beatle song rocked. Although, like Jason, he's EXTREMELY awkward but therefore hilarious. His goofy puberty laugh is worth tuning in for. Let's face it, he has a good chance of winning.

As for the girls...I'm not to impressed. I think Carly will do really well, but I'm sorry she gets on my nerves. I liked Alaina a lot, but now she's gone so we'll see who steps up. :)

That's my 2 cents for the week.
The End.