Happy Thanksgiving!

Every year that I've spent with my Dad at Thanksgiving, as long as I can remember, we would go around the table and list things that we were thankful for, the only rule was that you couldn't say what someone else already said. It really ould make us think about all the blessings we had and helped me to take a little less for granted how much I really HAVE been blessed with throughout my life.
So in honor of Thanksgiving, I thought it would only be fitting to dedicate this blog to a few of things that I am thankful for (Even though I won't be there this year, Dad, it totally counts!)
These are no particular order...

1. I am thankful for my husband, Michael. Thank you for being all of my motivation in my life. You put up with me, even on my not so nice days, and I love the way you will try and make me smile when I am feeling down. You are always so positive and help me feel calm when I get stressed out! Thank you for being my constant everything! I love you!
2. I am thankful for my family. All of them and their craziness too! They make me laugh and I will love them no matter what!
3. I am thankful for my Savior.
4. I am thankful for music.
5. I am thankful for the internet.
6. I am thankful for doctors and modern medicine.
7. I am thankful for forks.
8. I am thankful for chocolate.
9. I am thankful for clean sheets (they're the best!).
10. I am thankful for that smell after it rains.
11. I am thankful for freshly cut grass.
12. I am thankful for the colors of leaves in the fall.
13. I am thankful for cell phones.
14. I am thankful for microwaves.
15. I am thankful for electricity.
16. I am thankful for mail (even though I usually only get bills!)
17. I am thankful for contacts.
18. I am thankful for my calling and the opportunity to serve.
19. I am thankful for Christmas.
20. I am thankful for toothbrushes.
21. And toothpaste.
22. And deodorant.
23. And hygiene products in general!
24. I am thankful for running water.
25. I am thankful for cars.
26. I am thankful for food and that we have enough.
27. I am thankful for weekends.
28. I am thankful for feather pillows.
29. I am thankful for fuzzy socks.
30. I am thankful for hugs.
31. I am thankful for Sunny days.
32. I am thankful for lilacs.
33. I am thankful for gardens.
34. I am thankful for prayer.
35. I am thankful for washing machines, both for dishes and clothes.
36. I am thankful for clear nights when you can see all the stars.
37. I am thankful for lightning storms.
38. I am thankful for this country that I live in.
39. I am thankful for the temple.
40. I am thankful for my testimony.

Whew! I know that this could go on and on, but I think that putting this all down in writing will hopefully keep me from taking so many things in my life for granted. I hope we will all remember what we are thankful for, no matter what season or holiday it is.

"I put a monkey on a pedestal!"

So last week we and our friends, the Brooks, went out on the town in Seattle. We tried a Moroccan restaurant, called "Marrakesh" and the food and experience was fabulous! It was beautiful inside and and we got to sit a comfy cushions on the floor. They washed our hands because we ate with our hands! It was a lot of fun!
We also went to a newer musical called "The Drowsy Chaperone" and it was hilarious. We weren't really sure what to expect, just that it was funny and that it won quite a few Tony's.
The whole musical was a satire and making fun of a lot of the elements of musical theater - It starts with a narrator who is in love with the musical "The Drowsy Chaperone" (which of course no one has heard of!) The whole production basically takes place in his loft.

The Narrator

This is from my favorite song - "Bride's Lament" It was so funny, I almost peed my pants - Almost. Here are some of the lyrics so you can see why!

Janet: [sung]I put a monkey on a pedestal

And tried to make that monkey stay

And he did for a time

But he needed to climb

And with other monkeys play

Far away

He left his jacket on the pedestal

Beside his tiny rusty cup

And I haven’t got the strength

To pick them up

Oh monkey, monkey, monkey

You broke my heart in two

But I’ll always save that pedestal

For you

Come my little monkey

Come my little monkey, do

He knows the musical so well, he starts to sing along with Janet!

Here comes the Bride!

So I am happy to announce that my little sis, Ashley is ENGAGED! Wow, I can't believe how much she has matured and grown in these past years - don't get me wrong, she's still a little goof, but she has found someone who she can be goofy with!

She was proposed to by Kyle Fickenwirth on 11/05/08. He is a very sweet guy and they are adorable together. If you don't believe me, check out the picture below.

Aww, don't they look happy together?!

Check out the rockin' ring he designed for her!

Although planning a wedding can be stressful, especially while they are both in school...man that scenario sounds familiar...I know it will be one of the happiest days that they will treasure as they start their new life together.

Sissy, I love you! I hope you two will be truly happy and wish you both all of my love and support as you take these steps towards eternity!

Fight! Fight! I mean...go team!

So my Dad called me up on Election day to see if I wanted to go to an Ice Hockey Game. I had to admit I was a little surprised, my Dad is very into politics and I thought that he would want to stay home glued to the TV to watch results come in...Needless to say, I think that he didn't want to get depressed about the results coming in. But I was happy to go! I don't think I had ever been to a Thunderbird's game (let alone a real Ice Hockey Game!) so I was excited! Despite getting a little lost trying to find the right parking garage (as well as driving the wrong way on a one way street, oops!) we finally made it to our seats on Center Ice - It was a lot of fun and we killed em! 8-2! I did feel a little redneck to be honest, but in a good way... hmmm.

It was a little crazy and all the guys around us would encourage the players to fight like every time the referees would make a call. And, what a surprise, they fought.

2 players from opposing teams whipped off their masks and gloves and started to circle each other.

The funniest thing though, the ref's just kind of stood there and watched them punch each other in the face for a good 1 to 2 minutes before they even moved towards the players!

Ah...what a good time we had!Go Thunderbirds!

The pretty sweet in-between-periods show...Yes that is the mascot riding a trike on the ice.

Happy Halloween!!! So what if I'm a little late...

We had lots going this Halloween but it was a lot of fun! Sadly, we live in a apartment complex so we don't get many, excuse me.. ANY trick-or-treaters so I have to get my cute-little-kids-fix at our church party. There of course are about a bajillion kids in our ward and they all looked adorable in their constumes! There were chickens, elephants, ladybugs, puppies, princesses, toy story characters, and witches just to name a few...my personal favorite was the peacock! (It wins on creativity!) I wish I had brought my camera with me! darn, maybe next year.

Mike and I carved the pumpkin we brought home from the patch.

"Hey, I have to clean all this gunk out?!"

Yep, sorry Mike!

My beautiful artwork on the pumpkin

The Master piece!

I was also on the Halloween committee at work, though it was a lot of fun, it was also very tiring. I can pretty much say that I will never do that again!!!

The Halloween Committee getting the rest of the decor up just in time for the party! - Go Adrienne, go!

C'mon, Marta, get back to work!

My Department - AKA Gotham City (- Robin)

Robin joined us later!

Overall, I thought we did a good job on the decorations!

Our Witch's Brew!

Lisa the Gnome, and winner of the costume contest - I mean really, how could you beat that!?

Although I did find Stephanie's costume pretty amusing as well!

The Mummy wrap game



Jade was "Best Dressed" (Sorry! I couldn't help it!!!)



Ah, the good ol' donut on a string game...



Next came the halloween party with our friends. It was a lot of fun, well until everyone bullied us into watching "The Grudge", that was a movie I could have gone my whole life without seeing and stayed happy. Not the biggest horror movie fan...Anyways, everyone's costumes were great and it was fun to hang out!



Mike the Orkin Man and Bri the Bug - Please don't squish me!
The gals...



And the guys...

Little miss Katie was a clown..until she rubber her makeup off!