So it's been awhile since my last post, but we haven't been doing a whole lot. Just getting ready for Christmas.. Troy has been doing some photography, and I just wanted to show off the wedding he just recently shot! Hope you like them. I think they turned out beautiful!!
Seven things I can do:
scrapbook
counted cross-stitch
listen
play volleyball
text
shoot clay pigeons
blog
Seven things I can't do:
a cartwheel
math (other than add and subtract-multiply and divide!)
speak another language (English is hard enough)
sleep in
draw --only stick people
wear a hat
do a back bend
Seven things that attracted me to Troy:
His voice! I totally fell in love with his voice while talking to him on the phone
his willingness to give
his sense of adventure
his big heart
his blue eyes
his love for the outdoors
his laugh
Seven things I say often:
oh wow
what ever
just kidding
darn it
just a minute
I'm comming
hurry
Seven people I admire:
husband
mother-in-law
dad
mom
Suzy Hodson
Andrea
Patty
Seven favorite foods/drinks
Diet Pepsi
Twix
steak
spaghetti
salad
Onion Rings
Dutch oven potatoes
Seven people I tag:
Emily
Kim
Tara
Carrie
Haylee
Mindee
Valorie
I just have to get this out! For all of you that know my brother Craig. He just became engaged this past weekend! I am so excited for him.:) We have always wondered if he was ever going to tie the not, and now he is! So you want to know the details? Well, if you do, then please continue reading...
Craig has been dating this girl oh, for about a year or so. Her name is Erin, she is so darn cute with 2 little boys that may I just add are attached to Craig's Hip. (So cute) anyway, Craig called me last week, and told me that he had talked to her parents are was going to ask her to marry him. Naturally I was very excited for him. And then yesterday he called me from Denver to tell me that she said yes!! Whahoo:)
Their brief engagement story: For Erin's birthday Craig bought her two tickets to the Denver Football game! She is a huge Denver fan, and he got tickets in a sweet! Craig has a friend that is a owner of the Bronco's so he was able to snag a great weekend. They were able to go to dinner the night before with some of the Bronco team members, and then see the game on Sunday. This same friend of Craig's also owns a jewely store, so while there Erin was able to pick out the ring of her choice! Now that is what I call lucky!! All in all he said it was a great time and to not forget that she said YES!!!
Congrats Craig and Erin!! I am so darn excited for the two of you!:)
So you may be wondering; why is there a picture of my car seat here as a blog entry!! Well, it's because I just want to give a SHOUT OUT to Seat warmers!! This is the first time I have ever had seat warmers in a car, and can I just tell you that I really really love them!! I just can't say enough about the happiness they bring to me and to my behind every morning on my way to school! Every morning when I get into my car I just flip the switch and in a matter of 60 seconds, I have a warm behind! It is wonderful!
Oh, and Annette, if I was good at writing Ode's I would have wrote one of those to my delightful seat warmers!!! I absolulity LOVE them!!
Life is good!! I have finally got my kitchen put back together again. My garbage disposal is working really good, and really grinding food. I am really loving that. 
So that left Troy to install. By 9:00 p.m. Satuday night we had the dishwasher installed. So we thought that we ought to run a trial load, to see if there would be any leaking! So away we went... Not 10 minutes into the cycle, our new dishwasher starated beeping at us and telling us that there was a drainage problem.. Man we thought, we are not finished with this process. (I do believe Troy really wanted to scream, but he kept his cool :D) We stopped the dishwasher and proceeded to check into this new problem. Within 15 minutes we had the garbage disposal taken apart, and found the problem. We need to punch a small hole so the dishwasher could drain... Any way to make a long story just a little shorter, this was not the end of our kitchen flooding problem. Sunday morning I cooked breakfast and then began cleaning up. Do the dishes and loading my new dishwasher, when all of a sudden I was standing in water!! Not again I yelled at Troy, and yes, it was again... Our sink was leaking!!! A A U G H ! ! ! ! ! This problem was another small fix, if you are wondering we didn't need to buy anything to fix this. Just had to tighten the disposal. So there you have the dishwasher--disposal update. And to wrap it all up I could have just said!!
The inside of my new dishwasher!!! I Love it!!!
Disposal repair.............................................$110.00
This year for halloween Marquel choose to be Hannah Montana. Now that will not be such a surprise to those of you who know her. But for those of you that don't... Well Marquel loves Hannah!! We watch her all the time. (I know that I have all of the episodes memorize, and I believe that she does too.) Alright, now that you know the costume, let me recap our eventfull night... Troy and I had been in Orem watching the 3A Volleyball State Tournament, and then ventured home to get Marquel ready for the big night. Our plans: Go to Manti, and experience the new and improved. (If thats what you call it) "Trunk or Treat" down Manti's main street.
Now the cool thing about this type of "trunk of treat" is that they shut down all of about 3 blocks of Manti's main street and allow all the kiddies to visit the many trunks and gather as much candy as possible. It was a lot of fun, and much easier on me "the mom" for not having to drive "Hannah" all over town. But the candy part, well, it just was not that impressive.
Oh, yes,and one more thing, you are probably wondering why I put a ? after the word Halloween, and I am sure the suspense is just killing you. So is the answer.... My mother-in-law puts her christmas tree up the first part of October, so I thought I would test you... Is it Halloween or Christmas? hahaha Happy Halloween all, and well, I guess Merry Christmas too?
Just a little photo session in front of the Christmas tree
Now some may be wondering did we get Hannah to come to our house for Christmas..
Under our sink.. Anything missing???
The broken machine!!
Waiting for the new equipment!!
Where is my new dishwasher!!So while waiting for my dishwasher I am having to do dishes the old fashion way... By HAND!! I have a new appreciation for dishwashers!! I just want mine to hurry and get here!!
My new dishes!! I love them!
So as you all know it has been the deer hunt, and if any of you know me, you know that Troy is the most avid deer hunter around. Both he and Kayla look forward to 5 glorious days of bonding and looking for that "monster buck"They spends 2 days before making sure their guns are ready to go, that they have enough ammo and finding his "hunter orange" if they cannot locate a bright enough orange they must go and buy new!(and may I say it is not easy finding "hunter orange" anywhere in this great town that we live in!!) groceries are another must on the hunting list. Lunchable, jerky, water and trailmix are a must.
Marquel has been in need of a new winter coat, so while in town we stopped and were able to find this one.. I think it is adorable, and that Marquel and I had a very successful hunt... Now wouldn't you agree?
We also found this adorable shirt! We both fell in love with it, Marquel just had to have it, so I just had to buy it for her...:)
So I was looking at Nikki's blog tonight, and saw this; *photo tag.* I thought it looked like fun, and so I gave it a try. Here is how you do it. You go to your 9th folder, then the 22nd picture. This is what I found.
This is a picture of Marquel just after I finished doing her hair and getting her ready for school. It never fails that when I finish getting her ready, and I think she is having a good hair day, that I take a picture of her. This picture is of just that. I got her ready for school, loved her hair and her outfit, and so snapped a shot!! Isn't she adorable?
I tag: Tara, Carrie, Stephanie, Emily, and anyone else that would like to do this. It was a ton of fun!!
Alright, all you small town people!! I went on to Valories blog and saw this... I was laughing my butt off, it is so true. I loved growing up in a small town where there was no stop light, infact you had to go 7 miles north to see one of those and that one didn't come into the county until I had graduated from high school, and I do believe that about 99% of this rings true to all that did grow up in a small town! I wouldn't trade my small town upbringing for anything and I sure do wish I could raise Marquel in a little town just the same!!
Sure hope you get a good laugh!
Those who grew up in small towns will laugh when they read this. Those who didn't will be in disbelief and won't understand how true it is.
1) You can name everyone you graduated with.
2) You know what 4-H means.
3) You went to parties at a pasture, barn, gravel pit, or in the middle of a dirt road. On Monday you could always tell who was at the party because of the scratches on their legs from running through the woods when the party was busted. (See #6.)
4) You used to'drag'Main
5) You whispered the 'F' word and your parents knew within the hour.
6) You scheduled parties around the schedules of different police officers, because you new which ones would bust you and which ones wouldn't.
7) You could never buy cigarettes because all the store clerks knew how old you were (and if you were old enough, they'd tell your parents anyhow..) Besides, where would you get the money?
8) When you did find somebody old enough and brave enough to buy cigarettes, you still had to go out into the country and drive on back roads to smoke them.
9) You knew which section of the ditch you would find the beer your buyer dropped off.
10) It was cool to date somebody from the neighboring town.
11) The whole school went to the same party after graduation.
12) You didn't give directions by street names but rather by references. Turn by Nelson's house, go 2 blocks to Anderson's, and it's four houses left of the track field.
13) The golf course had only 9 holes.
14) You couldn't help but date a friend's ex-boyfriend/girlfriend.
15) Your car stayed filthy because of the dirt roads, and you will never own a dark vehicle for this reason.
16) The town next to you was considered 'trashy' or 'snooty,' but was actually just like your town.
17) You referred to anyone with a house newer then 1955 as the 'rich' people.
18) The people in the 'big city' dressed funny, and then you picked up the trend 2 years later.
19) Anyone you wanted could be found at the local gas station or the dairy bar.
20) You saw at least one friend a week driving a tractor through town or one of your friends driving a grain truck to school occasionally.
21) The gym teacher suggested you haul hay for the summer to get stronger..
22) Directions were given using THE stop light as a reference.
23) When you decided to walk somewhere for exercise, 5 people would pull over and ask if you wanted a ride.
24) Your teachers called you by your older siblings' names.
25) Your teachers remembered when they taught your parents.
26) You could charge at any local store or write checks without any ID.
27) There was no McDonalds.
28) The closest mall was over an hour away.
29) It was normal to see an old man riding through town on a riding lawn mower.
30) You've pee'd in a cornfield.
31) Most people went by a nickname.
32) You laughed your butt off reading this because you know it is true, and you forward it to everyone who may have lived in a small town.
I would not have wanted to have been raised any other way!!!!
Tough times don't last... Tough people do!!
Entering Zion National Park!
Pond on the hike
Leaving Zion National Park
Sure wish I could have recorded it for all of you to hear. After that they presented Marquel and the other 9 students with the Tiger Award for Service! I have been told by many of Marquel's teachers that she is always helping and volunteering to do what ever is needed for any of her classmates. 
Marquel, Congrats on earning the Tiger Service Award!!
Sunday we woke up to a winter wonder land!! After watching the weather, and telling Marquel that there could possibily be snow in the 
And there you have it!! The "Perfect" Marquel Snow Angel!!
Ok---so there is this cool website that is giving away free designer handbags! To celebrate the October 15, 2008 launch, they are giving away a free handbag every hour for 24 hours on the day of the launch. These handbags are usually priced between $30 and $80! After signing-up you can select the handbag you would like to win and it's so easy to sign-up! There's absolutely no catch - this means no shipping/handling fees or credit card required, so go do it!!Here's a link to their website:
http://www.handbagplanet.com/
Ok, I've been tagged. Here it goes....What are 6 odd quirks about myself?
1- I love to mow the lawn--The rows have to be straight, and I alternate my paths every week. One week north to south, next east to west, next diagnal.. I know crazy, but that is how it has to be..
2-My bed has to be made before I can leave the house... On the days that Troy doesn't work during the week, he always forgets to make the bed. I need the sheets to be pulled tight, or I can't get a good nights sleep.
3- My desk at school always has to be in order and the homework baskets have to be graded before I can go home..
4- I hate when people call my cell phone, and if I don't answer it they leave a message. I know, I know, that is what you are suppost to do, but I hate using my minutes to listen to a message when I would rather call them back.
5- I pick out the clothes that I am going to wear to school for the next day the night before. If I don't my day seems to not run as smooth.
6- When doing laundry I wait until all of it is washed and dryed and then I take an hour or two and fold them all at once. I can't fold one load at a time... What if a sock get lost... And it is with the 2nd load that I washed not the first...
Well, now that that is finished I tag... Haylee, Tara, Kim, Stephanie, Nia and Emily
Nina and Traci--Check out Traci's head phones!!
Traci listening to her "Walk Man"
Me and Nina Madsen!!
Traci my sis-in-law showing off her abbs!!
Tara letting me know that she needs more playing time!! Check out Haylee (My assistant--why isn't she helping me? haha)
As you can tell, we always had a good time, the girls worked hard on the court and played hard off!! I will always treasure the friendships that we made!! Thanks MHS Volleyball!
Fall is in the air, which means that the holidays are on their way.... Wait a minute, that isn't what we all wanted to hear is it... I mean, fall is in the air, which means it is time to get up the mountain and look at the beautiful fall colors!!
This past weekend we took a trip to Manti to stay at the cabin. Our main reason for taking the trip was to be able to go 4-wheelin and hopefully see some of the beautiful fall colors!! 
Lori came and brought her grand daughter down for the weekend, and we were for sure going to show her a good time... Around 4:30 we meet up with my mom and dad for a 4 wheeler ride over on the west mountain. We had a great ride, and were able to see some of the changing leaves and the deer. Back home that night we bbq turkey and had a great time visiting, and just hanging out with everyone. Sunday morning we got up early to get ready for another 4-wheeler ride. We set out at about 10 in the morning and took 
off up 6 mile canyon. We rode up past 6 mile pond and then took the trail up threw blue meadow!! If you haven't take this ride, you for sure need to experience it!! It is a beautiful ride no matter what time of the year!! Fall is no exception. We stopped up on Skyline for a quick snack, and then rode over skyline drive and down north fork, and into Manti.. We all had a great time, especially Lori... All she could say was this is AWESOME... Just AWESOME!!! Well, Lori I am glad you had a great time... Can't wait for the next time!!
A quick photo before jumping back on the 4-wheelers
Lori and Alisha zooming up the trail
I have been working on my micro camera skills...
