Sunday, March 16, 2008

Strike! Birthday Bowling!!

We took Jody & a group of her friends to Davis Lanes Bowling Alley to go bowling for her 10th birthday! They all seemed to have fun! Even Sadie & Jessie loved it! Of course- we put the bumpers up for them! Jody is getting to be such a beautiful, young lady! I'm enjoying watching her discover who she is & I'm so glad I'm lucky enough to be her mom! It's funny to watch her with friends- they're all trying to figure out how to act around each other & other people! What is even funnier-I see such similiarities between their little group & how myself & my peers behave sometimes. It seems all the same desires to be liked & accepted & all the same little insecurities we had as children still exist! We're just bigger now!! I hope Jody had a great birthday cause she's such a great girl! I also hope she knows how much we all love her & how special she is to our family!!






Jody turns 10!!

We celebrated Jody & my nephew, Alex's, birthdays at the same time. Alex was the big 16!! He was showing off his newly acquired driver's license!
Clockwise: Alex, Colby, my other nephew-Nicky, my bro-in-law, Bryce, Cam & Drew.
I guess I shouldn't complain that Drew is as tall as I am now! Could be worse! Alex passed my sister, Taresa, awhile ago!
My mom-in-law Jerrie, my sister-Heidi, & her 2 girls- Maya & baby Grace
Don't let Jessie & Sadie's innocent smiles fool you!! They're trouble! :0)
Alex & Jody blowing out the candles! Jody went for cookies & cream cake while Alex went with good, old fashioned carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting! Yummy!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Promise Yourself

I used to keep this near & read it often. Found it in my desk drawer the other day & realized I may have forgotten certain parts of it. I better start remembering :0)!!



Promise Yourself


Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile. To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

6 Things That Make Me ME

I guess since I'm probably the only 1 who hasn't played "tag" like a nice girl- I'd better do it!! I'm sure you've all been dying with suspense waiting for my "6"! he he! (insert sarcasm!) I'll try to keep it as innocent as I can so you'll all still want to talk to me after (cause we all know I've got some serious skeletons in the closet)! Here goes:

The rules are, each player must post 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

#1- "OCD" I'm betting most of you are nodding your head in agreement right now! I don't know what it is about me that makes me like that. I don't really like to say that I'm a "perfectionist" because I'm not. Some things can be messy & I really couldn't care less. But then there are those things that I'm absolutely nuts about having a certain way! I've got to have folded towels, clothes, blankets, etc. all folded a certain way & stacked PERFECTLY. I gotta have things lined up certain ways & be in certain orders. (sofa pillows zipper down!!) It'll drive me nuts until it's fixed! Trust me- this doesn't mean that my house is always clean & perfect- it's far from that!

#2- "Spell Check" Maybe this ties in a little with the OCD thing- but misspelled words or bad grammar drives me nuts. I KNOW that I make my own spelling mistakes- but it's other's that I notice. If somebody is writing on a blackboard & they misspell a word- I can't focus on another word they say because I'm so fixated on how it really should be spelled. Call me a hypocritical proofreader but it does happen to be another one of my little quirks! PS- People who use really "big" words to make themselves sound smarter make me giggle!

#3- "Playing it Safe" So many of you are adventurous & daring! "Not I", said Natalie! You won't catch this girl bungee jumping, skydiving, scuba diving or anything like that anytime soon!! I'm afraid of water, fire, the fury of mother nature, animals, flying, heights of most any kind, and speed! (Long list, I know!) The really weird thing to me is this: those things scare me because I'm so afraid of dying. However- other things that should scare me don't. Getting in trouble with the law, pushing limits, & people are just something that don't scare me. I'm a risk taker for sure- just not with my life or safety!

#4- "Military Men & Cowboys" Growing up an army brat meant I spent a large amount of time around men in uniform. So yes- I confess- I'm attracted to military men. Something about camouflage just does it for me! Not quite sure where the attraction to cowboys came from. Trust me- it's not the tight Levis, cowboy boots, or even the hat! I like them without that. I like the hardworking, tough but loving, down-to-earth, humility aspects of them. Always thought that I'd marry either a cowboy or an army dude. Oh well- I figure I can just get Cam some costumes & pretend!!

#5- "Young & Old" This is also not anything new that you didn't all know about me. I love babies & old people!! They are my favorite people by far!! I'm extremely happy that every single one of my kids have inherited that trait! My favorite pasttime is cuddling with my babies- kissing them to death! It's a wonder I got anything done the first year of all their lives! Old people are so endearing to me! I was closer to my grandma than anyone besides Cam. My kids & I miss her terribly & find ourselves wanting to kidnap cute little grandmas & grandpas everywhere we go!

#6- "The Invisible Woman" I had to dig deep for this one! This is an odd fantasy I've indulged in since childhood! I've always wanted to be invisible. People think it's odd seeing how there are plenty of other really cool supernatural abilities I could wish for. But if you know me & you know how I probably "over-analyze" then you can understand why I'd want that! I figure- why assume or guess when you could just sneak in & hear the naked truth? Not to mention all the other cool advantages you'd have if you were invisible. Don't worry- I know it's not possible- but a girl can dream, can't she?!

Well- now that I've shared at least a few of my quirks, paranoias, pet peeves, loves & fantasies- I'll let y'all go!! Most of the "blogging" friends that I've got have already participated- except for Rach & Chelon, so I'll tag them!!