SaMash aNd RoddBot

January Eleventh

2012-01-12T19:54:00.001-07:00

Up relatively early to get ready for class and ballroom dance team audition.
Late to work
Class w chapman until 650pm.
Ballroom try outs until 830pm.
They would post results by midnight, only waited til 1030pm then home to bed.

NYC - Day 1: Planes, trains, and airport shuttles

2011-12-29T18:08:00.004-07:00

So, our flight ended up leaving about 3 hours earlier than we had previously anticipated, as mentioned previously... So I left a little early from work to pack and get out by 5pm to run some quick errands and make our 8pm flight. It was a little close, with security and everything, but we made it. Our seats had already been assigned. We were not sitting together and it could not be changed ( the flight was only 90 mins). As I took my middle seat between 2 women, the girl sitting by the window looked at me with a big smile and said "Hi!". The pilot then announced that we would be arriving in Phoenix in about 90 minutes and she says, "I'm 90 minutes from home! Where is home for you?" I said "Here" and the flood gates opened. In about a minute I knew her whole life story.

Our first flight to Phoenix was about 30 minutes late. We only had 45 minutes between flights, so had our gates not been relatively close, we would have missed our next flight! So we walked off one plane and right onto another for a 5 hour flight to JFK.

We arrived at JFK at 5am and , between getting luggage and shuttle to the hotel, we arrived at the hotel about 7:30am. The shuttle to the hotel was about an hour and a half, with 4 other groups being shuttled to various hotels, and of course we were last to be dropped off. At first I was a little bugged, but it was dawn and we got a beautiful little tour of the city! Our check in was not supposed to be until about 4pm but our room was available so they let us check in early (thank heavens! We were so tired...). We napped until 11am then headed out to adventure!

We first found a hot dog stand because I have been seriously craving a NY hotdog for WEEKS. It was good. On the next block we stopped at Lisa's Pizza and each grabbed a delicious slice of crispy thin crust pizza. (*Rodd is blogging in detail about our food and restaurant encounters, so visit his blog for more info about the food.) We continued up Fulton Street until we reached St. Paul's Chapel and the World Trade Center Site. There was a beautiful musical tribute at St. Paul's. It was great and very humbling to see the support that that support that they offered to those working and volunteering at the World Trade Centers. We realized that you must first obtain tickets to be able to see the actual site so we walked a block down to the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site (basically a miniature museum) and found out that they would not give out tickets again until later that day. We decided not to stick around but plan to go back tomorrow to get tickets to see it.

We then decided to head down to the Staten Island Ferry as I heard that it was a free, good view of the Statue of Liberty and city. We purchased a 7-day public transportation pass and took the subway to the pier. We love to use the local public transportation when we travel. It's always so much cheaper than renting a car and we love to get a taste of how the locals live. It usually takes a day or two to get familiar with the system, but it's so fun! We got some hot cocoa and took the ferry to Staten Island and back. It did provide a great view of Lady Liberty, but Rodd wants to look into actually going to the island. That is likely to end up on our agenda again as well.

Rodd chose an Indian restaurant across town for dinner (big surprise, he LOVES Indian food!). It was good, but was left loving our local favorite: India Palace! We made it an early night and headed back to the hotel early to plan tomorrow and get caught up on some sleep. Between figuring out the subway and losing our map somewhere along the way... (before the ferry, we think) it was quite an adventure! Thank heavens for smart phones and GPS! :)

Just blocks away from our hotel a blind man with a seeing-eye dog approached us asking, "Is Frankfort Avenue close by?" I told him yes and he asked if there was a bus stop there. I told him,"Yes, we'll walk with you because I can't tell if it's the one you're looking for. I don't have very good eyes, I can't see that far..." I realize that what I said was a little ironic. He laughed and said, "Well, neither do I". I read the bus route numbers to him and he confirmed that was the one he was looking for and asked where the actual bus stop was. Rodd then pointed to the stop and said, "Over there". He pauses for a second and says, "over there to the right or the left?". Haha! We realized we must have seemed very naive and dysfunctional and could not stop laughing the rest of the way to the hotel.

Another hot cocoa before bed to help us thaw and planning our day for tomorrow! It is cold here, which I expected, but I will need to dress much warmer tomorrow. Watching the news tonight the 9/11 memorial reached 1 million visitors today... We tried to go today but did not want to wait and waste a part of our day standing around. Rodd was bummed we weren't there to be interviewed for the news (he's cute).

Great day, so glad to be here. :)

Trip to NY - The adventure begins...

2011-12-28T00:31:00.004-07:00

So... We were hoping to make this trip as inexpensive as possible... (i know, good luck). We figured we could swing it because I have about a week of vacation time saved up at work, hotel rewards earned from all of Rodd's recent work travel, and a sister that works at Jet Blue and so graciously offered us Buddy Passes. Even with all of this it will not be a cheap trip, but we will be saving a ton... or so we hoped.

24 hours from departure: I get a text from my sister-in-law. Upon check in she realizes that we are likely not going to make it on our flight, and probably not for the next few days. So here I am up in the middle of the night looking for one way tickets to NYC... check.

Now... Our flight leaves about 3 hours earlier than planned and we are both working full days tomorrow. We have not packed, and we need to drop off our beloved felines at my mother's house who (without hesitation) has offered to watch over them while we are gone. Thanks Mom!

*sigh*

We'll get there... then have lots of happy things to write about. :)

Rodd's New Blog - Cleanzed Palate

2011-12-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

So... as I mentioned before, Rodd has also started a blog of his own. We love to try new restaurants and he will be writing about the various places that we try. I have obtained official permission to share this with everyone. :)

His blog is:

http://cleanzedpalate.blogspot.com/

He's just getting started and is looking forward to sharing our foodie adventures with everyone. Check it out!

Happy Holidays

2011-12-23T12:46:00.001-07:00

Christmas is just 2 days away. I finished the last of our Christmas shopping last night and am thrilled to have a somewhat quiet and low key holiday this year. Rather than spending extravagantly, we have kept Christmas rather simple:

Rather than shopping for friends, extended family, coworkers, and neighbors, we have made a significant donation to The Road Home in honor of our loved ones. The Road Home is a private non-profit social service agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County and along the Wasatch Front. Their mission is to help people step out of homelessness and back into our community. Especially during the holiday season, I reflect more frequently upon our many blessings and am often grateful that we have enough (shelter, food, necessities). If you too would like to donate or would like more information about The Road Home, you can visit their website here.

We are not doing much shopping for each other this year. Rather, we have planned a trip to New York to be gone over the new year. Rodd has never been and it has been several years for me so we are very much looking forward to a get away before the semester starts up again for me and things get crazy again! This is how we prefer to do Christmas, free of 'stuff' and full of memories! I will try to post daily of our adventures and I'm sure Rodd will be posting about all of the wonderful food! We are just a little bit excited. :)

We get back from NY and I start school again within a matter of days... How time flies.

We are so grateful for all that we have been blessed with: wonderful friends and family (including our 2 ADORABLE cats: Belle and Achilles), health, safety, opportunities, education and learning, experiences, and each other.

Happy Holidays!

Recommitment

2011-12-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

I have decided to recommit to keeping our blog updated. This is not to be confused with a 'New Year's Resolution'! There are too many stigmas associated with that. I do not need a new year to commit to being or doing better.

I have decided to take a different approach this time around, although I have not quite decided what that will be yet...

Rodd has also started a blog of his own. He has wanted to start a blog and decided this week that he will write about the places we eat at. We are always trying new places and he enjoys sharing those experience with others. I will check with him to make sure that I can share it and probably post that later this week.

I look forward to the fulfillment that writing and sharing life experiences provide. :)

Time for a Vacation??

2011-02-26T14:51:00.001-07:00

We want to share the love.

We have a membership with a vacation club in the Caribbean. It is at the Lifestyle Holidays Resort in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. What's great about a membership is that we can use it as often as we'd like and we can let anyone use it, we just have to book the reservation. I have listed the prices that we are able to rent the following spaces for:

Stays can be any length. All-Inclusive. Inquire for any time.

Studio (sleeps 2) $ 43/Night + All Inclusive Fee 47.50/Person/Day.

1 Bedroom (sleeps 2-4) $ 54/Night + All Inclusive Fee 47.50/Person/Day.

2 Bedroom (sleeps 4-6) $ 61/Night + All Inclusive Fee 47.50/Person/Day.

*Penthouse (sleeps 4-8) $100/Night + All Inclusive Fee 57.50/Person/Day.

*Villa (sleeps 6-12) $157/Night + All Inclusive Fee 67.50/Person/Day.

*Suite-like with additional features: Personal pool/hot tub, accommodations fancier. :)

** Children 3-12 are 50% of All-Inclusive Fee. (3 and under are free)

The fee for All inclusive is mandatory. This covers all of your food for each meal. It's practically all you can eat, unlimited food/sushi/drinks on the beach (all day) and reservations at one of their seven fine restaurants each night. There are two parties you can go to during the week stay: One Sunday night, one Thursday night. These include food, entertainment, dancing, etc. Also, there are activities all day long at the resort (if lounging on the beach all day does not suit your fancy...) including entrance into Ocean World one day. I will be receiving a more comprehensive list of activities available and which are included. There is also transportation to and from the Puerto Plata Airport (POP).

The All Inclusive fee may seem a little steep but it's worth it. This resort really is amazing and the food is fabulous. Some have considered staying at another resort. If you chose to go this route you can, but to come over to Lifestyles as a guest you will be charged a guest fee of $80/person/day and will not be VIP. (Limits where you are able to go in the resort. This ends up being more than just making a reservation!)

Click here for information on food and restaurants (menus), videos and pictures, additional basic information.

Rodd and I have made a reservation for September 14th - 21st (Wednesday-Wednesday). Anyone/everyone is welcome to come. Let me know if you interested and we can look at options for stay. You are also welcome to invite others to come as well. We are booking a villa. The first to let us know they want to come can stay in the villa. The rest can book another accommodation and either come hang at the villa, meet up at the beach or to explore, or do your own thing... :)

I have a blog post in 2008 from our last trip with pictures and details about what we did. Week three is when we stayed at Lifestyles in Puerto Plata. Take a look, it was a blast and so interesting.

Also, of course, Rodd and I intend to leave the resort some days to experience the country itself. You are welcome to come with us or stay at the resort. As you can probably imagine, inside the resort is very different from the country itself. Things outside the resort are very affordable and the culture is... fascinating and very humbling. I came home last time with a great appreciation for shoes on my feet and food on my table... and electricity. It is quite the experience.

Flights to the Dominican Republic tend to be fairly inexpensive. Rodd and I have found tickets tend to be about $500 round trip, depending on the time (of course). All accommodations are great and nice. Short walk to the beach, food is great, WARM and BEAUTIFUL.

We are able to inquire about stays in other areas throughout the world. These tend to be a little harder to book, but I can always look into that. The price for stays will always remain the prices above regardless of location.

Let me know if you'd like for me to look into any availabilities. All I'll need is:

1. Where you'd like to stay.

2. Dates of Travel (check-in, check-out) FYI: Resorts tend to have stays Fri-Fri, Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun.

3. Which accommodation you'd like.

4. How many guests there will be (ex: 2 adults, 2 children)

I can inquire to availability and get back to you within a couple of days, usually.

I'm a Belle person... :)

2011-02-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

So... sad to say that we are not high maintenance dog people. Max and Maddie were cute and a lot of fun but could not mesh with our busy schedules. So... We got a cat. :)

I have to say she is by far the cutest cat I've ever had. Belle stuck with the bell on her collar. I selfishly wanted to know where she was at all times to keep her out of trouble. She has since learned now to take her collar off and is bell-less... but I love the name. She is truly a bratty little princess, as Rodd would probably say.

Ugh, I love her. We got her just before Halloween and she was about one month old. She is now nearly 5 months old! Crazy how time flies.

New Additions

2010-06-28T09:06:00.000-06:00

We have recently added to our small simple family...

Max on the left, Maddie on the right. They are Pekingese Pomeranian. We adopted them from our sweet neighbors who are moving. They have been really great since we got them Thursday and we are loving having them around. :)

Summer Yard Projects with LOTS of help!

2010-06-28T08:33:00.000-06:00

We have the most wonderful friends in the whole world. We mentioned some projects we were hoping to get done this summer and they were over the next afternoon to help us!! What a blessing they are in our lives. :)
We finally got rid of our ugly rose bush in the front yard! (and the neighbors rejoiced)
Then the stump in the back yard...

VICTORY! Wow, we've been waiting so long to get working on the yard and the end is in sight! Then another friend came over with a bobcat and made it look like this:

It looks great! Thanks again to everyone that has helped!! We count our blessings every day for the wonderful people that we have been surrounded with. We once said to each other, "How did we end up in such a great group?" They heard us and said, " You're damn lucky".
Agreed.

Girl's Night In @ Robin's House

2010-03-20T14:05:00.000-06:00

Hey! For all of you considering coming to our girl's night IN, Here are some pictures of the things that we will have supplies to do:

It's time again for a girls' night! Come to visit and make new friends!! At Robin's house Saturday March 3rd from 6pm to 9pm. Contact me for more information if needed.
For those that are interested in creative fun, we've found the cutest ideas for flower accessories and they're fun and easy to make. No crafty talent necessary! :) (Come and visit even if you don't want to be crafty!) We'll have all of the supplies you'll need to make your cute accessories, just a small donation for supplies would be appreciated. To see some examples of some of the things we will have available, Look Here: We look forward to seeing you there. (Also feel free to bring a friend!!)

These are super cute and personalized! They can be made into pins (for hats, jackets, purses, etc.), headbands, bobby pins, or just stitched onto anything (pillows, shoes, etc.)

Rose-like flower attached to a bobby pin.

This is a cute headband that I made with my new cute flowers! I made the flowers and attached them to a headband that I didn't wear that much to doll it up! Now it's one of my faves. We will also have pins to attach your creations to so you can put it on a purse/bag, hat, jacket. (Like it says above too...)

We'll have all kinds of different fabrics, beads and things to use, also headbands to attach your flowers to, or if you have something in mind you'd like to use bring it, so just come!

We will continue to update this as it gets closer and we have more things to add...

Hope that you can come and join the fun!! It is going to be a blast!

Dancing with DEREK HOUGH?!?!?

2010-01-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was so full, but a lot of fun.

It started out with, well just getting ready... but I had planned a reunion with some friends from my ward family in Highland. We got together at someone's house for lunch and reminisced about the good ole' days. What a blast.

We went straight from there to see Avatar IMAX 3D at the Jordan Commons. That was awesome too, except kind of long... I was entertained the whole time, my body just has a hard time sitting that long(It's amazing to think how far we really have come with technology and everything... NUTS).I was ready to be up and moving, but then I just had to drive home to meet Rodd to go to another show in Provo!

We went to a dance performance "MOVE" put on by Vibe Dance Studios . A friend of mine was performing in it and told us about it. Last night was the closing night of the show and Derek Hough and Mark Ballas were there along with Chelsie Hightower for some guest performances. My body was aching from sitting so long but I knew that we'd enjoy it since we LOVE dance.

Mark Ballas sang a few original songs with his guitar in between songs to kill time for the dancers to change. Derek came out to sing with Mark and said that while mark plays, "does anyone want to dance with me?" A bunch of little girls started screaming and he went down and picked one, brought her up to the stage and danced a bit with her. Rodd turned to me and said, "That should be you up there."

He brought her back to her seat and came up our isle. Rodd turned his phone light on and put it in front of my face and I put my arms up. He came right to me and said, "Do you want to?" Of course I said yes! We ran up to the stage and danced some swing for a minute or so... He was surprised that I was able to follow his lead and had fun. It was awesome. Needless to say after that my body wasn't hurting from sitting with all of the adrenaline rushing through it! It pretty much made my whole night.

We had a great time and enjoyed the show. Vibe did a really great job putting everything together and it was very entertaining. They have some very talented choreographers. Afterwords i was able to get a picture with him because Rodd said, "This is going on the blog, and we need a picture to go with it." He's such a sweetheart. :) This show was probably the push I needed to make the decision to start taking classes again. I just miss it too much... especially watching others dance, it just kills me.

With this also comes a re-commitment to post more often... I'm averaging once a quarter, or so... Sad, but we are doing well. :)

Flyaway to New Orleans for Tulane Game!

2009-10-17T17:21:00.000-06:00

While we were in Minnesota visiting our Uncle Craig over Labor Day, we were actually roaming the great and spacious Mall of America, Rodd received a call. "You've Won!"

The day before we headed out to Minnesota I headed out of work as early as I could and headed home. Speed Dial #2. Send. "'Ello!" We had kind of procrastinated our packing and getting ready for our trip so I had to call Rodd and see that he was on schedule with our plan for today. "I'm actually going to make a stop at a dealership in American Fork. I want to put myself in a drawing to win a trip to see BYU play away." We decided that as long as it only took a few minutes it would be okay, but he had to enter me too. :)

We were then receiving the call almost a week later telling us we were to leave the next weekend, only 2 days after we were to arrive home from our Minnesota trip! And I was out of vacation time at work... But too bad, I really wanted to go! So I did the unthinkable. I called in sick. :)

With the exception of a few minor issues, everything worked out great! We flew in about 10 o'clock and got to our hotel, there was not power to our room. Sure, we'll take room service for dinner at no charge. Thanks!
Visited Bourbon Street in the morning. We decided we wanted to be far from there when the sun went down. :) Game Time!

We kicked their butts, as you can see by the score board below.
Even better, this really is where they exited the field. :D No Joke.
We went into a hat store and the salesman tried to sell this to Rodd. He's giving me the 'I'm kind of out of my comfort zone here' face. But I thought he looked cute. "Can I please have some mo'e?"
After the game we walked down Decatur Street and found a great place with live music to eat dinner.

We had a blast! A day and a half was just enough time for us to see what New Orleans had to offer us.

Spanish Class, Thursday Nights @ 7pm

2009-10-01T09:54:00.000-06:00

Rodd is starting a spanish class that he will be teaching out of our home for those that want to learn or brush up on their spanish. It's free, just come! It will be every Thursday night at 7:00 PM at our humble abode (for probably for an hour or so). Call or text me if you'd like to come and/or would like more information!

Tonight will be the first class so technically it will be 'Lesson 1'. But feel free to come whenever you can! Anyone is welcome!

Hasta noche!

Fourth of July Festivities

2009-07-05T11:23:00.000-06:00

Provo Parade - At our usual spot!

BBQ at our house!

Master Griller!

Don't let the hard candy shell fool you... He's a softy.

Rodd went inside to lay down because he was feeling sick. Grey and Nick came inside and were playing the piano for him so that he would feel better and sleep. :)

Then Nick wanted to be like Rodd and sleep so he made himself a bed.

Fireworks and Hanging with Our Neighbors, the Bodines!

The Forth of July is our favorite holiday. :) We just love it and love being patriotic... All year round, actually. But it's fun to really concentrate my love for this country.

More pictures to come.

Work Work Work

2009-07-01T10:37:00.000-06:00

I got a job... After being unemployed for several months and getting caught up on all the things I was 'too busy' for, I started looking for something temporary until we could get out to North Carolina and updating my resume. I contacted my references letting them know that they could be contacted, you know. My boss from Eclipse, where I was laid off from, contacted me and had a temporary opportunity at his new office filling in for his payables lady who was going out for surgery.
It worked out that they offered me a permanent full time position in the accounting department, if we didn't move to NC of course. We re-evaluated and decided to stay for now. :)
I am working at Educators Mutual Insurance and am very lucky. This opportunity came at a really great time and we consider it such a huge blessing. The only thing is that it's in Salt Lake City off of 53rd, so it's a pretty good drive, about 100 miles round trip. The Lord work in mysterious ways. We are very lucky. :)

June, 6, F...

2009-06-22T12:27:00.000-06:00

What a Crazy Month!!! How ironic that June is the 6th month, F is the 6th Letter...
1. Final decision to stay
2. Flood
3. Fungus
4. Flu...
Yes, we've been busy. A series of events led to our decision to stay in Utah, rather than continue in our efforts to get out to North Carolina. 2 days after we had decided to stay here, out basement flooded. A week later, still cleaning up from the flood we find mold in half of our basement. A few days after that I had flu like symptoms and wasn't allowed to go to work (during Swine Flu outbreak). I went in the to IHC the first day they stopped testing for Swine Flu and started treating as regular flu so I didn't know if it was from the mold in our house or the Flu. Wow, busy month.

I have decided to plant a garden...

2009-06-07T07:54:00.000-06:00

After much mulling, we have decided to put off our move to North Carolina for another time. I have mixed feelings, but I'm sure that it will be for the best. This means all of my projects are coming back out and, yes... It's not too late to plant a garden!

My garden is not going to be very big this year, I'm not sure how much veggie we can handle. This is what I managed to finish yesterday. (amid cleaning out our flooded basement, YUCK!) So far we have cilantro, peas, and cucumbers planted... more to come! It's not very big, but while manually tilling the dirt, this is what I found...

Victory points to who can identify the most items in this picture. :) (There are some that I can't even identify!) Haha. It's an adventure everyday at the Jefferies' Home.

Mother's Day BBQ

2009-05-07T21:36:00.001-06:00

We thought we'd throw a BBQ on Sunday, May 10th for Mother's Day for those who don't really have plans. Nothing crazy, just some people hanging out. It's bring you're own meat and a side to share (if you can... RSVP for details).
We'll have some grills out along with some tables and chairs... We thought after, for whoever is interested, we could take a little nature walk and enjoy our lovely springy surroundings.

Anyone and everyone is welcome! Let me know if you are interested.

(I love you Mom! You're great!)

NEW DIET INFO EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW

2009-05-07T21:31:00.001-06:00

A lady I work with has this hanging up in her cube... I just love it. There really is so much truth there. :)

Rodd's SURPRISE Birthday Party!!

2009-04-25T08:49:00.000-06:00

Another BIG thanks to everyone who made the Party come together! It was great. My wonderful neighbor decorated and set up all day while we were gone (Thanks Sabrina!!!) and it looked SO great!!! Most everyone was able to make it for the Surprise, and I am proud to say that he was completely surprised. He had no idea what was coming... :)

When I got home from work at 2pm, I asked Rodd what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said, "I just want to sit at home and watch Lost". Obviously that wasn't an option so we went off for an early dinner at Tucano's, but due to it being Graduation weekend... The wait for 2 was over 2 hours... Long story short, we ended up at JCW's, our favorite burger joint. :) We made the rounds and visited some family and I was able to hold Rodd off from lost until the Party.

(My wonderful neighbor Sabrina who did so much!!! THANKS! :)
I love that everyone was cool with just hanging out. This is a group that just loves each others company. We do have really great friends and we're so grateful for them.
All in all, it was a great way to spend the evening. PLUS Rodd got his new favorite game from our new favorite neighbors... :)
Yeah, We Love You All!
HAPPY 28TH BIRTHDAY RODD!

Easter Festivities

2009-04-15T21:25:00.001-06:00

There was a lot going on around Easter time. Luckily we got to enjoy most of it. Here are some fun pictures from the Hofheins Family celebration... Actually, these were all taken from my phone due to my unpreparedness. Better quality than I expected. :)
I actually do have more pictures here of the kids, but I'll have to get them off of my phone and repost... :)

St. Patrick's Day Special - 2 in 1!!!

2009-03-12T22:31:00.000-06:00

This Saturday I am hosting my first... well, retail party? A good friend of mine and my mothers, Sonja, is a consultant for Scentsy and Cookie Lee. She is looking to get rid of some of her inventory and there are going to be some AWESOME deals! There will also be yummy treats and good company! Come and enjoy the fun!

ST. PATRICKS DAY SPECIAL PARTY!!! Scentsy Wickless Candles and Cookie Lee Jewelry Open House Saturday, March 14th from 1:00-3:30pm. Drawings for FREE PRODUCT! Great discounts up to 60% OFF Cookie Lee Inventory!! New Warmers and Scents from Scentsy! Let me know that you're coming and get a $5.00 off purchase of $30 or more coupon. For more information visit www.cookielee.com/sonjashupe or www.scentsy.com/sweethomes, or contact Sonja Shupe, Independent Consultant at (801) 427-1908. Hope to see you there! (Some treats will be served, YUM!!)

If you are not able to make it but would still like to check out the catalogs, the links are below. Just contact Sonja with any items you'd like to order and she'll hook you up!!!

Check out the Cookie Lee Catalog Here.

Check out the Scentsy Wickless Candles Catalog Here.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

Looking Forward to the Night

2009-02-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

So, I love staying up after Rodd goes to bed when I can help it. He is a consistent sleep-talker and when I catch something it is definitely worth it.

On Saturday night, Rodd fell asleep while I was catching up on some 'Office' that I had missed. I was just playing some games online to try to wind down and hopefully fall asleep when he started up. Now, Rodd mumbles a lot in his sleep so he is hard to make out, but this is what I got out of him.

Rodd:"The bulldogs are outside the house. WOOHOO!" (Throwing his hands into the air)
Me: "What is outside the house??"
Rodd: "The bulldogs?"
Me: "What's that?"
Rodd: "Um... Mini-sized candy bars? Right?"
Me: "Yep." (laughing, I couldn't help myself!)
After a moments pause, he rolled over toward me and said, " I don't like where this conversation is going."
I looked at him for a second in COMPLETE shock. Then asked, "Honey, are you awake?"
He didn't respond. I totally busted up laughing and could not contain myself for 20 minutes! I told him first thing this morning when we woke up and we both had a good laugh.

Also when we were in Mesa visiting his sister for Thanksgiving he had some good ones there too.
Randomly, in the middle of the night, (I may have been reading?) he says(in an English, Piratey accent) , "Tis I! The Russian Sucka Guy!"

More to come... definitely. Rodd was the one that even suggested this go on the blog, so I know that I am safe. :)

Oil Change and Car Service - CHEAP!!!

2009-01-15T12:29:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone!

My brother Austin is looking to make some money and will do some maintenance on you car for CHEAP! He's worked for Jiffy Lube for a good long time and he's done stuff for me for years and does good work. You can let me know if you are interested or feel free to just give him a call and let him know I sent ya!

Austin and Rodd

You can reach him @ 801-472-5537. Spread the word, anyone is welcome... We Love the support!!! Thanks ALL!!!

Indiana Pacers @ Utah Jazz

2009-01-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

We stumbled on a great deal and were able to go to the Jazz game Monday night with Josh and Dee Knell and his brother and a date. We got $92 seats + Hot Dogs for $28 (6 seats + 6 FREE hotdogs = $162)!! The last game we went to was around Rodd's birthday last year. We got to see the Jazz play in the playoffs. It was a really great game. The Jazz put up a good fight and came out on top! 120-113. It was definitely a close one.

I'll have to post some pictures later, my computer and blogger are apparently having trouble with images today.

Theater Hopping: The New Thing

2009-01-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so last night I got a text from my lovely cousin Ally inviting me to a movie with the Estrogen Club today: Bride Wars at Provo Towne Centre at 12:45. I wasn't really planning on going but my mother talked me into it and we met up at the theater. By the time we got there, it was just after 12:30 and we got in line to get some treats. We are walking to our theater talking and mom says, Oh, here it is, and points to the title above the entrace showing Bride Wars. We walk in at 12:49 and the movie has already started. Not the credits, it's actually showing the movie. We are looking in the audience for the girls and don't see them. I text Ally ' Where are you?'. She texts back, come in on the left side. We had entered on the right side. So after 5 minutes of looking on the right side, we walk out and around of the little theater to the left side.
After atleast 5 more minutes of looking while the movie is playing, we decide to just sit down because we just can't see them. 10-15 minutes later, my mom turns to me and says, "It feels like this movie is ending, do you think we're in the right theater??" I had kind of been asking myself the same question, but knew for sure that it was the right movie. So I grab the tickets and walk outside to check the theater number. So we were totally in the wrong theater. We had gone to the 11:30 am instead of the 12:45. I was laughing so hard when I walked back in that I was crying and I could hardly breathe. We eventually found the right theater, where the girls were sitting and got to enjoy the rest of the movie, a good portion toward the end that we had already seen. :) Needless to say, we came up with a quite logical explanation for this new method of 'theater hopping'. It's just like reading the last page of a book. We just wanted to make sure that we liked the ending of the show before we paid to watch the whole thing. :)

Ashley needs...

2009-01-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

I keep looking at this on one of my friends blogs (my lovely friend and roommate Ta'Mera Masson). You go to Google search and type in your name + needs (ie Ashley needs) then type in the top 10 things that come up. I had to do Rodd as well, I just couldn't help myself. :)

Ashley needs...
1. Ashley needs to keep wearing stuff like this. (...The more skin she shows, the better she looks.) I just HAD to put the next sentence... HAHA!! :S
2. Ashley needs to splash the cash to win Newcastle fans back.
3. Ashley needs prayer.
4. Ashley needs to learn the rules.
5. Ashley needs a home that is well-structured and able to provide the special assistance she needs.
6. ASHLEY NEEDS A NAP
7. Ashley needs formula ASAP
8. Ashley needs more support.
9. ashley needs this.
10. Ashley Needs phone numbers again her phone got stolen.

Rodd needs...
1. RODD needs a new wardrobe.
2. Rodd needs just 11 more treys.
3. Rodd needs money
4. rodd needs adjustment
5. RODD needs to launch few rockets and we out!
6. Rodd needs not to always be afraid, sooner or later, there will be a triumph over difficulties!
7. Rodd needs to sit his horse Bohemian Dancer back last and tag Consular or Smart and Mighty into the race from the 600, then get it to the outside in the straight.
8. Rodd needs to get going on that song.
9. Rodd needs any icing on the cake this spring.
10. Rodd needs people like you to defend him.

Well, I admit this was very entertaining. It will be interesting to see what Rodd has to say when he sees it??? :)

Boomerang Bookstore: GREAT FOR STUDENTS!!!

2009-01-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

So, lately we've been trying to get rid of stuff that we don't need, never have or will use, etc. I am constantly reminded that we still have SO MANY of our textbooks. Some from our 2 years at SUU, and even some from when Rodd attended UVSC (02-04???) So I've been listing them on Ebay and have not had much luck... So, of course, I've turned to the textbook buyback stores, which I HATE.

I did my research to make sure I didn't get ripped off too badly, and found this little store right by BYU campus and J-DAWG's (for those of you who are familiar). They buy, sell, rent, trade all different kinds of books, not just textbooks. Plus on their website, it says that they are even buying certain video games too... I sold a good stack of books to them and got a very good buyback rate. I actually ended up getting more than I even expected for some of them. :) You can see their website here. You can even email them your schedule and they will get the books that you need and let you know when they have them. Awesome? I think so.

Also, while I was there trying to get rid of my many books, there was a girl in front of me buying a book. One of the 2 guys that own the place said," You're not getting that book for [such and such] class are you?" She looked at him funny and said that she was. "Then that's not the book that you're looking for, you're going to need [such and such], but we actually don't have it in right now." I was impressed. They actually know what they're talking about.

I'm all for locals starting up their little businesses to make a buck or two, and when I see quality work I definitely spread the word. This little shop is definitely worth a peek!

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW???

2009-01-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

Well, as all of you living in Utah have probably noticed, it has been snowing for a long time. It started on Monday 5th around noon in Provo, and it hasn't really let up since. Apparently it isn't supposed to let up until tomorrow Morning (Wednesday 7th)! I'm not sure that song is quite appropriate for us right now. Although we are AND should be grateful for the moisture we are receiving... Many of us are not excited and would probably not LET it snow, given we had the chance to stop it... :) Wow. I shoveled this morning and realized just how much now we HAVE gotten...
I took this picture this morning around 10am, so it is pretty current. It has been snowing for over 24 hours and is still going strong. This next picture was from last night, around 7pm... so after 7 hours of snow.

Rodd got home from work and spent some time outside with me while I shoveled. He looks kind of excited in this picture, but don't let him fool you... He HATES the snow.

I took this picture last night around 10pm because I was afraid that it would be gone by the morning. It was actually still their until our mailman came sometime around noon.

Needless to say, I am on the fence about it all. I like it for a short time. I hate driving around with everyone else in it, and I hate that Rodd has to work in it... But, I guess, "Since we've no place to go... Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!"

Christmas With The Jefferies

2008-12-25T23:30:00.001-07:00

Growing up, my family always slept in as long as they could on Christmas Day. When you smelt Breakfast Burritos, around 11am, it was time to get up. We would take our time eating, help clean up, etc... then finally decide, around 1-2pm that it was time to sit down and open presents. We would each take a turn and open one present at a time (There were 7 of us, so you can imagine how long this could take... ). Opening presents was usually followed by a Christmas Day movie at the theaters. This was the Hermansen tradition. The past 2 years that Rodd and I have opened our presents together at our house, Rodd has been so excited that we've opened presents EARLY! (at 8am) We are used to waking up at 6am, so we had been laying in bed trying to sleep in for some time. Given the opportunity to sleep in, we have to take advantage of it. Plus, we do not have children, so 8am on Christmas morning seems SO early to me. But I guess this is the Rodd and Ashley Jefferies tradition. :)

Santa filled our stockings! Rodd was afraid that he would know how to get in the house or know were we lived, so I had to remind him of the movie 'The Santa Claus' so that we could go to bed.

We each got a Threadless T-shirt from Santa... Wow, how does he always know what we want. It's still a mystery to me.. Rodd REALLY loved his. :)

We both look tired... you can tell. We had a late night at the Jefferies' house celebrating Christmas Eve. I don't have pictures of that right now, facebook is having a meltdown. But more soon to come!

Dominican Republic June 2008 Week 3

2008-11-19T19:55:00.002-07:00

Confresi (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

With a few exceptions, this pretty much sums up our last week there in the Dominican Republic... Oh, and some of this...

We spent half a day at Ocean World. That was a lot of fun. Rodd loves dolphins... :)

The Love Birds were also fun... we even went back after we had seen the whole park because we loved them so much.

We also took a day to tour Puerto Plata. Everyone had been telling us that we had to go and ride the Telefedico, which is a lift that takes you to the top of the highest mountain in Puerto Plata and you can look down on the whole city. Very cool.
They also built a monument in Puerto Plata celebrating Dominican history. I'll have to ask Rodd and fix this part... I'm so horrible! But it was very cool.More pictures and information on this to come... :)

Dominican Republic June 2008 Week 2

2008-11-08T08:46:00.001-07:00

Week 2: Cabarete, Rep. Dom.

The next week we took a bus ride (like our charter buses) up to Cabarete where we stayed at the Coconut Palms resort. This was a view of one of the cities we passed from the bus. Yet another reminder of how fortunate we are to live where we live and have the things that we have. Since we traveled to Cabarete on Saturday, we got up at 6am the next morning to travel to Lise to go to a ward where Rodd had a lot of member friends and baptisms. Their meeting started at 9am. This was great. We had to jump transportation like 6 times to get there. I was riding a motoconcho in my little skirt. Good times... We got there to find they had a brand new church! Yea! As modern as a new church here in the states... Wow! And they are so proud of it... So cool. There we were able to visit a couple of families.

La Familia de la Rosa
(we brought them some pictures, they were so excited...)
Gabi
Marcos y Danelis Breton

Visiting some of the families and areas where Rodd had fond memories, I was able to see a lot of what life in the Dominican Republic was like. It was so humbling to be with the people there. They were all so happy for every little thing they had, which wasn't much, and they were willing to give it all to you! At every house we stopped at we were offered more food than 5 people could eat! These people are in poverty and hardly have enough food to feed their families, yet they are welcoming people into their homes and sharing all that they have with them. Even with us Americans, who have more that they can probably even comprehend. They are such good examples of being Christlike. Here was the kitchen of one of the families that we visited.

If you are familiar with the Hispanic culture, everything is about family. On this one lot, probably about 3/4 acre (maybe), there were 5 houses and one hut for the kitchen. 5 different families share this kitchen!Then again, they are all eating together and sharing one meal, but it's amazing to see how grateful and happy they are. I also had a picture of what they were cooking on the stove, but depending on when you are reading this... I didn't want you to lose your appetite. :)

This is the inside of a typical house. Not much there but a fridge, fan, and a whole bunch of chairs. At every house that we went to, I noticed one major similarity. We sat around and talked. They are a people who truly do thrive on company. It was very relaxing and refreshing compared to our fast-paced lives here in America.

One day, we took la ruta into Sosua, a local beach town with lots of shops, a couple days enjoy local food, walk the beach, and barter for our souvenirs. I'll have to find a better picture...
I wanted to find a Dominican painting that I loved and it took me forever to find one... but I finally did!

While in Cabarete, our resort had it's own private beach (which we practically had all to ourselves because the Americans never leave the resorts here). Down at the beach there was a little Grill where you could order food... I ordered what was called seafood salad one day. Rodd took a bite of shrimp and I asked him what he thought. "It tastes dirty." This was the day we realized that we would never order seafood again. They don't clean anything... :) To this day Rodd still teases me about ordering 'Sea Turd Salad'. (It's the plate in the middle)

I think seeing the animals around was really hard for me... they are so skinny! :( At this beach grill is where we met our little pet friend. We named him Manchi. Our friend Bolivar in the capital is pretty bilingual, so it's fun for him to be able to practice his english with us. His family had a dog named manchi. When he was translating it for us, he translated it as 'stains'. (HA!) It's supposed to be 'spot'. I got such a kick out of that. I told Rodd that if and when we get a dog that his name was going to be Manchi. We fed him the rest of our seafood salad and he played with us the rest of the day.

This is a kitty we found at the beach at Sosua when we were shopping. SO CUTE! Probably the most nourished animal I had seen yet. I'm a real sucker for animals, cats and dogs especially. We stayed at the Coconut Palms Resort and had a lot of fun there, especially with a beach all to ourselves!

No air conditioning... but we did have a fan! The chirping of the bugs at night was so loud I could hardly sleep! but we were right by the ocean... We never used our kitchen here... but having our own fridge was nice. Very Americanized. :)

Return to the Dominican Republic June 2008

2008-11-08T08:35:00.001-07:00

Week 1: Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana

We finally made it back to the Dominican Republic! We went in June so it was kind of an anniversary celebration. We were there for three weeks! Wow, so much fun. I look back and can't believe that it's been 4 months since we've been home! We spent the first week in the capital at the MTC on the temple grounds. So awesome! We were able to attend the temple a lot and do a lot a sight-seeing and such.

My Grandma was able to come with us the first week while we were in the capital and also had a great time! Wow, she's a trooper. She kept up with us the whole week! I'm really glad that she was able and willing to come on such adventure with us. We had a blast with her.

Here we are riding in one of their public source of transportation: La Ruta! They are all totally ghetto sedans just driving in circles (routes), but it was nice because it was so cheap! You can't see her, but there is actually another girl to my left... they usually fit 4 in the back and 2 in the front passenger seat... seating 7(including the driver...)! And with a big guy like Rodd there with us in the back... I've practically got this girl on my lap. It was quite the experience.

We met up with one of Rodd's friends, Bolivar Compress there as many times as we possible could! We were able to catch a ride with a member and meet them for church on Sunday. His sweet wife made us probably my favorite Dominican dinner we had our whole trip! It was a feast! Grandma really hit it off with Bolivar. They talked the whole time like old friends.

This is a Colmado. These little stores are on every street corner (atleast) and are run locally.

While on our tour of the capital, we had seen dozens of limpia botas (shoe shiners). At the end of our tour, this was the one that convinced Rodd to get his shoes cleaned. He was the only one with the right stuff to do white shoes, plus he followed us on our tour for nearly an hour for one customer! His name is Alex. We paid him with some lunch. Their Dominican Specialty: La Bandera (Chicken, Rice, Beans). We really enjoyed his company. We tried to ask him about school. He said he went in the evening (after he had done a days work), but I'm not sure he really even went to school. Here are some Dominican students.

We got a chance to go to The Museum of Natural History: The Dominican Man. We learned a lot of interesting things about the history of the culture and 'the real story' of Columbus coming... Plus it was fun for Grandma to see some typical houses and such, since she would be missing out on the real stuff.

We wandered off one night searching for some of Rodd's favorite Dominican food, one specifically was Chimichuris (it's comparable to a hamburger, but apparently so much better. :) ) We stumbled on this little stand selling empanadas and juice. It was so packed. It was right by a college and inbetween classes it was the place to eat, I guess. We got some empanadas and some juge de melon con chino (cantelope and mandarin juice). It was our favorite meal in the capital. We ate there 3 times.

We learned a lot about the country's history and it was also so interesting to see the difference in the lifestyle of the people there from the other parts of the country. They are living quite well in comparison. A person with a good job there is making about 90 pesos per hour (that's about 3 dollars). We really loved spending time at the capital and exporing places where Rodd was less familiar.

Good News! Mission Accomplished...

2008-11-01T11:22:00.000-06:00

I finally tracked down some Amish Friendship Bread! (Thanks Nancy!) My good friend from our ward, Orva, had a start that no one wanted! Can you believe that? Wow, Blogs get things done.

Let me know if you are interested in a start in about a week! It's the yummiest bread... and you basically choose what flavor to make it. Plus it's so easy and just takes a couple of minutes of attention everyday. But you have to be patient for 10 days to make it. But it's so wonderful... That just made my day! What a great start to this November. :)

The Hunt for the Perfect Halloween Costume

2008-11-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

I have my voting sticker on! I actually wore my costume to work and to the last day of early voting! It was a lot of fun.

We had decided last week on Rodd's half birthday that we were going to be a grandma and grandpa for Halloween, thanks to the D.I. That night I got a gray curly hair wig. We went to D.I. on Thursday to pick out our costumes between Cory Mon's concert and Weekly Basketball. It was so much fun!

Well, initially we had gone with the idea in mind that we were just going to be a grandma and grandpa... Until we started picking out his clothes and said, "This is something my dad would wear." Wow. That's when the light bulb went on. This is what he came up with.

It was a lot of fun for us, unfortunately the family didn't get to see it, so we knew we had to take a lot of pictures. I had already picked out my costume when we had decided on this, but I think it works for a Nancy-Pants. But I will admit, Rodd's version of Kent is a little scary! Some of these pictures look just like him, I can hardly believe it, especially from a distance. We took this picture especially for the siblings... Rodd knew you would appreciate it. :)

All in all, we did have a great Halloween. We ordered some Chinese and read our book in between trick-or-treaters. I heard a advertisement on the radio for Smith's Marketplace that gave me the idea to put out a bowl of potatoes for the kids to take and see their reaction, then someone else swoops in with a bowl of candy and saves the day. It sounded fun so we busted out the potatoes. Pretty funny, most kids wouldn't have it... they looked at me like, 'okay, joke's over. Where's my candy.' We had a lot of Hispanic kids with their moms come by. We actually have a lot of Hispanics in our neighborhood, plus there is an apartment complex at the end of our street. With one bunch of hispanic kids that came by, Rodd pulled out the potatoes and the candy and said, "Here you go! But you can only choose one..." They laughed. All of the girls took candy, but three of the boys took potatoes! One of the kids turned to his mom and said, "Look Mom! Papas Fritas!" We asked him if he was serious and he said, "Yeah! I have plenty of candy!" What???? Just another reason why we love the hispanic culture.

We hope that everyone had a fun Halloween!
Fun and relaxing for us... :)

Ward Chili Cook Off and Glenn Beck Show

2008-10-26T00:00:00.001-06:00

I had seen a sign up for the Ward Chili Cook-Off come around in Primary and noticed that no one had yet signed up to bring chili... So I signed up thinking that, like our last ward, they were going to need chili. Last year we were one of 4 pots of chili for the whole ward... yeah. So I signed up to bring a recipe that we got from our good friends, the Mecham's. There must have been 30 pots of chili there! Good for our ward! They are so supportive of ward activities. There is usually a really good turn out... the more the merrier. :)

Well, our chili didn't get an award, but it was one of the few to completely finished! That's good enough for me... ( Thanks Audrey!)

Here are some of our wonderful Judges... :)

We didn't get to dress up because we were going straight to UVU after the dinner, but we did get a couple of pictures.

Rodd won tickets to the Glenn Beck Show from KNRS Talk Radio on his 1/2 birthday for tonight. We went there after filling ourselves with Chili. We did miss out on the trunk-or-treat though. So many sweet costumes in our ward... we even had some girls go as Nacho Libre. We really loved hearing Glenn Beck talk. He's pretty awesome. We went to hear him speak at the Freedom Festival on the 4th of July at the Marriott Center and loved him there too. It was definitely a fun treat. I'm just glad Rodd wanted me to come with him! He's a sweetheart.

Glenn Beck's conversion story, "An Unlikely Mormon" is such a cool story, you can actually see bits of it here.

Life has gotten so busy and so crazy that it seems like we're always going straight from one thing to another until we crash til the morning and do it all over again! Crazy... but we're getting to do a lot of fun stuff and we're enjoying life. That's what it's about, right?

Happy 1/2 Birthday Rodd!!!

2008-10-25T12:00:00.000-06:00

Rodd's 1/2 birthday was yesterday! Yes, we did celebrate... only because this is the first year that I have really remembered ahead of time. It's usually something we remember, because it's a tradition in Rodd's family, but they don't really celebrate it. It was all a complete surprise. :)

He got a 1/2 balloon, 1/2 shirt (GO JAZZ!), 1/2 a pair of shorts, 1 glove, and 1/2 of a cake... Haha... Okay, he actually got a real gift t00. A WHOLE shirt. This was his reaction...

(Thanks for the idea Oak!) Look at that smile... Wow. SO HAPPY! It's true, he really does hate raisins in his cookies!

We went to Winger's for dinner and did some Halloween costume shopping. It was SO FUN!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Rodd!

I Love You Honey!!

Color Me Mine and Conference...

2008-10-22T06:41:00.000-06:00

Last week we had a mother-daughter double date and went to color me mine... I didn't have my camera with me so I didn't get a picture of the 4 of us... Sad :( But it was a lot of fun! We went with our old friends Nichole and Tasia (Taylor) Hlawatschek. For me it was really hard to decide what to do, we went later so we didn't have a ton of time, but we were still there for 3 hours! One hour to decide what we wanted to do, and 2 hours getting everything ready and doing it before they closed up.

I decided to do this water pitcher. I actually had to come back the next day after work and finish (Luckily it is right by my work, in the Riverwoods)

I wanted to do this one too, but my mom couldn't decide what to do so she did this one for me. She did such a great job, I love it!

It was a really fun activity to do and still be social and catch up. Also it made me think of Brother Uchdorf's talk during the General Relief Society Broadcast. He talked about how so often women forget that they really have such an important role, especially those moms who ' just stay home ' with they kids. He also encouraged us to be creative.

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it."

For any of you sister's who weren't able to make it to the broadcast, you should definitely read this one, it is so inspiring. The entire conference was... refreshing, I have posted the URL to Brother Uchdorf's message:

http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-37,00.html

It's true that creation does bring a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction... Is anyone else working on other things? It would be fun to hear about what you are creating... :)

Thanks for reading!

Amish Friendship Bread!

2008-10-19T18:10:00.000-06:00

We have been talking about how much we have been craving Amish Friendship bread... We were introduced to it about a year ago and made a couple loaves and I haven't seen it since! :( If anyone comes across a start for it... I would love to get one. THANKS!

UVUphoria

2008-10-18T15:06:00.001-06:00

June 30th, 2008
UVUphoria - Josh Gracin, Joe Nichols, Collin Raye in concert... :)

Rodd came last minute because we ended up with an extra ticket. He even got dressed up in his cowboy attire... Isn't he great? He'll do anything to put a smile on my face. :)

My Brother Josh... and I really couldn't tell you whose kids those are. HA!

Later he met some new friends... they were obviously more exciting than us.

Just hanging out with the fam. This was Rodd's first concert... EVER. YEEHAW!

There's the whole group... even some random girl in the back smiling for our picture! (Probably another friend that Josh made) It was a lot of fun! I hadn't been to a concert in over a year!
All the hanging out reminded me of Country Jam... I miss it!

Group Date Night!

2008-10-18T11:25:00.000-06:00

Costa Vida & Fat Cats!

Last weekend was group date night with Mark and Joci, Jason and Ashley, Mitch and Kristen (they came after BYU beat NMexico :) ) and Rodd and I. It was a lot of fun, outside of the fact that I was sick all week with gastrointestinitus... BOO!!

But it felt really good to get out.

This is Jason's strike dance... we loved it so much we had to record it... :)

After bowling, we headed to Mitch and Kristen's for some sundae's and hot cocoa... Good times!