Sunday, November 30, 2008

Completed "Thankful Book"

I really surprised myself and was very diligent in writing in my "Thankful book" every night before I went to bed. I had so many things each day to be grateful for so I tried to not duplicate things. I tried to be as descriptive as I could so that I would remember better in the future. I am going to copy my entries here so that I will always have them (who knows where that little notebook will end up in a few years)!! I am going to copy it exactly as I wrote it, sometimes I went to bed late so hopefully they make sense!

Nov 1st
I am so grateful for Melissa and Steve and the awesome party they hosted tonight (our families late Halloween party).
Nov 2nd
I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I am grateful for my testimony. I know that this is the true church and that we have a prophet of God here on the earth today, President Monson. I know that Jesus Christ came here to earth and was a perfect example for each one of us and that he made all things possible through the Atonement. I know that my Heavenly Father knows me and loves me, even when I make wrong choices. I know he hears and answers my prayers. I am grateful for the scriptures and I need to read them more and understand them better.
Nov 3rd
I love the wind blowing all the beautifully colored leaves all over the streets...crisp, cool air outside is the best!
Nov 4th
I am grateful today for the opportunity that I had to vote. I am so thankful for this wonderful country that I live in and all the advantages and opportunities that I have. I am so grateful for my freedoms and the people that sacrifice so much to protect them.
Nov 5th
SNOW...I woke up to some beautiful white snow on the ground!!
Nov 6th
I am so thankful for my Book Club friends...they are the best!!!
Nov 7th
I am thankful for my job and all the things I have learned. I enjoy it most of the time!
Nov 8th
I am thankful for caring, generous, thoughtful people. Today Amberly got her trike that was paid for with donations, she was so happy. There are some wonderful people in this world!
Nov 9th
I am grateful for the young Women's program.
Nov 10th
I am so thankful for technology, it is so wonderful to be able to stay in touch with my family through e-mail and blogs!
Nov 11th
It is Veteran's Day. I am so thankful I live in this country, for all the freedoms and opportunities. I am glad that there are selfless men and women who are willing to defend them for us, thank you so much!
Nov 12th
I am so grateful for missionary work. The sacrifice is great, and I am happy that we have such worth, ambitious members who are willing to go out and teach the gospel.
Nov 13th
I am so thankful that I am married to Rich. He is a man of integrity and someone that I really look up to and respect. He is such a hard worker and so helpful around the house. He has provided me and the kids with a beautiful home and all the things we need. He is a very faithful servant of our Heavenly Father and an excellent example to everyone. He loves the Lord and serves with all his heart. He takes his Priesthood very seriously and is worth of all the blessings he has received. I love him with all my heart!
Nov 14th
I am so glad that the price of gas is now under $2 per gallon. A few months ago it was over $4 a gallon. i hope it will stay this price!
Nov 15th
I am so happy to have a loving husband who wants to spend time with me. When we got married we decided to always make time for each other and have a "date night" once a week. It has really helped strengthen our marriage.
Nov 16th
I am so thankful for the temple and that I am part of an eternal family. Alex gave a talk today in the Primary program about his experience in the temple, I hope he will always remember that day and make it a goal to be sealed to his eternal companion someday!
Nov 17th
I am so thankful for books...I really enjoy reading and getting to escape to a different place and time. I am trying to read my scriptures every night too, so far so good!
Nov 18th
I am so grateful for my Bunco friends, we have been doing it for over 3 years now and I have made some really great friends. I really enjoy the time we spend together.
Nov 19th
I am so thankful for free agency even though it makes life so much harder. Sometimes bad choices bring wonderful blessings that wouldn't have been possible otherwise.
Nov 20th
Midnight movies and Mom and daughter bonding (Twilight)
Nov 21st
I am so thankful I am healthy
Nov 22nd
I am so grateful for our neighborhood and the nice area we live in.
Nov 23rd
I am thankful for the priesthood in our home. Alexa has not been feeling well and Rich gave her a blessing last night. I am so glad he honors his Priesthood and am very blessed to see how it works, even in the smallest ways.
Nov 24th
I am grateful for a reliable car that gets me where I need to go.
Nov 25th
I am so glad we live so close to all Rich's family and for their friendship and love and wonderful examples.
Nov 26th
I am so glad when we get the chance to go to Logan and spend time with my family. I love them SO much and I miss them ALL the time.
Nov 27th
I am grateful for my Mom and all her hard work and all that she has taught me. She is very loving and selfless and I love her very much. I am extremely thankful for my Dad, he is the hardest working man I know, he is SO knowledgeable and can fix anything. I love that he will drop everything to spend time with his kids and grandkids. We are all so lucky to have them in our lives.
Nov 28th
I am thankful for traditions. Going shopping in the early hours of the morning would be pointless without my 5 sisters. Thanks for the memories!!
Nov 29th
I am grateful for Christmas music and the wonderful mood that it puts people in.
Nov 30th
I am thankful for my Grandpa and all the things he taught me. I am so grateful for the legacy that he left his kids and grandkids and great grandkids. He was a great example and I really miss him and his smile!

Friday, November 28, 2008

"DoorBusting"

I didn't take any pictures (probably cause we all look pretty ugly, we just go in our pj's, except Monica who wore jeans for some reason). Melissa and Amy went to Kohl's at 3am and Me, Monica, Amb and Mel went to Walmart. There really wasn't anything this year that I was dying to have and that was a great deal but that's OK.
At Walmart they let you stay inside the store which is nice but there is a huge downside...Walmart shoppers and employees are THE WORST. It is really dangerous (one worker was killed at a Walmart, trampled on by stupid people) Melanie and I both had people pushing and jumping on top of other people. It will take a really good deal to get me back there next year!!
We then went to McDonald for breakfast and then hit Shopko, Kmart, Kohls, the mall, Sam's Club...and probably others I am leaving out. The workers at Kmart were the most friendly and the most helpful we were all really impressed. I did get alot of shopping done and we made some great memories!!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

SPOONS

After dinner and before pie we played "spoons" for a while. It is a wild game and can get pretty dangerous. I only lasted one game but people had fun playing.
 
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We ate our pie and then dad pulled out the ads (yes, he has to hide them so we can all look at them together). We make our lists and decide where to go first and at what early hour we need to leave!

Thanksgiving Dinner

This is the year when ALL my family is together for Thanksgiving Day...we were really glad that Brandon and Mandi came up too (we missed the rest of the Keller clan, they got the flu and probably had a miserable Thanksgiving).
We all have certain jobs on Thanksgiving...Mom does the turkey and rolls (Melissa was taking lessons from her this year). Dad does the potatoes and alot of other stuff, Monica does the stuffing, Alexa helps set the table, Jason makes the cranberry sauce, not really sure what Mel, Melissa and Amy's jobs are (they do help I think)...I do the sweet potatoes and have for as long as I can remember. For some reason Amy and Melissa wanted to have a try but I wouldn't let them and they kept trying to sneak in and snatch my job...whats up with that??
 
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We have alot of fun preparing the food and all being together in the kitchen. One of these days my Mom and Dad might have to upgrade to a larger house...we are running out of room!!
 
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It is sad that it takes all day to prepare the meal and like 20 minutes to gobble it down (unless your Brandon, then it takes an hour)!! I like the rolls, stuffing and sweet potatoes the best!!!
 
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Rich drove up today and was late because he locked himself out of the house when he went running, his Dad was able to "break in" to our house and let him in. He got there as we were all finishing so we tried to keep him company as he ate. Max refused to eat anything at all...he had 3 baby oranges later in the night, I hope he can survive on what little he eats!!

Posing in Pairs (Thanksgiving Day)

For some reason I had a TON of pictures of people posing together...so this is alot of pictures but they are cute (well let's be honest, they are not ALL cute, but that is my family)!!

 
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We had a fun time spending the day together and posing for pictures!!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Pumpkin Pie

Me and my Dad are usually in charge of making the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. I am not sure who does it when I am In Spanish Fork...I would guess my Mom.
 
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My Dad worked at a Bakery when he was younger and makes a mean pie crust. My part is pretty easy since we just use the canned pumpkin and the recipe off the can. We have a fun time making the pies together!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Midnight Movie Madness


Alexa and I got tickets to see "Twilight" at 12:23am. We both read the book and were really excited for the movie. When I told Rich that we were going he was a little disappointed, I guess he figured we would see it together. I didn't think he would be very interested so I didn't really even talk to him about it. Well, he didn't want to miss out on the fun times so he took Alex and Max to "Bolt" at midnight. I guess they were among the few midnight movie goers NOT seeing Twilight. Including the 3 of them there were 7 people total in the theater. Both the boys fell asleep and Rich thought the movie was just OK.

On to our adventure...we got there at around 10pm (after a quick stop at Target). There were 14 midnight showings at the Orem theater and we wanted to get a good seat so we went early. There were not too many people in line outside for our time spot so we went and got hot chocolate first. We came prepared with stuff to do, she had homework and I brought my latest crocheting project. It was not too cold so it wasn't bad being outside. They let us inside at about 11:30pm to wait in the hallway.

I liked the movie and if you have read the book I think you should for sure see it. It was a pretty low budget movie (which I wasn't really expecting). I love the girl who played Bella and I thought she did a great job. Edward grew on me throughout the movie. There were some parts that just made me laugh out loud (the classroom scene where the fan blows her smell towards Edward and his facial expressions were hilarious). I thought the first part was pretty slow and there was some really awkward acting but the middle and the end were great!! I am curious to see how the next one will look and if they will have a bigger budget this time. I am really glad that I was one of the first people to see it because I hate hearing all the things people say, sometimes that influences the way I see it so sorry if i have ruined it for you now if you haven't seen it!!

Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)

My New Wedding Ring

Rich and I decided that we should file a claim with our insurance and buy me a new ring. The store where he bought my first one was having this "huge" sale and so we thought we would see what they had to offer.
 
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We got a great deal on this ring and the center diamond is bigger than my original ring but it just isn't the same. I do like the new ring but I think it will take a while for it to grow on me.
It is hard to let go of something so special, Rich spent alot of time picking out that ring for me and he did it ALL on his own (well he had his sisters help but we never went ring shopping together so it was a complete surprise for me)!! He added a band after 3 years of me asking, he gave it to me for Christmas as another complete surprise, and then of course I still wasn't satisfied so he added another one the following Valentines Day (with a little coaxing from me).
I am still holding out a little bit of hope that my ring will somehow turn up somewhere!!!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Bunco Girls

We finally have a picture of EVERYONE (including our favorite sub). It is pretty rare that all of us are actually at Bunco so we took advantage and got Kellye's husband to take a picture for us. Due to some crazy circumstances we even had our favorite sub there too!!

Here are the all the girls: McKell, Stephanie, Me, Andrea, Rachel, Carrie, Kellye, Dani, Jennifer, Lindsey, Shannon, Tiesha and Janean.

I have so much fun at Bunco and I am so glad that I get to spend one night a month with these girls!! I think this fall was the start of our 4th year doing this and I know that some people are getting "Bunco burn-out" but hopefully we can keep doing it for a lot more years!!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Tagged Things I have done!

Things I have done... Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done and make sure to put your score at the end.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Gone without food or water for 24 hours or longer
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Stayed up for 24 hours with NO sleep at all
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Changed a lightbulb
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Mowed the lawn
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

48 out of 99 I guess i still have a lot of living left to do!!

I tag everyone who reads this!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Funny Story

I have to share this story (mostly so I can remember it and so Max will know how funny he was). Rich didn't go to church yesterday, he wasn't feeling very good. I was running late and so I didn't have time to get Max ready so I just left him home with Rich. He was pretty good to leave Rich alone and just watch Spongebob. I shut his bedroom door before I left so he wouldn't make a mess while I was gone.
He decided that he wanted to get into his room so he tried to open the door. He can't open our door knobs yet (thank goodness) so he started knocking on the door. That woke up Rich and he could hear Max knocking on his door. After a few minutes, Max said "Hulk, open the door" he has a big Hulk and Spiderman guy on his bed and if you follow my blog you know that Rich and Max play with them alot and do voices for them. Well Rich heard Max say this and couldn't resist answering Max in Hulk's voice. He said "No Max, it's my room" and then Max said "No Hulk, it's my room, get outta my bed" I guess the conversation continued for a few minutes and then Rich finally let him into his room.

Later that night he was at Grandma Copes house while me Rich and Alexa were at the Young Women in Excellence program. He tapped her on the leg and whispered, "Grandma I want pancakes" she was surprised by his request since none of her grand kids has ever asked her to make pancakes before. She doesn't like pancakes so she didn't have any mix for them. She gave him an apple instead and that was OK with him. He has never asked me for pancakes either...how funny, I guess he just had a craving!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Primary Program

This morning we had our Primary Program. I always look forward to it because I love seeing the kids and all the songs are great, there is just such a pure spirit that comes from the Primary kids. Alex was asked to give a talk about the Temple. He was not happy about it when I told him, in fact he cried and whined about it for several hours.
He was only 4 when we were sealed and he didn't remember too much about it. I asked Alexa to tell him what she remembered and also Rich and I talked to him about it to try to jog his memory. Here is the talk that we all came up with together and the one that he gave in Sacrament Meeting:

When I was 4 I got to go to the Logan Temple with my Mom and Rich and Alexa so we could be sealed as a family for eternity.

Me and Alexa waited in a room with some really nice Grandma's and colored and watched a movie. When it was time they took us in a room where my Mom and Rich and all our family was waiting for us. We kneeled around an alter and put our hands on top of each others. There were mirrors on all the walls and you could see yourself forever. I remember being very happy and everyone was crying. We were dressed in all white and Rich's Grandpa Cope sealed us together as an eternal family. After we went outside the temple and took pictures.

I am grateful that we are a family forever and I am so glad that we have Temples. I know this church is true and I am so grateful for my family and I love them very much.


He did such a great job and wasn't even nervous. He gave his talk right after they had sung "I Love to See the Temple" and it was perfect. I am so proud of Alex and want him to know that I love him very much and I too am so happy to be an eternal family.

Friday, November 14, 2008

HAPPY DAY

This really made my day...gas for $1.94 at Sam's Club in Provo. I filled up my van for less than $30 and I was on empty. I can't really remember the highest that gas went to this year, I have been told taht it was just over $4 a gallon OUCH!! It was costing me like $50 or $60 bucks to fill up...


ROAD TRIP ANYONE!!!


No really, I feel like really taking adavantage of this because you never know tomorrow it might jump back up to $3 or $4...let's pray it doesn't!!!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Amberly's NEW TRIKE

Amberly got her NEW TRIKE, and it's ALL thanks to Kellye!!! We got together this afternoon and surprised her!! It was a great day, the weather was perfect and she was able to practice a little bit.


Here is her reaction to the surprise...turn off my music at the bottom so you can hear the video...it was priceless!!



We had sweet rolls and hot chocolate and watched Amberly ride her new trike...it was a great time and again thanks so much to everyone who helped make this possible!!
 
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My family is very very grateful for all the giving and loving people who donated their money for Amberly's new trike. It makes me SO happy to know we have wonderful people out there trying to make this world a better place...keep it up!!


My sister just e-mailed me these pictures and she got some good ones. I wanted to post them too. Go here to see more.
The last two are after she had her first "wreck" she was trying to turn into the driveway and tipped over...Rich saw the whole thing, she got a bloody nose but she was OK, she kept saying to Rich "don't tell anyone, that was embarassing."
 
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Pack Night

Alex finally got his first award at pack night tonight. I wasn't there because we are tending 4 of Steph and Jeff's kids and I wasn't about to drag 7 kids out to pack night. Alex was really excited about earning this award.

Growing up with all girls in my family, I have NO CLUE when it comes to this stuff. Luckily, Rich is a Scout Leader so he helps Alex with all the things he needs to do to get his awards!!
I guess our ward has this tradition when the boys earn awards that the Dad holds the boy up-side-down and then he has to pin the pin on his Mom's shirt so that is what we did when he got home from pack night (it was kinda wierd). Good job Alex and keep up the hard work!!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

I VOTED


Well I went to the Jr. High and cast my ballot. I am pretty sick of hearing about this election and can't wait until it's over. I know it's important to vote but I just wasn't really happy with either candidate so I wrote myself in...I knew that there were alot of people out there that really thought I should be President so I figured I might as well support myself...you never know, maybe I'll WIN!!

I am kidding, of course. I did not write myself in but now aren't you really curious who I DID vote for!!!!

I just wanted to add to my post about the outcome of the election. Barack Obama will be our next President. He is the first African American President in history and that is worth being proud of, I think. Like I said before, I was not a huge fan of either candidate but I did watch Obama's acceptance speech and thought he did a really great job. Rich was very upset with the outcome and we got into a pretty heated discussion about it and things got pretty ugly. I know that there are alot of things people don't like about him and I just hope that he will do his best for our Country. I don't really get too involved with politics because it is so frustrating to me but I did want to make sure and note that history is in the making.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

My Mom's HAUNTED House

My mom LOVES Halloween. I am pretty sure that she is the reason that Alex LOVES Halloween so much!! She has SO MANY decorations it's not even funny. Her Birthday is in October and so she always got a ton of cute Halloween stuff for her Bday, now we just can't give her anymore cause she doesn't have anywhere left to put it!!



My Mom makes all Holidays really special and Halloween is maybe the BEST (her Christmas stuff is great but I think Halloween takes the prize)!!



Since October is such a crazy month we didn't get to even see her house until after Halloween. I remember when I was younger and all the neighborhood would come over just to see all her fun decorations (I guess they still do).



Thanks Mom for all the hard work (and Dad for hauling all the boxes) it is SO much work and everyone really appreciates it!!

Halloween Party "Oliver" Style

My family all went to Melissa and Steve's house for our annual Halloween Celebration. We did it a day late because my niece Whytli got baptized this morning and we didn't want to miss it so we headed up to Logan after the baptism.
Melissa really knows how to throw a fantastic party!! We had yummy potato skins (that were a huge hit) and brain jello and mummy dogs and chips and cookies and sloppy joes...it was a really great spread!! We ate ALL night long!!


Here are some pictures of the costumes (this is a long post, sorry)


Alex - Hula Girl


Monica - An ER Doctor holding Max - Bat


Max showing us how he flies (laying on the ground...he was actually having a fit about something, I know very surprising Max having a fit)!


My Dad - Scary right?? (he was Homer Simpson as you will see later)


My Mom - A Beautiful Maiden (in a youth sized costume, you go mom)


Amberly - Monica's patient


Brooklyn - Scarecrow


Brinlie - Cave Girl (or something, not really sure...oh I think a cat, sorry)


Kenzie - Elvyra


Owen - Elephant (he is showing me what elephants do)


Amy - 80's Girl


Jason - Thug


Melissa - Rocker


Ryan - Gorilla



Ok so my mom came in the kitchen and I yelled "Mom watch out" cause she hadn't seen Ryan in his costume yet and she started screaming and running and so of course he started chasing her....it was priceless!!


Rich also had some fun scaring people with his gross costume. Max was not a huge fan of the dead warewolf mask.


Melissa was trying to tell him that it was just his dad but he wasn't really buying it!