Great Date at Eight

For anyone interested in a really fun date... Comedy Sportz is something you could consider.


This was our date tonight. It was absolutely hilarious! And it was clean! I definitely recommend it to anyone... even if it's not on a date!

The one in Provo plays every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00 and 10:15. And there is a show on Thursday night as well, but I think it is different, so I don't know if it's any good.

There are 33 of them throughout the US. For the Friday and Saturday shows the cost is $10 at the door or $8 ($1.19 for a service fee) but that way you know you'll get a seat. Our show was sold out by 7:30 when the doors opened, so I was glad I got our tickets online earlier in the day. The Thursday show is only $4.

Here is the website for anyone interested:
http://comedysportzutah.com/

Happy Spaghetti Day

Today is Spaghetti Day. At least it is for my family. Every year for as long as I can remember, on February 26 I have eaten spaghetti for dinner. Why? You ask? We had a tradition in my family that we each got to pick dinner on our birthday. My younger brother, Andrew, always picked spaghetti.


He loved spaghetti... and hated broccoli. He once told a sister in our ward who had invited us for dinner that he was allergic to broccoli so that she wouldn't make it.



My first two memories involve Andrew. The very first being the time we left home in the middle of the night when my mom went into labor with him... that was 26 years ago last night. And the second memory... not as nice...



When Andrew didn't want to play "My Little Ponies" with me, I got mad and lied to my mom. I told her that he bit me just so he would get in trouble... he did. He didn't cry when my mom bit him 'back' though... he just looked really hurt and confused.



Andrew was always so kind-hearted. One of his classmates didn't invite him to his birthday party, but he still begged my mom to buy him a present anyway.



This family picture was taken on June 18, 1994. Just 3 days before Andrew died in a car accident. He was 11 years old.



So again this year, like all the 26th of Februaries, including the one on my mission, I will happily eat my spaghetti dinner in remembrance of Andrew.

Happy Birthday little brother, you are still in my heart and my thoughts... I love and miss you dearly.

sammy-isms challenge

For a 2 year old, I think Sam speaks fairly well. I (and sometimes others) can understand most of what he says. However, he does have a few words that only a select few (such as his mommy and daddy) will understand.

So here's the challenge. I will give you a quiz of my favorite sammy-isms... you give your best guess and the person who gets the most correct is the winner! (For your prize, I'll send your kid some stickers.) In a few days, I'll post the correct answers, so hurry, the clock is ticking....

1. goon-goon
2. pon-pong (2 words apply)
3. bowie
4. hoppy
5. owe-ee (3 correct answers here)
6. pees (and 3 again. and you'll need all 3 of these to get credit for this one)

Have fun!

a few new do's

Do #1: DO get a comfy new recliner...

because every woman deserves one.


Do #2: DO allow your husband to get an almost-as-comfy recliner...

so he won't steal yours.


Do #3: DO get a new 'do' when the first 'do' gets too long...

and tangly and heavy and unmanageable... and you get the point.


Do #4: DO the new 'do' that I still have to do or it just looks yucky....

but at least it DO not take me as long now...

a niecely arrival

Our little niece has arrived! Taylor and Shelly (Jason's little sister) have just earned an addition to their little family. Skye LeeAnn Jensen (not sure if I spelled it right) came early this morning weighing in at 7 lbs 2 oz. Yeah, that's pretty much all I know. (The picture is from a phone to a phone to email, so excuse the quality!) Congratulations Shelly and Taylor!

a faceless family

As I was checking my email this morning, Sam was in the office too, playing right behind my chair. I didn't look at what he was doing until he finished his project.

I guess he doesn't like faces, or eyes, or binkies.

Livi's Garden

For months I've been trying to figure out how to decorate Livi's room. I just want it to be a cute baby girl's room.

I painted these letters a while back, but I thought they looked a little drab and boring, so I added the flowers a few days ago.
I also had three painting that I did... and I am so UNartistic it is sad! Behold with thine own eyes:

So this:

became this:
And this:
became this:
And this:
became this:
to create this:

I think it went from looking like 3rd grade art, to maybe high school art.

But I think I'm ok enough with it to leave it... at least for now.

what's goin' on, you ask?

let's just say, it's been a long week.

thanks to the awesomeness of icy roads, we now get to send our car to the shop for most of next week.
poor jason. he went to work the other day when it had snowed so much, and the roads were completely covered in ice . he saw all the other cars by omniture sliding down the hill sideways, and couldn't resist joining in on the fun. he watched himself slowly slide into another guy's bumper.

you can't tell, thanks to the blanket, but the ONLY thing Sam is wearing is his shirt. he took everything off below to go potty and never put it back on. he then returned to finish watching cars and fell asleep....

...on the love sac, with nothing to stop him from 'rinsing' it off.


and here's the pretty face of the family. though as of late, it hasn't been a happy face most of the day... or night. she's getting over bronchiolitis. she didn't like it so much. neither did i.

i'm glad it's almost past.



so, basically to sum up our week:

i'm grateful that we even have a car. a nice car that gets us where we need to go. we are lucky that it was only a fender bender and that jason was not hurt at all. and there was no damage to the other guy's car, so the police didn't need to get involved or an insurance company other than our own.

we are blessed to have wonderful parents, who just happen to be leaving for a while and not needing their car, so they are letting us use their car while ours is getting fixed, so we don't have to rent one.


i'm grateful that sam is my little boy. and that he is capable of being potty trained, that he is smart and strong and so much fun. (and i'm grateful i took him upstairs before he had a chance to do anything un-fun to the love sac.)

i'm grateful that he loves books (like the ones sitting beside him) and i love when i get a chance to read them to him. he is so happy when i read to him.


i'm grateful for good doctors to help worried moms like me feel better about their child's sickness. i'm grateful for medicine to help lessen the pain of illness. i'm grateful that i am capable of getting up with her in the night when she needs me.

i'm grateful that my husband has a good job, so i can stay home with her during the day (especially when i don't get much sleep at night!) i'm grateful that she is mine, forever and ever.

i am so blessed.

Love Believes the Best

A few posts ago, I mentioned the book called The Love Dare. We just read Day 7: Love Believes the Best, a couple of days ago, and I was really impressed with this chapter, so I thought I would share a few parts that sum up the chapter.

"In the deep and private corridors of your heart, there is a room. It's called the Appreciation Room. It's where your thoughts go when you encounter positive and encouraging things about your spouse.
On the walls are written kind words and phrases describing the good attributes of your mate... things you've discovered about your husband or wife that have embedded themselves in your memory. When you think about these things, your appreciation for your spouse begins to increase.
Most things in the Appreciation Room were likely written in the initial stages of your relationship... And you spent a great deal of time dwelling on them in this room... before you were married. You don't visit this special room as often as you once did... because there is another competing room nearby.
Down another darker corridor of your heart lies the Depreciation Room.
On its walls are written the things that bother and irritate you about your spouse. These things were placed there out of frustration, hurt feelings, and the disappointment of unmet expectations.
This room is lined with the weaknesses and failures of your husband or wife. Their bad habits, hurtful words, and poor decisions are written in large letters that cover the walls from one end to the other.
Some people write very hateful things in this room, where tell-off statements are rehearsed for the next argument... People fall out of love here.
Spending time in the Depreciation Room kills marriages.
You may say, "But these things are true!" Yes, but so are the things in the Appreciation Room. Everyone fails and has areas that need growth... we have this unfortunate tendency to downplay our own negative attributes while putting our partner's failures under a magnifying glass.
Love knows about the Depreciation Room and does not live in denial that it exists. But love chooses not to live there.
Love chooses to believe the best about people.
The only reason you should glance in the door of the Depreciation Room is to know how to pray for your spouse.
It's time to move into the Appreciation Room, to settle down and make it your home.
You must develop the habit of reining in your negative thoughts and focusing on the positive attributes of your mate. This is a crucial step as you learn to lead your heart to truly love your spouse. It is a decision that you make, whether they deserve it or not."

(I guess that got a little long, but the whole chapter is really good.)

For the dare, we are told to take out two sheets of paper, and on one write the positive qualities of your spouse, and on the other write the negative. (The next day you burn the negative list.) It was nice to see that my appreciation list was a lot longer than my depreciation list for Jason. I just need to take it out and remind myself of all the things I love about him when I get frustrated with him.

I love to have people over for dinner... but I get a little embarrassed by my dishes. We got a set of dishes for our wedding (over 4 years ago) that are clear... well, supposed to be clear. Since our dishwasher is so super awesome, (please pick up on that sarcasm so this makes sense,) all the dishes had a gross cloudy look to them... aka UGLY! I scrubbed and scrubbed, but without results. Then our classy friends Justin and Megan came for dinner. Usually I would use paper plates because my dishes were so embarrassing... yeah, pretty bad if paper seems to be the better option! And they told us the beauty and charm of vinegar. (Never saw that coming.)



Last night we finally got around to trying it... Ta da!! They look like new! After Jason washed them I realized I should have taken a before and after picture, but sorry, I guess I didn't have my blogging cap on.



Can you even tell you're looking through a plate? Ok, so yeah you can, thanks to the circle and slight distortion... but that's pretty impressive don't you think?


Hmmmph. Vinegar. Whoda thunk?

Fireproof

Yesterday when Jason came home from work, he walked in with these:


Let me guess... you're jealous... and you should be!
I am married to an incredibly amazing man!

Also, as part of our date, he rented the movie Fireproof.
For those of you that haven't heard of it, it is a movie about a young couple with some serious marital problems. The story is about what they do about it. It probably has some of the worst acting I've ever seen (other than my high school Junior play) so don't plan on voting on it to win any awards... but the reason it was a great movie is because of the principles that were taught. It focuses a lot on the importance of including God in your marriage... which I will most definitely agree that God is the binding force in my marriage, as I believe He is in most relationships.
As part of our Christmas present from Jason's parents, they gave us a book called The Love Dare.

This book is based off of this movie. Jason's parents encouraged us to watch the movie and read (and do) the book together as a couple to strengthen our marriage. I had forgotten about the movie, so when Jason brought it home, I was surprised and happy that he would take it upon himself to find it (he's not a big fan of chick flicks) and rent it (from Redbox.)
We haven't made it too far into the book, but it consists of a short chapter and a dare for the day for 40 days. One main thing it teaches is how to truly love your spouse. And the other main thing is the importance of God in your relationship. It was created by a Baptist Church in Georgia. I think that any and all marriages can be edified by seeing the movie and reading the book.
It has helped me to see that I have so much to learn in the world of knowing how to love someone. And seeing the couple in the movie, helped me see not only that I have a great husband, but that we have a great marriage because of our faith and belief in God.

Family Fun Center

Last Monday, Jason's parents had the activity that was their grandkids' Christmas present. They took them all to the Family Fun Center in Sandy. Sam was very tired, and a little sick, so I was worried he would be a grump and not have any fun. I was wrong. Very wrong. That little guy played his heart out. And his lungs too, since we was coughing harder than I've ever seem him cough before. (We found out the next day he had bronchiolitus. Sorry other parents!!)
This slide was more difficult to get to the top, but there was another one that he could go up and down by himself... and wow did he. One right after the other. He had a blast. It was fun to see him having so much fun.

This was a really fun place for the kids (and adults) and on Monday nights it's only $5/family. I think it is well worth that price.

A few little joys

Livia at 4 months.

Sam loves his choo-choos. His greatest joy is when his daddy or mommy help him build a track and he watches and helps his trains go around and around and around... and you get the picture. And then the batteries are dead. (Thank goodness for rechargeables!)


From the looks of this picture, you'd think that Livi likes her cereal. She's a faker. She hates it.