Fun Tag

I have really been liking these tags lately.  Here is another fun one that I found on my friend Jessa's blog.  A couple of these things I might decide to add to my list of things to do in my lifetime.

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 (are you kidding me)

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightening storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I had to teach myself how to play the piano on my mission)

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 (who hasn't)

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon (The Rock n' Roll marathon in 2007, it was fantastic and I want to do it again)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (I really do miss watching the sunset at the beach)

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 (pre-marriage)

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 (It wasn't really a painting, but Chad has sketched a picture of our family)

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

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 (I miss going to the drive-in in San Diego)

55. Been in a movie/commercial

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class (not an actual martial arts class, but a self defense class)

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold girl scout cookies (I just bought girl scout cookies the other day, and they are 3.50 now, when I sold them, they were 1.25 a box)

62. Gone whale watching (thanks to my third grade teacher)

63. Got flowers for no reason (thanks Chad)

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (donating plasma paid for our trip to Disneyland)

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. Pieced a quilt (this is one of my favorite thing to do)

72. Eaten Caviar

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

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. Walked in Jerusalem

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

I tag anyone who wants to do this.  Just bold all of the things that you have done before in your life.

Story Time

I have been trying for months to get Hannah reading a book on video.  Last night she was cracking me up while reading "Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse."  She is so animated and she comes up with the funniest lines when she reads.  One of my favorites is when she says "Mr. Slinger was not impressed, but he was really mean."  Of course as soon as I got the video camera out, she froze and wasn't as animated, but it was the best I could do.  If you are wondering why she is walking around in circles, it is just something that she likes to do.  She has always walked in a circle as she reads a book. (She is going to be a nightmare for her first grade teacher during silent reading time).  Well, ENJOY!!

I am so lucky

1.  Where did you meet your husband?  I met Chad when I was 6 years old.  We moved into his ward, and the first time I saw him was at Church.  We ended up being in the same 3rd and 4th grade classes together.   I even saved a Valentine he gave me in 3rd grade (we didn't start dating until we were older)

2.  How long did you date before you got married?  We dated a year and a half before we were married.

3.  How long have you been married?  9 1/2 years

4.  What does he do that surprises you?  Laundry

5.  What is my favorite feature on him?  My favorite features on him are his eyes and his smiley.  There are many things about Chad that are very peaceful and calming, but his eyes are number one.

6.  What is my favorite quality of his?  He is a wonderful father.  Hannah just adores him and sometimes I love to just watch them interact.

7.  Does he have a nickname for you?  No, he's not big into nicknames.  It's funny but since we have become parents, most of the time we refer to each other as mom and dad.

8.  What is his favorite food?  H likes a lot of things, but he loves when I make chicken cordon bleu.  He also like Barbeque Chicken Pizza.

9.  What is his favorite sport?  As far as playing sports, I would say baseball.  He is a very good outfielder, and can throw the ball from deep center all the way home (at least pre-back injury).  He loves to watch football, baseball, and he is super into mixed martial arts.

10.  When & where was your first kiss?  April 21, 1998.   We went to see Titanic (I know that totally ages us) and when we were in front of his house he leaned over and kissed me (finally!)

11.  What is your favorite thing to do a s a couple?  We usually do most everything as a family, but recently we have tried to spend more time on dates, just the two of us.  We love to go out to dinner and to a movie, but mostly we love to go to the DI and look for old books.  Boring I know, but it is fun to try and find all the old books we loved as kids.

12.  Do you have any children?  Yes, Hannah Joy, 2 years old (she'll be 3 in March)  She is truly a great combination of all things good in both of us.

13.  Does he have any hidden talents?  He doesn't really like people to know that he is an incredible artist.  I mean really amazing!

14.  Who said I love you first?  He did.  We were standing in my apartment just after church one Sunday.  It was funny, because I was wanting to tell him and right before I could say it, he did.

15.  What is his favorite music?  He loves anything Rock, sometimes a little harder than I would like.  He is huge into Jimmy Hendrix, Led Zepplin, and the Who.  However, since meeting me, I catch him listening to country every once in a while.

16.  What do you admire most about him?  His heart.  I know cliche, but he is one of the most humble, giving, honest men I know.

17.  What is his favorite color?  Orange, but not to wear.

18.  Will he read this?  I think I will print it out for him, so yes!

19.  Who do you tag?  Anybody who wants to take a few minutes out of a busy day to think about the person they love the most!

Just a little brag

So I have to just take one post to brag about my extremely intelligent, highly advanced little Hannah. So the other night we were reading a story before bedtime. The book is called the Digginest Dog. For some of you that will really take you back for others of you, you are probably thinking WHAT!
Anyway there are a bunch of dogs in this book, but only one of them has a name. After reading the story through one time Hannah decides she is going to read it to me. So she proceeds to do a nice little picture walk telling me what is happening on each page (advanced I know, but it gets better). So when she gets to the page with all the dogs on it, she says "Mom, let's give all the dogs a name!" Ok, that sounds like fun. She proceeds to name all the other dogs based on what they look like i.e. Tiny, Blackie, Whitie, Wolf Dog, Footprint, etc. One of the dogs had spots all over and she said, "Mom I think we should call him Spotty, because he is spotty on his body." Then she says "Spotty and body, they are rhyming words aren't they?" Then she proceeds to add many other words to her list of rhyming words. I had to laugh out loud because it just caught me off guard, and made me really proud. She is such a smart little girl, and my mom reminds me everyday that I am going to have my hands full with her.

Happy Birthday Jaci!!!

Today is the big day!! Yeah! I can't believe that you are 21 years old. That really makes me feel old. The last couple of days I have looked back and thought of all the fun and crazy things we have done through the years. You are my best friend and I am so glad we have been able to remain so close all this time. I really look up to you and admire the person that you are. I am so grateful of your relationship with Hannah. You mean the world to her.
I love you Jac
Here's looking at you kid
Love, Jodi

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I know it has been a couple of weeks since the holidays, but I haven't had any time before now to post any Christmas pictures. We had a very quiet and interesting Christmas this year. Hannah didn't wake up until 11:00 in the morning on Christmas morning, and when she did wake up, she was really sick. She opened a few gifts and then went back to bed for a couple of hours. Around 2:00 she got back up and opened the rest of her gifts. Luckily when she woke up in the afternoon she was feeling a little bit better and she had an enjoyable time with her gifts. Hannah is an interesting child in that she doesn't just tear into a gift and throw it aside. She has to open it, look at it, examine it, and then play with it. This makes the entire process a little bit longer, but definately more enjoyable for all of us. It is fun to see her really enjoying her gifts. Here are a few fun pictures of our holidays

I just thought this picture was so cute. When Hannah came downstairs and saw the tree she just sat in front of it and stared for quite a long time.

I would say that Hannah's favorite present was her Batman pajamas and her Batman dolls. I know with all that work I did making her princess doll clothes, all I really needed to do was buy new jammies.

On New Year's Eve we went to our good friend Devin's family ball. It was a lot of fun to watch Hannah with the other kids. First of all she loved getting all dressed up. Secondly, she loves being around other kids. She is really social. Michael was a little reluctant to dance with Hannah, but she would not leave him alone until he did. It was so cute!

What a great dancer, I think she gets that from me!! ha ha

I know I have plenty of time but...

So Hannah's birthday is coming up (in a couple of months) and I know I have plenty of time, but I get so excited about her birthday.  She has also been really excited about it and talks about it everyday.  I am however, running into a snag and need a little help.  First of all Hannah told us she wanted a Batman Birthday party.  Strange I know.  Anyway, I have been searching everywhere for a Batman cake pan.  Come to find out the last time they made a Batman cake pan was in the 80's which is now considered vintage.  I know it freaked me out too.  In order to buy a vintage cake pan you have to be willing to spend $60.00 which I am not!  After a couple of weeks of searching online, Hannah tells me she wants a princess party.  Not just any princess party, but a Sleeping Beauty party.  Great!! I can do that.  Well, come to find out they don't make Sleeping Beauty Cake pans at all!!  So what is this child trying to do, give me an ulcer when she's only three.  I know I shouldn't be so worried about a three year olds birthday party, but that is just me.  I love birthdays!!  So if any of you out there come across anything by way of Batman or Sleeping Beauty, just let me know.  
Here is one thing that I found which I think is absolutely adorable, but it just comes with the castle pieces, not even the round cake pans.

Finally Posting

So you would think that having two weeks off of school would mean that I could post like everyday. That's what I would think too, but as you can see it has been a while since I have posted. I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas holiday and a very Happy New Year. After much lamenting, we decided to stay home during the break, and while I was really sad about it, it ended up being a really good thing for us. I enjoyed spending time with my family among many other things.
Here is my top ten list of my favorite things about Christmas break
10.  Not having to drive in the snow (did I mention that I hate snow)

9.  Playing tea party with Hannah every day

8.  Sewing

7.  Taking a nap almost every day

6.  Going shopping the day after Christmas.  (Chad will never understand this one)

5.  Taking Hannah swimming at the Legacy Center when it was 25 degrees outside (did I mention that I hate the snow)

4.  Watching movies in the middle of the day.

3.  Sleeping in (everyday, including Christmas Morning)  Hannah is not old enough to think that she wants to wake up at 5:00 in the morning to open presents yet.  In fact she slept in until 11:00 that morning.

2.  Not thinking about school (well I thought about it, I just never came to school to work on things)

1. Watching Hannah open her gifts on Christmas morning.  She was so excited (even though she was sick) and everything was "exactly what I wanted"  It was so much fun!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

So I am thinking that I am a little overwhelmed right now.  I feel like I have so much to do in the next week and not enough time to do it.  I know I am not the only person that feels like this right now, but I thought I would complain a little about it.  My major problem is that for some reason this time of year is my most creative time.   I don't know if any of you are like that as well.  I think of all of the fun things I want to make, either to decorate my house with, or as presents for my nieces or for Hannah.  This year my niece Maddison called me and asked me if I would make her a dress for her school talent show.  She is singing the Taylor Swift song called Love Story.  Her request was that I make her a dress like the one Taylor wears in her video.  Of course I couldn't tell her no.  So I head off to the fabric store and try to find a pattern and fabric that would easily replicate this dress (but for a 10 year old).  I was surprised that it was relatively easy.  Anyway, I had to alter the pattern a little bit, but I didn't take into account that I wouldn't need as much fabric.  Needless to say, I had about 3 yards of fabric left over after making the dress.  So what do I decide to do, but make my other niece Brooklynn and Hannah matching dresses out of the same fabric.  While it has been a ton of fun, I have been either teaching school or sewing for the last month or so.  Well all my work has paid off and I have three beautiful dresses to show for it.  Hannah was able to wear her dress to church on Sunday and she looked absolutely beautiful.  

Family Traditions

The last couple of weeks at school we have been talking about family traditions during the holidays. I sent home a letter to parents for them to sign up for a 20 minute time period to come to school and share one of their families favorite traditions. I was actually surprised at the response. Everyday, we have had at least two families share sometimes as many as four. What also has surprised me is the number of dads that come with their wives to share. It has been a lot of fun for me to see the different things that other families do to bring in the spirit of the holiday. Last Friday, my mom and dad actually came into my class and helped me share one of my favorite family traditions. The thing I remember most about the holidays is getting matching pajamas on Christmas Eve with my four sisters. Then we would all have a big slumber party in one of our rooms and stay up all night. I showed my kids some pictures of me as a kid with my sisters in front of the tree in our pajamas. They got a real kick out of that. Here are some of the pictures that I shared.

1985

1989

1998

2004

Pretty Funny Huh!!!
Another one of my favorite traditions is making Almond Rocca. Maybe it's because I love eating it so much. Well for Family Night last night I taught Hannah how to make it. her job was to sprinkle the almonds on the pan before we poured the candy on the sheet and after the chocolate was melted. She thought this was the coolest thing ever. After a while she looked at me and said, "Mom, thanks for making candy with me." She is so sweet I know. I told her that it was a lot of fun for me and that I used to do it with my mom when I was little. Then she says, "And now I'm doing it with my mom!" It was really sweet and it made me realize how Thankful I am for families and the times that we spend together. So please comment and share some of the things that you do with your family to make the holidays a little more special.

Mom and Hannah making candy

Dad gets the hard job of stirring the candy forever. Like I said I am out of shape