swimsuit edition....

So, youth conference is this weekend and the theme is SI (Steadfast and Immovable) and the SI is the abbreviation for Sports Illustrated. The whole conference has a sports theme to it. So, Jan Hodson (the wonderful wife of our Stake YM pres.) is making some posters to hang in the gym during the conference. She is making a SI magazine cover of each of the Bishops doing a sport. They totally look like a real magazine cover, she has the right font and it says Steadfast and Immovable across the top, it looks just like a sports illustrated magazine. So, she emailed me yesterday and said that the Stake YW presidency needs to be the swimsuit issue! There is no way we were going to put on swimsuits, so we made it funny! I have the best presidency! Nathell was cracking us up! She wanted to wear the coconut bra and we told her we would get fired! and she said "good, then we don't have to go to girls camp this summer!" So, you can see in the pictures that she wore it, but it was hidden a bit! It was a fun afternoon! here are some pictures of it. I will take some pictures of the posters this weekend and post them next week.

Trying not to laugh to hard!

Nathell trying to act like a real swimsuit model.
Heather with goggles marks on her head!
I have the best counselors ever!! Love them!

Presidents day, family day?? & snow day...

John and I had high hopes for a fun "family day" on Monday. We thought that with no school and no work that we should do some fun family things, since John had been gone for almost 2 weeks. So we thought we would get up and go to breakfast and then head up to Mt. Charleston to play in the snow..... well, we should have known by 10:00 am that things weren't going as planned. We couldn't get Ashley out of bed (thanks to early morning seminary) then when she did get up she was really happy (not! see the look on her face in the picture).





We went to I-Hop and everyone else in Vegas decided to go to breakfast for Presidents day... so there was a 20 minute wait. Then Ashley informs us that she has her personal trainer at 2:00 (that's another story) then Mitchell said he is suppose to go to Guitar Center with the drummer in the school band at 1:00. So it is now 11:30 and we are finally getting our food... then it took forever to get our check, so now there is no way to get to Mt. Charleston and back by 2:00.... hmmm... Dad is sad, he really wanted to spend the day with the whole family. I guess we could have just gone and they could have missed their things, but then you have major grumpy kids to deal with. So we decided to just take Tanner up to the snow. He really wanted to go and we thought he could use some mom and dad attention. We got up there and found a fun place and had a great day!! Ashley and Mitchell missed out! The sky was blue and it was about 50 degrees out! Perfect sledding weather for us Vegas wimps. The snow was a little old and crunchy, but it was very slick for sledding. It didn't turn out how we had planned, but that's how life is sometimes.... especially with teenagers!

Happy Valentines Day!

John is in Orlando at the National Home Builders Show.... bummer. So it hasn't been a normal valentines day. That's why we went away last weekend and we will have to go out to a nice dinner when he gets home.... But I have still been thinking about how much I love him today! He is the best husband. I came downstairs this morning and there was a card on the counter and a dozen roses. He had Ashley go out and buy roses last night and she hid them. I had no idea that she got them. It was a nice surprise. He is one romantic guy. He has never forgotten an anniversary, b-day or valentines day. He always goes above and beyond. I wont go into detail or you will get mad at your husbands. Lets just say that being raised with 5 sisters, he learned how to treat a girl right. He writes poetry, picks a theme for all my Christmas presents to revolve around and all sorts of stuff. I am one lucky lady. It's been a long week and I can't wait for him to get home! I miss you and love you John!

A surprise weekend!

This is John. My turn to write. Work has been exceptionally busy for me lately. After spending 5 days at our store in New Orleans (including Superbowl Sunday), I got home Thursday night late. Friday was crazy at work, not only because it was my first day back in the office all week, but it was the only day I'd be in the office for 2 weeks. On Monday, I'm going to Orlando for 6 days for a trade show and some marketing help for our 9 Florida stores.

So, back to Friday. I wanted to spend time with Allison, but I didn't have time to plan a hot date. Never fear... Allison planned a surprise getaway for us. When I got home, she threw me in the car and we hurried off. I was not told where we were going. Even during dinner, she wouldn't give me clues. I like figuring things out--that's what I do. After dinner she just told me where to drive--north on I-15. The suspense ended when she told me she got us a hotel room in St. George, UT and we were just going to relax for the weekend. What a perfect surprise. I needed alone time with her and we needed a break. It was a wonderful time. Peaceful with nothing scheduled. Let's just say Allison knows me so well and makes me so happy. What a wonderful weekend. JB

Bad Mother Award....

I feel awful! Ashley had the flu real bad about 3 weeks ago... After about a week, she got better as it ran its course. Except for her cough. It has been lingering. She often has allergies and has this obnoxious cough, so the good mother that I am, had her take some old allergy medicine that she got prescribed to her last year. It didn't help any and did I think to take her to the doctor?? NO. The old allergy medicine ran out a few days ago, so I figured that she needed more, so I finally took her in today. I told her in the waiting room "I bet ya 100 bucks that it's just allergies". The doctor comes in as she is coughing and looks concerned. I said it was much worse and it sounds a bit better and she looked at me and said, "she's really had this for 3 weeks? Most people bring their kids in after a few days with a cough like this". oops. I knew I was the bad mom, by the look on the doctors face. Who by the way had to be only about 25 years old... I swear, she was young! Ashley liked her, she was hip. Anyway, after examining her, she told us that she has bronchitis! And has had it for a few weeks and IS contagious. SO if any of you out there have been sick, it could have been passed along by Ashley. The doctor asked if she needed any kind of Dr.'s note for the school that she has missed, she looked a little surprised when I told her that she hasn't missed any.... because the bad mom made her go! good thing I didn't tell her that she was way worse the week of finals! Maybe she could write a Dr.'s note saying she was sick the week of finals and she could retake a few of them! I swear, when I take them in right away, it's just a virus and needs run its course, but when I think it's just a virus and I should save time and money by not going to the Doctor, it is something bad!!! Parenting is tough... we need a medical degree, a psychology degree, teaching degree and so many more!

3rd Place!

This week was spent working on Tanner's pinewood derby car. Growing up, pinewood derby races were a HUGE thing. I think they were more important to my Dad than the boys. He had six boys to get them perfected. The cars were truly pieces of art. I remember the shiny metallic paint, the sanding and hours of work put into it. John gets into the cars, but not like my dad.... probably a good thing. John helped Tanner cut it out and then made Tanner do all the sanding and painting. He worked really hard on it. I took him to the craft store to pick out his paint. I saw the little bottles of model paint and got those... so it was nice and shiny, just like I remember! John ended up having to work late on Thursday, so I had to put the wheels on. I guess I did a good job because he won 3rd place!! Yah Tanner. I think that is the best we have ever done. It was a nice pinewood derby race, very under control. Kids were calm and quiet. Very enjoyable. Our primary is shrinking, we have combined with the Monte Cristo ward. It's fun for Tanner to get to know more boys!

I just got done watching President Hinkley's funeral. It was so nice! I am going to miss him. He has been such and amazing Prophet. I was a bit emotional at the end when they showed a little video of him. What a great example he has been! I hope we can always remember the things he has taught us and stay strong and do a little better!