Strawberries n' cream and other sweet things

This last weekend was quite busy and we had some exciting events so I thought I would do a little blogging plus I have nothing to do at work! Friday was our date night and word to the wise, DO NOT go see Year One! It was the worst movie ever! I really mean it too, I think it was one of the worst movies I have ever seen haha. Jeff and I ended up leaving it early so save yourself some money and see a different movie.

Saturday was our eventful day though and it started out with a birthday celebration at Tucanos for my nephews. Conner is my brother's son and he is here visiting for a month so we did a belated 13th birthday celebration for him and then Dallin had his 14th birthday last Thursday. I can't believe how old they are getting! They are just growing up so fast and they are such mature, awesome boys! Dallin just got his braces off on his birthday so he is looking much older and then everytime we see Conner he is like a foot taller! He is taller than me and is about to pass Tamree up and he is only 13! These kids are amazing though and I am so proud of them!

Gettin the birthday song from Tucanos

Conner and Dallin

Next we rushed off to a baptism for one of Jeff's teammates, Matt Mason. Jeff spoke and it was just so neat to see all these big burly men become emotional haha. The baptism was very special though and we are so happy and proud of Matt for the decision that he made to get baptized. He is a great guy and has a great heart. He is the one with the mohawk. :) I know Jeff will miss these guys a lot when we move!

After the baptism we met up with my family again at the Strawberry Days rodeo in Pleasant Grove. I had never been to that rodeo before but it was a lot of fun! We of course tried their famous strawberries n' cream, which was very yummy, and tried to not get too muddy! It had poured earlier so the ground was super muddy.

My niece was so cute. She was riding her own "horse" and had her lasso going too haha. She loved it!

We headed back home afterwards to hang out with some friends who were staying with us and Tod and Lauren. Sam, Ashley and Parker, we loved having you and our house feels so empty with you all gone! Now there are just boxes everywhere haha. The moving process has begun!

We finished the weekend off on Sunday with my fam to celebrate Father's Day. I am so thankful for my great father and all the other men who are fathers in my life! They are amazing priestholders and I don't know what I would do without them! I can't wait too for when my sweetie is a Daddy! I know Jeff will make a great father but we plan to enjoy Florida a bit before any kiddos come along. :)

I hope all you fathers had a great Father's Day and a great weekend!

The Sunshine State=Future Home

On July 3rd we will be begin our trek back to the sunny state of Florida! It is actually happening and I can’t believe it. We decided back in January that we wanted to move and met with the boss there in Tampa (Jeff is just transferring with his company) and even looked at some housing while we were there on vacation with Jeff’s family. We really liked the boss and he liked Jeff and said that he would love to have him there in the office so we decided to keep in touch and we would figure out a time to move. His company though hit a hard spot with the economy so we put the idea aside thinking it might not be the best idea to move right now with the economy so unstable. Jeff was disappointed and was thinking that we would be stuck in Utah forever! Then about a month or so ago his boss in Tampa called him up and asked if we were still coming and that he is ready for us! We were very surprised to get the call from him but we took that as a good sign and made the decision to go for it! We were thinking maybe September or even a little later but then he called him up and said they wanted him to start the beginning of July! I am actually glad though that they want him to come earlier because now that I know we are going for sure, I hate waiting! I want to just go right now! We have slowly begun the packing process and our plan is to ship the Cadillac and then tow the Honda behind the moving van. We will be staying with a family friend when we get there and hopefully find an apartment soon to move into! We are very excited and ready for adventure but the hardest thing will be of course to leave family and friends. All of my family is here so I will be sad to leave them and I know it will be an adjustment for me but as long as I have Jeff I know I will be ok! We can’t wait to get out of Utah and have no snow and to blaze our own trail!! Sun, beaches, palm trees, Universal Studios…sigh. Can’t wait!

The city of Tampa

Hopefully we don't get one of these knocking at our door but Jeff loves alligators. This actually happened in Florida too!

There will probably be a lot more beach pictures in the near future :)

The Case of the Missing iPod Touch

Wednesday was a very weird day for me. I was just out of it! My day started that way when on my way to work, I almost ran a red light because it just didn’t occur to me to break although I was staring at the light! The day just didn’t seem to get better.

On my way home from work, I stopped at Costco to get a few things. We have an iPod touch and I have fallen in love with that thing! I use it all the time and take it every where I go. I have an app on it that is a grocery list so I had it out with me while I was at Costco. I checked out and remembered I sat it there on the counter thing while I paid and even thought, “Someone could just come by and swipe it so easily.” That was it though and then I was on my way.

After I got home, I put the groceries away and then decided to check my email on the touch. I went to my purse where it normally is, and it wasn’t there. I checked in the bag where I put some of the groceries and it wasn’t there. Panic started to set in. I kept telling myself that I picked it up! I didn’t leave it! At least I didn’t remember leaving it on the counter but I couldn’t think of what else could have happened to it. I called Costco and headed back but no luck. They didn’t have anything and the guy that checked me out was gone. I retraced my steps and there was just no iPod anywhere to be found. I wanted to cry. I was so frustrated because I hate losing things and normally I don’t do things like that. All night, all I could think about was the touch and trying to figure out how I could have lost it. I even looked to see if I put it away with the groceries. Jeff kept telling me it would turn up and I just hoped and prayed he was right!

Well, last night I pulled out the plastic container of spinach that I had gotten from Costco and on top of that container, yes, was the iPod touch. I just said to Jeff, “Look!” I was so excited but I couldn’t believe I had stuck it in the fridge with the spinach! When I checked to see if I put it away with the groceries the night before, I had forgotten about the spinach. It was a very cold iPod but it seems to still be working ok so I am just so relieved. I still can’t believe I did that and I think that is the most absent-minded thing I have ever done! Oh, it just makes me laugh.

Going, going, back, back to Cali

This past weekend I decided to take a little trip back to Danville and it felt so good to be back there! Jeff had an away game so I thought it would be a good time to get away plus I am so glad I did it because who knows when I will be able to visit again with us moving to Florida. (Yes, that is for sure now and I will blog about that next!) I stayed with my bestie since Kindergarten, Britta, and we covered a lot of ground! I made a list of everything I wanted to see and do while I was there and we accomplished it all. We went from San Francisco to Santa Cruz and everything in between! Here is a little summary of our adventures!

Thursday
My Dad picked me up early that morning from the airport and I hung out at his apartment for a bit while he worked and then he took me to lunch at Esin Restaurant and Café in Danville. It is a place my Mom discovered and it is wonderful! It was good to spend some time with my Dad and I always enjoy his company. After lunch he took me to Britta’s and we made our plans for the week!

Friday
Britt had to work during the day so I slept in, went to the gym, and walked around Blackhawk Plaza. They have some good new shops! Britta subs at Charlotte Wood (our old middle school) so I went and visited her there and got to see some people I haven’t seen in a very long time! We went to In-N-Out that night for dinner (one of the “must-do’s) and then went to a circus in Dublin. I have never been to a circus before but that one was very interesting. I will leave it at that. It was fun though and it was good to see some old friends from high school.

Carson and Barnes Circus!

Yes, that is a real albino python snake. It smelled so bad and kept getting tighter and tighter!

Saturday
I met up with an old dance friend, Whitney, in the morning then me and Britta got some Domenico’s, best sandwiches ever, and went to Santa Cruz. It was the best weather I have ever had there! I even ended up getting my legs fried although I wasn’t even in a bathing suit! We spent the whole day there then came back and went to dinner with some friends and then we had to hit up some Fenton’s! Fenton’s is the best ice cream parlor ever and it was a hot spot for my family. We had been going there for years before we moved so it was another “must-do.”

Sunny skys in Santa Cruz...a rarity


Me and Britt

Our devoured ice cream

Sunday
We headed to San Francisco! Of course, on the way there and on the way back we ran into some quite interesting people. It made me realize how sheltered I am in Utah. You just don’t see random schizophrenic, or drunk people taking public transportation or walking around haha. It was another beautiful day in SF but quite windy. We were barely able to walk it was so windy and we walked a lot! I think we walked about half the city, or at least that’s what it seemed like. We ate in Little Italy, at a place called Steps of Rome. We have been going there since high school and the waiters are all Italian and you can’t understand a single word they say! After dinner, we walked back down to Union Square and introduced Allie to dessert from the Cheesecake Factory. At that point, we were all very tired and headed home but it was a very fulfilling day!

Strolling through the city

Dinner at Steps of Rome

Monday
My last day in Cali! We spent the afternoon in Walnut Creek before my flight and walked around all the shops. I was so tempted to buy something and that is the only thing I wish I did more of…shopping! Oh well, it’s just so much money! I will survive.

Monica, Me, and Britt

I love California so much and still consider it my home! Thanks again to Britt for letting me stay with her and I love her to pieces! My battery died on my camera too so she took all the pics for me. Hopefully I can make it back to Cali soon but if not, I guess Florida is the next best thing! :)

Thunder vs The Knights

I haven’t blogged in awhile about Jeff’s games but he just had a game Saturday night and it was awesome! It was so intense! They won but it came down to the wire and the final score was 70-69. They were tied at the end of the game so they went into over time and Ogden scored but missed the kick, which was unbelievable because their kicker is amazing! It was up to us to score and make the extra point to win the game and they did it! I have to say, I think it was a miracle that they won haha. The crowd was going crazy though and they had a great turnout. Jeff had a touchdown and some great catches. Some of my nephews were able to come to the game too, which was so fun because they have never been able to see Jeff play before. They loved the game and were great fans cheering in the stands. They won some Thunder gear too and were able to get some autographs after the game. Tyler is determined to come to the next game and compete in one of the contests, or at least the running one he says haha. After the great game, we topped the night off with some yummy custard from Coney’s! Those boys sure can eat haha. Jeff only has one more home game left and its June 27th and after that they should be in the play-offs. We will see if they can pull off making it to the championship!

Tyler, Dallin and Ryan

In Memory

Today my parents are going to visit the graves of my Grandpa and Grandma Allen for Memorial Day weekend. Jeff and I were not able to go today but I have been thinking so much about my Grandma Allen that I thought I would write a little bit about her.

She passed away when I was 17 years old and I never knew my Grandpa Allen because he died right before I was born. My Grandma spent those 17 years all alone. Growing up, I was able to spend a lot of time with my Grandma. She was always there for anything big or small, and many times she would watch me while my parents went out. I grew to love my Grandma more and more over the years. When I was little, I always thought she was stern. She would make me eat all my food, told me not to cry when I broke my wrist haha, and was always making sure I stayed out of trouble. My Grandma was one tough cookie! She was married when she was 16 and my Grandpa was ten years older than her. She wasn’t able to finish school but went to work in a butcher’s shop to help provide for her small family. She didn’t let anyone push her around and she was the one in charge! I will never forget the one piece of advice she would always give me everytime she came over, “Chelsie, you get your education and work hard in school.” Oh, and as I got older she started to add in, “And stay away from those boys!” I always told her, “Yes, Grandma, I will,” although I wasn’t quite sure about the part with the boys. Her advice really sunk in though and I found myself working hard in school and pushing myself to make her proud.

I always admired the strength of my Grandma. Although my Grandma was often lonely without her companion, you never saw her in a moment of weakness. She pushed on with her life and devoted herself to serving in the church. She became a temple worker in the Oakland temple and spent her days there, serving and helping others. Work was a part of her and she had to constantly be doing something. When she would come over for dinner, she had to help someway but felt she couldn’t cook anymore so she was always at the sink washing the dishes. We could never pull her away.

My Grandma would also always tell me, “I hope I can see what you become.” I would have loved to have my Grandma there at my high school graduation, at my college graduation, and most importantly my wedding. The thing is I know she was there. She may not have been there in person, I may have not been able to see her but I could feel her there. One of the most profound things I remember from when Jeff and I were married was feeling the presence of my Grandpa and Grandma Allen. I am so happy they are together once again and I know we will be together one day. My Grandma still pushes me to be a better, stronger person and her example lives on in my life and in my memories. I love her so very much!

Just a thought for today

A Message by George Carlin:
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...
Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.