I AM A HUNG BUCK!

Okay don't let that title scare you, it's just the name of my Indoor Soccer Team! And yes they do have t-shirts with a mascot but I don't think it would be too appropriate for me to wear :) And yes, the name was thought of by a few guys!

So tonight was our first game! I was really excited because it really has been too long since I have played soccer, let alone Indoor. And wow, I kind of forgot how fast-pace and tiring it is, especially if you're not completely in shape, and there is only one sub for the girls. There were about 8 guys or so on our team, and 3 girls incuding me. And the rules of the game require that 2 girls are on the field at all times. So by the end of the game, we were all pretty tired! But it made me remember how much I love soccer, even if I wasn't as good tonight as I was a few years ago, at least endurance-wise!

As far as the game went, it was pretty even back and forth scoring for each team, and we were tied 4-4 up until the last 12 seconds of the game when we scored to win the game!! So the Hung Bucks Hung in there to win it! woo hoo! Not bad for a first game. And the guys were all pretty nice, but when you get a bunch of guys together and it involves sports, and winning, a few choice words are spewed from their mouths in repetition. But nothing I didn't really expect.
Anyway it was a fun game, and nice to be playing soccer again.





And here are a couple pictures from Easter. We had a little candy hunt (we didn't have eggs) for Samantha after church, and she's already been able to do a couple of Easter egg hunts, so she knew exactly what to do with her basket, and where to find the candy. It was a fun, and a low-key Easter for us. We didn't go anywhere, we just stayed home and ate our Ham and funeral potatoes meal!



She was soooo tired at the end of the night!

More Eggs please!

Last night Dave went on a campout to the Coast by Tillamook with the YM/YW in our ward so Sammy and I had a fun girls night together. Today I took her to a Healthy Kids Fair at one of the Hospitals in this area where they had TON of stuff, information and free samples about keeping kids healthy, and an Easter egg hunts for little kids, so Sammy got to pick out some candy and eggs.
There was also a guy dressed up in a bunny suit which she thought was very exciting and we were planning to get a picture with, but he was gone by the time we finished the Easter egg hunt..oh well.
The other main reason we went was they were selling bike helmets for $5 so I had to go get one for her because Dave and I are wanting to do some biking soon with her, and we'll definitely need one. The funny thing is I was at Target couple of hours ago and saw the same helmet for $21!! Ridiculous.....so I'm glad I got mine for a good price. Although I did have to stand in line for a half an hour to get it, and trying to keep a toddler entertained for that amount of time is not the easiest thing. Good thing I had chocolate, popcorn, and pretzels to keep her happy.

She did have a lot of fun wearing her helmet around the house before bed though. She used to take Dave's helmet and wear it, but now she's got one that actually fits her head and won't cover her eyes!

Advenures in Apartment Managing!

Yes, it's a new chapter for us, but very exciting!
I know a lot of you are probably thinking, "she's stupid... getting excited over apartment managing?" But do you know what this means?
No more paying rent!! or internet....or utilities (for the most part)
And all that for a little bit of work?? I think I can force myself to do it.

And actually there are a lot of people who are trying to get into the business of managing apartments these days. Apparently there were at least af ew other couples or so that were hoping to manage the ones we got, but thanks to visiting teachers that put a good word in for you, we got lucky and get the opportunity to save A LOT of money! And my visiting teacher (the one who is doing it now) said it's a really easy managing job compared to most, which is another plus. There are only 16 units, and no one ever moves from there apparently because they like it so much and it requires less than 10 hours of work a week! (depending)

Just thinking about the possibility of how much money we can save is really the thing that makes me the most excited. And being able to save for a good down-payment on a house?? I mean that's what you need these days! So...within 3 weeks we will be moving just up the street!

Just a little Disclaimer: managing these apartments doesn't mean that we are in the poor house and can't afford to live anywhere (although some places we sure canNOT afford) we are doing it to save money, pay off bills, build up food storage, etc. So I don't want anyone to think they have to send us money because we don't have any.....although donations are accepted! :) hee hee totally kidding

Also in the land of excitement....I joined a Co-Ed Indoor Soccer League! Woo hoo! It's been quite a long while since I played, and even longer since I played Indoor so this should be good!
Oh how I've missed playing, it will be nice to get out there to get some good exercise and show those boys how to play!

Easter Fun!

Well it's Easter week, and the festivities have already begun! (Of course I don't know that we'll be doing much more because I haven't found a good Easter Egg hunt to go to yet this weekend).
Anyway on Saturday we headed down to Turner to watch the afternoon conference with Dave's sister Kristin and her family, and afterwards she put together a wonderful Easter egg hunt for the kiddies. (I didn't have my camera with me so I will have to get copies from someone who did) It was a really warm, wonderful day perfect for hunting candy and chocolate, and unfortunately some of the chocolate did melt. But the kids had a lot of fun, and I know Samantha really enjoyed it a lot.
Later that night, all the boys were able to go together to Priesthood session which was nice for them that they could all be together.

And then today I went up to Vancouver to hang out with my friend Becca and her kiddies. Since it was another beautiful day, we went to the park and had a picnic. And Becca being the cute mom she is, put together her own little Easter egg hunt right there in the park for Juliana and Sam. They loved it and it was funny because they were very picky about which eggs they wanted to pick up and what colors. So after a few minutes they had still left a few candy-filled eggs on the ground so Becca let the two other kids on the playground come over and get the rest. They were very happy about that. We had a good time basking in the warmness of the day! I figure any day that it's nice weather, I have to take full advantage of it because lately they have been so few and far between!

Fun in Utah

Well just got back from another exciting trip to Utah! This time my sister Angie flew me out there for the week to watch Caden while she went on a trip. The only thing I was sad about was not getting to hang out with her for that week.
It was a lot of fun and really great because since it wasn't a holiday, most everyone had to work during the day except for Natalie since she usually works on the weekends, so I got to hang out with her everyday and her little kiddies Annie and Logan. Dave was also there with me for just a couple of days before he had to go back to work, but it was nice to have him there especially since he wasn't there for Christmas. We slept at Angie's house, but spent most of our time at my parents.

I also got to see some of my friends which was very nice since I didn't really see anyone at Christmas. It makes me miss them so much more when I get to hang out with them for a little bit, because I remember how much fun I have with them. It's nice to see what people are up to and how their lives are changing, for the better!
And I got to hang out with my MOST FAVORITE cousin LARA! I haven't seen her since last summer and I miss her, but we had fun hanging out together for a little bit! I have so many fond memories growing up that involve her! :)

It was really great hanging out with my family for a week too. I got to Utah on my Mom's birthday, so it was nice to be there and celebrate with her. We did a lot of fun things all together like bowling a couple of times, and we went swimming at the South Davis community center which was really fun, and the kids had fun swimming with Grandma and Grandpa and going down the waterslide! On Wednesday my parents, Natalie and I went to dinner at Market Street (yum) and then went and saw the play "Dial M for Murder" at Pioneer Theater Co. which I'd never heard of but I really enjoyed it. Apparently it's also a movie too and it's supposed to be good.
I think everywhere I go I must bring the bad weather with me, because the Sunday I got to Utah the weather got bad and snowy, but especially on Wednesday night it was horrible and so Caden and I had to stay at my parents we were completely snowed in!

On Friday my parents, Allison, Natalie and I along with the kids rode the frontrunner train up to Ogden to look around a bit up by Union Station. It was my very first train ride and very enjoyable! Of course I leave Utah and Legacy Highway opens and they get a train.....and an In-n-Out Burger! not fair!

So it was a really fun trip to break up the monotony of everyday activities, and to see my family was great. It was fun to see all the kids playing together too. Samantha LOVED playing with her cousins and was a little grumpy last night because I'm sure she was wondering where they all went, because she wanted to play and dance with them to the "Spring" song.
I love my little nieces and nephews. They are all hilarious and unique. Caden is a sports boy and loves to help play and take care of the younger kids. Annie (and Ella) know all the words to all the High School Musical songs. Annie is a good swimmer and loves to repeat herself when saying things like "everytime I go to swimming, I go to swimming!" It's funny. Ella is a drama queen! She knows the words to every song from movies, musicals, and the radio, and she sometimes speaks like she's an adult. And she sure knows how to dance. Logan..misses his daddy, but is so funny. He loves "Kung Fu Panda" and runs around going "Hi Ya!!" The last night we were there, Natalie had to work at the hospital that night so she was gone, and Logan found a picture of her and Ryan together when Annie was born. He grabbed it and walked around pointing at the picture as if to ask "where are these people?" and then he lied down on a pillow by the fire cuddling the picture!


It was so heartbreakingly cute! He and Samantha had fun playing together.
I always love my Utah trips!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

First of all, Happy St. Patrick's Day! I love St. Patty's maybe because I have a bit of Irish in me, which I'm totally proud of, and even though I don't drink, which is why most people celebrate this holiday so they have an excuse to drink, it reminds me of those fun school days when I was in elementary. Remember those kids who did one of three things? Either they wore the green with the fun shamrock earrings, or they wore green underwear or something not visible so they could pinch the person ten times that pinched them, or...there's the little boy that deliberately hides his green, or doesn't wear any, just so he can get attention and pinch a bunch of girls! Grown-ups can't really do those things, and if they do, it's weird, or they're weird! And I also miss the yummy Shamrock-shaped sugar cookies my dad would bring home on St. Patty's day. They were so good!
SO HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Lately Sammy's big thing has been playing hide and seek, and her favorite place to hide is in the hall closet, even though there's so much stuff in there she can't close it all the way. She'll hold it closed as much as she can until you walk by and say "where's Sammy?" and then she jumps out and says "Booooooo!" She thinks she's pretty hilarious, and she is, so of course I had to take a couple pictures of her.

Wickedly Cool!

Finally the night I have been waiting for for so long finally came on Friday. Dave and I went to see "Wicked" in dowtown Portland!! I loved it! Or I should say, we loved it.
I really wasn't expecting to love it as much as when we saw it in New York a few years ago, because hello, it's New York....but really it was just as amazing! And the lady that played Galinda, or Glinda as she is known as later in the play, was hilarious! And everyone had amazing singing voices! I always get the chills when Elphaba sings "Defying Gravity" and "No Good Deed".....awesome! It is such a fabulous play and if you haven't seen it and it's coming to your town, you have to go!! What made it even better was the fact that we sat on the 3rd row! We could see everyone's facial expressions and the spit coming out of their mouths while they were singing!...so great
Before the play, Dave took me to dinner at this place right on the Waterfront called McCormick and Smicks! Wow, it was so yummy! I had the stuffed salmon, with the stuffed part being lobster, and Dave had the Marlin, and for an appetizer we ate these cocunut fried prawns! It was amazing and the ambiance of it all, made it that much more wonderful. And it didn't hurt that we had a $20 coupon too. That was nice.
So all in all, it was the perfect date night for me. Good food, and Broadway Musicals!