YellowStone

This past weekend we headed up to Yellowstone with our great friends Brian and Amy. We had been talking about doing this for a while, and the time finally came. It was a quick trip, we left Friday night, spent the night in Jackson Hole, and then spent all day touring the wonderful world of Yellowstone. We really did have a great time and it is so nice to be out of the city (or lack there of) and into the Wilderness. It was gorgeous, and I have to say that place is truly amazing! We were hoping to have a close encounter with a bear, unfortunately that didn't happen, but the beauty all around us made up for it (we did get to see some cool animals).

Touring the Park

So pretty (nature), my face is packing on the pounds...

Amy and Me

Sulfur....Sick

Sugar and me at Old Faithful

Thauts and me at the Emerald Pond

SUGAR at Emerald Pond

ITS A GIRL!

LAYNE FAMILY REUNION

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These last two weeks we have been traveling so much. First the beach, then i came home for a few days, to run to Vegas real fast for my cousins wedding, then to head up to Idaho for the Layne Family reunion.

Jon's mom and aunt worked so hard for about a year to pull this off and they did a GREAT job. I wasn't able to be there for everything but I was there for Cousins Week which was a blast. The last four days Jon's dad's brother and sister (and their families) stayed and hung out. There were a little over 50 people for cousins week. It was SO fun for me to get to meet them. Really everyone was so nice and I felt so welcome and just enjoyed everyone's company so much. The food was good, the company was great and I hope cousins week is something we can participate again in the future.

We went to the Cub River Ranch in Preston, ID which was just a nice and relaxing location. We played games, I read futures (ring test), we celebrated Ray's 60th birthday. It was all together a great time. I really wish we would have taken more pictures, Jon and I are both so bad at that.

Beacuse we were in Preston, ID we figured why not take advantage of the Napolean Dynamite tour (I LOVE the movie) We did get a few pics of this.... It was so fun to see everything.

Jenna, you need to send me the picture of me in front of the Cuttin' Curral (there really is a place called that) So funny.

Pedro's house

NapoleOn's house

TINA... Come get some ham!

I have to admit I was quite freaked by Tina, at one point she was trying to snuggle up to my head... no thanks, Tina. I really was scared to get spit on.

Then finally the last day we went to Downatta Swimming pool. The water in the pool comes directly from a local hot spring. The water was so warm! They even had a hose draining cold water to keep it refreshing. We enjoyed a GREAT game of water basketball for about an hour. That was a blast. I wish I had pictures of that.

If anyone has a group shot send it over, I would love to add it.

Thanks for the great week!

My Wonderful Week Away

I am so sad that its over, but we just got back from Outer Banks, NC for our annual family Beach Week. It was so fun, and I can honestly say I HATE TO BE BACK. It is so nice to not worry about a single thing (except when the next time you throw up is going to be). It was so fun to be with family all day every day, I have such a great family and we are so lucky to truly be best friends. Jessica you were missed big time!

We had such great weather! We thought we would be rained out all week, but it was quite the opposite. All day was warm and hot and then around three the clouds started to roll in. It made a perfect ending to each fun filled day.

Here are a few highlights from the week:

A GREAT pool in the backyard
The beach (sorry to say I didn't get in the water once, but I did enjoy myself on the sand)
Great food
Great laughs
Dance party
Karoake
Fun games
Cute kids
Great company
Spotlights on Mom and Dad

There are about a million more, but I won't bore you. Here are a few pics from our week.

Pardon our faces, the sun was really in our eyes!

I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT!

I knew DeAnna would pick him, and I am so glad! Anyone that knows me, knows that is who I would have picked. I really felt SO bad for Jason, but I really liked Jesse since day one. I sound like a crazy, I know. Either way Woo Hoo!

Did you agree or disagree with DeAnna's choice?

Yes its True...

I am heavy with child!

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I was going to wait until who knows when to share the news but I have told enough people that I might as well make it public. I am 9 weeks along and we are very excited.

Of course i am going to be happy with whatever I get, but to be honest, I am hoping for a girl!

I just learned that you can sometimes tell what the baby is by the heartbeat. They say girl's heartbeats are fast, and boy's heartbeats are slow.... If that is the case I am having a girl! The first thing I thought when I heard the heartbeat was wow that is fast! The Dr. said it was a healthy heartbeat.

Either way seeing the baby and hearing the heartbeat made me realize how real it really is. When the Dr zoomed in you could totally tell it was a baby, it had the exact same form like it had been in there for 8 months, plus it was so cute cause we could see the little heart beating through its chest. I loved that.

So anyways... What is it?? Boy or Girl?

Bye Bye Graham....

I have to say that I really liked him. He definitely didn't always say and do what she wanted, but I really like him. I think DeAnna is sweating bullets about that decision, because she was crazy about him.

Have you been watching the Bachelorette? Did you like Graham?

Where is your cell phone?.........................Desk
Your significant other?...............................Sweet
Your hair?.........................................Awful

Your mother?.............................Wonderful
Your father?....................................Amazing
Your favorite thing?.............................Cleanliness
Your dream last night........................Perverted

Your favorite drink................................Water
Your dream/goal..............................Money
The room you're in..........................Office
Your children?...................................None

Your fear?.......................................Psychos

Where do you want to be in 6 years?........Home
Where were you last night?.........................Thauts

What you're not?....................................MOTIVATED
Muffins?.........................................Pumpkin

One of your wish list items?.............................Furniture
Where'd you grow up?..................................Vegas

What'd you read last?...........................Twilight
What are you wearing?.........................Garbage
Your TV?.........................................Lifesaver
Your pet?.................................House

Your computer?...............................HP

Your life?.....................................Great
Your mood?................................Blah
Missing someone?............................Family
Your car?.........................................Pimp

Something you're not wearing?...................Earrings

Favorite store?..................................Sev

Your summer?....................................Beach

Like someone?.....................................Jon

Your favorite color?................................Pink

Last time you laughed................................Lunch
Last time you cried?.....................................Friday

I TAG ONE AND ALL!

DRAB to FAB....

Come one come all! If you have something you have found and fixed up, or maybe even something you found for a steal... post it! Jennifro, gave us this challenge... I am going to share two items: 1) something that was drab, that I turned into FAB. And 2) something that I had wanted FOREVER that was about $450 that my mom ended up getting me for $20... I guess I didn't find it, but props to mommy... i still consider it my gain!

I turned this blah galvanized bucket into a cheery vase....

I saw a bucket similiar to this in a magazine so i decided to make one to call my own

Second is this (not the bucket) striped set of drawers that I had wanted forever!! You can't really tell from the picture how great the colors are, you get the jist.

If you have something you would like to share first leave a comment on my blog, then head over to Jennifro's blog to see what she has shared along with the many others!

Gas Prices Got You Down??

I thought this was pretty interesting and fun. It actually does put things into perspective.

• Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 ..........$9.52 per gallon
• Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ... $10.32 per gallon
• Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ..... $10.17 per gallon
• Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ......... $10.00 per gallon
• Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 ...... $33.60 per gallon
• Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 ... $178.13 per gallon
• Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 .. $123.20 per gallon
• Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ....... . $25.42 per gallon
• Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 .....$84.48 per gallon
• And this is the REAL KICKER... Evian water 9 oz $1.49..$21.19 per gallon! $21.19 for WATER and the buyers don't even know the source (Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)
• Ever wonder why printers are so cheap? So they have you hooked for the ink. Someone calculated the cost of the ink at...............(you won't believe it....but it is true........) $5,200 a gal. (five thousand two hundred dollars)

So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, Pepto Bismol, Nyquil or Heaven forbid, Printer Ink! Just a little humor to help ease the pain of your next trip to the pump...

My Weekend Away...

Last weekend I headed back east to see my east coast family. I left Wednesday and got back on Monday. It was a quick trip but it really was SO great to see everyone and be back in Maryland. I really love it there and seriously just think it is so pretty! My trip started off at the ribbon outlet on Thursday. my sisters have been wanting to go for quite some time so we headed off to see what we could find...

Most of this is Jenn's ribbon but you get the jist. It sort of was a hole in the wall place, but they really had GREAT stuff and it was SO CHEAP!!

Later that night we had Nicholas' big baseball game. It was a great game, we bbq'd, chatted, and froze our tails off. It was really windy, but still really fun

Friday day we just hung around. Jill and I took her kids and went to grab lunch and after wards I took Caroline back to Jenn's and we had the little girls play while Jill took a nap.

Friday night the five of us below went to dinner at this great Mexican place called Tia Queda and went to see Baby Mama afterwards.

Finally the day I have been waiting for... Saturday the guys took all of the kids and the girls headed to Lucketts, and antiqued all day. We dined at LightFoot for Lunch and that was delish. I didn't find anything I had to have, but it really was a fun day and I was glad I finally got to go and see Jenn's store (DARLING BY THE WAY)

Jennifer's store is was one of my favorites, I loved the outside and I loved this big pink and black thing, I am not sure what they are called. I could do this day all over again.

Finally, Sunday. We went to church and afterwards headed to Jills for a delicious BBQ. That was the perfect way to end the trip.

Last but not least... Nick had the little kids over for a trampoline sleepover on Sunday night. We all hung out there for a while, and read stories, and heard Nicholas play the guitar.

The trip was definitely too short, but really it was so great to get out there. I miss everyone already, but am sure glad to I got to see everyone. I can't wait until we get back together in July for the Beach!

Thanks East Coasters!!

Not Sure How I Feel About This...

I have this clock in my house that I really liked, but I started to get really sick of it. I saw one of Jessica's friends that gave her clock a makeover so i decided i would try to do it. Well I am not sure if I like it as much, but I thought I would share. You see the first picture where it was green (which i really liked) and the second picture is the finished product. I did it really fast. There are things I would have done different... Like paint the hands black, I didnt have the patience.

Should I have kept it green?? Sorry Mom, you gave this to me (but I picked it out). Jon made the comment that he was hoping I would have kept the only "non-pink" thing not pink...

Coming Soon... AND I CAN'T WAIT!

I don't know when it opens but I know its soon. Jon saw the Now Hiring sign! It is going to be really hard not to eat here everyday! TRY IT!

THE MADNESS!!

My sister Jennifer posted yesterday about her house and how it was clean but that something was bugging her.... Well turns out she was going crazy about her messy closets. The first thing that came to my mind was "you think yours is bad??"

Jon has been remodeling our house. Which is GREAT, but I speak for both of us when I say we are ready for it to be done! The outcome will be so awesome but please look at what I have been living in for 6 weeks.

First the kitchen... I can't tell you the last time I used a plate or bowl or even started the dishwasher. You might say "At least do the dishes" I CAN'T I don't have the desire. Sad to admit but really there is no point!

Second, the living room! Please notice the dust. That is on the bottoms of our feet 24/7. You might say "why don't you vacuum?" oh we have a million times, but to no avail, two hours later its back to BAD! Please notice the ShopVac. It has been wheeled and left in every room in the house.

And finally our bathroom (the new one) It is so NICE, and I am so excited for it to be done, but right now we our showring in this, with no door, no bath rugs, no nothing! You might say "Why don't you use the other bathroom?" Thats being worked on too and even worse.

So all in all I am so thankful that Jon knows how to do this, and it really will be so nice when it is done, but for the first time ever I WANT TO CLEAN MY BUTT OFF! There is dust everywhere!

Delish!

I saw this cute oven and thought wowie! I would love this to be in my kitchen (along with the pink fridge). I love color, flowers, and anything that makes my house that much prettier. Anyway, its not like its the most amazing thing ever but I really thought it was cute!

GOOD JOB JONNY!

It wouldn't be appropriate for me not to acknowledge the newest graduate. I am so proud that he did this! He has worked so hard not only at school but also carried a full time job the whole time!

He is hardest worker I know!

Good Job, Jon. I love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Happy 30th to my wonderful sister Jek (Jessica)

I guess I will do a memory post about her as well!

I can honestly say I am so blessed to have the three best sisters that anyone can ask for! I love them! They are all unique for different things and in different ways.

Today for Jeks birthday I will post some memories and fun times with her:

My 5 fond memories:

1) Bedtime was never bed time. We had all sorts of games that we would play in bed: It was usually "shark" where we would take turns getting as close to falling off the bed as possible and soon as you thought you were going to fall you yelled "SHARK!" and the other person had to pull you to safety! Creative let me tell you!

2) We were obsessed with anything abnormally small! We had different dances we would do for something that was cute and petite, and then a really ugly dance for something that was big and ugly. i.e a 2 ounce bottle of ketchup... cute! a 25 ounce bottle of Ketchup... UGLY!

3) Another memory I had was when she sort of got mad at me because I wouldn't try my cereal with just a tiny bit of Milk like she did...

4) She always wanted me around. It didn't matter what friend or boyfriend she had over I was always welcome. And she always made me feel included. I NEVER got the "younger, annoying sister feel" Thanks!

5) She has been there for EVERYTHING! Whether it was a breakup, a wedding, a wedding shower, a new house, she is always there and always ready to help! There have been a couple of different occasions where Jessica has made the trip to Utah just because I needed help decorating, or just needed my college room cute. SHE WILL ALWAYS HELP!

Happy Birthday Jek! Thanks for being the best sister/friend ever. Love you to death. Couldn't ask for anyone better.

HAPPY 30th!

I've Been Tagged... Sort of

So my sister Jill did this memory thing about our sister Jessica on her blog. She told some funny stories and funny tidbits about Jek. I really liked the idea so I made this into a tag and tagged myself. Any takers??

Today's post serves two purposes. My memory is about my brother Mitch and it is also his birthday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOO!

Me and Mitch were the last two kids (of six) and I loved him! Don't get me wrong there were days when I thought I would beat the crap out of him, but all in all we were great buddies.

Growing up Mitch and I went to live with my sister Jennifer every summer in Maryland. One summer specifically I remember when I really realized that Mitch was the coolest kid ever. We had the same friends in Maryland so I got to see him interact with friends and not just with family, and let me tell you the kid was HILARIOUS. That was the first time I really started to appreciate his personality and just think he was so fun!

For a while Mitch and I (in jr. high and some highschool) shared a room. We had bunk beds and Mitch always kept me enterained. I remember waking up at nights with Mitch crouching down at the foot of my bed shaking it. I woke up so scared because I didn't know who the creep was shaking my bed and staring at me. There was also the time when I woke up out of a deep sleep because I could not longer breath.... Turns out Mitch couldn't sleep either and so he decided to plug my nose to wake me up.

I have tons of stories that I could go on and on, but the last one I always think is funny is how protective Mitch was of me. It was funny because it was a discrete protection, but I don't think he liked guys looking or talking about me. One time in Maryland I had these short shorts that he didn't like me wearing. I told him I was going to wear them around the missionaries (of course I wouldn't). Well low and behold I never saw those shorts again. I think Mitch disposed of them.

Anyway Mitch is such a great friend and a wonderful brother I am so blessed to have him in my life and so close by!

Love ya Buddy!

Anyone who wants to do this can! I think it is a fun way to remember the fun times you have with loved ones.