Burgess Family

Remember when...

2012-01-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

Remember when I used to update my blog regularly? Well those days are long gone.

Remember when I used to update my blog not so regularly and give summarized update of what has been going on? Well those days are long gone too.

Instead I am just going to update with what happened this morning.

I woke up at some random time in the night to the brightest full moon glaring through my window right on my face. It took me a while to get back to sleep, but not before making a mental note that I need to get window coverings up in our house sooner rather than later.

Brief update:We bought a house back in October and moved in a couple of months ago. Decorating it is still in the works.

Then at 5:30am Lina came downstairs in to my room asking for chocolate milk. Instead of taking her back to her room, I pulled her into bed with me and snuggled for another hour. With a new baby on the way I have a sense of urgency to enjoy Lina as much as I can while it's just her.

Brief update: We are expecting another baby! It's another summer baby, due July 31st.

Clint got to stay home with Lina today and does tomorrow too. I am not a fan of coming to work on the days that he's off. I already dread my 45 minute commute, knowing that they are at home enjoying eachother and instead I am driving then working then driving some more doesn't make it the least bit more enjoyable.

Brief update: I changed jobs back in August. Still State Farm, just a different agency. Now I am driving out to 19th Ave. and Baseline in South Phoenix.

While unpacking a box early this morning I found my long lost camera's batter charger. Hopefully this means new pictures to come with my next post.

Watercolors at their finest

2011-11-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

I found this idea on pinterest. Had I known it was going to be such a success I would have tried it earlier. Lina's happy, my tub is clean, and it led right into bath time without any fuss...this, my dear friends, is what I call a success.

Now let's see how bedtime goes.

back by popular demand....

2011-10-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say I have some really good reason why I haven't blogged in months...but I don't. So we are back by popular demand!

Jacque came to visit AZ so we treated her to a day at the lake for her birthday. It was a blast because the kiddos actually cooperated for the entire day.

My family went back to El Salvador after almost 30 years. We got some souveniers of course.

We took the girls to the dairy farm.

Lina turned 2 so we threw her a birthday party a month later.

She went swimming at Grandpa Alan's.

We went camping...

We hiked to Waterwheel.

and Lina learned to pee in the woods.

btw- who wears socks with flip flops?...I guess this picture will serve to embarrass Lina in more than one way someday.

That's all folks! See you next time!

Recently ...

2011-05-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

we celebrated Clint's job offer from the Mayo Clinic by eating sushi. Yup, amongst over 400 applicants he was one of the 35 chosen to start in June. We are sooo over the moon about this!

my little brother, Josue, went through the temple.

we celebrated Easter and were able to squeeze in all three sets of grandparents. Every time we do this I swear I will do it differently for the next holiday.

Lina went on a second Easter egg hunt.


Lina convinced Nana to give her a binkie. I know, she's almost two and still using it...I guess I am out of the running for Mother of the Year again!

Josue had his farewell/open house so we took a lot of pictures.

Then we celebrated Easter which meant lots more pictures....don't you love how we all ended up wearing green?

we all met up at the airport to see Josue off.

we said goodbye.

Recently we...

2011-03-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

Had our palm tree trimmed.

Went for a Sunday drive to search for snow on the Superstition Mountains.

We got together to see Josue open his mission call to Knoxville, TN.

Had a girls day at Olive Garden to catch up with sister and mom.

Played with Lina and Noah at the park.

Celebrated Jonathan's birthday and enjoyed their company at our house.

Ran the Two Sisters One Heart 10k...couldn't get this picture to rotate.

And said goodbye to Scooter today. He's off to a better home and family who will give him all the love and attention he deserves and more.

and the results are in...

2011-03-04T23:33:00.000-08:00

America voted....okay America didn't really vote...but we did make a final decision....

Clint got his iPhone.

Facebook Parents

2011-03-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

Recently my parents both started facebooking.

It started with my mom.

My cousin was patient and ambitous enough to sit my mom down, set up an account for her, and send out her initial wave of friend requests. I was pretty surprised when I got a friend request from her at 10:00pm, I had to do a double take.

I accepted my mom's friend request. No harm there right.

Well then it was just a matter of time before my dad jumped on the bandwagon.

And yes I accepted his friend request as well.

And now he's taken over my Live Feed.

Yup, it's true. He's been accused of being addicted to facebook...he of course claims it is a wrongful accusation.

According to this flowchart I did the right thing by friending them both. However, I might be having friending remorse for accepting my dad's. There is no shortage of videos, quotes, poems, scripture references, talks, facebook gifts, when it comes to the stuff my dad feels inclined to send me. Would it be mean to remove him from my live feed?

to iPhone or not...that is the question.

2011-01-31T12:45:00.000-08:00

We are loyal Verizon customers.

Have been for years, and years.

We've even added my MIL, SIL, and GIL onto our plan.

Last year Clint's phone broke.

I used my upcoming upgrade to get him a new smartphone.

He offered to give me his upgrade when he got one.

Clint shopped our plan.

He found that we could do better with a different carrier.

He decided we would leave Verizon at our next renewal instead of upgrading.

A couple of months ago my phone broke.

I needed a new phone so I used my insurance replacement.

I got a brand new NEW phone.

Then Verizon announced they were getting the iPhone.

Clint decided against switching carriers.

He wants to use his upgrade to get the iPhone next month.

What's the right thing to do?

Voice your opinion on the poll on the sidebar.

Christmas...Henriquez Style

2011-01-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

To kick off the Christmas celebration we started Christmas Eve at my parent's house. As usual, we had a variety show. Here's the highlights.

Sebastian, Noah, and Tyler put on an awesome sing/dance.

Guitars, fake mustaches...

and jumping beans. Yes, I said jumping beans!

mom and dad sang a spanish rendition of "santa clause is coming to town"...

and they sorda danced too. They are so dang cute.

Candi and I spiced up the night with a Mean Girls Jingle Bell Rock performance.

Then it was on to the Nativity performance.

Lina was supposed to be Mary. She ditched the role half way through.

So I ended up stepping in. Everyone else did a fabulous job!! I was so impressed with everyone's wardrobe. Can't wait to see this tradition continue next year. Hopefully Lina will do a better job.

And although not pictured, we had a tamale feast! Mmmm....

So....what have you guys been up to?

2011-01-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

This was the question of the month it seemed as I met up with friends who were in town over the holidays as we made an attempt to catch up and keep our kids well behaved.

(Yes, I did get a camera for my birthday...but left it at my in-law's on Christmas so this update will be absent of any pictures....sorry.)

I didn't get to meet up with everyone who was in town so for those of you I missed....here's our update.

Clint is in nursing school at ASU. He goes to the campus at the Mayo Clinic in north Scottsdale. He will graduate in May with his BSN. He wants to go on to do a master’s program for CRNA (nurse anesthetist). He’ll need to get a couple of years of ICU experience before he can do that so we’ve got a few years before we delve into that. He’s been working while going to school. He works at Ford Credit so between those two schedules, and homework, we hardly ever get to see him. But it will soon be over in May.

I’m still working for State Farm agent, Scott Frindell. I work four 10’s so I get Wednesday (and weekends) off. I am one of the teachers in RS. We are in the Citrus Heights Stake- Parkcrest ward. We just sold my car this week! No more car payments…yay!!

Lina is now 18 months old. She just went to nursery for the first time last week. When I picked her up the teacher said she was “Excellent!” I guess she cried for a minute when I left but then was fine after that. I have a friend from the Spanish branch who watches her 3 days a week and my mom or younger sister, Candi, watch her one day a week.

We are still cloth diapering and still LOVE IT! We use a disposable for night time because we haven’t found a system that will hold up all night. We are still attempting to teach Lina to speak Spanish. We mostly speak Spanish to her at home and switch to English when we are out with people who don’t speak Spanish. Both of my MIL’s speak Spanish so they are on board with it and of course my parents only speak Spanish to her. She is pretty bilingual up to this point and she is so dang smart (of course I think that, right?) that she learns new things every day!

And lastly, it will be a while before we try for another. Probably, maybe, possibly when Lina is three. (She is a handful, I’m still trying to figure her out).

So yah, that’s pretty much what we have been up to. I know, not all that exciting!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-20T08:08:00.001-08:00

Bday 2010

2010-12-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

This year I turned the big 2-7! I am kinda okay with it really. Clint of course splurged and got me a camera for my bday and couldn't wait until my bday to give it to me so I got it like a week early. But then on the weekend of my bday (also Thanksgiving weekend) he made it a point to treat me to a nice sushi dinner and a chic flick. Not to mention all the sweet things he did for me throughout the day. He tried his hardest to let me have a "day off" and tried to handle Lina's needs as best he could.

Thanks honey for a great Birthday!!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

We started our Thanksgiving day with the Turkey Trot. Lina was pooped from all of her cheering from the sideline.

Then headed over to my parent's house for lunch. We hadn't seen Charlie in forever. She has gotten so big! It was so funny to see her and Lina play together. Lina would try to pick Charlie up to help her walk, Charlie would let her, so they would end up tumbling down and rolling all over each other.

After lunch and all the excitement that came with it Lina was exhausted...again.

We headed out to Scottsdale to see Grandpa Alan and the gang. More food. More exhaustion.

We had a good time with good company and good food. Can't complain!

We are still alive...

2010-12-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

I got a new camera for my bday (an early present) so when I went through it and was choosing what to blog about as proof that I am still around I accidentaly downloaded this picture. As my coworker Melisa would say "it's a sign". So I decided I should post it.

We are selling my car. It's a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer. I'm sad to see it go because I really love it...but won't be sad to see the payment go.

First Race

2010-12-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

I did my first race! Alexis, my coworker, and I signed up for it 6 months ago and the day finally came. We didn't have any high expectations. We just wanted to finish it.

Ernest was our babysitter/photographer. Lina was our cheerleader. She got tired apparently.

And we did it! We finished!

And felt great afterwards! In fact we signed up for another race once we got back to work on Monday.

FYI- The Shun the Sun 10k is a great event! We even got a few more coworkers in on it for next year.

ASU Homecoming

2010-11-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Clint's studying and quiz taking require a quite home. I mean no TV, talking, playing, or even cooking. He doesn't do well with distractions.

So to appease him, on Saturday after Lina woke up from her nap (which gave him some quite time, I loaded her up in the car and we headed to Tempe. After maneuvering through all that traffic near campus and smiling at fellow ASU fan's colorful language as I did yet another u-turn, we finally met up with Tia Candi.

Lina cooperated with the dress up Shrek lady because she was distracted/bribed with licorice. Now I know the trick to getting her to keep something in her hair. She wasn't too fond of Sparky up close.

She wasn't a fan of Indian fry bread either. That's okay. I didn't mind finishing it off by myself.

Oh, and she loves bounce houses. Mostly she just sits there and lets the other kids bounce her around, which other kids think is weird. But Lina loves it.

She put up a good fight when I had to practically crawl in there to get her out.

And by the looks of these pictures, I've become a frumpy mom. I ate my own words...again.

Camping Trip-Labor Day

2010-10-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

I have something to blog about....yeh, it's kinda been a while since this trip....so better late than never right?

We went up the Rim to get away from the heat for a long weekend.

I was hesitant about the "real camping" experience.

We had a good time sitting around the campfire, talking, eating, and eating some more.

Lina had a whiskey tango weekend.

wife beater...check.

socks with sandals...check.

spandex pants...check.

mullet....check.

Lina hated leaving the lake.

The trip home was eventful.

Not just because of hundreds of people who were also trying to make it back to town.

We got a flat tire and had no jack or cell phone service.

Kolby caught a ride back to Mesa.

Ernest eventually turned back to see what was taking us so long.

It only took us 3 hours to get back from Payson.

2010-09-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

Clint got a whole two days off of school between semesters so we took a trip to Flag.
great company.
great weather.
What else could we ask for?

Well we did splurge by eating sushi and trying an Indian buffet.

Now back to school.

Calling on all spanish speakers.

2010-08-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

How would you say "owl" in spanish?

a. lechuza

b. buho

c. tecolote

d. none of the above

Seriously. I need some answers on this one. I'll explain later.

My mom would be so proud...

2010-08-07T22:09:00.000-07:00

I made these, using this tutorial.

I am now a big fan of online tutorials, they make for some super cute baby shower gifts.

Hope you like them Jac.

Hope this helps Jill.

Is it weird?

2010-08-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Clint took a roadtrip for the day up to Flagstaff. Him and Ernest took their daughters (Emilee and Lina) to go visit Jonathan and his daughter (Charlie). They left around noon. I just got this pic in a text message from him...

I guess they got there okay.

Is it weird that I miss them?

Megan, you should have to come to AZ for the day and left all the boys to enjoy their daughters for the day. We could go do girl stuff that we can't do with little daughters, like go watch Charlie St. Cloud or get pedicures...or both.

New Bloggers.

2010-07-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and Megan started a blog. But it's private. And they aren't going to send out any invitations.

Seriously guys? Come on....everyone is waiting to see it....okay well maybe not everyone.....maybe just me.

But come on!! I'm dying here!

This is what my future holds...

2010-06-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Today I got a complimentary palm reading from one of my clients. Here’s my fortune:

I will have three of these,
but only two biological. And they will be extroverted, powerful, and will drain me.

I will not ever get a large sum of this, but I won’t have any disparity either.

My career line shows that I will not always be working here

I will have a change of career into something to do with art, and in my later years I will be a teacher of some sort.

My something line shows that I am guarded and don’t give out my love easily. As a result my sex line shows that I treat sex like a and whomever I give this to has had to work for it.

According to my Solomon’s Ring, I am as stubborn as one of these

Based on how I hold my hand. I my family above anything else, but need my space and

(independence).

When it comes to giving advice, I have a lot of (good) advice to give but get frustrated when people don’t take it.

I usually give it several times but eventually

because I get annoyed when people don't take it.

Kleenex and Medications

2010-06-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for these two commodities.

Clint and I both got sick last weekend...lame way to celebrate a three day weekend. Being sick sucks. Being sick with a baby to care for sucks even more. Being sick with a baby to care for when the other parent is sick as well sucks really bad!!

Thank heavens for my in laws (both of them) who jumped in and took Lina so we could attempt to get some rest. Marian and Gabby came over on Sunday right after church to take Lina to their house. They rushed over right after church, they hadn't even changed out of their church clothes when they got there.

Then on Monday, our plans of going to Alan's (my FIL) to swim and BBQ were cancelled. When Alan got the message he called back to say "I know you guys are sick but what does that have to do with Lina coming over?". 30 minutes later we were meeting up in Fountain Hills.

4 boxes of kleenex, a lot of hand sanitizer, and of course some nursing school homework consumed our Memorial day weekend. On Wednesday I went to see the doctor and he sent me home with some antibiotics for ear/sinus infections.

We are recovering. I am back at work and actually feel like I can survive the day.

Lake Trip

2010-05-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

We got the fam together (well most of it) to make the trek out to Apache Lake this weekend. Josue's graduation gave us a reason to brave the lake on Memorial Day weekend with all the rest of the crazies out there. We had a blast! Thanks Ernest for making it happen.

Candi has a lot more pics so hopefully she will blog soon.....hint, hint. =)

End of the year awards and stuff

2010-05-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year.

With our busy schedules we've missed out on some of the events and celebrations that have been taking place so I hacked these pics from my MIL.

This is Julia and Greg at their piano recital. These are Clint's little twin siblings.

All three of them are little brainiacs so they got honorable mention awards.

This is Brook, Clint's younger sister.

(Brook, you get preetier by the second...I can't believe how grown up you are!)

And last night was Josue's high school graduation. First Henriquez to graduate from Mountain View. I forgot how long graduation ceremonies are, and how uncomfortable those bleachers can be!

So proud of you all!!!

A bit of polishing.

2010-05-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

I had the awesome privilege of going to Women’s Conference this year. I’d always heard of women going and coming back fully recharged and uplifted, but never had the experience myself. So when Jacque put the idea out there I seriously considered it. I ran it by Tawnya, she was game. Jacque did some flight juggling so she could meet us in AZ for a fun filled classic girl’s road trip.

A few miscommunications, a pregnant lady, a misguided trip to Nielsen’s, and a terrible snow storm in Southern UT made the drive a bit longer than it should have been but we made it.

Collette, Tawnya’s MIL, was very generous and let us crash at her house, and even shared her warm clothes with us so we wouldn’t have to brave the UT spring weather (52 degrees) in flip flops.

The next morning the fun continued. We met in the Marriot Center. What a sight to see. 15,000 women gathered to receive the instruction to become better. We scaled a row of seats to get to the row that Jacque had saved us. As I heard the sisters address us I felt the spirit crawl into the corners of my heart and fill me with a sense of gratitude that I don’t have the words to describe.

Grateful that my husband made so many arrangements with his school/work schedule to make this happen. Grateful for my MIL’s for chipping in with Lina. Grateful for such great friends to do this with. Grateful for parents who brought me up in the gospel and taught me an appreciation for righteous knowledge.

I learned a lot about my role in this life and how to fulfill it. The privilege of being a mother should be done joyfully; I left UT with some tools that will help me accomplish this.

The spirit was amazing. For two days I was constantly fed by his promptings, tender mercies, and some rebuking.

I have a quite a bit of things to "polish up". My attitude, perspective, dedication, prayers, etc.

I can’t wait to go again next year!

Privilege

2010-05-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

Click here if you haven't already checked out NieNie's video, or you can go directly to the Church's website.

My favorite thing she says is that she's a different kind of mom now, and how she sees it as a privilege.

Love her.

Sister and Dust.

2010-04-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

I have a really cool little sister.

I guess I should refer to her as "younger" in order to paint a more appropriate picture, she's 23...not so little anymore right?

On Thursday I was going down my to-do list, I though I might tackle the "dust" project that has been on my list for several weeks now. I managed to muster up enough energy to get out my dust rag and was totally 100% dreading the thought of dusting my house.

I approached my first victim. The end table in my living room. I noticed that the dust wasn't nearly as bad as I expected on it. I gave it a quick once over with out even removing the picture frames. I went to the next end table....weird....there was not even enough dust for me to write my name in it.

I moved to the book shelf. Same finding.

There was only one explanation. My house was no longer susceptible to the evils of dust accumulation on my furniture!

Okay, I guess there is another explanation....

My ~~little~~ younger sister had dusted for me while she was over watching Lina on Tuesday!!!!

What more could I ask for???

Not only does she save me a fortune in childcare by watching Lina at my house every other Tuesday for FREE while I'm at work....she also dusts my house!!!

I don't know about you guys but I think she's pretty dang cool!

Thanks Candula!

Schemes and Dreams.

2010-04-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

Went to lunch with a friend this weekend and we did some very much needed venting.

We talked about our lives and how they differ from what we envisioned when we were young women.

What about you guys?

Leave your input on the poll.
<--------------------------

If I had 1 Million Dollars...

2010-04-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

Randomly I try to get Clint to engage in a "what if" game.

It goes something like this

Cec: What if you had 1 million dollars, you only had one week to spend it, and you couldn't spend it on yourself...what would you do?

Clint: That would never happen.

Cec: I'm helping you prepare just in case it does.

Clint: Seriously Cec.

Cec: Seriously Clint.

Clint: (Silence)

Cec: Ok, if we ever go on a gameshow and they ask me how you would answer this question I won't know so we will lose the grand prize of $10,000 because of you!

Then he usually humors me with an answer that took way less effort to conjure up than it did to argue with me.

Then we are both happy.

Occasionaly I play the "what if" game with myself. My answers follow a pretty unoriginal pattern lately.

If I had 1 Million Dollars I would....

-hire a housekeeper.

-hire a landscaper.

-hire a live in nanny.

-hire a personal cook.

-hire an assistant.

-buy a new wardrobe.

If I had a housekeeper maybe my house would be presentable when we had company.

If I had a landscaper maybe Clint wouldn't be so hard on himself about how our yard looks.

If I had a live in nanny, Lina's 2:30am crying fit this morning would not have led me to give in to bringing her to bed with us.

If I had a personal cook my family would eat healthier and earlier.

If I had a pesonal assistant I wouldn't have to spend 1 hour of my Monday morning getting organized for the work week.

If I had a new wardrobe I wouldn't spend the better part of my morning trying on different outfits only to end up wearing the same trousers and dress shirt to work.

But I don't.

So until I do, don't judge me if when you come over you can tell that I just lit a candle to cover up the smell of my unclean home and you see piles of halfway done laundry on the couch and you look out into my backyard and see the overgrown hedges, weeds, and dog poo. Or you notice that the bags under my eyes are extra deep and I am eating dinner at 8:30pm, which happens to be a bowl of cereal, while answering emails on my work laptop that is nearly buried under unopened mail on my kitchen table while wearing the same trousers you saw me wear to work two days prior.

Don't worry either. We are surviving. We focus on small victories.

Lina threw up two days in a row in one week.

I cleaned her car seat, my car, and she survived..both times.

That was a victory.

Bragboard

2010-04-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

Wondering what all of this is?
It's Clint's school project that took us all morning to do today.
I am proud of our brilliant idea and how well it turned out. We deserve something special for all the hard work we put into it.

Can't wait to find out what we get..........in terms of a grade of course.

Yup. We still exist.

2010-04-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

Let me explain. With Clint's work/school schedule he doesn't really get "free time" anymore. Any spare moment he has to spend doing schoolwork. I am working full time and just trying to stay on top of the basics at home like clean underwear in the dresser and food in the fridge, not saying that these are always taken care of.

For Jonathan's birthday (Mar 13) we met up in Pine. My mom had booked a week through her timeshare that had to get used.

It was a 1 bedroom, which sleeps 4. There were six of us and two babies. The next morning 7 more showed up.

We had a good time.

It was a short trip.

I'm glad we got to spend time with family.

Next time we'll rethink "sleeps 4".

I don't have any pics of us actually doing "birthday" stuff for Jonathan.

Lame.

I know.

Valentines Day 2010

2010-02-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

I was in charge of planning V-day this year. Since I am not one to pass up an opportunity to do something BIG for an occassion I decided to go all out and reserve a fancy resort stay in Scottsdale for us.....

However, Clint's school/work schedule didn't really leave me much room to work with and finding an overnight sitter for Lina posed a bit of a challenge....

My big romantic plans got put on hold for a year...or two....

Instead we dropped Lina off at her Abi's house and ventured out for dinner and a movie!! I know, so predictable right?

We had a nice coupon and gift card to Ruby Tuesday, but leave it up to me to forget those. We ended up finding a nice little hidden sushi restaurant. (Clint is now a huge fan!) Then, we joined the rest of the cliche couples in watching Valentine's Day (the movie). We made out in the car for a bit, picked up Lina, then went home.

I made Clint open his present in the restaurant, he was totally embarrassed. I got him the pull up bar he requested. I got a pretty "eternity necklace" from him and super gushy letter to go with it. Loved it.

Clint still thinks he is 24.....wait am I really 26 already??

2010-02-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my brother and Clint were talking about someone who is 24 and Clint said "Wait! He can't be 24....I'm 24!"

I had to remind Clint that he would be 27 on Monday.

That got me thinking about where time has gone. I've been telling myself "one of these days I'm going to...." The list of things to finish that sentence has just gotten longer with time.

AAHHH! It just seems like I never have time to do anything other than just meet the basic needs of my family, and sometimes not even that gets done.

Here's a run down of what my day looks like.

7:00 -7:30 Get showered and ready for work

7:30-8:00 Drop Lina off at sitters house

8:00- 6:00pm Work

6:15 Pick Lina up from sitters

6:30- 7:00 Change out of work clothes, feed dog, start Lina's bedtime routine

7:30-8:00 Put Lina down

8:00- 8:30 Unpack and repack diaper bag, wash diapers

8:30-9:00 Eat dinner

9:00- 9:30 Finish cloth diaper duty

9:30- 10:00 Get ready for bed, read scriptures

10:30 Clint gets home, we chat for a second before going to bed.

Thursdays and Saturdays I try to cram in laundry, grocery shopping, and household cleaning.

One of these days I am going to get a handle on this hectic schedule and find time to:

plant a garden

rewatch conference

work out

get waxed

buy jeans

get our wedding portrait framed

take Scooter to the groomer

put Lina's pictures in frames

hang her shelves

organize my desk

cook a diabetic friendly meal for my parents

make a D.I run

dust my ceiling fans

get a haircut

try a new recipe from my cookbooks

make bread

go for a bike ride

go to the cannery

make easter baskets for my nieces/nephews

take flowers to my grandma's grave

take a photography class

.........

Note: The purpose of this post isn't for sympathy, more so for journaling purposes so that I can look back at this crazy schedule some day and hopefully laugh. Maybe Lina will even be so amazed at what her mom had to do when she had her. ; )

"Yeh, I read that on your blog!"

2010-02-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you how many times I've been out and had a blast from the past. It seems like in Mesa, I'm boud to run into people from high school, singles ward, and past family wards...and apparently even elementary school and junior high. Inevitably they ask "So what have you been up to?"...I'll start to answer and then all of a sudden they stop me and are like "oh yeh, I read that on your blog". I'm left thinking "well geez I didn't even know you existed in the blog world, let alone that you read MY blog".

I am guilty of blog stalking myself. I'll admit it. Elisabeth recently posted that whenever you read a blog and don't comment you kill a fairy.

I'm going to try to stop killing fairies. Join the movement, leave a comment on that one persons blog that you blog stalk and just let them know you found their blog.

His or Her Diaper Duty...

2010-02-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

Recently I overheard my husband talking to my brother about our cloth diapering adventure. He said he wasn't totally convinced it was saving us money once you account for the extra laundry loads we have to do. I also heard him explain how our roles in the cloth diapering has been split up. He doesn't clean poopy diapers, "that was the agreement" he kept stressing.

Then Tawnya introduced me to The Cloth Diaper Whisperer Website and I realized that my husband wasn't alone in his hesitation to switch. Also, I learned that there is a detergent out there that claims to leave NO SUDS in the washer after just one wash! Check out her blog for all kinds of useful info!

ABC's

2010-01-29T15:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the tag, Elisabeth. This came at the perfect lull in my creative blogging life.

Age: 26

Bed size: King. Brilliant Invention!!

Chore I hate: Grocery Shopping. Might stem from my childhood, I was sent to the grocery store almost everyday.

Dog's name: Scooter. Although he also goes by cooties and roach.

Essential to start my day: Snoozing my alarm atleast once.

Favorite color: Lime green, and some days yellow.

Gold or silver: Depends.

Height: 5'3

I am: Considering coming into work tomorrow for one hour so I don't have to stay until 6 today.

Job: Insurance Rep.

Kids: Yes. Lina Ester Burgess. Just her....for a while for sure!

Living arrangements: A modest home in Mesa.

Mom's name: Catalina

Nickname: Cec, Ceci.

Overnight hospital stay: 2 nights when we had Lina.

Pet peeve: People who zone me out and act like they are listening but aren't and then when they get caught try to pretend like they heard it all.

Quote from a movie: "When I shop the world gets better, the world is better; and then it's not anymore, and I have to do it again!" - Confessions of a Shopaholic

Right or left handed: Right.

Siblings: Ernest, Emma, Jonathan, Candi, Josue, Jacob. And Megan, Gabby, Brook, Julia, Greg.

Time I wake up: 7 am.

Unique thing about my car: not anything really unique about it.

Vegetable I hate: Can't stand raw onions. Just recently they redeemed themselves by being carmalized.

Ways I run late: Always late. Now atleast I can blame it on Lina.

X-rays I've had: Ultrasounds and teeth only.

Yummy food I make: Clint fooled me into thinking everything I made was yummy. After 3 years of marriage, the truth starts to come out. Although now he has left me totally confused.

Zoo favorite: I'm not a huge fan of the zoo. This probably stems from my childhood too. My dad would complain that we could see all of this by checking out a book at the library.

Anyone who needs to update their blogs but can't think of something to write.. TAG, you're it!

Diaper Sprayer. DIY or Namebrand?

2010-01-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

I am debating whether I should get the diaper sprayer from BumGenius or venture out to Home Depot to get all the parts and have my sister's boyfriend who has plumber experience put it all together for me.

Any thoughts out there?

Here's a link that I found online that makes it sound so easy and claims it can be done for $25! That's half of the bumgenius sprayer.

DIY Diaper Sprayer Made Easy

So far so good...

2010-01-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

It's been one week of cloth diapering and I am still pretty excited. With some help from fellow cloth diaper users and my mom I have even managed to not mind the poopy ones. I tried out T's sprayer on her toilet and am sold! I am totally impressed at how easy it's been and I feel silly for putting it off for so long.

One downfall I am less than thrilled about is having to put away a whole stash of clothes she hasn't even worn yet because of her extra junk in her trunk.

Believe it or not, Clint is on board and has even changed a couple of the poopy ones. When I asked him for a statement for our blog he declined and was suddenly unavailable for comment.

Thanks for the advice and comments.

I'm going to try it!

2009-12-29T08:07:00.000-08:00

This is it! I have officially jumped on the bandwagon. I am totally convinced on the benefits, just unsure about our level of commitment to the extra effort that is involved. By "our" I mean, mine & Clint's, as well as the grandmas, aunt, and babysitter. I've got a lot of people to convert here, cut me some slack.

My supply consists of:
8 bumgenius OS pocket diapers, one long liner each
5 Green Acre Medium pocket diapers, one long liner each
6 small liners
1 hemp double liner
1 small wetbag

Any advice from those of you out there already doing it would be greatly appreciated. Drop me a note if you think there is anything else I need too.

I'll let you guys know how it goes from here!

Charlie's Blessing!

2009-12-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

Their first slumber party!

All the priesthood holders from the circle.

Proud Parents

Charlie Eva Henriquez

You've had a birthday...

2009-12-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

Well I had a birthday and man did I celebrate!! (No pics, shame on me!!)

No longer 25....I know, I know, I am still young...........but I am not 25 anymore! Boohoo, right?

I didn't take a lot of pictures, actually I didn't take any pictures. The only pics I have are some that Candi took.

Here's what we did this year.

Friday night The Collards brought over treats and Tara and Andrew and we got to enjoy some good company and good movie together. I got some super cute work out clothes!

Saturday I got treated to a shopping trip to Michael's for craft supplies. Then we went to watch Blind Side (great movie) and pigged out at Texas Roadhouse! Clint got me "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" on DVD since he couldn't take me to the play, and some new runnng shoes.
(Oh yeh, and he got the baseboards done at the house a couple of weekends ago while I was in TX!)

Sunday my family came over for cake and ice cream and watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (my little brothers have never seen it!!). I got jewelry, smelly stuff, and was surrounded by a lot of good company!!

Black Friday Crazies

2009-11-30T07:31:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, my family has it's share of crazies....

After a hefty Thanksgiving dinner they were some of the few amongst the hundreds who were sprinting around Superstition Springs Mall doing some Christmas shopping in order to redeem thier receipts for gift cards. Just short of a full out fight, they made it out of there alive getting everything they set out to get, then spent the day getting caught up on some Z's.

Just another example of how crazy my family can get.

Calling all Male Nurses...

2009-11-16T07:48:00.000-08:00

This announcement is embarrassingly late….Clint has been accepted into the ASU Nursing program! It gets better….ASU offers an accelerated program (16 months) at the Mayo Clinic for only a few students….with Clint’s smarts and Hispanic leg up he was accepted to the Mayo program! It looks like a pretty rigorous program so come January he may be MIA for a while.

Clint, we are so proud of you and so thankful that you have dedicated so much work to this decision. We feel so blessed to be part of this journey. Love ya!!

Halloween

2009-11-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

For Halloween this year we planned around Lina (seems like an everyday occurence actually). We picked up a giraffe costume at good ol Walmart for $8 for her (which can double as a pajama so we really get our money's worth). We dressed up as explorers out on an safarri adventure...she was our only find.

Clint made the torch....pretty creative....I was impressed.

Candi hosted the annual Henriquez Halloween Party....it was a lot of fun, she did a really good job. Check out her blog for pics of everyone.

We partcipated in the dance off, based on the judges' votes we tied with my parents so it went to a text vote for "America" (all the guests) to chose the winner....we ended up getting second. The win went to my parents this year for their Adams Family Routine!

Do Mormons really....?

2009-11-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

In light of some of the most recent inquiries at work, I thought I'd make a list of some of the things that folks wonder if mormons really believe or do and include a simple explanation/answer.

Keep in mind, we aren't perfect so despite the counsel sometimes we slip up....

DO MORMONS REALLY....

- not drink caffeine?
We don't consume coffee, tea, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, or illegal drugs. It's a pretty simple health code that was revealed in the 1800's that helps us keep our bodies healthy. We are promised in exchange to receive blessings.

Some members of the church choose to exclude other items from their diet based on an individual basis if they feel that it's harmful to their bodies.

-only marry other mormons?
No. Typically people marry people who share their same goals, beliefs, interests, etc. LDS people aren't exempt of this desire. We are urged to find a companion who shares the same goals and standards so that we can work together towards those goals.

-wait until marriage to have sex?
We are counseled to have high morality standards. One of those is to save this intimate act for the person we are married to. We exercise self discipline and control in order to accomplish this and in exchange there are many blessings receive.

-go on a 2 year volunteer mission in which they can't talk to their family?
Yes, but not everyone. At age 19 young men and at age 21 young women are given the opportunity to do this. It's optional. We don't receive any pay for this, in fact we pay in order to cover expenses. We volunteer 100% of our time to sharing the gospel, we don't have contact with our family and friends in order to stay focused. It is one of the most rewarding experiences!
-not watch rated R movies?
We are counseled to keep our thoughts clean. In order to do this we try to keep from watching or listening to innapropriate movies and music. What goes in is what comes out. My 11 yar old niece once asked me "Tia, would you feel okay watching this if Jesus was here too?". You'd be surprised at how easy it is to make movie choices based on this question. Because of how much what we watch can effect us, we are counseled to chose appropriate movies by not watching rated R movies.

-go to church for three hours every sunday?
Yes. We have three seperate classes. First "Sacrament Meeting" where the families are all together, there are usually some speakers, songs, and this is the meeting in which the "sacrament" (bread & water) is passed out. Second, "Sunday School" based on age we attend seperate classes where we are taught a specific lesson. Third "Young Women/Men" or "Priesthood" or "Releif Society". The youth attend their own classes divided by gender and age. The adults attend their own class, Priesthood is for the men, and Relief Society is for the women.

-have super short engagements?
Not always. However, because getting married is the official start of our lives together we don't really see any sense in delaying it. If we've found "the one" and we are sure about, why wait!?

-have to be white, rich, and/or from UT?
Nope. Those of you who don't know me... my family is from El Salvador, far from rich, and far from being from UT. I've often heard "I didn't know hispanics could be Mormon?". The LDS church is a worldwide church, missionaries are sent all across the world, membership is not denied to anyone because of their ethnicity/race, financial situation, or the state they live in.

All in all, we aren't all that weird. I'll be the first to admit, mormons do have a specific lifestyle "mormon culture, if you will. But we are just a group of Christians who are trying to be better....we aren't perfect...don't judge us with out getting to know us. You might find we aren't all that different from you!

I am sleep deprived.

2009-10-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Lina started sleeping through the night consistently a few weeks ago. I was thrilled!

All of a sudden this week she is waking up every three hours at night. She eats for just a bit and then goes back to sleep.

Every three hours!! I am dying here! She didn't even do this as a newborn.....and she's 3 1/2 months now for crying out loud!

Any ideas??

Charlie's Here!

2009-10-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Last week Charlie Eve Henriquez was born. She is going to be Lina's BFF, once they meet. We went to see them but Lina wasn't allowed to go into the hospital. Dang flu precautions!

Charlie looks just like Megan, she's got a round little face, blonde hair, and a couple of dimples. She's a strong baby and came out weighing almost 9 lbs. She is so tiny compared to Lina but I have a feeling that if she takes after Jonathan she won't have too hard of a time catching up.

OOHH!! I just love my new little niece! She is so precious, I wish they lived closer so I could smother her with kisses!

Good job guys.....she's perfect!

Spoiled by Grampa Alan

2009-10-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Grampa Alan is wrapped around this little girl's pinkie to say the least. He is her biggest fan, and she knows she gets spoiled when she's with him.

Leave me alone, I'm strolling around with my grandaughter.

Lina, come on. I'll hold you just the way you want and spoil you rotten. Come on.

Now I think I've died and gone to heaven. Beer in one hand, grandbaby in the other, sitting at the beach on a Friday afternoon.

Good Morning. I came to get you bright and early. No sense in putting off the spoiling.

You can say no to her. It won't hurt my feelings.

Rocky Point Family Reunion

2009-10-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

Us plus family equals a good time, throw into that formula a lot of crazy mexican cousins, the beach, and three days in Mexico.......now that equals a whole new level of FUN!!

Here are the family pics with everyone in their bright purple matching shirts!

Grateful for...

2009-10-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

Good friends (near and far)
Good jobs
An eternal family
A home we can afford
Family members who love me unconditionally
Good health
The gospel
Living in the USA
My education
My MILs, mom, and Candi for being Lina's babysitters
Shoes
Clothes
Food
Unalienable rights
Opportunity

My friend who has a blog but doesn't blog...

2009-10-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

I have this friend, Jackwa Kneel (name has been changed to protect her identity) who has a blog that she promises she is going to update pretty much every time I talk to her.......but never does! There was a time in our friendship when I actually believed her so I would obsessively check her blog but to much dissapointment it was always the same posting (which is almost a year old now).

I've decided to blog for her. Since I don't have her password and hacking is not one of my strengths this will just have to do. =)
Plus, I know that she will find this freaking hilarious so maybe that will just do the trick to get her back in the blogging world!

Hi Everyone! I know, it's been forever! I have been such a bad blogger and I am really trying to be better. Here is a very valiant effort to getting everyone caught up on whats been going on in my life....

1. Houston (city has been changed to protect her identity) has been a blast! I totally miss all my friends in AZ seriously ALLLL the time and don't know how I manage with out them.

2. Dave (name has been changed to protect identity) has been doing so well in his classes. He is pretty much the smartest kid and aces all his tests. He is at the top of his class so I am really proud of him. He works hard and it is really paying off.

3. Sadie (name has been changed) is loving it out here too. We've discovered that she doesn't like it when we pull on her ears and she'll even kinda snip at us when we do it.

I've been subbing so that's been taking up my time. I've tried out different grade levels and subjects. I even took the liberty to teach a 5th grade class some Italian!! I am so the best!

There was a Chick-Fil-A that opened up here so I toted myself down there super early in the morning and set up camp for 24 hours and won myself one years worth of Chick-Fil-A!!

I had all this time to kill so I started on some over due crafts.

Here I am boiling in my tent.

Pizza Night,a little different.

Dave and I went to Padre Island. Here's our beautiful view.

I went to AZ to visit a couple of times but I don't have those pics. So much more has happened and I PROMISE I will be better about blogging from now on.

Lastly, here's a pic of my hot friend who is totally awesome and her baby Lina (I'm her zia). We met at Mimi's for breakfast. SO YUMMY!

I miss everyone and I PROMISE I am going to keep up on my blog now! Ciao!!

Special Day for The Burgess Family.

2009-09-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

Lina's blessing day finally arrived! Courtesy of Armando's mom's seamstress skills, she was dressed in a gorgeous little white dress that mirrored my wedding dress almost exactly. With a lot of family members and close friends to join us, we enjoyed a brief moment set aside just for Lina. As the circle of worthy priesthood holders encircled her, Clint gave her a perfect blessing. The Spirit was present.

Our luncheon turned out to be quite a hectic get together. I don't think we realized how big our family has gotten. We counted....we managed 50 people in our house today! Maximum capacity for our house is probably closer to half of that.

It was a special day in which gratitude filled our hearts for so many blessings...a perfect daughter, an eternal family, friends and family who love and support us, and the gospel.

What else could we ask for?

(more pics on Lina's blog)

Things can always get worse...

2009-09-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

I was hesitant to even have the thought that things couldn't get much worse because I knew that as soon as I did they would.....

Despite my efforts they did.

My MIL got super sick and couldn't watch Lina today.

Sooooo grateful for a mom who had to pull all sorts of strings to stay home with Lina this morning.

Eternally grateful for a good friend like Tawnya who is willing to watch her in the afternoon, despite having a toddler on her hands too.

Still trying to count my blessings.

Why Now???!!

2009-09-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday we got back from a nice relaxing weekend trip with friends up in Strawberry, went to dinner at my MIL's house, got home to an extremely warm house.........Yup! Our AC broke! It was 9:00 pm so we called our home warranty company and they sent through a work order for someone to come look at it Monday morning!

Chain of Events that followed that prove that life can always get a little more complicated than

you think:

Saturday night we toted our baby, dog, and ourselves over to spend the night at my mom's house.
Sunday night we all spent the night at my MIL's.
Monday I headed off to my first day back at work, leaving Lina and Scooter with my MIL.
AC guy diagnosed the problem.....bad compressor.....can't get the part until Tuesday.
Monday night spent the night at my MIL's.
Tuesday morning get a call from AC guy to let us know they can't get the part yet.
Tuesday morning had Candi meet Clint to take Lina back to my parent's house since our house is too hot for them.
Headed off to work..........hoping and praying that they will fix it today!!!

I really miss my bed! I've been living out of a duffle bag since Thursday!!!

Proud Daddy

2009-08-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

Clint got her ready all by himself, and kept her calm and happy so I could get ready too. Two words to describe how I felt about him that morning:

proud. grateful.

Garbage Disposal or Trash Can?

2009-08-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

How does everyone dispose of these items? Is there a right or wrong answer?

orange and grapefruit rinds?

all the stuff you cut off of vegetables before using?

Potatoe and carrot peelings?

chicken skin?

egg shells?

Is there any rhyme or reason to it all or is just whatever I feel like doing in the moment?

Post Prego Bod

2009-08-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

I'd always heard "your body will never be the same after a baby"...but I didn't really grasp the reality of this tragedy until I saw it in the mirror for myself.

I am coming to grips with my evolving body and slowly accepting that it will NEVER be the same.

<-------------- How long does it really take to shed the weight?

What blows my mind is these celebrity moms who look amazing only a few months after giving birth (of course with the help of their personal trainer, cook, nanny, and possibly plastic surgeon).

Klum only two months after giving birth.

J Lo completed a triathalon 5 months after twins.

Kate Hudson, 4 1/2 months post prego.

Is it really do-able?

Super long Road Trip

2009-08-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

In my time spent in Chicago as a missionary I became good friends with several other missionaries. Of those, there are only a handful who I am still in contact with today. Of those, there are a couple of them who are still single. Of those, there is one who recently met a girl in UT, proposed, and planned a wedding here in AZ!

Chris Radigan (or Radi, as I refer to him) was my DL and ZL on the mission and was one of the few missionaries who really enjoyed being pranked....only so he could retaliate bigger and better without any remorse. He's from AZ and really a cool kid. We've kept in touch over the years and so when he told me he was getting married I was stoked and even more excited to hear it would be an AZ sealing.

Jill Warner was my companion for one transfer on the mission. One transfer was plenty for us to become really close and to this day she is one of my best friends. She and Chris are also good friends so she was willing to make the 10 hour drive from UT to AZ for the wedding.

The detail that makes this a little more exciting is that Radi and Aubrey chose to be sealed in the Snowflake temple.

Basically there were several reasons to not take the trip:

1. I have a newborn

2. Clint had to work on Saturday

3. I would have to find someone to come with me just to watch Lina during the sealing

4. It was 3 hours away

5. The reception was in Payson

6. Jill would have to drive 10 hours to get here

7. Jill had not more PTO so she would only be here for the weekend

8. Jill would have to find someone to come with her just so she didn't drive alone

9. It's a 10 hour drive from UT to AZ

However, we did it anyway. Jill convinced her older sister to leave her 4 kids for the weekend and trek down here as a her co-pilot and as my babysitter. They got in at midnight, we went to bed at 1am which kinda gave us a late start the next morning. Once on the road, there was an accident that backed up traffic on the 87 for about 45 minutes. So we were already running late, and with this we thought we were for sure going to miss it. Once we finally made it there (right on time), we were given the news that the marriage license was en route and stuck behind that accident. The 12:00 sealing took place at 2:00!

Natalie did great with Lina the whole time! I guess being a mom of 4 qualifies you for stuff like this. Man! I was so lucky to have her there!

After the sealing we did some more driving back to Payson for the reception.

After the reception we headed home, got back around 9pm. Lina didn't cry the whole time, until the car ride home. She saved it all and made us suffer the last 45 minutes of the drive.

The next morning Jill and her sister got back on the road for another 10 hours!

In the end it was a really long road trip. However, it was nice to get to be there for Radi and see him start this new chapter of his life. It was also nice to get to see folks from the mission and get to visit with them.

I'm just glad I didn't have to trek down all the way from UT for it. =)

I didn't take my camera so I don't have any pics but here are some old mission pics of Radi and also Jill....these will have to do.

Radi is on the left. He and Porter came over to help us with our bikes when we first got them.

Radi is on the far right. This was my last day on the mission.

Radi at Zone Activity.

Jill trying to load up our bikes since we didn't have a bike rack.
Jill getting ready to flush goldfish down the toilet. This was a result of one of the many pranks from Radi.

Obsessed or just a new mom?

2009-07-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

I've noticed a pattern amongst my friends' blogs. Whenever one of them has a baby, their blog becomes flooded with pictures of thier new bundle of joy and an endless supply of stories about the new baby. Some of the most random pictures get posted, from things as ugly as blow outs and baby acne to the most memorable milestones and family photos at the blessing.

I swore I wasn't going to become obsessed.

I was wrong.

Here's the evidence of my obesession...

FYI: I am going to start a private blog where I will be able express my obsession guilt free. For those of you who want to keep up with it post it in your comment and I will email you the link.

She's 2 days old!

2009-07-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

Checklisting

2009-07-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

This has been a week full of checklisting...my latest checklist:

1. Hit my 39 week mark: Check!

2. Pack Hospital bag: Check!

3. Get wall textured and painted: Check!

4. Tie up loose ends at work: Check!

5. Get to the hospital to deliver this baby: Check!

Dating other people after marriage...

2009-07-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

I was under the impression that once I got married I wouldn't be dating other people any more. I assumed that I had rid myself of being nervous over first dates, aqwerd tension over dinner, anxiety over being judged because I said too much or too little, judging the other person on what they did or didn't say, stressing over what to wear in fear of sending the wrong message, blah blah blah…

I was wrong.

Once I got married my world of dating other people simply shifted to a slightly different avenue. Now I had my husband to take on dates with me and instead of seeking out an eternal companion, we were on the search for a fellow married couple to hang out with.

Go figure.

Let me tell you, dating other couples is way harder than I thought. It’s almost impossible to find a couple that has a husband that my husband feels comfortable around, AND a wife that I feel comfortable around. It’s happened that we go hang out with a couple and once we get home I am all excited because I think I have just found my new best friend and I look over to get Clint’s approval and instead I am met with “eh, he’s kinda weird”…..or maybe more often than I’d like to admit, I am the one picking apart the wife. In either situation we end up having to decide whether we are going to give them a second chance date, or if we are convinced we just don’t mesh. All the while, I know that they are probably doing the same about us.

In the couples dating scene it’s been a rarity for us to find a couple who has EVERYTHING that we want in a fellow married couple….I mean we are talking a lot more complicated than single dating….we have to consider personality, geographic location, ages of kids, work schedules, hobbies, interests, occupations, past girlfriends/boyfriends, languages spoke, even their stance on controversial issues like rated R movies, plastic surgery, reality shows, and coffee ice cream, ….all of this on TWO PEOPLE!

Complicated…I know.

A few years back our friend Doug Neil got married to my best friend (Jacque)….at the time we didn’t know we were best friends but once we met it was obvious that it was meant to be! This couple hook up was a perfect match made in the pre-existence! It didn’t take long for us to start couple dating on a regular basis. Then, as if things couldn’t get any better… on Jac’s birthday last year we were introduced to another couple they were dating, the Collards. We discovered we had the same kind of dog and then just hit it off from there. Who would’ve thought that stinky Scooter and Isaac would be the key? Pretty soon they had us hooked on The Office, and things have just gotten better from there.
Since our initial date with the Collards, the Neils have abandoned ship. Doug was sent to do his Air Force training in TX and Jacque being the supportive wife that she is went with him. I miss the days when we all six got to hang out. But seriously am so grateful that we have been so blessed to have such great friends! Clint and I randomly will say things like “the Collards are so cool, aren’t they?” or “Man! Why did the Neils have to leave?”
With that being said, here are some pics of some of our dates...

Babymoon

2009-06-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

I have discovered this complete culture that exists around a pregnant woman.

An entire culture that I was oblivious to, and probably would still be if it wasn't for the bun in my oven.

It all starts with a simple magazine subscription that you sign up for because its FREE and all of a sudden you are entered into drawings, getting more magazines, getting coupons, free samples...then before you know it you are anticipating the next American Baby issue so you can read anything and everything from personal birthing stories to how to rate your hubbie's daddy skills.

Somewhere in the mix of things I read about a "babymoon"...... yup it's even been given it's own official title. Basically, the last trip you take with hubby before the baby gets here. I read about babymoons as lavish as going on a 10 day Caribbean cruise to 1 month in Europe! I immediately subscribed to the idea....call me a sucker!

I pitched the idea to Clint and of course his initial reaction was to assume that I had conjured this up all on my own in an attempt to spend more money....

it didn't take him long to realize that to continue to earn the "supportive husband" title in our house he would too have to subscribe to this idea and not only that....plan it.

We made a day trip out of it. We headed up to Out of Africa for the morning. It's one of those places that we always wanted to go to as kids and never did and so after years of harboring that anticipation we were a bit let down. Maybe it was the price, maybe it was the fact that I had to pee every 20 minutes, or maybe it had to do with the fact that each animal had a story that makes the place sound more like a rescue than a wildlife zoo. We made the best of it. I spent a fair amount of time sitting...and the final verdict on the place was that we had fun but will probably never go back.

After that we drove up to Jerome. This little mining town is one of my favorite places to visit. There is one little hippy story that sells handmade jewelry that I am a sucker for, and then of course there is the Jerome National Park that overlooks Verde Valley which happens to be where Clint proposed. A rainstorm rolled in while we were there so we didn't get to hang out as much as we wanted.

Baby Shower!

2009-05-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful to have the sisters and mom I have. They are so sweet to me and have really gone out of their way to make sure I am taken care of when it comes to this whole baby thing.

They threw me a baby shower a few weeks ago, I had a blast!

Thanks to everyone who came out, it was so good to see you guys and get caught up. Thanks for the gifts!! Lina is going to be the best dressed newborn alive!

Oh! and just for the record I have some really smart friends....who would've thought, right? We played this game where you have to match up animal baby names to the parent name (i.e. Cow and Calf). Out of all of the guests Alison and Tawnya smoked us all!!! Yes, this is me being really proud of my smart friends!!

Here's some pics of the friends/fam that let me snap pics with them.

Emilee is the only niece/granddaughter in our family for now so she is coming to terms with the fact that she is going to have to share the spotlight with two more now!

Goose, I still love you!!!

Great Idea!

2009-05-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

My coworker gave me this great idea...
I created a wishlist on Amazon.com, this takes all the guessing out of trying to shop for someone for holidays. With Mother's day coming up, I thought it was more than appropriate. I think everyone should have one of these!! Check mine out (no pressure) and then start one of your own and let me know so I can keep it in mind next time I feel like being generous. =)
<------------------------------------------------

Baby Shower at Work

2009-05-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

The sweetest thing happened this week...my coworkers all organized a baby shower for me at work. I was not expecting it at all so it came as a total 100% SURPRISE and I loved it!
We had a nice BIG lunch at Buca, opened gifts, and then finished up at the office with some out of the ordinary baby shower games, compliments of Melisa.

Games:
1. We called Dollar Marts and requested to set up a layaway plan.
2. Called random places and stopped in the middle of the conversation to say "can you hold on a second I am in the bathroom?.......corn? when did I eat corn?".
3. Went back and forth with "yo mama" jokes we got from the internet.

Best Work Baby Shower Ever!

Latest Blogs to follow...

2009-05-04T11:12:00.001-07:00

For those of you who have not jumped on the band wagon and become loyal followers of Seriously So Blessed, let me tell you that TAMN is freakin hilarious! Don't take my word for it, check out this blog.

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

I recently discovered another blog that is worth checking out if you find TAMN's over the top mormon lifestyle worth a few laughs. Once on her blog do a search for "LYNZII", this will bring you up to speed on who she is...then check out this website.

http://humbleandpatientandblessed.blogspot.com/

I can't be alone on this... let me know if I am the only who finds these kinds of blogs hilarious.

Deal or No Deal?!

2009-04-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

I have expanded my love for bargains, reconsidered my habit of sleeping in on Saturday, and might be addicted to garage sales now!

The past two Saturdays I've gotten up super early on the hunt for people selling their baby stuff for super cheap...I have been successful to say the least.

Here are my finds from this week:

Changing pad and cover....$5

32 Onesies...$13

Baby Einstein Activity Mat thing...$10

The Magic Bullet with all the accessories still in the box...$15

Latest Events

2009-04-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

I don't have pics of all the latest events so I have been holding on blogging about them but as Jacque so kindly pointed out in her latest rebuking to me for not updating my blog, I can still type!

1. My little sister is graduating from ASU this May! First Henriquez to get a college degree!! So proud of her.

2. We have made some serious headway on Lina's room. Thanks to Kolby and Jonathan for helping do the wood. I looks great!

3. Jacque came into town, and although it's only been a few months, it felt like forever since we had seen her! We miss the Neils!!! Thanks for playing with us two days in a row!!

4. Finished "The Host". Not going to lie...I was kinda lost for the first chapter or so but so glad that I kept reading....can't wait for the sequel!! If anyone started it and felt lost and gave up, you need to pick it back up and finish it. Just know it gets SOOO good!!

5. I still love my cricut and have made some pretty fancy cards with it. My next project is vinyl lettering in Lina's room.

Baby Shower Guest List.

2009-04-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! So the plan is to have a baby shower next month and I don't have anyone's addresses. Will you guys please send me your mailing addresses to my email (cchenri@msn.com)? Thanks!!!!
Can't wait to see you guys!

Baby Bump at 23 weeks!

2009-03-24T22:22:00.001-07:00

Here it is....The Baby Bump has officially arrived.

Some funny things that the bump has started:

1. When people see me, they no longer say hi to me instead I get a "oh my gosh", while they point at my belly. I have gotten used to it now, but I'll have to admit....at first I was a little jealous of all the attention my belly was getting over me.

2. Some people don't know for sure if I am prego or just chubby so it's made for some pretty interesting comments from those trying to tip toe around the sensitive subject. My favorite was when Pepe said "Dang! Are you pregnant!?". I explained to my little brother's 15 year old friend that had I not been pregnant, that would have been followed by a look of death.

3. Lastly, I made a perfect trade. A super cute empire waisted zebra print shirt (not maternity but so perfect for the belly) was traded for a super cute white ruffled top to my friend Jill. The best maternity clothes shopping trip ever!

There's nice weather again...

2009-02-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

About once a year Clint and I do a small amount of reflecting on our lives and realize that we don't do enough "active" activities. We got bikes...but hardly every ride them. We have a park in our backyard....but hardly ever go there. We have a nice little neighborhood....but hardly ever take walks. And this time of reflection usually comes as a result of nice weather we realize we are missing out on while all cooped up inside watching The Office, The Bachelor, or The Biggest Loser. So we usually (about once a year) decide we want to change and we go on a hike. Yes A hike. I think there is an older post of us going on a hike last year, yes A hike. This year we opted to leave our sissy dog Scooter at home and picked up two of my yw, Alejandra and Karla. They were good sports....for the most part.

New News!

2009-02-18T19:23:00.000-08:00

I just got bigger news....another baby is on the way. My brother and sister in law are preggers!!!! They are due in October, and I am super stoked about having our kids 3 months apart. I told my brother that him and Clint have to go to the same CRNA school so we can live close to eachother and our little girls can be best friends and grow up together and we can go on vacays together.

K. So as you can see I have our lives planned already and I'm not going to lie, I really really want them to have a girl.

Oh and a little side note...I experimented some more with my cricut expression and here is my first official project.

And I randomly found this photo of my nephew Noah on my phone and couldn't resist posting it here too. He's freaking adorable.

Final Answer?

2009-02-09T21:07:00.001-08:00

The ultrasound tech said she is 100% sure we are having a girl...then the three most important words of advice..."shop, shop, shop!".

Here's the first pics of our little girl...

Vote for a Boy or Girl!

2009-02-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

This week is the much anticipated ultra sound, where hopefully my little boy will show his stuff, or my little girl will show what she's missing.

I have been anxious (to put it lightly) to find out and get rockin on the nursery and online shopping so I have heard and tried just about every superstitious method of finding out.

Here are the results from a few:

According to Candi's boyfriend's family's method a dangling ring over my wrist reveals that I am having a girl.

Whereas, my R.S. pres had me (and girls at work, and my yw) hunting for an ant to reveal that I was having a boy.

My dad's "intuition" which has been right 6/7 with his own kids and 4/4 with the grandkids, tells him I am having a boy.

An online quiz I took that asked a series of questions that seemed very irrelevant revealed I was having a girl.

Here's some of the things some of my clients have told me will help decipher:

1. I am "carrying high".

2. I crave sours not sweets (if you want to call them cravings).

3. My husband has more sisters than brothers.

4. My hair is growing faster than usual.

5. My eyelashes aren't falling out.

So I am nowhere near having a better idea of what I am having than I was when I started testing out these wild ideas, I guess I will just have to wait and see what kind of peep show we get at the doc's office.

In the meantime, share any new ideas you guys have that will reveal it all....and vote on the poll.

Finally....The Christmas present arrives!!

2009-01-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

It was only a week and a half late...but totally worth it.

Clint and I didn't gift eachother anything this year and instead bought ourselves this enormously too big of a television....
I had tons of visa gift cards saved up and so it only ended up costing us $250!!

Clint was like a little kid on Christmas day with his new toy! I am glad he liked it so much!

Now when we watch football, he says he is just missing his laser pointer so he can explain to me what player he is referring to when he says "that guy in the back"....I am kinda not so much a fan of that part of it.

Anniversary...2 years!

2009-01-10T21:12:00.000-08:00

I made Clint an awesome (not so healthy breakfast) to celebrate our two year anniversary! Yes, eggs benedict! Can you believe it?? I can't! It was a disaster in the kitchen. I have never in my life made poached eggs and I followed the directions, well I thought so, and so needless to say I did lose an egg or two before I got these right. (They don't make eggs like this in my country.)

Then he treated me to a massage at Fuschia Spa! Loved it!!!!!

I totally am hooked and can't wait for the next occassion, I know what I am requesting!

Isn't my husband so freaking cute!? I am one lucky girl!

Christmas!!!!

2009-01-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve this year was at our house. We changed it this year by having my mom make tamales ahead of time and just bringing them over already made! I will have to admit I didn't think I was going to miss all the work but I really did.
We have the fam over for a little "talent show" program and tamales and gift opening. It was fun to get the whole family together, Candi had to do her visit via telephone from Germany, so the only person we were missing was Emilee.

My parents performed their rendition of "Baby It's Cold Outside", and it was the highlight of the night! They were so cute! I wish I would have video taped it! Pictures don't do it justice. My dad is convinced that next year he is going to do better so we'll see!

Jacob and Tyler had a duet to "Santa Clause is coming to town". LOVED IT!!

Jonathan and Megan got their clear player!!

The Malkou's got a Fire Safe!

We made out like bandits this year! We were so glad that Megan and Jonathan got us (well mostly Megan). She made us this awesome quilt which is now our favorite blanket!! They also got us matching NAU shirts, a "The Office" calendar that is freakin hilarious, a Pyrex dish (that has a funny story), and a nice Schnauzer button up sweater vest. YES!!!!! Thanks guys!!

Scooter got a new pato!!

Ernest got clothes!

Mom got smelly stuff and pots & pans!

Dad got a new running outfit (as usual), and smelly stuff!

Around 1pm we finally hit the sack. Then Clint woke me up at 5am because Scooter had knocked over the trash and so Clint was so mad he couldn't go back to sleep. I was convinced that Clint was crazy because he had to be the only person waking up the fam when there were no more gifts to open!! I got up and we watched all of 10 minutes of a movie and then we were out again!

We woke up the next morning around 10 and moseyed over to Clint's mom's house and hung out there. We got our first pack of diapers!!!!

Later we went to Clint's dad's house and hung out and stuffed our faces some more!
By the end of the day we were barely awake! Noah sums it up pretty nicely...

Catch Up!

2009-01-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

I realized today when I downloaded pics from my camera that I have not blogged for a while...

So here is a major catch up sesh!

I finally went public with the whole prego thing and it wasn't as dramatic as I thought it was going to be. I was going to put it off until I was showing big time and I was reading in my prego book that I should start measuring my belly and taking photos because they will be fun to compare...so here is my three month mark photo.

It doesn't seem like much but I wanted to document it so I have something to compare to in a few months. I may not want to go public with those photos then so don't hold it against me if I have a change of heart.

I was tagged!

2008-12-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

I got tagged a while ago and have been procrastinating due to the simple fact that I couldn't conjure up 7 creative answers! I mean, I am funny...don't get me wrong....but my funniness may be limited to a handful of one liners. Well, I made an attempt....here it goes.

7 Random Facts Game
Here are the rules:

~Link to the person who tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
~Share 7 random and or weird facts about yourself.
~Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
~Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

7 Random Facts

1. I was a vegetarian for 2 years and drove my family crazy because of it!

2. I was consistently the winner of the school spelling bee until 6th grade when I didn't even qualify because I missed "angel" by spelling it "angle".

3. In the 7th grade, my best friend (and I) stole a puppy from a lady's house and told my mom she gifted it to me for my bday, I took it home and convinced my parents to let me keep her. She was a collie, I named her Moose.

4. When I first met Clint I hated him, I hated him for a really long time (in teenage time) until he inevitably became my best friend.

5. I learned from Amy to pour a packet of uncooked, flavored oatmeal over my cold cereal!...I love it!!

6. I have specifically asked my husband to not surprise me with flowers. I think that they are a waste of money and that money would be better spent on a gift that isn't going to end up in the trash can within a week.

7. I had a blond moment at work last week when I asked my boss who is Jewish if he had put up his Christmas lights yet.

And now the game continues.

Candi, Jacque, Tawnya, Ana...you're it!!

Officially on the bandwagon...

2008-12-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

Yup, I went and saw Twilight and read the book this weekend, (in that order). I hadn't jumped on the bandwagon simply because I didn't see myself getting wrapped up in a vampire romance novel, but after watching the movie I was itching for more.

Friday night we had a girls night so Jacque, Tawnya, and I headed out to dinner and a movie. Well Twanya had read the book and after the movie she assured me that the book was even better so I couldn't resist and on Saturday morning I ran over to Walmart and picked it up. I finished it last night and I love it! Yup! I am officially all wrapped up in this vampire romance novel!

Well I am going to move on to the rest of the books and I'll have to admit, I am really looking forward to the next movie.

Greg and Julia

2008-11-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Clint's little brother and sister (twins) played pop warner this year. Yup, Julia too. Greg was our little Rudy. He has so much heart and gets really upset (like really really upset for a 10 year old) when his team doesn't try hard enough. They didn't have the best record but our little Greg really did a good job! Julia looked cute in her uniform and she had a good time too, towards the end of the season she decided it wasn't her thing and in a very mature way managed to get out of playing the rest of the season.

Clue Anyone?

2008-10-29T09:30:00.001-07:00

Tawnya hosted a super fun Halloween party this weekend, here we are dressed up as Clue characters. Oh and it was murder mystery themed so we all went around trying to figure out who killed Dr. Doom....go figure it was Mr.Jade (Clint)!! And get, this I was the widow who had married him for his money just the week before. Tawnya was Princess Fuchsia who was trying to steal Dr. Doom from me. Jacque was Dr. Doom's favorite brown nosing niece who thought she would get the inheritance, because Ms. Peacock (Kysha) the other niece was written out of the will because of a fight over a trivia question. Mr. Plum (Dan) who was my brother went to college with Dr. Doom and got ratted out for not doing any work on their project. Then there was Kolby as the chef who aspired to be the butler but Dr. Doom turned him down, and Doug played Colonel Dijon....not sure how he was related, not sure he was sure either.

It was so much fun! Can't wait till next year. Doug and Jacque will just have to make a special trip from TX.

GO COMETS!!

2008-10-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

My brother, sister, and I all play on a co-ed rec soccer team. I will spare you our record....just know that it is a lot of fun! This picture was taken at our game a couple of weeks ago, we are missing a few people I guess they didn't want to be part of our cheeziness.

My Precious...

2008-10-08T08:17:00.001-07:00

So I had this dream last night that I woke up and all my furniture was gone. Clint and I were back to sleeping on an air mattress (which we really did when we first got our own place).....which happens to be dysfunctional because Clint's side ends up deflating and he ends up pushing my side up and I try to cuddle with him and end up with all sorts of soreness....at any rate, back to my dream....So I wandered around my house and it was all gone!!!

I woke up and decided that my favorite piece of furniture is my bed! If I had to go on with only one item of furniture from my house it would have to be it! We used to have a queen size bed that was a double pillow top that we got from this Hispanic guy who sells them out of a storage unit. We wheeled and dealed and ended up giving the guy a harkins voucher for the rest of the money he was asking....that was my favorite bed until we got this king size therapeutic (sp?) awesome gift of God!!

The story behind it is pretty funny too. We got a screaming deal on this one too!!

(We are very much opposed to paying full price for stuff!)

Here are pics of when we first got it. I was totally amazed at how much I could spread out on it! It took me a while to get used to it, I used to wake up in the middle of the night and reach over and not feel Clint and freak out!

Josue's First Homecoming

2008-10-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Aaaah..he's getting all grown and stuff...
Here's Josue's first Homecoming dance!

Josue's Homecoming

Just Checking...

2008-10-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

So I just heard a rumor that Jill Warner and Chris Radigan are dating? They went on a double date with Pres and Sis Haines...Can anyone confirm this???? Just wondering...

This is me...

2008-10-04T11:11:00.001-07:00

I just stole this from Vance's blog...It was actually pretty funny...you guys should try it. All you do is answer the questions, and put your answers in a Google images search then post the first picture that comes up!

My name is: Cecilia

My middle name is: Catalina

My last name is: Burgess.

My favorite vacation spot is: Jerome, AZ. (this is where Clint popped the question.)

How old am I? 24 (Confession: I was addicted to this show and for three weeks straight I stayed up till odd hours of the night to watch three seasons!!)

Where I'd like to go someday: Dominican Republic (this is where Clint served his mission).

Where I grew up: Mesa, AZ.

My favorite food: Pupusas!!!

Favorite treat: homemade cheesecake

Where I live right now: Mesa, AZ (this was crazy! It really did snow in Mesa just two years ago!)

Favorite Animal: Mini-Schnauzer

Favorite Color: Yellow

I'm married to: Clint

Describe Hubby: Freaking Awesome!!!

What I do for work: State Farm Insurance

Some things are hard, and then they get harder...

2008-10-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know I work for a State Farm Agent. I am one of the two sales girls there. We do auto, home, health, disability, and life insurance. I have to say at first, when I took this job I was hesitant to get into sales...but as I learned more about the industry, the company, and the people, I started to really like my job. My hang up with sales has always been that I am not good at selling something to someone that they don't need....so I guess that's why I enjoy my job so much, because I actually feel like I am selling people things that they need. Insurance is one of those things that really does protect us.

So, one of the things that I do is I make sure I talk to all my clients about life insurance....(and I know that life insurance sales-people have a bad rap, but I am really not sure why, I guess.) I wanted to share this story with you guys because it is something that maybe we don't talk about often enough and should!

Jacob (name changed) is one of our clients who has been insured with us for a while now. He has his cars and home with us. He's such a nice guy and every time he comes in we sit and chat about how life is treating us. On several occassions we have tried to discuss life insurance with him and tried to explain the importance of it to him. We'd ask him "Jacob, who would take care of your final expenses if something were to happen to you tomorrow?". He just rather not worry about that he'd say. "Jacob, someday you are going to settle down and you are going to need life insurance in place for your family's needs, why not get it now while is less expensive and available to you?". He'd worry about it later. Well, he called us up the other day to tell us that his fiance is moving in with him and we needed to add her car to his household, and he wanted to talk about life insurance for the two of them now. Well, here's the kicker....about 8 months back he was in a very bad accident on his motorcycle. He was in a comma for a few days and has experienced slight brain damage amongst a few other things. We had to call an underwriter to find out if he was insurable with the health complications he's had, and then we had to break the news to him that we couldn't offer him life insurance anymore....he's not insurable.

Here's another story that another agent shared with us yesterday:

The Harris Family (name changed), is one of the families that they insure who has their cars, atv's, house, rental property, and jewelry insured with them. It's a husband and a wife, and 3 kids ranging from 17-6 years old. Because they have been with them for so long, they have notated in the account the several times they have tried to get them into the office to discuss a life insurance plan for their family. Both the husband and wife had objections every time, "we have it at work", "we can't afford it right now", "you will need to talk to my husband about it", "ask me after the holidays".......etc.

Well, it was their oldest son who was driving out in Queencreek in the family rhino, he had his younger brother and a neighbor kid with him. They were on a dirt road getting ready to cross a major road, when a car came by and clipped them. One of the three boys didn't have his seatbelt on so he was flung from the rhino, and seriously injured. The other two boys, although they had their seatbelts on, were badly injured. The following day, Mr. Harris was in his agent's office discussing the accident, reviewing his coverages, and filing a claim. It also happened to be Mr. and Mrs. Harris's wake up moment that they needed to sit down and discuss the family's plan to get life insurance.

Losing a loved one is hard enough, if you add the financial burden that they leave behind, it only makes it harder!

Please take a moment to look around you and see the people you love who would be so seriously affected by your absence. Take the time to protect them!

This could happen to any of us:

New 2001 Beetle sandwiched between two trailers carrying half a modular home, on 9/17/01. The front truck stopped for a road block, but the rear one couldn't stop (didn't have his "Jake brake" set properly for the load he was carrying.

Scooter

2008-09-26T07:41:00.001-07:00

So while we don't have kids....we do have Scooter. He is basically like our kid.
I figured you guys all post pics of your kids doing cute things so I would humor you all and posts pics of my dog doing cute things.

Here's Scooter enjoying a bone that Clint gave him...he doesn't know that I am watching him...

He's really enjoying it...

He's really getting into it...

Then he freezes...I think he suspects something...

Then he quickly hides the bone, and tries to appear like he was doing nothing...

Here he is when he finally realizes I have been watching him. I love how he hid the bone and pretends like he was doing nothing...I think he thought I would take it away from him. Silly dog...

You want pedicure?

2008-09-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

I went with my little sister and california cousins (Natalie and Melanie) to get pedis. It was well worth the splurge. I love getting my feet rubbed! Plus, they had tons of different styles...the amazing thing is that they hand painted this on my toes...not stencil, not a thing other than a brush! Crazy!

Oh and this seemed to fit so check out this video....this lady is hilarious...I was rolling!!

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=6400107

Seriously...watch the video!

Laboring on Labor Day

2008-09-01T23:08:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this blog by saying that I am convinced that good friends can make just about anything fun!!

We woke up on our labor day at 5:45 am...well I think. Clint got up super early and met up with Doug, Jesse, and Kris to go shooting. There isn't much that gets Clint up that early, and there isn't really anything that gets him up that earlier in a good mood. Needless to say, he was anxious to go hang out with the boys.

After several failed attempts to go back to sleep I ended up getting up about an hour later. It was an inner battle I fought. I kept telling myself (for a full hour) that if I just laid there I would eventually fall back asleep. I couldn't!! My mind kept wondering to the ongoing list of things I had to accomplish. I got up took my car in for an oil change and wash...which was long over due...and then headed to Jacques to help finish the infamous project of painting the bathroom which has been at the top of her list for weeks (maybe months, not totally sure)!! After a trip to Home Depot for supplies, a bargain breakfast from Fresh and Easy (our new fav store) we were jamming out to a homemade mix and painting the bathroom "baked potato"! Tawnya couldn't resist and showed up to join in on the fun about an hour into it. We got it all done and the bathroom looks amazing! Great job girls!!

Well back at the Neils for dinner and an all original date night planned by Jacque herself! Oh and by the way, I went and got a haircut and showed off my new do for the night. (let me know what you guys think). We made homemade pizzas, stuffed our faces, and then....here comes the real fun...headed to the local Savers to get outfits for Laser Tag....not just any outfits...check these out! We were stylin' right!? The best part was that the Labor Day Special was 50% off of everything and 75% off of green tagged items!

Unfortunately, or fortunately (depends on who you ask) we didn't make it to Laser Tag and ended at Brunswick instead. We got some of the craziest stares while we were bowling! It was a blast.

Kolby killed us all in bowling...oh and I sucked it up the entire time (but offered great entertainment via my bowling technique, see video), except for at the end when I...ummm....basically blew it out of the water by bowling two strikes in a row!!!

It was a blast!! So...like I said earlier, good friends can make just about anything fun!!

(Oh and then on the way home we remembered that Labor day is also our engagement anniversary...yup! It's been 2 freakin years since we got engaged! Crazy how time flies by!

Snowflake Trip

2008-08-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

Our weekend trip to Snowflake....
It was a lot of fun. We went with the Neils and the Collards. Jacque's grandparents were kind enough to let us stay at their place. Their house was incredible. This house sits on 2 acres of gorgeous well manicured landscape. It has so much history, there were a sleu of general authorities and even prophets who had stayed there.

I'm not going to lie....I was a bit concerned about what we were going to do while in Snowflake, we joked that we would burn cedar bushes and roll them down the hills with the rest of the locals....but much to my dissapointment, we didn't!
Instead we got a tour of the town from the Flakes themselves, we ate at the local ice cream pub/parlor, we went skeet shooting, we went to a play, we had a bonfire....
Check out these pics.

Candi Comes to Visit!

2008-06-24T19:11:00.001-07:00

Candi has been in Cali all summer long for her summer internship! Sometimes I am in auto pilot and when I go to send a mass text to the famiy announcing some get together I forget to not include her and she so politely replies "wish I could".....

Well this weekend was Emma's birthday dinner. We met at the new pupuseria for the routine overly loud crowded get together to eat....that is how we celebrate everything! And Ernest showed up with his date....who we all were totally not expecting................IT WAS CANDI!! She had surprised us all and flew in that evening and was just here for the weekend! It was a lot of fun to have her here. We took advantage and went to the lake super early on Saturday!

I would post pictures of the cool wakeboard tricks we were all doing but.........well.....there weren't really any..........maybe at the end of the summer! =)

I am a proud aunt!

2008-05-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

Here are my three nephews and my niece! They are so freaking cute....they are just getting bigger and bigger....

Our gift to Mom!

2008-05-28T10:16:00.001-07:00

Mothers Day came and went and I didn't get a chance to blog about it....

For some reason I was asked to speak on Sunday (Mother's day) and for someone else maybe that wouldn't be so ironic, but for me it came as a bit of a surprise considering it is the 4th time I speak on a Mother's Day!! I am not sure what the Lord wants to me learn that I haven't learned in the past 3 talks so I was a good sport about it and prepared ofcourse the night before.

It was kinda cool because we were at Walmart and I went to look at the book section, I found a book that totally took me back to my childhood. I picked it up and started reading it, curious to find out if I would get the same nostalgic feeling, as I turned the pages I couldn't help but recall the days that my mom would sit with me and read me this book when I was a kid. My eyes started to well up and I almost felt them moisten my cheeks, but my moment was interrupted by my husband yelling across the store looking for me. (Can you imagine how crazy I must have looked?!) I hurried and gathered myself, and purchased the book. It became my inspiration for my talk. It was "THE GIVING TREE" by Shel Silverstein. The parallel was so evident to me....the giving tree was JUST like my mom! The tree would give, give, and give....with only one motive, to make the kid happy!
This book already had a special place in my heart, but now it has a whole new meaning.

I am so grateful for my mom and all that she has taught me! She is an amazing woman! It is even more incredible to have two mother in laws who mean so much to me too! We are so blessed to be surrounded by such incredible women who have so much to teach us, and do...simply with their examples!

Moore and Wiggs Tie the Knot!!!

2008-05-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

It seemed like just yesterday that Wiggs and I were out tracting in Lockport, picking berries off of trees, almost peeing our pants from laughing so much all the time, and trying to help the little Spanish branch of Joliet grow.....

It seemed like just a few weeks ago that I was teasing Moore for being "the most excited district leader ever", and giving him crap for being President's favorite....

....but it wasn't just yesterday, and it wasn't just a few weeks ago....in fact it was a couple of years....and in that time a lot has happened....

Wiggs and Moore realized that great friends sometimes turn out to be more than just friends...and they finally got hitched!

Yup, Moore and Wiggs are now husband and wife. I was honored to be present! It was such a blast to get to do the pictures for them! We did manage to get Moore to smile for some of them, that was a task in itself! They both looked great and sooooo happy! The temple was amazing, as always!

Arizona's warm weather was definitely a shocker for the Moore family but they were all such good sports about it! It was fun to see the Nefs, and also Hipps and his wife....we all reminisced on the good ol' mission days.

The reception was a lot of fun! They had performances by different friends and family, awesome food, fun music, and an exciting exit!

Congratulations to the new Moore family!

It's official!!

2008-05-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

Research shows that moving is one of the most stressful events in a person's life......well Clint and I can attest to that....we've done plenty of moving and for the most part not been thrilled about it....however we are pretty excited about this one.

We have officially bought a house!!!

We have done a lot of looking, bidding, we have been faced with A LOT of let downs....buying a house was harder than we thought. But we realize that there was something the Lord was waiting on us for. We finally had our patience tested enough and we are going to be the proud owners of a house!!!

It's a super cute 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1700 sf house in Mesa!! It doesn't have a garage so Clint already has his work cut out for him....he wants to enclose the carport so bad.

The decision to buy a house came after we felt that we shouldn't move to Tucson for school. So a lot of changes have taken place in our plans. Clint has switched to nursing and is going to try for the ASU program. He has to do a few more classes for that program, but the good thing is that his job is paying for them and he can do them online. I am going to continue to work full time....(so if you want to save money on your insurance give me a call!) We are excited to finally be at a point where we feel like we can throw down some roots. We are so sad to be leaving our ward.....really sad! We loved our callings, the members, the bishopric, and everything about it there!! We felt so at home! It will be hard to adjust to a new one.