Sullivan Christmas Party

I finally made it safely to Spokane on Friday and we've been having an awesome time! Nothin like eight kids plus their kids and spouses:) On Saturday Brad's parents ward had a Santa breakfast despite thinking it started an hour later we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast, the primary's musical numbers..(never seen a string quartet in primary.. wow!) and even managed to get some pictures with santa. The sister minus stephanie who was bringing home the bacon

All the kiddies, Lucy and Jaycie were not interested in looking at the camera (the babies) and Benson is trying so hard not to be scared. The personalities in these kids could not be more different.

The ladies have had a great time crafting and shopping, the boys have been enjoying watching football and using Marv's super sweet snow blower, and the whole fam-damily has had a blast playing wii, putting together puzzles, eating tons of delicious food and treats, sledding in the backyard and watching brad use the sledding ramp as a ski jump.

no promises but I'll work on posting some sweet pictures of the above mentioned pictures and then some. Just wanted you all to know I got here safely and we're having a blast

(miss you J ans Mons!)

Great Deal!! On baby Halloween costumes

I was surfing the net looking for a cheap way to get my wisdom teeth removed and stumbled upon a great deal on baby halloween costumes! check it out here: http://store.babycenter.com/category/seasonal-special+categories/clearance/costumes+-+dress+up.do

There aren't a ton of costumes left but there is a code for free checkout code : freeship that's good until the 3rd. But a baby costume for as cheap as 2.50 ??? Pretty good deal if you ask me! I don't have kids and almost bought the bumblebee one

How cute is that?!

Thanksgiving is approaching

I LOVE the holidays! Although we won't be going to Spokane for Thanksgiving (we miss you J & Mons!) I'm getting pretty excited for Thanksgiving. Last year my extended family decided to institute an annual Pie Fest and Turkey bowl. We have a family bowling tournament and then after bowling we eat ridiculous amounts of pie.. a pie fest of sorts :) Every female age 18 and over is REQUIRED to bring a home-made pie. I waited til the last minute last year and ended up with a not so impressive pie so this year I decided to start earlier.

A couple weeks ago we went to Sam's club and had a sample of some sweet potato pie and it was SO good! I was suprised because I really don't like pumpkin pie but I craved sweet potato pie all week. So this weekend I decided I ought to practice and attempted a sweet potato pie. I didn't take a picture but all those who partook enjoyed thoroughly. My best friend Lexi said it was fabulous and even had a second piece! That's saying something. Needless to say I was pretty proud, and grateful for such great ego stroking friends :) Here's hoping my second one comes out just as tasty.

ReAL Championship Game

Yes another post... it's Sunday .... it's been a solitary day, and I had a great weekend!

After I send off Brad I took my brother to the ReAL's championship game as a late Birthday present. (a BIG thanks to Matt and Emily for getting me the tickets).

We had a great time at the game screamed our guts out! And loved every minute of sitting in the predominantly Latino section who brought drums and horns and all had prepared all kinds of cheers. Let's just say it was VERY exciting! Unfortunately ReAL lost after tons of great shots and even four right off the goal posts! We'll get them next year!

After the game matt (my brother's name is ALSO matt) took me out to dinner at Sconecutters. It's been a long time since we've done anything just the two of us and I had a GREAT time! Thanks again matt!

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a picture of the two of us :)

Love you bro!

On the road again

On Saturday Brad left again for work although this trip is a little different from the last.

This time instead of having the parts shipped and flying Brad and his co-worker there they decided to save some cash and have them drive a truck of parts out to Ohio. That's roughly 1,800 miles or 26 hrs. Road trip anyone???!!!

The first picture I got of these two Brad was making a ridiculous face and Jeffery figured they should match so what you behold is the final master piece. Wow!

Christmas Presents

I LOVE Christmas and I love buying presents. I've been asking Brad for month what he wants for Christmas and the only things ideas he's given me are things I'd be a direct benefactor of.

His list:

A new i-pod (so I can have his old one)

Ticket to ride (an awesome board game which is also at the top of MY list)

Needless to say I was a little frustrated.

So I had to take matters into my own hands, with a little help I picked up Brad from the airprt this Friday and suprised him with tickets to the Body Worlds exhibit.

For any of you who have never heard of this exhibit see here: http://theleonardo.org/bodyworlds/the-exhibit/photo-gallery.php

Basically they plasticize cadaviers and then along with cases of organs and body parts they have
full cadaviers each showing some different function of the body in amazingly artistic poses.

My favorite was a man balancing on three balls balancing all of his organs with his free hand. (sounds gross it was A-Ma-Zing)

We grabbed lunch at the Library which was next door to the exhibit and had a great time. Sorry for the lack of pictures, we weren't allowed to take any inside the exhibit but I'll just let you know Brad loved it! This is the guy who down loaded surgeries of of i-tunes and thought they were awesome and always wanted to watch Justin's anatomy DVDs.

I was suprised how much I enjoyed it but I have to say even though it was very impressive it was pretty darn sick! Taking your beloved to see a bunch of dead bodies... apparently that's true love :)

We ended the night by heading to Emily and Matt's to play some games.. (I challenged Emily to Nertz, I got my butt kicked!) but on the way we got lost and somehow ended up at Mountain City Grill. We jumped at the opportunity and grabbed some chinese food and enjoyed some games and great food with the Rogers.

I'm changing....slowly

Ever had one of those weeks where you bomb two tests, in an attempt to shape up you seem to eat everything in view and then some, can't seem to achieve your goals, spend 20+ hours on the computer doing who knows what and some how stumble upon blogs of the beautiful women in your ward who seem so "perfect" and get lost in the rut of comparing yourself.....

Don't worry I do :) This is that week. Despite the poor time management I'm pretty proud of myself. A previous me would have broken down in tears this week but thanks to my wonderful hubby I'm learning to let a few more things roll off my back. I am learning to be patient with myself, and try to remind myself where I was 5 years ago...(a sophmore in high school for all those who are dying to know) and how much I've grown since then, and how far I will progress in the next five years.

Instead of getting stuck on all the things I do "wrong" I want to focus on a few of the things I am proud of: chosing not to be upset when brad missed his flight, making a delicious dinner on Monday and having everything cleaned up before our guests even left, playing some mean nertz, taking two tests, waking up at six to study(NOT a morning person... doesn't even run in my genes, yes I used to have a morning job- that is an evidence of true love),working out 2 times, completed D&C and Family Finance homework on time, have written all the papers for my Judaism and the gospel class and Aced the midterm!, I talked to my niece Aubrielle on the phone (didn't necessarily make me proud but needs to be included in the list of things that made me happy)

It's so easy to see what's wrong but I know it's all a matter of what we're looking for. Sometimes I just have to remind myself. This post is totally just for me but I appreciate that I have some place express myself when my loving hubby is miles from home.

Focus.. Focus

Here I am in the BYU Library going on my second hour and I've read 2 pages of material for class. Why is that? No I wasn't checking out blogs or surfing the internet. I think I could possibly win a competition in time wasting. BW left this morning for a job in Washington and I'm wishing more than anything I could have gone with him. I can't wait till Christmas. The family the fun .. (the fighting I could do without) But I'm so excited for a break to spend time with family and focus on people and not school! Thanks for lettin me rave.. and back to attempted studying.

Need I say more?

UTES 13 - Horned Frogs 10

Photos: (Bottom to top) Pre-Game; Swarm the field; on the field; Ready to strike on Nov 22.

Arghh!

Halloween.

Memories not forgotten

So there are tons of things we've done and taken pictures of but just never posted. Here are some of them in no particular order.

November 1st Fun

What a fantastic way to start the new month. (Brad is typing this post which will more than likely become blatantly obvious...) I started the day by playing basketball at the church for a couple hours. While so doing my brother in law Matt (Rogers) I have two Matt in laws; calls me and says he's got tickets to see the very first Real Salt Lake playoff game ever and in the new stadium AND the seats are right next to his and my sister's season ticket seats. When I got back from basketball I told Miranda we could go but only if she let me clean for the next three hours before we left :)

We got up there running a hair late and did a nifty drive by hand off the tickets maneuver with Matt and Emily on our way to parking. We entered the stadium only two minutes into the match and I felt like I'd just entered the quidditch World Cup, drums banging, streamers flying, (later) confetti flying, red and blue smoke bombs through the air, fireworks shooting off. I later found out this was actually the Chivas USA diehard fans who, it appears didn't really care who won they just wanted to make noise and cause excitement. I enjoyed it. As some of you may well know the match was scoreless till the 90th min. but there were many moments of pure adrenalin and excitement that had us on our feet and screaming like...like...like sophisticated adults. Miranda and I left with our two little souvenir towels for the game in the 87th min to beat the traffic. We were still in the parking lot and watched on the Jumbotron as REAL scored the winning goal in the 90th min. As I recall Miranda did a celebratory dance of sorts. Thanks Matt and Emily.

After beating the traffic and getting to Miranda's parents house to pick up her father to go to her mother's choir performance in the Tabernacle downtown we realized that in the excitement of the game we hadn't taken a single picture!! So here's the best we could do.

We quickly changed and made it downtown for the performance; which was truly enjoyable. I also had my first chance to drive Bryan's (Miranda's Dad) cool new kneeling minivan, a very sweet little machine with many a gagdet. (this is the part where I'm not sure why this is underlining everything and can't figure out how to get it off. It seems like a link thing but I can't undue it. so enjoy! Here is a picture of us at the tabernacle after the performance.

We then went out to dinner with Miranda's parents and her brother and sister in law Matt (Carroll) and Stacy at the Olive Garden. We must make mention that Bob? (not sure on the name) but the server at the downtown location with long hair back in a pony tail and facial hair is one of the best servers around. Very attentive and all that super cool stuff. Thanks Bob.

What completed the day was the Jazz winning by a hefty margin, the Utes pulling out a close win. Thanks to text updates from Matt (Rogers) and my Dad, thanks guys. BYU did also win but it's still hard to say I'm glad they did, even for the conference sake I always find myself delighting in their misfortune and hoping for the to lose the close ones... what can I say I was raise a UTE...or should I say Anti-Cougar-Running-Ute. BYU did have my semi-support until they lost. I was hoping for an undefeated showdown at the end of the season...they ruined it.

Matt (Rogers) and I have tickets to the TCU UTAH game this thursday and I will most definately be posting. I may even remember to take a picture or two this time at the actual game.

Makes you cough and try to get it out.. :)

I just needed to get my emotions out. *Warning this is a post regarding my feelings, if you are only interested in what's going on in our lives or Brad's crazy antics feel free to stop reading now* Well I may have lost my entire auience but I can't focus today and I think maybe jotting down what's racing through my mind will help. ok.. go

So I'm so grateful for facebook and the opportunities it gives me to keep in touch with old friends and see what they're up to. But lately the things that a few of my friends are up to aren't really all that great. It's hard growing up in Utah where almost all my friends were members.. actually the few that weren't just joined the church, how ironic. It's so hard to see good friends slip away from the church and delve into a life of sin.. It made me realize that in general it is sooo much easier to give into sin that deny our selves. I know I fall into that category most of the time. But I have the tendency to think too much and most of all care too much. When I realized how these people I cared about were living it made me want to cry. I often don't do what's right but I'm trying and I'm blessed to be able to come home to a safe place where the spirit resides and know that my family and friends and most importantly Brad love me. I'm really grateful for my parents and the leaders I had that helped me to gain a testimony while I was young. If it had been different I know myself well enough that I wouldn't have chosen to live the way I do now. And I'm so grateful that my parents gave me freedom to make my own choices it helped me to realize that the gospel is not restrictive but it protects us from the things that cause us misery and immense pain. I hope my friends learn that sooner than later. And I want to commit myself to doing better and being more grateful for the light that I do have.

love it

Weird but I just had to share. All of you who have been to my home know it's not quite as clean as I'd like it. I have been scrubbing the toliet for months now to get the toliet ring out but no amount of elbow grease prevailed. And then I bought this magic bottle.

This is what house wives dreams are made of!

Conference and Български (Bulgarian)

This is the second year Brad has been able to interpret for General Conference. I am soo proud of him. This has been a dream of his and I'm do proud of himfor achieving it! Since he's no longer working at the MTC and speaking the language every day he was a little nervous but he did a fabulous job. After the Sunday afternoon session we were invited to a Bulgarian dinner thanks to Ivan and his lovely momma! The food was delish. I was extra brave and when I got called on to pray I prayed in Bulgarian! ok more like 1/2 and 1/2 but Brad was really proud and everyone was pretty surprised. I've really enjoyed the little Bulgarian I've picked and as Justin can attest I just use the few words I know all the time but it's a start. I would love to be fluent but learning it isn't all that plausible when my guide to the language is states away. Pronunciation through the phone sure is fun though!

I love that Brad has been able to make to so many friends and so many cool opportunities beacause of his mission. And I'm so grateful that all the Bulgarians I have met have been so gracious and helped me to learn and use the few phrases I do know!

Here's a picture of the interpreting team. Notice the tiny room they're in, that's where all the magic happens!

Oh so bad at this..

Mmmkay let's just say I'm not so good at this blogging thing but Brad came home last weekend and we had a great time. Monday was our anniversary and brad picked me up from class and drove me to a secret location and suprised me with a couples massage! This is the first time I've had a real massage and it was awesome. Brad had been really sore from work as well so it was totally perfect. It was such a surprise. After we went to Cafe rio and got sweet pork burritos (we've grown to really appreciate them after a summer in Cali of bad tex-mex). It was awesome. I am so grateful for Brad and appreciate the massge even more because he spent a bunch of time calling around to find a place that was a total steal so we could be pampered AND stay in our budget. Two years have gone by so fast but I'm so grateful for Brad and his patience with me and his positive attitude. I've learned to lighten up and sweat less of the small stuff. (I'm still working on it :)) To know Brad is to love him and I'm grateful everyday that he chose me to be with him forever!

Lonely..

Well I've gone back to school and Brad's still working out of town until the spring... Hopefully our ugly debt will die earlier but with books and tuition it's not looking so good. I just wanted to ask the few of you that do look at our blog (even though we don't update it reguarly) what you do when you're bored or lonely. Have any great suggestions cause currently I'm thinking about moving into my bed with a carton of icecream permenantly.

California Benefits

The store we're currently working at is about an hour from the Plasters we stopped by for dinner and Ang sent us home with Monster cookies. Have I mentioned I love brad's family?! Then they were kind enough to drive and visit us here are some pictures from the pool fun, Denny's dinner and night jaunt (right before work) to a park where the boys checked out the frolf course and the ladies enjoyed the swings.

What an adorable Family.

How cute is Benson's smile?

BW really did have a good time :) We love Denny Dinners

This face made me laugh! What a goof ball.


Benson had a great time climbing on the booths, he is a true boy through and through. He even demonstrated his baseball skills when we visited their apartment.

Even Jaycie Grace had a good time at Denny's

What a cute mother daughter shot.

We loved hanging out! I'm so grateful I married into such a wonderful family. The Wagner women give me such a great example to follow and are great friends.

A little shout out

The end of June the Wagner family received a wonderful addition... Stephanie. Here is a token picture of the happy couple. I might sound sarcastic, but I LOVE this girl. (the sarcasm is coming from the current weird sleep schedule and transient nature of our living situation).

Sorry for the not so fabulous picture, but I can't seem to find all the pictures Brad took.
We ended up being able to stay in Spokane for a few weeks around the wedding and got to enjoy the great things that Spokane has to offer. Like Spokane discount (LOVE it!) with Pam, Ang, and Celeste and let's not forget to mention all the cute nieces and nephew who we drug along. A bunch of kids didn't distract US from all the great deals. Definitely made some great memories.





Brad suprised me with a trip to Riverfront park to ride the carousel. (I may or may not have stolen a ring..) Baden, Mary and Eliza were kind enough to join us and have us over for dinner. We were running late to a temple session and they graciously lent us some clothes. I owe a huge THANK YOU to Mary.Thanks for your generosity and letting us steal your clothes. I love the dress but didn't really mean to take it hostage for weeks, despite the many appearances it may have had :)

As you've seen from other posts this summer Brad has picked up frisbee golf. Marv reintroduced BW on our trip and many days were spent checking out various courses. On our way home from another wedding in Seattle we met Stephanie's family in Moses Lake for a picnic at a park with a course. Thank you Butterfield family, it was a picnic dreams are made of! Here are some of the Swweeet pics of the frolfin crew.
Oh Tyler...


Love it!

Bobaloca...Sweet Chewy Goodness

Not Jamba Juice....really, it isn't. So we were driving along and we see this place called Bobaloca. Miranda asks what it was and I said that it looked liked Jamba Juice. So we went in and ordered fruit smoothies. In great anticipation we did wait. As the first one was finished the set it on the counter and Miranda asked ....What is that at the bottom of the cup?? So I says to the gal, aw, that's just the cup design. Well...yeah it wasn't. My first clue was when Hyrum took a drink and that g0t this surprised in a not so pleasant fashion look on his face. BOBA it was ....I must say though if you've ever wanted gummy bears in your smoothie, have we found you the place to go.... :) I'll let Wiki take it from here.
The distinctive characteristics of bubble tea are the black gummy balls made of tapioca (or, more commonly in East Asia, yam starch^{[citation needed]}), called "pearls" or "balls" that sit at the bottom of the cup. The pearls are larger than those found in tapioca pudding, with a diameter of at least 6 millimeters, but smaller ones are occasionally used. They are generally translucent brown with a darker brown center, although pearls of other colors or 'jelly cubes' have also recently become available.

When ordering, customers may be asked whether they want "pearls" or "boba" in their drinks; both terms refer to the tapioca balls. The tapioca pearls require an hour for preparation, and they expand considerably when cooked. After they are cooked through but before they become too soft, the pearls are drained and poured into a sugar-water solution, and are ready for use.

Drinking the pearls through a straw is common, usually a large diameter straw is provided to accommodate the particular size of the pearls. A common error for the inexperienced consumer of the beverage is to empty the container of fluid before all of the pearls are consumed, thus making it difficult or impossible to collect the pearls with sufficient vacuum using a straw.

Frolfin'

First Picture is in Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach, CA
The rest are from "THE" La Mirada Disc Golf Course