BMW of .....

Last of the Christmas Pictures

2010-05-10T21:58:00.001-07:00

We also took a few trips to Spokane discount and had a delicious ladies lunch with Aunt Mary and her Mother (Christopher was our honorary chaperone)

Lovely Wagner Ladies

Ice skating New Years Eve was a blast. Oh and the lady in the background DID look that unhappy in person.. poor gal.

We were also able to visit some friends. We must have left our camera at home when we went to the Daines, but it was SO good to see them. Abby and Cooper are adorable. Cooper even took a liking to me it was pretty cute :) Thankfully I remembered to whip out the camera at Baden's to capture this beauty.

Mary is such a sweet heart I love to go visit. But I always feel a little bad because the boys always seem to revert back to middle school. Brad does seem to have that effect on his friends. I'm used to it but I get the impression that side of Baden doesn't come out quite so often :) Sorry Mary!

Puzzling Christmas Fun

2010-05-10T21:28:00.001-07:00

We took a whole week off from work and spent the majority of the time just sleeping in and relaxing . It was wonderful. Multiple puzzles were completed. Some worked by Nazi-puzzle rules(no looking at the box) and others of us were proud to find pieces that fit every 10 min or so :) Like Father (Why yes it is Mr. Clean)

Like Son- I always wondered where he learned to make these crazy faces

Even David got in on the action

Big Zach - Little BW. What's your take?

So happy to not be working!

We've been having fun

2010-05-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

So I realized we haven't posted this year and the year is nearly half over, it's been crazy! So here's a recap... I started lookin at the pics and realized they required seperate posts so enjoy the flash backs.

Let's start at the very beginning :) Christmas w/ the Wagners. We missed the Plasters but had a great time hanging out with the family and taking a much needed break from work. Momma & Poppa Wags took us to the annual dinner at the Marakesh

(joined above by Mondo the host, cook, server, entertainer, owner etc.)

"The essence of the Markesh"-BWThe real essence of the Marakesh- it's just more fun eating with your hands :)
Ben & Ce-lest/MJ & BWW

Crazy Face

Tryin for a normal picture

My reaction to Brad's crazy faces

Matt & Em

J& Steph -Momma & Poppa Wags

The not-so-little boys Dallin, T-Wags Money Bags & Zach

w/ Mondo

Needless to say things got a little crazy there was some dancing , some text bombing, some herbal tea drinking, and some truce breaking ;) (the bastillo was just too good!). We had a great time. Thanks again Marv and Pam.

Proof we're still alive

2009-12-17T22:16:00.001-08:00

Brad's still working out of town tons. Check out that puppy dog shirt! He picked up that gem at a gas station on the road to or from one of his jobs. It has become a designated work shirt (which is JUST fine with me- that way he won't wear it at home!). So consider this picture a view of his company uniform :)

Wish we had more time together but we're grateful he has work. This time last year was a very different story. Below is a picture taken after the WagCo Christmas Party. Aaron & Carrie treated us all to a night at Tuscany. It was nice to have a night on the town and the vanilla bean creme brulee was delish!

Sorry for the lack of posting life like always is crazy. I've been working full time at a drug screening company since September. I basically shuffle papers and do data entry. It's not the MOST exciting job in the world but it's literally two doors down from where we're currently living. I love coming home for lunch and saving tons on gas. In the Fall when Brad was in town we spent weekends at the U of U games. I'm slowly learning to enjoy sports. A month or so ago I found myself watching Sports Beat by myself after a Jazz game... What the?!

In an effort to fill the time this summer when I was searching for a job I started working out with a bunch of people in our neighborhood. A couple in my ward created a Crossfit gym in their garage with some help from other crossfit junkies :) They don't charge a thing just have a donation jar. I've been going since July and love it! I'm still not up to the recommended weight on some of the lifts but I'm defiantely getting stronger. Above is a picture from the 5K some crossfitters ran on Thanksgiving morning. Corrine (far right) had signed up and convinced the rest of us to run with her. It was super cold but I'm SO glad we did it. The race was alot easier than I anticipated and there's been talk of training for a 10 K. I'm still working on the motivation to get up and run by myself but you'll definately see a post if that dream ever comes to fruition :)

Anywhoo I figured you'd all like to know we're alive and well. We're gearing up for Christmas and a week in Spokane starting Christmas night. We're both pretty darned excited. Happy Holidays to You!

Sports Sports Sports!

2009-11-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry in advance for the lack of pictures. We managed to attend 2 Jazz games and a U of U game this week without any pictures... Our friends had free tickets to the Jazz game on Monday and invited us it was tons of fun- minus the fact that the Jazz can't seem to win a fourth quarter! We stopped by Stoneground after the game and everyone present can attest to how much I enjoyed the chicken pesto pizza( I'm still talking about it!) Of course we watched every other weeknight ball game. Saturday rolled around and we had U tickets (they won! at least one Utah team can!) followed by another pair of free Jazz tickets thanks to Brad's cousin Jordan. The Jazz lost again.. we're starting to think we're bad luck- they lost the only game we didn't attend this week! This week was definately fun, you can ask Brad I yell with the best of them at the Jazz games, but I am defiantely had enough games for a while! Brad keeps telling me he's just conditioning me for all our kids games :O) I told him since I'll be attending so many games I definately need one of those portable cushioned bleacher seats... we'll see how that goes:) Just wanted you all to know we're alive and well and having lots of fun.

Halloween

2009-11-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

It may have been a day or two after that I carved this pumpkin and it may have been a few months before Halloween that I took the picture with my caveman costume, but hey, it counts for something.

Halloween Game...BLACKOUT

2009-11-01T00:49:00.001-07:00

We went to the game. It was sweet. Brad's parents were in town and came to the game too. Utes won! We were lame and no one took a single picture of us at game or at all while Marv and Pam were here, not at any of the get togethers.... Marv took one of the field at the game.... what can we say.

Lazy Birthday Post

2009-07-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

Thing have been crazy Brad's currently in Tracy CA for work. I'm searching for a job and hanging out with the fam for their final week in Utah. I figured I ought to let you know we're alive and still having fun so here's some of the unedited pictures from my birthday celebration. I'll go through later and add some captions and delete some but at this point I have been forbidden to delete a single picture so enjoy the few incriminating pictures while they're avaliable. *FYI there was no drinking so truly none of these pictures are that incriminating.. sorry to get your hopes up :)

P.P.S. In case this lousy post makes it sound like my birthday celebration was less than totally and completely awesome do not be fooled, it was defiantely one of the most enjoyable birthdays I've had. I'm sending out a big THANK YOU to my wonderful hubby for giving me the royal treatment! Oh I and I can't forget to thank my Mom and Pop for treating this birthday extra special so THANKS again!

Father's Day

2009-06-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well here is the latest in my disc dyeing trials. This was by far one of the most difficult with all the little island peices. I need to find a way to keep the ink even cooler or find more adhesive vinyl.

P.S. this disc is for Pappa Motorcycle

Working Hard, and Playing Hard in Santa Rosa CA

2009-06-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

He will remain in our memories.

2009-06-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

I must sadly report that as quickly as Honest Abe came into my life he has left. May he rest in peace in the middle of a lake in Vacaville, CA. Blast that nasty nasty wind....

New Additions

2009-06-06T16:17:00.001-07:00

Ode to Honest Abe

2009-06-04T23:10:00.001-07:00

Dye them Discs

2009-06-04T22:02:00.001-07:00

ACE or Hole in one for all the non-frolfers

2009-05-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

Plain and simple. Hole #12 @ Creekside in Salt Lake City.Weapon of choice: INNOVA CHAMPION VALKYRIE Saturday May 30th. roughly 8:30 p.m Witnesses: Jeffrey and Karen Steadman and the lovely Miranda Wagner. Jeffrey and I just knew it was magic moments after it left my hand. Once it hit chain, indeed that sweet chain music, there was a moment of stunned silence, Jeffrey and I staring at each other and then Sheer pandemonium, screaming like little girls (or like the guys in the hienkein commercial (see link)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIutgtzwhAc&feature=related , me running in circles, falling on the grass, shirt comes off I run all the way to the basket screaming with my fists pumped skyward screaming Jeffrey close to follow, and a shirtless chestbump in the fairway and the rest was caught on video, enjoy. I've told Jeffrey that if I ever got an Ace I will run around the course naked. After further discussion and a brief review of the Law it was decided shirtless would have to do. The pictures and video will tell the rest of the story.
P.S. The night was finished off right as Jeffrey, true to his word bought Coldstone Ice cream to celebrate the 1st ever Ace witnessed by he or myself. Roughly 11 months after picking up the sport whole-heartedly. Thanks Dad

New, Used Car. Brad's All Day Fri Project

2009-05-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

Long story short. We needed to trade in our VW Passat. We now will be driving the Isuzu Ascender which is a 2006 with only 17000 Miles (the VW had 113000), almost new condition , and has a third row of seats for up to 7 passengers. Enjoy the pics, the camera battery died so I didn't get any shots from behind or the interior, I may take some and post them some other time.
P.S We got to the dealership at 6:30 p.m...... We left at 11:00 p.m..... they closed at 10:00 p.m.

If only for mons..

2009-05-15T00:09:00.000-07:00

Ok so I've been selfish religiously checking everyone elses blog and hoping for updates without sharing.. I'll just give you a quick..(ok so I finished and this isn't exactly quick) update about what's new with us and upload some pics later. We're renting out the top of our house for the summer and living in my parents basement apartment to try to save some cabbage. Our current renters in the basement(who are amazing) are waiting to hear back about where he will be working next year and we're keeping our fingers crossed they'll stay through the end of the summer.

The semester finished about a month ago and things have been crazy. I'm still working at the Skyroom while I look for a job up north. We've moved most of our things to my parents but have been taking stuff a little at a time. Brad has been working on some remodels, doing some flooring with another buddy, and even learning more electrical. Basically he's been working odd hours here and there.. you know Brad style :)

We're doing some fix ups before our renters move in.. namely the shower will have walls, and the upstairs will also have walls. Brad did the demolition today and being the supportive wife that I am I'm staying up with him and using the computer. Brad put in some laminate hardwood style flooring in our dining room last week he got free from a job and it looks tons better. We also have painted the kitchen (a BIG thank you to Lexi and Jeaannene for all your help and motivation... and encouragement!) and I worked on finishing up the cabinets tonight. It's been really nice to make some progress even if it has been slow.

My sister in-law Stacy had a beautiful baby girl April 1st. My mom's first grand baby. We haven't bee able to spend much time with the cutie but hopefully when we get more settled we can see her more often. Brad's brother Justin and his wife Stephanie were in town this past weekend and we had a great time hanging out with them and playing Mexican horse shoes at Matt and Emily's. We've also been enjoying ourselves at Brad's uncle Craig's. We've spent four evenings there in the last two months. I've had a great time getting to know the family better and have had such a fun time playing cards and playing with the little girls. We helped Lexi and Allan pack up and move to Texas for the summer.... to say the least things have been crazy!

Brad's been playing alot more ball and I've had a really good time watching him. I've worked out a deal with my mom that I cook a few nights a week and she pays for the groceries I use, it's been really fun. I love to cook and have found some new favorite recipes. Brad's headed to Florida for two weeks so that's good news.. (strange how time and money changes one's perspective). We're hoping to get most of the shower done before he leave on Sunday so..... as always we have "Dreams, big dreams!" and are livin the rollercoaster of life. Sorry for bein so absent we'll try to keep you filled in on our latest adventures.

A Tribute to the Infamous Bradley Wayne

2009-04-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

Today is Brad's Birthday and, although we like the income, unfortunately he's in Texas for work. Not that ya'll don't know how amazing Brad is but I'd just like to share why I feel lucky to be his wife.

1. His sense of humor. He makes me laugh all the time and does the BEST impersonations. He is just plain fun!

2. He works hard.. I mean REALLY hard. He's the hardest working person I've ever met. Whatever he decides to do he does a fabulous job at. I know he'll always find a way to provide for our family.

3. He is confident. Although their are times I wish he DID care that his clothes didn't match and he was covered in paint it's refreshing to be with him because he's so comfortable with himself it's hard not to be comfortable with yourself. Lexi pointed out that he is the most confident person she knows but he is not arrogant in the least bit. Normally it's hard not to flirt with that line. Brad is uber confident but I don't think I've ever seen or heard him ever be cocky or arrogant.
4. He served an honorable full time mission. There are so many blessings we've experienced because of his mission. I'm so impressed with his gift for the Bulgarian language and grateful for the service he's been able to render in the past for conference and firesides. He loves the Lord and truly wants to do what's right. His testimony of the gospel is powerful.

I figured I'd stick with four since I kept trying to add a fifth and couldn't just add one more. I am so grateful that I get to be married to Brad. He is everything I need and I'm so grateful he picked me to be his wife. You are amazing baby!!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

We've been busy

2009-03-31T23:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the Carroll family shower for my sister in-law Stacy who is expecting a cute little bundle of girly joy. Lexi has been demonstrating her mad sewing skills lately so I comissioned her to help me make a shag quilt for Stacy, instead of buying another (although adorable) baby outfit.

I'm so pleased with how it turned out!

Here's the print up close. I just love the cows jumping over the moon.
In addition to the quilt a very generous friend from my ward Cheryl taught me how to make baby bows. And then she patiently helped me make a few different sets of bows for the newest Carroll member.

I think they turned out pretty darn cute, but it's hard to go wrong with something pink and cute and frilly for a baby girl:)

And yes, Stacy's shirt says "Watermelon Smuggler"! How great is that?!

New Microwave and "new" full size Stove

2009-02-13T18:33:00.001-08:00

Feb 7th all day party

2009-02-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

If you give a mouse a cookie.....

2009-02-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

It's electric....

2009-02-03T23:40:00.001-08:00

Minus 2 Industrials plus 5 cans

2009-02-02T08:32:00.000-08:00

I love to eat...

2009-01-25T14:07:00.000-08:00

No really I LOVE to eat. Maybe that's why the only pictures I have from Christmas are from the times we went out to eat. But regardless I figured I'd share a few more pics from spokane.

For our girls activity we decided on lunch a cafe rio imitation (cafe chulo???) and using the parifin waxer we got as a group gift for Christmas. (In case you were wondering the bottom of those wax warmers are hot and if you place your whole palm on it, it WILL burn you. And you might jerk your hand out and spray hot wax all over the kitchen.. and your mother in-law. Not that I know from personal experience or anything.:)) Anyways the food was actually pretty good. But for me nothing matches a cafe rio sweet pork salad with extra meat shared with Brad. For some reason when we share it just tastes better. We managed to get some cute pictures with all the girls minus Celeste. This is proof of the wrath I experienced during Christmas.:) Who knew it would come from a source so stinkin cute. At the beginning of the week Jaycie wanted nothing to do with me and even pushed me away when I rested my head on Brad's shoulder while he held her. I'm not talking mild dislike, I'm talking two hands to the eyes pushing me away as hard as possible. She's quite possesive of uncle Brad. She warmed up a little after I fed her treats everytime I picked her up. By the end of the trip I was far from her #1 pick but she decided it was fun to tease me and at very least I was good for getting her candy. Baby steps.. babysteps....Jaycie and Aunt Emily

Thanks for the "birthday" lunch Pam we had a great time:)

So a picture says a thousand words....so how many words do a thousand pictures say?

2009-01-24T22:43:00.000-08:00

Marrekesh!

2009-01-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite presents from Brad's parents was dinner at the Marrekesh. If you've never been blessed to experience the Marrekesh I'll fill you in. The Marrekesh is the family's favorite Moroccan resturaunt staffed and owned by a very friendly Egyptian fellow. He remembers all the kids and details from previous visits even though ventures are only annually. If you ever go spulrge and get the feast- a delicious five course meal served family style. The food is great but it's all about the experience. Eating with your hands, fighting over the bastilla, making truces to let the food cool before anyone digs in an effort to get your fair share, and listening to stories about Mondo and his life. Not sure why but I love this picture of Zach
Justin and Stephanie

Matt and Emily

Ben and CelesteAnd...
Ang and Cameron didn't end up with a picture of the two of them but we did manage to capture a classic Angela face:)

The whole fam-damily

Our table.. Brad's such a tough guy!

Our table again.. that's more like it

The other table

To your healthUs and Mondo the owner, server, and kitchen help.. "true story"

P.S.

2009-01-18T15:36:00.000-08:00

I had to share this video of Brad when we went iceskating.

Not much has changed. He sure does keep me laughing!

New Years Eve

2009-01-18T15:01:00.000-08:00

It's been forever since I've posted. I've been enjoying all of YOUR blogs and decided I'd stop being just a consumer:)

We spent Christmas and New Years in Spokane and had a great time. These catch up posts will be out of order but yall can figure it out.

To start out the evening we went to Flaming Joes to watch the Gonzaga- Utah basketball game. I was pretty bummed(I"ll admit I wasn't too charming) to be watching sports but the boysenberrry boneless buffalo wings put me in a good mood. If you're ever in Spokane stop by... seriously I'm still craving them! After Flaming Joes we went to Riverfront Park with Justin and Stephanie for some ice skating.

Justin and Steph showed off their sweet skills. They're pretty much profesh :)

The hot chocolate we broughtwas aweseome! It totally hit the spot and we all guzzled it down.

Spokane's First Night celebrations were going on so skate rental was free which was a fabulous suprise. About an hour after we started skating they had everyone clear the ice and it turned out a guy had fallen down and got sliced in the head with a skate..ouch! Needless to say as we sat on the bleachers and waited we had PLENTY of time for pictures.

I LOVE my new sister in-law Stephanie and really enjoyed spending some time with her. This is a personal blog so I'll gush :) Steph is super down to earth, very mature, has a great sense of humor, tons of fun, patient, loving, and just plain beautiful! It's hard for me not to to compare myself to these awesome Wagner women and get down, but I sure am glad for their example and truly appreciate their patience with me!

We figured an hour of skating was just perfect and head to Justin and Steph's to ring in the year with a rousing game of ticket to ride:)

I'm learning that life is never perfect and it doesn't have to be to be wonderful.

Ode to the Rogers

2009-01-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

This wednesday our friends Kent and Brinn moved back to Montana. Due to a flood in their apartment and a few other unexpected circumstances they decided to move Tuesday at 3 pm and were gone by 1 PM wednesday We were able to help them pack and get in a little quality time:) I had forgotten how good it feels to focus on others needs instead of my own. I am amazed we were able to get everything packed in less than 24 hours! We will miss them but we know they're doing what's best for their family. In honor of their "passing" I wanted to post these cute pictures of their daughter Emma at our house right before we went to Spokane for Christams. She is such a doll and Brad and I have had a great time playing with her and holding her new baby sister Camilla.

I'm grateful for all the friends I have made here in Provo who have come and moved away. But I sure am excited for the day when we no longer live in a college town and people stick around longer!

Sullivan Christmas Party

2008-12-21T23:23:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-16T20:49:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-16T20:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T22:51:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-11-06T23:53:00.000-08:00

UTES 13 - Horned Frogs 10

2008-11-06T23:46:00.000-08:00

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

Arghh!

2008-11-03T18:21:00.001-08:00

Halloween.

Memories not forgotten

2008-11-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

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 figur e 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.. :)

2008-10-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-11T14:24:00.001-07:00

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)

2008-10-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

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..

2008-10-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

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..

2008-09-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-28T03:14:00.000-07:00

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'

2008-07-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

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

Will post soon

2008-06-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry for teasing ya'll with a ton of posts and then leaving you hanging.. I hate that. I just wanted to give a quick update of where we are and what we're up to right now. We're currently in Spokane staying with family and anticipating the arrival of the rest of the fam for Justin's wedding. We were planning on taking a trip to Washington for the wedding anyway, but work was cut short much earlier than expected. We decided if they were willing to fly us back home we may as well save the money and just have them fly us home to Spokane, so now we're having a good long visit with the fam. We've been having a great time getting to know Stephanie (Justin's fiance), spending time with some of Brad's long time friends Steve and Baden, and just hanging with the fam. Things have been pretty busy around here but stay tuned, there will be pictures of our many adventures to follow.

Can you tell I'm bored yet?

2008-06-11T04:53:00.001-07:00

So with all this out of town living we're basically eating out every meal. One of those things you think will be fun until you've had one to many burgers or tacos. Needless to say it's definitely not helping my figure, so I decided to try to be a little more careful about what I'm eating. I had no idea it would be so hard. I just wanted to give a shout out to Wendy's for having decently priced decently healthy options and a huge sign posting all the nutrition information. I was so interested that I came back to the hotel and looked it up. If you're looking for something to fill up some of your free time like I am, and you're prepared to feel guilty next time you eat out check it out at wendysnutritioninfo. Looks like I'm not going to be downing three five piece nuggets with honey mustard anymore.. Who knew the dipping sauce would be as many grams of fat as the actual nuggets!

But on the plus side if you're really lookin to make a change eating out I found this really cool website where you can put in your location and price range and it will bring up a list of nearby restaurants and the healthiest options. Not too shabby.

If you just read this full post.. you deserve a gold star. Either to distract you from your intense boredom or reward you for being such an interested friend.

SoCal!

2008-06-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

Evidence bein in SoCal is going to Brad's Head.Gangsta, pay no attention to that National Geographic hat.

Check out those sweet kicks!

We're currently working in Ontario California. Our hotel is conveniently located next to an outlet mall. Suprisingly I'm the only one that hasn't bought a thing.. Strange how shopping with a bunch of guys results in different store selections :) Brad picked up these bad boys for 15 bucks! They're his Party City shoes (that's the store we're working in). This one of the many plusses of being married to BW, constant entertainment!

2008-06-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

As many as you know Brad's been out of town working for his cousin installing store shelfing, I recently joined him in California and am now working with him.... installing shelfing. Thus far it's been an interesting experience. There are a few things I wasn't expecting/ didn't realize:

1. The affect of so much testoterone in one place, I'm missin you Mons!
2. Discovery of muscles I never knew I had
3. I enjoy ripping things apart
4. How much the guys enjoyed me wielding a sledge hammer - even the electricians stopped to comment
5. Spending 4 hrs in traffic can be worth it to see family, and even some what enjoyable.
6. How hard Brad works doing this job to support me. He's such a great husband!!!

Yesterday we hitched a ride to Angela's house and then ended up having her drop us back in
Ontario . The only problem- they were on their way to utah for a wedding where they are going to hand off aubrielle and benson until Justin's wedding. Needless to say their mini van was packed with 3 car seats four adults and a months worth of luggage.

The above mentioned situation. Jaycie's even looking!

Before Ang and Cameron dropped us off we had dinner together at Denny's. Cameron put a dogers hat on Jaycie and she rocked it almost all dinner.

Dinner's lots of fun with these guys.

What a cutie!

The difference in a little hair

2008-03-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Just figured ya'll would appreciate the results of Justin's lawn mower job to Brad's head a day too early.

Never seen an MTC teacher look like that before huh?! The missionaries were shocked when Brad showed up with no hair. A few of them told him he looked pretty scary without hair and if they didn't know him they'd think he'd break somebody's neck. They decided to pose like tough guys in honor of Brad's new do... (looks like a few missed the memo :))

Not really sure what just happened, but J & I have a way of making memories...

2008-03-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

So I had considered buzzing my head because I'm going out of town for around 5 weeks for work. I'm leaving tuesday. I talked to Miranda about it, we decided it might be a good chance for her to try and cut my hair first and if she messed it up we'd just finish it off with a buzz. I got the idea in my head and wanted to do it earlier. On Saturday night we went to Justin and Monica's. Miranda declined the opportunity. That left Justin and I alone with buzzers..... not a good combination. So he mentioned going right to it without any guard on the buzzers, I said, uh we should start longer and then work it down. Next thing I know I'm sitting down and remember glancing up as he began and thinking...uh that doesn't have a guard on it..... I figured this wild pics would be the best part of the hair cut so I hope they can brighten someones day.
Sidenote: Unfortunately there wasn't any alcohol involved in this incident, which may have made it a lot easier toexplain....

Cookie, Monster

2008-02-17T20:02:00.001-08:00

So here are those heart shaped monster cookies BW posted about earlier. I'm proud to say he made them all by himself, while he kindly allowed me to start taking control of my coupon situation. Lets just say Brad delivers the paper and brings home at least 5 extra Sunday newspapers a week which usually contain around 2-3 coupon inserts each and I haven't cut coupons for about 3 months...... you do the math. Anywho while I started on the monster project Brad made these delicious Monster cookies. Aren't I a lucky girl. No offense Pam but your fired, you've been replaced by a more qualified applicant. :) Now if I can just get him to master those caramel ribbon brownies.. Yum!

I think I broke something.......

2008-02-15T19:51:00.001-08:00

Brand new Pogo stick ...............$25.00

Tall garbage can............donated by Fred Meyer's

Trip to the emergency room .......$100.00

Catching the whole thing on tape.......PRICELESS!

No need to worry this was a while back,
I'm much older and wiser now...

Valentines Day

2008-02-14T19:46:00.001-08:00

Nothing a few Honk's $1.05 store stickers, ear rings, flowers and a well placed towel (to hide clutter) and strategically placed mirrors for added effect couldn't do to impress the lady... The plan for the multi colored M&Ms is to make heart shaped monster cookies together.

Things to do......

2008-02-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hi my name is Brad and I'm a procrastinator. I thought that I'd share my list of things that I need to do-

Finish Emily's sewing room
Deliver new set of Mexican horseshoes to Grandpa
Pay Angela for Camron's Christmas gift
Go to Spokane and meet my dad's newest grandcat
Buy Miranda a Valentines Gift
Finish independent study English class
Take pictures for a certain brother's "pending" wedding invitations
Install shower walls
Take out the trash
Start a savings account
Meet my new niece Jaycie
Meet my new niece Lucy
Eat lunch (oh wait I never procrastinate eating)
Acheive world records in all Wii Olympic events
Reimburse mom the $40 for her sweet Mother's Day toaster
Get Emily back for the whitewashing I recieved (caught on tape)
Vacuum carpets
Clean bathrooms
Empty dishwasher
Hang out with Sweet J and fam
Start new business with Pendo
Pay off debt to Justin

And................................

Change blogger password

Somehow she still married me...

2008-01-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Gotta start somewhere.

2008-01-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

Well I've just read my sisters blog from the holidays and I thunked to myself "hmm, gotta get me one of thems", which I've done. I hope to share some of the BMW way of life and activities with you from Provo. (Don't worry, still a UTE fan :)
Sidenote: this has nothing to do with the fact that I should be working on my english class that I'm taking from Independent Studies at BYU and I'm just procrastinating...oh no..hmm mm no ma'am.