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Words

I made the oh-so-familiar mistake of putting this off too long. So once again this is going to take me hours to finish. (4 weeks! what was I thinking?) Since it's so long, feel free to skim. There are tons of pictures and videos in here. 

As I think back on the last 4 weeks, I'm struck by how powerful words can be. (More proof that Dumbledore knows everything.) In the last few weeks we've had long heart-to-hearts about super deep stuff, fights about little things, intellectual debates, talks with new people, learned about different walks of life, and felt both uplifted and down-played by others' words. 

I've also always been one for words... I've dabbled in writing a novel, spend a little too much time writing in this stupid thing, and I was a journalism major first in college. I think it helps me sort through all the thoughts in my head. 

But anyway, I'll get to where I was going with that. I'm extremely grateful for all of the people in our lives and their words. It seems that no matter what we go through, Dallin and I can always talk it through and understand each other. (He's the best.) We also have friends, family, and co-workers who influence us in their different ways. They've taught us lots of little lessons along the way and ultimately, it's those experiences that have made us who we are today. I am definitely still learning when it comes to communicating with others. But one thing has become very clear to me- words matter. I've started reading the age-old classic, "How to win friends and influence people." It's so complex to me and I don't think I'm a natural at understanding people. But I am lightyears ahead of how I used to be in 2010 and before when I didn't talk to anyone. 

Any who.....

Let's stop that tangent now and get on with it. 

Now I'm going to make you cry

If this video doesn't make you cry or at least feel a little something, then I think you're a sociopath. lol Of course, I bawled my eyes out. Granted, it's not related to anything and maybe I shouldn't have added it in. But I couldn't resist putting it in here because it's so adorable. 

If the video doesn't work above, here's the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgw8UoR6fWM

ALA 

Welcome to my world. At this point, the electronic ball pump had broken and I had just finished pumping up all of these balls with a tiny little hand pump. I could not feel my arms. Now, of course, all 3 ball pumps have broken and there are thousands of flat balls and students asking me to pump them. I think I've discovered the perfect "detention" for a student who is in trouble in the future! lol 

This picture ended up so funny. I was taking a panorama, and a girl was running while I did it. So that  2 dimensional looking thing in the middle is a person! haha I absolutely adore my job. I get to be out playing games with kids in beautiful weather like this. This was during all of the soccer stuff we did, and now we're doing basketball. 

The American Heart Associations sent me a big box full of these key chains, so I have been using them as positive motivators. The younger grades would kill for these! I was surprised at how excited they were about something so small. Anyway, here's the down side to a teaching job. An angry parent emailed after their kid won one saying that "ALA didn't used to be a bribing school." 

I was very taken aback by this because she was so excited that she got it, and it was the first time a parent has ever been mad at me. We were able to come to an understanding and it was all okay, but holy cow was I scared for a second there.

On our last day before christmas break, we broke out the parachute. So fun. I don't care if you're 2 or 92, everybody loves the parachute. :)

I saw this funny shirt on pinterest and seriously considered buying one. lol 

I forgot to take a picture of all the gifts the students, school, district, and other teachers gave me for christmas. This was the only picture I took. But I seriously felt so loved and appreciated. I got cookies, candy, candles, chocolates, wrapping paper, cute notes, etc. I was not expecting that much, so I was overwhelmed that people remembered me and wanted to do that. ALA the school district also gave such a thoughtful gift. I never use hashtags, but I think in this case it's fitting. 

#blessed

In Utah, Jakey had his own field (or he thought it was his) where we used to go all the time. Where we live there is a big open space by our house but it is all rock. I guess that's become the Arizona equivalent. He's not as stoked about it, but at least he's getting out.

Cardinals Game

For a Christmas present from Clearlink, the guys got to go to a Cardinals game. Dallin had so much fun! They went to the tailgate before, and then their seats were great!

I think it's so cute how much Spencer and Cooper love the J dogs. They came to come see the dogs on the way home from the game and I had to take a picture. It's funny to me that these macho bachelors are so easily melted by little white fluff balls. lol They've said that if we ever go on a trip they want to watch the dogs. 

Arizona has weird bugs. What is that? And why is it on the wall in the living room? It didn't even move for like 2 days.

The Voice

We were super into season 11 of the voice that just ended recently. We were so happy that Sundance won because we love him. He is so cool and funny. 

Dallin got this video for your entertainment. Bruno Mars performing during the finale of the show was epic. I love him and mark my words, one day I will see him live. My dance moves really are something, aren't they? haha It's my life-long goal to be able to dance like bruno and his crew dances. 

My Early Christmas Present!

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! The dolphin pictures!!!!!!
Dallin put so much time and effort into tracking these down, and once he got them he was going to give them to me as a Christmas present but he couldn't contain the secret that long so he spilled the beans. I love them! This was by far the best present I could have gotten! He had to find the little tiny company in Anguilla, send them our picture so they could hunt through theirs, then transfer all the files....
but so worth it!
Look how happy we are. That was seriously the most amazing experience ever.
Here's dallin riding on the dolphin's tummy.

Here's me being pushed on a boogie board by the dolphin's nose.

Me holding him

Dallin being pushed on the boogie board

Me riding on it's tummy

High five

Dancing

Kiss

The dolphin could do so many tricks. He even did a front and back flip!

Before we went

This is me doing the high five. The waves were so strong they were pushing me into the fence over and over again like crazy. So Dallin had to hold onto my life jacket to keep me still. haha

Dancing

Kisses

Dallin holding him

More Cruise Stuff!

We finally got our disposable camera developed from the cruise, and I think we broke it because only like 6 turned out. But here they are! This was on Dallin's birthday and we were in Labadee on a private island. 

When we first got there we rented these little floating things and a cabana on the beach. We both had so much fun on those things.

This was us trying to take a picture under water. Clearly didn't work too well on that 7 dollar camera. 

I would lay on my stomach and paddle like a surfer, or I would use a stick like an oar and sit, and stick my head half way in so that I could just see the surface of the water. Ah. So fun.

Little did I know during this picture that I was slowly becoming more and more dehydrated and drained my the heat. (And by the looks of it, probably getting skin cancer too.) We were having so much fun out on those things that we completely lost track of time.

So we ended up being out on the water for like hours and not drinking or eating anything. We had booked an excursion to go on jet skis, so when we realized what time it was we literally RAN to where we needed to be. We didn't even put on shoes, we just ran in our swim suits.

So after hours of the sun, humidity, saltwater, lack of food or hydration, and sprinting across an island barefoot.... it all hit me. This was where we were waiting to go on the jet skis and all of a sudden I felt like I was going to pass out. At first I was seeing stars, then it was black, and it felt like that feeling when you stand up too fast. I was so light headed and nauseous all of a sudden and it happened right before we were going to get on. So we ended up not going, they called over the royal Caribbean nurse, gave me an apple and coconut water and we sat in air conditioning for a while. After that I ended up feeling much better. But we had missed the thing that Dallin really wanted for his birthday and I felt like the worst wife in the whole world. Before the tour left and when we were with the nurse, I was trying to convince dallin to go without me. I said, "But you love it more than me anyway." I didn't think that was a weird thing to say because I was trying to express that he likes riding on jet skis more than I do. The nurse made a weird facial expression and a half laugh while responding "oh ouch!" I didn't understand why she did that until Dallin said, "No Sydney, I obviously love you more than a jet ski." lol Poor Dallin. He's such a saint. I would've been pissed! haha 

But lesson learned. After this and the whole puking-in-the-Sprouts-parking-lot-in-Scottsdale experience, I know that I am very susceptible to heat stroke and I won't let myself get that dehydrated again. 

Lunch During Work

After I went on Christmas break but Dallin still had to work, we met at this place in Scottsdale to go to lunch one day. It was sooooo good. 

Nails

Festive ones on the right for christmas, and then I had the ones on the left for new years. 

Jake sat there for 2 hours. He was so happy that I opened the blinds for him and moved that stool over. The only problem with being home all day for Christmas break is those few days after you've already accomplished your to-do list and you're starting to lose your mind. This was one of those days obviously. But that really only happened once because of how busy my break ended up being.

We hung the christmas cards we got on the side of the fridge

Sadly, I ended up returning the robot vacuum that I was so excited about. It couldn't handle this transition from tile to wood, couldn't get in the corners since it's a circle, and couldn't handle the carpet since it's really thick and long. It can't get behind furniture or stairs, and it can't get under chairs because it's too wide. I was frustrated because in theory it's such a good idea. The only thing it ended up offering was entertainment because of the way Jake acted around it.

Christmas with the Flanigans

It would be so much cooler if their last name was Krank lol 

Anyway, I hadn't seen my dad in 2 years so I was excited they were coming for Christmas. We played  a lot of the board and jeremy's game of course. 

And they always used to say, "No phones at the table! When you're with the family, be with the family!" lol

They like the dogs, but I don't think they're as captivated as we are. lol

We went to a suns game! It was really fun, and they won! Our seats were great, and I ate my weight in different types of pretzel nubs. They have a ton of options for concessions there, I loved it! At times it was a little loud for the old folks. lol

Here is a picture from our seats. They did a bunch of cool stuff during half time and before the game to celebrate the holiday.

My dad didn't buy tickets on purpose because he enjoys the drama of haggling with scalpers outside the stadium lol But we ended up getting such a good deal on these!

The "Flani-girls"

Grocery shopping with Shelly on Christmas eve was not as bad as I expected it to be. Bashas had it handled!

Shelly taught me how to make a home made pumpkin pie.

And here is our finished product. It passed inspection from our critics (my dad and dallin). She even bought me that glass pie making thing. (Is there a name for those? haha)

Shelly's birthday was while they were here too! She was so nice and didn't expect much for it. I felt kindof bad that they were flying that day and then all we did for her was go to dinner, but we didn't have much time to do anything else. We also ended up renting the new Tarzan movie and watching that. I loved it!

Dallin took us on a tour of his work! It is rarely cold or stormy here and then when they come it's overcast, rainy, and cold! ugh annoying.

This was the set up for Christmas eve and Christmas day. I got new place mats and a new centerpiece.

My dad was in charge of changing the day on our count down. lol

I have become such a scrooge about the shopping lol I don't know why but this year I was really complainey about how often we went shopping. It seemed like it was never over and I was sick of being in a store all the time. But hey, first world problems, right? We ended up having an amazing Christmas morning because of it.

Christmas morning!
Even when you're older it's still so exciting. We slept in really late, but still I was so happy when I woke up.
Here we are with our presents. You have to watch the video I made of christmas! It's after all these pics.

Josie was holding 2 toys at once. She got that sweater and so many toys she didn't know what to do with herself.

Dallin was a sweetheart and got me pandora charms. One that says arizona on it and one that has a dolphin for when we moved and swam with the dolphins. I have one from most of the big events in my life so far, so that was pretty thoughtful of him. I also got that zero gravity chair that I'm sitting on in that picture. I love it! And that was a big surprise from my dad and shelly too. I always loved theirs.  This is a picture without doing my hair and makeup but I think you're always supposed to look like you just woke up in christmas pictures so it's okay. 

Shelly made me a Halloween Table runner! Love it! She is very talented. 

Without even planning it, Dallin got my dad a Clearlink jacket and my dad got Dallin a UNK shirt! lol He was also really excited about all the beard stuff he got from people. He got beard oil and balm from like 3 different people. 

Dallin was really excited when he opened the anti-aging serum he got from my mom. (And I'm not being sarcastic.) It's really expensive stuff and it works really well. 

We didn't get pictures of every present, but we all got completely spoiled. It was great. We had a lot of presents under that tree.
Then, we skyped with Trenden, Kaylynn, Kaden and Calvin in Ohio.

This was Christmas dinner. Not as good as Shelly cooks, but hey, I did it! lol

We took a drive on the route that my dad used to bike when he lived in AZ. Kinda crazy how him, me and twenen all ended up there at different times. 

We had a fire and made smores one night and it was really fun. But fire is always fun. :) And we were all working on getting fat because the whole time they were here we ate a lot. We all had smores and then proceeded to go inside and eat bread pudding.

Shelly and I had matching purses kind of. I got her that one for Christmas and hers is just the smaller version of mine because mine is a little clunky. The sweater I'm wearing in this picture Dallin got me. It's softer than a baby's butt. 

We went to see zoo lights! It was really cool. And it was nice because it was only 20 minutes away. We got hot chocolate and kettle corn and hot dogs and walked around. I've never really been to something like that before.

They also had animals built out of legos. 

This is a terrible picture, but it's of the sign when you first walk in.

On the ticket it said "fake snow at 7pm." Obviously we had to see what that was all about. People gathered around and waited in anticipation, and we were placing bets on what it would be. I was imagining paper of some kind. But when the 2 machines turned on it was almost like soap or really tiny bubbles. It looked just like snow though, and everybody freaked out. lol Poor arizonians. We were really excited too, but it's just not the same. I just kept laughing at the concept of fake snow and people dancing around in little bubbles. lol

Shelly has a cake pop business now so I am giving her free advertising for all 8 people who read this :) 

My dad had all of our VHS tapes from home videos made into DVD's, and he gave me copies of them all. We watched them all, and Dallin said I was such a cute kid. :) I liked watching it because it was cool seeing my childhood from a grown-up perspective. It made me see how lucky I was and how much my parents did for me. My family was there for me always and that is cool to see. In the upper left, I got makeup for Christmas so I was smearing this red stuff all over my face. In the bottom right, Trenden stripped down to try on clothes he got for Christmas. haha

The pic in the bottom left, Twenen had figured out that if he puts hockey sticks in his sled, he can steer while he rides. 

It was also very clear that our personalities have remained pretty much the same. Trenden hardly ever showed a ton of excitement and he was always trying to figure stuff out. And then I was always overly excited about stupid stuff. For instance, in one video on Easter Trenden comes up to the camera and says, "I'm trying to find my baskets, but Sydney just keeps following me around and even when I point to hers she still can't see it." (I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed apparently.) And then when we get our baskets, Trended just sat down by his and silently went through it all. I screamed "woo hoo! Homework!" lol What kid gets excited about getting a math workbook for easter? 

Here is a video of when my dad told me, Jenny, and Jilly to all pile on top of Trenden. haha

Here is a video of me talking about my first boyfriend. (Or "boyfriends" I guess, because apparently I had 2.)

About halfway through this video, my brother says, "The best thing about having divorced parents is that we get 2 christmases. I just love it! Two Christmases but on the same day!" And my dad laughs. Trenden figured it out young!

Here is a Summary of our Christmas in Video Format!

Here is the video I made. My dad was paranoid that now that it's on the internet all of his students are going to see it and make fun of him lol

The After Christmas Blues

We didn't have the "after christmas blues" for long because of how busy things got, but for like 2 days I just laid around with Jake and Jo. 

Dallin and I got license plate frames for Christmas. His is for Alabama and mine is blingey!

Arizona birds and sunshine even in the winter!

We got all sorts of packages in the mail from Ben, Kaylynn, and my Mom. I didn't take pictures of everything but I really got so excited every time I got a present in the mail. Thank you to you all!

We spotted Santa while he was off work! Lol we were at the car wash.

Command strips are lying to you when they say they won't wreck your paint. 

Jakey sun bathing in the winter! It was 75 degrees!

The day before New Years we decided to throw and impromtu party. We saw how expensive it is to go out, and so we just invited a few people over and had a little get-together to bring in the new year.

I loved getting to decorate for the party. I was running around the house collecting everything silver and gold, and all of that shiny-hunting basically turned me into a niffler! (Harry Potter reference.) When we went to the grocery store my eyes were being drawn to all the shiny stuff after spending all that time decorating! Anyway, I got a great deal at Party City, and most of it I can keep for next year. 

When I was getting ready for the night, Jake was freaking out. He wouldn't let me do my makeup! He wanted me to pick him up pretty much the whole night because there were fire works going off and he is really scared of those. 

We set up a photo booth and I had to get the kids picture first :)

Here are the others.

We had so much fun with everyone who came. We were glad people could come on such short notice. Now we have learned our lesson to not try and throw a party the day before, because it was a lot. But worth it, and it all worked out. Aaron and Brianna had fireworks with them, and we lit those off. We watched the ball drop and that whole show. We played our new game that Trenden and Kaylynn gave us. We ate, and we had a fire outside. 

Here is a video of the fire works.

My resolution from last year was a complete and utter failure. I had a goal to be certain measurements, and I actually got WORSE! lol

I watched this on facebook and got all into it because I identified with a lot of what he said. (So did Dallin.) I was going to make it my 2017 resolution, but only parts of it are needed in my life. When I was focusing on not being as attached to my phone, not much was different because I'm not that bad. I am normally more focused on the people I'm with, so not much changed there. But I do need to be more patient and I liked what he was talking about career-wise. 

But I took his advice and I got an alarm clock! In true Sydney Graff fashion, I had to get one that matched the decor perfectly. It's so freakin' cute!

Welcome to Arizona!

We hung out with Justin & Lexi on their first night in their new house and it is just gorgeous! I'm so happy for them. They're excited to be here and I'm getting my old friend back. I'm sort of living vicariously through her since we no longer own a home, and she's letting me help decorate! We missed them at our new years party, but we were able to hang out this last weekend. 

Justin gave Dallin his amazing new Nikes that he had custom made! They say "Mayne Event" on the back because that's his team name. (His last name is Mayne.) And it's caused Dallin to say he "wants to get into shoes." If you know how much of a tight wad I am, my response was, "why not paper clips? I could get you a really nice collection of paper clips!" lol

He was not enthused. So if anyone has a lot of money lying around that you don't know what to do with, please donate it to the "Dallin wants to get into collecting expensive shoes" charity fund. hahaha

She's such a delicate flower

She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping.....

Unless you zoom in. Then it's a lot more creepy.

And we're back!

Our first day back was a professional development day where we listened to a seminar about reading and writing. I really agreed with most of what he was saying and the specials teachers are now using more reading and writing in the leadership lessons we do on Fridays. 

Clearlink divided up new teams for the coaches since Justin moved here. They are excited about their new teams!

Arizona Adventures Video!

Okay this one I'm really excited about because I've been working on it since June. Now that it's finally done, I am so happy. It is so fun to look at all we've done since we moved to Arizona. 2016 was a good year and we are looking forward to all the fun stuff we can do here in 2017!

Life is a Crazy thing.

I have been thinking deep thoughts about life and how it all works lately because I recently lost 2 uncles. My Aunt Robin's husband Uncle Bob just barely passed away a few days ago. It was really, really sudden. He had just retired like a week prior, and they discovered cancer and he went within a few days. I couldn't believe it. 

It was the same with my Uncle David. He is my mom's brother in law, and he passed away really suddenly as well. He went to work, and had a heart attack. 

Both uncles were such good men. So funny, loving, and just cool guys. I don't deal with this kind of stuff well because even though I didn't know them well and we weren't too close, it makes me sad. And it reminds me of how short life is and you never know when your time is up. I really evaluated my life and whether or not I'm doing it all wrong. 

I just really feel for my Aunt Robin and Aunt Susan right now. Now that I have a husband, I can't imagine losing him. That would be the hardest thing. So I really hope the two of them are strong right now and are still able to recover and find happiness. 

Coworker Dinner

Elizabeth invited all of the specials teachers over for home made pizza with our spouses. Becky couldn't make it, but we had a fun time meeting Jaron's wife and getting to know him a little better. We loved the pizza, dessert, and company!

This was the school in the early morning yesterday. So pretty and peaceful.  The Arizona sky does some crazy things pretty regularly. It's like every other day that I look up and go, "woah, that's cool!" This morning it was pink!

 Roll Tide

Last night we went out with a bunch of the clearlinkers to a sports bar to watch the Alabama-Clemson game. Dallin was so sad when they lost. So sad. But I ate my weight in wings and chatted, so I was good. lol I didn't want to be in the picture because after getting hit in the head with a basketball that day, my hair was a little fuzzy. haha

 This was the boys' game night over at Justin and Lexi's new house. We had a lot of fun and I got to spend more time with Olivia and Addison. They are so cute. We brought the dogs over and me and Lexi talked and decorated while they gamed. Overall it was a success! Jake loved having a yard with grass to run in.

 While we were talking, I was complaining about how long it takes me to do this blog. Lexi said, "Well couldn't you just say you had a great week and just put the pictures there?" lol wow there is a novel idea! I do go a bit overboard with this, so next time I am going to try and simplify. (We'll see how that goes.) Now that I'm done with this monstrous post, I have to move onto my next project which is making the shutterfly book of all our 2016 pictures. And that is always a long thing too. But when I complain, Dallin always says we need the blog and the books so at least I know he likes having them.
I'm also glad that people read this and it's not all in vain. By the next time I write on here, I'm hoping that I work out and stop eating like a rhino. That's my goal.
Anyway, see ya next time!

-Sydney the Rhino ;)