DIY
THE 2ND DRESSER BEFORE
AND AFTER!
usually on pinterest people write these articles about how their diy projects have held up over the years. Well my painted sink endeavor lasted a grand total of 5 minutes. Cool.
And people wonder why i hate painting.
The Big/Sad/Scary News
Probably the most eventful thing that's happened since I last wrote is that Clearlink decided to officially shut down the whole Scottsdale office. Since Dallin changed to work from home last July, he luckily gets to keep his job. Lots of people were not so lucky though. It was a sad thing, and although it was just a business decision it made it hard for lots of people. Dallin and Brian have both been really busy with the transition. Overall it's a difficult situation but not much we can do about it. From what I've heard, some were given the option to go to work from home or to move to Utah.
These few sentences don't do it justice, but since I don't work there I don't know as much as Dallin so I'm not sure what to say. I think it's also sad because over the last few years SO much work went into getting that site up and running smoothly. My heart goes out to our friends who this affected and I'm so incredibly grateful that we're okay.
Hobby Lobby
And I didn't even end up in the bathroom this time! haha I bought this sign and felt like I won because I didn't spend more than 3 million dollars which is always a struggle for me in that place. Here's some pics of my spoils.
"I just got reamed.... I mean I just got ..."
makeup. (Just Go With It reference) Never in my life have I spent 60 dollars on 2 things of makeup. I felt just like Adam Sandler's character in that movie when he's like, "What is it made out of panda? Do the Rolling Stones come sing to you? Why could it possibly cost that much?"
So anyway.... Does buying something at sephora mean you're a real woman now?
The storm of the century
The whole state of arizona was freaking out over this storm and it wasn't really that bad. I guess it was in Flagstaff, but here it was just rainy and windy. On this news article the reporter said to help with all the plowing, they brought in the snow plowers from phoenix and all over the state. I was wondering why there are even snow plowing people in phoenix.
Now for the aforementioned rug fiasco
Like my big word? haha anyway. We had to go through 3 rugs and multiple shopping trips to finally find a rug.
This was
RUG #1
This was
RUG #2
(it felt like walking on those grates at the public pool. Or like sitting on shards of glass.)
And after trips with the girls to stores looking, shoveling my way through every site on the internet, debating with Dallin, going to Livingspaces and feeling like the poorest person there.....
WE FOUND IT!
Here's the winner.
(Now no one can color shame me about all my neutrals! ha!)
Dating the hubs
This was Citizen Public house in scottsdale
This was board and batten in mesa
This was a date night at home where we watched HP and played cards and got a shake delivered
Those sleeping pictures I promised I wouldn't take
We all knew that was a lie
The Graff's Visit
They were tired of the Utah dreary weather and I don't blame them! It was fun having them visit! Brian makes the best steak I have ever had!
Baseball game during school!
We got to go out during 2 of my classes to cheer on the eagles at a home game that happened to be during school. That was fun
Marie Kondo and my weird purge phase
If you haven't read or watched this on netflix, you should. We don't have that much junk to begin with, but I still went crazy over spring break and got rid of a lot of stuff. It's actually really fun to do! Not sure I really agree with her philosophy that you should only keep the things that give you joy though. Literally nothing in my kitchen gives me joy because I hate cooking.... and Dallin would kill me if I got rid of his computer hahaha
I could not believe how many dog clothes I had that don't fit the kids. It filled up an entire room! I sold it all for like 20 bucks. They've gotten fat in their old age I guess.
Organized the bathroom too!
G's first time golfing
Fun time at top golf!
Chopping it off
New hair!
This definitely didn't used to happen....
I absolutely love it shorter an lighter. It was so boring before.
with this hair style I feel like you need tons of volume so I tried this out
SCHOOL STUFF
This class won a party for good behavior so we had a feast
Starting concert has been really busy and I feel a lot of pressure for it to be good because it's only my classes. All 7 of my classes are doing 3 dances, so I thought there was no way I would remember them all, but I'm actually doing really well. We've had to deal with the typical partnering issues and costume issues, but that's to be expected. I really don't know how they'll do because 80% of the time the dances don't look that great, but then we're also fighting the monotony and boredom at this point. They have to do them over and over again so they don't try that hard and so I don't know how it will look when they're actually on stage. Time is flying so it's kind of a race against the clock to get all the dances done and perfect in time. I thought cutting all the songs would be time consuming but it really wasn't bad at all. The hardest part has turned out to be hooligans who don't pay attention and are off task when I'm teaching it and then they don't know it and I have to help them and it eats into our time. The other hard part is that the school is doing state testing, and instead of having the whole school test at once, they separated it by grade and test. Each grade has 4 days of testing, which works out to be 20 days of testing. With makeups it ends up being an entire month! I have every grade level, which means every day we are missing someone. Which means I end up re-teaching them what they missed when they come back and repeating the next day with the next grade. As you can tell I'm a big fan of the system.
I gave thank you notes and candy to the kids that have been super helpful in this process. It ended up being really good for me to do because when I was writing them I realized there were a lot in each class and I was by far exaggerating the amount of misbehaving going on. I think I was letting my own worry leak into my perspective on the classes because most of the class is super hard working and there are just a few here and there who aren't.
Got these notes :)
There is so much to do still. I am making a slideshow of pictures, interviews, and videos, picking lighting, making sure everyone has costumes, recording the dress rehearsal so they can evaluate themselves, giving out T shirts that I have to get back, parent questions, etc. It's a lot of work. But hopefully it will all be worth it and people will be impressed. Since this is my first year doing this I feel like I have a lot to prove.
We're chefs now.
Because we've cooked like 3 meals. But hey- progress is progress right? Even though Sara gave us the instant pot like 2 years ago this was our first time using it just like last week. Dallin burned his finger. And I'll be honest I didn't really help him- he did the whole meal by himself. I couldn't even figure out how to get the lid on and I got frustrated and gave up.
But anyway It turned out great!
There was this recipe on the side of a rice box that I made all by myself and dallin liked it!
Warding off Doggie Dementia
I saw this on pinterest where you're supposed to pack a bucket really tight and put treats in there and it forces them to dig to get it all out. I thought I would try it to keep their minds engaged. (See below) Josie clearly did not get it. But let's be honest that doesn't shock any of us. Not the sharpest tool in the shed that one.
Another idea
I also got an interactive toy and put dog food in it and they like that. So then I used this packaging thing too and I thought it was so funny how much Josie liked it. I thought it would be the same as the busy bucket, but this time it was reversed and Jake didn't get it! haha
These videos of them figuring it out are so funny.
It's a jungle out there
Jake kept trying to jump up in this tree-bush thing (Arizona plants are weird) and I looked and there was a birds nest in there. Ever since the Nest Debacle of 2015, I have been petrified of birds so I kept my distance. In the following days, Jakey managed to pull over a bucket full of sand and stand on it so he could get closer to the bird. (He also destroyed the bush-tree thing. But no craps were given about that.... it's the ugliest monstrosity anyway.)
The following pictures were taken in a moment of bravery and seconds before being attacked by said bird. (I ran inside like bat outta hell and had nightmares, but Jake was elated.)
The next day I went against my better judgement and took the garbage out. The bird saw it as a challenge and flew directly at my head.
I am not exaggerating when I say that the day after that the entire nest and bird were completely gone. I know I'm not a zoologist, but my logic leads me to believe that the bird moved his whole nest to another tree. (I was relieved that I could access my garbage can without being harassed, but Jake stared up into the bush for a few days longingly.)
Birds be cray!
(I know that no one will believe this story because no one believed the Nest Debacle of 2015 but it is, as they say on the Office, "my truth.")
Training to be professional eaters
As I look through the pictures to do the blog, it appears that we are training for an eating contest. Although I am really good at eating, I am not pursuing that dream. haha
This was when we went to steak and stone with clear link ppl
Such a beautiful view of sunset at the restaurant!
Cafe rio with the parents!
Some other place
Running
beautiful view while running in my area
On this run I hired my expensive videographer to come with to capture my majestic stride lol
(jk. In reality I watched that and went "eww my butt jiggles so much and I look like a bobble head." haha!)
New books
Okay if you haven't read this series YOU MUST! I read all three books in record time (well besides the 3rd hunger games because I read that in 13 hours) because it was so good I couldn't put it down. Such an interesting concept and I couldn't tell where it was going to go.
This is the series I just started and I like it so far. It reminds me of the Selection, and I love, love, love the selection.
(I am basically a teenager because I like all the books that were supposed to be for that demographic. Does that make me immature? haha
Maybe that's why I work with teens.... or maybe I'm like that because I work with teens. Who knows)
The Thing Dallin didn't want to do but we did anyway
Someone booked our house on Airbnb without me even knowing (haha whoops!) and so even though we thought we weren't going to do that anymore we had a mother and son stay with us for a week or so. It was super nice because they paid a ton because it was spring training time. They were so nice and super into the dogs and meditation and vegan eating and stuff.
Dat Weather Doe!
I freaking love AZ weather. I'm so sad for those who don't get to experience it.
Josie went swimming last week
This is Josie trying to figure out how to get her "new toy," (aka big stick) into the house through the doggie door. She was looking at me like "this door is broken." This might be mean but I think it's so entertaining when she does dumb things.
I apologize in advance that you have to listen to my weird, high-pitched dog voice.
Just in case the suspense was killing you, she never did figure it out and the stick stayed outside for a few days while she re-attempted. She may not be smart, but she is very determined.
DA GALS
The girl club :) I 💜 them.
"You know how a heroin addict doesn't even feel high from using anymore but they still just have to? That's what it's like for me with Grays Anatomy." -G Money
"My watch got soiled at work the other day so I had to throw it away." -Lembergini
Fighting against my inner fat person
I swear my true self is 400 pounds and it's a fight every day to keep that big girl under wraps lol
BUT.... I found this paper from our new years resolutions in Jan of 2016. It had my measurements on it and then what I wanted them to be. Obviously I didn't achieve my resolution (because new years resolutions are never accomplished by anyone ever) but the good news is that my measurements now are a half inch smaller! haha So I'm calling that a win. It's my fear that I will slowly get fatter and fatter and not realize it and I've been feeling like a whale lately to it was cool that it's not the case.
Anyway we got gym member ships and a personal trainer named Ladd. It's actually been really nice having a trainer and fun going to workout with D when we aren't with Ladd. We have actually stuck to it so far! It's a cute little family owned gym so it's not too busy and the people there are all really friendly.
Dilly's Mysterious Feet Scars
We can't figure out why he has a long scar on both feet in the same spot. If you have any information, please let us know.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
We celebrated by going to game night :)
Game Nights!
And here they all are. We have them every Tuesday night and it's one of the best parts of my week because we always have so much fun.
(This was the one when "Lil Hogie"'s dress accidentally ripped when she was standing up and she didn't know why Tina and I were pulling her down really hard and screaming. lol good times. and luckily no boys saw.)
Insert the "AWWWWW!" here.
It was 5 years ago exactly (on April 12th) when D proposed to me. Cool right? The way he did it was such a cute idea. And I can't believe he was able to keep it a secret and actually surprise me!
Is this spot-on or what?!
I can do all of Josie's facial expressions perfectly.
The Dundees of ALA & Clearlink
We both got awards! Mine has of course already been broken, but it lasted about 3 days so that's good.
Down is a carpenter.
He made me a headboard all by himself!
This was before....
And this is after!
I love it. He's so handy now!
Spring Training!
It started to seem like a crime that we lived here for so long without going to a spring training game. (We also have never been to the grand canyon, but one thing at a time lol) We went with friends and it was so fun!
It has been fun having Chaz in town lately
The sad/confusing/hard parts of life
Chaz just got a new puppy named Theodore. We were playing with him, and couldn't believe how adorable he was. He was healthy and happy.
Our new Half Pipe
Days with Dilly
We're besties. Right now we're watching how I met your mother :) I love it.
This was after we helped Tina move her couch and we went to brunch
Casino Night!
One night we were watching a movie at Tina's and decided to go to a Casino on a whim. This was us trying on her closet to get ready to go... lol
She lent me her shorts and Dallin her hair.
They let you keep the water cups so we collected like 8 of them. Dallin won 100 bucks at poker and while he was all serious doing that the rest of us messed around everywhere else. They have a live band, old people that dance funny, and we met a guy who Chaz said was on drugs. Anyway, Chaz bet me I couldn't moonwalk and I got his 35$ of course. I played the game War with that money, and turned it into 110$ :)
It was so fun.
This was Tina and Chaz falling in love 😜 Just kidding. We give them a hard time because we all want them to date.
The stairs there are like those light-up shoes you loved as a kid!
My Promotion from Guest to Bridesmaid
Long lost cousin Jilly-bob sent me this for her upcoming wedding and I was so excited!!! I can't wait! I'm so glad we made that pact when we were little kids to make each other our bridesmaids. It was so fun having them in my wedding and it will be cute to that for them.
Speaking of that side of the family, this little guy is all grown up and graduating! Last I saw him he was only in 7th grade!
The worst review I'll ever write
I never write reviews but this time I did. We went to Lolo's for chicken and waffles and we had to wait for over an hour. The staff was mean and not helpful, and even after sitting we had to wait for like 45 minutes just to get our food. Even when it came the food was not good. We even had to wait forever just for the check! All in all we spent like 3 hours there it was horrendous.
chillin' with the kids
I love them so much.
Excuse the weird dog voice again
"Think of the children...."
That's what we had to remind ourselves to be patient with this day. We both had 2 14 hour days in a row for auditions. I had a coaching meeting before school, taught all day, and then had auditions after that and didn't get home till like 9. That's why we look so tired in that picture. BUT that being said- we are both so proud and grateful of the dance program. Other programs are always in need of more people and have a hard time succeeding because of that. We have so many people we have the opposite problem. Which makes me happy that we are liked and good teachers that students love. We take ppl who have never danced before, make them feel comfortable enough to try, and then help them get good at it and love it enough to want to move up. It was really cute watching them be scared in front of the judges and show their own choreography. I was so proud of all of them, and we had so many good people that the judges had a really hard time making their decision.
Dallin's gaming addiction... I mean talent
haha he's actually not as into it as he was before. He is actually starting to balance all the aspects of his life now and he doesn't really have one area that outweighs the rest like he used to . He spends a lot more time with me now too.
Anyway, he got a cool new chair since he works from home now too and he said the old one was getting uncomfortable.
Anyway, he got a cool new chair since he works from home now too and he said the old one was getting uncomfortable.
And I leave you with this gem-of-a-quote from my wise mother.
"I don't even know if sand can get wet. Would that ruin it?" -Mommas(Don't worry, I reminded her about the concept of the ocean and the beach.)
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