I miss you mom!

14 years ago today, I kissed my mother goodbye. It doesn’t seem that long ago but at other times I can’t believe it’s only been14 years. She was such a wonderful person & gave herself to this life fully. I was lucky to have her for as long as I did.

Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

The Simple Things...

It's the little things that I love about Reed. He put a paper towel in with my lettuce to keep it fresh.

Random Weekend!

So I had a bit of a random weekend. A friend from work asked what I was doing that night I told him nothing and he asked if Reed and I wanted to go to the Fall Frenzy at Tempe Beach Park with him & see the B-52's in concert. So Reed and I met up with him at the concert & it was a blast! We had backstage passes because he is a friend of Fred Schneider’s of the B-52's. We hung out for a while out in the field in front of the stage then navigated behind the stage. It was great! We spent a little bit of time after the concert waiting for Fred to get ready to go & then we were headed back to our cars when Fred decided he would rather ride over there than walk so he asked a security guard to take us over in a golf cart. Reed has told me that the golf cart was his favorite part of the whole evening! We had a blast! I am so glad he asked if we wanted to go!

Kim & Fred!

Mark, Kate & Kim!

Me & Mark

Reed, Mark & Kim

Thanks Mark for the AMAZING time! I will remember that Friday forever!

Interesting run...

So Reed came home from his run today and announced he got hit by a car. He said he rolled off the hood and then got up and kept running. He has a little road rash on his elbow but he says he's fine!

Five lined Skink.

I saw him today. He lives in my garage by the water heater.

Dilly of a pickle.

This is my toe. It use to have a toenail until this morning. Thursday I was eating lunch with my friend Deb from work at the Spicy Pickle in Chandler & as I was getting up from the table to go back to work somehow I slipped and crammed my foot under the leg of the table. Either on the way in or the way out I tore up my toenail. As I limped to my car Deb and I proceeded to laugh about how only me & boy did I get myself into a pickle, at the Pickle. Deb was smart enough to tell me to get some paper towels so I didn't bleed all over my car. She got to drive the Scion back to the office and thought to tell me to call ahead to tell me to call the paramedic at my office and have her waiting at the first aid kit when I got back. So I hobbled into the office hoping not to get noticed (that didn't happen) and she fixed me up and told me to go to the doctor ASAP. The doctor couldn't fit me in so I went home, propped my foot up & watched Seasons one & two of The Office I borrowed from a friend at work until morning. When I went into the doc this morning she told me the nail had to come off & it was a good thing I came in. After 3 or 4 pricks of a needle I could no longer feel my toes and she yanked off what was left of my toenail. I drove myself home and landed back on the couch and fell asleep watching The Office. This morning before Reed left for work he threw as many puns as he could think of at me. He even called me after he left because he thought of another one. His best pun was; "Tomorrow when I go to the movie I will bring you home A STUB!" He also calls my toe a pig without a blanket. So I guess this whole thing stated as funny & probably will continue to bring amusement (and pain! YOUCH!) for days to come.

Trip to Costa Mesa!

Reed and I were fortunate enough to go to California over the weekend and spend time with the Streiff Family. It was nice to see Carly, Craig, & Elliott and spend time with Josh & his wife Janae. We were also fortunate enough to see Shelly and her clan. They are getting so big! Reed and Elliott bonded very quickly and I guess Elliott must have overheard me because he told Reed; “You’re my new B.F.F”. I love Elliott so much and loved watching him interact. It’s so nice to see a family that is so close and enjoys every moment they are given together. The little things they say and do for one another are so wonderful. It was nice to vacation in a home so clearly filled with love. We arrived on Thursday around 8 PM, no thanks to Garmin. It was clear to us she felt we should vacation in San Diego. We are hoping to make her dreams come true over spring break. Knowing our luck, she’ll try to send us to Costa Mesa. Once we arrived, it was a little late and Elliott had already gone to bed but he snuck down to say hello anyway. We just talked and got caught up with one another. Since Josh & Janae were spending the summer, we spent our time on the surprisingly comfortable hand-me-down Rose hide-a-bed. The next morning we headed off to the back bay nature center. We met up with Shelly and her kids and another mother from the ward. Carly had warned me that having that many kids together was like having the circus in town, she downplayed it. It was fun to chase the little ones and see all the different items there were to see. One thing that stuck out in my mind was a blue crab they had in an aquarium there. Blue crabs are not indigenous to California, and they found this one hanging out on the runway at the John Wayne Airport. They figure the crab must have found his way out of a shipment of crabs heading to a restaurant in the local area. There was a fish in the aquarium with him and whenever the fish would get near it, the crab would start snapping and moving back and forth. The fish seamed to careless. It left me to wonder, how long had the crab been snapping and the fish caring less? We then went to a favorite fresh mex joint in Costa Mesa. Once we got home the guys all headed off to the fathers & sons camp out with the ward. Elliott made sure I understood, I was a girl and wouldn’t be going. After the guys were gone we watched some TV and went out to the California Pizza Kitchen. The next morning Carly took full advantage of the lack of a child and slept in and so we had a late start that day and by the time we got ready, the guys were home. We waited for the guys to get clean and then headed off to Craig’s best friends birthday party. We drove to Crestline, CA for the party. It was a crazy drive. We followed the freeway to San Bernardino and then climbed the mountains for quite a while and then when I swore we were at the top, boom, Crestline. It was nice to spend time there. Such a cute town and it was so different than the areas of California I knew. It was how I imagined a little village in the Alps would be! Craig’s friend & his family were so accommodating and friendly. It was a lot of fun to spend time with them and how nice to let us attend their party with The Streiff’s. After the party we came home and retrieved Elliott who had been spending time with his Grandma Streiff. We then spent that night watching “Quantum of Solace” Reed and I, thinking of our drive the next day, didn’t last long and decided to head off to bed. Sunday we said our goodbyes, hit Jamba Juice and headed home. We stopped for lunch in Quartzite and we were behind a woman in line who was the poster child for impatience and intolerance. There was a deaf school in line placing an order and she could not fathom why McDonalds would help them. Why did the deaf school not have someone with them who wasn’t deaf? What was taking McDonalds so long? Did they not realize she had been in line for 20 minutes?! Reed and I couldn’t stand her. I felt like saying something to her but held my tongue. Once we had finally placed our order and got back to the drive a stupid woman jaywalking cost me 2 nuggets and nearly got sweet and sour sauce on my seat. Once we got home it was nice to see our dogs and know how much we were missed. Reed’s mom had left us treasures. I now have a plaque from Reed’s tennis days in High School and his C.A.C. Graduation photo. He was so young! Not the man I married. I am sorry it has been so long since I blogged. I keep forgetting to take my camera fishing with me. I remembered to take the camera to California but never managed to take any photos. Hopefully if we get back to California again over fall break, I will be better with the photos.

Arizona Bugs

The only reason why I hate Arizona is the creepy bugs. Cockroaches are bad enough but, I have gotten use to them. I lived in a home infested with scorpions and it nearly drove me crazy. There is nothing like falling asleep on the couch and waking up to a scorpion hanging on the wall next to you or changing your dogs water and having a bunch of the suckers run out from underneath the bowl. I survived that and am grateful the home I actually own is bug free. Now onto the reason for my post. On Friday my friend at work, Donna, and I were doing our usual post-lunch walk when out of nowhere this big black bug starts buzzing around up by Donna's chest. It actually landed on Donna's back.  As she was flipping out, she looked like the guy from the Jack in the Box Chicken commercial.  (Posted below for reference)


She had every right to flip out. It was huge, black and looked like a wasp but I had never seen a wasp like that before. I told her to calm down and I would figure how to get it off of her back. I was looking around for a stick or something long, just incase it was something that could sting me. I finally found a long rock and my original plan was to use it to flick it off of her but I ended up just throwing the rock at her back.  After a near pelting with a rock the bug decided to fly along. Donna and I both agreed that our walk was over and hurried back to the building. We laughed the rest of our lunch hour. I decided to Google 'Arizona Big Black Wasp" and this came up.
Tarantula hawk

Click on the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_hawk to learn more about this fun fellow. After reading about him I am glad I chose to throw the rock at him and not flick him.

Thank you what date works .com!

I found a new website that made planning a night out with friends a whole heck of a lot easier. Thanks Whatdateworks.com! Looking forward to spending time with the McKnights and Higbee's!

Via Las Vegas!

Reed and I did our annual Las Vegas Anniversary trip. As many as you know 5 years ago on 4/4/04 we were married at The Venetian Hotel and Casino. We like to return to the scene of the crime every year. This has been made possible the past 2 years thanks to luck at the Mobile Mini Christmas Party. We have won the 2 nights stay at the Excalibur 2 years running. I have been informed even if I do win this year, my winning streak is over. We had a really good time. Unlike our anniversaries in the past I managed to get away without having to do something to get something free (Anniversary number 3, listen to a guy talk about water softeners to get a $50 gift card to Home Depot. Anniversary 4, time share tour for $200 in gaming vouchers. What can I say? I married a romantic!) We drove in on Thursday and we stopped in Wickenburg AZ for Breakfast at the Denny's and then crawled trough the craze that is the Hoover Dam. I will be so glad when the by-pass is done. We were watching people work on it and the height gave me the willies. There's a job I am glad I do not have. Once we finally arrived in Vegas we took a nap. Yup, that's how we roll! When we woke up we walked down to, ok took the tram to, The Mandalay Bay and ate at the Rum Jungle. It's so hard to find a good Rodizo place in Phoenix, so this was a must go for us! On Friday we went to The Titanic exhibit at The Luxor. It was really neat and it was cool to see an actual piece of the ship and it really hits home the horrific events of that fateful night. We then just wandered down the strip and took in the sites. That night we ate at Zeffirino's inside The Venetian and it had a fantastic view of the cannel below where we were wed 5 years ago. I was a total chick and teared up when Reed motioned the musicians to our table and they sang a song for us in Italian about love. It was perfect and one of my favorite memories of the trip. On Saturday, our anniversary, we wandered down the strip and went to the Fashion Show mall and bought Reed some much needed new kicks. We then rode the Gondola as we did on our wedding day. It was perfect and Reed and I decided when we get sealed in Temple, we want it to be in the Vegas temple. We wandered around the strip some more and ended our day at the ESPN Sports Grill inside the New York New York, this in Reed and Kim speak is called, 'Taking one for the team', Reed was able to watch some College basketball on the flat screen located on our table and I was able to eat a sub-par salad. :) We had a really great time and can't wait for next year! I am so blessed to have Reed in my life and have a hard time it's actually been 5 years already! I called my Uncle Clair to say hello and thank him for signing our marriage certificate as a witness. He also had a hard time believe it had already been 5 years. It's been a great 5 years and I just hope the next 5 years are as fun as the last 5 have been!

Inaugural Pool Jump.

It has become a tradition that every year Reed jumps in the pool to decide if it's ready to swim. It's usually not and hilarity ensues.

Brooklyn Update!

I can't believe little Brooklyn is going to be 7 months old! We saw her on Saturday and Nan told us about and showed us her two bottom teeth. We were on our way up to Bartlett Lake to fish so I didn't get a picture but I will try to. It's so cute they are her front bottom two teeth and they are coming in at the same time. I will blog about the fishing trip later, it was fun. Can't believe how fast kids grow up! Also, she said her first word 'Da Da' a couple of weeks ago and Nan, with some coaching, has gotten her to add 'Ma Ma' to her vocabulary. I love Brooklyn so much and glad she, Chris & Nan are members of my patchwork family!

Old Friends (and a new one)!

We spent the night last night at Reed's parents house so in the morning Reed & Garry could change the transmission fluid in Reed's truck. Today after that was done we got together with Reed's old friend Scott and his new wife Melissa. We hung out for a while and talked and jammed on rock band (FYI, bad hand eye girl here sucks at everything but singing!) but it was fun. Once Melissa's daughter was done selling girl scout cookies we took her to a friends house and then with her youngest, Ethan, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. We laughed and joked and just really had a good time. It stinks to be a grown up sometimes because then it's harder to get together to "play". We had so much fun though and I know this won't be the last time we spend time with them. What a fun bunch of people! Even the boy warmed up to us after dinner. We were sad to go and hope we get together soon. Well I am going to cut it short because we are spending some Q.T. with Reed parents watching the best Pixar movie so far, Wall-E!

Juno

Ok so I know this post isn't very timely. I saw Juno tonight and I was very impressed with the movie. I thought it was well written and acted. This song was at the end of the movie and I thought it was a nice wrap up. If only more girls/ women would take the road she took. I don't know how you could ever abort a fetus knowing there are so many good people in this world that can't have children. They are such a blessing. As Reed and I head down the fertility path and having watched David & Katrina Watt go thought it for so many years... I guess I just wish people would know and see what a 9 month sacrifice can do for a childless couple. I don't mean to get all soap box-y. It's just a tough road to be on. To wrap up, if you haven't seen Juno, see it!

Nice to see the lovesac isn't going to waste...

Catching up...

I have been so bad about blogger so far this year. So, let me catch you up. Reed and I decided it was finally time to buy a new car. We went out to Avondale Toyota Scion on January 1, 2009 to check out what it would cost us to buy a Scion xD. We ended up leaving the lot with a brand new blue xD. We have been so happy with the car and we are looking forward to driving to California to see Carly, Craig and Elliott at some point in time and Vegas in April. We have been fishing a bunch this year so far and it has been a blast. I have learned that I have an unnatural fear of Catfish. Anytime we go fishing my only goal is to not catch a catfish.
For Valentines day Reed made me a picture book telling me how much he loved me. It was so sweet and I will cherish it forever. It was so nice to see my life and the love he has for me there in print. We fall in love further every day. I hope this year will bring us a child. I can hardly believe it's been 6 years since we met. It will be our 5th anniversary in April. I can't wait. We are going 'back to the scene of the crime' again this year. I have really made a commitment to loose weight this year and it's not going to be easy but it will be worth it. It will not only improve my health but it will help our chances of conceiving. I go to the gym everyday after work. I told Reed the other day I think I am addicted to working out. I love Laveen, it's so diverse. At my gym you can find pretty much every nationality of woman. We have one the comes in wearing her burka and takes it off when she really gets cooking! It's so neat to see other cultures and they way the dress. We have been told we live in the ghetto but I really don't feel that way. The closer you live to the city the more diverse people are. I love that I live in the city of Phoenix and can't imagine going back to East Valley or Utah. I love my neighbors and think we live in a really nice neighborhood. I love our yard and our home. The only thing I would change is my flooring.
The last part of 2008 I became addicted to trying new recipes and cooking/ baking all the time. It's been great. Reed will tell me things like 'This is great. Add this to the yes list' or 'That was nasty. Never make that again'. I had so many lemons this year a lot of them involved lemon. I have found a website that enables my new things addiction. It's www.allrecipes.com. I signed up for their recipe of the day service. That is where a lot of them have come from.
We went out last weekend with Reed's parents to eat and wander around the new shops by their home. They bought us a air purification machine that uses water and can be filled with fragrance. It's incredible when you throw out the water how dirty the water is.
Well I think we are pretty much caught up now. I am going to make breakfast in bed for my wonderful husband now.

One of my favorite days...

Let me show you why I love February 10th.


























I am easily one of the luckiest women in the world. I married my best friend. I love you Reed Goodman. Happy Birthday!