Breakfast in Bed

Sam and I both worked a graveyard shift last night and both of us collapsed into bed when we got home this morning. Within a couple hours Sam was up and kicking. He was being pretty goofy and for a bit I thought he was sleep walking. Then I heard him singing and moving around. He was humming to himself, sometimes singing outloud, I heard the backdoor open and close a few minutes later... he obviously went to the garage and got in the chest freezer.

He walked by the bedroom a couple times and I asked him what in the world he was doing out there! About the third time I asked he stopped, looked at me and said, "Can't you just be quiet and let yourself be taken care of every now and then?? Stop with the millions of questions, Sweetie. Just relax."

I then realized that I was intruding on his special suprise.... so I waited patiently (and quietly) while he hustled and bustled in the kitchen. I knew I was in for a treat.... Sam is a FANTASTIC cook.

There you have it Ladies and Gentleman, the first time EVER that I have been served breakfast in bed..... and yes, it was DELICIOUS. I am STILL full.

He's a sweetheart.... and SUPER HOT!! MMMMM :)

Who IS that girl?

Today I'm a new girl....

New Bangs.


New phone.

I hardly recognize myself.

Apparently my bangs are pretty cute, because when I got home Sam immediately interrupted whatever conversation he was having on the phone about hunting/fishing and said, "Hey man, I gotta go." He then said something along the lines of, "Sweetie, you look adorable." He also made a few comments throughout the day, such as, "It's so cute when your bangs blow in the wind."

Sam also got paid today... which means he took me to go get a phone upgrade. We both got new Motorola Cliq phones, with the droid software (gotta love buy-one-get-one-free promotions). It's been difficult getting used to (and transferring the TONS AND TONS of info from my last phone), but when I finally get it all done I think I'm going to love it.

When I sync my calendar I can invite Sam's phone to access the calendars as well... he'll know our schedule, in his phone!! How cool is that?!?! I think that I probably think it's wayyyy cooler than Sam does. haha.

Oh, the second best part?? I downloaded all these free applications of math/numbers/alphabet flash cards, tic-tac-toe, animal sounds, etc..... The girls will love it!! I'm picturing car rides being a lot smoother.... even if we are listening to the alphabet and squawking monkeys the whole time. :)

A Little Appreciation

Last night I got home from work and 30 minutes later Sam left for work. This morning I left the house two hours before Sam got home. We have been passing in the night, so to speak.

I missed him last night. It's weird sleeping by myself, but it did give me the chance to do some long needed cleaning around the house. It kept me busy and made me feel better, I've been neglecting some things around there....

This morning I sit at work and my phone alerts with a text message. Who in the world is texting me at 7:30 am???

It's Sam.

"Sweetie, the house looks great. All of us miss you [him and the dogs]. Have a good day at work. Hurry home, safely. Tonight will be fun."

Honestly? How sweet is that?!?

Sometimes just a simple acknowledgment means SOOO MUCH.

NO FACEBOOK

So, I'm struggling with this whole graveyard thing. I used to be able to hack it, but apparently I've changed.

I'm going to try to give it a couple weeks, see if I can re-adjust.... but honestly, I don't know if this will last.

You know what I forgot about graveyards? When you go to facebook for a "break", a "pick me up", a "distraction".... THERE ISN'T ONE.

During the day people are always posting on facebook, there is always something new. Apparently people stop posting at... um.... let's say 1:30 am.

IT'S BORING.

Having the bed all to myself

I've never been on the RECIEVING END of someone working graveyard shifts, until now....

But let me tell ya, sleeping by myself STINKS.

BRAGGING

Ok, after my last post I thought I would take it a step further (AKA, probably too far). I'll admit, I'm proud.

Yesterday the baby girl and I got up, made breakfast, then hit the stores with coupons in hand!

We had some decent savings... and now I'm going to brag.

Fresh Market Grocery Store (the store formerly known as Albertsons):
Subtotal = $63.42
Paid = $32.03
total savings of $31.39.... or 50% of total bill!!!

Macey's Grocery Store (my favorite!!)
Subtotal = $171.07
Paid = $148.22
total savings of $22.85... 14% savings. Not a ton, but we got a few things we needed (and didn't have coupons for, gasp!!) and tons of produce and other things on sale.... I'm pleased.
p.s. This includes a $12 Dora the Explorer Waterbottle that apparently we just COULDN'T part with. :)

Smiths Grocer Store (quickly becoming one of my favorites)
Subtotal = $172.19
Paid = $98.73
total savings of $73.46... 43% savings. Wahoo!
p.s. This includes two movies bought for the Baby Girls' birthday this summer.

TOTAL SAVINGS OF THE DAY = $127.70

I'm feeling good about that!!

Now our pantry is overflowing. Sam had to completely reorganize the freezer to even get it to shut, the fridge is stuffed and both of us have AMPLE snacks/goodies/necessitites to pack dinners for work.

I LOVE COUPONS!!!

Coupon Freak

I'm singing that song...

"She's a coupon freak, coupon freak... she's super freaky, yeah...."

One of my coworkers just came in and mentioned coupons. For the following 30 minutes I talked coupons, more coupons, how to find coupons, how to use coupons, which coupons I like best, etc, etc, etc.

I wouldn't shut up.

I couldn't shut up.

Maybe I'm a bit too excited about coupons, but hey! Who wouldn't like doing something so organized, so productive, so challenging? Ok, maybe most people... but I like it! Obviously. :)

The days memories are made of....

I've been home a couple days now and I'm SOOO grateful I made sure I had a couple days off before jumping back into work.

Monday was a great day... slept in, went to SLC for a job thing for Sam, explored Cabella's, took the dogs for a long walk at the river and cooked the fresh lobster and scallops I brought home from Maine. It was a GREAT day.

Yesterday we dedicated ourselves to get on the slopes. We boarded a half-day at Park City and it was great!!

It took a couple runs to get our feet back under us, but I would like to announce that we were 100% off the lift!! 6 for 6!! Success!!

We are a little sore today, does that mean we are getting old?? haha. But we are already look forward to getting up there again.

We have had a great two days off, today we are back to work. I'll admit, it's kind of fun to have those early mornings together while getting ready to head out the door. Sure, it's stinks when the alarm goes off at 5:00 AM; but it's fun to be together before leaving for work... hopefully this becomes a regular thing for Sam, I like having him up with me.

So, here I sit; playing catch up at work. It's not bad... I'm enjoying crossing things off the to-do list. Speaking of... I better get back to it.

Have a great day!

I'm DONE!!

Last night was our final night in Maine. The previous day I had bought three lobsters. LIVE lobsters and brought them back for our enjoyment. One of the kids on the team is a great cook and was really eager to put these things down in the pots. We cooked these puppies up before our final banquet and they were yummy!!!

There were only three of them for all 11 of us... but we each got a good taste. It was a fun experiance to cook them and eat them; definately more entertaining than just getting one at the resturant!


We didn't know that the final banquet was supposed to be formal dress.... so after we got done on the mountain that day the kids went to a thrift store. In the middle of nowhere Maine, this is the best they could find....

I personally think they look like a bunch of polygamists. haha.

Lucky for us the kids had fun with it and made a good joke out of it.

This is everyone dressed up in their Polygamist finest enjoying a bit of lobster. What a great way to end the week....

Today we left at 6am EST. We drove four hours to Boston, dropped of our rental vans and got the airport to leave in a few hours... we are all on different flights, so I had a few hours to spare.

For lunch I went and got myself a lobster roll and Blueberry Pale Ale. I saw it at a resturant on my way out of the airport when I got here... I've been thinking about it ever since. Today I induldged and BOY, was it worth it!!! It didn't have as strong of a blueberry taste as I expected, but it was yummy!

I'm now headed home and I'm excited. I can't wait to get there. These flights are going to seem to take ages.... I'm hoping I can fall asleep and make the best of it.

Here's to happy flying! (which is always easier with some Blueberry Pale Ale in your tummy!)

Mini Maine Road trip

Today I had to drive to Portland, Maine and back (to Bethel). I took one of our girls to meet up with her parents for the weekend. It was about two hours one way, but was a great opportunity to see a little of Maine!

This was a great church right in downtown Portland, ME. There are churches everywhere out here... many with gorgeous towers like this one.


We stopped by this old port. I thought all these pylons in the water was really cool. When a big wave came in a lot of them would sway.

It was at this port that we spotted the PIRATE SHIP!! So cool!

Not too far away we found a fish market. These guys were incredibly helpful with my desire to take home fresh seafood.

They let me hold this guy, almost a five pounder!! I didn't buy him... but he was fun to pose with!

They said that unfortunately live lobsters wouldn't be able to last longer than 48 hours. If I would have been able to pick them up tomorrow (which I can't) I would have been able to take home live creatures.... instead they helped me with some delicious looking crab meat (even a better bargain since I'm not paying for the shell!!). I stayed within my budget and now have a great cooler bag to put in my suitcase.

I didn't bring home any of these guys.... mean looking!!!

But I got some of these......

This place rocks. Harbor Fish Company. I got their number so we can call and have them ship us live lobsters!! They were great to work with and gave me some great memories as well.

This is the dock they were by. The red shed on the left is the back of their market.

One of my favorite things around here is the little ancient cemeteries that are randomly placed among the trees. Some are in towns, some are in the middle of nowhere.... like this one that I found while driving back to Bethel today. The headstones are ANCIENT. Great history.

This tower of white signs is very typical around here. There is one at mostly every intersection and a lot of little signs like this along the road. Some signs point to towns, some point to businesses and schools, some point to points of interest and historical landmarks.... You name it, there's probably a sign for it.

Another interesting thing I've noticed is that they post miles in fractions. The sign will read, "COVERED BRIDGE - 1 6/10", instead of "COVERED BRIDGE - 1.6 mi" like is typical in the West.

There is A LOT of ice fishing going on....

They have their huts all over the place. This one was pulled up on the shore by the launch point. The guys' name and phone number is painted on the door.

Here is another beautiful cemetery I came across. The building looking thing right up front is actually a set of doors that goes underground. Not sure what they keep in there!! Kind of spooky!! :) I LOVE LOVE LOVE the tall headstones, especially the ones that are almost like a big pillar that comes up to a point. Absolutely gorgeous.

It's been interesting out here. I've never been to Maine before. I've been intrigued by the history and oldness of it all. Everything just FEELS old. The moss on the trees and rocks helps it seem old.

Today was sunny, by far the most sun we have had since we've been here. It's humid. You can feel the dampness in your bones. It makes things colder. It isn't muggy tho, thank goodness it's only March.

The roads have huge pot-holes and "frost heaves" (the huge humps and cracks). The roads are awful compared to what I'm used to. Most of the time I have a hard time even driving the speed limit because the roads are so rough.... I guess that would keep me from getting speeding tickets!! LOL.

It's been fun. I had a good time exploring today; but honestly, I'm ready to go home.

Tomorrow is our last day of competition, tomorrow night the awards banquet, and then we leave dark and early the next morning to start our huge day of travel.... that will all be worth the reward of finally being home.

I'm excited for tomorrow. I get to spend all day packing, cleaning and preparing to leave. Hopefully it will feel like the wait is finally over.

I'm coming home, Babe!!! (51 hours and counting)

I could hack it

So now I know. I could hack having 9 kids if I had to. I've been doing it for a couple days and while I'm sure that I would be constantly exhausted, I know I could keep up.

I had to giggle as I was busy this morning.... "I could have done this" I thought to myself; then I was instantly grateful that I never put myself in that situation. I just don't think it's for me.

Here is what this morning looked like:

7:30 AM - start making french toast
7:33 - yell up the stairs for everyone to get up, threatening we are leaving for the mountain in 20 minutes (really an hour, but I need to get them moving!)
7:35 - throw the first french toast on a couple boys plates (food gets them moving)
7:40 - start PBJ sandwiches
7:41 - yell up the stairs again
7:45 - fourth round of french toast comes out, bagging first round of PBJs
7:55 - unloading dishwasher (while making french toast) so we can load breakfast dishes
7:58 - barely rescue french toast that was close to burning
8:01 - add more forks to the counter so kids can keep dishing themselves
8:05 - start first count down warning "VAN LEAVES IN 20 MINUTES"
8:10 - ask if anyone is going to need more breakfast
8:11 - another warning "VAN LEAVES IN 15 MINUTES"
8:12 - "DON'T FORGET YOUR CREDENTIALS!", "OH, AND LUNCH IS ON THE COUNTER"
8:15 - adding breakfast dishes to dishwasher
8:16 - "VAN LEAVES IN 10 MINUTES, DON'T FORGET YOUR LUNCHES"
8:18 - throw last french toast on Drew's plate, that 18-year-old boy is always hungry
8:19 - "VAN LEAVING IN 5 MINUTES"
8:20 - finish wiping down counters, start dishwasher
8:22 - "WHO'S SANDWICH IS ON THE FLOOR?"
8:25 - "I'M STARTING THE FAN. IF YOU AREN'T OUT IN 3 MINUTES YOU ARE GETTING LEFT BEHIND"
8:26 - start van
8:27 - two kids already in the van
8:28 - honk twice
8:29 - only missing one kid, honk three more times
8:30 - pull out for the mountain, SUCCESS!!

NOW - I'm sitting here, blogging, obviously.
Chilling with my one girl who is stuck here due to an injury yesterday. We are looking at flights (she just wants to go home) and I'm wishing I could fly Sam out here. I'm SOOOO ready to see him. I'm jealous that she can just go home when she wants.

Here is a picture of our driveway. The mud out here is rediculous.


This is what all the houses/barns/etc look like out here. Very old, very traditional, very pretty.

Talk to ya all later. Hug your loved ones.

Almost 50%

I'm almost 50% done with trip. If you don't count our last travel day then I am definately half way done. If you want to be stickler about it, then fine! 50% done will be at approx 10am tomorrow morning... time is actually moving pretty quickly.

With 10 snowboarders (plus me) in the condo this is probably the most tidy corner of the place.... there is stuff EVERYWHERE. Especially when we come back from the mountain and everyone is hungry. It's like a bomb went off.... hats, boots, pants, gloves, etc, etc, etc....


For some reason this grabbed my attention and helped me pass almost an entire day. Pathetic I know, but I did have to erase the whole thing twice and start over.... I've lost my touch for these things!

This is where we are; Sunday River, Maine. I didn't know that they could make a ski resort on such a small little mountain... but this is the biggest they have around these parts. So here it is. The snow is absolute slush. If you kneel or sit for two seconds you are SOAKED. It's pretty crazy, when the snow gets like this in Utah we all call it quits. Instead, they are all stoked and bragging about how they just got three new feet of great snow..... sad. Just proves again, Utah is truly the best snow on earth.

This is the halfpipe. This competition was held today and we did well!! Girls took 4th and 3rd, boys took 3rd and 6th!!

I hiked up to this thing five times today.... PHEW!!! Quite a work out!

Drew was nice enough to model for me. Every time he puts this outfit on it makes me giggle. Yes, that is a long lavender tanktop that says Bethel, Maine on it. (the town that Sunday River Resort is next to). Oh, and yes, that is a small pocket on the bottom right side of the shirt. Drew puts his phone in there.

This was the halfpipe tonight. The guys had finals under the lights.... pretty fancy.... They even had big screens, a pretty decent sounds system and fireworks!! It's the big time. After all, it is Nationals. :)

I'm really starting to miss home. Today at the bottom of the halfpipe my toes got a little cold and I thought to myself how nice it would be to get in the hottub and warm up. A tear snuck into my eye when I thought of being able to be in the hottub with Sam again.... I sure do miss that good lookin' guy.

Only five days now, four if you don't count the travel day. In my mind I say four days (50% of the way there), then a wakeup and a day spent getting back... with a kiss at the end. :)