A Great Surprise

Well, now that you know my dad taught me to be competitive, I will now tell you that my mom taught me to be frugal. Don't get me wrong, she loves to shop and everything, but she loves SALES! Many people will laugh, but it is true. You need to hear this story.

My mom taught me that there is no point in spending a lot of money on something if you can find it cheaper somewhere else. When you shop with my mom you go to places like Ross, TJ Max, Stein Mart and you ALWAYS go straight for the clearance racks!

Well something else that I have carried with me is that on Valentine's Day flowers are just WAY too expensive. The stores jack up the prices for the one day and EVERYONE spends tons of money to get flowers. Well I told Adam that I really didn't want flowers on Valentines Day, but I wouldn't mind them a week or two later.

He has listened to me! He didn't get me flowers on Valentine's Day, but I walked in from work today and on our kitchen table was a beautiful spring bouquet. I am not a "roses" girl. I LOVE spring bouquets. My favorite flower is a Daisy!

Well here are the flowers! Yay for pretty, wonderful smelling, colorful FLOWERS!

YAY for little return MISSIONARIES!!!!!

Well, something very exciting happened last night. My little brother, Tyler, just got home from his mission!!! He has been in Long Beach, CA for the past two years and is finally home. It was kinda sad because I wasn't able to be there, but I still got to talk to him on the phone. He got into the airport about midnight (North Carolina time) and I called and talked to him for a few minutes on their ride home. I also talked to him this morning. It is funny to hear him talk about how weird everything is. I guess after 2 years of being away, doing nothing but trying to spread your beliefs with others, things might be a little strange when you are thrown back in the real world. I am just glad he made it home safely! I just can't wait to see him!

Love you Tyler!!!!!!!

Yummy Yummy Plums!

Small plums are the BEST!

The Art of Losing

You know, my dad taught all of us kids early in life to be competitive. It is just in his blood, he can't help himself. We knew that when we beat him at something...we actually could say we beat him. He didn't let us win and he didn't try to do poorly. This has taught us to do the best we can, but it has plagued some of us! Whenever Adam and I play games, non matter what the game I just have to win. I hate losing to Adam. Most guys when they are dating, they try to be nice and let the girl win to make them feel good. Well, Adam has known from the beginning, he better do his best, because I don't want to win unless I really WIN! Well, I am actually pretty good at beating him. He probably doesn't want me telling everyone this, but I can beat him at ping-pong, putt-putt, pool (on a very good day), and I even beat him on one hole of a par 3 golf course. Don't get me wrong about the golf thing...It was only on one hole and because I got lucky. If he adds to this blog later sorry! But on Valentine's Day he had class and we had both worked all day, so we hadn't planned anything special. We decided just to go to Chili's to eat dinner with the other mass of people. Luckily we got there about 5:30 before the crowds entered. Then Adam decides to challenge me to a game of putt-putt. I completely am all for this because what would make the day better than for me to beat him at putt-putt. Well I did well on the first 9. I was beating him by like 2 strokes. Then something happened. I just can't explain it. I felt as if I should let Adam win. Maybe I just wanted to give him a confidence booster. (just kidding honey! you one fair and square). But he actually beat me. This was very disappointing. I was kinda sad, but I promise I am not a sore loser. But anyways, I just thought I would share my competitive Valentine's day with you! I even have a picture that I will post later that was taken at the end of the game. I am very sad!

Strawberry

This is a Strawberry week. I got some strawberries this week from the grocery store and I am so excited to eat them. They are a summer fruit, but I am really excited to eat them now. Yay for JUICY strawberries!

TWO VERY LONG DAYS

On BYU campus they have a Housing Fair for 2 days near the end of the year. Well these past two days has been this housing fair. Adam has been a trooper and has sat at our booth for the full 2 days telling everyone about the apartment complex that we manage. We are hoping that this actually brings in a lot of business so we can get contracts sold early. But here he is at our booth. I decided to join in and sit in our booth for a little while as well. Here we are!!!

My cute little nephew!!!

I forgot to put these pictures up a while ago, but I just wanted to show everyone how cute my little nephew is. For those who don't know...it is Adam's brother's son! He is 2 now and he is just adorable. When Adam and I came back from New Jersey for Christmas we brought presents for Adam's brother's family who didn't get to go home. But I took pictures of little Joseph openeing his train set and I thought I would share them with you!

Isn't he just adorable!

Adam is a QUARTER of a Century OLD!!!!

Yes, Adam's birthday was on February 5th and he is 25. Wow he is SOOOOO OLD!!! But he had a good birthday. We ate Outback and opened presents the weekend before his birthday because we knew there would be absolutely no time on his actual birthday. He got a shirt and money from my parents, money from his parents, and a shirt from me. He gave himself a few gifts as well, such as a new pair of hiking shoes that he has had his eye on since Christmas. But he enjoyed his birthday...just a quiet evening with yours truely.

Here are a few pictures of the 25 year old Adam opening a few gifts!




Yes, I know you love that Christmas wrapping paper!

Happy Belated Birthday Baby!!!!

Some Catching up!

Sorry I haven't written in a while, but I have just been lazy. So I thought I would tell you a couple of fun things that have happened in the last month or so. The biggest thing is some of our friends came up for the weekend from Phoenix and Enterprise (a little town near St. George). They came up to go to a Suns vs. Jaz game and then to go skiing. So on Thursday night we went to the Jaz/Suns game with a big group of people. It was actually kinda cool because someone had hooked us up. We actually got to go out on the court before the game to be the people who line up to slap hands when the players run out onto the court from the locker room. We got to see the Suns players up close and personal.

Then the next day we went skiing at Brighton Mountain Resort. Yes, I brought my camera, but forgot to take any pictures. I was too worried about staying up on my skiis. I got tired very quickly, but Adam and others enjoyed skiing the slopes all afternoon. We had a blast just hanging out and skiing. I guess next time we go I will have to remember to take pictures. Oh well!

TOO MUCH SNOW!!!!!!!!!

I have decided that if you enjoy living in snow...there is something wrong with your brain. I know Adam...you love it...BUT I CAN'T DEAL WITH IT ANYMORE!!! I am tired of being cold when I wake up in the morning and getting snowed on as soon as I walk out the door. I don't enjoy having to clean the snow off my car before I can drive it to work. (This morning Adam did it for me because he drove me to school. He also warmed the car up so it would be toasty when I got in). But that isn't the usual case. I just have decided I really don't like the cold. I am so ready for winter to be over and the spring and summer to come rolling in. I want to wear short sleeves and feel comfortable. I don't want to have to curl up under a blanket at home to stay warm.

Ok enough with the complaining, but I thought I would just let you know how I feel about this weather going on in Utah right now. We are getting snow like every other day (and sometimes 2 days in a row) for the next 2 weeks. Does it ever END!!!!

Adam is just excited because we just bought a snow blower for the apartment complex we manage and he gets to use it now instead of shovelling the snow. You have fun with that sweetie! I am just glad I don't have to do any of that period!

Christmas in New Jersey

We had a great time at Christmas in New Jersey with Adam's family. I haven't had a chance to put up pictures, or tell about our trip, so here goes. The trip started out interesting because we flew on the red eye and got there very early on Christmas Eve. We had a family come over that night to be with us at dinner. This is a Christmas tradition for Adam's family. They also do a talent show that night to get everyone to share their talents with everyone. We were only able to stay for 6 days due to work, but we had a great time. Christmas morning was so much fun and we were able to spend the morning with Adam's family, which we haven't done yet. This is our first Christmas Day with his family. Here are some pictures of the family opening presents. I also have a few pictures of the talent show night. Adam's brother got us all to do a musical thing that was really funny. We each had a whistle that had a certain pitch. Then there was a director that had music in front of them. The whistles played all these different tunes if we blew at the right time. It really was cute. But here are the pictures.

One word to learn...Emergency

Being an apartment manager with Adam, we have realized one very important fact. BYU students may have the reputation of being smart and whatnot, but I BEG TO DIFFER!!! We have a sign on our office door, and I also tell every person this statement as they are moving in...only call this number in case of EMERGENCY!!! I have given them Adam's phone number because we need to know if there is a REAL emergency, but no one seems to understand that.

To these really smart BYU students, emergency means the following
-I don't know how much rent I need to pay
-I just have a question for you
-I have a friend who wants to move into the apartments...can you help
-I have gone out of town and need to pay rent late, is that OK
-Our sink is clogged and we want it fixed
-Our toilet runs every so often and the noise is bothering us
-I want to sell my contract
-My car got towed (by a towing company that you guys don't control and can do NOTHING about. I parked without permission and have to pay the $100 to get it out, but I want you to take care of me (BOO WHO)!!!)

Since when are any of these EMERGENCIES!!!

I now have to put a note around for all the apartments to explain what an emergency is. Do they not understand that we have office hours every weekday, an office phone and answering machine, maintenance forms right outside the office. All of these things are for every ones convenience. If I am in my apartment enjoying a nice evening with my husband I am not going to be able to tell you how much rent you owe, if we have any openings and where, or whatever your issue is. That is what the office is for...CALL THERE AND LEAVE A MESSAGE!

Sorry for the rant, but I thought I would share with you all how smart our tenants are.