Perks

Brandon's new job has been keeping him quite busy. It doesn't help that his commute is an hour right now but we've had no luck in the apartment hunt. He works very hard and I'm so proud of him and grateful that my husband has such a strong work ethic. Most people asked if we'd get free Jazz tickets when they found out about Brandon's new job. We replied, "Maybe." We really didn't know if and how often that would be a possibility. A few weeks ago Brandon called mid-day and quickly asked, "Do you want to go to the Jazz Game?" Of course I did! We were glad my parents were able to go on such short notice. It felt nice to take them to say a little thank you for letting us live with them, they always brush our thanks away with a thanks to us. We really have been blessed to have the opportunity to live with them while we get things settled down. They've been so gracious.

Here's our first big perk: 4 free Jazz tickets, Row 21, Section 10.

Thanks for coming Mom & Dad! Thanks for staying at work late too babe:) I'm sure it's fun to stay at work for 16 hours! We sure look tired don't we-oh well, worth staying up late!

Brandon and I rarely, rarely ever buy concessions at the games but with his job comes 50% off for us. We decided to celebrate and got dinner and although we shouldn't have, Brandon was set on getting ice cream. I'd already been eating this for awhile mind you, not a bad amount of ice cream for $3 i'd say!

Brandon's perks make the job a little exciting, he's also recieved a key chain, visor, and lunch bag. We enjoy all of it! Thanks babe for working so hard so we can enjoy some perks!

It was extra fun since we won the game! Go JAZZ!

Lets Go Fly A Kite

Happy March and April Birthday! We celebrated March and April birthdays at my parents house on Sunday. Happy Birthday to Carrilyne, Holly, Madison, and Adrienne! With 20 people in our family there's a lot of birthdays! We usually have everyone over once a month to celebrate holidays and birthdays combined. Because April has General Conference and Easter we moved April up to join March. With more and more moments of sunshine occuring everday we decided to have Spring Fling.

What better way to celebrate spring then a picnic themed dinner. We made a 6-foot sandwich, baked beans, apples and dip, veggies, lemonades, chips, and a raspberry cake. We found kites 2/$1 at the local dollar store and displayed them, one for each person. Later we selected our kites youngest to oldest. It was fun to see what people picked. The sandwiches tasted so fresh and made me so excited for Spring and Summer, warmth, garden vegetables and time outdoors.

 

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

It was a pretty enough day to spend some time outdoors. We normally have a breeze at our home but it was weaker than normal. We managed by adding bigger tails and helping eachother. Such a fun time!

We did birthday presents and had raspberry cake. We ended the night by toasting Holly and Tyson who got ENGAGED yesterday!! That'll be 3 weddings in one year for our family! Welcome to the family Tyson! Congratulations to you both!

It was such a fun, carefree evening. I'm glad we didn't have to cook anything or clean up much with paper plates. That left the evening open to be enjoyed with company and birthdays to be celebrated. We spent quite a bit of time outside together and then just gathered around the table and living room chatting. What a wonderful way to say hello and welcome to spring.

Aunt & Uncle

Brandon and I are lucky to have wonderful nieces and nephews. They truly enrich our lives and teach us so many things. Together we have 8 1/2 nieces and nephews. We have 5 nephew, 3 nieces and one that is yet to be determined and we're thrilled to find out the new addition. Last week we had the opportunity to watch Indy, Libby, and Milo (poor darling Ellie was sick and stayed at Grandma's house to rest up) while Jared and Carrilyne had a quick getaway to St. George. I'm glad they went and glad we got to have the kids. They're a hoot!
We had a huge chalkboard of things to do at our slumber party. We crossed them all off the list. We started out with lunch.

Then it was craft time. They decided to make book marks and get well cards for Ellie. I was very impressed with their creativity and kindess as they thought what Ellie would like on her cards.

 

 Lucky for us there was snow on the ground to play in. We bundled up and prepared for a snowball fight by building forts.

Fingers got cold from preparation and the fight was postponed.
We headed inside and played balloon ping pong. Breathless from running around to keep balloons in the air we settled down for the evening talent show. Indiana played a tune for us on her guitar-she's very good! Libby tickled the ivories of the piano and Milo was Batman. What talent!
We performed stories with puppets that traveled far away and performed exciting adventures. All the kids sat still while waiting for their turn during their siblings stories.
The kids sat still watching an episode of Phineas and Ferb while I prepped dinner.

They are great eaters-the favorite items of the night were the orange peel jello molds, chicken and strawberries. These kids could eat strawberries all day-I'm so happy they love fruit.

Following dinner we changed into pajamas, cuddled up and watched Cars 2, we read a pile of story books and they fell asleep one by one. I'll have to admit to being anxious that Milo would wake up and not recognize were he was, so every little move I sat up to see if he'd woken himself up and needed to use the bathroom. He slept soundly, we visited the bathroom once but he returned to the bedding on the floor and later told me I didn't need to lay by him and could go back to my bed. What a big boy!

By the end of our slumber party we'd crossed everything off our list of things to do. Our nieces and nephews have our hearts wrapped around their fingers and we'd do anything for them. All eight continually surprise us with their intellect, their thoughtfulness, and the funny things they say and think! They are all our favorites!

Mr. Finch's New Job

Mr. Finch searched and interviewed. He wasn't looking to find a job, he was looking for the right job. I think he found it. His new office can be found here.

Brandon is a Graphic Designer for Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment. What does that mean? Well he'll be designing advertising for the following...

And anything that occurs at the EnergySolutions Center like concerts and events. It's a lot of work and for awhile may be a bit consuming. It'll be worth it, what an amazing opportunity we've been given. Most firms are only concerned about one thing, experience. Well how are you supposed to get any when that's all people want? We are very blessed that those interviewing Brandon saw his potential and his willingness to work hard. It's an amazing start and not a bad resume builder huh? Brandon had interviewed and the gentleman told him that he had more the following day and we'd hear back in a few days. We were very surprised when he called us that evening and offered Brandon the job, he'd cancelled all his other interviews and was willing to place his bets on Brandon's design ability and work ethic. We feel so blessed and I'm thrilled that Brandon gets to combine design and sports. Like any new job it'll take some getting used to but I think in a short amount of time we'll all celebrate over Brandon's first Billboard! I'm so appreciative of his efforts to work hard to support us. He's amazing and I'm blessed to have him in my life.
Here's two projects he was assigned on his first day on the job, they can be viewed at the Jazz's official website. www.nba.com/jazz (Yes I did take pictures of the computer screen, just so proud!)

 Game Pack Banner Changes when you roll over it.

Exciting! We're pretty blessed and amazed at this opportunity! And incase you were wondering we do get some perks like half off popcorn and concessions and maybe the occasional ticket. And don't worry, when we do those tickets we'll be thinking of you for sure!

Potter Party

February was a busy month, it always is at my house. There's mine, Matthew, and my Mom's birthdays with the addition of Valentines day, Presidents day and this year Matt and Mate's wedding. It's been pretty busy! We decided to have all family come over to celebrate everyone's birthdays at once. Matthew and my Mom were kind enough to let me pick the theme of Harry Potter. I'm sure to some it may seem like a child's party theme but my family loves Harry Potter as do I. I enjoyed watching the movies like most people probably do but I really started to enjoy it when Brandon and I began reading the books together, sometimes a page or two, sometimes a chapter a day. Most of the time he reads out loud to me, occasionally ;) I fall asleep and he has to recap the next evening for me. We read while sitting side by side at the DMV, drives around town and cuddled up in bed. It has become a special thing for us, that's why I like Harry Potter so much. Happy Birthday Mom and Matt! It was a magical evening.

Invitations sealed with wax and delivered by Owl

The Fleet

 Big Thanks to Madison for the AMAZING drinks!

Hermione (Indiana) with her cloak  

 Mom & Adrienne. Momnailed Divination Teacher,
Professor Trelawney!

 Madison and Adam as Hogwarts students

Wands at the Ready

Mr. Finch as Ron holding Scabbers &

Me as frizzied Haired Hermione 

 

It was a magical evening with loved ones. Ryan and Adrienne gifted amazing bags of everything you could possibly need & Jared and Carrilyne gave beautiful photographs Jared had taken and developed on his own. Thanks for coming, helping, participating and having fun. Love you all.