The Gailey Times

Life update

2011-07-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

A few months ago Gerriss and I started talking about our current situation and how we have felt like we are in limbo. We have wanted to move to Texas for a while and began planning our move. We looked for jobs, places to live, everything. But at the end of it all, we couldn't figure it out. Things just never added up. Things were just too complicated. We needed a break from all the stress of life changing decisions. So we took a vacation!!

Over memorial weekend we took a trip to Boise, ID. It was a great time to clear our head and re group. We got to see our amazing family, help some family members through a rough time and just spend quality time together. Gerriss and I also attended Calvary Chapel Boise while we were there and just loved the church. It was a great time all around.

We returned to St George and got back into the grind and it was back to our limbo feelings again. We knew we needed to change something, but we didn't know what or how. Gerriss and I took a trip to Mesquite for the evening about a week and a half after our trip. I was telling Gerriss that I thought it was about time we decided on the move to Texas and put it into works. At this time he turned to me and said, "Cara I don't think we are moving to Texas. To be honest I think we are moving to Boise." At that moment I turned back to Gerriss and said, "You know what, I think so too!" You see for the past week or so, both Gerriss and I had the same feeling that we needed to move there, but we had no idea why, or even that the other was thinking it. We prayed about this of course for a while and couldn't come up with any reason not to. A few days later, Gerriss specifically prayed for an answer to whether or not we should go. Gerriss is the type that has never been receptive to small hints or nudges. He needs blunt answers. God knows this about Gerriss and so God used the best way possible to get through to him. You see, Gerriss drives around all day in a truck for his job and has the opportunity to listen to CSN all day long (christian satellite network) One of the sermons that he heard that day was about ambitious faith. The Pastor was explaining that if we are to be true servants of Christ, we need to completely submit to the will of God. In the message the Pastor talked about how if God is leading you to stand up and profess you're a Christian, move out of state, change your job, or do something dramatic with your life situation; if God is the one that is calling you to do it, YOU DO IT! At this point we are convinced. We now know that we are moving to Idaho.

We decided to take another trip to Boise to try and figure out WHEN we would be moving. All along I had a specific date in my head, but I didn't know why or how it would work so I just pushed it aside. We went to Boise over the 4th of July to not only figure out our time frame, but to also inform some of our family back there about the move so that they could help out and pray for us. While we were there we again attended Calvary Chapel Boise. Upon our arrival we noticed a pamphlet on our chairs for something. I pushed it away until the Pastor stood up and brought it up. Thinking nothing of it I picked it up and started following along as he started reading through it. The pamphlet was for Bible school that starts this fall. I know that Gerriss cannot attend school during the day since he has to work full time in order to support us as a family so I didn't even think about it. As the Pastor kept reading he noted that the classes would be held in the evening in order to accommodate those that work and/or are in other school. This just sounded great. Gerriss has has felt led for a while now that he needs to do something in the ministry but hasn't know how to get started or where for that matter. This was the most perfect opportunity. Then I read the most amazing thing next......Registration is Aug 6th! Well that settles it, the date that sat in my head this whole time was August 1st. We needed to be there by August 1st for some reason and now I know why.

So its settled, Gerriss, myself, and Oliver are moving to Boise, ID on August 1st. Gerriss will attend Calvary Chapel Bible School for one year. And our crazy new adventure will begin.

Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts as we embark on our new journey in faith.

Thank you and God bless,
Cara and Gerriss

Just Checking

2011-03-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

How many people out there still read our blog? We don't post very often, most likely cause everyone is on Facebook now. Leave us a comment if you are still a fan..... :)

2010 Wrap Up

2011-01-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

I'm a few weeks late on the 2010 wrap up. Sorry. Here's what happened this last year.

Started off the year with both of us turning 25! We're half way to 50!!! Ahhhh!
Cara coached volleyball for High Country! Way to go High-C 15's!
We lived with my parents until April in order to save enough to move to St George. Thanks Mama and Papa!
We saved and saved and finally made our way to our new little home.
Gerriss got a job at Stake Center Locating(where he still works) it pays the bills.
Cara got a job at Speed Lube(where she still works) it also pays the bills.
Oliver learned to be in the house without supervision and not go potty. YAY!
Gerriss' parents came down from SLC for Memorial Weekend. We had so much fun!
We had a hot summer of course, and spent a lot of time in the water.
Cara and Gerriss got swimmers itch from being in the water at Sand Hollow. :(
Cara and Gerriss took random trips to Cali to the beach over the summer and LOVED it!
Oliver reverted back to his bad self and started going potty in the house again.
Cara, Gerriss and Oliver went on many hikes, walks, and drives to explore this beautiful town.
Cara and Gerriss bought a truck that sits in our driveway.
We went to Cali with our friends and got really sunburned when it was overcast.
God worked miracles in our lives!!!!
Cara and Gerriss decided to change it up and are now attending Calvary Chapel
We have made a million new friends and love everyone there
Cara's parents came down from SLC for my moms birthday and we went to Toquerville falls. That was awesome!
Cara's brother came down for his birthday and we all went shooting. Adam is a good shot! Must be his military training or video games, one of the two. :)
Gerriss and his friend started an investment company, its still in the works.
Cara started a vinyl cutting business called Little Sticky Notes. Lots of cute stuff!
Cara made Thanksgiving dinner all by herself! Turkey and everything! It was yummy!
Cara and Gerriss went to Calvary Chapel's Christmas Eve Service at the Dixie Center and had the best time ever.
We went to our Pastor's house for Christmas day and hung out and had lunch with their family. We are grateful for all of them!
Cara's parents came down for New Years Eve and we partied it up with our Youth Pastor, then came home and went to bed a like 12:01.
For New Years Day we went to Las Vegas! Good times! CPK, enough said.
Cara and Gerriss are teaching the 1st-3rd and 4th-6th kids at Calvary Bible Club.
Cara and Gerriss are gonna be turning 26!!!

So that was a point by point summary of our year. Hope you all enjoyed that rundown. We haven't changed much over the past few weeks. No new plans just yet but new things are in the works. We are currently babysitting my brothers dog Sabaa for a few more weeks. Oliver sure enjoys the company! We may have to get a little doggy for him to play with once Sabaa leaves. We are looking forward to our 5 year anniversary trip here in a few more weeks. We have decided to take a trip to San Diego this year. We normally end up in Huntington whenever we go to Cali, so we decided to mix it up a bit. Pictures will be posted following the fun! We hope that all of you have had a fabulous start to this great year! God has blessed our lives so much over this past year with all the changes and excitement. I can't imagine what He has in store for us now.

God Bless
Cara

Inspiration and and Update

2010-11-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

I was reading through FB tonight and read a friends status that said that I inspired her to start a blog. Me who posts only once every few months now that FB rules the world. Well I wanted to catch everyone up on our lives with out having to read through pages and pages of status updates. So here goes.

Gerriss is still working at Stake Center Locating as a utility locater for the time being. He has recently started a Real Estate Investment company, called Tetelestai Real Estate Investments, with our good friend Chris Emans. They will be focusing mostly on wholesaling properties. They are just getting it off the ground at the moment so not too much to report on at the moment. He is also continuing to do internet marketing but it doesn't bring it quite the income so it is more of a tool to learn more about how to market better on the internet. Aside from that Gerriss always makes time for me even with his busy schedule and I am grateful for that.

I am working at Speed Lube as the office manager still. I have really enjoyed working there. It is a lot to learn and a completely different environment than I have ever worked in, but I think that it has challenged me in different ways and I am grateful for the experience. I am also starting my own little side business of selling vinyl. I am still in the beginning phases of it, so not too much to tell quite yet. I am excited though. I have finally figured out something that I like to do that I can get paid to do. I will keep you posted.

Oliver is doing fabulous! He is learning not to chew on everything. He has graduated from his kennel to his own room. I made a craft room this past weekend and we have also made room for Oliver to hang out in there during the day when we are at work or when we are gone in the evenings. He actually has taken to it quite well. He is no longer eating all of our things, and he doesn't bark and cry all day like when he was in his kennel. I like it better too cause I don't feel as horrible if we are gone since he has a nice recliner to lounge in and all his toys and his food and water. He has it pretty good. Like my brother says, he has us pretty well trained. :)

Other than that some news for both of us is that we have started attending Calvary Chapel. Gerriss and I have gone through some big changes spiritually lately and have made a very difficult, but very very informed decision. We feel that we have been led down this path and are completely and utterly happy because of it. We have truly found a brand new and wonderful relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ. We also have found a body of fellow believers that love us no matter where we have come from and have taken us in as their own. We love everyone there and are so grateful for their fellowship.

We are absolutely loving St George and enjoy the warm weather more and more as it gets colder and colder up in Salt Lake. We are always going on new adventures and exploring new areas. Its nice meeting people that have lived down here their whole lives and can show us the really cool places that only the locals know about. If you are in the area you should come visit! We'd love to have you! Talk to you later!

God Bless

09/11/01

2010-09-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

I will never forget! I am proud to be an American! God be with you always!

Iron County Demolition Derby

2010-08-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

We went to the demolition derby this weekend up in Parowan. Can I just say that I don't think I have seen so many hillbillies in my life! First of all, I was in a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, and then we were all gathered to watch old junker cars race and crash into each other. IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME! I am totally going to make this a new tradition in our family. I feel so grateful after a night like that to come from a town where most people have all of their teeth... :) But in all honesty, it was a blast. There were some people driving the mini cars that I knew, and one of the derby cars that was supposed to be in it was sponsored by the place where our good friend works. The only thing was they couldn't get it to run that night so that had to forfeit. But it turned out ok, cause the driver was a little hesitant to want to do it anyways. I wish I had pictures or something to show for it, but I was too busy people watching and cheering on the derby to think about pictures. I am totally stoked for next years derby and will be able to come prepared with my cowboy boots, cowboy hat, and a little bit of yeehaw!

Small Town Lingo

2010-08-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

When Gerriss and I first relocated to St. George, one of the first things I noticed was how fast and mumbled everyone talks. It has been a challenge to get used to it, especially working with the public so much.

Well after four and a half months I think I got it down. The other day I actually used the phrase "I already done did it" and didn't even flinch.

Exploring

2010-06-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

We have been all over this town over the past two months. We got a state parks pass so that we can go up Snow Canyon and go to Sand Hollow as often as we want and we sure are taking advantage of it. Here are some pictures of our adventures...

This is Pioneer Park. Its just a fun place to hike around and explore.

This one is a picture of a small 3" tall cave, but up close in the picture it looks like a life-size cave.

This is Gerriss in a lava tube on a hike in Snow Canyon. We found another one this past weekend with his family that we still need to go exploring into. Its a giant cave that you need a headlamp to go deeper into.

There is an area called Kayenta that we go to in the evenings sometimes to look at the stars. It is pitch black out there and dead silent. There is also a park near our house that we go to often that has a little stream running through it that has little frogs all over. They have such a peaceful croak. We love to go there and just sit close by and listen to the melody. Gerriss got a metal detector and has found some pretty interesting things. We even found an old matchbox truck in our backyard. He has a little jar that he keeps all his findings in. One day the thing will pay for itself, or at least that is our hope... :) We have really changed a lot of things lately about our city life to try and blend and mesh better with this country style down here. I work at a lube shop so being girly is out of the question. I MUST get my hands dirty on a daily basis whether I like it or not. I am enjoying being in a completely different environment than I am used to. Plus I work with mostly men so that is a big change as well. Gerriss has started listening to country music since he drives around all day and that is the only decent thing he can find on the five channels to choose from, two of them being country. He even got a cowboy hat! Doesn't he look sexy!!! :)

I wish we had more pictures but we are too busy exploring that we forget to bring our camera. Good thing we are living here and can go to these places all the time so that we can get many many many pictures over the years.

Home Sweet Home

2010-04-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well we have been here almost a month and have loved every second of it. We have something fun and new to do every night, and even if its not new its just nice to be back to a normal routine. Here are some pictures of our cute little place.

Here is our patio, our front door is just to the right.

This is one of the tiny bedrooms. We are using one as an office and the other as a storage type room. They sure are small.

Here is a view of our front room looking towards the kitchen. Yes that is Oliver running towards me. :)

This is our front room with our new TV that was our house warming gift to ourselves.

And here is our kitchen. Its nice and big with tons of cupboard space.

I would show you our bedroom but its just a normal bedroom with not a lot of space as illustrated in the other bedroom picture. The rooms may be small, but the intention when designing this place as we have been told was "where do we spend most of our time and what rooms in the house should we use the most square footage on?" Thus we have a huge kitchen and a big living room. But the big reason we loved this place was because of the big fenced in yard that Oliver can play in. Here are some pictures.

Here is a picture of the carport area. Look how cute my little car is! :)

And here is an idea of the yard and all its glory. Its HUGE! Of course Gerriss gets to mow it. I just get to play in it with the puppy. :)

All in all we are sooooooo happy here. We miss everyone, but we are making new friends and replacing you all. :) Just kidding. We love you all and can't wait to see ya'll when we come back up for our many visits. Anyone is also welcome to come for a visit as well, we would love to have you.

St George

2010-04-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

Well its official. Gerriss and I are moved out of Salt Lake and now live in St George. We moved here Easter weekend, then I drove back to Salt Lake to work one more week and get some other things done and then joined him down here on Saturday. We are absolutely loving it here. It's warm already! I don't have to ever feel snow again, there are some mountains (I think to the north) that I can see from my house that get snow on them if I ever want to look at it. Gerriss will be able to ride his motorcycle year round. Oliver has a yard to run and play in. He loves to bark at everything that comes near his yard, acting like he is ten times bigger than he really is. :) The birds are so happy that they get to see the sunshine and are involved in the conversations again. They start chirping at seven in the morning and they don't stop until bedtime. Hopefully I can get used to that again. Its a good thing I love them. Gerriss is starting his new job today! He will be working for a utility locater company. He is happy that he will not be sitting at a desk all day and that he will be outside getting a great farmers tan as well. I am still looking for work but usually find it fast in any market, its just figuring out what I want to do down here. I will still be coaching volleyball for the same club that I was coaching for up in Salt Lake but just for their St George teams. There is also a greater opportunity for beach volleyball down here so maybe I will look into learning how to coach beach. Who knows? I am just so grateful that I have this opportunity to figure things out, that I have the chance to do things at my pace and find a job or even a career that I want to do for a while.

We are so thankful to my parents for letting us live with them for the past few months while we were saving up to move. We are grateful for their continued support with all of our dreams. Thanks for always believing in Gerriss and I and helping us make one of our many dreams come true. Thanks to Gerriss' family as well for their support and their help in getting us all loaded to move out here. We couldn't have done it without you. I hope that everyone has a chance to come down here for a visit to see our cute little place. We are so happy here! We love you all and will miss you!

First Tourney

2010-01-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

We had our first tournament this past weekend. We placed 13th out of about 40 teams. Not bad for our first time playing an actual game together. I sure have a lot to learn this year. I am so excited for this opportunity! I can't wait to see the stats from our next game to see how well we have improved since this weekend.

Hi-C 15s Travel

2010-01-06T18:24:00.000-08:00

So volleyball has started up again. Yipee! I am now coaching with Heather, the club director. We will be coaching the 15s travel team together. I am so excited to be able to learn from one of the best coaches. The girls have a tough year ahead of them with two awesome coaches who only allow PERFECTION. We have our first tournament next weekend. We still need a lot of work with passing and serving until we are ready, but there is no time. So we will just throw them to the wolves and let them figure it out. I will let you all know how it goes. I wish our team good luck and hope that they learn what we need to work on throughout the season. Go HI-C 15s!

Mullet

2009-12-08T23:13:00.000-08:00

Gerriss has been growing his hair out lately and has gotten it almost as long as it was when we first starting dating. I am loving his long curly locks! He looks so adorable! Well, tonight I decided to watch some good old Labyrinth and saw good old David Bowie aka The Goblin King with his SEXY mullet do. So I suggested to Gerriss that he grow his hair out just like his. What do you think?

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2009-12-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

Please do not judge my mixed blog at the moment. I am in the middle of re-designing. Anna Gailey, creator of Twinkle Light Blogs, is in the process of creating a wonderfully beautiful blog background and header for Christmas for me. Until then. This is what you get! :)

Glitter Toes

2009-11-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

Hey I am having a glitter toes party at my house on the 21st from 10am to 12pm. If you want to come, post a comment and I will send you my address. Get your toes done all cute for the holidays, (yes it will last that long) eat some yummy treats, and hang out with friends and family.

14 Region Team

2009-11-11T18:01:00.000-08:00

I will be the assistant coach for one of the 14s region teams. There are a lot of talented girls and I am very excited to get started. We will learn a lot this year and grow to be great friends and teammates. There will also be some awesome wins in the season as well! GO HIGH-C!

New Background and Header

2009-11-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

My SIL is a genius! Anna Gailey made this awesome background for me and made the way cute header. I sat here and watched her work her magic and I don't have any clue what she was doing, but it all ended up looking marvelous. Anna will be starting a background blog so that others can enjoy her creations. For now she is taking orders on her blog which I have a link to on my sidebar or at the bottom of my blog. Thanks Anna for all the hard work you put into this, it looks great and I LOVE IT!

High-C Volleyball

2009-11-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

Better known as High Country Volleyball Club. I am starting this year as a coach for High Country. If you know of anyone who loves or even likes volleyball who is between the ages of 12 and 18 please send them this way. All the information that you need to know is on their website. Not only is it a great atmosphere to learn volleyball, we will also be able to teach the kids responsibility, goal setting, and for some even give them a purpose. I was in 9th grade when I first joined High-C and I went from average volleyball player to a varsity starter. I also had bigger goals for myself than I had ever imagined. Had I not gotten injured my junior year, I am certain that all of them would have come true. Kim Norman, the technical director of High-C is one of the most talented coaches I have ever known, and all of the coaches will be under her direction. She is the volleyball coach at Westminster College and has taken the team all they way to nationals. Not only is Kim a great coach, but this year we will have the privilege to work under the direction of Carl McGown who is one of the most successful and most experienced coaches of volleyball. Carl and his team have created Gold Medal Squared a program designed to improve players and coaches teaching specific tactics and tools to be undefeatable. Please take the time to read through some of the links that I have put on this post and see if it is something that fits for your kids or someone you know. This is a life changing club, and I am proud to be a part of it and would love some of my family and friends to join me.

Oliver

2009-10-24T18:08:00.001-07:00

This is Oliver our new dog. He's a chiweenie! He is five months old and is the cutest dang thing ever. That toy that he has is completely destroyed after only one week of playing. We learned our lesson quickly and got him toys that are a bit more durable.

He is pretty small, this is him compared to one of Gerriss' shoes and a basketball.

This was a few hours after he got his shots. I am not sure if you can tell, but his head is swollen and he has hives all over his body. It was so sad, he had to go to the doggy emergency room. He is ok now though, all back to the ball of energy that he normally is. :)

Snowbird

2009-09-28T16:37:00.001-07:00

Well this is year two of a great new tradition. My dad and I hike up Snowbird every September as a farewell to the summer and as preparation for ski season. Last year we made it all the way up to the tram and were able to ride it down, but this year we had a lack of time so we only made it up to the chair lift and then rode that down instead. It is only about 15-30 minutes away from the top (15-30 depending on how tired you are from the hike). It was a lot of fun. I didn't take as many pictures as I did last year cause I was sort of brainless. I hurt my foot about six weeks ago and didn't think anything of it. I just thought it would go away with time. Well it ended up that my heel pops out of joint and thus makes my whole foot hurt and makes it impossible for me to walk. I decided to go to the doctor the night before my hike to see if he could fix it. Well he said it would take some more work then just one day. So he taped it in place so that it wouldn't pop out at least during my hike and I will have to continue going back until it stays by itself. Long story short, even though I already told it, my foot was in a bit of pain the whole time and increasingly got worse. But I was determined to get to the top so I didn't stop! Thus the no pictures. :) I did find this picture online though that shows a trail that looks like the one that we followed, but I am not sure. But it at least shows you the mountain that we hiked.

Anyways, I am glad my dad and I were able to go. We had some great talks and a lot of laughs. Thanks for going with me. Can't wait til next year!

Finding Hope

2009-09-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

We were taught a lesson today in Sunday School about the pioneers and all that they had to endure. Our teacher said something that was very fitting to the time of year with us looking back and remembering 9/11 and the trials many people faced and still do face because of that day. She said that everyone has trials and everyone may not think that yours are as big as say the pioneers (or even in this case as big as the people involved in any way with the attacks on 9/11) but each person has to learn from their own trials and endure through them. We have to find the hope and faith to get through the things in our life with the help of our Heavenly Father.

I was watching this video at LDS.org that puts a good perspective on things. I am grateful for the trials in my life and the strength they have given me. I can look back and remember how I handled certain situations and prepare myself for those to come. Each trial is a way to prepare for the next, not only in our own lives but the lives of our families to come. Take a look at the video, it is kind of long, but its worth the time.

Thanks to all our Soldiers

Ahhhh cute!

2009-08-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hey thanks to Anna, I have a new place to look for blog backgrounds. I love it! Take a look, they are pretty cool!

Remebering our Grandfather, Father, Soldier and Friend

2009-07-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

James Addison Adams (Bop) passed away on Thursday the 2nd of July at 4:27pm. He brought so much into our lives and we are sad that he must go now. We know that his job on earth was finished and he has many people waiting for his return to Heaven. We are so grateful for eternal families so that we can be together with him again one day.

We love you Bop! We will miss you! Gerriss and I will take care of Mimi for you. Fly high!

I want

2009-06-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

I was sitting here tonight thinking of all of the things that I want to do and want to get and want to achieve and want to accomplish and want to.... Then I read a blog post of my mothers. A simple post with a few attached letters that she wrote to my brother when he was a boot camp. My mind switched gears all of the sudden to, what about what they (soldiers) want, or what the less fortunate want. I may WANT a lot of things, but what a gift it is to WANT. Rather than NEED. I don't feel like I need much, I have most everything that I would ever need and then some, even if I don't have much, I feel very blessed. But what about those that NEED. Now I am thinking I need to stop for a minute and instead of thinking of what I WANT, I need to think about what others NEED. But I also need to go beyond that and not only think about what others may need, but help them with their needs. I remember when my brother was at war and he sent me a letter and asked me why I didn't write to him that often. My response was that I feared that if I wrote to him it would be admitting to myself that he was really in true danger and that he was really gone. Therefore I continued to deny everything and didn't write. When he finally got home a year and a half later, I asked myself, "why don't we have the same relationship that we had when he left?" Well I realized that it was because I hadn't spoken to him as often as I used to. Where I am going with this is, I decided to make a decision to not write my brother because I didn't want to hurt and feel pain, not at all thinking about the pain and loneliness that he may have been feeling. So I put myself before him and now I am truly sorry for it. I do not have the same relationship that I once had because I missed out on a whole year and a half of time with my brother. I put my wants before someone else's needs. I hope that I can remember this and try and help someone in one way or another every day. Someone once told me that even something as little as a smile or a wave can make someone's day. If that is all I can do for a day then I will at least try to do that. I hope that I haven't bored you all, I just thought I would share a moment with you. I hope you all have a wonderful day! Thanks! :)

The Gailey Family Reunion

2009-06-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful full day. Thanks for all the fun times and all the effort that everyone put into the day. Hopefully everyone else had a good time as well. It is so nice to get together with the people we love so much and have so much fun and laughter and craziness.

Here's a picture of a few of us at the Draper temple for a start of the day session.

Just a quick side note

2009-05-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

I recently had an experience that made me realize that the world is a very scary place and there is a lot of evil out there. I may not know a lot about what evil there is in this world but I like it that way. I like to live in my little Cara bubble and not see or hear about the terrible things that kids get into these days, what things people my age have done and what ever else. I had the blessing of living a sheltered life, I know it sounds like I am being sarcastic but I'm not. I would rather be optimistic and clueless than pessimistic and smart. The person that I have to THANK for being this way is my mom. She always helped me see the positive side of things and always tried to keep me away from the negative. I have Gerriss who knows enough about the craziness of the world and can protect me from it while I just keep on believing that you can trust everyone until proven otherwise, and that everything is all rainbows and smiles. I can believe whatever I want! So I am just going to forget about the incident that happened tonight and pretend that the world is perfect and safe again. I know what you are thinking. Totally random post, right?

Sunbeams

2009-05-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Gerriss' mom sent me this cute email. I loved it so much I thought that I would share it with the three people who read my blog. :)

This is a true story. Dr. KC Tubbs is the doctor, he later joined the LDS church. When he told us this story over a staff lunch, I thought that we would die laughing. Dr Armstrong is from Manti and comes up about once a week to work in the clinic.

By: Robert Armstrong, M.D.

I work part-time as a teacher of family doctors. The program provides training on psychiatric disorders and emphasizes the importance of emotional support.

The new doctors are given plenty of time in clinic to visit with their patients and learn about their challenges.

One of our interns who has never lived in Utah and knew nothing about Mormons is still struggling to understand the cultural climate here. Last week he was interviewing a new patient and stumbled on what he thought was a raging psychosis.

Doctor: "Well, Mrs. Olsen, we've talked about your high blood pressure and your medications. Are you experiencing any particular stress in your life?"

Patient: "Oh, yes! It's the Sunbeams. They're driving me crazy."

Doctor: (very surprised) "The Sunbeams?"

Patient: "Yes, I've never had trouble with them before, but this group won't sit still. They bounce all over the room, and run out the door and up and down the hallway.

Doctor: (reaching for a pen) "Have you told anyone about this?

Patient: "Of course, I told the president."

Doctor: "Really! And, what did the president tell you?"

Patient: "She said Sunbeams are like that. I'm just going to have to learn to deal with them."

Doctor: (concerned that he may be missing something) "I know people who are sensitive to sunbeams. Do they cause you a rash or anything?"

Patient: (confused) "A rash? No."

Doctor: "What's the biggest problem they're creating?"

Patient: "It's the noise. They just won't quit talking."

Doctor: (astonished) "The sunbeams are talking to you?"

Patient: "Well, yes. But mostly they talk to each other."

Doctor: (scribbling furiously in the chart) "I see. Can anyone else hear them talking?"

Patient: (after a moment of stunned silence) "You're not LDS, are you?"

My first day in the Primary

2009-05-03T13:15:00.001-07:00

Today was my first day in the Primary ever! It was such a wonderful experience. I LOVE THE PRIMARY! The kids are so cute and excited to be there. Last Sunday I was set apart as the 2nd counselor in the Primary Presidency. A bit (A LOT) overwhelming I know. But I am so grateful for this opportunity and privilege. I know I will learn so much and make so many memories with the kids and also with the teachers and other leaders. I have no clue what I am doing or what to expect, but I know that I will be guided and shown what I need to do. I think I will get a Primary songs cd and put it on my iPod so I can learn some of the cute songs that we sing and so I don't look too lost every Sunday. I hope I do an ok job and that I can be at least 1/2 as awesome as the previous 2nd counselor. Wow though! What a day!?!?! I am so excited for next Sunday.

Milk Made Baby

2009-04-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Everyone go to this blog and look over the cute stuff and leave a comment to try and win some cute free stuff! She is one of the greatest people that I know so you have to go see her creative ideas and support her. Or support me by supporting her. :)

Get a Little Mud on the Tires...

2009-04-20T20:06:00.001-07:00

Gerriss and I went mudding this last weekend. It was the first time we have ever been mudding in the truck since we got it! It was also the first time we've gotten the truck that dirty since we've owned it! We went out to Horseshoe Springs area to go shooting and on our way home we found some huge mud puddles! Gotta love it!

Britney Britney Britney

2009-04-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

My mom volunteers for the Red Cross and since she does it so much she gets free tickets to events at the ES Arena. (delta center) The most recent one was the Britney Spears concert. Well I don't really like her that much now, but I used to love her music so I figured that if anything else it would be entertaining. So my sister and I decided to go. Well......it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be at least. The Pussycat Dolls opened for her and their show was actually pretty good. I realized that some of the songs that I hear on the radio that I like were actually the Pussycat Dolls and I didn't even realize it. After them, there was this really weird and random circus act that had some pretty cool stuff, but their acts got old quickly. But it wasn't like it sucked. So after a LONG circus act, Britney FINALLY decided to come to her own concert or shall I say show. I think in order for it to be considered a concert you actually have to sing, which she didn't. The first couple of songs were some of my favorites, you know, like Circus and Piece of Me and her new stuff, but throughout the whole show she kept leaving and there were all these other performances. As the show went on it got more and more provocative. By the end of the night I felt like I needed to take a shower and repent. But honestly, it wasn't too terrible. I'm glad I got to go, I just don't think that next time she comes to town I will rush to accept my moms offer for free tickets. At least the PCD (pussycat dolls) put on a good show. Oh and BTW, moms out there, Britney is totally not a suitable role model. It was so sad to see so many little kids there with their parents and then to think of some of the songs and dances that get ingrained into those innocents childrens' heads. So sad. I was shocked to see so many kids there and especially shocked to see them dressed in mini skirts and tube tops when it was snowing outside! What the heck! Well I guess I live in a little bubble and don't realize all the weird people out there.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T19:27:00.001-07:00

I made Easter eggs for my Sunday School class and filled them with Skittles and typed a little message up to go in it. The message was so fitting for the day so I though I would share it with everyone who reads my blog (so like 10 people).

2 Nephi 2:8
Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Easter! Love you all!

Our Anniversary Vacation!

2009-03-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

For our three year Anniversary Gerriss and I took 11 glorious days and made a trek down to Las Vegas and onward to California. We spent 2 nights in Las Vegas which was quite interesting. Vegas is a place that everyone needs to experience once in their life to appreciate clean air and change in scenery. We enjoyed walking around and seeing all the cool sites. I spent $33 on M&M's! But it was worth it to get pink and black ones. All in all it was alright. But the coolest things was when everyone else was going home on Sunday, we were headed to California for the rest of our wonderful vacation. We stayed in a condo in Capistrano Beach, courtesy of Gerriss' fantastic and giving parents, for 7 days. We went to Disneyland for three days, Universal Studios and Sea World. We had the most incredible time! It was the best vacation and anniversary we've ever had (even though we've only had three) As you can see from our picture selection on the slide show (52 pictures) we were all smiles and having the time of our life. The following Sunday we made our way back to Utah, but stopped in St. George to visit Gerriss and I's good friends Gavin and Brooke. We had a pleasant visit with them and got to go on a fun motorcycle ride to the top of Hurricane Mesa. It was a lot of fun! Even if I was terrified cause I didn't get to wear a helmet. Don't worry I said a prayer pretty much the whole time I was on the bike. Especially Gavin's bullet bike! Scary! I am so glad that Gerriss and I were able to do such a fun thing while we are still young and have no little ones to worry about. Well except for Jack! He was good though. Thanks to Jeano, Jess and my sister for taking such good care of him. Now its back to the daily grind and the cold snow.....here's to California!

Our new pass time

2009-02-15T08:19:00.000-08:00

Like I said in the previous post, Gerriss and I had a lot of time this weekend to sit around and watch TV and be lazy. It has been so long since Gerriss and I have watched anything on TV, we are so out of the loop. Well Gerriss found a show on Hulu that he watches at work when he gets bored and thought he would show it to me. Needless to say we are now hooked! Fringe is our new favorite show, and the only thing that we watch! The only bad thing is that we don't have one of those digital converter boxes so once that changes we will have to wait til Wednesday to watch it on Hulu. But it all works out cause I would feel bad watching it without him and he is busy on Tuesday nights when it's on. So the conclusion of this post is that if anyone isn't watching Fringe, they should be, cause it is really really intense and awesome. Although I don't think that some of the images would be good for people with kids. Oh well, send them to bed early and enjoy.

Its finally over!

2009-02-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

(Weak stomachs beware)
This weekend Gerriss and I did an intestinal cleanse. I know, what a great thing to blog about! I know you want to hear about it or else you wouldn't still be reading. Gerriss was diagnosed with gall stones on Tuesday. His doctor told him to do two different cleanses to help get rid of them. This weekend was the first and worst of them. He had to drink grapefruit juice and olive oil only, for three days. I decided that I would endure with him and do the cleanse. What harm would it do to just cleanse my insides right? Well, that was a bad idea. I cheated on Thursday a little and had some eggs in the morning and a small sandwich that evening. Then I said I wouldn't eat anything on Friday but then when I got to work I was STARVED and had to get a giant burger and fries. So I figured that since I hadn't eaten that much it wouldn't be that bad if I still took the oil with him on Friday night. Not a good idea. I was sick all night. Gerriss had stuck to the cleanse very well and had a little discomfort and nausea but I was really really sick. Lets just say that I barely slept and it is not something I would recommend to anyone who doesn't have gall stones. So yesterday Gerriss and I sat here all day and watched TV on Hulu and were completely lazy! What a way to spend Valentines right?!?! Well the good news is that so far it has worked for Gerriss. He passed a lot of stones and his stomach isn't nearly as bloated as it has been for the past two months. Today he gets to eat for the first time in three days, so we'll see how he does with that. Hopefully everyone had a better Valentine's Day then Gerriss and I had. :)

Happy Birthday Gerriss!

2009-02-09T21:22:00.001-08:00

24 years ago today (Feb 10th) a sweet little, HUGE, baby was born.

You have brought so much laughter and joy into everyone's life.

There is never a dull moment when you are around.

You are always happy to see your friends and family.

Even if you're "Goofy" sometimes. We all still love you so much! Life just wouldn't be the same without you!

Gerriss, I love you so much! I hope that you have had a wonderful Birthday this year filled with love and laughter. I feel so blessed to have the pleasure to be your wife and eternal companion. You are my rock. :) Thank you for being who you are. I love you and all the craziness and fun that you bring into my life. Love, Cara

A GAILEY

2009-02-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

So we were playing Scrabble with my parents and Gerriss says, "I know I am not supposed to show you my letters, but look!"

He actually pulled all of these letters. How cool is that!?!

Gun powder makes me sneeze...

2009-02-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

Gerriss took me shooting this weekend for my first time. I was terrified! But ended up really enjoying myself. It was very educational! It was freezing and we were not dressed for the weather so we didn't get to stay very long. But we shot at an old TV and an old clothes dryer. I heard the bullet hit the dryer, but have no idea if we were even close to hitting the TV. Once we were done and frozen we got back in the truck and I couldn't stop sneezing. So I have concluded that gun powder makes me sneeze. Here are some pictures.

Here is Gerriss showing me how it's done...

Then here is me, my dad says I shoot like a girl. I need a lot of practice.

Gerriss got to shoot his new 45 cal, which he was very excited about, and he decided he wanted me to shoot it so that I could get a feel for it. Well, I made him stand behind me and hold the gun with me while I shot. So I counted to three.....closed my eyes.....and pulled the trigger. The closing my eyes part was totally not on purpose. It was so powerful and scary, my eyes were all watery and acting like they were crying for like 10 minutes afterward. We learned that I should never shoot that big of a gun ever again. I wish we could have got pictures of how bad it kicked. I bet I shot the sky!

He looks like a pro! To me at least. :)

To sum it all up

2009-01-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

This month has sort of flown by. I have been reading through some other peoples blogs and I am not the only one who feels that way. We have had a lot to do, but not a lot to report on. Although this past weekend was quite and adventure. It was my birthday, my Grandpa's birthday and my niece's birthday so we decided to go to Idaho and celebrate with everyone up there. We spent my birthday driving in the snow storm, so that was sort of lame, but it was what I asked for so I can't complain. We didn't tell my grandpa we were coming so when we showed up at 9:45 p.m. he was really surprised and a bit confused. It was great! On Friday we went out to lunch with some of my grandparents friends for our shared celebration. The food was outstanding. We went to a place up in Boise called Murphy's. Mmmmmm! World's best coconut shrimp! Then on Saturday we went to Kuna to celebrate my 17 year old nieces birthday. I know what your thinking I am way to young to have a 17 year old niece. :) She reminds me every day that I am not. :( I feel so old..... anyways. We had a blast with my sister and her family! She made a spectacular meal. It is this lasagna soup thing that was sooooo good. Then we sat around and played Guitar Hero on the Wii until I was about to pass out then we called it a night. The next day we woke up to another snow storm, which came perfectly timed for our trip home. Thank goodness Gerriss is a fantastic driver. We made it home safely even though the trip took longer than expected. I am glad we were able to celebrate all of our birthday's together. Hopefully we can try and do it again next year! Here our some fun pictures of the weekend, and the family birthday party from last night at Gerriss' parents house.

Here is me blowing out 24 candles on my yummy cake from last night!

My niece Kierstan who just turned 17! I can't believe it!

The birthday boy all tuckered out from the late night and the busy day. Notice the remote control in his hand that he has a death grip on! :)

We ate lots of yummy food and had a lot of fun! Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Now its time to prepare for next month's adventures! :)

Another Sunday School Bash!

2009-01-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

Friday was our year end Sunday School party! This time we had 10 people here, and when I say people, I mean 4 teenage girls and 6, I REPEAT, 6 teenage boys! It was quite the evening! It was snowing/raining, so everyone was required to take their shoes off at the door! (thank goodness for the already going Scentsy candle):)

We had SEVEN pizzas, which were all devoured, with root beer floats for dessert. We watched The Santa Clause! We hope that everyone had a fun night! We appreciate you all for coming......see you at the next one!

To Wii or not to Wii, that is the question?

2008-12-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

So I have been considering getting a Wii for Gerriss for his Bday for a while now. I really dislike video games because they are very addicting and take away from precious family time that you could be doing more strengthening things. Although, my other argument is that it would be a great and fun thing to do on relaxing nights when we don't have any other plans. It also would be great for our Sunday School parties as well. I am torn and need some input. I would like some pros and cons of Wii owners and Wii non-owners. I want to make a very informed purchase when or if I do get him one. Please HELP!

Happy Birthday Jeano!

2008-12-28T10:19:00.001-08:00

Here is the birthday boy and his bebe! Our two good friends, and the world's best neighbors!

We went to Bonwood last night and had a blast! Gerriss brought his A-game as usual and I totally blew it, as usual. It's all fun! Right?

The two cheeseballs! AKA Precious and Mr. Big

We had so much fun! Thanks for letting us share in your day! Hope you have a great Birthday!

New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

I have never been one to make New Year's resolutions, although I have never heard of any really good ones. Does any one have any really good resolutions this year?

Neil Diamond and Birthday Wishes

2008-12-19T22:12:00.001-08:00

Today is my sister's birthday. So my mom got us girls tickets to go see Neil Diamond in concert. I think I am too young to know any of the songs he sang, but he sure is a good entertainer. Although I did know the "We're coming to America" song, that one was pretty cool! He also sang this "Sweet Caroline" song that was really cute. I wonder if anyone who reads my blog even know these songs. My mom LOVES Neil Diamond, so I am sure she LOVED the concert. It was a lot of fun, and was a great way to celebrate my sister's birthday. Thanks Mama for a fun girls night! Happy Birthday Dana.

Time to get movin!

2008-12-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am all better now! I got the ok from the doctor this morning that I can go back to my normal routine as long as I take it easy. Well, that was this morning so this afternoon I decided to catch up on some of the Christmas shopping I missed out on for the past two weeks. I spent three hours out in all the madness....I almost died! People are CRAZY this time of year. I almost got run over, by cars and carts; no one is happy and jolly, everyone is pissed off and stressed to the max. I can't believe how insane it is out there. I am gonna start celebrating Christmas in a different month so that I can get the good stuff, not get killed and not be bitter by the time Christmas arrives that I am glad it is over with. I know, I know, this is not what Christmas is about, but it is a small part and it becomes a major part when doing little things this time of year turn into a fiasco because lines are so long, traffic is so hectic, and people are so mean.

Now that I have ranted and raved for a bit I actually feel a little better. Thanks for listening to me vent!

Have a Merry Christmas!

Update....

2008-12-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

Gerriss and I went to the doctor today and found out that the blood clot is improving (shrinking) but it is still hanging around. It has moved lower in my leg, which is why I am not in as much pain and why I am able to move a bit more, but he has ordered me to stay on bed rest for another week. We are trying out two new things this week for treatment so hopefully they help get this little thing under control. Other than that I am still just going to be sitting here at home, reading, watching movies, doing crafts, and visiting with friends and family. Thanks to all who have helped us out so far, either with meals, friendship, or prayers, it means so much to us and we are so happy to know that everyone cares so much. We love you all and we will keep you posted on how things are going.

Bed rest...

2008-12-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

I have been put on bed rest until further notice for a minor blood clot in my leg. I am so bored though! I have tons of movies to watch, books to read, and games to play, but that is not enough. I need human interaction. My mom came over today which helped A TON. She brought me all this healthy food that will help open up my arteries, so I guess I don't get to eat comfort food. Its ok, the faster I can kick this thing the better. Plus its not like I need to make it worse right. So if anyone has any ideas of things to do while sitting here doing nothing I am all ears! Oh and about the clot thing, no need to worry, its small and will be gone in no time at all. Just a minor mishap with my medicine. I learned my lesson to take EVERYTHING that the doctor wants me to though, even if it is yucky. Oops!

Dr. Stewart Yeager

2008-11-26T16:58:00.000-08:00

So since Saturday when we moved all of our furniture back and reorganized our house I have had a VERY sore wrist. I developed tendonitis at my old job and it has occasionally aggravated me ever since. Well I went to my Chiropractor tonight, Dr Stewart Yeager, and *poof* he fixed my wrist and it is not in pain at all anymore! So if anyone has any really big problems that other doctors say can't be fixed, he's the man to call.

New carpet, long weekend!

2008-11-24T06:17:00.000-08:00

We got our new carpet this weekend. On Friday night we moved everything into our kitchen and into our next door neighbor's house (thanks Jeano and Jess). Once everything was out of the rooms, the boys ripped out the carpet and Jess and I went to see Twilight! I know, we should have stayed and helped, but it was totally a man thing and I think they had more fun doing that then they would have had coming with us. BTW Best movie ever!!! That night we had a slumber party at our neighbors house, the boys played video games and the girls went to sleep. (we are so exciting I know) On Saturday Jess' dad came and put our new carpet in, thanks Alan. In case anyone needs new carpet, he is quick, efficient and affordable, and also he is totally awesome! Once the carpet was in, it was now time for vacuuming and moving everything back to its place (thanks David). It took the rest of the day to move it all and clean everything, but my house is now back together and smells wonderful. No more old moldy carpet smell!

Well...

2008-11-20T20:43:00.000-08:00

Second place isn't as bad as not placing at all right? We totally brought our full A-game tonight. The other team just had a little bit more. (way to go Wandamere!!) But all in all we put up a pretty awesome fight!

Our Stake Volleyball Championship game was tonight. We played an undefeated season. And lost, right at the end of it all.

I think I am too sad to continue posting anything tonight...

To be continued once recovered...

One more week!

2008-11-14T19:56:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is only one more week til Twilight comes out! I am so excited! I only wish I was going to be able to go see it next weekend as well. You see, we are also getting new carpet that same weekend so we have to move all of our furniture into our neighbors house and get ready for Saturday for our carpet guy (friends dad) to come over and make our house look wonderful again. Unless Gerriss is ok getting absolutely no sleep and wants to go see it with me late that night, and if we can still get tickets, it looks like I will have to wait til a week or two after to go see it. Or....maybe I can talk Gerriss into seeing it for FHE on the following Monday night....well either way I am still so excited for Twilight and for new carpet! YAY!

Hmmmm...

2008-11-11T17:57:00.001-08:00

My family is not very big on guns or shooting or anything of the sorts so when I met Gerriss and he had a gun rack with a rifle in the back window of his truck it was a bit much for my family to take. Me on the other hand, I didn't care too much at first, but as we thought of our future of children and stuff I said NO WAY. Well recent "changes" have made me start thinking... I know there are a lot of reasons why not to have guns in the house but I think that sometimes we have to compromise and come to an agreement. So Gerriss has done A LOT of explaining, complaining and sales pitching and finally I decided that it is ok to have them in our house. We have been talking lately about him getting his concealed weapons permit just in case he wants to get a handgun so that he knows how to handle it and for safety purposes. So since I said that he took that as an open invitation to get a hand gun. Tonight Gerriss traded his bass guitar and his amp for a Michigan Armament 1911 .45 acp ...whatever that is. But he is so happy and excited so I guess its good.

Hair cut anyone?

2008-11-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

Tessa and her family came over tonight to help out Gerriss and I's sad hair. Since she just had Nixon we decided to give her a break for a while and get our hair trimmed at a cheapo place. Bad idea!!! Both of us have been very unhappy and have missed our expert stylist. If anyone needs a haircut she is the BEST! She may be far, but its worth the trip! The picture above is Gerriss in the middle of his haircut, doesn't he look cute....?!?! Now our hair is back to normal and we look great again. Thanks so much Tessa for visiting and letting me hold Nixon all night! I am sure that Gerriss also enjoyed his guy time with Blake and Easton! Come back soon!

Grape Juice!

2008-11-07T15:39:00.001-08:00

Grandma taught me how to make grape juice yesterday. We spent the whole day prior picking grapes off the vines and washing them and getting them ready to be canned. It was a long process but now we have 25 bottles of delicious grape juice! I am so excited! Every time we go to mom and dad's house for special occasions they pull out the home made grape juice and I absolutely love it, and now I can too. Thanks Grandma!!

"It's time for a change"

2008-11-06T10:17:00.000-08:00

While I have been reading through a few many blogs this morning I have read many thoughts about our new President. I may not agree with the decision that was made but I will respect our President and his administration. I will also continue to pray the Barack Obama will make the right changes and choices for our nation. And like I read on so many other blogs today, my faith in Jesus Christ will lead me and my family in the right direction and will keep us all safe. All I can say is:

Jack.....and the Halloween Party

2008-10-31T21:27:00.001-07:00

We gave Jack a bath today. He really hates his bath time, but he has been molting so much lately and we read that we should bathe him once a week. So we have been alternating between his spray on oil bath and a water bath. He looks so funny when he is wet cause his feathers are all stuck together and he looks all skinny and little. He was freezing after his bath today so we put him on top of the vent in our front room. He was so cute, he started to fall asleep he loved it so much. Then when the heater would turn off he would look at us like "hey why did you turn that off, I was enjoying myself." So we had the heat up to like 75 just trying to keep it running so that he could get warm and dry faster. It was the cutest thing ever! Ok maybe not ever, but I get really excited about really small things.

Also, we went to a ward Halloween Party tonight that was the funnest Halloween Party I have ever been to, seriously! So we are heading over to gramps and grandmas house to hand out candy cause there is a parade down their street every year. As we pull onto their street there is a fire truck and two police motorcycles and about one hundred other people in costumes. It was totally awesome! The parade has a police escort around the block! So we handed out candy and then once every one was back from trick-or-treating around the block, there was popcorn, hotdogs, and all other sorts of sweets and treats at our friends house. We got some pictures of the various costumes people were wearing. Some of them are quite amusing!

New Trailer!!

2008-10-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

Saw this on Beth's blog. Had to share!

Which Cullen are you most like?

2008-10-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Find out who are!

Personal Progress

2008-10-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

Since I got baptized when I was 19, I never had the opportunity to go to young womens or participate in personal progress. I decided that there is no time like the present to start. So tonight I went to my first mutual activity. It was personal progress night, which is a night for us girls to get together and we do a personal progress activity so we can pass one of the things off in our books. Yeah so obviously I don't know all the technical names of everything but still, I had so much fun and can't wait til next month for the next activity. Becca helped us with a Mary Kay makeover and Emlyn gave a sweet lesson about inner beauty and that we should care more about what is in our hearts than how we look. She is so wonderful! Thanks Emlyn! I am so excited to continue doing personal progress! Wish me luck!

New calling...

2008-10-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today we sustained Gerriss as the new Ward Executive Secretary. I am so excited for him to take on this new challenge, as I know he will do great. I have already noticed a change in his countenence since his sustaining earlier today. I am so proud of him for being a worthy priesthood holder and for the amazing example he is to me. I would not be who I am today without him. I know that this calling will be challenging and time consuming, but I know that he can handle it. I want to thank everyone for all of the continuous support that we have recieved through our trials and struggles throughout the years. We took the long road but Gerriss and I are back on the path (we hope) thanks to wonderful examples and, I am sure, many prayers. We love you all!

Cutest baby ever!

2008-10-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Gerriss and I went to Colorado for the weekend. It was so wonderful to see Adam, Drea, and especially baby Caleb! We went out there in May when he was about a month and a half old, and since then he has grown so much. He is so adorable now that he has started figuring things out, and can make new sounds. He has such a wonderful personality! I can't wait to see him as he continues growing. Good job Adam and Drea on raising such a beautiful baby! Keep up the good work.

Bump, Set, Spike

2008-10-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

We have the best ward in the whole stake! Yes, that's right, we are undefeated! We have been playing ward volleyball for three weeks now and we are doing great so far. Tonight we played our singles ward, who was also undefeated, until tonight. The coolest part about tonight was that, not only are we the best ward but we also have the best Bishop. Bishop Black played tonight in suit pants, a dress shirt and a tie. Holy Cow! He is so amazing! Go Kimball Ward!!!

$200 later

2008-10-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

Last month Gerriss and I were saving for a few trips we are planning on taking this month and in February. So since we had to save so much for the plane tickets and stuff we decided to be as frugal as possible on our spending habits. Well, we learned that if you don't buy extra groceries for a month and only live off the essential items, it costs more the next month to replenish the extra things used up. So in the long run we didn't really end up saving that much at all. This month has just begun and we have already almost maxed out our grocery budget. I really need Richelle to show me how to get groceries for cheaper, and to use coupons better! If anyone doesn't know who I am talking about just check out her blog , and you can see how amazing she is at food storage and such. Oh well, at least we won't be eating mac and cheese every night again.

Snowbird

2008-09-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday my dad and I hiked UP snowbird. I emphasize UP because for years we have ridden the tram to the top and hiked down, and this time we decided to hike UP and get a FREE tram ride down. Well....... all I have to say is we survived. It took us nearly four hours and one bad knee and two pulled muscles, but we did it. I left Gerriss at home to clean the house and do the laundry (you know, just the usual Saturday stuff) and we took on the task of this mountain. The pictures are of us about 20 minutes away from the top. It was freezing! The wind was blowing extremely hard and it was about 40 degrees. Next time I will know to bring a bigger jacket, and maybe something that is windproof. We had so much fun. Thanks for going with me and for all the encouragement Papa!

New Range

2008-09-19T16:31:00.001-07:00

We got a new oven range today! It is so exciting. Alright, I know that we don't own our house or the new range for that matter, but we got a new one in our apartment to use as long as we live here! Our old one burned me every time I used it. The thing was so old that the entire outside of the oven heated to extremely hot when I would bake and the sides of it would get almost as hot as the burner when I would cook. So Gerriss complained to our landlord, and told him that I have gotten burned A LOT from our oven/stove. The landlord knew right away that it could be a big liability so he replaced it as soon as he could. I am so excited! Its one of the flat top ones so hopefully I don't ruin it, I have read all of the instructions so I should be ok. Now I just have to figure out what to make for dinner!

Long time, no post

2008-09-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. We have been so busy. We haven't even been busy with things that are fun to read about, so I won't bore you with the details of our day to day....

But I want to mention how much I love family. Gerriss' aunt is doing something very incredible for us and I want to thank her for caring so much. I hope that she knows how much we love and care for her, and that we are so grateful for what she has done for us. Thanks also to her daughter... :) Whom without, I know the situation would not have been known, and we would not have this incredible opportunity. Thank you so much! Sorry to be so vague, but I don't want to blaaaab to much.

4 pizzas and a gallon of ice cream

2008-09-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had a party for our Sunday School class. There were seven children in my little apartment. 2 girls and 5 boys. All between the ages of 12 and 14. Oh my goodness was it crazy! But we made a deal with them that if they brought their scriptures to class every Sunday, continued to participate, and either wrote down or shared their testimonies we would have a party for them. So we got together tonight at our house and had 4 pizzas, a watermelon, a gallon of ice cream, almost two gallons of water, and watched Back to the Future 1. The most amazing part of it all was that Gerriss and I survived! Just kidding, they were all pretty well mannered. We are planning on having another party at the end of the year and we need to come up with some better challenges that they have to do. But not anything to difficult. Any ideas?

Idaho

2008-09-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

We went to Idaho this weekend to visit my grandparents and my sister and her family. On Saturday we went to the old Idaho Penitentiary. The buildings were so cool! We got to see some of the changes in the prison cells over the generations. They started out all tiny and gross, and now the cells are big and spacious and kind of comfortable, or at least they are compared to the old ones. There were so many things to see there. One of the buildings had the Gallows, it was kind of creepy to see the place where they were hung and then to go below and see the place where they landed. Eewww! All in all it was a very fun day. I think it was a bit too much walking around for my grandparents though, but they sure were troopers to take us there.

On Sunday we went to Brandi and Scott's out in Kuna, ID. It was a relaxing day full of cleaning out drawers and trying to convince a 16 year old to clean her bedroom. Ha ha! No really, I got there and noticed that one of the drawers in their kitchen didn't close all the way and Brandi says, "Oh that has been like that for 6 years, something fell behind and we just haven't gotten it out." Ok, so everyone knows that I am a bit OCD about cleanliness and this was just not going to fly, so I took the drawer out and began digging behind it to get whatever it was out. Little did I know that this would start a cleaning frenzy, because of the massiveness of the job that I just took on. But we did it! All four drawers were cleaned out and the bottom one will now shut completely. YAY! I tried to get Kierstan to clean her room as well since I couldn't even see the floor underneath about three feet of clothes, but she decided to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead. Can't say I blame her though, I LOVE THAT MOVIE! Anyways, while we were cleaning out the top drawer in the kitchen we found these googly eyes that you use for crafts. Kierstan decided that these would look cute as finger nail decorations instead. As you can see they turned out pretty cute!

After all the cleaning and making
dinner and baking cookies and working and playing volleyball and everything else we did, we all sat on the couch and played the Wii. We definitely aren't as good as the kids are, but we still had a lot of fun. Thanks again for letting us invade your house for a day!
Earlier in the evening we went to pick up Kierstan and her friend from Chevron. After we dropped her friend off we were turning out of his neighborhood and I saw a cop and I just knew I was going to get pulled over, the night before I had noticed that one of the headlights in my car was out. So just as I suspected, the cop immediately whipped around and pulled us over. He was really nice, I just let him know that I was planning on fixing it before we head home the next day. He checked my license and let us go. Later that evening when we had left the Hurless house and were on our way home, still in Kuna might I add, another cop saw our missing headlight and decided to pull us over. Oh yes that is twice in one night! I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing to do in Kuna, that is why we were pulled over twice, the cops had nothing better to do. That concludes our night in Kuna.

We had such a fun time in Idaho with all of our family. I love spending time with Mimi and Bop and hearing stories of their youth and of the war. They have so many great stories. Thank you so much for everything. We had a blast!

2008-08-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is going to be a long one. We went to church today out here in Idaho at what would be my grandparents ward if they were members. The couple that spoke had such a wonderful message that I just had to take a minute to share a few things. First the wife spoke. She was a returned missionary who felt as if she was inadequate to be a missionary because she did not fit the "cookie-cutter" mold that everyone thinks missionaries have to be. Through her struggles and lessons she learned that everyone is different and that everyone has different lessons to be learned by all of the things life throws at us. She referenced a talk given by Joseph B Worthlin, it was called, "Concern for the one" ( I think....I will find out for sure once I am home and update this) But anyways, in this talk he said that everyone is different and everyone has talents that are picked by our Heavenly Father to be unique to each of us. This is so awesome! I feel so blessed to know that each of the talents I have been given was chosen specifically for me by my Father in Heaven and he knew what things I would need in order to return to live with Him. That is as long as I use those talents in a good way. That isn't everything she shared but it is all I have time to type. The husband spoke next. He said that he had only been a member for about three years, and in this time he has given eight talks, one at a Stake Conference as well. This sounds very familiar, being that I have only been a member for a little over 4 years and I have given my share of talks already. Anyways, he started talking about his life and some of the trials he faced being a non-member in an area full of members. (he lived in Idaho Falls) A lot of the things he talked about were similar to the many things that happened to me and my family growing up as non-members as well. To sum it all up he stated that the Gospel and the Church are perfect, but that can't change the fact that we are all human and we are all sinners. Just because we are members of this perfect church, doesn't change the fact that we are given our free agency to make our own choices, which often times we make the wrong ones, thus we may offend people along the way. But we also need to be quick to forgive and not hold anything against our friends and neighbors. Sorry to be so preachy, but these two people really did an awesome job and I wanted to recognize them for their efforts. It is so nice to come six hours away from our home and to know that the Church is the same everywhere we go. Also it was nice to hear the Testimonies of the Saints in Idaho, they are so strong out here as well. Thanks for letting me share!

2008-08-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we went to my parents house to celebrate my mom's 29th again birthday. (I wonder how many times that is now...) Anyways we had so much fun! I hope that my mom liked her gift as much she liked her new hair decoration. Doesn't she look fancy!

We are headed to Idaho in about 12 minutes to visit my grandparents and my sister and her little family. We will post some more pictures, when we get back, of the wonderful and exciting things we see in Idaho!!! (do I sense a bit of sarcasm?) No seriously though! I think we are for sure leaving now, so wish us luck on our journey this busy, crazy, traveling weekend.

2008-08-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

I was over at my friends house the other night and we were having a little girl time while the boys played the wii. Well she showed me this way funny blog! It is called Seriously, So Blessed. Ok, so this blog is a fake person who is sort of making fun of LDS people, but not really. She is only really pointing out all of the totally crazy, funny, weird, or to some normal things that most of us do, but just all together at the same time so it is really intense. I can't really explain it very well. the best way to experience it would be to read through some of the posts. Have fun!!

Hogle Zoo

2008-08-16T19:33:00.001-07:00

We went to the zoo today! It was so much fun even though it felt like we were the only people there without kids. Who cares, we are trying to hang on to our childhood, while we still can.

Here is the famous white alligator. We found out that there are only a few of these in the world and they are lucky to be in the zoos cause they have no way of defending themselves cause they aren't camoflauge. He is only two years old. Cute huh!?!

My favorite! The zebra! It was sad, everyone else was over looking at the bears and it seemed like no one wanted to look at or even cared to look at the zebras. I love them! They are so pretty!

We still looked at the bears though...

This was one of the owls from the bird show. While they had him flying around they were playing the theme song to Harry Potter. It was great!

Now that our feet hurt from walking around all day to see the animals it is time to relax.

I get it........sort of

2008-08-14T21:09:00.001-07:00

So I was reading through some of Staci's old blogs and I saw a link for Leelou Blogs. So, I was scrolling through the blog and I LOVE IT! She has the cutest things for blogs on there. Now the trouble is figuring out how to use them. I figured out how to use the template, but other than that I have no idea what to do. I want to add one of the link buttons that directs you to the church website and I want to add music. So anyone who wants to clue me in, please feel free! Thanks for all of your help too. All the posts with links to blog stuff websites have been such a great help as I am still learning how to make the world's greatest blog page. Let me know what it needs!

Meeeooowww

2008-08-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

Gerriss and I were outside with our neighbors the other night and we saw this cute little kitty. So being the nice person that I am I went inside and got him a bowl of milk. He gulped it down very quickly and then hung around out there with us for a little while. Well the next night he showed up again and was hungry. So, we had some extra salmon from our dinner earlier and we decided to give him a little taste. He devoured it! So now we can't get rid of him. Every night without fail he comes for a snack and some milk. I know we aren't supposed to have pets here and that Gerriss is totally allergic to cats, but he is so cute. I guess having an outside kitty for a little while will be fine. Although leaving him outside every night, even though he begs to come inside, breaks my heart a little bit. Well at least he is well fed. We don't know who he belongs to, but I hope they don't mind us feeding him every night.

Breaking Dawn...Best ending ever!

2008-08-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know it has only been three day since the book came out, but I finished it! It is so amazing! Thanks Tessa for getting me hooked on these books. It has been a great pass time while I sit around doing nothing while Gerriss is hard at work and I am required to be quite (because he is on calls). Everyone should read them if they haven't already!

Aiden turns two!

2008-08-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today was my nephew Aiden's 2nd Birthday! Well it's actually tomorrow but we celebrated it tonight. We had so much fun getting together with family and friends at my sister house in Bountiful. They bought him a new big boy bed that is a giant Lightning McQueen! Its so cute! They also had a Lightning McQueen cake for him. I'm glad we were able to be there for his special day! We love you Aiden!

A day at the Manti Temple

2008-08-02T22:12:00.001-07:00

Gerriss and I and Jed and Tara went down to the Manti Temple today. We had such an enjoyable time. We just love hanging out with family! I am getting a little bit better at this whole blogging thing, I guess I just have to jump in and start experimenting. We'll see how I do :)

2008-08-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a blog....so here it is! I need help. So all you expert bloggers out there, HELP!