It's COLD outside...

I wasn't the only one braving the cold this morning. I love this picture.

It's really been THAT long?

Because it's almost our anniv soon... I saw this tag on a friends blog, and wanted to share some tidbits about him/us. Not tag anyone. It's more of a momento for my sweet hubby.

*What are some of his nicknames: Papi, daddy,

* Where did you meet? On the internet

*How long did you date before you were married? 5 months

*How long have you been married for?6 years

*Who said I love you first?I think he did.

*When and where was your first kiss? Ummm in my bedroom. grrrrr

* Who kissed who first?I don't remember! I think we met in the middle.

*Who proposed? Jared.

*What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? Watch sunday football. (Never thought I'd EVER do that!!!)

*Do you have kids? Yes... many.

*What does he do that surprises you? Makes sure he comes home from ANY store with something for me. coke, chocolate, shirt...etc.

*What's your favorite feature about him? His hands.

*What's your favorite quality about him? Loyalty

* Does he have a nickname for you?Dree

*What's his favorite color?Blue, green or red

*What's his favorite food? Roast and mashed potatoes and gravy (or that's just what he always wants me to cook)

*What is his favorite sport? College Football

*What's a hidden talent that he has? Drawing

* How old is he? 34

*What do you admire most about him? The sacrifice he gives to provide for his family.

*What's his favorite past time? Reading.

*Who eats more? I do...

*Who is taller?He is but only by an inch.

*Who sings better? I'll have to say me cause he won't sing for me (although i've heard him in the shower a time or two and I was impressed.)

*Who is smarter? Depends on the topic/subject/situation...

*Who does the laundry?Me.

* Who pays the bills? I do, when he tells me to.

*Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does

* Who mows the lawn?I do...I love being in the yard.

*Who cooks dinner? I do

*Who drives? We both do. He has his car, I have my "family wagon."

* Who is more stubborn? Me.

*Who controls the T.V. remote? Who ever is furthest away from Dylan.

*Whose temper is worse?If you make him angry enough...he does. But I find the littlest things (which is most of the time) to be angry.

*Who does the dishes? The kids!!! Whoo whoo

*Whose parents do you see more often?Mine...He works with my dad.

*Tidbits about us;*One of my fondest "dating memories" was laying in the park on a blanket looking up through the leaves. Such a simple activity, but means so much!

*When I held his hand for the first time, it "fit"!!! It was the coolest thing.

* We "order" sunsets for each other.

* We both have a love for the outdoors and find it SO important to instill that into our children.

* Some day we want to go to Fiji for our "honeymoon".

* We both look our best in camoflauge. ;o) (ok...not really, but we love it!)

Thinking back to when I met Jared seems like such a different life because of how much we have changed. Not only in my constant expansion of produced children ;o) (btw...I'm done for now for those of you who may question) but the experiences that have brought us to where we are now. I will honestly say that it wasn't the most easiest, but definitely A LOT of growth and learning accompanied. It will be six years this monday and look forward to what the next six will bring! I love you papi!

I could use some suggestions of what we could do. The same old dinner date, just sounds so boring! He's working out of town so it might be tricky and may need to involve all the kids. (Unless you want to babysit!) ;o)

Merry Christmas!!!

Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

LOVE, Audrey

Fish Update....

Before we start with the story...Just thought I'd throw this recent picture of Aaron, Omner, and Himni. They are STILL doing really great. Getting big!

I know it's been a while since I've discussed my fish, and it's not because I haven't had much to talk about...(for fish, they are VERY active. At least as a "community", this tank ALWAYS has something going on. Good AND bad!) So here goes:

The weekend of Thanksgiving, I lost 4 fish. I don't know why, but I just did. Two of them being the beautiful guppies I had named Tango and Orange. This post will remind you. (I forget which other two...seeing how I go through them SO fast!) BUT, because I had lost some, I felt that it was time, (I waited a couple of weeks!! That's good for me.) to buy more. We got 3. Two Ghost Cats (super creepy looking but I can't decide all the time what kind of fish goes in this tank plus a little variety makes it more fun to look at. Not named yet)

AND, yes...one more guppy! (The guilt of killing as many as I have, hasn't reached the Don't-purchase-any-more-because-you -can't-keep-the-poor-things-alive stage yet. So I picked a BLUE one out! He was SO pretty. Navy blue tail fin and blue lips. I LOVED it/him/her. I even named it Navy (yea, I thought it was a cool name too. ;o) Yesterday, a friend of mine came to visit/cut my hair and we talked about my continuous hobby of "Killing/keeping" fish. I was especially excited for Navy and just enjoyed watching that little fish swim around. Cute thing that it was! And continued on with my day.

This morning when I went to feed/stare at them, I couldn't find Navy. HOW WEIRD was that!? There really aren't that many places for a fish to hide in my tank (ok, NONE really!) and could not figure out HOW my fish came up missing. I had the thought maybe it jumped out and landed on the counter. NOPE, I looked. And then I noticed the net wasn't in the exact same position that I usually place it when I'm done using it. (Obssesive compulsive issue I seem to have) and knew that it had been touched. My next thought was....ELI! But the net was not wet at all. So now I'm totally going nuts and thoroughly confused. My only possible conclusion is that sometime yesterday afternoon/evening, Eli decided to go "fishing" (he's done it before AT THE PET STORE... caught poor little HEALTHY Navy and flushed him! (I had made the mistake once of letting Eli watch me catch and flush a fish after having found one dead.) I tried to question Eli about it, but the kid just doesn't communicate in an understandable way. (He mostly repeats everything you say.) But he did point to the net and say fish, then run to the toilet and flush it! GUILTY!

SO...now with all that said and much whinning to Bonnie about what happened, she took all five kids and sent me to petco with a couple of bucks to buy another one. (I wasn't ready to replace Navy quite yet...but I was excited for the fact of being ALONE. So, Korah and I went shopping.

I found a cute little green one, big, fat and active (I thought that meant healthy and hearty) and named it Kermit. (clever, I know) and brought it home to acclimate it in the water. (e.i. Let the bag the fish is in float around till the water temperatures are the same for both tank and bag...) I hung out on the computer for a awhile and then drove to Bonnie's to get the kids. When I came back to introduce the fish into the tank... WELL... I stuck the net in to catch the little bugger, I saw poop and lots of it (or so I thought) but then the poop started swimming around. HOLY MOLY! Kermit had babies! 12 of them!!!!!!!!! I called Bonnie and she said that I needed a nesting net. Of course she had one (the fish supply store that she is!) and quickly brought it over. Making my tank equipped with "fish nursery" and all. How excited was I! (actually I don't really know what I'm going to do with all of them. 12 is WAY too many for the size of tank I've got, but it will be fun to see what they look like when they get bigger. IF they survive! (You'll have to double click on the picture so you can see how cute and little they are!

In about 3-4 weeks I will be giving away guppies for anyone interested.

Beauty from the storm

This is why HUGE snow storms are Ok... Once in a while.

Traditional traditions...

I don't think I can remember the last time I went Ice Skating, but I know that I loved it. It makes me think about the"old times" our parents talked about, as children bundled up like marshmellows tromping through 2 feet of snow, to the local frozen lake/river with their skates and little siblings in tow. Memories that I, for one, wanted passed on to my children. And a Sister-in-law that wanted the same for them as well. (It was actually Aunt "Launa's" idea) So when the recommendation came to take the kids... regardless of the fond memories...I was a little hesitant. Reasons being, that's a lot of kids to try and keep track of. Two..I believed that Ashton would throw a fit if he didn't like it. (I assumed that he was going to hate it, but would do it because Jaden and Mykael were doing it.) 3. Eli...I thought would be more into it than what actually was the case.

*Thank you Jaden for allowing access to Eli's legs behind you. Great kid, wanted me to get a great shot.


There's a great place in downtown SLC that has an outdoor rink and lots of lights (at night). Romantic to the adults and magical for the kids. As cold as it was, I'm glad that I allowed myself out of my comfortable, safe, WARM bubble (that has plenty of room for my children) and allow them the freedom to stretch their wings of independence, (and watch them fall a few times.) No major wounds, but we didn't go home without a few knocked heads. *Ice is a VERY unforgiving surface that leaves you stinging.

After a short while of wobbling to find thier balance....each one did fantastic. Ashton, surprisingly took right to it like a fish in water.

After Jade, Eli, Dylan, and I headed back to the warmth of the car...Mykael and Ashton stayed behind for "just awhile longer".

Even though it was a great and memorable night, true Success came after a tylenol with a good night sleep and a desire the next morning, to "go ice skating again."

Thanks Aunt Launa....We had a blast! REALLY!

Advantages of Aging...

"Alright listen here, my minions!


"Go THAT way!"

"As you wish!"

Ward/Church Christmas program

Pie, Angels, Shepards, and Heavenly Choir

Body Art by Eli

Let me know if you would be interested in the latest fashion by Eli.

Our first subject, (grandma) is showing us here how lovely is looks with ANY color, print, or age you can wear it with. *How lucky for her to be decorated by Eli, himself! (she wore it all day too! Even to Costco! I, of course was walking "too fast" for her and she kept lagging behind. Wonder why?)

.

Next we have Eli demonstrating exactly HOW to apply it. The areas to cover are limitless! *Not for wood surfaces or hair!

Which is better?

Because of the time of year and the number of expenses we have in our "bucket"... it's only right for something to go wrong. LIKE...my washing machine dying a very slow and dirty death. (I say slow because I refuse to pull the plug just yet, so I can get the machine I really want. Let's hope my husband is never on life support.... ;o)

Anywho... here is my dilema. Top load or

front load?

The cheapest one would be the top load, but I would be shelling out with more water and detergent usage and having to buy clothes more frequently because of the "agitator" beatin' up my outfits. (Not really a good pro's list, is it?)

The front loader...is double the price but less water, less soap, and MORE space! (We all know that I'm swimming in laundry on a regular basis so bigger loads would be great.) I guess I've already got my heart set on this lovely one-eyed looking machine and will be able to pull the plug on the topper as soon as my washing-machine penny jar reaches its goal.

Until then, for those of you that have an opinion to either...I'd love to hear it. I really need to make sure I'm making a good "investment".

BIG SHOCKER!....Really! I'm shocked!

Apparently I haven't reached full capacity when it comes to "callings". The latest one...2nd Counsler in R.S. Pres.! A little nervous.(ok A LOT!) I've got big shoes to fill. I love the women that I'll be working with, so hopefully the transition will be easy going. I find out tuesday am. what my responsibilities are. Any advice is ALWAYS welcome.

A Fat Turkey, and NO it wasn't Thanksgiving

Ashton's been wanting to learn how to play Uno for a while now and I told him that when everyone was in bed, he and I would play. Grandma was here to help him, which made it easier for me to teach him. As I was sitting there deciding which card to use, he said, "Wow mom, you've got a FAT TURKEY! Knowing MY son would NEVER tell me I was a fat turkey... ;o) I figured he was talking about the cards I had splayed in my hand and responded, "I sure do!" (smart kid) Now everytime he plays with someone, he makes sure to inform them if their turkey is fat or not.