Just My Luck...

...especially after just having my bumper fixed!

Saturday afternoon, I was leaving a store and walked toward my car to find that the back end was completely smashed! I could not believe it--especially because it had only been three days since I had the new bumper put on! I walked closer to inspect the damage and see if there was a note. "Great," I thought. No note. No one around to claim responsibility. No one standing around who might have seen the accident. I got my camera out to take pictures of the scene. (I always carry my camera with me for situations like this!) It seemed crazy that my car would get hit that bad in a parking lot! I was trying to figure out how someone would've hit my car head-on.

Then I looked to the next aisle over and saw my car. Phew.

***

Oh. One more thing. Cutest niece award definitely goes to Ms. Claire:Total Babe. Wanna see more pics? (Of course you do.) Click on over to Katie & Joe's blog!

Name That Logo Quiz

I scored 35/36...can you get all of them?? Click here.

Be Careful...

...what you wish for!

Last Thursday as I was leaving work, I looked at the rear bumper on my car and wished for a new one. I had parking stickers from three years ago still reminding me of the good old days at Tuscany and Autumn Winds that were peeling off in shreds. They looked so tacky! I have a hard time putting stickers on my car in the first place, and to have a huge sticker that says "Rexburg Housing" on your bumper is quite tragic, in my opinion. I continued on my way home thinking of ways I could get those pesky stickers off, but couldn't come up with anything I hadn't already tried.

A few minutes later, I found myself peacefully stopped at a light on State Street....but not for long. I was rear-ended. Lame! We exchanged info and were on our way. Good news: no injuries. Bad news: broken bumper.

I dropped my car off yesterday morning and picked it up this afternoon. Now, less than a week later, I have myself a new bumper...sans parking stickers! Wishes do come true!

And because I like to put up pictures...just a couple from our little birthday party for Ms Claire last night!

Claire in her birthday rocking chair and snow boots!
Claire in her piggy pajamas and ABC magnets!

Handmade Birthday!

Little Miss Claire is one today!! Can't hardly believe it's already been a year since she was born...it's hard to imagine life without that lil' munchkin!

When I saw this alphabet tutorial, I thought it'd be perfect for Claire! My alphabet didn't *quite* turn out as good as the photo in the tutorial, but it works, right? :)

Lessons learned:
• sewing machines and magnets (and needles!) don't mix well
• make the letters a little bigger next time
• next time I'll be sewing by hand
• perfect way to use up small scraps of fabric



I think they turned out pretty cute for round one. I learned a few things and will change it up a little next time!

Happy Birthday, Claire!



(next major purchase: a camera!!)

Pics from when Claire was born here and here. Crazy to think this was a year ago! Time flies...

Halloween!

Such a great weekend! Friday we all got dressed up and headed out for the night--Stake Halloween activity and a Halloween party that our friends were throwing. Good times! No pics...I know, lame.

Saturday morning we had a birthday breakfast for Matt at Callie's Cafe! Watch out...their waitresses have questionable side jobs and are willing to give you a little sneak peek on your birthday! It made for some good laughs! (Counter-clockwise: Dane, Britt, Jared, Ashley, Pat, Paul, me, Matt.)



Saturday afternoon, we were invited to go up to Stew's family's place to go shooting and spend some time at his home. We had a total blast! It was Michelle's first time and she did awesome! It was a beautiful day to go--not too cold, not too hot until the sun went down. We shot clay pigeons and we also took all of our carved pumpkins...so fun! Britt made a couple of bulls upset...they weren't too happy with us being on their property! I had a good day shooting--I beat the boys in our little competition! (Dad says it's not such a good thing to beat boys at things like this...not a good way to get a husband. I don't know if I completely agree...I've gotta keep 'em in their place! :) Haha!)



(Left to right: Brandon, me, Josh, Stew, Britt and Michelle)



It's been a great weekend! Good to relax a little before a busy week. Mom's coming in on Tuesday for (pretty much) the month of November. We have lots to do! Little Claire turns one on Tuesday, too...I can't believe she'll be a year already! Last week I got rear-ended, so my car will be in the shop this week. Boo.

I'm starting to feel anxious for the holidays now that Halloween is out of the way! (I like Halloween, but it's definitely not my fave!) I hope to find time to enjoy the season and not rush through it! I have a feeling that Christmas music will start playing soon and I have mixed feelings about that one...I'm trying to decide when I want to break out the Christmas CDs in my car...maybe in a few weeks!

LinnieBell Cake Stands and Candy Dishes and More!

Tom & Lucy's Art Shoppe is coming up and mom and I will be there selling cake stands/candy dishes made from antique dishes, journals made from old books and some cards! It's going to be a busy weekend...my brother will be getting married the same weekend (hooray!!!!) so I'm sure we'll be running from one thing to another! This is just a quick pic of some of the cake stands...kinda fun and quirky and are perfect for holiday parties! Come stop by the boutique and say hi!

Tom and Lucy's Art Shoppe
November 19th - 21st
Ivory Ridge Country Club
32 East Clubview Lane
Lehi, UT 84043

Trunk or Treat!

Our ward was having a "Trunk or Treat" for children in the area at our apartment complex and I've been dying to see Claire in her costume! I begged Katie to bring her over, and I was so glad they came! Claire rocked the boots in her little outfit...she couldn't have been cuter! The best part was when Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was playing and Claire was totally shakin' her booty...she was definitely the cutest girl there!

I think I'm done with candy for the year...I think today alone I had a month's worth of candy! I have a feeling it's going to be hard to fall asleep tonight! :)

What Happens in Britt's Car...

...doesn't stay in Britt's Car!

Roomie Britt needed to run an errand tonight (to delay studying for a major exam tomorrow) and being the funny girls that we are, we put wigs (yes, the wig from here and here) on to run the errand. The cashier at Rite Aid did not know what to do! We did *such* a good job keeping straight faces (which I'm not usually good at!), but as soon as we got outside, we could hardly contain ourselves! People were looking at us wondering what the heck we were doing!

Britt decided that we should make a couple more stops before going home, so we ran by the Tanner Building at BYU and snapped a quick pic:

Ha, ha...we're so funny! As we were pulling out of the parking lot, red and blue lights started flashing behind us...

Yes, we were being pulled over. Lame. We both ripped the wigs off as fast as possible and tried to figure out why we were being pulled over. Reason: forgetting to turn the head lights on! Lame. Officer Lamehead was nice to let Britt off with just a warning, but told her that she'd better not make a habit of forgetting to turn her lights on! Needless to say, we went straight home without making any more stops. What a night.

Slice of Rexburg

Behold, the goodness that is Craigo's Pizza:
Welcome to Provo, Craigo's!

From Sharon's Back Porch

To say that it's been a crazy month would be an understatement!

Mom and I took the most wonderful vacation a couple weeks ago back East to tag along with my Aunt Sharon and her gang to go antiquing in Pennsylvania! We had such a great time and it was so fun getting to know Sharon and her family a little better over the two weeks that we were there! The first week was filled with antiquing--literally all day long! I tried to keep track of all the places we went, but I lost track after the first day!

I've been looking for a hope chest/blanket chest for a few years now, and I finally found one that I fell in love with! It's very simple, but it's exactly what I wanted. The dealer thought that it was built in the 1850's or 1860's. Unfortunately I won't be enjoying it for a while. It's currently still back East; mom and I will be needing to make another trip back there next year to pick up all of our goods that didn't fit in our luggage!

The second week we spent down in Virginia at Sharon's place and visited a handful of historical places--Stratford (Robert E Lee's birthplace), Monticello, the local pizza parlor, the library, the ice cream shop. (Trust me...the last three places were historical places of interest!) I think that my favorite place that we spent time was down at the lake off Sharon's back deck...so quiet and peaceful!


Mom and I went down to the lake one night just as the sun was setting, the moon was coming up over the hills and a flock of noisy geese were coming in to land on the lake. We couldn't stop laughing at these geese...it's as if there was a huge reunion between them all and they were having a huge party! Sharon warned us that there might be snakes down by the lake, and so Mom and I did our fair share of scaring each other as we were walking to and from the lake!

It was such a great break to just take off and try not to worry about anything else. It's such a beautiful time of year. The trees were just starting to turn and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! Thanks Mom and Sharon for letting me tag along this trip! How about next year???

Watch Out!

This girl is officially 16 and is ready to drive!!! Sarah turned 16 a week and a half ago, but due to a lost SS card, had to wait a little longer than she probably wanted to get her license, but the day has come! Tomorrow Sarah's going in for her license...good luck baby cakes!! :)

(I think the person MOST excited about this is Mom...no more driving kids around!)

*Update: Sarah can officially drive without parental supervision! Watch out! Congrats, Sarah!!!!

Lovin' Me Some Elmo

Little Claire is sick with a double ear infection right now...so sad! This little monkey hasn't ever been this sick, so it's kind of weird having her be cuddly and just want to be held! SO, in honor of happier times, I thought it'd be appropriate to share some funny pics of Claire when she was over here the other night. :)

She had just gotten out of the tub and I sat her down so I could get her PJs, and when I turned around to get her, the little jay-bird had climbed up on the chair and had somehow hit the right keys on the keyboard to get an Elmo video to start playing on youtube--her favorite!


She has a couple faves right now: Elmo with Feist singing "1, 2, 3, 4," Elmo's Song, and Elmo with the Ducks. She loves to dance and whistle along to the songs!