Wikki Sticks

Cassidi, Brock, Sam and I went out to dinner last night at Roosters. For those of you that don't know what Roosters is its a restaurant micro brew place. It has kinda a funky menu but a neat atmosphere.

Brock orders a kids meal and with his kids meal comes these things called wikki sticks. He is looking at them in the package and said. "Do I eat these?". Well the answer to that is NO. They are the coolest things. They remind me of a wick of a candle but the wax does not fall off and they are stickier. We all had such a good time with them!

HEY.. DID YOU GUYS KNOW WE ARE GOING TO MEXICO!!! I "heart" MEXICO!

Cozumel Mexico it is!!!!!

We did it..... we finally chose a date, place and are headed to paradise in a week. We had several stipulations for our honeymoon. We wanted a warm beach, somewhat secluded but with things to do, we wanted to be waited on and an all inclusive resort and finally we wanted more than 5 days there.
After much searching and talking we finally found a place and booked it. We will be gone for 7 days to Cozumel Mexico next week. We are so dang excited to spend some great time together and create more memories for us. Absolutely in love with this wonderful woman.

We may take a laptop and will post as we go to keep our friends and family up to date.... and also so we can brag it up a little haha. We will for sure take lots and lots of pics.

Got Snot?

Cold season has hit full throttle at the Campbell house. Brock, Josh, Cassidi and I have all had a stuffy head, runny nose, no sleep, can't breath, snot rags, vics menthol, sore nose, sore throat and much more. I walked from Sam and I's bedroom to the kitchen and the above picture is the "stuff" I picked up. We look like a manufacturer for Over the Counter cold remedies.

BEST BUY OF THE YEAR.. This tea pot. We are living on tea and egg drop soup...

GAS PRICES!!!!!!!!!!

As some of you know, I have an influence on gas prices in several states. In a nutshell, I develop and drive strategies in markets based on gallon and store sales (and profit).

I know what you are now thinking..... "your the asshole" lol yes... I am. I get threatening phone calls and I am sure I have hitmen after me in 7 states but like my wife always says... it is what it is.

My reason for this blog is just to vent some and explain what is happening a little. Retailers have no control over costs of crude oil or gas. We buy from the refineries at whatever they are charging and then go sell it. 95% of my retail moves are based on strategy moves not cost moves. So until recently, we were enjoying cost and retail drops like crazy and my cars only take 20 bucks to fill up instead of 70 (yes I pay for my own gas). Now that it seems to have hit bottom, our costs went up over 20 cents a gallon in Idaho and Utah and about 50 cents a gallon in Arizona and Nevada. Why???? beats the hell out of me.... its all about supply and demand. The only indicator that I have to try to forecast what is going to happen is what we call a crack spread. I know I know.... crack spread.... get your minds out of the gutter lol
Crack spread is our estimate between what the refineries pay for crude oil and what they sell the refined product to us for at the rack. Generally, the crack spread (estimated refinery profit) floats around 15 to 30 cents a gallon. Right now its about a penny. So if I had to guess, gas will go up another 20 cents a gallon pretty soon..... but really who knows. Its like throwing darts at a dart board.
"Why is cost and retails going up when crude oil is still cheap and even dropping"
My best guess for this is that all the refineries last year had to forecast and contract estimated crude oil they were going to use this year. When demand dropped so bad the refineries were swimming in product and had to sell it cheap and below their cost to blow it out. So as consumers, we enjoyed cheaper than the national average prices because of the refineries over ordering. Now that supply is getting back to normal, the refineries are bring cost back up to where they are making a profit and hence the big retail moves lately.

So after yesterdays retail moves I had to go have a few drinks with my beautiful wife and forget about work for a while. I didn't have enough to drink to drowned it out though dang it... although I gave it a gallant effort. I will have to try again Friday night lol


This is a picture of our brand new Prescott Arizona store. Way kewl

Hot dog topping?

On the Bachelor tonight one of the girls asked.

"WHAT KIND OF HOT DOG TOPPING DO YOU LIKE ON YOUR HOT DOG?"

She has a theory of how compatible you are depending what "topping" you like..

Well Sam and I took the test. We are boring but both answered the same.

KETCHUP!!!

Koy Pond!!

We have this great Koy pond in our back yard. I love the pond. It has a fountain in it and waterfall and is pretty cool all the way around.

Koy Pond Maker: "These Koy have been alive for 9 years".

Sam and I: "What do you do with them in the winter?"

Koy Pond Maker: "Nothing the ice gets really thick but they live ever single year."

Sam and I: "??????... OK"

Cassidi goes over to a friends house about a month ago that has Koy and comes home and says to us. Jon has a Koy pond and his parent say you have to put holes in the ice so the Koy can live..
Sam and I: "O... CRAP".

Brock gets on the internet and reads an article that tells us how to take care of a Koy pond and sure enough it says that we have to break the ice.
So now every other day (or 3 or 4) we go out with an ax and break the ice.Here is a picture of the pond as of this morning. The ice is about 4 inch deep..

Prediction.. KOY ARE DEAD IN THE SPRING... We will see!!!!

HOT POT PHUN!!!!

First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!! We have been so busy with Holiday stuff that we have not had a chance to blog much. Now that things are kinda getting back to normal (whatever normal is) we are going to start posting more again.
Well I have to tell you, Debbie has been talking about these Oneida hot pots ever since we met. So FINALLY, we organized a trip last Sunday. We packed the kids (except for Brock since he was in California with his dad) with suits and towels and a beverage or three and hit the road. I dont know if you remember what Sunday was but up in the Logan area is was a blizzard. We thought that slick roads and bad weather meant that we would have the hot pots to ourselves... well we were right. It was basically all ours.
We sat and watched the snow fly in onto our heads and backs while we sat in hot tubs. Way way fun. I was the only crazy one to do a snow angel with my bare back...... cold but fun. We came back into Logan and had a pizza at The Factory with some friends and off we went to Kaysville. Perfect day!!!

How to Fry your $600.00 phone..

It's simple.. Marinate it in a glass of wine..

VOILA!

FRIED!!!

Our first Christmas!!!

What a GREAT Holiday.

Christmas Eve Sarah got here and we started grazing.. We are still grazing... We have ate.
Seafood, Ham, Casserole, Mexican Food, Chinese Food, Ice Cream Pie, Taco Soup, Chinese Food, Wine, Champagne, Southern Comfort, Captain Morgan, Chocolates, PEZ, Peeps, Starburst, anything peanut butter, Cinnamon Pull Aparts, Sushi, Cheese on a stick, and we are thinking about eating RIGHT NOW!!!! Welcome to the Holidays at the Campbell House. whew...

Our favorite gifts by "popular vote"!

1. THE WII.. We are sore from boxing. Seriously my arm has hurt for two day.. (FYI.. Sam sucks at boxing..)
2. A great big bouncy ball. (Cassidi collects bouncy balls and Santa brought Cassidi a very large bouncy ball full of water and glitter, it has amazed us for days. Seriously hours and hours of entertainment.. Well worth the $11 bucks)
3. Erotic poetry magnets for fridges (I know sounds bad.. We bought them for Sarah. We figured College girls fridges could use some Erotic Poetry)

We have had so much fun. Other high notes. Sam, Cassidi, Sarah and I went to Body World.. AMAZING. It was AMAZING. It closes on Jan. 11th and if you have the chance to go, ITS WORTH THE MONEY! If you are not in SLC and are curious what Body World is.. Here is your link. BODY WORLD

The kids have been snowboarding. Sam and I seem to hang back and keep the home fires burning. Brock left for San Diego the day after Christmas with his dad, for Christmas his Dad got him tickets to a San Diego Charger game. BROCK IS SO EXCITED.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Its Sam and I, Cassidi, Brock, Josh, and Sarah at our house this Christmas..

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.....

Lets go to Logan today..........

We leisurely wake up on a Saturday morning... sun is shining bright and the snow was melting off of our driveway and the streets. We start getting ready for the day and Cass asked her mom if she could go to Logan for the day to visit friends. She said yes as long as she could drop Brock off to see his dad. So they load up and hit the road sometime around 1:30 headed for Logan. Debbie and I thought that sounded like an awesome idea to go visit some Logan friends so we got ready and hit the road right about 2:00. We stopped at the C store in Kaysville and grabbed a drink on our way out of town that took about 5 minutes or so. We were cruising about 80 clear up through Roy and we started looking at the mountain towards Logan.... we said to eachother... wow... I wonder if its snowing very hard over there?? Looks kinda nasty. By Ogden it started snowing pretty hard but just wet roads........ then we started to get close to Willard.... DEAR GOD HELP US.
Debbie spotted some traffic on the other side of the freeway going VERY slow and she mentioned it to me so I said... dang it must be getting slick just up the road.... suddenly I saw break lights ahead.... then I saw a car fishtail ahead of us.... then I saw some traffic crawling up my butt at high speeds so I pulled off to the emergency lane on the far right to give plenty of room and this PT Cruiser behind me skidded out of control and flipped a round into the ditch, a car behind that one did the same thing but kept gunning his gas and actually drove out of the ditch. We were both cheering him on in the car GO GO GO GO... lol. After about 4 cars hit the ditch and many many near crashes near us we finally all came to a dead stop. We then started creaping slowly for miles... sirens all around us coming behind us from the left and the right trying to get through the jam. We then started coming up on this PILED UP, emergency light filled disaster and panic was everywhere.

As we drove by this quagmire we were just in awe. Debbie counted the cars that were involved and she counted 35 crashed cars. Fire trucks, cop cars and ambulances EVERYWHERE. In fact on the south bound lane there was a cop car that got rear ended by a big pick up and there was no trunk left of the car.
During this time we could not believe that we sent our kids to Logan during this mess and Debbie kept texting Cass. They missed this mess by a half hour and did just fine thank God. If we were not thirsty and decided not to get a drink on our way out of town we would have been right in the middle of this and who knows where we would be. I feel terrible for these poor people involved and I am also very thankful that we were not.

Never a dull moment with Debbie and I........

B.I. N.G.O!!!

HoHoHo!!!

Cassidi and Kirsten "catching up"

Today we had out annual bingo Christmas Party. It was kinda a strange year. I was the only "child" the rest of them were grand kids. Nolan told me I was a "senior member".. OMYHECK.. senior member??? SHOOT.

We ate yummy food, played bingo and got WONDERFUL Prizes, and Sam schooled my nephews in ping pong. Great memories and lots of fun!

Side note: Sam did not know how to sing the song Bingo.. ya know the B I N G O.. and the next time you sing it you dont say the B and you Clap your hand and say I N G O..l and the next time you clap twice and say N G O... anyway..
We had to sing Bingo to show him how!!!

Bits and pieces!!!

Ya know when ya have a bunch of stuff going on in your life and you do not want to get to the MEAT AND POTATOES... Have ya all been there? Well this is one of those times in my life so I am giving you a few bits and pieces.. not the entire meal.

• I am starting to question if I should have been born with a penis.... Not for sexual reasons because I am sure I am not lesbian.... for other reasons.. the women I am talking about will understand that sentence.
• I have resorted back to sleeping with a blanky.. Bottom line.. I miss my Taylor. She had a blanky when she was little and she use to cry when the blanket was in the dryer. Well now I sleep with that blanky.
• Sam is quite simple the best man alive. He loves me UNCONDITIONALLY and what more could I ever ask?
• I am kinda on a pity pot. As I lay here in my big house in my big bed, with heat, Christmas presents, running water, and about 100 pair of shoes, my health, my husbands health and my kids health.. .. HOW COULD I BE ON A PITY POT. I Need to get out of my "bathroom"..
  
• Money DOES NOT BUY YOU HAPPINESS.. However, it sure makes life easier.
  
• I SHOULD NOT GO PUT IT ALL ON BLACK IN VEGAS...
  
• Sam see's no reason to run around the house nude.. He said quote "there are clothes all over this place, put them on.".....
  
• My brother is in the University of Utah hospital sick as hell and I have the nerve to be complaining???? I know. I NEED TO KNOCK IT OFF!
  
• I finally trimmed my toenails tonight. Sam is not in danger any longer...

To all those who read.. rest assure I am okay.. I took an ambien (SPELLING) tonight, i hardly EVER do that. I think this is the second time since I met Sam, and I CANT FRICKEN SLEEP!!! Sam made me get the laptop and lay by him so I did not leave him... How lucky am I.

Tomorrow is sure to be a better day.. I MISS YOU TAYLOR!

Santa came via US Postage Service.

Brock is home sick from school today. The mailman knocks on our door with a BIG package from Kentucky. Sam's Mom and Dad had sent Christmas presents. We don't get packages from the mail. I don't know that Brock has EVER received anything from the mail. He said. "IS THAT BIG PACKAGE FOR YOU". I said "it says Deb n Sam Campbell".

Brock: "Can we open it?"

In the box was a present to EVERYONE. Brock has been trying to read thru the paper since it has arrived.

Brock: CAN I OPEN "MY" PRESENT.

We have not let him open it...........yet.

Also in box was some lincoln logs and a sticky note on it that said. Sam, your inheritance from Aunt Lois. I held them out to Sam and Sam got a HUGE grin on his face and he said. "When I was little I use to hide in a cupboard at my Aunt's house and these were the toys that were in there." She still had them when she passed away last spring, 35 years later.

Well Brock snatched those up also.

Thank you so much Mom and Dad Campbell. We were so excited for the gifts and you made one little sick boys week. He was SO EXCITED. Sam has been saying how much fun it is to have a boy in the house. I have to agree. He made that package so entertaining. Thanks again!

Redneck Casserole

The other night, Debbie asked if we were hungry and of course everyone piped up and said YES!! We are not dumb when Debbie is cooking. So she went up to the kitchen and I followed. While she cooks I am usually right there at the counter visiting about whatever while watching her fly around the kitchen multitasking. (she loves it if I play my 12 string guitar while she cooks ;)
Anyway.... I never saw her look at a recipe or anything she just started pulling food out of the pantry, cabinets, freezer and fridge and put them on the counter top. Then she pulls out a casserole dish. Now she just starts tearing it up..... cooking meat, opening cans, whipping up mashed potatoes and mixing things together. All I saw was a blur. NEVER measured anything!!!! Soon the meat was done, potatoes were done and then she started putting it all together into the glass casserole dish. She piles it up higher and higher in the dish then brings the mashed potatoes and tops off the dish with them and then puts some cheese on top..... and now the most amazing thing...... it came perfectly to the top of the dish with just enough room to put the lid on. COME ON.... how in the hell did she do that so perfectly with out any measurements what so ever???? So then she throws it into the preheated oven (I have no clue at all when she even turned that on) and cleaned everything up and we went and watched a movie while it cooked.

Well as you probably guessed..... the casserole was absolutely delicious!!!! I told her THANK YOU and that is was way good and she was almost embarrassed about cooking a casserole. (she is not much for cooking casserole dishes apparently) She called this one the Redneck Casserole for some reason..... so be it... maybe I am a redneck... lol. I think Foxworthy should add casserole dishes to his "You might be a redneck" skit.

I am TOTALLY amazed and very appreciative of Debbie and her cooking (well... and many MANY other things lol)

ummmm. okkkkkk......

I am working away this morning upstairs in our master bedroom. Sam is working away on the main level at the kitchen table. I put on a pair of levis and the shirt I want to wear is in the laundry room. So I stroll down the stairs TOPLESS and Sam is sitting at the kitchen table. He turns to talk to me. He looks at me places each hand on a boob and VERY CALMLY AND SLOWLY says...

UMMM.... JOSH IS STILL HERE...

Holy SHIT.. I went upstairs in a hurry... ARGH!

Christmas letter..

I am very sorry to all out there that I have not sent a Christmas letter or Christmas cards, It's my way of going "green" this year. So here is my Christmas "updates" on the last year.

Dear Everyone:

I know that all of you know that we have had an exciting year! It's been packed full of change for all of us!

Josh: Josh lives with us in Kaysville, he does NOT like the drive into SLC every day but he seems to be making it. He is licensed to do loans in 48 states now and is doing very well at his job. Josh is the easiest of all of our children. He is not messy, he does his own laundry and spends most of his time in the basement playing on the computer or video games.

Sarah: Sarah is in Laramie going to the University of Wyoming. She is living the "college life" to the fullest. She is going to come home for Christmas and spend several days with us over the Holiday. We are so excited to see her.

Jordan: Sam's baby. Jordan just got her GED this week and she live in Sheridan with her Mom . She now is feeling the growing pains of no more high school and exactly what does she want to do with her live. I think we have all felt these growing pains and can be VERY difficult. She will get there we are all sure of that.

Cassidi: Our social butterfly. My mom said to me the other day that Cassidi would have been happy to be the only child. She loves to be the center of attention and INSISTS on attention. She never leave Sam and I alone and wants to lay in bed with us for hours and talk. HELLO WE ARE NEWLYWEDS cassidi you have to leave us alone sometimes.. !!! She is a Junior at Davis High and lives with US. She is in Winterguard at Davis.

Taylor: Taylor is in 9th grade and going to South Cache Middle School. She lives in Wellsville with her Dad. She did move to Kaysville with us but decided she wanted to move in with her Dad shortly after moving here. We miss her and think about her constantly.

Brock: Mamma's baby.. He loves him Mom and it is so much fun. He is in the 5th grade at Columbia Elementary here in Kaysville. He lives with us and him and Josh have a lot in common. Brock loves video games and computer. Most of the time he is bellied up to a computer and playing Club Penguin. He will always be our baby!!!

Sam and I: Well where do we begin... A HELL OF A YEAR! Sam and I found each other, fell in love, bought a house, moved, got married and now are trying to settle into our new family. Sam works for Maverik (obviously) and I work for New Dawn Technologies in Logan. We both have UNBELIEVABLE busy schedules but when one of us is gone the other kicks into gear to take care of this family..

I hope this Holiday Season brings peace and happiness to your family and that the New Year will be all you dreamed of..

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Whats a little breast milk amongst friends?

Christmas treats! I love them. Homemade goodness brought to your work and home. Is there anything better? Well I USE to love them.
I worked in the real estate field for about 7 years. Like any other kind of "service" company Christmas time also meant homemade treats in the office every single day. Happy clients bringing in whatever they are passing out to neighbors that Holiday Season.
I was sitting in my office one day when the usual "stampede" started up to the break room. On the way up one of my coworkers said.. "Brownies in the break room". I don 't care for brownie's (thank goodness) but I headed up to the break room for a diet coke and to chat with everyone. When I hit the break room most of the men had mouthful of brownies. Saying.. OMYGOD you should taste these they are the best brownies EVER. The nice woman who brought the brownies in was in the break room talking to her real estate agent and one of the men said to her. "YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME THE RECIPE FOR THESE BROWNIES, THEY ARE THE BEST I HAVE EVER TASTED...
Her reply....................................

"It's easy.. I use breast milk!!!"

I have not eaten a homemade treat since!!!!

Poor Cass.... she lost some teeth this week

Hey Everyone. AGAIN, I have been neglecting my blogging duties. My apologies but Debbie does such an awesome job I just like to kick back and read... haha.

So last week Cass tells her mom that she has a tooth ache. About 5 days later she is in the operating room getting all 4 of her embedded wisdom teeth out..... lol All she could think about was the IV needle she was about to get poked with. Forget the drill, hammer, chisel and pliers sitting on the stainless steel tool plate....... all she could see was the needle that was about to pierce her vein. Well Debbie and I were in with her in the room that had the temperature set about about 10 below zero, we covered her in a blanket as she was breathing in the laughing gas. The doctor walked out and I kissed Cass on the forehead....... to get a good wif of the laughing gas... lol.... it didnt do any good but we were very tempted to take a snort while no one was looking. We didnt..... but anyway.... the doc comes in and finds a vein and proceeds to poke a hole and cass raises her knees like she was going to take him OUT....... the nurse holds her legs I hold her hand and it worked out great. Cass went nigh nigh in about 9 seconds.
We heard drilling like it was boring through steel my good lord. 30 minutes later the nurse comes and gets us. Cass is sitting in the back room waiting for us. As soon as she sees her mom she gets HUGE tears and through her muffled, cotton stuffed mouth so packed that only her tongue could move says "I ust ant oo ee u" and hugs her mom. Through out the 10 minutes back home she keeps saying "I ust ant oo ee u" and hugs her mom from the back seat. Debbie is kinda laughing at her and suddenly starts to get sick to her stomach. I guess seeing her kid high on drugs and hurting got to her. We get into the grocery store parking lot and Debbie runs inside to get some soft food for Cass. 10 minutes later and Cass said..... "I dont remember how we got here"
Late on that night we needed to run to Target for some things and Cass wanted to go. As soon as we walked in the door, Debbie decorated Cass with a hat and put her in a seat on the push cart..... people looked at us funny for some reason. As you can see from the picture.... she looks a bit mentally challenged.

Anyway... I thought I would share that story and embarrass Cassidi a bit lol Do you still love me Cass? :)

I do's..

My mom got married on Saturday and what a great day it was. The picture above is Me (obviously) my gorgeous Mom, and my sister Michelle.
My mom is a class act. Any way around it my mom is a classy lady and her wedding was no different. Nolan is such a gentleman and truly is my mom's soul mate.
All of Nolan's kids were able to make the wedding. Michelle and I were the only kids that made it. My sister, Jill, lives in Texas and was not able to make it in and Mike had his 4th stem cell transplant last week and he is VERY ill and he was not able to make it. The picture above is the new family. I have step brothers and 1 step sister now, her name is Debbie (great name).
Sam took pictures and it was all around a very nice day. Cassidi got her wisdom teeth out on Friday (different post) and looks VERY swollen in these pictures. She curled up on the couch and slept most of the time. Mom and Nolan.. many years of happiness. We love you BOTH...

Hotel stuff!

Some stuff I love in hotel rooms.

Most hotel's have coffee machines with this fun little buffet of hot drinks. I don't drink coffee, I don't like coffee, in fact I really dis like it. I wish I liked it but I just don't. HOWEVER, every time I go to a hotel room and I see a hot drink buffet and coffee machine.. I make coffee.. WHY? I have no idea.

As I am typing this I have just started a pot of coffee... because I could.

next...

This is something new. I am staying at the Crowne Plaza and this is a first that I have saw this little bag of goodies. I check in and on my bed is this cut burgundy bag and a "sleep soundly" pamphlet WITH a sleep CD.

In the Burgundy bag, an eye mask, ear plugs AND lavender aromatherapy spray for my linens. hmmmm. ok.

In the pamphlet it gives you all kind of "tips" on how to sleep better. Watch the caffeine (then why do I have a coffee machine that is tempting me). Exercise, cut down on noise, light and extreme temperature. It says that the perfect sleeping temperature is 68 to 72 degrees. It also says use your drape clip. I said self... "WHAT IS A DRAPE CLIP?" Then I found it.

It hold your drapes closed for "perfect" lighting. Okay I have no clue how I have EVER survived without a drape clip. *wink.
Now my favorite the bathroom stuff. I LOVE HOTEL BATHROOM STUFF. This face soap is clearly the best stuff I have ever had on my face. I love it.

Just wanted to share my fun little hotel shtuff with you. I have no linen robe. I love white linen hotel robes.

Miss you Sam. Hugs and Kisses BABY!

I failed miserably.....

Well Debbie is out of town and I attempted to cook something easy. Burgers, dogs and fries. Debbie texted me the simple instructions on how to make some good fries so I got after it. I cleaned the potatoes and sliced them up and did exactly how she said... at least what I thought she said. I womans cooking instructions to a man like me is quite humorous.
So her instructions were to slice the potatoes kinda thick, rub them in miracle whip with my hands generously and put some seasoning on them. Bake them on 350 for about an hour.
Can you guess what I struggle with on my male comprehension???? Of course I didnt realize this until after the project was over but "kinda" thick really got me bad.... they were too thick and didnt get done. "Generously" on the miracle whip I was a quite a bit too generous and "some" on the seasoning was WAY too short and the "about" an hour was a disaster because they were not done. Seriously, can I cook a freaking french fry with simple instructions???? HELL NO.... they turned out disgusting, hard and no flavor. As you can imagine, I am soaking the pans in the sink over night.. I may have ruined them...lol The kids took one bite and Cassidi left right a way for a friends house to do homework and Brock went down stairs to play video games..... didnt say a word about them... haha. I can only imagine what they were thinking after eating Debbies cooking then looking at their plates with what I had... MY HELL I am a failure.

The kids did eat some burgers and hotdogs from the grill.... that I CAN do thank goodness so they wont starve tonight. I think tomorrow I will run to Smiths and get one of the hot, precooked chickens with some potato salad. They will appreciate that I am thinking... sheesh.

Until next time..... I am sure there will be more stories while Debbie is gone!!

Stockings were hung by the banister with care!

We go to Target last night to get Christmas stockings. So Cassidi, Brock, Sam and I all stood in front of the stockings and we are debating on which ones to get. For all of you that know me you know I am a little "anal" about my house and my decorations but for some reason I suggest we all get different stockings. Get any one you want they just all have to be different was the only rule. So we picked 10 stockings 1 for all of our kids, 1 for Sam, 1 for myself, and 1 for peaches and oreo. Ten stockings are to many to hang on the mantel so we put them on one of our banisters. I will get use to them all being different (I hope).
Josh's stocking is the pink glitter one!

Business Trips!

Sam and I are good at "Business Trips"! If you have to be "good" at something this is not a bad gift.
Sam's business trips are a bit different than mine. Sam usually goes by company car and does what he calls a "roadie" or he goes by Company Jet and can make it around most of the western United States before I know he is gone.
My trips I usually fly. I prefer to fly Delta because I am working on frequent flyer miles but I don't always get that luxury. I usually get to stay at "rockin" hotels (those district attorney's and stuff usually stay and some pretty fine hotels), and usually at beautiful places. Well this week I will be in beautiful, downtown,................................ BILLINGS, MONTANA. Okay not all bad but remember I am use to San Diego in the winter, Sun Valley in the summer and beach front hotel rooms MOST OF THE TIME. Spoiled I am. I am headed to Billings Montana with a 5 hour lay over in Denver, Colorado.. ?????? Isn't Utah between Colorado and Montana. HMMM.. yep... I thought about driving but my boss did not like the idea of me driving thru Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana alone in December. So Billings via Colorado it is. When my kids found out I was going to be gone ALL WEEK their question to me........
WHAT AM I GOING TO EAT?
Well at least I know how they feel.
I assured Brock that Sam would feed him all week long. He would not go hungry once!

Absent!!!

We are laying in bed this morning and Cassidi said to us. "You guys have been really bad at blogging lately". We said... NO SHIT! We have been a little consumed. We said to her. Yeah we could have blogged about.... and we ran through a list of "stuff" that has went on in our lives the last 2 weeks and Cassidi said. OK... Maybe it's a good thing you guys have not blogged.
Yes, I have been kinda absent. Yes I have posted some uber lame posts here and there but overall pretty vacant/distant.. Why? Just a few high points.

• Thanksgiving, along with Thanksgiving comes cleaning, shopping, cooking, traveling, getting kids, and about 8000 other tasks.
  
• We had some friend go through some pretty ugly stuff and it kinda consumed us. If you are reading you know who you are. WE LOVE YOU....
  
• Teenagers. I need not say another f*&%$#% thing. (I had actually put the mother of all swear words right there but Sam changed my mind).
• Work. It's 4th quarter. 4th quarter= time to make EOY goals and sell LOTS OF software!
• Sex. Sam and I have a lot of sex and that takes some time (THAT WAS A JOKE)
• Christmas. HMMMM... oh yeah. I guess it's time to get serious!
  

any way you get the picture.. CONSUMED!!
So as I sit here tonight, my fridge full of turkey, mediocre mashed potatoes, egg nog and the usuals that sit in everyone's fridge the weekend after Thanksgiving. I am ready for the Holiday season to approach. It's official.. it's here the start of.

Please sing in the tune of "THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS"

• Every Family Fighting
• 11 presents returning
• 10 pounds a gaining
• 9 overdraft notices
  
• 8 days of hang overs
• 7 hours to park your fricken car!
  
• 6 family dinners in 2 hours.
• 5 MONTHS OF WINTER COMING!
  
• 4 sleepless nights
• 3 days of wrapping
• 2 blood shot eyes
• AND WE GET TO DO IT ALL NEXT YEAR!

Okay I promise. Only "positive" Christmas blogs from here on out. I really do like Christmas.

one more small announcement. MY MOM IS GETTING MARRIED NEXT SATURDAY. *SHRUG/KINDA WIERD.

Guest Bloggers Jordan and Cassidi!

the parents never realized how annoying they can be when they send jordan josh and i the same exact texts asking if we are alright...ect. so last night they were at the bar in logan and josh jordan and i hadnt heard from them in a couple of hours. we thought it would be funny just to give them a taste of their own medicine. both of their phones got 3 texts at the same time all saying " you two alright? we havent heard from you in a while." we each got a reply saying " yes, i am drinking water while debbie is drinking beer lol. will you come get us so i can drink?" sam got a reply saying..." we are not coming to get you! just stay the night somewhere" from all three of us. sam texts back. " i was kidding we are almost done here i think". our plan to kick the parents out had failed. but i think they got the hint of how annoying it is when they text all three of us the same thing every hour or so.

Family!

What a great Thanksgiving we had at our house. Lots of fun and to much damn food!!!

Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving.

Christmas.. Bring it!

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Shopping.....

I hope everyone had an incredible Thanksgiving like we did. It was great spending time with a house full of family. So much fun.... Thank you Debbie!
A few weeks ago I asked Debbie "Are you a Friday after Thanksgiving shopper??" This may surprise you, but I think she actually opened up her potty mouth and said something like #$%#@ NOOO!!!! haha Well that makes two of us.

If you are a Friday after Thanksgiving shopper more power to you...lol Its nuts and I would rather stay home and drink beer (or some other fun inappropriate things)

Happy shopping everyone I hope your Christmas shopping experience is awesome!

P.S. ... we havnt even started yet.... ooooo

So Thankful

How could I possibly go through this blog this week and not mention my wife..... not a chance!!!
I am so very thankful for Debbie in every way. She has an incredible career going for her and she takes care of all of us at home........ some times (most of the time) takes care of us too much.

Since we first met we have walked the path of exactly where we knew we were going. We got engaged, bought a house, got married and moved in. We are now exactly where we had planned to be from the get go. Things have finally slowed down a bit and life is getting back to somewhat normal..... as normal as life can be with a house full of teenagers anyway.

Thank you so much Debbie..... your incredible!

Thankful..

Today and every day I am thankful for my MOM. This has not always been the case but as I get older and my kids become teenagers I truly do appreciate EVERYTHING my mom has done for me.

I am not the best daughter, I screw up all the time, I forget, I don't show up and I am sure I have disappointed her time and time again. However, she has loved me thru THICK and thin.. probably a little more thick and heavy... I love you Mom.. thank you for EVERYTHING.

Day 7 Thanks!!!!!

Yes I have neglected my blogging responsibilities again. It has been a few days and I generally dont post much over the weekends. So... because I love weekends so much and Debbie and I have so much fun... today I am so thankful for Weekends!!!!

Day 4 Thanks

Ok.... today I am thankful for spontaneity.

Since Debbie and I met she has shown me a few things about this word. :) No NOT just that you potty brains..... I mean like going to the sonic with the kids on some random night at midnight. I am still working on being more spontaneous and get out of the ruts we carve out for ourselves.

thanks Debbie... I am learning

Day 4!

College Football.
I am a little obsessed this year.. okay a lot.

GO UTES!!! GO UTES!!! GO UTES!!!!!!

I can't wait till tomorrow. The only team I EVER like better than Utah State is ANYONE who plays BYU...

Go Utah!

Day 3 Thanks

Today I am thankful for BARS. Debbie and I have a great time in a bar hanging out with friends and making new. We try to hit some bar somewhere about twice a week for social and couple time to get away from domestic life for a few hours.
So.... todays word is BAR.... love it. I so love my wife! Not sure I have said that ....lol

Thankful for day 3

My hubby.

I will make this short and sweet... he is simply the LOVE OF MY LIFE.

Thankful day 2

Today I am thankful for..... boobs. I had no idea I was a boob man until I met Debbie. Now I am a boob man for life. lol I hope Debbie doesnt get sick of me ;)

Diet Coke!!!!

The nectar of the Gods. I "heart" Diet Coke. As soon as my feet hit the ground in the morning I am popping a diet coke and sometimes before my feet hit the ground Sam or Brock has brought one to my bed. Sam is great at surprises. Flowers, cards, stuff like that and he will wake up before me find out I don't have a diet coke and run to the Maverik (imagine that) and get me a can full of yummy goodness....

I AM TRULY THANKFUL FOR DIET COKE!!!!

Now if diet coke came Bacon flavored that would be two loves after my entire gall bladder thing I never realized how thankful I am for BACON BACON BACON.. (random)

Thankful

Ok I can post a daily thankful blog. I am in.......
Today I am thankful for having a home cooked meal!!!!! YuMmY

Thankful..

News to Sam.. Till Thanksgiving I thought it would be kinda fun to blog about things we are thankful for. Each day from now to Thanksgiving. One blog a day by Sam and one from me about things we are thankful for. Not deep thankful for.. Just SIMPLY THANKFUL WE HAVE OR THAT IT EXISTS!!! SO HERE IS MINE FOR TODAY..


FAT JEANS.

Boys you may not get this as much as us woman. I have gained 5 pounds since June. I like my fat jeans, my skinny jeans are just for going "out" Fat jeans make me happy at home and work!

One Christmas Tree?

I dont know about you guys but I have always grown up having Christmas with just one tree and a few nice decorations around the house. During the move down to Kaysville I hauled box after box after box of stuff out of the garage into our storage at our new house. I asked Debbie what all this was and she said Christmas decorations. I didnt say much but thought "my good lord where is all of this stuff going to go???" lol
The other day Debbie started getting the Christmas decorating itch so I starting to bring boxes up for her. It started with the Christmas villiage that took a few hours to put together. Then the next day it started with the tree in the great room........ then she asked me to bring up ANOTHER tree for the living room and had the kids bring up 6 boxes of decorations.... lol. After this was all done she wants to get another tree for the family room in the basement and maybe one for our bedroom. hahaha.... WOW
I am not complaining at all...... in fact I am bragging to some degree. I love how festive Debbie is and how she just loves Christmas. We had a lot of fun last night, had some wine, hung out with the kids and had some great family time. Way way kewl.

So my question to you....... are you a one tree family or are you a multiple tree family?????

(Sorry for the bad picture of the village and tree. My cell pics are horrible)

Same Ole.... Same Ole....

Before marrying Sam I was single for quite some time, (I know I was not exactly SINGLE but I was NOT in a concrete relationship.... AT ALL! ) On the other hand almost everyone knows that Sam was not single for very long at all and For all of you out there that think "Debbie" was the cause of Sam's divorce please rethink. However, I kinda like scandal and if you want to think that.. WELL GO AHEAD! anyway... Wow. rambling.
Married life can be mundane, boring, simple and I have to tell you I am LOVING it. Sam and I do "married" people things now. We watch tv, grocery shop, clean the house on Saturday and Sunday morning. Go to brunch together. It is such a relief after that "single" stage of my life. It surprises me how we have just settled down in EVERY SENSE of the word. I am bettyfrickencrocker, I have VERY clean bathrooms and I kinda sometimes feel like Sam would like to take a butcher knife to me because of my "honeydo's" I give him. ,
Is mundane good? Should I be worried?

Something is wrong with the children!

We really don't live in a zoo. However you may start to think we do. You have heard about our cat Waffles (who is kind of missing now) our bird Peaches, and now let me introduce you to our guinea pig Oreo. Yes all of our animals are named after food. Anyway...
Oreo has kind of been on the back burner since we moved into our new house. It's in the family room in its cage and I make the kids go play with it from time to time. I made the comment the other night to the the "big" kids, Josh and Cassidi, that we should get rid of Oreo. Well.... I did not know that we have the future Ted Bundy and Jeffery Dahmer living in our house.
Sam and I get home last night at midnight and this is kinda how the conversation went.

Cassidi and Josh: Guess what we did tonight?

me: What

Cassidi and Josh: *HUGE GRINS

me: WHAT?

Cassidi and Josh: *look at each other and bigger GRINS.

me: SAM!!!

Sam comes into the room!

me: What did you guys do!

Cassidi: Well, remember when you said we should get rid of Oreo.. ummmmmm.

me. WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?

Cassidi: We put him in someone's mailbox.

Sam, Josh, and Cassidi: *laughing asses off!

me: HE WILL FREEZE TO DEATH.

Cassidi: We were going to leave it in Jon's but Jon did not have a mail box so we left it in one of his neighbors.

me: HE WILL FREEZE TO DEATH.

Sam: This is animal cruelty.... *LAUGHING... Don't tell anyone.

me: HE WILL FREEZE TO DEATH!

Cassidi: It's warm in mail boxes. *GRINNING AND SNICKERING.

me: IT IS NOT! HE WILL FREEZE BY MORNING.

Josh goes to bed.

Sam and I go to bed..

Cassidi is in her room..

me: Sam tell Cassidi to come here. Text her...

Sam: Okay.. *Sam is kissing me all over and trying to get a little... he stops long enough to text cassidi... Text says.. Cassidi come in here.

Cassidi comes in the room.

me: Cassidi where is Oreo?

Cassidi: West Kaysville *grin and a little laughter.

Sam: *trying hard not to laugh HARD.

me: We need to go get him.. *I start crying

Cassidi: Is she crying??? MOM he has fur.

Sam: Yes, go get the guinea pig Cassidi

Cassidi leaves laughing a little and says.. YOU TOLD US TO GET RID OF IT..

Sam: Cassidi GO GET THE GUINEA PIG!

Sam hands all over me and very light hearted.. His phone is going off like crazy.

me: Sam, stop it just for a minute . What if that is Cassidi telling us Oreo is dead.

Sam: nothing we can do. *continues to kiss me all over

me: looking for the phone because it is now 1:00 a.m. and someone is texting us like crazy.

text: I got him, he is fine.

Sam: *still kissing me all over.

me: text back. I want to see oreo.

Cassidi: Comes into the room and says see Oreo is fine...

me: go put him in bed.

Cassidi: YOU TOLD US TO GET RID OF IT.

Sam: Cassidi..... SHUT THE DOOR.

They are really nice kids.. I don't know what came over them. They did NOT think Oreo would die and were laughing at the thought of the mailman delivering mail and having Oreo in there.
THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY FAMILY!!!

What comes before Part B?

PARTAY!!!!! of course

Yes Debbie and I are going to have a house warming\get together\drinking\hangout party finally.

When - SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15TH at 6:30 PM
Where - 1311 s 150 e Kaysville, UT 84037

We will have the main dish and will have a punch bowl with Mohito in it or something to get us started so you will have to bring a side dish and BYOB. Just so this is clear for some of you (Cordell) this means bring your own booze AND bring your own babe.....lol. Side dish could be chips and dip, snacky, munchy food, salad or whatever you want to eat.


NO KIDS PLEASE... this is an adult party... NO not that kind of adult party sheesh. Just a good time. If you want to join us let us know soon. If you need a place to crash we will find a spot on the floor or a couch and your more than welcome.

Also just so you know... I AM THE BOUNCER hehe. Trashing the carpet and paint Debbie will have me throw you out on your ear..... playing catch outside with the new cat and harassing the neighborhood is with in our boundaries however. lol

Come join us!!!!

Good Bye Waffles!

Brock found a stray Cat on Sunday afternoon. He brought it in, he named it Waffle's. Taylor is NOT allergic to cats so we beg Sam to let us keep it.. He says OK. Sam and I head to Target to get a VERY small liter box, very little cat food. Reasoning.. because Sam says lets "try the cat out for a couple days".
Well remember that silly little thing called.. NATURE?
Waffles attacked Peaches (our bird)........................................



GOOD BYE WAFFLES. :(

Happy One Month my Debbie

4 full weeks wow!! :)

Way back when Debbie and I were dating I showed her this video that I saw in competition on TV. I dont know about everyone but when I hear a song that captures me it sticks with me a long time. So I remembered this performance and googled it for Debbie and we both listened to it many times over. It really strikes a cord with us and how we feel. At least this version. I hope someday these guys record the full version... it is awesome.
Let me know what you all think about this......

Your in my Heart your in my Soul

Debra you are certainly in my heart and soul girl..... happy 1 month

2,419,200 Seconds!!!

The minutes Sam and I have been married which equals 4 weeks to the day!!!

What a ride we have been on. I have learned a few things about Sam in those 28 days.. Here goes..

1. I take most of the bed. I am a BED HOG..
2. Sam is a over sexed middle aged man. He panics if we don't have sex several times a day (a tiny bit of an exaggeration...lol). It's okay if we sometimes go a day or two without sex. I promise it is NOT going to fall off. *wink
3. I am very domestic. I have settled into my "married" life very well. I cook.. A LOT. I clean.. A LOT..
4. We are not good movers either. We hate that a little worse then painting.. lol
5. We have a "temperature" problem. I am a 71 degree person Sam is a 67 degree person.. PROBLEM..
6. We have NEVER been in a fight. Which is a miracle because we all know how difficult Sam is and it's amazing I am able to "tolerate" him.... *wink.
7. Sam and I are NOT good painters. We actually are GREAT painters but we do NOT like it at all. We bitched, complained, had a few tears... We hired the big living room with vaulted ceilings in a hurry!!
8. I have a "dish" problem. Well not a dish problem a china problem. I love it. by the time we got all that china, crystal, Christmas china, boxed, moved and unboxed I am sure I need a 12 step program. Hi my name is Debbie and I am addicted to dishes!

We have had a RIOT.. Can't wait for the next 2,419,2000 seconds..

My New Family.........

My Wife - I have loved you since the day we met. Your light heart and kind soul has captivated me. You have a sexy wild side to you that makes every man jealous of me as well as a caring domestic side that we all love at home. I always look forward to seeing you every morning when I wake up and every evening when we come home to each other. You are not only my best friend but I feel like I can talk to you about anything and everything with out being judged. You have created a home for us that I have only dreamed possible. I have a love for you that is so strong that I now question if I have ever loved before. I am so happy to be married to you.... I look forward to the rest of our lives and the fun we will have. Thank you for loving me Debbie...... my beautiful bride.

The Youngins - Thank you for accepting me and my kids into your lives with out question. You all have been so kind hearted and accepting of us that I cant tell people enough how much I love and care for all of you. When I can hear you all laugh in the house it puts a smile on my face. I am so excited to be part of your lives and I know Josh and Jordan have much the same feelings. Sarah has not had the opportunity to meet them yet. Very soon!

Cassidi even though you have the normal teenage possession sometimes :) and your dates trash the truck and house to ask you on dates lol you are a real treat to be around. You light up the room when you walk in and carry a presence much like your mom. You are very loving and caring and it shows. Your a beautiful young woman with a HUGE future just at your fingertips.

Taylor even though you love to torment the hell out of Brock lol (that's what sisters do) and stay in your room most of the time :) you have been so fun and accepting of us. You are quick witted and sharp as a needle. You have eyes that capture souls and a personality that captures hearts...... watch out Kaysville boys.

Brock even though you harass Taylor until she loses her mind and have gas that breaks windows and peals paint off the walls ;) you have totally amazed me. I sometimes feel like I am talking to an adult in general conversation with you because you are so smart, knowledgeable and inquisitive. Sharp cute kid that will be a young man very soon. What a blast to be around you.

This is my new family.... .what a proud man I am!

Family room.

Its kinda scary watching a 52 inch LCD flat Screen being hung. We knew we wanted it over our fireplace in our Family room off of the kitchen and I was game till I realized just how big that TV really is. Well Sam and Josh got it done tonight and now we will take care of some wires and we will be ready to go..

Here are some pictures of our kitchen family room. We have another family room (or kid hang out\music room. ) that is in the basement but we will post later. I will try to post a room a week or so. For all those in Sheridan and Kentucky you will get an idea of where we call home.

Its kinda funny look on the left and you can see peaches sitting on his bird mansion!! You can see Brock hunkered down in the LOVE SAC!!
This is a shot from the LOVE SAC.. Sam is vegging in his plaid pants. You can also see peaches home and my computer left of Sam's head. That is wear I spend almost every day. I like it better then the office. I don't turn the TV on at all. I wont start that working from home!!! This picture is quite dark but you will get the idea. Looking into Family room from dining room!!!

nothing is sacred!!!!

text between Sam and I today:

Sam: I am hitting a couple markets and a few errands like Walgreen's can I get anything for u?

Deb: Nope I am good just working away..... Topless. LOL

Sam: Haha really? Am I missing out?

Deb: No u have seen me topless!

Sam: Oh if your topless I am always missing out!!!

He came home for lunch in a HURRY!!