Family visits me!!

Well, actually, they came to get my Great Grandma and bring her back home (she switches off between her 3 daughters), but I just happened to live where my Aunt Janet lives!!! Lucky me! So, my Granny, mom and Aunt Cara came up for the weekend. Unfortunately, only one picture came through the email from my Aunt...and it's of her...traveling on her way up here...with a lot of junk food in the back seat of a Lincoln...so...I can't really tell you anything about my weekend...because the pictures need to be seen to fully understand what went down (...the couch..hahaha...get it mom, granny and Cara..."the couch"...what went "down" it?) See what I mean--you had to be there...and pictures will help are the closest thing to you all being there...so enjoy the one--but there should be many more where this came from. I shall post as soon as I receive!

By the way...

My apologies. I have no idea why my blog is acting funny, and I have no idea how to fix it.....sorry.

The legend of Beuford:

I was about 4 or 5 years old. We were living in an apartment on Cicero at the time because we were in transition. I remember I was sitting at the table and my mom was making me lunch, a sandwich, made best by your own mother of course. My mom set a plate down in front of me; a sandwich cut into fourths. I didn't think anything of it. It's completely natural for a mom to cut up a sandwich for a kid. I started eating and, most likely due to the boredom of summertime, my oldest brother, Tyson, made it known to me that "only Beuford's eat 4 sandwiches." Naturally, this upset me. Did I know what a "Beuford" was? No. Did Tyson even know what a "Beuford" was? Probably not. Currently I only know Beuford as an ugly name. So, why did I get so upset? Not sure. Could have been that I thought my brother was implying I was a pig. Or maybe I thought a Beuford was something horrible...like the way it sounds. Perhaps it was just simply that my eating four sandwiches somehow set a wedge between me and the acceptance of my eldest brother. Anyhow, I remember feeling embarassed, only a 4 year old could say why for sure.

As I was driving to work the other morning I was delightfully shoving my breakfast down my throught. Delicious Ego cinnamon toast (which is really a waffle with cinnamon, cut into fourths, oddly enough, and in the shapes of little slices of bread). I ate two helpings. As I was finishing, I got to thinking:"If these were 2 normal waffles, not prefferated, I don't think I would have finished them off. I would have left a bite or two." Weird, I know...So...I learned that I eat more when things are in smaller portions. Like I could eat a whole plate of ravioli's, or prefferated egos, or a sandwich cut into 4ths,...as opposed to the "wholes". Then it hit me: Tyson was right.

Tyson still calls me Beuford to this day, some of his friends even do. When I graduated from high school, my family held up a sign that said "BEUFORD" as they called my name. I guess it has become somewhat endeering. I actually respond to it, though Tyson has shortened it to "Beuf". Unfortunately, I guess Tyson was right...I am a Beuford because I prefer 4 mini waffles rather than a whole, and only Beufords eat 4 sandwiches (or egos...you get the point). Tyson's right again...

Dad!!

10 things i miss about my daddy

1. I miss lunch time with dad. Mango's, wherever. ..and not just because he pays:)
2. I miss talking to my dad about anything and everything and admiring his ability to listen to my rambling. He even comes up with responses. Bravo, dad.
3. I miss when he catches you doing or saying something really stupid and laughs really loud at you...not quite sure why I miss that...but I do. His sense of humor is strictly slap-stick. Love it.
4. I miss being around his wisdom. He always knows how to solve your problem. He has a lot of common sense and always knows just what to say.
5. On the flip side, I miss his ridiculously off-track phrases...like "eagle ears" instead of "eagle eyes". And for the record, these don't happen just once and then get fixed, they are reaccuring. I love it.
6. I miss his quiet example. Like when he shaved his mustache because he was asked to by his Stake President, even though it was the last thing on earth he wanted to do. Very admirable, dad. Sheer obedience. And I think you look great, for the record.
7. I miss him always being willing to watch any movie with me...for the love of movies, of course.
8. I miss him barking like a dog ( it truly sounds so much like a real dog that dogs react to him and get confused, a true gift) anytime he sees one, and mooing like a cow whenever we see one of those too. Talent.
9. I miss how he can't play a game without cheating. He says it is skill. Remember when we got addicted to nerts? That was fun. He was actually really good.
10. I miss working with him at Hometrend for 4 hours a day. That's a lot of time spent with my dad that I don't have anymore:( It was fun, except for those times that either I quit or you fired me...(sigh), those were the days.

I was going to mention how I miss his never ending generosity...but I find that he is still remarkably generous towards us even though we are in a different state. Thanks Dad. I ...(eh hem) ...love you:) Signing off, Your Boo Boo.

Surprisingly, I don't do this:

Weekend Trip

I drove home with Kelli last Friday so I could spend a few days with my very much missed family. Unfortunately, Tyler couldn't come. But I decided to make the journey anyway.

On Saturday, my Grandpa and Grandma Hill wanted to go rock hunting (they polish rocks) in Prescott, so that is what we did. It was actually really fun.

My mama showing her muscles as she pulls apart flagstone.

Dad being a "landmark", how clever.

And me as a "rock"man, as opposed to "snow"man.

Then we had lunch and went antiquing, well...at least the women did. I told Tyler this is what he has to look forward to:What good sports!

On Sunday, the whole fam came over for our traditional Sunday dinner. I miss that. Here are a few captured moments:

This is Fergi and Fenway, Aaron's adorable Bichon Frise puppies. What is capturing there attention you ask?

Oh, just a dog show...totally normal.
And this is my adorable niece, Taye Lynn. Isn't she cute?

This is what she looks like when she is hungry:

Still cute.

And this is my hilarious cousin, Rosson. He is giving me an example of how he proposes questions in his math class with, eh hem, Mr. Pierce ( those of you whom know this teacher, I think you would appreciate observing Rosson's finger in the picture)
This is my oldest brother Tyson doing his infamous "Fire Marshall Bill" face. He is the best daddy.
I caught Uncle Warren and Rosson cuddling as I walked through the family room. How sweet.

And little cousins, Stevey and Rigdon, playing playstation in the "man cave", as it has rightfully been named. I have no idea how Stevey was allowed to enter...
Til we meet again, family. I love you all!!!!

A Package!!

We got a package from my parents for Valentines Day! Here's the excitement:

My parents found this card with a man reading the paper and a woman "knitting" on the cover. The man says "It's Valentines Day" and the woman says "woo hoo." This is what my mom wrote on the inside of the card:

Thanks Mom and Dad!! We Love You!!

And incase any are wondering--Tyler got me oil painting lessons for V-Day!! Thanks husband! I love you!!

Tomorrow is Valentines Day!!

So, I googled images of valentines to see what was out there. I love old cards...however...they all seem to have weird quirks to them...whether it be language or imagery...You will see what I mean:

Check out her hair...I think the girls is the blonde one...are we sure this isn't a reproduction made in the 80's? Could be...kind of kills the romance for me. Not to mention she looks like a child with an adult hair-do.Will someone please verify the gender of these sweet little angels/cupids/cherubs/etc?

What situation would be appropriate for this card? "I am sorry I broke your heart...but look...I am trying to fix it...so will you be my valentine again?" or maybe it's a mean way to break-up on Valentine's Day. He/she (it's just so hard to tell gender on these little creatures) does look kind of mad...don't you think? Or maybe the receiver just had there heart broken by some loser boyfriend...and now the best guy friend is stepping in with a simple "let me mend your broken heart" notion. Any other thoughts?

I need a translation on this one. "A YE". Definition please.

And I will end on this treasure I found:

Ah, there is nothing like young love at a carnival.

Happy Valentines Day to Everyone I Love

which most likely is all of you:)

Jerry, welcome to my dream...

Well, I didn't actually meet Jerry Seinfeld in my dream, but he did buy everyone in the HOA I supposedly manage free cable!!! Thanks Jerry!! What a guy.Here he is saying "Cable, it's yours, take it, for free." I would imagine if he was actually there in person this is what he would have looked like and said.

Your wish for the recipe is granted...

Ok, so its so easy. Here is what you will need:

1 pkg. white cake
2 pkgs. instant vanilla pudding
**and the things you will need to make the cake and pudding...
whipped cream
about 4 large bananas
chocolate sauce(warmed...if you want)
sprinkles
cherries for the top
nuts, but that is optional

basically anything you would put on a sunday.

I baked my cake in a jellyroll pan so it was thin. You have to watch it closely though. When it is ready, cut it into thirds, then little peices. Put 1/3 of the cake in the bottom of the trifle bowl. Put about 1/3 of the pudding on top of cake, then whipped cream, then bananas (sliced, of course). Repeat this 3 times, or until you reach the top of the bowl. Then make it pretty by putting bananas and whipped cream, chocolate sauce and sprinkles with a cherry on top. Easy. Obviously, amounts are tentative depending on the dish you are using. Enjoy!!

Oh, so this is what winter really looks like...

Look at what an old woman I am...

I learned how to knit the other weekend. I told my cousin this and she asked if I was 90 years old. Ha! It is kind of old fashioned, but I love it!! I made these 2 gifts for a baby shower I was going to. I hope little baby Henry likes them!

The booties make me laugh because I used a yarn with different hues of blue and the 1st bootie ended up being a baby blue, the 2nd bootie turned out more of a true blue, and the beanie was a purpley blue. Oh, well. And the booties are more toddler size than baby size...I have to use a new pattern next time. If I am lucky, little Henry will have ginormous feet!!

And the best part of all this is that Tyler watches CNN while I knit my little heart out. We are old people on the inside!!

The Cake!

The night of Tyler's Birthday we invited some of his closest friends over to share in the joy of eating this:

A Banana Split Trifle!

And here is Tyler's first attempt of blowing out the candles, which was unsuccessful:

There you go, that's how you do it. Good job!

THE BIG 24!!

Happy Birthday Tyler

The day has finally come!! I made Tyler get up early this morning (which probably isn't a very nice thing to do on his birthday...) so he could open his gift from me before work.

Here is a little background on Tyler to prep you before I reveal the gift I gave him. He loves to read. He loves books, especially classic literature. I was walking through an antique store with my mom back in December and spotted this gem. It's a 15 volume set of Charles Dickens works!! And it was a steal!! I have been so excited to give it to him and I finally could this morning!! Hurray!!

T his is what we found inside the cover of all the books.

Don't you love old man handwriting? Where has good penminship gone?

A nd a few treasures tucked in the pages...

Oh--and guess what day is Charles Dickens Birthday:

FEBRUARY 7TH!!

Meant to be.

My 10 Favorite Things About Tyler

(and in no particular order)

1. He is so good looking. Especially his smile, his real one...not the cheesy one he always does in pictures...although I love that one too.
   
2. I love how silly he can be. He is the best at making weird faces and takes such pride in that skill.
   
3. I love how he is smart, he is smart about everything. I love how he loves books and loves to read. I love how he always wants to walk around Barnes & Noble.


4. He is always willing to help me with whatever I need help with. He helped me figure out different stiches I was having trouble with while knitting, and he helps me open jars and things, he grates cheese for me because I hate doing it, and sometimes he surprises me and cleans while I am gone.


5. I love that he is cultured. He has an appreciation for art and people with talent, no matter what the talent is...he can appreciate it. I love that he is an amazing artist himself. Watching him be creative is one of my favorite things about him, like when he carved the face for our snowman because we didn't have anything else to work with.


6. I am grateful that he is so spiritually strong. He is such a great example to me of things I need to do better.
   
7. I love, love, love that he is kind hearted, something that is very needful in my life. He is so nice that he even watched Pride and Prejudice with me after he took me to a movie that had me in knots for an hour after it ended. He thought that would help me calm down...and it worked! Oh--and he still opens the door for me.:) He is such a gentleman. He slows down his walking pace to mine...so nice.


8. I love that he makes me laugh. He is so funny. Like that one time that he tried to smile ugly and laugh at the same time. He ended up crying because he was laughing so hard...and I have never seen him fight so hard for an ugly smile...it was amazingly hilarious. And I love how he cries when he laughs...I mean big, multiple tears. It's the best.


9. I love that he is patient with me and tries to understand me.


10. I love that he loves kids. I think he still is one deep down inside...maybe not that deep, actually:)
    

It was hard to stop at 10 by the way.

So sad...

Last Sunday, Tyler and I were sitting in sacrament meeting. We had received a ward directory while we walked in the chapel, so naturally, we scanned through it to find our upstairs neighbors...so we could see if our predictions were correct. We got through the whole thing and realized no one in our ward lived anywhere near us, let alone in our same complex. We were a little upset and concerned. After the meeting we went into the Bishop's office and expressed to him our suspicions on the matter. He looked up his boundaries map and confirmed with a sad expression on his face that we had, in fact, been attending the wrong ward for a month. The look on his face was so sincerely upset and dissapointed, as were ours. It was kind of uncomfortable. We loved our ward. I already had friends!!! We had the coolest Bishop!! Ugh...but we had to be honest and do the right thing. Apparently, there are 2 chapels in that building. We had never ventured to the other side. We just simply walked into the wrong chapel. So Bishop directed us down the hall to our "new" bishop. Our new Bishop seems nice and good and everything, it's just lame that we have to be "new" again. We also got a directory for our new ward...and our upstairs neighboors...look normal...maybe they are just fun and silly...like us...we may have made a false judgement...maybe Tyler and I were judged as crazy people by our last downstairs neighboor at the Polo Club...I mean...Tyler always sings sappy love songs to me... (I have to mention that I am kidding here, just incase Tyler reads this) ...

Good bye our ward, we will miss you, even though we were only there for a month.

I am pretty excited for this guy

I have to say, I am getting pretty excited to see this guy in action as President and Prophet of the Church. Look at him, he is definitely cute too! I was thinking about experiencing this "change of Presidency" and this thought occured to me: When I think of President Hinckley's attributes I think of his sense of humor. When I think of President Monson I think of his life of service. It's interesting how personalities highlight attributes in a person. You know that Pres. Monson has a sense of humor too, we have all seen it, and that Pres. Hinckley served the majority of his life, but yet we have distinct attributes we connect to different leaders of the church. And it's apparent that they all live the most strict of standards. I love how people can serve in a calling the same way but are remembered for different strengths. I love diversity. But, having expressed my thoughts and feelings regarding a change of Presidency and my excitement for President Monson, let it be known that I still love and will miss President Hinckley. I can't remember where I heard this but I loved it. It was implied that it would be hard for anyone to fill President Hinckley's shoes. The response: The new President won't have to fill his shoes because he will have his own pair. So true. Well put.

Thanks Granny & Papa!!

I got home from work today and found Tyler sitting on our couch with a package from Granny and Papa for his birthday (which isn't til Feb. 7th) resting directly in front of him. I said "Hi Tyler!!" and he replied " Hi! I got a package!" So I told him to open it early!!(That's how we roll...just ask my mom) And inside we found the following:

Tyler loved his AirSpeed 3000 bag! But it gets better...

Money!! And a funny card that says 50 "Bucks" all over the inside...so funny! You would think that would be the rightful end of a wonderful happy birthday package...but no!

This is what was next! The icing on the cake!! But here is the real icing:

I was totally eyeing that Martha Stewart Magazine in the check-out line! How did you know??

BY THE WAY:

This is the result of our gifts from people since Christmas. We love it!

Thanks Granny and Papa!!! We miss you and love you!!!

And Granny--I hope you had a good birthday!!!

Another Celebrity Appears in my dreams...

Guess who it was this time!!! (It's actually not that exciting...) I was dreaming I was still in AZ and I was walking around (there was no snow, by the way) looking for my friend Hillary (Hatch) Stapley. I ran into this guy right before Amanda (Martin) Crookston (I don't know how she got in there) took me out to eat....None other than Marlon Wayans!!!---I have no idea why.

So---I have no idea why celebrities, as well as random people, keep appearing in my dreams. Did I watch a movie featuring this man? No, not at all. The last time I thought about him was when someone was talking about White Chicks a month ago. (By the way, the reason it says "enter" is because this picture is the cover page for his official website...nice...it sure makes me want to view the whole site...maybe...). I will keep you all posted on my next special guest. Hopefully it will be Brittney Spears so I can give her some sound advice like "Britt--let me raise your babies, get some help, and never shave your head ever again."

QUESTION: If you could host any celebrity in your dream who would it be and why? I want honest answers people.

Watch this...

Today is Pres. Hinckley's Funeral. I found this clip on another blog and I loved it, so I copied it:). Take a listen, very well put:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z58eHBnEHhk