A surprise that made my week!!!!

My sister brought Joey up to see us the day I got back from girls camp. They were only here for a short 24 hours but I really enjoyed getting to see him! He has grown so much. He doesn't even look like the same baby I saw last time we were down there. We took him to church with us and he slept almost the entire time. He turns 1 at the end of September and I was curious to see what he weighed so I put him on our scale. That little chunker is 20 pounds already!!

Metcalf 4th of July

Girls Camp 2009

JULY 7-11

Our Stake tried a new camp this year for Girl's Camp. Of course, I was the camp director for our ward again. We went to Camp Shaw-waw-nas-see in Manteno. It was nice because it was only an hour and 15 minute drive from home but it was smaller than Soni Springs in Michigan and it was infeste with scary looking spiders!! Not to mention it rained most of the time we were there or was cloudy. I think we had a day and a half of sunshine. This years theme was Scatter Sunshine (how appropriate for the lack of sunny weather!). During free time on Wednesday, we went to the pool, yea they had a pool, not to mention almost everyone there (minus me) was n a cabin. Jenny and I decided to bring out the 'ole tent and make it a true camping experience. So back to the pool, the water was FREEZING!!! Everyone was trying to puch everyone in. Kim pushed me in and then when Colleen and I tried to get her, she decided to just throw herself in! I pushed Amy in (fully clothed!)Their was a stake kitchen staff that cooked all of our food and it was delicious!
Friday was a littl scary. We got word that there were some pretty strong storms coming in. 70mph winds, quarter size hail and potential tornadoes. Those people who staid in tents decided to either move them under the big pavilion or take them down and move into cabins. Well, Jenny had her certification to do, leaving me to take our tent down, pack and move our stuff up camp to the stake cabin all by myself. After a few pulled shoulder muscles and a dozen bruises, I was up camp just in time to see the sky turn green before the heavens opened and downpoured for an hour. After the storm was over, we heard there was another one coming that would be twice as bad. The leaders all met and figured out if they could get their rides to camp in time to get the girls packed and home safely before the storm hit. It was decided that we were going home. The leaders had a prayer and right as they said amen, President Clark called to say that the storm disappeared. I was glad because Bishops night/Ward testimony night is the best part of camp.
This is what I took home out of camp. No matter how dark and gloomy the world is, it is up to us to scatter sunshine and uplift the world around us.

**Pictures to follow***

Florida Vacation Day 4- Everglades Tour

We took a tour of Everglades Holiday Park before we embarked on our long flight home. We already miss Florida. It's no surprise we want to move there. Dennis asked me while we were there...why do we live in Illions? That's a good question.

Florida Vacation Day 3- Naples

ok, so I said Day 2 was the best part of our vacation but Day 3 was just as good because we drove and hour over to Naples to see my sister Cassie, who I hadn't seen in 11 years. We got to Naples Pier early so we walked around a bit and saw a dolphin swimming at the end of the pier. Let me tell you, Naples was nasty hot and humid.
I instantly saw Cassie walking up and gave her a big hug. She is taller than me! How does that work? I am supposed to be the bigger sister here! We went to lunch @ a place called Cheeburger Cheeburger (no it't not a typo, there really are no s's in the title) After lunch we hit the pier again and then took a swim in the Gulf. I personally like the Atlantic better. The Gulf's temp was 91 same as the air temp. It felt like you were taking a bath not to mention the water was greenish and murky looking. We swam in it anyway and then did some shell hunting. Dennis was bound and determined to find me a sand dollar but we came to the conclusion that you have to get there pretty early in the morning to find a beauty like that. He did find some other cool stuff including a barnacle, giant shell, and a worm shell. I found my dream home while we were on the beach. It's the 2nd house from the pier, ocean front property baby! We took the scenic route home and even stopped off by the canal and found an alligator.

Florida Vacation Day 2 - Snorkeling in the Keys

Day 2 was by far the best day on our vacation. We woke up at 5am to drive down to Key Largo to rent a boat to go out and snorkel @ John PenneKamp State Park, the only under water state park! The cool thing about it is there are sunken ships, a ton of coral to explore and a 30 ton statue of Christ under water. We were so far out, the only thing you could see was water, no land in sight! We got to our first diving point and everyone jumped off and away they went...leaving me on the boat all by my lonesome. I HATE the idea of being in shark infested waters, there was no way I was jumping off the boat in the middle of the Atlantic. Well....I said what the heck you only live once, suited up, hyperventalated a bit and then in I went. Not to bad I thought. Dennis came and grabbed my hand and we swam out to see some coral. We saw some giant fish out there swimming. Before I knew it we were over 100 feet from the boat and after about 20 minutes I told Dennis I was ready to go back to the boat. Halfway back, my goggles fogged up so I tried to clean them off only to splash a good amount of salt water in the eyes. They fogged up again and BAM...I swam right into a bunch of loose seaweed and screamed!! I freaked out..Dennis flipped me over on my back and took me back to the boat. I was proud of myself for putting this fear behind me and going for it. I am glad I did.

After 4 hours on the boat and 1.5 hour ride home, Dennis, my cousin Kody and I went to POC, an all you can eat sushi buffet and grill. Let me tell you, it was awesome! I had hibatchi and a ton of shrimp. Dennis was in heaven! I have never seen so much crab leg or sushi before in my life! Day 2 was definately the best day of our vacation.

Florida Vacation day 1- Hollywood Beach

Our first day of vacation was pretty laid back but we managed to get sunburnt! We woke up early for breakfast and ventured down to Hollywood Beach, between Miami & Ft. Lauderdale. I decided to suck it up and get in the water. It was very nice I must say. The water was very clear and a good temp. We dug up some shells and saw some cool little fish swimming near by. Here comes the scary part.....after we got out of the water and were drying off, Dennis runs past me and asks for his shoes...then says "there's a sh...." WHAT! Then he stops after my uncles says its a sting ray. A 15ft wide sting ray(no joke on the size ladies and gents!) swims up close to shore in between all the people and no one in the water really notices! Crazy..I would have FREAKED OUT!!! We headed back to the resort and had a Thanksgiving dinner. We had a great thunderstorm right after dinner with high winds and crazy rain! There was so much rain that the man hole covers in the parking lot were bubbling. After the storm calmed down we went down to the pool to swim for a bit and had a watermelon eating contest.

Can it get any better??

Vacation location added!!!! While we are out in Florida, we will not only go to Key Largo but we will head over to Naples to visit my sister Cassie!!!!!! I am very excited not only because it's been over 10 years since I have seen her but Naples is absolutley GORGEOUS!!!! I am excited to take Dennis there. This is going to be the best vacation EVER!!!!

One fear conquered...one more to go......

As many may already know, I am DEATHLY afraid of going to the dentist, I would rather play with a snake than go to the dentist, and I REALLY hate snakes! I woke up yesturday with a swollen and tender gum. After talking with one of the parents at school, I got freaked that it might be an absess, resulting in having to get a tooth pulled and I even thought for a moment that it was mouth cancer or a tumor (see how horrible my mind is!) I told said mom that I HATED the dentist so she referred me to her's and said they were great with people who had a phobia of the dentist. So I called...and set up an appointment..for today. WOW, I put on my big girl pants and told myself I was going. The funny thing is that I told myself I would go in for a cleaning this summer. Anywho, I conquered my fear and went in today. After x-rays and an exam it was determined that I had an infection in my gum by my back molar. The culprit, a wisdom tooth I was told I didn't have when I was at the dentist 4 years ago. After more x-rays, they found another one on the bottom. So 2 bottom wisdom teeth later and I am now faced with having to be put under to get those puppies out.
Did I mention I have a fear of being put under?????

Why it pays to have a gym membership...

FREE FOOD!!!!!
Chipotle had a sweet deal today. Free salad, burrito or bowl with proof of your membership to LA Fitness..... it pays to work out!

Mother & Father of 5

Well we survived our 4 days of parenthood this past weekend! We had 4 boys and 1 girl ages 12,9,6 and 3 yr old twins. It was a blast but it's good to be back home. I have to say, I have a whole new look at motherhood. First, I told Dennis if he still wants 6 kids, he better find a better paying job cuz I am not working! Some friends of watched the twins while we were at work until I could get over to pick them up. I made them chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries & bananas. After cooking dinner, cleaning up and getting the kids ready for bed, I crashed. I woke up early to get everyone off to school and then I headed off to work, in which I had a headache all day from the fast paced morning!
It was a great weekend. We took the kids to mcDonalds for dinner on Friday and the guy behind the counter thought the kids were ours. What made it better was Mitchell, the oldest, walked over and said "dad, can we have this!" It's definetly a small fortune to feed a family at the golden arches.
Saturday we took the kids to the pool for most of the day. Dennis ended up getting pee'd on by Maquire! I was very impressed when I came down from the shower and Den had the kids clean the whole house! He was so great with the kids this weekend. He is going to be such a great dad!

It's been a while!

Wow, it's been a very long time since I have posted. Guess you can say I have been a little preoccupied. We have alot of fun stuff coming up and I am getting excited about it.

May 20th-24th we will be watching 5 kids while their parents are in Hawaii.
June 11th- Dennis' aunt and cousins and grandmother come to stay with us.
June 13th- Dennis' brother Josh gets married
June 17th-21st- we are off to Ft. Lauderdale
July 7-11th- off to Mareno for Girls Camp
August 1st- off to Nauvoo with some friends

That's our summer so far. I know it seems pretty busy but we are also going to plan a trip to the Dells, Starved Rock & camping in there somewhere. It's going to be FUN!

Something to look forward to at then end of the tunnel.......

On June 13th, the week after school gets out, our little tushes will be sitting on this beach for an entire week!!!! I am sooooo excited.
Oh yeah, by the way...we are going to the southern tip of Florida, very close to the Florida Keys.....I think I can hear the ocean!

Did someone say Food Storage?

My life is so boring I have resulted to blogging about food storage! After almost 4 years of marriage, giving up the spare bedroom closet and alot of talk about building our food storage, we have finally established one. Now I am hoping that it will be easier to maintain and build from this point.

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Just to show you how big Monster is...or how little Joey is....either way, Monster has a huge head.

My Valentine

I spent Valentine's Day with my monkey, Joey. We drove down to my parents to surprise them for their birthdays and spent the weekend down there. I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with my nephew. He has gotten so big. Of course I spoiled him and bought him a few outfits while we were there- including this cute monkey outfit complete with monkies on the feet- way cute!

YUM-O!!!!!

A few months ago Dennis and I went to Fridays and I fell in love with their Southwest Mac. N Cheese. Shanna and I went back there close to Christmas for lunch and I was all set and ready to order my fav. dish. I come to find out that they don't make it anymore and I am crushed!!! So after several internet searches, I finally found a recipe that will satisfy my mac n cheese craving....I made it one night right before our home teachers came over so I let them try it and they fell in love with it. If your lucky, I might post the recipe on here....one day!

10 things I Love about You

Yes this post is about Monster....here are 10 things I love about him.

10. His ears are sooo soft, I could sit and rub them for hours.
9. He is a great cuddler. When Den and I curl up on the couch to watch a movie, Monster is right there. He falls asleep, starts to whine and run in his sleep, its hilarious to watch him do this.
8. He still thinks he is a lap dog, all 70lbs of him.
7. He makes me laugh everyday.
6. He acts like a complete kid when it snows outside.
5.He will stay in bed on the weekends until we get up but on the weekdays he is up before us needing to go out. (I don't love that last part!)
4. I love the way he turns his head and looks at you while you are talking to him.
3.When you take a bath, he comes and perches his paws on the side of the tub and chills there, other times he jumps in with you. (This is hilarious)
2. He is gentle with kids. Whenever Tyler comes over he wants to curl up next to him on the floor and go to sleep. When Tyler cries, he looks up at me with one of those "Come on Mom, make him stop! looks that you'd get from an older sibling

And the #1 reason I love Monster.....he gets super excited whenever I come home.

Is life really that boring?

Ok so I know it's been what..half a month since I have posted anything. Life has been pretty boring and busy these last 2 weeks. Dennis and I are just busy making a living and of course I am working too much. It's been nice to have Dennis be the one to clean, to the laundry and take care of Monster. Last week, I hurt myself working out and ending up not being able to walk the next day. I called into work and went to the chiropractor for a little TLC. I found out my high arch has caused my news to go sideways, making my joints rub the wrong way hence creating major pain whenever I do any physcial activity. I guess this just show how out of shape I am but it explains why I was in so much pain and pulled my tendon in my foot last May when I ran the 5K. Fortunetly for me, it is fixable. In the meantime, I have already met me deductable from my visits to the good 'ole doc. 3 times a week. Too bad we aren't having a baby this year, everything would be covered 100%! Dennis was so wodnerful for the 5 days I walked around like a 90 year old woman, not even able to pull up my own pants! Embarrising, I know. He was a good sport though and I appreciate his help. I am now to the point where as long as I do a good long stretch after my workout, I'm golden. I have never enjoyed stretching so much, it feels so good! So that's pretty much what's been going on in a nutshell.

A bit of an update in a busy world.

One of my goals was to try to keep track of our year more. So I haven't posted in a while so here I go....

Since Christmas, I have been battling some type of the flu I am assuming after almost 3 weeks, I am proud to say I am 100% better and no ladies and gents, there's not a bun in my oven! Last week, I was given the opportunity to see Wicked with Tanya, my boss at the Education Cove. It was great! I loved it. We went down to Chicago after school, grabbed dinner at Nick's Fish Market (they have the best rolls there) and then the highlight of the night......8 of us piled into a cab to head over to the show. Yes that's not a typo, 8 adults in a cab..3 in the front, 5 in the back...we had great seats and it was a great story line.

On Tuesday, Dennis and I joined a gym. We even went and workout there last night. I am very excited about it..there's a sauna, hot tub, pool, and lots of machines...plus there are a ton of classes you can take that are included in your membership.

School was cancelled today due to the extreme cold we have been having after getting about 6 inches of snow on Wednesday. This morning it was -27 with a windchill of -47- let's just say I am I didn't have to stand out in it today. The schools in the area have already started cancelling for tomorrow.

Also, I was matched for Big Brothers/Big Sisters and I got to meet her today. Her name is Aubree, she is a 10 year old that lives here in Yorkville. She is very talkative and I am excited to get to be her Big (as they call it) and build a friendshipp with her.
Now I am just getting ready for my busy 50+ hour week next week.....crazy....