Scavenger Hunt to the BYU Ball

Last weekend, the Norton's were hanging out at our house when there was a "ding dong" at the door. I opened it to find Lukas standing there holding a handwritten note. A bit confused, I opened and read the note. It said that Emily and I were to go out on a scavenger hunt and Scott and Pat were going to tend the kids while we were gone. Come to think of it, Pat was acting a bit strange and our plans for the night kept changing, so it makes sense that the Real Estate Training that Pat and Scott were supposedly "at" took much longer than the promised hour!!! Pleasantly surprised, Emily and I got our things and headed out the door. Only we didn't get too far because our first clue was confusing and right in our backyard. Each clue took us somewhere fun and interesting. (The bathroom, the gas station, the grocery store, Hollywood Video, Wendy's, our mail box, our email, Supercuts...)

Those boys really put a lot of thought into it. Emily and I had so much fun just being together without our kids and searching for clues. We found them all and took our sweet time so we could enjoy the moment. Our very last clue was a puzzle that we had to put together and the end result was a "Will you go with us to the BYU ball?"

I, at first, thought it was another kind of ball that had to do with sports (foot ball or basket ball) but it turns out BYU has an alumni ball in the new Gordon B. Hinckley Visitor's Center. I felt so giddy and excited that I wanted to go get my nails and hair done, go shopping for a new dress and find the perfect shoes and jewelry. And I only had one day b/c the ball was the next night! Not so much advance notice, but it didn't matter, because every bit of it was awesome!! I did find a cute dress on sale and it was fun getting ready. Emily and I wanted to answer in a creative way, but since we only had less than 24 hours, it had to be quick and unexpected...

My parents drove up (an hour) to babysit the kids for that night (THANK YOU!!!) and the Norton's got a neighbor to watch Logan. Our dates took us to P.F. Changs in Orem and then we went to our "ball". It was super classy with a live band, dancing, and just mingling with other alumni. We got our pictures taken in the library and the visitor's center is just beautiful! It was a wonderful date and I give Pat two thumbs up for all the planning and effort that went into it! It was something I will never forget! We love the Norton's and who better to spend a great night with! We had so much fun. Now Emily and I need to plan something fun for the boys...any ideas?!

Jojo

I grew up in a small town in Colorado (Rifle) and lived 7 miles out of town. I had very few neighbors and even fewer LDS friends. So when an LDS family moved in right next door with a girl my age, I was thrilled! Come to find out, she became my best friend for life!! We each had capital letters in our names (JaNece, JoAnne) and every Christmas we'd get the same present! Like one year we each got scooters (hers was purple and mine was mint green), another year we got Cabbage Patch Preemies. We did EVERYTHING together. Swim lessons, 4-H, jumping on the tramp, making up dance moves/routines, sleep overs, walking to the bus, matching clothes and pajamas, sledding, riding bikes, watching "Princess Bride" over and over, playing "college" girls, or doing a British accent. She was a year older than me in school, but that didn't matter because we were inseperable. We went on each others family vacations and she was as much a part of my family as I was hers. She moved in when I was about 8 and she was 9. I was devestated when she moved to Utah after Junior High. Although she was far away, it didn't matter because we stayed in touch and visited each other. Later we became college roommates at Ricks. We had a blast there, just like we did when we were kids. She got married after the first year and a half, so I stayed behind while she moved on to the next stage in life. I was a few years behind her, but no matter the distance between us, we are still the best of friends. We went on a trip half way around the United States together and were in each others weddings and we stay in touch regularly. She has three adorable kids now and lives (lived) in Reno. She is actually moving to Washington D.C. in a couple of weeks. It's a long story, but she is moving to Turkey in another few months after her husband (who works for the DEA) finishes training in D.C. She was in town visiting her family in Layton and came by to see me. As always, things are the same between us and I cherish her friendship dearly! Love ya, Jojo!! I still can't believe it's been 23+ years of friendship. (We went through the big hair phase together and yes, we were pretty dorky, but hey, we had each other, so it was alright). Notice the twin towers in the 4th picture down. We went on a Ricks College "Mormon America Travel Studies Tour" there in 1996.

Desperate Housewives Swap

My cute friend is doing a blog swap. Click on this link Desperate Housewives Swap! for details or read below...

"With the return of one of my favorite shows, Desperate Housewives, I decided to commemorate the event with my first Swap! The theme is "Desperate Housewives" -what are you housewives desperate for? A lazy day at the beach reading a good book or magazine, listening to some new tunes, or possibly spring fever has you desperate to rearrange your house and wardrobe and you're longing for colors, flowers, photos, fabrics, etc, that inspire you! This is going to be so much fun! Tell your friends, invite your neighbors, send an email, post it on your blog. Let's get the word out and tell EVERYONE you know to join the Desperate Housewives Swap!!

As you can tell, I am very excited about this...so here are the details:

As a participant, you will be asked to send at least three objects (I seriously doubt anyone would mind if you decided to send more) that are some of YOUR favorite desperate housewife related things. As a Desperate Housewife, what are you longing for and desperate for? Be creative and, most of all, have fun with it! Objects can be new or vintage, bought or handmade... just remember, it is best to send something that you would be thrilled and pleased to receive yourself!

Please send the following information to starpansie2004@yahoo.com by April 18th:

* Your name

* Your email address

* Your blog address

* Your home address

* What you are Desperate for!

Money: You are not obligated to spend large amounts of money... you could put together home made items such as great summer recipes or a list of activities to keep your little ones busy during the summer.... there are so many cool and fun things out there, to contribute, that cost next to nothing!. Your swap partner will be emailed to you by the 20th and your packages should be in the mail by May 3rd!! This is going to be FABULOUS...tell all of your friends and please don't be shy...sign up!!"

Utah Jazz and a boy with a dream

Well, last week Pat had a lifelong dream fulfulled. He got two courtside tickets to the Jazz game and took his dad. They got VIP treatment and had so much fun acting crazy and yelling at the up-close players! Pat said they could see and hear the players talking and were talking smack to them to distract them (the other team, that is). He said his dad was extatic to be there and they both didn't want the night to end. Here are the pictures to prove it.

Puppy Love

It seems everyone in our family has gotten a dog. It started with my brother getting a Chinese pug named Buddy. Then my sister caved and got an adorable cocker spaniel puppy named Aspen. Then to my surprise, my dad called the other day and said they had a surprise...a chocolate lab named ?? Well, they are in between names right now, but isn't he cute? He is so little and cute. Take the poll to vote on a name. I think he looks like a Rocco. But don't let me sway you.

Come On Spring. Enough Snow!

I mean, it's April already. We shouldn't be looking out the window to see this. I think I speak for all Utahns. We are ready for spring. No more snow, no more storms. No more nice one day, snow the next. Break out the sun and blossoms! We want playgrounds and parks. We want capri's and flip flops and light jackets. We want to go on walks again w/out freezing our tails off. This is getting ridiculous. (Can you tell we're feeling a bit cabin feverish?)

Executive Homemaker

I just discovered a great website...I was looking for an FHE lesson on food storage and found a great monthly planner. ALSO I found a cool chore chart for kids and if I would've had more time, I think I would've found some other cool stuff. So go to... http://www.executivehomemaker.com/default.asp It's called Executive Homemaker and they have a ton of free downloads to help with family, kids, parenting and much more. It helped me, and hopefully it will help you, too!

New Kids on the Block

Ever since I was in 6th grade, I was in LOVE with the New Kids on the Block. I had posters, t-shirts, videos, buttons, cards and any other paraphanelia that had to do with the NKOTB. My friends and I would pass notes during school talking about how we thought they were so cute and so awesome and how some day we hoped to go to one of their concerts and meet them. We knew for sure if they met us they'd fall madly in love. I seriously had my wedding to Jonathan Knight all planned out. I was gong to be Mrs. Jonathan Knight. Probably not an easy thing to admit these days, but truth be told. A lot of time has passed since then and I never thought they would ever reunite and make another album. But wow... Danny, Donny, Jordan, Jon and Joey are for real and are together again. I watched a clip on YouTube and got all giddy inside, just like when I was in 6th grade. How funny!! I would seriously go to their concert if it came to SLC. We'll just have to see... (Thanks Michelle, for the news)!