Yard Sale day!

For the past month or so I have been trying to have a yard sale at my mom's house with my family. And Saturday morning we FINALLY did it!! I went to my mom's house Friday to help clear out her EXTREMELY cluttered garage and get all the stuff ready & setup. My mom's 1-car garage became a catch all for all her own stuff, my stuff and all of my sibling's stuff. You couldn't even move around without tripping over something, let alone try and park in the garage. It took several hours but my mom & I got it all done. I wish I had a before & after picture!! Saturday morning about 7:30am, I took 2 of my nephews around to post flyers and/or posterboards and at 8am the Yard Sale started. We had sold more than half our stuff by 9:50am!! It was really busy and we were all making deals and getting rid of stuff left and right. It was so great! I had crap that I forgot I had and don't remember why I ever bought. We all made some pretty good money, especially my brother who sold a ton of his tools & equipment that he had when he was a finished carpenter. My mom sold a lot of furniture and I sold A LOT of frames, cheesy knicknacks, purses, clothes, stuffed animals & kitchenware. It was a successful Yard Sale!!
I forgot I had my camera, so the picture above was taken after we had already sold a ton of stuff.)

The Furminator

Thanks to Lynzie's recommendation, I ordered the amazing de-shedding tool...The Furminator...and I LOVE IT! I can't believe how much hair it pulled off of the boys! Now they have super soft fur. I would've gotten more from Amos but he can't sit still for more than 2.5 seconds so I have to brush him in short intervals.

John & Baby Hurley

Last Friday night John & I went to Desiree & Buzz' house to visit the new baby, Hurley. When we arrived, Hurley was in a "suitcase" with bright blue lights to treat his Jaundice. John, who has not been around babies, asked why Hurley was "tanning". Buzz joked that he wasn't brown enough to be a Navajo so they had to start "browning" him up. LOL!

After holding Hurley for quite awhile, I casually passed him off to John who finally held a baby for the first time!! I knew he was nervous that I would ask him to hold Hurley, so instead I placed Hurley in his arms without saying anything & without warning. He was a natural, and even though he won't EVER admit it, I think he actually enjoyed it :) He held him for quite awhile and just kept staring at him and petting his head. He couldn't believe how soft babies are. We all kept talking but I noticed John just kept looking at baby Hurley. It was very sweet :) It ALMOST made me want one....but only almost.

John & Hurley

My sister, Desiree, and her new baby boy

New pics posted below that I took from the hospital...

Back to School shopping

Last Friday afternoon, a few of the girls from work and I did some "Back to School" shopping for the kids at The Christmas Box House as part of our volunteer work. Terri, Barb, Courtney & I went to Wal-Mart and we shopped for clothes & shoes in a variety of sizes for both boys & girls and we had so much fun doing it! I particularly had a lot of fun shopping for the girls. I have 9 nephews and no neices so it was one of the few times I actually got to shop for a girl. Afterwards we headed to The Christmas Box House to deliver the bags of clothes & shoes. When we arrived we had to wait a few minutes for our contact person, and we got to see first hand a child being brought in. It was a little heartbreaking, but it just re-inforced our reason & passion for what we are doing. They were very happy & grateful for the donation, and we were just as happy to be able to do this for them. While we were there we signed up to decorate their Tree in December. I am SO excited for this project and can't wait to do it. We even started brainstorming on the way back to work on ideas for the theme of the tree. (Any and all ideas are welcome.) A special thanks to Wal-Mart for giving us a 10% discount!!

ELVIS - 31 yrs

For those of you who don't know me that well, I am a BIG Elvis fan! I have always loved Elvis, his music, his movies, and his history. One of my goals in life is to go to Graceland. I have almost all his CD's, his movies, and numerous pictures, figures, books, etc. So it's no wonder that I would like to pay tribute to the King himself as today marks the 31st anniversary of his death. This past week is known as "Elvis week" in Memphis and I think it would've been awesome to be there. Long live the King :)......


Elvis Aaron Presley, was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953.

In 1954, he began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.

March 24, 1958 Elvis Presley was inducted into the U.S. Army at the Memphis Draft Board. While stationed in Germany, he meets Priscilla Ann on September 13, 1959 through a mutual friend. On May 1, 1967 Elvis and Priscilla are married in a private ceremony amongst a small group of family and friends at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. They have their first and only child, Lisa Marie Presley, nine months to the day after their marriage on February 1, 1968. Elvis and Priscilla later divorced on October 9, 1973 but remained good friends.

On August 16, 1977, shortly after midnight, Elvis returns to Graceland from a late-night visit to the dentist. Through the early morning of the 16th, he takes care of last minute tour details and relaxes with family and staff. He retires to his master suite at Graceland around 7:00 AM. By late morning, Elvis Presley is found dead of heart failure. He was 42. It is announced by mid-afternoon and in a matter of hours the shock registers around the world.
Elvis starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 150 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36. His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. Known the world over by his first name, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture.

In memory of Elvis, I'ved added a few of my favorite Elvis songs to my playlist - Burning Love, Return to Sender, Pocket Full of Rainbows, Suspicous Minds, Teddy Bear, & Only Fools Rush In.

My new nephew!

Yesterday was an awesome day! My little sister Desiree FINALLY had her baby and I got a new nephew!! Hurley Ryan Raulston was born August 11, 2008. He was 6 lbs 9 oz and 19.5 in long. He is my 9th nephew and still no neices. Desiree was in labor for more than 10 hours and pushed for almost 2 long hours to bring her little man into this world. But it was all worth it. He is the sweetest, most adorable little guy and I am SO happy for my sister & her husband Ryan aka "Buzz". They tried for 5 long years to get Hurley and they couldn't be more thrilled! Congrats you guys!! Thanks for letting me part of your special day :)

Proud parents....

Hurley Ryan Raulston

Prego Parents...

Jordanelle boating excursion

Saturday I went boating at Jordanelle with peeps from work & their families. Courtney met me at my house at 9 and we headed up to the lake to meet Ryan & Darrin and their families. Ryan & his wife Sonja brought 3 of their kids and Darrin & his wife Lisa brought 2 of theirs. (I am the Account Manager for all of Ryan & Darrin's accounts and Courtney is my new assistant :) It was my first time out boating this summer and it was a blast! I only wish I could've gotten in the water, but because of the stupid holes in my eardrums I wasn't able to :( I'm supposed to have another surgery to repair the last hole but I keep putting it off. Anyway, it was still a ton of fun just being in the boat, out in the sun, and hanging out with everyone. Sonja was the first to wakebord & she was awesome! I was so jealous! Ryan, Darrin & Cameron (Darrin's son) all wakeboarded too until it got too choppy. We chilled for a bit, let the kids swim & then broke out the tube! I was at least able to go on the tube and get a little water action. Cameron & Courtney went first and it was fun to watch Ryan intentionally get them flipped over & bounced off. But since I can't get in the water, I went on the tube with Sonja & their son Dawson so that I knew for sure Ryan wouldn't intentionally bounce us off the tube. Although Sonja did end up getting bounced off, but she loved it :) After all the tube rides the boys broke out the surf board and did some surfing. It was rough water but they had fun anyway. I could've stayed on the boat all day just hanging out, but it was probably a good thing we finally left as I ended up getting burnt which rarely happens. I wasn't fried but I was pretty red. The good side is I'll be tanner :) Not that I really need it ;) I forgot my camera so I have to wait for Courtney & Sonja to send me the ones they took. I'll post pics as soon as I get them. (Received pics from Sonja, still waitin on Courtney...)

Karaoke

Thursday night I did something I thought I would never do.....KARAOKE!! And not just at a friend's house with people I'm comfortable with, no it was at a crowded bar with tons of people I don't know. I'm the kind of person that doesn't like being in front of a crowd of people and having all eye's on me. In High School I would get sick to my stomache when I had to give a book report. But I always thought karaoke looked fun and have always wanted to try it. So last Thursday night my friend Michelle, made me get up in front of everyone and sing with her and a few other girls. It wasn't so bad with a group of us and I had a ton of fun doing it. We sang "Cowboy" by Kid Rock and we were horrible!! LOL! Even with the words on the screen we still didn't get all the words out. I think we were laughing half the time. It was kind of like Cameron Diaz singing karaoke in "My Best Friend's Wedding". She sucked but everyone cheered anyway. That was us. Except in the movie Cameron Diaz couldn't carry a tone, with us it was more because we didn't know the words like we thought we did. Luckily no one cared, people still cheered, and half the place was singing along so it didn't matter. It was fun and we were at least entertaining. We even got the nerve to sing another song, "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood and we weren't half bad. Good Times :) Now I can finally say I've karaoked! I just wish I got a picture of me doing it for proof.

Dog Chase

Ok, so we have REALLY loved our new house and REALLY love the yard for the boys to play in. The boys have loved the yard even more than we do since they have so much freedom to run around and play. However this past Thursday, they must've felt like they needed a little bit more freedom and took themselves on a walk and sent me on a heart pounding 25 minute dog chase.

When I got home from work, I pulled into the garage and closed the gate in the driveway. I then let the boys outside as usual. After about 8 minutes I walked outside to give the boys water and.....they were gone! The fence in the driveway was cracked open. I must not have put the latch all the way down and they were able to break thru. I panicked! They don't have tags yet! We were going to do that this weekend! (At the apartment they always had to be on a leash so we didn't have tags on them). I ran to the front yard yelling for them and they were no where to be seen. I ran inside, grabbed my keys and phone, jumped in the truck and started driving around the block. The only thing I could think of to settle my mind was that they hadn't been hit by a vehicle on our street so they must be safe somewhere. I called John's work # a million times and no answer. I went around the block & back to my house when Lynzie happened to call me. I answered the phone "I'm in big trouble...the boys are gone!" And without hesitation she replied "I'm on my way". I alternated searching in my truck and running on foot yelling. After a few minutes (which seemed like hours) John got home & I told him what happened. He left to drive around the neighborhoods & Lynzie went driving around too. FINALLY....Lynzie called & said she found them!! They were at some sweet old lady's house around the block. When Lynzie called them, they ran up the old woman's porch where she was sitting and sat by her side. I pulled up and tried to be stern but was SO happy & relieved to have them back that I couldn't help but hug them. I was very happy that they stuck together and that they were safe. THANK YOU AUNT LYNZIE FOR FINDING US! (The next day we went and got both of them tags)