WHY?

Today's post is for all of us wondering WHY people can be SO lame, dumb, stupid, etc...

I am luckily not severely affected by the course of action that has led to this complaint blog...so I'm not shaking with anger or anything. Just wondering WHY?

2 years ago Ben and I had just started dating. We were doing the long distance thing-and it was so fun to travel back and forth! Being the wonderful man Ben is--when I called him on September 27th crying because my grandma had just passed away, he asked if I wanted him to come. At first I said no, that would be too much to ask. But after we hung up I realized I DID want him there. And I knew chances were I'd be asked to sing for the funeral, and judging by how HARD it was to sing for my grandpa's funeral years before, I thought it'd be nice if we could sing a duet. Ben didn't hesitate for a moment, he bought his plane ticket and was there within 2 days. He rented a car for that visit, since I didn't have the energy to drive to Vegas to get him, and the shuttle schedule didn't work with his flight time. I remember he was SO tired and could hardly wait to get into town.

He picked up the rental car and had a hard time figuring out how to get out of the airport...they had just changed their exit or something. He was talking to Lauren on the phone when he hung up all of a sudden (after saying one swear word--which indicated something BAD had happened since he NEVER swears). He called back and said he had jus been in a small accident, a fender bender. I can't relay the exact details, as I was not there- but it sounds like he changed lanes at about the same time as a lady was merging into the same lane, so the very back bumper of his rental car hit the front of hers. VERY minor--nobody was even near hurt. It was SO ridiculous. There had been a cop nearby that saw the whole thing and apparently had blinders on because he wrote BEN the ticket-even though it was technically both of their fault.

Long story short--Ben's insurance with State Farm DOUBLED because of the mishap. The woman racked up a TON of medical bills for "injuries" sustained in the accident. More like chiropractic work she probably blamed on the accident that didn't even cause any damage! He had to switch to a new company when we got married, and then recently we switched to a very cheap company here in Utah.

It's been a little over two years since the incident. State Farm called him today and let him know that woman has filed a suit against him. She had attempted this before in the past I believe--but finally went through with it just days before the statute of limitations expired. We are not worried- State Farm will cover the entire thing, and they will pay for Ben to travel to Las Vegas if he has to- for a trial or whatever. But Ben does NOT have the time for this at ALL right now! And what type of person files suit for such a STUPID accident TWO years later? My guess is she's down on her gambling luck and needs the extra cash. I hope a judge will see it that way and not give her any money. Even though we aren't the ones who have to pay for it--it just seems SO unjust to grant such a person money for this ridiculous accident! According to Ben she didn't come across as a very normal human being...so it doesn't come as a HUGE surprise.

Can someone please tell me WHY we have to deal with such morons in this world? Why are there people out there just living life to make HELL for others? Why do annoying things even happen? If Ben had figured out how to get out of that airport the first time he'd have never met this woman. If I had gone to pick him up this time it wouldn't have happened. If a lot of things...so WHY? What was the point of this happening? Why do people pull out in front of us when we are in a hurry and cause us to miss the next 3 stoplights? If they had waited 4 more seconds we could have been at our destination 3 minutes earlier! I know sometimes these things can keep bigger worse things from happening. But from my small perspective...all I can do is ask WHY?!

Happy Birthday to Ben!

Today is Ben's 28th Birthday! It's the third birthday I've been able to spend with Ben, and I think they've gotten better every year! He got WAY spoiled this year and had a whole birthday weekend in St. George! I drove down Friday with Ashlee, while Ben worked on his huge load of homework, then he came down on Saturday and met us at Olive Garden for lunch! My dad was rabbit hunting so it was just me, Ben, my mom, Ashlee and Jeremy. Jeremy and Ben share the same birthday, so it's always been fun to celebrate together! It was a WAY yummy lunch and we had lots of fun!

We spent the afternoon relaxing and then the boys went to Priesthood meeting that night, and us girls went to Deseret Book for Ladies Night! My mom and I have ALWAYS gone early and stood in line and gotten our names in for the drawing...well this year we didn't go early, and BARELY got our names in for a drawing and we BOTH won something! ha ha...go figure! We met the boys after that for some frozen yogurt at KRAVE...the new self serve place. SO yummy I've eaten there 4 times already! We went to the movie theaters and got some movie popcorn after that...and they gave us a big bag for our "free refill" cuz they knew we weren't staying for a movie! We got some more treats and came home and just visited with our spoils. After a couple hours we were all hungry and realized we hadn't eaten dinner- just junk food! So we spontaneously all packed up and went to Denny's at 11:30! It was SO much fun and I love that we are all old enough to stay up that late now! :-) We had great waiters at both restaurants that day..which made it so fun.

The next day we watched some conference, had some home made cinnamon rolls and let Jeremy and Ben open their birthday presents early since Ashlee had to go back to BYU last night, and Ben has a full busy day today! He got pretty spoiled...a new Wii game, Flannel Sheets (he's been wanting for a LONG time), a curly fry maker (yard sale item! ha ha),How I Met Your Mother Season 4, and some Hawaiian chocolate covered macadamia nuts!

Today I got up a couple hours after him..ha ha..and made him some birthday breakfast! Leftover cinnamon rolls..(I'm pregnant...) and scrambled cheesy eggs, and OJ!

Ben is such a wonderful man and lately I have just realized how lucky I am to have him for a husband. I never knew I could love someone so much and that even when the "honeymoon" phase wore off that love could deepen into something so sweet and amazing. He takes such good care of me, and I can't tell him enough throughout the day how much I love him! He is SO smart and I'm constantly amazed by what he's able to accomplish. I love hearing how well he's doing in school and with his assistanship. And I love that he is so talented and will be able to pass on his musical passion to our children! He was selected to sing two solos with the Southern Utah Symphony in December for their performance of Handel's Messiah! I'm so thrilled for him, but hope this baby boy is here to listen to his daddy as well, since his performance dates are the 13th and 14th! :-)

Ben is the love of my life and I would go through what I did to find him a million times if it meant having him as my companion for eternity! I love you Ben! Thank you for being such a WONDERFUL husband! Happy Birthday!!!

Yay for our new camera!

So I realized I hadn't posted a picture of me with my $500 Visa, so here it is! I was SO excited when the Fed Ex man came! I thought it was UPS bringing my baby crib set stuff, but when it was Fed Ex I was confused. As soon as I saw what it was I screamed! Hopefully the Fed Ex man didn't hear me from right outside...

After only about 10 days of diligence, I got this awesome $500 Visa! I was waiting to have it in my hands to believe it wasn't too good to be true!

We had decided we'd buy a really nice camera with our prize, so that we could start learning to take some great pictures for when the baby comes! Lauren recommended me to this camera:
It's a Canon EOS Rebel XS SLR Digital Camera Kit with 18-55mm IS Lens, and we LOVE it! We are still learning how to use it, and definitely need a LOT more practice, but so far we have gotten some really fun, beautiful shots! The best part? This camera sells for around $600 full price. Lauren found it online for $525, Best Buy ad matched it, then I had a 10% off coupon! So I got this bad boy for $450--or free if you calculate in the GIFT CARD we bought it with! We still have $55 more dollars left on my gift card! I'm proud of my savings

Here are some pics we took yesterday on Cedar Mountain...

I was being goofy, but the picture turned out sorta pretty with the lighting and the leaf colors!

Yesterday we had the primary program in our ward and for those of you who didn't read my Facebook status...I had the most embarrassing moment of my life to date! I opened the program with a paragraph about what this year has been like in primary (not sure why they made ME the one to do this- as I've only been in there for 3 weeks!) After my "line" I was walking back to my seat. I had to step down a couple steps, then up a couple steps to go sit by the organ. WELL with all the little kids in their chairs I sorta ran outta room, and my heel (I have not worn heels in over a month thanks to swollen feet) caught on the step, and I plummeted on top of one of the ladies in the primary! She caught me, but my arm also caught me, on the sacrament table, where I slid everything down quite a bit. I was MORTIFIED. I have NEVER been so humiliated!!! But at the same time I was laughing before I even got back up! I could just imagine what it had looked like. Even as I write this now I'm laughing to myself again! I had to sit BEHIND the organ so I could get my laughs out. Ben, who was playing piano for the program could only laugh with me for a moment as he had to start playing. I think he was pretty mortified FOR me!

Onto happier moments...I wanted to write about how special the END of the program was for me. The last song the kids sang was "Families Can Be Together Forever" and all the parents of the kids came up on the stand, stood by their kids and sang with us. It may sound like a lot of people, but we have a ward made up mostly of old people. I tried singing with them, but due to my latest bout of laryngitis, I was struggling. Then I looked around at all the little families and the Spirit kicked in making it impossible for me to sing along. I realized right then how lucky I am to be sealed to my husband forever, and now that I am having a baby, it was the first time it hit me how AMAZING it is that I am sealed to this baby and the rest of my babies FOREVER. It really hit me hard and made me SO thankful for the blessings I enjoy being a member of the church! I can't wait to be holding my children in my arms, singing that beautiful song with them.

Pregnancy has been SO much fun, and while it's starting to get uncomfortable, I know I'm going to miss it! I can't wait to meet Baby Connor! Thank GOODNESS fall is here finally! The summer DRAGGED on, and now I only have a couple more months before he's here!

New savings blog!

Hey everyone...I know a lot of you have been reading my status on Facebook and other places about all the great deals I've been finding and free money I've had come my way! If you are interested in saving money, check out the new blog I started today... www.treasureofsavings.blogspot.com. I'm SO excited to share all my great finds! :-)

$avings!

So I know I just posted yesterday, but today was such a fun day full of money savings and earnings I had to post! It all started when my mom and I went to Big Lots here in Cedar. My mom happened to be up for the morning while my dad did a job in Cedar, so we went to Big Lots. My mom likes it a lot more than the one in St. George. So we were just browsing for the second time in a week, and the manager said hi to us and asked if we needed help with anything! My mom, being the deal finder she is said "Well how about that over there?" She was talking about this piece of furniture she had seen last time that was selling for $99.99. I can't say what it was (surprise for someone) but she asked if they'd mark it down for her! The guy said YES! He gave it to her for $80! So then she asked "Well while you're in a bargaining mood, how about that?...and she pointed to a piece of furniture I had seen and thought would be great for the nursery...instead of a dresser I wanted this...

I'm going to put baskets in some of the cubbies for his clothes or diapers or whatnot, and then use some to store his books and toys in! It'll be really cute when it's all set up and in use! ANYWAY instead of the $99.99 price, they let me buy it for $80 as well! 20% off...never hurts to ask I guess! I'm so glad my mom has guts...it was so fun to get such a deal!

Next I thought I'd report that I changed my mind on the baby's room. I got really overwhelmed trying to find and piece together Dr. Seuss stuff...so I am going with a store bought set for now, and maybe when he's older I'll do Seuss...as more of a little tyke room :-) I just really wanted something soft and sweet for a newborn and we had already painted the walls blue and green...so when I saw this set I wanted it SO bad! I bought it on Target.com and it happened to be on sale last week! I looked today and it's already back up to the regular price! Yay me! I got everything that goes with the set...valence, hamper, diaper holder, decor..it'll be adorable!
And last but certainly not least... I heeded Robyn's advice a few months ago to go to THIS blog and found that you can actually GET those free offers you always see in your spam! I did the required stuff and found out today my $500 Visa is in the mail! I can't wait to get it, and I'll post more about it when I do, but Robyn got hers this week and I'm SO stoked! Check it out if you have time!

I love LOVE saving money!

Catch up!

So because I spend four straight hours on the computer at work, I don't really have much motivation to spend more time on the computer to blog when I'm at home! But it's time for some catching up I realize, as I was looking through the pictures on my camera and realized what I haven't blogged about! So here goes...

Over Labor Day weekend we drove to St. George and spent some time with my fam. We all decided Saturday to drive to Zion's and pick some apples at the orchard up there. We had a lot of fun and met up with my aunt Jill and her fam. We got some yummy apples and then on our way to dinner we stopped at the elk farm...they had the biggest elk and bulls and the saddest thing is seeing all the flies in their eyes! After that went to dinner at Zion Pizza and Noodle! MMM it was good. I love their pizza!
Following THAT and a long chat with some neighbors of my parent's we ran into, we had ice cream and then went to Springdale's oldest cemetery. It wasn't even the one I had mentioned I wanted to go to, but we stumbled upon it and found some pretty interesting head stones! It's an amazing way to see a little history in my opinion. It's so sad how young a lot of the children were that were buried in the cemetery. The picture up above is two siblings. Read the dates...the parents lost one baby at 16 months, then had another baby abour 4 months later that died at 41/2 years old. The baby below is a cousin I think...

We saw a LOT of headstones dated for the same year, so a lot of babies that didn't live to be a year old. Makes me so grateful for modern medicine!
We went home after that and enjoyed a quiet rest of the weekend. Ben spent all of Labor day working on homework, while I vegged out on the couch. Can't say I didn't LOVE it! Lotsa good stuff on tv last weekend! :-)

Going a little further back I just wanted to post pictures of my dad's birthday in July when we went to Texas Roadhouse. He tried to sit the furthest in at the booth so they couldn't make him ride the saddle, but we were all too happy to let him out when they came around! ha ha...I think he enjoyed it a LITTLE bit.
There's also pictures of when we went surveying with my dad for the day back in June or July sometime. We went somewhere around Pinto...can't remember where exactly. It was a LONG day, but we had fun going on a nature walk and my sisters enjoyed the 4 wheeler. Ben wouldn't really let me ride it...said itwasn't good for the baby. Oh well...haha. That well was SO creepy...reminded me of the one in The Ring...ick.

And then we have a cluster of randmoness..the pictures I took of the fire in New Harmony from the freeway, another elk picture just to show the massiveness of that dang thing...the delicious dinner we had last week that was VERY green..lime rice, green salad, limeade and chicken :-) Check out Figaro begging at the table..he's good at that. And for Lauren, thought I'd show you how we used the nice serving dish and pitcher you gave me for my birthday! :-) The dogs all had a play date up here last week too, my parents let them come home with us for a few hours before they came up here for the day and took em home. They were SO bored and didn't know what to do in our house! Ha ha..The last is a picture of my cousin's son Daxton, he slept over at our house last month and his mom had no idea he was that brave! ha ha...

Ok last but not least, some ultrasound pictures from our 3D ultrasound gone awry. I'm sad we didn't get better pics, but here are just a few of my faves.

Top Left, straight shot of his face. Top right, profile. Bottom left, sucking his toes on one foot with the other straight up. His head is on the left. Bottom right, hand by his face. I think he's going to have my nose, but for a moment there he really looked like Ben! It's weird to think he's really our baby and will come out looking like US! :-) Can't wait to meet him in less than 13 weeks!

That's all! Hope I caught up on everything I wanted to!