Bring on 2014

What a great holiday!! We had so many visitors, and such good fun!  I have too many photos to share!

December was a great month. Not only did I turn a walloping 29 years old (and to remain such age indefinitely)  but baby girl hit her 9 month mark. And what a mark it was!  She is now a quarter shy of 30 inches tall (88%) and weighs only 17.5 lbs (45%).  Skinny lean energy machine she is.  She has 100 new facial expressions, definitely understands the word NO and will shake her head back at you to acknowledge this. 

She and I took a fun run/walk along the beach on my Birthday and played in the swings and the sand. Then when dad got home we had a grand old time at a friends Christmas party chatting and avoiding sugar cookies .

My new favorite thing is to do random photo shoots.  I have the most splendid camera (thanks padre!) that does the work for me.  But sometimes my subject is a bit unpredictable.  One morning the light seemed perfect.  Ignore the naked photos… but this was too fun.  and she had so much energy!

 

We had the most perfectly shaped tree for Christmas.  Last year I had so much fun picking one out with my friend Taryn and Grant while Brian was away trotting about in England and Ireland. I still laugh when I think of what that Christmas tree salesman thought to himself as two very pregnant women got out of a car with one man with a BYU bumper sticker on the back window.  HAHA!!  Needless to say I’m now addicted to the smell of a fresh tree in my house. But I was determined not to be picking it up or chasing Riley around with run away ornaments.  So…. problem solved!

 

Except it wasn’t.  I forgot she was tall enough in her walker to still reach the gifts.  And one day while working I heard some giggling and running feet.  I turned just in time to catch this little sneak run past my office door…

Soon enough we had visitors for the holiday! We were lucky to have Grandma & Grandpa Phillips stay just upstairs so we could play all day!  Aunt Rosemary and cousins Ella and James came up a few times to add in the fun. We had a blast riding bikes down the coast, building “Sandmen”, playing “Sorry” and eating oh so much food!

 

Riley put on a show at dinner one night… lets count how many different faces she can make

 

We were lucky enough to have a visit from our other “Family” the Mason’s who recently moved to San Jose (Not cool guys… not cool at all).  We got to go for a nice run in the mountains while the grandma’s watched babies. It felt like old times.  Ashley, I know we are related, as you pointed out our matching forehead veins. Ha ha!! Someday I’ll connect your Blackfoot Anderson’s to mine!

 

Not soon enough it was Christmas day!!  Riley needed just a bit of coaxing to rip the paper, but once she heard it crinkle… that was all she needed!

 

Far too soon the party was over. Riley helped Grandma clean, then off for a  fun sunset night walk. Dad was loving dressing up Riley in all her bows.

 

Riley will miss bedtime stories with Grandma and Grandpa

 

Then came new years… mom was sick new years eve so we celebrated with NYC and hit the hay.  Good news is I woke up New Years day refreshed!! So we hit the beach for some fun in the sun and Riley took a mad dash run into the ocean… and we finally let her go as far as she wanted. She was soaked to the bone but happy as a clam and didn’t seem to mind the small waves pounding her over.  We have a daredevil on our hands.

 

Later that night we went to a high class fancy restaurant just off the pier (333 Pacific) who apparently specializes in 99 types of Vodka. We sat and smiled patiently as they described them all in such excitement before letting them know we weren’t drinkers.  But all the staff were enamored with Riley. They kept popping by to say hi.  Surprisingly she was an angel for dinner. Ate her food and waved at the passers by.  Apparently she likes nice fancy places more than our hole in the wall food joints.

 

Then off for a walk to the yogurt place, because no holiday is complete with out ice cream.  But we did pass a sushi restaurant with a really cool name… Miso Harney Sushi .  Get it?

 

A few days later we got a bonus Christmas package in the mail from Mema & Papa Mecham!

 

This girls was all sorts of surprised and it spurred on one more photo shoot in her cute new outfit.  She is cow-girled up and ready for Montana next Christmas! Tell President Jordan she’s ready for a pony ride

 

Can’t get enough of her!!

 

Happy Holidays all!

I'm going to try this blog thing....

Our little nugget just keeps growing and growing.  I love catching random moments on film.  Question.... if you love every picture you take, HOW DO YOU DISPLAY THEM ALL!!  I don't have enough wall space :)

She had her 6 month appointment last week. She weighs 16 lbs (42 percentile) and is 27 inches tall (84 percentile).  The girl took her shots like a champ. Screamed while they poked her, then we picked her up and she smiled at the nurse.  Our cute nurse was pleased....she said that doesn't happen too often for her. 

Over achiever...

I think I have an issue!  Apparently I like to take on just a few activities to keep my self busy.  This is my task list for the week....

1.  Work out more and eat right (always number one on Monday :))
2. Prepare dance lessons for 4 classes Monday, 4 Wednesday, and 2 Thursday night
3. Prepare a zumba class for Thurs night
4. Work my full time job and stay sane
5. Prepare and spread the word about the first up coming 10 year reunion planning comitee meeting (http://jhs2003.blogspot.com/2011/09/call.html)
6. Cook and clean like a little housewife
7. Finish construction on my masterbathroom, so I'll actually have one
8. Make 20 calls for a service assignement at church... and actually get called back!
9. Do quality control on the diaper bags I plan to sell on Ebay and ensure shipping is all set so they actually make it to my house
10. Pray I survive it all :)

By no means is this a complaint.  I like the madness.  I just wonder if it likes me back sometimes!  The funny thing is, that on top of this I am looking for a hobby.  Any ideas?!!

Ha ha

The King of California

We found this little gem one night when we couldn't quite seem to fall asleep.  As Brian frequently refers to California as the "Promised Land" I thought it might be a hit.  Suprisingly it was, but not for the reasons you would think.

The begining is rather slow, but sit tight.  Soon enough the suttle gems of entertainment arise.  Imagine a young 16 year old girl who lives with her quite literally insane father.  They have no money.  She works at McDonalds to pay the bills.  Life is rough.  And now someone wants to take their home because it doesn't fit in with the surrounding new townhome development. 

As a solution to the problem the Dad remembers some research he'd done during his stint in the mental institution.  There's a burried treasure from a spanish conquest and he has a journal outlining the details on how to find it.  Where might they find the buried treasure?  Only 6 feet under the floor dead center in the middle of a Costco.

They hire on a team member who has skills in breaking security alarms.  Thank heavens for him as he adds to the undertoned humor.  During the planning of this adventure paths cross with a party of swingers, a run in with the cops, and a deep sea dive below Costco's floors.

The end is so classic I can't give it away.  Take a look and let me know what you think.  I gave this movie an 8 pm rating.  That's when you're bored enough to watch it, but still awake enough you won't fall asleep!

Here's a trailer from Rotton Tomatoes to give you a visual.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/king_of_california/trailers/10888405

Happy watching!

The joy of Netflix

I have come to the realization that I am terrible about blogging about my life!  I have a GREAT private journal that I don't miss a week in writing, so maybe I think my public writing is a double dose of extreme documentation of my life.

So I thought I would try something a little different.  Bri and I (in all our spare time between 2 jobs, teaching dance, remodeling our home, church callings, and social events) have found a delight in searching our instant view Netflix subscription for some hidden jems.  This all began with the realization that there is SO many activities to do in Houston.  We can go ..... eat or ...... watch movies..... or eat some more?  I think this is why we have an obesity problem!  There are no hills, lakes, or nearly anything to play on, in, or around.  Not to mention it is MUCH too hot to even sit oustide let alone move about frantically doing any type of physical activity.  Brian described it perfectly one day by saying that when he opened the door to go to work the heat litterally kicked him in the diaphram making him lose all his air and causing him to fall backward into the house gasping for air!  The air is thick here people....really thick.

Back to our new job.  Reviewing wierd unknown movies.  This happened when - after owning Netflix for an entire two years - we realized, they aren't adding anything new.  Unless of course it's something that was made before 1999 and is something no one has ever heard of before.  And since all I want to do during the summer here is crank the AC to 65 degrees and not move a muscle, this is the perfect new time waster.  I hope you might be inspired to watch some yourself (Warning...these movies are only any good if you already expect them to suck.....reeaaallllyyyy bad).

First hidden gem:  "The Thrid Wheel". Imagine wanting for 2 years to go on a date with someone and when you finally do how pressured you feel to make it be perfect.  Except within 2 minutes of havnig picked up your date you run over a homeless guy, who also seems slightly mentally challenged.  Not only do you feel like an idiot but you need to show your date how generous you are.  They go to the hospital to make sure he's okay.  You explain to the injured that this has to be the perfect date, and the soon to be 3rd wheel decides to take it upon himself to make this the best date ever. 

I was SO entertained by this movie.  I think one of the bigger suprises was the number of actors that appeared in this film!  Fun to try to remember all the shows they are all from. If you're a Netflix viewer and have run out of movies to watch, definately through this in your que.

Happy watching all!

The countdown to 2013....

Confession.

The thought of planning a 10 year reunion is turning my hair grey. Every day that ticks by makes me more and more nervous that I won't be able to find everyone, or I will pick a place no one likes, or that somehow I will get stuck with a $5000.00 bill to a giant dance hall and will be the only one to show up. Boo. (Small bit of info to those of you out there- no we do not have a "class fund" for this stuff so we are starting from scratch here! And donations are always welcome.)

This definately is not something one person can do on their own so what have I decided to do about it? Blog! Transparancy is key! I figure, the more I tell people what I'm working on the more they can give input and or help right?

Plus! With me having now moved out of state it's going to be interesting finding a location, etc. Anyone have any thoughts?? Let me know by emailing me at Jordanbeats@hotmail.com. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from you :).

Here are my 6 month goals for the reunion:

1. Get at least 15 people committed to join the planning comittee by May 1st 2011
2. Meet (via internet) with comittee and divide out tasks and titles to get things rolling.
3. Decide on an exact date, location, and cost for the reunion

So far so good right? If you or anyone you know is interested in joining the planning comittee let me know! It's going to be tonz of fun :). Ha ha!

The things I get myself into....

This is a first!

So there I was sleeping at a cute little inn near Aransas Pass when I was awaken at 4 am by howling sideways winds and constant thunder and bursts of light filling our tiny room. I quickly turn on the tv to see nothing but tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings. I hid under those cheap covers with my shoes on the nightstand ready to take flight for a full half hour. Finally the winds and hail ended and the tornado warning cancelled. It was by far the most insane weather I've ever seen. Not too much damage but definitely gave me a big fright. Pretty sure I have even more respect for survivors of natural disasters. I had a mini panic attack over sideways wind and hail! I have been demoted to pansy...