Happy Birthday Jared

Tuesday was Jared's 37th Birthday!  It was not a great day for us to celebrate it with all the other things we had going on!  Jared and I both worked and then I had Yoga and he and Emry had a practice for the skit they are in on Friday night for our Stake Cultural Night!  So with his actual birthday being totally booked we celebrated the night before!  I had made his favourite, chicken cordon bleu (a huge thanks to Myrna for putting it in the oven for me!) and root beer float cupcakes!  We invited Myrna over and Dave was able to come too since he was out working on his house!  The kids and I gave Jared a new pair of work boots and when he tried them on Armin said, "those are awesome!!"

It was a fun evening, and my cupcakes were super yummy too, I'm sure there is a recipe out there for the way I did them but instead of looking I attempted my own version, and they were spectacular!  I decided last minute to fill the chocolate cupcake (with a hint of root beer flavouring) with whipped cream.  I thought it would really taste like a root beer float if I added root beer extract to the whipped cream too!  And then I iced the cupcakes with simple vanilla icing!  It really did taste like a root beer float to me!

About 2 months ago Jared emailed me a link for a concert that was coming to Calgary!  A huge hint I think!!  So I looked into it and saw that this particular concert was scheduled for October 26th, a perfect birthday present!  So I got tickets!  The concert was soooooooooooo good!  It was Chris Cornell, with only his guitar!  He was the lead singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave, both great bands!  But seeing him solo was really good too!  The concert was at the Jubilee so great seats and amazing sound!  He ended up playing some of his Soundgarden hits as well as a Beatles song, a John Lennon song and a Led Zeppelin song!  It was so fun!  I asked Jared if he would like to out for dinner before the concert, and since it was for his birthday he could pick wherever he wanted!  He picked Five Guys Burgers and Fries!  It was yummy, never a disappointment!  All the way to and from Calgary we listened to the new 24 hour comedy station on the radio and both of us were in tears from laughing so hard!  One comedian came on and said how he would have loved to be in on the pitch meeting for one of the songs in Dora the Explorer.  It went something like this, "So what do you have for the song so far?"  "Well, not much, we are still working on it."  "Sing a little bit for us."  "Now? Well, okay....'I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, Iiiii'mmmmmm the MAP!"  "Wow!  I really like how it changes a bit at the end!"  After we recovered from laughing so hard we both did wonder how that song made it into the show!

It was a fun birthday, hopefully Jared had as much as I did celebrating another year!  I sure love him and even though I know he doesn't always feel like he is at the top of my priority list I love him truly more than anything in this entire world!  Yes, I love my children more than anything too, but my love for Jared is different, he is my very best friend!  I love laughing with him, crying with him, fighting (yes, we fight sometimes!!), cuddling with him (or as he puts it, leaning on him!!), kissing him, hugging him and just being with him!  He is a wonderful father to our children, he plays with them, teases them and just plain loves them!  He is hard working, life loving and handsome!  He teaches me so much and loves me more than I deserve!  I am thankful for another year with him and look forward to many, many more!

Uummmmmm?

I have not had anything really exciting happen to journal about in the last couple of weeks!! But as I sit here and reflect on all that has happened memories come back to me!!!

At the end of August my mom and Mark had my sister and I and our families over for supper! It was an end of summer sort of celebration! They had a long sheet of plastic set up down a small hill with the sprinkler on it to make a slip and slide! The kids loved this, the "big" kid too!!! Jared saw how much fun the kids were having so he got his suit on and joined the fun! Everyone was covered in grass so they all jumped in the pool to clean off!! Jared, Emry and Gilbert played water basketball, while Calum floated on a blow up chair!! The water was way too cold for him! Lily and Armin jumped on the trampoline and later Arren and I joined them! We had hot dogs and super yummy ribs that Mark made, salads and s'mores!  It was a great kick off for back to school and a wonderful end to a beautiful summer!

I have been working at the Pharmacy more than I am supposed to be scheduled for! So I haven't had a lot of one on one time with Armin. I did go into Okotoks with him yesterday morning before I went into work. My dad stayed at McDonalds with him while I was at my appointment and they had fun together! When dad first got there he asked a lady who was in the play area with her daughter if she could keep an eye on Armin while dad got their breakfast. When dad went back in with their food the lady said Armin was singing a song, she recognized it but just couldn't seem to put the words to it! Dad said, "we built this city on rock and roll"? She laughed and said yes that was it!! Armin is constantly singing this song!! When it was just "ampa" and Armin left in the play place, my dad went up to the top with Armin! Armin thought it was hilarious, especially when ampa pretended he was stuck and Armin would have to push him down!!

After my appointment Armin and I went to Costco! He wore his Scottish cap Buck and Arren brought back for him. I seriously lost count at how many elderly men stopped to tell us they loved his hat!! One was even wearing a hat similar to Armin's!

It was a great day!! So, even though not much has happened these past two weeks, many great memories have still been made!  So Dad, I hope this appeases your blog withdrawal!!!!

Thanksgiving

Yesterday we were able to spend Thanksgiving with all of the Puzey's plus two friends from church, Denis (our Home Teacher) and Bonita (who I also happen to work with at the Pharmacy!)  It was a gorgeous day, a typical crisp autumn day!  Though the morning started out a little rough, Jared got called into work at 8am!  He had lots he wanted to do before everyone arrived at noon :( Without Jared around that morning I started doing things that weren't totally necessary to do before our company arrived!  So our dinner ended up being served an hour late, but thankfully it was because Jared made it home in time to eat with us!

Doing the things that weren't totally necessary for our Thanksgiving feast!  I added these wooden bird decals above our front door.  My dad had given them to me!  Below them I want to put vinyl lettering that says "Spread Your Wings"

I love our kitchen, a very country feel! 

I don't have a fireplace mantle so I use this sofa table!  I love Autumn decorations!

Everyone pitched in and brought something to contribute to the feast!  I offered our house with the stipulation that someone else bring the turkey!  With my total disgust of meat on bones and the thought of sticking my hand in a turkey's butt I just dont think cooking a turkey is for me!  Thankfully Myrna offered to cook the turkey and I'm glad she did, it was delicious!  I did mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and peas and corn!  Char brought a salad, and coconut cream pie, and a cheese ball and crackers for snacks later!  Lalainia brought buns (super yummy) and pumpkin pies (also super yummy!).  Rachel brought lemon pies and a green bean casserole (again yummy!).  There was enough food to feed a small army, and in honour of David I made way, way to many potatoes (though we all agreed that it still wasn't the amount David would have made!)  We had lots of laughs, lots of visiting and lots of treats!  I also made White Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles (my new favorite cooke!) and a fall type of nuts and bolts? It had chex cereal coated in melted chocolate, peanut butter and icing sugar!  And mixed with that I put pretzels, peanut butter m&m's and candy corn!  It was really good!A definite keeper!  I think I can even adapt it to fit the holiday!

The kids had fun playing together, as always!  There were spy games going on, train track building, wii games, quad riding, trampoline jumping, girl talking and ball throwing!  It was great hearing the noises of laughing and occasional squealing coming up from the basement!  Char brought paper plates and plastic cups and utensils so there were very minimal dishes to do!

Jonas 

Girls being girls!

Armin...Some kind of spy!!

I love Thanksgiving!  I love being with family and reflecting on all I have been blessed with!  I am thankful for my "sisters", I am thankful for their examples to me.  I am thankful for their love and support!  I am thankful we share in each others good news, as well as each others trials.  I am excited for Char to move here, I am excited to have her close as a friend and sister.  I hope our relationship will grow stronger, there is a lot I can learn from her!  I am thankful Rachel and Lalainia live as close as they do too, I just need to make an effort to stop in and visit with them more often!

I am thankful for a husband who truly is my best friend!  He works hard for us to keep us safe and comfortable!  He involves our kids in everything he does even when it actually slows him down!  He is kind and compassionate, he keeps things real and reminds me to do the same!  He is loyal and devoted and he is the biggest example to me of being truly accepting of others, faults and all!

I am thankful for my children!  They all have unique personalities and teach me something new each day!  They are healthy, they are kind, they are caring and accepting of others!  They are polite and they  try hard to do what is right!  I know I am hard on them, especially Emry, but she really is a sweet girl and she helps me out so much!  I told her I really needed her help with the cleaning, and though she didn't really clean, I did overhear her say to Calum while they were playing that they needed to clean up what they were playing with before the moved onto something else, or they would have a huge mess to clean up later!  So, in actuality she did help me that day!

I am thankful for our children's love of music!  Emry is always singing something, even if its something she made up!  Calum is always dancing and Armin too!  Whenever Jared plays his guitar those boys run into his music room, rip off their shirts and dance and sing!  I'm not sure what to think of that, but for now I think its really cute!

I am thankful for our home, for the free country we live in, for my job at the Pharmacy, for my calling at Church teaching the Youth Sunday School class! And for my Stake calling with Myrna in the Primary Presidency!  I learn new things every week just being with the youth and also working with Myrna, Jan and Christi and all the Primary kids in our Stake!  And I am so thankful for my membership in such a fulfilling Church!  I feel content and at peace in my life.  I am not afraid of what is to come, because I know that as I continue to prepare myself through studying the scriptures and prayer I will be able to attain the ultimate goal of returning to live with my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ!  I am not perfect, nor will I ever be, but at least I know I am on the right track and as long as I live and act in a way Our Savior would I am doing my best!  Life is hard, but I know I will make it because I have the love and support from family, friends and my Savior.  I have a heart full of thanks!

Life

This past couple of weeks have been just two typical weeks in the Puzey home!  Last Friday night Jared, Myrna and I drove up to Calgary to see Valdy play at the Calgary Folk Club!! It was totally a last minute decision!! Jared had heard Monday on CKUA radio that Valdy would be in Calgary! Tuesday he asked me if I could get tickets so I looked into it and was totally able to! While I was on their site getting the tickets I noticed the opening act was going to be Michael Jerome Brown!!!!!! We have seen him a couple of times before and actually got Emry's name from one of his songs!!!  It was a great concert, the atmosphere was not quite the same as at the Lethbridge Folk Club, there were about 10 times the people in Calgary!!!

Saturday I had to work and while I was helping a lady find a hand brace I feel something hit me in the back. At first I thought it was the lady I was helping because she was standing slightly behind me! I turned to see and noticed a Chapstick package on the floor and wondered about why it was there when I heard a familiar giggle!! My mom was hiding behind the Chapstick rack!  I was quite excited because she had been in Mexico for the week, and my sister left for Scotland at the same time so I was feeling pretty lonely without them!! It happened to be lunch time when my mom stopped in so I was able to go have lunch with her and Mark! It was fun hearing about their week on the beach!!

Monday was the last day of work for the Pharmacy Manager where I work. This was sad because she was quite close with a lot of the customers and did go above and beyond to help them out. The Pharmacist and I did have a little going away do for her, we ordered in lunch, I brought her favorite cream cheese brownies and we gave her a card with words of thanks written inside!! It was a pretty good day despite the sadness attached to someone leaving. 

Thursday Emry had her annual Cross Country Run in Arrowwod! She did well, I wasn't able to go see her but she told me all about it when she got home! 

Friday I found out I won a $20 gift card for a home decor store in Lethbridge!  I had actually never heard of it before but saw the contest advertised on my Facebook page so I decided to enter! All I had to do was pick a number between 8 and 1888! So in the comments I wrote our box number!  The next morning I noticed I had a notification saying my number was picked through an automated draw!! So I asked Jared if he would like to go have a nice dinner with me in Lethbridge! Myrna agreed to babysit and off we went! I told Jared where to go to get to the store where my newly acquired gift card awaited me! Jared was sure this place didn't exist, it was located behind Canadian Tire in a sort of dark alley! But we found it, parked and sat there for a minute watching the building! Then the door opened and a respectable lady walked out looking fairly pleasant! I decided to go in and see for myself!! It was amazing, the exact type of decor I love!! And not expensive at all!! I claimed my gift card and told the cashier I couldn't wait to come back when I'm all by myself and thoroughly look around!! 

Jared and I then headed to Moxies for a kid free supper!! It was lots of fun! I love going out with Jared, we always have fun teasing each other, laughing, reminiscing, talking about the antics of our three adorable kids and just being together!! He truly is my best friend, I love him so much and really needed that night with him! I feel renewed and ready to face the challenges that are sure to come!

Overall it was an uneventful couple of weeks but fun nonetheless!  New memories were made and that is always something to treasure!