Birthday celebration at work

When I went to work, my boss's wife had decorated the office with a happy birthday banner. She is so cute. She also made me muffins. These muffins are to die for - she is the best baker that I have ever known! I won't be sharing any of these with Chad!!! They got me a really cute clock for the house. I don't know where I am going to put it yet, but I'm sure I will find it a home.

Annual Sutton Octoberfest!

On Sunday, my mom hosted our annual Octoberfest. Everyone has to bring spooky food to eat, the kids dress up, we eat dinner, play games, carve pumpkins, etc. It is so much fun!

We started the night out with a costume parade. All of the kids looked so cute and had a good time. We managed to gather them up for a group picture in their costumes.

This year I tried two new recipes. The first one was basically a brain shaped cheese ball with blood (salsa). The second one was puff pastry filled with guacamole. It was supposed to look like bloody intestines. The first recipe was a success - the second wasn't so great.

For dinner my mom made homemade chili and minestrone soup with homemade bread bowls. It was delicious! After dinner we opened presents for me and Leslie's birthdays. I got Mac make-up (my favorite), adorable homemade cards, and some decorative shelves that I have been wanting for the house. Thanks again family!

After presents, we painted all of the kids faces. The older kids went all out and painted their entire faces with paint that we later found out was nearly impossible to get out. I painted (or tried to paint) a moon and a bat on Colton's cheek, a full pumpkin face for Carson, and the beginnings of a joker face on Vance. Vance wanted to eat the paint though, so I tried my best to be as quick as possible.

The next item on the agenda was pumpkin carving. I left this task up to Chad while I played with the kiddos and fed Vance a bottle. He was on the right track, but then he got impatient. Our pumpkin was not the best (to say the least).

Thanks again Mom for all of your hardwork and a GREAT evening!

ViVa BiKe VeGaS sUcCeSs

Mariah (red) and me (grey) on the last leg of the ride

I did it!!! On Saturday I participated in Viva Bike Vegas with my sister-in-law Mariah and friend Rushelle. We did the 50-mile bike ride. I am going to say it again because I am still very proud of myself - WE DID THE 50-MILE BIKE RIDE!

The ride started out near Charleston and I-15. We then got on Alta and headed west until it ended. After that we rode down to Charleston, out to Redrock, all they way to the small town of Blue Diamond, and back to Charleston and I-15. Along the way there were 3 rest stops. My family was volunteering at two of the rest stops (in the yellow shirts above). They were my personal cheerleaders and helped motivate me to finish.

Rushelle, Me, and Mariah at the first rest stop

I only had one small mishap with my bike chain at the beginning of the race, but with some help I got back on the road without wasting too much time. It took us 5 1/2 hours to complete the ride - including the stops at the 3 rest areas along the route. It was very challenging, but I was so glad to have others with me to help push me along. Hopefully I will be able to participate in more rides in the future!

Weight Watchers Update

I was down 1.6 pounds this week!

Swinging with Colton

Last week my sister Amy and I took Mason, Vance and Colton to the park. It was Vance and Colton's first time on the swing. They weren't sure at first, but they loved it. When we finally had to leave to take Mason to school and took them out of the swings, they started crying. It was so pathetic!

Chad did it again (plus Tuacahn)

Chad participated in another triathlon this past weekend. He did his best to train more for this one, but life just got busy. It was a 750 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and 3 mile run. He did REALLY good on the swim and bike, but fell back a little bit on the run. He was feeling sick and struggled to breath during the run. We are still waiting for the times to post! He ran into two of his friends Jarrett Stevens and Spencer Holt too (see above pictures).

My mom picked me and Vance up at 6:00 am to go watch Chad. If anyone knows me, they know that is LOVE! I was tired from the night before... (see below)

Since Chad had to pick up his registration packet and rest for the triathlon, he decided not to go to the final Tuacahn play of the season with me. So I decided to ask Jennie if she wanted to go see Big River with me. We had so much fun and the play was great! We had front row seats for this play too, so the view was great. They flooded the stage with water, and it made the play so realistic. I don't think I will ever see that play again, because I don't think it could be done better!

Jennie and I had a great time on the drive there and back as well as at dinner. It was so nice to have a few uninterrupted hours to ourselves to catch-up, vent, etc.!!!

Bath time with the cousins

Yesterday Jennie helped watch Vance for a little bit because I had to work late. It was time for the her boys to take a bath when Vance was there, so I threw Vance in there. Isn't this so cute?!

When am I going to learn my lesson?

When it comes to school, I almost always procrastinate. I wait until the last possible moment to do homework, study, read, etc. It never has really affected my grade, so I continue in my ways. However, it makes for some AWFUL days.

Today was one of those days. I had fallen behind in reading for my geology class and today we had a test. I promised myself I would study last night, but I thought swimming and then watching TV sounded like more fun. So I woke up today and hit the books at 8:30. Later I got ready then hit the books again. I took a few breaks to tend to my child (who must of known I had things to do so behaved beautifully) and eat. All I did was study until 2:30 when I had my geology lab.

I studied every spare second during my 3 hour geology lab and my real estate investments class. Finally the test came at 7:00 and my studying ceased. The test went okay, but I am burnt out!!! Class didn't get out until 9:30 so I did geology from 8:30 am - 9:30 pm. All I can say is 13 hours of geology is WAY too much!!!

My goal is to keep things under control so I don't have to do another marathon day of studying. (I haven't met this goal the first 21 years of my life, but who knows - maybe I have learned my lesson this time!)

Back to Weight Watchers

So I have decided to go back to Weight Watchers. I am not going to the meetings but will be weighing in every Sunday morning. Then I am going to post how I did that week for the world to see! I am hoping this will keep me accountable...and ultimately lead to success. I have also decided along with my weekly report, I am going to post some type of cartoon about dieting. Hope you enjoy!

This week I was down 2.6 pounds! I didn't do very good at the beginning of the week because I didn't have the right foods in the house, but I got on track at the end of the week. I am trying to keep the attitude that down is down. If I lose even 1/2 pound a week, eventually I will lose all the weight that I want to lose.

Good luck me!

New pictures (thanks to Meghan)

Tonight I was at enrichment when I ran into my friend Meghan Poort. She had her studio set up in the cultural hall to take pictures of her ward's daddy-daughter date. She told me to throw Vance in there so she could take a couple of pictures. As always, I love them!!! Here are a couple of them.

Tonight's enrichment was all about entertaining. It was called Partyology 101. The speaker had some really great ideas for cheap and fun games. Going to this made me re-realize (I know this isn't a word) that I have a talent for entertaining. I LOVE to organize, decorate, plan, execute, etc. It gets to be an expensive habit at times, but I think it is so rewarding. At the end of the evening I wanted to go home and plan a party. I am not sure what the purpose of the party is going to be, but I guess we will see! Thank you Painted Mountain Relief Society for a great evening!

Vance's new rockstar blanket

Virginia Palacios made Vance a new blanket. She is a woman in our ward with an amazing talent for sewing. We picked out the fabric, and she did the rest. I think it looks so amazing!!! I think it is so hard to find blankets that don't look like little, little baby blankets. I love this blanket because it looks like it is for an older boy. Virginia did an AMAZING job. I know Vance is going to love it for many years to come!!!

Poor sick baby

This weekend Vance got sick. He has a fever, cough, runny nose, and sounds very congested. We have been giving him medicine that has helped the fever, but the other symptoms remain. I basically spent Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday on the couch with Vance or standing up trying to get him to stop crying. He won't really sleep or eat either. I feel so bad for him. Doesn't he look so sad in the picture above?! He looks so miserable, and I can't do much to help him. Hopefully he will get back to normal soon!

My moldy kitchen ceiling

The other day Chad was in the kitchen and asked me if we had done any remodeling upstairs. I didn't know what he was getting at until he showed me the water stain on our kitchen ceiling. I walked in the kitchen to see about a 4 foot long water stain. I know that fixing mold is a huge, not to mention expensive project. Below I have a picture of the water stain (you have to look really close but it is in the center of the picture).

I called KB homes the next day to have them come and look - crossing my fingers it was an installation problem that would be under warranty. Luckily, it was!!! They cut a square of the ceiling out (that had black mold on the back of it), taped up the hole, and promised to return.

The problem should be fixed soon - all without costing us a penny! Thank goodness for warranties!

Vance's 1st FHE

Chad and I normally do FHE after we put Vance to bed. We have a great book called "FHE for Newlyweds." The week we decided to do it when Vance was still awake. We have a Book of Mormon for children and read a quick story. Vance mainly liked pounding the pages, but at least he was paying attention right? Then I tried teaching him how to fold his arms for the prayer. I am pretty sure we are a long ways away from that but we figured it doesn't hurt to start him young!

Vance's latest attempts at crawling

Vance is getting closer to crawling but hasn't quite caught on yet. He either gets on all fours and moves his legs and then face plants (as in the 1st video) or army crawls (like in the 2nd video).


Keep trying buddy - I'm sure you'll get it eventually!

Knock it off Grandma!

My mom, as most grandmas I am sure, is always giving the kids treats. Every time we go over to my parents, my mom gives Vance biter biscuits, crackers, cookies, etc. It seems like she always manages to do it right after we gave Vance a bath. The other day we caught her red-handed! If you look really close at the picture on the far left you can see the remains of a cookie on his face. In the picture on the right he is shoveling it in his mouth before I can get it from him!

Where's Brayden?

The other day Amy and David came over to hang out and play games with their kids. We put their kids to bed upstairs, but they weren't to thrilled to go to bed. After a little while Logan came down to get a drink and we asked him if Brayden was in bed or not. He replied, "I don't know where Brayden is. I can't find him."

Our house is pretty small, so we knew Brayden had to be upstairs. Since the guys had left for the moment and Amy's knees hurt, I went upstairs to find him. I looked everywhere!!! I looked in every room, under every bed, in the bath tub, under the clothes in the closet, in the washer and dryer. I came downstairs to tell Amy that I couldn't find him either.

We tried calling him name but no one answered. Finally we lifted up a huge bean bag we have in our loft to find Brayden literally sleeping underneath it. See for yourself...

I can't live without...

I was tagged by Brittany - here it goes!

I can't live without...

my handsome husband
my beautiful son
all of my immediate and extended family
TiVo
pajamas
tweezers
Greys Anatomy
flip flops
ice cream
hooded sweatshirts
pictures
lots of pillows at night
microsoft excel
baby wipes
a deck of cards
country music
the outdoors
my bike
naps

I tag Amy Mathewson, Krista Smith, Nicole Boren, and Meghan Poort.