A much needed update

I feel like such a slacker. Since I have been a Facebook user, I neglect our blog. Here is what has gone on in the last few weeks:

On our last post, Chris had been offered a job with Mozy. After he filled out the paperwork, they called him and told him that the company was on a hiring freeze and couldn't hire anybody. We were so mad that they did not tell us before. Chris' last day of work is this Friday. He has applied for so many jobs with no success. Please keep us in your prayers during this difficult time in our lives.
The pregnancy has been going okay. I still get sick a lot. My new saying is: "What goes down must come up!" My weight has been actually declining, but the baby is very healthy and looks good. The best news: WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!!. We had an ultrasound yesterday and Daniel Ryan is definately not shy or still. He loves to move. We are really excited for him to arrive.
I should sign a pledge that I will update this more often.

Update

First of all the good news: Chris got a job! It is for Mozy located in Pleasant Grove. He starts October 26th. A long commute, but proof that God does answer prayers.

Chris and I will find out what we are having on November 2nd. Leave your comment with your vote.

I have been feeling a little better. I am throwing up less (about twice a week). I am gaining weight slowly. Getting a lot of headaches and a congested nose though.

Chris and I were able to attend a session on Saturday. Two sisters in our ward were recieving their endowments that day and we were there to support them. It was a very unique session. There were at least 8 people receiving their own endowments, a lady with cancer, a blind guy, 4 people from France, and a wedding party. It was the busiest session I have ever attended.

Not too much else has happened. Chris and I have been really busy with our church callings and his schooling. He only has one more week until he is finished. Yay!!!!

A year later

On Saturday, Chris and I fondly remembered his Aunt Judy who died a year ago. Her husband is doing much better. We miss all the wonderful advice she gave us, but know she is in a better place watching over all those she loves.
On Friday, Chris received word that his job is extended for another month. That means we have another month of worrying about his job status. It is a great blessing, though.

Good work news!

I just looked at the title of the blog and realized many of you are probably thinking about Chris's job situation. It is not about that. My school received the good news that we passed AYP (Annual Yearly Progress). This essentially means that our school passed the No Child (really Every Child) Left Behind tests. We don't have to worry for two years about our school. Before that time, the NCLB law will be discontinued if we are lucky. Our school was way excited.
We had our 2nd doctor's appointment on Monday. Baby sounds great, but I have lost some weight. Probably due to the morning sickness. I am slowly starting to feel better. We are excited for mid-November when we get to find out what we are having.

August Happenings

August was not too exciting for us. After our first doctor's appointment I started throwing up and haven't really stopped. I am really hoping this morning sickness will leave soon.
Katina started working again. She absolutely loves her 6th grade class, but has some issues in her 5th grade class. Chris has one more month of work before his internship is up. Please keep us in your prayers during this difficult time.
Both Katina and Chris have experienced some changes in the presidencies they work in. They both kept their callings, but who they work with has changed. They have both been adjusting to working with these people, but are having fun.
That is about it for the month of August. We will keep you updated on any exciting (or otherwise) happenings.

First Appointment

Chris and I went to our first ob/gyn appointment. Our doctor is amazing. After much poking and prodding and a zillion questions, we were able to hear our baby's heartbeat. It was so cool! They also moved our due date from February 28th to March 23rd. I feel that will change again because I know I am farther along than that.
My morning sickness has still been the same. I get really nauseous, but the only time I have thrown up was today. How ironic!
I am not looking forward to starting school next week. I have to go in tomorrow and Monday to help my teachers get ready for the year. It is going to be a great year. I can tell.

Custer County Fair

Last weekend, Chris and I went to my nephew's fair. This year he had two animals, his market steer and his bred heifer (Ironically, she is due about the same time I am). First off was his heifer. She was not the best behaved, but he still one his class because he was the only junior to have a breeding project. His steer did okay, but not as good as last year. Because he won the showmanship class, he got to participate in Round Robin. This is where all the showmanship winners in the horse, dairy, pig, and sheep compete and show each type of animal. Because Chris and I were at the Idaho Falls temple, we were not able to see him perform in this. He tied for second place in this and was pretty upset because the kid who beat him did not clean his animal well.

His heifer. She was not well-behaved, but being pregnant myself, I knew how she felt.

his steer (middle one that is black and white)

selling his steer at the auction. His bishop who owns a restuarant bought his steer for $1.50 a pound or roughly $1500. Not bad for a 9-year old.

Pioneer Day Parade

On Pioneer Day, Chris and I went to the KSL parade downtown. We had picked a spot to sit, but it was near a 7-11 and a bunch of people were smoking, so we decided to move down by the City County Building. It was really hot that day, so Katina got really sick afterwards. The parade was really good. Here are some pictures. They are not that good as we were facing the sun.

the UHP motor swad. Probably my favorite part of the parade. They all wear mustaches, even the lone girl on the swad. beautiful Clydesdale horses
nice kilts! REAL Salt Lake float

Utah loves our Soldiers! A great sight!

the 'E' fell off the Bluffdale float

Our crazy cat

Here are some pictures of Sam, our crazy cat. Chris and I were on a SkipBo kick and Sam would climb onto the table and lay in the middle of the deck of cards.
On Tuesday, I took Sam in for his shots. I mentioned to the vet that he has been chewing on his front paw. When the vet examined him, he found a 3-inch sliver that had to be taken out and shaved off. He gave us antibiotics to give him morning and night, but since I am pregnant, I can't handle the medicine. That means I have to pick up Sam with a blanket and Chris has to put the dropper in Sam's mouth. He does NOT like this. Last night we noticed that Sam has been experiencing some diarrhea, probably from his medicine, in his litter box. Later, I saw that he had stepped in it with his back paw and wouldn't clean it. I filled the tub, and dunked him in there. He bolted out and then cleaned his paws really well. He was not a happy camper last night.

Announcing. . . . . . . . . . .

If they following image doesn't give you a good enough hint, I don't know what else to say to help you:

That's right! Chris and I are expecting. We are 8 weeks along and our estimated due date is February 28th, 2010. Morning sickness isn't bad except for being really tired and I always need to have crackers readily available. Will keep you updated.

Has It Really Been Ten Years????

I just realized that I have not posted anything on our blog since our trip to Idaho last week. I attended my high school reunion in Challis last Saturday. Chris and I left on Friday afternoon. After what seemed like driving forever and quick stop in Pocatello for some food, we arrived at my parents' house on Friday night. Saturday morning, Chris went with my brothers and nephews to irrigate, while Katina's mom hosted a Mary Kay party. It was a great success. That afternoon, Katina and Chris went to see Katina's old high school friends, Katie and Royce. Katina hasn't seen them since before she got married. They have three adorable girls. After watching 6 year-old Tori beat Royce multiple times on the Wii, they visited for awhile. That night was the reunion. Katina graduated with 32 classmates; only 8 of them showed up that night. It was held in a very loud bar (typical for my class). It was fun to see what everyone has been doing with their life since graduation. Sunday they went to church before having a family dinner. We then arrived back home Sunday night. Katina has been very busy since then in meetings at school and Mary Kay on Tuesday night. Tomorrow we plan on going to the Pioneer Day parade. Will post about that soon after it happens rather than waiting a week.

Logan

On Friday, Chris and I decided to go to Logan to attend the temple. Neither one of us had to work. The temple is gorgeous, but not as pretty as the drive up there the outside of the temple

the view of the valley from the temple

We did nothing on the 4th of July. We have discovered that most of the fun things in Utah take place the weekend before the Fourth.

The last two weeks

Hooray for being out of school! Katina's last day of school was on Thursday, July 2nd. The only thing that really happened that day was the 6th grade got into a food fight. Welcome to the future of America!

Chris and I have had a fun two weeks. Last weekend was Taylorsville Dayzz. One of the lead entertainers on Friday night was Jason Hewlett, a great impersonator. We staked out our places early in the evening. About 20 minutes before he was to come on, we noticed these clouds:

To add insult to injury, I had left my umbrella at home. About two minutes later, a giant wind, rain, and thunderstorm came. I was hiding out underneath a blanket while Chris was helping out taking chairs down that had blown over. It rained like this for 20 minutes. We ended up going onto the stage to wait it out. Once the storm had blown over, Jason Hewlett came on the stage. They only let him perform for 30 minutes before they called it quits. We felt angry that we didn't get to see his whole show that we decided to go to Ft. Herriman days on Saturday where Jason Hewlett was performing. This event was great and we got to see him in his entire performance plus the fireworks show. Here are some pictures of his performance. If you ever get the chance to see him, he is hilarious and well worth your time. I don't think I have laughed so hard in my entire life.

Jim Carrey working at Subway

Michael Jackson

Elton John

New Niece

Yesterday we became aunt and uncle for the 10th time. Chris's sister had a baby girl yesterday. She was due on July 4th, but started having pains last week. We knew she would have it early. Alana May Gaultney weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 19 inches long. She was born on Chris's mother's birthday, exactly one minute after his mother. We do not have a picture yet, but will hopefully post one when we recieve one.
Besides Chris's mom's birthday, it was also his brother's, and Aunt Judy's, who passed away in October. Yesterday was a bittersweet day for Katina who kept thinking about Aunt Judy. She is really missed and we know she is looking down on us and watching over us. We love you Aunt Judy!

Our first overnight visitor

Chris and Katina have had a long couple of days. On Wednesday, Katina woke up with a horrible sinus headache and spent the whole day in bed. She is feeling better now, except for a horrible cough that sounds like a dying dog. Thursday was supposed to be a short day of work for her, but she ended up staying all day. Her mom wanted Katina to meet her in Layton so she could find our house, but her mom ended up being delayed. Katina spent about 90 minutes reading in her hot car before her mom came to follow her into Salt Lake. After an hour of relaxing and visiting, Chris, Katina, and her mom went to the stake enrichment night (couples were invited). Sandra Phillips and Don Aslett, famous cleaners and declutterers, gave a wonderful presentation on how to make do with less. Everybody there got a free book. Anybody reading this who wants some tips, just let me know. Afterwards, we went out to eat some great Mexican food at the Red Iguana.

Friday morning, Katina and her mom went shopping. They then met Chris and his work and ate at the Church Office Building. Afterwards, Katina and her mom did iniatories in the SL temple. It was such a beautiful day for weddings. Good thing too as they saw at least 15 different couples outside the temple. When Chris got home, Katina's mom enjoyed the wonderful experience of shopping at IKEA. Later that night, Chris and Katina battled it out while redecorating their condo. My mom is a great decorator and helped us change our look a little bit.

Saturday morning, the weather was not nearly as nice, but we still prevailed. We slept in a bit before we made breakfast. Then we went to the Oquirrh Mountain temple open house. South Jordan is the only city in the world with two temples in its boundaries. This temple was gorgeous and the open house was very well organized. After that, it really started raining hard. We went home and changed before Katina's mom left. We are so thankful that she came to spend some time with us. We already miss her, but will see her at least two more times this summer. We are a little sad my dad couldn't come down to see the temple, but it was nice to have that time with my mom.

Here are a few pictures of the temple.

last week the Angel Moroni

got struck by lightning. Notice

the dark arm and trumpet.

Rain, Rain, and more Rain

I am so sick of rain. Today is June 13th, and it has rained in Utah the last 10 days. It is crazy. I am not talking about a light drizzle; it just pours here. I really hope it stops soon.
Yesterday, it did not rain. It was actually quite a nice day. Kenworth Trucking Company is a business partner with my school. They did a really good fundraiser just for our school yesterday. It was a car show with all the proceeds going to our school. They had some pretty neat cars there. I volunteered in the popcorn stand. It was a great event for our school.
Last night, our stake had a softball game, and Chris played in it. He did pretty good, but Katina's back started hurting really bad from sitting on the bleachers.
Not too much else has happened. I still have school until July 2nd. Chris started his new class on Wednesday. My mom is coming next weekend, so that will be fun.
Keep you updated. (Hopefully)

The verdict

Katina got xrays on her back on Saturday. Luckily, she has no fractures. It is most likely two pinched nerves from her back being out of place. They are going to be doing some decompression every Saturday. If she continues to do well on that, it means no disc problems. If no improvement, then most likely disc damage. She is able to get up and move around. Sitting really aggravates it. She is going to have to get used to the pain, since she will probably have this problem for the rest of her life. She is going back to work tomorrow. Wish her luck. CRTs start on Wednesday, which means a lot of sitting.

Video of Sam trying to get the bird

This video was taken Saturday night as Sam wanted to get this bird really bad. Poor cat!

Video is a little dark. I was taking it laying on the couch not being able to move.

Pictures and Video of Sam

The following are some pictures of Sam when Katina was sweeping and mopping the kitchen. She put the chairs out in the living room and Sam was playing on them.

this one looks like he is in jail

Here is a video of Sam playing on the chairs.

On Saturday night, a little bird flew down and perched on our window well. Chris woke Sam to let him see. That bird tormented Sam all night. Sam would tap on the window and hit the window trying to get the bird. Finally after about an hour, Sam gave up. That bird was still sleeping there when we went to bed around 1 am. Poor Sam! Of all the times to be an indoor, declawed cat!

Some news about Katina's back. She went to the chiropractor yesterday. He believes that she might have a ruptured disc. He recommended heat and ice to take down the swelling and another adjustment on Thursday. He is also going to do some decompression on Saturday morning. She can't go to work until next week and can do very little besides rest and go to the bathroom. Thank heavens for her laptop. She has been watching a lot of movies the last few days.

Update

Katina went to the acupuncturist yesterday. Unfortunately, it did nothing for her. Thankfully, they did not charge her. Today she is going to the chiropractor. Hopefully, he can help her. It will be painful, but worth. She is still on bed rest. This drives her crazy as she gets so bored and wants to be up moving around. Chris has been great. He checks on her every few hours and has done a great job of keeping the house together. I love you honey!

Finally posting

It has been forever since we posted anything. We have been super busy. Here are a few things going:
Katina is posting this from her bed as she cannot move. On Saturday, she hurt her back. She sat down on the spare bed to get something and heard a pop and felt something move in her back. An hour later, she was applying heat and it was going into spasms. Saturday night was the worst pain. She almost went to the hospital. Her and Chris only got about 3 hours of sleep that night. On Sunday morning, a chiropractor came over before church and said it is her pelvic bone out of place. She spent all day yesterday in bed flat on her back. She can't even get up to go the bathroom on her own. She is waiting to see if she can get into the acupuncurist sometime today.
Chris has been working really hard the last two Saturdays. He has been helping build a storage shed for the HOA. It took them 8 hours last Saturday, 3 hours on Tuesday, and another 7 hours this Saturday. They still have the roof to put on. He is quite sunburned as it is really hot in Utah right now.
Katina started up school again two weeks ago. The kids have been really naughty as the weather has been hot. They also start their CRTs next week, which makes them crazy. It is going to be a long time till July 2nd, when school is out for the year. She also decided to come back next year. Last year she put that she would not be returning and could not find another job. This year she decided to put that she was coming back in hopes that she will find another job.
Sam has been so funny. Right now he is kneading Katina'a arm while laying right next to her on the bed. He likes to be really close whenever one of us is sick. I have some really funny pictures and videos of him chasing the birds, but will post them later this week when I can actually walk to get the camera.

365 Days with Sam

Today marks the year anniversary of having Sam. Here are some of the funny things we have learned about having a cat:

1. Cats do swear at people and talk back. For example; Sam was trying to wake us up at 6:00 am on a weekend. Katina sprays him and as he jumps off the bad gives this deep, angry meow that Katina swears he was calling her a female dog.

2. Cats know when something isn't right. Whenever Chris or Katina have been sick, Sam has laid on the bed right next to them all day. He only gets up to go to the bathroom or get a drink.

3. Cats are scared at everthing that moves. So many times this year have we scared him so bad that he has fallen off of the chair or hit the wall. It is so funny!

4. When a cat wants you up, he means "Get up now!" This morning he was headbutting my feet and knees and whining until I woke up. What did he want? Just to be petted and loved. Crazy cat!

5. Just like humans, cat hate to be weighed. When we put him in the carrier and weigh him, he fights us, but after we open up the carrier to let him out, he will lay in there for hours if we let him.

There are so many things that we have learned about cats. It has been quite an interesting year with him. We were reviewing the past blogs about him and discovered that he is a very goofy cat!

More Vegas pictures

I realized that I forgot to put a couple pictures of the free shows we saw. The first picture is of the "Birdman" who gives a free show near the Hawaiian Marketplace. He rescues endangered birds and uses them in shows. He had macaws that would talk. The last bird was white and was supposed to fly through two hula hoops. Chris was holding one of the hula hoops in the air. I was going to take a picture of the bird flying through the hoop. All of sudden it started flying right toward me so, alas, no picture. Sorry!

The second piture is of Carl "Safe Sax" Ferris. He is the awesome sax player who entertains on Fremont Street. I took a video of his playing, but since you can't hear the sound, I decided not to post it. Chris may put a video with sound on the blog.

What happens in Vegas does not have to stay in Vegas

Chris and I returned from Las Vegas on Monday. We had a great time. We dropped off Sam at the vet office for boarding on Thursday morning and then made the long trip to Vegas. We thought we were going to arrive before check in time, but they had construction on I-15 and we hit it during rush hour traffic. Once we got settled in to our resort, we went swimming and then went to Pizza Hut for dinner and shopping. On Friday morning, we went to a Worldmark presentation (we found out we are VIP members!) so we could get a $50 gift card. Then we drove to the strip. I had found this restaurant online that was only supposed to be about 1 mile from the Stratosphere. As we walked down the strip, we saw a few things in the casionos. By the time we were past the strip, we realized that it was definately farther than a mile. We finally got to the restaurant 2 miles later. We decided to take the bus back to the strip because both of us were beyond walked out. The buses in Vegas are crazy busy. We found out quickly that day that we had gone to Vegas on spring break weekend. When we finally got back to the resort, we went straight to the hot tub and soaked for an hour.
Saturday morning we went to the temple. We have found a new favorite temple. It is gorgeous inside and we really didn't want to leave. Afterwards we went to In-N-Out Burger; Chris's first time there. We then went to the strip again where we saw more casinos and attractions. That evening we drove downtown. We ate at the Main Street Station Garden Buffett where there is probably a mile of food. It was so good! We then went to the Fremont Street Experience. I thought downtown was way cooler than any of the Strip. They put a 1200 foot screen of 1.2 million LED lights and they play a show set to music. It is way cool.

Sunday morning we went to sacrament meeting at a nearby church and then relaxed at the resort. That night we decided to take the resort's shuttle to the strip. We then saw the Mirage volcano and the Pirates at TI (I do not recommend this show. It is pretty much just half-naked women dancing around). We tried to make it back to the Bellagio for the dancing fountains again, but ran out of time.

We really enjoyed our trip. We hated to come home, but plan to go to that same resort again sometime. We still want to see some things that we didn't have time for this trip. I tried to post these as an album, but had not luck. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

A brief explanation of the pictures in order:

The aquarium at Caesar's Palace

Fashion Show Mall (it looks like a flying saucer)

the dancing fountain at the Bellagio

New York, New York

Fremont Street Experience-the screen is huge as you can see

Chris at his first In-N-Out Burger

you can't really see it, but there is a motorcyclist in that ball

the volcano at the Mirage

a view of the strip at night

the beautiful Las Vegas temple

Vegas trip

Chris and Katina are going to Vegas this weekend for their anniversary. They are so excited and plan to post pictures when they get back.

Sam's tower

We bought Sam a cat tower a few weeks ago. He loves it. We put a few toys on the top and he will jump through the top to knock them off.

this is Sam on top of the tower

'attacking' it

as he jumped through the red

tunnel, he knocked it over. It

was way funny

Another shot at making money

Katina has been so busy the last few weeks that she has not had time to post. Her back feels better, but she has been working hard at starting her new business. She has decided to give Mary Kay another shot. She used to sell it in college, but quit. After much research, she decided it was worth it again. Check out her website at www.marykay.com/katinaanthony. She would really appreciate your business and referrals for free facials. Email her at katinaanthony@marykay.com for her specials of the week.

A Nice Walk Across Temple Square

On a nice sunny day like today, one can appreciate spring. Chris gets the chance to regularly walk across Temple Square. Here are some pictures from his cell phone of Temple Square.

Not all these pictures where taken today but they have been taken this year.

General Conference Priesthood Session.

Chris was able to go to the Conference Center to see the priesthood session. Chris ran into an old friend from his home town branch that he hadn’t seen in 5 years. Chris took some pictures of the Conference Center with his cell phone; they may not look the best as it was with a cell phone. Katina knew when the men were out because of the large crowd.

6 months ago

We wanted to write a little tribute to our Aunt Judy. It was 6 months ago that she passed away. We miss talking to her, celebrating with her, her advice, and her general zeal for life. We miss you Aunt Judy!

Update

Katina has been in a lot of pain since her last blog. She left work yesterday early and got an appointment with an acupuncturist. He left the needles in her for 90 minutes and did get quite a bit of relief. She still has to take it easy, but hopefully is on the slow process of healing. Keep her in your prayers.

Pain and Lots of It

As most of you know, Katina has some back problems. She has to go to the chiropractor at least twice a month. She started having problems a few weeks ago and went to the chiropractor to get her back back in place. On Friday, she started feeling a little sore. She thought that just heat and cold would help. Saturday was the same. On Sunday, she felt horrible. She had to walk around during Sunday School just so she could sit during Relief Society. It felt like a giant weight was on my hips. I couldn't walk and when I did, my back was in an S shape. I was going to call in sick on Monday, but the 6th grade teacher I work was going to be gone and I had to get the stuff ready for the sub. I did go to the chiropractor on Monday. It wasn't the normal one I go to and he did not help me at all. I went to work a half day on Tuesday and took today off. Since I was going into muscle spasms while driving, Chris had to take me to my regular chiropractor on Tuesday. He told me my whole body is in a spasm and was able to get some of my back back into place. I feel a little better today, but still walk like an S and will fall if I move a certain way. A few more visits to the chiropractor should get me back into shape.
Last night our stake had a temple night. Because we missed the last one, Chris and I decided to do washings before the chapel session. I figured washings would be the least painful of all. We really enjoyed hearing from a member of the temple presidency. Being in this much pain has really put the Atonement in perspective for me. I have probably been in the worst pain of my life the last few days, but feel very grateful that our Savior has felt this amount of pain just for me. What a great love He has for us!

I hate Friday the 13th!!!

Katina is not normally a superstitious person until a few years ago. It seems like every Friday the 13th something creepy happens. Friday was probably the worst. I had a luncheon I was in charge of Friday and left for work earlier than normal so I could stop at the store and pick something up. I put both of my very heavy carriers in the back seat and then turned on my car. It was a frosty morning so I grabbed my scraper and went to work clearing off my windshield. I normally leave my door open when I do this. A guy wanted to park there so I shut my door and started on the back window. When I went to get in my car, the door was locked! I checked every door. All locked!!! That is the worst feeling in the world. I thought of breaking my window, but thought I would probably severe an artery. I couldn't call Chris because my phone was in my purse in the car. I went over to the clubhouse office and talked to George, our maintenance many. I was able to call the school and let them know of my dilemna. I then looked on the office computer for locksmith phone numbers. The first one that came up was a 24/7 place. I called it and they said it would be less than 30 minutes. George and I waited and waited and waited. Finally about 45 minutes later, they came. The guy hardly spoke any English. When he told me how much it would cost ($124), I said, "You are kidding m3 right. You were over 20 minutes late." He said to sign it or I would not get my keys out. I was too frustrated to argue with him. It only took him ten minutes to get my keys. I got to work at 9:15, an hour and 15 minutes late. I thought about that amount all day. When I got home, I called my insurance company and they are going to reimburse me $100. Great! Everybody I talked to said I should file a complaint with the BBB.
Another related key story from Thursday: We had an author assembly Thursday afternoon. The front office secretary handed keys to Bonnie, the 5th grade teacher I work with, and said they were handed into the office. One of the students told me that she saw the janitor taking them off the roof. I went and discussed the problem with our discipline lady, who said she could do nothing since we don't know who took the keys. Three students came forward and said they saw a kid throw them on the roof. What happened is that when the class was going to lunch, one of the kids said he forgot something in his desk. She told him to hurry and meet the class by the front doors. He then went into her coat pocket, took the keys, kept them in his pocket, and then threw them on the roof of the school. Bonnie is pressing charges against him and he is suspended indefinately. What a moron!

Has it really been nearly 3 weeks?

I have checked our blog faithfully the last three weeks, but have not had time to post anything. Here is what has happened the last few weeks:
Katina attended a great women's conference with emeritus Seventy member Vaugh J. Featherstone. Him and his wife were involved in a horrible car accident 4 years ago when they hit a horse and it came through the windshield. It is a miracle that they are alive. He talked about the importance of listening to the Spirit every time. It was a great conference that Katina really needed.
Most of you probably heard that Larry H. Miller passed away a few weeks ago. He was the owner of the Utah sports teams along with a bunch of car dealerships. We gave so much to the state of Utah. Chris and were planning on going to his viewing and funeral, but could only make it to his funeral. It was really good. They held it in the Energy Solutions Arena where the Utah Jazz play. Elder Ballard and President Monson spoke. They both called him a 'dear friend'. How cool would it be to have the Prophet call you a dear friend!
Chris and I also have been battling illnesses the last week. Chris started with what we thought was a sinus infection last week that he is still suffering from. When Katina got sick with the same thing this past week, we knew it was a horrible head cold. Katina's back went out of Wednesday and she didn't go to work. When her back started feeling better, she got the same horrible head cold. Both Chris and Katina are slowly on the mend.
No news about Katina's new job. The school is going slightly better now since they moved the naughty 6th grader to another class. We will keep you updated about that.

A history of Valentines Day and Our day

Before I tell you about our day, let me give you a brief history of Valentine's Day. It dates back to the Emperor Cornelius II around the time of 246 AD. He wanted more soldiers to fight in the wars so decided to make getting marriage illegal. He thought that if men were married they would not be soldiers. A priest, St. Valentine, did not agree to this and married couples in secret. The government did not like this and wanted him to be a soldier and deny his Christian beliefs. He refused to do this and was sentenced to death. As he awaited his death, he wrote to his followers the following letter: Remember your Valentine. He was put to death on February 14th or the 24th in the year 246 or 247. We celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14th so it can never fall on President's Day. I thought this was very interesting.
As I leave my teacher mode, Chris and I had a great Valentines Day. We slept in and then did some quick school work. We then went to Pink Panther 2. It is so funny!!! We then decided to go get new cell phones since our contract is almost up. We both love our new phones. I got a green (of course) Sony Ericsson and Chris got a Nokia Express Music. They both have camera phones so we have been taking lots of pictures of Sam. After we got our cell phones, we went to Walmart and did a little shopping. We then had a quck dinner of taco salads and spent a few hours playing with our phones and opening our presents. Not that eventful, but still fun.

Harlem Globetrotters and Back in School

This has been a very crazy week. Katina started school again. Monday they had a field trip to the planetarium and an assembly. Tuesday they had TWO assemblies and Wednesday she had a meeting and testing. Today was the Valentine party and an aide meeting. Needless to say, not much learning happened. The kids were horrible as usual and Katina has been fighting a cold all week. Because of being so busy, she has not posted about their fun thing on Monday night.

We got tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters a few months ago. It was a much needed escape. It was so funny. Here are some pictures. I wish I could just show you the whole show. It was great!!!

juggling the basketballs

playing dead

li' globie dancing to "I Get

Knocked Down"

Tag: Kelsey

I was tagged.
Here are the rules:
1. Post rules on blog
2.Answer the 6 questions with 8 items
3.Tag 8 people

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. Biggest Loser
2. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
3. Friends
4. Wife Swap
5. Home Improvement
6. Jeopardy
7. Howie Do It
8. CSI (the original one in Las Vegas)

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. got a haircut
2. cleaned the condo
3. loved Sam the cat
4. returned phone calls
5. planned for school
6. watched TV
7. cuddled with my husband
8. made baked spaghetti for dinner

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Chris and I having health insurance
2. me getting a stable job that I love
3. having children
4. seeing my brother's family get a house
5. seeing Chris's siblings get married in the temple
6. the day my skin stops itching like crazy at night
7.seeing Aunt Judy again
8. buying a car

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Red Iguana
2. Olive Garden
3. Chuck-a-Rama
4. Burger King
5. Cafe Rio
6. Guadalohonkys
7. Leatherby's
8. P.F. Chang's

8 Things I Wish For:
1. a better job
2. David and Cindy to get a house
3. my dad to feel better
4. my grandma to be happy
5. my dad to join the church and my family to be sealed together for eternity
6. to be debt free
7. to have no regrets in life
8. to have Aunt Judy's words of wisdom when times are tough

8 People I Tagged:
1. Kira
2. Cynthia
3. Laura
4. Amber
5. Alicia
6. Christy
That is all because that are the friends that we have that blog.

More meetings

Last night Katina was nominated to serve on the HOA board. Chris and her went to the meeting last night to discuss parking problems and they nominated Katina to the HOA board. This probably happened because they are the only non board members to attend the meetings! Her major responsibilities include forming a community watch. Wish her luck!

Free Breakfast

This morning Chris and I woke up early to go to breakfast. We normally don't spend money on eating out for breakfast, but couldn't resist free breakfast at Denny's. Apperently, there was a Super Bowl commercial announcing free breakfast on February 3rd. Since we didn't watch the Super Bowl as it was on a Sunday, this was announced on KSL news last night. We decided to get up early and go for the free Grand Slam breakfast at 6:30 am. We only had a 10 minute wait to get seated and were done in time for Chris to head to work. The breakfast was really good and we possibly were even on the FOX morning show as a news crew was there interviewing people. It continues till 2 pm today. I love free food!!!

Weekend in Idaho

Chris and I decided to get away from the job hunting, smog, and Utah traffic by spending the weekend in Idaho. We left Friday afternoon and went to Pocatello where we stayed the weekend with Aaron, Kira, and adorable Emma. On Saturday we went out to lunch with my aunt Irene and did a little shopping. We also spent some time in Firth visiting with the Hardys, friends from Chris's mission. On Sunday we went to sacrament with the Adams family before we headed home. It was a short trip, but a fun one. Thank you Adams family for the wonderful hospitality. We enjoyed seeing you.

As I was packing, Sam climbed into

the suitcase. What a goofy cat!!!

We haven't been to the Idaho

Falls temple since we got married

there. Unfortunetly, it was closed

for cleaning. Here is a picture from

the newly remodeled visitors center.

The adorable Emma. What a little

ham!!!!

A foggy night and seeing the 129th temple

On Friday we took Sam in for his teeth cleaning. They have to put him to sleep to do this so they shaved a part of his front leg to put an IV in. Katina had a work conference to attend so she picked up Sam afterwards. As she was driving across the valley, the fog kept getting worse and worse. Sam was not a happy cat. He had not been fed all day and did not want to ride in the car at all. Normally he just meows like he is dying. Not on Friday! I could barely see the road for all the fog and at one point wondered if I was even on the road. At this moment Sam decides that he is not going to stay in his carrier any longer. He puts his head to the top and poked his whole head out of the zipper. I shove it back in there. The rest of the ride home he turns over and nearly knocks the carrier off the seat. The last thing I needed was a loose cat in the car during the fog. We got home in one piece.

You can see the incision from

the IV. We hope his hair grows

back soon!!

On Saturday we went to the Draper Temple Open House. Lani, our good friend from our old ward, went with us. She is handicapped so we were able to park at the temple. The only problem was that we couldn't find the temple. We have been up three times before, but all in the daytime. With it being night and raining really hard we totally got lost. We should have brought the GPS with us. After using a 1/4 tank of gas and driving all around, we finally found it. The temple was gorgeous! This open house was unlike any other. They didn't do the white booties and had no tour guide. We can't wait to go to this temple after it is dedicated!

I did not get any good pictures of the temple due to the weather. Don't worry I dd not take pictures inside the temple. These are copied from the newspaper. Isn't it beautiful!

the outside

a sealing room. I believe this is

the biggest sealing of any of the

temples. Can seat up to 60 people.

the celestial room