MY ONE ROSE BUSH

I had to post this because it's so funny to me that my roses look better than they have all year. Crazy that it's December and they are in full bloom. I guess that's one of the benefits of living down South.

I GOT ELFED!

CLICK THE LINK BELOW, VERY FUNNY, GIVE IT A TRY.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9632448370

DANCING WITH THE STARS

CONGRATS TO HELIO AND JULIANNE. I LOVE THIS SHOW AND AM SAD TO THIS SEASON END. I THINK I JUST SECRETLY WISH I COULD DANCE LIKE THE PROFESSIONALS. UNTIL NEXT YEAR......

YEAH, I'M SO PROUD OF MY UTAH GIRL!!!!!!!!!

OUR THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

I was very luck to get two really wonderful sister in-laws, Amy and Kim.

Cara and I in our chocolate brown ready for family pictures.

We had a great time at Scott and Kim's. They were wonderful hosts. Thanksgiving dinner was awesome. We had a great Southern style dinner with Macaroni and Red Velvet cake. The girls got some good shopping time in without even breaking the bank. We got our family pictures taken, which weren't the best but were fun to take. We watched PLENTY of football and Amy would guarantee that one. GO UTES! (okay so maybe not this year). We played games, went on walks, listened to screaming kids, drank a lot of caffeine, and got to smell a lot of stinky boys! All in all we had a wonderful time and can't wait to do it again soon. I'm very lucky to have such wonderful in-laws. I love the Rees family and feel that I got very lucky when I married into Dave's family.

OUR TRIP TO THE ER ON THANKSGIVING

Ryleigh thought she would add a little drama to our Thanksgiving Day. She was walking across Scott and Kim's family room and tripped over their fireplace and hit the edge of the coffee table. She definitely needed stitches and we had Grandpa Jim there to verify it. So off to the hospital we went. Ryleigh was so brave and didn't even cry. She was so funny because as she was getting her picture taken she managed to look up and still smile for the camera as the doctor was sealing her cut up. She's happy and healing and a very brave little girl!

IT'S TURKEY TIME!

It was so much fun to watch the looks on my kids faces as Grandma MaryAnn showed them the different parts of the Turkey. I think Cara decided she was a vegetarian at that moment. Cara loves to cook, but I think this was a little much for her.

FROM TN. TO THE ATL.

We hit the changing of the leaves perfectly. It was a gorgeous site as we crossed the Tennessee River into the Appalachian Mountains.

(click larger to see just how pretty)

I put the kids in the car and headed off to Atlanta right when Carson got out of school on Tuesday. I hooked the movies in, got the treats unwrapped, and had high hopes of getting to Atlanta on time. About 2 1/2 hours into the drive I just couldn't take it anymore. My eyes were getting droopy and I knew for the safety of myself and my children I had better call it a night. So we decided to stay in Murfreesboro. It worked out perfect it was our half way mark and this way I could get a good nights rest and start early the following day. I let the kids swim for a while and we had dinner at the Waffle House and called it a night.

THE BACHELOR

Okay so I wasn't going to post anything before my trip but HELLO.......Brad, what happened? I'm totally bummed. I really wanted to see him and Jenny end up together.

Yep, just another example of my addiction to Reality T.V.

THANKSGIVING ROADTRIP

Tomorrow I'm taking the daring challenge once again of driving me and the kids all by myself to Atlanta to spend the Thanksgiving Holiday with Dave's family. Dave's brother and wife (Scott and Kim) live in Atlanta and are hosting Thanksgiving this year. We've all been looking forward to this for some time now. I think it's pretty cool that all five brothers and their parents will be able to spend the Holiday together. I've been very blessed to have such wonderful in-laws. So over the river (Tennessee that is) and through the woods (Appalachian Mountain woods) to Kim and Scott's we go. Yippeeeeeeee....................................More of our Thanksgiving holiday to come!

DADDY/DAUGHTER DATE

SOME OF THE LADIES ON THE STAKE COMMITTEE

I was asked to help the girls learn some line dances as a part of our Stake YW Daddy Daughter night. It's a totally different thing though when you're up on stage in front of about 75 people shakin your booty. I was a little nervous but it turned out great. I decided to teach them the "Boot Scootin Boogie" partner style, and "Reggae Cowboy." The Watermelon Crawl got denied due to lyrics, which I totally should have read before I even asked. I mean duh.....IF YOU DRINK, DON'T DRIVE DO THE WATERMELON CRAWL!

I had a blast teaching the girl's. It's always fun to do things from your so called "glory years." Some of you reading this know that Natalie and I were die hard line dancin' fools for many years. You know who you are.......Dani and Jeanette, some of my danceaholic friends. Even after I was married I would join my single friends and family for a little scootin' around the dance floor. Maybe one of these days I'll get Dave into it, but I'll definitely have to keep my fingers crossed on that one.

CARAANN AND CORKYS!

I spent much of my day yesterday cleaning house and doing laundry. As I was finishing up around 3pm I decided I was getting a little hungry. Dave was doing his computer gaming and Ryleigh was sleeping so I decided Cara and I would go get some BBQ. My kids have turned into die hard BBQ fans. Cara loves the place with the piggy on it, Corky's. Corky's is a Memphis based BBQ restaurant. They're very popular and famous for their wet and dry ribs. That's a big question in Memphis. Wet or Dry? Cara and I love their BBQ nachos. I had to take a picture of her because she looks like a natural. She asked to put her bib on then she dug in. This is one hefty helping of nachos for such a small, little thing. You go Cara! I bet this plate of nachos has you all wishing you were there. MMMMMM.......tasty!

FROM MISS TO MRS.

So I actually got the title of my post from our YW Evening in Excellence, but I thought it was perfect for my comments today. As I was blogging the other day and clicking on links to all of my friends and family, I realized I knew so many more people in the blogging world I just wasn't familiar with their married names. So I hope I'm not offending any of you ladies but I decided to add your maiden names to my links. It makes it much easier for friends and my family who knows you by your maiden name. So....that's my thought for the morning- off to getting kids ready for school!

TEMPLE ONE DAY AND LIQUOR STORE THE NEXT!

Kind of a rainy day at the Memphis, TN. temple.

Don't let the title fool you. I had a wonderful day at the temple. I was able to visit the temple with a large group of women from my Relief Society. One of the best parts was that a nursery was provided for my girl's, so there were no worries over them. The Memphis Temple is one of the cute, little miniature temples. It's almost weird when you see the smaller ones for the first time. Growing up in Utah, you're so spoiled to have some of the biggest temples in the world in your own backyard.

It's funny because the following day I took my first visit to the Collierville Liquor Store. I've had this weird cold sore in my nose (yes, gross) for quite a while now and nothing seems to get rid of it. My sister Alyson told me that she heard from a friend that if you put Everclear the vodka on it, it would pretty much just burn the sucker right off. So, I'm dying to see if it works. Hopefully I don't end up burning my nose holes. Sorry, kind of a gross post!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY BABY BLAKE!

Okay, so he's really not a baby anymore, but that's what my kids have always called him so that's what I thought I'd write!

SATURDAY MORNING PRIMARY ACTIVITY

The kids had their Primary Activity this morning. They were asked to decorate box cars for their drive-in movie activity. Carson of course, was already "too cool" for this one so he decided not to take part in the box car making, but Cara and Ryleigh of course had a great time. Cara wanted a blue car with flowers all over it and since Ryleigh is still in nursery and wasn't really supposed to be going, I just let her paint an old Diet Coke box. My girl's love anything that has to do with art and making a mess. They had a good time and enjoyed their drive- in movie showing of "David and Goliath." Yes, the cheesy one with Thurl Bailey.

THE ORANGE BOWL

Carson with his second place, Orange Bowl trophy.

Carson with Coach Steve Madden, cousin to Jon Madden.

Carson with Coach Mark Miller. If you ever watch "The First 48 hrs." on A&E ,you may be able to spot him as one of the Lt. detectives on the Memphis Homicide team.

So our season of football finally came to an end. We ended up playing the Buccaneers in the Orange Bowl. It wasn't our best game but turned out to be a really fun night. They started by announcing the players names over the loud speakers, they had a bounce house set up, loud music playing during the games, and a full concession stand.

All in all Carson truly had a great season. I've seen my son's confidence grow more in the past four months than I've seen in the past four years. I owe most of it to his Coaches. Coach Steve and Coach Mark were tremendous. They taught the boys the rules of the game, teamwork, and most of all to have fun.

We are so very proud of Carson and excited to see him play again next season, this time with pads!

THE REES' AND RAQUETBALL

So as many of you know Dave has been dieting and working out for almost 4 months now. He is doing a great job and has lost a lot of weight. Somewhere around 35 pounds. I decided on Monday it was time for me to get in shape again. I would love to have some definition in my arms and legs. I wouldn't mind having those nice, tight, flat abs too, but don't think that's going to happen. Let me make this clear-I am not dieting! I am not a dieter and never have been. I would rather go to the gym for 3 hours a day than cut my calories. Those of you who know me well know I love to eat out and bake so the "D" word does not exist in my vocabulary.

Yesterday Dave and I played a game of racquetball and wow did that work us out. We had a really good time and I wasn't nearly half as bad as I thought I would be. It was fun to get out and have some "Dave and Nicole" time without the kids.

Above is a picture of Dave's success. None of his clothes fit. This picture looks a little weird and Dave thinks it's showing too much of his undies but it was the best way for me to show his success. He has done a really good job and his dedication and persistence has definitely paid off. Good job Dave!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM REES!

RAIDERS VS. JAGUARS

Wow, what a game. Carson did so well. The score was 26-25 Raiders. All of those 26 points Carson scored on his own. He is doing so well. Our two week break due to the rain, kept us from playing or practicing for a while , but he was definitely ready to get back on the field. We have our hardest team (the Colts) left and hope to win that game so we can get our spot in the Superbowl game. Great game Carson. Mom and Dad are so proud of you.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We had a wonderful time last night. The kids were so good and really enjoyed the company of their cute, little friends. The weather was perfect. Dave was in his shorts and I in a short sleeved t-shirt. Crazy! Carson decided to be the Grimm Reaper this year. He decided to go with something other than Star Wars and Super Heroes. It's about time. CaraAnn was a nice witch as she would say and Ryleigh our little love bug, ladybug. I think Cara and Ryleigh's favorite part of the whole night was that they got to get into Mom's makeup for the first time. Carson finally hit that age where he took off with his little buddies. I think it was a little hard on Dave to know that his friends came before Dad that night. All in all, we had a great holiday and hope that Trick or Treating was just as fun for all of you too.

OOOO.....scary-the Grimm Reaper

Our cute, little ladybug with her friend Olivia the princess.

Our nice, little witch with her buddy Tyler Collier, Superman

My cute, little trick-or-treaters.

REILEY'S HOMECOMING

I had a wonderful weekend at home in Utah with my family. I left Saturday morning and returned late Tuesday night. It was so fun to get to see the safe return of my brother and great to see the rest of my family too including MaryAnn, Dave's Mom. Reiley gave a really good homecoming speech and enjoying food and family afterwards was also a good thing. The only complaints I have are that I couldn't stay longer, didn't bring my kids with me, and of course I came down with a sinus infection right before leaving on the plane Tuesday. Not a good thing!

It was so funny, as I arrived in Phoenix on Saturday I was waiting for my flight in the terminal, minding my business and eating my Snickers. I looked across to the chair directly in front of me and realized I was sitting across from Vanilla Ice. Yes, I know there are fans out there. Nope, not a fan now, but totally was about 16 years ago. He arrived in SLC before me and my family asked if I had seen him, so all of us being "Ice" fans decided it was picture time. He was a good sport. Funny that my first picture home was of my family and Vanilla Ice.

We ate so much this weekend. Those of you who know my family know we can put the food away. We also shopped, celebrated Dad and Abigail's birthdays, went to Gardner Village, and stayed up late chit chatting. I had a great time and can't wait to see my family in Mexico over the Holidays. Until then family, ADIOS!

Reiley and I. Welcome home Reiley and job well done.
The Family with Vanilla Ice.
left to right: Nicole, Angela, Aaron, Vanilla Ice, Natalie, Tanner, and Reiley