Turkey Day!!

Being the smart person that I am, I took no pictures of our Thanksgiving. I knew it wouldn't be as fun to read without pictures but I had to do it anyway. Dave's entire family came to Utah for the holiday. It was so much fun. It's been awhile since we've all been together and it was a blast. I was so thankful to Wendy for teaching me how to make turkey and stuffing. Also, Courtney and Ali had so much fun playing together. Courtney and I had a conversation at bedtime one evening that went like this:
Courtney:Mom, I want Ali to stay for a hundred days.
Me:Don't you think Ali would miss her family?
Courtney:Ok, grandma can stay here too.
Me:Don't you think Ali would miss the rest of the family?
Courtney:Fine. Everyone can move into our house. That would be more fun.

We also did the Black Friday thing. I have always been a fan but am slowly converting the Bollard family. We went to the mall at midnight, stayed until 3:30, then hit Kohl's and ended up at Walmart. We got home around 7 in the morning. We got some good deals though. Our favorite was at Gymboree. They gave us our total, $116 or close to it, then said that we saved $167. That made us happy. And we know we got good deals at Kohl's.

Bob and Wendy were kind enough to watch the children on Saturday night so that the three couples could go out. We shopped, ate dinner at Olive Garden and went and saw Four Christmases. It was great to be together. A big thanks to the Bollard families for coming up and thanks to Megan for spending time with our family too.

We hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and find yourselves with much to be thankful for at this time.

The many faces of Courtney

Courtney couldn't decide what to be for Halloween this year. It was a pirate, then a monkey, superwoman, and on and on. I finally decided that I wasn't going to keep buying and taking costumes back. I told her that she had so many princess dresses that she just needed to pick a princess to be. At Disneyland, she opted for Snow White. Then she decided to be Belle for a neighborhood party. The ward party she wanted to be Cinderella. Then for her school party(did I mention we had a lot of parties this year), she wanted to be a fairy princess. You can see that her bear, Baby Courtney, had to get a costume and it was no other than a pirate one(even though she was very mad that I made her get the dress costume for girls, instead of the boy pirate one). Then she told us that she wanted to be something scary on Halloween, because she had gotten some fangs at one of the parties. So we made her a scary princess bride. She loved this costume most and I'm hoping someday, she will be a little princess but for now, it's all things boy and scary. I almost forgot to mention that she wanted to make her pumpkin a pirate, so we got away with not carving this year.

Gardner Village

We went to Gardner Village on probably the most crowded day of the year. We still had a great time. My niece, Abbie, was here visiting, so she is the "twin" with Courtney in a few of the pics. It was also my friend's, Karinne, birthday that day. We had a good time spotting all the witches and were pleasantly surprised that there were real witches out and about as well.

The Happiest Place On Earth

It really is the happiest place on earth for us. Well, when I say us, I pretty much mean Courtney and I. Dave does not think that walking around for 10 hours a day is a vacation, but you couldn't get me out of the place. We had so much fun! It was even more fun because Dave's brother, Brian, and his girlfriend, Megan, came with us. It was especially fun because Megan has never been before. Courtney being an old pro at Disneyland was careful to pick and choose what she really wanted. If a line was to long, she would say, "Let's just forget about this one." It was pretty funny. She did get to experience some new rides this year(yeah for getting taller!). She absolutely loved Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribean, and the Haunted Mansion. Her favorite is still the Snow White ride. I'm pretty sure she still liked meeting characters best. I don't think anyone could have been happier than when we met Captain Jack Sparrow. She even told him that she isn't a princess, but a pirate. It was hilarious!

Bowling

Courtney has a kind of obsession with bowling. She actually loves to bowl on the Wii. She thinks it is pretty neat that she can beat her dad, grandpa, and uncle at it. She's not as good in real life but still has a very good time. She started off strong but had to use the ramp about halfway through. She always loves it when Grandma and Grandpa come to visit.

The Circus Comes to Town

The circus is one of the weirdest things I have ever seen, and frankly, not that entertaining. Don't tell that to these two girls though. Courtney wanted to invite her friend, Haylee, to the circus with us and they had a great time! They really were troopers, but after almost three hours, they told us they were ready to go. We only missed the last 15 minutes or so, but they were both asleep before we made it to the freeway.

State Fair

For Courtney, the best part of competing for Utah's funniest kid was getting tickets to the fair. It was half price wristband day, the day we went, so we had to get one for her. I don't think a kid has ever been happier.
She loves going on the rides! She went on the slide at least 25 times, so we definitely got our money's worth there.

She likes the crazy rides best and gets kind of tired of kid's rides.
She even went on an adult ride(that technically, she wasn't tall enough to get on, but her dad was holding her so the worker wouldn't know) and it was totally her favorite one. She is definitely her father's child!

They wanted a group shot of all of the kids that participated for Utah's funniest kid, and this is our daughter. All I can say is heaven help us when she becomes a teenager.

A Couple of Cuties!

It is really no surprise to anyone that knows us, that Courtney is obsessed with babies. Dave's cousin has one of the cutest and her name is Bailey. Courtney can't get enough of her.

Hail

Ok, so this post is a little late. It really happened all the way back in August(right after our 11 year anniversary;). It started to hail and it was crazy.
Courtney loved being able to get out her umbrella!
Look at the size of the hail!!

My hubby

I have yet another tag but thought it would be a nice one to do about Dave.

1. Where did you meet? Southern Utah University

2. How long did you date for? 2 months until engagement, 3 more months to marriage

3. How long have you been married? 7 years

4. What does he do that surprises you? Sometimes he just randomly mops and vacums.

5. What is your favorite feature about him? I don't want to sound too shallow and say his butt, but it is pretty fine. And of course, his eyes!

6. What's your favorite quality about him? How much he loves his daughter and is willing to do anything to care for her.

7. Does he have a nick name for you? No, actually.

8. What is his favorite color? I don't actually know but the guy wears a ton of blue!

9. What is his favorite food? Lately, a Big Mac but usually a good steak suits him best.

10. What is his favorite sport? Basketball

11. Who said I love you first? It was definitely him (one of the reasons I love him!)

12. When and where was your first kiss? It was Spring Break 2001 in Huntington Beach. We weren't even dating. I guess he figured he would just go for it.

13. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Most often we go to the movies

14. Do you have any kids? How many? 1 daughter

15. What is a hidden talent of his? Most people don't know Dave is an artist. I wish it wasn't so hidden. He is great!

16. How old is he? He will be 33 on October 24.

17. What is his favorite kind of music? It depends on his mood. But just to be clear, it is NEVER Country music.

18. What do you admire about him? Just the person that he is and wants to be.

19. What is his favorite pastime? Did someone say Video Games?

20. Do you think he is going to read this? If he does, it will be in a few months.

I want to hear about everyone's husbands, so consider yourself tagged if you haven't already done it.

The good old days

Ok, thanks to my dear friend Alisha, I now have to let you all know a little about my high school days.

1. Did you date someone from your high school: Yes, fortunately not for long periods of time.

2. What kind of car did you drive? I drove a lavendar Geo Prism that my mom and dad so nicely gave me.

3. What is your most embarrassing moment in high school?: I know this is a lot of information, so I am giving you the option to stop reading with a warning: I started my period and it bled through my pants. You didn't even think that happened to people in real life, did you?
4. Were you a party animal?: No.

5. Were you considered a flirt?: Nope

.6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?: No.

7. Were you a nerd? Nope.

8. Were you on any varsity teams?: Nope

9. Did you get suspended/expelled?: I would never have dreamed of it.

10. Can you still sing the fight song?: If I was at a football game and it started right after a touch down, I am positive it would all come back.

11. Who were your favorite teachers?:I loved Mr. Garlic and Mr. Wagstaff but definitely had a crush on Mr.Beeson.

12. Where did you sit during lunch?: In the commons area

13. School Mascot?: Cavemen

14. Did you go to homecoming and with who?: I went with a foreign exchange student one year and a friend another.

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you?: Absolutely not. I would go through my two years of college in a heartbeat, but not high school.

16. What do you remember most about graduation?: Wanting to get to school and move from home.

17. Where did you go senior skip day?: I don't think we ever had one of those.

18. Have you gained weight since then?: Definitely

19. Who was your prom date?: I went with a returned missionary, Steve, and Micah Derfler.

20. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion?: I'm thinking about it

21. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself?: Have more fun, live it up!

I tag anyone who feels up to the challenge!

Utah's Funniest Kid - FOX 13

Courtney was recently on TV. We went to Chick-Fil-A one day and they were giving out free circus tickets for kids that made funny faces or told jokes. I guess they liked Courtney because they asked her to be on TV with Big Budah. She then went to the Utah State Fair for the Utah's Funniest Kid competition. She had a good time.

First Day of School

Courtney has once again started Preschool. I have been looking forward to this day for 3 months now. Courtney was a little hesitant but ended up loving it. Her teacher is Miss Kelsie. She gets to go to school with her friend, Maddie, which has helped a ton. She didn't even shed any tears today. It was quite the opposite. She said, "Just leave mom." That, to some moms, would have broken their hearts, but I have been waiting for this day for 4 years. I was so proud of her!

Breakfast anyone?

Dave and I were sleeping in one morning after a late night and woke to Courtney begging us to come down for breakfast. Little did we know, she had made breakfast for us! It was bittersweet because it was so fun that she did it for us, but we definitely have a grown up little girl on our hands. She is always doing kind, thoughtful things for us. We love her tons!

Anything for Free Food

As you can see, it is not above me to dress my daughter and niece up like cows for free dinner. As most of you know, Chick-fil-A is pretty much my favorite place to eat. On customer appreciation day, you get a free meal if you dress up like a cow. I'm totally doing it next year(I know you can't wait for pics)!

Correction

Don't ask me why but I accidentally put that it was our 11 year anniversary. No, I didn't get married when I was 16! I have no idea why I put that but have changed it to seven years. Wow, I guess I should be less tired when posting!

Our 7 Year Anniversary

Dave loved this big elk (even though he thought it was a moose)!















Dave couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a picture with this huge, crazy looking bear.
On Main Street in Park City.
This was Dave's favorite person in the opera.


Dave tried to surprise me this year, but his mom kind of let it out of the bag early. He was able to do a little surprising though. Dave's mom flew in to watch Courtney while we went away for 3 days and two nights. It was heavenly! First we went up to Park City and stayed at the Treasure Mountain Inn. It was a condo type room, so it was really great. We walked up and down main, ate dinner outside in the nice evening, then headed up to Deer Valley for an Outdoor Opera. We aren't huge opera fans but it was really funny and we had a great time. The next day we went shopping at the outlets (of course, you never go to Park City and leave without doing that). Then we headed down to Salt Lake. We walked around Temple Square until we were able to check into our hotel. Then we walked to the Gateway and shopped some more. Then we decided to hit a movie. The next morning we had the best breakfast at the hotel and we were off. It was great to have a relaxing little trip, but it's always good to get home. Thank you Dave, for being my knight in shining armor everyday and for doing such wonderful things for me. Thank you Wendy, for watching Courtney so that we could spend some time together.

Our Fourth of July

I know, it's a little late but thought I would post these anyway. We went to the Riverton City Parade. Luckily, we were in the shade but we did have to set up our chairs 3 days in advance to get it. Courtney had a great time, even though the only candy they threw was taffy. Of course she loved the pirate float best.
After the parade, we went to watch Dave play softball with some guys from our neighborhood. It was actually a tournament but our team was pretty bad! They were eliminated after two games but it was still a lot of fun to go and watch.