Witches & Watches

My mother-in-law is very crafty and so I wanted to learn her crafty ways. She cut out a bunch of wood to do different projects and asked me and my two sister-in-laws if we wanted to make this witch with her.

It turned out really good and was a lot easier than it looks. I did a lot by myself and then I got so busy with moving that Michelle finished it for me. Thanks!

Don't you like the buck tooth and wart on the nose?

The second craft item of late is a watch. Chad's sister Jill bought these watch kits for us and then I went out and picked out the beads. They were really simple to make and are neat because you can make multiple bands and change them out.

Oh and Oliver says hi...

Thankful for Prophets

I know it's not thanksgiving yet and this post might be a little premature when you read the title, but it was actually spurred by something other than the fall season and turkeys. I was browsing on Facebook today and happened to be looking at a page of one of my friend's from BYU (cough Katie Jordan cough). Side note: Thanks Katie for having this quote on your page because it brightened my day when I really needed it. Hopefully she reads this.

Anyways...this is why I am thankful for prophets in this day and age:

"Anyone who images that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around, shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of toleratoin, amd most jobs are more often dull than otherwise.

Life is just like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionaly by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

-Gordon B. Hinckley

I don't think I need to say a lot after this. I really needed to hear this today. I am aware that bliss is not normal, but sometimes I think my lot is hard when it really isn't. I think about regrets I have and how I wish certain things were different but this helped remind me that life is hard for a reason. We have trials to make us stronger and we are supposed to thank our Heavenly Father for our trials instead of complaining to him that we have a hard life.

The parts about marriage and work really is what helped me. Sometimes I am not very patient with my spouse and I always regret it later. It's nice to know that even President Hinckley admits marriage is hard and that we continually have to strive to be tolerant and patient even when we are in a bad mood. And work...sometimes I want to rip my hair out and scream because I am so bored or because a co-worker is in a bad mood and taking it out on me. But even if work is dull and the atmosphere is not ideal we just have to make the best of it.

Isn't it awesome that we have prophets to lead and guide us? My day and my mood probably would have kept getting worse if I hadn't read this. I am grateful for President Hinckley and all the great things he did in this world and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am also grateful for our current Prophet, President Monson. These men are truly inspired and the words they write and say are meant to help us on gloomy days and give us hope for a better tomorrow.

Stress = Happy??

Ok so before I explain let me just say that this stress I refer to only applies to Chad and I. Oliver has no stress whatsoever in his life. He gets everything handed to him on a Silver Platter. Maybe it's because he is a dog? A really cute puppy? My favorite dog? Whatever the reason, we spoil him shamelessly like he is our child or something. But he does make life more fun and happy. Here is his new bed and new toy:

Here is him not sleeping in his new bed but on our pillow next to his new bed. Again, no stress. He can do whatever he wants.
Sleeping again. See a pattern? If I could sleep all day and do nothing I would surely have a stress-free life as well. And yes sometimes he really does sleep like this- on his back with legs sprawling eveywhere. It's adorable.
And now, for the stress part of this post. Below: stress. Lots of papers, lot of phone calls, lot of apartments to look at. Any ideas what the stress is all about? You got it, apartment hunting = lots of stress.


Applications = lots of stress? Why do you need the last 9 years of living arrangements and addresses? Why do you need my mothers maiden name, my favorite color and my bosses birthday? Ok, so I may be exaggerating a little, but it sure feels like leasing applications ask you just about every question they can think of .

But despite this stress, we have managed to find some happiness. This happiness comes packed in 900 sqaure feet of beautiful tan walls with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a laundry room and a very spacious newly remodeled kitchen. We finally have our own place!! Happiness. More happiness. Who cares about the stress? It was so worth it to have a place to call our own. Not only do we have our own apartment now, (that by the way is twice as big as our previous apartment and oh so much nicer) but we can do whatever we want in it. We can walk around in our underwear now (don't pretend to be offened- you would do this too if you lived by yourself). We don't have to worry about Oliver peeing on someone else's floor and discovering it a couple days too late. We don't have to worry about scheduling a time to do our laundry. And I can sleep in peace knowing my food in the refrigerator is not getting eaten, unless it's chad doing the eating.
So...it's nice to have our own place. And really, it wasn't that bad living with Chad's parents. They were saints to let us live in their house for so long with so many other people there as well. Thanks to Michelle and Tony and all of Chad's siblings for putting up with us and Oliver. We really really appreciate it and love you guys even more!

And now a tour...by the way, we just moved in yesterday...it is not clean or organized so forgive the boxes.

Master bedroom

Walk in closet! Yay!

Spare Room

Bathroom

Laundry Area

Kitchen

Dining Room

Living Room

And on another note...this is a little craft project Chad's mom has been teaching me and his sister's. She does this kind of thing all the time and is really talented, so she decided to let is make some of our own stuff. I will show you the finished product when it is done.

Monterey photo Essay

Okay, so maybe this isn't just a photo essay, there will be some text, but mostly pictures...okay A LOT of pictures. A little over 50 pictures. You're in for a long post. But I just couldn't help it. It was such a glorious weekend in Monterey and I wanted to document every moment. The weather was beautiful, the company was great and its Monterey...which says a lot in itself. Oh and Chad's sister Jill and her family just happened to be coming to California for a couple weeks and so they were able to come with us to Monterey...they live in Utah...so everyone was pretty happy about that.

So here is our weekend in Monterey with the Bringhursts.

On the way...

Got a flat tire on the way there...that was fun. And it was the car chad and I were driving too. Here's all the guys changing the flat. How many guys does it take to change a tire? You can count.

On the bright side: a nice AT&T technician stopped and gave us a spotlight from his truck and put cones out by our car so that the guys wouldn't get hit by the cars speeding by us less than 10 feet away. That was a huge help. Thanks AT&T man! Hope you like the cookies we gave you for stopping.

"We are so happy to be on the side of the road with a flat tire." Don't you think Jake's face says that? Or maybe it's saying, "I'm a model." The latter I think.

Yeah, definitely flat.







Archie's Diner: First seafood of the trip


Chad likes to color...he's a child at heart. Oh and FYI: that is some really good Calamari in that picture! That's why we go to Monterey...

Bread bowl...also good. Needed pepper though.

The whole fam. Yeah we take up a few tables. Okay, maybe five.

Tide Pools: Day One

Tide pools are a must when you go to Monterey. We go to the same ones every time and they never get old. There is always something new to discover and someone usually always falls in the water so that is entertaining. This time it was Chad. Don't worry, only his feet and legs got wet. Plus climbing the rocks is a workout...there really isn't anything bad about the tidepools.

Love is everywhere...

Albino crab...

Starfish...and Jake.

Boys climbing and looking for crabs.

Girls looking for shells and things.

My handsome husband.

Bobby & Emily

Carmel Beach: Day turns into night

The guys getting ready for some boogie boarding (not so sure of the spelling on that?). They rented wetsuits and boggie boards. Were extra prepared and way excited as you can tell from the photo. I would just like to say that these are really 3 of the silliest guys I know. My favorite is in the middle though.

This is what you do when you do not want to get into the freezing cold water: put your toes in the sand and take picture of the crazies in the water.

Getting ready for some waves.

I really like this picture...I'm no professional but I can capture the moment in a very nice photo if I do say so myself.

Becca and Parker

Katie and Dixie (yes she is adorable.)

Now that is a sunset...a good way to end the day and start the night.

Chad finally done in the water and getting warm by the fire.

Grandpa and Grandson

Brothers. I think they look a lot alike in this picture.

Farmers tan...But don't we look good together?

Admiring Dixie

Sorry this picture is crappy but I wanted one of all of us around the fire.

The Wharf: Day two

No its not dead...Poor sea lion had an injured nose and was trying to get better by relaxing in the sand. Sad!

Picture perfect if I do say so.

There was this "bird man" shall we say on the Wharf (man in the blue jacket) who had a half a dozen parots on a cart. They wer all different sizes and colors and had their wings clipped so they wouldn't fly away. The birds were very friendly and this one eventually fell asleep while Becca held him!

Parker and Dixie also held the birds but I didn't get pictures.

Silly runs in the family. Jake got it from Chad and Chad got it from his dad.

Tide Pools: Day two

Yeah, we love them that much. Back for a second day. This picture shows how far out you can go on the rocks. The tide was also lower the second day so you could go out even farther and there were a lot of uncovered rocks that were under water the previous day.

This was all under water the previous day.

Sisters

Sisters-in-law

The guys- pondering life...or posing for me.

Huge crab. Chad was the brave one that caught them all. He also was the one who got pinched by the claws...multiple times.

Jake: inspecting the catch.

I just thought this was beautiful with the sun and the green rocks. This too was also under water the previous day.

Starfish

Exploring

Beauty

Fish Wives for dinner

These were just too funny to not post. We went to a really good seafood restaurant for dinner. The food was great and Parker, the entertainment, was even better. He was upset about his food and I managed to click the button and get his face. I was actually taking a picture of Dixie. Then I showed everyone and we had a good laugh...

And then Parker thought it was funny too. Meanwhile Dixie sleeps the whole time.

It was such a fun weekend! Monterey is wonderful and will forever be a Bringhurst tradition. We were so glad to have the whole family together for a weekend! Thanks for hanging in there until the end of this loooong post.