My Love/Hate Relationship

I have a love/hate relationship with Costco. It is my Heaven and Hell for sure. I can't help but walk into Costco and look at all the bulk items and think, "how can I live without a 5 gallon bucket of Soy Sauce". Chinese food here we come. Or what about the colossal box of 100 granola bars. I still have mine in my pantry from almost a year ago...and they're still first-rate! I love that you can buy a butt load of Toilet Paper (no pun intended...okay maybe a little pun). And who does not love their homemade tortillas that you cook yourself? I make tacos for dinner and then quesadillas for a week , much to my kids dismay. I'm crazy for all the samples. Who needs to feed their kids on Saturdays when it's sample day at Costco?

Although, it is also my personal Hell. I CAN NOT walk out of there without spending at least $100 or more. I plan on getting 2 items, usually essentials like Diapers or Wipes, and I end up with a box of 100 granola bars or a 5 gallon bucket of Soy Sauce. They also have endless piles of stuff. My children think this is a great "hide n seek" place. I can't count the number of times I've lost my child behind a stack of Toilet Paper...no joke. And what is it with people at Costco that think they're the only ones there? They stop right in the middle of the aisle and think it's okay to block EVERYONE behind them so they can get a sample or chat with their fellow neighbors. It takes 20 minutes just to walk to the back of the store. Then the lines. It's like traffic at a toll booth. As soon as you get your stuff you bee-line it to the checkout counter, it's okay to cut people off as long as you are one more person ahead in line.

Do I love Costco? Of course I do. How else would I get 10 toothbrushes in one package?

Do I hate Costco? You bet I do. I've missed out on many a vacation by spending too much on bulk items for a family of 4!

No More TV

I am a Television addict. Ben got home early from school last Monday night, so we watched a movie instead of my usual watching of the Bachelor or Gossip Girl. We went to bed at 11:30 p.m. and all I could think about was "what happened on the Bachelor this week?". Here is a list of all the T.V. programs I DVR (only new episodes).

Monday: The Bachelor, Gossip Girl
Tuesday: Scrubs, 90210, Melrose Place, American Idol
Wednesday: Modern Family, Cougar Town, Eastwick, American Idol, Glee
Thursday: Community, 30 Rock, The Office, Vampire Diaries, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice
Friday, Saturday and Sunday I only record an occasional football game. Or sometimes Tough Love on VH1.

As you can see, I spend WAY too much time watching TV. I've justified it by saying "I fast forward through the commercials".

My solution: NO MORE TV

Last night instead of watching American Idol, I did my dishes, studied for a math test by the fire, and went to bed early. See how much more I can do without wasting my time? I'm going to try REALLY hard to keep this up. Wish me luck! I'll need it.

The Unpreparedness Center

Rob and Kandis came over for dinner a week ago. We had a great time. Here is Ethan with his baby cousin Malin. He loves babies!

We went to see Brant Transfer Units at Camp Williams in the Readiness Center (or as Ben calls it "the Unpreparedness Center" because he's a goof).

Brant with his new First Sargent (middle). His Sargent asked why this girl was taking their picture. Brant said "that's my sister, she takes pictures of everything!". Yeah, I'm awesome!

Ben, Brant & I. I'm very proud of all my Military brothers!
As I have said before, "Go Troops"!

We hung out at Cabela's when Brant was finished.
Here we are sportin' some lovely hats.
Ethan's was a little big. :-)

The Wedding

My Baby Brother Kit got married the day after Christmas. It was a wonderful ceremony and we're so happy to have Lynzie in the family! Here are some photos:

The Harris Family

Summer, Jud & Kell. We look lovely.

Kit & Lynzie Harris. Kit is already back in San Diego were they will make their home. Lynzie leaves for San Diego to join him this Friday. We're sure going to miss them!

Lizzy & Kelly
Liz and Jud live in North Carolina. I sure wish my all my siblings lived close!
Miss ya Liz (and Jud)! :-)

Me, Liz, Summer.

The Harris brothers. Jarom, Brant, Kit, Jud & Ben.

The wedding Party. I'm the sexy one with the silver jacket...I had to improvise. Thank goodness my mom can sew! I've also never walked down the aisle before. That was super sweet! :-) Kit's friend I walked down with had to tell me to slow down, I must have been nervous! :-)

Happy Marriage Kit & Lynz!

Christmas Day 2009

Another Original Title.

We went to Ben's Uncle Chuck's house for Christmas Lunch/Dinner this year. Here are Ben & his older brother Rob with the sweet baby girls (Rob, with his girl Malin, and Ben with Sam & Shalleece's girl, Zella). Ben is an awesome uncle!

Grandpa Chuck, Grandma Linda with my two handsome boys.

We stopped in Magna on our way out to Tooele. We needed a Pepsi/Diet Pepsi even on Christmas day. Here is an awesome van parked next to us. It has a sticker on it that said "Woodies Rule" in Wood. Freaking Hilarious! I should have taken a picture of the back of it too, it had some other odd stickers and a Fin, or spoiler (like wanna-be race cars have).

Our family photo from Christmas Eve that I forgot to post earlier.

The boys playing with their new Geo Trax.

Ethan playing Basketball

Ryan's cute face with his new movie!

Ethan with his new movie. And his cheesy smile! :-) Love it.

Gosh, all these pictures! You love them, just admit it!

Christmas Eve 2009

Can you believe how original my title is? Holy Moly, it oozes uniqueness. Anywho, Christmas Eve was at my parent's house this year. Except for the picture above with Grandpa Bob. We visited with Ben's family before going to my house. The boys wrapped bubble gum as a present and gave it to Grandpa Bob and this is him feeding it to them. They love Grandpa Bob!

Nephew Jaxon, and the soon to be newlyweds (they are newlyweds now) Lynzie and Kit.

You guessed it...that's me and Ben.

The Daddy-O and I. Such a handsome man! (my dad, not me...I am not a man, you must be thinking...really? All this time and I didn't know that?)

Cute little Ethan opening his farm from Grandma and Grandpa.

Ryan loves playing games. This is one of his favorites over and Grandma and Grandpa's, so they got him one. Gotta love Connect 4!

For those of you that do not know, I love Fiesta Ware. It. Is. Awesome. My mom gave "us" (because it was really just for me, right Ben?) the new color.

The family (minus Liz and my parents)

The siblings of awesome sauce. Jud, Summer, Brant, Kell, & Kit.

The Grand kids. 5 Boys

The Rents a.k.a. Mom & Dad

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner (YUMM-O). We all gave my parents the Wii with Wii Fit, and Ryan is obsessed with it!

Merry Late Christmas to all my Awesome Friends and Family I did not see! Thanks to all of you who sent Christmas Cards too. Sorry we have not sent Christmas Cards out, maybe next year. Just know you're loved anyway!

Blogging Strike

Yes, I have been on a blogging strike. After I post all my Christmas stuff, I might go on another "strike". I'm tired of blogging, and I'm tired of people saying I take too many pictures (I love taking pictures, get over it). So here is the Harris Sibling dinner at Tucano's. SO delicious. I was IN LOVE with their grilled pineapple. So much so, that the waiter practically brought me my own pineapple. :-)

The Branters and the Kell-ster.

Kit & Lynzie pooh. Love them!

The Harris Clan. We had a lot of fun that night. Thanks for thinking of it Summer & Liz! And I saw Nadine Wimmer. Practically a celebrity. Although I was too shy to ask for a picture with her.

The crazy boys.

Summer and Jarom. (Liz, I tried to find a picture of you and Jud on facebook from that night and could not find one??)

Continuing with the 12 days of Christmas from Benjamin
Day 8: Candle
Day 9: Muse CD

Day 10: Cookie cooling racks (love them...and needed them).

Day 11: Bath & Body works body butter and lotion.

Day 12: Christmas Eve he made an appointment for me to get My fingernails and toenails done. SUCH a SWEETHEART! Everyone at the nail place said what a thoughtful husband I had because he called in and made my nail appointments for me.
Thanks Ben, this was SUCH a neat experience. I'm grateful my husband is Awesomespice x 2!