I wasn't going to do this....

... So I'm not ...

Thanks Katie for writing this up. I couldn't have said it better myself, in fact, I couldn't read it without breaking down. I can't imagine trying to write it...

From Katie Powell's blog:

Ok, first let me start by saying this is a very hard topic for me to discuss. Even typing about it makes me burst into tears. My little sister Hollie was in a near head on collision. a car hydro-plained into her lane in Provo canyon, the car was coming at her head on, Hollies instincts were to turn the car so her passenger didn't receive any impact. In my opinion Hollie's split second decision saved all 4 persons involved. she avoided it being completely head on, and the car hit the front corner of her truck. Hollie was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and remains there. Her arm is broken in 2 spots, her leg is broken in 2 spots, her ankle is completely shattered, they removed a rib, and the worst, she broke her back. she has had 4 surgeries since Friday and is in for 3 more. she is the strongest person I know and is handling as well as she can. She is in so much pain every single minute of her life. Its hard for me to talk about, I feel so helpless and I want to be there with her all the time. Every free moment I have I am thinking about her. I miss her, I love her, I want her to heal. PLEASE PRAY FOR HER.

Hollie, my dear sweet cousin, we love you and can't wait to have you home. I'll see you tonight!

As of yesterday, she was moved out of ICU and is now in recovery. She has a back brace on and is elevated and awake, but still in excruciating pain. As far as I've been told, she hasn't eaten since the accident because of the surgeries and the pain meds. She's miserable, and unhappy but grateful to be alive and so are we. I love her dearly and I'm praying for you Hollie. Please keep Hollie in your prayers for the next few weeks. She's gonna need them.

Dear Lilly...

... The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I promise, if you do not sleep right on me you will survive. The bed or couch next to me is just as comfortable, if not more comfortable, as my legs, my lap, my stomach, or any other part of my body that you feel is the only place for you to rest your body, but I cannot buy anything bigger than a queen sized bed right now. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the edge of the bed to ensure your comfort. Dogs can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep you know. It i s not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm. Also, my pillow is mine, not yours. I paid for it and it is made for people not pooches.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, bark, or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell your butt or lick whatever you'd like. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in all fairness, dear Lilly, I have posted the following message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:
(1) They live here...You don't.
(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs are better than kids because they
(1) eat less,
(2) don't ask for money all the time,
(3) are easier to train,
(4) normally come when called,
(5) never ask to drive the car,
(6) don't hang out with drug-using people;
(7) don't smoke or drink,
(8) don't want to wear your clothes,
(9) don't have to buy the latest fashions,
(10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and
(11) won't go broke

Yours truely, Mommy!

P.S. I took bits and pieces of this from a friend but it's all true. Muah!! Love you Lilly Munch!

Another one has come and gone

So, it was my birthday on Saturday (per the cupcake background I had up all week) and it was pretty awesome. First, just having your birthday on Saturday is AWESOME!! I got to sleep in, relax and NOT have to work!! Sa-weet! I woke up to a whole lot of texts (Thanks again guys!) and the clock reading like 11 o'clock. Patrick and I went to breakfast (MMmm French toast!), then went home and RELAXED! I loved it! I curled my hair, watched some T.V., Patrick cleaned both our cars and we played with Lilly!  Later that night we hit up the best place on Earth: Tepanyaki! Seriously, best food ever. Love it!

Then the Birthday celebrations leaked into Sunday, like it always does on Super Bowl Sunday!  Ever since I can remember my birthday has always been celebrated on Super Bowl Sunday and I wouldn't have it any other way!  Football, food and cake - you couldn't ask for anything better.  

I'm official!!

Yup that's right everyone... We took that step this last week. It was a great step. A much needed step (for me!) and I'm totally ready for the change, life changing.....

WE GOT GYM PASSES!!!!

You know you love it! :D

(That'll be me someday....... minus the blond hair)

Setting Aside All Differences

Just remember everyone:

HIS SUCCESS IS OUR SUCCESS AND HIS FAILURE IS OUR FAILURE

whether you like him or not.
Let's stand behind our new President. Pray and hope that he succeeds.

That's all I have to say about that. :D

Cars suck!

Ok, so one of the other reasons why our New Years Eve turned into a slow night was because of Patrick's car. One week before Christmas, we had the accord serviced. It had just hit the 100,00 mile mark and Patrick wanted to make sure it stayed in good running condition just in case we sold it. One grand later we had all the belts replaced, transmission "flushed" and seat belt replaced (apparently it was broken but still under warranty). Not bad. We expected that much. Well, because of the holidays we didn't drive his car much and the following week, I drove it to work. On my way home, all the lights came on and I panicked. I called Patrick. He came and picked me up in Bountiful so I didn't have to drive it home. He checked all the fluids and stuff and saw that the transmission fluid was extremely low. The next day (New Years Eve) we took it back in. They proceeded to tell us the transmission was shot and bad and we needed a new one. WHAT!! I know. Trust me. We freaked. How do you have maintenance done on a transmission, they give the car back with a "clean bill of health" and a few drives later, it's done for. Patrick made all the necessary calls -managers, customer service peeps, even Honda themselves. After all the talking and figuring out who's fault it was, we made a deal - we paid half, and the dealership paid half. Still it was another extremely large chunk of money, a lot of driving to Ogden and back, a lot of carpooling, and a lot of talking on the phone (We went over on our minutes... for multiple reasons, but still). We just got it back this week and so far so good. Hopefully it stays this way for awhile.

Patrick is an amazing power talker. I couldn't believe he could get even half. I'm so proud of him and thankful he can use his "Power Talking/Manipulating" ways for good! It's awesome to not have to worry about those kinds of things.

A puzzle??? Seriously!!

Ok, so I put a puzzle together on New Years Eve... sue me!! Not much was going on so we did the traditional american celebration....

CHINESE TAKE OUT and A PUZZLE!!

We hung out at my parents, ate chinese food, watched a movie, put a puzzle together, played some Canasta and went to bed. I was tired. Patrick was tired. LILLY WAS ASLEEP.... Her bed time is like 9... Seriously!!

Christmas was...

GREAT! But doesn't everyone say that. Well, It was for us. It probably was the smoothest Christmas we've had so far, ever, in our career of being together. We got up opened the "us" gifts and stocking stuffers. Then we loaded up the car and went down to Patrick's mom house. There we had some breakfast and opened the Raymond-Becker gifts. After that we headed up to the Franco Residence and opened gifts with my family. After a bit of relaxing, we headed up to Grandma's house (my mom's mom) and opened gifts with all those peeps. We left there pretty quick and went home. Home Sweet Home. It was awesome!

We both got a whole lot of gifts even though we probably spent the least this christmas. There just really wasn't that big gift we both wanted so we got a lot of littler things. I got a curling iron (I needed one), lots of games, a great book called A Train to Potevka, an iPod speaker-dock thingy (amazing!), pearl earrings/necklace/bracelet set, a scentsy warmer, a nice chunk of money for curtains (finally) and a bunch more that I can't remember right now. Patrick got lots of tools, an Iron Gym, a trip to Nicaragua, huge snow boots, a couple of movies, games too, and a bunch more I can't remember. Oh! And we both got clothes. Much needed clothes. Lilly got a new collar (like always...), a bone and a new rope. The bone is pretty much gone. She's already ripped it to shreds and chewed up the pieces.

All in all we had an amazing Christmas. I'm sorry there's no pictures but trust me...

Me + Morning = Bad Idea!