Mom's Surprise Party

Mom had a birthday in January, so we decided to celebrate with a party in her honor! We held it at Maderas Golf Club, the same location as both my pre-wedding dinner and reception.

Jones Men with Mom L to R: Dad, Derek, Uncle Ryan, Uncle Rodney, Dallin, Grandpa

A big, Big, BIG, BIG thanks to Debbie & Toni (above) for all they did to help with the party. They were up early that morning decorating, picking up the cake, and up late the night before doing all the fresh flower centerpieces and doing the favors. They work for Dad and are always willing to help us out with things. {They were the lovely ladies behind our wedding decor}. It was a great day filled with yummy food, good friends, laughs, and the most delicious cake ever!

Disney Mania

dfdddsfdafWith another quarter under Derek's belt {phew!}, and one step closer to becoming a 3rd year & starting clinicals {hip-hip-hooray}, we took advantage of a couple days in relaxation. With our recent Christmas present of Dinseyland Passes, we spent a fun day in both parks. A couple highlights were:

• Having both parks virtually to ourselves {longest wait time 20 minutes- yes please!}
• A perfect day of sunshine and light breezes followed up by a chilly night warm/cozy in sweatshirts and sippin' hot chocolate.
• Having the kids who rode Space Mountain with us die of laughter/make fun of Derek's face when they saw the picture. I know it's up on Facebook somewhere getting many, many comments.
• Meeting up with both Sandy & Tegyn for an afternoon of laughs, crazy pictures, and chatting/screaming Derek's ear off {he was a good sport.}
• Riding the Ferris wheel at CA Adventure and dying of laughter as we swung like crazy and thinking we were going to plummet into the lagoon. {Trust me, it's seriously freaky!}

It was a great day spent at the "happiest place on earth..." We can't wait to go back in May right before the summer rush. Derek claims that I am a "Disney Master," which is true. Having a pass since you're 7-years-old, going at least twice a month for FHE, leaves me quite the secret hoarder. So, if you want a fun, easy, and best way to hit BOTH parks, join us on our adventure next time!

Saturday Night

We spent tonight thinking of our other 10 little

"valentines".

To learn why we are called "Brother & Sister Smith" click here.

Back to School

Today, I went to Derek's school. Yes, I go there often on Saturday to eat lunch outside with him. Yes, I go there to drop off books, snacks, and important things he may need. And yes, I occasionally sneak into the gym and work on my fitness. But, today was different. I was actually "invited" by the faculty. Okay, that makes it sound way more important then it really was. Basically, they had a meeting about 3rd & 4th year rotations. This was really important for us to go to. We learned that Derek will be traveling around the Phoenix area for his 3rd year. Good deal to me. Close to my baby. For the 4th year, he'll have a central "CORE" location somewhere in the country where he is accepted. Soooo, we are really excited to see where he/we will be going in the next few years. Connecticut for the Harvard/Yale program? Colorado for a fantastic one in Denver? Texas for another great program in San Antonio? California for great facilities in the San Fran area? The ones NOT on my list: Arizona, New Mexico, and Michigan. As for now, we sit & wait. Oh and laugh at how awkward it is to sit and laugh while a picture is being taken.

One of Those Days

Yep. I said the cliche' "It was one of those days..." tonight. Okay, can someone tell me what exactly that means? I guess my definition sounds something like this:

• Running into the wall after a fire drill. Yep. Face first. Then, having the entire 6th grade laugh.
• Being on hold for 45 minutes at the AZ Department of Education-- and I didn't even get to talk to them because the phones shut off when they closed right at 5:00.
• Students not understanding how to divide fractions. I even taught them the good old "flip and switch" way. So, I graded the homework and it was a disaster. I mean, I GUESS it can be hard to flip the second fraction and then multiply straight across... but seriously? So glad I won't be there when they are doing harder things.
• Totally forgetting how to teach complementary and supplementary angles to my kids at Sylvan. I swear, they were looking at me like "Why is this crazy lady teaching us?"
• Inhaling 3 pieces of pizza for dinner. Yep 3. With extra red pepper flakes. Firey{is that a word?} burps tonight? Sorry babe.
• Just standing in the shower after a long day of work and feeling the hot water run until it became cold. I just needed to wash off all the stress. Too bad that doesn't really work.

So..... please don't judge me for going to bed at 9:12 p.m. tonight. I think I deserve it-- especially after my brain was a little rattled after hitting a brick wall- literally.

Why I Blog

{Hawaii 2010}

I have a love/hate relationships with a couple blogs out there in the online blogging world. I love the cute outfit ideas, but hate the perfect, thin, and gorgeous girls wearing the clothes. I love getting cute ideas for home decor, but hate the beautiful, lush, and perfect homes. I love laughing at ridiculous blog posts, but hate the braggy-brag-brag ladies who's days consists of perfect shopping trips, children, and girl night outs. Do we see a word trend here? Yes, perfect.

My wonderful friend Stephanie just posted the most wonderful post on her blog. Check it out. Not only did she share her wonderful Birthday weekend with us, she shared the reason why she began blogging. Her post really got me thinking and inspired me. I loved how she brought up the reason she blogged was for herself.

The good days.

The bad days.

The everyday simple pleasures in life.

I realized that I loved blogging for those reasons as well. I enjoy sharing our life, adventures, and even the hard times with those who read my blog. I like to think of it as my journal. I have never been one to write, because when I do, I start to doo-doo-doodle away. So, let's ask ourselves the question... Why do I blog?

I blog for me,

because my life isn't perfect.