What Name DID I Use?

We had a birthday party Monday evening for Jill.  On Saturday, I ordered a 6 foot sandwich for the occasion from Wal-Mart.  I had to make several phone calls to finally get the sandwich ordered, but that's OK, the task was accomplished and I didn't worry about it again...until...I got to Walmart just 20 minutes before the party was to begin, and found out the deli had no record of my order. 
WM employee - "I'm sorry, are you sure the name is correct?  Could it be under the name, Bryan J?"
Me - "No, it's under my name and I ordered it on Saturday so it would be ready for pick up tonight!"
WM employee - "What other name could you have given?"
Me - "Just mine."
WM employee - "I'll call the manager1" 
If the manager knew where my sandwich was located, I would be happy to talk to him, if not, why bother?
WM manager - "So, you ordered a sandwich?"
Me - "Yes."
WM manager - "When do you need it?"
Me - "Twenty minutes ago!"
WM manager, yelling back to the woman frantically working in the back, "How soon could you have this lady's sandwich?" 
WM employee - "I can't fix it until after 6:00, I'm already working on an order that will be picked up at 6!"
Me - "That's too late!  The party starts in 5 minutes!"
WM manager - "What if we give it to you for free?"

At this point, I didn't know of any other options.  I could walk away and have nothing to take to the dinner and my poor children and grandchildren would starve on just watermelon, salad, chips, grapes, soup and birthday cake!  Or, I could hang out at Wally World for another 15 minutes and get a free 6 foot sandwich!  I agreed to wait.  (heavy on the greed)
After waiting another 40 minutes, the sandwich was ready.  The already frantic WM employee had thrown in another 3 foot sandwich! 

I thanked her, ran out the door, and got to the party an hour late.  The sandwich was good, I appreciated the generosity of the WalMart manager, and we had lots of left-overs!

On the way home I had to stop at Wal-Mart again, only this time it was to pick up some photos I had sent in for the classroom.  I asked the WM employee behind the photo booth if she had my pictures.  I gave her my name and the approximate time I had sent in the order.  She looked through the drawer filled with photos, but didn't find it. She looked again and said, "Are you sure of the name?  Could it be under a different one?" 
I walked away empty handed this time.

I can taste a giveaway coming up!

Better Late than Never!

Happy Birthday to Jill!

Sorry I'm a few days late. 

If you know Jill, you already know she is:  

talented,

fun,

crazy,

smart, (not only has she graduated from Utah College of Massage Therapy, she'll be graduating from UVU with a degree in Public Relations)

and beautiful!

Happy Birthday, Jill!  We love you!

Happy Birthday to a Confused 3-year-old

"Kelsey, how old are you today?" 

Without batting an eye, 3-year-old Kels said, "Five!" then held up 4 fingers!

Happy Birthday, Kelsey! 

Sorry to have to tell you this, but the older you get, the worse the confusion.  Just ask Grandpa!

Camille, at Make It Work Mom, has featured me today as a "Mom Who Makes it Work"!  I promised her a batch of brownies if she made me look good.  I don't think I'm going to have to worry about the brownies! 

Triple The Fun!

Our 4th of July Weekend was busy and fun!  Hundreds of pictures were taken of family outings, fireworks, hot-air balloons, manicures, pinata breakings, pre-wedding bridal pictures, you name it, it was captured on film!  To avoid picture overload, (snore) this post will only be about 3 special people who all shared the same birthday on Monday!

Emily, Jacob and Keiti

Let's start with Jacob.  He was born 19 years ago and, being the baby of the family, was schooled by his older siblings in fashion sense.

 

It's good to see a young man who will dress nicely for his birthday party!

His post-party fashion is inspired by his brothers; Motel 6 slippers, an XS "wife-beater" and a large weapon completes his ensemble.  Birthday presents and big brothers are fun!

The day Jacob turned 11, his first niece, The Divine Miss Em, was born. His birthday has never been the same, it's been better!  Em had a backyard birhday party earlier in the week with her friends. 

I read that the only reason to have a child's party is so you'll know that other kids are more obnoxious than your own!

Em got her ears pierced on her birthday, thus the hair behind the ears!

Three years ago, Keiti joined the ranks of the best birth day ever!

 

She was born with the ability to sing and dance!  (Takes after her grandma!) Can you tell what movie was/is her favorite?  She does a good job mimicking the tin man during his song.

 

She's a beauty and lots of fun!

Ahhh, birthdays...more fun when they're shared!

A Birthday Greeting!

Tonight I'm reflecting on the past 22 years.  Jordan, aka Jo-Man, aka Jo-Jo, turned 22 today.   We have a video of his birth.  It was discreetly done, with no body parts revealed, except for Jordan's when the doc held him up for me to see my handsome son for the first time!

I recall when I was 7 months pregnant with him.  I was at my 8-year-old's wrestling match, when a woman, whose son was also wrestling, commented on my pregnancy.  She asked if it was my second.  I told her it was my seventh!  With disgust written on her face and in her voice she boldly stated, "SHAME ON YOU!"  Shocked I asked, "why do you say that?"  She stated again, "Shame on You!!  How can you take care of so many kids?"  As I turned to leave, I simply said, "Fine, thanks!"

With 4 older sisters and 2 older brothers, Jordan had many opportunities to be spoiled or abused,  depending on who he was dealing with!  The first time his 16-year-old sister went on a date, Jordan (then 3) stood at the front room window, and said in a loud sing-song voice, "You gots a lovely boyfriend!" 

He's grown up somewhat since then. 

He returned in August from serving an LDS mission to South Africa.

He joined the Army Reserves right after high school.

Going to school, working, being Uncle Jo-Jo to 10 nieces and nephews, and socializing keeps him busy.

There's no shame bringing Jordan into this world. The world needs more men like him!

Happy Birthday, Jo-Man! We love you!

(I hope he shares those peanut M&Ms)

Bella Ragazza - Jeanette!

Or is it Ragazza Bella?  Either way, it's time to say "HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY!" to beautiful Jeanette! 

We had a GNO at Macaroni Grill to celebrate Jeanette's birthday!   She was serenaded in Italian, given a big piece of chocolate cake and a gladiola!  She kept the flower, we all ate the cake!

Jeanette is one of the favorite aunts! 

She goes to her niece's basketball game and really gets in to it. (Notice she's the only one) 

Jeanette returned from an LDS mission to Houston 7 months ago.  She's now going to school, majoring in art and minoring in Spanish.

She's planning on going to El Salvador to volunteer at an orphanage and teach art to the children.

. 

Girls like Jeanette are one in a million! 

We love you!  Happy Birthday!

Like Father, Like Son!

Have you ever told a son or daughter that you hope they have a child just like them?  I don't know that I have actually said it out loud but the thought may have crossed my mind! Dave and Corban share a birthday month - almost shared the same birthday and they share the same creative, energetic, genes. 

Remember Corban, the self-proclaimed barber?  He turned 5 a few days ago. 

Here, he's wrestling with a cousin. 

It's hard to capture his boundless energy in pictures because most of the pictures of him are blurry!

Happy 5th Birthday, handsome Corban! 

We love you and are glad your hair is growing back!

This is Corban's Dad, David.  He too had lots of energy.  We put him in wrestling when he was 7 years old.  It helped!  Even though these pictures make him look like he's the under-dog, he went on to be a great wrestler in high school.

Dave's the one in the middle, notice his leg muscles!  Those legs were ALWAYS moving!

Here's this handsome boy looking very mild and innocent! (Looks CAN be deceiving!)

David turned 30!  We had a surprise party for him at PF Chang's.  He was flanked by his wife and mother-in-law - that's one way to keep him in line!  Dave has a great sense of humor and has us laughing most of the time! (HE can make me have a good belly laugh)

Happy Birthday, Davey Boy!  We love you!

Birthday Greetings!

Today is my Mom's birthday!

She was born...a few years ago...in Northern Utah.  Her father named her Cleo, after his favorite school teacher.  Then he wanted to add a little something for St. Patrick's Day, since that was the day of her birth, so he thought Patra would be a good middle name. Luckily Grandma had a few things to say about that and Cleo Patra was ruled out. 

Mom is a great example of  love, understanding, diligence, fortitude and charity. She made sure our childhood was filled with love and fond memories.

I could tell you some fun stories about her, but today I'll just leave it at this.

Thanks for everything you do for us!

Happy Birthday, Mom!  I love you!

Last of the January Birthdays

So far I have highlighted 4 people in my family who have birthdays in January.  Here are the last 3. (They're the cutest)

Ad (on the left) is a whopping 5 years old!

 Her birthday was at a local spa where they have a "Spoiled Rotten" room and the girls get to dress as princesses and walk down a runway.  Each girl changed her dress several different times!

Who can resist pretending to eat princess food!

Soon, they were served cupcakes the size of their head and some hot strawberry flavored drink with lots of whipped cream. 

 

Happy Birthday Ad!

Mr. T turned 1!

 He had a great time at his party.

After a dinner of pizza and subs,

  Games were played, including a rousing game of Twister...

Followed by a competetive squirt gun fight!

Happy first Birthday, Troy!

Izzy is 3 years old. 

She had a princess party where the games included, find the glass slipper, pass the poison apple and kiss the frog. 

Even the boys got in on that game!

  

The pinata was filled with toys and candy.

The princess cake and brownies were enjoyed by all!

She made sure everyone was properly thanked.

Happy Birthday, Izzy!

We're done with birthday celebrations until March!  Enjoy February!