how bout an update to the current life.

wow- it has been a while since we updated the good ol' blog...my sister is coming this weekend, maybe she will re-decorate the blog for me. (wink wink). Not a lot has been going on....School started in August and it has been a crazy mad rush since. I was a little overwhelmed at first...I think each new semester I have a week long crying session, because I just can't see the end...well that held true for this semester as well. I was so overwhelmed with work and school at the beginning that I seriously would cry at anything. I can happily say that I am over that and am happy it's October. ( I feel like this is a group meeting like Shoppers Anonymous...I am Chelsea Vega, and I don't cry because of school anymore!!!) So after school started I anxiously began awaiting for the arrival of my graduation acceptance letter...ANXIOUSLY...well I finally received it last week, I was HAPPY, but a little bummed, it was the most, insincere letter of all times. It seems to me that it was a mass email to all fall 2009 graduating students. When I received my associates, they at least sent out a letter of approval ( a little more personal). I am just glad that with my 5 1/2 years worth of tuition, hard work and dedication to BSU, i received a mass email approving me for graduation....Thanks BSU- your awesome. I had a friend ask the other day if I was going to walk the line...OF COURSE. I didn't walk for the associates, I feel like taking part of commencement services is meaning to an end. A closure. and my Bachelors degree and 5 1/2 years here definitely means time to END. I will so be done with school...I can't wait. It will be time to celebrate in December :). (there I hope you all can sense my ExCiTmEnT to graduate)

Manuel got a new shift!!! He now has weekends off!!! I love it. He now works M,T,W,Thurs from 12:00 PM to 10:30 pm. What a hard shift right...getting to sleep in every day...I know i would like that. I don't mind waking up early, but I do love the days I get to sleep in. I am happy for him, I hope he likes it as much as I do...not having to stay home alone anymore at nights every 4 months. It is a bummer that he won't be getting home until 11 at night 4 days a week, but having time home on the weekends and more flexibility as to what we can do is awesome. He can now paintball on Sundaya with out having to rush home b/c he has to go to work, or not being able to go at all b/c he has had to work on Sundays.

We purchased Mtn bikes in September, and we are putting them to good use...(well he is more than me, but...) He has been up table rock like 3 or 4 times now. The first time I went with him and 2 of our friends was a little intense. I had just returned from the EAST coast, and I was tired as heck and when he got home from work, he told me we were going on a bike ride...I didn't expect an actual mtn bike ride though. it was tough terrain for this beginner, but it was fun. my chain came off once and Manuel was far ahead of me...and I had no idea what happened to my bike (haha) and it was a good think our friend Margi was close, thanks to him, I was ready to get back on in no time...I did walk the bike up quite a bit, little sleep, no watter, not in the best shape will do that too you. Manuel went again about a week 1/2 ago and told me he that one trail they one that time was a lot more difficult and he about passed out. Thankfully he made it up and back okay, and he has gone 2 times since and is loving it. We have an REI membership, he went and purchased a North Face Jacket and loves it. It's a nice jacket for biking... I was a bit jealous so I wanted to get a biking jacket as well, but REI didn't have one that I liked so after looking around a bit, I found a good deal at Marshall's and love the jacket. When we wear them, and ride our bikes....I feel a bit like a tree-hugging hippie. (not that biking and jackets have anything to do with tree-huggers, I just feel that way!)

My family is coming this weekend :) My sister, BIL- Aidan, Mom, Dad, Chace Chad. G'ma, G'pa, possibly G'ma Asher, Stacie, Aaliyah and Ashton and possibly Shaun and Deanna. I can't wait. It seems like it's been forever since I saw my family...August. I think I went the whole month of September...goodness.. I sure miss them and can't wait for this weekend it will be fun. Manuel's parents came up last week and it was a good time visiting. They came Tuesday night and brought Peaches and Tomatoes (which didn't survive...I left them in the bag and they went moldy..I was real sad...fresh garden tomatoes are my favorite) and some peppers. we got some peaches from them a few weekends ago Gerrardo (Manuel's dad met us in Twin to give us some, we had been in Jerome for a Paintball tournament) and they were delicious peaches. We just had a lot and I didn't want to waist them so I made a peach crisp (delicious) and then made the filling for peach crisp and froze them, I was happy to do that with the peaches they gave us last week as well. I have about 11 quart size containers in my freezer with peach filling for peach crisp...so happy about that. Last year I made peach jam with the peaches they gave us and it was D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G...seeing how much sugar actually goes in to making peach jam was sick, but the taste of the jam was just nasty...I don't know what happened in the process, but I don't like peach jam anymore.

In August we found out that our fridge had been leaking..so after moving the fridge, we come to find some lovely dark water spots on the floor (laminate flooring, wood)..so we pulled it up to dry the area underneath and we were hoping to not have any mold under the house. we obviously needed to replace the floor that was underneath the fridge, but matching proved to be a pain in the butt. Either it wasn't the right color, different grain, not deep enough, not wide enough...it was real annoying...so while at Home Depot on Saturday, we were introduced to a type of mat flooring, and it sure was a brilliant idea. Just to give you a visual...it's like a floor or a weight room...black, rubbery type. It pieces together like a puzzle, so Manuel cut the floor from underneath the fridge and then cut and pieced together the rubber flooring. It wasn't quite as deep as we needed so we went to Lowes and purchased some black plastic stuff. It was perfect to put on top of the rubber and it was level with the the rest of the floor and you can't even tell...and now if the fridge leaks, we won't ruin anything, and it's easy to wipe off... great and brilliant work babe, glad my the fridge is back in place and my kitchen is back in order.

Manuel and I leave for Vegas on the 16th- we didn't really do anything for our anniversary in JUNE so since he wanted to go to Vegas for a Paintball tournament we kind of justified going by including our anniversary celebration...even though he's not playing. He was asked by a team from Burley if he could play on their team..he thought about it..and said no. I was happy with the decision, although I would have been okay with him playing, I am just glad he decided not too, it would have been more money and I would have been hanging out by myself. I think with me telling him "I am not going to leave the hotel super early every morning when you leave...I will walk there later" had something to do with it. I don't know but me walking the streets of Vegas alone didn't seem to appealing. haha- he is excited some big teams are playing in this tournament so it will be fun to watch.

okay so a couple of weeks ago I was working...the cleaning ladies came to my boss's house to clean and I had returned from the grocery store. They finished their cleaning, I gave them their check and out the door they went and I went back upstairs to play with Charley. Next thing I hear in a whimpering voice "Chelsea...can you come down here" first off I didn't know who's voice it was b/c the cleaning ladies has just left and the two big kids were at school... so I get going and the cleaning lady meets me half way up the stairs..." (Cleaning lady=CL; Me-my words, CL2: another cleaning lady)

CL:"I wasn't paying attention and I hit your car..." I was shocked...how can someone hit a parked car...so I go outside and sure enough she hit my car...The bumper on the front passenger side was a mess...and she said to me
CL:"well my car is fine, but I am not sure about yours"....
Me: "well do you have insurance"
CL: "do you really want it? Can I have yours?"
CL 2: well I can crawl under your car and hit the dents out...I think it should take care of it, its a plastic bumper"
Me: "yeah I am going to need your insurance information, and my insurance has nothing to do with this, you hit me"
CL2: "Yeah I am sure I can crawl under here"
ME: "NO!!! just leave it alone, I don't want it to get messed up worse than it already it
CL: "Yeah, leave it alone."
CL: "here is my insurance, this one is expired, but I am pretty sure that I have a new copy at home"
ME: "uhmm..are you sure, I think I should call on this before you leave, just to make sure everything will be taken care of"
ME: "okay everything is current and I will get estimates"
CL: "yeah and just let me know whats going on"
ME: "yeah okay"

seriously...she was gunning it out of the drive way..I don't know why..but she seriously hit my parked car, asked for my insurance..when she asked for it- I gave it too her, just to satisfy, but really I wanted to tell her a thing or two. I don't know what she wanted it for...but oh well.

So I picked up my rental car today, because mine is going in the body shop until Wednesday... for a new bumper .... First off let me tell you, I have never rented a car before, I am under 24 and was a little intimidated going to the rental counter. I was just acting cool, like as if I knew what I was doing. I didn't really. I went up there, told him my name, gave him my DL, the credit card...and he looks at my DL, and the credit card and was like...yeah sorry I can't rent to you, I need a cc with the same name as your DL..."... I was quick to interrupt that I called last week, explaining that I was renting a car because mine was in a minor accident, but my boss was taking care of it and they told me I could use her CC if she was aware of me renting a car"... the guy at the counter "uhh...let me check with the manager" "okay everything looks good, how old are you?" Me: 24 the guy: "ohhh...(in a worried voice) uhmmm...it will charge you an extra 27 a day because your under age... Me: yeah that's fine, (seriously I thought about telling him I was 25 just to avoid the charge, but then I thought he would have checked my drivers license to confirm my age...but he didn't... the things I wish I would have known then what I found out 3 minutes into being there... Then he continues to offer me all this stuff...my response to everything was "No Thank You." I think a reservation means something. If I reserve a standard car, please just offer me the standard car, don't offer me the mid-size, or luxury, or SUV...just give me the keys, have me do the paper work and I will be glad to leave..I was in kind of a rush , I had a group meeting at 8 that i needed to get too...he was offering me all this extra stuff that I clearly didn't put on the reservation...I am a simple kind of girl, I don't need the extras. Thanks. Now I am driving a CHERRY red Chevy HHR. It's a kind of weird, but something different kind of car... I needed a car to fit 5 people. the website told me that all economy cars would only fit 4...so I went with the standard car...haha not knowing I would be driving around a mini-PT cruiser.



oh my goodness..I think that about sums up our life to this very minute. I will have to post later about the trip to the East Coast. It was a fun trip with the kids I nanny...lots of good memories and never wanting to eat crab (like a real crab) ever again, it was quite the experience.

RIP ol'Blue

I know this post will make most happy, it sure makes me happy :). We finally got around to painting the house. It was suppose to happen in the July but some things came up with my father in law, that required Manuel to go out of town a few days prior to painting the house, so we canceled.

{My father in law- has a tumor. It came on pretty quickly, the symptoms anyway, the tumor had been there for a while. He went to the ER on July 6, and was told there was a possible tumor, but he needed to go down to Salt Lake City to get more tests done. Tuesday 8/7 the family took him to Utah, and met with the Dr. and on Wednesday 8/8 he was admitted for surgery. The tumor was benign, and he is doing much better. however, the medicine he was taking for the tumor and the medicine for his high blood pressure counteracted, resulting in Diabetes, and now had to have insulin shots. They have been all over from SLC to Boise seeing Dr's. It was quite scary, but we are happy the tumor was small enough to take out through the nasal cavity, and that he recovered well.}

This last Wednesday, our friends Marc and Lyndsey came up to help paint the house. A Huge Thank YOU to them for all their hard work and help as well as Frank, Gordo and Manuel. . The painting started at about 7 on Thursday morning. I was at work and when I came home at around 2 pm, the house was PAINTED. It was kind of weird driving down the street and not seeing a blue chimney {a bittersweet moment}. When I got home, everyone was hungry so I fired up the grill and we had carne asada. It was hit and then back to work we went, only this time, we were painting the trim...can I just say what a chore it is...and I never want to paint the outside again. Manuel rented a man lift to get all the high places, we were suppose to return it by 5 pm on Thursday, but there was no way we were going to be finished, so we were able to extend the return to 9 am on Friday morning. We all worked on the house until about 6 Thursday night and then went to dinner with Manuel's brothers and friends to celebrate Hector's birthday.

Friday morning Manuel and I woke up at 5:30 to get things going. It was early.. and a little to dark outside to do much, so we went to Lowe's (who would have thought they open at 5, wow) to get a few new paintbrushes. Came back home and went to work. I have never been in a man-lift before, and since we needed to return it by 9, I decided I needed to set my fears aside and get to work. I went up with Manuel and was freaking out, not a big fan of heights, but I managed. The man lift is just too wobbly for my liking. Manuel let me down and finished all the high parts and I went to work on painting in between the trim of the house and the rain gutters. that was a chore and took me most of the day,I work on the front of the house for a good maybe 4 or 5 hours. It was tedious work and i think whoever painted the house blue was serious, and took off the rain gutters and painted them individually...not me, the paintbrush works for now :)

Our house was blue, and while we love our house, we didn't so much love the blue and either did the neighbors, but painting is no 1 or 2 hour job. As people were driving by, walking by, the neighbors were verbally expressing how much they like the new color. We got horns honked, claps, HORRAYs!, We were joking with our neighbor who used to work with Manuel that after two years of living here, we have hardly spoken to our neighbors (vice verse) but after painting our house, we have decided that they have all come out of their shells, and realize that we may not be the black sheep of the neighborhood anymore...or that they can walk outside and wont be blinded by ol' blue's brightness... Regardless, we are extremely happy and love our new color.








Finally after 2 hard days painting, and touching up, here is the finished product. With the new paint job and the rose bushes finally cut down, our house looks completely different.

Who ya gonna call...911?

here are the the three of us..Don't judge, we had just returned from swimming. one thing is for sure, the three of us sure had a good time this weekend <3

Well here it is Monday morning at the late 12:19 am...I can't sleep, Miss Aaliyah Jade is fast asleep upstairs, after about 30 minutes of giggling, she is the cutest little girl-just love her little personality but she is so tomboy at the same time. She came on Friday and is here until Wednesday, when we will return to the big city of Burley :) Friday was fun, we went and picked her up in Bliss, came to Boise, did some minor shopping (BTW, she hates shopping, just keep this in mind) came to the house, watched a movie, played Basketball, took a nap, had dinner, anxiously awaited the arrival of my bestest Crystal and Kody, went to Wal-mart in the dead of the night- 10:15 and the little girl was just beat, we were all tired, but we forgot to get her a toothbrush and some toothpaste, felt bad for dragging her out that late and so Manuel gave a piggy back ride while in the store! Crystal attended Special Olympics Saturday morning, for her work, Aaliyah and I stayed behind and just relaxed at home. Manuel was sleeping b/c he had to work Saturday night. Crystal came home, took a nap, then off to more shopping we went. We were out for a good three hours at a couple different stores.

here are the fearless foursome***Manuel, Me, the old Grandpa Kody and Crystal. Kody wouldn't get up from the chair and he had a red blanket on his lap...we had to come to him to get our picture taken***

We re-decorated the kitchen this weekend, it's super cute and I love it. After Kody came home, we went to some more stores, (poor Aaliyah was done at this point), we went and visited Kody's Grandma and Great Grandma, who is 101- amazing and she looks so good- a very sweet lady, Aaliyah was pretty impressed and excited at the same time that she met someone over 100. In fact the Great Grandma is "101 and 5 months into her two's." We finished the night out by enjoying a delicious salad and pizza and yummy vanilla Dr. pepper at Smoky Mountain pizza!! This is the new decor about the sink. Love the blue plate in the middle and the Live and Laugh plates...well they are the coolest, b/c they are super light and aren't really made like a plate, they just have a cool texture to them!!

***Funny Story*** Aaliyah drew a picture of a house with smoke coming out the chimney, I told her I hope that house is not on fire! She then proceeded to draw a smoke alarm in the house that was going off, and then brought it back to me and said this house is on fire. Me a little bit on the excessive worrying side, told her I was going to dream of my house being on fire..not a good combination. So later in the night probably about 11:45 Crystal, Aaliyah and myself were just sitting on the stairs admiring all the stuff that we changed around earlier, I told them I could smell smoke and they both told me "no you can't your just worrying" I followed my nose, upstairs to the bathroom, where i sniffed outside the window and for sure I could smell smoke. Well after we turned the lights off, we could see that something on the corner/or near the corner was on fire...we could see sparks!!. So we race downstairs and frantically look for the phone and we run outside into the road, towards the fire...well we get closer to the corner and don't worry, it was just a tree with the street light. We were totally fooled. There were bugs flying around the top of the light which we believed to be the sparks from the fire. After much thought...we decided that the fire smell must have been coming from the people lighting the fireworks. When I told Manuel this story when he called from work, he interrupted me and said "who ya gonna call, 911.. It reminded me of back in time...WHO YA GONNA CALL...GHOST BUSTERS. haha, this story has made for some fun times laughing in the last 24 hours, I tell ya- it was a kicker.

Today we went swimming, it was lots of fun! We decided that after dragging Aaliyah all over the place yesterday that we had better do something totally different today. Swimming was fun. We went up to my bosses pool and we had loads of fun- I am not much of a swimmer, not one for deep ends, and definitely panic when my feet aren't touching the bottom, but I can proudly say I swam across the pool- or barely...I freaked out a couple times but it was alright, Aaliyah was my little teacher. I have never been a BIG fan of swimming and it's all b/c I am not very good at it and have this phobia of drowning. it may sound retarded but that's alright-it's me and everyone that knows me pretty good, knows my fear and today it was okay, I swam across the pool and it was good- a few minor panics but for the most part we had a good day- Manuel came with us, it was fun for him to be able to hang out with us for a little bit while Kody and Crystal were here, b/c yesterday he was sleeping, Kody was golfing, there was just no time for us to hang out- so It was fun that he was able to join us for a few hours today, but I felt bad, b/c swimming wears you out and he had to come home and go to work, so I am sure he is just beat by now!

This is the new decor for the kitchen..the clock, candle sticks, and flower vase were all in the living room above the fireplace mantle..which now sits pretty lonely. waiting for paint and a tv to be hung...but until then..

This weekend was loads of fun- it is amazing Crystal and I haven't seen each other since September when she got married. I went to Pocatello last weekend, while Manuel went to his paintball tournament in Salem, Oregon. We had fun together, it had been months since we had seen each other but it definitely didn't feel like it at all (and from the guy's perspective...we talk on the phone all the time, why do we need to see each other...boo on you) So seeing my little bestest two weekends in a row has been fantastic and it will be more fantastic if I can see her over the 4th of July..because we will be around, she will be around..so hopefully we can be around each other, trying to convince her to go camping with us, but she's not too keen on the whole "tentin" it idea!! so we shall see.


Here is to my wonderful friend, who has a great eye for house decor on a budget---who can sometimes be considered jewish because she doesn't let her husband buy a new putter, and who wants what I want, too spend my money on stuff for the house, but will loose in an argument with the husband b/c of I don't know why, but it was explained to me earlier about that our excuses are not logical about rather spend the money on stuff for the house rather on shoes or clothes anymore...isn't it funny how life changes. Crystal and I have been through a lot, but weather it has been good or bad, we have stuck with each other and it has been wonderful. Now here is too wishing this lovely little couple good luck with finding a job, and a house in Boise/Meridian area..*oh wait...a house has been found, right down the road from me, perfect, just what they want, they don't know what it looks like, they haven't seen it, I found it after they left today, but it's perfect, b/c it's in the same neighborhood--wouldn't that be wonderful

So it's planned

Well I just got off the phone from mi Padre and we have FINALLY set a date to paint this blue house of ours. I couldn't be more excited. July 11, 2009- which means in less than one month, I will no longer live in a blue house and we won't stand out in the neighborhood. We have had the paint for quite some time now, but once we bought it, the rain started pouring and didn't stop and well we were planning on March, but the rain hadn't stopped then either. So now, the week we paint the house it better be nice weather or I will tell mother nature a piece of my mind ;)!!

Speaking of Blue...not only is the outside blue, but the counter tops in the kitchen and the blinds are all blue...I am blued out I tell ya!! and I am very passionate about HATING vertical blinds, I think they are one of the most annoying accessories to a window anyone could ask for..so with that being said, I set out to find curtains, and a curtain rod!!! Today Manuel installed the curtain rod, and although it was a tight squeeze and a possible pain in the butt, they are up and I couldn't be happier. I love them. Now I just need to replace the blinds, the counter tops are bearable, but blue blinds, I mean some people really do color coordinate...just not my style to coordinate everything with everything you know!!

CaLiFoRnIa!!

I went to California with the family I nanny for. They own an amazing house in Cardiff by the Sea, it's fun, its super close to the beach and pretty much anything you need is within walking distance, it was great. The weather was amazing, not too hot, not too cold, with the exception of the last couple of days. We flew in last Saturday (June 6) and came home last Thursday (June 11). While in California, we went to the beach, San Diego Padres vs. Arizona D-Backs baseball game, we attempted to go to a Botanical Garden, but little Reese just didn't like the idea and we ended up leaving, which was just a pain b/c while attempting to get her out of the car when we arrived, I let the seat down in the back so I could pull her out and in the process lifted a little too much and the seat came off the track, so eventuallywhen we got sick of listening to her cry we went to get back in the car and I think it took Margaret and me about 30 minutes trying to get the seat back in the right position, all the while, some children just weren't being patient, yeah I would say my nerves were being tested that day, it was the only day throughout the entire time we were in California that any major tantrums were thrown and they all just happened to be on the same day. Reese was just having a hard day, we couldn't please her if the world depended on it, with the gardens to where to eat for lunch, any place just wouldn't do, so she settled for some chips and pirate booty- what a lunch, but after the little squirt got some food in her, she straightened up and we had a jolly good time shopping for clothes and shoes :) One day we met up with the kids' uncle, cousin, and aunt and we ventured on over to Lego Land. Now if you haven't been here, I don't really think your missing much. Syd, Reese and I went on one ride together, and then Syd and I were done, the lines were much too long. Reese did one other ride with her parents, they stood in line for 45 minutes and the ride lasted less than 1 minutes. Meanwhile Syd and I were indulging our selves with Mozzarella and Basil Tomato sandwiches, they were mighty delicious. One thing that was fascinating at Lego Land, was the Aquarium, it was pretty cool, it had all sorts of different fishes, sharks, and whatever else and then at the end they have a "petting pool" with starfish, and well that's all I remember being in there, I didn't touch or pet any of the living water creatures, but Reese and Syd did-I was just disgusted, I couldn't imagine touching them. (I just realized as I was uploading pictures, not a single picture was taken with Charley Grace, she was with her mom most of the time and for most of the Padres game, which is where all these pictures were taken)



One night during the week I was able to catch up with a really good friend from high school. Kristen Pedersen, she has lived in California for about 5 years and worked like 10 minutes away from my boss's house. We planned dinner and then Margaret, Dominic, and the girls went to visit their uncle. It was perfect timing, they left about 530, Kristen picked me up about 6:15, we had a fantastic dinner at EnFuego, and lots of catching up on each other's lives and then back to the house. It was great timing b/c she came inside, I gave her a tour, we had a little candid moment and we were walking outside and the family showed up, so it was a great evening out and I just loved getting together with Kristen. I was a little nervous, just because you know how awkward it can be when you haven't seen someone for so long and then you have dinner or a get together and it's just awkward chit chat...well I was thinking that's what was going to happen, but bless Kristen's' heart, it was just like we picked up from where we left off, not missing a beat you know. To say the least, I just wish she lived closer or we could get together more often. Trying to document the moment, our little candid camera session wasn't going so swell. After like 7 photo tries, we finally landed a semi-decent one- we were laughing so hard at how hard it was to take a picture of the two of us..Good Times.

Introducing Alison Vega

Manuel's brother, Hector and his Wife Paulina- brought the first Vega grandchild into the world!!! Alison Vega- was born March 22, 2009- ( I know, a little late on posting, but I needed a picture or two). She is the cutest little girl, and oh-so spoiled. It's so funny, b/c my mother in law stayed here in Boise for a week after the baby came home, we would be talking to her and hear the baby talking and all the sudden Consuelo (Manuel's mom) would disappear, back to Hector and Paulina's room to help with the baby, it was pretty funny. She is more alert now, and it was fun this weekend, having them over for the BBQ, although I missed out on holding her, it seemed everyone else was holding her, and I was a little sad, I love her little hands and feet, they are my favor tie on little babies. Paulina pierced her ears, she didn't take her any place to get them done, she literally did them herself- I was shocked when I found out, b/c I honestly can't imagine, trying to pierce the ear and having the baby stay still, if I ever tried (*don't worry, I don't have the courage, nor the ability*) but if I did, I would just have no luck- but she did a good job, they are even with both sides and the earrings are adorable and Alison is just a beautiful baby, with lots of f black hair and there amazing beautiful brown eyes, small eyeballs, definitely enough to fall in love with her.

Manuel and I are so lucky to have one of the cutest nephews and one of the cutest nieces- they are so much fun and we have lots of fun spoiling them!!! We love Aidan and Alison

NEW FRIDGE-

I have had a love/hate relationship with the refrigerator---sometimes on good days, the fridge was nice, it would keep things cool, such as a Dr. Pepper on a hot summer day, or on a bad day when I just needed that extra boost of caffeine...other days...I would go to cook some chicken and come to find it has been defrosted and refrozen....process repeated many times- so I quickly became tired of buying freezer food and having to throw it away due to the fridge's behavior. Its an older fridge, my brother in law purchased it in 2003-white, freezer on top, fridge on bottom, you know your standard fridge. Well sometimes when one would get in the fridge, and close it behind them, the freeze would pop open, not enough to where you could see it was open, but enough to make it defrost everything. Well then it became real angry and would start freezing stuff in the refrigerator part...yep, you read that right, it would freeze like eggs, sandwich meat, applesauce, WATER, you name it, if it was in the fridge, it was bound to get frozen, first it was just towards the back of the fridge, if the items on the shelf would get pushed too far back, then then it would freeze them. But then it started freezing everything, like my Brita water container, you don't know how many times I went to get water to find nothing in the glass b/c it was just solid ice- well I would complain to Manuel that we needed a new fridge and he must have thought I was going crazy, because he never found anything wrong- until one day, when he had to pack his own lunch and when he took the food out of the fridge from the night before-it was frozen- yeah that did it right there for him...(it has been doing it to me for over a year). But long before he figured it out, I quit buying meat for the freezer, I would just buy it when I needed it, which in turn sucked b/c I don't like going to the grocery store very often, and having to do it for every dinner meal, it was becoming real annoying- and a couple times turning my sweet Grandma Carol down b/c she was offering us some beef, but I told her no, b/c it would just get ruined (Ready for it now Grandma), so we have been looking for a while online for a fridge that we liked, and I was sold on a black one, it would match the other appliances, right...so finally we find time on Wednesday to go to the store and look. We went to Best Buy, found the one we wanted, left and thought about it for a while, and then I convinced him to go back that night to get it. So we were back in the store, and look at the fridges one more time and we come across this Titanium, side by side, fridge, sweet looking, same price as the one we were set on, and then I had to go back thru the "do I really like this fridge" process. IT was perfect in every way, we decided to go for it, told the guy and he was ordering it for us and there were 4 more at Best Buys warehouse- but it wasn't letting him order a new one...so he sold us the floor model. But before we were sold, I walk to the fridge and the first thing I notice is a dent in the bottom freezer door- I was a little bummed, but no worries, I didn't care- they were giving a 10% discount on the additional clearance price- so it wasn't bad- but then after we were sold on it, he pulls it out away from the other fridges, and right along the side of it was a big scratch (Appliance employees really need to learn to take better care of the appliances they deal with, Seriously) so after much thought and a headache later, we purchased the fridge and were well on our way home. I told Manuel to call someone to come help him bring it in-so Gordo and Vanessa came over, and the two men worked real hard to get inside- they couldn't bring it thru the garage, because it wouldn't fit through the two laundry room doors, and I didn't think of the sliding glass door until they were stuck in the front door, and then I tried to take the glass door off the track, but I have no clue how to do that, so I just watched them fit it through the front door-it was sad, it didn't really fit, they had to work real hard to get it through, and during that process, mind you the fridge is still wrapped in plastic, but shoving it through the front door, somehow the plastic got cut, and the handles on the fridge, have little scratches, no worries, scratches or not, I have a new fridge and I love it.



In fact, I love it so much and am so happy- I can buy otter pops and they will be frozen and delicious, not frozen, melted, frozen..etc. I have lots of room and it's funny because when I was cleaning out the other fridge, I was throwing things away that were just old, and so our new fridge looked pretty empty- I had a door full of condiments and random odds, but the rest of it it was feeling lonely-Friday, Manuel's family called and wanted to have a BBQ and it was blast, and the fridge sure can hold alot of food :) It's full now, and it looks great- WE had another BBQ today and sure was delicious- Carne Asada is my favorito!!! *and homemade TORTILLA's too- mmm...and one other good thing- I NEVER HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER BAG OF ICE WHEN MY FAMILY COMES, ICE IS ON HAND, FILTERED WATER ON HAND-WHOHWOH!!!

Sometimes its just better to cut the middle man

So- it was about 3 weeks ago, I came home from work and Manuel told me that he thought the washer was broken. I just assumed, he had messed with the settings, and it wasn't washing like usual ( He likes to push the buttons, and it's my pet peeve to hear a buzzer go off when the laundry is done). So I open the washer, and sure enough the clothes were soaking wet, (its a washer...duh) so then I was like...hmm well the spin cycle didn't run, so I set the washer to spin, and then watched for quite a while and it did nothing, then all the sudden, it starts humming, the motor was running in the washer, but the spin cycle was doing nothing...So we hung his clothes to dry, we were leaving town the next day, and didn't need to worry about it. So when we got home from Utah, it was super crazy, I had a paper due, that I had started the day it was due :) and then I was asked Manuel to look at the washer, but before he tore into it, we decided to just run the cycle and see if it would work....so I gathered some blankets to wash, started the load and we to get something to eat. Came home, I sat in front of the washer, and watched until the spin cycle started, (it was spinning during the entire wash time) so I was happy I thought it was working, happy day right...well time comes for the actual spinning, and all went silent in the house, and all I hear is the 'humming' sound...it was very sad, so Manuel takes the top of the washer off and starts reading the code manual...trying to figure out what was wrong. It wasn't until the next day, when him and Franky figure out what part needed to be replaced. I was happy when the discovered the problem, and after searching for the part on the Internet, I was pleased with the price, it was $50 to get the part, plus shipping. So on Wednesday, I called around to some repair places here in Boise area, and there was one place that had the part in stock but for almost $90----(I totally would have if my husband wouldn't have already seen the price on the Internet)... So I call the Internet store that had the part, and asked for a faster shipping- b/c the regular ship was between 4-6 days...not going to fly, I hate laundry piling up...so I ordered the part, purchased the faster shipping method- which was fed-ex home delivery, product expected within 2-3 days...right this is a Wednesday, I was thinking by Friday or Saturday we should have the part...they told me I would receive an e-mail confirmation with the tracking code...never received it! So I decided to call Friday afternoon, and the gentlemen on the phone told me "we received the part this morning and it will be shipped out momentarily"...Me thinking momentarily is that afternoon- logical right...well that night when we got home, I still had no e-mail confirmation. I called Saturday afternoon, and another gentlemen told me "We received it Friday, it will be shipped out Monday morning". I was so mad, b/c I was expecting it to be shipped Friday grr...so I vented to a few people, it was non-sense. SO after complaining to my husband, he decided to call Monday- he calls and low and behold guess what they tell him "It has shipped from our warehouse and we should receive it at our place Tuesday and we will get it shipped out to you as soon as we can, sorry for the delay, its taking so long."...WHAT??? When Manuel told me I was so mad, b/c not only had two different guys told me the product was at their place, but it still wasn't shipped out. So apparently Manuel let the gentlemen know he was mad that it had taken this long, and they had told me a different story, so I get home Monday night from class and I had an e-mail saying it had been shipped...now I was real confused b/c the gentlemen that Manuel spoke to said it hadn't been received in their place...so how were they able to ship it out that same day, when it wasn't coming in until their Tuesday shipment??? weird...but any who...8 days later, we received the part. I am just wondering why would a company have a part posted, for sale, but then order it from another company...have a customer order the part, then they order it from another place, have the other place ship it to the place where the customer purchased, and then the seller will sent it to the customer...why not just freaking have the place that has the dang part, send it to the customer- it would reduce a customers heart rate and head aches...seriously sometimes it's just better to cut the middle man out!!! I came home from class Thursday morning, and my washer was running, and spinning like a GEM!!! three weeks worth of laundry, a helpful husband, the laundry is all washed....still sitting in the dryer and laundry basket waiting to be folded, but at least we have a wardrobe again- and I couldn't be happier

One about the easter eggs..sorry for the overload

Friday I needed to go to the store to grab a few things...well while I was there I decided I wanted to color Easter eggs. I don't remember that last time I did this. SO I buy the coloring kit, get the eggs, super excited for Manuel and Zen to join me (Zen is the cousin, if you didn't know). So when I get home to the two guys sitting on the couch, I told them my plan for the night- and they didn't seem like they were buying it. In fact the words out of their mouths "Who are we coloring them for, there are no kids"...US duh...So after I made dinner, and then dessert, I cleaned the kitchen while the eggs were boiling. Manuel and Zen were in the garage lifting weights, laughing, messing around with the paintball stuff, and I decided I wasn't going to interrupt them to do something they probably didn't want to, so I started dying the eggs my self- 10 to be exact, got a little bored doing it alone. Then they came in to see the eggs on the counter and there response to me was " Sweet, what do we do now" ... Well nothing b/c you guys didn't seem to fascinated by my idea earlier...hello- but lucky for them I decided to boil the last 4 eggs b/c I just didn't think I would use them anytime soon- So between the two of them, they each got 2 eggs to color and they took it seriously. It was fun to do, and to watch them do it as well. The kit I bought, also had some paint in it, but as I was painting my eggs I realized 2 things: 1) the paint sucked, and there weren't any paint brushes, they had little suction type things (can't think of the word right now, its late) and 2) the PAINT WAS SMELLY, oh my gosh, it was sick, I felt like I should have been painting a car..it smelt a little lethal- but all in all- the eggs turned out fun- even with out the paint!!!

arghh..it was two months ago.

So Valentines this year was extra special- the guys were in charge and they did an amazing job- SO it took "weeks" of planning- lots of little meeting at Hooters over some wings and drinks- I guess it gets their brains thinkin or something- SO they planned a fantastic evening- UNFORGETTABLE that's for sure and I am almost sure it's UNBEATABLE TOO!

All the girls were to be at Frank's house at 7 on the dot- well Vanessa and I had quite the eventful day- We wanted to be in charge of the dessert, so we made Chocolate Fondue and all the good dippings to go along (Pineapple, Shortcake, Cinnamon lips, Strawberries). WE had just left the store and Gordo called asking us to go get some Goblets, so we decided that since we just left Wal-Mart, we would go to Fred Meyer's and get the glasses. So we get there, no such luck, so back to Wal-Mart we go- purchased and out the door we went. On to making the chocolate fondue. It turned out great, just took a little longer than we had anticipated. So we both started getting ready at about 5:30- enough time right- Frank's house was minutes away from Vanessa and Gordo's so we thought we were good on time. We should have been the first one's there, we were the closest, and yet we were the last ones' and everyone was waiting on us!!! We just had a few minor difficulties with hair and what not- being rushed is never a good thing. So we show up and we were told to wait in the "waiting room" (aka OFFICE). later we were then Escorted to our tables by our husbands/date- where fresh salads awaited. All the while, it was dark with minimal lighting, music playing in the background, ROMANTIC I tell ya. A little while later, Dinner was served, followed by the delectable Chocolate fondue, which might I add, super delicious. While just sitting at our tables, mingling amongst the crowd (might I add there were 7 couples) the men start saying "the duck has landed, the duck as landed" they all take off outside and us ladies are just wondering what the heck-. so They come in to get us and we go out to

(Dave, Magi,Manuel,Gordo, Franky, Javier, & Frank)

A STRETCH LIMO- it was amazing. Perfect for the night too- White! We drove around town for 2 hours. Obviously, there were a few bathroom stops and it was so funny b/c we stopped the first time I Think at a gas station- Mind you we were all dressed up- not like PROM, but obviously for a special occasion- the ladies were standing in line, and behind us are some drunk girls- very obnoxious drunk girls- who kept referring to us as the "prom group"- when we told them time and time again, it was Valentines- I am pretty sure they were date-less, seeing that it was probably 1030 and they were waisted to no end- anyway, as there were many girls, needing to go to the bathroom, I come out and was faced with the drunk girls trying to cut the line and use the

(Kacy, Anna, Vanessa, Adriana, Me, Saira, Veronica)

restroom- Anna nicely told them that it wasn't there turn and the still all 4 of them went in to the restroom and started giggling- like drunk girls obviously...acting dumb- so with the four of them in their, all of us and the people behind us were a little annoyed b/c they were taking their sweet time- but they left their one and only sober friend out of the bathroom- and she kept apologizing- It was funny when they came out, b/c I am sure there was at least 2 girls that were with us that wanted to kick their butts, plus everyone else that was waiting in line behind us- it was comical for the night- Anyway back to the limo- like I said we drove around for 2 hours, and then we were dropped off to go Salsa Dancing!!! it was fun, even though I am not that good- it's so fun to get out and dance once in a while- I want to take lessons-We danced the night away- almost closing the bar down-It was a great night and made for some sore toes :)

(somewhat of a picture of most of the limo)

It was spectacular- the guys really showed us up forever- I don't know if the girls will be able to top this one for next year-it's going to be tough.

WRITER COMMENTS: I KNOW THIS IS TWO MONTHS OVER DUE...but better late than never!!!

I'm not dragging him...We are DRAGGING EACH OTHER

Just so you know, it's not all me who wants to go to this young beauty's concert- Manuel is just as eager as I am. It was a very stressful morning March 21- come 10 AM. I was trying to get ready for the day, and snatch up a pair of these tickets that were said to be sold out in 10 minutes. I was ready to bring on the fight-(not really, who am I kidding, the joy of buying tickets from home) So the night before, I created my account on ICTICKETS.com so I could ease he process right...well it was still chaotic. The tickets went on sale at 10 am, and instantly their server went down and was down for quite a while. I was getting so fed up with clicking continue to only receive an error page, so I called Manuel upstairs to try and purchase them while I finished getting ready. 24 minutes later, we were the prouder purchasers, of floor tickets to TAYLOR SWIFT. I was so happy- b/c while I was trying to purchase them, and all the error pages I was getting, I was telling myself it was just not going to happen. but then it did- and YAHOO!!!

The day they came in the mail- I posted them up on on the fridge. {STORY TIME} I hate my refrigerator- the freezer sucks, it will freeze and un-freeze when it pleases- the fridge part, well it things get put in a certain place, they freeze too- it makes for some mad moments when I go to cook and some of the ingredients or vegetables or what not are frozen. Anyway so I have been telling Manuel of the issue for quite some time and I am just fed up right.. {END FRIDGE STORY} SO with the fridge issue in your mind, I put the tickets on the fridge with magnets, so when Manuel got home, I was sitting at the table {ACTING A LITTLE BUMMED} and I told him to look at the fridge. He instantly says "what's wrong with it now" and all I said was just look at it...thinking he would catch the green/white tickets smack dab in the middle of the white face fridge...he looks at the freeze, looks at the fridge and still doesn't notice the tickets, so I tell him to look on the fridge not at the issues it's having and he started dancing {he's gonna be mad that I posted that} oh well..it was funny- I love that we share the same interests in music...mostly his country lovin style too- b/c lets face it, I love country music, and love singing right along, with the songs I know of course.

It's funny b/c he just told me a story tonight of a lady he works with, when he told his fellow colleagues he was going to Taylor Swift, this lady said that I was probably dragging him...and his reply to her [the first time he told me the story] was that "She's not dragging me, I am dragging her" but really we are dragging each other, and not really DRAGGING, WE Cant wait to go- WE WILL BE LIVIN OUR LOVE SONG on MAY 17th and it can't come quick enough...it's my little school is over for the semester relief type of thing!!

It's Easter and alot has happened..a little bit of everything

So...I know it has been so long since anything has been said on here- I apologize. Life is just crazy, and I have been wanting to blog for such the longest time, but it just hasn't happened. So with it being Easter today, I was planning on getting caught up on some major housecleaning, homework, and my plan was to download/upload some pictures and blog...had my day planned. I thought I was going to be alone for Easter, and I was little bummed, b/c I don't ever remember being alone on Easter- but I was a little bummed, but excited to get caught up on somethings, but then my sweet Sister in law VANESSA called me up and asked me to come over. My in-laws came up to Boise this weekend, so I actually spent the entire day with them, it was fun!

Since the last blog- we have been blessed with a new addition to the Vega family! A GIRL!!!! She's adorable and oh so tiny and I love her- she's so fun to hold, and has the most prettiest hair---as Manuel would put it, "she has the silkiest hair ever!" Alyson Vega was born March 22, 2009 to Hector and Paulina- so now we have 1 nephew and 1 niece we get to spoil- She's a lot of fun b/c she's the first grandchild on the Vega side, and I don't think my mother in law could be happier- She's a proud ABUELITA (Grandma).. As you can tell my espanol is increasing muy picito-hah (Spelling in Spanish, not so much yet)

For Spring Break- WE WENT TO MOSCOW!!! it was a much needed little vacation, and I couldn't have picked a better place...Why Moscow?? Well b/c Chanc, Randy, and Aidan are there- and it was so much fun to spend 4 days with them- I loved it. I love my sister and wish she lived closer- --We went to Moscow in the middle of the week and spend lots of time laughing and eating and game playing. Wish we had more time, but Spring Break only last a darn week- bummer. While we were there we went to the States most Interesting Store- TRI-State- I have to tell you- Wednesday after we arrived, Chanc needed to deliver some goodies to a few of her friends so I tagged along. As we were driving, we passed by Tri-State and it literally says "States Most Interesting Store" on the sign, so of course I was rather intrigued, but not only b/c of the name, this store is attached to an ACE HARDWARE STORE- WEIRD. That my friends is why I wanted to check it out, which store could possibly be attached to an Ace? When I think of Ace, I think of Burley, and Ace is an awfully weird place I think- it has almost anything and everything from tools to wedding gifts. Anyway, Tri-State was pretty cool though- didn't find anything worth buying- but just checking it out was cool. So we did a little shopping in the little mall there in Moscow, went to Winco more times in one day than I ever have probably in one month--weird I know--ON Saturday we drove up to Spokane- We had never been there and I gotta tell ya I was a little skeptical when we arrived. The part we drove in thru and out thru were very odd- almost white trash city. I remember seeing a lot of garbage bags out on people's yards, it's as if the yards are there dumpsters. Downtown Spokane is gorgeous though, lots of green trees, parks, buildings, old ones too :) It was raining most of the time we were there and we had planned on going to some botanical gardens I think, but instead we just hit up the mall and walked around and what not- Drove back to Moscow and it started snowing on the way there- CRAZY! Ordered Smoky Mountain- and played Balderdash-my new favorite game!! Sunday we woke up rather early b/c Manuel had planned on stopping in Ontario to practice with the team and when Manuel looks outside, it was covered with like 5 inches with snow- so that made for a very eventful, me freaking out b/c the guy behind us was too close, drive to Lewiston, which is only about 4o miles away from Moscow, but don't worry it took us close to 2 hours to get there. The roads were so covered over, we weren't sure if we were on the road- but once we got down into Lewiston, it was so green and so calm...weird how the snow just lapsed right over that town :) Moscow was pretty fun, we plan on going back this summer to go on a camping trip- one reason we went to Moscow was for the little man's 1st Birthday- it was a great party too- We invited Cousin Callie over and we just had ourselves a jolly old time- between hamburgers, home-made onion rings- we were rollin!!! Then we had to add in the home-made birthday cake- it was an ice cream cake roll- and Aidan devoured it, it was too good not too though, it was Delicious. he had no problem eating it either :) Can't believe he is 1 now, time went by quickly, but he's a great little guy-

oh dear....

I forgot to tag people in my "10 happy things" post...so if your feeling a little sluggish, or a little behind on blogging, I would say names of a few people who could use an update or two, but whose pointing fingers anyway? My aunt tagged me for this and then wrote on my blog that she tagged me and I could use an update. So here's to all you out of dater bloggers...update and make it a happy one :)

Now don't ya'll panic

I know I know...I haven't been posting as regularly..there is a reason. School has started up for the two of us and I am exhausted. So the week before school started I was signed up to take a psych class on Saturdays, I received the syllabus and panicked, it was just a tid of over the top too much for me. So I got out of that class and replaced it with another class, Gender 301, reading the description it was about the psychology aspect why men and women do the things they do and what have you. I showed up the first day of school, it was a night class, which was a major bummer, I haven't had to have night classes in so long, I wasn't looking forward to it. Anyway, I go to class, hear the mundane stuff for the up-teenth time and then we are on our way to talk about the things this class is about. Well after much discussion I came to realize I was in a class full of men and women who liked men and women (ie. men vs men, women vs. women) ya get the point. Now I have no problem with any one's sexual orientation, its their life, I have friends that choose to be that way, I have no problem, the problem I had was sitting in a class for 3 hours listening to the way they think and having to deal with that all semester long, just didn't cut it for me, and trying to figure out why they think that way, then them pushing their thoughts on me, just, Plus it was a service learning class so 1o hrs a wk with an agency in the community, creating a project and carrying it out to the community, while it may have been fun to work with the communities it was just too much for me. Plus you couldn't pick your own agency, they chose for you and most of them had to do with Gay/Lesbian excepts Planned parenthood, which would have been my preferred choice, but she told us she made the final decision on which one we were put in and I wasn't taking any risks here. So that night, I got out 15 minutes later...ahhh I felt so claustrophobic in that class room I was running for the door. Anyway I dropped the class and added a non-verbal communication class. Now...that is a shocker for me as well, because I don't like communication classes, but last semester I have a required comm interviewing class and loved it and so I decided to give this non-verbal one a try, and now I am stuck with it but I think it will be good.

Manuel is taking classes this semester too. English 102 and an electronics class. So far so good, although it was really funny because he has to read for 102 and the other night I left him alone downstairs so he could read and I was talking on the phone. I came down later and he said he was going to bed.. I asked if he read and he said no, I wasn't down to push him...hah. He's so funny. I went up stairs to talk so I wouldn't but him and he could do his homework...I don't blame him though, I am not much of a reader myself. I put it off till the last minute.

That's our lives in a nutshell. both working, and school...life is just a little busy right now. I am already counting down the days until spring break..that is just bad, b/c I have been counting since the first day which was the 20th of January. It seems to be going by rather quickly though, which is good.

I will try to update more often-

10 happy things

I was tagged by my Aunt Lacy You are supposed to list 10 things that make you happy.

1. Spending time with my husband.

2. Knowing that school is coming to an end at the end of this year...what a great way to end the year!

3. Spending time with both sides of the family. They are so different in so many ways, that either family we are with, we are sure to have a good time.

4. Cooking makes me happy, even though I don't do it nearly enough like I should I still love making dinner for the man, and hearing him say he loves it even when I don't think it looks good or looks like the picture...I have issues when I cook with pictures, I think I have expectations to meet apparently.

5. Dr. Pepper and licorice ropes...absolute fav!

6. Vacations with my husband. I think of our honeymoon and our cruise all the time.

7. Talking on the phone to anyone who wants to talk...especially my sister, we can talk for hours and laugh about things

8. Having my dad call me out of the blue to see how my day is going!

9. My mom calling me and laughing...or calling me late at night and leaving me messages singing me..that one she will never live down and you can guarantee it makes me smile, laugh each time I think about.

10. My little brothers asking when I am coming home again, because they want to see me.

There are many things that make me extremely happy, but these are just a few random ones that I am sure you all needed to know :)

New for 2009..Chelsea Vega, RHIT

So, since I graduated last May, I have been eligible to sit for the RHIT exam, (Registered Health Information Technician).. I kept putting it off, I wanted to take it during the summer, but didn't want to find the time to study, plus I wasn't registered to take it yet, then I registered in August, hoping to take it in October before school got crazy and I forgot all I needed to know. Well that didn't happen b/c school got crazy and lots of group projects were given and I didn't have time at all to study for this dang test. So I scheduled for January 2. It came quicker than I thought, but since school let out Dec. 18, I have been studying for this test like crazy. I was nervous for it the night before but when I woke up on Friday, I felt like I could have conquered the world, until I sat down to take the dang thing, then I got anxious, nervous and tired all in one. It was a 3.5 hour test, and I ended at 2.5 hours, knowing that I was doomed. It had an option where I could mark some questions then return to them later if time permitted. well I had plenty of time after I finished all 150 questions,(even though the paper says 130...I took 150, for some reason 20 don't count...) so I returned to the questions I was unsure of and I kept changing answer after answer, I was so unsure of how I wanted/needed to answer them. So after I changed a few, I called it quits. I have let that little game control my mind too many times and I have learned if I change the answer from what I first thought, it will just hurt me more than anything. So I closed the exam and walked out. I signed out, grabbed my things while the lady was printing my score out, then another test take came out and said her test was not working, so the worker told me to hold on. I paced the floor back and forth, for what seemed like forever, I was so ready to know my score and so ready not to see it either, I didn't know how I felt about it. She finally came back out and looked at the paper, punched it, signed and handed it too me "your all finished Chelsea" ...I scanned that paper up and down until I found "Congratulations on passing the exam" (Side note...Blogger is being real annoying right now, so just imagine that the picture at the top of this post is posted right here k...b/c that's how I had planned on putting it..but it's being a real bugger.)

I was so ecstatic. I passed. I was so happy. I called Manuel, he was half asleep, told him it was time to celebrate...his idea of celebrating at that point in time was for me to come home and finally get some sleep, b.c I didn't sleep the night before and he woke up at 4 that morning. I then called my sister, my mom and finally my dad answered. He was pouring concrete, but more than happy to hear me say I passed and he was very supportive. Later came the phone calls to Crystal, Elaine, Chanc and Mom. It was a good day. Especially after I was able to get a few hours of sleep, it took me a while to wind down, but it eventually came and then after the nap, we went shopping, I purchased some cute decor for the living room, we went to dinner my fav (Mongolian BBQ, with the best Dr. Pepper in town) and then we met up with some friends and went to a movie.

Now 12 more months of school...and I will graduate with my Bachelors and life will be grand...Happy New Year everyone, I wish you the best of luck in everything that you all do, good health, and a happy home.

Where to begin....

I have so much to catch up on...hopefully I get it all in. So School got out December 18 and what a relief that was, I was so ready for it be over, it was one of those dreadful semesters with lots and lots of work, and group projects, it was crazy. Then that night, Chanc, Randy, and Aidan came and I was so happy to have guests, especially those 3. They stayed until Sunday and we had lots of fun. Chanc and I hit the mall for a few exchanges, we met up with Kasey, Raylynne, and Callie for dinner on Friday night at Famous Daves, in lieu of Randy finishing a semester :) It was pretty good. Manuel had an instinct to buy Rock Band, so after dinner him, Kasey and Randy took off to Best Buy and us girls plus A-man went to see Raylynne's new house, and then we came back home and played a little guitar hero until the band showed up then it was super from that point, after we got the mic working that is. Saturday we just hung around the house, then went and did a little Santa shopping for Aidan and then we came back and made an oh-so-delicious mock salad from Costa Vida, fresh with Cilantro Lime Dressing, it was AMAZING. Loved it-. Sunday the Todd's went to Burley. Manuel had to work on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and I had to work till Wednesday night, which was kind of a bummer being Christmas even n' all and it made for a nasty drive home. Christmas Eve day I brought Syd, Reese, Zoey and Charley over so they could open their presents from us and we could play...it was fun.

(Me, Reese, Zoey, Sydney, and little Charley Grace)

That night Manuel, Gordo and myself left Boise at about 11 and didn't get in to Burley until 4 A.M. it was crazy. We stopped to help a guy who had slid off the road, it looked like he had been there for a while(actually Manuel and Gordo, I just stayed in the nice warm truck, but I felt very bad that they were out there in the cold). We didn't have a tow-rope so there wasn't much we could do, but after he told the guys that he had called 9-1-1 to send some help, we waited with him, until another truck stopped by us and told us they had a rope, so Manuel and Gordo went back out to help pull him back on to the road, it took a while, the first attempt the rope broke, but he was able to get free...poor guy was getting ready to sleep in his car, he was waiting for a long time for emergency vehicles to respond and nothing...that's Burley for you though, they have "other" priorities, forget about helping when it's actually needed. The freeway should have seriously been closed, it was so bad out there. The guy who we helped was off the road just a little bit after Kasota Road exit and it took an additional 45 minutes almost to get to Burley, which is 14 miles away. It was a white out and it was very scary.

Christmas Morning- Manuel wanted to wake everyone up when we settled in for the night, after getting everything brought in from the truck. I was wanting to go to sleep but was wide awake, but after much begging we finally slept for a few hours and we (actually I did) woke up at about 8-I still didn't want to get out of bed then, but everyone was waiting on me (oops) We had a great Christmas, it was fun being with family and as always we were spoiled. Manuel got new paintball pants, a new jersey, a REAL-Cowboy shirt zick kit for his paintball gun, Blu-Ray DVDs (Batman begins, and Nacho Libre)

Manuel and his "real" cowboy shirt.

I got a new laptop --I dropped my Toshiba a few months ago by tripping over the cord, and ever since then this line has magically appeared on the screen, it would go away sometime if we moved the screen back and forth, but lately, I would turn the computer on and the screen would be black with all sorts of lines across the screen, I could see the computer was thinking because of the way the line were moving but I would have to turn it off and then restart it or take the battery out and then start it up. So we decided it would be best to get a laptop before my Toshiba completely went out. So Manuel purchased a Sony Vaio and I am pretty pleased. Its' a nice laptop, and it works great. So then this past Friday morning, Manuel went down stairs to get on the Toshiba (see...it was his computer now, b/c I got a new one) and the Toshiba is done with I think, we have turned it on, off, removed the battery, repeat by like 10 times and nothing still. It's kind of sad, it was a great laptop, definately been used though and put to the test a few time :( oops, I need and hope to be more careful, it was an awful incident, I couldn't believe how clumsy I had been. So back to presents, I also got a new coat from the Buckle, ---story time again---I told Manuel I wanted him to get me a little something that would surprise me b/c I haven't had a Christmas surprise in a while, he kept telling me there was nothing else to get me that he could think of..but I think he did a great job by surprising me with this cute, army green, fur hooded coat, it's oh-so adorable and I just love it. It was an excellent surprise/present and I think he should continue the tradition of surprising me. I also got Zumba workout DVDs and a Christmas plate and some snowflake hanging signs, which are adorable.

(My "lovely, un-presentable, Self, with the cute snowflake signs made by my sweet n' talented sister Chanc)

If any of you know my dad, it's a rare thing to catch a picture of him with a serious face, but that's what's great about my dad, he has a personality that is like no other, and I love taking pictures of my mother trying to figure out technology, she is very smart and so funny when she uses camera's she cracks me up!! Very great, generous, loving, caring mother and father that I have. Love you guys!

Christmas was definitely a white one, in the middle of opening gifts, G'Pa and G'ma Bench, along with Shaun and Deanna came out and G'pa needed to get the cows in, apparently with all the snow, they became "drifted In" so Manuel, Chace, Chad, and Shaun went to help G'pa and when they came back to the house, they were inside for just a few minutes then all of the sudden this little Dodge neon thought they could make their way thru all the snow in front of our house and with drifts so high (I have never seen so much snow in Burley) they became high centered...and for dodge neon's they don't have any tow handles apparently from what I learned last night, but I kind of figured that when all the guys were out in the middle of the road, digging the car out with shovels, and the four-wheeler. That person who was driving, said they thought they could make it thru, so get this...they stopped completely right before the drift, then gunned it....and viola, they sure made it all right....right on TOP of all that snow....it was pretty funny.


















Crazy snow in Burley. You can see in the first picture that the snow covers the entire trampoline, almost....Thanks for taking pictures Randy, so I could use them too :)




















I didn't get pictures of my brothers alone or even looking at the camera...shoot. Chace looks very intrigued at something, he received a new Ipod Nano from "Santa" and lots of other fun things and clothes and here is Chad opening a present...he left his "Santa" present to open very last, it was a Air Soft Gun along with some more fun things and clothes.


Randy, Chanc and Aidan Todd, I love this little family. Aidan is so cute and I loved being able to spend some time with him. While they were here in Boise, he didn't want to sleep one night, so Chanc and Randy left him with me and we had fun for the while that they were gone..they went to get some ice cream and then we were going to watch Mama Mia...It was great fun!



We wanted to play rock band 2 with all the family, so Manuel brought all the equipment...only to find out that we left the actual game in our Wii here in Meridian...We tried a few different places but to no avail, it was no where to be found. So we settled for Disney's wii sing it...--The mic that Manuel bought the night he bought the system, was crappy, it was wireless, but would hook up and then disconnect when ever it darn well pleased, so he took it back but couldn't find a different mic, so he thought he would buy me Disney's wii sing it...it was nothing that I was hoping the songs to be, they are definitely a little too "kiddish" for me, but it was fun none- the less with the kids at Grandma's....My not-so-little Brother, Chace totally rocked at singing, he is a fabulous singer anyway, but dang, he sure can sing like the Jonas Brothers, and he is very very good at it. So any ladies looking to have your heart melted by an oh -so Handsome boy, call Chace, he is the MAN!~~ (Chace there was a lady that posted she needed a Jonas Brother imitator for her daugther's 12th b-day party...thought about sending her an email with your number....hehe)

Friday-was just a low-key day. I had Aaliyah Jade with me whom I love having, she is my little side-kick when I am in town and I love every minute of. She's adorable, but we got ready, had lunch at TACO BANDIDO and then I dropped the guys plus Aaliyah off to play some B-ball and then I headed to Grandma's to hang with Chanc. We were there for the most part of the day, then we went to Grandma Asher's to visit and that was fun b/c I got to visit with my aunt's and cousins from Utah whom I rarely see, so it was fun. That night Manuel and I went to Marc and Lyndsey's to hang out but I wasn't feeling so good, so I was pretty bummed I zonked out on the couch and then Manuel woke me up and we went home.


Saturday---got up at 730 and make the trek back to Boise, it was sad leaving, we had so much fun with Family, but Manuel had to work that night.


I think I captured everything...funny how I remember all of that, but it was great time spent with Family, I just wish there were more time for us to be home, and enjoy every one's company and have fun.