Winner Winner!

Sometimes in my life, I am blessed by luck. I'm not usually a lucky person by nature - I am clumsy and forgetful so I guess the luck balances me out. For some strange reason, I tend to frequently (not always) win drawings or raffles or giveaways. My most recent win was a giftcard to Dolcetti (a local gelato shop) in SLC from SaltLakeRestaurant.com - which, by the way, is awesome and everyone should join. They have giveaways every week for actually useful and delicious places, plus they have discount coupons for a bunch of restaurants that you can get for free. Seriously, check it out and sign up for their contests and mailing lists so you can win free stuff too.

My first win was in 7th grade, and was definitely a defining moment in my life. Ok, not really. But it was great to feel so much excitement in the midst of all that teenage awkwardness and social opposition. I guessed the closest to the actual amount of skittles in a jar. I can't remember what I won, but I just remember that it was awesome. But then again, I thought trolls were super awesome at that time too, so who really knows. I'm just going to pretend it was the best prize ever.

That is, next to my biggest win. This happened a few months after I took my first job with Standard Pacific Homes in the OC. Every year they have a golf tournament and afterwards have a lovely dinner with a massive raffle afterwards. During the raffle, I won a prize of 4 Disneyland annual passes. I thought life couldn't get any better, it was better than I ever expected to win. The last prize of the raffle was the biggest and best prize. For this year it was a $2000 gift certificate to Best Buy. And, much to the chagrin of all the other attendees, I won this too. It was a banner year for me at StanPac and our new TV. But just so you don't think things like that happen all the time, I never won another raffle prize anytime during the rest of my years at StanPac.

Anyways, I feel fortunate to be able to win these every once in a while. And it's also great when a friend wins. But mostly when I win. Did I mention how much I like winning?

...can you tell that my family breeds competition?

New Directions

We took a trip to LA recently to get some aptitude testing done for Spencer. A while back, he was feeling like maybe he wanted to make a major career switch and go back to school (A LOT of school). So, before we invested the time and money into a decade of schooling, we opted to do some testing and see if that career path would be a good fit for him.

To most people, aptitude testing sounds kind of hokey, but anyone who has ever been tested at Johnson O'Connor will swear otherwise. All of the kids in my family (including me) have all taken this test and most of us are (or were) working or pursing careers in the fields that were recommended to us. The test combines your personality traits with skill sets and gives you a clear vision of not only what you would be good at, but what you would enjoy and the type of environment you would thrive in. I took it in high school to help give me a better idea of where to go in college, and as much as I tried to fight it, I always came back to where I started (which is what the test told me to pursue). Without that direction, I hate to think what my life would be like now.

It was great to meet with the testing director for the summary presentation after Spencer's tests were over. It brought back all the memories looking at the same exact tests that I had taken a decade ago. And, they had Spencer nailed. Everything they told us was something we knew, but not applied in a collective whole. It was amazing to have someone take all those characteristics and skills and give us a short list of recommended careers. And the funniest part was that of the two careers he told them he was debating between, they recommended something completely different - something that Spence has talked about wanting to do for years, but more as a hobby than a career.

Since the test, Spence has a renewed focus and is working towards a goal again. And even though more school is in our future, it's less school than I was anticipating and I can definitely live with that. More than anything else, I'm amazed that JOC can know someone so well after just a few hours. I'm amazed that anyone can walk in confused and come out with such a clear vision. I love it. If I wasn't a believer before, I definitely am now. And if you're wondering what's next for you, I totally recommend Johnson O'Connor. It's definitely worth it.

Fall Drive

Spencer's been wanting to drive up the canyon for a while and we finally made the trip today.  It was gorgeous!  We stopped to take some pictures of Jameson...

Handsome 1 year old!

Spencer usually tends to Jameson's needs during church, since I'm kept pretty busy with my calling.  Last Sunday, Spence took out the camera to document Jameson's eternal cuteness.  

WHAT A STUD!!!

Bouncin off the Walls!

Jameson's friend, Jack, had a birthday party at Bouncin off the Walls recently and we took Jamie to go have some fun in the inflatable wonderland.  He really was unsure about things for the first little while, but after getting used to everything he really loved it.  We took him down the giant slide what felt like a few hundred times and pretty soon he started to push away from us as we got to the top of the slide.  While at the cabin, I taught Jamie to lay down when he's going down big slides, and I'm pretty glad I did.  After a few times, I decided to let him go down by himself with me just a few feet behind him.  He loved it and started wanting to go down by himself every time.  We snapped a few pictures because it was so funny.  His mouth would be wide open the entire way down and you could hear him laughing hysterically through the entire facility.  I don't think he's ever had that much fun in his life!   And no, I don't doubt my choice in letting him go down by himself.  While sending your infant on the Terror ride may be a bad idea, I think going solo down a giant inflatable slide is a process of empowerment.  Of course, now he thinks he can do anything...

At the bottom of the slide, notice the smile on his face.

Mid-slide - still with a giant smile.  I think this picture is hilarious.

Just to prove I went down with him, here's a shot of that... thanks for my awesome socks, mom!

And a shot with Dad.  He's not smiling in this picture be cause he's about to start whining about wanting to go up to the top of the slide again.

Early October

A few weeks ago, we went to the pumpkin patch with Jameson's cousins.  I'm not quite sure why Jameson is terrified of all things Halloween ... oh wait, yes I am.  Earlier this summer we took a trip with Spence's family to Lagoon.  We only got admission passes (not ride passes) but sent Jameson on one ride with his aunt and uncle.  He came out a changed baby and it probably wasn't my best choice ever as a mom, but I made them take him so he could go on one ride.  That ride ended up being the Terror Ride.  I wish I had a picture of his face when he came out of the ride, it was priceless and sad.  He was so scared.  So yes, I'm pretty sure his fear of Halloween stemmed from that one experience (totally my fault).  But at least we got some cute-ish pictures of him at the pumpkin patch.

Family photo opp!

Not so sure of the pumpkin patch...

Although he did much better in pictures with his cousins.

Also, he started walking recently - note the picture above.

And of course we took him to his first Jazz game.  It was preseason, but still fun.  I mostly go for the food - I love stadium food!

Quick Cabin Trip

We took a really quick trip up to the cabin last month with Rich, Brooke and their kids.  It was short, but a pretty fun trip.  I think the kids probably had the most fun - especially Jameson.  He loves his cousins more than anything!

Bridger wanted to hang out in the pack n play with Jamie - he was also incredibly proud of his Diego gloves and wouldn't take them off all day.

Bridger is very willing to pose for pictures, although Jameson doesn't always get the concept.  

And after a while, Jameson looks like this...

But soon things are back to normal.

We stopped at the wolf/bear reserve outside Yellowstone.

And they had a slide - Jameson's first ever experience with them.  Obviously he LOVED it and cried when we took him away from them.