zach: the ward sports director

this is the email my husband sent out to all of the men in our ward...my neighbor then read it to me...and i had to share.

readers, i present to you, my husband:

"Church basketball is coming up! The first games start Dec 27. There will be 3 teams from our ward. Deacons/Teachers, Priests and a Seniors team. Priests already graduated from High school must play on the Seniors team. Remind your sons and neighbors.

I'm trying to get Jerry Sloan out of retirement to come coach us but my restraining order from him is hindering my objective (joke...Jerry would never do that to me). Anyways, It should be a blast! Come out and burn some calories in the winter months.

If we have to we can combine with other wards to make a full team, but we would need to know before the season starts if that's the case.

Let me know if you can make some games this year or have any questions."

p.s. (This is liz again) in case you're wondering, he had one response... unfortunately, not everyone in the ward knows my husband, so they might not know what to think. i'm picturing the guy in our ward that owns a genealogy company and has 5 kids. and our bishop. haha. oh my husband. sure love you, my dear.

thanksgiving in vegas

vegas for thanksgiving turned out to be a great option for this year with my fam. good food, no dishes. lovely.
and then the black friday shopping?? uh-mazing. i mean, we were in vegas.
around 11pm thanksgiving night i started complaining about not having a sister to go black friday shopping with at midnight and how i really needed one... turns out, that's what brothers are for, too. they may not be able to decide whether it's a yes, absolutely buy or a mm, maybe buy it and see how you are feeling about it tomorrow and then decide... but they were great to have a long for the ride. and were pretty good  at the "definitely no" option.
and they were quite entertained by how it kind of felt like it was three in the afternoon not 1am in the mall....
bless black friday and the nonstop deals i wait all year for. i've literally been saving and planning for months for this day. love. and it was a success. me and the boys got home around 4am, then my mom woke me up at 7 to go out again. i couldn't say no to more deals or more shopping, so out we went. am i crazy? don't answer that question.

luckily i got a nap while z taught the boys how to play black jack with m&ms, because we went to beatles love that night. love love. oh yes i do. amazing show and the music? come on. i'd recommend it to anyone.

it was a fun trip and fun to hang out with my fam all together... we'll be all split up in no time, with the two boys on missions, so we savor these moments. although i've been told SEVERAL times now that the only member of mine and zach's family that will be missed is frankie... we know that's not completely true... although we do plan to package him up and ship him to frankfurt for awhile... because why not, ya know? (jk, guys).

sure love my fam.

also, have you been watching the Mindy Project and/or Nashville  These are the two new shows I've picked up this season:) and i'm loving both. and please tell me one of you is watching the x factor?? still my favorite show every week. and i need more than one person at my work to talk about it with!! i want like at least seven people to discuss it with.
i'm over the voice, not attached to a single contestant.
but i'll always love adam.

xo liz

the pup is our favorite guy

me and franks played outside before church for awhile this morning...on this windy, windy day. while zach was stuck inside on the couch with kidney stones. the worst.
and when i say play i mean we ran back and forth through the leaves and then i followed him around and took pics. he's such a little sweetie. he's been taking good care of zach, snuggling with him and laying by him all night last night and this morning. he doesnt like it when his buddy is sick, i'm not quite as fun to play with. too much picture taking.
here's our guy.

we went out of town last week and a friend from work and his wife offered to take the pup for the weekend... and i think frank misses them. when we got there to pick him up, he had to show us around his new digs. where he slept, where they kept his food, the cool mirror where he can SEE his REFLECTION?!! (or maybe it's another dog that looks just like him.... can't be sure, can we franks). he's a little sweetie and we missed our guy, but glad he had a fun thanksgiving full of attention, scraps of turkey and snoozing away. thanks jared and tiff, and here are some pics i took from their instagrams:)

that squished face? are you kidding me?! i just love this little guy.

ps zach made me delete at least 6 pics of the frank... because "i look crazy" or something like that... so you're welcome to those of you who are not as obsessed with my dog as i am:)

frank's friend ira

sweet ira loves mr. frank. if frankie is around, ira is right by his side.

the other day when pam was watching the kids, ira said, "i just wish frank could come over."

frank sure loves his ira. and so do we.

Etta Girl

baby girl #2 was born last thursday.
Etta Rose.
I am in love with the name. and even more in love with the girl.

i love babies...and this isn't a baby hungry type of love.. it started in high school when i worked for a daycare. i begged to be with the babies. full-time. all the time. i fell in love with them. and my last day at that horrid facility, i cried as each baby left with their mom, or dad, or grandma, or aunt, or whoever took care of them after me. it broke my heart leaving them. and i still think about them.
so, luckily, i have my nieces and nephews now. and i love them to absolute pieces. and i love miss etta.

for whatever reason, we were busy thurs, when the baby came, busier friday and then she'd be home from the hospital on sat (and we were even more busy that day)... which is weird because we are never busy. not being sarcastic there.
anyway, etta wasn't on my calendar, even though she should have been.
we were planning to just see her on sunday (when she looks like a completely different person and so grown up!)

well, we had somewhere to be friday night at 7, but friday morning i was talking to jess and i got like homesick for this baby i had never met... you know?
friday afternoon i called zach and said i cant wait any longer to meet this baby girl.
so we left work early and made the trek to provo. the heart of provo.
and we got to see this sweet babe.
and spend some one-on-one time with her parents. which... never really happens (they must have 4 kids or something)... but i love when it does.
we love you jess and jon. and we love your kids even more.
send rub girl my way! (i hear she's up for adoption).

it's official

i've been married for 3.5 years, and since day one it has been an uphill battle about one thing in particular.
a costco card.
well, this week that all changed.

my love for costco has really taken itself to a whole new level over the last coupe months.
i mean, kirkland brand ice cream? it can't be beat. nearly nothing that is kirkland brand can be beat.
and their hand dipped ice cream bars with almonds is my favorite treat of all time. there. i said it.
all i want to do is go to costco, buy myself my ice cream bar and browse and browse and browse.
but i couldn't, because i was not a member and they wouldn't let me in... ok that might be an exaggeration, but you guys, they will NOT let me buy anything... trust me, i've had SEVERAL bad experience with trying to cheat the system. one ended in tears when they called membership security over to checkout. ugh.

back to the best part of my week... (you see where this is going, right?)
so, i have told zach for years that i am going to drive over to costco without him and buy myself a card, $50 is nothing in comparison to my happiness, right? well, it still hasn't happened, and it's not because zach says no, come one, like he's never said no to something i've bought before... it's just that deep in my heart i couldn't justify the $50... if it were even $40, done - but it was something about $50 that i just couldn't do it.

then comes ali. she has the same problem. can't justify the $50.
me and ali get costco card together.
me and ali also work together, and sit next to each other for 8 hours a day... so it just makes sense that we would share a costco membership together... for $25 bucks a piece might i add! done and DONE.
and man, does it feel good.
SO GOOD.

i haven't exactly broken the news to z yet, it just ... hasn't come up. or actually it has ("where did all this kirkland ice cream come from??" "um... i also got chocolate sauce, ice cream all around!"). diversions.
i will tell him, but i know he's going to be a tiny bit disappointed because, "we don't need one" and because, "i have my dad's, we can use it anytime we want," and because, "your mom lives up the street, she'd love to go to costco with ya," and because, "there is no reason to pay $50 to have a membership when we only go there once a month or less..."
but i got it fro$25... and at that price, it's totally worth it.
right? RIGHT?!
i'm right.
thanks for your support. (this is where you show your support):)!

more on the frank

my little frankers is obsessed with two things in his life. His toys and his best friend leo (oh and my slippers, those soft fluffy things that go on FEET?! oh heavens, someone help me train a dog not to like slippers).

every time he comes upstairs he brings one of his toys with him (or my purple slipper we have let him adopt). every time someone walks into our house, he runs to get one of his toys (even before saying hi - no manners) and brings it back to show the friends.

he is a giant. 40lbs to be exact. but he still likes to be held like a baby. a big, huge, fat baby.

and let me just tell you how happy we are that leo lives just next door. they really are hilarious together. frank thinks he is just as big as leo and likes to annoy leo until he'll play with him. and leo is amused by this little guy who thinks he's tough. If you ever can't find frank, he's at leo's fence waiting to be let in. last weekend when leo was gone for the weekend, frank would just stick his little head through the fence and look for leo. haha... they are quite the pair.

on another dog note. have you heard of dog-a-pooloza?! of course you haven't. it is absolutely ridiculous and only for those crazy dog people out there. so anyway, yes, we were there. and it was hilarious.

frank made a couple friends and even got to reunite with his one and only other bully friend, Tebbs. And frank was quite enamored. as you can see. not sure tebbs liked having a tag-a-long, but frank thought he was pretty cool hanging out with the big kids all day.

you guys. do you hate me yet?

well, in other non-dog related news. my dear friend jenny had a baby. sweet shaun brady. and mary threw the most beautiful shower for her. and i just absolutely love my friends. in case you didn't know that. i laugh harder on nights with them then any other. 

and, for the shower, i made mint brownies, you know, the supposedly BYU (go byu!) (sorry i had to put that) (boo utes) (that's all i will say about that!) mint brownies from the creamery??!! oh gosh, if you don't know what i'm talking about, it's like a whole part of you is missing. make them.

because i basically ate half of a pan on my own. and you should, too.

and don't freak out and almost dump everything down the sink when you have every inch of your kitchen covered in ingredients and bowls and tasting spoons and the brownies dont look quite done, but then they look too done... and then you put the first layer of frosting on before the brownies were completely cooled so it melts (it will be covered up by the top layer, it's fine)... because it is the taste that matters, and turns out, they still taste SO GOOD!

(lindsey, mary, mags, jenny...ME)

*dog pics are courtesy of the lovely abby... tebbs is her pup. and ali, our fav neighbor.

For your friday...

my boss sent me this commercial the other day... i guess my love for bulldogs is well known, i can't imagine how.
it is funny and, as you can imagine, i love that pup.

then i sent it to z. and he said, "i've already seen that."
so... please enjoy, or enjoy again.
and TGIF!

summa recap...since summer is, like, over

have you noticed that THE NIGHTS ARE GETTING COLD.

i hate it. i want warm nights forever and ever.

please enjoy this little piece of our summer. although we are actually not included in this post...

and i feel like i should tell you that when people told me they watched keeping up with the kardashians, i was like, why? boring and pointless and i'm above at least the kardashians...... and then kris humphries and kim fell apart and their relationship unraveled before the world's eyes and i could not resist. i just HAD to KNOW how it HAPPENED. i know you wanted to know, too. 

and now i need to know what they are up to every sunday night. 

and scott, too. 

so that's why.

also, tv is not all i do.

fresh peaches and kirkland brand ice cream. a summer staple, right along with fresh tomato toast. quite possibly my favorite thing to eat of all time. 

me and pam took this one to this one secret store where we get all our clothes, and kids under 16 can't go into the room with the best stuff in it...so sketchy, i know... but she knows the place well and knew exactly where she hangs out there. she sat in her little chair by the entrance and waved to us and watched us shop. she will be a very good little shopper one day.

mr. frank's summer activities. he is very active.

for 20 minutes a day.

and then he sleeps and waddles around for the other 23.5 hrs a day.

fatty, just chilling like a little fatty.

bless those olympics. it made for so many fun nights.

and here is a little preview of our family olympics, it was kind of awesome. 

we sang the national anthem...basically after each event. and lace said the pledge of allegiance for us when she won gold. i love these kids. (many of the pics are compliments from my aunt katy, the master at documenting life)

frankfurt's fav toy. little lamby. he loves his toys and brings them with him everywhere he goes. literally cannot leave his room without a toy. such a crazy, that one.

oh aaaaand this happened. i am trying to pretend that it didn't, now that every thing is back in ship shape... it was a rough go. especially because it wasn't my car.... but ali and josh were very good about it. they really are the best. especially that ali girl.

and this is my baby. and this is his favorite spot outside. he is our favorite guy. in case you hadn't noticed.

Drew's Reel Hooker Saloon

words cannot describe.
weeks of effort were put into this saloon.

OF COURSE the guest of honor was there.

i don't know this person. but i quite like this pic. also, i stole all of these pics from drew. thanks drew!

ben and his girlfriend, rachel. she's a doll.

and this was after they performed the annual puppet show. yes, every minute is scheduled at the saloon. wouldn't expect anything less.

the man of the hour.

i could squeeze him all day long. and so could every one who came in contact with him in his bandana. zach had to work, so frank and lauren were my dates. always a night to remember drew. i really truly hope we are attending the reel hooker saloon when we are 60.