Wednesdays Child is full of Woe.....

Okay, I don't even know what that means, but I was born on a wednesday 32 LONG years ago. :) And, can you even believe it, here I am at another birthday. Didn't I just have one? Sometimes I feel like a really, really old 32 year old,(mostly due to the fact that I have a 14 year old) and other times, I feel like maybe I should grow up a little. I think in my heart and soul I am still that 17 year old girl who loves to laugh and have fun. And I do, but man is there a lot more going on in my adult life than as a teenager. But, would I change any of it? Not a chance. Here are 32 life lessons that I have learned in my 32 years of life.....

1. Everyone needs something they do that they love.

2. You need to learn to be ok being by yourself.

3. Some days you need to NOT clean your house, always be used to messes. Remember, someday you will have grandchildren.

4. Don't ever be afraid to sing out loud along with the radio, at home, in a car, wherever.

5. If you don't consider your spouse your best friend, there might be a problem.

6. If you and your spouse never fight, there might be a problem. :)

7. Even as an adult, you realize that having good friends is still important.

8. Its the little, every day moments that sometimes mean the most.

9. Don't ever get so self-involved that you forget that other people have problems too.

10. Laughter really is the best medicine.

11. If you find a reason to get dressed up, and put on your high heels, DO IT!

12. A long, hot bath can solve almost anything.

13. Being a mother is the hardest job ever, and if anyone says it isn't, they have never been a mother.

14. Spend a little bit of time and attention on yourself every day, even if its sitting on the toilet an extra 5 minutes and reading a good book. :)

15. Finding even one thing to do with your spouse that you both love can make a huge difference in your marriage.

16. Don't ever get so busy being a mother that you forget to be a wife.

17. Eat like no one is watching. :)

18. Take lots and lots and lots of pictures of all the people that you love, you will never regret having too many pictures.

19. Every once in a while, spend the whole day in your jammies reading a good book, or watching a good movie. Its good for your soul. :)

20. Love yourself exactly the way you are, wrinkles and cottage cheese and zits and all.

21. You will never regret spending too much time with your kids.

22. Sometimes a woman just needs to talk and sometimes she needs to cry. A man needs to love her through both.

23. Always be a good listener.

24. Never underestimate the power of acting young and silly, especially when your with your girlfriends.

25. When life gets too hard to stand, Kneel.

26. Don't forget what its like to be a teenager.

27. When your too tired to cook, thats what Little Ceasars 5 buck pizzas are for. :)

28. Pulling weeds is very therapeutic.

29. If you have to choose between cleaning your house and going out with your friends/spouse, always choose going out. the house will still be dirty when you get home. :)

30. Family comes first.

31. No matter what your age, celebrate your birthday! Its your special day and you deserve it!!

32. All you need is love... and the utah jazz. :)

A year in the life of My hair.

Its been very interesting keeping track of the growth of my hair over the last year. Here I am 1 year ago. Thats a lot of hair! I had this long hair for a few years, and I was ready for a change.

Sept. 7th 2010 and 12 inches of hair less.
January of 2011. Seriously, I hardly even got to enjoy having short hair!
May 2011. A little bit longer.
So, a year later, my hair felt pretty long again, not nearly as long as it was, but...I was ready for a change again. Something about a new school year and a birthday makes me feel a little crazy. So, I decided to do something even a little more drastic.
August 23rd 2011 and a lot less hair!! I couldn't even love it more.
It just feels like me.
Yep, thats the cycle of the life of my hair in a year. Next year....who knows????

End of summer wrap up

Here is how we ended our summer:

We went to Huck Finn days for Lindon City, and tage won Huck Finn look alike again for the 2nd time. Aliah dressed up like Becky Thatcher but didn't win. They did some fishin and had a yummy snow cone.

LAKE POWELL!! We went with kalebs family and had a nice 4 days there on his grandpas house boat. We had a HUGE thunder/lighting/rain storm but other than that the weather was beautiful!
Tage spent much of his time on this tube with hunter! He also did some pretty sweet knee boarding.
Look at aliah go!
Celine had some pretty sweet moves herself.
My crazy family. ;)
And then it was school. Wow. what a whirlwind of a summer we had. But now we are back into school life. And my kids just keep getting bigger and bigger.

park city bunko girls trip

The faster I run, the behinder I get. This is pretty much how I am feeling as of today. I have so many things to blog about, and I am getting behind! School starts tomorrow! Aaahhhhhh!!! But this is a post I can't miss. We had sooooooooooooo much fun on our park city over nighter. It was exactly what I had been needing. We headed up to park city, found our hotel (which was way smaller than we had anticipated!!!) We were planning on sleeping 8 of us in 1 room, but that room had 2 queen beds, and no room for more! We thought we would be able to have 2 more blow up air mattresses, yeah, not so much. but we pushed both beds against each wall and shoved one mattress between the beds! Who needs to sleep anyways?? We headed out to dinner at reyes adobe, a mexican restaurant, which some of like and some of us, well, not so much. But we ate and talked and laughed, all the things girls love. We went and saw crazy,stupid, love, which was a hilarious movie! We got back to our hotel at about 1230.....and stayed up AAAALLLLLLL night. :) we laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed, til we almost got in trouble. we did have some stomping on the ceiling above us.oops. Perhaps we were having a little too much fun.......not possible!! finally we fell asleep about 530 or 6, and woke up at 830, ready to do some shopping! We had fun at the outlets, found some cute stuff, headed to heber where we ate at the train burger, and then it was time for home. One more night would have been wonderful. What a great bunch of girls, we have so much fun together. Can't wait for next year!!!

They're comin home....

27 months ago my best friend moved far away. She has been close my whole life, I didn't know what I was going to do with her so far away. We helped them pack up and move, and she took my little buddy with her. I cried and cried and wondered how I was ever going to get through the next 2 and half years. Well, she was never more than a phone call away. And we talked every week with out fail. I made sure my little buddy remembered who I was. Then my little sweetheart was born and I couldn't believe she was going to grow up with out knowing who I was. Well, the truth is, those 27 months flew by faster than I could ever have hoped for. And now, they are coming home. I can't wait to have them all close again.

Griffin Family Reunion

This was our 17th year of doing a family reunion. The first one we did was the year before I got married and here we are all these years later. It has been something we look forward to every year. We all take a turn planning it and so we are always doing different things. Me and my sister tried one night to think of all the things we have done so far. Camping, 2 cruises, Lake Tahoe, Lake Powell, camping on the beach in california, St. George, 2 weddings we had instead of a trip, cherry hill.....We have had some great times as a family. When we started there was mom and dad, 6 daughters, and 2 brother in laws. Now there is mom and dad, 6 daughters, 6 brother in laws and 17 grandchildren. It can be tricky trying to find something to accommodate all of us and that we will all enjoy, but mostly it is just about being all together. I hope this is a tradition that will carry on, and I will do it with my kids, their spouses and my grandkids someday.

This year we headed to california. Sadly not everyone could be there this year. We did a day of swimming at the pool and then headed to the beach for camping and playing on the beach. It was beautiful weather and a lot of fun.

recognize this place???? who lives in a pineapple under the sea? ;)

A new look

In exactly 20 days from today I will be 32 years old. oh geez. 32 used to seem so old, not so much anymore!! ;) A year ago for my 31rst bday I cut 12 inches off my hair. It was a huge step for me, I had had long hair forever. Well, I enjoyed that short hair for about a second ( it seems) before it started growing out again. And hear I am a year later, and I am ready for an ever BIGGER change. I am going to go SHORT!!! I don't want a smooth hair cut, I want layers or spikes, a messy look. I want completely different. And I am totally scared out of my mind. But I am determined to do it. But of course, I want everyones opinion. Doesnt mean I will listen ;), but I want to hear what you have to say.

none of these are exactly what I want. I don't think I even know what exactly what I want. but something. Do you have any suggestions???? ok, let me have it!!

Country Strong

You know those moments in movies that just make you melt?? Well, Country Strong has one of those moments. As a movie it is just Ok, but I recommend seeing it so that you can watch the chemistry between Garrett Hedlund & Leighton Meester, he has the most beautiful voice, and I am not even a big country fan. But when these two sing together....sigh....I melt. Here is the clip for you to watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4FFgSmd8NU