Annual RC Willey Company Picnic

Today was the Annual RC Willey Company Picnic. This is one day I look forward to every year. It's fun to see and chat with Jason's co-workers and their wives and families. I've been attending these with Jason for the last few years and every year is just as fun as the previous.

Last year, Jason got second place (though it should have been first) in the pie eating contest. This year, he tied for first. I did my wifey duty by cheering him on and telling him, "Don't taste it, just swallow it whole!!!"

They always have other activities for kids of all ages and employees, and this year it was tug of war. They had Henderson Store kids against Summerlin Store kids. Summerlin won, so then it was Summerlin kids against NDC (Nevada Distribution Center) kids. Summerlin won, but the NDC kids put up a good fight. Then it was the adults. Again, they started with Summerlin against Henderson. Henderson won. Then they brought in the NDC adults. All of us wife's were laughing cause when you think about it, NDC is where they haul furniture, move furniture, it has all the delivery guys, lift drivers, and basically all the buff guys, so us wife's knew our hubbies (and the few chicks that work there) were going to win.

The ref said go, and the NDC workers were nice to let Henderson think they might get a chance, but within 5 seconds it was over. There were so many guys (and girls) on the NDC side that you couldn't really even grab the rope! The Henderson side probably had 1/2 as many people on their side. I couldn't help laughing when the older people next to me started complaining about the match not being "fair". Let me just say this...

1. Just cause your job doesn't require you to be physically fit doesn't mean you can't work on your body.
2. If this were 20 years ago, you'd be next to me laughing at the George Burns' trying to beat the Dwayne Johnson's in Tug of War (yum... Dwayne Johnson).
3. Your husband chose to work at the other store.

All the other matches were so close they did best 2 out of 3. After the first win, they asked Henderson if they wanted to go again and they all were shaking their heads and saying "no". Ha ha ha good times.

The weather was perfect. The food was good. The company was great. Can't wait for next year!

Roller Derby

My sister in law, Katie (aka The Force), is involved in many different things. Tonight we were able to support her and the Sin City Roller Girls at their opening season bout tonight. Katie is part of the Tommy Gun Terrors. She is usually a jammer, which is the girl that makes it through the pack to score points. When she's not a jammer, she's a pivot/blocker who are the girls that try to take anyone and everyone out.

Gretchen and the girls and their cousin, Briana, were able to go with Jason, mom and I as we met up with Mike, Bobby and Jenny to watch the game. Mike and Bobby saved front row seats on crash corner (the corner that gets the most action). Jenny, the little girls and I sat on the floor in front of them which the little girls loved cause they got to see dog piles and crashes right in front of us!

The first half of the game TGT was down by half the points. It was 52 to 24 and then it was 67 to 36. By the end of the bout, TGT got back in gear and was able to makeit a very close bout. The final score we're not sure of cause they kept changing it, but it was 92ish to 94ish. So, it was a close game if they did win or lose (I'll have to ask Katie for sure who won). There were many crashes, a dogpile up and a lot more fun and most importantly, nachos.

Their next bout is November 14th at the Sahara Event Center (Sahara and Maryland) at 7 pm against the Notorius V.I.P.'s. Tickets are $7 when purchased in advance, otherwise they're $10 at the door.Kids under 10 and EMT's are free as long as they can provide proof of being an EMT. Go to their website to learn more about tickets and the team http://www.sincityrollergirls.com/joomla/ Oh! Their colors are florescent green and black. So represent!

I saw this on a friends site today...

Sometimes it's hard to be patient.

Pom Picking

As most of you know, my mom loves to garden. She use to make us help her weed, and in Vegas, sometimes it was fun, but due to my deep hatred for bugs, I generally HATE gardening. I don't care if it's a small avid, a pumpkin bug or a HUGE Tomato worm, I hate bugs! The only place they should be is at the ugly bug ball!

I was at Kiki's house yesterday, hanging out, taking tests and helping editing when I saw a random man with a box heading towards the orchard. I asked Kiki who he was and what he was doing and she said that it's pom picking season so people are coming over all the time to pick some. Before I went home, She, Kylan and I went into the orchard and picked 3 boxes full. I wasn't too sure about getting under trees and climbing around in them cause in Missouri, there is generally all kinds of bugs in the trees, not to mention all types of spiders and ticks and other creepy crawlies that give me the hee-bee gee-bees. Surprisingly, it was not bad at all. Kiki found one that had bugs in it, but that was because it was 1/2 eaten by birds and bugs found their way in. I found some that had tiny spider webs in the flower part, but overall, it was bug free. The only thing on them that grossed me out was the bird poop, and that's easy to grab around.

As we were back in the orchard, Matt picked the ones off the hybrid tree outside their front door. Those ones look amazing because they are HUGE light pink pom's. I went home last night with a large box filled with pomegranates ready to be picked apart and made into something wonderful!
At volleyball last night, I told Gretchen about how I had picked pomegranates at the house and felt very cultural (by picking fruit off a tree - lol). She said she wanted to pick some, so I cleared it with Kiki to go over today. Gretchen picked me up at about 9 and we headed over. We had cleared quite a trees last night, and looking at the orchard, there wasn't much red left on the green trees. It almost seemed as if the only red left were the pom's that the birds have been eating. HOWEVER, we went to the trees on the West side of the orchard and we found PLENTY!

Izzy and Kaya were so excited to pick their own. These little girls are tough! Kaya was a little hesitant to go where Gretchen and I told her to go cause she was small enough to fit and we weren't, but for the most part, they would get right in the branches and be picking away. I didn't pick nearly as many cause I didn't want to pick one that had bugs crawling on it, or a spider on the leaves or spiderwebs around it. You could say I was quite envious of their attitudes of picking.

After a while, Izzy was ok with playing "dumper", as in we hand them to her and she dumps them in the box. I tried to hand Kaya some to dump in the box, but every time I asked her she said, "But Jessica, I'm picking my own!" It was so cute how they loved doing it. Gretchen was cracking me up because 1. she made a similar "cultural" comment like I had the night before, and 2. I told her the boxes were full and she still wanted to keep picking. "Seriously Gretchen, the boxes are overflowing." ha ha ha

October

October brings such fun good times. I love that it is Breast Cancer Awareness. I became a huge supporter of Breast Cancer awareness in college. It is the philantrophy (yes I said philantrophy not philanthropy) of the sorority I was in, ZTA. So, I love Breast Cancer Awareness for the good it does for millions of men and women, but it also reminds me of the wonderful women I got to go to school with and raise money with for the philantrophy.

I love that it is colder. September sometimes brings cold, but then it still gets hot towards the end of the month. Some of my favorite Halloween's I remember trick or treating in cold, sometimes rain. I hate the heat and if it weren't for most of my friends and family being here, I'd be outta here in no time.

I love pumpkins being every where! Fresh pumpkin in stores means there will be canned pumpkin on sale so I will be able to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and other pumpkin type food. =) And, it's nice to be able to get $5.99 pumpkin pies at Costco.

There are also the other fun things like Ren Fair, Brewfest and Jason's Company Picnic. Last year there was a pie eating contest. The pies were frozen and though I think Jason actually ate more of his pumpkin pie, the other guy won cause his creme pie was lighter. He still got a "That could've been first place" parting gift. LOL I also get to see Melissa from high school. =) At least I know I get to see her and her cute family at least once a year.

I also love October because I gain an hour of sleep from Daylight savings, which prepares me for the next two months of wonderful holiday madness!

**Thanks Melissa for the photo!

WoW Amigos in Vegas!

Jason and I play a game pretty regularly. It consumes a lot of our time, but it's our "us" time, so it's ok. Some of you may have heard of a little game called WoW (AKA World of Warcraft). It's an online role playing game. Jason first started playing and then after a few years of fighting WoW for his attention, I gave in and started playing too. It's been so fun playing but I think one of the best parts of the games is being able to hang out with some of your friends EVERYDAY!

How do we hangout with our friends everyday if we are constantly glued to the computer everyday? Simple. We even travel to other countries and planets! Because it's an online game, we can hook our computers up in such a way that we are able to talk to them just like we would be on the phone with them. But these gamers are so much more advanced than el telephono. We use a system called Ventrillo (Vent for short). I love having my friends a Cntrl click away.

Over the last few years we've really gotten to know quite a few of our friends. Some live in Pennsylvania, some in Utah, some lived in Vegas then moved to Utah, some are in Sacramento. Some have had a kid, some of them have had kids, some are kids, some have grandkids! Some got married, most were around for our wedding. I even love being able to rat kids out that were supposed to be grounded but because mom and dad were home, they thought they could get on and get away with it.

August was very eventful for us. We first had Danny and Dave come to visit from Pennsylvania. It was Danny's birthday, so they spent a week in lovely Las Vegas. Brandi and John and their son Tyler were able to come down from SLC for a couple days. The last night they were here we met up with them at Maggiano's in the Fashion Show. It was a BLAST!

The 15th was my sister in laws birthday (Mike's wife), the 16th was my dad's birthday and then the 18th was my other sister in laws birthday (Jason's sister). Though most of the parties were scheduled on different weekends, it was still pretty busy. The following week, our friends Toney and Shelley came from Sacramento to get married and brought our other friend Ryan. They were such crack ups!!! They left the day before Jason's birthday, which is the 31st. So, we were pretty jam packed all month and though it was a very busy month, I'm glad that I made everlasting memories and got to hang out in RL with awesome friends.

Never settle for less than a fairy tale

"Now girls... I want you to make a list of the qualities and characteristics you look for in a future husband." A line I heard way too often as a teenager in Young Women's (a form of Sunday School). However, back then, I knew exactly what I wanted in a future husband. Being that I had had my eyes set on one particular boy my whole life up to that point, I wanted my future husband to be at least 6 foot tall, blond, blue eyed, has double letters in his last name, someone who played sports, someone who was nice, HOT, and knew how to spell. And, of course I had to throw in wants a temple marriage and is a return missionary just to make my young women leaders happy. There were quite a few other shallow qualities I wanted and I thought as long as the guy I marry was tall enough and hot enough, we'd be happy... FOREVER!

When I finally turned 16 and was allowed to date, I dated nearly every low life there was. I dated them 1. to make my mom mad and 2. because I lived in a place I hated at the time and didn't want to get stuck in that town forever so by dating people that I knew it wouldn't last with, I knew I would be outta there right after graduation. I went off to college, dated some more, and after a few years of college ended back in Vegas (my hometown). I went to Vegas with a few more things to add to my list of what I was looking for in a guy. I definitely DID NOT want to marry a smoker, someone who still lived at home with his parents, or someone that didn't have their own form of transportation (that means they needed their own bus pass too).

Upon moving back to Vegas, one of my really good guy friends from Podunkville, that I had a HUGE crush on in high school, told me he wanted to move to Vegas to pursue his career and to date me. I was super stoked! He moved to Vegas by summer end and we got an apartment together. Everything was perfect for the first few months. Then reality set in. Every time I thought, great, we're getting along, things would go into shambles.

Our lease was renewing and I was determined to get my own place, but after some sweet talking, I ended up signing another lease with Mr WasWonderful. I know... idiot. After another year of living with him, and losing who I was as a person, my sister showed up at the apartment, packed my stuff and took me to her house. Don't get me wrong. Mr WasWonderful is an amazing person. He truly is a genuine wonderful person, I just couldn't see myself living with him for the rest of my days.
While living with my sister (who had just gotten out of a relationship and was revamping herself), I found the little sparkle inside me that I use to have before Mr WasWonderful. [One night, for homework, I had to ask people what their best advice to me is. My moms boyfriend told me, Jess, if you don't love yourself, no one will ever be able to love you.]

My new mission was not to find someone to fall in love with, but to fall in love with myself. Journal of Love Entry 12/25/2004 Loving Yourself
A few personal goals to improve myself mentally and physically.
1. Dress Modestly
2. Be even more charitable
3. Finish School
4. Stop swearing completely
5. be more unified w/ family
6. Early to bed; Early to rise
7. Exercise
8. Eat healthier
9. Only watch, listen and read uplifting entertainment
10. Only date guys w/ high standards (that's if I dated anyone)
11. Pray more often
12. Read scriptures
13. Write in a journal
14. Observe Sunday
15. Don't spend money on unnecessary things
16. Stay w/ positive people

I started becoming active in church again, I started gaining friends again and life was finally looking up. After a few months, I was feeling great about myself and life. Now that I finally cared about myself again, I figured I would start actively dating again... that's if the demand was high enough for Jessica's. I didn't want to just date anyone though. One night I wrote down MY GUY: in my love journal. First thing was Responsible - financially, able to buy a car, house, and provide food/clothing for family, doesn't necessarily have to be a return missionary - but must possess those qualities (i.e. testimony, dealing w/ a person you hate/love, etc.), tall perfect teeth, absolutely gorgeous, beautiful smile - smiles a lot, caring, is okay with the fact that he'll have to be mine and only mine for eternity, can deal with others differences, cleans up after himself, knows the honor of serving others, has a strong testimony, likes to dance, is good at dancing, will take me on carriage rides, traditional, laughs at my jokes when they aren't funny, won't put me down. Funny how this is only the beginning. I went on for 5 pages about what I wanted in a future husband. The list continues... dresses like he just stepped out of a magazine, opens my doors, is proud of the quirky, silly, successful person I am, loves all my faults, sings great and will serenade me on occasion, helps me keep the romance alive in our relationship, plays an instrument, cooks great meals on occasion, will have great communication with me, snores, is cautious about personal hygiene, smells like a GQ magazine, has and keeps a respectable job, still looks great at 75 yrs of age, great kisser, loves to give and receive hugs, is a cuddler, understands we are all God's children and nobody is perfect, can recite movie lines with me, likes to read, wants to travel and see the world, is a BIG family man, loves children, wants at least 3, won't hit them, won't spank them, will discipline with love, will treat all our children equally, sets a great example of how a father/husband should be, non-selfish, fits in and gets along with his family, accepts my family for who and what they are, fits in and gets along with my family, reads stories with kids, plays games with kids, is fully capable of giving a father's blessing, blesses, baptizes, and confirms all of our children, will tell me I'm beautiful in the middle of giving birth, will talk to our children while they're in my belly, doesn't freak out when I scratch his back, gives foot massages,back rubs, hand massages, holds my hand whenever, wherever, whyever, keeps promises, likes-will put up with-country music, will listen to music we both like while we both are in the car, won't bring me roses because he knows I likes carnations, observative, knows my likes and dislikes, knows everything about me inside and out; if asked what my favorite color is - he'd know; favorite animal - he'd know; pet peeves - he'd know; bad habits - he'd know, likes to watch musicals, spunky, crazy, leader of his "group", will write a song or poem with my name in it, courteous driver, will shave my legs, paint my toenails, brush my hair - just for fun, helps with daily chores, flirts with me, not afraid to be a goofball, will keep bugs outside, protector, comforter, fantastic lover, will be the bigger man, makes the first moves most of the time, doesn't smoke, drink or do drugs, will go somewhere for and or with me even if he doesn't want to - just because it'll make me happy =) -, not obsessed with himself, athletic, graceful winner, not a sore loser, understands "it's just a game", spontaneous, likes the cold, friendly to animals, won't push my buttons to the point of anger, truly a genuine guy, good listener - when time is right, tidy, creative, will call at least once during the day to see how I am doing, wants me to be a stay at home wife/mother, will do crafty things with me, handyman, understand that sometimes I just want to be held and sometimes I just need to cry, is not a video game junkie, will be madly in love with me.

I always hoped I'd be that girl that would see her future husband and just know that we were meant to be together, but it took a while for me to love my loving, goofy, wonderful husband. When I first met Jason, he was just "that funny guy" that hung around the institute. I'm sure you're asking me, Jess, you and Jason don't even have kids. How do you know that he will be a good dad? He's only 27, he still has 48 more years before he's 75! My answer is, I just know. When we first started "being friends", Jason was babysitting his nephew. I would go hang out every now and then and he was so wonderful with his nephew. He wouldn't let his nephew get away with whatever he wanted and by how much his nephew loved him and wanted him to be there 24-7, I knew that Jason was a GREAT uncle. We would hang out with his friend from high school who had a baby and that little girl refused to call me anything but Jason. AND, it's sad when your friend comes to pick you up, you go about town with her little girls and when they are dropping you off, one of the little girls says, "Mom, take me back to Jason and Jessica's cause I want to hang out with Jason." Ya, I'm jealous.

Also, you are very right. I won't see Jason at the ripe age of 75 for another 48 years, but I know he will be more handsome than ever, because... well look at him!

HE'S A SEXY BEAST!

Happy Birthday Honey Bear! You are my everything!