Happy Birthday to my MAN!

I'm usually not into alot of "mushy" corny expressions of love. But today on Joey's birthday I feel like he deserves a tribute of some sort. So bear with me.....

Top 10 reasons why I love Joe Edwin Harris II...in no particular order.......

1. He loves me.

2. He brings me surprises. Usually in the form of some sort of chocolate or the occasional Apple Cinnamon muffin from Paradise Bakery. I like my surprises!

3. He calls me and texts me all day long to see how I'm doing and to ask what I need from him, whether it's if I need a fresh soda or if he needs to bring home anything from the store or to just tell me that he thinks I'm beautiful.

4.He always compliments me. Even when I'm not around to hear it. I hear from other people all the good things he says about me. It sometimes embarrasses me and I'm not real good with compliments but I'm working on just saying "Thank you" instead of "Shut up."

5.He makes me laugh. He makes me laugh HARD with the occasional need to RUN to the bathroom because I'm laughing so hard.

6. He will admit when he's wrong and apologize for it. Sometimes it takes me awhile to convince him that he's wrong but he always sees the light eventually and will apologize sincerely.

7. He works hard to support our family. At one time in our marraige he was going to school to get a Masters degree, teaching high school, teaching night school at the college and installing satellite dishes on weekends so that I could stay home with the kids and we would have a comfortable life. He works hard.

8.He knows everything about me and he still loves me. He loves me when I'm grumpy, when I'm stressed and not very nice, he loves me when I've gained 60 pounds during a pregnancy, and when I've cut my bangs.

9.He supports me. When I wanted to go back to nursing school, he never complained about how much it's costing or how much I have to be away. When I panic and decide that I'm not smart enough after all he builds me back up and tells me I can do it.

10. He writes me love letter and poems. I have boxes full of them. 16 years worth.

11. ( I know it's the top ten but I have to include this too...cause it's a big one.) He takes me on adventures. He knows how much I love to travel and see the world so he finds a way to make it happen for me. We've been all over the world together...Chile, Mexico, Italy, France, England, Monaco, Spain, Scotland, Greece, Turkey...and of course all over the USA. Below are some of my favorite pictures from our world travels together....

In Paris...the city of love!This is us in Paris in front of the Louvre.......................Disregard the crazy person. Some people.
In Scotland at Loch Ness....looking for Nessie!

On the top of Mars Hill in Athens............. Some where in the south of France at some cool Roman Aquaducts...........

Kidnapping me and taking me into a castle at Carcassonne (France).......
In front of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain.........
In front of Buckingham Palace in London...................
My favorite picture of all time is of us in Rome but I can't find it! Oh well... you get the idea.... we've seen a lot and been through a lot together and I wouldn't want to have these adventures with anyone else!He's my bestest friend in the whole world! I LOVE YOU JOEY! (There, I was mushy and corny and I survived)

Give me a "Lubby"!

Having little girls is the greatest! Delly is a lover and a half. She will give out kisses all day long. All you have to do is ask. Sometimes she will say "I need a lubby." Lubby in Delly talk is "lovey" which means a kiss. I love to give LUBBYS!

Perfect Attendance!

For the second year in a row, Drey had perfect attendance! The kid almost never gets sick! And when he does he usually doesn't say anything about it. He just goes on with his day. Usually, I don't know he's even sick. He doesn't say anything or complain or whine at all! It sounds good but sometimes it's not. Sometimes I need to know he's ill so I can take care of him. A few years ago he said " Mom, I can't really swallow." I was like "Really? Let me see." I looked in his throat and saw massive swelling and redness. I immediately took him to the doctor who took one look in his throat and told us we needed to get to the hospital ASAP because Drey's tonsils were SO bad that his airway was about to be completely closed because of the swelling. We went to the hospital where they did an emergency tonsilectomy to open his airway. The doctor was like "Why didn't you bring him in sooner!!?" I told him that Drey never mentioned feeling sick until that morning. He looked at me like I was lying. He said "This kid has been sick for a long time for it to get this bad." I felt so bad for not noticing he was sick but he REALLY never said anything about it. He's just tough. He probably was sick this year sometime but I just never noticed and sent him to school. I'm a really good Mom, huh? It's all good because he got a certificate for a free frozen yogurt from Jubilee. So we went and celebrated his accomplishment with him. He was pretty proud. He kept telling Gage "You know you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me."

The End of an Era...

I never thought I would be able to do it....but here I am in week 4 of not watching Days of our Lives! Woo-hoo! It all started when I brought Gage home from the hospital as a newborn, 12 years ago. For the first time in my life I was home ALL day long. I didn't have to be at school or at work or running around with my friends. I was at home, alone, with a little person that slept all day. That's when I got hooked on the soap Days of our Lives. It was so addicting....I HAD to know what happened! I hated it when I missed an episode (this was PRE-DVR). Once we got our dish and I could record all my shows to watch later, it was easy to get behind. Last month, Joey sat me down on the couch to have a "show-intervention". He scrolled down the list of recorded shows (all mine except for Lost which belongs to both of us) and I had like 44 hours of shows that I had recorded but just not had the time to watch. There were 30 HOURS of Days of our Lives recorded! Lets face it, it's Monday thru Friday so it adds up quick! We talked about it and somehow he was able to convince me to "let Days go." His powers of persuasion sometimes amaze me! Anyways, I realized that with nursing school getting ready to start that I really needed to cut back on the TV shows. They were almost a burden because it was just one more thing "to do". Gotta catch up on Days! I couldn't do it so I had Joey delete ALL thirty hours of Days! I also trimmed the fat on some of my other shows...Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor, and a few others. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I really miss Days! I'm DYING to know if John got his memory back or if Max ever was able to tell Stephanie that he loved her (really, Max, it's not that hard!) or if EJ gets deported or if Kayla loses her baby! I know. I'm pathetic. So as a tribute to an era of my life, I added "These are the Days of our Lives" to my Blog title. My life is sometimes better than a soap opera anyways!

Our Family Tree is Full of Nuts!

To have a family picture where all the kids (and some of the adults) are actually cooperating and facing forward and smiling (for the most part) and no one is crying or trying to run away (except for the dogs) is a freaking miracle! It really is too bad than none of us got the memo to dress up because this really would have been a perfect time! Oh well....

Happy Mothers Day

Generally, I look forward to Mothers Day all year. It's a day I get cute notes and what not from my kids and everyone treats me like a queen. It's the greatest. This year was no exception. All the kids made cute little notes and crafts for me. Avery made me a cute watermelon bell but unfortunately Delly decided she wanted to take a bath with it so all the paint came off. Joey and I were going to go out for a Mothers Day "special evening" last night but Joey ended up having to go out of town for work. He was gonna try to make it back early so we could still go but it just didn't happen. It actually works out pretty good for me because now he has guilt and wants to make it up to me. Of course, I can't resist throwing in a few comments like "Really, honey, I don't mind. You have your priorities. Work is important to you. I can wait." Just twisting the knife a little. Then when he finally did make it home last night he was exhausted. I could tell just by looking at him. He took a shower and started to get dressed. I asked him where he was going and he said he had to "do" something. I'm no dummy and I know my husband pretty well so I had an inkling that he hadn't gotten me anything for Mothers Day and he was gonna sneak off to try to do some late night shopping. I told him to get in bed and that I didn't need a present. He was like " No, no, no, it's just not right. I need to go. I'll be right back." Finally, I convinced him that his present to me could be to NOT get killed tonight by falling asleep at the wheel. So he went to bed after promising me that he was gonna "make it up to me." I love it! The power!

This morning we all gathered at Granny Harris house for a Mothers Day breakfast. It was delightful! Kim makes a mean waffle and Cindy...I like your bacon. Don't worry. It's a fine line between burnt and undercooked. I struggle with that myself! I ate so much I was happy that I had sweat pants on. Elastic waistbands are sometimes a beautiful thing. By the time Sacrament meeting started later that morning I felt like I was about to go into a food coma, I was so sleepy!

Avery was so excited to "help" Granny open her presents and show her the card that we all made for her. For dinner we headed over to my moms house. The Tucson Beecrofts made it up for a visit and we took some family pictures. We didn't get the memo that we were having a family picture so we woke up from our Sunday naps, threw on some wrinkly T-shirts, and headed over for dinner. So we're all looking pretty ghetto in the family pictures! Oh well. My mom wanted roast beef tacos for dinner.. Mindy busted out with some quality bean dip....my sister tried to steal my thunder by bringing strawberry shortcake for dessert when we all knew that I was bringing dessert. Nobody wanted my strawberry cake with lemon frosting. They all wanted HER shortcake. I'm okay with it, though. If she needs to do that to build herself up, it's okay. We're still friends. It was a great dinner and a great Mothers Day!
I could NOT decide what to get my mom for Mothers Day. I was at a complete loss this year. Then I saw the orchids at Sams Club and I knew! They were absolutely gorgeous and I knew she would love them. I took them home and the more I looked at them the more I loved them! You know you love someone when you buy them a gift that YOU want to keep so bad but you give it to them anyways! Hope you enjoy them, Mom! It's for the best that you have them because now they have a chance to stay alive!

FHE at the Temple

I thought I posted these pictures already but I guess I hit the "Save Now" button instead of the "Publish Post" button. Whoops! Oh well- a little late but still cute!


For Family Home Evening this week we went out to dinner at Someburros (dee-lish) with Joeys mom and then we went to the temple. I just happened to have my camera with me so I got some cute shots of the kids and Granny Harris.

We went in to the temple visitor center to see if we could see a movie but none were playing. When we walked in Delly saw the huge statue of Christ and said "Too big Jesus!" and tried to run out the door. Joey had to hold her because she was so scared. She wouldn't look, just kept her head buried in his chest. We listened to the little message that is given and I looked over at Drey and tears are streaming down his face! I thought "What happened? Did I miss something? I thought he must have acted out in some way and got a thump on the head from his Dad while I wasn't paying attention. So the little presentation ended and I went over to him and said "Drey? What's wrong?" And he said "I don't know!! I think I feel the Spirit or something!" It made me want to laugh! That boy has such a hard shell on the outside that I forget what a soft inside he has. He's like a turtle...or an M & M! Joey talked to him about what he was feeling for awhile and then we proceeded further into the visitors center to see the Reflections of Christ exhibit. That was pretty sweet!
The girls were being quite disruptive (weird, I know) so I took them outside while everyone else wandered around for a bit longer. We saw quite a few couples taking pictures and Avery LOVED seeing the "princesses" in the white dresses. I think a good time was had by all.
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Mothers Day

I just remembered that Sunday is Mothers Day! So, Mom, you get to decide what you want. We'll do the poll next week. This week, you pick, anything you want and we'll cook it! ( I didn't forget about Mothers Day by the way...it's my favorite day of the year! I was just confused. )

To all the Beecrofts/Richards/Cox and Harris Families

Hey all you party peeps. As we discussed last night at dinner, I have put a poll on my blog so we can make Sunday dinner preparations a little more organized. Please vote on what you want to eat that night. Nobody sent me any suggestions so I just came up with some that sounded good to me. Don't forget to vote! If you don't bother then we will be tuning a deaf ear to any and all complaints and/or grumbling. I have the poll set to end Saturday but do you think we should end it Friday night so that we know what we are doing by Saturday morning when most of us go to the grocery store? I think it will be a good thing. Tucson Beecrofts are welcome to vote, too but that means you have to grace us with your presence on Sunday evening...and you get a food assignment, too.

Enter to Win!

Enter a drawing to win this framed picture! Check out the link on my sidebar (Matage Framing) for details. You can't win if you don't play!!

My fruit basket is FULL!

Okay. I just have to spread the word about something that is making me SO happy! I found out about this Food Co-op from my friend Elise. It's called Bountiful Baskets. ( see my link on the sidebar) It's WONDERFUL! For $15 dollars you get a laundry basket FULL of fresh fruits and veggies. Maybe you haven't noticed but produce is expensive! Especially when you have kids that devour fruit and veggies like mine do. So every other Saturday you just go pick up your basket full of yummy good stuff. I brought it home and literally FILLED my fruit basket AND the veggie bins in the fridge. Both were empty because I hadn't been shopping all week. Drey saw all the good stuff and said "Wow! Can we have a fruit and veggie dinner tonight?" That might be kind of fun actually! We'll see. So check it out. It's a great deal!

Fathers and Sons Campout

This weekend was Fathers and Sons. Now if any of you know Joey very well you know that he HATES camping! This is something that he just did to make the boys happy so I have to give him props for that! The last time we went camping as a family I think Gage was about 4 and Drey was about one and it rained and was cold and the tent leaked so we slept on wet bedding and then Gage fell out of the hammock and broke his elbow. He was like "Why are we doing this? Camping is NOT fun!" So I haven't been able to get him to do it again. Except for Rocky Point. He does like to camp on the beach. Just not the mountains. I don't know. Anyways, he did take the boys and said that it was actually fun! So thats a start. I may be able to talk him into trying a family campout in the future. We'll have to see..... Drey is a magnet for dirt and grime. None of the other boys in all the pictures look dirty at all and then there's Drey looking like he's not showered in months!
Gage is in Boy Scouts now so we had to buy him a tent for a campout coming up. This weekend the boys were able to try it out...

I'm glad I wasn't there. Drey and fire....um....dangerous combination!I would have been a nervous wreck! I'm sure that Joey was diligent in supervising him and never left him alone even for a minute or started talking to someone and stopped paying attention to him. This is what I tell myself.Leave me alone people! It's how I sleep at night!

"It really worked!!"

I have to say, I am really enjoying this gardening thing! Who would have thought? When we first started the garden and I was engaged in battle with the ground (thats what it felt like) when I was filling in gopher holes and pulling endless weed after weed and taking out rock after rock and gagging when I accidentally squished an earthworm with my bare fingers....I was like "What have we started? This sucks!" But now, we have the garden in place and it's just a matter of nurturing it. It's become like therapy for me. Every night, after dinner, I quietly sneak out to the garden to water it and weed it. It's cool and calm out there. Even when I can hear Delly screaming because Dreys making "monster noises" and Avery's crying because someone scribbled on her homework and Gage is yelling "Mom, you forgot to wash my baseball socks!!" and I can hear the phone ringing and Joey calling "Kids! Where's your mother?" Somehow, I just tune it all out and peacefully water my strawberries and enjoy the feeling of my blood pressure lowering. Is it wrong to have a hiding place? Is it wrong to hear "Mom, Delly's poopy!" and to just keep on watering away and let someone else (Joey) handle it? I love my retreat. I was even happier last night when I discovered this:Thats right! My seeds have sprouted up! I was so happy...ridiculously happy because a part of me was expecting total failure with this garden. I was so overjoyed that I opened the back door and called to the kids to come to the garden. That's right, I invited them into my retreat. I wanted to show them what all that hard work had produced. I wish I would have had my camera on me to capture Drey's face. He looked at the little sprouts and his eyes got all huge and he said "It really worked!" with a huge grin on his face. I guess he was a little dubious that it would work,too.