The Proposal

Alright, I have had many a request for the story of me and Steve's Engagement, so I will delight you all with this wonderful story.

How shall I begin - I will give a little background first I guess. My parents were on their mission in Haiti and for Christmas I was going to fly to Haiti and spend about a week. So, Steve drove with me down to Ryan and Nicole's in Southern California, there is a reason for this so hang with me for a minute. We spent a few days there, then Steve flew back home to Utah/Idaho and I left for Haiti. I had a great time in Haiti and then my mom and I flew together with Seba and Mikael to California. Seba and Mikael were Haitians who were going to start school at Rick's, so Steve and I were driving them back with us. My mom came back for my brother Devaughn's wedding in San Diego. I know, it is all very confusing.

So, after we got back, Steve flew back to California to go to the wedding with us. We had a great time and on New Year's Eve Steve, Seba, Mikael and I loaded up into my little Sunfire and headed out for Idaho. There of course was a hitch with this. The latch in my trunk broke and we had to climb through the back seat to open it. We had so much stuff loaded into that car because people had donated some winter clothes to our Haitians and they were bringing it all with them. They were jam packed into the back seat and I felt so bad for them.

We ended up leaving Irvine much later than we planned and although our plan was to get to Provo that night, it took us like 8 hours or something crazy to get to Vegas due to all of the New Year's Eve traffic, it was bumper to bumper the whole way. Once we got to Vegas we were all exhausted so, we started to try and find a place to stay. Of course we didn't have much luck until we found a little Days Inn or something on the outskirts of Vegas. They had one room left and since there were two boys and two girls, my mom kindly gave us permission to stay as long as the girls shared a bed and the boys shared a bed.

Steve insisted on getting in the hot tub, I couldn't figure out why he was so insisted and finally said ok. The trouble was we couldn't really get to our suitcases because of the trunk latch being broken. So after digging around in my bag I finally found mine, picture me in the back of my sunfire (it was white) with the seat folded down and my body half way into the trunk trying to find my swimming suit. Steve couldn't find his, but he did find his spandex shorts, so he figured they would have to work. Off we went to the hot tub leaving the Haitians watching Dick Clark's Rockin New Year's Eve on TV. So we got in the hot tub and had a great time chatting and things. Then, if I remember correctly Steve made me close my eyes and when I opened them he was holding the ring and asked me to marry him. I of course said yes and that was that. Really it was most uneventful, but kinda of funny!

I guess while I was in Haiti, Steve had gone in to pick a ring and his plan was to wait until we got to Utah and then propose, but he couldn't stand carrying the ring around anymore and so he proposed in Vegas! It was very memorable and it fit because for much of our dating time he was living/working in Vegas and I would come and see him on the weekends. One funny side note is that while we were in California everyone kept bugging Steve asking him when he was going to propose and all that, he didn't want to take anything away from Dev and Kelly and so he just kept blowing them off. Then we went to Del Taco or something for lunch one day and I started going through his wallet and found a receipt from Sierra West (a jewelry store), I didn't get a good look before he scolded me for being snoopy and so while I was hopeful that maybe he had purchased a ring I wasn't sure.

Alright all you blog readers that is the story. I hope you were all entertained! I'm not even sure it really made sense, but at least you get the picture!

I guess it is my Turn!

Julie tagged me, so here it is. A little info about me and Steve.

About my Husband
What is his name? Steve, Steven, Emp, I'm sure there are more out there
How long have you been married? Almost 9 years
How long did you date? If you add it all together about a year, but I knew him for 3 1/2 years before we got hitched
How old is he? 31
Who eats more? Definitely him, but give me the right moment and I will try to keep up.
Who said I love you first? ME.
Who is taller? Everyone in Steve's family is taller than me, including my oldest neice.
Who sings better? I don't know, I guess me, but Steve never sings unless he is joking around.
Who is smarter? I'll go with me. Well, I guess it depends on the topic, we balance each other, but I am always right.
Whose temper is worse? Steve's temper is maybe slightly worse, but not by much. We both are challenged in this area
Who does the laundry? Me.
Who does the dishes? Me.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me, if you are lying in it.
Who pays the bills? Me.
Who mows the lawn? Joel Avendano
Who cooks dinner? Me, most of the time, but Steve is a great cook!
Who drives when you are together? Steve, I have to deal with the kids you know.
Who is more stubborn? This is a tough call, I'll go with Steve.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine
Who proposed? Steve did, in hot tub at a Days Inn or something in Vegas on New Year's Eve - Don't ask it is a long funny story.
Who has more friends? I don't know, it is probably Steve
Who has more siblings? Steve
Who wears the pants in the family? We swap them back and forth

Tag: Only if you wanna....

All in a Day!

You know how some days you just wake up and feel off. Who knows why (although usually the culprit is PMS), but some days are just doomed from the get go. That was yesterday for me.

It all began when Josh woke up at 3:30 AM hollering for me to come and get him. Now that he is in the same room with Tyler I had to go in and see what was up. What was up was that he thought it was morning. No, really he tried to give me his soother and everything and was ready to rock-n-roll. I brought him into bed with me for 45 minutes and then tucked him back into his crib. Luckily he went back to sleep - that is until 6 am. Once again I brought him to bed, tucked a pillow next to him and went back to sleep. Once we were up and going all seemed to be going well, with all the changes Steve's company is making we thankfully were not affected in any major ways, the kids were all in good moods, I was fine despite the lack of sleep. Then it happened, something I have feared for a while. My flat iron broke! Suck, that is so crappy, how am I supposed to be hot like Posh with no flat iron. So, I thought I would head to Target and get a cheepy one to get by until I can find the one I want. I got Brooks and Josh all ready shoes on hair done and went into the garage pressed the button and NOTHING! Okay not totally nothing but it only went up an inch stopped and slipped back down. This my friends is a problem because yep, the car is stuck in the garage. Steve couldn't come home and rescue me, so we just hung out at home. After I had a little temper tantrum I partied with the fact that we were home bound for most of the day.

Wednesday at Ty's school is Early Release and it makes the day hard. Ty is done school at 1:45. With Steve unavailable and the car trapped I had no choice but to pull out the stroller grab Brookies bike and get moving. Of course, it wasn't that easy. Brookie's bike tire needed some air, so out comes the pump. I start going to work, but the pump is broken and not working so well. I did my best but the tire was still mostly flat! Oh well, we were out of time and so off we went for our walk to school. All was well, except poor Brooklynn was working double time, because of the tire, the training wheel was super loose and trying to fall off and it was quite warm and humid yesterday. When we get to the school Tyler's friend invited him over to play and so he didn't even walk home with us. Oh well, exercise did us some good.

By the time Steve got home I had figured out that the garage door wasn't working because of the Torsion spring, it had snapped in half. According to the internet it is not uncommon for this to happen. He opened the door up and we left it up and then noticed that there is a screw imbedded in one of the tires on my car. Lovely, just lovely, just pile it up!

So, lets recap shall we!

1. Joshy was up in the middle of the night
2. My flat iron broke
3. The garage door broke
4. Brookie had a flat bike tire
5. I had to walk to school to pick up Ty who went home with a friend
6. There is a screw imbedded in my tire.

There in nothing like a day full of events such as these. Fortunately except for me getting extremely upset with Brooklynn because she would not eat her dinner - again. The rest of the night was uneventful and the kids were all asleep by 8!

If there is something positive to pull out of this - I learned yesterday to put a smile on and just party with those things that are totally out of your control. Somedays you just have to play with the hand your dealt, even if it is totally crappy!

Our Weekend in Denver

Tyler and I had a fun filled weekend in Denver at Marilee and Adam's house. It was so fantastic to get away and be almost kid free. I enjoyed being with my sister's and mom and the rest of the family. The reason we went you ask? Annie and Jackson were baptised and little adorable Reecey was blessed!

We left on Thursday afternoon and got to Denver around 9 pm. Granddad had landed earlier than us and then gone to rent a car, so he waited around to pick us up. After we landed I kept calling him and calling him, but his phone kept going right to voice mail. I was quite worried about how he would find us, but he eventually did and we figured out that something was wrong with his phone and that is why I couldn't reach him. He of course had turned on his phone and was waiting for my call.

Friday Marilee made me get up and go work out with her and her Trainer (she is so mean and cruel :)). It was 4:30 am in my time zone. What was I thinking? Anyway, we had a good work out and by the time we left I was already sore and it only got worse. By Saturday afternoon I could barely walk down the stairs. All in the name of fitness! I guess it was all worth it. The rest of the day we ran a few errands. Tyler went to Annie's School with Nana for lunch and the kids played. Then once Julie and TJ arrived we went to dinner with all the adults. Saturday was more errands and then the baptism. It was a wonderful baptism and we were all so proud of Jack and Annie! Sunday was Reecey's blessing which was also really nice!

Tyler and I arrived home very late on Sunday and although I have been very tired the last couple of days I really enjoyed seeing everyone. I was really feeling home sick for my family! Now we just need to figure out when we will next see the Empey Clan!

Thanks for a great weekend everyone! I love you all.

Marilee and I being fools! Greg and Mar Jane bought these silly glasses for Marilee's kids.

More pictures of Brady, Natalie, Reecey, Me and Tyler, Me and Julie and then I threw in the last one of Josh in his new suit. Nana found this on Sale at JCPenny's and it is so cute on him! The best thing is that it is washable - no joke.

So there you have it, a quick summary of my weekend away. I hope you all enjoyed it so much.

Halloween

Tuesday night was pumpkin carving night. Brooklynn decided she wanted a Happy Pumpkin and Tyler wanted a Wolf. I think they both turned out well!

Steve came home from work on Wednesday and decided he would make 'Witches Brew' I am still not exactly sure what that is or was, but the kids liked it and the dry ice made it lots of fun!

The kids all had a wonderful time trick-or-treating. I would say the one who loved it the most was Josh. Although he was not initially a fan of the 'Chicken Suit' once he figured out that people would give him candy, he was sold and happy to wear it anywhere. He insisted on carrying his own bucket of candy and even took a big bite of his first Chocolate bar right thru the wrapper. He was so cute and even when his bucket was to heavy for him he would not let it out of his grubby little hands! He really had us all smiling and laughing!

My little Barbie Fairy, Spiderman and the Chicken!