My tag!

I have been tagged by this sweet lady. I have and will continue to be praying for her little boy who is in the hospital fighting a very serious infection. ((hugs))


Random and/or weird facts about me... Wow! hard to narrow it down to just seven.

1. I have two bellybuttons. When I was about five I contracted chicken pox. I did everything wrong. I scratched the ones that itched and didn't wash my hands and ended up getting a very nasty infection in one a couple inches from my "real" bellybutton. I had to go to the hospital for several days with a very high fever. As a result I ended up with an indentation that looks (or used to when I wasn't so chubby) like another bellybutton.


2. I was obsessed with horses growing up. I loved anything to do with them. In third grade, my favorite pants were multi-colored, bell bottom, horse print paints. I wore them nearly every day.


3. The summer after I graduated from high school, I moved to Jackson, Wyoming. I worked at McDonald's and gave Harrison Ford his Big Mac at the drive thru window.


4. In college, I got a lot of parking tickets. I was a poor starving college student, and couldn't afford to pay them, so I began parking in the free lot and walking to campus. I didn't know campus police checked the free lots. After paying the ENORMOUS fines, I was able to have the big, ugly, yellow parking boot removed from my car. (lesson learned)


5. I drove a yellow 1975 Chevy Vega in college. This model of car was notorious for rusting. When it rained, I needed an umbrella inside because of the leak around the windshield. During the winter, I would put a big bag of sand in my trunk to help weigh it down to keep it from slipping on icy roads. I got in one day and heard, and felt a big "thunk". The bag of sand had rusted through the trunk and landed in the parking lot.


6. I dated a guy who neglected to tell me he was going through a divorce, had two kids, and his almost ex was pregnant with his third, for several weeks.


7. I sneeze almost every time I go out into the sun. I thought I was abnormal until I found out it is an actual syndrome. It's ironically named ADCHOO!

I tag Ging, Cameron, Sonda, Nicki, Mollie, Catherine, Pam and Laurel. Have fun! I can't wait to read yours! OOPS! That's eight. I guess you've guessed that I'm not the best at math either.

Decisions, decisions!

This past week has been a week of mind-boggling decisions. This is very difficult for the decision making challenged. (me) I remember one night in Salt Lake, Tom and I were STARVING. We drove up and down State Street looking for a place to eat. Neither one of us was willing to decide where we would eat. The decision was eventually made for us when all the eateries were closed but one, a little scone sandwich shop. It was very good. I tried to convince Tom I knew what I was doing all along! I know it stems from me not wanting to make a mistake. I don't want to do the wrong thing, or disappoint someone, or regret my choice. So this week I was thrown in the decision making fire.

• Monday: What kind of flooring do you want in the entry way? Carpet? Tile? Wood? Laminate? Vinyl? Where would you like it to stop? Do you want carpet in the hall by the kitchen? Do you want wood laminate or hardwood? What is your price range? Do you want granite counter tops, synthetic, laminate, tile or granite tiles? Do you want a tile backsplace? How high do you want it? 4in? 6in? or 18in? What flooring do you want in the office, living room, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms? Looking at these tiny sample squares, what carpet to you like for your ENTIRE house?

• Tuesday: Do you want painted doors or fake wood doors? Which style of door do you like? Do you want a metal or wood door for the exterior? How about trim? What style do you want out of these 6, 823 choices? What kind of hardware do you want for your doors? Do you want the pantry door to say "pantry"?

• Wednesday: Which cabinets do you like...

the cook top in the island?
or not?

What kind of wood do you want for the cabinets? What finish do you want? Which style of door do you like?

Plumbing: What faucets do you want? Do you want a standard toilet, or an elongated toilet? Is your shower tiled or fiberglass? Do you want a soaker or a jetted tub? What kind of kitchen sink do you want?

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Last night, Tom asked me where I wanted to go for dinner.

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"BAM!!!!!!!!"

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I think my brain exploded.

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p.s. Please, feel free to share your opinions!

The Honeymoon's over

Well, the honeymoon is over. It's back to my irregularly scheduled posts. First, I'll answer some questions from the comments of the last few posts.

Sometime in our married life, I lost the squirt ring. I was very sad. It made me smile, remembering how I had gotten it.

For our anniversary this year, We went to P.F. Changs. I tried the lettuce chicken wraps I've heard so much about. They were delicious! We had a nice evening. We had a good laugh at my fortune in my cookie after dinner. It said, "You will be receiving unexpected support in the next week, accept it graciously."

Tom said, "Oh, you must be getting some extra help with Cavalcade." (Cavalcade is a local band competition On October 4th. I am on the board over concessions.)

My first thought was, "There must be a good sale on bras somewhere."

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I have run into a few people who have asked me to post the floor plan for our house. It's probably hard to see, but here is the main floor. The basement will be unfinished until all the kids are grown and gone and we won't need it anymore.(kidding)

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In other news, Courtney had her first performance in color guard Friday night. We love going to the games to watch her. I just wish the silly football team would get off the marching band field!

She is easy to pick out on the field, she is the only one who wears a shirt under her uniform to cover her arm. LOVE. HER.

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On Saturday, our ward had a carnival with good food, games and colorful faces.

The primary kids were given a challenge to memorize the articles of faith. For every article of faith learned, they would get a water balloon to throw at the Bishop.

The Spurgeon kids had a little too much fun dousing the Bishop!

He was a good sport and the kids were thrilled!

The Honeymoon

Ahhhh, the honeymoon...a time to get to know each other better. To spend lots of time together, alone.

After the wedding, reception, and open house in Burley the next day, Tom and I were really looking forward to the honeymoon. His family had friends who owned a cabin near Sun Valley. We arrived Sunday evening and worked hard at getting to know each other;)

It was on our honeymoon that I learned Tom has nightmares. One night, his screams woke me from a deep sleep. We were in a cabin in the woods in the middle of the night and the man next to me starts screaming! I woke him, and he soon saw that I was more terrified than he was. He calmed me back to sleep by singing to me.(Now, if he starts screaming, I whack him 'til he stops.)

We did venture out of the cabin. We went to a movie one day, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. After the movie, we went across the street to a store. We noticed an ad for an Arabian horse ranch nearby. I love horses, especially Arabians. When I was younger, I would trade babysitting for horse lessons at an Arabian school near my home. They were show horses and were leg trained. What that means is the horse responds to the pressure on his back from your legs. If you squeeze your legs the horse will go, if you relax, the horse will stop. When Tom saw that ad, he suggested we check it out.

The ranch was beautiful. There were many gorgeous horses in the pastures surrounding the owners house. When he saw us, he talked to us and offered to let us ride one of his horses around the corral. I was rusty, but the lessons I had when I was younger came back to me and in no time I felt very comfortable on the pretty white mare. She didn't have a saddle or bridle. I was riding her bareback with a lead rope hooked to her halter. Tom got on and after a brief lesson did really well. The owner grabbed another mare and let us take the two horses out of the corral for a short walk down the lane and back. On one side of the lane was a pasture with several mares. On the other side was a pasture with two or three stallions. The walk down the lane was uneventful. As we turned to head back, the stallions became agitated. The were shaking their heads and snorting. The mares on the other side responded by dancing and whiniing. The stallions took off on a dead run. The mares did the same. Our horses in the middle were following instinct, and bolted. I was trying to relax my legs and hang on without a saddle. Tom's horse was just ahead of me and I saw him fly off his horse just before I couldn't hang on mine anymore.

After I came to a stop, I knew something was wrong, I just didn't know what. Tom was there almost as soon as I fell. When I looked at him I noticed the bright red mark just above his eye. Apparently, the horses back hoof clipped him as he went off the horse. He reached down to help me up. I tried to move my arm to take his hand when the pain hit. After sitting for awhile trying to gain some composure, I was able to get up. The owner felt terrible. We sat on his porch, but it soon became obvious that I would have to go to the hospital.

Tom drove me to the tiny hospital in Sun Valley. I was examined and the doctor believed I had broken my collarbone. The x-ray was very painful. In order to see the break I held on to full gallon jugs in hopes the break would separate enough to be seen. The x-rays did show a break. He also believed I had broken my tailbone, but I didn't get an x-ray there. I was given a brace, some pain meds and discharged.

We went back to the cabin where I willingly took the pain medicine and went to sleep. I don't remember how long I slept. I woke and before I was even very conscious I felt overwhelming nausea and threw-up close to the bed. The drugs made me feel very out of it. I felt like I was having an out of body experience. I was pretty helpless. My dear, sweet, brand new husband cleaned and scrubbed the cabin.

It was decided (by him, I was in no condition to make any kind of decisions), that we should go back to Burley. On the way home, I slept most of the time. I woke up once to throw-up in Tom's prized Toyota Celica. Poor guy! We got to his Mom's house where she graciously swooped in to minister to me. The pattern for the next couple of days was sleep, throw-up, sleep.....One thing I do remember was being so helpless my new mother-in-law had to help give me a bath. Very humbling.

Tom decided we needed to head back to Logan as school would be starting soon. On the way home, I was in the same pattern, but Tom was able to pull over in time for me to throw-up. It finally hit me, I stopped taking the pain medicine. I felt so much better after that!

Even though my head was clear, I wasn't able to do much. For the first few weeks of our marriage, Tom did my hair.(As you could tell in the two previous posts, big hair was very important to me) I know there were times in those first few weeks where he wondered what he had gotten himself into. He was thrown into getting to know me more than he might have wanted too, but he was always sweet and wonderful to me.

Can your honeymoon top that? I'd love to hear.

The Wedding

The morning of September 16, 1988 was beautiful. I remember walking to the Logan temple and being completely in awe over where I was and what I was about to do.I was in the right place with the right guy, and it felt wonderful! I was ready to become Tom's wife.


My mother worked as a cook at the Old Rock Church. One of the first churches built in Cache Valley. Part of it had been converted to an assisted living place. They kept a section in its original, old charm and rented it for receptions. My mom made a deal with the owner so we could use it. She also happens to be a cake decorator so I got a sweet deal on my cake. (free) Thanks Mom!

There were a couple notes of interest on our wedding day. Things that happened that need to be learned from.

• A nervous, frazzled bride should not be entrusted with anything important such as a temple recommend. She will look frantically EVERYWHERE and not be able to find it. She will have to call the Bishop to get her into the temple for her wedding. (She will find it a few weeks later, in her purse ((imagine that!))
• When the wife of one of your favorite cousins calls asking if she can drop something by your apartment, DO NOT leave the key for them. After the reception, you will walk through the door to find toilet paper strewn everywhere, shoes in various places filled with rice, notes on the mirror with lipstick, kool-aid in the shower and an alarm clock under the bed that goes off at 3:00 a.m. And don't believe them when they vehemently deny doing it. A few years later, when you stop by to visit, they will be watching home movies. You will stare, open mouthed, at giggling relatives throwing toilet paper around your old apartment on the screen.

To Tom:

It has been twenty years since I leaned over that altar in the temple. In many ways, it seems like it wasn't that long ago, yet I feel as if you've been a part of me forever. I can't imagine my life without you, ever. I love you more.

me

The Proposal

I first met Tom the fall of 1987. His roommate was dating my roommate. He was dating someone at the time and I quickly began dating a boy (I mean, frog). I only had a few interactions with him that first quarter of school. I've said before, the thought that came to my head when I first met him was, "Wow! He is short." After spending more time with him, and seeing first hand his confidence, my thought turned to, "Does he not know he's short"? He made people quickly forget about his height and see the giant of a man inside.

Shortly before Christmas break, I was with my roommate at her boyfriend and Tom's apartment. He seemed to be working hard to impress me and by the end of the night, he promised he would call and take me on a date after school started. I hoped he would, but I was a bit afraid he wouldn't. He did call and we went on our first and probably last "official" date. We went to one his married friends house and played games. He was charming and funny and sweet. After that first date, we were pretty inseparable. He would go to the library every night and study. If I wanted to see him, I had to go too. Surprisingly, that is the quarter of school that I got my best grades! (Even with some smooching when we hoped no one was looking.;))

There is some debate in our household about the first kiss. He tells me I attacked him, but I don't remember it that way. I remember really wanting him to kiss me. I think I might have made it easy for him. You know, eyes closed, lips pursed, leaning towards him, kind of thing. We may never know who is right. (me)

The "love" word was first used at my Grandpa's ranch in Idaho. Getting that out was huge for both of us. It was late spring, and by then, I was totally smitten. We began throwing out the "M" word in early summer. We had talked about marriage and even thrown a possible date out into the conversations, but nothing was official. Everywhere we went, he would tell people. "I am just waiting for her to ask me to marry her." At first, I loved when he said that, because I knew he was thinking it and it would happen soon. After awhile, I was frustrated and irritated. "Does he really think I'm going to ask him?" I'd think to myself.

In early August, I was more sure than ever that I wanted to spend eternity with him, BUT I was tired of waiting for him to get busy and ask me. His apartment was near the Logan temple. In fact, when you opened the curtains, his window framed the temple nearly perfectly. A great place for a nearly engaged couple to be;)

One late summer evening, Tom took me on a walk. We walked hand in hand as he began confessing his fear of marriage and commitment and blah, blah, blah...Inside, I was seething. I had had enough. It's a good thing he couldn't read my thoughts, they were not pretty. Somehow, in my inward rage, I hadn't noticed that we were walking around the temple. Out of the blue, on the sidewalk surrounding the temple, Tom stops and takes both of my hands and gets on one knee. It wasn't until then, I noticed his hands were shaking. He asked me to marry him and placed my brand new not-so-shiny squirt ring on my finger. I was thrilled! And mad! He was trying to throw me off his scent with the whole, "I'm afraid" thing. I quickly forgave him and couldn't wait to tell everyone!

He asked me at the beginning of August, and the date we picked to get married was September 16. We didn't want a long engagement. (I was having a hard time keeping my hands off him.;))

My first engagement ring was a squirt ring similar to one of these. Tom had picked out a diamond and setting for me on his own, but they wouldn't be ready for a couple more weeks. Not enough time to get the wedding plans done.
This banana clip explains my hair in the next picture.

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One of our engagement pictures. Yes, Tom had a mustache!

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Tomorrow--The Wedding

You’re Invited!

You are Cordially Invited

To a

20^th anniversary extravaganza!

 

Yes, that's right, On Friday the sixteenth of September

Nineteen hundred eighty-eight

Our family began.

So to celebrate, I am subjecting all those that dare to read….

The story of US!

• Monday: The proposal
  

  
   

• Tuesday: The wedding
  

 

• Wednesday: The honeymoon (Don't worry, I'll TRY to keep it G rated)
  

 

The couple is not registered anywhere, though after twenty years, maybe they should be.

 

Ze plans

Guess what I did yesterday?

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I picked up the final...ready-for-construction house plans. Our builder sent them out for bids today. Now we just have to figure out what (or who) we will have to sell to pay for our new home.

New blog

If you need to smile, check out a new blog I am very partial too. It is written by an AMAZING person!

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Check it out here !

Backyard Fun

The last weekend of the summer was spent with an awesome family. MINE!

Cameron decided to come home for the three day weekend. Tom and I thought it was because he was already homesick. Now, I think he wanted to get more "stuff" and get his laundry done. We enjoyed our time with him though. When he is home, there is always a lot of laughter.

Maddy's recent obsession has been volleyball. She has been wanting a volleyball net to practice in the backyard. Tom rigged up a homemade court in the backyard and they spent a lot of time working on trying to hit the ball over the net.The family playing together.
I got it! I got it!.... Never mind.
Doesn't she have the cutest smile?
Maddy has found that she plays best in her P.J.'s.
There was plenty of "trash talking" to go around.

Maddy signed up to play 7th grade volleyball, she was excited, until she found out they have VERY early morning practices. I may need to buy a gong to get her up.