White Elephant Party...!

It is time for the.....

11th Annual White Elephant Christmas Party,

I have decided to put the party after Christmas, due to craziness before hand with scheduling and people going out of town!

So, it will be on

Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 6pm

(earlier time due to families with kids).

Now the place has Yet to be determined.

But MARK YOUR CALENDARS for

Wednesday, Dec 26th this is always a fun night!

To kick off this Years...
i found the History of the Term "White Elephant"!

**(Pulled from website, http://sarcasticshrub.blogspot.com/) i don't want to be sighted for plagiarism***

"Have you ever been to one of those Christmas parties where you needed to bring a ‘white elephant’ present? You know, a gift that while being useless is still a gift. The gifting gets going when the first person gets to choose one of the wrapped gifts under the tree. Everyone watches to see what they got and so on down the line. Each subsequent person has a choice between one of the presents already opened or one that has not been opened yet (called stealing). If someone looses their present to another, they now can choose from another new present or steal an opened present from another party goer and so on down the line till everything is gone. To keep this round robin from going on till new year, a present is ‘locked’ on the 4th person who receives it.

Have you ever wondered where the term ‘white elephant’ came from and why it represents a useless present? Like most idioms or sayings, it’s based on some truth from our past.

In some Asian countries, white elephants are sacred and a symbol of royal power; all those discovered are presented to the king. Usually in a ceremony, not confiscated from the finder. The more white elephants the king has, the greater his standing.

In the past white elephants were given as gifts to the king’s friends and allies. The animals needed a lot of care and, being sacred, could not be put to work. They were a great financial burden on the recipient so only the very rich could afford them.

White elephants were sometimes given as a present to enemies (often a lesser noble with whom the king did not like). The unfortunate new owner of this brand spanking new white elephant, unable to use it for work and make any profit from it, was obliged to take care of it. Being of the regular Joe variety of citizen, they would suffer bankruptcy and ruin.

Because of this, the term “white elephant” came, in English, to mean a thing which is more trouble than it is worth, or has outlived its usefulness to the person who has it. While the item may be useful to others, its current owner would usually be glad to be rid of it.

So the next time you go to one of these white elephant parties you can be the uber nerd and recite the history of the term white elephant, or just steal away that toilet paper roll holder with the built in radio you’ve always wanted and be happy that you didn’t get the battery operated carrot peeler you brought."

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Last weekend we got to go to my Parent's ward's Breakfast with Santa. It is always fun to see everyone i grew up loving. (that was my home ward). But for almost a week, Hyrum was asking about the day we get to go see Santa! A lot of his cousins were able to come too. It was such a fun time seeing the kids waiting their turn to see Good Ol' Santa Claus. Hyrum was a little hesitant at first but then as you can see, was loving seeing Santa for Real finally. I think my favorite thing of the morning was my Sis-in-Law Carley telling my about Briggs and his experience with "Santa". Carley had told Briggs to tell Santa he wanted a Nintendo DS . All the kids were given little bags, and Briggs opens his bag up and looks inside to find it full of candy and an orange. says " mom, this is a fake Santa, my DS isn't in here"... i love the wonder of children at Christmas Time! The story still makes me laugh.

Christmas time is here....!

I love the Christmas season and our small taste of Cold weather that Arizona lends to us! I figured since i ventured out and made a fall wreath, i would make a Christmas Wreath. I was going to go for the Red and Green...but all the accents were Gold...and i don't do Gold, then i figured if i went for blue and such, i could keep it up till the End of January. So Blue and Silver it was. Can you believe that it only cost me $20 to make. Yeah! and in Michael's they sell them for $40 plus! It was fun to make. Did you know that Michael's had pre-made bows... that is what that beautiful bow is...it is not one of mine :) All the fun things i found at Michael's to put in it was exciting to pick out, they had a lot of selections. I was excited on how it turned out. Merry Christmas!!!

There was a Mouse in the HOUSE!!!

Usually our nights at the Speakmans are pretty casual, but last night we were all just sitting there visiting and lounging in the living room, when something caught my eye. I said, "i think i just saw a mouse". Dad Speakman started laughing and said "Noooooo" . Then Nathan Verified my sighting.... there it was a tiny tiny little mouse. Then... thats when it all started. Everyone had to help. Everyone had their own way of catching the little guy, it was soooo funny. But then Dad stepped in, took off his Dress Coat and after a short time, was Successful in the Capture. (you can see the little mouse in the left corner of the box just chillin' there)

The grand kids were so excited to see the little Mouse. (it is on the side in the middle). Well all in all it was a crazy and fun night. Enjoy the video. You can hear all the excitement and me laughing. I think the funniest part is watching the mouse darting back and forth and Dad following it....It was just really funny to me.

Picture worth a thousand Words!

This was taken by my darling sister-in law, Jaron's Sister Alisha. She has such an Eye for pictures. I will let the picture talk for itself ! Merry Christmas and Happy December everyone!

SuperBoy!

Hyrum loves to play with daddy. It is fun to watch them wrestle and play games. Hyrum loves all the crazy stuff that Jaron does with him, like flips, and throws him into the air and so on.....So I got home from Homemaking, and all Hyrum could talk about was something about the roof. I didn't understand because he was talking so fast and excited. I thought that he got something stuck up on the roof, like a ball or a toy... but i finally understood! He was saying... "Daddy put me on the Roof and i went... Woosh!" Now Jaron was on the phone at the time. Once Jar got off i asked him if he put Hyrum on the Roof?! He just started laughing. Typical response. But YES Jaron did let Hyrum climb up and then jump from the top of the roof to him. AND Hyrum Loved it. Hyrum was asking me to do it. Now i couldn't get him on the roof like jar can, so now i get to hear it all day. Mommy Roof, mommy roof come on mommy, come on. So we waited all the next day till daddy got home from work and i made Jaron talk to Hyrum about the Roof. Jar sat down with Hyrum to tell him that it is something that Daddy does with Hyrum. Anyways Jaron showed me out back and Hyrum was eager for me to Watch.......enjoy!

Hyrum was one proud little boy!!!! i love this kid!

Good Ol' State Fair !!!

Warning: Lots of Pics.... :)
also, we droped a pretty Penny at the fair.... so i am including all of the rides Hyrum went on! It makes me feel better :) so enjoy!



This is us waiting for the Demolition Derby to start!

This is Hyrum the whole time. The Derby was actually really loud but cool. Hyrum learned to cover his ears when we told him it was going to get loud :) We REALLY enjoyed the Demolition Derby .....




We have decided to make it a Tradition every year to go!



Now this was the first ride for Hyrum so I went with him. Ya, big girl...tiny elephant ride, does NOT mix.

So the next few he went alone. AND had a blast!

This was a small roller coaster, he was having a blast on this one! and every time he came around the corner to where we were sitting he would start to laugh.

The swings were one of his favorites. he is such a ham. He got quite comfortable on the ride as you can see. Mr. Loungin' Magee.



This was a smaller version of "Big Yellow", so we tried it. First Jaron, then I took Hyrum down, Sorry for the red eyes, didnt feel like takin' the time to edit them out right now.

Sadly this train was hyrum favorite, mostly because he likes trains. it was REALLY slow and barely wobbled. but was the saddest when he left it. maybe it was cuz it was really late.

He was a champ all the way home too. Eating some pizza we picked up on the way out. All in all it really was a super fun time. BUT one late night :)



WE love the Fair (well mostly, the crowed was insane)!

Halloween FUN !!!

Well, Halloween seemed to stretch for over a week (which is fun, but exhausting :). With Trunk-or-Treats and Parties Galore... Here are a few pics of our adventures and times.

Hyrum tried to help....but ended up mostly playing with the spoon and pumpkin.

Here is the Final Product of the Night!!! The Three little monster one is mine, the silly smiley face is Jaron's. It was fun. but we did use stencils :)

Here is our Trunk... We tried, we put up ghost lights and had fun music, not one of the best trunks though :)

Hyrum won this fun whistle lips at the fish pond. This was his favorite thing from the night... Who ever heard of a spiderman vampire :)

We stopped off at G&G Rogers after the Trunk-or-Treat... i love my folks, their porch was all decked out and had black lights and scary music with a fun funky light in the back... the flash ruined all the fun effects though.

Our last stop of the night was at Jarons families. Joseph and Jonathan were Punks... they are so funny,

and Nathan and Becca droped by, and he was so creepy. I wouldn't want to face that scary mask in a dark ally! The mask was actually glued to his face in places and would move with his own mouth and face. But he had a blast scaring all the trick or treaters all night :)

Hyrum is jumping on some pillows and them flips to his hands and does like a hand stand / front walk over... he is just so daring and funny. This is an actions shot just before the flip.

Hope you all had a FUN and SUPER Halloween !!!!

TAG... I'm it !!!

What is his name? Jaron

How long have you been together? Well that depends on when you count. We dated in high school and just after for a total of 2 years. Then had 2 years time to both grow up :) (whilst Jaron was on his mission in England) then dated for 2 weeks before we got engaged.... then we were engaged for four months and now going on 5 years of Marriage in January... WAHOO! so to answer the original question, Since August of 1998 :) but technically almost 7 years.

How long did you date? Again... technically... Sheesh. just shy of 2 years with 2 years of Letter Writing :)

Who eats more? Jaron, thank heaven, but i'm not far behind sadly :)

Who said I love you first? Jaron

Who is taller? Again, Jaron, luckily.

Who sings better? I say Jaron.... its in his blood.

Who is smarter? Defiantly Jaron.

Whose temper is worst? Defiantly Mine!

Who does the laundry? me

Who pays the bills? me but, jar makes the money to pay those bills :D

Who mows the lawn? Jaron, but i did it once, it was interesting

Who cooks dinner? Well when dinner is cooked. Me

Who drives when you are together? Jaron

Who is more stubborn? hummm, that one is a toss up. It depends on what it is regarding, but we both are crazy stubborn at times.

Who is the first to admit that they are wrong?That one goes to Jaron.

Who's parents do you see the most? Quite equally see both often.

Who kissed who first? Technically, I kissed Jaron. It was awesome!

Who asked who out? Jaron asked me out. to a school dance.

Who purposed? This one is all Jaron. Surprised the Junk out of me. I thought i had a few months :)

Who has more friends? We have the same friends. Its awesome.

Who wears the pants in the family? hummm... I do have a pretty good say it what happens, but i would say Jaron does a pretty good job in keeping me in Check :)

My Spiderman!

Hyrum is into lots of things, Shrek, Toy Story, Little Einstiens, Dora.... on and on. But the one thing he wanted to be for Halloween was Spiderman. Now he has never watched the spiderman movies or cartoons, but we bought some Spiderman Fruit Roll-ups ... Which are his Favorite... And he has a hand-me-down shirt and some cute pajamas with spiderman on it. Its just funny. I wanted him to be a cowboy, Like Woody on Toy Story...but when i asked him he kept saying Spiderman. Tonight was the first time I let him put on the costume. We went to my Brothers ward's Trunk or Treat. He had a super fun time. He ran around being superhero's with all his Cousins!!!

We have a Spiderman, Batman(crew), Superman(brigham), Superwomen(brooklyn), and a Power Ranger(cade)!!!! GO TEAM!! And yes! Every one of these superhero's are munching on thier recently aquired Stash of candy. I really do love Halloween !!!

Priorities

It's an interesting time in life, when a person in your life passes away. You gain so much Perspective on life. Where you are at. Where your going. How would you have left those you love behind. Where are your Priorities now. AND i have come to the conclusion that i am not were i want to be. My Priorities are some what backward. And my current train of thoughts have been derailed. I haven't posted in a while because every thing just seems so trivial ... In comparison to my last few posts. I know that life should go on after someone you loved has died....but should it go on in the same fashion, just as before? Or is this a time to reflect and do some prioritizing, goal setting, and should or can this be a accelerate for change!?

With conference feeling so long ago, but i remember some talks that were just for me, and i was wondering when the person speaking was actually going to call out my name in chastisement, or in pleading :) i was ready to change. Then my good friend being killed, brought reality back. This life is SO Precious. This life is our time to SHINE! This is were we need to learn and work and grow! So what do i do now.....? how do i start.....? One thing at a time. "And through small and simple things,... will grow that which is GREAT!"(D&C, it was in the Relief Society Message this month). Thank you to all i know and love. You are so Dear to me. Thank you for loving me and being a friend despite.... me :) .

Tim's Funeral Service

Will be October 13th at 11 A.M. at the Mesa South Stake Center (1415 E. Southern Ave. -- Southern/Gilbert).
There will be a time from 8 - 10 A.M. for friends to meet and share memories about Tim. I am sure we all have many. High school is full of them -- with YM/YW activities, Choir, trips, Student Council, etc... -- and then there is the eight years since we graduated.... He could bring smiles to many people's faces. I have heard a few people comment that he was just too good for this world. Tim truly was a great guy, and I am sure he is already busy upstairs with more work and getting people to smile on the other side. (words from email of Kim (jones) Merrill).

Precious Life

I just received word about a dear friend from High School who was killed in a head-on collision this morning. For those of you who knew Tim Filichia, you know how much of a genuine, Christlike example he was to us all. Susie Hall put it this way: "It just goes to show that he really was too good for this world." And since he was single, another friend said, "The girls up there are going to be really happy to see him!" The Lord must have some special work for him to do. We're all going to miss him, and our prayers go out to his family. This news really makes the talk from General Conference yesterday on 'living like it was your last day' so much more real. Life is too precious to let words of love get put off until 'tomorrow'; as if we have a say in whether tomorrow will come for us or not.

I'll update when I learn about the funeral date.

Craft Corner...!

So here is one of my crazy craft accomplishements... this was originally a fall garland, that my friend gave me,(which i had not use for) and i took it and bent it into a wreath shape. then added the fall flowers from Michaels and some red glass beads as berries. the Bow was a task in itself... i could decided between polka dots (which are my FaV) and the sparkly sheer. so i went with both. and then added a few more strands for flavor. i was excited when it actually looked good. Yeah projects....

Here is project "Rescue". This awesome chair was in my neighbors garbage can. (right on top...luckly) and they put their can out a day early so i saw it sitting there on top... so when i went out to go get my mail, i casually walked by and examened the chair. Structurely fine, not breaks, just nasty with areas of mold and the finish (originally light pine color) was chipped and splintered...... So late that night, i went and snagged it. Dumpster Diving is a "guilty pleasure"! But i had the chair for a few weeks in my backyard... then sanded it and spray painted it.... AND it is like new. and Awesome!!! Hyrum loves to read books and sit and watch tv in it. Thank you neighbors !

The Red one says "Believe"with a fancy Scrolly "B" the the other says "Give Thanks"

The other night i was able to go to my Sis-in-law Carley's best friends Malissa Homemaking Night. and i told her to "sign me up for everthing"!!! it was holiday crafts and i have none. and two of the projects didnt get finished so you get to see those on a later post. but here is a H for Hyrum, and the glass blocks for Halloween time and Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those were awesome and took like 5 mins. they have Vinyl lettering. that lettering is just awesome and totally perfessional looking! GO CRAFTS!!! and Malissa for signing me up, and for Carley for telling me about it. I had a Blast, met some awesome ladies.

Look Im a Vampire!!!

You're Esme Cullen - Your maternal instinct to take care of people and be kind draw people towards you. You're compassionate and loving, yet firm when you need to be. You appreciate hard work and value the beautiful results of your dedication to any project.

Need some Sparkle or Bling?

These are Handmade and custome work done by me :) !!! all in Crystals and Sterling Silver. Let me know if you are interested. If you have seen something you like, i can duplicate very well. Depending on what you want... depends on the price. Enjoy!