Thankful A - Z

I saw this on my good friend Heather's blog and I thought it was kinda fun. I thought I'd give it a try...

Things that Kerri is thankful for from A - Z:

A - one of my best friends, Audra, apples with peanut butter, and Almond Joy's. Mmmm!
B - books! I love, Love, LOVE to read! Hot bread at Texas Roadhouse with cinnamon honey butter! Deeeeelish!
C - my son Cameron. He is fiesty and ornery, just like his mom! :) I'm thankful for fresh corn on the cob and Crown Burger! Yes, I said Crown Burger NOT In-N-Out!
D - my Daughter, Taylor. She is my favorite little friend and I hope we always will be. my Daddy...hands down, he is the most forgiving, loving, Christ-like man on this planet. I heart you dad! Krispy Kreme Donuts and dates with my Granty.
E - baby Evie!
F - my unbiological sister, Dawn Farr. She was put on this earth, just for me. My freedom, my faith and my family & friends all over the world.
G - now, I wasn't sure if I should put Granty, or Toren (looooong story, but those of you who know it, ha ha!) I love my Granty like none other. He is truly my sweetheart. :) I'm also thanful for goldfish crackers, Trident gum, and my Grandma Jespersen!
H - another of my best friends: Heather, my wonderful home, and hot chocolate!
I - soft serve ice cream from McDonalds! I love that stuff! I'm also thankful for insurance and instacare. We've needed that place more than once!
J - the Jespersen (my dad's) family...every last one of 'em (and there's a LOT of 'em!)
K - the Kidd (my mom's) family, my Koosharem family. My littlest son, Kaleb. He makes me laugh EVERY DAY.
L - the smell of clean laundry, licorice and licks from my dog, Hershey.
M - my mom. I don't know what I'd do without her. She is honestly my very, very best friend (next to Granty). Yummy dinners like meatloaf and sweet & sour meatballs.
N - my sweet Nana.
O - orange juice (especially when I have a cold!), having a working oven, and orthodics (yes, I admit I'm old and I need them! bah!)
P - my dog Peetie. I'm thankful for the time that I had with him! He was a wonderful friend. I'm also thankful for diet pepsi and movie popcorn!
Q - quiet time when everyone is gone or asleep. I covet those moments!
R - recreation time! I love camping, 4-wheeling, bike riding, being outside...anything that gets me out of the house!
S - SUMMER! SWIMMING! SUN BATHING! Sugar cookies with lots and lots of frosting, squash with lots and lots of butter, school, and sunflowers!
T - my son Timothy. He'll always have a special place in my heart. He was my first and I searched so very hard for him! The temple and forever family!
U - thankful Granty is NOT unemployed! We kinda need that income! Umbrellas and the movies Underworld 1-3.
V - my van. I don't feel all that sexy driving it, but it sure gets me, and everyone else I'm responsible for, where we need to be!
W - my brother Wade & his wife Sarah. They are the reason I have a niece EVE! The ward we live in. We really live in a great area!
X - X-rays/CT scans. Two and a half years ago I would have died without them.
Y - the Youth Program of the church.
Z - the zoo of a household I have! 4 kids, 1 husband, 4 babysitting kids, 4 pets--we are always busy and I love it!

Never a dull moment!

I am disgusted with myself. I'm such a terrible blogger! Anyway...

A few months back (September I believe) my three best friends (the goddesses) and I got together to celebrate Audra's birthday. Birthday's with our group are never a small thing. Each time we get a bit more creative.

For MY bday, the goddesses came over and surprised me. I was in my jammies and pissed at the persistant knocking at my door--hilarious! For Dawn's bday, we were camping (minus Audra *sniff sniff*) and surprised her with a camping princess bday party. We even managed to surprise her with a princess CAKE! For Heather's bday we told her we were going to the temple and took her to dinner instead. Her husband STILL gives her a hard time in regards to that every time we go. "Are you REALLY going to the temple this time?" Ha ha!

So, for Audra's bday, we had a hard time figuring out how to top the previous bdays. We have a thing for the movie "Xanadu" amongst ourselves--it's kind of an inside joke! Anyway, we decided to surprise Audra and take her roller skating at Xanadu complete with LEG WARMERS! Imagine our dismay when we got to Xanadu and found out the roller rink was being used as for a hockey practice! Well, we COULD have lamented the fact we couldn't skate (I think we did...just a little) but instead...well, let's just say a night of sheer delight ensued!

Dinner at Paradise, a missed opportunity to skate at Xanadu, naughty picture taking at the Valley Fair Mall, stopping at Albertson's for more batteries, dessert at The Cheesecake Factory, and meeting our new friend Chad. *sigh* Chad!

Such good times girls. SUCH.GOOD.TIMES! I thank the gods of friendship for helping me find you guys! You are seriously the BEST friends a girl could ask for. I HEART YOU GUYS!

Welllllll...it's been a long time since I posted and I decided it was about time to change that! Been busy...been depressed...blah blah...so here we go:

We went on a mini vacay to St George with some of favorite family/friends. It's awesome when you can call yer family friends! Anyway...

My cousin Dawn & her husband Eric have a membership with Trendwest which allows you to stay in a condo practically anywhere. They chose to go to St George in September and we got to come along! It was 5 days of total bliss I tell you! Swimming, Guitar Hero, awesome food, shopping sprees, a trip to Mesquite, late night giggle sessions...we had a blast! Here's some pictures to prove it!!

Long time, no see!!

WOW...it has be way too long since I last posted! We had a busy summer, then school started and life just became hectic. Except, how is that different than usual? Anyway...

I haven't forgotten all of my adoring fans, so watch for upcoming posts!

My Peetie Poo

I really didn't think I was going to be ready to blog about this so early, but I can't sleep tonight and I figured I may as well...

Today has been a truly awful day. Let me start at the beginning...

4 years ago, we adopted my puppy, Peetie, when he was just a few weeks old. He was born around Halloween and was such a wee little thing. He liked climbing up in your lap and giving multiple "kisses", chewing on EVERYTHING, and peeing all over the house! Naughty Peetie! We aren't the best animal trainers, so he had some bad habits, but he was just about the sweetest dog ever!

Peetie started having major anxiety issues when he was just a puppy, and unfortunately, that didn't go away. He'd shake and hide under the bed...bark at strangers...growl at frightening noises...and sometimes even bite. The biting became our problem. Peetie wasn't a vicious dog, he was just misunderstood. He bit because people he didn't know got too close, or they frightened him. The trouble is, the law doesn't see it that way.

We went to a family reunion a few weeks ago, and while there, he bit 2 people. This really upset Granty and he told me he thought it was time to put Peetie down. I immediately said no...there was NO WAY I was gonna do that. The more we talked though, the more I could see it had to be done. What if the next time he bit someone, it was a child? Or we were sued and lost everything? Or the police came to pick him up, quarantine him, and then put him down. He'd be frightened and alone. I just couldn't have that.

This morning, Granty called me and told me he had made an appointment to have Peetie put down. I broke down and completely fell apart. I immediately started loving on my puppy and broke the news to the kids. For the most part, they took the news pretty well...all except for Taylor. She sobbed and sobbed asking why? Where was Peetie going to go after he died? I put my arms around my kids and told them that I KNOW there is a place in heaven for animals and that Peetie would be there, waiting for us. It may sounds stupid, but it's been comforting for me to think of him in the arms of my Papa, covering his face with kisses and being loved, since I can't do it anymore.

At the vet, the Dr explained that they would basically give Peetie an overdose of a sedative and he would just drift away. That's exactly what happened. Peetie was afraid, but Granty had his arms around him, and I had his face between my hands. I kept whispering to him, "Go find Papa...find Reggie and Roger and Toby and SuzyQ and Blackie...and go play!! They are waiting for you." His eyes quickly closed and we laid him on the table. His breathing slowed and the Dr advised us when he had finally passed. Granty and I had some time alone with him and all I could do was just hold his lifeless body and cry. I had just let one of my dearest friends die and I couldn't forgive myself.

My cousin and best friend, Dawn, told me that she has heard that sometimes pets will sense something bad is coming, and will lay down their life for their "people". I'm clinging to that right now. Perhaps Peetie knew that his desire to bite would get us into trouble one day, and he wanted to save us of that grief. Maybe. What I DO know however, is that now I have my very own guardian angel looking out for me, and will fight to the death to protect me. That is a comforting thought, no matter how silly it may be.

So here's to you, Peetie. There truly is no better place than heaven for a treasure as you. You were my best friend...my comfort when I was sad...my pal when I needed someone to talk to...my joy when things were funny...my sweetheart who loved me with the purest love. My arms can't wait to squeeze the stuffing out of you again one day. Save some kisses for me! I love you!

A date with ADAM LAMBERT!!

Okay, so seriously...there was no "date"(duhhhh...), but it was the closest Taylor and I will ever get to one! (for multiple reasons, hee hee!) Anyway...

Our family have been big fans of AI for the past several seasons--myself especially. I can't tell you why exactly, but I LOVE that show! About 4 or 5 years ago, there was a show called ROCK STAR INXS and I totally fell in love with the genre. I hate reality television, but AI is just FUN!

Taylor and I went to the American Idol concert for the 2009 season and had an awesome time! I fell in love with Adam Lambert at his audition alone...the whole season watching him perform and get better and better (in my opinion--you don't have to agree!!) was just really cool! (he's so sexy--again, you don't have to agree! hee hee!)

We had a great night, especially considering a stranger gave us ROW 20 tickets absolutely FREE! She said she had some friends that couldn't come, so she was looking for some people to give the tickets to. She thought Taylor was cute and that we might like sitting really close. Our original tickets were in the nosebleed section, so we were thrilled to sit on the floor--almost close enough that we could spit on Adam...not that we would!!

I love American Idol! Can't wait for the next season (but I'll ALWAYS be an Adam Lambert fan FIRST!!) Woo hoo and all that stuff!!

BowLiNg at FaT cAtS!!

I love summer!
I love summer and doing stuff!
I love summer and doing stuff with my kids!
I love summer and doing stuff with my kids at FAT CATS...cuz it's free!
Yippie!!!