Just Jules: July 2008

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Who Needs Sleep?

So, I try to make it to bed by 11pm (especially since I get up between 4:30am-5:30am for work), but keyword there is "try". Lately, it seems like I have been doing good to make it to bed by 1am! Most of the time I am playing too much and that is the reason for the lack of sleep, so don't feel sorry for me. Anyway, here are some things that contribute to my exciting life or sleepless nights...depends on how you want to look at it!

On Friday, 18th of July, we went to the new Batman show. Well, the movie didn't start until 10:10pm and it is a three hour show, so needless to say I didn't get home until after 1am. The show definitely has some amazing acting and it was very well done, but overall it was not my favorite. There was way to much death and destruction for my liking, but you should go see it and form your own opinion.

The next night, July 19th, I participated in the Moonlight Classic which is a bike ride through Downtown Denver. The fundraiser didn't start until 10:30pm and it is a 15 mile bike ride. It was a lot of fun and was such a beautiful evening for a bike ride. I got home at 3am.

Every Tuesday I meet up with some friends to play tennis. We have a great time and I should probably be grateful that the lights shut off at 11pm, otherwise I would probably be there all night! I get home around 11:30pm on the nights I play tennis.

Wednesday, July 23rd, I met up with my friend's David and Lisa and we played scrabble well into the evening. It was fun, even though I did lose two of the three games! I didn't get home until after 10:30pm.

Thursday evenings means there is a soccer game. On one occasion we had a game that did not even start until 9pm, so on that night I did not get home until after 10:30pm. This past Thursday, our game was at 8pm, so I got home around 9:30ish. Nice, I can finally get some sleep, right? No, no... I was hosting a party at my place the next day and needed to use that time getting my apartment prepped. Oh, and during my soccer game that night I hurt my foot. Yeah, I went up for a header and came down on my foot wrong. I didn't hurt my ankle, but it is the top part which allows you to flex your foot. So, I finally made it to bed by midnight, but lets just say my foot hurt so bad that I wanted to cry! After laying there for a good hour and a half I got up, hobbled over to the medicine cabinet and took some Tylenol. I finally fell asleep around 2:30am- just in time to get up in 3 hours! So Friday, my boss made me go to the doctor against my wishes. Well, come to find out I have a severe contusion and my foot is not broken, fractured, etc. It hurts, but at least it should heal fast.

So, Friday, 25 July I hosted a party at my place. It was a great success and a lot of fun. People played the wii, scattegories, nertz, rook, sat and visited and eat goodies. There were 32+ people that came throughout the night and the party continued until 3:00am! Time flies when you are having fun!

So, that is my crazy life- I love it! Sometimes it would be nice to get more sleep, but look at all the memories I would miss out on if I did!

Before I say goodnight, let me say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Miss Emmeline! Hope you have a fabulous day tomorrow!

Okay, now I can go to bed. Love you all. Goodnight!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Thanks

I want to say thank you to everyone who called, e-mailed, gave a gift, wrote a message on facebook, joined us for bowling and/or cheesecake, or sent me happy birthday wishes in some way, shape, or form yesterday. As I looked through my cards and thought of all those who contacted me yesterday I realized that I am extremely blessed to have such a wonderful family and such awesome friends. I learned today of someone who committed suicide and how sad I was for this person. I truly thought, “did this person not have anyone that they called a friend? ‘Cause if they had I don’t know how anyone could take their own life… its family and friends that make life worth living and quite enjoyable. This is how I know I have been extremely blessed in my life and want to say thanks… · Thanks Mom and Dad for raising my in a way where I know what is important in life and can appreciate the small things. Thanks Momisita for continuing to support me even in my crazy ideas like going to Kuwait! · Thanks to my brothers, sisters, and in-laws who make me laugh, love me for who I am (even if I am a big nerd who is an obsessive planner and loves playing scrabble), and have cute kids that bring a smile to my face every time I see them. · Thanks Jared for being my twin. In all my 27 years I’ve never known what it is like to not have a best friend. · Thanks Laurette and Jamie for putting together a birthday party for me and making amazing cheesecake! · Thanks Lisa and David for being great friends and letting me tag along :^) with you to run, play games, enjoy homemade ice-cream, go wakeboarding, or just hang out. · Thanks Ashlee for always being the type of friend who I know is there for me even if we don’t talk or see each other for weeks at a time. · Thanks Dianne for being concerned about me and wanting to know updates as to when and if I go to Kuwait. · Thanks to co-workers who make me feel so loved when they see me since I am now Det 606. · Thanks to all those who show up to play tennis and allow me to share with you something that I love. · Thanks to the Third Thursday group that is genuinely interested in what is happening in my life and who put up with my picky eating! · Thanks to all who occasionally drop me a note or e-mail just to let me know you were thinking of me. · Thanks to all I know who continue to be examples to me of how to live a good, happy, fulfilling life. Seriously, I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. You people are amazing and I am so grateful I have you in my life!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Got To Love Vacations!

Hello all! I have to tell you all about my week long trip to Utah and Boise. It was fabulous! I must say little Cayden is a great road tripper. He was a trooper and after spending 28 hours hanging with me in the back seat, we are best buds! Love that little guy! Okay, so Tuesday before heading out I got my haircut, stopped at the store for a few things, met up with a friend to go running (well, we kind of got a ten minute run in... sorry Lisa!), then played tennis from 8pm until 11pm. It was a fun evening, but made for a sleepless night. Once I got home at 11:30pm it was then time to start packing! I find that while I am packing I often find other things I have to do like pay my bills, do the dishes, water the plants, organize my room, etc, etc, etc. So, needless to say I finally made it to bed by 2am after I finished my “packing”.

Wednesday morning came around mighty early since I had to get up at 5am to shower and get the last minute things taken care of before heading out. Jared, Katie, Cayden and I were on the road by 6:37am- yeah us! The trip to Utah went by rather quickly and we pulled up to the house by 4:30pm. That night Todd came to hang with us. After an exciting game of remote control soccer Jared, Katie, Todd, and I went bowling in Tooele. Apparently Wednesday night is not a big Bowling night in Tooele, because we were the ONLY ones there! We had a great time. I felt bad for Todd when he left at 11:45pm and still had a good 35 minute drive ahead of him. To make things worse he took I-80West instead of I-80East. That was a 32 mile mistake that cost him about 30 minutes of precious sleep! Sorry Todd!

I hope we get a lane!!!

Say What?

STRIKE!

Thursday Jared, Katie, Cayden, and I headed out by 10am for the second leg of our journey. The stretch from Utah to Boise seemed to drag on for a long, long, time, but we finally made it just after 4pm. It was fun to meet my almost 3 month old newphew, Eli, and to see my cute nieces Emmy, Meggy, and Alyssa again. Didn’t take long to get Uncle Jared on the tramp and playing with all of them- such a good Uncle! That night I got to hang with Jen as we ran to Costco to pick up some goodies and food for all the troops coming in. Not very often do I get to hang with just my sister, so thanks Jen for the fun shopping excursion! Mom, Jess, Sean, Tayler, Rylee, and Jayson made it there by 9:00pm that evening. The party has begun!

Friday, July 4th, was a very lazy, relaxing day. I watched Wimbledon, painted my toe nails, played the wii, golfed (the card game), got a ride on Steve’s scooter, and just hung with family. Brent and Ashley arrived to Jen and Steve’s house at the same time as Ryan, Marcela, and Reyes. They made it there by 1:30pm and now the whole gang is here, all 21 of us! That evening some of us went swimming at the hotel and then Brent, Ashley, Mom, Emmy, Jared, Katie, Cayden, and I set out to find the Chili’s so we could enjoy their delicious desserts. Well, let’s just say Brent’s stellar navigation skills didn’t kick in so we ended up getting some Klondike bars at the store before calling it a night. Don’t worry Brent, we still love you!

Since it has been over two years since all of us have been together and over five years since we have had family pictures, it was decided that Saturday was the day to remedy that. The only rule for pictures was everyone had to adhere to the dress code of black, tan, or white colors. Everyone looked great and pictures weren’t even too painful. I’m excited to see the pictures from the Photographer. There were a lot of cute pictures that were taken just from all of our cameras, so we’ll cross our fingers that the Photographer got some cute pictures as well. After pictures we had a few hours before we had to get ready to go to Meghan’s baptism. The baptism was very nice. Meggy looked great in all white and she was definitely “glowing” with excitement! I’m very proud of you Meggy and I’m glad I was able to be there with you on your special day. That night we went swimming again. Yes, that is two days in a row that I went swimming and even wore my bikini! Yes, I know it is a miracle and I even have pictures to prove it! Me and the pool don’t really get along however… see the picture of my fat lip. Lets just say that Jared won! Anyway, we celebrated that evening for Meggy by enjoying homemade icecream and a special decorated congratulations cake for her. We also played nertz well into the evening before retiring to the hotel.

Meggy's Baptism Day

Sunday, church was not until 1pm, so we got to sleep in and enjoy a lazy morning. Actually, I’m glad church was so late so I got to watch a good amount of the Wimbledon Men’s Championship match between Federer and Nadal. It was a great match, Nadal came out on top after five sets and beating Federer 9 to 7 in the final set. After church we had Hawaiian haystacks and again, just enjoyed being with everyone. Mom and I played our traditional Scrabble game… Mom won. Steve compiled everyone’s pictures and that night we enjoyed a little slide show presentation complete with music and the pictures scrolling through on the TV. Jared also brought his demo reel, so everyone got to see a small piece of what he has accomplished in his years of school.

Monday was our final day of everyone being together. Brent, Ryan, Jared, and I went and played tennis in the morning. It was a lot of fun, especially since I have awesome brothers who all make me laugh! I love my brothers and I love tennis, so it doesn’t get much better then that, especially since I won! After showering, packing up, and checking out of the hotel, we headed over to Jenny’s for breakfast and few more hours of hanging with everyone before hitting the road. We even got a small soccer game in where it was guys versus girls. Good thing we had Emmy as our secret weapon and Katie, Emmy, and I beat Jared and Brent! I have to hand it to Jared, Ryan, and Brent for doing an amazing packing job and being able to fit everything in so Mom could head back to Utah with us. We said our good-byes and pulled out at 1:45pm. The trip went by fast and we made it home by 7:20pm. That evening Mom and I brought dinner home from Kravers, picked some cherries, and enjoyed some good laughs as we looked through some old family pictures.

Go Emmy!

Today, July 8th was the last leg of our trip. Jared, Katie, Cayden and I got on the road by 10:20am and we made it home by 6:40pm. It was such a great trip and so nice to see everyone. I enjoyed just watching the kids play, relaxing in the shade of the backyard, playing games, and just being with my family. It was a fabulous trip and definitely sad to say goodbye and have to head back to Colorado. Back to life, back to reality… But then again, I guess I have to work so I can afford these trips and good times hanging with my awesome family! Love you all!

What a good looking bunch!