Blog Boycott

No - we have not held a BLOG BOYCOTT in the Elder household. We have just been CRAZY busy. And there really is A LOT to tell.

But FIRST - to Carrie Randall - of course I check the comments on the BLOG and I even sometimes answer - so there!

I do also frequent yours, Casey's and Maren's as well and leave comments from time to time so double there!

Anyway - life has been very hectic and it seems that we have been traveling too much lately. We are trying to get pregnant and our doctor said that we are not settled enough and need to stay in one place for more than 3 weeks. I guess that is saying something huh? Well, I think that is virtually impossible for us.

Alright - so on to the family DISH!

Valentines

Last night Jon and I had a HOT date and attended the Annual Stake Valentine Dance. We went to dinner with 6 couples in ward at Kyoto Palace (just like Benihana's) and then shook our tail feather for 4 hours.

We even had our pictures taken - apparently it is a really big deal here in our stake. We had a blast! It felt like an informal PROM...

It was so fun dancing to songs like "Gonna Make You Sweat - C&C Music Factory" and "Can't Touch This - MC Hammer" and feeling like you were 14 again. If only you could have seen all the peeps revert back to their cool 80's moves. We were so bummed not to get any "Vanilla Ice" or "Tainted Love" because we were really wanting to bust out our best moves.

Jon and I could not help wondering what we would have thought of each other if we would have met when we were teenagers. Timing is everything!

Here are some goofy self portraits that we took of ourselves.

Tonight we are having a "wii" party and going to be jammin with some friends to Dance Dance Revolution and Rock Band - I guess you never really stop dreaming - or grow up! I think I am a 14 year old stuck in a 36 year old body!

OMG - 36!!!!

TOES

Ok - here is our 15lb cat - no he is not fat at all - in fact he is ALL muscle. He is a beast and we refer to him as "satan" because he does things that deliberately drive us crazy. In the morning he knocks our clocks off our bed top, knocks pictures off the dresser, chews on shopping bags, lays on whatever papers or magazine you may be reading, claws at the sofa and most of all he loves to bite Jonathan's toes.

This is a story that I could not pass up sharing because we have the perfect picture to show how evil "palladio" really is.

When we were living in Philadelphia, we had this fantastic NY style loft. We wanted to put our bed above the bathroom which was the only part of the loft that had 4 walls. Jonathan built this really cool ladder so that we could get up and down and it soon became a jungle gym for our cat. He would run up and down like a maniac and leap up to all the cross beams in the ceiling because our place used to be an old warehouse.

Anyway - at night he would wait for Jon to turn out the lights and then literally chase him up the ladder nipping at his heels. It was the funniest thing - he never did it to me - only to Jon - he would even hide and the minute Jon would get to the first rung of the ladder he would start the chase. Jonathan hated it and even tried carrying a water gun with him to spray the cat on his way up - needless to say it did not work!

We have since put a bell on his collar to signal the warning signs of the approaching tiger.

Every since then "satan" has had an affinity for Jon's feet and whenever he leaves is feet out of the covers of our bed - he will attack and bite Jon's toes.

Last night Jon was laying in bed watching TV and all of a sudden - his big toe was chomped on and then palladio was out of site. The attacks have been more frequent lately. It may not sound funny to you - but it is hilarious to watch - mostly because Jon is afraid of our cat and getting his toes bitten!

Things you may not know...

So I got this off of my good friend Carolyn's blog and thought it was pretty cool...maybe you will too:

5 things on my "TO DO" list today:

1. See JUNO (the movie)

2. Go to Target (need toilet paper)

3. Clean the house

4. BLOG!

5. Look for flights to Croatia

3 of my BAD habits

1. Chewing my cuticles (usually when I am nervous or when my mind is spinning)

2. Rolling my eyes - I do it all the time and it gets me in SOOOO much trouble...I don't even know I do it - SCARY!

3. Blowing bubbles with my gum in exec meetings (so hard to not do especially when you chew ORBIT-Bubblemint)

5 things I would do if I were a Billionaire

1. Buy a house in Tuscany (Italy)

2. Take a trip around the world for 6 months

3. Start an Architecture/Interior Design firm with Jon

4. Pay off my parents house and buy houses for my sisters!

5. INVEST!!!!!

5 Places I have lived

1. California (Upland & San Jose)

2. Soeul Korea

3. Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh and Philadephia)
4. Arizona (Mesa & Tempe)

5. San Antonio Texas

5 Jobs I have had:

1. Personal shopper @ Nordstrom

2. Denim expert (aka Denim FOLDER) and Display Artist @ the GAP

3. Nanny

4. VP - JPMorganChase Manhattan Bank

5. Fashion Show Co-ordinator for Harris & Co.

5 things most people don't know about me:

1. I am obsessed with CLOROX wipes...I just LOVE them - especially the ones in the green dispenser.

2. I hum all the time - even without realizing it.

3. I love to play in the mud

4. I hate the smell of roses

5. I am scared to death of speaking to large groups - my knees shake and my lips quiver... and yet the irony is that it is a much too frequent requirement for my job!

There you go - I hope you learned something new about me.

The Big Build

SO - we mentioned earlier that we have decided to build a house in Arizona...we were just told that it will be done sometime between August and October - we are so excited. Suddenly all the walls of our house here are closing in. Go figure! We were back in AZ last weekend to make all of our design picks (my favorite part) and took a few pics - so here you go!

Here is our view - this is just a section of the panoramic view that we have - it is gorgeous!

SOLD - the happy buyers...I am out there somewhere...we were able to get a nice DEEP lot and we are not 5' away from our neighbors which is so nice!

Here is a picture of Jon - he found the architectural plans to our house. BONUS - my personal architect (jon of course) was able to snap pics of all 22 pages. This was the highlight of the trip for him I am sure! It was like finding the treasure chest for him and now he can see where every 2x4 and electrical wire is located! :)

"Gramz" is 90!

The whole family took a little trip to So Cal for Grams' 90th Suprise party this past weekend! I swear that she has remained the same for 30 years! She has this amazing Portuguese blood that has this ability to stop any aging at 70 years old! Anyway - we all trucked in from Nor Cal, Tempe, L.A., Moreno Valley, Ontario and Tucson for the SURPRISE! Gramz, Aunt Kathy and Dad! Gramz was in a daze by the shock and surprise!

FISH FACES from myself Angela and Ashley!

Sisters!

All the girls and their along with Brett and Jonathan invaded Gramz' house and had a sleepover. We had a great time looking at old pictures and of everyone including Gramz when she had been dating grandpa!

We also saw the old neighbors houses....too bad only the Allred's are left! :( We even took the old FLOOD corner at breakneck speeds and remembered giving Carrie a nice bath! You know...Dad still thinks that is the funniest joke ever...Someday Carrie will have to have her laugh too!

Joey, Angus and Ashley come for Thanksgiving ...

I totally forgot ... I found these pics from when Joey, Angela and Ashley came here for Thanksgiving.

This is Jon in the Bay of Santa Cruz - wishing he could be out there sailing!Not sure what is happening here - but lets just say it is a big kiss. Here is a pic of Ashley and Angela in Santa Cruz. It was a beautiful day.

I love these next 2 pictures of Ashley...I told her to work it like a model - and the pics are gorgeous!Ashley is going to kill me for posting this one! :)

Of course we had to hit the city - look familiar?... Pier 39!

Joey and Jon got a little side tracked on our visit to Macy's ... we were trying to get into the Christmas spirit...not sure how the polar bear fits in the picture!

When we were all walking to Ghiradelli Square we had the party trolley swing by and the pirate themed party-goers begged for us to take a picture! They were dancing and singing at the top of their lungs the ultimate party song....... yes you guessed it.... Y-M-C-A !! ah come on - now its stuck in your head huh?