VEGAS OR BUST!! Pickle and I wanted a little VACA and she was able to get some cheap rooms in VEGAS so off we went! Both of us had never been before so it was going to be an experience. We didn't know what to do or where to go but 2 smart girls like us are bound to figure it out, and WE DID. We had a blast and were able to see A LOT. We were able to check out the VEGAS temple the first night and that was BEAUTIFUL. We went inside Cesars palace, Bellagio, Excaliber, MGM grand, Stratosphere, and others I am sure. They all kinda look the same inside so its hard to remember where we were! lol. We ate at Sushi Roka, Hard Rock cafe, La Salsa Cantina and Jack in the box. It was my first time riding in a taxi cab too so that was fun. A Kiss of good luck for a fun trip.ummm....Calories don't count in VEGAS.NAKED men in Cesar Palace.
ummm..... What happens in VEGAS stays in VEGAS? haha I don't really know. I think I was flashing Pickle or something. Notice the nike Shoes? YES we did work out while we were there. Good girls.

RRRAAWWWWWWRRRR.

Oh yeah, I own this house.

Fun night out.

We didn't win, AT ALL. But the slots were fun. For about 20 minutes...

At La Salsa Cantina. This is me getting into the music no doubt.

On top of the Stratosphere. I think Dane Cook has a joke about paying money to go up really high and then paying more money to look at things on the ground where we just were. LOL.

We rode the INSANITY and that was fun. Its a swing that goes off the edge of the stratosphere. If you are scared of hights DO NOT get on this ride. I thought it was uber FUN.

On our way up up up up up up up to the top of the tower. Do you think there is a princess captive at the top of this thing?

Me and the snapdragons at the temple.

VEGAS temple.

Who is that studly man in the background? OH, That is just MORONI

Check out the guts on that one!!! haha gross.

It was a GREAT trip and lots of fun! Pickle is always a fun one to take along. I call her my jukebox of noises. You never know what you are going to get!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

It was Annies 3rd birthday yesterday! All she wanted to do was "go to the Jungle" so we met them at the Rainforest Cafe. Turns out she is terrified of the Jungle! There was a cougar up in the tree that scared here everytime it growled! She would cuddle up to mamma and just shiver with terror. I felt bad for thinking it was so cute because she really was so scared! she loved opening Lindseys present to her. Lots of Princess stuff.
This is pretty much the way Jensen looked all night. Eyes wide and kinda scared but mostly curious!Yeah for Coconut Shrimp. YUUMMMMM

The only thing they werent scared of was the fish. They found NEMO. Finding Nemo is Jensens favorite movie.

Here is the cat that was soooooo scary.

Check out Jensen! So curious! All his hair has really started to grow in and he is looking more like a toddler and not so much a baby anymore.

SUSHI

YUMMMMM...

One thing on my bucket list was SUSHI and it is now crossed off! Elicia had me try it while we were in Vegas (I will add pictures from that trip later). We had 3 different rolls but I don't remember what they were called! I know there was crab.Veal. avacado. rice. i LOVE wasabi!!! oh my heck it burns straight up to your brain but feels fantastic! Its weird how the burn only lasts for 10 seconds and then goes away. Its not the same as salsa that lingers on your tastebuds. Now the question is.... Was the sushi worth the $70 we paid for it? The jury is still out on that... ALSO sushi is challenging to eat. Its too big to just put in your mouth but if you try to bite it in half you have to fight with the sea weed stuff and it usually wins!

My life

Things I have done... Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done. It got me to thinking about what I would like to do in life. A few of my goals are on here like Visit The Vatican city, Skydive, go on a cruise, get stung by a bee (okay not that one).

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Gone without food or water for 24 hours or longer
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Stayed up for 24 hours with NO sleep at all
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Changed a lightbulb
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Mowed the lawn
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

LUNCH DATES ARE BEST

I love lunch dates! There is something fun about having a little fun in the middle of the day. It breaks up the boring. Monday we had a visit from Preston and his non-girlfriend girlfriend. They met up with Lindsey and I for lunch at our fav. place Haji Baba's. It was something new for them but I THINK they liked it. We had them try Hummus, Gyros, and stuffed grape leaves. Alyssa, the non-girlfriend girlfriend, is such a sweetheart! She is lots of fun to be around and is always smiling. I never realized she was a shorty till I looked at this picture! lol.

Happy 4th Birthday Chloe!!

My oldest Niece Chloe Turned 4 this week! She is such a cute girl!

Its so funny how kids just like to open presents. Mostly it doesn't matter what is in the package, they are just looking for the next bag to tear into! So why do we stress about getting them just the right gift? Just get a bag with lots of tissue paper! :)

Cookie Party

Its time for our Holiday cookie decorating party!! For those of you who don't know my friends and I get together at my house to decoarte sugar cookies for every holiday. Next is Cinco De Mayo...

Not sure if more frosting gets on the cookies or in our mouths. Roy Bryant makes THE BEST frosting.
The MERN and The SCOTT

Check out how hard core people get! I am always way impressed with their skills.

Some of the people who were around at the end. No one can resist the sugar so we always have a great turnout.

Tanner, Elicia, Mern and Meagan all wore plaid shorts!! GREAT minds think alike.

Helping hands...

Mern and Pickle decorating up a storm

SPRING!!

I love spring time. We don't really get one here in Mesa because there are flowers all year long. We don't get that anticipation of watching the snow melt and the earth soften to allow the little splotches of green to come up. It is nice to have flowers all year long though. I have a favorite flower! Yep! The snapdragon!! I love it! The temple always has beautiful snapdragons. I think my love came from when I was a kid. I remember in our front yard at home we would have many different colored snap dragons! I would always pick one before I walked down to the bus stop to play with while I waited. Still to this day I can't resist picking one off the long line of them and pinching the sides to make it say something funny. Maybe it was because I am the middle child and had noone to talk to or maybe it was because I didn't have any friends growing up that I had to make the snapdragons be my friend. They only stuck around for a little bit. In the end I would always squeeze it a few too many times or to rough just once and the head would tear into 2 pieces. That was the end of our friendship.

Grandma & Grandpa Jensen

I am pretty sure I have the cutest Grandparents in the WORLD! Grandma and Grandpa Jensen drove down from Idaho to spend some time in the Arizona sun. As it always does a little snow followed Grandpa down so they didn't fully escape it in Eagar but I am pretty sure they had a good time in the Mesa sunshine!

On day was spent on Buddy's boat.

Grandma in Lindseys Stunner shades.

Grandma In Dallin's Shades.

Takin a little break


Hates off to a GRRREAT boat ride!

They had a birthday party for Mom and Dad since their birthdays were the next week! Here is Grandpa with the Great Grandkids.

Grandparents at the Birthday party.

I was in Mexico and it looks like I missed out on a great weekend! I was lucky enough to head up to Eagar the weekend before and spend some time with the parents and grandparents.

BOOK CLUB

Yesterday I happened to stumble across Michael Wiltbanks book club blog! Just in time to join in for April. He is planning on reading a book a month! That is going to be challenging because I don't have tons of time to read but I am excited to make it happen. Feel free to pick up your own copy and join in. The paperback version is only $10 at Barnes & Noble. This book comes out on video soon so it will be fun to go watch it!!

Whats been going on.

Well I have been having a good time this past week doing a little of this and a little of that.

Zach and I were looking for a picture frame at Goodwill and ended up leaving with a golf club for $1.99 AFTER stopping to GRAB THE BULL BY THE HORNS!

Grab the bull by the horns the old addage goes.Nobody tells you where to go from here.Seems like fate's pulling you.Decisions have to be made.The best path is the hardest earned.

South Mountain has a GREAT view of the sunset. This is only a smidgen of how amazing it looked! The sun falls from the sky so fast that I didn't catch it. Try being at the top by 6:30 to see it! There are some neat Indian ruins at the top to check out. Its fun to take a picnic up there too! *note... DON'T forget a Jacket! :) Its colder up there....


These are the beautiful flowers outside of our front door! I love Spring and all the colors that it brings. Sorry for all of you who still have snow! There is always an invitation to stay in our spare bedroom if you want to come visit and enjoy the sun! :)

This is a cool pic I took while hiking last week! Just one more reason why I love Arizona. It was mid day when I took this but because the sun was so bright everything looks dark! I though it was neat. Now if there was just a coyote howling at the bottom!

NIKES VS. ASICS

VS.

I want to get a new pair of running shoes and would love everyones opinion. My last pair were NIKES. I loved them but a few friends have talked about their love for their ASICS. So now am I confused. Did I only LOVE my NIKES because I haven't tried ASICS? I know that its important to find the right show to improve performance.

What is your opinion on the two?

ALSO. What is your opinion on world peace?

THE HIKERS

Dallin is in town for his spring break so we decided to go hiking. He is always saying how much he wished he lived down here so that he could partake in the hiking club. A few of Jeff and Bobbies kids came with us as well. It was a windy day buy we pushed through and had a great hike! At one point I thought my little Cheynanna was going to blow away! We hiked the 3 miles up and back to the Wind Caves at Usery Park. As we were walking Cheynanna said "Mary Ann, How old are you?" Almost 24 I said. "oooh, she said. I thought you were 19!" The funny part is I could hearr the sound in her voice that to her she thought 19 was REALLY old. I used to baby sit those kids! They have grown up so much and have turned into little adults!

Chandler, Cheynanna, and Danielle.

Dallin and Mary Ann

Poor Keldon had surgery a few days ago so he wasn't able to make it. Afterwards we all went out for ice cream as a reward for what we had just accomplished! We went to my personal favorite...

yummmm. I opted to not have any but all the kids enjoyed it. I couldn't believe they could eat so much ice cream! Oh to be young again. :)

HAPPY FRIDAY FRIENDS!!!!

The Princess and the Orange Juice.

Once upon a time in a land far away there was a princess. She didn't want everyone to know she was a princess because she hadn't found her prince yet so she was in hiding working in a sales office selling dreams. One Friday morning she was sitting in her princess cube and thinking about the glorious festivities she had planned for that weekend. Over the cube she heard 2 words, orange juice. Her mouth started watering and she knew that she just had to have some. She didn't care that it would be in a plastic bottle instead of her normal crystal goblet with diamonds in the bottom. So off she went on her quest to find some orange juice from the nice peddler who sold various breakfast items in the peasant room. On her quest for orange juice she ran into a friend and fellow worker Amanda. She happened to be on her way to the peddler as well. They filled the air with pleasant chatter as they made their way down the lane. When they arrived upon the Peasant room it was extra busy! There was hustle and bustle all around as everyone was excited for the upcoming weekends. Laughter was in the air and everyone was having quite a good time exchanging words of well wishing. Somehow in the exchanges the princess and her friend amanda got split up and amanda was in the line ahead of her. Amanda made her purchases and came back to the princess in line. The princess assumed she was going to bid her farewell and start back on her journey. Amanda leaned into the princess and said, Princess, I already paid for your orange juice. Thank you for all that you do for everyone. You are always giving to others and I wanted to say Thank you. The princess wanted to cry right there! Such a kind thing her friend had done for her to say thank you. So that Friday became all the better with one bottle of orange juice.

Its so easy for us to focus on all the negative things that we forget the little things. Lets all look around and notice the small acts of kindness that people do. It may not have been a big deal to Amanda to buy that orange juice but it made a big impact on me....errrr...uhhh.....i mean the princess.

ICE ICE BABY

WOWZA.
I took one chew of this delicious gum and thought HOLY GOODNESS AND BLESSINGS OF TASTE!!!!
The burst of flavor and coolness is incredible. It is worth the price plus 2. Go buy you some. You won't be sorry.
I only have 1 regret about this gum and it is there is not someone right here right now to makeout with and share this wonderful flavor.
SHYZA

Walk or Ride The Ditty Bops

With just one kiss you could change the world,It might not be much better-- but it certainly couldn't hurt.When you stomp your feet you aren't hurting me,But you're always killing something just by living on the Earth...So who you supposed to listen to when you're looking for something to do?And all the voices shut you up-Someone put a brick in your coffee cup.-When you're trying to decide whether to walk or to ride;Take the easy way you know that you want toI saw an educated girl give her hair a twirlAnd contemplate the meaning of a man with just one arm.She's not a genius or a dunce, but it makes no difference;For at any moment we might find ourselves a charmBut I'm feeling quite confused by the people who refuseA simple way of life that don't make you the loser.They say we won't make it far unless drive there in a car,But we'll be there with time to spare and find our own way home.You might find the meaning of life in the barrel of a rifleWhether it's pointed at a bird or if it's pointed at your head.But me, I'd rather plant a tree that grows up tall for all to see..Until I need a pencil, then I'll chop it to the groundAt night falling down, will it make a sound?Should I even wonder what it'd say?It's so hard to change yourself to tell someone elseThat everything is going to be okay..Oooh

My weekend

What a fun weekend! We went to Mexico!! IT WAS COMPLETELY SAFE. Now I don't know about all the other border towns, but Rocky Point was fine. Everyone who went with us came back alive! Who would have thought. I know everyone has heard all the scares on the news about the danger going on down there with the drug wars. My theory is that the news is blowing everything out of proportion because the economy is junky here so they wanted everyone to stay in the states and spend there money here. The crappy part is that IT WORKED! :( The beaches and clubs were a little empty but hey, we had the dance floor all to ourselves! We were okay with that. So if you are thinking of going down there but CHICKEN out because of what you hear from others take it from a chickadee who was there. It's fine.

Everyone Chilling at the Beach.

Dinner at grandmas house. YUMMMM

We love going to church there! We don't understand more than 5 words, but love it.

The only mishap was that we ran out of gas. Good thing it was on the US side.

BRILLIANT!!! BA HAAA HAAA

Why Mormon Girls Stay Single

I think props are due here. I have spent the entire day reading up on a blog. The day has been filled with smirks, laughs that come from way down in the belly, maybe even a few tears when things hit too close to home. All in all the blog is fantastic!! Now it seems, reading from the comments that are made, that some don't think it to be as funny as I do. To those people I would say Lighten up! Laughter helps the soul so take it when you can get it. The other day I saw a young women on a bike get hit by a car. Did I laugh? YOU BET! I could tell she wasn't hurt, she didn't even fall over. It was just the thing I needed to see at the end of the work day. I am sure even she is laughing about it right now with her friends at ASU. Check out the blog if you have a little time to ROFL!!!

http://whymormongirlsstaysingle.com