Why Do I Even Try...

Last Saturday
Lunch at Costco... $6.36
Pork Loin (with $3.00 off coupon)... $9.00
Trip to Costco just to use our $3.00 coupon...$67.18


Coming home to a delicious Sunday dinner the following day... PRICELESS



Sunday dinner at Taco Bell: $11.29

I AM GIVING UP ON EVER BECOMING THE PERFECT WIFE!!!

Team McDaniel: Tools of Destruction

These pictures are actually about a month old, but my friend Krista took them and e-mailed them to me so I thought I would post about this way fun night. About a month ago our ward had a date night. We debated whether or not to go because Josh had just gotten home at 2:00 that morning from a week in Kentucky, but we decided to go and were so glad we did.

We were supposed to dress up matching so about half an hour before it started I started making these shirts. I was just going to put Team McDaniel on the front and then each person's first name on the back, but when Josh got home he had his input and we ended up doing a picture or a joystick, a deck of uno cards, and two dice with the words Tools of Destruction underneath. I am sad that I didn't get a picture of the back because it was pretty funny. We had to take Ava with us because we decided so last minute, plus she is such an easy baby to take places, so she had to be matching to, I think her matching onesie was a hit. She was pretty good, especially for how late it was and only got a little upset when people were yelling a little. Why were they yelling...

...because the date night was a game night (now the back of our t-shirts makes a little more sense) and boy was it intense! There were 4 or 5 games set up around one half of the cultural hall, pictionary, catch phrase, apples to apples, etc. and on the other half of the gym consisted of 6 or 7 t.v.s set up with Wii. In the middle of it all were three tables with great appetizers, sandwiches, and desserts. Well we got a friendly game of husbands vs. wives Pictionary going which quickly turned into the Pictionary game of the century! The women weren't very happy about being behind and possibly losing so we kept recruiting more couples over to play so the game wouldn't end and we wouldn't officially lose. Well the game ended in a huge upset... a huge upset group of women that is... when we just couldn't pull of the win, and of course the men could't help but gloat.

It was such a blast though and made us realize that we shouldn't be waiting for a ward activity to plan a fun game night for us, but that we need to be taking turns planning one just as friends more often considering that the majority of people playing Pictionary at the beginning that night were the four or five couples that live on our street that we hang out with often, even though it turned into half of the ward by the end of the game. It was a really fun night with a really great turnout and I think we would all love to do it again.

Round 2

Everyone always says that Ava looks so much like me, but I have just never seen it. Well, I finally did this little thing that everyone has been doing. The first time it said she looked more like Josh so I chose different pictures and did it again and it said she looked a little more like me. Both of them were only by a few percent so I would actually say that Ava is a pretty even mix.

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free family tree - Genealogy search

Round 1

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family history - Family search

The Big 28!

Boy, my husband is getting old. Today Josh turned the big 28! We had a little Fiesta for him last night with some of our neighbor friends. It was a lot of fun! We had homemade Cafe Rio and for dessert, Mud Pie and Tres Leches cake. After we ate we played cards and sadly, Josh and I were the first ones out and now we have to buy dinner for the winner, The Cromars! It was a fun evening and we are so grateful to have such fun neighbors that we have so much in common with. Thanks for being such fun friends.

I just want to give a shout out to my hubby while I am at it. Josh, thanks for being my best friend. I can't imagine my life without you. I love every minute I spend with you...well... most minutes anyway. Thanks for helping me make the cutest baby ever and for being such a cute dad. Ava is one lucky girl to be growing up with you on her side. Thanks for being a hardworking, fun loving, good hearted, and unique guy. I love that you are not afraid to be who you are. I couldn't have found a more perfect match for me. Here's to the next 28 years that I will be so lucky to spend with you.

I love you.

I {HEART} My Family!

We had a really great Valentines Day. I decided to Heart Attack Josh's office. So the night before Valentines Day, I told him I had a cooking class and went and decorated his office. I thought it turned out really cute. The next morning, I woke up to flowers, a People magazine, and a really cute card. I acted like I was upset because we talked about not doing anything for each other. Then I set out a plate of Josh's favorite Hotess powdered donuts with raspberry filling with a little chocolate heart on top and a quick homemade card. He must have really enjoyed it if you notice the plate in the picture. So I think I made him think that was all I did. I could hardly wait for him to get to his office. He was so surprised! I made him a little basket of his favorite goodies and I scrapbooked some coupons as well. I was so proud of myself that I was able to keep it a secret, even though I about gave it away a few times on accident, luckily I was able to catch myself before I said any incriminating evidence.

Ava was our cute little Valentine this year. She got a cute little Valentine's day bib with a little rattle attached to it from us and her first actually Valentine with delish candy from our cute little neighbor, Eliza.

We met up for a Linner (lunch/dinner) at On the Border and then went to the movie Spiderwick. We ended the evening with a little chocolate fondue at the Grantham's house. It was one of our best Valentine's days yet!

7 on the 7th

Ava turned 7 months old on the 7th. We were in Arizona so we didn't get to go to Red Robin, darnit. It was a neat day because Ava met her great great grandmother. She is still as sweet and as cute as ever and we love her so dang much I can hardly stand it!

A Nice Little Getaway

Ava and I just got back from a great trip to Mesa, Arizona to visit my family. It was a busy week filled with food, family, fun, and more food. We ate so much I think I have enough to last me through the winter. There are just so many great restaurants there, especially mexican restaurants and we had to make sure to hit up the In-n-Out Burger, Yum Yum! It was so great to spend time with my mom and dad and little brother. It was also great to spend time with a lot of my extended family as well. Thanks to everyone for putting up with us while we were there.

One of the neatest things we were able to do while we were there was to go to lunch with my great grandmother, Mama G. She is 93 years old and still going strong. After lunch we were able to take some five generation pictures with her. The first one has my dad in it because this is his side of the family, but the second one has my mom in it showing Ava with her mom, grandma, great grandma, and great great grandma. I was pretty excited to get these pictures. We were able to stay a while and listen to her tell stories of when she was younger. She is one of the best storytellers and so much fun to listen to. I grew up listening to the most entertaining stories from her.

We were also able to take some other family pictures with Ava with her Nana Sue, Uncle Wade, and grandma and papa.

But my favorite picture was...

Look at that face!

Papa was making her really mad.

It was fun to watch her interact with Grandma and Papa, she really loved my dad's facial hair.

It is always tradition to head to the Sugar Bowl in Scottsdale. We have been doing this since I was a little kid. This was Ava's first trip to the Sugar Bowl. She didn't love the icecream, but she sure did love the whipped cream on top. Normally we get something called a Top Hat, which is a big cream puff with ice cream, whipped cream and hot fudge, but I decided to try to Brownie Buster. It was tasty, but I think next time it is back to the Top Hat for me.

One of the most delicious parts of the trip (besides the amazing mexican food) was the fresh picked oranges right of the tree in the yard. It was still pretty cold at night so when you picked the oranges off in the morning they were cold and delicious. How do you beat that!

We bathed Ava in the sink because the only tub in the house is a really deep one. She didn't want to be scrunched up in the sink so as soon as I would put her in she would pop those feet right up. It was pretty funny. Once those feet were up she didn't mind the confined space at all.

We had such a great time and were sad that it went by so quickly. Thanks to everyone for making the trip so much fun. It was so great to watch Ava interact with all of you. She was the best, most content baby the whole time, even though she was teething and developed a pretty bad cold. We were relieved to get back home to Josh and I think he was happy to have us.

This morning we ran Ava to the Urgent Care because her cough sounded horrible. The doctor said it was nothing more than this horrible cold that is going around, so I guess we just let it run its course. Fortunately, she has been really happy through it all and she is catching back up on her sleep after taking almost no naps and sleeping horribly during the night while we were away.

We can't wait to come back and visit soon. Until then keep checking here to see Ava and she grows and grows.

Love you all!