Looks Cozy!

Just a typical picture of my messy closet....


Look closer....



Miss Kitty's new favorite spot...only problem? She scales my bottom row of clothes to get up there....which so happens to be where I keep all my work clothes. Oh well...looks like an excuse to go shopping to me....

White Christmas Anyone?!

Logan is one giant ice skating rink right now! We went to leave RJ's parents' house Christmas night and it was a total blizzard! This is right outside the house, RJ trying to clear the car off to go...
When we got home, we had to barrel through the snow to get into our garage. Then it was so deep that our garage door sensor thought something was in the way and wouldn't close. So we had to shovel a bunch...I don't know if this picture does it justice....
This is outside our house this morning....see all the snow on our grill and that big lump on the right is our outdoor fireplace...


I just thought our little santa looked cute...he's covered in show! Look at his poor nose!


Oh well...looks like a good day to stay in and play with our new Wii and Playstation! We already rock-paper-scissored for the best TV spot....game on!

And...Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve we beat the storm home....whew. On Christmas day we excitedly woke up by 7 a.m. (again, my husband = kid in a candy store) to open presents! RJ got a massage, gift cards to get his Playstation 3, PSP games, Lost Season 4 on Blu-Ray...and a few other little things. I got a hair straightener that I really wanted, a TaiPan gift card, a Wii, a Wii game, and some other little stuff too... it was a fabulous Christmas morning! We took all the best pics on RJ's camera...including the pets opening their presents! They love their new toys and treats! We made a fabulous Christmas morning breakfast...and went right back to bed!


Our candlelight breakfast! The pets had theirs too...but on the floor!


Later, we went to RJ's family's house. It was so fun...we opened presents, ate a yummy turkey dinner, and played cards! Nothing like a little gambling to bring in the Christmas spirit!
Texas Hold 'Em = Christmas fun
Amy and Daryla just got back from Cancun...and brought all the dogs sombreros! They were hilarious...we really tried to get them all together for a picture, but that didn't exactly happen. Here's Dizzy in her hat though!
LOVE this kid! This is our nephew, Carter. He is about a year and a half and is so funny and so adorable! We are going to hire him to train our kids to be as great as he is!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we headed to Salt Lake to do Christmas with my family. It was fun to celebrate...we opened presents then headed to my cousin Emily and Joe's for dinner!

Paul holding up his new tshirt and me holding up my new super sweet skull candy head phones.


I think this is when my mom accidentally handed RJ a present that was for my brother. It was a National Geographic subscription...RJ's face was so funny, the classic, "Oh...thank you, I really wanted this...."awkwardness....My rad brother Nick and his cute girlfriend Jessica.

Of course...the Christmas Post...

Another fabulous Christmas! We had a great 3rd Christmas together (2nd married one...). Right as the clock struck midnight on the 24th, RJ was ready to open a present! Apparently this is a new tradition we are starting?! My husband is like a kid in a candy store on holidays! So...to the tree we went. We each opened...a phone! We were both very surprised to get the new phones we wanted and love them! Here are some pics.... (We're grubby...we were ready for bed!)




Us being dorky and chatting on our new phones....

What IS this?!

So a while back I was driving past Sugarhouse Park and saw this....



What is it?! There were deep holes dug every couple feet with a large garbage can sticking out. What exactly is the plan here?

Executive Decision...

I've rationalized myself into not sending out Christmas cards this year. I decided I'll wait until we have kids and have a cute little picture to put in them. Because really, who wants a picture of RJ and me?! I'm curious...do most people send out Christmas cards? I'm all for them, I LOVE getting them (I love getting any kind of fun mail, as long as it doesn't require that I send a check back...). So...do you send out Christmas cards?

Why He's So Rad...

Of course I could be a tad biased here....but I just really like the guy I married. He's just...so great. A little background...every holiday is HUGE at the school. Because of him. He goes all out for the kids--sure, he enjoys it. But really it's to see the looks on their faces, especially the sweet ones who don't get much of that at home. I should say too that this is all in fun...he doesn't get paid for it. He gets paid for being the computer teacher for 5 hours out of the day. He could reasonably leave at 2:30 everyday. But...For Halloween, he makes a spook alley downstairs at the school--not like a few spider webs type...like works for HOURS and goes ALL OUT. It's a big hit. And for Christmas he decorates the WHOLE gym and hall leading up to it. Again, the man goes crazy. We're not talking a string or two of lights, we're talking elaborate. And he does a whole Christmas play/program for the school. I think it's super cool because the kids get to actually participate, not just sing a song or two. And there's a very exciting play going on too...you really need to see one...you find yourself saying, "Who thought of all this?!"

So...this year, the new music teacher headed up the Christmas program...and it was fabulous! The kids learned great songs and had a great time performing. I wondered if my sweet husband would still decorate at school at all or do anything....I decided to keep quiet and watch. So...today he arranged for every kid to get a candy cane tomorrow, delivered by Santa and The Grinch to each classroom...to be decided where they start by which class is singing "Here Comes Santa Claus" the loudest. FUN! I probably would have just stuck them in teacher's boxes to pass them out. The guy has a knack for making things special. He also whipped out a quick ETV (Ellis TV-the tv program he does for the school) for tomorrow morning. I knew he couldn't let Christmas go without some kind of celebration for the kids!

One more thing...as I was thinking how great and creative he is... I was thinking of his latest project. Again, something you need to see to "get"...he makes these "Garbage Monster" movies about a monster that lives in the dungeon of Ellis. Instant success. When I first went to see Ellis after I got my job there, I heard about this creature in the first 10 minutes of being there! Famous. The latest installment will be coming out this spring, and for the kids it couldn't come fast enough. SO...there's also been a recent problem with running in the halls....put two and two together...instead of handing out white slips and getting angry at the kids, he gets creative (seeing a pattern?) and puts together a contest. Classes can earn points with their hallway behavior and their lunchroom behavior....winning class gets to STAR in the movie! You can imagine how much more this is doing to curb the running than negative reinforcement. Amazing. Anyway....This is a L-O-N-G blog post, full of rambling....and if you're still with me by now...sorry! It's 12:30 and I'm tired! In short....I like my husband. A lot.

Graph It!

Since my class has just started learning about graphs in math, I was reminded of this cute story!

A couple days after RJ and I got engaged, we were in class when a student raised his hand VERY excitedly...

Student: "Teacher! I have a really good idea!"

Me: "Ok....what is it?"

Him: "Let's make a graph!"

Me (thinking we've already graphed the super bowl outcome, the groundhog day outcome....): "Ok...what do you want to graph?"

Him: "What it's going to be!"

Me: "What what's going to be?"

Him: "You know, if it's going to be a boy or a girl!"

Me: "If what's going to be a boy or a girl?!"

Him: "Your baby!"

Me: "Oh no! Mr. Cox and I are getting married, we're not going to have a baby!"

HA! And the rumors began....and RJ's mom works at our school, so the rumor that his son and soon-to-be daughter in law are prego!? Not quite the image we're going for here....

Never Been in an Accident...Yet....

My mom: "Ohhh...that looks like a good restaurant, want to go there?"

Me: "Yeah! Let me just flip around..."

I U-turn....

Mom: "Good thing you can see the driveway and know where to go..."

Me: "You know what's weird? I really think my eyes are getting old or something. I have been having a hard time seeing at night...but they're fine other times...like maybe I shouldn't drive at night anymore..."

Mom: "Really? I'm sure it's fine....Wait...YOU'RE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE STREET!"

Mom: "Wait, no you're not....there's the median...oh but wait, yeah, you're supposed to be on the other side of it..."

I'm calling the eye doctor....

P.S. (Haven't exactly told RJ this story...This is a good way to see if he reads "our" blog...if so, I'll be calling you all for rides soon...)

I'm a terrible wife....

So...it all started yesterday...I came home from school and RJ did a nonchalant point to our quaint little Christmas tree...under which was SEVEN beautifully wrapped (ok, he had a little help with that...thanks Sara!) presents for ME! Woo-hoo! Here comes the sad part...I don't have EVEN ONE under the tree for him yet!

Next....we went out to dinner with some friends and went to Bevin and Sara's after to watch the Jazz game. Sara and I decided to go get a treat and leave the boys to watch the game for a minute. We went picked our Ben and Jerry's flavors (no tears this time). She got one for Bevin too. As we pulled up to her house I had the terrible thought...I forgot to buy RJ anything! I thought maybe he would just share mine. He was the first one to open the grocery bag and say, "What'd you get for me?" Sad! I didn't realize how selfish I am! Apparently a love of ice cream overrides vows to honor and cherish...

It gets worse.

I woke up while RJ was still asleep this morning. I decided to head to Starbucks and do some lesson planning. When I got home RJ had cleaned the whole house.

I owe him so big...I think I'd better start off with some Christmas shopping....

Why I took a pregnancy test.....

Ok first of all, it was negative. Let's get that out of the way!

So I have been SO TIRED lately! Like beyond sleepy, exhausted! And I have felt quesy here and there (now that I'm thinking about it I'm probably just reading into it...) And I've been kinda crabby too. But the last straw was the other night at Wal-Mart. I was getting some school stuff, and thought some Ben and Jerry's sounded good. So I went to get my favorite....Imagine Whirled Peace! I scanned the flavors, then I all out searched the flavors. When I couldn't see my ice cream of choice, I almost cried! Like tears even welled up! Then, whew, I found it!

Then the reality sunk in...seriously?! I just nearly CRIED over ice cream?! Pathetic! I thought, enough is enough, something HAS to be up here. So, to the test section I went to self-diagnose. As I said, it was negative. Maybe I'm just tired...or maybe lazy...and I just really like ice cream.....But if this is how I am not pregnant, just imagine how I'll be when I am pregnant...Are the people at Ben and Jerry's really prepared for that?!

These are a few of my favorite things...

I love...

Because this just isn't the same...And I love this...

But not this...
LOVE love love this...
Not so much this...


Would LOVE to go here...

Not here....

I'm thankful for...

I know we're all thankful for the usuals...food, clothing, shelter, friends, family, etc.....
SO...I'm going to try to think of some unusual things that I am thankful for....

• Sweet, innocent children to remind me of all I have. A student came up to me on Tuesday and said, "Teacher, my family wasn't going to make a Thanksgiving dinner because we don't have enough money. But then the school came and brought us a turkey and all the other stuff so we can make dinner now!"
• Insurance...my mom just had neck surgery, and had to stay in the hospital overnight. Just to USE the OR and the room...no medicine, no iv, no nurse, no doctor...it was $26,000 before insurance....yikes.
• RJ's faith to help me figure mine out!
• My mom...she'll ALWAYS answer the phone, no matter what time, and listen to me. And she's pen pals with lots of kids in my class. Plus she keeps our whole house running at home...when she's sick the place just falls apart!
• When my dad calls just to say hi.
• How my brothers both say I love you to me before they hang up...even if they're at work or with friends...
• RJ's family...they've always been so kind and accepting of me. His mom and dad always ask how work was, etc. Morgan is always so fun, and willing to come help me in my classroom....plus she's really good at making caramels! His siblings have always been so nice....Sara is always fun to go to movies with or shopping...and she teaches me how to be more domestic with knitting and other crafty things!
• I'll be honest...Starbucks and Diet Coke...sometimes they just keep you going!
• College...not only do I love my job because of my degree, but I have such great memories and such great friends!
• RJ...ok, I know everyone's thankful for their spouse, but he always makes me laugh and is always nice...
• Addicting tv shows....Grey's Anatomy, S & TC, The Office...

I'm sure I'm thankful for more....I'm too full from yesterday to think! :)

99 Things...

I got this from my friend (and first college roommate! :)) Kristin...thought it'd be fun!
(Ok, Sara and Sallie...this totally reminded me of that post we were laughing about at Sallie's house that one night....remember?!)
To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done. Mine are in blue.


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--does my car count?
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-mom, remember when you helped me grow radishes?
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. Ran 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. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
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. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen-kinda, it was a thanksgiving dinner for the homeless, my brother and I went....
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-haven't we all, at some point? I hope I'm not the only one... :)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy-ha, my Maggie Simpson doll from my grandma, my mom still has it!
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. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
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. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House--well, only outside....
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

Ah...I got thinking that some of you may think as you open our blog page, "Ah...that looks like a cheesy posed photo of a puppy I would have had as a poster in my room when I was twelve..."
Yes, it may...but I love it because it's OUR adorable puppy! She's getting so big now, and they're just like kids...grow way too fast. We already want another!

Oh, and no, we didn't actually set up the background and pose her. The breeder did, and sent that to us when we were interested in getting her. The second we saw pictures we knew she was for us!

OK, totally off the topic, because my dog is not a vampire...but has anyone seen Twilight yet?! I can't wait to see it!

Third Grade Science

So, we've been learning about the moon at school. The other day I was reading a moon book in my guided reading group, and they were filling out a sheet about what they discovered. One little guy still had a blank space on "What question do you still have?"

Me: "Oh, it looks like you still need to write a question."

Confident Student: "Oh I don't have any questions about the moon."

Me: "Ok. Do you know how the moon was formed?"

Him: "Yes."

Me: "Oh, cool...how?"

Him (TOTALLY SERIOUS): "Well, you know how astronauts have to go up in space for a long time? Well when they're there they have to use the bathroom sometimes. The spaceship doesn't have a regular bathroom. It just has like a hole in the side. When an astronaut has to go, he just sits by the hole. The air is so strong outside that it immediately rips a hole in his spacesuit. Then he can just go to the bathroom."

Me (somewhat confused about where this is going...): "Oh...so....how is the moon formed?"

Him: "Well, when he goes to the bathroom it just goes right out into space. When it's out there, it gathers rocks and meteors too, and it made a giant ball...and that's the moon."

I was trying so hard not to laugh, because he thought this was exactly right. The little girl next to him was going red in the face from trying not to laugh, and when I looked at her we just both burst out laughing. She said, "So....you think that the moon was made out of some man's potty?!"
He answered, "Yeah....it's true, I saw it in a movie..."

Seriously! I think we'll do a little reteaching about the moon....

We're totally runners!

What our treadmill is really being used for...(She's not dead, just asleep! :)

Barack my world!!!!

Enough!

I'm sure like everyone else, I am SO READY for this election to be O-V-E-R. It's so....political! Ha, but really....we get it, Obama has terrorist friends, Palin now has a stellar wardrobe, McCain is old, Biden says weird stuff.....but...the only thing I am not ready to end is....How funny SNL is again! As Newsweek said, "Great political skits, now can we do something about the other 90% of the show?"The rap at the end of the episode tonight...hilarious.
Love these two....

How you know your hairspray works...

It was Crazy Hair Day Friday at school....THIS mess lasted until I deep conditioned it out about four times that night. I think I have bald spots.

Did you know that Stayin' Alive has the exact number of beats as recommended for chest compressions in CPR? Ironic....

Home Sweet Home

Last weekend was so fun...I went home to Salt Lake for my book club. It was so fun to get together with a bunch of girls and chat. Then I stayed at my parents' house for the weekend. It was so fun....here's the weekend in pictures....

Things I love about going home....

Seeing my sweet mom. This is an old picture of us, but I just love her. We had so much fun shopping the day away....We spent 4 or 5 hours in Tai Pan...so fun! I love that we always have PLENTY to talk about and do everytime we're together. I have a secret plan to convince my parents to move closer....like, next door maybe!


My mom is the most empathetic, kind person ever. When I got home, a bed was all set up for me with this card, a flower, and chocolates.


This kid. Love him. I wished, hoped, and prayed for a little brother or sister for years before he got here. He is 9 years younger, so the poor kid had like 4 parents between my mom, dad, my brother, and me! He's SUCH a good kid-so kind, so creative, so intelligent. We used to be SO close when we were younger, and I will always secretly regret moving even a little far away because I think it caused us to lose touch a bit. I love him dearly and admire him. As you can tell, he wasn't super into getting his picture taken!
Getting increasingly annoyed as I try to finagle a good picture and he smiles...while still watching TV!
And he gives up all together!



These beautiful flowers! My mom is growing, well, everything. But this HUGE sunflower is among the garden. Of course, it's long since bloomed...but the seeds inside look super cool.

Body World! It was so cool...my mom and brothers and I went....it was fascinating. It took a couple hours to go all the way through. My favorite part was the fetuses (is that a word?). They had from 5 weeks from conception-32 weeks old. It was so interesting to see. The one that really got me was the 9 weeks from conception fetus. It was like the size of my thumbnail, and it still had fingers and toes. Wow.

Anyway, great trip home. I miss Salt Lake. I love turning on Beck Street on seeing the view of the city...I feel so "home." Cheesy, I know. I sure am happy in little Logan, but I do love Salt Lake!

How much is a can worth?!

Boy in my class, looking at the back of a book, near the UPC code:
"Hum...teacher, that's interesting. If you pay for the book with money, it costs $3.99. But if you pay for it with cans it costs $4.99. Isn't that weird?"

Me, trying to not laugh: "Oh, actually, it costs $3.99 in the United States...and $4.99 in Canada, it just says CAN to abbreviate."

Him: "OH!" Look of embarrassment on his face.

A funny moment at school the other day....

Me: "Hey guys, I'm thinking we need to put these away...."

A funny kid in my class: "Yeah, well I'm thinkin' Arby's!"

Too much TV! But a good laugh for all of us!

What?!

The other night RJ and I were out to dinner. We were talking about our cat, Rocky. We were remembering how grubby and hammered he was when we adopted him-he had been hit by a car on the highway. There was a few minutes of silence as we both ate, and RJ said, "Remember how skinny you used to be?"

WHAT?!
Of course I was horrified! Then it came out, I just thought he said that. What he actually said was, "Remember how skinny he used to be?" referring to ROCKY, not me! Ha! I think I need my hearing checked before I have a big fight with my husband!

Blah.

This morning during the news, they played Let it Snow as background music for the weather broadcast. Not ready. Not yet. I'm moving to Hawaii. Permanently 85 degrees. RJ said to send a postcard.
P.S. This text is black because I'm mourning. R.I.P. summer weather

I'm not so sure...

RJ: "I almost sent you flowers the other day...."

Me: "Hum....why would you even tell me you almost sent me flowers?"

RJ: "Because it's the thought that counts!"

Oh So True...

So I had my blood drawn at the doctor's office the other day, just a routine check-up. I was telling RJ about it and this happened:

Me: "I wonder when they're going to call me back with my blood test results..."

RJ: "They'll probably say, 'We're sorry, Mrs. Cox, there seems to be problem...the vial was full of diet coke....' "

What a letdown...

Every year when it's time to introduce cursive, the kids panic, saying, "I don't know what that says!" So, this year, I thought I'd ease into it, gradually writing predictable, often-used words on the board in cursive so they can begin to recognize letters.

So, yesterday I was writing their "to-do" list on the board. The first item was, "test" (in cursive). As I was writing, I heard,

"Awesome! We all get a treat!"

Then, another student, "It doesn't say treat, it says test!"

I'd take a treat over a spelling test anyday!

You're it!

I was TAGGED! Here goes...

3 Joys- Diet Coke, Starbuck's White Mochas, anything pumpkin spice....(wait a second, those are all food....so I'm adding a fourth), Dizzy greeting me at the door...oh and cuddling up having late-night chats with RJ before bed.

3 Fears- Something happening to my dear RJ, not being able to have kids, not saving money in case of emergency.

3 Irritations- Bad grammar, people who treat me like a server (yes, I know, I am a server...that doesn't mean you get to be bossy and mean about being bossy!), the word "hun" in general!

3 Facts- I genuinely like my job, I love a good girly chick flick, I wish I was a runner.

I tag....Hum...Melanie and Sarah.

I'm having a get-together!

Hey all! So I found myself wanting one of these fabulous Scentsy warmers....if you haven't used one before, they are GREAT! They make your home smell SO good, are affordable, and the wonderful scent actually permeates the house, not just the immediate area! Plus, the scent bricks are only $5, so you can change the scent often...instead of buying a wonderful Chirstmas-y scented candle in December...then still having it in summer because it's so huge....like me. No bueno.

In my quest to buy one, 3 friends said they wanted one too. So...I thought of my friend Jenny who sells them....put two and two together...

I'm having a Scentsy open house!

OK, now I totally hate those parties that you have to go the whole time and then feel like you HAVE to buy loads of stuff you'll probably NEVER use. SO...please don't feel like you need to block out your calendar for the whole night just to empty your monsterous savings account on warmers and accessories.

But, if you would like to check them out, or even just stop by and chat, or even come for the food (I'll get yummy stuff!)...then come on by!

It'll be Friday, Sept. 26 the time is TBA. I think the order will be open for a few days after though if anyone is interested! Hope some of you local Logan friends can make it....And Lisa, I do expect you here...Canada isn't THAT far away! :) And Natalie...Georgia is even closer, so...as my BFF...see you there!