Ooops....

My phone fell. In the bathtub. Full of water.

I'm in mourning....

It's a sad sad day around the Cox household. No No, not because school starts this week...we're excited for that! Because....you see....back when I was 12, my grandpa (my mom's dad, Paul) and I started a hobby of making beef jerky. Kinda weird, I know. But it was so fun! He bought a dehydrator, and I thought it was super cool. Plus, I love jerky...it's basically the sole reason I quit being a vegetarian after almost 3 years! Anyway, about once every other week or so, I would walk from good ol' Clayton Junior High to my grandpa's house. We'd head to Albertson's, where my grandpa knew all the butchers, and pick out the best meat for the job. Then we'd head back, carefully cut the meat up, marinate fit or 4-6 hours, then cook it for 8-12 more hours. My dear grandpa was an engineer, and a VERY precise man, so, you can imagine the process this was! He would set an alarm for every 2 hours during the night to get up and rotate the jerky so it was equally dehydrated. Wow, it was delicious. Good stuff.

Anyway, there are things you could always count on being in my grandpa's fridge....coke, strawberry fruit roll ups, oreos, and the yellow tub of beef jerky. I got so close to him on these afternoons of jerky making. It was like "our thing" together, and I loved, admired, and respected him so much. He passed away on January 26, 1996. It was, of course, very hard for the whole family. As we were going through his home, we came across the dehydrator. Of course, I took it! I've been making beef jerky since....and I'm sure it drives him nuts because I am definitely NOT the exact science, measure everything, rotate everything type! I toss all the ingredients in, marinate it for a while (sometimes too long...hello salt!), then dry it for a while (again, sometimes too long..who's home for 12 hours at a time?!). More or less, it turns out. Not nearly as good as his work, but, alas, it's good.

And there's the background for you....here's the sad news of why I would be so devastated...that my dehydrator is out of commission. Gone. Not working. Done for. I'm so sad! I whipped out the loyal thing before our Vegas trip to make the classic road trip goodie...and it was unusually noisy, but seemed to be working. Well....12 hours later, no done jerky. So...I had my friend Sarah come check on it later after we had left for the trip...and I think about 3 trips and 18 more hours later, it was mostly done. So, RJ and I made the sad trip out to the garage for the disposal of the dehydrator. Yes, we even took pictures.

Anyway, just thought I'd explain the sadness behind losing my 14 year old Shopko dehydrator....I'm not a mountain man, just a granddaughter who loves and dearly misses her grandfather, even 12 years later.

Ah...freshly sharpened pencils....

It's that time....BACK TO SCHOOL! We start school tomorrow, but the middle school started today. As I drove to work today I saw kids waiting at the bus stop, and I laughed out loud when I spotted the crease marks in their clothes and brand new backpacks....it brought back memories of those days of school shopping...laying ALL the new clothes out around my room....matching outfits...even writing down potential outfits...carefully choosing "The First Day Outfit"...getting my backpack carefully packed, a pocket for everything....ah! I have to admit, since I'm a teacher, not all of that has gone away. I still secretly think about my first day outfit. And tomorrow's the big day!

Husbands DO the darndest things....

So, R.J. found a gift card to an online store that we got for our wedding and proudly declared he ordered something for us. I asked what it was, but he sneakily said, "You'll have to wait and see...."

Well...I got this text today, "Yes! The package arrived!" Of course I asked what it was again, and again, he said I'd see when I got home. And see I did. Let me preface this with our bed normally has a beautifully white duvet cover, with white sheets, and one blue pillow. The rest is all his doing. Yikes.

Husbands say the darndest things....

A few stellar comments from Mr. Cox himself today....

As I'm getting into the car with him to head to his parents' house for dinner, with my purse (and all its necessary goodies), my book (there might be down time), my water (gotta drink a lot of it), and my diet coke (ok, it was a 12 pack...)

"You know, if I ever got lost, I'd want it to be with you...." I'm thinking, Ah...what a romantic!
And he finishes with, "You'd have everything we'd need with you!" Not so romantic. But, the man has a point.

And later...

Me: "Have you looked at our blog lately? I put pictures of our Vegas trip up."
Him: "Babe, I don't need to look at the blog...I live the blog." Awesome.

Las Vegas!

I LOVE these fountains, everytime I see them!
Taci and I went in Burberry or Coach or some fancy store and tried on the only $500 sunglasses we'll ever wear! When we walked in, the sales lady said, "Oh, you guys are cute!" She obviously knew we didn't belong there....haha
Love the FAO piano!

R.J. has always LOVED Star Wars...so imagine his excitement when he saw this Star Wars slot machine...
M & M world!
Big frosty drinks to cool off the 115 degree heat....
Our friends Rory and Taci
I think this pic is cool....Shows how fast the city is rushing around you in Vegas!
While we shopped, R.J. found a water massager....his idea of a vacation!

Last week we went on a last minute, quick trip to Vegas with our friends Rory and Taci. It was a sweet deal...Rooms were $30 a night! Probably because everyone else knows that it is like unbearably hot in Vegas this time of year....yes, even at night....yes, even at the pool.....

We had a great time though, did the usual fun Vegas stuff...my favorite is always the great food and amazing Bellagio fountains.

Best moment of the trip:

R.J.: "I'm going to go play some black jack while you get ready. I'm only going to take $40."

Me: "Ok, good luck!"

About 30 minutes later: I walk to the table to see about $150 in chips in front of him.

I go check us out, we get our stuff and hit the road for home. Then I realize he never went to the cashier for his real money.

Me: "Hey, did you go to the cashier to change your chips out?"

R.J.: "Yeah....well.....I....kinda...bet it all on one hand....and.........lost..."

We'll be staying away from Vegas for a while.....

Breaking Dawn!

So, on Friday night, my niece Morgan and I had plans to head to Border's...at midnight...for Breaking Dawn! We ended up there at 10:30 for the party, and didn't even get our books until after 1:00am! It was pretty funny...trivia contests, a Jacob vs. Edward debate, a t-shirt contest...good times! Morgan's friend even cried when she got her book! She's a diehard fan!

Yes, we seriously got our faces painted....
We were so excited to finally get our books after hours of waiting!

Bear Lake

BeAr LaKe!

Bear Lake with the Cox Family was SO fun! We had a sweet condo, and spent LOTS of time on the beach, playing games, and eating delicious goodies (and shakes too of course!).... I even went on my first waverunner ride (I even drove it! haha)...anyway, we had a great time! Enjoy the pics!