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....