My Significant Other Tag

Hi All,

Erin tagged me, this looks like kind of a fun tag, here goes.

His name: Stephen Howard Collings

How long have you been married?: 19 years I can't be that old!

How long did you date?: Our first date was the end of July; we were engaged in September, and married by December. I think that makes a total of 5 months.

How old is he: 40

Who eats more? Tonight me, but mostly he does, only because he goes out to lunch and dinner all of the time with work. He eats at some great restaurants!

Who said "I love you" first? I did, he was the only boyfriend I said I love you to, and that was after he proposed.

Who is taller? Steve at 5'10, I am 5'4

Who sings better? I don't think this is a fair question.

Who is smarter? Definately he is, I will go to him when my head is just spinning and I need advice, and he makes it seem so easy to solve, I wonder why I didn't think of it.

Whose temper is worse? Lately? Me...
Who does the laundry? Me, unless I have slacked off and he needs some clothes, or when I'm in school he keeps it going.

Who does the dishes? The whole family does the dinner dishes, I usually do the other meals.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does, but every couple of years he switches just to throw me off. I prefer the left side.

Who pays the bills? I do, but he knows exactly where we're at.

Who mows the lawn? One of the perks with having older kids, they do. I divide it up between all 5 of them.

Who cooks dinner? Me.

Who drives when you are together? On a nice date, he does, but just to go somewhere, the last person in the car drives. It's a race to get into the passenger side. I don't think either of us like to drive. It takes us a lot longer to get most places than the rest of you.

Who is more stubborn? I think we both are, he probably thinks I am. I'm not sure on this one.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Well, I'm never wrong.

Whose parents do you see the most? Steve's, they are in Ogden. My mom and dad are in Nauvoo.

Who proposed? He did.

Who has more friends? He does, I'm a little bit hard to get to know. With his calling in the stake, it seems like everyone knows him. I'm not as sociable.

Who has more siblings? I do by 1. There were 7 boys in his family, and there were 8 kids in mine.

Who wears the pants in the family? That's his place, but we do pretty well together.

What can I say, my significant other is pretty great. This was a fun tag to do. Makes me appreciate him more. I don't have a lot of blogger friends... see above, but I tag MOLLY.

Getting Busy

Never complain about having nothing to do, it will come back to bite you. We just started up basketball season again, both on the ward level and Jr Jazz. My family is crazy about basketball; Dad has decided to coach Conner's Jr Jazz team this season, and young Steve is also playing. Steve and Kaylea also are involved in church basketball, so our week goes as follows, Steve has practice on Monday nights (he doesn't go due to family night), Kaylea and Steve have church ball practice Tuesday night, Conner and Dad have practice on Thursday night, and Steve and Kaylea have separate YM/YW games (also on Thursday night). Saturday morning Conner and Steve have separate basketball games. This goes on every week until the end of March. Our Ward Young Men are going in 2nd place to region, they and another ward won all of the games they played, but when they played each other, the other ward beat them.

Our Stake President has reached the end of his term coming up in February, the members of the Stake Presidency and High Council thought it would be a great idea to have me make him a memory quilt with squares from Previous and Present High Council members, and Previous and Present members of the Stake Presidency. I am really happy to do it, but I am also making another memory quilt for another special day coming up. (I don't think they read my blog, but just in case.)

Then there's my calling in the Young Women, we have New Beginnings coming up next week, and we clean the Church on Saturday. On both occasions, I will be the only member of the YW presidency there.

Don't get me wrong, I love being busy and would prefer it to being bored, I just hope I can be organized enough to remember everything, and not drop the ball.


Kaylea spoke in church today, I was so proud of her, she didn't ask for any help at all, she read quotes and scriptures, and spent a lot of time making eye contact and telling personal experiences. Her talk was on the importance of choosing uplifting things in the media. She read from a talk by Spencer Condie about how magazines, music, and movies are alot like mushrooms. There are so many varieties, and many of the varieties are really good for you, but some are very dangerous, and even deadly, and it's important to only use those that are good and uplifting. She did a great job. I think she's growing up.

Back to life

I was told I'm not writing enough, I've decided my life isn't really that exciting. Sage came back, and we realized letting her car sit for 3 weeks in the winter is not a good idea, it broke down. Jessica's car broke down too, so she drives Steve's truck to her internship and school. Steve and I towed both cars to a place here in town, and are waiting for the verdict. That's what you get with old beater cars, but I can't complain, for the most part these vehicles are great.

It was fun having mom and dad come into town. Erin and I spent the day with mom going to Market Square and Savers. I had a great time, I love when I find really nice outfits! I found two skirts, a sweater, and a blouse. They all look like brand new, what a blast.

The kids are all back in school. We are finishing up the term this week, they are out of school Friday and Monday for report cards and the Martin Luther King holiday. It's good to have life back to normal.

Steve and I have been doing odds and ends around the house. Last week we had such a wind storm that it blew our mail box over, blew off about 8 pieces of siding, and blew the shingles off the roof of the shed. We were able to find all of the siding in our yard, and spent that Saturday reattaching it, it really got us in the mood to do some other projects around the house. We had a man come in and finish the carpet in the hallway. When we finished the office there was carpet that needed to be tucked in where the hardwood meets the carpet, and along one wall that used to be a door. He took care of that and patched a spot where ink had been spilled and smeared (down to the pad). I have noticed after 7 years, the grout is getting ugly around the base of the tubs, and showers, so we cleaned that up and caulked it. I painted the outside door casings and tried to paint the front door. I ran into a problem, I bought the darkest green I could find and painted it that color, but it looked bright green when I painted it on. It did dry darker, but it's still pretty bright. I have had several people tell me they thought the door and shutters were black, but there is no doubt the door, at least, is green.

I have really enjoyed participating in the biggest loser. I have been running 3 days a week and have done a mixture of pilates, tae bo, and yoga every morning and night. I may not lose 20 pounds, but I am really motivated to tone up what I have.

Christmas morning

It's nice when you can sleep in on Christmas morning. The kids are excited, but prefer their sleep. We had such a nice morning, the highlights were the gifts from Santa. Conner wanted a mountain bike, Kaylea spends so much time with my digital camera, I can't find it. The sales this time of year are great, it makes thes things so affordable. It helped us pay for the other gifts. Steve got the Jared's red truck. We got it running safe again, and I think he was really excited. Jess got a laptop, she bought one last year for $50.00, it really can't do anything. We thought she could use a new one for college.

We spent the morning relaxing at home, then went to Salt Lake to visit Steve's grandparents. LoaJean had a really nice meal waiting for us, and we spent time talking, and looking at scrapbooks from whenSteve was a boy, his dad Dave was a boy, and even pictures of Steve's Grandma Collings as a girl. It was really neat.



This evening we took the kids to see the movie "National Treasure" and I am ending the day perfectly in my new cozy jammies, eating smoked oysters in front of the fire, and playing on my blog again. This has been such a relaxing holiday, it was fun to talk with mom and dad. Love you guys.

Can't Sleep

Well, it's about 2:00 am, Christmas morning, and I'm wide awake. I was driving Steve crazy tossing and turning. So I thought I heard my blog calling... Tonight we went to Steve's parents' house for our annual Christmas eve dinner. It was a little bit different this year because of the weather. It usually takes us an hour to get there, tonight it took 2 hours through a snowstorm, but we had a wonderful time with good food, and good company. Steve's parents gave Jessica a birthday present, it was a diamond ring that grandma promised to her when she was young. It's so beautiful. We did a nativity with all the cousins. Conner was Joseph, Kaylea was the star of Bethlehem, Steve was a shepherd, and Jessica sang to us. I'll post a couple of pictures, but most will be on flickr. Then I'll try sleeping again... wish me luck.

MY BABY'S 18!!!

Wow! I can't believe it's Jessica's 18th birthday today. This is kind of a weird day, because Steve and the boys are on their way to the BYU football game in Las Vegas. Kaylea is in Logan with Tera and her cousins. I got up early this morning for a "Day before Christmas Program, Choir Practice, Brunch", and left Jessica to sleep in. Because it was a brunch, I brought Jess home some breakfast casserole, and a couple of cinnamon rolls. She was sitting at her desk doing her hair, but I made her get back in bed and lay down so I could 'wake her up' and give her breakfast in bed. Then I decided I would make the ultimate sacrifice and CLEAN her ROOM for her birthday. For those of you do not understand the kind of sacrifice I'm talking about need to understand that she is a lot like I was when I was living at home with mom and dad (Messy doesn't adequately describe it). It was a frightening thing, but you only turn 18 once. After 3 hours of work, two DI bags, and 3 trips to the dumpster, I finished it! Happy Birthday Jess!

Mornings with Conner

I just wanted to give you a little idea of what I go through every morning with Conner. He is permanently attached to his blanket from the time he wakes up until he walks out the door on the way to school. I wake him up and he drags the blanket to the bathroom door; there he drops it and goes in to take a bath. When bath time is over I usually have to go encourage him to keep getting ready. I usually find him wrapped back in his blanket sleeping back on his bed without anything on. I wake him again and tell him to get his clothes on and come up for breakfast. A couple of minutes later, he's at the table eating... again wrapped in his blanket. Then if I'm not watching really close he ends up on the furnace vent, in a corner, where he won't be seen. Sometimes, I'm busy doing other things and end up waking him just in time to put his shoes on and run out the door to catch the bus. It has turned into a routine with him. I usually have the blanket left in the living room when he leaves. I put it back in his room, ready for tomorrow morning.

Enjoying Christmas

I have to say, I have enjoyed this Christmas season more than any in recent memory. I think getting through school was so stressful toward the end of the semester this time, that having it over with, and having nothing pressing to do is really refreshing. I actually enjoyed sending out Christmas cards, and putting together neighbor gifts. On Monday the girls and I made Christmas cookies (something I usually dread!). Steve took this week off work, and we have just spent every day together shopping, going to lunch, and just hanging out. I feel like it's Christmas already.

Last weekend (Thursday)Erin got Steve and me tickets to the Tabernacle Choir concert with the King's Singers. That was such a neat evening, I was THRILLED to be in the audience with the King's singers. I think every Madrigal in Woods Cross had those songs ingrained into their brains forever. We were with Lee and Tricia, Erin and Brayden, and Tera. We also bumped into Ken and Ireta Jensen from Woods Cross with their oldest son Jerold's family. I guess they just got a mission call to Kenya, so Lee had a great conversation with them.

On Friday Steve and I decided to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. We went with our friends the Gowans to Wendover. I can happily say nobody gambled. The men each had a massage, and the ladies each had a facial. Then we went to the buffett, we had all you can eat King crab, shrimp, steak, prime rib, and desserts. We spent the evening playing games, and watching the Jazz lose. The next morning we had planned to take the road to Ibapah, then the pony express trail through the mountains and back to the Tooele Valley, but the roads were snowpacked, so we ended up coming home early.

Today we went christmas caroling as a ward. We all got on the back of a trailer, and sat on hay bales. We drove around the neighborhood singing, and having a great time. The weather couldn't be better, the snow all melted today, it was breezy, but definately not too cold.

Steve bought tickets to the BYU UCLA bowl game. It should be a lot of fun. He is taking Steve, and Conner on a road trip. He is letting Steve jr. drive a lot of the way. By then he should have his license. He just needs to take the test with his instructor, it should be done this week. Kaylea is traveling to Logan to help Tera babysit her kids and Erin's kids while their parents go to the game. Sounds like a party!

It's hard to believe Christmas is less than a week away... Merry Christmas!

Pictures

I have had several requests to see the nativity Tera gave me for Christmas. I finally found batteries for my camera, so here are pictures of my nativity from Tera, the nativity I bought in Mexice, my Christmas tree, and my front door. I'm definately feeling festive! Merry Christmas!

Life...

I finally did it! I decorated for Christmas this weekend! Because we waited so long, there was a snow storm raging outside, so we weren't able to get up lights outside. But if you walk into my house... CHRISTMAS!!

I added the nativity that Tera's family gave me to the rest in my curio cabinet. They look so neat, thanks so much Tera! I went Friday up to Midway with Erin and Casi to see the Holiday Creche. It was so nice. There were over 800 nativities from all over the world. I took my camera because I wanted to show how amazing each of the rooms are, totally full of nativities, but they had signs up all over saying "No cameras or video recorders". My little collection is not nearly as elaborate as the Creche in Midway, but I love the nativities I have. I would like to say they are from all over the world, I guess they kind of are, but mostly they are from China.:)

Steve's parents took us out to dinner for our Christmas present from them. We went out Saturday night to The Outback Steakhouse. It was so fun to have all of the brothers and their wives there. We played a game around the table as we ate, it's called 2 truths and a lie. You come up with 2 things about yourself and make up another, then everyone has to guess the lie. It was interresting to see how well we knew each other...I was kind of clueless. Many of the truths had us laughing so hard. It was a lot of fun.

This is finals week for me. I have Chemistry and Physiology, if I can pass both of them with a C+ or better, I can apply to the nursing program next week. This last semester has been really hard for me, almost overwhelming. I said several times that I should just withdraw from the classes and try again when life settles down a bit, but Steve has been behind me all the way, encouraging me, telling me don't give up...you're almost there, even doing housework, cooking, homework with the kids, and taxiing them around to give me time to study, or just relax a bit. I have the best husband in the world!

What's my rock star name?

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) – Puff Venture
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) - Chunky Monkey Snickerdoodle
3. YOUR “FLY GIRL” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) - TCol
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) – Red Dog
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) - Ann Provo
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - Coltr
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) - The Lavendar Juice
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) - David John
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)- Happy Snickers
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Dickson Harry

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had such a fun Thanksgiving with the family! Everyone pitched in and made a really great meal.

The men relaxed and watched football...or just relaxed.

We ate in Lee and Tricia's amazing new kitchen, large enough to fit 3 tables with room to spare. I forgot to take a picture of the adult table, but you get the picture. Here is also a picture of the meal. I know you're curious... we ate TURKEY.

Weird Family

I came home from Thanksgiving Dinner and found that someone had taken some creepy, scary pictures while we were at Lee's house.

Lee's art

Well, Thanksgiving was great at the Wright house, but before I write on that, I'd like to show you some WONDERFUL pictures Lee took. He was trying his hand at art. What do you think? Lee, don't quit your day job!

Steve Tagged!

Steve was tagged by mom, here goes, 7 things you may not know about him... in his own words.

1. I told Tracy I was going into politics, and ended up being a janitor.

2. I used to have a mullett.

3. I sang in church with my brothers...once. We ended up laughing and were never asked again.

4. I got the tip of my finger cut off. I was looking out of the upstairs window at a couple of girls, trying to show off, and the window fell down and cut it right off. I went down to tell my mom, and she went into shock and told me to march right back upstairs and find my finger!

5. I was in a priesthood ordination when President Faust (Elder Faust at the time), gave the priesthood to someone. I didn't know at the time that he was an apostle, I just remember feeling what a powerful man he was. I later found out that he was an apostle.

6. I used to ride my bike to school from Kaysville to Woods Cross, then to work (Farmington) and back home. I did this every day for 3 months.

7. I lost my driver's license before my mission (too many tickets). I went to talk to the probation officer before my mission and found out that he had a son going to the same mission as me. After my mission I went with my dad to buy a car. They looked up my record to see how many tickets I had had in the last 3 years and it came up 0. The probation officer had cleared my whole record.

TAGGED

Seven facts about me... don't know if they are interresting, or little known, but here goes!

1. I love to find out how things work and repair them. I know this drives repair men, mechanics, and plumbers crazy, but I watch them work the entire time they are here, and I ask them any question that pops into my head. I had a 15 year old boy come over to work on a 4 wheeler, and he kept saying I didn't have to stay, he knew what he was doing. After about 30 minutes, I decided he was really uncomfortable with me there watching, so I left. I think I would have enjoyed auto shop, wood shop, work as an electrician, etc.

2. Steve helped me with this one, I get really crazy sometimes. He says that doesn't give you the full effect... I get boarderline psychotic! I get so crazy, funny, out of control that I give myself headaches sometimes. Dancing out of control, Singing opera at the top of my lungs, trying to see the highest note on the scale I can reach by screaming my lungs out, Cranking the hard rock scary music in my car as loud as it will go and head banging with my windows down all the way home. I have issues.

3. I was a gymnast when I was younger. I could do back flips, and front flips on the ground, and I spent almost every day on my friends trampoline doing back flips, and front flips. I can't even jump on the trampoline anymore without getting dizzy and scared.

4. Now that I'm in school, I am finding out that the human body is so interresting. I absolutely love learning about anatomy and physiology. I come home and tell Steve, "I can't believe I didn't know this for 37 years, it makes so much sense!" But I hate chemistry, I dread chemistry labs & I dread chemistry lectures.

5. I am a very careful driver. I have had a driver's license for 21 years and have never had a speeding ticket. I have only been pulled over 1 time. However, I have been in 3 accidents. For some reason people like to run into me.

6. I am petrified of mice, call it trauma in my childhood, or whatever. I have no fear of spiders, or other bugs, but if a mouse runs past me, I break out in a cold sweat, and my heart starts pounding, I have screamed several times.

7. I have started collecting nativity sets. I have started going to an event in Midway every year where the LDS church fills every room, including the gym, chapel, and even the high council room with nativities from all over the world. It is so neat to see, so I decided that every trip I go on, I'd like to see if I can find a nativity from that area.

I tag Molly, and mom, sorry, my only blogger friends are my family! Have fun, the rules are post seven interesting things about you, tag 7 more people and let those who you tagged know by commenting on their blog. I hope this is easier for you than it was for me. Thanks Kim and Casi... I owe you one!

Scary Halloween Slide Show

STATE CHAMPS!!

Conner had his state finals today in Salt Lake City. They played against Woods Cross. Conner's team has won all 12 games they have played, there was only 1 touchdown made by another team, and that was the first game. They won the State Championships today 24-0. When the boys got back to Grantsville there were 2 firetrucks decorated that they climbed on and got to ride all through town with the sirens going. I think this was a GREAT day for Conner.

Cruisin'

We just got back yesterday from our vacation. We took a 5 day cruise to Mexico. Just wanted to let everyone we went with to know we really enjoyed the time we spent with you! What a blast! We went to the Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza, and took a jeep tour of Cozumel where we went snorkeling and had an authentic Mexican lunch on the beach. I found out first hand how fun it is to sleep in the same room with dad! Learned that subconsciously Jamie chases large bald African American men. And now I'm just trying to get my land legs back. I will post most of my pictures on Flickr, but wanted to show you a few.