Mom and Dad Blist

My first blog of the new year! I can't say I've been too busy to blog, my days are pretty wide open. I just haven't been able to think of anything exciting to blog about. I considered lying and saying I was preggers on here, just to have something fun to blog about but then I would need to be able to prove it at some point and baby stealing is kinda wrong. So since that won't work, I decided that this year I am going to make blists, blog lists. The blist of the day: Reasons why my parents are the greatest. These reasons are in no particular order.

1. They had me, the greatest child of all time. Just kidding:) These two amazing individuals somehow raised 10 kids into successful adulthood! All 10 of us are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint. 6 are married in the temple and have successful marriages. We are all hard working (okay, maybe not Peter, JK! ha ha), productive members of society. Apparently their hard work payed off.

2. I never wanted for anything. When I was a kid I thought we were millionaires. We lived in a nice house,  always had good food to eat,  had nice clean clothes, and I always had great Christmas's and birthdays. Now I know that we weren't monetarily rich, but that really didn't matter. We were always provided for.

3. They really love all of us. Teenagers are the most unlovable things on the planet and even during those annoying teenage years, I still felt loved by my parents. They showed their love by listening to my silly problems and being genuinely interested in my life. My mom came to every night of the musicals I was the lead in. Every night! Even writing this right now I am getting emotional. Who does that? Who sits through 2 1/2 hours of bad singing and dancing 3 nights in a row? Barbara Howe, mother of the century, does. What dad misses a high school football game to come to a middle school choir concert? A middle school choir concert is pure torture and my loving dad would miss one of his favorite things, football, to come and support me. If that's not love I don't know what is.

4. I have learned so much from my parents examples. My mom is not afraid to ask for forgiveness. I have a very clear memory of being about 4 yrs old and mom had gotten mad at me for something and later she came back to me and told me she was sorry for getting upset, that she loved me, and asked me for forgiveness. I was 4! I guarantee I was did something worthy of her getting mad at me. But there she was, asking for a 4 yr old's forgiveness. Dad is the picture of hard work. When I was about 15 or 16, dad lost his job. He worked 4 or 5 jobs at a time to make ends meet. He worked really hard and a lot of hours during that time, but I have zero memories of him complaining. He never gave up and he eventually found the job he loves now.

5. Most of us kids are musically inclined and pretty darn smart. My mom has an incredible voice. I sing, because my mom sings. I learned how to sing the alto part in hymns by listening to my moms solid alto harmonies. We all grew up listening to great music and watching old school musicals. My dad is the smartest person I know. Who needs a dictionary when you have dad? He knows how to spell every word in there! My dad reads books like no one I know. He is constantly reading. Even when he's watching TV, he is reading a book at the same time! All 10 of us enjoy reading, some took a little longer to get there (cough..Benjamin..cough), but we all are readers and readers are smart:) Just ask science:)

Well there's the blist on why mom and dad are the greatest. They are two of my favorite people of all time. I am so blessed to be their daughter. I love you mom!!! I love you dad!!!

"Chocolate, Sarah? Don't mind if I do"

Dearest Chocolate,

Thank you for being so delicious! I have always loved you and can't imagine my life without you. You are always there for me when I am down. You sooth my broken spirit with your exceptional healing powers. You are there for me when I deserve a handsome reward for being awesome. I enjoy you in all your delectable ways. You are incredible in ice cream, pies, candies, and surprisingly cakes. I enjoy you as hot chocolate, nutella, and Sees Chocolate pieces of heaven! I love the way you warm my heart and calm my soul. A life without you isn't a life at all. Thank you for having antioxidants so I can rationalize eating you all I want and as much as I want. I love you white, dark or milk. I am no respecter of chocolates, I love you all the same. Thank you Chocolate for all the wonderful things you have done for me.

Love forever and for always,

Sarah

P.S.
Don't tell Reese of this, he will never understand my love for you.

home sweet home

Tucson is really the only home I have ever known. I moved there right before my 5th birthday and left a bit before my 24th birthday. I have done all my schooling (you can tell by the spelling errors), learned how to drive, and met the man of my dreams in Tucson. I love Tucson! And absence has made my heart grow fonder. Let me count the ways:

1. Mountains everywhere! They are great for figuring out what direction you are going and they are sooooo beautiful.

2. Real Mexican food. Some sort of Mexican yumminess on every corner! Sanoran Hot Dog carts all over the place, its like heaven!

3. Libraries galore! Tucson has a million libraries! They pretty much have any book you would ever want to read + they give you three whole weeks with your borrowed entertainment. what a blessing!

4. Sunflower Market. Need I say more? The best produce, so cheap! Natural things that my hubby will eat without saying it's like eating cancer.

5. The smell of rain. Tucson rain has the most magical smell thanks to the creosote. I love a nice jog while inhaling that wonderfulness.

6. Shopping malls! There are 3 great malls! Two of which have forever 21! the best store! Gap, banana republic, love culture, old navy,and so many more.

7. Multiple movie theaters! cheap seats, park mall cinemark, el con cinamark, Harkins, the loft(okay, so the loft is weird, but still), and even more! plus, $5 first showing! Amazing!

8. Targets!!!!!!!! There are 3 on Broadway alone! What a city! You can't go anywhere without passing at least one. No matter where you live in Tucson, you are always minutes away from a terrific Target.

9. 92.9 the mountain. What a station! They play clean, awesome music. What a rare thing that is these days! plus, they sponsor studio C which brings in all kinds of amazing musicians.

10. The Howe Family Headquarters! Treat closet, delicious left overs, a tv in every room, ice cream in the freezer, homemade yumminess, mom, dad, brothers, sisters, nieces, nefews, mia, fun and crazy times to be had, etc. Nothing compares to this. Even if I lived in a mansion on the beach with a target and a mall next store with free sanoran hot dogs, it would even come close to how much I love Howe HQ. I miss being in that home more than anything. I miss my family more than I can even say.

So people may say Tucson is just alright, but I say it's heaven on earth. Who care's if the schools are falling apart and don't teach kids how to spel (case and point). It is a beautiful place with a lot of culture and great people. All it really needs is a Temple:) I can't wait to be back in that wonderful part of the world!

My summer Vacation Part 2: D.C.

Reese at the Metro! I was horrified to go on the metro. I don't enjoy being under ground. But Reese made me go and it wasn't too bad:)

By the time we got to the Smithsonian, We were STARVING!!! So we ate at the Smithsonian. SO EXPENSIVE! It cost us $30! ARG! You live and you learn. I love how the lady in the backround is like some sort of secret agent. Her phone call must be full of classified information.

This is Reese losing his mind. LOL! I love this picture! I must have caught Reese mid yawn. We were on our long journey to the lincoln memorial.
Arizona! My home sweet home!

Italy! Reese's home sweet home!

My Summer Vacation Part 1: The Move

Our tiny love nest

One last picture in Tucson:)

At our hotel in Abilene Texas they served this delightful waffle for breakfast

I was surprised that Reese ate that waffle. It was not whole wheat and I'm pretty sure
it had partially hydrogenated fat or high fructose corn syrup or msg or maybe all three:)

Our 2nd day in the car! Fun fun fun!

Hey we know that guy!!! How did Parkin get all the way out here?


Welcome to the land of green!

Here we are on our Sunday walk in Petersburg battlefield. It was so humid!!! We were drenched by the time we got home. No wonder you don't see people going for walks around here:)

The dead tried to escape I guess

"Walk down that lonesome road all by your self. Don't turn your head back over your shoulder."
Aw the King Singers... Anyway another shot at the battlefield, lol no pun intended:)
o
Our ghetto hotel where some murderer was hiding out while we were staying there. No joke. Oh the adventures we will have:)

Reese's First day of work:)

Reese Approved

On Tuesday I was craving homemade treats so badly and I couldn't figure out why. I was even dreaming about cake and we all know that's crazy for me, the pie girl. Then it hit me. I have had a homemade treat every Sunday since before I can remember and now I have gone two Sundays without one. Once I realized this I knew there was only one way to cure it. Make and eat a delectable treat. I was really craving some no bake cookies, so I called mom and got the recipe. The recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar!!! That's a lot of sugar. I knew Reese would have a heart attack if I used that much sugar, so I substituted the 2 cups of sugar for 1 cup of honey and 1 tsp of stevia(my favorite sweet combo). Now there are times when this doesn't work because of the chemistry of baking and garbage like that. But this time it turned out AMAZING!!!!!!! These are the best no bake cookies I have ever had! NO joke! They have the perfect consistency and the BEST flavor. I also used organic peanut butter(peanuts and salt nothing else), so it was even better. Reese ate them and loved them! We all know he is not one that eats sweets, so you know if Reese puts his endorsement on it, it must be good for you:)

Virginia!!!!!!!!

Well, here we are in VA! It is very different here:) I have never seen so much green in my life. Humidity is not my favorite so far, but I don't need lotion anymore, which is good:) Church was really great. People are so friendly here. This nice young couple invited us over for dinner and we are really looking forward to that. I got homesick our first day here and wanted to go home so badly. I felt alone and I missed my family so much. Reese was so helpful and made me feel a little better. That night I prayed to feel better and feel at home here. It is amazing to me what a comfort the Holy Ghost can be. I could feel my Heavenly Father's love and concern for me. I do miss my family and friends a lot, but I know that I am not alone. Reese has said that this adventure is kind of like my "mission" experience and I agree. It's called growing pains for a reason:)

I am super excited about going to this theme park in Richmond. It has the biggest drop ride in North America! I can't wait! Reese said he will go with me and try to be a good sport:) He doesn't exactly love theme parks. What a good husband he is:) Going to DC will be very fun and interesting as well. All and all, I know we are going to have a good time here:)