NILKAH...

Here is our puppy in her cute Christmas dress!

PINE VIEW...

For the last few years my in-laws will get a cabin up at Pine View for the week. It sits up above the lake and is super pretty. The cabin is huge! The kids have so much fun playing in the sand and they recently have this new board that helps teach them how to ski.

FAMILY...

My little sister (Kami) and her husband (Hank) came for a visit from Viginia! I was so happy to see my sister...I feel that it has been FOREVER! We met up and went on a couple's date. We went to dinner at Tepanyaki, which is always yummy! Then we went to Hale Centre Theater and saw A Christmas Carol. It was surprisinly good! I would definatly reccomend it.

Here we are before the show started

Mi Amore

The next day we had christmas dinner at my dad's house. It was a fun get together! Yummy lasgana and salad...you can't ever go wrong there! We bought my dad a Nano (something basic and can get his needs met) so I thought. I was trying to explain to him how to make it work, load his music and I am pretty sure I left him all confused!

Here is part of my family...





FROM MY HUSBAND...

Today my husband sent me flowers....just because! Now this is coming from the man that usually only does flowers for holidays. The card was so super cute and heart felt. I loved it! He has been working really long days lately with a new line that they started so I don't really see him much lately. So he just told me that he misses me and how much he loves me!  I love my husband soooo much! And I love love love surprises!

THANKSGIVING #1...

So Saturday was Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I do have to say that I out did myself! It was surprisingly a fantastic time with my family there! I made so much food that I forgot to make the stuffing and didn't even notice til I was cleaning up! I gave out our family pictures that we did, they were so cute!

My computer is completely dead so I can't get the pictures off of it and I still haven't found my camera....sniff...sniff.

Tomorrow we are going over to the Stevens for Thanksgiving dinner...yum! I am in charge of pies and vegetable tray. Done and Done. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

WOW ITS BEEN OVER A MONTH...

It has been over a month since my last post! Since then, Tony went on his first hunt and didn’t get anything. He was a bit bummed about it. But there will be next year. I am thinking about hunting next year as well. It would be awesome if we both got our bucks! There were four people in our group that got their buck on the first day of the opening! One of them was a twelve year old. He was so excited!

Halloween was super fun! We went over to Kole and Cindy’s. I dressed up at a baseball player and Tony was a lumber jack man. I decided to play vodka pong (cause I don’t drink beer) that was very interesting! I lost my camera so I have no pictures. Ugh! Fun time with friends though!

My birthday was very relaxing! I stayed in bed until noon and then tony made me brunch. We watched a little of the Utah game. Then Tony, Cody and Aaleeya took me to dinner at Market Street Grill. It was so very yummy! I then got to open my present! Celine Dion tickets in April! I am so very excited for it. We then watched Iron Man 2 and I feel asleep. It was a very good birthday!

Aaleeya’s birthday was next. She turned two. How time fly’s by! When she was born Tony and I were in Mexico getting engaged, and here we are two years later already! Her parents had a birthday party at McDonalds. She had fun running around and opening her presents. Granted the presents that were clothes got thrown. Little does she know when she gets older she will love clothes!

How I love diamonds!! They tend to not like me so much. When we went to Jamaica I lost one of my earrings that Tony gave me on our wedding day. So yesterday we went and picked the new one up, paying half of what he bought them for! This is after a month of trying to get it in the store! Nothing but drama. As we were waiting I had them clean my wedding rings, and as the jeweler is giving them back to me he shows me that two diamonds feel out of my wedding band! This is the third time that has happened. I am not very happy at this point. Now I have to wait a month for them to get it inspected. We also looked at upgrading my ring half of a carat to equal 2 carats. Whoa! That would be huge (in a good way of course.) I have also lost a tennis bracelet that tony gave me for my birthday two years ago. I just put it somewhere that I wouldn’t lose it and forgot where that place is, so I am certain that one day I will remember. Well this morning I was getting ready and I went to get my diamond necklace that Tony gave me on our wedding day and I couldn’t find it! He was not very happy. Then I remembered that I had put it on a hanger with my dresses on it (so I wouldn’t lose it). Hopefully he doesn’t stop buying me diamonds cause they are my favorite! So I have a new goal…DON’T LOOSE THEM!

My thanksgiving dinner is tomorrow. We are going to go grocery shopping tomorrow. I sent out my invitations on Tuesday. I will see if I can get a picture of them on here. I am so excited about it. I do love to cook, plan and decorate!

I moved into a new position at work. I went from Receptionist to Administrative Assistant and I am loving it! It comes with good perks and new adventures. I have a ton more work to do so I have been staying very busy. Starting Monday my work is going to be doing a weight loss challenge. It ends January 9th. I don’t want to gain the ‘holiday weight’ this year. So it will be fun to do this friendly competition.

Well I will try to keep updates coming. A month is way too long!

UPDATE...

Having my brother with us includes visits with my cute niece! She came for a visit last weekend and she is getting so big! When she says my name it totally melts my heart! She will be two next month on the tenth. Nilkah finally warmed up to Aaleeya and they are cute friends now! "PUPPY MERE!" is now a common phrase in my house. I give her these "gummies" in the morning. They are gummy vitamins. Threw out the day she will ask "gummy?" I just smile and say tomorrow, "tomorrow" or "k" is her reply. Simple little joys in life!

I love having Cody live with us! He says that he loves it up here and that he understands why I moved to Salt Lake and why I choose the drama free life I do. I am glad that we get a chance to get to know each other as adults. It has been way to long since we have had a honest relationship. I missed him so much! I also like that him and Tony can form some kind of relationship too.

Tony is getting ready for his very first deer hunt next weekend! I am so excited for him. He will be hunting with my family. There is a few that didn't put in for the hunt this year but they are coming (from out of town) just to support him. This means so much to the both of us! I will only be with him for the weekend. So I do hope that he gets his deer over the weekend! I will keep you updated on how he does!

I am going to be starting to audit some classes from where I went to massage school, starting Tuesday. I am finally going to get my Massage License. I am excited to be back into some form of class! I am still working out a schedule to start getting trained to certify in Pilate's. Hopefully that will start soon (by the first of the year at the latest) so that I can be finished with both certifications at the same time.

I am still waiting for my "second job" to start. There were delays on building the restaurants. So I am hoping November. I do love to stay busy! And the extra income will be nice for the holidays!

I have already started planning my second Thanksgiving! I want to put a little more time in on the decorations. Last year I made a full turkey meal and it was perfect! I actually made WAY to much! I am inviting a few more people this year so it will be a little bigger. Last year we also went down town and saw the lights at the temple as a family. It was so much fun! I will try to keep that as a tradition as well. I decided to do this so that we can have a full day with each family! So I am making dinner for my family the Saturday before Thanksgiving and then on Thanksgiving we will be with Tony's family. I can't stand the bustle of the holidays, with going between families! It takes away the joy and fun! So I am excited...I love love love planning things!

Tony is staying so busy! He plays his final baseball game or games on Saturday. Its double elimination so we will see how that goes! Good luck Cardinals!

He is also busy at work! They have been picking up so much business lately that they stay swamped! I am just waiting for his dad to have some kind of panic attack! Better staying busy then out of work right?

Well this is everything that is going on in our lives right now! I need to get a new cord for my camera to be able to upload some more pictures! So soon I hope!

HOUSE PROJECT...

So Tony was walking out onto our back deck with Nilkah and it collapsed in the middle! They are both okay! Tony was able to back up into the house before anything happened. So now Tony was able to put his skills to work and built us this new deck. It is so handy to have a handy man! I helped with clean up and holding things in place. And Cody helped out with getting the stairs in place. Go team work!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

September 21st was Tony's 28th birthday! We took our newest little family member to the pond to see how she would do in the water. She swam like a champ...didn't even not like it one bit! We then had a BBQ at our house with some friends! I personally had so much fun! I made my first 'better then sex cake', and it turned out pretty yummy! Nilkah did okay with all of the new people. But she was still very skittish and clung to mom! It was a pretty good night! Happy Birthday my love!

NILKAH...

We welcome Nilkah Stevens to the family!!! She is a Min Pin. Just over 13 weeks old. She is so freaking adorable! As of now kids frighten her, and is not fond of guys. This makes me sad because she is Tony's birthday present. I sure do hope that she warms up to him though. She is constantly by my side and wont go anywhere unless I am going with her. In due time I suppose. She loves, loves, loves to snuggle and to be completely covered in the blanket. Mini bones are yummy to her. A tug rope is fun for her...she hops around after it right before she decides to pounce on it. She will also run after her pink tennis ball if it is rolled on the ground.She is a good passenger in the car and loves to sun bathe! She does not like her leash. She will just stop and stand there. I cant wait til she enjoys it so we can go for walks. Only after a few days I do have to say that I am very attached to this cute little puppy!

NEW HOUSE GUEST...

So my little brother Cody moved in with us yesterday! He is working at the bakery as well. I am so very excited about this change for him! I can see so many goals that he can accomplish if he just sticks with it! I am also excited for rebuilding our relationship! It has been along time!

oh...how I do love him!!!

I WILL MISS YOU GRANDMA...

Sharon Hallam Maestas

1938 ~ 2010

September 4, 2010 the Maestas family say goodbye to their sole reason for who they are today, her love and caring was in her every day, her family was by her side.

Sharon was born in Spanish Fork to Elwood and Alene Hallam on June 20, 1938. She was the oldest of 5 children; Jimmy (Sherry) Hallam, Marsha (Ray) Rowland, Maryann Castillo and Ray (Rusti) Hallam. She married the love of her life Dennis Maestas and together they had 5 children; Denise (Kerry) Brown, Dianna (Brad) Gilmore, Sherrie Hatch (Marvin) Holdaway, Randy (Janet) Maestas and Greg Maestas.

She was an administrator for Ann's Siesta Villa for over 40 Years. She is survived by her husband Dennis, Dianna, Sherrie, Randy, 12 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents and children Denise and Greg.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, September 9, 2010 at the Walker Mortuary, 587 South 100 West, Payson, Utah. Friends and family may call Wednesday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the Mortuary and one hour prior to the services on Thursday. Interment will be in the Payson City Cemetery.

Family would like to express a special thanks to the Specialty Hospital Staff, Frank Wall and Reed Cornaby.

Condolences to the family may be sent to www.walkerfamilymortuary.com

This is my talk...

I want to take a moment and thank everyone for coming and supporting my family. It truly means the world to see how much my grandmother is loved and will be missed. I also want to tell my grandpa that I know that grandma is in a much better place waiting to one day reunite with you and until then you can count on her watching over you, so grandpa you better behave yourself. I also admire the strength and courage that you and my mother have had in the past two months. Over the past couple days you have showed me the love, strength and devotion I one day hope to achieve in my own marriage. I love you so much grandpa.

What is the essence of Sharon Maestas? Well I didn’t know her to be an emotional person. She was always strong natured and very sassy. Being a red head truly fit her! I admire the courage she always seemed to have when things needed to be done. She was always so strong and she fought all the way to the end. You could always count on her following through with anything that she said. Her family was what she worked so hard for.

Memories of my grandmother are of family camping trips and reunions when I was younger. Picnics in the park and delicious home cooked meals! Holidays would always feel my grandparents’ house with chaos and laughter.

I have one memory that will always stick with me when it comes to my grandmother. It was more of a reality check for me. She was so upset with me because I was just coasting threw life. I had been dating my husband for five years and we had no plans to get married, or I should say I had no plans on getting married. I was just working and living day to day. No plans for the future. I never knew that she had such an opinion on the way I was living my life. She smacked the back of my head gave me a dirty look and told me that I needed to figure things out. It’s time to grow up she said. Little to say I was engaged the following year and finished school! Because of this pep talk I have never stopped striving to succeed and I thank my grandmother for the reality check and welcome all and any challenges life may throw my way!

I have written this poem for her:

God saw you getting tired

And a cure was not to be

So he put his arms around you and whispered

Come to me.

I felt sadness in my heart,

An empty kind of pain,

Your soul had gone away,

Only memories remained.

I tried to cry out to ease my grief,

Lifted my hands to heaven, prayed for gods relief.

Not a word or a sound

Only emptiness I found.

Then I heard a choir of angels beckoning from above,

It was from the grandmother that I love.

You say you were chosen for his garden,

His preciously handpicked bouquet.

"God really needed me, that's why I couldn't stay."

It's said to be that angels,

Are sent from above.

I've always had my angel,

My grandmother - whose heart was filled with love.

A soft rain began falling,

But no cloud was in the sky,

Then Jesus whispered to me,

"This is how the angels cry."

I held you close in my heart today

It made me feel complete;

Now I know that when I close my eyes

What I’ll see are visions of you.

A golden heart stopped beating

Hard working hands at rest

God broke our hearts to prove us

He only takes the best.

MY LIFE...

So I am feeling very ambitious today! I needed to lay all my ideas out...

I was thinking about maybe going to dental assistant school next month. I saw that it takes ten weeks and so I thought “why the heck not?!” Well I did a bit more research and decided against it. So I have been wanting to go back to school and get some kind of degree, but no idea in what field. So I said I will just start my generals in January and just go from there. But we both know that I HAVE to have a plan! I was talking to a friend last night and trying to just organize my thoughts. This is the conclusion that I came to.

I am a test away from getting my Massage License. Granted it has been two years since I finished school for it! I can audit any classes that I have already taken for free. So why not go back and audit the classes that I struggled with the most (anatomy and pathology) (which are basically the subjects on the national examine that I would need to pass to get my license.) Take those classes at night and maybe a few others so that I can refresh what I have learned. Then in January I would still start school and head towards a Physical Therapy degree. I would love to work with children!!! Then I could intertwine both subjects together. Plus it would look good on a resume having a license.

I would also like to get a business degree that would also help me with opening my own distribution company, that Tony and I can run. Starting in September I will be doing deliveries for three of the stores that orders from Tony's work. Tony said that I will make double what I make at my job now in a week. It will only take two to three hours a day to do. So one day I was hoping to expand on that and get more business. If it ever became to much for me that is where Tony would be able to step in. Plus the business degree would help with opening my own personal massage business on the side that I could do whenever I had time. And I could still do that (both ideas) when I have kids.

Then there is Propulsion Pilate's instructor. It is a class that I take 3-4 times a week and I love it! So I was thinking why not become an instructor to incorporate into my schedule while I am going to school?! It would be some extra cash when I have free time. I need to do a little more research about all the info. But so far I found out it takes 6 months to get certified. I am going to talk to my instructor more about it on Friday when I have class again.

So many ideas and plans and a bit time consuming…but what else am I doing with my time?! Plus I am trying to think future wise…especially since we want kids sooner then later. Or maybe I have just bitten of way to much…and I normally like to do that!

I am just ready for a career. Ready for being an adult. Ready for some changes to make our lives even better then it is. I am extremely happy and content where we are right now. But for me personally I need some goals!

PROPLUSION PILATES...

For the last three months I have been integrating Propulsion Pilates with my work outs. I love it in the sense that its not Pilates that you are doing on a mat. The instructor is there threw out the class telling you what to do and how to do it correctly so that you can work the correct muscles and not hurt yourself. I try to go at least four times a week. I used to prefer to work out with weights when I was in the gym but now I save the gym for my cardio! I have noticed that my thighs are much more toned and muscular...and I have grown a bit on my behind!! My arms are so much stronger and when I flex there is actually something there. Here are some pics of what the machines look like and what you do on them! Granted these are profesh!

JAMAICA...

For our anniversary trip we went to Montego Bay, Jamaica! Getting there was a long trip! Two layovers with the second flight threw the night. I took dramamine to help sleep. Tony did not so he was up on and off because there were two ladies talking right behind us.

In Charlotte airport...

On our final plane ride...

Our view from the airplane...

We slept the afternoon away when we got there cause of the long flight! Then we woke up and planned on renewing our vows (just the two of us) and have some dinner and just hang out. Well it was dark before we were even ready so we didn’t get to take the pictures I wanted. It was so humid outside that when we would try to take pictures the camera would fog up! It was a funny experience though! All in all the vows were priority and I loved Tony’s vows for sure! I love that I have a husband that will appease me just to make me happy. I think that it is important to remember every year why you choose to be with this person. Daily life can be overwhelming at times and its important to remember the small and important things! I have to say that I adore my husband! He truly is my best friend! We complement each other so much…he is my yin to my yang! My temper with his calmness, my outgoing with his shyness, my loudness with his quietness, my black and white view with his color-ness, my uptightness with his laid back-ness. He is just perfect for me!

Tony's present...

 His obsession...watches...

My present...

My obsession...diamonds...

After our vows...

Um...we really were happy...

We did so many fun activities on our trip. I fell in love with the jungly-ness of Jamaica! Minus the mesquitos! We tubed down a huge river that was really wide and around 120 feet deep in areas. On this trip we also got to walk up to two waterfalls that we sat in. It was fun but cold. It started raining when we began th ride. We took pictures but it was with a disposable waterproof camera.

Our next trip was taking a catamaran out in the ocean! It stopped near a reef that we snorkeled above and saw many fish!

On the bus...

This is where we got on the boat...

Dancing with full drinks on your head=talent...

Tanning with a beef patty in my hand...

Sunblock is a must...

Some views from the boat...

Then we went over to Dunn’s Falls in Ocho Rios. This was probably my most favorite part of the trip! You walk up threw it in the water. It would go up and the go flat with little pools that where hip deep. It was so pretty and such a fun experience! Thanks to my sister Kami that had been there before and told us that we had to go!

Then there was the canopy zip line! We went on seven zip lines and 2 repelling ones. It was fun and fast. The views were so pretty! 

All ready to go...

Stuffed into the bus...

The hotel was really nice! At check-in the guy that was helping us got our room upgraded. The upgrade was to a bottom floor suite that had a balcony and a walk away out onto the hotel grounds. They had waterslides, a lazy river, ping pong tables, three restaurants, a gym, a bar, a club, a gift shop, and a fabulous outlook to the ocean! The people were so friendly and helpful. They had a live band playing reggae music nightly or they put on shows such as dancers, a guy that could move and bend his body in every which direction!

A day of shopping...

Watching some entertainment...

Tony in a beer chugging contest...

He lost...

The ocean was so clear and different colors of blue! It was like getting into a luke warm bath.

I love this picture...

As for the food...Jerk chicken is yummy, but there were other things that were not so yummy! The humidity was ridicules! I did miss dry Utah. The weather was nice and warm. Sunny in the mornings and cloudy in the afternoons. It rained a few times during the day for a short period of time. But one night it was a beautiful thunder storm! The lightening covered the sky. The rain was so warm and heavy. I love Jamaica!!!!