TJ* Jen* Mason Sherwood

I forgot in my last post... Tj got his second wind on his teardrop trailor and has been working so hard on it. His dad has been helping since they got home and here is where it is so far. Although I dread the night TJ makes me go sleep in it, I am very proud that he has stuck with it and is actually doing a very good job!! Good job honey!!

After Alyssa told me to update I figured it was time because I always get mad at her for not updating!! Sorry!! I hate when people don't update. I look forward to new posts, however sick and twisted that sounds. I'm not addicted to blogs, I promise!!

I was at work on Tuesday and realized there was 3 weeks until Christmas and I had not done any shopping!!! That is bad news bears for me!! So I woke up and hit the ground running. I went to target, Michaels, and then hit Chandler mall for 4 hours. Not only did I get alot of shopping done but I did a little for myself as well. I always wonder why I spend so much $$$ at christmas time but it is because I buy myself a few things!! hehehe I bought an amazing pair of shoes at ALDO and I had to take a picture to show you how unbelievably cute they are. I have another pair on hold that are being shipped from Louisiana b/c they are the only ones that still had the shoe left in my size!! it is so cute, but here is the one I got!! muuwhwhahahah



Last night we went and saw the Rockette's at Dodge Theatre. It was pretty fun but I wish there would have been more of the actual Rockette's dancing. They were out for about 30% of the show and then there was filler stuff for the rest. if I had younger kids they would have loved it but I did enjoy watching how perfect those girls are! It is amazing how exact they are with every step. I think TJ was a little bored, in fact I think all the boys were. I asked TJ what he was thinking about half was into it and he said he was trying to "find which girl had the biggest butt!!" That's my husband!!





I wore my new shoes out to the show and they made me alot taller than TJ so I had to squat down for this picture!! oops!




Our house is coming along nicely. We will probably move in after the holidays. the plumbers are about done and we have a little painting to do and a few things here and there but other than that we will have our very own house soon!! yay!!

the next few weeks are going to be fun but quite busy. I think we have something going on almost every single night between all of the families and friends! That is why I love Christmas. It gets a little crazy but it's worth it!!

Oh man, I never thought I would be one of those early Friday morning shoppers but it was so much fun!! Last year was my first year and now a tradition with Tj's mom and sisters. We hit target at 6:00am right before the doors opened and I literally thought I would be trampled over and dead!! I bought a bunch of movies, maybe 10 for about $30. Love that!!

Then we went to walmart, where I saw karlee and her hubby and sister and I was so proud to hear that they went the day before and hid the presents they wanted to buy so they could run right in to the store and get them! Way to go karlee!!!

Then off to Kohls to buy vacuum but the line was all the way around the store and I was not about to wait 1 1/2 hours to buy a vacuum so we passed on that one and headed to Chandler mall. We hit up Pottery barn where laurie now works so I get 40% off!! woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could not be more excited for her and for my new discount!! Tj's sister bought some ornaments and we walked all around and then took off out of there. It was about 9 am at this point so we dropped off his sister and Tj's mom and I took off for more shopping.

We went back to Target ( now that it had calmed down a bit) and got a microwave for the new house for $30 ( score!!) and some kitchen stuff that I still needed to get. Then we attempted Kohls again but it was just as bad as before so I scratched the vacuum idea and we headed down to the new san tan mall where we picked up lots of goodies which I cannot go into details about because they may be for some of you reading this!! muuwhwhahah! ( namely TJ)

Then just to top it all off we thought we'd go to Superstition mall just to check it out but that was a madhouse so we left as soon as possible and headed home for a nap!!!

Later Tj and I went to Red Robin and went and saw "Dan in Real Life" with some friends! All in All, a great day!!!!

Does anyone have a cricket phone or know anyone that has one? Do you like it or hate it??

For everyone that cares, Read Beegh and Randee Mecham's blog!! I am so happy for you!!

Does anyone know where I can get free background templates that are already made or somewhat easy to figure out. It's after halloween and my background is out dated but the website I usually got them from is shut down. Please help!!

I want to know who hates me right now because on Thursday we put up the Christmas decorations at my mom's house and I was lovin every minute of it!! Then today I convinced my mother in law to put hers up also!!! If you have to take all the time and energy to put it up you might as well enjoy it for awhile!! Don't you agree?? Plus it gets you in the mood! If we were in our house I would for sure have ours up but I have to live vicariously through other people!!




The boys were not quite as excited as we were



I had to work Friday night but Saturday was also good. We spent the whole day together which is pretty uncommon for us!! We went shopping and I went to the Tempe Marketplace mall for the first time and then we went to the new San Tan Mall which was fun and the we went to Dave and Busters for the first time with some friends and that was really fun!! Now we are resting and relaxing before another busy week begins for us.




FYI- Christmas music is now on 99.9 at night time!! wahoo!!!!!!

These had all been posted separately on different blogs but I thought I would show everyone just to make you a little sick!!

Here I am at the baby shower



Here is my oldest brother Stewart at home



And this is my niece Ashley





I just need one of Chris to tie it all together

It was so fun to see all the girls on Saturday for my friend Aleisha's shower. She is having a girl and got so many cute things!! I feel like I haven't seen everyone in so long so after the shower we sat around Michelle's pool and snacked and talked for about 4 hours!! Good times!!


All the girls!!


The mother to be!


Our Hostess!


Cute!


I stole from Natalie's page


yay for my girls!! We missed you Caton and Randee and Allison but hopefully we'll see you soon!!

It is officially October 1st which means.....( dun dun dun)......Holiday time!!!!! Halloween will be in no time!!!!



Then Thanksgiving and all that yummy food!!!


Then the best of them all....... CHRISTMAS!!!! Anyone that knows me knows I am a Christmas freak!!! I am so excited!!

Is it too early to start listening to Christmas music??? Please say no!!!!!!!!!! ( I guess I'll keep the halloween music on for a few more weeks)

Ok, not alot is new with us but it's been about 2 weeks so it's that time to update!! Tj's parent's are getting home in about 3-4 weeks so we are packing up our bags and moving out! Tj's owns a house near Power and Brown so we are heading out that way. I forgot to get pics yesterday while we were there so hopefully soon I can do that. It is a fixer-upper for sure but TJ has done a pretty good job with it. The people that lived there before were smokers so we pulled out the carpet, re- paitned and tiled and re-carpeted. We are totally re-doing the bathrooms ( taking out the alvocado tub) and the kitchen. It is starting to really come together but the outside will have to wait for a while. It needs some fixing up also but as long as the inside is livable then I'm OK!! TJ gave me a decorating budget so if any of you know of any cute, cheap places to get stuff, let me know!! Other than that we are boring and don't have much going on!! I promise I will get before and after pics up soon!!

Well we finally made it back from a long, but fun trip back East ( or should I say Midwest.) It was definitely interesting to say the least, but quite fun over all. The beginning started out a bit rough. We left from Tj's cabin in Eagar, AZ and made it outside of Amarillo, TX when Tj's dad's motorhome blew a tire. It happened at about 5:00 but being in such a small town, everything was closed so we had to wait until the next morning to get it fixed thus deciding to pull all of the trailors behind some shady Texaco gas station to sleep for the night. Our only source of the light was the flickering " Chalet Inn" motel sign next to us! I thought we were going to die out there and I wondered what I had gotten my self into but we made it through the night safely ( to my disbelief). Unfortunatly, the tire wasn't fixed until about 11:00 the next morning so we lost a good 8 hours of driving time.


We headed out as soon as it was fixed and no more than 2 hours after we left another tire popped on the side of the road. Luckily we were right across the street from a trucking station where they had the equipment to fix it. We pulled the other trailors to a gas station and set up a movie to watch while we waited. Please keep in mind there were 9 children and 7 adults so cramming into a trailor is always fun!! The upside to that was Tj and I got to take a shower for the first time that trip! hooray!!! We continued on our way and made it to the OK/ MO border before we stopped for the night in a Walmart parking lot.( I never thought this would be me)We woke up at about 4 am and continued our way to Stockton, MO where we would finally arrive for good!! we pulled our trailors into the church parking lot, changed really quick and went to church. It was definitely interesting to say the least but good to see what it's like. After church we drove to our " trailor park" where we hooked up and camped out ( like I said before, I never thought this would be me) After church, we went and looked at tJ's dad's property and were there no longer that 10 minutes when we were swarmed by ticks!! that's right, I said Ticks!! Luckily Tj and I never got bitten but a few of the kids did throughout the trip. Needless to say, we took off running and a few girls screaming but made it back to camp OK!!


There is a huge lake in Stockton so on Monday we decided to rent a jet ski and go play for the day. It was so nice, the weather was in the 80's and the water was so warm! The lake was huge and it even had an island in the middle with massive sail boats around. it was breath taking!!! we had a great time and got a little sun burned but that's ok. For any of you that know me, I was soaking up every ray I could!!


Tuesday we headed down to Branson, MO ( another 1 1/2 hours of driving 1 way) to go to Silver Dollar City. It's an amusement park with rollar coasters and such. It was really fun but it started rainging 1/2 way through so they shut down the rides and the only thing left open was the little kiddie rides. Needless to say, we had a great time on the big swings and flying elephants!! Oh ya, and the best part was the funnel cakes!! I have been craving one for so long and it was amazing!!!I guess something good came out of the midwest!!


Wednesday we headed for Nauvoo but took a detour to St Louis to go to the Arch. That was amazing to see. Tj got a little nervous at the top (and for any of you that don't know the ferris wheel story, remind me to tell you that one) so we weren't there for very long but it was really amazing to see this structure! I highly recommend it. Of course driving with 9 children and 7 adults you don't make it very far without having to pull over for a " potty break" and it takes a good hour to get lunch and dinner so by the time we were done at the Arch we drove another hour and were done for the day. Luckily we left the trailor in Stockton so we got a hotel for the night with a real bed and shower!!! I had never been so happy!!!


Thursday we arrived at Nauvoo and that was awesome to see. We did all of the tourist stuff and saw all of the buildings and did all of the tours. We also got to go to the temple and do sealings which was incredible! That temple is gorgeous and if you ever get a chance to go to Nauvoo, you better go there. It is such an amazing place and we felt so appreciative of our ancestors and those that sacrificed so much so that we could have what we do now!! AWESOME!!! anways- We spent the night there Thursday and Friday night and headed back for home on Saturday. We made it back to Stockton Saturday evening and went to dinner at some shady bar and lounge that TJ accidentally picked out but the food was pretty good. We spent the night and headed home on Sunday for one long drive! I believe 22 hours to be exact!! Of course we made it an hour before the big sign " Firework Superstore" showed up on a billboard and guess who swerved to thr right to pull over. "Shockingly" it hadn't even opened yet but TJ made us wait so that he could go in a buy over $100 worth of fireworks ( only to add to the pile that he already has sitting downstairs) Whatever makes him happy I guess!!

It was great trip but good to be home!! I missed the comforts of city life and my own bed and shower but it was so much fun to see the country and get out of the little bubble we live in here!!

I always feel bad when I go longer than a week without posting b/c I search everyone else's blog over and over until I find something new. Unfortunatly there is nothing new here. Another week, another dollar! We are leaving on Thursday for the big family trip back to Missouri ( misery!!) We are driving with Tj's family to go back to Nauvoo, and then possibly looking at land purchase. It's all still very up in the air but it is a good excuse to get out of the heat for a few days!! Plus we get to see Tj's parents who have been gone since April so that will be fun. I do however have to admit that there will probably not be anything posted until after the trip so stay tuned for hopefully some good stories and pics of our trip. Also- if any of you know any good stops along the way or anywhere in nauvoo that we have to stop at, let me know!! have a good week everyone!!

IT IS MY ADORABLE HUSBAND'S BIRTHDAY TODAY!! HOORAY!! HE TURNED 26 YEARS OLD AND COULDN'T BE MORE SAD ABOUT IT BUT I THINK IT'S GREAT! HE IS SUCH A PERFECT HUSBAND AND TAKES SUCH GOOD CARE OF ME AND THAT CAN'T BE AN EASY TASK TO TAKE ON!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR!!

When we were getting married he really wanted a wood ring. He thought it would be really cool but I just laughed at him and told him no way ( what a mean girl I am) so for his birthday I got him the ring and I have to say, it looks quite good!! It is a titanium band with a wood inlay.

In other news..... TJ got his stitches out and none other than one of his employees pulled them out. He used to be a medic in the army so he had alot of experience. It freaked me out a little at first but he did a great job and it was FREE!!!! LOVE THAT!!

Also, TJ and I got a calling and we are the new Weblos leaders in cub scouts. Ya, I about freaked when they told us b/c I know nothing about scouts. I'm a pretty girly girl and scouting is not something I am wanting to do but we accepted the call and had our first meeting on Thursday. It actually went well and the boys were really fun. I contributed by making a flag cake ( which I think turned out pretty freakin' cute) because our "lesson" was on being a good citizen. yay for me!!!

Anyways- it's been a busy week but all in all a good one! Oh ya, And it was good to see everyone on Thursday for those of you at Matta's. We need to get together more often!!!!

So I was sleeping-in peacefully yesterday morning when to my surprise, Tj comes in and says, " Jen, I don't want to alarm you but......." of course I sat up out of bed, thinking he was just joking around about something and I saw blood all over his shirt. Apparently something had happened to his air compressor and as he was trying to fix it a piece of the PVC pipe exploded and came right towards his face. It went all the way through his lower lip and caused a hole with blood gushing out. He didn't want to go to the hospital, but of course, I made him cause I was freaking out and he had to get a tetnus (sp??) shot, X-rays,and 4 stitches ( 2 on the inside and 2 on the outside). But worst of all, he was put on a liquid diet so we have been living at jamba juice for the past 24 hours. Poor guy!!!

Well TJ and I headed up north to Springerville/ Eagar for the big family reunion. It was sooooo nice up there! The weather was like 62 degrees and rained every day. It is so nice to wear a sweatshirt in July. We didn't do much, just a chance to get out of the heat and relax. It's hard for TJ to get off work ( even though he is his own boss) but it was so great to just get away for a few days!

When we were leaving this morning we came across all of these elk in the middle of the road. It was so cool, this little city girl has never seen that before so I had to take a picture.



Then when we were driving we started playing the license plate game and I just had to show proof of how bad I was at the game! you can see Tj's hand mark on my knee. needless to say, I got him back for that one!!



The rest of these are just silly pictures we took but I didn't get ready so please excuse my white-trashness!!!

My friend Randee is leaving for Ohio so her husband can attend Podiatry school for 4 years so we decided to go out before she leaves for one last girl's night. We went to Tia Rosas so she could get in one last good Mexican meal before she heads back east and Mexican food is considered Taco Bell!!







We'll miss you but we'll see you at Christmas!!

Well the other night TJ and I decided to take his dog Rocky out so that he wouldn't be so bored lying around the house. We decided to take him to Petco and pick out a new toy and some treats.


While we were there TJ picked out a bone for Rocky and ever since we gave it to him the dog would not leave it alone. He would sleep with it, carry it around all over the house in his mouth and even tried to bury it in Tj's dad's closet in the clothes hamper. When I walked in to the room, he darted for the bone so that I wouldn't get it first. It was pretty funny.


After Petco we walked by Old Navy and I had seen these doggy outfits in there so we decided we had to get one, just for fun of course but it was so cute. He didn't even try to take it off. He ran around with it for most of the night. I tried to put it on him again today and he took off running.



Anyways, that was our night. Since we don't have kids like the rest of you, we will write about our dog