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Christmas

We had so much fun with all of my family at Christmas!
All of my sisters and their families as well as Grandma and
Grandpa Salmon (and even my cousin Crystal with her hubby
and baby) were at Mom and Dad's house. So fun!

Booty and the Blessings

So here is a picture of my booty....

Sorry to disappoint, but I wasn't talking about that booty. I'm talking about my booty like a pirate's booty or loot! It seems like every day I come home to boxes at my front door from Maybelline. Usually they're filled with boring stuff like papers, coupons, free samples to pass out. But yesterday I opened up a box and found this stuff inside! It was like Christmas all over again! Nevermind the fact that a lot of it is in colors that I wouldn't choose or that won't match my skin tone (I'm thinking of making a trip to Wal-Mart for an exchange), I'm just excited to get free stuff!

While on the topic of Maybelling and my job, the second part of this blog is in regards to some blessings I received that I wanted to document (since this is as good as it gets in the journal department for me). Just before Thanksgiving I finally got a key to the Maybelline storage unit in Bentonville. It's just a small storage unit filled with boxes and fixtures and random stuff, but I'd been trying for a couple months to get the key from a very busy lady who works around here for Maybelline putting together the Wal-Mart Maybelline walls. Anyway, I got the key one morning in November and went to the unit to look for a few things, and had the hardest time with the lock! It was an old rusted padlock, and I could hardly get it open. It was even harder to get it shut! I struggled and struggled and finally put the small key down on the cement outside of the door to work on getting the padlock locked. Finally! it locked and I was on my way!
Fast forward to two weeks later, the beginning of December. I made a quick stop at the storage unit to pick up an eyeshadow tray I needed to replace in a store. I jumped out of the van and put the small key on my keychain into the padlock--or should I say "tried" to put it in. No matter which way I turned the key or how hard I wiggled the padlock the key wouldn't even fit into the hole! I was getting desparate when I finally remembered putting the small key on the cement the last time I was there while struggling to get the padlock locked. Had I remembered to pick it up? Was this key on my keychain even the right key? If not, what is this key on my keychain, and even more importantly, where is the key to this storage unit that I just got two weeks ago? YIKES! I got really worried for a minute, thinking of what an idiot I would look like calling the lady back and telling her that I'd already lost the key--after using it only once!
I got back in the car where Dallin and Trista were waiting for me and I said, "Dallin, we need to pray!" So we did. We prayed that I would be able to remember what I did with the key and that when I did I would be able to find it. As I finished praying I felt like I should start driving. So I slowly made a circle around all of the storage buildings, just to make sure I was even at the right unit, and ended up where I had been before, in front of the correct unit. But as I stopped the van, I looked out the window and my eyes went directly to a place in the gravel where a small gold key was barely poking out of the dirt and rocks. I jumped out and grabbed the key. I couldn't believe it! Well, I could believe it because I know the Lord answers our prayers, but I was so excited! Was this the key I had put down a few weeks ago while wrestling with the padlock?
I put the key into the old rusted padlock and, VOILA, it fit! And, DANG-IT, that was about it! I couldn't turn it at all, couldn't even get it to budge! I took the key out and tried it in the adjacent units' locks (just to see if it happened to be to another lock that wasn't mine) but it definately didn't fit in those. It had to be my key! So I tried again, to no avail. "Okay, that's it," I thought. "I need to pray again!" So once again I prayed, "Please, let me able to turn the key, let the lock open, let me get in! Please don't make me have to tell the other lady what an idiot I am!"
I tried the lock again. I put the key in, wiggled it a little bit and AAHHHH (picture the clouds opening up and angels descending with some really pretty background music)! The lock opened! I got in! I got what I needed, very carefully put the little gold key onto my keyring this time instead of on the ground, and was on my way. I am so blessed! I was/am so grateful that he helped me with something that in the long run is so trivial, but to me at that moment was so important.

ISN'T THE LORD AMAZING?

Cancun

Hola! In November Jordan and I got the chance to go to Cancun for 5 days/4 nights. It was so great! We thought five days would be enough, but we found ourselves wishing we could stay longer, much longer! The weather was perfect, low 80s everyday. We did an all-inclusive deal this time and loved it. We had great food and got to enjoy all the pina coladas and strawberry daquiris we could handle (virgin, of course)! First is a picture of us at one of the restaurants, and next is one of the pools we hung out by with a swim-up bar at the right side of the picture.

We got up early each morning to play tennis while it was still cool. The weather, the ocean, the grounds--everything was so beautiful! Here are pictures of the court we played tennis on (if Jordan had zoomed in just a little you would be able to see me on the court too), our hotel, as well as one of the many peacocks that roamed around the grounds.

The best part was the ocean. It was great to lay out by the water and just listen to the waves crashing. It was also tons of fun to go out in the water and "ride" the waves, although a few times I didn't time it right and instead got flung to the bottom while the water tried to rip my swimsuit off.

The one excursion we did was to go parasailing. The views from up there were amazing!

The whole vacation was perfect, everything went flawlessly except when our maid played a little trick on me. Let me explain. As I said before, we got to have as much to drink as we wanted, so I found that everytime we'd come back to our room I needed to use the bathroom really bad (I'm sure that's a suprise to everyone since I usually never have to go). I would basically whip the room door open and run to the bathroom as fast as I could. The trick was that on one occassion that I did this the maid had been in and cleaned the room while we were gone and had left the toilet lid down. Well, I didn't stop to turn on the light. I just yanked my swimsuit bottoms off, plopped down and started goin'. Oops, too late, the lid was down. It made for a good laugh though, a little entertainment, at least for me. Jordan didn't think it was quite so funny.

In conclusion I'd like to recommend that everyone visit Cancun as soon as possible! We're hoping to go again next fall--it's hard to beat the value and we don't want to risk going somewhere else and just not liking it as much. Our whole trip including gas to the airport (we left from Dallas), childcare, hotel, food, taxes and fees was under $1500. If you want more info. on how to get a good deal let me know! Adios!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was lots of fun this year! We went up to Mom and Dad's where Becca and Jacob as well as Aunt Terry and all of her girls joined us for the Holiday. We had lots of good food and game playing and it felt a little bit like old times when we would have Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Bevans' every year! Next we're looking forward to Christmas when all four of us girls and our families will be at Mom and Dad's. It will be crowded, but the more the merrier, right? Here are a few pictures I snapped around Thanksgiving.

Near Death

Before going to bed tonight I wanted to share with you the two near-death experiences I had today. Okay, so I wasn't really near death, but a deer and two of my fingers were!

Early this morning, right around sunrise, I was driving on a small, windy road, kind-of in the middle of nowhere (heading to the town of Harrison for work) when I came around a sharp curve and saw a large doe (a deer, a female deer) at the side of the road. As soon as she saw me she took off running--right across the road in front of my car! I started to hit the breaks when I noticed another deer standing where the first had been. Suddenly that deer took off running as well! I slammed on the breaks (I had been probably been going about 50mph) but really thought I had no chance of missing her. I braced myself for a collision with the deer and a totalled car (they were both pretty big does!) but to my utter astonishment felt only a small bump when the deer's hind leg barely kicked my front bumper. The dear continued running, apparently uninjured, and I continued on my way, heart pounding and adrenaline pumping!

My second brush with death today happened tonight at home. After dinner I was doing dishes. At one point I rinsed a bunch of food off of some plates into the drain and then turned on the garbage disposal. I then reached for the dish rag to wipe the sink out and didn't see it. I figured it must have fallen down the drain and reached my hand in to find it--with the disposal still on! How dumb is that? I definitely was not thinking clearly--I think I was tired. Well, after a moment or two of the blades painfully hitting two of my fingers I pulled my hand out, expecting to see blood and a trip to the emergency room to reattach a couple of fingertips. But I was pleasantly surprised to see no blood--the skin hadn't even been broken! Luckily I have a four-year-old garbage disposal with what must be the dullest blades imaginable, because my fingers felt a little bruised and sore but they weren't cut! Even so, that's the last time I'll stick my hand down the drain when the garbage disposal is on!

Someone was definitely watching over me today, saving me from these near-death experiences!

Happy Halloween!

Alexis dressed as a princess

Spencer dressed as a ghost

Dallin dressed as a race car driver

Trista dressed as Little Bo Peep