New Car

Hello team. Just a real quick update. I bought a new car today. 2008 Honda Civic LX. Pictures and details to follow. If anyone knows anyone who wants a piece of junk jetta please send them my way. Thanks.

Jars+Family=Christmas Miracle

I think that some of you guys may recall the Christmas Jar service activity the extended Bradshaw family participated in a few years back. Each individual family kept a jar in their home for a whole year and collected spare change. Right before Christmas we delivered the jars to a family in need. It was a wonderful experience to know that the small sacrifice we made had a large influence on a family who needed some extra support. Not only does the money help financially in providing a Christmas, but it also reminds people of what Christmas really is for. It provides them with feelings of love and gratitude. It was truly a blessing to be a part of this and it had a profound impact on me.

This year I decided that since I wasn't living at home and with my own family that it would be a good idea to do something similar with my Family Home evening Group here at school. It just so happens that I have the best husband and family EVER. This whole year we have really enjoyed spending time together and have had great success in getting most everyone to attend and bond with others. As the mother I headed up the Christmas jar service project. I did, however, have tremendous support from my husband and children :) We had small jars for each apartment in our group and for three weeks they left it on their counter to collect change. We found the good cause through Mom who had told me about a little girl in one of her classes that had had some recent trauma in her family. They were suffering financially. She was one of seven children under the age of 12.

When Adam(the husband) and I went and collected them on Sunday we were SHOCKED to find that there was $134.00 total!! It took a while to count but every second was a treat as each came from someone sacrificing just small change for such a good cause. We got a list of ideas for presents and hit up the nearest Wal-mart! We took several members of the family that were able to come (it's a busy time of year... finals) We ended up buying so much stuff! Get ready it's a long list: Diapers, teething rings, hotwheels cars, memory, baby doll, polly pockets, basketball, football, sled, Sorry!, Uno, Candyland, some books, crayons, puzzles, coloring books amongst several others!! We went over our budget a little bit but we got everything on our list and more! We came right home and wrapped them all up! It took a lot of time and effort from everyone in our group to accomplish what we did. I can't wait to deliver these presents to the cute family. I am still amazed at what a small group of people can do when they have a goal and a little determination.

I have truly enjoyed being a part of such a wonderful experience. It has been a pleasure to work with this group. I am grateful for this time of year and the opportunity it gives us to serve and remember Christ. Merry Christmas!!

Special shout out to Adam Porter and the best family ever!!

These are our jars full of coins after we counted and sorted!!

Out family at Wal-mart. We were going to take a second with me in the picture but an associate kindly warned us that pictures weren't allowed to be taken inside the store. Darn.This is part of the stack of wrapped presents. It's hard to tell how many there are because they are piled. But take my word for it. There was tons.

I have no idea how this picture got on or how to remove it... just ignore.

Taking a break :)

So, I thought I'd take a quick study break and tell you about my study break from last night!! As some of you may know, I am the FHE mother for my group. I LOVE this calling. My little family is the best and my husband is even better. Anyway, last night we went to see the Utah Flash (a lower division bball team- I don't really know how it works) take on Dakota (Funny because they never mentioned which Dakota they were from). Someone in our group managed to get 26 tickets for free. There were rumors that Michael Jordan was supposed to be there and play a little one on one with Brian Russell. They had announced the challenge on ESPN, but many of us doubted he would actaully show. At half time they turned out the lights and got everyone hyped up. Spotlights came out and they announced Brian Russell who walks out in a sweatshirt jacket and converse shoes. (we were suspicioius at this point). He comes out and is trash talking MJ saying, "Where are you MJ??? Are you going to show? Is he going to chicken out??" Yeah, that's right everyone he was trash talking a fifty year old basketball legend who crossed him over in that one game (and by that one game I mean the NBA finals game). Then, the lights go out again and they "present" MJ and some black dude walks out surrounded by four body guards. He is wearing jeans and sunglasses. Brian Russell starts laughing and taunting him and then the fake MJ picks up the ball, and turns around to leave. Brian Russell went on about how MJ wasn't gutsy enough to show and leaves himself.

I didn't really think he would come and I guess I was right. About 75% of the crowd left immediately because everyone was so disappointed. They really hyped it up. Our group was really sad but that didn't stop us from enjoying the game! Afterwards we went underground to find the team. We just happened to run into Brian Russell. I put my arm around his waist but couldn't reach the other side. It was a real treat.

Kelli's aunts threw Kelli a lovely bridal shower this week. Aunt Sharlan hosted the party at her house, we had soup and salad for dinner, played a couple of fun games and enjoyed opening gifts. Both of Kelli's Grandmas were there. Aunts Paula, Mary, Judy, and Kerry assisted with the shower and all the girl cousins that are in town came too. They are all so cute. Jake's Mom Debbie, and sister Diana also attended and it was nice to get to know them a little better. The shower was really fun and she got some nice things. Kelli is so fortunate to have such great people in her life that love and care about her!

Jane's Birthday Cake

I just made Jane's cake today. I thinks it is pretty obvious who Kelli should have gone with to make her wedding cake...

I'm engaged!

So, here's the story. Jake and I have been planning on getting married for awhile, so it really is no surprise. But, Saturday night (11/14) Jake picked me up and had the prettiest red roses (the picture doesn't do the flowers justice) and took me to dinner. We went to Carabba's. It was so good! I had never been there. Then we started driving and he took me to the Provo temple. We walked around there and then he sat me down on the freezing bench and asked me to marry him. I obviously said yes. He then said some really cute stuff, so that was fun and cute. And that's how it happened. It was perfect for me. I really didn't want a bunch of people around and so this was perfect. I really am the luckiest girl ever! Here are some pictures of that night. I really can't get a good picture of the ring. It blurs everytime or just looks like a big white blob. Oh, don't mind the fat fingers- it's a Bradshaw trait :) But, I am so happy and so excited so I hope you enjoy.

My most embarrassing moment. EVER.

So everyone, next time I go to a party and they ask what my most embarrassing moment is, I now have something to say.
A little background to the story:
I just happened to be "seeing" this guy, but that ended on monday. Yesterday, my friend Taylor and I were walking out to her car. We saw his car and I felt the urge to kick it. I'm not mad at him or anything but I just really wanted to kick it! So, I looked around to make sure no one was watching and ran up and kicked the rear bumper. All of a sudden I hear someone say, "Do you really just go around beating up peoples cars?" I look to my right and I see the Hollywood sign... (jk that was for Brad and Kelli) I look to my right and low and behold I see Blake and his friend sitting in the car right next to his with their windows down! Not only did they see what I had done but they heard me say "I'm going to kick it! I'm just going to kick it!!"
Now, I can't even begin tell you how embarrassed I am. How immature am I? I acted like a five year old!! Clearly I'm not old enough to be in college and living on my own. I just wanted to kick his car, but I guess I learned my lesson.
I hope you all enjoyed my story. Try not to laugh too hard like mom did last night when I told her. I thought she was going to pee her pants.

Walmart

As you all know I have been seeking employment and have had no luck whatsoever. I have tried many places but have only gotten a few interviews. Sometimes I sit and stare at my phone and say to myself "somebody call me, somebody please call me" as you can all tell that has not worked out for me. So I am telling you this that I am completely desperate because I have been unemployed for going on 2 months that I had to apply at Walmart. I did not want to do it and I have been dredding it for a long time. Who knows if they will even hire me (like all of the other places I have applied at) but I applied and now I get to play the waiting game that I have been playing for a long time. Katelyn Serafine

New news.

Hello folks. I thought I'd blog about some new things happening in the Serafine family! I only have a few minutes before class.

First of all, Riley had the swine. Or atleast we think he did.

Kelli got a fantastic promotion at work! We are very proud of her!!

I also was offered a full time position at my work starting in the summer. It has some more responsibility and I'm pretty sure there is a pay raise! The other day at work I was surprised to find two monitors sitting on my desk. I never knew how helpful it would be to have two screens. But it has made a world of difference, I now struggle with my laptop because there just isn't enough room to see everything! This job is great news because I won't be jobless for 6 weeks at the beginning of the summer, I won't be forced to play dodgeball and tornado and I won't get a summer tan.

I just aced my Biology test! So that is good news. Kate is going to take it in a couple hours! Wish her luck.

I also got 100% on my psych quiz.

But now I have to write an essay on Australia and prepare for a beastly chapter quiz on Northern Africa. Warning for anyone interested in geography: don't do it. Worst idea ever.

Well, I don't have anything else to announce! I think we need more updates from you out of state people.

Oh yeah! I got bangs. I'll upload a pic

Kelli's trip to Kansas

Well hello there everyone. I recently got back from a 4 day 5 night trip to Wichita Kansas. It was a very enjoyable weekend. I had so much fun playing with the girls, laughing with Mandy and Brad and sleeping in :) (I guess 6:30 is sleeping in to some people- but at least it was to Jane coming into the room saying, "Hey Aunt Kelli want to play games") The meals were delicious and the company was even better. Thanks Brad and Mandy for a fun weekend.


Below are some pictures from my phone-they aren't the greatest, but they'll give you an idea of the weekend.



I don't know if Brad or Mandy even knew that I took this picture. I think it's hilarious though. Jane in time out. Need we say more?

KANSAS

This might be the cutest thing ever! Jane shares her ring pop with Annie.

My Sincerest Apologies

This apology goes to those who were on my team for a legendary game of Trivial Pursuit this last summer while we were in California, namely Brad, Mandy, and Matt. There were a few questions where I was sure of the answer, and alas, I was wrong. Windows 93? Yeah, never existed. While we were driving to Arizona this summer, we stopped at Subway, and this is what I saw. Indeed, Fruizle is at Subway. I don't even remember where I thought these smoothies were, but Subway does have smoothies. I've never seen anyone with one of these, never had one of these, and have never seen Jared with one of these. Well, now we know, huh?

No Title

Well some might think I've gone dark given my two month absence from the blog. To the contrary, I've been quite active and productive. In support of this assertion, I submit the following.


This is the wooden shelf in the garage I refinished while Mandy and the kids were away. I wish I had a before picture. It was pretty nasty - dirty, paint chipping everywhere, and some of the shelves were loose. I tightened all the shelves with new screws, cleaned and sanded everything, applied two coats of paint, and put new hardware on. And then I hung the black tool pegboard.

Our garage needs a lot of work, as you can see. Our next projects in the garage are (1) patch and paint the walls, which are pretty beat up, and (2) do something with the floor. The floor is bare concrete and it is stained worse than a second grader's mattress.



This is another garage project I completed in the girls' absence. For most people hanging a piece of wood on the wall would not be difficult, but I managed to struggle with it. Finally I got it level and stuck up on the wall with some glue and screws. It's very sturdy, unlike most of my projects. The black door on the left leads to the backyard, where a wealth of projects awaits us.


I bought my first barbecue. I found a good deal at Lowe's and couldn't say no. It's nothing fancy, no side burners or stainless steel. Just a simple black grill. I successfully assembled and used it without exploding our house or burning the chicken.



I purchased a used gym I found on craigslist. It's in "like new" condition, like everything else on craigslist. This gym really is in great shape. I'm proud to report that I paid $50 for it. It was quite a chore loading it into the CR-V and then getting it into the basement. I had a friend from work help me unload and assemble it. It's a beautiful piece of machinery and I am thrilled about it. You will not recognize me the next time you see me, I'll be buried under muscles. Once we get a treadmill we'll have our own little Gold's gym in the basement.

I thought the gym would come with weights but it didn't. The day after I brought it home I advertised on craigslist that I needed some weights and a few hours later a guy called telling me I could have all the weights I wanted. Another craigslist miracle.

So that's a glimpse of what I've been doing. The bulk of my time has been spent researching caselaw and writing legal documents in my office. If someone wants to see a picture of that, I'll have my secretary take one and post it. But I think you can imagine how exciting it is.

Riley Goes to West Jordan High School Homecoming!

Last night was West Jordan's Homecoming Dance. Riley asked a cute girl named Lexi to go with him. The date started out with a day date where they had KFC at a Bluffdale park, followed by games like whiffle ball, football and croquet. Sounds like they had a good time and the weather was perfect. The night date consisted of dinner at the Spaghetti Factory, the dance and pictures, and finally an outdoor fire and movie at Corbin's house. Here are a couple of pictures of the handsome young man! Please take note of his strategically placed arms which highlight the amazing French cuffed shirt topped off with even more amazing cuff links which belonged to Great-Grandpa Larry, a former railroad worker. I believe Riley takes after his brothers more everyday! He says he just happens to love cuff-links. Did I mention how handsome he looked?

Dad and I saw Riley off and then sat on the front steps and pondered where the time had gone. We were seeing our last child off for his first big school dance. Time flies by, it wasn't that long ago that we were doing the very same thing with our first. Not wanting to dwell on the fact that we will soon be all alone...We took Bauer for a walk and then decided to go downstairs and play ping pong. Now, I know that you all think I am the competitive one in the family, and maybe there is a little truth to that, maybe a little history proves that out, but have you played with your father? So, everytime we play ping pong together it goes like this...we first begin by just hitting the ball back and forth, just a nice little rally, we do this for a while, then he says, "You want to play a game?" So of course I have to agree, thinking maybe this time we could just play for fun. Then I get get my first point and he says 0-1, then I get another and he repeats, 0-2. I'm thinking, hey I'm hitting the ball pretty well today and then he gets his first point and he says, 1-2, then it's 2-2, then 3-2, then it's 4-2, 5-2, 6-2, 7-2... you get the point. Here is the thing that kills me, it's that he has to say the score loudly every single time, have you ever noticed this? He can't just quietly say it in his mind, or repeat it every couple of scores, but no...he says the score loudly each turn --all the way up to 21-2. Every single time. I think some of you out there know how I feel, you that have lost to him in golf, basketball, tennis and now ping pong. How do you like the score being flaunted at every turn? He says he is not competitive, but the way he pumps his fist and mutters under his breath, "I love to beat them" is proof enough, even when he beats ME. And now... Riley and I are the only ones he has around to beat up on all the time. Am I a bad loser, probably, but come on...does he have to repeat the score every single time?

I'm crafty.

Hey guys! So, for the past year or so I've been working on a stitchery project. If mom were doing this, she would have been done one year ago. It took me a while, but I finished! I stitched the pattern, painted the frame, sanded the frame (to give it the rough look) and then put the stitchery in. Mom was an amazing help, even though she wouldn't let me sand the frame inside the house. This project is now triumphantly hanging above my bed at school. Also, take into account that these photos were taken with my phone.

School is taking over my life. I practically live on campus. I woke up with a sore throat and stuffy nose so I better take it easy before I get sick. Or before it gets worse...

Thank goodness this week is over, it has been quite stressful. I hope everyone is doing well!

A Post for Riley

A while ago, and sorry it's been so long, Riley left a comment on our blog that said: "stacy, i have a question, i want to make a post on the family blog and no one here will help me. would you please tell me what needs to happen? Muchos gracias."

Since nobody wants to help Riley, I'm leaving instructions for him.

So, Riley, send me your email address. I'd love to add you with your own account, I just need your email. Once I send you an email about the blog, follow the instructions on how to log in. Once you are logged in, click on "New Post" and a page comes up that you can type whatever in. You have a blog too, so you can probably take it from there.

I realize it's been a while since Matt and I have posted anything on here...maybe more to come. Stay tuned. : )

AND ALL THIS TIME YOU'VE JUST BEEN USING BOUNCE SHEETS IN THE DRYER

1. It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them. It also
repels mice.
2. Spread sheets around foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars
that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.
3. It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don't get opened
too often.
4. It repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when
outdoors during mosquito season.
5. Eliminate static electricity from your television (or computer)
screen..
6. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your
television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from
resettling.
7. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.
8. To freshen the air in your home - Place an individual sheet of Bounce
in a drawer or hang in the closet.
9. Put Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.
10. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet
of Bounce before beginning to sew.
11. Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside
empty luggage before storing.
12. To freshen the air in your car - Place a sheet of Bounce under the
front seat.
13. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill
with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agent
apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan.
14. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the
bottom of the wastebasket.
15. Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will
magnetically attract all the lose hairs.
16. Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds
with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.
17. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of
Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
18. Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of
Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.
19. Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes
or sneakers overnight.
20. Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees
away.
21. Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and
storing them. It will keep them smelling fresh.
22. Wet a Bounce sheet, hose down your car, and wipe love-bugs off
easily with the wet Bounce.

Bear Lake and lots of fun!

So, this summer has been very fun! We started with an amazing trip to California and ended with an awesome weekend and Bear Lake (aka the most beautiful natural lake in Utah-- except Lake powell which I spotted twice while looking for Buffalo).
We went with Grandpa and Grandma, the Brimleys and the Grosebecks. We stayed in a lovely cabin with an even more wonderful view. While there we rented wave runners, ate raspberry/ strawberry (or for Katelyn, butterfinger) shakes and enjoyed the relaxing environment. We played lots of games, which in doing so uncovered several cheaters from the Brimley family, namely Garrett. I don't think it's possible to get the Brimley boys to be quiet during a game when it's the girls turn. Nonethelss, we had a fabulous time. Amongst the pictures I have added some from my summer camp.

This was our view of the lake! I don't know exactly why Dad is standing like that...

This is the cabin and the cute family!

These are the moose that we saw (note-there are two). Just chowing on someones bushes

Grandpa and Grandma enjoying our day at the beach!

Scott just really wanterd a picture with his shirt off...

This is the little boy, Adam (9) who thought he was m boyfriend! On our fake valentines day he brought me a necklace and a dolphin. Nothing shows love like a porpois.


A few of the kids on "halloween" aka make the parents dig up a costume from storage, have the kids wear them and walk around the halls three times and ask the counselors for candy.

Could everyone please do better at commenting?

I know some of you are busy, but please comment.

I'm a seamstress

I sew. I'm a sewer... I mean a seamstress. Let's just say that this was my first project and perhaps my last. I laughed at myself the whole time I was making it and kept wondering what I was doing. They turned out pretty cute and I'd like to thank Stacy for the pattern and mom for her help and the sisters for laughing with me.