A day out with my GIRLS!!!

On Saturday December 4th a group of High School Girlfriends got together for breakfast! WoW, we I don't know about anyone else BUT... I had a freakin BLAST! We talked about everything from Junior High to Our SEX lives (I'm still laughing about that one)! I am so glad we did this, as usual... we discussed doing it more often, and we missed those of you that couldn't make it. I love you all....

Alicia (My BESTIE), Lacy, Melissa, Camelle, Brandy, Staph, Christie (Poop Shoe) and Jenn!

Brandy and Steph...

these 2 GIRLS are the definition of BEST FRIENDS

Christie and Jenn

After breakfast, Alicia and I spent some

much needed "bestie" time

walking thru the Festival of Trees!

All the trees were amazing and totally off the charts with creativity.

These were a few of my FAVORITES!

Alicia, I love you to the Moon & Back...FOREVER! Oh ya, and back again...FOREVER!

45 QUOTES that we should live by:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. your Friends & Parents will, stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to Disagree.
7. Cry WITH someone, it's more healing than crying ALONE.
8. It's okay to get angry with GOD, he can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's okay to let your Children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye but don't worry, God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath, it calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood but, the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it come to going after what you want in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion, today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but YOU.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, "In five years will this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone, everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business!
30. Time heals almost EVERYTHING. Give time, time!
31. However GOOD or BAD a situation is, it WILL change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of WHO GOD is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative...dying young.
37. Your Children get ONLY ONE childhood.
38. All that really matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside EVERYDAY, miracles are waiting EVERYWHERE.
40. If we threw all our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The BEST is YET to come.
43. No matter how you feel... get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield...
45. Life isn't tied with a bow but, it's still a GIFT!

I have SO much catching up to do BUT...

... I wanted to give a shout out to my BEST best Friend.



26 years ago today an amazing couple gave birth to a sweet little girl, they named her Alison Jane.
At the time of her birth, I was a little girl myself (okay... a little older :) life was so care free and easy going. I didn't have a care in the world however, there were a few things I dreamed of...
1- I wanted to meet, fall in love with and marry my BEST Friend.
2- I wanted to be a Mom.
3- I wanted a BEST Girl Friend.. One that I could tell ANYTHING to, One that would be there for me thru EVERYTHING and One that would judge me for NOTHING.

In the last few years my dreams have come TRUE!!! The have come in crazy forms and totally out of order BUT, they have come true.

For those of you who don't already know...
1- Benjamin Jensen Banks is my BEST Friend and Husband.
2- I have 3 amazing little boys... Jaden, Jack and Jensen (Ben & Alison's)
3- Alison is not only my BEST, best Friend BUT... she is Jensen's Mom and Ben's Ex-Wife.

So... Do you think it's strange that Alison and I are so close? Join the other thousand People who question it too!

Just like any other "new" Wife / "ex" Wife OR "Mom" / "Step-Mom" relationship, ours too started out HORRIBLE (to say the least.) People told me things, People told her things, etc. Pretty soon we were not only ENEMIES but we wished the other dead.
Anyway, after some life changing events, starting to respect one another & trying to be on the same page raising Jensen... Alison and I began talking. We started to put things behind us and we grew closer and closer.

Today, Miss Alison Jane West and I are BEST best Friends. We text each other a hundred times a day, and talk at least once a day. I look back and realize, I'd be lost with out her. I know it sounds strange... and, I am so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing, wonderful Husband who supports my Friendship with his Ex-Wife... but Alison ALWAYS knows when I'm sad, she knows how to fix it and she NEVER forgets to check on me. She is there no matter how happy, sad, mad, etc. I am.

I love her so much and I am so THANKFUL that God chose her to make my dream of having a BEST Girl Friend come true!

Alison,
I hope today is the best Birthday you have ever had and I hope that they keep getting better each year because we have a lot of them to celebrate together!

I LOVE YOU BUT... ONLY...FOR...FOREVER!

P.S. There are 2 songs I added to my play list.

The Pretenders, I'll Stand By You.
It's actually a song that Alison said describes what She feels for me... but, these are a few of the lyrics of how I feel about her...

I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you.

If you're mad get mad don't hold it all inside come on and talk to me now.

Hey, what you got to hide? I get angry too... Well, I'm a lot like you.

AND,
Rihanna, Umbrella.

When the sun shines, we'll shine together.

I told you I'll be here forever,

said I'll always be a Friend,

took an oath I'm going to stick it out to the end!!!!

IrOnIc

In September my Mom drove me to pick up my new car. She was a bit irritated that she had to take me to Sandy (I'll never know why...) Anyway, when we pulled up this Man in green scrubs crossed in front of us. my mom looked at him and said to me "I know him. He is a Doctor that I used to go to." She said it 2 or 3 more times... by this point I was a bit irritated, so I said "Yep, I could have guessed he was a Doctor by his green scrubs, I'm glad you know him and thanks for the ride." It was then that she said.... "JADIE... that is Dr. Curtis and he delivered you!!!" I swear, she jumped out of a moving vehicle to talk to him! Ha Ha! It was pretty neat, and he was AMAZING. He told me I look different then when we first met, ha ha ha! He also said thanks for stopping him and told us that we made his day!

This is the OB that brought me into this world almost 30 years ago.

To date, he's delivered 9,277 something babies!

I was 1 of his first!!!

Finally, a Final Family!

No need to rub your eyes... what you are seeing is real!

BEN adopted Jaden and it was final on August 24th. This was our AMAZING Attorney

Stephen J. Buhler
Our first FAMILY picture!
Judge Iwasaki was so neat.

My Daddy walking Grandma.

Supporters: Boo Boo (Megan) and Aunt Alicia

Miss Jane and Jensen

The Happiest kid in the WORLD!

My beautiful Mom

My life long BEST Friends!

They support me thru EVERYTHING in my life!

Her comes the tears!

Support from Aunt Tauna (Jaden's biological Aunt) was the BEST feeling ever.

Aunt T and Jaden

My Grandparents with my Boys!

Grandpa Ralph and Grandma Barb!

Us with all the Grandparents!

The sun was sooooo bright!

Family! YEP... I am lucky!

God, Thank you for blessing me.

I love these Boys!

A moment of thought, caught by a camera!

Fake or Real smiles?

REAL BROTHERS now that they have the same Dad!!!

BEN & Jadie are proud to announce the birth of their 1st born!

A Boy named Jaden came into this world Jan 10th, 2002

he weighed 9' 8" and was 22 1/2" long.

Daddy and Mommy and Baby are doing GREAT!!!

Proud Mom & Baby!

Proud Dad and Baby!

Mama's Boys!!!

This picture makes me feel so happy

that I get butterflies when I look at it!

Mom and Dad

Life long lovers!

Me and my sweet Jackee!

One of the BEST day's of our lives!!!

Kennecott Company Party

We are so lucky to have relatives...My Dad, my Brother and my Husband work for Kennecott. They are the most appreciative company I know! This year they had a Family company party at the Rio Tinto Stadium, it was un-believable. When we first walked in they gave us a red cooler bad with the following emergency essentials in it: Blanket, First Aide Kit and Flash Light. All of this was to keep inside of a vehicle just in-case!!! Then... EVERYTHING, I mean EVERYTHING was free. Concessions, ANYTHING...NO LIMITS at all FREE!!! Here are some pictures of the incredible night.

Our CRAZY boys!

Waiting in line for FREE face painting!!!

Jaden's SPIDER
Jack's SPIDER
Jensen's SPIDER
It's so strange to me that all 3 boys asked for SPIDERS,
they were all painted at the same time but by different people
so it wasn't like they were saying "I want what he got."
It's so crazy how they think alike!!!
FREE Clowns giving out FREE balloons of our choice!

FREE coloring books, crayons and tattoos from the

Fire Fighters and EMT's!!!

What a FUN (did I mention FREE???) NIGHT!!!

Grandma and her Boys!

Grandma and Jampa with the Boys!!!

US!!!

My Mom Rocks!

Long story short... Ever since the engine in our car blew, Ben has been riding the motorcycle to work and I've been driving the truck.
A few weeks ago we had a major hail/rain storm. Ben called me from our God Mom's house in West Jordan, asked me to come get him. He told me he was going to park the bike in their garage and we'll pick it up when the streets are dry!!!
Because I am such an early bird and so is Kim... I was telling my Mom that I wanted to get the bike but I didn't want to go at 6:30pm when Ben is off work. Later, she called and said "come get me, I'll drive the bike home." I was a little hesitant but thought... she can do anything and she's good at everything so, I jumped in the truck and off we went!
It was so funny because she kept acting like she didn't know what she was doing. Kim & Lori were freaked out, ok... I was too but only a little bit. Then it happened, she wiggled her nose and off she went like she's ridden her entire life! Here are some pictures I took of the event! :)

Turning out of the car-less subdivision towards...

BANGERTER!!!

Lori told her to take the back roads and ONLY the back roads.

This is how well she listens! LOL

Cruisin'
She really is amazing!

She decided to drive by Sheila's so Jaden could see

just how cool his Grandma really is!!!

Thanks Mom! I was in bed by 7:00!!!