Happy Birthdays - Trex, Daezia & Grandma Livingston

We had a week of fun-filled birthdays last week. Trex & Daezia share a b-day; they turned 4 and 16! Kiana & I (aka the PPC) planned a surprise party for Daezia - it was a hit complete with brownie sundaes and icees. Trex had a family and friend party (on two different days). Then, at the end of the week, the whole tribe traveled to New Mexico to wish our Grandma Livingston a Happy 80th Birthday!

S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E!!!

The Party Planning Committee


Trex loves his McQueen cake!


Trex & his new gun; the cute 4 and 5-year-olds at his party


Grandma's cake; Grandma with her relatives (she is the bottom right)

At the party...

Tagged...

My sister, Kiana, tagged me, and I thought this would be fun!

Here are the rules:

1 - you must post the rules.

2 - post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3 - answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

4 - tag eleven people and link them on your post

5 - let them know you've tagged them!

11 Unique Facts About Me
#1-I was named after my great-great-grandma, Mary Dionitia Blackburn Fisher (on my mom's side). I hear she was an awesome person, and I can't wait to meet her :) Also, a tradition in our family is to name a daughter Mary something and call her by a shortened version of her nickname. Examples: My maternal grandma's name is Mary Elizabeth, but she went by Beth her whole life. My mom's name is Mary Michelle, but she goes by Shelley. I am Mary Dionitia and go by Nisha. And my daughter is Mary MaKinley, and we call her Kinley. Kinda confusing but special, too.

#2-Rarely enough, I married my high school sweetheart, Jeep Spaulding. We even went to our junior prom together. When I was a teenager, I didn't know I was going to marry him. However, I always compared guys to him and knew I wanted to marry someone like him. I'm so thankful that things worked out and that he's put up with me for almost TEN years of marriage. I love him so much and am grateful for him every day!

#3-Sad one: I cried more than my three-year-old daughter when her hair started falling out. Most of you know my daughter, Tay, had Cancer. It was such a difficult, yet character-building time for us. The fact that SHE was comforting ME as she was going bald is something I will NEVER forget. She said, "It's ok, mom. It's going to grow back." I'm glad that she has a full head of beautiful, dark hair. I'm thankful her checkups have gone well so far. I'm thankful for all we learned and for all the help we received. And I'm also thankful it's over (for now).

#4-I am a mother of four children. A weird fact is that almost all them were born on a relative's birthday. Kinley (May 30) was born on my brother T.J.'s. Tayleah (April 12) was born on Grandpa Bruce's (Jeep's grandpa). Trexton was born one minute after midnight on my sister Daezia's birthday (Feb 21). And Kamdon missed my brother Dalaki's birthday by only nine hours. Kinda funny... kinda weird...

#5-I have been a high school coach for more than eight years now. I'm now the head volleyball coach and assistant track coach. I just LOVE sports - and especially the Milford Tigers. I'm also a huge fan of Region 20 (formerly Region 15). It's a big part of our lives, and I'm thankful I get to fulfill this dream.

#6-My favorite all-time game show is Family Feud. I love it - watching it, playing it, practicing it... because YUP, the Livingston Tribe is going to be on it some day! I hope we win a car and some cash!

#7-One thing I am very proud of is the fact that I'm from a small town. I especially appreciate that the things I love to do are so close to home and that I feel so safe here. Besides being close to family, we love being close the mountains and practically next door to the gym & track. Also, I love the people here and how much it feels like home. At my funeral, I want some rendition of John Cougar Mellencamp's "Small Town" played or performed - it pretty much sums up how I feel.

#8-Another thing I love is RUNNING. Some people call me crazy, but I love running. Nowadays, I do more jogging - but you get the point. Sometimes when I run, it feels so good - you can't explain it to a non-runner. Some people refer to it as a "runner's high." You feel invincible, powerful, and accomplished - just to try and explain a little. I've run in one marathon, 7 half-marathons (they hurt less), and too many 5ks to count. It makes me want to run right now just writing about it :)

#9-Some people might describe me as a bit competitive (maybe that's an understatement). An interesting fact is that I am always the "Point Princess." Yup, I keep track of the score - at all times. Whether it's the Name Game, Speed Scrabble, Phase 10, Rummy, Ping Pong, sports, or even our new Game On Diet, I can tell you the score. I just like to know where I'm at, so I know where I'm going. And let's face it, we wouldn't play games if it weren't for people like me :)

#10-I'm REALLY close to my family. My siblings help me out every day of my life, and I couldn't have asked for better parents. Also, some of my best friends are my cousins. On my mom's side, there are nine of us cousins born within two years of each other (with me in the middle) - and those are just the ones within a year of my age! I feel especially privileged because I got to grow up next to my grandparents, so visitors were commonplace. Some of my best memories include family reunions, night games (which I organized of course), and lots of laughing. I wish we weren't so busy and spread out, but I sure love my cousins and all my family for that matter!

#11-My new favorite pastime while driving is playing iPod Idol. It may sound lame, but it is SO fun! You need an iPod and some tunes where you know 80% of the lyrics. When it's your turn, someone chooses a song for you, and you belt the song to the rest of the car (on or off-key, depending on your range). It's so awesome to just close your eyes and sing your heart out. Lately, I pretend I'm a contestant on The Voice, and all the judges have turned their chairs around to vote me on their team. It is seriously stress-reducing, and you should try it some time :)

11 Questions from Kiana:

1-What does your name mean?
I looked up my first name, Mary. It means "star of the sea." Kinda cool

2-Does your name meaning fit you?
I'd like to think so :)

3-If you could watch one movie for the rest of your life what would it be?
Just one? Can't do it. Tie between "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead","Drive me Crazy", and "The Wedding Planner"

4-What song describes your life right this minute?
"Livin' Our Love Song" - It's cheesy, but it's true

5-What is your secret favorite chore and why?
If I liked it, it wouldn't be a chore... can't think of any

6- What is your favorite memory from high school?
Playing sports every day and bus trips

7- If you could go back and relive a day in your life would you?
Probably

8-What day would it be?
Maybe my wedding (Feb 16, 2002) - so I could enjoy it more and not be so stressed out...

9- If you could be any person in this world (alive) who would it be?
Just me

10- You have a pass to meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who do you choose?
Amelia Earhart - I'd like to know what happened to her

11- What is your biggest regret?
Not recording any of my wedding day on video. I LOVE all the pictures, but having some video would be nice. Other than that, I don't have too many regrets...

Questions for 11 friends:
1-What is your greatest accomplishment?
2-What is your favorite song & why?
3-What is one goal you have not achieved yet?
4-In your opinion, what is the best invention ever?
5-Who is your favorite person in the world?
6-What is your favorite childhood memory?
7-What is your favorite holiday & why?
8-Who is someone that has influenced your life greatly?
9-What would you do with a million dollars?
10-What was your favorite subject in school?
11-What is your best quality?

11 friends I pick to learn fun stuff about:
Kaitlin (just answer Kiana's questions, too)
Charis (I know you've got your hands full, but it's fun)
Christie
Marina (I know you've got your hands full too, but it's fun)
Teresa
Melanie (when you're off-track)
Lynette
Rachel
Mindy
Natalie
Natalie

**If you don't want to tag 11 friends, it's still fun to answer the Q's :)