Strawberry Blonde

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLEE!

2010-06-26T20:52:00.004-06:00

Today we officially celebrated Kaylee's first birthday. Has it really been a whole year? WOW. Well to celebrate we took her to the zoo, followed by a party at my parent's. Lots of fun! Again, not so many words and lots of pictures. : )

Oops. Still cute!

Forward facing carseat now! So big!

Not so happy about the singing... guess we need more practice!

Photo-shoot with grandma in our brand new tutu!

And once more... HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLEE!

Linda Eder Concert

2010-06-26T20:32:00.007-06:00

Last Thursday Rodney took me on a wonderfully relaxing night out to Linda Eder... child free! Austin came down and watched Kaylee while we went out to see Linda Eder preform at the SCERA SHELL ampitheater in Orem. It was FANTASTIC! I love her voice, always have, and the weather was perfect for an outside concert. While we were gone Austin took pictures of Kaylee out playing. Enjoy the pictures!

It's Been A While...

2010-06-26T20:08:00.006-06:00

Yes it has indeed! Lots has happened, but I don't think you want to take a good hour and a half out of your life to read about it, so let's do the sixty seconds picture update... : )

The cake I made my dad for father's day, he actually almost stuck his fingers in it! Go me!

Brand new beautiful dress from great-grandma-Garside. Thank you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The look on her face when she walked in and saw her new toys. Priceless. And I got it on camera!

Building tunnels with dad

Even princesses need a day off...

Not quite big enough for the trike, so we strapped her in with a big belt.

Just before this I asked, "Kaylee, are you listening?" I wish I was kidding.

My surprise birthday party! Thank you everyone who came, I felt so loved!

That's all folks!

A Shout Out

2010-04-08T16:52:00.003-06:00

Things I like:
Security
Routine
The familiar
Organization (this one's recent)
Low rent

Things I like more:
Opportunities
Happy husband doing what he loves
Moving forward
Possibilities
A PLAN

Which means:
We're moving to Orem! In the fall Rodney will be starting the Technology Management program at UVU and we will be official Happy Valley residents. Am I nervouse? Yes. Excited? Yes. In need of a place to live? Absolutely! Which is why I'm soliciting any help I can get, if you know of any fantastic apartments or anybody in need of an apartment manager let me know! Thanks!

INDULGE. DO IT.

2010-03-20T11:44:00.004-06:00

Last weekend Rodney and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary... actually it was more a celebration for surviving 9 months of parenthood without a single emergency room visit, heimlich manuever, or bankruptcy. Woohoo! To celebrate we left Kaylee with my family for the weekend and spent the time strictly abiding by two mottos:

1. Everyone needs time to indulge.
2. If you're gonna do it wrong, do it wrong right.

That's right, and it all started with dinner. Silver Fork Lodge. Go. Eat. Love. Go again.
Slept in till 7.... and stayed in bed till 9! All those w/o kids just wait...
Turned UP the radio in the car and BELTED along.
Haggermaans for breakfast. Scones, eggs, bacon, carbs, fat and all!
Went to see the Blind Side. Definately buying!!
Spent more in the arcade winning nothing than on tickets.
Spent more on popcorn and candy than in the arcade. : )
Then bought 9 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. (We may be going back for more....)
Took Kaylee to the Living Planet Aquarium and she loved it! So glad we finally went!
Photo Booth with Kaylee... an adventure to be sure.
And to top it all off spent the night eating THE PIE pizza and cheesebread, playing Super Mario Brothers and listening to Showtunes Saturday Night.

Yes. Married life still rocks.
And now we can go back to scrimping, saving, and picking up pennies until next March 13th.

Why we invest in spellcheck...

2010-03-08T16:48:00.004-07:00

Once upon a time I had a baby. It was hard work, if you've never had a baby you can't really understand but I'll tell you it's even harder than cleaning the bathtub, peeling and chopping potatoes, or even shoveling snow. I kid you not. After having the baby and sleeping for two hours I filled out the paperwork for Kaylee's birth certificate and SS card. Now I am seriously sore and seriously tired but I still had enough sense to use my best handwriting, check and double check all information before sending the nurse in pink scrubs away with the packet and promptly forgetting all about it, assuming they would take care of the rest.

You know what they say about assuming.

About 3 months later after getting a little, a very little, sleep in me I realized I still hadn't seen Kaylee's social security card in the mail and needed to start on taxes. After digging through the mound of Kaylee paperwork and sitting on hold with 3 different institutions I found out why.

The hospital forgot to put the apartment number in the computer.

Can they resend it? Of course not! Instead I have to bring her birth certificate down to the SS office and re-request it. (Apparently nowadays they don't automatically give you the birth certificate. Lame) So one freezing cold morning I pack Kaylee a bag the size of Africa with toys and snacks and head off for a day of government lines and runarounds. Surprisingly it only took about half an hour at the Department of Health (half an hour and 20 bucks) before I had her birth certificate in hand and was happily walking out the door.

Or rather, I had KayLee's birth certificate in hand.

Really? One typo isn't enough? Did you know that if some government working in a small cubicle somewhere miss-types on a birth certificate you have to fill out and notorize (twice) an affadavit to petition the courts to have it fixed? Yep, it's a pain. I'd have given up except I'm just really not ok with the said idiot in the cubicle getting to name my sweet baby. I did all the pushing, I get to do the naming. But I still took the incorrect copy down to the SS office determined to get her SS card anyway and after waiting in a horrendous line there was told that I didn't qualify for a copy of her SS card because I didn't have 2 forms of ID for her.

SERIOUSLY??

She's months old, forgive me for not having a copy of her license on me! The grouchy lady behind the desk (I'd have been a little afraid of her if I hadn't been so darn grouchy myself at this point) told me I'd have to get a note from her doctor verifying who she was. How about a note from mom? Nope. Apparently stretch marks mean nothing without an M.D. on the end. So she gave me an official letter of denial.

Which had Kaylee's SS number on it.

Ha! Score one for mom! That's all I wanted origionally! The girl gets me no tax breaks without it. ; ) After getting everything settled with the affadavit I finally recieved a copy of her corrected birth certificate in the mail today!

Or rather, Jaralyn Smith recieved it.

Seriously people?

100 Things To Do.

2010-02-11T17:27:00.006-07:00

So I have been thinking a lot lately about what Kaylee and I are going to do once she gets big enough to graduate from Peek-A-Boo. I have yet to hit the lottery and as far as I know Rodney hasn't hit gold (as far as I know...) so I was trying to come up with free or almost free things to do with a small child throughout the year and I thought there are probably a bunch of other people who could benefit from such a list so I thought I'd post it. I'm trying to hit 100 so if you have any ideas please add them! Uless otherwise noted all are under $10, most under $5.

1. Decorate a piggy bank and talk about the importance of savings. You can find ceramic piggy banks at Roberts or Michaels or wherever.
2. Watch the clouds
3. Smother pine cones in peanut butter and bird seed. Hang them outside the window and watch the birds come!
4. Bake cookies. Eat them yourself of doorbell ditch them to a neighbor.
5. Make friendship bracelets out of embrodery floss. Or dental, whatever.
6. Make a planter box garden. Or if you happen to own a house with a yard and some dirt plant a garden. This will cost a little more, how much totally depends on you.
7. Bean-Bag toss. Use old socks and pinto beans to make bean-bags and a piece of cardboard for a target.
8. Self portraits. Trace the kid on a large piece of butcher paper and let them color themselves in. I've heard you learn a lot about your child's self image with this one.
9. Make a car, or spaceship, out of an old box, crayons, paper plates, and whatever else you have laying around.
10. Finger painting. Maybe go outside for this one...
11. Go on a wildflower walk and gather a bouqet.
12. Press flowers from said boquet and put them in a scrapbook.
13. Dye hard boiled or hollowed out eggs.
14. Bubble party!
15. Paper plate masks
16. Paper mache. Who doesn't love paper mache??
17. Feed ducks. (Wheeler farms has lots of hungry ones)
18. Most libraries have children's story time.
19. Go to a parade
20. Ride Trax (this one is mostly for me)
21. Visit temple square. You'd be surprised at how much little kids will enjoy it, I spent a whole day there with my 6 year old sister once.
22. Go to the zoo. Can cost a little more, but watch for buy one get one free days! Yay!
23. City carnivals (i.e. Draper Days)
24. Wheeler farm, they have TONZ of fun stuff and activities and animals and hay rides. Seriously go.
25. State fair. I forget how much it costs, but under a certain age are free!
26. Have a picnic.
27. Go to a farmers market and try something new.
28. High school sporting events. Much more fun if you know someone on the team.
29. Chalk art. And if you want to spice it up, leave love notes on grandma's driveway.
30. Make a pizza
31. Gateway mall downtown's fountains. Do not try in January.
32. Fly a kite
33. Go to the pet store and learn how to handle animals.
34. Slip n' slide. What more can I say?
35. Host a teddy bear tea party.
36. Have a lemonade stand.
37. Cut out paper snowflakes and hang them from you child's ceiling.
38. Pick berries. They actually have farms where you can pick your own berries! How cool! Cost depends on what and how much you pick.
39. Go to the dollar movies
40. Have a treasure hunt
41. Decorate a flower pot.
42. Put on a puppet show
43. Make a ginger bread cookie advent calendar.
44. Cut the ABCs out of old sponges to make stamps perfect for learning letters.
45. Take a tour of the fire station
46. Roast marshmallows
47. Have an ice cream cone and play at a fast food playground.
48. Go to an ice cream parlor and sit at the bar. (ok so really I've just always wanted to do this)
49. The Living Planet Aquarium. This is one that's a little more expensive but they do have season passes for $18, or something right around there, so you can go all year.
50. Window shopping
51. Ride on the boats at Liberty Park
52. Go to the Clark Planitarium. Again, a little more expensive
53. Tracy Aviary. $
54. Check out a flea market
55. Play at an arcade or Boondocks. Cost totally depends on what you do.
56. Discovery Gateway Children's Museaum. This is awesome!! Not sure on the cost, google it, but it is a WONDERFUL place for kids!
57. Jungle Jims
58. Thanksgiving point gardens. Or whatever they have going on there. They often put on things just for kids.
59. Gilgal Sculpture Garden. Downtown, free, beautiful.
60. Take a family trip to the "This Is The Place" town
61. Timpanogus cave. Maybe wait until they can walk the whole way on their own. Or be sure to bring dad. : )
62. Ice skating
63. The Alpine Slide. I think they may have to be "so high" first.
64. National Trails Day. Excellent teaching opportunity. Every year the government hosts a clean the trails day where you go and help clean (all ages welcome) and they feed you lunch and stuff. Good service project.
65. Heber Valley Railroad. Pricey at Christmas, but totally worth it.
66. Topaz Mtn.
67. Garage sale. Either have one or go to one!
68. Make a blanket tent!
69. Pull out a matress and watch a movie in bed in the middle of the living room. Be sure to have popcorn!
70. Paint fingernails
71. Tye dye t-shirts
72. Decorate cupcakes
73. Get a big quilt and go star gazing
74. Have a backyard camp-out
75. Play dress ups!
76. Sand art
77. Glitter pictures. A big mess, but worth it! Take a page out of a coloring book and use a glue stick and colorful glitter to color it in.
78. Play house
79. Beauty salon- let your daughter do your hair for a change
80. Word/letter/spelling games
81. Water color pictures. I believe they make coloring books especially for this
82. Make furniture for barbies out of odds and ends around the house.
83. Get cheap DI picture frames and decorate them together. (LOVE this one!)
84. Have a treasure hunt around the house/yard
85. Turn on 80's music and have a dance party!
86. Make a magazine colloge. Collage? Collauge? W/E you know what we're saying!

There's what I have so far. Any more ideas? I really want to hit 100!

It's The Little Things

2010-01-21T17:14:00.004-07:00

I am so excited!!

In less than a week a:

Is going to come to my:

And bring me one of these:

With a:

inside.

I love packages. There's just something about getting a package, even when you know what's going to be in it. Packages are what make online shopping so appealing... really we all know it's true! Just join me and admit it. Granted the online sales and shopping in your pjs are nice and all but when it comes right down to it what we really love is that stamped and sealed box with the freshly shipped smell and, of course, the man in the brown shorts bringing Christmas in July (or January in this case) to our door.

Peculiar

2010-01-12T17:30:00.002-07:00

I am peculiar. And if you are anything like me, so are you. I just can't seem to figure me out. Before getting pregnant I couldn't wait to let some tiny baby take over my body, but once Kaylee was on her way I really missed being the boss of me. So I looked forward, counted down days and tried to be patient for the day she would be here in my arms to love and to hold. Of course once it was 2 am and she had her own opinion on sleep I thought nostalgically on those now gone days when she was inside and I could sleep, mostly, through the summersaults and backflips. You see, apparently I am never going to be satisfied. I am always itching for tomorrow, but reluctant to leave yesterday. Could my husband be right? Is there just no pleasing me?

No, that can't be it! Ice cream pleases me. Chocolate pleases me. Chocolate ice cream really pleases me! So why am I never satisfied with today? Luckily I don't think I am alone in my peculiarity. It seems to be the nature of every people, nation, race, community, school, club, group, family and individual to find themselves in this kunundrum a time or two. (or three or four... thousand) We are all talk when it comes to change and tomorrow, the future, improvements, bigger and better, etc. but when it comes time to make the change we drag our feet, sleep in, procrastinate, or maybe even cry a little bit. Strange.

How have I come to such a conclusion? Well I'll tell you. This week has been a doozey. Duzey? Duozy? Whatever. I finally came to terms with the fact that Kaylee has long outgrown her playmat and baby bassinet chair so I put them away. Along with her baby bathtub, nursing pillow, too small onsies, socks, and Sunday dresses. I bought rubber duckies for her new big girl bath-time, a food processor for big girl food, blocks, and a big girl playmat. My baby is no longer an infant. She plays peek-a-boo, smiles when I walk in the room, sings nursery songs (tries), and loves rolling around rough-housing. And here I am torn between yesterday and tomorrow. Watching Debra Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond) send her twins to pre-school and bawling because my turn is already 7 months closer. Is this how all parents feel? Is that the key? Parenthood? It must be, I was normal before wasn't I? That must be it.

Parents are peculiar.

Eating Escapades

2010-01-07T15:26:00.003-07:00

Kaylee decided recently that the world is far to interesting to waste one’s time nursing. So mom decided it was time for solids and bottles.

: )

Goodbye '09

2010-01-07T15:05:00.006-07:00

Christmas is over…. how the heck did that happen?? Anyone else feel like yesterday we were eating leftover turkey and mashed potatoes, and today it’s already leftover ham and pie time. Time already to make and break those resolutions to shed said potatoes and pie (especially the pie) and to count down months until Mr. Sun comes out to play again. But before we get to taking down the tree and putting away the decorations here are a few pictures and stories from our happy holiday! Enjoy!

Our family picture this year! Taken Thanksgiving day on my in-laws floor, full of stuffing. Doesn’t get any better than that!

Picking out a Christmas tree

Ok, really doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas, but I thought it was really funny! Rodney was watching Kaylee while I got a few things done on the computer and I turned around to find this… so classic I had to grab my camera! You can’t see it, but she’s watching the TV. : )

Trying on our new hat. Adorable!

Again, nothing to do with Christmas, but how could I resist this face??

Love this picture! The shirt says “Snugglebug”, but the face says “Go ahead and try it, I dare ya”

Pretty in pink

Santa brought Kaylee a walker for Christmas. Other than the fact that her toes barely touch the ground, she thinks it’s great!

Of all the new things to tinker with and all the games to play on Christmas, Rodney decided to spend most of his time working on the new 3-D rubix cube. After several hours of shaking, twisting, throwing, and delicate rocking he finally beat it. Hey, whatever makes him happy right? : )

And finally, look who we caught breaking in…. : )

Winter

2009-11-24T17:15:00.002-07:00

Pros:
1. Christmas

Cons:
1. Snow is cold
2. Ice is cold
3. Wind is cold
4. Dark nights are really cold
5. Hair is constantly frizzy
6. Getting out of bed in the morning is extra hard
7. Getting out of the warm shower is nearly impossible
8. Sun + Snow = Headaches
9. Car doors get frozen shut
10. Colds, the human flu, the pig flu, and the shivers

There, now that I've taken a step back, looked at the whole picture, made the pros and cons list, and been objective about the whole thing I'm sticking with my previous conviction.
Winter should be avoided at all costs. After all, Christmas is still Christmas in Bermuda!

As Promised

2009-11-05T16:36:00.007-07:00

Ok, at long last and in no particular order... favorites of baby Kaylee Rayne!

Peek-A-Boo!

This is a Johnny-Jump that my mother in law let us borrow, she LOVES it! And fits in much better these days....

Splish-splash I was taking a bath... I already get more wet than her with all the splashing she's learned to do!

Learning to roll. She can do it when she wants to, but why roll over when you could just play?

Ok, seriously favorite. Not that I'm biased or anything, but I think this one could be on a card somewhere.

Good morning! Kaylee is such a morning baby, no idea where she got that with two night owls for parents.

Yes, it's a watermelon hat... : )

So happy to be outside, my baby would rather be outside than anywhere else. Except maybe the grocery store, she has a love affair with Harmons going.

Hanging out with daddy.

Posing for blessing day pictures.

When she was born she had a big ol' bump on her head which thankfully went away, but now we can't get her hair to lay flat in that spot for anything. It's constantly on end! Earning her the nick name "Rufio" from Bethany. (think Hook)

So there she is! Isn't she cute? She's happy to make personal appearances as well... ; ) I love her more and more every day, and just when I think I couldn't love her anymore she goes and smiles at me again. : )

K-K-K-Kaylee!

2009-10-24T12:18:00.003-06:00

I have oodles of adorable pictures on my camera, but no internet at home... so you'll just have to settle for emailed phone pics for now!

We can finally do poney-tails! (anyone else think her hair looks red?)

Close-up!

You can't really tell from the picture but she's not sucking on the binkie. (Who does that?) She's nawing the daylights out of the thing!

She makes the funniest face with her tounge stickin' out and we ALMOST caught it!

Done Waiting

2009-10-22T17:41:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I've blogged and things were looking a little dusty around here. I've had good intentions, every day I wake up thinking "Ok, today's the day! I'll update that blog, tell the world my exciting news and watch them all turn green with envy at my exciting endeavors. Around the world people will be inspired by my life and change thier own for the better. Yep, today's the day!". And each night I go to bed thinking, "Maybe tomorrow."

The problem seems to be, I just keep waiting. Waiting for something exciting to happen. Waiting for something inspiring. Waiting for something... anything... of note to report on. And today I think it happened. I discovered that, well, nothing is going to happen. It will probably be a few years before we take a major trip anywhere. Who knows if it will be in this life or the next before I make any kind of philanthropic, scientific, economic, or any other kind of "ic" breakthrough. And hopefully we've got a long while before noteworthy turmoil strikes. (Swine flu, stay back!) So I guess I'll just have to post about the little things along the way. Which is how it should be. I forget who, but someone sometime somewhere once said something like "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." I have that quote scribbled on a small scrap of paper hung on my magnent board, right next to another one that says "make your bed". (both good advice) So here goes; my life. Take it or leave it.... (I'd prefer you left it, I'd like to hold on as long as possible. But feel free to leave a mark or two)

My day starts at some dark hour of the morning with Rodney's alarm going off. I usually yawn, push him off the bed, roll over and close my eyes again. : ) Fifteen minutes later I half wake up for a kiss good-bye and a "drive safe" before stumbling to the bathroom to "stick my eyes in". Then it's a bowl of cereal and the GMU crew until Kaylee wakes up, and that's when the fun begins! She is the most adorable thing when she wakes up, even beats out my bed head, believe it or not... she stretches and smiles tells me all about her dreams while I change her diaper and get the bath ready. I know most moms bath babies at night but I can't seem to figure out how that one works. I look at the clock at 6 and five minutes later when I look back it's already 10:30 and bedtime... no time for baths!

Anyway, once we're bathed, dressed and fed the day can really get started! Oh wait what? What's that you say? It's noon? Lunch time? Ok, ok. So AFTER lunch the day can really get started! We get all packed up in the carseat, ready to head out to the grocery store or library or park or doctor's office or other assorted stores and errands and... wait what? What's that you say? Nap time? Ok, ok. Kaylee's nap time. I must say, I REALLY lucked out in this area! She is the BEST napper! I take her in her room, rock her for a minute or two and stick her in the crib, wide awake. I turn on the humidifier, close the door and come back a minute or two later to find her fast asleep. And she stays that way for at least three, usually four hours. Well, while she's sleeping I guess I'll do something productive. I put on the music or TV or something and get to the tidying/cooking/vaccuming/dusting/bed making/anything else I can think of to avoid folding laundry. I HATE laundry. It's the never ending chore. I swear, as soon as I can I'm bumming that one off on Kaylee. Poor thing, she'll be doing laundry when she's 4. Maybe 3. We'll see.

All of a sudden it's 6:00. WHAT?? My clock must be broken. I haven't even begun to think about dinner, and in walks Rodney hungry after a long day working outside. Dinner... dinner... quick dinner.... we've got macaroni! Poor boy, he's so sweet, he'll eat the macaroni or PBandJ and tell me it was just what he wanted. (Of course later he fixes himself some "real" food) Some day I'll figure this whole thing out. Believe it or not, this is progress from two months ago! I've started clipping coupons and making a game out of shopping for the best bargins, hunting down baby sales (tomorrow is a major book blow out at the local library... bring it on!) and experimenting with cake decorating. (ok, ok, so I've THOUGHT about experimenting with cake decorating. But I'll get around to it soon....ish!) After dinner it's time for family time, playing with baby and talking about the day (finances, yuck) until bed time.

Well folks, there you have it! My life. Maybe nothing extrordinary, but it makes me happy! I don't know the first thing about half the things going on in the world, but I could tell you story after story about Kaylee's smiles. I couldn't tell you who the hottest man in Holleywood is, I get giddy about the new WinCo foods around the corner. I hope all your lives are as happy as mine!

PS- Visitors/playdates/shopping buddies/phone calls welcome!

Pass The Taters' Please!

2009-08-27T16:14:00.008-06:00

I got this picture from "Worth1000.com" and it just hit my funny bone! It describes my hubby's new passion perfectly. Although we're still poor as church mice and actually buying a gun is out of the question, dreaming is always free. And dream he does! I am learning all the different calibers, models, parts, pieces and price tags on the lastest and greatest guns. But I still have one question, who names this stuff?? Shouldn't caliber sizes go in order? 10 can be the smallest, followed by 20 30 40 and 50. Or make them hundreds if you'd like, but go in order people!

Other than that bit of strangeness I am finding that guns are not nearly as bad or scary as I have previously been convinced. I admit it, Rodney was right. (luckily he never reads my blog so he'll never know I said that!) Guns are only as dangerous or safe as the person holding them. Now I'm not saying I have any desire ever to go out hunting, but I'm becoming more and more ok with him making a hobby out of it. Especially since he promised to never make me watch the "disecting" process.

Now, on a much more adorable note, here are a few shots of my gorgeous girl from my phone. Warning- the following images are excessively sweet and liable to destroy grumpy moods.

Checked Off the Bucket List

2009-08-27T16:02:00.004-06:00

My life is now officially complete. After marrying the man of my dreams, giving birth to the sweetest baby ever born, I have now finally achieved my ultimate goal. I saw someone changing out a billboard.

I took this picture on my phone while we were stopped at a light by our apartment. Don't worry, Rodney knows I love him more than the billboard man, but seriously I've waited my whole life for this! I have a whole list of silly simple things I want to see or do in this life, and the billboard was tied (with about 10 others) for first. (I know you're shaking your head, but have you ever seen anyone switching out the ads on a billboard?) Now on to sleeping upside down on the bed, seeing the freeway lights get changed, showering while fully clothed, participating in a paint fight and all the other simple pleasures life has to offer! : )

Lessons Learned

2009-08-15T21:36:00.002-06:00

It takes becoming a mom to truely appreciate your own.

When you need a burp cloth a blanket will be the only thing around. And vice versa.

A smile is worth a thousand words.

There are never 24 hours in a day, sometimes there are 36 and others only 3.

"Mom" is not a title, a job, or a name. It's a way of life.

Elizabeth Taylor can keep her diamonds, it's the macaroni necklaces I'm looking forward too.

Laundry is never "done".

Money and happiness are completely unrelated.

Baby kisses are worth more than all the money in the world.

"Shopping" is a chore, not a recreational activity.

Babies don't care what size your pants are, just how big your smile can get.

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness" is bolony. Parenthood is much closer, and a parent's house is never entirely clean.

No matter how long you wait, the dish fairy will never come. The stench however, always will.

Teenage boys are scary. I've changed my opinion on owning a shotgun.

No one will ever see the state of your bathroom cupboards. If the nail polish is in with the tampons it'll be ok.

God knew what He was doing when He created families, Grandmas are indispensible.

Advice is not law, everyone has thier own opinion. And when you have a newborn you get more advice than you ever thought possible.

A crying child is not a dying child, sometimes they're learning to sing.

Hormones hurt.

The best moments in life are not spent on beaches in Maui at sunset. They are snuggled up in bed with baby and daddy on a sleepy saturday morning listening to the rain.

Showering at 9:00 pm still counts as getting a shower that day.

You'll never know how strong you are until you're pushed past where you thought your limits where.

It's only been two months but already I have learned more and grown more than I expected. I love being a mom more and more each day and I can't wait for each new day and each new mess, smile, headache and giggle and laugh.

(ok, I lied a little about the headaches. I can wait.)

Our Sweetheart

2009-06-30T12:51:00.008-06:00

She's here! As I'm sure you've heard by now our little Kaylee Rayne was born at 1:02 in the morning and she's just perfect! Sorry it's taken me so long to update and get pictures up, I've been busy feeding, rocking, dressing or bathing my little munchkin- and when I'm not doing that I'm busy staring at her!

The story- real quick before getting to the pictures (which is the best part!) here's her "birthday story". Wednesday morning I woke up with contractions... finally! At a week overdue this baby was finally thinking about coming! Unfortunately they were not close enough together to "count" in the medical world so the hospital told me to stay at home, walk around and wait a few hours. Which I did very impatiently. Thankfully Eliza was there to keep me company and motive me to get up from my fetal position on the couch and keep moving! She thinks she was a slave driver, I say more of a Godsend!

Well 7:30 rolled around and we headed off to the hospital for a "Cytotec" (spelling?) induction. I'd never heard of such a thing before so for those who are also not up on the latest in medicine it is a series of pills you take overnight at the hospital to "ripen the cervix" and then they induce you with pitocin the next morning. A very long way of getting a baby here if you ask me. Thankfully, she wasn't so mean to her mom. They gave me the first pill at about 11 Wednesday night and a few minutes after 1 in the morning Thursday I was holding my little princess! In fact, she came so fast that the on call doctor didn't even make it to deliver her and they didn't even bother calling my doctor. He actually showed up the next morning to break my water, thinking I was still in delivery and couldn't find me! A resident who happened to be in the area walked in just in time to catch her and 3 more doctors showed up a few minutes after. They must have paged anyone and everyone they could to try to get someone there in time!

Now she's here, safe and sound with ten fingers ten toes and a whole head of dark brown hair!

Meeting her dad a few minutes after she was born.

With a curl in her hair, no thanks to her mom!

How could you not want to kiss those cheeks and little nose?

Carseats will wear you right out! This was right after we got home from the hospital.

Love love love!

Almost....there....

2009-05-27T17:26:00.002-06:00

Nearly done....

And still in love!

4 weeks and counting...

2009-05-13T10:21:00.002-06:00

I've got a minute or two so I thought I'd post a little baby update!

Yesterday we went in for another ultrasound because my doctor was worried my tummy was to small (I kinda thought he was joking at first, small is not the word that comes to mind when I look in the mirror!) and there may be a problem with having enough fluid for her to swim around in. Good news! There's plenty, go body! The ultrasound lady said everything looks good and healthy, she's just a teeny tiny baby but not teeny tiny enough to merit hitting the panic button. Phew!

Once we knew nothing was wrong it was really fun to get to see her on the ultrasound again! The best discovery? She has hair! Lots of hair that showed up on the pictures even, I didn't know that could happen! From the pictures it looks like she'll come out tall and skinny with lots of hair... hmm who does that remind me of?? : )

As for me I'm still feeling pretty good! So long as I don't venture more than five minutes away from a bathroom or try to sit, stand, lay down, or walk for more than 15 minutes at at time. : )

VEGAS BABY!

2009-04-27T15:28:00.010-06:00

This weekend my sister-in-laws Eliza and Sariah and I went down to St. George to do some sun bathing.... haha I'm soo funny! They did some sun bathing and got all brown and gorgeous while I did some reading and remembered why I love Jane Austin. : )

The view from the house we were staying at was awesome! These pictures don't really do it justice, but it was so wonderful to open up all the blinds and doors and have the sunshine and fresh air all weekend long. Ahh... someday I'll live in a place like that! (Right after I find the cure for cancer, release a platinum album and find the winning lottery ticket on the side of the road)

Friday was spent laying around watching TLC and learning "What Not To Wear", wrestling with the satilite system, rescuing frogs from swimming pools, painting nails, and cooking the most kick-butt bar-b-que dinner EVER! Seriously, check it out! We made steak with grilled veggies and pineapple, and I must say felt very domestic about it!

Amanda, my roommate from freshman year, also came to visit! I was so excited to see her! And she's as cute as ever! Well, as much of her as you can see behind my big belly...

Saturday was the big Vegas day. I would suggest always bringing a pregnant belly to Veags, you wouldn't believe how many of the nasty old men leave you alone and keep thier "calling cards" to themselves when you're walking around looking matronly! (Matronly... is that the right word? I forget. Blame it on the baby) Anyway, we got down there and picked up our tickets to "Le Reve" and then came up with the brilliant idea to walk down to The Bellagio to eat at thier buffet. Who actually decided walking was a good idea I forget, but by the time we got there we were all staggering and hobbling along from massive blisters. (But everyone else was staggering from the booze so we fit right in) This picture was taken before we started walking and were still optimistic about the idea... (I apologize about the Alphalpha-do. Although I must say I do wear it well! teehee!) (Oh, and check out Eliza, isn't she gorgeous!? If I didn't love her, I'd have to hate her. So if you know any single eligible and relatively disease free hott men in thier mid-twenties let me know and I'll introduce them to the girl of thier dreams! Assuming she hasn't killed me for posting this first...)

The buffet was deliciouso!! And I am ever so proud of myself, I didn't eat so much that I thought I'd die! They had the biggest selection of different kinds of food I've ever seen, including about 25 different kinds of dessert. Can we say heaven??

After dinner we walked back to The Wynn to see "Le Reve" and it was AMAZING! (said with a little sing-song in the voice) It is all over a big pool of water with synchronized swimming and acrobatics and incredible displays of strenght and all that jazz. But what was even better (to me) was the music and story itself. So powerful. So colorful. So beautiful. "Le Reve" is an interpretation of a painting by Picasso and the story is all about men and women and love in all it's forms. It's about woman's need for man and vice versa throughout all different time periods and it was phenominal! Just about made me cry! (but that may also have something to do with hormones and missing my other half) I definately recommend it!

These are pictures I took before the show started of the stage area. You really can't get the full effect though, so google "Le Reve" and watch the Youtube video that comes up.

April Showers

2009-04-27T15:07:00.003-06:00

Ok well just the one shower, but "April Shower" didn't flow nearly as well! First off, thank you thank you thank you to Eliza and Diane! They threw me a wonderful family shower a few weeks ago and it was perfect! We played the "name that poop" game, price is right, memory and a bunch of other really cute ones!

I remember baby-sitting these two when they were just babies!

Lookey! Dana came all the way from Boston just for me! (and maybe a little bit Colin)
I'm sure that there are many more pictures floating around out there of the event, but I was busy ohh-ing and ahh-ing over pink polka dots and frilly bows that I spaced the camera. So if you have some please email them to me!

THANKFULLY

2009-04-15T14:04:00.006-06:00

Once upon a friday night while driving back home from Springville and discussing Betos breakfast burritos Rodney and Laralyn hit a deer.

THANKFULLY... not a live one
But one that had been hit and left in the middle of the road just after a curve so that it couldn't be seen until it was way to late.

THANKFULLY... Rodney was driving (or this story could have been much worse)
He managed to only hit it with one side of the car, which still scared away all thought of greasy breakfast food! Laralyn hadn't been watching the road and honestly thought the car had hit a human. Not a good feeling. They pulled off to the side of the road and Rodney got out to check the car.

THANKFULLY... it looked ok.
But smelled like... well if you've never had dead animal guts roasting on the bottom of your engine you really can't understand the stench. But promise, there's nothing that smells worse. Car washes are useless against such a stench.

THANKFULLY... Laralyn had a cold and couldn't smell it nearly as well as she should have been able to. They drove it (carefullly) home without any further incident and...

MIRACULOUSLY... it's ok! A little piece of plastic got torn loose on the back wheel well, but that can be fixed with a zip-tie.

Part Two...

Once upon a thursday night while Rodney was in class Laralyn was waiting in the library parking lot in the rain the car battery died.

THANKFULLY... Rodney was able to get a ride from SLCC campus to the library.
But they had no jumper cables so no one there could help them. (a problem that will not be repeated again!)

THANKFULLY... Tom and Diane were in the area (with cables, they passed boy scouts)
and came to jump the car. Immediately Rodney and Laralyn drove to Pep Boys to find out what sort of gremlin was sabatoging (sp?) the car. Even though Laralyn was sure it was because she had worn black shoes and pants with blue and white socks out of the house. (Bad things always happen when you think you won't have to get out of the car and dress accordingly)

THANKFULLY... Pep Boys assured them that it was not Laralyn's fault.
But that they battery was practically dead and needed to be replaced ASAP. Of course they didn't have the right kind of battery there so today Laralyn called and found one and Rodney is out picking up and installing it now.

MIRACULOUSLY... it cost almost exactly what Laralyn and Rodney could afford.

THE MORAL... God is always watching out for all of us, even if our socks don't match.

Cheesecake

2009-04-04T19:52:00.004-06:00

Anyone else think it looks delicious? Now, before you go getting TOO proud of me I should tell you Rodney made it. His mission reunion was on Friday (which was really fun, I think he had more fun than I did but that's probably cause he actually knew more than one soul there. Still, fun!) and we were suppose to bring a dessert to share, and he wanted to make something extra special. I think it turned out spectacular... but he will tell you that's just cause I made him "cover up all his screw ups with a million cherries".

He honestly thinks it turned out awful!! There's a crack in the top. Love him, but he is way to harsh on himself sometimes! Anyway, after a LOT of coaxing (24 hours to be exact) he took it to the reunion. Apparently everyone there agreed with me... it was gone first. I'm so proud! : )

Kaylee Rayne Smith

2009-03-31T18:49:00.002-06:00

After much deliberation...
much frustration...
thousands of lists...
hundreds of baby books...
7 months of discussions...
and one very sophisticated game of eenie-meenie-minie-moe...
We've finally picked her name!

Disclaimer: I do however reserve the right to change it upon being struck with a visionary dream, meeting her and deciding it's all wrong, or receiving a stamped and sealed letter from above.

Oops, I Did It Again...

2009-03-28T11:37:00.004-06:00

I'm way behind! I'd like to blame the fact that we don't have the internet at our apartment... but I'm at my parents as well as Rodney's enough that I really can't. But I have managed to track down a "belly" picture to make up for it! Although this was taken the end of Feb and so needs to be updated again. *sigh*

Well the big news from us is we made it a year! Phew! They say that's the hard part, guess it'll all be smooth sailing from here on out! ; ) The 13th was our anniversary and Rodney took me out to breakfast that morning, in PJs and messy hair and all. Just like the good old days!

Now, I have a very serious philosophy about anniversaries and birthdays. I am convinced that they are the two days of the year that you should justify andything and everything that you can't on the other 363 of the year. So (after getting ready for the day) we went to an arcade and wasted ten bucks to get an oversized bouncy ball and another couple doing the picture booth thingy. What are those technically called? You know that random booths in public places where you can stop and take pictures of yourself? I never see anyone in them (especially the ones at the mall, probably cause no one wants to take time to stop shopping and remember what they looked like before they got the new clothes...) so every once in a while I think it's fun to get in and take pictures! And since my camera is still MIA they are the only pictures of the day we have.

So The Garden, up on the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial building, is AMAZING! We both absolutely LOVED it! It's bright and happy and has a gorgeous view. The food is absolutley delicious and there's a really wide variety of it. And the best part, they don't give you so much that you feel like you're going to burst and die by the time you leave. We even had room for chocolate cake for dessert! Going out to eat isn't nearly as much fun when you end up sick from over-stuffing, and without even trying anything sugary and totally unhealthy in the process!

Life Is A Collection of Memories

2009-02-21T22:00:00.005-07:00

On the brighter side of life, we have had had so much going on lately! Unfortunately my brain seems to have vacated the premises when the baby moved in, and my camera is one of the many things I can't quite figure out what I did with. Which means no pictures... sorry! Hopefully it'll turn up soon and next time I'll have lots of pictures to show, until then maybe Google can help out a bit.

For starters, this little baby girl has personality already! She wiggles, moves, dances, and plays all day long, until her Dad tries to feel her. Poor Rodney, he's felt her twice, maybe three times, but every other time she stops all wiggling and holds still. I say it's cause she just feels to comforted when he's so close, the doctor said he just need to promise her a higher credit card limit. : ) We have an awesome doctor.

January is by far my least favorite month, and now it's over! All the other months have holidays, or sunshine, or both! So to celebrate January finally running it's course, we had a game night the beginning of February. It was oodles of fun! Cream puffs, strawberries, chocolate fondue, and two babies to play with. What more could a girl possibly ask for? Of course all the adults who came where a huge bonus as well, but it's hard to compete with a one year old and her pink stroller. J/K, mostly. Thanks to everyone who came! Some people I haven't seen in a year or two, a few new friends from the ward, and my busy cousin and his sweetheart even made time to stop by and play for a while. It was the greatest!

Cash On Delivery- it was awesome! I laughed and laughed! Even Rodney loved it by the end... and that's a big deal! What more can I say? Other than Keri, you owe me ice cream. : )

In more awesome news, last week my mom turned 39... for the 8th time! Congrats to her! : ) That's gotta be some kind of record! My dad was out of town on the Klondike (which is yet another Boy Scout tradition that makes me concerned for the sanity of men) for her birthday and half of Valentines day, but planned her an awfully cute surprise birthday party to make up for it! She thought she was going over to a friend's to scrapbook all night, but in reality Bethany, a bunch of her friends from the ward/neighborhood, and I surprised her in the friend's dining room with gifts, off-key happy birthday songs, and Cafe Rio. Nearly made her cry... maybe next year! We talked and laughed the night away, laughed so hard my stomach hurt for days! Growing up I use to think all these ladies were boring and could not understand for the life of me how anyone could spend hours just talking! About NOTHING! Thankfully I've grown up a little since then and am now of the opinion that there's not much better in life than sitting around with friends and chatting for hours. (I tried converting Rodney, he's hopeless. Men seem to think you have to actually say something to talk.)

Have you heard the new advertisements for the Mayan? The basic jist is "We know our food used to suck, but we've updated and now it's edible! Come try!" We tried it, they lied. The atmosphere is still really cool, just don't put anything in your mouth... you could end up curled up on the couch for hours.

Sometimes Life Has a Better Idea

2009-02-21T21:30:00.003-07:00

I heard that once, can't remember where, but I remember thinking it was a very profound statement. Life, or shall we say God, usually has the best ideas. Leaps and bounds better than anything I could come up with, but sometimes it's still hard to trust the signs and walk off the proverbial cliff. Right now in my life I seem to be teetering on such one cliff and am having a really hard time not looking down...

Lets see... starting is always the hardest part. Well I've been working at this little restaurant since last fall and I absolutely LOVE it! The job part that is. I love seeing all the people who come through, laughing with the fun ones, rolling my eyes at the pains, and my co-workers are the best! (Tresa, this means you!) And of course all the "your tummy is so cute" compliments don't hurt either! : ) It would be perfect, except for my boss. Ugh! The man is... well he's just... I really don't know how to describe him. Just difficult. To make a long story short, he refuses to give me the hours I was hired for and treats me unfairly for no reason I can see other than that I'm pregnant. Which is not only stupid, but also illegal from what I hear. So, there's the background story. Rodney keeps telling me I just need to quit and not let myself be walked all over like that, and all the signs, signals and lightning bolts seem to be agreeing with him. But I'm terrified to trust life and leap.

June is still 3 months away, which seems soo short when looked at from the "pregnant" side of things but scary long when looked at from the "unemployed with nothing to do" side. Yikes! Here's where I need some help! I need something to do. An at home job, a service project, a charity to join, something! I don't don't don't want to sit around the house all day eating cookie dough and watching soap operas, but I'm having a really hard time coming up with an alternative. Especially one that tastes as good as cookie dough. : ) Does anyone out there have any ideas?

Now, I don't want to turn this into a poor-me-whiny-type of an entry so I'll leave it at that and hope that someone has a little advice. (I gladly take cheesy one liners and scriptural references!) Seems like a silly problem I'm sure, and in retrospect I will probably agree, but I don't think I've ever been accused of being a rational or logical person!

The Name Game

2009-01-24T12:59:00.002-07:00

Let's start by saying... SHE'S A GIRL!! I'm so excited! As is Rodney, he's just not quite as loud about his feelings as I tend to be. : ) So now we get to start playing the name game! Which I must say was much more fun when I didn't actually have to pick just one, or was only naming a doll that would probably be lost within the year anyway. Choosing a name for a living breathing person is a whole lot harder!

We've been getting a lot of imput (most of it useful) from friends and family but still haven't settled on anything. So, I want to hear all your ideas! We're looking for something beautiful and less common that pairs well with Smith. (obviously) Porter is out. (sorry Bethany) and Autumn and Evalyn are at the top of the list. Ideas? Imput?

Sorry so short, but I figured I'd better write something before I get as far behind as my mother... speaking of which you should all tell her to update her blog. : ) Please, make my day!

Sweet Land of Liberty

2008-12-17T11:48:00.005-07:00

Most of us have a morning routine, and I am no exception. Every day I get up, wrap myself up in a blanket, put my contacts in, grab a bowl of cereal and sit down to eat and watch the news. Mostly for the weather, but I like knowing what's going on in the world too. Now I know the media is "twisted" and we don't always get the whole story or whatever. But I still think it's important to know what you can about what's going on in the world. Especially these days where huge decitions are being made on capitol hill that will surely affect all of us in some way.

Well, I've been getting fed up. And I've about reached my limit! What happened to this country?? I love America and I still think it's the best place to live but why do we have all these pointless problems? Where did this new philosophy "my way or the highway" zero tolerance of anyone else's views or opionions come from? Wasn't America established with the idea that it would be a place of refuge for all people? Look at the statue of Liberty for goodness sake. I feel bad for all those who belong to minorities who feel they are being treated "unfairly" and want "equal rights", but when you think about it, aren't we all in a minority somewhere? None of us always fall into the mainstream views. That's what makes us human, and why we need to accept that we will always have a difference of opinion from someone. And it's not goverment's job to make that go away. It's the government's job to protect our right to disagree.

Now I'm no politician, no expert, and certainly no writer. But neither am I blind, stupid, or naive. I got this email several months ago and I say AMEN to it with all my heart. So I thought I'd share. It is attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from GA. Whether he actually wrote it or not I have no idea, but it doesn't matter who first said it. It rings true whether you're white, black, gay, straight, athiest, catholic, mormon or politician.

BILL OF NON-RIGHTS

"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights.'

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes. (This one is my pet peeve...get an education and go to work....don't expect everyone else to take care of you!)

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful. (AMEN!)

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from! (Lastly....)

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!"

Thanks for letting me vent. I sincerely pray someday those on capitol hill will take a step back and remember the origional intent and purpose of thier positions and government in general.

*Disclaimer. Since I am fully aware that there are many out there who insist on taking offense I figure I'd better add my disclaimer. These are my own thoughts and feelings and are not meant in any way to offend or hurt any person or group of people. If you don't agree that's just fine. In fact, it's your right.

White Elephants and Prime Rib

2008-12-14T19:29:00.009-07:00

I apologize, I jinxed us all! Well, all of us who live in the Salt Lake and Utah Valleys at least. When planning our first annual Christmas dinner party I wrote on the invite that it was a party to celebrate the lack of snow. So naturally Mother Nature thought she'd be funny and drop the first big pile of winter the day of. Haha! : ( But regardless of the nasty weather, we still had a wonderful Chirstmas dinner party last night and I'm so relieved that everything finally came together! (and only 20 minutes after originally scheduled too!)

Our original guest list included friends from all over but our ending turn out was almost all friends from high school. Which was just fine and lots of fun! It was good to catch up with several people I haven't seen in ages and reminisce a little on our "glory days" when life was no work and all fun. (If only I'd realized then how easy I had it.)

For dinner Rodney talked me into prime rib. I'm still not sure how, one minute I was talking about roast and the next we were ordering rib... guess I must still be a bit twitter-patted or have pregnant brain damage! I'd never tried it before and was seriously apprehensive about eating red meat, but it was actually really delicious! Not as wonderful as many make it out to be, and certainly not the "king of meats" as the man at Snider Bros tried to tell me, but tasty enough to eat happily! Red and all! And in return I got spoiled and Rodney made twice baked potatoes to go with. My favorite!!

Personally I think the best part of the night was the white elephant gift exchange. The only really useful good gift was a box of chocolates. Which ended up going home with Rob... the only person in the room who hates chocolate! I thought it was pretty priceless! Other gifts included half eaten sugar cubes, tacky sugar decors, pencils and a lynnix program, a cheap date pack and etc. All in all it was a lot of fun and hopefully I'll be able to talk Rodney into making it an annual ordeal. I've got a year... I think I can pull it off!

A few weeks ago I got an early Christmas present. Rodney has been working on a kitchen table for us and it got finished just in time for Christmas. I put a picture up on my list of things from this year but I thought I'd post a couple more to show off my handsome hubby's talent...

Grahm Cracker Goodness

2008-12-10T13:08:00.005-07:00

Monday night Rodney and I went over to my parents to make grahm cracker houses. Up until this year I've been of the "jam as much candy on the thing as possible, regardless of how it looks" persuation. And it's worked out pretty well for me in the past, but this time I decided to actually "try" to create something spectacular and came up with a log (pretzel) cabin. Pretty awesome eh? Lol, well in my head it worked out great but when it came time to put a roof on....yeah not so much. But I think it's a failure I'll be able to live with just fine. : )

Rodney, my hopeful architect husband, made a boat. And not just any boat, a sate of the art ship complete with Jack Sparrow and cannons. Now that's cool!

Other than that there's not much to tell about us! I'm feeling all kinds of better, so long as I get a quick nap in the afternoons, and working at Food for Thought and the apartment office. Rodney is starting to freeze up in the mountains all day... but that means he's ok with the heater being on a little higher when he comes in in the evening. Which is just fine by me! Our refrigerator is covered with wedding announcements, must be Christmas! And I am thrilled that there's still no snow stuck to the ground yet!!

My tummy is starting to grow, but Rodney can still beat me. (sick!) Give me 3 more months... I'll win!

Give Thanks

2008-12-10T12:26:00.014-07:00

If ever I had a year to be greatful, this is it. And since my mother is brilliant, I think I'm going to copy her idea and make a list... (in no particular order)

1) I married the man of my dreams.

2) My mom survived planning the wedding.

3) Surviving flying off the icy road.

4) Lots of love and visiters while stuck in bed.

5) A brand new baby namesake to hold and love (and spoil)

6) Learning to be a bit more crafty

7) Friends. The best friends.

PICTURE TO BE ADDED EVENTUALLY

8) Family

PICTURE TO BE ADDED EVENTUALLY

9) We are finally settled into an apartment we love!

Ok, so we're not in this one exactly. But a girl can dream!

10) Lots of close temples, and even more being built this year.

11) Going to my first ever concert! (thanks to Rodney's winning-things-off-the-radio talent)

12) Having nice doctors. (Although I wish I hadn't had to see quite so many quite so often this year!)

13) The best news!

14) Hearing baby's heartbeat

15) Lots of good food for the holidays

16) A new car

17) A mom who still puts up with my antics.

18) The Celine Dion concert... almost. But a couple night up the canyon instead was a great trade!

19) A husband who can make me beautiful furniture. (this was my christmas present, it's a table)

20) My 21st birthday, pumpkin pie and all!

(I wasn't better enough for any pictures of me)

21) Sustaining President Thomas S. Monson

22) Chocolate

23) And most importantly, a Savior who made it all possible.

Yep, it's been the best year! Here's to '08 and everything to come in '09!

Side Note...

2008-11-16T19:59:00.002-07:00

I miss my hair. : ( Next time I think about cutting it, someone please stop me!

Ode To Bethany

2008-11-16T19:40:00.008-07:00

So, it's been a while since I've updated my blog... longer since I've updated my journal, but one thing at a time! (I apologize beforehand for this post. My younger un-named sister who is 19 keeps talking in my ear and telling me everything I write is dumb. And that I shouldn't post this, but watch me.)

A picture says a thousand words, and since I can't think of any words with the record going in my ear we'll stick with pictures today and try to get words out another day.

TAG-- I'm it?

2008-10-16T17:05:00.011-06:00

I had never heard of tagging, but I happened to be blog-surfing and reading my friend Abby's cute blog and discovered I've been tagged! So here goes!

I am: blessed

I want: to be at home in sweats right now

I have: less time with Rodney than I'd like

I dislike: sugar and grease. (but that's only recently)

I miss: Amy Mae

I fear: water, kidney theft, people under cars, night-time...

I feel: a little sickly in my tummy today.

I hear: "I Saw God Today" on the radio

I smell: EVERYTHING! But still not flowers.

I crave: fruit

I cry: all the time these days. Now in fact, stupid radio songs...

I usually: have to do things two or three times before it turns out right

I search: words on dictionary.com

I wonder: what life will be like in a year

I regret: several things. But I try not to, it doesn't do any good.

I love: my hubby and baby.

I care: that it's getting cold. I care a lot.

I always: try to be thankful.

I worry: more than I use to

I am not: useless

I remember: that Rodney thinks I'm beautiful, and that's all that matters. (and that models are airbrushed)

I believe: God is in charge and looking out for me.

I dance: only in the car or in front of the mirror with Macall and Bethany

I sing: whenever I think no one is listening.

I don't always: make it on time

I argue: probably more than I should. But I am getting better!

I write: blogs

I win: at ERS, which is why no one will play with me.

I lose: my composure watching chick flicks.

I wish: I was more confident

I listen: to country

I don't understand: how something smaller than a grape can make me so sick!!

I can usually be found: looking for my phone/purse/keys/mind...

I need: pants that fit!

I forget: to watch the time.

I am happy: you took the time to read all the way to the end : )

I tag: Laurie Moon (of course), Katie Stewart, Leah Grammar

A Little Something...

2008-10-11T10:08:00.003-06:00

: )

Greetings from Limbo Land... and not as in the game

2008-10-06T08:08:00.006-06:00

Well, first I gotta start out with a funny little story... I took Mollie on her field trip to the animal hospital last week and I brought my camera to take lots of pictures. (such good intentions have I!) We got there, I pulled it out and to my dismay, it had turned itself on in my purse and ran out the battery! Blast. Usually this wouldn't be such a tragedy, except that all my pictures for the past few weeks were still on it and my charger is somewhere amidst the boxes in my parent's garage. So this story is my pre-apology for the complete lack of pictures on this blog entry. Maybe someday when life settles down I'll come back and upload them! (no promises...)

Now, on the the good stuff!

About a month ago Rodney won tickets to the circus off the radio (might I mention that's the 4th time he's won in the past 2 months? Look at my man go!) and last week we took two of his nephews Merrik (4) and Brock (3) to see the show. Those two little boys are the best of friends, but couldn't have acted more different while there! Brock was 100% memorized by it. We're talking the moment we walked in and took our seats he was glued to whatever was happening down in the stage area. For Rodney to ask him if he needed to use the potty before the show had even started he had to use his eyes like blinders and point Brock's face at him to get any kind of response, it was so adorable! Merrik on the other hand was not quite as impressed.... when we walked in and saw all the people he immediately started crying and begging to go home to his mom and dad. Poor thing! I hugged him close and told him it would be all right and that if he got scared he could hug me any time and feel all better. Well, he did just that! He sat on my lap and clung to my neck the whole show! He did like seeing the lions while we were there, but the clowns... no way! He'd start to cry every time they came out and after they'd left he'd ask if they were coming back. But I am happy to report that he did survive! And Sariah (his mom) tells me that he did in fact love it after the fact and that he and Camden play Circus all the time. : )

Let's see, what else is going on with us... hmm... it seems like there was something big... oh right. MOVING. Yucky! I use to love moving, it was like a chance to get everything really clean, finding new places for things was lots of fun, it was like a clean slate! And then I moved 3 times in a month. That'll take the fun right out of anything. As I reported a while ago, we moved downtown the end of august to take a management job. Just after we'd signed the papers our apartment complex in Midvale called and said that we could come manage there if we wanted too. Well of course we'd love to! But we'd already signed the agreement and the job here wouldn't open up until october anyway so we figured, what the heck. We'll just move twice, no biggie... HA!

We got downtown and realized it wasn't quite what we had expected. They expected me not to work or go to school, which I figured meant they had something for me to do instead but no. I was simply suppose to be at home to do nothing and wait for people to come by to see the apartment. Which was usually maybe once a day. If I was lucky. Needless to say I got very bored very fast and am eternally gratefull that we do not live there any longer!! We were also suppose to vaccum the halls and mow the lawn, but they gave us a broken lawn mower and vaccum. Figures. Oh well, all in the past! We had to move out of that apartment at the end of a month, which meant by September 30th, but our new Midvale apartment won't be ready until October 10th. Which is why all our stuff is in my parent's garage and we are sleeping on the extra bed at his parents house. (thank you thank you moms and dads!) So one more week of living in limbo and then we're free! We'll have our own place and life will go back to normal. I hope! : )

Mollie 'n Me

2008-09-21T15:29:00.007-06:00

Thursday my mom had to teach Shane's school class about the Impressionist (ask her about it, you'll be entertained) so she dropped Mollie off with me downtown to spend the afternoon. I was excited, I figured we'd do some coloring, dancing to the radio, the usual babysitting jazz, boy was I wrong!

We were eating greasy Wendy's burgers for lunch when the bells at St. Madeline's Cathedral went off to remind us that another 15 minutes had passed. (Now I love the sound of the bells, they really are gorgeous, but isn't every 15 minutes going a little bit overboard??) Mollie sits up and askes "what was that?" So I told her there was a church with bells around the corner. Well let me tell you, from that moment on she was determined to see those bells! She talked me into walking the block and a half around the corner to see the building so I grabbed my keys, phone and flip-flops. Figuring we'd walk down and back and be done.... lol...

Mollie was absolutely fascinated with St. Madeline's and we spent a while walking through and taking in the beautiful stain glass windows, the intricate podium and, of course, the little baptistry area. Which Mollie was bright enough to inform me was just silly, why would you need to baptize a baby, they can't even swim! (which I figured was close enough) After we'd seen everything and were back outside she asked where the temple was. I said just a few blocks away and the next thing I know we're walking down to temple square!

We saw EVERYTHING! It was actually a lot of fun, most of the buildings I hadn't gone through and actually taken time to take a tour of in a long time. But Mollie she made us take ALL the tours and see ALL the videos in ALL the buildings. lol, it was a lot of fun. I kept thinking she'd get tired and want to stop, or that the hour long tour of the conference center would be boring for her, but I was gravely mistaken. She had more energy than I've ever seen a six year old have before! We even got to go on the top of the conference center, which I'd never done before, and see over the whole valley, including the planes landing at the airport.

After 4 hours of walking around, and after all the Sister Missionaries had called Mollie "the little star" or "superstar" at least twice each I told her we really had to go. That mom was probably going to think I'd kidnapped her and skipped the country by now. We still hadn't seen the Museum or Brigham Young's house so I promised we'd come back another day soon to do those. On the way home I asked her what her favorite part of the day was and guess what she said. "Pushing the buttons to cross the street" ... if I'd known that we could've just walked back and forth! lol. But later she changed her mlind to "the bell from the temple that blew up" (which, translated into six-ese means the origional Nauvoo bell.) All in all, it was an awesome day. And definately a favorite on the memory list. : )

Salsa Party

2008-09-12T12:20:00.006-06:00

So on Monday we were going to go to the fair... unfortunatly we ended up at the doctor's office instead. *sigh* Why? I'll bet you can guess! Yep, I got dehydrated AGAIN. I have issues with that. Water just tastes so nasty to me and I just don't enjoy drinking it in the slightest. But alas, if you end up at the doctor for two and a half hours instead of at the fair, your hubby starts pouring the stuff down throat. Something about not wanting to do that again... I dunno. I do know that I've had more to drink in the past 72 hours than I probably have had in the rest of my life combined! And it is getting slightly easier, but only slightly.

After the doctor we figured we go visit my family seeing as we were in the area and everything. We got there and lo and behold it was salsa night! We spent the whole night listening to music to loud for mom's comfort and slicing, dicing, and chopping vairous spicey veggies. So fun! Everyone should try it (and then let me taste thier creations!).

Wednesday we FINALLY made it to the fair! I look forward to it every year! Although growing up we were never allowed to spend money, just look around and "appreciate the art" or something like that. But now that I'm old(er) and married I got to play the games! Rodney won me a little black bear and I won me a purple teddy bear at Whack-A-Mole. My all time favorite game. I even, get this, did the super jump thing! I know, hold me back! (no really, do. My sweet husband seems to think I'll be doing more scary/dangerous/make you sick rides in the future. I'd appreciate a little support for my "no way jose" platform)

I tried really hard to do the flips and all that jazz, but I couldn't seem to make my body spin around like that. Rodney however looked like he'd been doing it all his life. Well, come to think of it, I think he has! We also had someone do one of those "charecter" picture things. (another silly little thing I've always wanted to do) He doesn't think it looks anything like him, but I still like it! Someday we'll have a really good one done, but it was still a fun fair momento!

Life Comes At You Fast, Be Ready With A Smile!

2008-09-12T11:56:00.007-06:00

So it's been CRAZY around here! Rodney and I moved at the beginning of September downtown to manage an apartment complex, aka for free rent. Well I kid you not, less than 24 hours after we signed the contract and started to move Rodney gets this phone call. I couldn't tell what he was talking about but when he got off the phone he had a "you're never going to believe this" look, which can be good and can be disasterous. Our Union Meadows manager lady had just called asking if we wanted a management position there. Heck yes we do!! Although things would have been ten times easier if we'd gotten the call the day before. lol, now we're living downtown for a month (without furniture cause it was too big of a hassle to move it all down and back) until the beginning of October and then we'll be back in the suburbs. Thank heavens!

I don't know how all y'all feel about the downtown life... I thought it would be fun... but I have officially decided I never ever want to do it again!! (which Rodney is eternally greatfull for seeing as his goal is a ranch in the middle of no man's land. I haven't quite gotten to that point...) I like being able to leave my car unlocked for two seconds to run back and grab something out of the house, or being able to take a walk in bare feet without fear of stepping on something nasty or being attacked, and I especially like being able to park wherever I dang well please without having to pay somebody 5 bucks. Stupid.

But all in all this month has been a great humbling and learning experience for both of us. No dishwasher will teach one super quick to do the dishes immediatly after eating, and I've never been so greatful for normal brown carpet. (ours is this rather terrible shade of forest green... with blue swirly tile in the kitchen and a pink bathroom! I think the designer was high.) And I've increased my directional abilities 10 fold in the past couple weeks. Thanks to getting lost for hours trying to find the bank, grocery store, WalMart, and let's not forget the freeway!

Also on the subject of new... I cut my hair! Well, more like chopped. It's so short! I was TERRIFIED about the whole ordeal but I think it turned out ok! I'll always like my super long beautiful hair better, but there comes a point when it's ridiculous to keep up. So I cut it short and now can grow it back out long... till it drives me crazy and I start the whole vicious cycle again! lol. What do you think? I need an opinion poll... mostly about the bangs....

Did I mention we also bought a new car? A Nissan Murano, 05. I LOVE it! Love love love! (and not just cause it's a beautiful burgandy color and has lots of big cup holders) I forgot to get a picture of it and am far to lazy to run out and take a picture now, so you'll all have to use your imaginations. Oh, and we did all of this, being the move, the car and the hair all in the same week. And what scared me the most? The hair of course. : ) Rodney thinks I'm nuts.

ACCAPELLASTOCK....Spelling anyone?

2008-08-29T20:53:00.008-06:00

Ever heard of Accapellastock? Neither had I until Rodney called me one day and told me he'd won tickets off the radio for it. But let me tell you... it was totally wicked!! We went with our friend Brandon (same one who just got home from his mission) and his date Zantha (who I guess he didn't actually know, but got set up with by his mom and sister. Ahh, don't miss those days!). I don't know if they had fun (they're both kinda quiet and didn't do much talking) but Rodney and I had a blast!

So we got there a little early and had to wait a bit... a long bit... before the show actually started. During which we got a little bored and Rodney and I (ok, mostly I) started playing with the camera. An excellent pass-time experience! Once it finally started it was amazing!! I didn't really know what to expect but apparently for the past couple years up at the Ogden ampitheater they get a bunch of accapella groups together for a big festival/concert. You know, like woodstock? Only with less children to show for it... This year they had T-minus 5, some group I can never remember but sounded something like FaTeSomething... (but of course they were my fav), High Definition, and RXP. Or was it RPX? Obviously I'm not the greatest at names, but they all were really awesome. High Definition tied thier whole segment into Star Trek which was hysterical! But of course my favorite part was when Rodney leaned over to me and asked why the one guy was talking so funny and I had to explain the Star Trek thing. (Which he'll probably kill me for telling you)

As great as that was by far the all time best beyond best part of the whole night was when the RXP/RPX/Origional Rocapella (for all those who don't know, cause I didn't) group preformed "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego"!!! I guess they were the ones who origionally sang it. I loved that show growing up! Totally made my night to hear that. Of course I visited my family the next day and those poor kids had no idea what I was talking about. They're so deprived.

Moral of the story is, all in all it was a great night! We even got to listen to Showtunes Saturday Night on the way home! : ) And we even stayed out until after midnight... watch out world! Well, that's about all I have to say. Ok, soo not true but that's all for today! There's a million things going on with life right now but I'll wait until we have a little bit of closure before telling you all about it! (I know you're on the edge of your seat with anticipation, but try not to fall off for a week or two and I'll be sure to write again and satisfy all your needs!) Till next time!

The End.

Yay! Water!

2008-08-12T14:46:00.007-06:00

So last summer some friends and I went floating down the Provo river and had a blast! This year I thought, let's do that again! Only this time it ended up being mostly family... which just goes to show how much I've matured and grown closer to my family in the past year, right? lol Anyway, on Saturday Colin, his roommate Rich, Eliza, Bethany, Brandon (high school friend who got home from his mission the day before, Rodney and I went for a little ride down the canyon. It was a blast!

Well, other than the FREEZING water, sunburns, and a few purple bruises when we got out. (luckily all of which I managed to mostly avoid!) There aren't really words to describe floating down a river other than to tell you I spent most of the time trying to avoid the trees, rocks and logs while Rodney spent a great majority of his time dragging me to catch up to everyone else. : ) But it really was lots and lots of fun, just take a look! (oh, we had water proof cameras, but apparently if they're wet the pictures seem to glow. That or Eliza just really is an angel!)

After going home to shower and rejuvenate some more energy, the sun'll soak it all right out of you, we all met back at my in-laws for smores and movie night. Now, let me tell you something about the weather that I've noticed. Mother nature is heaven's best source of humor. If you want it to rain it may threaten and get your hopes all up but not a drop will fall. But as soon as it's incredibly bad timing, that's when the thunderstorm hits! I'd been praying for rain all week long! I wanted to go play out in it so badly!! But of course it decides to pour right after I've taken a shower, dried off for the day, and am all psyched up about having a good fire and smore. Blast.

But the night wasn't a total loss! We ended up just eating the chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers plain and they were still delicious! Then we played Nerts. *shuddar* After playing with my Aunt who shall remain nameless (cough cough, Lani, cough cough) I had decided that, after Settlers of Catan, Nerts was the worst game in the whole world! My score was always negative and people were calling Nerts before I'd even counted out my 13 cards! (ok, maybe not that bad, but it adds to the dramatic effect) Saturday night I discovered my problem. I just need to play with people who haven't had the past thirty years to practice! In fact, playing that night I actually got to call out Nerts once! It was a miracle! Anyway, all in all it was a great day. Sorry the only pictures are from the river but we didn't think about a camera at any other point. Maybe next time!

The Zoo!

2008-07-29T16:30:00.012-06:00

Look at all these super cute pictures!!

Last weekend... or maybe the one before I'm not sure. Rodney and I took Mollie and Miranda to the zoo. Personally, I love the zoo all the time, but it's even better when you bring little kids! (they say Disneyland is the same way) When I went to pick them up I asked Mollie what animal she was most excited to see. She told me the white crocodile and from that moment on that's all we heard about! We got there and she grabs the map, opens it up and says "k, so where's the crocodile?" It was so cute! Of course when we got to the exhibit she wouldn't talk and was done seeing it in about two seconds.I tried to take a picture, but all you can see is my reflection in the glass!

I asked Miranda what her favorite was and she said "all of them". (Although we did get her to concede later that the spiders and snakes probably wouldn't make it to her top 20 list) Rodney was fascinated by the monkeys and I spent the whole day in awe of how fast the sun enjoys frying my skin. I don't know what I did in a past life to cause that big ball of gas to have such a vendetta against me, but within an hour I was the world's largest lobster. It's a miracle they didn't lock me up in an exhibit! ; ) Thankfully my wonderful husband bought me an over priced zoo hat which made things ten times better. I did learn that there are fish without eyes that glow on the bottom of the ocean and find their way around with their ultra sensitive skin cells. How cool is that??

M&M LOVED the train ride of course! And I must admit, although only 2 mins long, I thought it was pretty cool myself! They take you right inside the pens of buffaloes and other such large creatures. All in all, it was a great day! And the girls didn't even argue until the ride home! : )

And as a little side note, we had an awesome 4th of July! We spent the evening with our bestest friends Katie, Rob, and Lissy Lyn(the baby). Thanks to my mom for the coolest bow in my hair. : )

Home Sweet Home

2008-06-22T20:09:00.008-06:00

At the request of my dear Aunt Gay I took a couple pictures of my casa so you can all see where I live. (since family visitors seem to be in short supply these days... I'd have a party and entice you all over with food, but alas I have neither the food nor the space for such a thing.) Enjoy!

Who Woulda Thought?

2008-06-20T18:26:00.008-06:00

There is one thing in life that I have always said I do not have the ability to do, ok actually there are several, but one of the big ones is be artsy-craftsy. I just have never possessed that knack for looking at plain stuff and making it into cute stuff like my mom and the majority of women I know. But, dun da da dum, I did it! Truth be told I'm technically working on it, but it's coming along!! My mom is teaching me and Rodney is teaching me and I even tried some stuff on my own! (gasp!) Personally, I'm just so stinkin' proud of me that I just have to tell everybody, hence the blog! So here's what I've got so far...

Rodney took me on a date to "Color Me Mine" and this is what I made. Came up with the idea and the colors and everything all by myself!

Ok so my mom actually made the box part and covered it with cute paper and stuff (cause she's still WAY ahead of me in this game) but I did have the idea to stamp the letters on the side so I'm claiming partial credit.

Aren't these soo cool! I did that! Rodney taught me how to etch glass and I made these two plates. You can't really see so well in the pictures (if you leave the flash on it makes a glare but without it it's really hard to see. Apparently I'll have to take up photography next and figure all that out) but one is a lady with her dog reaching out to grab a star with the moon in the background (i did that one first) and the other is two jaguars and a flower. Next I'll learn how to use his etching drill, but I'm not quite brave enough for that one yet...

So we got these shadow boxes for our wedding and I have been trying to think of something to put in them every sense. Like seriously asking everyone what they thought and no one could give me any perfect ideas. Until Macall, Miranda, Mollie and Me went to Michaels the other day and they helped me find the perfect solution. Macall being the most help and Mollie and Miranda being the entertainment to keep spirits high. It can be frustrating trying to get ideas! You can't read them so great in the pictures but one jar says "hope is a waking dream" and the other says "dare to dream"
This is our table, I converted it into a craft table... I totally understand my mom's need for an entire room for her stuff now! Well, at least beginning to... Any who I also ground wheat to make my own healthy flour to make my own healthy bread. (we're trying this whole "be healthy" thing) I'm also doing some wood projects with my mom and some of her friends and they are super cute but my mom ran off to Cali and I have no idea where they are right now so I couldn't get a picture. I'll have to add one later.

We got this in the mail the other day, and thought it was pretty awesome! (and just a little bit funny!) This is one of Rodney's mission comps. The paper clip do-dad is the exact same as ours as is the ribbon (which means some other suckers had to tie hundreds of those things too!). Basically the biggest difference from ours is that the paper behind is green instead of brown. At least we know somebody liked our idea!

Moving On, Hopefully

2008-06-01T10:57:00.011-06:00

April 27th 2008 was when this whole nightmarish episode started and here it is June first and I am temptingly close but not quite all better. Goodness! So in my last post I was going back to work and life was all better again... or so I thought! Then we went into the ENT to see if I needed my tonsils out (ok, ok, Rodney and the doctor both knew I had to get them out, but I was clinging to some kind of hope that they'd taken care of themselves.) and, after having a camera shoved up my nose, found out that not only did I need my tonsils out but pretty much everything else in my head had to go too. (Rodney would like me to clarify that they did in fact leave my brain. Phew!) Well I went in for surgery the 23rd and spent the last week in bed feeling.... well, like someone played with knives in my face. But I'm almost better now and life is looking up! I'm able to talk some now and eat more mushy foods and should be able to go back to work, permanently this time, on Thursday.

I must say, I do have the best family and friends around. I don't think there was a single day after my surgery that I didn't have a friend come by to see how I was doing and make sure I didn't need anything. (although no one seemed to have the magic "cure all" pill I so desperately wanted) Katie and Lissy Lyn even came and stayed with me all day while Rodney was a work during the week. Signing so I didn't have to write everything out, which was a major blessing! And Rodney has been my knight in shining armor/Hercules hero through it all. He stayed with me night and day over memorial weekend and then rushed home from work every day since to be with me. Always making sure I had plenty of water, hugs, and applesauce to keep me going. : ) What more could a girl possibly ask for?

As for my birthday, sorry Gay, I didn't get around to taking any pictures of my cute apartment. Mostly because at this point it looks more like a rehabilitation center than a cute apartment. But as soon as I'm able I'll get it all cleaned up and post pictures for everyone to see! But my birthday was the best it could be all things considered! My mother in law came to visit me and my mom made me Alfredo spaghetti for dinner so I actually got to eat. Everyone has just been so wonderful to me. I can't help but be reminded of all the wonderful people God has blessed me with. I know that all trials are for our good, and lately I've been doing a lot of thinking as to what good this has done me and maybe that's it. To help me realize how much I have and how many people who love me I've been blessed with. (If only I'd been able to truly appreciate them all without so much pain involved. But I've never been one for learning the easy way) Anyway, I just want to let everyone know how much I love and appreciate all they are for me in my life. Regardless of if I get to see you daily, weekly, or only every year or so I'm grateful that I get to have you in my life!

Yesterday was Miranda's baptism, and luckily I was able to go! First of all, I can't believe she's 8 already! Only one more baptism in our family, wow! What are you going to do mom? All your kids are growing up! Miranda looked so happy and I was reminded of my own baptism, as I always am at others'. We lived in Chicago then and I remember inviting the world to come. I didn't realize back then that most of my friends weren't LDS and didn't have a clue what a baptism was, or at least why it was taking place when I was so old. I was just so excited about it that I thought everyone should be there! Looking back on that experience now, I realize that I should be more like that now. Celebrating the gospel with everyone we meet, not just those we think will understand already. Well, that's pretty much all I have to say for today. Hopefully my next post will be full of health and outdoor summertime adventures!

I Survived! I'm Gonna Live!

2008-05-13T12:54:00.005-06:00

Wow, it's already been a whole month since my last update! Let's see, what have I been doing... oh that's right, I've been down with mono. I woke up one night barely being able to breath with tonsils the size of bowling balls so Rodney rushed me to the ER. (after taking NyQuill which makes one very, very sleepy at one in the morning. If Rodney wasn't here to back up my story, I'd think I'd dreamed up the whole hospital trip) They did a rapid strep test, which took a "rapid" hour to tell me that I didn't have strep. But they started me on antibiotics anyway cause they were sure the long test would come back positive. Well, lucky me spent the next two days waiting without air and a fever of 102. Not my best moments... Well, when it came back negative Rodney took me to the regular doctor. (He really is the hero of the story, look at him taking such good care of me!) He tested me for mono, which came back extremely positive and gave me a cortisone shot. And might I add I didn't cry or scream during the blood draw or the massive shot. Go me! Anyway, I started getting better after that, but have spent the last two, almost three, weeks at home recuperating and going out of my mind with cabin fever. My mom says she wishes she could have a 3 week vacation from life all by herself, I'm thinking my idea of a vacation doesn't include thermometers, exhaustion or chicken noodle soup. On the bright side, I get to go back to work today! Finally! I can hear the hallelujah chorus! (although that may just be due to the fact it happens to be playing on my i-pod. What excellent timing!)

On a much happier note, it's almost my 21st birthday! Not that it actually makes a difference to me, but I do think it's strange that the government allows people to get married before they're allowed to drink. Weird. Anyway, I have this little personal tradition/quirk for celebrating my birthday. I like to spend the day doing all the random little (or big) things that I either didn't get around to during the rest of the year but wanted to or could never justify any other day of the year. Anyone have any good ideas? I'm already planning on going to a pawn shop (it's gonna be a blast!) but I'd love more suggestions and ideas!

Rodney started school yesterday. He's doing his generals at SLCC and is taking two classes this summer. You know, I almost miss school. Almost. Maybe by the fall I'll be actually missing it. I almost wish I'd paid a bit more attention in the classes I took while at the Y.... but then I remember all the fun I had instead! I'm hoping that by the time I miss it enough to go back being married will help with my motivation to study and do well. In the mean time, I'll get to help Rodney with his classes. Which, other than Math, I'll love! I learn cool stuff and never have to take a test on it. Isn't that how school should be?

Well, that's really all I have to say for now... guess I'd better go back to, well, to waiting for my work shift to start.

And Then There Were Two...

2008-04-13T13:12:00.013-06:00

Ok, ok, I give! After much nudging and slightly harder than gentle reminders I am updating my blog. And I do admit, updated it needs to be! Come to find out Sunday afternoons when you're not in school and not planning a wedding are much quieter and there actually is time to write a thought or two down. So, let's start at the very beginning shall we? I find it a very good place to start! (sorry, couldn't help myself...)

December 15, 2007
I got engaged! I know, you all probably know that by now... but the question is, do you know the story? Well, a couple friends and I were having a little get together for a Pre-Christmas Christmas. Exchanging gifts and eating food and all. (which I managed to poison the pancakes for, but luckily that's not what everyone remembers most about the day. Phew!) For weeks before everyone had been talking about Rodney's gift to me. Giving me stupid clues meant to drive me insane with curiosity, which worked perfectly, and being all cloak and dagger about everything going on. Now, in my defense Rodney had told me he wouldn't propose in front of anyone, that it probably wouldn't be until after the holidays were over, and had my friend take me out to look for rings just the night before. Hence, I thought the very last thing it could possibly be was a proposal... sneaky sneaky! Anyway, when it came time for him to give me my gift...well... watch the video and find out! : )
(video to be added soon...)

And here's the finished jewelry box!

March 13, 2008
I got married! Again, most of you probably know and were even there, but everyone loves stories! Ok, I lied, this section is actually mostly pictures but that's practically the same thing, right? That morning Rodney got to the temple at 7 in the AM and I made it at 8:15, seeing as we were suppose to be there at 8, I figure I was closer to being on time and that totally makes up for being late. (we're still working on having him buy it) Everything went wonderfully and smoothly! The ceremony was amazing and no one lost me in the temple. Which was my biggest fear so I was highly relieved! (it happened to my mother-in-law!) Outside for pictures was cold, but not unbearably so and the cloud cover made for excellent lighting for pictures.

We had our luncheon at Gardner Village and it was very tasty and nice. I don't know, what else do you say about luncheons? People said nice stuff about us, that's always nice! And Colin gave his official approval of our relationship, which was a relief seeing as we were already hitched for eternity. : ) And yes, Rodney really did start a minor food fight.... which I may have encouraged.

The reception was GORGEOUS! Kudos to my mom and her team of R.S. miracle workers for putting it all together! I always wanted to get married in the summer in a secret garden setting but the weather wouldn't really allow such a thing in March. Bummer. But the cultural hall was as close to the real thing as one could possibly get and it was amazing! My mom is wonder-woman. She even home-made eclairs for me since Rodney loves 'em and I hate the store bought kind. That's over 400 eclairs! Talk about crazy cool. Only hitch at our reception was that the car didn't get there until about 10:30, just before I actually decided I was walking to the hotel. We ended up being about the last ones to leave our own reception... but it was still wonderful! I'd thank all the people who helped individually, but I'm bound to forget someone so if you helped at all (and that includes showing up) Thanks!

April 13, 2008
Well, now I've been married a month already. Wow! One of my best friends is getting married this week and it doesn't seem like I've been married that long at all! It can't possibly be time for hers, can it? I realize that we've got a lot more time to learn and grow from each other, but it's amazing all the things I've learned so far! Here's a little list of the major ones...
1. There is twice as much laundry for 2 people as opposed to 1
2. There is no point or purpose in staying up past 9. 10 at the latest.
3. Being married makes babies look a hundred times more adorable...
4. Always buy parmesean cheese when it's on sale, and in bulk! (this mostly applies just to my particular husband)
5. There are only the slightest differences between boys and men. Age and height being the only two I've found so far... (And I wouldn't have it any other way)
6. Shoes and purses still manage to walk away and get lost even in a small apartment. (apparently it wasn't my siblings all those years)
7. There is a MAJOR difference between "paying bills" when single and actually paying bills.
8. Patience is a virtue. (one I'm eternally grateful Rodney has)
9. Never, under any circumstance do a load of whites and then try to take a shower. Unless you're the kind of person who enjoys ice baths.
10. I'm beginning to believe old folks may actually know what they're talking about...

Happy Days!

2007-11-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

In a desperate attempt to postpone starting on my next midterm paper, I realized I haven't posted anything in quite a while! Life has been, well, fun! (isn't it great to get to report that!) Other than school is still trying daily to kick my butt. But no worries, I'm winning! Lately I have been so impressed and blessed by my friends. I have the best ones in the whole world. (you may think you do, but i'm sorry, you're just wrong!) We have been up to the mountains to roast marshmallows, playing disney's seen-it (which I actually lost at! What is wrong with the world??), decorating cookies, going to comedy clubs, taking temple square trips, I mean come one, those are some good times!

And in even better news, my missionaries are starting to come home! (ok, so technically most of them are still the Lord's missionaries, but as soon as they get home I totally call posession.(sp?)) Rodney came home a couple weeks ago and Chad gets home in the next week or so. I honestly didn't believe that 2 years would actually pass... like ever. But, shocker, it's been two years! People really do come home from far away lands and go back to being normal boys! (now if I could find a way to make them become "perfect" boys....haha, that was funny Laralyn)

Well, that's basically all I have to say for today! I really should probably get to those midterms, but I have this loverly disillusion that if I ignore them they'll go away and get A's on themselves. Ah, wouldn't that be a perfect world!

Till next time, that's all folks!

My World Is Lonely. And Then Again, Not.

2007-09-22T22:44:00.000-06:00

So, first things firts. Scott and I broke up. Hence, the lonely part. But, before I get any sympathy comments, it's ok. Our relationship has been turning into more of a friendship for a while and it was finally time to stop pretending and move on. We are of course still going to be friends, but if anyone needs my number to give out feel free to call my mother! ; ) Actually, the other day a very hott man came to fix my water pressure and my roommates and I have been trying all day to find reasons to get him to come back!

Suprisingly, this blog actually isn't about break-ups or hott men. I know you're dissapointed, but I get the feeling you'll be over it quickly. It's actually about another light bulb going off in my head. Last night when Scott and I actually officially ended things between us I naturally was very upset. (I may be over it now, but it's been 24 hours. Two of which were spent therapy shopping at WalMart) After he left I naturally went inside to ruin any semblance of a figure I had left with whatever I could find in my cupboards and feel sorry for my poor self. I started thinking about all that I've lost in my life. Especially when it comes to people. As I've told many of you, being a 19 year old female living in Utah sucked rocks. (Forgive the language mom, but it is my blog) All my best friends left and my life went with them. Every guy I've ever dated is either long gone or just a friend now (which would explain why I'm not married) and my girl friends are all off getting married and having babies and doing that whole life thing. Needless to say, I was having myself a grand old pity party and feeding my depression by the spoonfull. Not my proudest moment.

Now, I like music. I like it a lot actually and rarely do anything without having something playing in the background, especially have pity parties. So my music was playing in the background during this time when a song by Rascall Flatts came on called "He Ain't The Leavin' Kind". I don't know if any of you are familiar with it, but here are the lyrics:

They tried their best to drag him outof a courthouse down in Montgomery

And now they wanna kick him out of school

And take him off our money

They can take those words off of

Paper and stone

But he ain't gone, no

Chorus:He ain't the leavin' kind

He'd never walk away

Even from those who don't believe

And wanna leave him behind

He ain't the leavin' kind

She stayed mad at him for a lot of years

For takin' her husband

Started losin' her faith

And thinkin' that her life meant nothin'

But when she looks at those kids she raised all by herself

She knows she had some help, yeah

She knows

No matter what you do

No matter where you go

He's always right there with you

Even from those you don't belive

And wanna leave him behind

He ain't the leavin' kind

No, noHe ain't the leavin' kind

He ain't the leavin' kind

Woo, woo

He ain't the leavin' kind

Well, the song played and I thought "Yeah, that's what I need to find. One who's not the leaving kind. Someone who is actually willing to stay and make things right even when it's not easy. Stupid men." (which was the sentence ending of choice for the night) And the music kept playing and I kept thinking. Well, the words kept coming back into my mind and replaying themselves over and over. I'm sure most of you caught onto who exactly the song is talking about the first time you heard/read it, but not me! I had to have a small lightning bolt hit me for me to figure things out. Christ. He ain't the leavin' kind. He is the ultimate relationship. Here I had been thinking of how picked on I was and how no one ever stayed around when things got rough and I'd neglected to remember the most important person. No matter what I've been through Christ has been there every step of the way. Not only every step, but even a step ahead. He is in control, He knows what's coming next and He knows what I need in order to be prepared. I have often envied my friends who come to BYU, meet the man of thier dreams right away, get married and live happily ever after while I'm still stuck in the awkward first dates/painful break-ups stage. But what I realized last night was that Christ knows what we each need. And He will walk with each of us down the paths we need in order to fulfill our purpose and mission here in life. I know, I know, everybody else got that one in primary school, but I apparently need to learn some things the calorie/tear filled way. (which is probably why I keep getting led down the rougher paths, I never did learn the easy way.)

In summary/ in conclusion/ what I basically mean to say is that I am so gratefull for my Savior. I am eternally indebted to Him for the countless hours and years that He stands by my side showing me the way I need to go. Holding me when I think I'm falling, catching me when I do fall and sometimes pushing me when I'm just to stubborn/terrified to move. I am thankful that even though He had completed His mission in life and the atonement has been fulfilled, He still does not rest. He is there helping me reach stars I'd always believed to be far and beyond my reach.

My Wonderful World Gets Invaded

2007-09-09T16:22:00.000-06:00

By who, you might ask? School. Happens every year. Not that this is a bad thing! This year I'm actually excited to be back in school (which if my 10 year old self ever heard me say I'd be disowned) and have my brain stop turning into mush. Saying "Auto Rx, this is Laralyn" for 9 months straight will do that to you, I promise! Classes are going to be actually interesting now that generals are done.I realize that there are some of you who actually enjoy things like science and I'm happy for you! I'm just completely relieved that I'm not that crazy! ; ) I'm taking a bunch of religion classes, a special ed class, and a "learning to learn" class (which is the one I really need most in life) so I should actually enjoy this year! Oh, and a music civlization class which I thought I was going to hate (it's at 9 am, can you blame me?) but am actually liking a whole lot so far! Although, that may just be because my professor has an australian accent, hmm...

Can I tell you what I'm really excited about? I actually have roommates that I get along with and like a lot! WOW! I was really worried at first, you see they all like wierd things like football and spongebob (shudder) but as I've gotten to know them better they are all really fun! Especially my room roommate, Missy. She has the same sarcastic humor as a lot of my friends growing up and we talk about deep stuff really easily. (and my deep, I mean boys) Another great thing, she thinks it's funny and doesn't mind a bit that I talk in my sleep! Every morning she wakes up laughing at some stupid thing I said in my sleep the night before. (apparently I speak French in my sleep, who knew?) So yeah that's all hunky dorey too!

So I've been thinking (a dangerous pastime I know). And I've decided something about conformity. First of all, it doen't exist so don't even try. (wow, so this is what philosophers must feel like while seriously stating the obvious and getting paid for it! Only, without the pay...) We were talking in my special education class about lables and grouping people. How people want to be "normal" or "popular" or whatever, when in actuality, none of those things exist. Odd huh? In high school you can totally get away with the belief that to "be like Mike" will make you happy and everyone will love you. When you get out into the "real world" (quotes in order seeing as I don't actually count Provo as the real world and that's the only place I've been) it's much more apparent that there is no Mike. Ha! Imagine that! You can be whoever you really are and people will like you! The only "unpopular" people in the world are those who are still chasing after that image. Those still trying to be the thinest cheerleader or the smartest bookworm.

So, after having that lightning bolt of inspiration I came up with another question. If there is no Mike, how do we know who to pattern our lives after? Who do we follow? We learn in church to become like Christ. This is all well and good, but that's not really what I'm talking about. We can be Christlike and end up a million different ways. How do we know what to do, how to act, what to be, where to live all that jazz? I love my parents dearly and the lives they've chosen for themselves are all well and good (and Christlike might I add) but not at all where I want to be. I would go INSANE if I lived in Utah with 8 kids. Well, actually I'd go insane if I lived anywhere with 8 kids, but that's beside the point. Back to how do we know what to do with our lives. This question really has been being buggy to me lately. And for those of you not yet fluent in "lynish" that translates into "causing much reflection and prayers". But I think I may have come up with the answer. I have decided the secret lies in the Patriarchal Blessing. Now I'm no expert on the subject and this is all the gospel according to Laralyn so don't shoot ok? But from my logic and reasoning I've decided that one of the main purposes of the Patriarchal Blessing is to not only give us direction in our lives, but help us see the Mike we can be. I don't know about all of you, but I definatly don't read my blessing and go "Aww man! Do I really have to be that person? I dont' want to do all that stuff. Shoot" it's more along the lines of "Are you serious? Could that possibly be me some day? I could think of nothing better!" Christ knows our hearts, minds and souls. He knows more than anyone who we can and would want to be. And by having Patriarchal Blessings He is giving us a role model. A Mike for our lives who we actually can be. The perfect version of ourselves for this live. An attainable perfection. The ultimate popular you. Dang. That's pretty cool. At least, it is to me. Don't know if it even makes sense at all to anyone else... oh well! It's my blog!

Anyway, it's time now for me to go try to be domestic and cook dinner. (Hey! Hey! Stop that giggling right now!)

Welcome to the wonderful world of Me!

2007-07-24T15:17:00.000-06:00

Ok, so here I go... following in my mother's footsteps and blogging! From what I've seen so far there are two kinds of blogs. First being the spirtual, uplifting, deep thinking blogs about the meaning of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Second being the ramblings of daily life as seen through the eyes of those of us who don't think deep enough to have any kind of hope of being twinkled in this life. Though it may surprise some of you, this is going to be a blog of the latter variety. (although I am using my biggest words to make me sound more like the first!)

For those of you of whom I haven't seen in years (which is probably my fault so i'm sorry!) I finally turned 20! I'm living at home at the moment and working for Larry's company for the summer. (Love Larry, love the people, hate the cubicle) But in a month I'll move back down to Provo to start back in school fall semester. As for my love life I just want to say don't believe a word my mom posts! I'm not as insane as she makes me sound, I think... : ) I am dating a wonderful guy named Scott Wendler who's almost 25 (which, by the way is so old!) and going to UVSC and getting a degree in something. It falls into the same category as my dad's job, I've had it explained to me half a million times in half a million ways, but I'm just never going to completely understand! As far as I can tell he wants to manage a fire station, so we'll go with that! (and just for the record, although it may not look like it, he does weigh more than me! Not by much... but every pound counts!)

Uh oh, I'm through all the generic "welcome talk to the ward" material! Now what? I could tell you all about all the things I love most in life like purple phones, chicken nuggets, speeding, and warm thunderstorms (which I think I see one coming out the window! yay!) but then you'd have no motivation to come hang out with me or invite me to your house for dinner! (cough, Kerri, cough, cough) So I guess I'll end here! Umm... bye? Sianora? Hasta? Call me? Whatever, love ya bye!

2007-07-09T21:56:00.001-06:00

Hola, Paco!