The Zoo!

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

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?

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

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!

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...

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...