Forsyth Fam

Zack's 1st day of preschool

2011-10-10T14:49:00.004-06:00

Zack has been asking for months if he can go to school. So we decided that it would be a good idea for him socially, and signed him up! His first day of school was October 4th. He goes every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:45-12:00. He loves it and is doing so great!!

Rodeo season

2011-07-28T08:17:00.003-06:00

I won some tickets to see the Days of 47 Rodeo this year, so we took Jared's dad and the four of us went. It was fun to see Zack get so excited throughout the rodeo... mainly for the popcorn that Jared bought him! But at the end when the motorcycles came out, Zack REALLY got excited!! After the rodeo I asked him what his favorite part was, and he said, "the motorcycles". Well, we know not to waste our time at the rodeo next time with him, and skip right to the end! :)
The next week, we went with Jared's whole family to the Odgen Rodeo. It was a fun time to go with the whole family, but me being almost 8 months pregnant and sitting on a hard bleacher in the heat, wasn't so fun. Oh well!!

Potty Trained!

2011-07-28T08:11:00.004-06:00

On July 18th, we started to "officially" potty train Zack. I say officially because I had made a weak attempt several months ago and it tanked! So I got prepared this time, read up on methods, and got started.
Had I known Zack was so ready to just do it, I wouldn't have stressed so much! He did great!!! I would say he was trained within 2 days. We only had about 3-5 accidents the whole first week (and he wears his underwear at night with ZERO accidents), so I am happy!!

Farmington Festival Days 2011

2011-07-16T11:22:00.003-06:00

On the 9th of July, Farmington had their festival days. Jared started the morning out by running the 5K. I was sad I couldn't run with him this year, but we were glad to be there to cheer him on!

After that, we went to the parade. Zack loved it, and came home with a lot of candy! Later that afternoon, we went to walk around the booths (and Zack got to pet a goat). That night, we were planning on going to the fireworks, but Zack kept saying he just wanted to go home and go to bed! So we did some sparklers for him and called it a night.

4th of July

2011-07-05T16:29:00.004-06:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Once we got Zack's birthday celebrations out of the way, it went right into patriotic/family-filled fun!
On Saturday the 2nd, Jared and I went with his family to Boondocks. It was a lot of fun to take Zack on a couple of things before we left to go with my mom and Becky to Stadium of Fire!! Yay! We first stopped off at The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner, then onto the stadium. It was a lot of fun to see David Archuleta and Brad Paisley sing, as well as seeing the skydivers, the jets fly by, and of course the fireworks!

A little bit of David Archuleta singing the National Anthem on the big screen while the jets fly over!

Sunday night we visited at my grandma's house for a little while and went back to Jared's parents house to finish the night off. Jared and Zack slept out in the big tent with everyone, while I enjoyed my own bed. :)

The next morning, I had my traditional chocolate milk and donut (Seriously, I don't know how many years we've done that now, but it really is a tradition!). Then we had a big breakfast with Jared's fam, went to the Kaysville Parade, came back and did some water games, had a big BBQ for dinner, and then did fireworks. To say it was a long day is an understatment! We had a lot of fun, but we were pretty tired. Love the 4th though!

Zack's 3rd Birthday!

2011-07-02T07:09:00.000-06:00

Happy 3rd Birthday to my little Zack!! He was SO excited for his birthday this year (Literally months before, he was already telling me what he wanted!), which made me more excited for it too.
Thursday night after he went to bed, we put together his new bike and decorated our house with some balloons and crepe paper. On Friday morning, we were coming downstairs and he saw the bike and went running! He started yelling, "my Lightning bike, my Lightening bike". He loved it... oh yes, we got him a Lightening McQueen bike!

After that, we took him to see Cars 2 in the movie theater. He did pretty well through it, but the movie got a little long for him (and even me!). Later that night, he had all of his cousins come over for cake and ice cream and swimming. He always seems happiest when he is with his cousins playing!
He had a fun day, I think!

Diggers!

2011-06-30T14:36:00.000-06:00

Zack's favorite thing right now are "diggers" (or construction trucks of all kinds)! To prove this, he can tell you almost every different type of digger there is. For example, we were driving one day, and I said to Zack, "Look! There's a backhoe." Zack replied, "Silly Mom, that's a front end loader!" NO JOKE!! He loves them! We will drive out of our way so he can see them, we will go on walks so he can watch them work, and we always have to look at them in the store. So for literally months before his birthday, he has been asking for "lots and lots of diggers"!!

He got some diggers for his birthday and wanted to take a nap with them... I came in later to find he had put them under his blanket with him!

The month of June

2011-06-30T14:17:00.000-06:00

Summer finally came!! A quick recap of our month:
Since it finally started warming up, we played a lot outside and with friends. Zack and I have been doing play dates with Ashley and Sam, but this month we started doing weekly dollar movies and playing outside in the pool! So much fun for the kids and the moms!

Jared and I painted our bedroom this month too. We had painted our wall black a few years ago (can't find the picture to prove it!) and decided it was time for a change. So we went green! I went out on a limb and paired the green wall with accents of yellow and navy blue. Random! But, I like it and will keep looking for more accessories!

We went to West Fest also this month. I haven't been to West Fest for so many years, and it was kind of fun to go! We got to see Peter Breinholt sing, Zack ate a corndog and got to go on a ride (which he LOVED!), and we watched fireworks. Fun and cheap family night!

Memorial Weekend 2011

2011-06-06T08:33:00.006-06:00

We were able to go to St. George for Memorial weekend (shocker, right?!). What a fun time as usual! We left Thursday afternoon, so we had 4 full days there.
On Friday, I took some pictures of Talon, Amanda and Talon, and a few of Beck. After that, we did a little shopping and lunch, then took the boys to a splash park. They LOVED that!! Talon and Zack were little buddies this trip... Zack would just do his thing and Talon would follow him and copy what he was doing! So cute!

Friday night we ate at Mongolian BBQ (one of our favs there) and then went to Swig. Swig was a new thing for us, and we LOVED it! They are a little shack-type thing that serves drinks, shaved ice, and shake type stuff. YUM! We took those to the park while the boys played.

Saturday we loaded up and went to Vegas. This trip to Vegas was really fun! We did some different things we had never done before. We first went and saw the Las Veags Temple. WOW!! It was really a spectacular temple! It was really cool to see that. After walking around the grounds, we went to lunch at Chevys Fresh Mex. Again, yummy! We walked around a mall there (They are so much bigger than the ones here in Utah!) and then did a quick stop on the strip so Jared could see some of the new architecture there. Then we came home. Easy, fun, yet still tiring day!!

Sunday we went to church with my mom. And then later that night we all went to Amanda's house for dinner. Again, really yummy!
Monday was Memorial Day. We had a BBQ with, you guessed it, the yummiest food (Can you tell I like food? Or that I'm pregnant and like food?!). After that, we walked around some stores and then took the boys back to the splash park for more fun! Later that night, we walked around a cemetery (which was really nice) and then fed the ducks. It was a fun day!

Tuesday we packed up and drove home. Here's to another awesome weekend in St. George!! Thanks to my mom and Beck for letting us stay with them, and to Amanda, Talon, and Charlie for all they did for us too!

U2 Concert

2011-06-01T07:31:00.000-06:00

On May 24th we went to the U2 concert at Rice Eccles Stadium. We stopped with some friends at Cafe Rio before the concert, then took Trax to the stadium. FUN! We've had these tickets for over a year (rescheduled concert), so we... especially Jared was SO anxious and excited to go. U2 did not disappoint!! Their stage was incredible, to say the least. It was giant! They were a fun group to watch, the music was good, and the atmosphere was great (no rain for once)! The Fray was the opening act and they were awesome too!

Zack

2011-04-28T16:33:00.004-06:00

I wanted to take some new pictures of Zack, so today we ventured out! Zack just wanted to play the whole time, but it was nice to just get outside and enjoy a little Spring weather.

It's officially a boy!

2011-04-28T16:22:00.002-06:00

Jared and I think from this fuzzy profile picture of the baby, that he looks a little like Zack...

We had our big ultrasound yesterday, and the doctor confirmed that it is 100% a boy! Everything looked right on track and the baby looks good! We are so excited!! Due date is September 9th, so just over halfway through now (assuming everything goes "normal" this time around!).

Easter Fun 2011

2011-04-26T14:46:00.008-06:00

Easter was so much fun for us this year. On Saturday morning, we went to Smith's grocery store for their "egg hunt"/candy run! We did this last year, and were so excited when they did it again. They have different areas of the store sectioned off for different age groups, then line the aisles with TONS of candy and some eggs. Zack had so much fun, and we came away with plenty of candy!

After that, we went to Barnes Park in Kaysville for their egg hunt. This was our first time going here, so we didn't know what to expect. They had four different baseball diamonds for different age groups, then scattered eggs, candy, and toys throughout the whole thing! CRAZY!!! There were a lot of people there too, but we still made out with a lot of treats! A guy timed the hunt and said the whole thing was done in four minutes... WOW!

We came home and colored our eggs, tradition that this year maybe went a whole five minutes long with Zack's excitement.

Then on Sunday morning, the Easter Bunny came and brought a few toys and treats for Zack. Church was great, as always, and we all dressed to match (not the best pictures to prove that, but we got the idea!)!

We couldn't get a decent family picture, but this one, funny as it is, was our favorite!

Sunday night we were with Jared's family, where there was yet another egg hunt with even more candy to add to our already large bowl! What a fun couple of days for Zack and us!

Zack's GQ look!

Zack is amazed by me, what can I say?!

Piano Recital

2011-04-15T14:38:00.000-06:00

After teaching piano lessons for almost two years, I finally had a piano recital on the 13th of April. I was really nervous and had no idea what I was doing!! So with the help of my favorite mom (my aunt helped with suggestions too!), I was able to put one together. It went really well. I had eight students and one mom that played in the recital.
I'm glad I did it! And I'm glad it's over :)

My cute neice Jacie playing in the recital

The Spirit of God

2011-04-10T12:36:00.003-06:00

Melt my heart!! This morning Zack and I were listening to FM100.3 to their Sunday Sounds when "The Spirit of God" came on by the Mormom Tabernacle Choir. It was the same version done in General Conference a week ago. Zack immediately stopped what he was doing and turned to me and said, "Mom, it's on the radio!" He was so excited to hear it! It brought tears to my eyes to think that my little two year old boy remembered hearing that song during conference, and that even though he wouldn't sit still for the sessions, he still heard something!
What a testimony to me once again about General Conference and our prophets!!

Pics of Zack

2011-04-04T15:25:00.006-06:00

Zack got new Thomas the Train PJ's and wanted his picture taken in them! Zack has been wanting me to take his picture lately! He used to run away when the camera would come out, so I am trying to take advantage of him wanting his picture taken. Whenever I have wanted him to smile for the camera, of course I would say, "Say cheese!" Well the other day, he's waiting for me to take the picture and he says, "cheese and crackers!" I have no idea who he heard that from, but I LOVE it!! And I get cute, silly, and fun smiles/faces from him now. My mom would be so proud to see he likes the yellow gloves! He loves watching the neighbors outside

Sisters visit!

2011-03-27T19:06:00.000-06:00

My two sisters were in town for a weekend, and so I took advantage of any time I could spend with them while they were here.
We started out Friday night at my dad's house for a combined birthday party for Amanda and Talon. It was a lot of fun to all be there together! And of course, we had yummy food to add to the fun!

The next day we took all the kids to Discovery Gateway. It was a first for all of us, and they all seemed to love it. I think the thing they all loved the most was the freedom to run around and do anything they wanted! Everything was super kid friendly for all of the different ages we had (even the oldest had fun!), so it was great to see them enjoy themselves.

Later that night we ate at The Old Spaghetti Factory! My FAVORITE!!! It was so delish and a fun way for us to part ways again! :) Miss them already...

Eye surgery #4 and #5

2011-03-24T18:58:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm back into the surgery mode apparently! I knew that I would have another surgery to have the silicon oil removed and an artificial lens put in, but I didn't know that I would be back for another one in a week and a half!
So #4 surgery went well. I went in for that one on March 11th. I asked the doctor before surgery if I would be finally able to see out of my left eye and he told me not for awhile. So I expected not to see anything.
I went in for the usual one week appointment after surgery, and the doctor came into the office and asked if I could see anything out of my eye. When I told him no, and that it was completely black now, he said that wasn't a good thing. Needless to say, that's where I ended up back in surgery less than a week later, on March 23rd, for a detached retina.
The dr. also told me that he has only seen 2 other people have to have the oil put back in their eye, and I was the third. Yay for my odds, right?!
So at this point, all we can do is wait and 'see' if it will work. Ugh.

Disney on Ice

2011-03-10T18:51:00.001-07:00

My sister won tickets to Disney on Ice and let us go with her and her family. We are so happy she invited us (THANKS AGAIN!). We had such a good time! Zack absolutely loved it, and like a lot of things, he keeps asking if we can go again. It was a lot of fun to go with my nieces too! They are so funny!

Zack's first time bowling

2011-02-26T16:53:00.001-07:00

We had a family night where we took Zack bowling and then to dinner. To say he loved bowling is an understatement!! We all had so much fun, and he asks all the time now if we can go again. Haha, he even beat Jared's score!! And honestly, Jared was trying! Too fun!

February Fun!

2011-02-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

We had a busy and crazy February, with not many pictures to go with it. SAD! But to do a quick recap...
We were able to go to a friend's cabin for a weekend, and that was a lot of fun! We went got to go on snowmobiles for the first time (yay!), we took Zack sledding, and we just relaxed a lot. I am seriously so mad at myself for forgetting my camera that weekend, since it was a lot of firsts for all of us. Either way, it was a fun time!
For Valentine's Day, we took Zack out to dinner with us, and then to Toys R Us where he picked out a new tool! He loves his tools, so it was a fun time for him!
Then we were able to go to St. George to visit the fam and also go to the Parade of Homes. There are always a lot of fun homes there, so we were glad for the time away, and just to have an extra excuse to go south!

Monster Truck Show

2011-01-14T16:34:00.002-07:00

For one of Jared's Christmas presents, I gave him tickets to the Monster Truck Show. I had never been before, but Jared said they were fun. So we went on January 7th, and besides the loudness and smell of exhaust, it was a lot of fun!!! We'll probably take Zack next year.

December/Christmas Fun!

2011-01-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well it's time to post Christmas!
What a fun time we had in December this year! We kept busy with family and friends and just being the three of us! Some of the things we did through December were the Festival of Trees, Christmas party with friends, one with Jared's family, one with our townhome community, and one with our ward. Zack got to sit on Santa's lap at a couple different places. I also played the piano for the Christmas choir program again this year (a lot of time and work, but always worth it in the end.).

For Christmas Eve this year, we took Zack on the Frontrunner train downtown and then took Trax into Temple Square to see the lights. We all loved that! It was such a fun night together, and Zack LOVED the train!!

Christmas morning we opened presents from Santa, and it was such a blast having Zack so excited to FINALLY open presents (He was so patient all through Dec. seeing them under the tree.)! After that, we went to Jared's parents house for the usual brunch and gifts. Following that we went to my grandparent's house to visit them for Christmas.
My mom and sister's were able to come from St. George over the New Year holiday, so it was fun to spend some time with them, even though most of them were sick!

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandpa!

2010-12-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

I love this picture of him... having Christ in the picture with him describes him well!

On December 2nd my Grandpa Black turned 90 years old!! What a sweet and cute old man he is! I have some really fun memories of him and have looked up to him and his example for so many years. It was so fun to be able to celebrate his big day! There was an open house for him on December 4th, and it was great to see all people who came to show their love.

Thanksgiving in St. George!

2010-12-02T15:41:00.005-07:00

We got to go to St. George for Thanksgiving this year, and what a fun time we had! It was still cold there, but nothing like what home was, so we were happy to be warmer. We left on Tuesday and just played and got ready for the big thankful day! Thanksgiving dinner was super YUM (thanks Mom and Jo for the yummy-ness!) and after dinner we went to see "Tangled". What a cute movie. Could be one of my fav's from Disney for a while now too.

Then onto Black Friday! This is always a highlight for all of us!! Jared, Beck and I went to the Walmart midnight sale. WHAT A JOKE!!! St. George is not the place to shop BF for sure. Lots of people (and I know what a lot of people are, but this was bad!). Then we were going to go to Target, but after seeing Walmart, we were done for the night (LAME, right?!). But we were up early and out the door and were still successful.

Later Friday night, we went to the St. George Temple for a little devotional type thing and lighting of their lights. That was really fun to be there for that.

Then on Saturday night we went to Tuachan to see their lights, go on a little train ride, see Santa, and a live Nativity. HIGHLIGHT of my Christmas so far (And yes, it's only the 2nd of December, but it will be a hard one to beat!). What a fun time... Zack and Talon loved the lights, seeing Santa, and the train the best! What a great way to get into the Christmas holiday spirit!!

THANKS FAM FOR EVERYTHING... I LOVE YOU ALL!

Halloween and a 3rd eye surgery!

2010-11-19T15:11:00.004-07:00

I love Halloween! Every year we have my family over for a Halloween party, and every year it seems to get more and more fun for me! And it was super great that all the fam from St. George was able to make it too!!!
We had such a good time taking Zack and Talon trick or treating too. It was raining the whole time, but the boys had a blast. I am bummed we didn't get any pics of trick or treating, but with the rain and cold, we did what we could. Oh, and Josh dressed in all black with a scary mask and scared people at our door... hahaha! FUNNY!!

Jared didn't want to dress up this year (BOO!)

Also while my fam was here, I felt like my eye was looking a little funny, so I went into the dr. to have him check it out, and sure enough... I was told I was going back into surgery because the retina detached AGAIN! So the following week (Nov. 5th) I went in. This time around, I was in surgery longer and I woke up feeling pretty out of it. It's been pretty sore and red (as usual), but we're hoping this is the last of the detaching! For sure there will be at least one more surgery (possibly more), but those are the 'positive' kind (if that makes sense!). So let's all cross our "eyes" for me this time!!

Birthday, 2nd eye surgery, & Florida!

2010-10-25T13:47:00.000-06:00

So I am finally in my late twenties! ;) I turned 28 on the 7th and had a great day! I went shopping and to lunch with my sisters-in-law and then Jared, Zack and I went out to dinner and ice cream for dinner. YUM!
The next day I went in for my second eye surgery. My retina was detached after 3 weeks, so 4 weeks from the first surgery I went back in. This time around it wasn't as bad, but still not fun. There were even a couple of nurses that remembered me (SAD!). Either way, with this surgery, the dr. took the gas bubble out of my eye and put in a silicone oil... which means that the Florida trip was back on!
SO Saturday we left for Florida!! Woohoo!!

The plane ride wasn't too bad for me thanks to Jared for helping with Zack so much. I was obviously super tired from surgery and was able to sleep part of the way. Zack loved the airport/airplane, so that was a fun start to our trip. Sunday we just hung out at the house and had a casual day (much needed!).
On Monday we headed to Epcot. This was totally different than I imagined, but was pretty fun too. So many cool things to see and eat there!

Tuesday we went to the Magic Kingdom! Obvious favorite here. It was so much like Disneyland that it felt like we kind of knew where to go, so that was nice. But the best part of this day for me was when we got to go the "Not so scary Halloween Party" that night. We all got to trick or treat around the park, we danced with Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye, we walked onto ANY ride we wanted, and we got to see a fun villian parade. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me!

Wednesday we took a break and went to the beach. Say no more, I'm happy as can be! I loved watching Zack in the sand. He was in heaven!!

Thursday we went to Animal Kingdom. Again, not what I had imagined it would be, but still a lot of fun for the kids. Ooh, and we went to Chevy's for dinner without the kids that night... YUMMM!!

Friday we went to Hollywood Studios. I personally am still a bigger fan of Universal Studios, but this was a great Disney version. It was fun to see some shows and have a slower day.

Saturday we went back to the beach because everyone had so much fun. It was a great way to end the trip... most of us coming back with sunburns! :)

CRAZY September 2010

2010-09-30T18:17:00.003-06:00

Well, September was not my favorite month this year :)
My mom decided a little while ago to try and sell her house and move to St. George (A long time dream of hers!). Well good news for her, she sold it and moved on the 11th! I'm so happy for her, but man I miss her!!

Also, I had been having some random things going on with my eyes for a few weeks so I went in for a check up. The doctor I went to did the exam and told me that my retina was detached in my left eye and sent me to a specialist for surgery! Wow... so I went to the specialist who actually said that both my left AND right eye had detached retina's and I would need surgery on both eyes. So on the 10th of September I went in for surgery. I must say, I didn't like it!!

My right eye was pretty minor, only needing some laser repair. So that eye was good to go after a day or so. My left eye not so much. They went in and made my eye look like "hamburger" (That's what the dr. actually said! Haha, right?!). Not too pretty... swollen, red (not pink) and blurry. They put a buckle around the eye, and also put a gas bubble in the eye to help hold the retina in place. Good news for that is that it will go away in about a month or so and I'll start to see again. Bad news is no flying (or really any traveling) while that's still there. Oh wait, our trip to Florida is on Oct. 9th! Doesn't look too good for me :)
Whoosh! Onto something fun!! My sister, Amber won tickets to the Brad Paisley concert and took me along. This ended up being one of my favorite concerts too! We had FANTASTIC seats! 2nd row, center stage... no complaints! We had an unfortunate drunk guy bug us for awhile, but once he was gone, the concert only got better and better! Thanks sis!

AUGUST FUN

2010-09-01T17:49:00.001-06:00

Where are the days going?! August FLEW by this year for me. It started with a lot of fun when my nephew turned one year old!! YAY! He had a great birthday party too. They rented a huge blowup movie screen and had an outside movie night. Lots of fun there!

Then on the 12th my mom had her birthday. She turned 29 yet again, but man she looks good for her age, right?! Needless to say, she's not big on birthday's, so we kept it pretty low key for her sake!

On the 19th Bitty Sue turned 19! What a fun time that was too. My mom and I were able to sneak away for a weekend and visit the girls down south (we missed Ams though). As per Becky's request, we spent her birthday in Vegas. Man, that was a lot of fun to just go around and shop and not have to worry about having the stroller with us :)

Then on the 23rd, we took Zack out for a little family night to the Bee's game. He LOVED watching baseball... in fact, ever since that game, his favorite song is "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and gladly will sing it at the top of his lungs in the middle of ANY store! Good times there...

Zack showing us his teeth.. and being a little creepy!

Rodeo

2010-07-21T14:54:00.002-06:00

We went with Jared's family to the rodeo in Ogden on July 20th. It was a lot of fun to take Zack because he has really loved spending time with Jared's dad's horse, so he was in heaven seeing all the horses (and being able to sit with his grandpa) during the show. Besides that, who doesn't like to sit on hard wooden bleachers for a little over 3 hours straight watching guys throw themselves off of bucking horses?! Yeehaw!

Farmington Festival Days

2010-07-12T14:40:00.002-06:00

On July 10th, I ran my second 5K! This year I ran solo and was determined to make myself complete it. Not saying that last year was very great, but I was able to run this race 13 minutes faster than the last race. So YAY for me, right?!

After the run, we went to the Farmington parade. You would think we love parades, but really, they are just so much more fun when you have the little kids. I liked this parade better than the bigger Kaysville's one too.

Later that night we went to Farmington Pond Park with some of our friends and neighbors for a picnic and fireworks. Lots of fun with all of them!

4th of July weekend!

2010-07-06T14:16:00.002-06:00

On the "4th" this year, we spent the day with Jared's family. We woke up early and went to his parent's house for a big breakfast. Yummy way to start the day out. Then we went to the big Kaysville parade. It was really long, but we had a lot of fun. Later that night we had a big BBQ and did some fireworks. I don't think I could have eaten another thing all weekend long (there was SO much food all day)!

Then on Monday the 5th, we started out the morning with my family at Copperton Park for another yummy breakfast! After that, we went back to my mom's house for some swimming (It wasn't the warmest day in July, but we made the best of it.). Fun filled weekend!

St. Croix, Virgin Islands!

2010-06-17T18:08:00.012-06:00

OK, the lucky streak in my family has finally caught up with me! On June 5th (Saturday) around 7:00 AM, I called into KBULL93 to try and win "Eclipse" movie tickets. *Quick side note, I usually don't try for things unless I really want it!* Anyway, I was the right caller and won my movie tix! YAY!
So the DJ says, "listen Monday morning at 7:15 for your chance to win a trip to the Virgin Islands..." Then after being on hold he says, "actually listen at 8:20 for the trip." OK, so Monday comes around and I thought 8:20 was a weird time to do a trip, so I was listening at 7:15 just in case. Sure enough, the trip was given away at 7:15, only to someone else! DANG! So I called Jared to tell him we weren't going. I get going with my morning and randomly at 8:20 I hear my name on the radio! I wasn't paying close enough attention to really hear what they were saying it for, but I guessed if you hear your name on the radio, it has to be a good thing, right?! Anyway, when I called Jared I was pretty much freaking out so he didn't really understand what was going on!! :)
Once I got all the details, they said we were leaving that coming Friday! WHAT?! I just won a free trip and I don't have to wait forever before leaving? SWEET!
So we took Zack to Jared's parents house Thursday night because our flight left SLC at 11:45 PM. We got to NYC (That was torture, for anyone that knows my previous struggles getting to NYC!) at 6:00 AM. Left NYC around 9:00 AM and flew to St. Thomas, arriving about 1:30 PM. Waiting there, we took the smallest plane at about 3:00 PM to St. Croix, and getting there around 3:30 PM. LONG day of flying and waiting!

ANYWAY, once we got to our hotel, I was in heaven! Our room opened right up onto the beach, and it was gorgeous there!! Friday night we were so tired that we went to a little pizza place they had, walked around the hotel area, and ended up falling asleep by 8:00 that night.

Saturday we decided to take a taxi to a town there called Christiansted. It was so interesting to see how different things were there. So beautiful in so many ways too. Lots of different colors of buildings (totally run down), laid back people not in a hurry to go and do all day, and just plain amazing ocean views!

Later that afternoon, we were able to go sailing on a sunset cruise. WOW again!! The people we were with were a little less than fun (MAJOR drunk!) but the water and sky were breathtaking. After sailing, we went back for a little swimming in the pool.

Sunday we decided to go snorkeling at Buck Island (I guess it was made a National Park too.). That was easily the highlight of our whole weekend! The beach literally was out of a magazine gorgeous. The water felt like a bathtub it was so warm and calm, and the snorkeling was the coolest! I don't even know how else to describe it. All I can say is if you are ever in the mood for snorkeling, and you want a good place to go, THAT is the place!

Jared did a little snorkeling with his wallet! Oops!!

Monday we came home... only that was the longest day ever! All the flights were delayed, and we didn't get home until 1:30 AM. Ugh... I'm good to go on the flying for a little while :)
YAY for a free trip though!!!!

Memorial weekend

2010-06-04T13:28:00.006-06:00

It's becoming a tradition very quickly... anytime we have an extended holiday weekend, we most likely will be found in St. George! No complaints here though!!!

We went to George Thursday afternoon with my mom, and almost instantly Zack got sick. BUMMER PART OF THE WEEKEND. Anyway, we hung out at Amanda's house that night and mostly just visited. The best part about her house is that she has a perfect little backyard that we just sat outside and talked. Perfect weather to go with it too, until those dang sprinklers turned on on us! :)
Also that night, Josh and Amanda were "sharing" those really gross, nasty jelly beans. Jared graciously took the black bean, which could have been either black licorice or skunk spray. He got the skunk and seriously he smelled terrible after that! I went with the one that ended up being pencil shavings. In comparison to skunk, it seems so mild, but I am here to tell you that I will NEVER eat another trick jelly bean again in my life! Just chewing that dang thing, the texture actually turned into pencil shavings!! Needless to say, I was awake a lot in the night feeling like I was going to throw up.

Ugh, onto better things! Friday, Amber and her kids came. While everyone was at work, we took Zack to the dr. to make sure he didn't have anything major going on (since he was having some really high temperatures, coughing, runny nose, throwing up, etc.). It was nice to hear that he had broncitis, but not fun because there is no meds to help it go away faster. Oh well, he's better now :)

Saturday we did a little swimming, shopping, golfing (Jared), Pizza Factory (a fav!), and visited Beck at her new job, The Sweet Tooth Fairy! YUM! Busy day.
Sunday we did church and then that night had a picnic. Monday we mostly hung out until we decided we should head home again. Hardest part about the weekend... time always goes so fast!

PS - Zack was in LOVE with Charlie!! He would run around the house constantly saying "Arlie, Arlie, etc." It was so cute. Then Tuesday morning when we were home and he woke up, he immediately was looking for "Arlie". Then on Wednesday when I heard him wake up from his nap, he was calling for "Arlie" to come! So cute! He loves Chars! wink, wink!

Spring is here

2010-05-05T14:10:00.005-06:00

This summer looks to be a fun one for us! With Zack getting bigger and wanting to be a big kid, we find ourselves trying to let him explore a little more. We went on a picnic one night when Jared came home from work and let Zack feed the ducks. He was so funny trying to chase them around! He also loves the playgrounds too!

We also took him to Gateway (OK, it was for me to shop.) and let him try the water fountains. Although he just stood by and watched so he wouldn't get wet, he still loved it!

And then we've also gone and walked around Temple Square to see the tulips and other spring flowers in full bloom! All I can say with that is WOW! I am always amazed when I go onto those temple grounds and see how beautiful and peaceful it really is! Oh, and it was fun because we were walking into the Joseph Smith Memorial Building as Elder Oaks was walking out (we actually shared the same door). Hahaha! Fun start to spring for us!

New camera

2010-05-05T14:05:00.003-06:00

Thank you tax returns... despite the large sum we had to pay towards Jared's car (a car accident, repairs, oil change, and tires for my car), we were still able to buy the camera we've been wanting for awhile now. So be patient with me while I attempt to know how to work it (until I can take some classes to refresh my memory!), and maybe we'll get some fun pics that actually look decent once in awhile!

Jared turns 30!

2010-05-05T13:33:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to Jared on April 7th! He hit a big 30 years old this time around, and we tried to have a little fun for him! On his birthday, Zack and I went and visited him at work in Park City and went to lunch and then walked around the outlets for a little while. When we got home from that, I had decorated the house with some balloons and crepe paper and made him some key lime cupcakes (so delish!!). I think he had a pretty good day...
Then on Friday the 9th, I had planned a surprise party for him! Needless to say, that was an adventure. I can't even recall how many things I came up with to try and distract him, or make him think we were doing something else, etc... but wow, did it feel good to finally have the truth out!!!
About 5 minutes before we were leaving for the clubhouse, some of our neighbors came to our house (thinking the party was there) and luckily they were quick on their feet and he didn't suspect anything even then. So anyway, I told Jared that our next door neighbors were going to babysit Zack while we went to a movie, but that they were filling out some papers at the clubhouse (in order to sell their house), so we needed to drop Zack off there. Easily, he went along with it.
Jared was genuinely surprised! We had an awesome turn out, with lots of family and friends. I was so greatful for everyone being there and for their help to make it so happy for Jared!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-21T14:20:00.004-06:00

Easter is always a lot of fun for me, and this year was even better (I can only imagine what next year brings!) because of Zack's excitement. The saturday morning before Easter, we went to Smith's for an egg hunt. It was perfect! They had age groups separated, so it was nice for the little kids to get stuff too. They blocked off the aisles and scattered candy all up and down (they even hid some plastic eggs in the food on the shelves!). Needless to say, when it was time to start, we let Zack run in, and he immediately grabbed a piece of candy and started opening it! Nevermind the hundreds of pieces surrounding him, he just wanted one (Don't worry, we ended up getting more than we needed!).

Then on Sunday, we enjoyed General Conference and had our own little Easter fun. The Easter Bunny left little baskets for each of us too. That night, we had some of Jared's family and my mom over for Easter dinner and an egg hunt. It was a lot of fun!

The Zoo

2010-04-21T14:07:00.003-06:00

At the end of March, Zack and I went with my neighbor to the zoo. We had a really fun time. We saw lots of animals and rode the train (Which I thought the train ride was a little short and lacking, but that's just me!). Zack really seemed to love everything... but I think his favorite were the monkey's!

Fun times yet again!

2010-03-04T14:17:00.004-07:00

I have had yet another fun month and need to catch up! We've been busy with this and that, but mostly February consisted of doing a lot of cleaning/scrubing/laundry with Zack throwing up almost everyday, but I think (knock on wood please!) we are on the up and up and haven't had any major episodes in several days... so March is looking up for us on that end!
We also headed south again to the ever sunny St. George! What an awesome weekend to go too. So nice and sunny/warm for February, there were no complaints when short sleeves and capri's and shorts came out!

We got a new Wii game called "Just Dance". The guys are usually better than the girls! WHAT?!

A fun shopping day at the D.I.!!

Just being silly!!

And then the most recent is taking Zack to the park! He loves it and I love it because we get to get outside again, and it's free!! What could be better?!

Updates of January

2010-02-01T08:39:00.003-07:00

Another month has gone by, so I need to try to keep up! On the 14th, my sister Amanda and her cute little family moved to St. George (after much struggle... losing their house a week before closing and a car accident to name a few!) so of course we went with them to help them move. We drove late Thursday night to get there, and we got there in time to go to bed. The downside was that their heat wasn't turned on yet, so we snuggled up to keep warm through the night (luckily we were in St. George where it was warmer than SLC, but it was still winter for sure!). The next couple of days we were unloading boxes and cleaning... but we were still able to sneak in some fun with games and mad libs!! :> I sure miss them already, but am so glad that they are happy and getting settled.

Just before Amanda moved, we went with my other sister Amber to IKEA to walk around a just hang out before Amanda moved. It ended up being a silly time and good to be with each other. We just missed having Bitty Sue there with us that day...

I am feeling great!!

2010-01-14T15:24:00.005-07:00

I have been working out now since about September, and I am feeling so good!! A neighbor of mine has been so awesome to give me a routine to follow, and I can't tell you how much that has helped me. It also helps a TON to have another neighbor come with me to the gym, Mon-Fri at 5:00AM!
Anyway, I am not saying this all to brag. Because if you know me, you know that things like working out and eating right all of the time are just not me!
But the reason for this post is because I was able to run for 20 minutes straight on the treadmill this morning!! I have never been able to run for that long in my life... and before this, I only pushed myself to 12 minutes. I feel like I accomplished something big today, only because I didn't think I had it in me. **Now side note, I know this doesn't sound like a long period of time to run in a row if you are a runner, but let's just say I told my neighbor when she started coming with me that I would rather die than get on the treadmill!!** So yay for me today!

Christmas/New Year

2010-01-04T09:23:00.006-07:00

Now that the holiday season has passed, I might as well post my updates! I need to start out by saying I am so blessed and have such wonderful family and friends!! So thank you to all of you who made my Christmas/New Year season so wonderful this year!
We start out by having Zack meet Santa. I don't know if there is much to say because the picture says it all!!

Then we have Christmas Sunday. This was one of the highlights for me. We all got some new church clothes (and tried to get a decent picture...) which was fun. But this year I was asked to play the piano for the choir performance at church. At first I was SUPER nervous to play, but as my mom helped me feel more confident, I ended up really enjoying it. The whole time the spirit was so strong, I had to keep wiping my eyes dry so I could actually see the notes! And it really made my day when my mom and sister's came to support me. That's what family is for, right?! LOVES!!!

Then we move onto Christmas Eve. We went to my mom's house and had a yummy dinner and opened gifts. We were once again spoiled! We got sleeping bags, yahtzee :>, a movie, and Zack got the CUTEST little outfit for church, just to name a few there.
Josh got new jeans and wanted to show them off!

Zack and Talon playing nicely!

Then onto Christmas Day! I know it just gets better from here, but I LOVED Christmas morning with Zack this year!! He was so funny. He started getting the hang of opening presents and whenever he would open one, he immediately had to play with it. It was great to see how much he loved his slide too. That was the best!
Jared actually used crepe paper for ribbon on one of my presents! Surprised? Me either!

OH!! And lately Zack has had an obsession with babies! Yes, babies. So with Jared's permission, we got him his own little baby. Don't worry, we'll phase this out slowly! :>

Then we spent time at Jared's parents house where we got some new luggage and his parents told everyone they were taking us all on a trip to Florida in October. Yay!!
And finally New Year's Eve. I am so sad I didn't have my camera with me for this, but this was one of my favorites! We went to my mom's house with all of my sister's and their fam (and a boyfriend!) and played the Wii and the game Curses. Hahaha! We laughed so hard all night long, had so much food, and just loved every minute of the night.
Whoosh, LONG post! But we should be up to date now!!
OH ya!! Here is the picture of Zack at church wearing his CUTE outfit from my mom! Thanks again. He looked so cute!

Christmas Fun!

2009-12-15T08:11:00.005-07:00

We have had such a fun month so far! Already full of so many memories and fun times.
We made gingerbread houses with Jared's family. I have never made one before, so it was really fun for me... and I already have a few ideas for next year's!

Then we went with our favorite neighbor's to Temple Square to see the lights. Always a fun tradition, but it was super cold that night. We bundled Zack up so tight that he looked like Randy from "A Christmas Story" (I can't put my arms down!) Hahaha!

On Saturday, Jared had his work Christmas party in Park City. We took a sleigh ride to get to dinner (which was fun, but I don't like being cold!) and then had a good time at the party.

A quick story... When we got there, they had cider and hot chocolate. Jared went to get me some hot chocolate and came back and said he almost got me drunk! He said the waiter asked him if he wanted peppermint flavor in the drink, and Jared knowing I love the candy cane hot chocolate, said yes. As the waiter got out the bottle to pour it in, Jared asked if it was just flavoring (which of course it wasn't!). Jared quickly said no thanks, but said it was a close call because the lid was already off the bottle and everything! Whoosh for me!! But my highlight of that whole night was the car ride to and from Park City. Jared and I got silly and were singing Christmas songs together, and man, we are good!!

Just marshmallows please!

And then finally on Sunday we went to my mom's house for Josh's birthday/white elephant exchange/ugly sweater night! What a FUN time!! As usual, we had yummy food (especially the cake that was almost stolen!) and then we had Josh open his birthday presents and then we all exchanged white elephant gifts. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!! We all had some 'great' gifts! There was one particular present that Zack either liked a lot, or he was scared a lot, but either way I couldn't get under control from my laughter to get a good picture of it! Let's just say, you had to be there!

Thanksgiving weekend

2009-12-02T18:15:00.006-07:00

Mom and sister's on Thanksgiving. This is something to be thankful for!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We were able to make it to both my family and Jared's family for Thanksgiving Day... Up first was with my family (Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters and Mom) were all there!! It was so nice to be with everyone.
After a good visit, we went to Jared's parent's house for the rest of the night. Jared's "aunt" (really his cousin, but he always called her "aunt") was there, and she was so great to get to know. We also were in charge of making the turkey for the whole fam (We had such success last year, everyone wanted to try it!)... talk about pressure, but we pulled it off and it was yum!
Friday morning, this is one of the first year's that I have not done the official Black Friday shopping, but I did make it out early in the morning (8:00ish) to go out and get a few things. I love that day!!

Zack's new favorite place to be when I am shopping!

Then on Saturday! We had some family pics taken, watched BYU beat UTAH in the football game, and then went to see New Moon with Jared's sisters (This was of course my second time seeing it though.). What a fun weekend we had.

This is when I went and saw New Moon with my mom and sister's (minus Beck)

The Park

2009-11-18T21:19:00.006-07:00

My sisters and I went to the West Jordan park last week to enjoy the last minutes of a warm sun before the snow came! What a fun park!! They had so many cute things in the play ground... an 'older kid' side and a 'little kid' side to it. It was awesome to see Zack trying to play (even though he is still little for everything), but it was even more fun to just be out with my sisters! Thanks for a fun day out!

Happy Hour

2009-11-05T08:34:00.002-07:00

What's not to love about Sonic and their Happy Hour half priced drinks?! Yum!!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T08:00:00.006-07:00

What a busy month for us! I figured I would condense a lot of posts into one this time because it all has to do with Halloween in some way or another.
On the 17th we had our annual family party. This has become my favorite thing for the whole month!! My family came to my house, and we all dress up, have dinner, have some kind of activity and "trick or treat" to the doors throughout the house! We are so silly, but we've been doing this for 5 years now, so we can't stop now (and it just seems to get better with every year!!).
Then on the 25th we carved pumpkins with Jared's family. This year was funny because I did a more simple design and Jared wanted to carve Michael Jackson!! It turned out pretty good considering how hard it was to carve, but within a day or two it was wilting pretty bad. I joked with Jared and said it was true to life... sorry!

On the 30th we had our ward Trunk or Treat. That was a lot of fun because we got to see all of our friends and neighbors in costume, and it was just a great time! Next year we'll dress up for it too.

And finally Halloween day. Zack dressed up as a giraffe, and he made a cute one! We took him around trick or treating to a few houses and it was so cute to see him try and hold his bucket or pick out some candy from our neighbors. What a fun holiday when you have kids!! Then we had a bunch of neighbors come over later that night to hang out. And that is always fun too!

This is some of our neighbors playing the wii!!

Whoosh, what a month, but what a fun one!

Birthday time

2009-10-19T07:25:00.004-06:00

Zack at lunch on my birthday

My birthday was on the 7th of this month and what a fun day for me. It actually started on the 2nd when my family and I got together for a little party. I had so much fun and got some awesome gifts from them, so thanks for a fun time there!! Then on my birthday, Jared took the day off of work, so we went to lunch and did a little shopping, and just hung out. So nice!! Then on Friday night Jared surprised me and took me to The Homestead for the night. We had a not so great experience with bugs in the first room, so they upgraded us for free, so that was a relief. But it was great to just be with Jared for the night and was very thoughtful of him!!

Us at the Homestead

BYU Game

2009-09-29T09:11:00.002-06:00

We went to our first BYU game of the season on Saturday and what a good time we had! I LOVE BYU football season, and this just made my day!! Zack was able to come with us this year and he did so great through the game... with no nap and all! And it also helps that the Cougars won the game :D

Keith, Keith, Keith!!

2009-09-11T09:58:00.003-06:00

What a concert!! My mom and sister's and I went to the Keith Urban concert on Wednesday night, and man it was fun! Hands down one of the best performers I have ever seen. So genuine with the crowd too. And let's face it, he's easy to look at!
We were all so full of energy throughout the whole concert that I was sad when it was over... two hour performance was not long enough for us!!

However, after the concert when we were getting in our cars and starting to drive away, I was driving down the street and this big, fancy bus from Tennessee pulled out and was driving next to me. Yes, I think it was Keith's bus (and I don't want to know different if it wasn't!), and yes I was freaking out! The good times just kept coming!

Cedar City

2009-08-26T21:34:00.003-06:00

On the 19th, my little sister Becky turned 18 years old and moved out in the same day! Whew!!! She moved away to go to college at SUU in Cedar City.
So my mom and sister and I decided to make it a little girl's trip/moving day/birthday party/time away weekend. And talk about some silly times... to sum it all up:
We had sticky fingers, swimming, wrong apartment keys, shopping, cupcakes, handstands, cousin bonding (bathtime!), magic beans, "hitch hiker"/roadside help, Monoglian BBQ, sleep talking, breakfast in the pj's and breakfast not in the pj's (hmmm...), a little "hey diddle, diddle" singing time, horoscopes and fortune cookies, In-N-Out, crying, picture times (some good/some not so good... Amanda!), cribs that looked like a jail cell, and plenty more...
Oh how I miss my sister Beck already, but what a great time in her life right now! Thanks for a fun weekend, Fam! Loves!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-08-26T21:23:00.003-06:00

OK, so I know that it isn't Mother's Day, but it was my mom's birthday on the 12th of this month (I know, I am only a couple weeks behind on this!), and I just wanted to let her know how much I love her!! She is the most amazing person I know, and I look up to her so much. How lucky am I to have her as my mom and friend!! Anyway, this was a Mother's Day tribute that the church made this year, and my sister Becky is lucky enough to be in it for a short moment (she's the first one you see!). I get tears in my eyes every time I watch it because it sums up the importance of mother's and the love that you feel for them...
So Happy Late Birthday Mom!! I love you!

2009-08-12T09:01:00.003-06:00

So much seemed to have happened in the past week... unfortunately I don't have many pictures to go along with it all.
On Thursday, Jared's family planned to go to Park City for the weekend. We were able to go Thursday afternoon and stay until Friday afternoon. It was nice to be able to get away a little, go shopping, and even play on the Alpine Slide/Roller Coaster there too. The only bad part was that Zack was sick, so he didn't have much fun :<
On Friday my older sister had her baby. She had Lucas weighing in at 7 pounds 1ounce. What a cute baby! The weirdest part for me was seeing how little he was and trying to remember that Zack weighed that much when he was about 5-6 months old!
Then on Saturday was my grandma's funeral. We had a simple graveside service with just the immediate family, so it was nice to be able to all talk about her and her life.

8/1/09

2009-08-02T20:40:00.003-06:00

On Friday I got a call from my dad saying that my grandma had a severe stroke and was in the hospital. She lives in Washington so we were all in a waiting game to here any updates. My dad obviously flew there immediately, and yesterday afternoon she passed away. What a sad day for us all to hear that, but what a full life she lived. She will be buried here in Utah, so we are just waiting for them to bring her "home" so we can be with the rest of the family.
Death is never an easy thing, but it also makes you appreciate the family (and even friends) you have in your life that much more. I just love my family so much! My best friends for sure!!!

Lava Hot Springs

2009-07-21T21:26:00.004-06:00

On Saturday my family and I went to Lava Hot Springs for the day. What a fun time. We started out with breakfast then hit the river! Last year when we went tubing down the river we had so much fun, and this year we did too, but we all got beat up this time around!! Every one of us came home with scratches and bruises to prove it, but don't think we won't be back there again next year!!
After the river, we went to the big swimming pool and played there for the rest of the afternoon. The sun was hot and we also got sunburns, but again, no complaints here!
I just love the good ol' family days in the summer! These are the memories that last, right?!

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam!

2009-07-13T16:43:00.004-06:00

Our branch was recently split into a ward, and Jared and I were called to be Sunbeam teachers in the Primary!! We are so excited to be teaching these little kids. What a fun age they are.
However, it was quite an eye opener for me on Sunday when we were sitting there with Zack in Primary, and how excited he was to be there! He actually was holding his hands/arms up watching the chorister lead the music (I don't know if he was trying to copy her, or if he was just really excited!). Either way, it made me realize that although he is not old enough to be a Sunbeam yet, he will sure make a cute one... and sooner than I think. I love that he is already so excited to be in Primary!

5 years later...

2009-07-07T08:05:00.003-06:00

Happy 5 Year Anniversary to my sweet hubby! I married such an amazing, yet weird guy!! We have some great times together, and I know I am very lucky to have him. What an awesome husband and dad... I love you!!

4th of July

2009-07-06T10:55:00.004-06:00

We started out our day by running the Kaysville 5K. What an achievement for me!!! I decided as we were training for the run, that I don't enjoy running like I want too, but I have always wanted to run a race. But I was so happy when I crossed that finish line.

After that we went with Jared's family to the Kaysville parade. That was a lot of fun for the kids because they threw out so many things... candy, beads, and even stuffed animals (Zack got a special one!)

Then we went with my family for a picnic and swimming. Perfect weather for that! Then we went to my grandma's house for a BBQ and fireworks. It was nice to get together with so much family on one of my favorite holidays.

Zack's Birthday Party!

2009-06-30T15:57:00.005-06:00

What a year it has been! One year ago today I was admitted into the hospital for severe toxemia (which ended up being HELLP syndrome), and was told that I was going to have my baby either that night or the next morning. A year later, with a crazy, crazy year behind me, I planned Zack's birthday party!!
On Saturday we had our family's over for a pool party to celebrate Zack turning one! It was such a fun day. Swimming, food, cake and ice cream, and just having fun together. Perfect!
Lately, I can't stop thinking about how much has happened over the past year... and that a whole year has past. I truely can remember details as if they happened last week.
Zack's year has consisted of being "out of the house" (able to go to stores, restaurants, etc.) for the past 3 months, in the hospital for his first 3 months, and then in our house for the other 6 months! Wow!
We have so much to be grateful for!! What a fun and energetic little boy we have. We love you Zack... Happy Birthday!!!

Out with the old, in with the new

2009-06-25T09:47:00.003-06:00

Our lease was up on our Mazda CX7, so we turned that back in (Which by the way, I don't care for leasing! We put new tires on the car only 2 months ago, had to get the windshield repaired, and it's not even our car! Not so much fun!!). But other than that, we loved the car and had a good time driving it.
So after much looking, we decided on getting a Toyota 4Runner. We got it on Tuesday night and love it! (This is a picture of one that looks just like ours...)

A big thanks to Jared for being patient with me in finding the car I wanted (I figured since he has access to auctions, that I could be a little more picky, right?!). He is the best!!! Love you!

Camping

2009-06-22T22:04:00.006-06:00

On Friday night, my sister Amanda and her little family and us went camping. What a fun time we had! We were all a little worried about how our babies would do, but they did great! We had so many layers on them, how could they not do great?! We also had enough food to feed enough for a week, so that just made it all the more fun for us!!

Saturday morning we woke up to some rain sprinkling, and not much time passed and it was raining. So we loaded our car up and was home by 9:30. Still worth it all!

Josh warming up Talon's bottle!!

Graduation

2009-06-12T07:59:00.004-06:00

So better late than never, right?! (Sorry to my sister!)
Last week, June 4th, my sister Becky graduated from Copper Hills High School! We are so excited for her and she looked so happy that day. What an achievement! She also graduated from seminary on Sunday and that is a great acheivement too! We are all so proud of her and her amazing desire to learn (She is the smartest one in our family, I bet!).

Now, she gets ready to venture to Southern Utah University, and as much as I want her to go and get that college experience, I am already really sad to see the day coming closer and closer... I don't want her to go! If I miss her already, and she's still here, what am I going to do when she's actually gone?!
...This happened when Amanda moved too!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T08:38:00.004-06:00

At the last minute we decided to head to St. George for Memorial Day weekend! It was such a blast!! My mom and sister, Becky, were going to stop in Cedar City to check out the college, and my other sister Amanda and her fam, decided they were going to go, so we said, "why not?!"

Isn't this a cute Barbie, or what?!

Becky... always trying on shoes!

We just did the usual swimming, shopping, playing games, the boys went golfing, we went house hunting (Don't worry, not for now... but for future purposes!) and we just relaxed! The weather was perfect for the most part, so just a great weekend!!

Summer treats!

2009-05-21T09:56:00.003-06:00

There are a few yummy treats that I just love about the warmer weather. One main one is the "snow shacks" or the "snowie's" or whatever you want to call those, but I love them! Black cherry to be more precise!
But another new favorite is this place in Bountiful called "Yogurt Stop". Such a great idea... you choose what kind of yogurt you want, add whatever toppings you want (I when I say "you", I mean you do it yourself!), then you give it to the cashier to weigh it in and you pay. I get whatever random mixture I want, and that's that. No extra money for the extras! Wonderful!

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-10T07:29:00.004-06:00

I have so many wonderful memories of today... Mother's Day! What an awesome day to remember our Mom's, and even the role of womanhood! I am so blessed to have so many wonderful influences in my life.
First and foremost, my mom!! What a woman! She and I tend to share a brain and I love it. She is my one of my very bestest friends and I love that she is so silly and weird with the rest of us! Words don't describe how amazing she is, but I just love her so much!!

My mother-in-law is also so amazing. What a self-giving woman she is. At a moments notice, she will do anything for anyone. Always willing to help and give advice and I am just lucky enough to say that I married into a great family! She did such a great job raising Jared, and I couldn't ask for more.
And finally, my role of being a mom today! I am feeling overwhelmed with joy at the sound of Zack playing with a toy on the blanket and making the little blah, blah, blah sounds right now! What a year we had watching him grow and make it one day at a time. I love everyday being a mom to him! And I am glad I have the opportunity to do it!!

How much better does life get today???

California 2009

2009-04-27T21:34:00.007-06:00

Where to begin?! How about the beginning!!
TUESDAY, APRIL 21:
We left for the airport at 6:00 AM, but our adrenaline was pumping so we were ready to go! Zack did OK, all things considered, but he was pretty tired. Our flight went well... however, Zack did decide to go to the bathroom right at take-off and poor Jared had to take him to the bathroom and change him in the plane's bathroom as soon as the seatbelt sign was off!! Not fun there :>
When we got to Cali, we got our rental car and headed out. We stopped and got a few things at Target then headed to In 'N' Out for lunch (Jared's choice). I will admit that the burgers were good, but not "famously" good. Sorry everyone!! Then we checked into our hotel and went back out to a mall and then to one of the highlights of our trip, the Anaheim Angels Baseball Game!! This was our first major league baseball game, and WOW, it was fun! We did leave a little early because Zack had hit his limit that day, but the Angels won the game 4-3!
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22:
We got up and started with a little shopping. We went to Trader Joes and then to a mall... but we were anxious to head to the beach, so we didn't shop much! We headed for Laguna Beach, but had a rough time finding a place to park, so we headed back to Newport Beach. We did make a stop at the Newport Beach LDS Temple, and that was (as always) so beautiful! Then we headed to the beach, where the wind was blowing, the sky was cloudy (or was it the Marine Layer?!), and we pulled our jackets out instead of our swimming suits! Needless to say, not the way we wanted to spend the day at the beach, but we ended up having an excellent time splashing in the water still. That night we went to dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant, and I would give it 2 thumbs up! Lots of fun there!!

THURSDAY, APRIL 23:
Day one of Disneyland. We checked out of our hotel that we were staying in, and headed to The Grand at Disneyland for our next 2 nights. Without saying too much, I liked the room just fine, but not worth paying that much to never be in there! Anyway, Disneyland was great that day. There were a lot of people like always, but we got through the lines really fast! Pirates was our first ride (fairly typical for us), and so on. We kept moving from ride to ride, and made it on everything we wanted to that day. Zack's favorite ride was Small World, which ended up being really fun this time! We also did manage to make it through with some pretty sore feet!
FRIDAY, APRIL 24:
Day at California Adventure. This ended up being one of my favorite days. It was more crowded than Thursday, but if you use those fast passes, it really pays off! We had a great time with Screamin' California trying to take pics right as the 'blastoff' went, but that was tricky. Also, the new Toy Story ride was awesome! That was the longest line we waited in up to that point (30 minutes), but that wasn't even that bad. I must add that Tower of Terror scared the pants off of me! I have been on it once before and it scared me, but apparently, time helped me forget that. I couldn't believe how genuinely scared I was on that ride. My mom and sister made sure to make fun of me pretty hard though!!
SATURDAY, APRIL 25:
Half day and Disneyland and California Adventure. Since we had accomplished all the rides we wanted to the first two days, we decided to hit our favorites and take it slower this day. Our feet couldn't handle much more. **As a side note, why does it always seem that everyone else walking around doesn't have sore feet, but I am ready to cut mine off to help with the pain??**
ANYWAY, we made it through half of the day and were ready to crash. So we said goodbye to the Disney parks and headed. We went to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch/dinner and then decided to go to another Angels game because we had to much fun the first night. We were so tired for this game, but it was still SO MUCH FUN!!! Unfortunately, they lost 8-9 in the last inning. Too bad. I think I am officially an Angels fan now!

SUNDAY, APRIL 26:
Our flight left Cali around 10:00 AM, so we got another early start. Our flight was good, and yes, again Zack needed a diaper change. But, it was my turn to change him this time. I managed to take him into the bathroom on the plane just before takeoff. And as I was changing him, he decided to 'wet' his shirt completely in the front, the diaper didn't hold in the back, so it was up his back, and I was in the smallest bathroom with no changing table in my life! What an adventure that was.
Whoosh! We're glad to be back, but miss the vacation time. A BIG, HUGE thank you to my favorite mom and sister for taking us with them on their vacation. We had such an amazing time and are so thankful for the much needed time away. Loves to you both!!!!

Vacation!

2009-04-20T08:02:00.003-06:00

We are off to California tomorrow on a much needed vacation. My mom won a trip to Disneyland and invited us to go along. We are so excited to go! And it will be an adventure taking Zack along! Lots of firsts for him this week...
Vacation, here we come!!

Easter

2009-04-13T09:47:00.003-06:00

So I LOVE coloring Easter eggs. It could very well be one of my favorite things to do in life (I don't know why though!). So Saturday morning Jared and I colored our eggs. We decided this year that we would only do one dozen eggs (in the past, I have done a dozen by myself... and then some!). Anyway, I kept making colors, so we ended up with 8 colors for 12 eggs... duh! I always try to see how dark I can get my eggs to go, and the one that "won" this year, ended up changing colors completely when it dried! The purple looked almost black when I pulled it out, now it looks like this... it really has a metalic look to it! Don't ask me how that happened!!
On Easter morning, we exchanged Easter baskets from the Easter Bunny! Jared and Zack got matching plaid shorts with white polo shirts. Then Zack got some sunglasses and sandals (mostly for our upcoming trip to Cali next week!) and Jared got some new socks, shampoo, and candy!

Zack playing in my Easter basket

That night, we went to Jared's parent's house for dinner. They had an Easter egg hunt, and Zack LOVED it! He had no idea what was going on, but Jared was running with him in the backyard and he couldn't stop smiling!

The Fam before church

It was also Zack's first official day going to church. We did alright, but man it's a difference having a baby with you! But, we survived the first time!

Zack before his first day at church

What a fun first Easter with Zack!

Happy Birthday Jared... and Talon!!

2009-04-07T22:10:00.004-06:00

Zack loved the balloons!

Today Jared celebrated his 29th birthday!! Yipee! Since Jared had to work, Zack and I went to visit him and brought him balloons and cupcakes. Zack seemed to love it... and as you can see in the picture, he loved the balloons too!

Jared's birthday dinner while waiting for Talon to arrive!

We also got to celebrate Talon Joshua Doan's birthday... literally! My sister had her first baby boy, and Jared was so excited to share his day with him. Talon came in weighing 7 pounds 12 ounces. What a sweet little boy!!
Happy Birthday to both boys! We love you!!!

Little Talon Joshua Doan

Talon and Zack!! This is my favorite picture!!

Just a project or two

2009-03-31T08:28:00.003-06:00

I have decided to every now and then do a little craft project. I really enjoy doing them, so why not?! It started when one of my neighbors invited me to do the Easter one with her, and I had so much fun doing that, that I made a sign for my door. Anyway, not too fancy, but something to do!!

A little luck!

2009-03-26T11:42:00.004-06:00

My mom and older sister are probably some of the luckiest people I know when it comes to winning things on the radio. To name a few, my mom has won a trip to Cabo and Disneyland, $1000, front row concert tickets, etc. My sister is always winning cd's, tickets for events, and recently, her second time winning a trip to Las Vegas to see a country award show.

Well yesterday I won tickets to Keith Urban's concert in September! I am so excited! It isn't anything like winning a free trip, but I was just excited to hear the phone line ring instead of the usual busy tone. So yipee for me! :>

Happy Birthday!

2009-03-21T11:56:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to wish my sister Amanda, a very Happy Birthday! She turned 23 today and is also due to have her baby almost any day now, so sis, enjoy your day!! I love you!!!!

Stake Conference

2009-03-16T11:13:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we had a special stake conference where Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to speak. As we got to the church, Jared and I were walking around to see if we could find a seat and as we were walking, we got stopped behind this guy who was leaning halfway in the aisle and halfway in the row. As Jared was about to say "excuse me" to get by, he turned around and it was Elder Oaks!! He shook our hands and said hello, but can you just imagine our faces?? Shocked to say the least! What a great experience it was to see and hear from a member of the 12 Apostles! It makes me more excited now for General Conference in a couple of weeks.

Zack's Blessing

2009-03-02T07:14:00.007-07:00

WOW! I am so excited to finally have Zack blessed!!! It was so hard to wait this long, but it was so worth it. I am still smiling about the whole day today! Once again we had so much support and love from family and friends that we just feel so blessed. The day couldn't have been better! OK, Zack could have not cried through the actual blessing part, but even that made me smile and think that even that makes him normal!!
Just a special thanks to all the family who helped with the dinner after and for all their help in the day! It made my job way too easy!! We love you all, and are just so blessed to have had this wonderful day!!!

Fun weekend

2009-02-18T11:01:00.006-07:00

For Valentine's Day, Jared and I thought we'd go out the night before (easier to have a babysitter!) so we went and saw Twilight at the dollar movie. Jared said he liked the movie but he's still not about to read the books!! Then on V-Day, we just hung out at home, made a fun dinner and watched Aladdin (that's what Jared gave me for my present!). It was nice not to have to deal with the long lines of people this year!
Then on Sunday, we went to my sister's new house for dinner. We got a little silly with Zack and her dog Charlie (as you can see here)...
It was Charlie's birthday on Friday, so we got him a little toy, but I think Zack liked it just as much!!
And then we did a little photo shoot of my mom, and I just want to thank Josh for his excellent skills in lighting!! Like I said before, we got a little silly!

Selling cars now!

2009-02-13T09:15:00.002-07:00

So Jared has decided that he wants to sell cars part time now!! It all started with one of his good friends from high school. He decided to open his own car dealership and Jared's attention grew from there!
It will be interesting to see what comes of this adventure, but in the meantime, if you are interested in buying a car, he has access to the auctions, so he will probably be able to save you some money (just putting a little "advertising" out for him!).
Good luck to Jared!!

Well it's Groundhog Day... again

2009-01-27T15:40:00.003-07:00

OK, in celebration of Groundhog Day (next Monday), I thought I would do a post!! If you didn't know this about me, I love the movie "Groundhog Day"! Jared on the other hand does not. Unfortunately for him, we still get to watch it this weekend.
SO, just because I can and I am here, here are a few quotes!!! Enjoy!
- What if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today.
- Too early for flapjacks?
- This day used to mean something. They used to pull the rat out of the hole and they used to eat it. You're a bunch of hypocrites, all of you!
- You think it'll be an early spring? I'm predicting March 21. You know, I think that actually is the first day of spring.
- What blizzard? It's a couple of flakes.

- What about a satellite? Is it snowing in space? What about a special line for celebrities or emergencies. I'm both, I'm a celebrity in an emergency!
- Ned, I would love to stand here and talk with you... but I'm not going to.
- Your whole life, it's the same thing. Pick up your feet. Stand up straight. Clean up your room. Take it like a man. Be nice to your sister. Don't mix beer and wine, ever. Oh, yeah; don't drive on the railway tracks.
- Not bad Mr. Connors. You say this is your first lesson? Well my father was a piano mover, so.
- Uh, what are you doing for dinner? Something else.

Good but busy week

2009-01-20T11:01:00.002-07:00

This past week, Zack had his 6 month check-up (including all the shots to go along with it!) and Jared had to get his throat scoped. So I got to take care of both my boys last week.
But the best part of our week/weekend was that we got to see our friends, the Hansen's, from the NICU on Sunday!! We haven't seen them since Zack was released from the hospital so it was so nice to see them again! It just proved to us again that great things did happen to us during our NICU stay!!

Resolutions

2009-01-04T17:11:00.004-07:00

OK, so I am not very great at making New Year's Resolutions... let alone sticking to them. But this year, I am going to make another attempt to make things happen!
I had every intention of posting what my goals are going to be, but I am afraid if I say/write them out loud, they won't get done, and I will be held accountable! On the other hand, if I write them down (publicly), then will I have more motivation not to fail? Either way, I am keeping most of them private. However, there is one I am excited to post. And that is...
I WILL BE GOING TO NEW YORK CITY IN THE YEAR 2009!!
With that being said, the way I can make that happen this year, as opposed to last year is:
I won't be having a baby the day before my flight takes off. And I won't be getting swollen feet and legs to prevent me from going.
I see this as a win win situation for me this year. Wish me luck... OH, and in case it helps, we are planning to go over our 5 year anniversary! What better way to celebrate than that?!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T08:08:00.005-07:00

CHRISTMAS MORNING IN OUR NEW PJ'S

Well I figure that since the month of December is practically over, I might as well get back to blogging!!
Christmas was so much fun for us this year. I can't believe that it's over, but we had such a great time together. Christmas Eve is a tradition to spend with my dad at his house. We had a yummy dinner and of course, presents!

Christmas day, we waited for Zack to wake us up and we opened presents. Zack slept through the whole thing, but deep down I know he was excited to see what Santa brought him! After that, we went to Jared's parents for the traditional "Brunch" and presents. Then that afternoon we were able to go to my grandparents house to see everyone for a few minutes and introduce Zack to all my aunts, uncles and cousins. Thank heavens no one was sick this year, otherwise, we would have been able to just hear about how fun it was from everyone :>THIS IS A PRESENT JARED WRAPPED ALL BY HIMSELF!!

The day after Christmas we went to my mom's for the celebrations. Again, it included a yummy dinner and presents! So much fun there as always!

ZACK WITH HIS PRESENTS ON CHRISTMAS MORNING... NOTICE THE COOL 4-WHEELER HE GOT FROM A FRIEND OF MINE!

We had such a fun Christmas and were so blessed with so many things. It was so great to see so much family and friends throughout the holiday... it just goes to show that there are so many people that bless your life each day!
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and now, let's bring on the new year!!

Date Night

2008-12-15T10:01:00.003-07:00

Jared and I went on a much needed date night last Friday night to see the lights downtown and to dinner. The lights were so beautiful and are such a fun way to get in the spirit of the season. And oh ya', everyone else was downtown doing the same thing we were, or they were at the Jazz game, or they were going to the Conference Center to see Savior of the World... but either way, people were everywhere!!

On Saturday, my brother-in-law celebrated his birthday by having us all over for cake and ice cream, and games! As always, we get wild and sit and laugh until it hurts (Mom especially this time!), so thanks for having a birthday, Josh!!

2008-12-01T11:41:00.003-07:00

Last night we went to my sister's house to celebrate her birthday and also to do a little Thanksgiving dinner. We had such a great time and I just wanted to wish her a very Happy Birthday!
One thing that has become a "tradition" in our family is to take silly pictures together. Last night we even got the guys to do it too. Just for fun, here are a few!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T09:24:00.004-07:00

Since we are dealing with RSV season and Zack can't be around big groups, for Thanksgiving this year Jared and I just had our own little feast at home! We had all the usual foods including the turkey! I must say I am especially proud of how it turned out. With a lot of help from Jared, this turkey was the juiciest and most moist turkey I have ever had. (If you are wondering how it was that way, we did a brine...) Anyway, we had a great Thanksgiving, just the 3 of us!! And to top off the day, Zack gave me the official first smile! What more could I be thankful for?!

THEN onto BLACK FRIDAY!!! My mom and sister's and I like to consider ourselves "professionals" when it comes to this day! Without going into too much detail, just to show you how great we are, we got to Kohl's at 3:30AM, doors opened at 4:00AM, we were out by 4:12AM. Then onto Sears which opened at 5:00AM, we were out by 5:10AM. Then to Target (Absolutely insane this year!! Busiest ever!). Doors opened at 6:00AM and we were out by 6:15AM! Hands down, one of the best years...

Twilight

2008-11-24T12:50:00.003-07:00

OK, so I went to see the Twilight movie and I LOVED it!! Sure there were some cheesy parts, but I like cheese!! I was nervous for the movie because I didn't want it to ruin the book, but I think that it was just right. As like other people have said, it was nice to have the characters come to life!
I went with my mom and sisters... after the terrible BYU/UTAH game (which I still don't want to talk about!)... so the movie was able to lift my spirits again!!

Weird dream

2008-11-19T13:24:00.004-07:00

OK dream experts... here's one for you. Just about every night since Zack has come home from the hospital I have this dream. It is where I am holding Zack while I am either sitting up in my bed, or even laying down, and all of a sudden he is "gone" somewhere in the sheets and I am frantically looking for him so I don't smother him! I even wake up and I am holding the blankets like I would have been holding him, so I "know" it's not a dream and I start freaking out because I know it was "real this time"!
Poor Jared has to deal with me doing this every night... and when I say every night, I mean it! Sometimes it has even happened multiple times in one night.
Now just to clarify, I NEVER put him in our bed with us... and part of that is due to the dream, but I still don't understand why I would continue to have this dream if I don't even have to worry about it happening.
My mom says I need help. Maybe I do?! :>

That time again

2008-11-11T09:24:00.003-07:00

While nothing too spectacular has happened to me the past little while, I figured it was time to add a new post. And while reading other people's blogs, the subject for mine came to mind... Christmas!
I love hearing the traditions of other families, as well as just the thoughts of the season, but while I am sitting here, I can't believe how fast the year has gone and to think that we are here! I absolutely love this time of year. I am with all of you in the early planning and preparing for Christmas... I have turned the annual "list" into my mom, started making my Black Friday list, started listening to Christmas music, and have even bought some new decorations for Christmas. Yet on my "to do" list for today, I have the task of still putting my Halloween decorations away! I am ashamed to admit that, but my days literally slip by me lately and I don't seem to have enough time to get things accomplished. But you better believe that by midnight tonight, those Halloween decorations will be put away!!!

Does anyone else feel like this?!

Halloween Party 2008

2008-11-01T11:42:00.004-06:00

Every year I throw a Halloween Party with my family. This year was, like every other year, so much fun! Everyone dresses up in costumes, and we eat and play games, and even do our own little "trick-or-treating" around my house! Crazy times, but that's what makes it so fun!! AND to make this year so special, Amanda and Josh found out they are having a boy!!!! We are so excited for them!

Here are some pics of the party...
Jared dressed up as a football player, I was the cheerleader, and Zack was the football!!!
Amanda and Josh had the best costumes of the night!! They are going to be some dang cute old people someday!
The family all looked so good!!
Yes, we had a pinata this year! These are the weird things we do...
Good times!

Pumpkins

2008-10-28T21:12:00.003-06:00

We carved our pumpkins for Halloween last night. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work! Obviously we used templates for the pumpkins, but I think they turned out pretty good. In the picture, from left to right we have Zack's pumpkin, Jared's, then mine. Jared was kind enough to do both his and Zack's, since mine ended up taking about double the time to carve... or maybe I am just slow!!!

Something new to try...

2008-10-25T12:40:00.000-06:00

OK, so I have had more time on my hands since not going to work anymore, but have a lot less time since Zack is home now! So with my "extra" time, I have decided to try something new. I have created a new blog, yes, another blog. It will conveniently be called "Recipe of the Week". I will post a new recipe once a week, with a "review" from what I thought of it. I would love to have everyone who wants to try the recipe, also give a review. Also, if you have a recipe for me to try, it could be anything from a drink, to dessert, to side dish, to holiday recipe, etc., please post it so there is more interaction!!
I enjoy cooking, so I thought this would be a fun way to expand my knowledge and try something new. If you have any suggestions, I am all ears!!

Craft projects

2008-10-15T10:26:00.002-06:00

Now that I am a stay at home mom (that sounds so weird!!), I want some ideas on fun craft projects, or even other things I could make/do, so I feel productive and have something new and fun to do!! I always love to see peoples homes around any holiday because there are such cute decorations out there... so maybe if someone has ideas even in that direction...
Anyway if you have any ideas, or if you yourself do something that's fun and you want to share (pictures are great too), I would love to hear about it!!

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-10-09T14:18:00.003-06:00

Tuesday was my birthday and I had lots of fun!! Jared made me breakfast in the morning and gave me presents from him and from Zack :> AND, he did a fantastic job this year!! I also had lots of visitors come by and also call me, so that was really nice too. That night, my mom and sister came to my house and watched Zack while Jared and I went to dinner. Then we came back and had cake. It was a wonderful birthday, so thanks everyone for making it such a great day!!

BYU shower

2008-09-28T21:55:00.003-06:00

My mom and sister's threw me a shower on Saturday that was so much fun!! It was a BYU themed shower, and they did such a great job putting it together. Again, we got some great things from everyone...
I just want to thank them for all the time and effort they put into this. From the invitations to the decorations, from the food and games to the party favors... it was so much fun! Also, I just want to say thanks for all of the support the past 3 months. I couldn't have done this without your encouragement and love! I LOVE YOU!!!

Corn Maze

2008-09-28T21:49:00.002-06:00

Friday night we went with my sister's to the corn maze at Thanksgiving Point. There were a lot of different things going on besides the corn maze, like tether ball, go karts, a blow up "haunted house" thing, and even little pig races that were actually more fun than the actual maze!! We had a good time... and we only paid 93 cents to get in! Who can beat that?!

A couple of baby showers!

2008-09-21T07:59:00.004-06:00

On Wednesday my work threw me a baby shower at the Olive Garden. We had a really good time. The food was good, and of course, I got some really great stuff for Zack... a little drum set was included in that!! So thanks to Courtney for making the invites and making this happen! I had a great time.

Then on Saturday, my sister-in-law's did a baby shower. We had an awesome turnout!! Almost 40 people came... granted, I didn't know most of them since it was all of my inlaw's friend's, but hey, it was still a lot of fun. So again, thanks to all of them for such a cute set up and for all the work that was put into it!
I would say we are just about ready for Zack to come home now!!!

Family Time

2008-09-15T08:41:00.003-06:00

Saturday Jared and I went to the BYU/UCLA game. WOW! That was a fun time to see BYU completely blow UCLA out of the water... 59-0!! Good times...
Then, later that night we went with my family (minus Beck, who was at Homecoming!) to the mountains for a picnic. We made foil dinners, did a carmel apple crisp in the dutch oven, and played games. It was cold (OK, if we had planned a little better, it wouldn't have been so bad!), and it got dark really fast, but we had such a good time getting away for a few hours. Here are some pics from the day...

I've been tagged

2008-09-10T08:33:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Ashley for this!!!
Here are the rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 obsessions, 3 surprising facts and tag 3 more people on your blog.

3 Joys:
My baby Zack, a fun Summer day, & playing with my mom and sisters

3 Fears:
Something happening to anyone in my family, spiders, & having another baby in the NICU :>

3 Obsessions:
The two boys in my life, the feeling of accomplishing something, & a hot bubble bath

3 Surprising Facts:
I once choked and had to have the Heimlich maneuver done on me, I don't like roasted marshmallows or cotton candy, & I don't really like animals (Sorry everyone!)

I tag Amanda/Josh, Melissa/Ben, & Steph/Ryan :>

Good ol' days!

2008-09-09T09:06:00.002-06:00

This is how I used to spend a lot of my days when I was growing up... jumping on the trampoline! My sister's and I, friend's and I, my mom and I, and even just by myself... hours were spent there. We would play games like add on, gymnastics (especially loved pretending to be on the balance beam!), dodge ball, and many more. We would practice our cheerleading/dance moves there, put the sprinklers underneath, and one of our favorites was sleeping out on the trampoline!
On Sunday, I climbed up on the trampoline again. It has been a while since I have done that, and it felt great!
Of course, I had to practice all the tricks I learned while on there, and sure enough, I can still do them!!

We registered

2008-08-27T08:40:00.004-06:00

A lot of people have been asking us if we have registered for Zack yet, and so last night we attempted to do it! Let me start out by saying that we had no idea what we were doing, and Jared started to get a little scan happy! We walked around the store for quite a while looking at things with a big question mark on our foreheads! It just confirmed to us that we still have no idea what is going to be coming our way in just a few short weeks! So, we hope this registry helps those of you who have been asking... oh, and we are registered at Target!

Busy Week

2008-08-16T10:40:00.006-06:00

So the past week has been pretty busy for us! Last Saturday we went to Lava Hot Springs for the day. It was SO much fun!! We went tubing down the river (the best part!) and swimming with my family. It was such a good time, that we might just make this a new tradition. It was really nice to get away from the stress of life for a day too!
On Monday, I started back at work. I am only doing part time, but I can think of a lot of places I would rather be then there!
Then on Tuesday, it was my mom's birthday! She turned 29 again, and is looking SO good!! We went to Lagoon and had a really fun time. My little niece Maddie was the best part of the day for me! She is 4 years old and is a little dare devil! She loved all of the big kid rides, and the faster they were, the better!! Jared and I are thinking of bouncing back if anyone wants to come!!