Hoosier turned Ute!!!

Motherhood!

2011-09-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

5 weeks ago I had the pleasure of becoming a mother figure to two wonderful beautiful Apache babies. It all started with Hayden having to go down to Arizona to take some tests for the Department of Corrections. Since we were going down there I had asked Hayden what he thought about seeing if we could have Darius for about a month to give his momma a break. Earlier that week I had talked to mom and she had mentioned a few things that were going on that made me want to give Darius' mom a break and let her be 16 for a while. So once Hayden agreed to see if we could bring him home I called mom immediately and she began trying to get a hold of them to ask. The night before we headed to Arizona I received a call from mom telling me to sit down, she then proceeded to tell me the Tewana had agreed to let us take him for a month. I was so excited I began pulling out the car seat and an outfit I had for him and getting the house ready for his arrival. I was on cloud nine. Hayden kept shaking his head at me because of the way I was acting.

So the next morning we headed out and I was so excited the whole way down. Hayden kept warning me not to get too excited as he wasn't with us just yet. As we got about an hour and half away from mom and dad's I receive a text from mom that said, "...Just a thought! What would u think about having Tara for a month too? Don't drive the road Hayden! Just a thought! LOL!"....I didn't believe it....I called mom right away and asked her, "Are you serious?" She was. I guess Misha, Tara's mom, was having trouble finding babysitting while she had class and work so before mom could even get the full suggestion out to her about us maybe taking her for a month she had already agreed. All I could do was stare at my husband with a HUGE grin on my face. Again he's shaking his head. Hayden didn't agree right away. It was a lot to take in as we were about to take home two 1 year old's.

When we got to mom's Tara was already there as mom had been watching her. So mom puts her in Hayden's arms and Tara just smiled and was such a happy baby. The night was interesting as Tara is used to still feeding on her momma, so she kept waking up in the night wanting to feed. I was sure Hayden would immediately say NO was are not doing this. But the next day mom and I headed down to the rez for Woman's Bible Study were I would finally get to see Darius. I got a chance to play ball with him and play with his firetruck. I however did get nervous as during bible study I saw the frustration Tewana was experiencing as she drug Darius out of the church just after he bit another little boy. I was so scared she wouldn't come back or we wouldn't be able to find her. Luckily later that day she came back as there was a group out there about to teach a small part of an AA class. During the dinner they provided I got a chance to talk to Tewana about us taking Darius for a month and while speaking of paperwork and possible allergies ect...Tewana asked us if we would mind taking Darius for a year while she went back to school and worked on her degree. I couldn't believe it. I pulled Hayden over and without hesitation he agreed. I never saw this coming, but was extremely excited. We were now bringing Tara Rose home with us for a month and then getting Darius for a year. I couldn't be more happy and excited.

That evening we took both babies back to mom and dad's with us. We were suppose to go to Phoenix but plans had changed as Hayden needed to get paperwork back to the DOC in Winslow. So we took our new little family and headed up there while mom and dad took there 3 down to Phoenix for Rambo's Dr's appointment. It was nice getting to know the kids and just being the 4 of us. We took them to McDonald's for lunch and they both experienced BBQ sauce for their nuggets and we got a couple funny pics of Tara drinking Dr. Pepper. They were so funny.

The next day we began our travel home. The kids did wonderful. They slept most of the way home. Tara lived up to the name Hayden gave her...."Stink Nasty" as she decided to have a nice blow out just as we came into Kanab. Luckily we were stopping for lunch and gas. The rest of the way home was good only a few breakdowns from the kids as expected. Once we arrived home it felt like mad craziness. The unpacking, the kids meeting the puppies for the first time, a total of 4 puppies, 4 adults and now 2 children.

As the 5 weeks went on we had laughter, crying, frustration, excitement and sadness.

My sister-n-law was so kind to take pictures of my two little ones. Darius was in his cowboy clothes and Tara in a cute little dress. We took them to Wheeler Farm in Salt Lake City. They were so adorable. It was a very hot day so I was so proud of them for making it through the shoot. They loved looking at the animals and Darius loved sitting on the tractors. We also had fun going to a park for a work picnic that I had. The kids loved playing in the grass as they don't get the pleasure of seeing grass on the reservation. The last weekend the children were with us they were spoiled by their Aunt Allison and Uncle Charlie as well as Aunt Erica and cousins Becky, Erin and Kira. I thank them so much for all their help while we had them with babysitting and taking them to the Utah State Fair.

About 2 weeks before we were to head back to Arizona to take Tara back to her mommy I received an email from Darius' mom asking for him back. I was devastated. I understand that she missed her baby boy very much, but I also know that it's very important she get her education. Plus Darius was such a happy go lucky baby the whole time we had him. Watching him come out of his shell each day and getting to be a happy healthy little guy made me very happy. The last thing I wanted to happen was he go back home and close down. I pray everyday that he remains the happy little guy we know and had the chance to experience.

When it came time to take the kids back home the travel was not as pleasant as before. Tara really did not want to be in her car seat and when she was not sleeping she was crying and wanting out. It made for a very long drive. As for Darius, like always, he was a wonderful little guy. He kept mocking Tara trying to make her laugh so she wouldn't cry anymore and he really like it when it started raining. He kept pointing at it and watching it outside his window. Every car that drove by he also pointed and said, "Car". While with us he learned to say "Please, Popsicle, puppies, Tara Rose, glasses ect...." It was so cute watching him learn. I pray he continues to learn new words and grow to a very smart little boy.

After we arrived at mom and dad's it was our last night with the children. Needless to say it was not a pleasant night. Both of them woke up multiple times crying. Tara ended up in bed with us and Hayden had to get up a couple times to comfort Darius back to sleep. Both babies while with us slept through the night and would sleep a good 10-11 hours, but I feel they knew what was happening and they were going back to their life before us. The next morning we got up and got ready to head down to the rez to see their parents. Misha was the first one we saw and she came running to her baby as she missed her so much. Tara wasn't quite sure what was going on and almost tried coming back to me, but then she realized it was her momma that was squeezing her so tight and kissing her all over. Later that evening at church service I had to take Darius over to his momma and again it took a minute to realize who he was looking at. Once he did he went to her right away. Both momma's kept talking about how chunky their babies were. I promise I only fed them 3 meals a day with a few snacks. They were both very good eaters. They ate us out of house and home. LOL And I loved every minute of it. The rest of the week was a very sad week as we knew we would be going home just the two of us, but with faith and trust in God we know there is bigger and better things to come. My husband has been such a wonderful husband. helping me to stay strong and have faith. It all will work out in the end. I praise God for the time I had with these two precious little ones. To finally be a mother was the best gift I could ever receive even if I did have to give them back.

Father and Son together at last!

2011-05-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Was so excited a few weeks ago to find out that my brother finally got a court order stating that he was to have his son Rowan for the next 6 months while his mother was deployed. We have been waiting for 2 years for this GREAT news. I can't wait to finally get to meet his precious little face this year. Here are a few pics from their first week together.

New Journey 2011

2011-02-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

Now I know that I haven't blogged for a while. There has been so much going on since my last blog in September. Some good, some bad and even some sad. We head into 2011 without our precious Cali as we said goodbye to her October 26th. We miss her very much and more so for myself as Hayden and I prepare for our next big step in our relationship. I've always wanted pictures of my kids laying with Cali and cuddling with her. Anyways, I know she will always be with us in our memories and in our hearts. We Love You Cali!!!!!!

Now as we headed into 2011 we began our journey onto becoming Foster Parents. We started our classes as we needed 32 hours to be one more step closer to becoming licensed. We learned so much about what lies ahead. I think this class would be great for ALL parents to go through before their child arrives. Now a lot of the information will be utilized as it seems like a better approach to parenting......however, some of it sounds like we should just let the child do what they want. There will be set rules with a new look at proper discipline. I really appreciate all the information we received as it opened my eye's more to the realization of what we are about to endure. So at the end of January Hayden and I graduated our class and it was then off to the next focus.

Packet number 2 was underway. We had to sign policies and procedures, create an evacuation plan, create an emergency phone list, and most of all prepare our house with beds and dressers and even move all chemicals and medications into a locked cupboard. As I see friends around me, they inform me, they didn't even do all the things we're doing to prepare for a child. It has been fun getting the bedrooms together as my husband and I lived on KSL.com looking in the classifieds for everything we needed. One weekend, we got really lucky and found exactly what we were looking for. For our room downstairs we wanted a bed with dresser drawers under the bed and for the upstairs room we wanted bunk beds. My wonderful husband found both and all for the price of $300. Two weeks later we found a dresser that matched the bunk beds and the comforters it came with. They are perfect....and PURPLE! :) We also received a pack-n-play so we can hopefully receive in baby. I've also been receiving baby gates and toys from some amazing people from work. Also my friend Yvonna has provided us with a large tote full of boy clothes that I loved going through and looking at. Now that our rooms are ready I can't wait to receive our first placement.

Now before we get there, there's just one more step to complete before getting our license to foster. This coming Tuesday at 2:00 we have our home study. This is where they come and make sure all the proper paperwork is completed and make sure our home is safe for any aged child that enters. Hayden and I have agreed to take in children anywhere between the ages of 0-10 and preferably sibling groups of 2-3 depending on the situation. We understand the importance of siblings to stay together and if we can help with that then that's what we'll do. We also understand the importance of the children being with their biological parents and if safe will support that too. However, when there is a situation where it's not safe for the child to return home we will open our home permanently and hopefully get the chance to adopt. Now we also know the children will not always like us and will try everything they can for us to give them back, but unlike those in their past Hayden and I will stand strong and love and care and understand these children whom God has placed with us. We will never give up on them and we will show them what loves really is and what love really means. We will take them fishing, hiking, camping and try to show them how a real family stands behind each other. I'm not promising it to all be flowers and rainbows as we will go through rough times, but that will just make us stronger. We will follow God's guidance and let each child know God's love for them.

This journey we are about to embark on has me so filled with love and excitement. The thought of FINALLY becoming a MOM has me so overwhelmed with gratefulness and faith and love and hope. Thank you LORD for allowing us this opportunity to Make A Difference in someone's life.

You are an Awesome GOD and I will Rejoice in Your Name, may You be with Hayden and I and our entire family as we start this journey together, may You guide us and comfort us and allow us to be the best parents we can be to these children who need love and protection. Amen!

Big Boy!!!

2010-09-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

I received new updated pictures of my nephew yesterday and can't believe how big he is getting. He is now 1 year and 7 months old. He's looking more and more like his daddy when he was a little boy. I still can't wait to meet him and tell him how much I love him.

Summer's coming to an End!

2010-08-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, where do I start? This summer has been quite eventful. Starting off in early May when Hayden and I got really excited about the possibility of becoming parents to a month old little boy name Darius. We found out on a Monday or Tuesday that a young mother on the White Mountain Apache Reservation was looking for someone to take responsibility of her little boy as she was only 15 and looking to start and complete high school. By that Thursday we got final word that "she just wanted someone to take him" So Hayden and I requested time off for the following Wednesday through Saturday with plans to go to the courthouse on Thursday to complete the custody papers. We were so excited and preparing for daycare, adjusting our income and bills to accommodate a another member to our family. And looking forward to surprising Hayden's mom on Mother's Day with a grandson. However, by Sunday after church I got the worst call ever. I had a quick call with mom who mentioned, "she's changed her mind, she wants to keep the baby". I was instantly sick to my stomach. I had just picked up a car seat for Hayden's car and really didn't want to send it back. Mom said after they dropped everyone off after church they were all going to sit down with the mom and see what was going on. Come to find out, she still wanted someone to take him, but didn't want him so far from home. She still wanted to be able to see him when she wanted. So had we lived in Arizona we most likely would have him right now. :( Anyways, I called Hayden with the bad news. After a long talk we decided to still go down and at least visit with my parents and in hopes that she would still change her mind back. We drove down on Wednesday and on Thursday I got to join my mom at Women's Bible Study where I got to meet Darius for the first time. He was so cute and I didn't put him down until it was lunch time. It was really hard to leave him behind.

That Thursday Hayden got his first taste of the reservation and what things are like down there. He also got to try an Apache burger and I had an Indian taco. Mmmmm! I love fry bread. Anyways, by the time we got home I noticed that Hayden was looking for jobs in Arizona so we could be apart of what mom and dad do. We also started looking for homes in the area. Needless to say, because Hayden is not Indian, he was not chosen for the job he applied for. :( If we lived in Arizona we could have a houseful of kids, but God has other plans for us. After coming home we had a couple weeks to get back to work and I completed my externship for school.

The last weekend in May mom and the kids came up to come to my graduation. We had a great weekend. We took the kids to Antelope Island were the kids got to play in the Great Salt Lake and see animals. We got an Ol' Fashion picture taken, turning out Indians into Cowboys. It was really fun. On Sunday we went to church and after had a wonderful lunch at Joe's Crabshack. Then it was off to Kohl's to do a little shopping. It was so nice spending the day with my mom. Sunday night my little brother Krisdon began his 5 week stay. To give mom and dad a break we decided to have Krisdon stay with us for the month of June. It was fun yet frustrating and now we got a little taste of what mom and dad deal with everyday. The parts that I loved is the company at church and listening to him sing to the christian songs I had playing on the TV. He's such a good kid and although sometimes frustrating we had a great time fishing, cleaning the cars, buying a motorcycle and just hanging out as a family.

When June ended, mom, dad and the kids came back for 4th of July weekend to come pick up Krisdon. Although a very short visit it was nice having them here. As July went on I completed the final weeks of my externship and completed the proper paperwork to get my diploma. The month of July got back to normal as Hayden and I got back to the schedule of going to work (ok i had to get back to actually going to work). Now that August is a week away from being over we prepare for the cooler weather. The AC has been shut off for now and as of last Saturday the 21st I turned 28. I spent the weekend of my birthday going camping with my sister-n-law and her family and friends. We had a great time. The smell of the camp fire. The sounds of kids playing and building tents in the background and a day of spending time at the beach, riding wave runners and laying in the sun. When I got home, my husband had the house all clean and while I was gone my official diploma showed up. So my wonderful husband went out and bought a beautiful from for it and loving card and a $100's off a set of 4 new tires. Oh my truck sounds sooooo much better and easy to drive. Amazing what 4 new tires can do.

Now kids are starting to go back to school, work is still the same ol' same ol' and the cooler weather is starting to feel like fall. I can't wait to see what the winter brings us. We are hoping a baby. :) Keeping that in our prayers. What a great summer!!!! God is so Good!

Poor Bunny

2010-08-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

So do you guys remember my blog back in April about my puppy and him stealing Hayden's Easter Bunny? Well if not click here to review. Anyways, I just wanted to give you all an update on how the poor bunny is doing. He is much thinner than last time and is starting to lose his brain. Kenseth perks up every time the bunny gets picked up and starts getting excited in hopes that we will throw it so he can run after it. Well just over the last month or so we started seeing stuffing streamed through out the living room. So I finally took a picture of him as i discovered the hole in his head. Even though the bunny is almost nothing, Kenseth still can't get enough of him. So here are a couple of pictures to show how much he really does love this bunny.

Graduation!!!

2010-05-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last night I Graduated! FINALLY!!!! And I not only just graduated, I graduated Magna Cum Laude and Alpha Beta Kappa Society. I knew I would definitely graduate but never thought with this high of honors. It really is a self esteem and confidence booster. Thank you everyone who helped me get through it. It felt as though the last 20 months would NEVER end, but last night proved the end. It was so nice to see all my school friends again. I'm so proud of everyone. I know for many of us this was a long time coming. So CONGRATULATIONS to all the graduates last night!!! And THANK YOU to the teachers who helped us get there!

New Alpha Beta Kappa

2010-05-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

Today Hayden and I headed to my school for a ceremony that inducted me into one of the most prestigious Honor Societies. About two months ago I received a call from student resources telling me I was nominated by my Associate Dean for Medical Specialties to become a member of the National Alpha Beta Kappa Honor Society. At first I really didn't know what that meant, but after I read a little bit about it I started to realize the true honor it shows. Click here to read more details. When we got there and once it finally started we had a very nice lunch and I had time to visit with Ranel (my Assoc. Dean). After everyone was done eating the ceremony began. There were 10 students and 3 faculty inducted into the ABK today. One of the requirements for the students to be nominated was they had to be in the top 10% of the graduating class. I can't believe I am in the top 10% of the class. That's so amazing to me and I'm so excited to know I have accomplished so much.

When it was my turn, Ranel and I went up front and I received my acceptance letter, my ropes for graduation, the emblem key and a red carnation all representing Alpha Beta Kappa and what they stand for.

For those of you who may not know, ABK stands for:

Alpha: The first letter of the Greek alphabet, stands for Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and patroness of the arts, crafts, and sciences. She bespeaks the spirit of truth and is armed with a spear of lightning. Alpha also means the first of anything and it is the name of the brightest star in a constellation.
Beta: The second Greek letter, represents Brasidas, a distinguished Spartan General who fought with courage and gave his life in the fourth century B.C. He planned, organized and followed through in his cause. His life reminds us of our opportunity and duty to "fight the good fight."
Kappa: Tenth Greek letter, stands for Kudos, meaning glory, credit and praise. Accordingly, A.B.K. means recognition and praise for those who have worked valiantly and successfully in one or more fields of the applied arts and sciences.

At graduation next Friday I get to show off my Academic Excellence but wearing proudly my ropes and my Emblem Key representing ABK. Thank you so much Ranel for seeing the potential in me and the hard work I've put in over these last 20 months. I hope to continue to make you and the school proud as I go out into the workforce and make a difference in the medical field.

One Year!!!

2010-05-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday May 16th, Hayden and I celebrated our One Year Wedding Anniversary. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It has been a wonderful year and of course it's also had it's ups and downs, but everything we've gone through this year has made us stronger in each other. My husband surprises me every day with the plans we make and the decisions we come across. I see myself loving him more and more everyday. It is also just through the little things he does. With my schooling and also working 40 hrs a week I come home to a clean house, laundry being completed and dogs happy and bathed. I know sometimes I don't always show my appreciation to him and can find myself taking for granted what's right in front of me. I want to thank him for everything he has done to make work and school and marriage run as smoothly as possible. And as we endure into the next year of our life together:

I pray that God may guide us together in His plan for our life and marriage. God I ask that you show us patience for each other and for Your plans for us, also love and guidance for each other. Only through You may our marriage succeed. Lord, thank you so much for this wonderful man that he was put into my life, I am so grateful for him.

Saturday night when I got home from work I walked into the house and saw a beautiful potted plant called Bromeliad. It is in the cactus and tropical plant category. I am hoping that I can keep it alive. :) On Sunday we enjoyed our morning relaxing and getting a few things done around the house before heading out and getting prepared to go fishing. After we got our fishing license and a few more items to fish we headed up to Settlement Canyon here in Tooele and spent about 4 hours with no success. Utah fishing is NOT as easy as Minnesota or even Indiana, however, it was a very beautiful day despite the wind. We had a nice little show from the seagulls who Hayden kept feeding and they kept nose diving towards us to the water. I was able to get a video of it but not able to get it to copy over to the computer. After we gave up on fishing we came home to (of course) watch the race and then headed to diner at Chili's. It was so yummy. When we got home we were finally able to dig into the last layer or our wedding cake. It smelled so yummy and when I took my first bite I was surprised it tasted as if it were just made. No freezer burn or even a taste of it being in the freezer for 12 months. We had a wonderful day together.

First Vacation!!!

2010-05-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday Hayden and I took a trip to Arizona in hopes to bring home a very special adorable little boy names Darius. However, God has other plans. I just pray that he stays safe and grows up knowing God through my parents ministry. Thursday mom and I went down to the rez. for Woman's Bible study and I was able to meet Darius and hold him all morning. It was hard to give him back to his mom knowing the struggles she is going through, but I just have to trust that it will all work out in the end. While we were down there dad and Hayden showed up for Hayden's first experience on the rez. It was an eye opener I think as he told my dad "It makes you appreciate what we have." A lot of the Apache's don't even have running water...(Darius' home is one of them) They also live on very little money and usually house hope as they don't have a firm home to live in. Suicide is high among teenagers and drugs, alcohol and sex are also very big among teenagers as well as adults. The Devil is strong on the Rez and he tries even harder when God overpowers. As He always will. Prayers are much needed on the rez.

Thursday evening we all had dinner at the church. Hayden decided to ruin his diet and try an Apache Burger. I had an Indian Taco. Mmmm they were so good. We stayed down there till about 8pm and had a wonderful time. Hayden had fun playing with my little sisters little brother Josiah. He was so cute.

Friday we had a day at home. It was nice just to take our time getting ready for the day and spending time with mom and Precious. We decided to go shopping and grab a few things. When we got home and had dinner Hayden and I decided to take the boys out with us to get a birthday cake for mom as it was her birthday. The ongoing joke is that mom is only 23 so we decided to get candles that said just that. The kids had a blast getting the cake and then having mom blow out the candles.

Saturday, we originally had plans to go home, but Hayden agreed we could stay till Sunday after church. So we made it another relaxing day and also headed over to the storage unit to grab a few more things to bring back home with us. We also took everyone out to dinner for Mother's Day since we were not able to stay after church to take mom to lunch. Church on Sunday was really good. My dad was the one who gave the message about Love. It was really cool getting to watch him. I've never seen him give the Sunday message.

Hayden and I had a wonderful time and I can't wait to go back. In 3 weeks mom and the kids will be here for my graduation and I can't wait.

Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful weekend. Luv you!

Spring is here and Summers coming!!!!

2010-04-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

The first real sign of spring besides the beautiful warm weather would have to be when you drive home from Salt Lake in the early evening and by the time you get home you can't see out your front window. Not because of dirt or rain, but BUGS!!!! Reminds me of being in Indiana driving in the country. One specific time I will always remember is when I was dating Hayden that first fall we were together and I was out at my Nana and Papa's house with my parents. Hayden by my surprise had map-quested how to get to my parents house out in the middle of nowhere. (of course I wasn't there) So he calls me to find out where I was, no much to his surprise we were another half hour out in the middle of nowhere in Jonesboro, In. ....LOL So he finally makes it out there (mind you he had driving from Indianapolis which is a good hour and 15-20 minutes from where my parents lived.) So I meet him at the local church my grandparents attended and he followed my their house. I drop off mom and dad's van and decide to ride back to my house in Kokomo then off to Indy that evening. Well to make a much longer story short Hayden took me out to as "starting over" date, but first he wanted to stop at Mike's Carwash to clean off his car. Remember he just drive about a round trip into the country of 4 hours. Anyways, we get to the carwash and he always seem to get special attention because he drove an all black dark tented window Crown Victoria, so the guy who was in charge of spraying down the car before you go in just starts laughing. Of course we knew just what he was thinking....LOL!!! It was mass bug suicide on the front of his car. We actually started laughing because of the workers reaction. Needless to say we got about another 5 minute spray down. LOL!!!

So anyways, this past Sunday evening I was heading home from my friend Yvonna's baptism and when you get closer to the Great Salt Lake you know your car is not going to make it through without a bug hitting your car. Just before I got home I could barely see out my front window as the sun was shining and focusing on these bugs. Me being the picture whore that I am of course I had my camera with me and ust had to get this picture. LOL

This is only the drive home. Just imagine what it would look like if it where there and back.

Obsessions!!!!

2010-04-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

Lately when Hayden and I come home from work we come home to shoes everywhere and sometime clothes stringing out of the bedroom. Yes I have concerns about our newest member of the family and his obsession with shoes. LOL!!! The other day I walked in the house and sure enough all the shoes that belong at the front door were spread throughout the living room. He never chews on them, he just picks them up and carried them in and drops them. Also if you notice some of the shoe laces are almost out of the shoes. I'm not sure what he's doing. It's actually starting to get annoying. We may have to find a new location for the shoes.....or maybe the dog. :) Yesterday Hayden got home and sure enough shoes everywhere, however this time Kenseth had also found the little Easter bunny I had gotten Hayden this past week and now it's fur is matted with dog slobber and the egg it was holding on with only one arm. The bunny now looks like a homeless bunny holding onto his favorite toy. Yes Kenseth got in big trouble for that one.

Playing in the snow!!!

2010-03-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday March 13th I was about to be apart of my best friends wedding. More to come in another post once more pictures come about. Anyways, all day it snowed and once I got home the dogs really wanted to go outside. My husband warned me that I had better make sure I'm out of the way of the door once opened as Kenseth will make a mad dash out. Sure enough he did. He loves the snow and it's so funny to watch him dive into it as he runs and plays. When we went into after a little potty break and play time I tried relaxing on the snow and Kenseth even laid and ate a bone for a little while. When he was done with that he kept whining and bugging me and acting like he needed to potty again. So after about 5 minutes of ignoring him I finally gave in and took him out. Sure enough he didn't need to potty, he just wanted to play and wouldn't play until Jake was outside with him. When he steps into the snow he boltz like lightening back and forth in the yard. LOL I LOVE IT!!!!

Grill Time!!!!

2010-03-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

Ever since we bought our house in June 2009 I've been telling my husband I want a grill. His response was always...."we have more important things to put our money towards". So I've been patient and went that whole summer without a grill for my steaks. Well this year is a new year and with the wonderful thing called tax refunds I was finally able to pay up/off all our bills and still have left overs. :) So this past Wednesday I went to Wal-Mart and found a Charcoal Grill I've been wanting for years. I was so excited to get it that I skipped my tanning bed visit and went home to try and get it put together before Hayden got home. Well, once I got home and pulled everything out of the box, there were a lot of pieces and parts and screws and everything else that comes along with it.

So unlike a man....I pulled out the instructions and began putting it together. It took a minute get it going in the right direction, but once I got the base legs going it's started going a little faster. About a half hour after getting started Hayden pulls in and shakes his head. :) After about 3 hours and only 2 hands late I finally got the grill assembled. Of course by then I was so tired and knew I had to be up for work at 430 am that dinner did not end up getting made as planned.

However, last night I was able to be home after work and started getting the grill ready and heated for dinner. When I bought the grill I was talking to my dad and he suggested getting Hickory wood chunks. So as I fill the grill with the wood and get it started I had trouble getting the grill hot. It kept smoking and smoking and smelled really good. (Like sitting around a camp fire) As the grill was suppose to be getting hot I started cutting the potato's, onions and adding mushrooms to foil with butter, salt and pepper and wrapping them up to place on the grill. I also got the steaks seasoned. Every 15-30 minutes I'd go out and check the grill see if it was ready. Well it new got ready so I spayed a bunch more lighter fluid on the wood chips and finally the fire stayed going. But the steaks were already on and since it didn't have much time to really heat up and I just placed the steaks in the flames (which I knew was a no no) LOL. The steaks finally started to cook, however the of course were cooking from the outside in and well when I brought the steaks in for dinner I cut into it and like I expected still raw in the middle. :( So I had to throw mine in the microwave to cook the inside and I turned the oven on to finish cooking the potato's and mushrooms.

So the lesson learned here is.....stick with charcoal and use the wood chip for flavor only. LOL!!! I guess it was just a little trial and error. Next time we're hoping for a better outcome and a husband that will get his dinner quicker. LOL! But guess what.....I HAVE A GRILL!!!!! :) It's going to be a good summer.

Happy Birthday Rowan!!!

2010-02-06T17:14:00.001-08:00

On February 4th, my nephew Rowan turned 1. Although we were not able to spend the day with him I hope he knows how much we love him. Currently his mother is overseas and his grandma is watching him. My brother finally received her number and email so he can hopefully continue to stay in touch with Rowan and get to see him more often through email or text. Yesterday morning while I was getting ready for work I was checking my email and saw my brother had sent me a little video of Rowan standing at the couch listening to his grandma sing Happy Birthday to him. It was so cute. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the video saved to my computer so it may be coming in the future, however about half way through my day at work my brother then sent me a picture of Rowan and of him. It made my day. I love receiving pictures of my family. I miss them so much and can't wait till the day I get to meet my beautiful nephew. He's getting so big and we are missing out on some of the most exciting times in his life. By the Grace of God we will see him soon enough.

Hope you had a wonderful Birthday Rowan Issac. Your Auntie Cole loves you soooo much!!!!

Father, Son Love

2010-02-06T17:05:00.000-08:00

Last night Hayden was having fun playing with Jake and getting him to make mean faces. It was actually quite hilarious. Jake looks so mean. I promise he's not a mean puppy. Check out the funny pics I captured. LOL

Our New Member

2010-01-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

So my husband, for about 3 weeks, has been begging to get yet another dog. We had even tried taking our dogs to the Humane Society to get their shots over Christmas break and found out they were closed after driving them all the way into SLC. So when we found that out Hayden sat in my passenger seat with his own puppy eyes and lip out practically, so I decided to go in and at least look at the dogs telling him before hand, "We ARE NOT BUYING ONE!!!" Of course, we get in there and it was like a kid in a candy store. He was picking out all the ones he liked and pin pointed an English Bull Dog. He had the biggest fat head and fat paws....He was very cute other than his color. I personally didn't like it because it looked liked a pit bull color. (not a fan) So for the next week to two weeks I would catch Hayden looking on the Utah Humane Society website. I then went to work and informed my friends of his new obsession and in turn was told by Patty, "Oh, let him get his dog" LOL And stupid me goes home and tells him about it. Of course I then didn't hear the end of it. "Your friend said you have to let me get a dog.....so now you have to let me get one!" OH you gotta love husbands.

So Sunday night Hayden tells me he's going to pick me up for lunch and go over to the Humane Society. Yes, he got "the look" of "ahhhh, fine!" Monday comes around and we head over and start looking. His Bull dog was still there, but we still looked around and ended up finding "Kenseth" a one year old Black Lab mix (and no his name wasn't originally Kenseth) his given name was Charlie. He is very tame when inside, however he is a horse. Jake our 5 year old yellow Lab. is not quite liking him around. Every time Kenseth moves even just the slightest, Jake growls. Cali could actually care less as she's used to living with multiple dogs, but she has a tendency to lay close to her mommy. Now we have one big family and still need to add babies to the mix. :) Good thing our puppies love children.

Christmas weekend!!!

2009-12-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

This Christmas my husband and I decided to open our gifts the night before because unfortunately he had to work on Christmas day. The puppies got first dibs and daddy had bought them little puppies Christmas cookies and candy canes. They had them gone in less than 5 minutes and come back as if there were more. They were cute. Once they were done Hayden and I started in out our gifts. The first opened were the ones from my parents. They contributed to the new Wii system by purchasing a Wii Fit for me and a Wii racing wheel with NASCAR Kart Racing game for Hayden. (Thanks mom and dad!!!!)

Hayden also did a great job in adding to my Wii collection by getting me some Wii workout games that have me barely walking these days, but also got a back and neck massage so I can relax after working myself to death. :) He also hooked me up with some Mickey scrubs and some other workout equipment. (Do you think he's trying to tell me I'm getting FAT???) LOL!!! Just kidding. He I believe didn't do to bad on his gift either. His loving wife bought him some expensive sunglasses, a Carhart Matt Kenseth NASCAR, cologne, and the Star Trek movie. Also we had decided to pitch in and purchase the Wii system for each other as well as I purchased a 19" flat screen for the bedroom which he's using more than me. LOL! We definitely had a good year this year.

On Christmas morning of course Hayden headed off to work early while I slept till 8am. I made the Foland traditional breakfast casserole which will take me a while to eat since I'm the only one who will eat it. I also had a chance to relax, clean and exercise with Jillian Michael's. Watched the Disney Christmas Parade and then got ready to head over to Erica's for the Kanary Christmas fun. And let me tell you.....I see now where Hayden gets his urge to open gift early, as once we finally got there, EVERYONE had already opened their gifts without us. We got more gift cards, card games, Christmas decor. and bath salts. Now I need to find a time to take a nice relaxing bath. Dinner was delicious and the time with family was wonderful. Maybe next year my family will be here too. HINT HINT!!!!

Today, Erica and her family and Allison and Charlie came over for a Wii party. Once everyone arrived we ate a very yummy dinner starting the night off with a cheese and spinach fondue. We then exercised, boxed, bowled, and even raced. And let me tell you.....Becky and John are fierce. Charlie and Hayden decided to be outsiders and go upstairs and watch Star Trek and then us ladies finished the night off with a game of Phaze 10. It was yet another great day full of FAMILY!!!! Thank you everyone for coming. We really need to do this more often. Hopefully more time will free up on our weekends soon as I am only 3 1/2 months away from being done with school and on my way to hopefully a 9-5, M-F. :)

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas and enjoys the New Year! God had great things in store for us and I can't wait to see what He has planned next. God Bless all of you who actually read my blog.

A good morning!!!

2009-12-23T07:38:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up to a text pic of my nephew who is growing up so fast and getting more handsome every time i see him. Nothing like waking up to see a smile like his on my phone.

Just Beautiful!!!

2009-12-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

Today after I left church and did a little bit of last minute shopping I headed over to my friend Yvonna's house for our gift exchange. If you guys don't remember she was my Maid-of-Honor in my wedding last May. I guess after the wedding she had a lot of leftover fabric from when her and her mom made the bridesmaids dresses. So she decided to take the fabric that was left as well as adding more and made me an absolutely beautiful quilt. So now not only do I have a very sentimental quilt because a wonderful friend made it, but I also have a piece of my wedding in it too. THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!! She also somehow had time to crotchet Hayden a blanket as well to go along with his favorite NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth with his new Crown Royal colors of purple and yellow. It's nice and heavy and warm. We will both be staying nice and warm this winter. Again, Thank you! I couldn't ask for a better friend to not only think of me this Christmas, but also my husband who means everything to me. Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family Yvonna. I hope it's all you ever hoped for. Luv you!!!

SNOW!!!!

2009-11-15T17:17:00.000-08:00

All day yesterday it snowed. It was so beautiful watching the snow fall as I say inside working. Shortly before I headed home it stopped snowing....well I thought that it had stopped. About half way home on I-80 and the closer I got to the Great Salt Lake the more it started snowing again. I quickly got of the phone... :) ..... and payed attention to the road as traffic slowed down. Then after 45 minutes I finally made it home to find we had quite a bit of snow and it again was beautiful.

When I woke up this morning at 6:30 it was still snowing a little bit so I decided to get some pictures before the dogs went running thought it. Jake didn't want to come back in and ended up with a little snow on his nose. Cali enjoyed it as well. With the fresh snow it got me in the mood to start decorating for Christmas. :) Now that we have a home I've been waiting for this time for 5 months now. I usually wait until the day after Thanksgiving to decorate, but I couldn't help it. So I started with the ribbon outside and then went down to the basement to grab the boxes of Christmas decorations all to find out I don't have one very important box. I'm hoping it's still down in Arizona in storage, because if it got left in Indiana I'm not going to be to happy. At least with it in Arizona I know that i'll be able to get it sometime. (Hopefully soon) It has my other 4' tree and my fiber optic Santa as well as the garlin for the banisters. Anyways, I was at least able to get our main Christmas tree decorated and ready for presents.

Ok well i'd love to write more, but the Colts just started playing the Patriots. So I have to go watch them kick BUTT!!!!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T09:54:00.001-08:00

All week everyone would ask..."What are you going to be for Halloween?" And my response was..."I'm a bridesmaid!" That's right everyone....I had the honor of standing up with my Sister-n-Law Allison as she married Charlie. The day started by meeting at Memorial Grove about 2:30-3:00 and we all started getting everything set up. We had a minor detail issue when the cake showed up. It put the bride in tears and the rest of us with concern of what to say or do. And then.....an angel showed up..."the florist" Flower's By Megan! and created with left over flowers an amazing cake.

Once the guests finally arrived and we were able to get started. We all lined up and headed down the isle. When Allison started her way down the isle I glanced at Charlie to see his reaction.....Tears in his eye's and a huge smile on his face. I think when Allison finally made it to the front and received her kiss from her daddy and saw her future husbands tears.....hers then began. I'm not sure what it is about watching someone tear up but they are definitely contagious. Because my eye were teary, I glanced over at Erica and she was tearing and yes i believe I saw a tear even in Hayden's eyes. The ceremony was just beautiful even if it wasn't outside as originally planned. Standing in front of a fireplace with lite candles on the mantle is just as beautiful.

After the ceremony it was time for group and family pictures. Then, we all moved into the dining hall and began a little dancing and started eatin while waiting for the rest of the new married couple pics were taken. The bride and groom finally made it back in time for their first dance and the dance with the parents. Surprisingly enough I was able to get my husband out on the dance floor pretty much the whole night. We all had a great time and the nieces didn't stop dancing till they were out the door for the night.... Kira was extremely funny....doing the bootie dance along with Erin. She was also "backin it up!" LOL Girls what has your Aunt Allison been teaching you? LOL! After the reception it was a group effort to get everything cleaned up and packed into the vehicles.

So this Halloween I was a bridesmaid and would have to say is one of my better Halloween celebrations. Nothing like spending it with family and friends at a beautiful wedding!

Snow in September!

2009-09-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Last week were experiencing weather between 80-95 degrees it was so nice. I had actually been outside in my bikini washing my truck and getting a nice tan last Wednesday and when I arrived home one day last week we had a beautiful sunset shining on the mountains in front of our house. Then yesterday we were even at 89 degrees with strong winds. This morning we wake up to snow capped mountains and highs in the 40's. :( Winter is coming and it's only the last day of September. This Wednesday I'm sitting inside in long pants, a sweatshirt and a dog laying on my feet to keep me warm. The last time it started this early was the first winter Hayden and I were living here and it didn't stop snowing until the beginning of May. It was the longest winter I had ever experienced. I hope this is not a sign of yet another LONG winter. But if it is then be prepared for many beautiful winter views that will come with my obsession with taking pictures. :)

~God's Grace~

2009-09-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

This past Friday I received one of the worst calls I could receive as my mom informed me that my best friend that I grew up with and went to school with was brutally beaten in her home sometime during late Thursday night, early Friday morning. Her three boys ages 4, 5, and 6 found her that morning bleeding from the head and unconscious. The police showed up 4 minutes after the call was made to 911 and they rushed her to the hospital where they then life lined her to Methodist in Indianapolis. After they took her into surgery and removed some of her skull to relieve the pressure it was just a matter of waiting and praying and praying and waiting. The last update I had gotten on Friday was she had 7 skull fractures and was on life support.

Saturday I checked my phone constantly looking for some kind of update, but never heard anything. So when I got home I found that the family had set up a care page so we could all get updates about her as they came in. The first post was nothing new from what we had already known from Friday, but when I woke up just before Hayden left for work today (Sunday) I happened to check my email and saw there was a new update. So I ran downstairs to my computer and pulled up the website to find Praises!!!

Each hour the nurses bring Jamie out of her induced coma to test her reflects and I guess she had been doing fine moving her left side each time, but because the damage to her brain was on the left she hadn't been moving her right side. Sometime last night when they did a pinch/poke test she finally moved her right arm and leg. That right there is such a relief to hear because whoever did this hanis crime left her for dead. It's amazing how God takes such an evil situation and turns it into great things.

They still at this point do not have any suspects, but they have many departments investigating the crime scene and hoping once Jamie wakes up they can get more information to help. For anyone who reads my blog I ask that you all pray and continue to pray for Jamie and her family as well as the men and women who are working hard to solve the crime. And yes also please pray for the one who did this to her as he will need many prayers for salvation.

Relaxation!

2009-09-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

Today I took the day off work and decided to have a nice relaxing day with my husband. I was able to sleep in and when i finally got up we watched movies. I then finished my project of putting pictures in the frames I received from my mom for my birthday. As well as a frame Hayden and I received for our wedding. While I was playing with pictures, Hayden got the screen windows from the basement and we can now finally open the windows without flies and other bugs getting into the house. Who would've known it would take us three months to finally do it. LOL. It is now time to get dinner ready to prepare and just lay around once again and RELAX!!!! I'm so blessed to have been able to take today off and spend it with my husband. We have had a great day. I wish I could do this every week. I luv my husband!!!!!

My Birthday!

2009-08-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday August 21st I turned "27". It's funny how the older you get the more it really doesn't matter because, one, it doesn't feel like you get older until your alarm goes off and you can't drag yourself out of bed and two, what is there to look forward to anymore. 16 is over I've got my drivers license, 18 is also over and really that one didn't matter to me much as I do not smoke and could care less about buying smokes and well I now live in the one state that does not have to lottery, and then 21 yeah it was fun for a while but then I quickly ran out of money so buying alcohol wasn't fun anymore. So really what else is there. There is no other age that has big milestones to look forward. Now yes there is the big 30 "over the hill" blah blah blah, Which Hayden reminded how close I was to 30 now, Thanks hunny!

Well even though 27 is not that significant I still had a great day! I started out with a conversation with my mom as I was on my way to work for a few hours. When I got to work everyone was quick to say, "Happy Birthday Nicole!" which made me feel loved. When 2:15pm came around I was ready to get out of there. I had already scheduled PTO for the rest of my day and found out that my wonderful husband was able to get off work an hour early so we could meet downtown for a delicious lunch at Tucano's Brizilian Grill. Mmmmmmmm!!!!! All you can eat meat and grilled pineapple, as well as, pastas, salads, SUSHI :) , and fruits. The servers were bringing around the meats so quickly, Hayden and I filled up pretty fast and were out of there about an hour and half later. When we were done it was back out into what was a nice HOT day. I think it was about 98 degrees if not 100 and the sun just beating down on us as we headed back to our cars.

We parked it two different parking garages so we parted ways and were going to head home for the evening. Then just before we got to I-80 to head home we got stopped at a light and I was behind Hayden's car when all the sudden he jumps out of his car and runs back to mine with one hand holding red roses and the other carrying a card. It was very sweet. You could see others in theirs car smiling and watching him. The rest of the way home I was all smiles and remembered one of the reasons why I Love Him So Much! When we got into Tooele I stopped at the local Cold Stone Creamery to get my free birthday ice cream and then finally made it home. It was soooo nice getting to relax and not have to do anything all evening. I got to talk to my brother and also my dad called before bedtime and topped off the already great day.

A day at the Lake!

2009-08-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had plans for the annual camping trip, however the weather forecast lots of rain and cool temps. So we canceled the camping and played it by ear as for the fishing. Saturday we all woke up to rain that didn't look like it was going to go away but down in Payson the sun was still shining. We all met at Erica's and headed down to Payson, Utah. It rained the whole way there, but once we got there it finally cleared and the sun came out. The view was absolutely amazing. It was peaceful and relaxing. We were up about 7000 ft or more so although the sun was out it was only in the mid 60's and slightly windy.

The girls had a blast feeding the ducks and riding their bikes. They did some wading in the water and also accompanied us in evening fishing on the boat. For being trapped in a raft out in the middle of the lake for a couple of hours the girls did pretty well. We managed to keep them in the boat and not push them overboard....LOL! Although Becky did try to fall out. After being out there for a while I managed to catch my first fish in Utah! It took me two years and a month and half but FINALLY I caught one. Actually I caught two in a row and if the rest of the fish would just take the WHOLE worm and not just bits and pieces I would've caught a lot more. Oh well! I had a great time. Thanks John and Erica for taking me a long for the ride. I'm so glad I get to spend the same birthday month with such great people. Happy Birthday Erica!

Save Brett! Playdate.

2009-07-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night after I was done with a long night of sitting in class I drove over to my sister-n-laws to steal her children for the night. I think we got home about 10:30....oh wait it was 10:32pm to be exact. Becky and I kept trying to guess what time we would be home. I guessed 10:30 however at the last light we got stopped on a red as well as we had a truck in front of us holding us up. When we got home the girls were let loose in a house they really hadn't had a whole lot of time to explore as they've only been out once since we've moved here. The first destination was the play room where we hold all of our stuffed animals and then they all discovered the room they were staying in. Since we have yet to really establish some of the additional rooms in the house, Hayden had set up the air mattress in our spare room upstairs. Kira comes running downstairs into the kitchen where I was making me a vary late night dinner of macaroni salad and says, "Cole come here!" so I follow her upstairs as she runs and jumps on the bed. LOL She wanted to show me their room. I thought it was cute.

Anyways, we allowed them to stay up for a little while, but by 11 it was time for us all to get to bed. By the time Hayden and I headed to bed all three girl were zonked out. I always find it hilarious they way they all tend to fall asleep so of course I had to capture the moment. So the first picture is how they fell asleep. Notice the order in which they are sleeping and the location of the pillows! The second picture was taken the following morning. Again notice the order in which they are sleeping as well as pillow location.....LOL!!!! Hayden and I stood there laughing as we try to figure out how it all happened. About 5 minutes later we released the dogs for the early morning wake up call. Again, quite the funny site.

After we were all finally up and around we headed to Wheeler Farm to get pictures taken of the girls to support the Save Brett Fund. Click here for more info. The girls did a great job. Between photo shoots we fed the ducks and geese and also walked around as all the farm animals. The girls played in the tree houses and pretended they were guiding a wagon pulled by horses while Kira would grab (pretend) food from the back and feed it to the horses. As the morning went on it was getting hotter and the girls were ready to be done. So we treated them to lunch at McDonald's play place. Oh my goodness was there a lot of kids and screaming and injuries and well lets just say Hayden informed me he only wants 2 kids and it may be a while till that happens. LOL Anyways, we had a great time with the girls and hopefully we can do it again soon.

Precious Little Man!

2009-07-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

Today my brother text me an updated picture of my nephew Rowan. He is now 5 1/2 months old and he's growing up so big and maybe someday he will grow hair. But that smile of his will light up anyone's day. I luv you Little Man! Someday I will meet you until then may God keep you safe and bless you.

Beauty

2009-07-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

The month of June Utah received a lot of rain......at least it's a lot of rain for Utah. To me we would've had to put all the days of rain into one and that would be a real Indiana rain, however with the rain we also received beautiful rainbows. The other day I went outside just to get pictures of the rain clouds and discovered a rainbow. One of God's beautiful creations!

Last picture the rainbow is very faint and from a different front on a different day. It was so wide across the sky I was unable to get a picture of the whole thing.

4th of July!

2009-07-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

The day started of with a wonderful breakfast at Cracker Barrel with my friend Yvonna, her future sister-n-law and our friend Kristy. After breakfast we headed over to David's Bridal so that Yvonna could begin trying on wedding dresses. The ones she tried on were beautiful. I can't wait to see the final dress with her actual colors. After a morning of dress shopping I then headed to Target to get a few more things for the house and then I headed over to Allison's house to hang out until we all went to Erica's for a cookout. We had a great time. Shortly after dinner Hayden and I went home and watched the weekend race and when it came time for fireworks Hayden was already in bed as his new schedule causes him to go to work two hours earlier. So I stayed up by myself and hoped that we had a good view of the Tooele fireworks. At first I just sat on the couch watching out the front window and all the individual fireworks go off around town. Then at 10pm several fireworks began across the way. I was so excited as we had the best view. I love having wide open pastures in front of us. Anyways, I hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th of July. Thank you to all the service men and women who go out everyday and fight for our freedom. May God bless you and your families and keep you safe.

Home Progress!

2009-07-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in the previous 2 posts, we moved into our home two weeks ago and I have had requests to post the progress of our home and what it looks like now that we have everything unpacked and placed just where we want it. So here are a few pictures of whats been going on these past two weeks.

Free Car Washes!

New Furniture!
The Kitchen is coming together!

Our office where I will spend a lot of time the next 9 months!
More Office!
Master Bedroom!

The dogs enjoying their new outdoors. They welcome you all to come visit soon so they can show you around.

*Hayden, Nicole, Cali, and Jake Kanary*

Two Years!

2009-07-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Today we have now been in Utah for two years. A lot has gone on in the past two years. Hayden and I are working in good paying jobs and are blessed to still have a job. I have gone back to school and I'm 9 months away from graduating with an Associates in Medical Specialties. We have also gotten married in the past two months and just moved into our new house two weeks ago. Maybe by the 3 year mark of being in Utah I can post pictures of an upcoming addition to the family. ;)

Of course we miss all our friends and family back in Indiana but we wouldn't change moving out here for the life of us. It is so beautiful and you can go just about an hour away and have a completely different view. The Great Salt Lake, Ski Resorts, Utah Lake, and many other lakes for fishing and a day of relaxation.

We can't wait to see what the next year will bring us. But know for sure whatever exciting events come about you will hear about them here on my blog. And may God bless everything we do and all those who will come in our path.

Our New House!!!!

2009-06-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

FINALLY!!!! We are moved into our new house! I can promise you this....."I WILL NEVER MOVE AGAIN IN MY LIFE!" Monday at 1:30 pm we finally signed the papers to our house and Tuesday we packed the apartment into the u-haul and moved out! It's amazing how much junk can be collected in a matter of a year and a half and also still fit into a one bedroom apartment. However a lot of the most accumulated items were the wonderful gifts from our wedding that I have now gotten out of their boxes and have also started to use. I love them all. Thank you everyone!

Anyways, after getting everything packed up we headed out to Tooele to begin unloading. Yeah...again....NEVER AGAIN!!! By the time the night ended we were both exhausted and getting really crabby so we decided since we were the only two to unload we were just going to get the far enough to grab the bed and then wait and get the rest in the morning. Well morning came too quickly because neither of us slept good and were out of bed by 4am and already working on the house. It made for a very long day, but we got a lot accomplished. We got our cable hooked up, the furniture showed up and by 4pm we finally had hot water to take a shower. By then it was time to head to school and grab the last bit of things at the apartment. And although a rainy day we had a beautiful view out our front window.

As for today it was back to work I went. :( It was a very long day and all I could do is think of how I want to decorate and how much sleep I needed. While I was at work Hayden was able to get our microwave installed and our mailbox. We also finally got our internet up and running. YA!!!! I can't wait for those of you who have yet to come out and check out the house can come out and visit. But anyways, it's been another long day of work, finals and house organizing so I'm going to bed. Have a great night everyone!

***Special thanks to Carrie for everything she did to help us get the house. You have gone above and beyond what is expected of a photographer. :) We still need a pic of the three of us in front of the house with the keys. LOL

Our wedding Slideshow!!!

2009-05-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have yet to see our pictures here is a slide show that Carrie made for us. It turned out amazing. I love it. The pictures make the day that much more special because now the day is past I can always pull up the pictures and remember that it's true.....I'M MARRIED!!!! It wasn't just a dream. I love my husband and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him and whatever little ones may come in the future. ;) Enjoy the show everyone!!!! And THANK YOU CARRIE for being so Awesome.

www.carriebutlerphotography.myshowit.com/nicoleandhaydenfinal

A Day at Brighton!

2009-05-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

On Hayden and I's last day of our honeymoon we decided to take a trip up to Brighton for a day of fishing. When we checked the weather in the area that morning it was only 36 degrees. I had mentioned we probably wouldn't be able to do much fishing as Silver lake was probably still under ice. Hayden kept looking into the weather and found that it was going to be about 60 degrees so we decided to still go. I'm soooo glad we did, because it was absolutely beautiful. Me being all about my warm weather was scared it would be to cold for me, but the temperature was perfect. The sun was just warm enough and there was a slight breeze to make it comfortable. I couldn't get over the mountains and all the scenic views I could take pictures of. I was in Heaven. It was nice and quiet with the sounds of spring birds singing and the wind in the trees. I didn't want to leave. As for the fishing.....LOL....well it was fun casting out a few times, but I believe the fish were still hiding at the bottom of the lake or in the middle where all the snow and ice still existed.

After a couple of hours we decided to head back down the mountain, stopping at every waterfall we found on the way up. They were all beautiful in their own way. The water was so ice cold and rushing down pretty quickly. Once we got down to the bottom of the mountain I spotted a moose walking through the creek so of course we had to make a quick stop on the side of the road for a picture. She must have known I was taking pictures, because she kept posing and stopping in just the right spots.

Next after a morning up in Brighton we had to stop in at a car expo where we got suckered to test drive some cars and trucks (Ford of course). However, no car buying until our house is purchased....if that ever happens. :( At 6:00 we met up with family for Gloria's (Hayden's Aunt) birthday at Red Lobster and then off to their house for cake and ice cream. Happy Birthday Gloria!!!! Hope you had a wonderful day.

Antelope Island!!!

2009-05-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

This week as part of our relaxing honeymoon we decided to head up to Antelope Island. When we got there the views were amazing. I couldn't stop taking pictures of the snow capped mountains reflecting off the Great Salt Lake. We also walked through the visitor center and gift shop. On our way up to the visitor center we met with some of the bugs and let me tell you they did not become our friends. After we left the visitor center we went up the mountain a little ways and found the buffalo. It was so cool to be able to drive right up next to them and they didn't even care we were there. We then headed towards the ranch where they had a lot of history about the island as well as old farm house equipment and household goods. The photography potential out there was amazing. Hayden kept getting aggravated at the fact that I would wander off to capture what I felt would be great pictures. On our way back from the ranch there was a fence row on the side of the road so I made Hayden pull over so I could get out and take a few pictures. Of course as I get out of the truck he acts as though he is going to drive off. So I was able to get a few pictures all while the horseflies were having lunch on my arms. We then headed over to the west side of the island where the beach was located. After some whining and crying about walking down to the water, Hayden made an agreement that is he walked down there I had to agree to go to some Ford dealerships and look at Mustang's. Of course I agreed and we went down to the water. It was quite a walk however we met up with more of those bugs I had spoke of earlier. It was about 5 minutes of swatting bugs and then the closer we got to the lake the more they thinned out. In the sand you could see where they had died off because of the increased salt they couldn't handle. The Great Salt Lake although very smelly is absolutely beautiful. It was also very warm and you could walk out really far and still only be about ankle deep. It was pretty cool. Hayden enjoyed all the flat rocks good for skipping. When it was time to get back to the truck we decided to run through the bugs this time in hopes of avoiding them easier. I think it may have worked because I don't recall swatting so many of them. We had a great time and I would recommend it so anyone if they are trying to plan a family day.

To hold up my Hayden's side of our agreement we stopped at a few Ford dealerships were they had beautiful new Mustang's. Hayden was in Heaven. We had a great day together and I can't wait to visit more places and also someday take our kids to show them the beauty of Utah and the history that comes with it.

Mr. & Mrs. Kanary

2009-05-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

On Saturday May 16, 2009 I married my love. About a week before our wedding I kept checking the weather and getting last minute things done. The weather kept getting warmer and the clouds were subsiding day by day. We ended up having mid-70's and no clouds. It was a beautiful, wonderful, gorgeous day for an outdoor wedding.

The Thursday before the wedding my brother David and Hayden's best friend and Best Man flew in from North Dakota and Indiana. I ended up taking David up to Layton to his hotel and stayed with him the rest of the weekend until the wedding night. Mom and dad came in the next night and mom and I had to take a quick trip to the mall to find mom an outfit. After a few dresses and trying them on we finally found one. Then the next day we all met for breakfast downstairs and mom and I began our day of preparation. We headed off to the nail salon and then Target for some last minute shopping. Then around 1:00 Allison met up with us as we had hair appointments. By the time we were done with that it was time to get over to the wedding location and finish getting ready. There were so many things going on and if it weren't for the help of my maid of honor Yvonna and Bridesmaid Allison I would've gone nuts. You girls were amazing. Thank you so much. Yvonna made sure everything was set up the way she knew I would like it and Allison provided the emergency sewing of my dress so that it didn't open up half way through the wedding. LOL And my flower girls were absolutely adorable. Thank you for being too precious Becky, Erin and Kira. I luv you!

5:30 and it was finally time for the ceremony. My nerves started running at high speed and I had to stop and take deep breathes as I had yet to see my dad. I was also nervous to screw up the words I had to repeat. The ceremony felt as though it only took 5 minutes, but it was so beautiful. Afterward, it was off to more pictures and and nice dinner for two before being announced to those who decided to stay for the reception. During the cake cutting Hayden decided to completely shove cake in my face causing me to fall on the floor. Yeah not a happy camper about that one as I've been telling him for months that he had better NOT shove it in my face. I should've known better. Of course after that came the first dance, the daddy/daughter dance and the bouquet and garter toss. When it came to the bouquet toss it was heading straight for Allison when all the sudden my M.O.H Yvonna reached over and stole it. LOL. She was determined to get it as she is dying to get married. "Side note" (Congrats Yvonna for getting engaged on Sunday! I'm so happy for you. I know you've been wanting it for quite some time.) Anyways, due to most of the guest leaving early Hayden and I decided to leave about an hour earlier than expected also....So after we said our goodbyes and changed our clothes we headed up to Ogden for a wonderful night at the Marriot.

After check in we went down to a wonderful dinner of filet mignon and waiting for us in the room were chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. The whole day was completely beautiful and now Hayden and I can begin the rest of our lives together and growing into a beautiful family. I love you HUSBAND!!!! May God Bless us in all we do.

P.S. There will be more pictures to come on www.carriebutlerphotography.com. Will let you know when they get posted. However right now there are a few more pictures posted on my myspace page as well as http://paigisms.blogspot.com/ . Enjoy!!!

Bridal Shower!!!

2009-05-03T16:31:00.001-07:00

Today after church we all parted ways to grab lunch and at 2:00pm myself and several ladies from church as well as Hayden's mom and sisters gathered for my bridal shower. My friend Bekki after a week of being sick pulled together a wonderful get together. We had snacks and cupcakes with what will be my new last name initial "K" on them. (Thank you Ryan they were delicious!)

I received lots of great cookware that is much needed and can't wait to put in what will hopefully be a new house soon. We got a wedding photo album and some new bath towels as well. I also received wall decor. with Hayden and I's wedding saying and a picture frame with yet another beautiful Christian saying on it. Thank you so much ladies! I love everything and can't wait to put it all to use. I will also enjoy the many words of encouragement ya'll wrote and do my best to remember to do each and every one of them. :)

Bachelorette!!!!

2009-04-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

Last night my Maid of Honor Yvonna threw me a Bridal Shower that included many of our work friends. I also got to catch up with a few of them that I haven't seen in a while since Cap. One. We had a great time. Yvonna decided that we would have a "Slumber Party" and then afterward head to the Gino's Karaoke Bar for the Bachelorette Party.

When I arrived at Yvonna's for the night I received a bridal shirt to wear for the night as well as a few necklace's and a beautiful veil. LOL!!! We then got started with the party and I really didn't know how to take all the info. in and the products being sold. But the whole night was hilarious. We all had a great time and I got a little closer to Erica than I ever expected. LOL!

After the party was over and everyone made their purchases we then headed to Gino's for some drinks, dancing, and yes karaoke. "Why don't you build me up, build me up Buttercup Baby!!!!......" Yes Yvonna dragged me up to the stage to sing....needless to say I think I only sang the chorus as I really hate singing in front of others especially after a few drinks and I can't even talk right let alone sing. I also got a chance to play a game of pool and when we were down to about four balls on the table I realized we didn't have the black ball still on the table.....When we found where the ball was in line of going in we found that I had actually won right up front. We all had a great time!!! Thank you Yvonna and everyone who came to celebrate with me. I can't wait for the wedding day and spending this wonderful time with everyone.

Less than 3 weeks now!!! :)

Academic Excellence

2009-04-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

This week I had the pleasure of attending an awards banquet for school. I had received an email the week prior informing me that I would be getting an award for making the Dean's List. I had found out a couple months ago that I had made the list, which made me extremely proud of my accomplishments. However, when I arrived at the banquet and they started announcing everyone's names for each award they finally got to the Dean's list. As everyone's names got announced I realized mine was not one of them. I just kinda sat quietly and thought maybe they just over looked my name. Then the next set of names they started to announce was for those who made the "President's List". This list is the highest Dean's listing for students who for three months straight made a 4.0 GPA. Unbeknown to me.....my name gets announced and my face was full of smiles. I had NO clue my award was such a recognized award. So I go up to receive the award and shake the Dean's hand and the Assistant Dean and the rest who are involved. One of who was my teacher just a couple months ago. After receiving this award pure joy and accomplishment flowed through my body. I couldn't stop smiling. I was so proud almost tearing up. I then sat through the rest of the banquet to find out that was not my only award. Another shocker to me. I was one of many chosen by the Dean to be recognized all of the nation for students who have received recognition of outstanding merit and accomplishment as a student at Stevens-Henager College by their Dean. It's called Who's Who Among Students In America University's and Colleges. My name will now be included with many other student nationwide in a book that can be purchased from anyone involved. You think I was all smiles before....just imagine now. I really wanted to cry now. I know that for some these awards may not mean much, but for me to come back after being out of college for 4 years and to excel as I have means so much to me. I thank God everyday for the knowledge he has given me and to all my family and friends who are helping me through it. Thank you soooo much for your love and support. You all hold a very special place in my heart. Hopefully another 3 months from now I can bring home another award for 3 more months of acheiving academic excellence. :)

Big Boy!!!

2009-04-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

This past week I've received several new pictures of my Nephew Rowan Isaac. Just about every day when I head off to lunch or when I get out of work I check my phone for new messages and I receive pictures of a smiling happy boy. This past week he had a check up appointment and has grown to 11 lbs 4 oz and 23.3 in long. Only 5 more weeks and I get to hold the little man in my arms. Then making me more baby hungry then ever. Hopefully in the next year or so I'll be able to provide him with a cousin. :) Here are a few of the pictures I've received this week.

Announcement!!!!

2009-04-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

When a girl grows up and start to think about her wedding, one thing that I could never wait for was to post my engagement in the local paper. So as soon as Hayden and I got our pictures back I started going through them and figuring out which ones I wanted to use for our invitations and also to post in the local paper. However, since we now live in Utah and of course if we posted our announcement here nobody would really know who we were, so I went on the website for the local paper back home where all of Greentown and a few in Kokomo would be able to join in on the news. So this morning after church I log onto Kokomotribune.com to the Milestones and found our announcement. To view check out the link: http://www.kokomotribune.com/engagements/local_story_091170615.html

Only six more weeks and I'll be Mrs. Nicole Marie Kanary!!!!

Winter views!

2009-04-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

This past Monday I decided to play hookie from work and enjoy a day with my hunny. We decided to take a trip up to Tooele, Utah to view a few houses and check out the area. When you speak to people in Utah they have nothing good to say about Tooele not only because of the 20-30 minute drive, but also because about 20 minutes further away is where the military does practice flights and whatever else it is they do there. The location reminds me a lot of home. The small town feel with open pastures of horses and cattle. The only difference is the surrounding mountains that are so amazingly beautiful. And the view of the Great Salt Lake in the distance. Now in the last year and eight months I had not actually seen the lake, but had the pleasure of driving by it a few times this week. There are so many different locations around the lake and hopefully there will be many more exciting picture to come. The view outside the front of the house will initiate many beautiful pictures.

Father like Son!!!

2009-03-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today my brother got to meet his little boy for the first time. The second he found out he was getting to take a trip through work to California he called me and was full of excitement. The next day he went out and bought clothes and other items for him. I asked him where he went and he informed me that he went to Baby Gap. I asked, "kinda expensive don't you think?" His response was, "he's worth every penny!" Even my mom said she hasn't heard David that excited in a long time. I can't wait to hear everything about their visit. He gets to spend the next two days with him before having to head back to North Dakota. All I have to say is.....Soak in every minute while you can. Oh and give him kisses for me. :)

Engagements!!!!

2009-03-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

I am soooo excited!!!! I just viewed our photographer's blog after she submitted a couple of our engagement pictures on her blog!!!! They turned out amazing! I can't wait to see how the rest of them will turn out. Thank you Carrie!!!!

**To see what Carrie blogged about check out her website at: http://www.paigisms.blogspot.com/

Sleepy Boy!!!

2009-03-12T17:59:00.001-07:00

Today after work I had the pleasure of seeing that I had a text-pic from my nephews mom. It was a this picture of little Rowan sound asleep and just like any baby will it brought a huge smile to my face after a long day on the phones. After looking at this picture how could you not. It's hard to think just only 5 weeks ago we were awaiting to see that precious face. I can't wait to meet you little man. See you in May!!!! :)

A beautiful day!

2009-03-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

This morning Hayden and I got up early to check out a couple of flower stores to find out the best prices. While looking through the flower books at Flower Patch I was ready to walk out and not look back. We were looking at just the bridal bouquets and we were seeing prices like....$700.00, $250.00 and as low as $65.00. It was crazy. Then we started to sit down and plan out what we are looking for and how many. To my surprise everything we were looking for was less than $300.00. That was the best news to start off our day. We booked immediately and called to cancel our appointment with the other location as for less flowers we would've been paying more.

After that we headed home to get dressed and ready to head down to Draper, Ut. as they are just finishing up their week and a half of Temple Tours. Every time a new Temple is built they allow the locals and all who know about it take a tour before they officially dedicate it and after that only members of the Temple are allowed in. The LDS church believes the temples (as goes with any temple) to be very sacred. They have many rooms with different purposes. First when you walk in you have a beautiful view of the baptistery where they will go to baptize those who have already passed. They feel that when they do so it is giving those who have passed and where not able to learn the word of God are allowed the choice to except His word and live eternally in heaven. We then walked through many rooms where you go to meet and receive instruction about how to live your life in Christ. We also walked through the chapel and the brides room. Talk about beautiful! The chandilier's were amazing. The crystal and the lights were the pieces that caught my eye in every room. As we made it to the top of the temple we entered the Celestial room which "symbolizes life as eternal families with out Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ." After we were done in there our last stop on the way back down was the Sealing room. This room is where bride and groom are married, however this room not only are you sealed together for this life you are sealed for eternally. As the couple's family grows their children are also considered sealed with their family for eternity. One thing I found interesting about the way the temples are built is as mentioned earlier the first stop is baptism, you then follow the word of Christ in your daily life and the last room at the very top is symbolized as being in the presences of God and the rewards that will come when living your life as God has planned.

After the tour we met in a nearby ward that showed more history of the LDS Temples and also served cookies and bottled waters. (And Bekki you were right the cookies were awesome! No oatmeal raisin but they did have oatmeal.) After Hayden and I made it back to the car we headed home to once again get prepared for yet another event. We were finally able to get our engagement pictures done. The weather although a little chilly, was absolutely beautiful. We headed over to Wheeler Farm where we met our photographer Carrie Butler. We got started right away and had a great time. I was super impressed as to how Hayden was so cooperative and made it extremely fun. And yes I was able to get him to SMILE in a picture. Ok well I also had help from Carrie. LOL! I can't wait to see the end product. By the end of the week we should have some if not all pictures. Some of which will make it one Carrie's blog. carriebutlerphotography.blogspot.com and of course once I get my hands on them I'll be posting some myself.

After about two hours of photo taking I had to change and get into my scrubs and head off to school for midterms. Mind you other than studying for Monday's quiz and actually going through the chapters in class I did not study for the midterm. With work and all that went on today I didn't find the time to do so. However once we got into class and started the test. I couldn't believe how easy it was. After I took the test I stuck around for the teacher to grade it and unfortunately I missed 2. :( But was still happy with a 96%. It was so releaving. YEA!!!!!!

So again it was a BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Thirsty Puppy!

2009-03-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

This evening as I was preparing to get ready for bed and just get comfy, I headed into the bathroom to take off my jewelry and to my surprise there's a thirsty puppy standing in the tub. Now mind you it's not fun trying to get Jake into the tub for a shower and he's never been caught drinking from the leaky faucet before. I was cracking up! Usually when Jake gets caught doing something he immediately stops and hides in his corner. Nope not this time. I had time to go grab my camera and also when Hayden came in to check it out he still didn't get out. As you see he's not looking at mommy he's watching daddy and looking for his reaction. Head bowed and tail between his legs. He didn't care and just kept drinking and drinking.

As you see here his wet nose and water spots on his forehead, we had to force him out of the tub. I then realized there water bowls were empty. I'm such a bad mommy that my babies have to drink from the tub. :( But he still loves his mommy!!! I'm sorry Jakie! Mommy will be more attentive to your needs next time. I love you!

Hilarious!!!! KSL News!

2009-02-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

Engaged couple celebrates ring's "arrival"

February 27th, 2009 @ 5:10pm

FARMINGTON, N.M.- A New Mexico couple has more than a simple proposal story to share with their family and friends. Reed Harris, whose family is from Blanding, Utah, wanted his girlfriend Kaitlin Whipple to receive her engagement ring in a memorable fashion.

The x-ray showing the ring inside Kaitlin.

"I knew that he was proposing soon, I just had no clue when," Whipple wrote on her blog on Wednesday, "but I did not expect what actually happened."

Tonight at 10:
For the exclusive interview with the couple, the video of the proposal, and how it all "came out," watch the KSL Eyewitness News at 10.

The couple joined friends for a shake after their LDS Institute class at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico. Everyone except the bride-to-be was in on the plan to stash the ring in the milkshake.

To encourage her to eat the ice cream faster, they challenged her to a race.

"I mean, I was taking huge bites and swallowing," Whipple wrote. "There was no tasting at all. I get to the end and everyone starts staring at me with this weird, worried look on their face, and I have no clue what is going on around me."

Kaitlin's reaction when Reed told her she swallowed the ring.

Friends recorded the entire moment on a cell phone camera.

"Reed picks up my cup, looks in it, and of course it is empty," Whipple said. "Then he starts looking all around me like he lost something. Then everyone starts digging in their cups and looking around them. I have no clue what is going on this whole time. Finally Reed gets up and tells me that he thinks I swallowed my ring."

The couple had to quickly come up with a plan to retrieve the engagement ring.

My Nephew!

2009-02-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

22 days ago my Nephew Rowan Issac was born! We've had waited for so long to see his precious face and sure enough he looks just like my brother. He will surely be loved and "spoiled" and no matter when he goes through in life I hope and pray that he knows he will always have family standing behind him in whatever obstacles he may come across. And I'm sure that goes for his mommy's side of the family as well. We love you little man and I can't wait to meet you.

Luv Auntie Coley!!!

Luv 4 a Brother!!!

2009-02-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

While in Arizona I was able to spend a lot of time with my brother. I missed him sooooo much and was sooooo excited to be able to go down and see him while he visited my parents house. I hate not being in the same state as him and being able to hang out with him anytime I want, but I cherish the times I do get to spend with him. He's my rock and I luv him very very much!!!! I luv being able to act goofy with you and also be serious when need be. I'm so proud of who you are and who you've become and I am so blessed to be able to call you my brother.

I love you!!!!

Arizona Cont......

2009-02-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

Wow!!! Has it been a busy week since I've come back from Arizona. I still have more to blog about from my trip. Beside finally getting a family picture we also enjoyed a day of bowling followed by a wonderful Mexican dinner at Licano's. Bowling was really fun. My brother and I as well as Chad (a missionary visiting until May) tried our best to try and beat my dad. The first game looked promising but dad beat David and I by 5 points. The funny thing is David and I both scored a 92. Maybe that's the funny thing that happens when your twins or maybe just coincidence. Who know? Another thing is Krisdon the youngest one besides Precious beat us all with a score of 99! (I wish I had bumpers) LOL! However the next game it was one. We really wanted to beat dad, but once again I only scored 99 and dad ended with I believe a 154. I was way off. We had a great time.

After that we headed to dinner and then home. The next day I had to pleasure of attending church down on the reservation before heading back home. It was great getting to see everyone and catching up on things going on. I was also able to meet Precious's little brother Josiah and also get a bigger family picture with Marcella my other Godsister and Jirous my Godbrother. It was great getting to see them again also. Everyone is growing up soooo much. I had a wonderful weekend and I'm glad I made the last minute decision to head down there. I luv you all!!!!

Together at Last!!!

2009-02-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I decided that after work I would head down to Show Low, Arizona and visit my family. My brother has been here visiting since the first week in February. I had been crushed that work and school was not allowing me to take the time to come down. So I finally had a breakdown Thursday night and Friday morning. My brother only has one more week here and this is the last weekend I don't have to work for quite some time. So I drove 10 hours "ALONE!" (boring) and finally showed up just before 1:00 am. I was sooooo tired and it was only by the Grace of God that I did not fall asleep while driving. When I finally got here my brother and I decided to still keep it a secret from mom and dad till morning, because I was beat and really didn't want to stay up any longer.

So after a few hours of sleep 6:30 rolls around and I decided to get up and knock on mom and dad's door. I walked in and ask where breakfast was, then not even two seconds mom was about to tackle me with a great big hug. She was sooooo SURPRISED! I think for a moment I wasn't able to breathe she was squeezing so tight. LOL! I then got a big hug from my daddy. One of the top things on my list of things to get while I was here. It was very much needed. After we all got up and around and had a wonderful breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast w/ jelly (Thanks MOM!) We went outside for family pictures. For those of you who didn't know....it's been "6" years since all four of us have been in the same state at the same time. It is very much a blessing that I could make it happen this weekend. We also were able to take pictures of our extended family as well by adding my little brothers Rambo and Krisdon as well as my Godsister Precious.

Daytona 500!!!

2009-02-15T16:07:00.000-08:00

Besides Valentine's Day weekend there is also another important event going on. This is the first weekend of the 2009 Nascar season. For Hayden this is a big time. We get to watch "TEN" that right "10" months of Nascar. Well today was the Sprint Cup Series race in the Daytona 500! We have yet to actually watch the whole race however I just received a phone call from an exstatic Hayden. I guess as he was walking by one of the locations at work he saw on the TV that Matt Kenseth (Hayden's #1 Driver) had won the race. For him that calls for a couple of beers and a pizza. Well the pizza will only get here if he orders it...LOL!!! I'm screaming leftover meatloaf from last night. :) Anyways, when he gets home all I will hear is...."DAYTONA! DAYTONA!" all night long! I can already hear it. Well Congrats Matt for starting the year off right. Hopefully there is more to come! Good luck!

Valentine's Weekend!!!

2009-02-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

After a very long day at work on Friday Yvonna (my friend from work) and I headed out to run a few errands and also to stop at a flower shop to check out prices for my wedding flowers. For those of you who might not think about this.....Never Go To a Flower Shop the day before Valentine's Day to price quote for your wedding!!!! They will push you out the door and tell you to come back next week because I guess Valentine's Day is more important than a wedding I guess. "Who Knew!?!?" So after that we decided to go to the location where I purchased my invitations to see if they were in so that i may be able to get them printed, folded and sent out. Well when we got there we found out they were not going to be in until Monday. So shot down again! :( Well after the I headed home to start dinner for Hayden before I went to Kevin and Elise's to help Bekki baby sit little Gideon. We had a great time. The best part was when he fell asleep in my arms and the occasional deep breathes he would take. I was in Heaven! I can't wait till I have a little angel of my own.

The next day....Valentine's Day! I got up early and Bekki and I drove in a snow storm up to Park City. I don't think I went more than 40 mph the whole way up there. When we got there we started out at Zale's Jewelry store since the motive of the trip was to find Hayden's wedding ring. All I have to say is I hate buying rings! The lack of choices for men's rings and the fact that I don't know what size to even get. So of course I walked out without a ring in hand. At this point to me it was a pretty pointless trip at this time. So after leaving there we walked the strip mall and checked out several other stores. Bekki went shopping crazy as I retained myself due to the expense of the wedding and the fact that we are trying not to spend money on things we don't need right now.

After a couple hours of shopping we decided to head over to the Loco Lizard for lunch. Bekki had a Salmon Salad and I had the Tortilla Soup. The soup was really good however Bekki was questionable on her salad. So after we ate we were on the hunt for a Park City sign so she can take a picture of paper Breanna (long story check out Bekki's blog for details) but instead she decided to take the picture in front of the Utah Olympic Park sign. It was really windy at this time and Breanna almost blew away. After that we headed the rest of the way up to the park just to see what it looked like since neither of us had been up there. Although still snowing it was beautiful. Just before we left to go back down the mountain we did a little more shopping and then enjoyed the beautiful views coming down into Salt Lake. The blue sky's were finally out and the sun was shining. Although the point for me going up there was not fulfilled I had a great time just Bekki and I having a girls day.

After dropping Bekki back off at home I rushed home in hopes that I would beat Hayden. I made it just in time. He walked in about 3 minutes after me. I began throwing dinner together and Hayden's Valentine. He walked in with two chocolate roses, a teddy bear holding Chocolate Factory chocolate and a cute little ceramic purse holding more candy. It was adorable. I loved it and oh my goodness the chocolate is wonderful. After dinner we just laid on the couch watching TV. Hayden tormented Jake with the little teddy bear I bought him and Cali laid around doing nothing.

After church today I went to lunch with about 4-5 church families one being Bekki. Then I headed over to the Fashion Place Mall to check out what Zale's had there. After standing looking at rings for about 5-10 minutes and no one acknowledging me I walked out and headed over to Kay's. I was greeted right away and began looking at the selection. They had much better variety so after about a half hour of looking I chose a Titanium and 14k gold ring which I loved. It goes really well with my ring however after hearing Hayden's thoughts on it most likely it will go right back to the store. Anyways, that was my fun and exciting Valentine's Day weekend. Hope the rest of you had a wonderful and safe Valentine's.

The Manor, Layton's Castle

2009-02-08T19:26:00.001-08:00

I've had a request to blog about the location of where Hayden and I will be getting married. After going back and forth on two locations we finally decided to go with The Manor in Layton, Utah. The seller on this location was the beautiful gardens and the spiral staircase in both the West and East ballrooms. We are also able to still have a wedding within out budget. For more pictures of it go to their website at: http://www.castlebrookweddings.com/index.html The place is just amazing. I can't wait to see the pictures that come from our wedding.

In May I'm hoping the flowers will be in full bloom and we have blue skies. If not then we will be able to move the Garden wedding inside for more of a chapel looking wedding. Which I think will be just as beautiful. I'm also hoping that everyone close to my heart who will be able to be there to celebrate this special moment with me and Hayden as we start the first day of the rest of our lives together.

Photo Booth

2009-02-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

Here is the picture that I promised would be posted once I received and had time to scan in. This is from Allison and I's visit to the La Caille Bridal Show a little over a week ago. We felt like acting a little crazy. Enjoy!!!

The scan kinda made our eye's look funky when you click on it to view larger. So beware! :)

Southside Women's Retreat!!!

2009-01-31T19:00:00.000-08:00

Today the ladies of Southside Church of Christ got together for a retreat. We began with a delicious breakfast and time to visit. While finishing up with breakfast Karen Crabb started in on the message. She spoke of "Hope" and how sometimes we as women can feel hopeless. She spoke of amazing women in the Bible and there struggles. Through those struggles great things have happened. Mary for example....unwed and about to give birth to the Savior. Some ladies shared words of thanks to those who have encouraged and have been there for them through their own struggles. After the wonderful speakings of Karen we all ate lunch and had some more time to visit. Once we were done eating we had one last activity to tie into the "Hope" of 2009. We were all instructed to make an Ebenezer. For those of you who are wondering what Ebenezer is....Randy, our preacher spoke of an Ebenezer several weeks ago and here's the verse in which it come from.

Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—"the stone of help"—for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!" —1 Samuel 7:12, NLT

With this in mind we all made an Ebenezer to represent where we need God's help and to give us Hope for the next year. It is also to represent good things to come this year. I made wedding bells with a pink and blue background in hopes of children in the future with a cross to represent Christ watching over us and guiding us through the year.

The retreat was very worth while. I enjoyed visiting with the ladies of Southside and getting to see all the creativeness that comes from them. I just pray that we can all continue to encourage and help each other through whatever hard times come about. Also that we may look to Christ for answers and be patient and allow things to fall into place when He feels it's time.

Thank you ladies for a wonderful Saturday morning!!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday!!!

2009-01-29T19:54:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Kira celebrated her 3rd birthday. Both sides of family were there to celebrate with her. We had cake and ice cream and sang happy birthday. Kira also got to sit and open her gifts. Right now she is very much into Elmo and when you ask her her name she won't say Kira....it's Elmo! So Erica took the time to make her an Elmo cake which turned out great. She also got lots of Elmo presents and some clothes. Oh and of course for ever little girls birthday she kept the song going......." It's my party and I'll cry if I want too!!! " Beside that I think she had a good time.

Bridal Shows!!!

2009-01-29T19:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry everyone for the lapse in blogging, however I've been very busy with my last week of Medical Terminology homework and studying for the final. Which by the way I aced another one with a 100%. :) Well anyways, just to catch ya'll up.......

Last weekend around 11am I picked up Hayden's little sister Allison and we headed off to the La Caille for a Bridal Show. We spent a couple hours there as there were about 50 vendors and lots of people pushing and shoving as if they were in a race for a prize. When we got there we found out they had free valet service in which everyone was lined up down the drive. It was also cold and raining so I feel sorry for those poor guys who had to run back and forth picking up and dropping all our cars. Well anyways, upon getting inside of course we get our bridal bags and a sheet of paper with all the vendors names. The object was to go to every vendor and get their initials and once complete our sheets were placed in a drawing. The problem was the drawing did not take place until 4:45pm. Mind you we got there around 11:30AM. About an hour into looking at everything Allison and I got sick of getting initials and if we went to every vendor then we'd definently be there FOREVER!!! And well we just didn't need to talk to everyone with their expensive prices and their long shpeal so needless to say we gave up. One vender we did have fun with was the Photo Booth which if you were planning a carnival wedding would be a great idea to have at your reception. Well Allison and I hopped in and have about 6 pictures taken. Unfortunantly I don't have the pictures so be sure to check in the next couple of days for me to post them into the blog. They were halarous. When we were done it was about 1:00pm and granted we ate cake and whatever else we sampled, we were hungry.

So we headed off the Chapotle and while eating decided we might as well go the the Bridal Show at the Canterbury. Remember the first one was in Sandy. The next one was in Bountiful. It was a good 20-30 min. maybe more away from the first one, but we didn't care. We just wanted to look at Some flower vendors and around the corner even more CAKE!!!! I'm hoping we still fit into ouwedding stuff all day. When we got there the first thing we see if of course.....more cake.r dresses come our wedding days. LOL!!! This particular locations also had caterors to were people were just sitting down at tables chowin down. My favorite was the strawberries drizzled in chocolate and we liked the little ice cream bar. Compared to the La Caille the second show was nothing to be impressed with. I think we were there for maybe 20 minutes. But we had fun and it was a nice time spending it with my soon to be sister-n-law. Thank you for the company.

Girls Day Out!!!

2009-01-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

Today started off with picking up Hayden's sisters so we could head downtown to only one of probably many Bridal Shows. When we got there and got all registered the fun began. We spotted the cakes right away and began tasting. :) The first set not so great. I think it's because I'm old fashion and was actually more fond of the white and chocolate marble cake. We also scoped out the DJ's, Florists, and site Locations. They also had many different photographers. One of which gave sample photos. Me being the good sport I was all about it. As a matter of fact it was my First! Wedding photo. :) After that we checked out the rest of the companies and also watched a little bit of the fashion show. When we were finally done snooping and browsing we decided to head back to the car and figure out where to eat.

We then heading towards The Gateway and made a decision on the Tucanos: Brazilian Grill. And oh my goodness!!!! IT WAS SOOOO GOOD!!!!! We had to be wheeled out of there from eating all the yummy meats and side dishes! I had a wonderful time. Hoping next week to go check out a few wedding locations and then in two weeks it's another Bridal Show!! :)

Happy New Years!!!!

2009-01-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

After spending my day at work for the last time expecting to go home and ring in the new year awake by myself because Hayden had to work on New Year's. I walk in the door to find out that we have reservations at The Sky Bar scheduled for 11pm. I was so excited I wouldn't have to spend another New Year's sitting at home. Hayden had actually made plans for us and had taken a pretty good nap during the day so he wouldn't be so tired the next day. Around 10:30 we head out to go downtown for our nice dinner and the fireworks expected at midnight. The food like always was delicious and although the other side was a bar full of New Years party goers. It was still nice and peaceful and romantic where we were.

As Hayden sat across the table checking his watch every few minutes. It was finally time to ring in the New Year. We stood near the window watching for the fireworks when all of the sudden Hayden informed me he had gotten me a gift. He then pulls out a ring box and inside was an engagement ring along with the wedding wrap. :) All week we had been talking about when we were going to finally get married. Last Sunday we had talked of a date, by Monday my dress that I had finally paid off showed up and on New Year's I received my ring. Sounds a little backwards, but funny how it all fell together. We are now trying to figure out how we are going to plan a wedding in four and a half months. The date chosen is May 17, 2009. So open your day planners and come celebrate with us!!!

Last Day Of Cap. One

2009-01-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

Dec. 31st 2008 was the last day for the disputes department to be located in Salt Lake City, Utah. About 4 months ago we all found out we would no longer be working for Capital One Credit Cards as they have decided to outsource our job to India. Many people were upset, stressed, unsure of what to do next and some left to find other jobs. Most went over to another project as soon as trainings began and some stuck it out till the end. Which one did I choose? Well......I stuck it out until the end. There were a few bumps along the way, like one week after Thanksgiving those of us who were left were told the project we were promised has canceled all Dec. and Jan. training classes. We were all devastated! However some of us still had a chance a another position. About half of us who were left moved over to DirecTV and again I stuck around hoping something would work with my schedule or I would find a job elsewhere. Well about a week and a half before we are to be done with Cap. One those of us again still left (now down to about 22 agents) get some hope. We found out Bank Of America decided to have one training class.

Well the last three weeks of work we were catered to and were offered some really good bonus incentives. Then our last three days involved more catering and fun!!! It was not only filled with Supervisor calls and frustrated cardholders, but it involved stripping the place clean and moving things over to the new project. In the process Shay and I had the joy of cleaning out the closet full of decorations and misc. items. We wore this all the way down to the next project which is on the opposite end of the street where we are located. Although a sad day, we had a good time.

After Christmas Shopping!!!

2008-12-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up early to hit the after Christmas sales. When we stepped outside there was so much snow on the car and the ground around it so I stood outside while Hayden cleaned off the truck and for him to pull out so I didn't have to step 6 inches of snow. (Maybe a little exaggerated.) Once on our way, the first stop was to head to Erica's to pick up one more gift card received by Hayden's grandma. We also pick up one more precious package. We were blessed with the presents of Kira. She joined us on our day of shopping. The first stop was of course Kohl's. At the time we showed up, the parking lots were nearly empty. It was great! We also stopped at Best Buy, Target and Aeropostal to use our gift cards. Kira was extremely good. So even did really good while we spent almost 2 hours in at Best Buy while Hayden dealt with Sprint and the Best Buy employee to purchase a new phone and get it all set up. After we were done shopping we fought the now full parking lots and roads to get back to Erica's. By the time we got there Kira was knocked out. We had a good time. The snow by the way still has yet to stop!

Christmas 2008!

2008-12-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning Hayden comes in jumping on the bed ready to open presents. I was just glad he let me sleep till at least 6:30. After I got up I began making us some hot chocolate and before I know it Hayden had already opened his stocking stating they were fair game and subject to open at anytime. The night before he was so anxious to open gifts that we both opened just one gift each. Mine being my stocking gift, which was the "I Can Only Imagine, WOW" CD. :) My Hayden knows me well! Anyways, we took about 30-45 minutes opening gifts. The dogs were able to open there gifts first. They enjoyed the Doggie Christmas cookies I bought them as well as a couple of squeaky dog toys.

Hayden and I received DVD's, clothes, books, shadow boxes, ect... One of my fav's of the year would have to be my Matt Kenseth scrubs that I get to wear to school. I also received several christian books from my parents as well as some Cd's. I'm extremely anxious to start reading them. After we got things cleaned up, we got ready to head over to Hayden's sisters house for more presents and to deliver the gifts we had gotten for the rest of the family. Kira was excited to receive her Elmo clothes and coloring books. Erin was able to add to her love of horses, and Becky was ecstatic to get another game for her new DS. Once all the gifts were handed out we all sat and had a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs. You can never go wrong with that kind of breakfast. It was delicious.As for the weather we all had to endure, well that's another story. When Hayden and I had left our house Christmas morning it was just raining with a slight mix of snow, however the farther west we traveled the thicker the snow got. I guess it had been snowing this really early that morning. The drive home yesterday morning wasn't to bad. It was still just wet slushy snow at our house. Once we got home it was a fun filled afternoon of watching Hayden's new DVD's while I made Deviled eggs for Christmas dinner. Around 6pm we received a phone call with the news that Erica's house had lost power and we were not going to be able to have dinner over there. So luckily a few blocks from our place is where his parents were staying. The weather was still just wet and cold at that time. Once we arrive for dinner we all visited and enjoyed the wonderful food. Within about an hour or two of being there we realized the rain turned into snow and all our cars had a few inches already built up. So Hayden and I decided to head out before it got to bad. Thank goodness for 4 wheel drive!

Once we were safe and sound at home it was finally time to relax. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well. I also wish you all a Happy New Year!!!

The Nutcracker

2008-12-13T10:05:00.000-08:00

Last night Hayden and I along with Erica and her family attended "The Nutcracker" in Provo. The trees outside where beautifully lite with the largest full moon this year in the background. Sorry the pics a little blurry. :) When we got there and were waiting for the show to start, Kira enjoyed sitting on Hayden's lap. She was also able to get a good view of the stage as they sat on the isle seat. For only being two she did a wonderful job at staying attentive to the show. Also every time the audience clapped she was sure to follow. Pour Erin was fighting a cold and not so happy, but during intermission got a little more energy and stood in the isle and did her form of ballet. Becky seemed to enjoy the ballet as well as she sat beside me telling me what everything was and that the Nutcrackers were real people. :)

The show itself was amazing. Watching every movement of the ballerinas as they tell their story with the wonderful performance of the orchestra. Of course I was not able to take pictures of the ballet itself, but I went online to grab a few pictures from other performances. At the beginning of the show there were little adorable ballerinas. One imp articular had to have been only 2 or 3 and oh my goodness she was sooooo cute. It was amazing that she was that young and did so good at staying on beat with the older girls. I just wanted to take her home and keep her as my own. I want a little girl!!! Anyways, the show was wonderful and I encourage everyone to take the time to go watch it. For those in Utah it's playing at the Covey Theater of Arts in Provo. As for those of you elsewhere just google The Nutcracker and find the nearest showing. It was very much worth it. Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Proud Sister!

2008-12-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

In August my brother David took a test for the Air Force for a promotion. He received the results on August 21st (our birthday) and he had passed. He was going to be rewarded the rank of Staff Sergeant. Well after being deployed to Qatar and 3 months of waiting for the ceremony he finally received his new patches and an award. On December 1st (our dad's birthday) he was finally named Staff Sergeant.

I am so proud of him and his accomplishments and could never ask for a better person to call my twin. Only one more month and he will finally be back in the states. I can't wait!

As for all the others who are currently or have ever served our country. THANK YOU!!!

Christmas is coming!

2008-11-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

Today while I was at work I remembered that it was the day after Thanksgiving and I was able to start putting up my Christmas decorations and my tree. I was so anxious to get home and start pulling it all out. Of course we don't have a whole lots of space in our one bedroom apartment so we just have a 6' pre-lit tree. One my favorite parts about Christmas is putting the ornaments on the tree. However I hope to get many more this year to add to the collection of items I put on it. I also now have the stocking hung and the Christmas candles out and the scent of evergreen filling the air. Oh man how I love Christmas. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday this year.

Thanksgiving 2008!

2008-11-28T19:11:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. I began my day off by watching the Macy's Day Parade and then decided I should probably get ready and head of Erica's to begin preparation. We had a good day filled with games and cooking and just goofing around. Doesn't that look like a happy bunch?!?!? The girls wanted me to take pictures of them making crazy faces and some of us decided to take a quick nap. And I mean quick, because anytime Hayden is around no one gets to sleep as he kept trying to get closeups of Allison sleeping.

Around 4:00 we were finally able to begin setting the table and getting everyone ready to eat the Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn and of course rolls. Then afterwards we got things cleaned up and it was time for pie and also to sit down relax and watch a movie. After that Hayden and I headed home since we both had to be up early not to shop, but to head to work.

Finally!!!!

2008-11-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

This past week Utah's gas prices finally dropped below $2.00. On my way home today I decided to take a picture of it. The average price we've seen lately is running at $1.99 however I have seen at a few other stations the price is $1.97. Who would've thought we'd ever see this again. Now all we can do is pray that it may drop even farther. And as for the rest of you who already have $1.50 or less.....Yes I am jealous!!! And Please bring it our way.

Girl's Day Out!

2008-11-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

This morning, Bekki stopped by to pick me up and head over to Patricia's for a day of lunch and shopping at the Gateway. It was a little chilly all day however was fun just enjoying each others company and catching up on everything that's been going on. Who would've known The Gateway had so many stores. The only time I had really ever been there was to go to the Children's Museum with Erica and her girls. Maybe once it gets warm again I'll make a trip there again and check out many more of the stores and restaurants.

Hot stuff!!!

2008-11-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had the chance to go into school and pick up my 2 sets of free Scrubs, Stethoscope and my Blood Pressure set. I was sooooo excited. Now with only 3 more classes left in my Cardiology/ECG class I begin to finally fit the role of a nurse. About a week ago I called the RT dept. and put in my order for my scrubs. I asked how they ran and the secretary on the other end informed me they ran big. She also stated that if you usually where Medium you'll want to get a Small. So I was like....OK sign me up for the small. Well yesterday when I went to pick them up there were a couple other ladies in there picking out their's as well. They were both going on and on about how I should get an Extra Small size because I was so little. Of course I never feel little and figured smalls would be just fine.

Well, after class I went home and tried them on. Needless to say.....they were still to big. I was swimming in the pants and the top was wide. So today I took them back to exchange for the extra small. Of course they fit just fine, however I'm not really sure why scrub pants have to have such long crotch to waste area, so i will still have to roll them down a little so they aren't halfway up belly. So now that I have my new set of scrubs and my stethoscope of course I have to take pictures. I asked Hayden to take them for me and of course heaven forbid he get off the couch he took the pictures for me and laughed every time he took a picture. Where's Bekki when you need her? LOL!!! No Hayden did fine. It was the dogs who wouldn't stay out of the picture.

Auntie Niece Time!!!

2008-11-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of babysitting my niece Kira while her parents went out for a night of Dinner and a Movie "w/out" Kids! Becky and Erin went to stay the evening with another aunt I believe and the other went to grandma's. After Kira got here I had her choose a movie to watch and she played with Jake as he would not go away. We spent the evening watching Bambi and when Hayden got home we had to forfeit the TV and Bambi to watching NASCAR!!! Of course Kira kept asking where Bambi was and I informed her that mean Uncle Hayden turned it off. So after that I began to make dinner while Kira played with not only our real dogs, but the stuffed animal dogs that I have laying around.

Once dinner was over and and a little more play time it was time for Kira's bath. We then all settled down and Kira fought falling a sleep for just a little while. As I was sitting on the floor against the couch she leaned over and asked for more LaLa...AKA "a drink". I informed her that it was late and no more lala tonight. Not even 5 minutes later I hear her behind me snoring away. She was out cold. She looked so precious.

Caught in the act!!!

2008-11-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning while getting ready for work I had noticed that Jake was not in his usual spot in the bathroom while I put my make up on. And Cali was not laying at the door of the bathroom either. So I search the bedroom to see it they are under the bed or laying by the window. Nope still nowhere to be found. Then I walk out into the living and what do I find? That's right they were both caught laying on the couch. Good thing Hayden had already put the blanket down before he left for work. :) After I took a few pictures of course they got in trouble for being on the couch and they both got down. However about ten to fifteen minutes later I walk back out and Jake had found his way back up there. LOL!!! Of course this is usually there spots the second we walk out the door for the day but i guess they didn't care yesterday morning.

Last weekend we also had bought a dog bed so that maybe they wouldn't lay on the couch. Well we've found so far that Jake only lays on it while we are home and sitting in his normal spot. LOL!!! But he will only lay on the bed if we through his new squeaky dog bone. And if anyone comes near it he will attack. He's so cute when he tries to protect his toys.

Winter's Here!!!

2008-11-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

This past week we had our first really good snow. When I woke up that morning I had forgotten that it was suppose to snow and was all excited when the sun finally decided to rise so that while I was at work I could stare out the window all day. At times there were whiteout conditions and we were also unable to see the mountains. Around 2:30 pm the snow began to lift and the sun started to shine. At that time while going home from work I was able to stare at the beautiful snowy mountains and enjoy the ride home. Where I'm located the snow did not accumulate onto the roads which is very nice. When I got home I had to grab my camera and begin taking pictures. The trees are just outside our apartment complex however the rest of the winter pics are from local photographers that posted their November pics on KSL.com. These pics will make all of you want to move to Utah for the winter.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a fun safe Halloween. Last night we went to Hayden's sisters house to watch all the people that came over and by the time they left had jump out of their skin. John, Erica's husband had been working on his Halloween display since about April of this year. Building witch's, making a lights display correlated with music on a local radio station and just plotting how he was going to set up the yard. With only a few minor complications, the night turned out great. Many men women and children were defiantly scared last night. The best part was when everyone thought it was done and over with after walking through and then out jumps John in his scary outfit revving up his chainsaw and scaring them to where most of the jumped about a foot in the air and some even running into the street to get away. The night was hilarious.

Earlier in the day before all the action began. Erin kept chaining me to the couch so I couldn't move and she would pretend that she was sucking my blood and also playing the organ with the background Halloween music. When I'd move she'd strap me down tighter and get mad at me. However Kira sat there and kept me company. After that the girls got dressed up in their outfits and Erica and I took them over to their church for some Trunker Treating. They started the night out good with the amount of candy they received. After that we went back to the neighborhood and took them around a couple of blocks to get some more. Well Becky was so excited about her dads creation that she wanted to head home early to see the peoples reactions as they walked through.

Later once it finally got dark Allison and I dressed up in her costumes and decided to take the girls for another walk around the block for some more candy. Allison in her lady pirate costume and me a police officer. No one dare go past my crosswalk. While taking the girls of course we had the occasional hoot and howler from guys driving by. Of course we just stood there laughing at them while we waited for the girls to get their candy from each house. Anyways, we had a great time and many plans for next years Halloween experience.

Gas Prices

2008-10-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

So this evening Hayden was checking the Indianapolis news when he came across the issue about the dropping gas prices.....To our amazement the gs in Indiana has dropped to.....$1.82. Has anyone seen those digits this year....LOL!!! I have told Hayden that we are now moving back to Indiana for lower rent and now gas prices. Of course that's not what we are really doing, but it would be nice to only be paying $1.82.

However we are in Utah where just one week ago we were paying $2.97. Lucky in just the past couple of days it has dropped about 30-35 cents. While driving to work this morning I saw $2.65. So I guess we are still falling but man how nice would it be to be able to pay less $2.00/gal? Although we are still at these prices, the other day I was able to fill my truck from just above "E" to full with only $39.00. I haven't paid less than $40 in months. Well actually since I bought the it. Well it is nice to see something starting to go right in the economy.

As for my fellow Hoosiers I am very jealous of you. :) Enjoy the low prices.

A New Life in Christ!!!

2008-10-18T11:58:00.001-07:00

This morning I had the privilege to witness my future niece Becky
become one with Christ. She was washed of her sins and born again pure and Holy and will carry in her heart the wonderful love and glory that Christ was and is and is to come.

"I pray that Becky fully understands the meaning of the blessings that took place today and that she knows when she feels she is not worthy of you Lord you show her we are all worthy of Your Grace and Your men!!!!" Power. I also pray that she follow in Your footsteps and when she needs to be carried You are right there to pick up. I also pray Lord that when things start to get rough she look to You and know that only through You she can prevail. Lord you are so Wonderful, Powerful, Loving, and Awesome and I hope that as Becky grows into knowing you more she sees Your amazing works, because only through You may we live like You. In Your Holy and Precious name Amen!!!

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Galatians 3:27

And also Romans 6:1-23

After the baptism and Becky's grandfather praying over her, we all enjoyed dessert and refreshments. It was nice to know that Becky's grandparents were able to be out here for this special time in her life and that her friends and family could be there for her. Becky you are a precious and wonderful little girl and we all Love you very much. Always know that we are all here for you also when times get rough or you may not understand why things are the way they are. We are all here to comfort and protect you just as our Lord and Savior is.

Tagged picture-Tagged by Bekki

2008-10-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

On Bekki's blog page she has continued her friends request to choose the 6th picture in you 6th picture file and blog about it. It's funny that this blog is requested at this time. As recently I have just started school and received a new laptop I really don't have a lot of picture files to work with. However I have just finished a Powerpoint project that I added pictures to and I still have those saved pictured on my computer. So my 6th picture of my 6th file is:

I found this to be quite inspirational to the journey ahead of me. I have many goals and to become successful I have to utilize and focus on the steps to achieve them. I also have to push through the obstacles that get in my way to reach my specific goals.

I am glad that as I sit in my Psy101 class tonight I took the time to check out Bekki's Blog so that I had this opportunity to join in on this fun blogging experience. Thanks Bekki!!! Love you!!!

First Snow of 2008

2008-10-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend we all had to start pulling out our winter coats and sock hats. Last week we had 70 degree weather and today Sunday and yesterday we didn't get higher than about 40-45 degrees. When I woke up this morning the first thing I did was look out the window to see if our first snowfall of the year had come. Sure enough, snow began coving the ground and hanging on the trees. I was so anxious for the clouds to clear so that I could take a look at the mountains. Needless to say, the clouds have hung around at the tops of the mountains. Only a couple of pictures allowed me to see all of it's beauty.

This is just the beginning of many pictures to come. Although I hated to see summer go, I looked forward all year for the first good snow in the mountains. Being from Indiana where it's just a bunch of flat corn and bean fields you really look at the mountains and marvel and the beauty that comes from them. Knowing that God, Almighty Marvelous Wonderful God created ever bit of it. Looking at the mountains just brings a peaceful calmness over you and at least for me lifts a weight off your shoulders, knowing that God is the creator of all and that He guides the path to my destiny.

"Lord, I pray that we all stay safe this upcoming winter and that everyone is able and willing to open their hearts and marvel at the beauty that you have placed right in front of our eyes. And that they know that your overwhelming Love fills us all. In your Precious and Holy name, AMEN!!!"

Happy Wedding Day!!!

2008-10-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

Carah Daly, I can't believe the day has come. That you will finally become Mrs. Cameron Havens. I soooo wish that I could be there sharing this special moment with you, but know that I'm there with you in heart. I know that you will be the most beautiful bride and Cameron is one lucky guy to have found such an amazing women to spend the rest of his life with.

I wish you two the best of luck in life great adventure. I also hope and pray that it is God who guides you both into 50+ years ahead. I love you and I'm so sorry that I was not able to make it home on you special day. I look forward to seeing the pictures.

Happy Wedding Day!!!

Surviving!!!

2008-10-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

Well I have just completed my first two weeks of classes and yes I had a Midterm already. The classes that I began with is App101 (AKA: computer fundamentals) and Pys101. I'm so glad that the first two classes I had to take were fairly easy and allowing me to gradually inter back into the college life. I'm anxious to see what's in store next month and to find out what classes i will be getting into. The closer I get to achieving my goal of being a nurse the more excited I get about my future and seeing what God has in store for me. I am so blessed to have a chance to go back and allow God to use me for good.

College Student!!!

2008-10-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

This week I began a new chapter in my life. I became a college student again. Now that we are settled here in Salt Lake I felt that it was about time that I finally finish my Nursing Degree. I have now survived my first week of classes and lack of sleep that now comes with it. I work 10 hour days and with only an hour break I head to class for an additional 4 hours. My classes change on a monthly basis so we are learning a lot in just weeks. The thing that will keep me going is knowing that when I graduate in 2010 I will finally have a job that I love and want to wake up to. And the support of my friends and family.

Soon to be AUNT!!!

2008-10-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last week I got word that come February I will become and aunt to a precious little BOY!!! To know now the sex of the baby makes it that much more real. Just think there's a little David out there ready to see the world.

I can't wait to meet you little man!!! you will be loved by many and spoiled by ME!!! Oh and don't kick mommy to much, but if you do make sure you're practicing your soccer moves. :)

A Utah Fall!!!

2008-10-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Sept. 28th we went up into the mountains to Brighton. The drive up was sooo beautiful and amazing. I was so in awww of God's creation. The colors he created, the clouds in the background and the peaks of the mountains were no vegetation grows it's just all rock, it's all sooooo breathtaking. Anyways, once we finally got up there the crew in my truck started walking the circled trail around Silver Lake where many were fishing and just enjoying nature on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I think every 5 seconds or so the camera was going. About half way around the lake Erica and her crew started around the lake, however before any of us could make it around the oncoming dark clouds started raining down on us. Some of my best pictures was while it was raining. Of course, here in Utah you find that when it rains it doesn't pour (even though anyone who has never left this states thinks otherwise) and it doesn't last to long. So when the rain finally stopped or at least while it was at it's last few drops we had a little picnic of sandwiches, chips and fruit.

After everyone was finished eating we all decided to head down the mountain a little ways to some warmer weather, because the temp. had dropped about 10 degrees when the rain came thru. We came to the little area that had some park benches and fire pits and along the little park was a creek which looked like it could be a mini very mini rapid. The girls enjoyed finding rocks and throwing them into the water. Kira thought it was hilarious when she'd through a rock and it would hit someone instead of go into the water. And yes I was the one getting hit by the flying rocks, but I couldn't help but take a picture of her cracking up. Erin was excited when she could find big rocks and heavens forbid anyone touch HER rocks. :) And then there's Becky, what can I say. She is morbid. LOL!!! John found what we believed to be a deer's vertebrae. She

carried that thing around the whole time and even took it home with her. When she accidentally dropped in back into to cold water she was determined to get it back. So after just a couple of attempts to stick her arm in the very cold waters, she finally got it back. You gotta LOVE her.

As for the rest of us, we just hung out and enjoyed each other company. Allison and Charlie ventured down the creek to see what may be on a little further, but not to much around. Charlie was even brave a few times and went out into the middle jumping from rock to rock, however the inevitable happened...LOL!!!! One rock was a little to wet and slippery that he was almost knees high in the creek.

We all had a great time and have plans for another trip up this coming weekend as long as the weather is nice.

STEP OUT 4 DIABETES!!!

2008-09-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

Today I dragged my butt out of bed at 5:45am to get up and ready to head to a Diabetes walk at Heritage Park here in SLC, UT. My bestest friend Bekki from church works for the American Diabetes Association and she sent out a mass email to everyone she knows here in SL and invited us all to participate in a walk at the park ending with free admission into Salt Lake's Hoggle Zoo. Before heading of to the park I met Hayden's family at his sister's house and we carpooled to the event.

Once we got to the park we of course had to sign in and then headed up the hill for a free breakfast. Before the race began we were able to get team pictures. We were Team Williams. Williams being Bekki's last name. After all that, we finally got to start the walk. Everyone had their choice of walking the 5 miles or the 2 1/2 miles. Being that we had kids involved all of us decided to take the 2 1/2 mile walk except for Erica's husband John who ran the 5 miles. Mind you the park is placed in the side of the mountain. So there's was a lot of Up hill and Down hill walking. Really worked your legs. I think everyone was feeling the burn by the end of the walk.

At the beginning of our trek I was walking just myself, however shortly into the walk I took over pushing the stroller for Erica's friend Juliet who has a once year little girl named Sydney. That just added to the exercise at hand. All I have to say is it was well needed. Something I need to be doing a couple times a week.

Once the walk was completed everyone ended up at the pavilion where we enjoyed a free lunch. After we all got done eating it was time to head out and see all the animals. The girls had a great time looking at all the cool animals. Especially the the monkey's and the bears. One main attraction they have at the zoo right now is the Albino Alligator and the one I liked the most was the tiger and the penguins. Oh and did you know, that elephants carry their young for "22" months before giving birth to a baby that weights over 175lbs? OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Talk about having kankles by the end of that pregnancy. LOL!!!

Anyways, I had a wonderful day hangin with my family here in Salt Lake. And to be able to walk for such a wonderful cause just made it that much better. I dedicate my walk today to my Papa who was diagnosed with Diabetes about ten years ago or so and depends on insulin daily to fight the disease and also for Hayden's father who also has to manage his day around controlling his diabetes. May everyone who walked today and also those who didn't understand the seriousness of this disease and continue to help the cause of fighting it. Love you all!!!!

(For more pics of the day check out my Myspace page by typing my first and last name into the search. ENJOY!!!)

21 years!!!

2008-09-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

This week we celebrated Allison's 21st birthday. Starting with a wonderful dinner at Erica's house, followed with a good game of Rage. After we finished our game it was time for the best part of a party. THE BIRTHDAY CAKE! :) Hayden and Erica lit all the candles followed by the birthday song and the girls anxious to watch Allison blow out her candles. Although we celebrated her birthday on Sunday, her actually birthday was on Tuesday.

Hayden invited both Allison and her fiance Charlie to a night at to dinner at The Mayan. While waiting forever for our drinks and dinner, we were able to enjoy a show every half hour. The restaurant has a diving pool where two to three people jump from various heights. The highest jump is about 40 ft. and personally I think they are crazy, but also very good divers. They also had one of the guys give a show where he was swallowing fire. Had dinner not taken so long we would've ended the night with a movie, but when you have to get up way before the crack of dawn it's hard to stay out to late. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALLISON!!!!

A Great Book!!!

2008-09-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

I just recently finished reading this book called: A Promise for Ellie. I received this book back in May, I believe, from the women's ministry at my home church of Southside. I began reading the book shortly after receiving it however due to my lack of liking to read the book got put aside for a few months. Then in August our work announced that our jobs were going to India, therefore our call volume dropped and we weren't near as busy as we had been. So just about everyone I sit around started bringing books in to by the time we had in between our calls. So although still not having a love for reading I decided to bring in this book and at least finish reading what I started.

Well when I began reading it again, I couldn't put it down. It's a story about a true pure love and the trials they went though before taking the plunge into marriage. They one thing that got them though each trial was the LOVE, TRUST, and FAITH they all had in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This book was very inspiring and also reminds you how you should always look to Christ for strength and answers in your daily life. Without Him nothing is possible. Now that I have finished this book, I can't wait until I go buy the rest of the series of: The Daughters of Blessing. Lauraine Snelling's books are only $9.99 when purchased from Christianbooks.com. As soon as I get the extra cash I plan on purchasing at least the other three books in the series. Then maybe on to the rest of her best sellers. For more information about her books check out her website at: http://www.laurainesnelling.net/ . I highly recommend anyone and everyone to begin reading her books.

Slumber Party!!!

2008-09-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had the pleasure of having Hayden's nieces spend the night. After they got here we enjoyed a nice dinner of BBQ Chicken and noddles and green beans. After dinner I had to make a quick trip to the store to grab the most important item missing from the Banana Spits I had planned for dessert. The ICE CREAM!!! How dare I forget. Anyways, we all laid down to enjoy a good movie of Men in Black 2. The girls liked it when Jake and Cali wanted to lay with them. Although sometimes getting attacked by the dogs and knocked over they still had big smiles on their little faces. After the movie was over it was time for bed. Kira didn't quit make it through the movie.

Around 2:30am while Hayden was up and getting ready for work he informed me how finny it was that Erin and Kira weren't quite on the bed anymore. They were too cute.

When the girls and I finally decided to get up and get around we decided to go to the Murray State Park for some fun on the playground, however they had more fun running up and down the hills. We had a lot of fun. All three girls are growing up so big.

Lunch and Bowling

2008-08-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday Aug. 23rd my friends Bekki and Amber decided to take me to lunch to celebrate my birthday. Also one of Bekki's co-worker's joined us as well. Her name is Patricia. She is also new to the area and still trying to settle into the environment as she moved from Washington. Anyways, they took me to Archibalds Restaurant at Gardener Village. The food was wonderful and the shops were adorable. A little background to the village is.....

"Gardner, who was born in Kilsythe, Scotland, in 1814, immigrated to Canada and then the United States after he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gardner was one of the original settlers of Utah in 1847, when the first wave of pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.
In 1849, Archibald Gardner entered into the doctrine of plural marriage. He took two new wives: Abigail and Mary Ann Bradford. He eventually married 8 other women, for a total of 11 wives, fathered 48 children, and saw his family swell to 270 grandchildren. Archibald provided separate homes for his wives. The children were all taught to be industrious at a very young age. Farms were worked by each mother and her young children. In the 1800's, basic needs were food and clothing. The farm provided food for the family, and the Gardner's mills provided clothing, and the needed items for the homes."

Each little house now is made into shops. From quilting to furniture and also little shops for kids. And lady's they have a SPA!!!!

For more information about the restaurant check out their website at: http://www.gardnervillage.com/history.php

Later in the evening was GNO for Southside ladies. All I can say is "OH MY GOODNESS!!!" Theme this month was 80's bowling. The outfits were great. From 80's punk to stone washed jeans. We had quit the turnout this month. Many who were new to the GNO experience. Hope to see everyone attend many more night's out. We have such a great time and to get to know everyone within the church is wonderful.

26 Years Together!!!

2008-08-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

To celebrate 26 years together here's a site to view my slideshow.

http://www.slide.com/r/SFucbTMy6z8ofd4v80zxK2BWO7Dwntq2?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Happy Birthday Bubby!!!

My Birthday week!!!

2008-08-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

This week has been a wonderful week. After the weekend of camping, of course it was back to work as normal. However, we got final word this week that the project I work for, come Dec 31st, will no longer be in Salt Lake City, but no worries. They plan on moving us into another company that starts moving in next month.

Anyways, after that news on Tuesday I headed home anxious for what was yet to come. Hayden and I had plans to go to dinner to a place called: If you've never eaten there, oh my goodness you must. And for those of you who may in the future visit Salt Lake City, you must put it in your plans for dinner. Hayden and I's mouths watered all day thinking of the Whiskey Steak and the Banana Fosters that awaited us. For more info and menu items check out their website. http://www.skybarslc.com/ It's a 5 Star Dining restaurant that everyone should go to at least once in their life. :) Although it can be pricey it's soooo worth it. Hayden and I had a wonderful evening. And that was just the beginning of my Birthday celebration.

Last night I got home from work and while completed what I had been cooking all day for dinner. I hear Hayden on the phone. He had almost forgotten that his sister had called letting us know that his grandmother was in town and we were headed over to the Olive Garden around 6:00 to eat with his family. It was a wonderful surprise that his Grandma and her husband along with his Aunt Gloria and partner CC as well as Erica and the girls were all going out for a nice visit. After dinner we all headed back to Gloria and CC's just to enjoy everyone company and come to find out they had bought Erica and I a birthday cake in addition to ice cream. After we stuffed our faces some more it was time for PingPong. Hayden anxious to try and beat his Aunt Gloria, just to slaughtered by the champion. He also played with his grandma, Becky, CC and myself. It was quit the show.As for today the actual day of my 26th birthday, I don't have a whole lot planned. Just relaxing this morning, I may go down to the pool for a couple hours of sun time and then this evening is still up in the air. Hayden has more family coming into town today and they have another evening planned over at Gloria's so we may head over there after he gets off work. However if not then I plan on heading over to the Hooper's for another week of learning more about my Lord and Savior at our Young Adults Small Group. Althought not huge plans on this actual day, I couldn't ask for to much more. Other then to spend this day with my twin brother, David. I miss him soooo much and come Monday he will be deployed again for four months to Qutar. One of these days we will get to spend our birthday together again. And i'll be as patiant as I can until that day comes. So for now I just want to send a special Happy Birthday to my brother as well. I luv you!!!!

Pineview Lake

2008-08-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend we were invited to go up in the mountains and enjoy a weekend of camping and hangin out at Pineview Lake near Ogden, Ut. Unfortunately, Hayden wasn't able to join us due to his job and due to the lack of my ability to drive this weekend I had to be picked up by Juliet and Kenny (Erica's friends) so that I was able to join in on the fun. After about an hour and a half we finally made it to our destination. Erica and her husband John had already been at the campsite earlier that day so they were already all set up and had actually gone swimming before we got there. Once Juliet and Kenny set their tent up and got unpacked we were able to sit and enjoy each others company around the fire.

Come bedtime, it was soooo cold that we were all bundled up in pants, hoodies, socks and whatever else we were able to layer on. When we crawled into bed it was so cold that once you got nice and toasty warm you didn't want to move no matter how uncomfortable you got. However, that's camping in the mountains for you.

The next morning we all got up and began our day with a wonderful breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes. Mmmm!!! All the children anxious to get to the lake and go tubing. Oh tubing!!! What can I say about TUBING?!?!?! OUCH!!! That's sums it up. :) My second crash off the tube felt like I skipped across the lake like a rock. I hit the water so hard that everything shifted and the shorts being worn ended up at my knees. Ponytail now 80's style ending up at the side of my head, swimsuit in places it doesn't belong as well as ending up not were it needed to be. After that fun filled adventure I was able to get back to the beach and take one kid at a time out on the SeaDoo. Amanda and I had the most fun. Flying over waves and getting soaked each time. Finally when the fun on the lake was done I decided to try and beach and work on my tan. Needless to say fair skin doesn't really tan without burning first. :(

After about 6 hours of fun in the sun everyone headed back to the camp site ready for dinner. Everyone pitched in and prepared Hobo meals for everyone followed by Birthday cake and Smores. Not only myself celebrating a birthday this week we also have Erica's, Amanda and Deora's b-day this month. So John and Erica on their way home from the lake bought a cake for all of us. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the four of us. What's my problem? Anyways, we had a wonderful weekend and I appreciate the invite from John and Erica. It's nice to know that although my immediate family is not here to celebrate with me, I still have family here to enjoy the moment with. Thank you!!!

For more pics, again visit my myspace page by searching my name if you don't already have it. Enjoy!

The Brickyard

2008-08-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Indianapolis held the Brickyard 400. This is a race that Hayden has attended many times. Two years ago he allowed me to join him in the experience. I would have to say it definantly gives you a better understanding of how fast the cars really go. Well anyways, two weeks ago Hayden and I found the best price in a while for a plane ticket to fly him back home to go to last weekends race. He was all smiles the whole week prior knowing that he was going to be able to watch Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards and the rest of the Ford Racing Team. He was even able to find a warehouse here in SLC that would be displaying one of Matt's cars and promoting Dewalt Tools. He also mentioned that while he was there people kept coming up to him asking him all kinds of questions about the car as if he was with the crew from Dewalt. They even offered to pay him just to stand there and answer questions about the car because they knew nothing about it, only the tools used to make it. He was definantly in his element that day.

The Saturday before the race Hayden flew out early that morning and landed in Indy around 7:30pm ET and was greeted by his parents who were excited that he would be there for a few days to spend time with them. He and his father attended the race on Sunday. Before church that morning I was able to talk with him. He sounded so anxious to get to the race and root for his favorite racers. Once the race had begun within just laps many cars began blowing tires and crashing into walls and other cars. Needless to say Matt Kenseth was one of the unfortunate cars that blew out the back right side of his car due to the terrible Goodyear tires everyone was using. When the race would start getting good officials would call a caution so everyone could change their tires. This went on every ten laps, just enough time for the cars to warm up to the track and start running well. Carl Edwards led a few laps and was neck and neck with Jimmy Johnson. Had Carl had a few more laps before the final caution he would've past Jimmy and won the race. So unfortunately Carl came in second to give Jimmy his second win in Indy. Yes his first win was the race two years ago when Hayden and I attended the race.

Dipped in JESUS!!!

2008-08-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

One week ago today my friend Amber made the decision to become baptised. Or in Amber's words: "Dipped In Jesus!" We are so proud of this decision to be washed of sin and become one with Christ. I was so blessed to be able to be a part of this special day for her. After the baptism we all stuck around for a pot luck lunch. It was nice to be able to sit and chat with those who we attend church with every Sunday. I feel so blessed to have a church family like Southside.

Dear Heavenly Father:

I just pray that You can show her the way and that she may be able to trust in You to guide her through her life from here on out. I also pray that Bekki and I as her friends can be a good example to her. And that everyone she comes in contact with know that she is one with You. And although she /we may fall short at times that she know you are always there to help her back up. May she also know that during those hard time it's only thru You that she may get to Heaven.

In Jesus Name

Amen!!!

Days of 47 Parade

2008-07-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

On July 24th Utah celebrates the coming of the pioneers and the settlement in Salt Lake City. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were the ones to lead the Pioneers into the city and this is where the Mormon community began to expand their religion.

This year the 24th fell on my day off of work and I attended the parade with Hayden's sister Erica and her three little girls. Come to find out this parade has a very large attendance by the Mormon community. They begin camping out the day before the parade and if you don't get the good spots before 1pm that day then you're stuck with sitting directly in the sun. Needless to say we were one of those groups that got stuck in the sun. Come 9am when the parade started the temp. was already in the 80's and rising quickly. While waiting for the parade to start we happened to be sitting next to one of the Radio Station announcing. To keep the audience alive they started handing out free items. One of those being free tickets to the Days of 47 Rodeo. The one thing i found funny about that was they were only allowing 4 tickets per family or per person who went up there. Being that this parade is a Mormon based it's hard to find those families that only have 4 or less within the family. LOL :) I just thought that was funny. Anyways, Erica was able to get tickets however only 4 for a family of 5. The radio station also gave out free Popsicle's and flags to wave during the parade.

When the parade finally decided to begin the kids got excited and lined up along the road. They began with the Police on motorcycles wearing crazy stashes. There were beautiful elaborate floats, many horses ridden by people dressed in pioneer day, they had many important people such as Mayor's, Senates, and even the President of the LDS Church. That being probably the most inspirational for those within the church, however for me the most inspirational part was when the Army Reserves walked by in full uniform. The though of my brother in the Air Force, my cousin in the Army Reserve and also my uncle who is currently in Iraq. Also for all those who have fallen to safe the freedom we have.

After two hours and the beating sun the parade was over and we all headed back to Erica's for lunch and a chance to watch a girly movie. 27 Dresses! Another well spent day with family.

For more pictures of the parade check out my MySpace page by typing in either my email address if you know it or my first and last name in the search portion. All 100 plus pictures will be displayed.

Day at Lagoon!

2008-07-17T07:19:00.001-07:00

Sunday I went to Lagoon with Hayden's sister Erica and her family. It was a very hot day and to cool off we would play in the fountain, however 10 minutes later we would be completely dry. There was a lot to do. From playing in kiddy land with girls or riding the big adult rides and also playing the games where most lose tons of money to walk away with nothing. As for Hayden and I we won a prize at every game we played and walked away with 7 or 8 large stuffed animals. The girls had a great time even though the hot sun made us a little irritable at times. Some of the cutest moments were Kira's first experiences on some of the rides. Until she got use to them she looked absolutely terrified and holding on for dear life.
Becky also had a good time getting to run around with her friend MacKinsey. I think they felt like the big kids getting to run off and ride rides as they wished. However Becky's fear of heights that day held her back from experiencing some great rides.
When Hayden got there after a long day at work we were able to finally get a picture of us, however, not an easy task for Hayden has a hard time being serious and not goofing off in a picture. He was also the cool uncle that would take Kira on some of the kiddy rides. Yes in the last picture believe it or not Kira is on the roller coaster. Hayden the whole time towering over everyone kept trying to keep Kira sitting up and not sliding down. It was pretty funny to see him on the ride however also adorable that he would try and fit his long legs in something so small so that Kira could ride. We had a wonderful time and thank Erica and John for allowing us to join in on their day of fun with the girls.

Patriot Games!!!

2008-07-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

July's Southside Girls Night Out!!! This month we decided to go with a more Patriotic theme for GNO in remembrance of our country and the men and women who fight for our freedom. Bekki had the great idea that we dress like Miss America. We made our own sashes and drove all over town looking for beeautiful dresses and accessories for our outfits. After we got all beautified we drove (in daylight while people stare from other cars at us laughing and wondering why we look so crazy) to Chris Noble's house for a night of Bunco.

We had a great time snacking all night and just really getting to know a lot about each other. I can't wait for next month. We will be bowling all while dressing in the gorgeous look of the 80's. Don't forget to check in to see the great outfits that generate from that.

Upcoming Addition!!!

2008-07-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

Just one month ago I got a phone call from my brother. I received the greatest news a sister could ever get. I found out the come February 2009 I will be an Aunt. I couldn't be happier however I was also frustrated, because I was not able to share it with the world quite yet. All while finding out about other births that will be arriving around the same time within the family. However, by the time I had arrived back to Salt Lake City after the long weekend in Indiana I received the babies first picture. How awsome and amazing the creation of a precious little baby. Seeing the development of facial features, the little stub arms and the feet. It made it all so real that I'm really going to be an Aunt.

Then last night this little precious baby, although not anywhere near me, kept me tossing and turning all night. Just to find out everything was alright and growing properly. Now I find out the baby is tossing and turning and already worrying the parents already and as I might say a very good looking couple. The amazing things that God takes care of and protects in time of fear.

Come to find out what was just stubby arms a month ago are now arms and fingers and the facial features even more defined. We can't wait to see you little one. My God keep you safe!!!