Mike, Val, Emerson and Madden

tough decisions

2012-02-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I blogged. Mostly because I have had no free time the last few months. This has been the busiest and most stressful time of our lives. We have had a lot going on and have been faced with some very difficult things.

One of those things stressing us out has been a decision to do an Air Force residency year or not. We have been back and fourth so many times and never felt completely comfortable with the decisions we were making. Back in November Mike was offered a place in a residency program at Scott Air Force base in Illinois (right outside St. Louis, MO). We went back and forth but by the beginning of December we had decided to not to do it. Now we were waiting until we got our 3 year assignment.

Sometime in mid-January we were contacted by a dental director at an Air Force base in New Mexico. I kinda freaked out about it. I knew that this was a base that we could very likely go to and the fact that the director was contacting us scared me a little. This base is located by a city called Alamogordo. There is not much there. The mall consists of a JC Penny and KMART. I told Mike there was no way I could live there and he agreed. He decided to call the Air Force and see if there was still a chance of doing the residency. They said we could still do it and offered us our spot back at Scott Air Force base. We thought about it a lot and told them we would do it, hoping that after we would have a better chance of getting stationed in Italy for our 3 year payback.

A couple weeks went by and we had still not submitted our official acceptance letter. Last Monday I finally told Mike that we needed to send it in. For some reason both of us were so hesitant on sending it in. We just felt really uneasy about it. Ultimately, we prayed about it and just knew that for whatever reason we were not meant to do it. So, once again we made another phone call and told them that we were sorry but we couldn't do it. The Air Force people have been very nice about it and very understanding which I am thankful for!

Well, just a few days later we got our official orders and our 3 year payback commitment will still be at Scott Air Force base! I cannot even describe my relief when I knew we weren't going to New Mexico. I am sure Alamagordo is a great place to live but I don't think it was for me:) Illinois seems like a great place to go. There is a lot to do there and I am so excited for our new adventure!

I am convinced that everything happens for a reason and I am looking forward to finding out why things have gone the way they have. Now we get to start making plans for our big move and find a house which we are SO excited for! I can't even believe that school is almost over, graduation is in just 3 months!!!!

a cool blog to check out

2011-10-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hey friends. I haven't blogged in FOREVER mostly because I have been way to busy. Today I am just doing a quick post for my cute cousin Megan. She has been given a cool opportunity to attend the Biggest Loser Ranch for the second time. She has won contests and has attended the Biggest Loser Finally and met a ton of Biggest Loser contestants.

She is on her own journey to lose weight and because she is starting to have these opportunities with the Biggest Loser she needs people to follow her blog and make comments. She has a lot of cool stories and pictures on there from her past experiences and will continue to have them.

So, if any of you are fans of Biggest Loser or just want to help support my awesome cousin please visit her blog and become a follower and or make comments. We really want to help support her in this! Her blog is http://couragetofinishwhativestarted.blogspot.com

Thanks!

one down

2011-07-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

i am so EXCITED to say that my first semester back to school is finished! i couldn't be happier about it. i have LOVED being in school this semester. going back to school at an older age has made me appreciate LEARNING and i have loved it. i was so nervous to go back (it is a little over 8 years since my last college semester) and i wasn't sure i could do it.

now, i will take a few weeks off and start another.

update on the rest of us:

mike: started his final year of dental school a couple months ago, i can't believe it! our time in az has flown by! he just started studying for the boards part 2 which he will take in nov or dec. we are also working on our air force application for the residency program for next year. we should know in october if we got it and where we will be moving....how EXCITING:)

emerson: this cute little boy is turning 4 on sunday. i can't believe how fast it goes. he is bored to death and we are all looking forward to having the summer over with! he likes to spend his time writing letters on everything....himself, walls, sidewalk, paper....anywhere. he also loves playing batman legos on the "xbox free."

madden: madden is 2. he has the funniest personality. he is a partier. he sleeps less than his older brother and if he can even sense something fun is going on he will stay awake at all costs. he loves going places and wrestling his dad who he still calls "mike" and his "bro-der." he is a very aggressive boy that i just want to kiss all day cause of his killer dimples.

UTAH

2011-06-29T08:46:00.001-07:00

This post is a little late. We have been back from Utah for well over a month. It was a good vacation overall. I usually come back to Arizona feeling ready and love being here. This time we spent some time in the canyon and it made me so homesick for this place. Provo canyon has always been one of my favorite places and I have missed it so much. We took our friends up to check it out. The boys all loved it! They threw rocks in the river, climbed on an old train and ran up and down the train tracks. The weather couldn't have been more perfect either (one of the only nice days while we were there).

The other big part of our trip was being able to see our cute little nieces Katelyn and Kassandra. It was our first time seeing baby "KK" and the boys couldn't get enough of holding her. She is such a sweet baby and is beautiful! Every time I go up to Utah Katelyn and Ezra usually don't recognize me which makes me sooo sad. I got to watch Katelyn a few days during the trip and we became friends. She played and smiled at me a ton and we loved every second of watching that sweet little girl!

Because I am a loser aunt I didn't get any pictures of Ezra:( I love that boy so much too. We got to do lots of things together and I love his fun personality to pieces!

One cool thing that happened was in Salt Lake. Me, Mike, Alyssa and my Mom decided to take the kids to the Book of Mormon exhibit in Salt Lake and then have lunch with Justin because he works downtown. We parked in front of the conference center and we were in a hurry after the exhibit. My mom asked us if we had ever been on top of the conference center, we hadn't and wanted to go. We were out of time but I just said let's just see if they will take us up real quick. After a little debating we finally just went up. The guide took us right up, we looked around for a few minutes (I could spend a long time, it is so beautiful up there)! We were walking towards the elevators when Mike stopped and looked across the small room. He started speaking Italian and ran over and started hugging a guy. We were so confused until he finally introduced me. Turns out it was an Italian guy and his wife visiting from Italy. He had been wanting to see Mike but everyone told him we were living in Arizona and it wouldn't be possible. Later that night we met up with a bunch of people and went to dinner. Mike was in heaven. They were really great and I had a good time but learned that I need to speak Italian. I was the only one that didn't speak. It was such a cool thing for him to see them!

The boy who potty trained himself

2011-06-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

madden.

this funny little guy had no interest in being potty trained right when he was turning 2 but only a month and a half later he decided he was going to be. Madden would just come tell me "I pee, mommy" and so I would take him, and that's how it went with this boy. We have been going pretty strong for 2 weeks now. We have occasional accidents (especially at our friends house) but he is doing pretty well with hardly any effort on my part:)

He just comes up with things all on his own. Tonight Mike told him he would be right back and to count to 3 and he did....we never taught him to count to 3 but he just knew:) he is cracking us up all the time. We love this little baby guy!

gramps

2011-06-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning (June 12, 2011) my sweet grandpa Schroeppel passed away. This weekend has been full of sadness. I was blessed to be with my mom, my aunt kim and my cousin meg when I got the news. We stayed up on Saturday night until about 2 am crying and talking, waiting to hear the news that he had passed. On Sunday morning at around 7:30 we heard that he was gone. We were all in a hotel room together in Tempe because we had gone to Les Mis the night before. Our girls weekend wasn't quite what any of us had expected but I am still grateful we were able to cry together.

Monday morning we all headed up to St. George to attend funeral part 1. It was so emotional for me. This was the first viewing I had ever attended. This is my first grandparent pass away. The whole experience has been hard to handle. Thankfully though, my grandpa has lived such a great life and that gives me a lot of peace.

I came away from the funeral yesterday with a feeling of such love and gratitude for my grandpa. He is one AMAZING man who is loved and respected by so many people. My grandpa spent his life in service for others. My grandpa is one of the funniest guys I know. He is hilarious. Yesterday everyone talked about his wit and humor and that is one of the things I will miss most about him.

Although we were not able to be with him when he passed and did not get to say goodbye, I am grateful for a great visit I had with him back in Feb. He was in the hospital and we were just getting back from our San Fran trip. I decided to make us leave later than we wanted so I could just go say a quick hello to my grandpa in the hospital. I ended up staying for 2 hours, just me and him. We talked, laughed and joked. During my 2 hour visit I think my grandpa had 3 or 4 different visitors from his ward and neighborhood. These people all told me how much they love my grandpa and what a great man he is. I loved this visit and for me, it was such a sweet memory that I have with him. I am thankful I was able to spend that time with him.

Grandpa has been such a good grandpa to all of his 49 grandkids:) I know my grandpa loves all of us equally and we all feel special and loved by him. I think that is a pretty amazing thing especially with how many of us there is!

I will miss grandpa but I know I can see him again. I am thankful to be a part of such an amazing family. I have so many great cousins, aunts and uncles. I feel pretty blessed.

Saturday is the final funeral in Utah County. I am flying up on Saturday to be there for it. I am guessing there will be more tears shed in honor of such a great guy!

Girls Night in VEGAS!

2011-06-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

I have A LOT of blogging to do but I will start with my mother's day present this year. Mike decided to get some guys together and send us wives to Vegas for a night. We were all a little excited and a little nervous...we went and had a ton of fun! Our guys scored some major points for this one. They but us up in the Palazzo hotel which was AMAZING! Here are a few pics from our trip.

As soon as we got in our rooms (which were soooo nice) we realized we could be as dumb and immature as we wanted so we jumped on our beds, jump off a ledge onto our beds and giggled, it is pretty fun acting like a 5 year old again!

In the lobby of the Palazzo.

After Jack Sparrow scared the life out of me and Heather, she got a picture taken with him. He was very friendly:)

We thought we got all dolled up before we went out but then realized we were in a whole other world when the guy taking our picture asked us where in the Midwest are we from:) I think we might have been the only girls on the strip in denim at 10pm!

After dinner at our $40 buffet. It was the Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan. It was much more gourmet than any buffet I had ever seen. The best part for me was the desserts, they were fantastic!

After dinner, we shopped until midnight, tried to find a karaoke bar, with no luck and did a little gambling....only a dollar on the penny slots. We got hit on by weirdo guys at 1 am and decided to head up to our rooms.

We spent the next few hours talking and laughing...Jill didn't make it the whole time:)

Ash, Heather and Me on one of our beds (picture taken at 4 am:)

The next day we woke up, went down to sit in the hot tubs, got ready and went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Here is a picture before we left Vegas.

We missed some of our good friends who couldn't make it but wanted to:( but we had such a good weekend and can't wait to do it again soon!

disneyland 2011

2011-05-03T07:36:00.001-07:00

Disneyland was so much fun this year! We made a sort of last minute decision to go and it was the best time we've had yet. This year we got a 3 day military park hopper pass for $98 a person. It was an amazing deal! I was so happy that my mom, dad and Ry could come down and extra happy that Lyss, Jus, and Ez could come too. I miss these people so much!

Alyssa and Justin drove down to Cali and had quite the adventure, to say the least. Between a ticket, new tires and rims, taking Ez to the ER their trip ended up being a lot more expensive. I am so thankful they came anyway, we loved having them there!

Emersons favorite ride was driving these cars. He also thought it was pretty cool meeting Mickey Mouse (even though he was terrified at first)!

I loved seeing all the boys together. Madden was all about Ezra but Ezra wasn't so sure about him (he might have felt a little smothered:) But they were still sweet together. Poor Ez was sooo sick for most of the trip.

The boys were so excited to see Lightning McQueen and Mater, Emers is so excited for the new cars movie! California Adventure is opening up cars rides later on this year, guess we might have to go back:)

We celebrated Madden's 2nd birthday at Disneyland. We had him open presents and he got to wear a button so that people in the park would wish him Happy Birthday. We love you baby guy!

Because we had 3 days there we would usually go to the park in the morning and take a few hours off in the afternoon and go back at night. It was so nice although next time I go, it will not be when Utah has spring break, it was way too crowded!

Our last day we made a stop at the beach. It was freezing cold but Madden got a kite for his birthday and we wanted to try it out. Kites work great on the beach with all that wind:)

It was a great vacation!

Baby is 2!

2011-04-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago my sweet little madden guy turned 2. I have been thinking a lot about this sweet little boy and how grateful I am to have him in my family. This picture below was just a few days after madden was born. Although Madden wasn't planned I can't imagine our family without him. He has brought us so much happiness. Here are some pictures of the things I love about this baby!

Madden is ready for anything. He is just waiting around for something else to happen so he can do it. The second we brought out his cake he was filling his cheeks with air to blow out those candles. (I didn't even know he would know what to do).

He has such an angelic face and is a sweet boy but he is also my wild child:) Madden likes to test the boundaries and pinch, bite, hit or kick me. I will always tell him no Madd, we don't hit mommy, sometimes he will say "sorry mom" in his sweet voice. Other times he will do an evil laugh and run away.

He is all boy. He loves to wear hats, shoes football wrist bands or anything else he can find. He also wants to be doing every single thing Emerson does. Madden has to wear his backpack every time we take Emerson to school. He will literally follow Emerson around the house all day and follow every move, sound or action he does. It is pretty cute!

Lately Madden has been a good helper. He wants to help me with every single thing I do. He will vacuum, wash dishes, wipe counters, sweep and mop. I only wish he would just put his energy into those things, most of the time he is pulling things out and off of places, throwing toys all over the floor or the worst one yet, hitting our tv with a bat and breaking the 47" flat screen....nice!

My favorite thing Madden does is "be aggressive". The picture below is exactly what he does when we tell him to be aggressive. It is so funny! After he does that he will usually tackle us or something. He loves to wrestle his brother and daddy any chance he can get.

I absolutely love this babies dimples. They melt me. I love that he calls his daddy "mike" and laughs about it. I love that he calls emerson "bro-der". I love that he says "hike" with his football and tackles us. Even though he is a wild, crazy, energetic boy I love him so much. He is so fun to be around and still has a very sweet personality. I am so thankful for Madden to be in our family, we would be missing out on so much without him.

Happy Birthday Baby Guy! We love you lots and lots!

April Fools

2011-04-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

I have never really done anything for April Fools before. This year my friend Heather and I decided to do a last minute April Fools party for the kids. So, Heather made the cupcakes and I put some crafts together and the kids came and had a good time. We handed out treats in a white sock we put cocoa on. Heather made these great cupcakes that looked like spaghetti and meatballs and mashed potatoes with butter (the butter was a starburst). It was fun to put together. The kids all ran around and had a good time.

Heathers fabulous cupcakes....

The kids in their "crazy" hats and making green slime....

Next year I think it might be fun to do an adult april fools party. There seemed to be lots of fun ideas online:)

Young Women's Campout Adventure

2011-04-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

We decided to have a super activity for our young women. We made plans to go canoeing on the Verde River. I knew going into it that it would be an adventure, I just didn't know how much of an adventure it would be.

Day 1 we arrived in the White Tank Mountains. We set up camp and relaxed. Lucky for me, Emerson and Madden got to come up and spend with us. They loved it up there. Emerson got to play baseball with everyone.

These boys were spoiled rotten with attention from all the young women. All the girls were so great with them and played with them the entire time.

The girls set up all of the tents on their own. They were awesome!

We took a hike to a "waterfall" and saw a rattle snake on the way.

That was the first day....

Day 2 was a different day. It started off great. We went to McDonald's for breakfast and then headed a hour and a half north to get on the River. We got on our canoes at around 10:30 am. We were all really nervous because most of us had never canoed before. We got on the water and realized that it really wasn't too bad. The river was slow, wide and we just slowly went along.

After being on the water for a couple hours things started to get interesting. I had one of my cute young women, Katie with me. We somehow drifted to the side and couldn't get away and went right into a huge tree with tons of sticks (not really any leaves). I was laying flat on my back because the sticks were so thick. I was trying to push my way out but it was really hard. Finally we got out and I realized there were about 50 spiders in my boat!!!!! Yes, SPIDERS!!! all shapes and sizes. This was my worst fear by far. I was freaking out! I was standing in the canoe, jumping and screaming, stabbing and stomping the spiders with my feet and my ore. It was horrible.

I survived.

After lunch we headed out again. A few people had tipped there canoes but we hadn't yet. I was thankful because the water was cold and it was only 65 degrees outside. Well, not long after lunch did everyone start tipping over. The poor men on our trip spent the entire day getting all of us un-stuck, getting water out of our boats and convincing the girls that we needed to keep going. I could make this post sooo long and tell you about every single time we tipped over and had scary adventures but I won't. I will just say that it got so bad that almost every girl was crying and at one point they couldn't do it anymore. We had been through so much that last couple hours. So the girls decided to get out of their canoes and start walking. Obviously they couldn't go alone so since I was the only female leader with them at the time, I went with.

We thought we were almost at the end from where we got out of the water so the plan was to just follow the road along the river until we got to the cars. We walked for about a mile and we didn't see any cars. We did run into a lady and borrowed her phone. We found another couple from our group and they came to pick us up....in their Toyota Camry. We fit 8 girls in the back seat and I sat in the front seat on one of the other women leaders laps:) It was so funny. We were all soaking wet, freezing from the wind and emotionally exhausted!

The next few hours was spent wondering if the rest of our group on the river was okay. We didn't have any contact with them and as it got dark we were really scared. The rest of our group had to get all of our abandoned canoes down the river for 2 miles!!! We thought we were at the end but we weren't, we still had a long way to go.

After many prayers and waiting we located our group and got back together at around 9pm.

Next, we were getting ready to load up and one of the trucks wouldn't start so we had to get a tow truck to drive us back. When the tow truck arrived we got loaded up and then our driver decided to go off the path a little ways and got stuck in the parking lot!!!! It took a half hour to get us out and finally we were on our way at 10:30pm. We went and loaded the canoes and got a ride back to the White Tank mountains....arrival time was 1:30am.

It was the craziest day I have ever had. We were all emotionally exhausted but thankful to have everyone safe. Our goal for the trip was unity and we got it!!!!

Phoenix Childrens Museum

2011-04-02T06:11:00.001-07:00

This place was amazing! The boys had so much fun here and I was pretty impressed myself. It was in a cool old building in downtown.

Emerson in the HUGE playhouse.

They rode trikes through a pretend carwash.

Madden liked Emerson to taxi him around. He never wanted to get out of that back seat:)

they made hats....

Painted a castle....

went through the noodle forest...

and went grocery shopping and checked themselves out.

I hope we go back again. These boys loved every minute!

Spring Training

2011-04-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

Being in Phoenix in March has its perks. One of them is attending spring training games for way cheap. We got tickets to the Mariners for free from the Air Force base. Rob and Rocio came to visit us so we took them along with us. It is nice to sit on the grass and enjoy some sun. I don't think we watched much of the game but it was a good time anyway!

Beef

2011-03-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

For Mike's spring break we decided to watch a dog for Dr. Call (who is over Mike in the clinic). When beef first arrived my boys (and myself) were terrified. It took Emerson only a couple minutes to warm up to him. It took Madden a day or so. These boys loved having him at our house. Beef loved to follow us everywhere we went in the house.

Emers grew attached to Beef very quickly. Every time we would leave the house he wouldn't want to go because Beef would miss him. He would also suggest that we take Beef with us.

It was a huge growing experience for me and the boys. At least they aren't scared of dogs anymore!

New Obsession

2011-03-08T14:08:00.001-08:00

Call me a grandma....but this thing is a little addicting for me!

www.jigzone.com

Mike is cursing his sisters name for introducing me. We spent time on a Saturday night "racing" each other. How nerdy are we?!

these boys

2011-02-22T10:03:00.001-08:00

These 2 little "angels" really do melt my heart and often make me feel beyond blessed......

There are, however, many days lately where I am feeling completely overwhelmed by their energy and attitudes:) I always thought it was "terrible two's" but I am finding that it was more like "terrific two's" and "terrible three's". I feel horrible every time I lose my patience which seems to be happening WAY more than it ever did before! I am sure I am not the only mom who is going through this or has gone through this before but sometimes I just need to vent:)

We seem to have many days like this picture above (we all feel that way). Emerson is mad at me and I at him. He is throwing fits, calling me names (this is a new one) and being mean to his brother. Madden is a sweet boy but he knows what he wants and he will fight until he gets it! There is no changing his mind! He knows how to destroy everything and most of the day I feel like I am following them around cleaning up the mess. Today I need a break so they are being watched by the TV:(

At the end of any crazy day I get into bed and forget all about it. I start telling Mike about all the funny and creative things they have done. I remember how lucky I am to be their mom and I feel so grateful. I wouldn't change my life in any way no matter how hard the day is. Even though these boys can be a lot to keep up with they are so sweet.

Seeing them happy together is the greatest thing for me. Madden looks up to his big brother so much and wants to be just like him. Madden loves climbing on the coffee table and jumping off to Emerson on the couch. They laugh and laugh together.

Emerson and Madden love just staring at each other and smiling. It is so sweet and I am glad I got to capture it on camera when they were just out of the bath.

Now I will go back to trying to get ready for the craziness that awaits us starting this weekend. Mike's mom is moving down to AZ on Thursday, we get to "babysit" a dog starting on Friday....yes I said a dog. at my house. and I am DEATHLY afraid of them, DEATHLY afraid! What am I thinking?! Then my brother and his wife will come down the following Thursday for a quick weekend visit. It will be so busy but fun!

a project

2011-02-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

I have always hated this table we got at a garage sale. I think we bought it with the chairs for $10. It has always served it's purpose but now the boys are "too big" to eat on it so I decided to change it up a little.

Before:

After:

The top is a chalkboard now so they can color on it. They think it is pretty cool!

Emerson and Madden have also been doing projects of their own. They have been busy the last couple Saturday's going to Home Depot and Lowes to do the free kids projects. They feel pretty cool in their aprons and glasses:)

Happy birthday to Mike

2011-02-04T07:29:00.000-08:00

Mike is always wanting to get away from the kids so for his birthday I surprised him with a trip to San Francisco. I booked the trip back in October cause I found an amazing deal on airfare and kept the secret until his bday on Jan 24!

We left on Thursday Jan 27th. We drove to St. George so the kids could stay there with my parents. Friday morning we took off to Vegas and flew to San Fran. Here are some pictures from our trip...

Mike bought us a new camera for his birthday so we had lots of fun playing with it.

Scary picture, I know! We were on a double decker bus going over the golden gate bridge, it was soooo windy and rainy. I am terrified of bridges and heights so it wasn't a good combination for me! I was scared to death because our bus kept swaying. Mike thought it was so funny and was laughing and taking pictures of me the whole time....what a guy!

This was at an NFL store. We walk in and I notice all the kids clothing on the main floor. As soon as I see the sign that says adult clothing I ask Mike if he wants to go upstairs. The look on his face was so funny. He thought it was "adult" clothing at first and was in shock that I was asking him if he wanted to go up. I was so confused because my mind didn't get what he was thinking of at first. As soon as I realized why he was shocked I started laughing so hard.

All out of sourdough bread.

I loved this place. The food was so fresh and good.

Our vacation was so much fun but exhausting. Our boys didn't miss us a single bit. They wouldn't even talk to us on the phone. I guess Nana, Boppa and Ry are too much fun! We were only gone for 2 nights but it was a quick little getaway. I can't wait until we do it again!

The last 2 Santa encounters have gone like this....

2010-12-14T11:12:00.001-08:00

Year 1 (2008)

Year 2 (2009)

Do you think we will have a better time this year?

You know what makes me happy?

2010-11-05T07:43:00.001-07:00

It is November 5th and this weekend I will finish up my Christmas shopping except for 1 thing (just waiting for a better deal to come). I am so excited to enjoy the holiday season with no stress of buying gifts!
Alyssa, Justin and Ezra come to see us 1 week from tomorrow!
Finals are next week for Mike and then he will have a few days off and then go back for 4 days and then get another week off.
I got 10 hours of sleep last night.
I found 2 dresses at Target yesterday for $4.50 each.
I am going to have another niece born at the end of April.
I have so many great friends who I love to pieces.
Our lives are about as busy as can be right now but we are happier than we have ever been and feel a million blessings surrounding us!

Part 2 of my projects

2010-10-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks ha ve been CRAZY for me. Mostly because I fill my limited free time to doing huge projects while Mike is at school. It isn't very easy when I have two little boys around but we made it work.

I decided to move Emerson and Madden into the same room. I spent a lot of time re-organizing toys and cleaning. I painted the room and hung all the decorations. I love their room now. It has turned into one of my favorite rooms in the house.

I also painted another bedroom, the backsplash in the kitchen and the alcoves in the house. I am so glad to be putting the house back together:)

St. George

2010-10-08T07:07:00.001-07:00

The first weekend in October we headed up to St. George to spend the weekend with my family.

We were all able to go except for Rob and Rocio:( We missed them tons!

Cute little EZ was so much fun. He was so fascinated with Emerson and Madden. He wanted to be involved in anything they were doing with Ryan. He was also my buddy. We had lots of fun playing together (I think I am his fav:)

Madden loved Katelyn. He kept giving her kisses and always made sure her binky was going in her mouth (even when she didn't need it) it was really sweet!

I love this picture of Madden and Boppa. These kids love their boppa! They are always so excited to see him. Emerson loves going on rides in Boppa's fast car.

I got to spend lots of time holding our sweet Katelyn. She is the first girl niece we have. She is a sweet little thing!

Saturday night we got to go to a very long dinner with my grandma, aunt kim, meg and aunt Jackie. We went to Texas Roadhouse and had to wait for 2 hours to get a table and then had horrible service and didn't get to sit next to eachother! It wasn't the best but at least we got to see all of them.

A lot of the trip was spent with the boys playing XBOX.

Me & Katelyn

Justin passing the football:)

uncle ry and his boys! these kids are sure lucky to have such a cool uncle!

Ryan and all the grandkids....so far! The kids weren't thrilled but at least we got some pictures:)

The best part of the trip was just lounging around and watching these kids play together.

Halloween Projects

2010-10-07T07:47:00.001-07:00

This week has been a week of projects for me. I started out doing my halloween decorations....

My friend showed me a blog that had a bunch of cute ideas so I copied a few of them. The subway art I just printed from my computer. I got the bird and cage for $2. The frame for the subway art was also $2.

I got the Happy Halloween sign from Tai Pan last week for $3 and the crate the jars are sitting in for $1.50 at Michaels.

I painted the boxes and the pumpkins and the black pot, added some moss and a halloween net runner for a grand total of $19! I already had the candy jars and the other supplies so it made it so cheap!

Now, I am working on moving the boys into the same room, making a guest room and doing more painting. I love getting cleaned up and organized, it is so much fun!

Beego

2010-10-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and let the boys get a pet.....

Meet Beego (Emerson named him, don't ask what that name means. We have no idea).

Some cute kids in our ward caught him for us in their house. Emerson and Madden love him. When they wake up in the morning they go and check on Beego. He doesn't come out of his cage but I guess it is just fun for them to look at and I don't have to do a thing:)

Big Boy!

2010-09-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

Emerson started pre-school last month. I can't believe he is old enough to be going. Yes, he is only 3 but he is more than ready to go!

He was so excited to put his backpack on and is always telling me to hurry so we "don't be late to my school."

As soon as I dropped him off he just jumped out of the car and started walking in. His teacher, Mrs Moss, had to tell him to say bye to his mom. I am so glad that he loves it and is having fun but I kinda wish he would miss me....just a little, he is my first! His teacher loves him and it sounds like he is a good boy at school, lets hope it stays that way:)

Madden gets sad almost every time we have to drop Emerson off for school. I think he does like mommy all to himself but still misses his pal!

Mike keeps telling me we need to have just one more kid so we can get it over with and be done. I feel completely opposite. These boy are demanding and they cry and whine a lot but I still love the stages they are in. I am laughing everyday at the things they say and do and I would love to extend this difficult phase of life for a couple more years! I don't want to just "get it over with." I want to try and enjoy these moments as much as possible. I know they will be gone sooner than I know it!

A few reasons to miss utah

2010-09-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

Mike was lucky enough to have a short break at the end of August so we took advantage and went back home to visit.

Before we moved to AZ, Emerson loved mowing the lawn with Boppa. He got to do it a couple times while we were there, I am pretty sure Boppa loves it more than Emers:) It is special time for the 2 of them!

I miss green, lush plants and trees. This is my parents backyard and I miss all the fun we have out here. Not only is it BEAUTIFUL, it is fun!

Baby Katelyn and Boppa. Katelyn was born at the beginning of August, she is our first niece so we had to go see her!

Me and Katelyn. I loved holding her and the boys loved kissing her. She is a cutie!

Madden and Ezra. They were so cute together. Madden liked to feed EZ anything he was eating. Right here he was feeding him an apple. I think Ezra liked having him around....until Madden started getting possessive of toys Ezra would play with. I can't wait for Christmas with these kiddos. It will be so fun!

The last highlight of our trip was going to get Mani/Pedi's & lunch with my mom and sisters. I love those girls so much and can't wait till we do it again. The best part was how much my mom loved and enjoyed her very first pedicure!!

SKYPE

2010-09-02T22:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Skype,

Thank you for making it so I can play peek-a-boo with my nephew Ezra, for allowing my kids to know their extended family and for me being able to hang out with my family at any time even though we are more than 600 miles apart.

My life is so much better with you! I LOVE YOU SKYPE!

Buster is 3!

2010-08-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

Emerson had a very special birthday this year. Nana, Boppa and Ry flew in to Phoenix the night before his birthday. Here are a few of the highlights from his birthday:

Emerson waiting to blow out the candles

The buzz cake was such a pain. The first time we made the cake it fell apart coming out. I should have just ran to the store and bought a cake but I was determined so we started over. The cake was ready for us to start decorating 5 min before the party started. This left my mom and dad to finish the cake. They had hardly any time and they did a great job.

Emerson opening presents

The kids made pirate hats, eyepatches and swords.

The kids with their pirate gear

We went to dinner with my family after the party.

It was such a fun birthday and emers felt so loved by his cute friends and family!

Now for my "sappy" part.....I love this little boy so much. Mike and I can listen to him for hours. He says so many funny and innocent things. Our world would be so different without him. We feel so blessed to have him in our family. Emerson has always felt a little older to me than he actually is but for some reason as soon as he "turned 3" I got a little sad. I can't believe how big he is getting. He started soccer and is starting preschool tomorrow. I thought about keeping him at home with me to postpone the school thing but he is ready and wants to go, so in a small way I need to let go a little and let him have fun and feel like a "big boy." I can already tell that I am going to have a major meltdown when he starts kindergarten. Good thing I have a couple years to prepare:)

Happy birthday buster boy. Your family loves you so much!

the 4th

2010-07-06T09:15:00.001-07:00

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. We always have lots of fun with our family. We usually go to a parade, have a fun bbq and swim at aunt Melinda's and watch fireworks. So, I was a little sad that going back to Utah was a little too far for such a short break so we decided to drive 5 hours west to LA. Even though I really missed my family, we had a great time!

Madden loved eating sand and anything in the sand:)

Emerson was in heaven at the beach!

We got a kick out of Mr. Patriotic who kept walking up and down the beach, it was pretty funny.

My boys on the boardwalk at Santa Monica Beach

A fun thing we did (that I had never done before) was go to the Griffith Observatory. It is such a cool place. This is us up there. It has the most amazing view of the city. It is located on the top of the hill with parks all around.

Mike especially loved this place, inside it has a bunch of science exhibits, all about space and planets and stars. He could have stayed for hours but the rest of us would have been a little bored.

From the Griffith Observatory there are hiking trails all over. Emerson was so excited to go hiking.

Mike stayed with Madden under a tree for shade (the poor kid had a little sunburn from the beach) so Emerson wanted to take a picture of me. I think he did a pretty good job for a kid who is still 2!

Mike and I have always wanted to watch fireworks on the beach so we parked far away and made the trek down. This is my boys in Marina Del Rey, such a cool place!

Madden and Mike on the beach, it was a little cold!

Emerson ran miles that night. This is him doing "his dance" on the beach. It looks like breakdancing. It is adorable!

Overall it was such a nice trip. It was nice to get away from the horrible heat and spend some good time with the boys I love most!

half way done

2010-06-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Mike has been in his 3rd year of dental school for about a month now. Yesterday was the first day he got to start seeing patients. His first "screening" patient came in and wants a total cosmetic procedure. Not only does he have to make the teeth functional, he has to make them look good! Today is his first day doing actual work on someone. He will be doing fillings on a 94 year old man. He is just hoping to get him out alive:) I am sure he will do great!

I am so excited that we are halfway done and can't believe it either. It is crazy how fast it has gone by. I am so proud of Mike for being so committed in school and at home. Somehow he has been so good at finding a balance between everything and we love him for it!

Now we are gearing up for a great weekend ... ready to hit California for the 4th of July. I can't wait to be in the 70 and 80 degree weather instead of the 110 weather! It will be so refreshing!

Park City

2010-05-31T08:34:00.001-07:00

Mike & I have never really had a "getaway" since we started having kids. We really needed a break so we asked my parents to watch the kids one of the nights we were in Utah so we could stay in Park City. We ended up staying at the Waldorf Astoria. It was the most beautiful, relaxing hotel I have ever stayed at and I have stayed at some nice ones.

Mike and I on Main Street

The amazing hotel lobby (my dad built that staircase)

Mike in our room

I had to take a picture of the carpet because I loved it so much!

From the second we pulled in we were treated so well. My dad was nice enough to let us take is sports car so we could feel like we belonged (even though we know we don't:). We didn't even understand how the valet worked:) The entire hotel smelled so wonderful. The sidewalks were heated out to the pool. There were a few outdoor fireplaces with huge plush blankets in each room to use by the fire. I have gotta say that I have never been to a hotel where you sit down on big leather chairs to check into your room. The environment was so relaxing and peaceful, I felt like I was at a spa the entire time I was there.

We had a great time and can't wait to do it again. I think this might be a thing to look forward to every year!

playing catch-up

2010-05-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

We have had lots of fun things going on lately. Here is the bunch of random things we have been up to.

We have been painting.... above is emerson's room (partially done)

Here is my room, the color is shocking but I love it. It is so bright and fun to look at.

We had party #3 for Madden. We had a fun combined party for Madden and his friend Corbin. They are only a few weeks apart. It was a breakfast at the park with many of our great friends. We feel so lucky to know so many awesome people!

Here is Madden with his cute little friend Avie Jo. She is adorable and only 6 weeks older than Madden. He loves her, they are so cute playing together!

I have been working on endless school projects that are completely time consuming

Emers went on his first father and sons camping trip last weekend. He was so excited to go sleep in a tent and roast marshmallows. I was sad they left but Madden and I had a great night out with the girls!

Emers and his pal Easton at the campout.

Sitting by the fire....

Our last adventure was last night. I went onto the porch to water some plants, I looked over the railing and saw a fresh dirt pile with a hole in the middle. It freaked me out so I ran in the house to get mike. He gets really close and tells me he thinks it's a rat because he thought he saw wiskers. I HATE HATE HATE rodents, bugs or any creepy thing! I ran in the house and watched from the porch and googled what it could be...

We found out it was a pocket gopher, they dig a hole and make tunnels underneath the ground, going to your plants and killing them by eating the roots. I was wondering why our palm was dying.... After looking online we thought flushing it out was the best idea so Mike got the hose and started the water. After only a minute or so the gopher came running out. He is the little guy in the corner of the rocks and driveway. We scared him off into the neighbors yard:) Hopefully he leaves us alone now!

Now we take off for 2 weeks of fun in Utah!

I am thankful

2010-05-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

Lately I am so thankful for strawberry milk! Emerson is back on a "I would rather not eat anything at all kick"!

At least this time he is drinking lots of strawberry milk and getting some nutrition. Last time he just wanted water.

I will never understand why this boy is not interested in eating....isn't this a problem an adult would like to have?!

The backyard

2010-04-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

It started like this.....

and now looks like this.....

My baby is 1!

2010-04-15T12:51:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Madden turned 1! I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Madden has been so much fun for us. We love having him in our family. He has been the happiest baby in the world! His dimples melt us and I love how adventurous he is already. Madden was an unexpected blessing in our lives.

Madden loved all the attention he gets when we have a party for him (we have had 3 so far). He loves it when we sing happy birthday to him and he loves tearing open the presents.

Madden's fun present was the sandbox. He tried eating the sand and loved picking it up and throwing it out of the sandbox.

But the best part of the birthday was the cake........

(make sure you click to enlarge this picture so you can see how much he really enjoyed it)

Happy birthday my sweet little baby guy! We love you so much and you have brought so much fun and happiness to this family!

uncle ry

2010-04-12T07:50:00.001-07:00

This is our ry with madden guy. Madden loves ry, he always smiles at him and loves it when he is around to play with.

Emerson and Ry are best buddies. Ry was only 8 when Emerson was born. They lived in the same house for until Emers was 1. Emerson thinks Ry is so funny, that he has the best toys and is so fun to play with. Emerson now tries to do everything Ry does and always tells me Ry is funny. If Ryan is on a nerf kick, so is emerson. If Ry is on a lego kick, emerson wants to be too. He is a pretty cool kid to try and be like!

Many people from Mike's mission that don't know me, think Ryan is my son. I guess it is pictures like this on facebook that make them think that:) We would claim him any day. Everytime we see Ry, I always ask him if he will just come live with us forever!

Ry is so helpful with the boys, he is always so concerned about them and their safety. He is the greatest uncle & we are lucky to have him.....everyone should have an uncle Ry! He is the best!

Where have I been?

2010-04-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

This month has been CRAZY for us! My sister Alyssa was about to have her 1st baby so on March 17th me and the boys headed up for Utah by ourselves. The boys had been sick with fevers since the Saturday before we left so I thought for sure they would be fine by the time we got to Utah......I was very WRONG! We were in Utah for 10 days and we were all completely sick and miserable for the first 7 days.

Don't get me wrong, we still managed to have lots of fun. One of the things that made my trip was hanging out with my sister Chelsey. We spent so much time together and most of it was laughing and being completely immature. I was so sad to leave her!!!

Mike's mom came back to Arizona with us and stayed for 9 days. We got a lot done including finishing the landscaping on the backyard. Here is a picture of the boys riding in the firetruck together. Madden loved every second of this!

This is me holding my first nephew Ezra Jordan! I had to wear a mask the entire time I was there but at least I got to see him. He is so perfect and we are so excited for our kids to finally have cousins.

Emerson at the Surprise Easter egg hunt. He had so much fun and didn't want to leave until....

he got home and realized we got these ball chairs for him and Madden. They love them and get one in each of their rooms.

Can I just say how much I love ARIZONA in April?! The weather is perfect and I love eating outside on our patio and going on walks. It is so nice!

Now for some really sad news. Yesterday was a hard day for our family. My brother Rob and his wife are expecting their first baby. She had been having a lot of pain in a certain spot on her body. She finally went to get it checked a couple days ago with her doctor. They were really worried it could be a tubal pregnancy so they scheduled an ultrasound for yesterday. At the ultrasound they found out that it was what they thought. The worst part about this is that while doing the ultrasound they found out they would have had twins! We are so heartbroken for them. Now she has to go in for a D&C on Monday to get the babies out. We know the Lord has a reason for everything and they will be okay:(

Sorry for all the random in this post....I guess that's what happens when you don't blog for over a month:)

The best part about dental school.......

2010-03-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

The BREAKS!!!!

We had so much fun this spring break! The first 4 days were spent in California going to Disneyland and California adventure and spending time at the beach and with my aunt in San Diego. Here are a few of the pictures...

Ry and my mom got to fly down to spend the time with us, it was great! Emerson LOVED both places. He loved seeing all the characters from his favorite shows. His favorite rides were the "fast cars" and the choo-choo's. Even though Saturday was FREEZING cold and rainy we loved it! I can't wait to take the boys back there!

After we got back we had 6 days before Mike had to go back to school. We went to a baseball game, got lots done in our backyard and went hiking in the mountains behind our house...who knew such beauty was right in our backyard!

Emerson and his buddy Rayce playing at the baseball game.

All of us by the waterfall we hiked to (there is only water right here after it rains:))

I am already looking forward to our next break:)

My Bathroom

2010-02-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

So, this morning I started reading my friends and family blogs. My cousin Kelsey just did a post about how much she loves dark grey and would love to do a bedroom painted in that color, accented with yellow. I was so excited because I had just finished my bathroom that exact same way last week. So, Kels, these pictures are for you. I know dark colors aren't usually very good in a small space but this I love. It is relaxing and totally what I was in the mood for:)

Poor Baby!

2010-02-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

Today Emerson had to go in for his little surgery. He had to get some skin clipped and taken off from his little boy part:( My doctor made it seem like we would walk into the hospital and be out the door within a few minutes....that didn't happen. We were there for over 3 hours.

We got there at 6:45am with our sweet starving boy. He was fine for the first half hour but after that was so upset and bored and just wanted a treat and his sippy. We finally got into his room at 8:00am. He was a little happier when he could watch a kids show on tv. A sweet girl from the hospital came in and brought him bubbles and books to keep him occupied until they were ready for him. As soon as they were ready they put him in a wagon to go for a ride. He was upset and just wanted me with him. I held his hand down the hall until they told me I had to go in the waiting room. This was HORRIBLE! I don't think there is anything worse as a mom when your baby needs you and you can't do anything for them. I had to walk out the door and he is crying, calling my name and reaching for me. I immediately lost it.

The surgery was really fast and within 15 minutes the doctor came out and told us he was finished. They were supposed to come get me while he was asleep so I could be there for him when he woke up but they didn't. Again, my poor baby was left alone and scared because his mommy wasn't there. When I finally got to go in his room the nurse was holding him. I got him to stop crying (for a minute) but he wanted his IV out of his hand really bad. I got him his drink and rocked him in the chair for a few minutes. He started screaming in pain and kept saying "owie" over and over again.

The entire time we were at the hospital he wanted to leave and kept telling me to take him to the car. He was so sweet after he was recovering he said "momma, I want my baby guy" (that is madden in case you were wondering). Now we are at home and are working on keeping the tylenol rolling and lots of gause! Hopefully he will heal up fast and we can forget about the trauma of today.

He did get a dinosaur out of it from the nurse and he loves it, even though you can't tell from the pictures:)

Little Madden spent his time with us at the hospital making all the nurses smile with his sweet dimples. He was such a good baby today and we are so grateful for that.

This has made me realize how grateful I am for the health that we are blessed with in this family. This is the first time we have been in the hospital for anything other than having a baby. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have to go through something major with your kids, this was bad enough and it was nothing!

boy oh boys

2010-02-04T06:33:00.000-08:00

this week we went to the zoo with the kids. they had a great time but something scary happened. Emerson tripped on some dirt and landed on a rock. He had a huge dent in his head!!! It was the craziest thing I had seen. I kinda freaked out a little because it looked so weird but my friend calmed me down and he was fine. This picture doesn't do it justice but it was really deep. Luckily after about 20 minutes it started to come back otherwise i would have really lost it!

I decided to add some pictures to remind myself why having boys is fun and not just a negative thing like my last post:)

When they play together it is so cute. They got this tent for Christmas and both of them love being in it with all the blankets and pillows

I love watching the excitement on Emerson's face when he is doing something really fun. We took him to Peter Piper Pizza last friday with Grandpa Hall or as Emers likes to call him "Cappa"

Who wouldn't love seeing such a happy baby with the sweetest dimples ever?

I love making them match. I know it is cheesy but I think it is fun and I gotta do it while they will let me!

Mike would pull them in the diaper boxes all around the house. Emerson looks upset in this picture but they were both laughing and loving it!

Even though Madden is waking up as much as a newborn lately, he is so sweet and gets so excited when he sees us. He starts waving his arms up and down and gets a huge dimples smile on his face. Emerson keeps us laughing everyday with all the new things he says.

Emerson is finally getting better! He still complains of stomach pain sometimes but other than that I think we are on our way out....of that one. On Tuesday morning Emerson has to go in for surgery! He has to have his circumcision "re-done" in a spot. I hate that they have to put him under but it should be a quick procedure. I will have more on that next week! Wish us luck!

What do you do?

2010-01-19T13:35:00.001-08:00

What do you do when....

Your 2 year old keeps throwing things, kicking, pushing the soft spot, yelling, pushing down, biting, stealing toys, etc. etc (with your 9 month old)?
You send your 2 year old to time out and he laughs at you no matter how mad you get at him!
Your 9 month old thinks naps are not for him and does everything he possibly can to stay awake every moment of the day?
Your 9 month old likes to wake up 3 or 4 times a night.....still?
Your 2 year old takes a 5 minute nap during the day and stays up till 10 pm?
You are trying your best to keep your 2 year old from watching tv during the day.
Your 2 year old wakes up EVERY SINGLE night and cries in his bed until he gets to go in mama's bed.
You are so exhausted you can hardly function, you are getting depressed and want your own mommy to come see you...NOW!
You get a gym pass to help with some of the stress but you can't go because you are too busy wiping your kids noses every minute of the day.
You get to share a car with your husband for 5 years of marriage and you just can't take it anymore.
That sweet husband of yours reminds you that with all the stress you feel in your life it cannot even compare to what horrible things other people go through, especially people in Haiti right now.
You know he's right but you still want to have a pity party for yourself sometimes:)

These are a few of the fun things we have been doing at our house for the past 3 weeks. I guess this sounds really negative but I still manage to smile and have hope that it will be better tomorrow!

Thanksgiving cruise

2009-12-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

Our cruise was so much fun! My parents took our entire family for our Christmas present this year. We had such a good time together. There were so many fun things to do on and off the ship. We saw comedy shows, watched movies under the stars while sitting in a hot tub, eating lots of good food, shopping and sitting around at the beach.

This is where we spent Thanksgiving day this year.

St. Thomas.

It was AMAZING!

Do I need to say more?

I loved every island we went to but I have to say St. Thomas was my favorite. I had so many eye opening moments being there. I look forward to the day I can go back.

Emerson had lots of fun riding bikes on the top deck of the boat with Ryan (all the time)! He loved splashing in the waves on the beach and ate tons of fruit. He was so excited to go on the "big boat" but when we got on he did not think it was a big boat at all. He pointed out all the tiny boats in the ocean and said "mama, big boat" it was really funny.

It was hard taking the boys on a cruise (mostly because of the sleeping conditions) but it was well worth it. We had lots of help from my family so that helped a lot.

Now back to reality, I am looking forward to Christmas. It is just around the corner!

Fall Break

2009-11-19T11:42:00.001-08:00

This is how we have been spending Mike's fall break....so far:)

We took Emerson and Madden to the McCormick Train Park in Scottsdale. He LOVED it! It was $2 to ride each time and it wasn't really long but he had so much fun we had to take him a few times.

Other than this cute train ride they have train museums and exhibits set up for you to walk around and see. They have a play ground area and lots of grass to just go sit around and play. It was a really fun place and I have a feeling we will be going back several times!

After a few days of hanging out with Mikes mom, Mike decided to tackle the big project of landscaping our backyard. I am so glad he got the urge to do this but it has been A LOT of work. There is no way Mike could have done this without the help of friends!

We still have work to do back there but now we have sprinklers and grass!!!! We are so excited to look out the window and see green, not rocks! THANK YOU SO MUCH to our friends that came to help us but especially for DAN and JASON! These two guys saved us and there is no way we would have been done with this (or had a clue what to do) without them!

Now we can get cleaned up and move on to part 2 of our break.....Caribbean here we come!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are thankful for all of you!

Halloween

2009-11-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

Halloween was lots of fun this year. On Friday we took the boys to Midwestern to go trick or treating. They have trick or treating around the school and a fun carnival for the kids to go to.

This is our football player Emerson, Madden our Monkey and Mike.

Emerson was having so much fun running around with his friend Easton.

Madden was so happy in his costume. Everyone was commenting on how cute he was. He was happy the whole time and of course, had his dimples on display!

Emerson was loving the idea of going up to someone and getting to take candy out of a bucket. He had a pumpkin bucket and he kept saying "treat? my pump, pump!" It was so cute.

This was Emerson playing with the ring toss at the carnival. He got lots of stuff and by the time we left he had almost filled his entire bucket!

Halloween night was lots of fun (for Mike and I) we took Emerson out trick or treating to a few houses but he got scared and wanted to come home! Our neighbors all get really into Halloween and decorate their entire houses! We had TONS of trick or treaters! I had 3 huge bags of candy and we went through all of them in less than 45 minutes! Last year we had 1 trick or treater the whole night!

Anyway, after we did that for a little bit Mike and I left for a party. It was lots of fun. It was a murder mystery party and I had never done one before but it was great! We didn't get home until about 12 am and Emerson had just gone to sleep about 10 minutes before we got home! Madden and Emerson both struggled that night so Mike and I felt so bad for his dad and sister! They watched the kids for us and that night was in no way fun or relaxing for them but we really appreciated their help so we could go have some fun!

Happy Birthday Lyssie Loo

2009-10-29T14:35:00.001-07:00

October 30, 1989 my sweet sister Alyssa was born. Although me and lyss are 6 years apart we have always been friends, we have so much in common and always have.

When we were much younger Alyssa wanted to copy everything I did. If my mom bought her something that she really didn't like all I would have to do is say I thought it was cute and she would start wearing it. She always wanted to try and look like me (who knows why) but she was always so sweet. The funny thing is is that I am the one who looks up to her now! She is such a good wife, sister, friend, daughter, photographer and soon to be mommy. She has so much energy and is so good at making people feel good about themselves.

It breaks my heart that I cannot be with her on her birthday because I love her so much! I pray that Justin will be able to get into law school in Arizona so I can see her more:)

Here is a picture to show off Alyssa's fun and crazy personality that she has had since the beginning. My mom always said Alyssa was an easy kid!

Alyssa is not just my sister she is my best friend. She is always boosting me up and making me feel so good about myself. I think she should have been the older sister!

She has made 3 visits to me in Arizona in the last year and I love the time we get to spend together.

Me and lyss have had soooo many good memories together especially over the last 5 years and I know that will continue forever! I feel so lucky that I get to be her sister but I would like to think that even if we weren't blood we would still be such good friends!

Lyssie Loo I LOVE YOU! I hope you have a great 20th birthday because you deserve it! You are so wonderful and I am so sad I can't be with you on your birthday but I hope you know how much I love you and how important you are to me!

Fire Station Tour

2009-10-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Today we got to take all the kids to tour the fire station. I was thinking that Emerson wouldn't be that into it because he is still so young but he loved it! When we were walking to the car he kept saying "more fire truck mom!" They all got hats and coloring books.

Madden was so sweet the entire time. He just looked around and didn't make a noise!

We were trying to get all the kids to line up for a picture....wasn't going to happen!

Emerson was so happy climbing in the fire truck. He thought he was so cool.

We survived!

2009-10-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

By the middle of saturday I thought I wouldn't make it through the day! Mike went to Mexico with some friends from school and I stayed home with the boys. I thought I would be fine by myself since I am at home with the boys all the time anyway.......I was WRONG!

Saturday was the hardest day I've had since becoming a mother! Everything that could have gone wrong did. Emerson who is normally a sweet, easygoing child was a TERROR! I don't know what was going on with him on Saturday but he was not himself. On top of all of his tantrums and destruction and problems, my phone wouldn't work because Madden stuck it in his mouth for 2 seconds. I could write a novel for all of the things that happened on Saturday, it was that bad.

Luckily my wonderful friends saved me! I had several come over to hang out that night and keep me company and a couple more bring me flowers and ice cream. I felt so loved and supported. It was so what I needed that night and they were all so kind! I was starting to feel so homesick during the day and felt so alone. If I was in Utah I would have my family to help me out or at least keep me sane. I am SO grateful for these awesome people in my life who made my day so much better on Saturday!

Anyway, we survived and Sunday was much better, Mike came home! I am so glad Mike went on his trip but I am even more glad he is home:) All of these fun experiences make us stronger, right?!

Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze

2009-10-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

Last night we got invited to go to the corn maze with a few friends. Emerson had lots of fun climbing on hay bales and throwing bark all over the place.

Our little family at the pumpkin patch

This was so funny! We thought Emerson would have fun going on a ride in one of the cows. He didn't want to go by himself so Mike went with him. We thought they would just go around in a little circle but they actually went through a little bit of the corn. The cows moved up and down and the guys that went with the boys looked so uncomfortable. I enjoyed watching Mike and Matt take the boys on it way more that watching Emerson on it! They looked like they were getting whip lashed pretty bad:)

Here is the group: the Jones, The Burns, The Harmons, The Gronemans, Us and The Mcclenaghans. In front of the corn maze.

Emerson liked getting another pum-pum (pumpkin). They had a haunted maze right there too so anytime a chainsaw carrying scarecrow would walk by, Emerson would get scared and run over to us. We went to dinner after and it was a fun night. Good company as always!

My Boys

2009-09-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

Best Buddies

Emerson loves to hold Maddens hand when they are on the couch or in the car. So sweet!

Lately I have been feeling so sad that my boys are growing so fast. Emerson turned 2 in July and is almost all the way potty trained. I should be happy about this (and I am in many ways) but part of me is feeling like it is one more way he is getting older and more independent.

Madden is 5 months old and is the best baby. He is always so happy and is becoming so aware of the world around him. His little life has been a whirlwind for me. We have had so much going on and now that life has finally started to settle down he is 5 months and I feel like I missed out so much of the newborn phase.

On the positive side, they are both becoming a lot of fun. Emerson loves playing with Madden and that is usually a scary thing. Yesterday I heard Emerson go into my room so I followed him in there and found him in Maddens crib kneeling across him and bouncing up and down. Madden was laughing so hard every time he did it but I felt like he was going to smash him really bad. Yesterday Madden was in his bouncer and me and Emerson were eating lunch. We look over at Madden and he is flashing his precious dimple smile at us. We went over there and something I said made Madden laugh really hard so Emerson and I both started laughing. This made Madden laugh even harder so the 3 of us sat there and had a laughing moment for a few minutes.

I guess I am just reminded that time goes by so fast and I should just enjoy every moment in any stage and try not to look forward to when my kids gain more independence. That will come way too fast & I will never get it back!

KFC-A&W

2009-09-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

Mike and I tried the local KFC-A&W when we first moved down here. As soon as we walk in the door an angry man is leaving telling everyone in line to leave and that you aren't going to get the food you ordered. We all just thought he was one upset customer, oh well. Well we finally get up to order and after walking away we realize that the packed restaurant is full of people who had not got their food yet! We waited for a good 20 minutes before getting our food. Many people were really mad. We didn't really care because we weren't in a huge hurry. We got our food and our order was off. Mike had ordered regular fries and ended up getting Chili Cheese Fries. Mike went back up to the counter to ask for ketchup and heard a worker in the back ask the other workers "where are those chili cheese fries I have been waiting for?" Mike told the other worker "I got those" she said "you are lucky, those are expensive." We just kept laughing at the many angry people and the fact that they were giving the wrong food to everyone in the restaurant.

Well, I had just thought that this was a one time thing, just a bad night for KFC. This weekend while my family was here we needed lunch and the only place Ryan and Chelsey could agree on was KFC so we gave it another shot. The restaurant this time is relatively empty. There is an older man in front of us picking up his food. On his plate the worker gave him was 1 piece of chicken. He said "I ordered 2 pieces of chicken, you only gave me 1." As the worker turns around to get him another he said "for $4.63 I should be getting 5 or 6 pieces!" The worker looks at him and says "calm down." It was so funny. We all looked at each other and were trying not to laugh.

Once we got our food it was wrong again. We had ordered 3 popcorn chicken boxes but got 2, Chelsey ordered Fries and Macaroni and Cheese for her sides and got 2 orders of fries. I ordered potatoes and gravy and got fries. So after we got this corrected we sat down. We watched as everyone after us came in, their food order was messed up to. Every time a worker would take food to someone she would apologize. It was so funny.

We were still hungry because they didn't give us much food so my mom went to order another popcorn chicken. She brought it back to the table and Ryan needed more ketchup so he went to the counter and asked for some ketchup. The worker looks at him and hands him another popcorn chicken instead of ketchup. He starts walking back with it and my mom said "Ryan we already got ours, go put it back." He said "They told me it was ours, I told them we already got ours but she said no, aren't you sitting at that table? I told her yes but she is confused." So, Ryan took it back and got ketchup.

We laughed and laughed because I honestly thought that the time Mike and I went was a fluke but apparently it wasn't! If you ever need a good laugh and you are feeling very patient go to KFC-A&W in Surprise, it is always an adventure!

Our New House

2009-08-19T09:42:00.001-07:00

We are finally getting settled into our new house. We had only been here for 3 days before we went up to Utah for the summer. We love this house and the area! We can walk 7 houses down on either side of us and end up at a park. We have an awesome clubhouse with 2 pools, fireplaces and party rooms. There are so many other parks close by that we haven't had time to explore yet but we love it. Needless to say, it is going to be so hard to move away from this place in 3 years!!! Here are a few of the pictures of it...

The family room

Our bedroom

The dining room

The kitchen

The boys room

The view from the front door with the living room/office on the left

The front of the house

More summer

2009-08-14T11:40:00.001-07:00

Since I haven't posted anything since May I am a bit behind. I have posted this post and another to try and get a little up to date....sorry it is scattered!

We had a BBQ a couple days before we left Utah. This is all of the guys playing a little soccer in the backyard. We had so much fun and we love getting together with our wonderful friends back at home.

My mom took all us girls to Thanksgiving point gardens. It was so beautiful there. I loved being surrounded by all of the green and flowers. After walking around the gardens we went to lunch at the cafe there, so pretty. I had a great time with my sisters, Love you girls!

My big boy turned 2!!!! We wanted to make Emerson have the best day of his life so me, Mike, my mom and Ryan took Emerson to Kangaroo Zoo. He loves this place. We went many times over the summer. Emerson still asks for Zoo, Zoo, Zoo.

After Kangaroo Zoo we took Emers to McDonald's for lunch and he played in the play place. We went home, took naps and got ready for the party. We went to the park for his birthday party. All of our family came. He had a baseball cake (which he LOVED and was upset I wouldn't let him grab it before the party), we played baseball and had a pinata. The kid was super spoiled with gifts by his parents, grandparents and all his aunts and uncles. You all know how to make a kid feel special. It was a great day. Emerson had so much fun!

We also celebrated my birthday. I usually hate birthdays for myself but this year was so fun. It started with going to lunch with my mom and my sisters to Cheescake Factory in Salt Lake. After that my sister Alyssa took me to get pedicures at the Sanctuary Day Spa at the Gateway. It was AMAZING! I love pedicures!!!! We went shopping for a few hours after. Then, I met Mike and my mom and dad and we went to dinner at Tuscany. It was such a fun experience. The food was amazing and the atmosphere and company were too. As soon as we got home the rest of my family came over and we had cake and ice cream. It was so nice.

A few weeks ago I also found out that I am going to be an aunt! My sister Alyssa is having a baby in March. I am sooo excited that someone else in our family is providing children and that it is not me every time:)

Summer Fun

2009-08-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

This summer was so much fun. We were so lucky to spend over 2 months in Utah with our families and friends. Here are just a few pictures from things we did.

Mike's mom took us up to Snowbird to go on the trams, hiking and on the Alpine slide. I love the mountains and always wish I spent more time there while we are in Utah.

Uncle Ry and Emerson at Thanksgiving Point Childrens Garden

Emerson loved having Nerf wars with uncle Ry...he is very observant of what other people say and when he wanted to shoot someone he would come up and ask you to "cock" his gun...what a vocabulary for a 2 year old!

The baseball obsession has begun!!! My dad, Ryan and Chelsey all played a lot of baseball this summer. Emerson loved going to all the games. He would wake up every morning and wanted to go outside to play baseball and spent hours a day doing just that! This is of Emerson wanting to watch baseball with Bapa. Every night before bed he wanted to go watch baseball highlights on ESPN with my dad....what a boy!

Emerson at the Provo 4th of July parade...just after I did my first 5k! My time was horrible but I was just happy I was able to do it. (I have never been a runner).

Mike and I at the Real Salt Lake soccer game. We went with Rob and Rocio and it was so much fun! It was nice to be able to go out together and have a babysitter for the boys.

This summer was so nice because Mike was home so much and helped out a lot with the boys. Even though he spent a lot of time studying he was there and helped so much. I will be so sad and miss him when he goes back to school in two weeks.

Another fun adventure!

2009-05-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

So, Monday night Mike got a call from a friend in Utah asking when we were coming back because they needed another soccer player for the new season. Mike asked them when they were starting and he said tomorrow (they had a game at 11:30 pm)! Of course Mike said "I'll be there". We had just barely finished moving into our new house (we started the move on Friday) and packed up our bags Monday at 10:30 pm so we could drive to Utah and make it to the soccer game the next day.

At 7:30 am Mike had the car loaded and was going to drop off some trash at our friends house, (thanks Erick and Mandy) because we don't have a garbage can yet. As he was backing out he ran the car into our house! Luckily nothing happened to the house (except a little black paint) but our car is scratched pretty bad in the back. So, we left a few minutes later and I had kicked Mike out of the drivers seat because of the incident. We were on our way to my Dr. appointment and I pulled off the freeway and got to a stoplight that said "no turn on red." I was in a hurry so I stopped but went anyway and got pulled over...the cop was really nice about it and let me off with a warning and just told me to go get my drivers license in Arizona. So, we went to the doctor and ran a couple other errands and made our way out to Utah.

As we were driving up I got a voicemail from a lady in our new ward who had brought us dinner the night before. I realized after listening to her message that we had dropped off her dishes to a different family in the ward who had brought us dinner on Sunday night! I felt so stupid and had to call her back to explain what we did and since we were already half way to Utah I couldn't even go back and get it to her. A few minutes after I talked to her, Mike got pulled over for speeding and got a ticket. This is now his 3rd speeding ticket in less than a month!

The only good thing that happened on the way up to Utah is that the boys were such angels in the car! Madden slept most of the time and Emerson was so good and hardly watched movies. He just looked out the windows and pointed at every single car that we passed. We are finally here in Utah and hopefully we can stay away from getting pulled over for a little while. Now you can probably see what I meant in my last post that we like to keep life interesting!

Need a good laugh?

2009-05-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

So this morning we got ready to take Mike to school. He had class at 9 am so we walked out the door at 8:30. When Mike tried to unlock the car the keyless entry would not work. We immediately knew it was the battery because it has been needing to be replaced for a while. We had no neighbors around to jump us so I thought I will run (yes literally) over to Walmart and buy a battery and Mike can stay home with the boys and take the old one out while I am gone. Walmart is about 1 mile from our house so I took off running and it was close to 90 degrees already. The run was really hard because last night Mike put me through a good work out and my legs and arms were so tired!

I made it to Walmart and bought the battery but I didn't realize how heavy it was. There was no way I was going to be able to carry that back home by myself. I looked around and found a cooler with wheels and loaded the battery inside. Meanwhile, Mike is at home taking the battery out of the car. Emerson is sitting in the jogging stroller watching him. Emerson had his sandals sitting next to him in the stroller but not on his feet. After Mike got the battery out, about 5 minutes later, he looked over and Emerson was gone. He looked all around the garage and around the car but he wasn't there. He went in the house and looked all over and called his name and he didn't answer. He ran outside and ran down the driveway area, turned the corner and saw Emerson halfway down the road. Some lady had pulled over and was trying to talk to him but he could have cared less. He had put his shoes on by himself and ran down the road kicking rocks.

So, Mike called me and told me this story as I am pulling a cooler at 9 in the morning down a busy road. I am crossing this busy intersection and I hear a "Sister Hall" being yelled from a car. I turn around and it is a lady in my ward asking me if I needed a ride. I felt so dumb and told her I was okay because I was almost home. As soon as I get to the other side of the street a friend from my ward pulled over and asked if I wanted a ride. My arms were killing me and so I said yes to her. It was such a wild morning and so funny! So, if any of you are in need of a good laugh just picture me pulling a cooler in my sweats in 90 degree weather down a busy road.....it was pretty entertaining for all those driving by I am sure!

Thanks Jamie for the ride home and for dinner last night, you are the best!

Madden James Hall

2009-04-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome baby Madden James Hall. Madden was born on Tuesday April 14 at 10:06 am. He weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 19 inches long. He has got really cute dimples on both cheeks.

Going into labor this time I really wanted things to go different than last time with Emerson. I got my wish but some ways were not what I was hoping for. I got to the hospital to be induced at 4:00 am. When I got there I was checked and was already dilated to a 4. They started me on pit at 5:30. By 6:30 I was starting to feel some good contractions and asked for the epidural before it got worse. Unluckily for me the anesthesiologist was tied up with other people and didn't make it in to do my epidural until 9:15 am. By this time I was in SO much pain I thought I was going to die! As soon as they finished my epidural at 9:45 I was still in crazy amounts of pain and knew something wasn't right. Mike grabbed the nurse right after they walked out of the room. She came back in and she checked me and of course I was fully dilated and ready to push. Needless to say my epidural didn't have time to kick in so I had to just deal with it. I still had to get an episiotomy but everything else went really well and I made it through.

Even though labor was so painful and hard my recovery has been so much better this time around. I got to go home the next day and I am up and moving around pretty well. Emerson is adjusting a lot better than I thought he would. He likes to look at him and take him things but he doesn't want to touch him or hold him at all. He has been really sweet and tries to take him his binky or a ball. He doesn't love it when I am holding him but is still doing better than I thought he would be. I will try and post more pictures as soon as I figure out how to do it better.

easter bunny visit

2009-04-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Taking Emerson to see the Easter bunny at the Midwestern easter egg hunt was equally entertaining as it was with Santa at the Christmas party this year. After we tortured him by making him sit over by the Easter bunny he would cling onto us and kept looking back to make sure we were not going to take him over again. I must be a really mean mom if I put him through this knowing what his reaction will be, but I have to admit, it is so funny that I can't resist!

The color code

2009-03-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

I have been getting ready for the baby to come and started my deep cleaning of the house. I was going through old books and saw the color code from a psych class I took. I decided to take the test again and see if I was any different than I used to be....I am. It is amazing how much being a mom and wife has changed me. I was telling Mike about it and he decided to take it too. Before he took it he said that he didn't believe any of it. After we started reading a little about our colors he decided that most of it was true. We were laughing so hard at some of the things it said about each of our colors and how they interact together. It was funny that it helped us both realize things that we could do to help each other out that we never did before. Mike is so yellow and I am mostly blue. As the book said it is true that opposites attract and I guess we are proof of that.

We're in for it!

2009-03-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight we realized just how hard it will be for Emerson to have a new baby around. Tonight we went to Dan & Linsey's house to make dinner for them because Lins just had a baby on Thursday. I picked up their new baby so Linsey could finish eating. As soon as Emerson saw me holding a baby he started crying so hard and wouldn't stop. He was so upset and looked at me like I had completely betrayed him. He started walking towards the door so I followed him over to try and show him the baby and reason with him a little....not going to happen. He was so upset, Mike tried to pick him up and hold him but he was still not happy. As soon as I gave the baby back he was okay. He was playing with his friend Rayce but everytime I walked in the same room as the baby he would freak out again. I think he was a litte worried that I would pick her up again. I know he will adjust to having a baby in our family but we are in for a wild ride until he does. Good luck to us!

Loving January in Arizona!

2009-01-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

The more I am here in Arizona, the more I love it! I never thought I would be so happy being away from everything I love. It helps that while Utah is FREEZING cold and snowy, I am taking Emerson to play at the park in 70-80 degree weather. Most of the time the last few weeks we haven't even needed jackets at all. There were a couple of days earlier this week we had the air conditioner on, yes in January!!! Between the weather, the good relationship we have and all the wonderful friends we have met down here, we love it! It helps to have all of these things being away from our friends and family back home.

Anniversary & Mesa Temple Lights

2008-12-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

Today is our 4 year anniversary. I look back and realize how many fun things Mike and I have been able to do together in this amount of time. I am so blessed to have found somebody so perfect for me. Mike is always so sweet and understanding of me. I love having every adventure in life together. Being married to Mike is so easy and I couldn't ask or have hoped for anyone better. Thanks for making me so happy Mikey! I love you!

Last night we drove to the Mesa temple to see the lights. It was beautiful! We had a fun time as a family even though we were stuck in traffic on the way down for too long. It had been raining but it was so pretty and was well worth going. It was the first time I felt like it is actually Christmas here. We are excited to come to Utah and see some snow next week!

Air Force here we come!

2008-12-10T21:06:00.001-08:00

So it is official. We are now going to be property of the US Air Force for the next 7 years of our lives. I have to say that I am so grateful for this. Mike just found out that we got the 3 year Air Force scholarship. Dental school is so much more expensive than I ever thought it would be. Getting this Air Force scholarship means that all of our school bills are paid for and they will be giving us money to live off of each month. There are always pros and cons to things like this but when they will eliminate $300,000 in student loans it is an easy decision. We have talked to many people who have gone the military route and everyone seems to say that the Air Force is the way to go. We feel so blessed and feel like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders. Yah!!!

It's a BOY!

2008-11-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

Today we had our ultrasound and found out that we are having another boy! Mike is so excited that Emerson will be able to have a brother. He is also excited because if we would have had a girl I would have wanted to be done. Since that did not happen it will force us to try again to get a girl (not for a really long time). I realize that I will be out numbered but I have two amazing boys in my life and I am excited for another. I will also not have to buy everything all over again. It would have been fun but since we are poor dental students it wouldn't have been as fun as it could be after dental school. The doctor said everything looks perfect with the baby so far, we are feeling very lucky and thankful!

Other than that news, Mike just finished his first "semester" of dental school. He did really good and worked really hard. Now we are looking forward to his two week break especially because we are heading up to Utah on Saturday for our entire break...Yeah!!!!!!!

Our Fun Weekend!

2008-11-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

This weekend started with Halloween. We have never been big into Halloween but I have to admit I love dressing Emerson up and taking him around everywhere. We took Emerson trick or treating at Mike's school. He was scared to go up to the person and get the candy but as soon as they held out the bucket for him to choose from he knew right what to do. He would grab a handful and run right back to us, it was so cute! We also went to the Arizona Dental Association party. The party had music playing and neon lights going all over the dance floor. There were no adults dancing but kids were having a blast. Emerson loved this part. He ran all over the lights bouncing (dancing) up and down for a long time. I forgot the video camera but tried to get some of it on our camera's video function. The next day we left Phoenix and went to California with my family. We had so much fun. This was a much needed vacation for us all. We met up with my aunt Diane on Saturday at California Adventure and Disneyland. Mike could only stay for one day because he had to get back to school but it was so worth him going. Emerson loved being there. He wasn't crazy about most of the rides but loved the parade, climbing on everything in sight and being with my family again. He did like Buzz Lightyear ride a lot and would even try to shoot the guns. We took him on Pirates a couple times and each time got so scared when we went down the "dips". The top picture is of him while going down the dip. He never cried but obviously got very worried. It was such a fun trip. Thanks mom and dad for sponsoring this trip. We had the best time! Sorry this post is all over the place, I need to figure this blog thing out a lot better!

I might be crazy!

2008-10-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to finish college but have put it off long enough! I am finally going back after 6 long years! I am finishing my associates this summer and starting at ASU to do my bachelors next fall. This should give me enough time to get my bachelors before Mike is a Dr (sad huh). I feel pathetic for not doing this so much earlier but I think it is my nature to take the harder route. I am going to be having a baby during or right before finals next semester so it should be interesting. I just can't keep looking back and keep saying "I should have" this time I am going to make it happen before it gets even harder. Wish me luck....I will need it!

Tagged: 8 Things

2008-10-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

So I guess this is what I am supposed to do....Thanks for your help Meg I am still a little new to the blogging world!

8 Favorite TV shows:
1: Design Star
2: Law & Order (SVU, CI or the normal, I love them all)
3: The Office
4: Project Runway
5: Divine Design
6: House Hunters
7: Oprah
8: Gray's Anatomy

8 Favorite Restraunts
1: Cafe Rio
2: Olive Garden
3: Chick Fil A
4: Chilis
5: Macaroni Grill
6: Outback Stakehouse
7: Tepanyaki
8: Goodwood BBQ

8 things that happened yesterday
1: Took Naps (yes more than one...it's sunday & I'm pregnant)
2: Watched conference
3: Played at Linseys house with her 2 cute kids
4: Took Mike to Priesthood
5: Went to Outback for dinner
6: Bought Emerson a Batman costume for Halloween
7: Talked to my family on the phone
8: Enjoyed the first "cool" day in Arizona since we have been here, 84 degrees!!!

8 things to look forward to
1: Finishing school someday
2: Mike being done with dental school
3: Going home for Thanksgiving for 2 weeks
4: Having my family come here next week
5: Finding out the sex of our new baby
6: Owning my own house again
7: Not being pregnant anymore
8: Going to Italy again for the temple dedication, whenever that will happen.

8 things I love about fall
1: Leaves
2: Colors
3: Clean, nice air
4: Holidays
5: Temperatures (especially in Arizona)
6: Christmas is around the corner
7: Drives up Hobble Creek Canyon
8: Did I mention colors? I love fall colors!

8 things on my wish list:
1: Finish a bachelor's degree
2: Get a new car
3: Mike getting an Air Force Scholarship, no more dental school debt!
4: Eat better, feel healthier
5: My own house
6: Go on a medeterranian cruise
7: Have my kids grow up happy
8: Get heavily involved in good causes, I want to be a philanthropist one day!

8 people I'm tagging
1. Lyssie Loo
2. Kelsey
3. Staci
4. Logan
5. Anyone
6. Else
7. That
8. Wants to!

Fun Fall

2008-10-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

I just have to say how excited I am for the many visitors we are getting this fall. Mike's mom came down this last weekend, my family is coming in 2 weeks from today and then we may go out to California with them a couple weeks after that, we get to come home for thanksgiving for 2 weeks, Mike's mom comes out 5 days after that for Mike's white coat ceremony and then a couple weeks longer and we are back in Utah. Mike said his dad may come out sometime before thanksgiving too. I guess living in Arizona does have its benefits. All of these visits break up the boring routine of everyday life and give me and Emerson something to look forward too. I am worried that by being so spoiled with visitors this fall we won't get any from Jan-April when I have the baby and my mom and Mike's mom come down. I guess I should just be happy with this time and enjoy it while I can....Thanks fam for keeping us happy and giving us lots to look forward to, we can't wait to see all of you!

Love my imac

2008-09-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have wanted a mac for so long but kept putting it off because it wasn't a "necessity." When Mike started dental school he was told that he has to take a laptop to school because we are in the 21st century, so we decided to go looking. I was determined that a mac was way too expensive but Mike talked me into spending the extra money to get what I wanted. This was shocking for me because he will usually go for whatever is the cheapest possible option. I have to say that I love my mac. Thanks to Kimball, McCall and Justin for always telling us the benefits and cool things you can do with the mac. I will say that even though I am still trying to get used to it, I don't know if I will ever go back to a pc. I love all of the fun digital photo features and dvd making it has. I love it!

#2 is on the way!

2008-09-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

So, many people already know we are expecting baby #2. For those of you who don't, here you go. We were not planning on this one quite so soon but I guess things happen. We are due in April so we still have a while to go. I am just having fun being sick and trying to keep up with a very busy 14 month old. It will be interesting to see how Emerson does with another baby around. He already likes to have his mom all to himself. Anytime Mike will come over to hug me Emerson will run from across the room and try and push him away. It is funny to me that he won't even let Mike come near me. He cries and cries when I hold another baby and not him. The other interesting thing is that Mike will be in his first year of dental school. His work load has already been crazy and I can't imagine what it will be like when we have another baby and he only has 1 month left of his first year. I think we just like to make life as exciting as possible. Hopefully everything will go okay and at least I won't have to be pregnant during our Phoenix summers!

Our Place

2008-09-05T09:04:00.001-07:00

So here are a few pictures of our house. I didn't get them of everything but it gives you the idea. We are in a 4 bed 3 bath house with a 2 car garage. I know it sounds big but it really isn't. The bedrooms are so small along with the kitchen and dining but it works for now. It is nice to have rooms for everything though and not be cramped. We would rather be closer to school but I don't think either of us want to try and move again. We are about 6 or 7 miles from school so it is still not too bad. I am really looking forward to the day we can own our own house again. People out here have bought houses because the market is so bad you can get a good deal but we decided we didn't want to be stuck here when we need to leave again. We have seen 2,000 sq ft houses out here for 99,000. The problem is...most houses stay on the market for a really long time. It would be nice to buy but not worth the risks right now.

Life in AZ...so far.

2008-09-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

It is still pretty hot down here so we can't go outside very often. We try to take Emerson to the playground or to go swimming when it cools down a little. He loves the playground and will usually get very sad when we take him back home. Luckily we had my mom, chelsey and ryan come down to visit us this weekend. It was so much fun. I am glad they came to visit us even when we will be up in just over a week for Rob's wedding. It was nice to have them here and see where we live. Mike starts school tomorrow and it will be crazy! He has been looking over his lectures for the first day and you would think that it would be a couple weeks worth! Emerson and I have been spoiled to have him home with us for the last couple weeks. I am hoping we can adjust to life without him because that is how it will have to be. Other than that, things are pretty much the same for us. We are excited to come home and see everyone in 8 days!!!

There's no place like home!

2008-08-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

At first I thought moving to Arizona would be a fun adventure. I guess it will be after I am not so homesick. We have been here for just a week and I am so homesick. It's funny that I never appreciated being around our family and friends that much. We are finally moved in most of the way. For an entire week we didn't have cable or internet and needless to say we have been a little bored. It is too hot to let Emerson play outside so we are stuck in the house, just the 3 of us and I think Emerson is going crazy. Emerson loved going on walks in his stroller but it is way too hot right now to take him out ever. It never cools down here. Last night at 8 pm it was still 105 outside. We tried to go on a walk but it was way too hot. It was nice living at my parents house because not only did we have lots of people around to hang out with, we had my mom's food to eat too. Now we are stuck with my cooking which has never been a strong area for me. Anyway, Mike starts orientation on Wednesday. This will be the real test for me and Emerson. This will be the start of us being on our own entirely. I am so excited to come home for Rob's wedding in just over 2 weeks. I am lucky that we live close enough that it is a little easier to come home. I will post some pictures of our house later today or tomorrow.

Stress!!!

2008-08-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got a call from Mike that he had been accepted into Pittsburgh's dental program. Of all the schools he interviewed with this was his top choice. The only bad thing is that all of our stuff is already in our house in Arizona. We had to make one of the biggest decisions of our lives yesterday and it was so stressful! We are supposed to leave for Arizona on Saturday night after my sister's wedding. After going back and forth on the phone all morning long yesterday, we finally decided that staying in Arizona would be the best thing for us. I am not sure why yet because we both wanted to go to Pittsburgh and have a real adventure. I guess maybe we will see why it is important for us to be there.

2008-07-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

I think this blog thing will take a while for me to get used to. Hopefully I can figure it out and keep in touch with everyone better.