BRAMY

Me and My Thoughts

2012-02-15T11:18:00.017-07:00

Maybe it's the fact that I am a girl. Not sure... well I am sure I am a girl, but not sure if that's what makes me think the way I do. The point is, I am a compulsive comparer (If that's even a condition). I compare my personality, my house, my clothes, my looks, my art, my car, my family, my activities, vacations, etc. etc. etc. If it has anything to do with me you can bet I am comparing it to something of somebody else's. It's a disgusting, miserable habit of death. Sometimes, okay, actually this happens frequently, when I see what others are doing on their blogs and I see stuff I want to buy and do, my appetite for whatever just keeps getting bigger and more monstrous.

It's not just in bloggoland or even the internet. It happens in real life all the time. Its a little scary and completely ungrateful. I know it sounds naive but I would usually rather live in my own little bubble doing my own little things that I do, being grateful for ALL the wonderful things I do have. I sometimes just like to cut myself off from the world, ignoring whatever else is going on and live my simple, happy little life. I really am SO much happier when I am not comparing myself and wishing I had this or that or could go on a million vacations a year. It's so hard to control the comparison monster. I want to just be happy for what others have and are doing but the monster claws always seem to grab me by the heart and make me jealous. It's so dumb.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking around my house. This was after I stopped looking at all the improvements and things I want to do to the house and I just started looking at it for what it was. First of all I have a house, a fabulous house that I love living in. Second of all like 90 percent of the stuff, nice stuff, that fills it has been given to us. Yet day after day I find myself just like Ariel wanting more, more, MORE!!!! Seriously? I can be such a selfish girl. I'm sure there are people all around the world who would just die of happiness if they had my life and possessions yet if anyone steps inside my world or I step inside theirs I am instantly self conscious of not being up to par or not in fashion or blah, blah, blah.

Anyways it's probably not healthy and definitely not realistic to be in my own little bubble all the time so if anyone has some helpful hints of how to kill the jealousy monster, feel free to let the advice flow. Let's kill the beast!

Got tired of waiting for your response :) ...Just found this. Very good.

And this . Also great.

8 months

2012-01-21T19:11:00.004-07:00

This month Ethan got sick again. He had a fever between 102 and 104 for about 4 days accompanied by a cold. Sick babies are the saddest thing. I hate cramming medicine down his throat, taking his temperature, clearing out his nose, etc. He just doesn't get why he's being tortured when he's already feeling so awful. Not fun. We took him to the doctor when he was having a really hard time breathing while drinking his bottle and still had a bad fever. After taking x-rays (okay, anyone who has seen the contraption they put babies in to take x-rays probably still has nightmares. That was the saddest.) the doctor thought Ethan had croup and gave him some steroids to clear things up. At the visit Ethan weighed 15 lbs.

Ethan now pinches.

He likes smacking things, like table tops and flat toys.

He's started this kind of fake sounding laugh. When he gets really excited he starts breathing heavy and loud and fast.

His favorite toy is the walker. Open the fridge, dishwasher or pantry and you might get run over by the little squirt. I think we are going to have to ban that toy for a bit cause he's not even close to crawling and the walker gives him all the mobility he needs. He is finally a big fan of his stuffed tools from Santa. He also likes smacking his head with an orange calculator and spinning the arrow on the Old McDonald toy.

He sits in the tub and splashes with his hands. AND he's made friends with the squeaking rubber ducky.

He attacks everything with his mouth like he's trying to kill it.

This morning I noticed his first tooth is finally peeking through his gums.

I gave him his 2nd hair cut. This time I braved the scissors.

He thinks its hilarious to shake his head 'no' crazy fast.

He loves sitting in the blue chair watching the cars and people and dogs pass in front of our house.

He tosses toys from heights just for the fun of it.

My shoulder is usually glazed with carrots, slobber, snot or all of the above. Apparently it's the perfect place to wipe your nose or freshen up those gums with a nice rubbing. Who knew?

As you can see he is fascinated by the bike.

After our Sunny January walk. It's been so 'warm' this year.

Yep, there's the toy I just dropped on the floor.

He's been making this face a TON lately.

Maybe it's easing his teething woes?

P.S. I haven't taken his corner pic yet. Last night we got home at about 2:30 in the A.M. At about 3:30 Ethan thought it was time to wake up for the day. So guess who got to feed and play with Ethan till 5:30 this morning? Needless to say Brandon got the 8:00am feeding shift while I got a little extra shut eye and well that's usually when I take the corner pics. So don't freak out. I'm sure I'll get around to it in the next couple of days.

P.P.S. Overload on pictures I know.

I'll take that.

2012-01-18T10:51:00.008-07:00

Yesterday the little E and I took an exciting outing to D.I.. We don't get out much so going anywhere is a thrill. Anyways, I swear people find the coolest stuff there. I myself have only found stuff that was given to goodwill for obvious reasons. Yesterday all that changed. I found a glorious couch for 15 dolla. That's right my friends, 15 dollars of love. Luckily I had driven the truck there so I bought the couch and hauled it home before anyone else could steal my find. You gotta jump on stuff like that. .... don't jump on my sweet new couch or I might have to hurt you. With a little ironing of the couch skirt and a nice ALL OVER steam clean it'll be just like new. Oh and some new legs. Who saws couch legs in half? I mean really. Right now the couch is resting on its 2 inches of remaining stumps plus some 4 inch blocks Brandon whipped up in the garage from some scrap wood. Lovely legs are on their way.

P.S. Had to add this for my memories. Last week we found a cute coffee table at a consignments store and in conjunction with the Sheryl Crow Soak Up the Sun lyrics "it's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got" (yes I have been singing about the sun in January) I began searching the house for something I could re purpose and make nice. I was craving some decor in the family room. I found a folding chair. I coated it with several layers of blankets (for comfort) and then wrapped the final layer like a slip cover (for stunning good looks.). I told Jenny about my efforts for the day and was rather proud of myself. She laughed her head off. Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures. Luckily I found this couch which is a bit less awkward than a folding chair upholstered with blankets.... although really I must admit that chair looked freaking amazing considering what I had to work with :)

Ah, yes and I sewed the pillow that day too. Materials came from a pillow
case we don't use that I cut down to size and sewed along with an extra old lumpy pillow that I chopped down and resewed.
I felt pretty dang resourceful that day. Unfortunately i am fairly certain my
efforts were in vain.

Lucky 7

2011-12-21T10:57:00.007-07:00

Ethan is 7 months old now. Looking at the very few pics of him from this last month (sickness will take the picture taking right out of you, sorry kiddo) I feel like he looks so much older all of a sudden.

This month he started sitting up. At this point he is still very likely to face plant at any moment so we for sure still put cushions around him.... the photo shoot was exciting to say the least. :)

He has started maneuvering his body around with his elbows. Not really an army crawl but he can turn in circles like a pro.

He's eating carrots and pears and peas and he's not spitting up so much anymore. Drinking from his bottle has become a chore for him. He gets SO distracted. When his belly is satisfied he makes questioning sounds like Uu? Uu? as he looks around the room.

He's outgrowing his toys and another set of clothes (3-6)

Most of this month he has laughed like crazy when tickled but the last couple of days he just seems annoyed by it. Sad. But he has started laughing when he thinks things are funny. Like when I blow on his feet, or zoom my face into his, make a popping noise with my mouth or when Brandon holds him by an ankle. :)

He's gotten more cuddly. A lot of times after we finally finish that bottle he'll just lay on my lap for a while. I like that a lot. When he starts his bottle his eyes roll back in complete euphoria. He plays with his hair and mine while he drinks. I love holding him while he drinks. Feeling his little hand behind my back scratching me to discover the texture or reaching up to touch my face,or when he takes a break to smile at me. He melts my heart. I love my little boy.

When sitting at the computer with him he is sure to open the drawer and try to grab everything inside. Needless to say the scissors have been moved to the unreachable back.

His hair is starting to thicken up again. When strangers would see him before they would always comment on all that hair. That's stopped. But now they rave about his blue, blue eyes. It's not the color that is shocking, I mean Brandon and I both have blue eyes, but Ethan's are intensely blue. Maybe he got them from his grandpa Mark's Paul Newman eyes.

I should start writing down things as they happen. His new discoveries come on so gently that by the time he's got it down it seems like old hat. So I am probably forgetting stuff but at least I am keeping some sort of record right?

Right Now

2011-12-06T22:37:00.004-07:00

I finally feel strong enough catch up on the world. I am recovering from a sickness from the depths and feeling like I might hack up a lung at any moment. Watch out.

I was reading an article yesterday, yes I have had ample time to read, about being grateful for everything. I thought about how EVERYTHING excludes nothing, not even bad stuff. So I laid on my death bed/couch with a roaring fever trying to think why I was grateful to feel this way. Surprisingly it didn't take too long to think of reasons to be grateful.

I got sick on Friday which was excellent timing. Lucky for Brandon he doesn't work on the weekends so me and the babe had a full time caretaker. Sunday night I was getting weary of feeling so miserable. I had been doing all that I could to help myself heal but I continued to get worse. Because of Brandon, his dad and brother all so close and worthy, they were able to give me a priesthood blessing, which made me laugh, the first real laugh in a while. I am pretty sure God has a sense of humor. So I was thankful for that moment with family and God. Monday morning came with misery so my mother-in-law came to the rescue. I don't think many moms ever get a sick day, but I got one yesterday. HUGE blessing. As if taking care of little Ethan all day weren't enough she came back to our house when Brandon got home from work with a full blown dinner and dessert. Words can't express my gratitude. Brandon came home from work with flowers and my favorite candy bars. Maybe not the right time for candy but I still snarfed the Watchamacallit. People have been so kind to me. I am grateful. Sometimes it's hard to see the good in people. Being sick gave me the chance to be completely reliant on the kindness of others. People are really good and really kind.

Another "grateful" I thought of was how I wouldn't appreciate health as much if I never felt absolutely deathly. Like the first fresh breaths of spring energize your soul, the day you wake up without an aching body or a lung wrenching cough you feel alive again, ready to take on the world, grateful that you can.

But most of all my thoughts keep returning to my best friend. He comes home from work tired in his eyes but happy in his smile and does whatever needs doing. From my confines of the couch I can hear our little baby laughing at Brandon and then Brandon reading him Meet Jemima Puddle Duck and then I can hear him singing a lullaby to our baby boy. He is the best. I love him so much and although I hope beyond hope that I wake up tomorrow to "spring" I am so grateful that I have been able to have had the thoughts I've had.

Please bless I am all better SUPER soon, but if not, I feel happy right now.

I Cry

2011-11-30T11:44:00.008-07:00

Last night I layed awake thinking about how my crying condition has progressively gotten worse with age and how I have many years ahead of me for it to continue. I'm in big trouble.

When I was little I was painfully shy. I cried at just about anything that scared me. I cried when Karlee cried... moral support I guess.

I cried when people hurt me.

Then I started crying when I felt the Holy Ghost.

I cried from heart breaks.

I cry when I miss people.

After Brandon and I started dating I cried because I was SO perfectly happy. That was a first, so I took a picture. Here I am in the middle of the madness. I've had countless happy cries since then.

I cry when I am stressed, tired, frustrated or mad.

Normally on Thanksgiving with the Burtenshaws we each write our blessings on a paper feather that we tape onto a paper turkey. One blessing for each year we are old. So Thanksgiving morning I decided to get a head start thinking about specific things I was thankful for. I bawled the whole morning.

I cry at Hallmark commercials, songs on the radio and parts in movies that I don't think are even supposed to be touching.

On Black Friday I choked back the tears during Kathie's flash mob at the mall.... still not sure why. It was just a fun Christmas song.... not even about Christ.

I cry when someone gives me advice or gets me in trouble.

I cry when I think about how much I love my family.

I cry when I speak in public.

I cry about other people's problems.

And just like my grandma Barnes, it's getting hard for me to get through a prayer without crying.

I'm kind of a mess.

And as a very random side note, there is a black bunny hopping around my backyard this morning. Maybe it's the Easter Bunny gone rogue.

Black Friday

2011-11-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

Actually it seemed more white and green to me :) Ha ha. Holy dad joke. Today we tagged along with Jen's family to find and cut down the perfect Christmas tree. Loved it! Wouldn't mind making this a tradition.

Yes, it's true. The little boy loved it. Even though it was freezing.

These two were having a great time snowball fighting.

The Thompson tree. The saw died and we (by we I mean they) had to do more breaking than cutting. The sawsall is comin next year.

Tys & Mc's first tree! Fun!

The cliff that started and ended our Christmas tree journey.

Half a Year?! What the?

2011-11-21T10:17:00.005-07:00

Yep. Little E is now 6 months old. He keeps getting more and more fun. He laughs easier and more often. It's awesome to see him learning all the time. His new thing is blowing raspberries. (check out the video.) It's hilarious, especially when he decides to spit all the way through prayers. He makes lots of different expressions now. He makes one that looks like a drill team girl mouthing OH! It cracks me up. He has learned to roll from his back to his belly and does it all the time. So, now he can roll both ways and can kinda get around. He figured out the cereal thing and love loves it. He loves grabbing at faces. He has chosen a favorite blanket and won't go to sleep without the afghan that Grandma Kathie made for him. He gets crazy distracted while drinking his bottle. He'll crank his head all the way back so he can see what's going on behind him.

He had a couple of firsts. This past month he had his first Halloween all dressed up as a baseball player. He got sick for the first time. This was no petty cold. He got the full blown stomach flu :( Not fun. Throwing up, fever, diarrhea for a week. Sad. I realized for the first time how much my mom did for us kids when we were sick. Holy smokes. It's absolutely exhausting, but at the same time we had some stinking precious moments together when he was feeling so bad. He'd look over at me with this look like "Mom, you are the best. I love you."

Halloween. He wasn't a fan of the hat.

Boy oh boy, I love this little boy.

Oh and his stats as of today's Dr. appointment. 14 lb 2 oz (5%) and 26 1/4 in (50%) He's a skinny little guss.

I am a thankful girl.

2011-11-17T13:29:00.002-07:00

Today I am thankful for many things. I am thankful for the generosity of others who've given gifts of any kind for us and our boy. I am thankful for my husband's hard work at his job and projects on our house and cars. He's quite the handy man and saves us a lot of money that way. I am thankful for my mother's example. She taught me to save, to be frugal, to wear my clothes till they died and if possible resurrect them. When my parents had enough money the first thing she wanted to do was pay off the house and cabin, which they did. Her example taught me to save my money and get out of debt because there is more to life than getting caught up in stuff. And some day that money might come in handy for something more than the nothings I want to spend it on today. I am thankful for God blessing us SO much. That may sound cliche but I mean it. I know He takes care of us. I am thankful for a husband that is willing to scrimp with me so that this morning he could tell me with a smile on his face that we don't owe any money to anyone except for on our mortgage. I know we couldn't have done it alone. I am a really, really thankful girl.

Bread

2011-11-10T11:22:00.008-07:00

One of my sweetest childhood memories is of me sitting on my grandma's kitchen counter as I helped her make bread. That kitchen was kind of a magical place. Everything was old and grandma-ish. The smells and the nicknacks and the cute little sayings made it feel so cozy and inviting. I remember her huge plastic measuring cups that I used to pour the flour into the mixer when she said it was time. I loved being with her, making delicious things together.

Well, recently grandma moved into a tiny little apartment and no longer has room for most of her things, which she decided to give away. Somehow I lucked out and inherited the ancient bread mixer. I love it, mostly cause it reminds me of being with her.

I decided that since I now have a bread mixer I might as well use it. So, yesterday's PM hours passed as I made my first loaves of bread. Unfortunately, it wasn't as pleasant as I had remembered. Grandma made it seem so easy. It took me FOREVER ... the stinking yeast wouldn't rise. So, I went and bought more and still no luck. I tried remaking the yeast concoction countless times and I just about tossed the entire batch of dough. I guess my pride got the best of me and I was determined I was going to have bread. So, I poured in the lamest risen yeast ever, called my mom a billion times for help, forgot the sugar, was on the verge, if not over the edge, of losing my cool and miraculously ended the night with 2 delicious loaves of baked bread and a house that smelled like grandma's. Mmm. Can't beat fresh baked bread.

I posted a pic of the bread just for you dad. How bout that?

I'm becoming domesticated right before my eyes. ha. ;)

Family Pictures!

2011-11-07T11:05:00.003-07:00

My sister Lindsay took these marvelous pictures. (you should check out the link on the side bar. She's pretty much awesome.) I am so excited to put these up on my walls! Oh, I love my little family.

5 Months

2011-10-24T10:48:00.004-06:00

Holy Taleeto the kid grew up a ton this month! He discovered his feet and loves holding on to them. As pictured he can prop himself up on his elbows. He consistently rolls from his belly to his back (a lot every day). He gets bored of laying and wants to be propped up sitting. He reaches for toys and faces and hair...anything he can get his hands on and tries to shove them in his mouth. He scratches all surfaces discovering their texture (He is especially fascinated with the leather on his nursery rocker and the couch fabric). He gets happy seeing himself in the mirror. He is getting really good at holding his bottle.

The child has some definite giggle buttons! Tickle him just right and he is sure to produce a little belly laugh. He's ticklish under his chin, and his lower back.

His personality keeps emerging bit by bit and so far its looking like we've got a shy little guy. He gets pretty serious around strangers and big groups and he gets scared when people laugh at him.

September 27 ( the night I cut his hair)

When putting him down for a nap or the night he pulls his blanket over his face and rubs his eyes. By the way he has pretty much mastered pulling the blanket off of his face so I don't have to run to the rescue all the time anymore.

I took the clippers to his hair one night... Lets face it, that front lock was getting a bit out of control and was WAY longer than the rest of his hair. Anyway I chopped it and immediately regretted my actions. He suddenly looked like a little boy instead of my little baby. Sad.

We are loving this stage. We love our little boy SO much. He's such a good kid. Oh, the Ethan. What would we ever do without you? I wake up every day SO happy that I can stay home with him. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. We have been so blessed.

Yoda at the Pumpkin Walk

Mom and Dad, You requested pictures... is that enough? Ha.

This and That

2011-10-12T15:09:00.007-06:00

THIS:
A few weeks ago my cousin passed away from a sad mountain climbing accident. Me and a few in my family drove out to the funeral in our motherland- Oregon. I am really glad I was able to go. I heard some awesome stuff about Brian that made me want to be better. It was really good to see my extended family again too. Some of them I haven't seen for 14 or 15 years.

Here we are standing in front of our old house. And I think we brought Oregon rain and gloom back with us. It rained for like a week after we got back.

The road trip was General Conference weekend so we only got to hear a couple of the talks. I have been catching up and I listened to this one by President Uchtdorf today. Holy Smokes that is the best one I have heard so far. I know several people who have strayed away from the church because they feel like others are looking down on them. I know that is a serious problem and I felt like in this talk he addressed the problem so directly, yet kindly, just as the Savior would. The last sentence made me cry. It's absolutely incredible that we really do matter to God.

& THAT:

We got some tickets to the Aggie Football Game and they finally won! We needed that big time. We have had some major heartbreaking losses this season.

That night we checked on Ethan before we went to bed and this is how he was sleeping. Gosh that kid makes me laugh.

Yesterday I took him outside to see and hear the rain and I looked down our street to see this!!! I have never seen a rainbow so bright before. That was way cool.

Another Month Bites the Dust

2011-09-21T13:09:00.006-06:00

Ethan is 4 Months Old

No, I didn't pose him like this. I just laid him
on the blanket and he took it from there. Silly boy.

As of today's Dr. appointment Ethan is 12lb 12oz (10%), 25 in tall (50%). He's a skinny little thing but he's growin' and growin'. I saw a newborn the other day and I couldn't believe how much bigger Ethan looked. People say enjoy them while they're little because it doesn't last long. It really does go SO incredibly fast. He's just about to move out of his 0-3 month into his 3 month clothes.

Lets see. New stuff. As pictured he sleeps on his side sometimes and likes to hold his other hand in his mouth to ensure that those fingers are right where he wants 'em.

Naps take a while to settle in now that he has discovered how to pull the blanket over his head. Unfortunately, he hasn't mastered removing the blanket from his face. So I am called to the rescue quite frequently. The other day I swear I went into his nursery 20 times to pull his blanket off of his face. He lost his blanket privileges that day. :)

Here comes mommy to the rescue. His reaction to the blanket removal
varies from frustration to pleasure. I think he thinks it's a game sometimes.

He has discovered yelling. Which, lets face it, isn't very exciting, but to balance it out he has really, really laughed several times (September 2 was the first time). That has got to be the most wonderful noise my ears have ever heard! Seriously, I don't think anything can top that.

He has rolled a couple of times but like the laughing it's not a consistent thing yet. To help the rolling become more consistent the doc says I've got to give him more tummy time. I am pretty awful at it at this point cause he just lays there screaming like a maniac and while I know he's okay, I can only handle so much excitement at once.

He loves the outdoors. He kicks and coos as the wind rushes past. He likes watching the big kids at the park swinging. Today I put him in a baby swing at the park for the first time and he was pleased as punch. That was one of those moments that just went by way too fast and I hope I always remember the way he smiled at me while I pushed him in his swing.

He's a good little boy and we are SO glad he joined our family. We literally love him more every single day.
P.S. The top pic just reminded me. He'll lay on a blanket with his hands behind his head and then start screaming because someone is pulling his hair.... Uh, that's all you buddy boy. Ha.

Little Quicky- afterall it is art night.

2011-09-14T19:57:00.004-06:00

I heard this song for the first time today. (Thank you Pandora) I totally feel this way about Brandon. Too bad I can't get it on my playlist. Lame.

This Year's Go

2011-09-13T10:20:00.012-06:00

LOTOJA has once again come and gone. This year we had some worries. I don't know what it was but Brandon seemed way more nervous about attempting the big race this year. He didn't put in as many miles as in years past, but I thought he still was in good shape. I was a little worried about how Ethan would do in the car all.day. long. But that ended up not being a problem at all. Here he is in the car. The morning of LOTOJA dad got worried and really wanted to give Brandon a blessing but we ran out of time. Then that made me really nervous.

Worried or not the race began and things progressed as normal until the Afton feed station. Normally we see Brandon forging up Salt River Pass as we drive to Afton and we barely meet him at the feed station in time. Not so this year. This year we had 2 support vehicles so mine stopped to take pics of him screaming down the back of the canyon and the other car load went on to make sure he had support at the feed zone. After 45 minutes of waiting to see him coming down the hill I was getting really nervous. Either he had killed it and gotten ahead of us or something really bad had happened. From the time we'd seen him last he should have gone through 2 mountain passes with "fast descents". Those words from the race bible kept ringing in my head and I could only imagine that he had crashed on the way down. I kept praying that he was ok. We decided to back track a bit to the summit and on a little further. Still no sign of Brandon. I was way worried. If something was wrong how would we ever know? Finally, we decided to meet up with the rest of the support crew in Afton. My fears only escalated as we passed an ambulance and a biker wearing a neck brace, lying on a stretcher.

At the feed station there was a sign that listed riders that were out of the race. Brandon's number was 5110 and there was a 5101 on the sign. I had the lady confirm that she had the correct numbers but I still couldn't help thinking he was done. The next thing I knew Brandon tossed a water bottle at me and Tyson! O my heck I was so relieved to see him. In one piece. Apparently he'd cramped up pretty bad (we think we overloaded him on potassium) and he'd run out of liquids before salt river pass. My heart hurts just thinking about how miserable that was for him. I had cheered others along as they'd gone up that grueling mountain and I wished I could have been there to give him some water and cheer him on. I am just grateful that he was ok.

Anyways, he survived and he made it. Lost time or not. He crossed the finish line and I've never been more proud of him for finishing LOTOJA.

Mark thanks for introducing Brand to his first love... biking

The Support Crew

Peanut is a bit side tracked in this picture as he collects rocks for his collection. What a cute kid.

The posters were a big hit this year. They made it easy for Brandon to see us and gave us entertainment while we waited for him. We had random people who thought they were hott stopping by us and others wondering if the "good luck we love you" sign was generic.

Happy to be altogether again.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T22:38:00.012-06:00

(Everyone but Tys- taking pic- & Clay- working)

The annual family reunion (B's side) was a lot of fun this year. Well, mostly. Ha. It started out with a drive that should have taken half the time but due to a baby, an accidental detour and packing too much what should have been around a 5 hour drive took almost 9. Sheesh diddly sheesh and yuck. Luckily Brandon and I weren't ever frustrated at the same time, instead we took turns. Finally, we just accepted the fact that we were taking forever and laughed our heads off making up ridiculous pirate jokes. Apparently Brandon can do Pirate combo with Indian/ Scottish/ Australian accents. It's pretty impressive.

The highlights of the trip.

The green river beach!!!! Oh man we had a good time there. We were going to raft but we had a few hang ups so instead we played in the water and took turns tubin down Swaseys rapids. Fun stuff.

Family Jeopardy. Found out some funny stuff about Brandon's family. I can't believe after 5 years I still haven't heard a lot of their stories.

Sunday. Half of the family got the flu. Thank heavens I wasn't included. Testimony meeting at church. The kids were hilarious. Tyson nicely represented the fam.

Playing baseball at the park. I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time.
Funny quote from the game...Bennett to Jen after she'd been hit by the ball a couple of times."Mom you should just walk to your base cause you'll probably just strike out"

Family Minute to Win It. Hilarious! My favorites: Miles picking up paper bags with his mouth and stacking them on the table. Andrea spinning like a top as she wrapped toilet paper around herself. Watching the video of me trying to knock over some cans with a yo yo tied to my back. Ha.

Hiking Little Wild Horse Canyon. That was an AWESOME hike! We had perfect weather and luckily Ethan love loved it. I just carried him in my arms (thank goodness he's just tiny weenie) and he kicked and squealed. It was so cute. He did awesome as did most of the rest of the little kids.

Eating at the Tamarisk. WORST customer service EVER!!! Laur just about got chewed up trying to order something vegetarian and Tyson was afraid he was going to get yelled at for not knowing exactly what he wanted to order.

Getting to know the Green River cop a bit too well. I got off, Andrea wasn't so lucky.

I love Brandon's family. Everyone was so helpful with Ethan and just way fun to hang out with.

a happy sight

2011-08-31T21:46:00.006-06:00

Here is what my kitchen table looks like right now! Squeal!!! Yes!

So Wednesdays are my art nights from now on. Don't bother me, I am very happily busy. Ha. I have been wanting to paint a monkey for the little monkey's nursery but the one I painted last week apparently looked like it was possessed. So, I decided to simplify things and got some inspiration from Picasso's animals. I am pretty happy with it. (BTW the watercolor is black and the paper is white. Not that green color it looks like in the pic.)

E-Mealz Of LOVE!!!

2011-08-29T14:29:00.007-06:00

If you hadn't noticed I added a button on my sidebar about e-mealz. I really do heart them. I've been using their program for 2 weeks now and I finally feel like after 5 years I am putting something decent on the table every night. YES!! It is about time. The cool thing is it's so simple. I just signed up for a meal program (we chose vegetarian for 4-6 people so we can have leftovers for lunches) I pay 15 bucks every 3 months for a weekly menu/ organized shopping list/ recipies that are based on foods that are at a good price.

I LOVE LOVE it. Here's why.

Walking through the grocery store I am proud of whats in my cart cause of all the fresh produce/ herbs and yummy ingredients. Seriously there are things that I buy now that I didn't even know you could get at the grocery store before.

At home I feel like I could have anyone over any night of the week cause I have plenty of food and I am proud of what I've made.

We are eating healthier with a better variety of dishes than we ever have. And we are full every night and full at lunch every day.

I don't have to think about what I am going to buy or make, it's already done for me. All I have to do is buy what's on the list and follow the directions included on the menu. Holy easy breezy. This is what I have been looking for!!!

For a lot of people this also helps them save money. For us it costs a little more since we were eating so poorly before but the cost is SO worth it. ... Wait a minute. I thought it was costing us more but we actually spent about 40 bucks less this month on groceries then we do on average. I am liking this more and more all the time!!!

I seriously cannot say enough good about E-mealz. Click on the button if you are interested in looking at sample menus and stuff. You won't regret it.

P.S. by the way I don't use all the meals every week cause we usually go out to eat on the weekends. I just choose the meals that look the most appetizing. That's probably why it costs me less.

The Little Monkey

2011-08-24T11:04:00.011-06:00

The monkey is now 3 months old! He's gotten really fun this month. (And he's growing like a maniac!!!)

In the last couple of weeks he's started doing this cooing conversation thing. It's pretty dang cute. He makes a noise and then you copy him and then he'll make another noise, etc. It goes on for several minutes when he's in the mood. His mouth makes the cutest shape when he makes one of his "uw" noises. His upper lip pokes out and he looks like a little duck.
He gets scared when I mimic his rolling tongue noises. His eyes get all huge and his arms fly back and he looks around for the source of the noise. It cracks me up.
I can kind of get him to laugh sometimes. I guess it's more of a really contented, happy sigh. He loves his daddy. Brandon can make him do a laugh squeal by bouncing him on his knees. It's way cute. I have yet to record his conversations cause he gets a bit distracted by the camera.

When he starts getting bored of smiling and talking after his feedings I put him on his changing table and he gets all excited and starts kicking like it's going out of style. He's probably practicing his pedaling techniques. Ha.

He loves his baths. He kicks and splashes and smiles. He's starting to reach out for toys so I thought I'd introduce him to his blue rubber ducky. Bad idea. I don't know if it was the squeaky sound the duck makes or if it was the look of the duck that scared him but he started screaming and screaming turning his whole, cute, little body bright red. Bath time ended short that day.

His head and upper body are getting steady and strong. He can turn his body around in his crib so when we go to get him up after a nap or in the morning he is laying short ways in bed.
He likes to be sitting up... propping him on the couch works for now.
Last night I was laying next to him and he rolled over for the first time!! It was slow and definitely in steps : back, right side, belly. But I kept rolling him to his back and he kept rolling to his belly! I tried to get him to do it for Brandon when he got home but Ethan was pretty tired and would only roll onto his side. Still it was good, fun stuff.

Here's a couple of pics from this month.

Our Happy Cinco de Anos!

2011-08-23T09:19:00.020-06:00

Sheesh 5 years went quick!

We had a ton of fun celebrating our anniversary this year. Brandon got home from work WAY early and we dropped the kid off at good ol grandma and grandpa's. It is so nice having them close by so we can have a fun, little romantic evening to ourselves.

At dinner Brandon talked me into trying king crab legs, which I did. I'm pretty proud of myself but I won't feel bad if I never eat them again. :) I am not a big seafood person... Lets face it, I'm not even a small seafood person. It wasn't bad, just wasn't pleasurable and I'm all about enjoying my food.

After stuffing ourselves silly we headed over to the bowling lanes to show off our wicked sweet skills. Alright, alright, so we really just went cause we had free coupons. Either way it was way fun to play with just the two of us (I can't remember the last time we did that) and it was a good game cause we both got over 100 (even with my 3 gutter balls in a row!... Yes Brandon won.)

After getting a smoothie for B and hittin' up the snoshack for me, we headed out for our most adventuresome part of the evening. We staked out a body of water free from traffic, where the only light came from the beautiful starry sky and maybe a few country houses in the distance. Let's just say my bucket list got a little shorter last night. HAHAHAHA! Yep, that was adventurous and hilarious and a bit on the chilly side!! Definitely a night we (and the fish) will never forget!

I love my Brandon!

A first

2011-08-12T09:30:00.014-06:00

(Thanks for the pic Kar! Ha, BTW Bug was there too but had to skeedaddle before the pic was taken.)

Me, my mom and most of my sisters decided it would be fun to train for and run a 5k together. By the time the doc said it was ok for me to start exercising again I only had like five or six weeks to get ready for it. After about 2 weeks of training I overdid it and had to quit completely. Nice.

The day of the race came and I was a bit intimidated. I had zero endurance, had never been in a race before and I felt insecure about my lack of running gear. But I was happy to be there with my sisters and decided it didn't matter, I was just going to have fun.

After walking and jogging for a bit we came to a downhill and I broke off from Kar and Haley. I decided I was just going to run as far as I could. To my surprise I ended up jogging most of the rest of the time and beat my goal of 40 minutes(keep in mind I am WAY out of shape and just had a baby). I crossed the finish line at 39 minutes 35 seconds. I seriously almost cried I was so proud of myself. Ha.

So I've decided being in a race is a lot of fun and I plan to be in many more. My time shouldn't be hard to beat and knowing that I am going to be racing is good incentive to improve my running time. I'm so glad we did this together. Watch out for next year girls cause I'm gonna bring some real competition!

Bear Lake

2011-08-03T20:24:00.006-06:00

(Ethan did NOT like the lake. Cold water is NOT where it's at.)

These last couple of days we had a family reunion at Bear Lake. It was so nice to do something summery spending time with the family and getting out the house.

My favorite parts:

Wave running with Brandon. After overcoming my fears a bit I had a blast. It was so good to do something fun with JUST the 2 of us. I loved driving and screaming and hearing both of us laughing with wind tears streaming down our faces. I really needed that. I have so much fun with him.

(Too bad I was so pasty white. Now I am FRIED chicken. Ouch.)

Staying up late late with my siblings while all the kids were asleep. I rarely have the opportunity to really have a conversation with my siblings. It was nice. I like them a ton. It's fun to get to know them better through times like this.

The variety show. I wish we'd done that the first night to break the ice. We have such a variety of people in our family. From auctioneers to ballroom dancing kids and wannabe magicians. I think I was smiling and laughing through that whole thing.

Snoozin with the grandparents
Linds I hope it's okay that I posted your pics.

Our itsy bitsy teeny weeny little buddy boy

2011-07-28T10:18:00.017-06:00

Well the Ethanator hit two months last week, but I was busy doing birthday stuff for Bambeeno and then the kid had his 2 month shots and wasn't especially pleasant for a few days. Poor kid. So now that the excuses are out I finally got some more pictures of the kiddo. Here he is this morning at 2 months and 1 week.

This picture perfectly describes Ethan right now. When I set him in his crib for a nap he usually cries for a bit, sometimes not, but when I walk past his room to check to see if the silence means he's sleeping I am usually wrong. I can hear a little rustling and as I peek through the door I can see his little arms and legs a flailin'. So now he can soothe himself by sucking on his fingers and apparently his limbs are enough to entertain him at this point.

At his last Dr. apt he was 9 lb 14 oz and 22.75 in. He's only in the 10th percentile (meaning 90% of kids his age are bigger than him) but his personal growth is great and he's a healthy little guy. He's outgrown his newborn clothes but doesn't fit in most of his 0-3 mo clothes yet. Its kinda sad to look at his little clothes he used to fit into and realize how much bigger he is.

His vision is getting better. He'll watch me as I walk past him laying on the floor. He can track his swing mobile (btw the swing is FINALLY a hit. That's helpful) and he smiles at the red frog twirling on it. He stopped liking tummy time about the same time he started liking his swing. He likes to stand and jump (with help of course). He's big into blowin' spit bubbles. He gets more alert and pleasant everyday and I'm getting pretty attached to the little guy.

He can sleep up to 11 hours at night (that is, 11 hrs between feedings), so I can have time w/ Brandon in the evening and still get a full nights sleep. Oh you blessed little boy! Ha.

And lets face it... he's a mama's boy. :)

I couldn't resist posting this pic

Just so ya know

2011-07-26T19:05:00.004-06:00

People keep asking us where Ethan got all that hair from. Well here's proof that Brandon Jr. really is my child (:

I am not my body

2011-07-21T16:27:00.004-06:00

That line has been running through my head over and over lately. (if it's not familiar to you click here... you might cry.) Every time we drive down to Salt Lake I am blown away by how many billboards tell me I need to lypo this and augment that. My personal favorite is "make your inner beauty jealous". Uh, not okay. I am not my body. My inner beauty IS who I am. I try to keep myself presentable and healthy but if my curves aren't just the right size in just the right place it's really ok. My body is still slightly stretched out since having my baby and there are parts of me that will never be as they once were, but it's okay. It's the price I paid for the most adorable kid in the world. As I grow old and get wrinkled and saggy hopefully my little boy will remember the person I taught him to be and not just how he should look. Like Kenny Chesney sings "be as you are".

New Stuff

2011-07-11T11:12:00.011-06:00

Guess what I can do?

I can sleep up to 8 hours at night and yesterday I figured out that sucking on 2 fingers is a lot easier than trying to fit my entire fist in my mouth. Oh, and my mom finally remembered the camera for my early morning happy time.

Blessed

2011-07-05T19:39:00.008-06:00

We blessed Ethan on Sunday and had the fam over for lunch. Little cousin Sadie kept kissing the baby :)

My two biggest blessings taking an afternoon nap together today.

GREAT NEWS!!!

2011-06-25T14:19:00.008-06:00

Good News #1. Logan just got a Plato's Closet in town!!!!! Please bless it stays in business. If you have nice, gently worn clothing and you live here in Logan please, I'm begging you, sell them to Plato's (that's right they buy your old clothes) to keep them in business so I can shop there. :) I LOVE love Plato's.

Good News #2. I can button up my favorite pair of jeans!!! They may not fit exactly like they used to but hey, I'll take what I can get! So happy! I am practically jumping up and down right now.

Good News #3 I am feeling SO SO SO much better. Throwing away the shackles to the couch!! Thank you family for your prayers in my behalf.

1 Month!

2011-06-23T22:56:00.014-06:00

Gosh, that went quick!

Caught the kicker in action. Give it a few minutes and he'll be off that blanket and giving himself a face rugburn on the carpet. He's got the leg thing down, just needs some instruction on what to do with the arms. (photo shoot from today... 1 month and 2 days to be exact)

(Exactly 1 month)

The Weekend

2011-06-23T18:39:00.005-06:00

Went to Jaxon and Jordan's Birthday party and these are pretty much the only pics I got. Lame. They had a slip 'n slide and kiddy pool set up and the kids had SO much fun. I wish I'd gotten a pic of Brenna playing in the pool. She was in there forever, lovin her life.

The boys were pretty entertaining during the cake fest. Jord kept grabbin handfuls of cupcake and frosting and shoveling it in, even stealing from Jaxon's. How did I not get pics of this?

Kelsey was so polite asking if she could hold Ethan. She was so excited. Brandeeno and the little dude. Napping with that little guy is the best.

not to brag but...

2011-06-17T14:34:00.005-06:00

I got out of the house for the first time today!

That's right. I managed to get me and E bathed, packed a lunch and got to the starting line early to wish McKayla good luck before she started the RAGNAR o death. I had to sit most the time but I was happy to be there in the sun with a bunch of excited, crazy people.

The Snugglesaurus

2011-06-15T13:58:00.006-06:00

This is as close as I've gotten to catching his smile on camera. I have yet to capture his strings of sneezes and daily occurrence of the hiccups. He doesn't hold still very long.

2011-06-14T16:14:00.010-06:00

Dear Wardrobe,

Remember when I used to fit into all of your clothes? Me too. These days my body doesn't know what shape to hold. In between maternity, postpartum, nursing and normal is a very awkward stage that I sure as heck am not going to purchase clothes for. Sorry to anyone that may see me in something that I shouldn't be wearing. My best is my best.

- Me

P.S. The munchkin that put me in this shape is 100% worth it. I mean look at him. Adorable.

This is what his hair looks like freshly dried, out of the tub. We have our very own baby Einstein.

today

2011-06-06T16:06:00.003-06:00

Today the wee one decided he was a fountain during his diaper change on my lap (Not like I need help peeing my pants haha) Then, as if the puddle on my lap wasn't enough, he squirted a bright yellow substance all over my shirt. Lovely. Yes my friends, I have officially been initiated into the mothers club and somehow I still think my little boy is the cutest thing I've ever laid eyes on.

Today was Ethan's 2 week apt. He is now 6lb 15 oz 19.75 in and healthy as a horse.

One Week

2011-05-28T20:24:00.004-06:00

We are home! It's been one of the happiest, most tiring, emotional weeks of my life.

Ethan Ray Oh Happy Day!

2011-05-21T23:14:00.007-06:00

My joy is full.

Our first son was born today at 2:19 this afternoon. He was 6 lbs and 4 oz, 19 inches long and cuter than I could have ever imagined. I was blown away by the resilience, patience, understanding and inestimable love that my wife possesses. Anyone who knows my wife can attest to the beautiful daughter of Zion that she is, but today was one of those days where it was unbelievably impossible to miss what a gem she really is.

12 hours. She struggled for 12 hours to bring our son into this world. We arrived at the hospital at 2:40 this morning and she was dilated to a 5 and 90% effaced. After two hours of labor, with irregular contractions she made it to a 7 -- then all progress stopped. The doctor broke her water - no change. Pitocin -- no change. The doctor thought some Fentanyl would allow her to relax enough to cause her to dilate more -- no change except for Amy could hardly stay awake between contractions. Finally after 4 hours with no progress she asked for an epidural. I have never really been impressed with medicine before, maybe due to our body's incredible ability to heal itself, but if anything has ever been inspired, that was. It allowed her to relax, face the contractions courageously and deliver the cutest 6 pound package ever to be delivered - much better than UPS ever could, short shorts and all.

While they were cleaning Ethan up before taking him to his exhausted mother I was on the verge of tears, but sheer pride at having continued the Burtenshaw name, having successfully sown my seed allowed me to conceal my emotions. That was until the nurse wrapped him up like a little burrito and with arms extended asked me if I wanted to hold him. I was both surprised and embarrassed by how quickly I accepted her offer, the crack in my voice and sudden saline solution haziness of my vision that ensued. I couldn't stop the tears of gratitude. I was grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was grateful to a Savior who I know loves me and Ethan unconditionally. I was grateful to my eternal companion, my swedish fish and best friend that loved our boy. A boy who you could no sooner rip out my own heart and call me whole as take him out of my life now and expect me to continue living. A boy she loved without having held him, without having heard his feeble and gritty cry, without having seen his little hands and feet kicking with the essence of life that made me feel small and insignificant in one instant and full of purpose and power the next. I was grateful for my own mother, as I couldn't help but feel that she must have felt that same way when I was completely dependent on her.

I can say without equivocation that carrying our son over to my wife and laying him on her chest was the most rewarding and beautiful moment I have ever experienced. It's not enough to say that it's special, or even sacred. It truly transcends the meager ability I have to communicate, and yet any parent who loves their child I'm sure the same way I love Ethan knows exactly what I mean. Like the newly married groom who can't believe that the unquenchable infatuation he feels for his bride would one day, in the not-too-distant future be eclipsed with a love so all-encompassing that friendship would be redefined and love would cease to be the chorus for a 3 minute soliloquy and become the mantra for a life well-lived. I know I'm only scratching the surface. I know as I express myself to anyone who cares to take the time to read about the shift in thinking of an insignificant boy that I am not adequately describing what can only be truly understood by experiencing - and then, that that experience, however redefining and meaningful as it was, would be a single star that at first seemed incomparable in beauty and splendor until it was woven into a breathtaking expanse. A piano chord that became a concerto. I think you know what I'm trying to say. When I handed our son to my wife, she never looked so beautiful.

My joy is full.

Nope

2011-05-17T13:16:00.004-06:00

Don't worry, you didn't miss the announcement. The little guy is taking his sweet sweet time. I keep having contractions about once or twice an hour, sometimes less. I have decided that constantly waiting for his arrival whomps the big one, so I am now planning on his arrival to come a week from today which is his due date. If he comes earlier then I'll be way excited but I can't handle sitting at home just wondering all day. It's killin me. And here I am today, pregnant as ever.

the J-O-B

2011-05-13T17:49:00.003-06:00

As of 5:00 today I no longer am employeed . That's right folks. After 3 years of telemarketing I finally quit. YAY! Now I am just waiting for my new job to arrive. The doc says he could show up anytime so prepare yourself to see pics of the cutest little boy on my next post. Who's excited?!!! Oooo, oooo, pick me !!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:28:00.004-06:00

With each of the 5 moves since we've been married my box of keepsakes has gotten smaller and smaller. However, I still haven't been able to give up this little treasure. Occasionally to make up after a fight or sometimes for no reason at all my little sis would make me the cutest little things out of the most random stuff she could find. They always made me smile and this one did again as I went through my keepsake box. It'll be so fun to have my kids make these kinds of things for me some day.In case you can't read the writing it says "estor is wen Jesis got Fesreftid". Interpretation Easter is when Jesus got resurrected.

Anyways, I love Easter. This time of year has so much symbolism of Christ's resurrection. He gives us energy and new beginnings and light. I am so grateful for His life, death and resurrection and I'm glad we have a holiday to celebrate it.

Catching up and Randomness!!!

2011-04-14T21:06:00.010-06:00

So catching up first. A month ago I had a sleepover in California. HA. Who does that? I had a plane ticket that needed using and a sister that needed visiting so voila. I took a day off work and botta bing botta boom had a great time with my sis and her fam. Me and Austin and Kar had a great time talking it up the night I arrived. They confessed to a prank call me a few months ago. Good one. We had a way fun time and lots of laughs. The Lukester is the biggest charmer ever. Of course he was pleased as punch when they picked me up at the airport and he gave me one of his big smiles and a happy hi pitched "Hi". The next morning I got him out of his crib when he started making a ruckus and he smiled took out his binky and gave me a smooch. What the? Where did he learn to be such a ladies man? Me and Karlos and the Lukester went to the beach-Kar you'll have to remind me which one. Luke was afraid of the water. I was afraid of the living seashellls I'd been collecting and the crazy man on the street who told everyone he was going to hammer a nail into his head made Kar a bit nervous. Crazy dude.

Every kids favorite part of going to the beach... getting their feet smacked off.

Karlee you look like a Cali chick for sure.

The annual Burtenshaw reunion... Oh yes, this is the randomness part. Found these on a camera we don't use very much. I thought this was a funny pic. Plus look how cute and little Gretta is.

Proof that me and Brandeeno really are true aggies. At least I'm pretty sure those are my monkey arms.

Sadie Lady a few years ago when we went on a picnic with Jeff and Jenny up in the mountains.

Cute ducks on our back patio.

I know the quality is terrible in this next pic but do your best. This was really in the classifieds in the Herald Journal. HAHAHAHHA. No we didn't buy it.

I think this was the same night as that pic of Sades.

Last bit of randomness with no pics.

It's a good thing I am a fairly small person because you hear the craziest things when you're pregnant. These are all from today... still have 5.5 weeks to go.

" One word to describe Amy....GINORMOUS"

"You still have THAT long?"

"You're getting pretty close now aren't you?"

Funny things from other days.

"Your belly button is sticking out" ...WHAT? When did this happen? Thank you captain of the obvious.

" When are you gonna have that baby so you can quit waddeling? "

" Why are you breathing so hard" ..... well I have never weighed even close to this much before and lets face it. My lungs aren't used to it.

That's all I can think of for now, but everyday is a new surprise. Never know what to expect. Either I really am huge or people are able to joke with me cause I'm not that big ... not sure. I feel like an elephant, but for my own sake I will assume the latter :)

Alright that's all folks.

And by the way I split up that first bit into paragraphs like 3 times. My best is my best. Stinking blogger of death.

Happy Day!

2011-03-13T12:17:00.004-06:00

Last Saturday Brandon's little Bro married the cutest girl! We are way excited to welcome McKayla into the fam. Weddings are the best and nothing can compare to a temple sealing. It was a great day.

Here's a shot of the good ol belly. (28.5 weeks)
A few of my favorite people.

The love birds in their own little world :)

What does it mean?

2011-02-24T19:11:00.002-07:00

Made dinner tonight and couldn't wait for Brandon to eat it..... the baby was hungry okay? ha. Due to the lack of conversation I read the back of a Parmesan cheese container while I gorged. Ingredients: parmesan cheese & powdered cellulose. ... Ummmm.... I'm no nutritionist but the word cellulose sounds WAY too close to cellulite, something I am getting to know a little too well as of late.

I think I'll wait for company next mealtime.

Just Remembered

2011-02-21T20:33:00.005-07:00

Back when the babe was a secret I was having some serious problems coping with random smells. One of those smells happened to be our dish soap. I could even smell it when I was drinking out of a clean glass or eating off of our silverware. It made me lose my appetite. Anyways, one night Brandon came home from the grocery store with all kinds of pregnancy snacks for me and about 6 different kinds of dish soaps. How did I get such a piece of work? He is so thoughtful. I sniffed out the most tolerable of the 6 and tonight I'll be using up the last of it.

I'm a lucky gal.

A big, fat, HUGE year

2011-01-26T19:12:00.003-07:00

I am just sitting here thinking about everything that's happened in the last 12 months for us. I don't think we'll ever have a more eventful year. Here's the recap: We both graduated, took an awesome trip, Brandon got a great job, we are going to have a little boy, we just bought our first home and the other night I just felt like everything is just the way I'd hoped it would be someday. Someone is undoubtedly looking out for us. Life is really, really happy right now.

YAY!

2011-01-06T18:26:00.003-07:00

Today we found out that the little thing kickin around inside of me is a boy! We are super excited. Man that was better than Christmas. Here's his ultrasound pics. O my heck I am SO excited!

This is at 20 weeks 3 days

I give

2010-12-14T18:52:00.005-07:00

After attending work for much too long with my pants all the way undone and one of Brandon's t-shirts to cover the unprofessionalism I finally caved and bought some maternity pants. Lets just say there was a lot of laughing going on behind my side of the curtain of the dressing room.

On a completely unrelated note, Brandon and I have been working on homemade Christmas tree ornaments for the past couple of weeks. We just finished the last of them with the gingerbread men on Sunday. It took a ton of time but I LOVE it!

{Cranberries, Popcorn, Citrus, & Gingerbread Men }

Hello Stork

2010-11-26T17:24:00.006-07:00

Yep. The stork stopped by our house and suddenly I am realizing I am going to be a mother. ME a mom! O dear. I am so excited and so scared. Being the last one in my family to have children I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what is coming and it's a little overwhelming. Well, there's no turning back now, so here's to me and Brandon and the many adventures we have ahead of us! YAY!

The Proof :)

It's that time of year

2010-11-08T20:41:00.006-07:00

I forget how much I enjoy this time of year until it rolls around again. Yesterday I was watching the gorgeous autumn leaves fall to the ground. I SO love fall. This is a pic from my back porch just yesterday morning.

Now there is snow on the ground and I have finally given in to listening to Christmas music. Did I mention I LOVE the holiday season?

A little help please

2010-10-28T19:05:00.002-06:00

Once upon a time I impressed Brandon while we were dating by cooking him grilled cheese sandwiches, baked potatoes and spaghetti. I mean what's not to impress? Well with school behind us now and me still cookin up the same stuff I could make in middle school it's getting a little embarrassing.

I hear that crock pots are where it's at for a good meal that's not very hard or time consuming but I don't really know how to utilize them. So any tried and true recipes that you'd like to send my way would be much appreciated.

Other ideas are welcome as well. The only thing is I want it to be delicious and healthy. I wouldn't mind gaining a few pounds but I'm not just cooking for me :)

Thanks a mil. If you prefer to send an email that's cool too.

What month is it? ..... October!

2010-10-16T15:52:00.003-06:00

With the whole limbo thing going on earlier this year, we didn't know if we'd still be here to harvest the garden so Brandon planted a pumpkin patch to keep the weeds out. Here they are in all their glory! Brandon has claimed that ginormous one in the middle for himself. Uh, have fun cleaning that thing out. I've got my eye set on that green warped thing on the right. That could make a sweet Frankenstein ya?

Per Grandpa's request- The carving of the pumpkins. By the way the Frankenstein definitely had potential.... uh, what happened?

Friends

2010-10-12T21:13:00.004-06:00

All growing up I had the same friend cycle. It began in elementary school and continues today. Usually it was one other girl, sometimes a small group of maybe three girls. We seemed to be inseparable for a few months and then one day I would just move on. I stopped calling and hanging out and writing notes and talking to them. I would go for a while without any friends at all while I waited for my next friend to come along. So with me it was always best friend or no friends. This got a little awkward in my teenage years as I would spend my weekends on dates with my parents or dates with my sis and her husband (thanks Linds and Clay). My dad used to tease me that I would never be able to get married because I would get tired of the guy and move on like I had with all my other friends. Fooled him. :)

Friends for me aren't the easiest to come by. I don't know if I just don't have the right personality for it or if I am too picky or what. Every once in a while I meet a girl and think.. O my heck I just know we would be good friends if we ever got to know each other. I usually miss the opportunity but every once in a while it works out. Once the friendship has run it's course and a natural separation arises I usually just say goodbye, not really a big deal, just glad I got to spend the time I did with them and hope they have a nice life, ya know.

Lately I've been thinking about this and I've realized there are just a few exceptions to that rule. I met each of them at different times in my life and we definitely had a natural breaking point but somehow, even with my psycho friend habits, have continued to be friends. I don't know what has held us together but I am so thankful for these girls. It's so nice to have someone to confide in or to be able to give advice if they need it or just knowing I've got a good friend out there that I have a good time with and can be myself around. They make me want to be better in so many ways.

Friends are a good thing.

BTW Sorry if any of you reading this have been that friend that I dropped. I really did like you, I just have issues.

SO good.

2010-09-28T20:41:00.005-06:00

Charity Never Faileth

I think me and every other woman on the planet needed to hear this talk. If you missed it, give it a read. It's marvelous. Thank you President Monson. Man, we are so blessed to have a prophet.

The Weekend

2010-09-14T16:35:00.005-06:00

My cute grandparents traveled from Oregon to Salt Lake this last weekend. So I took Friday off to visit them and some of the fam that I don't get to see as much as I'd like.
It was so fun talking to grandpa and grandma Billie. I love hearing about their lives. I actually learned a bunch about those two that I'd never known before. After listening to stories about grandpa's door to door insurance sales stories it became apparent that he's to blame for my mad selling skills. :)

Karlee has been so close (Salt Lake) for the past few months, but I feel like I have hardly seen her. She's moving back to Cali soon :( So I took one last chance to hang out a bit with her. We grabbed lunch at Village Baker and WOW, definitely just as good as I remembered it to be. It was fun to have one on one time with her. I just love Kar Bar.

I got to visit my grandma in the hospital too, but didn't figure she would appreciate pics. She is so darling. She introduced me to all of her buddies there- she makes friends everywhere.

And here's the LOTOJA (race from Logan to Jackson Hole) pics. Brandon getting the last of his things together in the car.
I believe this was just after Salt River Pass.Both of us happy to be done at the finish line. This year he completed 1000 miles riding in LOTOJA. Here's to many more!

Good Read

2010-09-12T20:54:00.004-06:00

Brandon did LOTOJA yesterday and I am sure he will post something soon. He did a marvelous job and I so proud of him doing it again. Sheesh. I am pretty sure my heart would explode if I even attempted.

Anyway, this post is actually not about how it went for him but rather about the book I read during the long sessions in the car of his support vehicle. I read the first book of the Hunger Games and while I think it was a little too hiped up, I haven't stopped thinking about it's deeper meanings since I finished it. The biggest thing I keep thinking about is how stupid materialism, fashion, and keeping up with the Jones' is. Here in America we spend SO much time and money trying to keep on top and impress. Who cares? SERIOUSLY who freaking cares? It's such a waste.

On the phones the other day (yes, I'm still telemarketing it up) this lady asked me to repeat the price of the product I was selling and then said there are children starving all over the world. If she used that $9.99 per month to help out some starving child she could make a HUGE difference. I hit the "I agree" button and found myself tearing up. What in the hay are we spending our money on?

The book also made me think about how we view tragedies. Take September 11th for example. How many times have you asked or been asked what YOU were doing when you heard about or saw the events of that day? Uh... why are we talking about what WE were doing? Shouldn't we be talking about how dreadful it was, or the families that lost loved ones or how incredible the people were that took down the plane in Pennsylvania? Why is it about us/ what we were doing. Who cares? It's like we have been so desensitized by our violent media that when something actually does happen in real life we care but we get excited and use it to our advantage to prove that WE were witnesses, like that even means anything.

I don't know, maybe my ramblings aren't making any sense, but this book has really made me look at things differently and I like it. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Bugged.

2010-09-02T15:46:00.003-06:00

If karma is for real I hope I get what's coming to me someday soon.

Alright. Just a little more info for ya. The other day I was talking to some people and left the conversation totally annoyed. Sometimes I feel like I work my butt off for something and other people that just kinda go with the flow get the prize. It's frustrating, ya know.

It's cool though. My hard work has definitely paid off in other ways and I feel good about the job I've done. I guess that's what matters. Life isn't always fair.

The End

2010-08-26T21:58:00.004-06:00

I believe this is the last of the cruise pics. This was our last day of vacationing but we still had one more day of the worst travel back home EVER! It's a good thing I was with my best friend because I might have gone crazy otherwise. We'll have to tell you about that later. For now it's time for beddy bye.

Four Years?!

2010-08-23T19:01:00.006-06:00

Brandon and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary this weekend. It was a good time down at the demolition derby followed by a delicious dinner provided by Pizza Plus. Definitely a fun night with a fun guy. We've definitely got a good thing goin' on.Cool view in between heats.
The Band- Notice the long flowing hair of the guy on the right. He was super good and hilarious to watch.
The fans :) Can't go to a derby without seein' a mullet.
Good 'ol Bicyclen Brent- The happiest guy in Logan. Cheri, Spence and Lindsay do you remember him?
The Crashes- we actually had WAY good seats. It seemed like all the wrecks happened right in front of us. It was pretty entertaining... if the show was lacking, the people were always fun to watch.

And this is a bit random but I forgot to tell you all that last summer we did capture some more funny little lizards. As you can see they like to bathe in their water hole. Either they are trying to cool down or they are trying to get rid of their lizard smell... I'm not sure.

Soakin up the Sun

2010-08-21T15:56:00.003-06:00

Today was the only day on our cruise that we didn't port somewhere. We decided to lay out and read for a bit, apparently the rest of the ship had the same idea so we ended up on a balcony far far away from the pool :(

Growing up I used to LOVE laying out by the pool and I never thought twice about applying sunscreen, but now that I am getting older and wiser I have become a tiny bit more sun conscious. So a applied sunscreen to my shoulders- generally the only place I really get burned- and then settled into my lawn chair to catch up on some reading/ journal writing. A few hours passed to reveal a lovely burn and some nice hand prints on my legs. Apparently I didn't wipe off my hands before grabbing my legs just blow my knees so I had perfect white had marks there next to my cherry red legs. I hear that's the latest european craze so I must have fit right in :) Look in future posts for the hand prints. It's hott.

( I know it's lame to do a slide show with only 2 pics in it... but it was either that or have the pictures fill up the whole screen. )

Still Cruisin.... wish I was

2010-08-12T20:06:00.003-06:00

Of all the places we were going to visit, Gramma was the most excited about Pompeii. Needless to say she was in my thoughts all the day. This ones for you Grandmama!

Three Cheers for Brandon

2010-08-11T18:28:00.002-06:00

Limbo land is OVER! Brandon officially started his career at Autoliv on Monday. YAY we get to stay in Beautiful Cache Valley and Brandon is loving what he's doing. Before you know it we are going to have full fledged adult lives. Weird. Anyways hooray for Brandon for landing a fabulous job!

ROME!!!!

2010-07-27T21:35:00.002-06:00

Brandon is getting a little behind with the installments... he can update that later. Here's the pics.

I heard it on the radio

2010-07-08T21:56:00.002-06:00

I think I might be starting to get old because talk radio has begun to sneak into my media of choice... never EVER thought that would happen.

While listening to Dr. Laura's show a lady called in who was frustrated with her husband because he didn't like their baby boy to have stuffed animals. After a few questions from the Doc it became apparent that Mr. Daddy was a super macho man and always had been. In the midst of the complaining mommy, Doc abruptly stopped her and said " I am just perplexed. You knew he was macho when you married him, in fact, his macho-ness is probably one of the things that attracted you to him and now you are trying to change him. Its just perplexing. You knew what he was like when you married him." Her advice to little mommy was to stop buying their boy stuffed animals. SHE was the one who needed to get a grip.

So many times us girls are guilty of trying to change the person we fell in love with and transform them into our twin. We knew who they were when we married them, so let the poor guys be. They aren't going to change anyway unless they want to, so forcing them to be something they aren't just makes marriage miserable.

I am not saying we shouldn't help each other in marriage to become better people because, wow, Brandon has helped me grow a ton and I'm thankful for that. But honestly ladies... lets give the guys a break once in a while and remember how those "annoying" traits were once attractive to us.

Second Port - Livorno, Italy (Florence, Pisa)

2010-07-05T12:46:00.002-06:00

Check out Installment B or II - and get excited for Installment C or III!

First Port - Monte Carlo, Monaco (Installment B or II)

2010-06-27T18:49:00.007-06:00

After a failed attempt at seeing the sunrise on the ocean, a big breakfast that made both Amy and I feel like royalty, a nap for Amy and a pitiful workout for me, the Norwegian Jade pulled into port at Monte Carlo, Monaco. Monaco is an independent city state on the coast of France, which has been in control of the Grimaldi Family. Many of you might remember Grace Kelly married the prince of Monaco -- many of you won't.

The night before, we utilized the ship's impressive library to research Monaco, the sights we wanted to see, and get a look at the overall layout of the city. From the map, everything looked like it was within walking distance, with almost everything within about 1/8 of a mile of each other. The book we were reading also commented that the entire area of Monaco was about half the size of Central Park in New York. So, we mistakenly assumed it would be a "stroll through the park" as it were. Upon initial inspection, one was left to wonder why the synopses of the city did not include words like cliffs and stairs.

The first sight we wanted to see was the changing of the guard at the palace, which began at 11:55. The map we got of Monaco from the ship's information desk showed one port, which I assumed was the one we were in. That assumption proved to be incorrect. We walked about 2 miles in the wrong direction towards what looked like a palace, but hey, this is Europe and many palace-looking structures proved to be nothing more than palace-looking structures of little significance. After emerging from a tunnel that I was convinced was a straight shot to being mugged, we stopped at a distinctive looking building and referred to our map trying to make sense of the buildings and roads around us. After a few ineffectual minutes and Amy's complete loss of confidence in me, she asked some Brit where we were, who seemed like he knew where he was headed solely based on the tour guide holding some ridiculous sign above her head at the front of his group. Apparently there were double the ports than our map indicated, and we had walked away from the palace, hastily putting distance between our desired destination and us, as an amused smile and point of his finger quickly indicated.

Without a watch, or any other way to tell time other than my boy scout training of telling time by the position of the sun -- which was about as effective as my navigating abilities, we retraced our path through the tunnel of death, around the cove, past the endless yachts and approached what appeared to be a stairway about 100 yards from where we had started. This theme of being happy to be where we had started many miles and hours before sadly resurfaces in this tale of woe more than once. To a Cache Valley boy, where all intersections are perpendicular, mountains indicate East and West, and Main Street really is the main street Europe proved to offer more of a challenge than my intrinsic sense of direction could handle. Anyway, back to the stairs. These were sloping stairs. Yes, SLOPING stairs. Now I may be old-fashioned in my thinking, but I believe (as do our founding fathers) that only one means of ascent should be utilized in a particular locale. Stairs are good. A slope is also good. However, combining them is much like combining ice cream (which is good) and steak (which is also good). Oh, the places you'll go! Dr. Seuss himself couldn't have contrived such a gobbledygook contraption such as sloping stairs -- really, read his books, and all his stairs are slopeless.

The point of my rambling is to only impress upon the reader the magnitude of our altitudinal variance, which was large in magnitude. After ascending the cliff to the palace, we had the pleasure of watching the changing of the guard intermittently through the 1.5" LCD screens of our fellow traveler's cameras and their armpits. I would suggest to anyone wanting to see the changing of the guard to arrive at least 15 minutes early.

Our sore feet, having walked much farther than their expected 1/8 mile increments, carried us onward. Into the palace we proceeded for an audio-guided tour. Apparently, being rich and powerful doesn't always include being pleasant to look at (as Donald Trump clearly shows), but that didn't stop the Grimaldi family from hiring every artist in the region to paint every inbred cousin and his horse and indelibly preserve their visage for every tourist dumb enough to pay for a tour through their palace. Not the highlight of our trip.

The Napoleonic museum was next. Literally adjacent to the palace. Aside from the display of the evolution of the army's uniforms over the last 186 years, one could forgo this visit and not feel like they missed anything of importance.

On our descent to the car museum, we passed through the palace gardens, awkward nude statues, and a seagull. We also passed by the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium which apparently is something worth seeing.

A little circling, map twisting, and ingenious interpretation of street signs and we arrived at the Grimaldi Car Museum -- which is really a collection of all the cool cars the family has had the immense pleasure of driving during their tenure as the rich and powerful. A quick lesson was gleaned as I wandered with mouth-watering, wide-eyed splendor. Despite being ugly, this family was sharp as a tack. Charge an endless stream of Americans 8 Euro to wander aimlessly through a wing of your palace you'd prefer not to visit yourself, and you can own some of the greatest automobiles of every generation, and then charge them to look at them longingly. It's almost as smart as the government taxing government workers AND the capital gains of any money they were able save after the initial taxation.

We had initially wanted to go to Nice, a short train ride from the station which was only like 1/8 mile away (uh-huh), but I decided it would be much more enjoyable to circle some roads less traveled, and be glad to be back where we started. We finally did find the train station (which is GARE, and having known that GARE was the train station I could have found it much sooner). However, we found the less-frequented entrance and were lucky enough to see what few travelers of Monaco get to see, the underground sidewalk adjacent the tracks leading to the main entrance.

Upon emerging from the depths of Monte Carlo I knew exactly where we were due to our initial excursion away from the palace. After another series of steps (this time non-sloping), we descended to a cute little church. A brief visit was sufficient and we again were on our way back to the ship. I wanted to buy some shorts as I had forgot to pack some, but Monte Carlo is not the place to shop unless you won a lot of money at the Casino.

We returned to the ship exhausted, just in time for the buffet to close and attempt to research our next day in Florence and Pisa. Unable to do so because the library was also closed, Amy slipped into the hot tub and I fell asleep poolside and dreamt of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and seagulls.

God Bless America

2010-06-22T21:05:00.002-06:00

So since we've been back from our trip I have been noticing the things I love about America and Utah especially. I love the way we talk and that I can actually understand the language. I love that things are so spread out... like stores and restaurants and what have you... there's more breathing space. I love that we have good, sanitary food and free water. I love that traffic rules are generally obeyed and things are comparatively extremely organized. I love that we have our own private, air-conditioned traveling vehicles. I love seeing the American flag flying in my front yard. I love living in beautiful, extra green Cache Valley... I am going to miss it. I love that we get to vote... did that tonight btw. I love having church so close and oh I missed it when we were gone. I love feeling free and like I can determine my own future. It's fun to visit other places but I can't imagine living outside of America.

I like to sing quietly to myself while on the phones at work, it helps me to not get so aggravated with the crazies I talk to. Anyways today I started singing "I'm proud to be an American" and I totally got all choked up. I thought about my deployed brother in law and the sacrifice he and his family are making for my freedom. I thought about all the things I love about this great country and I just feel so blessed to live here.

I can't wait to celebrate the 4th. We live in such an incredible place.

Vacation of Love

2010-06-16T19:34:00.012-06:00

We started our journey on Saturday. The flight to Barcelona was rather uneventful other than a blind lady sitting immediately behind us on our 9 hour flight from Atlanta to Barcelona who, aside from everything I knew about the blind, was a movie aficionado. Because of her lack of sight, the volume level had to be just right most likely due to her heightened sense of hearing. Her travelling companion was therefore the designated volume guru, and the manner in which she communicated her desired volume level to said guru was at the top of her freakin' lungs. I don't know how many movies she chose to watch, but I can tell you that "Turn it up" and "Turn it down a little" could be clearly and vividly heard over any movie that I was attempting to watch, or any movie she was watching that I was attempting to sleep through. I wished many ailments on this blind lady - including the gift of sight so I could rob it from her again, but despite my abundance of understanding and patience, the only thing I lost - other than my temper, was sleep.

Because of our last minute travel arrangements, we had the most coveted seats on the plane -- the clear view of the carpeted partition in the latter portion of the 767, close to the bathroom and the emergency exit. I can assure you, there were several times I contemplated attempting to drown myself in an airplane toilet or pulling the emergency exit after beating myself senseless on the carpeted partition, or inflicting said punishment regime on fellow travelers as I realized the sleep I was being denied was being amplified in significance by our swift progress to a time zone where they had already experienced four or five REM cycles and had something for nourishment other than salted peanuts and the soothing voice of a blind lady. I submit that the descent to madness needn't involve any descending at all, and in fact can occur thousands of feet above sleep level.

Now, I know exactly what you're thinking. Is he really complaining about the flight to a Mediterranean cruise -- this has to be better than a short trip down a shallow canal (and it was). I just like to weave the slight inconveniences of a dream vacation with the only person I'd want to spend that much time alone with into a colorful tapestry and you must agree it's more entertaining than hearing - "There was this blind lady who wouldn't shut up." If not, please say so and I'll make things more succinct or turn the blogging back over the the professional.

Now seeing as how this took much more space and time than I was intending on using, this will be the first installment of what could become many installments on our vacation. Let's call it Installment I, for the sake of clarity - or perhaps we could call it Installment A, either way, consider this the first.

I LOVE BRANDON & I DONT CARE WHO KNOWS IT!!!

2010-06-01T18:32:00.004-06:00

You know how people talk about the honeymoon phase of marriage? I thought that was long gone for us, but since schools been out I feel like I am falling right back into it. Falling for my cute Brandon all over again. Oh it's so fun! I can't wait for this next week with him.

We did it!!!!!

2010-05-13T21:26:00.016-06:00

Brandeeno and I graduated last Saturday! YAY! That was so fun to be able to graduate with Brandon and all the nerdy engineers :) The best part of the commencement was a graduating electrical engineer a few rows in front of us. He had embedded about 20 blue L.E.D. lights into the top of his cap in a grid pattern. The cords were in a bundle that flowed from his hat to a battery pack that he gripped in his hand. HILARIOUS! Seriously made my day.

I felt like I was going to faint waiting in line before we walked on stage and then of course as soon as we sat down I needed to pee. I felt so excited and happy to be sitting next to Brandon as we were about to officially graduate.. although I did feel a tad nervous of tripping when it was my turn to get my diploma. I didn't trip thank goodness but I still managed to make a fool of myself. Dad was standing on the front row calling my name as I walked to receive my "diploma" and so I stood there smiling at him. He kept yelling my name I kept thinking " Hurry and take the stinking picture I am holding up the line!" I finally moved on to shake the hands of a bunch of Engineering People that had nothing to do with me graduating and then we got our picture together at the end of the stage. Come to find out I had been smiling for some other parent! HA! That guy was probably wishing I would hurry and get out of the way so he could take a pic of his kid. Probably not actually, he was probably ecstatic to have such a great shot of me! HA.

And here's what dad's camera saw! HA HA!

Brandon just looked up the cum laude list and we are both on it. Brandon especially was shooting for cum laude ( a 3.5 GPA) and he made it. He works SO hard. My grades are finally all in and let me preface this by saying I just needed D grades to graduate and I got solid A's in my 6 classes this semester. If that wasn't an answer to prayers and a father's blessing I don't know what is. YAY!

Our families were a huge support to us during all of our college days regardless of whether they were able to come to the official graduation or not. The ones that did make it were yellin' and whistlin' and making a huge ruckus for us. So fun. We all had a BBQ after the ceremonies and it was so fun to be with everybody. Gosh, I love our families so much.

O my heck it still doesn't seem real that I've graduated. I already miss it. You grow SO much during each semester and then all of a sudden BOOM you are graduated. No more school. I have been working full time this week and when I get off I have hours to do whatever I want. So weird. I've got to get cracking on learning French or the guitar or piano SOMETHING to keep me learning. Maybe I should stick to drawing and painting... I've still got plenty to learn there. Anyways, it's nice to have time to clean and exercise.... that starts next week btw... and it's SO nice to have time to get to know Brandon again. He is seriously the best. So glad I am married to him.

Whew... a little emotional

Sadie Lady :)

Once again a HUGE thank you to my family for everything. MUAH!

I was born for it.

2010-04-27T23:13:00.006-06:00

You know those people that are just incredible at what they do? You know athletes and artists and cooks or whatever it is you're into... there is always that one person in the group that is just absolutely incredible and no matter how hard you try you just will never be as good at that thing as they are? It's like they were born for to fulfill that specific purpose and they just blow everybody else out of the water.

Well I have found my great talent.... it's not exactly what I dreamed or hoped for ... My forte lies in pushing buttons that play prerecorded sales scripts to unsuspecting credit card holders via the telephone. I seriously kick coworker/ manager butt in sales nearly every single day. I have dreamed of finding that one thing that I naturally excelled in but never imagined it would be something so beneficial to mankind. :)

It's that time of year

2010-04-15T22:33:00.005-06:00

I am getting all excited about this lovely weather, anticipating summer just around the corner. Summer means swimsuit time. I LOVE swimming/ being out in the sun and it's so exciting looking for new swimsuits. I have officially decided that the only swimsuit suitable for swimming is a one piece. I love jumping off diving boards and going down slides so a two piece is just way too high maintenance. Readjusting here, making sure nothing is showing there, pulling and tugging every time I get out of the water. Lame. Two pieces are cute for laying out but they really shouldn't be called SWIMsuits. Are you with me? I just purchased myself my seasonal one-piece and as soon as it gets here I will be ready for summer to begin! Hooray!

BTW check out this website... way cute/ modest swimsuits for a decent price.

http://www.limericki.com/index.htm

Cold of Death.

2010-04-08T10:24:00.002-06:00

What's the deal? I have a BAD cold for the second time this semester. Thank heavens for Puffs Plus and Mucinex to get me through the 4 weeks left of the semester... YAY there is an end in sight! Poor all those people in my classes that have to hear my constant coughing/ nose blowing. My best is my best. I am now officially committing myself to taking my multivitamins daily in an effort to cut back on my cold frequencies. Lets see if that really works ;)

2010-04-02T11:17:00.010-06:00

My good friend Marye (her link is in the side bar) nominated me for this award a while ago and it totally made my day. Somehow it is so exciting to know that someone cares about what is going on in your life. I think that is one of the greatest thing about marriage- there is always someone there who cares about what is going on in your life almost as much as you do. So thanks for making my day Marye.

Along with this award I am supposed to write 7 things about myself and nominate 7 other people.... at least it doesn't say that if I don't my arms will fall off or something.. b/c I am just going to nominate two people my sister Karlos A.K.A. Karlee and my friend Ashley. Sorry both of their blogs are private.

I check Karlee's blog all the time. I think I might be her stocker or something. We have almost always been the best of friends since we were little and I seem to still be attached. Her posts are from the heart and they crack me up sometimes. I love reading about her and everything that's going on in her life. She has the smiliest baby ever and I love looking at his pictures.

I would also like to award Ashley Shawcroft's blog. Her and Jo's writing style is fantastic. They are both SO hilarious! They just had a baby a little while ago and Ash writes a lot about what it's like... good, bad, hard. It's helping me prepare myself to kinda know what to expect when the stork stops by my house.

Well here's the part about me.

1. I just got asked to model for a painter.... he needs someone who looks like they haven't eaten in a while. WOW. HA HA. I'm going to do it. Don't worry I will be clothed.

2. I love to paint, especially in class. I am learning to like Oil but watercolor is where it's at.

3. I am a picky eater but don't be fooled. I LOVE to eat! It just has to be the right kinda food... right taste, texture and smell.

4. I am super sensitive. From Hallmark commercials to taking someones advice I am sure to get a lump in my throat.

5. I love being a girl and almost everything that goes with it. I want to be as feminine as possible.

6. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. If you are not a member check out mormon.org. I honestly don't know how people get through life without this treasure.

7. I am terrified of animals, fish, critters and bugs. I like seeing them from a distance but I am not really a fan of any physical contact from them. This fear makes yard work nearly impossible. Better work on that.

So to Ashley and Kar Bar you can award as many people as you like but don't forget to write seven things about yourself or you are bound to have bad luck ;)

What do you say?

2010-04-02T09:32:00.002-06:00

I'd never really experienced the death of a loved one until recently with the passing of Brandon's grandpa and I am experiencing the process again with my grandma. Death is so strange to me. All of a sudden that person just doesn't exist on earth anymore. It got me wondering if I took full advantage of their lives while they were alive. Did I learn from them? Was I a friend to them? Is there anything I regret about what I said or did or didn't do or say?

My grandma slipped into a coma the other night. Each of my siblings had 5 minute time slots to call and talk to her. It really hit me hard. What were the last words I would say to her? I was in the middle of my figure painting class when my slot came up and so I stepped out in the hall and called. All I could hear was her respirator on the other end of the line so I just talked for a minute or two through tears, thanking her and telling her my feelings, finally I said goodbye and hung up. When I got in the car after class it hit me again and I had a good cry. Life and relationships are so precious and so fleeting.

She wrote me this email after she found out she was dying a few weeks ago. Here's the advice she gave me about the news. "it's a good lesson about how important it is to live IN THE MOMENT and not waste good times waiting for better times to arrive and make us happy. We don't have the moments that have passed, and we may not have any future ones. We only really have the one in which we are living right now. So make your happiness each moment of your life."

Miraculously my grandma came out of her coma so I will hopefully get to have a real conversation with her before she goes. I haven't seen her for years and I don't feel like we know each other very well, but I truly do love her. We never know when life is going to end for us or someone we love. I will do my best to take her advice to heart.

Watch out.

2010-03-23T21:41:00.004-06:00

In the wee hours of this morning I was awakened by the sound of our screen door repeatedly opening and closing followed by the slamming of the back door. Then I could hear shuffling around the house and plastic bags and noise noise noise. What in the hay was Brandon up to. I kept yelling Brandon, Brandon!!! Finally on one of his trips back in the house he responded and I yelled "what the heck are you doing?". I am a real princess in the middle of the night. He was taking a break from his homework by taking out the trash. HA HA. What a good husband.

I never realized what a temper I had until I got married. I mean wow. Now don't go blaming Brandon, my mom was just a saint and put up with a ton of garbage from me when I was tired, or sick or crampy or whatever. Now I realize it's not okay to be mean to people even when I am not feeling good. Marriage can be quite the wake up call for things you need to fix about yourself. Thank heavens for marriage... otherwise we'd be a bunch of selfisher, meaner people.

This reminds me of a time I was totally flustered and upset about who knows what. Brandon and I were over at my parents up in my old room. As I was in the middle of my ranting and raving Brandon calmly sat down on the bed and jovially said something like this, " I get so confused sometimes. It's like I am married to two girls. One of them is really nice and the other is really mean and it's really hard to know which one I am with because they are both pretty and look exactly the same." I sat next to him and tried to be mad still but was totally laughing inside. Brandon totally knows how to deal with me. He is so good spirited... totally balances me out.

Spring Break is Over

2010-03-22T10:23:00.001-06:00

We are back in session folks. Only 7 more weeks to go!

The Story of Lil Red

2010-03-13T10:15:00.007-07:00

Some of you may be wondering why we have a picture of an '88 red honda prelude in our side bar. Here's the story.

Back when Brandon and I were engaged he was driving his little sis over to her friends house. On the way he passed a cool old car (his high school dream car) for sale that was parked in the middle of a muddy field. He decided to swing by to check it out, was apparently going much to fast and crashed right into it. LOL!

He backed out of that field so quick and started driving off when he realized
1. His little sister was in the passenger seat with her jaw dropped to the floor and he should probably be a good example to her and
2. We were engaged and he wanted to be able to answer that he was honest in the temple interview so we could get hitched.

Well he went back to the owners house and told them what had happened. To make a long story a little shorter we had to buy the rusty car that was now crashed, had been sitting in a field for three years, didn't run and had flat tires. :) It was pouring rain the night we pumped up the tires and towed the car back to my in-laws. I remember saying I would never drive that white trash car.

Brandon and my father-in-law spent countless hours just trying to get the dang thing to start. I was sent on errands to every car store in town to purchase parts and I learned more about cars than I ever thought i would. To help out I put all new tires on the car while Brandon was at work.. I was pretty proud.

The day finally came that Brandon pulled up in front of my apartment and tooted the horn on the prelude! i ran out all excited that the thing was running.
Brandon and Mark worked and worked on the car until it was looking pretty decent. Brandon and I even drove away from our wedding in the car. Cute lil red.

One summer we took out the seats and parts of the dash and headed down to the pick 'n pull. we tore apart some beaters, pulled out the parts we needed and gave lil red a whole new interior. We grew to love that car so much because we had invested so much work into it.

A couple of weeks after moving back up here to Logan she stopped running. It was so sad to take her down to the scrapyard and see the guy hammer in the windows and then crash Lil red into the yard. :( We all stood there devastated.
So that's the story of Lil Red.... R.I.P.

Put it on your calendar!

2010-03-12T18:48:00.002-07:00

Saturday, May 8, 2010
COLLEGE CEREMONIES
2:00 p.m.
College of Engineering, Kent Concert Hall, Chase Fine Arts Center
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Dee Glen Smith Spectrum

We are graduating at the same time in different places so I will probably just walk with Brandon's college. If you would like to attend you are welcome to. If not, I totally understand... BORING! :)

Chillin with the ladies

2010-03-06T16:34:00.009-07:00

We got to spend the afternoon with these two ladies- my nieces. They were so fun. We went on a deer hunt around the block and scouted out a group of 5 deer hidden back in the trees. The girls were so excited :) Liv didn't have a jacket so she borrowed Brandon's and wore one of my hats! HA! Cute cute girls.

So uh... Brandon just tried to give me a swirly... I am pretty ticked, I mean what the hay? ;)

P.S. Stop getting so jealous of our luscious green carpet.

Facing the Facts

2010-02-28T12:47:00.015-07:00

So my family has the marvelous genes to be thin and tall. Included in that package however is the lovely trait of large feet. I have always been self conscious about it and so I have always worn the smallest size I can cram my feet into... an 8. Well as you can imagine I don't like wearing shoes unless they are flip flops because they kill my feet. Yesterday I purchased some new shoes and I faced the fact that I wear a size 9. Yes my friends I actually bought shoes that fit. In fact, one of the pairs is actually a 10 don don don. The brand must run small. Anyways, this is kind of a big step for me. I am finally starting to accept my body for what it is ...it's about time I guess:)

This little episode from my life reminded me of a talk by Elder Holland that he gave a few years ago. For any of you that haven't ever read this talk or haven't read it for a long time I would highly suggest rereading it. The second half is especially good if you are short on time ;)

To Young Women October Conference 2005
http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-559-9,00.html

You got it, Oh baby you've got it

2010-02-20T21:46:00.002-07:00

I just realized a lot of my post titles are songs. I must be married to Brandon the king of music.
So on with my story. Along with my old journal that I read through the other day I came across some old keepsakes from high school. As I was looking through pictures I thought to myself "Dang Ame you used to be stinking cute, what the heck happened?"
I feel like these days everyday is ponytail day and I feel crusty most of the time, praying that I don't run into anyone from high school. I admit I was feeling a little down about it, hoping that all attractiveness hasn't left me.
Well all of that happened on Sunday. On Thursday I was walking to class with Brandon and his friend Casey walking behind me. This kid walking toward me totally gave me a few eyebrow raises like "hey good lookin'". I turned around to Brandon and Casey who saw it too and we all started laughing. Totally made my day. Looks like I've still got it! Woo Woo.
What's it going to be like to get old? The good thing is I hope Brandon will always think I am beautiful and even if he doesn't when I am old and falling apart, I know he will still tell me I am beautiful. That's what matters anyways I guess. Who cares what the other guys think.

Spring is in the air!

2010-02-18T20:33:00.004-07:00

I can feel it! As I walk to and from campus I can actually feel my face and my ears when I finally reach my destination. In fact, when I walk back to my car after class the birds are chirping and today I even saw a squirrel running along a fence. The foot of frozen tundra that has occupied Logan since the middle of December is finally receding and little patches of muddy grass can be seen all around town! It's amazing how much more energized I feel just knowing the long winter is coming to an end. Here's to the end of winter... Scrumps!

P.S. I haven't found a forever free way to track people looking at my blog so I am going to go private again pretty soon. If you have any objections/ suggestions/ haven't already given me your email so you can keep reading... let me know.

Proposal

2010-02-15T19:15:00.005-07:00

Four years ago yesterday (valentines day) Brandon proposed to me at Adams Park after a lovely picnic of spaghettiOs, fruit snacks and baby carrots. We were sitting on a bench facing the playground making small talk. I remember zoning out as he was talking on and on about one of the buildings on the grounds. A minute later I zoned back in and asked,"are you still talking about that?". Apparently he was just trying to talk about anything until people at the park cleared out.

He had asked my dad a few weeks earlier if he could marry me and my dad had told him yeah but wanted Brandon to wait until I was done with my first year of college. So I really wasn't thinking he would actually propose until may. Well there we were sitting on the bench and Brandon started telling me that my dad had called him later and told him he could propose whenever he wanted. I think my heart probably stopped as I realized what was about to take place. He knelt down in front of me and with a quivering voice, and shaking hands held the ring out in front of me and asked me if I would marry him.

I didn't laugh. I didn't cry. I just stared at him for what probably felt like the longest moments of his life. I just couldn't believe it was happening. I'd been dreaming about that moment since I was five and it took a moment for me to snap out of it. Of course, I said yes, grabbed the ring and gave him a big hug. O it was such a happy day.

Yesterday I found one of my old journals and went to look up the event only to find that the entire journal was about our dating. I started reading through the pages and I couldn't believe how much our love has changed. Man, I was on cloud nine ALL the time. Brandon was so cute, so great I loved him so much.... I don't think I could count the number of times I wrote stuff like that. Looking back I wonder if I had any brains in my head at all while we were dating. The initial falling in love is such a crazy phenomenon. God is an absolute genius. He makes us fall in love with another while totally magnifying good qualities and completely dismissing any faults. By the time you know what you're really into its too late. You're already hitched and maybe a kid is on the way.

It may sound like all the love and romance has completely dissolved from our relationship, but quite the opposite. We are to the point where we know the very worst things about the other person and we love each other anyway. I am so glad our love is the real deal now and I am glad that we have those memories to look back and see how much we've changed. Brandon is my very best friend. What would I ever do without him?

I liked it

2010-02-13T13:29:00.003-07:00

"I believe that the first test of a great man is his humility. I don't mean by humility, doubt of his power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not in them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful."
— John Ruskin

I read it in this talk
http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=ca96efe64dcee010VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Week 2

2010-02-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well I am scheduled to teach today and I am proud to announce that I slept very well last night and I hardly feel nervous at all. How bout that? I figure I have done what I can and my best is my best. Our project this week is teaching the kids how to transfer an image by laying out a grid.... like the drawing Karlee did of Gookin on a much simpler level. Hopefully all goes well. We will be taking pics so I will try to keep you posted on how the projects turn out.

Nervous \ Anxious

2010-01-27T10:18:00.002-07:00

Today I start my ArtsBridge project.... I am a little worried. I have never taught an elementary school class before and today I will be doing it for the first time in front of 4 other adults... Nervous. Anyway it probably will be no big deal once I get started. Just feeling sick and stressed about it. I'll keep you posted.

Dedicated to...

2010-01-15T12:21:00.003-07:00

So I chose this background because #1 Brandon hates Valentines day and #2 me, Brandon and my dear friend Melissa find phrases like "hope", "simplify", "dream", "life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away" quite amusing. So, once again I think I am hilarious and I would like to dedicate this background to Brandon and Melissa :)

Speaking of me thinking I am so funny... The other day as part of our lunch we had some sliced up oranges. I distracted Brandon by telling him to look at something else and then sneakily stuck the orange slice in my mouth so that when I smiled it would only show the orange peel. Well my distraction worked for a little too long and I couldn't help but laugh at myself.. the orange peel nearly came out which made me laugh even more. After lunch I stuck another in my mouth and went to give Brandon a smooch HAHAHA! Brandon must think I am so ridiculous but hey, you gotta do something to keep yourself laughing!

And So it Begins...

2010-01-11T09:28:00.004-07:00

Today is the day we have been dreading for the past 4 weeks. "Spring" semester has officially begun. I actually am okay with going back and getting busy with projects and homework and all of that, I am just dreading walking around campus. BRRR! At this precise moment it is 4 degrees out there and I don't suspect it will get much warmer in the next 45 minutes when I have to head to class. I'm not okay with that ;) I need an eskimo suit to be out in this frozen tundra!

I'm too sexy for my shirt.... so sexy it hurts!

2010-01-01T11:54:00.003-07:00

Well the great Bambeeno and I threw our insecurities of hosting to the wind and threw an ugly sweater party at our place for New Years Eve! Scary at first but I am proud to announce that it turned out to be pretty fun. Talking about the sweaters was a nice ice breaker and between "Curses" and "Pit" it got nice and loud and I think we all had our share of laughs. Since we don't have T.V. Brandon found a nice little countdown on the computer and each couple finished the night with a New Years kiss. Woo Woo!

Pic above: Us, Mindy, and Kaden (the only other couple that wore smokin hot sweaters/ jacket). Gotta give a little more notice next time ;)

Bits and Pieces

2009-12-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

Big news first. Brandon got his results back for the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) test that he took a few months ago. He passed! That means as long as he passes his classes this next semester, which I have no doubt he will, he will be able to graduate. Yay for my smarty pants husband! Thanks again fam for the prayers :)

THis is totally unrelated but I just had to mention it. So at work the other day they brought in hot n ready pizzas from Little Ceasars. I think I found the cause of stomach cancer. Something about that pizza just isn't right. Like 10 minutes after I eat it my stomach starts kicking and screaming. Not okay. I vow never to eat a hot and ready pizzas again!

Happy Little Things

2009-12-11T15:58:00.003-07:00

Finals are officially over as of 10:30 this morning! YAY! It always shocks me how much more relaxed I feel when the semester finally comes to a close. So hooray. Just one more semester for Brandon and I to both graduate with our bachelors. It is so surreal.

Next happy little thing. The cute little old (officiator?) lady in my temple session came up to me after wards in the locker room and told me I have the most beautiful hands in the whole wide world! How do ya like that? :) Little ladies can always brighten up a day.

Final happy. I have a hot date tonight. Oh ya, we are definitely going to paint the town!

Our Beginning

2009-12-10T13:31:00.005-07:00

In the fall of 2005 I had just barely moved up to Utah State for my first year of college. A few weeks into the semester there was an Aggie Ice Cream social at the institute. I of course couldn't pass up free ice cream so I took my roommate "Amy Small" up to the institute and we had ourselves a treat.
As we were walking out of the gym a dark haired guy in a green shirt tapped me on the shoulder. He pointed out a really tall guy across the room, apparently his roommate and told me his friend thought I was cute. I believe my thoughts at this point were questions about how old we were and if that guy really thought I was cute then why didn't he come talk to me himself. Well the green boy's roomies came over and we all had a little chat. Someone got my phone number and that was that. Amy and I returned to our apartment laughing about the situation and how the green boy was so funny. Turns out green boy was Brandon. Apparently his friend was too scared to talk to me but seeing as I was way too tall for Brandon he wasn't scared at all. Heck, he wasn't going to ask me out.;)

About a week later I got a call from Brandon asking me out for that Friday night. I was going to Salt Lake that weekend so he called me on Monday and we went on our first date. AWKWARD! It seemed like we couldn't get a conversation squeezed out. When there was just about nothing left to say he asked me what I was looking for in a guy. I told him the truth... I wasn't looking. HAHAHAHA! I think at that point any hopes of this thing going anywhere went right out the window. Somehow we finished out the date back at his apartment where his roommates date was going to teach us all how to country dance. I already knew how so I took it upon myself to teach Brandon.... and the ice broke. If any of you have ever seen that boy dance it is a riot! I nearly peed my pants two or three times during this first dance lesson from laughing so hard.

After that we were together nearly all day every day and have barely been apart since. He still makes me laugh all the time. I love my Bambeeno.

We beat BYU

2009-12-05T15:21:00.003-07:00

People were camped out for that basketball game all day long. Somehow we managed to make it in the Spectrum and watch the game. SO FUN! I was super into it jumping and cheering and yelling. Well it caught up to me in the last quarter of the game and my exhausted body told me I had to sit down..... pansy. So I watched from my seat as we won the game. It was SO LOUD and SO FUN and WE BEAT BYU! Man I love good ol aggie basketball.

I have time to do whatever I want!

2009-11-25T17:31:00.003-07:00

O my heavens, can I tell you how great it feels to shower? Don't be grossed out but showering has kinda been last on the list lately. I have been SOOOO crazy busy with school. The fabulous part is that most of my projects were due before this thanksgiving break so I should be able to completely relax even though my brain keeps thinking it should be stressing about something.

Last night when Brandon was finally done working on the jeep (his senior project)we ate dinner and snuggled on the couch with David Archuletta's new Christmas album in the background. Man, I have missed Brandon so much.Its so nice to be able to spend time with him. School definitely takes a toll on the quality time we get to spend together.

This is a little random but it's kinda been on my mind. So as usual, last night in my figure drawing class we were listening to someones ipod. However it was unusually offensive and obnoxious. All of us just sat there drawing in silence, many of us praying that the next song would be a little more bearable. I kept laughing out loud because I couldn't take the music seriously. Now you have to understand that if we were listening to someones play list and a country song came on there would be a huge uproar. But somehow when music is completely inappropriate everyone thinks they need to be open minded. It's a nice little trick Satan uses. So anyway I am sitting there knowing I am not okay listening to garbage and knowing that if my parents were there they would have spoken up long ago.A few lines from Elder Hollands testimony kept running thru my head...is it absolutely clear what I stand for? So, I finally got the guts up to ask if we could change the music. They did, but I felt my face going bright red. Why do I feel embarrassed sticking up for how I feel? I guess I just gotta keep at it. The more I do it the more comfortable I will become.

I see a light..... no I don't think I am dying

2009-11-15T19:27:00.003-07:00

Only 3 weeks till the end of the semester + finals week. Who's excited? You guessed it.. it's me. And do you want to know something else? Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I am going to make a few things for the dinner, ya know so I can get used to being in the kitchen before we graduate. Spaghetti, mac and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches probably won't cut it when I am home all day long. So, I am going to get a head start. Are you proud? Thought so. Can't wait for that delicious holiday to arrive. I hope to gain 5 pounds at least. Stuffing... mmmmmm.

I am dyin to try it!

2009-11-04T17:37:00.008-07:00

I just found out about these art projects and they sound AWESOME!

So, I had heard of encaustic painting but I never knew what it was. Well here is a home recipe for encaustic (hot wax). Heat up unwrapped crayons in separate tins (to keep the colors separate) on the stove and then paint with the melted wax. I saw a painting today and it looked and felt so cool. You can scratch out designs in it and/or layer the wax. Definitely want to give that a try ASAP.

I just found this image online to give you an idea. The one I saw in real life was WAY better.

This next project will have to wait but it sounds awesome. You make these by wrapping tape around your body. A middle school teacher had her class make these of themselves and they were displayed around the library and art room. They were displayed climbing walls, reading books and all kinds of things. That would be so much fun.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T12:37:00.006-06:00

Where in the world did October go? Everything since August is a blur to me. What a coincidence, that's when school started! Speaking of school I am in the lab right now trying... well not so much right this second... to focus on writing a paper that I should have started a LONG time ago. Woops, silly me.
So uh, I turned in my grad papers this week kinda exciting! This semester has been a pretty good one. Me and Melissa (we have every class together and have nearly become connected at the hip) have perfected the art of finding free food on campus. Ya, we get free aggie ice cream weekly. It's awesome.
I have been stressed silly this week and as a result have like 20 little cold sores on the side of my mouth. That's nice. The funny thing about stress is that once I do the stressful things it's no big deal. Let this be a lesson to me to just take things as they come. Hopefully that will prevent further blemishing and scarring of my beautiful face ;)
Wow I am pretty much rambling but I just needed a break from homework. The silence in this lab is deafening. Peace Out and have a marvelous Halloween.
Oh wait, I haven't decided on my costume for tonight but I am seriously considering being a victoria's secret model, after all, the unwritten rule says that Halloween night all standards are void and you can let your true scandalous self come to the surface. What do you think? Big Fat Joke. Sorry dad, I didn't mean to give you a heart attack. I mostly just think Halloween is such a weird holiday. Love the time of year, not so much the holiday- although, I did get work off today. Good thing I am spending my time wisely ;) K I am really out of here. Later.

BTW if you want to be able to view my blog and you haven't already sent me your email you'd better post it ASAP!

2009-10-07T15:04:00.003-06:00

My job right now consists of calling people back about a form they supposedly filled out online that indicated they were interested in taking online college classes. "I" ask them a bunch of questions about what they are interested in and why... yada, yada, yada.
As I was interviewing this guy this morning he was telling me about his life. He is nearly forty and has been working at fast food joints for most of his life. He has a criminal record from his teenage years and a suspended license from a DUI. Now he wants to go to school to become a counselor for people that are going through the same things he has and help them change their lives around. I was tearing up while he was telling me his story.
I love that we can come to our senses, even if it is a long way down the road in life and change our lives around. I love that we can become whoever we want to be whenever we seriously want to be that person. It got me thinking about the gospel too. Once we finally have our eyes opened about something it should be natural to share the cure with the next guy who is struggling through the same thing. So work was rewarding today... it's worth mentioning :)

The time has come!

2009-09-29T20:35:00.004-06:00

We are going private so hurry and let me know what your email is or by Halloween you aren't going to be able to enjoy this blog anymore:(

LOTOJA 2009

2009-09-10T21:02:00.014-06:00

I didn't get a wink of sleep. I kept trying to will my brain to shut down, but it kept turning over and over like an engine without a spark. My alarm went off, and I knew that the moment I'd been working for was here, but I didn't feel refreshed -- or ready. I gulped down as much oatmeal as I could without having it come back up, and we were off. There were 33 groups leaving at different times, for a total of about 2500 riders. I was the first Cat. 5 group to leave (there were a total of 4 Cat. 5 groups), and we were able to watch a few starts before I really had to start getting ready. After an obligatory visit to Ol' John Blue, a few seconds of "Hanging On" by Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and some Swedish Fish stashed in my back pocket, I was off to the races - or race as it were. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride, and although the morning was crisp, I was glad to be on my way. Two other members of the Penlee Logan Race Club Team were in my assigned pack, Mason Smith and Mike Adams. I had a blast shooting the breeze with Mason, and we each exchanged our ideas of how the race would play out, what we would need to do and where we would need to do it. About 10 miles down the road, those ideas were thrown out the window. In order to cram 33 different packs on one road and make it to Jackson Hole from Logan, you need to have them leave about 3 minutes apart. That's just the physics of it, but what ends up happening, is that three minute gap is all but dissolved in about 10 miles and there is an uber-peloton (uber meaning grandiose or huge and peloton being a group of riders) that forms and any resemblance of the original grouping is but a memory. I am lucky to be a part of a very talented team, and our pack was integrated with the Cat 4's and some other Cat 5 riders so I was able to ride with a myriad of extremely good cyclists. The first feed station in Preston was a nightmare. There were so many riders everywhere that mussette's and cyclists were flying everywhere. I just stopped, grabbed what I could from Dad and was off again. Apparently everyone else was able to get things quicker because I had to play catch-up to get the main peloton again, but we were intact going into Strawberry Canyon. It was probably my favorite part of the race riding through Strawberry. LOTOJA officials had shut off the highway for the race so for the most part it was just cyclists on the road. It was still that cool, crisp morning air, the legs were fresh, and I just sat in the pack and watched as the peloton, like a living organism of its own, weaved its way up the climb. Ovid, Montpelier and Geneva passed by without a glitch.

My one aspiration for the race other than finishing was to be the King of the Mountain, or the first up the climb over Salt River Pass. About 3.5 miles of 7% grade. I had planned my menu with a Sobe Energy because in the past, it gave a good kick -- the past being when I was racing about 7 years ago. Caffeine and I do not get along, and I cramped up right at the base of the climb. I said a prayer and I was blessed to be able to continue riding without a catastrophic cramp and get enough electrolytes in my system to keep going, but I lost the pack that had made the first 100 miles fly by.
The rest of the race was flat, windy and for the most part solitary. I tried to work with a few groups, but I didn't have a lot of kick by this point. Ironically, I remember thinking in Snake River Canyon that I had lugged a spare tube with me for nothing, when about 30 seconds later it turned out it wasn't for nothing after all. So, one flat, another group of riders and I was able to continue on.
I wasn't familiar with the final few miles of the course and it turned out to be to my detriment. I thought that a left hand turn was one of the final turns before the finish, so I just counted on the dwindling supply of Gatorade to fuel me over the final miles. I was about 10 miles off. AHHHHH! So I bonked, HARD. I downed two Clif bars in record time, and luckily, after my voracious eating frenzy, I still had all my fingers. I finished in 10:07:14.
I couldn't have done it without my amazing support crew, who fought crowds as hysterical as any found at a Hannah Montana concert. Dad - who somehow found a way to get the mussette to me, Tyson - my drop off point, Mom - who walked endless stretches of highway looking for the mussette, and my beautiful wife - photographer and cheering section extraordinaire.
So after three sets of tires, 3110 miles, 25 lost pounds, 171.05 hours, a million reassurances from Amy that I was indeed improving, and countless Swedish fish, I completed the LOTOJA -- 206 miles, 3 states, 1 day.
http://www.milliseconds.com/participants/final_list/division/94766