Fabulous Fillmores

HI Mel

2010-04-09T06:56:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had a wonderful friend named Melanie? I recommend it. :) Have a great day!

coming up for air

2010-02-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

Have you ever felt like you were going so fast and doing so many things that you find yourself drowning? Well, the last week I decided to come up for air. We moved November, then the holidays, major renovation of our baby's room, family visiting, traveling and whew time to take a breath. Last week I realized how out of control I felt in my own world. So, I pondered about my life, being a mother, my goals, what I want the most and....now I am breathing. The new year is always such a great time to re-evaluate, renew and remake goals. It took me a few weeks after New Years to really let it set in. So, I took charge, instead of realizing my weaknesses and hiding them making up excuses, I decided to master my life. So, here we go taking charge, making my goals, and keeping them, going for it, making it happen and loving the ride. It's okay that I have weaknesses, it gives me something to work on, a mountain to climb, something to pray about, something to ask for help about and a great way to grow.

Dalmatian Plantation

2009-11-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

Have you ever watched a movie over and over again until it has become a part of your subconscious, ever etching to come out. Who knew that the obsession started so early? I didn't even think that Anne, could watch TV; now I know. In the morning or after nap time, I know she is awake because there is a resounding, "aaah--ohh." This means that she has thrown her binki out of her crib. I pick her up and the first thing she says is, "ohhhh, woof woof," and points out of her room. She continues to point so that I will follow her directions. She points towards the living room and to the big front window. There is a large golden retriever across the street. She stands on the back of the couch 'woofing' at it. The first week we were here she thought it was a cougar and would growl at it. Now she knows its a big dog. After a few minutes of that, she points to the TV, looks at me with honest sweet eyes, calks her head to the side, extends her arm and hand and says, "Oh, woof woof woof." Meaning in her one year old smarty pants mind, "gee, mom, I am so cute, see (smile)... and because I am so sweet I should be able to watch 101 Dalmatians for the millionth time....yup!"

So for the past two weeks we have turned on the 'woof woof' movie at least once a day. She doesn't watch it unless the dogs are barking, she will read books play with toys and look up to see the dogs in action. Her favorite part is "The Twilight Bark." But now I find myself singing, "We'll have a Dalmatian Plantation, where our population can grow." I will be doing the dishes and just start whistling "If she doesn't scare you no evil thing will." I am even singing it my dreams. Seriously, disturbing. I thought I could persuade her with some other animal movies, thinking she would love them, Bambi was a big flop, Nemo, not interested. So for now we are stuck and I find myself saying, "I'm hungry mother, I really am," and "We'll find them before you can say, Bob's your uncle."

whew.....whew...and whew

2009-11-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

So, sorry that I haven't posted in a very long time.

We are in our new house and loving it. We've

been so busy packing and unpacking and then

being sick for two weeks on top of that, we're

bushed. So, were alive; pictures to come when

the pictures get up on the walls!!!

Happy Birthday Baby!

2009-09-15T09:18:00.001-07:00

Whew, this has been the fastest year of my life!

Saturday, my little baby turned 1 years old!!!

What happened to the last 12 months of my life...

well, there has been a lot of learning, crying,

developing, growing and that was just me.

No, seriously, this has been the best year of

our lives. Scott and I can hardly believe

that it went by so quickly. We are sooooo

grateful for the many tender mercies and answered

prayers. You would never ever know that Anne

was a premie baby. She is absolutely perfect.

Our little Miracle.

A year ago I sat in the NICU holding my perfect

little baby (7 weeks earlier than I thought I would);

I whispered to her that I was so excited to be her mom and

that I had so many things to teach her. Then an overwhelming

feeling came over me that, I would be the one learning

from her. How true that is. She has taught me so much

about love, laughter, letting things go, enjoying the

simplicity of life, how to listen to the Holy Ghost,

how to have greater patience and most especially

about true JOY!

She is a miracle in our lives daily. Her smile blesses my

heart thousands of times a day. We love her!

We are soooo very grateful that she is ours forever.

Being a mommy is the greatest blessing I have

ever enjoyed. Happy Birthday, Anne!

Above is Anne, one week old. Below is one year old.

Same outfit.

Anne had cousins, uncles, aunts and her grandparents

at her party. Thank you everyone for coming.

We love you!

She was so excited about all of her gifts. She gets

excited about the smallest things. I love that about her.

And I love that she loves her little baby doll and

kisses her all the time. What a cute little mini momma

She was such a lady about eating her cake, she

would take a little frosting flower one at a time

and taste it. She got into it, but still was a lady

about the whole thing.

Oh, they say when you marry in... August!?

2009-08-20T09:00:00.001-07:00

Hip- Hip- Hooray! Cassie and John were married

last week! Whew! It was a beautiful day, a little ...okay, a lot windy.

This is them leaving the reception. They are were sooo happy

and ready to move on to married life. Cassie looked so

beautiful. I don't think I have ever cried so much during

a wedding before. Shhhhhesh, I guess it is different when

it is your own sister getting married.

She was married in the Logan Temple. So, we were

able so see some friends from there. It was especially fun to

see Danielle; she was a YW leader for both Cassie and me.

I don't think that your YW leaders ever know how much they

mean to you. Sooooo, Danielle, I love you bunches.

Thank you for loving all of us YW! There are not words to express

enough thanks. We were so crazy thanks for loving us through it all:

especially, late nights at girls camp, hundreds of Sunday lessons,

singing, hundreds of mutual activities and etc. Mostly,

thank you for letting us into your heart, we could feel it.

You are amazing!!!

Of course Scott spent the majority of the day taking pictures of

his favorite girl, Anne.

Cassie was so funny, she wanted to wear her dress

all the day and she did. She wore it in the temple, out

for pictures, to the luncheon, on the drive back to I.F.(2 1/2 hrs),

went mini golfing in it, then to the reception, and jumped

on the tramp at the reception, too.! Way to go Sista,

get the wear out of that baby, you'll never be able to wear again.

My sister Clarissa and I were bridesmaids, and we had

very pretty dresses that many people complimented.

But they were poofy, we called them our fru-fru-cupcake dresses.

But it was really fun! She is the bestest littlest sista ever. She is

also the best babysitter ever. She is amazing with Anne.

Besides Scott and I, Aunt Rissy-Do-Da is her fav.

That is my brother John, he is also an awesome uncle and Anne

is starting to like playing with him too.

What a blessing to be near family.

By the end of the day this is how Anne felt. No, actally,

she is just showing off her teeth and growling at Daddy.

It was a wonderful day!!! Thanks Cassie and John !

Thank you to every one who helped and came to support.

If there is one thing that I know... it is that families

can be together forever! I know it, through my entire

being. I know that those of our family that have

passed before us are not lost forever, we will see

them again. It is true... families can be together forever.

Watching as Cassie and John created their new family

as they were married was so... so... nope no words,

wonderful... nope not enough... the plan of true and

forever happiness at its best.

It was so fun to have Joseph (my oldest bro.) and his

sweetheart of a wife there too, Jill. She is so fun! It was

some what ironic to have her be so prego at Cassie's,

wedding, when exactly a year earlier I was just as prego

at their wedding. Yeah, for new babies.

"It's the circle of life..." hahahhahahahah

wow time to be done.

Oh, what do you do in the Summer time?

2009-08-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

Do you go to family reunions?

Where you play the piano with great-grand cousins?

Do you turn 10 months old, 11 next week?

Do you play with Daddy outside at reunions?

Do you have pie eating contests at reunions?

Do you play on the slip n' slide in your clothes cause it's real HOT?

Do you love time with mom?

Do you go to girls camp?

Or swim in a pool, soaking up your diaper?

Or make homemade root-beer at a family bbq and swim party?

Do you make fun of Daddy and Grandpa sitting in the pool?

So do I.........

We are alive!

2009-06-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

We were a little M.I.A. in the blogging world. I just

didn't have the motivation to actually blog. But hopefully

we are back. We've been super busy with our sweet not so

baby anymore. She is moving and grooving all the day long.

She gets on her hands and knees to crawl but chooses to

scoot because it is faster. She is always wanting to stand

and walk. If she is grumpy all you have to do is stand

her next to something and she is good for at least 20 min.

She walks around the coffee table, loves to hold onto the couch

and has figured out how to go from one to the other. Yikes!

She is always sooo happy! We are soo blessed

to have her as our constant ray of sunshine.

We are always finding her in crazy positions at night and

during nap times.

Also, other great news is that my little sister Cassie,

is getting married! Whahooo, to a great guy named John!

We love him, they are so great together.

They are getting married in the Logan Temple,

on Aug. 14, 2009.

Hooorraaaayyyyyy!

Scott and I had the great privilege of going on our

Stakes Youth Pioneer Trek. We were the Ma n' Pa

of our little family group. We were put into families, and then

into companies. It was soooo amazing. Neither of us had

ever had the opportunity to go on a pioneer trek. It was so

worth it! Our little family was unbelievably AMAZING!

We bonded together so quickly, honestly we had no choice.

The trek was quite difficult. The first day we went up some

very treacherous steep rocky hills. Just when we thought

that we couldn't make it to the top, we would, and then we

would see that there was an even higher hill to climb.

But the youth of Zion do not faulter. They never complained,

they never gave up, and the whole while, even when out of breath,

they sang. It down poured the next day for several hours, making

very thick sticky mud. But we all persevered. With rain ponchos

and muddy shoes and clothes we pushed onward and upward.

Two girls in our family sang and we joined them, and soon

so did the rest of our company. And although, we could have

been miserable, we were joyful, singing the songs of Zion we pressed

forward. It was a life changing experience for all of them. They

quickly appreciated the trials of our pioneer ancestors. They

also realized the easiness of our trail, we had water, food waiting

for us all day long, we were strong and healthy, and the trek was

only 3 days. But it was just difficult enough to help them realize

that they too, can make it through their own trails and the

trek of life that they have been given. The Spirit of the Lord

was so strong, the experience humbling to say the least.

It was beautiful to see the youth realize their testimonies, to

realize that they can be pioneers in our day.

One of the life changing experiences for me was when another,

Ma from our ward shared her favorite line of

"Come, Come Ye Saints."

It says: "Tis, better far for us to strive, our useless cares

from us to drive."

I reflected on that over and over on the trek and the

days since. What are the useless cares in my life, that I

need to drive away. On the trek, we were all the same. It

didn't matter what you looked like, what color your dress was,

how much money you or your parents made, what your tent

looked like, what your favorite show was, what car you drive.

We all had to push up the hills together, unified in a purpose.

Do we not today hear the words of a prophet, do we not

all share the same purpose, to make is back to our Heavenly

Father and Savior. Our trek today is physically different, but

we have the same faith that led them onward daily. We

too are pioneers. In the words of a primary song:

"You don't have to push a handcart, leave your family dear,

or walk a thousand miles or more to be a pioneer.

You do have to have great courage, faith to concur fear,

and work with might for a cause that's right to be a pioneer."

Florida Sunshine

2009-04-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

6 months yeah!

2009-03-13T10:28:00.001-07:00

Anne one week old 4 lbs. 11 oz. 17.5 ich.

Anne 6 months old, laying next to the purple outfit above

15.4 lbs. and 25.5 inch.

One week old

6 months old

A few weeks ago I was holding Anne at church. A man

leaned over and asked me, "Is that what a miracle

looks like?" Without hesitation I said emphatically, "YES!"

She is our beautiful miracle. I can't believe how much she

has grown, how quickly she has learned and what joy she

brings to us daily. She truly is our miracle!!

From her early start (seven wks early) she was a miracle.

From the moment my water broke, all that I cared

about was that she was okay. I will never be able to put

into words the joy and relief I felt when our Dr. asked

if I wanted to see her. He lifted her up over the curtain

(i had and emergency c-section) and I saw her for the first

time. She was screaming and I was so glad that she was

breathing. Truly a miracle. She hasn't had any problems,

any lasting health concerns. She is an absolute angel, the joy

of our lives. Scott never worried about her. He knew

everything would work out. Maybe, he has more faith then

I do, but I worried for her, only as a mother can. When

she was in the NICU for 20 days I thought we would

never be able to be home. The future wasn't even in my

mind, I only cared that she was breathing. Those 20 days

seemed to be forever and now looking back, they were

only a moment. At first I almost felt terrified to hold her,

and now I walk in the room and she squeals with delight,

wagging her hands and arms at me, smiling her big

toothless grin, wanting me to pick her up.

Anne means = Grace of God.

I have felt His Grace, each moment with her:

every prayer, every cry, kiss, smile, laugh, tickle.

Each day a gift.

2009-03-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

She is the cutest baby in town. Sunday is a great day because she wears cute dresses.

Anne loves her food. She is still learning how to swallow instead of pushing it out of her mouth with her tongue.

This was on Feb. 19. She is learning how to talk.

She is learning new tricks all of the time. She is growing up so fast.

posted by a very proud daddy

Fire

2009-02-25T07:44:00.000-08:00

Last night I ran to the store for some milk. As I turned on my street heading home, I was shocked to see fire trucks, flashing lights and firemen. I was instantly concerned for our friends and neighbors in the building next to ours. You could smell electricity in the air and a hint of smoke. The power was out in the two buildings down from us. A moving truck had hit the power lines and caused a power surge, and hot spots broke out in the apartments. Thankfully everyone was safe.

One of the apartments in the basement started flooding because their water heater was the direction that the electricity went needing to be grounded. Yikes! They were going to be moving today anyway, so their house was full of boxes. Almost immediately the Elder's quorum was in action. Moving all of their possessions out. While they were moving things out smoke started coming from the basement ceiling and raising quickly through the upstairs floor. The men continued to work as quickly as possible (some wonderful women too).

I got nervous watching as the smoke started pouring out of the doors. Especially when I watched, Scott and a few others continue to pull out things from the apartments entering the smoke until the firemen wouldn't allow them back in. Luckily, the firemen were able to contain the movement of the fires and nothing was really burned. But the apartments were torn apart.

As I watched the acceleration of the smoke billowing out, I wondered if we were in danger of being evacuated. I thought quickly about what I would take. My first thoughts were only of Anne and Scott. Nothing mattered more to me than their safety. Then I thought of things that Anne would need, blankets a few clothes. Then I thought of our computer that is filled with pictures, then my journals. What would you take?

In a way I felt completely helpless. It was really cold outside and Anne was ready for bed. I sat in my house rocking her to sleep while Scott and a few others brought in some of our neighbor's important possessions: family pictures and computer towers. I so badly wanted to go out and hug my neighbors while they watched from the church across they street. How would I feel if it was my apartment going up in smoke?Would I cry? But I had to stay and care for my baby while everything was moving outside.

It made me very grateful for several things. One was for the organization of the church. In minutes the men in our ward were gathered, large trucks and trailers assembled to help move our neighbors out of their apartment. These everyday dads and men you see at church became heros. At one point during the night I looked out my window and saw a band of these men marching forward together with purposeful expressions on their faces. The elders quorum pres. in the front, as if leading them to battle. In my mind I pictured him leading them to battle sword in hand, the title of liberty waving, prepared to protect the families and homes of our ward. Yes, I am a little dramatic, but seeing this brought tears to my eyes. It made me grateful for the priesthood brethren and for their heroics of everyday life. I saw these simple wonderful men taking care of a crisis with dedication, smiles on their faces and a willingness to do all that was required.

It made me want to thank my hero, my own strippling warrior for the small and the large things he does for us daily. Things like waking up early to scrape everyone's sidewalks and dust them with ice melt, for getting ready in the morning with only the bathroom light glowing into our room so I can still sleep, for eating a bowl of oatmeal nearly every morning because he doesn't want to wake me knowing I was up with the baby; for taking out the garbage, putting gas in the car, and loving me.

Also, I was grateful for the women who I knew were inside the church caring for the families now without homes. Beautiful!

I was also grateful for skilled firemen and others who helped. They were great! And now I am grateful for the experience, the emotions, gratitude, and etc.

When Scott finally came in, after it was finished, around midnight, he was tired but so happy to have served. He continued his thoughtfulness about me; knowing that I am definitely a worrier, he made sure that I was okay before he threw his smoky clothes into the washer and got ready for bed. WOW!! We are all so blessed. What a sad night but good at the same time. We have much to be grateful for! Our prayers and thoughts to go our friends who have lost their home and some of their things to smoke damage. We are so glad that you are safe!

Time flies when you're having fun!

2009-02-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

this is what happens when I leave to go to Wal-Mart

for a 1/2 hour. When mommy is away,

daddy and the baby will play.

Can you say... a little too much stimuli.

last week Scott came up with a fun idea for our date.

We went to the store and had to find the entire alphabet

for as cheep as possible. using only the brand

name and flavor of the product.

We found it for only $2.51

Kind of silly but it was super fun!

Happy 5 months last week!! Whaahooo!

I haven't felt much like blogging the

last few weeks. But we are grrrreat!

We spent the last weekend with Scott's family.

We visited his grandma Fillmore and took

some four generation pictures. She is such a hoot.

Mostly we have been singing, laughing, learning

new tricks, trying to sit-up, growing and growing!

Anne thinks that she must hold conversations while

she is eating, especially if anyone else in the room

is talking. She refuses to be left out! She thinks

that her mommy and daddy are pretty funny.

And she has the lower pouty lip trick down to an

art. She never really cries, she just screams really

high pitched until she get what she wants...oh, great!

I am glad that she is not a crier, but I may experience

early hearing loss. Really she is a sweetheart who is

always happy. We can't believe that five months have

past so quickly. Anne and I are now "mall walkers"!

I go walking in the morning with my mom and since

we live in good'ol Idaho we have no choice but to

walk indoors. But really it's like an obstacle course;

weaving in and out of all the old folks. It is 2.5 miles

if you walk 4x around the mall. Who knew? Besides

one crazy fast lady we are the fastest "mall walkers"

in town. Anne loves to ride in her stroller.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-07T16:56:00.001-08:00

We celebrated our 6 year Anniversary on

Sunday, Dec. 28th

And this year we celebrated by blessing our

beautiful Anne. It's a good thing to

because she was getting too big for the

blessing dress that I made for her.

We are so grateful for the past 6 years.

Scott is the best decision that I have ever

made; he continues to surprise me with

enduring love. I love you will all my heart,

Scott!!! Thank you for the most wonderful

6 years of our lives. Eternity is the only

time long enough to be together!

It was so fitting to have Anne blessed

on our special day!

She is beautiful! We decided

sort of quickly to have her blessed

that day. Some of Scott's family was

going to be able to come on their

way home from Christmas vacation so

we just did it! We wanted to invite so

many other people. We didn't end up

inviting any friends. Sorry friends.

We love you so much! But the weather was

so terrible we didn't want anyone to

risk coming. Please, don't be sad.

This is Anne's name sake, her middle

name is after my beautiful Grammie.

We got soooo much snow for Christmas,

it was sooo much fun! Here is Scott and my little

Sis. having a snow boulder fight.

Merry Christmas!

Anne was a fantastic baby Jesus!

Except for the times that she wanted to be

eating, like when Mary (me) was supposed

to be conversing with the angel. oh, well

we hid her under my garb.

This is a four generation picture with

my Grandma and mom. So special!

I never met any of my great grandparents.

Christmas morning was fun! Anne

got a lot of fun new toys. But all the

excitement tired her out!

My awesome mom made all of us

girls Christmas PJs.

This is Christmas morning

without much sleep. Yikes don't look too closely.

I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas,

and that your 2009 will be the best year ever.

Thankful

2008-12-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

Anne loves to look at her books with her daddy.

Hooray, Anne's first Christmas pjs, that probably

wont fit her by Christmas. But they are super cute.

This Sunday was Anne's first time at church. The dr. wants us

to keep her away from crowds of people during the winter

because of flu season. But we wanted to go to church as

a family. I have really missed going to church it was so

wonderful to sit as a family. She slept through the whole

meeting and only peeked her eyes open during the

singing. The organ was really loud.

Thank goodness for my mom being close, Anne and

I escape to her house about once a week to play.

I don't think Grandma minds a all. We've sewed

her blessing dress and our Christmas stockings during

our get-a-ways. It is so wonderful to have her close.

I was planing on writing a Thanksgiving blog but didn't have

time before we left for Thanksgiving.

We have been so abundantly blessed! I am soo grateful to

our Heavenly Father for His tender mercies!

Going through the year:

January: for the amazing amounts of snow!

February: for the answer to thousands of

prayers over five years, we were able to be pregnant

March: so grateful for a great couch to crash on pregnancy = tired!

April: for a fun trip to Wyoming, job hunting and

for the guidance of the Holy Ghost, although

we didn't understand we followed and are

so grateful for the job found in Rexburg it

has been a huge blessing.

May: for fun together and for the first

pictures of our baby

June: sharing our time with a few nephews

who came to work on Scott's landscaping crew

and for a starting a super fun series of books

that made the time pass quickly

July: four family reunions....whew! We

are so grateful for Eternal families and the wonderful

relationships that we have with all of our family.

August: my brother getting married and again

for a comfy couch to crash on.

September: for absolute MIRACLES!!

For our beautiful daughter, Anne

for amazing hospital staff, wonderful doctor,

for feeding tubes, incubators, NICU, for my amazing

family who cared for our every need!! For my amazing

rock of a husband who held me up through all of the craziness!!

For perfect timing, divine intervention, for an amazing body

that knows how to heal, care for itself and create nutrients

for our baby. Truly amazing! For prayer of family and friends.

For a baby shower that supplied us basically for Anne's

entire first year! Mostly for a loving Savior, who's arms

I felt around me in our time of need! For the gift of prayer,

for the gift of the scriptures, for blessings, for peace, for

love, for patience, and so many other things my heart

cannot put into words.

October: for being able to bring our baby home! For

family to visit us and give us support, for continued answered prayers.

For Anne being able to transition from, tubal feedings-to bottle

and now being able to nurse. For her weight gain and my loss.

For the joys and happiness of being in our own home together.

For the spud harvest break and my hubby being home for 2 1/2

weeks with us! And days with my sweet mother in law.

November: For continued answered prayers, for first smiles,

rolling over, tonz of diapers, first shots,Thanksgiving break.

December: lots of happy smiles and coos, still lots of diapers,

for Christmas lights, decorations, beautiful music, first date with

my hubby since Anne was born, a dozen red roses. The birth

of our Savior and the focus of the season. For family togetherness,

happy memories. And soon to be the 6 year anniversary of

Scott and I being married! Halleluia for ever for that!

2008-12-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

I haven't followed through with a tag in a long time to here goes...

Here are 10 questions to answer about you and your sweetheart:

1. Where did you first meet your sweet heart? I met my sweet heart on his front step, 45 min. after he arrived home from serving a mission in Canada. I was with one of his high school friends.

2. What do you remember about him/her the most? He was still wearing his suit. He bounded down the steps and jumped into his friends arms. I was taken back by his charming smile, his glowing ora and his gentleman like behavior, asking who I was and treating me like a friend instantly. He was GLOWING! He still glows!

3. Who asked who out first? Well this is kind of complicated because our first official date was after we were already dating...does that make sense. Not really! So, I guess he did. But actually, about a month and 1/2 before that, I called him to ask if he would accompany me to his home town to visit a mutual friend who had recently been in a serious car accident. We spent the entire 1 1/2 hr drive talking about his family, singing and getting to know each other. I was slyly trying to impress him while learning all I could about him. haha

4. What did you do on your first date? First official date, ate at Arbys (can't go wrong with curly fries, yum!) We played silly games in the park with a bunch of other friends. I had a meeting in the middle, he did some laundry while I was at the meeting and then he picked me up after for ice cream at DQ. Silly first date considering we'd spent all of our free time the past few months together including an amazing 3 day backpacking trip with some other friends up the Alaskan Basin in the Tetons. It rocked.

5. What was your favorite thing to do together when you were dating? Talking probably: on the phone, while hiking, taking walks, traveling etc.

6. When was your first kiss with your sweetheart? A few min. after he proposed... he said, "Can I ask you another question?" "Can I give you a kiss?" I said..... YYYYEEEEESSSSSSSSS! I was his first kiss ever! Love it!

7. When did you first realize you loved him/her? I think that I knew I loved him much earlier than I consciously realized or admitted it. Consciously, it was during a training retreat for my job, at a cabin located close to Driggs, ID. We were doing some 'getting to know you' games and the question was... Have you ever been in love? I looked up at the majestic Teton moutains, realized that I really did love Scott ,and said, '"YES"

8 Who said it (I love you) first? He totally did! He said it after a trip to Utah to visit my family. It took me a lot longer to say it out loud. Poor guy would say "I love you" every time we were together and I couldn't muster up the courage to reciprocate, until about a week before he proposed.

9. How did s/he propose? He took me, a long with a large group of roommates, sister and friends to his hometown. I had suggested a few weeks earlier that we should sneak away from the group for a sunset or sunrise, just to be alone. He totally forgot that I had suggested that. So, Sat. morning Sept. 28. 02' he woke me up really early and drove me up into the mountains. I thought that this had been my idea. He was so calm and collected I didn't even think that he would propose. I wanted him to, but I was stunned when he did. We watched the sky as it turned colors. (Seriously the most perfect and beautiful sunrise I had ever seen). He proposed just as the sun crested! I said, "YES"! I would say it again and again and again.

10. What are two things you remember most about your wedding? I remember that I got my hair done and it was terrible. I am talking seriously horrific. When I walked through the door at my parents house after getting it done and no on said anything... they just stared. I had to quickly wash it, re-do quickly! Yikes!! And then I remember walking out of the brides dressing room and seeing Scott standing down the hall way. I think that I was floating. He was so handsome, smiling looking at me like I was the best thing he had ever seen. It was so wonderful!

Now Tag at least three people: I tag, Candra, Diana, Kari, Chelsea, Cassie, Lacey, and anyone else who is feeling a little cheesy today!

2008-11-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

Our wonderful girl is growing up. She did this on her own about 5 times today. She has been very strong since she was born and she is just getting stronger. She is now over two months old (this means that she is only 3 1/2 weeks from her due date). We love her so much.

Scott

2008-11-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

We really didn't get into Halloween this year.

But Anne sure looked cute in her Halloween outfits.

Thank you Aunt Jill, Uncle Joseph and Melanie!

She had a cute little hat but didn't want it on her head.

We are just in love with her, we've (mostly Scott)

have taken probably too many pictures of her.

We love it!

she's gettin' some chub

2008-10-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

I am so comfortable!

Listen Bub, I want my milkies right now and

I don't want to hear another word about it.

Mom, you ate what for dinner...oh, great!

I am an angel!

I love to snuggle with grandpa, even if

it is on the floor.

Baby Cakes

2008-10-15T06:58:00.001-07:00

Silly Baby!

Hello, Daddy! Look how strong I am.

Hi, Grandma thanks for the cute shirt

One Month old whew!

Life's Simple Moments

2008-10-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how simple life can become:

eat, sleep, poop! We've gone back to the

basics you could say. That is basically our

life right now and so the seemingly simple

has become some of the more

beautiful moments of our lives.

One night after being awake for a long time in the

early morning, Anne finally was settling down.

I had her cuddled up in my arms ready to lay

her in her cradle, she started smiling. She

smiled several times (okay okay probably gas but still),

it was so beautiful. Swells of love filled my heart and

out my eyes as I realized again, what a miracle she is.

She was the answer to thousands of faith filled prayers,

years of waiting and then more miracles still.

The name Anne means: Grace of God. How

true that is in our life. Even though I was so tired

that morning it didn't matter, I held her longer,

believing those smiles were just for me.

Another beautiful moment was this morning,

I went back to bed. As I started drifting back to sleep

I heard Scott, doing the dishes, making french toast,

singing "Let it snow" (which it just did, but didn't stick),

and talking to our baby. I fell asleep smiling!!!!!!

Honestly, what more could you want on a Saturday morning.

We're Home!

2008-10-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

We are HOME!!!

On Wednesday, Anne, ate all of

her feedings and so on Thursday, evening

we all came HOME!!!

She is doing great! And we are loving

being home all together at last!

Our hearts are sooo thankful!

Love is the most amazing thing; there

is always room for more of it in your heart.

My heart feels like the grinches, since

this miracle my heart has grown several sizes.

My love for Scott, Anne and a loving

Heavenly Father has grown more deeply and

in ways that I never realized were possible.

Also, the love and gratitude for my loving

parents has grown as I am beginning to understand

the love that only a parent can feel.

WOW!

Although, the last few weeks have been absolutely crazy;

we have felt the arms of the Lord wrapped around us, lifting

us, guiding us and giving us comfort.

Angels have truly surrounded us. And as Elder Holland said in

conference today, many of those angels have been

people who have been the answers to our prayers.

One angelic figure has been my mom. She has intensively

cared for us for the last few weeks and there are not

words or adequate thanks that can be given.

Love you MOM!

Wonder of Wonder.... miracles of miracles!

2008-09-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Anne just a few hours after she

was born. We have jumped through so many hurdles.

When I say "we" I actually mean Anne, and the help of

Heavenly Father!! She no longer has an IV, or her incubator.

She can hold her own temperature, her Jaundice is no

longer threatening so no more lights; her stats are

perfect. All that she needs to do is keep resting, growing and

learning how to eat orally, instead of through a tube.

She is getting it!! The doctors say she is so perfect and

that she will one day just get it. It is a developmental

response to be able to eat orally, you can't teach it, it will

just come in time. So now we wait, and go to the hospital

every three hours for her feedings. She does some on breast,

bottle and through her tube. Whewwww! We are tired but

extremely happy and GRATEFUL! She is so beautiful!

Scott is so amazing with her. He has been so strong through

all of this. He has cared for me and her night and day!

It will be so exciting when Anne gets to come home.

Hopefully within a week or two! Hurray!!!

This is under the billy light, aren't her glasses awesome!

She's got a strong sucker! Go, Anne you can do it!

She has a little curl in her hair. How fun!

Scott would hold her 24-7 if he could. She loves her Daddy!

Daddy and baby asleep.

Saturday we had our baby shower. Anne wasn't

really supposed to be there anyway. It was sooo fun.

It wore me out! With a few special surprises from

some old friends. Thank you Hillary for coming and bringing

your mom! It was sooooooo gooood to see you and

everyone else who came!

This picture is a little out of order.

This is when she was only a few days old.

But I love the look on her face....

I think we'll have our hands full! ha ha ha

My grandma came up for the shower.

4 generations! WOW

We truly feel so blessed and have felt the strengthening

power of the spirit. We know that we are being watched

over. One of my biggest comforts was when my

favorite scripture came to mind.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine

own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths.

My family has been unbelievably amazing, especially my mom!

While I am intensively caring for Anne, my mom has been

intensively caring for me!

Thank you for your comments and especially your prayers!

Our Miracle, ANNE!!

2008-09-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

Surprise! This is our beautiful daughter, ANNE!

WOW! We sure didn't expect her to come so early.

Friday, morning at 5:45 my water broke. We called

the doctor, rushed to the hospital, with water rushing

down my legs. I was dilated to a 6, wow and little

Anne was shoving her way out with her legs. About

30 min. later I was at a 10 and going in for an emergency

c-section. And at 7:42 our Anne came into the world.

She came out screaming at 5 lbs 5 oz.

She is doing pretty well but will have to be in the NICU

for a few weeks. She was only 33 weeks along. She has

lost some weight, but is doing really well for her age.

We feel so blessed to have this sweet little angel baby.

I guess she just wanted to come and see us so badly.

She knows our voices and calms down when ever she

is upset if we talk to her or touch her. Every time

Scott talks to her she looks around for him.

She is so cute. We are absolutely in love with her.

Thank goodness for my amazing family and parents

who have been helping so much and amazing hospital staff!!!!!!

She is doing well but has a long way to go, please,

dear family and friends keep her in your prayers.

Are we nuts or what?

2008-08-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Whew we have been sooo crazy...

family reunion in Rexburg with adventures to Bear World,

another family reunion in Palisades with river rafting and

excursions into Jackson Hole, Girls Camp, and

Scout Camp, my brother Jeremy getting his mission call,

long lost friends visiting from Illinois, a week full

of my brother Joseph's wedding (haven't posted pictures yet),

Scott started teaching school at Madison High in Rexburg,

a week at my parent's when they went to Georgia for the

other half of my brother's wedding stuff, camping in

my parents back yard; they couldn't go any where

because of scheduling difficulties so we camped out there.

It was super fun, we ate dutch oven, cooked on camp stoves

and even my mom slept outside all the night. WOW!

Plus, I am getting huge! Hurray only 8 weeks away! Yikes

Anyhow we've been sort of busy! Here are some

pictures from some of the adventures. We forgot our camera a lot.

F.F.F.R= fabulous fillmore family reunion

2008-07-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

We didn't take a ton of pictures but this is my favorite.

Scott's big brother, Brad flying down the slip-in-slide.

Only 2/3 of the family was in town, but it was

so much fun. All the nieces and nephews are getting

so big! We played games in the Mountains, so fun!

I looked at this picture of myself and

thought... "Holy Honk I am pregnant!"

Oh, and here is Scotty.

We had a super great 4th!

We attended a concert that was

put on by the little town of Rockland.

Scott's mom sang in the choir.

I cannot help but to shed a few tears when

we sing the national anthem; especially the last verse:

"And this be our motto: 'In God is our Trust.'"

I hope that we choose to remember the divine

powers that set forth this nation,

"Under God, with Liberty and Justice for All."

Also, I cannot help but to shed even more tears

when our dear vets stand up with their hands

on their hearts. We owe them so much and I

am grateful for them and the thousands who

have fought for our freedom and continue to fight.

God Bless AMERICA Land that I LOVE!

2008-06-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Confession....

I have spent the last four days totally immersed in these FABULOUS BOOKS!

I have always had this silly attitude that if everyone else loves a certain

book series I will avoid it entirely. I did the same thing with the Harry Potter

series.I was convinced that if everyone was in love with it I wasn't going to be.

Of course until I was lovingly coaxed by my sister to read them.

I read them all so fast! And then waited in anticipation for book 6 &7 to come

out. I didn't attend the midnight book releases. But I was unavoidably

out of town. But I wanted to be there. Geek?!? Possibly.

So when my friend Liz, said that I HAD TO READ TWILIGHT!

I decided to have a whack at it!!!!

All I have to say is that these three books are AMAZING!!!!

I was absolutely, irrevocably hooked after three pages. The author is

a genius. And today after I finished the third book, it was like I was

depressed and I wanted so badly for the books to continue. AHHH

So 36 days from now the fourth book comes out and I will be lost

again in the romantic adventures within the pages.

If you haven't read them.... give in... you will LOVE THEM!!!!!!

???????? What is your vote ?????

2008-06-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

Welp, we had our next doctor visit, and now the doctor thinks that our baby is a girl. Whoops... I figure we will find out for sure when we actually get to meet the baby. So, for now we wait. So funny. Our Dr. said that he would check again. The baby is breach right now and it was really difficult to get the right angle. The cord was going right between the babies legs, so the ultra-sound we had at 16 weeks could be a mistake, he could have just seen the cord. But everything in the ultra-sound checked out perfectly. All the organs and systems seem to be working correctly, and that is the most important thing. Hurray for being over half way there, I can't believe how fast time flies!

So, we are taking votes... girl or boy??????

Baby Bump

2008-06-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

Well we are just about half way there!

Whew! And I think our little dude is learning

to tap dance or probably something more

masculine. I can feel him moving all the time.

I love it and any time I make a face like he is

moving, like lightening Scott has his hand on

my belly. He can't really feel it from the outside

yet, but boy I feel it on the inside.

WOW, kind of a big surprise!

2008-05-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

We had a super fun Memorial Day!

We took Scott's new frisbee golf set out

and had a ton of fun. Definitely recommend

getting into frisbee golf, it was awesome.

Then we played catch and had a little picnic,

but a thunderstorm breezed in and caught us

unawares. We had to make a mad dash to

our car, I was laughing so hard I could barely run.

Oh, and last Thursday

we had a doctor's appointment, and he being

our good friend always wants to take pictures

of our baby. So we got to find out that.....

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!

Scott was glowing, it was so cute! He kept saying

"I knew it, I knew it!" I wasn't really prepared to

know and so I was a little stunned, we were

planning on finding out in June. It was so much

more real that we are having a son, not just a

lima bean in an ultrasound...we are having a son.

Wew! We are super excited. I would have put

the ultra sound on but, it is hard to tell on the

pictures printed. But he looks awesome!

Wedding Bells

2008-05-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

HipHip Hooray for Vicki and Jesse

Scott's baby sister was married yesterday!

It was an absolutely beautiful day,

everything was blooming. And Vicki

and Jesse were beaming! We were all sooo

thrilled to come together for the last

temple wedding of the Fillmore family!

(until the grandkids start going, but we have a few years)

These are my beautiful sister-in-laws!

Barbara on the left, Vicki, Tammy and Amy.

They are soooo much fun I am so grateful

that I am a part of this family.

And here are the handsome five brothers!

Scott is on the far left, then Doug, Craig,

Bride and Groom, Brad and Bryan!

I love these guys they are sooo much fun.

We didn't get that many pictures, but here

I am trying to ward off all the nieces and

nephews away from the punch bowl during

the reception; they were after

their fourths and fifth helpings.

What can I sayI made some awesome punch.

Our baby will be #27 of the Fillmore Family Grand kids

WOW! That is awesome, I guess that is what you get

with 9 original children. Whahoooo for fabulous Fillmores!

We love you!

Happy Birthday Mel!

2008-05-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to an amazing woman. My dear friend Melanie and I have been friends since January 2002. Wow I was quite the culture shock for her when she moved into the dorms! She had just joined the church and immediately I was impressed with her. She basically had left all that she ever knew and plunged herself right in the heart of mormondom. But we became quick friends and have shared a zillion and one memories together ever since. I tell her all the time that she should get a gold metal of friendship because I am terrible at keeping in contact with people ,but for years we have talked on the phone nearly every other day!

Some of my favorite memories with her:

Her thinking that I was a crazy nutter for being excited when a sick elderly friend of mine passed away. I didn't really explain that the reason I was so happy was that she was no longer in pain and now would be with her husband who had died 20 years earlier. She just thought I was a sicko who liked it when people died. So funny!
The DI dorm dance with us wearing ridiculous costumes!
The Sadie Hawkins and the terrible video (that we should burn) of us asking boys in our ward to the dance. It is called, "The Crock-a-date hunters." wow! Then we all decided to go to the dance as the same famous couples. So all the boys in our group were Tarzan and we were Jane. We made the upstairs dorm lounge into a jungle paradise. We had tropical fruit, huge plants, waterfall, jungle music, a roasted pig (okay a ham that we carved into a pig shape soo funny)! We were nuts and I don't think that the boys even knew how much preparation and money we had spent. But hey, it was really fun!
We've had a lot of crazy cooking catastrophes.
Last summer she and I and our friend Andrea had a girlfriend weekend. It was sooo much fun. We swam late at night, watched movies and ate too much junk, went to a wedding, played at an arcade place, dressed up cute, cried, laughed, ate at a funky Ti food restaurant at 11:00 pm down town SLC, played with our favorite BYU-I mentor, Berg and simply had a blast.
We've shared hilarious phone calls, mostly where instead of helping her find solutions we end of laughing at ourselves.
She sends the most creative gifts! She always finds these awesome trinkets from all of her moving adventures: alligator jerky, coconut monkey, and dozens more. She is so creative!
We've shared lots of tears, laughs, tears and a lot more laughs.

These are only a few of the fantastic things that make up the memories of my fab friend, Mel.

Melanie, is seriously one of the most amazing people that I have known. She is a modern day pioneer who has endured much and continues to remain faithful and strong. She holds to her convictions and faith in circumstances when many would crumble. She stays positive through hardships and looks forward to how she can make better for herself and situation. Truly, she is the most caring and devoted friend. She never forgets special occasions, is thoughtful about conversations and feelings of others. She is a true giver, she is only happy when she is serving and giving to others. She lives to give! Also a true patriot, I don't know anyone who is more supportive of our troops (possibly because she loves men in uniforms:)). She is also always willing and ready for some fun; no one likes a thrill better than her. And mostly I just love her, she is super-dee-duper-dee great. I am grateful that we are such good friends; she has helped me grow in ways that I never knew possible and she has helped me to find gratitude in every situations. She rocks! Happy Birthday, Malaneey Mcdoogal

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-12T07:54:00.001-07:00

WOW Happy Mother's Day! I can't believe how

big I am already. Whew.. only 16 weeks.

Ok ok my sister's and I were having a little

too much fun yesterday with some pillows.

It was interesting having my first "real" mother's day!

It is still so surreal to me, that we are going to be

parents, that I am going to be a Mother!

As I was thinking about it yesterday, I realized that I

am not afraid because, I have such and amazing mother.

She sacrificed everything for us, she

gave everything and more for her children and continues

to give. She taught us how to be who we really are, to

have testimonies, to stand for what is right, to help, share,

give, to have fun, play and work really hard. She is an angel!

I am so grateful for her love, for her friendship and that she

will be my child's grandmother.

Also, without this hunk I wouldn't be a soon-to-be

mother! He is my everything and I am so blessed to be

on this journey by his side. He is going to be the best Dad

in the world! Also, because of him there are some other

amazing women in my life! His mother is so awesome and

I am truly blessed to have her as one of my closest friends;

as well as his sisters and sis-in-laws!

I have truly been surrounded by faithful women my entire life!

And I hope to live up to all that they have taught me!

Just a little update

2008-04-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I blogged! But this little baby

has sure made me tired. But I am starting to feel a little more

energetic. The ultrasound on the left is from our 9 week appointment:

It is in 3-D so it kind of looks funny, Scott's mom said,

"Oh, it looks just like Scott." He said, " I look like a lima bean?"

The one on the right is from 13 weeks (last week) the doctor

couldn't find the heart beat so he wanted to do another

ultrasound. I was excited about the ultrasound, but terrified

that something was wrong. I can't tell you how relieved I

was when I saw a little head and arm moving on the screen.

Hurray!!! The bottom picture on the right is a 3-D too!

Our doctor loves taking 3-D pictures!

We are so excited that everything is going well

and that the baby seems healthy! Hurray

Happy Birthday to Scott, last Saturday!

27 years old! WOW

Love You!

A few weeks ago Scott and I went on a weekend

excursion to Wyoming! I was not feeling well

but it was so beautiful. We saw sooo many animals,

100s of elk, deer and about 15 moose! It was awesome!

During the Priesthood session of conference the girls

get together for some fun girly time.

We gave each other pedicures.

Here we are soaking our feet in my mom's tub,

and of course we get to watch a chick flick while

we paint our toe nails!

And we always make a bunch of pies to enjoy

when the boys get back from their meetings.

We dance around the kitchen to music singing

like no one is listening. Yikes!

Going clock wise: Cassie, Clarissa, Jill and my Mom

This cute girl in the flower shirt is

my brother Joseph's Fiance' Jill

We are sooooooo excited!

We voted her in a long time ago

and now in Aug. she is really going to

be one of the girls!

Happy Birthday Can Can Chicken

2008-03-25T17:32:00.001-07:00

Okay, First sorry about this picture, it is terrible of both of us! Whoopsie...I have much better pictures but I am still learning how to scan so sorry Candra....Happy Birthday anyway! Candra is my life long friend, she is the kind that I don't have to talk to weekly, but when we get a chance to see each other it is like no time has elapsed. So....here's to Candra, 25 on 25!

25 memories of why Candra is pretty much the awesomest!!

1-She was my friend when I wore silver shoes (oh, man don't ask)

2- She and I had the best imaginations together (sometimes a little too good)

3- She is super creative and naturally artistic, I have saved silly notes and creations she has made over the years. Hilarious!

4- She was still my friend when I was obsessed with Kyle Stevens, and other boys... Oh, Kyle Falls

5- Once for lunch we ate a cup of brown sugar with chocolate chips on top

6- She obsessed about Christmas with me from September on

7- We were the biggest chicken livers ever...we were scared of walking two blocks to each others houses. We just knew we would be kidnapped, attacked by vicious poodles, dolls that came to life and other ridiculous stuff

8- She liked me even though I wore stretch pants, like every day until 7th grade.

9- She has the funnest laugh and I always wanted to make her laugh so hard, shhh sometimes when she laughs really hard two things happen. Shhhhh its a secret!

10- She loved me even though I used to hide on the counter from her tiny dog, Shaboo, who hated me.

11- We used to dress up in her older sister's clothes when they weren't home and we thought we were sooo cool and sneaky, we thought they were the coolest!

12- The old Ricks college gardens a.ka. The Secret Garden was our favorite bike ride excursion we seriously thought it was the most magical place to be

13- She moved to Florida and I thought that I would die, I spent the majority of that summer crying and lonely, writing lots of letters and crying any time one of my younger siblings would watch Fox and the Hound...."Good bye may seem forever, farewell is like the end but in my heart the memory of [Candra] would always be." oh wow!

14- Then by a miracle she moved back for 9th grade, Hurray!!

15- That Halloween she chose to hang out with me instead of going to the "coolest" boy/girl party of the year. My mom wouldn't let me go, so Candra stayed with me and we went tricker-treating instead. That is dedication!

16- We both felt extreme guilt while watching Greece, realizing what they were talking about we were growing up

17- We spent hours with her sisters' help getting ready for the 9th grade Christmas dance, it was BIG! And we thought we were pretty hot stuff with our huge bangs!

18- Then I moved to Logan and she was still such a faithful friend

19- I slept over at her house and woke up suddenly 16, her awesome Mom made us waffles with strawberries and ice cream for breakfast. Candra's Mom was always so thoughtful to us, she really did do a lot of special things just for us.

20- She moved to Chile but would still call me every few months just to talk

21- Candra sent me a huge package from Chile with a tape of music, the first song being "Our Song", "I'm Every Woman, take it from me. Anything you want done baby, I'll do it naturally." The sound track from, "The Bodyguard" had been our inspirational dancing music for years. Candra's parents went on a date every friday night; and every once in a while I could stay late at Candra's, okay late is a relative term...sometimes it was as late as 9:00pm. We would dance our hearts out in the basement, sometimes coaxing her poor younger brother to dance with us.

22- We went to college and had a fun excursion up into the mountains of Island Park with her brother Aaron, and his family. We sat on a little dock at the waters edge talking, laughing, crying and then as the sun went down we scared ourselves so badly talking about sasquaches(sp?) so he had to run up the hill scarring ourselves still, until we reached the cabin.

23- Candra helped me name my first car...Rudy Tudy Trudy a.k.a. Trudy, a faithful little Toyota Corolla wagon.

24- Candra is the sweetest, most sincere, most thoughtful and devoted friend. My heart is so grateful for so many happy memories! She is a blessing and joy to my life! I love her bunches and bunches! I spared some of the most embarrassing memories but they are some of my favorites. This summer will mark 15 years of friendship and I truly think that I wouldn't have made it through the ages 10-18 without her. She is funny, creative, joyful, has great taste in fashion, music, movies and friends. She basically rocks!!! Happy Birthday Dear friend!

25- And now during her 25th year and in mine we are sharing another wonderful experience together. We are both pregnant and due in October, I am soo excited to share the joys and sometimes not so joyful things of Pregnancy together!!! Hurray for Candra, I love you Happy Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday My dear old friend....I love you lots more than 25 memories! I hope your day was joyful!

ABCs about me!

2008-03-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

My darling expectant friend, Candra, tagged me so I thought I would give it a whirl!

A-Attached or single: Extremely attached!!!!!!
B- Best Friend: Scott Alan Fillmore
C-Cake or Pie: why choose? Have both!
D-Day of Choice: Sunday
E- Essential Item: water bottle and my own pillow!
F- Favorite Color: don't really have one but I do love green and pink or red tones
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Both have significant meaning to both Scott and I! A few weeks ago I went on a short trip and was able to go to Costco and I brought back a Costco size bag of Gummie bears for Scott. He just loves gummies
H- Hometown: I have moved around so much that I don't really know. Right now home is in Idaho but really it is where ever our home is.
I- Indulgence(s): an afternoon nap on our comfy couch, a bath on cold evenings, going to bed early so that I can snuggle Scott.
J- January or July: Have you seen the winter we have been having...actually, I really like June
K-Kids: For some bizarre reason I have always wanted to own a goat.
L-Life is incomplete without: Scott and my testimony of the gospel.
M- Marriage Date: Dec. 28, 2002
N- Number of Siblings: 3 brothers, 2 sisters, 7 brothers in-law, 8 sisters-in-law
O- Oranges or Apples: Right now oranges, but I do love apples, more in the fall
P- Phobias or Fears: getting a flat tire when I am all alone, snakes, other things that i can't think of right now.
Q- Quote: Not really a quote but something that I have been thinking about and encouraging other people to do....Not to stress and worry about that which you cannot control. You cannot control so much of life, but you can control your attitude in every situation, what you choose to do next and the way that you treat yourself and others. Do what you can control, plan for the future but don't let is consume you. Live by faith, not fear!
R- Reason To Smile: Scott made breakfast this morning and tomorrow is my day off and I am going to finish reading at least one of the four books I am reading.
S- Season: Every season has its joys, but right now I am looking forward to warmth!
T- Tag Six: Diana, Rachel, Linda, or anyone who wants to
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I really like sushi
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I like meat a lot but I enjoy certain vegetarian meals
W- Worst Habit: leaving some things to the last min. because I claim to work better under pressure. Um...in other words, procrastination...but I am working on it.
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds.
Y- Your Favorite Food: fresh stuff, garden veggies, cottage cheese, cold cereal, homemade everything
Z- Zippers or Zebras: Umm.....

laughing at myself

2008-03-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

ssheesh, I was tired last night when I wrote that blog. There are so many silly mistakes. Actually, I was probably hungry.....Dessert Book, a.k.a Deseret Book, and roll instead of role. hahhahaaa that is so funny! Wow, silly me!

2008-03-05T19:38:00.000-08:00

Tonight was our ward Relief Society Celebration!

It was super fun, I played the roll of Eliza R. Snow.

My neighbor is an amazing pioneer time period

costume designer. I wore a huge hoop skirt,

lots of pedicoats (sp?) and bloomers! Whew!

It was so much fun, and secretly I didn't want to take it off.

Secretly, my whole life I have wanted to be a pioneer.

I loved wearing this dress, silly, I know but it was

so much fun!

Also, I was thinking about the Relief Society! Isn't it

amazing that it is the largest and longest lasting

women's group in the world. Wow what an opportunity

to serve, we have!!!

It makes me think about how often I complain about

something or think how hard it is to want to scrub

my kitchen floor. And then I think about the pioneers

who didn't even have floors! Shessh!

But also I was thinking about the amazing ability we

have to serve in the church and our communities!

If you think about it, there is no other organization

in the world where women have the opportunities

that we have. It is amazing!

Last week I went to Time Out for women, put on by

Dessert Book, and heard Sheri Dew speak. She

talked about as women, our sphere of influence for

good is HUGE. She said that it was so much greater than we

realize. Think about being a mother, who has greater

influence over her children, think of a wife, who has

greater influence over her husband, think about your

sisters, aunts, YW leaders, RS presidents and other

women who have influenced your life for good.

I am grateful for so many wonderful examples to

follow. So for now I will just have to try to have

a pioneer spirit in our day and be grateful for

those wonderful influences of good in my life and

the opportunity I have to bless others. Hurray!

2008-02-27T17:07:00.000-08:00

Wow, has this month gone by quickly or what!? We have had super fun adventures playing parents when Scott's Sister and Bro. in-law went to Mexico. We played in the snow and had lots of fun. Our old car finally died. It was a little sad because it has been paid off for so long, and had so much character. But it is nice having a much newer car that is fully functioning. We feel super blessed because we found a great deal!! We also had a ton of fun at "The American Dog Derby" in Ashton, Id. My little bro. is really into dog sledding and has been training this last year. He did really well in his very first race. It was sooo exciting being there. Honestly, I was a little skeptical of spending the majority of a Saturday freezing and watching dog sled teams. But it was a blast!!!! There were a ton of people and everyone was so excited and the dogs were so excited. I recommend it, highly, to anyone who is in the area next February. We also saw a mother moose and her huge baby up in Rexburg. Our nephew (20 months) would run to the back glass door and window and yell...."MOOOOOK, MOOOOK!" "Ere are you Moook?" It was so funny! We are so blessed! I can hardly believe that March is nearly here! Hopefully that means there will be a spring. We love the snow but the melt down is sure messy.

Oh, yeah and I have to brag a little on my man. Scott loves bball but doesn't get to play nearly enough. Last Thursday night he played in a church ball game and was totally on FIRE!! They won 64-40 something and the majority of the shots where his. Every time he went up for a three he made it!!! And there were a lot of threes. He has always played well, but he was having so much fun that night. It was fun to watch everyone scream for him and the opposing team yelling "Shooter" when he would get the ball. It was super fun. He is nervous for this weeks game, he thinks last week was a flook. sp? ahhhh, Still in love.

Love ya'll, love your blogs, hope all is well!!!!

2008-02-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

To the wonderful man in my life, Scott,

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

A day doesn't pass by when I haven't

on my knees thanked our

Heavenly Father for the love that we share

and that we were brought together!

No one makes me more happy than you!

One look at you and I still get

excited electricity up my spine.

You are my sunshine, the light

and love of my life.

There are not words adequate to

describe the love

that you awaken in me daily!

Love you Huna!

Tag-a-rama

2008-02-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, I will not refuse to be tagged. But later this week will be an exciting post about my last weeks adventures!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player answers the questions for themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Ten Years Ago:

February 1998.

1. I was 14 and 3/4 attending Madison Jr. High school

2. Was just about to receive my Patriarchal (sp?) Blessing

3. Enjoying the delights of Drivers Ed. with Mr. Toadman Bates

Five Things On My To-Do List Today:

1. Get License and Registration for our new car

2. Laundry

3. Run out to Reeds Dairy for Milk and maybe some ice cream

4. Pick up Scott from work, surprise him with a little early V-Day surprise

5. Get new car insurance

Things I Would Do If I Were Suddenly Made A Billionaire:

Tithing, huge donation to the Church, pay off all of our extended family's debt,

go on an Alaskan cruse with Scott, go to Disney Land,

build a house, go shopping, donate to worthy causes helping education. Probably

give most of it away and save the rest. We've got what we need!

Three Of My Bad Habits:

1. Procrastination

2. hitting the snooze button, I don't even have to open my eyes, I know exactly where it is!

3. Letting what others say effect me so much

Five Places I Have Lived:

!. Utah: Layton, Provo, Syracuse, and Logan

2. Idaho: Pocatello, Chubbuck, Rexburg, and Idaho Falls

3. Oregon: Redmond and Oregon City

4. Above Florence Chocolates (yum) we would get free chocolate when

we paid our rent. Good times!

5. BYU-Idaho Dorms: Barnes Hall and Kerr Hall

Five Jobs I Have Had:

1. Maui's Juice and Deli in Logan

2. A Buffalo burger frier and seller at the Festival of the American West

3. Babysitter (my whole entire life and still going wow)

4. Pantry Manager for the Culinary Arts department

5. RA for Barnes Hall

Things Most People Don't Know About Me:

I hate doing any kind of what my sister-in-law calls "Man Crap", things like car repairs, servicing them, taking out the trash, computer repairs, etc. They make me so nervous. Geeky I know but I always get a little sick to my stomach when I have to do them(well the car repairs anyway).
I don't really like raw mushrooms, and I go through fazes with certain foods, I can't live w/o them and then after a while I could care less about them: dried cranberries, for example, a few months ago I ate them almost every day and now I have a huge bag of them in the cupboard and I never think about them.
I have a very large stash of unfinished projects. It drives my mom crazy. I will get really excited about some crafty thing and go after it, but after awhile I have had my fill of craftiness. whoopsie!
I loooooooooove Humanities! I clustered in it during college
I love to take baths!
I love geeky 80's and early 90's shows: Full House, Who's the Boss, Saved by the Bell, Little House on the Prairie, Family Matters, I love re-runs.

I tag anyone who hasn't already been tagged or who wants something to blog about!

*SNOW

2008-02-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

Right after Christmas a "weather specialist" said that we (Idahoans) would not see much moisture this winter. Well...he couldn't have been more wrong. We have soooooo much snow it is so crazy!! I love it! Those of you who have lived in the 'burg, and no longer live there, would be stunned at the amount of snow fall. Here in I.F. we haven't received as much, but enough to be amazed.

Husband Tag

2008-02-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

He used to have a huge appitite it was all I could do to feed him.
He is a great athlete, he is good at every sport! And has so much patience for my lack of talent.
He is truly...Lord of the Flame! We love camping!

What is his name?

Scott

How long have you been married?

5 years, 1 month and 4 days :)

How long did you date?

That is a hard question for me because we didn't ever really officially date until we knew we were going to be together forever. It happened quickly but gradually (if that makes sense). We met on June 7, 2002 and by early July we saw each other and called each other every day. We were engaged on Sept. 28, 2002 and married Dec. 28, 2002. It was awesome!

How old is he?

Who eats more sweet?

Without a doubt he does! He has a major sweet tooth!

Who said "I love you" first?

He did! About a month before we were engaged he turned to me and said, "I think that I could almost look you in the eyes and tell you 'I love you'. I didn't respond. I was silent for a long time. I gave him a hug and went home. I wasn't ready to say anything yet. He was very nervous because he knew that if I wasn't talking something was wrong. I always talk, I am gifted with many words. So, we talked on the phone and he asked me if I was okay. I reassured him that I was fine but that I just couldn't say it back, yet. So that weekend, during RA training, I realized how much I really did care for him. For the entire next month Scott would tell me he loved me every day and night and I would tell him that I cared for him too. It wasn't until one week before our engagement; when he asked me to pray about getting married, that I finally said: "Scott, you know that thing that I wasn't ready to say yet...well I am ready, but you say it first." "I love you Chalice," He said. "I love you too!" oooohhhhh

Who is taller?

him

Who can sing better?

Yikes this is a tough one. Both of us really love to sing. We sing well together, neither one a soloist. Scott is amazing, he can sight read any part. While we are singing the Hymns in church I will point at a particular line and he will sing that part S.A.T.B any and all. I can't help but giggle when he sings the Alto and Soprano. It is really funny.

Who is smarter?

I would say that Scott is! He is brilliant, truly! He didn't even have to try in school. He is gifted in math and science and other subjects. His brain is brilliant! He would say that I am super smart but just in different ways.

Who does the laundry?

I do, but he knows how and loves to help. But he doesn't like to put away my clothes because I color coordinate my closet space and he doesn't want to mess it up. I think it is kind of funny.

Who pays the bills?

Mostly I do, but he does all the balancing. He pays one of the bills! We do a lot of it together.

Who sleeps on the right side?

He does. He says it is easier to snuggle me when I sleep on the left. Whatever, I don't care. But if we are traveling or sleeping in a place that I am not overly comfortable in, he sleeps closest to the door. Silly, I know.

Who mows the lawn?

I wish we had a lawn now. When we did, he mowed it most of the time, unless I just randomly felt like doing it. He does a better job.

Who cooks dinner?

Mostly me, but Scott is a great cook and I love to cook with him. He is great at breakfast!

Who drives?

I spend more hours in the car driving to work and back, but Scott usually drives when we are together. I feel so safe when he drives, it puts me to sleep.

Who is more stubborn?

Yikes, we are both extremely talented with this, in different situations. But we get over it pretty fast.

Who kissed who first?

Right after Scott proposed he said: "Can I ask you another question?" I said, "yes." He said, "May I give you a kiss." I said, "YYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!" We had not kissed before that, and I was his first kiss. How cool is that.

Who proposed?

He did... in the mountains while watching the sunrise, eating sour gummy worms (inside joke, it is our romantic food of choice)! It was so awesome! The best sunrise I have ever seen. He was so sweet about it! I loved it! He was so relaxed about the whole situation that I was afraid that he wasn't going to do it. So, when he did I was surprised.

Who has more siblings?

He does! There are 9 kids in his family. 5 boys and 4 girls. He is the youngest brother! They are all fantastic, I love them all sooo much.....but I think that I got the cream of the crop. Shhhh!

Who wears the pants?

We both really enjoy wearing pants ;)

I tag anyone who reads this. It was super fun, thanks Di!

Sooo rewarding!

2008-01-23T18:00:00.000-08:00

Hip hip hooray! Today is my day off, I usually fill the day with house work, running errands and other such wifely conquests. I have been wanting to make chicken-pot-pie for the last two months, but because of the crust, I never did. I have made pretty good crusts in the past, but lately my pie crusts have flopped!!! So, with a little step of courage, help from: my mom (she taught me how to make crust in the first place), Martha Stewart (i am not really a fan, but a few months ago i was sick and forced myself to watch an entire episode about pie crusts), and my sister-in-law. The crust was Perfection! The flakiest crust know to man kind, it was heaven! The rest of the recipe I made up myself. That is one crazy thing about myself, I cannot ever make a recipe exactly. Usually, I just make stuff up and usually it turns out well...But tonight... the chicken-pot-pie was a master piece a pure culinary delight! Scott liked it so much that he kept making sounds when he was chewing..emmmm, yumm, etc. He said it was so good, I could sell it! Too bad I am not a photographer or else these pictures could really show how delightful it was.

What do Mormon's Believe?

2008-01-18T08:15:00.000-08:00

As I listened to MPR this morning (I know I have crossed over), I heard comments about why people would not vote for Mitt Romney; mostly because he is a Mormon. Then they continued to comment that they couldn't vote for someone who didn't profess Christ in their lives. I am not saying who I am going to vote for during the upcoming election, but I would like to share that Mormons do believe and profess Christ in our lives.

I was also inspired by an article found on our Church's website. Elder M. Russell Ballard (a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles), on December 15, 2007, he encouraged BYU-Hawaii graduates to use "new media" resources, such as blogs to share information about the Church. He said that we shouldn't sit by and let others tell about what we do and do not believe in, that we should share what we know, without bitterness or argument: "We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including critics attempt to define, what the Church teaches." (http://newsroom.lds.org) Also, he gave a wonderful talk this last General Conference, October 6, 2007; teaching how to share the gospel. I will share some of the things that he suggested we teach.

So, if you are reading this blog and are not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please read on, learn about what we as "mormons" believe.

"Facts:

* First, 'Mormon' is a nickname for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members are often referred to as 'Mormons,' 'Latter-day Saints,' or 'LDS.' the term 'Saint' means 'member.'

*Second, the Church was restored in 1830 in upstate New York with Joseph Smith as its first prophet and president. Today it is headquartered in Salt Lake City, with President Gordon B. Hickley as the present Prophet.

*Third, there are now over 13 million members in 176 countries and territories. About 6 million of these are in the United States, making us the fourth largest Christian denomination in America. As one of the fastest growing Christian faiths in the world, we complete a new chapel every working day. Members pay a tithe, which is 10 percent of their income, making this and other programs possible. (emphasis added)

*Fourth, local congregations are led by volunteer, unpaid members. Both men and women serve in assigned leadership positions.

*And fifth, Mormons are well represented in politics and government. (In the United States, for example, there are 16 members in Congress, from both political parties.) Members also serve in high trusted positions throughout the world in business, medicine, law, education, media, sports and entertainment.

Faith:

Next people need to know something of our faith as committed Christians with strong traditional values...(emphasis added)

* We believe in the eternity of the soul, that God is the Father of our soul, that God is the Father of our spirits, and that we can return to Him after death.

*We believe that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior, and we try to model our lives after Him and His teachings. We commemorate Christ's atoning sacrifice in our Sunday worship services, similar to taking communion in other churches. We accept as fellow Christians all who believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and the Savior of all mankind. Many Christians do not understand that we have much common ground with them. Joseph Smith taught that Jesus Christ is the core of our belief, and everything else is an appendage to it (see Elders' Journal, July 1838, 44). The name of the Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.(emphasis added)

* We believe the original church that Jesus established was lost and has been restored again in our day. The priesthood, the authority given to man to act in the name of God, with apostles and a prophet to lead us, has been restored as have all necessary ordinances of salvation.

*We believe in and use the Holy Bible, both the Old and New Testaments.

* And we believe in the Book of Mormon and other books of scripture which support and authenticate the Bible and testify of the ministry and divinity of Christ and of God's on going revelation to man. Indeed, the Book of Mormon is 'Another Testament of Jesus Christ.'

Family:

* Mormons place particularly strong emphasis on family as the basic unit of the Church and of society. We have a deep commitment of marriage (defined as a union between one man and one woman). Polygamy, a limited practice in the early pioneer days of the Church, was discontinued in 1890, some 117 years ago.

*Families and individuals, whether members of our faith or not can attend Sunday services in our chapels. Here we worship together, instructing one another form the scriptures.

*Latter-day Saint families are encouraged to hold family home evenings weekly, usually on Monday nights. This provides a regular and predictable time for parents to teach values to their children and to have fun together. We invited those not of our faith to adopt this practice with their own families.

*The Church has auxiliary programs for women, youth and children as a support to the family. These programs provide such things as religious instruction, opportunities for Christian service, sports, drama, music and Scouting.

*And there is also much focus on extended family, genealogy, and personal family history, providing young and old with a stronger sense of roots, identity, and belonging. The highest and most sacred ordinances of our faith relate to our families, both the living and dead, and some of these ordinances take place in our temples.

Fruits:

...the Savior said, 'by their fruits ye shall know them' (Matthew 7:20).

Here are a few examples based on United States statistics. But these would be similar throughout the world among practicing Mormons. (by which we mean those who attend church and the temple regularly):

*One of the fruits is a longer life. Studies show that practicing Mormons are healthier and therefore live longer than the national average. In 1833 the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith the Word of Wisdom, which is the way to live in order to enjoy a long and healthy life.

*Second, those who are married in and attend the temple regularly have a divorce rate far below the national average.

*Third, we achieve an educational level that is higher than the national average.

*Fourth, over 70,000 members volunteer at their own expense to serve for 18-24 months in humanitarian efforts, Church services assignments, and full-time missionary service throughout the world.

*And fifth, we place a strong emphasis on self-reliance and a solid work ethic. We encourage active involvement in our communities and in providing service to others. The Church continues to donate substantial money, goods, and services to humanitarian causes, around the globe, including untold hours of labor donated by members to assist in disaster cleanup and relief." (Ensign, November 2007, 25-27).

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I would like to share with you that I know that this is the true Church of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that by reading it you will come closer to God, you will feel His guiding influence in your life, and you will become better and come to know and understand our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In the Book of Mormon there is a promise, that if you read it, and pray about it, you will know of its validity. I encourage you to try it, pray to see if the Church is true. Heavenly Father will answer your prayer if you pray in faith!

I Love Technology...Always and Forever!

2008-01-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!!!

Our beautiful breakfast on our Anniversary Trip!

We had fantastic Anniversary! 5 Years! I had no

idea where we were going! Scott totally surprised

me every step. He wouldn't tell anyone what we

were doing! I loved it! He is the very best at surprises

We went to Salt Lake and then on to Logan. We

stayed at the Anniversary Inn, in the Swiss Family Robinson Room!

It was fantastic! We had such a wonderful time!

How grateful I am for my loving sweet wonderful husband

he is absolutely amazing, sweet, thoughtful, diligent, caring,

faithful, fun, kind, tender, smart, giving, willing, understanding

and more! The love we share is the most beautiful blessing

that I have. I am eternally grateful that I married my

best friend, the love of my life! We have learned so much

and are continually learning how to better live.

Isn't this life the most wonderful learning experience!

I absolutely cannot wait to spend all of eternity at Scott's side,

walking together forever! 5 years is not long enough, I want eternity with

this wonderful man! I love you Scott, thank you for such a wonderful anniversary!

Christmas Morning...bright and early...

funny we were the first kids up

Our nieces: Rebekah & Lainey and nephew, Donavan

aka: Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus

These are my beautiful, wonderful friends

from Logan High! Diana and Kara!

It was such a JOY to see them again.

Wow, we are back into the techo world of the internet. We finally got our new computer and internet running TODAY! Hurray! Now I can blog and visit all of your awesome blogs. I love it!

We had such a great Holiday Season! First we chopped down a tree in the mountains near Scott's home town. We drove up the mountains with Scott's parents and climbed up the hills in the beautiful new snow that fell right after Thanksgiving. Scott's Dad didn't want to traverse the slippery hills for long so he found a huge tree he liked and chopped it at arms length up. (he is so funny) But not Scott, I think he is part mountain goat; all the while encouraging me to tromp through the snow after him. We found the perfect tree growing sideways off the side of a steep hill. So I followed Scott down, catching myself on the snow covered sage brush, while gripping the saws. "Just follow my lead," encouraged the Mt. Goat; with his mother yelling up from the valley bellow..."don't kill your wife, she can't come down that steep hill." Which inspired my defiant nature, and acting brave...I slid down the hill on my back side. The tree was absolutely perfect. The perfect size for our living room and it only fell over once. hehhehe!

We met with some of my dear old friends in Logan. I was so excited to see them again and we had a fantastic time, eating pizza, talking and etc. It was especially fun to see my friend Diana, because I haven't seen her for five years.

We spent Christmas in Rockland and enjoyed A LOT of family! Scott and I slept in a different place every night to accomodate for all the visiting family. It was so much FUN!

We are truly blessed to have so much dear family! We were so blessed to spend Christmas with so many of them. We were able to see more family than planned because of the death of Scott's Grandfather. It was a peaceful and very timely death, as most all of his family was able to come and see him just before he passed away. We are so grateful for our Savior during Christmas and all the year long. We were especially grateful for the gifts of the atonement, resurrection and the blessing of Eternal Families.

We love Christmas and are excited for the new year!

We had the most wonderful anniversary! It was so wonderful to be together and set out on another adventure together. We started in Pocatello, where we flipped a coin where to go. Luckily, we flipped right! Scott took me to Salt Lake where we stayed in the same hotel that we did on our Honeymoon. We went out to eat at Trolley Square, went to the Salt Lake Temple the next morning (wow beautiful!!!) then flipped a coin again and luckily headed north (of course Scott had this all planned but he likes to freak me out by saying we should flip a coin or ask me what we should do). We went to Logan, saw a movie and then stayed at the Anniversary Inn. I have always wanted to stay there. I still didn't know where we were going to stay so as we drove down main street I was hoping that he would turn onto Center Street where the Inn is. He did, I started giggling because I was so excited. And then he passed it. He said, "Oh, look at the temple... we were married there five years ago." The temple is just up the street from the Ann. Inn. I thought it was so sweet of him to want to see the temple and reflect on the perfect day we had five years ago and the many things that have transpired since then. So, then we drove around the temple and back down towards the Inn. He pulled in. I said, "Are you kidding, because if you are I will be so sad." He said, "I guess I could go and see if there is a room available." Of course he had this all planned for months! The Swiss Family Robinson room was awesome! There was a rose waiting for me, cheese cake in the fridge, sparkling cider, it was awesome! We had soooo much fun and were sad when we had to come home. But the best part is that we have each other forever! Hurray! 5 Years is not enough!!!

2007-11-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season!
Hurray this is our favorite time of year!
We are truly Thankful for all of your many many blessings. We are thankful for you our friends, and family! We are thankful for the gospel, for a loving Heavenly Father, our Savior, a livng Prophet and etc. We are so blessed.
I am particularly thankful for my sweetheart, Scott. I am thankful for him every moment of every day. He is so wonderful, patient, loving, hardworking, caring, good, etc. etc. etc. The love that we have after these five years, I couldn't have dreamed of or wished for. Five years is simply not long enough...I am so grateful that we have eternity.
The day before Thanksgiving, my brother took some fun pictures of us. We decided that after nearly five years of marriage we should probably update our pictures. It was fun acting cheesy/nerdy, as if we were getting engagement pictures again.

Happy Holidays to you all!!

OHhhh, the Joy of Idaho

2007-09-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning to SNOW! It has been snowing lightly all the day! How fun! Oh, the joy of living in a cold state. At least we know that it wont last for long. (For now any way) So here's to Idaho, and to all ya'll who are nice and warm in other states. Have a great day...I'm going to sip come Hot Chocolate!

Crazy Living Quarters

2007-09-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

Shhheesh, I haven't posted for a long time. Things are going really well. We are super busy with work and normal life stuff. But we don't take our camera with us a lot of places, so I don't really have much to blog about. Scott is really enjoying teaching, it is difficult but rewarding. He feels so great when they understand a new concept or overcome something. Hurray for him! We are moving to the other side of town in a few weeks. House hunting was definitely an adventure, we learned a lot, enough to realize that what was on the market right now wasn't for us. So we are going to continue being renters, but there are perks to renting: when things go wrong I don't have to pay for them, the lawn and yard areas are taken care of, snow removed, low monthly payments, etc. What have been some of your funniest living quarters?
We used to live above Florance's Candie Shop in Rexburg, a run down temporary apartment in a boy apartment complex and our payment was to clean it up, and an apartment with secret doors in the bedroom that were covered with wood paneling so you couldn't see where to go into our huge walk in closet/storage room. When I was about 14 my family was growing too big for our house. We had a funny big room and my dad put up walls so my brother and I could share the room, but the walls were not covered with dry wall, they were covered in cardboard. That was so we could take them down easily when we moved. So, really I could say I've lived in a cardboard box. How weird is that?
So answer the question if you would like: What have been some of your funniest living quarters?

Hurray For Today

2007-08-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

Basically I want to say...HURRAY for a few reasons. Bare with me as a ramble...
Hurray for today because I could read and study as much as I wanted this morning because it is my day off. Hurray because of a awesome inspirational church material that is at my finger tips to read and for the inspiration to do it. Hurray for using 'Preach my Gospel' as a study guide for scripture study and that I've been able to study and read a lot about FAITH in the last few days; a subject that has been filling my soul and helping me realize what I need to do. Hurray for the continued feeling of summer and the coming of Fall. Hurray that Scott is loving teaching 9th grade math and that he is happy and fulfilled in his work (at least for the first week anyway). Hurray that I have good friends and awesome family members and a fabulous husband. Hurray that I got to grade math papers one afternoon. Hurray that even though you don't always see your prayers being answered the way you thought they should you have a feeling of peace knowing that your Father in Heaven is aware of you, your heart, your needs and desires. Hurray for my awesome younger brother who rolls with the punches! Hurray for such amazing parents and for my Mom who cooked Salmon last night for dinner. Hurray for garden veggies, visiting teaching, happy thoughts and memories, hurray for the gift of prayer, hurray for so many millions of things. So, if you made it through my thoughts hurray for you too, they might not mean any thing to you but for me today...they are my HURRAYS!

Me, Myself and I

2007-08-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

100 Things about Me! This was harder than I thought!

The greatest thing I have ever done was marrying my amazingly wonderful Husband Scott! I love him with all my heart and am constantly amazed at how thoughtful, kind, patient and fun he is.
One day I would love to learn how to yodel
Would love to aspire to be a great runner
Love the Great out Doors!! Camping, hiking, rafting, just being outside, etc.
Love to go to new places that I have never been to
Love to eat foods that I have never tried before esp. those from exotic places
I love to cook and bake
Love to go on LOOOOOOONG walks at night with Scott.
Love to Star Gaze
Love to read from the Scriptures, in fact it changes my daily demeanor, if I haven't read Scott can always tell because I am more emotional and ornery (is that how you spell it?)
Love to Journal
Love to get new PJs
Love to go out to eat
Love to make blankets
Christmas is my very most favorite Holiday
Love the First Snow!
Love the smell of each new season and how you can tell it has arrived by just sniffing outside your front door.
Love to eat fresh Garden Veggies
Love to exercise
Love to wake up early
Love all types of Fresh Fruit
Love to Travel!
Love History, art history, humanities (I graduated from BYU-I with duel cluster in history and humanities
Love Reeds Dairy Ice Cream
Love to Attend Plays and Mellow Dramas
Love decorating and used to spend a lot of time watching decorating shows
Love to play with Kids
Love Reading
Love music of all kinds and wish that I was even more diverse in my collections
Love to dance really crazy and make my brother and Scott laugh
Love Love love to make people smile
Love to squish my toes in the sand
Love to laugh
Love to dream with my Husband about future plans (drawing up house plans, travel plans etc.)
Love to get great ideas
Love to watch movies
Love to have a good healthy cry
Love re-runs of old classics
Love comfy clothes
Love to have my toenails painted
Love the smell of things baking
Love canning: peaches, pears, pickles, salsa, jams & jellies, beets, applesauce, pie filling
Love gardening
Love Giggling and snuggling with my silly sisters
Love that Scott adores me even when I seriously don't deserve it.
Love spending time with my Family and In-Laws
I am not very good at keeping in touch with old friends, I think about it a lot but somehow I never get to it. I love ya'll sorry I stink at it
Love writing lists and marking them off
Love a clean house
Love making cards
I really like to make up cooking shows to myself while a cook
Sunday is my favorite day of the week
Love to read and take cat naps in the hammock out back
I hate scary movies and stories!! I am a chicken liver with an over active imagination
Love cottage cheese and mixing things in it: tomatoes, fruit, etc.
Love the Oregon Coast!!!!
I love that my husband wants to be a teacher and is so passionate about helping people
I am #2 of 6 kids
Love to take baths in the winter to get warm
Been married for 4 years 7 months 13 days and one 1/2 hour
Love Thanksgiving: I love the cooking all day l0ng the smells, the comfort food, the pie, the leftovers, he family gathering the excitement of Christmas coming next, the rich fall weather! Love it!
Love picking raspberries and snitching
Love pulling warm stuff out of the drier
My favorite weekends of the entire year are conference weekend
Have a strange musical appetite for Jazz
Love attending the temple and would love to travel the US and world visiting all of them
Really dislike taking our car in for repairs: tires, oil change anything car related, I hate it
Love the smell of rain and Summer time Thunderstorms
Think fireworks are fabulous
Love animals and for some crazy reason would love to own a goat one day
Used to wish that I was a pioneer
Love how only Scott can surprise me! He is the best at surprises
Love tree lanes: those streets you drive down and its completely tree covered.
Love wild flowers
I am famous for telling stories to Scott's nieces and nephews. I have always been good at telling stories. Probably because I have an over active imagination.
Professional massages!!!!
Love to sing
Love to play the piano even though I am not that proficient (lack of practice)
Love Pride and Prejudice
My husband says that I am very flirtatious. Now only to him but truly before he came along I could have won blue ribbons!
I like to be in-charge but am learning to follow gracefully :) one of those life long challenges
Also like to argue, not even about important things, just like a good debate (with me being right :) ) Weakness: my mom has told me my entire life to think before I speak! Still working on it
Have always longed to visit the Holy Land!!!!
Kind of lazy but have a hard time sitting still
Think it would be a blast to travel throughout Canada by Locomotive! choo choo
I am a terrible speller and find myself being very creative with word-ages. Hurray for spell check, eh!
Love to stay in Hotels!!
Would love to be a great photographer, it seems so romantic
Love Christmas lights
Don't like to follow recipes completely, I think it is because I am naturally a little defiant. And because when you are newly wed college student you have to work with what you've got. Good thing we always bless the food. :)
Love alternate medicine and natural cures
Love desserts but stopped eating sugar at the end of March
I have naturally curly hair and many times strangers will scrunch it, also once a guy said that I should never cut it because it was "delicious"... creepy!
I am a little over dramatic
Love little towns and living in the country. Truthfully I don't love being in big cities. I enjoy visiting them but don't really want to live in one
I love to talk, to anyone about anything can talk and talk, in school my teachers would get frustrated because they could move me any where and I would find someone to talk to
I have a nervous tick when it is too quite during awkward moments to hum
Love hearing about peoples problems and talk with them about them
Talk in weird voices to certain people
I have a difficult time driving on the ice because I was in a really scary accident once.

Yellowstone

2007-08-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

This week Scott and I went on a family vacation, with my family to Yellowstone. We loved it! I haven't been there for years and Scott has never been; he was like a little kid at Christmas. We love the great outdoors and Yellowstone is the best. We started our adventures with the Bar J wranglers, in Jackson Hole, camped the night there and set off for Yellowstone the next morning. It rained a lot but it was worth it! We had a blast! Here are some pictures from our adventures. My brother Jeremy took all these pictures...he is amazing! Sad note: we had to leave a day early to go back and work....so we didn't get to see the bears. But my fam did! So, much fun worth the trip over and over again!

My Mom is Fabulous

2007-07-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hurray for my AMAZING MOM! Last week my mom finished a long awaited goal. For the past 26 years she has been taking classes here and there, raising 6 children and millions of other things. But finally she is a College Graduate. She has dedicated the last year to her education. I have never seen a more diligent student. She put my entire college experience to shame with her dedication. She studied night and day! We are all so proud of her!!!!! Not only is she a college graduate but an amazing mother. She guided our footsteps every day of our lives, holding off on her own dreams, but never letting them go while she helped us achieve ours. I am so proud of her for going for her dreams and never letting go of a goal that for years seemed impossible. She has always had an attitude of learning. She has self taught herself so many skills and taken a few little classes here and there, but always learning something new: Calligraphy, sewing, crocheting, ceramics, re-finishing furniture, family history expert, scrap-booking, institute, religious studies, painting, decorating, cooking, reading, musical studies and etc.!!! She is the greatest example of an educated person. I love her and adore her and I am so grateful for her example. Way to go Mom!!!!! OH and my awesome older brother also graduated! It is really cool that they were able to graduate together because he is the first reason that she decided to put off her own ambitions and devote her life to others.

Whaaaahoooo We've entered the blogging world

2007-07-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Hello, I am so excited that I have finally sat down and made our blog. I have soooo enjoyed reading the blogs of others and have wanted to start one of our own for several months. Hurray today is the day that I branch out into the world of blogging.

So, a little about how we are doing:

I finished college two years ago this summer and have loved working as my sister-in-laws, personal assistant/office manager. We were the managers for a little housing complex in Rexburg while we were going to school and early this spring we decided to leave. So, we have been living in Idaho Falls for the past few months, while Scott interviewed for teaching positions and while we have been looking in the market to buy our first home. Scott graduated last Dec. and has been hired to teach 7th grade math at a Jr. High here in Idaho Falls. He is really excited to teach 7th grade. I think he is nuts, but he loves that age group. Some time in the next year he will start working on his masters degree.

Well, that is our little update for now! I will be posting some pictures very soon!