tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2910633153892252332024-02-19T07:50:03.708-07:00emily janeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.comBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-6842767161112414622012-01-26T12:01:00.000-07:002012-01-26T12:01:29.052-07:00Motherhood...<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've thought about posting Emma's birth story a million times. I didn't get around to typing it out until she was 2 months old and now my baby is 5 and 1/2 months old...I can't believe it, where did the time go?? The birth story still seems incomplete and it's hard to capture every.single.moment...so many emotions and things I felt that I wish I could put into words. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Motherhood is amazing. I'm not your typical first time mom who worries about every little thing. In fact I'd say I'm probably a little too relaxed for a first time mom. Matthew tends to be the more cautious and protective one. It's pretty cute. I am loving every minute I have with my sweet girl and I feel so lucky and blessed that I get to stay at home and be with her all day. Most days I don't get dressed or find the shower, but we hang out and have so much fun together.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I haven't been ignoring the blog because I'm overwhelmed or trying to get the hang of things, although I guess there has been a little of that. I've just been enjoying this new phase, the best one yet!! :D </span></span><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And part of me feels like if I share any pictures with you I have to share them all! What about all the milestones she's reached: first days, baby blessing, months 1-5, first time rolling over, first smile, first time eating solids...all these things I could post about and so much more! But then I'd be a mom who over shares and only talks about her baby (which I'm happy to do). </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So instead of worrying about all of that, I'll just post a few pictures and tell you what my little bear has been up to.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStJFeHDnkvD7u835fIaAvqoKUrSZkhQs4s7BBmltk5snmIZXTEAkvMNbNDlWOqz5q3CFIIfevdMPU3WglDMtPLA6End03pyrbnDX2bIPDsnfXFizNLW1sRQHFG0v3WXUhmKWz0kmaEXU/s1600/Month+Comparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStJFeHDnkvD7u835fIaAvqoKUrSZkhQs4s7BBmltk5snmIZXTEAkvMNbNDlWOqz5q3CFIIfevdMPU3WglDMtPLA6End03pyrbnDX2bIPDsnfXFizNLW1sRQHFG0v3WXUhmKWz0kmaEXU/s640/Month+Comparison.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><u>At 5 and 1/2 months</u>:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*She loves her voice: Squeals, grunts, groans, laughs and did I mention squeals!?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Eats solid food 3x a day and has tried the following: avocado, bananas, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, zucchini, butternut squash and of course the baby cereals of rice and oatmeal.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*She's a great sleeper and currently transitioning to 10-11 hours at night with 2-3 naps during the day.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*She's a great eater, both nursing and solids. She's fast and efficient (which caught me off guard how fast they get at nursing) and I love the bond that it brings.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Bath time is her favorite. She is already splashing around and loves to hang out in the water on her back. The look she gives when she first enters the bath is hilarious, I will have to take a video and post sometime.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Sleeps on her stomach (we had an incident at 2 weeks old, my mother instinct kicked it and told me to put her on her stomach to sleep, I've never regretted it).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Rolls front to back and back to front (as of 01/18/12).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Will walk across the room when daddy holds her hands. (Matthew loves this trick and is determined to have her walking in 2 months)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Uses a sippy cup at meal times, although she spits out most of it, she's starting to get the hang of it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Blows bubbles and raspberries all day long!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Loves peek-a-boo!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Tries to sit up on her own and does a pretty good job when supported with the boppy or a pillow or something. In fact, when she is supported a lot of times she can sit all the way up and either fall to the side or bend herself in half and lean ALL the way forward.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Loves story time and singing time.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Her eyes light up when daddy gets home from work. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*At her 4 month check up she was 50% for her height, 10% for her weight and 5% for her head circumference. She's probably gained maybe 2 pounds since then, but not much. We have a petite little girl on our hands.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Her hair is CRAZY!!! People actually think I style it in a Mohawk, but I'm telling you it has a mind of it's own. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Her hair is also long enough to put in a ponytail on top of her head and is actually starting to fall in her eyes in the front, but it makes her look too grown up so we don't do it very often. Daddy prefers the crazy hair because its who she is.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*She will be content one minute and screaming the next, but overall she is a happy little girl!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*She loves her feet and will try to grab them and eat them whenever she is in her bumbo or laying on her back.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Most of the time when she is on her back she will immediately roll to her stomach.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Her bottom right tooth came through this past weekend and I just know her left one will pop through any day. I'm really going to miss her sweet gummy smile!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*Just last night she mimicked Matthew for the first time when he was blowing raspberries at her, she would try to do it back. It was the sweetest thing and I love watching them together.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There are so many other things we love about her, but these are just a few. I can't get over how fast she's growing and how much she's starting to interact with us. We love her so much and so wish our family and friends were closer so they could enjoy her as much as we do.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Motherhood is even better than I ever imagined. I'm so happy I get to have this experience and it makes me appreciate all mother's out there especially my own. The love that a mother has can't be described unless you've felt it yourself and even then, there are still no words that even come close. It's absolutely the best!</span></span></div><div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Christmas Day 2011</span><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEdNPbT6ddxKRQMvUKHOSVhAAHjDUswVfHwyb84nRDuU05EySyIMKHgdE_RTzhD1_j8knJDZwODSgZaIc-nyBQGPB1id13S7gpCYuhZacyjQ_y0F5p8oasn4n1mjQ4c4mQxtggxWbqwI/s1600/DSCN2930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEdNPbT6ddxKRQMvUKHOSVhAAHjDUswVfHwyb84nRDuU05EySyIMKHgdE_RTzhD1_j8knJDZwODSgZaIc-nyBQGPB1id13S7gpCYuhZacyjQ_y0F5p8oasn4n1mjQ4c4mQxtggxWbqwI/s640/DSCN2930.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Waking up from her nap</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_kKKWdiEQbR-U36_FvyXqcPMLFJQEOJYBKV9ID7L00Ch9aklIuB1Gp-_oShZbBswOEMqst33LXN0y52A63LwXTxFPSql1eOj48_6LHd0NEBLTFQiPAiz2MZ2ZHOVFXaYh2tC5RsssIQ/s640/2012-01-17+10.24.39.jpg" width="480" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mom's Shopping Buddy! :)</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdE-pP0qYRCE8h5sCCboyGtPcEdwhXHpL2p44ZUxFs8xYNKv9YW2JHEeECuvMBliH0P05Vk-D_CL6-vWqKy6qj-0Hmkv-AYrNBzte1nj1lS3CMymgBFmCMDwQJLRpL0uzZ2sE9DlHJRyA/s1600/2012-01-16+11.44.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdE-pP0qYRCE8h5sCCboyGtPcEdwhXHpL2p44ZUxFs8xYNKv9YW2JHEeECuvMBliH0P05Vk-D_CL6-vWqKy6qj-0Hmkv-AYrNBzte1nj1lS3CMymgBFmCMDwQJLRpL0uzZ2sE9DlHJRyA/s640/2012-01-16+11.44.08.jpg" width="480" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: x-small;"> Meal Time</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidY-rH4Z8mC2uMYj9ccwNONJrmSrTHNRosNbQTkTPClpG0J0CVGuF8b3uA-RRlFidyPKEaThFl1uIQdT0-gepZW-lnKYKQ-aTQ3JJHe_Q0lO-FPiazfyIJRQNYPIU4AZLERyQAw1u2Ml8/s1600/2012-01-21+19.43.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidY-rH4Z8mC2uMYj9ccwNONJrmSrTHNRosNbQTkTPClpG0J0CVGuF8b3uA-RRlFidyPKEaThFl1uIQdT0-gepZW-lnKYKQ-aTQ3JJHe_Q0lO-FPiazfyIJRQNYPIU4AZLERyQAw1u2Ml8/s400/2012-01-21+19.43.19.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugVIsJqcRJ_7kDra_KY8vo39cn_fK6eNlQDZLOTRpn1VpTrBeSIgugOo068N2_YPMqbZRFZFkiT8cFrmlSQtSdrhC-p97_6ZKYrpXUJkMOa2GjExvZsAptM3Kcsgl5qWL-n99H1Ygj9s/s1600/2012-01-21+19.48.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugVIsJqcRJ_7kDra_KY8vo39cn_fK6eNlQDZLOTRpn1VpTrBeSIgugOo068N2_YPMqbZRFZFkiT8cFrmlSQtSdrhC-p97_6ZKYrpXUJkMOa2GjExvZsAptM3Kcsgl5qWL-n99H1Ygj9s/s400/2012-01-21+19.48.47.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Just hanging out with Mom!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCacQ_WeukXo7FDBlE2I-ULt-r6vcYAF0x-SLwifUphgHilFNGWaNz7gREXz65urodi5v6rrU5BobAfhUS9SM3e7OSmNFwi7pUS-pE4R-JT2bApaS5XaacxNffwcgK7ggJ_lrq3R4upU/s1600/DSCN3036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOCacQ_WeukXo7FDBlE2I-ULt-r6vcYAF0x-SLwifUphgHilFNGWaNz7gREXz65urodi5v6rrU5BobAfhUS9SM3e7OSmNFwi7pUS-pE4R-JT2bApaS5XaacxNffwcgK7ggJ_lrq3R4upU/s400/DSCN3036.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaz-AudEFKHmQGWg6XpVuMlF2U4SU7URPjLMaxrJcTGR2ObGdFscJA0wj02m2yTQ_AZ0YSMLUDi83FzMw5cdZUoj62pxE02Mf5wOem4n6-61mqMIG0Ni3GCwpT5njeczwXbghESylUyY/s1600/DSCN3033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaz-AudEFKHmQGWg6XpVuMlF2U4SU7URPjLMaxrJcTGR2ObGdFscJA0wj02m2yTQ_AZ0YSMLUDi83FzMw5cdZUoj62pxE02Mf5wOem4n6-61mqMIG0Ni3GCwpT5njeczwXbghESylUyY/s400/DSCN3033.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiGGwLbLHz5_gJkOwD6Bx_V9SGcBlxPt8_DP_Kcq-sijBLYW_zcGSEWLqV-hPe1z1bM_tSmp4qeFJg8XnI442VQG0G2jR6fH16xpLEFAmDc0QHj8IU_stKEmuJ-floVId8P041TGX8Ho/s1600/DSCN3043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiGGwLbLHz5_gJkOwD6Bx_V9SGcBlxPt8_DP_Kcq-sijBLYW_zcGSEWLqV-hPe1z1bM_tSmp4qeFJg8XnI442VQG0G2jR6fH16xpLEFAmDc0QHj8IU_stKEmuJ-floVId8P041TGX8Ho/s400/DSCN3043.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-19774651678356760832011-08-14T20:19:00.000-06:002011-08-14T20:19:57.509-06:00Emma Lee Allphin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Emma Lee Allphin</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">8/14/2011</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2:54pm </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">7 lbs 2 oz</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">19 inches</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Birth story and more pictures coming soon... </span></span><br />
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<img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt23ona51S58hwBS33KfjphR7TcAelTLGHABvm10tu0H1dG-P0YdvPjGvo98gA3FswqhURZVsfuG1NmJ1Dk4YRTjaV8jNcw6i1ESgZ4QXruFUNHQldeDDctueMcLbAmXo6ewAD06HHmPE/s640/DSCN2378.JPG" width="640" /></div><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-13687207720823446432011-03-12T13:32:00.001-07:002012-01-26T12:02:52.617-07:00Oh Baby!!<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It has been a few weeks since my last update. Please forgive me. I'm currently working 35 hours a week and finding it difficult to keep up with the house let alone my blogging duties. Being pregnant is exhausting, but I love it! :) Onto the baby news!!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Baby Beluga is doing wonderfully!! Its perfect, measuring perfectly and its little heartbeat is perfect too! There's nothing like hearing that heartbeat and seeing your baby. I'm so in love already. I go back to the doctor on March 23rd and then we have the big ultrasound on April 1st. I honestly can't wait to find out what this baby is so I can start planning and making cute things! :)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm now taking weekly belly shots, hubby is a bit annoyed that its EVERY week, but I think soon there will be some big growth!! I also purchased <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Belly-Book-Nine-Month-Journal-Growing/dp/0307336182">this</a> book, which I love!! I saw it in a bookstore several years ago and told myself I would purchase it when I was pregnant. It helps me jot down my thoughts, emotions, cravings, etc. and I think it will be a pretty special keepsake of this whole process. Here are some recent pics of the baby bump: </span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r8dq7dz1Ebw/TXu_mY0ivoI/AAAAAAAAD1k/pjJ3BOSPTj8/s1600/None" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r8dq7dz1Ebw/TXu_mY0ivoI/AAAAAAAAD1k/pjJ3BOSPTj8/s640/None" width="640" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Some things to note:</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1. My hair has not grown since being pregnant and I haven't cut it. I'm struggling with how to do it, etc. I do need to get a trim and reshape it a bit.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2. I'm also struggling to have cute pregnancy style. Some days I feel cute, but I still feel like I'm in the "in between" stage. Recently I've worn normal clothes and laughed at myself in the mirror and then realized I won't be able to wear that shirt for a long time!</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
3. I'm significantly smaller in the morning than I am in the evenings, all of these pictures were taken in the evening. I think one of the next few days I will take a picture from morning to evening and show you the difference, its crazy! Is this just me or do you/did you notice a big difference too??</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We got to see the baby again on February 18th. Hubby was late to the appointment due to traffic. They let me stay longer so he could hear the heartbeat and then we were lucky enough to go into the ultrasound room and see the baby for just a minute, it made my day. I have never had any other appointment where I leave with a grin on my face (except when I got my braces off). Here are pics of baby and how he/she has grown:</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-HyK65HPzTbo/TXvHnt04HoI/AAAAAAAAD4s/U5V3EBnnO3U/s1600/None" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="323" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-HyK65HPzTbo/TXvHnt04HoI/AAAAAAAAD4s/U5V3EBnnO3U/s640/None" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I just love the hands in the air!!! The difference in just 4 weeks is incredible!! Here are some of my current habits, cravings, etc.:</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*I have been feeling the baby move for about 3 weeks now. Whenever I do feel baby, I try to say hello and it just makes me so happy. I love it!! It's also very reassuring.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*I love to sing to baby especially in the shower. Some of my favorites are: <a href="http://www.lyricstime.com/raffi-baby-beluga-lyrics.html">Baby Beluga (Raffi version)</a>, <a href="http://meddlei.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/childrens-songs-skinamarink/">Skinamarink</a>,and <a href="http://bussongs.com/songs/the_little_blue_man.php">The Little Blue Man</a>. All songs from my childhood.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*I love when hubby says hi to baby and I can't wait until he can feel the baby move!</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*I've been craving lots of protein, mostly cheese burgers. A couple weeks ago I ate 4 cheeseburgers in 5 days!! Maybe this means I'm having a boy!?</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*I finally have my appetite back for the most part, some things still sound better than others, but I'm eating 5 to 6 times a day! </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*I only have 1 pair of maternity jeans from gap. All of my other "maternity" clothes I wear I bought in the juniors sections at Target, or Kohl's. Also, I love <a href="http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/jolt-jean-leggings-indigo-wash-juniors/3110306?origin=category&resultback=1140">these</a> jeans from Nordstrom's they are amazing and so comfortable!!</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> *I'm still throwing up once a week. Generally it happens when I brush my teeth in the morning.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*My nose has super powers. I can smell anything from miles away.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*I feel like my acne is finally going away. I've recently started putting face lotion on morning and night after I wash my face and for whatever reason that has really helped.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*My emotions are all over the place. I had my first pregnancy nervous breakdown a couple of weeks ago. Something to do with the shower water going cold...it wasn't pretty and I felt bad for hubby. He made me get out of the shower with shampoo in my hair and I just sobbed in bed for a good hour until the water was warm again. I laugh at myself now, but WOW!! (There were other events of the day that triggered that, but the shower was the clincher). </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">*I seriously can't wait to find out what we're having and I wish I could meet baby beluga right NOW!! :D</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-74457310391511386152011-02-09T07:24:00.000-07:002011-02-09T07:24:34.888-07:00Hiadus<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've been on hiadus for several months...</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;">I quit my job in August and moved to Kansas. I decided I needed a break, so I took one. Hubby was very understanding. He let me take all the time I needed. After taking four months off of work, I decided to start looking for a job. I applied to dozens of places it seemed like in early December. I was having a difficult time getting any hits. One day, I heard from two different temp agencies. I had interviews with both. The first ended up being a little scary and a waste of time; it almost seemed like a scam. I didn't feel good about the company and I was really starting to miss my old job in Utah. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;">I went to my interview with the second temp agency and they were phenomenal!! They had me taking placement tests before I left and they found work for me within a few days. I started doing some temp work for a cable company. It's mostly clerical, boring work. Lots of filing, some data entry stuff. I check and sort the mail every day and breakdown checks and get them sent out once a week. I work anywhere from 20-40 hours a week depending on what projects they give me. It's kept me busy and it's helped me interact with humans again which is always nice. I find myself exhausted at the end of the day and some days I wonder why I'm even working.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;">I interviewed for another job through this temp agency. The interview went really well. I liked them and they liked me. They offered me the job...and then they rescinded. I was a mess. It was everything I was hoping for and it didn't work out, or so I thought until I remembered something that had happened earlier that month... </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TVIO-jvvKDI/AAAAAAAADvY/IOHmjCrx9kw/s1600/DSCN2115-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TVIO-jvvKDI/AAAAAAAADvY/IOHmjCrx9kw/s640/DSCN2115-1.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TVIUVgMtTwI/AAAAAAAADxM/XNioHFkrSmo/s1600/DSCN2122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TVIUVgMtTwI/AAAAAAAADxM/XNioHFkrSmo/s640/DSCN2122.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TVIPH0yL0aI/AAAAAAAADwQ/_y8qUzAxKco/s1600/scan0001-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="538" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TVIPH0yL0aI/AAAAAAAADwQ/_y8qUzAxKco/s640/scan0001-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TVIPBfnAVVI/AAAAAAAADvs/iJXleFx8pSk/s1600/DSCN2146-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TVIPBfnAVVI/AAAAAAAADvs/iJXleFx8pSk/s640/DSCN2146-1.JPG" width="480" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, while I was bummed at first, </span></span><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;">I can't think of a better job in this world then being a mom!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-size: small;">We are so excited for this new adventure!!! :D</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-2602030334645617132010-12-23T10:23:00.000-07:002010-12-23T10:23:09.924-07:00No Secret Gift<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My husband is the type that goes Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve and I never have any idea what he gets me. I think about his presents all year long, get them early and hope he won't guess what I got him. He ALWAYS guesses his gifts before he opens them and it drives me crazy.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This year I thought for sure I had the best idea ever!! He's always wanted a <a href="http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx">Road I.D.</a> and I've always wanted to get him one for my piece of mind. He runs often and is wanting to train for another marathon and I get especially worried about him on his long 20+ mile runs. It's a great gift for anyone that spends a lot of time on the road.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I did all of my Christmas shopping online this year and I was especially excited when I was able to get free shipping and additional coupon codes, so I purchased his Road I.D.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last week we were going over our budget, paying bills, etc. I have to watch t.v. while we do this because hubby moves a little slower than I would like and I go crazy if I don't have a distraction. This works for us...he has a little more time to analyze the data and I get to watch some t.v. I was interested in the show and all of a sudden he exclaims, "When did you get a <a href="http://www.roadid.com/Common/Catalog.aspx?C=RoadID">Road I.D.</a>?"</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was heartbroken. I nearly burst into tears and then I proceeded to raise my voice at him and get upset that he ALWAYS figures out his presents and I was excited that he wouldn't know what I got him and I failed. I was bummed. Christmas was ruined. He then says, "That's a great present and I still don't know what it looks like". (That wasn't helpful).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I finally got over it. I was still excited about my gift until a few days later when we got a knock on the door after he came home from work and he was handed this:</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TRN-Orw4xsI/AAAAAAAADpU/v44jl0NyPLk/s1600/DSCN2128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TRN-Orw4xsI/AAAAAAAADpU/v44jl0NyPLk/s640/DSCN2128.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TROBWnS9K7I/AAAAAAAADrI/g2mTg1qo4fI/s1600/DSCN2127-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TROBWnS9K7I/AAAAAAAADrI/g2mTg1qo4fI/s640/DSCN2127-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Had he not seen the transaction in our bank account I'm sure this would have given it away. Maybe someone should tell <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Road I.D.</a> it may not be a good idea to advertise all over their packaging during the holidays!!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh well, I still think it was a brilliant gift idea!<br />
</span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-32113903788703425562010-11-01T10:37:00.000-06:002010-11-01T10:37:52.029-06:00Halloween<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">We had a wonderful Halloween this year!! We decided to find/make costumes last minute and go all out!! Really, I came up with the idea and ran with it!! Hubby was nice enough to oblige me and go along with the idea. I think I can only remember one other Halloween where we dressed up...we are usually party poopers with no creativity.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">This year we went to the Trunk-or-Treat at the church. We walked in and were a little embarrassed when we were some of the only adults dressed up!!!! We had fun anyway, but I felt like a 10 year old all over again.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">We had an endless supply of chili and soups for dinner, a costume parade, and then cute games inside with the kiddos. To finish the night we all went outside for the Trunk-or-Treat.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">We decorated our car trunk and came up with the Halloween Alphabet game for our car (pick a letter of the alphabet and give us a Halloween word that starts with that letter and we'll give you two pieces of candy)! I made cute alphabet Halloween cards with pictures on them. The kids loved the game and hubby gets all the credit because he came up with it!! I saved the cards so </span></span></span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we'll have them for years to come and I'm sure it will be a hit in the future too!</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Hubby also got the best husband prize for letting me dress him up!!</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Happy Halloween!! </span></span></b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7gcuNOOrI/AAAAAAAADiQ/NlqKYDxwjVU/s1600/DSCN2090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7gcuNOOrI/AAAAAAAADiQ/NlqKYDxwjVU/s640/DSCN2090.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7golnmkcI/AAAAAAAADio/ZgFIN0gKKss/s1600/DSCN2093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7golnmkcI/AAAAAAAADio/ZgFIN0gKKss/s640/DSCN2093.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Care Bear Stare!!</span></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7gxBeMB-I/AAAAAAAADhc/v8Y1Dd6MY-c/s1600/DSCN2095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7gxBeMB-I/AAAAAAAADhc/v8Y1Dd6MY-c/s640/DSCN2095.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Our nose hearts</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7gy5VrBWI/AAAAAAAADi4/JsI8HEv4lUQ/s800/DSCN2096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7gy5VrBWI/AAAAAAAADi4/JsI8HEv4lUQ/s640/DSCN2096.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"></span></span></span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Our hearts on our hips which are a sign of authenticity!! (PS. This is an unflattering picture of me...just a baggy sweatshirt - please no preggo questions/comments)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7g2VpZVlI/AAAAAAAADjA/g3GboudbABA/s800/DSCN2097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7g2VpZVlI/AAAAAAAADjA/g3GboudbABA/s640/DSCN2097.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Goodnight Bear and Love-a-Lot Bear!!!</span></span></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7g4-8U0yI/AAAAAAAADho/rSKjyk_A00Y/s1600/DSCN2098.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TM7g4-8U0yI/AAAAAAAADho/rSKjyk_A00Y/s640/DSCN2098.JPG" width="640" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-40076670336448663632010-10-18T20:36:00.000-06:002010-10-18T20:36:48.984-06:00Apartment Hunting<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We arrived in Kansas around 4pm on Thursday, August 26th, 2010. We checked into our hotel and then went to look at a few apartments.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The couple weeks we had prior to our move we did research online and came up with a list of places that we wanted to look at in person. We had about 10 apartments on our list and hoped we would be able to find something that we could move into within a week. In calling around a few days before we arrived, it didn't look promising. Most places didn't have availability until October.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We were able to look at two different complexes the first night we were in town. Both were on our list and both were fairly disappointing; we were NOT impressed. The appliances seemed like they were from the 70's and the interior cabinets were also older. We knew we had been spoiled in Utah with the beautiful condo that we were living in, but we wanted something that seemed a little newer.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We went to dinner that night and I was feeling discouraged. I was exhausted from the 2-day road trip and feeling overwhelmed at trying to find something we would love. The next morning we went to the Post Office in downtown Olathe. I will have to share with you this story some other time, but this was a bad start to what we thought would be a long day. We had about an hour or so before our first appointment of the day. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We ended up stopping by a complex that was NOT on our list. In fact, it was the first apartment complex we had seen online that we loved. When Matthew was out in Kansas for his onsite interview he came to the complex and drove around it, but somehow it never got on our list. We walked in the office and they we soooo nice. They asked us what we were looking for- I personally wanted a 2-bedroom, but Matthew wanted to try to save more money and go with a 1-bedroom. We had been debating about this for a few days. We also needed an apartment with washer/dryer hook-ups.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They took us to an apartment that was currently available. We walked in and were very impressed with the layout, although it was very small. Our condo in Utah was a 3-bedroom, 2-bath and it was about 1200 sq. feet. The apartment we looked at was 1-bedroom, 1-bath and about 633 sq. feet. They were willing to show us their other model apartments, but this 1-bedroom was the only one they had available.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We thought about leaving, going to check out our other apartments and then coming back in the afternoon to make a decision. Matthew asked how quickly they go and the lady told us that they had signed 3 leases the day before. Matthew looked at me and said, "I feel good about this. I think we should take it."</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I felt uneasy to say the least. We still had a whole list of apartments we were going to look at and I didn't want to rush into this decision. What was really appealing is that we could move in that day and be done with hotels. We finally decided to pay the deposit and see if we could get approved. We headed off to Einstein Bagel down the street for some lunch.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They called about 20 minutes later to say that we had been approved and we could come sign our lease. We got the 1-bedroom/1-bath and a detached garage which has been so great! We moved in our boxes that day and stayed in the hotel one more night. We were able to unpack everything and get all organized before Matthew started his job on Monday, August 30th. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It took about a month to get all of our furniture and everything purchased and set up. I took a video of our place and have lots of photos to show you! :D We love our place!!!! I wasn't sure at first, but its grown on me so much. I love the area that we live in and our ward is incredible!!!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enjoy the video and please don't take too much notice of my crazy hair!! Also, sorry I turned the camera a few times, I'm not sure what I was thinking.</span></span></span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="600" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/15962961" width="800"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/15962961"> </a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Kitchen</span></span></div><a href="http://vimeo.com/15962961"> </a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXiGfpgBI/AAAAAAAAC9s/tHwc83oDVcw/s1600/DSCN2008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXiGfpgBI/AAAAAAAAC9s/tHwc83oDVcw/s640/DSCN2008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Other side of Kitchen</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXipbLprI/AAAAAAAAC9w/hs2_MPoTS4Y/s1600/DSCN2009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXipbLprI/AAAAAAAAC9w/hs2_MPoTS4Y/s640/DSCN2009.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kitchen Decor</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXix2oeAI/AAAAAAAAC90/VhCryHvv5EE/s1600/DSCN2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXix2oeAI/AAAAAAAAC90/VhCryHvv5EE/s640/DSCN2010.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wall Art above Kitchen Sink</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXjMkp-3I/AAAAAAAAC94/Nu6Kg49ceZE/s1600/DSCN2011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXjMkp-3I/AAAAAAAAC94/Nu6Kg49ceZE/s640/DSCN2011.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wall Art on Wall next to Washer and Dryer</span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXjc0l6NI/AAAAAAAAC98/BT-n9SkqIkw/s1600/DSCN2012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXjc0l6NI/AAAAAAAAC98/BT-n9SkqIkw/s640/DSCN2012.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Living Room</span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXjrgVlyI/AAAAAAAAC-A/BEPm2EzLan0/s1600/DSCN2013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXjrgVlyI/AAAAAAAAC-A/BEPm2EzLan0/s640/DSCN2013.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wall Art in Living Room</span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXj3Pq7gI/AAAAAAAAC-E/8eGkLU_qsT0/s1600/DSCN2014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXj3Pq7gI/AAAAAAAAC-E/8eGkLU_qsT0/s640/DSCN2014.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Bathroom</span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXkBOD0SI/AAAAAAAAC-I/g2jL2wrJw-o/s1600/DSCN2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXkBOD0SI/AAAAAAAAC-I/g2jL2wrJw-o/s640/DSCN2015.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Walk-in Closet inside the Bathroom</span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXka0CGsI/AAAAAAAAC-M/-ugx57EFwnw/s1600/DSCN2016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXka0CGsI/AAAAAAAAC-M/-ugx57EFwnw/s640/DSCN2016.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another Bathroom View</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXkjJMudI/AAAAAAAAC-Q/32j4utTgSYI/s1600/DSCN2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyXkjJMudI/AAAAAAAAC-Q/32j4utTgSYI/s640/DSCN2017.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Better view of the chair in our Living Room that I love!! My nephew Austin loves it too! :)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyR6_HJzMI/AAAAAAAAC-w/KVMw1PUYZlw/s1600/DSCN2059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TLyR6_HJzMI/AAAAAAAAC-w/KVMw1PUYZlw/s640/DSCN2059.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-55016124628955661342010-09-21T16:11:00.000-06:002010-09-21T16:11:47.043-06:00The Adventure Begins...<span><span style="background-color: #741b47;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">WARNING: LONG <u>DETAILED</u> POST AHEAD!!! Read at your own risk! :) </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">It's been <b>nearly a month</b> since we left our home in Orem, UT. I can't believe we've already been here that long!!! I feel like I'm just getting settled and feeling comfortable in our surroundings and realizing I don't have to get up and go to work in the morning (the best part by far)!!! As most of you know, I'd been counting down the months/weeks/days to when we would finally get our new start/adventure. Now that it's happened I'm wishing I'd enjoyed my time a little more. I miss our home; our friends; and what's comfortable to us, but I am so very grateful for the opportunities we have been given.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Tuesday, August 24th, 2010</u>: My last day of work at Novell. I remember feeling weird as I placed my computer and badge on my boss' desk. I walked out of those doors and left my security badge behind and I felt naked! It was something I had taken to work with me every day for the last 4 years. I headed home and we started cleaning and packing the truck. I was in a daze and still clueless as to what we were doing.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">I consider myself a very organized person. We had everything all boxed and ready to go and it took less than an hour to pack our truck- I was <b>SHOCKED</b>!! We had a ton of guys helping us and before I knew it we were standing in a mostly empty condo. The ladies helped clean and we seriously couldn't have done it without everyone's help.</span></span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">photo op after packing and cleaning-my besties!</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5runUUXdI/AAAAAAAACxA/qPlXl6lBvSk/s1600/DSCN1986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5runUUXdI/AAAAAAAACxA/qPlXl6lBvSk/s640/DSCN1986.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Us with our hubbies!</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rvMla7QI/AAAAAAAACxI/FVDQ9YjLzQ0/s1600/DSCN1988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rvMla7QI/AAAAAAAACxI/FVDQ9YjLzQ0/s640/DSCN1988.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Wednesday, August 25th, 2010</u>: We slept on the living room floor that night and woke up early to start our long day. We had a lot more stuff still in the condo than we hoped, so it took about two hours to finish packing and get on the road. Matthew drove the rental truck with our Passat in tow and I drove our 1998, 180,000 mile, Honda Accord and followed him most of the way.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">We drove up through Heber and hopped on I-80 and by 10:30am we made our first stop at Little America in Wyoming. Allphin family tradition is to get a 50 cent ice cream cone at the restaurant when you're passing through. We of course had to document the occasion as it was my first experience at Little America.</span></span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> At the boutique- we've only gone a couple hours and I'm already done...</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TJkhe9cVGPI/AAAAAAAAC2w/WvI9-nkSRII/s1600/IMG00043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TJkhe9cVGPI/AAAAAAAAC2w/WvI9-nkSRII/s640/IMG00043.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Aside from Matthew running over some wood on the road and nearly hitting my windshield and his contact popping out of his eye on the middle of the freeway it was an uneventful drive. There were spots of construction it seemed every 50 miles or so all along I-80, that became more of an annoyance than anything else.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"> Day 1 was the <b>longest</b> day! We spent about 11 and 1/2 hours on the road and we stopped in North Platte, NE for the night. We ate Taco Bell for dinner and went to bed early. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Thursday, August 26th, 2010</u>: We slept in and got on the road around 9:30 am. We had a short 6 and 1/2 hour drive to Kansas, but it was still a <b>LONG</b> day. The drive wasn't as boring as most people told me it would be and I rather enjoyed cranking up my music and singing at the top of my lungs. (Thanks Jennerbirdie for the sweet mixed CDs- You <b>saved my LIFE</b>).</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">We made it to <b>Olathe, KS</b> just after 4pm and were able to check-in to our hotel and go and look at a couple of apartments before they closed for the day.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">This was my view most of the trip:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rof-bTiI/AAAAAAAACws/jIqRZ-tGYhI/s1600/DSCN1989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rof-bTiI/AAAAAAAACws/jIqRZ-tGYhI/s640/DSCN1989.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">And this is us on day 1 as we stopped for gas:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rpFIXFxI/AAAAAAAACww/qAsWqGrqDRI/s1600/DSCN1990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rpFIXFxI/AAAAAAAACww/qAsWqGrqDRI/s640/DSCN1990.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rrSdH4HI/AAAAAAAACw0/VcDeeC9naog/s1600/DSCN1991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rrSdH4HI/AAAAAAAACw0/VcDeeC9naog/s640/DSCN1991.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">We had our walkie talkies with us the whole way to communicate and make sure we weren't falling asleep. Each one came with an ear piece which was handy and helped especially when my music was blasting!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><br />
</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">We were happy to be done driving and looking forward to finding a place to live. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u><b>**Coming Up</b></u>: The apartment hunt begins!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"> </span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-81803907380513725802010-09-01T09:41:00.000-06:002010-09-01T09:41:03.726-06:00Circle of Life<div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I woke up the morning of August 20th with my sweet husband by my side. We had been neck deep in packing and moving details for a few days when he turned to me lovingly said, "I need you to be ready tonight at 5pm. We're going out for out last date night in Utah". </span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was rather perplexed and a little annoyed that he would ask me to drop everything and go on a date with him. I had my sister-in-law coming over that evening to help me pack the kitchen and my mother-in-law coming over Saturday morning to help with the rest of the packing, how do we possibly have time for a date night?? Before I could argue he said, "I've already made plans and reservations, so you need to be ready and not ask questions, okay?" </span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I agreed and told him it was his responsibility to call my sister-in-law and explain why we would have to cut our packing date short.</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I went about the day with little thought of where I was going that night. I had a lot on my mind as it was, so it was easy to think about other things. I came home from work around 3pm and my sister-in-law was already at our condo packing up the kitchen. </span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We worked until 4:30 and then she left...I felt like we had just gotten going and so I was annoyed again that I had to stop the momentum and get ready for our date.</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I got ready and we left the house later than Matthew had anticipated. We got in the car and had an empty tank, so we had to stop off at the gas station. By this point I felt really bad since it was a quarter to 6 and we had a reservation somewhere at 6pm in Salt Lake City.</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We had dinner on the patio at PF Chang's. It was a beautiful evening and by this point I was happy to get away from the moving chaos. </span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After dinner, we went for a walk and to my surprise we ended up at:</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5ral9BzYI/AAAAAAAACvs/TJUa38AXrmk/s1600/DSCN1980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5ral9BzYI/AAAAAAAACvs/TJUa38AXrmk/s640/DSCN1980.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And we walked in the theater and up to Will Call where we were given our two tickets for The Lion King!!!</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5raXih6XI/AAAAAAAAC0U/IgrMl6mJclA/s1600/DSCN1979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5raXih6XI/AAAAAAAAC0U/IgrMl6mJclA/s640/DSCN1979.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I couldn't believe it!!! I had mentioned to Matthew back in February that this was a show I would love to go see. At the time we didn't know where we would be in August.</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rbaLzDuI/AAAAAAAAC0c/ex9VczFDUHY/s1600/DSCN1982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rbaLzDuI/AAAAAAAAC0c/ex9VczFDUHY/s640/DSCN1982.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This movie has always had a special place in my heart. It was one of my dad's favorite Disney movies; he would watch it with us often when we were kids. It was actually one of the last movies I ever saw with my dad. And the story hits close to home for me and my family. </span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As we were sitting in the theater waiting for the show to start Matthew made me promise that I would only cry at the sad parts. I agreed, but I didn't know how difficult that would be.</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rdLMsVzI/AAAAAAAAC0k/0VlDfPNi5YM/s1600/DSCN1984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TH5rdLMsVzI/AAAAAAAAC0k/0VlDfPNi5YM/s640/DSCN1984.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They opened the show with "The Circle of Life" and I got all misty-eyed. The entire show was beautiful and has such amazing symbolism. It also has some amazing songs that aren't in the movie.</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you have an opportunity to go see this show-DO IT!!! It is worth every penny!</span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="color: #e69138; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is definitely a date night I will never forget. I'm so grateful for a husband who is mindful of me and knows what I need even when I don't. It was the perfect way to relax and spend time together before the big move!</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-21616276204962957912010-08-24T11:18:00.000-06:002010-08-24T11:18:08.612-06:00Road Trip<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today is my last day of work...in a few short hours I will be turning in my badge and walking out of Building B at the Novell campus for the last time as an employee.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I haven't had much time to process anything that has happened over the past few weeks. I'm sure that will happen on the road or a few weeks from now once we've had a chance to get settled. What I do know is that I will miss my Novell family.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm feeling good; we're mostly packed and we start loading the truck tonight, but I'm also feeling a little nervous and anxious. This is an exciting adventure, but I'm sure it will take some time before it all sinks in. Sleeping has been a bit lacking lately as its a bit more difficult to shut my mind off at night, hopefully this will get better soon!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We pack up the truck tonight and we head for Kansas tomorrow morning. Matthew will be driving the truck and towing our Passat behind him and I'll be in our Honda. We'll have our walkie talkies to keep each other awake and alert. And hopefully lots of caffeine and snacks to help with the long drive.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We've decided to go through Wyoming and Oklahoma, so we'll be headed toward I-80 in the morning, bound for this new and exciting adventure!!! We'll stop in Oklahoma tomorrow night and then drive the rest of the way on Thursday.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We don't have a place to live yet, so it may be crazy for the next few weeks, I'll post we I get a chance. </span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-5431838012934415182010-08-18T09:45:00.000-06:002010-08-18T09:45:11.698-06:00adventure<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #0b5394;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We're moving to Kansas!!!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We have been so blessed throughout this entire process!! After much thought and prayer, we have decided to take a job with a little company called:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TGv7V91g47I/AAAAAAAACu4/bFNWd3dPJyo/s800/Garmin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="69" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TGv7V91g47I/AAAAAAAACu4/bFNWd3dPJyo/s200/Garmin1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TGv7VsPP7qI/AAAAAAAACu0/dDYdXO5JCag/s800/Garmin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TGv7VsPP7qI/AAAAAAAACu0/dDYdXO5JCag/s400/Garmin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He'll be working as an Embedded Systems Engineer for the Fitness Department which means he'll be working on cool products like this:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TGv8tCfJ49I/AAAAAAAACvA/l-QpiiwBYaw/s800/Garmin%20Forerunner%20310XT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TGv8tCfJ49I/AAAAAAAACvA/l-QpiiwBYaw/s800/Garmin%20Forerunner%20310XT.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We are so excited for this opportunity!! And feel so incredibly blessed (I can't say it enough)!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My last day of work is next Tuesday, August 24th!! We leave on Wednesday, August 25th and head for Denver. Thursday, August 26th we'll drive the rest of the way to Olathe, KS, home of Garmin International headquarters. We'll frantically be looking for a place to live Friday-Sunday and then Matthew starts his new job on Monday, August 30th.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This whole process has moved fast. We just formally excepted the offer late Friday afternoon and started packing up almost immediately! With a little more than two weeks to do everything I have been a bit overwhelmed, but I'm feeling so excited to start this new chapter!!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you again for all of your love and support!! I know I say that often, but I really feel the good vibes you're sending our way! Thank you a million times over!!</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-9358104353866638012010-07-29T15:33:00.028-06:002010-07-29T15:44:04.500-06:00There is happiness.<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><div style="color: #134f5c;"><div style="color: #134f5c;"><div style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: small;">I read a quote several weeks ago that I loved:<i> </i></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;"><i>Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. My declaration is that this is precisely what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, especially in times of need. There </i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i>is</i></span></i></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;"><i> help. There </i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i>is</i></span></i></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;"><i> happiness. There really </i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i>is</i></span></i></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;"><i> light at the end of the tunnel.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;"><i> </i>“</span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;"><i>Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead—Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, </i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i>they come. </i></span></i><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-style: normal;">It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”</span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Jeffrey R. Holland, “‘An High Priest of Good Things to Come’,” </span></span></i><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i>Ensign</i></span></i><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-style: normal;">, Nov 1999.</span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I have thought a lot about that quote over the past month. I've had it on my desktop at work for weeks and whenever I would get discouraged about the job hunt, or working, or not knowing when and where, and if we were going to go anywhere, I would read that quote and I found comfort, if only for a moment.</span></span></i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-style: normal;">I finally decided to take Elder Holland's council a couple weeks ago and "Trust God and believe in good things to come". I was sitting at work worrying, like I always do. I'm really great at it! :D I was worrying about when we would get a job and when I could quit my job and when we could move, etc. I sat at my desk overwhelmed with hopelessness and I decided I wasn't going to worry any more; I couldn't it was exhausting and it was effecting my job, my marriage, my relationships, and so many other things. I decided that I would put my trust in the Lord and have faith in the future and I did.</span></span></i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Personally, I think the Lord has humor and I think he laughs a lot because it wasn't six hours later that Matthew received his first call about a company that was interested in interviewing him- and I chuckled to myself and then I felt bad I hadn't trusted him sooner.</span></span></i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-style: normal;">We have been blessed immensely since that night and although the future is still uncertain I continue to put my trust in the Lord and know that he will guide and direct us where we need to be and there <b>IS</b> happiness in that.</span></span></i></span></span></div></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-19521276459718181332010-07-26T14:24:00.001-06:002010-07-26T14:25:30.551-06:00Adorable<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This sweet video tugs at my heart strings...</span></div><br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/niOCmIuts90&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/niOCmIuts90&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Love you dad!</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-33748883359562094612010-07-10T16:05:00.002-06:002010-07-09T17:25:32.729-06:00Happy Anniversary!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">I saw Matthew for the first time on Sunday, January 5th, 2003. My oldest brother, Louis and my mom had just driven me back to Utah. It was a difficult time for my family, as my father had just past away a few weeks earlier. My mom and my brother went to church with my that afternoon at the BYU Law Building. I was sitting there saying hi to my sweet friends and feeling their wonderful love and support when in walked this strong, handsome farm boy. I was immediately attracted to him.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Weeks went by and my image slowly changed. I dyed my hair a darker color and started going through a "punk" phase. My family was worried about me, but I felt like I was just trying to find myself and cope with everything that had happened over the last several months.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Matthew and I wold walk past each other on our way to classes and every time I saw him, my heart skipped a beat. I finally verbalized my crush for him to the girls in my ward and by March he called me on the phone and asked me out on a date. I was elated!!! I hung up the phone and screamed, I felt like the luckiest girl in the ward. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">We moved fast in our relationship, by our second date I told him I was really attracted to him and I wanted to see where things could go, but that I came with some serious baggage. We were open with each other from the start and it was so refreshing. On that same date we had our first kiss.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">The next year brought a lot of struggles for both of us. We were young and trying to find ourselves and figure what we needed, but being together was never a question. On April 10, 2004, we went up to Sundance and he proposed to me in the very same spot where we had our first kiss.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">I moved home to AZ a few days later to plan the wedding. On Saturday, July 10, 2004 I married the man of my dreams and I've never been happier. Matthew is my world and I've grown to love him more and more every single day. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Here's a look at us throughout the years!<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Us on our wedding day- 108 degree weather is not ideal.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecfe8cctI/AAAAAAAACpk/ClHZHLfIz38/s1600/Tuesday%2C%20January%2017%2C%202006%20%28107%29017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecfe8cctI/AAAAAAAACpk/ClHZHLfIz38/s640/Tuesday%2C%20January%2017%2C%202006%20%28107%29017.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our Honeymoon in Mexico, where I began the never-ending bad luck with all motorized vehicles that are not cars. I wrecked our 4-wheeler about 15 minutes after we rented it and I was determined to take it back right away. This has only continued throughout our marriage, the most memorable can be seen <a href="http://eallphin.blogspot.com/2008/06/who-wrecks-on-vespa-scooter.html">here</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDechWidxKI/AAAAAAAACpw/mcS815AOMuk/s1600/Tuesday%2C%20January%2017%2C%202006%20%28107%29106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDechWidxKI/AAAAAAAACpw/mcS815AOMuk/s640/Tuesday%2C%20January%2017%2C%202006%20%28107%29106.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Our very first picture with our very first digital camera. This is history in the making folks! </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecXP_miII/AAAAAAAACo4/0IrOSuRyIP0/s1600/IMG_0024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecXP_miII/AAAAAAAACo4/0IrOSuRyIP0/s640/IMG_0024.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Our 1-Year Anniversary-We went up to Salt Lake City and stayed at Little America where Matthew proceeded to get sick with food poisoning-definitely a memorable anniversary!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecZrwQ7nI/AAAAAAAACpM/SE5R66vjv3k/s1600/IMG_0363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecZrwQ7nI/AAAAAAAACpM/SE5R66vjv3k/s640/IMG_0363.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">December 2005 </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeccfFr3DI/AAAAAAAACpc/WahcxKPmbbk/s1600/IMG_0507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeccfFr3DI/AAAAAAAACpc/WahcxKPmbbk/s640/IMG_0507.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">I will <b>NEVER</b> forgive myself for this...I used to cut Matthew's hair and I thought I was pretty good at it. Until this specific incident when I had taken the guard off of the clippers to get around his ears and then I found a spot that I had missed on the side of his head and I went at it without the guard on...before I knew it, it was too late!!! Needless to say, I refused to buzz his head, so we had to take a trip downstairs to Nate and Jill's-she was braver than I was and afterward he looked like our niece Grace. I've never cut his hair since...</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDechrohFyI/AAAAAAAACp0/ODz_jb3k1H8/s1600/CIMG1557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDechrohFyI/AAAAAAAACp0/ODz_jb3k1H8/s640/CIMG1557.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Sept 25th, 2006 - The night before Matthew's first marathon in Logan, UT</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeciIflv5I/AAAAAAAACp4/XYexpvgyNNc/s1600/Picture%20105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeciIflv5I/AAAAAAAACp4/XYexpvgyNNc/s640/Picture%20105.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Sept. 23, 2006 - Just after crossing the finish line after his 1st Marathon!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeci3ZJNOI/AAAAAAAACp8/CjNNmHtCuEk/s1600/Picture%20110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeci3ZJNOI/AAAAAAAACp8/CjNNmHtCuEk/s640/Picture%20110.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Disneyland June 2007-Matthew's 1st trip!!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecmEb57cI/AAAAAAAACqQ/IBALW-Yr_rA/s1600/scan0001%282%29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecmEb57cI/AAAAAAAACqQ/IBALW-Yr_rA/s640/scan0001%282%29.JPG" width="452" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">4th of July, 2007- I love his curly hair!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecnpYo1jI/AAAAAAAACqc/W2wBFhH5UkQ/s1600/CIMG2978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDecnpYo1jI/AAAAAAAACqc/W2wBFhH5UkQ/s640/CIMG2978.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://eallphin.blogspot.com/2008/01/christmas.html"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Christmas in Boise 2007</span></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDect8ejoyI/AAAAAAAACrA/FBG_IX_cwPk/s1600/Christmas%20%2707%20010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDect8ejoyI/AAAAAAAACrA/FBG_IX_cwPk/s640/Christmas%20%2707%20010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After purchasing our <a href="http://eallphin.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-addition-to-our-family.html">first car</a></span></span></span><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">-Christmas 2008</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDep-Rit0WI/AAAAAAAACs4/RX6tncMhCYc/s1600/dscn1016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDep-Rit0WI/AAAAAAAACs4/RX6tncMhCYc/s640/dscn1016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><a href="http://eallphin.blogspot.com/2009/05/running-with-angels.html">My first race</a> "Running with Angels"-May 2009</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqAX0enWI/AAAAAAAACtE/6qqiJYAq7bw/s1600/5890_521772214171_203000604_30956343_2597650_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqAX0enWI/AAAAAAAACtE/6qqiJYAq7bw/s640/5890_521772214171_203000604_30956343_2597650_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My 25th birthday in Park City-September 7, 2009</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqBl0sk3I/AAAAAAAACtI/N8o1r6j1xow/s1600/DSCN1569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqBl0sk3I/AAAAAAAACtI/N8o1r6j1xow/s640/DSCN1569.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><a href="http://eallphin.blogspot.com/2010/07/friday-april-30-2010-matthews.html">Matthew's Graduation</a>-April 30, 2010</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqEdyideI/AAAAAAAACtU/U6BR5LWuUg4/s1600/DSCN1862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqEdyideI/AAAAAAAACtU/U6BR5LWuUg4/s640/DSCN1862.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Special Olympics-June 2010</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqGQptFUI/AAAAAAAACtk/oFD1AaAal_8/s1600/DSCN1888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqGQptFUI/AAAAAAAACtk/oFD1AaAal_8/s640/DSCN1888.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">4th of July 2010</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqHCb2HVI/AAAAAAAACto/ADKB_yXk0KA/s1600/DSCN1904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDeqHCb2HVI/AAAAAAAACto/ADKB_yXk0KA/s640/DSCN1904.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Happy Anniversary babe, I love you!</span></span><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-2463635329603635972010-07-08T16:00:00.001-06:002010-07-08T16:58:32.692-06:00Provo City Half Marathon - May 1, 2010<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My training for the half marathon was difficult. It seemed every race I had leading up to the big day had its own challenges; the biggest of all was the IT Band Syndrome I had in both of my knees. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The last few weeks of training were a huge struggle. Matthew and I would head out on Saturday morning with our <a href="http://www.teamrunningfree.com/wordpress/uploads/nathan_speed4_greyyellow.jpg">water belt</a>, gum, music, <a href="http://www.solesportsrunning.com/shop/images/pi_641.jpeg">GU Chomps</a> and our trusty <a href="http://runforlife3.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/405cx.jpg">Garmin GPS watches</a>; and we would head up Provo Canyon. I felt great for the first few miles, even making it all the way to Vivian Park on one training run, only to be discouraged and disappointed on the way back. My pain would get too severe, so I'd have to stop at one of the parks and Matthew would run ahead to get the car and pick me up. I was devastated; I felt like I wouldn't be able to accomplish this one goal I had set for myself.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Matthew talked to me about possibly running the half marathon relay, he would take the first leg and then I could take the second and cross the finish line. He also talked about the possibility of skipping the race altogether and not doing it. Taking time off, resting my knees, recuperating, and then trying it all again in a few months. I wouldn't listen; I got upset anytime he brought it up. I was determined to do it, but in the back of my mind I had doubts.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I wanted May 1, 2010 to be the day that I accomplished this goal. My parents would be there, my little sisters, Matthew's family and that was more important to me than any pain I felt.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The farthest I had gone in training was <a href="http://eallphin.blogspot.com/2010/04/salt-lake-10-miler.html">10 miles</a>, which hurt. I didn't think I could make it another 3.1 miles after that race. Two weeks before the half marathon I was planning to run 12 miles, it was on the schedule, but I only made it 8.5 miles. I was determined to run 10 miles the next Saturday, but I only made it 5.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I broke down, I didn't know what to do. Should I give up? Should I rest? Should I risk getting injured just to reach my personal goal? I decided to <b><span style="font-size: small;">go for it</span></b>. I knew if I was going to do it; I needed to give it everything I had. So, I went to our family doctor the Monday before the race. He gave me a cortisone shot in each knee, which was really painful, and told me to rest until Saturday. He also suggested I buy some <a href="http://www.return2fitness.co.uk/products/ITB57927_large.jpg">straps</a> to put above my knees while running to take some of the pressure off, so I did.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The week went by fast and before I knew it, we were celebrating Matthew and all of his accomplishments and then we headed to pick up our packets. We went to bed early and I prayed for good weather and a strong body. I woke up early, ate some breakfast, and we headed to the starting line. It was a beautiful morning.</span></span></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Provo Tabernacle (Start and Finish Line) </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zO8M0pnWI/AAAAAAAACYU/paHDXiymLzY/s1600/DSC_3044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zO8M0pnWI/AAAAAAAACYU/paHDXiymLzY/s640/DSC_3044.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> But, it was a little chilly,</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zO9jHPDyI/AAAAAAAACYg/hle57qeTq7c/s1600/DSC_3047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zO9jHPDyI/AAAAAAAACYg/hle57qeTq7c/s640/DSC_3047.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> And, I was <b>really</b> nervous,</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zO-whxvUI/AAAAAAAACYw/nSx94Rd1Yi4/s1600/DSC_3049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zO-whxvUI/AAAAAAAACYw/nSx94Rd1Yi4/s640/DSC_3049.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> So, I turned on my tunes,</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zO_GF-c9I/AAAAAAAACY0/iLfGqru1uSA/s1600/DSC_3050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zO_GF-c9I/AAAAAAAACY0/iLfGqru1uSA/s640/DSC_3050.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> and I stretched a <b>LOT</b>. Before I knew it, we were saying goodbye,</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zPEok5dAI/AAAAAAAACZY/pfZNSHf0bas/s1600/DSC_3059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zPEok5dAI/AAAAAAAACZY/pfZNSHf0bas/s640/DSC_3059.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">and we were OFF!!!! We stayed toward the back of the pack and I got in my groove. And about 5 minutes into our race, it started sprinkling...and then it started drizzling....and then it even snowed, but it didn't stop me, I kept going.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The weather stayed at a constant drizzle and we were both grateful we decided to run with our gloves on, they literally saved us! I stopped at every aid station. I stretched a little, drank some water, ate my GU Chomps and tightened my IT Band straps as I needed to. My pace was a little slower than I would have liked, but I felt good and that's all that mattered to me. My music was keeping me motivated and before I knew it, we had passed the half way point, which was such a relief. Each mile marker we passed I felt good, and when I passed mile marker 7 as "Another One Bites The Dust" came on, I started laughing and then my eyes filled up with tears, I was actually running my first half marathon!!!!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At mile 10, Matthew looked over at me and he said, "This is virgin mileage, babe! Every step from here on out is farther than you've ever gone before".-And I still felt good. :D</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Around mile 12, Miley Cyrus started singing "The Climb" to me. MOST.AMAZING.SONG.EVER!!! I started crying and laughing all at the same time. I think it was in that moment that I finally realized that I was going to make it. I was going to finish the half marathon.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The last mile was definitely the hardest. I felt like I was running in slow motion and my body felt like it was shutting down, but I kept going. And when we rounded the corner for the home stretch, my step-dad was standing there in the rain and pretty soon I started seeing all of our other family and friends that came to support me, and it was emotional. </span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zPFYQo3AI/AAAAAAAACZc/w9Ykq3CQnaw/s1600/DSC_3060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zPFYQo3AI/AAAAAAAACZc/w9Ykq3CQnaw/s640/DSC_3060.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We were almost there, and every step was a little more difficult than the last.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And then Matthew started celebrating before we even got to the finish line...</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zPGoyGEKI/AAAAAAAACZo/sKr3VeZ-Fbo/s1600/DSC_3062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zPGoyGEKI/AAAAAAAACZo/sKr3VeZ-Fbo/s640/DSC_3062.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And then I grabbed his hand, and we finished together, just like we always do!</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDYoiu9TdwI/AAAAAAAACcE/Wm-bhnG_UXI/s1600/00266-03-0934-medjpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/TDYoiu9TdwI/AAAAAAAACcE/Wm-bhnG_UXI/s640/00266-03-0934-medjpeg.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We were soaked and we were tired and it only took 3 minutes before we started to freeze, so we didn't stay long, but it was so worth it.</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zPG1q5DAI/AAAAAAAACZs/oyg7h21Xk5w/s1600/DSC_3063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zPG1q5DAI/AAAAAAAACZs/oyg7h21Xk5w/s640/DSC_3063.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm so happy that I had friends and family there to greet me at the finish line. It was emotional giving them hugs and sharing this experience with them, definitely something I will not ever forget. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And I couldn't have done it without my best friend. He is the one that keeps pushing me and helping me reach all of my goals! And maybe someday, we'll even run our first full marathon, and finish together! :D</span></span></span><br />
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</div><span style="color: #073763; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This has been the soundtrack of my life/training over the past several months:</span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I can almost see it</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">That dream I am dreaming</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But there's a voice inside my head saying</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"You'll never reach it"</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Every step I'm taking</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Every move I make feels</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Lost with no direction</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My faith is shaking</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But I gotta keep trying</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Gotta keep my head held high</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There's always gonna be another mountain</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm always gonna wanna make it move</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Always gonna be a uphill battle</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ain't about how fast I get there</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ain't about what's waiting on the other side</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's the climb</span></span><br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NG2zyeVRcbs&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NG2zyeVRcbs&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-16314727358371233542010-07-06T16:00:00.005-06:002010-07-07T16:07:49.060-06:00Friday, April 30, 2010- Matthew's Graduation Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know I'm really behind, but I think I'm ready to get back into blogging and catch everyone up on all the <b>big</b> events that have happened the past few months. The biggest and best news of all is Matthew is done with his Bachelors of Science in Computer Science. Hooray [I'm Jumping up and down]!!! :D I couldn't be more pleased with him and all of the amazing things he has accomplished. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This day couldn't have been more perfect. We seemed to have spent weeks and months planning for the big graduation day and it all happened so quickly. I kept telling myself, throughout the, to live in the moment and soak it all in. I didn't want to forget anything about this moment, these feelings, etc. My only regret is that I did not get enough pictures, but I will cherish the ones I have for a lifetime!</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Friday morning we had the privilege of going to a President's breakfast where they honored the Valedictorians of each college. Matthew's parents were able to join us as guests and we had such a lovely time. The weather was a little gloomy, but I think I wore enough sunshine for everyone!</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: xx-small;">Matthew and I at the President's Breakfast</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: xx-small;"> </span> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zCuAgMT0I/AAAAAAAACSc/6menUFd6qF4/s1600/DSCN1858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zCuAgMT0I/AAAAAAAACSc/6menUFd6qF4/s640/DSCN1858.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Picture with Matthew's wonderful parents</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span></span><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zCu26bekI/AAAAAAAACSk/0Bw8EZioJ98/s1600/DSCN1860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zCu26bekI/AAAAAAAACSk/0Bw8EZioJ98/s640/DSCN1860.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Proud wifey!!! :D</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zCvqr5U9I/AAAAAAAACSs/NLbT_Kmh2P0/s1600/DSCN1862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zCvqr5U9I/AAAAAAAACSs/NLbT_Kmh2P0/s640/DSCN1862.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After breakfast, we attended commencement, where Matthew sat on the podium and was recognized by the President of UVU, Matthew Holland. I met his wife at breakfast and she is just the most lovely, beautiful woman. President Holland spoke and used the text from Dr. Seuss' "Oh The Places You'll Go", definitely a favorite book of mine. They also had Larry Echohawk, head of the U.S. Indian Affairs speak to us. Matthew's dad played football with Larry at BYU, so we met him before commencement during the Presidential Breakfast. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Immediately following commencement, we had the convocation for The College of Technology and Computing. Matthew sat on the podium and gave a wonderful speech. We have it on video, but it's in the wrong format and Matthew requested I not put it on the blog, but it was amazing. I received a little shout out; it made my heart flutter and it brought tears to my eyes.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> cute hubby on the podium</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></span><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zHorU4kgI/AAAAAAAACQw/FIVLsbB4VaI/s1600/DSCN1878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zHorU4kgI/AAAAAAAACQw/FIVLsbB4VaI/s640/DSCN1878.JPG" width="640" /><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> I love this look, melts my heart! </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zNx6DF5OI/AAAAAAAACSA/8tgzk1lCUNU/s1600/DSC_2961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zNx6DF5OI/AAAAAAAACSA/8tgzk1lCUNU/s640/DSC_2961.jpg" width="430" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Giving his speech</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"></span></span><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zOPryZhFI/AAAAAAAACSw/8zIjViST_Bc/s1600/DSC_2965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zOPryZhFI/AAAAAAAACSw/8zIjViST_Bc/s640/DSC_2965.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Receiving his diploma</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></span><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zOYY7ZrZI/AAAAAAAACTw/iqdDVo-v3WM/s1600/DSC_2977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zOYY7ZrZI/AAAAAAAACTw/iqdDVo-v3WM/s640/DSC_2977.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Picture we got with the family that was able to attend-THANK YOU!!!!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></span><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zOed4cCjI/AAAAAAAACUk/AYwvJtZsbaA/s1600/DSC_2990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S9zOed4cCjI/AAAAAAAACUk/AYwvJtZsbaA/s640/DSC_2990.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After all the ceremonies, we dashed off to pick-up our packets for the Provo City Half Marathon and then we went to Matthew's Celebration with family and friends. We had such a wonderful time and truly appreciate all the love, support, and prayers we've received on our behalf over the last several weeks, months, and years. We've started to look for jobs and we feel so blessed to know that the right one is out there for us!</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thank you to all of you!!! We love you more than you could ever know!!!</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-31824567477661641412010-06-08T13:59:00.000-06:002010-06-08T13:59:10.318-06:00Update on Life...<span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My bad day came and went...I was more venting than anything, so I apologize, but I do like the video and the song is great too! Life have been crazy in our home. We don't have babies or dogs or any other such things to occupy our time, but we are busy nonetheless. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Matthew is finishing up his Senior Design Project and should officially be done by Friday. This is one reason why I haven't posted pics of graduation or other events....I've been stalling okay!? I wanted everything to be officially done so we can have a blogger celebration! Also, I didn't want to post pictures out of order, so I'll be doing lots of catching up in the near future! :D</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Next week we will start looking for jobs and I will be counting down the days until I can officially put in my notice at work. I've been at Novell for over 4 years and I am definitely ready for a change. We are excited about the future and hope to be able to find something that will be a good fit for us. I'm hoping maybe we can take a few weeks off in between jobs or maybe I can go home for a while some time this summer. I'm missing my family like crazy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wish us luck on the job hunt and pray for me that it won't take forever!! I'd just like to know where/when we're going so I can start making all sorts of crazy plans!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-79911625116442626222010-06-01T15:05:00.004-06:002010-06-01T15:16:00.569-06:00Bad Day...<object style="background-image: url(http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/gH476CxJxfg/hqdefault.jpg);" height="344" width="425"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></span><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gH476CxJxfg&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gH476CxJxfg&hl=en_US&fs=1" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Today I'm feeling a little <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">blue</span>. I have a lot of things to update and post about: crafts, graduation, half marathon, hiking the Y, Special Olympics, etc. and I'll eventually get to those, but I feel it's important to stay true to who I am, so today, this video sums up how I'm feeling. After all, we all have highs and lows don't we?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Now, if I could just blare this on my car stereo, on my way home and sing at the top of my lungs, I think I would feel better.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Nothing especially horrible or heartbreaking happened, sometimes life just gets you down. This is a learning and growing experience isn't it?....especially on patience!?...I think so.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Thanks for hearing me out today. :/</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-11036317587791771442010-04-07T16:00:00.000-06:002010-04-07T16:52:50.304-06:00Salt Lake 10 Miler<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">We drove up to Bountiful Friday afternoon to spend the weekend with my in-laws. The race started at 7:30 the next morning, so we took Grandma Catlin out to dinner and then headed to bed around 9:30pm after checking the weather. We realized we could be running in a blizzard with horrible winds, I prayed that it wouldn't be horrible and it could have been worse. We didn't sleep well at all and woke up around 4:30 am to get some oatmeal in before we left for the race. We drove to "This is the Place Monument" and waited for our friends to arrive to give us a lift to the starting line.</span></span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The run started at Little Dell Recreation area. The course went up and over Little Mountain down Emigration Canyon and finished at "This is the Place" monument. The map below shows the course:<br /><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S70GdjnY3LI/AAAAAAAACLY/f-72SurRBJ4/s800/mapmyrun.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 365px;" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S70GdjnY3LI/AAAAAAAACLY/f-72SurRBJ4/s800/mapmyrun.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Once we got to the start, we tried to stay warm and stayed in the car as long as possible. The video below Matthew took just after the gun went off:</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzyadnHabUC84vppsELjSACkCpF9Xgd3zp_c6IF7BT4ZR7IvIaNNmxaTvDvSqrnfz2Khd-ilS09IHTB9lgX9A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The roads were wet, icy and snowy and the wind was brutal! The first 2.25 miles had a fairly steep incline before we hit the summit and started on the downhill. There were some parts of the incline with the wind blowing 30mph you just felt like you were running/jogging in place. It was awful, and I was only averaging a 12-13 minute mile for those first few miles. My IT Band started hurting soon after the start and I had to walk it out a few times. I started feeling pretty good once we headed downhill although I still felt some pain in my knees.<br /><br />My pace was getting better and I finally felt like I was getting into the groove. At mile 8, I stopped for water. The stop was less than 60 seconds, but when I started running again the pain was excruciating. I was crying and whimpering. Matthew looked at me and asked if we need to stop and go get the medic, but I was determined to finish. It took another half mile to get into the groove again and mentally get past the pain, but I crossed the finish line hand in hand with Matthew with tears streaming down my face. It was an emotional run, frustrated I was feeling so much pain and wishing my body would have kept up with me, we finished slower than I would have liked, but we finished. Our time was: 1:41:00.06.</span></span></span><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7z18mdk6EI/AAAAAAAACKk/U3716upidSo/s800/Salt%20Lake%2010%20Miler.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7z18mdk6EI/AAAAAAAACKk/U3716upidSo/s800/Salt%20Lake%2010%20Miler.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">I went to the doctor this morning. I have </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_band_syndrome">Iliotibial Band Syndrome</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">. The doctor gave me some stretches to do and I purchased a <a href="http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx_Q_ID_E_4918_A_rnd_E_23">Foam Roller</a> to help work out some of the inflammation. He said I should start seeing some improvement in the next week or so. I plan on doing some lighter training for the next couple of weeks. I am still looking forward to running the Provo City Half Marathon on May 1st and <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >determined</span> to get there <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >no-matter-what</span>!!!</span></span><br /></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-40269020635174745012010-04-02T14:17:00.005-06:002010-04-05T15:51:04.246-06:00More Crafting...<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZameL46VI/AAAAAAAACHo/k-GSXDl_8f4/s800/2009-12%20%28Dec%292.jpg"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span></span></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>For Christmas 2009, I decided to take a "homemade" approach. We made most of our gifts and I had a lot of fun doing it. In Matthew's family, we draw names and I drew my sister-in-law, Jenny. As soon as I picked her name I knew what I wanted to make for her. I bookmarked <a href="http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=1615">this</a> tutorial in my <a href="http://www.google.com/reader">Google Reader</a> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">from the fabulous <a href="http://sewmamasew.com/index.php">Sew, Mama, Sew!</a> website </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">and was waiting for the perfect person to use it on. While making the <a href="http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=1615">Car CD Holder</a> for Jenny, I also made two for me (one for each visor in my car). The tutorial was very easy and I was excited about the finished product, Jenny was too! I paired the gift with a g.c. to iTunes! :D</span></span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZameL46VI/AAAAAAAACHo/k-GSXDl_8f4/s800/2009-12%20%28Dec%292.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 572px;" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZameL46VI/AAAAAAAACHo/k-GSXDl_8f4/s800/2009-12%20%28Dec%292.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The next gift was for my nephew, Drew. I found also found these two patterns on <a href="http://sewmamasew.com/index.php">Sew, Mama, Sew!</a> The <a href="http://indietutes.blogspot.com/2009/10/toddler-backpack-pattern.html">Toddler Backpack</a> is already a favorite of mine! I decided to use flannel for the main fabric and canvas for the straps. The tutorial was easy to use, the only difficult part was adding Velcro to the front of the backpack and turning the straps after stitching them (always the most time consuming)! Drew looks pretty adorable with his backpack and I hear it makes for a great church bag!</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> My sister-in-law, Jill's birthday is Christmas day, so I decided to make her a <a href="http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=3261">Linen Apron</a>. I thought it would be a cute idea to scale it down and make a matching one for my niece, Grace, so I did, with the help of my mother-in-law. This pattern was really difficult to follow as the measurements were in centimeters, so the conversion was difficult, but they turned out so adorable!! Both have hand-stitched embroidery and we used a linen-looking fabric instead of real linen because linen wrinkles so easily. Grace's is a little different from Jill's, but they match which I think is just so darling!</span></span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZaKXYW6EI/AAAAAAAACHc/vW9DprQ5Q2c/s800/2009-12%20%28Dec%291.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 572px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZaKXYW6EI/AAAAAAAACHc/vW9DprQ5Q2c/s800/2009-12%20%28Dec%291.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The last two projects were some of my favorite and most time consuming. I made two different magnet boards with matching magnets. I bought the boards from Robert's Crafts and then sanded and painted them. For the magnets, I used the following <a href="http://peptogirl.blogspot.com/2008/08/handmade-for-holidays-marble-magnet.html">tutorial</a>. I had made magnets before, but this time I sealed them with decoupage to help seal the paper to the rock, so the heaviness of the magnet doesn't rip the paper off the rock. The first set of pictures is the magnet board I made for my mother-in-law. They will be building a home this summer, my plan is to get pictures printed for the board for Mother's day. The second set of pictures was for my family in AZ, I loved getting the picture printed and organizing them on the board.</span></span></span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZSfCU2tQI/AAAAAAAACGo/heFSYsQ9Uo0/s800/2009-12%20%28Dec%29.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 500px;" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZSfCU2tQI/AAAAAAAACGo/heFSYsQ9Uo0/s800/2009-12%20%28Dec%29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6k-BB9dT2P4V2DIWfYewNJxzb7LUI-UhTHdqQD-N2KUV0PgMVoHsXqGGv7xd7zDdjpsmYWa1GC2vMOip_gEKTli9Nd7PBG8Mg1CEvZPesrz1LnCTF72WHlA6-XqQVmZ_mKYKfy976P64/s1600/2009-12+%28Dec%29.jpg"><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZaaEnoNYI/AAAAAAAACHg/QxZpgHW0xS4/s800/019.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 572px;" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZaaEnoNYI/AAAAAAAACHg/QxZpgHW0xS4/s800/019.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Overall, I think the projects turned out well! I'll definitely be making them for my family and home someday!</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span></span></span></div><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span></span></span><a href="http://sewmamasew.com/index.php"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span></span></span></a><a href="http://sewmamasew.com/index.php"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span></span></span></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-67920948662565078182010-03-31T16:32:00.004-06:002010-03-31T16:44:51.558-06:00Girl's Night Out<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">A couple of weeks ago I got together with my sister-in-laws, Jill and Jenny. I've been tempted to change my name to Jane, but that might get a little confusing. While they look like sisters already, I would have to lose a bunch of weight, cut my hair and dye it blond to look like these cuties!<br /><br />Jenny just had little Austin back in January and hasn't had a chance to get out of the house much (he was born 7 weeks early and contracted RSV a week before our outing), so we ventured to the mall to get some delicious <a href="http://www.chick-fil-a.com/#home">Chick-fil-a</a> for dinner at the food court and then we walked around for a bit. We went into <a href="http://www.forever21.com/">Forever XXI</a> and found these awesome headbands ("awesome headbands" is said with thick sarcasm and a role of the eyes)!!!<br /><br />I know I was born in the 80's and I love 80's movies and music, but is this really back in style!??!<br /></span></span></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JCou4uROEsA5x3_flXCBy1sx7c3EgLaa7n4C5bCvipCGucn3B53URPUdekvUdE8rKdRMViFWq2hq4C1yZSUAhiJ6YbnoE_mcRi4Ds_EhlqUDEJbjzHDxHpDUPDLSdkXyuu27cXmAS88/s1600/DSCN1802.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JCou4uROEsA5x3_flXCBy1sx7c3EgLaa7n4C5bCvipCGucn3B53URPUdekvUdE8rKdRMViFWq2hq4C1yZSUAhiJ6YbnoE_mcRi4Ds_EhlqUDEJbjzHDxHpDUPDLSdkXyuu27cXmAS88/s400/DSCN1802.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454929870378566482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLHp48gQpD6q9MvajXIrchKnVNbkpbDFPwVLnRicR-cYDg0WjpAIYwjnBBgMb9subjUTWXen0M8_QLPFLSoGydOTQMfgOhze5cIgHePFovw9pa1RRvMPJar8xsHCrtd8S5bylq2BGTgA/s1600/DSCN1803.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLHp48gQpD6q9MvajXIrchKnVNbkpbDFPwVLnRicR-cYDg0WjpAIYwjnBBgMb9subjUTWXen0M8_QLPFLSoGydOTQMfgOhze5cIgHePFovw9pa1RRvMPJar8xsHCrtd8S5bylq2BGTgA/s400/DSCN1803.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454929854101272338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYTgDatSeM4fRjKHXiv9wEOQ7evQm4OFRzZhjsLUWHZreeckie2BbTKLpbv66zhuTCi2-BqdkU83e7VcU4-l0LpTi9Iu4Eg7ZDZOnjMWDPhbUZ9D3BidZ_Z5FKL1eu4u1PlzCIc_Lu-4/s1600/DSCN1804.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYTgDatSeM4fRjKHXiv9wEOQ7evQm4OFRzZhjsLUWHZreeckie2BbTKLpbv66zhuTCi2-BqdkU83e7VcU4-l0LpTi9Iu4Eg7ZDZOnjMWDPhbUZ9D3BidZ_Z5FKL1eu4u1PlzCIc_Lu-4/s400/DSCN1804.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454929847748478802" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Ist0Eazis8Kn6THqIZwweOFVXlTF98YWka-t59B5C63mq5aXrMT19a09uzWZguxT46xUR53GlZsM2MjeJMdzEi4YESjQFryfsRikYnwl06_slZcrdWGBYhBH2f7vdCsMNrPDTql34jo/s1600/DSCN1805.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Ist0Eazis8Kn6THqIZwweOFVXlTF98YWka-t59B5C63mq5aXrMT19a09uzWZguxT46xUR53GlZsM2MjeJMdzEi4YESjQFryfsRikYnwl06_slZcrdWGBYhBH2f7vdCsMNrPDTql34jo/s400/DSCN1805.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454929842725869682" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Seriously!? Maybe I should have bought one...<br /></span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-26705433596276124392010-03-29T16:00:00.000-06:002010-03-31T16:44:44.818-06:00Staying out of debt...<span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 153); font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >In February, my <a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?index=22&locale=0&sourceId=6ec1f73c28d98010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=bbd508f54922d010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD">Visiting Teachers</a> came over to visit with me. Each month we are assigned a topic from the <a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&vgnextoid=a6246a008952b010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD">Ensign</a>, which is a magazine produced by <a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&vgnextoid=e419fb40e21cef00VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRD">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a> with uplifting articles and current news of the members around the world. February's article touched on <a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=646735e43d866210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD">"Managing Resources Wisely and Staying Out of Debt"</a>. We discussed ways in which staying out of debt makes us more self-reliant and essentially more happy. After my <a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=6ec1f73c28d98010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=bbd508f54922d010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD">Visiting Teachers</a> left, I was determined to pay off some of our debt.<br /><br />The following day, I looked over our finances and decided that we could afford to pay off 1 of my 2 school loans. I went online to pay, only to see that I had a $0.00 balance. I called the borrower immediately and told them I would like to pay off the remainder of my loan. The woman put me on hold and then came back and said my Lender had <span style="font-size:100%;">"Forgiven my Debt"</span> because I had been diligently paying for years. I was shocked...almost $1,000.00 had been forgiven. The woman on the phone told me I would be getting a letter in the mail within two weeks indicating a "paid in full" status of the loan.<br /><br />A few weeks later, I received a check in the mail for the last payment that was made to my Lender, not only did they forgive the balance, but they also returned my last payment.<br /><br />Just another <a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=fd4dd04a6921c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD">tender mercy</a> from the Lord to our little family. We are truly blessed!<a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&vgnextoid=a6246a008952b010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD"></a><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-35372788209199055432010-03-25T14:50:00.002-06:002010-04-02T14:34:10.934-06:00Spectrum 10K<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">Last weekend Matthew and I drove down to Saint George with some friends for my 10K. We left Thursday afternoon and stayed until Saturday afternoon. The weather was beautiful and the resort we stayed at was amazing.</span><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);"><br />My friend, Jen, ran the race with me. It started up Snow Canyon State Park and finished in Ivins, UT. The run down the canyon was amazing. One of my favorite parts of the race was looking down the canyon and seeing the entire canyon filled with people wondering what goals they were reaching and why they were out running. I loved the race and I would do it again in a heart beat.<br /><br />I was having problems with my IT Band and decided to change my form and run more from the middle of my foot to toe instead of heel to toe. I got some pretty sweet blisters because I wasn't used to the form and most of the race was downhill, but I still ran sub 10 minute miles and finished in 58:05.<br /><br />We had such a great weekend with our friends eating far too much food and getting some much needed relaxation from everyday life! My Salt Lake 10 Miler is next weekend! Woot!</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZSeJ4DqyI/AAAAAAAACGg/44D5kCQ5hMU/s800/Recently%20Updated.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 500px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oz7OCkafJYQ/S7ZSeJ4DqyI/AAAAAAAACGg/44D5kCQ5hMU/s800/Recently%20Updated.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzYzW6tv1ePhWzn8ti3SMNCFrYbJKEvrTBglNbDIGMoy8bmLqpmSK0S-Wtsnjwln7_h9p5BjA1dCpZut9vWuQSL4UhZGghuP29HGF8RT6pif0C3CCiJDK0a7qEMyNW_KzKDV47UmA42s/s1600/Recently+Updated.jpg"><br /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><br /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-19126315131278972242010-03-08T13:04:00.001-07:002010-03-08T13:10:12.306-07:00Hey Valedictorian!<span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;">My wonderful husband was named Bachelor's Degree Valedictorian for 2010 for the College of Technology and Computing!!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">I couldn't be more excited for him!! :D When he forwarded me the email this morning, I was in shock and then the tears just fell!!! I am so proud of him and everything he's accomplished. This is going to be such a wonderful experience for him!! There are seriously no words for how proud of him I am! :D</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">He'll be speaking at his convocation on April 30th and I will be sure to post lots of pictures and gushing comments about him!! AH-mazing!!!</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291063315389225233.post-6346411731374016782010-03-05T14:46:00.002-07:002010-03-25T14:55:01.656-06:00Frigid 5K in Provo, UT<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Saturday, February 27th was my first of four races for the next two months. I ran the Frigid 5K in Provo. It was a really small race, only about 100 people ran it, and they didn't make a big deal about it, but it was good practice.<br /><br />The course was a figure eight and it ended up being mostly on the Provo River Trail. The weather was perfect. I even go too hot in my winter running clothes.<br /><br />And of course, it wouldn't be a race without thinking about my dad. My iPod was on shuffle and played "Standing Outside The Fire" by Garth Brooks.It's a great motivating song, especially the video. It's one of my daddy's favorites. It might be strange, but I feel him close to me when I run and I truly love it. He continues to inspire me everyday.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Training has been going really well. I'm running three times a week and doing cycling/spin classes at the gym twice a week along with strength training that is killing me!!! I love feeling sore and knowing that it's hopefully doing something. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">My longest distance is tomorrow: 7 Miles and in two weeks I have my 10K in Saint George. Bring it on! :D<br /><br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">My cute running friends: Jen, Anne, and Me</span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehBDfCbvumT-al-Q-uc5r9lE6liR1BjXUj7qoR_swYk9olmTc_FO4IAgdk0bnZG88JX93Q5OBBMGY94l7I9fhDAxka9SDfMfReY9rf_tIBXH4YPfi3J7AdQPePvEUwxBgpOOvHexXcls/s1600-h/020+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehBDfCbvumT-al-Q-uc5r9lE6liR1BjXUj7qoR_swYk9olmTc_FO4IAgdk0bnZG88JX93Q5OBBMGY94l7I9fhDAxka9SDfMfReY9rf_tIBXH4YPfi3J7AdQPePvEUwxBgpOOvHexXcls/s400/020+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445270684967839650" border="0" /><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> </span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">First time through the finish line, half way there!</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXY6E0epMkyGglBVyufGkW1VUdYZAYpg8P-THINuMIShmChia78RRSuaktfXlwLUJr3wfrJwfGafuDl-TVfCYeXFGRjo10j0kinHFfe87XekAywDUMmfjnMuFKVotKHK3zzGQsaOIJHQ/s1600-h/020+004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXY6E0epMkyGglBVyufGkW1VUdYZAYpg8P-THINuMIShmChia78RRSuaktfXlwLUJr3wfrJwfGafuDl-TVfCYeXFGRjo10j0kinHFfe87XekAywDUMmfjnMuFKVotKHK3zzGQsaOIJHQ/s400/020+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445270687774574434" border="0" /><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> </span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">The Finish!!! Wahoo!</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ME0HgOlsroxokeAGgkKDd0gvCOrJAra3r_dRp4DkYA9klmtwerX-MxJKRST_ksr301X8FC69ZoNGTi7kUWseBQrXJ6OqLte13BEftGreiD4rcqgP7RPhEhb3TqU1embSVO5vrr_h86E/s1600-h/020+006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ME0HgOlsroxokeAGgkKDd0gvCOrJAra3r_dRp4DkYA9klmtwerX-MxJKRST_ksr301X8FC69ZoNGTi7kUWseBQrXJ6OqLte13BEftGreiD4rcqgP7RPhEhb3TqU1embSVO5vrr_h86E/s400/020+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445270696493611698" border="0" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03860973296110121419noreply@blogger.com6