The Wakley's

I Will Never...A new series

2012-02-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new series...Since on my journey of becoming more healthy and losing weight, I am learning to change habits and make small changes to keep me going and keep my weight off and create healthy habits for my family. So each month, or maybe just whenever I find something that I can live without I am going to share!

This month: I will never eat a hamburger with a bun again! Eating a hamburger wrapped in lettuce taste JUST as good and you dont consume all the extra useless calories!

p.s. i'm working on no cheese (baby steps)

Walking

2012-01-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a little progression of Emery learning to walk. She started taking a few steps about a week before Christmas. So about 11 months old. She turns 1 on Tuesday and she walks everywhere and can stand up in the middle of the room. She cant quite run yet but she sure tries. I dont have a recent on of her walking. I will try and get one today and post it

Emery's 1st Birthday!

2012-01-22T14:25:00.001-07:00

The last year has been the hardest but most rewarding year of my life. I cant believe my baby is 1! She already seems so grown up and learns something new everyday. She is so smart, and happy, and FUN. I love being her Mommy and she brings so much joy to our family.

She did pretty good with her cake. She went slow but dug in pretty good to her cake. I had to put a little in her mouth and then she realized she like it. She just sat there and stuck her hands in it and let us take picture after picture. She didn't try to get up and walk away which surprised me. Of course it did end how I expected, haha.

Emery Lately

2012-01-22T14:10:00.001-07:00

Emery is getting so big and growing up TOO fast! She is such a happy baby and loves other kids and people. She will just go up to a complete stranger and want them to pick her up or sit in their lap. She gets into everything and loves pulling out all the towels in the towel drawer and utensil drawer. I seriously need to baby proof my kitchen. I have rubberbands around all the cabinets and I think its time to invest is some real baby proofing products. She has 7 teeth now. 4 on top, 3 on bottom. She is not a great eater. She usually will only take a couple bites of food and only if I am eating. But she does love her baba. She is learning how to wave goodbye and say hello on the phone.

She can go up and down the stairs all by herself, she also LOVES to go through purses. And not just mine.

Her best bud Tate. They get so excited when they see each other. The other week in church they saw each other from across the gym in the overflow and practically ran to each other and met in the middle

She will usually give kisses, but beware they are open mouth and slobbery

This is one of her favorite places to play. The drawer with all the towels. I probably clean up the towels 10 times a day!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged in awhile and I feel like I have so much to catch up on. I am not going to write a lot of details, mostly just pictures which is what everybody likes to see anyways right?

So here is Christmas, my family came here because we had a new baby in the family. Kal was born about a week before Christmas. It was so great to have all my family here during Christmas and we did a lot of fun things together.

Emery got this doll for Christmas for her Great Grandma and she went crazy over it! She was talking to her and snuggling with her and rocking her. It was the cutest thing.

New cozy and adorable coat from Grandma and Grandpa George

We went to the Spanish Fork lights with Jimmy, Kira, and Jordan and Emery quite liked them

Emery and her two buddies in their christmas Jammies

Black light Mini Golf

Dear Santa...I want a shiny red trike

2011-12-14T21:23:00.001-07:00

Christmas lights

2011-12-06T22:08:00.001-07:00

We went to go see the Christmas lights in Spanish fork with jimmy, Kira and Jordan. Emery was very intrigued and I think really enjoyed it. It was absolutely freezing but I don't think she even noticed. Pa emery is SO Tyson in pictures. No emotion

Decking the halls

2011-12-04T12:00:00.001-07:00

Here is our tree this year. I had something else in mind this year the tree but a friend let me borrow their flocked tree and it had colored lights so we went with a different theme this year. I love doing a different tree every year and so I have a little bit of everything. I actually had all of this stuff already from years past. I love Christmas and making my house festive!

My little helper

2011-12-04T11:55:00.001-07:00

Emery loves to make messes. Every room she goes in she has her favorite drawer or cupboard that she likes to take everything out of. That's okay though cause she sue looks cute doing it

Chelsea & Garrett's Wedding

2011-10-31T21:31:00.002-06:00

I went to Oregon about a week before Chelsea and Garrett's wedding to help with everything. Their wedding turned out so beautiful! Her dress was gorgeous and she looked amazing. I am actually a little jealous and it makes me want to re-do my wedding. I did all the flowers and her bouquet turned out to be probably my favorite bouquet I have done to date. I am so glad i got to help with her special day and so happy she is married. She married a great guy and we are so glad you are in our family Garrett. Good Luck guys!

Emery 9 months

2011-10-31T21:12:00.002-06:00

If you have looked at my blog recently I am sure you have been sorely disappointed in the lack of postings. Please excuse my laziness and decreasing interest in blogging. They are not really in order but they are from our recent trip to Oregon for Chelsea's Wedding. (and a few from before)

Getting ready...

Totally out of order. Here she is in her first Halloween Costume

She figured out how to climb up the stairs

On her way to feed the chickens and horse at Grandma and Grandpas house

She loved to sit on my stomach while i bounced on the trampoline. She would just giggle and giggle.

Some other news

2011-09-16T23:12:00.000-06:00

Here are a few other updates since I haven't blogged in months

My Sister Chelsea is engaged! They are getting married in October in Portland
Emery is crawling, sitting up, sleeping through the night, hates baby food, and loves bath time. I will try and post a few videos of her recently.
Went to Oregon last week with Emery and my brothers and sisters to be there when Chelsea went through the temple
Tyson is loving his job and we are hopeful some good things are coming our way
My brother and his wife, Becky, are preggers and expecting their first boy in December
I got a new vacuum. I know that sounds like nothing big, but i LOVE vacuuming and it sucked up so much dirt the first time I used it i could NOT believe how much dirt was on my floor and that Emery was crawling around in it.
I still have a chocolate slider phone, which means I am way past due for a new phone (random I know, but I thought i would share)
Discovered and starting using pinterest, and I LOVE it, just another way to waste hours on the computer

Family Pictures

2011-09-16T22:52:00.003-06:00

Thought I would finally update my blog and post some pictures. Couple weeks ago we had family pictures taken by a friend in my ward, her little photography business is called Bluebird, and she did a great job with our pictures. I am so happy how they turned out. I need help deciding which picture I should blow up to put in our house? Leave a comment and let me know which ones you like the most to put up in our living room!

Bear Lake

2011-08-08T12:03:00.000-06:00

Last saturday we went to bear lake to spend some time with Tyson's family. I have been so bad at posting lately. Here are also a few pictures and updates on Emery, who I cant believe is already 6 months!

She is rolling front back to front and front to back
Her bottom two teeth are poking through
She is learning to sleep without her swaddle
She talks non-stop
She smiles whenever mommy or daddy walks in the room
She holds her own ba-ba
She LOVES the water
She is starting to really like her bouncer

She is just getting more and more fun. I love this stage and how interactive she is now. She is such a blessing in our lives and I probably smother her in kisses too much and squeeze her too hard but I just cant help it. We just love her so much

Oregon Trip

2011-07-10T15:42:00.002-06:00

Em-Dog and I took a 10 day trip to Oregon to see my family and friends. We flew to portland on a friday and then Saturday and Sunday I worked for my parents while"Uncle Garrett" my sisters boyfriend whom Emery is well acquainted with watched her all day while I worked. Then we relaxed for a few days and saw some friends and then Thursday us girls drove to Boise for my cousin Jenna's wedding. We stayed the night and then drove back friday night to Oregon to work the weekend again and the 4th and I flew back home on Tuesday. It was busy trip but it was fun and it was the first time Emery had been to Oregon. I feel like she grew up SO much during those 10 days. She can sit up all by herself now, hold a pose in crawling position, starting teething, giggling A LOT, and i think she gained about ten pounds. I just cant believe she is getting so big and will be 6 months in a couple weeks. I just love her so much and she is so fun to play with these days.

Emery with some of her pals

Some high school friends I went to dinner with and had a play date with the their babies

Jenna and Carsten

Us girls at the wedding

4th generation picture with my Mom and Grandma

Emery sitting up all by herself!

Look at those Chubby legs!

Em and Gramma M

The last few are back at home but I just wanted to show how big and fun she is getting

Emery wanted to apologize for the repeat outfit in the same post (she was a little embarassed)

I just want to gobble her up!

2011-06-11T16:43:00.002-06:00

Its been a little too long since I have posted and I have been awful at taking pictures. Life just got too busy way too fast! Between working at my dentist office two days a week, working for my mom from home, taking on another baby one day a week, and some weddings mixed inbetween I feel like my list of things to do is ever growing. I need to slow down and take time (and pictures) of this sweet little one. She is getting so fun. Talking ALL the time, eating is her favorite things to do, and she loves to sit in her bumbo infront of the mirror. She giggles whenever you dance for her and she is doing fairly good at night. She wakes up once and wants her binky in, and then wakes up at about 5 to eat and usually takes a 3 hours nap in the morning after she has been awake for an hour or so.

Here is Tater-bug and Emery watching Baby Einstein! As you can tell, they approve

Hawaii 2011

2011-05-24T19:40:00.000-06:00

I am FINALLY posting pictures from Hawaii. I have like 800 pictures but obviously I cant post them all. It was so fun being all together in Hawaii. We stayed in Kihei, Maui. The place we stayed was kind of a let down but we still had a lot of fun. We went to big beach which has huge waves and are so fun to play in. We went there about 4 times. We went to the pools and jumped off rocks, we hiked through the bamboo forest on the road to Hana and jumped off rocks in the natural water pools. We went to the BEST breakfast "The Gazebo" in Napili...SOOO yummy. We played a great game of spoons, pool style. We hide the spoons in the pool so when you get four of a kind you all race and dive in the pool and have to find your spoon. We walked around at Grand Wailea. Went to Dukes restaurant and had a healthy helping of HULA PIE!! Emery had a hard time adjusting to the time change and we had a rough week when we got back trying to get her on her schedule. I think next time we will leave the kids at home!

Emery playing with her sand toys. We had to load her up on the sunscreen several times a day

BIG BEACH, the pictures don't even show how big those waves really are!

Tyson and Emery at Big Beach, below is Tyson playing the water also at Big Beach

The Gazebo!! YUMMM

The "O" pools

Still at the pools....

Great pictures of Mom and Dad

The waterfall at the end of the Bamboo Forest, the water was natural water which was a nice break from the salt water. We jumped off a few of these rocks too

The whole fam damily at Grand Wilea

We took some family pictures on the beach on Sunday

The Banyon Tree in Liahina

Emery in her Turbin :) at Dukes!

2011-05-15T17:12:00.001-06:00

I have so much stuff to catch up on blogging. I just got a new computer and I am trying to transfer all my pictures and organize and its so confusing! I never feel like I have anytime anymore. If I get around to it, i'll post some pictures of hawaii and of Emery's 3 Months pictures we got taken.

:)

2011-04-15T20:20:00.000-06:00

The other day my usual babysitter for Emery was sick and so my WONDERFUL neighbor and good friend Lindsay watched Emery for me. She has a 6 month old boy, Tate, and she did a little photo shoot of the babies. She got a couple really great pictures of Emery smiling which I myself have never been able to get. I was so excited about these pictures! Tate wanted to hold Emerys hand all day, they are going to be such great friends. Lindsay and I are going to start switching days that we work so we will both watch the babies one day a week and I cant wait. I know Emery had such a good time and I am so grateful for wonderful friends and neighbors. Thank you again Lindsay!

Happy Easter

2011-04-15T18:55:00.000-06:00

We went and saw the easter bunny today with some friends! Happy Easter

BLESSED

2011-03-30T22:03:00.000-06:00

We blessed Emery on March 27th. My parents and Anna left on tuesday and made the long drive from Oregon to Utah and got here on Wednesday. We had a great long weekend spending time together and it was the first time my Dad and Anna got to meet Emery. It was such a good weekend and I am so grateful for the love and support from all our family and friends.

Anna stayed with us at our house and it was so great having her! She was so great and helpful with Emery and they were so cute together. I had no idea she loved that babies that much. She is going to make a great mommy someday. I cant wait for Emery to get to see her grandparents and aunt Anna in Hawaii in a few weeks!!!

2 months

2011-03-30T21:52:00.000-06:00

Have so much to blog about makes me not want to blog anymore cause I cant keep up. I started back at work after 6 weeks working 2 days a week. Its nice to get out of the house and be part of the world but I sure do miss my baby girl at the end of the day. She is growing out of her newborn clothes and diapers and it makes me sad that she is growing up too fast already. I didnt think I would like the infant stage so much but Emery is so sweet and such a good baby! (It makes me want more soon, i'll have to check witht he husband on that one) She is in a good routine now and is sleeping about 6-7 hours straight at night which is w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l. Here are a few picture recently. I still cant never catch her smiling, she is a little camera shy but we keep trying.

Emerson - Mommy's Nose is Scary! (Original)

2011-03-19T11:33:00.000-06:00

Can't get enough of her

2011-03-17T21:26:00.001-06:00

3 Years

2011-03-17T19:46:00.000-06:00

Where does the time go? Tyson and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on Monday, the 14th. Since we dated for almost 4 years before we got married we have been together for nearly 7 years. Holy Crap thats a long time. I love him more everyday and I am so grateful for how hard he works for our family. We kept it pretty low key this year in celebrating. We went to a restaruant we had never tried before and then we went and got ice cream and Farrs Fresh (My FAVORITE) then we went to the provo becah resort and walked around, wondering why we didnt just go there to start with. Maybe next year we can afford to do something cooler. Here are a few things we have done or that have happened since we have been married

Had a Baby Girl
Both started new jobs
Went to Hawaii
Went on a cruise to the caribbean
Bought a house
Bought a car
Drove to Oregon in many snow storms
Made lots of new friends
Became aunts and uncles
Well thats about all I can think of for now, if I think of anything else i'll add it to the list

Thanks for 3 great years and here is to many more. Love you babe!

My Mini me

2011-03-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

So I have been a lazy blogger lately and I really have no excuse. I missed posting a picture of her 1 month mark but I have taken lots of pictures. I love spending all day every day with Emery and she is such a sweet baby! She has a pretty good routine down. She eats about every 3 1/2 to 4 hours and then is awake for about an hour and then goes back to sleep until its time to eat again. Cant ask for anything better than that. She does have her moments, definitely, but for the most part she is great. She sleeps about 4-6 hours the first part of the night and then another 4 hours again after she eats. She is starting to smile and coo and it melts my heart when she makes those cute little baby noises! I put her in this striped shirt the other day and I couldnt help by wear mine too!

Newborn Pictures: I am in LOVE

2011-02-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

3 Things

2011-02-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

First I want to thank my mom for coming to stay with me for almost 3 weeks to help with Emery! I was so sad and lonely when she left. I dont know why but I just felt empty inside when she left. I feel bad even saying that because I have own little family here and I love my baby girl and wonderful husand but I guess I was just a big ball of emotions and it was a hard day when she left. I wish more than ever that we didnt live so fa away from my family.

Second: I have the cutest baby ever!

Third: We found the magic weapon. We got this space heater when we took Emerys newborn pictures so she wouldnt be cold when she was naked, then we started using it when we would change her diaper and get her dressed. Then we discovered she sleeps like an ANGEL when its near her. I dont know if it the heat or the sound of the fan, or both. But it was worth EVERY penny.

Our little peanut

2011-02-08T15:54:00.001-07:00

I cant believe Emery is already 2 weeks old! Time is going by too fast. On the one hand I love everyday how she gets more alert and awake and I look forward to 6 weeks when hopefully she will sleep more in the night. On the other hand I want her to stay small and precious forever. Looking back at these pictues I cant believe how much she has already changed. Seriously if babies slept through the night I would have a million more tomorrow. I love cuddling, feeding, holding, changing diapers, watching and staring at her all day long, I just miss sleep.

Hospital Pictures & Birth Story

2011-01-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

The Birth Story

Sunday Morning I started having contractions between 2 and 3 AM. I started timing them and they were about 6 minutes apart. At about 6:30 AM I called my mom and told her I thought I was in labor and that she should get on a flight asap. Tyson and I went to the hospital at 9 AM and they hooked me up to measure my contractions for about an hour. In an hour I had only progressed 1/2 a cent. and my contactions had slowed down to about every 6-12 minutes. So they sent me home. I was not happy about that but they said dont be shy, come back whenever you want if you feel them getting worse. We went home and I walked around the neighborhood until I couldnt stand it any longer. We went back about 2 hours later, they hooked me up for about ten minutes and then told me to walk around for a little bit and they would check me again in about an hour. 40 minutes later I could hardly walk anymore and I had dilated to a 4! They admitted me, gave me my IV (which was probably one of the most painful parts of the whole labor) and then fnally the epidural. My epidural took awhile for it to kick in on both sides, so I took a second dose which then made me throw up. After the second dose, and hour later, I was completley numb and it felt amazing! I dilated from a 4 to a 7 in about 3 hours. At 7pm, the doctor came in and said I was ready to start pushing. I was nervous but it turned out to be so not what I thought it would be. I would push each contraction for 10 seconds, 3 reps each contraction. After about an hour and half she was here! It was the greatest feeling to have her here in front of me and to be out of my belly! It was the most amazing experience and we cant believe we are parents!

SHE'S HERE

2011-01-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Emery Belle Wakley

Born January 24th at 8:35 PM. She weighed 6 lbs 13 oz. and was 19 inches long. Will post pictures soon. She is so amazing and we are loving every minute!

39 Weeks

2011-01-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have grown ALOT in the last 2 weeks. Baby is getting fat and gaining lots of weight. I have had some contractions but nothing consistant or too intense. I have alot of pressure and any amount of walking and then sitting too long makes it very hard to move around the rest of the day. Doc says if she doesnt come on her own he wont induce me until 41 weeks, so its possible I may have another 2 weeks! If I go that much longer I think she is going to be a big baby! I am very much looking forward to not being pregnant anymore!!!!!!!!!! (and i dont want to hear "oh its so much easier when they are inside of you...blah blah blah", cause she is coming either way) Just sayin' :)

37 weeks

2011-01-09T17:02:00.001-07:00

At this point, I am trying to get the belly only in the picture, anything more would just rude or offensive to viewers

The Nursery

2011-01-09T15:57:00.002-07:00

This was a long project, not that it was alot of work, but it was just a slower process cause I knew I had until January to complete it. Now its FINALLY done and I just love walking into her room and looking at her crib and knowing that VERY SOON she is going to be in there! Yesterday I spend the rest of the day finishing up odds and ends in her room, packing our bags, and making her bed. I am officially ready, she can make her debut any day now! (click on the pictures so see them bigger, its much better)

Idaho Baby Shower

2011-01-09T15:51:00.003-07:00

New years weekend we journeyed to Idaho where all Tysons aunts and uncles and cousins live and his sister Kortni was nice enough to throw me another shower! All the pictures of myself at the shower are disgusting! So I will just show you pictures of all the cute stuff we got. Tysons mom made 2 quilts for me, a bumper pad, an already put together scrapbook, and all his sisters and Dad went in on the car seat and stroller. I dont know what I would do without his family! They were so generous and baby girl is so lucky to have such loving Grandparents and Aunts. Thank you to everyone who came to the shower and for gifts. We feel so lucky and so loved.

The bumper pad matches the brown, pink, and green quilt. Tysons mom made both of these and they are SO cute

This one is so soft on both sides, his mom also made this one

This one Tysons Grandma made for her. She has a sewing machine that stitches all these pictures on. In case you cant see they are all disney princess and we all know how much littl girls love their princess. I cant wait until she knows who all of them are!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-09T12:20:00.003-07:00

For Christmas this year we went to Tysons parents house in Wyoming. As much as I love my family and wish I could always spend Christmas or every holiday for that matter, I was so glad it was our turn to go to Wyoming this year because after driving to Oregon for Thanksgiving there is NO WAY I could have done it again a few weeks later. Tysons parents only live 2 hours away and it was perfect. We had a great Christmas Eve dinner with with turkey, ham, potatoes, salads, rolls, pies..the works. We just relaxed and hung out with each other. There was quite a bit of snow and so of course Tyson got the snowmobiles out and we rode them a couple times. I only lasted about 20 minutes, but Tyson went out for a few hours a couple days.

Christmas Morning

Daysen and Kiesha. Christmas is so much more fun and magical with kids

Tyson getting the snowmobiles ready

We also played the Kinect a couple nights, these videos are so funny and it was so fun to watch his parents doing the track and field events. There was a javelin, hurdles, long jump, and the 100 yard dash

Ultrasound

2011-01-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Got my ultrasound today at the Doctors and baby girl is perfectly healthy! I am measuring only a couple days small but nothing to be alarmed of. She is still growing and is doing great!. As for me, I was secretly hoping he would take me early just so I could be done, but its better that she is healthy! So now we just play the waiting game. I was dialated to a 1 and 70% efaced so he thinks I wont make it to my due date and she might just come a little early on her own. I gained freaking 5 POUNDS from last week, I am retaining alot of water and my feet and legs are huge and swollen, its disgusting. I dont even have ankles anymore. I am sleeping a little better at night, but as for everything else it just gets worse everyday. I feel like I can hardly walk these days because she is sitting so low and I am beyond emotional. Okay so enough whining, I'll post about Christmas and my baby shower in Idaho soon.

Baby Update

2010-12-29T10:20:00.002-07:00

I went to the Dr. yesterday and I will start going every week now. The last two times I had been measuring a few weeks small, he thinks its just because I am a small person and carry small, (althought I dont feel like it right now) but wants to make sure everything is developing and she is still growing so next time he will do an ultrasound. I cant wait to see what she looks like, the last one I had was at 20 weeks.

He gave me a couple different scenarios of what could happen. If she is measuring small because she is not getting enough blood flow or the placenta is not providing enough nutrients then it does her no good to be inside me anymore and is safer to let her grow outside the uterus and he would induce me no later than 37 weeks. Which I am okay, that is considered full term and he said she will be find and healthy. And Heck, I would get to go 3 weeks early! However, if he does take me at 37 weeks and I am not dialated he will most likely just plan for a c-section because the induced labor would be too much stress on a smaller baby. I am NOT excited about this option, but it is what it is and if thats how she has to get here then so be it. My Dr. said not to plan on either scenario until the ultrasound next week because most likely she is just small because I am small and I could go the full 40 weeks. So I will keep you all posted what we find out next tuesday!

Here is a pic of me at 35.5 weeks

33.5 weeks update

2010-12-19T18:09:00.001-07:00

Please excuse my un-made bed in the background with clothes all over it. I am definitely feeling pregnant these days! They say it gets worse at the end but I hope it doesn't get any harder than it is right now. Sleeping is good every other night because the first night I toss and turn and wake up at 4:30, so naturally the next night I am so tired from lack of sleep the night before I have a good nights rest. If I don't wake up until 10 or 11, I don't even feel bad because I am enjoying as much sleep as i possibly can right now. Acid Reflux, frequent urination, cramped legs, and tight and exploding stomach are also very prevalent these days. I am SO ready to not be pregnant anymore and just feel normal again. To be able to bend over and pick something up, to get on the counter when I cant reach something, to go up the stairs without having to catch my breath half way through, wearing normal clothes and so many other things. I don't mean to complain too much (too late i guess) but I am getting very anxious for our baby girl to be here! I am looking forward to holding and cuddling with a precious new baby!

Utah Baby Shower

2010-12-18T07:53:00.001-07:00

I am not very good at taking pictures at these things I guess, I dont have pictures of even half the people that came and Im sorry, but here are a few. My sweet friend Brandi from work offered to throw me a baby shower with all my friends and family in Utah. It was so cute! She did a pickles and Ice cream theme, sounds weird but it was super cute! Everyone was SO generous and I dont know what I would do without all of you. I got a pack-n-play, a swing, some great gift cards to target for some big ticket items on my registery, a bumbo chair, lots of cute outfits, toys, and blankets!

Karen, Kira, and Sara

Chels, Me, and Becky

Janelle, Me, and Amber

I was so happy to have my two closest and longest friends Janelle and Amber there with me. I have known them basically my whole life and I am glad they still live close enough to me to be able to come

Oh Christmas Tree!

2010-12-16T22:46:00.001-07:00

When we got home from Oregon I couldnt wait to put up our tree. I was so lucky to get this tree for FREE! A friend was actually going to throw it away cause she couldnt find someone to give it away too. Luckily I mentioned something on facebook just in time and scored!

Oregon Baby Shower

2010-12-16T22:39:00.001-07:00

Okay so there arent tons of pictures, but a few. I was so glad we were able to have a shower when I was home with all my family in Oregon. My cousin Brittnee also gave me TONS of clothes that she wasnt using for her 2 year old Emma, I cant say enough how grateful I am that she is willing to share because without her I would have to buy so much clothes! We had some yummy cupcakes and my mom made this DELISH rasberry, blackberry, almond, mousse, roll thing. I dont even know what it was but it was SO good. Thanks to everyone who came to my shower and for your lovely gifts. I got alot of great stuff.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-16T22:35:00.001-07:00

I am SO behind on bloggins so I am going to do some serious catching up. Starting with Thanksgiving. We went to my parents house in Oregon for the first time in 5 years for me! It was so nice to be home and with all my family, we have always gone to Tysons parents just cause its closer and we usually dont get much time off for Thanksgiving that it really worth the drive for only a few days. But we had a double purpose this time. Daniel had also just got home from his mission in the Philippines only a few days before. So we had lots of family there for his Homecoming talk as well. The drive was AWFUL, we will be flying for sure next time no matter what it costs. Usually its about a 12-14 hours drive on good roads, but it was over 18 hours both ways with lots of black ice, packed snow, and snowy passes. Not to mention lots of potty breaks for the pregnant lady. Speaking of which, my mom also threw me a baby shower with friends and family. I will post about that as well! I have to admit I was so glad to be home just because I was so nervous we were going to die either driving there or back. I am such a nervous nelly these days.

31.5 weeks

2010-12-01T22:07:00.003-07:00

Its been too long since I last posted a picture. I cant believe I am getting so close! Baby girls moves SO much! Her kicks have turned into somersaults and twirling around and it feels so weird and cool at the same time. Sometimes I can feel body parts like feets and hands and its just so weird to imagine her little body inside me. Its the coolest feeling. I had a baby shower when we went home for thanksgiving to Oregon and I have another one here this weekend in Utah. The nursery is still coming along but not quite finished. I cant believe she is going to be here so soon!

Nursery Projects

2010-11-14T11:47:00.001-07:00

I have taken on alot of projects for the nursery the last few weeks, its been alot of work and has kept me busy but its so fun to see it all come together and there is something very satisfying in knowing I did it! They arent all finished yet and i'm still working on a few but here is a sneak peak of what I have been up to.

The Bumper Pad: I bought an ugly bumper pad off KSL for like $5 because I figured it would cost me atleast that much for the batting and this way I would have a pattern to follow, so I got some more fabric to match my quilt so the bumper and quilt will match now, I am still working on it, but I cant wait until its done and to put it into the crib. I am realizing how much I like sewing and being crafty!

The Molding Project: Originally I wanted to do something a little different in the nursery, but it was way too involved for us unexperienced finish carpenters and it would have been too expensive, so we found this nice thick molding (also on KSL) and with the help of our neighbors, who let us use their saw, nail gun, compressor, and showed us a few tips. The caulking was alot harder than I thought it would be because our walls were so bowed that there were some pretty big gaps between the molding and the wall. Tyson and I finished the molding last weekend and all in all it turned out really nice for first timers.

The Crib: Allso bought on KSL, it was a really sturdy and solid wood so I thought it would be a fairly easy project. Not so much. I put a stripping varnish on it, then sanded it, then primed it, then sprayed it white. I had a little mishap on one piece when I decided to use a high gloss white paint as primer on the front piece and it was a MESS to fix. Sometimes I wish i would have just left it the color it was before but oh well. If you look too close at the finished project its far from perfect but I guess I learned how to do it better next time and I figure the bedding will cover most my mistakes.

When I started the crib last week it was still warm, but it was FREEZING by the time i finished. Working in the garage the last few nights on it was bitter cold, atleast I have a garage to do it in though. I am so glad this project is over!

(*dont mind the missing piece of molding in the corner, we forgot to put more than one nail in it and we have have to re-do that piece*)

28 Weeks

2010-11-07T21:21:00.002-07:00

This is why I have not been posting of my face with my photos, cause I just feel disgusting these days. Pale and just plain grose. I prefer just the belly shot so this may be the last one with face. I cant believe I am 7 months! It feels close yet so far away still. I have been working on the nursery alot this week. We painted and put up the molding, which was a big project in itself. I have also started painting the crib, I hope it turns out okay. I got one on KSL that was a really nice solid wood that was a honey color and I am painting it white. Hopefully I'll be done with it by the end of this week. I cant wait to put it all together. As for me physically I have been feeling pretty good. I have been having little back spasms now and again, hopefully they dont get worse.

26 weeks 1/2 weeks

2010-10-27T19:07:00.000-06:00

I cant believe how much I have grown in the last two weeks! I didnt even realize it until I saw the pictures next to each other. I feel her moving more and more everyday and getting stronger. She sure is a wiggle worm. Before you know it, it will be Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, and then she will be here!

Crib!

2010-10-23T23:08:00.001-06:00

Sorry to keep posting things about the nursery and baby, but I just got so excited when I found this crib online. This is the one I want!!! It would go perfect with my nursery! What do you think?

Nursery stuff

2010-10-22T20:07:00.003-06:00

Here are few accesories I have bought so far for the nursery! I guess I am going to kind of a shabby chic look. The last picture is the fabric I picked out for the quilt that Tysons mom is going to make me and I cant wait! At first I was just going to do something really plain and simple, and then I went to the cutest fabric/quilt store ever! We spend over 2 hours there and I could have stayed longer .My Grandma is also making me a quilt! But that one will be a surprise. I am a lucky girl I think I need to start quilting! Here is the link to the blog of the fabric store I went to http://gracielousquilts.blogspot.com/

Happy Anniversary

2010-10-22T19:49:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to write a little note to my parents on their anniversary. 27 years! Gosh thats along time. They are such an amazing example of marriage. They have shown me how to love and develop my own relationship with my husband just through their example. I love you both so much. I could not ask for better parents and I have to say I am proud of them. Not to mention, arent they just a great looking couple? I think so.

6 Months!

2010-10-14T21:51:00.001-06:00

Here is 24 weeks and 5 Days.

Nursery

2010-10-10T11:21:00.000-06:00

I haven't really started on the nursery yet...I feel so behind....but I know exactly what I want. Here are a few pictures of my inspiration. I have started on the chair rail molding, only painted so far, and I have a cute little chandelier, but smaller than the one posted, and I have the paint color picked and a few frames. That's about it. I will post pictures of the room along the way. I cant wait to see what it looks like all done!

Kassie and Whit Wedding Flowers

2010-10-09T21:49:00.000-06:00

22 Weeks

2010-09-26T11:27:00.001-06:00

This was actually a few days ago, so just short of 22 weeks. I still feel really good physically but sleeping has been getting harder. There are no comfortable positions and the sudden middle of the night charlie horses do not help. I have been taking some calcium to help with those and they have subsided the last few nights. I have bought a few decorations for the nursery but havnt even started on it really. I need to paint and still get all the big furniture and stuff. I feel like its getting closer and closer too fast and I am not going to have enough time! I feel he moving all the time. Usually when I get home for work and relax on the couch and right before I go to bed she is the busiest. Its so fun to feel her kick and they are definitely getting stronger. I am excited for all the holidays coming up and before we know it she will be here!

Halloween Craft Party!

2010-09-18T15:44:00.003-06:00

Come join this saturday september 25th for our halloween craft party. The craft will already be chosen, and the supplies will be provided. The spooky tree is $15 and the pumpkins range from $7-$15 or $25 for all the pumpkins! The pumpkins are fake so you can use them year after year! (See photos) Since we are providing the supplies we are trying to get a head count so let us know ASAP if you can make it! We were really excited about how our sample ones turned out and hope you can come join us for a fun day with the girls!! If you really want the craft but are not able to make it to the party let us know!

Brenna and Todd

2010-09-16T22:12:00.004-06:00

Today was Brenna and Todd's Wedding. They were married in the Draper temple and it was great to be a part of their special day. I LOVE being able to do weddings for family and friends because they always give me free reign on the flowers and I get to do whatever i want! They tell me the colors and I get to use my ingenious creativity which makes it uber fun for me! Thanks Brenna and Todd for letting me be a part of your day and I can wait to get back the professional pics! Here are a few from my camera

Harvest

2010-09-10T19:55:00.001-06:00

Here is the harvest from our garden this year. We started these from seed. Good thing we arent farmers and depend on this for our food supply.

20 weeks

2010-09-08T18:53:00.001-06:00

Almost 20 Weeks, Almost half way done!

Zebra Bench

2010-09-07T16:20:00.006-06:00

My Mom bought this old bench at a garage sale probably 7 or 8 years ago with the plans to re-cover it. I had been looking for a cute bench for this spot in my upstairs hallways but didnt want to pay $100 for a bench. When I went home for a few weeks this summer my mom gave me the bench since she had never taken the time to re-do it. It turned out so good! I LOVE it and I had some extra nailheads leftover from my last project to spice it up.

18 weeks

2010-08-27T09:29:00.002-06:00

18 Weeks. I swear this came out of nowhere. I didnt realize I was showing this much until I saw the picture. I still dont feel this big when I look down.

It a......................

2010-08-22T16:39:00.002-06:00

Last Thursday I had my first appointment with Dr. Haskett since I switched offices. Since he hadnt seen me before the nurse said that he probably would want to do an ultrasound, but not charge my insurance, just so he could get familiar with me and the pregnancy and make sure everything was going well. I was only about 16.5 weeks and wasnt expecting my 20 week ultrasound until september so Tyson didnt come with me this time. Dr. Haskett said I could find out the gender if I wanted and of course I did. I felt bad Tyson wasnt there so I called him and made sure he didnt mind. He said DO IT! I was so excited! When he said there was nothing inbetween the legs (and we got some pretty convinving shots) I knew it was a girl! Tyson REALLY wanted a boy but we are both so excited for our baby girl. I just hope when we go back in a few weeks its still a girl ha. I had to buy one outfit this weekend, but it was on sale for $3 so not too bad. Girls are so fun to buy for and I cant wait until she gets here. Some names we are thinking are:

Emery
Ella
Halle
Norah (which got the VETO from tyson, so it wont be happening but i still like it)
Brityn
Henley

Any other suggestions feel free to let us know. We are having a hard time agreeing.

15 Weeks

2010-08-10T17:58:00.004-06:00

There is a little pooch. Feeling great! Sorry the picture if awful but camera is too old to take a decent picture anymore

Murder or Money

2010-08-10T17:34:00.005-06:00

About a month ago my dear uncle called me, who lives in St. George, was down here for work and he was doing a maintenance report on a foreclosed condo. He called me on a friday nigh and told me ther was a bunch of furntiture that was left by the previous tenants and that if I wanted it I could come get it, but I had to come get it by the end of the weekend. Tyson HATES moving furniture and usually acts like he wants to murder me when we have to move it together especially. But I went to check it out and it was pretty decent stuff and ALOT of it. I consider how it would suck to get murdered, but also how great it would be to sell all the furniture I got for free and make money. I decided the money option would be best, and Tyson would just have to DEAL with it. I do feel kind of bad for making him go because he had worked everynight that week and the weekend and we ended up going on a sunday morning at 6AM AND the condo was on the 3rd floor of the building. However I was about 7 week pregnant and didnt feel too sorry for him plus I knew he would be happy once I started selling it and making money. We made about $750 total. We sold 3 beds, 2 dressers, coffee table, dining room table, 2 desks, and a headboard and footboard. I kept two of the nighstands and refinished them and an ottoman and refinished it too. I was really happy the way they both turned out and so glad Tyson let me live to finish my projects. :) It was all worth it in the end

I dont have a great picture of the ottoman before, but it was a nasty maroon carpet grandma looking fabric.

After

Nighstand (I thought i took pictures of this before too dangit, but I guess because i never intented of sellin them i didnt. They were an ugly oak color with rod leaf handles)

Peculiar

2010-07-29T19:56:00.004-06:00

For some reason this baby HATES grilled chicken, I guess I dont blame her/him, Lately I just cant even stomach the thought of chicken. Its putrid

HOWEVER....I cant get enough of a breaded chicken sandwhich, I could eat 3 a day.

Bun in the Oven

2010-07-07T19:52:00.002-06:00

Most of you probably already know, but we are officially announcing it! I am 10 weeks pregnant and due Jan. 29th! We are so excited to start our family together and all the exciting things over the next 9 months, actually only 7 now. I have been feeling pretty good so far. A little "morning" sickness in the evenings but I feel pretty lucky so far! Havnt thrown up yet! I usually take a nap from about 6:30-8:00 and then go to bed at 9:30 haha. And I think Tyson is losing weight cause I never make him dinner anymore cause I just dont feel like cooking anything! I am not really showing yet, but I am definetly feeling the pants and shirts getting tighter.

Bedroom Pictures

2010-06-29T19:39:00.002-06:00

No....not those kind of pictures

I finally painted our bedroom! It took me seriously like 30 different paint samples. I probably spent twice as much on testers then i did on the two gallons it took to paint it. I loved the way it turned out though.

Some Things we have been up to

2010-06-11T20:31:00.003-06:00

I havnt updated in so long, but I hate posting pictures with my 1995 camera anymore. Here are just a few things that have happened or we have done recently. In no particular order

Went to Idaho for Tysons sisters baby showers

Kortni (tysons sister) welcomed their first baby boy, which makes me an aunt for the first time

My sister Chelsea is living with us until middle of July

Tyson and I went to the parade of Homes (one of my favorite things)

After about 30 paint samples, found the color I was looking for and started painted our room! (pictures of that to come)

Have been enjoying the nice weather and our community pool

Got a new rug for the living room (possibly a picture of that)

How could I forget, We got called to be in Nursery, still adjusting to this calling. I would not recommend it

Thats about it, nothing too exciting as of late. My Birthday is coming up in a few weeks and we have a few fun things planned for later this summer.

Just Sayin'

2010-05-18T16:36:00.003-06:00

So the other night I caught the very end of the Miss America pagent. I just have to say how disgusted I was. I guess this year they had a new part of the pagent with racey photos. Basically with the girls posing in their bra and panties in a seductive manner. I never saw any of the pictures, but one of the interview questions was how the participants felt about this new part of the pagent because they had gotten alot of flack from the media. Of course the bimbo answered something to the fact that she loved them and thought it was so fun and a good way to show her sexuality and feel sexy. pffff

I just sat there and thought to myself, isnt the whole purpose of pagents to give girls a chance to learn self respect and confidence. To show the polished and educated side of women (okay well i may be exagerated, but im sure thats what they started out to be) I was so completley offended and disgusted that these girls dont realize they are subjecting women as objects of lust and sex symbols and NOT portraying women as respected individuals. What are they teaching other girls!

To add to the mess, the day after the winner was announced, of course inappropiate picures appeared on the internet of her being skanky. Do you see the Irony? They make it a part of the contest to take skanky pictures, and then repremend you when they appear on the internet for ones you took on your own? Idiots. What is the world coming too.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

2010-05-07T22:27:00.002-06:00

Okay...seriously, this is my confession. Today I went to the mall (i dont know why i even torture myself) but i have no self control. I went to about 5 stores. In each store I managed to find something I wanted to buy, (of course) and carried it around with me while i perused the rest of the store before intentionally buying it. Knowing how guilty i would feel if i did, i finally put it down and walked out of the store. Then I would proceed to go to the next store and do the exact same thing! You think I would just leave the mall right? Oh well i tried, I walked out to my car TWICE with intentions of leaving, only to walk back into the mall because apparently i just didnt get enough. I went back into the same 5 stores. I have PROBLEMS! Although I didnt end up buying anything, I was proud of myself for that, its still not a proud moment admitting my addiction. I guess old habits die hard. (please dont judge me after reading this) Its Pathetic!

Moms Visit

2010-05-04T16:47:00.004-06:00

Last week my Mom came to visit for 5 days (not nearly long enough) It always flies by way too fast and I feel like we did everything and nothing at the same time. On thursday we went to Womens Conference together which was great to spend the whole day together, and we got an great workout walking all over BYU. We ate lots of yummy lunches, did a little shopping, hottubing, and we went to Jump on It where they have a building full of continous trampolines. It never ceases to amaze me that my mother can still do a back flip, front flip, hip swivel, play basketball with the men, ect..People even mistaked her as my sister!

Before and After

2010-04-24T22:40:00.002-06:00

I have seen this done on HGTV and i have wanted to do it forever. I have been looking at colors and shopping around and getting ideas of how to do it and i finally did it this weekend. I LOVE it (understatement) Here are the before and after pictures!! I want to do this in our bedroom too on the wall our bed is on, is it too do it in two rooms??

Dental Assisting School

2010-04-17T19:03:00.003-06:00

The Dentist I Work for is Starting a Dental Assisting School!! It is a great opportunity to get some hands on experience in a real office. If you have ever wanted to be a dental assistant, but didnt want to pay $10,000 for a year long course then here is your pefect opportunity to get training. The course is only 10 weeks long! And you will learn everything you need to know, get to work in a REAL office, and be certified in radiology and CPR! Dental Assisting is a great job and they get paid very well. Its also a job that once your have the experience you can work wherever you want and always get a job with ease. The school is just over the summer in the evenings so spread the word ASAP and lets get people signed up!! Check out the website at http://utahdentalassistingschool.com/ for more information!

Cabin Fever

2010-04-07T19:24:00.003-06:00

Its been awhile since I have posted. We really have been up to NOTHING which is why i have not posted anything. Buying a house really puts a damper on the activities we can do these days. We started watching "Minute to win it" (along with about every other show in the world) the show is fun to watch, but its even more fun to do. Its great because its all done with household items and they are fun to see if you can complete them yourself in 60 seconds. It would be nice to earn the money they do on the show, but atleast for now it gives us something to do. You can go here to find out more games!

In this first game you have to try and blow off all the card in the deck except for the last one! Its alot harder than you think!

This game you are supposed to stack 5 apples and it has to stand for atleast 3 seconds, I managed to get a few more even. I heard they have one where you try and stack 3 golf balls, but I havnt tried it yet

Grateful

2010-03-09T17:48:00.003-07:00

I have been debating whether or not to post anything about the recent events, but ultimatley I have decided that I want to share my feelings and express my gratitude. Last week, at 6 weeks pregnant, I had a miscarriage. I am not writing this post to announce that I was pregnant or to announce the sad news that I no longer am, but just how I feel about it. Its honestly something I never thought would happen to me, I dont why I thought that way, but I did. It came as a surprise and defineitley a dissapointment.

First I want to thank Tyson for being such a wonderful husband and best friend to me. He has been so loving and comforting to me. Thank you for letting me cry on your shoulder, literally, and for being so caring and concerned when I didnt feel well and everything seemed to fall apart. I have never felt closer to you than this last week, and I love you more than I already thought wasnt possible. I know you will be an amazing father and it just makes me more anxious to start a family with you.

Secondly, I want to thank all my family and friends who also came me words of comfort and showed concern. Whether through email, phone calls, or texts, they all meant so much to me to know that you were thinking about us and keeping us in your prayers. I have grown so much from this experience, I know that it happened for a reason. I know that when the time is right, we will have a beautiful baby, and that in the meantime God has given us a wonderful humbling experience to grow close to him and to each other and I am truly grateful for that.

The way we are headed

2010-02-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before,
but had once failed an entire class.

--------------------------------------------

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK,
we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.
The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.
The second test average was a D!
No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F..

The scores never increased as bickering,
blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

Dumpster Diving

2010-02-20T14:52:00.006-07:00

So this weekend I had a wedding and I went down to the wholesaler where I always get my flowers. Apparently the truck did not bring one of my items (the most important one) and would not be coming in until the next morning, which did me no good. The bride wanted red roses with stephanotis. Stephanotis is really a one of a kind type of flower and you cant substitute it without most likely upsetting the bride.

Here is the stephanotis, you have probably seen it before, its a very popular special wedding flower.

So i had to do some searching and found a different wholesaler in Salt Lake. So Amber was nice enough to come with me and we found ourselves a sweet little treat in the process. (Just to clarify, i did NOT get the stephanotis out of the bride, i would never use garbage flowers for a client!) I dont know if it was just because it was right after valentines or we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. As we were leaving the parking lot of the new found wholesaler, the dumpster right outside was FULL of bundles of roses. HUNDREDS of roses and hydrangeas. We grapped about 8 bunches (which is about 16 dozen)! Jealous right? Well we did have to go through the garbage but who cares. I put together a sweet little arrangment for myself, and one for amber too. I was seriously so giddy. I might drive up there again to see if i get lucky again.

These arrangments have about 70 roses in them and would normally cost about $200!

Faith and Prayers

2010-02-08T20:46:00.005-07:00

Just in case you wanted to ball your our eyes out, and if you have some time on your hands. These stories of such strong mothers will undeniably change your perspective on life and your children, even your unborn children. Because I am not a mother...yet...and it already makes me want to be a better one and to NEVER take life for granted. Reading these stories have strengthened my testimony of prayer and faith, I cant comprehend how much faith these mothers had.

This first link is to her blog, go back and start reading at DECEMBER 24th
Natalies Blog

This second link was a link from natalies, she is still fighting...
Bronsons Story

Wish List

2010-01-26T20:41:00.007-07:00

Here are a few things that are on my furniture/decor wish list...can you catch my style? I love all these pieces...and I want my whole house to coordinate with them. Enjoy :)

All Moved In.

2010-01-21T21:37:00.003-07:00

These didnt post in the order I wanted, for some reason when i post pictures it only shows the HTML so i dont know which pictures are which...but none the less....here is what you have been waiting for! Moving in went really fast, we thought we had alot of stuff, but now that we have more room than we know what to do with and spreading our stuff over 3 floors doesnt seem like we have so much stuff anymore. Only two bedrooms have furntiture in it, but thats okay I have so many decorating ideas. It will take me along time to be able to afford to fill the rooms but I cant wait! Tyson and I are so happy to be in our new home and are so grateful for being able to make the next step in our lives! We were lucky enough to get some money back from the sellers and were able to buy a new couch, dining room table, washer & dryer, and fridge. Hope you enjoy these pictures and for all of you who live far away...we now have room for you to visit!! So come see us!

Crapola

2010-01-18T21:29:00.002-07:00

Soooo...I am going to have to be a really lame blogger for the next little while until i figure out a solution or get a new camera. Apparently we one have one ethernet cord in our whole house and its downstairs where our TV is. So there is not place in our whole house to set up a desktop computer and have access to the internet. Since my camera is so old, i can only download pictures to my old computer because our laptop has windows 7 and there is not a software for my camera to download that works with windows 7, atleast not yet. Who is there right mind only puts one ethernet cord in a three story house? REALLY!? does anybody know if you can take a phone jack and get an adapter to make it an ethernet plug in? Or any other solution besides a new camera? I want to post pictures so bad!

Dont be mad

2010-01-12T21:39:00.002-07:00

Alright its been too long since I have blogged with so much I need to blog about. We have been really busy around here. Unfortunatly we dont have internet and cable set up and our old computer which has my camera software on it is the only one I can upload pictures to. I am currently stealing whatever network i am on. I will give more details and pictures as soon as we get "our" internet! SO many good pictures to come :)

Temple Square

2009-12-28T23:13:00.003-07:00

Even though technically it was our turn to go to Tysons family this year, my family came to Utah to help Brian and Becky with some home upgrades. It was so nice to be in Utah for Christmas AND get to be with my family. Wednesday night we all went to the Salt Lake Temple together and did Baptisms. That was only the second time I had ever been inside the Salt Lake Temple and the first time doing baptisms there, it was so neat to see all the details and how beatiful and ornate it is. I feel so blessed to be able to go in the Temple with all my family, the only exception was Dan, who we got to talk to Christmas even via video chat from the Philipines. Afterwards we saw the lights for a few minutes and walked around temple square. Since Tyson was still in his suit and looks like he is 20 everyone thought he was a missionary..haha he gets that alot. Aftwards we went to P.F. Changs it was so delicious! I forgot how good it was.

Coming soon

2009-12-28T20:30:00.001-07:00

We had a great Christmas Morning and Holiday...I will post more once I can find my Camera! I cant find it! Stay tuned

The Wait is OVER!!!

2009-12-15T16:33:00.004-07:00

After 6 Months of Looking, Searching, Short Sales, High Hopes, and Disapointments we are finally done! As of today, Tyson and I are officially home owners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last wednesday I was looking on KSL, just perusing the classifieds, and I came across an ad for some townhouses we looked at this summer but were a little more than we wanted to spend. Now, 4 Months later, they were offering a $5,000 builder incentive AND a $4100 grant from their lender, AND the basement came finished, where before when we looked at them they didnt. Plus on top of that we still get the $8000 tax credit. Thats a total of $17,100!! We felt like it was a deal we just couldnt pass up and so we decided to ditch the short sale and make the plunge. Today we signed the papers and our closing date as of now is set for January 6th. We were hoping to be in by the end of the year but because of the Holidays the process will take a little longer.

We are so excited to finally have a house of our own and cant wait to move in and decorate! Seriously my mind runs crazy with ideas...oh and the storage! Its a 3 story townhouse in American Fork, it has 4 bedrooms, and 3.5 baths, 2 car garage, clubhouse with pool and hottub, and its in a gated community. Something else we excited about it is just being done with the whole process and not having to work with our realtor anymore! It has been a nightmare for me. Enough talking here are a few pictures of the model house (not Ours) but OF COURSE we will post pictures of ours as soon as we can!

2009-12-09T10:34:00.002-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I just had to do it..

Now I am All Decked Out

2009-12-04T22:51:00.001-07:00

Decking The halls

2009-11-22T15:19:00.003-07:00

I couldnt wait until after Thanksgiving. I tried, but I was just in a festive mood after church today and had to put up my wreath atleast. I got this wreath, and most of the ornaments and such at Tiapan after christmas last year. I think the wreath was like $7 and with all the accessories probably another $15. I have been wanting to put it together for awhile now but who wasnts to make something and then put it in a bag and shove it in the closet. When we get back from Wyoming for Thankgiving I will put my tree up! I cant wait

Grandma's 80th Birthday

2009-11-20T21:03:00.005-07:00

Grandma Showing off her Clogging Skills....still tappin' at 80!

All the Brothers and Sisters

All the Girls: Grandmas, Moms, sisters, cousins, aunts, grandaughters, great grandaughters

Grandma and Grandpa

Everyone at the Party

Blowing out the candles

Throw your hands in the air! And waive 'em like you just dont care

There were so many people for "Thanksgiving" Dinner we had tables set up outside too, it was still warm though because we had patio heaters, I think i want one of them in my house!

Last weekend Tyson, Chelsea, Brian, Becky, and I took a road trip to Oregon for my Grandma Georges 80th Birthday. She said all she wanted for her Birthday was for ALL of her family to be there. All 7 of her sons and daughters were there and all but about 3 grandchildren who couldnt make it. (Daniel being one of them) We had a huge party on Saturday with about 100 family members and guests. We had a little program with singing, dancing, stories, and Grandma even did some clogging! Can your grandma do that? Sunday since we had everybody together and it was the week before Thanksgiving we had a big Thanksgiving dinner. It was so great to see everybody and have everybody together. There were several cousins I had never even met yet! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for raising such a beatiful family and bringing us all together. Right after dinner we had to get back on the road to be back for work on monday...well atleast some of had to. (hehe, not me)

Patience my Friends

2009-11-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

So just to fill the people in who actually read our blog, the house process is still at a stand still. We were supposed to have the paper back from the "investor" which is who the bank answers to. Well it was supposed to be a quick 3 days max reply, which turned into about 2 weeks. By the time he finally decided to sign the last paper needed he realized that because everyone took the sweet freakin time, the appraisel on the house was more than 60 days old and ordered another one to be done because the housing market has "gone up" in the last 3 months. That takes about 5-7 days to get someone out to the house to do it and then we have to wait for the "investor" to sign again, and thats only if it appraises for the same it did before. If it appraises for higher, than most likely they will want to rewrite the approved amount and sale price and we will basically start all over, probably end up waiting another 2 months. We are hoping for the best and that things will come back the same...otherwise COUNT ME OUT. You might be wondering how we have been so patient to this point, well i havnt really been but i kind of have to be. At this point its saving us about $20,000 so i figure its worth it. But if it doesnt appraise the same, I only have so much patience and I am afraid I will have met my max, we will probably go for another unit in the area that is NOT a short sale...Man what would that be like? It was be a breeze.We should know what it comes back at within 2 weeks I am hoping, and then another 2 weeks or so for the "investor" to sign off. Luckily the housing tax credit was/ or is going to be extended so we still have that on our side and gives us a little more time. I guess we will have to be patient for 1 more month. I just hope we can be in a house by Christmas.

Sister Sister (sing it)

2009-11-05T22:43:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone, This is my sister Chelsea! She is 5 years younger than me and she graduated high school this year and moved to Utah. I am so excited for her to be here. First thing we did when she got here is went shopping...soon after we started showing up places wearing the same thing! But seriously I really do love having her here. She is adjusting slowly to life in Utah, her roommates turned out to be more like my age so she just hangs out with me mostly, which is just fine by me. We are currently seeking friends and boyfriends for her right now. :)

Okay now for a little history lesson: When I was in high school I drove a green dodge stratus. When I was 17 I got in a car accident with my Friend and totaled the car. My grandpa decided he wanted a project and fixed up the car the best he could. He got parts from the junk yard so the hood ended up being black, the passenger door was white, the oil leaks like crazy, and it rode pretty rough. I then took this car to Utah when I first moved out here. We painte the white door green so it semi matched but not totally. When I finally bought my first car, the stratus was then passed on to Chelsea for her high school years. Everytime I went home to visit the car died a little more each time. It was SO loud and rough, but still worked, it would never die on you. Well Chelsea then drove the car out to Utah. Which honestly I didnt know if it would make it out here. But it was quite the champ. The car has been totaled, been driven from portland to Boise in the red, almost blew a gasket in the process, and leaks about a quart of oil a month. However we named the car..THE TANK, (aka army jo)for its indestructable body and undying bravery.

Not a great pic, but that was her date...dont think they have been on a second one yet :/

The Saddest part...Last weekend The tank was totaled.....again. Chelsea was driving her and her date out to a corn maze and someone pulled out in front of her and she T-boned them. (you should have seen the other car) Luckily it wasnt her fault and nobody was hurt, but we will miss The Tank and the many memories and places it has taken us. As it was pulled up on the tow truck the bumper fell off...hopefully for the last time. R.I.P in the junkyard forever

Caboodle + Moon Boots

2009-11-05T22:36:00.001-07:00

So Its kind of Late to be posting Halloween pictures, but I am not as dedicated to blogging as I wish to be, this week has just been too busy. Halloween night we went to Jim and Kira's Party, it was fun just to be able to have an excuse to dress up and go out. If you cant tell, Tyson is Napoleon and I am Deb. I found Tysons pants at Savers and they were SO TIGHT...they were like a size 28! You cant see the best part of his costume in this pictures...Yes the boots. We won most disgusting costume award on account of Tysons pants, and maybe mine too. :)

The Boyz

The Group Pic (we didnt let the trick-or-treaters have candy until they took our group pictures)

Close up! (and thats a ROOT beer, not beer) And I apologize that Tysons looks downs syndrome, he decided not to look at the camera.

The Chicas

Quick Vent

2009-10-26T21:40:00.006-06:00

I just felt like i needed to publicly announce one of my biggest pet peeves. Here is how the story goes: I was talking on the phone with my Realtor (whom I hate with every fiber of my being) and I was telling him how I was frustrated with him because I felt he wasnt doing everything he could to get this short sale approved...thats a whole another story....and I was telling him that I am just the kind of person that when i want something, I get it, when I dont get my way, I fight and do all that I can until I get it, i dont wait until they call me, I call them until I get what I want, and I expect the same from my realtor. Its hard for me to be on the side where I have no control over the situation and I take my frustration out on the people who do have control who arent doing the best they can. Call me a beast, but that just may be what I am. Okay onto the story...So in explaining this to him he says

Realtor: "I dont know when your birthday is, but I bet you are a Scorpio or Sagittarius"
Me: "Nope, I am a Cancer, Not even close"

PET PEEVE : I HATE when people use signs for explaining peoples personalities or using astrological sign as an excuse for their mistakes. Your sign does NOT explain why you are the way your are, NOR should it be used to explain why people do dumb things. Because that only makes you look more stupid. Believe it or not, people are the way they are based on their own decisions and character, not the day you were born or however the stars align. HATE TO BURST YOUR BUBBLE.

Other pet peeves for your reading pleasure:
When the toilet paper runs out and the cardboard tube is left on the holder, and new roll placed on top of the old one... so lazy!
Bicyclist who ride in the street....MOVE
Bad Breath
Flat tires....in the shoe/heel aspect
Losing
Animals treated like humans
People who never stop talking
Bad/ Slow drivers

Thanks for listening

Oregon Reception

2009-10-17T19:24:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Tyson and I went to Oregon for Brian and Beckys Oregon reception at my parents house in Philomath. Chelsea and I flew to Portland while Tyson drove and then we all drove back together. It was just as busy as the first reception in Utah. My parents built our house about 10 years ago, but you know how it goes once you move in to an unfinished house thinking you will finish it and the project list just gets longer every year. Its fun though cause everytime I come home there is something new done. My parents focused on the landscaping this summer and they did SO much stuff. They finished the rock on the side of the house, the deck, the tile patio, the water fountain, grass in the front of the house, and so much more. I dont have pictures of it all but it was so beautiful. There was still a few loose ends to tie up when we get there so we spent most of the few days before finishing up all the projects. I am glad we were there to help though, and props to mom and dad for their hard work this summer. Oh and to Becky and Brian who so conviently showed up 2 hours before the reception...Smart thinking you two!

The Flowers were so awesome, not because I did them, but because they were so cheap! We got all the flowers from the farmers market in downtown corvallis for only $100.!! And also a generous donation of dahlias from the neighbors greenhouse...thats Oregon for yaThe Centerpeices

Another update...

2009-10-15T11:53:00.004-06:00

The latest status on the short sale townhouse: After hearing back the first time on the short sale we were super excited that it might actually happen, so we wrote up our counter offer to their verbal offer and were expecting to hear back within a few weeks tops, well its been over 6 weeks and we havnt heard anything. I had basically given up the idea that we were going to buy a house in the near future after the 8,000 tax credit expired. I figured by the time we hear back on the short sale and go through closing it would be too late and we really couldnt afford to buy a house without the 8,000. We took one last look at some new houses on the market on the internet and were going to go look at some this weekend possibly. I just got to the point where I wasnt excited about buying a house anymore because it was so frustrating and all the houses we liked were out of our price range and everything in our price range was so outdated. I even told my realator via text message that if we dont hear back on the short sale before the 8,000 is gone we arent buying a house, so if you want to get paid for putting up with us for the last 4 months, you might want to get busy and start annoying some very indolent bank workers. WELL, today I got a call from our realtor, which usually i screen his calls, but I answered and he told me some good and bad news.

THE GOOD NEWS: We finally have a solid answer and offer/ acceptance on the house.

THE BAD NEWS: The house has two mortages on it. The 1st bank will let it go for $140,000, the second bank will let it go for $10,000, but the second bank will only let us finance 2,000 of the 10,000. So that means we have to come up with $8,000 cold hard cash basically as a deposit, but one top of our other deposit and closing.

You are probably thinking, perfect, wow how did they now the tax credit would be exactly 8,000. Why dont you just use the 8,000 tax credit as the down payment. I'll tell you, because were planning on using that for a washer, dryer, fridge, blinds, and some much needed paints.

Moral of the story is....DOES ANYBODY HAVE $8000 DOLLARS WE CAN BORROW! Actually our plan is to hopefully accept. We would have to borrow $8000 (probably from one set of parentals) until we get our tax credit and pay them back and as long as the house appraises for more than 142,000. We can take the difference of what it does appraise for and use as a "home improvement loan" tied into our mortage so we can get a fridge and all that good stuff. Anyways, sorry this is really long and wordy but thats the status and we should hopefully know within a week if we really have it or if this is all still just a fun little game called "Get your hopes up just to be shot down PART 2"

More Wedding Weekend

2009-10-12T19:00:00.002-06:00

My Aunt Donna, cousin Brittnee, and her baby Emma stayed with us for the weekend of the wedding. I met Emma right after Brittnee had her when she was only a few weeks old and she was SO tiny. She is so cute and it was so much fun to see her and play with her. I think when I have kids I need to be careful because I get so excited around babies I just want to squeeze them and kiss them, probably to an unhealthy amount. Kind of like the next picture :) I figured since Tyson wouldnt smile normal, I was just join in his foolishness

I love the action eating shots...always flattering

General Conference was also the same weekend as the Wedding, to add to all the craziness. We went to the Saturday afternoon session with my whole family. Saturday was also the day of the second wedding I had that weekend. I had to finish the flowers in the morning, deliver/ and design the large altar arrangments up to Alta, CLEAR UP IN THE MOUNTAINS, drive back down to salt lake, park about 5 blocks away and ran all the way to the conference center because they say you are supposed to be in your seat 30 minutes before. Little did I know that they arent so strict so I ran for nothing, I was tired, sweaty, my feet and shins were killing me from running in heals, and I was exhausted by that afternoon after a weeks worth of festitivies.
But I still managed to stay awake during conference.

Becky and Brians Wedding

2009-10-12T18:44:00.002-06:00

There were better pictures of us, but I just LOVEd this one of Tysons face! Its the picture I have always been waiting for
Mom and Dad...Pretty good looking set of Parentals

The centerpieces

Becky and Brian got married October 1st in the Salt Lake City Temple. The weather turned out to be so great that day. These pictures arent very clear of them but I will post more of the wedding when I get some more. Beckys dress was so gorgeous! They had their reception in Layton and the Chantilly mansion. It was so fun to have all my family in town even though I had two other weddings that same weekend. (yeah i know, what was i thinking? Im not sure) It was probably the busiest week of my life so in a way Im glad its over, but it was a great day and a beautiful wedding.

Late Summer Weddings

2009-09-23T21:45:00.005-06:00

Emilys Bouquet

Kelis Bouquet

Keli's bouquet

Emily's Centerpeices

Beckys Bouquet

Here are a few of the most recent bouquet I have done late this summer. There are more pics on my wedding blog, http://www.brideandblooms.blogspot.com/, but I always like to share on this blog too! These are all from 3 different weddings in case you cant tell.

Moving On?

2009-09-13T13:44:00.004-06:00

Here is an update on the house hunt: After about 40 days we heard back on the shortsale townhouse, the first house we put an offer on, which was our first pick. The bank gave our relator a "verbal offer" basically telling us what the bank really wants for the house and we should offer in order to get the house. So we wrote up what they told us to (*Normally in any other sale besides a short offer, a counter offer is ALWAYS written up by the second party, and then we would accept and be under contract and start closing*) however because this is a short sale, there are NO rules for the bank and just because they tell us what they want and we offer that, it gives us no guarantee or even a reasonable amount of hope that we will get it. So basically the ball is back in their court, and we are stuck waiting again. In the meantime, we want to get the $8,000 tax credit and in order to do that we have to close by Nov. 20th, which doesnt leave us much time! So we are looking into some other options right now. We were advised to wait until the end of this week (which would be about 10 days since our counter offer was put in) and we will have to forget about the house and choose something else. Here are some townhouses I went and looked at last friday, Tyson had to work so he didnt get to come with me, but we are planning to go together this upcoming week. Here are some pics. They have 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a basement. The nice thing about these townhouses are they are new, so they qualify for he $4000 new construction tax credit! It also has 3 different floor plans, and you can choose alot of the finishes. It also has a great clubhouse with pool, huge living area, kitchen, workout, games, theathre room. (sorry the pictures didnt post in the order I wanted)

Club House Theatre
Basement

Kitchen

Dining Room/ Kitchen

Living Room/ Formal Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Bedroom #1

Meet Ava and Grady...and ????

2009-09-04T19:12:00.006-06:00

Ava
Grady

Okay so this is kind of silly, but i thoroughly enjoyed it. Hehe. You can go to makemebabies.com and upload you and your husbands (boyfriend, partner, whomever) and it will show you what it thinks your babies will look like. I was pretty please with our DNA makeup of Ava (that is our first choice for a girl name), However Grady (first choice for our first boy), needs some work but we'll take him. Not sure where he got the curly hair or the purpose of the hardhat, but what do you do?
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We also had a little mis-hap. I am really not sure if this is a boy or a girl and I pray that none of our children look like this (although thats about how ugly and awkward I was when I was a kid.) But seriously it would be really unfortunate for all of us.

??????

Random Update

2009-08-30T17:39:00.004-06:00

Well we are STILL waiting to hear back on the townhouse. We put another offer on a house that wasnt a short sale and they counter offered but we decided it was at the top of our budget and we didnt want to stretch ourselves too far. I am growing more impatient and frustrated everyday. We were kind of hoping to be in a place before Brian and Beckys wedding just so we could have more room to house everyone. There is another townhouse in the same complex that is listed for about $15 thousand more that is NOT a short sale. So we decided if we dont hear anything back by Sept. 20th we would make an offer on that one and hopefully could get it a little cheaper. While it costs more it would come with the appliances and blinds, which the other does not. I really dont know how much longer I can wait, its been 4 weeks now and all I think about it moving and decorating, I even went and picked out some paint colors! Mostly steele blues and grays. I already know what I want to do in every room and HGTV is always on in our house. I am even looking forward to packing and moving, I just want a house!

In other news, last weekend Becky had one of her bridal showers up at her Aunts house in Salt Lake. Brian is so lucky to marry into such a great family, I just loved all her aunts and grandmas and cousins. They were all so nice and welcoming. Here are some pictures from the lovely shower

They had a little luncheon with fruit, chicken finger sandwhiches, ice cream, and pastries

Becky and I

Aw doesnt she look so cute!
Pyrex! Yay!