The Garrisons Write

Birthday/Christmas

2011-12-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

I guess I better get used to having this title for Ty around this time of year, but maybe I'll start doing his birthday in November so I'm not so stressed! Anyway, we did have a birthday bash for Ty on his birthday, the 23rd. I planned a Sesame Street party cause Ty loves Elmo and Big Bird. He doesn't really watch Sesame Street, but he sure knows who Elmo is! Donna and Olivia were kind enough to make an Elmo cake for me, so that's one thing I didn't have to do, especially since we were traveling. It turned out amazing I might add! I had a few games for all the cousins to play which were Oscars trash toss, Ernie's Rubber Duckies, Count with Count and Twister. Ty wasn't quite sure what to do at first when all the older kids started going crazy, ha! His favorite game was probably Count with Count where I had made a poster board w/ different things to count on it. Twister was quite comical once the adults started playing. The pictures below will explain the games. Then we opened presents and had a Mexican feast w/ carne asada.

The Cake

Ty Loved Blowing Out the Candle, Then I Pushed His Face In The Cake

He's Probably Saying "Happy Birthday Ty!"

The Counting Game

Talor "bobbing" for ducks. (I made the older kids get them w/ their mouth)

Birthday Table Decorations

Then came Christmas! Ty was a pro at opening presents by then. He actually was taking his nap when everybody came over and opened presents, so he opened his all by himself later in the day. We took more video of him than pictures for Christmas this year for some reason. He got some great things and wanted to open his presents more than move on to the next present. He got lots of cars, the cutest little dog (stuffed animal might I add), a doctors kit, a new blanket, etc, etc.

"Angel" Ty and "Joseph" Claire

Ty Didn't Want To Keep His Angel Costume On

Ty and Talor

Best Month

2011-12-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

I do have to say that this month has been so fun for us so far and it can only get better with Christmas right around the corner. The holidays are so much more fun when you have your own kids I swear (and more stressful)! Ty has been SO excited about Christmas trees, lights, snowmen, Santa, presents, baby Jesus, etc, etc. It so fun to watch his face light up when he sees anything to do with Christmas. We decided to get a real Christmas tree this year and that's our only decoration cause we're moving after Christmas. Yes we bought a house, but more on that after the move! I'm so stressed over it I don't even want to think about it, k!

Our Homemade Nativity

Anyway, Mike and I were actually able to have a little get away last week by ourselves, which was great. Mike's parents watched Ty while we went to San Francisco for the weekend. Mike had to work there during the week, so we decided to stay for the weekend. We didn't do anything fantastic cause we've been to San Fran multiple times, but it was nice to sleep in and take naps and eat out with no interruption! The only bad part is that we did get caught in the dumb "Occupy Wall Street/San Fran," whatever you want to call it. It's so STUPID!!! It was much needed and fun other than that.

Mike's Grandma's Headstone (We Miss Her Dearly!)

The Only Picture We Took In San Fran

Ty's birthday is on Friday and he goes around the house saying Happy Birthday Daddy! He cracks me up. I will do another post on his birthday cause we're having a big bash on Friday! One funny thing about Ty that he said on Sunday as I was getting ready for church, he said he wanted to put on his missionary clothes (he usually says church clothes)! I've never said that too him, but he does love the song "I hope they call me on a mission," so I'm sure that's where he got it from.

Ty And Our Neighbor On A School bus (Ty LOVES School buses)

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and we will post again after our move!

All Decorated

Which Tree Should I Choose?

Phew

2011-11-18T11:55:00.000-08:00

Phew, it's been awhile! I seriously need to do better at blogging, cause our little family is changing so much. Lets see...Ty will be 2 next month!!! Can you believe it? I can't. I'm working on his birthday bash right now and I'm already stressed about it. Geesh, he's only 2! I know I've said this before, but with his birthday being so close to Christmas, it's so hard to do anything. So we have celebrated with family instead of having a big bash. I'm excited for this years birthday and Christmas though cause he'll actually know what to do with the presents. We already got him a Strider bike in July for his birthday present. He's getting pretty good at it and soon enough he'll be taking off.

Anyway, I guess I should start w/ Halloween. Ty was a cow as you will see from the pictures and he loved his costume. Didn't fight me at all and didn't care if he took it off or not either. He has asked a couple of times for his costume, but I just say it's being washed and he drops it. We went trick or treating with our neighbors and he got the hang of it after about 3 houses. Silly Ty would say trick or treat, but he wouldn't say thank you! We came home after about 10 houses and wanted to pass out our own candy, but we only had 3 trick or treaters. Lame! I think I needed to decorate the outside of our house better. As for bedtime that night, it was a little funny. I think Ty was a little scared to go to bed from all of the different things going on. I had to rock him to sleep and then sleep with him for a little while before he would let go of me. His grip was so tight on my shirt!

Me Looking Very Sick w/ Ty Confused and Mike Sleepy

Got The Hang Of It

Not Quite Sure What To Do Yet

Kisses For Daddy

Getting Ready

In other news, I have been SOOOO sick. Because, yup I'm pregnant! For the last month and a half I have thrown up every single day, sometimes twice a day. So this past month has not been fun for our family. I do feel like the worst mom, cause Ty doesn't do much throughout the day. I don't let him watch too much TV or movies, so he's been pretty good about playing with himself. He was so funny the other night though, Mike and I were just sitting watching him play and we both got up to do something and he came over and grabbed both of our hands and said, "Sit, play." Ha, boy he just might have a little culture shock come June! I'm due the beginning of June, so hopefully this dumb sickness is almost over!

Yes I am biased, but Ty is the cutest thing ever! This age is so fun to me! He says the silliest things sometimes and will repeat anything we tell him too. He still uses his Spanish which is great, I hope he keeps that up and I hope I can keep it up cause I feel like a broken record! Yes he does have his moments, but for the most part I could not ask for a better child.

Family Wake Boarding Trip the End of September

How Do You Like His Jacked Up Haircut!?

Sickness

2011-09-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

Oh man it's been a rough one lately for our little family! (Not to complain about motherhood) Ty has been to the doctor 3 times in a week and a half. Poor little guy! He has what they call Gingivostomatitis. Yea I had the same reaction, what? It's a form of herpes that forms in the mouth. So basically he has cold sores all in his mouth. So he really hasn't eaten much since last Tuesday. He only sleeps for an hour at a time and wants me to hold and rock him constantly. Ugh, I thought ear infections were bad! Then last Saturday they started showing up around his nose and outside his mouth. So today I had had enough and called the doctor and told them there had to be a medicine to help not only him but my sanity!! I guess the sores on his lips and nose are Infintigo. He can thank is dad for that one! Mike and his siblings have had this since they were little kids too. Anyway, I got a prescription today so hopefully come the end of the week things will be looking up.

Our Poor Little Guy

We celebrated Mike's birthday last week. We had planned to go to Olive Garden for Mike's favorite "Never Ending Pasta Bowl", but with Ty not feeling well we knew it wouldn't be good. So I just made him a banner and took him to In N Out burger! That's about all for us. Ty is great other than his mouth. He's very helpful and loves to push and wrestle his daddy! He's talking more and more everyday. He still really loves the water and asks me everyday if we can go to the pool. He still has a few teeth pushing through. He knows all of the actions to the nursery rhymes/church songs I sing to him. He loves to read books and I love to hear him in his room babbling away! It's so funny how he makes the same sounds I make to him while reading. I wish he would stay this little and sweet forever!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Blowing Out Daddy's Candle

Activity w/ Daddy's Shaving Cream

Ty's Movie Night Car Box

Ode to Summer

2011-08-15T07:55:00.001-07:00

Here in Burbank, school starts today. I know I don't have a kid that goes to school yet, but that still means summer is over for us too because we can't go on mid week dates anymore cause of course it's a school day. All the neighbor kids will not be visiting us in the mornings anymore, the gym won't be as busy, kids will have curfews now, etc. etc. And for some reason I'm having mixed feelings about all of it. I guess I've come to realize that I don't really like change. It makes me really nervous and I get really anxious. I didn't use to be like this until I had Ty. Hormones? I think so!!

Anyway, my nieces and nephews don't start school for another week, so I think I'll finish off MY summer with a 2nd week at the beach this year with my toes in the sand and a trip to the zoo with the family.

Lovin' on his daddy

Attempting to skip rocks at the bay

Digging in the sand

Of course we did A LOT more this summer than just go to the beach! But the beach is always the highlight of the summer. Ty loves the sand, jumping the waves, throwing and eating the sand and everything about the beach. So until next summer...

(Hopefully I'll get around to posting before then)

18 Months

2011-06-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer!

Eighteen months is fast approaching for Ty and it's CRAZY! Since it is officially summer, we spend a lot of time outside. The only problem is that we don't have a back yard, so we run around the front yard, so all of our neighbors know when his nap time is vs. play time. :) Some days we are down to 1, 3 hour nap, but other days he still wants to take 2 naps. He still wakes up at the butt crack of dawn, so naps are different everyday! He is a little obsessed with his signing movie. It is the ONLY movie he will sit and watch. He always hands me other movies to watch, but he thinks every movie is his signing movie. So needless to say, he knows how to sign A LOT of things. I'm teaching him Spanish, so he says please, hello, etc. in Spanish. I will speak it to him and he understands it, but doesn't quite speak it all yet. He LOVES talking on the phone. He especially likes talking to his dad onhis way home from work. He knows Mikes ring on the cell phone, so he runs to the phone when Mike calls. He was really talking up a storm

to Mo and Mar the other day on the phone too. I think as long as somebody is laughing at him, he will talk to them. He's such a ham!

Almost Ready For A Summersault

Ty Has A Major Obsession w/ Belly Buttons

Oh the Concentration, Only to Have the Ball Fall Off the Tee!

He also loves the pool! We were at my parents house last week and I had to really watch him cause he would just go jump in the water if the gate was open to the pool. I love that he likes the water, but it's so scary sometimes. We take him to the pool every Friday night at our gym, which he loves! They have little toys for him to play with and all kinds of things there. Me and him go to a gymnastics class during the week too. He almost had a spill off the balance beam the other day. He doesn't really care to play with the other kids, but he definitely gets some energy out.

Crusin' In the Hot-Rod (He killed it once, I didn't kill it at all!)

Conquering Getting A Drink From the Hose

Watching The Airplanes/Helicopters Fly Over Our House

Those Are Goggles Around His Neck

He finally got one side of his molars in. That was a rough 2 weeks if I do say so myself! Anyway, Ty is so much fun and we can't get enough of him. We are going to Utah for the 4th of July, so I'm sure he will love seeing all of his cousins there. I'm sure we have other trips planned too, but until then, have a fun 4th!

Paradise

2011-05-01T15:39:00.001-07:00

We are back from Hawaii and I'm trying not to

think of the beauty of Hawaii as I type this! We had a blast, but we really missed Ty. I know I'm lame, but I kept texting and calling my mother-in-law to make sure he was being good and sleeping good for her. Oh well such is life and I guess it will be like that the rest of my life.

Missing Ty

Anyway, we didn't get to our hotel until about 10:00 (Hawaiian time) Sunday night and we were exhausted. We took one look off the balcony of our room to check out the view and then went to bed! Monday we woke up and just walked around the resort and enjoyed the scenery. We stayed on the North Shore at the Turtle Bay Resort. The rooms are nothing great, but the views are AMAZING! I won't bore you with what we did each day, but we definitely saw some beautiful things around the island. Our favorite was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay! The fish were so pretty and so cool to get that close to them. I wish we had an underwater camera, but they were all sold out! Waimea falls is a total waste of money! So if you're thinking of going to Hawaii I would do a different water fall! We did go to Waimea Bay and the waves were huge. Mike and I both tried to take a wave and we both got totally tore up by it. We could feel each other under water as the wave was tossing us every which way. We did do the norm like PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center), Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, etc. Another highlight was going to the Laie Temple and meeting up with Wi (a friend from Thailand) at BYU-Hawaii. Most of all we just relaxed and lived the life for one whole week! (Beware overload of pictures)

Our Favorite Restaurant In Our Favorite Little Town (Haleiwa)

Hanauma Bay

Mike Snorkeling

Me Being Annoyed That Waimea Falls Was a Rip Off

Mike At The PCC

Our Dinner At The PCC

Mike Enjoying A Shrimp Truck

View From The Hotel

Grandma

2011-04-03T12:35:00.001-07:00

I know I've probably posted this every February through April, but IS TAX SEASON OVER YET!?!?!?! It's been a whirlwind couple of months for us and it's not over yet. Ty and I have been going, going, going. We've been to Dick and Donna's, Darice and Trent's and to my parents house. Then in two weeks we are off to Hawaii! WAAHOO!!!! And all by ourselves, no baby! DOUBLE WAAHOO!!!! I know I'm going to ball my eyes out when I leave the little monster, but I'm excited all at the same time too. I don't think I even took any pictures while at Dick and Donna's or D's house. I went to D's house to watch her little munchkins while she went to Denver for volleyball. They are the cutest little volleyball players ever! And Brooks and Ty, well one day they will learn to get along :) It was fun minus the 1 day flu that everybody got everyday I was there. Ugh, throw up is NOT fun.

Aunt Joye Cutting Tys Hair for the First Time

I got back from Utah on a Thursday and on Saturday I left for my parents' house. I stopped by to see my Grandma Smith who was in a recovery facility cause she had had a stroke. It was good to see her, but sad because she wasn't responsive at all. I thought she would do well seeing new faces and especially with Ty in the room. But then Sunday morning my dad got the news that she had passed away. She led such a good life and was such an example to me in many ways! I remember her and grandpa coming to most of my volleyball games even when grandpa was in a wheelchair. She loved her family and friends. Mike told me I remind him a lot of my grandma. She was born and raised in Texas, so you know she told it how it was. :) I will miss you grandma, but know that you are happy and in a better place with your sweetheart!

Grandma w/ Ty (not sure when this was taken)

Here is 4 Generations on the Smith Side

Most of the family came down for the funeral and it was fun to have most of the cousins around each other. My mom and I took Ty out to the farm one day and he loved the animals. I guess it's time to go to the zoo! I thought he would be scared of the cows, but he wanted to crawl right in the feeding troughs. He really liked the tractor, so looks like when he's old enough he will be going down to grandpas farm to work whether he likes it or not, ha. I miss the country life when I'm home sometimes. The smells, the open space, no traffic, etc. etc. But I love life on our own too!

Checking Out the Cows

14+ Months

2011-03-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

Ty is a week over 14 months and growing like a weed! He is so smart. I tell ya, I do one thing and he repeats the action/word (mummble, jummble) for the rest of the day. Or I try to hide something from him and he knows exactly where I put it. Cell phones are his favorite toy and he throws a fit if he doesn't get it. His new thing is to lay on his back and stomach and do the baseball "safe" sign. It's so funny! He loves his bats and balls and baseball caps thats for sure. He started walking about 2 weeks ago, but still knows he can get places faster by crawling. Every time he does something new he looks up at us and claps his hands. He signs please, thank you, more, drink, all done, hat, shoes, waves bye, and blows kisses. He can say mama, dada, boo, tub, hat, bye and barks like a dog whenever he sees any animal. He loves to play peek a boo and wrestle. He likes to play monster w/ mom too. I made him a fort the other day with the couch cushions and thought he would love crawling through it, but he just wanted to jump on top of it. He has gotten 1 more tooth in, which is never fun for me. What else can I brag about my son for doing, ha! We love this kid more and more each day. We have some fun trips planned to Utah and home to see cousins and we can't wait. (It is tax season you know, so it's better that we are gone for a couple of weeks) Anyway, hope you enjoy these pictures of our growing boy!

This Is An Old Picture, But I Love How It Shows The Simplicity Of Childhood!

Crawling On Top Of His Fort

He Loves His Crib A Little Too Much!

He Loves Sunglasses And Has Destroyed A Few Pairs

I Forgot That In January, Ty Got Ahold Of The Curling Iron and Burned His Little Arm :(

Whew

2011-03-03T10:49:00.001-08:00

Oh man it's been awhile and I have a good excuse I swear! ha ok not really. My excuse is that one day I was trying to "revamp" my blog and I totally screwed it up. I lost all of my blogs that I follow, all of our pictures, but still had all of our posts. What the ...?? I had NO clue how to fix it and my little man wouldn't give me the time to actually sit down and investigate my problem. So I kind of gave up on the 'ol blog!

Well yesterday I completely ignored little man for about 30-45 minutes (did I just admit that, yes I did, and I swear to never do it again) determined to fix the blog and well the rest is history. I hit some button to upgrade my blog and bam all of my info was back on the blog. I don't like the layout, so I will be fixing it again, but it's back and I'm back! (In case anyone cares) Will post soon!

What A Year...

2011-01-04T16:30:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe that last Christmas, Ty was just coming home from the hospital. He was so tiny and had the cutest little cone head I've ever seen! We love our little guy so much and it has been the happiest, most fulfilling time in our lives.

2 Days Old

1 Year And 2 Days Old (No I Don't Wish He Was A Girl w/ The Bow On His Head, But You Have To Have One Picture Like That At Christmas Right?)

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T20:50:00.000-08:00

Can you believe another year has come and gone!? I can because it went by SO fast! I say this because our little Ty turned 1 on Dec 23rd. I swear when you have kids, you blink and it's over. I don't think you fully understand the term "they grow up so fast," until you have your own!

Anyway, this December was a busy one for us. As I mentioned before, the best part of December was Ty turned 1. Mike got off work early on the 23rd and we headed down to Brawley for Christmas. I had planned to have a party for Ty, but with traveling it was hard. So I asked my sister Cory to help me out. She made a football cupcake cake. Much to my surprise, Ty hated the cupcake! He didn't want anything to do with it. I think he was distracted with all of the people around. He also wanted nothing to do with his presents. hahaha Crazy kid! So his cousin Lil' Jim opened all of his presents for him. I have a feeling that his birthday's are just going to get harder from here on out w/ Christmas being so close. I was already stressing over what to get him for his birthday and Christmas and he's only 1! Anyway, he got WAY too much for his birthday! (We got to have 2 birthdays this year, one w/ the Garrison side and one w/ the Smith side. That's what happens when you have a birthday so close to Christmas, you get spoiled!)

Our Big Birthday Boy!

He Wanted Nothing To Do W/ This Cake

Dig In

Ty's Cake From The Garrisons

Then Christmas was around the corner. He was not interested in his Christmas presents either! He just wanted to crawl down the hall in my parents' house and climb up the stairs. He wasn't even interested in my mom's Christmas tree! I thought he would tear that thing apart. Once again he got WAY too much! We came home w/ so many toys that he doesn't know which one to play with.

I Tried to Put Cousin Caed's Santa Hat On Ty and He Pulled The Bitter Beer Face On Us

This Is What Santa Brought and Ty Couldn't Wait To Get In It Obviously

Give Thanks

2010-12-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

So this Thanksgiving, we traveled to St. George where Mike's sister Joye lives. The weather was SUPER cold compared to what we are used to here in CA. (You forget how cold it gets there after you've moved from that state) So I was a little worried about Ty getting sick. Well what do you know the first night was a disaster! He woke up about every 3 hours and wouldn't go back down until I nursed him. He started getting a runny nose and slobbering like crazy, so I thought he was teething. We went the whole week like that, so needless to say we didn't sleep very well! We had fun otherwise though. We ate WAY too much as we always do! Ty had a blast playing w/ his cousins too. We didn't do Black Friday this year because Ty was keeping us up all night. Also I didn't have it planned out what I was going to get everybody, so I probably would've been running around with my head cut off. Oh wait that's what Black Friday is right? We decided to come back on Monday after Thanksgiving cause we knew the traffic from Vegas to LA would be horrible. It's so much nicer to take your time when you're traveling w/ a baby! A couple of days after we got back Ty started getting a fever. I thought it was just from teething, but it got up to 103.5, so we decided to take him to the hospital (cause it was on a Sunday night). Lo and behold he had ear infections in both ears! Poor little guy!!! This was our first experience with Ty being really sick and it was SO scary. He wasn't pulling at his ears or really crying, so I didn't think it was that bad. He just really wanted me to hold him all day, which I didn't mind. I love when he is extra cuddly! We started his medicine right away and you could tell a difference the next day. Thank you modern medicine!! He's all better now and back to beingthe happy little guy that we LOVE so much!

Back To Being Our Little Destroyer

Tired And Sick Little Boy

(and no I don't beat my kid, he was laying on his ear before I took this picture)

5 Happiest Years Of My Life

Family Pics in Utah

Are You Ready For Some Football...and A Rodeo!

2010-11-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

So it's been awhile, uh? We have been pretty busy going here and there and everywhere! About a month ago we went down to my parents house for the weekend. Mike wanted to see his cousin Mark play football, so we headed to Yuma, AZ (an hour from my parents house) to see him play. He plays at Snow College in Utah. So you know when it's cold where you live, so you think it's going to be cold where you're going to visit. Yea, well that was us. It was about 70 degrees in Burbank (yes that's cold for here) and when we got to Brawley it was about 85-90 degrees. So needless to say when we got to the football game, all of Ty's clothes came off cause he was sweating so bad. Silly me I know! He sat on my lap the entire time and just watched the game. Must take after his dad for his love of sports cause he will sit and watch any game! All boy! I do have to admit that it was hard to watch Mark cause he is the center for the team and you just want to watch where the ball is. Snow lost, but it was fun to see Mark and his parents!

Ty w/ The Snow Badger

Uncle Steve w/ Ty

Big Marko

The next week, my dad called me up and told me he got tickets to the USC/Oregon game. Well of course we weren't going to turn those down because 1. Oregon was ranked #1 and 2. the last time I went to a USC football game I was probably about 10. So we found a babysitter for Ty and off we went. It was so much fun! We had great seats and for once Mike and I were cheering for the same team. My dad, Camille, Micaela and Kiana came up from Brawley, so it was fun to spend a little time w/ them. Yes SC lost, but it was a blast! And yes we are teaching Ty the "Fight On" sign :)

Fight On!

The Crew At The Game

This last weekend we went home to Brawley again for the annual Brawley Cattle Call Parade and Rodeo. We got their in time on Friday night to go to the rivalry football game between Brawley and El Centro. Brawley won! Ty was so tired he actually fell asleep w/ all of the yelling and screaming. Then Sat morning was the parade and Ty didn't really care either way about that. He saw his 1st horse and didn't really know what to think. He didn't want to pet it, but he kept starring at it. We went back to my parents house and had lunch and then headed to the rodeo. I'll be honest, the rodeo stunk! We got there late so we missed the best part, the wild horse race, and the clown was TERRIBLE! Ty could care less about the rodeo, he just wanted to crawl in the dirt. Once again he is ALL boy and I love it! Yes I admit, sometimes I miss "home." I miss seeing family everyday, the smell of clean, fresh air, the relaxation of a small town compared to LA, but would I trade it for anything? No, not at all!

Ty Thinking About The Horse

Mike Thought This Guy Was The Hit Of The Parade. I Agree!

Parade Crew

Lil Jim And Emerson, BFFs

Rodeo Time

These Ladies Were Awesome!

So a little about Ty...he is growing, growing, growing. And I don't mean wider or taller, I mean his mind is growing. (Well maybe a little wider and taller) It amazes me everyday when I watch him play how fast his mind is going. He is starting to get a personality of his own and I can't tell who's he has more of, mine or Mikes. He is about ready to walk. He pulls himself up on the chairs (and everything else) and pushes them around the house everywhere. He will pull himself up on his walker and walk around the house too. He throws EVERYTHING! We still can't determine if he is a righty or lefty. It's different everyday. He hates his diaper to be changed. He is starting to really like books. That is the 1st toy he will grab and sit and flip through it. He likes to look how everything works. If he throws his ball under the couch, he will lay down and try to reach it. He will look inside things and just try to figure out why and how it works. He LOVES the bathroom! Needless to say we keep all doors closed in the house. We love this kid and can't wait for our next adventures, tomorrow I'm sure!

Ty Fell Asleep In His Highchair!

Ty At 9 1/2 Months

Oh I forgot to mention that Mike was a little excited to see Sergio Romo at home. Sergio graduated high school a year before me. He pitches for the San Francisco Giants now and that is Mike's team! Anyway, he did the coin toss at the football game and had his own float at the parade. Mike was proud to wear his Giants hat, that's for sure!

The Hometown Hero

The Close of Summer

2010-09-14T10:29:00.001-07:00

Once again where has the time gone! Our little Ty is almost 9 months old. He continues to grow and surprises us everyday with his new adventures. He is such a happy little guy and LOVES when daddy comes home from work. (Yes I get a little jealous that he's always happy when Dad's around, but I wouldn't have it any other way!) He is crawling faster and faster everyday. He pulls himself up onto everything and especially likes to climb in the bookshelves and pull everything off of them. He LOVES being outside. If he's crying all I have to do is take him outside and he stops and wants to explore everything. He LOVES to wrestle with mom. Well I don't know if HE loves it but I do, ha! He LOVES to play catch and hit the ball w/ his little bat. Let's just say he is ALL boy! He got his two bottom teeth about a month ago, so now he bites everything. Well he hasn't bitten me yet(yes, I'm still nursing and have 3 more months to go, but whose counting!). No I really do love nursing him and holding him close while I tickle him softly while we rock.

Enjoying The Waves and Life

Look At That Smile!

So we traveled a lot this summer. It was so much fun to spend so much time together as a family. The nights were a little rough wherever we were at cause Ty really likes his own crib, but we made it through. So we spent a week w/ Aunt Camille and Aunt Darice and their families in San Diego and the beach house. I didn't know how Ty would do with the sand, but he really liked it and face planted in it a couple of times. Him and his cousin Brooks didn't mind eating the sand either! The water was a little cold, but if he got used to it he didn't mind sitting in it. Mike liked taking Ty for bike rides on the boardwalk. Mike would pull Brooks and Ty in the Burley and Mike would look back and Brooks would have Ty's pacifier in his mouth and then would look back 5 minutes later and Ty would have the pacifier back in his mouth. Oh those two, they will be best buds one day! Anyway, thanks Aunt Camille for letting us stay and it was SO much fun to spend time together.

Daddy and Ty Chilin'

Mike and I Built The Kids A Fort With The Kitchen Table

Mike, Ty and Lil Jim Going For A Bike Ride

As Close As We Will Get Right Now to Giving Loves!

Ty and I At The Park

A couple of weeks later we went up to Shaver Lake w/ Chris and Courtney. Chris is Mike's best friend from high school. We love hanging out with them whenever we get the chance. They have a beautiful cabin up there right on the lake. We went out on the boat everyday and Ty loved it. We rented a tube and he really liked watching the people on that. Mike got up on the wakeboard for the 1st time. We were so proud of him cause he tried and tried and tried. The water wasn't too cold either, so it turned out to be a perfect weekend.

Ty Living The Life

Mike On The Wakeboard

Mike and Chris On the Tube

Mike and I On The Tube

The next weekend was Alyson's baby shower. Alyson is my sister in law and she is having a boy. I'm excited to have another boy cousin close in age to Ty. We didn't do much at home cause we didn't get there until late and it was so hot. Mike did some yard work for my parents and we went swimming, but that's about it. I don't think I even took any pictures while we were home. Oh well, next time!

The next weekend we drove up to Dick and Donna's for Labor Day. We really just relaxed and hung out with Bob and Jackie's family and Grant and Olivia. We went swimming a couple of times there too. Ty is so funny when he swims now. He gets this look on his face when he knows you're going to dunk him. It's too cute! The highlight of the weekend was that we got to go see Grandma Jan. She just fell and broke her hip at 89 years old, so she was in a lot of pain. She was still happy as can be that we came to visit her in the hospital. We're thankful we were able to see her and spend some time with her. She is such a sweet lady and loves Ty so much! Well that's the end of our travels for the summer. It's not Hawaii, but it was time away from our everyday routine. Until next summer...!

Ty w/ Auntie Livi in His New Speedo (there is a story behind this, maybe one day I will tell you)

Grandma Jan w/ Ty

This Video Is of Bob (Mike's Brother) and Matt (Chris' Brother) On The Tube. Hilarious!!

Whew That Was A Long Post!

A Little Something

2010-08-19T09:06:00.001-07:00

We have been traveling like crazy this summer! I have so much to post, but still am not done traveling :) So here's a little something to get through the next couple of weeks until things settle down a bit! We love you Ty!

The Joys of Living in Los Angeles

2010-07-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

So I have a scary, but funny story. Yesterday morning Mike went on a run to the gym and back. Keep in mind that to get to our gym you have to go over 2 bridges. So he makes it over the 1st bridge just fine. With his headphones on and minding his own business, out of the blue he looks to his left and sees 5 police cars stopped on the 2nd bridge with their guns pulled. All of the police cars are on their loud speaker saying "stop and put your hands up!" Mike takes his earphones out and kind of stops and doesn't know what to do. He then looks to his left and notices that they have this van pulled over w/ a guy getting out with his hands up. Turns out that there was a high speed chase going on, on the freeway and the guy happened to get off the exit right as Mike was running over it and the police were telling the guy to get out with his hands up. Needless to say Mike really took off running after that! Good thing there is no sidewalk on the left side of the bridge, or Mike would've been right in the middle of it all! Another funny part was that the CHP helicopter was chasing the guy too and circling around our house (cause it's close to the freeway) and I kept thinking "gosh I wish this helicopter would stop circling our house, I'm trying to sleep!" Oh like I said, the joys of living in Los Angeles! :)

What Do You Do In The Summer Time...

2010-06-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone? Ty is now 6 months old and a growing boy. He is a big boy, we think he weighs 18 lbs. WO! He is attempting to crawl, but hasn't quite conquered it yet. He rolls and rolls everywhere! He sure loves his little hands and feet in his mouth though. He really is a good little guy and it is so much fun being his parents.

I Just Can't Get Enough of Those Blue Eyes!

Being Shy for the Camera

Ty Doesn't Know What to Think?

Two weeks ago, Mike's brother Grant and his wife Olivia came to visit us from Provo. We haven't seen them in forever, so it was great to catch up. They hadn't seen Ty yet either, so they had fun getting to know him. We showed them the sights around LA (Hollywood, Venice Beach, LA Temple, Panda Inn, LA traffic, etc.) and just hung out. We are glad they came to visit and look forward to seeing them this week when we go to Utah.

Ty w/ Grant and Olivia

Last week Mike had a conference for work in Illinois, so Ty and I decided to go up north and see Grandma and Grandpa Garrison. The weather was nice and we had a fun time swimming, making crafts, hanging out w/ cousins and just relaxing. We missed Mike, but it was a lot cheaper to fly to Oakland. :)

Ty w/ Grandma and His Cousins

Ty Loves the Water

1st Airplane Ride

We are excited for our trip to Utah this coming week for the Pratt Family Reunion. It will be fun to see all of our new neices and nephews! Happy 4th of July!

Ty's Father

2010-06-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

I love you Mike!

Ty loves and adores you!

We are all so much more happy when you are around!

Thanks for being the glue that keeps up together!

Thanks for being my hero!

Thanks for being my everything!

Happy Father's Day!

I love this picture of Mike and Ty. It shows his love for Ty so much!

Lakeshow

2010-05-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

Late on this post...On Tuesday night, Mike got a call from one of our friends in the ward asking us if we wanted to go to the Lakers vs. Suns game on Wednesday night. The friend told us that the seats were 5 rows up from the Lakers bench! Mike IMMEDIATELY said yes and then got off the phone and told me about it. I was super excited, but then realized that I needed to find a babysitter for Ty. We have never left him for longer than an hour, so I was kind of nervous about it. I was hoping it would all go through. Well I found somebody and so it was confirmed. We went to the game and had a blast! I had never even been to the Staples Center, so that was a treat in itself. We met our friends there and got to our seats and were in awe! Our seats ended up being right by the Lakers tunnel. So I leaned over the railing and got Pau Gasol to clap my hand. Yes that's my claim to fame! You should've seen the look on Mike's face. (It was better than a little boys face in a candy store that's for sure!) These players are HUGE! It's amazing how athletic they really are. Since we are not Lakers fans, it was even better to be that close and have people stare at us when the Suns scored. My friend even wore a Suns, Steve Nash jersey! We saw so many celebrities there it was crazy. Who needs to go to Hollywood to see celebrities, just go to a Lakers game. Oh wait Hollywood is probably cheaper, ha. It's unbelievable what people will pay for Lakers tickets! The halftime show totally sucked. Our friends said that they've had the same show for like 5 years and don't change it. BORING! Anyway, we picked up Ty and our babysitter said he did great, didn't make a peep. That's my boy! My pictures turned out dark though, oh well. All I have to say is what a great date night!

Catrina and I

Action Shot

Charles Barkley Getting Interviewed

Mommy

2010-05-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

This is Mike and Ty. We just wanted to tell Denae how much she means to us. She takes such good care of us and is so patient with us. We truly do not know what we would do without her. Whether it is a poopy diaper, sleepless night, or a late night at the office for Mike, she is such a good sport. She is a natural when it comes to being a mom and does such a good job with Ty. We are so lucky to have her as our wife and mom. Thanks again for all that you do and we hope you know how much we love you!

4 Months

2010-04-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Ty is 4 months old already! He is growing way too fast and those of you who have seen him know what I mean. His belly, thighs and cheeks are delicious!!! Let's just say that mom's milk is GOOD. We have been on the go again this month. We went to Utah for a week or so and then went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Garrison in Yoc Town. I went by myself to Utah for the last week of tax season. Ty was SO good in the car and we only had to stop once coming and going. He could not get enough of all of the cousins. Morgan and Marly were the best little babysitters and Brooks didn't know what to think when Darice was holding Ty. Brooks only got to Ty once while me and Darice turned out backs. It was pretty funny cause when I came around the corner Brooks had this look on his face like, "what did I do?' (while Ty was screaming) hahaha I love that kid! I took Ty to one of Darice's volleyball practices and he couldn't stop watching. We got lots of bike rides in with the girls, of course some shopping was done and got some pictures of Ty taken. My mom was there to help Rochelle with her baby, so I got to see my mom too. Roche had her baby the Saturday after I left. Bummer! Ty finally met Grandma and Grandpa Frye for the first time in Utah. Ty pooped himself and got it all over Grandma's pants. Silly boy! It was a great trip, but we REALLY missed daddy!

About the only one with a decent smile

Great Grandma Frye w/ Ty

The next day after I got back, we jumped in the car again and drove up to the Garrison's for the weekend. Mike needed a break from work after tax season. Once again he couldn't get enough of the cousins. He loves to just sit and watch them run around. He definitely got passed around too. So needless to say last week was rough. He would not take a nap or sleep cause he just wanted to be held. Oh well another week! Ty also met another Great Grandma, Grandma Jan for the first time this weekend too. Can you see where he gets his blue eyes? We went to our first baseball game of the year last Friday. Ty slept through most of it, but when he woke up it was pretty windy so we left.

Mike and Chris w/ Ty

Great Grandma Jan w/ Ty

Daddy teaching Ty the rules of the game!

Other big news is that Ty is rolling around like crazy now! His first roll was on Sunday and now he won't stop. He rolled from his tummy to his back once, but can't figure out how to do it again so just gets frustrated. It's so cute and funny! We have a lot of little trips coming up, so that should be fun and keep Ty entertained. We love our little guy and can't get enough of him!

Cheese Ball

Slacker

2010-04-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

So I've been slacking in my posting lately. SO much has happened since my last post. The biggest news is that MIKE PASSED THE CPA EXAM!!!! I couldn't be more proud of him. He has studied so hard for this test and did so well on it. It is such a weight off of his shoulders and mine, but mainly his, ha. No more studying for him!!!! Although he has passed the 4 tests, there is still a lot of paperwork to get done to get your actual license. Thank you state of CA, what a joke! In other news for our family, we blessed Ty on March 7th. Mike gave Ty an amazing blessing and the spirit was so strong. Ty woke up right before Mike gave the blessing, so I was a little worried that he would cry, but he didn't even make a peep! Most of my family was able to make it and Mike's parents came too. After the blessing, we had everybody over for a brunch. I thought it was going to be so tight in our little house with everybody here, but I think it turned out fine. I had just the right amount of food. Ty got passed around to everybody and he loved every minute of it. I can't believe he is 15 weeks already. Where does the time go? He is growing up WAY too fast. He has started to smile and laugh at us and it is the best feeling as a mother. I feel like all of my work has paid off at this point, ha. Is that weird? He usually sleeps from 11-6 at nights, so that's so much better on us. (I seem to still be tired though. I guess I'm just catching up on sleep) I took him to the doctor the other day cause he's kind of been stuffy and wanting me to hold him all of the time. We found out that he might have acid reflux disease. Poor little guy, he's been having heartburn this whole time! We've had a few visitors in the last couple of weeks and we love it! Jackie and the kids came and Grandma and Grandpa Garrison. Is tax season over yet!!! Mike has been so good about balancing work and home. Well I think that's about it for now, sorry for the long post! Until next

time...

Blessing Outfit

Our Easter Picture

Ty w/ Max, Talor, and Mikayla

Our Happy Boy

On The Go

2010-02-19T15:27:00.000-08:00

Ty and I have been on the go every weekend for the past month. For Super Bowl we went down to my sister Cory's in Carlsbad. I left on Sat. morning and came back on Monday morning. Mike took the last CPA exam on that Monday morning so I wanted him to be able to study that weekend with no interruptions. I am still so jealous that he got 2 full nights of sleep that weekend, urgh! It was fun to be with Cory though. She is always the best hostess. Ty could not get enough of his new surroundings that weekend. He didn't sleep a wink because he was so interested in what was going on around him. (I think he gets that from his dad!) So we found out that they opened a Cafe Rio about an hour from us, so on my way home from Carlsbad, I stopped and got us some lunch. I craved that all while I was pregnant of course when there isn't one close. I got a chicken salad cause I thought Ty would digest it better, but man it was gross! Their pork is so much better. Anyway, that was a fun weekend full of shopping and football!

Aunt Cory w/ Ty

The next weekend we went to my parents house for a quick trip. Mike has to work Saturday's now cause it's tax season, so we left when he got done with work. Ty did great on the ride. He is so good in the car, which I'm so thankful for. We got there around 3:30 and as we were pulling into the driveway my car started making a funny noise. We didn't really think anything of it. We just hung out with the family that night. Ty met some of his cousins for the first time and they couldn't get enough of him! Once again Ty would not close his eyes the whole time. He didn't take a nap from 3:30 until we put him down for bed. He was so tired, so I thought maybe he would sleep through the night. Well I was dreaming! The next morning we went to church and then came home and had a little photo shoot with Ty. (This was the whole reason we went home. Pictures to come!) We had lunch and then Mike and Jimmy went to check out the car because the noise was pretty bad. So they ended up taking the whole front end of our car apart and then putting it back together. Thank you Jimmy, the noise is gone! He saved us a lot of money. Well the car took quite awhile, so we didn't leave Brawley until 9:30 that night. So needless to say that night was rough with Ty. Mike still went into work on time. He is so good and I'm thankful for him for working so hard to support our family.

This last weekend we went to St. George for my sister Rochelle's baby shower. She is due in April, so she's getting close. My mom and Cory drove up to my house on Thursday so I wouldn't have to drive by myself to Utah with Ty. On Friday we prepared for the shower and then I went to see Mike's sister and her family in Hurricane. Her girls are so cute! That night we hung out at D's house. Her girls could not wait to meet Ty. They are professionals with babies because of their little Brooksy who is only 7 months older than Ty. Every time I walked into the house they would come right over and want to hold Ty and see if he was awake. The cutest was when they saw him for the first time, they said "Oh he's so cute!" in their little voices. I guess you had to be there, but it was so funny. Saturday morning we just relaxed and then had the shower that afternoon. We had it at a restaurant in St. George and it was so much better than us having to prepare all of the food and get everything ourselves. No setup or cleanup! After the shower we went and did a little shopping. I can't seem to go to St. George without going shopping. They have modest clothes unlike stores in CA! A trip to St. George is not complete unless we hit up Pizza Factory, so that's where we went for dinner on Saturday night. Sunday we got up early and left because I didn't want to hit traffic in Las Vegas because of the Nascar race. Also I love getting home at a decent time too, so I can unpack and do laundry for the week. Mike was SO excited to see Ty. It was fun for most of the cousins to play together. It was a super fun trip and we wish we could've stayed longer. Next time!

K.J. reading to Marly

Brooksy and Ty

(the picture after this one is classic, Brooks leaned forward and down went Ty)

Morgan and Marly w/ Ty

Chloe w/ Ty

Ty had his 2 month shots last week and he is in the 85th percentile for weight, 50 for height and 50 for head. We got a Big Boy!

Time

2010-01-22T12:50:00.001-08:00

Where has it gone? Ty is growing like a weed! My feelings are so emotional right now because I'm so tired, so I want time to speed up (so he'll sleep through the night), but he's growing so fast that I want it to slow down.

Ty, you are one month old today. One month ago your dad and I were trying to decide if it was your time to come. The Tuesday afternoon induction that turned into being actual labor with contractions coming every 2-3 minutes, inserting the IV, the decision to get the epidural even though I wasn't really feeling the contractions, the epidural itself, which I didn't even feel, with your father holding my hand all the way through and telling me everything was going to be OK.

Then, after sixteen hours of pitocin and an epidural boost, the nurse telling us we might have to have an emergency c-section, severe hunger I was sure I was going to die from, and finally you, our little baby boy with a cone head of dark hair, your dad filming every cry and tear as I got stitched up, lying there in awe that I had a son to take care of. Finally getting you cleaned up, me some water at least, feeding you for the first time, trying to close my eyes and convince your dad to too, to get some rest before the storm hit that night.

Those long hours in the hospital talking with your dad, and visits from the doctors and nurses and still not believing we had a baby. Your first night with me freaking out because you kept chocking so they had to pump your stomach twice. Also wondering how I was going to get through the night without my mom by my side. Many, many hours and shifts of nurses coaxing you to latch on and feed. Finally getting discharged and going home on Christmas Eve. The joy of being home faded quickly by days and nights of no sleep and a very sleepy baby because you weren't getting nutrients, nursing wasn't going too well.

And then, somehow, we got to know each other. Suddenly you were sleeping for more than three hours, you were recognizing our voices and you were losing that swollen newborn look and filling out into your own. I know your face will change over and over as the months and years go by and you'll get cuter and cuter, if that it is at all possible because you are so adorable right now. You haven't given us a smile yet (only in your sleep), but I know it will come once your dad makes a silly face at you. Your father likes to think that you are smiling at him, but really you are just gassy or content.

You "reach" and put your hands in your mouth like crazy when you are hungry and whimper a little when you are really hungry, but this is all worth it when you finally let your burps fly and fall asleep on our chests, your little stomach moving in and out with your tiny little baby breaths.

Ty Michael Garrison

2009-12-29T08:37:00.000-08:00

Our baby Ty is finally here and let me say we couldn't be happier! So here is the low down. I went in on Tuesday Dec 22nd to be induced because my doctor was going to be out of town the next week. I didn't want her partner to deliver me because I had never seen him before, so that's why we decided to induce. (Plus I was 2 days over my due date and I wanted him out!) We got to the hospital around 3 and got settled in around 4:30pm. At 7:00pm that night I was given the epidural. I wasn't really feeling the contractions cause I was only at at 2, but the nurse said I should have one because the best anesthesiologist was on duty then. So what the hay, I went for it! I've always heard that the epidural is the worst part, but let me tell you what I didn't even feel it. The worst part for me (at this point) was the dang IV. Anyway, to make a long story short, I slept great the rest of the night with the baby doing well. The next morning the doctor game in at 5:00am and broke my water. After that I dilated pretty fast. I went from a 6 to a 9 in an hour and then bam I was at a 10 and pushing. I had asked the nurse earlier in the day how long she expected me to push and she told me that with first pregnancies it takes an hour to three hours. Oh there was no way I was going to do that! I pushed once and the nurse called the doctor in to deliver me. I pushed 2 more times and bam he was out. In 20 minutes I had my sweet baby boy in my arms! The funny part was that while I was taking a break from pushing, Mike was holding my hand and I said to him, "Honey you're shaking, you're not helping me!" We all started laughing. I'm going to be totally honest, I didn't know what to think at that point. I had so many mixed emotions. I was happy, but at the same time in pain and wondering what was going on down there (if you know what I mean) and trying to figure out how I'm going to take care of this child and more. Mike couldn't contain himself when the baby came out! He wanted to hold him SO badly! Mike was my rock through the whole thing. I couldn't have done it without him and his encouragement! He is the best! Anyway, what a perfect little angel we got this year for Christmas. We were able to come home the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Christmas Day my sister Cory came up and spent the day with us and man did we have a feast. More like a dessert feast. Cory made some excellent desserts and left them all with us when she left and we are still chowing down on them. Life has been crazy, but so worth it! We have been so blessed and have felt our Heavenly Father's love. We are excited to take this journey together. So far he is a great little boy and we are proud happy parents!

Not that I'm proud of this picture, but Mike snapped it while I was sleeping soundly with the epidural

Mike and his Ty guy

Leaving the hospital (sorry it's the wrong way)

I think this was taken on Christmas Day!

Anytime Now!

2009-12-01T13:28:00.001-08:00

Well I'm officially 37 weeks! So in reality I could have this baby any day and trust me I want too! I'm so ready to cuddle this little boy. I'm ready to push him out, hold him when he comes out, breast feed him, change his diapers and everything that comes along with a newborn/child. Ok maybe not everything, but most things! We are pretty much set with all of the necessities. At least I think we are, ha we'll see! Ok enough about the baby, Thanksgiving was great. We had tons of food as usual. Every single one of my siblings was there, so we had a full house. I'm not sure the next time we will all be together for awhile, so it was fun to hang out. We didn't have a Turkey bowl cause it got dark too fast, but my dad said I could be the center cause of my belly (thanks dad!). On Friday Mike and I went out to the farm to take some pictures of my belly. I wanted to get some pictures to document my first pregnancy. I'm pretty excited about how they turned out. My little niece Kiana helped us and man she is a pro! Below are just a few that I like. Friday night my mom wanted to go to New Moon, so all of us girls went minus Darice cause she hasn't seen the first movie. I do have to say the movie was horrible. I'm so not a fan of "The Twilight Saga!" I did read all of the books, but I think they are so dumb. On Saturday my wonderful sisters and Brooke threw me a baby shower and it was a blast. It was in the morning, so they served a little brunch. Ok it was more like another feast. We played some really fun games and then I opened presents. I got some great gifts, but best of all was that I got a ton of diapers. They had a diaper raffle for those people who brought me a pack of diapers. It was also great to see some of my old friends and their moms. I didn't get any pictures with my camera, bummer. Well hopefully my next post the baby will be here!

31 Weeks and Counting

2009-10-27T16:39:00.001-07:00

Well below is my 30 week picture. The dress I'm wearing makes me look a lot smaller than I really am! (I guess Mike has already had his child because he quit at 30 weeks with the pictures) He obviously didn't last for the worst of it, where your ribs start hurting really bad and you huff and puff at every little thing you do, yea that part! Or maybe the huffing and puffing is just me and ALL of the weight I've gained. I woke up the other day and was so done being pregnant. I am so thankful that I'm pregnant and have a child on the way, but let's face it we all get to the point where we've had enough. Is mine coming earlier than most peoples? We started going to the doctor every 2 weeks now and it's amazing how much stronger his heart is getting. We are STILL trying to get the nursery done. We ordered the dresser yesterday and are going to pick it up tomorrow. Once we get that and I get a few other things that I've ordered online, I will post some pictures of the nursery. It won't be completely done, but close. Or maybe I won't post pictures so you all have to come visit us to see it, ha!

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law threw me a shower a couple of weeks ago. It was a blast! I got so many clothes and neat stuff for our little guy. I'm so thankful for all the gifts I got and for Mike's family to do a shower for me!

I have been in the homemaking mood lately and have wanted some new pillows for our couch for a long time, so I decided to make my own. I found a really simple design online and wanted to try it. I think they turned out pretty good for my first sewing project by myself. Now I want to sew everything! I'm trying to find things to do myself for the nursery too. I've also really been in the "bargain hunter" mood and have found some pretty cool websites. If you have any that you love, please share!

What else have we been up too? Mike's company got us tickets to go see "Kooza." It's an acrobatic show from Cirque de Soleil. It was on the Santa Monica Pier and had the tents and clowns and everything like a real circus (minus the animals though). Those people that perform are seriously crazy. Some of the acts sure had some close calls.

Baseball and Babies

2009-09-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Well we haven't updated lately, so here is what's been going on with us. We've been on the go every weekend in September just like the rest of our summer. Mike's best friend Chris got married over Labor Day weekend (pictures to come) and my nephew Jacob left on his mission almost a week ago. I hope he's doing good! We wrote him yesterday, so hopefully we'll hear back from him. We've been to a couple of doctors appointments and the baby seems to be doing very well. We don't have any new ultra-sound pictures, but have listened to the heart beat a couple of times. We went to the Dodger's/Giants game last Friday because Mike is a HUGE Giants fan! It's kind of neat to go to games now because a kid that I grew up with in Brawley pitches for the Giants. He actually got to throw on Friday too! Tonight I asked Mike to make me chocolate chip cookies, those are my favorite. I was in the family room writing this post and the last picture is what he came out looking like. I thought it was hilarious, so I had to take a picture. (At least I've gained my weight over 6 months, not all at once like him!) When he came out of the kitchen he said, "no more saying that I don't know what you are going through!" I could barely stop laughing enough to take this picture!

Mike in his prime! (Side note, I hope our little guy gets Mike's eyelashes!)

25 Weeks Along

25 Long Weeks for Him

Brooksy Boy

2009-08-31T15:36:00.000-07:00

While I was in Utah, I wanted/needed to practice with my camera. So I asked D if I could take some pictures of Brooks and the girls. Mike and I fell in love with this little guy from the minute we saw him! His smile gets you from the 1st time you "goo" at him. In fact, Mike would wake him up from his naps while we were there because he couldn't stop holding him. (I think we might have a problem with that when our little guy comes!) The girls are so good with him and love to cuddle him, but then again, who doesn't! I can't wait for our baby to come, so they can be best friends!

Oh Boy!

2009-08-17T17:24:00.001-07:00

Well as most of you probably already know, we are having a boy! (I wanted to post about it though for journaling purposes.) We couldn't be more excited! I am 21 weeks today and am counting down until our little guy comes. (I know I have awhile, I just want him to come already though and so does Mike) Anyway, since we found out we were pregnant life has been crazy busy. The first thing on MY list was to find a bigger place to live. We only lived in a 1 bedroom apartment and that was not going to cut it for me. So needless to say, I think every apartment complex/condo/etc. in our area knows who we are. After all the different places we looked at and many prayers, we got into a house. No we didn't buy it, we are still renting, but IT'S A HOUSE! We moved in the 1st weekend in August and have loved every minute of it. It's 2 bedroom, 1 bath and has a huge backyard with an orange and lemon tree and a built in horseshoe pit, ha. So if you bring your tent, you can camp out in the backyard when you come visit, k (The baby has dibs on the second bedroom!) So the 1st thing on MIKE'S list was to make sure that I was feeling ok. I was feeling great until about the 7th week and then it all went downhill. I got the typical throwing up morning sickness that lasted until exactly my 14th week. Crazy how that works, uh? He has started to kick like crazy, especially when I lay down to go to bed at night. Let's hope he's not a night owl, cause his parents sure aren't. We're happy that he is going to have so many cousins close in age on both sides of the family! There are many things to do and get for him, but we can get those things over the next couple of months until he arrives. We have so many mixed emotions right now, but I think most of all we are just excited that our little guy is growing and healthy! We have been so blessed!

Me at 20 weeks

Mike trying to compete at 20 weeks

Who do you think he looks like?

Thumbs up! (Hopefully he's a lefty like his Dad)

Oh I'm due December 20th!

Yee-Haw! - Wyoming Trip

2009-08-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great time visiting Paul and Kristine in Wyoming. Here are some of the highlights and pictures from our trip:

- Tour of Warren Air Force Base - General's Mansion, Missileer Trainer, the BX!

- Tour of Cheyenne

- The Frontier Day's Rodeo - Biggest outdoor rodeo in the USA!

- Dinner at the Little America Hotel

- Playing "Catch Phrase"

- Pioneer Day Celebration - dinner, pie eating contest and horseshoe game

- Most of all just spending time with Paul and Kristine

Dinner @ Little America

Entrance to Frontier Days

These ladies were doing crazy tricks on their horses

Mountain Get Away

2009-07-22T19:40:00.001-07:00

Two weekends ago we went up to Shaver Lake with Mike's best friend Chris. His parents have a cabin right on the lake and it is so beautiful! (I lost my pictures of the lake) The road to get to the cabin is so windy, so needless to say Mike and I were not feeling to hot when we got there. It didn't help that we didn't get their until 1:00 in the morning either. Anyway, the weekend was filled with lots of fun and laughs. Mike and Chris always have a good time reminiscing about their old high school days. The best part of the trip was going on on the boat. We were out on the lake for 5 hours! Everybody had their fair share of wake-boarding and their fair share of falls too. The next day was filled with hiking up to the waterfalls. The weekend ended with the girls tying bows on Chris and Courtney's wedding announcements! They are getting married in September and Mike is his best man. It was good times in the mountains!

(My pictures won't upload, sorry!)

Proud American

2009-07-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

What a relaxing weekend it was! Mike finally got a day off of work and I was so excited. He still didn't sleep in with me because he was still studying for the CPA exam. (He took the 3rd test on Monday, so on to studying for the 4th test) Anyway, when I finally woke up, ate breakfast and got going for the day, Mike was so ready to get out of the house. I wanted to clean the house really badly, so I told him to go to the driving range while I cleaned the house. I love blasting the music and cleaning the house, especially when Mike's not home so I can dance! Well by the time he got home and I was done cleaning we were really hot and wanted to cool off. We live right across the street from the Burbank city pool, so we decided to go for a dip. We both need a tan badly! So we spent a couple of hours by the pool and watched all of the crazy dads do belly flops off the diving board. It was pretty comical! The sun really wiped us out that night though. Saturday morning was a doozy for Mike. A member of our ward invited Mike to go golfing, but they had to leave by 4:50 in the morning to get there for the 6:00am tee time. So he went golfing and me and the other wife met them at the course for brunch after they were done. It was a blast! We didn't get home until around 1:30 and we were exhausted. We ended up taking a 2 hour nap! After the nap we were so lazy and didn't do anything the rest of the day. Burbank has their own fireworks show that is right up the hill from us. So we just walked outside our apartment and sat down and watched the show. So all in all it was a fun/relaxing weekend for us!

Sorry for the continuation, but I wanted to say how proud I am to be an American. I love that song "I'm Proud to be an American," it makes me cry every time I hear it. I'm thankful for the freedoms that I enjoy in this country and the luxuries I have. I love this time of year when we ALL come together to celebrate our country. I love celebrating our independence and am proud to be an AMERICAN!

Sacramento

2009-06-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go visit Mike's parents. We left on Thursday after work and came back Sunday. It was so nice to have Friday off for a long weekend. So on Friday we headed up to Sacramento to see Mike's grandma and uncles. They couldn't meet us until 5:00, so we decided to walk around Old Town Sacramento. I love places like this where there are just random shops to stop at and different sights to see. Here's a funny story as we were driving there. We got off the freeway and Dick wasn't exactly sure which way to go. So of course there is this "tough guy" behind him that starts honking at us cause we are going too slow. So Dick gets over and then figures out that he needs to turn right. So we ended up right behind the "tough guy" that honked at us. So Mike and I see him looking in his review mirror and side mirror at us cause he is so mad. Keep in mind I mean "tough guy" because he has a mohawk and tattoos everywhere on him. So we turn right and are still behind this guy. Well for the next 4-5 turns we turn every way the "tough guy" does. Mike and I notice this, but don't say anything to Dick because we can see the guy looking in his mirrors the whole time. So we get to Old Town and the "tough guy" turns off to the left and stops. So Dick drives right on by. Well I look back and the guy has gotten out of his car and as his arms up like he wants to fight. Dick happens to look back to look for a parking spot and so the guy thinks Dick is looking at him like picking the fight. Mike and I just start laughing and take a deep breath because we hope it's over. (I guess we are used to living in LA!) It was too funny to us, but maybe you had to be there to appreciate it. Anyway, we walked around Old Town and looked at all of the different shops and took some pictures. Oh after Old Town we stopped by to see the Sacramento temple cause Mike and I had never seen it. It's so beautiful as are ALL of the temples! We went to dinner with everybody at 5 and stayed at the restaurant for 4 hours just talking. We don't see Mike's grandma or uncles very often, so we have a lot to catch up on! All in all it was a fun, relaxing weekend.

Nae's Day in Court

2009-05-18T20:09:00.001-07:00

It finally came! Denae's long awaited day in court. What was she there for? A. Talking on her cell phone while driving? B. Driving without her license? C. Driving an unregistered vehicle? How about all of the above. In the great state of California you cannot talk on the cell phone while driving (but you can hold your dog). Also you have 10 days from the time you move to California to change your out-of-state license and register your vehicles. So she waited in a packed courtroom for 4 hours so that she could plead guilty and pay her fines. Let's just say after this experience Denae was ready to move back to Provo (and that is saying a lot!). Her day at the DMV is a whole other story!

It's Official

2009-04-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

Mike has graduated from BYU! Last Wednesday we flew into Salt Lake for graduation on Thursday and Friday. Thursday's ceremony started at 3 and it involved ALL 6,132 graduates. Thank goodness they didn't announce everybody's name! President Uchtdorf and Elder Nelson were the guest speakers and did a great job. It's so weird to see them outside of conference. They were cracking jokes left and right. It was so hard to find Mike in the crowd. I finally spotted him and started crying because I am so proud of him. It was surreal seeing him walking to his seat with the graduation song playing. I'm glad we went to the Thursday graduation because it gave me a chance to learn to use my camera in a darker setting. We did get some great pics after the ceremony though. Friday's graduation was awesome too! It was only the Marriott School of Management graduates, so only about 1,000 + graduates. Mike was in the second row, so his name was called right away. I almost missed him walking across the stage because I thought there would be more F last names! I did get some great pics though. So since he was in the second row, we had to sit through the whole thing. That's ok, I just sat and talked with my parents. When we got out of graduation it was raining, so I'm glad we took most of our pictures on Thursday night. All in all it turned out to be a great graduation. I'm glad that Mike and I could spend it together. I know I've already said this before, but I am SO proud of him. He has worked so hard to be where he's at. I can't wait to see the success he will have in his future!

First Game of the Year

2009-04-27T16:50:00.001-07:00

Well a lot has happened since I last posted. The best being that Tax Season is OVER!!! I didn't think it would be that hard to get through it, but it was. The last two weeks were the worst. At least now I know that I have to go out of town for those last two weeks of tax season! So to give Mike a little break on a Friday night, his company gave us Dodger tickets. (I'm glad they did because he probably wouldn't have gotten off of work until midnight or later) We were excited because we both LOVE baseball! It was an exhibition game, so there weren't a ton of fans there, which was nice. His company has season tickets that are about 12 rows up from the Dodger dugout. So they are pretty sweet seats! It was so fun to get out for the night when I hadn't seen him all that much the days before.

(So I know your thinking to yourself, who is the guy in the middle picture? I was trying to get a picture of his Dodger hat to blog about and right as I snapped the picture, a foul ball came our way and so he was looking at the ball. So this is what came out when I snapped the picture. We thought it was hilarious!)

Photo Shoot

2009-03-29T22:01:00.001-07:00

I had my first photo shoot this weekend and it went great! I asked this cute little family in our ward if I could "test" my camera on them and they agreed. I was so nervous, but it turned out to be super fun. I have been reading a lot about my camera from the user's manuel and online. It does so many different things it's amazing. Below are some pictures I took, so let me know what you think.

Spring Time

2009-03-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's Spring already! I love this time of year when all of the flowers start to bloom and the weather warms up.

Here are a few things that I love about Spring:

1. I love the warmer days and cooler nights

2. The birds chirping (but not too early, cause they wake me up)

3. It means baseball season is right around the corner

4. Tax season is ALMOST over

5. We are one season closer to summer

6. It's a perfect time to start new projects

7. It's more reason to go run outside to get rid of your winter body

8. It's more reason to go run outside to get a tan

Does Anybody Want To Be A Model For Me?

2009-03-11T20:06:00.001-07:00

It finally came! Mike bought me an SLR camera for our anniversary. I have been hinting to him for awhile that I wanted one. I really want to start my own photography business because I feel like it's something I can do when we have kids. He got it from Costco and it came in the mail last week. So now I need to practice with it and get used to it. I have been reading the user's manuel now for the last week and have found some sweet stuff the camera does. Now I need people/families to take pictures of. Seeming as most people who read my blog don't live by me, I guess I'll have to take pictures of Mike! :) I'm going home this weekend for my nephew's birthday party, so hopefully I can get a feel for the camera and get some great shots. I have also been taking a photoshop class here at the local adult school and am learning so much. I will post when I get back!

Does Studying Ever End

2009-02-26T21:01:00.000-08:00

Today Mike took his 2nd test for the CPA exam. This test is the test of all tests! There are 4 parts to the test and so far he has passed part 1. Each part is 3+ hours long and you don't find out if you passed right away. They make you wait about a month and half after you've taken the test. The waiting game sucks! Also, you have to get a 75% or better to pass, so it's not like it's a pass or fail type of test. So should he start studying for the 3rd part already or just wait until he finds out if he passed the 2nd part? It's a tough choice. He said he feels like he did well on the test and thinks he passed. Anyway, I'm so proud of him and all of his accomplishments. He is so diligent in getting up at 5 to study, then going to work for 10 hours and then coming home and spends time with me. So if he passes this part, he'll have 2 down and 2 to go. Keep up the good work Mike!

Latest Project

2009-02-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

Since it is tax season right now, Mike doesn't get home until late at night. So in my spare time at nights, I have been trying to decide how to decorate this one wall in our apartment. The wall is in our kitchen area and it's a pretty big one. I found this quote that I really liked, so I decided to cut out some vinyl with my cricut and go for it. I wanted to put a mirror above the saying, but those are pretty expensive for the size I needed to get. So here is how it turned out. I also cut out "Sweet Dreams" to put above our bed, but I haven't finished that one yet. I think they turned out great and am excited that I can make cute homemade gifts for everybody with some vinyl lettering!

Spotted

2009-01-30T14:39:00.001-08:00

Ok, so you might think that this post is dumb, but then again you are reading it by now. Last night at the gym, Mike came over to the treadmill I was running on to get me so we could go lift together. So I stopped running so he wouldn't have to wait for me. As we were standing there trying to decide if we wanted to lift or just do abs, Mike turns to me and says, very casually, there's Mario Lopez. I said no way, that's not him, like Mike was stupid or something. So I turned and looked and lo and behold it was the one and only AC Slater/Mario Lopez. Yes he acted like he owned the place! He walked right up to the bottled water (the ones that most members have to pay for on top of their membership fees) and just took one. Ok maybe he paid for it, but it sure didn't look like it. Also, can I tell you how short he is! I mean he's probably my height or shorter. So Mike and I went on and did our thing. As we were walking up the stairs to leave, we see Mario again. Guess what he's doing...riding the stationary bike very slowly. Is he serious right now? Who rides a stationary bike and looks like he does! Another funny thing was that I looked at him and he was dabbing his sweat with his workout towel. Can I just say hilarious! It's like he didn't want to mess up his make-up or something. So we don't know if he is officially a member of the gym we go too, but it was pretty cool to see him in person. I don't feel special either, I just thought it was funny to see him dabbing his sweat. Well that's our story for the week.

Scrapbooking in California

2009-01-22T16:12:00.000-08:00

I just got back from Michael's, seeming as that's the closest store to a so called "scrapbook" store here in Burbank, and I couldn't believe it. I wanted to buy a cartridge for my cricut, so I went and found the one I wanted. On the box it said Empty Box. So I took it to the sales lady and asked her if they had anymore of them in the back. As she was in the back looking, I looked to my right and saw all of the pens. As I looked closer, I realized that they were locked up behind a cage. I couldn't believe that a simple scrapbook pen would be locked up! The sales lady finally came out and said that they didn't have anymore. I asked why it said Empty Box on the front and she said "well we have to lock these up, so all of them say that." Ok, I can understand locking up pens because of taggers, but a cricut cartridge. Are they serious! Anyway I was very frustrated after I left the store because I realized that anytime I need even a pen, I have to ask a sales associate to unlock or look in the back for me. It looks like I will be calling Darice to get me supplies if I need any. I have been so spoiled living in Utah when it comes to scrapbooking!

The Work Week

2009-01-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

Well it is official, Mike has his first real job as a full-time accountant!

Here's what the beginning of the week looked like...

And this is what the end of the week looked like...

Just kidding! In all seriousness, it was a great week. They gave him tax returns to do right off the bat. In fact, he is going to be working on one of the biggest clients in the office. He is pretty excited about that. He has been very busy and is loving every minute of it. (I just hope he loves doing taxes still after April 15th!) :) I'm so happy for him and all of his hard work to get where he is now. I'm excited to see how he will grow as a businessman and with the firm. I love you Mike!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-01-06T11:37:00.012-08:00

Christmas this year was great! As a family, we decided to give Christmas to a needy family in Brawley. Camille did a great job at finding the family and dividing out who was to give what to the family. We all got our assigned gifts and wrapped them up. On Christmas Eve we loaded up the cars (yes there was two cars full of presents) and delivered our gifts. As we drove up to the families house, the mom came outside to see who it was. As we started carrying in ALL of the presents, she just kept telling us Thank you, Thank you. Then as we got inside, the little kids' eyes just popped. They were so excited! When we got all of the presents in their little house, it was so funny because the presents took up half of the front room. It was so good to see their faces light up and to know that they needed it more than we did.

So after we did that we went back home to have our traditional tamales. They were sure yummy! The rest of the week was filled with games, food and fun. We hope everybody had a great Christmas just as we did!

Me and Cory Boxing Each Other

Playing the Wii

Jimmy's Side Mug-Shot (really he was guarding the food)

In Honor of Mo & Mar (they weren't with us)

Kiana Getting Into the Song

These Two Are Buddies

How Cute Is Jim

Mr. and Mrs. Claus

Dancing, Volleyball & Snow Ball Fights

2009-01-04T22:07:00.006-08:00

As I mentioned in our previous post, it took us a week to get down to Burbank. Well one of our stops during the week was St. George. We stayed with Trent and Darice and therefore had some fun playing with the girls. Trent and Darice both had lessons one night, so I told D we would watch the girls for them. Well as most of you know, the girls LOVE volleyball. So the first thing they wanted to do was play volleyball. I love this picture because I'm tossing the ball to Morgan and Marly is in the background teaching Mike how to pass. They are so funny when they coach you! Next they wanted to dance. So we blasted the tunes and the girls shook it. After they were tired of dancing, I looked outside and it was snowing. So I put their jackets on and we went outside to throw some snowballs. It was fun to spend time with Trent, Darice and the girls and we will miss them so much!

3 Storms and 900 Miles Later

2008-12-28T20:00:00.008-08:00

Well it's been awhile since our last post. Now that Christmas is over and we have a few days before New Years, we can get caught up. So since our last post of packing, we have officially moved to Burbank, Ca. It was our most memorable move yet! We left on Monday, December 15th and didn't arrive in Burbank until Friday, December 19th. We battled 3 snow storms and 900 miles all in a weeks time. But the most important thing is that we got here safe and sound! Here are some pictures of our new apartment and Mike's beard after our trip (we couldn't find his razor).

Battle of the Boxes

2008-12-10T20:35:00.004-08:00

Last weekend we started packing our house for our move. I couldn't resist taking this picture of Mike in the beginning stages of packing. We went to U-haul and got some professional boxes because we couldn't find any at the grocery stores. So they have this new way of opening the boxes so that the lid stays open until you cut the sides to close it. Confusing I know! So that's what this picture of Mike is, him confused over a box! We eventually figured it out and almost have everything packed.

Jazz Mania

2008-12-07T12:28:00.007-08:00

We made a list of things we wanted to do before we left Utah and going to a Jazz game was one of them! As of Friday night we can officially cross that off the list. Mike got online and got 4 tickets for us. (Grant and Olivia came too) When we got to the arena, we obviously went to find our seats. When we found our section, we looked down at our tickets and it said row 17. Ok so you would think that they wouldn't be too bad, right? Well as we got to row 17, we realized we were only 8 rows from the very top of the arena. I guess there was no chance we were getting on ESPN since it was broadcast live that night. The Jazz played the Raptors that night and man are they horrible! After the first quarter the Jazz were already up by like 10 points. They ended up winning by 30, but it was still fun to be there. Go Jazz!!!

Give Thanks

2008-12-03T18:19:00.003-08:00

As always, this Thanksgiving was filled with tons of food, fun, games and travel! We spent the first few days of the week in St. George with Joye and her family. The only bad part was that it rained everyday we were there. We were looking forward to getting out of the cold weather of Provo, but that didn't quite happen. Our days were filled with rock bank, board games and food. The day after Thanksgiving, we drove down to Burbank with Dick and Donna to look for a place to live come January 2009. We got down to Burbank around 2:00 and our first appointment was at 2:30. We got to the apartment complex and what do you know, nobody was there to show us the apartment. That was okay though because it wasn't in a very good area of Burbank. So we went on to the next appointment we had. We ended up looking at about 5 different apartment complex's. It turns out that the very last one that we looked at, we got. We are down sizing to a one bedroom, one bath, but that's okay. It's been completely re-done inside, so we have all new appliances, which is so nice. I'm so relieved that we found a place right off the bat. So then on Saturday we drove up to Brentwood and stayed there for a day and then flew back to SLC. Wow, did we ever travel! We hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving holiday and is getting prepared for Christmas. We will keep you posted on our move!

Early Christmas

2008-11-17T18:35:00.007-08:00

Although the holiday season has started, we didn't think we would be "giving" so early this year. As Mike left the apartment this morning, he realized his bike was gone. The lock was there, but his bike was nowhere to to be found. At first we were upset, but then we realized that the thief probably needed it more than us. We hope whoever took Mike's bike enjoys it, and if you are reading this, "Merry Christmas."

Scrap Away

2008-11-10T14:27:00.003-08:00

Well this weekend was a blast! We traveled down to St. George to see family and so I could go to the Scrapbook Expo with Darice. I had never been to an expo, so I was really excited to experience it. We got down there on Thursday night and spent some time with Joye and her family. They are too cute! Then on Friday is when the fun began. We got to the expo around 11:30 and found a table right away. Before we left though, we told Trent and Mike that we weren't going to spend any money. Well, yea that didn't happen. After we had mapped out our table we started walking around to the different vendors that were there. The first one we came too we bought something. Ha! So after about 5 different vendors we decided we better slow down on buying things.

We scrapped for probably 3 hours and then decided to walk around again. They had some buckets to put your name in for drawings, so we put our name in about 4 times. As we were walking back to our table, Katherine's name got called. Sweet! About 3 names later, mine got called. Even better! Then as I was walking back to the table, my name got called again. Score! One of the vendors was like man how many times have you been up there. Ha! Darice was a little frustrated by this time, cause her name hadn't been called. But just wait, the best contest of all for Darice was coming up. The dance contest! She was shaking it like crazy! She got picked to be in the top 10, but then didn't win. (You know they always pick the WORST dancers to win) She did get a prize for participating though. We entered contests all night and won little prizes. The best contest of all was the yelling contest. We had to get a group of 5 people together and yell "We Love Basic Grey," and which ever group yelled the loudest won. We were group #2 and we did pretty darn good. We did so good, we had to have a yell-off between us and group #3. But in the end, we pulled it off and got a sweet packet of Basic Grey paper. We played little games all night and had a blast! (Robyn you missed out) I hope they have one in the spring, if not I will be back next year for sure!

It was great to get out of the cold and to see family! We love you!

Take a Hike

2008-11-01T17:19:00.012-07:00

This morning we decided to go for a hike for our work out instead of our normal run. We headed up to Rock Canyon, which is above the Provo temple. It was overcast, so it made it nice weather for a hike. We had to get outside this weekend because it seems that the snowy weather is fast approaching and the fall colors are leaving. We got some great pictures of Provo lake and the leaves falling. On our way down the mountain we ran into a creepy Halloween creature that gave us a little scare! I'm glad we were able to climb high enough to get a good work out for the day.

Tagged

2008-10-22T08:28:00.001-07:00

Thanks D for tagging me! At least this ones easy and I don't have to fill out some dumb survey. I'm counting down the days until we come down there. Can't wait to see you guys! I don't really know what this picture is all about. It was taken right after we got married in 2006. Don't know why I took it. Probably cause my husband is so handsome, ha. Ok, so here's what you have to do. 1.) Go to the pictures folder on your computer. 2.) Go to the 4th folder. 3.) Get the 4th picture in your folder. 4.) Tag 4 other people. I'm tagging Brooke, Cory, Robyn and Melinda.

Views Of The Canyon

2008-10-21T10:51:00.001-07:00

As we were driving home, I couldn't resist taking some more pictures of the beautiful fall colors. Dick has told us that we needed to drive the Aspen Loop. Since our camp site was a little past Aspen Grove we got a taste of what he was talking about. We also got some great pictures of the quaking Aspen (thanks to Dick for that one too). Enjoy!

Camping

2008-10-21T10:23:00.001-07:00

We have been wanting to go camping for awhile now, but never seemed to have a free weekend. Well this weekend we didn't have anything going on, so we decided to go camping. I know it's a little cold, but we thought we would be fine if we brought extra clothes and blankets. Grant and Olivia wanted to go too, so they left a little earlier than us and found us a camp site. We didn't end up getting off until around 6:30 or 7. We headed up the mountain and got to Aspen Grove and called Grant and he said that the camp site was 7 miles past Aspen Grove. So we kept driving on this really narrow road up to the top of the mountain. I was starting to get a little nervous because it was getting dark and Grant wasn't answering his phone cause he didn't have service. We just kept driving and as we turned this corner, there was Grant waiting for us in his car. I was so relieved! So we followed him to our camp site. By the time we got there it was completely dark, so we had to set up our tent in the dark. Ugh frustrating! We were freezing by this time, so we were anxious to get our fire started. We tried to light our fire with some sticks, but it wasn't working. Thank goodness Mike had brought a dura flame. It finally started and we were making smores before we knew it. We finally went to bed around 11, but just as we were about asleep, Grant woke up and told us that him and Olivia were going home. They had only brought blankets to sleep on. They didn't have a sleeping bag! They said that the ground was freezing. I think the high for that night was like 30-35 degrees. So they left around probably midnight. I don't think that I've ever slept so close to Mike because I was so cold. It also didn't help that it was the start of the hunt, so there were trucks driving up and down the whole night. We finally fell asleep for a couple of hours. It was such an adventure!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

So Grant and Olivia invited us over on Monday night to carve some pumpkins for Halloween. I don't remember the last time I did this, seeming as Halloween isn't my most favorite holiday. I also HATE the mess it makes and the slimy feeling of getting all of the seeds out of the pumpkin. Olivia had bought a little carving kit that had some different ideas in it. We ended up picking the haunted house design. So leave it to me, I sat there and watched Mike get all of the seeds out of the pumpkin. He did a great job at scrapping the inside of the pumpkin. I carved out most of the design. In the end all three pumpkins turned out great and it was a super fun night!

Yes on Prop 8 : Protect Marriage

2008-10-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

This past week we learned more about Proposition 8, which will be voted on in California on November 4th. This Proposition will protect the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman. Passing this proposition is very important to the future of our children, families, and religious freedoms. Even if we do not live in California, we all have friends and/or family who live in California and can vote. We need to let our friends and family members know that they must register by October 20th in order to vote YES on this very important issue. More information can be found at www.protectmarriage.com...

Finding Fall

2008-10-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

So for our date night this week, I decided I wanted to go take pictures of the fall colors up Provo Canyon. I thought I better take it all in now since in another 2 months we will be moving to CA and probably won't see a lot of season changes. Nature is so beautiful! The colors just pop right out of the mountainside and are so amazing. Mike was so good about walking along the trail and snapping shots. I love taking time out of our busy schedule to enjoy the outdoors!

Football

2008-09-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I have mixed feelings about football season! I love college football, but I HATE college football in Provo, Utah. As most of you know I can't stand BYU, but everybody and their mother (oh wait only Mormons!) love it. Mike and Grant sit here all day on Saturday's and watch game after game. Which I don't mind, I just don't like that the first game that seems to be on to start the day off is BYU. BYU fans are so out of control!!!! Anyway, I can't wait to move from Provo just to get away from all of the whacked BYU fans! I'm glad that I can take out my frustration on our blog :)

More Summer Pictures

2008-09-14T20:20:00.001-07:00

So I decided I would post a few more of our summer pictures! I feel retarded because we don't have kids to put pictures of on our blog, but oh well. Hopefully sooner than later :) Hollywood was quite the experience. I took the picture of Debbie Reynolds' star because Mike worked on her tax return this summer. The people that dress up as the characters are so funny. They do that for a living, so they are always asking you for money. They asked me where I was from and I told them Utah so then of course the guy was like oh yea I'm from Salt Lake. YEA RIGHT BUDDY! One funny thing that happened was that there was this aspiring rapper going around trying to get people to listen to his CD that he just made. He even had earphones so people could listen to his CD. So what do you know he hits Mike up and Mike listens to it. I wasn't really paying attention, but then all of the sudden I turn around and see Mike with his wallet out giving this guy a 5 dollar bill. I was so frustrated with Mike, but it was pretty funny. Mike the softy! His excuse was that we gave people in Thailand money, so we had to be fair in America! AHHHH Good times!

Our Hollywood Weekend

2008-09-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Classic Smiles!

2008-09-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Summer 2008

2008-09-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

So these pictures sum up our summer of 2008! I'm so sad that it is over! It was such a great summer for me because I just laid by the pool, scrapped and hung out with family all day. It was fun to spend so much time with family in California! So now we are back in Provo and back to the grind. Mike has started his last semester at school. He graduates in December and I can't wait. He has accepted a job in Burbank, CA working for an accounting firm. I'm counting down the days until we move back. It's such a great location for us because my family is about 3 1/2 hours away and his family is about 4 1/2. Perfect! I started work again this week and it's going good. I'm so thankful that my boss let me come back after the summer so I didn't have to look for another job. It works out great! We have been so blessed this past year with Mike's education and him getting a great job. I can't wait for the next step in our lives!

The Little Fish

2008-09-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

Marly At Her Finest

2008-09-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

The Boogie Board Won!

2008-09-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

The Dancing Queen

2008-09-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

2008-08-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

THAILAND ------ These are some of our pictures from our trip to Thailand. We had a blast!

2008-06-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

So, Darice inspired me to start a blog this past weekend. We have a myspace account, but we never use it so hopefully we will be better at blogging. We just don't know many people that have blogs other than Kristen and Darice. We also don't have any kids to show off in our pictures. We did go to Thailand last month, so I guess I can show those pictures off. Hopefully I will get more blogging friends!