Live, Love, Laugh, and Be Happy

Swimming Lessons at the YMCA!!!

2009-06-02T13:10:00.014-05:00

In February we joined the YMCA here in Birmingham. We were able to get a great scholarship and it included child care. I was very excited that I was going to be able to start getting in shape. Within a few days of joining I found out about their swimming lessons and because I have a great fear of water I thought it would be a really good idea for me to start Juliana in swimming lessons. So I enrolled her in swimming. And it has been such a great experience. She has loved it and I have really watched her grow in so many ways. She seems to have more confidence in herself and I love to see just how proud she gets of her accomplishments. After her first session in February we decide that we would put her in for another session, and then another and then another. Today was her last swimming lesson after 4 months of having them 2 times a week. And I am truly amazed at how far she has come. I am really proud of her and all of her hard work and I look forward to the fall when we will enroll her again. We took her out for the summer because the classes get so full and I would rather have her in a class that has 3 to 4 kids rather than 6 to 8. As for the summer, tomorrow she starts T-Ball through the YMCA. I am just loving this membership not only for Juliana and all the possibilities it has for her but for me also. I have been going to the gym about 5 times a week and I am making great progress in losing weight and getting in shape. I feel great!!!!

So I thought I would recap the last 4 months of lessons in a few pictures and video's. Sorry there are so many pictures but remember this is a 32 lesson recap!!!

First swimming lesson. Sitting on the wall getting them all excited to get in the water.

Miss Katie helping Juliana with her form.

Jumping off the wall for the first time...very scary.

Teaching her how to use her "swim arms".

All of them kicking at the wall.

As the lessons move forward Juliana is getting better at her form but still can't do it on her own.

Juliana really enjoying the float bar and learning to kick her legs strong enough to keep herself afloat.

Here she goes without her teacher and she is really moving now!!!

Here she is swimming on her own the whole length of the pool!!!!

Kicking her feet out of the water and keeping her body up more...she can really move!!!

Floating on her back and getting ready to swim on her back. (She still struggles with this)

Talking to Miss Katie about what she wants to do next.

Swimming with her chin in the water so that she can get use to her face in the water.

She looks so proud of herself...I love that look!!!!

Here is a video of her first attempts at swimming on her own at the beginning of her second session. I was so proud of her and now I look back and it is funny to me.

And this is her now!!!! I wonder if a year from now I will look back and how she is swimming in this and laugh. But I think she is doing so great and I am very proud of her. I know we will miss swimming lessons in the next few months but come September we will be ready to go. And for now T-Ball here we come!!!!!

Daddy Daughter Date

2009-05-30T18:43:00.009-05:00

Last night our primary put on a Daddy Daughter Date. Juliana was so excited. She was talking about it for weeks and yesterday it was all she could think about. I got her all dolled up!!! I bathed her and rolled her hair in sponge rollers for the first time!!! I painted her finger nails and toe nails and she loved it.

I was really worried that her hair wouldn't dry in time because she hates when I use the blow dryer on her and I put it up in rollers so late but for the most part it worked (with a lot of hair spray). The front ones were still damp but I made it work.

This is Juliana all dress up and ready to go!!!

Here is the back of her hair.

Can you tell she is excited!!!!

They had a really good time!!! They had mac and cheese for dinner and ice cream and brownies for desert. And there was dancing!!!! Juliana was in heaven...she even got to say the closing prayer and that is one of her favorite things!!!! They gave the Dad's a rose to give their daughters and they had a slide show of pictures of the girls with their Dad's. And they also had each Dad write a letter to their daughter. It was really sweet. Juliana came home beaming with joy.

I think they both look very happy.

Here they are ready for their date. Aren't they so cute!!!

Here is the letter that Mike wrote to her:

Juliana,

You are the most wonderful girl in my entire world. I love it in the morning when you come out to give me hugs and kisses. I love when you sing your primary songs with excitement. I am proud of how well you swim. I love that you love reading and learning. I love that you need your "all together" hugs at night before bed. I love that you are so independent and know what you want. I love that you always want to play games. I love when I come home and you want to hug me and spend time with me. You are my special daughter. I love you.

Love,

Daddy

I thought is was so sweet and Juliana treasures the letter...I think she would have slept with it had I let her. I think that we are going to make Daddy Daughter Date night a once a month event. Mike told her that next time he wanted to teach her to play tennis. It was really fun to see them enjoy each other so much and it gives me a night to myself which is so great!!!

We are alive!!!!

2009-03-10T15:55:00.010-05:00

Ok so it really has been way to long. I am so sorry about that. I just haven't felt like blogging much and I have been trying to limit my computer time. Anyway, I really don't have a good reason why it has been since Halloween that I last posted. But I am going to fix that. I am going to back date some posts and give you all a little update on us.

Anyway, March has been a good month so far. On the fist day of March we woke to a big surprise as we were getting ready for church.

It snowed in Birmingham!!!! I was really surprised. There really wasn't a lot but it closed the freeway and canceled church. So we had a fun family Sunday. Juliana was very excited and loved every second of it. It was a lot of fun!!!

The snow didn't last long at all but it was fun while it lasted.

This past weekend we wanted to find a fun family activity because it was so beautiful. So, we went to a Vulcan Park. It is actually right behind us...as in our back door opens to it. But you can't get in to the park from our back door and we just haven't ever made it there before. Mikes mom gave us a membership for Christmas so we drove over and ate lunch outside and then went into the museum and then up on the Vulcan (a very large staue). It was cool but Mike and I want to go back to the museum without Juliana so we can actually take time to look through it and read about all the history. The Vulcan actully made me nervious with Juliana. It was really high and I got a little paniced up there. The statue stays open until 10 pm and I think it would be really fun for Mike and I to go back on a date night and be able to look out over the city at night. Here are a few pictures of our fun family day.

And last but not least, Mike did a cute lesson for FHE last night on Latter Day Prophets. Juliana loves that song and Mike thought it would be a perfect lesson for her. She loved it and at the end I decided to record Juliana singing Latter Day Prophets. I think it is pretty cute and really good.

Our Halloween week....

2008-11-02T17:13:00.005-06:00

Halloween was really fun this year but I thought that we were going to miss it. On Tuesday Juliana woke up with a low fever and I wasn't all that worried. But she was dragging then she started saying that her stomach hurt. I asked her if she wanted to go lie down and take a nap (I thought she was just being dramatic and this normally will snap her out of it) and she said that she did. She lay down and slept for over 2 hours. She woke up with a very high fever (104.6) and I got a little nervous. I call her doctor’s office and left a message. I gave her some medicine and by the time her doctor called back her temp had gone down a few degrees but she was just lethargic on the floor. He doctor told me to come down right away. As soon as I hung up the phone she started throwing up all over the carpet and her blanket. So I just stripped her down got us both re-dressed and grabbed a puke bowl and jumped in the car. She threw up once in the doctor’s office but, that was it. Her fever went down and she was fine. While in the doctor’s office I had said that I was really sad because our church was doing a Halloween party the next day and now she was going to miss it. The doctor said that she thought it was just a 24 hr bug and as long as she was feeling good the next day that she would be fine to go. So we were very happy and she had a blast at our wards Trunk-or-treat. It really was fun. And it kicked off our Halloween!!!!! Here are a few pictures. We went as a family of Robots and I made all of our costumes. I think that the costume was much cuter on Juliana than on Mike and me. But, it worked for us to.
Here she is at the Trunk-or-Treat!!!! She was very proud to be a robot. I think she looked so cute.
Here she is again...there were so many activities that he just got so excited and wanted to do everything. I think she tired everything but the cake walk.

Mike is trying to show her how to Mini Golf. She did pretty good.

Here she is trying it on her own. She thinks she is a big girl.

Here we are together. I never get pictures with her because I am always the one behind the camera (and truth be told I don't like having my picture taken).

Juliana and Daddy playing Tic-Tac-Toe.

This is Thursday at our Library's story time. She is with her best friend. They have so much fun together. Her Robot costume was in need of some repair so she wore her last years Gold Fish costume for the day.

This is us on Halloween night. We took Juliana to the Police station where they had bags of candy for the kids and pizza and games. It was fun. Then we went over to our friends house to have a party. It was lots of fun and I felt like we really got into the Halloween spirit.

The Great Pumpkin

2008-10-27T13:30:00.007-05:00

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays just because it is fun and creative. I love it. So, this year I really wanted to do some fun stuff for Halloween. But, as always time has gotten away from me and now we are on the home stretch...well, I actually got my act together and we went to The Great Pumpkin Patch in Hayden, Alabama. It was fun. We took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and we got 2 pumpkins. Juliana got to pick her own and of course she picked a little one and then Mike picked a bigger one that was almost the perfect pumpkin (I say almost because I like one's with a long stem and this one doesn't and because I really wanted a white one but alas we ended up with 2 orange pumpkins). It really was a lot of fun and something that I hope we take time for each year. The next night we decorated our pumpkins and had a lot of fun doing it. We had seen these little sets of parts (they almost looked like Mr. Potato Head parts) that would make your pumpkin into different animals. So we got that for Juliana and then we got stuff to carve the other one. It was a really good family activity and I think that they turned out really cute.

Juliana is so excited about her little pumpkin!!!!

I thought they were so cute...you can see that both of them are proud of there pumpkins.

I just love this little girl!!!! Isn't she cute....

It was so hard to get her to pose for this picture. She really didn't like the sun in her eyes. But I think she looks so sweet!!!

Once again Juliana does not like the sun in her eyes and she was protesting this picture!!!!

She did a lot better with her Daddy!!! I think he held her arms down a little. LOL. I couldn't get away with that but she loves her Daddy so much!

As sad as it is, this is the best we got out of the family pictures!!!! She has a lot of fight in her. That darn sun was very bright and I had sunglasses on.

Juliana's Piggy pumpkin...it even had a curry tail. I had to talk her out of taking it with us every where we went.

She wanted a cat pumpkin so I just used a stencil out of the carving book we got. I think it turned out pretty cute!!!!

I am so excited!!!!!

2008-10-09T08:09:00.001-05:00

Bitter Sweet...

2008-09-11T15:22:00.005-05:00

Well, today has been very bitter sweet for me. This morning my Grandmother passed away. She was my only remaining grandparent and although it really was her time to go, it was still sad. But, I am very happy that she is with my Grandpa now and that she isn't in any pain. She was able to pass quietly and peacefully in her sleep. I wish that I could have been closer with her but I really did love her and I am glad that she is in peace.

Here she and my grandfathers are in their wedding picture.
And here they are in a picture of their 60th wedding anniversary taken 10 years ago.

Well, maybe this will help to give this day (9/11) a new meaning to me.

I love you Grandma.

THE BIG 29!!!!!!

2008-08-22T08:10:00.002-05:00

So today is my 29th birthday!!!!! Happy Birthday to me!!!! I am here in Alabama and I am feeling a little home sick but, I am determined to have a good birthday. I woke up this morning early for some reason and I started my day by watching "Dr. Horribles Sing Along Blog" just to make me laugh and to start off my day cheerful. And I got myself Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries for breakfast (I am such a child it is sad) and I told Mike that I want desert crepes for dinner (what is better than crepes filled with Nutella, strawberries and whipped cream????) He said that he would take care of the cake. Juliana got me an Itunes gift card (per my request and Mike got me a GPS so that I am not afraid to leave the house...I really have the worst possible sense of directions and every time we leave the house Mike asks if I know where we are or if I could get home and the answer is always NO!!!! So this should help to get me out and about more. Anyway, Mike started school on Monday so, when he gets home I hope we can have a relaxing rest of the weekend and that we can take advantage of all the birthday club offers I sign us up for Red Robin, Cold Stone, Arbys, and Baskin Robins all give you free stuff for your birthday. And because Mike and my birthdays are only one week apart...yes Mikes birthday is next Friday, it makes it really fun because we can go out for free. Good stuff....so we can go to Red Robin and each get a free Burger and then go to Cold Stone and each get a free signature creation. I am very excited!!!!!

So we arrived here last Wednesday (so we have been here for about a week and a half) and then we just got Internet a few days ago. It has been a long week and a half. It feels like a lot more. But, we got her safe and sound. And hopefully within the next 2 weeks I can have everything unpacked and we can have a couch. Right now we are living without a couch...we are using camping chairs. LOL. But, I want to get a good deal and something that I actually like. I haven't ever had a new couch before. In the past they have all been given to us. So, I am very excited to get one that is NEW!!!!! We did however get a washer and dryer and a microwave. Wow!!!! It is great. Our apartment feels huge to me....of course that might have something to do with the fact that our last apartment couldn't have been more than 700 sq. ft. and this one is somewhere between 1000-1100 sq. ft. and is less than half the price we were paying before. I like our apartment a lot (except for the kitchen which has hardly any storage...but it does have a dishwasher which is so wonderful I can't even put my joy about that into words). However, moving to the south bring a whole new problem....La Cucaracha or in other words the cockroach!!!!! Oh my goodness they are so gross and I don't know how you can ever get use to them. Seriously the scare me to death...I actually cried when I saw one of them. Really I am that scared. But, I am really working on it. In my mind I tell myself (so if I am wrong please let me stay diluted because I need some kind of hope to an end) that soon they will be out of my house and I will only see them once and a while if the door gets left open for to long.

Well, I really hope that I can get back in the swing of things soon. And be posting more regularly too.

We are still alive....

2008-08-04T12:43:00.000-05:00

Wow....I can't believe how long it has been since I last blogged. Sorry about that. And I am sorry to say that it won't be getting any better this month. We are about to move!!!!!!

My week is crazy. My Dad will fly in tomorrow morning and Mike is taking Wednesday and Thursday off. Wednesday we will finish up our packing (we have pretty much everything but our kitchen and our everyday items packed and sitting in our storage unit. Then Thursday we will pack the truck. Friday I will clean the apartment from top to bottom and then Saturday the landlord will to the walk through and then my Dad and Mike will be off. They should get to Birmingham on the 12th and Juliana and I will be flying in on the 13th. And my Dad will fly out on the 14th. And Mike will start school on the 19th. It has been crazy. And it just seem that this week and next will be the peak of our craziness. Anyway, I feel bad that I haven't been keeping thinks more up to date here but, really I have been so busy.

So, I am proud and a little embarrassed (ok actually a lot embarrassed) to say as of last Monday July 28th was it...I finished up my associates degree. I have been working so hard to get it all done and I did it. I have been working on it for about 11 years...that is so pathetic but it is a very big accomplishment for me and I am going to walk at the Weber State graduation in December. I just feel like I need to. So between getting things ready to move and school I haven't been able to be around like I wanted but, I hope that September I will start to find my new grove and I will be on here and my FHE board a lot more. (Sorry girls that I haven't gotten my FHE board going yet...I promise it will be one of the first things I work on.)

I hope all of you are having a great summer...next time I post I will be living in Alabama...Wow!!!!! This is just to strange.

Old Red Barn Company Quilt Giveaway!!!!

2008-07-15T12:29:00.000-05:00

OK, I can't even tell you just how long I have been waiting for this. Old Red Barn Company is giving away the most beautiful quilt ever and I want it. I have been waiting for this give away and it is now here and I just have to win. And even thought I don't want anyone else to win, I am posting about it here.

All of you have to go check it out and see all of the wonderful products that she sells. And on the off chance that you see this quilt and say oh, that looks like Natalie I have to win it for her then by all means enter the contest and when you win send it to me!!!! Just Kidding (kind of). Good luck to all of you but, if you do win it and you heard about it from me, you owe me so big!!!!

Happy Birthday Nicole!!!!

2008-07-09T02:14:00.000-05:00

Well, today is my beautiful sister Nicole's 30th birthday!!!!! And I wanted to let everyone know just what a great sister she is. So, here is a list of 30 things that I love about her.

1. She is 13 months and 13 days older than me.
2. She is a great Mom.
3. She is always the first person I want to call when something happens big or small.
4. She is one of my biggest supporters.
5. She talks me down from stupidity.
6. She is a great listener.
7. She is my best friend.
8. She just gets me.
9. We have inside jokes that no one else could ever possible get.
10. She is the only other person I know that will burst into song when answering questions.
11. She introduced me to Twilight.
12. I can tell her things that I would never admit to anyone else.
13. She is very creative.
14. She is one of the most talented people I know.
15. She has a beautiful singing voice.
16. If she leaves herself a message on her own phone, when she listens to the message later she thinks it is from me.
17. She is beautiful.
18. She is very kind and would just die inside if she ever thought that she hurt your feelings (even if you deserved it.)
19. I know that she will always tell me the truth if I ask her to.
20. She is smart.
21. On my last birthday when I was really homesick and down she sent me a bouquet of chocolate dipped strawberries to cheer me up.
22. She has an amazing heart and is very generous with her time, talents, and self.
23. She will talk on the phone with me for hours and help me get my house work done over the phone.
24. She has a lot of self confidence and has no fear in starting new projects and trying new things.
25. We never run out of things to talk to.
26. Even when I talk to her every day I miss her like crazy.
27. When she tells me stories I always know how she will have reacted to a situation because I would have reacted in the exact same way.
28. Neither of us can keep a surprise very well (we use to tell each other what we were getting for Christmas because we just couldn't keep it to ourselves).
29. She let me beat her number of my space friends.
30. She really is one of the best people I know and I love her very much!!!!!!

Nicole, if you are reading this I love you...and I really hope that you are having a wonderful birthday.

And for all of you that aren't Nicole that are reading this, please do me a favor and pop over to her blog really quick and wish her a happy birthday...even if you haven't met her.

Our 4th of July...

2008-07-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

Our 4th of July was nothing big...just some low key family time and a great BBQ. We had a laid back morning and took our time getting ready...although Juliana wanted an American Flag so bad that all we heard the whole morning were her requests for one. So, off we went in quest of an American Flag for her. It took us a few stores to find one (I guess that is why you shouldn't wait until the day of to get things like that). I really wish that we would have gotten a picture of her with it, because it was a bigger flag than we had expected to get her but she was thrilled with it. Mike took her to that park for a while to play and she had a lot of fun.

Juliana playing on the slides!!!! She was having a lot of fun.

Later that night we drove back to San Rafael with Karley and Kendra and her family. We parked in our church parking lot and waited for the Marin County Fair fireworks to start and watched them from the parking lot. We really had a pretty good day.
Mike and Juliana waiting for the fireworks to start. I love Juliana snuggles...she is so sweet.
A family picture in the dark...not our best picture...but not our worst either.
Mike and Juliana watching the fireworks.

Our week!!!

2008-06-12T18:15:00.000-05:00

Well, we have had a good week. My favorite part is Juliana's new hair cut!!!! I just love it. And she seems to really like it too. In fact she wants to show it off to everyone. This morning she asked me if she could go to Daddy's work and show the "ladies" her new hair. It is a lot of fun and no work at all for me. So, what more could I ask for.
I am just amazed at how old she looks in this picture. Wow, she really is growing up.
This is the view from the back, she has a little part of her hair that flips up and it looks oh so cute.

Doesn't she look happy...I think it is because I was letting her wast time instead of getting ready for bed. LOL.
Is is pre-hair cut...she went over to her friends house last Friday for a little "swimming". It looks like they are having a tea party in the pool.
She really had a good time despite the cool temp of the pool.
This is Juliana's plant that she planted at school last Friday. She is very proud of it. It is wheat...well wheat grass I guess. It was so easy and she is just so proud that it makes me want to do more stuff like this with her. She beams each time she sees it and every morning she asks me if she can see it.
It really is getting tall. I don't know what I am going to do with it soon. Any suggestions???

We hope that all of you had a great week too.

A few nights out!!!!

2008-06-04T10:55:00.000-05:00

Well, I have been very lucky this past week because I have been able to get out (kid free-pure enjoyment...no school or anything) 3 times in one week. Last Wednesday, we had a girls night out at the Cerrito theater for there 2 for 1 night at the moves. My cousins (Kendra, Karley, Kalyn and Karley's friend Celia) and I went to see Baby Mama. It was a lot of fun. Kalyn smuggled in Taco truck and it was so good. Kalyn smuggled out after the movie faster than we could snap a picture. I really don't have many more of these girls nights out left before I move so I am really hoping to cram a few more in before we move.

After the movie we went and picked up Karley's daughter Alayna who had been babysitting over at Kendra's house and we headed for some wonderful desert at Naia's. I was my first time at this gelato shop. Wow was it great!!!!! It was so much fun!!!! I really enjoyed myself. And we got some great pic's in.
They had the most amazing flavors...tons of them and you could taste test as many as you wanted before you ordered.

More flavors...all of them looked good except that banana...I think that looked really bad. Yuck!!!!
Doesn't that look really good!!!
Alayna and Kendra enjoying themselves.
Karley and I...this really isn't a good picture of me at all. LOL

Then on Saturday, Alayna watched Juliana for us and Mike and I got to go on a date...it had been a long time since we had gone out on a real date. We went to pick up my Wedding ring that was being fixed and we did a little shopping and then we watched the new Indiana Jones movie. It was a lot of fun. I was so glad to get a little time out with just Mike and I.

And to top it off, last night Mike sent me off on my own to get out of the house for a bit and I went to see Maid of Honor. I enjoy going to movies by myself because it gives me a chance to just be by myself. I never get time with just me. So it was a wonderfully relaxing night for me.

Anyway, I have felt so blessed the last week to get a lot of time to rest and relax. It has been great and very needed.

Thanks Mike for being so supportive.

Photography....

2008-05-27T16:04:00.001-05:00

So, I have always wanted to be able to take beautiful pictures. But, for some reason they just never have turned out that great. Well, I have become determined to learn the art of photography. So, until I am able to take a class in it you will all have to bare with me as I work on it. My sister Jenny sent me her old camera and I have notice that it has made a big difference. I have now told Mike that when I graduate from college (notice I said when, not if...now that is a big step) with my bachelors degree that I want a really nice camera. So, until then I am going to work with what I have. The other thing that I am working with is my Mother's Day gift which is Photoshop Elements that I have wanted for years. I am very excited to figure this program out. It is so much fun. And now with my classes over for the next 2 weeks I am going to try and learn as much as I can. Anyway, here are some of my recent pictures of "Nature" that I have taken on Juliana and my outings...one is even from today!!!!!
These flowers I found at the San Francisco zoo on Juliana's birthday!!! I thought they were one of the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. I need to find out what they are. They look so delicate and almost tissue paper like.

This is the friendliest duck I have ever met. He wanted is picture taken. I am not kidding when I say that either. He would swim up to us and stop and look at the camera until I would snap a picture of him then he would swim into another pose and stop again and pose. it was really funny. We didn't even have food to feed him.
Here he is again working the camera!!!
Juliana helped me take this one!!! She loved these flowers and would pick them and stuff them into her pockets. I tried to get a picture of her pockets full of them but they didn't turn out.
These leaves were perfect. Juliana wanted to pick them (she has a weird obsession with leaves, rocks and sticks). I told her that we don't pick leaves off of trees we can only pick up the leaves that have already fallen to the ground but she wasn't satisfied. So I had to promise her that I would take a few pictures of them. That made her happy...and when I pulled them up on the computer I thought is was a very lovely picture.
And last but not least, I saw this beautiful rose on the way to the park today. It was so pretty and just at it's peak in my book and I just had to photograph it.

Anyway, sorry that you have too look at all of these boring pictures but I needed to post about something. LOL.

I really will come back for a real post about what is going on later today or tomorrow!!!!

New FHE Lessons!!!!

2008-05-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to let any one who reads my blog...(I really don't think more than 2 or 3 people do) that there are a few new lessons on my FHE blog. The one that was posted last by Bobbie is really cute!!!!

My FHE Blog...

2008-05-06T12:06:00.000-05:00

I don't know how many of you know that I started blogging last year with an FHE blog. I was pretty good about it for a few months but, I started feeling like no one ever looked at it or even used the site really and so I fizzled out on it. It just didn't seem worth all of the effort. Well, in February I watched the Worldwide Leadership Training broadcast. They really put a strong push for FHE along with other things. But it really got that feeling going again in me that I needed to be working on Family Home Evening. I need to have those formal lessons and really would like to be doing with my website. Now, I really don't want anyone to feel like they have to do this, but I wanted to put it out there for anyone who would. Yesterday I got a comment on my blog from a really sweet lady asking me if I could up date my FHE blog. I sent her a message back telling her that I was going into the many reasons why I wasn't doing it right now (I am going into finals week and then I will have a 2 week break and then start taking my last 2 classes to get my associates degree, in the mean time going on a 2 week vacation and then coming home to finish up school and having 6 weeks to pack up so we can move to graduate school.) I am feeling like I have a full plate but, I really feel like our family needs to be doing better with Family Home Evening. I have been thinking for a long time that I wanted to find people who would like to do this FHE blog together with me. So, I asked the girl who commented about it if she would like to post a few FHE's and now I am going to put it out there for all of you. It you or anyone you know would be interested in being a contributor on my FHE blog I would love to talk about it with you/them. I was hoping that I could find between 3-7 women besides myself and that would make it so that we would only have to come up with a FHE lesson at the most once a month and maybe only once every two months. It would also give us more traffic over there and we could compile a list of Lessons that people would like to see. Now, keep in mind that the goal of my site was to give parents with small children (0-5) FHE ideas because I was having a hard time finding good ideas for kids this young. Anyway, let me know what you think.

Introducing Caroline Jane ....

2008-05-05T20:50:00.000-05:00

On May 2, 2008 @5:30 PM my sister Gayle brought a beautiful little girl into the world. She is cute as can be and I can't wait to meet her in June at our family reunion. I just wanted to post a few pictures of this beautiful little girl and tell Gayle, Mark, Grace, Mary, Max and Caroline that I am so happy for them and that I love them very much. This beautiful little girl is so lucky to have 2 older sisters and 1 older brother that will be looking out for her and loving her everyday. Gayle, Mark and Baby Caroline....how cute are they!!!!
I really don't think that she could get any cuter!!!!!

A Girl and her Bear!!!!

2008-04-30T10:56:00.000-05:00

So, I have been thinking about making a post about this for a few weeks now. I felt like maybe everyone would think it was really dumb, but then I realized that this is a Journal that I plan on giving Juliana some day so I need to journal about the things that are important to her. One of the most important things to Juliana is her "Ayva Bear". Her little friend Ayva gave her this bear for Valentines day (thus the name) and ever since it has had to go everywhere with her. She just loves this bear. It is who she talks to, sleeps with, plays with and tries to bathe with. So, I thought I would post about her love....
Juliana giving Ayva Bear kisses at the park!!!! She really loves this bear.
Juliana taking pictures of her Ayva Bear. I let her try and take a few pictures. I love to see what she sees!!!!
Running and exploring at the park together....
I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was picking flowers for Ayva Bear. Do you see Ayva Bear behind her? She is even potty training Avya Bear and I am frequently making Juliana's "big girl" panties fit on Ayva Bear. I am almost afraid to wash Ayva Bear for fear that something will happen to her and then I don't know what I would do.

Happy Birthday Juliana!!!!!

2008-04-30T01:54:00.001-05:00

On Saturday Juliana turned 3 years old!!! We had a birthday party for her over at my Aunt and Uncles on Sunday with her cousins. It was so much fun. Juliana got to pick what we had for dinner so Aunt Kathy made her Pancakes, eggs, and bacon. She got a darling cake thanks to my Aunt Kathy also. It is a giant cupcake. It was so cute!!!! We had such a wonderful weekend and this was the perfect end to a perfect Birthday celebration.
Juliana and her cousin and one of her best buddies Owen in front of the cake. I think they were hoping that we would turn our heads so they could get a taste.
Juliana and her cousin Alayna!!! Juliana loves her so much.
I think the cake turned out so great. Aunt Kathy made the cake and Juliana picked out the frosting color and the sprinkles if you can really call them that. LOL. I was really worried about decorating it for fear that I would totally ruin it but, I think it turned out great. I want this cake for every birthday!!!!

The proud birthday girl!!!
Juliana and Owen. Aren't they so cute together. She is really going to miss him when we move.
Happy Birthday my love!!!!
She wanted to get a little to close to the flame and needed just a little help blowing it out.
She really enjoyed herself!!!! Thank you Aunt Kathy for everything. Juliana had such a great time and so did we.

Birthday Girl...a ball game and the zoo

2008-04-30T01:35:00.000-05:00

So, this past weekend (Saturday) was Juliana's 3rd birthday!!!! I really was such a fun weekend. On Friday night we headed to San Francisco to a Giants Baseball game. Juliana really had a fun time. So did Mike and I . This makes me very happy because we have a few more games coming our way this summer including one to Yankee Stadium. Juliana was so fun and everyone sitting by us loved her and was giving her "High Fives" throughout the game because she was getting so excited when people would stomp their feet and cheer. I really didn't get any good pictures of the game. This is honestly the best picture I got. Pretty sad!!!!

So, we got home Friday night really late and Juliana didn't get into be until after 11 pm. But, when she woke up, I had a Birthday breakfast of Trix and doughnuts (the breakfast of champions). Then she got to open a few presents and off to the San Francisco Zoo we went. We spent most of the day there and we all had a great time. Juliana says the her favorite things were the Giraffes, the Penguins swimming really fast and Train. Here are a few pictures of her and Daddy at the Zoo. It is the first time Mike has gone to the Zoo with her.
I don't know why she looks so unhappy!!!!
Wow, a lion...she loves sitting on these things.
She got to dig in dirt for things. One of her favorite things to do.
I think this turtle looks real. It kind of freaked me out. LOL

There was a lot of other stuff at the zoo but at some I get tired of being behind the camera and just want to enjoy myself.

I really can't believe that my baby is 3. She is so amazing and I just love her so much. I can't imagine my life without her every day. She really makes my life so much fun and there is always something to look forward to with her. I am really such a lucky Mom.

Juliana I love you!!!!

Just a quick up date...

2008-04-23T22:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I have been meaning to post for a few days now (I actually started this post last Friday) but it just hasn't happened yet. My school work is starting to get to me. I have a final paper due in less than 3 weeks and I haven't really don't anything for it yet. I really need to get my but in gear. I only have a month left in this class and I am so tired of it I just want to be done already. But, enough complaining.

Here are some fun pictures I took of Juliana. I let her paint with poster paints...normally she paints with water colors and now I know why. LOL

Yes, she was eating it and it was poster paint. Not edible by any means and it doesn't smell good so I don't know why she would eat it. I promise that I do feed her.
I really think this picture is funny because she was actually getting really mad at me for laughing about her face. That's why her fists are all balled up. LOL. She has a little bit of a temper. I have no idea where she could have gotten that from.
My cousin Karley gave her this little hat. It has a matching bag. Well she has fallen in love with it the last week. And this is her pretending to be a "Super Reader" as she calls it. She really is so much fun.

Well, this week we have had a renewed interest in potty training. So, we have been working on it the last two days. She is doing really great. Yesterday she had 3 accidents and 6 successes and today she had 2 accidents and 9 successes and she woke up from her nap with a dry pull up. I was so proud of her. I am really working on being really positive and up beat with her. So all of you other Mom's out there I could use your words of wisdom and encouragement on this. I am not the most patient person on earth.

An anniversary, a new hair cut, and a fun saturday at the park!

2008-04-13T16:10:00.000-05:00

So, Thursday was Mike and my 4th anniversary!!! Wow!!! LOL.

We really had a good day. Mike had a conference in the city and he got out early. So, Juliana and I headed to the East Bay to pick Mike up at the Bart station. We ended up walking around for a while window shopping just enjoying the beautiful weather and eachother. It was so nice.

While we were out we walked past a little salon and I told Mike that I really wanted to get my hair cut. He said that I could if I wanted to. So, I turned around and walked in to see if they had any appointments open. They did!!! I sent Mike and Juliana off so they wouldn't get to board waiting for me and got right in. I told the girl that I wanted to cut my hair off. She just looked at me and I said "I really do want to cut my hair off!". I told her what I was wanting and asked her oppinion and right before she started she asked me if I was sure. And I assured her that I was indeed sure. Then when she took the clippers out so cut the back of my hair she stopped again to make sure I was really ok with her cutting my hair so short. I again told her that I was sure and that I did know what I was getting myself into that I have cut my hair VERY short many times. It really didn't take that long and I got my hair cut shorter than Mike had ever seen it, but I am in love with it and I am not wondering why I tooks so long to get my hair cut. I love my hair short and I really do think I look better with short hair.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of how it turned out.

Yesterday as a family we went to the park and had a picnic. Juliana had such a good time. And I was so glad that Mike was able to be there for once. I always feel so bad that he never really gets the opportunity to go do the fun activities with Juliana because I normally take her while he is a work.

Of course she was dying to play on the park equipment, but it was so hot outside that we only did that for a little bit.
The rest of the trip we had fun in the grass. She really as a hard time blowing bubbles. She puts the want up to her mouth and in turn the bubbles get on her mouth before she is able to blow.
Juliana has so much fun with her Daddy!!!
I really thought this picture was so cute!!! They are so cute together.

We really had fun with the bubbles!!! The park was so beautiful I didn't want to leave.
Oh sweet Juliana. I can't believe how big she is. She will be 3 in less than 2 weeks!!!
Who doesn't love chasing bubbles....
Mike and Juliana had fun racing... Juliana loves to say "On your mark get set GO!!!" But, normally she starts to run before she gets the "GO" out.
We really did have a great day and a great week!!! Lets hope it continues on through this week because I have procrastinated my homework and now I have a ton to do by my Tueseday night class!!!! Why do I always do that?

Our Journey!!!!

2008-04-03T11:57:00.000-05:00

I have felt like our family has been in transition and on this large journey since Mike and I got married in 2004. When we first got married Mike and I were both working in the insurance industry and I knew that it wasn't where Mike was suppose to be. So, right away we started trying to figure out where it was that we wanted to be and what he really wanted to be doing. One day while randomly searching the Internet for jobs, I came across a job posting in Southern California that I thought just sounded like Mike. Everything about the job just seemed to be Mike. So, I showed this posting to Mike to see what he thought. And he really seemed to be interested. Now, this was in June of 2004. We started looking into what he would have to do to get this job and he realized that he would have to take a few classes and then apply for a certificate in California and then he could start into a training program that would put him into the position. So, as soon as he could he started taking classes to get the credits that he needed. Once he started taking the classes it seemed to become clear that we needed Mike to really go back to school eventually and get a graduate degree. In the mean time we got pregnant and had Juliana. Juliana seemed to make this goal more of a driving force, now it wasn't just a dream it was actually what we were going to do. It seemed to take forever but, in February 2006 Mike and I got great news that we had been offered a training position in the Bay Area California to train to be a Public Health Microbiologist. So, we picked up and we moved. It was so nice to move to the Bay Area because we actually had family here. My Dads twin brother and his family live here and it has been such a wonderful experience to grow so close to them. Mike and I were separated for the first couple of months. Mike moved to the Bay Area and I went home to Utah with my parents and Juliana. Once Mike was able to secure housing and after few months of the training under his belt we were able to finally move to the Bay Area also. It seemed that no sooner than moving here our focus was then changed to the next goal...graduate school. Mike's training ended in August 2006 and he started actually working for the lab and started getting ready for the GRE and the Biology Exam. We had plans for starting back to school Fall 2007 but, after some disappointment we weren't able to get all of our letters of recommendation in time. It was very disappointing but we had to just move forward. So this brings us to the present day. We have been accepted to Graduate School.

I really wish that you could read the T-shirt better!!! But......

Mike was excepted to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in their Cellualr and Molecular Biology Graduate Program. Yes, we will be moving to Birmingham Alabama!!!!! Wow!!! What a change it will be for us. It is very exciting and very scary all at the same time. We will be moving the first part of August and the program will be starting around the 19th of August. It has taken us 4 years to get here, but I am so proud of all the hard work that Mike has put in to get us here. He really is a great Man!!!!

So, Alabama here we come!!!!!

Easter Sunday

2008-03-25T15:39:00.000-05:00

Well, what a beautiful Easter we had. I am sad that we weren't able to get a family picture. But with an active little girl like we have her mostly white Easter outfit didn't stay clean long enough after church for us to get one. LOL. That is just the way it goes. After all the chocolate comes out I think we will have my cousin Kendra try and get a picture of us. I did how ever get a picture of Juliana and I right before the egg hunt started in our not so Sunday best. So at least that is something.

This is what the Easter Bunny left at our house!!! To the left you will see what was waiting for me (Gilmore Girls 7th season that was one smart bunny to know that is the only season I am missing) in the middle with all of the good loot you will see Juliana's (in there is Fox and the Hound which she has already made us watch a few times) and Mike's is on the right (with National Treasure). I guess we are a movie family. LOL.
That is Juliana excited about the Dr. Seuss book "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!" That is one happy grin.
Here is Juliana finding her special Juliana egg!!!!
Wow, look at all those eggs!!! Did you leave any for the other kids?
And here is the darling group of cousins at the egg hunt!!!! We are really going to miss these guys when we move. Don't they all look so sweet. Of course mine is the only one not in her Easter Clothes!!!!! But I am not sad about it. We will just have to stage a few pictures later.

The day was so beautiful!!! Warm and sunny. We were able to celebrate with my Uncle Cliff and Aunt Kathy and my cousins. It was so much fun!!! We had a beautiful dinner and amazing deserts. It was such a great day!!! I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Boyd Park!!!

2008-03-19T16:19:00.000-05:00

On Monday Juliana and I went on a walk to the library to take some books back. Juliana was so excited to get some new books. Well on our way there I noticed that there was a park that I hadn't ever notice before. I got really excited because I haven't found parks that close by. But, I didn't say anything to Juliana about it because I wasn't sure there would be enough time to go after the library. We walked the rest of the was to the library and I notice that on Monday's the library doesn't open until 1 pm. It was only 10:30. Juliana was crushed. She started to cry and I felt so bad. But, then I told her that I had a special surprise for her but it was only for happy girls. I walked her over to the park and it was amazing. This darling castle theme. I was so happy that we found it. And within walking distance too....well for me, I have to push her in the stroller (to many big hills).

So, today I decided that we should go to the library and get some new books and on our way home I told her we could go to the park and have a picnic lunch. She was thrilled. I made PB&J's for both of us and packed a small lunch and off for our outing we went. She had a blast and I brought my camera so I could show all of you my great find. She played for about 1 1/2 hrs. And when I got her home she wanted to read one of her new books and go right down for a nap. I am so glad that she is still such a good napper. I don't know what I would do without them. I am sure I will be finding out soon enough. LOL.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of her playing at the park. She really had a good time. And it was beautiful today...spring rocks!!!!

Queen of her castle!!!

Having so much fun on the slide...sit on your dumb before you go down I am yelling out to her. LOL.

The dragon springy toy that she adores. And a picnic lunch in the sun...I actually got to lay on that blanket for a good 30 mins and watch her play after lunch. It was very nice.

Anyway, I hope that all of you had as beautiful of a day as we did here. I couldn't have imagined it any better.

*****Edit: on a side note...I just looked in the mirror and realized that all of my basking in the sun has led to a sunburn. That is what I get for bragging about our weather. LOL

I love Satruday Mornings!!!

2008-03-15T20:01:00.000-05:00

Don't these look good!!!! This was a little treat that I made for breakfast this morning. It was this Baked Doughnut recipe (Oh and I actually cut the 2/3 cup of sugar down to 1/3 cup). Next time I am going to use whole wheat flour. They were very tasty but let me tell you...unless you are cooking for a croud cut the recipe in half. It makes a ton and they are so good hot that you just have to eat them. We had so many that I brought some to 2 of our neighbors. They were still piping hot on the plate when I took them over to them. But still there are some on my kitchen table and I really need them to just go away!!!!! Juliana had a lot of fun rolling them out even though it got a little hard because she didn't want any help with it and I was really wanting to get them in the oven. LOL.
This is her punching out the hearts. Doesn't she look happy. Anytime I let her help me in the kitchen she gets so excited. She just loves being a little helper.

I think I have decided that these are a special occasion breakfast only. I don't think they are a good thing to have in our house often.

I hope that all of you had a great morning too.

Have you ever had one of those days????

2008-03-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

So, today was just one of those days...

You know the days when you wake up late and actually have somewhere important that you need to go and nothing goes smoothly and you end up getting out of your house 10 mins late and then you hit traffic and it seems like nothing else can go wrong....

Well, I am here to tell you that it really can get worse. LOL.

So, I was having just such a morning. Fridays Juliana has school. We were so late and Juliana just wasn't making it easy. I had to leave home without eating breakfast and I was really trying to get myself to her school as close to on time as possible and we were less than 5 mins away when I was at a stop sign and the lady behind me rear ended me. It was really mild really no damage but when I got out of the car the first words out of the ladies mouth was "I done thought you'd gone already." I looked at her and said "Well I hadn't, I was waiting for the car to pass before I went." Then I asked her for her insurance and she got huffy with me and said, "But there's no damage!" and I said "Yes, but you just hit me and I need your insurance info." She said that she wanted my insurance info. And I told her that I didn't need to give her my info because it wasn't my fault. But, I went to my car and got my insurance card out. I walked back to her car and she still wouldn't give me her insurance. So I got mad and I said a "BAD" word...some thing like, "Just give me your darn insurance info." Only I didn't say darn. And then she started freaking out becasue I was being rude. Well in the mean time I called my hubby. I was mad and she said she wanted to talk to him. So I handed the phone to her and she ended up telling Mike that she wanted our insurance so that she could have our insurance pay for her damage...Hello, I wasn't at fault!! She Hit me!!! And then she hung up on him. So I called him back and he said to call the police.

Right then my wonderful Uncle (my Dad's twin brother) came driving past. I waved him down and he came and sat with me until the Police arived and made it so I didn't freak out on the dumb lady. It was so very frusterating. I mean really there wasn't enough damage to really do anything about it, but I worked in the Insurance Industry for long enough to know that you always get the other person's insurance info.

By the time we left, there was only about 30 mins left of Juliana's school so I told her that I didn't think we could go and she cried and cried because she wanted to see Teacher Rose. I felt bad so we swung by the school mostly to tell them why were weren't their and we ended up going in and staying for the last part of class. It made Juliana feel better and truth be told it was probably better for me because it made it so I didn't have to drive home angry.

Amazing Giveaway

2008-03-14T15:52:00.000-05:00

So, thanks to my darling sister, I found this amazing blog give away!!!!! I am so excited. It is for a free quilt. Why don't you all pop over there and enter. All you have to do is enter a comment. How easy is that? Really all of you need to get yourselves over there and enter this amazing give away. It is in celebration of her 200th post!!!
Old Red Barn Co.

What a ham!!!

2008-03-13T16:34:00.000-05:00

OK, so my cousin Kendra was so great a few weeks and watched Juliana for me while I had class. She has a lot going on that day and was my lifesaver as she took Juliana along with her 4 kids to her ward variety show that she was in charge of. Anyway. She just sent me these pictures of Juliana and her son Owen and I thought it was so cute. It looks like they are really jamming out. I guess they put on quite a show and who knows they might have some tour dates soon. My little Dramatic daughter probably really enjoyed being this kind of center of attention.

To me this looks like she is kissing everyone good night. I laughed out loud when I saw it.

Encore, encore!!!!

An Early Easter Egg Hunt!!!

2008-03-05T15:48:00.000-06:00

So, our primary already had their Easter Egg Hunt. Of course it was on the one weekend when Mike was out of town in the last year. But, we had a good time. Juliana loved it and she was so proud of herself. I was so glad that the Primary Presidency didn't put candy in the eggs. It was great. They put sticker, crayons, mini coloring books, colored pencils, and easter easers. Juliana was of course one of the biggest kids in the nursery group, but she was very kind and didn't try and get any eggs that other kids were going for. I was very proud of her. I can't believe just how big she is getting. It really is unreal.

Here are a few more pic's that I thought were cute.

Riding a bike or the lack there of!!!!

2008-02-26T14:50:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I am just wanting to know if there are other mother's out there with this problem or if it is a family trait? Now, I know from this picture that it looks as if my daughter can ride a bike right. WRONG!!!! For over a year not I have been trying desperatly to teach her how to peddle a bike and for some reason she just can't do it. I feel horrible because I will take her out to "ride" her bike and I end up so frusterated because she will push herself along with her feet and tell me "Look Mom I am doing it!!!" And she isn't!!!!! I have tried everything I can think of to teach her but to know avail. What am I doing wrong? What am I not understanding? Why is it that my daughter could count to 20 before she was 2 but she can't figure some of the easiest things out like peddling a bike and blowing her nose. I laugh because it is just so funny to me. She is so smart but I have a hard time teaching her certain things and I don't know if it is just me or if it is normal. So please tell me am I the only one here?

She really loves her Elmo bike and it brightens up her day so much when we take it outside for her to "ride".
This is how she really rides her bike!!!! It is so funny.

Juliana I love you!!!!!

Better late than never

2008-02-20T16:08:00.000-06:00

Well, Valentines day came and went and I didn't say anything at all. That is because we meant to celebrate it and then we really didn't. We somehow just skipped past our normal family tradition of chocolate fondue because I wasn't feeling well and we were planning on doing it on the weekend and then it just kind of got swept under the rug. I am kind of sad because it is the only time of year that we do chocolate fondue. Anyway, we are not the "Killers of Love" or anything it is just that we have a lot on our plates right now. I will have to tell you more about that in another post. But, I thought that I would show the little bit that our family did do for our Valentines fun!!!!

This is what I made as Juliana's little Valentines that she gave out to her friends. They are felt fortune cookies. I thought that they turned out really cute in the end.

This was our dinner. Chocolate chip heart pancakes that I didn't have to make. What could be better than that?

Juliana absolutely loves pancakes and add in the sugar rush of the chocolate chips and the syrup and she was in seventh heaven.

Don't I have a great husband. Look past the mess on the counters and notice that I am being completely pampered by Mike. That is the best thing ever...yummy bacon.

Blogging!!!

2008-01-21T15:36:00.000-06:00

OK, so in he last few months I feel like everyone has popped up with blogs. And I tried this blogging thing over a year ago probably more like two and it didn't seem to stick...I had a hard time keeping up and I felt like I was the only one reading it...(Well, I think that my friend Natalie would read it too.) So I kind of felt like what is the point. But, now everyone is starting up these darling blogs and I am getting blog envy. I mean how do you all do it? How do you have things to say? I feel that I must be leading the most boring life in the whole world because who wants to hear about trips to the library and grocery shopping and all of my school work mixed in. But, despite the skepticism that I am feeling over starting this little blog of mine, I am going to try it our and just see how it goes. I can't promise anything big or spectacular. I am not a good photographer and I don't have a good camera so this is just going to be plain... I hope not boring but I can't promise that so here it goes. On to my next post!!!!