Ryan&Alyssa+Maci&Dane=Pure Joy

Updates

2011-11-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

I've really been meaning to write down Maci and Dane's updates for months now, so finally here they are:
Dane:
Loves utensils and has to have one everywhere he goes
Loves to laugh and wrestle with Daddy
Is a walker since about 2 weeks ago
Loves to wave to everyone and everything
Gives kisses only to grandma and occassionally mommy:) Open mouth of course:)
Is such a boy and loves to destroy everything
We found out a few weeks ago that he loves motts tots low sugar mixed berry juice
Loves food and snacks and loves loves loves milk, I don't know how I'm going to wean him of his bottle
Hates shopping unless he has an auntie ann's almond crunch pretzel that he can nibble on
He wears a size 5 wide shoe, he'll definitely have to grow into those honkers:)
Loves his sister, they definitely have there own little language and it gets them into trouble sometimes
We found out on Halloween that he loves dumdums
Loves his blanky
Is obsessed with playing on the couch
He weighs about 22 lbs.
He's a big time momma's boy:)
Loves to be outside and go on walks/jogs with mommy
I love my little Dane boy and love watching him grow and learn new things everyday, and love to hear and make him laugh and smile!

Maci:
Loves her paci and her dolly
Loves toys and figuring out how they all work
Loves strawberries, grapes, chocolate milk, pretzels and cheetos
Is a big walker since a couple of weeks ago, but she still loves to knee walk everywhere:)
She's our little goof ball and does the funniest things sometimes
Loves her bath and wants to take about 6 a day, we have to limit her to one
She has a strong hatred towards the vacuum and my kitchen aid blender, she gets so upset every time I have to use them
Loves "Play with me Sesame" especially elmo and big bird, she squeals whenever she sees them
Also loves "Olivia"
She and Dane love Mcdonald's nuggets, it's my go-to meal whenever we are out
Loves animals especially squirrels, she'll always go to our sliding glass door to try and spot them:)
She loves her brother and gets in moods where she just wants to bug him, silly girl
Loves these little rubber ducks that we got for her bath and sucks on the beaks
She loves to talk and blab, we don't understand her blabbing but she definitely seems to know what she's saying
Whenever she has meltdowns they are always major meltdowns
She knows how to get her way already
Loves to be outside and go to the park
Wears a 3 wide shoe, still has mini feet
Is such a Daddy's girl
Loves to unload all the diapers and wipes from there cases, stinker!
I love my little Maci girl! She is such a sweetheart and I love her snugly little hugs:)

I can't believe my munchkins are almost 15 months old! They definitely keep me busy and I love it:) I love being a mom to my little Dane and Maci, they are such a joy and make me laugh and smile everyday! It's so fun to watch them grow and learn new things and to see there cute little personalities develope:)

Looonnnnggg overdue!!!

2011-10-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is a long overdue post since Dane and Maci turned 1 almost 2 months ago! Mimi and Maggie flew in for there birthday party and to help me get set up in our new townhouse we're renting:) We had so much fun and got so much accomplished! First of all our front room was a hideous 2-toned diarrhea color, so that had to go. I've been obsessed with gray so we went to Lowes and picked out a lovely perfect gray:) Mimi basically painted our whole front room in a day, while Mag's and I worked on painting my dining room table and chairs. We also painted our front door b/c it was so dingy! On Maci and Danes birthday morning I made them some delicious personalized blueberry pancakes:) Maci was thrilled and Dane wasn't so sure about the bursting blueberries, lol. We also got Maci a princess balloon and Dane an Elmo balloon which lasted weeks and they loved them:) On the day of there party it was a mad house to get everything ready, we went all out! We did a cowboy/cowgirl theme and everything turned out adorable, amazingly! I made pulled pork sandwiches and potato salad which turned out so good:) We just had a family party since they really are too young to have friends. It was so much fun! I found out that night that Dane is allergic to eggs:( I was feeding both Maci and Dane just some baby food and decided to give them some potato salad which had eggs. Dane instantly projectile vomited all over his brand new outfit, and didn't feel good the rest of the night:( He did still have fun opening and playing with all his new toys! Maci loved everything except when the candle was blown out on her cupcake, she was so upset:( We all had such a blast and were so exhausted by the end! It was all so worth to celebrate our 2 little miracles! I love them so much and look forward to watching them grow and learn new things:) They are such a joy make me laugh everyday!

Tear!

2011-07-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little munchkins are going to be turning 1 in a month!! Time really has flown by! I have loved every step of it, although they can definitely drive me crazy sometimes but they have brought Ryan and I the most joy we could ever dream of:) Dane is the crazy man and is getting so big, I weighed him yesterday and he's a whopping 19.6 lbs, it's hard to imagine he came out a miniature 4lbs 5ozs! He loves to be wild and play, play,play:) He doesn't like to sleep too much but is forced to b/c Maci Mae needs her beauty sleep;) One of his all time favorite toys is my Lansinoh tube(nipple cream for breastfeeding mothers, lol), but don't worry that stuff is way too thick for anyone to squeeze out! He's obsessed with anything that has a lid that he can prop open with his bottom 2 teeth:) The other day Maci and Dane got a hold of there gerber cheetos and Dane opened it with his bottom teeth and dumped the whole container all over the floor! I looked over to check on them and they were chowing down on those cheetos trying to devour all of them before I stopped them! Last week when Ryan was "watching them" while I went and ran some errands, they were playing in the kitchen and the next thing Ryan looked over to was oatmeal and grits smeared all over the floor, lol:) They dumped the entire container of oatmeal out and grits and were having a blast in the huge piles they just made:) Dane is still murder to change and you really have to use some muscle to hold him down so he doesn't smear his poopy bum all over the floor! He has really mastered fast crawling and still prefers bear crawling with his rump in the air using his hands and feet to crawl like crazy. He's also learned that he can use objects like books and dvds to glide across the floor. He'll push the dvd with his hands and crawl with his legs, he really goes flying! Dane also loves blankets and pillows, if one is on the floor he wallows all over it, smashing his face in it:) He's still obsessed with remotes and phones! Dane loves to eat especially treats or whatever I'm eating. If I bring something to the couch to eat I better have a treat for him b/c he will beg me the entire time for bites, lol:) I love my big boy so much, he makes me laugh everyday! Maci Mae is such a little sweetheart:) She loves her beauty sleep which she can never catch up on b/c brother wants up! She loves investigating everything around her and will find the smallest things to put in her mouth, rascal:) Maci loves her jumperoo especially if you egg her on, she will go nuts and kick her feet like crazy! She is the biggest flirt and smiles at all strangers when we go out! If we are at a restaurant she looks around with a huge grin on hoping to melt someone's heart, she never fells and always has an admirer:) She loves to play with daddy and get in on the boys ruff housing, she always loves to be in the mix of it. Maci loves loves loves her paci's, and if she sees any on the floor or finds any while playing she'll pop it in her mouth! If one is already in her mouth and she finds another one she'll switch and pop the other one in her mouth while holding the other one:) If she wakes up without a paci in her mouth she burst out crying and Ryan and I both know she's lost her paci. Sometimes she'll find it on her own but most of the time we have to go find it for her. As soon as she has it in her mouth she calms right down:) A new thing Maci loves to do is bite and believe me it is painful if she gets a hold of you! I have a bruise from one of her attacks on my leg! Last night when I was at an RS activity and Ryan was watching the babes he was feeding them a treat on the couch and Maci leaned over to Dane and bit his arm, he burst out crying! She's getting him back for all the toy stealing he's done to her. Ryan told me she bit him one other time and attempted to bite his head! Crazy girl:) At church last week they were playing on the floor and Maci had her toy necklace and Dane tried to grab it from her and she bit him! That will teach him not to steal her toys, lol! Poor Dane:( Dane and Maci really are best friends and most of the time play together and tag team when being naughty:) We love them so much and can't wait to celebrate there first year of life! I love each new phase they go through and watching them learn and grow everyday!

Beach trip!!

2011-07-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

This is an embarrassingly late post! About a month ago we took a trip to Rehobeth beach with Eric, Hilary and there 2 girls and our good friends Shawn and Krystal Atkinson with there 2 girls! We did a beach trip with them last year but they each only had one girl and me, Hilary and Krystal were all pregnant! Needless to say we had to get a much bigger place so Eric found us a nice big house about 5 minutes from the beach. It worked out perfect and all the kids loved the house:) It had a nice big family room and a big kitchen with a pool table. We stayed for 3 nights and Maci and Dane did great!! They took there naps like little angels (except 1 of there 6 naps they had on our trip) and slept through the night every night! That was a big worry of mine, but they did great:) We went to the beach one day which didn't last too long for us, Maci and Dane didn't like it too much. They loved shoveling the sand in there mouths but then would get real upset b/c of course nobody likes a mouth full of sand in there mouth! They both liked crawling around the sand for a little but absolutely hated the water! I don't blame them b/c the water was freezing! Maci loved playing in our cooler we brought and actually broke the lid in half, it was a styrofoam one so I guess that was to be expected. They both looked adorable in there little bathing suits:) We barbecued one night, ate crabs one night and had pizza the first night. Our last day there we all went to the pool which neither Dane or Maci liked too much:( Dane basically hated it and played outside the pool and ate puffs the whole time! Maci hated it too but finally got use to it and I put her in the little floaty we got and pushed her around:) She loved it and was splashing the water like crazy:) I'm looking forward to our beach trip next year! It's always a blast!!

Hallelujah!!!

2011-06-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

My babies are napping once again, thank goodness!!! They just needed to be separated or they will just play through there whole nap:) I borrowed my mother-in-laws pack and play, so I put Maci in it in my room and Dane in his crib and they snooze away:) The funny thing is, at night they sleep fine in there room together. Problem solved...for now, there's always something it seems like when you have kids but it's definitely all worth it! Maci and Dane are both professional little crawlers now and they are pretty fast too. Dane still is loving to bear crawl on his hands and feet all over the place, it's hilarious! Maci might be our first little walker! A couple of nights ago Maci pulled herself up on a pampers box we had laying around and walked it all over the place:) She was having a blast! Last night we were over at grandma and grandpa's and they have one of those walkers and I helped Maci get up on it and she pushed it all around, slowly and somewhat wobbly, but she would catch herself if she thought she might be going down and regroup then off she went again! I can't believe my little 14 lb 12 oz, 24 in. long little girly could be walking soon! I tried to put Dane on it too, but he gets so distracted and just wants to play with all the other toys:) Dane makes the funniest noises and he has from birth basically, lol:) He does a grandpa weeze, tongue flicker, fake coughs, and a somewhat new one is "k" noises over and over again! He's hilarious and when he does his fake coughs it's like 5- 10 in a row, silly boy:) Maci loves to babble, scream and squeal:) She is such a smiley girl even to complete strangers! Dane loves to be thrown around and swung upside down, basically anything crazy he loves and laughs away:) Daddy is his favorite to ruff house with, Maci joins in but you have to be more gentle with her or she doesn't like it. She surprisingly likes to be swung upside down to, but not too wild. Dane loves food especially food Ryan and I eat and puffs of course! He is always down for eating:) Maci is a more picky eater and will spit a lot of things out that I try to give her, but she also loves her puffs:) We go through those things like crazy! They are both obsessed with the fridge and dishwasher, whenever they here the fridge or dishwasher door open they bolt towards it, rascals! Needless to say, it takes double the time to clean the dishes or cook anything. We don't have the biggest kitchen, actually it's quite small so when they are in there crawling around I have to be pretty careful and step over them or move them out of the way. Speaking of small kitchens I can not wait to move out of our crammed little apartment into hopefully a townhouse:) Our contract ends July 11th so Ryan and I have been looking at a few places for rent. Nothing we love yet but we still have a little time. Most townhouses here have basements and most are finished basements which is what we are looking for. We also want a nice deck with a little fenced in yard, atleast 2 good sized bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms, a decent kitchen, and the basement has to have carpet for the munchkins to play in:) Hopefully we can find something we really like! We are headed to the beach this weekend which I'm really excited about with Ryan's brother Eric his wife Hilary and some of our good friends Shawn and Krystal. We went with them last summer and had a blast, it will be a little different this year though. We are going from 2 kids to six!! Last summer me, Hilary and Krystal were all pregnant and they each had there little girls with them! It should be interesting and hopefully all our kids will behave:)

Rascals!!

2011-05-26T17:44:00.000-07:00

Until this past Monday, Maci and Dane slept in there bouncy seats for there naps, in seperate rooms. Lately they have been maneuverning there way out of them and when I go check on them there's no baby in the bouncy. Maci has done it twice in the past couple of weeks and Dane did it last weekend! So I figured it's time to put them in there cribs for naptime. I was absolutely dreading it! There Monday morning nap came too quick which usually I'm thrilled to put them down for naps. So I grabbed Dane put him in his crib then Maci into her crib. They weren't going for it right away:( I let them cry it out for 10 or so minutes, went and checked on them and they were both perched up in there cribs. I went and laid them both back down, put there paci's in there mouth and prayed they would go to sleep. It was a miracle, not a peep for 2 hours! The next nap didn't go as well but not too bad. Tuesday was good not great. Today was a complete disaster! There morning nap consisted of them basically playing for two hours in there crib and talking and laughing at eachother! Rascals! My plan tomorrow is to put a playpin in my room for Maci to nap and Dane in his crib, otherwise they will just stay up and chat and then be moody the rest of the day:( Wish me luck! Here are some cute pics of my 2 rascals lately:

9 month check-up

2011-05-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little munchkins are 9 months old!!! They have changed so much since my last post! They both started crawling a few weeks ago, so they are into everything now! They love following each other around and getting into trouble, lol:) It's so fun now that they actually play and interact with each other! They are already best friends although they do tick each other off sometimes too:) They love crawling all over each other and poking and pulling at each other!
9 month stats:
Dane:
17 pounds (15%)
26 inched (5%)
his head is in the 30th percentile

Maci:
14 lbs 12 oz (not on charts)
24 inches (not on charts)
her head is also in the 30th percentile

Dane is a wild man, a lot of it has to do with his crazy father, lol:) He loves to wrestler with his Daddy! He is full of energy and crawls like a maniac! He has this new bear crawl that he does on his hands and feet with his butt in the air, it's the funniest thing ever:) Dane has 2 bottom teeth now. He loves to be held and really wants to be held right now, lol. He is pulling up on everything now and has lots of falls throughout the day! He is such a little explorer and if I forget to close any door to a bedroom or bathroom he heads straight to it. He has figured out how to open and close our tv console drawers and will sit there and just open and close open and close over and over, lol. He also loves remotes and our Iphones, as soon as he sees an opening to possibly get our phones he is all over it! One of his favorite things are food and treats, he's gonna be a big boy! He is such a sweet boy and makes me laugh everyday!

Maci loves studying everything out especially faces:) It took her a few more days to figure out how to crawl, she just wanted to do it the right way unlike her maniac brother who just wanted to get moving however weird way he figured out:) She loves her brother but he does love to bug her, she has learned how to bug him back, lol:) She has also learned how to get out of her bouncy seat which they take naps during the day in, rascall!! She loves to play but not too ruff:) She's obsessed with getting into the diapers and making a mess of them, lol:) She loves to babble, blow bubbles and squeal as loud as possible, especially at church! She has also figured out how to stand in her crib but doesn't quite know how to get herself down, so she'll cry to let us know she needs help:) Maci is such a sweetheart and I just want to cuddle and kiss her all day!

Jumperoo:)

2011-02-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

We got Dane and Maci this jumperoo a couple of weeks ago and these videos are there first experience in them. Dane can actually bounce himself now, Maci's little short legs aren't quite long enough but she loves playing and figuring out all the toys:)

bumbo action!!

2011-01-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

Mimi got Maci and Dane Bumbos for Christmas:) They love them! This is a video of them over the weekend playing in there bumbos. They are getting so big!! They will be 5 months on Sunday! I love my little munchkins and love being a mom, it's the best thing ever!!

singing time and Play gym fun:)

2010-10-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

Already 1 Month Old!!!

2010-09-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

Dane Austin and Maci Mae's Birthday:)

Belly Pics:)

2010-07-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

10 wks.

12 wks

14 wks.

15 wks.

20 wks.

23 wks.

27 wks.

28-29 wks.

30 wks.

35 wks.

When?

2010-07-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

I'll be 35 weeks tomorrow and I only need to make it one more week! Dane and Maci are definitely ready to get out! On Saturday around 4 pm I started having contractions every minute to minute and a half and they lasted 50-55 seconds. So after an hour of having contractions Ryan called my doctor and he told us to go to labor and delivery to be monitored, something I'm very use to by now. When we made it there they set me up in triage, got the babies on the monitor, gave me iv fluids, and a shot to try and stop the contractions. The shot helped for a little but then the contractions came back and then they wanted to give me another shot but I told them I didn't want one because it made me feel really sick. So they just told me to take my nifedipine, which I've been taking 4 times a day since I was first admitted to the hospital at 31 weeks, which helps stop my contractions. Then they wheeled me to labor and delivery to monitor even longer to see if my contractions would stop, they gradually became smaller and smaller and finally let me go after 4 hours of being there. I'm pretty much sick of the hospital and the only time I want to go back is to actually have the babies without them trying to stop it! I'm glad I've made it this far but both me and Ryan are ready to see our little Maci and Dane:) Hopefully my next post will be tons of cute pictures of our little munchkins:)

Finally!!!!!!!!

2010-07-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

So it's been way too long I know, but hopefully I can keep up with my blog this time. Lots of things have happened over the past 17 months and I'm not about to try and play catch up. If I did it would probably end up being another year or so till you hear from me, lol:) Anyway, the most exciting news that's happened to Ryan and I is that we are expecting twins any day now, a little boy and girl! We couldn't be more thrilled and feel so blessed to start our new journey of parenthood together:) Bad news is that last Friday when I went in for a routine 31 week sonogram they checked my cervix and said it was really short so I got admitted to labor and delivery. Apparently I was in preterm labor and didn't even know it and by 4:30 that day I was hooked up to monitors and was given magnesium through an iv. My doctor thought I was going to deliver anytime and was trying to stop it. I was given a steroid shot at the beginning of my magnesium treatment. The next 48 hours were torture, I wasn't allowed to drink or eat anything but ice chips and I basically couldn't move b/c I had so many wires coming out from everywhere! My parents flew in on the quickest flight they could get and I was so relieved when they got there and just broke down. My doctor was able to stop my labor and saturday night I got my second steroid shot. Sunday morning they started weaning me off magnesium, thank goodness, that stuff makes you feel like crap! Sunday afternoon I was relieved when they started unwiring me, I felt free and then they wheeled me to my new room where I've been for the past week. I was finally allowed to eat and get up to go to the bathroom and take a quick shower:) If it weren't for my family and amazing husband I would have been a complete disaster! Family is the best and I love mine soooo much, I'm so lucky:) Today I got the wonderful news that I get to go home, on bedrest of course, but I get to go HOME!!!! I can't wait:) I'll post some pics soon!

posting just to post

2009-02-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

I don't really have anything exciting to post about at the moment:( Ryan and I are both just working and hanging out at our apartment since we are very much in debt:( So that's basically our life right now. Although a few weeks ago Ryan treated me to get my hair done! I'm a brunette now and I love it! No matter how poor we are Ryan always gives me little treats to make me happy:) I'm really looking forward to Mimi and Maggie's visit in a couple of weeks!! Girls week out:) I don't have any pictures to post b/c I'm really horrible at taking pictures so this post is pretty lame. I'll try to get some pics up soon!

Happy Late Late Birthday Ryan!

2009-02-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

Yes Ryan's birthday was Jan. 17th and he turned 26! What an old man:) I know this is extremely late but atleast I'm getting it done:) We've almost been married 3 years and I'm so lucky to have Ryan as my husband. Ryan is the love of my life! He makes me so happy! I'm so lucky to have a husband that loves and adores me as much as he does and tells me everyday:) I know he will be the best dad someday! Ryan's the sweetest husband and always cheers me up when I'm having a bad day:) Apparently he got the goofy dance from his dad but like his dad he does whatever it takes to make me the happiest girl in the world! I love being his wife and hope that I can be as good of a companion as he is to me! You're the Best babe and I love you sooooooo much!!

My top 3 wants!

2009-01-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

So my very very very top want is of course a baby! Boy or girl I don't care I just want one and need one!
My number 2 want is a cute little yorkie puppy which will be alot easier to get then a baby at this point.
Last but not least my dream home which will still be awhile but it will be worth waiting for and will include many luxuries:) Ryan and I definitely want an amazing home theater!

Catching Up!

2009-01-23T07:32:00.000-08:00

I have alot of catching up to do:) We made it to Maryland safe and sound and are pretty cozy now in our new apartment:) We've been in Maryland since the end of November. Moving across the country was crazy and setting things like internet, cable, etc. in our new place was such a pain! Atleast we are pretty well settled now. Ryan started his new job at Nationwide insurance on December 1st and I just started a couple of weeks ago working at his dad's Nationwide office. It's always hard starting a new job but I think we are both getting more comfortable:) It didn't help that I was having to take Ryan to work which is about 35 minutes from us b/c we only had my civic until last weekend we finally got a new car:) I love our new 03' Acura MDX!! I will have to take pics of it soon:) It has everything we wanted and more; navigation, dvd player, back-up camera, heated seats, running boards, and 6 cd changer:) We are loving it! We went to Texas for Christmas and Travy got home from his mission 2 days before Christmas:) Our whole family was back together! It was so much fun! Ryan stayed for a week then had to get back to work:( I stayed an extra week which was so fun! Susan is going to make me a cd of all the Christmas pictures so I will have to post them in the future. After Thanksgiving Mimi and Daddy came to visit us in Maryland:) I loved having them here! We showed them around all the sights:) We bought a bushel of crabs and took them back to our place to smash them open! It was alot of fun:) Mimi helped me decorate our new place and I love it!! Thanks Momma and Thanks Daddy for induring all the shopping:) One day we went to Baltimore and visited Fort McHenry and ate at this place called the Rusty Scupper on the Inner Harbor where Mimi and Daddy had there first real crabcake:) Another day we made a trip to Amish land in Pennsylvania and saw lots of horse and buggies and talked to an Amish family. The Amish boys were so cute and they have a little accent:) Our last day of sighting seeing we went to D.C. and tried to see all the monuments but it was just way too freezing so we decided to go to the Smithsonian which was pretty neat:) After getting warmed up we went to Arlington cemetary which was my favorite even though we walked about a mile up hill which was hard enough for me and Ryan let alone Mimi and Daddy! But I think we all loved it. At the top of the site we got to go inside Robert E. Lee's mansion:) Our last stop in D.C. was the Temple, it's sooo beautiful!! I'm so glad they were able to come out here, we had so much fun:) This new year one of my goals is to be better at blogging so I don't always have to play catch-up:) I'll post more pics soon!

Farewell Provo!

2008-11-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

We're packing up and moving to Maryland! The past couple of months have been so crazy especially the past few weeks! There is so much to get done and pack when you're moving across the country! Since Ryan and I have never done a HUGE move like this, it makes it a little more difficult:) I can't wait to get it over with and be in our new apartment and settle down finally! We are both really sad about having to leave kitty behind but are happy that Ashley and Dorian will be taking care of him:) He's our first little baby and even though he's a rat a lot of the time and gets crazy eyes, he's so dang cute and we will really miss having him around:( Kitty is just sitting on the printer purring right now and I'm not even touching him:) We love him and hope that he'll be happy with Ashley and Dorian and not hate us for abandoning him:( Hopefully we can get a little puppy soon to fill the void:) We're heading off to Maryland on November 20th or 21st. We'll be very busy till then doing a lot more packing and panicking on my part:) It will be all worth it in the end. We will definitely miss all of our friends and family that we are leaving behind:( Especially Mark, Cheri, Juliette, Tiger, Duke, Justin, Ashley and Dorian. We love you guys!! Thanks for all the special memories and for being such good friends:) Farewell Provo!!

Naughty Kitty!

2008-10-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

As we are preparing to move we have to paint our bedroom wall back to white. Ryan got everything prepared yesterday to paint and had the paint out and ready. Ryan and I got distracted by an addicting game online and didn't realize that kitty was very interested and curious about the paint. As he usually does to check things out like water in a cup he has to dip his paw in first. So that's exactly what he did and got startled by what the heck was on his paw now. So he shook his paw which splattered the paint everywhere! That's when we finally snapped out of the game and realized that we had a big mess to clean up. It was really funny but not too fun to clean and scrub all the paint he had splattered. He had already licked a lot of the paint off his paws. After that incident kitty was in a daze the rest of the day. We think he was a bit high from ingesting the paint:) He's such a stooge:) We love him though!

Finally!!

2008-09-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I have been sooo busy lately. A few weeks ago we flew out to Maryland for a job interview with Nationwide Insurance. Of course Ryan got the job:) He's going to be working for this agent named Ray Dietz, getting paid pretty decent, way more than we make now:) We were in Maryland for a few days then Ryan flew back to Utah and I flew to Texas to be home for a week:) It was a good, fun, relaxing visit with my family. Aubs, Susan, and Savanna were there that week too, which was a nice treat:) Daddy is recovering from his surgeries and was not feeling too good when we were there:( I have the BEST family in the world!! I love them all soooooo much!!! We are planning on moving to Maryland the end of October so I've started packing and selling a bunch of stuff on Craigslist:) I just listed Ryan's nasty Saturn online today and we already sold it for $500 which is what his dad paid for it when Ryan got home from his mission:) I'm feeling really overwhelmed lately with everything so hopefully things will settle down once we are all moved.
MARYLAND TRIP:

TEXAS TRIP:

Pizza Party!

2008-08-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Before Ryan and I headed off to Texas we made some homemade pizza that was so delicious:) We made a honey whole wheat thin crust and tried to copy the California Pizza Kitchens Sicilian pizza which has spicy marinara sauce with sweet Italian sausage, spicy Capicola ham, julienne salami, Fontina, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Topped with fresh oregano and basil. It turned out amazing although it was way more feeling than CPK's. We were pretty proud of it:)

Texas Crazy Trip!

2008-07-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

We went to Texas this past week for our family reunion and it was to say the least crazy and fun trip! Susan you put it perfectly so I'm sending people to read your "What a.." post:) To read about the black plague go to http://susanandaubrymoore.blogspot.com/. We are pretty much recovered still some waves of nausea and dizziness but nothing like simultaneously barfing and riaing! It was still so good to spend time with the family and we definitely had some good laughs:) The day Susan, aubs and savanna left mimi and daddy had a doctor's appointment so me, maggie and ryan went to this fun center with mini golf, batting cages, arcade games, etc. We played a round of mini golf and all did pretty dang good:) Maggie made a rule where each of us could do 1 do-over if we shanked it:) Ryan kept score and claims he won by a stroke but I think we may have tied:) After the boiling hot round of golf we went and played tons of arcade games and then picked our lame toys out. We were all really hungry after so we went to olive garden, maggie's pick, she wanted the mac and cheese:) Then we headed home from san antonio. Mimi and Daddy got home soon after we did. That night we watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, which Maggie and I fell asleep to:) On our last day Daddy took Ryan and I to hit some golf balls and show us techniques:) My lefty couldn't hit any because we just had right handed clubs, but he practiced his swing:) I actually hit pretty good:) That was a lot of fun, thanks Daddy:) We flew back home that night:( I miss everyone already! Hopefully we can come again soon and have everyone well this time:) Here are a few pics from our trip:

Weekend Fun!

2008-06-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was pretty eventful for us:) Our kitty got sick friday with I guess some sort of intestinal infection and was throwing up foam. It was so sad to watch him throwing up, it looked like he was dying:( He got some shots and he's on amoxycillin for his infection. He's back to his normal wild self now. On Saturday we hung out with our good friends and ex-neighbors, Mark and Cheri. It was Mark's birthday. We went to this fun center in Sandy and hit some golf balls at the driving range, went to the batting cages and played 9 holes of golf. It was a lot of fun but after we were all starving because we had been there for almost 5 hours. We went to Goodwood BBQ for dinner, so yummy:) We didn't get back home till around 1:30 a.m. Not too much else has gone on, just the same routine. Ryan and I go to the driving range a lot now. It's something different and it's a lot of fun:) Last night we saw Kung Fu Panda. We got there a little late so we had to sit in one of the front rows, which wasn't too bad. These two guys came in a little after we got comfy in our seats. One had a really annoying laugh and laughed really hard at this one part that really wasn't that funny. Ryan looked back at him with disgust:) They hadn't found seats yet and unfortunately there were two seats right next to me and they came down and asked if they were taken:( I said No and that was the end of my enjoyment:( I looked at Ryan and told him this is what we get for your disgusting look you made at him. So we had to listen to there obnoxious laughs and imitations the whole movie. It was so annoying, we couldn't take it. On top of that this Mexi family directly in front of us snuck in some panda express which smelt repulsive! Needless to say we will have to rent that movie when it comes out, because I don't have the best review of it with our experiences last night:( On a better note I just got a new calling to be Young Womens Secretary:) I'm really excited about it!

My Thursday

2008-06-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah (ABC 4 News) - An 11-year-old boy was hit by a car Thursday afternoon in Saratoga Springs.

Police said the boy was riding his bike on SR-473 and Commerce Drive when he was hit.

Police said the boy was taken to Primary Children's hospital with a fractured leg, broken femur and hyperextended shoulder. The boy is listed in serious condition.

keri1218 - 5/29/2008

His name is Parker and a family friend. He has a fractured femer, fractured skull, dislocated his hip and broke his arm he is in surgery right now getting pins put into his hip and is still in critical condition.

I was just leaving work when I saw this boy get hit right in front of my eyes. The road is a 40 mph road and the boy ran in front of this car on the other side of the lane. It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen in my life. I hope none of you ever have to see anything like that. He went flying like a ragdoll onto the shoulder and it looked like he broke every bone in his little body. He was completely out of it, just passed out on the side of the road. It took a little while to realize what had just happened and if I really saw what I just saw. I pulled off on a side road and called ryan in a panic and absolutely hysterical. He couldn't understand what I was trying to tell him for a while, but he finally heard me and tried to calm me down. I had a 30 minute drive to get home so he stayed on the phone with me almost the entire time. About an hour after it all happened Mimi called me after I text her to make sure maggie always looks both ways before she crossed any street. She asked me what happened and I went into hysterics again while I tried to explain. I hope and pray that parker will be okay, but he has a long road ahead of him. Needless to say I didn't sleep very well that night. The next day I got a call from Daddy, Mimi, Susan and Aubry to make sure I was okay after what I had witnessed. I was a lot better that day after I got to talk to my family. My family is the best:) I felt sick the rest of thursday and most of Friday. Please be careful while you drive and look both ways before you cross the street. Better safe than sorry like poor little Parker and the car that hit him.

Late Anniversary Celebration:)

2008-05-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend we decided to celebrate our 2 year anniversary which was April 29th but we were in Portland with Ryan's family. We were going to go up to Logan and stay at a nice hotel but we decided we would rather get some nice treats for each other and go out to eat somewhere nice:) So Saturday morning we went to the mall and separated to go find gifts for each other. I already knew exactly what I was getting Ryan, but of course I didn't tell him that. He had no idea what to get me but he always gets me gifts that I love, so I wasn't too worried. I ended up getting him a set of golf clubs. He wants to start golfing more and we found this somewhat cheap set the day before that he wanted:) They didn't have that one in stock but they had the newer 2008 set which was only 30 bucks more. So I went with that one:) Someone offered to help me carry it to the car but I was pretty confident that I could do it on my own:) I had kind of forgotten that we parked way on the other side of the mall, so I carried that huge golf set all the way across the mall weaving through the crowd:) By the time I got to the car I was sweating and my arms were killing me. But I made it without Ryan seeing:) I was really excited to give him his gift so as soon as he was done getting my gifts we came home and exchanged gifts:) He got me some really pretty earrings, ring and 2 yummy burning oils from the body shop:) I hid his golf clubs in the office, made him close his eyes, and when he opened them he was sooo excited:) He ripped into the box and unwrapped and tested out each golf club:) Then he asked if we could go to the driving range, and of course I was up for it:) He loves his new golf clubs. We had a pretty off day though at the driving range, it was still a lot of fun! Later that afternoon we drove up to murray to eat at the Cheesecake Factory:) It was a hour long wait, but it was definitely worth it:) Thanks Eric and Hilary for the advice, the chicken was so good and the oreo and tres leches cheesecakes were yummy! We had a great Anniversary!!

We have clean dishes!

2008-05-27T15:56:00.001-07:00

We finally got our new dishwasher! We're so excited because our other dishwasher was ancient, it left like a wierd sandy film on all our dishes, gross I know:( It's a maytag quiet series, it really is so quiet especially if you compare it to our old as crap nasty can't even call it dishwasher, dishwasher:) I took some pics of our new one:) I wish I would have taken pics of our old one but here it is.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

This blog is dedicated to the best mother and friend in the world, Mimi:) I'm so grateful for her unconditional love, friendship, example, and all the advice that she's given me and still gives me! I have so many great memories of us together that I will cherish forever:) She's always been there for me through all my craziness, the good times and bad times. As most of you know these haven't been the best months in my life with trying to get pregnant. It's been really hard. I've called mimi up numerous times just bawling and by the end of our conversation I feel at ease and know that I can make it a few more months. Thanks Mimi for always knowing what to say and do to make me feel better:) I will never not need you Mimi. Everyone needs there mothers no matter how old you are:) I hope someday I will be able to be the mother that mine has always been. I love you so much Mimi you have blessed my life in so many uncountable ways! You're the best!! Happy Mother's Day!!

P.S. You deserve more than just a day:)

I really wanted to send you these but I knew you would understand that we are too poor at the moment;) Someday we will be able to send you 100 of these:) I love you!!

Our New Love

2008-05-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Okay I know we aren't suppose to have pets in our apartment but since a baby isn't working out at the moment Ryan knew I had to have something to fill the void. So we got a little cute cuddly kitten:) She is so adorable, we still need to name her:) We got her Thursday evening from his cousin that I work for. There cat had a litter of kittens so we went and picked the cutest one out. She did pretty good the first night, we made her a nice little bed beside our bed. She woke up at 4:30 and was ready to play. Around 5:30 she conked out again in our bed this time until I got up at 8:30. We pretty much have her litter box trained, although she had an accident on our sheets this morning, just pee. We gave her a bath today b/c she was so filthy from living in a garage for the past 6 weeks:) We plan on getting her declawed since she will be an inside cat. Here are some cute pics of our new addition:)

Congrats Ryan!!

2008-05-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

I know I'm always a little behind on my blog:) Ryan and I have been really busy and stressed lately but it's easing up now. Ryan is now a BYU graduate! We are so excited:) I'm so proud of him for sticking to it and getting it done. He's the best and I love him so much!

2008-03-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

Here is our new and improved Master Suite:) Thanks Mimi and Maggie for helping pick out the paint color! We love it:) The pictures and curtains go perfectly! I love our room now!! We are so excited to see everyone in about a week:)

Spring Break Fun!!

2008-03-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the long pause in our blog world. Mimi and Maggie came into town last tuesday and stayed until yesterday for Maggie's spring break:) We had such a blast! We surprisingly stayed really busy here in provo:) The first day they got here we went shopping for easter outfits and had a fashion show in the nordstrom dressing room:) Mimi took pictures while me and mag's modeled our clothes:) It was so much fun and hilarious! Mimi would make a good paparazi because she got some pretty hideous pictures of us, lol! There are also some very cute ones:) We had trouble finding bright springy dresses at nordstrom. We asked one of the lady's in Nordstrom why they didn't have any and she said that the new trend this spring is black and white. At first we thought that sounded pretty boring but then I found a gorgeous black and white dress at white house black market. So we decided to go with the black and white theme:) We all found really pretty dresses for Easter. On Thursday we went to Color Me Mine, you pick out pottery that you want to paint and then they fire it in a kennel. I've been wanting to go there for a while, so this was the perfect opportunity. We were there for 3 and a half hours painting, it was soooo much fun! Maggie painted this cute little bath, Mimi painted a vase, and I painted a big mug:) They all turned out so pretty! On Saturday we all went rock climbing at this indoor rock climbing place in Provo. That was also alot of fun:) Maggie zoomed up all the walls, she was so quick! After all the climbing we were exhausted so we went home and played games and went to Tucanos later that night with Duke and 2 of his friends. We got all dressed up for Easter Sunday, everyone looked so good:) After church we had Grayson over for some hamburgers,hotdogs, chicken and blonde brownies. I think he was expecting a gourmet meal, lol:) Sorry to disappoint you Grayson:) Then we watched Dan In Real Life, which was actually really good and played games later that night. Mimi helped me get some new decorations for our apartment and helped us pick out some new paint:) The weather was so nice all week so on Monday we decided to go on a picnic:) It was the nicest day, I hope the weather stays nice:) No More Snow! Ryan and I couldn't wait to get the new paint up on our bedroom wall, so we painted it last night:) I love it! We still need to do some touch ups because we both went kind of crazy last night with the paint:) We still got some pictures though so you can see what a cool color it is:) It was sooo good to spend time with Mimi and Maggie and I'm so glad they came here to see me:) I had such a good time!!

2008-01-31T08:52:00.000-08:00

Tons of Pictures!

2008-01-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

I figured out how to download our pictures to this computer:) So here are all the ones I talked about in my last post.

Christmas, New years, and Birthdays:)

2008-01-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

I know I'm still horrible at blogging but I did just get a 2 gig memory card for my camera so I really have no excuse now:) As most of you know we went to Texas for Christmas break and had a blast!! Our family is the BEST!! Ryan and I loved seeing everyone and miss ya'll sooo much:( Mimi decorated the entire house it was amazing:) Ryan loves pool now thanks to Daddy and Pawpaw, he's getting really good using his English ya'll taught him:) I just get lucky sometimes because I have no real strategy, lol:) It seems like if I try too hard I don't hit anything in. I just wack the balls and hope that some actually go in:) We also spent new years in Texas, and on new years eve we went to the Riverwalk:) It was Ryan's first time and he loved it! I was the photographer since Susan wasn't there so hopefully I did a good enough job but it doesn't compare to Susie's expertise:) We also went out to Andra's to celebrate MawMaw, Andra's and Chase's Birthday. I never new that they all had the same Birthday! Ryan had another first while we were at Andra's. We went fishing at her pond, Ryan's first fishing trip:) He actually caught a nice size bass. I hadn't been fishing in forever so I had to get reminded of how to cast out:) Thanks again Daddy and Pawpaw for teaching us the best way to fish and play pool! I really wish we could fish here in Utah but it's way too freezing! We are going to invest in some fishing rods this summer so we can fish for our dinner, yummy:) Ryan's 25th Birthday was this past Thursday! I put together a little party for him on Wednesday night and had Ashley, Dorian, Duke and his roommate Kyle over for some food, fun and games. Thanks for the Meatball recipe Mimi, everyone loved it! On his actually birthday when he got home from work I had him open all his gifts:) I got him the Magic Bullet, he's been wanting that thing forever, a nice sushi set so we can have sushi nights, and random little things:) He's like a 5 year old with his presents. The minute he opens them he has to get all of it out and play with them:) So before we went to dinner we had to test out the magic bullet and brush up on our chopstick skills:) Then I took him to this new sushi place which was so yummy! We were stuffed after that so we rented a couple of movies and had a slumber party in our living room:) I will have to post all the pics later because we just got our new Mac desktop and I haven't downloaded our pictures onto it yet.

Getting Old

2007-12-05T08:42:00.001-08:00

I just had my 23rd birthday last Tuesday! Yeah I know I'm getting old. It was a great day:) My girl neighbors, Amy Paul and Cheri Ebbert, had me over for My birthday brunch:) Amy made me this yummy spinach salad and Cheri made me brownies (my favorite)! I was over there for 4 hours:) We just talked and talked, it was so much fun! We have the best neighbors! I will miss them when we all have to move:( Ryan got home at 6 with a dozen pink roses that were sooo gorgeous, wrapped all my presents, and then I ravaged through them as fast as I could:) I had been waiting patiently all day:) He got me this cute PJ top and bottom from victoria's secret, this lipgloss pack from MAC that I'd wanted, and an IOU winter boots:) I love all my presents! Ryan was worried about my gifts this year b/c last year I took them all back. He got me good stuff last year that I had pointed out and wanted but then I decided on other things I wanted more:) I'm always buying stuff for myself and then exchanging them a few days later:) You'll be glad to hear that Ryan did great this year and I love all my gifts:) He's relieved, lol! Mimi, Daddy and Maggie sent me this cake bouquet that came with a cute bear and yummy chocolates:) My birthday was the BEST! I got to talk to Mimi, Daddy, Aubry, Eric (Ryans older brother), Hilary (Eric's wife), Ryan's mom, MawMaw, Susan, Duke sent me a really nice text, and Ashley(Ryan's little sis) left me a message:) Thanks everyone for making my birthday so great:) I really wasn't looking forward to my birthday this year b/c we don't really have any family around. It ended up being the best birthday I've had here in Utah:) Thanks to everyone's calls, my girl neighbors, and Ryan of course:) That night we went out and ate at Ruby River Steakhouse which we hadn't been to:) It was sooo yummy! To top off my birthday, Ryan and I came home and watched "Honey I Shrunk the Kids." We watched the entire movie:) It brought back lots of memories:) Here are some pictures from my Birthday:)

Thanksgiving feast!

2007-12-01T08:33:00.001-08:00

I know this post is really late but altleast I got another one up before the end of December, lol:) The night before Thanksgiving Ashley and Dorian came over and we made all the desserts and my fruit salad. It was alot of fun baking all night, we didn't finish until 12:30am:) I made Frozen Strawberry dessert which I had typed up the recipe but I must have made a typo. So for the crust I preheated the oven to 550F which was what it said to do on my recipe I typed:) The oven started smoking but I thought it was just b/c our oven was filthy. So I went ahead and put the crust in to bake for 15 minutes at 550F:) Our neighbor Mark had come over and Ryan was talking to him in the front room. Ryan had no idea what was going on in the kitchen, all he knew is that it was smoking up the whole house. I still didn't think anything of it until the timer went off and Ryan went over to take the crust out:) He opened the oven up and this HUGE cloud of smoke came out. Then he reached to get the crust out and showed it to me. It was pitch black, oops:) We had a good laugh after we had to run outside in the freezing cold to get some fresh air in our lungs! I will be made fun of for that for the rest of my life:) Don't worry though we made a new crust and cooked it a 350F and it came out perfectly! On Thanksgiving Ryan and I made our food at our place and took it over to Dorian and Ashley's where they had been making all of there food:) We had sooo much food just for us 4:) That's what Thanksgiving is all about, lots and lots of food:) We barely made a dent in it so we had lots of yummy leftovers:) After we ate we just lounged around for awhile and watched the Turkey Bowl Chowdown, it was disgusting! Overall it was a great Thanksgiving:)

Blog-O-Mania!!

2007-11-21T10:09:00.001-08:00

My guilt of not blogging has driven me to an obsession of blogging:) There's a good chance that I will just be taking random pictures and making up completely false stories just so I can get in another blog:) My Birthday package from Mimi, Daddy and Maggie came today!! Thanks so much for all the gifts and magazines:) I love getting packages from you Mimi b/c you try to put as much stuff in the box as possible! I love the wrapping paper:) You will have to let me know where you got it. I love my new jewelry, DVD, and especially the sour flip-flop candies:) Ryan took some pics of me with all my gifts, you can tell I just woke up, lol:) Thanks again for my Birthday package, I love it!!

Lots of Pics:)

2007-11-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

You'll be happy to hear that I found some older pics to put on our blog:) Some are from our 1 year anniversary back in April which seems like it was yesterday. We went up to Salt Lake for a long weekend and stayed at the Little America honeymoon sweet:) It was so much fun! I just took a couple pictures of our living room b/c I wanted to show everyone that our walls aren't completely covered in white anymore, lol:) As most of you know Ryan and I are getting back into working out and eating better. Last week at Gold's Gym they had this huge blown up rat, it's so hideous, so I had to get a picture of it. I wanted to get a picture by his disgusting tail, it was huge! Ryan and I got a good laugh:) The other random picture is from a Spanish State Farm fair Ryan had to go to over Labor day weekend. The Neighbear in the picture is actually our next door neighbor, Mark, We talked him into it and he ended up loving it besides being massively hot and sweaty:) That's all the pics for now and I will try to be better at taking pictures!

I Love the Holidays:)

2007-11-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

Wow finally a new post:) Well not a whole lot is going on. We are having Ryan's sister Ashley and her fiance Dorian over for Thanksgiving, and possibly Ryan's brother Duke. Me and Ashley are getting together tonight to figure out what yummy treats we are making on Thanksgiving:) Then we are gonna go get all the groceries with the whole crew. We are starting the desserts tomorrow, my favorite part:) If anyone has any good recipes for Thanksgiving let me know, I would love to try them out:) As most of you know Ryan and I have been trying to have a baby for almost a year so we scheduled an appointment to see a infertility doctor which we went to this last friday. It went really good and I was able to go get blood work done right after to see if I'm ovulating. The results came back yesterday and it turns out that I'm not ovulating so they are putting me on clomid, which is a fertility drug. We are really excited and looking forward to getting pregnant soon. Everyone is rooting for twins but Ryan isn't so sure about that. We could do it! We'll see hopefully soon if everything works out. We can't wait to start our family:) I'm still in search of a job, it's really hard right now b/c most places are hiring seasonal positions. I'm thinking I won't be able to find a good job until we get back from Christmas break. Ryan is pushing through school as quick as he can, lol:) He's so ready to be done. I don't blame him. He is loving working at State Farm and I promise he will have all his Licenses soon:) Hang in there Mimi and Daddy, lol! We can't wait until Christmas break, we miss everyone sooo much! It's hard being so far away from family:( We will see everyone real soon, not soon enough though! I don't have any pictures this time. I really need to be better at taking pictures, I need you Susan:) We love and miss ya'll so much!

Same Ole'

2007-10-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot has happened since my last post so nobody has really missed much:) I'm still in search of a job and getting really stir crazy! There are only so many things I can clean and clean until it's completely spotless and I'm left with not a whole lot to do. I've been cooking and baking alot more which is fun:) I attempted to make stromboli the other night and it actually turned out really good:) Duke and Ryan liked it anyway:) We have been hanging out with Duke quite a bit, as usual. I'm glad atleast he likes to hang out with the married couple, lol:) Our next door neighbors, Mark and Cheri, are kind of tied down right now b/c Cheri was put on bedrest. They are having their second little one November 11th. They have an adorable little girl with the biggest blue eyes, Julliet and they are having a boy:) Needless to say we haven't been able to hang out with them too much:( Ryan is really tied down with school and work lately. He has a test on Saturday that he is cramming for and he is taking his Life Insurance test this coming Tuesday, then all of his Midterms. He is really busy and stressed with everything and I really don't want to add to it. So I try and just give him room to study and do good on all of his test. It's hard though b/c I'm alone all day with nobody to talk to and then when he comes home he basically has to start studying all night:( I've been trying to start scrapbooking but it's really expensive, especially initially when you have to get all the basic supplies. So that hobby is out until I get a job and once I start working again I won't have time for it. Hopefully soon I'll get pregnant. We both want to have a baby so bad. As most of you know it's taking a little longer for us to get pregnant. I'm trying to be patient but I just want to have a baby so bad and I want to start that stage of my life. We are praying every night that it will happen so hopefully soon:)
Last Sunday after conference Ryan and I got really stir crazy so we went out to Bridal Veil Falls. It was freezing so we had to bundle up. It was so nice to get out of the house. I love when the leaves start changing all different colors, it's so pretty:) We took some pictures of our walk out there, enjoy! I also have some pictures of us and our neighbors attempting to make fried ice cream :) I video taped our 1st attempt of the fried ice cream and Ryan and Mark taste testing it:) Winter is already here in Utah and I'm not looking forward to the 6 to 7 month winter. I am looking forward to hot chocolate though:) Well I have kind of blabbed enough for one post. I love you all!!

Fun!!

2007-09-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well as most of you know now I was let go from Pinnacle, they claimed they didn't have to tell me why. I think that they just didn't have a reason at all and were jealous:) Now I'm in search of a new job, I'm hoping to find a good nanny job. I nannied a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Corporations are obviously not my forte so I will not be applying to any jobs like my previous. It was way too stressful for the amount I got paid and they treat there employees like crap. Susan, Duke and Ashley can definitely agree with me on that one:) I really need a dog or a baby here pretty soon, I would prefer a baby but maybe in the mean time I could get a dog because for some reason babies are harder to make than I thought, lol:) Ryan started school last week and has a very busy schedule, plus he works part time. He has been super stressed so hopefully things will start calming down a little so he can stay focused on getting his last 2 semesters over with. Since last Tuesday when stupid Pinnacle decided to let me go I've had some time to relax and focus on some things I've been wanting to do. I've been wanting to learn some new recipes and be able to cook for Ryan and I. It's frustrating though because we almost never want the same thing. I'm just really picky with what I eat and I'm trying to add more foods to my diet because obviously the diet I'm on isn't working. I'm trying to gain some weight in hopes of getting pregnant. It's hard to change the way you eat though when you have been eating the same way for so long but I'm really trying. My goal by Christmas is to be 108-110 pounds, or if I'm pregnant by then who knows how much I will be:) Ryan just got home from work so I need to give him some attention:)

2007-09-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

Miami Trip!!

2007-08-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I were lucky enough to be able to go on a nice vacation to Miami:) It was a blast! Mimi, Daddy, Maggie and Grins drove to Miami and Susan, Aubry and Savanna live there. We stayed in a really nice condo by the beach thanks to Mimi and Daddy:) The first day was filled with a 90 minute adventure with Ricky Marlin:) Ricky was our duck tour guide who's questions were promptly answered by Mimi with zealous excitement. Needless to say, the person who enjoyed the duck tour the most was Daddy. It was pretty sad when the tour ended and we had to physically remove him from the tour bus, as he clung for ricky marlin and cried out quacks as the duck bus drove away. For the remainder of the week Daddy had dreams of opening up a duck tour in Kerrville, good luck:) Maggie found grins a new friend, Gilbert, while in Miami. This squishy, sticky little frog spent more time on the condo ceiling with Maggie launching pillows at him then he did getting to know grins:)

Savanna was busy looking cute while Susan managed to snap over 400 pictures! Aubs and Ryan were preoccupied trying to one up me and Susan's "would you rather" scenario:)

Highlights of the trip; Daddy, Ryan and Aubs played like the pros for 18 holes and saw more wildlife than the hogle zoo; Mimi, Susan, Maggie, frogs, Savanna and Alyssa shopping on the strip and managed to not spend a dime:); Ryan's art decco beach trench; Fish net spedo man on Ocean Drive; and the plethera of desserts we walked away with at carrabas:) We already miss everyone so much. It was such a FUN trip!!

Surprise for Alyssa:)

2007-08-04T21:29:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been really moody about work and wanting a vacation real bad. We are so excited for the Florida trip and that we are able to go, thanks to all of those who have contributed to us being able to take this much needed vacation! I've also been putting in some overtime this past week so that we aren't completely broke when we get back from our trip:) So anyway on Friday while I was at work Ryan was putting together a nice surprise for me. I left work at 4 since I didn't take a lunch and came straight home not knowing what was in store for me:) I got to our front door and there were two yellow roses taped onto the door with a little lamenated note telling me of my big surprise throughout our apartment. I opened the door to find single roses placed in different spots of our apartment each with a note and a trail of rose petals to show me were to go next. The notes were describing all 15 months we have been married and what moments were special to him each month:) It was the sweetest and cutest thing ever. The finale was our bedroom, I opened the door to find our bed covered in rose petals with a little stuffed bulldog(we've been wanting a bulldog bad) and a final love note to sum up everything:) Ryan is so good to me and I love him so much. I'm the luckiest girl in the world!!

Visit from Grandmom and Grandaddy!!

2007-08-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

On their quest to travel across the Western states Grandmom and Grandaddy made a quick pit stop at our little place in Provo. As you can imagine the visit was eventful and ranged from absolutely boggling the mind of a poor Olive Garden waitress over the soup and salad combo and a seperate soup and salad which they adamantly demanded....to watching Grandmom stagger around our apartment in the dark in search of her purse. While here they helped a little with the home decorations (Grandmom) by insisting we hang our homemade painting. Grandaddy watched and approved of the picture placement between conversations about the insurance business with Ryan. Since hanging the painting Ryan had the brilliant idea of drawing more attention to it by adding a little accent light. Here is the finished product; Thanks Grandmom and Grandaddy!!

They have a long journey ahead of them and they are prepared for the trek to say the least. Between about two dozen maps all marked with multiple highlighters and the various mapquests they have printed off it would be a miracle if they did not get to each and every stop at precisely the planned time. It was a blast having them stay with us. Their visit would not have been complete without a visit to the Garden here at Stanford place.

Home Improvement Project!!

2007-07-29T20:27:00.000-07:00

Without many friends in the area saturday's are often filled with boredom. This past saturday was no different. In the midst of our boredom I became a driving force in throwing the landlord's rules out the door and undergoing a minor paint project in our bedroom. Before Ryan knew what hit him he was standing in the middle of home depot's paint center with me in all my glory among painting tools and samples. After a dozen unsuccessful calls to Mimi, I was forced to make an executive decision on the paint color because Ryan was voting for bright blue glitter paint:) forty-eight dollars later we found ourselves moving furniture and prepping the walls for a nice new coat of paint:) The moment I rolled on the first stroke of paint there was obviously no turning back.

Clothed in the Stephenson Family Reunion 200,000 shirt I managed to paint not only the wall but every part of my body, while Ryan managed to keep the paint on the wall and not himself:) It was alot of fun and took alot less time than we thought! 2 coats of paint did the job just fine. We managed to avoid boredom for atleast one saturday:) Here are some pics of the project.

The life of a Farmer

2007-07-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

Upon endless requests to see the Garden we finally decided to let you all in and see our award winning crops. It has been tons of work (we paid 8 dollars and let the neighbors do everything but watered occasionally to feel apart of the miracle) but the work has paid off in our incredible yield of crops. Ryan made some Salsa with the Cilantro and Peppers which drew crowds that were so large we were unable to count. With the 8 foot long carrots and 75 pound zucchinis we were able to replicate the best rice bowl in Provo Utah ( with the assistance of some very nice knives; Thanks Mimi!! They are used on a daily if not hourly basis). Overall a great experience, we are planning on including some fruit trees next time we set our minds to a garden.
Please see pictures at the bottom of the blog for the Garden shots.

p.s: We had Sanjaya over for dinner last night and had him sing that ridiculous song, "I'm all dressed up for you baby, I'm going out tonight." It was a good time had by all

We are officially bloggers

2007-07-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

At the risk of being unpopular we have joined the in crowd and are evolving into skilled bloggers. As this is the blogs first post we thought we should give a quick update to our family circumstances.

We are out in Utah living in Provo while Ryan finishes up school at BYU and are then looking to move out at the earliest opportunity! Alyssa is working full time at Pinnacle Security as the main receptionist and is currently making more money than Ryan is. Her days their seem long at times and she looks forward to the days when her employment will end but until then "It's about the Lifestyle." 1-877-PINSAFE (for those in need of a sweet system). Ryan is working at State Farm Insurance and is working towards getting his own agency. He is working on getting his licenses and we are hoping to get our own agency shortly after he graduates this upcoming April.

We really like the ward we live in and are happy to be around so many other young couples who are members of the Church. Alyssa was just released from Activity Days but still serves as the 6 year old primary teacher which requires endless amounts of Patience. Ryan has been the 11 year old scout leader for close to a year now despite the fact that he never made it past Tenderfoot in his own scouting days.

That seems like a good place to end the opening blog and as soon as we get some good pictures and find something worth posting from our lives in Provo we will be all over the Blogosphere. Enjoy!