My "Little" Brother

My little brother (not so little anymore since he is visibly larger than I am) just joined the Army. Special Services to be exact. This has been a dream of his for a long time and it's finally coming true for him. This is the career path he has chosen and my family and I couldn't be more proud of him. He's an amazing person and my parents tell me about the few phone conversations they've been able to have with him since he left a few weeks ago and he is learning so much about himself and growing a ton. He's always been a really cool guy and now everyone else in the world will know it too! We love you, Ryan! Good luck and thanks to you and all the other men and women willing to serve in such a capacity!

P.S. Isn't he soooo hansome! What a stud!

I've Been Tagged

Okay, I've been tagged again so this time I will respond to it. The first question is "What was I doing 10 years ago?" Well, I would have been sixteen and in my sophmore year in high school. That was the year I had my "first love" (ahhhhh). I was on the dance team in school and practiced everyday, so right now, that's where I would have been 10 years ago.

Things I would do with a Billion dollars!

1. Tour every country that I find remotely interesting (England, France, China, Japan, Italy, Greece, etc.)
2. Go to New York and spend a month watching every show and eating in every restaraunt.
3. Buy and island that I would take all my family and friends to vacation on.
4. I would create my own organization to help families with children.
5. I would buy a plane so I could go anywhere I wanted whenever I wanted!
6. I would send my dad and my husband on a Safari hunt and they could take whomever else they wish to join them.
7. I would buy my mom her dream house that she has designed and redesigned since I was very small.


Three bad habits

1. I bite my nails
2. I correct my husband's parenting too much (as if I were the perfect parent)
3. I eat too many desserts

Places I have lived

1. Winfield, Kansas
2. Billings, Montana
3. Rexburg, Idaho
4. Sacramento, California
5. Gridley, California
6. Oakland, California
7. Albany, Georgia
8. Another city in California that I can't remember the name of
9. Mesa, Arizona

Jobs I have had

1. Babysitting
2. Cleaning my dad's dental lab
3. Burger King cashier
4. Jazzercise Babysitter
5. Tanning Salon
6. Sears
7. Salesman for ADT
8. Phone telemarketer
9. My favorite. . . THE MOM

Things that you probably don't know about me:

1. I think I am hilarious! (probably more than others think I am).
2. I sing in the car as if I were on stage and often imagine what it would be like to perform.
3. I analyze everything . . . EVERYTHING. . . to the point where I have a plan a,b,c,d,e, and so on for just about any situation you can think of.
4. I'm pretty sure if I fall off the water tube behind a boat, wearing a life jacket, going less than 5 mph, I will die.
5. God only made three perfect children, and he gave them all to me !! :)
6. I always count steps when I climb them and go down them.
7. When the volume on the T.V. or radio goes up and down by numbers, I have to have it be a multiple of five. I know, it's strange and I can't explain it, but it is what it is.
8. John Travolta is the only man I would ever leave my husband for (j.k. I adore my husband, but I've had this crush for as long as I can remember)
9. I am convinced that if John Travolta ever met me he would immediatly fall deeply in love with me and ask me to run away with him, which of course I will decline because I am in love with my husband who is far more hansome and charismatic (love you, babe!)
and 10. My husband is far more righteous than me and I am convinced that if it weren't for me, he would probably be bishop already! :)


I tag my mom, my sister, Britney, and Kelyn

115 lbs.

Okay, so I know the best way to achieve a goal is to make yourself accountable. Since I am the worst at sticking to any kind of diet/excercise program, I figured I can make myself accountable to all my friends and family who read my blog. Before I had Rylee I weighed 115lbs, so....
my goal is to get there again! That gives me about 15 lbs. to lose and I want it done before we go back to California this summer. Should be plenty of time, right?? It's back to the gym 3 times a week and no more desserts :( That's the hardest part, I love dessert!!! This week marks my first week back to the gym and it is kicking my butt! This better work!

Peek-A-Boo

Gracie has just begun smiling and giggling and she loves peek-a-boo. We're having a lot of fun making her smile. Of course, you can't capture it perfectly on video, but for those who won't get to see her in a while, this is just for you!

Washington D.C.

Justin and I got to go to Washington D.C. for a short weekend and we had so much fun. We got to pack in a lot of sights and activities in a very short amount of time. These are some of my favorite pics. This first one is of the Constitution. There is no light in the room their in so the pic isn't that great.
This is a pic of me and Justin in the PRESIDENT'S BOX in the Kennedy Center watching My Fair Lady. SO COOL! We brought back presidential M&M's and Jelly Belly's for the kids.
This is Arlington Cemetery. The rest of these pics touched my heart in different ways.
I loved how this little boy just stared at this amazing man for quite a while. He seemed to be in awe, as were we.

This is a picture of the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier." We got there just in time to watch the changing of the guard. This was Sunday morning and was an incredibly spiritual experience to be at this cemetery and soak in all that our history holds.

This is a picture of the Vietnam War Memorial. Several of these wreaths were laying against it and it touched me to think of all those who lost loved ones.

This one is probably my favorite picture. Justin is looking at hundreds of stars. Each one (I believe, don't quote me) represents 1,000 lives lost during WWII. Overall, this vacation was both great fun and emotionally exhausting. We also got to see the Holocaust Museum, The National Archives, Library of Congress, and many other monuments. An unforgettable experience. Thank you so much, Taryn and Brendon, for such a great time and unforgettable memories!

As You Wish

One of the goals that Justin and I set for ourselves this year is to take the kids on individuals "dates" with each of us once a month. For mine and Rylee's first "date" we went to a pottery painting studio called "As You Wish." It was so much fun and here are the pics of what we made. Rylee ended up making two since she was finished with her first one long before I finished my mug. I loved it and so did she. We had so much fun painting together and then got ice-cream afterwards.

Baby Booties

The kids Aunt Taryn made these adorable booties for Gracie before she was born and she's nearly grown out of them already ! :(
I love this outfit and the booties are what make it so cute! Taryn, my friends at church say you should market these! Something to think about!

"The Motherload"

We got this cake called "The Motherload Chocolate Cake" when we went out to dinner and this is just one slice of it. It's huge, and sooo tasty! The icing tastes like your eating fudge!

The kids no longer like to take nice pics. They only make funny faces, but I think thier cute anyhow!

Family Hike

Justin thought it would be fun to take the kids on a hike and it was. We had a scavenger hunt and the kids took pics of the things they found with the new kid-tough cameras they got for Christmas. Lots of hills and rocks to climb over, but only two hours later, we had hiked a mile!

Kangaroo Zoo

Our cousins, Johnny and Jen, invited us to this fun place called Kagaroo Zoo. It was this huge warehouse full of bounce houses. Needless to say, our kids had a blast but the poor parents were exhausted by the end of the day. Thanks, Johnny and Jen, for such a fun time!

Family Fun

Wrestling seems to be a timeless tradition in most families and ours is no different. Poor uncle Cody and cousin Johnny got tackled by all these kids climbing on them as if they were horses. They had so much fun!

Christmas Morning!

Rylee got a new bike for Christmas this year, but it was so cold outside no one wanted to go outside so she hasn't ridden it yet. But we'll post pics soon of her riding it!
Cole was so excited about his new swords that he didn't open anymore presents, Rylee had to open them for him! Mommy nailed it this year!
Justin's Grandma Betty made these adorable stockings for the kids last year and added Gracie's this year. I love them!

Christmas Eve

In my family we got new pajamas every Christmas Eve. So, we carry on the tradition.

Cookies for Santa!

This cookie was made especially for Santa.

The love to make cookies and decorate them for Santa Clause. This year, they made Reindeer food as well and we sprinkled it all over the ground outside. Can you believe, when we woke up Christmas morning, not only were most the cookies gone (just one left with a bite taken out), but the reindeer food was gone too! The kids couldn't believe it either!

Ice Skating

We went ice-skating on Christmas Eve and had so much fun. Rylee was a little deamon around the ice, we couldn't believe how fast she was going! They only wore their shoes so thier feet must have been cold but they didn't seem to care! Cole, of course, was the first to fall but recovered quickly and was back out on the ice!


They loved carrying aroung these sticks and hitting the balls. Some sort of hockey game I guess.

Cole and Rylee used these to keep balance and it worked! Rylee was everywhere!

Gracie's Baby Blessing

We got to bless Gracie while we were in Montana for the holidays. She looked so sweet in her blessing dress! Justin said some really sweet things and a lady from my parents ward took short hand so we have it all written out for us. Heavenly Father has a lot planned for this sweet baby!

Rylee's Christmas Recital

This is Rylee and her little friend Riley. They think it is so fun that they have the same name!

Rylee had her little Chrismas dance recital before the holiday. She did such and awsome job and looked adorable in her tootoo! Great job Rylee! We're so proud of you!