4 days

Well folks, I think it's safe to say I'm there. I'm 100% ready for Banks to come out and play. This waiting game is killing me, plus I'm itchin all over. I guess I have a little thing called PUPPS. Not cool. No contractions whatsoever, even after doing the acupressure last night. Nothing. So I guess we'll just have to let nature do the work.
Stay tuned.

to help move things along

I had a friend try this and it totally worked for her. I'm kind of scared though to do it. I was at the doctor yesterday and he said the baby's head is all the way down and ready to go, I just need to wait for the contractions to start....which I've yet to experience. He was pretty confident that I would go within a few days of my due date which happens to be Sunday. So I think I might go for it and give this a try guy.

farmer's market

The Provo Farmer's Market is a must.
We go for the food. Mom and Dad came with us today and we ate some pretty great treats.
Carne Asada Tacos from the Taco Family
Fresh squeezed mint limeades
Churros
Fresh fruit smoothies
...and many samples in between

birthday post

Today we also celebrate the birth of a true Amazon Woman...or so I like to call her, because that is exactly what she is.

I have been truly blessed to have Cindy as my Mother in Law. While others complain about their M.I.L. as being a nightmare, I get to sit back and revel in the fact that my M.I.L. is a gem.

Let me explain.

She is a fountain of knowledge. She just knows so much about so much. Politics, education, mothering, food, remedies, gardening, music, you name it....she knows about it.

She is an active citizen when it comes to any type of government or political issues....she campaigns in her neighborhood each time an election comes around and makes sure her neighbors are not only signed up to vote, but she educates any who will listen about each candidate, their pro and cons.

Every summer, for who knows how long, she has taught swimming lessons in their pool. All day, in the sun, with a smile on her sun kissed face.

A few summers ago she traveled with my Father in Law to Guatemala with a Humanitarian organization. No worries that days before she was lying in bed, immobile, with a bad back or some type of serious ruptured disc. She took it like a soldier and still chose to travel to a third world country where she spent her days digging ditches...that's right....diggin ditches, bad back and all.

She's one of those people who is always happy, and she always has a positive attitude no matter the situation. Her home is open to all and you can always find neighbor kids hangin out because they feel so welcome and loved.

I'm convinced she can do anything. She's yet to prove me wrong.

Lastly, she raised my sweet Michael. He is the amazing husband and friend that he is today because of her. She is an amazing mother and I'm so grateful that I get to be a part of her life. I will be forever in her debt for teaching Michael to be such a hard worker, loving husband, friend, and brother, and for teaching him to do his own laundry.

So cheers to you Cindy,
I love you so much and am grateful to have you in my life.

birthday post

Dear Rosi,

It's your day of birth.

This gives us reason to celebrate. You are on your mission in Arizona, and therefore cannot celebrate with us. That's okay though. You will be home soon and we will play with you then.

I have a few things to say about you on this wonderful day.
You are my younger sister but you are cooler than me. How did that happen?

Maybe because you...

• rocked the modeling world one country at a time....Milan, Singapore, Japan, & NYC.
• are super tall and skinny
• can get tan...dang
• got straight A's at BYU
• are so kind and forgiving even when us older sisters decide to be punks
• decided to serve a mission even when you got into the program of your choice at school
• are an example to your friends and family

These are just a few reasons why I think you are pretty great.

Happy Birthday Pudge,
we all look up to you, quite literally.

$12 D.I. dream

Yesterday I was blessed by the Shopping Angels while at the D.I.
This isn't the first time this has happened to me or someone in my family.
For those of you who don't know, my Mom found my wedding dress at the D.I. for $12 my Sophomore year in High School.

photo by Duston Todd

Shopping Angles really do exist.

Back to yesterday...
wandering through the Provo D.I. and I happen upon this


I am positive some sweet little Grandma sent this my way in spirit because it was carefully wrapped up, all the parts included, and the instruction manual/recipe book was carefully taped to the top. Added bonus... inside she had neatly written down additional recipes in the most delicate, cursive handwriting. So great. Not to mention that I've always wanted an ice cream maker and failed to register for one when I had the chance.

So tonight, we tried it out and it works wonders. We made raspberry peach ice cream and it was delightful. I love how homemade ice cream is way creamier than the store bought stuff. I'm sure this is due to the fact that heavy whippping cream is one of the main ingredients. We had tons of fun making it and it only took about 20 minutes to do. It made just the right amount for the both of us so there wasn't any racing involved. We even have some leftovers.

Thank You D.I. and Shopping Angels.
You never fail to bless my life.

photo of the week

I've said it once before and I'll say it again...Archie leads a cozy life.

13 days

llllliiiiiiizzzzzz

This is my littlest sister, Liz.

She has a good reason to be so happy. She just graduated from Middle School and will be entering "the jungle" also known as High School. This was her graduation outfit and it is pretty fantastic. Every piece she is wearing is from an older sister. I contributed the shoes, Rosie the dress, Hailey the cardigan, and Sam the lacey under shirt top. She has been richly blessed when it comes to hand me downs. I promised my Mom I would take some photos of her today while we were up in SL to pay tribute to the outfit of all outfits.

Liz is pretty great you see. She basically rocked Middle School. She was Valedictorian, she spoke at graduation, had one of the lead roles in the school play, and basically won every award that was out there to be had. She makes the rest of us look like rookies. Dang, I wish I were that cool when I was in Middle School... but I wasn't. She was also 1 of 3 other girls to make the High School Dance Company as a freshman.

Good work Liz.
You've out done us all, brat nut.

a father's day tribute

Dear Dad,

I think you're the greatest.
You raised five girls and you still have most of your hair. Well done. You are such a great example of persistence, faith, and hard work. You just keep going...with a good attitude I might add. You've taught all of us so much and we are the way we are thanks to you and your example. Thanks for always being supportive of what each of us wanted in life. I have always felt like I could achieve anything as long as I was willing to work for it, and you taught me that. Thanks for always telling us how proud you are of each one of us, cause that makes me so happy. Thanks for always making us laugh at your jokes, even when they don't make sense. You have a gift for turning a tense situation into a calm one. You're so humble and kind. You've done so much in your life for others it's hard to truly know all that has been done. All that I could say about you would only scratch the surface and could never really expose how wonderful you are. You are a gift to our family and who knows where we'd be without you.

I love you so much Dad, and am glad you're mine.

love is grand

Michael and I just passed our 4 year anniversary. Good times. Plus, Michael's 27th Birthday will take place on the 27th so I figured I would do a little post bringing these two joyous events together. This is what I have to say about love and Michael.

Let the cheese start to melt.

Love is grand,
when you marry your best friend.

Sometimes you get lucky...REAL lucky. I love this picture for obvious reasons. Some of you may think this is too scandalous, he has a swim suit on of course. That first summer we were married was spent on Fisher's Island off the coast of Bloc Island. Michael was teaching windsurfing lessons every day and this was the outcome. Let's just say it did the body good...REAL good.

Michael is such a trooper when it comes to certain things that I like to do.
I LOVE to travel. Michael just loves to be with me. He is ever so willing to be my travel buddy even when I know he might prefer to be hangin out at home with me and his technologies.

We are kindred spirits.

Marriage it such a wonderful thing and it's sad to think that many people never figure that out. The honeymoon phase doesn't have to end. I honestly believe that if you work on your marriage, it can always feel that way. It's not something that just happens to "lucky" people.

Even though Michael is a nerd at heart, he has never made me feel insecure or silly. He always tells me about his work and computer things. I of course never know what he is talking about, but I still appreciate that he tells me about it and doesn't assume that I can't understand...even though that's case.

This was the first picture we took together. Don't mind my angry looking smile.
The next day he had it up as his desktop background. We were on a huge double date activity and his computer was right in the living room for everyone to see. I was so excited to see it blown up on his background even though we weren't "official" yet.
Such a brave move on his part.

Again, back to the traveling. Michael was totally supportive when I wanted to spend 6 weeks in El Salvador a few summers ago. It was THE hardest thing to be separated from him for that long but he was super proud of me. He came to pick me up and we had some fun adventures in Central America.

P.D.A.

We're totally down with it.
Oh ya, did I mention that we still talk in baby voices to each other, even when we're alone. Our children might have speech impediments because of it.

I'm just glad I get to spend FOREVER with you.

Can't you tell that I'm one lucky birdie to be hitched to this guy for eternity?

photo by Duston Todd

Happy early Birthday my love,
and thanks for the last 4 years, it's been grand.

photo of the week

This picture makes me happy.

I took this in 2006 while living in Romania. This sweet little babushka is the real deal. I love her smile and the thick, white whiskers growing out of her mole. I guess when you're that old, and you still use an out house everyday, and grow all the food you eat, you can get away with pretty much anything.

week 38

The end is near.
These are my new monkey slippers.
We're moving right along as we should be...meaning this guy probably won't be coming early.

the cabin

Ya. The Cabin is pretty great.
We spent Saturday up in Woodland with our cousins, the Evans family. The weather was perfect and so was the splash park. I sadly did not get to enjoy the pool since I cannot fit into my swimsuit anymore. It was still fun though. We had yummy food... a must at the Cabin, and we just enjoyed the beauties that surrounded us.