Garner Giggles

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but for me I am not a fan of this "spring" weather. It made it difficult for me to get into the Easter spirit. Fortunately, there were a few beautiful days this month to get me through and we managed to have a great Easter.

We started the festivities off with the annual neighborhood flashlight Easter Egg hunt. Gabby was SO excited that she just ran around and squeeled at, and hugged every person she saw that she knows. It was hilarious! I forgot to take pictures...SHOCKER I know!

Then a few days later, she had her Easter egg hunt with her preschool class. They started off with a picnic in the park and then were off to get their loot.

I just LOVE the kids in Gabby's preschool class. Aren't they the cutest? Funny little side note...the little boy in the red coat(Griffin) is apparantly Gabby's future husband. She told me that he asked her to marry him and she promised him that she would. HA HA!! How funny/cute is that?!

We dyed our Easter eggs on Saturday. As I prepared the dye I'm always grateful that I have wood floors as I remember a not-so-fortunate accident at my Mom's house. Long live wood floors in the kitchen/dining room!

And then of course, we had Easter morning. Gabby got to look around the house to find hidden eggs filled with candy and her basket. She squeeled with delight every time she found an egg and then squeeled EXTRA loud when she found her basket. I just love that girl and her ability to make me smile so hard it hurts. Then Josh insisted that there was one more hidden egg so he and Gabby went looking for the "egg". He surprised me with a basket with a few things for Kian and I. (We had agreed to only get a few things for Gabby to save money but he really wanted to surprise me) AWWWWWwww! I'm a blessed gal for sure.

And here we are dressed and ready for church. Gabby got to wear her new dress, which is WAY cuter than this photo shows. Kian looked SO handsome in his grown up boy outfit. I can't get over how darling and amazing my kids are-I really am so blessed! Have I mentioned how blessed I am?!

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter as well. Life is GOOD!

What a Girl Wants

2011-04-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

On Friday my friend had 4 extra tickets to the "What a Woman Wants" expo. I knew Gabby would love it because she loves girlie things like purses and jewelry. I thought it would be even more fun to have her cousin, Millie join us. G'ma Terri was babysitting Millie so the four of us headed over to the Southtowne Expo Center. If it weren't for watching the cute, excited girls I would have been bored out of my mind. It was booth after booth after booth of jewelry, purses, hats, shoes, makeup, designer jeans, blah, blah, blah. BUT...the girls LOVED it and had so much fun trying to decide what they'd pick to take home.
Gabby had brought some of her piggy bank money and decided to spend it on getting a feather "extension" put in her hair. I guess that's all the rage now. G'ma Terri even had one put in! Then G'ma let the girls pick out a ring, a small purse, and they got their nails painted. They were just SO dang cute!

I LOVE this picture-cracks me up how they are looking in different directions and not at the camera-it was IMPOSSIBLE to get them both looking at the camera at the same time. But how darling are they in those hats?!

What to pick? What to pick? (notice-again not looking at the camera) ha ha!

Manicure time! Of course, they both picked PINK!

This was a dressing room to change in but Gabby thought it was a pink tent and fell in LOVE! She begged me to take a picture of her and now wants a pink tent. That's my girl!

Here is her new feather in her hair. They said it would last 2 months-YA RIGHT! The large feather already broke off so now she just has the small part left. She still loves it though.

All in all, VERY fun day, good memories made, quality time with family...couldn't ask for more from a Friday afternoon. Thanks cute girls and G'ma Terri!

Gabby's First Testimony

2011-03-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

I am starting to use this blog for more of a journaling purpose, since I've been slacking on actually writing in my journal. So, for that purpose, I want to write down the special moment we had on Sunday.
For months Gabby has been begging me to let her go on the stand to bare her testimony. I've always been turned off by the too young child going up there, while the parent whispers every word into their ear...it just never seems sincere and that bothers me. So, for that reason, I've been hesitant to let her go up. This past Sunday she really wanted to go. So, I gave her a quick pep talk about how she needs to just say what's in her heart about Church things. I was worried that she'd start telling a story about her latest Pokemon toy or the dinosaur that she heard outside her bedroom window.
She wanted me to go up with her, but the said the words by herself! I had to fight HARD to keep the tears back and stay composed. So, I don't forget, here is her sweet testimony:

"I'd like to bare my testi-story. I like to talk to Jesus. I talk to Jesus while I'm sleeping. I love this Church. I love my Mom and Dad. And Kian. I know that Jesus is part of this world. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen".

Awwww...melt my heart!

Then after the meeting, a man in our ward who I don't know, approached me and asked my name. Then he said, "Well, Sister Garner, I just wanted you to know that you must be doing something right in that home of yours for that small little girl to be able to do what she did today. She touched my heart".
Awww...melt my heart again!!!

There is just something about sweet little innocent children that reminds you of what is truly important. Nothing has strengthened my testimony more than being a Mother.

Kian the Monkey Boy

2011-03-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

Josh and I have been SO bad at remembering to record Kian. I have a few good ones on my video camera that I'll put on here later but I thought I'd at least get the two I have on my cell phone. Remember the quality is AWFUL, but at least you can see him. Those of you who live far away don't get to see how fast this little man is growing up! These videos were taken about a month ago. I'll be posting one soon of his new talent: commando crawl!

He is quite the monkey boy...ALWAYS wiggling and moving. He's hardly ever calm and still. How did I manage to get two babies who don't like to cuddle? But, we love him and can't complain. Never a dull moment around here! :)

Here is another one I took last night...it's nothing special but shows his super CUTE face! I'm in LOVE!!!

The House that Love (and Kids) Built!

2011-02-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

I've noticed a great variety in standards when it comes to the cleanliness of ones home. I'm not here to judge (ok, maybe just a little), but I honestly just find it amusing.
I know some who's houses are absolutely filthy-both sinks full of dirty dishes, crusty floors, sticky chairs, etc. The best part is the excuse of "My house is always this messy because I'm spending too much time with the kids and never have time for the house cleaning part." Ummm......ok.
And then there is the opposite side of the spectrum. The houses that are absolutely spotless-shiny chrome, polished wood, floorboards cleaned weekly. And then it's this type of home that usually comes with the ol' "I never have time to play with my children. I'm just so busy." Again, Ummm....ok.
So, here's my solution, and what works for me. I pretty much make it a daily point/effort to find the balance. I keep my house "clean" to my standards but am the first to admit that my floorboards are currently filthy, and my windows haven't been cleaned in years (yes-YEARS). But I do make sure all the rooms are picked up and tidy before going to bed and I deep clean when I can.
And I'm also the first to admit that there are times when Gabby is sent to the basement to amuse herself for a few hours, or I let her play computer games for...don't judge me too harshly here...but HOURS! BUT-I do try really hard to make a huge chunk of each day about nothing else but us. Just Mom and the kids. The way I see it, this is now my full-time job, my career. I love the way my friends said it, "IF you are fortunate enough to be a stay at home Mom, then do it and do it WELL". I honestly try my best. I'm far from perfect but my goal is to be able to go to sleep each night, knowing that I gave what I could that day to my darling kiddos!
The other day Josh and I were noticing the random pieces of artwork that Gabby has hung in our house (AKA Art Museum), and the toys everywhere. I said to him, "Boy, you sure wouldn't know any kids live here huh?" And that made me feel giddy inside. It makes me happy to see these "messes" in my house.

Here is our fridge, and yes it looks like that ALL the time, if not worse. It is literally covered in layers of Gabby's artwork, love notes, preschool schedule, etc. She is SO attached to her art and always wants it displayed. If she isn't passing out her colored pictures to her friends and family, she's finding a place to display it in her "Art Show".

These two art projects were too long to be displayed on the front of the fridge, so the side seemed to work just great!

Gabby's latest obsession is building a fort in the basement. She will easily spend an hour or two building it, and then once Connor comes to play, she is down there for the rest of the day playing Train the Dragon to Pokemon to Jake and the Neverland Pirates to Sonic the Hedgehog. (They take turns choosing what show they are going to act out). Their imaginations are epic. And the fort makes me nostalgic, remembering the forts I used to build with my siblings and friends. What child doesn't love a good afternoon of fort playing? It truly is the best!

The other thing that has me giddy as a schoolgirl lately...watching Gabby and Kian play together. They are SO cute together and just love each other so much. Gabby is always reading him books and showing him things/teaching him. "Look Kian, this is a ball" or "Kian, this page shows you things that are red". She is just an amazing big sister! While Josh and I were busy cleaning the house the other day, she built this "train". Kian was one of her passengers. She even asked him where he'd like the train to take him and he "replied"-to the moon!

So, yes I'm fully aware that these photos will make the clean freaks cringe in horror. But to me, these photos just make me realize exactly what it is that I love so much about my life. I love my job-it has the best benefit and perks package EVER!

I Heart Valentines Day!

2011-02-17T14:20:00.000-08:00

I Heart Valentines Day! Years ago, I couldn't say the same. I used to hate it. Why? Well, my last name was Valentine and I felt like I was the only one in school who didn't actually have a Valentine! I remember at the end of the day they would read name, after name, after name of all the girls who had flowers waiting for them in the office. Needless to say, never hearing my name called was never the highlight of my year! And every time someone said "Will you be MY Valentine"? or "Valentine? Is this your holiday?" I just cringed.
BUT, now that I have a new last name, I have to admit I miss the name Valentine-good thing I kept it as my middle name. And now that I'm married and it's no longer about do I or do I not have a special someone, I can relax a bit about the day. Plus, having kids just makes the day awesome!

Back in January, Gabby and I decorated these darling foam mailboxes we found at Target. We made one for her and one for Josh. Starting Feb. 1st, I would put a love note and a treat or surprise in their mailbox for them to find in the morning. It was like our countdown to Valentines Day, and of course, Gabby loved it. Too much! She kept waking up earlier and earlier each morning to check her mail. We are going to have to rethink that one next year! You can see the cute mailboxes in this picture of the Valentines cards we all got. Gotta love Holiday loot!

Valentines Day this year fell on a Monday, so we decided to do our traditional fondue on Sunday night. As always, it was SO yummy! I just can't get enough of chocolate covered strawberries. Deelish!!!

Hope you all had a yummy, fun, and sweet Valentines Day too! Even though the day has come and gone, I wanted to say I HEART my friends and family so much! The last 6 months has been quite the trial/adventure/crazy time for me, but it has also forced me to realize how blessed I am. Thank you to all of you for all your prayers, love, support, and encouragement. Funny how hard times teaches you how many blessing you have! Love you all!

Better Late Then Never Christmas Post

2011-02-10T19:46:00.001-08:00

I know, I know..I've been completely MIA on my blog. I've been very sick, blah, blah, blah. Long story. I'll get into it later. But for now, I'm going to try to do a catch-up.
Christmas this year was so nice. We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house in Wyoming. My brother Lance and his family were there too so we had a full house. It was fun. I'm pretty sure Gabby was in heaven with so many cousins to play with! I, as always, didn't take enough pictures but I got a few good ones.

Lance's family has a tradition of each child opening a Christmas ornament on Christmas Eve. Love it! And we'll be doing that from here on out. But this year we didn't have one for Gabby so Josh took a last minute trip to Wal-Mart and picked up a Grinch ornament. She loved it and everyone seemed happy with their fun, new ornaments!

The cousins decorated a really cute gingerbread house. I'm pretty sure Gabby spent more time eating the candy, then putting it on the house.

Hayden was SO dang cute with Kian. He held him, played with him, and rocked him to sleep. He's one of the best babysitters ever!

Isn't he the CUTEST Santa EVER??!!!

I just LOVE my kiddos!

After we spent Christmas morning with my family, we headed back to SLC to spend the rest of the day with the Garners. It's SO fun to have two Christmases in one day, with both families. I used to complain about it, but it's growing on me. And Gabby loves it too. She was really excited to see Will and Millie. The only picture I got was of Gabby and Millie loving their new Pillow Pets. They are just so dang adorable!

Christmas was awesome, as always. I learned a LOT this year. We are saving our money so decided to only buy presents for the kids. It really helped me to put everything in perspective and focus more on what Christmas is all about. I won't get into details now, but I had some really amazing experiences. It was truly a Christmas to remember!

My Baby Girl is 4 years old!!!

2010-12-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

I'm always saying that the last four years has been the best of my life. I owe a great deal of that to my darling "baby" girl, Gabrielle! I cannot believe that she is already FOUR! Time really does fly by at warp speed. If anyone knows the secret to slowing it down, please do tell!

My sister-in-law, Lara, has been writing a letter to her children each year for their birthday. I decided to give it a try. It's a good way to help me remember all the cute things, sayings, and milestones that happened. So, I've been spending the last few nights making a list of things I'd like to include in her first letter, since this is the first one and I have four years of catching up to do. I sat in her room and looked around. I admit I got emotional. Happy tears for sure!Everything I saw had some sort of memory attached to it. Her bed reminded me of the day we took her crib apart and she kissed it goodbye. Her pink soccer ball reminds me of playing outside with her and having so many new adventures every day. Her pink shoe makes me laugh when I see how she wore the entire side out riding around and around and around the greencourt on her friend's little car. Needless to say it was a LONG list and I obviously could talk about her for hours. So, I'll just wrap it up by saying that Gabby has convinced me of the French saying "I love you more than yesterday and less than tomorrow"...SOoooo true!

If you know Gabs, you know she's been planning her birthday party for about a year and it changes every few months. She finally made her choice of a Tinkerbell theme. She chose 12 friends and tried to invite all 9 children in her preschool. I had to tactfully work my way out of that one! It was a fun, crazy day and we both loved every second of it.

She was having a hard time waiting all day to open her presents so I let her open Grandma and Granpa Valentine's gift. She was very excited to get some pretty necklaces and a new game!

After a game of "hide Tinkerbell" the kids sat up to the table to decorate fairy houses. They were SO cute as their little personalies came out in each house. It was fun to see how different each house turned out. LOVE these kids!

Gabby and Avery hard at work decorating their fairy houses

Make a wish Gabby! The kids got to decorate their own cupcakes..I am STILL finding sprinkles from time to time!

Time for presents!

We ended the party with the movie Tinkerbell and the Fairy Rescue and popcorn!

That night, once Josh got home, it was time to open the present from us. As you can see...she was thrilled to rip that paper open and see the Easy Bake oven inside!

But then leave it to me to not even be able to bake in an EASY bake oven! I totally forgot to spray the pan, even though it was clearly stated in step #2! So...the cake was completely stuck in the pan and fell apart when I forced it out.

But then she took a bite, realized it still tastes good, and it was all smiles again!

Another birthday success! I'm sure Gabby will start planning her next birthday party soon, if she hasn't all ready. Love you Gabby Girl!!!

Kian's Blessing Day

2010-12-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

I am so behind on my blog again...ugh! By the time I have Gabby in bed I am tired and ready to climb into bed and sleep. It seems I've had every possible sickness since the birth of Kian so all I've wanted to do in the evenings is sleep. I am starting to feel better so here's to hoping I can get all caught up.

Kian was blessed on November 7, 2010. It was a VERY special day. Josh was very nervous but did a wonderful job. Kian's blessing was truly beautiful. It was so wonderful to have so many friends and family there to show him their love.

We then headed to the house for a get together of food and visiting. Good times! I hardly ever pulled out the camera so I'm very grateful to my sister in laws and Mom who are much better at remembering to capture the moment.

Our happy family! (Side note: this was not Kian's blessing outfit. He was in a really cute one piece sweater outfit but he got really hot and cranky so we took it off. I'll have to get a photo of him in it and add it to this post soon.)

My brother Brett and I

Lance and Cyndi-Awww cute!

My darling nephew, Will

Brett, Minta, and Cyndi

I LOVE this picture of Grandpa Paul and Patrick!

Lindsey, Landon (Kyra's boyfriend), Kyra, and Cyndi

G'ma Terri, Aunt Lara, and the star of the show-isn't he SO cute? :)

It really was a special, memorable day. I'm SO grateful to everyone who came to support us. Josh and I were very touched by all the love. Kian is one lucky boy to be born into such wonderful, loving, and amazing families!

Winter is Here!

2010-11-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

So...I know, I know, it's been ages since I last updated my blog. And I'm finally here to do so, however, I just popped a Nyquil so this is going to be a quick/lazy update. Chances are I'll be dozing off in 15 minutes anyways. Gotta love colds!
Anyway, please have VERY low expectations for this post. The most I can manage is photos and captions. Don't you just love life's sick little jokes like when you finally feel like you're on top of the world again and loving life...only to get miserably sick! Good thing I was blessed with a very good sense of humor. God must REALLY love me. ha ha! Anyway....

I LOVE this photo because it is so rare in our household. Gabby hardly ever naps and Kian will only sleep during the day in his swing. SO..to get both of them to fall asleep side by side at my parents' house...priceless!!!

A while back Gabby saw someone on TV sewing and decided she HAS to sew. I don't own a machine but I told her G'ma V does and we can borrow hers sometime. The moment Gabby got to G'ma's house she was begging to sew something. G'ma helped her make a really cute pillow for her doll, Baby Lucy. Thanks G'ma-you made her day!

Kian's first snow! Yah-we LOVE playing in the snow. Good times for sure!

Oh how I love Gabby's little gang of friends. They always get so excited when we get snow. We were all out by 8:30 am playing in it and making the first of many snowmen! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!!!

Here are my oh SO cute trick or treaters: pumpkin and SuperGirl! Since I'm sick I stayed in with Kian and passed out candy while Gabs and Josh headed out into the rain. Gabby was quite the trooper and didn't want to come in, despite being soaked from head to toe.

Awww...melts my heart!

This kid's hair has a mind of it's own! It is SO crazy but we love it!

Thanks for continuing to check my blog and not giving up hope on me entirely. Once I kick this cold to the curb, I'll be able to blog more often. I feel like I finally have this two kid thing down...life is good! REALLY good!!

Why Do They Grow up SO Fast?

2010-09-07T20:45:00.001-07:00

My little girl is growing up so fast! Last week was her first day of preschool! She was so excited and couldn't wait till it was time to go. When we got there she ran as fast as she could to go inside. When I asked for a goodbye she just yelled back "bye Mom". I guess I can't complain that she's so outgoing and gung-ho but I did hope she'd show a tiny bit of attachment. Oh well! I'm just really glad that she gets to go have fun twice a week. She has a few friends in her class and is just loving it! Yah! It's nice to have a little alone time with Kian too-so it's a win win! I just wish there was a way I could slow time down a bit.

Kian Joshua Garner

2010-09-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

On August 15, 2010 we welcomed our newest member of our family: Kian Joshua Garner. I attempted a VBAC birth but after 15 hours of labor, nothing was happening so the Dr. decided it was time for a C section. He was born at 5:41 pm and was perfect. He weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. and has TONS of dark hair. It was love at first sight.

I've been too tired to keep up with my blog lately, so he is now 3 weeks old! He is SO cute. He's a great baby too-sleeps long stretches at night and only cries when he's hungry. We are lucky! Here are some other photos:

I have some cute video clips that I'll be posting soon. He's starting to smile and "talk" and his little personality is coming out. SOoo darling! We sure do love this little guy!

Ode to My Sis!

2010-07-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Back in my single days, when I was living in Ogden, I practically lived at my sister, Dawn's house. Her husband Gregg called me his "favorite free-loading in law" and I really was. I was there all the time-I probably owe them thousands of dollars for all the food I consumed! I got to play with her three little kiddos all the time and it was the life! Then...they moved. Major bummer for me!
So...needless to say I was THRILLED when they came to visit a few weeks ago. It was SO fun having them here. I'm as big as a whale these days so didn't feel up to doing much, but it was so fun just hanging out, playing games, and going swimming! They were probably bored out of their minds, but for me, I was in heaven! It was awesome! So awesome that I....forgot to pull out my camera! What is wrong with me and my lack of photos?!!! Ugh! I did manage to take ONE photo of them when we went to play mini golf. Aren't they such a CUTE family? (Gregg is missing cuz he was still in VA).

They fly back to Virginia tomorrow and I'm totally bummed. They've been in Ogden for the last week or so, visiting Gregg's family and it's been killing me knowing how close they are. Ugh! Guess it's time to save my pennies and fly to VA again!
Anyway, just wanted to thank them for flying out to see the family. Love and miss you guys TONS!!!

America the Beautiful

2010-07-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

With this growing belly and the temperature rising, I haven't been up to doing a whole lot lately. So, 4th of July was very low key this year. We just hung out as a family and spent time together. We were also invited to Patrick and Lara's house for a BBQ. The food was so yummy and we all had a great time. I didn't take very many pictures because we all know how great I am at that, but here are a few cute ones of the kids:

We had boxes and boxes of snaps-endless entertainment:

Then the Dads lit off all the fireworks while the kids clapped and screamed and loved every second of it!

It was fun to relax, hang out with fam, and be grateful for this beautiful country of ours. Gabby has made me more patriotic this year because every time she sees the American flag she makes me say the Pledge of Allegience. SO darling! Gotta love how kids remind us of the simple, yet important things.

Dancing Queen (Queen Bee That is!)

2010-06-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well Monday night was the big day-Gabby's official recital! She was SO excited all day long. G'ma and G'pa Valentine got there around 1 pm and spent the rest of the day hanging out with us. We went to Olive Garden for a late lunch and just had fun visiting/hanging out. Gabby was so hyper and just about bouncing off the walls all day. I was more stressed and nervous than Gabby was! Honestly, I was most nervous about fixing her hair. They had specific requirements as to what they wanted, and I am NOT blessed in the hairstyling department. But, it was my lucky day! It went perfect, the first time! That never happens. Yah for me! G'ma took some good photos of Gabby as she waited for the time to leave for the recital. The recital was awesome! It meant SO much to Gabby to have both sets of grandparents there. THANK YOU SOOoooo much for taking the time out of your day to come see her dance. Gabby is really blessed with amazing family on both sides! I was so proud of my little bee as she danced away on stage. She did a really good job remembering the steps and only missed one or two of them. It just melted my heart! After her part of the recital was over, she got to come with us to watch the rest of the recital. Josh surprised her with some pink flowers, which made her smile grow even bigger! She was truly on cloud 9 last night! Here is a video clip of her recital from last weekend at an arts festival. I couldn't get the video from Monday night to work, but will try again tomorrow.

I HEART Fresh Air!

2010-06-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

I know that everyone is complaining about the low temperatures and rain lately but I have to say-I'm in heaven! I LOVE being outside but can't stand the heat-especially now that I'm 7 months pregnant! It has been SO nice to play outside every day and not have to worry about getting too hot. 60's and 70's are as good as it gets!

Gabby has been begging us to take her kite flying for a while now, so we bought her a Barbie kite (Her choice-I know-UGH!) and headed to the park. There wasn't a ton of wind but enough to fly for a few minutes and she loved it!

Then the other day we went to Red Butte Gardens. I never even knew it existed. It's above the U of U and is SO beautiful. There are pathways to walk on all over and plants, waterfalls, stuff for the kids to play on, etc. It was awesome! I wish I lived closer so I could go more often. Gabby even got to touch a water snake that was swimming in a little pond. Too fun!

I love being outside and getting fresh air. I love even more that my daughter tells me all the time that we need to go outside and get our Vitamin D. I am dreading the heat, so am soaking in as much of this cool weather as I can.

To wrap up this post, I have two pictures to share which just crack me up. I have NO idea where she gets it but Gabby always wants to pose when I take her picture. Here are two of my favorites:

I hope you all are enjoying your summer as much as I am and just know that in another few weeks I will be MISERABLE so I'm counting on the rest of you to enjoy it for me! :)

Random Schmandom!

2010-05-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

Life has been quite random and all over the place lately-expect this blog post to be just the same. Plus, I am MUCH too tired to make any actual effort into making it anything more than just photos and explanation. Call me lazy! Call me pregnant! All I know is my energy level is pretty much nonexistent lately. Sorry!
Gabby has a a dance recital coming up in a few weeks and she can't wait! She's quite our little performer. I still think she may end up like a deer in headlights, but we shall see. Here she is in her dress on the day of her dance class pictures. She loves to ham it up, as you can see!

Last week we took our trip to Lander, WY-my home town, kind of. Anyway, it was so fun to go back. This was only my third time since graduation to go back, so it was fun to see old stomping grounds and see old friends. My favorite part was seeing my BFF, Jillyn. Sadly, I forgot to take a photo of her-ugh! But, here are a few pix of her darling girl, Josie, and my darling girl. Aren't they SO dang cute?!

The main reason we went to Lander was to be there for the Cones final concert. Mr. Cone was my Jr. High and High School choir director. Lucy is his darling wife who plays the piano for all the classes and concerts. They are SO amazing and hands down the most inspiring teachers I've ever had. They decided to retire this year, so I helped arrange a gift for them. We had a really nice wooden box made and then filled it with letters from former students, current students, and the community. It was awesome! I presented them with the box and Gabby got to go on stage to give Lucy her flowers. It was a really special night and I'm SO glad I was able to be there.

I was surprised at how many things have remained exactly the same, after 16 years! My beloved Tony's Pizza bread sticks are exactly the same and just as perfect as ever. I wish I had bought a dozen orders to bring home. They are SO yummy! My best friend, Jillyn, was as lovely and wonderful as always. My grade school hasn't changed at all. It's comforting to know some things don't change.
However, there was a to that was SO different! Main street was mostly unrecognizable, my High School had been knocked down and replaced with a new one, and my old house looked totally different. It didn't look the same at all. At least the shed that my Dad built was still there-just a new color. Here's a picture of how it looks now, for those of you who remember the old, red version.

So there you have it-my random week in a nutshell. Now I am off to sleep so I can hopefully have enough energy and brain cells to do a more entertaining post next time. Oh wait-didn't I say that last time?!

BLAH!

2010-05-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

The only word I can think of to describe the last few weeks...BLAH!
It has been one sickness after another around here. The rainy, gloomy weather hasn't helped-not to mention the pregnancy pains and sleepless nights. Yah for me!
BUT, there has been a few shining moments. One tradition Gabby and I have picked up lately is to pick a craft on rainy days. Our favorite has been a little birdhouse kit we picked up at Hobby Lobby. Connor and Gabby were SO happy painting and then talking about what kind of birds are going to live in their houses.

Mother's Day was great too, but I of course, forgot to take any pictures. Josh and Gabby woke me up with presents and a homemade card from Gabby. Then Josh made me crepes for breakfast-YUMMY! In church Gabby got to go up on stage to sing. She was so excited that when they called them up, she ran up and was the first one on the stage. Watching her sing just melted my heart and got me all sorts of emotional. Imagine that! Then I was treated to a nice, long nap. Doesn't get better than that!

So ya, even with all the Blahs, life is still pretty darn good! I'll try to get out of my funk and blog more often. I hope you all had a fabulous Mother's Day!

The Great Adventures of Little Bear!

2010-04-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

Josh got to spend 4 days in San Francisco this past week for a work retreat. He, being much like me, didn't pull out the real camera once. BUT, we did get some fun cell phone camera photos. He decided to take Gabby's Little Bear with him to help document the trip. She was SO excited every time she got another photo of Little Bear. I'm pretty sure it helped her miss her Daddy less. Here are the highlights of Little Bear's adventure:

Enjoying the view from Josh's hotel room:

Pretending to be a prisoner at Alcatraz:

Enjoying some seafood by the ocean:

Riding the famous trolley:

Watching a professional Baseball game:

We missed having Josh around for a few days, but glad he got to have such an adventure. Gabby loves her new pink Giants T-shirt he brought home for her and I enjoyed every fleck of my giant coconut macaroon! YUMMY! Thanks babe!

How Tired Am I?????

2010-04-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

The big question tonight is: How Tired Am I? The answer is simple: SO tired that I am going to do THE laziest blog post, hands down, EVER!!! My bed is calling my name and I can barely keep my eyes open but I promised several of you photos, so here it is...ladies and gentlemen, I present to you THE most BORING post in the history of blogs!

I'm obviously behind...Easter, which was several weeks ago was great! My parents spent the weekend with us and we made a simple, yet yummy dinner. It was fun having them here. Here are a few pix:

We are LOVING the beautiful weather lately. Gabby and I have spent at least 6 hours a day playing outside the last few days! I just can't get myself to stay inside for long. We decided to have some family fun on Saturday and went mini golfing. Good times for sure! Gabby would hit the ball a few times, then pick it up, put it by the hole, and put it in. She squeeled with delight every time. Such a cutie!

Because of Conference and sicknesses, we missed several weeks of church. This past Sunday was Gabby's first chance to wear her new Easter dress. She was SO excited and pranced around the house talking about how she looked like a princess. We were running late so I didn't get a chance to curl her hair or do anything special with it, but the dress is cute. So I get half points for that right? Anyway, I also joined her in the picture so those of you who've been asking, can see my GIANT pregger tummy! YOWZA!!!!

The End. Hope I didn't put you to sleep. Speaking of which, Goodnight.Sweet Dreams.

Who Doesn't Love a Good Snort-fest?

2010-03-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

I just shared a very special moment with my little Gabrielle. We shared our first serious "Snort-fest". And it was awesome! After a long day of being sickly and resting in bed, I really needed a good laugh. Leave it to my ever happy, goofy little girl to end my day on a very good note. Our routine was as usual: tickle monster had already successfully found her, teeth had been brushed, and we were settling in for our nightly book reading. She chose a monkey book that Grandma Valentine gave her long ago and she has recently rediscovered and fell in love with all over again. For some reason, the monkey that slides down the track on each page was cracking her up this evening. Every time she opened the little door to retrieve him, she busted up. At one point the little monkey was still hidden, except for half his face and his arm. She thought this was HILARIOUS. She started laughing so hard she could hardly breath. Then, it happened. I snorted. She laughed so hard I thought she was going to pass out! We both laughed and laughed for a good 5 minutes. You know the kind of laugh you used to have at slumber parties with your best friends or the kind you have with your sister late in the evening, after WAY too much candy. Ya-it was that kind of laugh-giggle...Snort-fest! And it rocked my world! What can I say? I am madly in love with my little monkey-my Gabby Girl!

A Boy Named.....Sue? Kid? Hey You?

2010-03-16T20:15:00.001-07:00

So...for any who may not have heard already...we're having a BOY! Our gender check ultrasound was March 2nd. I was SO nervous for the outcome because Gabby had her heart set on a girl. But to my surprise she handled the news quite well. She said "That's OK Mom, I'm not gonna cry. I'll be happy". Awwww! Josh, of course, was ecstatic and full of the "I told you so" faces.

I grow more and more excited about a boy as time goes on. We've purchased a few cute outfits, which helped. But, I gotta admit, the last few days even the mention of a boy has made me GRUMPY. Why??????????????

Because I am SO sick of "discussing" boy names. Everything I love, he hates. And vice versa. My neighbors always joke that they almost divorced over naming their son. I get it now. ha ha! Seriously people-why is it SO hard to find a good name that we both like. Ugh!!!

So, without further ado, here are the current contenders:

1. GREYSON- I love, Love, LOVE this name and also love the idea of calling him "Grey" from time to time, even though it's my sis's son's middle name. Sorry sis! Josh likes it but doesn't love it and doesn't want to do another "G" name because he thinks we'd have to name a 3rd baby a "G" name too. Nah!

2. CORMAC- Josh loves, Loves, LOVES this name! I think it's just ok and would want to spell it Cormick instead. People we've asked either love it or hate it. I know I don't want people calling my son "Mac".

3. LIAM- Josh really wants an Irish name and this is the most "normal" Irish name I can find. I like it quite a bit. Josh likes it more. My main problem is I don't want him to go by "Lee". And a friend of mine named her kid Liam, but I can live with that.

4. DESMOND- We both LOVE this name. But, it has some major flaws: it is a major character on the oh so popular show, Lost. And it carries the risk of people calling him "Desi". If they call him "Dez" or "Des" I'm good with that-but "Desi" sends the not good kind of chills down my spine!

So...that is our current dilemma. Give us a few more weeks and I'm sure we'll be battling over other names. Or not. Who knows? All I know is naming girls is SO much easier. So for now, I'm leaning towards "Hey You"...has a nice ring to it don't you think?

An Icy Adventure

2010-03-10T20:57:00.001-08:00

For some reason Gabby decided she wanted to go ice fishing. She must have seen it on TV or something but she's been talking about it for months and how she wants to cut a hole in the ice and try to catch a fish. She's a lucky gal because it just so happens that her Grandpa Valentine is an ice fishing champ! So, we headed up to Wyoming this past weekend for a visit and an adventure out onto the ice.
Little did we know what we were in for. It's just assumed that ice fishing is going to be cold, but we had no idea it would this THIS cold. It was FREEZING! The wind was blowing and kept whipping snow up into our faces. It didn't take long for Gabby to start asking to go home and singing songs about it. She kept burying her face in my neck to stay warm. Good times!!! Anything that is not the norm, is fun to me so I enjoyed it and I have to give Josh and Gabby props for hanging in there for a good hour and a half. I'm proud of my little family!

My Dad still lives like a 20 year old-he got all the gear ready and then hauled it all out onto the ice for us in some special kind of ice fishing gear sled thingy. ha ha! Good thing he knew exactly what he was doing! I just LOVE my Dad for teaching me to love nature and appreciate the simplicities of life.

Here's my cute little family trying to stay warm. Check out Gabby's shades-ha ha! They belong to her Uncle Trevor-I'm pretty sure she was feeling like hot stuff! It completely cracked me up every time I looked at her.

This was our "Christmas Story" moment. I about cracked a rib laughing from this. Her little face was freezing so we attempted to wrap her up in a scarf. I should have taken a video because the whining and crying at this point was just classic!

After quite a while of patient waiting, Dad's friend Carl got a bite and let Gabby reel it in. She seemed quite proud of her first ice fishing fish! A proud moment for a Valentine. (even if her last name is Garner)

The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxing, playing games, and Gabby playing with her cousins, Hayden and Austin. (Thanks boys for being SO great to her and playing with her so much)

And we were very excited to see a Momma Moose and her calf right in my parents' neighborhood. I LOVE moose so it was fun to see them so close.

Gotta LOVE a weekend in good ol' Wyoming! Thanks Mom and Dad for an adventure we won't soon forget. Although I don't know how soon we'll get out on the ice again, especially according to Gabby. On the way home she proclaimed: "Mom, I don't think ice fishing is what I thought it would be. I DON'T love winter anymore"!! Ha ha! You just can't beat the honesty of children!

Jim and Pam's Baby-thanks for the Anxiety!!!

2010-03-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are The Office devotees, you know that Pam and Jim had their baby last night! As much as I loved the episode, it left me filled with anxiety and nerves! At this point, because I haven't been very sick, we are leaning towards a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). Let me just tell you, I am already freaking out and am not quite sure I am prepared to push a watermelon out of my body!!!
Those of you who have, especially 6 times MOM, are my heroes!

And then there's the horror stories...my sis in law Lara's experience is enough to make me vomit from fear right here and now! But there are more and for some reason, EVERYONE feels compelled to tell you the horror stories when they see you are "with child". Why is that?

Anyway, these are my random thoughts for the day! That and I'm loving the pretty snow, but bummed that it has potential to keep my away from my parents for another weekend! Grrr!

Moms are Allowed to Brag!

2010-02-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

I think there is an unwritten law that says Moms are allowed to brag. I know in my world, that is the law! I apologize to any of you who are annoyed by it, but Gabby is my life and I LOVE talking...ie. bragging about her! And the strange thing is, I don't mind when other Moms brag about their kids-I just see it as our right, our reward for the not so great moments our children give us! :)
So, without further ado, I'd like to take a moment to brag about my little Gabby Girl. I just love her SO much, she is truly the joy of my life.
She fills our house with constant singing, and I mean CONSTANT. She sings her questions, sings her answers, sings about getting dressed, about going to play with her friends, even about going potty. She literally sings about EVERYTHING! I haven't managed to catch a really good video of her singing, but I did get this one on my cell phone. She was at her friend's house singing into a karaoke machine and loved hearing her voice over the amplifier.

The other thing I want to brag about is her artistic ability. She certainly did not get that from her Mother-definitely from her Dad. She loves coloring, drawing...just about anything that gets her creative juices flowing. This morning, she decided to make a birthday card for her cousin, Ethan's, birthday party. I told her the birthday party was a Diego theme so she decided to make a Diego card. The drawing is of Diego and baby jaguar. She even wrote her name in the bottom right corner! SOooo cute!

I just LOVE watching her learn and grow up. She makes every day delightful and unique. It's hard to imagine having enough love left over for another child. But, everyone says it just happens so I hope "everyone" is right! :) I might as well warn you now-soon, I'll have TWO kiddos to brag about! ha ha!

It's a ZOO around here!

2010-02-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

I would first like to say that I do NOT like weather men...women..whatever! They are never right and they continue to mess up my plans! We had planned on going to see my parents this weekend so Grandpa could take Gabby out on the ice for some ice fishing. We kept watching news reports and reading the internet and everything said lots of snow. Ummm...where's the snow? GRRRR! I guess Evanston got some but I'm sure we would have been fine to go. Josh was worried about our balding tires, so we got new tires today. Hopefully next weekend-it's on! Gabby is really excited about watching G'pa cut a hole in the ice and trying to catch a fish.

So...what to do with our Saturday? The ZOO!!! We've been meaning to go for a while and really wanted to go before it starts getting warm. (Once the sun comes out, so do the crowds, and the animals hide) We bundled up and had the best day at the zoo EVER! The animals were out, and active, and there were zero crowds-Perfect!

The black bears were in rare form today-they were so playful and fun to watch. After a few minutes or wrestling they settled in a for a snooze on some logs.

The tiger Mom and her three little cubs were out playing too but I was so caught up in it that I forgot to pull out my camera. Bummer! We did get to see the two wolves up close and personal. They were up at the top and were wrestling. It was fun to hear them growl and nip at each other while we were literally 5 feet away! VERY cool!

Most of the monkey houses were TOO stinky for me to spend any time in, but one of them didn't stink at all, so we spent some time in there. One of the orangutans was hanging out right by the glass so Gabby went in to say Hello!

The highlight of the day?...the BABY ELEPHANT! It was SO cute and we were lucky to see her. When we got to the zoo she wasn't out, but as we headed out we checked one more time and there she was! SOOOOoooo cute! She was running around on her little legs and looked so tiny next to her giant Mom. Gabby normally doesn't want anything to do with the elephants but she was LOVING this one!

Despite my messed up plans, which never bodes well with me, this day turned out pretty fabulous: animals, a healthy dose of Vitamin D, and quality family time. I'm a happy girl this evening!

What it Means to be a GIRL!

2010-02-18T21:05:00.000-08:00

Today one of my friends's facebook status said "Happiness is a new pair of shoes". Then there were about 15 comments from all her friends saying things like "whenever I'm down I go buy new shoes", "I can't get enough cute shoes", and "LOVE shoes...the more impractical the better" and I thought to myself...am I the ONLY girl on facebook that does not jump for joy over a new pair of shoes?! This lead to a "conversation" in my head about What it means to be a GIRL!

I thought about how some girls can't wait for their next pair of shoes, pair of earrings, or favorite makeup item....and then how I own 5 pair of shoes, don't wear earrings, and wear minimal makeup.

I thought about my friends who get a pedicure or manicure every time they need a pick me up...and then how I've only had one pedicure in my entire life and I didn't enjoy it that much-and how the poor lady broke a sweat removing my calluses.

I thought about how most girls I know love letting their creative juices flow with scrapbooking and sewing...and then how I have tried both and just don't enjoy either enough to invest my time in them.

So...I'm wondering...Did I sleep through the Girliness 101 class in heaven? Did having 4 brothers suck every last girlie girliness out of me?

I've gone through phases in my life of different "girliness" levels. There have been times when I completely gave up entirely and dressed as frumpy as possible in an attempt to say "ya...I'm not girlie and I just don't care". There have been times when I studied my friends and tried to copy their style, hair do's, make up, and even attempted to fake a love for shopping. So...where am I today?

I am finally in a place where I embrace my girlie side, but stay true to who I am. I'm not afraid to admit that I HATE shopping, could care less about the latest styles, and just upload my photos into a book with no frills or cute font. I can say without embarrassment that I am NOT a girlie girl, nor will I ever be. Does that make me less of a girl? Nope. Does it make it hard to make and keep friends? You betcha! It seems the older I get, the harder it is to find girls like me. Maybe it's cuz I live in Utah. Who knows? All I know is, I'm happy with me and the type of girl I am. And, I have learned to like and get along with the girlie girls as well. Deep down inside, we're all the same really. We're ALL just Moms, sisters, wives, and daughters trying to be the best version of ourselves we can be!

Bring on the Hype!

2010-02-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

So...I don't know what it is with everyone lately-but I swear everyone I've talked to is anti-Valentine's Day! To that I say BOO!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even tell you how many times I've heard, "I don't' need a Holiday to prove my love...". LAME!!
What can I say? I'm a sucker for cheezy, fun, silly Holidays-bring on the hype! :)

Gabby and I spent Friday making and passing out Valentine's to her friends. We put little candy bags together and then Gabby decorated little doorknob hangers for her friends. I LOVE the foam "stickers" you can buy at craft stores-they make it very easy for me to get "crafty" with Gabby even though I don't have a crafty bone in my body. It was fun-she got really into it and let her creative juices flow. Good thing she got more of that than her Mom! :)

Josh and I take turns planning our holidays and this year it was my turn. He's a Garner, which means he is near impossible to impress. So, I kept it simple. I had planned to take him to one of his favorite places to eat, which he's been begging me to go to and I always say NO! It's a Philly Cheese Steak place. But he insisted we go somewhere else, so we ended up at Joe's Crab Shack-this pregnancy I have been craving crab nonstop! It was so yummy! BBQ snow crab...MMMMmmmm!
Then we headed to get a couple massage. We've both been dealing with backaches, etc. so I thought that would be a nice, relaxing end to the evening. Was it romantic? Not so much! Awkward is more like it! The therapist didn't talk at all...and then Josh and I didn't feel like having a conversation with strangers in the room so we had an awkward hour of uncomfortable silence. However, the massage was lovely and felt SO nice. If I'm ever rich, I'm going to splurge on an on-call masseuse! :)

Then we of course had the actual holiday today, on Sunday. Gabby had so much fun in church with her class-she got to make cute Valentines for us and also got some treats. She was a happy girl. We found a red dress on clearance for $3 that was SO dang cute, but I forgot to take a picture. Go figure!
This evening we had our traditional Valentines' Day fondue! YUMMY! Josh got it all ready-strawberries, pineapple, green apples, marshmallows, and angel food cake. I tried them all but there is just nothing better than a chocolate covered strawberry. These strawberries were HUGE and just completely delightful!

I hope you all had a fantastic Valentine's Day and were reminded of all the people who love you. I've had one of those weeks where I am just reminded of how much I love the people in my life and how blessed I am...And how blessed my little girl is to have such wonderful friends and family. Thanks to you all for your love!

Boy or Girl??????????????

2010-02-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

We just scheduled our gender check ultrasound for March 2nd. That gives us 3 more weeks to discuss, debate, take silly online prediction quizzes, and listen to Gabby go ON and On that is MUST be a girl!
So...for the fun of it, leave a comment with your guess-Boy or Girl?

Underdogs Unite!!!!

2010-02-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

I've always had a soft spot for the underdogs of the world. Maybe it's because I was always the shortest kid in the family and felt like an underdog most of my life. Maybe not. All I know is they tug on my heart strings. Last night, the "underdogs", the Saints, won the Super Bowl! I'm normally not into the game at all...just eat my junk food and wait patiently for the commercials. But, not this year. This year I really got into it and actually....pause....enjoyed it! Did I just say that?! The highlights of the night, in no particular order were:

~ the between the legs play that had to be challenged to reverse the call. I always wonder how stoked the coach feels when that happens and how loudly he wants to yell "I TOLD YOU SO"!!!

~ my homemade, fresh bruschetta-always a delight in my tummy

~ having a solid 3.5 hours of kid-free TV time. Gabby was deeply engrossed in a vivid game of "rocket ship" and then playing with the new dog, Charlie.

~ wondering if Reggie Bush is REALLY going to propose to Kim Kardashian if the Saints win...I still haven't heard if this happened or not. Why do I care so much about silly, famous people?!

~ sipping on my oh-so-enjoyable IZZE....if you haven't had one, you must. SO refreshing-grapefruit is my favorite flavor.

~ watching Drew Brees tear up after the win, holding his adorable little boy!

I am still giddy-I just LOVE a good underdog story! Thanks Paul and Terri for having us up and providing yummy food...and of course, entertainment for Gabby! Thanks Josh for the couch snuggles! Thanks Gabby for being such a GOOD girl and giving your parents a nice break! Can't wait for the next underdog to root for!

Random, Raw, Real

2010-02-03T16:38:00.001-08:00

So, I have this cousin that I haven't seen in years and we barely know each other, but the last few weeks I've been reading her blog..and I LOVE it. She blogs every day and it's random and raw and real. I always try to do a big ol' story with my blog, complete with photos and a run down of our life. I've decided I want to go more "freestyle" with my blog. I want to just use it to type whatever random thoughts I may have for the day. I don't want to overthink it. I just want to sit, type, and let my brain vent whatever it's been trapping all day, with no adult in sight to talk to! So, I am warning you now-there will be more posts from here on out, some long, some short. Some will be informative and others will leave you thinking "huh?..interesting girl she is". But it's my blog and I can do what I want with it, so there! :)
So anyhow...I've been doing a LOT of thinking about my life lately. A LOT!!! For those of you who haven't heard, my oh-so-lovely pregnancy sickness is slowly returning. Despite my efforts to keep this from happening again, it's happening and I've been SOOOOOOOOOOoooo sad and SOOOOOOOOOOoooo angry and SOOOOoo disappointed. It has not been a happy place in my head for the last week. Or so.
I don't know where it came from but it is near impossible for me to ask for help. It makes me feel like THE biggest loser/failure. Logically, of course, I know that isn't true. But, when you're sick and unable to play with your daughter, logic isn't always present.
They always say we have something to learn from our trials and I keep racking my brain trying to figure out what this lovely trial is teaching me...

Humility? Ya it's definitely teaching me that. I'm learning that we don't have to do everything ourselves. And that we don't know how to do everything perfectly without help from anyone. And that I'm not a Super Mom who has it all figured out.

Compassion? I would say I am definitely learning that. I am finding myself wanting to serve others more than I ever have before. If I'm having a good day and am feeling good, I want to be helping others. I have been babysitting and offering my help more than ever. It makes me feel happy. And it makes me feel better about having to ask someone else to help me. It compensates for the days when I can barely get around and accomplish nothing. That somehow makes it easier on me.

Life is such a journey, isn't it? I look back on my life and am blown away by how many life lessons I've learned, how many things I've experienced and learned from, how much I've lived. And isn't that what it's all about?!

For now, I'm just going to continue praying my guts out that I don't get as sick as last time. I can handle one or two days a week-I'm pretty sure 7 days a week would break me. And I will make the absolute best of my good days. Today was a good day and it was a GOOD day. I arranged to help two friends with their kids, I played outside with Gabby for two hours, I cleaned my house, I ran errands, and I took my friend to dinner for her birthday. I'd say that's enough to make up for my 5 hours on the couch yesterday. And I can live with that.

It's a New Year..and I'm Feeling' Good!

2010-01-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

I know everyone talks about the January Blues, but I really love this time of year. I LOVE putting my Christmas stuff away and cleaning my house. It's a new beginning, and I'm ALL about new beginnings! Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the downside of January:
~ Too cold to venture outside for long
~ The gym is suddenly filled with way too many people and I have to wait for the equipment I want
~ Christmas came and went too fast and I never get everything accomplished
~ There is WAY too much football and basketball on TV
~ Everyone seems to be holed up in their caves and we have a hard time finding anyone willing to go out and do something fun
~ January always brings the "I need to have EVERYTHING organized" bug...and it drives me to madness!

BUT, other than that, January is lovely. I've been thinking a lot about this coming year: what will transpire, what I want to accomplish, where I want to be by the end of 2010. I usually make a mile long list of goals but I want to keep it simple this year, which leads me to my first goal:

1. SIMPLIFY- I just want to keep this year simple. Keep my priorities straight. Family first. Church second. Everything else falls into it's place respectively. If anything is stressing me out or taking my strength/energy away from those things-I need to get rid of it.

2. ORGANIZE- Having another baby...oh for those of you who haven't heard-we are having our second child in August!...Anyway, having another child on the way has created this crazy obsession to have my house completely organized and in place. Before this baby comes I want everything to have a place and anything I don't need-gone. My goal is to do one project a day, even if it's as tiny as doing one shelf in a closet. I just need to slowly work my way through the house.

3. HEALTH- My last pregnancy was a nightmare! I was SO sick that I couldn't function like a normal person. On the worst days I had to crawl from my bed to the bathroom and back. NOT fun! I am praying, Praying, and PRAYING that I don't get that sick again. So far, I've only had one day of dizzy/weakness and I'm hoping it was just normal first trimester sickness. We shall see. BUT, my goal is to do everything in my power to stay as healthy as I can. I've been eating SO healthy and doing light exercise. It's a good feeling knowing that I am doing what I can and the rest is out of my hands.

So, there you have it. Three easy, totally do-able goals. I don't feel overwhelmed. I feel hopeful and optimistic, and eager to get this year going! I hope you all are having a fabulous 2010 so far and that all your dreams ie. goals come true! :)

Merry Christmas to All and to All Goodnight!

2010-01-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

Well, the Holidays have come and gone, and I am, once again behind on my blog. So, this will be the "Cliff Notes", condensed version.
Christmas Eve was spent at the Garner family. We hung out, played games, visited, ate wings and snacks and just chilled out.
Gabby loved helping G'ma Terri make the breakfast casserole since she's convinced she's a Chef.

Christmas morning was SO great. As Gabby gets older, Christmas keeps getting better. She was so excited for Santa to come that she kept begging to go to bed. She slept well and didn't wake up till Josh woke her up at 8. She was so excited when she saw her doll house from Santa as she came down the stairs. She just ran around the house telling everyone that Santa got her list and brought her a doll house. It melted my heart. I LOVE having a child because she reminds me of how great Christmas was when I was little!

Thanks Gen for playing dolls with Gabby-she was loving life at that moment!

It was SO fun to see KC and Gen again and get to hang out with them again.

Santa also brought Gabby some princess dress ups, wich she wore all morning-I SO love my little girlie girl!

This was the view of Paul ALL day long. He was lovin' his new "toy".

It was a very nice Christmas: food, family, and lots of relaxation/down time. Yah!
The day after Christmas we headed to see the Valentine family in Evanston. The drive was beautiful-everything was covered in shimmery frost-Love it! We spent all day playing games and again, relazing. Nice!
That night we exchanged presents. I was SO excited to give my parents their Christmas present. I had a wood box engraved with a scripture that I love and then asked all my siblings and their families to contribute a letter and or testimony to be included in the box. It was really fun to watch them open it because I knew they'd love it-those are always the best gifts. I love sappy, sentimental gifts and need to do them more often. Gift cards are just SO much easier! :)

New Year's Eve was fun too-we ate our "happy foods" here at the house and then went to a friend's house to play games-good times. I ruled at Scum! :)
Anyway, we hope you all had a great end of year as well. I've been deep in thought as to what my goals should be this year...so I'll do that post soon.
I hope 2010 rocks for us all!

So SHE Thinks She Can Dance!!!

2009-12-21T21:50:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Gabrielle!!!

2009-12-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

I am SO behind on my blogging, but I figure my new mantra is "better late than never".
Almost a month ago, we celebrated our little girl's birthday-SOooo hard to believe that Gabby is already 3! WHAT?! How do they grow so fast? Anyway, due to an insane lack of time around here-I'm just going to post a bunch of photos from the party. They are self explainable anyway.
I will say that the last three years of my life have been more than I could have ever hoped for. I always wanted to be a Mom and dreamt about how it would be. Gabrielle has exceeded all my expectations. She is such an amazing little girl and I could not be more proud to be her Mom. Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful gifts and for coming to her party. She is SO blessed with so many amazing people in her life.

Gabby's Friend Party:

The Family Party:

Gobble, Gobble, GOBBLE!!!

2009-12-08T21:51:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Thanksgiving this year. For the first time, we drove to Vernal to have Thanksgiving at my brother, Lance's house. We stayed three days and packed in as much fun as we could.
Thanksgiving day was full of TONS of food. We ate, ate, and then ate some more! I still drool thinking about Garrett's candied yams, which I've never tried before, but LOVED! It was all delicious and I'm pretty sure I gained 10 lbs. in one day!

Friday morning, of course, Josh headed out for the Black Friday sales. And I, of course, was sound asleep, as it should be! Josh got some good deals and anjoyed the thrill of the catch so it was a good morning for all.

Then we got to join in the Vernal festivities called Holly Days. It was SO fun! I was really impressed and how much the town does for this celebration. We started out with a Christmas tree festival. Gabby's favorite was the Dr. Seuss tree:

After watching an ice sculpture artist, a magic show, petting a camel and pony rides, we headed off to ice skate. It was Gabby's first time on the ice and I just about pee'd my pants from laughing. Her little legs were going a million miles an hour and she just couldn't keep them under her. After a few laps I started to get back in the groove and thought I was pretty hot stuff. I attempted a spin and it went well. Icecapades here I come...or not! On my second spin attempt my blade caught the ice and I fell HARD! My right arm is still paying the price for that moment of stupidity. But, we all had fun and my sweet husband even made a bold attempt. I am very proud of him for making it 2/3 of one lap! :) AND my cute Dad even got on the ice. We all held our breath when he fell, but he did well. Probably my favorite moment of the entire day is when he took my hand and we skated a lap hand in hand. Awwww!

We then enjoyed some Little Ceasar pizza in a parking lot, and headed off to the Main Street festivities. It was SO festive. They had bonfire pits with marshmellows to roast, free cotton candy, free hot chocolate and churros! They had a huge climbing wall and a few carnival rides. I was really impressed with all the effort that was put into this celebration! Once it got dark they had a light parade, which Gabby loved. She wasn't a fan of the loud fire truck sirens, but other than that...Great time! Thanks Lance and Cyndi for letting us come spend so much time with you all. It was a truly memorable Holiday!

Sweet Home Virginia!!!

2009-11-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

I admit when I was told my sis and her family were moving to Virginia I was SOOOoo devastated. BUT, it has turned out to be ok. Sure I miss them like crazy but they sure know how to put on a good vacation! I tease Dawn that she doesn't know how to slow down and just chill when she has visitors, but I'm glad she's such a go-getter: I always get to see and do so many cool things.

This was Gabby's first time on an airplane. I was a nervous wreck. It didn't help the she threw up twice the night before the flight AND right before we got into the car to head to the airport! We determined that she had just ate way to much popcorn the night before. Anyway, she was amazing on the plane. She was so brave and good and just a little piece of heaven! I had a backpack FULL to the brim of stuff to keep her occupied and I didn't need 3/4 of it. Yah! Both flights we were blessed to sit by a really nice person who buddy'd right up to her. Thank heaven for nice people in this world.

She loved watching Tinkerbell on my ipod

This is her "Mom, I'm SO bored" look while we waited for Gregg to pick us up

One of our many adventures was this amazingly beautiful old estate and mansion. It was SO beautiful! The couple left the house and the 100 acres to the city when they died so it's now this amazing place complete with nature center, tons of animals outside in fences to walk around and see, Japanese garden with koi pond, and a tour of the house with the original furnishings-VERY cool place!

One of the many stone bridges

Stone steps leading up the "the castle"

Stepping stones across the koi pond

Catching leaves as they fell from the trees-I've never seen such huge leaves!

Gabby was SO determined to catch one!

Gabby and I checking out the fox-if you click on the photo so it's bigger you can see the fox just inside the fence.

Me LOVING all the pretty trees. I've always had a thing for trees so this was pure heaven-SO many big trees!

Other than seeing Dawn and fam, this was my favorite part of the trip. It was just so amazingly beautiful there-and I got to see bison, deer, a fox, a bobcat, elk, bald eagles, and a HUGE black bear! If I lived near Richmond, VA this would be my new "Happy Place".

Our second big adventure was a trip to Baltimore with the family to see the National Aquarium. What a place!!! It was right on the edge of the bay and was just a stunning building. From inside the building, you keep going up escalators to get to the next level, and then you can look down into the HUGE pool at the bottom that is filled with rays, a giant turtle, fish, and sharks! SO VERY COOL-especially for an ocean junkie like me!

The Jellyfish Invasion was a hit! Who knew there were so many kinds of jellyfish?

Who can walk by a waterfall without taking a photo op?

Gabby and I taking in the bay-I just LOVE water...someday I'll live by the oceon..someday!

The dolphin show was really fun-Gabby clapped the entire time. We sat in the "wet zone" but didn't get splashed...when we were supposed to. As we walked past the tank after the show one of the dolphins decided to give us a post-show performance and Gabby and I were drenched!

My one and only photo of Gregg. :( Grady wasn't with us at the aquarium cuz he was sick.

Baltimore was so fun...but WAIT-it gets better! I had mentioned to Dawn and Gregg that I LOVE the TV show "Ace of Cakes" and how I'd die to go there, but didn't think for a second that it would actually happen. So, after the aquarium we got "lost". Dawn and Gregg asked me to hop out and ask directions and when I looked across the street...there it was! CHARM CITY CAKES!!! I'm pretty sure I squeeled like a teenage girl and hoppped out of the car. It was VERY exciting for me to be there, in person. I kept hoping Duff or Geoff would wander out, but no such luck. And they don't let you go in, of course, but hey-just being there was quite the thrill for me!

MAN-this is turning out to be one doozy of a post-sorry folks! If you just want to skip the words and go straight to the pix-I don't blame you! :) Or you can just hang in there-only one more major adventure to go: Shark Teeth Hunting! Yes, the stuff dreams are made of, if you have an obsessive personality like me that is. Anyway, the photo you see here is quite a shark's tooth huh? Too bad it was not me who found a tooth like this. Guess how many shark's teeth I found? Nope, guess again.
ZERO!!! That's right, I found zero shark's teeth! I always find a sack full, but not this time. Nothing! Fortunately, Dawn saved the day and helped Gabby find a few tiny ones. I was cursed. Oh well, despite the splitting headache from looking and then, not finding, it was still a great time. And it was really fun sharing one of my favorite places with Gabby.

What CUTE kids we Valentine's make!!! :)

We're almost there...just a few more photos to go..I think my hands are going to be cramped for a week from all this typing!
The rest of our time was spent playing games, playing at parks, and watching the kids' soccer games.

Who doesn't love a good game of Twister?

This was a really neat park-especially since Gabby loves Clifford the big, red dog!

Gabby can't wait till she's old enough to play soccer like the big kids. She had so much fun kicking the ball around during the games. Oh and for the record, the Hadlock kicks have MAD soccer skills! I was very much impressed. Hopefully Gabby gets some of those great genes!

Phew!!! What a very lengthy post. Again, sorry! It was really fun re-living it all though. Thanks Dawn, Gregg and kids for showing us such a fun time! We miss you all and can't wait to see you SOON-hint, hint!

Trick or Treat..for REAL

2009-11-21T11:56:00.000-08:00

So, I'm not sure why but Gabby has INSISTED we say "trick or treat" to her every night before she goes to sleep! For the past year!! It was nice to have the actual day of Halloween here when saying "trick or treat" made sense. And oddly, she hasn't made the request since. Guess a year of trick or treating got it out of her system!
As always, we had a blast! Gabby made the most adorable little Belle and I even managed a very princess-like hair do. Yah for me! I know my costume was a bit overboard but I had FUN and isn't that what it's all about? I was supposed to be a Roller Derby Girl, but I ended up looking more like Goth girl, meets punk, meets crazed lunatic! ha ha-good times! I did have a neighbor tell me I had the costume of the night, so I won't hang my head too low. The funny thing is-Josh with his freshly shaved face got more attention that Gabby and I put together! Go figure!

Gabby really got into it this year and wanted to just keep going. We walked all over our neighborhood for well over an hour-closer to two! She was like the energizer bunny! I'm really bummed cuz my Mom was with us and took all the pix-so I didn't get any of her! :( Bummer-sorry Mom. It was SO fun having my parents there to help us celebrate.

Needless to say, Gabby got a TON of candy this year. Fortunately, she's still in the "out of sight, out of mind" stage. We only gave her a piece when she remembered it existed. I'm sure we'll be out of such luck come next year! Anyway, Happy VERY late Halloween!

Random Posts R Us

2009-10-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

What a week this has been. VERY busy and fun-filled...I just LOVE the holidays! Before the snow came, we went to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. I'm not quite sure why walking around a giant field, "picking" pumpkins that didn't really grow there but were transported there is so magical-but hey-who am I to question a good time?! Actually, I DO know why, now that I think about it. It's the quest. I love it for the same reason I love arrow head or shark teeth hunting ...it's the quest to find the best one you can possibly find. It can be an obsession-it's in my Valentine blood! Anyway, we had a great time, as always, and managed to find some stellar pumpkins, before the rain drove us away.

Due to the fact that most of Gabby's friends are older, she's been BEGGING to go to school for months. So, my friend and I decided to do "school" one day a week, taking turns. Gabby and Nahvi were so darling and teaching them reminded me that I really have learned to love other people's kids. Honestly, it kindof felt like I was playing school like I used to do when I was a kid-it actually made me giddy!

This week was one of my favorite days of the year-the FIRST snow fall! Gabby and I were at Wal-Mart when it started. By the time we got home, it was coming down hard and collecting on the ground. Within minutes we were both bundled up and out the door. I just LOVE playing in the snow. We spent a few hours building snowmen, making snow angels, having a snow ball fight, and making fresh tracks in the snow. When our neighbor friends came out to join us, it became an instant snow party!

Then today Gabby had her always fun dance class, but today was even better because she got to dress up in her Halloween costume. Every day she's been asking if today is the day and it finally came. She was such a little girl as she sat still while I curled her hair and I about cried at how grown up she is getting. Why, why, WHY do they have to grow up so fast? Anyway, she was absolutely adorable as Belle!

Now we have the rest of the week to look forward to and it's gonna be even better!

Let the Festivities Begin..Better Late than Never!

2009-10-18T20:42:00.001-07:00

We've been slacking in the celebration of Holidays department lately, but we are finally getting around to getting into the spirit of Halloween! Because all our holiday decorations are buried in storage until our basement is done, I didn't have any of my usual Halloween decorations. SO...I had to find a few cheap deals to make our house a tiny bit festive. It works. I'm happy.

I try to go to Gardner Village every year and finally got around to it this week. We picked the perfect day-not very busy at all! The weather was perfect, the Christmas shop was as fabulous as always. It was a great day. Gabby even warmed up to the witches... a bit. She didn't cry like last year, but she still kept her distance.

I've been searching for easy Halloween crafts for the non-crafty variety. So, when I saw this Haunted Halloween kit in Harmon's I couldn't pass it up. Gabby and I had lots of fun decorating it, even though the frosting was so thick it was like glue, which is why my "spider" ended up looking like a big, black blob. Oh well. Still fun!

Hard to believe Halloween is just around the corner. We still have to squeeze in a trip to the pumpkin patch, Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point, finding the final touches to Gabby's Belle costume, carving the pumpkins, and buying the LOADS of candy that our neighborhood requires. Good times!

In other news, we are thrilled to have Trevor back with us for a bit. He and his buddy, Tim, and temporarily crashing at our house until they locate an apt. of their own. Gabby is ECSTATIC to have him back and follows him around the house like a lost puppy. I found them playing Go Fish on our stairs yesterday. Anyone that spends time with my daughter when they don't "have to" is my hero! Thanks Trev for being such a great uncle to Gabby.

And last but not least, I just had to share the fact that our daughter is the next Picaso. I know, I know, I've made a full-time career of bragging about my daughter, but I just LOVE her SO much. And I truly can't help myself, she amazes me every day. I think ALL Mom's should be guilty of endless bragging about their offpring! :) Anyway, here is her latest piece of art-it's supposed to be me-she got the round part right-ha ha!

I definitely love this time of year. Bring on the rest of the Festivities!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

2009-10-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

Fall is officially here and I am LOVIN' life! When the weather starts to cool down it means one thing for me-more time to play outside! I don't have to worry about over-heating after an hour of play anymore. Tis the season for walks around the lake, exploring a different park every day, trips to Gardner Village and the Zoo, nature walks, etc. etc. etc.
I was online the other day searching for fun, educational outdoor activities and came across the Shapes/Colors Treasure Hunt. Gabby couldn't wait to get started. We took my camera and headed out to find different shapes and colors. She then asked me to put the pictures on my blog. I'll spare you all by not posting them all because there are a LOT, but I will post a few to fulfill my promise to her. And I would also like to say, that I didn't help her find these-she did it all on her own. I'm pretty sure watching Gabby learn and grow has been the highlight of my life!

This was her favorite triangle. She was so excited to see a rock that looked like a shape.

She decided these pumpkins make pretty good ovals, and then how cool it was that they were oval AND orange. Guess that makes an impressive combo!

I love this photo because you can tell who's taking the photo-she insisted on taking them all of course! Doesn't want anyone to help her with anything!

She insisted on climbing on top of her square so "it looks prettier Mom". O.K. Ugh!

I have about 30 more where those came from and now I'm trying to decide what to do with them. I'm considering printing them and putting them in a binder. Hmm? We'll see. I lack in the creative department so looks like I'll be doing another online search!

...As most of you know, Gabby is obsessed with dressing up lately. She decided the other night to dress up her Daddy and this was her creation:

My favorite part is the cookie cutter on his nose-What a trooper! I'm surprised he let me take his picture!!

Gabby had another first this week: She fell asleep on something other than a bed. She is almost 3 years old and has NEVER fallen asleep in random places, until now. I went in to check on her because her playing became quiet and here is what I found:

This has got the be the most random blog post ever and I'm famous for random blog posts. Sorry! :) Anyway, the last thing I wanted to share is a super silly video of Gabby. One of her favorite songs is "American Boy" and lately if you try to record her she goes into this low, silly voice. So, here you go:

Hope y'all had a great week and are getting out to enjoy this BEAUTIFUL weather! Before long it will be time for the 15 minutes bundle up/15 minutes de-bundle up period so I'm enjoying as much of this as I can!

My new Happy Place

2009-09-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

When I lived in Ogden, I had a place I loved to go to just chill and relax. It was a pond across the street from my Grandpa's house that was my little oasis. It only took me 5 minutes to get there and even though it wasn't the real deal of being in the mountains, it felt pretty darn close. It was my Happy Place that I went whenever I needed a break from "the city".

I am SO happy to announce that I have found my new "Happy Place". My friend invited me to go to Thanksgiving Point with her. Never being one to turn down a new adventure, I of course had to go. And I'm so glad I did. We went to the garden area which I didn't even know existed. The kids had SO much fun playing at all the different learning stations and running around. I just couldn't get over how beautiful it was. There were a ton of trees and it just felt like a little piece of heaven. If we ever have some extra cash I'd love to get a membership there so I can go whenever I want to just get away. Till then I'll have to just keep mooching off my friend-I get half price with her membership card-SWEET! :)

Tapping into my inner child!

Gabby and Conner climbing through one of the tunnels

The garden had a pond full of fish and some fish food to throw in. They practically jumped out of the water as they fought for the food.

The lookout tower

One of the learning stations where they can build with wooden blocks. The kids worked hard on a giant castle that they enjoyed destroying moments later!

Gabby and Ryan playing in the giant caterpillar

Making music in the "mountains"

If you have kids and you live around here, you really should go check this garden out. There is also a giant Noah's Ark with water that the kids can run around and play in. The entire garden has bronze statues of different animals spread out. It's just a neat place, whether you're a nature buff or not, I'm pretty sure you'll find it delightful!

Dear Yellowstone, I LOVE You!!!

2009-09-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

After many months of waiting I finally got to go to Yellowstone! Ever since I found out that Josh has never been, I've been determined to get him there. I am VERY happy to announce that the trip was a complete success!

We spent our first day in Rexburg to see my old stompin' grounds and to visit with my nephew Kyle, who is going to BYU-I. It was crazy to see how much it has changed. It also made me realize how OLD I am. I couldn't believe how young all the students looked. We stayed in a really stinky and gross motel that had a FREEZING cold swimming pool. But it was cheap, so it worked. We were just happy to get to see Kyle and be so much closer to head into Yellowstone in the morning.

Within 5 minutes of heading into the park we saw some Elk. Then a few minutes later, we found our first Bison. He was REALLY big and didn't seem very happy to have us there, so we didn't stay long. We didn't want to be one of those tourists who end up with a horn in their gut!

Then we stopped at some of the geysers and pools. The wind kept blowing the warm steam across our faces and fogging up our glasses. Gabby kept calling them hot tubs but was quick to remind us that we can't go in them. We made her wear one of those backpack/child-on-a-leash contraptions to keep her from dissolving in one of her "hot tubs".

Of course, no trip to Yellowstone is complete without a visit to Old Faithful. We had great timing and only had to wait 20 minutes to see it erupt. Gabby had more fun playing with the kids that sat by us, but she seemed impressed once it finally got going.

We worked our way up through the park and got to our cabin in the evening. We were pleasantly surprised. We both had expected it to be more rustic than it ended up being. Gabby LOVED it and kept calling it our cottage. She full on cried when we left and she realized that it is not our cottage! Here are some pix of our Home away from Home.

Staying at Mammoth was SO fun. I've never stayed in Yellowstone in anything other than a tent, so it was nice to have a warm place to come home to. Also, we had the added perk of having Elk everywhere. They just walk around and act like they own the place. It was a bit freaky to hear them bugling so near us as we walked to the bathroom in the dark. Freaky...but in a good chills down your spine, kind of way!

We were lucky enough to see plenty of wildlife-everything on the check list but bears. We are DETERMINED to see the bears next time, and there WILL be a next time! We were really lucky to see wolves and some Big Horn Sheep. The wolves were so far away that we couldn't get a good photo, but we were really close to the Sheep-they were right above us, climbing the cliffs.

We headed home on the third day, out of the South exit, which goes through Teton National Park. It was such a gorgeous day! We were really annoyed to be met with a ton of construction, which had scared all the animals away, but we got an amazing view of the Tetons.

I was really bummed that I didn't get to see a Moose in Teton Park. So, I jumped out of the car before it came to a stop when we saw a bull Moose at Bear Lake. Moose are my second favorite animal, so I was thrilled to finally see one!

I just have to say that I am EXTREMELY proud of my little family. Josh was such a good sport, driving me all over the place to see my favorite spots and to sit and look for animals for hours. He even took one last detour on our way home because he didn't want me to be dissappointed that we didn't get to see the wolves. Because of that, we got to see two wolves and it made the trip for me! Thanks BABE!!!!

Gabby was my little trooper. We kept her "trapped" in the car for entire days at a time, and she didn't cry or complain once! She was excited about the scenery and helping Mom find the animals. I'm pretty sure she said "wow" and "cool" about 20 times a day. It was one of those moments when I just wanted to scream, "That's my girl!!!!!!!!!!!". I just LOVE my little family and there are few words to describe how happy sharing one of my favorite places with them, made me feel.

The Evil Carrot

2009-09-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days where just about everything that could possibly go wrong, does? Well, this was one of those lovely days. To name a few of the my plagues of the day:
Gabby refused to take a nap and was the BIGGEST stinker about it. I'm talking out of control naughty where I had to take some major deep breaths. I warned her that she would lose her privilege to watch any TV for the day and then when I had to enforce that threat-things got REALLY ugly. I've never seen her cry so hard that she couldn't breath, until today. UGH!
Then when Gabby and I were playing outside she decided she needed to go potty and ran in to take care of it by herself. Well, she somehow managed to lock herself in the house. When I ran around to get in from the garage,..you guessed it: locked! UGH! I stood outside yelling at her how to unlock the door while she was upset and telling me to hurry to help her get her pants off. She finally managed to unlock the door, after about 15 minutes. UGH UGH!!
Then we had one of the scariest moments of my life. Gabby was eating a carrot and then got upset about something. So, she threw herself down to the ground and her head smacked the floor. Well, this also caused the carrot to become lodged in her throat. At first I thought it was just your run of the mill, choking. She was making sounds and seemed ok. But then she started turning red and no sound was coming out. I panicked!! I couldn't remember if I was supposed to do the regular Heimlich or the baby kind for her age, so I just kept trying both until I could hear her making sounds and coughing. My neighbor was outside so I screamed her name and she came in to help me. Then she helped me stay calm while Gabby just coughed her little lungs out. After what seemed forever, she finally coughed out 4 pieces of carrot. Then my sweet little Gabby said, "Momma, that carrot made me scared and sad". Me too sweetie, me too! It was seriously the scariest moment of my life. I'm shaking and crying right now, as I recall how it all felt. I'm just SO grateful that everything turned out ok. But not grateful for the stress it put on my already frayed nerves. UGH UGH UGH!!!
So, there you go: a day in the life of Crystal. Fortunately, days like this are few and far between. To end this post on a happy note, here are some pix of Gabby that I forgot to post earlier:

When Patrick and Lara watched Gabby last weekend, Lara took the time to give Gabby a darling hairdo. I took photos because anyone who knows my lack of hair talent, knows it's unlikely I'll ever see it again! :)

I Heart Surprises!

2009-09-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Josh and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary on the 28th of August. It's CRAZY that 5 years have already come and gone. We had made plans to go camping with my family on our anniversary weekend, which was WONDERFUL! But, we figured that we should probably do something with just the two of us, since the 5 year mark is a biggie! So...my sweet, wonderful hubby, knowing how much I LOVE surprises, did his best to plan a surprise for me. He arranged for Patrick and Lara to watch Gabby so we could have our first over-nighter since she joined our family. (THANK YOU Patrick and Lara) And he booked an amazing room in a REALLY cool hotel-Yah Josh! He didn't succeed at keeping it a surprise though...he always gets too excited and ends up telling me! But, I was thrilled, surprise or not! I've never been one to enjoy luxury or pampering, but this hotel, The Sky Lodge, was A-MAZ-ING! If I could I would decorate my home the exact same way. It was just gorgeous! (If you like the modern/contemporary look that is). Here are some pictures and YES-I forgot my camera! Don't disown me Lara! :) So, forgive me for the grainy, horrible quality that I get from my oh so lovely cell phone!

Our room had not one, but TWO living rooms:

We had a full kitchen and dining room:

Our bathroom was HUGE, with a glass shower, two sinks and a tub in the middle of the room! How does one fill a tub when it's in the middle of the room you ask...the water comes out of the CEILING, of course!

Here's a cute little love note that Josh left for me on the shower door:

My favorite part of our room: a hot tub on the balcony! We got to sit in the hot tub while watching the moon and stars come out-very cool!

The view from our balcony:

We had so much fun walking up and down Main Street and just being chill. I had a photo of Josh with a silly moose, but it didn't save on my phone for some reason. :(

I was SO impressed with Park City. I always thought it was "Hoighty Toity" and snobby, but it was not like that at all. Everyone was dressed casually and were just chillin'. If I ever win the lottery, I'm pretty sure I'm buying a house in Park City! Thanks BABE for a wonderful, romantic evening! Five years down...many more to come..and I'm pretty sure it's only getting better from here on out! :)

So You Think You Can Dance...

2009-09-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today was a BIG day for Gabby and I. She grew up, right before my eyes, and I must admit, those eyes of mine got misty more than once! How is it possible that they grow so quickly? As hard as it is to see her keep getting older and older, I am thoroughly enjoying each phase of her life-nothing brings me more joy!

Today was Gabby's first dance class! She has been begging to go to school, because all her older friends are going to preschool. But there is NO WAY I'm going to pay for 3 years of preschool, so I looked into other activities for her. After checking out some dance studios that charged hundreds of dollars just to get your child in the door, I was discouraged. But then, thanks to my friend Christina, I found the perfect place. It's right up the street, in a lady's basement. She only charges $25/month for one 45 minute class a week-perfect! And on top of that, she used to sell dance clothes in a store so had a bunch of clothes for us to buy at wholesale-score!

My little ballerina was SO excited she could hardly stand it. Every 15 minutes she'd ask if it was time for dance class yet. Once I finally let her put her dance clothes on, an hour before class, she danced around the house and sang songs about being a ballerina or princess and going to dance class. What a character!

Gabby took my camera and said, "Mom, we need a picture of you waiting for dance class too. We need to put it on the blog!" So...here is Gabby's photographic talent..too bad she was handicapped by a less than stellar subject!

When we arrived at the studio, she ran right in and got down to business. They had them color pictures of ballerinas while they waited for everyone to get there. The second photo is of her teacher, Miss Julie.

The Moms were asked to leave or wait in the other room so we wouldn't distract our children. At one point, Gabby opened the door and complained to me about the girl who wouldn't stop crying/screaming. Other than that, she stayed in the room and made good use of the $. I'm the first to admit that at this age, it's not much more than a glorified play group, but she did show me a few "moves" she learned and showed me a "bee dance". Even though it's only a few minutes a week, I'm thinking a little independent time from Mom will be good for the both of us!

A Campin' We Will Go!

2009-09-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

This weekend I got back in touch with my roots and spent some time in the mountains. But this time, I took my family with me! It was so nice to be out in "the boonies" with my little family, my parents, my brother Trevor, and my brother Lance and his fam! Good time, good times!

All the guys pitched in to help Josh set up our monstrous and complicated tent. Gabby could hardly wait to check out the inside of the tent and was anxious to sleep in it. Truth be told, I've come to the conclusion that I HATE tents and for the life of me can't ever get any sleep while in one. We have decided it's time to save our money for a little camper!

After settling in, we all headed up the mountain to Butterfly Lake. We spent 4 hours fishing and guess who didn't catch anything?! That would be me! Ugh!!! I have always been cursed with fishing, but it's still fun to try! With the help of my family, Gabby caught her first fish. It was SO cute to watch her reeling it in and then touching it. I think she got a bit freaked out when she saw the blood though! That's my girl! :) To this day, I refuse to put a worm on the hook or gut the fish. I must be such a disappointment to my family of hard core campers!

G'ma Valentine brought a pink bag for "Gabby's Treasures". Gabby spent hours with her eyes to the ground looking for special things to put in her bag. We came home with a bag full of pine cones, flowers, rocks, and sticks!

Of course, no camping trip is complete without a bonfire and smores! Gabby was so excited about this part, as she's seen it on several of her cartoons. They were SO delicious and made me feel like a kid again. I loved sitting in our camp chairs, visiting and singing songs while we watched the fire. I've always been mesmerized by a good bonfire!

Then it was time to hit the sack. Gabby couldn't wait to climb inside her new sleeping bag and sleep in the tent. As Josh and I were getting all settled in and situated, we realized that Gabby had already fallen asleep! She slept so hard that she didn't even wake up in the morning so Josh and I just left the tent door open and let her sleep while we ate our breakfast. Josh and I...well that's a whole 'nother story! I couldn't sleep because I spent all night listening to every snap of branches and all the little critters scampering around our tent. Josh's air mattress went flat and he was very uncomfortable so he ended up sleeping in the car. I finally managed to fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning. A few hours is better than nothing, I suppose.

Sunday morning was just nice and relaxing. We hung around camp and then walked over to the river to play. Some brave members of my family headed into the water. Gabby wanted to go in too, but I only let her wade a bit in the shallow parts.

We had to check out by 1 pm to avoid another day's fee, and that came too soon. Gabby was really tired so thank goodness for our DVD player. It kept her awake all the way home so we all got a long and lovely Sunday afternoon nap! Yah! So...Despite the lack of sleep, I always LOVE camping. It takes me back to my childhood, which is always a very happy thing. When you're camping you don't have distractions like TV and music. It's just family, conversation, and good laughs. Plus, I feel closer to God in the mountains than I do anywhere else. Everything is so beautiful and peaceful. I just LOVE being in the great outdoors and can't wait till the next time. Yellowstone...here we come!

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, AND.....

2009-08-11T12:38:00.001-07:00

So I forgot to tell this funny little story. Gabby's nursery teacher informed me that they were singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" in class. They were all standing in a circle and singing along-Gabby the loudest, of course. So, what does my darling little angel do? She jumps into the middle of the circle and yells at the top of her lungs "AND BOOBIES"!!! She then proceeds to tell everyone that "My Mommy has boobies". Wow-I'm so proud of the example she sets in Church! I have a funny feeling this is only the beginning...Heaven help us!

One of Those Weeks...

2009-08-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those weeks where everything is going wrong...you are stressed, exhausted, and just plain ol' completely spent? Well, this was one of those weeks. Fortunately, it didn't last long because my amazing husband gave me exactly what I needed.
First of all, he had flowers delivered for Gabby and I. Gabby was SO excited when she answered the door to see not one, but TWO bouquets of flowers. She said "huh? Two flowers?" and when the man told her the second one was for her she shrieked in delight, "FOR ME"?! It was so darling and made both of our days!

As beautiful and lovely the flowers were, it still wasn't enough to clear my head and give me the tranquility I was in search of. SO...Josh and I decided to send me to the mountains by myself! Yah! We found a great deal on a room at Snowbird and I was on my way. It was PERFECT and exactly what I needed. Thanks Babe!!!!

I got up to Snowbird around 4:30 and got settled into my room. It was really nice, complete with kitchen and fireplace and of course the best part-the mountain facing balcony! I was too eager to get up on the mountain so I grabbed my camera (Yah me!) and headed out the door. I took the Tram ride up to the top. What views! My favorite was when I found a baby deer right below us, lying in the bushes. I was hoping to see a moose, but no luck! Maybe next time! Once on the top, I decided to hang out up there for a while. I hiked down a few trails and then ended up at the new tunnel. They've built a tunnel that goes 600 ft. to the other side so skiers can access the other side. It was really eerie to walk through the tunnel, but the view on the other side was worth it! Just gorgeous! My favorite part of the evening was when I took the chair lift down. I saw many deer and was blown away by the scenery: waterfalls, ponds, tons of trees-I was in heaven!
I wrapped up the evening by drinking hot chocolate on my balcony, watching the sun go down, and writing in my journal. It was wonderful, peaceful, and perfect! I slept well and then headed out for a morning hike. I had decided to go ALL the way to the top, but freaked myself out about half way up and headed back down-I guess I only got 50% of the Valentine Adventurous Spirit! But it was great and I've been giddy and happy ever since, so here are some pictures for my little mountain adventure.

Then later on that day, since Josh had taken time off of work, we decided to go to the Dinosaur Museum with Gabby. She had a blast, once she got used to the large bones and creepy sounds they piped in through the speakers, that is!

Josh and I have decided that I need my own little mountain getaway about once every 6 months to preserve my sanity! :) Sounds good to me!!! For now, I get to look forward to our camping trip in two weeks and then our trip to Yellowstone in September. Yep, I'm Giddy!

Cuz I Have all the Time in the World...

2009-07-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

So I have this new hobby as I have before mentioned. BUT...it is killing me! It has truly become an obsession. I literally spend hours every night searching the Internet for freebies that I like. Then begins the process of downloading, extracting files, and then sorting into my different folders. It's the PERFECT hobby for me...Cuz I have all the time in the world! NOT!!!!! (I apologize for that sad early 90's reference)
Anyway, it has definitely become a LOVE/HATE relationship. The whole process is beyond frustrating for me...especially when it takes more than an hour just to figure out how to fill in an area with color-good grief! On the other hand, it gives me something to do while Josh watches his evening TV.
So..without further ado, here are a few more of my recent attempts. Again, to those of you who actually know what you're doing, you know who you are-don't judge! :)

(This last one was a template so I really just added the photo and letters-can't take full credit)

I am constantly debating if this new hobby of mine is worth all the grief, time, and effort...will keep you posted. In the mean time, I will continue to lose sleep and grow gray hairs over an art form I SWORE I would NEVER dabble in. Never say never, I guess!

A Scary Day!

2009-07-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

Well, as most of you have already heard, yesterday gave us all a good scare. Gabby and I went to the "cookie store" to get some groceries. I knew something was wrong when she told me "Mom, I don't want a cookie anymore. My tummy hurts". So, we wrapped up the shopping quickly and went straight home-she cried and moaned all the way home. When we got home she climbed on my bed, held her tummy and curled up in a ball. Then I took her temperature and it was 102.5. I had previously set an appt. to see our Dr. for my allergies so I called and asked if they could see Gabby instead.
By the time I took her in, an hour later, Gabby had fallen asleep watching her FAVORITE cartoon and just kept moaning and saying her tummy and body hurt. She was SO tired and lethargic that she didn't wake up as I moved her from bed to the car, which NEVER happens with Gabby. Then when we got in to see Dr. Tipton, she wouldn't even stay awake for the exam and kept sleeping in my arms, which again, NEVER happens with Gabby. They examined her and then Dr. Tipton said to me, "if it were my child, I'd take her to the ER". WHAT?! I was not prepared to hear that and lost it. So, after a phone call to Josh to meet us there, I was off to the hospital. On the drive there Gabby kept drifting off and even fell asleep while sucking on her sucker from the Dr. WHAT? Gabby fall asleep while eating sugar?? NEVER!
So, I was of course worried about her and wondering why we were being sent to the ER. It was SO scary.
Long story short, we spent 6 hours sitting around the hospital waiting for this test result and that. They wanted to observe Gabby to make sure she was ok. She had thrown up in the parking lot all over Josh, and from that point on, was acting more her normal self again. Yah! :)
They finally let us go home with the instructions to keep an eye on her and come back if her tummy hurts again or if her fever gets too high. She did complain of a tummy ache last night and her fever did get up to 102, but she seems ok so we haven't taken her back. We are just going to stay at home, rest, and get better.
The worst moment of the entire ordeal was when Gabby was sleeping on the hospital bed. She opened her eyes, looked at me, and said "Goodbye Momma. I love you". Then she fell asleep again. As you can imagine, I completely lost it and called Josh to come back to the hospital cuz I was so emotionally drained. SCARY!

So...here is a photo I took of her sleeping in her hospital bed. I thought about a LOT of things while she was sleeping in such a scary environment. It was not fun to watch my tiny baby girl being sick in a hospital. It was definitely one of those life-changing moments.
She seems just fine today-back to her happy, go-lucky, bubbly personality. We are supposed to keep an eye on her and bring her right back if any of it comes back, but so far, so good! It was just one of those moments that made me realize how truly blessed I am-How blesed my little family is!

Graduation Day!

2009-07-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Today was a BIG day for Gabby-she graduated from her crib to a big girl bed!! Her crib was recalled so we had to take it apart so we can get a voucher for a new one. Yah-new crib! We went to IKEA a while ago to pick out a bed and found a really cheap bed that is perfect. It's lower so if she rolls out the fall won't be that far. We got a twin mattress on sale at IKEA for only $100 so it was a VERY successful trip to our beloved store!

(Kissing her crib goodbye)
We tried really hard to get Gabby excited about her bed. She got to pick out her own comforter at Target and decided against a princess one for Hello Kitty. It made her Mom VERY proud! We then let her "help" take the bed apart and put it together. She was so excited about the whole process and was pretty much bouncing off the walls. Once the bed was set up she didn't want to get out of it. Yah!

(Looks like the screwdriver is going up Josh's nose)
As night approached my anxiety level began to creep up higher and higher. I was SO worried that getting her to stay in her bed and go to sleep would be a big pain. Well...I was wrong! She read books for 10 minutes, told us once she needed to go potty, and waited for us to get her, and then...asleep! WOW! Now let's all keep our fingers crossed that she keeps it up.

Josh made the comment that she looks so tiny in her big bed...so true! It just blows my mind that our little "baby" is getting so grown up. Taking down her crib today was definitely bitter sweet!

In other news...I am becoming obsessed with digital scrapbooking! I don't have a clue what I'm doing and just play around until I figure something out, but it's becoming a really fun outlet for me! Here is my 2nd attempt..again, NO looking too closely!

Happy 4th and Random Gabbiness!

2009-07-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well, in true Crystal form, I forgot my camera on the actual 4th of July-ugh! We had Josh's parents over for a BBQ of yummy steak, bruschetta, and fruit. It was delicious! Then we all headed over to Red Mango-which has THE yummiest frozen yogurt EVER! I had fresh mangos and raspberries on mine-pure heaven. Next time anyone comes visit, remind us to take you there! After that, we headed over to watch the Riverton fireworks. Gabby did GREAT and only got nervous a few times-much improvement over last year. The show was really impressive and lasted a full 30 minutes. We kept thinking it was over but it just kept going. We got Gabby to bed around midnight-I'm pretty sure she could have gone all night long if we had let her-she is quite the night owl!
We had purchased a big box of fireworks, which we didn't get around to doing on the 4th, so we ended up doing them the next evening. We drew a crowd and soon were hanging out with neighbors and friends and having a good ol' time. Gabby and her friends loved playing with the sparklers and eating their popsicles.

( I LOVE this photo-their faces are just classic!!!)

We hope everyone had a fabulous 4th and took time to remember how blessed we are to live in this amazing country! God bless the USA!

In other news, Gabby has been such a ham this week! It was been one funny moment after the next and she has certainly kept us entertained! Here is a few of her "greatest hits":

While Josh and I were running around getting dressed this morning, Gabby was busy dragging some of her toys into our bedroom. When I stopped to ask her what she was doing I got the following explanation. "I'm making cookies Mom. This is my recipe book. This is yours and this is Daddy's recipe book. Here are our spoons, here is the sugar, here is the butter and here is the coconut. I'm going to make strawberry cookies. Daddy's going to make chocolate cookies and you'll make coconut cookies Mom". She had it lined up and ready to go. It cracked us up. She wouldn't let us leave for the store until we all sat down and "cooked" our cookies. Between cooking and planning "parties" all day long, she stays busy!

Here is a picture of another cooking moment. She had her friends Avery and George over to play so they all put their aprons on and cooked away in the bedroom. It was so funny to hear of the concoctions that they came up with...french fry soup, fish stew, and hot dog casserole. That sounds YUMMY huh?!

One of Gabby's favorite cartoons is Little Bear. On one of the episodes Little Bear measures himself and keeps getting bigger and bigger-till he's the size of a building! Gabby got into my junk drawer, found the measuring tape and proceeded to measure herself. She drug her stool out of the bathroom and said "Look Mom! I'm Bigger Gabby just like Bigger Little Bear!" Her life is made up of Little Bear, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, and Max and Ruby references! Steel trap mind I tell ya!

And last but certainly not least, the other day Gabby was being quiet in her room...too quiet. I always know this means trouble so I went in to find she had helped herself to the box of band-aids. What a character!

I'll leave you with my first attempt at my new hobby. I am ATTEMPTING to enter the world of digital scrapbooking. I've NEVER been a scrapbooker and have zero creative ability, but I want to have a fun way to preserve Gabby's photos, so I'm attempting it. I have been using Shutterfly but they only have a few cute backgrounds and I don't want to keep using the same ones over and over, so I'm left with putting together my own pages. It is way more difficult than I thought it would be, and I've only scratched the surface of all I need to learn. But...anyway...enough blabbering...here's my first attempt. Don't judge! :)

(you can click on it to make it bigger-I messed up lots so don't look too closely!)

Adventure Box

2009-06-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

This was a very busy week for us and I must admit-I LOVE being busy and productive! I can't believe how much we managed to squeeze into this week and it was great fun. Gabby and I made an "adventure box" which has been keeping us busy. We filled a box with papers that have a different adventures written on them. Some are simple adventures, such as finding a new park to play in. While others require much more effort, such as hiking or a trip to the zoo. I ALWAYS seem to forget the camera, but I did manage to get a few Kodak moments of some of our activities this week.

Daybreak has a part of the lake that they've turned into a little beach. There is lots of soft sand that goes out into the water and they allow wading up to chest level. So, we met up with our friends and had a blast. I LOVE walking around on sand and especially appreciate how the sand exfoliates my feet! Gabby, Conner, and Ryan had so much fun building sand castles and canals. It made me wish we lived closer to a REAL beach!

I would say the biggest adventure of the week, even though it wasn't from the box, was Gabby's first haircut. We cut her hair once, way back when it all fell out and she had a mullet in the back! But, it's just been growing like a weed since. We didn't do much to it-just trimmed up the ends and evened out her bangs, but Gabby thought it was great fun! I think it made her feel really grown up. I was impressed with how brave she was and how still she sat, which NEVER happens!

And then the last part of this blog post is a shout-out to Uncle Patrick. Patrick has a reputation for taking reading material to the restroom and staying in there for an extended period of time. Well...he must have inspired Gabby. Yesterday she walked past me and said "Mom, I gotta go poo poo", then she went into her room, picked up a book, and headed to the bathroom. It was SO funny and she stayed in there for a quite a while, even after she had done her business!

I vow to carry my camera with me more often and document some of our more serious adventures, hopefull soon! I'm sure you'll be sitting on the edge of your seat. Ha Ha!

Say Cheese!

2009-06-16T14:11:00.001-07:00

I used to have a most difficult time of getting Gabby to smile, let alone look at the camera. Today I had a pleasant surprise when Gabby just kept posing and asking me to take more pictures. I should have pulled out the REAL camera, but was having so much fun watching all her silly poses that I just kept it up with the cell phone. SO, sorry for the graininess of the pictures but they are still cute as can be and made me smile so much that I had to share them. Enjoy!
(PS. She is wearing one of her bibs, in case you were wondering what strange shirt that is)

My New Hair!!!

2009-06-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

So...here's my new haircut for those of you who aren't around to see it. I decided to be very brave and go for some bangs. So far I'm liking it but I hope I can style it on my own-that is always the tricky part!

Stop Growing!!!

2009-06-04T14:17:00.001-07:00

So lately, more than ever, I am painfully aware of how fast my "baby" is growing up! It is truly mind boggling and sad at the same time. I miss my baby, but I am loving the little girl my daughter has become!

I miss the "cocadee"s (chocolate) and "watee"s (water), but am loving her latest trick of teaching ME how to talk. It goes something like this:

Gabby: Say cho
Gabby: Now colate
Gabby: Now say Choc-o-late
Gabby: Now say Chocolate Milk
Gabby: Good Mom!!!

I miss the "No Mom, no bed...no ti-yed, no-tiyed"'s but am loving the lively conversations we have before EVERY bedtime. It goes something like this:

Gabby: It's bedtime Mom?
Mom: Yes Gabby
Gabby: But I'm not tired Mom and I don't like my bed and I want to sleep in YOUR bed
Mom: No Gabby it's bedtime, pick 2 books to take to bed with you
Gabby: How about 3 books in bed Mom and 2 books to read with you?
Mom: No
Gabby: One more Mom, please, just one more!

As you can see, her negotiation skills are pretty spectacular! Does it wear us out? YES!! Is it cute as can be? Heck Ya!!

And most of all, I miss watching her tiny little body walk or run around the green court as she explored her world. It seems like just yesterday when she learned to walk around the sidewalk or run in the grass. BUT, I am loving what Gabby learned to do yesterday! It goes something like this:

So..the moral of this little story is just that I am SO glad I write down, blog, and take pictures of my baby girl's moments because she is growing faster than I can fathom! I am SO grateful for her and all the joy she brings into our life. She is exactly what I hoped for...and then some. Being a Mom is seriously the BEST job on the planet and I just had to share my giddiness with y'all!

It's Official: Summer is Here!

2009-05-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

I think our crazy cold spring is finally starting to leave us and Summer is officially here! And despite the occasional rain, we managed to do some fun summer activities this weekend. Our Memorial Day weekend was a complete success: a perfect blend of fun activities and rest. If only 3 day weekends came around more often, like EVERY week! We started the weekend on Friday by playing in the water with the neighborhood gang. I get so giddy when I see the children squealing with delight as they splash through the water and enjoy life:

The rest of the weekend was filled with eating out with family, running errands, and boating on the lake:

(This is Trevor, in case you can't tell-darn fuzzy cell phones!)

We had plans to go to the canyon for a bonfire, but the rain changed our plans. I was SO bummed and grumpy about it so Josh decided to cook up some burgers and hot dogs on the grill and then instead of cooking smores we did chocolate fondue! It was SO yummy! I missed being in the mountains but it was a fabulous plan B. Thanks Josh!

And the rest of our weekend was spent relaxing, just like this:

We hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well and also took some time to think of those we love, who are no longer with us. We decided that soon we are going to take Gabby to visit the graves of her great grand-grandparents and others who have passed on. We will take photos and tell her about them. I think it's important for us to always remember the things our relatives have taught us and share those things with our children. I just hope the grave part doesn't freak her out. Maybe we'll just say it's a place to think about them and not get into the actual ground bit-ya, I think that is the safe route. Anyway, just thinking out loud now. Thanks for listening. Love you all!!!

It Just Aint Worth It!!!

2009-05-17T20:41:00.001-07:00

If there is a theme for my life the last week or so, it is definitely "It Just Aint Worth It"! Let me count the ways....

It Just Aint Worth It to eat junk food! Ever since my surgery I have had the hardest time getting back to my routine of eating healthy and working out. I have enjoyed too many boxes of Milk Duds to count, bags of chips, Mexican Coke, and fast food! Sadly, I've gained about 5 lbs, and that just makes me so sad. When I think how HARD I have to work to lose that 5 lbs....it just aint worth it! NO MORE!

It Just Aint Worth It to hire a maid! I know it's a shocker that I, a Valentine by blood, actually hired a maid! Please don't disown me! :) Josh recently got a big bonus from working so much overtime, so he gave me half of it to spend as I like. So, I decided to get my house clean, as it has totally fallen behind while I've been sick. My friend told me about the ladies who clean her house and I got a really good deal, so I went for it. I have always thought it would be SO cool to have someone come in and clean my house. It wasn't! Don't get me wrong, it was nice to see my baseboards clean, my garbage cans clean and lined, and my toilet paper folded into a little hotel-esque triangle. BUT-I was so uncomfortable and felt too guilty the entire time they were here. They told me to just go outside and relax with Gabby while they get the house clean. But, I just couldn't do it. I felt too guilty, knowng they were cleaning MY house, which is MY job. It was a strange feeling. So, I grabbed my gardening gloves and weeded my "yard", and then moved on to my neighbor's as well! It was nice to have my house clean but I doubt I will ever do it again. Call me crazy! :)

It Just Aint Worth It to skip church! Every since my infamous Mother's Day post, I've been feeling a pretty heavy dose of guilt! As fun and nice it is to spend the day in bed (as I did today cuz of being sick) or spending the day doing fun family things, it's more important to go to church. Josh needs it. I need it. And more importantly, Gabby needs it-so no more skipping Church for us!

It Just Aint Worth It to be boring! I've been doing a LOT of lying around and being lazy lately. At first my surgery was a nice excuse to do nothing, but now, it's just getting old. Saturday night reminded me of how many fun, exciting things there are out there to do. We were given free tickets to the Bee's baseball game from Josh's brother, Patrick. It was SO fun! I've never been into baseball but I learned a lot about the sport and am starting to appreciate it more. It was fun to be in the suite and be treated to free hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken tenders. Gabby just loved playing with her cousins and stuffing her body full of popcorn! I've just been thinking a lot about how short life is and how many adventures there are to be had! No more sitting around, doing nothing! It's Go Time-now I just need to convince Josh! :)

I'll end this post by saying there WAS one thing this week that was totally worth
it! We participated in Daybreak's' yard sale on Saturday. We hauled out all our "junk" from the basement and sold our little hearts out. We made $200! That may not sound like a lot, but compared to the $20 we made last year, we were feeling rich! It was fun to get all the stuff cleared out of our basement too. Now we can move ahead with finishing the two bedrooms! Yah! It was great to hang out with Mom and Dad Valentine too-I hope it was worth it for them to come and join us-thanks for joining us in the festivities and sorry you got sunburned Mom! :)

I hope your past week has been more productive and "worth it" then mine has. I am DETERMINED to make this coming week much better and get my life back on track. No more excuses!!!

Mother I Love You, Mother I Do!

2009-05-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

What a Wonderful Mother's Day today has been! When Josh asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day I told him to surprise me-and for the first time, he actually pulled it off! (He is NOT good at keeping surprises from me) My day started out on a high as Gabby came into my room with her giant smile and said "Happy Mother's Day" in her darling little voice. It was so cute I had to get a recording of her saying it, but I warn you, she was REALLY hyper when I took this video:

Then I got a gift bag of goodies: a BIG box of Milk Duds, a candle holder, and a weight loss book by Jillian Michaels. Yah! It was so fun to watch Gabby get so excited about my gifts and the day in general. She has said or sung Happy Mother's Day to me about 50 times today!

Then we headed out for breakfast. Josh wanted to take me to a brunch at McCool's but they weren't opened yet so we just took a photo opp. at the water fountain.

We then drove from restaurant to restaurant looking for a place to eat breakfast that didn't have a mile long line. We finally settled on The Blue Plate, which was recently featured on The Food Network. Now we know why. It was SOooo good. I had the best french toast of my life. It was covered in strawberries, toasted coconut, and fresh whipped cream-DELICIOUS!!! It is a really fun, eclectic place that reminded me of France for some reason.

Once our tummies were full we were off to the zoo. Gabby about blew a fuse from excitement. She just wanted to run from animal to animal and kept saying "more animals, more animals!". It was a perfectly warm yet cool day and was just perfect. Here are my fav. pictures from the zoo:

After a MUCH-NEEDED nap at home, we then headed out for dinner with Patrick, Lara, Will, and Millie. We went to Texas Roadhouse, which we had heard was good but had never tried. It was really good, especially the amazing rolls with cinnamon butter-Mmmmmm! We had fun visiting and hanging out. Thanks for the invite guys! Gabby and Will had fun walking on the "balance beam" after dinner.

After one of the longest, craziest weeks of my life, this was the perfect day! It was SO relaxing and fun and totally rejuvenated my batteries. I am ready to get back on track and get my life back to "normal". Life is wonderful!
I hope you All had a wonderful Mother's Day!
Mom-I had plans of doing a Mother's Day post for you, but let me tell you-finding photos of you and I together is near impossible! Since you were always the one holding the camera, there are very few pictures of us together-guess we better change that huh?! :) Anyway, I want to tell you that I love you VERY much and have never appreciated you as much as I do now. Being a Mom is the hardest job I've ever had and you did it SIX times!!! You amaze me. Thanks for always being there for me and giving me the tools I need to become the woman I am today. You are a wonderful Grandma to Gabrielle and are a positive influence to her as well. Thank You and I love you!

Terri-I also want to wish you a Happy Mother's Day! From the first time I met you, you have always been very warm, loving, and accepting of me. I used to dread that I'd have a Mother-in-law who is the stereotypical critical woman. But that is SO not you-you accept me as is and only encourage to be stronger. I love you for that. I love you for being a fabulous Grandma to Gabby. Thank You!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE!!!!!!!! I am blessed with a ton of fabulous ladies/Moms in my life-you all deserve the best!

Ode to the Single Mom!!!

2009-05-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

This week has been a CRAZY one for Josh, as he has a trillion and two TONS of drama to deal with! He has been getting home around 10-11 pm! I must say I have a whole new respect for single Moms. I never knew how much I rely on my 6:30 pm break when Josh gets home. Without it, I about lose ALL sanity! Don't get me wrong-being Gabby's Mom is THE best job on the planet but it is NOT easy. I am one of those Moms, which I'm discovering is a rare thing, that actually spends LOTS of time with my child! This is my job-my full time job and I make sure to give it all I've got an then some. But, let me tell you-when I don't get that evening break and down time, my job suddenly becomes REALLY draining and leaves me wondering, "where's my overtime check?"?! And then again, even single Moms aren't with their children 24/7, Most of them have their daytime job and then are with their kids in the evening. So, I am even jealous of them at this point and time in my life.

I just want my husband back! Everyone wants more money and to be more "comfortable" in their life, but at what cost? Is it worth it to have nicer clothes and vacations if my daughter never gets to play with her Daddy? Is it worth not living paycheck to paycheck if I never get to spend time with my husband? HOPEFULLY, this is just one of those weeks and it won't become a pattern, who knows?

All I know is after this week I have a MUCH greater appreciation for having Josh around the house and all the things he helps out with. Without him around, my house is a disaster, my tummy is full of junk and no real food, and I'm lonely. Guess we all need moments like these to remind us of how much we love/appreciate someone.
So Babe, thanks for working SO dang hard to provide for your family and thanks for all you do for us when you ARE around. To those of you who never get the much-needed break, hats off to you! I have NO idea how you do it!

A Big Day for Gabby!!!

2009-05-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Gabby belongs to a little gang of kids that play together just about every day. Most of them are 4 and 5 years old, so Gabby is always trying to catch up to them and do "big girl" things. She has been trying with all her might to learn how to ride a scooter and tricycle for months. Well, Saturday was a BIG day for her because she managed to do them both! She was SO happy and excited!! So, of course I only had my cell phone on me, but here are two video clips of her accomplishments!
My baby girl is growing up and it sure is bitter sweet! :)

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child!

2009-04-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to send a HUGE shout-out to EVERYONE who has helped me over the past month. My surgery took a lot more out of me than I imagined and I ended up needing a LOT more help then I had anticipated. I am SO full of gratitude to all the amazing people in my life who have stepped up and helped out-I seriously wish I could find a way to pay everyone back. SO...I'd like to thank each and every one of you and PRAY that I don't forget anyone:

Josh- Thank you for being such a wonderful man/Father/Husband! You have been so incredibly helpful through all this and have really stepped up to the plate. Thanks for putting up with my plethora of moods!
Gabby-Thank you for being patient with Mommy and trying your best to understand when Mommy couldn't hold you or pick you up! You are such a strong, caring, wonderful girl!
Mom-Thank you SO much for staying with us for that first week and doing so much to take care of us, play with Gabby, and keep me from dying of boredom. Thank you for the beautiful flowers too. It was great to have you here!
Dad-Thank you for you letting Mom come here for so long and managing to live without her! Also, thanks for the phone calls to see how I was doing.
Trevor-Thank you for ALL your help. I have seriously relied on you SO much the last few weeks and I can't thank you enough for all the time you've spent playing with Gabby, and helping me get her in/out of her bed, etc. You have helped her stay happy and me stay sane through all this!
Dawn-Thank you for the phone calls and letting me whine/vent to you. You are my best listener and I appreciate you dealing with my depressive days!
Brett-Thank you for the phone calls to check in on me and see how I'm doing. Also, thank you for hooking me up with Depeche Mode tickets when my brain wasn't working well enough to remember when they went on sale!
Minta-Thank you for your phone calls and also for helping score me some sweet tickets!
Cyndi-Thank you for checking in with me-phone calls always brighten my day! It was fun to have you come stay with us too! :)
Lance-Thank you for the phone call to see how I am/birthday call. It is always fun to visit with you. Come stay with us again soon!
LesAnn-Thank you for your phone call and for the nice, long visit. That was nice and we need to do it more often!
Terri-Thank you for watching Gabby the day of the surgery and for making her SO happy by visiting the library. Also, thanks for taking her later on a play date and for all the phone calls to see how I am.
Patrick-Thank you for helping Josh to give me a blessing the night before my surgery. Also thank you for always asking how I am doing.
Paul-Thank you for the phone call the night before the surgery-that meant a lot to me.
Lara-Thank you for being my resource of information and letting me bug you with "is this normal?" questions.
KC-Thank you for the HILARIOUS voicemail message the night before my surgery. I still listen to it and bust up!
Gen-Thank you for calling on my birthday and visiting with me about how I was feeling/how the surgery went, etc.
Jeff/Natalie-Thank you for the yummy dinner that Josh even dreamed about!!! And the cinnamon rolls were SOOoo worth the 5 lbs. I gained!
Andrea Sam- You are too kind and helped out way too much. Thank you for meals, babysitting, and taking me to the Dr. You are amazing!
Melissa-Thank you for offering to help EVERY time I saw you and for being the world's best neighbor! Thanks for helping keep an eye on Gabby while she played outside. You are such a generous person.
Teresa-Thank you for helping me get Gabby in/out of bed, for the pretty flowers, and for always asking how I'm feeling when I saw you. Also, thank you for watching Gabby play outside.
Amber-Thank you for all your phone calls to see how I am. Gotta love being sick at the same time again huh? :)
Dawn W.-Thank you for bringing us such a big bowl of yummy soup! We enjoyed it for days!
Melinda-Thank you for the yummy dinner and then the GIANT, yummy bread! Gabby and I devoured it!
Shari-Thank you for the yummy meals and for watching Gabby! You know I hate asking for help, so your insistence really helped!
Natalie S.-Thank you for the delicious dinner you brought over and of course, the chocolate cake! Gabby and I ate that for days and it brought many smiles!
Liz-Thanks for asking me how I was at the Easter Egg hunt and for joking around with me about it. I was really nervous that night and you helped me feel more comfortable!
Cristen G.-Thank you for telling me I looked good at the grocery store. I NEEDED to hear that so you have no idea how happy that made me! :)
Jillyn-Thank you for your many calls to check in with me and make sure I was hanging in there! I know how sick you are so it means a lot to me that you took the time!

OK, I am sick to my stomach right now knowing that I've forgotten someone. If you are are that someone PLEASE forgive me and know that this last month has been a pain/narcotics induced blur! :)

I love, Love, LOVE you all and have never felt more blessed in my life. I am truly surrounded by amazing people and can't believe how much love and support our family has received. It truly takes a village to raise a child and I am so blessed to live in such a wonderful "village". I hope to be better at reaching out and helping others. Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!!

Fun Pix from the Aquarium!

2009-04-19T21:25:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to the Aquarium with Jeff, Natalie, and Jane. It was SOoo much fun to see the cute little girls get excited about all the sea life. Gabby was running around like a mad person she was so overcome with excitement. Too fun! If you live in the Salt Lake area I highly recommend a season pass to the aquarium. It is $16 for an adult and free for children under 3. It is SO worth it and the perfect place to go on rainy, dreary days!
Here are the pictures we took in a fun photo booth. Gabby was being SO silly!

Hop, Hop, Hop!!!

2009-04-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

HAPPY EASTER everyone!!! What a fun weekend it was for us! Friday night we decided to go to our neighborhood's annual flashlight Easter egg hunt. Gabby was SO excited that she couldn't stop talking about it all day. It finally got dark enough and the hunt began at 8:30 pm. It was at a local park and there were plastic eggs EVERYWHERE. We, of course, forgot our camera, but here is a picture of Gabby when she got home to open her eggs. She was thrilled to get so much candy and MONEY!

On Saturday it was time to dye Easter eggs! This has been one of my favorite Holiday activities for as long as I can remember so I couldn't wait. We decided to let Gabby use egg dye, markers, and water color paints. She was hilarious as she did all three with each egg. Her creations turned out pretty impressive for a 2 year old! We all had fun being silly and tuning in to our inner child. Josh, being the Holiday Grinch that he is, didn't decorate but he did get some giggles out of Gabby by pretending to eat the eggs. We had a blast!

This morning Gabby woke up to find Easter Eggs hidden all over the house. She could barely contain herself as she ran around looking for them all. When she found her basket hidden in the back of her "rabbit hole", she squealed with delight-the sound of music to parent's ears! Then we all got dressed and ready to go to church. We had some extra time so I decided to curl Gabby's hair for the FIRST time ever! I only got a few pieces curled but it looked super adorable and she felt like a princess! Imagine that!!! She LOVES her new Easter dress and I can't complain either. I'm always thrilled when I can find the perfect dress at a cheap Target price-Yee haw!!!

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter and had a chance to reflect on the true meaning to it all. There is a neat video on You Tube that you all should check out called "An Apostles Thoughts on Easter". It's really moving and a good reminder of what why we celebrate.

I found out that I have some far away nieces who enjoy seeing videos of Gabby, so here are a few more for my darling nieces in Alaska:
The first one is Gabby enjoying a swing in our new park. The second is a nearby hill that Gabby has coined "pudding hill" from her beloved Little Bear cartoon. She got almost to the top all by herself! She got the Valentine hiking genes! The last video is Gabby showing off her latest acquired talent of jumping over things. She has also picked up bowing after she performs. The first time my Mom saw this she was in tears of laughter, so this one's for you Mom.

HAPPY EASTER-WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND ARE GRATEFUL FOR SUCH AMAZING PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES!!!

The LONG wait is OVER!!!!

2009-03-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have known me a long time, you know I have wanted to get a breast reduction for a VERY long time. Well, I am beyond ecstatic to say that it happened! The surgery was yesterday and it went great! I am going to tell the story for my own record purposes so if that is of no interest to you, I totally understand and invite you to just look at the photos and move on with your life. :)
I was one of those girls who went from bean pole/no boobs to curvy girl with huge boobs overnight! They always made me self conscious and uncomfortable, especially when I was exercising or playing sports. When I was about 17 I had a lot of back pain and we looked into getting a reduction, but the insurance wouldn't cover it. I was bummed but moved on.
When I got pregnant with Gabby, I started getting really sick. I had daily blackouts, dizzy spells, and shakiness. It was awful and some days was so bad that I had to crawl from my bed to the bathroom because I didn't have the strength to walk! My neurologist at the time diagnosed me with Neural Mediated Hypostension Disorder and I was told there was nothing much I could do to take care of it. Even after my pregnancy, I continued to have symptoms, just not as often. I decided to go to a different Neurologist and that was the best decision! He immediately knew I did not have NMHD, and said I have a rare form of migraines called Silent Migraines. He gave me a medicine that made me feel SO much better and sent me to a Physical Therapist.
My new Neurologist and my Physical Therapist both agreed that a Breast Reduction would be a good thing for me and hopefully reduce my symptoms, if not take them away completely! I went to the Dr. they recommended and everything fell into place. The insurance said it would be covered! When I got the letter in the mail saying it had been approved, I cried like a baby! Like I said, I have wanted this for SO long-it was a happy moment.
I have been VERY nervous all week and an emotional wreck as the day got closer and closer. Josh and his brother, Patrick, gave me a blessing the night before the surgery that brought me peace and comfort. Thank you Patrick for coming out to the house for that-you're a fabulous Brother-in-law!
Grandma Terri offered to watch Gabby while we went to the hospital so a big shout out to her too! We arrived at the hospital at 9:45 am and my surgery started an hour later. I was in surgery/recovery for 3 hours. The first thing I remember after the surgery was Josh saying "hold up-that's my wife" as they wheeled me past him. Then they took me to my room and I was OUT OF IT for a while. A while later I attempted to eat applesauce and jello-but that did not go well. Once I got my anti-nausea medicine I was feeling good and have felt great ever since!
I got to come home this morning around 11 am. I am not in a lot of pain and only have to take half the prescribed dosage of Percocet. I have been outside walking around with Gabby and am just feeling wonderful! What a blessing! Here are the only two pictures I have of the experience-not that you want to see any more than that! :)

This is a picture of Gabby's care bear and I in the hospital. When Josh came back to the hospital to say goodnight to me, Gabby told him to take the care bear to me because it "will make Momma happy". She is such a sweetie and has been amazingly compassionate and helpful the last few days.

This is a picture of some stylish slippers a friend bought for me to take to the hospital and my Oh-so-sexy compression tights that I have to wear for two weeks to prevent blood clots. I know, I look SO hot-ha ha!

For those of you who are curious of the outcome, I'll post pictures-fully clothed of course-ha ha!! They said it will take a month or two for everything to be the way it's supposed to be. Right now I am flat as a board because I'm squashed into a REALLY tight, straight jacket resembling "bra". And the best part is I get to wear it day and night for 3 weeks-oh goodie!!
I just want to give a shout out to all the amazing people I have in my life. I am so touched by everyone's phone calls, emails, meals,gifts, etc. And an especially HUGE Thank You to my Mom for coming to stay with us and help me take care of Gabby! I am one blessed girl and have a beautiful life thanks to each and every one of you! Hugs and Kisses!!!

My Silly Gabby Girl!

2009-03-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Having my brother live with us the past few weeks has been great. He is such a great brother and friend. I think when it comes time for Trevor to leave, I'm pretty sure Gabby will be traumatized! She LOVES her Uncle Trevor and he's become one of her favorite playmates. Here are two video clips that Trevor took of Gabby while he was babysitting her. Sorry my blog is pretty much ALL Gabby, but she is my life and just about everything exciting that happens around here! :)

I hope we can be this silly from time to time! :)

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!!!

2009-03-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

We woke up to a blue and sunny sky-Yah!!! FREEDOM from the house! Gabby and I left the house at 10:30 am and didn't come home until 1:30 pm! We were loving being outside in the warm, fresh air! I am proud of my little trooper. She walked all the way to the lake, around the lake, and half way back to our house before informing me that she's "too tie-yed and want to ride in stwoller". We had a couple races and that girl can run! It was so fun to walk around the lake and feed the goose some crackers. Everytime I'm outside with Gabby I feel like a kid again, re-living the best childhood ever! It just makes me giddy! So, Mr. Weatherman, keep the sunshine coming! Here are a few pix./videos of our day outside.

And here is just a silly picture of her wearing one of her "potty toys" and hamming it up!

PS. Keep in mind I always forget our real camera so these are all cell phone quality-I REALLY need to get out of that habit!

Our Weekend: The Abridged Version

2009-03-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Due to the following story, this will post will be short. I am typing with one hand and it's taking FOREVER!!! Why one hand? I made the genius move of slicing my finger with a bread knife. The cut was deep and even nicked the tendon. Here are a few pix:

I can think of another finger which sums up how I feel about the whole experience but will spare you all a picture! :) Let's just say it was NOT fun!

The night ended up fun though when we went to get my meds at Harmons. A group of ladies came in and started singing Happy Birthday to their friend who works there and then they announced over the intercom to wish this lady a Happy Birthday if you see her. So, of course our social butterfly Gabby insisted on wishing her a "Happy to You". After that she asked the lady "where's my cake?"!! Everyone laughed hard and we went on our merry way. Well, a few minutes later the group of ladies came back to find us and gave Gabby a cupcake they had bought for her at the bakery! You should have seen Gabby's eyes light up! It was cute. I am always touched when strangers go out of their way to be kind.

So, that was our excitement for the week. And just for the record I have never had to hit the back space key so many times to correct all my errors-I can't wait for this to mend! I know, I know-I'm a baby!

8 Things

2009-02-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

8 Favorite TV Shows

1. The Bachelor ( I LOVE Jason)
2. Lost
3. Chuck
4. The Biggest Loser
5. How I Met Your Mother
6. The Big Bang Theory
7. The Office
8. Top Chef

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. exercised
2. laundry
3. cleaned the kitchen
4. played play-doh and colored with Gabby, then made a tent
5. updated my blogs
6. dentist appt.-NOT fun!
7. watched TV
8. had nice, quiet evening with Josh

8 Things I Look Forward To

1. losing more weight and getting healthier
2. getting smaller boobies-one way or another!
3. going into the Oquirhh Mountain Temple
4. going to visit Lander and Yellowstone
5. warmer weather so we can play outside more
6. eating my next snack in an hour :)
7. finding out if we are right that Melissa wins Jason's heart!
8. Sleep, sleep, and more sleep

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. The Melting Pot
2. Royal India
3. Sampan
4. Joe's Crab Shack
5. Tony's Breadsticks
6. Goodwood
7. Bonsai Teppanyaki (don't know how to spell that)
8. Yanni's Greek Express

8 Things on My Wish List

1. drive up to Alaska with Josh and Gabby
2. return to France and see the rest of Europe
3. return to Bella Beach on the Oregon Coast
4. travel the world!
5. have a "Prom" thrown for me when I reach my goal weight-complete with sexy dress!
6. have my house COMPLETELY clean and organized-top to bottom
7. visit my sister more, more MORE!
8. I wish I could afford a personal chef to cook me healthy meals! (It will NEVER happen but that's the point of a wish list, right?)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2009-02-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

It has been a nice, relaxing weekend for us! Josh and I celebrated Valentine's Day on Thursday night. He had planned our evening and I had NO idea what he was up to. He surprised me by taking me to my ALL-TIME favorite restaurant-The Melting Pot! We went there 4 years ago for Valentine's Day and I fell in love with the place, so I was SO happy to go back. It was bittersweet though cuz I was also mad at him for forking out the cash-it is NOT cheap by any stretch of the imagination. But he explained that we haven't spent money on ourselves in a long time, which is true, so I was able to relax about the money and just enjoy the moment. It was truly heaven on earth! It is such a fun place to eat and the best part is the high booths, so you can't see anyone else. It's GREAT! He also surprised me with a beautiful necklace, which was also a shocker since he never buys me jewelry! It was a beautiful, wonderful night. Thank you Sweetie!! I love you!
Then on Friday Gabby and I got to make sugar cookies with her friends and then again on Saturday. We walked around to pass out her Valentine's of cards and heart shaped bubble blowers. It melted my heart to hear her say "Happy Balentine's Day" to all her friends and neighbors. I LOVE having a kid around for Holidays! I'm glad my days of loathing Valentine's Day are over! I hope you all had a very Happy Valentine's Day as well! Here are two new video clips of Gabby. The first one was a glorious day for us when she FINALLY decided to enjoy a veggie! The second clip is one of her many princess moments. What is it with little girls and princesses? :)

Random post, Good life!

2009-02-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in ages and still don't have any insightful words or great pictures, but I thought I'd at least share a few thoughts so you all know we're alive and well! We had a really fun weekend and in true Crystal form, I forgot to pull out my camera-ugh! So, I'll just say that we had a fun weekend with family. We got to see both sides of the family and everything just went well. I have been in a great mood for most of the weekend and have just had a fun time. I'm really trying a new attitude out to see what affect it has on my life. I'm trying hard to take each day as it comes and really live IN the moment. It's a major challenge for me because I always seem to be looking back or ahead. But I'm trying hard and it seems to be working! Life is good!!!
The other thing I'm trying to do is look through the eyes of children more. Gabby helps me appreciate the little things all the time and she also helps me just let loose and be silly. Here are just two video clips of Gabby's silliness. The first one is of her amazing growling talent and the second one made her Dad's day. Anyone who knows Josh knows how much he loves comics so when she mentioned Batman all on her own he was one happy Dad!!

I'll remember the camera next time!

These are the Days of our Lives

2009-01-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd just post some pictures and video clips of how Gabby and I spend our days. It is FINALLY warming up a bit so we've been able to get outside to PLAY! We made our first snowman of the year. Sadly, we waited too long and the snow was very hard and crusty-NOT good snowman making conditions. BUT, we managed to shovel the snow into a pile and then shape it into some sort of "snowman". Tiny as it was, Gabby was thrilled and even gave it a kiss goodnight when we went inside!

While outside Gabby decided to give her old friend, her "stage" another visit:

During a visit from Trevor, we all had some play dough time. I decided to get a little creative. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the elusive Crocodog and Cowphin!:

And of course, our days are spent dancing, dancing and more dancing! Here is our little one striking a pose in her princess dress up:

I'll leave you with a VERY special treat Gabby got yesterday: she got to jump on a bed for the first time!! I know, I know, I must be a bad Mom for not letting her jump on our beds. But, fortunately for her, our neighbor is much less anal than me and let her two boys Conner and Ryan, jump on the bed with Gabby. I pretty much think it was one of the highlights of her life so far!

Oh how I love, love, LOVE the days of my life! I've been working hard to have gratitude and remember how blessed/lucky I am to get to stay home with my little angel. I dreamt of it for SO long and now it is finally a reality!

I Heart My Primary Kids!!!

2009-01-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

This is a post dedicated to telling my previous Co-teacher and Primary class kids how much I love them. It is a new year so I've been assigned to a new class and a new co-teacher. I will learn to love them as well, but I am missing my old class VERY much. Sister Sam is the BEST Primary teacher ever and I learned so much from her. She made a comment to me that I totally agree with: she said it felt like we were missionaries again. It did-it felt like I was a sister missionary again with an amazing companion. Thank you Sister Sam for being such an amazing, selfless, compassionate person.
And to our amazing little kiddos: We both love and miss you very much. Your testimonies are rock hard and you are only 7 or 8 years old!!! You taught Sister Sam and I more than we taught you. Thank you for all your sweet testimonies, funny stories, and happy giggles. And of course, thank you for hiding every Sunday in the classroom and giving us something to look forward to each week. We love you, we miss you, and most importantly we believe in you all and know you will do and see amazing things in your lifetime. Here are some photos that Sister Sam took of our sledding party. Enjoy! I will always think of you all when I see a pinata!
Love you all, Sister Crystal Garner

The Power of a Snowflake!

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

I know I'm not the only one who has been feeling the post Holiday blues. We have all these festivities and then...it's over. What really happens in January? Other than WAY too much football that is! So, I have started this new year in quite the funk. I've been tired beyond belief, stressed over silly things, and feeling sickly, to boot!
BUT, I am happy to say that starting last night, it started getting better, and then tonight-I am feeling on top of the world again! yah!
I decided to drag my sorry butt to my first workout of the year last night. I picked a doozy of a first workout that literally just about killed me! It was a spin class taught by a new instructor and I thought her goal was to destroy us. BUT, I survived. And even though my butt is SO sore I can barely sit, I am feeling that happy feeling of being sore and knowing I'm doing something about all my lovely fat rolls! Today, because of my killer workout I was not feeling so well. I had another bout of my old friend: my dizziness. But, I tried my best to stay positive. Instead of feeling sorry for myself over what I wasn't able to accomplish, I sat down and made a list of what needs to get done once I am feeling better. That made me feel much better about my day.
So, tonight I decided to head to the gym. I had a great workout and enjoyed all my fun new workout tunes. As I headed out to my car, it was snowing really hard and I found myself entranced by the beauty of the snowflakes. You know when you are standing under a lamp post and you can see all the snowflakes falling around you? It was just breathtaking. I let the snowflakes fall on my face and then caught several of them on my tongue. I don't know about you but every time I catch snowflakes on my tongue I feel like a kid again. There is nothing that cheers me up more, and puts my life into perspective more than feeling like a kid. I know this probably sounds really cheezy to most of you, but it was just a really peaceful, magical moment and I am one happy gal! Life is good. I tend to get so caught up in all the drama of daily life and I am vowing to do more this year to just enjoy the moment-live in the moment. And I also want to try harder to appreciate more of the little things. Tonight reminded me that something as simple as a snowflake, can make all the difference!

Festive Festivities!

2008-12-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

We had a GREAT Christmas this year. I cannot believe how much better Christmas is now that I have a child of my own. Watching Gabby run around Christmas Eve with too much anticipation for her little body to contain made all the craziness before Christmas worth it. I always forget my camera and then when I do bring it I forget to take pictures so I only have a few pictures to share. My Mom took some great ones so hopefully I can get those up here soon. If it weren't for my neighbors and my Mom taking so many good pictures, I'd never have any good ones to share.
Anyway, Christmas Eve, as soon as Josh got home from work, around 1 we headed off to Evanston. It was nice to be able to relax, visit and just spend quality time with family. My Mom cooked a very delicious dinner of turkey, pork loin, salad, and my favorite-"funeral potatoes". It was really yummy and I ate to my heart's content. Shortly after our doorbell rang so Gabby and Daddy went to see who it was. There was a present on the front porch for Gabby from Her Elf. She was SO excited and climbed up the stairs faster then I've ever seen so she could unwrap her gift. It was Christmas Eve Jammies, which we explained to her is the Elf's way of letting her know she was a good girl and will be getting a good report from the Elf to Santa. She immediately wanted to put her jammies on and the ran around the house singing all sorts of made-up songs. Hyper is an understatement for her level of energy that evening. Here are a few pics of Christmas Eve:

We then did our traditional reading of the Christmas Story from the Bible, while I helped Gabby "act" it out using the same Nativity Set we used when we were kids! Gabby really got into it and enjoyed holding up each piece as Grandpa Valentine read. Then we decided to talk about some of our favorite Christmas stories. We all got choked up and emotional as we shared some very personal and spiritual moments that we've had over the years. I shared the story of Alex from my mission. Alex was a member of the ward we lived in who had been forgotten. The bishop told us that he got sent home early from him mission because of some mistakes he made. He was so depressed by this that he tried to kill himself by jumping out of a window. He was permanently paralyzed over most of his body and spending the remainder of his life in a "hospital" which seemed to me to be more like an insane asylum-very dark and gloomy. So anyway, the bishop told us that he had pretty much been forgotten by friends and family and rarely received any visitors. So, we all heading over to visit him. We took him a stocking and sang him Christmas carols. I could tell he was happy and he even sang along with us on a few of the songs. But the part I will never forget is seeing his eyes light up when he saw the picture of Jesus Christ that we had put inside his stocking. He had tears of joy in his eyes and he asked us to hang it somewhere where he could always see it. So, we hung it on a bar that was over his bed. That experience is always with me, especially at Christmas time, and helps me remember what it's all about-our Savior.
So, needless to say it was very special Christmas Eve. We wrapped it up by singing Christmas carols and then put Gabby to bed so Santa could stop by the house. Poor Josh and Uncles Trevor stayed up till nearly 1 am assembling Gabby's kitchen. It had TONS of pieces that they had to screw together. But, seeing her face when she saw it was worth it. It was definitely a hit!

So, like I said I don't have many photos to share. :( When I get more, I'll share them-better late than never right! I forgot to pull out my camera at the Garners so I don't have any photos at all, but it was great too! We had to brave some ugly weather to get there, but it was worth it. We had another very delicious dinner of glazed ham and rolls. Then we opened more presents. Everyone was very generous and we all ended up with more Christmas than we deserved. Thank you to EVERYONE for all your thoughtful and fun gifts. It was fun to see the three cousins run around at the Garners house playing with all their new toys. Even though Millie and Gabby both had new kitchens of their own, they spent most of the night playing with the kitchen Grandma Terri painted for them to play with when they are visiting. It was a kitchen Christmas for sure, but I don't think they could have possibly been happier.
Christmas is all about being with family so we had a perfect Christmas. We got to see my family and then Josh's family all on the same day. It made it extra special to have Gen and KC back in town to celebrate Christmas with us. It wouldn't have been the same without them. I just want to end this post by telling my family on both sides how much I love and appreciate them. I love going home to the Valentine's to relive Christmas traditions and memories. Being home is just so relaxing and comfortable. I love making new memories with the Garners and sitting around the fireplace while we open gifts and visit. It is always so fun to sit and watch people open their presents. I love seeing what people get and how excited they are when someone gets it just right. Too fun! Thanks to all of you for blessing my family with such awesome families!
And I also want to thank all my friends and neighbors. We got buried with goodie plates and gifts this year and it just gave me such a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that we are finally known around here and that people care about our family. It was a truly Merry Christmas and it's all because of all those we are blessed to have in our lives. I hope you all had a very wonderful and special Christmas as well. Now...here's to a Happy New Year and the endless possibilities that a new start gives us!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2008-12-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

It has been a crazy, busy month so far, which explains why it has taken me so long to post. It has taken me a lot of effort and several weeks to get there, but I am finally full of the Christmas spirit...I just love this time of year and all it has to offer. And we still have 10 days to go!

So, a few weeks ago we got an invitation to go with my Brother, Brett's family to a Polar Express train ride. It was SO amazing! It's at the home of a family in their ward and fills up so quickly that we almost didn't get to go. But Minta managed to work her magic and we are very thankful. We got to ride on a tiny little train around this families' huge property through tons of Christmas lights which took us to Santa's Workshop to visit with Santa. He let each child sit on his lap and then gave them each a candy cane, followed by a message about the symbolism of a candy cane. Then we got back on the train and the second half of the train ride was the part that opened the flood gate of tears. We traveled through a journey of pictures of Christ. It was just amazing to be outside, under the stars, holding my daughter's hand while being reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. I couldn't help but cry through it all. It really was a special evening and so fun to spend so much time with family.

My neighbor friends and I decided to have a little Christmas party for the kids, which turned out to be fun, yet crazy. I'm not sure I want 8 kids in my house any time soon! But, the kids loved it so that is all that matters!

(My favorite part of this picture is Gabby's reaction to me taking the photo-she HATES getting her picture taken lately)

We FINALLY found some time this week to pick out a Christmas tree. Gabby just loved running up and down the isles of trees and hiding from my camera. Josh picked a perfect tree which we love. It smells SO good and just makes me feel like a kid again. I've debated getting an artificial tree this year, but I just can't do it. There is nothing quite like picking out the right tree, dragging it into the house, and then smelling it every time you walk into the house. Takes me back to so many happy childhood Christmas memories.

(Gabby decorating her "baby tree" for her bedroom)

The finished product, even though it's kindof bare and needs more color

So-there you have it! Our attempts to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I'm even going to attempt BAKING!! I know-shocker! You might want to include me in your prayers for that one. We hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season and have some opportunities to remind yourselves of the true meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas!!!