Dixie Junior Livestock Show

We've come along way, baby

Yesterday marked one year since Justin and I both graduated from BYU. It's been fun for me to think back on everything that has changed since then. Mostly, I am amazed at all of the milestones Gracie has reached and at how quickly she has grown up.

When we left Provo, I was ready to get away, sick of class, and excited for a life without school. We've loved this year in southern Utah but I don't feel bad to admit that I sometimes get homesick for Provo. The sites that I like to visit in my mind are: the cougar stadium, the mangum knight building, the malt shoppe, the Y on the mountain, Macey's, apartments of friends and family, the creamery, BB5, the colony, our little white house, the indoor track, the library(Okay, maybe not), the WILK, the provo river trail, and the many routes that I walked to and from school.

Here is an extra shout out to those who heart the Y and an extra special shout to any and all who just barely walked for graduation, oh, and a shout out to those who may be in a Provo for a very long time to come :)

If it looks good, it probably tastes good

This idea has made a lot of people eat stuff that really isn't that good. I remember as a little girl, climbing up on the counter to go through my mom's baking cupboard. I was baffled as to why baking chocolate (which looked delicious) was bitter and disgusting,
why vanilla could smell wonderful and tasted awful, and why boullion cubes weren't tasty (even though they were wrapped in gold foil).

It's been interesting for me to watch Gracie go through the same process with a few different things this week. I was cutting up potatoes and Gracie was sitting on a stool next to the counter. She kept reaching over and taking small RAW potato cubes. She'd taste one and spit it out, then reach for another because she couldn't figure out why they didn't quite taste right.

I have some suave lotion that is lime scented. She tries to eat that too. Once I thought about it, I determined that it might look like yogurt. Funny.

The last thing Gracie has really wanted to eat is bread dough. I love cookie dough, cake batter, etc., but have been surprised that she would be almost frantic in her desperation to get some bread dough (we're talking moving chairs and throwing serious tantrums).

What things have you eaten that you expected to taste better? What about your kids?

Ode to Carol Ann

Well, I called this an ode, but I think an ode might have to rhyme.
I like writing poems, but I don't have much time.
Carol Ann is charming, she has a pretty smile
She has a giving heart, and loves to walk a mile
She's a wonderful Grandma, she cooks like a pro
She loves the Jazz as much as anyone I know.
We think she's terrific, she makes us all laugh
that's why this poem is written, in her behalf

Happy Birthday, Carol Ann

It's about love

Many of you have already met Colby and Carrie, but Carrie is Justin's sister. This is their darling family. They have two girls, Lizzie and Maddie. Elizabeth and Madison are both adopted and we are so grateful for the miracle of adoption and for the special way that it has touched their lives, and of course, our lives.

One passion that I don't really blog about, is adoption. I worked full-time a few summers ago doing adoptions at LDS family services. I was pregnant at the time and was especially touched by the courage of the birth mothers who placed their sweet babies in the care of adoptive couples, so that their babies could have things in life that they wouldn't be able to provide for them. It was especially faith building to see the miracles that took place when the mothers were choosing the adoptive couples. I think I cried almost daily.

Anyway, Colby and Carrie would like to continue to see their family grow. You can check out their profile here.

So here is my request:If you happen to meet someone who is looking to place a baby for adoption- please pass along Colby and Carrie's names as an option for them to consider.
Thanks

Good luck, Carrie and Colby- we'll be praying for a birth mom to find you!

One more tri...

Well, friends, I finally did another triathlon. This was my third. The first was the weekend before I got married, The second was later that summer, and here I am almost three years later.

I really like tri's but between running, not being motivated enough to get to a pool and being busy with Gracie, I haven't done very many. That said, it was great. I didn't win a medal but felt better than I should have (I haven't been swimming and just pumped up my bike tires last night). Gracie wished she could jump in the water with me... maybe she'll have to wait a few years.

This is me with Carol Ann (the first place winner in her age group!) This is her third triathlon.
For those who know or care about the distances it was only a beginner tri 200 meter swim, 5 mile bike, and 1.5 mile run. (That's also part of the reason that I wasn't more scared into training.)

Camille and Carrie watched Gracie while I raced.

Gracie eating dinner with her dad. "CHEESE".

Highlights of Justin's birhday

Happy Birthday, ironman

Colby (AKA Baggs) is married to Justin's sister, Carrie, and is a great brother in-law. Today is his birthday. I stole this picture off of Carrie's blog because Baggs just completed his first ironman triathlon this last week. I am super impressed by this bigger than life accomplishment. He started at 7am and finished about 9pm (ish). I'd say more, but I think this picture says it all- hard work, dedication, endurance... Happy Birthday, Baggs.

Justin love

Today is Justin's birthday. He's 26 today. Here are 26 things I love about him (in no particular order): Love you, honey. XOXOXO
1)His green eyes
2) His smile
3) his sense of humor
4)He's really smart
5)He sings well
6) He is a true cowboy
7) He makes me laugh every day
8) Justin is a hard worker
9) He loves ice cream more than anyone I know

10)He is very sincere
11)I love his family (and he does too)
12)He's a great listener
13) He's also a great talker when I give him the chance :)
14)He is a fantastic father
15)He is skilled at training and riding horses
16)when he decides to do something, he does it well
17) He's really athletic and good at most sports

18)He makes me happy
19)Justin is really even tempered and laid back
20) Justin has a gift of being aware of others and observing their needs
21) I love to see my husband being silly- especially with Gracie
22) Justin helps me to think logically (vs. emotionally)
23) He is loyal, thrifty, brave... a good boy scout. Oh, and prepared
24) He is very obedient and honors his priesthood.
25) He's a heart- throb
26)He's really kind to everyone

"GOTCHA"

I just thought I would tell you how grown up our little baby is getting. Gracie has suddenly erupted with words of all kinds in the last week. I read a blog of another little girl, a few months older than Gracie who is now saying at least 100 words. I was thinking that Gracie probably wouldn't be speaking as soon as this other little girl, but now I'm not so sure.

Here are some of the words we've been hearing: Gotcha, bubbles, dog, woof, doctor, shoes, fishies, hi, bye, night-night, book, bath, milk, chicken, walk, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa,nanny, tillie, Lizzie, duck, Shhhh, Banana, ball, wow, woah, moo, two, three and bird. Today I was surprised when she even said "diaper".

I think one of the most rewarding things to see as a parent is sometimes how quickly children gain a new skill once they are ready. I love to see Gracie just soaking up everything I tell her. Guess I better stop swearing :) JK. oh, and for those of you who didn't see your names on the list of her words- we're working on it. She can't say her own name yet either.

Did I shave my legs for this?

YES!!! Justin and I went on a date last night to see Deana Carter live in concert at the Tuacahn Amphitheater. It was awesome. (for those who may not know, "Did i shave my legs for this" is the name of her first album). I remember first listening to Deana in the Heidi K*s basement. Her sister was a cool senior in high school and had purchased the CD and we were in 9th grade. Her music brings back so many memories because it was kind of the gateway into my love of country music. Since then, I've loved listening to her songs and at the concert I felt like I wanted to jump out of my skin because of all of the fun and happy memories it brought back- lip syncing, playing her songs on the guitar, and cruising with my girlfriends.

Deana was really funny and I was happy that she played almost all of the songs from her first album. She also has an album called "the chain" that you can listen to on i-tunes. I'll post my favorite song below with explanations. Enjoy!

By the way, I totally broke the rules of the theater by taking a picture. Is my need to have pictures with my post destroying my integrity? Luckily, I didn't get caught.

And we danced anyway

I've always loved this song. When Justin and I got married I was looking for great love songs to play at the reception and realized that this song told part of our story in a twisted and not totally accurate way. But being the sentimental person that I am, I love this song even more now for the distorted story of the beginning of my friendship with Justin.

The summer air was heavy and sweet
You and I on a crowded street
There was music everywhere, I can see us there
[So, maybe it was really spring...crisp and cool. Oh, and the music everywhere was the hymns that the missionaries were singing in the middle of the town square].
In a happy little foreign town
Where the stars hung upside down
A half a world away, far far away
[ Heidelberg, Germany]
I remember you were laughing
We were so in love, we were so in love
[Okay, so as missionaries this SOOO did not apply, but doesn't it paint a nice picture. Kind of?]

And the band played song's that we'd never heard
But we danced anyway
[ I remember street bands coming and setting up by where the missionaries sang and playing songs. But... the songs were usually in English and we often did understand the words. And yes, sometimes we would even sing along a little. no, we didn't dance- at least not with each other]
We never understood the words
We just sang oh la la la la la la la la la la oh
And we danced anyway

They say you can't go back. Baby I don't believe that
Come along with me, come dance with me
Maybe if I hold you close
Baby we could just let go
Of these things that tie us down, we'll come back around
Do you remember we were laughing
We were so in love, so in love
[My dream to go back with my honey to Germany. I'll just imagine it for now.]

And the band played song's that we'd never heard
But we danced anyway
We never understood the words
We just sang oh la la la la la la la la la la oh
And we danced anyway

Lessons learned in picture organzing

* Don't ever take pictures with oreo cookies in your teeth- no matter how funny it seems at the time, it will be ugly
* Same with winking
* Don't let a 15 year old take more than one roll of film t0 EFY
* Digital cameras are the best thing that ever happened.
* tearing up and throwing out old, ugly, and irrelevant pictures feels great.

Thanks to everyone for giving me the extra needed courage. I may be sending some of you some special pictures :)

Do you throw away ugly pictures?

So... I'm continuing my organizational process. Yesterday and today I've been trying to organize my pictures and put them in protected pages- rather than in a box. It's been going alright, but I have got a TON of ugly pictures. Now, I can appreciate ugliness as much as the next person, and don't plan on getting rid of ALL of my ugly pics, but do I really need 600 pictures of me just doing ugly stuff? What about pictures of random guys from EFY that were so awesome that you have pictures of and can't remember their names?

The cleaning bug in me is saying- "THROW THEM OUT! Are you seriously going to miss these pictures?" I don't think I will, but I'd love to hear any of you input about this. I know some people that tear up pictures all the time and others that refuse to. What do you do?

Gracie's first game of Tag

8 things about Gracie

1) If I had to choose one word to describe Gracie it would have to be Busy. Gracie is always getting into just about anything. Lately, it has been climbing on tables, dumping out flour, emptying the tupperware cupboard and stealing things off of the counter (one day she took Justin's check from work and hid it in a cupboard we don't use very often- sneaky, sneaky).

2) More than anything or anyone in the world, Gracie loves her thumb!
That's right friends, the casts are gone and thumb is back. Did I mention how peacefully we've all been sleeping?

3) If Gracie could have her way, she would do nothing but eat candy and run away from Mom all day long OR stay in mom's arms all day long so I won't miss anything she's doing. :)

4)Gracie has picked up a new habit of picking at her toes (like a monkey would groom). It's pretty funny and we think it's cute. She also picks her lips.

5) Gracie loves things that are mint flavored and tries to steal toothpaste, breath mints, and I even caught her one day chewing on a whole roll of mint flavored floss. I guess she's obsessed with having good breath. Oh... she also has a radar for cough drops and tries to eat them every time we go to Justin's parent's house.

6) Gracie loves attention. I know it's totally weird,my daughter loves an audience to ham it up for. It's really out of the blue- we're not sure where she got this from. Oh, she also likes an audience for her temper tantrums at: the grocery store, church, grandma's house, and the park. Can you blame her?

7) Gracie is a skinny minny. She is 17 months and weighed in at 18 lbs at her last doctor's appointment. People can't believe it when I tell them that she still fits many of her 3-6 month onesies.

8) Gracie loves animals. She loves going to see the horses and cows and also loves to point at any animal that she sees- dogs, cats, jackrabbits, etc. She is becoming quite talented at riding horses. Gracie's new word yesterday was "Buddy" (the name of the miniature horse shown above).

Excuse Me, Have you seen some keys?

At church on Sunday a man with a baby came up to Justin and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen some keys?". Justin was about to send him away when he remembered something and said, "Hold on". He dug through the diaper bag and pulled out a pair of plastic keys he had seen Gracie playing with, but didn't recognize. He held them out to the man. "is this what you're looking for?" "No, I mean real keys."

It made us laugh.