Happy Birthday Jeanette!

Today is my mother-in-laws birthday. (Don't worry, I won't reveal your age. Mainly because I don't know it.)


She is such a terrific person, always putting others in front of herself. If anyone needs anything they know they can count on her. I've known Jeanette for about 4 1/2 years. I'll admit, I was intimidated by her at first. But as I let my guard down and got to know her there is no one else I would want for my mother-in-law. She raised Jace to be the best father, husband, and companion anyone could ask for and for that I say thank you. I appreciate everything you do for our little family.
Happy Birthday Jeanette!

A Tribute To Our Prophet

If ya'll didn't see this I had to post it because it was pretty cool. Jace watches Glenn Beck on TV sometimes so I know who he is and that he's a convert. But I never saw him like this and I appreciated it.

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/

SNOW...in St. George!

I think Jace and I have cursed Southern Utah with snow. When I first moved here I met my friend, Abby, at work. She grew up down here and she told me it had only snowed down here once in her entire life. Well, ever since we moved here it has snowed at least once a year. Can you believe it? Yesterday was horribly windy and rainy and just one of those days you want to curl up by the fire and drink hot chocolate. Well, I turned on the fire, but never made the hot chocolate. (I'm on a diet.) But the fire was nice.


This is a view from our front window by our door. Do you really think I'd go outside in this just for a picture?

This is from our kitchen window looking into our backyard. Maybe if you click on the picture you'll see all the snow falling. It was coming down so fast because of the wind. The flakes weren't big, but there were a lot. It's still on the ground this morning actually.

The news is saying we're getting another storm tomorrow and it's supposed to be bad again...maybe more snow. The good thing is at least it doesn't stick to the roads. (I'm such a terrible snow driver now that I've lived down here.) Anyway, we're hoping the streak ends with this year and that next year will be snow free. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

President Hickley

Well, by now I guess most everyone knows that President Hickley has passed away. He died around 7:00 last night, January 27, at his home in Salt Lake. I got a text from one of my friends telling me and I just couldn't believe it. I told Jace and the first words he said were, "Good for him." It is definitely bitter sweet. On one hand, he was my prophet...by that I mean for my teenage years and now into my 20's he's been the prophet...and on the other he has finally finished his work here and can rest with his wife in the eternities. He was such a wonderful man who had a great sense of humor. I think most people will remember him for all the temples he had built, but I remember him most for the fireside he held for all the youth when I was in high school, I think it was around 2000 or 2001, where he gave us the 6 Be's. Be grateful, Be smart, Be clean, Be humble, Be true, and Be prayerful. I don't know if any other prophet has spoken just to the youth like that.
On Good Things Utah today the whole show was a tribute to President Hinckley. I thought that was fabulous. Hopefully people who aren't members will become curious about our church through such a sad time and who knows how many peoples lives will change because they were watching Good Things Utah today. (I bet if you go to http://www.abc4.com/ and click on Good Things Utah they will have some clips. It's worth watching.)
I was also thinking back to a couple years ago when the pope died and how the catholic church just pretty much comes to a stand still when that happens. I think it is so wonderful that we know exactly what needs to happen when our prophet dies and who's next in line. Our church doesn't stop, missionaries aren't sent home, people aren't released from callings...the church continues to roll forth like a boulder out of a mountain. We are truely blessed to belong to such a great church...the true church...and to have had such a terrific man such as President Hickley lead us these last 12 years.

I just had to put this picture in because it just showed our prophet how he was. And he's with his wife, which I thought was so cute.

Garbage Girl?

I know I'm a blog-aholic and I post something every day, but I couldn't resist this one.


I think I've found Aliyah's calling in life. Ever since she could walk she would grab garbage cans and walk around with them. I don't know what the obsession was...or is. As you can see she still loves it. Yesterday I let her help me get the garbages to take out. She carried the garbage can around and put all the bags in there and when they wouldn't fit she put them on her arm. She is so funny, I love it. And by the way, she lined them up by the door. I had nothing to do with it. Isn't that cute?

Girls Night Out!

All the Girls. Left to Right: Sara, Me, Britnee, Mandy, Kayla, and Rachel

I was so glad when yesterday finally rolled around. It was girls night for some of the "office wives." We ate at Chili's and then saw 27 Dresses. My favorite part? Socializing with people my age. I was in desperate need of girl contact.

Chili's was great, as usual. It's always nice to not cook. And I really liked the movie. It was a great one for Girls Night.

Swimming Goggles

Yesterday Aliyah found some goggles that my grandma gave her last year. They have ducks on the side and they're bright green. She brought them to me to put on her and then she continued to play in them for at least 10 minutes.



After she was took them off she had a hard time putting them back on. So she put the strap under her chin and held them there. I guess it worked for her. I love how kids do the funniest things that you just have to laugh about.

Football Games

Jace is on a flag football team right now. (Hopefully they're almost done because it is SO cold outside.) I usually go with the kids and walk around the track with them in my big stroller. Aliyah gets sick of it around half time of the first game so we let her run around with dad.

She gets so happy when dad can play with her inbetween games.

Getting a hiking lesson

She's going for the touchdown!

My little Russian!

It is SO very cold that we are thankful to Grandma Jeanette for providing this hat.

Got My Toes

I just thought this was so cute of Xander that I had to post it. He is such a happy baby; he is perfectly content with me leaving him in a diaper while I chase down his sister. I love this kid!

Colbie Callait

Jace just informed me that Colbie Callait is coming to Tuacahn in April. Hooray! For all of you who are in love with her as much as I am you can get your tickets at http://www.tuacahn.com.

She's Finally Getting It

Today, after many weeks of trying, Aliyah finally went to nursery. Believe me, it wasn't easy. I dropped her off and as soon as she realized where she was there were immediate tears and she started crying so hard she could hardly breathe. One of the nursery workers picked her up and gave her a toy so I could make a quick get-away. I just felt so bad. So after Relief Society I went to check on her and I couldn't see her through the window of the door so I opened it to check and one of the sisters told me she was getting a lesson on potty training in the bathroom. Well, "Ok," I thought, "She's only 16 months, but I guess it's never too early to learn." So I left it at that. She almost made it through all of nursery. I guess she finally had a melt down when there was about 10 minutes left so a sister brought her to us. She did pretty good and I was very proud.

Skip to 5 minutes left of church...

Aliyah stinks...I felt like everyone could smell it, but it was almost time to go. There was no use trying to change her there. Well, when she finished she starts digging in the diaper bag and pulls out the mini bag with her diapers and wipes. Brilliant! She is understanding! I think that talk in nursery put something in her head. So, yay for nursery. I guess these are the first steps.

Carseat Dilemmas

Jace and I were watching a movie the other night when Aliyah started freaking out. We looked over to discover this..
She thought she could get in her dolls carseat and got stuck. It was hysterical.

Old Friends

On Friday I got a call from one of my oldest friends, Bethany Torbensen. We've been friends since the cheering days of Junior High. (Good times.) Her and her cute boyfriend were coming down to escape the cold of Logan/Salt Lake and wondered if they could crash at our house for a night. I'm so glad she called. We had a chance to catch up and talk. She is so darling. And I hope they had as much fun as me.

(A sidenote for any friends who don't live around here and wanna come down...Hotel Vernon is always available.)

Us out for dinner Saturday at Texas Roadhouse

Hair Did

Yup. I finally got my "hair did." (As my friend Jeff would say.) I only had roots that were 8 miles long. It takes me a while to realize my hair has grown so much until it looks so horrible even Jace notices. So it was finally that time and luckily one of my friends down here has come out of hair retirement just in time! We are getting our family pics taken on Saturday so I knew I wanted to do something different. I've been wanting to go darker. So I went to Sara's house on Tuesday. She did it, it was fabulous and I liked it. It was dark brown with a little blonde. Well, Jace is a blonde man. He's not such a fan of the dark hair. So he got mad...not really, he just didn't like it...and ended up saying something like, "You know you're not gonna like it that dark for pictures." PICTURES! Wasn't that the whole reason of me rushing to get my hair done? He was right, and I knew it. So I called Sara up yesterday and asked her to put in more blonde. She is such a sweetheart and told me to come over. So now it is finished and I Love It! It's the perfect combo of blonde and brown.

The picture makes it look more blonde than it really is. But you get the point. At least there are no ugly root issues.

Bath Time

Jace wanted to get in our tub yesterday after a hard days work and relax. He started the water and got ready...well Aliyah had other plans. She LOVES bath time. So she finally convinced daddy to let her get in the tub. She loves the water and likes it all the way up to her face. She even goes under when she's brave enough...or when Jace dunks her. :)

The Walker

Lately we took the walker out of retirement for our little boy. He likes to see what's going on, but can't sit up by himself. So I figured this would be perfect, and he'd have toys to play with and whatnot. Aliyah saw the walker, and the jealousy monster came out in her. (Which was weird because she never liked it when it was hers.) At first she was very territorial. She tried to pull him out of it...fits were thrown... Now she's fine as long as she can push him around the house and play with all the toys on it.

Aliyah likes to stand on the side and play with the toys.
Aliyah pushed Xander into the wall. He doesn't even care. What a happy boy.

Rare Moment

Last night I found myself in one of those rare moments when both kids were content...at the same time! Aliyah is the jealous type and saw Xander on my lap. She couldn't be left out so she joined him. We happened to be in the den while Jace was serenading us on the piano. As I was listening to his music I was thinking how blessed I am to have 2 kids. Even though I hear myself complain rather abundantly that I have 2 kids, and they came so close together, or it's been one of "those days" (I say that one a lot). Some people would give anything to be in my position. I had one of those "Ah Hah" moments and realized I am so lucky to have them. So here's to those rare moments.

Sleepy Baby Boy

The kids and I went out for a walk a couple days ago. It's nice outside...low 50's...perfect for a jacket and a good walk. I always feel like the people who happen to see me think I'm crazy with my big bus of a double stroller and 2 small children, who aren't twins. O well. I brush off the looks. This particular walk Xander happened to fall asleep, bless his little heart. He even slept after the stroller stopped being pushed...a miracle, I dare say. He slept his entire 3 hour nap in the stroller and when he woke up he was as happy as a clam. Love you baby.

FRIENDLIES

I was just on my sister Amy's blog, and I know none of you know her, but she is an extremely talented writer. She put this poem of hers on her blog, but I wanted to post it here too because I want people to read it.

"Friendlies"

The sun is setting,
the day now must end,
but the night is never cold
when you have the love of a friend,

someone to laugh with,
someone to understand,
someone who won't run away
when you need someone to hold your hand,

so the clouds may gather,
and the rain may fall,
but as long as I have my friends,
I can face it all.

(Amy Booth, 2007)

The Mullet is Gone!

That's right folks. After months of pleading with Jace to let me cut it off he finally said, "Do whatever you want." Which he shouldn't have said because he's still bitter about it. O well. Hair does grow, and Aliyah will never know the difference. Here's some before and after shots.
I was really nervous because she wouldn't hold her head still and Jace wouldn't help because he liked the mullet.

Before: as you can see...MULLET!

After: Aah...what mullet?

As you can see I really didn't cut off that much. But what a major impact. Jace will just have to get over it. :)

Blogs Are Better!

Lately I've been having an obsession with myspace. I love finding people I haven't seen in a long time and trying to catch up. My bro-in-law, Ryan, keeps telling me myspace is so much better, but I prefer the blogging. It's true that everyone and their dog is on myspace. I even have a page my sister set up for me last year. But nobody knows the password, so there it sits. I like typing in someone's name and up pops their space, but most of the time you have to be their "friend" to view it. There are pros and cons to both. But my favorite thing about blogging is that it's pretty much a journal. I love that! You can totally go inside somebody's world while you're reading about them and comment if you want. It's a better way to stay connected in my mind. So, Ryan, Blogs Are Better!

Blessings

Last night we got a call from the Bishop. It seems that someone in the ward thought she had chicken pocks (and she's pregnant) so she was really worried. Her husband was gone at a work meeting so she called the Bishop. He had never had the chicken pocks and didn't want to chance getting them so he called Jace. I was just thinking how wonderful it is that he could say yes. He honors his priesthood and is worthy to hold it and help when others are in need. I LOVE YOU HONEY!

Happy New Year!

Wow! 2008...already. It's crazy how time flies. This year my daughter will turn 2, my son will turn one, and Jace and I will celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. It doesn't feel like all that should be happening. Well, I decided to make some goals for this year. And as Jace says, "You have to write them down or you won't do them." So here we go:

1 - Read a new book every month (I'm going to need suggestions as I'm not a big reader. So to all of you that love to read tell me about some good books. I usually love mysteries, and of course romantic stuff. But I also want to read more church books.)

2 - Make my house a home. Even though we've lived here for almost 6 months we don't have anything in here that would make it feel more homey. I've been a bit busy. Despite the business, I've decided to paint this year and put up drapery (which I don't think Jace will like very much because of the cost of something like that, but I think it'll make a huge difference) and also I need to get the little things that make a big difference like candles and decor.

3 - Write in journal weekly. I should say every day, but let's be realistic. I don't think that's going to happen and then I'll just be disappointed in myself and probably quit altogether in a few weeks. This is a little more plausible and I think I can definitely do it.

4 - Go to the gym or work out at home 5 times a week. Holy cow, I know this is everyone's new year goal, but it's just a good thing to do. And I'm happy to say that Xander is 5 months and I'm NOT pregnant so there's actually a point to working out this year. I'm going for some tone and the obvious not being embarrassed when getting in a swim suit which will probably come a lot quicker than I would hope.

5 - Learn a new skill. I'm up for anything. I'm one for crafts though, so I think this goal will probably go along with goal number 2.

6 - Visit a foreign country I've never been to. Obviously I'm gonna need Jace's help with this one, and probably family members as traveling with kids can be a pain. But I really would like to see other parts of this world. I've never left North America and I think it would be awesome to go somewhere else and see culture.

SPIRITUAL GOALS

1 - Attend the Temple monthly. This should be easy. But for some reason the second I became a mom my temple attendance went down hill. I've only been 3 times since I had Aliyah. How horrible is that!?! So, I want to start making up for that now.

2 - Read the Book of Mormon in 90 days. That's right folks...3 months! It sounds nearly impossible right? But I've heard of people who have done that and their testimony grew so much because of it. And obviously if you're reading this much it will stay fresh on your mind so you can understand it better. I'm hoping to gain a bigger testimony of the Book of Mormon and then help Jace in his calling as Ward Mission Leader.

3 - Read the Ensign every month. It's not even big, and yet month after month it sits on the kitchen counter waiting for someone to open it. I usually open it up and read the Visiting Teaching message and maybe the very first message from a member of the presidency. But I never get into the guts of it. I must say that Jace is a lot better at this than me, but guys just have their designated room for reading. Eew.

4 - 100% Visiting Teaching. It's only 12 times. And honestly you really only have to actually visit quarterly as long as you make contact in some other way the other months. I can do that!

Well, I hope you've been ispired by my goals and resolve to make your own list. I'm not gonna say it's going to be easy. I've really made some hard goals for myself. But if I do this I think this year will be the best yet!