Announcement

Well, since word is out...I thought it would be an appropriate time to announce we have had another change of plans. Scott has switched his schooling program and will be graduating in May 2011! He is looking seriously into a company that deals with research and development of military weapons and this program will allow him to get a job with them, if everything goes smoothly. The other program he was going into would have let him work for the same employer, but now he is on the fast track. He is in summer school right now, then has 2 more semesters and voila...he will be a graduate! I am so proud him. He has worked harder than I have ever seen him work, and somehow manages to have time for everything else, including one high maintenance wife. So, with these changes it is inevitable that we will be relocating our family. Some days its terrifying and some days I can't wait to see where life takes us (Nevada, Utah, Colorado,?...all strong possibilities) and what adventures we will have. But, as long as he is with me, no matter where we go will be home!

He Did What?

Last week, or maybe it was two...my mom-in-law and I were talking about Tayden. Shocker, right?! We were discussing how lucky I am that Tayden doesn't climb. He doesn't climb anything at all...seriously, not at all. He can manage to get on that couch and that is about it. That is, until today.

Imagine my shock when I came out of the bathroom to see this:

Tayden had climbed onto our 4 foot (give or take a few inches) table! I guess you can never underestimate the determination of a toddler!

Texas 911

Well, we made it back from Dallas in one piece. Though, there were many times I thought for sure we wouldn't. The trip to get there horrendous, but the reward (my family) was SO sweet and well worth the hassle. Let me take you through the adventure...in form of a list. (Haha...I love lists and they make it so much easier for me to think.)

• 1st-It was pouring. Scott was convinced it was a monsoon. We passed a semi truck at the exact time it hit a water puddle/lake and it covered our trailblazer completely in water. We couldn't see a thing and had to gun in blind to get out of the mess. Needless to say, the weather was not on our side and it put us behind schedule a bit.
• 2nd-As we were making our way to the SLC airport, we were following a trailer of trees. Well, not really following, it was a few lanes over and a few cars up. Anyway, a rock/boulder flew off the back and hit our windshield leaving a 6-8 inch break in the windshield. Scariest thing.
• 3rd-Not ten minutes later, we went to get off at the airport exit and the road was closed. Awesome, even more behind schedule.
• 4th-Made it to the airport just in time to board the plane. Like seriously...just in time.
• 5th-Scott and I were watching the few minutes of free TV on the plane when we noticed Tornado warnings in Colorado, which is where we were to connect for Dallas. He laughed it off and said we would be fine. We weren't. We had to 'hold' as the pilot called it in the air for about an hour due to weather. So basically, we flew in circles Denver waiting for the tornado's to go away.
• 6th-The tornado's went away. For about 30 minutes, long enough for us to land. Within 10 minutes of being at the Denver airport the skies went black, sirens went off and everyone was rushed to the bathrooms, AKA-tornado shelter. And there we sat. For 3 hours. At 10 PM. With a screaming child. More awesomeness.
• 7th-They finally got us out of Denver onto a very bumpy flight that took us into Dallas. It was about 2:00 AM when we settled into the hotel, broke open the luggage, only to find it was soaking wet. Everything was soaking wet. We knew the outside of the suitcase was wet, but what we didn't realize is that they never brought in our luggage during the tornado warnings. We had zero dry clothes. Luckily, the housekeeping was able to throw it in the dryer so Scott would have dry clothes for his conference and Tayden and I wouldn't have to wear the same clothes.

So there you have it, the adventure to Dallas. Once we got there, things were great! The minute I saw my family, everything was perfect. We had such a great time. I forgot my camera, naturally, so I only caught a few pictures with my phone.

Echo and I took the kids to the Zoo on Wednesday. It was so fun! We spent a few hours there and saw alot of cool animals. The Fort Worth Zoo is seriously worth going to see. It was a blast. I think I enjoyed it as much as the kids. Unfortunately, this was the only day Tayden decided to cooperate. He was a major pain the whole trip. I think he was either crying or whining 95% of the time. And if he wasn't doing either of those, we was flailing on the ground. My five year old nephew, Coda, said, "There he goes again" about 167 times, in regards to the behavior. I actually considered leaving him there...haha. (obviously just kidding.) But in all honestly, it was weird. I am not used to having a kid like that. I felt bad that Justin and Echo didn't have the chance to see my hilarious, good natured, sweet little boy. All they saw was a little monster. Boo. Anyway, here is a picture of the drive home from the zoo. It must have been fun!

My all time favorite picture. Tayden looking out the window of our hotel for birds in the nude. Isn't he something else?

Okay, so one more little story and this post will be over. I love this picture. Not because of the quality, but because of the story behind it.

My sister in law is an amazing mom. And when I say amazing, she is phenomenal. She limits the amount of TV in the morning and then helps the kids find something else fun to do. This particular morning it was playing games with Mom. How fun is she? And you will never guess what is they were listening to on the CD player....primary songs. For real. And not for a show for me...because that is what they do. The kids knew the songs and were singing along playing a board game with their mom. I had to hold back the tears as I watched. And on top of that, she cooks, she cleans, she solves problems, she listens, she disciplines, she gives herself to her family. She is my inspiration and I truly aspire to be like her.

So after the zoo, being lazy, Joe's Crab Shack, the blistering heat, countless laughs, a banana cream pie shake, a bucket of golf balls and some good quality time with my family....we headed home. Even after the airport called and told us our flight home had been canceled and had to reroute us...we made it.

Thanks Justin, Echo, Coda and Princess Gracie for the wonderful time. It went by to fast and I miss you everyday.

Help Please?

So, we are off to Texas again! Yippee!!! Scott, Tayden and I will be flying down on Tuesday and I am a little nervous to fly with a TODDLER. My mom and I took him down last July, but he was just a babe. I asked for expert advice for flying with a baby and got back some great ideas. So, here I am again...asking for help, and who better to ask than you? Anyone have some super duper good ideas for flying with a toddler? Thank you everyone. Wish me luck.

101 Uses for Duct Tape

#27.

I'm not going to lie, sometime I feel like doing this to my crazy child. HaHa, isn't this the funniest thing ever? I guess you really can do anything with duct tape.

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day. This year, my train of thought has changed and it all started with this:


My new fabulous purse my dear husband bought me for Mothers Day. The picture truly doesn't do it justice.
So my new train of thought?
It starts like this. We went to Utah for the weekend (and had a tremendous time). The girls went to a craft boutique and I instantly feel in love with this purse. My mom offered to buy it for me for Mothers Day, but I declined. And there was no way I was splurging on it. I just don't spend money on myself. So it stayed at the craft show and we went on. I thought about it all day, but convinced myself that I didn't need anything lavish, like the prettiest purse I have ever seen.

Sunday we went to church with my grandparents and when we came home...there it was. I was flabbergasted. So, where does my new train of thought about Mothers Day come it?

Scott faced the craft boutique all by himself to get me, his wife, this out of the world purse. He had a little direction from my mom about where to locate the bag, but other than that he was on his own. As he told me the story about retrieving the purse, he said he was the only male in the whole place and had no idea what he was doing. It would have been like me trying to find a screwdriver at a tool convention. But he did it, for me.

So here is my new thought. I love the idea of Mothers Day and honoring our mothers. I know my mom is my best friend and I look up to her more than anyone. Scotts mom is a huge example to me and I hope to become half the women she is. But, today, I pondered on how lucky I am to be not only be a mom, but I wife. Scott braved the craft show for me. For me and only for me. For me because he wanted to. For me because he loves me. How lucky am I? I watched my boys playing in the grass today, and it was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I love my little boy more than I ever thought possible. I am so grateful to a mom. To have the opportunity to raise my sweet son and hopefully more to come. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me the gift of motherhood. I love being a mom.

So on this Mothers Day, thank you to all the Moms in my life. But mostly, thank you to my Heavenly Father for letting me one myself.

Hand me downs ROCK!

I love hand me downs. Especially when they look like this:

My brother and sister in law have been so gracious to let us borrow some of my nephews old clothes from when he was a baby. It has been a huge blessing and so helpful to us. And lets be honest, its like Christmas every time he gets to put on something new! I was so excited when Tayden fit into this little church outfit. Coda, our nephew, wore this to our wedding and looked so handsome. So needless to say, we had fun dressing little Mister in it for church today. Thanks Justin and Echo! We love you guys...and miss you lots! See you in 2 1/2 weeks! Yaya!!!