Downtown Duo

The Latest with Claire

2011-12-28T14:00:00.001-08:00

Claire just gets cuter and cuter every day. She is smiling a ton, cooing all the time, especially when she wakes up after a long rest, and so much more. She has held her head up really well since she was a week old but she keeps getting stronger. She is starting to play a little and loves her swing, bouncy chair, and anything with sounds and flashing colors.

We are still struggling to get Claire on a schedule. With my job and everything else going on, it's hard to have consistency in my life let alone for her. But it's a work in progress!

Here are some pics ranging from 8 to 11 weeks.

Claire Through the Weeks

2011-12-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

I have had a goal to take a picture of Claire each week on Thursday (since she was born on a Thursday), to show how much she changes as time goes by. I knew if I didn't, I wouldn't see how much she changed since I am with her 24/7.

7 Weeks

6 Weeks at Thanksgiving

5 Weeks

3 Weeks -- I missed the 4 week picture. :(

2 Weeks

1 Week old

The day she was born!

The Cutest Baby Girl in the World!

2011-10-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to show you all what our little Claire looks like at 9 days old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. She is so much fun! Exhausting, yes. But so fun. We love her so much. She's the best. Speaking of which, she is waking up so I gotta go!

She Has Arrived!

2011-10-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, October 13 at 1:59 pm our little girl arrived! Claire Beth Holt weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 20 inches long. She is so sweet and cute. We just can't get enough of her! I'll tell the labor/delivery story another time. Just wanted to post this really quick. My great friend Lindsey came to visit us at the hospital and was sweet and thoughtful enough to bring her awesome camera and take some cute pictures for us. Here are some samples!

34 Weeks

2011-09-11T20:26:00.001-07:00

Pregnancy Pictures and Update

2011-07-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

Everything has been going well for us! Dev's summer break is coming to a close and he will be starting another semester of Nursing school in about a month. He is doing great working at the hospital and finishing up his online class.

Work is still good. I am trying to find someone to replace me for a month or so in October so if you know of anyone, let me know!

I keep feeling the baby kick and we can now see her moving all the time. I am 28 weeks and feeling great! Just having a hard time sleeping at night but that's to be expected. I am getting muscle cramps at night, especially in my calves. So painful! And I am feeling tired but I'm so used to that now. Ha ha I haven't felt totally energized in 7 months. But I am so excited for this baby to come!! We can't wait. My sisters and my mom were so nice and pooled their money together to get us a brand new stroller and car seat! Getting all this stuff for her is really making her arrival a reality.

Here's some pictures of my growing belly! I was so tiny halfway through the pregnancy and I feel like I just popped in the last month!

21 weeks

24 weeks

28 weeks

Guess Where We Get to Go!!

2011-06-13T17:30:00.001-07:00

BEAR LAKE! I am so excited!! I am serious need of a vacation! We leave on Wednesday morning. I can't wait! I love just hanging out and swimming and having fun. Devin's family goes every summer.

Last year we stopped in Logan to get Aggie Ice Cream (which is SO good) and then in Bear Lake we got pizza and smoothies etc. My idea of a good time is definitely time to relax and some good food!!

On a kind of a funny note, I had an interesting experience at work today. The kids are going to sprout camp (gardening camp, so cute), from 9-12 every morning this week. My boss wanted me to stay with them since they had never been before, but once we got there and I signed them in and asked if it was ok if I stayed and they told me they had a no parent policy. I told her I was the nanny and my boss wanted me to stay. She said if I wanted to stay, I would have to stay hidden in the gardens or the greenhouse. Yeah. Like that's going to happen. Looking like some creeper around a group of kids, hiding in a bunch of plants.

So I couldn't go home during the camp because I would miss out on the pay for those 3 hours, so I sat in my car. For 3 hours. With a book and the Conference Ensign. I have never been so thankful for an Ensign! Or a book. Ha ha. I took a little nap and everything. The best part?? I get to do it again tomorrow!! Great.

Thank goodness I am only dropping them off on Wednesday and then I'll be on my way to a vacation for the rest of the week!! Can't wait!

PS for my brother Matt: Do not post a comment and say "7" in response to the title of this post. Ha ha.

And the Verdict Is

2011-05-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

We had our ultra sound yesterday and...

It was such a fun experience to watch that baby girl move around! Although I will admit that the experience of drinking 32 ounces of water prior to my appointment and ending up holding it for a full hour was not a fun experience. Luckily, when we got there the tech took a few pictures and then told me I could go to the bathroom. I was so relieved that I didn't have to sit through the whole process, literally in physical pain from holding it that long. Of course to take those pictures, he pressed right on my bladder. He must get a lot of laughs at his job.

Here is a shot proving that this is DEFINITELY a girl.

We are both so excited for this little one. I can't believe I will be halfway through this pregnancy in 2 days! It is starting to freak me out! Ha ha. In a good way. I feel like my belly has grown in the last few weeks. I know that I probably feel bigger than I am but it has definitely been an adjustment for me to gain weight at this rate.

The baby has been kicking and moving a lot lately. The last few nights, they have been stronger kicks. It is SO fun to feel her. It makes this whole process so real! We got a few good pictures of her. We even got a video!! It's only 12 seconds long, but at least it's a video! Enjoy! I can't wait to show her off when she is born! Now I just have to make room for her in our apartment. Wish me luck!

Drum Roll Please (...in a week)

2011-05-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's almost here! The day of our first ultra sound! We can't wait. We are so anxious to know that our baby is healthy and developing correctly. We are also very excited to find out what we are having. So now is the time to guess! Are we having a boy or a girl? Post a comment and I'll keep track of boy vs. girl!

Everything is going smoothly so far. I went to the doctor on the 6th and everything was looking perfect. It's been nice to hear that I am right on track with it all. I especially loved hearing that the ideal weight gain at your 16 week mark is 2 pounds more than I have gained. I'm trying to eat well but also enjoy food during this pregnancy. It's kind of a tough balance because a lot of the food I enjoy a LOT is the stuff that's not good for you (AKA chocolate).

We had an exciting weekend this last week too. I felt the baby kick for the first time last Friday while Dev and I were watching a movie. I sat up and said: "I'm pretty sure I just felt the baby kick". He quickly paused the movie, but we were both a little disappointed when he couldn't feel what I was feeling. But thankfully, a few days later, he felt a little kick. It has been so fun! The baby has a movement schedule. Kicks the most in the morning and as the day goes on, the movement becomes less frequent. I hardly ever feel it when I'm laying down or standing. Mainly when I am sitting. It's been so fun to feel the baby move. It makes the pregnancy seem so much more real!

I will post another picture of my growing belly after the ultra sound next week. 19 weeks here we come!

Funny Memory

2011-05-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

I recently moved all of my stuff out of my parent's house. I have been going through a bunch of things trying to figure out where to store them in our 1 bedroom apartment. I came across a piece of paper torn out of a journal and put inside a book. It dates back to July of 2000 (so I was 10 years old) and I wanted to share what it says about my siblings.

The thing I like about Katie is that she is a good example.
The cool thing about Michelle is that she cares for a lot of people.
I like Sarah because she helps me with every problem. I look up to her.
Heather shares and is very kind.
Tiffany cooks dinner, lunch and breakfast sometimes.
David helps me with my homework and teaches me how to play different sports and the rules.
Matt plays with me and does everything with me.

I love them all very much!

It was so fun to come across this today. I have a great family!

1st Prego Pic!

2011-05-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been long awaiting a photo, here it is! I am now 17 weeks along! I only started showing a couple weeks ago so I didn't want to take pictures of nothing. Ha ha. Maybe that was a mistake. Anyway, this is me! More pics to come next week.

Easter!!!

2011-04-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

For easter this year, we had our friends Ryan and Janie over to paint easter eggs. It was a lot of fun.

Striking resemblance

Christine made a delicious breakfast easter morning

Pizza Night!!!

2011-04-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I passed my end of course nursing exam! To celebrate, we went to the store and got all the ingredients for French bread pizza, then came home and made it. It was so delicious! We highly recommend making this for dinner sometime!

2011-04-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Callie's birthday. We had delicious lasagna and baskets full of mom's homemade bread sticks (my idea of heaven). Grandma and grandpa came along for the fun, it was quite a blast! This is everyone enjoying dinner.

Callie blowing out her candles with some help from Hammie

Mase was having a hard time watching his mom turn a year older

Dallin played with a balloon as he talked to us

Grandpa reading some music

Canda and Max

Max just started crawling recently. Here are his mad skills as he crawls to a teddy bear. It's so funny how he kisses the foot of the teddy bear when he gets to it, then looks up at me as if to make sure I saw that he made it. It was quite the trip for him because he spits up right at the end. Good job Max!

Happy Birthday Callie!!!

A Walk Down the Avenues

2011-04-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

Christine and I went for a walk down the beautiful avenues of Salt Lake today because it was such good weather. We love looking at all the different houses, most of them are very unique. Here are some that we thought were worth taking a picture of:

This was a little Japanese holistic spa that looked kind of unique with a little patio off the side of it:

These two houses were so close together, they were actually touching!!! I've heard of zero property lines, but come on!

And here's the loveliest part of the entire walk!

Worst...Blogger...Ever

2011-04-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

Yes. It's true. I am the worst blogger of all time! Most people that have had a blog as long as I have, post at least once a week with pictures and cute, creative things they do. Nope. Not me. I'm not trying to rag on myself. Just acknowledging the facts. Ha ha. Worst of all, I decide to announce my pregnancy by adding a baby namey thing to show how far along I am. I couldn't think of anything really cool or clever. Maybe I will redeem myself when we find out if we are having a boy or a girl. We'll see.

Just a quick recap of my pregnancy so far:

I will be 14 weeks on Sunday! Out of the woods! We have gone to the doctor twice (once for my 8 week appt and once for my 12 week appt). We heard the heartbeat at the first appointment! It was incredible! Amazing how fast that little heart beats. I will post pictures of my tummy and of our first ultrasound soon. We won't have an ultrasound until I am 19 weeks (May 27th). It will be a high definition one because heart problems run in my family. Hopefully we will be having a healthy baby! We are pretty confident and have a lot of faith that everything will be fine. :)

I have felt pretty great! My only problem has been sheer exhaustion. I have never been sick. I have felt a little nauseous when I am not hydrated enough or when it's been too long since I have had something to eat. So I feel way blessed!

More info later! Devin and I are going to take a walk in the avenues this afternoon.

New Pictures...

2011-04-13T16:25:00.001-07:00

Check out Devin's New Blog!!!

2011-04-04T23:13:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, check out and follow my new blog! It's based on my experiences and stories in nursing school. I hope you enjoy reading!

http://todayshealthrocks.blogspot.com/

It's Conference Time!!!

2011-04-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

Birthday #21

2011-04-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday and it was such a good day. I went to work from 7-1:30 and then I had to go change my name on my social security card, and renew my license (name and address change as well). It was my 3rd attempt to renew my license. Ha ha the rules are such a pain at the DMV! I thought I was going to have a miserable birthday until I got home from all of this, but I tried to have an ok attitude and it was actually pretty great.

When I got to work, the first thing my boss said to me was "Happy Birthday, how are you?" They are such nice people. Then when each of the kids woke up, the wished me a happy birthday as well and showed me the birthday cards they had each made me the night before. It was a laid back day at work. The kids are on spring break and we had gone somewhere every other day of the week so we just hung out at the house. When my boss got home, she gave me flowers and told me she hoped I had a good day. So thoughtful!

Then it was on to the Social Security Office. Intimidating place to be. A bunch of cops and guards and nervous looking people. It was at this moment that I have watched too many law/crime shows because I was looking around wondering what the cops were thinking as they surveyed the room of antsy people. Who looks too skittish? Who is trying to pull something? Ha ha. You can thank Criminal Minds, Law and Order SVU, etc.

After changing my name on my social security card, I headed to the DMV. I wasn't there very long which was nice, but once I got to the window, the guy said nothing to me. Just typed in my new info and I stood there. Ha ha it takes an extremely intense situation for me to feel awkward, but that did it for me.

I felt so accomplished! Ha ha realistically, I should have done both of these things a while ago, but I never got around to it. It felt good to get so much done instead of sitting at home.

Later, Devin filled me in on what we would be doing. He wanted to surprise me. I have been craving IHOP for a while now, and he remembered! So we went to IHOP for dinner. Then we went to Barnes and Noble and he said I could buy any book I wanted! He is so sweet. I love reading and I love browsing at Barnes and Noble. So thoughtful of him. I decided I would get "The Weight of Glory" by C.S. Lewis. I read the first couple of pages and loved it. I love C.S. Lewis! I have been wanting to try Red Mango so he let me get a smoothie there. I chose Pomegranate and blueberry. It was so good. :)

Then we came home and just hung out for a while. It was so much fun. I have the most kind, thoughtful, sweet husband in the world! Thanks for a great birthday!

PS Sorry there are no pictures. Both of our cameras broke and we still haven't gotten a new one. Hopefully we can get one soon!

In 90 Seconds Or Less....

2011-03-31T00:15:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is Devin again. First I want to wish Christine a happy birthday. She turned 21 one hour and twenty minutes ago!!! I love you babe, I can't wait to celebrate it with you tonight! Why am I still up at 1:20 in the morning? Because I have to be. I'm at the hospital. No I wasn't hit by another car while driving my scooter (I'll have to tell that story another time), I am here working.

You see, in the world of health care, there are no guarantees for your hours you will be working. Depending on the census at the hospital or other facility you work at, you could very easily be called off a shift here or there. I got called off a couple of days ago, and so i'm here now to make those hours up. I can usually get my hours made up by calling the house supervisor and asking for available shifts when I want them. So I started at 7 pm yesterday, and I'm going until 7 am this morning. Then I get to go do my clinicals for nursing school from 8:30-3:30. I'm not quite sure how my body is going to handle this. Hopefully your not getting a shot from me at the community clinic this afternoon :) Just kidding, i'll be fine. I've found that I have the ability to operate on very minimal amounts of sleep if needed.

I'm here in the ICU doing a 1 on 1 with a nice fellow. We do 1 on 1's with people who are a danger to themselves, always right next to them in case they start pulling out lines and tubes and cords, etc. Or if they decide to hop out of bed all of the sudden and take the whole hospital wall with them. My patient has been pretty out of it the whole night, occasionally he will talk to me in his sleep. He has talked and sung to me in both English and Vietnamese while sleeping. Very nice of him to keep me entertained.

Now on to why I wanted to write this post. A skill that I have tried to improve over the years is my "people skills". I have felt like I could do better in making good first impressions, and just connecting with people in general. So I started to do some research, and I came across a book titled "How To Make People Like You, in 90 Seconds or Less." At first I thought the book was a cheesy, useless, ploy for someone to make a buck, but as I looked more into it, it really caught my attention. I bought it and was very impressed with what I learned. Some of the chapters I enjoyed reading most were:

-First Impressions

-Attitude is Everything

-Actions Do Speak Louder Than Words

-People Like People Like Themselves

-It's Not All Talk-It's Listening, Too

As I read, and re-read many of these chapters, a lot of things started to make sense to me. The reason why I wanted to share this with you all is because it worked for me. Big time! When I went in for a job interview at the hospital I currently work at a few months ago, I took with me the skills that I had learned from this book. I don't say any of this to boast, but to help anyone else out there that struggles with the same thing I do. I was interviewed by two people at the same time, one of them was the director of the ICU and the other was the director of the Med-Surg floor. A little intense? Yes. I stayed calm and remembered what I had learned. Within five minutes of the interview, the director of ICU said to me, "Devin, you seem like you have a lot of potential, lets just get right to it, what days are you available to work?" He then said a little later, "when you graduate from nursing school, we might very well have an RN position for you."

I walked out of the interview and a couple of days later had the job. There are certain things that I learned in the book that really helped me present myself well, and helped me make a great first impression. Some things that it talks about that will help you give a great first impression to a potential employer is to keep your heart aimed directly at the person your meeting. Don't cover your heart with your hands or arms and, when possible, unbutton your jacket or coat. You should always be first with eye contact, look the person directly in the eye and let your eyes reflect your positive attitude. That's just the tip of the iceberg for this book, it goes into so much detail it's ridiculous-but it's not too long. I just wanted to refer you to it if you felt like you could use some good pointers on first impressions for a job interview, or to be able to establish rapport with your co-workers or anyone else. It's really helped me, and I bought it on Amazon for pretty cheap.

Medical Marvels

2011-03-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

Hi this is Devin. First of all, sorry about how long this post is. You might have to break up the reading :)

Well this is only my second blog post ever, but I thought I would update you all on a few things that are going on here. Nursing school is pretty intense, I'm almost done with this semester, thank goodness. A couple of personal stories I would like to share that I will title medical marvels. The first is about a lady at the hospital that I work at. I spend most of my time working in the ICU and the other day a woman checked in who had overdosed on a particular med. I overheard the doctors talking about her situation (and swearing about this particular womans stupidity). A little back-round--Every drug has a therapeutic index in which it works in the body, once it reaches the minimum, it can begin it's effect, once it passes the maximum, it overwhelms the livers ability to metabolize and the kidneys ability to excrete the drug. The therapeutic window for this drug was right around 100 mg/dl. This lady's blood level of the drug was over 1,000mg/dl. (not compatible with life.) The doctors couldn't figure out how she was still alive. She was crashing hard, and I watched right outside of her room while she was surrounded by about 3 doctors and 7 nurses trying to intubate her and revive her. It was pretty intense and I felt like I was living an episode of house. The lady was still alive when I left for my shift, and hopefully she still is. Pretty crazy.

My second story happened at my clinical site at school. We were taking some blood sugars of patients when we saw what just happened to be the lowest glucose level that my clinical instructor had ever seen on a conscious patient in her entire career (and she's been around awhile). The normal range for glucose is around 80-120 mg/dl, best if it's closer to 100. This lady had a blood glucose reading of 16. The brain runs solely on glucose, and when your blood level is that low, the cells in your brain begin to die, your heart goes into cardiac arrest, and you die. At least that's what every medical textbook in the world says should happen near that point, but not in this lady's case. It's just one of those crazy things that happens, and miraculously doesn't end in a tragedy. So my instructor basically dumped the nearest orange juice she could find down the patients throat as fast as she could and then took another reading. It rose up to around 30, then another juice, then a little higher until she was around 80. It was pretty intense. That's one situation where a family was very glad there were nursing students working on grandma that day.

Another neat story comes to mind that I heard from a guest speaker this past friday in my gerontological nursing class. She is the administrator over a home health organization here in Salt Lake, and an RN herself. She told a story about a little boy who nearly drowned in a river here in the Salt Lake area when he was about 2. The boy fell into a vegetative state and had many complications over the next decade, and when he was 10, he was put on hospice. The nurse was at the home of this family when the boy was declining fast, and she told us about how she watched the mother hold the boy in her arms as he died. The nurse went on to say that right before the boy passed, he all of the sudden gained control of all his faculties, becoming the normal boy he really was for a brief moment. He looked up at his mom and said, "thank you." Then closed his eyes and passed away.

I don't know if this nurse was LDS or not, but she said with a choked up voice that it's experiences like that that allow you to know that there is in fact life after death. It was good to hear her say that to us because a very large portion of my class are not LDS and I would assume, do not have a belief in life after death. And for a nurse to come along and share a personal experience as touching as that was very powerful and I could tell it hit everyone pretty hard.

To end this post I though I would share the top ten reasons why I love working at the hospital:

10. It's not a nursing home.

(I worked in a nursing home for a year in provo, and yeah, glad that's done).

9. I don't have to change a lot of diapers.

(That was most of my day at the nursing home, and it's not my favorite hobby).

8. Free snacks.

(Ever been in a hosptial and been offered juice, soda, pudding, etc?..., I have pretty much unlimited access to everything from vanilla wafers to V8 juice anytime I want :)

7. Leading me closer to my career goal.

(I will most likely be able to get on in the ICU pretty quick after I graduate from nursing school because I already will have worked there for over 2 years, which is a required and hard step to achieve if your going into CRNA school--nurse anesthesia school like I am).

6. Tuition reimbursement.

(My hospital reimburses me up to $5200 a year for school. Yeah, I like that).

5. Helps me with nursing school.

(It's sooooo much easier to learn about things in school when I've already been exposed to them at work).

4. Money.

(I really love getting that check every other week. It really helps buffer the ridiculously expensive tuition that I pay at Westminster College).

3. Getting to be exposed to a broad spectrum of things(..been studying too much pharmacology).

(I've seen a lot of interesting, inspiring, and crazy things. I've seen first hand what happens to you when you party too hard and nearly drink yourself to death. I've seen patients and their condition right after suicide attempts. I've seen what happens to you when you eat chocolate pudding and drink sprite all day, everyday :) Which is why I watch myself on those, and come home and drink (and make Christine drink) my gross spinach, apple, banana, and carrot shake, then go work out).

2. Frequent reminders to eat healthy and exercise a lot!!!

(This kind of goes along with the last one, but I've seen so many 50 year olds on their death bed with a medical diagnoses list as long as the great wall of china that never took care of themselves, that would be out running and enjoying a beautiful summers day (not to mention the next 40+ years of their life) if they would have just started good habits early on in their life. I've got my dad doing a few push-ups everyday to improve upper body strength that will pay off in the end for him. I'm going to keep pushing you to do more dad!

Along these lines I recently was called to be an elders quorum teacher in my ward and a couple weeks ago I gave a lesson on the word of wisdom. I didn't want to focus on the same old word of wisdom lesson that everyone has heard and taught a million times, so I changed it up a little bit. I focused on healthy eating habits and exercise, and I gave them a lot of data on how long LDS people live for who closely live the word of wisdom based on some studies done by UCLA. I hope they enjoyed it and got something out of it).

And the number one reason I love working at the hospital is........

1. Getting to have as many free doctors appointments as I want, whenever I want.

(Yes we have great health insurance through the hospital, but I'm talking about the fact that I'm surrounded by doctors all day. For example, I noticed a small lump in my leg the other day and just today I had one of the experienced doctors feel it and give me his thoughts on it--don't worry, probably just a swollen lymph node, although the doctor couldn't stop joking over and over about how it was cancer that was going to kill me. Also, with our baby that is over 10 weeks along now, I was able to ask several doctors who they thought the best OB was in the hospital, which led us to our current OB :)

Thanks for reading everyone, stay tuned for more of my posts...

MIA for a reason

2011-03-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

So....both of our cameras broke and we are both really busy lately. Devin is working so hard at work and at school. I am so proud of him! He is doing so well! I work 40 hours a week and try to pick up some babysitting jobs in my spare time. Life is crazy but we are loving it! More posts soon!

Once Upon a December -- Recap

2011-01-04T18:27:00.000-08:00

Alright December recap from the 7th on! I know most people probably don't care about this and that's okay. This was mainly for me because I realized I am a pessimist and I want to change that. I was terrible at keeping up my gratitude month! At least on my blog. I did great at keeping my gratitude journal! So busy, but I should have done it anyway! So here we go.

8th - Christmas Decorations: Devin and I went shopping at the Riverwoods in Provo and it was so beautifully decorated with tons of Christmas lights and there was music playing with bonfires around to keep you from freezing your butt off. It was so fun!

9th - Children: Working at the Chiropractor, there are tons of fun families that come in. I loved those families. There were some kids in particular that just made my day when they came in. One kid that loves getting adjusted and loves playing at the office was particularly fun. He was always smiling and running around. So I was thankful for kids that day.

10th - Reuniting: My friend Berit came home from Paris after being gone all semester and I was so glad that she came home! Missed you Ber! Glad you're home. :)

11th - Preparation: Devin and I moved to Salt Lake on the 22nd and this time, I had some extra notice that we would be moving. Even though we didn't know for sure where we were moving until the 18th, I at least knew we were going somewhere a few weeks before we did. The last time we moved (from Highland to Provo), I had 2 days to pack and clean and hightail it out of there. So this move was much better! PS I have pictures of our apt in Provo and I will take some of our new place once we finish putting it together.

12th - Kind people: We had our Ward Christmas Party a few days before and my Visiting Teacher sat by me and was so nice to me. Other than that, not very many people talked to me so I was really thankful for her. Good food there too!

13th - Finals Week: Only because it wasn't my finals week. Devin had to take his finals and get his grades before we knew where we were moving. We had both been anxiously waiting for this week and on the 13th, it had finally come.

14th - Fun days at work: Every month at my old job, we had a color week. All the kids that wore the right color got prizes. Cheap, crappy prizes, but prizes non the less. It was so fun to watch them pick out their prizes, and play with them. I loved decorating the office and wearing the same color every day of the week. Ok so the last part wasn't my favorite, but it definitely cut off a few minutes from my prep time in the morning!

15th - Health: I recently realized that I tend to take my good health for granted. And on the 15th I decided I was going to try to do better about being thankful for being in good health and also working harder at getting in good shape.

16th - Finishing projects: FINISHED PACKING!!! Enough said.

17th - Blessings: Devin passed the semester! We found out we would be moving to Salt Lake to attend Nursing School at Westminster!

18th - Change: Hard as it may be, change has always been good for me. I am thankful for another change in our life.

19th - Finishing Chapters: It was our last Sunday at our ward in Provo and I was happy to be completing another chapter in our lives and beginning a new one. It was a great day at church too. It's not the same as change. At least not in my mind!

20th - Organization: I know that it makes me weird, but I like to organize. And clean. And that day, I got to start cleaning and unpacking our new place!

21st - Landmarks: It was my parent's and my sister's anniversary. I love other people's anniversaries. I'll love mine when I have my first one! I just love to see how far people come in a year and see how glad they are that they are still together.

22nd - A WHOLE DAY to organize: I got sick somehow and got to spend the whole day with Dev unpacking and finished it ALL!

23rd - Breaks: Finished with work until after Christmas!

24th - Christmas!!!: The true meaning. I am so thankful for my Savior who was born, lived as the best example to all mankind, and then died for us.

25th - Holidays with Devin: Dev and I hardly saw each other last semester. And while I know that will start up again tomorrow (literally), it was so fun to have a break with him where I could see him every day and spend tons of time with him.

26th - Good, clean entertainment: We went to see Tangled with Devin's family and I LOVED IT! Loved that it was cute, entertaining, fun, and CLEAN!! That is so rare these days. Great music too!

27th - Fun games: I am very picky about games. VERY picky. But at Devin's parent's house and my parent's house, we played some pretty fun games! I was thankful that I had fun playing games. Random and sad, I know.

28th - Down time: I have been so stressed out that I haven't really had room to breathe until Christmas break. Devin's family is so easy going so it was fun to just hang out.

29th - Stores that have pants that fit me: Don't judge. It is so hard for me to find good pants. Pants that fit! I am the shortest you can be without actually being considered 'under average', but I have long legs. They do NOT make pants, (especially dress pants), for shorter girls with long legs, no hips, and small bums. I have NEVER been able to find such well fitting pants until this day. A monumental day for me!

30th - Family Togetherness: All of my siblings were at my parent's house for New Years this year. It has been a while since we were all together and had time to talk and play games. We were together for my wedding, but that was really busy and just for a few hours with just the family.

31st- New Beginnings: Happy New Year!!!

I Know...I'm Terrible at This

2010-12-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

So I do have excuses. I have been packing for almost a week now as Devin and I are moving out of our Provo apartment sometime in the next few days. I have been so busy. I get home from work, make something quick to eat, and pack til bedtime. I would post while I eat dinner, but Dev has had his computer at school all week studying for finals and my computer doesn't work with our internet at BYU for some reason. But not to worry! I have been keeping a gratitude journal at work for the last couple months, so I have things I am grateful for each day so I can catch up! I probably won't be able to until next week though. So I just wanted you all to know that I am sticking with this!!

For December 7th

2010-12-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday I was thankful for good friends. Real friends who call when they need to talk, and want to chat just because they can. Those people who are there for you no matter what, with honesty, but no judgement. The kind of people who know what's going on in your life. The people that treat you well because they love you. People you can laugh, cry, vent, and reminisce with. Thank you to all my friends who are those kind of people for me!

For December 6th

2010-12-08T12:04:00.001-08:00

On Monday I was grateful for those moments that you forget all the things that are on your mind. All that is worrying or bothering you. The moments that claim all of your attention just for being amazing. I think those moments are presents from the Lord. They are His way of showing us that He is there and that He is thinking of us. Remembering us. Thank goodness for the wonderful moments in life to help us remember how blessed we really are.

For December 5th

2010-12-08T11:56:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, (yes I know I am VERY behind), I was thankful for diversity. In talents, in weaknesses, in strengths, in race, in personality. I am so glad we are not all the same! I know that everyone says "how boring would the world be if we were all the same?". Well as cliche as that is, it's so true! I am so glad to know all kinds of people!

For December 4th

2010-12-05T12:07:00.000-08:00

I didn't have a chance to do this post yesterday, so I will just do two today. Yesterday I was thankful for the Christmas Season. I love how it brings people together, and everyone tries to be happier (focusing on the good), giving presents, singing, celebrating, decorating, and the music is pretty great. I love this time of year...aside from the cold. I wish snow could exist in 70 degree weather, but it can't so I'll deal. Anyway, the best part about Christmas is how everyone tries to be a better person. They try to remember Christ. The life He lived, all He has done and continues to do for us. I am so thankful for that. A time of year that helps me stay on track and remember who the credit really belongs to. A time to remember who I want/need to be and the motivation to become that person. Thanks for reading!

For December 3rd

2010-12-03T22:28:00.001-08:00

Today I am thankful for music. It can change my mood faster than almost anything else, it is entertaining, fun, and gives me a chance to sing. I love to sing. I love a variety of genres and artists, and for that, I am thankful. I have been able to hear so many different kinds of lyrics and melodies that each have their own affect on me. I know this sounds corny and weird, but I love it so much! So today I am thankful for music.

For December 2nd

2010-12-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

Okay. Two in one day. I am thankful for work. I love my jobs. I work as a Chiropractor's assistant, a mother's helper, and I clean for my grandparent's. I am so blessed to be able to be employed, especially in this economy, and to be making enough to pay the bills. Thanks to Dr. Bill, the Coveys, and my Grandparents!!

For December 1st

2010-12-02T20:06:00.001-08:00

So I have this idea. I have a tendency to be a pessimist sometimes...(well a lot of the time), so I am going to use the holiday season as a way to focus on being grateful for what I have. Each day of this month, (yes even after Christmas), I am going to post at least one thing that I am grateful to have in my life. I encourage you to do the same. Not that you have to do it in the same way I am, (in a journal and on this blog). Just to do it. I have a gratitude journal and it helps me so much. So here it goes! I know I'm so great at this. I already missed December 1st.

Today I am grateful for family. Not that today is the only day I am...haha. I have a fantastic family.

I have a husband who works so hard in school so that he can accomplish his dreams and goals for himself. I've never seen anyone more dedicated. I am so thankful for him.

I have sisters who are great examples, every one of them in their own way. See this post for details on that. My brothers are also awesome and I have always felt so close to them. I have 6 sisters and 2 brothers. And the ages are in that order. 6 girls, 2 boys, then me. When I was younger and people would phrase it that way, I would think to myself...'so what am I? Just because there are two boys ahead of me, I am suddenly my own gender??' Obviously I no longer feel that way. Just thought it was a funny thing.

My parents are incredible people. So strong and even in the midst of a lot of struggle, are such a support to their children. My nieces and nephews and wonderful and I find so much joy in them. I really think I will be a better mom because of them.

The in-law's (all of Devin's family) are so kind and welcoming. Devin's sister Canda lives right across the street and is always so thoughtful. I love living close to she and Tim. Annie is always so great and so fun to talk to when I see her. Every family member is so nice to me and all went out of their way to make me feel a part of their family. Thanks so much you guys!

So here's to family! Thank you for being the kind of people that I can be thankful for.

I Caved...

2010-11-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

So normally, I hold out on listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. I LOVE Thanksgiving and hate that it's just skipped over. But this year, as much as I hate to admit it...I started listening to Christmas music like almost 2 weeks ago. I just love the happiness it brings! So here are a few of my favorites. But I promise, I will still give Thanksgiving my full attention. There is actually one song by Josh Groban that is on his Christmas album that I listen to at Thanksgiving time.

Thankful - by Josh Groban

Celine Dion's entire Christmas Album (These Are the Special Times)
Particularly: Another Year Has Gone By, O Holy Night, Ave Maria, & The Magic of Christmas (God Bless Us Everyone)
I'll Be Home for Christmas - Josh Groban
What Child Is This - SheDaisy
Walking In a Winter Wonderland - ??
The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks
Jingle Bell Rock-??
Feliz Navidad- ??
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - ??
Silent Night and Angels We Have Heard On High - (my family's caroling versions)

Soon to come...favorite Christmas Movies!!

This Lovely Week

2010-10-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

This week has been fun. I have been sick since Sunday night with some kind of sinus flu crap. I can't seem to shake it. I took the day off today in hopes that some serious R&R will help me get better sooner. So I am sitting here on my couch trying to be as productive as possible. Sadly, yes I consider blogging to be productive because I have to make time for it now. Hopefully I will get to picking up the apartment and taking some pictures so I can finally post about our "new" place. Kinda pathetic since we moved here at the end of July. Oh well!

What is With This?

2010-10-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

I am so disappointed in American Entertainment. Last year I loved watching Glee. It was a decent show with awesome music and the cast was so talented. The second season started just like a month ago and I have quit watching. It's turned waaay trashy, the songs are even inappropriate, (should have known that when Britney Spears was featured), and I am just so disappointed. Why does the entertainment industry have to do this? They hook you on a show and then boom. It's terrible the following season. All in hopes that you will keep watching as they put trash in your brain. Anyway...needless to say Glee is no longer a part of my life. Hasn't been for a long time but I just wanted to share that with the blogging world.

The Question of WHY

2010-09-23T18:40:00.001-07:00

So sometimes, during my day I see some funny things. Or some weird things. Whatever you prefer to call them. So here are a few that I noticed today and asked myself... 'why?'.

1: Why do old people buy amazing sports cars that would never even putter when hauling at 90, and then go 15 under on a residential road? Or worse, 20 under on the freeway? Not saying they should go 90 but at least keep up. What's the point? Just stick to your Buick's and Cadillacs. Please.

2: Why on earth is there construction absolutely EVERYWHERE I go? Nothing else to say. Everyone that is living in Provo knows that wherever you go, it's there. North, south, east and west.

Alright I'm done complaining. Just had to put my two cents in and Devin isn't home from school yet so the thoughts had to go somewhere!

A blog post for Canda and Tim from Max:

2010-09-19T11:43:00.001-07:00

Dear Mom and Dad,

During my most recent visit with uncle dev and aunt christine, I had the most wonderful time! First, I started by checking my email and playing some games on pbs. As you can see in this picture, I was rather annoyed that they had to snatch me up and change me in the middle of it.

Next, I found myself curious to see if Mr. Darcy was truly in love with Elizabeth Bennet. I was relieved to find that he indeed did. I discovered that he sacrificed his pride for his love. What a classic novel!

As you know I have a deep love for football, particularly BYU football. So, dev and I threw the ball for a while and we discussed yesterday's tough game against Florida St. I really feel like Jake Heaps will improve as he gets older.

So, as you can see, I had a great time with dev and christine! I really hope you will let me hang out with them again soon!

Love,

Max

Free Massage On the Line!!!

2010-09-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hello people. So at my new job at Chiropractic 4 Kids & Families, we need your help. We are planning Monthly Wellness Workshops and we need some topics! Here at Dr. Bill's office, we are all about health and wellness. Our motto is "Helping raise healthy kids naturally". So anything from eating well within your budget to info on immunizations. So, post comments of ideas and whoever suggests the best topic wins a free massage here at our office! Also, if you are interested in learning more about us, check out our website at www.mychiro4kids.com -- or our blog at dr-bill.blogspot.com -- or check out our Facebook Group under "Chiropractic 4 Kids & Families". Thanks for reading! Start brainstorming!

I Know

2010-09-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

I know...it's been a while. No pictures quite yet. Just thought I would update everyone on a few things. To start, Devin is in school at BYU and is doing very well. I just started a third job working as a Chiropractor's Assistant in Alpine. I still work as a mother's helper for my old neighbor and I still clean for my grandparents too. So total I will be working 46 hours a week or so. Crazy I know, but Dev will be at school all day every day so I may as well be productive too. So we are doing well. I promise that one day we will have pictures on here again. I told Devin the other day that we need to take more pictures together. I'll make a goal for next week. Well, until the next post!

Relocation

2010-08-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

So Dev and I have relocated for his schooling. We moved to Provo last week. I would have posted prior to the actual moving, but it was a relatively quick process. We are planning on being here for Fall semester and then moving wherever Dev decides to go to Nursing school at the beginning of next year. Details and pictures of our new place later. Just thought I'd clue everyone in.

Old Finds...Videos!

2010-06-10T14:48:00.001-07:00

Here are some videos that I still had on my camera!

Here are brief descriptions in order:

1- The resort where we stayed on our honeymoon in California
2- My nephew Cameron singing "Waiting All My Life" by Rascal Flatts when he was 4
3- Wyatt (a boy I babysit) dancing and mouthing (pretending he knows the words) to "All my Loving"

4- My nieces and nephews running from my dad. He was playing monster. An epic game from my childhood. My nephew Levi was a bit attached to the old toy wagon that I used to play with. Don't worry-- my dad is creepy in this video, but I promise he isn't normally. Ha ha just teasing dad. We loved it as kids.

5- My dad playing Basketball on the Wii. He didn't know I was watching. He jumped on every shot.

6- Another game of monster.
7- A playful wrestling match that broke out between two of Devin's co-workers at the Christmas Party which was held at nothing other than their boss's house! Embarrassing.
8- My nephews and their friend Sammy at the park. They thought they needed to repeat everything I said. They were only supposed to say "we're at the park". This one is 2 years old!
9- My dad wrestling my nephew Cameron. He hit an obsessive phase with wrestling after he watched Kung Fu Panda. I promise neither one was hurt! Ha ha it was so funny. You can hear me cackling in the background.
10- Easter Egg Hunt with Cameron and Isaac. I love how Isaac shakes every egg!

So I know this is a lot-- but I thought they were all worth posting and it's faster to do it this way than individually.

Road Trips

2010-06-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Back in February, I flew out to Washington to help my sister Tiffany drive back to Utah for my brother's homecoming and my wedding. I was only there for one full day, but it was so much fun! I took a few pics. We went to the park and Macey went down the big slide by herself! I was at the bottom to catch her, and every time, she came out head first. I watched her go in, sitting down and somehow she ended up on her back head first every time. It was so funny so I finally took a picture. I took some pictures on the car ride, but not that many. It was pretty good! The kids did very well. The biggest event was Macey having a blow out diaper in the last stretch of the drive. Unlike the last time I drove with the Dansies...

I went to Arizona to help them move to Utah in February of 2008. We had a top carrier with some of their stuff in it and there was a box in the front right corner and it slowly ripped a hole that continued to expand throughout the drive. We had many attempts to fix it. 4 stops between Vegas and St. George-- bungee cords, duct tape, everything we could think of. Nothing worked. But we got there-- in 14.5 hours! Ha ha the last pictures are of the top carrier with our make shift contraption to hold it together.

Future Pro...If This Is How They Play Tennis Now

2010-06-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is Wyatt. He is one of the kids that I work with at my job as a mother's helper/nanny. He is adorable. Wyatt loves to play sports. He is all boy. Usually he is outside with his brothers playing, but this time, he was inside and playing by himself. It was so cute and funny.

Here's a video that I thought was pretty funny.

"Welcome to Our Humble Abode!"

2010-06-10T12:44:00.001-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen Pride and Prejudice (the newer version), the title isn't funny. But if you have seen it, Mr. Collins says it when Elizabeth comes to visit he and his wife and his voice sounds way funny. Sorry. I'm reading Pride and Prejudice and the lines from the book and movies run through my head more than usual. I took some pictures of our apartment just after we moved in and I haven't gotten to posting them until now. So enjoy! It's a bit better decorated and a few things have changed, but I will post other pictures later.

Thank you to my family for our awesome bedding! We love it! And it's full of Devin's favorite colors! The only colors he likes. Ha ha. And thanks go to Devin's sisters Elise and Camille for making the Holt family plaque and the family wall hanging. You guys are awesome! They make this place feel like home.

Hope you like it! We will be here for a while. Not sure how long though.

2010-05-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! This is Devin, this is the first time I have ever written in this blog or any blog, so hopefully I get better at this as time goes on. I thought I would share my latest wonder shake idea with everyone and see what you think. At my job I work as a CNA with a lot of people who never really took care of themselves when they were in their younger years, and it has caught up to them now, and now they need constant care just to stay alive. These people never took diet and exercise seriously (their primary nutrient being nicotine), and I can see the toll it has taken on them. I don't have a nicotine addiction, but just to be sure I'm at my peak in my twilight years, I have started taking nutrition very seriously, (exercise soon to follow). For those who know me well, you know that nutrients and I haven't exactly been on a first name basis for a while. Forever actually. So I introduce to you my latest concoction. Included in it are two bananas, one cut up apple, tons of little carrots, and lots of spinach. I was afraid my body wouldn't know how to handle all this nutrients at once and reject it, but so far it has stayed down. I like the idea of drinking it as a shake because my body doesn't need to break anything down to make the nutrients available to me, once it hits my small intestine, it's just a fiesta of absorption. This isn't my first concoction, I've made a couple other ones recently, and so far I have been unsuccessful in getting Christine to join me in consuming them. Maybe she just needs a little more time...

Wow...this is sad

2010-05-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone! It's been forever! I have a lot to post from California and stuff! I probably won't be getting to it until later on this week but I will get there! Ha ha. Bye for now!

CONGRATS!!!

2010-03-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my sister Heather and her husband Doug! Today they have both of their little ones home! Ethan is finally home healthy and happy. Sydney came home before him and it was sad that they had to be apart. But how great that they are reunited on their daddy's birthday and ironically on their scheduled due date. Just wanted to let them all know that I am thinking of them. If you want to see pictures, check out my sister's blog at www.themarchants.blogspot.com. We love you guys!

Funny Questions...

2010-03-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

So a week ago, I was at work and I needed to go and pick up Allie at preschool. She is the same little girl that was in this post. She got in the car and stated her frequent question: "are you married yet?". At this point, the wedding was a few days away so I replied: "nope. not yet". She looked at the ground for a second and looked up at me with a confused look and said "so did you just like find Devin?" I went on to explain how we met and then fell in love and went through the process of how we knew that getting married was the right thing to do. I asked her if that made sense and she said "Yeah. Do you like the sun?". I had to chuckle to myself before I told her that I did like it. "But it's always shining in your eyes" she commented. I told her that I liked the sun because it made the earth warm so I could play outside and swim and not be cold. And that it made flowers and other things grow. Then she said "I can't wait until it's summer". Then we pulled up to the house, she jumped out and skipped to the backyard to go play with her little brother. I thought it was so funny. Then this last Monday when I went to work, she repeated her usual question. I told her that yes I am married! Then she went on to make my day with this: "Do you have your kids yet?" I told her that it takes a while for me to have my kids but that when I find out that I am having one, she will be among the first to know. I just love this girl. She is so funny! Just thought I'd share!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

2010-02-24T19:16:00.000-08:00

So I had to document this before I forget.

The picture is actually from my 19th birthday but it was cute and I wanted to put a picture of Cameron with this post.

My sister Tiffany and her three kids are here visiting for my brother Matt's homecoming and for my wedding. I have been able to spend lots of time with them. Tonight, Cameron said: "Christine could you get me a sippie cup of water please?" When I got up, I told him: "Thanks for saying please Cam." and he says the sentence that pretty much made my night. "Well that's the only word that gets you anything." Of course he put his hands up and shrugged his shoulders like he was just saying it for results and isn't sure how it works out...just knows it does. Anyway, just thought I would share cause I thought it was hilarious!

He's Back!!

2010-02-22T20:14:00.001-08:00

My brother Matt came home from his mission in Mexico this afternoon. I am so excited to have him home! I have missed him so much. I don't have any pictures on my camera just because there were so many cameras around but I will get some from my mom's camera or one of my sisters'. He is doing great! He has to say a lot of things twice, (once in Spanish then in English). But he is doing so wonderfully. It's been fun to hear what he has to say about the mission and so much more. Anyway, more to come! Just thought I'd let you all know that he is home safe and I couldn't be happier unless Devin was here. But he will meet Matt soon.

A Shout Out

2010-01-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

I'd just like to send a shout out to all my sisters and my mom! Mom, Katie, Michelle, Sarah, Heather, Tiffany and Chelsea. You are all awesome. With everything going on this last week, (babies being born and some long days of work), I have just been thinking about how difficult life really is, but how great you all are with handling it. Katie takes wonderful care of her own 5 children, and her brother-in-law's children as well. She always has a smile and is so selfless. Michelle sacrificed so much to move to Rexburg to take care of her sister-in-law while her in law's served a mission. She is giving, kind, and a great mom. Sarah has moved so many times in the last few years that I have lost count. She is always patient and supportive of her husband and wants to give her kids all that she can. Heather has been through so much to bring her twins into this world. She has struggled and overcome every situation thrown in her path. She is a hard worker and a loving wife. Tiffany endures so well. She is a mother of three and is always willing to improve. She is one of the greatest people I know. She is humble, honest and motivated. Chelsea. I couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law. She is kind and never leaves anyone out...including me. She is funny and can make anyone smile. She is good to my brother and good to all around her. Patient, smart, hard working, and I know she is all ready a great mom. I've seen her soothe her baby and it's incredible. My mom is incredible. She is so busy and always finds more time to do things for her husband and children. She is a wonderful mother, grandmother, wife, daughter-in-law and so much more. She works hard, plays hard, laughs hard, and does so well to enjoy life even when it is extremely difficult. So here's to the women in my family! Thanks for being such great examples to me. To my nieces and nephews, never forget how lucky you are to have such great moms. And to my brothers-in-law and my brother...don't ever forget how lucky you are to be married to such amazing women who love and serve you every day.

In the Waiting Room...

2010-01-21T10:44:00.000-08:00

I am at the University of Utah Hospital waiting to see my new nephew! My sister-in-law Chelsea gave birth to Kayden Christian Beckstrand this morning at 10:13 after pushing since 9:56. He weighs 6 lbs 11 ounces and we think he is about 18 or 19 inches long. I was at work and my mom called and told me that Chelsea was dilated to a 10 and 100% effaced and ready to deliver. So I asked my awesome boss if I could go to the hospital and she gladly said I could. I am so thankful for her! She is so great. I am so happy that I didn't have to miss out on this. We weren't here when he was born, but we got here shortly after. I am here with my parents. This is so much fun! I have seen pictures, but I haven't seen him yet. If you want to see pictures now, check out Dave and Chelsea's blog at www.cicichelsea.blogspot.com. Apparently he was a screamer! He is in the ICU right now. He is breathing on his own so that is good! Man I love being an aunt. I wouldn't trade it for anything. To all my nieces and nephews, I miss you and love you all! Happy Birthday to my nephew Carter who is exactly a year older than his new little cousin! I am now an aunt for the 17th time!

Emmeli: 14
Matt: 12
Natalie: 10
Derek: 8
Shelly:6
Taylor: 12
Kylee:10
Jacob: 7
Landon: 3
Carter: 1 TODAY!
Caleb: 7
Ellie: 5
Levi: 2
(Keller baby on the way! Due in March)
Cameron: 5
Isaac: 3
Macey: 1
(Marchant twins on the way! Any day but we hope they wait for 2 weeks!)
and...drum roll please..... KAYDEN! 2 hours old!
Just wanted to post how lucky I am to have all these great kids in my life! I hope I have kids just like them. :)

Now I am waiting in Chelsea's recovery room to see Kayden. I'll post pictures when I see him!

On the 5th day of Christmas...

2010-01-11T21:18:00.000-08:00

On the 5th day of Christmas, I gave Devin 5 Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Literally and actually 5 golden rings! I thought I did well. :) He wasn't home when I dropped them off so I left them with some of his roommates. They were grateful that there were a few extras and that I was in a sharing mood. Ha ha. So here is the poem that went with them!

On the 5th day of Christmas...
Your true love actually got you 5 golden rings!!
Just probably not the kind they actually mean in the song...
so this will have to do.

These five golden rings are really neat
not only are they 'pretty'...but they're a gift you can eat!
They are golden and glazed for your personal delight,
too bad that soon, they'll be out of sight!

It is pretty fun to review all this stuff! Ha I was so stressed out wanting to be sure that I could get each gift to him and have everything be perfect too. But I really enjoyed it too.

On the 4th Day of Christmas...

2010-01-10T12:29:00.000-08:00

I gave Devin 4 play cell phones. I couldn't come up with anything better. I was kinda mad that I couldn't at least find candy phones. They were not to be found. I even sent my mom on shopping sprees when I was at school or work, but we had no luck. But it turns out that he kinda likes them. Ha I was worried he would just have to throw them away. We joke about how I made an investment in some toys for our kids and prevented them using our phones. These ones make noise and have a picture on the screen and actually look pretty real. I forgot this picture too so I just pulled one from the internet. Gotta have something! I also gave him packets of chiclets to subsitute the birds ("chicks"). So it was a funny day.

So here is the poem! The last line will be explained.

On the 4th day of Christmas...

Your true love figured live birds weren't the best idea.
So this will have to do:

Instead of hearing Christmas bells it's phones you'll hear all season.
Of course they won't really sing, but calling was my reason.
The chiclets are substitutes for the birds you see,
because who wants four live birds besides the Coveys??

I work as a nanny for one of the Covey families and they have two daughters that LOVE animals. I think it's great, but I would not ever want that many animals in my house or in my yard. Right now they have 5 bunnies, an African Grey Parrot, a Parakeet, hamsters (not sure how many), chickens, roosters, and a dog. They are such fun kinds and whoever gets the animal actually takes care of it! I think that is so great. They are awesome kids and I love working over there and seeing them almost every day. So there's the 4th day of Christmas! More to come. Sorry if this bores you. I wanted to document all of this just in case we ever lose the hard copies of everything. And just in case someone would enjoy it.

On the 3rd Day of Christmas...

2010-01-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

I made Devin a chicken dinner. My mom had to help me a LOT because my boss called me in to work very last minute and I had a lot of other things that I had to get done. I made it at my parent's house and then drove back down to Provo after work. When I got to Devin's apartment, he wasn't home. Surprising him...harder than you might think. He was donating plasma. So I waited for him for like 20 minutes or so. Then we ate dinner together! So Dev took a picture of us and he was holding the poem. I forgot to take a picture of the food. I made Terraki Chicken, corn, rolls, and white grape peach juice.

Here is the poem I wrote to go along with the meal.

On the 3rd day of Christmas...

Your true love didn't want to give you live chickens,
so this will have to do:

A yummy chicken dinner just for you and me
is not exactly something that goes underneath the tree.
But I promise it's good and you'll enjoy it
and with each bite you'll think it's a hit.
At least I hope this turns out to be true...
because for the rest of your life, i'm cooking for you!

On the 2nd day of Christmas...

2009-12-28T10:53:00.000-08:00

I gave Dev a bag of Dove chocolates...you know like turtle truffles? Here's a picture of them and the poem I wrote to go along with it.

On the 2nd day of Christmas...

Your true love couldn't find two doves in love,
so this will have to do:

A bag of chocolates,
don't worry, no turtles.
Each piece helps you get over life's hurdles.
So each bite you take, think of me,
and how much I love you...for to my heart you hold the key.

I know...I'm corny and cheesy to the absolute MAXIMUM. But I don't care. ;)

On the 1st day of Christmas...

2009-12-24T09:57:00.000-08:00

Most of you know how the song goes. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...a partridge in a pear tree. So here was my substitute for that.

I did a penguin (he looks so funny) for the partridge, a tree made of reeses chocolate trees, and I did a real pear! Ha ha. Here is the poem that was with it:

On the 1st day of Christmas…

Your true love couldn’t cut down a pear tree.
Neither could she capture a partridge,
So this will have to do:

A yummy pear off an actual pear tree,
You can eat the whole tree for it’s made of chocolate you see.
Then of course is the bird that makes you smile.
And all together these make a partridge in a pear tree with style.
Enjoy your first day of Christmas and enjoy the next eleven,
You can be assured that by day 12, you will feel like you’re in heaven.

He love reeses candy and he has the penguin sitting on the dashboard in his car. I'm not sure about the happenings of the pear. Anyway, I thought it was fun and wanted to show it to everyone. Keep an eye out for day 2!

12 Days of Christmas

2009-12-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

So I did the 12 days of Christmas for Devin this year and it was so much fun! I tried to match the song as best I could, but some days were definitely cooler than others. Today is his last day of the 12, so throughout today and tomorrow, I will be posting pictures and descriptions of the gifts he got. Ha ha some of them are pretty funny. I even included a poem for each one that I wrote and that made it more fun. So keep an eye out for them if you're interested!

Not Bird, Not Swine...Just a Stubborn Cold

2009-11-23T18:30:00.000-08:00

So I have been sick with a cold since Wednesday and I am getting quite impatient with it all. I want to be better!! I didn't miss school at all until today. UVU has asked students to stay home if they have any symptoms simular to the swine flu. I complied today but I cannot do the same tomorrow. I have to do one more hour in the Spanish Lab before break. I really don't HAVE to, but after Thanksgiving break, the lab hours are all crazy due to finals. So I guess I will just bear it. I am supposed to work tomorrow, so cross your fingers that I will be better! My parents have been great and have let me stay here since Friday night. I don't want to get my roommates sick or keep them up with my coughing. I just want to be better before Thanksgiving comes. Oh well. I suppose I'll deal with whatever comes my way... or remains in my way.

Soon to be Moving...

2009-11-16T17:32:00.000-08:00

I am moving back to Alpine in a few more weeks and I am just putting the word out there! Mostly because I need my contract to sell at King Henry!!!! So if you know of ANYONE who wants to live in King Henry Apartments at BYU Housing, please leave a comment and let me know! Thank you!

Single Dancing Lady

2009-11-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

This is a little girl that I nanny. She has shown me this dance a few times and I finally pulled out my camera. I love that she knows parts of the REAL dance from the Beyonce video! She is way cute. I love my job! Enjoy! This is so freaking cute.

NOT Ready

2009-10-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

I am simply NOT ready for winter. Or even wintry weather for that matter. I love Fall. I love the cool breezes where the sun is still shining and "all you need is a light jacket!" I just want it to stay warm. Campus was miserable yesterday. It was snowing kind of hard when I was walking to my car (it's a decent distance) and by the time I reached the inviting vehicle, I was soaked. My face was cold and wet, my hair drenched, and I had to take my coat off and point the heat vents on my pants. And the worst part is...it's just the beginning. Oh well! I suppose I will just have to take up skiing or snowboarding or something so I can partially enjoy this bitter cold season. I am actually terrified to try either one. Devin tried to convince me to let him teach me, and I wouldn't budge on it. Maybe I'll soften up. We'll see! Anyway...just wanted to put in my two cents on snow, cold, and winter in general.

Apparently...

2009-10-20T13:43:00.001-07:00

..being engaged changes your entire persona. You no longer have a desire to do anything but sit on a couch with your fiance. School, homework, work and anything else that you did value, turns into some kind of mirage. So foreign. Ok if you know me AT ALL, you know I'm kidding. This is a more common misconception than I expected. My teachers, some friends, and even people I don't know think this is so true no matter who you are! Ha I actually find it kind of amusing. Today, my Spanish teacher handed us our quiz. I looked at it thinking "this is not what I studied...and it doesn't say prueba (quiz) on it." So naturally, I asked my teacher if I had written down the date of the quiz correctly. She said: "yes, this is a quiz..." and I proceeded to tell her that my paper had no such indication. She walked over to me with this teasing look on her face and showed me a copy of what she had handed out. She pointed to it and said: "Prueba. Right there." Just as I was lifting my paper to show her it was a different handout than what she intended to give me, she said: "I know that ring has changed your world and all, but this is a quiz." Sort of annoyed I told her my paper was not the quiz. She was pretty embarrassed. Now I know that not only did you probably have to be there to appreciate the humor and all other emotions of this situation...you would probably have to be me. I was just glad that I had a chance to show that I have not suddenly transformed into a ditz due to my engagement. Just thought I'd share.

I Said Friday,You Got Monday...Sorry!

2009-10-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ok so here it is, as promised! Pictures from our engagement! This first one is of the river. It was beautiful! This one does not do it justice whatsoever so hopefully I have some better ones. Here are the rest! Enjoy the long awaited photos. You can thank my brother Dave. He called me today and pointed out that I was over 72 hours late on my posting. ;)

Here I am just before he asked me. This one requires the full story so buckle up! I'll try to tell it concisely. It should be easy since I have told it so many times now. So Dev told me last Monday that we needed to go up Provo Canyon with his brother and sister and their spouses to spend some time with them. I said that would be fun, so I fully expected that when we got there, his family would be there too. Not the case. He told me that we were early so we walked around for a bit and we were just taking pictures. It was my idea to do that and for my suggestion he was grateful. Apparently he was going to say it, so I made his job easier and less obvious. We got to the bridge and he wanted me to take his picture, standing on one of the rails of the bridge and looking over the water. So I took his picture. Then he said: "OK it's your turn now. Get up there" and my response was "I don't want to". He got this sad look on his face and said: "Please. For me?" So I got up and he took the above photo of me. Then he told me to look over the water like he had and so I did. At this point, I suspected slightly, but not fully. Then he said: "actually you might want to turn around for this one". So I did, and there he was, on one knee. I jumped down off the railing and he asked me to marry him and I said yes! It was great! So yeah. That explains the significance of the bridge picture. Sorry it was so long!
Here is one we took just before we got to the bridge. The back round almost looks fake! Ha ha.
And there's the ring! Ha ha sorry you can't see it too well in this picture. I'll post some closeups later on this week. But if you click on it to enlarge it, I am sure you will be able to notice that the beaut even sparkled for us in this picture! Ha ha. Conveniently enough, my appearance was way under my hopes for this moment, but that is what I get for moving furniture for an hour right before he came to get me. Oh well!

Right after he popped the question.

So there's more to come but considering my recent experience, I am not going to promise a deadline. It will be soon though. So enjoy! Whoa I need to change the name of this blog pretty soon. Weird.

I know...I'm Sorry!

2009-10-08T18:31:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone who is waiting for pictures and details of our engagement. It's all on the way tonight or tomorrow. I have been busier than I anticipated. Thanks for your comments!

I Said Yes!

2009-10-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I'm just going to start by saying, I'm engaged! I'm way excited. I don't have time to tell the story just yet. I am sitting in Biology and class is almost over. But later tonight I'll post the story with pictures. I'm waiting for my fiance to send me the pictures. So check on here later! Ah I'm so excited. I'll include pictures of when we got engaged, my ring, etc. I'll update soon!

Talks, Oil Leaks & Hannah Montana

2009-10-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

Devin and I were swinging Isaac in a blanket. He was so cute with his little bear. He's adorable!

Dev was pretending to be a bear and Isaac wanted a ride. I love how he just looks so relaxed and comfortable up there. So cute!

My mom making dinner. She is wonderful! No wonder her name is Joy.

Little Miss Macey taking a ride on 'the blanket train' as Devin called it. I just love her so much!

A view of Dev pulling Macey on the blanket. She is so cute. I love playing with her. So does Devin

Isaac was bored in between sessions and decided to climb into a pot in my parent's family room. Right when I went to take a picture of him, he turned his head like that. It was way funny.

Driving down the road, we found where Dave's car started leaking oil. Pretty bad huh? Turns out the mechanic put the filter back in wrong.

Conference weekend was great! Friday night Devin and I went to his mission reunion. That was interesting. Ha ha it was fun, but let's just say he had a few interesting companions. Then, we went to the last 10 or 15 minutes of the BYU game. After that, we drove to Bountiful to stay at his parent's house. We got there pretty late and we were hungry so Devin went to the store and then he made me a sandwich. We went to bed and then we spent the next day watching General Conference with his family.

During Priesthood session we (me, and Devin's sisters Canda and Annie) watched Hannah Montana the Movie. I must say I was quite impressed considering the fact that it is a Disney Movie based on a TV series. Pretty good. When the men returned, we had dinner for Tim's birthday (Devin's brother-in-law).

After that, we went to Alpine to be with my family. Dev wanted to play basketball with my brothers-in-law and my brother so I took him to the church to play. I was going to go home and hang out with the girls, but I ended up staying to give them a ride because Dave's car had an oil leak. The guys that played basketball ended up staying to help us fix it. We got most everything figured out, and then we drove home to my parent's house.

We hung out with my family and then went to bed. We got up Sunday morning and watched the rest of Conference with my family, had dinner, sang some songs, talked and then drove home to Provo. It was great! Sorry for the lenghty post. Now I will put some pictures on here and videos are coming!

The Last While

2009-09-21T21:22:00.001-07:00

Well here it is! The moment many of you have been waiting for... pictures of Devin and I! I'll try to summarize our story briefly. We met back in May through some mutual friends, and started to hang out with big groups of people. I didn't think he was interested in me because whenever he invited me to do something, it was always with a bunch of people. He finally asked me out in July and we really liked each other. We got along really well. We have been together ever since. I am so happy. He is amazing! He is a complete gentleman, sweet, thoughtful, fun, laid back, and fun to be with.

Dev came to my family's cabin with me over Labor Day weekend. It was the two of us, my sister Heather and her husband Doug, and my brother Dave and his wife Chelsea. Dave and Chels didn't stay at the cabin, but they came up on Saturday to play. We went to Cliff Lake and found the rope swing that my sister and her husband mentioned in their blog. It was so much fun! I was a baby and wouldn't go forever and then my sister Heather convinced me to go. She knows me so well. I knew I would regret it if I didn't go. So we established a new Island Park tradition! I'll go a lot more next year. Dev had a lot of fun on the rope swing. He also loved the dock. The first pic is us at the dock on Monday just before we left to go home. It was hard to leave and then come back to school.

This is from one of our first dates. I look like I have a double chin, but I promise I haven't gained weight. Ha ha. I need to learn how to look better in pictures. Some angles are simply not flattering.

The dock again, just closer up. I think it's funny that we are both wearing hats. His is obviously a BYU hat, and mine is a Nike football hat. His reasoning, he loves BYU. Mine, I didn't want to do my hair right when I woke up. Dedicated fan vs. lazy girl. Ha ha oh well!

Welcome to Provo!

2009-08-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Sorry it has been an eternity since I last posted. My sister Sarah inspired me. She just updated a LOT. So a lot has happened in my life recently. I moved to Provo on Tuesday and started school on Wednesday. I must say the weekend has been welcomed with open arms. I am loving school and my roommates and my social life. I really like it here a lot. I have seen a ton of people from high school, many who were surprised to see me. They all say: what are you doing here? I thought you were at BYU Idaho! It's pretty fun although explaining transferring has gotten a bit old. But that's ok! Anyway, pictures coming soon I promise! I have been insanely busy. I've barely had time to reply to emails and return phone calls but I love it here!

I'm published!

2009-06-30T21:44:00.001-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard, I recently wrote an article for my dad's online magazine and it was published! I write about symbolism in movies, and just life experiences for my series, but there are great articles by other authors/journalists in this month's issue (including former Miss Utah Jill Stevens). If you want to check it out, go to http://www.montramagazine.com/ . Let me know what you think!

I know it's been a while...

2009-06-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I just lose track of time! I have been decently busy between work and my calling which is good because I hate feeling like I have nothing to do. Work is going well. Just scanning pictures, working at the Covey's, and helping Dad and Bob out in my spare time. I really like the work I do for them. I got to have an article published in Montra Magazine! I'm sure it's amateur, but it was still fun. So I have a lot that I could post but I'm not on my own computer right now so I'll have to do it later when I can access my pictures. Just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and I am still a blogger!

Heritage Tours

2009-04-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

As you can see this was the coolest trip ever! For those of you who haven't heard me rant and rave about this trip, Heritage Tours is a church history trip for graduated seniors. I went almost a whole year ago which is insane to think about. You also visit some historical sites that aren't specifically the church's, but are still fun. Plus you get to spend one day in NYC and one day in Washington DC. For some reason, the format isn't allowing me to say what everything is. I have two videos from tour that I will be posting soon. I couldn't have made a better decision than to go on this trip. I learned so much about the Church, strenghtened my testimony, enhanced my writing abilities (I wrote a poem for each place we visited), made awesome friends, and so much more. It was a blast! This is what the Hill Cumorah Pageant looks like from the top of the hill. We walked up there the day after we saw the pageant. Cool huh?

Shopping in NYC. If you know me, you know I hate shopping for extened periods of time. But I endured shopping in New York pretty well. It was fun, but too full of smoke and crazy drivers.

The first sight of New York City coming out of the tunnel. Some people on the bus tried to hold their breath the whole way through the tunnel. Not the brightest idea.

Me and my best friends Abi and Ariel in front of the Boston Temple. So pretty! I loved it.

A picture of Matt and I. He is one of my best friends from High School. He's in Oregon right now saving money for his mission and I miss him!

A different shot of the Boston Temple. This view is actually from the parking lot.

Another picture of Matt and I.

Lauren Taggart and I on the last night of the tour. We both had been crying. I knew her in high school, but we weren't really friends until tour. She's awesome!

A view into the Sacrd Grove from the Fence surrounding it. I like to imagine that this would be similar to the fence Joseph Stumbled over from exhaustion the day he had the First Vision.

A sky shot from th Sacred Grove. It was amazing how the light worked with me. :) I love this picture.

When we got to the Sacred Grove, they had us all go in alone and find a secluded place to read our scriptures, etc. Fortunately I had a blanket to put on top of this log because it had been raining all day long and the moss wasn't scarce.

I LOVE this picture! This is from the Hill Cumorah Pageant at the scene when Christ comes to the Americas. I was bawling at this point.

Again, the Hill Cumorah Pageant, but this is the Tree of Life scene.

Skit night. The last night. I had just totally butchered my line and Abi was laughing at me while I was trying to keep my cool.

I can't remember where this was for sure, but I want to say it was either in the Kirtland Visitor's Center or Palmyra Visitor's Center.

This is a statue at Winter Quarters. It depicts a couple burying their child on the way to the Salt Lake Valley. You can't really see it, but the statue shows the grave of the child too.

Niagra Falls! I'm so proud of this shot! You can even see "The Maid of the Mists" which is the boat that takes you on the water. That is so much fun.

Another shot for my photography hall of fame. But it's not like it's hard to get a good shot of Niagra Falls. It's beautiful!

Standing by the Falls. You get a bit wet.

The bridge over the Falls. It's a long walk up there from where I took this picture. Trust me.

This is a picture of Adam-Ondi-Ahman. The night before we went there, the fire alarm in our hotel went off at 4:00 am and didn't turn off until right before we left for the site. Being my hard sleeping self, I was able to go back to sleep, while everyone else was not so lucky. Most of us were pretty grouchy that day, until we went to Adam-Ondi-Ahman. It had also poured rain all night long the night before and was still pouring on our way to my favorite church history site. Then, Brother Toone, the man in charge at the time, asked someone to say a prayer that we would have good weather and be able to enjoy our time there. The rain didn't stop until the minute we got there. We were encircled by a ray of sunshine and everywhere around us, just on the outskirts of the place, were gray clouds and rain. It was amazing. I tried to show that by this picture, but could never do that moment justice.

This is a stream in Nauvoo. I thought it was a pretty picture.

The memorial at Far West with Abi and Ariel.

The Newell K. Whitney store. "Thou art the man". Love that story.

Liberty Jail. I loved going there.

I ran into an old friend at the Kirtland Visitor's Center. Laura Packer! Love her. She was serving her mission there at the time.

The Kirtland Temple. I couldn't get a picture without the stupid telephone lines. Oh well.

The Christus Statue at the Nauvoo Visitor's Center as far as I can remember.

The doorstep of the John Johnson Farm. That was one of my favorite places.

The entrance of the Sacred Grove.

The St. Louis Arch. That was one of our rest stops. We were only there for about an hour or so.

The Women's Monument. This was one of my favorite statues.

Another awesome statue at the Women's Monument. We arrived there at 9:00 pm and left around 11:30. We were tired, but it was so worth it. We had a testimony meeting about our mothers.

A "family" picture outside Carthage Jail. We were split into groups that they called families.

Carthage

This is the Washington DC Temple. So pretty! I loved seeing some of the Temples along the way.

The Nauvoo Temple

Oops! Repeat. My bad. Still pretty!

This is inside the Brigham Young Home in Nauvoo. That is where I met Jana Jones, my sister-in-law's older sister. She was serving her mission there when I went, so I asked a sister missionary if she knew where she was and she told me. Kind of funny to introduce yourself (when meeting someone for the first time) as "your sister's fiance's sister". I love her though. She is so nice! Her companion was nice too. She gave us the tour. Jana is on the right.

The Nauvoo House in Nauvoo. I took this picture for my dad because he named the apartment complex that he just sold after this place.

A view of the Mississippi from Nauvoo.

Hyrum, Joseph, and Emma Smith's graves.

For the readers who are related to me, the people with the last name Spencer are our ancestors. I thought it was cool that I found them at the historical landmark in Nauvoo.

Cool fountain outside the Lincoln Memorial (I think).

A picture of the banks of the Mississippi in Nauvoo. I took this one to go along with a poem I wrote.

Me, Abi, and Ariel...classic trio.

The "Changing of the Guard" at Arlington Cemetary. So cool. Everyone is so silent and respectful.

Arlington Cemetary.

I can't remember who's house this was for sure. Sorry! Maybe I'll remember later.

Skit night again. We basically tastefully and politely made jokes about some of the hard things on tour. We took turns making the wake up calls and whenever it was your "family's" day, the rest of the tour didn't like you much. Haha. The lines for the bathroom at rest stops were unreal! There were 100 people so you can imagine how long the girls had to wait. The boys were lukcy.

I can't remember where this was, but it's pretty. man I should have done this post right when I got back so I could have had a fresh memory.

Abi, Ariel and I (from left to right) on the tram taking a tour of Arlington.

The Sesquhanna River where the Priesthood was restored. The boys on tour sang a song about the Priesthood to the girls here.

The Sesquhanna

The musical number.

One of Joseph and Emma's children's graves. If I remember correctly, this grave was in the same cemetary as Alvin Smith's gravesight.

The location of the Changing of the Guard at Arlington Cemetary.

A portion of the group. For some reason, I don't look too happy to be there, but it was actually really interesting. I'm in the white shirt and black hat.

I'm Horrible I Know

2009-04-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I know...I know...I haven't posted since I made my change in school. That was like a month ago. Haha. I have plenty to post so I just have to do it. I still have Heritage Tours that never made the publishing leap. Ha. There are A LOT of those. I guess that's what happens when you tour the historical sites of the church for 3 weeks. I should post on my blog when I am not working instead of watching a movie. But today is a beautiful day so I am going to be outside. I love how warm it is this week! I love it! I am hoping it never snows again until the actual winter. I have two pictures on my phone, one of how the streets looked last week after a snow storm, and one of how they look this week after this warm wave. It's funny to compare them. I am going to Logan this weekend to visit some of my best friends so I'm sure a post or two will come of that. Now that my sister Sarah has caught up all the way from like a year ago, I figure it's about time to post again. ;)

You Can Take the Girl Out of Utah....

2009-03-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

So about a week and a half ago, I started to consider not returning to BYU-Idaho based on a feeling that I needed to think about all of my upcoming options. I wanted to go back to BYU-I because I have everything established up there. School, a social life, family, I know my way around, etc. But for some reason, I feel it is the right thing to do to transfer to UVU for Fall semester. In the meantime (summer semester), I will continue to live at home, work, and attend the Singles Ward here. I will really miss Rexburg. I will miss my friends, but not nearly as much as I will miss my family. I have already missed playing with my nieces and nephews and spending time with my siblings. Emmeli, I will really miss you in particular. You are more like a little sister than a niece. I promise we will still see each other. I promise I will still see all of the Sommer and Christensen kids. I love you all! Thanks to all my friends in Rexburg for helping me through hard times, and enjoying the good times with me. Thanks to my family in Rexburg too! A special thanks to Dave and Chels. You guys always helped me out. I'll miss you! I'll still come up to visit when I can. Hopefully I'll see you down here too. So, a new adventure begins! I'm excited and a little nervous, but it definitely helps to know that I am doing the right thing. Well be on the look out for some more posts that I have been procrastinating!

A Blast From the Past

2009-01-25T21:00:00.002-08:00

So I have been looking for my box of pictures from my childhood for a looong time, and last week, I finally found it!!! So here are some fun pictures from growing up. Enjoy!

"Horse Girl" ~Tiffany Dansie

2008-12-01T17:15:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I don't know if I have ever told all of you about the girl I used to Nanny. Her name is Victoria and I love her to death. She has an amazing talent that I think should be televised. She can run like a horse! To the point where it even sounds like a horse! And yes...she even does jumps over things the way a horse would. I love this video! :D Enjoy!

Joy Joined the Joyful World of Blogging

2008-11-29T22:36:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! My mom now has a blog! Check it out at www.mjoyb.blogspot.com! I helped her set it up and I still have to teach her a few things for her to update, so don't expect anything for a couple of weeks! But she's excited to join the club. I love my mom. She is super funny and so much fun to be around. I had a good time being home with my parents and grandparents. Sorry...I left my camera at home, so it will be about two weeks until you see new pictures from me as well. My bad! Oh well. I'll have more time to make it a really good post as opposed to my rushed and frankly tossed together posts when I can grab a minute. Anyway...enjoy! Here's my mom at the beach in California. We were there for my brother Dave's wedding. I want to go back now since it's so cold in Rexburg in comparison. But I know I haven't seen anything yet! :D

Grandma Joy playing a Conference Bingo game with Caleb and Ellie to keep them occupied.

Levi and Grandma Joy at the Beach. Levi found it funny to put sand in mom's ears and on her face. So cute!

Goggle world at AmericInn in Rexburg. Gotta love it. Those kids love their grandma.

And here it is! The door to mom blogging! Her camera! This is a picture I took of her right after she opened it. She was so excited. I loved watching it. Well...check it out! She's got one post and soon to be a couple more once I am home again. ;D

On the Road Again...

2008-11-21T23:19:00.001-08:00

So in about 4 and 1/2 hours, Asa and I will be driving to Colorado. We are leaving at 5:00 a.m! But it will be worth it to get there and have time to do things before we crash tomorrow night. It's a 10 hour drive. Don't worry, I will be taking pictures! I'm excited to go with him. And I'm excited to get away from school and out of Rexburg. I'm also excited to go home and see Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, and Heather and Doug. It's going to be an amazing week! Anyway...expect a post in the next week or so because I'm sure I'll have plenty of things to share!

Dinner & a Movie

2008-11-05T15:13:00.001-08:00

So...never thought I'd be the kind of person that puts tons of the same picture where the only difference is the facial expressions, but these were too much fun to pass up. Shelly, Kylee and I had fun with my camera just before we watched High School Musical 2. The sunset pictures are funny because the shutter speeed was too slow so the lights freaked out. Well I gotta run to IF so I'll update again soon! Sisters...YOUR TURN! I'm ahead! :D

Should Have Sung A Happy Working Song...

2008-11-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

So a couple of weeks ago, I was making noodles on the stove, and it caught on freakin' fire! We were always wondering why our stove smoked so badly, but we thought it was because of something under the burner...not under the whole stove. I called my sister Katie to see if she would know what to do. She said to clean off the burners and everything else just incase. So when I almost lost an apendage, I checked it out. I took out all of the burners and everything and lifted up the stove top and found this lovely mess. And of course, I was the one to clean it up. Let's just say I was pretty upset. So I cleaned it up and was happy until someone complained about the smell of the cleaner. Then I just went back into my room so I wouldn't blow so hard that my head would never be recovered. Ha ha so I documented the mess for fun.

Homeward Bound In Time

2008-10-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

Well the day is here! I am going home tonight for the first time since I left 'the nest'. I'm excited to see my family and friends although I will miss Rexburg. I never thought I'd say that (no offense Rexburg dwellers because I have been converted...I love BYU-I!). I am so excited for Conference too! It's going to be a fun weekend and I am going to do a post while I am home so keep an eye out. :)

6 down, 2 to go!

2008-08-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well it's official....only two single Beckstrands remain! Just Elder Beckstrand and I! Ha ha but that is more than okay. The wedding in California was great as was the reception. I have pictures from the reception in Alpine, but that will have to be on a different post because I don't have those pictures uploaded just yet. Hope you enjoy! This couple looked like they were "right out of a magazine" ~Dad

I'm HOME!!!

2008-08-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I know it's been a long time since I've updated, but good news!! I have TONS to post. I just got home from Heritage Tours and I am going to break the posts up from that trip since it lasted for 3 weeks. Ha ha. This is picture of me and two of my best friends (Ariel-left, Abi-right), at Far West. By the time I've done a few of those, my brother will be married and I'll have cute pictures to post! :D Love it! So keep an eye on my blog and I will have plenty for ya to read and view!

Moving On, Moving Up, & Unfortunately, to the COLD

2008-06-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

As the previous post states, I graduated from HS on May 30th. I am so excited to be done with high school, but pretty nervous to be moving away from home and my awesome parents. But I am way excited to head to college. Unfortunately it will be cold, but hopefully it will be worth it. Dave and Chelsea have certain nicknames for Rexburg that certainly make it a bit less appealing, but at least I will be around two of my sisters, my brother, and by then, my sister-in-law. Graduation was good, but long. But not as long as last year! That was a definite advantage of being on senior council and planning out the program for the ceremony. We cut off about an hour. Last year it took an hour and 15 minutes for all the graduates to walk. This year, it took my awesomely efficient fellow council members 40 minutes to get through 647 graduates' names!!! I had to sit on the stand since I am on student council and because some people didn't want to hold auditions for it, senior council did the musical number as well. I sang in front of a massive amount of people. Fortunately there was a slide show going at the same time, and my solo was only half of a verse. Not too bad once it was over. Thanks to all the people who came out to support me! And thanks to everyone that supported me in whatever way they could! I love you all! I still don't feel like I am done. But I suppose that feeling will officially set in when I start college. Well that's about it! Here are some pictures. Oh p.s. I'm in Mesa right now visiting Tiff and Ty, and they have a Chevy Prism. Well my mom and I didn't want to spend the money to rent a car, so I got to sit on the floor where Isaac liked to kick my face, and Tiffany's seatbelt would smack me in the head whenever she took it off. Ha ha at least it was interesting. And the pictures of me and student council cramming in the car are related to that. :D

p.s.s. I will have a video posted of the song I sang sometime in the near future. It's on mom's camera and computer.

High School Graduate!

2008-06-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

So yes I did graduate last Friday and I am no officially headed for college in the fall. I can't believe it! It's like it hasn't happened yet. I suppose it will set in when I move to Rexburg. I can't wait to live closer to the Sommers, Christensens, and Beckstrands (Dave and Chels)...well once they are there at the same time that I am. I don't have time to do pictures now but I do have them. I have a video too off of mom's camera (courtesy of the Beckstrand kids and Dad). I will post those either tonight or tomorrow. More posts to come shockingly. Mom and I are going to Mesa to visit the Dansies tomorrow night through Saturday. So I'm sure I'll have a couple of posts out of that. Pics later! :D

Called to Serve and Family Fun

2008-02-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a fun picture of the Kellers, Marchants, Beckstrands, Goulds, and Serras (well almost plural for that one), and Landon just after we finished bowling. It was way fun!
My niece Shelly cold and tired waiting to take Uncle Matt into the MTC.
The Sommer family with Elder Matthew Beckstrand. I miss him already!!! :(
Mom and Dad with their son the missionary.
Matt and I took this picture literally on the run into the MTC because we were late. I'm just glad I got a picture with him before he left. I love my brother tons!

So this isn't the most flattering picture, but Tiffany wanted me to post a picture of my hair because I dyed it and cut it a bit different. But as I was looking at it, I noticed that my hair is a lot darker than this picture shows, but oh well!
My adorable nephew Levi. He is so much fun and I loved having the Keller family at my house last week.
Mr. Caleb. He is so awesome! He got a little tired of playing a little game my family calls Fox and Geese. As you can see in the backround, my brother Dave wasn't tired of it just yet....or maybe he's just getting ready to start a snowball fight.
Here's me with my nephew Levi and my niece Ellie. Contrary to their smiling faces and energetic smiles, these kids were seriously exhausted.
Uncle Dave and Miss Ellie at the bowling alley. That girl is so cute. I just love her little voice and funny laugh. And just below this....the amazing game of fox and geese.

I have some good news, and some bad news

2008-01-25T16:42:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! So the good news is, I got a new camera. The bad news is my yearbook advisor may not give me the money to pay for it. so yeah...I may be out some money. Oh well. But this does mean that I will have a new post soon! Pictures included believe it or not! I'm very excited for that. And I must say it won't be hard to update it frequently enough for all of you considering the only one with an update more than once a month is Tiffany. Ha ha. :D So anways...be excited for my next post!

sorry...no pictures :(

2007-12-26T20:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry everyone. I have been wanting to do a new post for a few weeks now, but a couple weeks ago, my camera was STOLEN! It was in my school's yearbook room in my friend's editor drawer and someone took it! At least the crowd is narrowed down considering very few people have access to that room. So hopefully I find it, but if I don't, the yearbook advisor/teacher has told me that he will reinverse me for it. He was so confused as to why someone would steal mine instead of a nice yearbook camera and I said: "well....it is hot pink." So wish me luck! And in the meantime....wordy posts only. :( Unless I find some unused pictures saved on my computer.

Senior Pictures

2007-10-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my senior pictures. These are the ones I think are decent. The other ones, I don't like much. I don't like that my family has the tradition of the girls wearing drapes for pictures....I hated the way I looked in it so that is why I have no drape pictures on this post. Maybe later. Oh well. Here are the ones I decided to post. Enjoy and let me know which one/ones is/are your favorites!

Water Sports, Scenery, and the Running of the Bulls

2007-10-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

My brother Dave getting ready to wake skate. I was scared for these guys! No bindings? I would be freaking out! Ha ha but they knew what they were doing.
The beautiful Henry's lake. It's no Powell, but hey....it's water and it's smooth. The beauty is bonus, but has really nothing to do with boating. Ha but still appreciated.
So this is a Bull that I saw on my way up to my cabin. There is a meadow right next to my cabin and we had seen cows basically on our back patio that morning so I wasn't sure if the two Bulls and Cow were on my same side of the tiny barbed wire fence or not. So I got scared. My family made fun of me, but I was really like probably 15 feet away from them at one point and if they got upset, like a little barbed wire fence is going to stop an angry Bull or two. So I had a right to be afraid! But I must admit it was cool to see the two Bulls fight for the Cow when I was safe in my deck a few minutes later.
My brother Matt knee boarding. I used to go, but I almost drowned when I was like 8 and I have been afraid ever since. That's what I get for putting the strap too tight. Oh well!
The nice freezing water. Well it actually wasn't too bad once you jumped in. But at night....it was definitely cold water. But still a blast to swim and board and boat. I love Island Park.

This is Steve again going on a nice wake skate on a knee board. The crazy. Click to see his success! Ha ha. Seriously this vacation was so much fun.

Sing Along

2007-10-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

This is my nephew Cameron singing Chin Up from Charlotte's Web for me. He loves it. My niece Ellie and my nephew Caleb also guest star in this lovely performance. They are all so cute! I love you guys!

Wakeboarding

2007-10-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

Here's my brother David wakeboarding in Island Park. There's a part when he biffs it and i was playing the part of camera girl and flagger or should I say flagget (?) so I had a bit of a complication at the end of this clip. Oh well! Enjoy!

Some Fun Videos

2007-10-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of my friend Steve "baywatching it" off our boat up in Island Park at my cabin. Haha we had a lot of fun wakeboarding and a bunch of other things. Steve you're awesome!

And here is Andy the lifeguard!!! Yes I love this one. Andy is way cool!

Don't worry....there's more to come! My computer couldn't handle anymore for the night. But I will have more soon. Previews....my nephew singing chin up from charlotte's web, my brother wakeboarding, and so on and so forth. Fun stuff! :D

The Big Dance

2007-09-23T20:54:00.001-07:00

I went to homecoming last night with my friend Matt and it was so much fun! I already did a post about my dress....but I have to do one about the actual date. I will have more pictures from my day date and the actual evening hopefully later on this week because my date is going to email them to me, but for now, I will just post what I have. So enjoy! :D Some of these aren't as in focus as I would like but they are still pretty good pictures in my opinion.

Homecoming preperation

2007-09-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

So homecoming is coming up for my school this Saturday and I got my dress today so I thought I would do a post of what my dress looks like. Ha ha. Fortunately I found it, my shoes, and my jewelery in the same store and my mom and I found it all in under 45 minutes in the mall. It was great! I loved it! I am wearing my new shoes and jewelery too so look closely! So here are some pictures of my dress. I will do another post after the dance. Probably on Sunday or Monday since I will be getting home late on Saturday. I am way excited for the dance.

Juice ball incident

2007-09-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Oh this is not a cute picture of me, but this story is so funny and it needed a visual aide. So I don't know if you can tell by this picture, but I happen to be covered in orange juice and I am pointing to the couch that also has a massive wet spot of orange juice on it that I think the pillow is covering (most of it). That happens to be just the simple result of my encounter with my brother a couple of weeks ago. I was sitting on my couch watching TV, minding my own business and (unfortunately) drinking an amazing glass of Tropicana orange juice (which I love!) when all of the sudden, a boondocks beach ball came straight at my face and it hit my cup. I closed my eyes as a natural reaction, but my brother gave his witnessing story. He said my whole glass of orange juice came up out of the cup and hit my face like a wave. You probably can't tell by this picture but I was seriously so wet. You can't see it on my shirt since I was wearing black and there wasn't nearly as much on my pants, but my hair was sticky and tangled and my hair was sticking to my face in a pretty gross way. My first reaction was to say: "you idiot! What are you thinking?! This is why we can't throw balls in the house!" or something to that effect. And then I looked at him and he was just trying not to laugh too hard and I couldn't help but start busting up laughing and continue laughing for probably close to 10 or 15 minutes. It was an amazingly funny experience, but I still wish that awesome orange juice hadn't gone to waste. Ha ha.

Senior Year Begins....

2007-09-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

This is me and my friend Kenzie setting up for the stag dance last weekend. It was really fun. Kenz is seriously one of my favorite people. She is awesome! I love being on student council with her! :D
These are my friends Matt and Josh rockin' out in style at the stag dance. They are so funny.
Here are some of my friends at the pool party that student council organized for the first week of school. It was kind of a kick off thing. It was way fun. Some of them caught on that I was taking pictures of them. Haha.

Good Old Rexburg

2007-08-07T19:22:00.001-07:00

Here are some fun pictures of us visiting Katie and her cute family in Rexburg. This one is of Emmeli, Shelly, and Mom getting some spinnach from the garden.
Katie, Shelly, and Natalie on the fourwheeler. Such a blast!!
Here is my adorable niece Emmeli. She didn't want me to take pictures of her, but she finally let me just once. Or....maybe a few more. :D
Natalie, Derek, and Shelly posing for the camera. They love being outside in their yard.

Here is Shelly posing with her plastic bag full of spinnach for her mom. I love that they all help out so much!

Trip to Logan

2007-06-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

My mom and I recently drove up to Logan to visit my sister and babysit her kids for a night while she and her husband went on a practice trek. We had a blast. I drove the whole way and I planned to drive back home too. Here are some fun pictures from our visit. This one is of my mom throwing water on my nephew Taylor. She and three of the four kids had a hilarious water fight.

Here is another picture of the water fight. Taylor on the left, Kylee in the middle, and Jacob on the right. My mom filled a pot with water and the kids all had cups to fill up and throw at each other. It was funny. I could never get a picture of their faces because they were always turning away from the water being hurled in their direction. Haha. That was a fun day.

When we all got back to my sister's house from our picnic at the park, my mom told me to move our car out of the driveway. Surprise surprise....it wouldn't start. So here is a picture of the tow truck that drove all the way from Sandy to Logan to come and pick us up. It was an interesting ride home. At least the tow truck driver was a nice guy. Thanks to White Glove Towing!

Here is my nephew Jacob making a face at the camera. It was difficult to get him to smile normally for a picture. :D
Here is Taylor on the playset at the park with Kylee. I had fun taking pictures of all the kids playing.

Here is little Miss Kylee on the monkey bars at the park. She loved to swing on those things! She is a great little swinger on the monkey bars. It kind of reminded me of myself at her age. I think I was addicted to monkey bars at recess. Boy do I miss having recess!

And last but certainly not least...here is the adorable baby Landon! I grew kind of attatched to him during our visit. He is so funny! I loved holding him while he would laugh at Jacob's funny faces or something crazy Jake would be doing. They are a cute bunch and I love to visit them. Thanks Aaron and Michelle for asking us to watch them! And thanks for letting me hang out there. I had fun!

Boise Visit

2007-05-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Over spring break, Matt, mom and I went to visit Sarah and Chris in Boise. It was an absolute bonus that Sarah had baby Levi while we were there. Here are a couple pictures of the kids in the car on the way to the hospital and one of me holding the baby. :D Isn't Ellie adorable?
Here is Caleb (Mr. Cool) Keller. Haha. He is awesome and so much fun! He can always make you smile :D. Love these kids to death!
Here is a picture of me and baby Levi. He was so cute and is even cuter now! I love being an aunt. When I was 4 and my mom told me that my sister was pregnant and told me I was going to be an aunt, I panicked. Haha. I thought that I was going to be an insect! Haha. One of my favorite stories ;D. I can't believe that my niece Emmeli is going to be 12 and she is only 5 years younger than me!