Richins Corner

2011-11-18T22:21:00.000-08:00

I love how pure a child's smile is. You don't have to wonder what he's really thinking or if it's real. No games. Maybe that's one of the reasons we're supposed to become as little children. Just love and be happy and don't judge and over-analyze. One day I want to grow up and become as a child.

It is becoming quite difficult to take pictures of my little man. Any time I bust out the camera he has to touch it and ask a million questions (none of which I can actually understand). As adorable as it is, he always stops his current activity (that I was TRYING to get a picture of) to come over and investigate. Perhaps that's his way of letting me know I need to take pictures more often, so the camera isn't a strange object to him any longer.

I took this while on our walk tonight. We walked by a house with kids playing in the backyard and he was doing everything he could to try and get back there with them. He LOVES kids. He loves seeing them, hearing them, playing with them. Any time he even hears a kid's voice, he'll stop what he's doing and look. I never realized how different they sounded than an adult's, but he' got it figured out.

The Big 1

2011-06-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

My sweet little man turned ONE on Saturday. It's amazing how much he's grown and what he has learned and how much he has changed in one year. Man do I love this kid!

I love this picture. Olivia attempted several times to give him a kiss and he just couldn't figure out what she was trying to do. Even in this picture he is still trying to keep an eye on her.

He definitely wasn't shy about digging in to his cake. He never once smiled, though. Probably the lack of a nap and the complete confusion as to why we would let him make this big of a mess with his food.
I love the look on his face...What is this? Why are mom and dad letting me stick my hand in this? Such curiosity.
Hanging out with his uncle Matt, pointing at me and giving me the cutest little smirk. He still makes my heart all gooey inside.

Environmental Concern

2011-03-30T21:29:00.001-07:00

What is my primary environmental concern?

Waste. I'm big on recycling. I'm one of few in my neighborhood that recycles and I've found that I can't contain it all in the three little bins that they provide. So I bought a large trash can and fill that up as well. It's just as easy for me to throw something in the recycling trash can (in my pantry) than in my trash can at the end of the counter.

Might sound kind of heavy for this blog, but there's a great giveaway that I'd love to win over at Mountain Rose Herbs. Check 'em out.

Gabby's blessing

2011-03-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

My niece was blessed on Sunday and I had a chance to snap a few pictures of her in her beautiful dress. She is a little sweetheart and I'm thankful for the joy she has brought our family, especially Greg and Jackie.

2011-02-13T16:42:00.000-08:00

What a crazy busy weekend this has been. Amongst taking a cheese-making class and celebrating a friends birthday, I was able to meet my newest niece, Gabriella. She is such a cutie and has the perttiest hair you ever did see on a baby. Plus my grandma Martin is visiting from California, so I got to see her as well. AND Chase got his first hair cut. And my uncle Mark got engaged and my friend and my boss got engaged. And I got my first birthday present and I LOVE it (thanks Jeffy). And I was able to spend most of the day with my niece, Audrey, which was a lot of fun. I was able to get to know her so much better and we realized how much we have in common. It was fabulous. As wonderful as this weekend has been, I'm glad it's Sunday and I get a day of rest.

He started off pretty good...

But things quickly took a turn for the worst!
Welene had her work cut out for her!

I love this picture of my grandma and Gregory III and his little sister, Gabriella. I have the best family and it's so fun when we all get together.

And this is my sweet niece, Gabriella. Don't you just love babies? Knowing how perfect and innocent and sweet they are...

Love me Tender

2011-02-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

Love hearing my husband hum Elvis to get Chase asleep. So cute. Here's to hoping that he actually sleeps through the night. Since starting him on solids two weeks ago he's decided he doesn't want to sleep through the night any longer. If we're lucky he only wakes up once. Sometimes it's three and four times. I don't know what is going on. Any pointers?

Hiccups

2011-01-28T20:44:00.001-08:00

I don't know about you, but I've heard a million different remedies for getting rid of hiccups. Some of them work some of the time, but I've never known one that works every.single.time. So yesterday at work I got the hiccups and a new co-worker says she knows a trick that works every.single.time. So then it kind of became a challenge. But guess what? It totally worked! So I've only tried it once, but I figured y'all could try it and let me know if it was just coincidence or if it really works.

It sounds kind of weird. And you need a friend that you can trust. Get a glass of water. If you're the one with the hiccups, plug both of your ears (with your fingers). Then have your friend give you some water to drink. This is where the trust thing comes in to play. You want someone who will actually give you a drink of water and not try and make you chug the whole glass. She said you just drink as much as you can, but I barely got anything to drink and it still worked. THAT'S IT! Just take a drink of water with your ears plugged. They were gone.

Have you heard of that? I never had. But I like it. It's something easy for kids to do as well.

Wellness

2011-01-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

Wow...has it really been two months since I've posted anything? Such a slacker I have been. That is all about to change (I hope). I have embarked on a "Wellness" challenge with a couple of friends and one of the items is to blog/journal once a week. I'm excited for the motivation it is bringing me to do a few things I know I should have been doing anyway. So here's the concept:

You get one point for each of the following:

1. Drinking 64 oz of water a day

2. Eating 6 servings of fruits/veggies a day

3. Reading scriptures/something spiritual for 15 minutes a day

4. Not eating after 8pm

5. Exercising 30 minutes per day

6. Not eating sweets/soda/candy

You get one point for each item every day. Then each week you get a point for:

1. Serving someone outside your family

2. Blogging/journaling

THEN there is a weekly challenge that is worth 10 points. This week is to write down 5 things every day that we're grateful for and to also send someone a thank you note. That's a pretty easy one. Some of them aren't so easy. Like not eating out for two weeks straight. Anywho...that's the challenge. Everyone pitched in $10 and then the money is divied up between the winners. I'm on day 4 and I'm already loving and hating it. It really is more of a challenge than I thought it would be. But it's good to challenge myself and grow.

Each week I hope to blog about what happened the previous week and whatever else might have happened that week. It'll be good to start writing again.

So...the above picture is of my little man. We went to Dumont this past weekend and the weather was GORGEOUS. Like the best EVER. I took a ton of pictures, but I just love this one. He's such a good, happy boy. He makes my heart smile.

Magic

2010-11-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

The other day I was thinking about babies and just how magical they are. Even when Chase is up at two in the morning I love just holding him. And when he's in his Exer Saucer and playing with his toys, it's truly magical watching him learn and figuring things out. After having this thought the other day, I then had a little conversation with myself about the magic of babies and wondered when the magic fades. Does it disappear when they hit the terrible twos? When they go to school? When they become teenagers? And then an amazing thought occurred to me. Perhaps it NEVER fades. Maybe your children seem magical forever. Because they're always learning and growing and I'm sure they're just as exciting when they're 30 as when they're babies. And that was kind of a cool concept, 'cuz it made me think that maybe my mom and dad still feel that way about me. And if they feel that way about me...just think how Heavenly Father feels about each of us! I bet he gets so excited seeing us learn and grow and develop. And if he feels a smidgen for me the way I feel about my little man, then he loves me a lot! And that makes me feel all warm and tingly inside.

Vaccines

2010-11-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

Is there anyone out there who doesn't vaccinate their children? I've been researching this for the last couple of years and I just can't bring myself to do it. It seems like he's more likely to be harmed from the vaccine than he is to get whatever the vaccine protects against. And have you read the ingredients in these vaccines? Formaldehyde, Mercury, Polysorbate 80...half of the ingredients have been linked to cancer, improper brain development, neurological disorders, etc. What is a mom to do?

It's not like I think he's going to have some major issue...the chances are small. But if it's a 1 in 200 chance that he suffers an adverse reaction from the vaccine and a 1 in 500 chance that he actually gets Hepatitis, Polio, etc., it just doesn't make sense to play the odds. Especially because vaccine reactions can be just as bad as the diseases themselves.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone done research on the subject?

Hooded Towel

2010-10-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I turned this....

In to this....

Okay, so the people are added, but two towels became one cute hooded towel for Chase. Isn't he a cute little elephant head?

3 Months

2010-09-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

Um...where did the last three months go? Did they seem to disappear as quickly for everyone else as they did for me? In a strange way it seems like we've had Chase forever. But yet at the same time it feels like we just embarked on this latest adventure just yesterday.

It's amazing to me how quickly he develops. The first week he's zoning out, then he briefly stares, then he gazes, then he smiles, then he shrieks with delight. And today...he laughed. Like REALLY laughed. It was the cutest thing I've ever heard. I was kissin' him behind the ears and "gettin' him" and he started laughing. So of course I had to do it a half a dozen more times 'cuz I wanted to hear it over and over again. It seems like each week he progresses and it's so fun to see what will be next.

He's such a fun little boy and am lovin' how much joy (and craziness) he brings to our lives. I started work this past week and it's been quite the adjustment trying to figure out this new routine. It breaks my heart when I come home and he's grumpy...only because I know how many happy wonderful moments I missed throughout the day. Being home with him all day I really got to know him...how he likes to be handled, what helps him fall asleep. Now I find myself going back to how I felt the first few weeks...second guessing myself and not knowing if I'm reading him right or knowing what he needs. I think that's the most difficult part. I want to know everything about him so that I can provide the best possible life for him. I'm lucky that Rhett wants the same thing and is so attentive. He's such a great daddy.

Anywhoo...Chase turned 3 (months, that is) yesterday, so I took a few pictures. He was such a great sport about the whole thing. He didn't fuss throughout all the posing and position changes. He even looked at the camera for most of the shots. He's so curious. You could just see it in his eyes that he was trying to figure out what mommy was doing. Hopefully he appreciates all the bazillion photos he'll have to look back on when he's older.

Momma's Surfer Dude

2010-07-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Last week Chase and I spent a few days at a friends cabin up in Utah. It was so nice to get away and do something different. And Chase was a perfect little angel the whole time. Maybe he's like his mom and likes to travel and see new places. 'Cuz he seemed so happy up there. Not that he's not happy at home, but there was a marked difference.

My friend's dad went fishing every day and we ate fish at just about every meal. And oh my was it good. Not only could he catch it, but he could fry it up like a pro as well. Every time I'm at their cabin it makes me want one. Vegas gets so hot in the summer. How awesome would it be to have a cabin in the mountains just a couple of hours away? I've gotta come up with some great business idea to make lots of money so I can get me one. And while I'm at it, I might as well get a beach house too. Okay, so I'm a total dreamer, but a girl has gotta have goals, right?

My sweetie pie

2010-07-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. My how time flies by when you're taking care of a newborn! And let's face it, when I get an hour of spare time, I'm usually trying to stuff my face, take a nap, or de-stinkify myself with a shower. Blogging isn't really at the top of the priority list.

Here are a few pictures I've taken over the last month:

Chase cuddling up with his daddy. This was just last night. Aren't they adorable?

This was taken last night as well. Chase was playing with his daddy and just staring at him. He loves when Rhett gets home.

Most baby showers I go to I make a hooded towel. I haven't even made Chase one. In fact, until yesterday I hadn't made him anything. I thought I'd have time after he was born, so I didn't worry about it while I was pregnant. Ya, I didn't realize that breast feeding, diaper changing, getting something to eat for myself, trying to get him to sleep, and entertaining him was going to take 18 hours a day. That leaves about 6 hours for me to sleep, shower, blog, take pictures, clean the house, etc. Thank goodness the last couple of days he's been so mellow. I could actually put him in the bouncer and he could entertain himself for once. Anyways, yesterday I made him a matching receiving blanket and burp cloth. They're cute little turtles. They turned out pretty good for my first ones...not that they're difficult to make, but I was happy about finally getting something done.

Someone's a little sleepy.

I love this picture. Is it messed up that I reach for my camera (rather than my baby) when he's giving me this perturbed face? Of course I love the smiles and the chill moments, but he makes the cutest sad faces too.

We went to Zion National Park for the fourth of July and took these two pictures down at the river. It was gorgeous out and Chase was so good all day...except when daddy dipped his toes in the freezing cold water. He wasn't a big fan of that. I love the piercing eyes...just staring up at dad.

Rhett is such a good daddy. He loves his little man and his little man loves him. I think Chase gets sick of me by the end of the day, 'cuz when daddy gets home he seems to want to be with him. And that's perfectly fine with me. I love seeing the two of them together. Makes me love them even more.

So...a few things I've learned about Chase over the last six weeks (yep, he's six weeks old today):

1. He sleeps a million times better when he's swaddled.

2. He loves taking a bath (and pees within a minute of getting in the tub).

3. He has awesome head control. I don't know how, but he's had great head control from the very beginning.

4. He can sleep thru just about anything. We made sure to keep it noisy when he sleeps so he wouldn't be a light sleeper.

5. He's not a super huge fan of the car seat. He hasn't been in it too many times, but half the time he screams.

6. He loves his pacifier. We only give him one if he's inconsolable, but when he's screaming bloody murder and we give him his binky, he's a little angel. It's been nice to have that to fall back on.

7. When he wears a onesie with a crab on it...he's crabby all day long. It's true. The last two times he's worn an outfit with a crab on it he is super fussy cranky pants. I think I'm going to burn them all!

8. He LOVES sugar. When he was circumcised he was given a finger of sugar to suck on while they did the procedure. The doc said the only time he cried is when they took the finger out of his mouth. How crazy is that? I tried breastfeeding him afterwards and he didn't want anything to do with it. He is SO not getting sugar for a very long time.

9. He started smiling in response to other's smiling at him yesterday. It was so exciting. He doesn't do it all the time, but he did it quite a few times yesterday and today. I've yet to capture it with my camera though.

10. Babies can projectile poop...when you're in the middle of changing their diaper...all over the wall and floor! Unfortunately I had to find this out the hard way.

Chase Andrew

2010-06-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how adding a mere 8 pounds can completely change your outlook on life. I always strive to better myself and be thankful for my many blessings...but it's on an entirely different level now. I am in complete awe of all the mothers out there, not fully realizing the sacrifices they have been through for their children until now. And I know there is so much more to come that I can't possibly foresee.

Not only has my heart grown to love everything about this new little life, but my love for my husband has expanded in ways I couldn't imagine. Seeing him holding Chase, smiling, cooing, and loving him beyond measure just melts my heart. He is so eager to be near him, even if it's just to change a diaper. The first day or two in the hospital, I was pretty much out of commission. It took me five minutes just to get out of bed. And I couldn't get back in without Rhett picking up my legs and lifting them up on to the bed. He not only took care of me, but changed all but a couple of diapers and soothed Chase when he got fussy. He totally stepped up to the challenge and I will forever be grateful for that. He truly is the love of my life and I can't imagine going through this experience without him.

I can't even express in words how I feel about my new little man. It's nothing I've ever felt before. A totally different kind of love. I have so many hopes and dreams for him. There are so many things that I'm already scared about. There's already such a tremendous weight on me to make sure I do all that I can for him. It has brought me so much closer to my Heavenly Father, knowing that I can't figure all this out by myself. I know that it is only with His guidance that Chase will grow and develop and turn out as he is meant to. Maybe that's why it took us so many years to get him here. I needed to learn that I can't do everything on my own. I need to rely on the Lord.

Chase Andrew Richins

Friday, June 4, 2010 (born on his actual due date)

8 pounds 3 ounces

20/21 inches (hospital/pediatrician measurement)

Nursery

2010-05-31T17:23:00.000-07:00

Yaaaaayyyyy! We FINALLY finished the nursery today. Not only was the nursery finished, but the 8 loads of baby laundry were finished and folded up and put away. And I finally finished packing my bag to the hospital last night. Now all we need is for baby to come!

38 Weeks

2010-05-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd be one of those pregnant ladies who took pictures of her belly every week, but that so didn't happen. Mainly because I'm the picture TAKER of the family...not the person in the picture. I've thought of doing it a few times, but of course my hair would be a mess or I didn't like what I was wearing or blah, blah, blah. You know how it goes. So I decided tonight that I just needed to get at least one picture of how I looked before he decided to make his journey in to this world...regardless of how I think I look. So here I am with only two weeks to go.

Are you totally diggin' the couch in the background? I thought so. With the recent room changes we've found that there just isn't room for this sofa and matching love seat any longer. We're planning to sell them at a future garage sale, SO, if you're heart is beating rapidly and you don't think you can live without them, let me know and I can reserve them for you!

Conner's Blessing

2010-05-11T17:34:00.001-07:00

So I went to Conner's blessing last Sunday and somehow didn't wind up with a single picture of him. The only time I even saw him was in Sacrament when Matt brought him to me. And I couldn't really whip out my camera then. With all of the Martins and the Whipples there must have been 50 or 60 people at the luncheon afterwards trying to get their hands on the little guy. But I did get a few cute pictures of Olivia and my dad in a staring contest.

I think Rhett is a little stressed about the blessing of our baby. He doesn't like to talk or pray in church, so blessing a baby is causing a bit of anxiety. Luckily we've had 5 babies blessed in our ward since I've been pregnant, so he at least gets to hear them and kind of plan on what he wants to say.

Baby Shower

2010-04-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my mom and I made a real quick trip up to Utah to visit friends and family. My cousin threw me a great little shower that turned out marvelously. Great food, great decorations, and great company. I don't get to see my Utah friends and family all too often, so it's always a treat when I get up there. I wish I could have stayed longer, but for only being there one full day, I was able to see a lot of people.

I'm so glad that Hollie and Heather made it. After the shower we were able to bum around Gardner Village for awhile. I love that place. They need to build one closer to home.

For those of you asking to see the baby bump...these are probably the best two pictures that I have. I thought I would take more...but it just never seems to happen.

Chad and Julia's Reception

2010-04-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was CRAZY! Friday night we had a dinner in Vegas to help set up my brother-in-law's reception. Of course there were hurricane strength winds, so we couldn't get a lot done. Then Saturday morning we drove in to Vegas early to help set up the baby shower. Then the baby shower then we helped set up the rest of the reception, then the reception all night. And of course I was the one taking pictures, so you guessed it, I was on my feet all night long. I took off my shoes and felt just fine as I was doing it. But afterwards, yowzer...did my feet have some issues. Sometimes I forget that I'm carrying an extra 20+ pounds and that my body doesn't quite respond like it normally does. Here are a few pictures from the evening:

The happy couple: Julia and Chad

Rhett's mom and Elaina.

Julia getting a bit carried away smashing the cake in Chad's face.

Alison with her newest aunt.

The tossing of the bouquet.

Alison having fun dancing around.

Wendy and Kyle

The wedding cake with the groom's cake in the background.

Chad is officially the last one in both of our families to get married. We're excited for them and hope all the best.

Conner Eli

2010-02-28T11:29:00.000-08:00

I have the cutest new nephew. He is so precious and adorable. He came in to the world February 26, 2010 weighing just an ounce shy of 8 pounds and was 20.5 inches long.

I was sitting in the hospital chair holding him and realizing that I have the very same thing developing in me right now. I've had this thought quite a few times...but to be holding a newborn and seeing how big he is and knowing that he has to fit inside my belly was a visual of this realization. I can't wait to meet my little guy!

When I got there he was in the middle of a hearing test. It was so cute. It looked like he had headphones on and was rocking out.

I was trying to play with my new lens and I'm having the darndest time. This is one of the very few that was actually in focus.

This guy loves his binky! If he didn't have his binky he was sucking on his fingers. Here he is all wrapped up ready to go home.

Welcome Conner! You're one cutie patootie!

Julia's Bridal Shower

2010-02-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

So tomorrow I'm gaining a new sister. How cool is that? Chad (Rhett's youngest brother) is getting married in the Nauvoo temple tomorrow and he's the last one to get married. So I guess she'll be the last sister I gain.

Last week we had a bridal shower for her and despite her being constantly embarrassed by the games and lingerie...I think she enjoyed herself.

She's a huge fan of orange...try finding lingerie in orange...it's not easy! After three stores I found this buried beneath a heap of other little treats. It's seriously the only orange I found.

Here's Julia in her TP wedding dress:

And Allison getting attacked by the friendly dog.

Tres fun!

President's Day Weekend

2010-02-22T19:13:00.001-08:00

For President's Day weekend we went to Dumont. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Seriously. Couldn't have been better. Which is good, 'cuz our heater broke and if it were any colder at night I couldn't have handled it. Luckily being preggo I like it much cooler. While Rhett slept with three blankets I had one, and put a second one on in the middle of the night.

Although the weather was perfect, the sand dunes were all tore up from the rain we had earlier in the week. That means I didn't go on a single ride. Not cool. But I was still surrounded by great friends and we chilled outside in the gorgeous weather.

Here's a picture of my friend Krista, who came out for a couple of days, holding Bolt.

Isn't he cute?

Rhett sportin' a purple balloon:

Caden with a sucker:

And my favorite...Dave makin' bubbles. I was taking pictures of the kids hitting the pinata and noticed half way through that Dave was over there making bubbles...for nobody but himself. It was the funniest thing. He was totally in his own little world.

Ha Ha Ha...he cracks me up.

Random Ramblings

2010-01-27T15:50:00.001-08:00

There have been a few random thoughts floating around my head lately and I thought I'd get them out today:

Driving with your Headlights
I just wanted to write a quick memo and let all the drivers out there know that it's OK to turn your headlights on even if YOU can see okay. Just because you can see okay, doesn't mean that others can see you. I've noticed this a lot lately, mainly because it's been unusually rainy and overcast. I can see just fine and I don't need my lights on to see what is going on. But I still turn them on. I've noticed that the cars that don't have their headlights on start to blend in to the road and it's very difficult to see them. So...spread the word. At dusk and dawn and rainy conditions, TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON! Even if you can see just fine. You might as well be safe and make sure that everyone can see YOU just fine.

Life Lessons
Have you ever noticed that when life lessons are being shared, either at church or work or socially, the person who needs the life lesson the most doesn't get a thing from it and just identifies others who need it? And everyone around thinks, "Man, that was intended for them", but they're totally oblivious!? I noticed this at church on Sunday (kinda). We were having a great lesson in RS and I was thinking, "Man, Suzie Q over there needs to pay attention!" And then I realized, everyone always does that. And then nobody gets the lesson for themselves and they always try to make it about someone else. So I decided to start applying these lessons to me. After all, if we really truly start listening to others we would be so much better off.

Church
The last week or two I've been thinking about the reason behind going to church every week. I know, it sounds silly, but I actually think about these things. It all started with a comment I heard about someone in my ward and how they're like every other Mormon. They go to church every Sunday, but they live far from the gospel principles throughout the week. That kind of perturbed me. I know it's easy to judge others and think that they're not as good as they're trying to portray, but really, what is the purpose of church? Is it for a bunch of perfect people to sit around and preach to each other? Definitely not. I think it's a place we can get support from friends to inspire us to become better. If we hear a particularly moving lesson or talk and we feel the spirit and are motivated to better our behavior, then church has accomplished its purpose. So then that got me thinking about those who have been offended by someone at church and no longer go. And for the first time I actually understood that concept. If we go to church and feel contention and judging and hear people talking negatively about us, we're not accomplishing anything by going. At times in my life I have felt this and have had a difficult time attending. Luckily I didn't totally drop out and I got over it and now things are great. But it made me realize how each person at church is individual in their feelings and testimony and how fragile people can be. We can't treat everyone the same. I know, DUH! I knew that. I guess I just didn't realize how many different things people could be going through and you never know if the person you're walking right by without saying hi to HATES coming to church because nobody ever talks to her. You just don't know. I don't even know where I'm going with this. Just something I've been thinking about and know that I need to work on.

Expansion

2009-12-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

There are a few of my bloggy peeps who aren't on Facebook...so I'll share the fabulous news with the couple of you that may not have heard otherwise:

After a bazillion years (I swear it feels like it) and multiple fertility treatments Rhett and I are finally expecting our first in June! We're crazy excited and thrilled that we finally get to embark on this wild adventure. Crazy thing is that none of the fertility treatments worked. Once we gave up and started talking about adoption we got pregnant on our own! Strange how it seems to work that way. That's what happened the last time we got pregnant. Maybe next time we'll just head straight for the adoption line!

Crazy Eights

2009-11-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged...

Eight things I did today (yesterday):
1. Drove in to town for work to attend a prep meeting for training that ended up getting cancelled.
2. Went to the doctor
3. Had my blood drawn
4. Visited my mom at work
5. Got frustrated with a loved one
6. Stopped by Baja Fresh on my way home so I wouldn't have to fix dinner
7. Called a good friend I hadn't talked to in awhile
8. Had thoughts of killing a neighbors pet (don't judge me! If you're woken up each day at 3:30 from a dead sleep because your neighbor insists on keeping a rooster you'd be cranky about it as well!)

Eight things I'm looking forward to:
1. The day I'll have kids of my own
2. Thanksgiving
3. Christmas
4. The birth of my nephew
5. Hosting Bunco in a couple of weeks
6. Seeing my cousin on Saturday (Thanks Laura, for hooking us up with tickets)
7. Having three PAID days off this month!
8. Eating a yummy Trader Joe's dinner tonight

Eight of my Favorite T.V. Shows
1. Fringe
2. Project Runway
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Ace of Cakes
5. Most anything on HGTV
6. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
7. What Not to Wear
8. Nitro Circus

Eight of my Favorite Restaurants
1. Cheesecake Factory (mmmmm)
2. Olive Garden
3. Memphis BBQ
4. Cafe Rio
5. Benihanas
6. Outback Steakhouse (big fan of their lobster)
7. Panda Express
8. Las Lupes

Chicago

2009-11-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

Last week I had a conference in Chicago and had the opportunity to stay a couple of extra days to see the sights. Of course the first day was pouring rain and the second day was a high of 40 degrees with 50 mph winds. I could have done without the weather, but I still saw as much as I could see in such a short time period. One great thing was that it gave me practice time on my camera. I've had it for a few months, but it still feels new to me. Mainly because I don't know how to use it. So I decided to not take a single picture in "auto" and push myself to learn about the aperature, shutter speed, and ISO. I'm so glad I did this. Because I was alone on this trip, I didn't feel rushed to get it figured out. I took my time and stood in one place, taking the same picture multiple times until I finally got it right. Not that there really is a "right" or "wrong", but you know what I mean. When a picture comes out completely white or black...it's probably "wrong".

Because of the wicked weather, I spent quite a few hours inside the Shedd's Aquarium. That was a great place to test out my photog skills. It's not easy getting the right amount of light and trying to capture moving objects at the same time. I still don't have it down perfectly, but it was fun trying out different things.

I could have stared all day at this octopus. He was SO active...moving constantly. And he was HUGE. He had me captivated.

A cute little clown fish

This was a pretty cool eel that was quite active as well. He was swimming all over the tank.

As much as I love and respect the octopus, I literally could stare for the rest of my life at the jellyfish aquarium. Oh how I love to watch these animals. They're like a living lava lamp.

Shout out to the turtles

And a great school of fish.

This is Chicago. Looks beautiful, especially with the leaves turning colors and the ominous clouds. Don't let it fool you people! It's not called the windy city for nothing. It was October and 40 degrees and FREEZING with the winds.

The famous "jelly bean". Everyone calls it that, but technically I think it's called Cloud Gate, or something like that. I never heard anyone refer to it by its proper name, though. So it's the bean to me.

This was a picture I took from the third floor of the cultural center. You can see a bit of a reflection from the windows, but I thought it looked pretty neat.

That concludes our tour of Chicago...hope you enjoyed your tour.

Halloween Party

2009-10-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

I haven't dressed up for Halloween in years! But when we were invited to the Rodger's Halloween party, we were excited to throw on some wicked cool clothes, do our hair just right and make a night of it.

The lovely hosts for the evening, Tracy and Ken Rodgers:

Our cute little family:

We've thought about becoming polygamists for years, so why not try it out for a night to see how it goes? After a few hours we decided it wasn't for us. It takes WAY too long and WAY too much hair spray to get my hair to do that. O'well. I guess it'll just be Rhett and me after all.

Bryn's Baby Shower

2009-10-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Thursday after work I headed up to Utah to hang out with friends and family and to go to Bryn's baby shower on Saturday. It was great to see so many of my friends that I don't get to see all too often. The shower went very well and I was also able to check off another one of my 101 goals: Design and sew a baby quilt. Thanks Laura and Ryan for letting me stay with you guys, you're the best!

Bryn, her mom Jan, and her sister Ashley

The baby quilt I made for Bryn.

Bryn's having a little baby girl!

Lake Powell Take II

2009-09-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

We finally got a boat that could handle Lake Powell, so we had to take it out before the season ended. The weather was perfect, but the water was a bit chilly. Since this boat has a cabin (with a bed) we were able to sleep on the boat. It was nice to not have to spend extra money on a hotel room and take the boat out each day and put it back in each morning. It was a great trip.

Meet my new dog

2009-09-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

I swear...life is more about cake for me. But I've been doing all these fun classes and I'm so excited about all the stuff I'm making that I can't NOT share. So...here is my most recent cake. The body is made from cake, the head and legs are Rice Krispies and the rest is fondant...yep, you can eat the entire thing!

My Cake Final

2009-08-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has already been 4 weeks! My cake classes are officially over!!! As much as I enjoyed getting out and learning and meeting new people, I am SO glad that it's done. Two nights a week I was driving to Henderson for the class and then two to three nights outside of class I was spending my entire evening baking, making buttercream, icing cakes, making flowers...it was a part time job. Only I was paying THEM! So now that I have a good foundation, I think I just need more practice until I'm really comfortable with everything.

This was my final cake:

A whole lot prettier than the fish cake, if you ask me. It's a four inch cake, covered with buttercream and fondant with gum paste flowers. I'm pretty excited about it. I love how the marbling turned out. And that just kind of happened by accident. I love when accidents work out even better than the original plan.

Pillow Give-away

2009-08-21T07:52:00.000-07:00

Wanna win a fabulous new pillow? So do I! Check out Jori's give-away and enter for a chance to win a new pillow.

The Subway

2009-08-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have seen pictures of "The Subway" in Zion National Park for years and always thought it looked like a pretty cool place. So when my friend Tosha got a permit and invited Rhett and me to go, we were pretty excited. It's 9.5 miles and took us just under 8 hours to complete and it was absolutely worth every sore muscle that I have today. A portion of the hike is through water and some parts you have to swim, so I brought along a waterproof camera (that doesn't exactly take the best pictures). I would have LOVED to have had my nice camera there, to capture the amazing colors and feel of the place. But I would be too paranoid that it would get wet somehow. Here are a few of the passages throughout the hike:

Fish Cake

2009-08-12T08:04:00.000-07:00

So...I finally decided to do it. I've been wanting to do it for years, but it has just never worked out. And now that I'm living much further away and have even less spare time, I decided that there's no better time.

So I called up my local JoAnns (which is an hour and a half away) and signed up for TWO cake decorating classes! Each Monday in August I'll be learning how to decorate with fondant and gum paste and each Tuesday I'll be learning basic cake decorating (mainly with buttercream icing). I pretty much already know the basics, but the instructor has so many useful tips and tricks and it's great getting together with others who share the same interests. It makes for two very long nights each week, but it's only for a month. I can handle that. The instructor has been decorating cakes for 20 years and owned her own bakery for years. She even holds advanced lessons at her house. This weekend she's teaching how to do a topsy turvy cake. And in September she's teaching how to carve a cake, add rice krispies, and then cover in fondant. Plus she's going to show us how to use an air brush to add cool colors. How awesome is that?

Last night we learned how to do transfers. We traced our image with piping gel on wax paper and then transferred it to the cake and then outlined it and filled it in. It was simple enough, but I had never done it before.

Trapped

2009-07-31T07:43:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have moments when you feel stuck?

Stuck in a job because the pay is good, or it's close to home, or the hours are flexible so you can manage your family life better. You don't love what you're doing, but there are certain aspects of the job that you can't give up and you're afraid that nobody else will be as accommodating?

Do you ever feel stuck at home because of your kids and/or husband? Not that you don't love them, but they don't allow you to explore the potential you.

Do you ever feel limited by your finances to really achieve your dreams? Can't take that vacation, buy your dream home/car/boat/(fill in the blank here). This also includes doing the job that you really want because maybe it doesn't pay enough. Or you can't start your own business because you don't have enough capital.

Do you ever feel stuck in the town you're in? Again, it might be a great place for many different reasons, but maybe it doesn't provide very many opportunities to help you achieve your full potential. Ever want to take classes, get a new job, or run a particular errand, but the town you're in doesn't have what you're looking for?

Do you ever feel trapped by your own life?

...Ya, neither do I.

Xander's 2nd Birthday

2009-07-28T06:13:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday beautiful boy. Xander is such a sweet, fun, intelligent boy. I wish I lived closer to snuggle with him more.

Jori was off to the side, making him laugh as he was eating his cake and ice cream.

Trevor with ice cream all over his face.

I think Trevor could have played all day with the tape measure. He thought it was the coolest toy in the world.

Greg was showing us his house and when we got to his closet, Trevor wanted to climb up the shelves. But he couldn't do it himself and nobody seemed to be paying attention to his wimpers for help. So I set him on top of the safe and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. When Greg asked him to jump in to his arms, he was not inclined to oblige. So little Gregory volunteered. He is such a cutie. He loves the camera and the camera loves him right back. He has such a happy, fun personality. It's kind of hard to tell, but he's shreaking with joy as he's leaping from the top of the safe in to dad's arms.

Ha Ha. This one just cracks me up. The kids found this Batman mask and when I took a picture of Gregory, he had one eye open and the other mostly closed. He's too funny.

Xander opening his presents.

The girls were being stinkers and didn't want their pictures taken. O'well. They're usually the hams, so I'm sure I'll get them later.

Happy Birthday Xander!

Lake Powell 2009

2009-07-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

Thursday afternoon Rhett and I headed to Lake Powell with our friends Shaun and Jalee for a long (wonderful) weekend. The weather was perfect and Lake Powell was just as impressive this trip as it was last year. We chose to see different parts of the lake and we found some really cool spots.

This is a cool bat cave we found (without the bats). There are arches and things like this all over the place, but none of them are actual caves. We drove up to it and found another boat in there. It was pretty big and super awesome inside. We had to jump in and play around for a couple of minutes before leaving the other boat their privacy.

This is the view from inside the cave.

This was a pretty cool cove. On the left were a bunch of etchings on the rocks and on the right there were vertical lines on the side of the cliff.

Isn't he cute? We stopped every so often and jumped in and cooled off.

Meet Shaun and Jalee. We love hanging out with them because they always provide a lot of laughs.

Caden's One-Year Photos

2009-07-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

For the fourth of July Rhett and I spent the weekend at Mammoth Creek with a bunch of friends. We were in a cabin in the mountains with perfect weather and a creek out the back door. It was gorgeous. I also had a chance to play with my new toy...my camera. Since I was out there taking a bunch of pictures anyways, Tosha asked me to take her youngest son's one-year pictures. Once again my computer isn't cooperating and wont let me download as I wish, but here are a few of the pics:

Isn't he adorable? Thanks, Tosha, for letting me get pictures of your cute little man.

Canon Rebel T1i

2009-06-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

So, I FINALLY got a new camera last night. After almost 3 months without a decent camera and I broke down and bought the Canon Rebel T1i. I just opened it this morning to charge the battery so that after work I can play around with it a bit. I'm quite excited, but very nervous. I've never spent this much money on something that has the potential to get lost/stolen/damaged so easily. But I'm excited to take my skills to the next level and I think this camera will really help out quite a bit. Yay.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

2009-06-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

No...not the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie movie...Matt and Nat Smith. A friend from Oregon was married in the San Diego temple this weekend. And since we happened to be in California celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary, we decided to crash the reception. We hadn't seen any of them in years. It was great to catch up and see everyone.

Dorie and Melissa Smith.

The Smith boys: Josh, Nate, Ike, Matt, and Jake.

The McCarty's, Sarah and Grant.

The newlywed's: Nat and Matt. Congratulations!

Help Heather!

2009-06-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

Wanna help a sista' out? Click here to read Heather's amazing opportunity. Get this...she's one of five finalists to receive two spa treatments a month FOR FREE! All she has to do is blog about it. Hello!? Can we say dream job? Actually, I don't think that it qualifies as a job. Getting pampered every other week isn't exactly how I would define WORK. I know I shouldn't covet, but goodness me. I WANT that "job". And since I can't have it, I plan to live vicariously through Heather. Here's where you come in. Follow Heather's links to leave a comment on her post (it's at the top of her post, not at the bottom). She's had a really rough year (multiple hospital visits, house fire...). You get the picture. It'll only take a minute and it will REALLY help her out. Thanks.

Nick and Melanie

2009-05-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't really have too many pictures from the big gathering yesterday. If you haven't read my D.C. post...I lost my camera. So I'm using my backup camera that doesn't work all that great in low lighting. Heather and Jori, PLEASE send me copies of your pictures.

Half of you reading this right now were at the party, but for those of you who weren't, it was quite lovely. My cousin Nick got married and had a baby and so we hosted a reception/baby shower at my place. It was SO great to get everyone together. I don't even remember the last time I had seen Nick. And I had a chance to meet his wife, Melanie, and their son, Mason. He's such a good, cute baby. Wouldn't it be great if I could post a picture of their adorable son? Ya...talk to the camera.

Anyways, I digress. I'm sure you're all on pins and needles, wondering how the cake turned out since I posted my practice cake last week. It was touch and go for awhile, but overall it turned out all right. I don't know about any of you, but I've noticed that when I try something out for the first time, it often turns out quite nicely. So when I go to do it a second time, I think I've got it under control and it somehow ends up not as great as the first. This was no exception. I had quite a bit of anxiety about the cake and wanted it to turn out beautifully. After all, this was their wedding cake. The fondant cooperated very nicely when I did the cake last week. So I figured it would be the same for this week. WRONG. I think I rolled that thing out a bazillion times. I couldn't get the creases and air pockets to go away. After about an hour or more I decided that I just needed to get it done and couldn't be a perfectionist (that's a very difficult concept for me). So I rolled it out and placed it on and it wasn't perfect, but it also wasn't as bad as the last bazillion rolls. After spending two hours just rolling and placing on the cake and beading up the pearls at the bottom, I still had to figure out what to do for the top of the cake. So after half an hour of playing around and giving up (and everyone starting to arrive), my mom took over and cut out the VR (last name is Van Rij). Then I painted it silver and the beads silver (though you can't tell too well on those). All in all it was pretty good, especially at my first attempt at a wedding cake. It also tasted pretty good, better than the one last week. So that was a bonus. I've decided to cancel my plans of opening up a bakery, though. Sorry for those of you who wanted a Richins original.

Gregory got a hold of my camera and figured out how to turn it on and take pictures. He SO loves his picture being taken. So after my brother discovered him taking pictures with my camera, he took this snapshot of Gregory. It's totally crazy and not in focus, but I love it. It totally captures his energy.

Tiffany's Birthday

2009-05-27T05:09:00.000-07:00

This coming weekend I am making a wedding cake. For the first time. Ever. My cousin got married a few months ago and his wife just had their baby and so we're throwing them a reception/baby shower to celebrate. I love decorating cakes, so I offered to make their wedding cake. Hello?! As if I know anything about wedding cakes. Anyways, I wanted to practice different recipes and I thought I'd even try fondant (what a complete mess that is). So this past week I baked a couple of cakes and for my friend's birthday I figured I'd put the cakes together and put fondant over it...just to practice. Hours later and brown food coloring that wouldn't get darker than a caramel color I had myself a pretty cute cake. Not bad for my first attempt. Hopefully the wedding cake goes even better on Saturday. Wish me luck!

The birthday girl and me.

I called this the pink and poo brown star cake!

Lake Mead

2009-05-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Lake Mead to celebrate Jalee and Tosha's birthdays. It was the first lake trip for me this year and it was wonderful. The water's still cold, but with it being over 100 degrees, it felt nice.

Kayson and Jordyn playing on our tube.

Mason playing in the sand. How cute is his little grin with a missing tooth?

Shaun catching some air wake boarding.

Caden was conquering the little 4 inch sand ledge he found. He eventually made it up all by himself.

The sun was getting ready to set as we were leaving and it was gorgeous.

Dinner at Valley of Fire

2009-05-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day Rhett and I met up with the rest of his family at Valley of Fire and had a great dutch oven dinner. Before dinner we hiked around the area and climbed around the rocks. I found out that some of my nieces and nephews are part mountain goat. They had no problems picking out the tallest rocks around and figuring out a way to get up there.

This is Allison, my 4 year old niece. She was fearless when it came to climbing.

Me and my babe.

I had to post this because of the brilliancy of the rock color. This has not been enhanced...that's how it actually looks.

This is my newest nephew, Josh. He spent the entire time we were eating with his foot in his mouth. It was so cute. I wish I were that flexible.

This is my mother-in-law, Welene and my niece Elaina. The picture just turned out so cute of the two of them.

Bedskirt

2009-05-13T17:12:00.001-07:00

So I FINALLY got the bedskirt completed last week. This was the project that just didn't want to get completed. I tried so many times to get it done and something would always get in the way. I ended up taking it to my mother-in-laws house and she sewed the last part of it because my machine just wasn't having any of it. It's not exactly the look I was going for, but it's something and it's done, so it's staying.

Cake Pop

2009-05-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

I've seen these cake pops all over the internet and finally made a few of my own this past weekend. For starters, they're not as easy as they look. They were so soft that by the end of the evening the balls had slid down the sticks and many ended up on the table. But they're cute and fun and I brought them to a family dinner and the kids LOVED them. I even had my niece and nephew over to help me decorate a few...who doesn't love dipping things in sprinkles?

Washington DC

2009-04-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

We had such a great vacation back east. We were able to go to Baltimore and Washington DC and Virginia. We got to hang out with friends from California (some whom I hadn't seen in 17 years)! We hung out in Baltimore for a day, went to the aquarium and then walked around admiring all the old buildings. Baltimore is a pretty cool little town. Unfortunately on my way to DC I lost my camera...ya, my nice one. Anyways, luckily I brought my little point and shoot for Rhett to use, so we still had a camera to use. But unfortunately all the pictures from Baltimore are up in picture heaven. We got to DC and had about a week to bum around see everything we could possibly see. I have to say, we pretty much saw everything that we wanted to. It was spring break and there were a BAZILLION people everywhere, so it made it pretty crazy. Some of the museums would have an hour long line to get inside and then lines for each exhibit inside. It was crazy. So we chose not to wait in most of the lines, unless it was something we REALLY wanted to see. Like the Declaration of Independence. How cool is that? It's so faded you can't really see anything anymore on it. Luckily they have replicas. After hanging around DC for a week we went to Virginia and hung out with the Wellings. That was probably our favorite part. They are all so much fun and it was so easy talking to them, even after so many years. The last day we drove down to Williamsburg, which is an old colonial town and they do everything like they did back in the 18th century. They had blacksmiths and coopers and millenaries. I loved it. You can even do apprenticeships there. I wish there were more places like that around...places that would teach you how to do that kind of stuff by hand. Not with industrial machines. Anyways, here are a few pictures of our trip:

The Wellings: Jonathon (who just got off his mission), Aaron, and Brandon.

This seems to be one of the most famous statues in America. It's huge! Someone said it's the largest bronze statue either in the world or America. But it really is gynormous!

Strange as it seems, the botanical garden was one of my favorites. They had the coolest plants. I took a million pictures there, but I know you all don't want to see that. I'm thinking of making some type of collage with them all.

This is the capital building and cool bronze statue that's across the street.

The cherry blossoms were GORGEOUS! Loved them.

The Washington Monument.

The Jefferson Memorial with some cherry blossoms.

The two of us at the Lincoln Memorial with the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument behind us.

The man himself. I love Lincoln.

Not only were the cherry blossoms in full bloom, but there were tulips everywhere. I LOVE tulips. It was like flower paradise for me.

Arlington Cemetary. The grounds are just amazing. If I were general Lee I would have fought harder to keep my land. It's just perfect.

The first day in DC I was SUPER bummed about just losing my camera. We weren't planning on going to the zoo, but our hotel was within walking distance, and I didn't feel like doing the whole DC thing yet, so we went to the zoo. One great thing about DC is 90% of everything is free, including the zoo. It's all part of the Smithsonian Museum. So you just walk right in. This tiger was AWESOME. There was some type of barrel in the water that he was pouncing on and playing with. We watched him for about 20-30 minutes. It seems like every time I go to the zoo or wild animal park the tigers and lions are always hiding or sleeping. I had never seen a tiger so active. It was such a treat.

Trevor's Birthday

2009-03-31T17:11:00.001-07:00

Okay, don't make fun of me. I'm just discovering Picasa and how to do collages and this is my very first attempt. Anyways, on Sunday we went to Jackie's mom's house for Trevor's birthday. The weather was great and we had a wonderful BBQ. The kids were playing nicely together and I was able to snap a few pics of the cuties. I'm going to play around with this Picasa software and try to get something a little better than this, but at least I don't have to wait hours for my computer to upload a bunch of different photos. How do the rest of you do your collages? Do you all have Photoshop? Is there another free software out there that I should know about?

The Seven Pillars

2009-03-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

I finally finished The Seven Pillars of Health by Don Colbert, MD. I give it two thumbs up. He really goes over so many important aspects of health and many are very eye opening. It's laid out so that you read one chapter a day and it takes 50 days. He's a Christian author, which is kind of weird at times, but also kinda nice to put it all in perspective. The information in this book goes along with most other research and reading I've done on the subject, so I trust what he has to say. But it's nice that it's all in one place. I intend to read it a second time...that's how good the information is. I recommend everyone reading this book, even if you're not that health conscious, just to know how our bodies are affected by food/exercise/stress/etc. We've heard so much information before, but he really breaks it down so that it makes sense.

A Few Cute Ideas

2009-03-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

It seems as though I am often finding cute ideas on other peoples' blogs and I keep forgetting them. So I've decided to post about some of these great finds so that I can at least go to one place and see them all rather than trying to find them when I need to. I didn't want links to all of them in case someone's blog becomes private or something, but some of the pictures I couldn't download.

I liked this great idea to turn an old globe in to a potpourri bowl:

And seriously...how fun is this cake? I love it. Who would have thought you could have a pizza cake?

I found another adorable fish cake. Go take a look. It is so cute.

And who doesn't love chocolate pretzels?

And super yummy cupcakes.

And I love the glass etching below. This is just one of the fun things this person did with a little glass etching cream. She put vinyl lettering on and a border or painters tape and applied the cream and it turned out so cute. She also had a picture of a window that was adorable. There was a fish bowl on the window seal and then the window had circle cut outs and the rest was etched so it looked like bubbles. So cute.

I thought this was a cute idea when dying easter eggs in a few weeks. Put vinyl letter on and then dye them.

Okay, so this isn't really a project. I just love the syle of the dress and I wanna make one some day and I want to be able to remember what it looks like. Just add some sleeves and it would be perfect for a Christmas party or something.

This is like the vinyl lettering idea. You actually stick painter's tape to the glossy side of freezer paper and then use craft punches to punch out different designs. Then you unstick them from the paper and stick the tape to the egg. Aren't they cute?

I love this baby's room. It's so soft and cute and stylish. I just want to remember it when I can finally decorate a nursery.

I love the lady at Thrifty Decor Chic. I'd love to spend a week with her and check out her house and have her teach me everything she knows. She has the cutest rooms. The above baby's room is in her house and check out her cute laundry room. She also has an amazing den and bedroom. I don't know where she comes up with all her ideas, but I'm glad I found her.

And last, but not least, here's a cute project on lettering.

So here's an idea...go through the blogs you love and post about the great recipes/crafts/ideas that have inspired you. That way we can inspire each other!

Cher

2009-03-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

I know...it seems random to be creating a post about Cher. But there really is a perfectly good explanation. You see, my mom called me yesterday and told me that she got a couple of free tickets to see her show at Caesar's Palace and wanted to know if I'd go with her. I don't really know a whole lot about Cher, but I know a couple of her songs and have seen her in a few movies and I've heard that she's very entertaining. So although the show didn't start until the time I usually am hopping in to bed, I decided to make the drive to Vegas.

Ya...amazing. Seriously. Loved it. I have to say, Cher did a great job and I loved all the crazy outfits and wigs, but her dancers ROCKED! It's one of the few shows that I've seen where the male dancers are just as good, if not better, than the female dancers. They were pulling out some crazy moves. They did a lot of Cirque du Soleil kind of crazy acrobatic stuff. A lot of it was in the air, hanging from ropes and fabric and netting. All of the costumes were great. It was just a fabulous show. Cher changes outfits between every one to two songs, so for 5 minutes in between the dancers kept the audience fully engaged. The dancers were around with Cher on stage as well and the entire ensemble just worked. They all complimented each other so well. And throughout most of the show pictures and video were playing on these huge screens to the left and right of the stage.

Now, I don't know that I'd pay $200 to see the show (okay, I totally wouldn't), but if you get a two for one deal or get free tickets, check her out. It makes for a great evening.

Mrs. Horn

2009-03-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

On Saturday one of my bestest friends got married in San Diego. I met Erin 18 years ago and was so excited to see her meet and fall in love with her now husband, Harold. They are so great together.

I drove down after work on Thursday and stayed in a cute little hotel/condo across the street from Sea World. Friday was the rehearsal dinner, then dessert at Extraordinary Desserts (YUM!), and then a few of us went dancing afterwards. I hadn't been dancing in YEARS. It strangely took a little while before I felt comfortable doing it. But after five, ten minutes I was shakin' my tail feathers with the rest of them. Saturday was BUSY. My mom, grandma, and I did a session at the San Diego temple and then went to the wedding, and then the reception...it was a long, but great day. Congratulations Erin and Harold!

Here are a few pictures at the wedding:

Harold and Erin greeting everyone right after the ceremony.

Keiya, Erin's super cute daughter.

I don't remember the little boy's name, but Keiya is just in love with him. As soon as he got there she went up to him and took him by the hand and walked hand in hand with him. Then when they stopped to talk to people, he put his arm around her and she just went right along with it by grabbing his hand. How adorable are they?!

Keiya was starting to get a little crazy and wouldn't sit still for long. I don't know if you can see it in Erin and Harold's eyes, but they were getting that, "Knock it off and sit still or else..." kind of look.

Erin and me at the reception. And yes, I got my haircut again! This time it was by a professional, though.

Blah

2009-02-11T07:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm not doing so great on one of my goals to blog once a week. I've actually been doing quite a bit that I could blog about, but I'm just in a weird funk lately. 99% of the time I'm happy and upbeat and optimistic and the last week and a half I've just been...blah. Not really unhappy, but just blah. I know it's something we all go through, but it's so not the norm for me and it's lasting longer than I thought it would and I don't know how to get out of it. I've exercised, spent time with family, I even went to see Phantom of the Opera the other night. None of these got me out of my funk. But this weekend is Valentine's Day and then a few days later it's my birthday...and I don't want to be blah. So, what should I do? How do you guys get out of your funks? The closest thing to pull me out so far was reading the scriptures last night. Maybe I need to have an all day scripture reading marathon. Hmmmm, still have to go to work, so that wont quite work. What do you suggest?

Zion From Above

2009-01-20T20:12:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was most fabulous. Rhett's family had a scrapbooking weekend from Friday evening to Monday and it was great to see everyone and get a little scrapbooking done at the same time. I decided to drive back out to Logandale Saturday night to go to a BBQ with friends and the following morning we were invited for a ride of a lifetime.

One of Rhett's friends called up Sunday morning and invited us to fly to Zion with him and his wife. It was GORGEOUS! There was snow and lakes and mountains and red rocks and so many beautiful things to look at. I'm so glad that I decided to go back home Saturday night so that I was there Sunday morning.

Zion National Park from the sky.

My baby and me in the plane.

I don't know if you'll be able to tell from this picture, but if you follow the lake and imagined it expanding its shores towards the top of the picture, you'll see where I live. Yep, kinda scary. Hopefully the lake never gets that full, 'cuz from the air it looks like it would swallow the whole town!

Goal #17

2009-01-01T19:02:00.000-08:00

Check out my latest accomplished goal: #17 The Family Proclamation

Contact Info Update

2008-12-30T07:40:00.000-08:00

Good morning fellow bloggers. As part of my 101 in 1001 I'm trying to create a birthday calendar as well as send out more cards. PLEASE send me an email with your contact info, including your address, email, phone #, and birthday. And please send me not only your birthday info, but everyone in your household (for the kids, include the year). THANK YOU!

*You can either leave it in the comments, or send me an email at jrichins278@yahoo.com.

Christmas

2008-12-27T11:19:00.000-08:00

We had SO much fun for Christmas this year. Rhett and I typically open presents early in the morning, drive to Vegas to have breakfast with my family, drive to his parents for lunch, and then back to my parents for dinner. This year his parents had Christmas weeks early and my parents decided to do everything on the 26th, so we didn't have to go anywhere. This year Rhett and I slept in a bit, got up, made some orange rolls, and opened presents. I'm pretty excited about the iPod Rhett got me as well as some hand wraps (for boxing) and a new tripod and a new dry blender...he did WAY good this year. I pretty much stuck to his list, but I was excited for him to open his chess set that I found for him. He's been looking for a set with dragons for years (seriously...since I've known him).

We invited our friends, Dan and Tiffany, out to Logandale to spend Christmas with us since they don't have any family around. They brought their Rhino out and we spent about three hours riding around Logandale/Overton, finding new trails and braving the rain (and mud). It was cold, but SO much fun. When we got back we tried going out shooting, but after about 20 minutes the rain really started picking up and we had to pack up and head home. At home we popped in a movie and fixed some dinner. It was great to spend the day with friends and just relax.

The day after Christmas my family got together for presents and dinner. I love spending time with family. The kids are getting so big and each one is developing such a unique personality. My camera died after about five minutes, so I didn't get too many pictures, but it was great hanging with the family and watching all the kids interact.

Xander loved playing with the earless Bugs Bunny Jack-in-the-Box. It's totally falling apart, but the kids LOVE it. This Jack-in-the-box is seriously older than I am!

Our view when riding the Rhinos around Valley of Fire.

Dan, Tiffany, and their dog Taylor, with a little bit of mud from the ride.

Richins Christmas 2008

2008-12-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

Last night the Richins celebrated Christmas at Rhett's parent's house. I think it was probably the most memorable and fun Christmas I can remember. There was the typical food, family, and presents, but this year we sang, read and acted out the account of Jesus being born, had a talent show, and even had a visit from old Saint Nick. I can't believe how much we squeezed in to one evening.

The talent show was either showcasing a talent or a show and/or tell. Grandma Richins did a show and tell of the first lights she had on her Christmas tree after getting married. It was 60 years ago and she still has them! It was such an amazing story of how they didn't have electricity for nine years in their first house. Her husband (I never had a chance to meet Grandpa Richins) ended up getting a bunch of globe bulbs from car tail lights and painting them different colors and cutting out foil to go around each one. Then he strung them around the tree and wired them up to the battery in their tractor. Christmas morning he woke up and asked her to stay in bed for a moment. He crept downstairs, started up the tractor and then went upstairs to get her. They then walked out of the bedroom, where she saw the Christmas tree lighted for the first time. It was such a touching story (maybe you had to be there). Anyways, so later in the evening she gave us all a present to open and it's a book that she wrote about her life. The stories in there are great, one of which is the christmas lights story. It's always so amazing to hear stories like that and realize how much we take for granted. Can you imagine 9 years without electricity? Unbelievable. I love that she took the time to write all of these special memories down and share them with us.

Anyways, the whole night was just awesome. We all draw names and my incredible mother-in-law drew my name. She made me the most AMAZING quilt. Seriously. I don't even want to venture a guess at how long it took her to make. It's an underwater adventure quilt with crabs and a seahorse and fish and a turtle. And there's waves and everything. I don't know if you can really see all the detail in the picture, but it's beautiful!

One thing that the Richins have always been great about is personal preparation. Every year in our stocking we receive something to put in our 72 hour kits or food storage. This year they got each family a wheat grinder! How cool is that? I know, it probably doesn't sound that cool and I'm probably weird for being so excited about it, but I love that their gifts are not just something to give 'cuz it's Christmas. They're heartfelt and practical and really have each of us in mind. I wish I could have captured the feeling and sentiment of the evening to be able to play it back each time I need a little pick-me-up.

This is the book that Grandma Meeks gave to each of us:

Here's a picture of the tree we cut down last week:

Here's the AMAZING quilt that Welene made for me. How cute!

Here are the kids playing in the wagon that Rhett made for Bradley:

*Pictures continued in next post.

Richins Christmas

2008-12-13T16:38:00.000-08:00

For whatever reason I can only upload four photos. Here are a few more photos from the evening.

Chad brought his girlfriend, Amy, to the party.

Doesn't it look like Allison is trying to convince Santa that she's been good?

Codey and Wendy as shepherds in our nativity.

The cutest little angels: Elaina, Kaylee, and Allison.

Oh Christmas Tree!

2008-12-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we drove up to Cedar City with a few friends and went hiking in the snow to find our Christmas tree. Although the last two years we've had a tree that was cut down in the same manner, we've never actually been the ones to pick it out and chop it down. We've always been given left over trees from friends who've done it. So this year we decided to venture out and I'm so glad we did. We had a lot of fun and the kids LOVED the snow. I took a ton of cute pictures, but for whatever reason I can't upload them. So here are a couple of the kids in the snow and Rhett happy to have finally found the perfect tree.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes!

2008-12-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

The after-math of my poor decision making:

In May of 2007 I was looking for new hairstyles on the internet when I came across a super cute short haircut. The bangs were very short and the hair was kind of wavy and tossled and in between the chin and the shoulders. I printed it out and decided that one day, when I was brave enough, I was going to cut my hair in a similar fashion. I STILL have that picture and with my cutting of the hair a few months ago, I've been working up the courage to go even bolder. So last week I decided that it's time for a cut and why not go bold? Since I'll be in Vegas this Friday, I figured I can make an appointment and toughen up and just do it.

I don't know if it was the endorphins from working out, or if I became possessed, but this morning I decided that Friday was too far away. I was running late for work and didn't even think twice. I grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting! Yes, that's right. A woman with NO hair cutting experience, a woman who has never even trimmed her own hair before, a woman who has saved a picture for nearly 20 months just to work up the courage decided to put a pair of scissors in her hands WHEN she was running late and cut her hair. The logic just isn't there. I'm still a bit baffled.

Needless to say, it didn't turn out quite like I was hoping. I kind of remind myself of Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber (I think that's the one where he has a horrible bowl cut). I think I like the concept of bangs...the execution just wasn't quite there. I cut a little too much. Okay, a LOT too much. I think I would like them much better if they were half an inch longer, half as thin, and didn't wrap around half my head. Seriously. They wrap half my head (Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber). I messed with my hair for 10 minutes to get it to look half way decent in the picture below...and it's dark.

People at work just didn't know what to say. One girl said she liked it. But then a couple of hours later she told me that it makes me look older. The funny part is she thought she was giving me a compliment! Ha! That's only a compliment when you're 17! Nobody in there 30's wants to look older.

Dumont Dunes

2008-12-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving Rhett and I loaded up our toy-hauler and headed out to the land of the bountious sand...Dumont Sand Dunes. We've been there countless times and I never seem to find anything all that exciting to take pictures of...until now! I had the incredible fortune of getting to ride in a crazy top-of-the-line buggy, driven by a professional off-road racer. And not just any professional off-road racer. It was driven by BJ Baldwin, the number one racer of trophy trucks. I know, I know, it doesn't sound all that exciting. But believe me, it was!

Rhett has prepped and pitted for BJ for years and we've both tried to score rides from him before. It's just impossible. We didn't realize that the magic ticket lied in our friend, Ron, who builds motors for half of the off-road racers. He drove me and a couple of my girlfriends over to BJ's camp and just asked him if he'd give us a ride. He said they were just heading out and maybe later, but it's difficult to say no to someone who builds your race motors, so he finally gave in. The three of us girls (it's a four seater) strapped in and waited anxiously for our ride to begin. I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew the buggy would handle amazingly (that's what $250,000 buys ya) and that the driver was more than capable to scare the bajezus out of us. But I didn't know how much he would hold back...or if he would purposely push it to the max to scare the bajezus out of us.

I seriously am getting butterflies in my stomach just remembering the first acceleration. It was like a roller coaster ride when your stomach is doing flip-flops and you're just waiting for that portion of the ride to be done so that you can breathe again, only it lasted longer. I forced myself to breathe and when I did I mustered everything that was in me to not let out a squeel. I didn't want him to think I was a wuss! He hit the hill and within a second we were at the top, launching over to the next hill. Not only did the buggy handle amazingly, but he drove it perfectly. He was fast and exhilerating, but always seemed in control. We jumped it a few times and he popped it up on two wheels quite a few times. It was by far the best ride I've ever been on and probably ever will go on. I had a perma-grin the entire ride (and therefore ate a bit of sand) and couldn't thank him enough when we pulled back in to camp. He totally didn't have to give us a ride and I'm so grateful that he took his time to show us a good time. My only regret is that Rhett wasn't able to go. He would have absolutely loved it. Next trip out we're going to have to finagle a ride for him!

That's us on our way back in to camp, popped up on two wheels.

This is actually a picture of us before we left on the ride. We hadn't even started and I already had a perma-grin.

These are a few of my Favorite Things:

2008-11-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

Kyler and his kung-fu moves when he scores in air hockey.

Trevor's sweet demeanor...just being content playing with water.

Xander and how loving and vivacious he is.

Trevor and Gregory's brotherly bond. Reminds me of Greg and Jeff when they were younger.

How fun and spunky all of my nieces and nephews are.

We had such a fabulous Thanksgiving feast! And when I say feast, I mean feast. Rhett and I are loading up to go to Dumont and this will be the first time we don't have to swing by the store to purchase any food. Everyone brought a dish or two and it made it SO nice to have the help. Everything turned out perfectly.

After eating half of us drove out to the trails and took advantage of the after affects of it raining all day yesterday. There was lots of mud and many trails to test out the vehicles (and drivers) ability.

I'm so incredibly grateful for my family. I'm grateful that through the years we're still close and enjoy spending time together. I love watching my nieces and nephews grow and learn and developing their personalities. It's amazing to watch such a miracle. And most of all I love my husband. He works so hard to keep me happy. Whether it's helping me set up tables or clean up the house or rub my back...he's always there to make sure I'm happy. I couldn't have chosen a better guy.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for all of my friends and extended family as well. You've all had a part of making me the person I am today and I'm thankful for your friendship.

#32 Mission Complete

2008-11-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

I've officially completed my first item on my 101 list! I started it on Tuesday and finished sewing it this morning and I'm SO excited about it. I think it's the cutest apron ever. And such a cute model! Thanks Jalee. I was not in a modeling mood this morning and she stopped by right after I finished.

Earlier this year I had a conversation with Heather and I told her that I never wear aprons. I think it's because they make me feel too matronly. She said she lives in them and how you just have to make cute aprons so you don't mind wearing them. So for the last few months I've been looking at aprons, trying to figure out a style I liked and I finally saw enough that I was able to design this one. I bought material a month ago and finally sat down and drew a pattern and figured out what I wanted to do and put it all together. It turned out exactly as I wanted it to, which usually doesn't happen the first time around. So I am very pleased. I'm thinking that it's a little TOO cute, though. It almost looks like a cocktail dress. So I've been thinking about adding a pocket or something to make it look more apron-ie. Heather, how do you normally do yours? Pocket or no pocket? I have just enough material left over I could do a pocket. Let me know what you think.

101 in 1001

2008-11-14T18:54:00.000-08:00

I'm super excited to be participating in the 101 goals in 1001 days challenge. I know it's going to be tough to complete them all, but I'm up for the challenge. I've created another blog just to keep a proper record of everything I'm doing. If you would like to check it out, please visit Richins 101. Now, I'll definitely be posting many of my accomplishments on this blog as well, so don't worry (I'm sure it would have kept you up at night). There are too many fun ones not to share as part of my every day life. Wish me luck and if you feel so inclined, join me in finding 101 of your own goals to accomplish in 1001 days. If you just can't think of 101 things, you can check out Liz, who is the founder of this challenge. She has a support group going on and everyone has a link to their own list. Once I got going I actually had to start eliminating items because I kept thinking of more and more. But lets be realistic...I'm only one woman...I can't do everything!

101 Goals:

1. Finish painting my house

2. Put hinges on TV drawer front & touch-up paint

3. Refinish old green couch

4. Recaulk tub & sink in master bath

5. Design backyard landscape

6. Regrout the kitchen floor & seal it

7. Blow up a picture I've taken to display in the house

8. Stain the front door

9. Deep clean the entire house

10. Install doorstops behind each door

11. Read 3 religious books

12. Read 3 "fun" books

13. Read 3 classical books from my collection

14. Read scriptures at least 4 times per week

15. Finish the B.O.M. (again)

16. Finish the old testament

17. make wall hangy with The Family: A Proclamation to the World & pictures of the family

18. Host 2 scrapbook/quilting/crafty days

19. Learn more about photography through books & practice

20. Get Photoshop Elements & learn how to use it

21. Blog at least once per week

22. Learn to crochet around baby bibs & blankets

23. Make a recipe book with pictures

24. Put together wedding scrapbook

25. Scrapbook through 2006

26. Make a quilt out of old jeans

27. Design & make a baby quilt

28. Make silk square quilt

29. Make a crazy quilt

30. Make all my pillows (for pillow forms already bought)

31. Make a comforter for guest bedroom

32. Design & sew an apron

33. Sew a dress

34. Design & make a bathing suit

35. Make a bedskirt for master bed

36. Drop weight to 135 & maintain (unless preggers)

37. Run a 5k without stopping

38. Run a 5k in less than 30 minutes

39. Compete in a triathlon

40. Keep a food diary for one month

41. Create meal plans

42. Get my knees in better condition

43. Exercise at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes

44. Develop a stretching program and implement

45. Get an allergy test

46. Organize the movies/CD's closet

47. Organize recipe books & get rid of ones I don't use

48. Organize the laundry room storage

49. Organize jacuzzi chemicals

50. Organize closet in gym

51. Organize food storage

52. Back up the computer on an external hard drive

53. Hand wash all needed clothes monthly

54. Mend all clothing within one month of discovery

55. Sell my Zen

56. Buy an iPod

57. Download songs/pictures/movies to iPod

58. Increase food storage by 50%

59. Have zero debt

60. visit teach every month

61. Attend the temple 6 times

62. Have an up-to-date 72 hour kit for each member of the family

63. Take a video of everything in the house (for insurance purposes)

64. Invite friends/family for dinner at least ten times

65. Call all family & friends on their birthday

66. Send more cards

67. Send at least 6 thinking of you cards

68. Go through my closet twice & donate clothes/shoes to D.I.

69. Go to the Arizona Hot Springs

70. Go on a picnic

71. Go to Washington D.C.

72. Go to San Diego at least three times

73. Go river rafting

74. Go to 3 new places

75. Take a hot air balloon ride

76. Plan a date with Rhett monthly

77. Paint pottery at a "make-your-own-pottery" place

78. Get pregnant

79. Have a baby

80. Read to my future child daily

81. Change the current office in to a nursery

82. Change the current living room in to an office

83. Study up on nutrition

84. Learn more about herbs, test them out, and keep a log of their affects

85. Take a sewing class

86. Take a cooking class

87. Learn to make bread

88. Learn how to swim faster (hire an instructor)

89. Build a snowman

90. Make a new recipe/dinner once a month

91. Make a birthday calendar of family and friends

92. Create a scenic calendar with pictures I've taken

93. Create a daily quote calendar

95. Pamper myself with at least two facials

96. Pamper myself with at least two massages

97. Start a garden and produce at least one edible item

98. Send out a Christmas card/picture/letter at least once

99. Participate in a Santa run

100. Start a club and meet regularly

101. ***Personal***

The Older I Get...

2008-11-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

the more changes I'm seeing myself go through. I'm not talking about physical changes (although those are happening as well). I'm speaking of the maturing process that is constantly going on in all of us (some more than others). For some reason I've been thinking a lot lately of how much I've changed (and grown) over the years and how much I enjoy seeing these changes. Take a step outside of yourself for a little bit and take a look at yourself. How have you changed in the last few years? Do you like the changes you've made? I've always enjoyed change, but the last few months I'm realizing the importance of change. Are we constantly trying to better ourselves? How? Most people want to be better than they currently are. But wanting it and striving for it are two totally different concepts. What are we actually doing to become the person we want to become? I WANT to be healthier. But what does healthier entail? Working out? Eating better? I'm the type of person that not only has to make a goal to work out and eat better, but to actually make a goal to sit down and figure out HOW to work out and HOW to eat better. The last month I've spent many hours researching nutrition and trying to figure out what works best for my body and although I'm still light years from being a health guru, it's helped me to understand that as long as I'm going in the right direction...I'll finally get there. And I think that's all we need to commit to. To head in the right direction. For whatever goal you would like to attain.

Now I hope you don't think I'm on a soap box about all of this. Everyone is free to choose their own path in life. And another thing I've learned over the years is to judge less and accept more. This post was more for me...to get some of my thoughts out.

Loving Consciously

2008-11-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

I wish I could take credit for the words of wisdom below. I stumbled across this article/blog and I thought it was just amazing. It seems that lately I've had many friends/family/co-workers who have been struggling to keep their marriage alive. Many of them are at the point of getting divorced or deciding if divorce is the right answer. I think the below article should be handed to couples getting married as a type of guide book. I know that many of the techniques work well for Rhett and me and hope that someone reading this blog might be helped by it. It's a long one, but oh so good.

“The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.” -Gilbert Chesterton

Knowing how someone wants to be loved and then providing that love are two separate things. Sometimes marriages and other relationships end because either one person does not understand how to meet the needs of the other; or one partner refuses to meet the needs of the other.
To love consciously is a choice. Mary Beth and I often say being married is very similar to having another full-time job – you get out of it what you put into it.
Our marriage is like a savings account. My wife and I make deposits into it never expecting we may need to make a withdrawal. However, when we do request a withdrawal there are no associated penalties.
Yes, we argue over the temperature in the car or who really forgot to feed the dog, but when it really matters; when it really counts, we make the consciousness choice to give each other the love that is requested and needed.
With over 23 years of marriage under our belts, we have found the following strategies work best to love intentionally; to love authentically and to love consciously.

Show Appreciation
A simple “thank you” in response to a trivial or ordinary item can make a significant difference. It only takes a few short moments to utter these two words, but the impact can be felt for a very long time.
Showing gratitude is also the best strategy for ensuring the things you are most grateful for continue to happen. When we stop and tell our partners what we are grateful for, we are also telling the Universe. By making the effort, the conscious decision, to express our thanks we are in a better position of receiving more of it in the future.
If you want your partner to be grateful, it starts by you showing gratitude, first.

Be Happy, Not Right
Here’s a question for you, “Would you rather be right, or happy?” Too often our pride and egos can keep us from enjoying intimate relationships. We stew over what we think are injustices, but are perhaps only misunderstandings.
We carry grudges and do not show enough grace, passion or forgiveness to the person we care most about. Our need to be right can overshadow our need to receive, and give, love.
Take a look at what your pride is costing you. If intimacy is strained and the relationship is off track you may want to reconsider the value of your anger or self righteousness. Here’s the thing: You may be right in the argument although you partner thinks otherwise, but you will never be wrong when you put your partner first. Happiness always feels better than vindication.

No Day But Today
What would you say to your partner if you knew this was the last day you would be together? Would you complain about the television being too loud, or would you remind your partner of their value and significance?
Life does have an expiration date. This isn’t meant to be a downer – just a reality we all share. It’s what you do with this information that will make the difference. While it’s very difficult to sustain a high-level of connection and passion on a day-to-day basis, there are some simple things you can do to convey your partner’s importance to let them know they are important today:

*Kiss your mate at least twice a day
*Leave a quick note just to say “hi,” or “I love you”
*Never do anything you wouldn’t want your partner to know
*Be fully present when they need to talk or share something important
*Make the effort to spend some time together each day
*Give a compliment
*Make your partner feel important
*Smile
*No Judgments

Judgments are often times rooted in perception, not reality. Judgments are also a piece of how you see the world, not the way the world, or in this case your partner, actually exists.
The harm with judgments is resentment and anger are typically the outcomes – not the change that is expected. When a judgment is made, there is an implied belief the behavior or trait being judged should be corrected. However, the person receiving the judgment does not always share the same expectation.
As a result, communication is impaired, connection is deteriorated and conflict ensues. To love deliberately and consciously requires loving your partner with a different filter – a cleaner filter that does not have the residue of past containments.

Be Aware of Your Own Thoughts & Feelings
Loving authentically is dependent on loving yourself, first. Before you share love, and share yourself with someone, it is important to beware of what you want. Reality suggests, however, we fall in love and begin relationships before we have a clear idea of our own true feelings.
When this happens, there is still plenty of time to discover your needs – this is called growth. Give yourself opportunities outside of the relationship. Build friendships and pursue interests on your own.
A good relationship exists when both people can live without the other, but choose to be together. A relationship built on a foundation of sharing different interests cultivates more life and depth into it.
You own your thoughts and feelings. These make you unique and keep you grounded with who you really are or growing to become. By doing so, you are in a much better position to love freely and honestly. Nature has a way of taking care of those things we put the most energy in and want to grow even stronger.

Loving Consciously
The power of love extends its reach when we will love intentionally. Real love, authentic love, springs to life and is sustained when we make the choice to feed it with our deliberate passion. Our souls are nourished when our partners realize we know how to love them.
There will be a day when I no longer share this life with my wife. When that day arrives, my hope is she will know my intent was to discover exactly what she wanted and my conscious choice was to give her more of that.

Corkscrew Canyon

2008-10-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

For YEARS I have been wanting to go to Page, Arizona to take pictures of Corkscrew Canyon. I've seen it in music videos and professional photographs and I was so excited when Rhett suggested that we go there for a couple of days while I was off work. We stopped at the Big Water visitor's center on our way in to town and got some information on where to go and other sites to see. It was too late in the day to go to Corkscrew Canyon, so we headed to Horseshoe Bend. That was a really pretty place and definitely recommend it as well. While we were there we met a professional photographer who gave us some tips on which canyon to go to. Corkscrew Canyon is actually Antelope Canyon and there are two different locations. There's upper and lower Antelope Canyon and I was torn on which one to go to. After speaking with him we decided that the lower canyon was more of what we were looking for and I'm SO glad that we met him and took his advise. I took over 300 photos and only stopped because my camera battery died. We were in there for three hours admiring the majestic canyon walls. The colors and rock formations were breath-taking. I HIGHLY recommend this trip to everyone.

Sewing Projects

2008-10-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

The last four weekends I have dedicated myself to learn as much sewing as possible. I enrolled in the basic sewing class in the Fashion Design program at UNLV and have had a ton of fun cramming as much information as possible in to my head. Know, I already knew how to sew the basics. So I was hoping this class would delve into more of what I wanted to learn. Although the projects were very basic, she taught us to tailor them however we wanted. So rather than a t-shirt, I asked her to teach me how to do a collar. And instead of a skirt with elastic, I learned how to sew darts and a zipper. Neither of them are AMAZING...but I think they're pretty good for my first projects. Right now I feel like with enough practice I could make anything. Which I guess is true of just about everything. I also made some ducky pajama pants, but I didn't tailor those at all...just your basic oversized pj's.

FAST

2008-10-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

My mom calls me many times throughout the week. It's usually around 7:45 am while she's on her way to work. If I'm busy at work I'll usually call her back and if I have a minute we'll chit chat until she arrives at her destination. I noticed this morning that I missed a call from her, so I called her back and was shocked when she switched phones and started speaking in a low voice. I knew it was something important and something that she didn't want anyone else at her work hearing. My heart kind of skipped a beat--fearing something had happened to someone. She then started out talking about having a family fast this weekend---my heart really started beating faster. I was scared that my dad was doing worse than he lets on or something had happened to my grandparents. Then she finished the thought by asking if I would be okay with the family fasting for Rhett and me this weekend. Huh? I have to admit, I was a bit shocked. Okay, I was REALLY shocked. I don't know if it's the fact that the whole getting pregnant thing has been out of our control or if it's more of an affirmation that there's a problem, but it kinda makes me sad. I should be happy that we're enlisting the help of the Lord in this matter, but for whatever reason I'm kinda freaked out. To have that many people fasting and praying for me seems crazy. I feel like there are so many other people who need the help more than we do. But I'm also very humbled that she (and my mother-in-law as well) were inspired to suggest it. So since all of my blogger friends are LDS, I ask that if you feel so inclined, fast and pray with us this Saturday-Sunday. I don't even really know what to pray for. Is that strange? I obviously want to get pregnant, but maybe that's not in the cards for me. So then would I be asking for that in vain? Perhaps I need to ask for inspiration...whether to adopt or see a specialist or change my diet? I feel completely overwhelmed at this point. And to know that so many people are going to be fasting and praying and thinking about it kinda puts a little more pressure on to get pregnant. But I obviously would have done that by now if I could. I would appreciate any thoughts that any of you might have to offer.

American Heart Association

2008-10-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, October 11 I'll be participating in a 5K fun walk to raise money for the American Heart Association to help fight the nation's leading causes of death. Step out against heart disease and stroke by supporting my efforts. Please make a donation so I can reach my walker dollar goal. This is going to be a family event with face painters, a bounce house, and educational areas. If you're looking for something fun to do this Saturday at 9 am you're welcome to join me for the walk. It's at Mountain's Edge Park located at 9700 south Buffalo (at Blue Diamond) . Visit the link below if you have the inclination to donate. Thank you!

Click Me To Donate

Blast from the Past

2008-10-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Kelley and Bryn! It's a day late, but it really is just an extension of your birthday. I found some SWEET scrapbook pages from back in the day to embarrass us all:

Rescue Me!

2008-10-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

Working at NV Energy (ya, the name was changed...kinda gay, huh?) doesn't really afford me many opportunities to have fun on the clock. But last week was a blast. For two days I was taught how to rescue people in sticky situations. We learned how to tie knots and how to package people up on the rescue equipment. We crawled through storm drains and dropped 80 feet off the side of a building (just being supported by a few ropes). It was a nice change of scenery getting out of the office and in the sun doing something physical and learning things that might actually save lives. Hopefully nobody ever gets into a situation where I need it, but now I'm a little more prepared if something were to happen. Not too many pictures were taken of the rescues, but here are a couple:

The Phantom

2008-09-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you mix some great food, an amazing show, and a day off from work/kids? A fabulous girls' night out, of course! Two of my great friends and I met up at the Venetian on Tuesday for dinner and a show. The show? Phantom of the Opera. How exciting is that? I had never seen it before and just loved it. I called for tickets and the girl at the other end of the line gave us (in her opinion) the best seats in the house. And they probably were. We were just six rows back and a bit off center so that we could see everything. I loved it. And I loved getting out of Logandale and spending time with friends. Karlee and Sadie made it so great. With a nursing baby at home, Sadie couldn't stay over night, but Karlee and I decided to splurge and got a hotel room for the evening. I really love spending a good stretch of time alone with a friend. It seems like that's when you really get to know somebody. You can say a lot over the phone or at lunch, but when you spend an entire day with someone alone, it opens the door for much more intimate conversation. I love you both! Thanks for a wonderful evening.

Back to Cali

2008-09-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

Rhett and I both had Monday off for Labor Day and decided to make the most of the three day weekend by getting out of town. What better way to spend a holiday than with friends and family soaking up the California sun? We left Logandale Friday afternoon and drove right to the beach. We spent the evening walking along the boardwalk and looking at all the different style houses along the beach. We spent the night at a hotel in Anaheim and the next morning met up with my cousin, Nick, and his new wife, Cat. We had SO much fun with them. I've always gotten along well with Nick and was pleased to get to know Cat. She is so fabulous. They live a few blocks away from Huntington Beach, so we rode bicycles down to the beach and played frisbee and body boarded and got frozen yogurt. I haven't downloaded my pictures yet, so all the pictures I posted are from Nick's camera. It was difficult to leave, but we had plans to meet up with my friend, Alison. We spent the evening and the next morning with Ali and her husband, and even snuck down to my grandparents house for breakfast with my parents, grandma Martin, and grandma and grandpa Lyon. I don't even remember the last time we were all together. It was great. Anyways, around noon we headed to Mission Beach in San Diego where Rhett and I roller bladed down the boardwalk for a few miles. We didn't even stop to play in the ocean. It was just fun getting out and people watching and roller blading. It was gorgeous weather. We only stayed down there for a couple of hours and then got cleaned up and headed over to a family friend's house for a BBQ. I hadn't seen some of the family in over 15 years and was delighted to catch up on everything that had been going on in their lives. After the BBQ we headed back up to Huntington Beach to crash at Nick and Cat's house. We just chilled at their house and the next morning did a little shopping before coming home. Then last night we had a little BBQ at our house with some friends. It was an action-packed weekend. And now I'm looking for a job and a house in California! Ha Ha...I wish. Every time I go I just love it and wish I could somehow find a way to move there. I know it's not likely to happen, but a girls gotta have dreams, right?

Rhett and Nick catching a wave.
Cat with her body board.
Me and my babe, playing in the ocean.

Nick was taking pictures of us as we were riding over to get yogurt.

I'm a Big Girl now

2008-08-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I finally took the leap that every woman has to make at some point in her life...I got my hair cut and styled. Now, I know, it doesn't sound that amazing. You've probably all had a cute hairstyle at some point. But growing up I wasn't allowed to cut my hair. And after I got married I learned that my husband likes long hair. So I thought I was doomed to have straight, long, boring hair my entire life. I went from my mom cutting my hair to my mother-in-law cutting it. I had never gone to a salon and had someone keeping up with the latest styles touch my hair. So I was quite excited when my friend was getting her hair done and invited me along to get my first "Big Girl" hair cut.

I had a general idea of what I wanted, but I basically just told her that I wanted it cute and shorter and fun and sassy and easy to maintain and this is what she gave me:

Now mind you, it's been a month, so it has already grown out a bit. I also don't have the mad stylin' and volumizin' skills that this woman had. When she was done with my hair it was so full and thick and flowy. I wish I had taken pictures the night it was cut...it looked very cute. But in general I'm very happy about it. I miss my long hair and sometimes having bangs bugs me, but all in all I feel good about it. And what do you know...the two people who gave me the best compliments? My husband and my dad! The two that discouraged me to do it for 30 years! Why are women always trying to please men? I think I've learned through this experience that sometimes you just gotta please yourself and by doing that you end up making those around you even happier...because you're being you and you're happy. Wow, who knew something philisophical would come from a few little strands of hair being cut?

My One and Only Picture!

2008-08-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, I finally figured out how to post pictures! Hurray. The only problem is that it literally took 20 minutes for it to upload the image. Not sure what the deal is. Anyways, this is the only picture that I'm going to post because I don't have 2 hours to spend uploading all the pictures I wanna show you. I'll take those to work and do it from there, 'cuz it's SO much easier.

This is a picture of Zion National Park when we went during the fourth of July weekend. We did a lot of hiking and I took a gazillion pictures. I love being close to so many of Heavenly Father's beautiful creations and having the opportunity to explore this world he has provided for us. I bought a book that is a photographer's guide to southern Utah and it has a bunch of hiking trails and scenic drives listed to explore. I'm thinking once a month Rhett and I will take a drive and explore the area. If I find any great hidden gems I will, of course, share them with you.

iMAC

2008-08-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

So, I have a fancy new computer, but still not quite sure how to use it. If anyone owns a Mac, call me. Seriously. I've been on a Windows OS for so long that I didn't realize how many little tips and tricks I had learned along the way. I'm trying to post pictures, but I haven't even figured that out yet. Plus it rearranged all my pictures and they're not all in the same folders as they were before, so I've been spending the last two weeks trying to re-organize everything. It's a mess right now, but I'm sure once I get the hang of it and organize everything where I can find it I'll love it. If anyone has any helpful hints, you know where to find me.

Memories...

2008-07-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

Heather, you're such a trend setter. I love this idea and look forward to reminiscing...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot; anything you remember is great!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about us, we'll assume you're playing the game and we'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

One Word

2008-07-21T09:00:00.001-07:00

I got this in an email and thought it might be interesting. For those of you who want to do it, you're tagged. There's a list of 30 questions and you can only use one word to respond. It's more difficult than you might think.

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Where is your significant other? Vegas
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. What did you last drink? Water
5. What color shirt are you wearing? Lime
6. Your favorite thing? Husband
7. Your dream last night? Chase
8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. The room you're in? Office
10. Your fear? Falling
11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Hawaii
12. Where were you last night? Home
13. What you're not? Perfect
14. Muffins? Blueberry
15. One of your wish list items? Italy
16. Where you grew up? California
17. The last thing you did? Meeting
18. What are you wearing? Jeans
19. Your TV? Big
20. Your pet(s): Turtles
21. Your computer? Broken
22. Your life? Wonderful
23. Your mood? Upbeat
24. The last thing you ate? Pretzels
25. Your car/truck? Ranger
26. Something you're not wearing? Socks
27. Your summer? Fun
28. Love someone? Family
29. Your favorite color? Teal
30. When is the last time you cried? Yesterday

Computer Problems

2008-07-15T09:10:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I've posted anything. So much has been happening and of course it's when my computer died. I can still log in at work, but all my pictures are trapped in my computer somewhere. A guy at work is going to help me out and try to fix it best he can, but who knows how long that will take. Fourth of July was a blast and I got some really great pictures of us hiking around Zion National Park. As soon as the computer is fixed I'll post some pictures.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-06-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day weekend Rhett and I rented a condo with two other couples in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Every Memorial Day weekend a group of friends leave the kiddos at home and spend some much needed time relaxing and boating at Lake Havasu. One of Rhett's good friends has a killer boat, so we piled in and joined them. Despite the cloudy/rainy skies on the first day and the little bit of drama that ensued the following day, it was a great weekend. It was nice to spend time with friends and be chauffered around the lake, able to relax on the water. I don't think I actually ever touched the water, though. It was just too cold this year. That was kind of a bummer, because I love the water. I love swimming and even just floating behind a parked boat. But the summer is just beginning and I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunity to swim at Lake Mead.

Me and my man in the boat at Havasu.

Me and the girls...Ricki and Tiffany.

Xander Update

2008-06-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

I spoke with Jeff last night and Alexander is doing much better. He's still not completely back to "normal", but he's out of the hospital and feeling better.

Laura Lyon becomes Laura Lillywhite

2008-06-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of attending my amazing cousin's wedding a few weeks ago in Salt Lake. It was such a great trip. I drove up by myself after work on a Wednesday and had 4 days to spend with friends and family. I helped Laura move into her first home, decorate for the reception, and stuff 500-600 cookies into bags for guests. I love spending time with Laura and I know that time will be more limited now that she's married and starting a whole new life with Ryan.

I also was fortunate enough to see Bryn, my best friend from high school. We don't see each other very often, so it was a real treat. She's a city planner in the city of Herriman and planning to get married some time this summer. So I met up with her at David's Bridal and helped her try on a million dresses. I love weddings! I can't wait to see her get married.

The great thing about Utah is that I have a lot of friends and family there. So I'm able to see a lot of people I don't usually get the chance to visit all in one weekend. This can also be a bad thing, because sometimes it's difficult trying to spend quality time with many different people. But I was very happy to get to spend some time with my cousin, Heather. Now, most of you reading this know Heather and therefore know how fabulous she already is. But for those of you who don't have the pleasure of knowing her, it's a shame. Heather's the type that always looks amazing, no matter how little effort she put into herself that day. She always has a kind word and a compliment, regardless of how deserving the person may feel. And what I love most is that she always has some great insight to share. I think she might not know this about herself, though. But I love the conversations we have and although we might have different views on things, it always helps me to see the world in a new light and I really enjoy being taught those new little insights. It helps me understand people better and be more cogniscent of people and the feelings they may be going through. Unfortunately we didn't snap any pictures together, because the place that we went was gorgeous. It had a little stream running through the shops and a little pond and a wheel that was turned by the running water. I believe it was called Gardner Village...so cute.

This is my sassy cousin, Laura. She got married in the Salt Lake temple on May 16, 2008 to a wonderful guy named Ryan. Here she is striking a pose at the temple. So vogue.

And here she is with her four sisters. They're such a fun bunch. I'm so lucky to have such a great extended family.

Ryan showing off his ring with a little attitude. I like it!

I love tulips and the temple grounds were filled with them. We went the next day and they were chopping them down and putting in all new stuff, so we were lucky to be able to enjoy them the day of Laura's wedding.

Xander

2008-06-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Alexander (Jeff and Jori's littlest boy) was admitted to the hospital a couple of days ago with a severe case of cellulitis. He responded well to the antibiotics at first, but then not so well. Please keep him in your prayers.

Rodgers & Hammerstein Musical Review

2008-05-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't know me in high school, you probably didn't realize how much I love to be on stage. I love acting and singing and dancing. It's not that I'm the greatest at any of these, but I love the creative outlet and getting to be someone different...even if only for an hour. Throughout a week in March and the month of April twenty eight individuals from Logandale/Overton got together and rehearsed songs from the Sound of Music and Oklahoma. It was extremely time consuming, but well worth it for the friendships made and the fun in getting back on stage once again. On April 29th we performed our one and only performance to a crowd of a couple hundred. I haven't figured out how to download the video to my computer. But when I do, I'll try and post some video as well.

Here's the entire cast. I'm in the last row in the center. I was in the ensemble for Oklahoma.

And here I am as a nun in the Sound of Music. For those of you who are familiar with the play or movie, I was Sister Berthe (the mean one).

Trevor's First Birthday

2008-05-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

On April 13th we helped Trevor celebrate his first birthday. Greg and Jackie had family over for a backyard BBQ and then watched as Trevor had fun with his first birthday cake.

Before

After

Even with cake in his eye, he's still a cutie!

The Clark County Fair

2008-05-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

On April 12 Rhett and I spent the afternoon at the Clark County Fair and Rodeo. We're fortunate to have the fair out in Logandale, so it makes it easy just to pop over for a few hours. We watched pig racing (and swimming), looked at all the animals, saw a hypnotist perform, and that night we went to the rodeo.

Isn't he so cute? Rhett does NOT do this sort of thing. He's very self-conscious about his height and he's always thinking that people are making fun of him. But after about an hour of coaxing, I finally got him on the mechanical bull. I don't know how long he was on there, but long enough for me to get a few good pictures.

I just thought this was the cutest. We happened to arrive at the pig pen when it was feeding time.

ABC's

2008-04-07T08:39:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged, now you are it...

A- Attached or single: Attached! (See “M” below)

B- Best Friend: My hubby. I know, it seems like a cop-out, but he’s the only one that I really tell everything to.

C-Cake or Pie: PIE!!! I love desserts that involve fruit.

D- Day of Choice: Saturday. It’s my only day to sleep and get things done.

E- Essential Item: Hmmm…Lip gloss. I know, it’s silly. But I don’t go anywhere without it.

F- Favorite Color: Teal

G- Gummy Bears or Worms: I guess bears…although they’re the exact same thing, just in a different shape.

H- Hometown: San Marcos, California.

I- Indulgence(s): Anything at the spa…massages, facials, pedicures. I’ve only been a couple of times, but I love ‘em.

J- January or July: July, baby. I’m all about the warm…or I guess that would be considered the blistering heat in Vegas.

K-Kids: Working on it!

L-Life is incomplete without: My family. I love getting together with everyone and seeing all the kiddos running around.

M- Marriage Date: June 16, 2001…Almost 7 years!

N- Number of Siblings: 3 brothers

O-Oranges or Apples: I buy apples more, but I think I like oranges better.

P-Phobias or Fears: Falling. Not really afraid of heights…it’s the falling I don’t like.

Q-Quote(s): There are so many good ones. About ten years ago I actually put together an entire book of my favorite quotes…that’s how many I like.

R-Reason to Smile: Why not? There are a million reasons to smile...Life, health, family, friends...

S-Season: Spring. I love the flowers and everything in bloom.

T-Tag Ten: Most of you have already done this. But if you haven’t, you’re it.

U-Unknown Fact About Me: I have a black belt in Karate…Okay, I totally don’t. I just can’t think of anything that interesting.

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I don’t know what I’d do without my animal friends to fill my belly.

W- Worst Habit: I hate to admit it, ‘cuz it’s so gross, but I’m a picker. If I don’t like a stray hair in my brow, I pluck it. If I don’t like a blemish forming on my skin, I pick it. I wish I could stop, ‘cuz it often makes it worse, but it’s a horrible compulsion I have.

X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Well, since ultrasounds have never produced anything happy in my life, I’m going to go with X-rays (for now).

Y- Your Favorite Food: Am I seriously supposed to name just one thing? I LOVE food.

Z-Zodiac: Aquarius…the water bearer.

Easter Sunday

2008-03-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

For Easter Rhett and I met up with my family along with Grandma Martin, Claudia, Robbie, Heather, Hollie and their families. I don't even remember the last time we all got together. I wish we did things like this more often. It was so nice to be around so much family. And to see all the kids running around, playing together was awesome. We truly have the cutest family EVER! I know, I'm biased, but we really do.

So...what's everyone doing for Thanksgiving?

Urban

Caiden

Avery

Blaise

Alexander

Addison

Visit from a Friend

2008-03-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend was SO much fun! Erin was on spring break and decided to drive to San Diego, drop her daughter off with her parents, and fly to Vegas. We spent the weekend shopping, talking, hiking, and eating...I even took Monday off to do more shopping, talking, and eating with her. I wish I got to see her more. She's such a fun person to be with. Here are a few pictures:

Erin with her friend, Jennie.

Two of Jennie's adorable kids helping her make cookies.

Nicole, Erin and me chilling at Nicole's house in Henderson.

Erin with Nicole's daughter, Maddison.

I Saw God Today

2008-02-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

Last night I was listening to the radio and heard a song that kind of hit me. It's by George Strait and it's called, "I Saw God Today".

I Saw God Today
Just walked down the street to the coffee shop
Had to take a break
I’ve been by her side for 18 hours straight
Saw a flower growing in the middle of a sidewalk
Pushing up through the concrete
Like it was planted right there for me to see
The flashing lights, the honking horns
All seemed to fade away
In the shadow of that hospital at 508
I saw God today

Chorus
I’ve been to church, I’ve read the book
I know he’s here but I don’t look
Near as often as I should .. yeah I know I should
His fingerprints are everywhere
I just slowed down to stop and stare
Opened my eyes and man I swear
I saw God today.

Saw a couple walking by
They were holding hands
Man she had that glow
Yeah I couldn’t help but notice
she was starting to show
Stood there for a minute taking in the sky
Lost in that sunset
A splash of amber melted into shades of red.

Chorus
I’ve been to church, I’ve read the book
I know he’s here but I don’t look
Near as often as I should .. yeah I know I should
His fingerprints are everywhere
I just slowed down to stop and stare
Opened my eyes and man I swear
I saw God today

Got my face pressed up against the nursery glass
She’s sleeping like a rock
My name on her wrist wearing tiny pink socks
She’s got my nose, she’s got her mamas eyes
My brand new baby girl
She’s a miracle
I saw God today

Now, I'm not a huge George Strait fan, but I was immediately drawn to this song. How often are we "seeing God" in our daily lives? I often see beautiful trees or mountains or a rain storm and give my thanks for the beauty of this earth. But really, how often do we see God in all the little details? This song has challenged me to be more grateful for everything in my life that Heavenly Father has blessed me with...to start noticing Him everywhere I go and in everything I see and do.

Turning 30

2008-02-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

This last weekend Rhett and I decided to invite all of our friends and family out for a BBQ to help celebrate me turning 30 on Sunday. It turned out to be a huge party with lots of food and people and fun. I wanted it to be a family friendly party, so I bought a pinata for the kids to enjoy and also had a chocolate fountain and a cupcake decorating station. The kids were entertained, and therefore the parents were happy. I wish I had more pictures, but I was running around like crazy just trying to say hi to people. So here are a few of what I did take:

This is actually the day after the party before my cousins made their way back to Utah. The party wouldn't have been as nearly successful if Becca, Laura, and Rachel weren't there to keep it running so smoothly. Thanks guys!

Karlee made it out to my house a couple of hours before the party and stayed the night. It was fun to have her out and have that extra time with her to catch up.

If you stuff it...they will come. This is only about half of the kids that were there that night. Many of them were too shy to take a swing. But they were waiting on the sidelines...ready to sprint when the candy went flying.

It was so much fun stuffing the pinata. We had a wide variety of candy to choose from and I'm sure nobody went home empty handed...including the adults. You can see from the other picture how massive this pinata is. It took a lot of candy to fill 'er up.

2008-01-18T07:02:00.000-08:00

I wish I had fantastic news to post after going to my second ultrasound on Tuesday. But unfortunately I don't. It was determined that I had an early embryo demise, which means I lost the baby. Because I didn't have a miscarriage to expel everything, I am going in for a D&C today to surgically remove everything. Please keep the doctors and nurses in your prayers that they might perform to the best of their ability. Thank you.

2008-01-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

Thrilled
Scared
Elated
Terrified
Excited
Anxious
Blessed

These are just a few of the emotions I've been going through since I found out that after two and a half years of trying to get pregnant that Rhett and I are FINALLY expecting! That's why I haven't posted in so long. All I could think about was being pregnant, but I wanted to wait awhile to tell my family on Christmas. It was so much fun surprising them on Christmas. I bought two bibs; one that says, "I love Grandma" and the other, "I love Grandpa". Then I wrote a note that says, "Coming August 11, 2008 to a hospital near you!" Everyone starting yelling and clapping. It was so fun. Then we went over to Rhett's parent's house and told them. It was killing me not being able to tell anyone. I went two and a half weeks and wasn't able to say anything to anyone. Let's just say the internet became my best friend. There were so many questions that I had.

I had an ultrasound on Friday, but it didn't show much of anything. So I'm going back on the 15th. I'll be sure to scan the picture in when I get it so everyone can see my new little blessing. Yay!!

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-28T07:56:00.000-08:00

Rhett and I spent our first Thanksgiving with the Richins this year. Every year we've spent time with my side of the family and Welene decided to protest this year. I'm glad she did, because it was a lot of fun. I cooked a turkey and with everything else that people brought, it turned out fabulous. This is a family picture we took for our Christmas cards this year. We decided to do a Hawaiian theme to commemorate our family trip to Hawaii.

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for my family and friends...those who continually love and support me. I'm especially grateful for Rhett and his patience and love. He truly is the perfect man for me and I'm grateful that I've been blessed to have found him and have him in my life. And although I don't enjoy working 40 hours a week, I'm grateful to have a job that helps pay the bills. The economy is so rocky right now that none of us seem to know when we might not be able to do just that. I'm also very thankful to my parents who have taught me everything that I am. They've taught me how to love, responsibility, a love of learning, and the gospel. They are a great example to me and I hope that I have a chance to raise kids some day with as much love as they did. Thank you!

7 Things You Might Not Know About Me:

2007-11-21T07:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, I was tagged to do this days ago, but I just couldn't think of seven things. I've thought of a couple so far and I'm hoping by the time I'm done writing those, something else will come to me. For those of you who haven't done this yet...you are now tagged!

1) I LOVE genetics. I think it's the most amazing thing in the world. A lot of scientists believe the whole "big bang" theory, but with how complicated the human body is...there's just no way. And our DNA and how the body works to function every day is just a testament to me that there is a supreme being. If I could have any job in the world, I'd probably want to be in a lab somewhere finding cures to diseases and finding out for myself just how the human body and mind works.

2) I love eating vegetables. I don't know if that's weird or not...but I do. If I could only eat one type of food for the rest of my life (veggies, fruit, meat, dessert, etc.), I would choose to eat my veggies!

3) I love being creative. I think it's because I'm stuck behind a computer all day long and when I get home I need an outlet. I enjoy scrapbooking, quilting, phototgraphy, card making...just about anything that's creative.

4) I enjoy riding four-wheelers, sand-rails, and off-road trucks. Not only to be a passenger, but actually drive myself. There's such an exhilerating feeling when your back wheels are sliding and you're flying in to a turn!

5) I think that Hawaii most resembles what I picture Heaven to be like. I've never seen anything more beautiful.

6) I HATE to dust! Of all the chores that need to be done that is the one I just don't do. I would much rather scrub a toilet than dust!

7) I love music! I have music playing just about every waking moment. I bring CD's to work and listen all day to whatever I'm in the mood for. When I take a shower, I crank the music. When I'm doing laundry, I crank the music. And I love all genres...country, hip hop, rock, easy listening. I have my favorites, but there's something beautiful about it all.

Yay! I can't believe I actually thought of 7 things! Now it's your turn!

Pictures from Phoenix

2007-11-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

I'm not really quite sure how to arrange all of this yet...but I wanted to post a few pictures from my trip to Phoenix this weekend. The bottom is of Erin and Keiya. The top picture is of the Estes family: Hollie, Jared, Addison, and baby Urban. The middle picture is of Ms. Addison Rose. Thanks so much for letting me stay with you, Erin, and thanks for having us over for dinner Hollie and family. I love you all very much!