Love?

I have been having a lot of discussions lately with someone who would prefer to remain nameless about love. Why we fall in love, how it happens, and the big one, how do you stay in love? To these questions, I say, I DON'T KNOW! David and I met and I knew we were getting married by the end of the second day. Wow. It was bizzare. I didn't want to get married, I was just starting to really like dating. But I met him and it was over. And he says the same for him. So how do you explain this to someone? You can't. You just can't until you've been there. It's a weird feeling to have your heart so far out of it's comfort range, but once you've been there, it's a feeling you don't want to lose. Ever. This past week was 13 years fromthe time I met David. I can't imagine my life without him. He makes me laugh everyday, and thankfully he still sees me as the little girl he married. :) Thank heavens for "love blinders" ! Here we are in various stages of falling in love...

Here with Courtney shortly after we met... (Although note: I am already wearing my ring... this might be the 4th of July before the wedding)

The day he proposed... This might be may favorite picture EVER of us. I love it.

Our official engagement photo...

Exactly a week before the wedding!!

THE big day! I like to try to remember what he's saying here... :)

Anyway, it's been an awesome 13 years, and here's to 50 more.

***COOLEST WEBSITE EVER!!!***

Most of you know I am OBSESSED with TV. It's a problem. I now cannot live without tivo, I think of it as a time saver! I mean, come on, who has time to watch the STUPID silences between idol info? I think the obsession came from bedrest. I had nothing else to do... :) Anyway, you absolutely MUST go to http://www.hulu.com/ RIGHT NOW. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen, if you like tv anyway... It's TV shows (and even some movies) from both recently (think Arrested Development, The Office) and in the past (think Hill St Blues, etc), and it's FREE!!! Man, this is worse than Youtube. I am going to be holed up in my house giggling at Saturday Night Live. What's your favorite TV show? Check and see if it's on there!!! :)

http://www.hulu.com/

REALLY?????

Ok. I feel like a liar. I promised no more weather posts, but Utah is SO not co-operating. It's A NIGHTMARE here. The forecast is like a boggle game... uhhhh, snow. No, sorry, it's sunny. No, oops again, it's rain. Last night I snuggled into my bed with the pitter-patter of raindrops coming down and comforting me, reminding me of Portland. Sigh. I miss the rain. I know. I'm weird. Anyway. We were playing at the park yesterday and enjoying the sunshine, and then OUT OF NOWHERE. Snow. Again. Seriously. I know. Anyway, it was SO ridiculous that I had to take a snap shot of weatherbug today for you to believe me. Make sure you look at everyday, until next Tuesday. It's UNBELIEVABLE. Remember, this hasn't been altered. It's really going to go from snowing today to UPPER 70's in 4 days. Again, I miss the rain. At least you could count on it!!!!

Jack's Birthday Party

This was the perfect birthday party. Three kids, no games/pinatas etc, good friends, and good food. The adults hung out after Jack opened his presents, and that's it! Whew! If only they could all be that easy... :)

Gotta love this face...

or this one...

When he asked for a cupcake later that night, I said, do you want Chocolate? And he said "I think I love chocolate." Man. This is one smart kid.

Jack my little "Miracle Man" is 3!!!

Jack is three. I can't believe it!! For those of you who didn't know, Jack was an invitro baby. That whole process is so amazing. It really made me realize that God is in everything. Especially science. It was amazing to watch, and even more amazing to live. We were SO excited to find out that it took,and that we were pregnant.

After a LONG and difficult pregnancy, he was born, and even on his days that he is being... uhmmm.... trying... I wouldn't trade him for ANYTHING. Happy Birthday my little "Miracle Max". (For whatever reason I used to call him that.)

Here are a few of my favorite pics of him.

Happy Easter!!!

I can't believe it's Easter already. It's amazing. Weren't we JUST trying to get a decent pic from last year?? :) This Easter has been odd. My surgery was on Friday, and it went well, but not so well that I got to do any of the Easter Egg Hunts with the kids yesterady. :( I did sleep alot, which most of you know is one of my favorite things...

Here's the kids before church today. They have been wanting to wear their Easter outfits for a while... ok, Jack and Ry have, Harris could care less. Jack was MAD last week when he picked it out and I told him he couldn't wear it. What a spaz.

I think it's a rule that at least one child has to be making a weird face. This was the best we could get...

Look at my gorgeous girl. We are in SO much trouble when she gets older!!! :)

Again with the weird face rule... I will let you guess which one... hehehe...

Anyway, Jack got to open a present early (his b-day is tomorrow) and LOVED his Sally the Porshe costume.... Have a Happy Easter Everyone!!

Like sands through the hourglass....

For those of you who didn't watch soaps growing up... Like sands through the hourglass was the intro to Days of Our Lives. I actually didn't watch that one, but my sister in law watched it so religiously that she started BAWLING when the guy who says that line died. THE VOICE OVER GUY! Weird. Anyway, I am starting to feel like the soap actors. Here's the reasons why...

1. My Children are growing up WAYYYYY too fast. It's like they've been super aged! I remember on one of my soaps watching a baby be born, and by the time I was in high school, the "baby" was having it's own affair! (and then subsequent baby). My kids are growing so fast I feel like that. I just signed Jack up for preschool this week. It was the weirdest feeling to know that he's the last one. It was a sigh of relief and one of sadness, all at the same time!

(Little Scholars Preschool)

2. Those of you who know me best, know that I can't seem to be happy unless I have a medical malady on my hands. Here we are with the soaps again! Cue the cheesy music, I am going in for surgery tomorrow. Again. I know. It's like I am the Susan Lucci of surgeries. This one is to take out my gall bladder. David said too many more and I won't be able to be an organ donor because I won't have any left! At least this one is in and out - same day. Blah. Why do we even have these stupid organs? Half the people I know have had theirs removed! Let's just do that at birth, so we don't have to get the stones!

3. Here's my favorite one... I have friends that people who watch Daytime T.V. say can't exsist. They are impossibly good looking, (admit it ladies), are AMAZING Moms, and the best friends you can ask for. Honestly, you'd think they are scripted, but they aren't.

You know you're in Utah.....

Ok. So honestly and truly, I love living in Utah. I do. It shocked me too. I really didn't expect to love living here when I had been raised outside of "Zion". It's SUCH a different atmosphere from what I'm used to. (You had to see the BUT... coming, and here it is...) BUT. Today David and I went to dinner at this little Mexican food place, it's out in Saratoga Springs. Next door to it is this really cute Mom and Pop shop type Pharmacy. I went in thinking that these are the BEST places for Easter treats/stocking stuffers/etc. They always have cool little toys and treats. Anyway. I am gathering my arms full of fun stuff for the kids, when I spy a basket full of these.

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. This is a ready made Visiting Teaching packet. Complete with spiritual thought, story from the Ensign, and treat. WHATTTTT?????? HOW weird is this? I mean, it's a great idea, but WOW. Just Wow. I don't even know what to say about it. Other than, hey April which one do you want? The purple one or the orange one? Yeah, of course I got two. I HAD to blog this, and may as well use it this month... :)

Addicted??

I have decided that I need to start a 12 step program for my new addiction. It's HBOO. (Honey bunches of Oats for those of you who aren't on an initials basis with it yet). I think I have eaten 10 boxes in the last few weeks. I believe it started when David went out of town and I didn't have to make dinner. Him being out of town two weeks in a row didn't help matters. I would make something for the kids, and happily sit down with my "treat" and eat a bowl or two. It was on sale at Albertsons, and so I stocked up. Like major stocked up. I didn't think I had a problem until yesterday when I thought I was out. Flashes of the show Intervention came to mind. People are addicted to a little bit of everything on that show. Hence, the 12 step program. Anyway, I believe the 1st step is admission? There seems to be ALOT of steps following it, and I'm not sure what they are, but for now, I'm happy with admission. :)

PS- It MUST be the almond kind. I am sure the others have alot to offer, but almond and I have something special...

*-*-*-*-*Kasey turns 20!!!*-*-*-*-*

Can you believe my little kasey is 20??? WHAT? How did that happen? I was 12 when Kasey was born and to me it was like a little sister was born. She's been my buddy ever since. It's odd, it's always been more of a sister relationship, and now that she's older, even more so. We hang out and it's like hanging out with friends.
This weekend was the big 2-0 day. Kasey's Mom (my sis Karin) came out to help us celebrate, so celebrate we did!! We started the morning by sleeping in followed by ALL DAY shopping at the Park City Outlets. I mean, ALL DAY. Like 12-7. It was AWESOME. After stuffing the back of my car full with bags, we went to the BEST RESTRUANT EVER. A.K.A. - The Melting Pot. YUM!! For those of you who haven't hit this delectable dining experience, you need to. It's in downtown SLC, and SO worth the drive, and the price. What a day. We spent the entire evening laughing so hard our guts were aching.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a tribute to all things Kasey. Hope this birthday was happy, and the rest can be even better! Love You!!! (The pics below are the slideshow of Kasey's life as seen by me...)

Baby Kasey... Wasn't she CUTE???

Her and little Courtney...

The girls and Aunt Jennie...


And the dreaded school pics through the grade school years... Sorry Kase, had to do it!

Growing Up... Here's the MIGHTY PAYLOADER!!! If you don't know what this game is, you need to come to Molalla for the 4th of July with me next year!!

Kasey and Courtney getting down and dirty...

All grown up... I wanted to try to post a few more, but Blogger was having issues, so maybe later. Anyway, Happy Birthday sweetie!

My Gram

This past week my Grandma turned 93!! I am telling you, this is one AMAZING woman. She has seen and done LOTS in her lifetime, and is a master of weaving those memories into stories. I was sad that we couldn't celebrate with her, but wanted to do a little tribute to her. Happy Brithday Gram! Here's to MANY MANY more!! :)

Here's our first 4 generation picture ever. This was the day I brought Riley home from the hospital. I know, it's a frightening pic... but somehow, I still love it!!

Here's our second ever 4 generation pic, and yes, my Mom's eyes are closed. She gets teased about it... :) I can't wait for the nest 4 generation, maybe at Riley's graduation?

Ode to Ashlee

Ok, there could be serious repercussions to me posting this, but it will be totally worth it! (I say this alot, huh? Maybe I like to live on the edge...) Anyway, I digress. This post is dedicated to my friend Ashlee. She was one of the MANY friends I had to leave behind when leaving Portland, and was one that was a daily part of life. Those of you who know her, TOTALLY understand what I am talking about. Those of you who don't know her, and live in the Portland area, should look her up! She's one of the most incredible people I know. Here's my pictorial tribute to Ashlee who I could go on and on talking about, saying all the things that make her so great (awesome mom, great hair stylist, incredible friend, etc) but I won't. I don't want to embarrass her anymore than necessary. :) So here's to Ash, who's far from us in distance, but not far from our hearts. (Please don't be mad Ash!! ) :)

It's My Eighties Ladies!!!

A pregnant Ash (Sorry Ash... I LOVE this pic, I couldn't not put it on!)

So the next two are not TECHNICALLY of Ashlee, but they are from a day when she was watching my VERY TINY Jack. Ava was SO cute with him, watch the next pic when she realizes he's crying.

How cute is that???? Look how it calmed him down! Ava's got the touch!!

Those of you who know Ash know that she is an AMAZING one when a costume is needed. She was stressed being quite pregnant at what to be for our costume party... Only she could have come up with this AWESOME of a costume...

It makes me wish I had a picture of the Valentine's party when we were supposed to dress up like a famous couple. We will leave that one to those that were there and their memories... :)

I wish you were here with us, but once your babies are a little more grown up, we'll fly you out to come on our adventures!!! Love you tons!!

Girls night. And morning, and afternoon, and evening...

WE DID IT! We finally got a weekend where the husbands could keep the kids (in Kristi's case, mother in law) and the girls (the Utah ones anyway) got to SPEND THE NIGHT at a HOTEL! WHAT???? I know!???!!? It's amazing, huh?

The location. Park City Utah.

The participants

Kenon, Whitney, Kristi, Jennie

The events...

Eating...

This cafe is the BEST! It was perfect food, perfect dessert, and perfectly priced! GOTTA LOVE IT! Spin Cafe, Heber City. You MUST hit it...

Let's be honest, there was alot of eating, but if I put pictures of everywhere we ate, this would be a painfully long blog entry...

Shopping...

Even a movie!!!

You'll have to check Kristi's blog for more pics... she had a camera OTHER than a cell phone... Thanks for an incredible weekend girls!!!

Need a giggle?

Every once in a while, you just need to laugh. I mean, tears STREAMING down your face, gut aches afterward, face hurts laugh. Here's my three current favorite youtubes.... Enjoy!

(Remember to turn off the music so you can hear it. Scroll down the the player and hit pause)

Wimpy Newsman...




Bi-Polar Dog



Meanie Meanie friend...

I LOVE THE NBA!!

Most of you know of my obsession with the NBA. I belong to an all male fantasy basketball league, (And have even won the season!), I have a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR crush on LeBron James, (what?? He's legal now!) and think it's the most athletic and amazing sport to watch. SO. Imagine my giddy glee over finding this gem. I LOVE YOUTUBE!!!!

It even makes SHAQ seem like a cool guy... :)

TWILIGHT! :)

I know, these books are supposed to be for tween/teens... what does it say about me that I LOVE THEM!?!?!? Anyway, my niece and I were checking out all the "movie trailers" that are on youtube, but they aren't really the ACTUAL trailers. Frustrating... Anyway... we didn't find a real one (I don't think it's out yet) BUT. We found the movie poster!!! YIPPIE!!!!!!!

It's not the greatest quality, but we're living on crumbs here, so it'll have to do. :)

BLIZZARD!!!!

I know, I know, I was going to stop writing about the snow. But COME ON!!! A Blizzard??? Truly, it was an actual blizzard. 69 mile an hour winds, accompanied by snow, and my favorite, the powder snow that was lying around, being blown at 69 MPH!!! Really. I took pictures with my cell phone while I was STRANDED on hwy 92 for 2 hours trying to get 4 miles down the road to get David from work. It took me 2 hours to get 4 miles there and 4 miles back. (Mostly there, the way back was a quick by comparison 30 minutes...)

Now remember, this was taken at 4:30, mid day, NOT AT NIGHT!! It was impossible to see at some points, and little Jack is sitting in the back seat saying (repeatedly), "Wow! These are big storm clouds!" :) The stories I hear from people are insane, we were lucky. We actually got home. Alot of people didn't, including 165 ELEMENTARY KIDS! One of the schools kept kids over night because they couldn't get them home. These poor babies! It's K-6th grade!! The school but got stranded with kids in it. I felt lucky that we all were together, safe and warm at home after our adventure. Hope your weather is treating you better... :)

Friends

It's a crazy thing that happened back in 2001-2002. The Bethany ward in Beaverton Oregon had an influx of young couples moving in. There were quite a few of us, and we had a blast.
Exhibit A

There were ALOT of us that hung out constanty.

Exhibit B

We all had at least 1-2 kids, and were continually adding more to the mix...

Exhibit C

And life was good.

Exhibit D

But.... One by One, we moved away. Life went on, and things changed, whether we wanted them to or not.

Exhibit E

...And then. Strange but true, quite a few of us ended up in Utah. Life was good again, we got to see each other quite often. Not as often as we'd like, but let's not complain. Last night was one of those nights. We got to hang with 3 of our favorite couples in the world. The Taylors, Wakefields, Hughes and us went out on the town.

Exhibit F

A new pizza place in Orem was the location, and it was GOOD. I mean, really really good. Pizzeria 712 is the name, and it's a friends of Kenon's who started it. Being friends with the Chef didn't exactly help us get seated in the rather small (but cozy) dining room, but it was worth the wait. Wait is there to complain about? Good friends waiting for good food? AND, the added bonus of our kids being watched by sitters? The night was perfect, and awesome. Thanks guys for new memories placed in the vault. We will have so much to talk about when we're all at the retirement home together... :) Here's a couple more "exhibits" of us through the years...

Now, normally at the end of a nice story like this, I would say, "the end..." but lucky for us, it's just the beginning! Come on, all the rest of you that are in these pics... move down here! It could be Oregon, part II !!