What's Up Down South

First I must start off by saying that I got the image for this post from the following website: http://www.freeimageslive.co.uk/free_stock_image/snowpath5688jpg. I can't believe I'm finally posting again! I thought it would be a good idea to start documenting my life some more. I have high hopes for 2010, and these posts could be a nice record of the new year. On that note, does anyone know of a good way to have all your blog posts published? Now, on to the subject of this post... Today was an insanely busy day for Greg! It was 9 p.m. and I had been watching TV for about two hours and started to get really bored. I looked out the window and noticed that it had snowed enough to shovel again. I had already snowblowed, then shoveled to get out for my eye doc appt., and then snowblowed again around 6 p.m.! So, this was going to be the fourth time. But I didn't mind. It was such a nice, light, peaceful, quiet snow. I guess you could even call it my favorite kind of sn...

I am more into facebook these days. I think because it's just a quick thing, know what I mean? So I don't know what to post about, but felt like I should post something. Blogger guilt. Tonight Greg and I had choir. We joined the Nebo Chorale, for those who might not know. It's been really fun! I love all the Christmas music we're singing. We have a concert in December, and everyone is totally invited to come and bring your kids and stuff. It's free, well, basically free. You have to bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Utah Food Bank. If you think you might like to come let me know and I'll give you the details. I haven't been too busy at work lately, which is both good and bad. Good because I can get stuff done around the house, but bad because I like being busy at work and making moola. Oh...this is new. I'm now the second counselor in the YW presidency. So far so good, but I've only gone to two activities. Last Sun. was st...

Getting there is half the fun--and we sure were a site to see with the wheelchair, crutches, stroller, and luggage! I loved going with Stace, Mom, and Tanner on this trip. Since my mom broke her leg, our whole joke when we called my dad (or anyone else) to give updates was, "Tanner is being good...so is Mom!" As if she is like a six month old! We had a great time. Here's the first day, which was just a travel day. I brought a cheerleader fleece to Alexis so we had to get a few poses with it. Tanner got a bath in the hotel sink! There's me holding baby Colbie. Omaha's Henry Doorley Zoo is amazing! We all got the biggest laugh when we read about "Fu Man Chu." He was an orangutan at the zoo, and he was extremely smart. The zoo keepers started noticing that the orangutans would be out of their cages and loose in the habitat each morning and they didn't know why. They kept blaming each other for leaving the door unlocked. Finally they realized ...

Well, not the game to attend as it turns out, since BYU lost. Their defense wasn't even there. But we had a great time! We went with Mike & Seve and their little girl. And Stace and Mike and their little boy. I like how Greg is wearing his Iowa hat to the BYU game. Of course! A true Hawkeye wouldn't do anything less.

Maria already posted about this ages ago! I'm behind. But anyway... For our birthdays this year (since they are only 10 days apart) we met at Gardner Village and had lunch and did some fun shopping and catching up. Here's the highlights!

Emily and Shaun had their baby girl this week! Colbie is her name. Congratulations to them and Alexis the new big sister. Nebraska is far away when babies need Aunt Lisa. (Or grandma and grandpa!) I have pictures of the new arrival, but I'm sure Ems and Shaun will put some on their blog soon!

When we had our house in Enterprise, we had this extra land that we had made big plans for. Big as in plant a ton of pines and make a whole camping site there complete with tent spot, fire pit, log benches etc. Well, that didn't work out! But the dream lives on! It has just taken a smaller form. Meet our new fire pit. We love it. It was christened with hot dogs and s'mores recently, and as the weather keeps cooling off, we think it will be a fantastic addition to our backyard. Here's a full view of the patio. If anyone has cute outdoor decorating ideas for the outside walls, I'm up for it! Except if it involves rustic stars. Greg will not stoop to the level of rustic starts since they seem to be the hallmark of every home in Utah Valley. Here's the inaugural lighting! We had to laugh because when we set this fire pit up, Greg was telling me about Dr. Cragun's fire pit. Well, you can't really call it a fire pit. More like an outdoor kitchen like y...

I will try to be better able writing even if I feel like I don't have much to say. I know I enjoy reading other people's blogs, so the feeling is probably mutual. (At least for Maria!) Let's start with Thursday. For our "date day" since Greg had the afternoon off, we layed out. That's right. Workin' on the tan. Me and Greg. In the backyard. In our skivvies. Funny, huh! It's our way of saving on tanning passes. The bees were trying to sting us, and due to the lack of a swimming pool we did get rather hot. So we came in after about an hour. 30 min. on each side to make it even, you know. How fun to have a husband to do that with! It sort-of cracks me up, but I would bet we'll do it again. Luckily we have a fenced backyard and lots of privacy. Otherwise the neighbors would have had a nice show since I was in a bikini top and short little shorts! Yikes! Never would I go out in public that way. That night we ate at Magleby's Fresh...

Oh dear. I'm way behind the times in blogging land. I was visiting teaching the other day, and was commenting to the cute girl I visit that I never have things to blog about. She said that she felt the same way before she had kids. My life isn't boring or anything, but it's much more fun to read about the funny things everyone's kids are saying or doing. And to see pictures of the dinky ones. What have we been up to? Well, we celebrated our 8th anniversary on Aug. 2. I should have posted about that! Dang. We are trying to be frugal so we decided that we would stay home for our anniversary and set up the tent in the back yard for a camp out. So, we did. And it was great. Right up until the wind started blowing. It blows and blows and blows here every night. So, we both lay there quietly, probably thinking the other one was asleep, until finally Greg said, "Pal? Do you want to go inside?" And yes. I did. It was like 2:30 in the morning. So, we ...

Greg is feeling so much better. And, I should clarify that we don't even know for sure he has swine (giggle) flu. We hope not. They're actually not testing for it...at least at the hospital we went to...probably because the test is expensive. So, let's hope it is really not that. But it is something since he's been so sick. Hopefully we can both rest this weekend. We've been on a Harry Potter movie kick and our weekend plans include watching movies 4 (Goblet of Fire) and possibly 5 (Order of the Phoenix.) Anyone who wants to join us in seeing Harry Potter 6 (Half-blood Prince) when it comes out in July is more than welcome! It's funny when we get on these kicks because we pretend to cast spells, either at each other, or just in general. For example, if I wanted the bed made but didn't want to make it, I would just grab my wand and with a little flick say, "Coverli Loverli." And the covers would fold up perfectly, the pillows would fluff, and ...

You know how my last post was about my typical day? I guess The Man Upstairs felt like I needed something to spice up my life and give me opportunities to serve my husband. Greg has been really really sick. Swine flu. He and I can't even say that without laughing, which is sad, because it is real. He's just miserable. I am glad I work from home because I have been driving him too and from work. Yes, work. Good luck trying to get that dedicated PA to stay home and take care of himself for a change! Fixing him meals. Rubbing his aching muscles. Filling prescriptions. It's like a prep for motherhood probably! He was one sick puppy on Sunday and we are grateful for everyone's prayers and love and concern for us. We have an awesome family. And I can't say enough about our wonderful neighbors! I went to mow our overgrown lawn yesterday and our neighbor already did it! What sweet, secret service. I had another neighbor call today to check on us. And, another ...

I always think I have to have these amazing things to post about, but today you get to read about my morning. This is just a basic day in the life. Don't know why I decided to post about an average day. I guess because I feel happy and good and that makes the day seem above average. If only every day could feel that way! I slept in, which is always what I get to do. I don't usually get up until 8:30. I try to tell myself to start earlier, but that bed is just so comfortable! I typically try to exercise in the morning. Sometimes I do workout videos, other times I ride my bike in the garage on rollers. Today I wanted to ride outside because the weather is so nice. I almost didn't go on an outside ride because the mornings in Spanish are so windy! The wind starts at night around 10:30 or so and then it just blows hard until about 10 or 10:30 in the morning. But, I decided to brave the wind. I started off on my ride, directly into the wind I might add, and tears were...

Well, really it was the Thunderbirds. But does anyone remember the Thundercats cartoon from the 80s? We went to see the Thunderbirds at Hill Air Force Base Saturday on our way up to Logan for Tanner's blessing. We met Mike and Stace and Tanner at the base. The crowds were insane! Like more than 200,000 people. But it was worth it to see the Thunderbirds. So exciting! We have pictures that I can post later maybe. It's so loud and little Tanner was sleeping but when the Thunderbirds would fly over, all the muscles in his body would tense up. He still didn't wake up though! Greg was really excited about all the planes, especially the WWII Dakota Kid, which had three German kills. I'm trying to remember exactly what kind of plane it is. We have a picture of it. I liked trying to learn the differences between F14, 15, and 16. And differences between the helicopters. The Apache really is cool-looking. There were some AWESOME stunt pilots flying, too. They do t...

This is a short post just for Greg.

We have been way busy it seems like, so I'm behind on posts. Hopefully I can get caught up a little bit today. I had been looking forward to a visit from Emily and Alexis for a long time!! They came out from Nebraska and stayed for two weeks, including a week at our house, which was way fun. It was such a fun, busy week, so I'll try to highlight it the best I can. MONDAY I waited patiently all day and then went to the airport to pick up the traveling duo. I think it's way fun to be at the airport watching all the people come and go and wondering where they're going or coming from. It was so exciting when Ems and Alexis came through the gate. Emily looked so cute with her pregnant belly, and Alexis has grown into a darling little girl and not so much of a toddler. It was her first plane ride, and Ems said that other than one incident of her holding on to the railing in the jetway before getting on the plane, and Ems having to pry her little hands off and basically ca...

About three weekends ago, our nephew, Alec, called to invite Greg and I up to Park City to go skiing. We happened to be speaking in Church the next day, so we decided we had better not spend all day on the slopes when we needed time to prepare our talks. But, it was so kind of Alec to think of inviting us, and we really wanted to spend time with our cute nephews, so we planned to go to the Baby Animal Birthday Party at Thanksgiving Point. We ended up just having the two younger nephews, Austin and Andrew, and Greg's Mom and Dad come with us, so we still owe Alec an outing with us! That's in the works. The day turned out to be cold and rainy, but who cares when you're with those you love...and for Greg that includes cows. It includes cows for me, too. It's amazing how much Austin is like Greg in his love of animals. Andrew, too. That is one thing that I love about Greg and, although I have never not liked animals, he has helped me learn to appreciate these wonde...

Layout Did you notice my attempt at doing my own blog layout? I've been wanting to try it and I had some time yesterday while Greg was taking a nap. (Everyone else posts about doing their blogs while their kids are napping and here I am posting while my husband was napping!) It was really kind-of fun. I do lots of graphic design for work, so sometimes the last thing I want to do is something like this. But then again, then is far more creative than work. I'll probably get sick of it and want to change it and not want to create my own again, so it's a good thing there are lots of sites out there that have free backgrounds. Fun to try doing my own, though! Lunch On Tuesday, I was invited out to lunch with some girls on my street and in my ward. We went to a place in Springville called "The Trolley" and it was absolutely delicious! I had a salad, because the girls I was with told me they are famous for their salads, and it was like no other salad! It had ...

I know it's weird to post my feet! I just wanted to say thanks to my mom for our girls day out on Monday. She came down to Spanish Fork and we went to lunch at Olivia's. It's a cute little cafe that happens to be in a spa, which was so convenient because we also wanted to get pedicures. So my mom treated me to lunch and a relaxing day at the spa! It was fantastic. I love this purple color, which is why I just had to post it, and I have purple fingernails to match, but they're already chipping. What a fun day with my mom! She is such a positive, fun, happy person. It was fun to spend the day together getting pampered. Our feet needed it to get ready for sandal weather! This picture was during conference. Greg and I went up to visit and I got to hold both Arienna and Tanner. Maybe it's preparing me for twins...let's hope! They are about two months apart, and Tanner seems so tiny still while Ari is starting to get some baby fat. It's darling! They ...

Those who know us know that Greg and I are big fans of American Idol. Do I have any fellow fans out there? We always tape it (or I guess the term is "TiVo") but tonight's performance was long and it stopped recording before we could see the last performance by Adam Lambert, who happens to be our favorite one. So we watched the video online, and he is so good! Other fans out there? I think he's in a league of his own. I just love listening to his songs and the way he interprets songs that I've heard before and makes them new again. That sounds like something the judges would say! So, what else is new with us? Not much. I babysat two little boys today ages 2 and 4 and I have a respect for you wonderful mothers out there. I am glad that when I have kids they will come as babies first! My house isn't very entertaining right now for a 2 year old and 4 year old. Luckily they brought their own Mr. Potato Heads to play with. And we watched "Mater and...

I have never posted about this before, but I felt like I needed to today. Anyone who knows us knows that Greg and I are one of those couples who would love to start a family but haven't been able to get pregnant on our own. I can tell you that this is the hardest thing we have had to go through and at times it has put so much pressure and stress on us that we have just felt so discouraged. There are other times, the ones I like to think about, where we have felt the tremendous love and prayers of our family, and the love and strength we get from each other. We have tried to "bear one another's burden" in this, and what could be better than reaching out to your own spouse? I couldn't ask for a better husband or person than Greg and I hope he knows how much I love him. I have also felt Heavenly Father's love for me through this trial and because of that I have always been able to remain fairly positive about our situation, knowing that there is a plan for u...

We have now been in our new house in Spanish Fork for two weeks and we like it so far in Spanish! Our ward is great. I have to crack up because it's 50% under age 12. Yep...we'll probably get callings in primary! It's great, though. We like all of the kids running around the neighborhood. It feels really great to be in a neighborhood again instead of apartments or townhouses. I love our yard! I walked out in the backyard today and we have some beautiful little purple flowers coming up. I'm not sure what they are yet, but they are so pretty! Thanks to everyone who helped us move! We have awesome friends and family. I think I gave myself a headache today because I was going through our bank statements and kept noticing a $14.95 charge each month to some company I didn't recognize. I googled the name of the company and it's some credit report place. Apparently Greg clicked on a "free credit report" link on google or somewhere, and when you si...

Do you know that Primary song? "My Daddy is my favorite pal?" Well, Greg and I call each other pal. Greg started it, and then I picked it up, so we're both pal to each other. I love it. He's also "moo" to me. Or "moo cow" or even "mook" (comes from "moo cow" minus the "ow") because he loves cows so much. So, I would like to wish my Pal a happy birthday with this song: Happy Birthday to my favorite Pal whom I love more and more each day! It's plain to see that you and me are happy in every way. You work so hard helping people's hearts you're kind and supportive, too. I'm very lucky that you're my hubby. Have a happy birthday, moo. A few of the many reasons I love Greg - He's my best friend - Most kind and tender hearted person to me and to animals - Extremely intelligent - Has introduced me to many new ideas and hobbies...including shooting - He has good ideas that I trust and he res...