Memory Lane

My sister, Lindsey, found this for me a while back in my parents house and I just re-discovered it as I was doing some more unpacking. These are some lists of the kind of guy I would like to date/marry I made in a Y/W class in Sept. 1999, so I was almost 13. Just a little Beehive. (They start us early, eh?) I'll write the whole list down, spelling errors and all, so you can have a good chuckle, I know we did!

I love my artistic skills. The bulging biceps, the flowers, even him saying "Hey Baby." Nate to a "T"!!

Qualities
Standards, personality, religion, mature, respectful, understanding, future/return missionary, sense of humor, trustworthy, serves others, nice, tall, fun, spiritual, cute, look on the inside, no jerk, like your parents, athletic, high goals, lives commandments, physically fit, popular, intregrity, testimony, religion, nice clothes, owns a car, friendly, kind, intelligent, good job, fun

I can honestly say that Nate meets ALL of these requirements. Honestly. (Although the "nice clothes" one greatly improved upon marriage)

Mesquite!

Nate and I had a free two night stay in Mesquite, NV, about an hour north of Vegas and only about a half an hour from STG. My family was kind enough to watch Rachael for a few days while we got away. If any of you have ever been to Mesquite, you know it ain't much to sing about, unless you gamble. We spent our time playing in the pool and we went bowling for a buck a game! SWEET!! We even went to Popeye's Chicken our first night and I can't even tell you how delicious it was. I haven't been there since North Carolina last April. All in all the trip was pretty fun, no one was complaining cuz it was free!

We had a lot of fun with our waterproof camera and tried out the rapid fire shot setting. I'll be trying out for the Olympic diving team for the 2012 games, watch for me!
Lets not talk about my pathetic bowling score. Worst I've ever done. Needless to say I won't be trying out for THAT team. Nate did amazing and kept trying to give me pointers. (I'm not lying when I say I'm bad at ALL sports) The buffet was pretty delish and it was fun to stuff our bellies full!

Cedar City!!

Well.. WE MADE IT!!! About $800 later (including the moving truck rental and gas for that and the Malibu), we have arrived to our blessed little home. I. Love. It. I love the new carpet the apartment has, I love the massive amount of closet space, I love the air conditioning, I love that Rachael gets some normalcy in her life for a year plus, I love that I get to bring my piano in, I (re)love my couches and Kitchenaide, and I LOVE that we haven't even been here a week and we've already seen my family twice! (Including a trip up Cedar Mountain today, how convenient that my family's new favorite camping/picnic spot is only 30 minutes from our house!) I don't love that our living room doesn't have a main light. Anyone getting rid of a big lamp? Pictures later, once all of our stuff is in place. Have I mentioned that I LOVE it here?!?! Cuz I do.

On my mind...

Here are just a few things that I have been swirling around my mind as of late.

• Fresh picked raspberries are on my Top 5 list of most delicious things EVER
• Just the two little words "Gilbert Blythe" give me goosebumps (the good kind)
• The Lord truly is looking out my my little family
• My husband is pretty darn attractive and my little girl is stinking adorable!
• I need a new cell phone
• I'm super extra glad I went to Beauty School
• Rachael will be in dance next year (at three) and that is that
• Its funny how Rachael ate a red pepper yesterday :)
• I'M SO READY TO MOVE TO CEDAR AND GET ALL OF MY STUFF BACK!!

the end.

(P.S. The move is happening TOMORROW! Wish us luck!)

Two Year Pictures

My sister-in-law, Sarah, took these pictures near her home in Twin Falls, ID. I had been to this place, Shoshone Falls, earlier this summer and thought it was beautiful so we made the trip to get the pictures taken and to celebrate Rachael and Josh's birthdays together. I think these pictures turned out wonderfully!! Rachael is such a big girl now with the cutest personality!

Tea for TWO!!!

Well, it came and it went with a LOT of stress on my part. Rachael currently loves tea sets (she started off the day with a tea party in the tub) so I thought it would be fun to throw her a "Tea for Two" (like the year, get it??) party. All and all I feel it was a success. Here are the evening's events.

The Cake. (a.k.a. A huge piece of stress!) Long story short, don't make a cake with whipped cream and cream cheese frosting on a hot July day. It melts. Turned out cute though, but the cuteness only lasted until the pictures were over.

These cookies were delish!! A LOT of work, but really yummy!

The set-up. Girly things, such as tulle and feather boas made it extra cute. The balloons were Rachael's favorite part.

Poor kid fell asleep literally with pizza in her mouth. This was at 7 p.m. and lasted until about 7:45, just enough to give her the energy she needed to part-ay all night!

A trip outside to see the dogs play.

And the famous candle blowage. She loves fire, but wasn't too sure about all of the attention. It was almost like she loved it, but didn't want to show it...

Presents! She got quite the spread!

Her main present from mom and dad this year was a tin tea set. Yep. She loves it!

After the presents, we had a ton of left over 4th of July fireworks Nate sent off. This is Rachael under the blanket.

Honestly, I think the cake had a tougher day than anyone... Poor thing...

Next year?? I don't k now yet. but I probably won't be doing a cake like this again. Maybe a nice sheet cake :) We'll see.

To the princess...

Happy Birthday, Rachael!! Oh my goodness I cannot believe you are TWO ALREADY!! All day long today I've been thinking about what I was doing two years ago and it feels like it just happened yesterday. We've had our disagreements this year, but all and all I think we've had a great one. Sometimes your dad and I just sit and watch your little personality shine through, whether its you dancing to The Princess and the Frog soundtrack or hiding under a laundry basket or doodling on a post-it note with a pen (your current favorite writing utensil). You have brought so much joy into our lives, and that is an understatement. We are trying every day to be better parents, to be more patient or more understanding. As I was singing to you before putting you down tonight, I had a flashback to when you were only a couple of weeks old. I had just fed you before putting you to bed so you were just laying there, completely content while I sang you some lullabies. I remember singing "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" and being overwhelmed with the responsibility I had as a parent to teach you to do the right thing, to teach you that your Heavenly Father loves you, and to help you to become the best person you could be. (I also remember your dad listening in on the baby monitor...) I hope your dad and I have done well teaching you so far in your life. We'll always be here for you as you grow and have questions to ask. We love you so much, baby face! Happy Birthday!