The Hornibrook Family

My Lover

2011-12-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

I am just rather in love with my hot hubby and thought I would take a second to share it with the world. He works so hard and is so dedicated to us, his church calling and of course anyone who knows him would say his work! Oh, and working out and eating right seem to have crept up on the list too.

Tyler makes me feel beautiful. He lets me know I am a good wife and mommy to our two amazing children. Sometimes when he gets home my heart starts to beat really fast and I get butterflies in my tummy as if we were just beginning to date all over again. All I want to do is run up to him and give him a giant hug and kiss.

Tyler is my eternal companion and I honestly couldn't be happier with my choice!

First Day of School

2011-09-07T15:40:00.002-06:00

My little baby girl started Preschool yesterday. I did better than I expected, I didn't cry:) I just choked up as the teacher was walking Lucy through the morning routine. I think it is just knowing that somebody else will be seeing my baby grow and progress and I just get to hear about it later (hopefully).

Lucy will be going to school Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 hours a day. She was so excited to start and now can't wait to go back to play with her friends tomorrow. I hesitated to send Lucy to two years of preschool, but she is so social I knew she would love the chance to interact with new friends. I think that after weighing the pros and cons, Lucy is one child that will benefit from the social and structured environment her preschool will provide for her. I will get over being away from her I am sure.

Below is Lucy sporting one of her new outfits (I can't believe I had to go school clothes shopping this year) and her new backpack. Doesn't she just look so old?!!!

And at home with mommy...Little buddy who is almost 15-months-old. He is my happy little guy who often sports my favorite outfit for any little baby, a white onesie!!! I took pictures of him this morning in his new favorite place, the bin his cars live in.

I can't get enough of his cheesy smile. He sees a camera and gives this face...sometimes I think it is a face only a mother could love, but oh how I LOVE IT!

Adorable Children

2011-08-23T12:26:00.005-06:00

My friend Cassandra is getting back into photography. She used to have a business in Utah before her kids were born. Cassandra came over today and took pictures of Lucy and Thomas across the street at our lake. I think she captured how adorable my children really are. THANK YOU CASSANDRA!!! I owe you big!

Sister & Brother

2011-08-20T12:16:00.008-06:00

All my life I wanted to have a baby boy first. I loved having an older brother! I always felt bad for people that didn't have an older brother to protect them. I felt they were missing out on something really special, like they were cheated out of a great thing. Maybe I just had such an amazing brother who made me feel cool:) This is me and Dane when we were going to school together at BYU-Idaho.

So it was a big surprise to me that when I found out I was having a girl first, I wasn't sad like I thought I would be. It just felt right. Now I know why. Baby brothers are lucky to have older sisters too!

I loved how once Thomas was born I could count on Lucy to run upstairs and and get a diaper for me when I was too tired. Or how Lucy sings to Thomas when he is sad. This week we had the opportunity to have the Battles' daughter, Anistyn, stay with us for a few nights while they were having their second ADORABLE baby, a little boy. Lucy and Anistyn both wore their big sister jammies. The nature of girls is just different. I believe Lucy is just wired to be a little second mommy to Thomas and I know he just adores her. It is amazing how things just work out you know.

Plus, I laugh knowing Thomas will soon be bigger than Lucy and will pick on his big sister like I was picked on by my big brother. He will also protect my little drama queen when she needs it, which may be a whole lot more than I did. And most importantly, I know Lucy loves her little brother just as much as I love my big brother. The picture above seriously makes me laugh out loud! Oh such happy memories!!!!!

Buddy Walks...sort of

2011-07-31T21:04:00.002-06:00

Tonight we had a Pajama Movie Party. We do this a couple of times a month. We get our jammies on, make popcorn, put all the pillows on the floor and watch a movie. Today was How to Train Your Dragon, I LOVE this movie! After it was over and Lucy had got up to her play room, Tyler and I were just playing around with Buddy. He ended up taking 6 steps in a row. This is HUGE for him. The doctor told us he wouldn't walk till between 15 and 18 months because he has been quite slow in everything but getting bigger! He is currently 13 1/2 months old.

So here is my little buddy in his walking debut...too bad he doesn't want to do it anymore. Maybe he is just tired. I hope not because my back is KILLING me from his massive 30+ lbs (weighed 1 1/2 months ago so I am sure he is a bit more).

Pioneer Day Palooza

2011-07-30T16:12:00.003-06:00

This morning we went to our Church Pioneer Day Palooza. Tyler was actually in charge of the whole event and it went GREAT! The Battles' helped us make the score boards last night while we watched a movie and they turned out quite professional if I do say so myself.

This is our family at the very end. Our blue face paint (we were on the blue team) was mostly washed off. I had awesome 80's blue eye shadow. Wish I got a better picture!

Tyler placed 2nd in the Pancake Eating contest for the Blue Team

Blue Team placed 2nd in the Truck Push. This was only because we realized later the left side of the parking lot was at a slight incline. We would have been first for sure otherwise!!! :)

Lucy watching the 3rd and 4th place teams in the Truck Push

Thomas has a little girlfriend!

Oh, did I mention our team took 1st place?! It was actually tied and came down to ' Rock Paper Scissors.' We call that pure talent!

Thomas the Tank Engine

2011-06-07T21:28:00.003-06:00

I Just got done reading Lucy Thomas the Tank Engine as her bedtime story. After it was over she looked at me very concerned.

Lucy: I want to read about Lucy the train tomorrow

Me: Oh really, is that a book?

Lucy: Yes! Thomas will call me Lucy and we can be friends. Best friends!

Me: Okay, well maybe we can find a train named Lucy. What color would she be?

Lucy: Ummm....maybe blue or something.

Me: Well Thomas is blue and red, so maybe you can be pink and purple.

Lucy: I guess that would be okay. Maybe we could paint the blue train pink and purple or something. That should be a great good idea.

Me: That would be a good idea.

We talked like that for awhile longer and she ended up being happy about the whole thing. Apparently now I have to find some kind of train that I we can color pink and purple. It is hard to explain to a 3-year-old that not everybody has a cartoon train with their same name. Sigh...

Snow Day

2011-05-30T16:41:00.004-06:00

Lucy has been asking to go to "the mountain" all winter long to play in the snow. The snow has been melting so fast these past couple of weeks, so last weekend we made the short trip up to our beloved Mt. Hood.

We ended up at Government Camp to go sledding. Lucy had a blast. Thomas was very indifferent. I think it is so funny how at times it is so hard to get a reaction of any kind out of him. But we love our little buddy!

No snow trip could be complete without some Hot Chocolate!

Karl Johnson Silhouettes

2011-05-27T19:26:00.004-06:00

I am so excited for KARL JOHNSON to cut my kids silhouettes in June. He is making an appearance at Bridgeport and I just secured an appointment. There are a few spots still open if any of you live around here and want to do it too. Call Goodnight Room.

I will be sure to share my babies silhouettes with you. I honestly can't wait. I have been meaning to make them myself by tracing their shadows on the wall, but this is much easier and more exciting!

When I was in Heaven

2011-05-23T22:42:00.002-06:00

Heaven is a very popular subject with Lucy. She loves to start sentences by saying "When I was in Heaven..." Usually this is followed by "you and daddy got married in the Temple," or "you lived with Mama Cindy." She loves hearing about how she used to live in heaven when I was her age.

Tonight, this was Lucy's prayer after a conversation about how she used to live in Heaven, and how she wants to live there again.

"Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for this day.

Thank you that Grandma Bernice could die and go to Heaven,

and thank you that

Jesus could die and go to Heaven.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. Either way, it melted my heart and I had to share.

Buddy Gets Scared

2011-05-22T17:05:00.002-06:00

Special Viewing Party

2011-02-17T10:01:00.004-07:00

So this year for the Super Bowl we had friends over once again. We called it a Pot Luck with a Special Viewing Event to make ourselves feel a little better for doing it on a Sunday. This time a lot more people came and we had a full house of 30+. The funny thing is, Tyler and I don't watch the NFL. I would say that about 95% of our friends that came don't either. But what a great excuse to get together.

I said more than 30 people came. But did I happen to mention how 17 of these "people" were small children? After a couple hours of playing we couldn't ignore the pleas to watch How to Train your Dragon up in the playroom. But honestly, how cute is this?!

We had a ton of great food and even better company. You have got to love good friends!

2011-02-04T14:29:00.004-07:00

Lucy wanted to dress up 'Tommy' today to look like a princess. I said that I didn't think Thomas wanted to be a princess because he was a boy. Lucy then replied so matter of fact, "well mom, Tommy does want to be a princess. But you can be the prince if you want."Lucy wanted me to take a picture of her 'mad face.' She was happy and giggly, but for some reason likes to look at pictures of herself being mad. She looked at this one for about a minute before wanting to take another. The girl makes me laugh!

Little Monsters

2011-02-04T14:15:00.006-07:00

I was at Costco with the kids picking out new jammies. Lucy didn't understand why Thomas got all the cool pajamas. So after a little thought (I love her in girly things) I let her pick out one pair of 'boy jammies.' Of course she picked the monster ones. Now that we have them, I love putting them in their matching jammies. We have even done a few photo shoots with them. Poor Buddy, he just gets tossed around and clobered by his big sister and just smiles all the same.

2011-02-03T14:45:00.001-07:00

I know the Holidays ended over a month ago, but my thinking is better late than never.

Zoo Lights with the Family

(We actually went with the Hornibrooks too, but I forgot my camera that night)

My mother had all her grandchildren over to decorate cookies. It got a little messy but what do you expect from 4 children 4-years-old and under.

Little Buddy likes frosting!

We acted out the Nativity at my parents Christmas Eve

Baby Jesus was a little big if you ask me:)

Who doesn't love the Meier & Frank monorail. I wish it still ran...so many memories!

Lucy made sure to ask for "Toy Story 3 and the doll house from Costco." She also added in that Buddy wanted the "Dragon Movie." (how to train you dragon).

Lucy was so excited to mail her letter to Santa!

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY makes omelette's as delicious as my dad!

She loved Thomas' toys!

Just what she always wanted

The 6:00a.m daze

A Daddy and his Little Girl

2010-11-20T18:16:00.003-07:00

I just love the bond between Tyler and Lucy. It always amazes me how much he loves and adores her!

Four Months Old

2010-11-08T16:29:00.006-07:00

Stats at 4 months (3 weeks ago)

Height: 27 3/4"

Percentile: OFF THE CHARTS

Weight: 17 1/2 lbs.

Percentile: 85th

Moments in Thomas' life

Smiles all the time and does so for just about anybody
Sleeps from 6:30 to 7 (most nights) and takes two good naps during the day
Can roll over both ways...chooses not to do so
Lucy makes him belly laugh like nobody else
He is so easy going
Can now hold toys and plays with them often
Still loves to be swaddled (daddy finally can do it well)
Has very kissable cheeks
Little buddy is strong and can support himself from head to toe very well.

I LOVE my kids!

2010-11-08T15:48:00.007-07:00

Last night as I was preparing to go to bed I got the overwhelming feeling of love for my children. There was an incident in the hospital with Thomas that scarred me that day, but I honestly haven't thought much about it since. But last night as I was saying my prayers I got so freaked out by the fact that I could have lost Thomas and I couldn't help but run in to check on him. I had to look at him, touch his feet and rub his head. With tears in my eyes I then made my way to Lucy's room and kissed her lovable cheeks. I feel so grateful to have such wonderful children. They are sweet and deserve more of my attention. I made a promise to myself last night that my house doesn't have to be perfect. If it is between clean floors or putting together puzzles with Lucy, I almost always NEED to choose playing with my adorable daughter.

So today I have gotten a few loads of laundry done and have cleaned the dishes and such, but I have spent most of my time thus far on the floor with both of my children. We have done everything from reading stories and playing make believe. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. And now they both nap...heaven on earth.

(look hard at the pile of toys on the couch)

Lucy was showing me how good she is at sharing her toys with Little Buddy. How kind.

Halloween came and went. I tried to get pictures of my little Tinkerbell but Lucy is almost impossible to get a good picture of! She is either trying so hard to smile or she is a moving target (mostly the two combined). This little fairy princess, Tink, got the award for cutest costume at our Church Halloween party. She hammed it up when her name was announced and she pranced across the stage, showing off her costume and holding up her skirt like a princess would. She even stopped in the center of the stage for a little while when most kids just ran to the other side as fast as they could. Do we have a little Drama Queen (several meanings here) on our hands???

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-29T14:11:00.005-06:00

Last week we went to the pumpkin patch with my mom and grandpa. I got a few pictures of my little guy. I didn't think I would be one of those parents who takes less pictures of their second child, but I so am. I have a bunch, but I don't take them multiple times a day, or even every day like I did with Lucy. I will be sure to show you more...

Isn't he adorable? I just love him and he finally has some fat on him. For the first couple months of Thomas' life he had skin hanging from his limbs. I guess that's what happens when you are born 23" long (we posted 21.5" but the doctors remeasured and it was 23") and only weigh 9lbs and 11oz. While that is heavy, it's not heavy enough for a long baby like he was.

I uploaded all my pictures onto my computer so I can pull from a bunch of them and post some stuff. A lot has happened in the last four months since you heard from me, but my computer got a virus and we had to reformat it and such...it pretty much took forever. Plus, being a mom of two is a little harder and more time consuming than one-go figure. I know my sister and mom have been quite vocal about "poor Thomas, all you have are his swollen hospital pictures up on your blog" or "I am sick of looking at the same pictures, post something new." So here is to you Amykay and mom.

It's a Boy!

2010-06-16T23:14:00.004-06:00

Thomas Parker

Born: Tuesday, June 15^th at 4:22pm

Stats: 9 lbs 11 oz and 21.5 in. long

Week of Updates

2010-06-11T13:22:00.004-06:00

STILL PREGNANT

Last Tuesday, the doctor didn't think I would make it another week. This Tuesday he was surprised that I was still around. Being the great man he is, he stripped my membranes...I am still pregnant and it is Friday. The thing is, when I was almost positive that I would have the baby Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, and started to feel the pain, I freaked out. I no longer wanted to have the baby then. I am not so good with pain. So I am okay waiting now. Yesterday I started feeling better than I have in months! While I can't get up easily and the trips to the bathroom have become more frequent, something I didn't think possible, I am okay with carrying my little guy around in my rather large tummy. My doctor will brake my water on Monday if my little guy hasn't come by then. This may be the best way to go because then I can get the drugs before I really start to feel much pain. But it is still just a waiting game.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

Tuesday was my mom's birthday. Isn't she still so beautiful?!! She didn't want a cake or anything (only my baby to come), but a birthday just wouldn't be the same to Lucy without dessert. So Lucy helped her blow out the candles and was very adorable when she sang 'Happy Birthday'.

PRETTY BIRD

The other day I was in Tyler's office and we saw a bright yellow bird in a tree in our front yard. We looked it up and I can't remember what it is called, but I thought it was beautiful and worth sharing.

LUCY'S IMAGINATION

If you have been around my little princess for more than two minutes, you will know she has a very active imagination! It is not the normal imagination for a girl turning three in September, or even a much older child for that matter. Some days Lucy plays for HOURS on her own. I sit at the bottom of the stairs and listen to her go on picnics, to the beach, feed her made believe friends, clean the playroom and run from certain animals (animal is always changing). She has had an imaginary friend "little fella" for many months now. Her pediatrician said this was the behavior of a child of 3 or 4, not 2. She loves the ocean right now and 'nice sharks' are all around us constantly. Our nursery leader even commented on how she made everyone think there was a shark in the nursery room on Sunday. Lucy had all the kids swim away from it while screaming. Did I mention she is bossy too, so for the most part, kids just do what she says.

Anyway, two days ago Lucy decided she was going to the Mountain and got dressed for the 'white snow.' I did not get a picture of me too, but behind the camera I am also wearing a hat and scarf to the mountain. We got up there and little did I know, there was sand instead of snow. She made me take off my hat because it is hot at the beach, not cold.

The girl closes her eyes when she says 'cheese' for the camera

Oh, I thought this was cute too. I was at the optometrist the other day picking out new sunglasses and getting new frames for the glasses Lucy broke. Lucy decided to rearrange their kiddy furniture. When the doctor asked her about it she looked at him and said "ssshhhhhh, we at the movie theatre. Got to be quiet" He laughed and she said sssshhhh once again. Then she started to tell him, in a not so soft voice, all about the dragons on the screen. She asked the doctor to sit down and watch the movie with her (aka, the wall of glasses). I am glad he found it amusing because sometimes that girl has people walking around with big question marks floating over their heads.

Grandma's Birthday

2010-06-03T17:29:00.003-06:00

Today was my Grandma Bernice's Birthday. Last year we celebrated by taking a day to drive up the Columbia River Gorge, had a picnic, stopped by the fish hatchery, Dam and Multnomah Falls. Today, seeing as how I am uncomfortable and don't really want to venture too far from home, we went out to the Taco House...Grandma's favorite. I bet she was looking down from Heaven and wishing she had a little herself! Then we went up some Mountain in Portland, I am so bad. I was there just two hours ago and now I can't even remember the name of it. Rock something or other...it was beautiful to see the city, the river, the whole airport (we saw some fighter jets landing, quite impressive) and really all around the area, from every side. I LOVE a good view!

My little bossy child...oh how her little brother will love her!

So Grandma, we miss you and you don't have to worry, we had a great Birthday for you!

Watch this and you will see why I rarely get a decent picture of Lucy!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Another Week?

2010-06-02T11:38:00.002-06:00

I don't have a picture...I know, so lame. I had to make a post anyway because we have officially reached the month I am been dreaming about and looking forward to for 9 months now. June, it's music to my ears, the only body part that doesn't scream for relief. The 13th is my official due date, but I am hoping for a little sooner. If you are reading this and were one of my Utah friends going through my first pregnancy with me, this is a TOTAL change of pace for me. I didn't want Lucy to come out. I wasn't ready to be a mom and figured I would be even more uncomfortable and stressed with a baby than I was with the alien in my body. But this time I am singing a different tune. I want this baby boy out of me. I am already a mom, my life has already been changed forever and I can't wait to meet the little guy! I had my first dream last night about this baby, took long enough. It got me even more excited to hold him for the first time, to look in his eyes and let him know he is safe and will always have a mommy that loves him and would do anything for him. Being a mom is the best!
Yesterday the doctor said I should go sometime next week, but that it really could be anytime now. So exciting!!!!!

California (Part 2 of 2)

2010-05-24T12:50:00.013-06:00

I know am doing a little catch up before the baby comes. I may not get on too often afterwards, depending on his sleeping patterns. Pray I get another Lucy when it comes to sleeping, I could do 10 hours strait at 4 weeks again for sure!

So this was the first half of our trip to California last month. We had a lot of fun with Tyler's family, and some good quality time with just the three of us. I loved it!

Hanging out at the House

My sweet loves in the freezing cold pool. I did not join them, but had fun taking pictures with a sweatshirt on.

Jessica, Kristen and Lucy playing in the hot shower out in the backyard.
Brothers...what more can I say?

Disneyland Day 1. Just the three of us.

Can you tell me why over half of our pictures, Lucy is making this "CHEEEESE" face?

This is Lucy, so excited to go on her first roller coaster!
This is Lucy afterwards...Tyler said that as they went up the big hill she had her hands above her head and was saying 'weeeee,' but as soon as they started going down she got in this position and remained there for the entire ride.

No, I am not trying to stick out my gut. I'm just leaning against Pluto's house.

This was the best! Lucy is usually so afraid of characters, but she just ran right up to Mickey, sat down and smiled. She was SO in love!
I know I am putting a lot of candid shots up, but I love it when you can see the sheer excitement of a child! It makes everything worth it!

This ended up being our favorite ride. I don't know if you can tell, but Lucy is belly laughing in this picture, and did so the entire time. She loved driving the car and crashing it up against the sides of the track. Mommy and daddy got a little sick, but again, it was worth it to hear her so happy!
I see you mommy!

Teaching Lucy how to shoot. She was actually pretty good with daddy helping her aim.

Disneyland Day 2: The Hornibrook Family

Hornibrook Planning Session (this picture made me laugh out loud)"L" is for Lucy. Isn't she adorable!

We posed with Cars characters while the adults went on Sorin'. I got my turn later:)
We are going through a bit of a sunglasses stage. She can't be in the car right now without them. Cute, but a little much if you ask me.

As good as it gets when trying to take a picture of 5 little girls.

The girls just LOVE their grandparents!Yes, I chose to wear a poncho for the rafting ride. Everyone else was wet on a not so warm day. I was happy with my choice! The rest of this day is on my first California post.

Rainy Days

2010-05-22T20:32:00.003-06:00

It has been a rather productive day. I got the June budget underway, balanced all of our accounts, went to REI for new BOB double jogging stroller and went to Home Depot for glue/caulk to fix our toilet. I have also been working on Primary organization, I unpacked two boxes of random home decor stuff (yes I know we have lived in our house for 10 months), and we just finished eating a nice homemade BBQ dinner.

I started to organize the shelves above my computer when Tyler and Lucy went outside. It is raining so I got curious as to what they were up to after about 20 minutes. Isn't this a beautiful site! They went on a really long jog together today and now they are playing outside. I would say they are just talking and using their imaginations, but what you can't see in this picture is Tyler's ipad. Well, at least it is quality time together right? I think it is adorable they love each other so much! I also love the time I get to be productive without someone on my heels every second. It is a win-win situation for sure!

California (Part 1 of 2)

2010-04-23T22:16:00.003-06:00

All the Hornibrooks went down to California at the end of last week for Tyler's Great-Grandma Rote's funeral. She was just a month shy of her 103rd birthday. I only had the opportunity to visit with her twice since we've been married, but she was a strong, confident and great lady! Her funeral was beautiful. I have pictures, but they are on my other Sim card so the first half of our trip is for another blog.

Here are some of our pictures from the 2nd day we went to Disneyland with Tyler's family. The first day it was just the three of us, those pictures are for another blog as well.

Family in front of the Castle

It rained on us for a couple of hours...Lucy slept right through it.

The boys pushing the strollers. They are all a little too tall if you ask me.

Lucy waiting in line (all lines were pretty short).

You asked for pictures of my tummy. Here I am at 32 weeks.

We loved Dumbo

Lucy enjoying one of her favorite rides yet again. We had to take turns so we didn't get so dizzy.

Spectacular Fireworks!

Cookie Lovers

2010-04-12T22:24:00.003-06:00

I am a fan of cookies. Even more than cookies, I love cookie dough. So it was no surprise that when we were over at my parents house yesterday for Sunday dinner, Lucy kept asking her Mama Cindy for some cookie dough. She truly is my daughter! She was given a cookie, but no dough. Today was no different. Lucy kept asking for cookie dough. When a girl has got a craving you have got to help her out. So tonight after we cleaned her playroom we made cookies. You can see that Lucy got her fix. It is too bad I didn't think to feed her dinner first because she hardly touched it after eating so much dough. Ooops. Without Tyler in town, we can eat dessert first right?!!

We stayed in our jammies all day. My mom keeps a spare pare at her house, so we used them last night before we drove home. She stared out the day with the matching bottoms, but we changed after nap time. She wanted to wear the dinosaur shirt so bad, why not?!!

I got 6 pictures of this girl, all with her eyes closed. She makes this cheesy face for the camera and it translates to this (see below). Tyler has our Nikon this week and I miss it dearly! I can get 3 pictures in for every one with my simple point and shoot. Sigh...

P90X

2010-04-09T12:51:00.004-06:00

Tyler has been doing P90X for over a month now (90-day program) where he works out at home instead of the gym. Usually workouts are done at 5:15 in the morning, but about 2x a week (including Saturday) Tyler does it after dinner. Lucy LOVES to 'workout with daddy.' Often times she even begs to workout after Tyler walks in the door. She'll go to the closet and get out the mats and start to set them up. It is beyond cute that she wants to be with her daddy so badly.

Below is the warm-up...she even works out with attitude.

Let's just say that after the warm-up and stretching is completed, Lucy is more seeking the attention of her daddy than an actual workout. Mommy is doing dishes at this point so I don't feel sorry for Tyler's 29 added pounds at all!

Little Bundle

2010-01-21T00:03:00.004-07:00

So if you live anywhere near me, you have been watching my tummy grow and grow and grow. This is not because I have been putting on weight. I in fact only have a net gain of 1 pound. I feel really bad for waiting so long to tell everyone, especially for not calling a few of you to tell you we are having another baby. You know who you are and I so wanted to tell you before I blasted it on the Internet. But let's face it, a second child is not as thrilling to tell everyone about as the first. Your life doesn't change quite as drastically and you get fatter a whole lot sooner. None the less, I am sorry for not sharing sooner.

16 weeks

(almost 4 weeks ago)

(no make-up)

Unlike when we got pregnant with Lucy, we really tried for #2. We were so excited to be pregnant and to have our family continue to grow. I love being Lucy's mom and can't wait to have another of God's precious children in my loving care. I have been especially grateful after watching all the news of Haiti and the orphan's there, to be able to bring this child into a stable home. It has really made me think about all the things I can be doing here at home to raise children who will have a desire to do all the can for others. To serve missions, teach, share their Christlike example, show kindness, become wonderful parents themselves, get educated and so much more. There are million things I can be doing and I know this sounds weird, but having a family of 4 is part of what is motivating me to get my act together; become more Christlike myself.

I have always envisioned what my life would be like when I grew up. What kind of husband I would have, what kind of home I would keep and what kind of mother I would be. I got married to a wonderful man, we had Lucy, moved home to Oregon, bought a house, but until I got pregnant this time around, it didn't occur to me that I am not the person I always dreamed I would be. I have all the things I wanted, but am not living up to my own expectations. Granted I am a perfectionist by nature so the vision I have for myself in my mind is a lofty goal. The problem is I am no where near where I want to be. So now that I am not spending all day being sick, I am trying so hard to become the wife, mother and homemaker that I envisioned all those years ago. I think it is amazing that it took this wonderfully active child in my tummy to realize my reality and set me on the right course. God sure knows what we need and when we need it. I hope I can continue to grow and to become the woman I know I can be. The woman I know I have to be in order to live my best life and live up to my true potential as a daughter/loving servant of God.

San Francisco

2010-01-20T23:46:00.003-07:00

For Christmas this year I was spoiled rotten! One of the presents Tyler got me was a trip to San Francisco to see Wicked. It was so much fun to get away and enjoy so quality time together.

Wicked was absolutely amazing! I had never seen it before so Tyler got me the CD's for Christmas and I listened to them non-stop until the show. I also read a good portion of the book but I wouldn't recommend that to many. I am not even going to finish because the play was so much better and so different from the book, in a good way. If you want to read the book, just don't try to compare the two and be prepared to either skip some pages or ignore a few of the rather inappropriate situations. The play I would recommend to EVERYONE! I love musicals and plays and this is one of my new favorites. I would have turned around and watched it again the very next night!

We also got the chance to do a little site seeing. Behind us is Alcatraz which I was wanting to explore, but apparently you have to buy your tickets in advanced and have a day to spare. Maybe next time.

Then just for fun, because what are vacations for, we decided to tour the Jelly Belly Factory. It was actually really interesting and a rather tasty treat.

'Boops' and the Chef Hat

2009-12-09T23:15:00.005-07:00

Sometimes we get something we just love. It becomes our favorite thing! In the case of a child, they may want to wear this new found favorite item ALL THE TIME!

Mama Cindy got Lucy a chef hat (among other kitchen necessities) for her birthday back in September. The moment she got it she wanted the hat on. For weeks Lu would wear her hat around the house. It would be a fight to get her to take it off for naps and leaving the house.

'Boops' are a different story. (And yes in front of Lucy we ALWAYS say 'boops' because we don't want her to stop with the cute baby words). They haven't fizzled out and it has been months. I was noticing today that she won't be able to wear them for all that much longer as they are now her size. Anyone have any advice for a child who grows out of something they love?

The other day Lucy had on cute navy shoes to go with her outfit. Then she saw me put on my brown boots to leave and she freaked out that she couldn't wear her 'boops' too. We had to change her clothes and shoes because I am such a pushover of a mother! To church I usually stand my ground though, no 'boops' unless you are wearing a dress that they actually work with.

Side note: below is Lucy in timeout. Most kids hate time out. Why did I have to have the child that actually loves it and does things that will let her visit that corner? One time her cousin was over spending a few days with us and I sent him to timeout. Lucy cried and cried because I would not let her go to a corner for time out too. What is wrong with my child? Counting doesn't work either because she gets excited and starts to count with us. Sigh...

She asked for the leash I swear! And the no clothing in timeout and below? She didn't want to put her dress back on and it was warm so I said heck with it. Plus, isn't it kind of cute?

Pumpkin Patch

2009-12-07T16:51:00.002-07:00

So I know I am in the wrong season, but my stister wanted to see new pictures and my mom wanted the first thing you see on my blog not to be about grandpa's funeral. I haven't uploaded pictures in awhile and never posted about Halloween.

One Saturday in October we went with the Battles' to several pumpkin patches around our area. We found one that not only had pumpkins, but had games, food, hay rides and a kiddy play place. It was a lot of fun and we found some great pumpkins. We carved pumpkins that night, but those are on my other camera that I haven't taken the pictures off yet. Maybe in a few months I will remember to show off our masterful pumpkins (oh you just wait, they really were awesome).

Getting ready to go on the hay ride The best family photo we could get

Lucy being very picky about what pumpkin she wanted

My two loves weighing our pumpkin choices. Aren't they both adorable!

Grandpa Hansen's Funeral

2009-11-07T17:19:00.005-07:00

M. Keith Hansen's Funeral
Date: Friday, November 13, 2007
Place:
Mt. Hood Stake Center
12300 SE 312th
Boring, OR
Viewing: 9-10:25
Funeral: 11:00

Grandpa M. Keith Hansen

2009-11-05T11:54:00.003-07:00

So two nights ago, November 3rd, I got a call from my parents at 10:00 letting me know that my Grandpa died. WHAT? We had a family dinner on Sunday and he wasn't there because he was vacationing in Hawaii. How could he possible be dead. We aren't sure what happened yet, but he was scuba diving with his wife Becky's son-in-law in Hawaii when something obviously went wrong.

You have to understand that my Grandpa was in great shape. He is the Stake Patriarch, they were planning on going on a mission pretty soon here and he was healthy enough to be scuba diving. He was only 76.

My Grandpa was such a wonderful man. I thought for sure he would live into at least his late 90's. How am I supposed to deal with a death that comes out of the blue? When both my grandma's died, we knew it was coming. We prepared ourselves, said our 'I love yous' and 'goodbye's.' But I didn't get to say goodbye to Grandpa Hansen. I left a message on his home phone Sunday, he is never going to hear it. It is so hard to think Lucy isn't going to grow up with 3 of my 4 grandparents. They were there my whole life, to support me and be my role models.

I don't think I quite get what happened, it hasn't hit me totally yet. But I do know I am sick, it is my birthday and I want my Grandpa. I am such a baby but it seems that sometimes life hits you hard and it can be a bit much to deal with.

I love you Grandpa and I will miss you more than you know! Thank you for being so wonderful and please say hello to Grandma for me!

By Baby is 2

2009-09-23T16:49:00.003-06:00

I can't believe I have a two-year-old! It is just crazy. I miss the days when she was a cute chubby little baby that would let me hold her in her arms. Look at her cheeks in the picture above, she was so stinkin' adorable. She is even cuter now, but in a drama queen sort of way.

Want to know something funny about having a two-year-old? Well two days after her birthday I had someone tell me that it was time to get working on another one. Really? I thought that would be so predictable that nobody would mention it, but it actually happened anyway. More comments have been made this past week than the whole previous year about having another child.

Right now Lucy is playing right next to me with her purse slung over her shoulder and talking away to her baby. Two minutes ago she tapped on my shoulder and said "My baby got hurt and cry mommy." This morning she talked about crying for the first time when I went into get her. She had been fake crying, stopping as soon as I opened the door, then looked at me and said "Ucy cry mommy, I cry," as she demonstrated where her tears were with both of her hands. She is a crack up for sure.

We went to the doctor yesterday and she had 3 different nurses and the doctor comment on how well she talked for a two-year-old. I told one of them that talking wasn't the problem, it is keeping quiet we were working on. Here are by baby's stats:

36" tall - 90%

27lbs 2oz - 50%

Lucy is tall and thin. My mom had me get my doctor's records out last night to compare Lucy to me at that age. I was a little bit shorter, and a little bit fatter. Go figure.

(I am now wearing her purse and holding her baby over my shoulder and keeping there with my chin. Oh the things we do as mothers)

I need to upload all my pictures because so much has happened that I want to blog about, but want the corresponding pictures to make it better. Pictures make every post better in my opinion. So coming up are posts about Lucy's Backyardigans Party, our new playroom and her first day of Ballet.

09.09.09

2009-09-09T23:32:00.005-06:00

Last week was a tough one. We all spent a little time being sick. Lucy got it first on Sunday, Tuesday it was slow in coming, but I ended up going from feeling faint and nauseated to loving the toilet bowl by the end of the day. Tyler was on a business trip in Boise and spent the entire time in his bathroom, poor guy. He so got it the worse. Here is a picture of Lucy being pathetically sick on the couch. I think she looked adorably angelic with no energy!

(Whoever says these leashes are mean doesn't know what they are talking about. Does Lucy look like she hates it?)

Okay I know it is Wednesday, but I have been meaning to get online and blog about my weekend. I had so much fun with Tyler being home and us having his attention! Plus, we all felt so much better after being sick that week. Friday afternoon we went to the Oregon State Fair to meet up with a bunch of friends from work. Later that night we finally went to ride some rides (we promised Lucy a ride on the carousal) only to find out she was and inch or so too short. Come on, how in the heck could she hurt herself? Needless to say we did not have a happy camper so we had to distract her with the fish pond where she got a lovely turtle that she now totes around the house. She was happy and forgot all about the fish she won earlier from a duck pond!

After the fair we stopped by to play games with Jon and Amanda until almost 2 in the morning. I was so tired the next day, but Lucy slept in till after 9 which couldn't have worked out better.

Saturday Tyler spent the day working on Lucy's birthday present with his dad. We are giving the room above the garage a makeover with a full fledged stage and curtains. Look at the almost finished product below. You couldn't tell they are related or anything right?You should see it now, BEAUTIFUL! I spent the day cutting and sewing curtains. I am not done yet as I am figuring out how to sew as I go. Around five or so we a break to watch the BYU game...what a wonderful way to round out the day huh?!! Go Cougars!

On Sunday I ended up making a cake (Amanda made the frosting) and we went over to celebrate my wonderful mother-in-laws birthday. I feel so blessed to have someone so wonderful in my life. I hear all these horror stories of in-laws, but I feel so lucky to have gained another set of wonderful role models who are complete assets to my life! Happy Birthday Ane!

Monday, Labor Day, was anything but a rest from our labors. I made two trips to Lowe's and spent the entire day painting and taping off the play room. Tyler helped by painting most of the first coat of blue on the ceiling. Can you believe it took 1 1/2 gallons of paint for the first coat? I am in shock! We decided the playroom is bigger than we thought. I haven't started on the second coat or the yellow walls. One step at a time right?

MY BABY TURNS 2 ON SUNDAY. I THINK I AM GOING TO DIE OR SOMETHING BECAUSE SHE IS MY BABY, NOT A TODDLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grandma Bernice's Birthday

2009-08-31T21:41:00.003-06:00

On June 3rd we celebrated my grandma's birthday by spending a day in the Columbia River Gorge. We drove up the Scenic Highway and it was more beautiful than I remember. We stopped at all the hot spots like Crown Point (picture below).Multnomah Falls

the dam

We also went to the fish hatchery, which who knew there were fish that were over 7' long. We had a picnic with some awesome fried chicken my mom made in honor of my grandma, she made the very best! It was the best picnic right down to the table cloth and yummy lemonade (mom you thought of everything).

I have actually been thinking about my grandma so much lately, I have never missed a single person more in my life! I have to cry just thinking about her, we are coming up on a year without her with us. Tyler reminds me that I am so lucky to have had her so close to me all these years. How lucky I was to have a grandma that was such a wonderful, kind and hilarius person to help shape me into the woman I am. I feel so blessed, but at the same time I want her in my life still. I want Lucy to know her and it makes me so sad to think how much she would have loved to have seen Lucy grow up. To hold her so tight. Grandma always said that Lucy felt so good in her arms.

I miss her and want her back, but how thankful I am to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. To know that I will be with her again. It helps, but it still makes me cry to not to be able to play games with her (oh the memories), or to call her about the latest thing Lucy said or did (she would have loved and looked forward to the frequent calls). I can't tell you how many times I have thought, 'oh I should call grandma,' only to realize that she won't be picking up the phone any time soon. I don't undertand why it hasn't totally registered in my brain that she is no longer with us. I still feel the pain in my heart, I wish it would just go away!

Sunny Summer

2009-08-31T20:52:00.003-06:00

Me and Lucy have had so much fun this summer. It is amazing what you can do with a toddler. We have enjoyed everything from Disney World and multiple trips to the Oregon Coast, to the duck pond across the street, the Zoo, parks, our back deck, OMSI, playgrounds and so much more.
Just today we were at Bridgeport before dropping Tyler off at the airport. As a family we ate great food outside, got a balloon and watched Lucy play on the play structure. The simple pleasures of a child! I have almost as much fun as she does while watching how much fun a little pebble on the ground can be. Why can't adult life be that simplistic? I believe I need to get back the basics. I need to think more about my child than I do myself. Take care of my self yes, but do more for her and Tyler than I currently do. I have a NEED to see her smiling face and hear her cute giggle a whole lot more!

Mom's getaway

2009-08-31T18:49:00.004-06:00

So two weeks ago I got a little mommy getaway. It was wonderful! I left on my own Thursday night to San Diego and was met by my lovely, pregnant friends Beth and Carla. We stayed up till after 4 talking. I haven't stayed up that late in forever! We talked about our time as roommates and all the fun we had. By the end of the weekend we concluded that while we LOVED our single life of 'seduction,' chick flicks and shopping for ourselves, we so wouldn't go back. Being married is so much better for us at this point in time. But if you are still single, live up the life for sure!

We got together for Kristen's wedding and boy was she a blushing bride. I have never seen her so girly and gorgeous! We were able to spend her last night as a single woman with her and had so much fun, and yes, more memories were shared.

Have any of you ever been to a busy day of weddings at the Las Angeles temple? Oh my goodness was that an experience. There were 15 weddings that day, but I swear they all happened at the same time. We had to wait HOURS for Kristen and Matt's names to be announced on the back stairs to make their first appearance as husband and wife. But don't worry, we made the best of our time. We would judge the brides maids dresses and guess what kind of girl picked it out. We even waited for one more bride to come out after Kristen because we had to see the girl that hated her best friends. I so wish I had taken a picture of the hot pink bondage strips that made the skinny girls look fat. We weren't disappointed with the bride, she was as we imagined:)

I came home Sunday night and was so happy to see my hubby and adorable angel Lucy. I feel trips away from them make me be a better wife and mom.

Oh, and I chopped off my hair right before I went. I love it, but think I will go even shorter next time. Tyler finally realized that I look better with a short bob than long hair that I never cared to blow dry. Now it's 4 minutes from wet to styled. What more can a mom ask for? (sometimes a wet pony tail but I am dealing)

Hornibrook Updates

2009-08-03T18:54:00.004-06:00

1. We signed our lives away a couple of weeks ago and got the keys to our first home. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

2. Our family and ward helped us move in Saturday and our house is full of boxes. I don't remember purchasing this much stuff, but I am happy we for sure have enough room for it all in our home!

3. Today I had one of these baby's visit my house.

To make a really long story short, I went to take the trash out into our garage and the door locked behind me. With wet hair and no make up or shoes on, I knocked on neighbors doors, broke a few screens, cried a lot, prayed a lot on my knees in my back yard, tracked a lady down at the park across the street and called 911. 3 men came to my rescue--my hero's for sure! Lucy was oblivious of the situation as she slept away in her crib.

This was just as bad as the time I let Lucy hold the keys to our car as I strapped her into the car seat. I shut the door and went to put her stroller in the back and heard that dreaded locking sound. While it was a super hot car and by then end she had turned red and was rather wet, she thought it was a funny game. Lucy kept pushing the lock button over and over again making the car honk for everyone to enjoy, but never once pushed the unlock button. My mom and I sang her songs and played peek-a-boo with her through the windows till AAA came to our rescue. It seems all these unnecessary and very scary things happen to me, but I PROMISE I learn from my mistakes.

Moral of the story is don't lock yourself out, or let your child lock you out of the house or car.

4. Tyler has been working so hard and has only spent two nights in our new house. Fortunately my dad took him and my brother Dane to a golf school/camp this week in Arizona. Tyler called today and said his game has improved already and he is having a great time. The camp goes through Thursday and my lover deserves every minute of it to take a break from the stresses of work. (even though he has to work on his computer and make calls all night to manage his territory, he gets to relax and do something he loves during the day).

5. In less than two weeks I get to go see some of my very best girlfriends in California for Kristen's wedding. I am so so so excited to see them and have a girls weekend!

COLORS

2009-07-20T18:17:00.004-06:00

I have been working on colors for a month or so with Lucy. Most everything we talk about has a color involved. "This book is blue" or "Find the purple two," but it never seemed to help her get the concept. The other day at IKEA I was buckling Lu into her car seat and she kept saying 'yellow, buuu' over and over again. I couldn't really understand her but she was quite persistent as she pointed and said it over and over again. Finally I looked to see what she was pointing at and it was the building. The 'Yellow and Blue' building, all of the sudden her words became very clear. I was so happy and exclaimed how proud of her I was. Ever since our experience last Thursday, EVERYTHING has a color involved. She knows Purple, Yellow, Blue, Green, Red and Orange quite well.

Today Lucy was eating Fruit Loops and she had to tell me the colors of each one before it went in her mouth. My excitement in the colors has worn off, but it still makes me a proud mom to know that when I talk about things long enough, it all pays off. One day the information just clicks in their little brains and it is a wonderful thing. I am absolutely amazed how much their brain resembles a sponge, soaking up everything around them!

Escape Artist

2009-07-16T15:26:00.002-06:00

This morning Lucy woke up at 7:30, which today was a little early for me (I'm still tired from staying up till after 4 two nights ago). So I went in and laid her back down with a pacifier, blanket and bunny. This usually keeps her happy for an hour to an hour and a half whether she goes back to sleep or just reads in her crib. She's such a happy little girl, I feel rather lucky it works more often than not. Around 8 I heard her whining so I got up to start our day. I walked down the hall and opened Lucy's door and was shocked to say the very least. I hit Lucy with the door. That's right, I hit my child, not softly mind you, with her bedroom door. Somehow that little girl of mine got out of her crib and was at the door waiting for me to come get her. WHAT? There isn't even any furniture close enough to her crib for her to climb on. Are her muscles really that strong? I have heard of lots of mom's saying their kids escape, but I never thought it would happen with me, at least not with Lucy.
So there you have it, I have an escape artist on my hands and have no clue where to go from here. I am SO not ready to have her in a big girls bed. I like having her contained in her crib. But now that she can possibly get out (it may have been a fluke), she could really get hurt in the process.
If you want to know my deepest feelings on the subject, I am not ready for her to grow up. I tried the potty training thing and she's ready, but I'm not. I read somewhere that it is a child's first step to really growing up. And then to have to put her in a real bed, what does she think she is doing to me? She is only 22 months old, that is not a big girl yet, it is still a baby in my book. How do I get this through her head? Sigh...

The Half-Blood Prince

2009-07-15T13:43:00.003-06:00

What were you doing at 12:01 this morning? I happened to be clapping away as the theater went dark and my good friend Harry was soon to appear on the big screen. Ever since I saw 'Yes Man' I have wanted to go to some kind of fanatic party. I really wanted to be totally decked out for the Harry Potter midnight showing, but I had to settle for the glasses and a eyeliner scar drawn by my mother.
We got to the theater 2 1/2 hours early and went strait in (shocking). We scored some great seats and began our waiting. Amy downed 1 1/2 ginormous diet cokes and had to go to the bathroom 3 times, once 20 minutes into the movie. We made a friend sitting next to us (she had been there for hours before us), downed many calories of junk and got super excited for the show to begin.

(my stissy with her coke straw wand)

My brilliant sister also won the Harry Potter trivia game at the front of the movie theater. She answered questions only a Harry Potter freak would know. Like the words for certain spells, who knows that crap? Anyway, she won tickets which she forgot to pick up. I was super enthusiastic the whole time, yelling things like 'that's my sister.' I got lots of strange looks, but hey, I was wearing Harry Potter glasses and an eyeliner scar, I deserved it!

Let's just say that Harry did not disappoint. The movie was actually fantastic, and because I haven't read the book in years, I didn't catch all the differences. I did notice certain huge omissions, but they didn't bother me as much as they did Amy. But overall, we both loved it and will for sure be seeing it again soon.

What did disappoint were the lack of Harry Potter enthusiasts. I did see about a dozen or so fully dressed fans, but that was it! Some puffy painted t-shirts or Hogwarts ties/scarfs and such, but really, where were all the full fledged freaks? I wanted my picture with them because secretly I want to be just like them (for a night only)!

November 2010 can't come soon enough!

Coldplay

2009-07-14T15:24:00.004-06:00

Last Friday, thanks to a good friend, me and Tyler got to spend the evening enjoying the music of Coldplay. We went to their Viva la Vida concert and honestly had such a good time! First off, Chris Martin is not only an amazing singer, but it is a treat to watch him preform. He put on a good show, interacted with the crowd and showed more enthusiasm than is seen by most artists. We loved it!

I tried to get a few clips of the show, but I just had my little camera so the footage and sound aren't real good. Their were dozes of those yellow balloons flying around and Chris kept hitting the ones that would fly up on stage with his guitar and tons of confetti would fly out. It was awesome to watch!

If you like their music even a little bit, they would be a good band to see in concert!

On a different note, Lucy LOVES getting her picture taken. She hasn't always been like this, but over the last two months she can't get enough. She will say some form of the word picture, then 'cheeeeeeessse' (you can tell that is what she is saying out loud in this picture), then look at the picture taken and say 'aaahhhh cute.' It is then back to wanting to take another picture. Here is one of the 25+ I snapped last week. She looks so homely, but I still think she is adorable!

Potty Training Advice

2009-07-07T00:12:00.003-06:00

So if you have been around Lucy recently, you may have noticed that any time someone mentions the bathroom or potty, she gets so excited and wants to go potty too. This consists of her sitting down on the toilet (lid down), getting toilet paper, wiping herself, getting off the toilet seat, opening the lid, throwing in the toilet paper, flushing the toilet and saying "bye bye pee pee." She does this all with very very little help on my part. SO...I have decided that i would take the opportunity to try to potty train her.

I went out today and got her a seat to put over our toilet, a step stool, fun soap and pull-ups. I already have the treats. I am not very excited about this because she is not even 22 months old yet but how can I pass up all the interest she is showing? I was planning on starting this process at 2 1/2.

Any tips from you moms? I know nothing, so any advice will help!

Three Years

2009-07-01T18:34:00.005-06:00

Happy Anniversary Lover

I told you already, but it never hurts to say it again, I love you! You make me so happy and I love knowing we will always be together! Thanks for being the best husband a girl could ever ask for! Thank you for being a wonderful provider, a good daddy to Lucy, patient, forgiving, understanding, motivational, my best friend, and the hottest man alive!

---------------------------------------------------

For Journaling Purposes:

July 2nd Tyler took me out for our anniversary. It was actually one of the best nights we have had together in such a long time. He works so much which means he is gone most nights of the week in various locations. This week he left on Sunday to Boise and comes home on Thursday night, only to drive to Grants Pass on Friday.

Mark and Ane watched Lucy over night which is always the best treat! Our date started out at See's Chocolates where we picked out a pound of chocolates (mostly key lime). Tyler then took me to the Pearl District in Portland because the 3rd anniversary is the year of the pearl or leather because of the marriages durability. We ate at Friteli's which has amazing Italian food. It was different, but a good kind of different. I highly recommend it. Then it was '1st Thursday' which is where every 1st Thursday of the month, a few streets are closed off in the Pearl District and local artists gather to sell their work. There is such a wide variety of things like paintings, photography, furniture, bags, jewelery, wire art, blown glass, wood work, you name it and it was there! And boy did it have a very Portland feel. I felt rather preppy walking down the street. But we had so much fun listening to the local music artists and Tyler bought me a pearl ring.

We then rented a movie at a movie store which is a big deal for us Red Box fans. Can you believe they still charge 4.99 for a new release? I am wondering when those stores will go out of business! Anyway, it was nice to have more choices. We chose the one about they guy who invented the intermittent wipers, I forgot the name. The movie was okay. But I loved the chocolates and had a wonderful time with my sweetheart. We slept till 10 the next day which was so nice. The whole date reminded me once again why I fell in love with Tyler to begin with. He is such a wonderful husband and my very best friend!

I Love to See the Temple

2009-06-28T15:39:00.005-06:00

During the last General Conference Elder Gary E. Stevenson's talk, Sacred Homes, Sacred Temples, really touched me. The whole thing was wonderful! I won't give you a recap because most of you are LDS and have access to the transcript, but I will share the parts that I can't get through without the Spirit touching my heart (translation: tears in my eyes).

Elder Stevenson talked about how President Monson counseled, "As we touch the temple the temple will touch us." How we need to take our small children to the temple grounds and let them actually touch the temple. In two weeks our primary is going to go to the temple together. Not all come from the best of circumstances and opportunities like this are new to them. I can't wait to share my testimony with them on the beautiful temple grounds. I can't wait to let them touch the temple, let them feel the power of the Spirit, and recognize the sacredness of the holy building.

How blessed we are to have such a Holy place only 30 minutes away. I feel even more blessed to know that our homes are the only places that compare to our temples. My home growing up always felt different from most of my friends homes. I always thought it was because it was mine, you always feel more comfortable in your own home. But now I know that it was the Spirit that made the difference. My mom worked so hard to make our home a holy place. I want to have Lucy and Tyler feel the same way.

I don't know why I always feel it is a burden to do the laundry, make dinner, tidy up, or vacuum the house for the 7th day in a row. I should feel honored as a woman, as the nurturer and homemaker of our family, I get to make our home a temple, a home for our Savior. I have the responsibility to make our home a place where our Lord will feel welcome and comfortable. A place where our family can feel the Holy Ghost present. A place where we can learn and grow together in ways that will lead us back to our Savior Jesus Christ. I want nothing more than to have my whole family together in the eternities, living in the presence of God. At this moment, I can't think of a better job in the whole world than to do whatever I can to not only make our home 'special,' but to make it a place to teach our children the gospel.

Mom, thank you so much for being such a great example. I have always known you were superwoman, time only makes this more and more clear to me. You worked so hard, day after day to make our home clean, a place of refuge. A place where the Spirit wanted to be. Then you used this to your advantage and you and dad taught me the gospel there. I don't know where I would be without that knowledge and blessing of the gospel. Of the temple. Thank you for being so diligent in fulfilling your sacred duties on this earth. Mother I love you and owe you everything! In return, I will try my hardest to follow your example and raise your grandchildren in a clean and loving home, teaching them the gospel.

"No no no no!"

2009-06-26T17:02:00.003-06:00

The other day I was cleaning up in our front room when I heard "no no no no, (pause), no no no no, (another pause), no no no no,...." well you get the picture. The little voice was coming from the kitchen so I thought I would go check it out.
I found Lucy pointing to each drawing on the cabinets/fridge and saying no. Apparently this is what I sounded like two weeks ago when she had made the art pieces. I tried to get her to do it again (saying no, not making more art) after I grabbed my camera but it didn't quite do it justice.

Happy Daddy Day

2009-06-22T00:16:00.003-06:00

"Happy Daddy Day" is what we taught Lucy to say this morning.

I just wanted to give a shout out to the fantastic dad's in my life. I have pretty much the best dad ever! I also have the best father-in-law a girl could ever ask for! And did I mention that my husband is an amazing dad as well? Then there are my two grandpa's who did a phenomenal job raising my parents and were my second & third (in no particular order) dad's growing up.

How did I get so lucky to have all the best dad's in the world in my life?

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Overreaction

2009-06-18T12:09:00.003-06:00

I have been known to overreact before I have all the facts. I actually do it on a regular basis. Everything from losing my keys (still in my purse and not hanging up where they should be) to running late for Church and freaking out because I can't find Lucy's shoes (already set them out the night before so of course they wouldn't be in her shoe drawer). There are bigger examples, but I am trying to let you know that it is a common occurrence in the Hornibrook Home.
I just wanted to let everyone know that according to Tyler, I overreacted about our closing costs. Yesterday we got everything all sorted out, quite easily mind you. Since I am new to the home buying process, I had no clue they added in your down payment to the bottom of the 'good faith estimate.' It was a sheet all about closing costs and never once mentions the down payment. I am just happy I was wrong and they were right about how much we needed to have at closing! Can you imagine what was going through my head though, having to pay the down payment amount twice, plus closing costs? So we are happy and excited to get the inspection tomorrow. July 15th is still looking pretty good!

Holy Cow

2009-06-16T20:17:00.002-06:00

This evening we received the first of the 'million papers' to sign that I was talking about earlier. All I can say is "ouch," that hurts! If you have ever bought a house, did you gasp when you saw the closing costs? Seriously, way more than our down payment? I have spent the last few hours doing everything I can to find more money in our budget. I have called and canceled our cable, made a list of clothing to return where the tags are still on (why I always buy things that sit in my closet I don't know), and moved everything around that I could to find some wiggle room. I have changed the Father's Day gift I had planned on and made a list of meals I can make using the food in our pantry. My friend is getting married in August, and while I am still planning on finding a way to go, I can't buy my tickets until this all gets sorted out. Any other ideas you can think of to find more money in our budget?
Really anything may help! We are going to try to talk down the closing costs because even my parents, whose house was a lot more, didn't have to pay this much. Really wish us luck sorting out this whole process! We hope their is a mistake, even our realtor doesn't think it looks right and is making us call tomorrow for a second opinion. And if by chance it is right, we can kiss our dream home goodbye! I probably should have waited to post my last entry online. I would take it off but I haven't lost hope quite yet! This is my journal as well as my blog right?!!

EXCITING NEWS!!!

2009-06-16T15:06:00.003-06:00

On July 15th we will be getting the keys to

OUR FIRST HOME!

That's right, just an hour or so ago we accepted a counter offer on the most beautiful home! We have been looking for awhile and we found the perfect place to make memories in! It was love at first sight. I mean look at the pictures, how could you not like this house?

Above is the front of the house. It is on a corner lot heading into a flat cultasac.This picture is of the side of the house...don't you just love the wrap around front porch? Can we say a beautiful porch swing is in our future? And to make the porch more enjoyable...

this is what we will be looking at on the said swing. This is Orchard Lake and is directly across the street. All Lucy ever talks about anymore are the 'ducks' at the lake. There is a path that goes around the lake and about 30+ ducks that are not by any means afraid of people. There are also geese but these are even more scary (as tall as Lu) than the beloved ducks. While she can't stop saying "duck, duck, duck, touch duck," when they come near she is not a happy camper. Kids are funny aren't they?

So while there are still a million papers to sign and an inspection and all that, I couldn't keep it in. I am way too excited. Pray nothing goes wrong okay?!!

The house is in Damascus and will be in our same ward. The ward boundaries are HUGE! We hear the schools are excellent (Oregon Trail Elementary, Sunrise Middle School, and Clackamas High School). It is just 5 minutes off the 205, 15 minutes from my parents, and about 20 minutes from Tyler's parents. How perfect can it get? I will keep you posted and take more pictures of the inside. It has 3 bedrooms, an office, a big play room over the garage (my favorite part of the house), a dining room/living room area, family room and a fenced in backyard.

I am so excited!!!

Disney World

2009-06-09T16:17:00.006-06:00

We had an AMAZING vacation as a family. It was so much fun to spend a whole week with those you love most. Thanks mom and dad for making it happen! The Hansen Family
Dad, Lucy, Mom, Amy, Tyler, me, Ashleigh, Dane, Rafe, and Berkley down in front.

My two loves!

Lucy playing outside of Minnie Mouse's house. She is now obsessed with Mickey and Minnie. All I hear every morning is "ma mouse ha house peese" over and over again. Translation: "Mickey Mouse Club House Please."

Toon Town

Yet another Dumbo like ride. Lucy loved every one of them!

Getting ready to ride the train at Magic Kingdom, "choo choo" goes the train.

Lucy is showing us her instrument. There were all these African drummer guys teaching all the kids (and adults) different beats, then we all played them together. It was actually a ton of fun!

Getting ready to go into the coolest 3D show I have seen. It is a bugs life show at Animal Kingdom. Go if you ever get the chance! Stylin' boys! Don't you love the face my dad is making:)

At Epcot

We love Crush from Nemo!

In front of the Everest ride at Animal Kingdom. Way cool ride. In my opinion it is one of the best in the Disney theme parks.

Grandpa trying to get Lucy to look at the camera:)

Lucy inside Bruce's mouth after the Finding Nemo ride at Epcot.

Making the most of Florida rain/thunder storm!

The ride ended...poor Lucy!

Lucy saying "moooooo" like a cow.

Lucy's favorite, Dumbo.

After the firework show.

Lucy at the Dallas airport. How smart it is to have a kids place to play!

One of 'those' days

2009-06-09T16:06:00.002-06:00

Today I am having one of those days that I don't feel like doing a thing. Even TV seems like to much work. I don't feel like taking a nap, eating, taking a shower, cleaning, helping my hubby out (he really needs me to wash the whites and update his website), reading to Lu or even making food for her. I just plain don't feel like doing anything! I hate these days and wish they didn't exist! The sad thing is I think it might be a pretty day out. I haven't opened the blinds (it is 3, how sad is that) but see sun coming in through the slats. I feel so bad for Lucy on these days which makes me feel even worse.
On a different note, yesterday we found out that we didn't get the house we had an offer on. It was such a beautiful house, very private, big, one story (except the apartment over the garage) and a great investment. I am sure my Ward will be really happy since we just found out the YW president got a house and is moving out July 1st. It would be hard to fill two of the auxiliary presidents in one month--glad I could help out!
I will try to post some pictures now. The only ones I have uploaded on my computer are from Disney World, so I will work on Costa Rica and Utah pictures a different day when finding my other camera is on my list of things to do.

VACATIONS

2009-05-13T14:51:00.002-06:00

I am in the most magical place on earth...Disney World. Last week Tyler and I went to Costa Rica and had an amazing time together! The week before that me and Lucy went with my mom to Utah to Amy's graduation. Can you believe my little sister graduated from college?
Anyway, I have tons of picture to share but haven't uploaded them onto a computer. But be prepared to see me having a blast!

Cute Cousins!

2009-04-20T14:30:00.004-06:00

A couple of weekends ago Dane and Ashleigh (my bro and sis-in-law) dropped off Rafe and their adorable little Berkley. Tyler decided it would be fun to do a video. When we asked Rafe if he wanted to have a dance party he replied by saying "yeah, brake dancing!" What a cutie! Here is the finished product...thanks Tyler for putting it together!

Thoughts

2009-04-18T22:17:00.002-06:00

So as the cloudy skys turn a little brighter here in Oregon, Lucy and I have been spending more time outside. Now we live in an apartment complex that has a play area for kids. I have come to realize even more than I did before that I am no longer in the happy valley of Utah. The other day I had to ask some guys (looked like they ranged from age 9 to 12ish) to watch their language. Lucy is like a sponge and the last thing I want is her to cuss at random people. Then yesterday as we played at our apartment play structure I noticed I was not just the only married mom, but I was the only mom that was a non-smoker too. We stayed for over two hours so I watched many come and go, but it seemed they all took turns going and standing off in a distance smoking. They would say things to their kids like "not now, mommy is smoking." I had to laugh to myself when Lucy walked a little too close to one of the moms who was smoking and Lucy started to cough. She couldn't stop and I should have been getting so upset with the girl for letting Lu breath her second hand smoke, but instead I thought to myself 'good job Lucy. Way to make her feel bad for her bad habbits!' That is mean of me...I am just so happy I am not addicted to anything that could hurt my child in any way.
Another thing happened at the play ground the other day. One of the moms of a two-year-old boy (young, single, got fired for a DUI and lives with her mom) made me realize one of my new biggest pet peeves. Her son is two right...she talks to him like he is two weeks old. I am not kidding. I could understand his words more than I could hers. I don't mind baby talk to babies, they say the higher pitches are actually good to use on infants. I totally did this with Lucy all the time. But when a child is learning to talk, teach him the correct way to say things and stop treating them like babies. I don't know how I can understand her little boy as well as I can to be honest!
I am not trying to make this a negative post, but I just have some things that have bugged me this week. Such as how some people should just keep their mouths shut. That would include me too! I shouldn't judge these mom's for getting pregnant and having a baby on their own as teenagers, I don't know their situation at all! I also shouldn't judge them for smoking or using annoying baby voices to their kids who can talk in full sentences. Well today I babysat a couple of kids. When the mother came back to pick them up she made a comment about how I still gave Lucy a bottle. It wasn't mean, but it was very unnecessary. She acted as if she were so shocked, like nobody should ever give their 19-month-old a bottle. Then she found out I still warmed them up for her...her eyes got big and she laughed and said "that is so funny that you do that." BIG DEAL!!!! I feel there are a lot worse things in life than giving my kid a bottle. Yes, I should probably start 'thinking' about weaning her off, but seriously, it's not a big deal. Not only is it not a big deal, but it is absolutely none of her business. We all have different parenting styles. We all make decisions on when to do what (stop breast feeding, stop the bottle, pacifier, potty training, etc,.). Every child is so different and it isn't our place to judge.
I am done. Those were the things I needed to get off my chest. Now I just need to wait for my hubby to get home so I can go to sleep :)
Too bad the Blazers are down by so much!

I'm Back

2009-04-11T12:11:00.005-06:00

So usually when someone doesn't blog for a substantial period of time it means there is a new baby cooking in the oven. I'm sorry to say that isn't the reason at all. In fact, I don't have a good reason for not blogging for two months. I feel so out of the loop because not only have I not blogged on my own, but I have only viewed ONE blog in the past two months as well. Well Tyler looked at one the other day and I did look at that one too with him. Anyway, I have been getting nagged at from every level possible that I need to post more pictures of Lulu.. Problem is, I haven't really taken that many pictures either. Tyler decided he likes the camera and takes it while he travels. And my little camera I keep in my purse ran out of battery and I haven't charged it yet. Lame I know! Here's the thing. I have actually been quite productive lately. I have gotten really organized and kind of left everything I used to do behind. This isn't really a good thing on all levels, but sometimes turning on my computer seems like a waste of time. When it is on I have to check my email, updated blogs, baby articles and of course any Yahoo news articles that catch my eye. Then I like to look at sales at my favorite stores, my bank accounts, new recipes, good books and the list goes on and on. I am simply more productive when my computer is off.

But I am going to try to have a more balanced life and have moderation in all things. In that attempt I will try to blog on a more regular basis without getting caught up in everything else on the Internet.

MARCH UPDATE

So it seems a lot happened in March. It started out with our friends Eric and Tamera coming out for a job interview at LHFP. While they were here Tyler and I had a few firsts. We went to the Portland City Grill (way overrated!) and to Voodoo doughnut. Okay that place is WEIRD! You pull up to this huge bush shaped as a person with spears stabbed into it like a voodoo doll. Then you walk in and start to understand just how liberal that place is. It was fun/interesting, but was a once in a lifetime experience for us. I knew there were some odd named doughnuts, but when they start looking like parts of the male body and you have two very immature boys with you who insist on buying those particular doughnuts and then taking pictures out front with them-I start to get a little embarrassed. But I do have a confession, they were pretty good!

With the Battles we also took a day trip to the coast. We went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, a beautiful lighthouse and then drove up the coast to Cannon Beach and ate at a great little place called JP's. It was a little more chilly than expected so Lucy ended up having to wear my extra sweatshirt I packed which resulted in a major nose dive into the pavement. Lulu scraped up her face pretty bad. It made me so sad to see my baby cry and to know it was my fault!

Other things that happened in March were Tyler continued to EXCEL at his job and the area he manages was number one in the company for the month. I am so proud of him. I rearranged our apartment to make it look bigger. I am now sitting in my bedroom to type this instead of our front room. Let's see, I made three binders in an effort to get more organized. I get a lot of magazines and I cut things that I like out of them. So I made a house binder where I have things I like for our future house, I have a parenting binder where there is everything from development articles and fun snacks to things to do on a rainy day. That is my favorite binder I made. The last one I made took the most effort because I had to sew the sheet protectors and measure them like crazy, but I made a coupon binder. My mom showed me how and I spent two days making it happen. I am proud of this one, now I just need to use the coupons I cut out, I am so bad at remembering that!

My best friend Chelsea from High School was in town and we got together. She is thinking about moving here after she finishes up her masters in Alabama and I couldn't be more excited! We dropped by our friend Diane's house too to see her new little baby who is absolutely adorable. The following week I ran into another high school friend, Mandy, at Costco. We ran into each other again at the gym and were able to meet each others husbands this time. It is weird seeing all these old friends but so much fun too!

In March we spent most weekends with my brother and sister-in-law Jon and Amanda playing games. I like board games and they have a ton of them. So I learned how to play three new games: Race for the Galaxy, Pandemic and Dominion. They sound weird but we have so much fun playing them along side Amanda's new ice cream maker:)

Lets see...I got a gym pass, decided I still like working out and then Lucy decided she was scared to death of the Kids Club after only 5 or 6 visits. I need to fix this somehow because I am determined to get into shape this time! I even got a personal trainer and then decided I HATE having someone tell me what to do and push me harder than I want. So I skipped out on my last session and will never have one of those again. He was good, but I like doing things on my own even if it does take longer to get the results I want. I now feel for those people on the Biggest Loser!

Lucy also had her first Chuck E Cheeses experience and decided she loves it there (almost as much as Tyler).
Okay I know I have done a ton more but this is getting long and I can't remember everything at the moment. But hopefully I will get into blogging on a more regular basis so I don't have to write a book to catch up.

Until then...

A Beautiful Day

2009-02-15T18:25:00.004-07:00

Today after church I couldn't resist the beautiful day and both of my loves looking great!

So Funny!

2009-02-13T15:50:00.002-07:00

Okay, you have to watch this speech given by the best man at this wedding. It was sent to Tyler and because it is my wonderful lovers birthday, I thought I would make the post for him. Not that he cares, but it is an excuse. It is so dang funny!I can't find it on YouTube or anything, so follow this link, you won't be sorry!
http://www.freakybestmanspeech.com/

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY TYLER!!!!!!!!

Make-up Help!

2009-02-08T18:19:00.003-07:00

Products I love:

Mac for my eyes and cheeks

Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara

Chapstick

Products I would love to replace:

Cinique Super Balanced Make-up & Clinique compact powder

I have been sporting the same face make-up since the 7th grade. I am now 25 and feel I need something a little more age appropriate. Sure I could just go to a random make-up counter at the mall and they could sell me on what they think their best product is, but I don't even know what brand to choose. This is where you come in.

What can you tell me about face make-up you love?

Here's the deal, I go 6 out of 7 days a week without wearing the stuff because I hate it when I can feel it on my face. So I need something that feels like I have nothing on. Has anyone use bare minerals? I also want one with sunscreen, mine currently doesn't have it which is a major no no, I know!

And do most people use bronzer? I probably have the fairest skin out of everyone who could possibly read this blog, but I don't use a bronzer. I don't want my face, neck and chest to all be a different color.

I sound ridiculous I know, being a woman I should know more about make-up. But if any of you have any advice, lay it on me.

Thanks!

My Lover Tyler

2009-02-04T01:10:00.003-07:00

On my blog I usually only talk about Lucy, but I wanted to share a little about my wonderful hubby Tyler. And because a blog post just isn’t the same without a picture, here is one of us from back in 2002. I can’t believe how much time has passed! When Tyler found out about his new/current position at work, he told me there would be a lot of travel involved. I thought, ‘well if anyone can handle that it would be me because my dad traveled a lot while I was growing up.’ Well let me tell you, it is so different to have your dad traveling and away from home then a husband. I have so much more respect for my mom when she had to deal with us kids and sleep alone all those nights. I HATE Tyler being away from us. I feel so alone in the world and start to freak myself out about someone breaking in or something. (Last night I put our couch in front of our locked front door). I would say I am getting used to it, but I think the proper language here would be I am becoming more tolerant of it. He is working so hard and doesn’t like being away from us either, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices to get ahead in life. That is exactly what my lover is doing for us. I need to remember this, but it is so dang hard!

Well last night was a particularly hard night for me. Tyler and I discussed some deeper things on the phone and I wanted nothing more than to cuddle with him as I fell asleep. I really needed him there by my side. So I spent all day today being sad and feeling sorry for myself—sorry to say this isn’t really a new thing. I put my little Lucy down early tonight (we have both been sick) and turned on the TV. Around 6:30 I heard a light knock on the door and was kicking myself for having the volume up on the TV because I didn’t want to answer it. I didn’t and ignored it. Then the knock came again. I looked at my outfit, PJ’s from last night, then felt my unshowered hair and thought, ‘heck no!’ I thought it was the boys from upstairs asking if they could “Jam.” I figured if I ignored them they would think I left the TV on and was gone. I would rather listen to the loud drums and guitars then answer the door. Then a third knock came and was rather loud. I ran to my bathroom and grabbed a pony tail holder, put up my hair, moved the couch out of the way and opened the door. It was Tyler with a big bouquet of flowers and dinner.

He came home two days early from his trip. I was so excited and honestly, he being there was the best surprise ever! I love that he knows exactly what I need, tolerates it, and loves me anyway. It is amazing how I ended up with someone so perfect for me. He means everything to me and I have no clue what I would do without him! So we spent the evening together and I laid in bed with him for 40 minutes till I knew he was asleep, and knew I wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep (those mid-day naps will kill you) which brings me to right now. I know he can’t always come running home when I need him, but just knowing that he cared enough to do it means the world!
Thank you Tyler for loving me unconditionally!

Beautiful Locks!

2009-01-19T19:16:00.003-07:00

My baby has locks long enough to put in cute little pig tails. I am one happy mommy right now! I am now wishing I hadn't cut the back of her hair twice already because I know I could have played around with it a lot sooner. Oh well I suppose it was worth it for Lucy to avoid the baby mullet!

Scrapbooking

2009-01-13T18:23:00.001-07:00

For those of you who know me well, know I have been trying to start digital scrapbooking for the last year and a half. I want to do it so badly but am so dumb when it comes to Photoshop and computers in general. So I am trying out quickpages. It still took me over an hour to do this, and all I had to do was add the pictures. Like I said, I have issues with computers. But here it is, my first, almost home made, scrapbook page. What do you think?

My New Toy

2008-12-31T00:42:00.004-07:00

We all survived the Arctic Blast '08 here in the Northwest! I used some of your ideas to keep me and Lucy sane, Lacey your fort idea was the winner!

Well Lucy got spoiled this Christmas from us and her grandparents! She got more noise making toys...they make her happy so we tune them out. Her favorite toy however was from Santa, a baby doll and stroller. She played by herself for over an hour Christmas day with her new doll and stroller, what more could a mommy ask for for Christmas?

I did get some great things myself including an all expense paid trip to Orlando in May, food storage, and a new Shark Steam Mop. But me and Tyler's favorite Christmas present was the one to each other, a Nikon D60. We have taken more pictures then we can count. We have watched some tutorials and are so excited to learn how to take some awesome pictures. We are going to make photography our new hobby to share. A date we are looking forward to is going downtown Portland and taking pictures. Besides the doll that makes Lu so happy, a present to bring Tyler and I closer together while documenting our wonderful lives together, is one you can't put a price tag on!

Here are some of our favorites we have taken so far of our beautiful blue-eyed baby...

This last picture is of my new niece, Berkley Janet, Born Christmas day. Isn't she beautiful!!!

Picture Tag

2008-12-16T22:08:00.004-07:00

Okay I am catching up on a million things thanks to the snow, hubby out of town and a sleeping toddler. I realized Kassie tagged me forever ago and I thought I would play now.
This is my forth picture in my fourth file. I was so happy it was a cute one! This is last Christmas when I was trying to get Lucy out of her Christmas dress and slip. I love poofy dresses on little girls. This slip beat them all!

Cabin Fever!

2008-12-16T20:59:00.004-07:00

I am trapped in my own home all because it snowed a few inches on Sunday. Coming from living in Idaho and Utah this should be nothing right? Wrong! When it snows in Portland the whole dang city shuts down. This was so cool as a kid, but not now! Church on Sunday was canceled and many of the main roads and highways closed. When they opened back up chains were required. The chain requirements have been lifted and the wind calmed down a bit today, but ice covers almost every road in the area. School is canceled in our district tomorrow for the third day in a row. This should be no big deal but I am going CRAZY!
Tyler had to take my car because it has 4WD-he is out of town and will be using it for through Friday. It hasn't gotten out of the 20's since Sunday. We are supposed to have another snow storm tomorrow, Wednesday, and snow and ice on Sunday. Those dang weather guys said this Arctic blast is on the forecast for as long as they can see. HELP ME!!!
I know I am a stay-at-home mom, but never do I actually stay at home multiple days in a row. We get out and do things. How am I supposed to entertain this girl inside all day? If she were older we could play more games or do real activities. If she were younger she wouldn't care if we didn't leave the house. If you have ideas PLEASE let me know! I have given more baths, read more books, and played Ring Around the Rosie more times then I can count (she just learned how to play that game on Saturday and won't let us forget). I have looked online at many Websites to see what I could do. We have done many of the things but lets face it, games at this age last only minutes, I have hours!

Love that Duck!

2008-12-11T15:00:00.003-07:00

Lucy was given a big yellow duck a couple of months ago. She sort of played with it now and then, but the other day she fell in love! She has been carrying the duck around the house and loving it as much as a 15-month-old girl can. She hugs it, drags it, sits on it, kisses it, and then does it all over again. I had to post some pictures because I think it is so funny how kids get attached to random things. Thanks Linda!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T16:52:00.004-07:00

I wanted to take this time to write a list of all the things I am thankful for, but decorating a Christmas tree sounds like more fun. So I will just tell you that I love my husband and little lulu and don't know where I would be today without them. They both bring such joy to my life and make it complete.

These pictures were taken before Halloween, but old pictures are better than no pictures. I wish my camera were fixed!!!

This first picture is of Lucy scowling. She has found it gets quite the reaction from people and likes to make it often. She laughs afterwards and then goes back into a scowl. She also does it when she is mad. What a personality this one has!

Now off to the pumpkin patch we go, (scowl and all)!

Still Alive

2008-11-16T00:01:00.003-07:00

I have had a few friends email me to see if I was still alive and kicking, if Lucy still had a mommy. The answer is yes.
We are moved into a little (and I mean little) two-bedroom apartment in Clackamas, OR. We are mostly unpacked with pictures on the wall. We have changed our phone numbers so we could have 503 area codes and we also got a home phone line. I got super paranoid when we had a babysitter in Utah and I didn't have a home phone for her to dial 911 if something went wrong. Anyway, I don't want to give it out online, but I will text my new digits shortly. I will also send out an email with all the info in it. I am a little slow I know. I have had a new number for 2 1/2 weeks now and keep wondering why nobody is calling. It is a little hard when only your mom and hubby have you number. So I apologize for being impossible to get a hold of. Yes I had a great birthday and the move when smoothly! I have mostly cleaned out my inbox and have the Internet up and running. I have only checked like two blogs so I am not up to date on your lives, but getting there.
My camera is broken so no pictures, but the newest news is as follows:

Eric (my brother-in-law) just got home from his mission in Indiana on Monday
Lucy is running
Lucy is even a bigger drama queen
Tyler started his new job as a regional manager for Lincoln Heritage
We LOVE being so close to family!
Lucy carries on conversations with herself all day long. She doesn't really use real words anymore, (except 'mama' over and over when she wants something and 'baby' when she sees a picture of any little kid). She babbles as though she is asking questions, making comments, amazed that something happened or disappointed. It is something everyone should hear sooner or later. I should post a video. The other day in the kitchen Tyler asked me in a disgusted voice if she was going to talk this much when she actually can say real words. Were crossing our fingers that it slows down a bit. However, right now though it is absolutely adorable!!!!

I think that sums up our lives at the moment. Just trying to get organized. I am also fighting this yucky cold right now so breathing is a chore! I will be better and try to get my camera fixed soon.

99 Balloons

2008-10-28T18:47:00.003-06:00

I just watched Oprah to see Kendra and Maliyah and found it to be a very inspirational hour! It was all on miracle children. The most touching thing was a video entitled '99 Balloons' found on YouTube. It is about this little baby boy named Eliot. Grab a tissue and click the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

It changed the way I view my time with Lucy, and how I spend my days.

Tough Times

2008-10-28T15:54:00.004-06:00

Tyler's extended family has been through a lot in the past couple of years. Today his cousin's kids are going to be on Oprah once again as the nation has been watching the miricles unfold in their lives. Prayers are still in order for Kendra and Malyiah, but the two once conjoined, are adjusting to life apart. I have had the opportunity to meet these girls and you wouldn't believe they love and happiness that radiate from them. They are absolutely adorable and love life to its fullest! Aren't they so cute in this picture making funny faces?!!You can read more about their current situation and look at lots of fun pictures on their families website http://www.herrintwins.com/ or watch Oprah today.

Another of Tyler's cousins, Marley whom I absolutely love, has a 13-year-old boy Luc who has been fighting cancer for years. He is currently undergoing chemo, once again, in hopes to keep the tumor from surrounding his lungs, airway and spine. Their community in Eagle Mountain, UT is throwing a huge yard/bake sale at one of the local schools in order to raise money for the struggling family. There is an article you can read from the Deseret News on their situation if you would like more deatils or want to know how to donate. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705258501,00.html And please, keep Luc in your prayers!

I should be sleeping...

2008-10-24T01:37:00.003-06:00

So I should be fast asleep right now seeing as how it is 12:45a.m. but here I am on the Internet. I sat down a little after 9:30 and am still here, what is wrong with me? At first I was being productive and searching, once again, for apartments to move into next week. That has been a process that is more than I bargained for. My mom and I went and looked for about 5 hours the other day at places I had found online and I didn't like any of them. Maybe I should stop being so picky. So after looking at apartments I got side tracked with Good Reads and then my email and now blogs. The Internet can be an addicting thing if you let it. I am going to regret staying up so late when that little alarm clock of mine gives me a wake up call first thing in the morning. Too bad she didn't come with a snooze button.

I have been posting without pictures too much lately, so here's a picture I stole off Kassie's blog who stole it from Loraleigh's. Next time I will bring my own camera ladies! For those of you who don't know the girls in the pic, these are my wonderful Provo Craft work buddies. I was the first of the five to have a baby, but in six weeks time Kassie will put herself on the map of motherhood. It was so fun to have girls at the same stage of life as me and to talk about our prego bodies and such. I miss you girls and am already planning my next trip to see Story after her debut-probably next spring!

Up Close and Personal

2008-10-17T01:48:00.003-06:00

So take a look at this photo. No, I did not get this off the Internet and no, I did not use a zoom. Tonight I went to see Celine Dion at the Rose Garden and literally scored the best seats in the house!

An old friend of mine, Erin, works for the Rose Garden and every once in awhile gets free tickets for the 300 level seating to give to friends and family. She gave my mom some tickets (along with a bunch of other ward members) and she invited me and Ashleigh. When we got there I heard my name and some ward friends said they got great seats from 'a lady with a clipboard.' So my pregnant sister-in-law ran around, me trailing behind, and found the 'lady with the clipboard.' Apparently they didn't sell out and needed to fill the seats around the stage to make it look full. So we traded in our tickets for some in the 100 level. Little did we know where we would be. Can you believe it? The girls behind us paid $125 for their tickets and we got our completely free. My mom and some of her friends weren't as lucky and stuck with their original tickets. But they said they had fun watching us on the big screen. So Cool! It was an AMAZING concert! She is a great performer and in case you were wondering, her hands are very soft!!!!

Zoo Fun

2008-10-17T01:16:00.003-06:00

Monday after my grandma’s passing, me and my stistor Amy who was in town for the funeral, Lucy and my grandpa all went to the Oregon Zoo. Lucy couldn’t take her eyes off the animals! She pointed at and talked to all of them. The picture below is of my little on looking at the birds that pooped on her a few seconds later. I suppose that is what you get for staring!

Grandma's Funeral

2008-10-16T18:59:00.001-06:00

I never wrote anything about my Grandma Bernice's funeral. It was such a beautiful memorial service. My dad spoke and my mom summarized my grandmother’s life. Both of them did a wonderful job! I thought I had heard every story there was to know about my grandma, I was wrong and laughed through the whole thing! It wouldn't be my grandma's life if we weren't crying from laughing so hard.
Funerals are funny. While you are so sad about the passing of your loved one, it is an opportunity to get together with family. I had a great time the last week of grandma's life, and after her passing reminiscing and laughing with my family. Nancy did a good job making light of the situation. My favorite thing had to be when my mom and Nan told the story about how my grandma used to play dead when they were little. All the neighbor kids would drag her around the house, open up her eyelids and such trying to wake her up. The game stopped when grandma couldn't hold in her laughter anymore. So Nancy kept telling grandma to get up and would pry her eyelids open as if she were playing dead again. That might sound like a horrible thing unless you are part of my family. Tyler always tells me that we joke around and deal with things a little differently than most.Above: All my family (except Tyler who had to take a flight out right after the service to get back to work). Below: Peyton, Nancy, Amy, Jessica, and Morgan.
Lucy kept picking up Jessica's purse and putting over her shoulder. She is a shopper in training!

Oregon- our new home

2008-10-16T18:56:00.003-06:00

I am back from Utah and am so happy to finally be actively looking for a place to live in my home state. No more living with family members, we will get to use our own furniture and décor to make ourselves at home. We took this picture yesterday. Aren’t the reds in the trees beautiful? We were driving away from our house and couldn't help but stop to take a picture.I am going to post a few different entries right now because I am a little behind on blogging. Some of them go way back, but I use my blog kind of like a journal so I can’t just not share.

Back in Utah

2008-10-12T20:24:00.004-06:00

So I spent the end of August and all of September in Oregon living with my parents. Tyler has been in Utah but with everything going on in my family, and the way our contract worked out, it worked best for Tyler to travel back to Oregon to visit us when he could. But I have been in Utah with him for the past two weeks and it is so nice to have a hubby again! He works most of the time, but it is nice to fall asleep with someone else in the bed with me. Also, it makes me feel better to know that my hubby is eating real meals.

The past two Saturday's we walked a mile or so to McDonald's for breakfast. They have the coolest playground thing--a major upgrade from when I was a kid for sure! Tyler tried teaching Lucy how to play basketball...maybe in a year she will understand the concept a little better!

Who knew a slide could be so scary?!!

My little Lucy is growing up so fast! She is 13 months old now and seems to do or say something new daily. We went for her 12 month checkup the other day and here are the stats--23 lbs 2 oz (60%) and 31 3/4" (off the carts--apparently they say that's in the 100 percentile). So I no longer have the fat baby, but the strangely tall baby. Anyway you look at it, I have the perfect baby!

She can walk but chooses to crawl. The most steps she has taken at one time is between 15-20 (I lost count). She can say more words all the time. The most frequently spoken are not 'ma ma' or 'da da' but rather 'pee-ee' (Peaty is Tyler's Aunt and Uncle's dog, we are staying with them), 'sky,' 'ow' (meaning ouch, as she gets hurt or as she is hitting/hurting me), and of course 'hi' and 'bye' with a wave. I feel like she is so smart, nobody tell me otherwise either because I choose to believe that she is the smartest one-year-old out there!!!!

She loves giving kisses which melt my heart! My cousin Jessica got the most perfect picture of her puckering up for a kiss. I will try to get it to share because she is a crack up. I now second guess how I kiss because she had to learn how to pucker up and make the mmmmwwwaa sound from someone. Oops!

A Wonderful Woman!

2008-09-24T17:13:00.005-06:00

I wrote very long journal entry last night. Most of it is too personal to share, but here is the first paragraph to describe, in essence, what happened.

September 23, 2008
Today was a difficult day to say the very least. At 7:10 p.m. I was holding my Grandmothers hand as she passed from this world. It was a sacred moment for me, a happy moment where she wouldn't be in any more pain, but an awfully sad moment to realize I no longer have my Grandmother here on earth. She looked so peaceful as she her body relaxed, like a huge burden had been lifted. I know she was met by a big crowd, her parents and baby girl included, on the other side. She lived a good life and was a wonderful woman who will be a Goddess in the Celestial Kingdom with her loving eternal companion, my Grandpa Rulon.

The funeral is on Monday at 11:00 a.m. Tyler is Flying into PDX Friday to be with me and be a pallbearer. I want to blog more about this, but honestly I am too drained, emotionally and physically, to do so right now. I just thought I needed to do something so you would all know.

2008-09-20T20:40:00.002-06:00

I am not ignoring blogging, I just have a lot going on in my family right now. I don't want to go into too many details, but hospice is taking care of my grandma in her home. I love her so much and don't know who I would be if it weren't for my grandma. I have so many feelings about the subject, but I am off to rent a movie to watch for my grandpa's 78th birthday. My grandma first knew she liked my grandpa when they were at the drive-in in Texas watching Charley's Aunt. She said they laughed at the same parts and she thought he was so cute. My cousin Jessica and I called a bunch of stores and finally found one that carried it in downtown Portland, so we are off to drive the 30 minutes to pick up a movie.

My Baby is ONE!

2008-09-15T18:42:00.004-06:00

Saturday, September 13th was my baby's first birthday. I can hardly express the way I feel except that I am way too young to have a baby that old! I will share more of my feelings, Lucy's new abilities and many more pictures, but for now, here is a photo that describes Lucy in a nut shell!
Thanks for capturing the moment so well Ashleigh!

August Updates

2008-08-28T21:24:00.007-06:00

So it has been a little while since I really have written anything of value on my blog. This past month has been beyond crazy, to say the very least! It has been cram packed full of events and stress, but it is calming down drastically!

So I get to brag for a minute, but only because I am so proud of my hubby! On the 15th Tyler officially GRADUATED from BYU's Marriott School of Business. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments! It is a top 10 business school and he worked so hard to stay on academic scholarship the entire time. He took is schooling seriously (for the most part, or rather the classes he cared about) and is finally done and ready for the next chapter in our lives. I must admit that I am excited for it too. To have a steady income and all that sounds rather appealing if you ask me! This picture is of the college grad and his best friend Eric who came to cheer Tyler on.Lots of other stuff has happened, but I don't really want to focus on it so I will just give you an update of pictures of my darling little Lulu. She has seen a lot of her extended family this month and is loving every minute of it!!!

The first three pictures below were taken at the Children's Museum in Portland. I met Amanda and Heather and their kids on Monday and we spent hours watching (chasing) all our kids. Lucy couldn't walk of course but loved to follow the 'big girls' lead and crawled quickly behind. Jessica, Heathers oldest, cracked me up the whole day. She kept dressing up in different outfits in the theatre, or going over to different things in the museum, posing, and saying 'I think we should take a picture of this.' She is adorable, can't you can tell it was her idea to take the picture below!
Unlike my little Lulu, Aimee was so good to always look at the camera. I think I have about 50 pictures of the back or side of Lucy's head from this occasion alone. She gets so caught up in what is going on that she doesn't seem to even care there is a camera around despite how hard her mother tried. Obviously she doesn't get this from her mother!
What a little goofball smile she has with a passy in her mouth!
This picture is the best! Rafe and Lucy were playing so nicely together while us girls were packing up Dane & Ashleigh's home. We asked Rafe to put his arm around Lucy and smile for the camera and this is what I got. All I can say is priceless!

Week Review in Pictures

2008-08-04T23:01:00.004-06:00

This is my lazy approach to blogging this week. Enjoy the pictures of my two loves!

Oregon Vacation

2008-07-24T15:23:00.005-06:00

We were planning on going to Echo lake in Montana with the rest of the Hansen's this week but we had a little change of plans. My grandma had a heart attack last week and my mom wanted to stay close by. So we all packed up and came to Oregon instead.

We drove all day Friday and have had cram packed days ever since. Some of the highlights have been seeing Batman at the IMAX. Oh my goodness amazing! Apparently they used special cameras during all the action scenes, (pretty much the whole movie) and it really made the movie come to life. It was a great movie, one of the best action movies I have seen in a long time! I think Heath Ledger really peaked in his performance, it is a real shame he is no longer with us to share his great talents. His character was so creepy that it makes me wonder if playing this part had something to do with his depression. Anyway, it was a movie worth seeing!

Sunday Dane and Ashleigh came up from Salem and we had dinner. Afterwards we hurried out to Sherwood to eat Dessert with Tyler's family.

Another highlight was the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. It rarely disappoints and this seemed to be like an especially good year! My hubby Tyler who hates shopping even managed to rack up a bill of his own! A much larger bill than me I might add!

Yesterday we went out to the river with some friends. I haven't been on a tube ride in forever, but I had fun hogging the tube with both my stissy and Tyler.

Lucy sure enjoyed the boat rides and especially the sand. As you can tell from the picture below, she maybe like the sand a little too much.

This morning I went to the driving range with Tyler. I decided that I am not very good at golf! I got frustrated half way through my balls, so I sat down and watched Tyler swing. He is getting pretty good-especially when you compare him to me!

Warm Sensation

2008-07-13T14:13:00.003-06:00

I am pretty good about staying for all three meetings at church. Even if this means walking the halls for one of them, I am hanging around hoping Lu will want to go in and play quietly. Today was a different story!
So I am sitting in Sunday School and Lucy is actually sitting in my lap playing quietly with some finger puppets. With only twenty minutes to go I feel something super warm on my lap. I didn't realize what this warm sensation was till I felt it running down my leg and into my shoe. SHE PEED ON ME! It went straight through her diaper and onto her lovely mother. Tyler handed me a diaper wipe but the damage had been done.
I changed her diaper (it was mostly dry-go figure) and tried to walk around and let the pee on my dress dry off so I could go to RS. I finally gave up on my underwear and slip drying too and Lu and I walked home.
Sad Day!

Laughing Lulu!

2008-07-10T22:33:00.004-06:00

Amy babysat Lu yesterday while Tyler and I went out to dinner with his sales manager. When I got back Amy showed me these videos and I have watched them a ton of times since. Isn't my little girl the cutest thing you have ever seen?! Oh she has a personality for sure, part of that is my happy little angel you see here.

Independence Day

2008-07-07T08:44:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend as a family! Friday morning Tyler went and played 18 holes of golf while Lucy and I went to the parade. To our surprise, Tyler joined us. When he did he said that it was trying to find a needle in a haystack. I asked him why he didn't call us to see where we were sitting- apparently I had missed 8 calls. I suppose it is hard to hear with all the bands and fire/police sirens going non-stop.

The three of us had a very enjoyable BBQ lunch and of course made my mother-in-laws green pepper chip dip. Then came the best part of our day...a nice long nap for the three of us. It was that kind of paralyzing sleep where you couldn't get up even if you tried. Lucy slept for three hours, so we did too. It was lazy but yet, so rewarding!

(Two photos below: I had to add these because they make me laugh. The first, Lucy's hair blowing in the wind. Where did those fluffy duck feathers come from? The second photo you can totally tell Lu is in her element! She loves the feel of the wind/fan on her face!)

It was a good thing we got some extra sleep because at 5 we when to Rock Canyon Park to watch the firework show from the Stadium of Fire and because of traffic, didn't get back home till after 12. The fireworks didn't start till around 10:30 so we staked out our spots with blankets and chairs and headed off to Boarders to please my two loves. Tyler got a golf book and Lu got 'Baby Cakes.' The book I wanted was there but I had already looked it up on Amazon and a new copy was still 10 buck cheaper online after shipping. So I opted to wait.

Then it was back to the park to wait. Lucy loved being outside for such a long period of time. There were so many people there for her to watch, she was in her own little heaven.

It was a great show and we had perfect spots. Unfortuantly, Lulu wasn't quite able to stay awake.

It's My Anniversary

2008-07-01T10:50:00.005-06:00

Two years ago I was married and sealed for time and all eternity to the man of my dreams. A lot has happened in two years, but my feelings for Tyler only get stronger with time.

Another very important date, one of the most important in my life, happened just short of six years ago. This is when Lacey and Jessica introduced me to Tyler in the back of the chapel after church in Rexberg. I thought he was cute and wanted to get to know him a whole lot better right away. Of course he was dating someone else, but that didn’t stop me from trying to get his attention. It worked and we started dating shortly after. We clicked right away and before long, I felt I was in love. I believe it was a form of love, stronger than I had ever felt up until that time in my life, but it is amazing how much that love has grown throughout our years together.

(Photo: First time we every actually hung out. We spent the whole day together making a fort, walking to Papa Kelsey's for Pizza, watching a movie in our fort and just laughing and having a great time together and with friends)

I am so happy we rekindled our love for one another after Tyler’s mission. Although what a great opportunity I had to grow during our time apart. I was able to date a whole lot of other people and discover that he was the only person that seemed to complete me as a person. With Tyler I wasn’t afraid of commitment like so many of you know I have had issues with in the past. When I was with him, it was the only thing that seemed to make any sense at all. Ironically enough, choosing to marry Tyler was an easier decision for me to make than it is most days when I try to figure out what I am going to wear. I am still very very happy with my decision and can’t wait for our many years together as a couple and as a growing family.

(Photo: First time we hung out after Tyler's mission. I was dating someone else at the time but Tyler drove to Utah and we spent most of the day together with friends. We saw a Real Salt Lake soccer game, a fire works show and tried to catch up on our two years apart. We didn't get back together for at least six more months)

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-06-28T11:30:00.003-06:00

It seems my little Lulu can be a big help. This is usually in the form of being a good girl while I am trying to get the house clean, or a meal prepared. She has been very interested in the laundry lately and enjoys sitting in the basket while throw the clothes at her-she actually thinks it is quite funny.
On a different note, Lucy is quite the opposite of a helper, but I love her all the same! I am not sure what attracts Lu to the garbage can, but it seems to be her favorite toy in the house.

Dang It!

2008-06-22T00:31:00.003-06:00

So I just spent a bunch of time redoing my family and friends lists to show the last time they updated it right on my blog. I finished that and wasn't ready to go to bed so I decided I wanted to change my template too. I had NO CLUE it erased all your pictures on the side bar as well as the links. When I realized it would do this I didn't save any of my changes and went back to the old template, but it was too late. My last hour of work was for nothing...I am going to bed a little sad.

Advice Please

2008-06-16T18:41:00.005-06:00

So I am in the midst of trying to baby proof our apartment. I have gotten pretty good at my makeshift contraptions as you can tell by the pictures. Don't you love the Bosch on the coffee table? It was the heaviest thing I could find so she couldn't pull down the blanket put into place to block our video's, cable box and DVD player. I am thinking that this little stand holding our humble TV isn't going to do for long. I need something with doors on it!

And forget a pathway through the family room...it is now a play pin!

So for all you mom's out there, what have you done to keep your mobile babies out of trouble? Are there gates that you like and ones you don't? I have plugged up all the sockets but that is about it. What else do I need to be sure to do, or will I need to do once she is walking? I didn't know this was going to be so hard to keep Lu from getting hurt. I turn my back for one second and she is standing up against the end table or couch. Without a way to get down. Kind of funny if you think about it.

Anyway, let me know whatever advice you have or have heard of to baby proof our home.

Best Babysitter Ever

2008-06-11T22:33:00.005-06:00

Aunt Amy Kay

It is so nice to have my sister around Provo for many reasons. One being that Tyler and I can have a weekly date night! For this weeks date we went to see Iron Man which I actually really enjoyed. Then we went to Sub Zero and had yummy ice cream. Have you all been there? It is almost more fun to watch them make your ice cream using liquid nitrogen than to actually eat it. You can even choose how much fat is in it-I opt for the 0% which is more like frozen yogurt than ice cream and it still tastes pretty good.

When we got home Amy helped me upload all her photo's of their adventures together onto my computer. I thought I would share some so Amy's friends at work have new pictures to look at that actually have someone in the photo besides my sweet baby. It seems that I have been putting a lot of naked baby pictures on the blog as of late, I apologize!

Here you go Amykay...thanks for being such a great stissy, sister-in-law, aunt and babysitter!

Drum Roll Please...

2008-06-11T14:50:00.001-06:00

LU LU CAN CRAWL!!!

It is actually a very very challenged crawl, but she is moving from 'Point A' to 'Point B.' I have been trying for a day now to attach a video of her on the go, but it doesn't seem to be working. At first I was so excited about this new little development, now I am not so sure.

Today I didn't quite finish getting ready before she woke up so I brought her into my bedroom and set her on the floor. I then went into our bathroom to blow dry my hair. The next thing I know there is something/someone tugging on my leg. I look down and she is smiling so big. I am sure she was just so proud of her accomplishment. I clapped along with her and then proceeded to pick her back up and put her back onto the carpet in our room. No less than a minute later I look over and she is pulling herself up on the bathtub. What am I supposed to do now? I liked those days, before yesterday, when she stayed put for the most part. She could roll around pretty good, but that took her 5x more time than crawling.

Crawling changes the world as I know it. I have to be running after her and watching her like a hawk. I have to vacuum every day (2x yesterday) because she sees every little crumb or piece of lint on the ground and tries to put it her mouth. How do mothers do it? I think about what crawling means and don't even want to think about walking. And then what, we bring more little movers into the world and have our children going in all directions at once?

I went to the park today with our ward play group. Everyone else had at least one child walking and I was amused at watching them chase their children around the playground. This will be my life before I know it.

I suppose I should just embrace the present circumstances. When I put myself aside, it is a wonderful thing for Lucy to be able to move around. Think of all the doors it opens up in her world. She has to be so excited and loving life. I can handle the extra effort for her to be so happy. And I want her to grow and progress in all areas of life. This would include crawling so I need to be happy about her new found talent!

Splish Splash

2008-06-04T19:23:00.004-06:00

Who could resist these cheeks?

Or these cheeks?

Time with Daddy

2008-05-31T17:56:00.003-06:00

So it has been a long (long in a good way) weekend. Tyler didn't have any appointments this week for work so after 2:00 on Thursday, he has been ours. It is a rare occasion when Tyler gets to spend a lot of time with us. I don't blame him as he is going to school full time, doing two independent study courses, working part-time and fulfilling his hefty church calling. There are days when he leaves before Lucy wakes up and gets home after she is in bed so he doesn't even get to kiss those lovable cheeks of hers.

We have taken advantage of his extra time and we have been to the park twice, out to eat with the Battles' and watched a few too many episodes of the final season of the West Wing (our fav. TV show despite the republicans being the bad guys). He even ran 10 miles today-unaccompanied by his wife of course.

Lucy, being a daddy's girl, has enjoyed the extra time with her daddy for sure. It amazes me how I can be with her all day long and the moment daddy walks into the room she goes crazy. It makes me smile that's for sure!

The hat is obviously daddy's influence!!!

Swinging is her new favorite activity. She laughs non-stop while in motion on the swings!

I'm thinking the slide is not on her top-ten list of things she enjoys. What do you think?

Good Friends

2008-05-20T17:09:00.002-06:00

This is a short thought, but I have been emailing my friend Kassie back and forth all day (we also went out to lunch with some of our other girlfriends). Our discussions got me thinking about the value of good girlfriends. I have been contemplating a lot about what makes a good friend, the qualities that I feel you can't go without.
I have been blessed in my life to have so many good girlfriends, and I wish I kept in better contact with most of them. (Some of you will be reading my blog and know who you are, I really do miss you!). I don't have a lot to say about it just now because Lucy is awake in her crib wondering where I am. I did however want to get out there that good friends are priceless. One of my best friends in high school gave me a scrapbook when we graduated. In it is a poem I love. It meant a lot as we were going our separate ways for college, but means something different now that I have experienced separation from good friends.

"True friends are never forgotten, they live within our hearts and souls...forever, and always, dancing on our stage of memories."

Can any of us forget our true friends, the ones that loved us no matter what we did? Whether I talk to them every week, every month, or even every year, I could never forget any of my girlfriends because of the memories we've made together. It's like I have so many different sets of friends, those from preschool though graduating high school, my first two years of college and my second two years after I switched schools. Then when college friends started moving away, and I got married, it's like I got a whole new set of friends. All are priceless in my mind. I wouldn't be who I am today without any of you, so thank you for everything!

Hawaii

2008-05-17T14:41:00.006-06:00

So I know it has been a week, but I started looking through my pictures of Hawaii and realized I didn't take hardly any at all. Tyler's parents were also on the work incentive trip, seeing as how his dad runs the company, and he took a TON of pictures. So I will post more when I get a CD of those.

The first day we went to Pearl Harbor. What a sobering experience! There was such a prideful feeling I had for not only the soldiers at Pearl Harbor, but for all our Troops, no matter when or where, that have given their service for our country. The most memorable part of this trip was the circle outside to remember all those (minus those on the Arizona) who lost their lives that day. There were quite a few civilians in Hawaii who died, one was 7 months old, the age of our little Lucy. I was glad I had sun glasses on because it topped off my emotions for the day! We spent the rest of our afternoon touring around the island and then walked the board walk in Waikiki.

Monday we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. I LOVED it!

Below Tyler and I are playing with some sticks in the New Zealand portion of the Center. It is some traditional thing they do, like the hula in hawaii, where you hit sticks together and throw them from person to person in different ways. I will have you know that during our little class, Tyler and I didn't drop our sticks once:)

After we went to several shows from the different islands within Polynesia, watched a water parade and played some fun games, Tyler and I snuck out to go see the LDS Temple. And boy was it breathtaking. The Picture doesn't do the scene justice. The sun was setting and there were beautiful clouds in the sky. Nobody was on the temple grounds which added to the peace we felt there. It was one of my highlights for the whole week!

After seeing the Temple grounds and the BYU-Hawaii grounds, we went back for the final show . It was amazing and I had to include a picture to show you all how good our seats were. Row 4 in the exact middle of the arena.

I can't remember the order of the rest of the days but we went to a Ranch to go 4 wheeling and take an off-road jeep ride. We did this at the Ranch where a bazillion movies/TV shows have been filmed such as Lost, Jurassic park, 50 First Dates, Godzilla, etc. Needless to say it was BEAUTIFUL!

One day we went Para sailing

We also went jet skiing. I will have you know that while I was driving the waverunner I threw my big-strong husband off the back. He thought I was going to be wimpy but I suppose I showed him. Oh, and you don't have to tell me how dorky I look in those goggles, but the water was so salty that they were worth the fashion faux paux.

We did a ton of other things like eat great food, shop, Tyler went surfing a few times too. But one thing I wish we did more of was just relax. I only sat out by the pool twice and once the sun wasn't out yet because it was so early. The four hour time change had us up pretty early. I suppose it was okay we didn't see too much sun by the beach or pool because if you hadn't noticed, we are pretty fair skinned.

Lastly for this post are a couple of pictures of our little Lu Lu in one of the outfits we got for her. As you can tell by the second one, she loved the skirt. I am pretty sure there are little green pieces all over our house.

The trip was great but I missed Lu entirely too much. It is hard to leave your little girl for a whole week. But as Tyler and I said to each other half way through the trip, it was a great thing that we actually looked forward to going home. She is too perfect to be away from that long!

Wait for it...

2008-05-13T22:35:00.002-06:00

So I am sorry to say that it is late and I am feeling a little under the weather, but I realized it has been weeks since I have even been on the Internet, much less updating or looking at blogs. So I thought I would let you all know that I didn't forget I had a blog and will update you on our trips to Hawaii and Portland soon. I don't know what soon means but I did the bathrooms and the laundry today so really the only big one left before I can have a few minutes for me is the grocery shopping. I have never seen such an empty fridge before so I am thinking this is going to be a chore not to be accomplished at one store. It will be a whole day event when you throw Lucy in the mix, but in the end it will be worth it!

Great Grandma

2008-04-21T11:11:00.004-06:00

I thought this picture was too good not to share with my grandma Quanstrom, Lucy's great grandma.

Grandma, you are so beautiful! I am so lucky that you lived just a couple miles away all growing up. I can't wait to move back to Oregon someday so we can just stop in and play a game or two of dominoes. Then Lucy can get to know and appreciate you and grandpa the way I do. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such wonderful loving grandparents. Thank you for always being there for me. I will see you in a week and half! :)

Girls Weekend

2008-04-13T20:54:00.005-06:00

So I just got home this evening from spending the weekend with some of my college roommates. I missed my family but had a blast! It is amazing how you can be away from good friends and when you get back together, nothing has changed (besides marriages and kids). I felt like no time had passed at all. We still had fun hanging out, staying up late talking about anything and everything, shopping, eating out and laughing a ton. I didn't realize how much I missed them!

This is not a great picture at all, I think Beth took some better ones so I will post one when I get it. Doesn't Carla look Beautiful!!! We met her new husband Kyle for the first time the day before the wedding, but from how happy Carla was, there was no doubt in my mind that he is right for her! I have known her for some time now and no boy has ever had such a wonderful influence on the way she carries herself. I am so happy for her and wish them the best of luck in their life together.