Happy Happy Birthday, Mother Dear!

Today is a very special day in the life of my family. Today is the day that a wonderful woman, known as mom to me, entered this world. I honestly believe that I have the best mom in the world. She is not only the woman that kissed my scratches and wiped away my tears but she has also been my best friend and greatest example. I have always looked up to my mom and always wanted to be just like her. I have so many memories of my mom so please indulge me as I share a few...

• Studying for hours on end with her. We would come up with funny ways to remember dates, formulas, and sequences.
• I was so afraid to go to school when I was in 7th grade. One morning my mom gave me a little trinket to put in my pocket so that every time I was afraid I could touch it and remember she loved me. It helped a lot.
• Watching her and my grandma eat avocados, drink diet coke, and talking at Sizzler.
• Laughing, Laughing, Laughing
• Being so excited for her to come and visit me in college for mothers week. I dragged her all around my tiny apartment and showed her every nook and cranny.
• Laughing
  
• Going shopping with her when I was little and walking arm in arm and feeling so lucky that she was my mom.
  
• Sneaking a sip of her diet coke out of the fridge. I have never really liked diet coke but hers always tasted good.
• Going into her room to say good night and find her sitting in bed studying her scriptures.
• Watching her kick peoples hinneys while playing racket ball and thinking, "that's my mom, she is so cool!!"
• Laughing
  
• Introducing her to Jared and having her love him from moment one.
• Spending hours and hours doing my hair.
• Watching her always taking care of all those around her and doing so with so much love.
• Talking to her about anything and every thing. Asking advice, telling stories, sharing jokes and funny experiences. I have seen it doesn't matter how far away you are if you love someone you can always feel it.
  
• Have I mentioned laughing.

I have been so blessed with a wonderful mother that has taught me more than she will ever know. I am so thankful that she not only loves me but that she loves my sweet husband and little baby as well. It has been so fun to now wear the "mommy" shoes and have a better understanding of what it feels like to love a child. It has also been such a joy to watch her wear the "grandma" shoes and hear about how much fun it is to love your child and grandchild. I love you mom and wish you the happiest of birthdays. We are all thankful for you and your example. You have taught us how to love ourselves, each other, and most importantly, the Lord. Thank you for all you are and all you have inspired us to be.

Easter is Comming

Yesterday Cade and I went out to try to find an Easter outfit. We searched all over and found a couple things that I liked but nothing that I loved. We were on our way out of Babies R Us and happened to walk by Burlington Coat Factory. I have never been in the store before so I thought that I would try it out. Once I walked in I saw a suit that I fell in love with but never thought that in a million years I would find one in Cades size. We walked to the little kid clothes and sure enough found one that is a little to big but will work with a belt. I am so excited because it is so cute. It came complete with the coat, pants, collared light blue shirt, and orange and blue tie for only $40.00. I was stoked!! As soon as we got home Jared and I put the coat and pants on Cade and laughed and giggled at how grown up he is. It is so much fun to dress little boys! We cant wait for Easter!!

Lunch Time

I normally have my own little routine for the morning which usually includes a lunch by myself. I am not going to lie, I rather enjoy eating my lunch while Cade is asleep because it allows me to eat my food and enjoy every bite instead of either rushing to finish or giving him half of what I have. Well, for some reason he woke up early from his nap yesterday and I wasn't able to squeeze lunch in before he graced me with his presence. So, once I had our lunches made I decided that we would sit down at the table together, instead of him in his high chair, and have a nice lunch. I had to add a phone book to his chair so he could reach and we began. It was actually so much fun. He jibber jabbered the whole time and I actually felt like we were having somewhat of a conversation. He was so sweet to share his PBandJ with me and in return he helped himself to my chips. He was too funny, every time he took a bite he would let out an "mmmmmmm" that came all the way from his toes. All in all we had a great lunch and more than anything I realized that my little one isn't little anymore.

A Cut Above The Rest

As you can see we have officially welcomed summer with Cade's first big boy summer hair cut. I thought a lot about buzzing him and really wanted to deep down inside because I remember my little brother always having a buzz in the summer and looking sooooo cute. However, I was very hesitant to do it because I loved his hair and actually really liked combing it because it always made me feel like he was all put together. Well, we had one of our good friends cut Jareds hair the other night and by the end of the night Jared had talked me into buzzing Cade-os hair. I thought it would be a good idea because it is so warm here that when Cade is outside for more than 5 minutes his little cheeks get red and he starts to sweat. He loved having his hair buzzed. He giggled and giggled the whole time and thought it was so neat to see all the hair fall to the floor.
Well, it has taken some getting use to. He looks much older now but loves to walk around the house rubbing his head. I am also looking forward to him getting a little sun on his head because people stare at him as if he is a chemotherapy patient and say "what did you do to him!?" It has been a fun adventure, a very short adventure but he can pull it off.

Here are just a few shots of the park yesterday. A few friends of mine and I are going on a "park tour." There are 45 parks in our area so we have planned on going to a different one every week. It has been fun and the kids have loved the new playgrounds every week.

The Police Beat

In honor of my friend Candras birthday, which was yesterday by the way, I wanted to post something that reminds me of her and the good times we had in Rexburg, Idaho.

March 17-23 Rexburg Police Department had the following complaints...

• Lost children. Located when police arrived. Complaint of water balloons being thrown at pedestrians.
• Firework complaint.
• Complaint of rocks on roadway. Highway 20
• A student in dormitory called in to complain about students playing music and singing too loudly. The student reported that this has happened several times.
• A student driving a BYU-I box truck attempted to drive between two buildings and ran the truck into the awning connecting the buildings. When the student hit the awning he was thrown into the steering wheel of the truck and reported chest pain. The student was checked by EMT's and released. The damage is estimated at $10,000 to the awning and $6,000 to the truck. It was the student's first day driving the truck.

---BYU also has their fair of problems as well---

• A vending machine in the Taylor Building was damaged in an attempt to retrieve money from the machine Aug. 11. Neither money nor products from the machine were reported missing.
• A male student reported his car stolen from the parking lot next to the Student Athletic Building on Sept. 1. Upon investigation it was found the car was not stolen but borrowed by a friend.
• A building security officer was injured after biking down a grassy hill on campus. The officer did not see a bike rack at the end of the steep hill and ran into the rack. He suffered a broken wrist and elbow.

We would look forward to the Scroll being released so that we could find out what trouble the Rexburg natives had been up to. It is always difficult to have to deal with loud cows and messy potato fields. Love you Chandra and thank you for all the happy memories!!

What Does Love Mean?

I just got this email from my sister-in-law Melissa. I had seen a few of the responses before but some of the other ones cracked me up. Hopefully they will make you smile too. Thanks for the smile Melis!


What does Love mean?
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to
8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have
imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint
her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands
got arthritis too. That's love."

Rebecca- age 8


"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4


"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne
and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5


"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French
fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6


"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4


"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip
before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7


"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of
kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"
Emily - age 8


"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening
presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7


"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend
who you hate,"
Nikka - age 6

(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)


"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it
everyday."
Noelle - age 7


"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still
friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6


"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked
at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8


"My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is
handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone
all day."
Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old
clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little
stars come out of you." (what an image)
Karen - age 7


"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's
gross."
Mark - age 6


"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you
mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked
about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.


The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an
elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.


Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's
yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor,
the little boy said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry"

--Oh the innocence of a child. If we could all have the same outlook on life and love!

A Little Side Note

Just as a little clarification.... No I do not iron my sheets. I saw that once on Martha Stewart and I laughed, so no I am not that extreme. However, I do iron my duvet cover, not all the time mind you, but I do every once in while, which makes Jared laugh but makes me happy.

It's a Good Thing

Oh happy day!! Isn't it just the BEST feeling to have freshly washed and pressed bedding!! The kind that when you crawl into the sheets you can smell how clean and fresh they are. That when you run your feet along the covers they feel so soft because they have been washed a million times. The kind that when you snuggle down for the night you say out loud, "I love our bed!!" I know that it is nothing fancy but when I finally got our bed put back together after a long day of laundry and ironing I had to stand back and admire my work and then call Jared in to come and admire it as well. However, it wasn't fully appreciated, by him or me, until we threw the pillows off, pulled the covers back (like they do when they turn down your bed at a fancy hotel) and crawled in and both looked at each other and said, "we have the best bed!" I just thought I would share one of the simpler happy moments of my life! As Martha would say, "it's a good thing."

Put Me in the Game Coach

We just added a basketball hoop to our home. Jared views it as an investment into our future retirement because Cade will become a NBA basketball star if we start him out young. We started out yesterday looking for summer clothes for Cade but some how came home with a hoop and t-ball tee, its amazing how things like that can happen. Once we got it home Jared ripped open the box and started putting it together. I thought that for sure this would be a toy that was more fun for the dad than for the kid. However, that all changed when I saw Cade grab the ball and get frustrated with Jared because he couldn't get the net on fast enough and that was all I needed to realize that it was worth the purchase.

The rest of the day was full of basketball. Cade started off with dunks but then started to move further back and is actually getting rather good. He played ball for about and hour and a half, some of that time he had to sit on the bench while dad tried, but he played his little heart out. Well, bed time quickly approached and I thought that he would knock out because he had played hard and hadn't taken a long nap. However, after crying for about 30 minutes we got him up, we were having a meeting and felt like awful parents listening to our child cry "ball" as we were attempting to listen, and let him play ball for another 45 minutes. After his little workout he was out like a light but was right back to it this morning. It is so much fun to watch him!! It is the best to see him make a basket and then jump up and down and clap for himself just to turn around and do it again. Oh, the beauties of little boys.

Sushi Anyone?

Nana is in town so that means SUSHI. Jared's mom loves sushi and las vegas has some of the best so once she got here we all packed up and headed to the restaurant. It was kinda fun because we had our own room, which saved us from having to chase the kids around tables and saved the other guests from having to watch them run around. This was Cades first experience with sushi and it was really kind of funny. It took a while for the sushi to come so we let him get down from the high chair and wonder for a while. He would walk to the door, peer out, and turn around to see if we would tell him to come back. There was a girl at another table that he kept flirting with. He would wave, blush, and come back in to his seat and then repeat. One time she said "hi" to him and we got the cheesy smile you see in the next picture. It was so funny, he was so excited that she was flirting back...my they learn young!

Once the sushi arrived we were quick to give Cade a little bite, he was starving, however needless to say, he still has the taste buds of a one and a half year old. He much prefers goldfish and peanut butter, then again, I do too. We had a great time spending time with our Nana and other family.

Fun In the Sun

March is HERE and that means the pool is OPEN in las vegas!! It has been a little on the toasty side here, about 87 degrees, so we thought we would head to the pool to cool off. We were so lucky to have Jared home a little early yesterday so we not only got to go to the pool, but we got to go as a family. Cade was so excited to play in the water. Every time we go outside he points to the pool and says "Wawa!!"

Cade also loves to march. Anywhere we go he loves to march there and usually it involves me having to march with him. So, needless to say "March, 1, 2, 3, 4..." has become part of my common vocabulary. I think of it as an early counting lesson. He also loves to point out things that he sees, usually airplanes, but in the picture he was pointing to Jared and saying "Hiiiii," it is just fun when they start to bud their own personalities!!

Just as a side note... Yes, that is the top of my swimming suit and Yes, those are my Capri's. The water was still a little too cold to jump all the way in. I just wanted to make sure nobody thought I had just opted to put my religion on hold and wear a halter top that day. Just a little FYI. :)

Fun In the Sun (Continued)

After he was done swimming Cade loved to lay out on the lounge chair and relax in the sun. It was too cute to watch him bask in the warmth of the sun and then look over to his daddy to make sure he was doing to same thing.

I didn't have any sandals for Cade to wear on the way to and from the pool so Jared carried him to save his little toes from the warm pavement. On the way back they were playing and Cade ended up coming home upside down. He giggled and giggled the whole way home and then collapsed to the ground from exhaustion once we entered the door. He just curled up on the floor, enjoying to cool air and relaxing from all of his playing. We had a great time in the sun.

Baby Cougar Fan

So I know that the picture is blurry but it was the only one that I was able to snap before I accidentally dropped my camera and therefore putting it out of commission. We went to the BYU vs UNLV mountain west conference basketball game and had so much fun. Jared was actually called into the hospital about and hour before we had to leave so Cade and I decided to surprise him when he got home. We searched all over for face paints, which I couldn't find, but ended up with washable markers. I thought that it would be somewhat easy to write on Cades chest, thinking that he would be intrigued, however, once again, WRONG. I ended up having Jared's brother Josh pin him down while I attempted to draw a Y on his chest. It ended up a little on the crooked side, as you can see by the picture, but Jared LOVED it!!

Poor Cade became the middle of attention as he sat on his daddy's shoulders while Jared held up Cade-os shirt and yelled "Go Cougs!!" as only Jared can, amidst a sea of Rebels fans. We had a great time even though the Cougars lost. Cade spent the time dancing to the music and melting the hearts of the other fans. It was a good day!

A Pretty Thought

I never thought about cutting flowers short and putting them in a small vase until I stayed with my sister-in-law. She always has beautiful flowers in her house and often times cuts the flowers that have a broken stem and puts them in small vases. I was so sad to see that some of my birthday flowers were dying and that I didn't have enough to fill a large vase. So, I took a page out of Melissa's book and put them is a small vase. For some silly reason it just makes me happy to look at them so I thought that I would share. Aren't they so pretty!!

Shorts Jammies

I was so excited to be able to break out the SHORT jammies tonight. I love his little legs and how his tiny rolls poke out of the short shorts. He was also so excited that he had a football on his jammies. He spent the whole night walking around the house looking and pointing at the ball on his shirt, needless to say he bumped into a few walls.

Rock and Roll Kids

I signed Cade up for a class at the Rec center called Rock and Roll Kids. It was SO much fun to take him and watch how much fun he had. At first he wasn't too sure what to do but it didn't take him too long to warm up. There were a bunch of toys to crawl and play on. He loved the little rocking boat and of course he couldn't get enough of the balls. I was also so surprised at how good he was at walking across the balance beam and then jumping off the end. However, his favorite were the bubbles!! He was so excited to see them float in the air but was even more thrilled that he got to pop them. He ran back and forth and around in circles just squealing with pure excitement. There is nothing better for a mom than to watch your child purely enjoy what they are doing.

Birthday Girl

How did I get to be such a lucky girl!? I had the best birthday ever!! It all started a few months ago when my nephew had a birthday and his friends decorated his locker. My sister-in-law was nervous about his friends having his combo until I told her that my friends and I did that all the time in high school. I then continued to tell her that I was always so sad because I always decorated thier lockers but never had mine decorated. Well, back to present day, I woke up on Saturday to find my door decorated in paper, ballons, flower petals and kisses on the ground and a note saying that since I never got my locker decorated she wanted to do something even better...decorate my door!! I was so excited and touched. I left the decorations up all day so everyone could see how thoughtful she was. That was however, close to tourcher for Cade because I wouldnt let him take a balloon off the door...mean I know!!

The day continued with fun time with Cade and then Jared later in the day, he had a convention most of the day. Later that night Jared suprised me with a dinner at a fun Indian resturaunt with family and friends. We had our own private room at the resturaunt with fun decor, music, and complete with sitting on the floor to eat. I was so excited to see some family from Utah that drove down for my birthday as well as family and friends from Vegas. I totally forgot my camera but others took pictures that will be posted later. The day was full of phone calls from loved ones, beautiful flowers (I love them!!) a bunch of gift certificates and a card to get a massage at an awesome spa in Vegas (thanks Melis!!)

I was also so lucky to get to have my mom come and spend a few days with me before my birthday. It was such a joy to have her here...we all love it when she comes to visit. I honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world!! My sweet husband is so thoughtful, my little one is just a joy, and my family is so willing to come and let me know that they love me, even if it is a huge sacrifice. I love you guys and am so thankful for all of you and all you do!!

Where's Waldo?

It's like playing "where's Waldo" just with a toothbrush. Cades new favorite toys are our toothbrushes which I am sure that I should be thankful that my little one wants to have good hygiene however it gets a little old to open the drawer and only find his little toothbrush. He has for some reason decided that his little one is not nearly as cool as Jared's or mine. I even got him his own "big" toothbrush, two of them actually, however he always goes for ours and leaves his untouched. It is actually rather comical to see Jared brush his teeth with a child's electric soccer ball toothbrush and then look in the mirror and realize that I too have a child's toothbrush, just one of the really small starter brushes because by the time we realize ours are missing we have no energy to go searching. Mine had gone missing for a few days until I went to get Cade up from his nap and looked down while opening his drapes only to find a purple toothbrush staring back at me. I was so excited and thought it was so funny that I took a picture as Cade smiled and clapped his hands. He is a sweet baby and usually really good at putting them back in the drawer where they go however this day it just didn't quite make it back. Needless to say Jared and I now have multiple toothbrushes that are kept out of reach of curious hands.

The Way I Say "I Love You"

Gifts, gifts, gifts that seems to have been the theme for the past couple of days. I love to give gifts but I love when I can do something cute with them even more. I know that I am not nearly as talented as many many other ladies out there but I am thankful for what I can do and find pure joy in making something cute and personal...just so someone knows I care about them. I recently went to a baby shower for a friend who is having a little boy. I normally have my typical baby shower gift but I decided to break the mold and do something different so after walking around the store forever I took a hint from Cade. Every ball that he saw he would reach for and beg to hold it. I realized...what says "boy" better than balls. I got him every kind of ball you could think of, miniature size, and put them in a baseball bag. It was really fun but Cade had a hard time understanding why they weren't for him.

The other thing that I love is making the wrapping look cute. My sister and I got my grandpa a tie for his 70th birthday. We wrote...mostly she wrote...a note about how he "ties" the family together...it was a touching letter. I then got to make it look cute, it was very fun. Here are the finished products. Once again, not the most talented but I enjoy doing it.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is on its way!!! I saw these flowers at the store the other day and they just made me happy. I decided that I could either hint to Jared that they were there and hope that he might get the idea or I could take matters into my own hands. I bought the tulips, brought them home, handed them to him and told him to give them to me. He got a huge smile on his face and held the flowers out to me and said, "Here babe, I got you flowers because I love you so much and want you to know how special you are," to which my response was, "thanks sweetie, I love you!! I cant believe how thoughtful you are." We both were happy. I figure that one day he might think of it himself however until then I am happy picking out the flowers I like and bringing them to him.

I have loved looking at them every day and have been amazed at how they change and just get more beautiful. I love flowers and am so excited for Spring!!