We celebrated our three year anniversary last week. We took the family to temple square and a nice dinner at the Olive Garden. We had a blast! It was fun listening to the Christmas music provided by some high school choirs. It brought back a lot of memories when I used to sing on temple square every year with my high school choir. That was always so fun. I love Christmas time! You can almost feel the magic in the air.

Audrey was so excited to be out amongst the lights that she kept kicking her legs. They were almost a burr as she was kicking so fast. She literally kicked them for the whole time we where there. She never tired out. I bet she got a lot of exercise. (Hmmmmm, maybe I should try that sometime.) The blanket over her was flapping in every direction (I am surprised it didn't give her whiplash). :)



Mom and Audrey



The bundled up red-nosed little girl



The beautiful nativity (I don't know if you are supposed to take pictures of this. Oh, well. I did it anyways)



The gorgeous Salt Lake Temple. One day I am going to do a session there. I hear it is as beautiful inside as outside.

Audrey's Birthday!

We celebrated Audrey's birthday on Sunday. I can't believe she is one already! How time flies. We had aunt Molly come over for dinner, presents, and cupcakes. We had a good time. Thanks to everyone that sent gifts. We sure appreciate your kindness!



Mom and Audrey



Cupcakes



The Loot



Opening Presents



Aunt Molly


Christmas is finally up!

For those of you that watch The Office, our very own "Princess Unicorn"

Life has been good around here! Never a dull moment with Audrey. There is always something going on to keep us entertained. Between Audrey's crazy sleeping habits, attempts at walking, and getting stuck places she has pulled up to we have a lot of laughs. Here are a few examples.



The Sleeping Wonder



Little Elf in a Purple Hat



Banging, I mean playing the piano



Getting ready for church

Weekend in Gooding

We went to Gooding this past weekend to visit Tracie and her family. It was a blast! We never fell to laugh our heads off being around David. Tracie fed us like we were kings. Jacob made Audrey laugh so hard it was hilarious. Baby Bridget was a doll as well as too cute to boot. I felt like I could have just eaten her up and taken her home with me. Bridget and Audrey enjoying the park Three cousins on the couch (Thanks for the pictures Tracie, I finally got the computer to work right)

Also, Audrey has started doing this really low raspy laugh lately. It is really funny! We tried to get this video of her doing it, but of course she wouldn't do it very well. I think she was just too interested in the camera. Sorry!



Getting ready for bed

Happy Halloween! and a wedding...

Boo! I scared you didn't I? Just kidding. Halloween was fun. We went up to Idaho, because my step brother Dane got married. We went to an awesome Halloween party at my brother Shawn's house. Bonnie out did herself with yummy food like always, and Dub blessed us all with his "gallon of cheddar" for nachos. There were spider cookies and mummy little smokies that rocked too. We all ate ourselves sick! Literally.

I am sure Jamie and Shannielle in the next bedroom over got the worst end of the deal listening to Tim and myself gas it up all night long. At least they didn't have to experience the toxic gases in their room. I can only hope they didn't permeate that far down ;)

We had a good time seeing everyone and their kids. It was good seeing Dane get married while on his leave from the war zone in Iraq. May God bless their marriage.



Grace and Emma



Some of the Halloween gang. Shannielle won the prize for the best costume in my mind. She was such a convincing Snow White, that little ghost Becca thought she was the real Snow White. Becca followed her around all night long. It was too cute.



Audrey was the cutest little panda that you ever did see.



Ripping out mom's hair
is fun to do
Fun to do
Fun to do

Having fun with the cousins....

I am soooo glad that Saturday's BYU game was close. I think it made it that much more enjoyable for the fam to watch. I am so glad that they were able to make the trip down. It was so good to see everyone.


Audrey loved watching her cousins swing. She kept kicking her legs really fast and laughing. She thought they were the greatest things ever.



Swinging is the best!



Jack and Anna



Josh, Maggie, and Emma

It's official...

We are the newest U-tards on the block!

We went and registered our car today. It cost a whopping $150! I wish I were back in Idaho, and could pay the what?, 50 bucks. Small states have advantages.

We have our Utah driver's licenses and plates. We are registered voters and look forward to casting our ballots in the next election. Wait a second... Tim already voted today. Hurray for "early voting" in our area.

The election this year is pretty "interesting" if you ask me. If you ask, "which candidate are you voting for?" I'll answer, "I don't like either of them that well." I like things both of them believe in, but I think I'll vote the more conservative way this election. I have not been impressed with the way the the candidates have conducted themselves. Why can't politicians run clean campaigns? I feel like I don't know either candidate that well because most of their time is spent bashing on the other. Can they grow up and be men?

Anyways, life is good and I am grateful I (a woman) can even vote. Things have changed dramatically for us all over the past decades. The civil/women's rights movements. It is an amazing thing that all people despite their color, creed, ethnicity, or gender can all step up together and make their voice heard.

Help! She keeps peeing and peeing and peeing

Audrey pees the bed now about every other night. I mean, she pees through her diaper and soaks her sheets, clothing, and bed. I try to clean up her bed the best I can and it is still starting to get the pee stains on it. Gross! :( I have tried everything I can think of and I don't know what else to do. First of all, I have been trying to limit her liquid intake at night and push more fluids in the day time. Secondly, we have tried a new brand of diapers. They work a little better than the old ones, but still not good enough! Thirdly, I have tried changing her diaper in the night, but she gets all revved up to play and won't go back to sleep. They don't make plastic sheets for her bed. Maybe I could try to make some, but I don't even know where to start with that. Do any of you dedicated readers have any suggestions? I am sure it is very unsanitary for her to be lying in her pee until I find her in the morning. Sometimes her face will be lying on the wet spot. This is what makes me think that something really needs to change here.

I thought that just "older" kids peed the bed. Not babies!

If you have any ideas please let me know! I am to the point I will try almost anything.

Boxes are the best toys!

We let Audrey play in her last diaper box and she thought it was fun for a little while at least. (Talk about white trash) It contained her and gave her something new to try and eat. It was fun for both her and I while it lasted. I think we will put the box in her regular stash of toys for awhile.



Getting ready for bed after a successful day of playing.



Spending time with dad.

Date Night

Tim and I finally went on a "good" date this last weekend. Kalaai was performing at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, so we decided to go. The MAGNIFICENT AUNT MOLLY babysat Audrey for us. For those of you who don't know who Kalaai is (I admit I didn't until just recently) he is a very talented guitar/vocalist, and he's a Mormon. All the more reason to support him, right?

The concert was outside on this big fish bowl arena type setting with a waterfall in the background. It was like a picnic in the park so everyone brought their blankets and sat there. It reminded me of a really hippie concert in a way. There were tons of people. The pictures don't give the place justice. Not only was it beautiful, but there were awesome hills for rolling down. I assure you lots of kids did. It looked really fun. I don't know why I didn't roll down the hills myself? Hmmm.....

I think it was the BYU social event of the year because there were young twitter pated hoodlums everywhere. (Notice on the videos that there was a sweet chorus of nervous chatterboxes all over the place. Sometimes you almost couldn't hear the music:) The couple to the right of us and the couple behind us were talky, talky, talky. I have to admit it was fun to eavesdrop on their conversations. I know that wasn't nice but it was very entertaining. Their conversations were... for example..."Oh, my gosh! You like dogs too?!!!! My family likes I mean loves dogs. We had a poodle that was so like cute. His name was like Tiger.."

I really don't miss being in the dating scene. I enjoyed the music and spending time with my sweetie. It was fun to go to because we normally don't go to concerts in the park. It was a memorable event. Sorry for the poor quality picture on the videos. If you are wondering, Kalaai looks just like Sayid on Lost. He has the beard and all.

In Memoriam

Well, it has been a whole whopping eight years! I cannot believe how the time has passed. It feels like time has flown by and also drug its claws. Life has changed drastically for me and my family since that time. (To all readers: this is not meant to be a pity party for me, but a time of reflection and pondering. I find it therapeutic to get things out. I tend to trap them inside. Please bear with me. By all means, don't feel obligated to read this if you don't want to!)

I was a sophomore in high school, when my mom got sick. Doctors could not figure out what was wrong with her. They thought that she had an inner ear infection because she felt so dizzy. After a week of treatment for the infection, no change. Mom was hospitalized. The doctors at the hospital ran every test imaginable to try and find the cause of her symptoms. (I can't remember them at this point in time). Test after test came back with negative results. What was causing all this?

In the meantime, I was enjoying high school life. I had just finished my season of powder puff (girl's football). I had finally made some good friends that actually had morals! Life seemed to be great. I didn't feel too concerned about Mom's condition because nobody thought it was anything too serious.

I had a few weeks off of school for "spud harvest." For those of you that don't know what spud harvest is, it is when all the farmers in eastern Idaho harvest their potatoes. Due to the number of students involved in this process, everyone in our area got out of school. It was a vacation for those of us that didn't work in the harvest. I looked forward to it every year!

Due to spud harvest, I had some spare time and I decided to go spend several hours with Mom in the hospital. I went up there and we watched some Shirley Temple, talked, and just enjoyed the time together. Mom kept saying, "I love you, Tara. I love you, Tara." I remember feeling like my relationship with Mom was great! I felt really good about that. She had been my best friend through my years of friend struggles and such. I left the room that day not knowing that I would never see my mother in this life again.

The next morning we were told to hurry and come up to the hospital because something was wrong with Mom. I figured that they had found out what was wrong with her and it was serious. I remember walking up the hospital and thinking, what if Mom will only live till the end of spud harvest? Then I thought, no that wouldn't happen. People I know don't die. That happens to "other" people, but not to me.

I got to the hospital the same time as my sister Lottie. As we walked in the hospital doors my mom's good friend who was also a nurse was sobbing. She escorted us to mom's room. We kept asking her if everything was okay, and she kept saying "no, it is not okay."

We finally navigated the halls and got to mom's room. We walked in and my Dad was standing by Mom's bed. We asked what was wrong... she had died and they could not revive her. Her cause of death was later determined as "unknown."

Once more family got to the room, we all knelt down and had a family prayer together. I remember feeling mom there with us. We all felt a great peace come over us. In fact, that peace and spirit followed us to our home and stayed there for quite some time.

I write all this because I look back and I realize how much this single event has impacted my life. I went from a nuclear home and family, to a single parent family, to a blended and remarried family. Each and every one has brought new challenges and experiences. Some good and some bad. They have brought with them deep pain and sorrow, and also great joy and love. These experiences have done nothing but brought me closer to my Heavenly Father. I can't say that I would as firm in the faith as I am today without them. When all hope seemed lost and like I couldn't go on any longer, there was always a ray of hope and the encircling arms of my Savior that carried me on. There were many wonderful people that carried me through the darkest times also. They were answers to my prayers. I feel so grateful for the knowledge that I have that families are eternal, and can be together forever! What joy this has been for me. I don't understand why bad things sometimes happen to good people, but I do know that it is all about perspective. Are the "bad" things really all that bad? If it takes things like this to get us to deeply know and love the Savior, is it really "bad" in the long run?

I have to say that the sweetest gifts my Heavenly Father has given me are... 1. the atonement. I am happy that I can fix the mistakes that I make all the time, and 2. my sweet husband Tim. I am sure he had no idea what he was getting himself into when he married me. I am deeply grateful for him! I definitely got the better end of the deal! Also, my sweet daughter Audrey. She is a ray of light and has brought such joy to our family.

Trials are meant to be...well, trials. Not fun or easy. But they help us grow. Afterall, this life is about growing and trying to become better people.

The new "du"

Anyone seen Pebbles recently? Audrey's hair is always in her eyes and it makes her mad. So I decided to try something new yesterday. I had to adjust the exposure for you to be able to see it.

P.S. We found out that my thyroid tested normal in both ranges. What a relief! Thanks for everyone's concern.

Sleeping Wonder/Undressing Myself

I keep finding Audrey sleeping in the funniest positions. In this one her head looks pretty uncomfortable. Talk about a stiff neck when you wake up! Luckily, her favorite little lamb was supporting her head for this round.


I found Audrey with her shirt half way off the other day. She wriggled her way out of one sleeve and was starting the other sleeve when I caught her. It made me laugh really hard!

Let the clothing wars begin!

Can a thyroid cause all of this?????????

Tomorrow, I go to the doctor and get my thyroid checked. I have about every symptom of hypothyroidism in the book. It may be nothing. I have noticed that every symptom could be tied to something else. i.e. I'm tired all the time...my child screams till all hours of the night. My skin is really dry...maybe I need higher quality lotion. My hair is dry and brittle...time for new shampoo? Hair loss......maybe I'm going bald. Better yet, maybe I'll be able to grow a beard by Christmas. J/K :) You get the picture.

It will be a relief either way to see if ole thyroid needs a jump start or is working just fine. I just want to know. It will put my mind at rest.

Weekend in Idaho

We got back last night from a FUN weekend in Idaho. My nephew Wade got baptized. It was so fun to see the fam.





We stayed at the Rhead/Ashby house on Friday night. We saw Mar and Katie. Chatted with Becky, Ron, Alex, Adri, Ami, Ambur, and their families we had a great time. Baby Andrew is absolutely adorable! I had to get a few pictures of Ami's family before they move to Missouri in the next bit. Good luck to them!! They deserve the very best that life has to offer. I have to admit I am going to miss my fan club and shadows when they move. They are so great! Hannah and Beccah (I hope I spelled these right. Sorry, if I didn't) took awesome care of Audrey on Saturday morning while we were getting ready. They sure love babies! And I was sure grateful for the break!

Next we ventured to Ammon to see Wade get baptized. I didn't get any pictures of this for obvious reasons. It was so awesome to see cute, no longer little Wade get dipped in the water. I later learned there were about 19 people that got baptized before him so the water was really cold when his turn roled around. No wonder he let out a yelp after his submersion in the font.

Next we went to Dub and Christie's house for the party of the century. We ate, ate, ate, and ate some more. The food was delicious (especially Bonnie's dip). Tim and the gang played football (I wish I had a picture of this). We laughed and had a fun time.

Finally, we ventured to Rexburg, to stay at my house for Saturday night. We played with Aymree, Becca, Hyrum, and Jesse for hours. If you thought Audrey was big for her age, you are wrong. Jesse was born about two weeks before Audrey and is a tank. He crawls, or more accurately does the "worm" to get around. It was so cute. I am very grateful Audrey isn't that mobile yet.





Sunday, morning we went to church and left a few hours later. What a fun trip!

Simple Minds Have Simple Pleasures

?


I bought these two animals for Audrey a while back. They were a whole 49 cents! The first time I gave them to her to play with she got so excited she grabbed them out of my hands with her lightning fast movements and inserted them directly into her mouth. It was really cute. She still loves them and is especially fond of the bright pink hippo. I guess she may be a girly girl after all. :)

$40 worth of flowers

So Grandma gave me money again to get flowers to put on Mom's grave. We will be in Idaho this weekend so now is the best time to do so. I thought I would do a "fall arrangement" this time. Hopefully, "fall" will last at least a few months in Rexburg this year before winter hits. I am not so sure how well they (there are two identical arrangements) turned out. (no I am not fishing for compliments) Despite the outcome, it was a fun project for today.