Mann Family

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

2011-10-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Well the big news is/was that we moved to WISCONSIN. Jared accepted a job out here and moved out on July 5th. Luke and I then joined him on August 5th. Can I just say that was about the longest month of my life. Luke loved living with my parents but I am a person that needs her own space and AC (there AC unit was broken just about every other day).

The first month we "vacationed" in Lake Geneva until we could move into our rental house the beginning of September. Luke and I loved the town, the lake, petting zoo, and the library. Lake Geneva will be the place that the phrase "fish in there" was coined. Luke LOVED the lake! We were also lucky to have grandma "Shauna" come and stay and spoil us. And because I'm too lazy to make collages in picasa here's just a few of pictures from our stay there.

This was Luke's first trip to the lake. We couldn't take him to the lake without getting in, clothes and all sometimes.

Over priced ice cream. We only got it once (that we payed for it...Thanks Shauna!)

The free petting zoo

We took the 2 hr train ride down to Chicago and watched the Jets at Navy pier. Luke was frightened by their loud noises.

And because curious family members wanted to see what the vacation home looked like where stayed here are the pics. It was a remodeled 1850s Victorian house, walking distance to the lake. Nothing fancy for the money that we paid for it.

I loved Lake Geneva. I love being a stay at home mom. And because I have been both a SAHM and a full-time working mom, I can definitely say that it is soo much easier and much more fun being a SAHM, even if we just sit at home all day (and Luke is not an easy child). That has definitely been the best part of the move!

Finally

2011-06-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

After what seemed to be the longest year of my life, Jared graduated from Westminster College with his Masters of Business Administration!! We are so proud of him and we are definitely enjoying having him home in the evenings. Would you believe that this is the first time in the (almost) 7 years that we have been married that neither of us are in school? No wonder this is the first time in our whole marriage that we have actually had dinner at home on a regular basis. I do have to say that I am pretty proud of myself for that accomplishment. So you might ask, "What's next now that Jared is all done with school?" Well to find out you are going to have to send me your email address so I can add you to the blog. Big changes. BIG. (for us at least)

Luke and I trying to stay entertained through the very long commencement. As you can see Luke lost interest.

All he needed was a pack of "gung" to cheer him right up.

Here are the boys all ready for the graduation brunch. I have found joy in dressing these two boys a like.

You do have to admit is is fun and silly.
Stay tuned for what's up next.

Cause I feel like it

2011-06-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

I think I'm going to start blogging more but for some reason I just feel like making the ol' blog private. To the maybe 3 readers that read this blog, I have your email address, but if there are any others that would like to continue reading in the future send over your email address. AmberbMann@gmail.com

Thanks.

That is all, for now.

Where do I begin

2011-01-29T19:28:00.000-08:00

You asked for a blog so here it is!

I'm not quite sure where to start. I have valid excuses for my blogging absence. In August Jared and I celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss and had a little staycation. I went to a couple job interviews due to Jared getting a tip at work that he was going to be laid off. We had toyed with the idea of me working full-time and Jared going to school full-time to finish is MBA quicker but I don't think we would have ever made such a drastic change had we not had a little shove in that directions.

Everything has worked out OK. I decided to take a full-time job at Aspen Ridge, a transitional rehab. While the orthopedic therapy world is much different than the neuro rehab I was used to I have really enjoyed my job. Jared and Luke are able to come and visit me for lunch and when the weather was nice we would have a little family picnic at Wheeler Farm because it borders my work. This change wasn't easy on any of us. Jared had to adjust and figure out his routine as a stay at home dad and I definitely mourn and still mourn my time at home with Luke. My heart goes out to single working mothers because that is what I have felt like. I go to work, come home, and then Jared goes to school most nights of the week.

This change will really benefit our family in the long run and I have to remind myself that it is just temporary. I'm grateful that I am able to support my family. I'll be completely honest that I absolutely hate the situation but I have come to terms with the fact that this is my life right now. I have been so envious of stay-at-home moms. But we all make sacrifices for our families in some form, right?

On to the real reason why you want a blog, Luke.

In the meantime Luke turned 1 and became a toddler. The boy amazes me each and everyday and I'm always so proud of his accomplishments. He has the dance moves of his father and the patience of his mother, typed sarcastically. Don't even think about taking away a drink, toothbrush, toothpaste, or lotion without him throwing a fit. Those items seem to be some of his favorite things. He loves his "animals" that he sleeps with, monkey especially and carries it around the house tucked between his head and shoulder.The child talks up a storm in his own little language. He does of course say a handful of words and is starting to repeat a lot of what we say. He loves marshmellows or really any treat for that matter. His best friend is Jake and his girlfriend is Liz, he shows her the most affection. He still loves to dance, and giggle, and twirl in circles and fall and roll on the floor. He likes to sing in the car and anytime he thinks no one is listening. He is very obstinate. If I tell him "no" he is determined to do whatever it is I don't want him to do. He is really good at pulling things out but not putting them away. Jared says he is the master of destruction. He has stranger anxiety really bad and does not like when mom or dad leave him alone with people he doesn't see all the time, annoying. I just love the boy what can I say, could go on and on!

And now the only reason I look at blogs, the pictures. Here is picture overload of what we have done the last few months in collage format!

One year old!

Birthday Party

"Alloween Party" 80's theme and Nacho Libre

Pumpkin Patch

Halloween...He got a lot of wear out of his outfit!

Chicago

Zoo Lights

Temple Square

Christmas

Michelle's Wedding

Valentines Day

Enjoying some warmer weather...Looking forward to Spring!

And just Luke being a goof!

That sort of brings you up to date. I just feel good to get this return blog out of the way and maybe, no promises, I may be a more consistent blogger.

First Hair Cut

2010-08-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

Luke was starting to look a little shaggy. Of course it was still cute in a baby hair kind of way. We got a little impulsive and decided we were going to cut his hair. I think both Jared and I thought he would be scared of the clippers and we wouldn't be able to but Luke didn't seem to mind at all.

The Before

Such a goofy boy!

The During

The After Math

(Still goofy but with a short new do)

I have yet to get a really good picture of his new do. I think it is growing on me. I really miss those long locks of his and I just don't like the idea of him looking so grown up. I wished it was longer on top but the good thing about hair is it will grow (this coming from the girl that freaks out with more than just a trim to her own hair). I think Jared did a good job on the wiggly little one. Jared cuts his own hair. Jared knows one way of cutting hair. Luke and Jared now have the same hair cut and look more alike than ever if you ask me.

Summer Nights

2010-07-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

As soon as Luke can talk I'm sure that he will constantly be asking to go over to Jake's house because 1) he is his BFF and 2) all of the fun happens at Jake's house.

In my opinion all summer nights should end like this, a popsicle to sooth teething gums.(This was Luke's first popsicle...I think he enjoyed it)

And if a popsicle isn't enough why not have yourself an ice cream cone.

And then finish it all up with a quick scrub in the tub.
The water was brown when these 3 boys were finished!

Luke at 9 months

2010-07-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

These pictures are really out of focus but I thought they did a good job depicting Luke's personality. I love that the simplest things bring him so much joy!

Well really almost 9 1/2 months, but better late than never.

Stats:
Weight- 23.9 lbs, 90%
Height- 30 inches, 93%
Head- 81%

Luke does your typical 9 month old things, for the most part. He still hasn't figured how to get his belly off the ground while crawling, ending up looking like a disabled lizard, but he is able to get into EVERYTHING. Any suggestions for how to child proof heat vents? He won't drink from a sippy cup. Again ideas are welcome. He will eat just about anything not baby food and loves avocados and mandarin oranges or anything that his parents are eating. When Luke is home with mom he screams every time I leave the room but all his babysitters report that he never cries. He loves to be in water, the warmer the better. Is obsessed with grabbing/clawing his genitals which makes diaper changes and bathing not so much fun for me. He isn't gentle with them either. I know this is a common thing for boys but I'm a little worried.

Once Luke turned 9 months he decided he was old enough for a girl friend. Actually he really loves seeing kids and will yell at them to try get their attention. He loves our new calling in the primary for this reason. He has become quite the social butterfly when we go out. He loves to call out to all the little girls whenever he spots one. He finally got one to respond to him. I thought it was just about the cutest thing ever, both waving at each other across the isles at TJ Max. He is happy as can be sitting up in the shopping cart. This hobby is getting rather expensive. I might have to work more to support this habit of his.

He loves music and loves to shake his hips. He has got a hip thrust that is going to drive the girls crazy. His rather large butt muscles might help with this. He and Jared have the exact same butt! He definitely did not inherit my rhythmic abilities. Some of his favorite bands are Red Hot Chili Peppers, The White Strips, 311, Lou Reed, and No Doubt.

Jared and I just love this boy and look forward to every new development. He is such a sweet boy and we can't get enough of him!

Happy 4th of July Weekend

2010-07-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

The Mann family had a great weekend together thanks to this beautiful free country that we live in. Luke loved having BOTH mom and dad home three straight days and Mom and Dad loved laughing endlessly at all of Luke's faces, dance moves, jibber jabber, rolls, and army/disabled lizard crawling. This boy is non-stop laughs these days. The events this weekend included:

Swimming

These two boys crack me up! This is what Luke does while mom is at work...yes he has way more fun when I'm working. Jared and I have said that Luke wasn't "planned". The truth is that Luke's arrival here on this Earth was perfectly orchestrated, just not by Jared and I. These 2 boys were definitely the master minds behind it all! Oh how I love them!

Zoo

Jared thought it would be fun to go to the zoo as a family. Of course we bought the family pass because it was more cost efficient, that is if we go at least two more times in the next year. I'm not quite sure that will happen, Luke wasn't all that amused with the sleeping animals. I'll give him some time. I think he enjoyed people watching more than anything.

Swimming/BBQs

There is no question that Luke loves to swim!

Waffle Run 5K

The Waffle Run is one of my favorite holiday traditions and it involves physical exercise if you can believe that. Luke was just happy Mom and Dad finished the race, we are a bit out of shape! I was happy to be the winner of the grand prize from the drawing, a shinny green iPod shuffle. I think that will drastically decrease my time for next year, that thing weighs next to nothing compared to the mammoth iphone I had to carry.

Bowling

Luke loves watching bowling. I think this time he did more rolling than the bowling balls. (Zing!)

And more family fun.

There is no question that this is my favorite holiday!
(and a good excuse to get back to blogging)

Mother's Day

2010-05-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

(I just need to get this post out of the way so I can get to more important blogging...yeah right. I have purposefully neglected this post/blog because I feel like the worst mother, mainly because I'm doing a horrible job documenting my only child's life, which this blog could help with.)

To say that I had a great Mother's Day would be a big fat lie. It started out good. I woke up to the happiest little boy that brings so much joy and happiness. My sweet Jared made me breakfast, gave me a beautiful card (only he could make it a mother's day card. And just in case you are wondering what you write inside of Bald Eagle card for mother's day), chocolate covered grapes (yum), and truffles which were later replaced with Reese's Peanut Butter cups. The cutest pregnant photographer that you will ever meet posted this sneak peak of Luke's 7 month photo session. This was turning out to be a good morning.

Luke was going down for a nap and I too was going to take a nap. Jared and I laid in bed but I couldn't sleep. I had this bad stomach ache with crampy feelings in back that just kept getting worse and worse and worse. It came to the point that I was curled up on the floor with a shooting pain in my back. Did my appendix burst? I had no idea what was going on but this was by far the worst pain I had ever felt (I got an epidural before enduring any real labor pains).

We woke Luke up from his nap and took him to grandma's. We decided to just go to the instacare and of course as soon as we got there I felt fine. They said it was probably a kidney stone. They sent me home with a strainer for my urine and some pain meds.

I went to work on Monday and felt fine. I had yet to see anything in the strainer. Monday night came and I started to get a bad headache. That night was miserable for me with hot flashes and chills with nausea. It felt a lot like the flu. I knew that I would not be able to care for Luke on my own and luckily Jared stayed home from work. I felt miserable. I spent the whole day curled up in bed. I would randomly get a high temp (103!) and break out in the worst sweats.

I had a CT scan scheduled for that day which I thought was a waste of time because I was sure they would not find anything. Much to my surprise the Dr informed me that I had multiple large kidney stones and he was going to pass my information off to a urologist. I got a call later that day from the urologist and he wanted to see me right away. He was very concerned that I was spiking high temperatures that I may become septic (get an infection in the blood). When I saw him in his clinic I felt fine. He informed me that I had a large stone that was stuck in my kidney and another one in the ureter. He said I could wait for a month to only have to have surgery to remove them and suggested that I have surgery on Friday (May 14) if not sooner due to my high temps. I just felt crummy the next couple of days but didn't experience the high fevers and enjoyed some extra time with Jared at home helping me. The dr thought the stones were due to being pregnant (I hardly ever drink carbonation). So I guess they were a little present from Luke. Thanks son but you really didn't have to.

And that pretty much sums up May. :(

Spring?

2010-05-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

Here's to hoping that Spring is here to stay. On a rare occasion I had a Monday off. Why you might ask? Well Luke decided to stay up all night screaming. Lovely. Michelle and I took advantage of having a day off together and went to see some free flowers, my favorite kind.

Luke really enjoyed the tulips.
Even more so than his bottle.
I enjoyed a boy that was screaming because of the TWO bottom front teeth that are coming in. (Yes that is one cheesy grin I have but what you don't know is that I'm making motorcycle noises at the same time. You have to multi-task to be a mom.)
And then it was time to go.

Friendship tingles??

2010-04-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Really Robyn? Did you say that? I got tagged and basically if I don't comply we won't be friends anymore so here goes...

Here are the rules:

1. Open your 1st photo folder.

2. Scroll to the 10th photo.

3. Post the photo and the story behind it.

4. Tag 5 more people.

First I have to say that I was a little sad getting tagged because well the first folder of pictures I have on my computer is just from a year ago. Why? Because my hard drive has crashed 2 times in 4 years. It is kind of depressing to think of all the photos and memories that have been lost.

Anyway. This picture is from our cruise to Mexico last April. We planned it to celebrate my graduation and also because we were planning on starting to add to our family and thought it would be nice to get away because who knows when we would be able to be so carefree again. Little did we know that I would be 18 weeks pregnant when we actually left on the cruise!

This is in Puerto, Vallarta. We really wanted to go on the zip lines in the jungle but since I was pregnant they wouldn't let us. Instead we waited until the last minute to decide on our excursion and went to a local resort. We got to the resort and realized we could have done the same thing on the boat. We found a local and paid him some cold hard cash and went on a private, and very scary boat ride, to do some snorkeling. We actually went to a spot that we had been to before. We didn't remember how murky the water was and the snorkeling was kind of a bust. The real thrill came from jumping on some dudes boat who could have taken us anywhere he wanted to, we could have missed the boat and been left in Puerto, Vallarta to fend for ourselves! It was kind of scary, hence the weirdo smiles! Oh how I don't miss my pregnant chubby face!

Hmm, who to tag? I'm not sure 5 people read my blog.

Happy Half Birthday

2010-03-30T20:55:00.001-07:00

This big boy turned 6 mo old today. (don't mind that i can't button up the top button of this 12 mo shirt) Oh I freaking love him, attitude and all! He is pretty dramatic, not sure where he gets it from??? Today shouldn't have been any different then yesterday but for some reason it was. Happiness, love, gratitude. I never felt so many different emotions before I was this cute boy's mother. Wow, 6 mo. I have much more to say and many more pictures to post but thought I'd give you all a glimpse as to why I don't get anything done, he is just so cute I find myself looking through ALL his pictures when he is sleeping. Love you Luke!

Luke meet grass

2010-03-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Luke had his first experience with grass. And he loved it! Sun in his eyes, not so much. I'm so excited that it is finally Spring! He wanted nothing to do with me and was much too busy exploring all around him.

At almost 6 months old about the only thing that is left of my baby is this sweet patch of hair. :( Oh Spring I'm so glad that you are finally here. Maybe my seasonal affective disorder will hide away until next January.

Happy Greeny Day

2010-03-17T11:55:00.001-07:00

Sick boy

2010-03-11T20:27:00.001-08:00

Luke is sick. He has had a stuffy nose before but this is the first time he has been really sick and acted sick. As his mother I feel a little helpless. The only thing I can do for him he hates and screams at the top of his lungs. So I gave in a little and took advantage of his cuddling and let him watch tv. I never let him watch tv. He likes Barney and it just happened to be on. I discovered that his sick voice is much cuter then his usual voice. He sounds like a baby chain smoker! Feel better Bud!

Not sure why my pictures are ginormous?

Report card

2010-02-02T13:48:00.001-08:00

Luke had his four month check up today. The doctor is very pleased with his growth and development. Four month stats as follows:
Length- 28.25 inches 100%
weight- 18 pounds 2 ounces 95%
head- 69%

He is not a fan of the shots at all! I have a feeling he is going to spend the next couple of days soaking in the tub! I'm posting this from my phone, isn't technology amazing sometimes. If only it would let me add more photos...

There are many things I should be doing

2010-01-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

But I thought it would be more fun to get the boy naked and take some pictures! I felt like it was about time I documented these thighs!

So glad I called in sick to work today! If you are looking for some laughs or a good way to get your baby to roll over, place him on a silk sheet!

Auntie Chelle

2010-01-21T20:16:00.000-08:00

In December I returned to working 3 days a week, Monday, Friday, and Saturday. We are blessed to have both of our families close by, which means a lot of baby sitters! My sister Michelle got home the end of November from Ecuador and didn't have a job and wasn't registered for school so she became my resident baby sitter on Monday and Friday; she missed the first 2 months of his life so she has a lot of making up to do! (She actually got a job but quit it because she would rather watch Luke, and it helped that it didn't pay very well) It is great because she comes and sleeps over and then I just leave her with a bottle and the monitor in the morning and she will send me text pages throughout the day keeping me updated! Going back to work was really hard for me, I bawled the first day, but I can rest assured knowing that Luke is in great hands!

It is without a doubt that Luke just loves her, she is a lot more fun then his mom and will spend all day playing and entertaining him. She is so patient with him and lets him do whatever he wants like a good aunt should, he is really spoiled. The even better part about having Michelle around is that she keeps me company Thursdays when Jared is at school! Tonight we spent about an hour doing this:

Family Resemblance

2010-01-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

I realized that Jared and I have pretty much the same posed baby picture at the same age Luke is right now which inspired this impromptu photo shoot today at the top of our stairs. The boys weren't into it and I wasn't allowed any styling of hair or outfit changes beforehand and about 2 minutes to take pictures so it is what it is.

There is no question who Luke looks more like but I can see some of my genes in there too.

Priceless!

Snow Hat

2010-01-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

Luke's great grandmother made this hat for him for Christmas. I think it is pretty safe to say that he loves it, as do I!

Evolution of the Bath

2010-01-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got a page while at work from my sister that said, "He just rolled over 2 times!" Initially I got a big smile on my face and then I was suddenly saddened to think that I missed this. I've seen him do it before but he hasn't rolled over since and I guess this was much more spontaneous and didn't take him 2 mins to accomplish while he was crying cause his mother wouldn't help him because she had to record it!

Years before I got pregnant I would see cute things that moms did or have an idea that would pop into my head and I'd think when I had a baby I would do that too. Well I'm failing miserably! I pretty much haven't taken any pictures since before Christmas because the battery in the camera was dead. Many people have made their "New Year's Resolutions" based around one word. Well I'm going to join them and my Resolution is to CAPTURE more of 2010. This Resolution started last night during bath time. My how this boy is growing!

First Sink Baths

Kicking it in the Tub!

I think that is is pretty safe to say Luke has the chubbiest face and oh how I love it!
(Thanks Liz for the tip on the inflatable bath cushion, it makes clean up a breeze! And who cares that all they had left was pink it was only $6!)

2009

2009-12-31T11:55:00.000-08:00

Where did you go? With out a doubt, 2009 was one of the most eventful, most rewarding years of my life, one that I will always remember! Some of the memorable events from '09:

Utes winning the Sugar bowl
Finding out I was going to have a sugar baby
Finishing my last internship and graduating with my Masters
Our Mexico Cruise
Moving yet again and putting together a nursery
Starting my dream job at the University of Utah Neuro Rehab
Our quick trip to Denver to see the Cubs play
Celebrating 5 years with the husband I always hoped and dreamed I would marry
Welcoming my first born, Luke (fresh from the oven, I just love this face)
Transitioning from a family of 2 to 3
Watching Luke grow and learn everyday. His personality is really starting to show at 3 months old!

I know 2010 will be even better! Here's to more adventures with my men in 2010! It's the only theme I could come up with.

He was given a name

2009-12-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

Luke was blessed on Sunday by his father. It was a really special day for our family. Jared gave a very sweet blessing, Luke didn't make a peep, and I bawled (along with my mom/sisters/aunt and nana) putting on his outfit/driving to the church/and as soon as Jared and Luke walked up to the front of the chapel. I can't believe that this little family of 3 is mine! I can't wait to see what it looks like when it is complete!The weekend celebrations consisted of going out to dinner with my family on Saturday night. That is just our style and also because I was afraid that my tiny little house would not be able to accommodate both families (and it wouldn't have). We then had Jared's family and my parents over on Sunday for a little brunch. Special thanks to family and friends that made it out on Sunday with all the snow. The next baby I'm blessing in the summer if I have a choice in the matter!

Pictures with the grandparents My cute dad called me when they got home and the next day to tell me how cute Luke is! Luke is his first grandson and he is a proud Papa.

Just hanging out with cousin Jake. I think that size wise these two boys look 4 weeks apart, with Luke being the older one that is! Luke may always be bigger but Jake will always be older! They are just so cute together! I see these two getting into a lot of trouble!

I waited until the week of the blessing to get Luke's outfit. It came with this little gem! I fell to the ground laughing and just about peed my pants (better take those Kegel exercises more seriously!) when I put it on his head. As much as Luke really liked this little bonnet, I wasn't about to let my little boy look like a cute little Amish girl on his blessing day!

"The REALLY big boy is mine."

2009-12-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

Chances are that is a phrase I will be using a lot at the park while chatting with other moms.

Luke is 2 months old as of this last Monday! I just can't believe how fast the time has flown by and yet it seems like he has always been a part of our family. I have to admit, I'm glad that the first 2 months are over. I thought I better jot down a little something before I forget how cute he is (the last few days have been a little rough, I'm blaming the shots).
Two month stats are as follows:

Weight: 14.5 pounds, 96th percentile
Length: 25 inches, 98th percentile
Head: 16.1 inches, 75th percentile

This little boy is definitely his fathers son. He has the biggest grin which he is giving out more freely, I think he saves most of them for his mommy. He likes to tease his mother and play jokes like pretending to be hungry when he isn't. He's got his dad's rhythm and love for music, he can shake his arms and legs with the best of them. He is easy going (most of the time) and doesn't seem to have a care in the world, that is unless you tic him off and he will let you know when you do. He is such a funny little talker and has some pretty important and serious things to say.

Luke loves to walk around with mom. He loves his bouncy and mobile. He loves a good swaddle when he is tired. He has such a big tongue/cheeks that he can't close his mouth when he is sitting up right. He gets a funny half grin and grunt when he is hungry. He loves to eat and does so frequently throughout the day. It amazes his mother that he can go 11+ hours between feedings at night time. He drives his mother crazy how much he enjoys looking at the walls/ceiling/floor! He loves to splish and splash in the bath. He gives a funny "ahh" sigh after he sneezes. He loves his mother most of all, which I secretly love might not be such a good thing when I go back to work.

I call dad when ever anything is not going so smoothly, happens to be a lot. I had to call Jared cause Luke just wouldn't eat! (wish my annoying voice wasn't in the clip)

Oh those cheek!

They are just silly bears but he loves them.

When the bouncers a rockin'... Check out how his rhythm picks up as the music does. So funny.

Just cause he's cute!

Very Thankful

2009-11-28T14:34:00.001-08:00

I have so many things to be thankful for..family (sister Michelle is finally home to play with me), friends, blessings, gospel principles, jobs, food, shelter, etc. The list goes on and on! Having a baby has really put things into perspective for me of what is really important and what is not (some would be amazed at how much I have cut back my television watching); my house may be a disaster but I held/played with/feed/changed/rocked my sweet little baby boy ALL DAY LONG and usually/sometimes get dinner on the table! It really doesn't get any better than that!

Jared and I usually switch off years of whose family we go to for Thanksgiving but he let me make an exception this year and we went with my family two years in a row. My grandparents live in Cedar City and if we are lucky we see them 2 times a year. That just isn't enough if you ask me. I thought that it was important for Luke to meet his Great Grandparents, especially since he only has on special great grandpa living. The trip was short but sweet, we drove there and back on Thursday but it was totally worth it. Luke did amazingly well during the long car ride there and back; we only stopped once on the way home.

My little family! Lots of new things for Luke to look at!

Luke with his Great Grandpa Blaine. I don't think they make grandpas any cuter!

Sleeping it off with Grandpa after a big yummy meal!

Saying good night to Great Grandma Shirley! Hopefully we see you again real soon!

I'm getting old

2009-11-07T21:42:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a trip to Fresh Market to pick up a few items. While pulling into he parking lot there was a jeep full of girls driving frantically around the parking lot. As I walked into the store they turned a corner and revved their engine and speed towards me. I found that I was deliberately positioning myself so that they could see the crusty I was displaying in disapproval.

I quickly gathered my items and checked out at the self check. Across from me there were two boys who appeared to be twelve buying two dozen eggs. I was quickly reminded of a summer night before my junior year of high school. Me and my friends were driving through Smith's, probably going too fast, when another car full of girls, cheerleaders, called one of my friends a whore. We picked up some eggs, got my friend's mom's green astro van and stopped by each of these girl's houses and unloaded our eggs. At the time I had just had knee surgery, a common theme my high school years, and I really didn't throw any eggs and the one I did throw landed on the grass, it didn't break either! My friend got out of the car, picked it up and threw it straight at the front door! Well we got caught and were escorted back to one of the girls houses to clean up. The dad called all the girls home and everyone had to apologize. Little did they know when they all went home that all of their houses were egged not just the one! Yeah, the next day we cleaned those too, i didn't really though cause I could barely walk! I didn't know the girls, nor did I have anything against them except for the fact they dissed my friend, I was just along for he ride.

Anyway. On the way home I thought about Luke. What kind of boy was he going to grow up to be like? What would his friends be like, what sports would he play, what kind of trouble would he get into? It is crazy to think that someday this sweet boy will crawl, walk, talk, go to school, possibly get married, and maybe someday have babies of his own! Instantly I felt sort of like a grandma and I was already imagining my grandchildren! Looking at this sweet, innocent child it is impossible to imagine him doing anything wrong!

Halloween 2009 and More

2009-11-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween is just so much more fun with children and I would be a bad mother if I didn't blog about it. Luke was given quite a few Halloween outfits, some of which he out-grew. I think he got a little tired of all the wardrobe changes. Luke's grandma made him an adorable little football player outfit and we were his fans (easy costumes for mom and dad)!

Is there anything cuter than a daddy with his baby? I think not!We hung out with Luke's cousins on Halloween night. Ben and Jake were the cutest cowboy and Indian duo you have ever seen! The boys weren't down with the photo shoot.

Luke celebrated his one month birthday on the 30th! One month??? Where did the time go. I can't believe how much this boy has changed in a month. He went from a "tiny" little newborn....I think that I can safely say that Luke has the biggest double chin of any newborn/infant I have ever seen!

He is now a big boy! (we are still dealing with the aweful newborn acne!)

I think that Luke and I have adjusted well to each other. I am still trying to figure out a good routine to get house work, cooking, working out, etc. done. I just don't know how I'm going to get anything done though when this boy loves to snuggle so much! I find that I just can't put him down and I don't get anything done!

2 1/2 Weeks going on 13 years old

2009-10-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure what has happened to my "little" Luke! He is just growing up too fast for me! Luke is gaining weight like a champ! He has gained 1 pound 3 oz since his birth in just his short 2 weeks of life putting him now in the 90% for weight! He has grown 1/2 inch too! I think he is a pretty good sleeper (for now) and he generally gets at least 6 uninterrupted hours every night, which is really nice for his mommy!

This last week the dreaded baby acne struck! Mom is not a fan! I went from this sweet little face on Monday...To this on Tuesday...To finally this on Wednesday! Poor guy! I think this was the worst of it, hopefully!Luckily, Luke had his newborn pictures taken before the zit outbreak. My SIL's sister, Jeanette did them. We can't wait to see the rest!
I have been a real lazy mom so far and haven't really taken any pictures and the only ones I've taken have been with my iPhone because it is always by my side and I just can't put him down! But this way I can capture some of the silly things he does while I'm holding him like eating in his sleep...Seriously upset hiccup face!And all of the quirky smiles!As cute as baby clothes are I think my favorite outfit is the "birthday suit" with a diaper of course, you don't want to chance it without!
Luke and I had our first "Farm", aka Wheeler Farm, outing on Friday, thanks to Liz and Jeanette and kids for letting us tag along. Luke did this the whole time.I was a little timid entering into the mommy world but even though I didn't have a little toddler or child to chase around I was rather entertained! The people watching at these places is great! It is not everyday you see a transgender male (I'm not sure what the PC term is for a man that dresses up like a woman) walking around with his tripod, most likely taking pictures for his facebook profile or maybe for some other online dating site! The Farm is a great place and I can see that we will spend a lot of time there in the future and the best part is that it is free!

I love that I just get to sit and watch this boy grow everyday. Seems like he has always been a part of our family! Just don't grow up too fast "little" Luke!

Luke Johan Mann Birth Story

2009-10-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

Luke Johan Mann
Born September 30, 2009 @ 8:33am
9 lbs 22 inches long

My little Mann, Luke is finally here! He was late but definitely worth the wait. I went to the doctor on September 23 crossing my fingers that I would have made some sort of progression just to find out nothing had happened since the first time he checked me at 37 weeks! The doctor scheduled an induction for me to go into the hospital on the 29th! I bawled the whole way home. I was so tired of everyone asking when he was going to come. I was more anxious than anyone. I felt like I was being robbed of time with him! Pregnancy hormones are the worst! However post pregnancy hormones are pretty bad too! I thought to myself on the way home from the doctors that I was just going to stay in my house until the baby came, I just couldn't bare to see anyone! I did not do that and I'm glad! I enjoyed a surprise birthday party, tailgate party, and farewell that weekend, all without worrying about a little one.

Monday night I woke up at 12:30am with really painful contractions. I decided I would time them. I timed them for 6 hours(!) during the night. They were irregular and didn't get much closer than 8 min apart. We really wanted this baby to come before grandma left for her trip on the 30th! This got Jared and I really excited. We tried real hard all Tuesday to speed things along...walking down a big hill, spicy food, etc. I had pretty much just given up home of him coming on his own. I was kind of starting to feel guilty that I was rushing him out into this world when he wasn't ready. I have heard of miserable induction stories and I just did not want to go through that! It was beginning to look like that would be the case, unfortunately.

Tuesday night was here and I was to be admitted to the hospital at 8pm. Jared and I got dinner, Cafe Rio (big mistake). On our way to the hospital my contractions came back and they were painful! They seemed really close but I didn't bother timing them, cause I was headed to the hospital anyway. I checked in and an hour later the resident came in. She told me they were going to start me on cervidil sp? and just let me rest during the night. I told her I was having a lot of contractions and she decided to check me out. To my surprise I was 80% effaced and dilated to 3cm! This was very exciting news! The contractions got a lot more painful but luckily soon after I got my epidural and they started the pitocin instead of waiting until the morning, only after 4 attempts at the IV! Epidural was much less painful than the IV. I spent the rest of the night pleasantly numb.

The nurse checked on me occasionally and told me that if my water didn't break on its own, they would break it at 5:30. 5:30 rolled around and she didn't come, I was getting anxious. She came in at 6:15am. Sometime during the night my water broke, I was completely oblivious to it and who knows how long I laid in it! I was dilated to a 9 and almost there but would have to wait for the shift change before anything happened! Another nurse checked me again at 7:30! It was now time to push. I started pushing at 8:00 and "little" Luke was here at 8:33! I was completely taken back at how big he was! I knew that he would be big with me being overdue but 9 pounds was at least a pound more than I expected. At the hospital he measured 21 inches right out of the womb kicking and screaming but at the pediatricians he measured 22 calm as could be so I'm going to say he was 22 inches, it is a better height/weight ratio!

Ok this is getting way too long! Needless to say everything went a lot better than I had anticipated, besides Luke turning blue on me the first night! I would say that I think Jared and I have him pretty well figured out but it changes day to day. I just never thought he was be so dang cute! His parents can't get enough of him!

For those of you who are curious on the middle name let me tell you the story. Jared and I knew for quiet a while that this boy was probably going to be Luke. Luke is a strong solid name which was fitting! We have tossed around middle names but never came to a conclusion. Jared wanted it to be a tribute to someone special but didn't necessarily want it to be obvious. The day we were leaving the hospital we still didn't know what it would be but we had to fill out the paper work. We made a list of all the possible candidates. I looked at the whole name together, first name middle initial combo, and initials. We ranked them and then defended our choices. Looking over Jared's reason why he wanted Johan just made me start bawling and I knew that is what he would be named. Jared's grandfather John raised Jared while his mother pursued nursing school and worked. Jared lived with his grandfather until we got married. He immigrated to the states at the age of about eleven from Denmark where his given name was Johan. He changed his name when he moved here so it wouldn't be obvious that he was a foreigner. Jared's grandfather was one of the sweetest, most interesting people that I have ever met and so I'm so happy for Luke to be named after him.

Starter Mullet! I couldn't believe his dark hair!

Cousins meeting for the first time! I hope these two are best of friends! They were born 4 weeks apart but Luke out-weighed Jake by I think it was a little over a pound at birth. Their due dates were 4 days apart.

My "sugar bowl" baby coming home from the hospital!

My Sweet Luke! We are just so in love with him! If I could put him down long enough I would be able to take more pictures!

And some of the hospital pictures I got suckered into buying!

Still Pregnant

2009-09-20T19:59:00.001-07:00

Just if you were curious and I'm doing fine if I could just avoid any and all comments about still being pregnant (I've heard them all by now)! I have decided that there are really 2 halves to the 3rd trimester. The 1st half is for the lucky women who deliver slightly before or after 38 weeks. They don't have to endure the last 2-3 or 4 weeks of insensitive comments (Are you sure your not having twins??? being one of them! Don't EVER comment about a pregnant girls weight or size I should say past 38 weeks or you may witness a complete breakdown), insurmountable amount of anxiousness that sets in (I know this is experienced before 38 weeks but it does not even come close to what you feel at 40 weeks), or the complete and utter state of uncomfortableness and stretch that is experienced! And well the 2 half of the third trimester is just that and MUCH, MUCH worse!

Don't get me wrong, I am embracing life just Jared and I for now. Never again can we just run off to breakfast, sleep in, or do absolutely nothing on a Saturday again without planning for the little one. But I would like for him to come, ASAP! I can't wait to see how big he is or who he looks like or what his temperament is going to be like. This patience thing is hard! I just feel like my life is in limbo and I want to move on already!

In case you are wonder what 40 weeks pregnant with just ONE baby looks like here you go! It looks as though I might have been crying, which is a common theme for me lately, but it was actually just allergies!
There is a degree of self-centeredness that comes towards the end of pregnancy so I have to apologize! And I don't want to sound grouchy, I can't help that my uterus has a higher weight capacity than others. I used to think that the boy didn't want to come but I'm pretty sure my uterus just won't let him! Or maybe he is just a Mamma's boy... Guess I'll just have to WAIT and see!

Summer Lovin'

2009-08-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

Many people may not look forward to August as a favorite summer month but it's mine! One because of my anniversary (5 years!) and two because that means fall is just around the corner.

As far as summers go, this has been a pretty tame one for a pregnant gal like myself. I however have not escaped the dreaded water retention that comes with the heat and and sitting for practically 48 hours one weekend didn't help! For Jared's birthday we made a quick trip to Denver to catch the Cubs play the Rockies. I thought we would get there just in time to hang out at the pool for an hour, nap an hour, and then be ready just in time for the game. We left the house at 8 and got there just in time for batting practice at 4:30 (catch my sarcasm!) and sat some more until the game started at 7 and ended sometime after 11! Fortunately swollen feet doesn't really hurt and I was a trooper all day but I did put my foot down when Jared thought it would be fun to pull an all nighter and drive back. My 33 week pregnant back just couldn't take it! I'm going to miss times like this when we're not able to just pick up and leave without a care in the world!

Wish I could say this was the worst my feet got, but this was just at the end of 24 hours!

One thing this tired pregnant girl has enjoyed this summer, all my alone time during the week nights. May sound odd to you but sometimes this butt of mine (which gets bigger by the day) does not want to leave the couch. But don't worry Jared hasn't suffered. His summer nights have been spent bowling with his friends. They joined a summer league at Olympus Hills which allowed them to bowl 3 free games every day. Jared became obsessed and bowled anywhere from 4-6 days a week. Initially I would go and sometimes bowl or watch but he just takes it too seriously for me. His highlight of the summer would be bowling an almost perfect game through 10 frames and then a spare in the 10! I honestly couldn't believe it, 10 straight strikes in a row. I was glad that I could be there for it.
Now here we are nearing the end of August and I would have to say that I am pretty much in denial that I'm going to have a baby in just 4 weeks. I know hard to believe with the 50 pounds that I've already gained (I'm telling myself 20 of that is water weight). My nursery is not put together and there are quite a few things I still need to do around my house since the move. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of having my large self photographed but my good friend Caity talked me into it and it was a lot of fun. Thanks Caity/Katy!

But don't let me fool you, I am so excited for this little Mann to join our family. It is just hard for me to believe that I've grown a person in my belly and even harder to believe is that he has to come out soon! Guess I won't believe it until I see it! Well here goes to 4 ish more weeks! (I try and round down whenever possible)

'Bout Freakin' Time!

2009-07-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

You may have thought that I abandoned my blog, well that is not the case. Between my computer crashing, cruise to Mexico, graduating, studying for boards, moving, not having the internet, finally getting the internet on our desktop computer that needs some serious updating, and then spending an hour hooking up the wireless router, I have not had access to the internet on my laptop, or my pictures, and therefor have not blogged. Here are just a few pictures to update you on the last 3 months of my life.

In April, Jared and went on a cruise to Mexico. We were one of the last ships to set sail before the whole swine flu epidemic broke out. Luckily at the time I did not know about this flu but that did not stop me from a visit to the on board doctor, later costing me $75 dollars. Here's the story... I decided that I was not going to take my trusty doppler with me on the vacation. I figured that if something went wrong and I couldn't hear the heart beat but I didn't know that there wasn't a heart beat it wouldn't ruin my vacation. Well on the plane ride there, the little tike got so excited and I started feeling him kick like crazy. While laying out reading one of my maternity books I read that once you start feeling the baby kick you should feel him at least once in a 2 hour period, or something like that. After a bad sunburn and applying expired medicated lotion with instructions in Spanish, I thought I might have killed the child. And then of course I couldn't feel him kick for what seemed like a day. I broke down in the middle of the night for sure I killed my unborn child, resulting in a visit to the doctor to hear his little heart beat. Just to forewarn you all, you probably know more than the doctor on a cruise ship. He told me that at almost 19 weeks, the baby is only 2 inches long (ya right!) and that you can't even begin to feel them kick. Jared stopped me from arguing with the doctor in my hysterical state but I wanted to give him a little lesson in child development!

I finally graduated with my masters in occupational therapy, passed my boards, and started my first adult job. So far everything is great. I take about a 2 hour nap when I get home and have started counting down this pregnancy not by the weeks to go but the hours of work I have to work!

And finally here is a picture of my belly on Father's day. I think that I was 27 weeks at this point. I feel like I have more than doubled since then (I'll post an updated picture as soon as I take one, I've not been very good at taking pictures). I have already gained a whopping 30 pounds at least and I'm frightened for my dr's appointment tomorrow to step on the scale! Just a little advice, don't try on your pre-pregnancy pants just to see how much you have gained; at your already highly emotional state it will just make you feel that much uglier!

It's a...

2009-05-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

BOY! For sure

We first found out at 16 weeks that it was a boy because I'm lucky enough to have a friend who did not mind me bugging her at work to do an ultrasound. I thought I should wait just to be sure (my sister was supposed to be a boy). Now I can finally start planning and more importantly shopping, once I start my job. This was the first time that I actually got to see his profile, I think he is so cute and looks just like Jared. He was all nice and cozy in there, hanging out with his cute little legs crossed (image on the right)!I hope these next 20 weeks go by fast, I can't wait to meet the little Mann! Now what to call him?

I have a dream

2009-04-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

I easily cried before I was pregnant. Since I've been pregnant I cry at anything that strikes any emotions in me, just ask my poor husband. I'm sure you've seen this but I had to share it with those who might not have. I bawled watching it, which is no surprise to me. I hope that you enjoy it just as much. Bringing a baby into this world is a scary thing but knowing that there are people out there like this makes it not as frightening. Umm I guess I can't post it but check it out at youtube, well worth the 7 minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

National Holiday Alert

2009-03-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

Or The Main Event, I just can't keep up! If you weren't aware, it's Robyn's Birthday today! Some of my favorite memories with you include, in no particular order: North Carolina, high school and all the drama, camping in the Uintas, Newport, sleeping in Ryan's car in Vegas, that nasty hotel in Vegas, countless drive by's and stalkings, you locking your keys in your car in Rose Park of all places, the heater room, hot tubing (what were we thinking), having someone during the hardest time of my life who knew exactly how I felt, and seeing your cutest little guy for the first time, and many many more! Who would have thought all those years ago that we would be where we are today, I'm sure we didn't! I think you have become such a fun mom; I'm going to be calling you for a lot of questions, hope your prepared! I hope that you have the best day! Love!

You're not really pregnant until you post it on your blog!

2009-03-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Utes win Sugar Bowl...

I got a sugar baby! (in that order)The little wiggle worm would sit still for the picture!
Due around September 21st

There are two things Jared and I thought for certain: (1) I did not want to be pregnant during my last internship, (2) I did not want to get pregnant before our cruise on April 18th. We had talked about trying soon, but for sure not until after our cruise. That didn't really work out for us but we couldn't be more excited! We were even more elated to know that this little one was going to have a cousin REALLY close in age and that I had someone to go through this who knows A LOT more about babies and all that stuff!

What I have learn so far...
-You have to wait the full 3 minutes to read the results of the pregnancy test!
-It is not a good idea to take prenatals and then eat, you should take them in the reverse order.
And that's about it!

How I found out I was pregnant... (may be too much information for male readers)
I had been keeping track of my period because it had been irregular and I wanted to know when a good time would be to book our cruise. Based off this calendar we set a date and booked our cruise. Well P day came around and nothing happened, I wasn't surprised because like I said I had been irregular. I had a soccer game that night and decided to wear white shorts thinking for sure that would do the trick but still nothing. I took a test just to see. Immediately the first line showed up. I wasn't expecting it to be positive and was upset at my self for wasting $10 on the test. I didn't wait around for the results. The next day I naturally took the second test in the box, why not I had one right. Again, that first line popped up. I was somewhat relieved because I wasn't planning on getting pregnant for the 2 reasons I already stated. The next day Jared and I watched our nephew Ben. I still wasn't feeling just right and blamed it on my lack of period. On the way home we stopped off to the grocery store to get bribery treats for our naughty primary class. Since I was there I might as well pick up another box of pregnancy tests. I went home and took one. Same story as before. Went and watched a movie with Jared. Before bed I looked at the test again and much to my surprise I saw a positive sign. Shaking, I showed the test to Jared. His response was, "I think if they sit around long enough they all go positive. The one I threw away this morning had 2 lines." That was not a good enough explanation for me so I took the second test in the box. We waited the three minutes this time and sure enough there was a positive sign but it was very faint. That wasn't enough surety for me so we jumped in the car to get a digital pregnancy test. (Total cost of pregnancy tests now totally $40!) I thought we would have to wait until morning, there was no way I was going to be able to generate enough pee so soon. I drank a glass of water and sure enough it went right through me and the test read very clear and in bold letters "Pregnant"! I don't think either of us slept that night!

How I've felt so far...
I have felt great! So good that until I heard the heart beat and saw the little bean wiggling around I wondered if I really was pregnant and now the fact that I am uncomfortable in my clothes! I definitely have felt much more fatigued than usual and I now go to bed around 9:oopm. I purchased a Doppler off Ebay because I was so paranoid that something just wasn't right. That Doppler has been my best friend. We found the heart beat at about 9 weeks and I still use it every once in awhile just to make sure. I have tried to keep it very hush hush just because I didn't want people at my internship to know, thinking that they might not offer me a job if I was, I know it is illegal to discriminate against pregnant women but another thing I guess I have learned is that you don't really think rationally when you are pregnant. I've started the paper work for my first professional job so I thought it was safe to post on blogger, plus I don't think anyone from work checks my blog. Guess I'll find out. In the mean time I've enjoyed shopping for swim suit cover-ups!

Any and all advice is welcome!

A Long time coming

2009-02-23T08:09:00.001-08:00

this blog post and my favorite Nana's 80th birthday.

It has now been almost 2 months since Nana turned 80 on January 7th, but it is never too late to celebrate in my book. Nana made it very clear to everyone that she did not want to have a party, that it just wasn't a happy day for her (she buried her husband on her birthday 25 years ago). But after much persuading she agreed to dinner out with the family, and I'm not talking to just any restaurant, she wanted to go to Jim's Family Restaurant, that's my classy Nana! I'm not sure why Jim's has become a family favorite for us, I guess that just goes to show how up-class my family is, but we sure do enjoy the Jim's out in Sandy.

Nana and her brother Elden

Her Mom, Dad, and herself

Nana and Bompa (her husband Phil) on their wedding day
My mom, Nana, Bompa, and Auntie Kim I loved having my Nana so close growing up. We spent every Tuesday night there while my mom taught night school for the teen parent's program. You always knew if you wanted to get away from home Nana's place was a safe refuge, which I took great advantage of! I love hanging out with Nana, whether it's driving her to a doctor's appointment, picking up prescriptions, taking her to get her nails and hair done, or just sitting on the couch.

Some of Nana's favorite things are tootsie pops, the raspberry and chocolate ones, Arby's ham n' swiss sandwiches, crossword puzzles, Walker Texas Ranger, Desperate House Wives, getting her nail and hair down (weekly), ordering out of catalogs, and of course her grandchildren.

Here's to many more birthdays Nana! Love You!

Go Utes!

2008-12-30T21:50:00.000-08:00

My husband leaves in the morning but I've got this lovely picture to keep me company and fill the void of not going to the game! This was after the HUGE win against the team from the south. Yes, I am the size of a college football quarterback! I stole this off my friend Ashleigh's blog. Admit it Aubrey your jealous!

Tis the time

2008-12-29T09:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went just like that. It is hard to believe all the time and preparation that we put in for just one day! Our Christmas celebrations this year consisted of:

Annual Friend's Christmas party with Jared's friends. We bought over 200 double stackers, Jr. bacon cheeseburgers, spicy chicken sandwiches, chili, and fries that we delivered to whomever we could find standing out in front of the homeless shelter in downtown Salt Lake. It can get pretty intense when you have 75+ hungry, cold people! This year we decided not to do hot chocolate after it got dumped on Rex last year.
Christmas Eve with Jared's family. Jared and Benny played in his tent and we put together Ben's big boy bike from Grandma.
Christmas morning with just the two of us. (Don't you wish you could look this good when you wake up? ha ha ha! I'm doing what I do best, eating the Reeses bell shaped chocolates!) I got a new small digital camera, which I disparately needed after my 4 year old one got trampled at the BYU vs. Utah game. I love it and it is so much more convenient to have than my larger Nikon. Jared had to hurry and show me what a good deal he got on my camera. His favorite part of shopping is finding the good deals and he does really well at it.I about gave Jared a heart attack with this letter:

"Dearest Jared,

(The first paragraph is just to throw him off) We've had our good times and our bad times, and made our fair share of mistakes. 2008 has been a rough year, you with your new job and me finishing up my class work. I'm glad that I have had you there by my side. You are always so optimistic and positive. I appreciate so much all the hard work you have put in for our family and your endless patience with me and all of my girly antics.

I just don't quite know how to say this; I've thought long and hard about it. I just can't pretend anymore (I'm not very good at keeping secrets). I've not been very happy about how things have worked out lately (I said something rude about him preferring to be with his friends over me for the New Year). I want nothing more than to be with you next year but I just can't do it, I think that we need a break. I hate to do this to you because you are so sweet, but I've made up my mind. I know that you will find comfort in your friends next year at the Sugar Bowl! You deserve a break from all the stress of your job and I know Rex willl take care of you and show you a good time."

It was so sad watching him read this letter. I thought that for sure he would see right through it but I guess seeing his sadness made me really sad and then he saw that and thought it was for real. Christmas time is not a time to play practical jokes and the sanctity of ones marriage should never be joked about so I suggest not trying this little prank at home! I know that he was really relieved to get to the end, he almost did not make it, and he is really excited to be going!

Christmas Afternoon with Jared's extended family. I got this sweet Utes apron. Benny did some dancing. This is just a small sample of Ben's many dance moves. (I'm not really sure how to turn it?)
Christmas Night consisted of napping and watching Indian Jones.
Day after Christmas dinner with my family. This was one of the quietest dinners with my oldest and younger brother (the loud talkers) gone.

And now for our birthday celebrations:

On Saturday we went to Ben's 2nd birthday sledding party. Benny did not so much like sledding but everyone else did. I did not plan on sledding and was not dressed appropriately so I only went down once, and I'll have to admit it was a lot of fun. Jared and I just love Ben to peices! (You would think with my new camera I would take more pictures but I just forget!) I can't wait to see all the fun things Ben learns to do this next year!
Saturday night we went to a birthday dinner for one of our friends at Bennihana's. I have never been there before. I think I enjoyed watching the chef more than anything. Our chefs must have been the best in the whole restaurant because you couldn't hear any other tables but ours. After we went and saw Marley and Me. It was really cute and really sad and I bawled through the last third of the movie!

Well there you have it! Only one more week of vacation, babysitting Benny and Brooklyn, dinner with my girlfriends, New Year's Eve by myself, a wedding, and a Sugar Bowl Game before I start my very last 12 week internship at the University of Utah inpatient rehab. This will be a busy week!

I'm a bad neighbor and I hate winter

2008-12-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting inside while the 70+ year old man that lives behind us is shoveling the driveway. Technically it is his driveway though so he should have to shovel it, right? Besides I'm a girl and that is a man's job, I should tell him just to leave it for Jared when he gets home, he he he. I'm going to continue to stay cozy, wrapped in my blanket, and sipping hot chocolate while he breaks his back with all that snow. Crazy man it's still snowing!

I absolutely hate winter! I hate snow; I hate being cold; I hate wet pants; I hate crazy shoppers; I hate buying presents, the list goes on and on. Now I really hate buying presents for people at Christmas time because we are supposed to, I like giving gifts other times. I think it is stupid. You spend your money on me, I spend my money on you--it's just silly. I really like personalized, sentimental gifts, gifts from the heart but I'm too lazy/uncreative/thoughtless to think of such gifts for people. I think we should just all buy for ourselves and call it good, I do that anyway. Maybe when I have children I will be more excited about it. And how exactly do you keep the gifts you buy for your spouse a secret when you share the same accounts? I guess we should do the cash thing. I hate secrets and for all the Christmas's I've been married, I've known or found out, through my sneakiness, what I was getting for Christmas. I think the only Christmas gift that I did not know about was the gift Jared gave me when we were dating, a bowling ball with my name on it (personalized, like that) and bowling shoes 1.5 sizes too small, that I still wear.

Don't get me wrong there are things about winter I like, such as winter break, which I am enjoying right now, especially since I don't have a job! I also like the holidays, obviously not for the gift giving, but I like the lights and the decorations and getting together with family. I like staying inside where it is warm and I like hot chocolate. I like Christmas parties and Christmas cards. I'm not a total Scrooge. I like Christmas movies, especially The Grinch, and going to movies. And I like all the yummy food and treats.

Well there, I felt like I needed to blog. Now I'm done.

12-0

2008-11-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of trash talk this season from the blue fans. I've kept a tight lip, not because I didn't have faith but in the end I did not need to say anything at all...'nough said! Oh wait you can't quite see the score.There, that's better!

I have had so much fun this year watching my Utes go undefeated! The last BYU vs Utah game that I went to was in 2004. I must say that this win was so much better. In 2004, we were supposed to win, but this was SUPPOSED to be BYU's year, Quest for Perfection, ha!We had a good crew this year; our tailgates can't be beat!Our season menu consisted of ribs, steaks, deep fried turkey, frog legs, pork kabobs, and lots of yummy side dishes; I think I've easily put on 10 lbs from these games!Oh and I can't forget to mention the best cheering section!And a blackout victory.

Now, which BCS bowl game will be be going to? I'm hoping it is not the Fiesta Bowl because I've already been to that bowl game back in 2004 when the Utes were the 1st BCS Busters under the original BCS rules. Sugar bowl could be lots of fun, I'm down with New Orleans for New Years!

I also had celebratory wings with Brian Johnson at the Sky Box after the big win...picture coming soon for proof...he's my hero!

I'm so excited...

2008-11-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

and I just can't hide it! It has been so long since I posted I almost forgot how. October has been a hellofa month. I have pretty much alienated myself from most everyone, I feel like Jared and I have been living separate lives, all in preparation for the Research Symposium, dun dun dun. Well it is finally over!!!

The Research Symposium is an event where all the students in my Masters program present their Masters Research Project. This is a project that we have been working on for almost 2 years and it is the last big thing that we have to do before we graduate, besides 2 other major papers. I have been stressing out about it! I hate speaking in public! The last three church talks I've given I have been completely bawling 1/4 of the way into the talks. Jared said it would be a success as long as I didn't cry! And I didn't, thankfully! Pre-symposium jitters! The bags under my eyes demonstrate the lack of sleep I got. This is Jana my Research partner, poor girl has had to spend WAY too much time with me! Jared was the only member of my family that I invited/allowed to come hear me speak. If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it then does it really fall? If I butchered my presentation and no one was there then I didn't really butcher it, that's how I see it at least. Brit and I SOO excited to be done, now we have more time to do important things like design baby announcements and download digital scrapbook stuff! Oh and neither of us are pregnant!

My little brother also left on his mission, last week for Spokane, Washington. Now he is a natural born speaker. He did a really great on his talk and he is already a district leader or something of the sorts in the MTC. Even with my busy schedule I was able to go to lunch with my grandmother who lives in Cedar City. It was nice to be able to spend time with family, even as dysfunctional as we all are. It was a quick busy weekend that I'm sure my mother is glad to have over! Me with my cute sisters, Michelle and Ashley. We had family pictures taken before Michael left. Can you tell the outfit theme? White shirts with jeans, classic! I apparently didn't get the memo that the white shirts had to be polos! I have to say that I like my bangs most of the time, this particular time they just aren't working!

Why I love my husband so much

2008-09-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

It is hard for me to put into words why I love Jared (Alexander didn't catch on) so much. He just makes me smile all the time. He is constantly doing funny things. I just never know what to expect from him, he always has me on my toes!

While preparing for my day tomorrow Jared came upstairs looking like this:They say a picture says a 1000 words. These pictures are saying a whole lot! If you can't tell those are MY sweat pants. Luckily I don't put anything away (like the Swifter Vac in the first picture, I wanted to capture the moment and there was no time to make things look presentable for the blog, who am I trying to impress anyway by posting pictures like these) and the camera was readily available. It was all fun and games until he knew these were going on the blog! I love you buddy, thanks for making my life so enjoyable!

For your rainy day

2008-09-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be ok. I'm adjusting to the new bangs, which is a huge adjustment! I promise that I'm not in hiding! You can all go on living your lives knowing that I'm going to be ok and I'll pull through this. I'll be blatantly honest, it was touch and go there that first day but I've managed to get a slight swoosh out of otherwise sickly straight bangs.This was the first day. You can't tell but my eyes are red from crying/laughing about them with Jared. They felt light a big ol' mop on my forehead.

Here I am day 3, enjoying the beach. Robs saw them and said they were cute and I think she would be honest with me if there weren't.

The sun will come up tomorrow.

I should know by now

2008-09-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I get these ideas in my head that I need to change. So what if every time I go to Cafe Rio I either get a pork burrito or steak salad. When I try and change it up, I'm usually disappointed like the other night when I got a steak burrito. There was a reason why I grew my bangs out in 7th grade. My usual girl only takes appointments now on Wednesday and Saturday but I wasn't going to be able to get in until like December, so I called up Lunatic Fringe and they had an opening today. I felt stupid printing off a picture of how I wanted my hair but I'm not very good about explaining what I want. My stylist tried talking me out of it but I was sticking to my guns. She kept telling me how cute they were but I didn't think she was through cutting them. I went in asking for C and I think I got a combination of A and D, yes D. I'm too sick to my stomach right now to post a picture. Any tips to make your hair grow super fast?

I need your help!

2008-09-15T20:04:00.001-07:00

It is that time of year again that only rolls around for me twice maybe 3 times. Time to cut (trim) my hair. I am so old fashioned with my hair, I know. I have pretty much had it the same since the sixth grade. I had short hair once, and I've tried medium hair but I just don't think it suits me very well. You are probably thinking to yourself that it doesn't matter because I always wear my hair up, which oddly enough started right after I got engaged, but something I would like to change to feel pretty again. One thing that a friend mentioned that quickly grow out are bangs. I sort of had "swooshy" bangs oh about 2-3 hair cuts ago (approximately a year and a half ago). They were ok. They were really thin and you could hardly notice. So here is where I need your help...do I go with bangs and if so what style or no bangs?

Option A- slightly chunky straight

Option B- Slightly thin Straight

Option C- Swooshy straight

Option D- Just plan beautiful

Please cast your votes, this is a life or death matter!

4 Things Tag

2008-09-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

If this means Kim will blog again then here goes, however I'm still waiting on a Beauty Treatment Tag!

4 THINGS TAG

4 Random things I like about my husband

1. He lets me do whatever I want to do as long as I'm happy, and it's not against "the plan"

2. He is a really hard worker and I know he will always put food on the table even if that means it is the pizza he is delivering!

3. He love going on "romantic" vacations

4. He is a really good dancer and always makes me laugh, I wish he would dance for others so they could appreciate his dance moves!

4 Jobs I have had

1. PBX Operator @ Salt Lake Regional Medical Center

2. Urban Central Region Computrition Data Specialist for IHC

3. Janitor at the Life Center

4. Substitute Teacher, even though I haven't subbed yet

4 Movies I have watched more than once

1. Zoolander

2. Good Will Hunting

3. The Grinch

4. Blue Crush

4 Places I have lived

1. Sandy

2. The Aves (In the Furnace Room!)

3. Willows apartments

4. House by Judge

4 TV shows I have watched- this could be a never ending list

1. Gossip Girl

2. ANTM

3. Prison Break

4. Earl, Office, Scrubs, ER, Grey's Anatomy (Thursday is a busy night)

4 Places I have been most recently

1. School

2. Dan's

3. Rubios

4. University Bookstore

4 People who email me regularly

1. Somebody from school

2. Bike Nashbar

3. A girl from church about enrichment night

4. Somebody else from school

4 Favorite foods

1. Steak

2. French fries

3. Donuts

4. Fruit Smoothies

4 Places I would like to visit

1. China

2. Egypt

3. Hawaii

4. France

4 Things I am looking forward to this coming year

1. Graduating with my Masters degree

2. Getting a real job and making money

3. Fall, I love Fall and it is so close!

4. Jared being finished with his training period

4 People I tag

1. Katy P.

2. Brittany B.

3. Britney K.

4. Caitlin

Dzung Photo

2008-08-25T15:31:00.001-07:00

As I had previously mention, Jared (who now wants to go by Alexander or any derivative of the name, because he thinks there are too many Jared's) and I decided that it was about time we had some "professional" photos taken, since it has been 4 years. While eating at the Arctic Circle on 9th s and 150ish east Der (as I like to call him) saw a photo studio across the street, Dzung Photo, and decided that that was were we were going to have our pictures taken. Once Der sets his mind on something he is pretty good at sticking to it.

The day after our anniversary, we got ready for the photo shoot, not knowing what to expect. I did my hair, which I never do, and we coordinated our outfits. We walked into the studio and there was a tiny Vietnamese man sitting at a computer. The studio was filled with many Asian and Hispanic photographs. What had attracted us to the studio was a colorful picture of a 16 year old girl's quinceira sp?. She was riding a unicorn, I think I might be making that up, and then there was a picture of her superimposed in the upper corner. The little Vietnamese man worked his sales man skills and told us that he does all the pictures for the celebrities, the pictures he had in the studio weren't any that I recognized except for Sierra, I think that is her name... He then showed us a before and after picture of a Hispanic women with a huge zit on her chest and then the after with her looking radiant and glowing. I told Der that I wasn't going to spend over $40, but you can't put a price on this once in a life time opportunity.

The man took us in the back of the studio with nothing but a large white back drop, some lights and his camera. Those photos are then sent to Vietnam (I'm pretty sure I'm supporting cheap labor!). They digitally enter in all of the back grounds, and they took away all of my freckles while they were at it, apparently they don't find them attractive! These are the results...

You can just see the pure joy on Der's face!

It isn't real love without the flames!

Der is just eating this up!

I did a good job marrying this handsome fella!

Did I mention that we also went to the beach for our Anniversary?

Aww!

I would not usually put up kissy pictures for people to see but I wanted you to appreciate each of the backgrounds. They each take 3 hours, or so the guy said.

If you are reading this then I expect that you probably know me and hopefully you know that these aren't serious pictures and hope that you can sense the sarcasm in my voice. I can only imagine the blog surfers that might land on this post, they are going to think that we are beautiful people and full of ourselves!

Good Finds

2008-08-21T20:54:00.001-07:00

I love a good deal just as much as the next guy. I think when people find a good deal they should share it for everyone to enjoy! Robyn knew of a Downeast Clearance Center (approximately 35 S & 35 W) where they send monogrammed and embroidered items from Pottery Barn that for some reason or another people sent back. We decided to make a day of it and had picnic in the park before we hit the clearance center and then this other crazy cheap store, NPI.

First, we had a little picnic in the park, to fuel our appetites for the long day of shoppin'. Lunch was kind of ruined by the wind but I had to post this picture of Hayden and Robs simply because Hayden's eyes are so blue! You might think that I photo shopped them but that is all Hayden.Next we headed to the clearance center. I didn't really know what to expect and Robyn seemed to be preparing me for a let down, but I loved it! There are frankly thousand of different monogrammed and embroidered items. You are probably thinking to yourself, "What would you want to do with someone else's monogrammed or embroidered items?" Well the great thing about embroidery is you can pick it out! With the monogrammed items it is kind of like hunting for treasure. There are some items with a single letter and then there are other items with 3 initials so you kind of have to hunt and you are really lucky if you find something that works with your name/initials. Right off the bat I scored big with an item with all three of my initials in the correct order! I walked passed these lovely jewelry boxes and thought to myself "I've always wanted a jewelry box" and bam there it was!I absolutely love it. I just knew that I had to by it, you wouldn't come across a more perfect matching, it would be a (1/26)^3 chance or something like that, I'm not really a statistician! The even better part was it was buy one get one free and I found one with a R on it for Robyn, of course! These run like $90 bucks but we got 2 of them personalized for $10! Robyn also scored a very cute Pottery Barn baby quilt for $5 and a shark lunch bag for $3, the quilt alone is well over $100 and all she has to do is pic 8 letters out of it!

Next stop NPI, which is another really cheap store with all kinds of different stuff. It was more of a let down, it had some good deals and Robs got some baby stuff for real inexpensive. If you ever see Christmas Reese's in August steer clear of them, not a good idea!

Hayden loved all the shopping as noted here:And here:This boy likes a good deal just as much as his cheap mom and Auntie Amber!

Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Second Chances

2008-08-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend has been quite an eventful one, Jared had a birthday and it was our anniversary.

"It's great, being 28!"

I guess I should write down 28 reasons why I love Jared, but I just don't know if I could come up with that many and I would feel bad if I couldn't. (Just kidding I just don't want you all to be jealous of his awesomeness. )I'm not quite sure what I was thinking but I decided to throw Jared a birthday party with both of our families at our tiny house. I forgot that my family is crazy and loud! I think it will be at least another four years before I decide to let them out of their holding cells and mingle with the general public! Once most everyone left the real party started! We were thoroughly entertained by Ben and Jared proved to us that he still has moves at 28!

That flexibility is unbelievable!

It is amazing what enjoyment a couple of balloons can bring a kid! Looks like I know what I'm going to get him for his birthday.

The kids are starting with the computers at such a young age.

Four years and still going strong.

We spent our anniversary in Midway, Utah. We stayed at the Inn on the Creek, which I think should be called the Inn by the Creek because it isn't actually on the creek. I felt like I was one of the main characters in a Mary Higgins Clark novel. We were the only ones there on Sunday night and there was a creepy inn keeper that showed us to our room but then decided to be nice and upgrade us to the "nicest room in the house". It was jungle themed with crazy animal print wall paper, I was sure at any minute the animals were going to come to life and eat me. I just was sure we were going to be the targets of a crazy stalking, murder, but as it turns out the creepy inn keeper is not a killer but just creepy and nice. We decided it was about time that we had some "professional" pictures taken, since we really haven't had any since our wedding. Stay tuned, those are sure to be a treat!

A word of warning, do not try to go out to dinner on a Monday night in Park City. For some reason the restaurants are closed, but we were able to find one that was open and had a delicious dinner.

I have decided to give the Twilight series a second chance. I read Twilight a year ago and didn't really get into it. I don't like being left out and while I have some time, I thought I might as well give them another shot. I was probably the 1 in 1,000,000,000 that didn't love the book right from the start. Call me crazy I know!

Slow Bloggin' Day

2008-08-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

My google reader only had 2 new posts on it this morning, which means that you all need to get blogging, or I check it way too often. Either way, it is lunch time and I am bored. So here are some of the random blog ideas that have been going through my head that I probably would not blog about but since I have nothing else to do I might as well.

My last week at the VA: This is my last week at the VA and it is kind of bitter sweet. I will miss walking down the hallways and getting the occasional "pretty girl" call from one of the older veterans. I am going to miss the pay check. I did enjoy the work but I am looking forward to 2 weeks off. So all you baby mama's out there it is time to play!

Niece and Nephews: I have the cutest niece and smartest nephews. Jared and John (my brother-in-law) were fixing the lawn mower on Saturday and my nephew Ben said, "Amer mow," because he saw me mowing the previous week. He also already knows at such a young age that money is important and was going around grandma's house yesterday collecting it and putting it in his pocket. I think he will have his mother's money mentality but then again there was no way he was going to give up those pennies so maybe he will be like his father!

I finally got to see Brooklyn on Friday and Saturday. I have not seen her since her blessing which was almost 2 months, well more like 1.5 months ago! Alisha (my sister-in-law) wanted me to take some pictures of her, not because I am a good photographer but probably because I am the only one that has a digital SLR camera in the family. Moving objects are hard to take pictures of. All the cute pictures where she was smiling, I messed up! She is getting so big and now rolls over on her own.
I'm so glad that Alisha finally started a blog so that I can see her more!

My Computer: My computer is super slow now! Ugh! I think I'm going to take it back. Hopefully I can work my magic and maybe even get a new one? I wish!

It's all gone

2008-07-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

Thursday I came home for lunch, like I normally due. It is one of the positive things about working so close to home. The computer was turned off, which is odd at our house, it is usually on constantly. I turned it on and went about making my lunch, which consisted of a delicious turkey provolone sandwich, Sun Chips, grapes, and a V8 (I love V8 and you can knocked it all you want but where else can you get a full serving of vegetables in to gulps) that is neither here nor there.

I came back to the computer fully intending on reading my blogs for the full lunch hour when all I found was a blinking folder with a question mark on the screen of my Mac Book. I shut it down and restarted, this time nothing. My worst dreams were realized later that day as I was talking to the Indian (dot not feather) customer service representative for Apple. She was kind enough to make an appointment for me for the Genius Bar at the Apple store. Friday came I went and came home later that day with pretty much a new computer, cost free with up graded software. While I don't anticipate that this happens often with Macs, there were no questions asked, no hassle, and I took my computer home the same day. It pays to have Apple Care. Now if only they could find a way to recover all the pictures I had that I failed to back up with the external hard drive. I will never learn.

I Don't Remember

2008-07-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

I have noticed that I don't have the best memory. Jared can loose something in the house and I know exactly where it is, I will also remember the most random of facts. While that comes in handy sometimes, those aren't really the important things that I WANT to remember. I've been noticing this over the last couple of years and it has sort of been exacerbated by recent experiences.

A couple of my friends have posted the "Memory Lane" post (Kara, Liz, Kim). I have not posted comments yet for any of them. First one was Liz. I have know Liz for about 5 yrs now, 3 of which she lived in Oregon, but I have been around her enough times to have memories. For instance visiting them in Oregon and going to the coast, again when Ben was born, and then for John's (her husband, my brother-in-law) graduation from law school. We stayed at a beach house in Waldport and then a cabin in some other town (which funny enough I don't remember). At the cabin there was a bat and all these bees in the master bedroom and I know Liz and I were both ready to leave. While I remember general details of the event I don't remember the specifics.

The first memory that came to mind about Kara was sending her into a boys house to ask to use the phone. When I thought harder I also remembered the time that we went to like 3 parties in one night at the U, and I know that we had a lot of fun, fun times are always had when you are with Kara.

And Kim, I've know since I was like 17. I have been to her house more times then I can count. The first memory that came to mind was an afternoon that I met Becky at her house and she made us peaches with cream. I had never had peaches with cream before.

Yesterday, Jared brought me home flowers because he knew it had been a rough day. I thought that is so sweet, he never does that, except he does and I just don't remember. This is the second time this year, besides Valentines that doesn't count, that he has brought home flowers but I don't remember why he did the first time. (Yes I took a picture of the flowers he brought home. He is just so sweet. He said, "I brought you flowers but I should have brought you a chocolate donut instead, you probably would have liked that better." He knows me so well.)

I'm getting to a point here, I promise. My point is, while I use this blog to record most events, I don't add my true thoughts and feelings, the parts that I want to remember. Jared does a lot of cute things, and he says the funniest things, but I wouldn't post it on here for fear that people would think that I was bragging, or that I think I am "seriously, so blessed" (that is a really funny blog if you haven't read it).

So I have decided, and I hope I will follow through on this decision, that I am going to keep a journal, again. I did in the past, and honestly I would be afraid to read it today! I have horrible penmanship but with technology nowadays I can type it, even better.

There you have it, I have a bad memory and I'm going to start an electronic journal.

Holiday Weekend

2008-07-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th of July, and it is even better when it falls on a Friday. Jared and I have enjoyed spending this extra time together. Usually the weekends go by so fast. We had a lot of fun on the 4th with friends and family. We started the morning off with the 1st annual Waffle Run, this was a 5k organized by one of Jared's friend's mom. I was a little hesitant at first and wasn't sure if I was going to run it, one because of the huge gapping wounds on my ankles and two because even though I pretend to go to the gym, I'm really out of shape! I dreamed about the race the whole night before, so I decided I better run it and I'm so glad I did, it was a lot of fun.

Jared stretchin' it out before the race. This was pure athletisim on his part, no training or preparation.

Jared finishing strong! He has impeccable form!

My big finish, looks like I'm ready to fall asleep or pass out.

Jared post race.

Just happy that it is over with and we can enjoy some yummy waffles.

I had the best waffle that morning, caramel syrup, strawberries, and whip topping! It was a lot of fun to get out and run with our friends. The fun part was doing it with our friends, not so much the running part. I can't wait until next year and I really wish I had a waffle right about now!

Our day didn't end there! We also managed to fit in three games of bowling and an awesome firework display with John, Liz and Ben. Ben was more interested in mowing the lawn than the fireworks but it was still fun to watch him, he is getting so big and so smart! Unfortunately I forgot to turn off my camera after the Waffle Run and no other pictures were taken the rest of the day :(.

Last year I didn't get to see any fireworks! I know poor me! This year we watched the fireworks at the Country Club and Sugarhouse park from the convenience of the Glauser's deck, however I much rather prefer being right under them, even if you do have to deal with 5000 people. Now I can't wait for the 24th!

Becks 10/01/1981~07/01/2004

2008-07-01T17:24:00.001-07:00

Gone, never forgotten, missed daily!

Today started off different. Jared had both sets of keys to the truck in his car leaving me having to frantically run to work. I usually check my schedule for the day, email, blogs, etc., but today I didn't get a chance to "group" myself. Off I was on my home visits. After the first visit, while driving in the car to my next visit, I suddenly remembered what day it was, July 1st. I new this day was coming, I think about Becks every day, but for some reason I just couldn't hold my emotions in. That made it pretty awkward because I wasn't by myself I was with another therapist, but quickly played off the runny eyes to the damn cat at the last home!

I thought about making this post on Memorial Day but I just couldn't. Four years ago on Memorial Day I went with Jared to three grave sites of friends of his that had passed away. One was 18, and two of them were 19 when they passed. I think this was the first time that Jared really saw me cry. I couldn't hold back the emotions, just thinking of losing a loved one was something I couldn't imagine. Well just over a month later it was a reality I had to face.

It was a warm summer night and I was at my nephews baseball game when I got the call. Robs was bawling, I couldn't understand a word that was coming out of her mouth except "Becky, Johnny, car accident." Jared and I immediately left the game and went to Robyn's, parent's house. On the way over, my mind raced with horrible thoughts, I knew that something really terrible had happened but I just couldn't think of anyone dying. I soon came to the realization that Becky was gone, on that day I lost one of my best friends.

Today as I walked home from work, my mind raced through all of my memories of Becks. Becks and I just clicked. We were so different in many ways, but we got along so well. As I walked through Sunnyside Park, a little league game was going on, and it just took me back to that day, 4 years ago and I lost it. I'm sure it was quite the site for people to see as I was walking home, they probably thought I was crying over the blisters I incurred on my way to work this morning.

As soon as I walked in the door I instantly checked the blogs of course, and that is when I saw Robs post, and needless to say now I cannot breath through my nostrils! This really is a day to celebrate, it is the day Becky returned to live with our Heavenly Father, I know that he had a purpose in taking her so soon from this Earth. At the time of her death, I had never experienced so much heart ache, but this was also probably the first time that I gained a real testimony of the Atonement, which I am so grateful for. I have Becks to thank for so many things, but I think what I am most thankful for is the new outlook on life that she has given me. I truly appreciate this time I have on this Earth, and I cherish the time I have to spend with my loved ones. I also know I will see her again and I look forward to that day.

I wish so badly that she could be here, I wish I would have called her before she left for Bear Lake, I wish I would have stayed a little longer at her wedding lunch, I wish I could call her up on the phone, or visit her at work. I have so many great memories of Becks, and in true Becky fashion posts lost of pics, Becky loved pictures, she was so beautiful and so photogenic!

Becks loved life. She brought me out of my shy shell in so many ways, which will just be between me Robs, and Becks! We were silly girls!

Summer was probably Becky's favorite season, or Fall, but she loved summer, I had never been on a boat until I met Becky. Here is my first trip to Lake Powell with the Thomas.

Becks loved dressing up and loved country music. Here we are being serious before the Tim McGraw concert.

Always taking pictures!

Cody's cabin with all the girls.

My grandparents cabin with the camera strategically placed to get a pic of all three of us.

Just hangin' out!

Becky was so adventurous. This is the first time that Becky, Robyn or myself had ever been snowboarding. We just decided to go with no one's help. This is also a pic of the damage Becks did to her car on the way to go see one of the Lord of the Rings movies, with some boys that were in love with Becky! The boys were always in love with Becky!

Best Friends on bowling night.

Lake Powell. Becky loved the sun. If she hadn't died in a car accident I'm pretty sure she would have gotten skin cancer, she couldn't stay out of the sun. As you can see I am trying to cover my exposed skin.

Becks being silly. She loved pink and couldn't resist a photo opp at my grandparent's cabin with the pink shower curtain. It is still there and I think of this pic every time I go.

Becks I love you and miss you soo much! Thanks for all the great memories! I can't wait to be with you again, we've got a lot of catchin' up to do!

3 Things Tag

2008-06-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to participate in blog tags anymore after the last one I posted! The only remotely close person to complying with the rules of the tag was John, and he doesn't even do tags, but then Britney pulled through. Kristin and Karlee both tagged me on this one. I always love killing two blog tags with one post!

3 Joys

1. Jared. I think that most people think Jared is always just a funny, corky person, and he is, but he is so different when it is just he and I. He is also so sweet and caring, and funny. He is always doing something funny. He really is perfect for ME, others might not put of with his antics and sense of fashion. He has gotten better over the years but shopping for jeans with him is almost as much fun has repeatedly poking yourself in the eye.
2. Vacation with #1. We have been fortunate enough to go on some great vacations together. I love seeing new things and also having absolutely, nothing that I have to do but be with Jared.
3. Deciding on the third options is a hard one for me. I could go with helping people, my sisters, my family, but I think I will go with having weekends off! I don't know how I did it before!

3 Fears
1. Losing Jared in a car accident, or at all.
2. Having a future child die.
3. You might think I think of death a lot but I promise I don't. With that said, I'm afraid I'll die and then Jared will find a better wife, not a hard thing to do, that will be sweeter and take better care of him than me! By the time we get to eternity I will just be the other wife that he didn't like as well as the 2nd wife! I always said that if I died first I would want someone to take care of Jared, and I do, but I would just prefer it to be one of our daughters!

3 Goals

1. To get in better shape.
2. To get pregnant in a year from now.
3. To keep my house clean for more than 2 days.

3 Current Obsessions

1. Photoshop- I got it from my brother and lets just say I could spend hours fiddling around on it.
2. Nilla wafers
3. Fake Otter-Pops

3 Surprising Facts about Me
1. I only like fake Mexican food like Cafe Rio and Taco Bell.
2. I really like dogs but I will never let my children have one or any pet for that matter.
3. I get a really long dark hair that grows on the back of my left arm.

3 People I tag
1. ROBYN!
2. Aubrey
3. Brittany B.

My how people change, or don't

2008-06-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

I know I already posted this picture but I was going through some old photos and found this one of me and my sister Michelle.

The first picture was taken, I think the summer before my senior year, or the one right after. That would make me almost 18 or 19, and Michelle would be 12 or 13. The second picture is almost exactly 7 or 6 years later. Sad to say but I have hardly changed except for where I part my hair, and I let my eyebrows grow in some, oh and I don't nearly spend enough time out in the sun. Should I be embarrassed that I look pretty much the same as I did 7 years ago? Is it time for a new hair style? The truth of the matter is I really like my hair, when I do it which is pretty much never. I guess it has grown to be a security blanket of some sorts. The time will come that I will eventually make the plunge but just not yet. For right now I have no problem looking like an 18 year old, I think I'll take it as a complement of some sorts.

One busy week!

2008-06-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

To say that this last week was hectic would be an understatement! I think I just might have to make TWO blog entries about it. I started off the week with some pampering with my sisters in preparation for Ashley's big day on Thursday. I have been really excited for Ashley's wedding before they were even planning on getting married. I did a lot more planning for her wedding then I did my own. Let's just say that she planned the colors and flowers and I took care of the rest. I had a lot of fun designing her announcements and guest book. I like both better then my own. If only I have planned my own wedding, but I digress. Wednesday night was her wedding dinner at Johnny Carino's in Sandy. Jared hates just about everything there is about weddings except for maybe the food part. Here I am trying to convince him to smile for a picture, you can tell by his cheesy coaxed smile. Ashley's wedding was on Thursday and it was just a perfect day. I worried about there being rain but we lucked out with only a light breeze. My dad is so cute with Brooklyn, except for the fact that he hogs her! He has waited six years for grandchildren so I can't say I blame him. She is just so cute too that you don't want to let her go!It was nice to see family. A lot of my family lives far away so I never see them. Ashley looked really pretty. Her dress was gorgeous.I think I had a lot more fun at her reception then I did at my own, probably because I didn't have to stand around and talk to a bunch of people that I don't know. I loved her reception. We decorated really cute and she had the best ice cream bar!

I don't have many pictures with Jared at the reception because I let him off the hook to go and hang out with his friends. I am such a good wife, and I didn't want to hear him complain the whole night.

Friday night we went to Scott, one of Jared's best friends, and Lea's reception. Funny Jared didn't complain at all and we basically stayed there the whole time. Hmmm that's funny how that works... Lea was gorgeous as usual.

I decided at the last minute to fly to Arizona for Brooklyn's blessing on Saturday. That trip had its highs and lows. We picked Ashley and Shaun up because their flight left the same time as mine. Security was a breeze. I printed my boarding passes ahead of time and checked my bag at the curb, everything went so smoothly. I got into Phoenix and called my husband to let him know I had arrived safely. I decided to pull out the directions to my hotel so I could somewhat memorize them so I wouldn't be fumbling with them on the freeway. I got the the rental car center and waited in line for about an hour! By the time I got to the front of the line I realized I had left my phone at the airport! I am the responsible one. That is not like me to lose things. I got in my rental car and somehow found my way to the baggage claim area, parked my car in the loading zone and prayed that they wouldn't tow it and ran in. I asked at the information desk if they had it. Well they didn't have it but they called to another desk and they had it and I guess my dad had called and said that he would pick it up but I got to it first. I called Jared to relay the story and I guess he had quite the scare. The cop who had found my phone gave him a call. Their conversation went something like this:
Cop: Jared Mann (that is how his name is in my phone) this is officer so and so, I found Amber Mann's phone.
Jared: yes.... (thinking that he found it at the scene of an accident)
Cop: It was in the baggage claim area. Her dad is on his way to pick it up.

I ran out to my car and it was still there! That could have played out a lot worse. Saturday night was Brooklyn's blessing.

She was as perfect as could be until they finished. She is just getting so big I can't hardly believe it. Michelle and I were thinking that we wouldn't get a lot of chances to hold her since Alisha's whole extended family would be there, but I think we pretty much had her to ourselves, which is a first.Brooklyn has two 2nd cousins that are pretty close to her age.

Well Sunday came and I went to my parents hotel to eat breakfast with them and then they were flying out that day. I decided to use their pool since I didn't have one. Arizona is so stinking hot. It reminds me of in the winter time when you are driving in your car and you have the heat up all the way and then you leave it on, and I love it! I was happy as a clam laying beside the pool. I thought I would just shower at my hotel that was down the street so I gathered my stuff and checked out of the room for my parents. I got back to my hotel and was so drained from the sun that I took a nap. When I woke up I decided to do some showering and go do some site seeing. I got out of the shower and realized that I had left my bra at my parents' hotel room. This is just so unlike me. I threw on a cami under my shirt and went over to their hotel. I walked in and there was this cute guy at the front desk. I immediately got nervous and walked around the corner and out the door to my car. I drove away and called Jared. He told it was a $40 bra and I better go back for it. So I did. I pulled back into the parking lot and went up to the front desk.
Front desk guy: Can I help you.
Me: I checked out earlier today and I left something in the room
Front desk guy: (looking in a cupboard) What did you leave?
Me: A bra
Front desk guy: Oh, let me get you a key to go get it.
Sure enough it was there. I quickly slipped it on and left the hotel. I had quite a nice day by myself. I don't prefer to spend time alone but it is nice to know that I am somewhat emotionally capable, that is still to be determined. I flew back this morning and it is just nice to be home! I can't wait to see Jared tonight, it seems like it's been forever!

Beauty Treatment Tag

2008-06-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

Liz tagged me with this beauty treatment tag. I have always been a little tomboyish when it comes to make up, so I'm excited to tag all my girly friends to hear your secrets. Funny thing is I have lots of make up, I just don't know how to apply it.

My Foundation: I hate foundation. I should use it but I don't like touching my face and feeling make-up, so if you've got a great foundation let me know I'll try anything to blend together my freckles! I use Mary Kay concealer and I have the Mary Kay cream-to-powder foundation but I just don't know how to put it on! The whole cream-to-powder thing is too much for me I think cause it looks like a powder to start with, where is the cream?

My Blush: Mary Kay Apricot Spice and I use it most working days. My face a little red to begin with so this just accentuates it on my cheeks.

My Day Cream: I use Clean & Clear oil-free dual action moisturizer, because I have run out of proactive and Mary Kay TimeWise age-fighting moisturizer and am too cheap to buy more. However, I am really considering switching to one with SPF. I ALWAYS use Mary Kay Blemish Control Toner before my moisturizer, that is one thing I have found I can't live with out. If you saw me over Memorial Day weekend, I ran out, enough said!

My Lipstick: Only on special occasions, otherwise it is just saliva. If I'm going to wear it I go all out with MK lip liner, sheer blush lip stick and cream and sugar lip gloss. I really like the lip gloss from Bath & Body works, sometimes, it is a whole other sensory issue.

My Essential Beauty Product: MK Blemish Control Toner. If it was before Memorial Day I would have said nothing but I've realized I just can't live without it and the Clean & Clear toner just doesn't do the trick.

My favorite Make-up product: It would have to be mascara because it is pretty much the only one I wear on a daily basis.

My Perfume: Dove body wash or a strong aroma shampoo. Perfume is expensive and the All-a-Dollar kind that Jared bought me just isn't appropriate for public wear!

My Nails: Usually bitten or ripped off. They are so weak that they just don't grow long and the I have that awful habit of biting them off!

My Feet: In serious need of a manicure! Brittany have you gotten one yet? With my sister's wedding this week I have a good excuse to go get one. Luckily or unlucky, either way you look at it, I am required to wear closed toe shoes with socks everyday so they don't get that dried out.

My hands: At this point it would have to be hand sanitizer at the hospital.

Three products to bring on a deserted island: Mascara, shampoo, and toothpaste.

Women I admire for their beauty: Amy Winehouse enough said!

Women with the best Sense of Style: Mary Kate Olsen

My ultimate dream: Naturally tan, freckle-less skin.

My favorite fashion Publication: People.com and a lot of trashy celebrity blogs.

Liz might have mentioned that she thought I was a natural beauty. Thanks Liz that was flattering. This one is for you.
Ok this is the fun part, all of my pretty friends can tell me your secrets and help a girl out. Ok in no particular order Brittany, Rachel, Britney, Kara, Kim, Aubrey, Buffy, Karlee, Kristin, Caitlin, Jessica, Katy, Marcy, John M. (I'm sure I've forgotten someone opps!) and whoever else looks at my blog, I want to know what makes you so pretty on the outside!

Priceless

2008-05-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

There are very little perks to my job, but when they occur I relish in them. One such perk occurred today. The therapist that I am following for my internship is out of town this week, and so I am left to doing lots of research, kind of like I'm doing now. Anyway...while sitting at my desk in the therapy room, one of the other therapists asked me if I would wait with a patient while she got his equipment for him. At the chance to have a break from researching, I was more than willing to wait with him. This is how our conversation went:

Me: So what do they have you in for?

Guy: Back surgery, I'm not sure that was a good idea though.

Me: Recovery is hard but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end. When do you go home?

Guy: Tomorrow.

Me: I bet you are pretty excited to go home.

Guy: (twiddled his thumbs together with a smile on his face)

Me: So what are you most looking forward to when you get home?

Guy: Reading my mail. My literal mail and my e-mail.

Me: Yeah I'm pretty connected with my e-mail too, I check it like 5 times a day.

Guy: I only check mine once.

Me: So do you get lots of mail from family and friends.

Guy: No, occasionally. One friend. I subscribe to TSWomen.

Me: Oh I've never heard of that before.

Guy: It stands for Transsexual Women. It is pretty much the same stuff all the time though.

Me: Oh...So who do you live with at home, are you going to have anyone to help you? (quickly trying to change the subject, and feeling uncomfortable to sit in a room alone with this man)

Guy: With my wife, she is more disabled than I am.

Me: I'm sorry that must be really hard (thinking to myself where the hell is that therapist)

Therapist finally returns, and I quickly go back to my research. I continued to listen to their conversation though.

Therapist: This kit has elastic shoe laces if you are not able to bend down and tie your shoes.

Guy: Oh I only wear slip-ons.

Therapist: Good man! I mean woman...

It would have been nice to have had some sort of heads up that this was not a he but a her. I just figured that he was into transsexual women. However my obliviousness to the circumstances made the situation a lot more comical. The therapist quickly apologized later on.

Rob Dogs Shower

2008-05-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we FINALLY had Robyn's "Welcome" baby shower, since Hayden is over 2 months old. I'm so glad that Robs had a baby so we could have this shower. It was soo much fun to see all our old friends. I'm so impressed with all of my friends, they've gone from goofing girls to amazing moms. The only down side to the night, besides the fact that I looked horrible and some of my friends haven't seen me in years, was that I made way to much food! Girls just don't eat at showers, I don't know what it is. Luckily I had my sisters here to help me and eat some of the food! I tried to add captions but I'm stupid and it isn't working. We weren't very good about taking pictures. We took them with our first guest, the lovely and always entertaining Kara (Kara, Amber, Robyn) and then our last guest, super gorgeous skinny mother of two boys Britney (Robyn, Britney, Amber). Hayden was MIA. He got the shots that day and was not feeling all that great. I wish that I could see you girls more often, I had so much fun!

At least one show got it right

2008-05-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry another post about the many television shows I watch. I don't have much to say about the bachelor. I thought he would pick Shayne, and in the end I really started to like her. Chelsea was more about the competition. She wouldn't even look at Matt when she talked to him and I thought that was weird. Yeah Shayne is young and immature but I thought she was genuine or just a really good actress, but considering I haven't seen her in anything she can't be that good. His proposal was sweet and I liked how he defended her to Chelsea. Has anyone seen the happy couple on any talk shows? I would just like to see what they are like together now.

Syesha went home. I really liked her but not sure what she would be like as a pop star but I thought the same thing about Jordan Sparks and she proved me wrong. I don't want David A. to win only because I don't want to hear the whole state talking about it for the next 10 years. I do think that Syesha will have a successful career on Broadway.
Now to the show that I was most surprised and excited about, ANTM. I really liked Whitney from the beginning but I honestly didn't think that she would make it all the way. Her competition was fierce; Anya proved time after time that she could take amazing pictures but she talks like a freak. What kind of accent is that? I'm glad to finally see a full figured women (a normal girl) win. I almost cried I was so happy (alright I would have but Jared and his friends were upstairs watching the Jazz game and I would have never heard the end of that)!
I never thought that I would say this but I'm kind of glad to have a break from television. It is exhausting keeping up with as many shows as I do! Hopefully it starts to quickly warm up, it's nice now but like 10-15 more degrees would be great.

Britt, Rach...This is for you

2008-05-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

Um Gossip Girl....hello, I don't even know where to start. For those of you out there that don't watch this show, you are really missing out, it has everything that I like best in a show: lots of drama, sex, cute boys and girls, and more funny high school drama with outrageous outfits. This episode was full of twists and turns that I just wasn't expecting. I have to be honest though, I totally laughed at the end. I'm not sure what story line is better, the sex scandal that I imagined in my head (don't think I'm perverted, you all went there too), or that S killed someone. I can't wait to see how this unfolds, it looks like it is going to be pretty crazy! I really feel for Dan though, he is just an innocent bystander and he has really tried but S just won't open up. Anyway, I'm really glad that Jenny got out of that whole mess, that really wasn't her. Next Monday is going to be a big night for TV, Hills finale, Bachelor finale, and another installment of Gossip Girl. I just can't wait a week! I am so lame.

What I have missed out on....

2008-05-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

For the past two years I have worked every weekend, and until recently worked 32-40 hours a week, all while going to school full-time for my masters degree. I know life is tough. Really working all the time while going to school wasn't hard. I had a piece of cake job, that I could do pretty much whatever I wanted to do. Even though 4 out of 7 days a week I was pretty much gone from 8:30 until 11:30 at night, I didn't mind cause some how I was still able to spend time with the husband, even if I did have to con him into sitting with me at work. What was really sad was missing out on all the family dinners, birthday parties, and just having some sort of home routine and social life. I was never home it seemed! Some might ask Jared if he even has a wife! But now there is an end in site! I still have a year left in my program (3 years what was I thinking!), but this is my last weekend at work, and I couldn't be more excited!

This last week I was able to partake of the good life, now that finals are over. I know that stay-at-home moms have a lot of responsibility, I however will never understand it until I am a stay-at-home mom. As far as I'm concerned they just have play dates, lunch dates, trips to the zoo, craft projects, shopping trips, and just a lot of generally fun things that I miss out on :(. I only mention that because I got to play with the stay at home moms this week, this invitation usually doesn't go out to outsiders like myself aka I don't have children, but I guess I am just the lucky one! Many of you (or maybe 3 of you) might remember my blog post about "Blog Stalking." Well at my job I did a lot of that, because I really didn't have much of anything to do (except loads of reading). Well in my stalking quest I found a long lost friend, Britney. We met my sophomore year under very interesting circumstances (we both liked the same lame boy). He chose her and we became best friends (I am not stupid, keep your friends close and your enemies closer! Just kidding!). We were able to reconnect over lunch at Chick-fil-a on Thursday, after at least 4 years of separation. My best friend Robs (who needs a blog!) came with her cutest little boy Hayden, and Britney brought her two boys Jaxon and Ryker, who are just darling and so well behaved. We were there for over 2 hours and they managed missing their naps quite well. Even though it has been 4 years, it seemed like just yesterday that we were causing havoc, which we did a lot of! Here's to many more lunch dates in the future and to Robyn starting a blog already. (Did you get the hint?)

Some other things that I miss out on being a student is seeing my cute niece and nephew all the time. Luckily I have pictures, even though they are nothing compared to the real thing. Brooklyn got some pictures back from her first photo shoot (when you are that cute you have to start them out young). Here are just a few, can't wait to see more!

Photographs courtesy of BrittanyGphotography.com
Sorry for all the parentheses (that is just the way I think).

Hey Jude

2008-04-30T14:33:00.001-07:00

This is just about the cutest thing that I have ever seen. I had to share for all you to enjoy! I only wish I new what she is saying at the beginning! My favorite part is when she says "let her into your heart," and how she shakes her head and talks into the mike! Soo cute!

One Hot Mess

2008-04-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

Many of you may not not what an avid tv watcher I am. Basically my nights revolve around what shows are on. I could go through each night and tell you what my DVR is going to record but then you would all know how utterly pathetic I am. It has been hard with the writer's strike, but now that it is over, I feel like a piece of me is back. I am so happy for all my shows to be back on. I will always be a fan of reality tv, I don't know what it is about it but you show me a reality show and I'll probably become obsessed with it. I think all that means is that I have a pretty pathetic life. Anyway, to what this post is all about...The Bachelor. I really like this season's bachelor. Matt seams like a pretty normal guy, unless he chooses Shayne that is. Are you kidding me? This is her mother...

She is one hot mess. Has she looked in the mirror lately. To think that she used to be pretty descent looking.If the mother is at all telling of what the daughter will look like, then I would run. I'm pretty sure he doesn't choose Shayne though, judging by the preview of the proposal. The girl didn't have fake nails and you know Shayne wouldn't be seen with naked nails.

Living Life to It's Fullest

2008-04-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I had the opportunity to go to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) annual conference in Long Beach, California. Of course before I left I had to stop and see Brooklyn (I just can't get enough). She is getting so big. I see a resemblance don't you?

Anyway, the big day came for us to leave. Trying to be prepared as possible, thought I would get gas before my class that morning (we had class on Wednesday from 8:30-11:30 and then were going to leave after that). I went to my favorite Maverick (the Mark Hacking Maverick on 9th east and 3rd south). Since I was there I bought my favorite Krispy Kreme donut (chocolate frosting with creme filling) and an orange juice. Nothing makes me happier than donuts, except when I am throwing them up an hour later! I don't know what the deal was, I love donuts and eat them all the time. I'm going to blame throwing up on the orange juice so that I can fool my conscious into letting me eat donuts again. Luckily I made it out of my class and it didn't even come out of my nose. Unfortunately I still didn't feel better and had a long drive to Henderson, NV where we stayed at Brittany's sister, Rachel's house.

Rachel was a great host! We had a lot in common, we both threw up that day, except she is in a whole other category. She is pregnant and has DAY sickness. Hope you feel better Rachel! While there we were entertained by Anna, who is the sweetest little girl. She loves all things girlie: putting on make up, shopping, trying on clothes, and just looking cute. I can tell you after stalking her for over a year on her blog, she is much cuter in person. Thanks Rachel for letting me stay at your house!

Thursday we left NV for Long Beach, but not without a stop at the Primm outlets. Of course we didn't have enough time to go shopping but that did not stop us. Don't worry we still made it to the opening ceremony on time and without a ticket. At the opening ceremony Warren MacDonald spoke. He is truly amazing. He lost both of his legs after a rock weighing more than a ton, fell on both of his legs. He later climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. He has a book out, "A Test of Will." I have not read it but just purchased it off of Amazon.com. If it is half as interesting as he was in public, it will be a really good book.

Conference was really fun. There were over 4,000 occupational therapist in attendance. You might be asking yourself, "What is occupational therapy?" I will tell you. Occupational therapy helps people live life to its fullest. It does this by helping people of all ages who have suffered an illness, injury or some form of debilitation relearn the skills of daily living. By focusing on the physical, psychological and social needs of its patients, OT helps people function at the highest possible level, concentrating on what’s important to them to rebuild their health, independence and self-esteem. Sounds to me like everyone needs an occupational therapist.

Between lectures we tried to enjoy all the warm weather.
(This was the only picture I took the whole time!)

Unfortunately I did not feel much better the rest of the trip. That really had a huge impact on my eating out abilities, which is my favorite thing to do on vacation.

I had a lot of fun but it is so nice to be home with my buddy. I just wish the weather was better!

I was fooled...

2008-04-08T18:04:00.001-07:00

AGAIN.

Ain't Nothing but a G-thing baby

2008-04-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

I received an email the other day from a friend. Here is the link: http://cnnentertainment.co.nr/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/01 Jared and I read it several times and even did a search to see if there was any other information on the web about this. I found somewhere that this was just an April Fool's joke. If you are too lazy to read the article, basically all it says is that Snoop D-O-Double G converted Mormonism. At first I totally bought into it. If you followed "Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood" at all, there was an episode were his "adopted" son was reading the BOM (Jared had to replay that part like 10 times until I picked up on it). The article appeared to be on the CNN website which is a pretty reliable source (it's not thesuperficial.com by any means), but it was actually just a fake website, at which point we gave up, it probably was just a joke. However I didn't lose faith in Snoop and did some further investigation when I came upon this picture:
It doesn't looked photoshopped to me but I'll buy anything. I'm pretty sure that he is listening to the MoTab while he reads. What I would give to be in the sacrament meeting when he performs the musical number, I bet that the inactive numbers in his ward drop dramatically.

K.A.R.M.A Klub

2008-03-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

Well Opening Day was today. I will blame the Cub's loss to the rain delay. You might be asking yourself, "Why is Amber talking about the Cub's and what is opening day?" Well let me explain to you. Opening day is the day that I pretty much become single until October. I don't know if single is the right word for it, more like my husband is having an affair but not with a women with a baseball team. I can handle that. He's happy when he's gettin' it some where else= the Cubs are winning, and really ornery when he's not=they are losing. Of all the things that my husband could be REALLY obsessed with, he couldn't have picked anything better. I really enjoy watching the games, but just pretend like I don't, like I pretend that I don't like anything he likes just to be stubborn.

Anyway, reminiscing about being single, makes me remember two weeks ago when Jared was gone for a week for work. That week my cutest sister came and stayed with me the whole week. We had breakfast together, I packed her lunch, and then we watched our television shows at night before I dragged her to bed. It was a lot of fun. While hanging out with her I realized what a dork I was when I was her age, 19.

One night we really didn't have anything to do. Well when I was her age and didn't have anything to do, my friends and I drove by the boys houses that didn't call us to do anything with them. Apparently she doesn't do that!?! I have to say that to my knowledge we never got caught, but we came close a lot. (Just a note to protect the image that you all have of me at this point, all of my friends were older than me, so they were bigger dorks!) One of the more amusing things we would do is have some of our girlfriends, that our boyfriends didn't know, pretend to have their car break down in front of the boyfriends' house, while me and my other girlfriend hid in bushes. That back fired on us when the boyfriends knew the girlfriends, not through us, and me and the girlfriend were left in the bush!

Anyway...Well after our fair share of dating losers, a few of use girls formed a club. We called it the Karma Klub, K=Kara, A=Amber, R=Robyn, M & A equaled something awesome I'm sure. We even made up rules for our little club, like no kissing until they take you out on a date and spend money on you, and chicks before dicks, and a bunch of other awesome rules, that unfortunately have been misplaced in my long term memory. You may be thinking to your selves, "these girls were so lame," and that is right where I am going to stop you. I never really thought of this until now, but in the year after we formed that club, all three of the most coolest members met their future spouses. Ah young love. I can look forward to that again when either (a) the Cubs don't make it to the playoffs, or (b) the Cubs lose the division title to the Diamond Backs or some other team, in a really upsetting manor.

And because I sometimes don't like to read posts without pictures, here's some more of my niece. I just can't get over all that hair!

Baby Betenson

2008-03-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

The first grandchild, on my side of the family, was born yesterday morning @ 4:57am. She is also my very first neice. I never have either of my nice cameras with me to ever capture priceless memories, so luckily my Dad shared these pictures with me.

(The CTR is for Choose the Red- not that choosing the right isn't a bad thing either)
She has a ton of hair (more than my brother), and while it is not red she is still georgous. She has big chubby cheeks, and the cutest little pink lips. Lets just hope she gets her mother's skin and not her father's. She weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches long. She is all legs; she will be tall like her auntie. So far her favorite things are not being swaddled- she likes to kick her arms and move her legs around constantly, and I don't blame her, she has been cramped up for a long time. She is also really good bringing her hand to her mouth. She is also going to be a good student I'm sure, she always has a serious look on her face, like she is trying to figure things out. Babies are so much fun!

Under construction

2008-03-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

I try and be creative and this is what I get. I know that it looks hideous, I just don't have the heart to fix it right now.

Karlee Tagged Me

2008-03-13T16:56:00.001-07:00

Karlee tagged me so I will comply.

What was I doing ten years ago?

I was in 8th grade at Mount Jordan Middle School. One of my best friends just moved to that school, and I was doing her key boarding assignments. I was playing on two different soccor teams, doing lots of drive bys with my older friends that could drive and getting straight A's. These really were my glory days!

2. 5 things to do today?

Oh gosh, I have a long list of things that I need to do today that I should have done earlier in the week. Tons of homework, hang out with my husband that has been gone for the week, call and check on Robs who just had the cutest baby boy, prepare my lesson for tomorrow and make a yummy treat for the kids so they will behave! 7 year olds are a pain.

3. What snacks do I enjoy?

Fruit snacks (the really cheap Kroger brand- I buy them every week), string cheese, Ice cream, donuts....mmm I love donuts, they make me so happy.

4. What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire?

Hummm, well I would build and furnish my dream house, buy all of my family members a car and pay off all of mine and Jared's school school loans, save for the kids college fund, and do lots of traveling. And buy all the clothes and shoes that I want.

5. 3 bad habits-

-Biting my nails
-Procrastinating
-Staying up too late

6. 5 jobs I've had-
Cleaned Horse Stables for riding lessons
Life Centre Athletic club- cleaned the women's locker room
Cottonwood Hospital- Diet Tech
LDS Hospital- Urban Central Region Computrition Data Specialist
Salt Lake Regional Medical Center- PBX operator

5 things people don't know about me-
Gosh this is really hard...that must mean I'm a boring person.
I won't cut my hair short because my grandma has told me that is the only thing pretty about me...I'm sure she didn't really mean it in that way but I think that is why I won't do it.
I really don't like lotion and if I use it I will only put it on with one hand because I don't want to get the other one to get gooey. It is a sensory thing.
I road horses in shows growing up. I did English style, this is wear I mastered the pelvic thrust.
I really don't like chocolate. I can tolerate it every once in a while but would just rather avoid it.
I would say that I've had six knee surgeries but I'm sure that everyone knows that so I will just say that I have broken a bone in every one of my limbs.

I tag who ever needs an easy out for a post.

Public Service Announcement of some sort

2008-03-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

This past week I have been on fieldwork (like clinicals for nursing students) at the UofU hospital in the Neuro Critical Care Unit (NCCU). Now the name sounds pretty exciting. I thought that we would be treating patients right after a major accident resulting in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or something of the sorts, which is pretty close to what we are doing but it is not always as traumatic(major motor vehicle accident or skate boarding accident down a huge hill) as I thought it would be, but it is still really bad for those involved.

The "Public Service Announcement" part of this post is just this: Don't mess with your brain. Remember that commercial, "This is your brain. This is you brain on drugs. Any questions?"

So true. Except it doesn't have to be drugs that messes you up and it is not always traumatic but the end result is the same. Let's just be thankful for the brains that we have a bless that nothing happens to them or the loved ones around us.

On a lighter note, working with people who have brain injuries can be very entertaining and you can meet a lot of really interesting people, of course when the injury happened in a not so sad way. So you don't think I am a horrible person for saying that, let me just retell one of my experiences this last week. It was my second day "on the job" and we are going in to evaluate an individual who came in with a closed head injury (CHI). It shows in the chart a very high alcohol level and under the history part it said that the individual did not remember how he/she received the injury. So we go in and start asking he/she what they do. Well come to find out he/she just got out of prison and they were celebrating and something happened, all those months of sobriety in the prison just went down the drain. I wish that I could better articulate what went on during this evaluation but it would be long, so I hope you can create some picture in you own head that is humorous. We explain to he/she that their nurses want us to get them up, so that they can go home. Well come to find out he/she doesn't have a home. Of course not they just got out of prison and that whole system is flawed, but I bet if we let this person do what he/she wants for a couple of days he/she would end up back at the point of the mountain. Well we get he/she standing and they complain of a severe pain in their leg. We look, it's bruised but we are determined to get him/her walking to the sink to brush their teeth, and we think they are just complaining to get back in bed and get more of those good pain pills. Well as it turns out the person did have a tibial/fibular fracture but refused any sort of treatment because they were worried about the cost. So they were sent on their marry way, with no money and their family would only let the stay with them for a week. How sad.

Yesterday I chased down a guy who punched the radiology tech person who came to get him to take him for a CT scan. He went running through the hospital, swinging one arm, other arm trying to hold up his not so tied on pajama pants with of course no underwear on, yelling "F#%@ you," and swinging his arm at anyone who is trying to reason with him. I am dying in side the whole time but trying to be professional. So forget people watching at the airport, go to a hospital, it is much more entertaining.

Liz's Questionnaire

2008-02-22T14:30:00.000-08:00

My sis-in-law made up her own questionnaire and because I'm too mentally exhausted to come up with something witty on my own, I thought I'd give hers a try. So whoever reads my blog has to do this on their blog, and believe me I will know if you read it and did not comply with the rules of this blog post and then someone will hunt you down and do unthinkable things to do.

What name did you wish you had when you were a kid? I really wish that I had a longer name, something like Kimberly or Samantha. Everyone says that my name fits me because I have red hair but I have always thought it was kind of a lame excuse for a name, it just sounds like a jumble of letters. No offense Mom, and I really shouldn't complain because your parents named you Gaye.

Would you rather go without brushing your teeth or wearing deodorant? My sweat smells like roses and as long as I've showered and wear clean clothes I would be ok without the deodorant.

In your opinion, what is your most annoying habit? Biting my nails and picking at my face.

If bodysuits came back in style would you wear them? Heck yes, then I don't even have to worry about what other piece of clothing to wear with it, it's and outfit all in its self!

If you were offered $300,000 to relive high school would you do it? I don't even think I would do it for that amount of money. For three years I would rather find some other way of making $300,000 then going back to high school, like pimpin' my self out. That is all high school is about anyway.

Would you rather live without a cellphone or the internet? Cellphone. I never have it on my anyway, I might as well not have one.

What is one question you wish you could ask people but don't because it's not polite? Well keeping my husbands interests in mind at all times, I would like to know how you spice up the bedroom?

Would you rather lose an arm or a leg? Being that I am a future occupational therapist, I understand the impact of only having one arm. You do everything with your arms and because society thinks that it is way more important to walk, lower extremity prostheses are way better than upper extremity ones. I would way rather lose a leg, I almost wish I could amputate one of them anyway.

If you could only listen to one band or singer for the rest of your life, who would it be? Jared would be so proud if he actually read my blog by this response but he doesn't. Because he is always in charge of the music we listen to his taste has rubbed off on me a little bit. I could listen to Bob Dylan or Elliot Smith because they have a song for every mood, or for one of my personal favorites Ben Harper cause he has a lot of different styles. So if I had to choose one, Bob.

What do you do in the privacy of your home that you wouldn't do in public? I would have to agree with Liz and say walk around in my underwear.

Would you rather have a pretty face with a pudgy body or a so-so face with a perfect body? Pretty face with a pudgy body.

In front of a large crowd would you rather sing or dance? I would have to choose the lesser of the two evils and go with dance. I don't care if people laugh at me and I could always have somebody teach me a couple of moves.

How often do you weigh yourself? I honestly never weigh my self. We don't even own a scale. There was one at school so I weighed myself yesterday but that was probably the first time in like 4-6 months.

Ok, now it is your turn. My google reader has been pretty sparse lately with updates, so post away!

Now what am I going to do with all my time?

2008-02-16T06:32:00.000-08:00

My friend Britt told me about Google Reader the other day and I don't know if I should thank her or not. It is 7:30 am, I've been at work for only 30 minutes and now I'm up-to-date on ALL the blogs I read. Now what am I going to do for another 8 hours? Surely not homework. Google Reader allows you to add all the links to the blogs that you read, and then when someone updates the blog you will know. I'm sure this has been around for a really long time, but it is new to me. The really great thing about it is that you can put the links to blogs that you read but don't want links to on your blog for others to know you look at their blog. Just another awesome thing brought to you by Google.

Valentines Day

2008-02-07T18:44:00.000-08:00

With the up coming holiday quickly approaching, I am reminded of past Valentines Days. I have never been a huge fan of this holiday. It all goes back to the fourth grade. I came into the classroom after lunch recess, surprised to see chocolate roses and a card on my desk. Was it from Lucas, the cute boy that sat behind me? No, it was from this not so attractive boy, Adam Shaw, who I mostly competed with during "smear the queer" at recess. Of course this meant that he was my boyfriend, at least for that day. It wasn't until later that day that I took the card home and examined it a little closer. You see the card was written in a felt tip pen, except there was a name crossed out in pencil and then my name was written on top of it. Well let's just say that 4th grade boys aren't that smart and you can erase pencil. Which I did, only to discover that the card was intended for Emily West, my popular blonde friend that sat next to me. He probably saw all the other gifts that she got from so many boys and figured he didn't have a chance with her. Our relationship ended at that point. (picture of what the chocolate roses looked like...his mom must have spent a lot of time making them)

The next Valentines Day (V-day)that I am reminded of was 5 years ago. I had dated this guy for about 3 months. He was not my type at all! I was embarrassed to take him around my friends because I knew they all would make fun of him. I was young, we all make mistakes when were young. Anyway, my BFF Becky and I wrapped our gifts up real cute like and I put on a cute, low cut, revealing top and headed off for my date that night. The conversation the whole night was strained, come to think of it I can't remember what we ever talked about, we really did not have that much in common but he was a nice guy to be around. Well V-day that year was on a Friday, he broke up with me the following Monday. I mean really, he broke up with me, that is funny. It was inevitable that we would break up but who does it after V-day, at least have the decency to do it beforehand so I could hang out with all of my girl friends (Robyn) and talk about how much we hate the holiday.

The next V-day that comes to mind was 4 years ago. I was dating this really cute guy, who I was sure I was going to marry. I can't remember now what I got or did for him, but really V-day is for the girl. Well the infamous holiday came, he really didn't plan anything, which I discovered when talking to him on the phone at 6pm. He said he would be by my house. We didn't live that far away from each other but it took him a really long time to get to my house. By the looks of the gift that he gave me, he had to stop off at the K-mart to pick something special. He showed up to my house with the most ridiculous pajamas I have ever seen, 2 sizes too small, with a top that looked like a training bra. Of course they still had the tag on them and if I know him like I think I know him, he got them off the 75% off rack. I don't remember doing anything that night except giggling with my roommates over the hideous pajamas he gave me.

Well 6 months later that really cute guy became my husband. I must admit that we have had good V-days since then, usually paid for by someone else with gift cards. I still think it is a silly holiday and so does he. Next week at this time I will probably be doing the same thing, sitting at work, trying to find something to fill my time with and avoiding homework.

Congrats!

2008-02-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Ashley and Shaun!!! They just got engaged and the happy nuptials will be June 12th. I am so excited, not only because they are getting married but when it comes to the wedding planning business my sister is like me, she doesn't really care. When I got married I picked the second dress I tried on, I hadn't seen the reception center when my mom booked it, I didn't care what flowers I had or what my invitations looked like or what my colors were. My mom sort of chose the colors when she picked out the fabric for the bride's maid dresses, which she also picked out the design for. I just wanted to get married and more important what comes after! Enough said there. Luckily, Ashley is letting help her plan a lot of her wedding. We did disagree of the colors. I wanted chocolate and lime green, she wants chocolate and coral, which is fine with me.

You learn something new everyday

2008-02-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

Let's just say I am really new to this blogging thing. The internet really is an amazing tool.

I am soo awesome!

2008-02-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

A lot of people use their blog as a forum for bragging about themselves, their kids, husband, etc. Well I thought that I would take part in that action today. A monumental event occured in my life today. I know you must be thinking I'm pregnant or something really significant like that...well you are wrong. Today, February 2nd, Ground Hog's Day, will be remembered as the day I broke my record on the Breakout game, that is on my stylish Blackberry Pearl. Since August 2007, I have not been able to get past level 17. Today, I got passed level 17, 18, 19....all the way to 29 out of 34 with a high score of 15,620 (previous score 14,700)! I think at that point my thumbs became fatigued and that is why I wasn't able to go farther, it is not because my skills were lacking. Anyway, I just wanted to give you some insight into the joys of my life and how I spend my time at work.

Randomness as Aubrey would call it

2008-02-02T06:46:00.000-08:00

Your Birthdate: October 5

You have many talents, and you are great at sharing those talents with others.Most people would be jealous of your clever intellect, but you're just too likeable to elicit jealousy.Progressive and original, you're usually thinking up cutting edge ideas.Quick witted and fast thinking, you have difficulty finding new challenges.
Your strength: Your superhuman brainpower
Your weakness: Your susceptibility to boredom
Your power color: Tangerine
Your power symbol: Ace
Your power month: May

What's a girl to do?

2008-01-31T21:30:00.000-08:00

Well it is that time of year again...no not superbowl time. Time to buy a new swim suit. This is one of my most and least favorite things to buy. My new internet friend just posted a link for the new swim suits from Modbe (She and I have this thing for swim suits--see a couple posts back). I must say that they have a lot of really cute suits this year. I wasn't a huge fan of their line last year. I haven't really seen what else is out there for 2008, so I don't want to jump the gun too fast, but I really like this black & white wrap polka dot one (I have a thing for polka dots lately). However, I have never purchased a black swim suit before. Last year I bought a brown one. I'm afraid that the black will contrast too much with my inevitably white skin. So I have brought my conundrum to you, my blogger friends: can fair skinned people wear black swim suits? You see I'm asking you because I know if I asked Jared he would just tell me the swim suit is ugly, which it very well may be. What do you think?

Blog Stalker

2008-01-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

If there was a virtual white van with dark windows and I had a big hairy beard and wore sunglasses and overalls with no shirt, who would I be? A blog stalker! I look at so many people's blogs that I had never met nor will I ever meet but I feel like they are my virtual friends. It is pretty funny because I really haven't shared my blog with anyone. When I was trying to send my mom the rough draft of my Christmas Card and it wouldn't send, I said, "Oh I just posted it on my blog. Just check it out there." Her response was, "I didn't know that you had a blog." Well I do. I guess I haven't shared my blog with anyone because then people would put links to my blog on their blogs and then maybe someone would stalk my blog. Which I'm not really opposed to, if they think my blog is stalking worthy. The truth of the matter is I probably check out like 20 different blogs a day, none of which do I have links for, or do I actually know the people. I will also find myself surfing from blog to blog. This world wide web is an amazing thing if you think about. So my question is what are the good blogs that you stalk?

The Real OC...

2007-12-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

Jared and I had an amazing opportunity to take a trip down to Newport, CA to witness the endowment and sealing of a family that he taught on his mission. It was a really sweet experience and I'm glad that we went. I really liked the Newport Temple. It was small and quaint and surrounded by the spirit. While we were there we did a lot of eating and sleeping, usually in that order. Of course we had to go to Wahoo's Fish Tacos, twice, and a bunch of other restaurants that Jared has missed since his mission. We had so much fun eating and sleeping that we decided to stay an extra day. I am so glad that we went. The past couple of weeks Jared and I have been able to spend sooo much time together and it has been really nice. I can't imagine that we will ever get an opportunity like this so I will cherish it while it lasts, which isn't long :( Back to school and starting a new job on January 7th! It is really difficult to take a picture when it is just two of you. Luckily, I am a quick problem solver and found a nice place to set the camera down so I could run in the picture with Jared. What do you think of Jared's shirt & tie? The morning that that they were taking out their endowments, Jared remembered that he forgot to pack his brand new nice shirt that I got him from Nordstrom for Christmas!!! It was a mad dash to whatever store opened the earliest, which was Target at 8am. Silly boy. I guess I could be partially to blame since I packed his stuff and assumed that it would have been packed with his suit which he layed out.....hmmm...oh well, crisis averted.

I love this time of year!

2007-11-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

Well we just had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I enjoyed having three days off in a row (!) and spending lots of time with Jared. I am looking forward to school being over for the semester. I can't wait to have some free time to catch up on everything I haven't been able to do for the past 4 months. I have never sent out Christmas cards but I thought it might be a good idea. Jared agreed to pose for a picture as long as he could choose what he wore. Thank goodness for cropping. Well so far this is what the card looks like today.I'm sure I won't like it tomorrow.

Considering I did it all in Word, I'm pretty impressed. Well that is one thing to partially check off my list. Now if only shopping was so easy! Luckily Jared's family decided to draw names this year, yay! I already got my house decorated so I'm already for Christmas to come. The snow can wait until Christmas Eve, I'm enjoying the weather too much!

The grass is always greener....

2007-11-11T18:18:00.001-08:00

Until you get to the other side. Looking back the grass looks pretty good to me! I could not wait to leave the job that I had previous to the one that I'm at now. I hated going to work and literally counted down the days that I would not have to go back. Well now that I have a new job, which I have been at for a year and a half, I wish that I could go back. You never appreciate what you have until you don't have it: weekends off, going into work whenever you want, leaving work whenever you what, doing what ever you want at work, and taking the day off when you want. Well now I work nights and every weekend. I just want some normalcy. I spend about 16 hours a day sitting which is not good for my butt in more ways than one! How I long for the day when I can just work part-time, play with the children, and clean the house... There I go again!

My Buddy

2007-10-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

For Aubrey, since you are the only one who might read this blog, I'm bored, you probably already know the answers to most of these questions but here goes.....

My Husband
What is his name? Jared Alexander Mann
How long have you been together? 4 Years
How long did you date? 1 year
How old is he? 27, He is getting pretty old if you ask me
Who eats more? Him in one setting but I'm usually hungry more often.
Who said I love you first? He did, I think that he might have written it on my back a couple of times before he told me
Who is taller? I am by like 1/2 inch!
Who sings better? For sure that would be Jared, I am tone deaf!
Who is smarter? Well I am definitely more book smart, computer smart, but he is more street smart and business smart
Whose temper is worse? That would have to be mine for sure, it's the red hair
Who does the laundry? Neither of us! If it gets done it is usually me, I just don't like how Jared folds the clothes and he always puts clothes in the dryer that aren't supposed to go in the dryer but I always appreciate when he does the laundry.
Who does the dishes? Me mostly
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me
Who pays the bills? Me, I don't think Jared has any idea where our money goes, and that can be a good thing
Who mows the lawn? Larry, I'm sure though if we actually had to mow the lawn Jared would do it but I wouldn't mind.
Who cooks dinner? Me mostly, I wouldn't call it cooking dinner more throwing a piece of cheese between two slices of bread and throwing it in a pan until it melts.
Who drives when you are together? Mostly Jared
Who is more stubborn? Me for sure, again the red hair is to blame
Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? Jared
Whose parents do you see the most? Jared's, my family drives me nuts if I spend too much time with them, I love my parents though
Who kissed who first? Jared both times, the first time I think he missed
Who asked who out? If you call Jared just hopping into my bed asking me out then he did
Who proposed? Jared of course but I totally new it was coming
Who is more sensitive? Probably me, Jareds a boy
Who has more friends? Jared
Who has more siblings? Unfortunately me
Who wears the pants in the family? That would have to be me
Now, who to tag? Aubrey I'll be expecting the response in like 5 years!

Just talking to myself is all

2007-08-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

If I have a blog but no one knows about it, and I post things on it, I think technically I'm just talking to myself. Well I have to admit this probably isn't the first time. I find that sometimes I run through scenarios in my head but end up doing the body/hand motions and facial expressions accompanied with the scenarios. So the question is, am I talking to myself if I don't actually speak out loud? Just think about it.

Guess I'll give this a try....

2007-08-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I'm thinking, I'm pretty sure to have a blog you have to have children to post pictures of, I do, he just happens to be 27 years old tomorrow (Happy Birthday, love you!). I thought to myself, "You do have a lot of spare time at work, and you are running out of websites to visit, this might take up another 5 minutes of your time." So I'm going to join this blogging thing, at least for now. I can't guarantee that anyone will be entertained by my thoughts or how I view the world but maybe you will like the pictures of my boy, he does have the cutest little dimple!