Birthdays, Conference, and Colds.......Oh My!

So this last Saturday, April 5th was Jake's 28th Birthday!! I feel horrible that I haven't been able to post about it until now, but I just started feeling better. You see, we would have really enjoyed Jake's birthday had it not been for the fact that ALL of us had colds at our house, and we are talking the flat in bed, cough til you gag, absolutely no fun at all colds. Poor Jake didn't even have very much fun on his birthday, and unfortunately I was no help. It's not much fun being sick and trying to take care of one another, but Jake was great and helped out with Abby as much as he could. Luckily we had no excuse not to watch General Conference and I was grateful for the opportunity to see it and have my testimony strengthened, especially with the sustaining of the new prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I do feel a little guilty however for sleeping through some of the talks, but hey, I was sick so thank goodness for TIVO! It's been a few days, and Abby and I have finally quit coughing and are feeling pretty normal. All I can say is enough of the sickness, we unfortunately have had more of it than I expected these last few months, so hopefully we can be "sick free" for a long time to come.
So here is my birthday blog, however late it may be. My husband hates the fact that I blog or "blab" about how great I think he is, but I want him to know how much I appreciate him. He is so busy working full time, going to school full time, and fulfilling his church calling as Young Men's President, which doesn't leave a lot of time for things that he rather be doing, but I appreciate his positive attitude and his desire to provide for his family. He is such a good husband and father, and he definitely deserved a better birthday! WE LOVE YOU JAKE, I AM SORRY YOUR BIRTHDAY WAS A BUST.....I AM PLANNING ON MAKING IT UP TO YOU NEXT YEAR!!

It was also my Dad's 64th Birthday this last week as well, and again we didn't get to do much to make his birthday special. My sister did an awesome tribute to my dad on her blog http://www.crippennews.blogspot.com/, so I feel very second rate with this tribute, but for those of you who have never met my Dad you are truly missing out. He is a wonderful and generous man. He has always been willing to share his time, talents and wisdom with his family. We could call on him at any time for anything that we needed help with and it was our Dad to the rescue! He has fixed flat tires, done construction in our homes, and bailed us out of a sticky situation many of times. I love that my Dad stops by at least once a week during the day to say "Hi" to Abby and I. It helps that we are close to his work, but it makes us feel pretty special. My relationship with he and my Mom is so precious to me and I cherish their example--HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! WE LOVE YOU!!

Fun Easter!

I know that Easter is long gone but I haven't been able to blog about it until now,and we had a great weekend! Here are some pictures of Abby enjoying her Easter! We had an Easter hunt with some playgroup buddies on Friday, it was Abby's very first Easter egg hunt and I think she liked it. At first she didn't quite get the whole concept of looking for the eggs, however she liked picking them up and putting them in her basket, but then wanted to take them out again. Then she decided she liked the eggs so much that she was going to take them out of other kids' baskets.
I of course had to include pictures of her in her Easter dress---(one of my favorite things growing up about Easter)I tried to put a bow in her hair and a pretty bracelet on her and she had them off in two seconds flat! I don't know if she will be a tomboy or what, but at least she has her earrings I guess.
On Sunday we all went to church and then the Easter Bunny came and left her gifts, and she really didn't know what to think. The babydoll she got was a big hit! I can't wait until she is older and we can explain to her what Easter is really all about. We hope you all enjoyed your Easter and are looking forward to Spring as much as we are!

OUR 6TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!

Tomorrow, March 15th will be our sixth wedding anniversary! I can't believe it the time has really flown by! I decided to put some photos together to show how the story of us as a family has evolved. A lot of people don't know our story so I thought I would give a condensed version:
Jake and I met in high school and dated for a few months. We got along really well, and had a lot of fun, but I didn't want things to get really serious because I wanted to be able to date a bunch in high school, so I broke up with him, and he was not happy about it. So being the mature individuals that we were in high school we proceeded to pretty much hate each other the rest of the time we were in school. We went on and dated other people and I went away to college and he went on an LDS mission. Well the summer before he got home from his mission I was taking institute class with all of his buddies that had already come back from their missions, and they kept joking with me that I should date Jake when he came back. I said there was no way I would get back together with him, and that was that. Well thanks to a persistent buddy, we ended up hanging out at the same friends home shortly after Jake had returned home. We saw each other and spoke only briefly because the World Series was on and if any of you know Jake he is serious business when it comes to baseball.
Well after much persistence on my part we were able to hang out a few more times and realized that we still liked being together. We had grown up and had great life experiences, and the spark between us was still there! We hung out every night for two weeks and decided that we wanted to be exclusive and that most likely it was leading to marriage. So let me break the timeline down because it all happened so fast!
After seeing each other again on Nov. 4, 2001, we decided to get married by Thanksgiving, and officially got engaged on Dec. 24, 2001, and later married on March 15th, 2002. So within six months of being home from his mission Jake was hitched! We know it's crazy and if our kids try to do it we'll probably kill them, but marrying Jake was one of the best decisions I have ever made and it's been a wonderful adventure ever since.....not a perfect journey, but a pretty fantastic one! We have had wonderful memories, and now it's been even better with beginning our family and the birth of Abby. So I just want to wish my hubby a Happy Anniversary---thank you for everything!!!
I hope you all enjoy our pictures, I tried to keep it brief but it was so fun to reminisce that I had to include a bunch.

I have been tagged---here goes nothin!

I was tagged by Jenny, so I am finally doing my friend duty and telling you all about myself: Here are the rules:

A: Each player answers the questions about themselves.B: At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1) What were you doing 10 years ago? I was a Junior in high school; I would have just finished playing basketball, and actually dating Jake, who is now my husband! That is crazy to think about.

2) 5 things on my "to-do" list today: Update my blog, clean, do some laundry, go shopping (we are out of a lot of stuff), play with my family.

3) 6 Snacks that I enjoy: Chips and Salsa, fruit, cereal, anything salty and cheesy, but I try not to snack too much or I would be in trouble!

4) 3 bad habits: I bite my nails, and the bad thing is I can't stand it when other people do it, but I can't stop myself from doing it! I can be pretty indecisive at times which drives my family crazy. I stress about making a decision and then stress if I made the right decision. I make excuses instead of exercising regularly, and the weird thing is when I am done, I am so glad I did it, and I really enjoy being active and playing sports and stuff, but I can't get myself to do the regular 45 minutes of cardio all the time.

5) If I were suddenly a billionaire I would: Travel and shop, pay off our debt, invest some, give to church/scholarship funds, give some to my family, put some in savings.

6) 5 places I've lived: Well not too exciting, all of the places have been in Utah; Layton, Price, Fruit Heights, and Clearfield. That's it, I wish I had more, that's pretty boring.

7) 5 Jobs I've had: paper route as a kid, Eurocomfort, junior high tutor in college, admin. asst. at real estate office, and a few mortgage brokerages as a loan processor/underwriter.

8) 5 Things people don't know about me: I love to sleep, but don't seem to get too much of it these days, but one of my favorite gifts to myself is a little cat nap during the day.

I really enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes and I love the Food Network!

I own a hunting rifle and have killed a few animals with it ( I credit Jake for this.) I grew up with all sisters so the gun thing is all new to me, but now I know how to use one and am pretty comfortable around them. I'm not Annie Oakley or anything, but I feel better now about being around guns.

I like being trendy and fashionable, and trying out new styles, but when it comes down to it I also really like wearing hoody sweatshirts and jeans and being comfortable, so it's hard for me to find a happy medium sometimes.

I procrastinate, I talk about what I want to do, but sometimes I just need to do it! It some aspects of my life I don't procrastinate at all and in others I could really use a kick in the behind!

I tag Char, Ashlee, Britnni, Haley, and Jamie.

A week of young and old

This last week we had the privilege of welcoming a new addition to our extended family. Madison Ann was born to Jake's brother and his wife and she came sooner than we all expected. Tommie, Ben's wife, went in for her checkup and was showing signs of preclampsyia so they monitored her overnight and decided to induce her 4 weeks early. Ben and his wife Tommie were so nervous but after a long hard labor and finally an unexpected C-section, Tommie delivered a beautiful baby girl. She was tiny weighing in at only 4 lbs, 1. oz, and 19 inches long. Her lungs are doing well, she is eating relatively OK, but they haven't been able to bring her home from the hospital quite yet which has been really hard for them. They can't bring her home until she gains more weight and can maintain her body temperature. We haven't been able to see her and hold her, so hopefully we will get to soon and I will post the pictures of Abby's newest cousin!

On a sadder note, when Ben called his Grandpa to let him know about the news of the baby, Grandpa wasn't making a lot of sense while he was speaking to Ben on the phone. Ben thought he might have woken him up from a nap, but realized as he continued speaking with him that something wasn't right. He called Scott, Jake's Dad to go over to check on him because he was at home alone. Apparently Grandpa Speed had suffered a stroke, and they immediately took him to the ER. His motor skills were relatively still intact, but his memory and recollection wasn't good and his heart was irregular which was worrisome because he has had multiple heart surgeries and currently has a defibrillator. We were up at the hospital to see Ben and Tommie and had just come home when Jake's Dad called and told him what happened and asked him to come back to the hospital to give Grandpa Speed a blessing. When Jake came home he was very concerned because he has never seen his Grandpa like that. Well a few days have past now, and he is doing a little better. The doctors were trying to figure out what happened to have caused the stroke and determined that it was a blood clot from his heart that went to his brain. He came home on Saturday, but unfortunately is back in the hospital again because his heart rate became rapid and they weren't sure what was going on. Grandpa Speed is 85 years old and is the heart of Jake's family. Jake and his brothers have such fond memories of fishing with him, working on cars with him, and just spending time with him. Jake even had the opportunity to live with him before his mission and was able to have lots of good talks with him before he left.



It's hard for Jake and his family to see his Grandpa this way. We are praying that things start getting better for him, but also know how frustrated Grandpa Speed is that he is having so many health problems and can't do the things he used to do. It's ironic because if Madison wouldn't have been born that day, Ben wouldn't have called his Grandpa to give him the news and discovered what had happened to him, so for that we are grateful, we just hope that Grandpa Speed is around for a lot longer to enjoy more times with his family and news of more grandchildren!!

A lot can happen in a few days......

So I left last Thursday with my parents and Abby to go and visit my sister Emily in St. George, and Marci was going to drive from California to meet up with us. My Dad has been recovering from recent surgery so we took it easy, did a little shopping and just enjoyed being together. I was glad that Jake decided to stay home because I knew he would probably be a little bored, and he had a bunch of fun things planned with his friends to do while I was gone, well as least that is what he told me...........

In actuality he was tearing down a wall in our house that I have been bugging him about doing so we could have a great room upstairs and have space to entertain up there as well as in the family room downstairs. Jake had made it seem like it would be too expensive and not worth it, so I just put it out of my mind, but really he had been scheming for weeks to figure out how he would get it all done when I was gone. He took 2 days off of from work, and worked until the wee hours of the morning so it would be done on time. He also had great help from his brothers and Mom to have everything done when I got home. He tore down the wall, created a new half wall, put beadboard up and stained in, built the shelf, refinished and painted the wall, put in new ceiling fans and heating vents, and painted another wall. Hello--am I worth all that work!?! The only thing that didn't come on time was the flooring to finish up the project but I didn't even notice it. I had no idea what was happening and the whole time I spoke to him while I was out of town, I never suspected a thing. I don't know what's worse, my husband's great ability deceive me, or my cluelessness. Either way, it was a FABULOUS surprise!! So I am giving a big shout out to my awesome husband for 1) Being so thoughtful to plan such an huge surprise, 2) Having mad skills when it comes to building and doing construction projects, I tell you he is pretty handy, and 3) Because he works hard so we can have the things we need and want.....like a new great room!! So a lot can happen in just a few days, here are pictures of the before and after and a video of my reaction. I apologize but I sound pretty annoying in the video because I am squealing with delight! I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!

Playing Outside on President's Day

Jake had Monday off for President's Day and because the sun was shining we decided to clean out the garage.....and by "we" I mean mostly Jake. But we realized that it was the first time Abby got to play outside since she has learned to walk because she started walking during this long winter of ours. It was so cute because she just kept walking around exploring things, and her hands and nose were getting cold, but she would throw a fit if I picked her up and tried to take her inside to warm up.

Jake also took her for a ride on the 3-wheeler and she really didn't know what to think of it. She was alright at first but by the time he came back down the street she was not a happy girl. According to Jake, we are going to need to get her used to riding with Daddy, because he wants to take her out for rides this summer.

All in all we had a great day and got a lot done, and Abby couldn't have been happier, although I could do without the tantrums when I say it's time to go into the house (I didn't think those started this soon!) We hope everyone enjoyed President's Day as much as we did!

Bring on the heat!

All I can say is, "Are you kidding me?" I am definitely ready for this snow business to be over. Yes, I am glad we have gotten a lot of it, and that it has helped us out in the drought, but come on all ready.....bring on the heat, sunshine and spring flowers!! Because I am in a hopeful mood for warmer weather I was telling Jake that I wanted to take Abby swimming to our local pool to get her used to being in the pool again so she won't have a hard time this summer, and in my mind I am thinking, "Yeah, I want to take her swimming, but does she even have a swimsuit that fits still? And if she doesn't, where am I going to find a suit right now?"

Well don't you fret my friend, we tried on her swimming suit from this last summer and it still fit!! Minus it being a little snug, and her cute belly sticking out, it works great. (Hmm, reminds me of myself when I try on my swimsuit for the first time after a long winter of snacking and hibernating!! yikes!)

Any who, I had to post the funny pictures of her in her swimsuit. Also I realized that I didn't take any pics of her at the pool this summer in this particular suit, so I am excited that it still fits and she looks as cute as ever. Now if I can just do something about this darn weather!

Our curious little one

As Abby has gotten bigger she has discovered new and interesting things that she can explore a.k.a get in to. Examples of this would be my makeup tote in the bathroom (I am still missing a brush and some eye shadow, that I have yet to locate any where in the house), our dresser drawers that I open when I am putting laundry away, she promptly reaches into the drawer and rapidly tosses the clothes out over her shoulder, and finally her most favorite item: the stereo in the kitchen. For months, she never even noticed its existance, but now that she realized that is has buttons and makes noise, it's her new favorite toy. I have tried asking her to not touch it, but she just can't resist. Here are some pictures of her mischieve then smiling at me when I caught her in the act, I swear she thinks that cute little grin will get her out of any trouble she gets in to!

Gratitude!

I haven't written in a few days, but my heart is full of gratitude! I don't want to come across too cheesy, but a few things have happened in the last week to make me appreciate all that I have been able to have in my life.

On Sunday evening, Jan. 27, Jake's Mom called us and told us that President Hinkley has passed away. I was so sad and a little surprised, but happy that he is able to be with his wife and other loved ones that have passed on. I was sad because President Hinkley has been the prophet most of my adult life and I have grown up with his wonderful guidance. He made the gospel so personal for me, and I felt like every time he spoke he gave us a pep talk, not to scold us but to just help us to want to do better, and "stand a little taller." I guess I never thought he would be gone, and now that he is it makes me so grateful to have been influenced by him!

On Wednesday, Jan. 30, It was my parent's 38th Wedding Anniversary!! I have been working for weeks on a DVD for them full of pictures of our family beginning from when they got married until now, and let me tell you that was quite the project! But it was so worth it to see how happy they were and how much they enjoyed watching the movie and remminiscing. I am so grateful for the example of my parents!! They have continued to work at their marriage and to try to make one another happy for 38 years and I think that is awesome. They have also always tried to do their best to take care of "their girls" (me and all of my sisters) and now that I am an adult I realize how much they sacraficed their personal needs or wants to make sure we as their children has what we wanted. For that I will always be grateful, I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD!!!




Today, Feb. 4, they announced who the new prophet and first presidency of the church would be, obviously we knew that Thomas S. Monson would be the new prophet, but it was exciting to see who he would announce as his counselors. I really like both Elder Eyring and Elder Uchtdorf and look forward this new chapter in the church's history. I will be honest, it will take me a bit to get used to all of the changes, but I know that the men called will be exactly who the Lord and our church need right now.

It's neat because I was able to meet President Monson about a month ago at my grandfather's funeral. We actually were surprised and touched that he made the time to give his condolences. He was so humble and approachable, and it was really exciting to meet him, and Jake and I were so glad that we were able to meet him and be in his prescence. It was pretty intimidating for my father who was conducting the meeting, but Pres. Monson was very kind and remembered so many nice things about my grandfather and grandmother. He spoke so eloquently and bore a sweet and sincere testimony of the Savior, the plan of salvation, and the truthfulness of the gospel. Now with the passing of President Hinkley, I feel so lucky to have met the current prophet of the church, Thomas S. Monson.

I know that we will soon be using quotes from President Monson of his counsel to us, but my sister found this quote from President Hinkley that I thought was perfect for how I am feeling this week:

"Let us from this day forward be a little better, love one another a little more, treat one another with greater kindness and look to God and live."
-Gordon B. Hinckley

ABBY IS OFFICIALLY WALKING!!

Just wanted to let you know that Abby is officially walking! She has been taking lots of steps and then stopping and falling down for the last month or so, and she has been cruising around holding onto things, but as of Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008 she is officially walking on her own and is off!! Now whenever she goes to crawl, she gets right up and realizes, "hey, I can walk" and then goes for it. I know you are thinking, well of course she is walking, she is 14 months old now, but Abby was an early talker and a late walker....I guess just like her mother was.:-)

Although I will say as excited as I am to see her walk I don't think it's really happening because in my mind it seems like she is still just a "baby" and not a "big girl." But I think our baby days are nearly over now, and we have so many fun things to look forward to on to.

I will try to upload a video of her walking as soon as I can get it figured out, I tried it, and it didn't work, so there will be more to come. :-)

Jake a.k.a. my mighty hunter!

When I married Jake I knew that he enjoyed being in the outdoors camping and hunting, and I had no idea really to what extent that meant. But now, after 6 years of marriage it's all really coming to light. For those f you who don't know Jake, it is an understatement to say that he LIKES to hunt. If I would let him ALL of his spare time would be spent tracking stuff down and shooting it. He loves to participate in the archery and muzzeloader hunt, and then the rifle hunt. He also loves to waterfowl hunt, and shoot small game. This year alone he took down a monstrous elk with his bow, a huge buck with his rifle, and numerous other animals and even a banded mallard duck (which is pretty unique in itself.)

I try not to complain too much because I have learned so much about wildlife and the outdoors from him, and really he is an awesome hunter!! He works hard at what he loves to do. He even invites me to come along with him, which let's be honest, not all husbands would do. So I just wanted to share some pictures from this last year of Jake's hunting success and let him know that although it sometimes drives me crazy, I do know that it makes him happy. And for some of you reading this, you may think the whole concept of hunting and camping may be weird and "redneck", but for us, it's just a way of life that I have learned to appreciate!! I love you Jake!

Abby's cheesy grin

So Abby has started the funniest thing that I have to share with you. Throughout the holidays we took a ton of pictures and we discovered that when taking Abby's picture we would say, "Abby, smile" and then she would give us an OK smile, but then when the flash went off she would totally cheese it and make the funniest face, so here are some examples of her cheesy face! She is getting so much fun and developing her own cute personality, I just love watching her grow!

We are in!

I apparently didn't realize how popular the whole blog thing was, and had no idea how many of our friends actually had one.....where have I been?? But now we are in with the "cool crowd" of bloggers and on our way! I hope you enjoy being a part of our lives as much as we enjoy being a part of yours!