Mamma Mia!

Last Friday I decided it was the PERFECT movie-watching day, especially with all the snow we received. A friend of mine from the ward stopped by, and when I told her I was willing to venture through the weather to my local Redbox so that I could rent it, she informed me that she'd just bought the movie, and that I could borrow it! So, I did!

And....I have to admit, I think I started it with too-high of expectations. I did love the music, and the dancing was a lot of fun, but overall? Don't think I'll be watching it again. It just didn't do it for me-y'know? Have you seen it? What did you think of it? Does anybody besides me think that the story line is just a bit less than wholesome? I admit, I am generally NOT a person who believes in fast-forwarding during movie scenes, so I don't consider myself to be prudish in terms of movies, but....yeah. Not my favorite movie, end of story.

I actually have several other posts I need to finish (ie: add pictures to), so hopefully this week I will get those up! Actually, hopefully this week I WON'T get them up because I'll have a new baby taking up all my time! I am anxiously awaiting his arrival and have been finding out all sorts of remedies for bringing on labor....most of which I either have tried or will be trying! Last Saturday was yet another day of work for Nathan (he worked six days last week), and Tanner and I were climbing the walls, so we headed to the mall to walk around and so he could run around in the play area. Finding a parking spot the Saturday before Christmas though, was nearly impossible, so we made the best of it and spent a good 20 minutes just driving over speed bumps, all while looking for a parking spot. At any rate, I go to the doctor tomorrow morning and am praying that things have progressed since last week. Only nine more days until the end of the year, so time is of the essence on getting this baby out!

Minor detail

So, I think I should stand up for Nathan dearest after his um, little blogging escapade. Ever since I started posting the whole Nathan/Bonnie story, I get after him to go on my blog and actually look at it--which he has been doing. But whenever I totally make a fool out of myself, he laughs and threatens to put it on my blog, which is what happened last Sunday. When he told me to go look at my blog that night, I figured he'd been up to something, as he obviously had. However, he typed it up as a joke--with the assumption that I'd see it, laugh, and then delete it. He never meant for it to stay up. So for those of you who were concerned about my husband having a habit of publicly humiliating me, you can rest assured. :-)

36 Weeks!!

I finally have some new pics to post! What an exciting day this is! So, last month I'd had it with my hair. I had not been to get it cut since MAY, so it had been six months. Since Nathan cuts Tanner's hair himself, and I cut Nathan's hair, I used that as my excuse for asking/telling Nathan that I wanted to splurge on my hair and get it cut AND colored. Normally coloring it for me means using the box from the store, but no, I wanted the real deal by someone who actually went to school for this stuff. Anyway, long story short, I finally changed my hair up and am thrilled that it actually has a style once again, other than the "chronic bedhead" style, if you know what I mean.

This pic was taken last Sunday, and I hit 36 weeks this past Wednesday, so it's taken at almost 36 weeks. When I went to the doctor this week they apparently had another Bonnie Hall patient....who is an elderly lady....that they somehow managed to confuse with me....me a PREGNANT 24 year old. The office I go to happens to make mistakes like this every visit, which result in me not getting out of there in less than 2 hours. Anyway, the bad news continued? My due date got changed AGAIN, surprise surprise. It is now January 9--instead of January 7th. You may be asking what the big deal is for 2 extra days, other than the fact that it means 2 more days of the joy of being pregnant. The issue at hand is this: the hospital policy is no inducing more than 7 days or one week earlier than the 40 week mark, which means that they will not induce me before the end of the year if the baby hadn't come. I wouldn't care if several THOUSAND dollars weren't at stake in the name of our deductible werent' at stake here. My doctor keeps telling me to chill out, so I informed him this week that it is really quite simple: if the baby comes this year, he will get paid. If the baby comes next year, he won't. My doctor then informed me (and he had never mentioned this before), that it might be possible to call down to perinatology and get special permission for inducing.

Looks like we'll be doing LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of walking/running/lifting/not sitting still for the next 3 weeks in an attempt to lure this little guy out! And if I get desperate enough, maybe I'll even bring on the castor oil. :-)

A Bonnie - ism

This is Nathan... I just thought I'd share a funny little story or two. While we were eating lunch, I gave Tanner a Cheeto chip as a reward for taking a bite of a sandwich. As is customary, I asked him to say 'thank you' after I gave it to him. Bonnie scolded me and told me not to have him talk with his mouth full of food... while having food in her mouth.

Last night, after checking football scores, I was flipping through channels and stopped briefly on HGTV because that is what Bonnie likes. I saw something about a couple who bought a house for $1,118,000.00 in Maui. Later, I told Bonnie about this couple who bought a house in Hawaii, Maui to be specific. She said, 'Wait a minute. Isn't Maui in Florida or something?'

A pain in the butt(on)

First of all, an addendum to the previous post:

I tooted my own horn too early on that story about the toaster. While it looked so very clean after I got finished with it, the next morning I decided it wasn't as clean as I'd thought. I put my bread in and it started smoking. I figured it was just getting rid of the microscopic bits of plastic left inside, and didn't worry. But when the kitchen filled up with smoke AND a nauseating smell, causing us to have to open the window and turn on multiple fans, I thought differently. Thus, we ended up at Target that afternoon, and left with a new Black & Decker toaster oven. (sigh) I LOVED my toaster oven that I'd had. Grandma McDonnel gave it to me, and it worked perfectly. It is going to take a bit of bonding with this new one before we are that good of friends.

Anyway, the reason for my post is probably the strangest question I have asked yet, but maybe someone can sympathize with me! So, for the past 6 weeks or so, I have had the most EXCRUCIATING pain in my navel area. It is like someone is stabbing me from the inside, and there is no pain killer I can take that even touches the pain. Someone suggested to me that it could be that the baby just happens to like to be in a certain position that requires his elbow or knee to be right where my belly button is, which I would have to say is the explanation I have adopted for what is causing this pain. My doctor/nurse just laugh it off saying that "You're pregnant, and your skin is quite tight around that area, so of course it hurts." And to think I pay thousands of dollars to be told this. Anyway, I never had this when I was pregnant with Tanner, and was wondering if anybody else has had this problem, or has even known someone else who has gone through this! Any suggestions would be mightily appreciated as well!

Does anyone else have days like this?!?!?!

For some reason, 'blog worthy' events come in multitudes when Nathan is away on trips. This trip--especially today--was no different. Nathan has had to be gone from Monday morning through Thursday night for the past 3 weeks, and today I was about done being a single parent, especially since Tanner was have a very, ah, TRYING day.

I don't know when this happened (Probably when I was in the shower, since he likes to get into as much mischief as possible during the rare times I dare shower when Nathan is gone), but tonight as I was doing the dishes I kept glancing over at our toaster oven and seeing bright orange. It was a little while before something in my brain clicked that toaster oven and bright orange are not a normal sight. My darling, sweet child at some point had put a plastic utensil (don't know what utensil. Spoon maybe?) in my toaster oven and then turned the toaster oven ON. By the time I found it, it was an orange hardened mess. Why can't they warn you in child development classes that YOUR 2 year old just might melt plastic utensils in YOUR toaster oven, when YOUR husband is gone, and YOU have to figure out how to clean it up? Oh well, the good news is, after an hour of creativity/common sense/a lot of hard work/burned fingertips, my toaster oven is clean. I am so glad I went to college so that I could learn to do such brazen tasks such as this!

How to get your child to eat peas

So, Tanner has never been a huge fan of vegetables. He went through a few weeks where he LOVED green beans, and he tolerated veggies alright as a baby, but other than that, he's not one that devours vegetables by the forkful.

Last night though, I fixed Tanner his dinner and then pulled out a Lean Cuisine for myself (these are basically the 'norm' for me if Nathan is out of town). I was really hungry, so I also pulled out a few leftovers from the fridge, one of which was a tupperware full of peas. Apparently Tanner thought that I was saving 'the good stuff' for myself, and he was not about to be left out. He went over and grabbed the tupperware full of (COLD!) peas, and tried opening it. I helped him open it, so he ran over and got a spoon....and proceeded to take a bite. The face he made was funny, but what was hilarious was that he continued and ate about half the peas that were in there! Then he went and played for a little bit, but came back after awhile so that he could eat some more peas.

We cook vegetables in every way we can think of, adding all different things, including butter and sometimes Velveeta cheese, and of all things, he goes for the cold peas. Go figure.

The Blessings of Attending Ward Prayer

I have been informed that it is taking me way too long to post more of this story, so I will try and pick up the pace!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 14th 2004:

My roommates and I left for Jon's apartment for our dinner invite, which normally would have THRILLED me, but tonight I was more disappointed that I'd had to leave my new friend Nathan behind. Dinner was tasty (Jon is a great cook), and then we headed up to the Manwaring Center for a fireside their ward was having, which Jon had put a video together for. It was fun, but I was anxious to get back to Carriage House in time for ward prayer. Mind you, ward prayer was NOT one of those things I usually looked forward to with any anticipation....but it was tonight!

I got to ward prayer and hoped that by some chance Nathan was there. The good news? He was! The bad news? Well, I need to give some background info first. (From this point on, I suspect that some of you faithful readers may lose interest from sheer disgust at how superficial I really am). Up until this point (aside from the cross country race), everytime I'd seen Nathan he was wearing his suit and tie. And he looked great in them, I might add. The bad news of the night at ward prayer? He was not in his suit. (sigh) Perhaps only Emily can imagine what he was dressed like, since I think she is my only blog reader (aside from Stephanie) who knew Nathan before I got ahold of his wardrobe. At any rate, picture this if you will: hiking boots with tapered jeans, and a hideous red, white and blue striped polo shirt. Yes, he is well aware of my thoughts on those clothes, so don't you worry--should be read this post our relationship with not suffer.

Anyway, after ward prayer there were basically four of us left in the lounge: Nathan, me, Sarah, and Kaleb (a guy in our ward she kind of liked). Sarah and Kaleb put on the movie "Charly," and Nathan and I sat on a back table and talked. Ah, no, let me re-phrase that. We sat on a back table and NATHAN talked. For several HOURS. And everytime there was an airplane shown in "Charly," he pointed it out. To all of us. By the end of the night, I confess that I was disappointed that this possible relationship with him was probably not going anywhere on account of me deciding that he was only interested in himself, which didn't go well with the fact that he was in dire need of being placed on TLC's "What Not to wear." When I got into my apartment that night, my roommates all wanted to know what was going on with me and our home teacher! "Nothing," I told them. "Absolutley nothing!" My fun-loving and crazy roommate Wendy was disappointed, since she'd had big plans for us. "He's from TC Bonnie, he's GOT to be great!" (for those of you obviously not in the loop, "TC" stands for Tri-Cities. Which is also where she is from). After we discussed Nathan, our conversation switched to New Year's. Wendy really wanted me to come up to the Tri-Cities for New years, espcially since I'd never been to Washington before. We looked online for a plane ticket for me, and I found one for under $50, which I was really tempted to get! I decided to think it over that night before doing so.

When I checked on plane tickets either later that night or the next day, they'd gone up! However, I checked again Monday night, and they were back down. Unfortunately, Wendy had really wanted me to fly into Seattle (4 hours away from Tri-Cities), just so we'd have an excuse to see Seattle. The problem with this is that Wendy's mom did NOT want her driving across the state by herself to come pick me up. So, we needed someone that already lived in the Tri-Cities to ride with Wendy over to Seattle when I flew in.....any guesses whose name came to mind? I decided that I wouldn't give up on Nathan QUITE yet. Especially since I needed a favor. So, I did the unthinkable and called him. I definitely surprised him with my phone call, which I could tell then and he would tell you now. I explained my/our dilemma, and his response was: "Bonnie, I do not want to get up before four in the morning to come pick you up in Seattle." My heart sunk. But then he continued: "...but I will." Oh happy day! I booked the ticket and ended up talking (well, listening to him) to him for the next 45 minutes or so. He tells me now that he was so thrilled to have someone not only show interest in him, and talk to him--both after ward prayer and that night when I called him, that that's when he really started to like me. However, he thought then (and still thinks) that the reason I called him that night was because I liked him and just wanted to talk to him--not because I needed his help with ferrying Wendy to Seattle. :-)

Before we got off the phone, he asked me if I would go out with him Saturday night. Yes, my hottie home teacher asked ME on a date! I accepted--of course. Especially when he said that his roommates and him were all planning this group date in which they were going to make tinfoil dinners and have a bonfire and roast marshmallows.I may not camp, but this sounded like a blast to me!

Wednesday he called me up and asked if I wanted to do something that night. He asked me for what I wanted to do--which at first irritated me that he wanted me to plan it. However, he suggested we go play racquetball. I said OK, but at the evening drew close, I had to call and cancel due to the fact that I still had major stuyding to do. "No problem," he said, "I'll come with you and we'll both study." So, that night we found ourselves in the library studying, and at one point being told jokes by Rory.....oh boy howdy.

As for the 'big date' that Saturday? Stay tuned for more!

"Too Much Information" (don't say you weren't forewarned)

Last Saturday night (November 8th) had to have been one of, if not THE most traumatic night of my LIFE! The day itself was quite nice-my uncle was sealed in the SLC temple to a sweetheart of a woman, and the luncheon that we attended afterwards was marvelous! That evening however, we invited my mom, Will, and Sandy back to our place for dinner before they headed back to Idaho. I was quite pleased with myself that dinner was almost all ready when they came, and that my house was actually somewhat clean. However, I'd left some shopping bags out from the night before, which contained three 20-oz cans of crushed pineapple. I hurried to put them away as soon as we got home, and in the process, one slipped and landed (where else?) directly on my big toe! To say it hurt would be the understatement of the year. Seriously? I have never EVER felt pain like that. Give me childbirth anyday--it comes with plenty of fast working pain relief options--compared to flattening your toe with pineapple! So, I more or less laid on the couch and whimpered and whined while Nathan and my mom flitted around and were productive.

As if the exruciating pain of dropping pineapple on my nylon-clad foot wasn't enough, when I went to take the band aid off before going to bed, Nathan said, "Um, I can see why you're in pain!" Underneath the nail was completely BLACK. This happened to Ryan Argyle one time on a group date, when he smashed his finger in a car trunk that was slamming shut. It looked so painful I swore I would never,ever ever let that happen to me. At any rate, Nathan insisted that the pressure had to be relieved--which might have gone over somewhat well with me were I not ready pass out by merely thinking about a pin or needle going through my nail. Mom gave me lots of good advice---but finally did admit that she personally had never been through it. The whole pin idea didn't work anyway, since it required way too much pressure being applied to the nail. however, Mom had one suggestion that Nathan thought was a wonderful idea: using a power drill! Does that sound like your idea of a fun time or what?!?!

Nathan about had to tie me down to get me to let him use the drill on my foot. He said we'd try it ONCE, and if it hurt, he'd stop. With a pillow between my face and my foot (as well as Nathan's body based on his sitting position), I could not see anything but could hear the drill loud and clear! Surprisingly, the drill really did not hurt--thank HEAVENS for that--but apparently once Nathan hit 'the spot' well, let's just say it made a mess. I know this because of his yell of surprise, and because he told me--not because I dared look at the mess for fear I would pass out or puke. As if I don't sound like a boob enough thus far, I surely will after saying this: I also made Nathan clean up the area and put gauze and tape on it to cover it. I do believe that we made excellent use of the first aid kit given to us as a wedding gift from Jim and Teri Durrant. It came in mighty handy.

NOTE: My mom tells me that I put "too much information" on my blog (referring to my Nathan/Bonnie stories from 'way back when'), yet one of the first things she asked me the day after this all happened was if I was going to post this on my blog. I said, "No way." She told me that she thought it would be the perfect blog post--and it needed pictures too. So, this is for you Mom! The toe picture is what my toe looked like when I took the band aid off Sunday night (the night after it happened). Don't be alarmed by all the red--that is nail polish, NOT blood. The funny thing is, that nail polish is actually a reason we needed the drill--since it was so hard to get through!






Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine what I was getting myself into when I gave Nathan this power drill for Christmas last year.....

Favorite photo of the week

Kudos to the SouthTowne mall!! I love, love, LOVE businesses that recognize the need for special "Expectant Mothers only" parking spaces that are just as good if not better than handicapped spots!

Continued from Yesterday...

As promised, here is 'part II' of yesterday's installment of the Nathan & Bonnie saga:

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 7th 2004:

As good BYU-Idaho co-eds, we attended our Sunday meetings this day. That afternoon, our home teachers came by our humble abode for the purpose of (what else?) home teaching. While one of these home teachers needs no introduction, I should give a little info about our othe home teacher: his name is Lorin (can't remember his last name), he is quiet, short, glasses-wearing, and rather shy. A nice guy, but probably not one who owns a little black book just filled with girls anxiously awaiting a date with him (though at this time I WAS convinced that the other home teacher had one such book).

As much as I know this may baffle you, I have no idea what the lesson/spiritual thought was on that particular day. However, once it was done, the conversation turned to the previous day's activities. I made the comment to Nathan that I in no way meant to scare him by my appearance and lack of social graces while trying to die the day before after the meet. He surprised me by smiling and laughing and saying that he hadn't been phased at all--and that several of his brothers had also participated in cross country while growing up, and that he was accustomed to such mannerisms after a race. "Hmm" I thought. "Maybe he DOES have potential." We continued to chat for a few more minutes, and afterwards, they headed on their merry way.

ONE WEEK LATER (SUNDAY NOVEMBER 14TH 2004):

Just as one might expect, we Carriage House 201 dwellers attended our church meeting. We had Priesthood/Relief Society first that year, and it was common that at the end of that first hour, everyone would be rushing to get to their next class (Sunday school. Why people were in such a hurry is still beyond me). I must confess, one of my biggest pet peeves is not having post-lude music after class gets over, so when my roommate and dear friend Sarah (also the Relief Society pianist) hurried out without any piano playing, I seized the opportunity to tickle the ivories for a few minutes. Once people started to trickle in for Sunday School, I wrapped things up and prepared to leave (for some reason, my roommates and I attended Sunday School in a different room). On my way out, there was a huge crowd of people trying to get IN the room, and who should I HAPPEN to bump into than 'the hottie,' aka 'the home teacher?' I smiled and said hi, and he jokingly said, "Why hello Sister Taylor. You definitely don't look scary today!" (if you are puzzled as to where that comment came from, please refer to previous paragraph). Many people have since asked me if I slappd the man for that comment. No. I did not. I was amused. I was twitterpated. And I was shocked that this hunk who I had previously thought had no personality or sense of humor, DID have one! We shared a laugh and then parted ways.

But the whole next hour during Sunday School my mind was a million miles away, and I didn't hear a word the teacher said. I was too engaged in my own daydreams and fantasies about he-who-shall-not-be-named. The same could most likely be said for Sacrament Meeting. After Sacrament meeting, my roommates and I were headed out, when Nathan and his roommate Matt approached us and asked if we'd like to come over for lunch that afternoon. Sarah and Kelly had prior obligations, so it was just Wendy and I who would be able to go. A time was set, and with that, we headed out.

That afternoon, we headed over a for a lunch that I am embarrassed to admit that I cannot remember what we ate. Matt made his green bean casserole (aka 'Bean Slop,' which Nathan and I continue to make to this day), and for dessert we had a Jello No-Bake cheesecake which wasn't QUITE set up, but was still good. Well, as good as you're going to get from a box (this is the queen of homemade cheesecakes talking here). During lunch people came and went from Nathan's apartment, and by the end of the meal, there was quite a crowd gathered, just sitting around visiting and having a good time. Nathan and I had become engrossed in conversation, and we ended up on the couch to continue talking. I was so awestruck at how much we had to talk about, and how much of a decent conversation we had. It wasn't your typical 'put on an act, I am going to be my fake self' conversation. The clincher though? Nathan's roommate William was telling someone something, and apparently William didn't have one of the details quite right, and Nathan corrected him. Most people would probably find that obnoxious, but I was in love! This guy obviously had a fine eye/ear for detail, and liked to make sure things were correct--a trait I hadn't seen in a guy at BYU-Idaho for a LONG time! Nathan and I continued to talk for hours-and at some point he brought out his picture albums, which included pictures of his mission and also pictures of Emily in her wedding dress (Emily, do you find it ironic that I was looking at pictures of the dress way back then?!?! :-) ). Finally though, Wendy and I had to leave. The reason? The reason is going to make you laugh: my roommates and I had another appointment to make---a dinner appointment with ANOTHER guy's apartment. This was probably the ONLY Sunday EVER that I was invited to two different guys' apartments for two different meals. It's always the guys who are apartment hopping for food on Sunday! This dinner appointment was at a guy named Jon's apartment, and I will say this: I kind of liked Nathan, I kind of liked Jeff (from cross country), but Jon? I LIKED JON! A LOT!

And that my friends, is where I'll have to leave it for now, since this post would literally turn into a novel if I continued with what happened the rest of that night. Stay tuned though!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

When we were up in Pasco about two weeks ago, I left with Nathan's dad to go run some errands, and Tanner stayed behind with Grandma, who needed to pick some apples from their backyard trees. To entertain Tanner, she got out a box of dinosaurs for him to play with. When she finished picking apples, this is what she saw:



(Notice that each dinosaur is eating the one in front of it. Kinda makes you wonder what exactly two year old little boys think about...)

Halloween

After seeing everyone else's fun Halloween blog posts, I figured I might as well post pictures from our Halloween festivities. I must admit though, I was not able to spend much time worrying about Halloween, seeing as how a)I am the enrichment leader in our ward, and b)our Super Saturday was November 1st--the day after Halloween. This would be the reason I am not in any of the pumpkin carving pictures. I believe I was working on food preparations/assignments that night. Oh well, it is all over and done with for now!!


"Tanner, show Mommy your yucky hands!"


Having fun with Dad


Tanner being a big helper. Nathan said that once the pumpkin 'guts' were done being cleaned out, Tanner was outta there, and onto more exciting things.



Halloween night:

We went with Alicia and the kids to their ward's trunk-or-treat. Dave realized at the last minute that he had to work, which greatly saddened both him and Alicia--especially since he'd spent months planning his costume.

Amelia the Cowgirl


Grant the Gorilla


Believe it or not, this is me. I know you had a hard time deciphering that one! I wasn't going to dress up at all, but I joked to Whitney (when she asked what I was going to be for Halloween) that I was going to be a prize-winning pumpkin, since I was fat enough. Her response was something to the effect of, "How fun! You should put a face on and be a jack-o-lantern." So, I did. I am so festive, I know!


My extremely festive husband, who has also spent his last month or so cramming for Super Saturday as well (that's what you get when you're married to the enrichment leader). Hence, I let him off the hook from coming up with an extremely creative costume. We figured the referee costume was dressing up enough for a trunk-or-treat.


Me with my little tiger!


Tanner the Tiger. The face says it all. He did NOT want to wear a costume. Getting him in it for pictures at JC Penney was not an easy task, and once pictures were done, HE was done with the costume. I don't know how Nathan got him in it again that night for trunk-or-treat. I was the one who stood at the trunk and passed out candy, so Nathan took Tanner around to trick or treat. From what he tells me, Tanner really caught on to the whole candy thing (unlike last year), and was an active little trick-or-treater!



THIS would be Dave and Alicia (and Amelia and Grant) in their costumes. Yes, that scary looking redneck feller is my brother in law, who is actually quite an accomplished doctor and decent individual. He wore this get-up to work on Halloween and nearly passed as a patient. The most interesting comment he got (that we heard about) was when another doctor said, "Great costume...now are you a redneck or pedophile?" Yikes! Oh, and Alicia is a hippie. She made her own costume. Now she is a good, festive, Halloween-er.

The Update You've Been Waiting for!

As I have written the date (11/06/08) on my baggies of meat, something about today's date has struck a chord, and I haven't been able to figure out why. Yes, you did read correctly, by the way. Our freezer is on its way to being re-stocked! Anyway, it just occurred to me what today is the 'anniversary' of, and because of that, I simply cannot put this post off any longer!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2004:

The night prior to this, our handsome (and personality-less) home teacher, Nathan, calls our apartment. The purpose for his call? To invite two certain residents of Carriage House 201 to go flying with him the next day? Was I one of those two girls you might ask? No. I was not. My roommates Sarah and Kelly were those two girls. To top it off, they had already been flying with Nathan once or twice, and the way I saw it, it was my turn! However, the next day was my final cross country meet of the season for all the BYU-Idaho teams, and Sarah and Kelly had promised me that they would not miss my meet, and I was determined to see them keep that promise! They assured me not to worry--that they would be back from flying with plenty of time to come to my meet, which just happened to be at the golf course just next to the Rexburg airport.

The day dawned brisk and sunny; a perfect Rexburg autumn day, and a spectacular day for a race. I joined my team and prepared for what would be my last race as a BYU-I cross country runner. The gun went off and so did I. I spent the majority of the race next to my teammate Kami, and the two of us pushed ourselves. Hard. As we pushed through the final mile, I looked over at the crowd and saw Sarah and Kelly....and Nathan?!? Knowing how utterly attractive I must have looked at that moment, I figured all chances of impressing this hottie of a home teacher were about to vanish. Although at that particular moment, I had so much cross country adrenaline in me and was pleased with how I was doing, so I can't say I really cared that this 'possible relationship' was most likely shattered. Kami and I rounded the last corner and sprinted into the chutes (I got there before she did, but only by perhaps a nanosecond). I was told my time, and in my elated/drunk/sick-from-running-so hard state of mind, I did what any cross country runner would do: headed for a secluded group of trees so that I could gather my wits (and stomach) without anyone else around.

No sooner had I collapsed on the grass though, who should appear but Sarah, Kelly, and Nathan. At this point I was so sick, I didn't really care who was around. Sarah and Kelly (and possibly Nathan) congratulated me on my race, and asked if they could get me anything. I told them no, that I would be fine. They looked a bit nervous, and finally one of the girls said that they were going to take off since Nathan was probably getting a little bit grossed out by my well, state of health (NO I was not puking....close....but no). I figured that if he was that grossed out by someone at the end of their race then he wasn't man enough for me anyway, so with that, they left.

Upon arriving home and feeling like my 'normal' self again, I proceeded--with Sarah and Kelly and some other friends--to get ready for Preference, since it was that night. My cross country team more or less all went together (though we did have specific dates), and my date was a guy named Jeff. Since Jeff doesn't know I have a blog, I can comfortably say that I really really liked Jeff, and was psyched to have him as my date! Sarah and Kelly were in our group as well; Kelly going with one of the guys on our team for her date, while Sarah went with a guy in our ward. It was a fabulous, fabulous evening.

And that my friends, is my update for today....however, I will promise you this: tomorrow's installment (which has to be tomorrow if we're going to go with exact dates) will explain why I had to tell this whole cross country story, and will start to answer some questions! Pictures coming soon as well!

Little Known Fact

For those of you who were wondering, and even for those who were not, I offer this as my helpful hint of the day:

Paper towels and a few sprays of Simple Green do NOT remove antiperspirant/deodorant from a toddler's tricycle. However, a Mr. Clean magic eraser DOES. Now, don't you feel better now that you know that?

Baby Names

So there has been a bit of interest in baby number two's name, and whether or not we have thought of any names. Have we thought of any, you ask? Well....yeah. What expectant parent doesn't devote at least a few minutes to thinking about such things?!?! Have we settled on one? Well...no. My dear husband, as much as I love him, is VERY VERY good at shooting down nearly EVERY name I come up with, but offers no suggestions. We were already planning on keeping with the tradition of not revealing the baby's name until we could include a birthdate/time/weight with that information, but now it looks like we HAVE to wait until he is here, so that we can look at him and narrow down our list of 3 names (some days there is a 4th name, but that name comes and goes depending on my mood). So...no baby name answers here for now, though if you have any names you think are absolutely positively perfect for our baby, do leave me a comment and I will run them all by my husband. Should you happen to suggest a name that my impossible husband likes, I think I'll even throw in a prize! :-) Well, provided I like it too!

I decided to ask Tanner the other day what we should name the baby. He didn't even have to think about it. His answer? "Eat." No matter when I ask him this question now, that is the answer I get. How bizarre is that? For now, I think we'll stick to letting Tanner name our fish, though he does offer more name suggestions than his father....

Sad day!

Today was a sad-well, more like expensive-day for us. This afternoon I came downstairs to our little freezer to pull out some chicken nuggets for Tanner. A healthy lunch, I know. He normally gets REAL food, but well, that is most of the time, not all the time. Anyway, a bit of background about this freezer. It is where ALL of our meats, bread, frozen dinners, and nuts are kept. Our upstairs freezer has our stash of ice cream, popsicles, frozen juices, frozen vegetables, and a myriad of other random things (aren't you glad you now know where to head next time you're at our house and have a hankering for some ice cream?). OK, back to the story at hand. I pull out some chicken nuggets for my little guy, and notice that they are....warm?!?! Then I notice my bread is all totally thawed, and there is no ice on the shelves (we normally have tons of ice build up in this freezer). And then I noticed the smell.....and the pool of NASTY brownish/reddish water at the bottom of the freezer.

A short time later after Tanner was napping (after eating his chicken nugget lunch), Nathan and I headed down to tackle this huge problem that had arisen. We discovered that nothing is actually wrong with the freezer--probably the only GOOD news of the day--rather, it had just been turned off. Whether it was by our mischievious toddler or by Nathan or myself when we were cleaning out the freezer last week, we'll never know. At any rate, we had to throw out every bit of meat that was in there, which unfortunately was a LOT, considering that in the past month I've stocked up at the sales on chicken, hamburger, and even some (sob) steaks. Why didn't we notice this sooner you might ask? Because we were in Washington for the weekend, and last night we just had tuna patties for dinner, which obviously didn't involve any frozen foods. Anyway, Nathan deserves a medal since he pretty much is the one that did all the cleaning and actual handling of the meats and everything else, and put up with the NAUSEATING smell.

That is my sad story for today. I need to post a certain picture from our Washington trip though--it is sure to make you laugh....it makes me laugh just thinking about it!

My husband; The Pilot

Doesn't he just look so cute and official?

I'm still here!

Nothing too exciting on this end these days, but I figured I would let you all know that we are still alive and well. :-) well, Tanner has a cough that seems to be worsening, but other than that, we are well. Several times a year, when Tanner is either not going through a growth spurt or is sick, it becomes an Olympic sport to get the child to eat, and that would be where we are this week. By the time mealtime is done, Nathan and I are exhausted!! Fortunately, these phases never last for toooooo terribly long.

Nathan bid for "long call reserve" for this month, and we have been enjoying that. Basically he is on-call 24-7, but if they call him, they have to give him (at least!) 12 hours notice, and they always do. He has barely worked at all this month, so we've been trying to get things done here that have been needing to be done for quite some time. We've really cracked down on analyzing our finances, budget, and all those good things, and most recently have been tackling our computer room and all the odds/ends/JUNK that is piled in the boxes and getting rid of stuff. Needless to say, projects would get done a whole ton faster if a)we didn't have a 2 year old underfoot, and b) I wasn't feeling the effects of pregnancy so much these days! I am turning into a first class woos, with being out of breath, dealing with reflux, and just getting winded incredibly easily! I am actually in my 28th week now--can you believe it?!?!

Monday we took Tanner and went to Hill Air Force Base, and toured the museum, which is something Nathan has been wanting to do since we moved here. It went about as well as can be expected with a 2 year old, though I must confess, I think the only way to go to a museum is WITH a young child, since you have to be quick and not read EVERY single word....which you might have to if you didn't have the excuse of being with someone with a short attention span.

As for me, I am still swamped with getting ready for Super Saturday...it is coming up quick! A lot has been done, but lots remains to be done. I am definitely meeting a lot of people these days! Yesterday I must have had 5 people stop by my house to ask me questions about the various projects and what not! Anyway, I could go on about things, but I will spare you the details. once I load the camera card onto the computer, I will post recent pictures. Until then, take care!

A Terrible "Two's-day"

OK this has been on my “I’ve GOT to blog about this” list for the past month, since it is the best blogging story. It is slightly out of order though.

Remember the marathon canning Alicia and I did? This story takes place on the Tuesday of that week. Alicia and I took our kids (her two kids, and my one kid) up to get produce in Brigham City that afternoon. None of the kids had a nap, and we certainly did not anticipate it being a 3-4 hour long ordeal that wore everyone out!

Once arriving home, I set my boxes of peaches, pears, and tomatoes in our living room while I did stuff in the kitchen. To entertain Tanner, I set up the new camping chair I had just bought the day previous, and let him sit in it to watch “Wee Sing.” He loved it, and I went back to the kitchen. He was being suspiciously quiet, so I poked my head in a few minutes later. Judging by his slumped body position, I assumed he’d fallen asleep. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that he was not sleeping, but was in fact hiding his latest “treasure……”



He had gotten himself the ripest, biggest, reddest, juiciest tomato from the box, and was devouring it while watching his movie. As if it was totally normal to munch on a tomato and make a huge mess while sitting in Mommy’s new chair! The whole scenario was too funny to get angry at, and even more so, to not get some pictures of!

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Now we fast forward to an hour or so later. I was downstairs talking on the phone to my sister-in-law Kiersten, when Tanner made his way over into our laundry room. I wasn’t paying too much attention, until I looked over and saw THIS:






Again, had to take a few pictures, then pulled him OUT of the dryer and locked up the room, which did not make the little man too happy, as you can guess by this image:






That night, Nathan was cooking dinner and Tanner wanted to ‘help.’ I don’t remember the details, other than Tanner was not a happy sprout, and a tired one too! This is how I found him when I walked in the kitchen after having run to the library really quick to return a library book:





Needless to say, he went to bed early, and didn’t put up a fuss when I put him in his jammies and tucked him in!

September Pictures

These are totally random, and pretty much all about Tanner, but I figured I needed to add some pictures to this blogging session!



Tanner and the kitty "Tabby" that adopteed Nathan's parents. This cat loved Tanner, and was not phased by him or his loudness, or anything about him! It was so fun to see them play together!




Our candlelight dinner....due to a power outage, not a romantic evening. :-) I am not complaining though. power outages have had a way of happening ONLY on the evenings/nights Nathan is gone, and this particular Sunday night the power went out shortly before Nathan got HOME!





Tanner and his cousin Grant checking out the hot babes at Hogle Zoo.








My lil' buckaroo on the pony ride at the fair down in Salt Lake. Tanner totally LOVED IT! I think this is his 3rd or 4th time on a horse, and he is really liking it more and more each time. Nathan was right there next to him, but didn't have to hold onto him at all.

Sincerest apologies!

Dearest friends, I do apologize for the extreme in-frequentness of my blog posts lately. Each time I sit down at the computer, I think about it....and then put it off. Call it a combination of a plethora of things:
*Not having the energy to post anything
*Having a case of "if you can't say something nice (or positive), don't blog!"
*Not caring about blogging due to wanting to pull my hair out
*Having a two year old who has some VERY demanding and VERY draining days


*My two church callings that are becoming a 24-7 job!
*Certain tests that have yielded some less than comforting results regarding my body and this pregnancy.
*We just bought the game "Ticket to Ride," and well, Nathan and I have been having a blast playing it at nights after Tanner goes to sleep. :-)

I have such a wonderful time looking at all of YOUR blogs, and hate it when someone goes a month or so without posting....so I will try and do better! Until then, bear with me!

All About Tanner

Name: Tanner Mark

Age: 27 months

Favorite Color: Good question. I am frequently wearing bright colors since my mom and dad like to be able to spot me easily, especially because I'm an active little sprout!

Favorite Song: DO AS I'M DOING! I ask to sing it at LEAST once an hour (provided I'm awake). This song is usually followed by a request for Itsy-Bitsy Spider.

Favorite Movie: While I love the "Wee Sing" movies (and most recently, the cassette tapes since I learned how to use the tape player that dearest Grandma Margaret sent down to me), I am also a huge fan of "Signing Time" at the zoo, and the Disney Sing-a-Long at Disneyland. I don't watch many movies, but I do enjoy Barney on PBS in the mornings.

Favorite Toys: cars, trains, planes, and books (espcially books about cars, trains, and planes)

Things I'm Scared of: power outages, being left with people I don't know (not that this happens often), and...not much else. I am not scared of much!

Favorite Food: **candy!!** I also like 'buice' (juice), Goldfish crackers

Pet Peeves: Anytime the word 'no' is involved it is a pet peeve of mine.

Favorite Things to Do: **Be outside!** I also love ANYTHING involving my Grandpa Hall or my Uncle Daniel, since they are my favorite people!! I like reading books, saying prayers, getting into mischief, and playing with other kids, though I am still working on the sharing thing.

Bad Habbits: Again, that would probably include the whole not sharing so well thing, I have a short temper and am a textbook two year old (I don't control my emotions so well when I don't get my way, which involves tantrums....lots of them. But Mommy and Daddy are getting better at dealing with them). Oh and I am working on not jumping on the beds and the couches anymore.

Good Habbits: Helping! I help clean, cook, pick out my own clothes, change my diaper (sometimes Mommy doesn't want help though), and the list goes on. I also enjoy saying prayers.

My Favorite Thing to Say: "It's a bus!" or "It's a HAR!" ( can't say "car" yet




What I Do That Make My Mommy Laugh the Hardest: randomly stand up in the grocery cart and ask for a kiss, go in my room and change my clothes myself, the list changes from day to day...I am a funny kid you know!

Belated Update

My boys! Do you love the matching shirts? I do! This was up in Pasco a few weeks ago when we were up for a visit.



Me at right around 20 weeks. I just took a pic tonight (3 weeks later) and can definitely feel myself getting bigger each week.



Tanner and his cousin Grant at the zoo. To put it like Emily did, they look like mini teenagers just cruisin for chicks!

These past two weeks have been absolutely CRAZY, hence my lack of posts. Actually, I've been tempted to post several times, but they would have been sans pictures, and since I promised you pictures, I decided to wait.

The week before last my sister in law (Alicia) and I headed up to Highway 89 outside of Brigham City ("Fruit Highway") and the two of us combined bought 40 pounds of peaches, 40 pounds of pears, 35-30 pounds of tomatoes, 5 pounds of strawberries, and they threw in a free watermelon. That was on Tuesday. Two days later, we first went down to Hogle Zoo for the day with some of Alicia's friends and their kids, then came back (with some awfully tired kids) and the fun began. That night we made two BIG batches of homemade salsa. After smelling tomatoes simmering for so many hours, I think I will never look at or smell a tomato the same. We ended up doing probably around 25-30 quarts of salsa. The funny thing is, Alicia got the second batch all put in the canner and what not, and as we were cleaning she found a measuring cup containing...vinegar! She had forgotten to put the vinegar in! We had othe citric acid in it, so it's not dangerous stuff, it will just be interesting to taste! :-)

The next day we did peaches and peach jam, and after dinner we did strawberry-rhubarb jam AND plain strawberry jam. At one point we looked at Tanner and Grant who were happily chasing each other around the house at midnight, all while laughing gleefully, and couldn't believe that we still had yet more canning to do! Up until this point, Nathan had been gone the whole time on a trip, and Alicia's husband is a doctor in residency, so he works long, long hours, so for the most part, we'd been doing all this canning while trying to corral three kids age three and under, which of course includes remembering to feed them, change them, occasionally put them down for naps, and basically keep them from killing each other. Had the kids not been a factor, I think canning would have been a piece of cake!

Saturday came and Nathan got home around 8am. After breakfast (with homemade waffles, since I was excited to pull out the freshly made peach jam), we headed back over to Alicia's so that she and I could finish up the canning by putting up pears. Dave had to work, but Nathan was a saint and took the kids to the park for several hours. When he came back, he helped peel and slice pears. He is a peach I tell you! 3 broken jars later, we were DONE! We didn't end up leaving that night until 5 or 6, and Nathan and I spent that evening wiping off sticky jars, and then the canning was done!! Well, with the exception of apple pie filling and applesauce which is going to need to be done before too long......

At any rate, I had a good time doing it, but am sooooooooooooo glad it's over and done with. And I think both Alicia's husband and kids, and MY husband and kid are glad it's over too!



Me after all that mad canning. I would have liked to get a pic with Alicia, but she and her hubby and kids left for the afternoon while Nathan and I finished up. Plus I highly doubt she would have agreed to be in the picture, after 3 days of canning and well, little to no 'getting ready/showering/etc' time.



The salsa!

And the Story continues

I haven't decided yet if I should post the "How we became us" stories about Nathan and me on the 'anniversary' weeks of when they happened or not. I'll have to figure that one out another time.

At any rate, I will continue a bit of the story, though it won't answer too many questions thus far in the game. (To bring you up to speed, it is September 2004, the beginning of fall semester). At the end of each semester at BYU-I, many ward things are dissolved, such as FHE groups, visiting teaching assignments, home teaching assignments, etc. So, as summer semester 2004 came to a close, Sarah and Kelly's (and their roommates') FHE group--which included a certain Mr. Nathan Hall--was dissolved. With the start of fall semester came new roommates to Carriage House 201. Well actually I was the only new roommate, since everyone else had lived their previously during the summer. It wasn't long into the semester that we received news of who our home teachers would be. They were..... Lorin (can't remember his last name), and (drumroll pleae), a certain Mr. Nathan Hall. Was I excited? I must confess, I was. Though my first in-person impression of him was not the most favorable, I was still keenly interested in finding out more about this pilot person who was so undeniably incredibly good looking, and finding out what was so captivating about him to my roommates (besides his good looks, of course).

This is not to say that he had expressed some interest in me, mind you. He had shown no sign that he even knew that I co-existed in the same small town that he did at the time. Nevertheless, as Preference began to draw near, I secretly entertained the idea of asking him. For those of you NOT familiar with BYU-Idaho terminology, allow me to define 'Preference' for you. Preference is the formal dance held that is girl-ask-guy, and is held sometime in the fall. While I considered going out on a limb and asking Mr. Attractive, I eventually decided against it. Causes for my decision were based up on things such as: a) I couldn't actually see the wisdom in asking someone out on a date who did not even know my name, or cared to know it, b)showed no signs of having a personality, c) *this is the most important one* Was a HOTTIE....who I was 100% sure was "out of my league." Perhaps this was what attracted me to him the most. After all, the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest. :) I decided that I was destined to have to merely admire this mystery man from afar, since someone of his stature would certainly not be interested in the likes of little 'ol me.

...To be continued....I am so mean.....I know!

Something tells me another boy will fit in quite nicely at the Hall home...

OK this totally should NOT go on a blog, but well, I haven't laughed so hard in who knows how long, so I am posting it anyway and you are all going to think I am the weirdest, grossest person for it. Oh well.

So, we were all kneeling for prayer last night (Tanner included), and during the prayer, I was feeling a bit, shall we say, flatulent, so I thought I could get away with letting some "reverent wind." I was wrong. It was far from reverent. So, Nathan is saying the prayer, and he says something to the effect of, "And please bless Mommy that she won't have such bad gas so that we can live to see another day." I lost it, and just buried my face in Tanner's hair. Unfortunately, ever since my dearest son Tanner was born, my sphincter has been bent out of shape and doesn't like to hold anything in...such as flatulence...especially when I am laughing hard....you can imagine what happened next. This sent Nathan into just as much of laughter as it did me, and he had to end the prayer. VERY quickly. The funny thing is, I don't think Tanner had any idea what was going on. Something is very odd in our family if our 2 year old is the most reverent during family prayer. And that was the case tonight.

Tanner story number 2: A week or so ago Nathan was awakened by hearing Tanner talking to himself in the next room one morning. Normally Tanner sleeps with his door shut, a fan on, and (this summer) the window A/C unit on. When Nathan opened our bedroom door (which faces Tanner's bedroom door), he saw that Tanner's door was already open. Upon further inspection, he discovered that both the fan and the A/C had already been turned off by the little man himself. And, sitting on the bed, nicely talking to himself was Tanner...in all his glory, stark naked. No sleeper, no diaper, naked as a jaybird. The funny thing is, the diaper had already been put in the diaper pail (by him), and the sleeper put in the drawer (by him). When Nathan told me this at breakfast I just about had milk come out my nose.

And last but not least: today was not a good day for me, and on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being an incredibly GOOD mood, mine was at about -15. And, Nathan chose today to go visit his brother who is about an hour or so away from here. AND Tanner decided not to take a nap. My rule is that when he doesn't take a nap, he has to still stay in his room until 4:00pm. I had already taken his toy basket out, so at 4:00 I was a bit worried about what I would find in his room. I slowly opened the door, and saw that he had pulled the lid off one of a tupperware tote in his room and had spread some of the tote's contents throughout the room (ie: baby socks, other newborn stuff, etc). No big deal. Except for the fact that there was liquid on the lid of the tote, and Tanner was standing next to it stark naked. Have you caught onto the fact that this child likes to be naked? A lot? Yes, my darling boy peed on the lid of the tote. When I found the diaper I discovered that it was wet, so apparently little mister doesn't like to tinkle in a wet diaper. The funny thing is, when I walked in the room, he was trying to put his own (brand new) diaper on. (sigh) guess who apparently will be spending some time seeing about potty training their child this month? it seems like every day either my mom or one of my friends points out another 'sign' that this life changing event is approaching at lightening speed. The funny thing is, at the beginning of the summer, I was the most gung-ho potty training mom you've ever met. Now? Ah well, not so much. Anyway, it is late and Tanner is asleep which means I should head that direction too. Sorry no pictures this time--I have some to post though, and will hopefully get them up in the next few days!

Oh brother!

So, to all those inquiring minds who are itching to know the gender of our new baby, I will hold you in suspense no longer. I thought it was funny that the two people I know who have guessed correctly are probably the people I see most often! Yes Chelsea and Stevie, you were correct, "IT" is a boy!! And boy oh boy was I surprised! I have been soooo much sicker with this one, and it has been so different than my pregnancy with Tanner,that I really would have bet that we were having a girl. Not the case though, and having seen for myself the ultrasound, I must admit that it left little doubt in my mind to the truth of the matter. With Tanner, I will confess that I was crushed when I found out that I was having a boy, but with this one, I think I was more just in shock. It would have been fun to get to do the fun headbands and dresses with a baby girl, but I can dress my boys matching I suppose, and actually use all of the cute clothes I already have for a boy, and we can get Tanner lots of fun car, train, and plane toys and not feel too terribly guilty knowing there is boy #2 on the way! :-) I think Tanner will do great with a brother, so I'm excited. Now, it is off to go return quite the plethora of pink clothing we had purchased.....

Save the Date

All right, so I admit that I am not being original in the least here, and am stealing Emily and Natalie’s ideas from their blogs, but I don’t want to be left out of the fun of sharing OUR “how we ended up where we are now” stories, and since I just realized that today is actually the four year anniversary of when I met Nathan, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity!

It was the summer of 2004, and I was living at home in Idaho Falls for the summer, but staying plenty busy before my last year of college, since I was commuting up to Rexburg three days a week for my internship working with emotionally disturbed children, and also working at Little People’s Academy (ie: daycare) in Idaho Falls. My friends/roommates Sarah and Kelly were going to school during the summer though, so they were up in Rexburg and were living in Carriage House. After the first month of being home I decided that I was a total loser with no life, since I had very few friends from high school still around, and there was no singles ward in my stake at the time, so no real opportunity to meet people and actually have a life! I must admit though, having my own room and bathroom, and being able to have my kitty Macie living with me again did help ease some of my self proclaimed pity.

Sarah and Kelly and I stayed in close contact and they would tell me about their classes and everything else, including this guy that was in their ward who ended up being their FHE brother. They told me that he was way hot, he was an EFY counselor at BYU-Idaho for the summer, and oh, he’s a pilot too and took us flying last night! My exact thoughts were, “Oh!! Some people in this world get all the luck! No fair!” Was I jealous? To the Nth degree, you bet I was! Especially when they informed me that they had other plans with this hottie, that included going to Monkey Rock and playing in the water, and going to the theater to the new Harry Potter movie.

Well, things on the homefront were looking up for me, since I got involved with Institute, made some new friends, kept super busy with my kindergarten afternoon class (which soon switched to toddlers, as they needed me up there), as well as my internship (which I was NOT a fan of, and was so happy when it was done). Oh, and I was working on my ‘good friend’ Ryan’s mission scrapbook while he was on his mission. He was scheduled to get home Monday August 16, 2004. The weekend just before that, Sarah and Kelly invited me up to come have a girls weekend with them, and it was such a blast. We went out to dinner and a movie, and ended up at Sarah’s brother’s house, where I continued to work on and finished Ryan’s scrapbook.

The next day was Sunday, and after church Sarah and Kelly and their roommates decided to make a big dinner and invite boys over (what girls apartment doesn’t do that on Sundays up at BYU-Idaho)?  They decided to invite their FHE brothers, and I was so excited that I was finally going to meet “the hottie” that I had heard SO much about. Mind you, my brother and I grew up getting excited to meet Jay Hildbrandt, the local news guy, so I am easily excited, LOL! They said they would come, and at said time, they did….all except Mr. Hottie. I was rather disappointed, to say the least. But a few minutes later, the door was still open and their was a knock at it, and someone whispered that that was him. I looked over and it was like in the movies, what with a gorgeous figure standing in the doorway with the sunlight behind him. I could easily see why Sarah and Kelly were so smitten with him (and why they assured me that he wouldn’t be single for long). He was even better than I’d expected!

He walked in and Sarah introduced him to me, and he didn’t even glance over at me. He got his food, sat down on the floor and ate it hurriedly, offering no conversation or even a smile or any hint of personality for that matter, and left shortly thereafter.

I concluded that while he may be the most attractive guy on the planet, it was just a pity that God had spent all His energies on this guy’s looks and given him not a drop of personality. Oh, and the next night, Ryan came home from his mission. And the rest my friends? You’ll have to wait till the next installment (provided anyone actually enjoys reading them, though I will probably still end up posting the next installments so that I have it done for my own personal history!)

Big News!!

Sorry for such a delay in posting...I need to post pics from our past month,but I will have to put that off until tonight or tomorrow. BUT, guess what? Our ultrasound was moved up to TODAY, so we now know the gender of baby number two! I am going to hold you all in suspense for a little while though, since I want to hear what your guesses are. :-) I know...I am so mean. Good news though--the due date was moved (again!) from January 8th to January 7th, which means that my doctor can now induce me Dec. 31, 2008 if the baby hasn't come by then! We have a HIGH insurance deductible, which is my main pulling force for hoping for a 2008 baby....although for tax purposes it would be great too, lol. Anyway, tell us what you think the baby is, and we'll tell you if you're right!

Oregon!

So, the latter half of July we more or less had 3 vacations in a week's time period. Nathan's parents and his siblings (and all spouses and kids) all rented a beach house up on the Oregon Coast in Lincoln City, where we spent a few days. You know those events that you get soooo hyped up for and excited for....but then they don't turn out as well as you'd hoped? I am happy to report that this vacation was everything I'd expected and all my expectations were met! Well, I only made it down to the beach once while we were at the coast, but it sounds like we may be having another one there in two years after Derrick gets off his mission, which would be just fine by me! Tanner had a great time with all his cousins, and slept GREAT for naps and at night, since he played so hard! Nathan, Tanner and I shared a room with Matt, Emily and their baby girl Madelyn, and you'd think some kind of problems would arise with 4 adults and 2 babies/toddlers in ONE room, but surprisingly enough, it worked out great, we all slept well, and we learned firsthand that apparently neither Matt or Emily talks in their sleep or snores! :-)


Tanner and Madelyn. Matt and I were trying to get them both to smile, but they never did at the same time. I figured this one worked, since they both have their mouths open. This picture doesn't show it very well, but at times these two look so similar, you'd think they were brother and sister instead of cousins!



Tanner and cousins at the beach. That's Tanner at the water's edge.



Group shot of all the kids on the play structure that was in the backyard at the beach house. This is Tanner and ALL of his cousins on Nathan's side, which I think is great! This picture will be outdated come October though, when Stephanie has her baby, and again in January (hopefully December) with our new addition!



Another shot of Tanner at the water's edge. I love the lighting.


Oh, and what family reunion wouldn't be complete without the deer coming right into the backyard while all of us are eating breakfast, and Nathan's brother David is outside IN the backyard washing off chairs??


A perfect family shot....other than Tanner's expression and his shorts being all skewompus!

The Wedding

After a MUCH too short of a time in Oregon, we had to hurry to Idaho, where Will and Sandra were getting married (we left Oregon July 30th and the wedding was the next day in Rexburg). My poor mother was playing mother of the bride AND the groom (since Sandra's mother has passed away), and was so super busy with all the food she was in charge of for the luncheon AND the reception. Everything turned out well though. This weekend my parents are in Arkansas for the reception there, and after that, they are done with everything wedding!




The Rexburg temple.


Mr. and Mrs. Taylor exiting the temple.


"Yay! We did it!." And they lived happily ever after.


Sandra and her bridesmaids.


My dad...and me. Nathan wanted to get a belly shot of me at 18 weeks. There you have it folks! This baby is funny though. In Oregon "it" was content to stick out as far as it could, but it decided to come inward when we got to Idaho. So in other words, had I taken a picture the day before, I would look totally different? Don't believe me? Well, I have no proof so I guess you'll just have to trust me!

Alright, I had five other picture I wanted to put up here along with a really funny story, but blogger isn't working so well this time of night and neither am I, so I guess this post is to be continued....