BEST FRIENDS FOR LIFE

Miss Marin

2011-10-27T06:50:00.001-07:00

Our special edition to our family is now almost 4 weeks old.

(Although all the pictures below are from her birth, and a few at the end are at home the next day. I will post more recent ones soon.)

My birth experience was crazy! I will give a very quick account of the day:

I started labor at 1:45am (that is when the contractions started being 5 minutes apart and lasting 60 seconds) I was scheduled for an induction that morning at 5:00am (since Joel was coming into town). I called the hospital to see if I should come in sooner or wait until 5:00 when I was scheduled to come in. The charge nurse said they were too full to do the induction today anyway, but if my contractions became 2-3 minutes apart for 2-3 hours I can come in. Since I hurt too much to sleep, and didn't want to keep Joel awake, I went into the living room and walked around while timing all my contractions. They went to every 3-3 1/2 minutes rather quickly (probably because I was walking around), and continued for 2 hours like that.

We headed for the hospital, where they checked me and said I was dialated to a 3 or 4 and that I would probably have to go home because they were too full. They said they would re-check me in awhile and that would determine it (I would stay if I progressed and leave if I didn't). I was there for about an hour or so and contractions were getting worse. I was now crying and told Joel I didn't care to do it natural anymore and wanted an epidural. Then the doctor came in and told me I was going home (they didn't even re-check me). I told her I wanted an epidural and she smiled (she looked as though she was trying not to laugh at me) and told me I was far from an epidural and that I probably had another 12 hours of this before I would come back in. The nurse told me I might not even have her until Monday, and to wait to come in until they have an opening and call me, which would probably be late afternoon or evening. I couldn't believe it. Here I felt like I was going to die and didn't want to experience one more contraction, let alone 12 hours or more of it, and they were making me feel like I was the biggest baby. I never felt any contraction with Kylie because they gave me an epidural before they started, so I didn't know what to expect.

We arrived home about 7:30am with me crying and scared. I tried laying, sitting, kneeling, standing, walking... I was in so much pain. I discovered walking is the best by far. Walk between contractions and then when the contraction starts, walk as fast as you possibly can until it's over. It makes a huge difference, as far as pain goes.

Joel was walking behind me, holding a hot water bottle to my lower back. Kristina took Kylie outside to play so she wouldn't have to see me crying and in pain. Jody didn't know what to do, and called her friend Julieanne (that is a midwife) to come help give advice. If it wasn't for Julieanne, we would have had the baby at home.

She knew the minute I transitioned to the major contractions. I could tell the difference too, only the hospital made me feel so whimpy, I just figured I had an extremely low pain tolerance and I would have to suffer like this for several more hours. If Julieanne didn't make us get in the car right away we would have had the baby at home while waiting for the hospital to "call us".

It was the worsed car ride of my life (about 10-15 minutes). We got to the hospital at 11:00, where Joel flew out of the car to find a wheelchair, made me get in it, and ran me through the hospital to labor and delivery. I barely made it on the bed when I started pushing. Luckily the doctor got there in time. She was born minutes later, at 11:18am.

It was so rushed and frantic. Joel had to find the room for us, lower the bed, and get me in it all on his own, because all the nurses were standing there dumbfounded. They kept saying, "wasn't she just here and we sent her home?" That just goes to show that no one knows your body like you do. When they thought I was being silly and wouldn't have it until Monday, I knew what I was feeling and that my baby was coming. Just because "your only dialated to a 3 or 4, doesn't mean that baby is taking her time.

My sweet husband was able to fly in for a day and a half to be here for the birth.

I could never had done it without him.

(That's Julieanne in the background)

Even though it seemed like the worst experience I could imagen at the time...I have since realized how blessed I was.

Kylie's birth left me wondering if I could possibly be allergic to the epidural, which is why I originally wanted to try it natural. I ended up wanting the epidural, but was forced to do it natural...which was the best thing for my body.

I really didn't want to be induced, but since Joel could only be there for a day and a half, I scheduled the induction. However, all month I prayed that I could go into labor on my own when he arrived, before the planned induction. Well, he arrived at midnight, and it was planned for 5am (only giving the Lord a 5 hour window), and he still answered my prayers.

Jody was inspired to call Julieanne so that we didn't have the baby at home or in the car.

I was able to walk all I wanted since I was at home, which helped with the pain and also made the process faster I'm sure.

Baby and mom were healthy!

I love my family!

(Kylie loves phones...if she ever gets a hold of one, it's nearly impossible to take it from her.)
I'm sorry to all friends and family for not sharing the news right away. Joel and I didn't want to miss a second of the time we had together before he had to fly back the next day. We made the best of our visit as possible, seeing as it was spent in the hospital.

Marin looks so much like Kylie did. (And she continues to look more and more like her.)

I couldn't ask for a better father for our family. He loves to be involved in their lives.

It's killing him that he had to see her born and leave the next day. Luckily he was able to come the following weekend. Then only 3 more weeks before he will be reunited with us :)

My darling sister Kristina flew in for the birth. It meant so much to me that she came. She was so supportive and helpful, it was hard to have her leave. She bought flowers and balloons for me, and a willow tree angel for Marin. I love willow tree decor!

Proud Grandma of 2 now!

Thank you for coming Kristina!!

Grandpa absolutely adores his 2 girls!

We knew we loved the name Marin, but we couldn't decide which way we wanted to spell it. We eventually narrowed it down to our two favorite options; Marin and Maryn. We asked everyone; family members, nurses, everyone that came in the room, to read it as they thought it is pronounced and which they liked better. Just about everyone pronounced it correctly when they looked at Marin, and wrong when they read Maryn. After tallying up the votes and more than a day of consideration, Marin won!

Arriving home. We only stayed one day at the hospital so I could see Joel off that afternoon.

Kylie loves her sister!

Daddy's Visit!!!

2011-09-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Daddy was able to come visit for a weekend...and it was a government holiday, so he was able to come for 4 days instead of 2!!!

Oh were we ever so excited to see him!

Kylie and I smothered his poster with kisses...just as we did Joel when he arrived. And we put our handprint with "I Love You". That is how Kylie does I love you :)

There he is!!!
Best daddy in the whole world!
Four days went by way too fast. He had alot of fun playing with Kylie while he could.
I LOVED my vacation with him. He always knows how to show me how much he loves me and make me feel special.

When he left, grandma brought home this plastic bear that comes with 4 markers. Kylie and I colored it and mailed it to him to let him know we love him.
We will see him next the weekend the baby is due. Baby is due September 30th. If she has not come by then, we have scheduled an induction for October 1st, so Joel can be there. He flies in late Friday night (September 30th).

We can't wait for you to come back Joel! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Virginia Fun!

2011-09-27T16:44:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately, we are not able to be with Joel during his BOLC (officer training school for the army) in Texas. Fortunately, we get to take this opportunity to spend some great time with Kylie's Grandparents, in Virginia.

It has been wonderful! They got all prepared for my little princess, baby proofing the house and filling it with fun toys and books that her daddy played with as a toddler.

Man oh man has she loved it! Kylie can't get enough of her grandparents! Whenever they are around she wants nothing to do with mommy, it's all "grandma grandpa". They have certainly taken care of us and made this a great trip, even though Joel is not able to be with us.

Thank you so much Jody and John for being so wonderful!!!

Kylie's all time favorite thing to do is read books. We read books ALL DAY LONG. She has all the titles memorized and even parts of the books. It's a toss up to choose her favorites, but she loves, "Are You My Mother", "Go Dogs Go", and many many more.
She loves her mega blocks too. The best is to watch her clean them up. She has to make sure they are all taken apart before they go back in the container, and she's very thorough about it.

She is just recently getting into drawing, and even more into letters.

She points out letters all around the house waiting for me to tell her what letter it is. She usually calls all the letters "B". And goes around the house saying "A,B,C".

Not quite big enough to use the pedals.

If it wasn't raining and wet all the time we would be spending alot more time in her house...believe me, she would see to it.

She loves the piano and sings at the top of her lungs. If you didn't know any better you would think she was yelling.

Her glow worm and caterpillar sleep with her.

Grandma has her room themed, "The Very Hungary Caterpillar".

Kylie in Utah

2011-09-16T05:43:00.001-07:00

Here are some more recent, random, pictures of Kylie when we were still in Utah.

This was her first time to be able to successfully stack the blocks all by herself. She was so proud of herself, cheering and clapping.
Playing with an exercise leg roller with her Uncle Jeff. Jeff always takes such great care of her.

She wanted to wear my hat and didnt take it off for a long time.

She liked to sit on this ball of hers while drawing on her paper.

Jumping with mommy at great grandma's house in Logan.

She loves carrying her two dolls around and kissing them.

Playground! Always fun!!

When we cleaned these bottom shelves out and took the shelves off (prior to moving), Kylie claimed them as her own. She spent much of her time here.

You can also see she loved to carry her mommys water bottle around with her too, every chance she got. She liked to hold both of them.

Buried Treasure

2011-09-16T05:28:00.001-07:00

First coming to BYU I didn't know anyone. I didn't know any of the girls I was going to be rooming with. Luckily for me. Brittani was in the same boat and we hit it off immediately. If you hadn'tknown better you would have thought we had been friends forever.

We had so much fun together that we found an apartment for the following year that we could room together. We got a crazy idea one day that we were going to bury a treasure that we would dig up together years later. We each wrote our own prediction of our futures and predictions of each others futures. We included some of our favorite one liner inside jokes from over the years and a picture. Then we decided we would meet up once we were both married and dig it up and see how accurate our predictions were.
Brittani isn't married yet, but since my family is moving across country, we decided to dig it up now. We had nuried it outside of the complex we lived at (Glenwood Apartments).

We knew the tree that it was by but not the exact spot to dig. The ground was very dry and hard, and we had almost given up hope when...

We found it! We had put it inside a pill bottle, wrapped in tinfoil, and in a zip lock bag.

We had the greatest time opening it and reading all the stuff we put inside. Brittani's prediction of my future was surprisingly close. I was way off on hers. :)

If you have never goofed off and buried treasure with a friend... I recommend it. :)

Jeno

2011-09-16T05:16:00.001-07:00

Joel has a VERY dear friend from his mission in Hungary that has come to mean alot to our family. He was a member in Hungary that Joel helped find the gospel in his life again.

(He is the middle one)
He moved to Utah where he and his wonderful Edit were to be married in the temple.

Jeno & Edit planned to be married August 20th. However, since Joel & I had to be on the road early that morning (moving out if Utah), they changed it to August 19th. Joel also means alot to them. I wish I had pictures from the wedding but unfortunately I forgot my camera.

Once Jeno arrived, we spent as much time with them as we could. We were able to see them about 5 times. It was neat to see Joel so happy and proud of his dear friend.

Unfortunately, I only got pictures from one of our visits.

On the far left is another missionary from Joels mission.

On the right is a couple that served there as well.

Braden & Kylie

2011-09-16T05:08:00.000-07:00

Sweet adorable Braden is the most calm and smiley fun little boy!

We loved the time we got to live close to them.
Kylie and Braden loved each other. Kylie was constantly all over him..hugs, sitting on him, putting his binkie in his mouth, wiping his face with his cloth, holding his bottle....

And even though her loves could be a bit too rough sometimes, Braden loved her!

They both lit up to see each other.

We will really miss our little Braden buddy!

Carpenteria Beach 2011

2011-09-14T10:50:00.001-07:00

Here's are little beach bum. She loved the beach!
She kept taking Joel's hand and saying "wawa?" She even liked the waves.

This is for my cousin Laura. I finally got the picture!!!!

Proof that grandpa went in the water. He even attempted catching waves with us.

I was busy in the tent one day when Kylie was ready for a nap. So since he couldn't lay her in her pack-n-play just yet, Joel got creative and put her down inside his ruck sack outside the tent. The best part about it is that she was actually falling asleep. :) She is used to her daddy's crazy ideas.

Games at the bomb fire.

Carpenteria Beach in California has the most beautiful sunsets.

Kylie bundled on a chilly day.

Kylie always wanted to do what everyone else was doing. She tried so hard to get up to Joel and Paydon.

Im not sure what Pauden was doing, but Kylie wanted to join him. She followed all the kids around on their skooters and bikes, waiting patiently for her turn.

Grandpa helping Kylie get her present at the birthday party.

You have to go to Foster Freeze at least once during the week. I think we went 3 times.

The little boys in the sand.

And the girls.

We all had a wonderful time! We can't wait for the next year that we are able to go again.

4th of July

2011-09-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

Stadium of Fire was on Saturday July 2nd this year, and we took our family and hiked part way up near the Y mountain to watch the fireworks.

Kylie had the best seat in the house :)
4th of July morning Joel had to leave the house before 4:00 to get everything ready for the parade
We met him there right before the parade started.
Joel was to be the last car of the parade. He drove the truck behind the cannon.
Kylie and I watched the parade (and Joel joined us here and there when he could), waiting for the end, where we would join Joel in the truck.

There were lots of great floats. I only included a few of the 100+ participating cars.

This was one of our favorites...so clever.

They had all the different Star Wars characters represented.

President Cecile Samuelson (President of BYU) and his wife.

Here is Joel bringing up the rear.

The cannon stopped every few minutes to fire. They called up kids from the crowd to fire it. Each time the cannon stopped there were other cadets doing push ups (they ended up doing a TON of push ups). The crowd went crazy over it, especially when they were picking people.

Debbie, Seth, and Braden joined us in the truck as well.

We started in the bed of the truck, but it was way to loud. We had to cover the babies ears in the truck as it was. Luckily they had a count down each time they fired it, so we were ready.

Here is one shot of the crowd. It was packed for the entire way (a few miles). People even camped out all weekend for good spots.

That evening spent with Seth's family in Midway for a BBQ.

Visit With Family

2011-09-14T08:38:00.001-07:00

Julie and her family came to visit a couple days before and after the family reunion.

Durin the visit after we had a BBQ in the park, played games, and had a grand time.

We mostly just visited at our apartment and Debbies house during this visit.

It is always so much fun when they come to visit. We love it!

Hugs all around! Kylie was so excited to see all the kids, she hugged them over and over.
They came the same day as the race, just we were in our matching shirts :)...
making food :)

Kylie bonded with Tyler like I have never seen before. Everything she did, she always looked to see if he was watching or still close by. She wanted to sit with him the whole day. And he was the ONLY one that she let feed her.

Everyone just LOVES adorable Braden! He is the happiest smiley baby.

Joel attracted a crowd as he attempts to beat Tim's score on a game.

Crazy faces!!!

Utah Valley 5K

2011-09-14T08:08:00.001-07:00

Last year Sherri and I ran the Utah Valley 5K. This tear I ran it with my husband and daughter.I wish I could always be in Utah in June to make this a tradition.

Joel was there that morning starting the marathon with the ROTC cannon, and since that was how we got our entries into the race, he represented the ROTC by running in his army pants and army boots. To top it off, he also pushed Kylie in the stroller.

While I was doing good to run the best I could being 6 months pregnant.

I love our matching BYU ROTC shirts :)

Here is the cannon and a couple friends that helped out that day.
Kylie had alot of fun running around waiting for the race. She is so independant that I have to keep a very close eye on her or she gets lost in the crowd in just seconds.

Kristina came to take our pictures before the race and at the start. Then she had to go to work and one of Joel's friends took our picture when we finished.

Joel is so handsome in his uniform!

As he went to change his shirt, I went...

potty. You can tell how much I love porta johns.

By now I was just hoping I wouldn't have to pee during the entire race. If you have ever been pregnant you will understand that.

Almost to the start...

YEAH! Coming into the finish!

We decided ahead of time we would be happy with 30 minutes, since it's not safe to push myself.

But we were having so much fun and talking the whole time that I didnt realize we were going a faster pace than I thought. We finished in 25:13.

I was shocked and very proud of myself.

It was SOOOO fun running with Joel. He told me I was doing great the entire time and we had so much fun racing together. I can't wait to run another race with him.

Kylie on the other hand was tired of being in the stroller (she had been in it all morning because we walked to the race, then walked around with her in the stoller most of the time, and then the race). By the last mile she was fussing to get out. I had to run in front of her, with Joel behind entertaining her saying "watch mommy!" Then I would say "Hi Kylie!" ...Over and over again to keep her happy :)

I got 3rd in my age group, and I think 13th overall for the girls.

Family Reunion 2011

2011-09-14T04:25:00.000-07:00

This was the first family reunion that my side of the family has had since 2001.

It was an absolute blast!

Thank you Julie for getting the ball rolling for it to happen.

Thank you everyone that helped with the meals, activities, and preperations.

Especially thank you mom and dad for making the entire weekend great! Mom and Dad through a big grandchildren birthday party and make gifts for EVERYONE. It took mom over 6 months to make all the gifts. It was very special!

They first involved everyone - making it really fun for the kids - in decorating the room, and decorating their own party bags.

Sherri worked hard and fast to cut out all the stickers for them to put on their bags.
Here is the first group of grandchildren posing to show off their gifts.

Here is the next group showing off their aprons, hats, and supplies. They were so excited!

Here are the older boys... you can see we lack an abundance of boys :)

Here are the older girls, holding the cuttest bags.

And last but not least..my favorite (my little Kylie's group of toddlers and babies).

Mom made some of the cuttest sewing projects you will ever see!

Kylie's gift was a quiet book, where each page has fun activities for her to do.

She loves it! In fact, she still carries it around the house with her.

My little independant munchkin. She barely knew I existed, she was having so much fun.

Sherri contributed so much by preparing different activities for the weekend.

One of which was that she bought a book and pen for each grandchild. Everyone was supposed to write in each book, that the kids would be able to keep (similar to a yearbook). I admit it was tough to write in all 40+ books. I think only 3 people go to all of them, one of which was Joel.

He was so cute taking every spare minute to write.`

Each of the children in our family was assigned a meal to fix. Heather and Sherri fixed dinner this night while the little kids played downstairs and the older kids and boys (and Kristina and I) played kickball at the park.

Kevin and Heather were the most gracious hosts! We all hung out at their home Friday and they were so patient and laid back. I don't know that I would have been able to stay that patient with all the chaos. Props to you my wonderful brother and sister!

This is a usually picture to see... the brother in laws finding a quieter place to hang out :)

It's a good thing we have the best spouses in the world, and that they have fun together.

Kylie spent ALL her time on te stairs. She probably went up and down 200 times..and only fell 3 times. Thats pretty good odds :)

Kylie and Bralyn are only about 2 weeks apart, and really enjoyed playing together.

Saturday we spent the day at the church building.

The boys played alot of basketball.

While others wrote in the books....

played games together..... and just had a wonderful time.

We all live so far apart, we don't get to see each other often, so it was quite a treat.

The talent show was awesome!

Almost every single person participated.

The reunion ended with all the siblings having a memory lane event

(except we are missing Don, Craig, and Todd)

We passed the microphone down the line each taking a turn sharing a memory from growing up. We each shared 5 things...along with tears, laughter, and alot of love.

This was mt favorite part of the evening, and really touched my heart!

Easter 2011

2011-09-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter in Logan, UT at his Grandparents home, which is always a party.

Joel helped Kylie during the Easter egg hunt while I took pictures.
Can you tell Joel is getting really into it...he is running from egg to egg!
I just love how fun spirited he is!

Once Kylie saw this basketball...she completely forgot about the eggs.

Kylie loves her grandma!

Joel's Commissioning

2011-09-11T17:01:00.001-07:00

Joel is officially an officer.

He had his commissioning in April, and it would be too difficult to describe the wonderful feeling I felt during this process.

Pres. Hinckley once said that the world needs more LDS military officers.

I am so proud of Joel! He will be an example to many people in many ways during his service.

His mother and I were both asked to accompany him on the stand during a portion of the event, where we were honored as well.

They had wonderful speakers during the evening..the entire event was wonderful!
Joel received another award for the best cadet in the battalion. I cannot remember what it is called, but it is giving to one cadet each year by this woman, and named after her husband. She started this award after her husband died.
Joel's father also served for her husband years ago, which we discovered this evening.

Joel holding the stack of awards and gifts recieved during the event.

Thank you Kristina for doing my hair and make-up and babysitting Kylie during it so that I could pay attention and enjoy it to the fullest.

Some of Joels cousins were unable to stay for group pictures but thank you for coming.

Whta a lovely group!

Joel's parents couldn't be any more proud.

Mike Lindsay also commissioned today. He and Allison have been friends of ours for 4 years now.

Kylie and James love to get together to play. They are only 2 months apart.

Joel and Mike both participated in Ranger Challange and Sandhurst for several years.

(I also served in the same mission as Mike in Canada)

Dinner afterwards is always a must for big celebrations!

Matt Mason was one of the instructors for the BYU program the year prior. Joel always appreciated him, and invited him back to be his first salute.

(He is also My brother-in-law, Tim's, nephew.)

On our way home we stopped to take Joel's picture in front of the BYU signs and cougar,

as do all graduating seniors.

However, since I never did take my pictures when I graduated the year before, I took some too.

I would have never wanted it different. I loved taking them the same day as Joel,

and including some as a family.

We are proud BYU fans!

Not to mention, the fact that we met at this great school.

Congratulations Joel!

George C. Marshall Award

2011-09-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

Joel showed outstanding work and dedication during his ROTC experience, earning himself the George C Marshal award.

It was an all expense paid trip to Virginia where they participated in several round table discussions, heard speakers of different high ranking military officers, went to several military museums, and more.
They were able to see one of the parades that the Virinia Military school does there regularly. It was neat for him to have these experiences.

He has lots of pictures from museums and things he saw, however this was my favorite.

He went to the National Bridge Museum.

This bridge is alot taller and bigger than it appears in photos..and is naturally made.

A highway was built on top of it even, which tells how wide it is as well.

Oriental Dinner

2011-09-11T06:06:00.001-07:00

Joel was lucky to get into the floral design class at BYU. It counts as a general and fills up super fast because it is easy and fun and everyone wants to take it.

I tried to get into it but it always filled up too fast.

Joel and his friend Preston were both able to get in, and had a lot of fun with it.

One of their arrangements they learned was oriental, and they were given an assignment to invite someone over and have an oriental dinner with it as the centerpiece.

So we had Debbie and Seth over.

Joel did everything. He made the dinner and all..and it was delicious!
Once again the teacher used his arrangment as one of her examples.
Joel is great at everything he tries.

Each part of the arrangement has a meaning. I believe the parts that shoot out to each side and up represent heaven, earth, and man.

The bamboo sticks tied together in the back with stems of flowers was Joels own new idea he added to it.

Kylie's 1st Birthday

2011-09-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

There's the big girl, wishing she was still eating cake. Once again I slacked on my camera duty. I didnt get pictures to show that Debbie and Seth, Kristina, Jason, and a couple of Kristina's roommates were there. We also had 2 computers with Skype. One had Joels parents, the other had my parents and Jeff, and some of Kylie's cousins watching.
She was hesitant at first and not wanting to get her hands dirty. She would carefully pick off a flower and eat it clean. It took someone helping her grab a handful for her to start diving in.
Then there was no stopping her.
We put half of the cake on her tray, and she almost finished it (ok maybe about half).
She was covered! Afterward we took her straight to the bath where she continued to hold the cake as tightly as she could in her fists.
Happy 1st Birthday Sweetheart!

GAFB

2011-09-10T08:41:00.001-07:00

If there is anyone you want working for you, it would be Joel.

He is extremely dependable & hard working. He always does everything to the best of his ability.

The ROTC program would have never made it without him. He did so many extra projects to help them out. One of which was the GAFB (German Armed Forces Badge).

This is a prestiges badge to earn and Joel was so excited to travel to Nevada this year to try to earn it. But when he found out it took place on Sunday, he chose not to.

He then decided he would try to find a way to make it possible to hold it in Utah on a Friday and Saturday, so others that felt the same as he did would have the opportunity as well.

It took weeks and weeks, hours on end to do all the planning that was necessary.

He lost lots of sleep trying to juggle that and all his other responsibilities.

Not only was he able to arrange it in Utah, but they can now do it annually, and he already did all the research, planning, spreadsheets, maps, etc... to make each consecutive year run smoothly.

To earn the award, they must reach set scores in several different events. They had to long jump, high jump, throw shot put, several sprint and distance running and swimming events, a ruck march, etc... The goal was to achieve a gold GAFB award,

although there were also silver and bronze levels.

We had over 100 participants from 3 different schools here. Many of them recieved the gold,

including Joel!

I wish I had pictures of the events, but since I was running them and timing I was not able to.

These are some pictures from the awards ceremony.

Thank you everyone that helped run the event.

Congratulations to all that recieved the reward!

Valentines Day 2011

2011-09-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

Joel made this flower arrangement for me for Valentines Day.

He was so creative and innovative that the teacher in his floral arrangement class often used his arrangements as the examples, as she did with this one.

We surprised Joel with a room full of red balloons when he got home.

Kylie probably enjoyed them the most.

2nd Anniversary

2011-09-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Anniversary Inn is Fantastic!

I highly recommend it to anyone

We stayed in 3 different rooms for our honeymoon, 2 for our 1st anniversary, and 1 this year.

This one just might be our favorite. Biker Roadhouse! Not only did it create a great atmosphere, but there was so much to do.

Yes a real Harley Davidson!

Thank you Joels family for watching Kylie for us!!

Our 2nd Home

2011-09-09T09:34:00.001-07:00

We moved here May 1, 2010. We lived at Bountiful Court Apartments,

where I was the manager of the apartment complex.

We moved out August 20, 2011

(yes, I am way behind on blogging, which is why I am trying to catch up)

I didn't originally take these pictures to post, but realized later after we moved that I hadn't taken any nice pictures to show our home. So these will have to do.
Kylie's room turned out really cute, but since I don't have any good pictures of it, this is her crib :)

I loved our big kitchen! It had tons of cubbard space and a nice big Island counter top.

The bathroom (as well as the rest of the house) is definetly an upgrade from our last apartment. :)

Once again, awful picture of the office. In fact, it doesnt even show the office space...but this is where I worked everyday for about 18 months.

Im sorry I do not have a picture of our bedroom, but we really enjoyed having 2 small walk in closets. It was a luxury compared to our basement apartment.

We really enjoyed our home here! The job was ok ... I can't say the same for my boss (If it weren't for him, I probably would have loved it), but we gave it our best effort and it was a good experience.

December 2010

2011-09-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

We planned to go to Arizona for Christmas so we opened our gifts together before we left.

Joels mother made these wonderful stockings for us. We love them!
You can see that Kylie enjoys her baby from her Grandma.

Handsome husband opening a thermometer from his Grandparents. It tells the indoor and outdoor temperature. We love having it.

Im not sure what this face is, but I love it!

My favorite gift was from Joel. It is the little people you put on your car to represent your family.

And this is a BYU family!

Kylie LOVED Arizona! She could not get enough of all her cousins. This was her first time to get off a couch all on her own. She was so excited to go play she didn't even know what she was doing, she practically leaped off.

I love our family!!!!!!

Adorable cousins! Sophi (in the front) is Kylie's age, born about a week apart.

Im sure they will be great friends growing up.

Everyone playing with their gifts and playing so well together.

If you haven't already caught a glimpse of Moms Christams decorations from different angles, she has the best Christmas decorations! I love home during this season!

And there they are... the ones that make it all happen. The best parents in the world (only you cant see dad in the picture)

After so much fun, it's time for a nap.

There is never a dull moment when your married to Joel. We had just started dancing when I found myself upside down :)

Joels Grandma gave me this shirt for Christmas. Thank you Grandma, it is the perfect shirt for a wonderful Christmas!

We spent some time at Luke and Jen's home. Kylie was fascinated with their dog and yet scared to get too close. Joel was trying his best to rid her of that fear.

My thoughtful husband bought me this pre-lit tree for Christmas, and all the ornaments. His mother scored the deal at her work (Michaels). This was the display tree and when they took it down they sold it for less than $20 (originally around $300).

Thank you Jody for making this possible for us!

Joel didn't just give it to me in the box. He wanted it to be special.

He bought ornaments and all, and spent hours in his grandparents basement (we visited them when we returned from AZ) putting it up for me.

When I went down he had all the lights out and it sparkled beautifully.

He went through all that work just for me,

knowing he would just be taking it down that same day.

I am truly grateful for such a thoughtful husband!!

When we returned to our own apartment, Joel had the great idea to make a big pile of snow for us to build a tunnel in.

We never did get around to digging in it, but he did have fun with Kylie.

I bundled her all warm and he took her on her first sledding experience.

Bountiful Court Christmas Party

2011-09-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

We made treats to have available for any of the residents at Bountiful Court (the apartment complex I managed) that were not able to go home for Christmas.

My favorite was the tree made of sugar cookies and frosting and green coconut and m&ms.

The Santa cookie jar had Christmas Bark in it ( a chocolate goodness treat)

Then there was popcorn and candy to add variety.

The best addition is my adorable Kylie!

White Elephant Gift Exchange

2011-09-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

When Joel was working as a security guard they had a work party and they were having a

white elephant gift exchange.

We could not think what to take, so Joel suggested he actually take a white elephant.

Since I enjoy making cakes, I made it for him.

It turned out great. Joel won the prize for the best gift...movie tickets and $25.

It was well worth the effort

and we got a date out of it. :)

Jeff's contribution... the peanut at the end of his trunk.
Joels contribution... a security badge.

Beware this might just be our regular gift for white elephant parties :)

Cindy's 27th Birthday

2011-09-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

My wonderful husband kidnapped me and took me to breakfast for my first time last year.

This year my wonderful brothers and sisters joined with Joel to kidnap me again. :)
Here is the crew!

We went to eat at Kneaders. They have the all-time best all-you-can-eat french toast EVER!

Kristina was there too, only behind the camera for the group shot.

I know I look lovely. That is the point of kidnapping.. they take you as you are.

Returning home to my favorite tradition...Elves day! The night before my birthday, everyone puts a shoe under the tree, and the "elves" come fill them with little gifts.

This is our wonderful tree.

Joel and I started another tradition for my birthday.

One of his gifts to me is always a gingerbread house kit, and we decorate it on my birthday.

It's alot of fun spending this time together and being creative.

Roman Baby

2011-09-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

Joel had to do a project for his creativity class, and it involved dressing Kylie up as a Roman baby.
Unfortunately we needed to make her cry for the video part. It was sad letting her cry without picking her up.

Joel preparing the next step. He made an automatic baby care center. I love his Creativity!

I wish I knew how to put videos on here so you could see the final product. It was quite ingenious!!

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-09-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

Joel's family has a really fun tradition every Thanksgiving, where Santa comes and gives a gift to each of the children. They get a little taste of Christmas :)

Kylie was a little unsure of it all.... She's not sure who this guy with the beard is.

All the mommy's and daddy's enjoy taking pictures and cheering.
A new fun activity we did this year was... a pinata!

Kylie got all bundled to watch the kids beat the pinata.

This weekend was also Kylie's first time using a high chair. 9 months

Rock Climbing

2010-11-19T21:15:00.000-08:00

Joel and I had the funnest date together, rock climbing.

We went up in the Rock Canyon.

Joel was the lead climber.

While i was the scardy-cat, afraid of hieghts. :)

It's odd, for some reason I LOVE climbing INDOORS and get scared outdoors.

I wish I could say the same as Laura, and be over my fear by doing it.

This is one of the beautiful views that we saw while up there.

Even with the fear it was SO fun. It was teh perfect day together with just the two of us.

Thanks Joel for planning and preparing such great dates for us!!!!

Halloween Fun

2010-11-19T11:06:00.000-08:00

We couldn't find a pumpkin carving set anywhere, so we pulled out

the screw drivers and power tools. Our arms were quite tired afterward, but it worked great.

This was my first pumpkin to carve all on my own. I didn't want to do anything scary, yet I wanted to be creative.
Can you guess what it is?
John guessed a witch.
Jason guessed a "design" .

Joel's amazing work.

Still Joel's. This was the other side of the pumpkin.
BYU pride!

Mine!

Yes, it's a maze!

Kylie thought it was dinner... it tastes just like the squash she gets in her little baby food containers.

Kylie was the cuttest tigger ever for Halloween.

And a cute cuddly bear days after.

All we need is a lion and then we would have "lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"

We had some freinds over for dinner on halloween. Then Debbie and Seth, and Kristina and her friend came by after that.

Rice Krispie Tombstones

Mummy mini pizzas

Graham cracker bandaids

Ranger Challenge Team Acknowledged

2010-10-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

Joel competes on the Ranger challenge team every year.

It's a tough military competition against 14 teams

that demands hours and hours of training.

BYU has won 1st place 13 out of the last 15 years.

And this was the FIRST year that the school acknowledged them.

It was an exciting day!

The team ran out on the field during half time

and the whole stadium cheered as they were announced.

The school gavc a certain amount of tickets to them to use as they wanted.

I was so happy I could go to watch!

...despite all the rain at the begining of the game. :)

I am so proud of MY man!

Even more exciting...... Some tickets were left over.

So Debbie & Seth, and Kristina could come!

Kristina also met up with a couple friends that sat with us.

Yeah for family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Murder Mystery

2010-10-29T11:37:00.001-07:00

This year for the Seetheart's Club October party

we did a murder mystery dinner set in the 1920's.

We did a similar one 2 years ago,

but this definetly topped it.

Everyone got into character and had a great time!

Joel's character was the mob boss. He went all out in costume and acting!

He was packing 3 different guns (fake of course), a noose, knife, and duck tape.

I was his wife, hosting the party for the rich and famous.

Here are a few pictures of some of our friends that came.
Thanks Allison for all your planning. It was great!

Joel discussing the murder with the Inspector.

Murder

2010-10-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

Dance Dance Revolution

2010-10-29T11:06:00.001-07:00

What a workout!!! And a fun one!

Debbie and Kristina are very concentrated. Maybe together they can conquer the song. :)

Kristina and her date have a go at it.

Kylie's turn!!! After watching everyone else, she loves when it's her turn!

She loved it so much, she just had to jump on with Debbie. :)

Kylie used the toilet

2010-10-20T10:36:00.001-07:00

A few days ago I heard Kylie tooting

So I ran her into the toilet to see if she would go

She did!

I have put her on the toilet a few times before to get her used to the idea,

but that was the first time she went.

Yesterday, I decided to start potty training her, by puttin gher on the toilet several times a day.

Since I only have one child right now, it's ata least possible.

Yesterday, she went in the toilet 3 three times, once she did both, and the other times she just peed.

Debbie knows two ladies who have all their kids potty trained by 6 months,

because they start at a couple weeks old.

That is a little much for me, but I thought what the heck Ill start now.

A few months ago I started sign language, showing her the sign for "potty" each time I changed her. So she at least knows what Im talking about.

I think it's the funniest thing, and Im curious to see if it works. :)

Thoughtful and Incredibly Fun Date

2010-10-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

Joel took me on the funnest date!

He has competed on BYU's ROTC Ranger Challenge team for 4 years now. This year he could not compete since he is an MS5, so he participated as sort of a coach for them.

He spends SO much time training with the team, and then comes home and tells me all about it.

Top conversation topic in our home is the training team.

So one day he decided to share their experiences with me.

They often use ropes to solve different logic problems and fitmess training.

So Joel decided to set up 3 different rope activities for us to play on.

Two rope bridges to walk across,

A rope swing,

and a zip line.

It was so much fun!

My camera died before I was able to get pics of all our fun.

Joel even hooked a seperate rope to Kylie's car seat so she could sip line across. :)

This date really opened my eyes...

First, to how sweet that was to do that for me

Joel was sweating...It took ALOT of work to set that all up for me.

He usual has 5-10 other guys to help him.

He did it all alone...for ME!

Second, sometimes I don't realize how much he does during his days.

I forget sometimes how hard he works.

Between school, work, ROTC, and family, he is kept BUSY.

I am GRATEFUL for a husband that works so hard...and still comes home to me SO happy.

He makes time for me everyday,

takes me on a date every week, and has FHE with the family every week.

Thank you Joel for all you do!

Kylie would have enjoyed coming on our date with us

Especially since she doesn't get to very often

If it wasn't for the

GRASS.

She REALLY disliked the grass.

Her first time in grass, she hated the feel.

She wouldm't lower her hands to save her life.

I put the camera case and keys in front of her to tempt her to lower her hands.

She stared at it for a surprising amount of time. and finally....

GOT IT!

So we tried to take it to the next step.

I put her on all 4s.

She refused to touchthe grasss any more than she had to.

She kept on ehand in the grass and cried until I picked her up. :)

I just love this picture

with her big flower!

Kylie at about 6 to 6-1/2 months old

2010-10-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Liisa came to visit with her m=cute munchkin Payton. Yeah! We have babies the same age!

They both love other babies and aren't afraid of each other!

I'd say it's the opposite of being afraid..they love each other. :)

I played with this ball as a baby also. It belonged to my grandmother. I now am blessed to have something of hers that my children can enjoy as well.

Kylie took to this box as her new best friend. She played all day in it for about a week.
She loves carrots when I am eating them, she must feel like a big girl. If I'm not eating one also she is uninterested.

She is crawling everywhere now. I love this stage. She follows me all over the house and she is independent enough to get to where she wants on her own.

She also climbs on EVERYTHING. When it gets difficult to type at work I'll put her down and she crals right back up. :)

She wants anything we are eating. We hand her our plate, cup, or bowl when we are finished and watch her look so victorious!

I have now officially baby proofed most of my house. she knows how to get into bags and ANYTHING else available.

The bookcase is one fo her favorite things to climb on. Sometimes she can get all the way to her feet.

I am reading the Anne of Green Gables series to Kylie. although she doesn't really seem to be interested, it just makes me feel good to be reading to her I guess. :)

Kristina babysat for us to go on a date, and took such good care of her. she wrapped her all up to take her outside to Debbies house. I love love love living by my sisters. You wouldn't think it because we are TERRIBLE at taking pictures but we hang out everyday. Debbie and I have been living across the street from each other now for 6 months and love seeing each other every day. It has been such a fun treat to have Kristina here too now.

Kylie at about 5 to 5-1/2 months old

2010-10-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite picture because it has so much meaning. This was my dress as a little girl. I have baby pictures of me in it. I love to see Kylie in it now.

She makes the cuttest faces, scruntching her nose and breathing in and out really fast. It's the cuttest thing ever!!! It doesn't necessarily mean anything. She does it to get attention, when she is happy, mad, frustrated, copying us or whenever.

I love having her play pen around when I just need to get something done real quick. She likes it best in the morning when she is the happiest, and for a few minutes throughout the day. The problem is she wants to be in my eye sight at all times. If she can't see me, there's no use in trying to distract her with toys. :)
Im so grateful she loves her mommy so much! It makes me so happy!

LDS Profile

2010-09-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

lds.org has set up a wonderful program where we can set up a profile to serve for others who have questions about the mormon church.

I encourage all who haven't already set one up to visit mormon.org and do it. it doesn't take too long.

This is one simple way I can show my gratitude to my Savior Jesus Christ for all that he has done for me and continues to bless my family. The gospel is the best part of my life and will bless my family forever.

Carpenteria 2010

2010-08-24T10:33:00.002-07:00

Kylie at about 3 to 3 and 1/2 months old

2010-08-24T10:33:00.001-07:00

Oh I love this little girl! She is such a joy in my life!!

Sherri and Brady came in June for the 5k. It was so fun to run with you Sherri! I am proud of us! Sherri's little boy Brady is so adorable and had a blast with Kylie. I am very grateful for the times we can get together with family, and our kids can know their cousins.

Shilo takes great care of Kylie. We had a lot of fun at the Conover reunion. I wish it could have lasted longer.

Mom and Joel had a great time dancing together. It was a sight to see. :)
Mom is twirling Joel :)

Kylie at 2 and 1/2 - 3 months

2010-08-24T10:32:00.002-07:00

We got a matching chair for Kylie for the beach trips. Joel was so excited he couldn't even wait 5 minutes after coming home to set them both up together. He loves his little girl!!!

I love these pj's. I think they are so cute, I have her wear them all day. :)

Julie and the kids had a short visit passing through. Amelia was especially cute with Kylie. Amelia is always such a doll! I ljust love her!

Our family has been do blessed to have this job where I can still be a mom while helping to support our family financially. It doesn't make alot but I can have Kylie on my lap, and that means more than anything to me. I am so grateful for how much we have been blessed.

Kylie loves loves loves water. She loves bath time. So we tested out the swimming pool. Its a bit on the cold side, yet she still enjoyed it.

Kylie at 6 weeks to 2 months

2010-08-24T10:32:00.001-07:00

Kylie was blessed May 2nd 2010. She is the first grahdchild on her Woodruff side.

Kylie with both her grandfatherss and her Great Grandpa Lundquist. She is lucky to know some of her great grandparents.

Both grandmothers and her Great Grandmother Lundquist.

Kylie with her Grandma and Grandpa Conover. She is the 38th grandchild on her Conover side.

Thank you for everyone that was able to come. We had a fun get togther afterwards and enjoyed eating and visiting.

This beautiful dress was made by Kylie's great aunt Eloise. Thank you so so much Eloise!

This is proof of our adorable spit up baby. She doesn't spit up as much as others I have heard, but she DEFINETLY does her share.

She makes the cuttest faces.

This double chin is the best!

Like mother like daughter.

This picture makes her look so tall. She slept right through her diaper change. She must have been tired.

This was her first Sunday dress. we loved it so much we put it on her every Sunday. She was growing so fast, we wanted to be able to use it as much as possible before she grew out of it.

When we were packing to move on May 1st, we start piling all the boxes to get them out of the way as much as possible. there was a little extra spot at the top so Joel put Kylie up there. he wanted to see her reaction and she looked so cute, we just had to take a picture.

Joel's Sandhurst Competition

2010-08-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

Kylie was about 3-3 and 1/2 weeks old during this time.

Kylie at 1-2 weeks old

2010-08-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Maternity Pictures

2010-05-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little late, but I just got these pictures. My friend Amanda was so kind to take them for me. She is getting into photography and quite good at it I'd say. Thanks Amanda, you're the best!

Baby Kylie!

2010-04-18T20:00:00.002-07:00

Kylie Marie!
From the minute she was born we have loved our cute girl. She was 8 pounds 8 ounces and 21 inches long. She is so adorable, and always makes the cuttest faces. She has definetly become our entertainment, we can watch her for hours.

The hospital/birth experience was great. I am definetly a fan of epiderals :) Who knows, I might change me mind someday, but it was so nice to not feel any pain. My water broke at 4:15 pm and she was born 7:18am the next morning. The actual pushing part only lasted 10 minutes, so I was lucky. She was healthy and strong, so we were able to leave the hospital 48 hours later.

The hospital room was very nice and spacious, with a pull out bed for Joel and all. We really had a great experience. Joel and I enjoyed laying in my hospital bed together, we took a few naps like that.

Below are a few pictures of Kylie's first couple of days, including her first bath and first car seat experience.

Debbie and Julie were both there for Kylie's birth. They took pictures and videod, and were such a support to me for my entire stay at the hospital. Most of the pictures are on Julie's camera that we took, so I dont have any with the two of them or there families yet, but I can post those later. Joel's brother Jared also came to visit, and there is a picture of him.

Valentines 2010

2010-04-18T19:59:00.001-07:00

My cousin Laura and several of my dear sisters were doing the funnest thing for Valentines Day. they did the "14 days of Love", where they did something different for their husbands/kids each day. They did the cuttest things. Debbie and I both live in Utah, so we got together to decide on 14 fun things we wanted to do. It was so fun!

Sherri thank you for starting the fun tradition of making Valentine's Day something special. I appreciate your example, and am excited to do the same. Every year is an adventure now to try and think of something fun and unique to make that day special.

I forgot to take pictures on all the days, so here are some of the days....

The first day I decorated the bedroom with conversation hearts.

I bought a package of reisens candys and wrote a "reisen" I love Joel for each one.

I made him decorated sugar cookies in the shape of Xs and Os. I made it fun by making them big and small like the Xs and Os on Nacho Libre. :) If you've seen the movie you'll understand. Joel and I had just watched it several times so it was so funny. Joel laughed so hard.

I love seeing him laugh like that!

Homemade dinner of love!

Around Christmas time when Joel and I were in AZ, dad asked us a question. In light of the holidays he asked, "What is the best thing you can give your spouse for Christmas, or ever." And he said, "To have eyes for no one or nothing else. Being completely loyal is the best thing you can give your spouse, every day."

So I wanted to let Joel know that he means so much to me, in a way that was fun and that meant something to the two of us. So I made these silly glasses and told him I have "eyes" only for him.

I left a puzzle on the counter for him when he got home. When he put it together he could read what I wrote. When he flipped it over it was a picture of the two of us.

First Wedding Anniversary

2010-04-18T19:58:00.002-07:00

This was another wonderful surprise. Joel and I spent our honeymoon at the Anniversary Inn. During that time I told Joel it would be so neat to come back for our first anniversary to the same place. When that time came around he hadn't mentioned anything, and I didn't think it was possible since its expensive and we're definetly not rich. :) However, I didn't know that Joel had been doing lots of looking around for discounts and offers. Because he prepared far enough ahead and was keeping his eyes out for good deals, we were able to stay there 2 nights for about a third of the price, and in their best suites. It was such a great surprise!

This is outside our room. There was a balcony that wrapped around the front and side of our room.

The cake was a bit freezer burnt but still fun to save. :)

Christmas 2009

2010-04-18T19:58:00.001-07:00

We always have so much fun at Grandma and Grandpa Lundquist's home. Christmas break was a wonderful break from school.

It is a tradition for there family to reinact the nativity seen. I love this tradition. I remember one year as a child doing the same thing with all our cousins at the chapel one Christmas. I have never forgotten that. It would be great for that to be a special memory for our children aswell.

I didn't get pictures of everyone, only these two.

We had a lot of fun playing with the Hulk hands (presents to Dylan and Trevor).

This is typical of Joel, helping out and fixing things. He is fixing the couch since it wasn't connected correctly.

Fixing and observing..... He is observing how grandpa did the brick around the fireplace. No wonder he is so smart, he observes and learns as much as he can. And I am the lucky woman that got to marry him! :) Love you babe!!!!!!

Once again... helping some more. He is putting a new battery in the fire alarm.

Before going to our grandparents, I gave Joel his Christmas present. He loved it! It was so fun to get something that he wasn't expecting. And somehow I was able to keep it a secret...that's definetly an accomplishment for me.

We all made a trip to Salt Lake together. We went to a fun craft store and to Temple Square. It was fun but sold, so it was a quick visit.

We also went to In-n-Out with everyone. They pass out these little sheets and stickers that you can create your own picture. Using the same stickers, Joel and I competed against each other for who could make the best picture. Everyone in the family voted without knowing whose was whose. Coincidently... we tied! :)

Joel started bench pressing Dylan and Trevor. Before we knew it they started seeing how much weigt he could hold, and all the guys got involved.

Some of the older guys took two people to bench press.

It was quite the intertainment for everyone...especially when they would fall.

And of course the Rock Band! All the boys have fun together with these games.

Cindy's 26th Birthday

2010-04-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

I have always loved my birthday because my parents started fun traditions for all the December birthdays (including mine). We call my birthday "Elves Day". The night before everyone puts one of their shoes under the tree and during the night the "elves" fill them with little presents. In the morning everone gets to see what they got. When I was 12 years old I asked my mom if I could take over and be the elf. I have done that ever since, and LOVED it.
The only thing I missed out on was being kidnapped and taken to breakfast (that's what my family usually does for birthdays). I really wanted to experience the whole being kidnapped thing, even if just once. So when I got married I asked Joel if he would please kidnap me for my birthday and take me to breakfast. I never mentioned it again, and 11 months later I figured he probabaly forgot.

I was sure he forgot since we slept in until about 10(much later than usual). But that was all part of my plan, to let me get good sleep. Then when I woke up he sat me on a chair and did my make-up and put pajamas on me and put my hair in pigtails, so it would look like I just got out of bed. :) Then he took me out to breakfast! It was so much fun!!!

Opening gifts from Joel and his mom.

I absolutely loved my gifts! Joel and I put the gingerbread house together today as a fun activity. Ive used the cookie stuff a few times. We watched the Christmas movie on my birthday. And I wear my boots all the time! Joel's mom also remembered one time that I mentioned that when I have kids I want to get the entire Shirley Temple collection. :)

Finished product!

The other really neat thing about my birthday was the shoes. This was the first year that I have ever forgotten to do Elve's Day. I remembered before and bought some gifts for it, but I forgot to put them out. I was having so much fun being dressed up and taken to breakfast, that I didn't even remember until fat breakfast. I couldn't even believe I forgot, and Joel was understanding and said, "It's ok, we can do it tommorrow." To my surprise, he did it! He had woken up in the night and was the elf. Needless to say I was estatic when I got home and saw! :) This gifts are not all for elve's Day, they are for Christmas, Just a couple are for Elve's Day. This just happens to be our tree. :)

Debbie & Seth's Wedding!!!

2010-03-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

Debbie looked absolutely gorgeous! She and Seth looked so happy, and the reception was beautiful. It just turned out to be a perfect day all around. Congrats Debbie and Seth!!!

Debbie just glowed, with her beautiful big smile. And she loved to kiss Seth whenever possible. It was cute to watch. I wish I had some better pictures to capture all those cute moments.

Mom and her siblings that were able to make it. We have such wonderful and supportive Aunts and Uncles and cousins.

This is the Conover side of the family starting to join to gether for a picture.

Debbie and the girls!

Cute couple!

Between the wedding and the reception, we all had some time to kill. During that time we had a lot of fun visiting and taking pictures in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Some even got a little shut eye. :)

Debbie with mom's siblings and spouses.

Uncle Ray & Aunt Carol, Uncle Ken, and Uncle Charles, and Aunt Shirley (dad's side) also came. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them all together.

Some of Seth's family members.

Seth's sister Lisa made this beautiful cake. His mom and I baked the cakes and froze them, so that they would be ready for her when she got to Utah. Then she turned it into this beautiful masterpiece! Great job Lisa!

Seth has composed a number of songs on the piano, and composed one for Debbie that he performed at the reception. It was beautiful. This photo was right after he played it for her. Seth also put together CD's of his songs to give as gifts to everyone that attended the reception. It is really beautiful and soothing music.

Cutting the cake.

Bride and Groom's first dance.

Decorating the car. Seth's friends were supposed to get stuff to decorate it but forgot, so we had to improvise. Joel and Jeff grabbed a bunch of leftover food and cake and went to town with Seth's friends.

Carissa and Liisa & Jeremy came at the end, just in time right before Debie and Seth left.

Today was the first time in about 6 years that our enitre family (all the siblings) were together. We were a little late in thinking to get a picture of us all together, and ended up taking it right before Debbie and Seth left. Kevin and Todd had already left back to the hotal though.

Annika loves Joel! It's really cute.

Thanksgiving 2009

2010-03-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

We want to start a tradition every year that during the month of November we have a gratitude box. All month long we write things we are grateful for and put it into the box. On Thanksgiving Day we pass it around the family and read them until they are gone. Joel and I did that this year and it was alot of fun.

I'm not sure yet if we will get a nice permanent box someday or just make a different one with the kids each year. I made this one with the boys I nannied this year.

Thanksgiving Day was an absolute blast. Debbie's wedding was that weekend as well, so we had lots of family in town. Julie and Tim's family, Sherri and Mark's family, and Kim and Chris's family all met up with Joel and I, and Debbie and Seth. We went to Chuck-A-Rama for our Thanksgiving feast. It was awesome!..No dinner preparations, or having to find a place big enough to fit everyone (since our apartment is so small). We all really enjoyed it.

Then we went back to our apartment and changed into play clothes and put on big garbage bags. Julie and Sherri were in on the plan, and got everyone ready. We kept it a secret from Kim, since it was for her.

About a year ago Kim told me about some things she wanted to do before she died. One of those things was to have a huge wedding cake and have a big cake fight. So I spent the week before Thanksgiving making this huge cake. Then we all went to the park and through it at each other. It turned out so well, and was much more fun than I even imagened it would be. Everyone got into it, even all our husbands. In fact, they may have gotten into it the most. :) I loved it!!!!!!!!

We wish Debbie and Seth could have stayed, but they had to go to Seths family's get together.

It was my first wedding cake to make, with the layers and all. Until now I had only done about 3 little 6inch cakes for practice.

After the cake fight we hiked the Y. We hiked about halfway because it started to get dark. It was alot of fun, and the kids were all troopers.

Unfortunately, Julie's family wasn't able to come because they had to go meet up with Tim's family.

Halloween 2009

2010-03-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything in awhile, so this is a good time to go back and record some fun events worth remembering. For example, Halloween. In addition to the clue game and ward party this month, Halloween day was great. I actually had to work, but we were supposed to dress up for work, and it was so fun having Joel dress me up. I wish I had taken pictures of him getting me all ready. He was so into it! He camoflaged my face and dressed me up in a bunch of his army gear. He just went to town, I loved it!

We wanted to get some pictures of this great get-up!

Do I look serious or what?

With Faith, Nina, and Rob at work (Los Hermanos).

With Shayna, Nina, Jose, and Kelly. That was a fun night at work.

Marriage is the Best Thing Ever!

2010-01-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

In one of my classes they announced a marriage and family symposium that will be held at BYU this semester. If you write a 5-10 page paper you can get in free. The paper will also be submitted for a contest, and possible publication.
Well Im not the most confident person with my writing, so I usually pass up those type of things. However, I decided to give it a shot. They only announced it a few days before it was due, so it was rushed, but still funt to do.
I have to admit I couldnt have written it without Joel. I had him edit it and make some revisions. He really made it flow alot better. Thank you Joel for all your help!

Marriage Essentials
Consider for a moment the best marital advice a new couple could receive. Go a little further even, and reflect upon the never-ending impact it may have on the lives of those that stem from two people saying, “I do.” All receive advice on that beautiful day when they marry the love of their lives. Even if the honeymoon stage has past, often times just looking back at the advice received may bring the spark back. This paper will focus on proven keys to a successful marriage. Its purpose is to explore those ideas that give strength to all who have a desire to make the best of their marriage. It is never too late to improve, even upon a good thing.

Stay Close to the Lord
This perhaps is the most important advice one can ever give or receive. It is the surest way to enjoy a successful eternal marriage. As it’s often heard, “Be the kind of person your spouse and children think you are.” Regardless of what faith one holds, or what God they worship, staying true to ones values will guide any life in a joyous way. There is something to be said of a man or woman with integrity, virtue, moral decency, and charity toward others. When some one becomes that kind of a person, it reflects in all aspects of life, especially in the home. Spouses will feel a sense of security and peace in knowing that this is the life lived by the one they love. Children will feel the warm and loving spirit brought into the home by such living. Regardless if one is away on business or deployed in the military, a family never has to worry due to the circle of trust that abounds. There is nothing greater than to share trust and love for one another, the kind that can overcome any trial in this world.

Perfection is a Process
No one is perfect. Nor shall they be in this life. Perhaps one of the greatest steps toward perfection is to always be there for their spouse. Lift them when they fall, and love them through their trials. Love is the greatest motivator to change. Love them unconditionally. One of the greatest ways someone can help their spouse progress, is to first seek to live the very best they can. In this way an example is set, and coupled with faithful prayers, great changes are wrought within the family. Just as with little children, negative reinforcement seldom leads to desired positive results. One must never constantly tear their spouse down and expect them to rise to great heights. When one senses support, love, and appreciation, only then will they be motivated enough to be the very best they can be. When mistakes happen, allow for repentance, and have a forgiving heart. Be the one that your spouse can turn to and confide in. Be their safe harbor.

Avoid Thinking and Speaking Negatively
It’s been said that what you focus on eventually becomes all that you see. A choice always exists to focus on faults or strengths. If it’s the faults that are constantly being voiced, then that will become all that is seen. On the contrary, if one chooses to focus on their strengths and positive attributes, those will begin to shine forth. Finding the good in each other will bring joy in life to both. It’s a wonderful reassurance to know ones name is safe with the one you love. This includes both public and private conversations. Loving corrections go a lot farther than critical judgments. A spouse must know that their partner would never intentionally do or say anything to hurt them.

Keep the Marriage within the Marriage
When marriage begins, often time couples are so happy and comfortable. Eventually, whether it is the next week or ten years later, problems arise. Everyone goes through their trying times. It is how these times are faced that will determine the strength of the relationship. Being able to work together to solve problems will bring joy and power to a marriage. Decide today to always turn to each other. A spouse should always be the number one. The bible states, in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh,” (King James Version). Prior to marriage, people have an array of people they may turn to and confide in. That may be a mother, a father, sister, brother, or friend. There are many people to go to with problems and decisions. With the words “I do,” however, all that changes. If a problem arises in marriage, it’s no longer expected to run to mom and dad. Couples must learn to work things out together.

Disagreements Happen
Every intelligent couple will have differences of opinion. The trick is, knowing how to resolve them. Disagreements should be faced with love and consideration for the other. Always having to be right only causes strife. Listen to and validate each other’s feelings. Admit faults. Learn to let go of pride. When both partners are focused on the happiness of their spouse, rather than being “right”, or “winning”, than there is no issue that can’t be resolved.

Never Go To Bed Angry
It is difficult to resolve issues when both are tired. It is ok to not have resolved the issue completely, and return to it in the morning, rested and happy. Going to bed angry, however, is never a good idea. Resolve the concern enough that the night can end with a meaningful “I love you.” Then when a nights rest has restored energy and it’s a bright new day, communicate in a kind way that uplifts each other.

I Love You
Those are 3 powerful words that can make a world of difference. Find ways everyday to show by word and action that love abounds between one another. “I love you” is a phrase that can never be used too much.

Put the Other First
When selfishness is eliminated from the equation, the wants and needs of a spouse become more a priority. This also provides a means for more listening and a realization of those things that really mean the most. Sacrifice whatever it takes to meet their needs. This may be as little as skipping a nap in a hectic crammed day, to hold each other tenderly and share a personal talk. Many women feel alone and forgotten when their husband has to put in long hours at work. He is doing his best to support the family, and yet she feels low on his priority list, due to the lack of time she gets to spend with him. Men also feel this same loneliness and neglect when a baby enters the picture and takes all of a mother’s attention. She is trying to be a good mother and care for her child, while at the same time he may feel neglected and suddenly pushed aside. Whatever the situation may be, if both parties can put their spouse as number one in their lives, all other aspects of their lives will fall into place. This is true even in the case of children. Children are the greatest treasure and responsibility a parent has to care for and to love. This being said, a balance must be found between the needs of a child and the needs of a spouse. When a marriage is happy and successful, the entire family will be happy and successful.

Continued courtship
It is essential to keep the romance alive. Even when time and money are short, couples must find ways to spend time together. Creativity and laughter often brings couples closer together. Leave the office early, leave the kids at home, and enjoy getting to know each other more and more. This must be a priority. Then, in the seasoned years of marriage, when all the kids have moved out, husband and wife will still share those bonds that brought them together in the beginning. Time and effort all along will assure couples stay close.

Find joy in doing things together
Learn to love mutual interests, and find ways to enjoy things together. Many couples find joy in cooking together, gardening together, or going on runs. Support him at his basketball game by being his number one fan, and sit in the front row. Amuse her by taking time to acknowledge her cute scrapbook pages, and taking a little stroll down memory lane. Take the time to ask each other about their day. A husband and wife must avoid becoming so separate that they no longer know the person they share a bed with.

An Accomplishment for One is an Accomplishment for Both
If he gets a promotion at work, that is an opportunity to celebrate together. He never would have made it through without her support. If she received an A in a class, they can celebrate together. His encouragement helped push her along. This same support can be given to children as well. If a child has a big accomplishment, the family can celebrate together. It took love and support to help that child get there. Couples that laugh together, cry together, and share all experiences together - the joys and the difficulties - show in every way that that their spouse is their highest priority. If it matters to one, it matters to the other. When each gives 100%, they give enough to cover the others shortfalls. That couple knows that whatever trials may come there way, they are in it together. They have the attitude that leads to a strong marriage. They find joy in the journey.

Marriage is like a Row Boat
If both aren’t rowing together in the same direction, they will simply move in circles. Setting goals together and striving to accomplish them creates a powerful ability for that couple to succeed. For example, both need to be in agreement when making and following a budget. One can’t be completely devoted and the other spends when they want on whatever they want. That would never work. Another crucial part of life is raising a family. Parents need to be united in the way in which they choose to discipline, teach and rear a child. Working together will get them far in life.

Kneel Together in Prayer Daily
Never let a day go by without praying together. Listen as the other prays. The deepest concerns or most heart-felt gratitude’s are often heard while listening to a spouse’s prayer. This brings spiritual strength into the home that can’t afford to be passed up. Praying together helps accomplish the most important advice previously mentioned; staying close to the Lord.

Conclusion
Marriage really is the most satisfying – yet most demanding – experience in life. Finding the strength and patience to sacrifice for a family is worth fighting for. True love is never wasted. Often the only motivation for the here and now is confidence in the future. Sometimes it takes enduring through the hard things in life to get to the best things in life. Marriage is like life; both develop in stages and consist of work, learning, and progression. It’s the effort put forth to solve problems and better relationships that adds comfort and joy to marriage. The most important ingredient to marriage is “striving.” Marriage will never be stronger than one’s willingness to strive and make it that way.
Marriage is not only a bond between husband and wife, but a bond between their children as well. The nourishing of a strong marriage feeds a child’s soul. A healthy home environment benefits a child more than any schooling or organization could ever do. Families are the basic unit that makes up society. In destroying the family, society itself is destroyed. Strengthening the family strengthens our towns, our cities, and our countries.

References
Hafen, B. C. (2005). Covenant hearts: Marriage and the joy of human love. Salt Lake City, UT:
Deseret Book.

Clue Game

2009-10-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

The ROTC program has a sweethearts club that consists of all the wives, fiances and girlfriends that want to get together and hang out. We planned a live clue game, with all the different rooms, and you have to solve the murder. You could either dress up as one of the characters, or just dress up from that time period, the 30s and 40s.

Joel's outfit was awesome, he definetly won the prize!

P.s.: For those who want to see pictures as the pregnancy progresses, this is 5 months and 1 week along.

We all took turns being the person in each room that reveals cards if you make a good accusation.

Joels 25th Birthday

2009-10-29T13:04:00.001-07:00

When Joel left for his PT workout I started decorating the house. He got home before I finished so I led him to the bedroom blindfolded and had him stay in bed while I finished. I put up balloons and streamers and made him breakfast in bed. We had swiss oatmeal, stuffed french toast, fresh fruit, and hot apple cider. Needless to say, we didnt finish it all, but it was so fun to make.
When I got home from work, he took a break between classes and came home to open presents and spend some time together. His mom made him this adorable stocking for Christmas and also gave him a camera for our laptop. That will be very nice to be able to see the family more, especially with dad being in Iraq for the next 6 months.

I gave him 3 movies, a running watch, nice gloves for running in the winter time, a measuring tape, and a toy gun with little darts and bullets. I must say, that gun got alot of use out of it. I love that Joel is such a boy at heart sometimes. :)

This was my first cake to decorate.... ever. I did it all on my own. Yes I know its girlie and flowery, but thats because Im taking wedding cake decorating lessons.

For dinner we went to Tucanos. That's Joel's favorite place to eat. Then we borrowed Brian Reagan videos from a friend and laughed together the rest ot the evening.

About 4 and 1/2 months along

2009-10-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

I don't particularly enjoying taking pictures of myself, but since I keep telling people I will, I took one. It's not the best, but Ill try to take some more. Thanks everyone for being so excited for our new addition the family. This is about 4 and 1/2 months along.

Joels Relief Society Lesson

2009-10-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Joel and I were assigned to teach Relief Society and Priesthood one Sunday. When we turned to the assigned lesson to see what the lesson was, Joel got this funny look on his face as he said, out loud, "Relief Society: Divine Organization of Women". He then said, "I can give a talk on pretty much anything, spur of the moment, but this is going to take some research!" :)

So he decided to make his Priesthood class just like the Relief Society. He asked me what we do before the Relief Society starts and he did it all; good news moment, music moment, and all. The best part of it all was that he put a wonderful centerpiece together for the table. He brought a table cloth, pictures, and flowers. With his wonderful creativity and putting it together that morning, his flowers consisted of an artichoke that bloomed, flowers off of our radish plant, a couple merigolds, and some tares off our corn stalks. It actually looked surprisingly great, and also gave everyone a good laugh. He also brought brownies for everyone. :)

Joel's Computer Project

2009-10-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have the most genius husband! He got an idea one day to take apart an old laptop and make a digital picture frame out of it to hang on our wall. He disected every bit of that laptop (and another old one mother Woodruff sent us to take apart).

We bought frames and he finished it all and put them together. They looked awesome! Both slideshows worked, and we had 2 digital picture frames for super cheap. :) He can do anything! I love it!!!

Visiting Grandma Young

2009-08-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

Joel and I set aside a day to go visit grandma and it ended up being perfect. Joel had to go to Salt Lake to translate Hungarian for a CES Leadership Mtg, so I planned to go with him and go to the temple while he did that. Then we would head for Layton. Debbie was at our house and has always wanted to go to the Salt Lake temple, so she came to. We went to the Temple and then watched the Joseph Smith movie in the Joseph Smith Center while Joel was busy. Then we all went to grandma's.

It was so great to visit with Grandma! She is so smart and fun to talk to. We looked through her scrapbooks that Eloise had made for her and saw some of her geneology charts that she has made. It was great! Im excited to go back again, hopefully soon.

Grandpa Young's Funeral

2009-08-16T22:30:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Young died on Friday July 31st (I think). His funeral was held Wednesday August 5th, and a viewing right before and also the day before. Here is our wonderful family at the funeral. Everyone is so beautiful!

Mom and Dad are the best looking of all!

Here is Grandpa's side of the family. His kids and grandkids and great grandkids. I didnt have my camera out for the sibling picture but all of Grandpa's children were there that day, which is really neat.

These are the grandchildren on Marcel's side.

mmm mmm mmm! I love us together!!! I have the greatest husband ever!

Kim and Chris's beautiful family. I love the dresses Kim!

Uncle Charles and Uncle Ken even came. I love them, they are so supportive in every event!

After the funeral there was a lunch-in provided by the Relief Society. Then later that afternoon all the cousins got together at Canyon Glen and ate cantalope and ice cream and played games. It was so much fun getting to see cousins that I never knew or hadn't seen in a long time. We have the funnest relatives, and we all had SO much fun together.

Florida/Cruise Trip

2009-08-16T20:50:00.001-07:00

Our Florida trip was in Orlando, Daytona Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, before the Cruise started. It was the greatest to get away and vacation with just the 2 of us for 10 days. Our 3 days in Orlando we spent at Universal Orlando at the 2 theme parks. It was a blast! Our favorite rides at Islands Adventure was Hulk and Spiderman. Our favorite at Universal Studios was Mummy and Simpsons. If you ever go, make sure to catch those rides. :)

We had fun taking a bunch of silly pictures in this cartoon area.

We took tons and tons of pictures. Don't worry, I only included a few. This is a shark eating us.

Joel with the train in "Back to the Future".

Cindy with "The Fast and the Furious" cars.

They had these tall characters from the Mummy ride that were so fun to take pictures with because they did the creepiest things and never broke character.

These skulls are in the Dualing Dragons ride line.

The second hotel was at Daytona Beach (The best beach in Florida), it was awesome! Our room was right on the ocean with the most beautiful view. We had so much fun here riding the rides and playing in the beach all day. We brought our single blow up mattress and used it as a boogy board, I would definetly recommend that!

We drove to the tallest lighthouse in Florida. You can actually go up it, but we were running out of time and didn't have our money on us.

This is our third stay, in Ft Lauderdale. It was a resort, and super nice! Again we had an ocean view room. I wish I had taken pictures of the room, it was literally a little apartment, with a full kitchen and all. We stayed in the Ocean Manor. This beach was fun too. We got to experience two different beach experiences. This one was so calm that I just floated on the air mattress for hours while Joel snorkled in the clear smooth water. He found a natural spring that released really cold water out of the ocean bottom with tons of fish around it. He also saw a sting ray that was about 4 feet long with its tail about 4 feet also. He followed it for awhile before he realized that probably wasn't too smart. He also saw a really big fish.

The next day in Ft. Lauderdale was Sunday, so we didn't swim. We went to church (where I spoke with lots of French people from Haiti), and built sand castles. Well, Joel built a sand castle, I wasn't patient enough. So I made this creation and then watched him the rest of the time.

Here is Joel's masterpiece! It was so cool it attracted several kids that wanted to start helping him. That would have been a disaster so I did my best to distract the kids by helping them make a seperate castle "just like Joel's". That was the only way I could keep them from jumping on Joel's. Of course they were soarly disappointed when my castle didn't turn out at all as good as Joel's. :)

Cruise time!!! We were on the 3 day cruise to Nassau Bahamas, on the Bahama Celebration boat. It was alot of fun! Although I have to admit it would have been better if I were not pregnant. I was so tired all I wanted to do was sleep, which of course wasn't as option for our first cruise experience. Im excited to go sometime not pregnant, then Ill get the real cruise experience.

My favorite thing to do was be on the deck with Joel (especially dancing).

The crew members made the coolest little animals out of towels. They even put Joel's sunglasses on it, We thought that was funny.

Dinner

The Bahamas!!!! This was my favorite part of the cruise.

The cruise offers lots of packages you can buy to see the island, and do fun things, but its all way overpriced and not worth it. The best decision to make was to rent a scooter for the day. That way you can see even more of the Island than any of the packages offered. You can go wherever you want. You can also drive just about any of the places the packages go to and buy passes for less than half the price. Just FYI for anyone who goes on cruises. :) Joel and I ended up seeing about half the Island and going across the bridge to Paradise Island where we found the most beautiful beach with beautiful white soft sand. That was the most perfect end to our vacation!!!!!!

We took tons of pictues all over the Bahamas, I just picked one random one to include. Joel did great riding the scooter, especially considering you drive on the left side of the road there, and its quite dangerous.

We found these caves that went really deep inside and had lots of openings. Joel adventured in a little ways but I stayed near the front because there were tons and tons of bats inside.

This was the beautiful beach!!! It was calm water and SO beautiful! We both took turns snorkling. While I was out there I saw a sting ray and freaked out. I was yelling back at Joel as if my life were about to end. the funny thing is it was only about a foot long and they're not even dangerous if you dont touch them or get too close.

Joel Coming Home from LDAC

2009-08-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

I was so excited for Joel to come home! He had been gone for 5 weeks to an army camp, LDAC. I tell you what, it is not fun without him. He is the best part of my life and makes me laugh everyday! So you can imagen my excitement for him to come home. I wanted to do something special, and have always wanted to do the "cups in the overpass", so I did it this day.

I thought I made it really big when I was up there, but it doesn't look quite so great from the highway. So for anyone who may want to do this in the future, make sure to do it alot bigger than you think you need to.

Jeff's Eagle Scout

2009-08-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of you Jeff!!!! He was awarded his Eagle the day after Debbie got home from her mission so that more people could be there. I'm so proud of him! That is quite the accomplishment.

He's the man!

Welcome Home Debbie!!!

2009-08-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Everyone was so excited for Debbie to come home, we were all very anxious! Im not sure what took SO long, but our wonderfully patient mother stood at this window, the entire time, waiting for Debbie to come down the hallway. Several of us took turns standing there with her, but none of us were as patient as she was. I think Tim did the best.

I think it was Julie, mom, and Tina that came up with the signs "We'll take care of you" and wearing medical masks when she came out. It was alot of fun! Julie also painted lips on them. :)

Still waiting........ You'll notice different people are holding the signs. They got passed around quite a bit. They ended up being held by the grandkids.

Here she comes!!!!!!!!!!

I know this picture is blurry but I just love it.

Everyone was so excited to have their turn with Debbie

Yeah its my turn!

Don's beautiful family!

Julie brought these decoration to have us put up in the walkway. The kids also made there own ceiling decorations that they hung in the other hallway. Debbie enjoyed those. Everyone pitched in alot to prepare for Debbie's homecoming. Thank you everyone for your help!

Home at last.

Joel's Fort Monroe Trip

2009-08-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Joel had the wonderful opportunity of going to Fort Monroe Virginia to shadow officers, and get a feel for what goes on there. He LOVED everything he learned and was able to see. He was there for a week. Only two cadets were chosen to go, and they met alot of really high up officers in the military. Lt. General Vane was one of them.

This stands for the Army Capabilities Integration Center.

Joel had alot of fun in his free time exploring the base, walking on the beach, and other random things, like climbing this rope. :)

His family came to visit him one evening he was there and had lunch with him. They went to the pirate fest, where they saw really neat pirate boats, but it was difficult to get a good picture of it.

This is an artichoke plant. This gives us hope for our little tiny artichoke plant that we planted. Maybe someday it will look like this. :)

This is the ruins of the artillery battery during the Revolutionary War and other Wars.

This is a map/drawing of Fort Monroe.

Joel and I like finding lighthouses and taking pictures. We are bound and determined to go in one someday.

2009-06-25T09:52:00.002-07:00

Joel had a competition in New York at West Point called the Sandhurst competition. Sandhurst England puts it on every year and it is held at West Point NY. Only 8 ROTC teams are invited each year. BYU gets invited every time, because they are always high ranking in performance for ROTC teams. This year, they blew everyone out of the water. They did awesome! It was the funnest thing to be there for it! There were 8 ROTC teams, 2 British teams, teams from Afghanistan, Canada, Chile, ...., and about 32 West Point teams. Joel's parents, his brother Josh, and Dad all came to watch. It was so fun that dad was able to come. He sacrificed to get there, and Joel and I are so grateful. Thank you mother and father Woodruff for making it all possible to go.

It was really fun being there with Joel's parents and brother too. We had alot of fun together.

The day before the competition Josh and I were goofing off on different obstacles they had on base. This wall is part of the competition and we were trying to run up it. However, we cheated, we did it an easier way than the teams have to.

Then we were racing up these ropes. Of course Josh beat me by a long shot.

Friday they only had the shooting. They had 2 different courses they had to do with the shooting. Overall BYU got fifth on the shooting part.

On Saturday they had about 10 different events to accomplish. The competition is graded by time. They get through everything as fast as they can and then any penalties add minutes to their time. For the first event they had to figure out a way to get all the team across 4 barrells, using only 3 boards and not able to touch the ground. We didnt get through it in time. In fact, not many teams did. The second event was the wall, the picture will come up later. Then this obstacle course was third. It had several different events they had to climb over and under, .....

After the obstacle course, they had a boating event. They then did the rope bridge which consisted of tieing a rope from one end of the edge of the river, to the other and hooking each person in and sending them across the rope. It was so cool to see because they passed the team that had arrived there before them. Each team started about 15 minutes apart. The team before them called themselves the frogs and had TONS of fans that cheered very loudly the entire time. But when BYU got there and were so much faster, the frog fans all went silent. Then someone from the other team soberly said, "Wow, now that's efficient."

This was the wall. It had little rules to follow, such as not being allowed to touch the yellow. Every event had little rules like that.

Between the rope bridge and this event they had several other events. They had to enter a building and examine all that they could as fast as possible. They had weapons assembly and disassembly. They had a first aid event, buddy run (where they had to carry each other), and land navigation. They ran so much! I ran 11 miles with the coach and alternates, just cheering for them at whichever spots we could. I could only imagen how much more they had to run! It was quite demanding on them in every way, especially physically. In this event they had to fill the barrell to the top with water. they had buckets available and a lake. At this point they were so tired and having to run back and forth with the buckets. They figured out the best way to do it was fill the buckets all up and dump them in, all at the same time. (because there were lots of holes in the barrel)

Then they finished off the competition by pushing this hummer across the field and through the poles. Then at the end of the field quickly jot down all that they remembered from the building earlier. Joel is the one on the side, by the door.

Each team has to have 8 guys and 1 girl. Rachel was the girl, and during the competition she spranged her ankle so bad they thought it was broken. However, she never gave up, she gave 110% to the end. Afterward they all helped bandage her foot and had a prayer together.

Right after that, Joel ran to get his team some water. He didn't even want to drink any himself until he got his team water. He was so thoughtful and selfless. I, however, made him drink while I filled the canteens as quickly as I could. The entire team worked so well together. They helped each other in every way they could.

Joel took our BYU blanket to hang from their window. This is the team, with the exception of Rachel who was taking care of her foot.

The awards were great. All day long everyone was talking about BYU and how good they were. Literally, everywhere I went people were talking about BYU and how amazed they were by them. Even at the awards, before it started, I kept hearing comments all around me, such as, "I wonder how many people beat us, well I know BYU beat us, but I wonder who else." "Who do you think made top 5? BYU, ...." Even when they anounced the awards, a general next to me said, " I knew that, I knew BYU made top 5." Even the winning team, Canada, ran to see the results when they finished, thinking BYU won. Canada got first. A West Point team got 2nd. A great Britain team got 3rd. BYU got 4th. We were so excited!

A few generals gathered all the ROTC teams together to talk to them and to congratulate them for even making it to the competition. BYU beat the record for and ROTC team, which made everyone so proud. So many people wanted to take pictures with BYU! Even after awards and pictures were over I had several people notice I was wearing a BYU sweatshirt and ask where the team was so they could take a picture with them.

Our team was all so proud and having so much fun after the competition. They stuck around for awhile for all the people that wanted to congratulate them.

I was able to spend some time alone with just Joel after the awards, and I loved it. Im so proud of my military man!!!!!!

Before we left and said goodbye to Joel, I gave him a congratulations gift. It is a coin holder for his military coins. We both love it, so we can put his coins out instead of having them stuffed away in a drawer. Joel also gave me some souvenirs from West Point; two really cute shirts. :)

Easter 2009

2009-06-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Unfortunatly, Joel was gone on one of his ROTC trips for Easter, so I had it with his family in Logan. That was very nice! It's always so relaxing at Grandma and Grandpa's place.

We had a fun Easter egg hunt. It was so cute watching the little kids find the eggs and get so excited! They were so cute to share their candy with me afterwards since I was just taking pictures. :)

The night before Easter, before Joel had to leave, we had our little Easter basket hunt. At the last minute I put them together, so I just used BYU bags :) We each hid each others bags, and had so much fun finding them.

I had Joel's hidden inside one of his socks.

He hid mine with the grocery bags.

Garden

2009-06-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Some of our nieighbors have joined with us in starting a garden. Its doing great lately. There's not vegies and fruit yet, but the plants are looking better and better every day. A couple of months ago I came home from work and Joel had made a scarecrow for the garden. He did it anonomously, and snuck out late at night to put in it the garden, so that no one would know who made it. Then every other night he would dress all in black and sneak around to change its outfit. He had so much fun with it, and got all into it, jumping fences and all. :) I wish I got pictures of all the different outfits, They were great! First it was in normal clothes. Then it was a farmer. Then it was a doctor. Then my favorite outfit I didnt get a picture of...on Sunday he put it in church clothes, with suit, tie, scripture case, and all. It was awesome! It was hilarious hearing people talk about it. The scarecrow has a long wig so some people were confused and thought it was supposed to be a girl. So the next day Joel put it in a skirt, making it a girl. :)

It was so funny hearing everyone's accusations of who they thought was the scarecrow person. At first everyone thought it was the Bishop (because that sounds like something he would do.) Then they started guessing all sorts of people in the ward. Then some of our nieghbors starting thinking it was their own husbands, that would sneak out and do it after they fell asleep :) So after Joel had changed it several times, and denied being the culprit, he finally gave it away that it was him by dressing it in army clothes (his army jacket has "Woodruff" on it), so everyone knew it was him.

One night someone knocked at our door really late and left the scarecrow's straw hat at our door. When we went out there, they had dressed it as a Terrorist :) Joel added the head band, but the mystery was on again. Who dressed it this time??? We later found out it was Mike and Allison Lindsey, some friends of ours that found out about the scarecrow. :)

Cindy's April Fools Joke on Joel

2009-04-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

This was my first April Fools joke to play on Joel, and it was so fun!While he was still at school I prepared a nice candlelight dinner. I had our 2 place settings out with name tag seating and a smaller plate with a name tag "Joel Junior". I had my next door neighbor (that is pregnant) pee on a pregnancy test and I had it on that plate. (Dont worry I sanitized it and it had a cover to put over it.) He actually believed it. He was a little skeptical because of April Fool's day but since I kept playing along, and am usually terrible at lying, he believed it. I was able to keep it up until he asked me to promise that I wasn't kidding. I can never lie with a promise :) It was hilarious when he thought it was true because he was in shock, he didn't know what to think. His heart was racing so fast and he lost his appetite for a bit.We laughed so hard afterward, it was alot of fun!

Military Ball April 2009

2009-04-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

We had alot of fun, especially during the dance part of the evening at the end.

We continued our fun when we got home :)