The Ducks Again/Our Anniversary

5.19.2010

This year we decided to keep our anniversary pretty low key. When we asked Hallie what she wanted to do, she said "ducks!", so that is what we did. We went and fed the ducks...again.

We saw the turtles too. There were four or five of them.

Hallie was exhausted, so she took a little nap on the way to lunch.

We had a giftcard from Christmas to Terra Mia, which is an authentic Italian Pizza place, so off we went. Though we thought we'd be brave and try a type of pizza we typically wouldn't. So we got the Mamma Mia. It has wild broccoli, sausage, and provolone, with basil and mozzerella. We all like broccoli, it's actually our go to vegetable, so we thought it would be pretty good. Yeah, the wild broccoli is most definitely NOT our thing! I would not recommend it at all, it does not taste anything like broccoli and is gross. So we pulled the broccoli off and ate it, and it was much better. We'd definitely go back, but with a more conservative palate. Though the gelato we ended with was a HUGE hit! I think Hallie would have finished it off if we would have let her.

After lunch we took Hallie home to play with Angela, and Eric and I went to see How to Train Your Dragon. What a fun movie! We both loved it!

Bless Elder Holland

Hallie has started to say prayers with help now. So I was helping her say prayers tonight, and I was telling her to say "bless President Monson," and Hallie added on her own, "bless Elder Holland." It totally caught me off guard and it cracked me up and made me laugh. She LOVES Elder Holland! And I love how she loves Elder Holland

My mom gave each family a book with all of the First Presidency and The Twelve in it a few months ago and it's Hallie's favorite. She loves to go through and find the different people. But Elder Holland is her favorite, she loves to find his picture (and President Monson too). I'm glad that she has already has a love for the apostles, and wants to pray for them.

I Was Brave...

5.18.2010

...and we did fingerpaints.
Since I'm able to be home with Hallie now, I've tried to be better about doing more fun things with her. So we were at the craft store the other day, and I saw finger paints. My first thought was "no way!" but after some thinking I put them in the cart to decide later. Well the more we walked around the store, the more I realized how much fun Hallie would have with them, and that she was old enough to understand not to make a HUGE mess with them with supervision. So we checked out with finger paints in tow.

I was right, she loved them. She wasn't sure about them at first, but she had a lot of fun and it wasn't nearly as messy as I thought it would be. I just pulled out my "craft tablecloth" (which may or may not be our old shower curtain), and spread it out on the floor, and stripped Hallie down to her diaper. She was covered in paint by the end of it, but she was happy, and isn't that all that matters? :)

Squish!

Hallie thought that was the funniest thing to say while she was painting.

Hallie Girl

5.12.2010

BYU Family

5.12.2010

The same day we did pictures in my cap and gown, we decided to try and get a couple family pictures. Hallie didn't really want to cooperate, and we still battled the wind, but I think we got some fun pictures.

DUCKS!

Hallie wanted to swim, but this is as close as we got. It was COLD!

Tickles!

Cap and Gown

5.12.2010

Since the day of graduation was so cold and rainy, and knowing how crowded the picture spots would be, we decided we'd be better off to wait and do pictures on a different day. So, three weeks after graduation we went and did some pictures. It's amazing how much more silly you feel walking around campus in a cap and gown when you are the only one, not one of hundreds. We still fought the wind, but we now have some pictures of me in my cap and gown. Thanks Megan for humoring us. :)

Happy Mother's Day

5.9.2010

Mother's Day was a great day at our house! Eric got up with Hallie and got her fed and played with her so that I could sleep in. And then we went to church, then up to my parent's house for dinner. It is always fun to celebrate these special days with the whole family.

Me and my monkey!

My uncle Chris came over and dropped my Grandma off. But he brought his dog, Ozzy, and Hallie was in LOVE with him. He is a big dog, but Hallie would follow him around, pet him, tickle him, and let him lick her face and play with her. It was so much fun for her. She just ran around and giggled the whole time. After that it made us want a dog even more, but not til we have a yard of our own.

Bye, bye Ozzy!
This is the best picture I got of them playing, cause they were on the move so much!

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day! We love you!

NASM Certified Personal Trainer

5.8.2010

After rescheduling my personal training exam twice, the day came when I HAD to take it. I was pretty nervous because I felt like I hadn't studied like I should have, and the pass rate is only about 60%. So I told Eric when I left that I wasn't expecting to pass, and he wasn't too happy about that. But I really think saying that outloud allowed me to relax and actually do better on the exam. Luckily the results are immediate, and ....

I passed!

YAY!

So we celebrated by getting Cold Stone. Ironic? I know. :)

Quack Quacks

5.7.2010

Going to the duck pond has always been something we've loved to do. But since it has been so cold we haven't done it in a long time. So I decided to take Hallie on a walk/run to the Botany Pond on campus to feed the ducks. She LOVED it! Moreso than ever before. I think that this is partly because she can actually get out and chase the ducks, and feed them, and she really gets what is going on. She had a blast, and wasn't too happy when I told her it was time to go. Hallie asks us all the time if we are going to see the ducks.

Feeding the ducks bread. This was the first time Hallie got to throw the bread herself.
There were the cutest little ducklings!

And some older ducklings, that were equally as cute.

Note to self: go to the duck pond more often! :)

Half Marathon?

5.6.2010

Last summer I debated training for and running a half marathon, but I just didn't ever commit to it. But since I'm officially done with school, I think I needed a "project" so Angela and I are officially training for a half marathon on July 10th. I know that it will be hard, and that there will be days that I don't want to go out on my runs, but it will be a challenge and will push me to my limits. I have always wanted to be a "runner" but haven't ever really had enough motivation to keep with it. But it helps having Ang there, it definitely makes you commit more, and stay committed. It also gives us a good excuse to get together and gab. :) So I really hope that this is the start of a good habit. We started our formal training schedule on Monday!

Day 1

Happy 4 Years!

4 years ago today, Eric and I were coming out of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple as man and wife. We had no idea what was in our future, or any concept of how our life would be at this point. Of course there have been unforeseen rough patches and many a time where we haven't seen eye to eye, but it amazes me all the time how perfectly things work out. How the storms pass and you are both stronger for it. I am so lucky to have Eric by my side. Happy Anniversary! I love you!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

5.4.2010

Happy Birthday! We were so glad that we could celebrate my mom's birthday with her.

Blowing out the candles

Grandma and the girlies

We Love YOU!

The Bean

5.1.2010

Since I was done with school, and Eric was on break we decided to take Hallie to do something fun. And since most of BYU's museums are free, we decided to go to the Monte Bean Museum, which we lovingly call "The Bean." We had taken Hallie before, but she was too young to care. This time she had a blast! She ran around showing us all of the animals, and she just giggled. It was a lot of fun to watch her, but it was a lot of work to keep up with her. :)

Occasionally she would just plop herself down right in front of an animal to get a better look, and to talk to it. She LOVED the crocodile.

And the Hippo!
...and Ellie the Elephant!

...and a Moose for Grandma!

...and the big horned sheep!

Essentially she loved everything! She even got to touch a real live snake. If you notice in all of these pictures she is squirming, and trying to run to the next thing. We'll have to take better advantage of the Bean Museum I guess! It was a fun little family outing for sure.