The Van Wags

Reading, Reading, Reading

2012-01-31T21:39:00.000-08:00

So I have had a little break from my hectic life of school and work. I had Christmas break and then my spring semester is pretty relaxed. In this time I have been taking full advantage of my free time! I have been able to read books.... FOR FUN!

I LOVE LOVE LOVED this series! I can't wait for the movie to come out :) I think I read all three of these books in a couple of weeks( that is incredibly fast for me!)

So funny story with this book. I was in Grand Junction, CO for a weekend with my grandpa. On a particularly slow afternoon my Mom, Sister, and I took a stroll down Main Street and found a second hand shop. We picked up a TON of books for about 25cents a piece. I love a good juicy love story so I of course picked up this book... I must say it was really funny! I totally loved it!

Finally per the request of my friend Vanessa I have started the Vampire academy books. I am just finishing up the first book... I must say the first half of the book was not so good, but the ending is looking up. And, from what I hear the books get better and better as you go(there are 6 books in the series!)

I have not just been a book worm but also a couch potato! I watched all three seasons of Vampire Diaries, and all four seasons of Gossip Girl. I love Netflix.... how ever did we survive with out it!

Wishing I had a life....

2011-11-13T00:55:00.001-08:00

So lately my life consists of work, school, and homework. I am going to be applying for nursing school this spring and I will hopefully start a program in the fall. I am finishing up my last prerequisites and they are soooo time consuming! Its exhausting. I am hardly ever home... which explains why its a disaster. I have a pillow and blanket in my car and I sleep whenever I can!

The things I miss the most about when I wasn't a student are:
*Random spontaneous weeknight movies
*Cooking dinners
*attempting to bake
*Walking my dog (poor neglected mutt)
*Date night with my hubby
*Reading books for fun
*Starting new TV shows, and keeping up with them
*Needless to say Blogging
I find myself tonight wishing away the next two years and hoping someday I will have a life again!

Two

2011-09-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Happy two year anniversary! So we made it two years! Year two has been great, and it has gone by so fast! Love you John :)

I suck at Blogging

2011-09-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well hello to anyone who has not given up on my blog!! I have found myself swamped lately. I have been working at Intermountain Medical Center since November 2010 in billing.. and I have been missing working with patients so much. So I just got a new job at the University of Utah hospital.

I am going to be working as a C.N.A. in the Surgical ICU. I am SOOO excited for this change. I feel like I am finally accomplishing things with work and school to move me closer towards the ultimate goal... graduating with my RN. I wake up everyday saying "Someday it will all be worth it!" So even more changes as we start into the fall semester. John and I are both taking about 15 credit hours at SLCC, and eventually we will both be transferring up to the U to finish up our bachelors. I will hopefully graduate December 2014 and John should graduate May 2015 :)

We have had a pretty great summer. We of course were going to school all summer long, but we did get to go to my Grandpas in Colorado for his 75th birthday in July. We also were able to go to Montana for a week and spend time with my family. I do have pictures and I will post them later!
Now off to class!

Ahhh...Spring Break

2011-03-16T06:11:00.000-07:00

Well spring break is here and almost gone! I must say SLCC I have not missed you one bit!!! It has been such a nice break away.... although my homework is still staring at me this very moment I am happily ignoring it. I have been using my free time wisely. I spent a good four hours organizing my office. Can I just say I don't know how John found anything in there!?! How he lived without me is a frightening thought. I happily found the 2008 taxes that were MIA when we needed them this year and I am happy to say that it is officially organized.
One project down 500 projects to go! ah the joys of home-ownership
I have also been catching up on all my favorite tv shows the bachelor, glee, and supernatural! I love having free time, although it will not last.... I am dreading Monday when it is back to my ridiculous life of working 40 hours a week and taking 12 credit hours..... BOO!

Burlesque

2011-03-07T06:06:00.001-08:00

Can I just tell you I am in love with this movie!!! It is fantastic!! Cher looks amazing, and as always Christina is gorgeous! Its a must see.

A little late... But here was Christmas!

2011-02-25T21:46:00.000-08:00

So this post is extremely late! I just started a new job over the Thanksgiving holiday and I am taking 12 credit hours this semester, so life has been pretty crazy. I am happy to say that John is now only working 1 job and I am planning on starting nursing school in Fall of 2012!!
So we had a very nice holiday this year. It was so mellow. Last year was so hectic because all the big holiday dinners and what not were at my house. So I loved just showing up and enjoying the day. We spent some of the day with John's Dad and Stepmom and some of the day with my family.

Connor is getting so big, and he loves his Uncle John. They are so fun the watch!

Connor was really excited about opening gifts this year. He would open a gift and then set them in a neat little pile then go onto the next!

For Christmas Eve Andrew, Aleta, and Connor spent the night in Fairview with her family so John, Crystal, Mom, and I went to Tepanyaki's for dinner! We had a good time and had delicious food!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

We had a very low key Thanksgiving. It was SO nice! I didn't have to worry about making anything this year, I just showed up and enjoyed the food! It was awesome. Thanks Mom! Aleta made a gingerbread house and brought it up for us to decorate. Connor is getting so big!! He was very helpful, he also LOVED eating the candy. He is also going to be a big brother, my sister in law Aleta is pregnant and due in May.
I have been so excited for the holidays this year! I was jamming to Christmas music the beginning of November, and I had my Christmas tree up a week after Halloween!! I am a total nerd, but it has been so fun to have it up.
Happy Holidays everyone!

Connor & His Aunt Crystal

Decorating the gingerbread house... Looks yummy!

Beautiful!

Novebmer 13

2010-11-16T14:07:00.000-08:00

So on November 13, John and I had an AMAZING day! We went through the temple for the first time. We got up super early, ate a hardy Ihop breakfast, then we spent the day at the temple. We both got our endowments and then we were sealed. What an amazing experience. We had such a peaceful day and we were blessed to have so many people there that love and support us. After the temple and a few pictures, everyone went to Olive Garden to celebrate.
It was such a beautiful day!!!

Some amazing friends :)

The Durhams, love them to pieces

John's closest buddies and myself!

My amazing Brother and Sister-in-law

This is almost the whole group of people who came that day!!

Halloween!

2010-11-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

So I didn't take too many pics this year :( But we did actually dress up!! I hijacked my sisters costume, and John put his together. We had a little Halloween party, games and scary movies. Pretty low key! I must say the guys looked awesome in their costumes!

October

2010-10-28T15:57:00.001-07:00

So far this month has been pretty awesome. My cousin Cassandra got married Oct 1. It was awesome!! She looked gorgeous! I love weddings (that aren't mine ;) Then you get to spend so much more time with family and just hang out! Its great! I was also a bridesmaid, which was tons of fun! Congrats Cassandra & Bryce!

Here is Crystal & I on our dad's new motorcycle! Hot chicks I must say!

Next up.... Mom, Crystal, and I went to Sundance to ride the ski lift while the colors were changing. It was tons of fun, but actually really cold!! Of course I was an Idiot and wore flip flops and a hoodie. Needless to say we had tons of fun. I enjoyed tormenting mom, she didn't realize that she would be nervous riding the lift until we started going.

Last but not least is John's birthday! It was his 23rd birthday on Oct. 24. We had a party at our house on Saturday night. We rented the UFC fight (Which was AWESOME) and had friends and family over. I made homemade chili and cupcakes! Then on Sunday we went to my mom's house and she made one of his favorite dinners,roast and mashed potatoes. Mom also surprised him by making his favorite dessert chocolate cream pie. Happy Birthday JohN! To add one sour note after the birthday bash on Sunday night and Monday and some people into Tuesday... 9 people got super sick!! My little cousin had some kind of a bug and it was obviously super strong. So the majority of us spent the next couple of days hugging a toilet bowl!!! I am happy to say that everyone is recovered!

Hilarious!

2010-10-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

So the filming of the video is a little lame but the words to the song crack me up!

Temple

2010-09-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

So John and I are finally going through the temple! We are so excited. The date is set for Nov. 13 at the Draper Temple and we couldn't be more happy. It has been such an awesome journey up to this point, and we are really excited about the next step.

One

2010-09-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

Happy one year anniversary! (A few days late on my posting it was Sept 5) I can't believe its already 1 year. We have had a crazy year, so I am so happy to be where we are.

Hello!

2010-06-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

So I promise I have had nothing exciting to blog about. I am always 1 of 4 places, Work, School, W/ my mom & Sister, or Home doing homework/yardwork! But I will give ya an update anyway!
I have spent a lot of my time these last few months reminiscing about my wedding day. John & I have had a really rough start to our marriage and I just love looking back to a blissfully happy day. This is on of my most favorite pictures!

John is away working for the summer. I didn't see him for 2 months while he was in Cincinnati and then finally got to see him last week for a few days, now he is in Salem, OR. We have grown a lot together this year. There is nothing like a good struggle to either make or break your relationship and it has definitely strengthened us.
I have had family visits and birthdays and lots of little celebrations, but unfortunately I am a loser and never bring my camera with me.
Hopefully there will be more to post about soon!!!

Michael Buble!

2010-04-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! So Mom, Crystal & I went to Michael Buble. He is freaking AMAZING! He sounds just as great live as he does on his CD. He was so funny and smooth like butta(AKA Butter!) His opening act was great to. Naturally 7, an all acapella group. I can't even describe it but it seriously sounds like they are singing to music. I actually had the whole day off work and they both took the afternoon off. We drove up to SLC & went to Trolley Square, shopped around. Then we ate at this restaurant across from the SLC Library called Stoneground. It was so awesome! The food was oh so tasty and the atmosphere was so fuN! I totally recommend it. We had a blast I probably didn't go to bed until 1 and had to be back up and to work @ 8 the next morning, but it was so worth it. Thanks again Mom & Crystal for the Awesome birthday present! LOVE YA!!

All of us @ Stoneground.

We are nerdy I know. But we had tons of fuN!

Don't you love my necklace??? Yup Crystal made it. Isn't she awesome! She will be making more and putting them on her Etsy shop!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2010-02-23T20:26:00.001-08:00

Wow a post that is actually on time!! Yup today is my birthday and seeing as I don't have to go to work tomorrow I am actually going stay up to update my blog! Life has been pretty busy since my last post. I started school and that pretty much consumes my time. I am literally ALWAYS in the car. I drive 30 min to work and hour to class and then another 30 min home after class and my classes are 3 nights a week from 6-10. On top of that I am still working full time, have a calling @ church, Wow so this is what it feels like to have a schedule! I miss coming home after work and sitting on my butt. Ha Ha so I guess its a good thing that I am forced to do something.

For my birthday we actually celebrated the weekend before. My Grandpa & Darla stopped in so we got to hang out with them and play cards. On Saturday we went out to Los Hermanos for dinner. I got to open and early birthday gift.... OMG!! I totally didn't expect it as you can see by my spastic reaction! I opened the Fake-out box to find an extra fat copy of Michael Buble's new CD... hidden inside were tickets to his concert! I am so stinking exctied!!! So March 31, Mom, Crystal, and I are going to the concert in SLC. It will be a blast!

Ya I know I look pretty much crazy right here. A mixture of super excited/i don't know what but I was crying and laughing. Pretty awesome!

On Sunday Crystal made me a birthday day. My two specifications were Broccoli & Risotto. So she made Panko breaded lemon chicken, Broccoli lemon Risotto, Aleta made an awesome salad and then Crystal made red velvet Whoopie pies for dessert! Needless to say I totally overate and about died when I tried to work out that night, but it was sooo worth it!

My Dad & I @ Sunday dinner!

My Mom & I

And Connor, Can you believe how big he is? And of course Crystal, Andrew, Aleta, Grandpa, Darla, & John were there too I just didn't get any pictures w/ them!
Finally today was such a good day. Had great surprises in my mailbox for me to open. I had to go to work but it was surprisingly not too stressful! Plus the Docs bought me lunch @ Bajio & Magleby's sinful Chocolate cake :D!!! Thanks A BUNCH! So much for trying to drop some weight! Anyways, Got off work early and John met me w/ a gift of a Spa day... Pedicure, Massage & a facial. So hopefully tomorrow I will spend my day @ the spa! Then we went out to dinner @ Tepanyaki Steakhouse, which is always so much fun! I am proud to say I ate 90% of my dinner w/ chopsticks.

I have to say it has been an awesome birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped so much. John & I have had a pretty dang rough year so I am So grateful for everything. Thanks for an awesome Birthday #22!!!

Holidays

2010-01-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

The holidays were great. I am such a slacker at posting, I have not felt very exciting lately. For Thanksgiving we had dinner at our house. It was a early and pretty hectic day. My first big holiday dinner!! Everything went okay except John was in misery since we did not eat until 5:30, he is used to eating dinner at noon. We are still adjusting to each others traditions. Then a blur of work, and Christmas was already here. Grandpa and Darla were able to stay at my house for a week around Christmas. It was a lot of fun to have them so close. We went to see Sherlock Holmes, we had Christmas eve dinner at Mom's house then Christmas breakfast at Aleta and Andrew's house. Christmas day dinner was also at our house. This went so much more smooth! I realized I had to schedule things out and plan a little better to make things work! Now with the new year comes dieting, yup I am at the heaviest I have ever been and am disgusted!!UGH and School, I am going to start my prerequisites to go to nursing school. I am pretty excited! John is still working @ APX alarm and he is doing really well. That is my oh so exciting update! Hope everyone's holidays were great!

My first Christmas tree! It was lots of fun, a pain in the butt to take down though!

Connor and his Aunt Crystal

Yes I chopped my hair off again!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else feel like Halloween is not nearly as fun as it used to be? Now its just an excuse for me to go on a binge of candy, junk food, Mountain Dew, and watch scary movies. Don't get me wrong I did have a fun night with my family. Of course eating food and hanging out. We watched The Nightmare Before Christmas (favorite holiday combo!) and of course Hocus Pocus (I still cannot get over how young Sarah Jessica Parker is in that movie!)Finished of the night with Drag Me To Hell, actually not that scary of a movie but at least it was entertaining.
I think these are the first pics I have posted since I chopped my hair off! I actually cut it the day after we got back from the honeymoon, but my life is not too eventful so its taken a couple months to have a good pic.

John & Crystal being annoyed with each other as usual.

Connor looks like he is on a sugar high right here :D

Gorgeous girls! Crystal and my cousin Rachel

I love this pic of Mom & I!

Happy #22 John!

2009-10-25T21:07:00.001-07:00

So for John's birthday this year we rented the UFC fight and had a TON of junk food! I pretty much spent the day cooking and baking. I made caramel popcorn, 2 different birthday cakes, cookies, cornbread, and homemade chili. Mom, Crystal, and Aleta helped me out. Needless to say I ate way to much! We had a pretty decent crowd show up. My family and some of John's friends came over to enjoy the feast and watch the fight. It was so funny to watch Connor around all the "big boys." He was running around and screaming, he even started kicking things once the fight started. He is such the little boy now! The guys usually get all excited after the games and end up trying out their moves. Derek even got a bloody nose... Pretty eventful I must say. This year I made John a quilt. I think he was pretty excited. He spent the next day curled up on the couch with it!

I threw in a picture of our dog... He is so huge! And he is CRAZY! He is chewing up my back yard! I am so ready for him to be out of the puppy stage and mellow out... I will just keep hoping!!

Honeymoon!

2009-10-11T23:33:00.001-07:00

So the wedding was great! Everything I thought it would be, and it went so much smoother than I could have asked for. I am still waiting on the disk so those pictures will come soon! So for the Honeymoon we went on a 7day cruise to Mexico, we stopped in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerta Vallarta. So great, we had a blast. John had never been on a cruise before, all I had to mention was the food and he was in!

This is our ship, the Mariner of the Seas

In Cabo we held this 8 week old tiger. So adorable, but I think it wanted to eat me! The thing loved John be kept growling at me. Pretty scary I am not going to lie!

In Mazatlan in front of this Gorgeous cathedral. I love old buildings like castles and cathedrals the art is amazing. This one in particular I think was built in the 1300s and was just awesome.

The beaches in Mazatlan were PERFECT! John was in heaven. It was like jumping into bathwater and the sand was amazing. They even let us use towels and facilities @ this resort, we could use their pool and everything. Pretty awesome I must say.

At the dinner table. Of course the food was amazing. I spent the week after the trip being starving! I ate WAY too much, plus they had an Indian dish every night on the menu. I had it pretty much every night, plus our waiter would bring us an extra curry or something. WOW!

In Puerta Vallarta we did an excursion through the cruise line. We did a Jeep tour. We had a caravan and drove all over. We did a little off-roading which explains the sweet bandannas. It was great, we went to a little village w/ no electricity just a simple life. Then we went to a tequila factory and saw how they made tequila. They fed us some amazing lunch then we hit the beach for a couple hours. It was just like being in America. They had a wal-mart ( they were building 2 more!) and they had a Sams Club and a Costco. The hotels and resorts looked beautiful. It was definitely a tourist hot spot.

The last couple days on the ship were just relaxing. John bought me some beautiful flowers! Just a great trip!
We did have some upsetting news once we got home. 2 days later John's boss called him and told him he had no more work! UGH! What a great wedding gift. So we have had some struggles! He has another job now and we actually have a really great opportunity to start an insurance agency w/ Farmers. It feels like a blessing in disguise. I think its a trial we needed to go through. A month later things are defiantly more calm.

Bridals

2009-09-03T01:30:00.000-07:00

Ya... So the wedding is kind of consuming my life right now. We did get the Bridal's taken, and of course they are amazing. I just love our photographers they are awesome! Only 3 more days and John & I will FINALLY be married, after 4 1/2 years it just feels right! More importantly, we both need a vacation desprately. Enjoy the pics!

I am sure we will have plenty of pics from the wedding and honeymoon. So I promise I will keep up on my bloggin duties!

Engagements!

2009-06-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

We finally got our disc! These are just a few of my favorites. Only 2 more months until the big day!

Wow I am a blog slacker!

2009-05-18T21:18:00.001-07:00

I don't know if anyone actually reads my blog, but I still feel bad not updating since March!! I guess I am not that exciting. Wedding plans are still plugging along. John & I took our engagement pictures this month. So when I get my disc I will make sure I do a post. I can't wait to see them myself!

A quick update, Connor turns 1 on May 21.. so that is coming up in the next couple of days. He is walking and talking just a little bit. He is still the highlight of all of our lives right now.

Grandpa & Darla made a quick trip to our house for a couple of nights. The first night they were here we played cards and Mom & I made caramel popcorn. We were sitting there eating it and Grandpa's tooth broke!!! The next day he ended up at my office getting the tooth pulled!! I felt so bad, not the best way to start of your vacation. I was so happy that they came and stayed with us though, it was a little strange having my grandpa be on the receiving end of what I do everyday though.

Andrew, Aleta, Grandpa Averill, Darla, & Connor

Connor & His Great Grandpa Averill

We are always finding new ways to entertain the little guy, bubbles were a great idea. I think we were more entertained that he was!

Erick stopped in for a visit as well. Again we played a lot of games. We had so much fun! He had a butt kicking training the next day though, hopefully we did not wear him out too much!

Had to post an updated picture of my dog! He is actually so much bigger than this now, but I just love him to pieces.

Connor is walking now!

The newest early Birthday gift. Nobody can seem to wait to give him his new gifts. He loved the sand box though!

A new pic of Crystal & I.

Happy 51 Mom! Yup I made the cake. It was pretty good! Funny story Crystal & I have used that cake storage thing for months and we could never figure out why the lid never sealed... Oh ya we were putting the cake on the wrong side of the platform. Yup we are super smart!

Las Vegas!

2009-03-19T18:59:00.001-07:00

I am a little late on this post... our trip was the very beginning of March. Someday I will start blogging on time. We had a combination B-day trip for me & my cousin Andrea. There were 6 of us that went down to Vegas. I think I got a total of 10 hours of sleep the whole weekend. We went to shows and walked the strip. We piled all 6 of us in my Honda civic and drove to Freemont street. It was cool to see the old part of Vegas, plus I got an amazing knock of purse :D Yup I am too cheap to buy a real one but its an adorable pink snake skin guess bag. I had so much fun being with the girls and we decided it has to be a yearly tradition to get away with the ladies.

This was our last night in Vegas, We pulled an all-nighter! Andrea, Darcie, & Terri had to be at the airport by like 4 so we stayed up all night. We were definitely a little delirious by the end of the night.

This was @ the cirque de solei show! A little weird but definitely entertaining.

Andrea & I in front of the Mandalay Bay event center. Sadly there was not a UFC fight that weekend. Although our significant others would have left us if we went without them...Next time for sure!

Crystal & I on Freemont street. A little provocative....

The whole crew! We were somewhere between the Venetian and the Palazzo hotel. They have this amazing waterfall.

Crystal & I showing a little sisterly love.

Terri, Andrea, and Darcie. This was the day we walked what felt like 20 miles. My legs were so sore.

Mom & I, such a good pic I love this one!

This was me putting my first money ever into a slot. I am definitely not a gambling woman. I did save my cashout voucher, I won a whole 22 cents. Woo Hoo! Needless to say I wont be quitting my day job. I will just be leaving the gambling to John.

Happy 21st Birthday to ME!

2009-02-24T13:41:00.000-08:00

I was lucky this year I had a Birth-week! On Saturday we went to a movie and celebrated at California Pizza Kitchen with most of my family, then we came back to the house for presents. Then on Sunday Dad, Andrew, Aleta, & John came over for dinner. Aleta surprised me by making me a cake. It was beautiful and oh so tasty!! Connor hated the candles! He was on my lap while I was blowing the candles out and he kept leaning away. You can kind of see him in the pictures. What a cutie! Later we watched Madagascar 2. He kept laughing and dancing it was adorable I have a couple videos of him dancing. It was funnier to see everyone else trying to get him to dance though! Connor was actually Dancing to the beat though... it was so much fun.
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Then on Monday (My actual Birthday) I had to work (BUMMER) it was not too bad. Mom and Crystal had flowers deliverd to me. My favorite Gerber Daisies. At work the girls surprised me with lunch, it was so nice! Then later on we went up to the Cheesecake Factory, which is now my very favorite restauraunt. I forgot to mention all these nights I was not getting to bed early enough so I was so tired I was already 2 coffee trips into the day by the time we got home from dinner to open more gifts. I think the first few pictures I look normal, but I started to get so loopy. It made for lots of fun though! Just Mom, Crystal, John, and I were together on my birthday. It was such a blast. I appreciate everyone so much! Birthdays when you are older are not quite as fun as they used to be but this one tops the charts. Plus next week we are off to Vegas... I am sure I will have lots of fun pictures to post

My cute family

2009-01-27T22:00:00.001-08:00

These pictures are from the Saturday we spent trying on wedding dresses. Mom, Crystal, and my cute adopted Grandma Lucille came with me to share in the moment. Is was an emotional, exhausting day!! But so much fun. We did take pictures of me in some of the dresses but I will post them at another day. I want John to wait to see me in a wedding dress! (I know I am a cheese ball!)
I have to throw in a Connor video. He is laughing so good now. He was having a ball that night! He turned 8 months on the 21st, and Aleta says he is close to 20lbs. We get to babysit him usually once a week. Its been so much fun. He is army crawling now, and he loves to move around. What a busy boy!

I'm Back!

2009-01-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed in my last few posts I decided to go blonde! After about 4 months and 6 inches of fried off hair I realized blonde hair is not for me. So now I am back to myself again. I missed my brown hair so much!! Here is my before and afters.... brown hair is definately me!

I am engaged!!!! and I have a new Puppy!

2009-01-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

Yup thats right John and I will be tying the knot! We went out to the Bombay house for dinner on New Years Eve. It was totally casual I had no idea what was going on. We ate our dinner and talked nothing out of the ordinary. Then when we got our check I started scooting out of the bench to leave and John said," Wait a minute, I've got a question for ya." I just sat there dumbfounded. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him and I just said, "Are you serious?" ha ha Then if you know me very well as you might have expected i started crying and I could not get the smile off my face. The ring is amazing!!! He did such a good job. It was so unexpected, props to John and his sneakiness!

We also got a puppy the Saturday after Christmas. His name is Ace and he is a boxer. He is so adorable! I am having so much fun.

Update....

2008-12-14T19:13:00.000-08:00

I have not been a good Blogger lately!!! News John bought a house for us to live in!!! (Don't

worry I am not moving in yet!!) We are planning to get married in September 2009(Not official just tentative), so I will have lots of time to have fun getting it ready. It is in Lehi, just off the 1200 West exit. I have a lame picture of the outside, my inside pictures don't do it justice!

We are pretty DARN excited!!!

Next up Thanksgiving. It was a blast Grandpa & Darla came up the Wednesday before, and spent time with the family, Andrew, Aleta, and the baby were there as well. I did get up at 4am on Black friday and did the INSANE shopping thing but it was still a blast. It was just so extremely nice to be away from work for a while.. I am so looking forward to the Christmas time off!!

Yes our little guy discovered the Kitties... he loves screaming at them its hilarious. He is still not crawling so he just rolls around and grins at them.

This weekend Connor had his first sleepover away from Mom & Dad. He did so great. It was a lot of fun, really strange to wake up at night with a baby though. Andrew and Aleta went to a work Christmas party and Stayed at the Little America in SLC. Crystal and I got the girls ready doing hair and Make up on Saturday. They look gorgeous! We sure played though. Our adopted Grandma Lucille stayed with us this weekend and got in some good baby time. It was thie first time I was around when we gave Connor a bath. He is just too cute. I am a proud Auntie! My favorite thing is to watch Connor and John together, He loves John. He gets the biggest brightest eyes and just giggles its adorable.

Connor got his first tooth this weekend! One on the bottom and the second looks like it working through. He is rolling all over and sitting up on his own. December 21 he will be 7 months old and tipping that scales at over 17 pounds. I just love him to pieces!!

Connor and Grandpa Jeff!! He loves Grandpa's Scruff!

We love you Lucille!

Making cereal messes at the bottom of his sweet potatoes he started getting that gags... I don't blame ya buddy they look pretty nasty!

Can you believe those eyes?
I hope everyone had a good holiday and is having fun getty ready for the up and coming Christmas!

The quiz

2008-12-01T20:19:00.000-08:00

I just took the twilight quiz... I think its very fitting

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Movie Watch

2008-11-27T11:29:00.000-08:00

Two amazing Must see movies!! Twilight of course I love love loved it! I have not read the books (I am still working on Harry Potter...) But the movie was great. I loved the actors loved the story, so cute and romantic! I am totally going again. And of course James Bond!! Daniel Craig... Whoa HOTTIE! He is rugged and fantastic.

What a Month!

2008-11-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

Yes... finally an update! What a crazy month. Well at least the past few weeks. The 24th was John's birthday. The big 21... now he is a legal gambling man! On his birthday we ate at the Bombay house, our favorite restraunt. Then I took him to Saw V... ya I know its pretty disgusting, but they are his favorite. I must say I was surprised it was not quite as grusome as the first 4 haha. He loved it then I surprised him on Saturday by throwing a little b-day bash and renting the UFC fight (which was amazing!) We had some friends, some pizza, and of course cupcakes.
Then for Halloween Crystal dressed up as a peacock and Mom dressed up as a black widow. I of course had to wear scrubs. I did deck myself out w/ some orange jewelry and an orange undershirt. I stopped by Mom's work on the way home and saw all the girls costumes. Other than that we just spent a quiet night at home. Kathy Manly, Andrew, Aleta, and the baby all stopped by. Connor was such a doll as a tiger! I just can't get enough of that kid.
All in all it been a good month. Hopefully November will be a little slower(not likely)...

Cutest little Nephew EVER!

2008-10-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

Connor has started laughing... so of course I caught a video! He is almost 5 months. What a doll!

CATS

2008-09-24T16:07:00.001-07:00

So Mom, Crystal, and I got tickets to see CATS at the Capitol theater. I must say I am surprised it was the longest running play on Broadway. Definitely a weird one, I was confused a lot! But at least we got the experience. We had a really fun dinner at BenniHanna before the play. I recommend it the food was great!

I had gone boating with work earlier that day. Seriously, I got home at 4 showered, straightened my hair, put on makeup, got dressed, and was out the door by 4:45. Now thats impressive!

Thanks Mom & Crystal for a fun night!

Can you believe it?!?

2008-09-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

On Sept. 21 Connor will be 4 months old... it is so strange to me how fast time flies when there is a baby around. Needless to say I am still loving being an Aunt. It brings out the inner mommy in me. He is just growing and changing, and chunking up if you can't tell.

Getting a little Grandma Love

He loves sitting up on the couch like that, it is so cute.

As you can see when he comes to Grandma's house he is definately not lacking in attention. There is just something so special about having a little guy around. I am very excited to have my own kids...

I just can't get enough Connor

MONTANA

2008-08-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

I think this has been my summer of vacations. John and I made a trip to Montana to see my Aunt Darcie and Uncle Dennis. John had been to MT once a long time ago, so he definately enjoyed the drive. We drove throught ID and a place called Island Park. Island Park is BEAUTIFUL! He decided someday we have to have a cabin there.

While we were in MT we spent time the family Grandpa and Darla were there, also Andrea and the boys came to spend the night, and Erick as well. We played a lot of cards and had a lot of late nights. It is so much fun to get all the family together. John was definatley initiated into the family. We also played golf on Friday ( it was my first time and I LOVED IT!!) It was so nice to get away from the fast paced life that we have here, and go somewhere that is so mellow. I would love to live in MT it is gorgeous there. The winter is pretty tough, but the summer makes it worth it.

So on the way home we stopped at Bear World near Rexburg, ID. It is a wild animal park that you drive through and there are elk and wolves and obviously lots of bears just wandering around. They show you a bunch of pictures with the bears climbing into truck beds and standing on cars, they have broken through windows. I was pretty nervous since we were driving my new car through the park, but we survived with no bear encounters. Its so weird to drive by a bear 2 feet away from ya though. It was so hard to get a good picture because they told you don't stop your car because that is what interests them and thats when they come and jump on your car. So my pictures don't show how cool it really was. The park also had a petting zoo and they had 6 baby bears that you could bottle feed. We didn't feed them but we watched and it was so cute. I definately recommend stopping in next time ya drive by.

What an awesome weekend!

2008-08-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

So I took some time off of work and the Durham clan came to stay. I always love when they come its such a blast! On Thursday Madison & Dallin stuck around with me and we baked cookies and went grocery shopping. I enjoyed the company...I hope they did too!

Friday we made a stop at the DUP museum up by the capitol. Surprisingly it was really cool. Don't get me wrong I love a museum, but I was pleasantly surprised. I suggest a visit! We did the school shopping as well. Boys are awesome to shop for I must say. The best thing was on Saturday Me, Mom, Dana, Jeff, and the kids went up to Boondocks. I had been there before with some friends but It was so much fun with the kids. We started off with the bumper boats....bad idea we all got SOAKED. The picture of all of us does not even show it I was dripping for at least an hour, but the kids loved it. We played mini golf, and rode in go karts, played in the arcade, and my personal favorite we played laser tag. The best part is that we got our tickets at Costco and it was so CHEAP!

Andrew and Aleta and Connor came over a couple times this weekend. So of course I have to throw in a couple pictures of my adorable little nephew. He is changing so much and his smile just melts my heart. He is a doll I must say.

Happy Pioneer Day!

2008-07-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

So I decided to be ambitious this weekend and I painted my bedroom. It is so much harder to paint with all your furniture still there. I used to have just one grey wall, so I wanted to brighten it up a bit... I still have not decided if I like it, but its too late now. So I spent Wednesday night into Thursday morning painting and moving my big furniture by myself! I am so sore.

Later Andrew, Aleta, Connor, and a good friend Kathy came over for dinner. We BBQ burgers and had fun with the baby of course. I got a video of him smiling and he is just too cute. I am enjoying being an Aunt so much. Its been fun because the last couple times Connor has been over he is fascinated by me. He will smile for me and just stare at me, I love it! I hope everyone else had a great holiday too!

Our little guy

2008-07-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Connor is almost 8 weeks old! I can't believe it. He is starting to be his own little person. Personally, I think he is just like Andrew.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-07T03:58:00.000-07:00

I drove to Vernal on Wednesday and stayed with Dana, Jeff, and the kids. It was fun to bum around Vernal for a few days. It is not even the same place anymore. They built a new Rec center, and we watched the kid's swimming lessons, then on the 4th we went swimming there. Its a really nice place. The kids are getting so big Dakota turned 10 on the 4th, Madi is 8, and Dallin is 6. On the 4th we went to the parade and tried to go to the lake but they were packed, so we went to the rec center. Later that night we went to Dana's parents house and had dinner and watched fire works with the whole clan. When we were lighting off our own fire works all the kids and grandkids were sitting on the hill and as soon as they would start to spark high there little heads woudld disappear. Then a minute later they would pop up. It was like watching little rabbits. It was a lot of fun. Definately hard to leave though. I drove home on Saturday night to make it back for Connor's blessing. I didn't leave Vernal until 10!! I have never driven Daniels alone in the dark like that, it was definitely an experience.
On Sunday Connor was blessed. Andrew did so well. He is such a spiritual guy. Connor is starting to fatten up. He is over 7lbs now, and he is becoming his own little person. It was a nice afternoon with all the family. We went back to Andrew & Aleta's house for lunch and were able to just hang out with everyone, and of course snuggle the baby.

Congrats Angie & Keith

2008-06-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

June 28 John's aunt Angie got married in Montrose, CO. We made a trip out and we were able to catch up with all the familes. Its such a coincidence that both our familes are from the same areas. We stopped in Fruita and saw my Grandpa and Darla. We had a lunch at Golden Coral, needless to say I was stuffed until almost midnight that night. After our stop their we went to Clifton and saw John's other Aunt Sue and Uncle Dave. I have only met them one other time, but they are always so nice. Its great to be able to just come into someones home and feel welcome. After driving around we finally made it to Angies house about 9:30(We started our trip at 8am! haha) The wedding was at the Bridges country club in Montrose, and it was beautiful! The ceremony was outside overlooking the golf course then the reception was in the ballroom. There was great food music and everything. Not to mention I got to speak to Goose Gossage who is being inducted into the MLB hall of fame this month. He was a really nice guy. Then we spent the evening with John's Grandma Elaine who I found out lived in the same place and my Grandma and she knew my Grandma. What a small world! Then Sunday we did the rounds again, back up to Fruita had lunch with my family then we went back to Junction and saw another relative of John's, Wes. I just wish we had more time to spend with everyone. Too many great people, too little time.

Happy Birthday Crystal!

2008-06-23T21:29:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday big sis!... I think we had a pretty good time. On the 18th we had a girls night, crystal, mom and I. Instead of cake we shared some cream puffs, went to a movie, and took it easy.
This is the awesome jewlery Mom and I bought Crystal in Mexico. We looked around all over but this set was the coolest!

Of course Connor is our main attention at every family event now! Not quite up to trying our favorite Indian cuisine, but as usual he is still just adorable.

So I attempted another cake... and it actually turned out cute this time. I always do something to screw up cakes when I decorate them. So I was SO excited to make a cake the looked good. I can cook, but I am not a gifted baker.

John freaking out as usual... but ya gotta love him.

On Saturday we went out with the whole family (minus Dad... he is in Oregon) and ate some spicy indian food and went to Get smart... all in all a pretty fun night.

Well I hope you had an awesome day Crystal I love ya! Until next year... Happy Birthday!

Tagged

2008-06-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

20 years ago...
1. I was coming up on my 1 year birthday
2. probably crawling around
3. I was super Chubby!
10 years ago...
1. I am pretty sure I was in 4th grade
2. I did a really good job at annoying my older brother and sister
3. Always counting down the days to summer, I loved riding my bike
5 years ago...
1. I was going to drivers ed working for my drivers license
2. Getting into trouble like most teenagers
3. I was working at Bellismo cafe', boosting up my caffine addiction
3 years ago...
1. I was graduating early from High School
2. Going to school for Dental Assisting
3. Been dating John for a little while.
1 year ago...
1. I started working at Utah Surgical Arts as a Surgical Assistant
2. I bought a house
3. I bought a bedroom set that I absolutely LOVE!
So far this year...
1. I bought a new car
2. John and I will be dating 4 years this January
3. I am a new Aunt and I love it!
Yesterday...
1. I went shopping... Of course
2. We celebrated my sisters Birthday(Future Post to come!)and ate Indian food at my favorite, the Bombay House
3. I went to the movie Get Smart, which was really funny
Today...
1. Went to church, it was a killer to get up this morning
2. Watched a couple of disney movies
3. Attempted to lay in the sun to catch some rays but it was WAY TOO hot
Tommorrow...
1. Back to work!
2. I am going to cook dinner, probably Aussie Chicken
3. Spend my night w/ John and the Family
Next year...
1. John and I are planning on getting engaged
2. Working at Utah Surgical Arts
3. Keeping a work out regimine for once!
I Tag Crystal, Mom, Vanessa, Shalayne, Ashley & Holly

Happy Fathers Day!

2008-06-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

We had everyone over for Fathers day and had a combo Birthday/Fathers Day party since it was my Dad's Birthday on Friday. Crystal made another ice cream filled cake. I must say Crystal you did an awesome job it looked really good and was SO tasty! I love Sundays like today, so relaxed and lots of fun with all the family around. Andrew and Aleta came over with the baby as well, so we'll give ya a little baby update and some adorable pictures! He lost a little weight so they started supplementing with formula and he is bulking up now. He is definately getting the hang of breast feeding though. Its been so fun, everytime I see him he is so much more alert. On Saturday night I talked to him for probably 20 min and he just looked at me and looked around. He really liked John's voice (I think he just likes looking at him!) Kids love his cute ears. He is just a trooper, he gets passed around and played with more than he likes I am sure. I am definately still loving the life of an Aunt. Happy Fathers day to all you Dads! And Happy 51st Dad!

SATC

2008-06-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

So I went to Sex and the City the movie opening night... AND LOVED IT!!! I laughed and cried, it was amazing. Of course the clothes and shoes were amazing, but it was the best movie! I am planning on going again this week and defiantely adding it to my collection!!

Baby update!

2008-06-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

Connor is doing pretty good. He was a little jaundice and had to be under the lights for a day or so. He went in on Friday to be weighed and he has lost some weight, almost a pound so they are talking about supplementing with formula to help him gain weight. He is sleeping well during the day, but not at night. He is just changing all the time. He makes all these faces that remind me so much of Andrew. He is almost 3 weeks old, and we are having so much fun.

My new car!!

2008-06-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

I finally got a new car... and I LOVE IT!! It has been so nice to have a car that is new enough that it does not smell like anyone else but ME! My old car was gross, so I am loving life. Isn't she cute?

Introducing!

2008-05-25T21:38:00.001-07:00

Introducing Connor Allan Smith

He was born May 21 in the early afternoon 5 lbs and 11oz and 17 inches long!

I just love him so much already!

The baby is here!

2008-05-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

I am an Aunt now! I am so excited. He is just the sweetest little guy! So this moring around 3 Aleta felt like she was going into labor so they went into the hopsital and they told her she was 100% efaced but only dialated to a 2 1/2 or a 3, so they sent her home with some medicine to help with the pain. Later that morning she felt her water break and they hurried up to the hospital. Meanwhile we were all rushing to meet them there. Once they arrived at the hospital she got checked by a nurse and she was already dialated to a 9. They got her the epideral and let her settle in for a while. When the checked her again she was dialated to a 10! She started pushing about 12:30 and within the hour he was here. It was a pretty emotional day. I don't think I realized the excitement of it all. I am just so happy that he is here and I can't wait to get to know him. They still have not decided on a name, they are debating between Conner, Tanner, and Erick and who knows could be something totally different. I think he looks just like Andrew's baby pictures. I could just go on about how cute I think he is, but I will let you look at the pictures and see the newest edition to our family!

Aleta is 37 weeks!

2008-05-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

Aleta will be 37 weeks tomorrow! She said last night she was having "uncomfortable" contractions for almost 2 hours. They thought she was in labor, but they stopped. They have been taking lots of walks, so maybe this week I will finally be an Aunt! She has grown a lot since her last pictures, her belly gets so hard when she is having contractions. I don't think I have ever been close with someone who is pregnant. It has been so fun.

Any day now!

2008-05-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well Aleta went off the medicine to stop her contractions on May 12. We had a baby shower on the 10th, I think she is pretty much set. We are just so excited for the baby to get here. Her official due date is June 5th (I think) So really anytime she could go into labor, but we are just hoping he gets a little more time in there. It was so much fun Darcie and Dennis made a trip down for the shower. The guys went golfing, except for Andrew he had to work. Well I will keep you posted!

Cruise To MEXICO

2008-05-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

We finally went on our cruise! I felt like it would never happen. We flew to San Diego on April 28th and we flew home on May 3rd. We stopped in Cabo San Lucas and Ensanada Mexico, and we also celbrated Mom's 50th birthday on the ship. We were on the Carnival Elation, this ship had 12 floors it was HUGE! There was amazing food available 24/7 and you can have as much as you want. Needless to say we enjoyed the buffets to their fullest extent! They told us you usually gain 3-7 pounds over the cruise. I think we both did! We ate in the imagination dining room every night. It was one of those fancy restraunts with 4 forks, 3 spoons, etc. I think I caught on after the first few days. We had the same waitor every night, and he had a little crush on me. He would always put his hand on my back and call me senorita. Made for a very fun trip though. I have never felt more pampered in all my life! They made our beds cleaned our rooms and straightened up all our stuff every morning then every night they would turn down our beds put chocolate on them and leave out a new itinerary for the next day. They also made a different animal out of towels every night. We went to shows every night with singing and dancing Vegas showgirl kind of shows and they had 2 different comedians come on. There were bands and dancing and a hundred things going on all the time, and of course the buffets were always open! We attempted to snorkel in Cabo, big mistake. It was a joke but we had a great time trying. I think we laughed and relaxed more on this trip than we ever have before. We did lots of shopping and I had several marriage proposals along the way. For some reason Hispanic men are very attracted to me. We did the coolest thing in Cabo, we walked by some zoo representatives and they were raising money for the zoo and they had a 6wk old baby lion that we got to hold and take pictures with. She was adorable and she snuggled right up and fell asleep. It was an amazing experiance! Mom and I got hot stone massages on her birthday. We werent really thinking when we scheduled them cause we were already sun burned by Thursday and it was a little uncomfortable still felt amazing though, but when we got back I had set it up so the staff would decorate our room for Mom's birthday so it was a nice surprise for her. I also got the cute Australian cruise director to wish her a happy birthday in the big show lounge. I think she had a great day. In Ensanada we toured the area then went to a restraunt called Mango Mango and made our lunch of Salsa, Guacamole, Tamales, and Tostadas. The chef that hosted it was hilarious, we had such a great time. Also in Ensanada during the tour be drove by the bay and the origial Black Pearl from the first Pirates of the Carribean movie was stationed there. We took lots of picutres! We met some amazing people and got really close with one of the couples at our dinner table. Our dinner table sat 10 people and we sat with the same people every night, 2 older couples, a couple of honeymooners and a couple celebrating their 25th anniversary. It was just so fun to wander around the ship and meet people from all around the world. There were over 2,400 guests and over 900 staff representing over 50 countries. It never felt like there were that many people on the ship though. People seemed extra friendly, maybe its cause we were together for 5 days. We are planning on going again very soon. It was worth every penny. I can't wait to go again. Mom had a very special birthday and I had an amazing vacation. Really relaxing and so much fun.

Hudson's Birthday Party

2008-04-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

We all went to Nichole's mom's house for Hudson's 3rd Birthday! He was so excited I could barely get a picture that was not blurry. They are not living in Hawaii anymore, so it is a little easier to make trips. We were all so excited to see them. I had never seen Hunter before, he is so adorable. A little cuddle bug. John even snuck in some baby time. Its been a really long time since we saw all the family it was good to catch up with everyone. Erick seems to really love recruiting. Its tough to get people in, but he has the gift!

32 weeks!

2008-04-13T21:26:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow Aleta will be 32 weeks. Only 8 weeks left. She is still having contractions but she is just staying on the medication and taking it easy. She says he is really active at night kicking around, I still have not felt him yet. We leave for our cruise in 15 days. I can't wait! The weekends are just not long enough anymore I am ready for a real break.

ITS SNOWING!

2008-03-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

I can't belive it! March is almost over and it is snowing! We put the cats outside this morning, they are definately pampered inside kitties. They were begging to come inside. Now I really can't wait to go on our cruise, we leave April 28 and fly into San Diego and we will be spending 5 days in the sun!

Baby News

2008-03-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night Aleta started having contractions and they did not stop, so she went to the hospital and got a prescription to stop them. On Thursday they started again and the prescription was not helping so she called her doctor and he told her just to go to the hospital get checked in so he can monitor her for 24 hours. They still have not stopped and they started giving her steroids to develop the baby's lungs in case he comes early. She still has 10 weeks left. She is home now, on orders just to take it easy. She can still go to work, but when she feels tired she just needs to go home.

6 Months

2008-03-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

As of March 9th Aleta is 6 months along! Only 3 months until the baby is here. I know I can't wait! I am so excited to be an Aunt!

Happy 20th Birthday to me!

2008-02-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

Well I made it. Officially no more teenagers in the family! It is kind of strange I have not felt like a teenager for a long time so now I guess it is official. At work on Friday the Docs always buy us lunch but it was my choice, we ordered from one of my favorite restaurants and they also got me a cold stone ice cream cake. It was so much fun. Towards the end of the day it got kind of crazy and i kept getting told i needed to come up front for just a minute, I was going crazy running around and when I made it up front I had a special delivery of balloons and flowers from Mom, Crystal, and Andrew. Then on Saturday we just had a relaxing morning, John bought me some roses as well.

Later that evening John took me up to Salt Lake we ate dinner at the Dodo restaurant and we went to Kat Williams at Kingsbury Hall. I have never been to a comedian before. It was a different experience but definately a lot of fun. On Sunday Dad, Andrew, Aleta, Crystal, Chris, and John came over for dinner, cake and gifts. Crystal worked really hard to make me an awesome cake. She definately succeeded. It was great! I always love to get together with the family and have dinner. We also surprised my Dad with an early (very very early) birthday gift. We all pitched in and bought him and Ipod. He was so excited it was great! All in all I had a great Birthday weekend. Thanks everyone!! This was getting home after the comedian on Saturday we didn't make it home until 1:30. We were looking pretty tired.

We took a lot of pictures with the family. Chris and I being silly like always!

Pictures with mom and dad, Crystal and I, and brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and of course John!

Having Fun With the family!

2008-02-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

John's mom Linda and his sister Nicole spent the night in Provo. We had a lot of fun being goofy, playing with the camera. We went to dinner and the restraunt was packed so it was a lot of fun to just relax back at the motel.

Aleta & Andrew

2008-02-16T23:09:00.000-08:00

Aleta will be 24 weeks along on the 18th of February. She is excited to be more than half way there. They are expecting a boy in June. I cannot wait to meet him! I think she looks so cute, I love pregnant bellies! The top two names right now are Caleb Allen and Parker Allen, nothing for sure yet.

Just hanging around

2008-02-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

Silly kitty Toby!

3 years!!

2008-02-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

January 29 was our 3 year anniversary. I had planned for us to get massages and the day before the spa called and someone had a tonsil emergency. Luckily the same day at work one of the Doctors I work for had a couple extra Jazz tickets. So my date plan was saved.

John's 20th Birthday

2008-02-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

I am trying to catch up! John turned 20 on October 24. I made him steak and mashed potatoes! He loved it. I love CPK's tirimasu so I ran out to buy him one , as you can see he was not impressed. But we had a lot of fun, just a quiet night at home.

Happy Birthday Chris

2008-02-10T13:21:00.001-08:00

I tried making a scottish dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding, for my brother-in-law Chris....It was very interesting!

My First Blog!

2007-12-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

I hope I can figure this out!