Koby, Mandy, & Emi

This is the house that WE built...

2012-01-12T16:20:00.009-07:00

Ok, ok we did not build our house, but you know when you make something or build something and you just feel so dang proud? That is how Koby and I are feeling (I'm pretty sure Koby is feeling this way anyway:)) after one of our weekend projects. See if you can spot the difference in these photos.

Can you see it? Our counter tops were horrible. White with fork marks and some chips and SO easy to stain. I did not like them from the moment we moved in. Koby was looking around at stuff and found a counter top kit. You sand, wash, paint, spray, sprinkle, let dry (12 hours), scrape, sand, vacuum, paint, let dry (48 hours), and you are done! It was a lot more hard labor than Koby had anticipated, but we love the results! Don't worry I didn't make him do all the work, but I definitely didn't do the amount he did. Koby also replaced all the door knobs and light fixtures in our house from gold to brushed nickel. It looks so nice!! We had enough of the counter top stuff leftover so we did our upstairs small bathroom counter top as well.

Oh, and this is what Emi looks like when she chooses what she wears! LOL!! She even posed herself:)

This is what I look like 6 months or 27 weeks pregnant! I know I look so big, at least I feel like I look so big!! Not my favorite pic of myself but it will have to do:)

Our Christmas

2012-01-03T11:27:00.008-07:00

We had all of our usual Christmas parties, a long with a few birthday parties. Our first party was Koby's work party. He won a Barbacoa (sp?) gift card oh yeah and an ipad!!! I still can't believe he won it, not that he's not lucky or anything. It was pretty awesome, but how do you follow up an ipad? It probably made Christmas a little less exciting for him. Anyway, Koby's parents took all of us to a breakfast with Santa. Let me just say this to anyone that doesn't know Emi real well, she doesn't do well around men-not even her grandpas or uncles.

After breakfast they called up each table to sit on Santa's lap. I decided that we might as well act like Santa is a good guy and just set her on his lap. She FREAKED! So I sat with her and got our picture taken. LOL! My face is bright red and she is screaming! We all had fun anyway:)

We were able to help celebrate Kate's birthday in Logan and then make it back in time for the Bawden Christmas party that night. The Friday before Christmas we got to celebrate Landon's birthday. The next day, being Christmas Eve, was not such a good day at our house. Well, I wasn't feeling so hot. My stomach hurt so bad. I took two bites of my cereal and had to lay down. Later, an hour or two before we had to leave I threw-up the toast so lovingly made for me by Koby. I felt a little bit better and then we got to Koby's parent's house and I started not feeling so good. Koby's sister Jen took really good care of me and everyone was really nice to let me take over the couch til I felt well enough to sit up. After sending off our red balloons for Jesus' birthday or to someone in Heaven that we love, we went inside and opened up our gifts.

After gifts we headed around the corner and down the street to my parent's house. I still was not feeling good so I watched while everyone else "acted" out the Nativity. We opened presents and watched the kids play for a bit. Soon after we got home I threw-up again.

Christmas day turned out to be a lot better than Christmas Eve. We came down and opened our Jesus presents (a present that is church oriented) and then headed into the kitchen to make breakfast. We got Emi a little table and chairs and had it set up in there. She loved and was grining ear to ear!

While breakfast was cooking Emi got to see what Santa brought her. She got a little indoor slide and a couch.

She absolutely loved them! She got puffs in her stocking which she ate like candy (they lasted about 2 days), some color wonder markers and paper, and some other things. Koby and I gave her clothes, big legos, boots, and a babydoll stroller. She was so cute with her doll in the stroller, but then she thought it was her turn to ride:) We were so blessed this Christmas and are so thankful that we were able to see all of our grandparents and almost all of our families at this special time of year! We are so grateful for the greatest gift that our Heavenly Father has given us in the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

2011-10-25T13:07:00.010-06:00

Emi is going to be Little Red Riding Hood this year for Halloween. We had our first Halloween party on Wednesday at Koby's parent's house. She was SO dang cute in her costume!! I made it myself, which I'm pretty proud about. For the Halloween party the kids all get in their costumes and have a costume parade. Emi was being a little grumpy so I had to carry her around. As we came back around Emi held up her basket with her pumpkin in it.

little red!

Here's what Emi's pumpkin said...

Emi's pumpkin...didn't get one in the basket

I had to practically wave the basket around for anyone to realize there was something in Emi's basket! Koby's dad noticed first so everyone was kind of catching on. Then we came back around with the other side of the pumpkin showing. Everyone was so surprised that we already knew what we were having. We had to rush off to a Korean concert that we already had planned, so we didn't really get to talk to everyone. After the concert we told my parents.

The next day Emi and I went with the Bawden girls and kids to Gardner Village and then to a park for lunch. Emi had a blast playing with Ruby at the park.

Ruby tellin Emi a secret!

Just a cute pic I took before the Halloween party

We spent the weekend up in Logan. We spent Friday night at my grandparent's house. We were the only ones staying that night and Emi really warmed up to my grandparents. She is normally really shy, but this time she came right up to my grandma and reached up for her to hold her. The next day we met Jare and Lind's family at the Pumpkin walk. We go every year. They always have really fun displays! Near the end of the walk Emi showed everyone her pumpkin. My grandma thought we were joking!

Some of you may think we're crazy, or that it's fun, or that we should have waited longer. Believe me I have had so many different thoughts that I'm sure we've had the same at some point! We are super excited to be adding another princess to our family in April and can't wait to see what life brings next!!

Us in front of the Tangled display, showing our pumpkin

The Latest...

2011-09-19T10:05:00.006-06:00

First off-on September 10 I ran a Marathon. Ok, let me clearify. I ran 1/5 of a marathon. Not so long ago in August my friend Becky asked me if I would be interested in running a relay marathon. I said yes because all that I'd have to run is 5.2 miles. At the time I was training to do a 1/2 marathon so I thought this would be cake! Well, we went to Washington for a family reunion in between then and the relay marathon and my training went out the window. Before Washington I was up to 4 miles, after I could hardly run 3. I had a lot of fun training for the relay and got to know some of my ward friends a lot better. So here's how the relay worked: there were five of us and we each had to run 5.2 miles. We handed of a baton to the next person and then they ran the same course that the person before had just run. I was the 4th runner. The Thursday before the race my friend, Alyssa and I decided that we were going to try to run the length of the race. We did it under an hour, which we both felt very proud of. Well, me being the 4th runner in the actual race was not such a good thing because I had been training at night when it was really cool, so even though it wasn't that hot outside, the heat really slowed me down. I ended up finishing in about an hour. I was a little disappointed with myself for not getting a better time, but all in all I'm super proud of myself for finishing 5.2 miles twice in one week!:) Here's some pics of the event.

Next-The Sunday after the race my sis M'liss took our family pictures. I'm just going to put one until she is done photoshopping them:)

Last-Emi went to the Dr. for her 15 month check up. We had to miss the 12 month one because her Dr moved before her birthday. Anyway, Emi had to get her finger pricked to check her iron. Later at the check up she had to get 4 shots! It was the hardest check-up I've had to sit through. She cried the whole time! Her new Dr is so much like her old one that it is crazy! Here are the stats for 15 month old Emi: Height-29 3/4 inches. This is the 40th percentile. Weight-19.13 lbs. This puts her in the 10th percentile for weight. Tall and skinny like her daddy! That's seems to be a trend with her:)

Summer Time!

2011-08-03T16:13:00.009-06:00

Gosh I love summer! Well, let me rephrase that-I love Summer when I can be by a pool, lake, or some form of water! We have gone swimming a lot this summer. Emi even has a tan line in the roll of her arm! Emi and I went with the Bawden girls and kids to the Magna pool and had a blast! Emi absolutely loved the splash pad, even though it was spraying her in the face the whole time! I got my first sunburn of the season there. Having a kid to worry about helps to remind you to put your sunscreen on, but sometimes you don't get it spread out very well :) We went swimming for our ward's swim night, which was fun but kinda cold. We also went swimming for our parent's ward's swim night. Later that month we headed up to Lava for a family reunion. The family reunion must have worn Emi right out because she fell asleep on my shoulder while we were IN THE POOL!!! Koby went off the highest swim platform with Nate-who is only 7-more than once! We also got to go to Bear Lake twice in one week. First to Koby's grandparent's cabin and then we went up to Koby's boss' cabin for his work retreat! It was so fun to get to know everyone that he works with and see how lucky they all are! Who wouldn't want to work with these people? We got to try wake surfing which was AWESOME!! Goodness, I just realized that most of what I just wrote happened in July. Man we were so busy in July!

It has been so crazy to see all of the new things that Emi is doing. 1-Walking! Finally she is walking! I seriously felt like this day was NEVER going to come. People kept telling me that I would regret having her walk, but in all honesty I don't. I love that she can WALK around outside instead of CRAWLING. I love that her knees and toes and hands don't get so blasted dirty every time she walks. 2-She is giving kisses:) They are open mouth kisses, but kisses just the same! 3-Brushes her hair. 4-Carries her purse around. 5-Looks through books-like flips the pages herself. 6-Gives a high five. 7-Nurses only once a day. 8-She is very mischievous. I'm not sure if I really like that about her or not, but it does make her giggle which is so cute! 9-She now puts her feet out for me to put her pants on. 10-She can find her belly button! Unfortunately when I want her to show someone she doesn't do it :( We're working on finding her nose but whenever I say "Emi where's your nose?" she looks for her belly button. It'll come, right? 11-"talks" on the phone. 12-talks the cutest baby talk you've ever heard! Ah-tic ah-tic ah-tic ah, you have to hear her talk to really appreciate the cuteness of it:) Oh, I don't know how I could forget about this. We got a new niece and nephew! Mataya was born in June to Jare and Lind! Thank Heaven for little girls(they already had 2 boys)! We love her to pieces! I could hold her all day long, if only I didn't have to share her (or give my attention to Emi:))! Next year Mataya, Kate, and Emi are going to be trouble! I can already tell;)Then in August we had Prescott join the Chad and Amanda family! We were so happy that he and his mommy are doing so well now and to have a boy join the family. Oh, no! Way too many words and no pictures! Here they come in whatever order I find them:)

Guess What!? It's Been 1 Whole Year!!!

2011-06-27T14:33:00.000-06:00

One whole year ago on June 12th my water broke and about 5 hours later my little Emi bug was laying on my chest. I can't believe it's been over a year! There were times when I thought this day would never come. I'm not one of those moms that can't stand to see her kid grow up. Don't get me wrong I have loved every stage of Emi's life. I have loved watching her experience new things but I've also loved cuddling with her as a tiny baby. There were times when I felt like she would never grow up. Now she has grown a bit (I'm not going to say grown up because really she is still little) and I love it! She has the cutest personality now and can make me laugh on the roughest days! Gosh I love this cute little stinker!! We were at Lake Powell over Emi's actual birthday. We celebrated with a cake and ice cream, but I didn't let her dig into the cake because I didn't want Koby's family to miss it. I got this bug a while before Emi's party, it's called "Party Fever". I never thought that I would want to have such a big party. Really it wasn't that big, but I kept finding more and more ideas that I liked and wanted to use. On Saturday we had Emi's party with everyone. My mom and M'liss helped me a lot so that I didn't get stressed. Emi didn't dig into her cake like I thought she would so I was a little disappointed, but everything else turned out the way I wanted it to!!:)

Oh, first are Emi's one year pictures that M'liss took. I think they turned out so cute!! :)

Birthday, Graduation, Mother's Day!

2011-05-09T12:23:00.000-06:00

First we had a little birthday party for my mom out at our house. We wanted to surprise her and it actually worked! We had Panda Express and then we took her canoe out for a spin on the lake that is right by our house. She was so surprised and that made it so fun!

Technically I've been graduated since December, but I decided that I wanted to actually walk in Logan to have some closure. It was such a bittersweet time for me. I absolutely LOVED going to school in Logan. It was really hard for me when I got married and I couldn't attend the Logan campus. It has not been the easiest road but I have had so much support and encouragement from my family. I never really thought that this day would ever come-now it has come and gone and I'm a little bit sad. So happy though! Here's some pictures of the day! (sidenote: we had a problem closing our eyes while pics were being taken! :))

Last but not least I had my very first Mother's Day as a mother this year! Koby made me breakfast in bed and gave me sentimental gifts. Lol. He asked what I wanted and I wasn't so sure. Then he suggested that I get the molding that we want to put in our house for mother's day. I didn't really like the sound of that so I told him I wanted something sentimental. He gave me earrings with pearls on them because that is Emi's birth stone, a collage picture frame with Emi's foot and hand print in two of the openings, a book, and a robe. He was so nice and made me dinner at home instead of having to eat ham at his grandma's. (I really hate ham, so I wasn't really thrilled about going to his grandma's-this was our compromise:)) I had a really good day! I am so thankful that I am a mom. I don't think there is anything better than being home with my sweet Emi bug all day everyday.

There is a song by Cherie Call that reminds me of my mom everytime I hear it. Here's the lyrics:

She is not the picture on the magazine
She's the woman just behind you at the checkout stand
She may appear to be common but she mystifies
In all the ways the wisest men and children understand
'Cause she has eyes that sparkle with her love
And she has a smile that's as gentle as a dove
And no woman from a movie or an ad could ever hope to be
As beautiful as she
She is not a highly honored diplomat
Held responsible to lead the world to peace
But what she does is every bit as serious
Amidst the turmoil everywhere that will never cease
'Cause she has hands that wipe the tears away
And she has a voice that makes everything O.K.
And no woman from the papers or T.V. could ever hope to be
As indispensable as she
And it breaks my heart every time I see her wonder
If she means anything in this world that pulls her under
And she doesn't always see the way that Heaven smiles above her
That's the reason I try to always tell her that I love her
'Cause she may not be known for giving millions
To the charities and auctions on the news
But I believe she's given more than anyone
In all the times she's ever had to choose
To give up sleep to rock her children every night
And give her heart to always hold their dreams so tight
And the best that you or I could ever hope to be
Is as wonderful as she
And the best that you or I could ever hope to be
Is as wonderful as she

I Love You Mom!!:)

Easter Parties and a whole LOT of Catching Up!

2011-04-27T21:38:00.000-06:00

We had such a wonderful Easter!! We went to church and then after a very short nap, on Emi and I's part, we went out to Bluffdale. We wanted to get to my grandparent's early, but you know how that goes! Then we went over Koby's grandparent's house. Koby's grandparent's have huge egg hunt every year. They hide TONS of eggs. Emi had fun but found only 3 eggs. Emi has a tendency to put everything in her mouth, so of course that's right where the eggs went. Next year I guess we better get her a colored dress and cardigan to go with it:) Don't mind the toilet behind Emi in the first pic. We are finally getting a bathroom on the main floor of our house! :)

Paislee a little too eager to be done with pictures! :)

My mom always has an Easter party. This year she tried to make healthy treats. She found some really cute things. She made nests out of shredded wheat and made birds out of strawberries and grapes. They were really good and so cute! We went on a nature walk and went to the park and played fun games with eggs!

One Sunday after church it was really nice outside and our daffodils were still pretty so we let Emi play and I got some cute pics too!

MARCH:

In March we went to St. George twice. The first time we went to watch Aubree's last dance concert. I didn't get any pictures of her dancing, but I did get some of us at the pool:) We had a really good time with Koby's family! The second time we went down to watch Spence and Brooklyn and Brianna dance. Luckily they were competing in the building:) It is always so fun to watch the girls dance. They are so good and so cute. We also got to watch Spence, which for me is SO fun because I was a clogger myself. Spence was in 6 dances. He and the girls got all firsts!! We had such a great time and Emi loved the pool both times! :)

You Are Special Today...and Always!

2011-04-05T10:25:00.000-06:00

At 5:30ish this morning as I was feeding Emi I was thinking of a very special person. I was remembering some of the fun things that we did together. Today is some one's birthday. This person is beautiful, brave, kind, loving, a great friend, an advice giver, an awesome mother, a wonderful wife, a daughter, but most of all she is MY SISTER!! As I was rocking back and forth this morning I was reminiscing on days of old. My sister has a sixth sense you know. I'm sure if you knew her well enough you could guess what it is but I'll just tell you-she is incredibly artistic/creative! Ever since we were little she has done some pretty amazing things. When we were very young she, on more than one birthday, made me poems and read them aloud. These poems were really rather good, but she would cry as she read them and I always got embarrassed. Looking back I wished that I had not been so rude about them. Once when we were teenagers we pushed all the snow from the rest of the driveway to the side of it and made a sledding slide! I have always looked up to M'liss. She has always been so talented and so good. I remember when I was having a bad day up at USU and she took me for a drive and listened to me for a long, long time. She helped me make some really important decisions that day and she may not even realize it. I thought I was brave going to Ecuador for 3 months, not knowing the language, not really knowing anyone. M'liss came to visit me in Ecuador ALL BY HERSELF! That is what I call brave. Another thing that she did was give birth to sweet little Kate the Great ALL NATURAL!! She is such an awesome mother. M'liss is the co-creator of "Secret Sister Time". Often as we were laying in bed we would talk for hours and tell all our little secrets. In truth she probably really did create it but I was there so I guess I should get at least partial credit, right? :) Big things have happened to M'liss at significant points in my life. Like the summer before my first year in college she got married. Not that I don't like Tim but I was kind of excited to have my sissy all to myself for at least a semester. Then the summer after I got married M'liss and Tim moved to VA. I don't know about you but I just NEED my sister sometimes, but when she is clear across the country it makes it kind of hard to get to each other. :( I can remember the day I found out that she was pregnant. I was super excited that she was finally able to get pregnant. She thought I would be mad because she didn't tell me sooner, but how could I be mad?! I also remember the day when she felt SO far away-it was the day that Kate the Great was born. I remember I called while I was at work. She told me that she did it, she had had her baby all natural. Then I heard Kate cry in the background and I lost it. It was a time when I NEEDED to be with my sister and there I was cleaning peoples' stinky feet instead! The most recent time I couldn't get to my sissy was a few weekends ago when she had a miscarriage. My heart ached for her and the empty feelings she was having. I failed in the most important role you have as a sister, I wasn't there for her. I know I physically couldn't be there but I didn't even call her, I wasn't there emotionally for her. I regret that the most. M'liss you are one of the very best things that has happened to me! I love you so much and wish that I was there to take you to lunch or take you shopping or just give you a hug. I hope that you will have such a wonderful Birthday! Today may be your special day, but to me YOU ARE SPECIAL EVERYDAY!! I LOVE YOU!:)

3 Years Ago Today...

2011-03-18T11:52:00.000-06:00

I was on my way home from the most wonderful journey of my life that far. Picture me with no sleep in the last 24 hours, no make-up on, and 30 pounds heavier (yes 30lbs:() walking around the Houston, Texas airport. Flights were being delayed and cancelled left and right. It was a crazy, stressful time. I was sitting with my sister trying to make a CD of pictures and getting really frustrated. I heard my name called over the speaker and started freaking out and being upset. Then I look up and guess who I saw...Koby. "Koby! Koby?! Koby, what are you doing here?!" Then he proposed! I must say it was love because when you look at me in the pictures you'll think the same thing. We have had our struggles and hard times but the good has by far out weighed the bad! I'm so happy that Koby went through with the proposal after seeing me that day 3 whole years ago! He has made me the happiest girl in the world!! I love you Kobs!!

My fortune from Panda that day! It's framed in our house:)

My fortune came true!!

You can see the no sleep, make-up, & +30 lbs, huh? :(

The ring

2011-03-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post some of these cute pictures that I took of Emi the other day. Ok, well I think that they're cute:) She can't get to the standing position by herself yet but she LOVES to stand up! We are just waiting for her to crawl anyday now (I really did intend to write "crawl" and not "walk" as you might be thinking I wrote it wrong, I didn't :)). Emi is also in the process of getting some teeth! She hasn't been as bad as I thought she might be, I guess I should stop there so I don't curse myself! :) Enjoy the pics!

A Day of LOVE!

2011-02-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday my parents had a grand kids V-day party and watched the grand kids so that the parents could do whatever they wanted for a bit. Koby and I went shopping and then went to Tepanyaki. Oh, it was SO good!! It was also so nice to eat without having to hold or entertain Emi! Sunday my mom had a special fancy V-day candle light dinner for all of us. She then gave us the valentine's that the kids made for us the night before. She dipped Emi's feet in paint and made a heart out of them on paper! It was so cute! Thanks mom! Monday was so nice out side and Emi got a jogging stroller for Christmas so we decided to go for a jog. Well let's just say that Sunday I basically ate candy all day (except for my mom's yummy dinner) and I didn't exercise at all the week before. So anyway Emi and I go for a jog and not a very long one, but by the time I was almost home I felt like I was going to faint and lose anything that I had eaten that day. I had to sit on the curb and breathe for a bit. It looks really nice again today, but I'm not sure I have it in me to go jogging again. Koby and I didn't get anything special for each other for V-day because we both want a porch swing, Koby found one on a really good sale. So that's what we are going to give each other. We had a good day and enjoyed our time together as a little family. I love you Koby and Emi!!

Ps I want to run a 5k in April, does anyone know of a good training schedule? I need all the help I can get!

It's Official-I LOVE Her!

2011-02-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a stay at home mom now, which means that I get to spend every second of everyday with Emi. All through out my last semester I was so excited to be done with my last semester and get to stay home with Emi. Then I got really nervous because if I don't have things to do than I get a little blue. After the very first week I was really afraid that I would end up this depressed sad person. Fortunately that hasn't happened! Emi is the highlight of my day! Lately Emi has been pushing herself backwards to get around (I'm hoping that she'll figure out the crawling thing soon). She backs herself into many tight spots. For instance under the kitchen table, under the couch, and today I looked back and she had pushed herself under our old entertainment center upstairs! I absolutely love her and could not even imagine not staying home with her all day.
Her dad will not be happy that she doesn't have a bow on but we are just hanging around home so we hadn't gotten it on yet! :)

A Little Fishy & New Year's Eve Pics!

2011-02-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Last night Koby and I decided that we wanted to take Emi swimming. We bought her a floaty and we headed to the pool. I'm proud to announce that Emi LOVES the water!! Even though she was very hungry she was happy in the water for over an hour. We had so much fun swimming with her and can't wait to take her swimming again!

Here's some New Year's Eve pics. We first had fondue at my parents house then headed over to their church to play games and celebrate the new year!

Picture Overload!

2011-01-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have so much that I want to post about and yet I don't know where to start! First of all I have been terribly too emotional lately. No I'm not pregnant. I was just reading a post from a mommy to a daughter and I was crying. I know that's not bad, but I cried watching a breast cancer commercial...ON MUTE!! Yes I know something is wrong with me. Anyway, I'll just catch up on everything mostly with pictures. I'll start with November. The day before Koby's birthday we (Koby, Mandy, Emi, and my lil bro Spence) flew out to DC. Tim, M'liss,& Kate met us there. The next day we woke up early so that we could make our tour for the White House! I don't know how many people can say that they got to go inside the White House, but now we can. It was so cool to hear the stories and see the incredible architecture. A few semesters back I took a Historical Furnishings and Architecture class and basically all the furniture and architecture was right out of the text book! I LOVED it!! We spent Friday, Saturday, & part of Sunday in DC. Let's just say we could have spent a whole week there. We had such a blast there. After DC we drove to good ol Williamsburg to M'liss and Tim's house. This was the first time that Koby had been there so it was fun to show him this beautiful place that I've fallen in love with. We stayed until the day after Thanksgiving so we were able to have Thanksgiving dinner with M'liss' family. Neither of us has ever had to make anything, so this was a new experience for us. I made the turkey, M'liss made the pies, and we both helped with the rest. M'liss had gotten fabric to make Kate & Emi some Thanksgiving dresses, so the night before we tried to get them done but didn't, so we were trying to get the dinner and dresses done on Turkey day. Anyway here's some of our favorite pics from the trip:

Well, now on to December. One great thing that happened was that I finished my last semester of school!!! Yay for me! I have to wait til Spring to actually walk, but I'm done with all my classes! December we also got to attend many Christmas parties and spend lots of time with family and friends. Emi got to sit on Santa's lap for the first time at the Bawden Christmas party. At first she was ok then after she got a look at him she wasn't so sure. On Christmas Eve we went to Koby's parents and then afterwards we went over to my parent's house. We acted out the nativity for my dad and grandparents. It was really fun and really brought the true meaning of Christmas to the start of our celebrations. My parents and those that live in their house tried to memorize The Living Chirst before Christmas, they weren't able to finish so they handed out the rest of it to the rest of the family. After we were done with the nativity we recited it. It truly brought the spirit into my heart and reassured me the Christ was born and died for us. It was such an amazing feeling. We had a wonderful Christmas time and were so blessed with so much!

Up to Date!

2010-10-30T19:02:00.000-06:00

Gosh I feel like I am constantly catching up on things. I have 5 weeks left of school! Hallelujah!! I am basically late everyday because I just can't seem to pull myself away from my sweet Emi Bug. Things are constantly go, go, go for us. When I do have a moment to spare I seem to just veg in front of the TV. Emi smiles all the time now and laughs a lot now too! It just makes my day that much better to see her smiling face and to hear her sweet laugh. Emi had her 4 month appointment and we found out that she takes after her daddy-long and skinny! She is 25 1/4 in (90th percentile), 13.1 lbs (40th percentile), and her head circumference was...um I can't remember what it was, but she was in the 65th percentile for it! lol:)

My great uncle died and they were having the funeral on the same weekend of the Aggie vs. BYU game in Logan so Koby got two free tickets through work and I get in free. We decided it might be fun to go so Jare and Lind got tickets and came with us. Spence also came along with Landon, Ty, and Emi! Emi did pretty good considering the extremely loud crowd, she even took a nap! Spence was highly disappointed that they lost but I had a great time singing all my Aggie cheers!

We found out that we have a Pumkin Walk at the Benson Mill by our house so my family came out and went with us. It was fun, but it was mostly focused on the Craft Fair that was part of it. We came back to our house and played games and ate treats!

We also went up to Logan to the Pumkin Walk there. This is the best pumkin walk!! They make scenes out of the pumkins and some are so life like! The theme this year was animation. We went during the day this time which was much better than going at night and freezing our booties off! After that we went to my G&G Lott's for our 2nd annual Fall Festival. This year my cousins who live in Logan came and celebrated with us which was fun! The kids all go in their costumes to show my grandparents (unfortunately no pics of the actual pumkin walk or of the kids in their costumes).

We had the Bawden Halloween party. Emi went as a Fairy! She is SO dang cute as a fairy! The wings the Koby bought her came with a wand and she holds it and swings it around!! The boy Bawdens have this tradition of holding babies on their hands while the baby stand up. Emi is a little advanced and can already do it! Everytime she does it she smiles and laughs!!

Emotion Commotion!

2010-08-25T14:00:00.000-06:00

Happy/Stressful-We blessed Emi on August 1st. I'm so happy that I am married to a worthy priesthood holder and that I have the gospel in my life! He gave a beautiful blessing. However, having close to 100 people at my house afterwards-Way stressful! Not saying I don't appreciate everyone who came out to support us, cause I do! Thanks everyone! :)

Sad-My sister and her cute little family went back to VA after spending about 6 weeks in good ol Utah :( I just can't help it, every time I have to part ways with her I cry! Although we did have a great time while they were here. We will miss them SO much!

Happy-I don't think I ever mentioned this on here but in the spring my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer. He has had some pretty rough stretches. I had not been really worried until his third round of chemo when he seemed really weak. It was the first time I thought cancer might take him. Well, just a little over a week ago he found out that he is in remission!!! He has been so positive the whole time which makes me proud to call him mine! Love you grandpa!!

Excited/Sad/Anxious-My very last semester starts on Monday. I'm so excited because well...it's my last semester and then I graduate! Sad for two reasons: one because it's my last semester. two because I have to leave my little Emi bug while I do my practicum. This is not an easy thing for me at all. She has only been watched once by someone besides Koby and I and that was hard for me. I'm a little anxious for this semester because of leaving Emi and because of trying to care for her and get homework done. It's going to be a challenge and I'm not sure I'm ready for it yet.

Anxious/Sad-Emi had her 2 month check up! She is doing great!! This was her first round of vaccines. Oh, you have no idea how anxious I was. It was almost at if I was getting the shot and not Emi. When they gave her the shot she did just fine, but I wanted to cry my eyes out! The Dr said that she is amazed at how alert and awake she is. She has been an alert baby since birth so I guess I'm just use to it. Emi is such a happy baby, especially in the mornings. Which is pretty surprising considering that her parents are far from being morning people. She is sleeping well at nights, but naps are hard. She naps the best and longest when someone is holding her. Unfortunately I can't hold her all day long. Sometimes she'll sleep in her swing but that is only when she decides she wants to. Anyway, here are her stats:

Weight-11 lbs 60th percentile
Height- 22 3/4 in 75th percentile
Head circumference- 15 1/4 in 75 percentile

Her first big smile caught on camera

Her smile is so big her eyes are squinty!

Bawden Family Vacation!

2010-08-02T10:08:00.000-06:00

We went to California with Koby's family for a week. We went to the beach, Disneyland, Seaworld, and Knott's Berry Farm. We had a great time and our little Emi was a gem the whole time!! I was pretty nervous about the trip mostly because Emi is nursing. She really did amazing on the drive and in the parks. Lucky for us she LOVES being outside! All of the parks have nursing stations which I think is great! So here are pictures of all our adventures!! :)

Emi in her cool sunglasses

Isn't her swimsuit so cute?!

First time at the beach!

Emi's first ride was Dumbo!

We saw my friend Kelsey and her hubby Zac

If you didn't think she's a Bawden now you do, don't you?

This is just one way she stayed cool at Seaworld! :)

Koby and Chad body surfing!

Five of Five: THE ONE!!! (watch out it is long and detailed)

2010-06-24T13:24:00.000-06:00

Well, my last appointment found me in the same boat-no change. It was pretty disappointing. All week I had tried to go into labor. Monday my sister-in-law Lindy and I spent the day shopping and went to lunch. Wednesday (June 9th) which was my due date my mom and I went and got a pedicure. Then Friday I went with Koby's sisters and mom to Thanksgiving point to see the animals. Well, none of that did anything for me. Friday night was Koby's niece's first birthday and both of us really wanted to see her eat her cake so I guess it was a good thing our cute little baby had not arrived yet. Saturday Koby and I took it easy. We slept in, Koby watched tv and I read a book. In the afternoon my parents and sibs who live with them came to help Kob pull weeds out of our "garden". Jare, Lind, and the boys came out just to visit and go canoeing after my parents were done helping us. I stayed inside and visited with Jare and Lind while spinning Landon around in my computer chair. My back had been hurting for a while before everyone got to our house, but I just tried to enjoy being with them. Landon wanted to watch a movie so I put a movie on for him and stood and watched with him. I kept leaning down on the ottoman to get the weight off my back. Lindy kept asking me if I was in labor but I didn't think so. I went upstairs a few times and then came back and was standing and watching the movie and I felt a gush down there! I looked up at Jare and Lind and said "I think my water just broke! I'm pretty sure I'm not peeing. It just keeps gushing!"(it was around 6:15 pm) I went upstairs and had them send Koby in from outside. Luckily they had just finished pulling all the weeds! :) I decided to just pull off my pants and stand in the shower because it just kept gushing. I started having noticeable contractions soon after that. Koby got in the shower and then started getting the rest of our things together, I say the rest because I had had our bags ready for the past month. :) I got in the shower and it seemed to help my back pain. My contractions went from 2 minutes apart to about 1 minute apart within an hour, with each contraction lasting 45 seconds. My mom and Koby were getting pretty anxious for us to leave, but Kob and I had decided to wait as long as possible at home before going to the hospital. I wanted Lindy to straighten my hair, but we ended up without anytime. Koby and I got all loaded up and headed to the hospital. It took us only 25 minutes to get there because Koby was speeding even though I told him it was no rush. We got there and I had to be hooked up to the monitors for 20 minutes. I had back labor so I as soon as she had checked me (I was at a four) and the monitors hooked on I flipped to all fours. I had Koby push my hips together to relieve some of the pressure from my back with each contraction. I asked the nurse if it had been the 20 minutes yet and she said it had been ten. Oh, by the way I had decided to do Hypnobirthing (a natural approach to birthing), which uses relaxation/visualization to get through labor and delivery. Koby kept asking me if I wanted to listen to my CDs that we got in class and I kept telling him no. Lucky for me he is persistent and knew that I needed to listen to them. My 20 minutes were finally up and I got in the jetted tub. I was in the tub for almost an hour. Towards the end of my time in the tub I kept having the urge to have a bowel movement with each contraction. That urge just kept getting stronger and I had Kob ask the nurse about it. After being in the tub I had to be put on the monitors for 15 minutes. The nurse checked me again and found that I was to a 7 and fully effaced. I sat on the birthing ball for about 45 minutes. Koby sat behind me and helped me relax during the contractions. It was getting harder and harder to fight the need to push so I had Koby ask the nurse about it again. She said that it was because the baby was moving lower so I could feel the pressure more. It helped to hear that the urge wasn't for nothing, but it didn't make it any easier to get through each contraction. I got back in the bed and the nurse checked me again. She said that I was completely thinned except for a posterior lip. She called the Dr in and then the fun began. In Hypnobirthing you do not push, you breathe your baby down. Which, how I understand it is breathing while you use your stomach muscles to "push" your baby out. Every time I had a contraction I breathed out and didn't really push at first. Then it got to the point that I had to do more pushing, but I always breathed out when I did. I was so impatient. I kept asking if they could see anything yet. I also kept getting so frustrated with myself because I would push and push and then completely relax and then I could feel her go back down a bit. Koby was telling me how good I was doing, but I was frustrated-why wasn't she coming out yet?!? I asked the Dr what I could do to get her out faster and she would suggest something and I would just say "no". Finally I took her advice and lifted my leg when I pushed and it really helped. They would show me how much of the head they could see and it would encourage me to push harder and longer. I knew more of her head was out so I asked if they could see her ears yet. FINALLY her head came out and then it was all easy from there! They laid her on my chest and rubbed her down a bit. She was wide eyed and looking around. It was such a relief to have her out of me and laying on me just staring back. I think it was one of the happiest moments of my life! Our cute little EMILIE KAYELYN was born at 11:16 pm on June 12th weighing in at 8 lbs 5 oz and 19 1/2 in long. Her middle name is after her grandmas-Kaye is grandma Bawden's middle name and Lyn is after my mom Lynette. I had the most amazing experience giving birth to my sweet little girl and was so happy that I was able to do it the way I wanted. I have the most wonderful husband who was there by my side the entire time loving and supporting me in my wishes. Thanks Koby, I love you!! The only regret I have is not recording the birth on video. We couldn't do it for two reasons; one is because we didn't have anyone to do it and two I delivered her in the nude so it would have been kinda hard to try to not show anything.

Ps sorry for making fun of you Mliss when you delivered Kate naked, it's just easier that way! ;)

Four of Five: Surprise!

2010-06-05T19:34:00.000-06:00

Don't let the title fool you, I only put surprise because I am posting this one earlier than I have the others. :) So I was a little anxious to go to this weeks appointment. I really didn't want to feel the way I did after the last appointment-sad, depressed, upset, disappointed, etc. So I kept telling myself that nothing had changed and she was going to come a week or so after the due date. The doctor always starts by asking if we have any questions. We didn't have any but my little smart alec (sp?) husband asked "yeah, so...when's the baby coming?" The doctor laughed and said that was a good question. We asked about induction because she had mentioned it a few weeks earlier, but she said we would make a possible plan after she checked me. So she measured me, listened to the heartbeat and then checked to see if anything had changed down below. She was pretty happy because I am now to a 3!!! Yay! You could feel the mood in the room change and it felt SO good! Oh, and 70% effaced! So what does that mean for me? Still no guarantee that this sweet little baby of mine will be coming before her due date (June 9th in case you forgot, which is 4 days away mind you), but the doctor gave us a 50/50 chance of it. I came away from this appointment feeling a lot better than last week, but still trying hard to not get my hopes up. She is a little stubborn lady just like her daddy (I say her daddy cause he always calls me the stubborn one, but really we both are:)), which means she will come when SHE is good and ready and no pleading on my part will make her come any sooner. Koby made a prediction a while ago and thought she'd come today, so I told her this morning that if she loved her daddy she would come today, but then I realized that if she loved her mommy she would have come a week ago! ;) I finished her quilt which I am quiet proud of and we have been putting a lot of stuff on the walls around the house. Things are feeling a lot more "homey" around here which is nice. Koby's cousin got married on Thursday (the day of our appointment) and everyone thought that would be so great if my water broke in the temple. Ha Ha not so funny! It would make a great story, but I prefer to have my baby in the hospital without a bunch of people around! :) Anyway, I hope my "five of five" post will be the one if you know what I mean. Until then.......

8 3/4 months prego!

Third of five: Just don't ask!

2010-06-01T17:05:00.000-06:00

Well, apparently this little girl inside of me does not want to come out anytime soon. What can I say, she loves me! Or hates me-I can't decide. My third appointment showed that there was no progress. Honestly, it's getting a little frustrating. It made me a little depressed after the appointment. I never thought I would feel this way. At the beginning of my pregnancy I thought that as long as I stayed busy I would be fine and time would just fly. Things have been fine...until now. I don't have a whole lot of energy to stay busy, but I do have plenty that I can get done. I have gotten to the point where I just say that I'm fine when people ask me how I'm doing. But what I'm saying on the inside is "How do you think I am feeling? I'm over 8 1/2 months pregnant for crying out loud!" So if you see me just don't ask, just know that I'll be best after my baby is in my arms not my belly!

I saw this on a girl's blog that worked in Koby's building. It feels so true right now!

Two of Five

2010-05-24T22:03:00.000-06:00

So my second of the five appointments was not as fulfilling as the first. I did not progress any. I did get the results of the group B Strep test and I don't have it! Yay! I have been feeling more crampy kind of feelings so I thought I would have progressed at least to a 2. The doctor said that the baby is definitely in my pelvis. I have notice this fact because I have to pee ALL the time!! I have been having more heartburn/acid reflux so much that I have been up at night and I threw up one night. I am taking stuff for it and it seems to help. We have her room done except for the quilt, which I am making. I know you'd think I'd have it done by now! The most comfortable position for me right now is standing because it feels like she is sitting on my lungs when I sit or recline. Only a few more weeks!!!!! Well, that is all for now! I will update again after this weeks appointment!

First of Five Baby Updates!

2010-05-17T20:55:00.000-06:00

Well, as of last Friday I had five doctor appointments left before my sweet little girl is suppose to come into this crazy world. I have decided to try and post about these visits as they happen, so I am a little bit behind. Don't worry these will be short! :) (oh, and probably picture-less because there isn't really much to show pictures of) Anyway, this particular appointment was the first time the doctor checked for dilation and effacement. Let me just tell you how uncomfortable this was, for some reason I did not expect it to be uncomfortable. I know it sounds crazy, but I guess I didn't really get how she was going to check me. Any how, I am following in my sister's foot steps so far (she was dilated a little more at each of her appointments leading up to the birth) and coming back from this appointment dilated a little over a 1 and 50% effaced!! Yay! I have entered to most uncomfortable stage of my pregnancy. I fill like I am carrying a huge water balloon on my stomach and sometimes it feels a little more full than others. Sleeping is getting to be more of a chore than a dream, but it doesn't hold me back from falling to sleep almost instantly! :) I go back to the doctor Friday, so I will be back soon with the latest on my progress!!

He's a Utah Man!

2010-05-15T20:40:00.000-06:00

If you know my husband's family you know that they are probably the biggest University of Utah fans ever. They probably have more red pieces of clothing than anyone I know. Anyway, Koby graduated with his bachelor's from SUU (their colors are red as well) and has always had the goal of graduating from the U. Well, on Friday May 7th Koby graduated from the U with his Master's in Accounting. Technically he finished in December but they don't have the commencement exercises in December. It was a day long awaited! Koby wanted to attend both the morning and afternoon sessions of the graduation. It seemed like it would be an extremely long day for a pregnant woman, but it turned out to not be so bad.

Between sessions we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and got a really good deal on curtains for the house. Then I took a nap in the car while Koby went into a golf store and tried out some clubs. After that we met Koby's parents at Su Casa for lunch. After lunch we headed to the U's bookstore and bought Koby another red shirt to add to his collection. Then it was time to head to the Huntsman center to save seats for the fam. I got there right after the graduation before Koby's finished up so I got really close seats. I was so happy with them, then I guy came and said that they didn't have time to block it off but my seats were where the graduates were going to sit. Urg! Anyway, this whole part of the graduation was the best part-NO SPEAKERS!!! Yay! They got right in on reading the names, so the whole graduation only took an hour and fifteen minutes. It was so great to see Koby achieve his goals! I am so proud of him and all his accomplishments! Congratulations MY Utah Man!! I love you! :)

I'm Ready....

2010-03-23T20:53:00.000-06:00

Want to know what I am ready for? Well, let me tell you:

1-To be done with this semester. Yes it has been fun, I've learned a lot, I've really enjoyed my classes, and when the semester is over I'll have only 4 weeks, yes F-O-U-R weeks, until little baby Bawden is suppose to come!! And...

2-We bought a house!!! We have picked out furniture, paint, carpet (almost), and now all we have to do is MOVE!! But we have to wait until after April 14th to do so. Lame! We have already bought totes and filled boxes and now we just have to wait, wait, and wait some more. :(

3-We (maybe it's just me) are really excited for our tiny bundle of joy to come! My sisters and mom had a shower for me. It was so much fun and things were decorated so cute! I think Koby was more excited for the shower than I was, but I really did have a good time! We got TONS of cute clothes and other fun things (books, blankets, etc.). It has made us even more excited for our beautiful baby girl to come along!!! *Thanks Lindy, Mom, Melissa, and Jare for all the prep you did!!! It was such a fun day!!* Oh, and did you see on the baby monitor thing on the right that I have less than 65 days left!! :) YAY!

Well, that is all the up-dating for now!

That's Life!

2010-01-31T21:49:00.000-07:00

Life feels kind of crazy right now. I do homework all day Monday, go to work/lab/school on Tuesday, go to lab and do homework on Wednesday, Thursday it's work and school, and Friday is my catch up day. My goal for this semester is to not do homework on Saturdays. If I stay ahead like I should in the beginning of the week then that won't be a problem! So far though I haven't done very well with that. I feel like Koby's senioritis from last semester has come full force on me this semester even though I still have one more left after this one. :( I'm pretty excited about my classes this semester but it has been hard to get in the swing of things. I have to just keep reminding myself that when the semester is over then I'll only have about a month til my cute little baby comes!!

Speaking of which, she is doing really well! We had the ultrasound done at the doctor's office, you know the one where they measure everything and make sure everything is in its place, and everything looks great!! After the Dr told us it was a girl she kept saying, "She is just a perfect beautiful girl! She is just perfect!" I absolutely LOVE to watch the ultrasounds! At this visit she had the hiccups and looked like she was eating something! I have felt her move quite a bit, which is so reassuring! One night Kob and I were just laying in bed and if I pressed my stomach in a certain place I could feel her move so I had Kob put his hand there and he got to feel her too!! I was so happy that he finally got to feel her! He kept asking me when he would be able to and I kept saying not for a while (I thought). When I see people who don't see me on a daily or weekly basis they always say that I don't even look pregnant. I just keep thinking that they have to be blind because my stomach was NOT out this far before! I guess I should take that as a compliment, but I am having a hard time with it. I just want my stomach to pop out so everyone will just know! My back has been hurting for a while now so I have already started to sleep with a pillow between my legs and under my belly. Going from sitting for a long time to standing for a long time doesn't seem to do me any good. If anyone has some good suggestions I would gladly welcome them! :)

In the beginning of January Lindy and I went for a visit to see my new niece Kate Marcelle! She has captured my heart! I miss her so much!! It was so fun to see M'liss and Tim with her. Tim absolutely adores her and just can't get enough of her, which is so cute and sweet, except for when I wanted to hold her and he was, then it wasn't so sweet!! ;) It will be so fun to watch her grow and see who she turns out like-demanding like her mom or easy going like her dad!! :)Seeing Tim with Kate made me even more excited to see Koby with our sweet baby girl! I really am feeling so anxious to get her here even though I still have four months! We have either bought or been given some baby clothes and tonight we hung them up in the closet! I know it's not that big of a deal, but I'm so excited and they look so cute and tiny next to Koby's! :)

Koby was put back into the new Elder's quorum presidency as the 1st Counselor and I am still on the Enrichment Committee and the Sunbeam teacher! I have a fun but challenging group this year and today was the first day that the class was pretty organized and the kids stayed (for the most part) in their seats! I felt like I accomplished a lot! :) Our lease is up on our appartment in April so we aren't sure where we'll be before the baby comes, but we are excited for a change in scenery, well I am! Anyway, sorry for the long boring post, but now you don't have to wonder what's going on with us! ;)

Oh, One Last Thing!

2010-01-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

We're having a GIRL!!!!! :)

Picture Catch Up!!

2010-01-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

I decided to not put words and just put pictures to catch up so here it is!! :)

Oh Baby!

2009-12-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I went to the doctor for the second time. This time I got to meet the doctor. She seems really great so far! She talked to us for a bit and then she said we would try to hear the heartbeat. The first visit we couldn't hear the heartbeat so I was a little nervous. At first all I heard was this slower old sounding heartbeat, then all the sudden I heard a racing heartbeat. The doctor tuned mine out so all we heard was the baby's!! It was so exciting and made things a little more real for me! :) The heart beat was 167-169. Everyone so far has said it's a girl. But I guess we'll see. We can find out what we're having in January. Unfortunately the week we could find out I'll be in Virginia, hopefully seeing BGB! We'll probably find out the second week in January! Anyway, that is a little update for us!

Ch-ch-ch-Changes!

2009-12-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

All I can say is that there has been some major changes over here in the Koby-Mandy Bawden family. First, we sold our beloved Tommy the Toyota! We had talked about selling him since we were first married, but two things happened; Koby really didn't want to sell him (I didn't either but Koby does the selling of things, not me), so he never got put up on KSL or anything. Then when he did put Tommy on KSL no one wanted to pay Koby's minimum (I think he might have put the price a little higher just so he could say he had him for sale, but not really sale him). Well, almost a year and a half later Tommy was sold at the price Koby wanted. It was so hard for me to say good bye to him. He was the car that Koby and I went to our first date in, he drove us to the airport for our honeymoon, he heard many conversations that no one else even knew about, he was our friend. Every time I see a 4 Runner in the Gray/Blue I wish he was back with us. We miss him alot!

Another change is that we are a one car family (obviously :))! At first I hated it! I have never really had to share a car so this was hard for me. I have the car 99% of the time because I have to drive out to Sandy, Taylorsville, Salt Lake, and back to Bountiful for school and work. The only hard part now is Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have to wake up way before my alarm to take Koby to the front runner station. It's not too bad though. One bonus is that we get to spend all the extra travel time together (not that we really talk much in the mornings, but we are still together!).

School is coming to an end for us! We have been keeping crazy hours with keeping up on projects and papers and all that "fun" stuff. Koby will be completely finished with school at the end of this semester, but won't walk until the Spring. I'm pretty darn jealous of him. I have one year left and then I will be done, so I guess not too much longer!

The last major change that I can think of is a little bundle of joy (that sounds like something my mom would say) we are expecting in the beginning of June!! I am 13 weeks and FINALLY not feeling nauseated just about every half hour of the day. I haven't gained a single pound so far, which I'm not too surprised about. I haven't been able to eat sweets, only in tiny quantities, and a very select type of foods. I had my first Dr's appointment in November and everything looked good. I have my second dr appointment tomorrow (and hopefully an ultrasound). One major change I have noticed is my bra. I can't wear it on the tightest notch any more, now I wear it on the largest and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a new one soon. Koby has been so amazing through all the ups and downs so far!! He couldn't eat frozen burritos at home for the longest time because the smell made me instantly sick. Koby tries to make me comfortable when ever I don't feel well, which is especially nice when I feel like I'm going to barf right then and there. I luckily have not thrown up but the nausea gets to a point that I almost want to to make the feeling go away! I have had a few weird breastfeeding dreams so far, but nothing too extreme.

Well that is about it for us! We'll be sure and keep ya posted on the progress! :)

Your My Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch, Pumpy-Umpy-Umkin....

2009-11-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was Koby's birthday (I am a horrible wife). That's why a post about his birthday is today instead of yesterday! Anyway, I didn't have anything planned, he didn't know what he wanted, and I felt like it came upon me so suddenly that I didn't have time to do all that I wanted. It didn't help that I fell asleep on the couch for 2 hours either. Koby truly is my sugar pie, honey bunch, the apple of my eye, the beat in my heart, the sugar on my lips, etc. Ok, for real I could not have married a better person for ME! I love him so much and am so grateful that HE is MINE forever and ever! He is the best husband and wasn't even upset or anything that I gave him nothing for his birthday (except for a ruined bunt cake)!! He is always trying to be positive and tries to help me see things in a better light than I want to sometimes! He always makes me laugh and makes me feel better when I don't feel well. I'm so glad that he was born 28 years ago and that we have the rest of our lives and eternity to be together!!! I LOVE YOU KOBS!!!!!!!! :) Hope your birthday was great!

Shake It Up!!

2009-10-20T20:45:00.000-06:00

The first weekend this month Koby and I went on a little weekend trip with my family to Kanab. Every year on our way to Lake Powell we pass the Coral Pink Sand Dunes and every year my mom says "one year we need to come a day early and see the dunes". My dad is addicted to KSL and while he was on there he found a condo for rent in Kanab of all places. So that is where we headed. We borrowed 3 four-wheelers from a family friend and headed down to good ol' Kanab. We fit 7 adults and 4 kids in a 3 bedroom townhouse. Friday the grown-ups went four-wheeling while my mom watched the kids at the dunes. She said the kids loved playing in the sand. We rode around for a while then we came back and ate lunch at the car.

We headed back up the trail to a place that a guy said we could hike to some petroglyphs. We drove up to the trail head and went on the hike. It was wasn't too long and the petroglyphs were in a shaded area so that was an extra bonus. After that we went out on the dunes with the 4-wheelers. It was so fun! It was almost like a roller coaster at times!

That night we ate at Houston's, which is where we always eat when passing through Kanab, in hopes of watching the BYU game. Unfortunately they didn't have the right channel so we couldn't watch it. The next morning we rented a Rhino and we all headed out on the 4-wheelers, well Koby stayed home to do homework. We went on a beautiful ride up the mountain side up to a lookout over the valley of Kanab. It was really cool!

We made it back in time to see some of the last talks of Conference. Between Conference I rode bikes with the kids around the condo. I took Landon for a ride on Lindy's bike that has the baby seat in back. I was a little worried because I've crashed one too many things of theirs, but it was really fun!! Landon kept telling me every time we went over a bump "oh that was a little bump"! It was so cute! After the second session of Conference we all rode bikes over to the Kanab City Park. We played tennis and the kids played around on the park and tried to play tennis.

While the boys went to the priesthood session the kids watched a movie, Lindy and I finished a puzzle, and my mom made pizza for dinner. We left Sunday after everything was in order. We had such a good time together!!! :)

ALL Dogs Go To Heaven Right??

2009-10-07T20:04:00.000-06:00

I just had to share some news before it was forever down the road. Last weekend Koby and I went with my family on a very fun filled weekend in Knab, which I'll post about another very soon day. Sunday night I got home and pulled out my phone to charge it and saw that I had a text from my mom. I figured it would say something about how much fun she had or something. Instead she told me that Fritz Mo Shook, the dog had passed away while we were gone. It wasn't too much of a shock because he was pretty old, but still so sad to not have had the chance to say good-bye! I believe all dogs go to heaven, even if they peed on your bed, floor, blanket, pillow, stole the Sunday roast right off the kitchen table, nipped at the bottom of your feet when you jumped on the tramp with the hose on it, barked at EVERYTHING that even just passed in front of the house, but especially if they listened to you when nobody else would, gave you a "hug" when you needed one most, laid out for a tan with you, snuggled with you in your bed to keep you warm, protected you from anything that passed by, helped calm your fears when you were home alone. With all that said, you will be a very missed doggie Fritz! We love you! (Well, I do!)

Here is a younger picture of him, I had to scan it in, so hopefully it is clear enough.

It ONLY Took Me Four Hours

2009-09-19T00:35:00.000-06:00

So I haven't blogged in a very long time, but I have good reason....LIFE!! We have had a busy end of the summer! In August my sister M'liss and her hubby Tim came out for a visit. It was SO good to see them!!!! We had a baby shower for M'liss and had a great turn out! She is going to be one spoiled, but adorable little baby! We can't wait for her arrival in December (we hope! :))!! While M'liss was here we had a birthday party for my grandpa and went canoeing at First Dam up Logan Canyon. It was such a blast and brought back lots of fun memories from my childhood! M'liss has lots of good pics but you'll have to wait for her to post about it!! ;)

Thursday before M'liss left we had our 2nd annual Girl's Retreat! We went to Park City again and had so much fun! We went shopping, did a puzzle, made bows for Baby Girl Bennett, laughed a lot, and just had a blast being girls!! :) It was SO hard to say good-bye to my sister this time. I mean it's always a teary good-bye, but this time I was sobbing like a baby. She is going to be changing so much and I won't get to be there to feel the baby kick or see in person how big her belly is getting, you know all the fun stuff, but most especially I won't get to see her or her baby for a couple weeks after she is born! Not seeing Ruby and Jen less than a week after Ruby was born was hard so I can only imagine how hard this will be with my sister.

We had a Bawden family reunion in Park City one weekend in August I just can't remember exactly where it fit in all of this so I'm sticking it here! Oh, and a boating trip to Willard!! Boy was that cold! :) I'll just put a few pics!

School Started for me Wednesday, August 26th. I'm at SLCC this year so it should be an adventure! I'm going to 3 different campuses, but it's not too bad because my classes are spaced well enough. We had a couple crazy first weeks of school, but are starting to get into the groove of things...well some of us better than others (it took me four hours to write a two page paper)! We have a bad case of "Senoiritis" on our hands and it's spreading fast! Koby will graduate this Fall and he is a little TOO excited about it!! He is giving it to me, but I have 3 more semesters...so that's a bit of a problem! :)

We went up to the cabin for Labor day weekend and had a good time trying to relax. The first night we were there Koby's grandma fell down the stairs which was pretty scary. She didn't have any physical signs that she was hurt except a HUGE bruise on her arm and a little stiffness. She ended up having back surgery this morning (Friday) and all went well. We all enjoyed the rest of our time at the cabin even though it was a little cooler than we wanted but we had a good time in spite of that!

We are so sad that summer is over (maybe that's why we can't get into the groove of things yet?), but we are looking forward to a fabulous fall!! Koby is excited, ok excited is the wrong word for it...let's just say he asked me today what tomorrow was. I said "um September 19, I can't think of anything" thinking it was a significant day for us or something....nope, just GAME DAY! Oh, brother! Football season has hit!! Anyway, hope all is well with you all!

Ps I cut my hair again! Not too different except for in the back, but I really like it!! :)

Mommy for the Weekend!

2009-08-06T20:55:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we had the Juchau (my grandma lott's side) family reunion. Jare and Lind went different directions for their reunions, so I got to be Ty-Ty's surrogate mommy for the weekend! Ty is one of the most easy going one year old!! Koby and I drove up to Logan late Thursday night so we wouldn't have to get up quite so early for Friday's events. Koby and Jare went golfing early Friday morning, while I made sure Ty was taken care of. Friday we went to Hyrum Dam (which is the smallest lake I have ever been boating on). Ty loved being on the beach and walking in the water. He kept trying to walk out further and further into the water. He went all the way up to his shoulders (don't worry, I made sure his head stayed above the water)! One highlight of the day was that Spence wake boarded!!! :) He doesn't usually wake board, he is a water rocket ridin' fool, so we were all very surprised to see him out there wake boarding! Ty, Ali, and I rode home with Grandma so we could get all cleaned up before we had dinner. Unfortunately Ty fell in the tub and got another bruise. (He got one at my mom's house on Thursday) I felt SO bad!! (Sorry, Lind! You probably think I'm the worst surrogate mom in the world) Saturday we started with a yummy breakfast and then hung out until it was time to go to Willow park for lunch and activities. We had fun playing games that my grandma and her siblings played growing up. We had a memory night later at my grandma's church and got to see and hear all the cousins and 2nd cousins updates! Sunday we drove up to Virginia, Idaho to go to my grandma's ward growing up. One of her friends growing up still lives there and said a lot of great things about the Juchau family! I got teary eyed on countless times as I witnessed the emotion on my grandma's face. We went and saw her house that she grew up in, which is now a barn. I can only imagine how hard it would be to see your childhood home so junkie. It still had some of the siding on that my grandma said they were all praying they would have enough money for when the salesman came to their door! We spent a good part of the day around Idaho seeing and hearing the wonderful childhood memories of my grandma!! I got to see my great-grandma's grave for the first time. She died on Koby and I's wedding day, so I missed the funeral because we were on our honeymoon. It was nice to kind of have some closure with her. We have had a fun month full of family times with both sides! We feel so grateful to be part of such wonderful heritage!

Some of the Many Bawden Traditions!

2009-08-06T19:33:00.000-06:00

The month of July was basically family reunion month. Almost every weekend we were gone for a family function. The weekend after the 4th we rode up to Lava Hot Springs with Jen and Ruby for the Willard (Koby's Grandma Bawden's side) family reunion. The first night we went to dinner and then to the hot pots. The kids didn't like the hot pots very much, because they are not the fun splash pools, but I thought it was nice and relaxing! The next day we had breakfast with the whole family and then played games. First everyone made a paper airplane and we had a contest in age groups to see whose went the furthest. Rhonda made everyones airplanes because she had watched a show about it with the kids (I want to say it was Care Bears, but I'm not certain). Nate won his age group and was pretty happy about that!! After that they did three legged races. It was pretty entertaining to watch. One little boy was dragging his sister down the field to win, literally! After those races they had age group races just down the field. I just watched, but Koby had to get in on the action so he raced with the under 30 over 18 group. He came in second wearing flip-flops and tripping on his way over the finish line!! I wish I had a video of it, he slide for the longest time after he fell. Unfortunately he cut his arm, knee, and toe. After that we went back to our room to change for the pool! I have only ever been to Lava in the winter time, so it was fun to go to the cool pool.

We also slept out for the 24th of July parade as is tradition for the Bawden's. I stayed up ALL night reading a book. We had a good time as always, but really enjoyed the sleep we were able to catch up on after we got home!! I didn't take a single picture this year, guess it's not that unusual for me not to! It was weird nothing out of the ordinary happened this year, in years past someone walked in their sleep and stole my blanket, a cat fight happened right by me while I was sleeping, and the airbed went flat in the night. This year nothing! It was strange! Anyway in enjoy the pictures of Lava! :)

Two Just For YOU: The 4th of July Weekend!!

2009-07-10T12:47:00.000-06:00

I decided I would put all the stuff my sister wanted in two posts in stead of one. Friday the third Lind and Jare had Ty-Ty's first birthday party in the morning!! I was really glad it was in the morning because we went to Bear Lake right after the party. Ty was so stinkin' cute the whole time!! Koby and I absolutely adore our nieces and nephews!! We got Ty some books for his birthday and the first one he seemed to love when he opened it!! Anyway, no one wants to read they want to see, so here are some super cute pics from the party! (Landon helped me take some so that's why they might look weird!)

A year ago with baby Ty-Ty

The happy Birthday Boy Ty!!

Little Brother Big Cake, Big Brother Little Cake!

We also went to Koby's grandparent's cabin over the weekend and had a blast! Koby went golfing and I went swimming with Paislee on the first day. The next day we went to the lake. The water wasn't too bad and the weather was our friend-so it ended up being a great day! Koby's parents have wave runners, which I've found is my new favorite thing to do!! I could ride a wave runner all day! That night we went and watch a little firework show. It was much better than last year's! Anyway here are some of the few pictures we took while we were there:

JUST for You Sista!!! :)

2009-07-10T12:25:00.000-06:00

Well, Melissa and Tim are out of the country as most of you know and she has been.....patiently or not very patiently waiting to see some pictures. So this is for me to kind of catch up and post some of the pictures for her to see! First, Koby and I celebrated our first Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday June 24!! Everyday on my way to work I pass a cute cafe on Main Street and hope to go there, so I decided our anniversary would be the perfect occasion! It was so fun and had really yummy food!! After that we hurried to the Salt Lake Temple and arrived just in time for our sealing time. We saw another couple there that had been married the same day as us, so that was pretty neat!! :) After we walked around the grounds of the temple and then sat on the lawn and talked for a while. (just a side note, for our first date we went to dinner and then sat on the lawn near the temple and talked.) We are super excited for all the years ahead!

I believe it was Saturday afternoon, after our anniversary, my dad took Jare's family and Koby and I to Willard Bay. It was pretty windy but at least the sun was out to warm us! We drove around the lake a bit to find some less choppy water but didn't find any so we pumped up the tube. As soon as the tube was filled the water calmed down. Landon and I rode the tube together and then Jare and Ty rode. We had a fun time together as always!!

You Should Be DANCING!!!

2009-06-18T18:36:00.000-06:00

Last night Koby and I went to our nieces dance recital!! We just love to watch them dance and see how they have progressed! They are all such cute little dancers! It was so fun to watch them and see how each one has different strengths and shines on the stage!!! We also got to see baby Ruby for the first time. She was born while we were at Lake Powell so we didn't get to see her until see was almost a week old! We love her already and are so happy for Jen and Will!! We both agree that we have the cutest nieces in the whole world. We couldn't be more proud to have them in our family! Just look at how cute they are:

Lake Powell Pics

2009-06-18T17:49:00.000-06:00

The Spirit Is Swelling And The Wolverines Yelling....

2009-06-18T17:02:00.000-06:00

If you recognize the title of my post you know you are a Hunter High School Alumni. It's been a couple of weeks, but my little brother graduated from Hunter High School! I can't believe he is done with high school. It makes me feel kind of old even though I am only 21! For his graduation we went to lunch at Tucano's (I'm not really sure on the spelling of it). Tucano's is a lot like Rodezio Grill (not sure how to spell that either). Then the girls went to Downeast and some of the boys went home. Oh, and thanks grandma for buying me a shirt!! Then we chilled at my parent's house for a bit and then headed over to the E Center for the graduation ceremony. Koby and I left a head of the rest and should have taken Spence with us. He barely made it in time to walk out with his class (which made me as antsy as could be) but atleast he made it! I have gotten teary-eyed at all my siblings graduations except for my own. I guess when you are graduating yourself you are just so excited to be done with high school that you don't think too much about it. We are so proud of you Spence!!! :) Here are some pics of the event!!

Spence getting his dipolma

Spence is in the middle

Aren't we a cute family?! ;)

Spence made that face on purpose

Spence and his friend Bailee (yes just friends)

Just HAD to add this one cause he is SO cute!!

me and my lil bro! (look at the guys face behind us lol)

Playing Catch Up....Again!

2009-06-08T20:06:00.000-06:00

Wow, the past month and a half have gone by so fast! Where do I start!? The weekend of Mother's day Koby and I went up to his boss' cabin to take pictures of it and to spend a nice relaxing weekend together. His boss has such a beautiful piece of land and a magnificent cabin up in Bear Lake. It is right off the beach, which I'm sure in the warmer months is so fun! On Saturday of that weekend we stopped at my Grandma Lott's house and visited my mom and grandma. We pulled some weeds for my grandma and then headed home. Sunday we went out to Koby's grandma's house because that's where his mom was choosing to spend her day. We were able to go over to my Grandma Shook's house for a little bit to visit her. We spent the rest of the night at Grandma Hensley's house visiting. I studied for, took, and passed (finally) the placement test to get into STATS 1040 and have already taken my first exam. Koby is also taking a summer class, so we are both keeping pretty busy. A couple weekends ago we went up to Bear Lake again but this time with family for Memorial Day! Thankfully it was warm enough on Saturday so we (most of the women and children) played at the pool for a while, while the guys were golfing.

Oh, I almost forgot.....I cut my hair!! :) It took a little getting used to but I really like it! I'll try to find a good picture of it. We also got a new camera since the last one broke. The weekend after memorial day we had a baby shower for Jennica and baby Ruby. We had a really good turn out and she got tons of cute stuff! I decorated her some wood letters that said "Ruby". I think they are super cute! I was tempted to keep them for myself and then be forced to name a little girl ruby. No worries, they are safely in Jen's hands! ;) Now we are anxiously awaiting Ruby's arrival. I just know she is going to come as soon as we go on vacation, but that's life!! We really can't wait for her to come and we are SO excited for Jen and Will!!!! :)

Flash From The Past?

2009-05-02T11:28:00.000-06:00

So my little brother is 17 years old. He has been experimenting with his facial hair growing abilities lately and I'm not so sure it is the best idea! LOL! First he grew long side burns, then a beard (sort of), then a goatee with a mustache and "sole patch". Now this is what he looks like:

His Fav

"keep your eyes open!"

Not his fav but I had to share it!

He was only going to leave it like this for a couple of days and tomorrow it will be a week! My Uncle had a mustache growing up, then shaved it, my dad had a mustache when my parents were engaged, and then up at USU once a lot of the ROTC guys grew mustaches, but man this is weird!! A guy at worked asked how old he was. I told him that he is only 17. He told me that when he was 17 he couldn't even grow side burns! Well, congrats Spen you are one hairy beast!!! :)

HALLELUJAH!!!!

2009-04-27T17:00:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to inform you all that I am officially D-O-N-E with this semester!!!! Yay! I thought I would never make it! I survived! Ok, I'm done. Just had to get some of my excitement out! :) Now I need to study for a Stats placement test so I can start a summer class. yippee.

What a Month!!

2009-04-25T20:20:00.001-06:00

Wow I can't believe this month is almost over!!! March was vacation month for Koby and I. We went to St. George twice, once with almost all of Koby's family for Aubree's Dance Concert and then a couple weeks later for Spence's Clogging Competition! We also went to California, as stated in an earlier post. April has been a super crazy, busy month for us. We both had a lot of school and work stuff. I can't believe this semester is almost over. I have a final project and exam left for one of my classes and then I will be done...for this semester at least!! I am hoping to take an online Stats class this summer and then I can get into my major! I'm actually excited to be taking a class this summer! Summers just aren't the same when you are married and working. You actually have to go to work! LOL!! Koby is also taking a summer class...or is it two?! For a while Koby and I went exercising four out of the five working days. He did really good the next week but M'liss was her so I didn't get much of anything done!! I'm really sad because I made some cute crafts with my sistas and I can't show them to you because sadly my camera is broken. If anyone has seen any good deals on digital cameras be sure and let us know!!! :) Anyway, we are doing well and just can't wait for the weather to be our friend so that we can get out on the lake!! :)

Cali Pics!!

2009-04-25T20:08:00.000-06:00

Fun In The SUN!!!

2009-03-23T21:02:00.000-06:00

Between Koby and I's spring breaks (which was in March, yeah I'm WAY behind) we, along with Aubree and Spencer, went to California. It was sort of a last minute trip. We thought about going then decided we would save, then decided to go because tickets were still a pretty good price. Koby and I arrived on Friday and went to the San Diego temple. It is SO pretty. The outside looks like a fairytale castle to me and then parts of the inside do as well! Then we went and found where we were going to stay and got dinner. We got a condo through Koby's work so we didn't have to pay for it, which was really nice. We woke up early the next morning to make it to the LAX in time to pick up Aubree and Spence. We stopped at McDonald's and then made our way to SIX FLAGS!!!!! It was a little crowded because it was only open on weekends, but we still had tons of fun! We got back to the condo pretty late and went straight to bed. The next day was Sunday so we slept as long as we could and then went to a 1:00 singles ward. The ward was so small that it was impossible to just blend in. They announced that they would have treats and meet all the visitors before they went on to Sunday School. We hurried out of there as fast as we could after the closing prayer. Monday we went to Knott's Berry Farm. It was way more fun than I thought it would be! Knott's wasn't as crowded as Six Flags which was really nice. Tuesday we went to the beach and then laid out by the pool. It was so nice and warm!!! We got to the airport and went to check in. The lady that checked us in saw that my license was expired and just had to write it on my ticket. When I should the guy as security my id and ticket he made me stand to the side until another guy came and told him I was fine because it barely expired in January. Thank goodness this guy was nice. I thought I was going to have to stay in Cali a little longer, which I probably wouldn't have minded except I can't get a rental car. :) Anyway, we had a great time and were thankful for the quick break!

Rascal Flatts and Little Rascals!!

2009-03-07T23:04:00.001-07:00

So it has been over a week now, but all the Bawden girls (oh, and Terry) had a night out. Ok, it was WAY more than a night out. We went to dinner and then we went to the RASCAL FLATTS concert!! Oh my heck it was the most fun night I have had in a long time! I had such a great time singing and screaming at the top of my lungs! Terah, Rhonda, Terry, and I all sat together on the row right before the floor and Jen and Amanda were on the floor!!! It was SO much fun! We are making a girls tradition and I can hardly wait for next year's concert!!!!! :)

On Sunday all the Bawdens (minus a few for various reasons) went down to St. George/Cedar City to watch Aubree dance. The drive wasn't bad and we got to have a lot of fun together! On Monday it was so nice and warm that I laid out by the pool while everyone except for Rhonda was swimming. It was so nice and warm, I laid out long enough to get a little sunburn. Poor prego Jen got a little more than a little sunburn! After we were all packed up and ready we got something to eat and then drove back to Cedar. In Cedar we went to a discovery park and played for a little bit. There is nothing like playing with kids at a park!! We played tag til I thought I'd throw up, went swinging, played around and checked out all the park had to offer, and then played hide n seek!!! I didn't want the fun to end! Then we went to Aub's apt and hung out and got ready for the dance concert. Terry bought us all pizza and bread sticks and then we headed over to watch Aubs dance! The drive home afterwards didn't feel too long and I had a hard time falling to sleep after we got home. It was so fun to spend time with Koby's side of the family!

Yesterday (Friday) I had to tell and record me telling a story for my storytelling class. My mom called a bunch of the kids from the ward over and they all helped with my story. It was a participation story so when I said a certain word they would say something to go along with it. They were all really excited to help and I was really grateful for it!! The twins and Nate came too and stayed after everyone else. We played hide n seek with Ali and AJ until it was time for them to go. They came up with some pretty clever hiding places!! My favorite was when we couldn't find AJ and Brianna. We had looked the whole house over and could NOT find them. One of the other kids asked for them to say something so we could have a little clue to where they were. We heard the sound coming from the laundry room so that's where we headed. When we came in the lid of the washing machine opened up and two little smiling faces popped out!! We had a bunch of fun playing together!! :)

What a Rush!

2009-02-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

Valentine's weekend was really fun! It was our first V-day together because I was in Ecuador last year. Koby had suggested we go to Lava Hot Springs and spend the night and hang out a little bit in the hot pots! So that is exactly what we did!! We left Friday after we had both gotten off of work and headed up to Idaho. We stopped at Panda Express on the way up and some yummy food. We got to our motel and get ready to go to the hot pots. So many people sneak alcohol in it is crazy! We stayed in the second hotest one for a long time then we decided to go to a cooler one, I was getting so tired because of the heat! We left and bought a creamy on our way to our motel and then went and relaxed in the jetted tub in our room. It took up pretty much the whole bathroom, but I loved it! I told Koby that's what I want in our house someday!!! :) The next day we slept til it was time to check out and got breakfast at a gas station on our way out of town. We have a goal to go to all the temples in Utah and so we are going to do one a month. Logan temple was our February temple. We went and did a session there and then we were going to visit my grandparents but my grandma is sick so we could go see her. :( After the temple we did a little shopping and then went to Chili's for an early dinner before we headed home. While we were in Chili's it had started snowing so by the time we got out to the car it was covered in snow. Driving through the canyon was a nightmare! Koby could hardly see the road infront of him. We both kept thinking we should turn around and just stay at my grandparents. We never turned around and we made it safely through!! We came home and did some grocery shopping and then went home and watch a movie from the "On Demand" on our tv. We watch Prelude to a Kiss. Dumb movie I don't recommend watching it. It was a rush of a weekend but we had tons of fun together!! I love you Koby!!! :)
ps sorry no pics. I even brought my camera! :(

They NEED our help!!!!

2009-02-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

I received my second newsletter today from OSSO, the group that I went to Ecuador with. They are really struggling right now. If they do not get enough volunteers and donations they will have to drop some of the orphanages. I wish I could share with all of you the things that I experienced there and tell you what it is really like to work with those amazing children, but words can not describe it. I wish I could show you pictures, because just looking at those sweet kids touches your heart in ways you can't imagine. I normally don't do things like this, but I don't want it to be my kids that go with out the help of OSSO. Even now as I think about them with out the volunteers to love them and the wonderful contributions from great people it brings tears to my eyes. I know that things are tight money wise these days, even time feels less and less each day, but please help them if you can. If you would like to help or need to read the newsletter they sent me to get you to help I would LOVE to forward it to you! It has pictures of my cute kids and you really can see how cute they are! They are getting so big I almost didn't recognize them!! Even if you don't want to contribute to OSSO, I'll forward it to you just so you can get a little look at what it was like to be with them! Thanks for reading!!

Because of YOU...

2009-02-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

I just had to post a quick little post. I want to thank everyone who texted or called me on my Birthday!! I felt like the most popular person in the world! I was a worried that this birthday was going to be the worst, but many things made it a special day for me. Koby made me Toaster Strudel for breakfast! Koby brought lunch to my work for me and my boss paid for everyone!! Koby also brought me some roses! All of Koby's siblings and his parents called or texted me! My family came and decorated my house, gave me lots of fun gifts, and took me out to Texas Road House. My parents and Spence played games with me afterwards! Koby came home gave me my gifts and we called it a night! I am so grateful for family on both sides that are so supportive, thoughtful, and loving!! Thanks everyone for making it my special day for me and sorry if I missed your call.

Happy Birthday Babe!

2009-01-27T13:24:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to wish Mandy a Happy Birthday! She is the best wife I have ever had! She is what keep me going and makes my day seem that much brighter. I am so thankful for her and the important part that she plays in my life. It is hard to imagine that it has already been 7 months, but I can honestly say they have been the best 7 months of my life. Thank you for all you do and for who you are! I hope you have a wonderful day. I love you so much! -- Koby

What Does This Mean?

2009-01-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up and wasn't too hungry so I decided I would eat some eggs for breakfast. I got the eggs out along with milk, cheese, a bowl, and a pan. I cracked the first egg and this is what I found.....

Two yokes!!!!! Is this normal?! I'm not sure if anyone will believe me or maybe I'm just being dumb, I don't know. I have never seen this before!!!

While I'm on here I might as well give a little update! Koby and I both started another semester and I don't think we will be seeing much of each other again. I work three days a week now which felt so over whelming but is getting better now that I am getting things figured out. We were asked to speak in church on the 8th of February. We haven't been up to much lately. But we are happy and healthy for the most part!!:)

This is How We Do It!

2009-01-05T00:31:00.000-07:00

New Year's Eve was slightly different this year! Normally we either go to my parent's house or to our good friends the Sorensen's house and play games, visit, catch up, and then after midnight and a cup of bubbly we go out to breakfast! This year it was just my family. We went to the church and played tornado, Wii, and Wacky Six! We also rode around on the wiggle cars! It was so much fun, but we missed the Sorensens and Koby! Koby was in New Orleans for the Utes BCS game (he can blog about that later if he so chooses). Last year I was in Ecuador and had to miss out on the "traditional" New Year celebration, so it was nice to be home this year!! Ecuadorians make a dummy to look like themselves and burn them at midnight, "burning" their old selves and sins with the dummies. I hope that Koby and I can be together next year so I can finally have a New Year's kiss!! :) There is always something that stands out each year that we go to breakfast. One year there was a fight, another someone ordered "Classic Eggs", but this year the memorable thing was the waiter! Tight pants, glitter on the EXTREME side, and big blue bunny ears!!!! I tried to get pictures with out being too obvious, but I didn't get a very good one. All in all it was a fun night with lots of fun memories!! Thanks fam!! You da Bomb!! (LOL!)

PS melissa has a lot of pictures so hopefully she'll post them soon!!

Our waiter there in the background!

Yes, Classic Eggs is a heading, not a meal. I'm not sure who would think it was a meal! I never would that's for sure! ;)

The funniest picture of Jare!!! (Sorry, I just HAD to put it on here!)

Me looking so sad that Koby was not with us! :(

Landon playing with the ball! He loves trying to make baskets!

Simply Havin' A Wonderful Christmas Time!

2009-01-04T23:25:00.000-07:00

I won't go into the details of things because that would be far too long and no one would read this post, so here I go. We had a wonderful Christmas time! We were able to spend time with both sides of the family and enjoy their company. We did a little Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve morning and then headed up to Logan to spend a little time with Grandma and Grandpa Lott and my siblings. We left in time to make it to Terry and Rhonda's for the Bawden part of our celebrations. We spent Christmas Eve night and then Christmas morning with my parent's and did some visiting of relatives on the way out to G & G Shook's house for Christmas dinner. After dinner we paid a little visit to G & G Hensley. We are so blessed with wonderful family and all that we could ever ask for!! Thanks everyone for a fun filled Christmas!!!! :)

I Spell Tree F-R-E-E!!

2008-12-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Koby and I have gotten a lot of our Christmas decorations for free this year! A lady in our parent's ward was getting rid of a tree and we were lucky enough to get it. It also had lights with it, so we didn't have to get those. My dad got some ornaments, lights, and other decorations from work. My mom bought me a fake wreath so that I could decorate it. It is a sort of tradition I guess, when one of my sibs or I got married my parents give us the following before Christmas: all my old ornaments, a tree stand, "our first Christmas" ornament, and an under-the-bed box. My mom collects Nativities, so we also got to chose a nativity sceene to take home. The only decorations we paid for were the star for our tree and some wooden letters that I decorated!!! We are super excited for Christmas and can hardly wait for it to come!!!:)

What we paid for....

What we got for FREE.....

Some Fun Days!

2008-12-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here is just a little update, well hopefully it will be little!! :) Thursday was the third annual (I think) Forgotten Carols night! Jare, Lind, my parents, and Koby and I went to dinner at the Training Table. I have never been there in my entire life so it was a new experience for me! After that Lind and Jare decided that we needed a little something to munch on while we were at the play, so we stopped at Shopko on our way and picked up a few treats! Ok, it was more than a few. Each person got one! We met up with my friend Amy and her husband Keven and our family friends, Kat and Brian! We had a wonderful time as always! I just LOVE the Forgotten Carols!!! It makes me ready for Christmas. I love the songs and I love the feelings I feel when I hear them! At the end I had a couple people I was thinking of and wishing they were there with me, but could not be that night-Melissa, Tim, and Spence!! I'm SO happy and thankful that I am part of a forever family!! I couldn't live without my family! Thanks mom and dad for taking us!!

Friday was such a fun day!! I didn't have work and I had a few errands to fun in Logan. My mom brought some stuff by for me to take to my grandparents and for a short visit. I went up to Logan and dropped my books off at the bookstore so that I could get paid for them! I was so lucky because my best friend Kristen was at her apartment so I got to go pay a little visit! It was SO good to see her and just sit and talk for a little bit! I miss her so much!! After that I went to my grandparents and picked up some presents and visited a little bit. They helped me figure out where a reception was that I was going to that night and it's a good thing too! I would have been wandering around Logan, when it was in Wellville! My grandparents left to go play cards with their friends so I waited around at their house while my friend was driving up to meet me! One of my good friends from Ecuador got married on Friday and her reception was that night! My friend Kelsey and I got there and went through the line and then waited around for our other friends to come. It was such a wonderful reunion when other familiar faces appeared at the reception! My first roommate in Ecuador came and her older sister who was also a great friend of mine! I also got to see two other really good friends from Ecuador!! It was such an awesome night that I will never forget!! Here are just a few pictures of us togther again!!

THE best husband in the world-and he's mine!!!

2008-12-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

What kind of husband wakes up at 3:50 in the morning, when he has to get up early for class and work in just a few short hours? MINE! I woke up with a horrible migraine at 3:40 am and made myself get out of bed to take something to make my head feel better and ended up making myself sick. I decided to just stay on the couch because I didn't want to wake him (and his breathing was bothering me). Then I just kept on feeling sick to my stomach so Koby made me a nice little bed on the bathroom floor. He even asked if I wanted him to lay by me on the floor! Luckily I never threw up, but I didn't feel quite like myself the next morning! I'm so thankful that I have such a loving husband that would do about anything for me!! He is always so kind and loving especially when I don't feel well! I love you Koby!!!!:)

I'm Thankful

2008-11-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

As can be expected around Thanksgiving, I'm going to post what I'm thankful for but only in pictures!!:) I love seeing everyone's pictures and my last post had zero! So here I go!!! :) PS they aren't in any order, they are just on there!:)

I could go on and on, but you might get a little board!

pps I would put pictures of my Ecuadorian kids but I'm not allowd to put pictures of them on the internet! :(

What a Week!! (sorry no pics)

2008-11-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so the week was not that bad, but we had a lot going on! Sunday we had Koby's cousin Marcus' farewell. For all who know me well, I used to have a huge crush on Marcus, so it was kind of weird going! After the farewell we went to my parent's house for a birthday bash for Grandma Lott (on the 17th) and Koby (on the 19th)!! It was a lot of fun to be with everyone and enjoy each other's company! Monday night I volunteered at Evergreens, it is sort of like the festival of trees but much smaller and in Layton!! :) I sat near a tree that had lots of toys that all the little kids wanted to play with! Tuesday I had to work and had to stay a little later than I thought and failed to call Koby. He got a little paranoid and called my mom and then finally called me at work. We were late for a dinner party that my visiting teacher invited us to, so after I got home we hurried on over. It was really good homemade Mexican food!!! She had made juice which reminded me so much of Ecuador! It was so yummy!!!! Wednesday was Koby's 27th birthday! Yes my husband is that old! Crazy huh? Anyway, I wanted to make it so special for him but wasn't exactly sure what to do. So I finished all my homework and hurried over to Target to get some supplies and another present for him. I got some decorations and then went on to look for a present. He said that silky sheet would be cool, but I couldn't find those at Target, so I had to settle for a sweater! I went back home and started to decorate! I was talking to M'liss on the phone and trying to decorate, for those of you who have tried to decorate a room all by yourself, talking on the phone is difficult! I had to tell M'liss good-bye and finish up my wonderful creation! I had everything all ready by the time he got home, except for his card!! We went to Robintino's (sp?) for dinner. It was really good food and the service was great! After that we went to find a movie. After trying two different redbox locations we still didn't find the movie we were looking for. We still had a gift card for Coldstone so we got ice cream and tried the last redbox location. Luckily this one had it and we headed home! We had a nice evening together without any worries or cares, it was so nice! Thursday was the only night last week that we did not have anything! Friday we were luck enough to get to spend some time with friends. We went to a reception and were able to see lots of old friends there! I don't think I have ever heard so much about a football game in one evening, or one weekend for that matter! By the end of Friday night I was praying that the Utah vs BYU football game would disappear!! Saturday morning I woke to my alarm going off and finding the bed next to me empty. At first I was a little worried because it was Saturday and usually Koby is the one to sleep in on Saturday. Then I remembered why I was dreading the day before me and yet I was so grateful that it was finally here! It was the day of the Utah vs. BYU football game that I had been hearing about for days, no it was more like weeks. Anyway, Koby was so excited/nervous about the game that he couldn't sleep and was up pretty early for a Saturday!! Koby watched some football and helped a family move, while I finished up a paper that had been put off for far too long. Koby decided he should get ready for the game after trying to delay it for a while. He left a little bit earlier than I expected, but I guess I should have expected it. While I was enjoying himself in the freezing cold, my mom and I drove up to Logan for a little visit with my grandparents and I had a bridal shower. We did a little shopping and then my mom and grandma dropped me off in Wellsville for the bridal shower. My friend Shara that I met in Ecuador is getting married soon and I was lucky enough to be invited to celebrate with her! Oh, sorry this is getting really long, sorry! After a week plus of hearing about the game it finally ended and I didn't have to be a little anxious to come home! Needless to say I came home to a happy husband!!!

The Week of Halloween!

2008-11-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is my second very late post, well I guess I always post very late! The Monday before Halloween my throat started hurting, but it wasn't too bad. AJ came and stayed Monday night with us and we had a lot of fun! First we made some macaroni and shells for dinner then we played with my Magnetix and made a little man out of them! It was AJ's idea. He has a very good imagination!

Then it was time for AJ to go to bed, so we watched a movie so that he could get tired! He chose Elf! We tried to make popcorn and this is what happened:

My microwave does NOT like popping popcorn. Every time I try to pop popcorn it ends up burned. Well, AJ and I got really lucky cause only a couple pieces of popcorn were burned! After the movie we read a couple stories and then AJ went right to sleep, which is pretty amazing! The next day we ate Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries for breakfast. AJ doesn't get to eat this kind of cereal very often so I thought I would be nice and let him! :) After breakfast we made some more magnetix creations! AJ made up the love one all by himself-cute huh?

After that we went to Wendy's for an early lunch because I had to go to Logan. I took AJ over to Rhonda's for the afternoon. I got up to Logan and met with my advisor. I have to declare a major now or else they will put a hold on my registration. So I found out I have to take some classes at SLCC and hopefully finish by Spring 2010 semester or it could be that Fall. I thought I would be done a whole lot faster, but unfortunately it won't happen. I got home and my throat was hurting so bad I just wanted to rip it out. So I called the Bawden's to check on AJ and to see what Rhonda thought about my throat. She suggested I go to the doctors. So I went to Insta Care and waited FOR-EV-ER!!!!! After all that waiting and getting my throat swabbed I found out that it was just a viral thing and I would just have to wait it out! I was so upset. My throat was KILLING me! When I got home Koby gave me a hug and I just started crying. The whole day just didn't go the way I planned. Koby got me some cough drops and a jamba juice and then made me some soup for dinner!

The next day at work I just felt horrible. Wednesdays are my longest days at work and believe me it was an even longer day that day. I was aching all over and just wanted to go home and sit on my couch or in bed. The next day wasn't much better. I could hardly breath, swallow or talk it hurt so bad. My mom had called everyday to check on the throat situation so when she called Thursday we both decided she should bring me some easy to eat foods and some medicine. I was feeling so sad because the next day was Halloween and I hadn't seen any of the nieces and nephews for a very long time and I really wanted to see them in their Halloween costumes. I decided that if I felt better by the next day I would go see them.

Well the next day came and my throat still hurt, but I had to go see them! I mean who could resist seeing all those cute kids? I wasn't contagious so I went out to Lind and Jare's while Koby went to his cousin Dylan's football game. We had Papa Murphy's and homemade root beer for dinner and then while everyone else was trunk-or-treating my mom and I made sugar cookies and Carmel apples!

Thanks for letting me use all your stuff Lind and your neighbor!! :) Landon was an Elephant and Ty was a pumpkin! I have to say that Ty was THE CUTEST pumpkin I have ever seen!!!

After we ate dinner we decorated sugar cookies and then it was time for Koby and I to go to the Bawden's for hot chocolate and donuts! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures at the Bawden's but I know Terah and Amanda did so if you want to see some of the cute Hannah Montana, Luke Skywalker, and a pirate go on over to their pages! :) By the end of the night I knew I had over done it. My throat hurt so bad I could hardly stand it! Koby was so understanding the whole time and took very good care of me!! :) Thanks Kob! I love you Infinity plus 10!!:)

VA Pic Slideshow

2008-11-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

My Trip to VA! (sorry it's REALLY long)

2008-10-30T18:25:00.000-06:00

About three weeks ago my little brother (Spence, not A.J.) and I went to visit Melissa and Tim in VA. On our first flight we sat behind a crazy lady who wanted alcohol as soon as she sat down. Our second flight was a lot more peaceful without the crazy lady on board. We arrived in Norfolk, VA at 11:40 almost a half hour early and yes had to wait. Melissa and Tim picked us up around 12:30 am and we headed out for their townhome in Williamsburg. Upon arriving we took a tour of their two bedroom one and a half bath townhouse. It is much nicer than I expected it to be. Melissa had made us a nice bed on an airmaterss and a little welcome sign. She has always been a thoughtful person, so I shouldn't have expected anything less. The next day we had to wrestle with Spence because he needed a haircut and BAD!! So M'liss finally convinced him to let her cut it. He played guitar hero while she cut it and I got ready for the day. After we were all ready to go we took a 40 minute drive to M'liss' school. It was so fun to finally see where she is all day long everyday! We helpped organize stuff and set stuff up while she tried to write some lesson plans. Man I'm glad I did not want to become a teacher! It would just be too much for me! She seems to handle it well though! After that we headed back to her place and had some dinner and then I showed her how to get started on a blog page. It probably wasn't the smartest on my part because blogging can be so addictive sometimes!

The next day M'liss, Spence, and I went to Jamestown Settlement. It had a huge museum where you can see things they have found in that area and some representations of what the Indain homes looked like. They also had a little part of a street that looked like a street in England way back when. It was really cool to see. We also got to watch a little video about the real Pocahontas. She did not marry John Smith, now the real guys name escapes me, but it wasn't John. After we walked around the museum we went outside where they have ships that were built to look just like the ships that the first settlers came there on. It was pretty neat to actually be able to walk around on them. We got to sit in the little places were they slept and see how cramped it really was. I don't think I could have gone across a huge ocean on such a small space. I would have jumped overboard before we arrived at our destination. Anyway, after the ships we walked around the village. It was pretty cool. On our way home we picked Tim up from school and went home. We made some dinner and the boys played Guitar Hero. After dinner we played the bean trader game. It is one of Spence's favs.

The next day we went to Busch Gardens! The first roller coaster we went on ended up being our favorite! I am so mad at myself because I brought my camara around with me all day and did not take one single picture! I barely got one of our favorite roller coaster AFTER we left. I'm just a horrible picture taker. Anyway, we tried to at least ride all of the roller coasters. They have Halloween stuff around Halloween time so M'liss did not want to be around when the scary people came out. Luckily we were done just when the Halloween people were coming out. We rode this crazy roller coaster that had not 1 but 2 90 degree drops in it!!!!! It brings you up to the top then hangs you over the edge kind of like the rocket at Lagoon but better because you get to keep going after the drop! I thought my heart was going to stop after hanging there for a minute. They had a lot of fun rides! Surprisingly it was a chilly day. After riding our favorite roller coaster like five times we decided we were done. We went home and played some more games and just enjoyed being together.

We went to church on sunday and then came home a slept a little bit. I think I'm mixing some days up but I guess it's ok! :) Monday we did a little shopping. One of the nights we went to Rita's! Oh my goodness it was so yummy!!!! It was Italian ice with custard! Custard, for those of you who don't know (I didn't), is like fluffy ice cream. Well that's how I describe it anyway! I got a Blendini! It was chocolate custard mixed with chocolate italian ice, pretzles, and brownie chunks!! YUMMY!!!! They lady was so nice and friendly too! If you ever go to Virginia go to Rita's! Well It is closed now so wait until it is open of course!:)

Our last day there was Tuesday and I was going to make the most of it. We got our bags all packed and said good-bye to M'liss and Tim's house. We shopped around colonial Williamsburg, went to lunch at WAWA (a fun gas station-like place where you order your sub sandwich on a computer) with Tim, and drove around seeing the older houses in the area. I just love older houses and have had this dream of fixing up an old house some day, so seeing these houses was so fun to me! There was one house for sale so I took a picture so Koby could see it, but I don't think he liked it as much as I did! :) After we had all our fun it was time to head for the airport. We got there with what felt like so little time, but ended up having to wait just a little bit. It was sad to say good-bye as it always is, but I'm so happy that M'liss and Tim get to come out for Christmas!!! It has felt like something is missing everytime our family gets together!!! All in all it was a great trip and would love to do it again! I'll have to bring Koby with me though, I think he missed me a little bit while I was gone!!! ;)

Thanks M'liss and Tim for such a great time! We love you so much and CAN'T wait to see you again in December!!!!! :)

Four Months and Going Strong!!

2008-10-25T23:52:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was our four month anniversary!! We had a fun date night to celebrate! When Koby got home he gave me some roses with a nice little note!! Then we, well I should say I decided that we should go to Rumbi Grill for dinner. It is one of my new favorites! I probably shouldn't, but I just feel like it is a little more healthy than some of the other choices out there. After a yummy rice bowl with chicken we headed off for Best Buy. We decided to purchase a new laptop. We already had one but it is really hard to share a computer when both of us have school work to do. We got a pretty good deal and both felt good about it. Then we went to The District to see a movie. We watched The Express. It is THE best movie I have seen in a long time!!! I definitely recommend it! Today we did some homework and then went out to the good ol WVC to Dax's 1st birthday party!! He is the cute little boy of Koby's friends Jon and Tori. It was fun to get out of the house and socialize a little bit! We came home and finished up some more homework and then went grocery shopping! It was so nice to have Koby go with me to the store. I don't like shopping, but most especially grocery shopping by myself. Other than what I have written we are just working and going to school!! Life is good, but a little stressful. Well, I'll keep ya posted!!

Getting Caught-up!!

2008-10-25T23:12:00.000-06:00

SO much has happend since I wrote last that I don't even know where to begin! WAY back in August we had a little get together with my mom's side of the family. It was so fun to see my cousins again. They only live in Provo and Logan, but we all have a hard time getting together. We met at a park in Provo and had a picnic. We watched my nephew Landon and my cousin's little boy Allen throw a little ball around, played on the slide, talked, and of my favorite part-played a game!!

The next day we had a little birthday party for my sister Lindy! I love celebrating Lindy's birthday because to her it is the best day out of the whole year!!! I know it's late, but I'm so happy that you are a part of our family Lind!! Love you!

The weekend before Conference we took one last boating trip! The air was pretty warm, but the water was FREEZING!!!!! Koby, Jare, and my dad all got in and did their thing, while Ali, AJ, Landon, and I wraped ourselves up in jackets and towels!!

After the big boys were done taking their turn, Ali and I wanted to go for a tube ride. We finally got the tube filled with air and put on the water. I got Landon to say he wanted a ride, too, so he sat on my lap. Oh, I forgot to write about the saddest thing that happened that day. We were getting ready for one of the guys to get in and all had our backs turned when Jare hurd a little splash. When he turned around to see where Landon was he couldn't find him. He looked over the edge and there was Landon coming up out of the water! It didn't seem to bother him too much, I think the cold water and the fact that he fell over the edge shocked him a little bit.

That didn't stop him from riding the tube with Ali and I though! Unfortunately, my side of the tube, well the "seat coushion" thing, was flat. I was knee deep in water the whole time! :( Even though my feet were numb by the time they pulled us in, I stilled loved every minute of it!! Boating is one of my favorite things, I'm sad that the summer weather is over. Koby and I went with some of our friends up the canyon near us and had a little hotdog roast! It was pretty dang cold, but was really fun!!

One Sunday after dinner at my parent's we decided to play a little kick ball! It was super fun even though it felt like you kicked a brick instead of a four square ball. The game ended when the ball rolled on to fresh dog poo-it was fun while it lasted!!

Well, I hope everyone is satisfied!! More is on the way!!!:)

Hey! Hey! You! You!

2008-10-17T08:54:00.001-06:00

Ok, I know I haven't posted in a LONG while (I will post asap), but I just wanted everyone to notice a new blogger who has FINALLY entered this wonderful blogging world-Melissa!!! I showed her how to make it last night. Her blog is super cute so everyone go check it out!!!! :)

Hooray For ME!!!!!!!!

2008-08-26T14:39:00.000-06:00

Just thought I'd update everybody on my life right now! Well about two weeks ago I went in for a job interview. They seemed like they really liked me and I basically felt like I got the job. They told me they would get back to me on Thursday and they never called. I was feeling a little discouraged, but decided to not let it get me down. I called them on Friday, you know "just to see if they had hired anyone". As soon as the girl found out it was me she told me that they wanted me to come in for a week trial. At first I thought it was a let down, but I decided that a week trial is way better than doing basically nothing that week. So Koby and I went to good ol Walmart bought me some scrubs. On Monday morning I walked into the Doctor's office a little before eight and by nine o clock I had a part time job working basically as a medical assistant! I now work at a foot doctor. I just bring patients back, take x-rays, scrub toes for ingrown toe nail surgery, set-up for surgery, clean up after a patient leaves and answer the phone once in a while!! I love it there!!! I only work a couple days a week which is really nice, because I finally got registared for classes!!!! I get to take online classes through Utah State! It isn't exactly what I wanted, but I'm grateful that I get to take some classes!!!! Well that's all, thanks for reading!!

Melissa's Last Couple of Days

2008-08-14T15:15:00.000-06:00

Well, my sister and her husband moved to Williamsburg, Virgina last week. Tim, her husband left on Monday, so we had until Thursday to spend with her. Monday we had a little "good-bye" dinner for Tim and then Landon entertained us with his cute little guy basketball skills!! Tuesday I went and hung out at my parent's house, basically so that I could be around Melissa before she left. She decided that she wanted to go shopping. So just Melissa and I headed off to the Gateway. She really wanted to go to Forever 21. After a fun filled evening of shopping we went to my apartment. Koby made us dinner and we picked up some Smith's garlic bread. Spence came over and had a little something
to eat and then we played Apples-to-Apples.

Wednesday we went to the Living Aqurium in Sandy. It was a lot of fun. Ali and AJ really liked being there and it was really fun to hear Landon say "fish"! Landon really like driving the pretend boat that they have there. After that we met the rest of the family at Leatherby's. Melissa abolutely loves Leatherby's. That's where she wanted to go for her last dinner in Utah. After wards she wanted to do a little more shopping, but this time for dress pants. We went over the Lindy's after that so Melissa could spend some more time with Lindy and the boys before she left. We played with the boys for a little bit and then "helpped" give them a bath.

It was so hard to watch her say good-bye to them. Kids change so much especially at this age. Just a side note Landon took the picture of Melissa and Lindy. :)

The next day I took them to the airport. We didn't really have time to say good-bye because she was running a little late. It was hard not to cry my eyes out on the way home, but I had already done that on Sunday night.

This is Melissa and I at the airport right before I had to drive away. I slept over at my parent's house and didn't have any of my make up or anything, so don't judge me!!:)

We are so proud of Melissa and Tim and hope the best for them! They will bring so much to Virgina, they won't know what hit them!!!

Better Late Than Never!

2008-08-07T13:59:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm just a little behind on my blog, but hey at least I have more than one post on here-right?!

On July 7th at about 1:20 pm my sister-in-law Lindy gave birth to a baby boy! He was 6 lbs 12oz and 19 1/2 in!! It took them a couple days to decide on a name, but they finally came up with Titus J!! He is named after my great grandpa Titus Juchau and Lindy's grandpa, whose middle anitial is J. They have decided to have Titus go by Ty, which I think is really cute!! Landon just loves Ty! He loves to hold and kiss him! He is getting so good at talking now, he can even say Ty's name!! I just love my brother's family! They are so cute and so much fun to be around!!

Mexico-The Honeymoon!!!

2008-07-23T14:22:00.000-06:00

This is where we first ate in Mexico! (above) It was called Tacos and Beer! LOL. It was right next to Pizza and Beer!!! It was really good food though!! We ate there twice and would have eaten there more often if we could have!!!
On Friday we went on a day cruse! It was really fun! We got to do a bit of snorkeling, which Koby really enjoyed. I didn't like it so much because seaweed would rub against my shoulders when my head was under the water. Kinda creepy!!! Anyway, our day cruse took us to this beach (pictured above) that is only accessable by boat! It was so pretty there! It was like something you'd see on TV!! I loved it there!! We got nachos and a pina colada-virgin of course!!!

The next day we went on a zip line course!! It was a ton of fun!!! Koby had never experienced this before, so it was fun to do this together!!! The workers were so funny and made the course that much better!!! This was our last night on the beach!! It was such a beautiful sunset that night-which made the ending of our honeymoon just perfect!!! It was so nice to just relax and enjoy the time we had to be together!!

The Perfect Day!!

2008-07-11T17:51:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm happy to announce thay we are MARRIED!!!! The day is finally over! It was such a wonderful day though! I started the day out at 5:15 am and left soon there after for Randilee's house! Koby's cousin, Randilee was so nice as to offer to do my hair as a gift for the wedding! She did an amazing job! She took some of my very vauge thoughts, and made my hair dream come true!! It wasn't an instant headache, but I didn't feel like it was going to fall out either! Thanks Randilee! You are amazing!! Then after my hair was beautiful, I drove off as fast as I could to get to the temple on time!! Unfortunately I got caught in a bit of traffic. I tried to stay calm, but how could I when I knew I was going to be late and couldn't do anything about it?! Thankgoodness for the carpool lane!! It saved my life!! I got there only a couple minutes late (I think!). I got all my dresses and stuff checked in and then was wisked away to get dressed! Once I was dressed Koby and I got to just sit and talk for a little bit. It was so nice and peaceful, especially after I had been so rushed! As we walked into the Sealing Room, it was amazing! It made me slightly nervous to look around at people, so I just focused on the Sealer. FINALLY it was time to kneel across the alter from my true love! We said one little word and it was over-we were Mr. and Mrs. Koby Bawden!! We hugged everyone and then I got to get in my "princess" dress!! After I was all dresses and ready I went to meet up with Koby again! When he saw me his countenance changed! He got this HUGE smile on his face. I don't think anyone could have wiped that smile of his face even if they tried!! We practiced our "exit kiss" and headed up the stairs to once again see our friends and family! So our "exit kiss" is definately going to come back to haunt us!!! We practiced the kiss the opposite way of what it really would be, so we were a little turned around! We watch the video in shame! LOL! In all honesty I can hardly watch that part of our video, it drives me crazy!! The pictures turned out just perfect!! There are too many to choose from! After pictures we hurried over to the luncheon. I'm sure we looked like starving dogs! I ate so fast!! I was SO hungry though!! After the luncheon we went to my house to get somethings and just rest a little bit! We found out that we rested a little too long, so we rushed over to the reception center to get ready for more pictures!! From then on it was just perfect! I thought I was going to hate having a line, but really it wasn't so bad. Thanks to everyone who came and especially those who helped!!! It was the perfect ending and a perfect beginning!!!! :)
P.S. Pics will be posted ASAP!!! :)

It's All Comin' Together!

2008-05-26T10:38:00.000-06:00

Planning a wedding is WAY more stressful than I thought it would be. It's pretty easy to plan the big stuff, you know like deciding the temple, the reception center, the flowers, and the dress but then you have to plan all the little stuff. This is were it gets complicated. You have to know exactly how you want the cake, the center pieces, the food, what everyone should wear, how your hair should be, all the pictures you want around and about, the guestbook, I could go on, but I'll stop there. So far it has not been my favorite thing to do. I'm not the most decisive person, but when people bug me enough I can make many decisions! So basically everything is ready for the wedding and I'm feelin' pretty good about it!! We are going to Lake Powell next week, so my mom and I are trying to get everything ready for the wedding before we leave! We have one week, I think it's possible!! I had my first shower on Saturday, I'm not one to enjoy all the attention that a wedding brings, but Saturday wasn't so bad! It was mostly family friends, like all my second moms. Afterwards Koby and I went looking for furniture. No we don't have a place to live yet, but we went looking for furniture!! It was really fun, much more enjoyable then trying to figure stuff out for the wedding! I'm getting so excited to be married!! So we bought a bed frame, you know the headboard, foot board, and the side rails!! It was pretty exciting. We have our first piece of furniture!!!! :) It's so fun to watch our house fill up, well without the house part!!

An Unfortunate Event

2008-05-07T09:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday did not start out very well. I wasn't feeling very good, so I decided I would set up the hammock that I bought in Ecuador. We already had hooks on some trees in our back yard cause my older brother got a hammock in Brazil, we had used the hooks a lot. So I had it all set up and had to try a couple of times to get on it. I'm not short but I wasn't able to just sit right down on it. After a couple of tries I got on. I was just getting comfortable when my mom said AJ was coming out and if he bothered me I was to send him back in. Right after that one side of my hammock fell. The small of my back landed right on a huge rock. My mom built a stream in our back yard for my sister's wedding a couple of years ago, so that is right where I landed. My mom asked if I was ok, I said "No I'm not ok, I just fell out of a tree!". Later that day my mom asked if I thought I deserved it because Sunday Chad broke a swing at the Bawden's house and landed on his butt pretty hard. I told her I didn't deserve it because I wasn't swinging hard like Chad was!! I totally know how Chad feels now though! Man it kills!! All I have to say is that I better get a really cool lookin bruise!!! Oh, and sorry for laughing at you Chad!! :)

Blogger Retard!

2008-05-02T11:40:00.000-06:00

This is the first post by myself!!! Can you believe it? I'm sure you can't. Amanda and Katie helpped me set up my blog and everything, but now I don't remember how to do all. I was going to add the story that goes along with the slideshow of the book Koby gave me when he proposed, but I can't seem to get it to do what I want it to! I know I'm a little slow! At least I'm adding something, right? It took me so long to post something because I thought it would take a while for me to figure it all out, but it isn't so hard to make a new post. It's just kinda confusing trying to add to an old one. I'll try harder to figure it out and we'll see if it works!! I'll keep ya posted!

THE PROPOSAL

2008-04-11T22:02:00.000-06:00

I was in Ecuador for about three months serving the beautiful Ecuadorian children. On March 18, 2008 I had to head back home to the good ol' US of A.Koby sent a present for me with my sister. I was suppose to open it on the plane ride to the US. I opened it the night before though, just cause I couldn't wait! It was a book of reasons why he loved me and what he missed most while I was gone. He also sent a really nice letter telling me in his own words how he loved me. I had about a five hour layover in Houston, Texas before I could make the last leg of my trip home to Salt Lake. Oh, I have to go back a little bit to the Quito, Ecuador airport. I was sitting there waiting to board the plane when I heard my name called over the intercom. I wasn't for sure that it was really me so I waited. I heard it a couple more times and then finally asked an attendant about it. I had to go and watch them deflate a couple soccer balls that were in one of my suitcases. Ok, now back to Houston. I was waiting around and had found out that my flight was delayed. It got delayed more than once. So I went with Melissa and waited by her gate. We were just sitting by a wall waiting and kinda fighting. Ok, ok it was me. I hadn't slept at all the night before. I heard my name over the intercom and that just made me even more upset, or annoyed really. I thought maybe my flight got changed again, so I was gathering all my stuff, my phone rang so I was telling my mom that I had to go and then I looked up and saw Koby standing there. I was like "Koby? Koby! What are you doing here?". I was so surprised! This lady handed me an envelope and said "oh, I think ya dropped this!" So I opened it and it had the last picture to my book in it! I looked at the picture and then he got down on one knee and popped the question. I was so shocked, he had to ask me twice!! He finally got me to wake up and answer and obviously I said "YES!". It was a very happy moment for me!! It was a crazy day, but good and is most definately unforgettable!