brad.missy.abbi

Our Crazy December

2012-01-30T18:34:00.001-07:00

On our drive to Cleveland for Thanksgiving we got a call from Brad's work telling us we were being transferred to Louisville Kentucky to help that office with sales and building the clientele since it was so new. That told us we could choose when to go and we chose before Christmas. We figured it would just be easier that way. So we had 12 days from the time we got home from Sue's until we had to leave for Kentucky. I packed up the house while Brad was covering a store and when he got home we took off. We got Abbi's toys off the truck first thing so that she could play with her animals and watch some shows while we finished unloading. Abbi was really good about the whole thing. She still misses Rachel, Kaitlyn, Cari & Elder Ashby and asks about them all the time, but she has adjusted really well.

Once we were somewhat settled in we took off for Cleveland again, this time for Christmas. We had a very laid back weekend and loved it. Apparently we were having too much fun. I had no time to take any pictures :)

Thanksgiving Time

2012-01-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

In Minnesota we were only a 12 hour drive from my sisters family in Cleveland so I went and visited 3 times while we lived there. We were really lucky for Thanksgiving. Brad was assigned to cover the Cleveland store the week after Thanksgiving so we had an excuse to stay longer. My dad flew out to spend the time with us too. It was so much fun. I didn't get many pictures, but I do have pictorial evidence of of my dad playing kick ball in the front yard. It was awesome.

Halloween 2011

2012-01-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

Halloween was so much fun! It was the first one that Abbi really got what was going on and was excited about it. She was a "candy corn witch princess."

Our ward had a fun party/carnival with face painting, games and a costume contest. Abbi won the prize for cutest costume and she was so proud of herself :)

Then we went trick-or-treating with the Maughans for a little bit. The girls had so much fun and it was so cute to see Abbi run house to house for the treats. She always said "thank you" and that made me happy, too. One house we stopped at had a fire out on their driveway. That was the best idea ever for the chilly night.

The Siddoways Visit Minnesota

2012-01-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sue, Pete, Emily, Josh & Mitchell came to visit for a few days. We had some much fun! We played at the park, visited the Mississippi River, watched movies, drove around to see where they had lived while here for law school, and had a traditional Swedish Princess Torte. SO yummy. I thought I had taken way more pictures than this though. I'm wondering if they're on the other camera...

Abigail Turns 3!

2012-01-30T17:19:00.001-07:00

For Abbi's birthday (yes I know that was over 6 months ago) we took her for a day at the Mall of America - she totally loves that place.

We let her go on as many rides as she wanted, some she had been on, some she hadn't. Here's a video of her on "The Wonder Pets Fly Boat." Listen for her scream/giggle. It's awesome.

Then we went to and saw all the fishes at the Aquarium. I'm amazed at how much she loves those fishes. She asks everyday to go back and see them. I'm thinking about getting an annual pass to the one here in Boston and taking the train in once a week.

Then we went home and open presents and had cake. It was a really low key, but super fun day.

Our 4th of July & My New Do

2011-07-07T11:34:00.000-06:00

Our 4th of July weekend started with a drastic change to my appearance...

Remember about a month ago I wanted to get my hair cut so bad! Not a trim, but a cut. This is the style I was thinking about. Remember?

Well, I totally chickened out. Then, on Friday night as I was looking through my google reader I came across this post. It's a guest post that Ellie G from Less Cake {more frosting} did for Hair Week over at I am Momma Hear Me Roar. It's all about short hair styles and I loved them all!

That night I dreamed of short hair cuts. Everyone had them - even me - and I LOVED it! The second I woke up I called my nearest salon and got the first appointment. I was going to take advantage of the love I still had for my dream hair while I could. I didn't want to chicken out again.

I went in like this {I forgot to take a before picture, so here is the most recent picture I had of my hair down - we're at the zoo}. It's the longest it's been since I was 16!

Two hours later I walked out like this...

I just let the stylist do what she wanted. She went darker {with blond and red peek-a-boo streaks in the front} and almost as short as I wanted. I think she got freaked out and thought I would hate her if she really went as short and I told her...like I didn't know what I was thinking, but I totally love it!

Our fun continued on Sunday, when our new neighbors invited us over for some dinner. He made us the most AMAZING smoked brisket and pork ribs I've ever had. It was sooo good! I mean look at it!

And I just wanted to throw in this picture of Abbi that Brad took during dinner cuz I love it. She's so cute!

To end the weekend off we had some homemade cheesecake {super yum, but I forgot a picture of it} than we sat on the cars in our driveway and watched the fireworks they were shooting at our local high school. We had a great view and the kids LOVED it.

All in all it was a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Abbi!!

2011-06-19T21:04:00.000-06:00

*Today, in addition to being Fathers Day (Happy Fathers Day!!!) it's Abbi's 3rd birthday. As I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep last night I was remembering what I was feeling exactly 3 years before. It's so surreal to think that it's already been that long! So in honor of that day, I thought I'd share a blog post I was asked to do as a guest post on another blog. She asked me to give my birthing story while she was on maternity leave. It was never used so I'll post it here.*

I just have to say that I LOVED being pregnant!

Other than my already ridiculous motion sickness increasing by about 100% I felt fantastic! I was in the last semester at Utah State and this pregnancy came in very handy...

"Hey Babe. It snowed last night so all the sidewalks are icy. I'd hate to fall. How about I sleep in for a little bit, then you can drive me to my class and make it home in time to catch the bus?"

{sobbing angrily} "I'm sorry Mr. Dean of Humanities, but it's not my fault that you hired an idiot advisor who made me retake 2 classes I didn't even need in the first place and kept pushing back the one last class to fulfill my graduation requirement to my last semester...a semester in which it seems the class isn't even offered. I'm pregnant! Can't you see that! More schooling right now was not in my 5 year plan! You better do something to fix this or I will make sure every final project and presentation I have will inform the staff and student body about how incompetently their department is being run and...what's that? You'll just wave the class?"

But I really didn't milk it that much :) I really felt good and I loved every minute of it.

I loved holding my husband's hand in the ultrasound room and finding out we were having a little girl. We were moving from "couple" to "family".

I loved feeling the first little fluttering kicks that quickly turned into noticeable jabs. I loved laying on the sofa with the remote on my belly just to watch it slowly wiggling to the floor from the restless movement.

I loved the look in my husbands eyes when he would tell people about our little "zygote", or explain the new games he was making up to play with her when she finally got here, or when he would sing to her in my belly as we fell asleep.

I loved it all except a brief moment in the 8th month.

Three days before my graduation ceremony we moved out of state(don't worry, I wasn't planning to walk anyway. Put my body with all it's 8 months preggo belly glory and the added cushion of endless pregnancy cravings into one of those gowns then walk gracefully across a stage in front of thousands? On legs that, by this point, seem to have forgotten that thighs end at your knees and do not continue all the way to your toes? And it was sure to be documented. I shudder just thinking about how those images would have turned out) away from family and friends, to a place I had never been so my husband could start his summer job working 15 hour days as the manager of a door-to-door sales team. We would only be gone 4 months, but during those 4 months I was going to have my first baby and have to learn to be a mom, seemingly all on my own.

But I came to realize that I am extremely blessed. Not only did a few fabulous friends come out to work for my husband and keep me sane, but I had even more family and friends back home that I'm positive would have come out to visit even if we weren't offering a free place to stay in San Fransisco :) Over those four months I only had 3 weeks where an amazing woman or loved one wasn't there to teach me or keep me company. For that I am forever grateful.

But now I'm getting ahead of myself. I kind of skipped over the whole point, the birth.

I love my husbands side of the story, but I was asked to give mine, so that's what I'll do.

On Wednesday, June 18th I had a doctors visit. My amazing SIL, who also happens to be my best friend since we were 4(we married brothers :) ), was visiting and I was getting worried that the baby wouldn't come before she left and my sister could get out to me and I would be all alone. The appointment went well. The doctor said all was as it should be, but decided to strip my membranes since I was already a day over due. After we left the doctors office Kristy and I had nothing else planned for the day so we met my husband for lunch at the Buca de Beppo in the mall across from the office (I'm sorry I had to put "strip my membranes" and "Buca de Bappo" in the same paragraph. May the mental connection be a fleeting one). Kristy and I then went home, chilled at the pool, and finished our time honored tradition for whenever we get together - watching the mini-series North and South.

At 5:30 the next morning I started to get strong, regular contractions. My husband was on high alert. He was under the false pretense (due to extensive movie watching and my not realizing this was something that he would need to be corrected in) that once labor started the baby would be here within seconds. He had been secretly waiting for this moment for months...not just to meet our baby girl, but to speed through the city streets with no regard for traffic laws. When 20 minutes had passed and I still was not swearing and yelling at him to "Get the car now unless you want to deliver this baby yourself !" he became a little confused then crestfallen as I finally caught on and put him straight.

I eventually decided we should head out and was admitted to the hospital by 7 am. I had wanted to hold out getting the epidural until the very last second, but after almost 2 hours of back labor I thought I was going to die, and no amount of "Self, be calm. Women have done this for thousands of years without drugs. You'll be fine." was helping because the cynic I share my mind with would immediately throw in there, "Yeah, but most of them either went on to do this at least 8 more times, or just died the first time." Which, to say the least, did nothing to help me relax.

Needless to say, I caved and begged for every drug they could give me.

By 9 am (and after 2 failed epidural placement attempts - the doc informed me that I didn't have enough back fat to guide the needle...at any other time I would have kissed that man for telling me that. Right then however, I just wanted to hit him) I was all settled and fast asleep.

This next part has been known to make some women hate me. Please don't. Over the next 5 hours I slept like the dead (excepting a 15 minute stretch when my water broke and the nurse had to check me). Brad watched a few episodes of 24, and Kristy caught up on some reading. It was heaven! Really, like the deepest, most rejuvenating sleep I'd had in the past 9 months.

But then came the work. I pushed for about an hour and a half before the doctor finally helped me out with a vacuum.

On June 19th, 2008 at 4:12 pm, Abigail Kay Harding was born. She was 7.2 lbs and 21 inches long.

I thought that I would be able to write more about the feelings that I had as she was born, but it is such a sacred, personal moment for me. That moment, when I bacame a mother for the first time, I was deliriously happy. My little Abbi was finally here. I could finally see her. Smell her. Hear her. Hold her. She was beautiful! Perfect! At that moment my heart grew as the love I had for my little family (I love that word) expanded.

These past three years of motherhood have been the hardest, dirtiest,most tiring years of my life. But they have also equally been the happiest, funnest, most growing and rewarding years.

You are the trip I did not take;

You are the pearls I cannot buy;

You are my blue Italian lake;

You are my piece of foreign sky.

-Anne Campell

I'm blogging and it hasn't even been a month since my last post?!?

2011-06-18T21:46:00.001-06:00

We have been crazy busy since we've been here in Minnesota and I love it! Here's what a typical week for us looks like...

Monday's I go to the gym and try to get some SYTYC blogging done. Abbi loves going to the gym. Their "kids korner" is really fun and there are always kids for her to play with. It's way more fun for her than for me :)

Abbi and I go to Toddler Tuesday's at the Mall of America every - wait for it - Tuesday. We go with two of my friends from the ward that have little girls Abbi's age and we usually hit up the aquarium then too since it's in the mall and we all have annual passes. A week or so ago they had some Cirque du Soleil acrobats there for pictures and taught the kids how to do stretches. They also had little clown noses for the kids.

Wednesday is ward play date day. There are a BILLION parks around here so we're trying to go to a different one every week. I've heard that the ward also has a play date group that goes to the beach every week. I'm sure we will be attending that one too. I try to get to the gym sometime, too.

It's story time at the library on Thursday. I don't have any pictures for the library yet, but it. is. awesome. There's a big arboretum with a waterfall and a huge indoor playground. We go with the same ward friends to this one too.

When we first moved here and were living in the hotel, Brad got us our gym passes and also signed us up for personal training. We each meet with them once a week. Brad needs help strengthening the muscles around his knee from his injury and I'm just to lazy to get a good workout unless I have someone watching me or checking up on me during the week. So Friday morning is my training day. I'm pretty much dead for the rest of the day so we just hang out at home.

We have the most fun on Saturday's. It's the day Brad is home with us so we try to go out and explore. Last weekend we went to Como Zoo. It's a free zoo only about 10 minutes away. When I heard there was a free zoo I wasn't too excited about it. I mean the one in Logan is fun, but nothing to really get excited about, but this one is awesome!

They had seals (and even had a seal show), giraffes, polar bears, lions, zebera's, all sorts of monkey's...it was on par with Hogle Zoo.We went the the Maughans, our next door neighbors, who have two girls about Abbi's age. It was a blast.

Goings on as of late

2011-05-30T18:13:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been forever since I did a real post here on the blog. I have a ton of catching up to do so today you get to hear a little bit (very little bit) about our May. Well, as much of it as I took pictures of at least. It's been crazy...

BJ and Kennie got married on the 7th.

Brad and I had our 5th anniversary on the 13th so we spent it in Midway at the B&B called Johnsons Mill and doing a session at the Salt Lake Temple.

Johnsons Mill from a canoe in the middle of the pond Brad MADE me go out in.

The sign outside our door. We were the only ones staying at the Inn that night.

Since we were the only ones there, this is the best picture of the two of us I could get.

We took Abbi to the Zoo for the first time. She was terrified most of the time. But she loved the carousel and riding Grandpa's shoulders.

There were robotic dinosaurs that freaked Abbi out right at the beginning and she never really calmed down the rest of the time we were there.

The few moments that Abbi was in the process of a nervous break down where while she was riding the wolf on the carousel.

She calmed down a little bit to ride on Grandpa's shoulders too.

My little brother David got home from his first tour of duty in Iraq on the 14th. I'm so unbelievably proud of him.

That Southwest plane on the left is the plane they flew in on.

You can't really see him, but he just stepped off the stairs.

I'm sure you all know this, but Brad got a new job and we moved to Minnesota on the 15th. Since our apartment wasn't ready yet we explored St. Paul a little bit...mostly the Mall of America. They have an aquarium there that Abbi loved. We got an annual pass so it will be a place we frequent I'm sure.

Abbi loved the starfish touch pool.

She also thought the jelly fish were fascinating.

She loved the tunnel. The sharks kinda scared her, but she loved the turtles. Especially the baby ones.

Today we had a ward Memorial Day Picnic. It was fun to meet some of our new ward members.

There were no rocks to throw in the pond so she had to make do with the snails.

She loves to hula-hoop.

She may hove found a new best friend in Miss. Brown. They spent the whole time together.

Opinions Please

2011-04-19T16:05:00.000-06:00

So I have really been considering cutting my hair for a long time now. And by cut my hair, I mean CUT my hair. Something like this...

What do you think? Could I pull it off? Should I do it?

My New Assistant

2011-03-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

I took some pictures over the weekend and took Brad as my assistant. I think this picture is so funny! He has my posing idea book out and is trying to position them just right. And you can kinda just see a black bag there on his arm. He may try to convince you it's a man bag. That would be a lie. It's a big, ruffly, frilly purse.

I love you babe!!!

Brian Regan and the Hardings

2011-02-20T12:59:00.002-07:00

Every year for Christmas Brad's parents get all the siblings tickets to go see a play or show or something like that. This year they got tickets for us to see Brian Regan, who was in Logan this weekend. It just also happened to be BJ's birthday! It was such a fun night. We had a lasagna dinner while the kids played before we took off for the show. I laughed so hard my chest was hurting. I couldn't breath. Really.

Thank you John & Lorie!

Happy Birthday BJ!

*Here are a few pictures from the evening in no particular order.*

Happy 22nd!

Abbi loved sitting at the glass door and playing with the cat on the other side.

Look at what a stud Calvin is.

Make a wish!

Hannah and Calvin get along really well. Abbi and Ethan have more of a love-hate relationship.

BJ got an arm wrestling contest against Jeff.

Brighton may have been giving Uncle BJ an unfair advantage.

Abbi loves BJ and Kennie.

The newest Harding - Brayden Paul. He was born a few days before Christmas.

We got to meet BJ's girlfriend Kennie tonight. She is really fun. I'm pretty sure she's too good for him :)

A Bitter Sweet Week

2011-02-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

We had a sad, but sweet week last week. On the afternoon of Sunday, February 6 my Grandma McFarlin passed away. She was 89 years old and had been suffering from Alzheimers, so it was a sweet thing. We had a lot of family fly and drive out for the funeral which was this past Thursday. Here are a few of the pictures from her internment services in Mt. Pleasant Utah.

Uncle Terry & Aunt Ann

Uncle Scott & Aunt Diane & family

There was a park across the street. This is Abbi telling me it's ok for her to go as she walks away.

Pall Bearers

Grandpa & Uncle Dane

After the dedicatory prayer.

Grandpa with the funeral director.

Beautiful casket for a beautiful woman.

Cousin James

Grandpa, Uncle Scott & the Winkelman cousins.

Flower arrangement.

Grandpa with the Winkelman cousins.

Sue and cousin Amber.

Day 16 - A Photo of My Family

2011-01-13T22:55:00.001-07:00

Aren't we so cute???

(and I realize I skipped day 15, I'm not sure what is on my bucket list and I don't really want to think one up right now :) )

Day 14 - Your Dream House

2011-01-11T22:41:00.001-07:00

Funny that this would be the question today. There is a new community being built in NSL that I would really like to live in. It's not my dream house by a long shot, but it's better than a lot of that beige sameness stuff out there right now.

And I would give you pictures of the inside, but then the post would be WAY too long. But here's a bedroom I like (from here, I wouldn't mind if the inside of my house looked like theirs).

Day 13 - What did you do today?

2011-01-10T22:31:00.002-07:00

My brother Matt got a job offer the other day yay! in the Philippines boo!. The thing is, they want him there by the 25th eek! so I've been helping him pack and clean out his house. Abbi has loved going over to Uncle Matt's house, climbing up on the counter and looking pretty.

And climbing up onto empty boxes and getting stuck.

We're going to miss him so much, I don't really want to think about the whole he's moving half way around the world and may only be coming back for short visits for the rest of my life. Lame.

Day 12 - A Favorite Quote

2011-01-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure I have a favorite quote, but I saw this in this etsy shop the other day and I like it, and it's from one of my favorite books :) It would be great in a library or on a bedside table.

Day 11 - A Favorite Book

2011-01-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is also a VERY tough one to narrow down for me. I've read thousands of books and liked the majority of them. But I have a few "over again" books too. Here are 3.

Day 10 - A Favorite Food

2011-01-07T08:00:00.002-07:00

So Brad got after me yesterday for doing 4 movies when the rules clearly said A favorite movie. But I'm going to do it again. I'm going to do a favorite meal instead of just a food.

My grandparents McFarlin holiday dinner is pure yummy-ness. You really have no idea unless you've tasted it.

David asked me to make his birthday dinner in 2009 and he wanted that. Here is what it consists of:

Ham Loaf with Mustard Sauce

Glazed Carrots

Funeral or Mashed Potatoes

Creamed Peas & Onions (couldn't find the mini onions so I skipped it)

and

Homemade Rolls (I consider Rhodes homemade...Grandma did not)

Best. Meal. Ever.

Day 9 - A Favorite Movie

2011-01-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

These are my 4 "over again" movies. The movies that I could watch over and over again without getting sick of. I totally love them.

Day 8 - A Favorite Song

2011-01-06T08:00:00.004-07:00

I have a ton of favorite songs, but this is the first one that popped into my head. It's mine and Brad's song :)

Day 7 - Something I Want To Buy

2011-01-05T08:00:00.001-07:00

What don't I want to buy? I would really like to start getting quality things for our house. Up until now 98% of everything we own is a hand-me-down. It has been such a blessing, but I would love to get things that are more my style. I would LOVE this bedspread. Isn't it so gorgeous? And it's 50% off at West Elm (love this place)!!

*Edited to add - So I wrote up this post a few days ago and this bedspread is now sold out :( But they now have their new spring collection out! So if I had to choose a new one, it would be this.

Wouldn't that look great with gray walls and a glossy white headboard? To bad it's not a sale.

Day 6 - Something I Bought Recently

2011-01-04T08:00:00.001-07:00

I got these boots for Christmas, so I guess Brad actually bought them, but I really like them! They are so comfy and I think they're really cute too.

Day 5 - A Picture of You and Your Friends

2011-01-03T08:00:00.111-07:00

I'm pretty sure my friends are better than yours. They are all gorgeous, smart and SO FUNNY, like extremely hilarious. I laugh so hard when I'm with them. Here are two picture of me with my 5 best girl-friends. The first is from 2004, our Freshman year at USU (sorry it's so little, I couldn't find my copy so I had to steal it from Facebook). The second is from 2009, 4 weddings, 2 kids, 6 undergrad degrees, 1 & 2/3 masters degrees, 4 homes and a ton of fun later.

Here are a few details about them, starting from left to right (according to the second photo).

Kristy - I met Kristy in Nursery. We were tiny and became friends right away. We were like sisters from then until 2006. Then we became real sister! Kristy & her husband Brian set me up on a blind date with Brad, who just happened to be Brian's brother. Love her!!

Emma - I met Emma during High School, but didn't get to really know her well until we became roomies. She is so witty, knows ANYTHING you would ever need to know about any movie, is a fantastic artist and is beautiful. Pretty much perfect.

Rosie - I met Rosie in Kindergarten, but we didn't really play or hang out or anything until the end of High School. I love Rosie. She has the most fantastic dry humor. And she's an artist too. I love her pencil sketches. She really is sweet a such a good friend.

Traci - Traci and I met during Elementary School when she moved into Kristy and my ward. The three of us kind of became the "3 Musketeers." We did everything together. She is always there when I need her. The two of us went on a cruise with my brother and some of his friends. She was so fun and made it one of my best vacations to date.

Brittney - I became friends with Brittney in Jr. High. She has a fabulous sarcastic humor that I love. Brittney is so kind and sweet and strong. She helped me through a lot. After my mom died, I had a really hard time, especially at night. She would always know what to do for me. One night was especially hard and Brittney went and got her pillows, blankets and my happy movie (Sleeping Beauty). She stayed up with me watching the show until I calmed down, then slept in my room for the rest of the night to make sure I was still ok. I'm never going to forget that night and what a help she was to me.

I have never been good at making friends and I'm thankful that I had these amazing woman to be with me as I grew up. They were always and will be such great examples to me. I haven't kept in touch with them like I wish I had, but we get together pretty often and it's just like we're college roomies again.

I love you guys!!!

*edited to add - I forgot we had a picture taken of us all when we got together for lunch this summer. So here is the most recent picture of all of us together.

PS - I started back up with my 365 project. I redesigned the blog so I like it much better now. Maybe that will keep me motivated past March (when I quit blogging the pics last year) or even June (when I stopped taking a daily picture). The blog is called "Harding Life 365." You should go look at it.

Day 4 - A Favorite Photo

2011-01-02T08:00:00.004-07:00

This was a pretty hard one. I love to take pictures so I have a lot to choose from, but I finally settled on this one. I don't have a scanner, so I had to settle with a picture of a picture. I took the original in my High School photo class and developed the film myself.

I love this picture of mom for so many reasons. It was taken in the Fall of 2003, just about 2 years before she passed away, and is exactly how I remember her. Since she would get tired so early in the day, she spent most of her time in a recliner in her bedroom. There was a TV in her room, but I rarely saw her watching it. She spent hours and hours and hours reading. Reading and marking the scriptures and church manuals. Thinking and pondering over what she had read. She was a very thoughtful and extremely wise person and craved knowledge. Knowledge about anything. I'm thankful that she passed on that thirst for knowledge to me. Along with many, many other things. Especially her eyes in my little Abigail's face. It's a constant and beautiful reminder of her.

Day 3 - Hopes, Dreams and Plans for the Next 365 days

2011-01-01T08:00:00.002-07:00

I switched a few of the days up so this one would be the topic for today. It seemed appropriate. Some of you may notice that these goals seem a little familiar. They are. They're the same as last year (in fact I just copied and pasted) with a few modifications and extra ones added in for good measure.

1 - Exercise every day. I used to be able to run without being winded, lift heavy objects and do about a mile in squats in one go and would love to be able to again. Not that I’d like to do that last one specifically again, it would just be nice to know that I could. *Last year I did ok with this goal, especially once we moved down here to Bountiful where the gym had a child care that Abbi LOVES. Some weeks I made it every day, others just once or twice, but I made the effort and I think that's what counts.

2 - Keep a journal, with pictures. A few people I know did a thing last year called P365 that I really want to try this year. They took one picture a day, everyday of the year. I'm going to try and take it a step further. Not only will I take the picture, but I'm going to journal about that day and answer a question about my past. I hope to get my autobiography going. There are a lot of little random things that I wish I had known about my mom. I'm going to answer all those questions in hope that my kids will care about them someday. *I did really well at this until we moved in May. Then my routine got all messed up. I kept taking the pictures everyday for a month or too longer, but I never put them in my book and I eventually gave up. Not this year though!

3 - Read the Book Of Mormon more than once. To be a little more specific, at least 3 times. A few years back (5 actually), I was given a challenge in a singles ward to read the BoM in 40 days. They even gave me a little timeline with how much to read each day and a specific scripture to ponder each night. That challenge led to the one and only time I've finished the BoM cover to cover and was one of the best experiences of my life. It came at the most perfect time, right when my mom passed away. It was such a comfort. So I've found that I could tecqunically finish it 9.125 times if I follow that timeline, but lets be realistic and keep it at 3. Each time I'll read with a different purpose and I know that I'll learn way more than I ever thought I could. *I failed miserably at this one last year. I only made it through once, and I didn't really study...I just read it to get through. How is it that I can sit down and read a 300 page novel cover to cover in one sitting, but I can't make it through the Book of Mormon in even a year?

4 - Cook a meal every night even if Brad won't be home for dinner. I feel like I'm an adequet cook, but you'd never know by looking at my husband. I like to say he's just lean, but lets face it... he. is. skinny. I hope to remedy this problem by actually having a meal ready for him when he gets home from work, rather than letting him scrounge for food (which usually ends up being chips and salsa). *I did pretty well with this last year and hope to continue the winning trend :)

5 - Market and expand SYTYC. I'd love to advertise a bit more and put my self out there. I have the audience and traffic and I know what I need to do to make the blog more profitable, I'm just nervous to do it so I haven't yet. I'd also like to start consulting. I'm speaking at a conference in March so hopefully that will help a little :)

6 - Wake up early & actually get ready for the day. I have never been, and never will be, a morning person. And I was blessed with a child that generally sleeps in as long as I do. Compound that with the fact that PJ's are just too darn comfy and I rarely leave the house and you get me...a total frump 92% of the time. But you know what? Brad deserves better than that (I deserve better than that!) and I need to set a better example for Abbi so things have got to change. I think I've come up with a good solution. I'll get up and take my shower, then while I'm drying my hair and getting ready I'll let Abbi play in the tub right by me. Two birds with one stone!

7 - Manage my time better. My daily to do list is pretty appalling. I gave a lesson in Relief Society about this talk by Sister Beck and it's helped me prioritize a little, but I still have a long way to go.

8 - Visit Teach every month. I have never been good about visiting teaching. I don't know why it's so hard for me. I can always come up with an excuse not to do it. But I know it's something I need to be doing. Especially now that I'm in the Relief Society presidency. I get up and remind everyone to do it, but I never do myself. That NEEDS to change.

9 - Spend more time playing with Abbi. Abbi is an excellent imaginer, and she plays fantastically by herself. So I usually sit in her room or on the couch working on the lap top and watching her play. I don't ignore her at all, but I need to be more present.

10 - Go on an awesome vacation. This year is our 5th anniversary and I think a nice little vaca is just what I want. I have two choices, I just have to decide which one. We could go on a cruise in the Caribbean. The conference I'm speaking at is in Dallas, so Brad and I would just rent a car and drive down to the port the week following the conference. It would be so nice because it would just be me and Brad since Abbi would be left at home. My second choice is to go out to Cleveland and visit with Sue and her family. We usually go out during the winter while there's not a lot to do. I really want to go during the summer so we can do some hiking and zooing and farm parkings and all sorts of fun things.

Wish me luck!! Hope you all have a fantastic New Year.

Day 2 - A Picture of You a Year Ago & Now & What Has Changed

2010-12-31T08:00:00.002-07:00

So you would think that what with the 5000 pictures from last year and the 9000 from this year I would have been able to find better pictures of me. Anyway...

December 2009

December 2010

What has changed:

-I am now tonsil-less (I personally don't recommend a tonsillectomy...EVER).
-Due to the above I am now about 10 lbs thinner.
-I am also now wisdom tooth-less (not such a traumatic experience. Go ahead and have those removed if you want).
-My bangs are now gone, as are my nicely up-kept highlights. (I really need to make another appointment)

*PS - I added an email subscription form (so my posts will be emailed to you) at the very bottom of the blog for those people that are too lazy to actually come over and look at my blog and don't get how to use a RSS feed (ahem...dad). So If you're interested go ahead and subscribe away!

*PPS - That big bucket, bean bags and butane burner that I'm unwrapping are an awesome addition to our food storage thanks to Dad and Brenda. I'll do a post about that soon.

*PPPS - You know what I like about blogging? You can schedule the posst to publish whenever you want. I can write this post the night before and set it to go up at 8 in the morning so you will all think I get up like a normal person. Not true. I'll still be in bed :)

Day 1 - 5 Things About You No One Really Knows

2010-12-30T08:00:00.005-07:00

Oh gosh. The very first day and I already want to quit. What about me do you not know? Let's see...

1. One time in high school I sluffed. Well, I did that a lot actually. My friends and I would call in our "absences" for each other to get them excused. One Friday, though, while I was at my friend Traci's house eating pizza and watching a movie the school called my house to verify that I really was getting ready for a family vacation (my excuse for the day). My dad answered and you know what he told them. That yes, we were going out of town later that day and that I may not even be back for classes on Monday. Basically my dad rocks. Not only did he cover for me, he excused my sluff for Monday too! Automatic 4 day weekend! I'm not sure what about me you can get from that story, but no one really knew about it.

2. I have a star shaped mole. I kinda like it. It's cute :)

3. I almost did a semester studying abroad in Sweden with afore mentioned friend, Traci. I had even started the paperwork and had my passport. But it was just weeks after I had met Brad and he ruined everything :). I decided I had better stay here if I wanted to keep him. It was hard enough keeping the girls off him while I was holding his hand. It would have been impossible if I was across the world. I feel bad for abandoning Traci (who went without me), but I don't regret it at all. Brad was worth it :)

4. My ears won't stay pierced if I don't have earrings in constantly. I've had to re-pierce them 3 times because I've left earrings out for a few days.

5. When I was younger I kept a journal. I wrote in it without missing a night for over 700 days. I'm not sure why I stopped, but I wish I hadn't. It's a hard habit to get back into.

30 Day Challenge

2010-12-30T00:12:00.002-07:00

So I've seen this 30 day challenge thing going around the blogosphere. First here, then here. I thought long and hard about it and I've decided I'm going to do it. I had a few reservations about it, mainly that I have a problem with blogging consistency on our family blog (I'm kinda forced to stay consistent on SYTYC...craft bloggers can be feisty sometimes and I like to avoid their wrath when I can :) ). But I figured that this might be a good way to get me blogging about me and our family again. We'll see...

Anyway, the two lists of daily themes were a little different so I thought I'd mix and match a little bit. Cuz this is my blog and I get to do stuff like that if I want :) So without further ado... here is what you all get to look forward to learning about me over the next 30 days!

Day 01 — 5 things about you that no one really knows
Day 02— A picture of you last year and now and how you have changed since then
Day 03 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 04 — A favorite photo
Day 05 — A picture of you and your friends
Day 06 — Something I bought recently
Day 07 — Something I want to buy
Day 08 — A favorite song
Day 09 — A favorite movie
Day 10 — A favorite food
Day 11 — A favorite book
Day 12 — A favorite quote
Day 13 — What did you do today??
Day 14 — Your dream house...
Day 15 — Next 3 on “Bucket List”
Day 16 — A photo of my family
Day 17 — A habit you wish you didn't have
Day 18 — Put your iPod on shuffle and write 10 songs that pop up
Day 19 — A hobby of mine
Day 20 — A favorite recipe
Day 21 — Nicknames I have, and why I have them...
Day 22 — A favorite Youtube video
Day 23 — A travel story
Day 24 — Something that makes you feel better...
Day 25 — A funny (true) story
Day 26 — A child I love
Day 27 — A place I love
Day 28 — A person I love
Day 29 — Testimony
Day 30 — A picture that makes you happy

Our Weekend

2010-11-22T16:58:00.002-07:00

I know. You're all in shock. I'm posting. It's about time right? Just thought I'd give you a little update about our crazy weekend and completely incompetent parenting throughout.

The weekend started out with our having to wake up and be out of the house by 6 am to get to Tremonton. Brad ran the Conquering Colon Cancer 5K that some friends had put together up there. Brad was so excited and we were running late.

This is where incompetent parenting example #1 comes into play. I forgot coats, or even warm clothes for myself and Abbi. I realized it when we were too far from home to be able to turn around and get them. I figured it would be ok since it was actually unusually warm outside.

Well, It was unusually warm until we got just outside of Tremonton and it started POURING rain. Brad hadn't pre-registered for the race, so he made me get out and stand in line with Abbi (who was still wearing her pj's, btw) in the freezing cold windy rain so that he could warm up. At least we had a throw blanket in the car to wrap Abbi in, but she was still shivering like crazy.

I finally got Brad signed in and immediately run back to the car with Abbi and jumped in. We had 17 minutes until we had to be back to the finish line to see Brad come in(his goal was 20 minutes, but I missed him at the last race he ran so he made me promise to be and the finish line early this time).

Abbi and I had a blast playing and pretending to drive while we waited. I decided to take some pictures with Abbi since we have very few pictures of me and her together. So I set up the camera on the dash and got some really good ones.

This is where incompetent parenting example #2 comes in. Seconds after taking the above picture it became glaringly obvious that with all the worrying about loosing digits to the freezing temperatures, I had forgotten to take newly potty trained Abbi to the bathroom. I thankfully had a change of clothes for her, but not for me. Super frustrating.

Well I was able to get her all changed and we got out to the finish line in time to see Brad finish. He came in at 20:40 and we think he came in about 5th (we're not totally sure about the place though...I wasn't counting. I was trying to keep Abbi somewhat warm and people from noticing the huge wet spot on my lap).

After the race we headed over to Logan for the day. Abbi had a BLAST (she's still taking about it) with Grandma&pa Harding and Emily and BJ. Brad and I even got to slip away for a little bit to see Harry Potter 7.1 and get an appetizer at Ruby Tuesday. Brad and I haven't been on a date since we moved down here to Bountiful so it was great to get away for a little while. THANK YOU HARDINGS!

But as we were leaving the 3rd example of incompetent parenting happened. Lorie asked me if Abbi still takes an afternoon nap. I answered that no, she doesn't, but she is fine playing by herself so I lock her in her room for a while so I can get some stuff done. To which Abbi turns to Lorie and says, "Yeah, and Abbi cries. I cry like baby. Whaa whaa." I was so embarrassed! Just so that everyone out there knows, she doesn't cry or scream or anything when I put her in there. She plays very nicely and I can usually hear her laughing and talking to her stuffed animals. Please don't report me.

It was snowing before we left, but had stopped by the time we finally got out the door. When we hit the canyon, though it was another story. It was a blizzard! We could only go about 20 mph the whole way into Brigham, and even then it was so hard to see. I was pretty terrified, but Brad did an excellent job.

It had snowed a little bit down here too. But nothing like in Logan. Before Brad and I went to bed I snapped a picture out our window of the new snow. Brad noticed the view and thought it looked like a greeting card so he suggested I take a picture of it. Isn't the new snow so pretty?

I'm back!

2010-08-29T23:05:00.002-06:00

Let us see if I can catch up with all our summer goings on with only one picture per event shall we? Well actually, that's not going to work. I just went and checked and I don't have enough photos from the summer converted to jpeg yet so you'll just get what I have done. I think that much sounds better.

Since we've moved down the SLC way, we've taken Abbi to the Gateway to play in the splash fountain a few times. She really likes her swimsuit and meeting new friends and saying hi to everyone, but she really dislikes the water. We're going to take her swimming in a little while, so hopefully the water fear will be going away.

I took the opportunity of having Shilah and Clark over for games and treats to try out my new tripod. I love game nights. And on a side note...Shilah and Clark are now Mr & Mrs Anderson. Yay!!!

I made these yummy chocolate pudding bowls one night. Brad blew up a bunch of extra balloons then he and Abbi played "Happy Birthday Party" for a good half hour at least.

We went over to my dads house a few times. Once while we were there the boys went out to the "back 40" and played frisbee. Abbi loved to run around in the grass.

We had a little get together at the Hardings one night. The grand kids had a BLAST being pulled around the yard in a blanket.

While the kids were surfing the blanket, the boys were busy proving who was more manly by long jumping lawn chairs. Brad won with 5.

Last weekend was pretty emotional for me. David, my little brother, left for his first deployment to Iraq. They held a little family event before the soldiers were loaded onto a bus and taken to the plane. I was super sad to see him go, but I am so incredibly proud of him. He has been able to call me a few times since getting there, but it will be 9-12 months before I see him again :( Good luck Dave!!!

Abbi is almost 2!!

2010-06-10T20:33:00.001-06:00

I can't believe Abbi is almost a 2 years old! Brad and I went out to Kaysville to take some pictures. It was really hard to get Abbi to focus. She just wanted to pick the leaves and play in the dirt. Oh, well. And about 30 seconds after we left it started to downpour...I mean a lot of rain. We really lucked out. Here are a few of my favorites.

I love that she looks so bored already. This was the 5th one I took :)

Finally Catching Up

2010-05-23T22:58:00.002-06:00

Well everyone... a lot has been going on in our lives lately. Here's a little update on the month of May so far. I don't have any idea why blogger won't let me upload more pictures than this, but if you want to see more, they're in our SmugMug account.

Brad graduated from USU in Speech Communications on the 8th of May. He didn't walk. Instead he played with Abbi while I took pictures for Smithfield City at their "Health Days" kiddy rodeo (I now am even more firmly set in never letting my kids mutton bust). I'm so proud of him and the hard work he does for our family! I can't believe that since we've had Abbi we was working 2 jobs and doing 18 credits at school, and still made time for us. He's amazing!

For Mothers Day we went up to Brigham City to my mom's grave. I'm glad that we're close enough that I can take Abbi there and teach her things about her Grandma Kay. I want her to grow up knowing that she has another Grandma that is an amazing woman and loves her just like her other Grandmas. We also got to visit with MY Grandmas Flamm and McFarlin. I'm so lucky that we live near them and Abbi can get to know them too. They mean so much to me.

We moved out of Cache Valley. I'm super bummed, but I love it here in Bountiful too. It's nice to have a selection of stores to choose from, but I hate being farther from most of Brad's family and all our friends. We're meeting a lot of new people here, and I LOVE our little house and neighborhood so it's getting more fun here.

I took some pictures for Smithfield City's "Health Days" celebrations. I was asked to photograph the Kiddy Rodeo. I am now even more set in never letting my kids mutton bust. Some of those parents were really, I mean REALLY intense ("You get on there and do this! You want to make me look stupid!? Stop crying, just hold on!"). Almost all of the kids cried (they were mostly ages 5-9). But some did have a ton of fun. You could tell which live on farms and which didn't.

I built a little "big girl bed" for Abbi using plans from Knock-Off Wood. It was so fun and she LOVES it. The first night I had to go in there 3 times...twice because she fell out and once because Kitty did. The second night I went to check on here and she was asleep on the floor, but we haven't had a problem since. I'm making a quilt for it so I'll show you all when it's done.

Brad's little brother BJ got home from his mission in London last week. Abbi feel madly in love with him at first sight and now wakes up asking for "DB" and continues asking about him all day. I think it's really cute. We're so excited that he's home and can't wait to hang out more with him.

It was Grandma Gerri's 80th birthday the same weekend that BJ got home so we all went down to the "Harding Hideaway" in Myton for a party. It was so fun! I love getting together with the Hardings even if they are all a little weird :). The little kids loved it. They got to run around and play in the dirt all day and no one got after them. It was like heaven for Abbi.

This past weekend we went to a Wedding Party for Brad's uncle Joesph. Brad's Grandma Yalta is Samoan so of course it was a luau! It was so fun! There was a big feast, then they some of the family do dances from each of the Polynesian islands. I loved it! And Abbi did too. She just ran around with a bunch of leis on and played with her cousins. We don't get to see that side of the family much so it was great to talk with everyone again.

It's been a busy month so far. We've had a blast, but it will be nice to get a little break.

Second Photo Shoot

2010-04-26T15:36:00.002-06:00

So you know that photo class I'm taking? Well we had a photo shoot as a class the other day at a beautiful greenhouse. There were 2 photogs per family. When I showed up at the location I knew one of the couples! Brian sold with us in Cali one year and Helga came out to visit him for a while. Now they're married and have a cute little girl! Here are just a few of the pics I took.

*If you also follow my 365 blog don't worry. I have taken a picture everyday...I'm just about a month behind loading them on. I'll get to that soon.*

First Photo Shoot

2010-04-16T15:56:00.000-06:00

I'm taking some photography lessons from a fantastic lady named Brooke Snow. She really is amazing. This week our homework assignment was to plan, prepare and execute a photo shoot. I decided to do Brad's "graduation" pictures. So we went up to campus and took a bunch, mostly in the new library. Here are some I turned it (straight-out-of-camera...no editing yet). Some of my favorites aren't here because blogger is being weird, but I'll put them on later. I think I did a pretty good job.

Looky Looky

2010-04-12T12:22:00.000-06:00

Do you see that? That right there at the top center? That's me! I was interviewed about So You Think You're Crafty again. This time it was by Sara, an editor for Handmade News, the "largest handmade craft blog on earth". I never know what to say for these things. You can read the article here.

Almost done

2010-04-10T23:20:00.000-06:00

Well the changes are almost finished. I just have to figure out why those words are showing up in the header before the pictures show up and what to do with all my friend links at the bottom.

And since no post is complete without a picture, here's the only one that turned out from Easter.

Few Changes

2010-04-08T22:24:00.000-06:00

I'm changing a few things. Hopefully I'll get it done soon.

Help!

2010-03-26T11:49:00.002-06:00

So I'm being interviewed again. They asked me for a fun fact about myself that my readers don't know about me. I can't think of anything! Traci told me to say that I refused to take part in the Glenn Coco coco drinking contest, but I don't really think that fits with what they're going for :)

So please help me think of a "fun fact" about me that my readers don't know!

Thanks!

I was interviewed!

2010-03-18T10:34:00.004-06:00

I was interviewed this morning over at Life With Little Ones. You can check it out here if you're interested. I had a hard time thinking of some of the answers. Especially the little known fact about me.

Oh, and I finally updated P365.

And look how funny this is. Matt was laying on the floor watching a movie and Abbi came and leaned up against him. I guess he's a good back rest.

Bummer

2010-03-15T15:39:00.003-06:00

So some of you may have noticed that SYTYC wasn't on Studio 5 today. The show ran long and they had to cut it. I know they have the stuff though cuz they accidentally showed a pic in the wrong segment. The producer emailed me and let me know that it will be showing soon. I'll let you know.

I'm so Excited!!

2010-03-15T10:59:00.002-06:00

I know this is a little late notice, but So You Think You're Crafty is going to be featured on Studio 5 today at 11!

My blog is going to be on TV!!!!

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I'm also really nervous and I'm not even going to be on, they're just going to mention it and provide a link, but still!

I really want to win!

2010-03-03T08:46:00.003-07:00

So there is a contest going on at Epiphanie that I really want to win. One of the ways to enter is to blog about it, so here's my blog.

I would LOVE to win this contest. You can win your choice of a Canon 5D Mark II or a $2500 gift card to Southwest Airlines. I would LOVE either of them, but I'm leaning more toward the gift card. I could go visit my sister and Brad and I could go visit grad schools!

I hope I win!!

I know...I know...

2010-02-15T11:57:00.002-07:00

I have a problem. An addiction you could say.

On Friday night my mother-in-law asked me if I had made another blog for my Project 365. I just laughed and said something like, "No! I have plenty of blogs." But then I got home, sat down to check my email, and the call of blogger began. I gave in.

I now have a new blog to document my pictures from P365. If you'd like to have a look you can click on the picture below, or the little pic at the top of the left sidebar. I hope you enjoy!

Finally!

2010-02-01T16:16:00.005-07:00

Before I was saving my pennies for this, I was saving my pennies for a new DSLR camera. Well, because I have the best husband in the world (I'm sure he's better than yours ;) ) and a sooner than expected tax refund I was able to finally get one!! It is amazing!! Thank you so much babe!

Last night I made a Valentines dress for Abbi. I was inspried by this dress by Dana and had to make one for Abbi in some pink courdory I had. Then when it was FINALLY sunny today I decided I had to do a photo shoot! We went to the end of good ole Bessie Lane and took some shots looking over the valley and the Wellsvilles. I haven't even done any editing to these pics yet. Amazing! It would have taken hours to get pics from my old camera to look like this (if I even could). I love it!

There was a puppy in the Garverts yard that she loved to watch.

I had some glitter words and hearts that I tried to get her to hold. She never showed me the glitter side, or would throw them on the ground. I guess she thinks love is dead.

YAY! So much fun!

P.S. - Session 2 of SYTYC started today! Go check it out!

Saving my pennies...

2010-01-26T15:52:00.003-07:00

Here is the latest thing I'm saving my pennies for. Any donations will be greatly appreciated :)

It's this May in Sandy. Since So You Think You're Crafty has been exponentially more of a hit than I was anticipating, I want to go learn how to make it the best it can be. I feel so good to know that I'm contributing to our family's finances (even if all I make is going right back to the blog right now) and I get so happy when my friends and family tell me that a lady in their ward was talking about how much they love the blog, or they hear people at grocery store talking about it. And it's something that I really enjoy doing.

*Oh. And if you're wondering...I still haven't missed a day with P365. Just not all of them are edited yet, but don't tell anyone that.

The first session is over now and I'm so thankful for my first group of crafters. They put up with all my learning and screw-ups and I couldn't appreciate that more. I'm currently getting everything all ready for Session 2. I'm getting nervous for it and I'm not even competing! Wish us luck!

A New Year

2009-12-31T18:10:00.003-07:00

Tomorrow is the first day of a new year. Not only a new year, but a new decade. If ever there were a time to make goals and resolutions this is it; and I’ve made a few.

They say that in order to achieve your goals, you need to write them down. I agree. So here I am to document my goals for the year of 2010. I made 6 goals this year.

1 - Exercise 1/2 hour a day. I used to be able to run without being winded, lift heavy objects and do about a mile in squats in one go and would love to be able to again. Not that I’d like to do that last one specifically again, it would just be nice to know that I could. I’d also love to get back to my Pre-pregnancy weight before baby number 2 is on the way.

2 - Keep a journal, with pictures. A few people I know did a thing last year called P365 that I really want to try this year. They took one picture a day, everyday of the year. I'm going to try and take it a step further. Not only will I take the picture, but I'm going to journal about that day and answer a question about my past. I hope to get my autobiography going. There are a lot of little random things that I wish I had known about my mom. I'm going to answer all those questions in hope that my kids will care about them someday.

3 - Read the Book Of Mormon more than once. To be a little more specific, at least 5 times. A few years back (4 actually), I was given a challenge in a singles ward to read the BoM in 40 days. They even gave me a little timeline with how much to read each day and a specific scripture to ponder each night. That challenge led to the one and only time I've finished the BoM cover to cover and was one of the best experiences of my life. It came at the most perfect time, right when my mom passed away. It was such a comfort. So I've found that I could tecqunically finish it 9.125 times if I follow that timeline, but lets be realistic and keep it at 5. Each time I'll read with a different purpose and I know that I'll learn way more than I ever thought I could.

4 - Cook a meal everynight even if Brad won't be home for dinner. I feel like I'm an adequet cook, but you'd never know by looking at my husband. I like to say he's just lean, but lets face it... he. is. skinny. I hope to remedy this problem by actually having a meal ready for him when he gets home from work, rather than letting him scrounge for food (which usually ends up being chips and salsa).

5 - Expand my Etsy shop and crafty endeavors. I'd love to have a fully stocked online store at all times and advertise a bit more. I think this one will take a little bit longer to get going, but will be well worth it. I'd also like to finish one project before starting the next.

6 - Wake up early & clean the house. What with school and work, Brad has very few hours at home and I want to spend all that time with him and Abbi, not cleaning the house. My solution? Wake up before, not with, Abbi and do my heavy cleaning. Then I can take a nap while she does. Sounds simple enough, but I have a feeling it will be the hardest goal on the list.

Wish me luck!! Hope you all have a fantastic New Year.

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-23T19:20:00.004-07:00

*You can click the image to see it larger*

Scentinel Candles

2009-12-09T21:32:00.005-07:00

So when Brad and I first got married he was working for a local company called Scentinel Candle. He was a sales guy and really had no idea what he was doing (he has vastly improved, don't worry).

Well he no longer works there, but the tie between Scentinel and the Hardings has not been broken. Two of his older brothers now have partnership in the company (in fact they're one of my SYTYC spnosors. Thanks guys!)

Today Brian (on of said brothers) was on my favorite show, Studio 5. He did a little schpel on the company. He actually got a really good job. I would have been spazzing all over the place. Have a look.

So Close!

2009-11-29T22:26:00.001-07:00

Only 18 more pages until I'm caught up on my scrapbook!

Trouble Sleeping

2009-11-28T12:00:00.003-07:00

Last night I had a hard time falling asleep. Why you ask? I realized I didn't take any pictures at either of our Thanksgiving celebrations! What am I going to do in our scrapbooks? Use Google families? Maybe I'll have Abbi color a family picture for me to use.

4 years

2009-11-25T12:42:00.001-07:00

I stopped by Moms grave today. It will be four years tomorrow and I still miss her everyday.

I love this girl!

2009-11-20T16:50:00.002-07:00

This is how I usually find her when I go to get her from her naps. Brad thinks she's training them for a world take over.

Challenges

2009-11-19T11:37:00.002-07:00

When I started my new blog So You Think You're Crafty, I was new to the whole craft world blogging thing. I have had more challenges that I thought I would have with it. Don't get me wrong. It's been an awesome experience and I will continue to do it.

I'm just surprised by how deeply the crafters feel for what they do. I know I shouldn't be surprised since people should feel pride for the things they create and accomplish. I'm just disipointed that they let those emotions get the best of them. They act and say things that I don't think they would do or say under other circumstances. Honestly, I feel that reacting in that way does more harm than good for yourself. I wish that people would try to handle situations in a respectful manner with an open mind and a forgiving attitude.

Princess on Ice

2009-11-15T22:01:00.003-07:00

Last December while visiting my sisters family in Cleveland we go to go see Disney on Ice. Abbi was still in the sit-on-your-lap-and-be-happy-about-everything stage, but she really did seem to like it. So when we found out that Brad got a discount for the Princess show through work we decided to go.

Before it started Abbi was so excited. She was laughing and clapping and everything. But then the announcer guy came on and ruined everything. He scared her to death. For the first hour she was super clingy and would cry every time we tried to move her.

Then intermission came and she started to calm down, but she still wasn't going to humor us with a smile.

The lady sitting next to us let Abbi play with her plane (after Abbi used every little charm a 17 month old has to get it) and she warmed up a little bit.

Then Cinderella started and she LOVED it. She laughed and danced and had so much fun! We've been watching Cinderella everyday since then and she still loves it.

Overall it was a really fun night! I can't wait til we do it next year. Maybe we'll let Abbi dress up and not be the only little girl not in a full on princess outfit next time.

Halloween!

2009-11-15T20:54:00.005-07:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to get the blog updated. But better late then never right? So here's a pictorial post of our Halloween weekend!

Brad Attacking his pumpkin.

It was like 4 inches think! We had to use a screwdriver to carve it.

We have discovered Abbi's greatest fear...pumpkin guts. She was screaming her head off as we would pull it out of the pumpkins. I was a bad mom and put some on her tray so I could get a video of her terror. Needless to say, we put her down to bed early so we could finish the carving.

Here they are finished! I painted my little ghosts white while Brad made his giant vampire.

So pretty! Too bad Abbi missed it.

Our Ward had a "Trunk-or-Treat" (which I love by the way. 30 minutes and the whole neighborhood is taken care of then you can go party). Abbi was a Skunk Princess and I just wore my cloak for when I was a living history person.

My cute stinker.

When we got her home and checked her bag 80% of the candy was from our bucket. She loved to put stuff in her bag.

After the trunk-or-treat we went to Brian and Kristy's for our 2nd Annual Halloween Bash. We had pizza and played Sing Star. So fun!

If you want to win I wouldn't recommend their team:)

Random Fun!

2009-11-12T13:48:00.006-07:00

We've had so much fun this last little bit of warm weather. Here's what we've been up to:

Playing in the leaves after church in the parking lot.

Taking walks to visit the ducks.

Playing in our favorite toy.

Coloring with Daddy.

and sliding down the sofa-slide Daddy made.

We've had so much fun!

Fun With the Sidwells

2009-11-12T13:41:00.003-07:00

We had so much fun a few weeks ago going up to 2nd Dam to have a bonfire with our friends the Sidwells. They have a little girl a little younger than Abbi and they have so much fun together. And Sarah and I are basically the same person so we always have a lot of fun. It was my first time up to 2nd Dam which is weird since I've lived in Logan for like 5 years. We'll be going again for sure!

Finally!

2009-11-03T17:10:00.003-07:00

During my last semester at USU I mostly had Child Development classes for my minor left to take. One of my very favorites was the Infant/Toddler Lab. I loved working with all those little kids! I really wanted Abbi to be able to be one of the little kids when we moved back from California and mentioned this to the woman in charge. She looked at me and said, "You should go up right after class and put her name on the waiting list." Was she kidding? I was only 5 months pregnant! I still had a long time before she was even born let alone moved back! I took her advice anyway.

Today I had an awesome phone call. After more than 19 months of being on the waiting list a spot finally opened for January! I'm so excited! It's for an hour, 3 times a week. Perfect for running my errands. I'm so excited! I bet Abbi is going to LOVE it!

*Halloween pictures will be coming in the next day or two. I thought I would have them up by now, but my new website is going crazy right now. I had no idea it would be such a hit!*

First Week Challenge

2009-11-02T09:05:00.002-07:00

The first theme has just been announced, the crafts are up and the voting has started. I was so nervous about it and I'm not even doing a craft! I really am astonished by how successful it already is and I'm having so much fun. I hope it continues to go well.

The first week is Harvest. Everybody go check it out and cast a vote for your favorite!

Well I'm...

2009-10-31T11:26:00.001-06:00

one day away from being 3 months behind on my scrapbook. Am I going to work on it now while Abbi is napping? No, I'm going to go read.

Another New Adventure

2009-10-19T17:04:00.004-06:00

Here's my latest adventure. I'm really excited about this one.

It's "So You Think You Can Dance" for craft bloggers. I've got 10 AMAZING crafters that will be competing head-to-head in 10 challenges. Each weeks the winners craft will be made into a tutorial, but the loser will be sent home. Here's the fun part. Each week there will be a poll where you will vote for the best! You will choose the winner. It all starts on November 2nd when the first theme will be announced. Head on over to the site to check out the crafters.

The Last 5 Years

2009-10-16T10:52:00.015-06:00

A couple of my friends have done a post like this and I thought it would be fun. I wish I had more pictures of it all, but most are stuck on my other computer. Here's what has happened to me since I graduated from High School:

Moved to Logan to start school with Brittney, Traci, Kristy, Emma and Rosie.

Played A TON of poker and Five Crowns.

Did some studying.

Went to St. George with the rommies and our poker buddies for Spring Break.

Moved home for the summer.

Kristy got married.

Went back to work at The Lion House.

Went to Cleveland to visit my Sister.
Hung out with my rommies all summer (we're all from K-Town).
Moved back to Logan with the same ladies.
Spent all my weekends at home (and some week nights).
Mom passed away.
Almost dropped out but decided to stay.
Met Brad.
Spent most of Christmas Break with Brad.

Almost went to study abroad in Sweden with Traci, but then realized I...
Fell in love with Brad.

Went on a cruise with my bro and our friends.

Finished out the semester.
Married Brad.

Went on a cruise for our Honeymoon.
Moved into our cute little "pink house"
Worked at Mount Logan Chiropractic.
Visited my Aunt and Uncle in Portland.

Decided to do Summer Sales.

Moved to San Fransisco.

Worked in the office while Brad sold Pest Control door-to-door for 10 hours a day.
Flew home for Dad's Wedding.

Flew home for Traci's wedding.

Flew home to take a road trip with my girls to Vegas.

Moved back to Logan and lived in Student housing.
Found out I was pregnant!

Went on a cruise with Eclipse ( I love Cruises).

Visited Cleveland again!

Found out I wasn't going to be able to graduate on time because my adviser had messed up my stuff.

Cried to the Dean and made him waive all the mistakes.
Brittney got married!
Graduated with my B.S. in English! But didn't walk cuz I was mondo prego and we had...
Moved to Sacramento for a second year of summer sales.
Sat at home while Brad managed an office and sold 10 hours a day.
Baby Abigail Kay was born!

Had LOTS of visitors and did a ton of sight seeing!

Moved back to Logan to the Cooks condo.

Discovered how to be a mom.
Visited Cleveland again! (we must really love you guys!)

Moved down the street when the Cooks had to sell their condo (yes that was move 6 since we were married).

Went to Portland with Kristy for my cousin Emily's wedding.

Celebrated Abbi's 1st Birthday.

Visited Cleveland again, but this time went up to NY.

Is still friends with my old rommies and even get together a lot.

Got 4 nephews and 1 niece.

Made lots of friends and had a ton of fun!

There was so much more that happened and I've loved every second of it!

Dave's Birthday Dinner

2009-10-15T11:30:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago my little brother called me. He told me that he had just found out he was getting a few days of leave from the army and would be home in 2 days. It just happened that he would be home over his birthday and he wanted me to make his birthday dinner.

Whenever we had special occasion growing up my Grandma would make us ham loaf with mustard sauce, glazed carrot, rolls and escalloped potatoes. We haven't had it since before my mom passed away and that is what he wanted. I was so nervous! I've never made it before and it was going to be compared to Grandmas. It didn't look near as good as hers, but I think it turned out well. We had a fun night of dinner and games.

My older brother is really lame, but I like the younger :)

Happy Birthday Dave!!

Well,

2009-10-13T14:18:00.003-06:00

Since I failed that cross-stitch (I still haven't even looked at it since I found the mistake. I'm going to just have to rip out the messed up side), I thought I would post a craft I feel was a success.

I decided that we needed something for our porch. So, between the Saturday conference sessions a few weeks ago our little family went and bought some pumpkins. It was such a blast. Brad, of course, got the biggest one they had. I got 4 little baby ones, and 3 that are in graduated sizes.

That is where my craft comes in. I had seen people do these really cute topiary with fake pumpkins. I wasn't about to go buy 3 fake ones when we just bought a plethora of real ones for the price of one fake one so I decided to risk it with the real ones.

I pulled out my handy white spray paint and painted the middle sized pumpkin white, then a put a gold glaze on all three. I finished it off with a cute little fall sprig on top and stacked them in a flower pot. They aren't attached to each other in anyway so I find myself checking on them every morning and night to make sure they're still whole.

I was pretty happy with it...until today. I checked it this morning and decided something was missing. So I got out my gold paint and free-handed an H on there. I love monograms and I think it looks so much better. How bout you?

And since I know you all just check this blog to see Abbi here's a little picture. She tried to get herself dressed yesterday while I was eating breakfast. She's a total girl. Whenever she chooses her clothes it's always a dress.

I'm so bummed!

2009-10-11T23:45:00.001-06:00

You know that cross-stitch I was working on a while ago? Well, I hadn't been working on it for a while so the other day I decided to pick it up again. I was almost done, like really really close. just one crucial spot left where the roof and the sides have to meet up. Guess what? I'm two lousy stitches off?!?! I'm so mad! And I have no idea how to fix it. Does anyone want to help?

One Step Closer

2009-09-15T18:20:00.002-06:00

I'm now one step closer to Someday. Look at my cute new sewing table here.

P.S.- I just got a ticket for Time Out For Women. I'm super excited about it. Thanks Babe for being willing to babysit for me while I'm there.

Someday

2009-09-10T09:47:00.004-06:00

Someday I will have this...

Instead of this...

I'll move out of the laundry room/pantry/storage room and have a whole gorgeous room to myself. Thanks Sew4Home for letting me dream.

24! What?!?

2009-09-09T10:08:00.002-06:00

So I don't feel 24, but alas, I've had another birthday. It was such a fun day! Here is what I did:

-as few chores as possible {"The clothes can just sit in the dryer, I'll fluff them later." "Unload the dishwasher? Brad can just grab stuff out as he needs it." ect, ect}

-played with Abbi {She cracks me up! She has this little scrunchy smile and curtesy laugh now. It makes me laugh.}

-straightened my hair {curly hair is great when you're in a hurry, but using it as a fall back for over a month is just plain laziness}

-went shopping with Brad to buy something for me {I always talk about how I need some new clothes, but every time I save up some, I buy fabric or something for the house. Brad gave me money for my birthday and told me I HAD to spent it on me} I got 3 shirts and a new pair of jeans. I even have some left over for dinner with the girls on Saturday. {thanks Hardings for watching Abbi for us! It was fantastic!}

-watched Pysch while we feel asleep.

It was a really laid back day, but exactly what I wanted. Thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes!

Sisters, Sisters. There Were Never Such Devoted Sisters.

2009-08-31T12:39:00.004-06:00

Today is my sisters birthday. I've always looked up to her. She is an amazing person. I was so lucky to have her come visit me in California last summer after I had Abbi to teach me how to be an awesome mom like her. I miss her so much living so far away. I'll come visit again soon!

Happy Birthday Sue!

What Cross Stitching Means To Me

2009-08-28T16:41:00.004-06:00

For most of my life my mom was sick. She spent all of her time in the chair in her bedroom or the sun room. Until her hands got too weak, she spent her days cross stitching. Our house was full of all the wonderful images she had created. That is one of the things I remember most about my mom. I wanted nothing to do with cross stitching at the time, but as I've gotten older and I now have her things hanging in my own house I've come to better appreciate it.

There is a cross stitch store down the street from my sisters house called "Crafty Ewe" that I have to go to every time I'm there for a visit. When I was there in December I bought a bunch of patterns. This last visit I got one more.

I finished this one while I was still in Ohio. I'm going to hang it in Abbi's room between some prints from this book.

This is the one I'm working on now. I started it 2 days ago and I'm about a third done.

While Visiting Teaching this month my partner and I started talking about Elder Uchtdorf's talk from last fall called, "Happiness, Your Heritage." In it he says, "Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty...As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you".

Whenever I start a new cross stitch I become almost obsessed. I can't take a break until it's done. I love watching the blank cloth turn into a beautiful piece of art that often shows things that mean so much to me. I'm so thankful for the unknowing example my mom showed me by spending endless hours doing something I would come to love so much.

Our Trip: A Series of Posts

2009-08-24T17:18:00.006-06:00

We had so much fun on our trip to Ohio to see my sister and her family. Abbi, my dad and I went out a week before Brad was able to. Here is a series of posts and pictures in review of our trip. Enjoy!

We went down to Columbus one day so Sue and Peter could do baptisms with a new member from their ward. While we waited, my dad and I took the kids to a park in "German Village." It is such a cute little place with a bunch of little Victorian houses.

We ate lunch at a little German family owned diner. It was really authentic German food.

Abbi loved to play with her cousins at the park. Her favorite was the train toy.

Mitchell loved the slide.

Don't worry, Emily and Josh had fun too. They were just sick of me taking pictures.

We also went to a little lake near Sue's house one day. It was really fun to have a picnic lunch at the beach. Emily couldn't come with us, but she had fun at her last day of "Zoo Camp."

Mitchell and Josh loved to dig in the sand.

Abbi liked to eat it.

They loved playing with each other. My favorite thing was that they would hold hands whenever we drove anywhere. So sweet!

2009-08-24T16:51:00.005-06:00

Once Brad joined the group we set off for Upstate New York. Our first stop on the way to Palmyra was Niagara Falls. It was AWESOME! We did a tour called "The Maid of the Mist." It was a boat ride right up to the falls. As they passed out little rain coats to everyone (Abbi even got her one tiny one) I was skeptical that we would be getting wet enough to warrant a rain coat. But as soon as we hit the "mist" I was extremely thankful. It was like the worst rain storm I had ever been in. Abbi and my 2 year old nephew Mitchell were terrified, while the 7 year olds Emily and Josh danced and sang. It was amazing.

Sue's cute family before we hit the water.

Our little family with my daddy.

Mitchell pointing to the "mist" in terror.

Finally happy as floating away from the falls.

One of my favorite pics from the trip. So cute!

Sue's kids after the boat ride. You can't really tell, but they were dripping wet.

View of the falls from the observation desk.

This is other boat emerging from the mist after us.

2009-08-24T16:08:00.007-06:00

We got to Palmyra late Thursday night and checked into our hotel. Friday we spent the day going to the Smith family farm and the Printers where the Book of Mormon was printed. I learned so much.

Did you know that the first home they lived in when they arrived in Palmyra was really Hyrum's house and on his land? They parents had bought 100 acres and Hyrum bought 80 right next door (even though he was only a teenager). They built his home first (which is the one Joseph prayed in and recieved the visits from Moroni) then later built a frame house on the family farm. But even that was Alvins house (however he died during construction).

Frame House, where the gold plates were hidden under the hearth.

I was suprised by the Sacred Grove. I was imagining walking to a bunch of trees and seeing the exact spot Joseph had the first vision, you know the one in all the pictures. But it was a huge grove with walking trails and benches. It was beautiful and so peaceful. As soon as you walk in it's like every sound is muted. I loved it.

That night Brad and I went through a session in the Palmyra temple. The temple is up on a little hill that over looks the Sacred Grove so Pres. Hinckley gave them permission to put clear windows on that side of the building. Right as you walk past the recommend desk you can see right out to the grove. It was beautiful. The rest of the windows are stained glass pictures of the Grove. It was gorgeous.

View of the temple from the Sacred Grove.

We spent Saturday at the Hill Camorah and the Whitmer farm. Have you ever noticed that there are 5 Whitmer's that were witnesses to the Book of Mormon? Well I have. The Sister Missionary taking us on the tour at the farm pointed out to me that not only did the Whitmer sons witness to it, but Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdrey were the husbands of the Whitmer daughters. Even their mother was shown the plates. The Whitmer's were one very righteous family. I didn't have my camera then, but it was an amazing experience. I'm so glad we got to experience it.

For dinner on Saturday we stopped in downtown Palmyra at a little diner called "The Grill and Chill." The missionaries recommended it to us for it's portion sizes. The kiddy meal was a 1/4 pounder. It had some awesome ice cream also.

My nephew Josh with a kiddy cone. Outrageous, I know.

I'm Home!

2009-08-24T12:26:00.002-06:00

We're back from our Ohio/Palmyra adventures. I'm in the middle of uploading my pictures (all 1500 of them) and doing laundry. Once I get all of that done I'll give my debriefing post which, I'm warning you now, will be lengthy.

Off to the Ohio...

2009-08-11T12:32:00.002-06:00

I love it back east. I was born in Akron Ohio but we moved when I was just a few months old. My siblings were raised there and I've always kinda felt jipped. But now my sister and her cute family have moved back there so we get to go visit! One such visit begins today, well technically tomorrow, but who wants to be technical. This afternoon Abbi and I are going down to K-Town to stay the night at my dads. Tomorrow the three of us (Abbi, Dad and me) all fly into Cleveland. Brad (who has to stay and work...lame) will join us next Wednesday when we head out to Palmyra and Niagara Falls. I am so excited! I've had a really tough weekend and I'm looking forward to a fun vacation with family to help me feel better. I'm sure I'll be able to post from my sisters house, but if not...I'll see you in 12 days!

A New Adventure...

2009-07-26T19:04:00.003-06:00

Brad laughed at me tonight because I've made another blog (this is my 4th). I was just having such a hard time keeping track of all the fun crafts I want to make and where I would find them on line.

My solution is my new blog:It is going to be a list of every fun thing that I find that I want to make with the link right back to it. And I'll also put before and after pics of projects I'm working on. I may also write some tutorials on some of the patterns I make. I wish I had thought of this sooner. There are a ton of things that I wanted to do that I can't find anymore. Hopefully this will keep me organized.

Finally Updating

2009-07-20T22:07:00.006-06:00

I'm finally back. I've just finished cleaning the house after having both the flu and strep throat. I now have some time to update. Since we were sick I don't have a lot to update on, but here it is.

4th of July Weekend!
We had a blast in Myton at Brad's Grandparents and Uncles house. They have a little park set up out there with a pond, water slides, a zip line, rope swings, sand boxes, the whole shebang. Abbi LOVED it! She would have stayed in the water the whole time if we would have let her. Her favorite part, though, was meeting her Great Grandma and Grandpa Harding. We love you guys!

Abbi Walks!
After almost a month of taking only 2 or 3 steps at a time (I think she knew I wouldn't keep getting her stuff if she could get it herself) Abbi finally ventured across the family room on the 11th. Well, it was actually my dad's family room but we're just as excited about it. Now we can't get her to stop. It's really funny to see her do it. She just looks so little!

Other Random Happenings

We love family walks!

Brad taught Abbi how to throw the balls up and down the stairs.
She cracks up watching them bounce.

Abbi Update...

2009-07-01T11:31:00.003-06:00

Abbi is a whole year old now and I haven't even told you guys all the fun things she can do now. I can't believe how big she is getting. We just had her year check up. She's 18 lbs (12%) and 31 inches (95%). Tall and skinny, just like her dad. Here are some things about Abbi at one year:

-She LOVES her stuffed cat named Gifford. She crawls around the house saying, "kitty" until she can find him.
-She loves to cuddle with her toys (especially Gifford). She hugs them real tight and sways back and forth. So cute.
-She can say daddy, kitty, ah-oh, and hi but refuses to say mama. Nothing I do can convince her to say it. Oh well, someday she'll appreciate me.
-She can walk...she just won't. She'll take about 3 steps, realize what she's doing and sit down.
-She loves her books more than any of her other toys (except Gifford). I'll let her play while I'm cleaning the kitchen or something and when I go to check on her she'll be surrounded by her books and her toys are all still in the same place I left them.
-She loves to climb up the stairs, but hasn't figured out how to go down yet. We're still working on that one.
-She LOVES Brad. She's always the happiest when he gets home from work and won't leave him alone. She just wants to play with her daddy.
-She's such a good eater. Her new favorite are apricots. I can't cut them up fast enough for her.
-She loves to talk. All day she'll be babbling away like everyone knows what she's talking about.
-She's cute and she knows it. She does anything for attention.
-Thanks to Brads influence she thinks the only purpose of a bed is to jump on.
-She loves being outside. If she starts being annoying, all I have to do is take her on a walk and she'll calm right down.
-She loves her naps. She lets me know when she's ready. I lay her down in her crib and hand her Gifford. She then looks at me with a face that clearly says, "you're excused" then rolls over and ignores me as I leave.
-She loves other little kids. They make her laugh and she just wants to get down and play with them.

There are so many more things that she does and that I love about her. I'm so glad that Brad and I have her all to ourselves for ever!

I love these people

2009-06-24T17:43:00.003-06:00

I was just looking back at some pictures I took at my cousins wedding and found these two pictures of my Grandparents. Aren't they good looking people?

Yes, her shirt does say, "I'm not old, I'm a recycled teenager." Classic fantastic Grandma.

I love my BABE!

2009-06-22T23:11:00.003-06:00

Happy late Fathers Day! You're the best Daddy (and husband) ever!

Isn't he so good looking?

Happenings of late

2009-06-22T22:41:00.005-06:00

We've had a fun week. I didn't get many pictures of the first part, but believe me. It was great.

The week started out by having my sister Sue fly out from Cleveland for a friends wedding. We got to hang out a lot. It was so fun. I miss her and her family lots. On Thursday we went down to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. It is so gorgeous. One of the prettiest I've ever been in. There were windows every where.
On Friday it was Abigails first birthday! We celebrated by going to Summerfest with the Hardings. It was so fun. I love stuff like that. Abbi loved dancing with Grandpa.
On Saturday we had Abbi's birthday party. It was a good time. After we sang to her and blew out the candle, she immediately grabbed the hot wick and screamed! That killed the "destroy the cake" mood. A few minutes and plenty of cuddles later she had calmed down enough to dig in. She didn't like having stuff on her hands though. She kept trying to wipe them off. We all had a really good time.To celebrate Fathers day on Sunday we went to the Willow Park Zoo on a walk. Abbi LOVED it. she would hold onto the fence and laugh at the animals. When we tried to pry her hands off the fence she would cry and cry. She also had her first experience on a swing. She loved that too. She just loves everything. And we all love her.

One year

2009-06-18T20:30:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow my baby girl turns one. Crazy!

Shamless, Self-serving post...

2009-06-06T12:44:00.004-06:00

But I hope that it will help someone else out there too.

Last December we had our family pictures taken and we used one of the most fantastic photographers. Her name is Kristin Wilkerson and we loved her. She is going to be changing her pricing in the next month or so. I decided now would be as good a time as any for our next photo shoot (seeing as Abbi's almost one now).

Anyway, I struck a deal with Kristin. If I can get 2 more people to schedule with her for July I get a prize! It can also be a good thing for you because if you schedule soon but make the appointment for July you get the Spring pricing.

Her website is here: http://kristinwilkersonpho tographyblog.blogspot.com/

Check it out. If your not in the market for pictures but know of someone else have them mention my name when they schedule.

UPDATE: I've got one taker. Only one more! Come on...you know you want to.

Bees & Blossoms

2009-06-04T13:03:00.007-06:00

So I've never really liked the name I chose for my craft blog (Crafty Miss Mama) so I've come up with something I like better and I'm pretty sure it's going to stick.

It is now Bumble Bees & Apple Blossoms. Isn't that better? Please visit and share with friends!
(if the link doesn't work its: beesandblossoms.blogspot.com)

Can I just say...

2009-06-02T22:03:00.003-06:00

...that I love Enrichment? It is so much fun to talk with all the girls and learn some really fun stuff. Tonight we talked about Family History and how to use photos, scrapbooking and journaling to help you do your genealogy. I had such a good time and have a bunch of fun new projects on my list.

P.S.- I love my Brad for watching Abbi for me and giving me the night off.

P.P.S.-I found a disposable camera the last time we moved and had no idea what was on it. I got it developed today and it turned out to be some pictures from a trip to Portland almost 3 years ago. I can't believe how "young and vigorous" (that's how Brad always describes us before we had Abbi) we were. It was a really fun trip. I'm super glad I found the pictures.

Catching up

2009-05-19T11:00:00.006-06:00

It's been awhile and I've done a lot since the last time I wrote a post. First, as I mentioned, I went to Portland for my cousins wedding. It was so fun. Even the drives were better than I thought, except with Abbi. She was really good until about 3 hours outside of Portland and she lost it. The same thing happened on the way home. Then she was really clingy the whole time. My angel baby has become a happy, but super sassy little girl. Even with the clingy sassyness we had a few really fun adventures.She got so bored. (sorry it's sidways)

Isn't Ethan so cute?

My dad had to pose for every picture. He cracks me up.

At Vista Point. I love Abbi's face.

She loved sitting in the flowers at the Rose Garden where, sadly, no roses were in bloom.

Aren't we cute?

Abbi Loved to talk with Grandpa.

Look how much she loves Grandpa.

Multnoma Falls

Doesn't she look just like Brad.

Abbi's first swim. She LOVED it! I'm going to have to get a kiddy pool for the back yard.

Baby Einstein!

We were in Portland for Mothers day so I wasn't able to post anything then. I'm so blessed to have a few moms in my life. First there's my Mom. She was amazing. It's been a little over 3 years since she's been gone, but I think about her all the time. She taught me everything I know and helped me be the person I am today. Then there's my mother-in-law. I totally lucked out with Lorie. She is so sweet. She reminds me so much of my own mom. Next I have Brenda, my step mom. She's been a mom to me for 2 years. We have so much fun together. I also have Ilene, Pam and JoEllen. My best friends moms. They were my honorary moms growing up. I learned so much from them and love them too.

Me, Abbi and "Grandma B"

The day after we got back was my 3rd anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long. I've loved every minute of it. Brad is so good to me. In fact, he's the best thing that has ever happened to me. He had to work from 7 am to 11:30 pm that day though. That was no fun. To get at least a little celebration in I set up a picnic on our family room floor. We ate while we watched our wedding video. It was a fun night. Brad's in SLC for a few days for training and Abbi and I miss him lots.

This weekend.

2009-05-06T09:53:00.005-06:00

This is my awesome sis-in-law and cute little nephew...

This is the fantastic city we're heading to this weekend...

This is my fabulous cousin (and her boy) who we're going to visit...

This is the amazing place she decided to get married on Saturday...

I'm so proud of you Emily & Brad! Yay for family and road trips!!

Yay for sisters!

2009-04-20T13:49:00.002-06:00

I just bought our plane tickets to fly out and see my awesome sister in Cleveland! I'm going to stay for a week and a half with Abbi and Brad will join us for the last few days. I miss her and her cute family so much! I can hardly wait until August!

An Executive Decision

2009-04-16T16:12:00.003-06:00

Well, with the help of my Uncle...well I guess he's my Dad's cousin really... I have made a decision. Cuddle Bug Design is out. Apparently there already is one. Who knew? I have decided on "Crafty Miss Mama" at least for now so keep letting me know if you get any better ideas. I've been putting off doing anything for months so I'm just going to go for it. Things may change in the future, but at least I've started.

That being said, I started a blog. Right now it only has a few of the things I've made and am selling. In the future I hope to expand from kids stuff, include tutorials, before and after decorating makeovers and much more. Go check it out (just click the logo) and be sure to let me know what you think.

P.S.- I'm still working on Etsy.

My new Adventure

2009-04-16T11:32:00.002-06:00

As some of you guys know I'm getting a lot of products ready for an online store. It's a lot of crafts and decor mostly for kids (but I'm hoping to branch out). What I need your help with is a name. I've got a few options but I can't make up my mind. I've set a poll up on the right side. If you don't like one that's there, leave me a comment with your idea. Thanks!

Easter Weekend in Review

2009-04-12T15:55:00.010-06:00

We had such a great Easter Weekend. We got to start a day early because Brad didn't have any classes on Friday. We took advantage of that by going to Baby Animal Days. (sorry pics are small. you can click on them to see them bigger.)

Abbi loved it. I wondered how interested she would be in the animals and I was surprised. She wanted to pet them all. She even tried to give the chicks kisses. Her favorite part, though, was the balloon we bought her on the way out. She would laugh and laugh and try to catch it. So cute.
Later that night we invited our friends Doug and Whitney over to dye eggs and watch CondorMan with us. We had so much fun. I had a dozen hard boiled eggs and a dozen that I had blown out. I had a garland for my shelf with the hollow ones. Next year I'll get some bows to tie on the hooks.

On Saturday morning I was supposed to go down to SLC for the MS walk. I didn't realize that it was the same day and time as our Harding Easter party until it was too late. So instead, I got on map-my-run and chose a course that was the same distance as the SLC one. It just so happened that the walk I do almost everyday with Abbi is only a quarter mile short. This time I lengthened it a little and did it in honor of my cousin Tara. Sorry I couldn't be downtown!

The Harding get together was everything it always is. Lots of fun and games. The kids loved the Egg Hunt.
John, Lorie and Emily hid the eggs for the older cousins then put Abbi's giant pink egg in the middle of the lawn for her to get. It was so fun to watch all the kids and Abbi loved her toy filled egg.
The boys always have to have their game of Football and on egg toss. This year the kids tried throwing a ball into a bucket. Abbi would giggle every time the others threw a ball.

On Sunday we came home from church and got our Easter baskets. I was stumped as to what you get for a 10 month old. I ended up getting her a pool toy for the summer, some yogurt melts, a toothbrush for her new little teeth and a balloon. Brad and I got some snacks.
But of course we tried to keep the true meaning of Easter on our minds through all the activities.

I'm so thankful for the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for the comfort of knowing Christ knows the pain and sorrow of our trials and can help us through them. I'm thankful for the opportunity He gives us to fully repent of our sins and to live again, eternally, with our Heavenly Father.

Experiments

2009-04-09T21:55:00.004-06:00

I've been experimenting with Photoshop the last little while and I love it! My brother took a picture of the temple at my wedding that I've always wanted to get a print of. I decided to practice on it and see if I'd like an altered version better. Here's what I've got so far.
Sorry it's small.

The top left is the original. I really like the one under it too.

2009-03-30T14:15:00.001-06:00

Maybe we won't go grocery shopping during Abbi's nap time anymore. Poor girl.

My one reminder

2009-03-24T13:43:00.000-06:00

Last week when it was so sunny and warm I went and bought this cute little flower. It's all I have now to remind me of what it was like and what it could be.

Spring is Here!

2009-03-21T18:17:00.008-06:00

...at least for a few days. I've been loving to warm weather. All my windows have been open and I've been on a walk everyday. Here, let me show you.

Sorry it's sideways, but look how happy she is to be outside!

Abbi loves the ducks. She tried really hard to get them, but they always got away.

She loved jumping on the tramp with her cousins.

She just wants to go back outside.

P.S.-The Harding Pic link has been updated.

Sign in Please...

2009-03-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

We've decided to go the way of the private type. I would love for everybody (that I know) to still be able to see our blog so if you'd like to get an invite just leave your e-mail as a comment or send it to me at harding513@gmail.com.

What I've been up to

2009-02-26T22:44:00.008-07:00

Since I was blessed with the best natured baby in, I'd say, the whole world I have a lot of time on my hands (she just sleeps and wants to play by herself most of the time). With that time I've been catching up on my scrapbooking...digitally. I've never done it that way before, but I was really behind and it's so much faster this way. My friend introduced me to Blurb Books and another showed me how to do some basic stuff on my Photoshop Elements. I'm addicted! I finished my family album for 2008, got about half finished with Abbi's 2008, and started the family 2009 in the past 2 weeks. I'm doing the family albums really basic with no cutsie stuff, but I'm doing a little more on Abbis. I love it. Here's a preview. I'll give an update when the books get shipped to me. (first two are boring family album, rest are Abbi's pretty album)

P.S.- I need some input. Do you think I should do more journaling on Abbi's album. Right now it hardly has any but I could add it in pretty easy.

25 of a 100. Not too shabby.

2009-02-21T11:21:00.003-07:00

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up? I've finished 25 of the hundred and read portions of 13. I guess being an English major kind of gives you an advantage. (I didn't star any because I'd someday like to read them all.)

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Put a % after those you've read a portion of.
3) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
4) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
5) Tally your total read and put it in the title.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (X)+ my favorite
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien ( )
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (X) Those Bronte sisters are crazy, but I love em
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (X)+
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (X)
6 The Bible (%)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (X)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell ( )
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman (*)
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (%)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy ( )
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller ( )
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (%) most of them
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier ( )
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien ( )
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ( )
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger ( )
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ( )
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot (X) long!
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell ( )
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (X)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens ( )
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy ( )
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams ( )
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh ( )
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky ()
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (X)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (%)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (X)
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (%)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens ( )
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (X)
34 Emma - Jane Austen (X) That Jane Austin. I can't get enough of her.
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (X)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X) Same as #33
37. Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini ( )
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ( )
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden ( )
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (%)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell ( )
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (X)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ( )
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving ( )
45 The Woman in White - ( )
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (%) I don't know why I didn't finish
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy (%)
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood ( )
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding ( )
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan ( )
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel ( )
52 Dune - Frank Herbert ( )
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons ( )
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (X)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ( )
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon ( )
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (X)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley ( )
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon ( )
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ( )
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (%)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov ()
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt ( )
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold ( )
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (X) I just finfished it again in fact
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac ( )
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ( )
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding ( )
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie ( )
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (X) about 3 times more than i wanted
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens ( )
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker (%) I want to finish it sometime
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (X)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson ( )
75 Ulysses - James Joyce ( )
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath ( )
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ( )
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ( )
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray ( )
80 Possession - AS Byatt ( )
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (X)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ( )
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker ( )
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ( )
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert ( )
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ( )
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (X)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (X)
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (%)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ( )
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (X) again... a few more times than i would have liked
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery ( )
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ( )
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams ( )
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Toole ( )
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (%)
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (X)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (X)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (%)

I've got it all!

2009-02-12T14:54:00.007-07:00

We have had computer problems for the last few months and Missy has been unable to update our blog from home. I spend a lot of time at school with internet access so I am giving a little Valentine's Gift.

Abbi is fun to have around the house, which she manages to crawl around very easily. Missy told me the other day that Abbi pefers to play with her toys and explore our apartment. She also loves Baby Einstein and baths. We are trying to teach her how to clap and walk (you may ask yourselves, "What, at the same time?" the answer to that question is yes. We are raising the amazing "walky and clappy" baby).

Missy spends much of her time taking care of Abbi and I. She is really good at it and is ranked #1 at the "Best Wife/Mom Ever!" polls. She loves to read and goes through books like I go through .5 lead in my black logo shop logoed mechanical pencil.

As most of you know, I am not in the summer sales business anymore (Hallelujah!). I am currently looking for part time work and an intership/fulltime work for the summer. I plan on graduating in Speech Communication and Business in May 2010 (if I can pass my Corporate finance class). We have hopes of pursuing an MBA back East in the next 5 years.

I love my wife with all my heart. Looking back I had no idea how good life would be. Marrying Missy was the best decision I ever made. I love the life that we have together. If someone were to ask me if I were to change anything I would say, "Are you kidding me? I am living the life. This is my dream come true!"

I love you Missy dear, Mais Tambem!