Life is Waiting to Begin

How to hike to a waterfall

2011-08-24T22:06:00.004-06:00

Make sure to bring your friend, who's sometimes your enemy, but who's usually your best friend
do some interpretive dancing and belly button cleaning

make sure your hydrated. Like really, really hydrated. Like stop 5 or 6 times to go to the bathroom in a bush or behind a tree or on some rocks hydrated.

You MUST touch the water any and all times that you see it while hiking. Not touching said water would be disastrous, probably fatal.

make sure your mom is there to give you a pep talk

rejoice excitedly when you reach the waterfall. play in freezing water and climb over every rock that can be found, even if that means falling and repeatedly getting hurt.

Oh yeah, and make sure you bring your really cool aunt and uncle along with you too. That always makes it funner.

Don't leave behind anyone at a waterfall, especially this beautiful, happy sweet baby.

make sure you end the hike at least 3 hours later when the sunset is gorgeous and the clouds are threatening a seriously cool rainstorm

that's how we do it. anyone want to join us next time?

Catching up

2011-08-05T16:12:00.007-06:00

American Idol Concert

Hiking Up Centerville Canyon

Easter

Summer Running

2011-08-05T15:29:00.007-06:00

This summer has been so fun! I've tried to participate in a running event each summer for the past couple of years and this year I've done 2 really fun ones. In June I ran the Ragnar WBR, this was my 4th time and by far one of the very best years! My team was awesome, I didn't fall and have to get stitches, the race was so smoothly put together, and it was such a blast. I love doing this race for a few reasons. 1) Its absolutely gorgeous to run through the smaller towns on the backside of the mountains. 2) It's an emotional expieriance to be with 5 other people, some you don't even know at the beginning. But after 30 hours in a van, cheering eachother on, sharing laughter, tears, and alot of information (Sorry Mike!) they become people that you just love. 3) I love being able to do this with my sister Kristin. She's amazing in a million different ways but she is one of my biggest cheerleaders and my admiration for her grows so much each year we do this together.
I not only got to run with Kristin, but also my freaking amazing sister in law Marci. She came down from Eugene, OR to run this with me and I love her so much for doing that. It was so cool to be with her and spend that time with her. Thanks to her awesome husband for letting her come. While I'm at that, thanks to my awesome husband who is so supportive of my running. Watching the girls, coming to cheer me on, dropping me off places to run, getting up early to watch them while I go run.....love you babe.
Anyways, this is our team S.W.A.T. Speed Walkers and Trash-Talkers. I'm pretty sure we didn't do either of those things, but it was fun to dress up 80'sish stuff :)

At the starting line....Pumped and ready to go! We definately aren't looking much like this at the finish line.

The only two boys on our team. I'd say I felt bad for them but I really didn't....look at them! Actually, Mike was in our van and he had no idea what kinds of things he was gonna be seeing or hearing. I'll leave it at that :) He was a good sport and such a blast.

Marci, Me, Mike, Debbie, Sara, Kristin, Jacee

She's awesome. She just ran a ridiculous leg right before me, and then got out to wipe my tears while I ran this one. I'm so not ashamed to admit how much I cried during this weekend :)

At the finish line!

Debbie was such a stud and let us take her BRAND new van. I thought it was pretty funny that we were the trash talkers but that we had flowers all over. If you look close you can see that the runner on the back window is carrying a gun. and shooting at something. Apparently that's what speed walkers do :)

The other event I did this summer was the Legacy Midnight Half-Marathon. It was awesome because Brandon and Marci (my bro & sis-in-law) ran with me. And it was at night which was fun. But it wasn't one I'll probably do again. I love half marathons....I really think they are so much fun.

It was actually really cool.....they gave every runner 6 glo-sticks to put on but a lot of people went all out. While we were waiting an hour before for the race to start we just looked at all the people with glo sticks taped up and down their legs & arms, all over their shirts and around necks. Had to laugh because we were just looping them around our shoelaces, knowing that running with them on would be really obnoxious. The first mile or two however was just covered with glo sticks that people had just dropped :)

My sweet love who stayed up waiting for me to come across the finish line at midnight. He and he dad and my mom cheered us all on at a few different places and it was so helpful to see them. He's awesome.

Good times guys! Love you and thanks for doing this with me. Next time, you pick the event :)

Happy Birthday Cambria!

2011-08-01T22:42:00.004-06:00

On the 30th of July Cambria turned 4, so we took her camping up North Fork Park by Pineview. It was so fun! We found this great trail that led to a waterfall, and then right behind our campground there was a pond where we saw beaver and a moose. Yep, a moose. And it was maybe a hundred or so yards away. It was awesome!

On our way back from camping we stopped in Layton to cheer on Brandon, Eric and Caleb in their first Triathalon. They did awesome, even though we didn't actually make it in time to see them cross the line :)

Eric, Brandon and their cousin David AKA Ben Stiller in "Dodgeball"

Love these two! Quincy is such a sweet baby....always so smiley and lovin on almost anyone. She looks so much like Adam! And she was such a trooper while we were camping. We didn't bring a pack n' play for her to sleep in, just some blankets to lay on. Not sure why we thought that would be a good idea at all. She didn't want to go to sleep at all in the tent, so I wrapped her up and put her in the carseat in the car while Adam and I had hot chocolate outside. When we went to bed we took her out and put her on the floor. At some horribly early hour she woke up choking (I think she swallowed a bug) and then realized that her fingernails made a really cool sound when she scratched the tent. She would have been content to do that all night :) I think adam ended up on the floor and she took his place on the air mattress. Good times.

How I love her! Silly, sweet, creative, loving, passionate, energetic, friendly, bright, and incredibly special. Happy Birthday Bug! We love you!

For a friend.....

2011-04-19T23:01:00.004-06:00

Yes it's been almost 5 months since I've posted. Yes there's no really good excuse. So here is what we've been up to :) Literally days after Quincy was born Cambria had her first dance recital down at the festival of trees. She did so good and was so excited. She may or may not have done her own routine (as evidenced by the picture above) but she did look so dang cute. I was so proud of her for not even being scared to be up there. I definately have myself a girl who loves herself the spotlight.

This girl has been so great these past months with being a big sister. She loves Quincy so much and really just wants to be wherever she is.

This was pretty much what every picture of Cambria holding Quincy looked like for a long time. Things are getting a little better....Quincy has come to terms with her big sisters holding style.

Oh this baby of mine is so precious. I love her and am so grateful that she is here. Life has been super crazy these past few months and she has been such a happy content sweet gift to me.

This is exactly how Cambria looks everytime she sees Quincy and talks to her. In her face. Every. Single. Time. It looks cute, but trust me it can get on your nerves every now and then :)

We blessed Quincy in this beautiful dress that a friend of ours from St. George actually crocheted for Cambria but gave it to us after we'd blessed her. Its gorgeous and so special because this friend passed away and never got to see it on either of my girls.

And that is pretty much the same face that Quincy has when Cambria makes the above mentioned face. They are so fun and silly and kooky.

Adam took Cambria skiing for the first time this year and she loved it. Of course she did....that girl was born adventurous and stubborn. She seriously had a blast going down the hill and going on the lift and eating all the snow she could imagine. She might have enjoyed the snow eating part more than anything!

Here you go sweet friend of mine....Sorry that I've been such a slacker! I'll try and be better.

Quincy Rigby

2010-12-02T15:39:00.004-07:00

We are so excited that she's finally here! Born Sunday November 28, 2010 at 6:17 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and 21" long. We might be biased, but she's absolutely gorgeous and totally perfect. All those nights of tiny feet kicking my ribs were worth it :)

Apparently the thumbs up means she approves....although she's been pretty excited this whole pregnancy. She wasn't, however, excited when we decided to name her Quincy instead of what Cambria had suggested: Ariel. I know, tough decision but I think we made the right one!

Perhaps not the greatest of family pictures, but the first of our family of four. We'll have to work on it :)

Adam doesn't like this picture because he says her eyes are scary from the antibiotics they put on them, but I love it. Look at her little frown! It's adorable! She has the most expressive little lips, Cambria has them too.

More pictures to come, but we are so excited! It couldn't have been a worse actual day to have her....it was like the snowstorm of the year(s). It honestly snowed a white out all day! We barely made it to the hospital and we live only 15 minutes away. She's going to be like her sister....she's gotta make an entrance and be memorable. Can't wait!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-06T21:15:00.003-06:00

This year Adam wanted to have us all dress up in costumes that related to each other. First it was Snow White (Cambria), Wicked Witch (Me...duh) and Prince Charming (why do dad's always get to be the good one?!). Then she wanted us to be Snow White dwarves Snopey and Grumpy. That's right, Snopey. Adam suggested Mario, Luigi and Princess Toadstool hoping she would go for it because, after all, she could be a princess. Then Cambria was introduced to the world of Avatar.....and it was all down hill from there. She was adament that she be a Snow White Avatar. I'm pretty proud of her for coming up with that all be her creative little self, but finding such a costume proved a bit tricky :) A friend of ours made the shirt and tail while I attempted to paint her face like an Avatar. There was NO way she could persuade me into being an Avatar...so here we are Snow White Avatar with her two plumber friends Mario and Luigi.

At the zoo they had trick or treating and so I took Mace and Cambria for a while. It was so fun! There was lots of people there giving away candy plus lots of good costumes to see. And plenty of places for Cambria's super silly smile.

This year we picked out pumpkins but were too lazy to carve them, so we decided to draw faces on them and put wigs on them. It was actually pretty fun....Cambria kept changing wigs around on the pumpkins and hiding the tiny Quincy pumpkin.

Love this girl!

At my moms ward Halloween party....look at how sweet Adam's moustache is! Love him :)

Family Pictures

2010-10-10T21:51:00.004-06:00

Awhile ago Adam and I realized that when I was pregnant with Cambria we took a TON of pictures. One every month to see how big I was getting plus so many more. We have maybe 5 pictures of me this pregnancy. So we decided to do family/pregnancy pictures. We've also had our pictures taken as a family once since Cambria so we figured it was time. Anyways, Adams awesome cousin Caitlin (photosbycait.blogspot.com) took these of us and we loved them!

It's been nice to not have anything to post about for a while, which means that for the last little bit and time being that life has settled down for us. At least for the next 6 or 7 weeks. Around here we are all keeping our fingers crossed that Quincy comes before Thanksgiving so 1) I can enjoy my favorite thanksgiving dish, 2)so that Adam will be able to be there with me in the hospital since Thanksgiving is the busiest day and he would probably just say "Good luck. Send me a picture when she gets here" and 3)because I'm super ornary lately and I don't think my family will stick around much longer if I keep it up!

I've been feeling so anxious lately about another baby. I'm sure it's normal, but anxious for me is pretty overwhelming. I just have really loved having so much time alone with Cambria. She is so fun and quirky and silly. She's so excited to be a big sister and talks to my belly all the time. We decided on a middle name, but before we told her what we chose we asked her what it should be. She promptly answered "Toodles." It's debatable wether or not she watches too much Micky Mouse Clubhouse :) Her and Adam made a pact that they will both call her that. They are a funny pair.

Havasupai

2010-08-24T08:07:00.007-06:00

About 4 years ago Adam and I with a few friends went on a backpacking/camping trip to the Havasupai Indian Reservation in the Grand Canyon and just fell in love with it. It's this beautiful hidden place in the middle of nowhere with waterfalls and ridiculously clear blue/green water. We have been itching to go back for a while and finally did. We didn't plan on me being 6 months pregnant but I wasn't about to stay home while everyone else got to go have fun :)

Anyways, it was just as beautiful as I remembered, less water this time, but still amazing. Plus, being with just Adam for 5 days and watching him be like a little kid jumping into the water was totally worth it! We may or may not have gotten extremely lost on the way down, but that's all part of the experiance when traveling with Adam and I. At least we got to see the Grand Canyon!

Getting ready to hike down......after spending 20 hours in the car and sleeping for maybe 2 hours.

The actual town where the Indians live. We may or may not have gotten lost in this stupid town while hiking out at 4 a.m. Pretty sure we had every single stray nasty dog barking at us or following us around.

This is the way you climb down to Mooney Falls....crazy! And this is only part of it.

Chillin in the water. I'm positive that it was at least 120 degrees outside the entire time we were there and this water was the perfect temperature to cool down my prego belly.

Somewhere in that waterfall is Adam jumping off. He had a blast and it was fun to see him so excited :)

We had such a blast! I'm so glad that Adam let me come....the hike was 10 miles each way. I told him that we could ride a horse out but then when I saw them trotting down the hill on the way in I opted to not go into labor 3 months early and told him that I was gonna walk out. We had them take our packs out, but I know he was bummed that we had to hike :) Thanks babe, I sure love you and had a blast being with you!

Oh yeah...

2010-08-02T21:56:00.000-06:00

We're having A GIRL!!!

July Firtieth

2010-08-02T21:09:00.005-06:00

Oh how I love this little girl and can't believe that 3 years ago she finally came into our life. She is unbelievably independant, smart, silly, creative and wonderful...I just can't imagine what I'd do without her. We had a blast on her birthday and I hope she enjoyed it because it was WAY too much work :) And we aren't doing something like this for at least 10 years. Please remind me about this next year though.

Bowling at Boondocks. To be honest she was way more interested in twirling around with her sucker than rolling the ball. Plus when she did roll it, the ball barely made it half way down the lane! It was awesome :)

The dress we bought her for her birthday. For anyone who doesn't know Cambria has no idea how much she loves dresses and how much of a fight she puts up if she can't wear one. It's actually really obnoxious sometimes, but what do you do? I thought this dress was awesome, and wished there was one in my size.

We had a party at the park next to our house for her and it was so fun and so dang hot! Lots of friends and family came out to celebrate and we SO appreciated every one who came. We had tons of food, played some games and just hung out.

Even Leila got in on the action :) We had a blast but most of all it was a great day to spend with Adam and Cambria and people that we really care about. Happy Birthday my sweet bug, mom and dad love you so much!

The Princess meets a Princess....

2010-07-10T12:05:00.005-06:00

And oh my was she excited :) We took her to Disneyland because she's free until she's 3 and Adam and I volunteered to get free tickets. We paid for parking and that's it! So, we weren't really expecting a whole lot out of the trip...maybe a princess in passing and whatever rides weren't ridiculously long. I'd heard horror stories about people waiting in line for hours to see the princesses and as much as I love my daughter, I wasn't about to do that. But we happened to pass by when there was NO LINE at all...we seriously waited 10 minutes and got to see 6 princesses. She was so excited and the whole trip was worth it just to see her face light up when she got to take a picture with Cinderella.

One day we are going to have a talk about making weird faces for the camera, but I guess it works for now. She is so dang silly that it'd be pretty unnatural for her to just smile :)

The Graduate!

2010-06-12T09:54:00.003-06:00

This year Cambria and some of her friends did JoySchool...it was awesomely interesting :) We switched going to peoples houses every week and they did activities and may or may not have learned much. I however thought it was awesome to have 2 hours twice a week all to myself! Anyways, they finished their first half and so we had a little graduation party for them....these pictures are awesome because they are so representative of their little personalities.

I seriously have NO ideas where this girl gets her faces and moves from but she is hilarious! I love watching her.

And this is why.....

2010-05-22T00:05:00.003-06:00

i've been so stinking tired

i've probably been so stinking moody

i'm so grateful

it's worth being sick and tired

i'm crying A LOT more than usual (which is normally a lot anyways)

i'm eating a lot of pretzels

i'm wanting to eat a lot of french fries and salty chips

i haven't cooked dinner in about 2 months

we are so dang EXCITED!

Baby Rigby (heaven help Cambria if it's not a girl) is Due Dec. 1st~

2:11:19

2010-04-21T19:32:00.002-06:00

2 down and many more to go! This is from the Salt Lake City half marathon which was on Saturday, and which was so much fun! Mostly because I got to run with my amazing sister. The course was really awesome, except for the last mile or so where we were running on State Street. It was awesome to see all the local people out supporting the runners, plus all the 4,ooo plus runners. It went a lot better than I thought, considering I didn't get to consistently train. My sweet husband and daughter were there cheering me on as well as my mother in law, 2 sister in laws and 1 bro in law. Definately a good one to run :)

LOST

2010-04-20T22:57:00.003-06:00

For TRUE fans out there that have spent the last six years following LOST: (a.k.a. A-show-that-drives-one-mad-with-questions).

How to make your own Lost t-shirt: buy a used DI shirt, use colored permanent markers, and have way too much time on your hands.

--atom

(Thank you ABC for making Tuesdays a day worth waiting for)

All sorts of stuff....

2010-03-04T15:16:00.002-07:00

This photo slideshow created with Smilebox

So basically I'm lazy. And blogging is easier when it's just pictures ;) Enjoy.

Powdered Sugar Twins

2010-01-15T20:52:00.003-07:00

See if you can figure out this equation: 2 crafty, devious two year olds - 2 moms + 1 full opened bag of powdered sugar x 3 seperate rooms.......

Christmas 2009

2010-01-14T19:40:00.007-07:00

Alright, these pictures are 1) way overdue, 2) way out of order and 3) way cute as Cambria would say. Hopefully you'll find them entertaining without understanding their order ;)
So, Christmas this year was wonderful! We went down to Anahiem and spent a week at my moms house. It was beautiful weather and fun to spend time together. We had tons of good food and goodies, good laughs and good memories.

On Christmas Day we went down to Huntington Beach with Maci and Cambria and "Cindalella" was there making balloon things. Kinda weird, but they were so excited! Gotta love that about California.

Cambria is so like Adam......climbing around in the tidepools with her shoes off, picking up stuff and doing whatever she wants. She was so excited to see some hermit crabs & other tide pool creatures.

Its freaking freezing right there on the beach and she has no shoes or jacket on. Honestly if I didn't give birth to her I'd think she wasn't my child ;)

Random (I told you)....just a taste of the hideousness of some of the christmas decorations which surround us in at Christmas time. Adam said that it looked like "The Light Parade at Disneyland threw up on their house". It's true....it does ;)

Pictures at Sea World in their matching shirts.....thanks Gwamma!

Pictures like these are far and few between people, so take a good look. Usually they are shoving, hitting, crying, screaming or wrestling.....what a magical moment!

Cambria and Mace, my mom and I after a long day at Sea World. Let's just say we're glad we made the decision to go there instead of Disneyland. I honestly cringe when I think of doing that one day.

Christmas morning....this picture represents that whole morning for this little girl. She wanted every single present in sight and was ready to throw down for it too.

Adam, Cambria and I at Huntington Beach.

Dolphins at Sea World. I have a suggestion for parks like this: ropes that are "intended" to keep people out of certian areas should really be more toddler-proof. Cambria walked right up to the edge of where the dolphin trainers feed and was splashing around. And that was just the beginning of the day ;)

Playground at Sea World=life saver for tired parents, aunt, uncle and grandma. I think she thought this was just as good as any other part of the park.

Mom and Cambria as soon as we got there. I know that because this is the only time she looked like this while in the stroller. Let's just imagine what the other times looked like.

Sweet Hannah was our driving companion on the trip and she kind of got the shaft. Sorry Han ;) Cambria put her to good use in the back seat.

At the Princess store.....one of the best pictures of the whole trip. She was so excited to see all the princess stuff that she was pretty much telling anyone near her all about Cindelella, Sleeping Booty and Snow White.

That Darth Vader was made entirely out of Legos.

Cambs and Gwamma at the beach....they were both in heaven.

I'm incredibly grateful for my family.....there are no words to express my love for them. I adore my husband and appreciate is patience and love. My daughter makes me realize how precious each day is and I love to be around her. My mom is amazing and an incredibly dear friend. My siblings are my support and I don't know who or what I'd be without each of them. Things in all of our lives are changing but I want them to know how much I love them, need them, miss them and appreciate them.

Seven Years

2010-01-03T21:02:00.003-07:00

Seven years ago today I married the love of my life, the man of my dreams, and the person who was made for me. My sweet Adam and I have been through A LOT these past years:

2 houses

1 night "roughing it" in Zions

7 moves

countless newts & fish

1 daughter being born

3 Chuck-A-Rama stores

heaven only knows how many jobs

5 cars

6 siblings getting married

1 sky diving trip

1 college graduation (that we didn't attend!)

all seasons of LOST, 24, Bones, Friends & Burn Notice

1 foreign trip & countless road trips

3 Dr. Mario tournaments

and an innumerable amount of good memories & laughs

I am in awe of the incredible man, devoted & involved father, patient & selfless husband, generous friend, brother & son, and honest & humble employee that he is. Words do not adequately express my love and admiration for him, for what he has taught me, and for what he makes me want to become. Here's to seven incredible wonderful, exciting, adventerous years and to the many more that will come! Love you babe~

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.....

2009-12-18T14:28:00.002-07:00

Since I highly doubt that I will get another post up here before Christmas, we just wanted to wish everyone a really great holiday season and I wanted to highlight a few of our favorite things from the past year:

*trips to visit Gwammas

*going to Oregon & loving everything that we did there

*having LOST parties with our awesome Jensen friends & wearing our LOST shirts ;)

*watching Cambria grow so much! Talking like crazy & having such a personality

*going to Lake Powell with good friends

*ANTM nights with my sister

*remembering dear friends and grandparents who have passed away

*a new neice & nephew

*being able to live closer to family & all the laughing that goes along with it

*seeing the Lord guide our lives & lead us. We have ended this year far from where it began, but have been so blessed.

Merry Christmas!

2 Little Princesses

2009-12-18T14:22:00.003-07:00

The other day Kristin and I were having cabin fever so we decided to take the girlies to Carls Jr. so they could play in the play place (is there a better name?). It was awesome! They were running around like crazy, giving other kids "hugs", and having a blast. There was this awesome lady there who was doing face painting for free so we had her do both of them. They sat so well and neither one of them wanted to take it off at the end of the night....so they both went to bed as princesses.

Anything but boring.....

2009-11-19T16:01:00.003-07:00

I remember the days, pre-pregnancy, when I thought that life with kids would be boring and monotonous. Somedays are monotonous but very few are boring, especially these days. cambria gets herself into all sorts of silly places and despite my frustrations & challenges with her, her adventerous, silly, loveable, imaginative self is irresistable. See what I'm talking about...

This is literally what we can call white trash :) While "helping" rake the leaves she had to take a ride in them and we honestly played in the garbage can for about an hour.

If ever we take her shirt off, it is absolutely necessary for her to wear it on her head like so and show dad. This one was just tight enough to make her look like she was a scuzzin' everyone.

Hanging out at HAFB with buddies Trey and Michael. That was one of the best places to take them...no people, lots of room to run and cool things to see.

They held hands the WHOLE time in the car. These boys are SO cute. I love them so much!

Dress ups are so fun right now! Usually she is just cotent to play "Super Babia" with her blanket/cape, but how cute is this?!

She loves Baby Leila and was super excited to help dad watch her while we celebrated Kristins birthday. I am so grateful for this little girl, for all her wonder & questions, and yes, even her exasperating independance.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Punkin Patch

2009-10-23T14:40:00.004-06:00

While my mom was in town helping Kristin with her new beautiful baby, we thought it'd be fun to take the girlies to the Pumpkin Patch. It was. A lot of fun. They loved it. Well, Maci didn't love the pumpkin carts....suffice it to say she thought it was a very sketchy mode of transportation. They love playing in the maze, lifting the pumpkins in and out of the cart, weighing themselves and pretty much just being outside. Thanks for the pumpkins Gwamma!

After a trip to the patch, and a delicious spaghetti dinner, these two were wasted. Which is perfect for two moms who could put their baby girls to sleep so they could indulge in their guilty pleasure...America's Next Top Model. Seriously, you know you watch it to.

Baby "A-la"

2009-10-16T16:09:00.002-06:00

Honestly, could I be a worse aunt?! Sweet beautiful Leila has been here for more than 2 weeks and I'm just getting around to putting pictures of her up. But, she's so cute, she'll probably forgive me because I'm her favoritist aunt. Anyways, she was born on the 8th at about 9:20 pm. Kristin had been super sick with piggy flu and so when she went into delivery she hadn't eaten in like 4 days, and was pretty much feeling crappy. (Sister, correct me if I'm wrong) She did amazing in labor....the whole 3 minutes she had to push ;) But, because she'd been sick and the hospital is in Nazi mode they took Leila away to a special nursery without even letting Kristin hold her. And that's just the beginning of a very long, emotional week for them. Point of the story....Leila is here and well and everyone seems to be adjusting.

This is Tan in the special nursery she had to be in. We had to scrub in & check ID's and put a whole bunch of stuff on just to see her. BTW, Kristin wasn't able to hold her until they checked out of the hospital on Saturday afternoon.

Cousin Scambs loving on baby A-la. After I got back from the hospital and told Cambs that Kristin had her baby and her name was baby Leila, she found an eraser & wrapped it up in a little dish towel and toted it around the house calling it "baby A-la." Oh my goodness it was cute!

Big Sister Maci. Oh man does she love this little girl a lot. She loves to kiss her, and look at her and help feed her. And pick her up :)

We are so glad that you are here Leila, I am so in love with you!

She likes to move it, move it

2009-10-06T21:42:00.002-06:00

She gets her dance moves from Adam :)

"Eww...don't put your fingers in your mouth!"

2009-09-20T13:54:00.005-06:00

I don't think I can even count the number of times I said that phrase to Cambria on Wed, finally I just gave up! We had such an awesome time at the State Fair (thanks Sar!) this week. Cambria LOVED it....all the animals, all the running around, all the people, her stamped hand, everything! I was slightly surprised at how brave she was around the animals, although had Easton not been there I'm not sure she would have had the idea to actually give the animals kisses! Here are just a few pics of the day...

The afore mentioned stamped hand that Cambria loved....as in showed it to EVERY single person that day, whether she knew them or not :)

E and Cambs feeding the goats. This was mostly where I was saying "Ewww....don't put your fingers in your mouth!" which of course she interprets as "Yum, better put my fingers in my mouth"

Mace wasn't really all that iterested in seeing the animals, and certainly not in feeding them. I think it's safe to say she had a pretty good kung-fu grip on Kristin for a majority of the day :)

One might think from this picture that Cambria in fact did not enjoy it, but she really did! She's pretty anti-conformist so when Sara said "Smile for the camera" this is what we get :)

Okay, seriously how cute is this picture! They just started holding hands all by themselves, no encouragement from moms at all. They are so cute, I'm so glad that they have each other. Note to self: Not a good idea for Cambria and Maci to hold hands & try to push a stroller. Major hitting ensues.

Everyone at the front gate...see there is her No-way, I'm-not-gonna-smile-just-because-you want-me-to-smile

Seriously....she is so funny. Keep reading, I'll tell the details of my stupid cast :)

I think this picture is hilarious...I love it! Cambs thought it was so funny to look at me & Maci seems super annoyed. It's just too funny.

Me and my beautiful seester, we are a "bushel" of fun :)

At the Shark Exhibit they had this cage the kiddies could get in....I'm in love with Eastons face. He is so dang cute, we had so much fun hanging out with those guys!

Sar, Easton and Jackson....aren't they too cute. Next time I have a baby, I hope he is the clone of Jackson. For 4 hours that sweet boy was totally content to sit in his stroller, check out the surrounding & drink. He is awesome!

So as un-flattering as this picture is of me it's the only one that I have with my cast on. This is the end result of a staph infection in my elbow that started on the 26 of August. My elbow was red and sore that night, and the next morning when I got up to go running it was swollen. I waited until the 28th to go to the dr. and by then my arm was swollen half way up the top part of my arm down to my wrist. He gave me 2 anti-biotics and said that if it kept swelling I would need to go into the ER. The next day just happened to be the day that we were moving and instead of resting, I lifted and worked and did way too much. I ran a fever of 102 and had major hot & cold chills. Kristin was working that night at LDS hospital so she took me to the ER with her. They gave me IV anti-biotics Friday, Sat, and twice on Sunday.

On Monday I felt a little better, but I hadn't eaten or been able to keep anything down since Friday and I was super weak. By Thursdays dr. appt the swelling had gone down, but there was a lot of fluid in my elbow, I had a 2 day fever of 103 and I wanted to die. Thank heavens my mom was still in town because she told the Dr. I wasn't taking anymore anti-biotics, and that something more drastic needed to be done. He called an orthopedic dr and sent me over there to get my elbow drained. Oh my, that was one of the most painful expieriances ever. Childbirth doesn't even come close to that. Anyways, after the cutting and prodding and cleaning and crying was over I was feeling way better by the end of that day. When I went back in over the long Labor Day weekend, he told me that my cut looked really good. I was excited! Now this long (expensive) ordeal was over! Nope, then he said we're gonna put you in a cast for 2 weeks. Honestly....I almost started to cry again. So now, 2 weeks later I'm finally gonna get my cast off, be able to do my hair, take a shower with both arms, and sleep comfortably.

I need to thank the people who took Cambs for the days I was on my death bed-Thank you. I love you all. Thank you to my mom who waited on me hand and foot during such an e motional busy time in her life. I love and appreciate you so much. Thank you to my nurses Mom and Kristin, even if I was semi-annoyed at times. A huge thanks to Adam for all that he did too-brush my teeth, help me dress, put on my deodarant, and have faith that things will be fine. I love you baby...you are such a strength and I know that it was a difficult time for you too. You never cease to amaze me.

Other than that, not much has been going on :)

Girls Trip

2009-08-15T15:26:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Since Hannah graduated from Highschool, my mom took her to Carmel & San Fransisco for a graduation trip. They left on a Saturday and drove down to this super cute house that my mom's aunt's husband has in Carmel. My mom told Han all about how her Uncle Herb was into importing things and that she needed to pick something up for him at the airport. So they drove out to the San Jose airport where they picked up this really cool package.....Kristin & I! We'd flew out there to surprise Han & join them on their trip. She was so surprised and we were so excited. Carmel is awesome! Expensive but beautiful. There are great little shops & cafes & the beach...it was perfect. We went up to San Fransisco on Thursday (we flew in on Tuesday) and oh how I love love love the city. I love the feeling of being lost in a crowd of people, of so much happening, of so many interesting and unique people & cultures all in one place...to me it's really relaxing. We saw Chinatown, the Golden Gate bridge, Fishermans Wharf, Haight/Ashbury & walked around Sausilito. I've been there twice before and I love it. The architecture is inspiring & refreshing, the ocean is fabulous and the whole city is just amazing. Minus the one way streets. Hate those. Anyways, we had tons of fun and I have to tell my sweet husband again how grateful I am for letting me get away, for running back and forth to get & take Cambria to my in-laws, and for being such a good sport about it. I know it wasn't much fun for him, but it meant alot to me. He's so good to let me go & play with my fam when I need to....love you babe :) Also, I should let my in-laws know again as well how grateful I am for them being willing to take Cambria for so long. I had a plan for friends in St. George to help out, but then we moved and we don't live as close to friends, so they were good enough to take her and watch her while Adam worked. Thanks!

Happy Birthday Bug!!

2009-08-03T16:09:00.002-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Summer Fun

2009-07-21T21:29:00.006-06:00

This summer has been going by so fast for us! I had to put these pics up of Cambria having so much fun with Hannah. They painted all over themselves and she loved it! Thanks Aunt Hannah!

We've done alot of swimming this summer, mostly because we invite ourselves to other people's houses :) Cambria LOVES to swim, and she is so fearless about it. She'll stay under the water, jump off the side, jump off the diving board...it's too funny. We put some googles on her so her eyes didn't hurt so much from constantly having her face under the water.

This is Trey....and we love him! Well, to be fair we love ALL the Rhoades kids. He is so good to take care of "baby Cambria" and make sure she is safe. I love it :)

Here's my awesome friend Haylee with Michael, who by the way does NOT like the water. Although, that may be because his crazy friend Cambria was splashing and jumping and laughing all around him.

Oh see how cute she looks with the googles! and her Cambria cleaveage :)

Trey and Michael enjoying Haylee's AMAZING homeade raspberry ice cream. I haven't had thirds of ice cream in a long time!

So, my amazing mom graduated from the University of Phoenix last week with a Bachelors in Psychology. She has worked SO hard, and long and overcome alot of difficult things to finish this and I couldn't be prouder of her. Although, I've said that for a long time now and she just keeps making me more proud. She is a strong, vibrant, faithful, loving, intelligent, funny and compassionate mother, woman and friend. She wouldn't let us make a big deal about it, so we went up to Mueller Park and had some sandwiches & s'mores. (Real celebretory huh?!) The girls had fun though, and I love being up there...it's so beautiful.

How cute are those two?! They didn't really know what to do with the incredible gooey-goodness of those s'mores.

Hope that everyone is having a good summer too!

Firsts

2009-07-21T14:19:00.002-06:00

I've been thinking about some of the firsts in my life since someone who'll remain nameless just got her first kiss. It reminded me of my first kiss. Allow me to walk down memory lane and share my story. Why? Cause it's fun :)
My first kiss was a matter of days after I'd turned 16 (technically I'm not counting the boys in elementary I used to CHASE down and kiss) and my best friend Liz and I were going to EFY together. Anyone who's gone remembers that there are kids ages 14-18 put in groups that you hang out with all week. And at BYU there's like 4 girls to every guy. Anyways, Liz and I get put in this, if I remember correctly, lame-o group with girls we didn't really bond with. The boys were...eh. Except for one. That's right folks...enter Isaac Peace. Blond hair, blue eyes college bound charmer. He was so cute and whenever I saw him I couldn't get a full sentence out.
One day while we were supposed to be in class, Liz and I ditched (a fundamental part of our friendship) and went back to our dorms. When we got back Isaac and his friends were playing basketball and asked if we wanted to play. Knowing how much I suck at basketball & how clumsy I am, we still said yes and it was all down hill from there. We went to classes together, ate meals together, he took me to the banquet where he ate a plastic fork for me (romantic huh!) danced every single dance together and walked home in the rain after the dance. As soon as we got close to our dorms we stopped and he kissed me. Talk about butterflies! It was awesome, that feeling of something new and special and all yours. Oh yeah, except all the boys from our group were watching us from their dorm rooms :) Good stuff.
All that, just to be reminded of the uniqueness of firsts...first kiss, first heartbreak, first love, first child, etc. Cool to think of the good and the bad and how grateful I am for each of them. They've made up part of who I am today.

Lately....

2009-06-23T22:44:00.003-06:00

There is too much for me to write about! So, to ease my anxiety about everything, I'll just use bullet format and hope that I'll get back into the swing of things soon!

-We got back up to Bountiful the last weekend in May (I know...almost a month!) and are just now unpacking the last of our boxes

-Adam started his new job as the Production Manager at the Bountiful Chuck-A-Rama. He is so great at his job, and we are so proud of him. It's funny though because he's worked there for so long now that nothing really sounds that good when we eat there!

-My cute youngest sister graduated from Bountiful High at the beginning of June. I can't believe how old it made me feel....it was 10 years to the date of my graduation. Weird. It was fun to be there with my mom and Kristin. Plus I loved listening to the RANDOM organ music the chick was playing. Songs from Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Les Miserables, Titanic....it was too funny.

-We took Cambria to Lagoon for a few hours with Eric, Feliz, Gav, Hayden, Becky and Caleb. She loved it, even more than I thought she would. She was so excited to go on the few rides that she could, but was just so excited about all the energy at the park. It was fun to be with Adam and his fam for awhile. Except when we went on the Rocket...hate that ride!

-Cambria's vocabulary has become much more extensive: Babia (cambria), happy belly, I want money (or anything else she can say) now!, no, Ninnee (Indee), Bampa (grandpa), Mahma (grandma), poo poo walk (not really sure what this means!) and so many other silly things. She is amazing and has really turned into such a little person. She is praying with us, singing songs, saying letters and numbers and becoming so independant. I'm so proud of her and love to be her mommy....even if she says no to me WAY more than I ever want to hear.

- Adam got super sick (probably swine flu) and that was horrible. Don't recommend getting that!

- We have been so busy seeing friends and family! It's been fun and we are grateful to live close by.

That's it for now, I'm sure there are things I missed though. Oh well....

Friends we miss and love!

2009-06-11T13:07:00.005-06:00

So, I'm not apologizing in any way for how long it's taken me to put these pictures up! I'm having major anxiety and I knew that looking at these pics of my st. george peeps would be hard. But, we do hard things and I wanted to share some of the fun things we did with our awesome friends in St. George before we moved away.

Me, Whitnee, Tracee and Laura....Whit was so gracious to host a BBQ in her ridiculously cute house and it was so much fun. There was super good food, awesome converstaion, some pretty funny kiddos and all in all a great time.

This is Max and Cannon....two of the cutest boys ever! They were on a major potato bug finding mission that night. I think one of them rounded up 16!

Cambria and Ava....oh how I love Ava. She is so silly and sweet and full of personality, Cambria is still always asking if she can play with Ava in nursery ;)

Some of the kids in our ward. The activity we had planned was to go skim boarding (way harder than it looks or sounds) and have a BBQ. I brought Adam and Cambria along and we had so much fun. Well, until we were playing in the water & I got tackled which threw my wedding ring right off my finger. Into the disgusting, dirty, flowing water. After a very necessary profanity (sorry Colton) and some incoherent screaming I was searching all through the water. Adam was convinced I'd lost it and no one else really understood what I was saying, so I was frantically looking through the water and I amazingly found it. I know. I'm a moron for wearing it in the water...lesson learned ;)

Ava and Cambria chillin in Matt's truck.

We had a get together at Vernon Worthen park a week or so before we left. We bought a whole lot of pizza and invited as many people as we could think of. We were so grateful for so many good friends who came to see us, eat with us, stay late & play volleyball. It was truly overwhelming to feel the love and support of so many people who cared about us, or who were there for free pizza. Anyways, this cute girl is Olivia.

Some of the kiddies....Cambria, ZeZe, Hallee, Carter, Olivia and Chandler.

Ryan and Lolly...she worked with Adam at Ruby River and he gave us so many great discounts on art work & framing. Man we are gonna miss them ;)

This is one of my sweetest and best friends McKenna, her hubby Bart and their ADORABLE baby Ella. Kenna and I worked together at Pier 1 and went throught a lot together. She has been a great friend to me for a long time and I love her and her cute fam.

My cute VT Jenn and her cutie Preston.

I know I look like a tard in this pic, but it's one of the ONLY ones we have with our awesome friends Nat and Adam. This was after we packed up our house & we tricked Natalie into coming over by telling her that we needed help cleaning and instead went out to dinner. It was so much fun, but honestly it's hard not to have fun with them! She is my running buddy, and I so miss her!

This is Micah, Chelsea and their daughter Lily, who is just 3 weeks younger than Cambria. They have been awesome neighbors and made living there so much more bearable. Love them.

There are a lot more people that we love that we don't have pics of, but love nonetheless. Our friends will probably never entirely know how much we love and appreciate them, they truly were our family and a major support to us, even if they didn't know. We love you guys, and miss you!

101 posts

2009-05-22T20:16:00.004-06:00

I'm going to commemorate my 101st post by having pictures of my Cambria and some of our sweet friends' kids as they played in the sprinklers earlier this week. I can think of no better tribute ;)

This is actually me & Colton trying to get Adam wet in the sprinklers.......

which ultimately turned into ME......

getting SOAKED. Well worth it though, we don't really like to watch all the other kids have fun and have none of it ourselves ;)

Adam, Ava & Cambria riding on Coltons super scary, super unsafe no brake motorcycle

Friends forever!

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:51:00.002-06:00

I wanted to pay a tribute to the women in my life who have been incredible examples of motherhood and womanhood.

First of all, my sweet mom. (I'm already tearing up!) There is a special place in my heart for the woman who believed in me, loved me, stood up for me & taught me so many truths. She did those things even when I treated her like she never deserved to be treated. She is truly my best friend. She has given me perspective through dark and trying times. She has laughed with me until my stomach was sore. She listens to my fears, joys, complaining and anything else that I tell her. She is immovable in her faith in the Lord. I am in awe of who she is and what she has been through. My gratitude for her is inexpressible. She has sacrificed so much for me and I hope that she truly knows of my appreciation and admiration for her. I love you Mom. Cambria loves her Grandma that makes up songs for her, dances with her, and teaches her embrace herself.

Secondly, my husbands mom who I also love very much. This sweet mom has been so gracious to me since becoming part of her family. She has been selfless in giving time and money to come visit us. She has been such an integral part of my amazing husbands life, teaching him honesty, hard work, respect, and faith in His Savior. She is an amazing cook who honestly makes dinner for people almost every night. She would drop anything and come help. I just want her to know that I love her and am grateful for her example as a kind and loving mother to her kids. I appreciate her willingness to try new things on my behalf, even though change isn't something she enjoys :) I sure love you Kathy.

I need my sister to know how much I love her and admire her as a beautiful person and mother. She has been such a support to me while we have been going through the same kid phases and i have enjoyed having a partner to commiserate/smile with. You sister are amazing and I am so proud of the wife & mother that you have become.

Also, my sister & sister-in-laws who do or do not have kids....I love you as well and appreciate the example of righteous women you are. I have had these women come into my life and bless my with their individuality and uniqueness. I love each of them so much and am grateful for the things that bind us together and allow us to know and love each other.

Lastly I want my sweet friends, old and new, to know that in some way your life has influenced and touched mine, making life sweeter. I have been surrounded by friends and family who have loved and influenced me. Thank you.

Sister and Tanner B. Bell

2009-05-10T21:30:00.004-06:00

This is a shout out to my amazing sister, who is almost 5 months pregnant, and her awesome hubby who ran & biked the St. George Tri-athalon out at Sand Hollow reservoir this weekend. She trained like crazy, even learning how to swim. The swim part was cancelled though, so they ran, biked, ran. Adam went out with Cambria and Maci to cheer them on and I just wanted them both to know how proud of them we are.....what a HUGE accomplishment that is, no matter what you say sister ;)

That other cute girl is Sara Oborn, also triathelete. She and Kristin ran together and did awesome. I got to tag along with them this weekend, and had to let her know how proud of her I was too. Seriously, she just had a baby 9 months ago. Doesn't look like it huh?! Way to go Sar!

Tanner B. running towards the finish line

Sister starting her 2nd run after the bike ride....he he, she's gonna kill me for putting this picture up ;)

Cambria doin some hard core cheering for Uncle Tan & Aunt Kristin

Me trying to keep Maci's mouth off the top of the cone...it was more difficult than it sounds.

And this is the one good pic I have on my camera from the half marathon I ran last weekend. That awesome girl next to me is Natalie and she kept my legs going. Thanks Nat for training with me and all the good conversations we've had together! Also, I had to thank my sweet Adam babe for supporting my while I trained for the half....it meant alot to me that you would be there for me and encourage me to go running in the mornings. I sure love you and am grateful for you.

Cambria Pics

2009-05-10T20:54:00.005-06:00

Just some pictures of how big my little girl is getting. She is growing up so fast, copying so many things Adam and I say & do, singing and dancing. I am in love with her silliness, her hugs, her kisses, her independance, her personality and her perfect spirit. Hope you enjoy the pics ;)

I DID IT!

2009-05-02T15:28:00.003-06:00

Pictures will come soon, although they aren't very attractive, of me & my friend running the Hurrican half marathon. It was awesome....such a cool feeling. We did it in 2 hours & 5 minutes! Woo-hoo!

Happy Keaster!

2009-04-12T20:31:00.002-06:00

Don't Laugh, Marci!

2009-04-12T20:24:00.002-06:00

this is supposed to be a fruity-creamy-friend hug. it doesn't look friendly or like something close to a hug. but it was very, very good :)

Trip to Oregon Part 1: The Coast & barfy carseat

2009-04-02T14:07:00.006-06:00

First off...this is a long post. Secondly, you might think it's too long, but I did some serious editing on pictures. Third, it's worth it to look and see all the fun we had :)

So our trip started off...barfy. I guess that could be a word right? We flew into Portland at about noon and the flight was super turbulent. It was a full flight and Cambria was ancy. She'd missed a nap, blah blah. Let's just say it wasn't a good combination. We got our luggage and waited for the chauffers to pick us up. Within 5 minutes of being in the car, Cambria puked all over herself, the car & the carseat. Luckily our hotel wasn't too far away, but she was freakin out & touching it saying yuck. What a mess. Thankfully Bran is such a good uncle, and loves her that much that he got her out of the car seat & cleaned it up while I cleaned her up. At least she got it out of the way and the rest of the trip was awesome.

Marci & Rocky at our hotel (Thanks, Kar). Rocky is so cute and we had so much fun with her. She's so chill and easy to entertain. Both her and Cambria did an amazing job getting in and out and in and out of the car the first couple days. So proud of them!

Me, Bran & Marci at what could be a really cool place if you went at the right time. It was a Rose Garden with tons of rose bushes and vines...it was awesome. Next time we're out there right? ;)

It was freezing when we played in Portland, but Rocky is so sweet you wouldn't have even known she was cold. While we were there we went to the most AMAZING bookstore in the entire world. It was huge...I think Adam said it was like the biggest in the US or something. Honestly it was floor after floor of books, new and used. We spent probably an hour or so there, we could have spent much longer. It's called Powell's.....but I think it's only in Oregon.

This is at the zoo. Someone reading this might think that Cambria was so excited to be at the zoo (which she was), but her excitement was paled in comparison to Adam's. It's like his own personal candy shop....I'd gurantee he was more excited about it than any kid there, not just his own. It was a really cool zoo though...so organized and easy to find things. Might have already said this, but Oregon makes it so easy to find where you are, where you are going & make it look good!

Yep she loved that...definately didn't come down off that one without a fight.

I love her...I just can't help but smile at her sweet, adventurous personality.

There was this part in the zoo that was netted off so you could go in and feed these really pretty birds. They just came up to your arm, sat there & drank the nectar. Clearly Rocky was really impressed by it :)

We camped the second night just a few steps from the coast...pretty cool spot huh? We all laid in the same tent with 2 pack n' plays for the girls. I say laid because I don't think anyone besides Cambria or Rocky slept...and even that is questionable. It was cold, and the air mattress that Brandon & Marci brought decided to get a hole in it so they didn't have a pad. Oh yeah, and it rained. The entire night. But, it was still fun to go camping. Way fun.

Right behind the tallest original lighthouse in the US. The cute old man who was the tour guide for the lighthouse told us that on the rocks out behind where we were standing, there are some birds (100,000) that live out there during part of the year. They are called Muree's and he said that they can dive 500 ft. into the ocean to get food. That's amazing. Except that Adam didn't believe me or him...thought we were both crazy. We aren't! He found it on the internet and it says they dive that deep. Feels good to be right every now and then.

The cool light house. It was SO rainy and foggy that day. It was supposed to be the beginning of whale migration week, so there are about 18000 grey whales out there in that fog. We didn't see them, but they were out there.

This cool place called the Devils Churn...very pretty. And scary.

Aww...what a cute family.

Cambi and I playing with a star fish. Yeah, don't worry she is soaking wet from the rain, but she didn't care. She wanted to touch everything, go see the seals on the rocks, play in the water. All the more testament that she is almost 100% Adams child. So much alike those two.

I may have to retract my earlier statement about Adam and the zoo....he might, just might, have been more excited about the tide pools. He could have stayed for hours, he loves to find stuff in tide pools. Man do I love him ;)

Thanks again you guys for being such great hosts, taking us all over, making us laugh & having SO much fun. Thank goodness that carseat didn't smell for the rest of the trip huh?! Oh wait...it did. Can't wait to see you guys this summer.

Trip to Oregon Part 2: Eugene

2009-03-30T12:02:00.005-06:00

She wasn't all that intersted in the hike ;) This trip is the most she has ever fallen asleep while not in a crib/bed. She was fallin asleep on his shoulder almost everyday!

She probably slept like that for 20 minutes. Side note: The super nice couple with their cute kids that let us borrow ALL their stuff while on our trip, have this son who was so funny. Once we got to the top of the hill he just randomly shouted it "It smells like basil!" Who even knows what that smells like?!

The crew chillin after a great hike. Very pretty view & great workout for my chicken legs.

This is the view of Eugene from Spencers Butte. That cool thing about that town is that it felt "small town" but it was actually a really decent size. Bigger than I thought.

This is before we set out on our bike ride around Eugene. I love how Cambria's acting all put out about her arm being touched by Rocky

At one of the AWESOME parks that city has....they are all over and so well maintained. Cambria honestly had no fear of those ducks, even though some were taller than her. She was ready to follow them into the water!

Rocky and Marci....aren't they so cute :)

After the bike ride....they both fell asleep. Doesn't she look comfy?!

Cambria stuck in a meteorite. We went to this cool Natural History museum on the U of O campus and there was this skeleton of a saber tooth tiger that she LOVED. Honestly she kept running back inside the building to look & roar at it.

My two loves. She was so excited to be able to spend so much time with Adam...they both had so much fun together.

Dont ask me where she got that silly face she's making from....it's not from me ;

Jumping on the benches at the U of O campus...which is gorgeous by the way. Well, at least on the outside. The buildings are so beautiful and old and i loved them, and the inside was just plain old.

On our way back to the airport, we watched Rocky while Bran and Marci went and did a session at the temple. It was an amazing temple, a lot like the DC temple. It makes sense that so many temples now are a variation of one design, but I love the older temples that are all different.

After we toured the coast we hung out in Eugene for a few days. From the sound of the name, you might think it's kinda old man-ish, boring, lame. It wasnt any of those things. It was beautiful, vibrant, and just so alive. I loved it. We went hiking through the Arboretum up to Mt. Pisgah, went bike riding and did alot of running. Bran & Marci are training for the Newport OR marathon and they were good sports to let me tag along....literally. I had to really push to keep up with Marci...she's awesome. We ate good food, laughed ALOT, and all in all it was really good for us to spend time with their cute family. It gets to be hectic when everyone is around that the one on one time gets lost. Thank you so much for letting us come, we love you guys and had SO much fun. Side note: They are awesome cooks. They cooked so much yummy, good, healthy food for us that I've been inspired to start cooking more healthy & more often.

2009-03-03T12:01:00.003-07:00

I think I mentioned in an earlier post how this year was off to a rocky start, but that it had also started with some really great things. One of those was getting back into touch with my partner in crime from highschool. Literally, we were inseperable and I'm not sure how many people knew us individually. We were usually referred to as "Cara and Liz." Anyways, she posted about her "monster" and the reasons that she runs.

I also run. I'm not very fast and I don't go for hours but it is something I really enjoy doing. And I wanted to share the top ten reasons why I run...

1. i'm not a very competitive person, but when i run i really enjoy competing against myself. i enjoy the struggle between my body and mind and find strength in the times that my mind wins over my body.

2. 30-60 minutes of no thinking, no whining, no cleaning, listening to MY music as loud as I want are some of the best parts of my day :) I'm just doing my thing, which is such an amazing feeling. Not worrying about anyone else or anything. love it!

3. i run to be healthy and stay in shape. I want to enjoy life as long as I can and be able to do as much as I want when I'm older. It's really important to me that I'm healthy for my children & grandchildren.

4. i run because i have the ability to run. I've been blessed with a body that works and I'd be a fool not to take advantage of that.

5. running invigorates me & makes me feel alive. i can breathe & connect with myself and nature.

6. i run to feel a part of something; a good conversation with a friend, an amazing relay, the outdoors, the other people who are up & moving around at 6 am.

7. i run to make my legs stronger & muscleier (ha ha) so that kristin doesn't call me "chicken legs." so far running hasn't really improved either of those things, i'm still holding out for it to though.

8. i run to feel a sense of accomplishment. I love to feel the burn in my legs (and lungs) after a good run, makes me proud.

9. i run to feel that rush of adrenaline that comes after 3 miles, that rush that makes me feel like i could just keep going and never stop. i LOVE that feeling...where nothing hurts & it just feels natural to do it.

10. i run to show myself that i have power to change my habits.

Anyone else out there do something they love/sometimes loathe? You are tagged then...

Whoever said Sunday was a day of rest?!

2009-03-03T08:37:00.010-07:00

Before Cambria goes to church

After Cambria goes to church. Imagine what mom & dad look like afterwards!

For Gramma C

2009-02-12T21:48:00.008-07:00

Thanks for the valentines outfit Gramma! Love, Cambria

Sledding Day

2009-02-12T21:05:00.003-07:00

When we were up north for Adam's grandmas funeral we had a little bit of spare time and decided that we would take Cambria sledding. We got her all bundled up in Indee's snowclothes and took her down the hill. She LOVES the snow. One more sign that she is Adams daughter, she does not get that love from me! She had so much fun! I don't know that she had so much fun going down the hill as she did grabbing handfuls of snow and sucking on it. Oh yeah, and riding around in the sled...she enjoyed that.

I had such an awesome time being with Adam and his brothers that weekend. Just like it was a real bonding time for my family at my Grandma's funeral, that weekend was real bonding with his siblings. It was great to have down time and just talk, laugh, play with our kids, and spend time together. Most of the time when we are up that way we usually have a pretty tight schedule, but for those couple of days we just were together. I want them to know how much it meant to me to be able to spend that time with them. It's been pretty cool to be the first sister-in-law in their family because I've been able to know each of them singly and married and see them become these really amazing people. It was fun to stay up late talking, those are really treasured conversations. I guess as difficult as the month of January was for us, it was also a real eye-opener. The things that we get to take with us when we leave this life aren't the things we spend most of our time in a day worrying about. They are friendships, experiences, memories, conversations, and testimonies. My love for my family has deepened. My appreciation for them has expanded. My desire to be a good friend, neighbor and stranger has grown and I'm grateful for the people who have influenced those feelings. January was a month of loss, but also of growth. I connected with family members, in-laws and precious friends.

6 Random Things

2009-02-12T13:41:00.004-07:00

This is for my cute cousin-in-law Caitlin, who I totally wish still lived in St. George ;( Anyways, this is just a sample of my randomness.....

1. One of my favorite things to indulge in is Cool Whip. Not on anything, just by the spoonful. I've loved it for years!

2. I have a goal to read every book on my AP English Lit reading list. Some have been really good, some have been questionable as to why they would even be on that list :)

3. I despise wearing matching pajamas. I feel bad saying that knowing how many years my mom bought them for us for Christmas...but I'm more a boxers & t-shirt kinda girl.

4. I used to have make cookies and sell them to neighbors for Christmas when I was in jr. high

5. When my best friend in highschool and I didn't get invited to go hang out with some of our friends we took her parents car and drove around. Twice the car stalled and we had to get someone to help us start it again. We were both 15.

6. Due to an eye injury I got in a car crash, I don't have working tear ducts in my left eye. Adam thinks it's pretty funny that I can only cry out of my right eye.

Hopefully that was good for ya Caitlin.....now I tag Becky, Aynna and Marci.

Happy Birthday Pwetzeler!

2009-02-06T17:25:00.003-07:00

Maybe you're wondering what a pwetzeler is. Maybe you're wondering who it is. The answer to both of those questions is the most attractive, funny, thoughtful, sincere, caring, selfless, hard-working person I know...my love Adam. Today is his 31st birthday and I just wanted to shout out how much I love, admire and respect him.

Adam is the kind of guy that would give you the nicest and newest without ever buying those things for himself. He has a wonderful sense of humor but is also an insightful and thoughtful person. I am amazed by his knowledge of the scriptures and the ability he has to teach those principles to others in a relatable way. He would drop anything for Cambria, and I adore that he adores her so much. He takes care of us and provides us with all of the things that we need as well as so much more. He has dreams, aspirations, and innovative ideas and even though some of them haven't happened he still comes up with new ones. He is full of adventure and is not a boring person to be around. He is my prince charming and has been more than I ever dreamed was out there. I appreciate his listening ear, his tear stained shoulder, his child like excitement, his Christ like life and his faithful love to me and Cambria.

We love you Adam babe, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Grandma Melba Jolley

2009-02-05T19:59:00.003-07:00

My Grandma Jolley called me Addie Poo. I'm not sure why she did and I now I wonder why I never asked her about it. Nonetheless, it was awkward that it was my nickname and despite those that think it is a cool name I didn't like it. Grandma unexpectedly passed away this January. Now I miss being called Addie Poo because I miss my Grandma. There are noble and great ones in our life that teach us and inspire us to be better people and plant in us a desire to be a good example to others. My Grandma was one of those people.

This is the first post that I have ever written. Cara is the creative one in our relationship but I wanted to take a minute and express some of my memories about Grandma.

I remember walking to her house when I was little and playing with her dog, Toby.
I remember her letting me sleep in her bed with the down comforter and she would sing "My Grandfather's Clock."
She was a wonderful cook and she introduced me to delicious dishes such as breakfast cake and steak pie.
She loved to work in her yard and even though she would say it was a disaster I know she was proud of the beautiful flowers and the placement of all the rocks she would have Grandpa move around.
She would send me $2 bills on each birthday because they were special just like us grand kids.
I remember trips with Grandma and Grandpa to Fruitland, Idaho to visit the Martarano's and the cousins.
I remember trips to The BlueBird Cafe in Logan
We both loved to eat the Fat Boy vanilla ice-cream bars that are dipped in chocolate and nuts. Grandma had a testimony of the gospel and I loved to hear her tell about her Temple experiences.
I remember in church she would rub lotion on my hands. During sacrament Grandpa would doze off to sleep but Grandma would nudge him and in a voice too loud for sacrament would say,"WHAT?!!"
She knew all the family members and what was going on in their lives. She cared and prayed for each of us.
I miss eating polish hot dogs with her.
I enjoyed hearing her dreams about her "cabin" at the land.
Grandma was someone I could talk to and laugh with.
I wish I could have her back but thankfully I am not in charge because I know she is having a great time with Grandpa once again.
Love you, Grandma.
--adam

2009-02-04T14:05:00.003-07:00

Honestly....who wouldn't want to take a bath with her! She is so Adam's daughter in that she LOVES to swim. Me..not so much. I know this is a random post, but I haven't blogged in forever and I have some really cute pics. Of Cambria. Not really anyone else.

Her new favorite thing is to get into the laundry basket and then put dirty clothes, or any clothes for that matter, around her neck.

Helping me organize. Yeah right! Me, organized?!

Her 2nd favorite thing to do....sit in the fridge and turn the light on and off. Now looking at this I can see how badly my fridge needs to be cleaned!

Cheese/please smile. Instead of saying "please", she does this. Talk about wrapped around her finger ;)

My Silly Scambria.....

2009-02-04T13:57:00.002-07:00

I love this girl more than words can express! She makes my days crazy/awesome and I love to be with her. What a silly personality she has and I love it ;)

what we've been up to

2009-01-16T19:57:00.001-07:00

The past two weeks have been out of control crazy, so I'll try and re-cap as best I can. New Year's was super un-eventful since Cambria was sick and in bed by 7:30 and Adam worked until 11:45. At least I got a New Year's kiss :) On the third of this month we celebrated our 6th anniversary. My sweet mom watched Cambria while we went to the temple then went to dinnner. The temple was awesome, dinner was tragic and the company was fabulous. Adam got me a pic of the Bountiful temple and a smokin hot new camera. I have been complaining about my old one forever. Guess it paid off because this new one is the best. It's the same one that my bro-in-law & his wife (Bran and Marci) have that I have been coveting for a long time now. I just want my incredibly patient, forgiving and thoughtful husband to know that I love him more everyday. And that I look forward to the many crazy days ahead that we will share together. He is my sanity and I am deeply in love with and grateful for him.

The next day we found out that my sweet Grandma Helen was in the hospital and in a blur Adam packed up Cambria and met his parents in Filmore where they so graciously and life-savingly took her for a week. My sisters and I headed down to California that night and we said goodbye to my Grandma. It was an intensely spiritual expeirance for me, she was an incredible woman who lived a good life, inspite of all the things she lived through. She raised a faithful, beautiful woman who is my mom and I am so grateful for that. The week we were down at her house preparing her funeral is a precious memory for me. To be with my family, bond with my bro, spend time with my amazing sisters and mom is something I won't soon forget. It was a beautiful and uplifting funeral service...she would have been pleased. She will be dearly missed as she is the only Grandma that I really knew. My dad's mom passed away when I was young and I didn't really know her.

We did get a chance to go to Laguna Beach and see the tide pool. Adam is so much calmer once we go to the beach and he can touch wildlife and explore. It was actually awesome this year. Last year we tried to go and the tide pools were closed off. This time we saw HUGE star fish and the tide was so low we could go out pretty far. It was fun. The whole time I kept thinking "Cambria would love this, and I would go crazy with her!"

We made it up to Layton for Erics homecoming. He did a great job and I was so impressed. He is a good guy...hint hint. Not sure if any single ladies read this, but if you do...hint hint :)

These are all of Adam's brothers...from top to bottom, left to right...Derek, Eric, Brnadon, Caleb, Adam, Hayden and Gavin. Check out Cambria. She cracks me up! She sat on those stairs happily stompin her feet with a fistful of rocks. Thise photo shoot of these boys was pretty fun!

We are finally getting back into the swing of things...finally. Enjoy these cute pics of my silly, beautiful little girl.

Cambria lovin on her cousin Rocky

She found my pregnant swimsuit GINORMOUS bottoms and was wearing them around her head all morning. Some might think that's gross....I thought it was hilarious. Drew the line though when she wanted to walk outside in them. Although, it's not like putting this picture on my blog is any different than that!

Queen of Sass

2009-01-01T16:55:00.004-07:00

It's amazing how each day Cambria's personality comes out a little more. Here are some of the pictures of her what I call "bi-polar" personality...where in one minute she is a scuzz ball and the next she is all smiles.

i am

2008-12-22T16:03:00.003-07:00

i am: in love with my daughter
i think: about adam when we aren't together
i am happy: that we have jobs and a house
i have: a lot of ideas that will probably never come to pass
i miss: my dad
i fear: eating chicken that I didn't prepare
i feel: blessed to have all that I do
i smell: really good. Someone gave me some new lotion and I love it!
i usually: don't accomplish all that I plan to in the day
i search: everyday for my keys and phone
i wonder: why people think it's okay to lie
i regret: thinking that things I did only hurt me
i love: hanging out with my family
i care: about being a good and Christ-like person
i tell: funny jokes and then I laugh at them
i worry: about things I can't control
i am not: organized, in the least!
i remember: every word to a lot of TV show theme songs
i believe: that my Savior loves, knows and cares about me
i sing: in the car with the music at full blast when I'm alone
i don’t always: try and be nice to some people
i don’t like: when people don't really listen to me or take advantage of me
i write: a lot of lists and then lose them
i win: hardly any game that Adam and I play together
i lose: at any game that requires a strategy
i dance: incredibly! I have a lot of moves that the world isn't ready for!
i wish: I could take my mom and sisters to Scotland
i never: get tired of watching my Friends DVD's
i listen: to Cambria "talk" and love it
i don't understand: how come I can't make a decent batch of chocolate chip cookies!
i can usually be found: at Target. I put it as my emergency contact :)
i am scared: of car crashes
i need: to pay my credit card off
i forget: to lock my car door all the time

I tag anyone who reads this and their age is an even number :)

Christmas pics

2008-12-12T23:12:00.004-07:00

Since I've been super cheap and busy this year, I'm still debating about Christmas cards. So if I don't get them out I'll just share the pictures I took of Cambria in the cute dress I found for her for Christmas. Don't mind that she has no tights on, I looked no joke for an hour for them and refused to buy some, so she just didn't wear any :) Anyways, just a few random pics....

Family, Friends, and Food

2008-12-12T22:34:00.005-07:00

This year for Thanksgiving (I know...I'm super late) we got to have most of my family come down and hang out for a few days. My mom and Hannah came down late Wednesday night and on Thursday we prepared a FEAST. It was so so good....kudos to Han on her amazing sweet potatoes and to my mom for the yummy deserts. Actually my mom pretty much helped me do everything...it wouldn't have been half as good if she wasn't there to help me. It was so much fun to spend time with them. Later that night Tan, Kristin and Maci came down and spent the rest of the weekend with us. I'm bummed that we didn't even get a pic of my mom before she left, but she was there :)

Han and Kristin at the Pizza Factory where we ate on Saturday night. Our waiter was awesome...he tackled Cambria and Maci messes and tantrums like a pro. Honestly, how beautiful are my sisters? Jealous much.

Me, Cambs, Maci and Tan at the Pizza Factory. This is taken just seconds before I put Cambria down and she thought she could walk by herself down the stairs. She can't. Not even a little bit :)

On Sunday we tried to take some pics on the leaves, but only a few turned out. Love this one.

Hannah, you are such a babe!

Cambria pretty much thinks that anything she can straddle is a motorcycle, so here she is riding her motorcycle, Aunt Kristin. She had so much fun with Grandma, and her aunts, uncle and cousin. She did have a definite preference for Kristin though. She would not let Hannah anywhere near her...it was funny/weird!

Hannah killed everyone on Guitar Hero

Rubbing the Buddha belly

I'm almost embarrassed to put this up because it is so weird. I'm not sure where her sudden fascination with her belly button came from but Kristin said she poked at her belly button til it was red! I think I'm in for it with a daughter who doesn't think twice about pulling her shirt up around her neck in public!

Queen Maci on her throne. Once that sweet girl found this chair she would not get out of it. I kid you not when I say she literally sat in this chair ALL weekend and loved it. Hint Hint Santa ;)

Adam, Tan and Han took the girls to see the ducks. I won't go because the geese that are there freak me out and try and bite me. Adam was pretty proud of himself for catching this duck....way to go love!

Maci and Cambria clearly loving the duck feeding excursion

How I love my little Maci. She is just the cutest little shrimp there ever was and I treasure the time I get to spend with her. I love how cuddly she is, Cambria isn't. How cute is this, her just chillin on Tan?!

Cambs found my shoes in my closet and was walking around in them. I love that big grin and the large drool spots all over her shirt. She is majorly teething and just won't quit the drool! Thanks for coming down and spending time with us family, we sure love you and don't know what we would do without you. We missed you Chris and Karly!

Picture Tag

2008-11-15T22:30:00.005-07:00

I've been tagged by Erin, here's the tag:

My Pictures Folder

4th Folder

4th Picture

Alright.....awesome. This is me about 4 years ago dressed up as a Purple Princess. What can I say? I like Halloween. I don't like putting this picture up though. I'm tagging Caitlin and Kristin.

Happy 26th!

2008-11-15T22:06:00.003-07:00

Today is my funny, thoughtful, intelligent, amazing, talented, strong, beautiful, loveable sister Kristin's birthday! She is 26 and I am wishing that I was there to be with her, especially since her hubby is out of town. She is my dearest, bestest friend and she has been there for me through thick and thin. I rely on her for advice, laughter, a shoulder, encouragement and love and she always pulls through. Being with her makes me happy and my heart often hurts that I can't be with her nearly as much as I would love to. She is an amazing woman and in anything that she sets out to do she does whole heartedly....and I so admire that about her. She is not only a nurse, an athlete, a wife and a primary chorister, but she is an incredible mom to Maci. To see them together is awesome and inspirational. We have been through a lot together these past and I am so grateful for her. I love you SISTER....hope that you had a great day! We will celebrate with cake and pudding :)

This is what I mean when I say we've been through thick and thin together. She'll probably kill me for putting this up, but let's be honest....niether one of us were having an A game that day :)

Pre-Halloween Fun

2008-10-29T13:01:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post about our super fun YM/YW Halloween carnival that we had last night. I took the liberty of inviting Adam and Cambria to come all dressed up and it was so much fun. Cambria did AWESOME in her costume, she didn't even fuss about it. I was a little worried because some of our trial runs didn't go so great. Adam and I love dressing up...and can't wait to do it again on Friday. Tell me you don't love the last picture of my little bee scuzzing the camera :)

Typical Days with Camby & Maci

2008-10-04T15:41:00.004-06:00

Wake up and give each other loves

Enthusiastically go for morning walk

Patiently ask mom for a morning snack

Eat morning snack all in one bite

Make fun of eachother for eating morning snack in one bite

Get to work fitting random things into a video cassette

Politely play with eachother

Put anything on head, especially things mom says I shouldn't.

There really couldn't be a more entertaining way to spend your day :)

Official Marathoner!

2008-10-04T12:14:00.002-06:00

Kristin ran her 1st marathon on the 20th and she did so awesome. I couldn't have been more proud of her....to watch her struggle with so many things and be able to do this is truly an amazing feat. She finished in 3 hrs. 53 min....which by the way is almost 8 minute miles for 26.2 miles. These are just a few of the pics I got of her...most of which are already on her blog.

This is Mace cheering on mom :) She was pretty pooped from getting in and out of the car to cheer for Kristin.

I am so proud of you Sister! I must hestitantly admit that you have planted an itch in me to run a marathon....you are a tricky one. Check out this to read about all the reasons that she ran....if you don't cry, you may be heartless ;)

http://ragnarfamily.blogspot.com/2008/09/thank-you-262.html

About Me

2008-09-17T13:45:00.003-06:00

While I am waiting to get pictures of my family reunion posted, I'll copy Kristin's latest entry and enlighten anyone about me & my life.

4 Random Things I Like About My Spouse
1-He thinks that he was never weird before he met me.
2- He is so stinkin cute. I love to watch him walk up to the front door & be so excited to see Cambria
3-He is so patient with me & so helpful. He always helps me with dinner, with Cambria, with YW, and pretty much anything else.
4- He makes me want to be better in so many ways & he has introduced me to so many things I never thought I would enjoy (skydiving, animals, hiking in freezing cold water, etc..)

4 Movies I'd Watch More Than Once
1- Pride & Prejudice
2- The Italian Job
3- The Notebook
4- The Rundown

4 T.V. Shows I Watch
1- Wipeout
2- America's Next Top Model
3- The Office
4-Project Runway

4 Favorite Foods
1-Soup & Salad @ Olive Garden
2- BBQ Chicken Sammies
3- Cafe Rio
4- My Aunt Jeri's Sweet Potato casserole

4 Places I've Been
1- Costa Rica
2-Havasupai
3-Washington D.C.
4- Chicago

4 Things I'm Looking Forward to in the Coming Year
1- My tax refund
2- Visiting my brother-in-law & his fam in Oregon
3- My mom getting her degree
4- Hannah graduating High School & starting college

4 Places I would Like to Visit
1- Greece
2- London
3- NYC
4- Barbados

Friends, Fun & Faces

2008-08-28T11:29:00.004-06:00

Alright....this one isn't Cambria but she is still picture & blog worthy. This is Shaelee, my sweet friends daughter that I watch twice a week while she teaches school. She is 6 months and pretty much has both Cambria and I wrapped around her finger. She is already crawling & getting so close to pulling herself up onto furniture. Needless to say, Tuesdays and Thursdays are quite the workout for me :) Lacy, her mom, watched Cambria last night while Adam and I went on a long overdue & much needed date night. She was a trooper and Adam and I had so much fun. FYI...Nielsens Frozen Custard pretty much has the SLOWEST service anywhere.
This picture is of my Camby with her robotic paper towel arm that she unabashedly loves. She just sticks it on her arm, swings it up & down, then cries when she can't get it off. I love it and think it is hilarious!

And this is our new favorite Cambria toy, her little bike seat. It's so fun, she loves it and smiles that big the whole time. As fun as it is, I can tell you it was NOT that fun to put it together. Infact, there were various questionable words used during the bike seat putting together process. Guess it was worth it though.
This is her "I'm eating dinner my way, not your way mom" face. Enough said.

Cambria is really enjoying bath time, despite what you might think from this picture. She just isn't quite sure about the whole bubble thing. Before she didn't really pay attention to them, they were just there when she splashed around. Now, they inhibit her splashing ability and scare her a bit. I'm sure I help her not be scared of them by covering her body completely in them, right?

Happy 23!

2008-08-20T14:11:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday to my bro Chris! You are awesome Chris and we are so proud of you. Hope that you had a great day!

Lately

2008-08-20T13:49:00.003-06:00

This past week or so has been so super fun, which equals so super busy :) Last weekend our sweet friends Cody and Haylee Rhoades and their ADORABLE 3 boys came and spent the night with us on their way to Disneyland. It was so fun to see them (and get them doped up on ice cream!) We only get to see them a few times a year and it was fun to spend more than an hour with them. However in the midst of all our fun, we forgot to take pictures. Honestly. It was so fun...thanks guys for coming to stay with us and for the cute singing minivan you got Cambria for her birthday.

A few days later Brandon, Marci & Rocky came to visit us for a few days before they head up to Oregon for a few 5 years. Sad huh...I'm gonna miss them. But, it was fun to spend some quality time together...watching Olympics, playing Ultimate Frisbee, eating yummy food, playing with cute babies & talking. Rocky is getting so big, we won't get to see her again until Thanksgiving. We are so proud of them though....they are such an awesome couple and a cute little fam. Marci fell in love with the Build A Bear glasses that I got for Cambi last year and we had fun posing Rocky with them on.

Other than that, we still don't have a motorcycle back. Seriously, I won't even talk about it, let's just say it is a sensitive subject :) Cambria is practicing to become the next Tennis star, who doesn't turn into a slutty model, thanks to the cutest tennis outfit ever from my mom. She is now a pro at showing us where her nose, eyes, teeth, and ears are and has added quite a few jabbery words to her vocab. Basically she just walks around making noise...I love it. And yes, she is walking. It's insane. It's not very long, but still.

Technically she isn't pointing to her eye or her nose, but seriously who cares? She so stinkin cute, she can point to whatever she wants and I'll clap for her!

One Year Old!!!

2008-08-02T13:00:00.004-06:00

I know...what a terrible mommy! Cambrias birthday was on Wednesday and I'm just finally writing about it. Our internet hasn't really been working well the past few days...does that count?!

I am in love with my sweet Cambria and before I get to the pictures I just wanted to say some of the things that I have loved about being her mom:

*the way she pats my shoulder when I pick her up
*how pretty much anyone can be "dada"
*her adventerous side
*her once gummy and now toothy smile
*how she uses her feet to read books and grab things
*she makes my life so much sweeter

So...I had been at Girls Camp since Monday and drove home to be there on her b-day, despite various people telling me that it wasn't a big deal and that she wouldn't care whether or not I was there. I got home and my mother-in-law helped me make the cupacakes. Just a note, I saw on the Martha Stewart website these super cute lady bug cupcakes. 2 mistakes, right off the bat. 1) should never EVER have tried to make anything that Martha Stewart makes and 2) should never think that what I did try to make from her website would be anything close to "super cuteness" Anyways, that is what these cupcakes are supposed to be, lady bugs. Maybe if we weren't outside, or if the frosting wasn't melty it would be different, but a thanks to Kathy for doing it even when she probably thought it was silly.

This is Hallee Wardle, Cody and Jay's (friend from Chuck-A-Rama days) ridiculously cute daughter. With a frosting fang.We got Cambria a cake and as soon as we sat her down in front of it she started to whine and cry. She hated it touching her hands and legs and put her arms up in disgust, which in turn got frosting all in her hair. She is liking it in the picture above, thanks to our adorable neighbor's daughter Lily, who was way more interested in it than Camby was and just started moving cake around. Once Cambria so something that resembled a crumb, naturally she was all over it!

Daddy and the birthday girl. Too bad you can't see closer becuase his shirt was covered in bright pink Happy Birthday Cambria frosting. Aren't they a cute pair?

Halle, Cambria and Olivia just hanging out. Doesn't Olivia look like she could be the poster baby for Hawaiian tropic sunscreen?

Cambria (and mostly mom) opening up her presents from Grandma & Indee. Thank you so much to everyone that came to her party and gave her gifts, that was so kind of you, especially on such a stinkin hot day. We had lots of fun! We missed Grandma Cathy, Aunt Han, Aunt Kristin & Maci though, they weren't able to come down because my mom thought it would be really cool to pull her siatic nerve :) We can't wait to celebrate with you guys soon enough!

This day wouldn't really be complete though without Adam and Cara causing a little drama. Since Adam and I hadn't seen eachother since Sunday, he took me out on his motorcycle to get some dinner. We went to Quiznos, and they were closed, so we headed out to go to Wingers. We are stopped, the first car at the light, on the corner of St. George Blvd and River Road when the light turns green and the car behind us guns it. Wouldn't be such a big deal, except we hadn't gone yet and she rammed right into the back of Adams brand new baby. I jumped off and he stayed on to protect his bike. No one was hurt, despite the paramedics and 2 police cars that showed up. I'm pretty sure some people were upset that it wasn't a bigger deal than it looked like. His fender was cracked and the tail light broken and the kill switch was triggered which meant we had to have it towed. It was insane. However, we are fine and it could have been a lot worse! I guess the poor girl who wasn't paying attention should be VERY grateful that my father-in-law wasn't around, he had quite a mouthful to say about her and her driving :)

Pioneer Day

2008-07-25T20:35:00.003-06:00

I have a friend who moved here from California about 3 years ago and she isn't LDS. She thinks that it's silly that the whole state takes the day off of work to go celebrate pioneers. Granted if you aren't from here and aren't part of the predominant religion, then you probably wouldn't enjoy the cheesy St. George parade with every Primary child dressed up in homemade pioneer costumes and every Stake Presidency in the county riding on horses. Let's be honest, I'm both of those things and I don't really enjoy it! But I'm not one to complain about a day off of work. So as cheesy as it may be, I think it's awesome! Especially since Cambria and I got to spend the whole day with Adam....and those days are far and few between.

We started our day by going to the above mentioned parade. We met up with some friends who had some extra room in the shadiest part of the street. Cambria quickly made friends with some of the older girls and did really well!

Hanging out on dad's shoulders

Olivia is Dave & Britnis daughter, friends from Chuck-a-Rama

I love the look on her face! She is kind of like "I don't know who you people are, or what you are doing to me, but it's pretty interesting." She did so good, she didn't even want to sit with us until half way through the parade, when some stupid mountain man started shooting his rifle :)

Here we are just hanging out!

Cambs and Dad. She is ALWAYS putting her finger in her mouth like that. Weird huh?!

I had to put this up to show my fam that she is kind of starting to get her chunks back in her legs! Plus she is standing like a little diva.

By far the most entertaining part of the parade was afterwards when they had the foot races. They had them for all ages so we put Cambria at the starting line for the under 1 year race. I think there was probably only 6 or 7 babies crawling and then one gigantuan girl who was walking. She took first :)

Camby took third! She got half way between the finish and start line and then just looked at us like "Why would I keep crawling towards you if you just keep moving away?!" So she just sat there. They gave her the third place 25 cent ticket because she was the only baby left out there. Either way, we are proud of her :)

After our exciting morning we came back and took a nap and just hung out. We left later that night to go see fireworks but couldn't find them anywhere. It was a nice day with my babies, even though we missed our family. Hope you had a great 24th of July, even if it was just another Thursday for you!

Poca-Hoochie

2008-07-22T15:54:00.002-06:00

I'm totally bummed.....Pocahontas is my least favorite Disney character and the least likely that I would think I was like. Whatev. At least they think I would look good running through the forest in some strange scrap of an animal skin dress. Guess I can't complain about that :)

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.
Which Disney Princess Are You?

Pictures

2008-07-18T15:58:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My visiting teacher took these pictures of Cambria the other day, and I love them! Hopefully you do to!

Hyosung Aquila AKA "Rapp"

2008-07-16T11:49:00.003-06:00

Meet the newest member of our family & insurance. This is "Rapp" appropriately named after Adams newest hero, Mitch Rapp: America's Greatest Terrorist Assassin. (Thanks, Tan!) He said it was a hard choice between Jack Bauer and Mitch Rapp...those are his "tough" choices. :) Doesn't he look cute & bad to the bone on his motorcycle? On a whim, one day like two months ago I decided to put my crappy car up for sale. I went to meet with a client and got a phone call asking about my car. Sold it later that day to an unsuspecting Hispanic. He test drove it though, so I don't feel too bad. So, we have been borrowing Adams work truck while he has been on the search for this motorcycle. He FINALLY got it last Saturday and is pretty excited, a Hyosung Aquila 250 cc. At 110 miles to the gallon, I can't complain. If anyone out there has a motorcylce, Adam needs a partner to go on road trips with! He is seriously debating growing out a handle bar mustache and where to put his "I LOVE MOM" tattoo. If anyone has any suggestions.....

My Biker Babes!

By far though the best thing about his bike for me (besides going on rides with him) is the users manual that is directly translated from Korean into English. It is hilarious. Infact there are somethings that just downright don't make any sense at all. I listed a few and am laughing out loud as I write them.

*If keep running in condition that full choke lever, cause in fuel excess exhaustion, high speed not running, damage of ignition plug. (Seriously?! Does anyone remotely know what that might mean?)

*Necessarily, confirm and clean the oil strainer when replace the Engine, specially when first replace ment.

* After replaced the front brake pads, the brake lever pull and release several times so that it is setting at the original place. Then, do not riding the motorcycle untill operating the brake fluid and becoming the brake distance.

I guess that's the draw back to buying foreign products huh?! That and the fact that the speedometer is in kilometers. Adam feels like a rebel when he has to go 120 kilometers on the freeway just to reach the appropriate speed limit!

Happy Birthday HAN!

2008-07-11T14:26:00.004-06:00

Hannah's birthday was actually on Tuesday....but I can still say happy b-day. I love my sweet sister so much. I remember the day that she was born, I cried. I was so sad that I would always be ten years older than her. I thought that we wouldn't really get a long or have much in common, but we have such a good relationship. (At least I think we do!) I admire her in so many ways. She has this incredible gift for music and drama, she really is very talented. She isn't at all afraid to get up in front of a crowd of people and sing and act silly...she is awesome. Hannah is smart and so witty. She has this really fun sense of humor and can quickly become the life of the party. She is a great Aunt and such a sweet heart. We love her so much and I can't imagine our family without her....Love you Han!

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-11T14:12:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was my AMAZING Mom's birthday. I wish that I could have been there, it's been a really long time since I've actually been there on her birthday. I just wanted to tell her how much I love her and appreciate her. She is one of my best friends and favorite people in the world. I just wanted to list a few of the things I love most about her:

*Her laugh. She has the BEST laugh. There is the haha laugh, and then there is the LAUGH. It can't be explained, but if you've heard it you know what I'm talking about. Love it!

*Her belief in the underdog. She is such a down to earth person and doesn't really like to get caught up in the silly things of the world.

*Her ability to stay sane in Bountiful :)

*Her courage to do the hard stuff. I often tell her that she should write a book, she has had a crazy life. People might think she made it up, but she didn't. What's even more amazing than her life is her passion and drive to keep on doing the things she believes in, despite all the crap she has been through.

*How she loves to eat Cambria and Maci's beaters. (I'm not even sure what they are, but she loves to eat them whenever she sees those girls!)

*Her refusal to watch injustice. She will NOT stand by and watch something wrong happen and not do anything about it.

*When she is tired and gets really silly. It is so fun....I love it. It's even funner when the four of us are all tired and silly together :)

I could go on, but hopefully you get the idea, Mom. I love you and am so lucky to have you. I'm not sure that you will know the impact that you have had on my life and how you have been such an example to me, but hopefully someday I can show you. Love you, Happy Platinum B-Day!

Do Over

2008-07-07T18:29:00.003-06:00

8:00 a.m. - thrown up on. twice.
4:00 p.m - thrown up on. twice.

Can I get a day do over?! I can't wait to forget today :)

When Dad Babysits.....

2008-07-02T22:22:00.003-06:00

See that ginormous egg on her head? Picture asphalt and a mischevious little girl who isn't buckled into her stroller. Sad huh?! I feel worse for Adam, he's the one who will remember it. I love you babes :)

the Ragnasty Relay (AKA Wasatch Back)

2008-06-30T18:15:00.004-06:00

So last weekend my sister Kristin and I ran for our third year in the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back and it was awesome. The starting line was huge, this year they had 580 teams! The first year that we ran it, just 5 years ago, they had 22. Not a bad increase huh?! Kristin and I went up to Logan early to see the start line and Tan...who was unusually calm :) The starting line was awesome and we got to see a few cool teams. Infact, there was one team from backcountry.com who had all their runners run with a sports item. So, the guy at the starting line was actually RUNNING with cross-country skis on. One guy ran with snow shoes and another we saw ran with a life jacket and a kayak paddle. It was fun....lots of good energy. After we were up there for a bit we headed back to Farmington where we met up with our van, which was Kristin's mother-in-law, Tanner's newly married cousin and her husband (who joined our team on VERY short notice) and a friend of their family. It was really fun ...there's nothing like running in the middle of the night and being crammed in a van for 12 hours together! Everyone did really well, and it was so awesome to see all the teams on the road. This was the first year I ran where I wasn't the ONLY person running the leg. That was nice, especially in the middle of nowhere at 3 in the morning where there are no street lights. Yes, I do get creeped out by that situation. Everything was going well until my clumsy and tired self started to run. I was on my last leg running down into Park City when a well meaning van honked to cheer me on and instead scared the crap out of me. Maybe my ipod shouldn't have been so loud and maybe I should have been paying attention but whatever it was I slid on some loose gravel on the side of the road and scraped my knee and hand up. I couldn't just sit there and bleed, the car was waiting for me about a mile away. So I just got up and ran. I didn't even hurt but I was really upset about my shoes. They were pretty much soaked in blood and I just bought them a few months ago. I was more concerned about that than the stuff falling out of my knee cap. A nice biker offered to ride down the hill and find my car and they came up to find me running. My sister cleaned it out for me, took some pictures and then told me I couldn't run anymore. She's kind of a punk like that :) So, instead of crossing the finish line with my team and seeing all the cool stuff, I got to hang out alone (Adam was ready to pass out from the site of my knee & all the scrubbing they did to get gravel out) in the Park City clinic while I got 16 stitches. At least I'll have a cool scar. I haven't take any after pictures, but the before are more exciting and gruesome.

It was a great race....Tanner and his crew did a great job. I had so much fun running with Kristin and I can't wait to do the next one. Next time someone else can take the fall :)

PS....In all my excitement to tell about my wounded knee, I forgot to mention my sweet husband and all that he did during the race. This was the first year that we haven't ran together, which was sad for me. He is so supportive to cheer me on and help out. This year instead, he was managing one of the major (and extremely crowded) exchange and did an awesome job. He was there from 7 pm on Friday till about 11 am on Saturday...with only 2 hrs. of sleep the night before. He's awesome, I love you baby :)

27?!

2008-06-27T20:18:00.002-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Yep.....It's true! I turned 27 yesterday and I just wanted to thank my family and friends who made it such a great day. I really appreciated all the calls and texts and sweet gifts...it made my day so much fun! Adam was so sweet, he started off my big day by making me breakfast. It was so yummy, he did a great job. Plus he got me earrings, which I LOVE, flowers and Sword in the Stone. I love that movie, it totally reminds me of my sister and I :) Then Cambria and I just played and took a nap together and then went to lunch at Cafe Rio. It was so so good. My sweet friend Lacy and her cute daughter watched Cambria while Adam and I went to Springdale for dinner. We went and visited one of our favorite art gallery while we were up there and happened to mention to the owner that we were up there for my birthday. He was so sweet....he let me pick out a 18x24 print for free. It's awesome! We ate at this hippie pizza place, which was amazing. While we were there we saw this guy that looked EXACTLY like my brother in law Brandon looked like 10 years ago. Adam and I couldn't stop staring and talking about how similar they looked. I finally went up and asked if I could take a picture of him to send to my brother in law because he looked just like him. Yeah, he was weirded out, but what did I care? It was my birthday. When we got back home Adam still had a few b-day surprises up his sleeve....a new alarm clock and gift cards to Bath & Body works and Barnes and Noble. Plus a really sweet card....he is so good to me. Everyone was so generous...thank you again. I had a great day and it wouldn't have been nearly as great if I didn't have such great family and friends :)

One word describes it all.......

2008-06-18T09:16:00.003-06:00

I totally enjoy doing these, hopefully someone enjoys reading them!

1-Your cell phone? new
2-Your significant other? patient
3-Your Mother? Incredible
4- Your Father? Left
5-Your Hair? bed-head
6-Your favorite Thing? laughing
7-Your Dream last night? boring
8-Your favorite drink? invigorating
9-Your dream/goal? happiness
10-The room you're in? bedroom
11-Your ex? tall
12-Your fear? cancer
13-Where do you want to be in 6 years? w/family
14-Where were you last night? home
15-What your not? frugal
16-Muffins? bran
17-One of your wish list items? quiet :)
18-Where you grew up? California
19-The last thing you did? dishes
20- What are you wearing? pajamas
21- Your TV? off
22-Your pets? chameleon
23-Your computer? slow
24-Your life? Adventurous
25-Your Mood? cranky
26-Missing Someone? Adam
27-Your car? dirty
28-Something you're not wearing? shoes
29-Favorite Store? Target
30-Your summer? HOT
31-Like someone? sure
32-Your Favorite color? red
33-Last time you laughed? this morning
34-Last time you Cried? this morning
35- Who will re-post this? Cheryl

Out with the Old, In with the New

2008-05-28T14:58:00.002-06:00

Finally...they have come! The shoes that I have needed for SO long are finally here. A big thanks to my stimulus check I now have shoes that are meant for running, actually fit and don't look like a dog has been chewing on them for 2 straight weeks. Aren't they cute!As soon as I took these out of the box and put them on my feet, the first thing that came to my mind was "The Sandlot." I don't even remember what is said, but something to the effect that the shoes were guranteed to make him run faster and jump higher. I had that feeling that I could just run forever. And as I walked in the front door with my newer younger shoes, I passed my old dingy shoes and felt like a tug on my heart. I couldn't help but reminisce about some of the good times we had shared:

Hiking the Subway in Zions National Park and getting stranded overnight
Running in 2 years of the Wasatch Back Relay
Moving into 2 different houses
All the walks that we shared with Cambria
Hiking Angels Landing
Going to Havasupai
Going to Costa Rica

It's sort of weird that I attach so much sentiment to them, I didn't really treat them that well when I used them!

These cute bootie-sneakers below are from my friend who made (crocheted) them for Cambria. Cambria refuses to keep shoes on, but these are awesome because I can tie them tight and she can't yet figure out how to get them off! I had to brag about how cute they are!

And this last picture is for my friend Haylee, who I'm not even sure if she reads this or not! But she made those wood letters for Cambria. She cut them out and I love them! She did a great job, Thanks Hays.

5 random things about me:

2008-05-25T17:17:00.002-06:00

1) I have a fettish for jewelry. Not expensive real jewelry (heaven knows I would quickly lose it or break it) but the kind you can get at like Target. I don't even feel bad buying jewelry that doesn't go with anything I currently own , just because someday I might and I don't want to miss the opportunity. What's funny is that I never even wore jewelry until after I was married and Adam thought it was really weird that I didn't, so he bought me some. I'll bet he wishes he hadn't opened that can of worms now!

2) I own every season/episode of "Friends" and can pretty much say them word for word! They remind me of two people: my sister Kristin because when we lived at home together and would get back from work or dates at night we would watch them on TV together - good times; and Cheryl Larsen Richards who I used to work with at Wingers (another random thing about me) because she is the only other person I know who loves it as much as I do.

3) I collect dinnerware, stemware and silverware. Again, not the really expensive kind (I break things way too often), but cute kinds. I'm not really sure where it started, but my collection grew signifacantly during the time I was the manager at Pier 1 Imports. Anyone who has every been to my house and seen my cupboards knows that I have way too much! What they don't know is that I have even more hidden away - sad huh?!

4) My cousin Sarah and I used to eat an ENTIRE bag of potato chips and sour cream dip in one sitting. I know....we are both totally sicked out by that! Seriously, I'm not sure who let us even buy those and sit down and eat the whole bag, but they are partially to blame for my unhealthy teenage eating habits :) Like how I brought Sarah into that, I'm sure she loves me sharing her junior high secrets!

5) I do not own one pair of white socks. Not a one. I have a ginormous sock drawer full of patterned colored socks but there is not one white one in there. I love color and patterns and white just seems so boring to me!

There you go Karly! I am going to tag Lauren, Kirsten & Becky.

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-21T14:12:00.003-06:00

I know....I'm late. Mother's Day has come and gone but I feel like I've got to share my feelings on motherhood.

First of all, my mom. She is amazing, and even that doesn't describe the kind of person that she is. She is incredibly kind and thoughtful, one of the most outgoing person I know and totally true to who she is. She refuses to stand by and watch when people are hurting or in need. She is one of the most honest, truthful, spiritual and faithful women I know. These past few years have been exceptionally difficult for our family since my parents divorce and my mom has been anchored in the gospel and the Lord. She is an example to me in so many ways and I regret all of the times that I ever took her for granted or treated her in an undeserved way. I am honored to have her and grateful for the things that she has taught me and they way she raised me. My sweet daughter is incredibly lucky to have such a FUN grandma.

Secondly, my mother in law. She also is amazing. She raised a son that I love more than anything and for that I am grateful. She is so charitable and is the first person to show up on your doorstep with homeade dinner and goodies. She is so generous also....she is always trying to do things for us and her other kids. I'm so glad to be a part of their family and to have a great mother in law.

And I.....am overwhelmed with the feelings of motherhood. Everyday when I look at Cambria I think about how long we waited for her to come to our family. How many negative pregnancy tests I had, doctors visits, medications I took and tearful nights I spent just wondering if we would ever have her. I realize that there are alot of people who have felt the same feelings, been in similar situations and then haven't been able to have their own children. And how difficult it was to hear time and time again..."It'll happen when it happens." I guess what I feel is this beautiful capacity to love something more than I ever imagined....and what an awesome responsibility it entails. I love my sweet daughter so much for all the additional joy that she has brought into our lives.

Pura Vida - Part 3 May 8-12

2008-05-21T10:04:00.005-06:00

So, the last few days we were in Costa Rica we spent on Tamarindo Beach in this totally awesome hotel (http://tamarindodiria.com/). In fact, I don't think I've ever stayed in a hotel that nice before...a huge breakfast buffet, right on the ocean with 2 huge pools. It was lots of fun. We got to Tamarindo Thursday night after a LONG drive in the car....it's really a good thing I don't get motion sickness. We decided to pay the obscene amount of money they charged to go snorkeling, which neither of us had ever done before, and booked it for the next morning at 6 am! I don't even get up that early when I'm not on vacation :)

The cost to go included the taxi drive there, snorkeling and lunch which means crazy Costa Rican man driving hideously fast on bumpy rodes, snorkeling and pineapple. However, what they don't tell you is how you get to the actual place that you snorkel at....see picture below. Yep, we paddled ourselves out about 30 minutes from this beach to get to the cove. My sister would have been so excited to do this....it's just her thing to workout while on vacation, but me...not so much. It was awesome though, because when we got out off the beach there were a couple of sea turtles swimming close by. Adam was so excited :)
We did the snorkeling thing, which by the way was a lot funner than I expected. We saw and got to hold: jellyfish, puffer fishes, sea cucumbers, a crab and tons of fish. It was so fun to just lay there on the water with our heads staring down at all the life below. I really enjoyed it and so did Adam. After our pineapple lunch, they took us on a quick tour of the jungle right off the beach we were at. I think I would have enjoyed that A LOT more had I, again, known that would be part of it beforehand. All I had to walk around the dry forest in was my swimsuit and flip flops...not the most conducive for hiking and lots of bugs. Needless to say, I pretty much got eaten alive on that hike, but we did get to see a howler monkey. It was just sitting up in the tree making it's really scary noise. Yea, I was scared when I heard it the first time. Again, Adam was excited and probably would have opted to stay in the jungle rather than come home with me.

After we got back from snorkeling and Danny and Lindi got back from scuba diving, (where Lindi almost died. She cut herself on the coral and there were some sharks close by, sand sharks, but still sharks. She was pretty shaken up about it :) we decided to do some laundry at "Backwash." We thought it was so funny that 1) we would pay a ridiculous amount of money to have our clothes cleaned and 2) we would do it at a place called "Backwash." They must not really know what that means.
After we ate at a really yummy resturaunt we came back to our hotel and just vegged....it was awesome. Adam got fried during the day, he forgot to put sunscreen on his back. Or rather, I forgot to tell him and actually rub the sunscreen on his back :) Below are just a few pictures of the native wildlife we saw scampering around our hotel.

Below is a picture looking at our hotel from the beach...it was fun. So, on Saturday we thought it would be fun to rent a surfboard and some boogie boards. I was so excited because I hadn't been boogie boarding since I lived in San Diego...a long time ago. Adam wasn't super excited...we got out in the water and he couldn't catch any waves for a while. But once he did he had fun.

Here is Danny, Lindi and I all on the same wave! I felt like a little kid, we stayed out till late Saturday night doing it and then woke up and did it on Sunday morning. I loved it and it made me miss my family. We are such beach people, we just love it and I knew that my mom and sisters would appreciate seeing it.

Sunday afternoon we packed up our stuff and drove up to Liberia (2 hrs) and stayed in a hotel that was close to the airport. We called our moms and then just waited. That was the day that I really started to miss Cambria and be anxious to see her and hold her. We were so busy during the week that eventhough I missed her, I didn't really have a chance to just stop and think about her and look at some of the pictures that we had of her. Adam and I had to drive Danny and Lindi to the airport at 5 am on Monday and our flight didn't leave until 1 pm. On the way to the airport, Danny remembered that they had left their coats in Tamarindo and were bummed about it. After we dropped them off, Adam and I decided to pack up and drive back to get their coats...rather than sit around the nasty hotel room. (It really was the nastiest one we stayed in. My coverlet smelled like someone had horrendous BO and just rolled around on the bed. I know...sick!)

It was an amazing trip, we had so many good laughs with Danny and Lindi and I loved being able to spend so much time with Adam. Thanks to both of our families who helped watch Cambria...she had lots of fun. It's got me thinking that this traveling stuff isn't so bad and I'm already scoping out where our next trip will be.....any ideas!

Pura Vida - Part 2 May 6-8

2008-05-21T09:52:00.005-06:00

After we packed up all our stuff in Monte Verde we decided to head back down the crazy road and go to Arenal, where we had heard there was an active volcano and hot springs right on the mountain. Well, I guess those were true....just not how we expected :) This is the view of the volcano from our hotel room...not to shabby!

Since the tour of the volcano was going to cost us an arm and a leg, we asked the receptionist if there was anything in town that we could do for cheap and she told us that about 15 minutes away there was a really cool waterfall that was free. We were so excited! We stopped at the grocery store and bought some questionable lunch meat and extremely dry bread, made some quick "sandwiches" and started down the road. We got there and saw that it was $7 a person. That receptionist's family must own the land the waterfall was on....definately not free. Don't think that Adam didn't put up a fight about it though.....alright, so did I. However, we were not dissappointed when we saw it. It was amazing. Adam and I have this thing for waterfalls...we love them. It's where we went on our first date and where Adam proposed. This one was so beautiful. The water was cold, but it was nearly 90 degrees with about 46 percent humidity...so we weren't really complaining!

It's a ridiculously steep climb down and I'm not even gonna talk about the hike back out!

After we got back from the volcano, we got ready for the guided tour of Mt. Arenal. We were stoked to see lava and get up close to it. As soon as you pay your money and start on the tour, the guide quickly informed us that although this volcano is active, it doesn't produce flowing lava like some volcanos in Hawaii, it just spews out rocks and steam. We were pretty sure it was going to be lame, but it actually ended up being really cool. We walked through the area where the volcano had erupted and killed hundreds of people, and then it turned into dense forest and then it turned into volcanic rock. It was really pretty, we even got to see a Toucan. You could feel the eruptions and see the rocks come out. When it got dark you could see the red lava on the rocks...all in all it was very cool. However, there are not hot springs even in the vicinity of the volcano! There are some hot springs in a neighboring community, but nothing like what we thought. We were expecting to sit in hot springs that overlooked a gurgling bowl of lava. We are dramatic :)

We were starving that night so we ate LOTS at the resturaunt in the hotel....Lindi ordered a pizza and a huge bowl of Chicken Fettucinni. There was not one crumb left on anyones plate! I think that the waiters were a bit surprised at how much we ate :)

Pura Vida - Part 1 May 2-6

2008-05-21T09:18:00.010-06:00

Welcome to Costa Rica! We flew out of Salt Lake on Friday at midnight and didn't actually get to the airport in Costa Rica until 1 pm on Saturday. Airport really is such a relative term, more like wooden posts holding up a shabby roof with no exterior walls. Danny and Lindi, the couple that we went with, didn't get in until about 2:30 pm on Saturday so we waited, on the floor, for them. We were so worried about making sure that we met up with eachother that we decided Adam and I would wait at the baggage claim for them. Not necessary. You get off the plane. You walk in to the "airport" and they put your bags on the floor. We couldn't have missed eachother if we tried.

Once we all got our bags and got our rental car we were on our way. I felt so adventerous since we didn't have a guide, just a couple maps and Adam and Danny's spanish. We stopped at a shack on the side of the road about an hour from the rental place to eat some lunch. It was called El Cebolla, or the Onion. Should have known! First of all, there aren't many places that we went that even had menus....they just served whatever they made. We finally figured out that it was rice, beans, chicken and salad. Sounds good, right? Oh my....we should be glad that I didn't get a picture of the chicken, I couldn't even tell you what part of the chicken it was. Besides that and the nasty fried plantains that they served at nearly every meal, it wasn't too bad. Infact, I didn't get sick one time on our whole trip.

I digress.....so we get back on the road and head up this CRAZY dirt road. It was so beautiful...the countryside, the color of everything, the basics of life. We drove by tiny towns with tiny shacks put together from scraps of other peoples homes. It was a humbling experiance to be there and to see that alot of people live with dirt floors, no electricity, no gas stations, etc. In fact, I think we went 3 hours without seeing a store or gas station. At about 7 pm we finally get to our cute little eco-friendly hotel in Monte Verde. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep as soon as I laid on the bed.
The next morning we ate a yummy breakfast of rice and beans, toast and lots of fresh fruit. That is one thing about Costa Rica that inspired me - they eat so much fresh fruit and vegetables, it was awesome. We were in the heart of the Cloud Forest and so we decided to go hike around for a few hours.....it was amazing. It's like something you can't even describe to be in the middle of so much life.

That picture above marks the Continental Divide, which means that water on one side runs to the Pacific and water on the other runs towards the Atlantic or Carribbean. I think that's what it means...

Yep, that was pretty much one of the scariest bridges I've ever crossed...in my life. It said it could hold a maximum capacity of ten people. What kind of people though, little midget people or normal people or little kiddies? I sure didn't stay on that long, especially when Adam was moving it all around. After we finished playing in the jungle we got on our way back to the hotel. On our way we saw a sign for a waterfall and thought it'd be fun to check it out. When we got to the little "toll booth" it said it was $8....but there was no one there. There was a note that said if the owner wasn't there than to leave the money on the table. If there had been someone there I would have felt bad trying to sneak in but there wasn't. What was so awesome is that this waterfall was right off the main road, just like a few hundred feet. We saw a few monkeys on our way back out and actually got a really good picture of it!

We felt like we were on the set of "Lotst" with all the trees looking like that!

When we had checked into the hotel on Saturday night Adam had heard that one of the best things to do around Monte Verde was a canopy tour so they booked it for Monday morning. After a quick run into town for some snacks we were on our way to "Extreme Canopy Tours" and pretty excited about it. It was even better though that I could have imagined it. Besides the fact that we got to wear those cool helmets and harnesses while hiking up intensely steep trails, we were seriously flying through the jungles and across huge valleys. I was expecting it to be small ziplines, but these were like four and five hundred feet long way up above the ground. I felt slightly bad because there was a couple in our group who were from California and just like us didn't really have an idea of what it really was. They were probably in their mid 50's and I think one of them was afraid of heights. The walks up to the zip lines were brutal for us and you could tell it was hard for them, plus the lady had a pretty bad heart condition. She kept on braking and then didn't have enough momentum to make it to the other side so the tour guides kept having to come pull her in. I guess they were sick of that so for the last 1/2 of them they just had her ride on the back of one of the guides. Anyways, it was fun. I loved it and wished that it could have lasted longer.

I'm not sure how far 750 meters is, but in the picture below Adam is stading at the beginning of the line and taking a picture of the other side and that little spec of white flying through the Costa Rican air is me!

Later that night we just hung out in the non-thriving town of Monte Verde and ate a little local cuisine, which wasn't too bad. In the morning we got up and decided that there must be trails all over this place, why should we pay to walk on them. So we found our own "trail", although I don't think you can call it that. We pretty much just bushwacked it through the jungle until we found some cool trees and waterfalls, which we did. Not only did we find those, but we also found some cool trees that give nasty rashes and have super huge thorns that like to stay in your skin. Yep, Adam and I pretty much got our trash kicked on that hike. It was fun, Danny is quite the trail blazer!

It's totally true that everything in the jungle is bigger, look at that ginormous caterpillar that Adam found! I couldn't even believe it!

Adam thought that this sign posted in our bathroom at the hotel was funny. It says "Tropical septic systems cannot handle paper or plastic.....Please do not flush toilet paper or similar. Thank you." I don't think he liked the idea of throwing away used toilet paper.

On our last night in Monte Verde we went on a night walk through some forest. It was crazy....we saw huge tarantulas, a sloth, lots of creepy crawlies and some birds. We had fun, even if I was slightly paranoid about huge things crawling on me :)

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention what Pura Vida means: Pure Life. It's like the Costa Rican motto and people say it always. Like if you pay someone at the cash register, instead of Thank You, it's Pura Vida. You accidentally run into someone, you just say Pura Vida. It really was so fun to be there!

Introducing Raquel Rigby!

2008-05-21T09:13:00.002-06:00

This beautiful baby is my newest neice, the daughter of my brother in law Brandon and his wife Marci. She was actually born on the 29th of April, so we got to see her before we left on our trip to Costa Rica. She is so sweet and has a ton of hair. More like a mullet of hair...not much on the top but a ton in the back. We are so glad that she is part of our family and that Cambria now has a cousin on the Rigby side.
It was so fun to hold her....hard to believe that my baby was that small just 10 months ago. In the picture below, make sure you look at her feet....they are SUPER long!

Welcome to the craziness that is known as the Rigby Family...we are so excited to have you. We'll have to make some extra trips up to Layton between now and September because Bran and Marci are moving their little fam up to Oregon where he is gonna go to Graduate school.

Just the Girls

2008-04-15T10:02:00.003-06:00

Conference weekend my two sisters and beautiful niece came down and it was so fun! Kristin bought tickets for her, Hannah and I to go to the Colbie Caillat concert at Tuacahn...which was awesome! We are lucky she bought them so early, because they were sold out the day that they went on sale to the public. It was fun to be just the three of us, Adam bravely stayed home with the girls. He had more fun than he let on. He said that he had put them down to sleep when Kristin's in-laws who were in town stopped by 5 minutes later. Maci woke up at the noise and so Adam brought her out to see them and tried to get Cambria to go back to sleep. That threw her into a fit of rage which sent her soon after rolling off the bed. My sweet Adam felt so bad!

Maci and Cambria are so funny together, they both get so easily flustered by eachother. They times are far and few between where they are both happy and smiling and getting along (hope that isn't a foreshadow of what is to come.) Clearly Maci doesn't like Cambria hovering over her :)

Pretty much all weekend the two of them were kissing, or should I say slobbering on eachother. It was so so cute....they actually would reach out their arms towards eachother and hug and just suck on each other's foreheads. Then we took the girls swimming in the not so warm swimming pool and it was a blast! Maci was ecstatic...I can't remember seeing her so excited in a long time. Plus she hadn't even gone into the water yet and she was super excited. Plus she had the cutest swimsuit ever, unlike Cambrias scary Strawberry Shortcake swimsuit.

If you look close, you can see the tattoo that I put on Cambi's "muscle". I bought them at Target a while ago and thought it would be fun to put one on her...she didn't mind but a lot of random strangers thought it was mean. Not really sure how it's mean to put something sticky on your childs arm that she doesn't seem to even notice...but whatever.

All in all it was so fun to have them down....I miss living closer to my family. It's so nice to live on our own and be independant but it's also so nice to be surrounded by family and people that really know you.

Easter pictures

2008-03-31T12:24:00.003-06:00

Doesn't she look a little like the statue of liberty? I mean a really cute statue of Liberty
Little Diva (she already has her hands on her hips!)

Here are some more Easter pics that I had taken of Cambria. A good friend of mine that I work with offered to have her daughter take some pictures and let us borrow her bunny. Cambria loved the bunny...I think it made my friend Janeen a little nervous at how much she loved him. She was petting and patting and pulling....but so much fun. They turned out so cute. I think there is only a handful of pictures where she doesn't have one of those eggs in her hands....she LOVED those and that basket. Thank heavens for things like that that keep her occupied for a long time :) Anyways, enjoy!

The Randomness!

2008-03-30T17:40:00.005-06:00

I've decided that if I can update this 2 times a month, then I'm in pretty good shape! Things have been so super busy which is wonderful and can be overwhelming. Last weekend for Easter Cambria and I went up to Bountiful to see my family and it was so fun. I wish that Chris and Karly where there, but we were certainly thinking of them. We went out to eat, I tried Sushi, we got pedicures and pretty much just hung out and laughed at our babies. It was super fun. I love to go up there for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that we always have so much fun together. I love that. Below is a jumble of pictures that have accumulated on my camera....I'll try and make sense of them!

On Saturday Adam took Cambria and I to Springdale, right outside of Zions National Park. I love it up there, it is so pretty and they have such great shops up there. This isn't up there, but it's a ghetto "trading post" on the way that we've always driven by. We decided to stop and show Cambria the animals (which she loved). I love how she is totally waving in this picture!

Adam by the osteriches
This is in Springdale where they have reindeer and elk and all other sorts of animals. That is pretty much Adams favorite place to go when we head up there.
Outside of the park
Cambria with the llama.....She is totally her fathers animal loving child!

She loves this basket! She can now sit up all by herself and has officially broken through her first tooth. For a while it would get close and then go back down, but now its through!

The ceiling fan that my hubby put up all by himself. Not an easy thing to do, those things are super heavy. He put it up once, then noticed that the cap to cover the wires wasn't on yet so he had to take it off and put it back up. Thanks baby!
Okay.....I had to put this picture up. I know it's gross, but pretty funny too. She is totally smiling, even in the midst of all that snot. If you couldn't tell, we have been sick at our house with stuffy noses!
Cambria and I in front of a buffalo.

Also while we were up in Springdale Adam surprised me by taking me to this art gallery that sold prints of my favorite local artist. I have seriously been looking all over town for places to buy a print. I would love an original or even giclee, but don't have the money. He got a hold of the artist, found out where she has her stuff at and bought me some. I was in tears, it was so sweet. I can't put her pictures up, but you can check out her website at http://www.gina-jrel-art.com/artist_gina_jrels_paintings.html He's a wonderful husband who surprised me with a funderful day. (like how I make up my own words?!)

About Daughters

2008-03-16T21:13:00.002-06:00

So I got this book for Adam when we found out we were having a girl and it's calle "Father to Daughter", by Harry H. Harrison. I was reading through it the other night and thought there were some worth sharing :)

Sometimes (okay, many times) she may not know what she wants. Your job is to help her figure it out.
Display her artwork in your office. Why should all the good stuff go on the refrigerator?
This cannot be said enough: Don't give into the urge to buy her everything.
Inspire her to never give up.
Take her out to dinner, just the two of you.
Prepare for the day when you aren't the most important man in her life.
There will be times when you'd rather stick needles in your eyes than have a particular conversation with her. This is when you must act like a father.
She will decide you need a complete, head-to-toe, fashion make over. Beware! This will not make you look cool
Don't put any more restrictions on your daughter than you would on a son at the same age and maturity level
Accept the fact that girls squeal (or cry) when they're happy, confused, excited, scared, or they just saw a certain boy in line.
Write this down: Girls cry. Alot.
Remember if little girls don't get a nap, they can resemble something from a Stephen King novel.
Dance with her always. She'll never be too young. Or too old.
Show her how to throw a right cross. That will stop any boy from picking on her.

Swimming Days and Running Nights

2008-03-16T20:20:00.003-06:00

So...we took Cambria swimming
for the first time this weekend and I am pretty sure that she
loved it! She pretty

much loves bath time and splashing around so I thought we might as well start her early. For
anyone who knows me knows that I am a horrible swimmer, and by horrible I mean that I couldn't do it to save my life.....literally! Which is weird because I did take swimming lessons, albeit it from a questionable/scary teacher reeked of smoke :) It's one of those things that if Adam knew that about me before we got married...he might not have asked.

Anyways, I digress. Cambria LOVED it and had so much fun. I thought the water was way too cold, so I took the pictures and the two of them played :) I think Adam had as much fun as she did! That bathing suit is actually a 12 month suit, but the one that should have fit her (and is much cuter) didn't. Don't think I didn't try my hardest to squeeze her into though.

Other than swimming, Cambria can now add to her list of things that she does so cute....acting like a lamb. The other day we were playing and all of a sudden she just started saying "ba ba ba" and then blowing raspberries. And no joke...non-stop since then. I love it, it is so cute. Sometimes she'll scream it, sometimes she'll whisper it and she'll change her mouth up in different ways. It's so amazing to see her grow, there just isn't any other word.

In other more grown up, less exciting news....I have been running/training for my brother in law Tanners race (http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/index.php) that is coming up at the end of June. I've ran in it two years, this will be the first that Adam isn't running with me. I really love to run...I'm not fast but I love the feeling of just moving, sweating, and clearing my mind. Usually I start training on a treadmill and then ease into running on actual trails, but this year just isn't the case. Since I don't have a gym pass, I take the stroller out. Not a running/jogging stroller, the regular one that doesn't move as well and feels like it's going to fall to pieces! I'm excited for it, although I kind of have a love/hate relationship with this race. The year I run I think to myself, "Cara, you are crazy..there is no way you are doing this next year." So the next year I help out at the race and think to myself "Man I wish I was running in it, it's such a cool feeling." And both of those are true!

This past week I got to see my Aunt Sue, Sarah and her incredibly cute & lively daughter Ava. They came up from Las Vegas to see us and eat at Cafe Rio (yummy!) I love getting together with them, it's so great to see family!

And the last bit of news comes from Adam who really wanted me to post this because he is so proud of it. A few weeks ago he entered a sweepstakes contest and won a free 32" LCD/HD TV for free! I know, cool huh. And a much welcomes upgrade from our tiny tiny TV that drives me crazy. Anyways, he thought if he's going to get a new TV, it might as well be one that he wanted so he sold it and it going to upgrade to some wha bam big TV. I personally would be grateful for anything larger than our current one, but know we have to wait until he can find the perfect one for the perfect price. Boys and their toys. I'm sure he'll make me take a picture of the one he finally chooses, so stay tuned!

And she's back......

2008-02-29T10:49:00.005-07:00

It has been nearly a month since my sweet Cambria was feeling well enough to smile like this, she has been on 3 antibiotics in 4 weeks for ear infections. Poor girl, both Adam and I had crappy ears when we were young so she is just bound to have more problems :) Finally though, she has started sleeping better, eating like normal and being her smiley, silly self again. It's torture to listen to her scream and cry and just be unconsolable. Anyways, glad that is over. In other Cambi news, she started "waving" good-bye the other day and it is so freakin cute. I'm so in love with her. Look at that bath tub position.....bet not many people can do that! There isn't much else going on....I'm super boring right now. But the pics of Cambria are pretty cute, so enjoy!

(how sad are those sicky eyes?)

she loves the top of that

Tylenol bottle, she will

just gnaw on it like crazy!

Happy Valentines Day!!

2008-02-14T14:55:00.005-07:00

So far today has been a great day! Cambria and I went running around this really neat trail that I found and she took a little nap..yay! Then we both got showered and prettied up to go visit Adam at work. Her ear infection seems to finally be going away and she seems quite a bit happier. Adam gave me some really pretty daisies and a sweet card....and that is perfect. I am bummed that I have to spend the night alone though, he has to work tonight. However, nights when he is working usuallytranslates into "nights when I am walking around stores looking at all the fun things I wish I had room to put in my house that is falling off the hill" (not a story I want to talk about today!)

We celebrated last night and went to the Olive Garden. It was really good, except they ran out of high chairs so Cambria had to sit in her car seat....and we'll just leave it at she really, really, really didn't want to do that :) All in all, it's been a great day and I look forward to watching my movie "The Holiday" tonight with my Famous Daves take out :) Happy Valentines Day to me.

Because it is Valentines, I thought I would share some of the things that I love most.

I LOVE to hug Adam. It's just like the safest most comfortable place to be in the whole world. Plus I get to smell his yummy cologne, and I love that!

I LOVE seeing my sweet baby smile and hearing her laugh. It makes all the worries and insecurities of being a mommy go away for a while. It's nearly impossible to not smile when that gummy, cheeky smile is staring right at you :)

I LOVE girls night out with my sisters and my mom...it's just so fun to be silly and laugh with them.

I LOVE to think of new decorating ideas for my house. I'm pretty sure Adam does not love this about me, but I love the feeling of being creative and unique. I like changing things and trying new things.

I LOVE being outside. There is almost no better feeling than being away from all the craziness of life and just enjoying the beauty of the world.

I LOVE the person who thought of boxing up TV shows and putting them on DVD's so I can be lazy and sit and watch them without all the stupid commercials. Right now I am currently addicted to the second season of "The Office." and while on TV shows, I LOVE that the stupid strike is over and I can watch non-rerun or reality TV again :)

I LOVE the luxury of a long shower every now and then. No one ever told me that once you have a baby you don't get to take those very often.

I LOVE being a mom. It is so much more rewarding, frustrating, amazing, demanding, exciting, emotional and wonderful than I ever thought it would be....and I am loving every second of it.

The Hideousness!

2008-02-14T14:32:00.002-07:00

So...my sister has asked me a-many times to post a picture of my completely distorted finger/fingernial. On Friday while I was trying to get my car packed with all our crap for the road trip up north, I slammed my finger in the front door. I know....who does that?! You really only hear of kids doing that, not 26 year olds, right? So I slammed it in the door and fought back the tears as I got Cambria in the car and tried to run some errands. By the time we got to my inlaws later that night it had bled through a few bandaids and was disturbingly larger than any of my other fingers. Needless to say, it does NOT look good, or feel good, but I don't have a picture of it. I do have a really cute picture of Cambria taking a bath.....maybe that will make up for it

(Adam dressed her for the bath)

Birthday Boy!

2008-02-06T09:45:00.002-07:00

Happy 30th Birthday Adam babe!

Today was Adams birthday, and it was so much fun to spend the day with him. I can only remember one other time in our marriage where I actually got to spend the day with him and he didn't have to work all day and night. It was super fun! We went to lunch at the Panda Garden (his choice, not mine) and then got a girl from Adams work to watch her that night so we could go out to dinner. We ate at Scaldonis, and it was sooo good! I would highly recommend it to anyone if they are in the St. George area :) We split some lettuce wraps and then had some Chicken & Gorgonzola pasta. It was so great to spend a couple of hours with him and just be together. Thanks Cari for letting us do that! I just want to let him know that I love him so much. There couldn't be a more loving, patient, forgiving, thoughtful, generous or crazy man out there for me, we are so meant to be together. I love to watch him hold and be with Cambria. I love how his eyes light up when he sees something that he is really excited about. He is so good to me and I'm grateful that he took a chance on that silly ward Christmas party and tracked my phone number down :) You make me the luckiest babe!