BTS + 2

Do I dare...

2011-10-17T21:28:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid to write it on the blog, cause what if something happens?! But I guess I've put it on Facebook, so why not the blog? WE'RE MOVING!! We found and are buying a great house in Woods Cross, that is all we've ever wanted, except for maybe a bigger backyard. That's all it needs to be the perfect house. But it's great! 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and an unfinished basement that we can finish as we need. We close on November 4!

Pictures still to come.

Now we just have to find a renter for our townhome. Oye.

Zuma Beach, Tower 7

2011-10-14T23:44:00.003-06:00

Here's the family photos we got taken while in California. My old friend's wife took them. She's pretty freaking awesome!

Pops!

2011-10-04T07:40:00.002-06:00

Pops (my dad) has some weird power over all the grandkids. They all love him and mine are not immune from his power. I caught some great shots of him with the kids the other day.

This wash cloth is good

2011-10-04T07:37:00.001-06:00

Seriously, have you ever tried one? It's gooood.

Family photos 2011

2011-10-03T22:28:00.002-06:00

While in Westlake, I wanted our pictures taken. I've always wanted family photos on the beach and I realized, right before we left for CA, that this may be the only chance we get for them. So I asked an old high school friend's adorable wife, if she would take them. She did and they are amazing!!

Here's a sneak peek from her blog!

See a few more on her blog. Cassaundra Hull.

California Dreamin'

2011-09-28T17:59:00.003-06:00

Oh how I love California.

We went to California for my friend's wedding in LA. We stayed at Brett's friend's house in Vegas on our way. It was really fun to see them. Then on to the wedding. It was beautiful and amazing and I'm still totally jealous that she got to be married in the LA temple.... it was closed for renovations when I got married. Yeah, yeah, I've told this sob story for the last 5.5 years and I will tell it for the next 50.5 years! Deal with it! Anywho, we went to the wedding, hung out at the Griffith Observatory and Griffith Park. Went to Dukes for dinner with Brett's cousin... ahhhh Dukes... ahhh... Had family photos taken AT THE BEACH! Then made our way up to Northern California to hang out for the week. On our way we stopped in Solvang and had some awesome food. We stopped in Half Moon Bay for dinner and walking the shops then finished for the night in Monterey. There we went to the aquarium, where Gwen lost her mind for all the fishies! We ate some really good seafood too. We were in Monterey for a few days then went to Carmel to walk around the AMAZING beach and then headed to San Francisco for the rest of the week. In the city we got to see Aaren... one of my all time favorite people in the world and Jared... one of my all time favorite people in the world. We stayed at a hotel just a few blocks from the pier. We walked over there and hung out and ate, a lot. We also went to see the Palace of Fine Arts, which if I could live there, I would.

Anyways, here's pictures. Enjoy!

Remember that one time I did that one thing

2011-07-06T08:46:00.004-06:00

And I swore I would never do it again? Yeah, I'm doing it again, but let's talk about the first time first.

June 11, 2011
My first half-marathon started when Bos was about 2 months old. One of my besties asked if I wanted to run the Utah Valley Half with her.... she said she would come up to Utah from CA just to do it. I have always wanted to do one, so I agreed and started training right then. I had 4 months to get into shape enough to finish it. That's all I wanted to do. Finish. My bestie had something come up and wasn't able to make it to the race, so she gave her spot to one of my other besties, Kathy. I forced her to do it with me. She had, oh, 3 weeks of training or so. What? That's plenty of time! She had done one before.

The day before the race I went down to Provo to spend the night at Kathy's house. We had to wake up at 3am to catch the bus to the start line. The race started at 6am. We woke up, got ready and headed out. I was more nervous the week before the race than I was the day of. I just wanted to get it over with. We sat at the starting line, freezing, yawing and trying to get mentally prepared for it.

The course was down Provo Canyon for 8 miles, then 5 miles down University. When the gun went off, the crowd of a few thousand started running. There were a couple of people I wanted to push over because they were bugging me, but I managed to control myself. At mile 2 there was a hill that lasted a whole mile. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it is. We managed to run it without any problems. Then the real downhill started. It was awesome and soooo beautiful. At mile 6 we couldn't believe we had already gone that far. It didn't feel like we had done anything. Then we came out of the canyon and had 5 miles of straight, hot, boring road to run. Yuck. YUCK. By mile 10 I was done. I asked my friend if we could just walk the rest, not that I really would have, but I was sooo over it! Just about that time a motorcycle cop came up behind us and asked us to move to our right. I thought it was weird since we were inside the cones, but we moved. Then I heard this loud, FAST pace coming up behind me. I thought, 'Who the freak is running this fast NOW? They should have finished by now if they are running that fast.' Yeah, it was 2 of the FULL MARATHON runners. They had started 13 miles above us, at the same time as us, and were passing us at mile 10! It might have been our mile 9, can't really remember. They weren't the last ones either. We got passed by probably 7 full marathon runners before we finished. They were amazing. Not interested in getting any cheers from us lame half-marathoners though. I guess if I had just run 23 miles in 2 hours and only had 3 to go, I wouldn't be interested in it either.

The finish line.... I swear it moved farther and farther away from us as we ran towards it. Just before we got into the shoot I heard a girl yelling for me. I don't know anyone in Provo anymore so I had no idea who it could be. It was my old high school friend, Michelle! She and her husband had finished a few minutes before me and were cheering on others. It was so great! We also saw Kathy's family cheering for us. But we didn't see mine. We crossed the finish line as they called our names. I almost died as we crossed the finish line. I wanted to take a nap right there.

Kathy went to see her family as I went to visit the porto-potty. When I came back, no Kathy, no Brett, no kids. I couldn't find anyone. I walked up and down the street and started to cry as I was looking for my family. I couldn't believe they had missed it. One of the biggest accomplishments in my life and they missed it. I tend to see the cup half empty, in case you didn't know. Finally after about 20 minutes I found them. They had seen me and had a sign for me. "My mom can beat up your mom!" Unfortunately they had forgotten the camera, so no pics, except for the really awesome fat shots that the race took.

After the race I got so sick, I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital. I had trained, I had run 11 miles before the race and not gotten sick. But this day I got sick, and I mean SICK. I couldn't get out of bed for the rest of the day and had terrible stomach issues all day and night and into part of the next day. That's why I swore I would never do another. But then I realized I wanted to beat my time. 2:44 isn't a good enough time for me.

The next one.... September 10. Mt. Nebo Half. The whole thing is in the canyon. I think you only run .5 miles out of it to the finish line, so it should be fun! Less boring. Training has started for it, which I hate, but I'm excited to see how my speed training affects my time. I better do better.

1 in 20 black birds

2011-06-13T22:44:00.003-06:00

Sure sure, it wasn't a black bird, it was a crow. And there weren't 20, but it sounded like there were. Brett and I... ok, maybe more Stella than anyone, found a baby crow today. I had seen a crow hopping around on our grass all day. But I didn't think much of it. But when Brett came home, we realized that it was a baby that had been pushed out of the nest. Brett wanted to just let it die (cause he's a bad person). I called Animal Control, who told me to call Wildlife something or other. They told me to bring it in to them. I wasn't about to touch a crow, especially with all of it's family members screaming at me (I've seen "The Birds" thank you very much). So I made Brett do it! We put him in a box and drove him all the way up to Ogden. They said he was in really bad shape and that he would have to stay with them for a year until new feathers grew in! Poor little guy hadn't been taken care of by his crap parents and would have died if not for me. Cause I'm a good person!

**No birds were baked in a pie either, just in case someone was worried**
***This isn't a picture of our bird, I didn't take one of him***

Amen.

2011-05-10T11:14:00.002-06:00

-Adam Brackney.

my babies.

2011-05-07T19:56:00.003-06:00

Matching binkies

Blue eyed boy, brown eyed girl.

So much...

2011-04-28T12:24:00.022-06:00

It's been a ridiculously long time since I updated... and since I'm getting hounded by a few people, I guess I can update!

Gwen loves shoes. A family in our ward gave us a crazy amount of clothes and a huge box of shoes (that don't fit her yet). We had no idea she was so addicted to shoes. For some reason she likes to line them up in an arch in the hallway upstairs. It's weird.

She loves to read, especially with her daddy.

We went to Idaho for Brett's little brother's baby blessing. It was fun to see everyone and visit with Brett's Grandma S. and Grandpa K.

We got a new computer. And it's gorgeous. Now all we have to do is find a home for it, that isn't our kitchen table.

Gwen learned to draw circles. She also discovered that she likes to draw on EVERYTHING! Especially with pen.

Stella likes to walk in our flower planter on our patio.

Gwenny LOVES her friend Easton.... LOVES.... LOVES.... but might love his parents a little bit more. Everyday I hear about Redd and Di and Easton. We went to dinner with them and the kids and I went to the zoo with Di and Easton and had a great time. Gwen was in heaven.

She started doing this at dinner one night... not sure why.

Bossy smiles!!

I came downstairs one day to find Gwen looking like this. She loves to take off her pants and put my headbands on her head, I don't know why. But it sure is cute!

Bossy laughs!!

Tummy time is had by all.

Gwen is obsessed with getting her nails painted.

Boston went to the doctor for his 4 month check up. He's doing great!! His stats are:

weight- 15 lb. 8 oz. = 60%
height- 24.5" = 31%
head- 42.5cm = 54%

So he's a short round, but oh soooo adorable! He also got the go ahead to eat real people food! He loves it!

Stella discovered her new favorite place to rest... the baby's jungle gym, of course.

We dyed eggs with our friends, which means Gwen got to spend more time with her favorite people.

We spent Easter with my family. My parents had a little Easter egg hunt. All the kids had a great time! Gwen thought finding eggs was so cool that Brett had to hide them a second time for her to find them again!

And finally, today I put Boston on the floor on his back while I talked to someone at the door. When I shut the door at looked back at Bos, he was on his tummy!! Why does he do it when I'm not watching! It was his first back to tummy roll. He's such a genius!

So there you have it, the Shirley family's month in review. We had a great month, super busy, but good. I'll try to update a little bit more often.

Three months already?

2011-03-17T20:20:00.005-06:00

The Bos is already 3 months old! I can't believe how time flies when you are being tortured by a colic-y baby and a crazy 2 year old. Ok, tortured might be too strong of a word, but the first 2 months of Boston's life just about ended my life. I wasn't sure I was going to make it. But lots of tears, prayers and loves got me through it.

We blessed the boy this past Sunday. He loved it! He didn't cry during the blessing, just got a little fussy at the end. It was probably because he was wearing the most adorable "old style" outfit ever! We searched high and low for the perfect outfit. I think we found it. And the little blue sweater he wore over top was to die for!

The blessing was beautiful. Brett blessed him with all the things he will need to make it through this life.

The Party

After the blessing we had a small luncheon. I worked entirely too hard and made entirely too big of a deal of it all. I swore after Gwen's blessing party that I wasn't going to make things that hard for myself with the next. I lied. I made 3 awesome cakes and Cafe Rio salads. I even made the beans from scratch! Meaning, I soaked dry beans and then cooked them and then used them in the recipe. The things I have to do to save a buck these days! Brett and I even stayed up until 1am making the centerpieces for the tables. I'm telling ya, I make too big of a deal out of these things! Of course, Brett and I were too busy at the party to take any pictures, but luckily my dad took a few.

We are so blessed to have so many friends and family that care about us and that were able to be a part of Boston's special day. Thank you everyone for taking time to share it with us!

Sibling love

2011-02-22T13:52:00.002-07:00

She did this all on her own, laid right down next to him and held his hand. Man, my kids are freaking cute!

Ready to go!

2011-02-22T13:50:00.004-07:00

Gwen was ready to go on a walk with her dad. She didn't think she was missing anything. Do you?

In Her Shoes

2011-02-14T22:01:00.001-07:00

Daddy smell my finger!

2011-02-14T21:24:00.007-07:00

That's right folks, Gwen stuck her hand down her diappie and pulled out a little treat. Then stuck it in Brett's face. When Brett said, "Eeeww that smells bad" it clicked that maybe it wasn't chocolate on her fingers! SICK, I know! And I'm sorry to all my non-parent friends (Lacy). Well I'm sorry to my parent friends too, this is a gross story, but it was just too funny to not tell the story. Nothing says "Don't do that again!" like mommy laughing so hard she started to cry! Come on! How could I not laugh? Maybe if the poop covered finger had ended up in my face it wouldn't have been so funny.

Gwen is full of funnies lately. I was in the bedroom feeding Bos, Brett was downstairs. I thought Gwen was downstairs, he thought Gwen was upstairs. When he came up the stairs, Gwen was on the landing. All I heard was, "Oh Gwenny, your mom is going to be soooo mad at you!" I assumed she had gotten into the wipes. She loves those freaking wipes. He brought her into the bedroom and this is what I saw.

That's almost a whole tube of A&D bum cream... ON HER FACE! She apparently loves that stuff too! Talk about trying not to laugh. She had it up her nose and in her mouth, all over her hands, everywhere! We had to give her a bath to get it off.

She thought it was so funny. She saw herself in the mirror and started laughing. Man, she's a good time!

2, TWO, TOOOOOOO

2011-02-01T16:24:00.004-07:00

How many ways can we say it? Gwen is TWO!!! We didn't have a big shindig this year. We had our neighbor friends over for dinner and cake and had a great time. I can't believe my little girl is 2! We went to the doctor for her 2 year check up. She weighs 26.8 lbs, she is 33.25" tall and her head is GIGANTIC, 84th percentile! She's very nearly average in the other 2 categories.

At 2, Gwen likes to color with crayons (sometimes on walls, furniture and windows), play with her blocks, go on walks (she LOVES walks), she loves to play with her Daddy and her favorite toy is her dolly. She feeds her doll, burps her doll and puts her doll in the car seat, just like Mommy does with her baby. It's so funny watching Gwen treat her baby doll like I treat Boston. She loves her little brother, loves him so much I'm afraid she's going to love him to death sometimes. Oh let's not forget how much she loves wipes. She could go through a whole box of wipes in a day if I would let her. She cleans everything with them. Walls, furniture, people. Everything. She also throws really awesome temper tantrums. And last but not least, she loves her pooty, which is her binky for those who are wondering. I hate it, but she can't live without it. Especially since the baby came. She needs one in her mouth and one in her hand, almost all day long. Did I mention I hate it. But I feel like she deserves it for a little while since her world was turned around when we brought home Bos.

We sure love Gwen and can't believe how much joy she brings into our lives.

Our neighbor friends that Gwen loves so much!

I owie

2011-01-12T19:54:00.002-07:00

That's what Gwen says when she wants a band-aid. After we got home from the hospital my incision started to open up, gross, I know. But I had to put band-aids on it for a while. Because I was putting band-aids on my belly, Gwen had to. This is where she put it, right over her belly button. It stayed there for a few days. She's such a parrot.

Could I be...

2011-01-12T19:28:00.003-07:00

1. Any more tired?
2. Any more grumpy?
3. Any more exhausted?
4. Any more sick of breastfeeding?

Wait, I think 1 and 3 are the same thing, what does that mean? I'm FREAKING tired! 2 kids is a lot of work, a lot. Mostly work to not kill the first child, my adorable, sweet, totally defiant Gwenny. She can be such a joy and such a sh** all at the same time.

Boston is 4 weeks today! I hope it starts getting easier from here. I have hope that it will, but at the same time I think I'll be tired and in pain for the rest of my life. If he weren't so cute I would want to give him back too. He is quite the fussy little monster. I had to hold him most of the day today or he was crying.

I forgot to post about Bos's 2 week check up. His stats are:

weight: 8 lbs 10 oz. (2 lbs more than when we left the hospital!)
height: 20"

He's growing like a weed, which is great!

This is how he always ends up when he sleeps. Looks so comfy, huh?

Thoughts on Motherhood

2010-12-27T19:45:00.005-07:00

I'm not a good writer, that's no secret to anyone. So while I was blog stalking I came across this post from a new mom like myself. She described my feelings about my children perfectly.

(the following is taken from a cool blog called Nat the Fat Rat)

When I let my mind wander in the quiet of my dark bedroom, as I rock my Huckleberry in his tight swaddle and look out over the twinkling New York City apartments, I become convinced that our babies must be made up of little slices of our very own souls, slices that we unwittingly part with when we feel those first stirrings of maternal longing. How else to explain how so very familiar he is, how much I feel I've known him all along.

Maybe I know him because he is part of me, fitting tightly into a space within that was carved to perfectly fit his form.

Or perhaps I knew him before in a more tangible way. Perhaps we are merely souls reunited after a long separation. As I sway in the darkness, his head under my chin, I wonder what we talked about before this. I wonder if I promised him that I'd find a way to bring him to me, even if it was difficult, even if it seemed impossible. Or did he reassure me, that he would always be there waiting? I wonder whether it was I providing the comforting before we parted ways or he. I wonder now, as I look at his little helplessness, who really needs the other more.

It seems obvious to me that he is mine, and that he was supposed to be mine all along. Sometimes in the dark I imagine that on the day he was born the Universe shifted to correct for its imbalance.

Sometimes, as the lights from distant windows twinkle, I let myself believe there is no other being created who was better made to love this tiny person.

Sweet Child of Mine

2010-12-21T20:46:00.006-07:00

(Sing that title and do the appropriate dance, as Axle would, please)

So here we are, home with TWO kids! What a trip this week has been. It all started 9 months ago... ok that's lame. I'll fast forward to December 15th. We had to be at the hospital by 6 am, so of course there was a big snow storm the night before. We had planned on leaving early to give ourselves lots of time, but that didn't exactly happen. My parents picked Gwen up the night before, (since they are selfish and didn't want to come to our house at 4.30 am) So we didn't have to worry about her. We showed up to the hospital and they were ready for us. We went right in to our room and got the party started.

On our way out the door

Planned c-sections are a lot different than going through 15 hours of labor and then having one. They strapped me into the monitors, gave me an IV and then had me walk into the OR. I was terrified, but it wasn't as bad as it was last time. This time it was a spinal block instead of an epidural, which was better since I hated the epidural, but hurt A LOT more to get. Then they put the curtain up and started cutting. I, of course, started to shake uncontrollably. I shook for maybe 4 hours. The surgery itself was about an hour and a half long. The doctor let Brett take some photos of her pulling Boston out of my stomach, which was pretty cool, in that gross way. He came out with all of his fingers and toes.

Told you it was cool in that gross way, but totally amazing too!

I look awesome!

Of course this story wouldn't be complete without one traumatic event. After I got back into the delivery room my heart rate dropped to 39, which is LOW. When the nurse saw that she said, "that can't be right!" so she checked the old fashioned way, by counting it, and said, "wow, yep, it's THAT low." The doctors ordered a 12 point EKG to check everything out. By the time the tech came to do that, it had returned to normal and they let me go upstairs to the postpartum floor. The anesthesiologist came to see me later and felt strongly that it was a result of the spinal block. My doctor isn't so sure and is going to make me have a big stupid test after I recover. Blah.

The stay at the hospital kind of sucked this time. The nurses weren't very attentive or helpful so we left as soon as we could. It has been nice to be home in my own space with my bed and being able to take the pain pills when I need them and not feel like I'm being treated like a drug addict when I asked for them. The pain is more manageable this time, although it's still very painful. I have found myself getting bitter that I'm not able to have babies the regular way. Although I guess both ways have pros and cons.

Totally awesome view of the parking structure from our room

All ready to go!

We are so grateful for our little Boston and that we are all healthy, well at least me and Bos are. Brett and Gwen have nasty colds. We've had lots of support from our friends and family and couldn't be more thankful for it. I don't know how people do this without that support, especially given the fact that I can't get out of bed without Brett's help.

Gwen absolutely loves Boston. The first time she met him she wanted to hold him forever and give him hugs and kisses. She has been very sweet with him although she has started throwing some serious temper tantrums, which is to be expected. I feel so bad that I can't lift her up and hold her. But Brett has been giving her extra attention to make up for my lack of being a mom to her.

And of course her visit to the hospital would not have been complete without this.

She's a little bigger than she used to be!

The Boss

2010-12-19T22:24:00.002-07:00

Boston Scott Shirley

Born December 15 at 8.28 am. He weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and is 19.5 in. long. He's perfect and tiny and wants to eat ALL THE TIME. Oh, and c-sections still suck!

More to come later.

This explains it all

2010-12-06T21:17:00.002-07:00

With only 9 days left until I have this baby, this picture shows how we all have been feeling around here. The hospital called tonight to pre-register me for NEXT WEEKS c-section. When she said, next week, I almost fell over. I'm counting down the days, heck, I'm counting down the hours until I get to be not pregnant again, but when it's put in those terms... next week... it makes it a little hard to breathe. Ok, a little harder to breathe because let's be honest, I can't breathe right now anyways. I am trying to get everything ready, but I'm not doing too great of a job at it. I'm tired. Really tired. This baby doesn't like to move with me. He fights me whenever I move a direction he doesn't like, making it even harder to breathe or stand or sit.

So while all I want to do is complain, cause that's what I do, I do want to say that I am very grateful for this time in my life. I'm grateful for this experience and for this baby. I'm grateful for the friends and family that have been so supportive and helpful. And Gwen, sweet dramatic Gwen, I sure get bugged with her during the day, but every night I miss her. Except for last night, when she decided to wake up and stay awake until about 3 am.

Oh and Stella sure is a peach these days. Gwen tortures her all day but she just takes it. I love that little monster!

What's wrong with this picture?

2010-12-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

She prefers to put her shoes on herself.

Guess who had a baby shower?

2010-12-02T21:48:00.005-07:00

I DID!

I wasn't able to have one with Gwen... with all the bedrest and crap, and I always felt slightly jilted because of it. Lame, I know, but I can't help it. So my family put this one together/ I forced them to put this one together! Tons of people, tons of gifts, TONS of fun! I'm so appreciative of everyone's generosity and kindness for this baby and since being laid off. I feel very blessed to have the people I have in my life.

I should TRY to find the joy

2010-11-30T19:54:00.003-07:00

But I just want to complain. I'm so freaking pregnant. I'm grumpy. Very grumpy. I'm sore all over. I'm tired. I'm bored. I'm mean to my little family which makes me sad. All of my nails have broken, which is not supposed to happen when I'm pregnant. I normally have awesome nails while I'm pregnant. I have a broken blood vessel on my cheek which looks terrible. I'm fat. I'm lonely. I'm stressed out about all that needs to be done before the baby is born. I'm stressed out about everything. I'm nervous about having MAJOR surgery to have this baby. I'm worried about being a mom to TWO small and very needy children. I could cry at the drop of a hat. I could scream at the drop of a hat. I can't believe how fat the contestants still are on The Biggest Loser and how stupid they all are. I hate that I can hear my neighbor's tv ALL THE TIME! I'm sad Gwen isn't going to be the center of our world soon. I'm worried what having this second baby will do to her.

The thing I look most forward to in a day is watching certain shows on tv, so that's why the Biggest Loser came into play. The thing I look most forward to in my week is going to the doctor and getting away from Gwen for 2 hours. What a glamorous life I lead.

Talk to me in 2 weeks and 1 day, maybe I will have found some joy by then.

Although this picture does bring me some joy.

Just cause

2010-11-08T14:41:00.001-07:00

She's so cute.

Monster was sick

2010-11-08T14:36:00.002-07:00

Stella got VERY sick in September. She had to have her second surgery this year. This one was a result of kidney stones. She had 3 that were the size of a dime and a bunch of smaller ones the size of sand. When she got home Gwen tried to comfort her by giving her, her baby doll. I think it probably helped.

Punkin

2010-11-08T14:27:00.002-07:00

Last month we went to the pumpkin patch with some friends. I just barely downloaded the pictures from my camera. Gwen seemed to have fun but she didn't like walking through the field. She kept getting stuck on the vines.

And those pumpkins are still sitting on our porch, not carved. We're lame.

32 weeks 6 days

2010-11-03T20:06:00.003-06:00

Or was it 5 days, I can't remember. BUT...This was the time I went into labor with Gwen. Here's hoping that doesn't become a tradition. I'll let you know what the dr. says tomorrow. I have already started showing signs of pre-term labor and was put on meds to stop it. Tomorrow's appointment will tell us whether those drugs have worked or not. Hopefully I don't have to call Brett from Labor and Delivery telling him to come down and meet me, again.

UPDATE: I had my appointment today and all is well. I don't have to take the medicine as long as I'm not having lots of contractions, which I'm not. We talked about when I would have him. The dr. thought my due date was the 22nd, so she wanted to deliver him on the 16 of December. I asked if we could do it another day, since that is our wedding anniversary. She said we could do it the day before, but then realized we couldn't because they can't deliver the baby earlier than a week before it's due date, and my actual due date is the 24th. So maybe we will have him on the 17th (if her schedule permits) but probably on the 20th (my dad's bday and my good friend, Dayna's bday too). For me, I think the sooner, the better, so I'm rooting for the 17th. We'll see....

Halloween

2010-11-02T20:56:00.005-06:00

Crap, Gwen is cute!

Can you guess what we are?

All the grandkids with Oma and Pops

This was the first year Gwen went Trick-or-Treating. She freaking loved it! We went to my parent's house thinking, 'it's a nice neighborhood, maybe we'll score some full size candy bars!' We didn't, but we still had a lot of fun. We started out the night with dinner and then headed out. Right as we started the weather turned and the skies opened up and it POURED! I've never seen it rain so hard. You would think Gwen wouldn't like that, well you would be wrong. She didn't want to be under the umbrella, she didn't want to be held, and she didn't want us to hold her bag for her. She ran as fast as she could to catch up with the older kids and dragged her candy bag behind her as she squealed! When she would get up to a door she would push her way to the front and hold her hand up waiting for the candy. It was so funny. Then she would have to be the last to leave the door saying, "Tank tu!" as she waved like crazy saying goodbye to the people at the door. She did this at every single door. Near the end of our Trick-or-Treating the rain started to let up and a double rainbow came to visit. It was gorgeous! We could see the start and finish of the rainbows! We had a great time and can't wait for next year to share it with our new little guy!

Oh I forgot got our camera, of course, so all the pictures are courtesy of my sister-in-law.

Hidden Blessings, I think

2010-10-24T23:49:00.005-06:00

I got laid off last week. The reason given was the economy, I hate this economy. I was pissed, to say the least. The whole reason I wanted to go private on this blog was so I could rip my former boss up one side and down the other without it being used against me. Making Memories likes to do that. They like to use things people write on their blogs as ammunition to fight unemployment, etc. So I had a post all written up and ready to go. There were some choice words used and lots of anger. However as the week went on, I decided it wasn't worth it. My former boss knows how two faced she is. She knows that she and the other people in "upper management" have made a really despicable move by firing me when I am basically unemployable (due to the pregnancy). And really, she would never read this. Other people would, maybe still will and would tell her. And me spewing my anger on my blog doesn't change the situation. It doesn't put food in my daughter's mouth or pay my mortgage. Ok, so there might be some residual anger, mostly toward my former boss, the totally innocent bystander that hasn't said one bad thing about me since I left... right.

Moving on...

As the week went on and the tears stopped flowing so easily, I started to realize that this situation, as terrible as it feels right now, is probably an answer to our prayers. We have been praying since Gwen was born that we would find a way for me to stay home and take care of her. Well, guess what I've been doing this week, staying home to take care of my daughter. The Lord knew the only way I was ever going to stop working was if Brett was making significantly more money than he is now, so He took things into His own hands, like He likes to do, and pulled the job out from under me. That sounds like I'm mad at Him about this, I'm not, it's just a fact. This was the only way I ever would have stopped working. Ever.

This week Brett and I have struggled with a lot of questions. How are we going to pay our bills has been a BIG question, but more importantly we've been asking ourselves, 'What's more important?' Is it more important to have me stay home and take care of our kids (and be dirt poor, DIRT POOR), or is it more important for me to work, so our family can have nicer things, a bigger house, vacations, food, etc. Our faith teaches us that the first is more important, I understand that, but I didn't know that I didn't really believe it, until now, I think. Nothing has been decided, I am still looking for jobs, praying for freelance, (since who the freak will hire me right now), freaking out every few hours and wishing that my prayers had been a little more specific. Lesson learned there!

All in all, this experience has taught me to have more faith in the Lord. He knows what our hearts desire, He knows what we need and what we can handle and He will never give us more than that (even though it might seem like it). I've also come to realize how generous and kind people can be, even when they are not in great situations themselves. This week I've had the urge many times to hoard things. Thinking, 'I can't give that away, I NEED it!' But I also need to remember to serve people. You know like that scripture says, "When you are in the service of other people ye are in the service of the Lord" That's not totally right, and Brett's asleep so I can't ask him, but you get the point. Maybe I should say, I get the point!

So, we're on to bigger and better things. Not sure what that means, but we'll figure it out. There's still tears of anger, hurt, frustration, and fear, but I know we'll be ok. Now my problem is trying to figure out how to be a stay at home mom without killing my little girl. Anyone have any suggestions for that little problem. And what the freak do I do all day? And don't say clean, my mom has already given me that little talk.

I'm going private.

2010-10-19T20:36:00.003-06:00

Leave a comment or email me if you want to keep reading this. Even if I don't know you, I'll still let you read. You've got until Thursday cause I've got a killer story to tell and I don't want certain people to be able to read that story.

Special case

2010-10-07T20:06:00.004-06:00

{This will be me shortly}

Today I went to the doctor for my almost 29 week apt. I've been having contractions since last Tuesday and today she gave me the bad news. I can't work out anymore. This is one step away from bedrest people! When I asked her if she realized how much weight I was going to gain if I didn't work out, she said, "Well I can give you the medicine you were on last time and hope that works, but it might not." This isn't the magnesium sulfate, it's the medicine you take at home, every 3 hours or something. When I got out of the hospital the first time, I had to take this medicine. I had to set an egg timer for 3 hours, even throughout the night! It was irritating to say the least. So, long story short, I'm gonna get fat. Really fat. But the baby will hopefully stay put. She also said that I'm a special case and she now wants to see me every 2 weeks to "keep a close eye on me." Why am I a special case?! And why doesn't my overactive uterus want to keep babies in it longer than 30 weeks?!

Do I even own a camera?

2010-10-06T13:10:00.003-06:00

I'm not sure if I do because the last 3 posts have been pictures from someone else. And furthermore, do I ever watch my own kid?! Well not really so I have to depend on those that do, to document her daily life, and what a fun life she leads. She gets to play so hard that she falls asleep while eating! When was the last time you did that?

Dancing Queen

2010-09-29T12:27:00.002-06:00

Gwen's babysitter took this video of Gwen dancing the other day, and sent it to me while I was at work. It made my day, take put it mildly. I LOVE GWEN and dream of the day I get to stay home and see this crazy kid all day long! But until that day arrives, I'll be content with crappy cell phone videos taken by her babysitter.

Glamour Shots

2010-09-21T15:41:00.004-06:00

{Courtesy of our friends the Ivins, again. Thanks to Di for watching Gweezy last week! You're the coolest!}

State Fair '10

2010-09-16T15:19:00.010-06:00

We decided to venture out to the fair again this year, with 2 main goals. Goal one, see all the animals and let Gwen go crazy mooing at them all. Goal 2, eat something fried to golden perfection! We went with our friends, so that's the little guy you'll see in some of these pictures. We forgot our camera, they had theirs, so all of these photos are courtesy of them. Thanks Ivins!

Goal 1:

Her favorite stop was the cows. She LOVES cows! Moooooooo!

The view of the whole fair from the giant slide (our friends went on it while we stuffed our faces with fried oreos)

Goal 2:

It was hard to make the decision of what to buy, since each possible heart attack on a plate was freaking expensive, we only bought one thing and shared. We settled on the oreos. Maybe my expectations were too high. I thought these fried oreos would be the best things ever to be eaten. Ever. I was WRONG. They were soft and mushy inside, gross. The dough was good, but the rest was a waste of calories. I should have gone with the deep fried, chocolate covered bacon. Not even kidding, that was an option! GAG! But don't worry, I still have hope that one of the fried options is delicious, so until next year deep fried foods, hopefully I make a better decision then!

Did I mention

2010-09-01T21:00:00.008-06:00

We're having a BOY!? Yeah, so pretty much everyone already knew that, but since this is my "journal" that I will eventually, one day, print out, I thought I would mention this little tidbit.

So here is HIS picture at 18 weeks.

One day he won't be happy that I posted that picture on the internet.

Foot

Profile

And my picture today, at almost 24 weeks.

I'm feeling really good. Most of the time I forget I'm pregnant, until the end of the day. By the end of the day my back is killing and my stomach muscles feel like they are stretching like crazy. Which I guess they are.

I've kind of been in denial that we are having a boy, so I haven't done a lot of shopping for him, but tonight I had the itch to shop. So we all went to the Children's Place and then Target. I didn't find anything outstanding at the Children's Place (at least in newborn sizes), but at Target there was quite a few things I liked. It was fun shopping for a little guy. Totally different than shopping for Gwen. When I shop for her I want her to look cute. As I shop for this little guy, I want him to look cool, not too girly or wimpy. It's weird.

And because what would a blog post be without a picture of Gwen, here she is tonight. She was helping Brett bake some Czech treats for his office. She loved putting the flour in the mixer.

Drama Relief

2010-08-24T20:14:00.007-06:00

After a long, silly day... I'm really glad I get to come home to this face.

And as long as we are talking about her, do you even remember when she looked like this?

Or how about this?

And this seems like a VERY distant memory.

So when things at work or in life are upsetting and I feel like someone is trying to bring me down to make themselves feel better, I just have to think about this wee one. Or I can remember that I am growing another wee one in my not so wee belly. That's when it hits me and I remember what is really important in this life...

My girl and this guy.

Who can mostly make me happy no matter what is swirling around in my head. Mostly.

My poor little buddy

2010-08-12T14:41:00.004-06:00

My little cockatiel, Teil, died last night. He was 18 years old. I have had him since I was a wee lad. He's been sick for a few months now, so I was hoping for him to go soon so he wouldn't have to be in pain anymore, but it is still so sad. I came home from work last night to find him, and then cried all night. Miranda, the green one, isn't sure how to act. Last night he was being funny and talking a lot more than usual. But this morning, he was screaming like he does when he's mad. All morning long. He's sad. I'm sad. I loved that little birdie, but Brett assures me that I will see him again and that he will be mine on the flip side.

Yellowstone

2010-08-05T20:13:00.010-06:00

I've been so disappointed with people's lack of blogging lately (Facebook is NOT a good replacement for blogs people!), and then I looked at my blog and realized how long it had been since I posted. My excuse has not been FB, it's been laziness. Although I have a good excuse for the laziness. Pregnancy, an 18 month old, full time work and 5am workouts, don't leave a whole lot of energy for blogging at the end of the day.

I do want to share the photos from our Yellowstone trip a few weeks ago. Brett and I LOVE Yellowstone. LOVE it. We try to go every year, but this was the first year we went with Gwen. It wasn't the most relaxing vacation, but it was fun. Note to self for next year, don't go in July. It's too freaking hot.

We were able to stay at Brett's grandpa's cabin in Island Park, which is always a treat. It's so quiet and peaceful there, not to mention it saves us hundreds of dollars in hotel fees. We went to the park the first day and managed to get sunburned and sit in construction caused and buffalo caused traffic for a few hours. Which made us really irritable and not wanting to go back the next day. But we braved it again and were able to drive the rest of park. Gwen did pretty well. She hated the car most of the time, but didn't complain as much as she could have.

That's a grizzly right there!

Gwen was TERRIBLE during this little hike. Hence Brett's face of frustration.

This picture explains how I felt the second day. It was so damn hot I wanted to die, or kill someone.

And this picture sums up how Brett and Gwen felt about the second day.

At the end of the second day we headed back to the cabin and were greeted by 3 gorgeous horses grazing in the field across the road from the cabin. We walked over to the fence and the horses quickly came over to talk to us. They were soooo friendly, but Gwen wasn't too sure about them. By the end of their visit with us she loved them and had to wave goodbye as they walked away.

On our way home we stopped in Rexburg to visit with Brett's family. His sister and her family were in town and her oldest son was receiving the priesthood so we were able to be there for it. It was so great to catch up with them. Gwen loves her cousins!

Pretty sure

2010-07-08T21:40:00.003-06:00

I know everyone really wants to hear all about my baby stuff, but for my own "record keeping" I am posting about this. I am 89% sure that I felt the baby move today for the first time! Cool.

And because I can't do a post without a picture... Gwen is still cute and here's proof.

The people factory...

2010-06-30T20:45:00.006-06:00

Is in production yet again. Due December 24.

Profile 1

Profile 2

little bum and legs

She's cute

2010-06-30T20:12:00.006-06:00

She's driving me nuts tonight, but man she's adorable. Here's what she's been up to lately.

She loves taking pictures of herself.

She loves it a lot.

When she doesn't get what she wants she throws temper tantrums. Well she did once and it was terrible... well, it was more funny than terrible.

Besties

No really, Stella LOVES Gwen. I came downstairs the other day to find this. Those brown spots on the carpet are doggy treats. Gwen knows exactly where they are/ where they used to be. Who knows how many Stella had eaten before I got down there. Gwen loves giving them to Stella, every morning she has to give Stell one... or seven, if mommy isn't watching.

Freaking cute!

Hey Big Guy

2010-06-30T20:08:00.002-06:00

Happy Father's Day. You're the coolest and bestest dad ever.

He ate a lot and then slept. It was a great day.

Memorial Day... a little late

2010-06-30T20:02:00.002-06:00

This year we stayed home and went to visit my family in the cemetery. It wasn't until probably last year that I discovered that you were supposed to visit the cemetery on Memorial Day. Growing up away from where anyone was buried meant my parents never taught me this fun little tradition.

Like father like daughter

2010-05-29T22:01:00.002-06:00

Ok, anyone who says Gwen doesn't look like Brett is smoking crack!

Gweezie Breezie

2010-05-29T21:56:00.003-06:00

Her first full pony tail!!!

The Great Northwest

2010-05-29T21:13:00.008-06:00

Two weeks ago we drove up to Seattle for Brett's best friend's wedding. We thought it was a genius idea to drive through the night, (thinking G would sleep the whole way, HA!). Gwen thought she was being attacked so she was awake and grumpy and needed me to hold her hand from about 1am to 4am. That was a delight. We made it to our hotel close to noon the next day. Brett had driven the whole way so he was exhausted. We didn't get to do much that day because he had to catch up on his sleep.

The next day we went visited his friend, ran some wedding errands and went to the best seafood restaurant ever! Chinooks. Ahhhhh..... sweet Chinooks. I first enjoyed the wonder of this restaurant when I went to Portland and Seattle for work a few months ago, so I was SOOOO excited to go again. We sat outside and had delicious food. Then we walked along the docks and looked at the boats. We also spent some time at the Space Needle and the park around it. Gwen had a blast on the carousel and in the huge fountain. That night we had some more wedding stuff and Brett had his friend's bachelor party. He was out until almost 5am, that's FIVE AM! Boys are weird.

The next morning was the wedding. It was at the Seattle Temple. For some reason it was an hour and a half late. Which, had I not had bronchitis, a sinus infection and asthma, would not have been a huge problem. But since I was coughing so hard and totally miserable, it was a real pain in the tush to wait that long in a place where you are supposed to be quiet. The ceremony was beautiful, the sealer said great things. It's always nice to go to sealing and listen to the things that are said, you learn something new every time. Brett was the best mad so we had to stay for a few hours for pictures, then we were off to lunch with Brett's cousin, who also came for the wedding. After lunch we headed back for the reception. Brett says the reception was a lot of fun. I wouldn't know because as soon as we sat down, Gwen dumped a whole cup of juice on my lap. We didn't have her binky and she was pissed, so she and I went back to the hotel. I was so sad I didn't get to stay and enjoy the party.

The next day we headed back to Utah. It was a long, long, LONG drive. Gwen did a great job, as long as we gave her a little breather every couple of hours.

All in all it was a great trip, which could have been better had I not been so sick. We were very excited to see Brett's friend get married and to be a part of his day. We love Jeddy. And I decided that we need to move there. We're working on that part of it.

Princess on her throne

2010-05-29T21:08:00.003-06:00

She loves the bathroom downstairs.

catch up

2010-05-29T21:00:00.003-06:00

It's taken a while to get our pictures uploaded lately, but we finally did it, so here's a quick update.

After one of my recent early morning workouts I was sitting on the floor talking to Brett and the Monster decided she HAD to sit on my lap, so she jumped up and got comfortable.

She hates to brush her teeth, but she loves to play with the toothbrush.

Most comfortable sleeping position ever.

15 months

2010-04-27T13:48:00.005-06:00

We had Gwen's 15 month check up today. She was so funny at the office and of course, right as the dr. came in she stunk up the whole room! The doctor said not to be embarrassed, but it terrible! She also found his books and had to have every one of them. She grabbed them all, walked over to the corner of the room and sat down to start reading. She's a genius! The doctor said she is doing well, everything is on track and she's just perfect.

Here's her stats:

Weight: 24lbs 2oz - 71%
Height: 30 3/4" - 61%
Head: 47.2 cm - 85% (She's a a lollipop! The cutest lollipop ever!)

She is such a joy to have around, eventhough she has started temper tantrums. She says "Thank You," and "uh-oh" and mutters some other things. She LOVES water, drinking it and playing in it. She loves to chase Stella around and can't stand not going outside when Daddy takes Stelly out to play. We have a great time with this little lady. Except for at church. Church is not fun.

Happy in Love

2010-04-25T21:01:00.002-06:00

I was blog stalking early this week and I stumbled upon this really interesting website called Happy Wives Club. I find it refreshing and a little sad. Refreshing that it's not about a woman that is unhappy with everything in her life. Sad that the norm society portrays is that most wives are unhappy. The woman that writes this website is a happy wife and wants to prove that the norm is actually, or hopefully, happy wives. So she is asking people join the club to prove that women can and are happy in their marriages. So I joined, cause I'm pretty freaking happy, I have to admit it. It's actually a good reminder that Brett and I need to always continue to work on our marriage so we can remain happy and in love.

Here Piggy Piggy

2010-04-16T20:18:00.004-06:00

Gwen's first time with pig tails = CUTEST THING EVER!

Eat, Eat, Easter 2010

2010-04-15T20:20:00.005-06:00

This year was Gwen's first Easter where she could actually participate in all the festivities! We had a great day. Brett's uncle had his semi-annual turkey dinner, which always happens on General Conference Sunday and just happened to be on Easter this year. We LOVE Turkey Dinner Sundays! It's so fun to see family and eat good food. Since it was also Easter, we headed up to Syracuse after that dinner, to have another dinner with my family. Eat, eat, eat. That's what we did on Easter.

Gwen loved the egg hunts. Mostly she loved carrying around her little basket like a purse. It was so fun to watch her experience all the fun things.

At Uncle Stretch's Turkey Dinner Sunday (notice the 2 different shoes!)

Aunt Becca & Uncle Wil's dinner later that night

oh please

2010-04-11T21:10:00.002-06:00

Brett and I were just outside spray painting some frames when our totally awesome, loving and kind neighbors came outside. She had the nerve to say to us, as she was walking away of course, "Nice smell." I could have jumped over our fence and killed her right then. Instead I used my awesome sense of come backs and started laughing and said, "YOU are going to talk to me about smells? HAHAHA! You're ridiculous!" She then retorted with (and be sure to say this with a wah in your voice) "I'm going to complain to the home people about you (WAH)." To which I laughed again and said, "yeah, ok," and being the totally awesome person she is, she said, "yeaaahh." I just laughed at her. Of course I'm so mad that I'm shaking and I want to puke, but no way was I going to let her say ANYTHING to me about anything! Brett said we should have said, "Oh would you rather we do it inside, every few hours, every day!" Since that is how they smoke these days and it comes through our vents. So cool. Anyone want to buy our condo? We've made it reeeaaaal pretty. Sure it comes with these awesome neighbors, but if you complain enough, they will probably get evicted. At least that's what we're praying for!

And to end this post on a good note, here's a totally cute pic of Gwen eating a strawberry.

Tay

2010-04-07T19:25:00.004-06:00

My cute nephew, Taylor, came to visit last weekend. Brett and I were able to spend some time with him and take some glamour shots of him for his graduation announcement. He was so fun to hang out with. I've not been able to spend a lot of time with him, since they live so far away, so it was great to see him, even if it was for just a few hours. Gwen absolutely loved him, all he had to do was look at her and she would squeal.

Don't worry about the multiple chins I have in this picture.

Dreaming

2010-03-20T22:29:00.001-06:00

of the day we get to go back here.

Sun Kissed

2010-03-15T22:08:00.002-06:00

We spent some time outside a few weeks ago. Gwen is so beautiful and so fun. She makes us so happy. Who knew you could love someone more everyday!!!!

I'm in love

2010-03-09T20:08:00.003-07:00

We went to Idaho this weekend and I just have to say that I am in love with our little niece Addie. Man she's a doll. We didn't really get any pictures of her and Gwen where they were both standing still, so here's the best we did.

totally blurry but freaking hilarious!

They had a great time playing with each other, although I think Gwen was a little jealous that she couldn't run like her cousin.... some day G, some day.

Aint she a beauty?!

2010-03-09T20:05:00.002-07:00

I'm in heaven with my new food processor.

Why doesn't everyone speak english?!

2010-02-23T21:18:00.014-07:00

As you all know Brett and I went to Prague a few weeks ago. It was amazing! Amazingly beautiful and amazingly cold!!! I have never been so cold in my whole life. So after buying hats and gloves and scarfs we were off to explore the city.

Brett served his mission in the Czech Republic and spent 2 months in Prague, so he remembered where a lot of things were. Which is kind of amazing since it was 9 years ago that he was there. We took an overnight train from Frankfurt to Prague. At first I was terrified, after hearing lots of bad stories about people being robbed on over night trains. But once we got on the train and ended up having the sleeper room to ourselves, it was the greatest night sleep I have ever had. Sure it could have been because I was exhausted, but I think it was the gentle rocking of the train. Ahhh, it was heaven.

We got to Prague around 11am. It was a beautiful day, the only day of sun we had the entire time we were in Europe. We walked from the Metro station to our hotel, which was on a tourist street in the area called Lesser Town. We were just below the castle and our hotel room looked right up at it. The first day we toured around the castle and walk to the mission home. Brett was excited to visit the mission home. I've never been to a mission home, so it was cool, but the elders there were kind of lame and not super nice. And why is it ok for elders to wear stylish skinny pants but sister missionaries have to look like nuns?

The street our hotel was on. We were not very observant and walked all the way up this very long street and steep hill while pulling our luggage, trying to find our hotel. Once we got to the top and didn't see it, we asked someone. Yeah, it was near the bottom of the hill. Oops. All I can say is it was a good workout pulling that stupid bag on the cobblestone streets.

From our hotel window

The castle

St. Vitas Cathedral, inside the castle

Inside the cathedral

It was so cold inside here that we could see our breath. I would have hated to have to go to church in this building.

Gold, EVERYWHERE!

When I got to Frankfurt I put my hands in my coat pocket and found one of Gwen's binkies. It was fun to have a little reminder of her with me the whole trip. We thought it would be funny to take pictures of the binky everywhere we were. So here's the bink in the cathedral.

We also crossed Charles Bridge for the first time that first day. It is so beautiful, but they were doing construction on the bridge, so the tarps kind of blocked the view.

Day 2 we went to Usti Nad Labem to visit a friend of Brett's. Unfortunately we didn't get to meet up with him, so we looked around the small town and then took the train back to Prague. Brett will post more about Usti later, so here is just one picture of the city. Just like everywhere else we went in Prague and Frankfurt there were McDonald's, Burger Kings, and KFC's EVERYWHERE. It's kind of sad that America's crap food has made it all over the world.

By the time we got back from Usti it was almost dark. Brett hadn't ever seen the sights at night, so we ventured back up the hill to see the castle and the Cathedral. It was beautiful.

This is Gold Street. It used to be where a lot of the kings alchemists lived. Now it's a continuous row of shops. You go in one shop and can walk all the way to the end without leaving a building. We went to see it during the day, but now you have to pay to even go down the road during the day, so we didn't do that. But it was neat to see it at night. Kind of creepy. The buildings are hobbit sized, so it was even more creepy, but still totally cool.

This was a really cool sign for a restaurant on Gold Street. We need better signs in America.

Brett hadn't been on European time as long as I had, so he was still having trouble getting sleep during sleep hours. The next morning he woke up really early and decided to go take picture along the bridge. They are beautiful.

This staircase was on Mission Impossible. The whole bridge was really.

Later that day we had a walking tour of Prague. My friend Lindsey suggested it and we are so glad she did. It was awesome to learn the history of things. Maybe it wasn't such a genius idea to walk around for 5 hours when it was below zero degrees, but it was fun! We have never been so cold in our entire lives. Never. Ever. Not exaggerating!

We met our tour guide in front of the Astronomical clock in the part of Prague called Old Town. It was really cool. Every hour on the hour the 4 sins , vanity, greed, death and something else, animate and the clock rings. Death rings his bell and the other statues barely move. Then the 12 apostles take turns looking out the windows above the clock. That's not a great explanation of it, but it's cool to see. The really amazing part is that it was built in 1400 something (I think) and it shows the stages of the moon, the time of sunrise and sunset, everything a farmer would need to know.

The last day we were there we walked 10 miles! TEN MILES! We walked all around Prague to see everything we might have missed. This is the National Theater. It's beautiful.

This is the Lennon Wall. It's awesome and the largest group of Americans we saw was at this wall, which was funny and totally expected.

These are the stairs to walk up to the castle. They are never ending, I was glad I'm in shape. I didn't really have a problem climbing them, Brett on the other hand, got winded really fast. HA! We just saw these on a commercial the other day to!

Ok, so I had to take this picture! I was waiting for a really cute guard to rotate in, but it never happened. It was totally awkward. He knew I was there and taking a picture of him, but I didn't feel like I was allowed to talk to him, so that's why I was making a funny face.

Along the river

The Dancing House

Wenceslas Square- a very expensive shopping and business square. The large building behind the statue is the natural history library. It was beautiful too. We went in but it was too expensive to go through it. We tried to take some pictures, but the guards wouldn't let us. Apparently part of Mission Impossible was filmed inside. Cool.

Brett used to set up street displays on this square.

This is back on the Old Town square. I stood in one spot and Brett went around me in a circle taking pictures. It's an amazingly beautiful place. Everywhere you turn there is something awesome to see. We also went to see the Mucha exhibit in a museum just to the back of the square. Brett was in heaven and probably could have spent a few hours just looking at all of his prints.

Funny story. We were on Charles Bridge and we asked this guy to take our picture. He took the camera from us and started to take our picture. I asked him to kind of move to our left to get more of the city behind us. He said, "trust me, this will be good." So he took this picture.

Good? Yeah. But then he took this next picture. After he took it he said, "yep, this one was better." hahaha. Ok, maybe you had to be there. It would be even better if Brett's eyes were totally open.

Our last dinner was at a really cute restaurant near the Old Town Square. We walked in and the only tables available were a 4 seater and a VERY small 2 seater. So we sat at the 4 seater so we could be comfortable. A few minutes later a couple with 2 small kids came in. The server said the only thing available was the tiny table in the corner for 2. So they sat there. It was comical seeing this family of 4 squeeze into that small table. So Brett and I gave them our table. When we went to sit at the smaller table, we realized just how small it was. It was a freaking sewing table! My Nana had one I used to play on when I was a kid. It had the peddle and all underneath, which meant there was no room for our legs. As uncomfortable as the table was, the food was delicious and it was fun to be there.

After we left the restaurant to walk back to our hotel, Brett made me walk down this scary street. Most of the streets look like this, so it wasn't really that scary, but still. I told him my mom would be pissed if she knew he was taking me down this street at night!

Beautiful shot of the castle from the other side of the river.

Walking across Charles Bridge there was this man playing the violin. It was totally romantic and a perfect end to our perfect trip. A special moment that we will never forget.

And to ensure that we will return to Prague someday we rubbed the statue for good luck. The superstition goes that if you rub this statue you will return, we rubbed it every time we passed it.

We had an amazing trip and we feel so blessed that we were able to go. I started writing this post a while ago and in the meantime we received a letter from Brett's friend that we missed while we were there. It was heartbreaking. He was so sad he missed us and it made that part of our trip even more bitter. We have agreed that we will go back to Prague for our 10 year anniversary, and our main objective will be to see Vladamir.

Fa Fa Fa Frankfurt

2010-02-11T15:37:00.005-07:00

I was sent to Frankfurt, Germany to demo the Slice for MM. I was sent all alone which at first scared the crap out of me, but ended up not being so bad. It was a great opportunity but TONS of work! Four days straight of standing all day long and trying to communicate with people that don't really understand what you're saying. Germans never take a break, so they pretty much expected me to never take a break. It was rough, but I made it through. We stayed about 30 minutes away from Frankfurt, I think we were in Rodermark... I think, I don't really know. The problem with staying that far away is that Germany had gotten the most snow they had gotten in 30 years. (In reality it was only about 2 inches of snow, but that was a lot for them) Soooo, the cities had run out of salt and didn't really have the equipment to take care of the roads. So what should have been a 30 minute drive to and from the show, ended up being close to 2 hours. It was awesome. And another thing Germans don't do, turn on the heat in their cars! So it was a freezing 2 hour drive, with people that didn't really know how to speak English. Slightly uncomfortable, but a great experience, none the less. Here's a few pics of the show.

This area where the man is standing, was where both Ruth and I stood.
The smallest workspace EVER.

Hyka, me, Wendy, Ruth

These were the girls I worked with. Hyka was pretty much the funniest person I've ever met. She was trying to teach me bad words in German and then would tell me to NOT remember them. She was so fun! Wendy is from Tattered Angels. She was the only other American that really talked to me. She and her husband were beyond kind and generous to Brett and I. Brett met me there on day 3 of the show, on day 4 we had a train ride to Prague that didn't leave until 1 am. Wendy and her husband were worried about what we would do until our train left, so they got a hotel room in the city, instead of staying where we had been, and let us hang out with them until it was time for us to leave. Then they drove us to the train station!! She even offered me a job if I ever want to move to Ft. Collins, Colorado. I love Ft. Collins, so you never know... The last woman is Ruth, she was my German translator. If someone came up that didn't understand me she would step in. She was so sweet and a joy to work with. She said that she never keeps her eyes open in pictures if she looked straight at the camera, so she looked off to the side. Funny.

This is the hotel I stayed at.

The company I was working with said they like to stay here because it gives them a traditional German experience. Funniest part about that is that they are mostly all Germans.

And here is my traditional German closet. I mean room.

It was so funny how small it was. And I didn't realize that they were booking me a single bed, so when Brett showed up we had to have a cot brought in. There was maybe 6 inches between the 2 beds.

The sun came out the last day we were there. The only day there was sun.

After the last day we went out with Wendy and Kyle and found this cute little area.

Dinner

We also found this cool bridge that had a beautiful view over the river.

And that was all of Frankfurt that I saw. Sad that I didn't get to see more, but we saw a ton in Prague. That post is still to come.

Look at banner Gwen

2010-01-27T18:31:00.005-07:00

We made this cute little banner for her.

We also found this cute little dress that had a tulle skirt and a cupcake on the front of it.

Gwen is ONE! I can't believe that it's been a year since we had her. She is such a blessing and joy to have in our lives. Every week I get an email update from Babycenter.com titled "My Baby This Week." Well today's email was "My TODDLER This Week"!!!! WHAT? My little baby is now a toddler?!

To celebrate we had a little party for her. We invited our family and had a great time! I just wish we had a bigger house so everyone could sit and talk and enjoy themselves more comfortably. Maybe for her next birthday.... maybe.

Brett and I were up late the night before preparing for it and started early the morning of the party. It was a lot of work but it was a lot fun and totally worth all the work!

She is so grown up. Things she likes to do at age 1 are:

Walking! She has taken a few steps for the last few weeks, but just today she started walking around like it was no big deal. She still seems to like crawling better, but I'm guessing that will change while I'm in Europe for the next few weeks.

Talking. She loves to jibber jabber. Nothing makes any sense yet, but it sure is fun to listen to.

Scream, squeal and laugh. She is always laughing and smiling and making everyone happy.

Crawling up AND down the stairs. As I dropped her off at the babysitter's house this morning, she climbed up the stairs, no big deal. Well then she turned over to her tummy and slid DOWN the stairs!! As I'm freaking out about my genius baby, my friend was wondering why, because she has been doing that for a while now. Well she wasn't sliding down the stairs at home! So it was sooo exciting to see her do that.

Growing teeth. Number 5, her first tooth on the top, came in the other day!

She didn't really dig into her cake, she mostly patted the outside of it and got some of the frosting on her face and a little in her mouth.

She was SO excited about this baby doll!

Thanks everyone for all of the gifts! We had a great time and were so happy you could all make it.

**** If anyone can tell me why we titled this post what we did, you get a special gold star! ****

Firsts

2010-01-12T20:53:00.002-07:00

Gwen took her first, unassisted steps tonight! Side steps, but still, STEPS! She's growing up so fast, it's so fun.

In other news, my first half marathon. I was training to run my first half in Carlsbad, CA on the 24 of this month. But then I injured my foot, my trainer was worried it was plantar fasciitis. So I took 3 weeks off (the most crucial 3 weeks) and iced it and took lots of ibuprofen, and the pain went away! So back to running I go.

However, last week I was offered the opportunity to go to Germany for a trade show at just about the same time as the race. So... I'm off to Germany! And training for the SLC half in April instead. Since opportunities for a free trip to Europe don't come around that often, we decided to splurge and pay for Brett to come with me! So he'll meet me there around the end of the trade show and then we are off to the Czech Republic... where he served his mission. We're so excited! G-dub will be staying with my friend, that is also her daily babysitter. I'm terribly nervous, since I have to travel to Germany all by myself, but I think it will be a great experience, and I'll only be alone for a few days before Brett gets there.

And lastly, Gwen's FIRST birthday is just around the corner! We're so excited to celebrate, we've just got to get on the ball and organize the celebration.

Year in Review

2010-01-04T22:38:00.012-07:00

I've been a bit behind with my year in review post, but it's better late than never. So here we go...

Jan. 27, the morning we went into the hospital. I'm as big as a house.

15 hours later our baby was born

Gwenyth Lynn Shirley
8 lbs 20.5" long

Me and my perfect little one.

Ready to go home after 5 days in the hospital.

February: Oma came to help out.

Baby and Daddy... melts my heart.

Gwen's first Valentine's Day. Flowers from her Daddy.

March: First meeting with her cousin Addie.

April: One of their favorite places to sleep, in the bathroom while I showered.

Lots of time was spent with Daddy in the Snugli.

April 19, we blessed Gwen and had a party with all of our friends and family.

May: I had to go back to work. I get to look at this girl's face everyday.

My sweet Aunt Kay took care of Gwen during my first month back to work.

We started the garden.

Gwen was introduced to Big Judd's

and rice ceral.... didn't love either.

June: First time swimming.

July: We went to Rexburg for the worst parade in history. Our nephew Rafe didn't even like the cheerleaders! The content is awful, but it's still fun to watch the mess.

My brother Steve and his family moved away.

I had a trade show in Florida that I had to go to and Brett and G were able to come with me. They spent a lot of time exploring, while I had to work.

The 3 of us in Florida.

August: The first haul from our garden.

September: First visit to CA and the beach.

First tooth!

Brett turned 30!!!!

last haul from our garden.

October: Gwen started crawling.

I went to Portland and Seattle for work and had a blast.

The Gnome Family. I won funniest costume at work. And we were the ONLY FREAKING ADULTS dressed up at the ward Halloween party. Lame.

November: I turned 30, THIRTY!!

Annual day after Thanksgiving Christmas Tree Extravaganza with Brett's family in Idaho.

December: Brett and I celebrated our 4th anniversary.

And our first Christmas together with Baby Gwen.

We had a great year, with a ton of firsts! We can't wait for what this year has in store for us. It's starting out with a bang, hello Europe! More updates and pictures to come.

Ho Ho Ho

2009-12-27T19:13:00.005-07:00

We decided to stay home this year and just celebrate with the 3 of us, since we'll be going to San Diego for my half marathon in January. We had a great time! On Christmas Eve I made a huge dinner with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, yams, and my mom's famous rolls. Everything you could ever want. We had our lovely neighbor friends over and ate until we got sick.

Christmas morning came and we opened presents and enjoyed the rest of our day together. Brett was shocked by the totally rad gifts I got him, a Gocco, and some new Chucks. And I was thrilled with the SL Running Co gift card, diamond for my ring and ipod shuffle he got me. Our parents spoiled us with tons of other gifts to open so our present opening lasted for a while. Gwen didn't quite get how to open the gifts, but it was fun to see her try. We got her a Walk n' Ride toy. It's like a walker for babies. It's hilarious and she loves it! We think it makes her feel free, since she can finally walk on her own.

Gwen's thoughts on Christmas

2009-12-26T20:27:00.004-07:00

She LOVED it!!!

Holy crap she's cute

2009-12-19T21:24:00.004-07:00

So much has happened in the last few months that I haven't blogged about, and I'm too lazy to try and make up for it now. So I thought I would post cute picture of Gwen instead. Enjoy!

And forever just keeps getting better

2009-12-16T21:49:00.006-07:00

*photo disclaimer* I realize these are the same photos I posted for our anniversary 2 years ago, but in order to get other photos up, I would have to scan them in and I'm just too lazy to do that. And these ones are pretty anyways.

4 years ago I married the coolest guy in the world... and he just keeps getting cooler. It's hard to believe that it's been that long but pretty much every moment has been amazing with Brett. He's the best father and husband anyone could ever ask for. I'm so grateful he chose me and that we get to spend eternity together.

To celebrate, Brett and I went to dinner while our neighbors watched Gwen. We had a great time, it was weird being without the little G, but so delightful all at the same time.

P.S. Computer problems have been solved!!!! Blogging as usual can continue. Don't worry Anna, I have had my old Mac for about 8 years and I have never had a problem with it. I think this issue was just a fluke with our laptop. Macs are and will always be better than PC's, no matter what any PC nerd tries to tell you. HAHAHAHA!!

Pardon the interuption...

2009-12-14T19:59:00.003-07:00

Our computer had to be rebuilt last month and as a result our iphoto has been a little haywire, and it's still not fixed. Hence the lack of posts. We've had a lot going on the last few weeks and we've taken a ton of pictures, but I can't get to them. So here's our Christmas card we designed. Maybe we will get on the ball enough to print it AND send it out.

Four Pillar Fitness

2009-11-17T20:28:00.002-07:00

After having Baby G I decided I needed some freaking help to get all that stupid weight off. (only 15 pounds to go to get to pre-baby weight) So I went here. Four Pillar Fitness. Ryan is my trainer. He's pretty cool although he seems to have little faith in me that I will be able to train for my half marathon in January. Jerk. He'd just say it's reverse psychology... whatever. Anyways, they are giving away some free supplements this month. I want to win.

Let me just say...

2009-11-11T14:40:00.002-07:00

I CAN'T WAIT for New Moon to come out! I just finished listening to the book on tape at work, and while the first half of the book took me months to get through, the last half took me 2 days! I understand that it's not an award winning novel and that it's lame, teenage drama. But I don't care! I love it! Can't wait for the movie! Only 9 days!!! Not that I will see it in 9 days, but still, exciting!

Yes, I am a 14 year old girl in a 29 year old body. What?

Nihore!

2009-11-10T20:23:00.003-07:00

My good friend Nicole came to visit last week and made some time to see us. It was so great to see her and her cutey little girl Sara(h) (Sorry Nihore I can't remember if it has an "h" or not). Sara(h) is just a few month younger than G so it's fun to compare the two. It was great to see them. I could spend hours just talking to Nicole. She's the coolest. I might have a little of that "big sister" envy for her. You know, when you think your big sister is the coolest and you want to be just like her. Yeah, that's how I feel about you Nicole. Wish you lived closer, can't wait to see you again!

Seriously?!

2009-11-10T20:13:00.003-07:00

I hate my neighbors! They have been SO loud lately... or really since they moved in a year ago. We complain to them and the HOA board and nothing changes. So tonight, just a minute ago, she comes over and is all snotty asking Brett if he wants her to move out because she has no where else to go! She wanted to know exactly when she is loud and when her dogs are barking and when they are being so awful. SERIOUSLY?!!?! How about every day last week. EVERY DAY! How about at FOUR AM on Halloween night. I don't care if it's Halloween or not, 4 am is NOT Ok to wake us up with your music! SERIOUSLY! Take some personal responsibility lady! I am so sick of people acting like they are victims in every situation! You can't tell me that you don't know when you are doing something wrong! I can't even stand how irritated I am about this. And Brett was so taken aback by her that he got all flustered and basically just apologized to her. Maybe I'll go over there and tell her all the times she's been too loud. I've got a list! And I'll be a little crap to her just like she was to Brett. UGH! Honestly I can't stand sharing walls with people. It's been 12 years of sharing walls, enough is enough. Too bad we are upside down in our townhome, making it impossible to sell for a few more years. UGH.

Halloweeeeeeen

2009-11-10T20:09:00.005-07:00

This Halloween was pretty fun. We were a family of garden gnomes. Some people scoff at matching costumes, but I say they are funny and fun. So there. Next year's costumes are going to ROCK. Yes, we already have them planned.

We didn't do much, just took G around to visit a few people and then came home and went to bed. But it was still fun.

Oh and by the way, I won funniest costume at work.

She's a genius!

2009-10-16T22:05:00.002-06:00

Little Baby Gwen learned how to sit up all by herself today! She rolls onto her tummy then pulls her legs underneath her and pushes up, and viola! She's sitting, she's so smart! Too bad Brett had just left for Idaho when she did it for the first time, so he missed it.

New Family Photos!

2009-10-15T11:39:00.003-06:00

This next one melts my heart!

Is this bad?

2009-10-13T21:14:00.002-06:00

This is how little G likes to sleep. Is it a bad thing that she buries her face in her bed? Sometimes she buries her face in her bumper...

Are you ready for this?!

2009-10-08T10:59:00.003-06:00

My friend Jenny Weston took our photos last night. This is a sneak peak of what is to come. I can't even stand it! She's really the cutest little girl in the WHOLE WORLD!

Crawling?

2009-10-04T18:46:00.002-06:00

Not quite, but she sure tries hard!

Harvest

2009-10-04T18:26:00.004-06:00

Our garden will not stop producing! It might, now that we have had a freeze, but the day before the first freeze we picked some things. But there was still a bunch more that wasn't quite ready.

This picture doesn't show the 150 pounds of tomatoes we've already gotten off our vines.

These are just 3 of the potatoes that we picked, there are a ton more!

Once we picked everything we did some cooking.

too funny to not share

2009-09-30T20:56:00.002-06:00

State Fair '09

2009-09-23T18:39:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago we went the Utah State Fair with Jeff and Ashleigh. It was our first time going and quite the experience. We had frozen lemonade, fried sausage on a stick and curly fries. We saw some mediocre photography and a lot of cute little and big animals and vegetables. We tried to make it to the rodeo, but it was standing room only so we only stayed for the first little bit. I'll tell you what though, I loves me a rodeo! We had a great time!

#2

2009-09-16T18:05:00.004-06:00

We are shocked! Gwen has tooth #2 making it's way into her little mouth! #1 is barely above her gums, but here comes it's buddy! She's growing up so fast!

She loves when we put our fingers in her mouth so we can see her little teeth. You really can only see the big one, but the little one is right next to it, I swear!! Oh and PLEASE ignore the boogies in her nose. I try really hard to keep it clean, but it seems to be more than I can handle.

Here are some funny pictures of Gwen. She loves the lens protector on the camera, so that is what she is reaching for in all of these.

Sara's Wedding

2009-09-15T20:17:00.003-06:00

Last weekend my good friend Sara got married. The wedding was at the Market Street Grill in Cottonwood. It was so beautiful. She was gorgeous, the ceremony was lovely and the food was delicious. I'm so glad we were able to share her special day with her. Congrats Sara!!

Gwen LOVED the lemons in our drinks.

And she wanted to walk everywhere. I guess it's time to get her some shoes so her little tootsies don't get dirty!

I love....

2009-09-13T17:38:00.003-06:00

These old people.

This house.
Yes that is a "For Sale" sign in my parent's yard.

This place.

This view.

This girl.

This boy.
On his 30th birthday.

Our trip to CA was so fun. We spent time at the beach and just hanging out at home. This might be the last trip I have to my childhood home. Hopefully my parents will be able to sell the house and move to Utah to be closer. It's bitter sweet, really. Sweet that they will be closer, bitter that my home and memories in that home will be just memories. The sweet out weighs the bitter. I think.

A New Addition

2009-09-02T21:11:00.003-06:00

Tonight we were at Target getting some stuff for our trip to CA when I noticed a little something. A little white, sharp something in little Gwenny's mouth. That's right! She's got a tooth!!! I just noticed it today. It's already broken through the skin. That sure does explain her grumpy nights last week. We're so excited our wee one is growing up!

And this is the best picture we could get of it. Can you see it? Yeah, I can't see it in this picture either, but it was the best we could do. She does not like us poking around in there.

And then, here is a picture of Gwen's nursery. Some girls at my office were asking about it, so here you go!

Baby Gwen

2009-09-01T20:15:00.001-06:00

Is so cute.

Orlando Day 3

2009-08-13T18:43:00.012-06:00

Waffles are a good energy food...well, I'm sure it is in some country. If that's the case, I had to be sure to have plenty of them for my long day battling Floridian heat, humidity, and tourists because this was the day the Shirley's went to Sea World!

Since Tara was working a convention, I was able to get a discounted half day ticket. As a bonus, it's Sea World policy that, if you buy a ticket one day, you can go again the next day for free. It was too bad that Tara wouldn't be able to come with us.

Either everyone in Florida was really nice, or I do a really good job pulling off the struggling parent routine. Every time I got on or off the Sea World shuttle, there was always someone willing to help me get the stroller and Gwen situated. As a side note - while on this topic - I have never struck up conversation with so many older women willing to share stories of their grandchildren Gwen's age.

I didn't get it, the first few days we were there, it had rained for about 45 minutes every 2 hours, so I was counting on a little cloud cover. Nope. This was the first full day of sunshine! Did I mention it was hot? The heat made me a little nervous to keep Gwen outside for too long and I felt like an abusive daddy when I would see little beads of sweat on her nose. I strategically tried to seek out the indoor exhibits, but it is a long walk to Shamu stadium.

Shamu show was really neat, but I don't think Gwen really appreciated it. She spent most of the time trying to get people around us to smile at her. This is a rare picture I took when Gwen was actually watching the show.

I was amazed at how well Gwen did the whole day. She did so well, in fact, that I felt like I needed to get her some kind of radically over-priced souvenir. I was so proud of her.

Orlando Day 2

2009-08-04T19:53:00.003-06:00

On the second day of our trip, I spent some more time sweating in a giant convention center while Brett and Gwen walked around Orlando, I'm sure doing their own fair share of sweating. First they walked over to The Peabody, a very nice hotel just across from the convention center I was working in. The hotel is world renowned for their ducks...of course. They have a bunch of ducks that live on their roof. Twice a day they are led down to the lobby to eat and play in the fountain. I was able to see them one of the last days we were there. It was adorable!

Brett also found this cool building that looked like it was upside down. In front there was a man with a bunch of exotic bird that would take pictures with people for money. I'm not sure if G was sold on the birds. On their way home they got stuck in a giant thunder storm. They were both soaked. When I got home that night the cup holders in the stroller were still filled with water. Tip for next Orlando visit, always carry an umbrella.

Sleepy G

2009-08-01T16:06:00.003-06:00

Yesterday G and I were sitting downstairs watching tv, then I looked over at her and found this. Too funny!

She's a brick house

2009-07-31T14:43:00.007-06:00

Gwen is 6 months old! She had her check up today, which included shots...sad. But she is such a trooper, she only cried when she was being poked. Here are her new stats.

Weight: 17 lbs 15 oz - 83%
Height: 26.25" tall - 68%
Head Cir: 44.5 cm - 93%

That's my little tank!

Some things little G likes at 6 months....

She loves to sit up...

She loves to eat her toes...

She really likes the fridge....

She rolls over a ton and loves to scream for no reason. She also has a really funny fake cough. She laughs like crazy when Stella stands up on her little Boppy chair. She loves to look in the mirror and laugh at the other little baby looking back at her. She likes to suck on her binky string more than her binky. She loves to pull my hair and my necklaces. And by far she loves to play with her mommy and daddy. She's so fun and sweet, she really is the best baby in the whole world.

Orlando Day 1

2009-07-31T14:24:00.002-06:00

I had to go to Orlando for a trade show this last week, so Brett and Gwen came with me! They had a great time hanging out without me. I was inside a giant convention center talking about the Slice and trying to stay cool. It was THREE THOUSAND DEGREES down there. 300% humidity = 100% awful! I'm not sure why anyone lives there! The first day Brett and Gwen just hung out at the hotel. Gwen was exhausted from the plane ride. She was wonderful on the plane, all the people around us said they didn't even realize a baby was on the plane until we landed and they stood up and saw her!

Here Kitty kitty...

2009-07-23T19:32:00.003-06:00

Brett's cousin, Kat, asked us to take some pictures of her and her husband a few weeks ago. They turned out amazingly! Here's a few of my favorites.

CUTE!

2009-07-08T09:37:00.001-06:00

Big sister envy

2009-07-01T20:55:00.004-06:00

My big sister is the coolest. Her and her family, minus her oldest son, came to visit last week. Unfortunately it was as a result of her husband's father passing away, but it was still great to see them all. It was the first time she had met Gwen. She took her for an afternoon to really get to know her.

It was so fun to see all of them, I wish they lived closer so I could see them for things other than funerals, but I will take them however I can get them.

Love you Dana and fam.

P.S. I look horrendous is these pics, I know. And she doesn't just looks smaller than me, she IS smaller than me. She even got the blue eyes that I always wanted, but at least I got the better hair. Maybe not in this picture though....

Pool time

2009-06-29T22:37:00.003-06:00

We recently took Gwen to the pool for the first time. She seemed to enjoy it. More than anything I enjoyed seeing her in her little swimming suit. She is adorable!!

Check me out

2009-06-25T14:10:00.003-06:00

I scrapbook, mostly because I have to as part of my job. But it's kind of fun when you don't have to pay for anything and it doesn't make a mess in your own house.

Go here and see a BRILLIANT tip from me.