Good Times!

My good friend Kirsten was kind enough to invite us up to her place for a swim. We all know how much Cannon loves being in water, so we packed up our gear and headed up there. Jarom got to come too. What a fun group! These were some of my favorite people from high school. It's definitely weird that we all have kids. We talked about how we all remember each other as high school kids and it's hard to think that we are adults. But some things don't change... Randy and Caleb had us all busting up.

Kirsten showed us her condo. She has really put in some hard work and it looks amazing.

Mommies & babies
Katy & Ryann, Deidre & Cayman, Kirsten & sleeping Atticus, Marshell & Abby, Me & Cannon

My camera was fogging up, so it has this crazy ethereal effect.

One of Ryann. She wanted me to take pictures of her but she's fast. This one is the least blurry picture I got.

Thanks for inviting us, Kirsten!

***Caleb - This was not posted in your time constraints, but I hope that you will find it pleasing.

100 Things...

This is my 100th post. So, here are 100 things about me.

(I posted this a long long time ago. I have changed some it the items.)

1. I have an amazing husband! He can make me laugh even if I'm in the worst mood. I swear he can do anything… computers, handiwork, heavy lifting, he’s great with people and he can even decorate for junior high dances! He puts up with more than he has to.

2. I have a son named Cannon. He was born June 16th 2007.

3. Jarom and I are each the oldest of six kids. I have four sisters and one brother. He has two sisters and three brothers.

4. I can play the guitar, piano and flute, but not very well.

5. I HATE yard work. I mean with a fiery passion. I envy beautifully landscaped yards, but sadly mine will never be that way. If my yard looks good, it’s all Jarom.

6. I have been to Mexico and Hawaii (twice). I’d love to go to Canada. Specifically Montreal – to see Jarom’s mission. I’d also like to go to Japan.

7. I’m obsessed with shoes. I must own 50 pair.

8. I LOVE cooking for other people. I especially love cooking for Jarom. However, when I am by myself I just use the microwave.

9. I’m shy unless you get to know me. Many times, friends have told me that they thought I was snobby when they first met me.

10. I have an unhealthy fear of spiders, crickets and moths. Well, and pretty much anything that has more than 2 legs.

11. I have a really narrow esophagus. I have to get it dilated every 3-4 years because it gets really difficult to swallow.

12. My favorite cleaning supplies are Comet, Windex, and Lysol. You can clean just about anything with those 3 items.

13. My favorite foods are pasta, cheesecake, dried apples, pineapple, and eggs.

14. I have had a recurring nightmare since I was probably 5 about a giant caterpillar that is chasing me. The last time I had this dream was about 2 months ago. I think it stems from a secret fear of them.

15. I don’t do well with houseplants, unless they are plastic. My aunt gave me a plant she told me was impossible to kill…. It lasted 3 weeks.

16. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from UVSC. I taught 3rd grade for a year. I was pregnant the entire year. I gave birth just over 2 weeks after school got out. I currently have 7 students lined up for my preschool in the fall.

17. I have a friend I’ve known since I was five. We still talk on the phone sometimes.

18. One of my best friends was a girl I was assigned to visit teach. She had a baby a few weeks after she moved in. I took her dinner and we’ve been friends ever since.

19. People always think I’m younger than I am.

20. Another one of my best friends is a girl I met in my education classes at UVSC. She’s the total opposite of me. I was afraid of her when we first met because she intimidated me.

21. I’ve never had braces.

22. I got to sing for the First Presidency my senior year of high school with chamber choir. SO cool.

23. I LOVE country music. My husband hates it, but it’s growing on him.

24. I’ve never had glasses.

25. I HATE the taste of Coke and Pepsi.

26. I went to Utah State University for a year and a half. I had a blast up there and met some amazing people. I still keep in touch with some of my roommates through their blogs.

27. I broke up with my husband 3 times while we were dating. I feel bad about it now. I’m not even a drama queen. It just scared me to think about getting married.

28. I love scrap booking.

29. I have told people since I was 12 that I will be in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It is a goal of mine. I know I don’t have the best voice in the world, but I do have a good choir voice. I can blend very well. I think that’s more important than anything.

30. I love Disney movies. My favorite right now is Dumbo. The part when Dumbo’s mom gets locked up makes me cry every time!

31. I love running.

32. I love boating.

33. I like camping if I can take a shower.

34. My dad was my principal in Jr. High. It had is pros and cons.

35. I once skipped school with a group of friends and we went to the temple.

36. I hate cliff jumping. I tried it once and I did not like it at all. I’d rather just stay on planet earth.

37. I have only been snowboarding twice. Both times with my husband who is very good. The first time, I made it down once and it took us 3 hours. Then I ran into a row of parked snowmobiles. It was horrible, but he was so patient. The second time, was when we had been dating almost a year… he ditched me and I have never wanted to go back.

38. I love Autumn time.

39. I took AP Government in high school and since then I’ve had a fascination with politics. I avoid confrontation, so I usually just keep my opinions to myself.

40. I took 11th place in my Jr. High Spelling Bee. The whole school participated. (I haven’t practiced so please forgive any spelling errors you might find on here.) All I got was a stick of gum!

41. I used to be addicted to Dr. Pepper. I still have a sip here and there, but I just drink water now.

42. I love my mother-in-law. I really feel so lucky to have such a great relationship with her. She’s amazing.

43. I also love Jarom’s grandma, Grammy. She’s like a kindred spirit and I feel like I’ve known her my whole life.

44. If I were stranded on a desert island, I’d bring mascara.

45. I love the smell of a rainy day.

46. My mom, dad, husband and mother-in-law are all teachers. I had no choice, teaching is in my blood!

47. I love American Idol.

48. “The Office” cracks me up.

49. My favorite movie is “The Princess Bride.”

50. I HATE malted milk balls.

51. I love photography, but I wish I were better. I know nothing about it, but I have a really good camera that has helped me take some good pictures.

52. I was in a pageant while Jarom and I were dating. I won the service award and got $100. It was fun at the time, but kind of embarrassing now.

53. I don’t remember what my natural hair color was.

54. Jarom and I own our house. I was a homeowner at 20.

55. I absolutely HATE mushrooms. I think they are disgusting. Who eats fungus??

56. I worked at a copy store for 5 years through high school and college with some breaks in between. It was such a fun job.

57. I love dancing but I’m not very good.

58. I once auditioned for and made a choir that sang for a session of conference.

59. I went to every dance in high school after I turned 16.

60. I am horrible at turning in movies and library books on time. I once kept a book for 8 months because I was afraid to face the library.

61. I was on debate in high school and won at regions with my oratory speech.

62. I have a geographic tongue, and a split down the middle. It’s really gross.

63. I have never had a real cast. I broke my thumb in volley ball class in high school but I just got a removable form to wear.

64. I love watching baseball games.

65. I love hiking

66. I love rafting.

67. My purse is a tragic mess. It’s one of Jarom’s biggest pet peeves. I can’t help it!

68. I hate leaving messages on answering machines.

69. I have a really hard time deleting pictures of Cannon. I keep them all even if they are horribly blurry. I need to quit this habit soon because my computer memory is filling up fast.

70. I’ve only mowed a lawn once… and it wasn’t a whole lawn. I got halfway done and my dad told me to stop because I did such a crappy job.

71. I’m allergic to dogs, cats and other furry animals. I once had an asthma attack because of a cat where I was nearly hospitalized.

72. I love being with my family.

73. I read 67 blogs regularly.

74. I love shopping.

75. My husband is a “scavenger.” He is constantly bringing home things he found on the streets. Once he drove backwards on the freeway to retrieve a broken ladder. Ugh!

76. I cry all the time.

77. I am a morning person.

78. I love roller coasters.

79. When I go to football games to cheer Jarom on, I usually just watch the cheerleaders.

80. I sleep with my makeup on. I usually don’t go to bed until I’m exhausted and it’s just too much effort to wash it off.

81. My husband thinks I’m beautiful.

82. I love living in my city because it’s so quiet and I can always see the stars.

83. Cannon’s squishy face when he first wakes up makes me laugh.

84. I am pretty good at math.

85. I’m horrible at sticking to a budget, but I still try every month.

86. I go to Costco just to eat the samples.

87. I bite my nails. I even had fake nails for a year and still bit my nails right off when the fake ones fell off.

88. We have a million pillows on our bed, but there is one particular pillow that I like to sleep with and I yell at Jarom if he ‘steals’ it.

89. I really wish I had more time to read.

90. I take Cannon on a walk every day.

91. I wish I could wear my sweats everywhere.

92. I don’t like tomatoes but I love tomato soup.

93. I only like sandwiches when they have lettuce.

94. I was a cake decorator for one day.

95. My sister Whitney is the most amazing artist I’ve ever seen.

96. The last horror movie I saw was “The Ring” when I was in college. I literally had nightmares for a month. It made me depressed and paranoid. Since then, I have never seen a scary movie.

97. I love it when I get asked for a recipe to a dish I’ve made.

98. My mom is allergic to pork. We never had it growing up so I didn’t like it. Now that I’ve been re-introduced to it, it’s one of my favorite things to cook.

99. I was voted “best lips” in High School

100. I am blessed.

ETA: I didn't add any pictures to this post, and I don't feel right about that. Here you go...

The Anniversary Date

We have this running joke about our anniversary. It definitely gets better each year, but something always happens where we just can't celebrate it the way we'd like on that particular day.

The week before our first anniversary we went to Hawaii with Jarom's family for his brother's graduation from BYU-H. We had a blast there and it was gorgeous the whole time. We went to the beach every day and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We stayed in this adorable pink house and we had our own little patch of beach to ourselves. The day we were supposed to be flying home (and the day before our first anniversary) we got a phone call from my mom in the wee hours of the morning. There had been a devastating loss in our extended family and we had to change our plans to be with family in Oregon. We flew in to LA and drove through the next day and night to Portland. Our anniversary was celebrated at Denny's where I ordered a bowl of Cheerios due to car sickness. We look back on that time as so bittersweet. It's hard to think about the trials of life. We will never regret the whirlwind trip to be with family at a difficult time.

On our second anniversary, Jarom vowed to make it a good day. He planned it and kept each detail a secret. I asked him how I should dress and he said it "didn't matter". I opted for some cute (but slightly uncomfortable) shoes. Well, apparently the day included a lot of walking. We visited the Utah Arts Festival and got a charicature done that we love. But, after a few hours of walking in my wedge sandals, I was a bit grumpy and whiny. Poor Jarom had to endure my endless complaints. Afterward, he wanted to take me shopping but I refused. We got some dessert at the Melting Pot and ended our night early. Looking back, I shouldn't have been such a party-pooper. I now know the value of comfortable shoes and keeping my mouth shut (most of the time).

Last year, Cannon was a week old and we BOTH FORGOT our anniversary. Sad. :(

When we talked about what we should do for our anniversary we opted to keep it simple. We decided that a simple "date night." was just what we needed. The last full movie we saw in a theater was Transformers last summer. There are several movies out that we both want to see. We never get out alone anymore. My mom volunteered to watch Cannon. We dropped him off early and began our date. We started at the Olive Garden for an early dinner. Yum! Good old Olive Garden never disappoints. My sister works at the Lion House Pantry in the mall so we went there for a slice of coconut cream pie. Yum-o! Then we decided to cruise the mall. Our movie didn't start for a few hours so we had some time to kill. We got our picture taken in one of those booths and laughed our heads off. Jarom wanted me to buy some shoes for myself, but there really wasn't anything that was jumping off the shelves. It's weird how your priorities change when you have a baby. I passed by all my favorite clothing stores but found myself drooling in the window of The Children's Place. Go figure! We left without buying anything. We stopped by a few more places on our way to the movie. It didn't really matter what we did. It was so nice to be together and be able to talk and hold hands.

We saw the movie Iron man. So good! We both really loved it.
After the movie, we raced back to my parents house to get Cannon. We loved our night together, but we missed our little guy. Jarom did have one surprise up his sleeve for the way home. A car wash! I know that doesn't sound romantic, but we love the car wash. It is the best place to... um, err... talk. Yeah, talk. Just like we did before we got married. :)

I can honestly say that this was the best anniversary date yet. We needed the time together. Next year is the big 5 years. Should we be daring and go on a trip? Haha!

Happy Anniversary, Love!

June 24th, 2004 was one of the best days of my life. The sky was big and blue. My family began. I had found my prince. Of course I love him more every day. I couldn't imagine loving anyone more than I loved him them, but somehow I do. He has been one of the best decisions I ever made. I love that every year I get to remember that day. It was so sweet. It was full of people that I love. I floated through every part of my day. He still makes me float.

I love you sweetheart! Happy 4th anniversary!

And to commemorate 4 years, my 4 favorite things about Jarom:

• He is an amazing dad. He genuinely loves his son and wants to be with him all the time. They are like two peas in a pod. They are the best buddies and I love their cute relationship.
• He is strong. Not just physically strong {like the time he picked up his truck and moved it when he got boxed into a parking spot.} But, he's unshakable. He has a firm testimony of the gospel. He's a strong leader. He's has a strong way of communicating. He is a strong priesthood holder.
• He is gentle. I'm not contradicting myself! He has this side of him that I'm lucky enough to know. He gently untangles my hair at the end of a day with the softest sweet touches. He gets sad when he hears tragic stories about people he knows. He wants to make everyone happy. He is a lover, not a fighter!
• He loves me. Honestly. Sometimes I can't believe it, but he does. Unconditionally. He listens to me and knows when I hurt. He thinks I'm beautiful. He puts up with my fussy moods and helps me to laugh at my {many} flaws. He is my love, forever. OIF!
  

First Haircut!

We got Cannon's hair cut on Thursday morning. We went to this great place called Cookie Cutters.

They were so amazing! Cannon was {almost} distracted enough by sitting in his own airplane and watching his own TV with a helicopter movie to even notice he was having a haircut. He shed a few tears. I thought I would be sad to say goodbye to his cute little curls in back. But, he was really graduating to "mullet" status so we knew we needed to get 'er done.

I know that some of you may think that he doesn't have enough hair to cut. In fact, my own father laughed when I told him we were cutting it. {Thanks, dad!} I know in my pictures he looks bald more often than not. He actually does have some. It's really light, and super fine, but it's there. Notice in this first picture, there is a tell-tale curl on the back of his head. This was my first picture and right after, my camera died! GRrrr!



Here he is sitting in his new car seat enjoying the lollipop they gave him. Doesn't he look handsome?
Sunday morning I styled it with some spikes and took a few pictures. See there is hair!
The back is my favorite. He looks like such a big boy with his cute grown-up shaved hairline.
Oh, and this one just melts my beating heart. Cannon just loves his daddy to pieces. To me, there is nothing more adorable than the two of them together. Matching haircuts and all.

Froggy Pool Fun

Cannon recieved this froggy pool from Grammy and Papa for his birthday. I saw it at Target and fell in love with how cute it was. I didn't buy it at the time, but I'm glad I waited. They were right in line with my thinking. I was almost more excited than he was when he opened the package. Haha!

We decided to bust it out and break it in today. It was a hit. I had to laugh when we set him down and he crawled away from it as fast as his little knees could take him. It has this cute little continuous fountain that sprays and he was concerned about it.

I was getting impatient and to be perfectly honest I just wanted to take pictures of him in the dang pool. So, I lifted him up and set him in it fully expecting him to flail and scream. This was not the case. He sat up and immediately began to inspect the fountain. Not long after he was gently and lovingly placed in the pool, his tongue came spilling out of his cute little mouth. And it stayed that way until his swim was done. He figured out how to get in and out all by himself and that's what he did for a good 20 minutes.

And so if you are wondering, when his tongue sticks out it means he is concentrating. Really really concentrating. I got a total of two pictures without a tongue and here they are:
Nice, eh? All well. Sorry for the photo-overload, but, it is the perfect time of year to take great outside pictures. Not that lighting is any better, but my son is just like me and really hates to be cold. We haven't gotten a good outdoor picture since last September. I'm going to take advantage of this great weather. :)

Look Who is One!

My baby is growing up! He's such a little man. It's been such a bittersweet day thinking back on a year ago. It's so hard to believe he was ever so little and tiny. When we first brought him home, he was a little lump in my arms. All he ever did was eat and sleep it seemed. Little did I know, my little lump would turn into a squishy little bundle of hugs and fun. He just makes our lives so happy and we feel so blessed to have him.

To celebrate our squishy bundle, we had a party with our families at the park. It was a gorgeous day and perfect for celebrating. We did the traditional "let your baby go to town with a piece of cake" thing. It was a hit. He was super into eating as much as he could. We had quite the mess on our hands.

We stripped him down to his diaper after eating cake and let him walk off all that sugar.

I just want to send out a huge "thanks" to all of our family that made it a great day. :) We love you all!

Girlfriends!

Well, I'm on a roll so I might as well post this last thing. I got to see a bunch of friends from high school today. Laura Roberts planned a play date for all of us at a park. We met this morning in Orem. It's always so nice to see the girls and talk about life. Stacey even made it with Sam and her darling 3 week old daughter Sophie. She's such a doll. It's amazing that some of us have 2 kids now! It seems like we just graduated from high school and now we are real adults. Haha!

I brought my tripod and we got a group shot. We took this after Katy Marsh and Skipper Coates left. Sorry girls. I didn't think fast enough.

Laura is moving to Tulsa with her husband for medical school next month so this will one of the last times we'll get to see her and her two cute kiddos. Good luck guys!


back row l-r: Cannon, Me, Sam, Brynn, Gavin, AnnDee, Angie, Packer (Benson is somewhere)
front row l-r: Allison, Stacey, Sophie, Ashleigh, Brady, Annie, Ryan, Jefferson, Laura, Madalyn

If I spelled any names wrong... sorry!

We missed you Kirsten and Mistie.

Park City

My family has gone to park city every summer that I can remember. There is an annual conference for principals there and now that Jarom is considered a principal, we get to go too! We stayed in an amazing condo in the Westgate. It was huge and so beautiful.

When we first got there, it was snowing - in June! I was really concerned that our vacation would be ruined. Jarom went golfing in that weather and froze. But, later that day, the sun came out and so did our wallets at the outlets. :) We found some great deals at Bath and Body Works and some other favorite stores. We ate at Baja Cantina for dinner. Yum!

I got to hang out with my sisters and mom during Jarom's meetings. It was so nice to have them up there to help out with Cannon. He had a blast in the pool and with GG Wright who came up also. The only pictures I got were of swimming. Isn't he so dang cute in his swim suit? Haha! Couldn't you just squish him!
Haley loved taking him in the pool. He splashed like crazy and screamed when I took him out. I guess I'll have to take him more often.
These ones with GG Wright crack me up! She got her sunglasses for $5 at Rue 21! Haha! His face is totally priceless in the first one and her smile makes me laugh in the second one.
I can't wait to go back. It was so nice to get away.

Where Have I Been?

Wow, my last post was almost 2 weeks ago? That flew by! I really have been busy. I promise. In the past 2 weeks, I've been:

• Reading this.
• Preparing for Cannon's first birthday party.
• Celebrating Jarom's 28th birthday (on the 10th!) Happy Birthday Hon!
• Eating Jarom's yummy birthday cake that I made from scratch (almost). It was snickerdoodle flavor and so delish. You can get the recipe from this cookbook. I've used it more than I ever thought I would and the cakes turn out AMAZING and are so good!
• Getting ready for preschool in the Fall! I have 7 students - wow!
• Chasing Cannon all over the house.
• Deep cleaning my house for Grammy and Papa's visit tomorrow!
• Catching up on laundry - almost there!
• Hanging out with my family.
• Chilling in Park City (literally!)
• Getting (kind of) tan.
• Enjoying the sun.
• Shopping.
• Living it up.
  

Sherman

My sister, Megan, is a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind. She's been doing it for five years (or so). She's raised about six dogs and keeps them for a year or longer before sending them back for formal training. Sherman is her first male and he's a sweetheart. He goes back for training this Saturday. We wish him luck!

She had me take these pictures last week and they turned out great. He's a good lookin' dude.

Meg - Let me know when you want to get this CD! :)