PowerHouse

WaHOO!!

2009-09-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Yeah!! We FINALLY are moving into our new house this week. We have to be out of our apartment by Wednesday so we are hoping the house is ready and we get a CO. We can't wait. Pictures to come soon:)

2009-09-01T15:14:00.001-07:00

I want a baby and I want one right now!!! Now if my body would just agree with the plan.

No new camera yet...

2009-07-13T10:24:00.001-07:00

Somehow I managed, with the crappy camera to get some cute shots of miss Dorie.

To blog or not to blog..

2009-07-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

I am the lamest blogger ever. I think I say that everytime I do in fact blog. But I think building your own house is a great excuse. The house is referred to as "daddy's house" because that's where he always is, if he's not at work or sleeping. We should just put a tent up in the backyard and then we could sleep there too. Dora's favorite place is right on daddy's lap when he's working with the tractor. She begs for a tractor ride every day. It's good bonding time I suppose.

Suggestions please!!!!

2009-03-26T14:58:00.000-07:00

I think it's official that I need a new camera..I mean honestly she looked darling and these were what I came up with. I need advice. It's painfully obvious that I need a new camera. Do any of you have a camera that you love, point and shoot vs. SLR? I need help!!! For Dora's self-esteem in the coming years we need something new!!!

Does anyone want a dog?

2009-03-26T14:50:00.001-07:00

While this dog is technically not mine to give away, he lives at my house and will soon become my responsibility as his owner is soon-to-be incarcerated. Dan has grown quite attached to this little guy, actually he's really big, but I do not want to keep him.

Come on look into his beautiful brown eyes, you know you want him for your own? By the way, he is a lot bigger now....

HOUSE UPDATE

2009-03-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

We have a hole!!!

We have cement basement walls!!!

We even have window wells!!

We have some plumbing...from which our poop, among other things, will flow!!

We should, weather permitting have a basement floor and garage floor by the end of the week. Which means we can start framing!!! Yeah!!

Dorito

2009-03-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

I have failed to mention anything about Dora in a while, so I will bore each of you know with the current list of the words she says. Actually she is talking so much and we can have little conversations now. She is so fun and I definitely love this stage of baby-hood. Actually, the sad thing is she's not really a baby anymore but a toddler and that is heart breaking to me....but fun and exciting in the same sentence.

Mommy
Daddy
Papa (grandpa)
Buddy-- usually said in context of Hi Buddy about 1500 times a day.
baby
No!! Don't (and usually those words together)
Kitty
Doggie
Potty
Belly
Shirt
Coat (pronounced toat)
apple
banana (nana)
watee (anything that comes in the form of liquid)
Sleepy sleepy
Nite nite.
"B"-- which stands for Binky, blanket, silk garment top or any other comfort time.
Poop
animal
book (boot)
shoes
soaks
tubby
duck
hold you me (which means hold me)
I wann (I want)
colorume (coloring)
amen
aprayer (prayer)
SHH!!!

alright this list is getting too long and I could go on. I just can't believe how much she is learning and growing. But my absolute favorite of all time she has only said once or twice...

as I was laying her down for a nap the other day, I said " I love you Dora" and she said back "i wuv ou mom." Oh my heart and the tears. What a beautiful little darling.

house planitos

2009-03-04T13:49:00.001-08:00

So...here is the house we are embarking upon to build...I will admit that it is not my fantasy dream house, as that would be much larger and ornate overlooking the ocean in some bachelor type location, HOWEVER it is more than adequate and we are super excited to get going. We have our permits from the city, the snow has melted (most of it), and we just need to decided on which subcontractors are going to do what and we will be set to go!!! YEAH!! We should start digging, for sure, by next week but maybe even by the weekend.

Um...well actually you have to smarter than the computer and the house plans saved thereon to figure out how to get them onto a blog....which as it turns out I am not. But with that said, I will describe the house for you.... 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, an office, 3-car garage (apparently a non-negotiable item in this family), it has kitchen too. We are not finishing the basement, but it will have a 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a kick-butt storage room (also non-negotiable), and a huge family room. The outside will be stone and Hardi-board of some undetermined color. Pictures would be better, but you have to wait til later.

IT"S OURS!!!

2009-02-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

We closed today on our pretty little piece of land!! We are so excited and also dreading the new adventure of building our house. I will, of course, post pictures along the way.

HELP

2009-01-22T13:35:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to up date my blog and make my sister happy by making it easier to read, I lost my list of blogs I follow, meaning my friends like you. SOOO please comment so I can have your blog address so I can redo my list at some unspecified time...TIA

Man that was a long post...

2009-01-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

Alright...since it's been made known to me that everyone thinks something is wrong with me, like I died or gone into a deep depression) I will finally update the blog. I think I don't update because I feel guilty about always forgetting my camera and not having enough pictures of my little darlings (Dora, Dan, Dog). I need to be better, but really need a new camera, but that's a different post.

I haven't been updating because I have been busy dang it. I have been working on some classes to do medical transcription from home, so that takes up the majority of my time when Dora is sleeping. And lets be honest, no computer time when she's awake, unless I want the screen drawn on, printer paper all of the house, or a number of other things she does to let me know that she is not happy that she does not have my full and complete attention. I am almost done with the class though (I have been saying that for months) and then should be able to work a few nights from home to make some lavish amount of money to buy clothes, vacations, and other things that Dan gets mad at if I go over budget:) Just kidding he pretty much lets me rule the roost most of the time.....

Then for the past 3 weeks I have pretty much been on the phone non-stop talking to relator's, sellers of houses, lots and banks, and mortgage officers and home depot and you know name it, I've talked to them. Here's the saga.

We waited 4 months to find out if we could buy this: It's a short sale, therefore a killer deal..um nope, after 4 months of waiting, the bank decided to take it to auction and we lost it.

In the mean time we put an offer in on this:

Didn't get this one either..oh well. needed lots of work, but a killer deal.

Then we were under contract to buy this:

But at the last minute, we backed out...just didn't feel good about the one we actually got. It still needed to be finished inside and was just more house then we could handle.

NOW we are waiting to see if the bank and the sellers accept our offer for this:

A beautiful piece of land in little old Heber City, where we will build something like this:

I love this house and want it, Dan not so much so we'll see. But we are getting a great deal on the land (we should know in about an hour if they accepted our offer). Then we gotta get going on a house and we will start building by February!! Yeah...lots have really dropped in price up here, so has the cost of lumbar, and I am married to the greatest house builder of all times!!! So it's all shaping up to be a beautiful little house for us. Can't wait. Hopefully we stay married through the process and get exactly what we want.

Moral of this whole story, sometimes what we think we want isn't always what we need/get. But Heavenly Father knows us and he will rewards us for our patience. Amen.

Holidays in Review....

2009-01-22T11:55:00.001-08:00

I am the lamest blogger ever, but I do have good excuses. I promise. Someday I will explain.

For now, here's our Holidays starting way back in October with the cutest little lion that you've ever seen.

Oh we can't forget poor little BudderBones who got to dress up like a little girl for Halloween. We had a great time taking Dora, her 3 cousins, and 2 dogs trick-or-treating. She took a little while to catch on, but as soon as someone let her pick her own candy she was grabbing handfuls as quick as her little hand could go.

Now on to Thanksgiving. While I realize that am 25 or 26 years old (can't really remember right now), am married, have a dog, and have a child, there are still days when I think to myself, "Self: You aren't an adult, you don't have responsibilities, you still weight 100 or even 110 pounds (ya right!!)," however Thanksgiving this year made me realize that I am in fact an adult and there is no getting around it. How you say can Thanksgiving do that to a person? Well I'll tell you--I cooked the entire meal by myself and hosted Dan's family. Not his entire family, but still. I cooked the turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pies, stuffing, etc...all of it. I am freaking amazing by the way. We had more food than I ever thought possible. Some of you probably cook for as many people were there (6) on a daily basis, but I am still proud. We did miss Dan's youngest brother this year as he was locked up in the Heber City Jail (interestingly enough he was there on Thanksgiving last year too), but other than that we had a good feast, good family and fun. Later that night we drove to Layton to be with my family and then I got up at the crack of dawn to stand in line at Toys 'r Us and Target. Unfortunately no one else would get out of bed with me and I stood in the freezing rain by myself. But I got the goods and that's all that matters. Oh yes, and I am very grateful for many things.

Christmas was rocking this year because it just doesn't get more fun then showing new things to your children and seeing the excitement in their eyes. We had a fun holiday season, even though Dan is a Scrooge when it comes to Christmas. We spent Christmas eve day with Dan's family. We went sledding in an old cemetery--which I forgot the camera for--but still worth mentioning. Had a feast at Carrie's house, played games, and opened gifts. Then we were at my parents for Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning. Dora loved her presents and the highlights were here 4-wheeler, Dollie, FurReal Kitty, and play dough. Dan's highlights including some new clothes, stuff for the garage, and a brand new chop saw that I had convinced him we would never be able to afford. He was shocked and it was lots of fun. I got some new boots and a facial treatment day at the spa. The real shock of the year was that my parent spoiled all of us and we all got a Wii and tons of games. So the real reason for me not posting is I am too busy perfecting the drums on World Tour and beating Dan in tennis (I wish). I guess I was caught up in the moment because these are the only pics I have. Ever year I have gotten Dan the ugliest PJ's ever and then he sports them on Christmas morning and makes everyone laugh. I am running out of ideas for ugly PJ's so if you have any let me know.

What about news years you say? Um.... LAME. We were supposed to chaperon at a quad stake youth dance, but at the last minute they didn't need us so Dora went to sleep at 7:00pm (after a very emotional moment of burning her hand on the rice cooker), Dan followed at about 7:34 pm, and I stayed up 'til about 10:30, figured how lamo by myself, and went to bed. Hardly worth mentioning, but I am learning to deal with an early to bed'er that best I can.

New favorite pictures of Dorie

2008-11-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

OK here's the real favorite pictures of Dorie....however they are about 5 months old now. She just keeps getting bigger and I really need to go get new pictures taken of her. These were some shots that my sister took of here when we stayed in Logan for a few weeks, last fall. I love these pictures because they show her personality at that time, like the "what's that pose," and it shows her beautiful red hair (for all of those non-believers, it is red and it will stay red dang-it)!! They other ity-bity is India. They are kissing cousins, or at least someday will be and will really like each other, but as for this stage, Dora mostly likes to take whatever India happens to have, sit on whomever's lap India is on, and mostly terrorizes the poor thing--but that's what I get for having a red-head. PS I took the liberty of editing these pictures...don't' know if I like them or not, but that's how they turned out.

Family Hike

2008-08-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I woke up to a phone call from my sister-in-law saying that everyone was going on a hike up Stewart Falls, which is above Sundance and Aspen Grove, so I quickly got ready, found a pack I could use for the baby from a neighbor and off we went. I was so not ready for what was in store... I realize that my baby is 15 months old so I certainly cannot use her as an excuse for being out of shape anymore, but then I realized that I wasn't in shape when I got pregnant either so basically I'm just lazy when it comes to exercising these days. The hike that we thought we take no more than a 2 hours, took 4 but it was fun and well worth it.

We had a really fun hike (most of the way) there were a few parts that were really hard and I thought I was going to be sore for a few days, which suprisingly I wasn't. Adora loved her ride on my back, I borrowed the cadilac of packs and she could see everything. The best part was when we finally got to the falls, she had so much fun playing in the water and splashing around. I can't tell you how cold the water was and she refused to get out. I could barely stand to be in it...her feet were like ice cubes by the time we got out. She fell asleep on the way back out.

I love this picture of Adora...she was so excited.

I also had a flash back to high school while we were there. When we came around a bend and I got my first view of the falls, I realized that I had done the hike before but had gone a on a different trail. In high school I went on a double date there with Tyler and Melanie. It brought back the greatest memories of Scott Bell. It made me laugh right out loud. I can hardly believe that was 7 years ago...time flies.

Housing Woes...

2008-08-18T07:34:00.001-07:00

This last week we found a house that we love--it needs some work and some major TLC but it really has some great potential. I found it online, we went and saw it that same night and then the next day we put an offer in on it. The problem is that it's a short sell and the bank has to approve the offer which could take weeks or even months. So for now we are just sitting around waiting and praying that we get it. It would be perfect for us. It's really big and has a huge yard plus is has an apartment in the basement which we could rent out. I don't love the exterior but when you have Dan as a husband you know that anything can be changed to look just like you would like it. We have so many fun ideas for renovating it, if we can just get it. Here's a few pics..but remember it really needs some work.

Congrats to the Newlyweds!!!!

2008-08-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip two weekends ago to Cedar City!! We went for Jack's (Dan's dad) wedding. We left Friday night and stayed in a hotel and then they got married Saturday morning. I was a little worried about the drive down there because Dora hasn't been on that long of a trip since she was little, but she did great and luckily we had Dan sister, Amy, in the car with us to help entertain her. I also got to see one of my dearest companion, Morgan Niemann. I hadn't seen her since the day I left the mission so it was so awesome to get to spend some time with her reminiscing about the mish.This is Dan and all of his siblings: Emily, Andrew, Amy, Dan, Jack, Kerrie, Carrie, John, JulieDaddy's little girl...of the girls had matching hair things...they all looked really cute

This is Dora's girl cousins, except her favorite Lucy.

Olivia, Kylee, Hattie, Anna, Katie, and Layrn. Dora was too busy to take pictures.

Adora was so tired by the time the day was through that she feel asleep before we could even get the car seat buckled and she didn't wake up until we got home. What a trooper. We are so excited for Adora to have another grandma and for Jack to have found someone to share the rest of his life with.

Memories...

2008-07-22T15:23:00.001-07:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

I have loved seeing this on other peoples blog and totally want to play along

Better Late then Never

2008-07-22T15:07:00.001-07:00

I have to just say a little something about the 4th of July. We had a really fun day..my parents came up to spend the day with us. We also had a BBQ planned for that afternoon with Dan's family so they just came along with us. The BBQ was really fun and we got to meet some of Kerrie's family.

OH...I don't think I have ever announced on the blog who Kerrie is.... we are so excited to be getting a new member of the Powers family. Jack (Dan's dad) is getting remarried!! They met on ldssingles.com at the end of April...they had so many things in common and new too many of the same people for this to be a coincidence. They both lost their spouses to cancer about 3 years ago and are just so happy to have found each other. And we could not be happier for them. I have never seen Jack so happy ever nor have so much ambition. He's come alive again. They are getting hitched on August 2nd in Cedar City!!!

anyway, back to the 4th. We had a great BBQ..the kids had a great time on Grandpa's four-wheelers, tramp and slides. My sister-in-law took some great pictures which I will post when I get them from her.... After the BBQ we took off with my parents to Park City to try and get some shopping at the outlets in, but by the time we got there they had already closed so we decided to go to a movie. What was I thinking taking a 14 month old to a movie...I ended up walking around a health food grocery store for 2 hours because it was the only thing opened that late. But everyone else enjoyed the show...I have now seen the previews and first 4 minutes of the movie Hancock. Then it was back to Heber just in time for fireworks. Dora loved them and just laid on mine and my moms lap staring with amazement. It was fun to see her little eyes light up and say "WOW" "oohh ahh" GREAT DAY!!

The real point to this post are these pictures...Dora was a cheerleader for the USA. She looked so cute...I can't tell you how many people stopped us and complemented on how cute she looked!! and of course as her mother, I have to agree. (for some reason I can't rotate the pictures, but you get the point)

We are alive...

2008-07-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

..I was so relaxed by the vacation that I haven't blogged in weeks. We did make it back from Mexico and had a fabulous time. I think we would've enjoyed a more authentic Mexican experience...we were still too close to the border and was much too touristy for our us. The town we stayed in really catered to the 18-25 year old spring break crowd, if you know what I mean. There was a lot of loud music, drunk kids and crazy driving...which wasn't what we were really looking for with our 1 year old daughter in tow. But we definitely realized how good we have it in the States. I haven't been across the border since I was a little girl and it was amazing to me how immediately things were different. First of all driving was insane...Dan did an amazing job. I would never have wanted to drive there at all. I thought we were going to die so many times, plus our GPS didn't work in Mexico, the roads were closed that we had directions to and we just were amazed by the crazy maneuvers people would pull. We got lost on our way back from the zoo for like an hour driving around in circles just trying not to get killed. We decided after that we would just stay in Mexico for the rest of the trip.

Top Five Highlights of the Trip

5. Dora at the Beach- she couldn't get enough of the water..until she tried to drink it..nasty

4. Riding Horses on the Beach.

..at first she was really scared but then she could see what the guide was riding and then she figured out that's what she was on and she couldn't stop giggling. My arm was sore for like 3 days from holding on to her so tight. Doesn't Dan look good on a horse. By the way, on Day one he fried his legs and had to wear his only pair of pants for the rest of the trip....his legs just stopped peeling like 2 weeks ago

3. Having absolutely nothing to do while Dora took her naps everyday...

We would just watch TV, nap ourselves or I would go pool side and lay out. It was so nice...I don't think we ever left the condo until 1:oo pm. We probably would have done a lot more if we hadn't taken Dora but it was so relaxing we didn't mind. We also learned that we need to get a King size bed...after a week on that thing a queen just won't do.

2. USS Midway:

We had some time to kill before our flight home so we toured the USS Midway which is a huge air craft carrier docked in the harbor. It was a neat tour-we each had a head phone set and listened to personal stories and facts as you walked through. We could have gone to Disneyland for the price of this tour, but we felt it was well worth it and would do it again. In fact, we really want to go back to San Diego on our next trip...there's so much to do there and the weather is perfect

1. San Diego Zoo...

This is an incredible zoo. The animals have awesome enclosures...they have animals that I had never even heard of or seen...like weird crosses between different animals and such. The greatest thing was the double stacked buses...you could essentially see everything sitting down and could get off and on if you wanted to see things up close. They have a really fun kids zoo where you could pet and roam around with goats, horse, etc. It was a really fun day and we got to eat at In and Out burger...which I hate to admit but was my favorite meal of the trip. The food in Mexico wasn't everything I had dreamed about but luckily didn't get any of us sick either.

A big shout out needs to go to my dad for being our taxi driver to and from the airport and to Aaron, Carrie, Nickle, Jack, Lucy and Tank for watching Buddy for the entire week. He was naughty dog too...ran away like 10 times a day and almost had the pound called on him for disturbing the peace...

Relaxation

2008-06-21T07:20:00.001-07:00

This is what I'll be doing for the week: watching the sunset over the ocean with my wonderful husband and sweet daughter. Pure Joy.

What happens down in Mexico...

2008-06-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

The count down has begun...we will be leaving for the sunny beaches of Rosarito, Mexico in just 20 days. If we can only make it until then. If ever anyone needed a vacation it's us. Can't wait for lazy days by the pool sipping margiritas and riding horses on the beach...ahhh...

Salad Recipe exchange...

2008-05-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

This is something one of my friends started on her blogs. If anyone wants to join in that would be great. Just post your favorite recipe for a saladon your blog and make sure to leave a comment on mine so I know you've put one up. I thought all of you that are away from Utah and those who aren't would love to have this recipe...Cafe Rio Pork Salad. It takes some time to make everything but it is so worth it...I love to make it when we are having guests over!!

Café Rio Salad
Build your salad using the following ingredients in the order given.
You can use disposable pie or cake pans to make these salads.
1. Large Flour TortillasUse homemade or buy the uncooked ones and cook them on a griddle. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top and cook until the cheese is melted. Place the cheesy tortillas in a cake pan.
2. Spanish Rice (Recipe below) (or cook a packaged Spanish Rice Mix)
3. Black Beans (Recipe below)
4. Meat of your choiceI, shredded chicken (recipe below) or shredded pork (recipe below)
5. Romaine LettuceWash thoroughly, and cut into large squares.
6. Pico de Gallo (Recipe below) (or buy some)
7. Guacamole (Recipe below) (or buy some)
8. Lime Wedges
9. Grated Cotija cheese
10. Cilantro sprigs
11. Crispy Tortilla Strips-Just cut some corn Tortillas in thin strips and quickly fry until crisp. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with a little bit of salt.
12. Creamy Tomatillo Dressing (Recipe below)

Suggested recipes:Cilantro Lime Rice
3 c water
3 c rice
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp salt
¼ cup lime juice
1/2 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro, remove large stems
1 small can green chiles
Place water, rice, bouillon, and salt in pot. Bring to boil. Place lime juice, onion, garlic, cilantro and green chilies in a blender and puree. Stir into rice. Simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes.
Black Beans
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 Tbl finely mined onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup tomato juice
3 Tbl chopped Fresh Cilantro
1 tsp salt
Fry onion, garlic and cumin in a small amount of olive oil. Add beans, tomato juice, cilantro and salt and heat through.

Cafe Rio Chicken
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 cloved minced garlic
Cook for about 4 hours in a crock pot. Shred chicken with a fork.
Cafe Rio Pork BarbacoaPork Roast: Put it in a crock pot with a little water and cook until very tender (about 8 hours on low). Shred pork and add:
1 can enchilada sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 small can diced green chilies
1 can Coke (not diet coke)
1 cup brown sugar
salt to taste
Cook for one more hour.

Pico de Gallo
4 ripe Tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1 jalapeno, minced (remove the seeds and veins if you don’t like a lot of heat)
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
lime juice, to taste
salt, to taste
Mix everything together.

Guacamole
2-3 ripe Avocados
1-2 Tbl lime juice
1/2 tomato, finely chopped
2 Tbl finely chopped
onionsalt, to taste (or use garlic salt)
Mash avocado and lime juice with a fork. Fold in the tomato, onion, and salt.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
1 package Ranch Buttermilk Dressing
mix1/3 cup buttermilk1 cup Mayonnaise (I use half mayo and half sour cream)
3 fresh tomatillos
1 cup fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Just put everything in a blender and puree.Refrigerate for a couple of hours and if you need to, adjust the thickness by adding more buttermilk to thin it out, or sour cream to make it thicker.

First Steps

2008-05-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

For the past week or so Dora has been standing up on her own and clapping for herself because she knows that makes her really big and then last night for the first time, she took three steps!! She was like so shocked and proud of herself and I couldn't have been more proud either...it was so cute. I almost started to cry because that for sure makes her big. Dan was at Young Mens so I texted him the big news...he was excited too and sad he missed but I'm sure she'll do it again.

Some of my other favorite things she's doing right now are:
1. We have to pray like 30 times a day because she loves to fold her arms and then throw her arms up in the air for "amen." It is really cute...
2. She loves to say "uh oh" and throws just about everything on the floor possible during dinner so she can say a million times.
3. She loves to go up and down the stairs and is pulling herself up to everything.
4. She's trying to figure out how to work a spoon and fork. She tries so hard and eats so cute.
5. Whenever she looks at her new puppy book, she says "bubba" for buddy the dog, and then whoofwhoofwhoof.. it's really really cute.
6. She loves to look surprised and puts her hands up, like "what is that mom" every time we hear a strange or different sound...

alright, I could go on but won't bore you anymore. all in all being a mom to this little darling girl is the best thing ever. She just melts my heart and I love her so much...

Birthday Party

2008-05-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty good party for Adora last Sunday. I say only pretty good, because the presents we had ordered online for her weren't there and my parents got stuck by all the crazy accidents in both Parley's and Provo Canyons. They tried so hard to get here and I felt really bad because they spent the majority of the day sitting in the car, wondering when the roads were going to open up. Kuddos to them for trying though. So we ended up having Carrie, Aaron and kids, Amy, John and Grandpa Jack there. We had good food and Adora loved being the center of attention. I made a birthday cake just for her and she was so confused that I was actually going to just let her dig in and eat it. It took her a while to get going but I couldn't get her to move for about 45 minutes and she just worked on it. She was so funny... she got some fun books from her cousins and a darling outfit from the soon-to-be new Grandma Powers. It was a great day. I just can't believe how big she is getting. Happy Birthday Noodle we love you.

JULIE

2008-05-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

OK.. Julie, I really want to hang out with you when you are in town but I can't view your blog so I can say hi back...so if you read this please add me to your blog alright...I really would love to see you and catch up... or email me kelsiekay04@hotmail.com !!

Adora's big day

2008-05-15T16:04:00.001-07:00

Today is a big day in our house. Adora is one year old. We can't believe that much time has gone by. She is such a sweet and loving little girl. While she was a surprise to us, we would never trade her for anything in the world. She is doing so many fun things now and is learning more and more every day.
Just in the past week she as learned to go down the stairs (thanks Dan for teaching her that one), get off the couch by herself and how to throw a royal fit to get what she wants. She is standing up by herself, but a little hesitant to walk, I really think by next week she'll be all over the place. She gives me the best hugs and kisses after naps and in the mornings. It's like she just wants to crawl inside of me--for about 30 seconds and then she's off exploring. She loves to throw things on the ground and say "uh oh" but the cutest part about it is she makes the funniest, most expressive face. Like she is so shocked every time. She puts her hands up in the air all the time, like when some one comes to the door or if she can hear Buddy but not see him. Every time music comes on she dances and moves her little hands up in the air (hard to believe with me as her mother). I think her favorite song right now is the theme song to "The Golden Girls" as this is what we watch first thing in the morning as she's being fed. I know that it's about time to stop nursing her, but I can't bring myself to do it. I have loved that bond with her, but I know it'll be a good thing. I keep hoping she'll ween herself and then I won't have to do it but we'll see.
Dorie has four teeth and two more coming. They are so darling. She has the most mischievous looks and she is so curious about everything. She loves to be read to and look at pictures. Her favorite book right now is my scout book for some reason, she'd sleep with it if I let her. Well as a bragging mother, I could go on for pages but I won't. I can't believe how my life has changed in the last year..Dora I love you forever.

P.S. my cousin took these pictures...aren't they to die for

farewell...

2008-05-15T15:49:00.001-07:00

I found out a few weeks ago that one of my dearest childhood friends had taken his own life. I have thought about him constantly for the past few weeks and just wanted to say a few words about him. Marshall was a beautiful person with so much to offer life. He was so smart and such a good friend. He was called to bare more trials in his life than almost anyone I have ever met. Watching Marshall deal with these things forever changed my life. I think my ability for compassion and to truly love others came from him. I don't think I am a judgemental person, you can come as you are when you're with me. I learned this from him...he was always different then everyone else. I remember getting in fights in Jr. High defending him from those who didn't understand. I could say so much about him, but most importantly just that I love him.

In thinking about his death I feel peace. I know he is in a better place, with a much better perspective on his life and his relationship with the Savior. I know he can now know how much he was loved in this life. I know that his soul is precious in the sight of our Heavenly Father and that he was received with open arms. I wish him well in his spirits journey and pray that he will find the understanding he searched for in this life but could not find.

I love you Marshall and will never forget you.

MY MAN

2008-04-26T06:15:00.001-07:00

Man he's hot. I realized that with all the bragging I do about Adora on the blog I have neglected my sweet husband. I love this man. He has so many talents and abilities. First of all, he can handle me which in and of it's self is a miracle. Secondly, he is so funny and quite the jokester. Something I didn't know about Dan for a long time, is that he loves to gab. He would stay for hours after church, if I would let him and chat with everyone and anyone in the halls. He does this at work too. He talks to people so easily. He's non-judgemental, has no desire or intention to keep up with the Jones', and makes people feel at ease. He's almost honest to a fault and considerate of others feelings. Dan is really good with kids of all ages (I quite frequently come home to him playing in the yard with the neighbors kids or letting them help him in the garage).

Daniel is a carpenter extrodinere. He has an amazing ability to see something in his mind and then build it. He's amazing. Everything he makes is beautiful. He is quite the handyman and many a woman in town call him frequently to make custom furniture, finish work, cabint work etc. I am so proud of him and what he does for a living. He helps to build the most beautiful homes.

Of all the things I love about Dan, I love watching him be a daddy the most. He loves our little Adora so much and is willing to work sooo hard so that I can be home with her. He literally works like 50+ hours every week because he knows how important it is to me to stay home. I couldn't ask for more in a husband and friend. I love you babe.

We've made it two whole years...

2008-04-26T05:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary to me and Dan!! Yesterday was our anniversary and to be honest it wasn't that great of a day. Dan came home sick as a dog and I spent almost the entire day going to Provo for a doctors appointment. We enjoyed subway for dinner together at Carries' house (Dan's sister) so there you go...real exciting. But that doesn't change the way I feel about my wonderful husband and how happy I am to be married to him. Dan really is a wonderful man and I am so grateful I get to spend the rest of my life plus eternity with him. Some of you may not know "our story" so here goes:

We met the first day of my mission. Elder Powers was at the bus stop to meet his new greenie and to show me and my companion where our apartment was. His first recollection of me was that I had way too much luggage and all of it was way too heavy. He was right...I must of thought I was going to a third world country and would need a years supply of tootpaste, shampoo, etc. Anyway, I don't really remember remembering him for a few weeks. I recall watching him at District Meetings, hearing him bare his testimony and work with one of our investigators (who was a teenage boy). I was so impressed by him. On the 5th of July we played freezbie in the park for p-day. We ended up talking for hours over freezbie about our families, why we were on missions, what we wanted to be when we grew up. He became a really good friend and a support to a new struggling missionary. We saw each other off and on at a few zone meetings at that was it.

So anyway... many moons later Dan's time was up in the mission field and his parents were coming to get him. By this time I was serving in the Kirtland Historic sites. All the departing missionaries get to go there one more time and before heading to the mission home, so when he saw me there he asked if I would take his parents on tour the next day. So I did. To make a long, emotional story short...there was just something there that day. His parents and grandparents were wonderful. The spirit was so strong and I just felt a connection to him and them. Later we would find out that his mom whispered to his dad, that she felt she had just met their future daughter in law.

When Dan got home he wrote me a letter thanking me for the tour, I wrote back. We wrote every week from then on. A year later I came home, a few days after his mom passed away, I'm so grateful I got to meet her in Kirtland. Five weeks later we were engaged, 4 months later we were married. Three months later we were prego, 9 months later we had a beautiful little girl. Almost a year after that I am so in love with my amazing husband and so thankful for a Heavenly Father who knows me better than I know myself. He was the master planner of our relationship.

I LOVE YOU DAN!!!

My little girl

2008-04-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

Last week when I was in Layton, I went to the beauty supply store and got tiny little velcro rollers for Adora's hair. Her hair is already curly but these's crack me up. They make her look so crazy cute. I also got a her first hair clips and such. She won't wear a handband bow anymore- she just rips them off her head. When I put her hair up in a dubob for the first time I almost started crying because she looked like a little girl instead of a baby. She's growing up and it makes me sad.

Bath Time

2008-04-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

Adora loves bath time!! Her favorite thing to do is throw everything out onto the floor and get everything in her path soaking wet. When Buddy (the dog) hears the tub go on, he runs into the bathroom wanting a cup full of her warm, soapy bath water. What a weirdo but we all laugh at him.

I know she's too big for the little tub I still put her in but everytime I put her in the big tub she has some big tragic fall and ends up bawling so until it begins to interfere with her hygiene she's staying in the blue tub. Have you ever seen a cuter lil' elephant?

Spring Cleaning

2008-04-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I got a little ambition and started spring cleaning the house. I began with th kitchen...Adora thought it was the funniest thing ever. She loved helping me clear out all the cubboards and drawers. The only problem was that I every time I turned around she was pulling things out faster than I could get them back in. She thought playing peekaboo in the cabinets was terrific.

I'm trying once again...

2008-04-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

Ok.. after our girls night out and the endless ridicule for my lack of blogging...I am trying again. I have a sleeping husband, baby and dog at the moment so I thought right now would be a good time to get something written. I haven't put my latest pictures on the computer yet so I thought I would show all the funny pictures of Adora. I can't get a good pictures of that child. My cousin, who is an amazing photographer is going to take her one year old pictures....hopefully she'll do better than my attempt at candid moments. She is way to fascinated with the flash or something to actually get a good shot. It's as if she can't open her eyes in pictures...really though she's about the most darling thing that ever lived...

I am no good at blogging

2008-03-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

It's offical, I am no good in the blog world. Let's be honest, no one even looks at my blog anymore because it hasn't changed in months. Oh well....Not much is new. Same old same old. However spring is coming and I hope it'll lift my spirits into a better blogging sortof world. Adora is getting bigger and bigger. She crawls, pulls herself up to everything, moves from one couch to the next and even stood up by herself for the first time yesterday in church. We now go to nursey for a while every Sunday so that people in Relief Society can feel the spirit and not give into her constant flirting. She really is super funny...she loves to copy me in whatever I do. If I yell, she yells; if I laugh, she laughs. Her favorite thing to do right now either sit and decide which binky to use (it's a hard choice when there's 5 or 6 laying around) and to sit on her daddy's shoulders while he runs around like a mad man or and she loves to touch the ceiling when Dan lifts her up. She squels with delight every time. I was going to put some pictures up but for some reason it won't let me...i'll try later... it may be months later but I'll try

Binkie Girl

2007-11-21T16:19:00.001-08:00

Adora is a MAJOR binkie girl. She loves that thing. Our favorite game is when I'll put the binkie backwards in my mouth and then she'll reach for it and put it into hers. A lot of times it only makes it in the wrong way into her mouth too but she's starting to figure out how to do it. She laughs so hard as soon as she sees the binkie in my mouth and she knows that I'm teasing her. It's super funny.

6 Month Check-up!!

2007-11-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

I took Adora to her 6 month visit today. She weighed in at 16 lbs 4 oz and was 27 1/2 inches long. I didn't think I could love her more but the older she gets the more fun she is. She melts my heart with her little smile and coos. I think I am going to have a very busy child on my hand. She's been sitting up by herself for over a month now and is reaching for everything. Any object she can find goes directly into her mouth. She laughs at the funniest things. She has been sleeping 11-13 hours at night and is just my little angel.

Our Honey Bunny!!!

2007-11-21T16:03:00.000-08:00

OK...

I realize that this is really late, considering it's now Thanksgiving but I really wanted to put these pictures up. Adora smiles so cute but the second a camera is put up she's way too fascinated with it and immediately would like only to eat it. She was lots of fun on Halloween. She wouldn't hold still for her make-up (I'm not quite sure why I thought she would). We went to the ward Halloween/ Chili cook-off party. We took our little neighbor boys with us and the youngest one kept saying "your son is scary. I'm gonna cry he's scary." The boys are from a little Mexican family and have not quite figured out their pro-nouns. Classic....

Back Track!!

2007-11-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

I hope to be able to use this blog as an online journal..if no one else looks at it that's ok. At least I'll have it for myself. So I'm going to back track a little bit. Um... six months ago when our lives changed drastically. That is when we brought our beautifully baby girl into our home. CheetoHead comes from our little red head. That's the first thing the doctor said when she arrived was "look at all that red hair." She has been such a blessing to us and is such a good baby. From about 3 weeks on she slept five hours at night and it's gotten better ever sense. She hardly ever cries but she is learning to get her way when she cries now. She lights up our lives and is so much fun.

I am grateful that I have been able to stay home with her and not had to go back to work. Dan has been so willing to work so hard so that I that I could be home with her. He'd wouldn't want me any other place. That means a lot of late nights and a lot of tired muscle and bone for him. I miss him when he's gone a lot but it means a lot to me that he's willing to do it. I love staying home...it was a BIG adjustment at first. I was so used to being busy all that time and running every which direction all at the same time. Luckily life slowed down big time. Physically I feel a lot better now and ejoy being able to just relax.

Adora loves to watch me do all of our chores. She sits in her bumbo and watches me get ready in the morning (lets be honest, more like afternoon), make dinner, wash the dishes and so forth. She also loves her daddy. She squels with delight whenever he comes home. I think his favorite thing to do with her is get her out of bed in the morning. In fact, I think he's much louder than he used to be all in hopes that she'll wake up. She is so happy in the mornig and smiles and coos to him. I think we are going to have a major daddy's girl on our hands.

Anyway I could go on for pages....I'll the pictures do the talking

First timer

2007-11-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

I have had so much fun reading other blogs, that I couldn't help but start one myself. Hopefully I won't be too terribly boring but with our cheeto head around there's always something to talk about.

Buddy the dog and Adora are best of friends. However Buddy seems to think the bouncer is exclusively for his use only. Adora has recently grown out of the bouncer but we can't put it away because it's his favorite place to take a nap.