Dickerson Doodles

Christmas

2012-01-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was AWESOME! We had gotten almost all our shopping done by October with only a couple things left to get. The girls were so cute and fun this year. They were both able to understand a little bit more about Christmas. We took them to a place in Burnet, Texas where they have a live Bethlehem. This church puts it on every year for a few days, for free. You walk around this place and visit these homes/places of work and talk to the people about their lives at that time. They have people paying their taxes, leather makers, food vendors, soap makers, people who take care of animals with real camels to pet, soldiers, inns that are all full and the last part is a little cave where you look in the see Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Afton LOVED it and still talks about it to this day. I am sooo glad to hear her talk about what a good thing it was for her and her favorite part was seeing baby Jesus! We had church on Christmas day just for the first hour. I got up to get ready and then woke up the girls. (They stayed up late reading books.) I told Afton that Santa had come and said, "Mom, what do we do know?" I think most kids would just run right out to look at all the presents but she was so reserved about it all...so cute! We ate breakfast and finished getting ready and the girls didn't even try to get into the presents! Then it was off to church...it was such a good meeting listening to the beautiful music and messages. After church we came home and opened presents, which was sooo fun. After that we played and ate all day and loved every minute of spending time together as a family. Tad had the whole week afterwards off, so we were able to sit around and play all day!

Later on, I tried to straighten Reesa's hair. I'd done this once before but it look a bit funny...like a mullet. Now it's grown out a little bit more and doesn't look as funny, but then she doesn't really look like Reesa without those curls!

It's official...

2012-01-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

It's official...we are out of the diaper stage! Reesa is potty-trained. I have no more need to buy those overpriced pieces of whatever they are made out of! I don't know what I did to deserve such an easy child but I am soooo grateful. Afton has never been very hard, until potty training came along. (Well, she wasn't the best sleeper either.) Afton had accidents all the time and number 2 was really rough. At the beginning of this week I realized I had 3 days in a row where I didn't have to be anywhere/do anything. That's the first time in a LONG time! I decided to go for it, because she was already going on the toilet every once and a while. Monday we had a few accidents; Tuesday was a lot better with only one real accident; Wednesday was awesome...no accidents. I had gone to the store on Thursday evening and while I was gone I got a phone call from a little girl who told me that she had gone number 2 on the potty all by herself. Tad was working on dinner and didn't know she had to go, but he said next thing he knew she's calling for him from the bathroom. I cannot believe how easy this has been. I feel so spoiled! I'm glad to say I just have one of those children. Now I realize I said that I will probably have the worst experience ever some time with one of our other children, but I'll take what I can get!

So I know it's maybe a little improper to show pictures of my children naked, but seriously how cute is this little girl?! She LOVES her Rapunzel panties (Thanks Grammy and Poppy!) and just loves being a big girl.

Had to be the view from behind! Sooooo funny!

Thing number 2, (not related to the number 2 we were previously talking about), I am doing this:

I'm not doing the full, just the half, but it will be my first! I'm so excited and anxious at the same time. It's down in Beaumont, kind of near Houston, and on March 10th. I decided it was time I set a goal for myself instead of just "takin' it easy" with my running. We really want to do it together, but we have two little girls who need watching! Tad's being a good sport about it and encouraging me! Love him.

So life is busy, busy, but that's the way I like it. I find the best version of myself and strive to be the person I want to be more whenever I am busy.

Afton's Story

2012-01-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Tad was doing some work on his computer and Afton kept saying she wanted to help. Tad told her that she could make a picture, so they did. Then they had to assign names and stories to it all and this is what it came out to be! It was so funny. She would run her finger under the words like she was reading the story that she just made up. So cute and sooo smart! Love my little girl who loves to learn and is chopping at the bit to do homework like everyone in school!

If you can't read it very well, here's the story:

Pin and his bird friend Pock had so much fun playing with their toys. In the door he saw his whole bedroom. In his bedroom he had toys and picky banks and some of his candy and he remembered what his Mom and Pin talked about him eating his candy and he said, “OK Mom, I won’t eat my candy.” When his Mom came back, Pin and his friend bird and Pin’s Mom ate lunch.. And when Pin was done with his lunch, he said, “Now can I have my candy?” and she said, “of course Dear.” And he understood his Mom.

Pin and his best bird Lone were having so much fun in their backyard

On the first night, Pin missed his firned bird. Nad when he was staying home with his mom and dad, he said Mom can I have mycandy? And his Mom said, “yeah, after we eat lunch… dun dun dun ruff, dun dun dun ruff.” And so...

BeSt ViDeO oF aLl TiMe!

2012-01-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T11:28:00.000-08:00

Reesa's Favorite song

2011-12-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

Catch up and...We're Baaack

2011-12-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

So here we are months and months later. We finally moved to Texas and then moved into our apartment in Hutto, Tx. I somehow in all that transition lost the hook-up cord for my camera. I couldn't upload my pictures. I actually didn't realize this until recently...so I went to Best Buy and bought a usb thing to put my SD card in, which I should have done weeks before, but that's alright! Here we are and I have tons of pictures. These pictures are in no particular order. Apparently blogger cannot upload in sequential order, maybe that's one of those things they'll work on! ;) I'll post a little blurb under them to fill in on the details. Merry Christmas to you! Just kidding, though really Merry Christmas.

We're training the girls already to be sweet southern belles...with cowgirl boots!

Daddy took some time out to play an obstacle course game with the girls. They LOVED it! Afton somehow always won with just moving the ball along with her nose!

One day Afton went into our room and was quiet for quite a while. I went in to check on her and this is what I found.

Grandma and Grandpa came into town for Thanksgiving and one of the days they were here, we all went bowling! It was fun and Afton was awesome! Who knew? They got a little play time in the arcade area too.

Reesa's birthday was a blast. It was princess style, if you couldn't tell. She HAD to wear her dress all day and didn't want to take it of for pj's either. She got some great gifts. We had Grandma and Grandpa as well as the other Dickersons snug in our apartment for her little bash. It turned out so fun! Reesa is a little princess. She has been the sweetest little girl, yet will dish out some attitude if needed. She loves to snuggle, loves sister, loves to sing and dance, put on mommy's shoes and jewelry, listen to music, navigate an iphone, loves Tangled and Megamind, pretty much any candy and fruit. She is gentle and loving, yet a two year old all in one! Love my chunkers!

Afton has made a habit of playing with her food while she eats and this time has decided she needs a skin graft for her nose!

Reesa getting ready for church in her new skirt and leggings from Grammy and Poppy! Thanks!

Reading books with Grandma and Grandpa.

My little Vanna Whites presenting our Christmas tree.

The Christmas socks!

Mr. Vanna White

Reesa went off into the room and was very quiet, usually that is not a good thing, but this time she was reading herself a book! It was sooo cute to just listen to her make up a little story to fit the pictures.

Family Christmas tree decorating...yes Reesa is wearing the same princess dress.

The girls are watching the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins bake in the oven...delicious!

Afton with her comfort thingy...a tinkerbell sleep mask. Do you know any three year old that needs a sleep mask? Oh yeah, we breed them high-maintenance here!

Tad and I got to go to the BYU vs UT game. We were a house divided, but I loved being able to go! We went with his brother, Scott, and his wife, Stacy. It was sooo much fun! Thanks guys!

Some of the cutest girls in the world, a couple old fogies, and some weird feet pictures= the best Christmas card EVER!

We had a family fondue night. It was delicious and well worth the mess. Reesa was afraid of herself when she found out what she looked like! Afton could care less as long as there was chocolate in her mouth. That's my girl!

Afton's first day of joyschool. She loves it and has been learning so much and making good friends.

Me and my sweet little girl growing up too fast!

Lunch box...check. Backpack...check. Little sister tagging along...check, check!

Reesa was so exhausted one day, not sure why, and fell asleep standing up! It wasn't even nap time yet!

Reesa giving a demonstration on how to properly pick your nose.

Cutie-pies! ;)

Uncle Tyler came to visit to help me drive to Georgia for Leisha's baby. The girls LOVE him! Reesa would wake up bright and early, run into the living room and call, "Tylers!" So cute!

We took Uncle Tyler downtown to go see all the bats under Congress bridge. It's a weird thing but pretty amazing once you see it!

We had joyschool at our house for Halloween and played dress-up. The kids loved it!

One of Afton's creations.

Afton was a fairy for her Halloween party.

Ward Halloween party was a blast! Reesa was a little witch, Afton was snow white, I was a bad yearbook picture, and Tad was yet again a 70's man. He makes one good 70's man! We ended up winning the Chili cook-off and the pumpkin carving contest, with Tad's self-portrait! (Back right pumpkin, in the trunk picture) Awesome!

Fun times

2011-10-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

So we have been in Georgia the past week. The girls have been loving it and I'm loving it too, just wish that Daddy were here with us though!

A couple nights ago, I'm putting the girls down to bed and after prayers we give everybody huggies and kissies. So Afton and Reesa are giving each other huggies and just kind of giggling, then Afton gets the idea to fall, holding on to Reesa, onto her little air mattress. She landed right on top of Reesa and they both cracked up laughing. They did it over and over again. I didn't want to put them to bed, because it was so cute and fun to watch them play "rough" and love it! I know they won't always have those "I love you sister" moments but I sure hope they are more frequent than the "I'm not liking you right now" moments.

This next one made me laugh so hard. So Afton is in the bathroom for a while and I'm trying to talk to Tad on the phone, but hearing "Mommy, I need help." She's been pottying on her own for a while, so I'm telling her that she knows how to do it herself. I get off the phone and go stand in the doorway. She starts doing it by herself but still saying she needs my help. I said, "Afton you don't need my help, you are a big girl and know how to go potty all by yourself!"
She said, "But I just need you to watch me."
I replied, "No, bug, I don't need to watch you. You can do it!"
She quickly remarked, "Am I not a t.v.?"

It made me laugh so hard, because at first I was like what...a t.v.? What does that have to do with anything? And then I realized, oh man! She is sooooo clever! Love that girl!

Also, my sister finally had her baby! Baby Jace came into the world on October 4th weighing in at 8 lbs 6 oz and 21 inches long! That is her first too! Can't wait to see how big the next ones will be! He is soooo cute, looks like Daddy with Mommy's nose, has a nice head of dark brown hair and it just the sweetest little boy ever! Love him! I'll post pictures soon!

Seriously! So Blessed!

2011-09-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

Okay I know there is a funny mormon blog out there called, "Seriously, So blessed," but I couldn't help naming this post that. It's true! I be serious now though and tell you why.

A couple days ago, in the afternoon, Afton started to feel a little yucky. She had a runny nose and then started to have a little fever. Nothing too crazy. The next day it was about the same. Since her fever was really not much of a fever at all, I took the girls swimming to get out of the house. About half the way through our swimming adventure Afton started to not feel so good again, but I had already told Tad to meet us out at the pool. So we waited for him and then went to eat with some friends after he came. Afton didn't eat and just fell asleep. Reesa on the other hand, well, that's why she has rolls on her legs and belly and pretty much everywhere. She kept eating. Not unusual! On the way home Afton kept whining and moving around. I knew she was nearing the throw up stage and tried to get home as fast as possible. I hear some noises in the back, thinking it's Afton throwing up, I look back and it's not. It's Reesa! She didn't cry or even make a noise. She just started throwing up! I pulled off to the side of the road and with my 1 wipe I had left I tried to get her to get it all out. Finally, we make it home and I knew it was gonna be a long night. Both the girls were burning up. Tad had work in the morning so I slept on the floor in the girls room. Lucky I did because one time Afton was half asleep throwing up. Reesa didn't throw up any more, but was just burning up all night. Afton threw up like 3 times. My predictions were right...super long night. The next day I just tried to get them to stay hydrated and keep their medicine down. We wasted a lot of food, testing out what they might eat, sat in the living room all day, and watched movies or read books. I fell asleep about 6:30, exhuasted and slept till about 8. I woke up worried, because I definitely did not plan on sleeping. Both the girls are awake at the time and sleeping while they are awake is not the best idea. Tad was awesome and had the girls taken care of, eating dinner and straightening up the house.

We sat around the dinner table. Tad had gone out and gotten me my favorite thing from Chili's: southwestern egg rolls. Then I opened my present with a homemade birthday card from the girls and Tad, and a bag of Dove chocolates. It seemed so hokey and not a birthday that you would envision in your mind, but for some reason my heart overflowed. I almost cried at that perfect moment in my life. I had my beautiful family surrounding me and I had their love. It was such a simple moment and it felt so right. I sat there trying to think of a wish as I blew out my one candle in the chocolate molten cake that Tad got me. Honestly, I could not think of anything. It was one of those cheesy hollywood movie moments that you don't think would ever be able to exist in the "real world," but there it was. I am seriously so blessed. It was a hard day, but you can't ask that life, real life, be on hold while you do those things that you think you want or maybe even need. I would have passed up that one beautiful moment if I had not had the experiences that day and the previous day. How wise our Father in Heaven is to give us those throw up filled sleepless nights so that we can truly appreciate the beautifully real things we have in our life.

I love these three people who fill up my life with love and reaffirm my knowledge of a Father in Heaven who loves me more than I can imagine.

"Although we will all experience times of trial and difficulty, there are laws which, if obeyed, will enable us to also experience great happiness. Make sure you sacrifice, share, and grow together."

-Elder Robert D. Hales

"A Little Heaven on Earth"

Very Very Late Birthday Wish!

2011-08-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

So I have this friend. It was her birthday and due to my moving scenario I totally spaced. So I feel like a horrible best friend, but let me tell you all about how amazing she and then who she is!

First of all, she is the most giving person I have ever known. She remembers everything about you and makes you feel so special. She's a hugger, but if you're not, you will be converted by her hugs!

She is sensitive to the Spirit guiding all she does and her entire life by it. She is strong not only physically, but mentally, and spiritually. She has such a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and the gospel. She knows what is good and right and lives her life accordingly. She is honest. She thinks of others and does things for them all the time. She is a hard worker and very talented at many things. She sings beautifully, is always smiling, sees the good in everyone and in the world. She's goofy and fun to be with. She's super smart and very creative! She's very devoted to family and if your a friend that means your like family! On top of all this, she is beautiful!

She is my best friend, my college roommate, Meagan. My time there would never had been the same without her. She made my college experience! She also introduced me to my Tad! We had so much fun together and so many times she was there for me when I needed someone. We drove across the country together, went to dances together, went on double dates, did late night homework sessions, had classes together, played in the snow, sang together, cried and hugged, pretty much the ideal best friend. I could not have asked for anyone better!

I miss you soooooo much Meagers! Hope your birthday was Amazing! I love you!!

*Seriously, isn't she beautiful?!

Life

2011-08-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a life!

I have been so engrossed in worldy things lately. I don't know why. I HAD to watch So You Think You Can Dance on Tuesdays and Wednesdays online (we don't have cable). I HAVE to read the magazines that snoop into people's lives while waiting in line at the store. I look at Facebook too long. I care too much about what I look like, what my house looks like, what my girls look like. I care too much about saving face, appearing to be better than what I really am. All of these things I have allowed to overtake me. I haven't been spending as much time with my girls as I can. I have been getting impatient or stressed over the silliest things. It's been all about me me me lately. I think I used to get this way and just tried to cover up my pride with service. Service is great and it gets me thinking about others, but so many times I used it to make myself feel better about myself. Granted I didn't go around bragging about what I'd done, but in my mind I told myself I had done good that done which covered up everything else. I've been praying lately for the ability to see myself in those moments: where my girls are screaming for my attention or those sweet moments when the girls are playing or laughing together and I'm missing it. I have prayed to be able to recognize what I am doing and change it, because I want to be the best mother I can be. I want to just roll around with the girls, play Rapunzel with Afton while she runs around as Flynn Ryder, I want to read stories for hours with them, tuck them in and tell them bedtime stories, make fun treats for us to eat, sit on the patio and drink smoothies together in 100 degree weather. I want my girls to remember seeing me reading scriptures, saying prayers, playing with them all day, having fun grocery shopping together and hardly remembering when Mommy lost her patience.

So far I have had multiple experiences where I can feel myself about to make some short reply to Afton or Reesa who just want me to watch them or play with them or just listen; I'll stop and breath and remember who I want to be. My life is sweet. I have this wonderful gift of my family! Seriously I am sooo lucky. Afton is so grown up, smart, sensitive, sweet and loving. Yesterday I was going out for a little fun girls night and as I was just about to walk out the door she ran up to me grabbed both my legs and said, "I love you, Mommy," in her little content voice. Heaven! Reesa is so happy, smiling all the time, laughing and making us all laugh, hugging me from behind, putting those sweet chubby little hands on my face so I know it's time to listen to her, and is sooo sweet. I love that she goes into my closet and puts on my shoes and can almost walk perfectly in them! She gets so excited about the littlest things! When did I lose that? Tad is the most amazing husband! How do I deserve such a good man? He is so loving, considerate, gentle, and a great father. Yesterday was a rough day at work and he came home to a hyped up Afton (she ate a whole tube of those mini M&M's) and a goober Reesa, a sink of dishes, grilled cheese for dinner (which he said was amazing, how sweet is that?), tons of work still to do and a wife who got to go have fun for the evening. I came home and he was happy, the dishes were done, the porch light on waiting for me, the house clean, the girls comfortably asleep in bed. I know I don't deserve that!

I was just getting on the computer this morning to plan out our dinners for the next couple weeks. I decided to check email, blogs and facebook before doing that and found this. I don't know who these people are but looking at their sweet family blog (http://aniandmatttaylor.blogspot.com/) surely gave me some perspective. I sat at the computer reading their blog, crying, thinking how blessed I am and there she is saying how blessed she is. I know when we go through trials it starts to change us. It changes our perspective. I don't know who reads my blog anymore, but spread the word to read that blog. The Taylor family, I know, is not the only family who struggles but that doesn't mean we can't do all when can to help when we find those in need, even if the only thing we can do is pray. After reading her blog all I wanted to do is go and donate my liver. Do I need it that bad? Surely there's enough to share with that sweet little baby girl! I don't know what plan is in store for that family or my family for that matter, but couldn't we all use some perspective every once and a while? I hope that I can continue to remember how blessed I am and try to do my best in all that I do and for everyone I meet.

Before and After

2011-07-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

So the other day I went to go get my hair trimmed. Then I started considering going super short and I got all excited. I couldn't help myself. This is the shortest I've gone and I love it. I'm getting half and half on the reactions. Some like it longer, some shorter. Tad is in between. Anyway, thought I'd get this in before the move!

Before

After

Big news, well sort of, okay not that big News

2011-07-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here I am again. I just wanted to post because I don't want it to say, "posted 3 (or more) months ago," under my name. I don't remember my longest stint but hopefully I can just keep up the consistency.

So we are moving on Saturday! Big news. We didn't get into the house we had made an offer on and so we started to look at apartments instead. Since we began to look at homes, we felt very good about moving to Hutto, which is just about 5 minutes east of Round Rock. But because we weren't getting a house we decided to just stay in the ward we are already in. We looked at apartments that we thought were within the ward boundaries. We found one and loved it. It was actually the cheapest of the 3 and it had the same or more square footage than the other ones we looked at. So come sunday we start to tell everyone that we found this apartment and will be moving on Saturday. Well, lucky for us we had 2 stake presidency members, the ward clerk and the bishop all looking into if these apartments were in the ward boundaries. Unfortunately, they are not. It's so funny, because we tried so hard to stay in this ward, but obviously the Lord has other plans for us. We are excited because we know we need to be there and we will be able to pay off the van by the end of our contract. Awesome! So that's the news for right now. I may not be blogging for a few weeks until we get all moved in. Until then!

Birthday Man!

2011-07-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Tad's 28th Birthday! Yeah!! Unfortunately we both worked most of the day. His bosses took good care of him through the day. He got one of those jumbo round rock donuts for breakfast and Shawn (his boss) took him out for lunch. Meanwhile, I was watching their kids and we made cards for him. When we got home we left the girls with Sami, their cousin, who agreed to watch them while Tad and I went out. She is AWESOME. So I took Tad to the best restaurant ever, Texas Roadhouse! Can never have enough of those rolls and a good steak. Then we drove over to use our groupon at the Melting Pot for dessert. It was our first time there and we are definitely gonna go back. Oh man, it was like heaven in a pot and on dipping sticks! Since it was his birthday, the manager came over and gave us some "Blackberry Pomegranate Soda." Since we are not alcoholic savvy we had no idea that soda meant champagne until our server came over to see how we liked it. Don't worry we definitely didn't get drunk, at least I don't think a miniscule sip can do that to ya, but we were embarrassed and couldn't stop joking about what goobs we are! We stopped by a redbox on our way home and picked up True Grit. It was pretty good but we stayed up way past midnight watching it. Needless to say, we looked awesome this morning when the girls woke up. I am so lucky to have such a great guy in my life. I am grateful that I have been so blessed. Tad is such an loving, gentle, funny, goofy husband and father and I could not ask for anyone better to share the rest of my life with! I LOVE YOU TAD!

P.S. This completes my updates. That's a total of 5 posts, all with pictures, so enjoy!

Surviving the summer heat!

2011-07-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

So we got back from our trip safe and sound and have been loving spending our summer playing together. We go swimming a few times a week. Afton is learning to swim and is doing awesome. She has been very brave. She swims in the deep end with her little floatie all by herself and loves to tell you about it. We are trying to teach her to hold her breath under the water. Reesa thinks that she can hold her breath which usually results in her drinking or inhaling the water. She likes being at the pool, but Afton is definitely our water bug! I am so proud of her and her confidence in herself in being able to achieve anything. Last weekend we took the girls to Rockin' River. It this great mini water park place here. It has a little lazy river, plenty of shallow water and jungle gym things and two big slides. Tad tried one out and convinced me to do it. Of course, I'm so cool that on my way out I got completely flipped around, resulting in a major wedgie, which I am hoping onlookers didn't see, and some water up my nose! It was worth the laughs, though.

Don't ask, I have no idea!?

Afton looking all grown up with her swoop bangs and make-up!

More trip to Georgia

2011-07-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Here's some more of the trip to Georgia.

Poppy and Reesa reading books

Afton loves spending time in Jon and Lela's room, mostly because Jon was there.

This is how a lot of our nights went. Tons of Nerts/Pounce.

Aunt Lela was so nice and played outside with the girls and water balloons.

The girls got to watch some movies together.

Taking a trip to go floating down a river. It was pretty fun, but added some pain to many of our bodies.

Had to get some family pictures. The girls loved spending time with the family and loved Uncle Tyler. I am so grateful to have such an amazing family and have them be a bit closer. It was so much fun to be with them even though we did get sick, stressed out and hurt. It was worth it to be with them for 2 whole weeks. Poor Tad only got a week in and it was probably the worst part of the trip. Everyone trying to get the wedding all organized and stressing out and then getting sick from the Noravirus afterwards! We have concluded we just need to have my family come to us next! Hope to see you guys at Christmas!

Trip to Georgia

2011-07-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well this post is chuck full of pictures so I won't write too much. Be sure to check out my other posts! (Whoever reads this!)

This is on the plane ride to GA. The girls did amazing, seriously, there and back! I'm so lucky.

These last eight were from Bethy's bridal shower. Michael's mom, step-mom, sisters and grandmas were able to come and it was super fun. These last few are just us silly girls from our side: me, my two sisters, my mom and my grandmother. I LoVe my family!

These were from the actual wedding day. I didn't get too many because it was crazy hot and no one wanted to stand out there taking pictures for too long.

This was the cupcake and wedding cake setup. They were pretty darn good.

These were from the ring ceremony we had. His family was not members of our church so we had a ring ceremony before the reception. It was such a good ceremony!

My dad being the host.

Beth and Michael, the newlyweds

Silly Lela

Reesa and Grammy

Daddy and Afton

Me and Uncle Aaron

Me and the beautiful bride!

I'm sorry Grandmother, the other picture I have is super blurry! But seriously, isn't she beautiful, even in a silly picture!

Me and my Mamma

Uncle Tyler

My sweet girls and me

My Amazing Hubby!

Lela and Jon, the ultimate goobers

The set up at the reception!

Cutting the cake and shoving in the face

Bride and groom dance

Bloggin' it up!

2011-07-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

So I'm back in the blogging world. It's been a while, but it's not because I didn't have pictures! I just have had to get up the energy to do it. (Even though it doesn't take much.) Not too much has been going on here, we just are enjoying the summer heat and loving Texas.

We found a house that we like and have put an offer down on it however, just before doing so we found out that there was another offer put on it. It's a short sale so unfortunately that means everything takes lifetimes to figure things out. We are hoping to hear this week if the other offer was accepted or not and if not, then they will consider ours. Even though it's an awesomely long waiting game, we feel like the house is well worth it. We have found this house in great condition, has 2188 square feet (which is pretty good sized!) and is $100,000. We are loving the Texas housing market right now! We hope to get it, but if we don't we feel like it would be a wise decision to rent for about a year and pay off the van. In doing so, we will open up so many more options for us. We also hope to pay off my student loans, which will only leave us Tad's student loans! I LOVE paying off debt! We can actually pay off my loans but if we get into the house we want to not feel like we are drowning right after we get into it. If we move into an apartment we are hoping to stay in the ward! So that's the news on the housing front.

Reesa and Afton are just growing up like weeds. I can't believe how one day it just seemed like I was having conversations with Reesa. She is talking so much now. She understands me. She tells me when she's "all done," if she wants to "eat," or drink, she asks please for almost everything she wants, tells me she wants up/down, runs to the door and yells Daddy when he comes home, loves to act like a doggy with her tongue out, asks for "nana's" (bananas) all the time, says when things are hot, tells me she got an "owie," and loves to grab my hand and say, "mere" (come here) when she wants me to do something with her. I'm loving this age and just can't get enough of her. Afton is saying the funniest things, which she mostly gets from listening to Mommy and Daddy or from movies. The other day I was telling Tad about that new Oreo commercial and said at the end the Grandpa says, "Franklin Delano!" Afton caught on immediately said, "Freakin' Delado!" We were rolling on the floor! Also, I took her to the bathroom the other day and asked her if her legs hurt from a little sunburn. She replied, "Well, um...that's easy for you to say!" I'm not sure what made her think that fit, but she had just been watching Tangled and I soon found out that's a line in the movie. So funny! She is such a good girl, helping Mommy and making us all laugh!

So since this is already a long update, I'll get Tad and me in the next post!

Reesa LOVES reading books!

These bottom two pictures are from a little campout we had for the Young Women in our ward. It was so much fun! We have such amazing girls and I am so happy to be in young women's with them.

Quick update!

2011-05-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

So I found my camera finally but we leave tomorrow for Georgia! Yeah!! Can't wait! So I have some pictures from Tad's iphone that I will put up instead. I do have a few pictures to put up from Sami's camera and mine, but those will have to wait till we get back!

Reesa is such a goober! One night at bed time she could not stop smooshing her face on her pack and play!

Reesa and her allergies!

We went on a campout and Afton got a tinkerbell bedding set. It had this sleep mask and she slept amazingly! So funny!

Afton LOVES trying on shoes!

This is what we do a lot! Roll the ball with Reesa.

I don't remember when these were, but she must have been exhausted!

Oh my sleepy girl!

Things around here are getting better and better! Tad got a raise, already. Our plan was to have a good amount saved by September time so we could get started on the house thing. Now we are hoping to move that up a bit. We have been looking around here in Round Rock for a home and have found a couple that we liked. Then we discovered Hutto. Oh yes, Hutto. A small town just east of Round Rock. The property taxes there are amazing!! We have found that we can get more square footage for cheaper prices, so that may be the place for us. We haven't felt any overwhelming feelings about it yet beside the fact that it is cheaper. I am so excited! We will hopefully be making offers on houses in August. That's sooo soon! Can't wait. Tad is an amazing worker and has made a great bond with his bosses. We couldn't ask for better people to be working for. We are so blessed to be here and to have all that we have and yet continue to be blessed everyday!

Camera, Camera where have you been?

2011-05-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Yayyyyy!! I found my camera! Yeah to more posts coming! (Aunt Katie there will be pictures of the girls in their swimsuits! Can't wait to post it!)

New background...new post?!

2011-05-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, there is a new background and even a new header. However, since moving to Texas I have misplaced my camera which has made posting a little, uh, sparse. So sorry, but I have to rely on others cameras which I keep forgetting to ask for. I always thought I was more organized than to be one of those that would not lose their camera in situations like this, but I guess I'm not as organized as I thought I was. The real thing is that to find it, I'd have to go through our storage unit and that just would not be advisable! So tomorrow, hopefully, I will have stories from our past few weeks of adventures and maybe some pictures. Hopefully you all can control yourselves until then. We are a pretty popular blog here, so just cool your jets and I'll post as soon as I can (or have time, or want to...)!

See ya soon!

Knitted Monsters!

2011-04-18T13:51:00.001-07:00

Click on my little button to Make It and Love It. Then go check out the cutest little knitted monster giveaway! Sooo cute!

Beeve Teef

2011-04-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

So March 29th is a big day! Well for some of us...it was my sister Beth's birthday. She turned the big 20. I don't remember much about us as kids, but Bethy was super teeny and cried...a lot. There's a picture that I love because it totally fits her and my other sister Leisha. I wish I had it, but an explanation will have to do. They are both little toddlers and are sitting on the bed and Leisha has her arm around Beth and has this huge smile on her face. Bethy, on the other hand, is screaming crying. So funny! Lucky for us she grew out of that stage. Before we moved down to Texas, Bethy was up at school in Idaho while we were there. I loved having her so close. I was trying to distract her from her studies pretty much everyday. Bethy is funny, has a great laugh, is willing to take a few jokes, and just wants to be a good person. She is very strong-willed and ready to stand up at a moments notice. I'm so glad that she was up there for a little while and I'm super glad she's my SiS! Put us all in one room and crazy fun times will ensue! Love you Bethy! Hope your birthday was AwEsOmE!

Pictures and more!

2011-03-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, this has all been a long time comin.' So we have been having a blast here in Round Rock with Scott and Stacy and their family. You'd think it would be a big adjustment moving in with another family, but it has been awesome. Stacy is so sweet and is on top of everything which makes life so much easier. The kids have so much fun together. I know their young, but I hope they will remember at least some of this time that they have had together. Shane and Afton have their good days and bad days, but it's like brother and sister. Some days it's so fun to watch them laugh and play together and others they are just butting heads (literally). You think I'm joking but yesterday they were fighting about something and were head to head pushing each other. The wills were strong, but we parted them before we found out who would win. Reesa is so cute just following them around or escaping to the backyard. She has discovered how easy these doors are to open so she can go anyway if they are left unlocked. She LoVeS playing outside. She is growing super fast saying so many things. She says, "Mama," "Dadda," "Sissa" (Sister), "Aton" (Afton), "Lela" (Leisha), "Aun B" (Aunt B), "What's Dat," "Oh Yeah," "Seesa" (Reesa), "Eye," "Weeeee," "Uh-oh" and probably her favorite, "hi."

She sings in her little voice all the time and it is sooo cute. Afton is a little singer too and is learning so many songs with all the words. We went camping and had a talent show and she wanted to sing the ABC's. She did it perfectly. So cute! Afton is getting more strong-willed, but it is a silent thing. The other night I came home from running and it was about 9:15. There she was playing with Lego's in the playroom downstairs. I came upstairs with her and Tad said he had put her down about 45 minutes ago. Little stinker has learned to sneak out of her room already! Reesa will wake up so bubbly and babbling to herself in the morning. I am usually still tired but I just have to smile when I see her little face and hear her say, "Wat's dat?" She makes a lot of animal sounds but her favorite is the dog, which doesn't really sound like a dog, more like a mouse, but what can ya do? She's only 16 months. My favorite is her kitty cat. She offsets her jaw and the cutest little "me-owwww" comes out. Love it. One night I was telling Afton about getting married in the temple and I told her she had to be a good girl to go there. She quickly responded, "Yeah, I actually am." Well, I'm glad we're done with that step. Done and done. She says the funniest things! They are growing up too fast.

I am doing great. Staying busy. Stacy is teaching me all her great freezer meal recipes. It's been awesome only cooking once a month. I had never even thought about all the possibilities of that before, but I am loving it. Since it's actually possible to be oustide here without having your extremities freezing off, I have been running. Stacy has been nice enough to share her friends with me. The had started a running group and so every Monday we go running. Wednesdays we usually do Just Dance 2 on the Wii or Pilates. Which are actually pretty taxing exercises. Saturday mornings we try to go running too. We usually run about 3 to 3.5 miles with all the girls. I am trying to increase my distance because I want to do this half marathon. Saturdays I tend to go by myself and do a big run. It's been awesome! I hated running before but have come to love it. It's that out that makes you feel stress free afterwards and you get healthy in the meantime. So far I have lost 5 lbs and my goal is to lose 8 more. If I can do that I'll be back to my high school weight! How crazy would that be? The half marathon I want to do is in August down in Galveston. It would be around our anniversary so we were thinking of heading down and going to Schlitterban down there as well. So many possibilities when you live in a warmer climate! I also got a calling as the Laurel Advisor. Stacy is the YW President so it's not very surprising, but I am loving it. We have amazing young women who have made me feel so welcomed. It keeps me busy and I am learning so much.

Tad is doing great at his job. He loves working with these amazing people, Shawn and Margaret. They are so inspiring and are really trying to be good, genuine people. He keeps pretty busy with his job working until about 6:30-6:45 everyday. He goes in about 9 in the morning, but I love having that hour to hour and a half before he goes to work. He is also Second Counselor in the Sunday School Presidency. So far he hasn't gotten many assignments because the President has been out of town, but last week he got to conduct Sunday School and ring the bell! How lucky! He is loving being a Texan and we are excited to see what more is in store for us! With that said, here are a bunch of pictures courtesy of Sami and Sadie because I don't know where my camera is!

Reesa being super cute.

Afton and Reesa love having a backyard!

Afton, my little goober.

Silly little girl!

Oh Tad, my main squeeze! Hehehe!

She is sooo happy!

Afton is super cute!

Afton, Shane and Sadie play together a lot! and love it!

Sadie loves my little girls! She's like their second mother!

Stacy was so excited about this jello thing I made. (Recipe on Our Best Bites blog.)

Afton has learned to work the CD player and loves listening to stories on it.

Stacy and I took the kids to the Austin Zoo

Here we are posing in all our Zoo glory! (Sadie is like Oh girls really?!)

We also went camping with some friends at this beautiful place! This is also where I did my first 5K.

Goofy girls!

Sami-lami! So cute!

Us again...Stacy's camping look is so much more attractive than mine!

Reesa loved this little slide and never wanted to get off.

Uncle Tad doing breakfast!

Sadie loving on Reesa!

Afton and Sadie getting ready to go swimming!

Reesa's getting her sunblock ready.

This was Barton Springs where we went swimming. It was soooo cold!

We also took the kids to the park and had a picnic!

Afton, again my goober!

Here we are again!

Reesa is making new friends. She loves saying, "hi!"

Move to TEXAS!!

2011-02-23T14:33:00.000-08:00

We made it! We are finally here in Round Rock, Texas! After a 26 hour or so drive we made it! We started on Wednesday because my brother-in-law just can't sit still so we headed down. However, the weather was pretty bad and we were super sleepy so we made it to Pocatello. Not very far, we probably could have gone back, but oh well. The next day we woke up early and headed out for a long drive. Reesa got a bit car sick and threw up but luckily Leisha was in the car with me helping out. (Which meant she got throw up all over her! Poor Leisha, she's a trooper!) After that both the girls just did their thing...ate snacks, colored, watched movies. They were so good! It was a long day with about 11 hours. Then we stopped in New Mexico for the night and woke up early again. We wanted to go all the way this next day, but could only make it to some place in west Texas called Snyder. We stayed at this super nice hotel and went to get some steak at some place called The Shack. Yeah, it looks like it sounds but the food was awesome! We were worried but it turned out super yummy. The next day we had about 5 hours left and it seemed like it was the longest day. I was just so excited and it seemed like it shouldn't be too long, but it was crazy. We got here and sat down to some pizza and chit-chatted with Tad's brother and sister-in-law. It was so nice. They were sooooo sweet letting us stay here till we get into a house. We've got our own room and it has been so nice to have them around to talk to and show us the ropes around here. My parents showed up just a couple hours after us so that was nice too. We celebrated Afton's birthday that evening. Stacy was awesome and had a whole set-up for her...table cloth, balloons, presents, and ice cream cake! Delish!
On Monday we took my family down to UT campus in Austin and had so much fun. We all came back decked out in our Longhorns shirts and stuff. We went to this amazing place for dinner called the Saltlick. They are pretty awesome and have roast beef, sausage, ribs and turkey in this amazing sauce. They gave these huge portions and we were stuffed, rolling ourselves out the door. I had to say good-bye to my family that night, but it was for the better. My Dad had an interview at this place in Fort Worth. We are all hoping that he gets this job and is able to sell their house. If he gets it they'd only be a few hours away! How awesome would that be? So yeah, I was excited to hear about the interview but sad to say good-bye. Somehow it doesn't seem so bad as before because they are sooo much closer than before!! I don't have any pictures of the trip because I packed my camera! How smart am I? But it has been so awesome. Sadie, my 8-year old neice, just loves Afton and takes her around everywhere and plays with her all the time. During the school day she plays with Shane, my 4-year old nephew and they get along pretty well. So I feel like I'm down to one child. Even then, Reesa just follows them around and plays with all the toys. What a life?! Tad and I can't wait to get a house but hope that it will be close them Scott and Stacy and their kids! They are amazing and I am so grateful for their generosity. Stacy is the sweetest person and I have adult interaction all day! We have loved it so far and just hope that we don't drive them crazy! Well, I will post soon hopefully with pictures of Afton's birthday from my dad's camera.

Valentine's

2011-02-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! The girls and I had a small but good valentines. We woke up pretty early and got to making some yummy breakfast. I made some pink chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. We all gobbled them up, especially Reesa who let the floor have some too. After a little packing up I gave the girls their valentines and told them how much they were loved. We played around and danced to some music...and then went back to packing. I got a great gift from Reesa who let me hold her while she drank her bottle and fell asleep. She is usually not wanting me to hold her while she eats, but it was sweet. Afton and watched a little Wallace and Gromit and played around. It was so fun to just be goofy all day. Reesa's been so funny trying to tickle everybody and Afton gave me a nice hairdo today, brushing my hair while I relaxed. One of those moments you won't forget! Loved it! We went to the store to get some more candy, because I realized I had no chocolate on valentine's and that's just not right. So I got some on sale candy for us. After we got home Russell and Trish (Tad's brother and his wife) came and gave me a balloon and a box of chocolates! Who knew I had such amazing in laws who remember me!? It was so sweet! I'm so lucky! Tad and I got to skype for a little bit as well, so that was nice. It won't be long till we are back together. It's been a long, hard time without him (okay not that long but it seems forever!!) and I cannot wait!

Anyway, we'll be moving here on Thursday, so I probably won't post for a few days or more than a few...so next time I'll be posting we'll be in TEXAS! and I'll have pictures!

Happy Happy Birthday Poppy Dear

2011-01-31T10:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Daddio!

What a guy, huh?! This is my dad...he doesn't normally look like this, in case you were wondering! Yesterday was his 48th birthday. I wish we could have been there for his birthday, but there's only so much that can go on so his 48-year-old heart doesn't get over-excited! (Hehehe) No really, I wish we could have been there, but a blog post will have to do.
My dad is an amazing person. I am so grateful to have had him as my dad. I'm not sure he'd say the same about me in my teenage years, but so it goes. I thought my dad was too tough and mean, of course, but hindsight is 20/20. I would not be the person I am today without my dad pushing me to try and be the best I could be. He set a high standard because he believed we (the kids) could meet that standard. I am grateful that he did because I learned to push myself. I've learned to never settle because there is always work to be done. Through your continual efforts and a Savior who was willing to sacrifice for each of us, being perfect becomes achievable. My dad not only asked that of us, but he was and still is a great example. One of the things that I've always admired in my dad is his integrity. I've never known anyone who was so true to their real self and I hope that that will be said of me. If it is, I know that it will be because of the great example my dad set. He is hard-working, loving, honest, funny, and determined. He is talented and smart, pretty much has it all! Apparently those gifts (plus an amazing mothers' talents) don't all come together in one child, but I sure wish they did. I guess they are something that we can strive for and hope to gain over time! Well, that's a little blurb about one of the most important men in my life. Love you Poppy! We can't wait to see you soon!

The tell-tale Dad eye-lid flip...still gross!

Not sure what to call this one? :)

Afton sure does love Poppy!

What a good Poppy! (My red-eye remover made their eyes look creepy.)

Can You Believe It?

2011-01-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

I am so excited, surprised, grateful, every good word you can think about...at this moment. I cannot believe how the Lord takes care of us! We just received the news that Tad got a job! I think every one involved in this process was so inspired that it just had to happen this way. Tad's brother, Scott and his wife, Stacy, live down in Round Rock, Texas. They have a home teacher that has recently started his own business. Tad had just talked to Scott about us deciding to move to Texas and he passed out Tad's resume to a few people. He had asked this home teacher if they wore hiring and low and behold they just posted a position on craigslist. Scott gave him Tad's resume and told a little bit about what we were looking for. Well, last week Tad had a phone interview with this guy and the next day had another phone interview with his wife, who also has part in the business. They said that the beginning of this week is when they would let us know. Today, Tad called me on his lunch break asking me to check his email and he had one from this guy. They were informing him that after much prayer and consideration they felt that he was the best person for the job! I was shocked! It wasn't that I didn't think Tad could get the job I just didn't expect it all to happen so soon. What a confirmation to our prayers! We have felt very good about moving from Rexburg and have continued to seek answers in this process. Texas was always a good option and Tad felt especially good about it...so here we go! We are headed to Round Rock, Texas!! We will be much closer to both sides of the family and within a few miles of his brother and sister-in-law! (We can't wait Scott and Stacy! Oh and if we do happen to be in the same ward, I would love to work with you in YW, Stacy! That would be sweet, seriously!!) Not to mention, we will be able to go to a few Longhorns games! Boo-yeah! What a life!

Tad will need to start as soon as possible, which means about a week and a half. Our contract here is not up until April, but hopefully we will find someone to take it over. Who knows where we will live yet (hopefully a nice little starter home!) and what else will happen but what I do know is that we are watched over by a loving Father in Heaven. He has heard our prayers and blessed us with so much more than just our needs. In our time here in Rexburg, we have grown and been uplifted and strengthened. I can't imagine how our lives could have been any different and I am so grateful to my loving Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ. I would not be who I am; I would not have a great husband who is willing to provide for this family; I would not have two beautiful daughters who teach me more than I could learn otherwise. We have met some amazing people and been blessed with great opportunities to serve and we have a temple within minutes of our home! I will miss this place, where I have learned to be the person I want to be, but I am excited for what is in store for us!

New Hair

2011-01-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well I braved it! I had been thinking about Afton's beautiful locks getting the chop and decided it was time. I love her long hair with the little ringlets on the end but she really didn't like having to get her hair brushed and fixed every day. I thought she might like having short hair, easy to push out of the way and I wouldn't have to fix it every day. We can still do little hair-do's but it's much easier to handle. She seems to like it and I rarely see her anymore pushing out of her face. Tad kept telling her that she looked like her Aunt Lela all day. Eventually she quipped back, "No, I look like Aunt B!" We both laughed at that. I think it turned out pretty good for my first little girl haircut. I've only cut hair a few times but luckily my dad has tried to teach me some techniques and I just happen to love all those makeover shows! Hehehe! I did check out a couple of youtube videos on hair cutting. It all worked out pretty good and she was so good. She got pretty antsy at the end. Since she was so good we took her to McDonalds for dinner and let her play in the play area for about an hour. I can't believe what a little grown up girl she looks like now and only today did I actually want her cute ringlets and long hair back...only for a second. I'm just not sure if I'm ready for her to be such a big girl! I bought that dress for her and got a matching one for Reesa but of course I forgot to take a picture before church so maybe next week I'll have a picture of them both!

Our Christmas

2011-01-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

So finally here is our Christmas update. It was so good to be able to start our first Christmas as our own family. The girls were so cute and loved just opening presents and spending time together. We loved every minute of the holidays, making decorations, putting up the Christmas tree and other decorations, playing in the snow, reading stories about Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus, doing our advent calendar every day and especially having daddy home pretty much every day! I am so grateful for this holiday and the extra time we are giving to spend becoming closer!

Afton and Reesa in their matching pj's on Christmas Eve!

Afton digging into her stocking

Tad showing off how full my stocking is! I'm so amazing! Hehehe...

I don't really remember what Reesa is doing it, but it's too cute whatever it is!

Tad is trying out his guitar...oh yeah!

Here's Afton with some of her presents.

"Look at my husband, y'all!" He's a goober!

She is sooo happy to have a full tummy!

Reesa with her presents.

Just playing

Picture time!

My presents...sweet!

Reesa chit-chatting with someone on her new phone.

Oh man what a hot baby! She loves wearing my necklaces.

Afton, watching her favorite movie, the fluffy movie, or in other words Despicable Me.

Tad watching his movie, Inception.

Just chillin!

Just a happy girl!

Here is our Christmas dessert. I was quite proud. It was delicious but definitely needed a glass of milk!

Guess where?

2011-01-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

Well, we have decided, I think... Tad and I have been praying and fasting about where we are headed to next. Yesterday, we sat down with our map of the US and started eliminating, quite fast. It came down to Washington, California, Colorado, Texas, and Georgia. After prayers and everything we felt, we have decided on...

Yes, that's right! Back to my roots! I love Texas so this is exciting. We will be looking for jobs within the next few months, plan our move, and hopefully be headed down to warmth in April. I will most likely be teaching for a little bit, while Tad takes the GMAT and gets into a program for accounting. We will also be looking for a job for him as well for some accounting experience. So if anyone knows of anyone looking for that sort of thing let us know! This is a recent decision so you never know what life will throw at you, but that's the plan and we hope it works out. We love this because it is a place where we could probably spend the rest of our lives. The housing prices are pretty good, the education system is awesome and the people are amazing, and not to mention they have the LONGHORNS! You know we be going to those games! (Even if they stink at the moment!) So this is it! I can't wait and am scared all at the same time. Who knows how anything and everything will work out in the next little while, but I believe this is what was meant for us. We have loved being in Idaho and have had amazing experiences here. We have been so lucky and we will never forget the memories we have made here! I won't say goodbye to everyone here yet. Anyway, that's that and I will post all about our sweet Christmas soon! (Gotta get the pictures uploaded!)

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

This was our sweet Christmas card! Hope it was a good Christmas for you all and hope this new year holds great things for you all!

An Amazing Woman

2010-12-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Tad's Grandma passed away. I first met her when Tad and I were dating and I went down to his house for Thanksgiving. She was such a sweet, gentle person. She had alzheimer's and so it was always interesting to be around her. I remember one afternoon everyone was outside and we were just watching from the balcony. She and I were talking about different things and then the conversation turned to Tad. She kept saying what a sweetheart he was. Then she surprised me when she said, "Have you met his wife? She is a sweetie too. And his family is so sweet." It was pretty funny, for a second I had to reevaluate my relationship with Tad. Anyway, she was always working or at least trying to. That is one thing I have loved about Tad's Grandma and his mom. They are so determined and are always trying to do good. It has helped me to try to focus on being a doer. If you'd like to know more about her, I have her obituary below. (I know this is not the best picture, but doesn't she look like an angel?) We will miss you Grandma, but we are happy to know that you live on and are able to be with your loving husband and your son! We love you!

Donna Mae Harrington MacDougall, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, peacefully passed away Monday, December 6, 2010, in Utah where she has resided for the last four years and also spent her youth. For 65 of her 90 years her love of of Utah's mountains has combined with Carlsbad beaches, sun and wonderful people. Soon after being born in Blackfoot, Idaho on December 30, 1919, her parents, Reuel and Serretta Harrington, moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. Graduating from high school at 16, Donna attended the University of Utah choosing a career as a teacher. Years later, as a teacher at Magnolia School, she became known for her proficiency in teaching children to read. The day she was introduced to a handsome football player from Seattle named "Bud" MacDougall is "when her life really began." Falling in love immediately, their courtship via mail culminated in a marriage rushed by WWII, on February 5, 1942. Years of war and separation ended in 1945 creating "delirious joy!" Life's center now became her husband, her four children and many dear friends. A love affair with the California coast began in Long Beach and ended with her favorite hilltop home over looking Carlsbad's ocean, built by her beloved husband, who passed away in 1985. Their Carlsbad experience began on a 40 acre chicken ranch in 1954. On her own, she expanded talents in photography, calligraphy, poetry and gardening and was a tireless supporter of family and community activities. A highlight of Donna's life has been her active involvement as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a widow, she determined to serve a mission for the LDS church in Little Rock, Ark., with much success. Returning home, she served 10 years working in the Los Angeles and San Diego LDS temples. She has provided her community, her church and her family with love and strength throughout her entire life, and has given selflessly in the service of others. We love and honor her. Now enjoying her greatest view, she is where she can truly "see forever." Donna was preceeded in death by her husband, Allan K. MacDougall; and her son, Bruce Duncan MacDougall. She is survived by a son, Dr. Allan B. MacDougall and daughter, Merrilee Dickerson, both of Carlsbad; and daughter, Lisbeth Ann Carluccio, Lehi, UT. She has 21 grandchildren and 43 great-grandchildren.

Oh Man I LOVE Christmas!

2010-12-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

Can I just say how much I love Christmas time?! Isn't it the most wonderful time of the year? No, really, I'm not just quoting the song. If that wasn't a song already, I might have written it myself.
We went this past weekend to get a tree. After looking into a few different places we decided to go check out this small little place first. We got there and it was a small lot, but there were so many people there ready to help us the moment we stepped out of the car. We caved in and bought a shortish, chubby tree. After we settled on one, we found out the lot was run by a guy who was over all the priests in his ward. So all these 16-17 year old boys were there pulling out tree after tree for us to look at and hefting the tree on our van when we picked ours out. They were all so nice. All the proceeds were going to their quorum too. How fun for them! So we got it home after we stopped by the store for some hot cocoa and pizza and couldn't believe what had just bought. It is soooo fat! We've trimmed it up a LOT, but it's still pretty hefty. I love it! It's been hard to try and find a place for it, but we finally did and Afton and I have loved decorating it. She hung up half of the ornaments herself. What a good little helper.
Also, this year will be our first year at home with our little family. We used to switch off between families, but this year due to expenses and time we will be having it here. I'm actually really excited because we get to be completely in charge of everything. We get to start our own traditions. We get to be super tired Christmas Eve night and get woken up at the crack of dawn to see some beaming eyes and smiles from ear to ear. Love it!
I have felt very blessed these past few months and I can't contain myself. It's come out in Christmas cheer and of course I love giving presents. I have been able to come up with presents for the girls and my family that are not expensive, but still express how much I love them by the work I put into their gifts. I'm excited. I love giving gifts and I love being prepared and not having to procrastinate. It helps me to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. This year we have an advent calendar that shares a little message, song, and activity to do each day. It's been wonderful to read about Christ everyday to help remind us of Him during this busy season. We also have a little felt nativity advent calendar. Afton has loved putting up a felt character everyday and finding a little treat waiting for her.
My goal is to be like this 365 days of the year. How awesome would a year be if this is what I thought about and experienced everyday?
I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and don't get too swept away with shopping and stress, but that you are able to remember our sweet Savior who was born into this world to save us all!

A shout out to the best girls EVER!

2010-12-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

This following post is a shout out to one of my best friends ever!
Alesha was an amazing roommate! She was selfless, funny, driven, and beautiful. She was always a good example of dedication to right. She was also a great example of being child-like. Now we have all gone our own ways, and I miss these girls more than ever!
Meagan was...well...I don't think I can sum up what she has meant to me in just a few words, so Meagers if you ever read this, just know that words cannot describe how grateful I am for you and your friendship. You were always there for me, always! And I hope that you can say the same about me.
Amanda was only with us for a little bit, but seeing her and Alesha doing some crazy thing when Meg and I got home at the end of the day made college awesome! Amanda was like our mom, just keeping us focused on life and making us feel amazing all the time.
Shila was super funny. We were all nervous about who our new roomie would be and we could not have asked for anyone better! Shila was such a good example of strength, in self and in the gospel. She always worked hard in everything. She made us all laugh, and had the patience with our individual weirdness. She was a great friend always there to comfort and just be there.
We also had Elizabeth join the mix, before I went and dropped off the face of the earth (got married). Elizabeth was hilarious. She added the party to our apartment for sure. She is super sweet and just fun to be around.

We had so much fun together and they made my college experience better than I could have ever hoped for. They were all angels to me in my life and I will never forget the most amazing girls EVER!

Well, Alesha May, here you go!

1. What is your occupation? mommy and wife! (Best jobs EVER)

2. What color are your socks right now? Just some freezing bare feet

3. What are you listening to right now? Umm....honestly, Little Einsteins, but not by my choice

4. Can you drive a stick shift? Can I drive a stick, chya, you betcha!

5. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? that really awesome blue color that I don't know how to spell or say (cerulean maybe)

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my sister, Beffy

7. How old are you today? 26

8. Favorite Drink? Two: Lemon-lime powerade, and Dr. Pepper, not together

9. What was the last movie you watched? Harry Potter 7 (AmAzInG!)

10. Favorite holiday of the year? Christmas, of course

11. What do you do to vent anger? Clean, clean, and more clean (You'd think my house would be spotless)

12. What was your favorite toy as a child? I don't really remember, but I had one of those barbie cases that you open up and is a little closet and barbie holder.

13. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Fall, the smell, the colors, the holidays, what could be better!

14. Hugs or kisses? I'm a hug person

15. Cherries or blueberries? Both, lover of berries

16. When was the last time you cried? I don't like to cry, I try to hold it in, so I don't really remember, but my guess is a couple months ago.

17. What did you do last night? Went to choir practice, chit-chatted and listened to my hubby venting (I actually like this), and watched Psych (hilarious)!

18. Favorite smells? The smell of fall, fresh snow, my baby girl, baked deliciousness and my husbands cologne

19. What inspires you? Good people doing good for no reward, good books, good music, and my Savior

20. What are you afraid of? Disappointing people and not being a good mother and wife, doing all I can to the best of my knowledge

21. Favorite place you've ever been? Wherever the family is and we can all get together, but Carlsbad, California is a tight second (beautiful!!)

22. How many states have you lived in? Three

23. Favorite day of the week? All days are pretty much the same, but I'm a big fan of Saturday when we all get to be together!

24. Who is your favorite NFL team? Not a big NFL fan, but I LOVE the Texas Longhorns (except they are awful this season)

25. Who's next? Not a big fan of these things, but I mentioned you as one of my roomies considered yourself next, if you want! Love you girls!

Sorry Shila and Amanda. I don't have any pictures of you guys! :(

One of the Best Thanksgivings EVER

2010-11-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving week was amazing! We loved every minute of it. The Thursday before the girls and I drove down to get Jon and Leisha from the Salt Lake City Airport. It actually went by faster than I thought it would. Then we went to lunch and headed straight back. We got home and didn't do much. We just chilled and watched some games. We were waiting for Bethy to come over, but Jon and Leisha fell asleep. Too bad for B.

The next day we hung out, played out in the snow, went grocery shopping and made plans for the rest of the week. Of course that night we had to go see the new Harry Potter. It was awesome!! And right after we all wanted to go see it again. (Except for Tad and Jon.) On Saturday, Bethy, Leisha and I went dress shopping. (The Dress!) The boys stayed home and watched games all day, while we shopped. It was crazy, but super fun. I think we found a good one for Bethy, but she won't be up here much longer, so we'll have to see. The next few days we just spent in the snow, as it kept piling on. We went sledding and took the snowboard down the sledding hill. Craziness! The sledding was fun but some days the wind was insane leaving everyone with chapped, red faces! Hehehe! Leisha made some good runs, Bethy tried it but got frustrated, I did it once and fell of course (it's a bit different doing a small hill than a ski run), Tad did it a few times and Jon did it twice I think before he messed up the knee. Oh dear!

Along with the constant sledding we had constant football on. It was fun just sitting together and watching games. And on top of all that, Lela could not get enough of Nerts/Pounce. It's a pretty fun game if you've never played it. We played it once and I don't think there was a day that we didn't play it. We also played lots of pictionary and the Last Word. On Tuesday we finished up birthday shopping, so on Wednesday we celebrated Lela and Reesa's birthdays. We had meatball sandwiches for dinner, had cake and cupcakes, and opened presents. If anyone didn't know before, my sister is so spoiled by her husband. She is not a high maintenance girl at all, but she sure does love her presents. It was fun to see her and Reesa so excited to have gifts.

For Leisha's birthday on Wednesday night, we got a babysitter after the girls went to bed so we could go play. We went to this place in town called Fat Cats and played blacklight mini-golf. We also wanted to play this nerf game called Balladium (Oh Balladium), but it was broken, so they say. So we played bowling instead. We played a few arcade games too, and overall it was a girls dominate night! (No cheating of course!)

Thursday we got prepped for dinner and while everyone was out sledding/snowboarding, Reesa and I made food, food and more food. I'll just list off the deliciousness we had: moist, flavorful turkey, warm homemade wheat rolls, super soft mashed potatoes, amazing sweet potatoes with marshmallows melted on top, of course we had gravy for all those potatoes and turkey, asparagus sautéed with bacon, cranberry sauce, our pickle and olive plate, cheese ball with crackers and summer sausage, jello salad with mandarin oranges, and fluffy stuffing. Pretty much the best Thanksgiving dinner EVER!

So it was pretty much one of the best Thanksgivings ever! It would have been the BEST had all the family come, but maybe one day. We missed you guys! (Grammy, Poppy, Aaron, Tyler and Ryan.) I am so grateful for family! I love that we all get along, and that we have a means of seeing each other at least once a year. I love that our Father in Heaven has blessed us with the ability to have families and that we have a loving Savior and Father in Heaven who care for us and show us that we are loved every day! What an amazing life we are given!

I left this one big, because it is the best picture ever!! I love this one. Reesa was enjoying an oreo ball and smiled at me so I tried a couple times to get a good picture and finally got this one! So worth it!

We all turned into goobers in the car ride back down. We were so sad to see you guys go! Even you Jon. By the way, next time you give a little face tap, I'm takin' you down. (And by I, I mean me, Tad, Lela, Afton, Bethy and so forth. Just to ensure that we get you good and I don't get overpowered! Hehehe!)

"Beesa, Beesa's" & Lela's Birthday

2010-11-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

Here are the promised pictures!

Reesa enjoying a yummy cupcake.

The sweet byu-i sweatshirt we picked out for Lela!

More cupcake

She loved this shirt, but thought it was too expensive, so I showed it to Jon...she got it!

Afton being helpful with opening Lela's presents

This AwEsOmE Longhorns cover Jon got for Lela's new phone!

Balloons and Presents!

This was the gift from Grammy and Poppy. (The basketball goal in the background.) She LOVES it!

This was our cake we made. My cakes had some issues so we shaped into into a big dome!

Lela with her of course messy face!

Afton liked the frosting on the top. I came over and she had licked at least three of the cupcakes frosting.

Lela's new sweatpants. Of course she needs more. I helped pick them out!!

My 1 year old Reesa B!

2010-11-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my little Reesa B is already a year old. It seemed like it took Afton forever to get to a year old. Now I have another girl who is growing up way too fast! She is such a blessing to me and to this family. We had a great birthday for her, even though she was half asleep and wanted to just go back to bed. She put on a smile and did some dancing when she got presents and cupcakes. What a cutie patootie! I love this girl!

Things about Reesa's 1st year:

She was sit on and pushed over/out of the way many times by big sister
She rolled over
She sat up
She started to stand on her own
She took a couple steps by herself
She says a few words: mamma, dada, happy, what's that?
She also can sign a few words: thank you, milk, more, all done
She loves to eat, it is always something that can cheer her up
She gets super goofy and laughs hysterically at Afton (for some reason it will only be Afton that can make her laugh that good)
She flew on her first airplane
She got her lip busted open
She bit her tongue so hard it bled like crazy and left teeth marks
She got four upper teeth and two lower teeth
She scrunches her nose when she laughs
She loves squishy animals
She loves her blankee
She's played in the snow
She has the cutest little dimple in one cheek (the face ones hehe)
She has a cute little birthmark on her right leg
She likes books
Best of all she has four rolls on her legs and has to wear 18 month pants because they fit her thighs!

I love this girl! She has been such a blessing to us and we are so grateful that we have been blessed with another girl!

Pictures to come soon!!

Our other awesome family

2010-11-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

Here is the next stop in our year. At the end of September, Tad's parents came up to Rexburg for a little visit before General Conference. They went down to Utah for conference but we were glad that they could come up to see us for a few days. The girls loved having Grandma and Grandpa around. Grandma made some yummy homemade wheat bread. It is delicious and I have made it a few times more. We took them up to Mesa Falls and got to just enjoy the beautiful nature around us. After that we stuffed everyone full with some Big Jud's burgers and shakes. It was delicious! We are so grateful to have such amazing families. The girls have some great grandparents who are wonderful examples to them. We are also grateful for everyone making the sacrifice of sleeping in our living rooms, just to spend more time with us. We loved every minute of it!

Aww...little Reesa! So cute!

Afton loved having Grandpa read her books and just being around him.

Aw...we love Grandma and Grandpa!

Reesa loves to wear the sunglasses everywhere!

We made a Fruit Loop necklace and Afton just wanted to wear it and suck the cereal, instead of eating it.

Reesa tried to get Mr. Potato glasses on but this as far as she could get it.

Afton loves helping do the dishes and Dad was nice enough to let her help!

This is what happens when Afton gets into the halloween make-up with the bathroom door locked!

Reflections of Cara

2010-11-08T08:17:00.000-08:00

The following post is a little long. It's just about things I'm learning. Feel free to read it, comment or don't read.

Every Monday morning I'll usually get on the computer and watch some Mormon Messages videos. (Mormon messages) And every Monday morning I feel the Spirit. It seems that it tells me every time how much work there is to do. Not only in the world, but in my life. How do I get to be like these people, who have committed all that they are to this gospel? I have made that covenant with my Father in Heaven, to give everything I have to the building up of this gospel, His kingdom. But unfortunately, something happens during my day. It becomes more of "get everything done around the house that needs to be done, and then I can have some free time. Time to relax, read, watch a show or do whatever." Lately I keep remembering this quote about how life is not about being entertained. How many times in a day do I inadvertently make my time about that: entertaining myself? How do I change that? I live in Rexburg, Idaho. It is almost all Mormons. We are a small family with not much extra income. Those are my excuses. I just life somewhere and am in such a situation that I can't do much here, but whenever we move...that's when I can really do some good. Why? Tad reminds me that I am a mother and I am doing more than I think or can see, but I think there is more. A young 14-year old boy has raised almost $150,000 for orphans in Honduras in just a few years. (Sharing the Light of Christ) A 14-year old boy! I want my girls to be like that 14-year old boy. How will they learn that if I don't teach them that? How can I teach them that if I don't act that way myself? There is work enough to do.
Lately, I have felt a sense that Satan is trying so much harder. Why? Because we are at that point in the world where if you have not defined who you are, what you are trying to do, who's side you are on. If you don't choose a side, then you are most definitely on Satan's. The Savior was not a person of inaction. He taught us to act, to be doers. My knowledge of faith and being a doer have changed lately. Being a doer is more that just doing things. It doing good things, things that matter and things that change you for the better. Faith is not just praying, wishing, hoping. It's being consumed with the idea. If you have faith that the scriptures are true, you don't just read and are done. You feast, take it all in, your mind cannot stop thinking about it. When all your thoughts are focused on one thing, it affects your actions. That is what makes faith because it is an action word. You do things. You become a doer. I know these things because the Spirit has taught them to me, slowly, line upon line, precept upon precept. I didn't always know this. I have learned it because I needed to and I wanted to. I received a blessing a little while ago, and I don't remember much, but I do remember hearing, "Your Father in Heaven is waiting to see your faith." I thought I had faith, that I was showing my faith already, that I had shown it in my life plenty of times. I can feel this tug-of-war. I have learned so many things in my pre-mortal life that the Spirit is trying to help me remember. At the same time, Satan is telling me, "You're fine. You are a good person. Just don't worry about anything. You'll be fine. No need to worry yourself. Just stay where you're at and you won't go down." What he's not saying is that I won't go anywhere. What is the point if I don't learn anything? If I don't push myself to be something and do something more? If you aren't progressing, are you not digressing? It seems logical.
I'm watching the snow fall outside and the snowflakes have gotten a little smaller than they were about five minutes ago. Afton said, "Oh no! We need to fix it!" As if all you had to do was turn up the dial on the snow making machine up in the sky. Then I started thinking, in a second a snowflake will melt. If it gets any warmer than freezing point, just one degree, it will start to melt. If my testimony, my knowledge of this gospel is not cultivated, it starts melting away. It may not seem noticeable with a huge pile of snow if one snowflake at a time melts. But it will so surprising when the last few snowflakes are melting, and I have no defenses left. Like I said, there is so much work to do.
If you are working on anything or know of anyone who might need help with anything, let me know!

My Awesome Family

2010-11-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

Next in our summers we had family coming to visit. My family came late August/early September to bring my sister up to school. Finally, I get someone from my family up here! My dad took Tad up to the Tetons with him. Tad was a little worried about his fear of heights, but they had a good time, even though they didn't make it to the top. It was a pretty crazy climb! So go Sparticus and Tidrizzle! We took my dad and sister to this frozen yogurt place called TwizzleBerry and my dad could not get enough of it. I have never seen so many flavors and toppings in one cup, but apparently it was good. We took a tour and campus and ate lunch at the new (well, new for us) Crossroads. It's so much nicer than what it used to be, lucky people! A few days after my dad and sister we all went down to Utah to pick up my mom from the airport. While we were there we went around town checking out all the awesome sights. We just loved showing the girls around temple square. Afton could not get enough of the reflection pool. I really thought she'd just launch herself into it, but luckily it never happened. There was a missionary in the Joseph Smith Memorial building that was playing the piano and Afton would just sit on the chair and watch him play, and sometimes sing along. It was cute. I didn't get a picture of any of this, but I have lots of other pictures. It was so much fun and so nice to have my family come and visit and I can't wait for the rest of them to come soon!

This is Afton's work-out outfit. She really likes working out with me.

In these pictures I tried to show Reesa's snaggle tooth but she was pretty adamant about not showing the camera.

Afton playing around with her pringle beak.

This is what happens pretty much all the time with Aunt B. It's all about the phone!

Love Afton's face!

This is what happens to Tad when the in-laws come!

(Not really, luckily they all get along.)

Yeah for Mom's and Dad's! I love all that I get a break from when family is in town.

Afton love love loves making things. Sometimes I'll just give her a bowl, measuring cups and spoons, and a little flour and she will play for hours! So cute!

Our Sweet Halloween

2010-11-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

Halloween was soooo much fun. I thought it was just going to be crazy, but we had a good time. First, we picked out some pumpkins a week before Halloween and carved them up for our FHE activity. Afton loved it. She drew a picture and I carved it on her pumpkin. She did NOT want to touch the insides of the pumpkin. It was pretty funny. Then after working like a whole week and rushing on Saturday to try to get our matching shirts (for all the girls) done, I decided it just wasn't going to happen. Reesa is a little chubbier than I thought, so her shirt didn't fit. (This was after I had already made it bigger.) My shirt was coming along okay, but I just didn't have time to finish it so....backup plan. We all wore stripes. I did Afton's hair and make-up, then mine, helped Tad a little with his Horton outfit and he got Reesa ready. (By the way, the pictures may look like Tad has gained a few pounds around the mid-section...but no worries. It's just a pillow!) Finally, we got done, went to grab a bite to eat and headed over to the town trunk-or-treat hosted by the movie theater.
It was pretty awesome. Afton just got sooo excited once she saw the neon fireworks and a fire truck ladder extended out that she couldn't contain herself. There were a bunch of businesses there with booths set up for all the trick-or-treaters, so we went around to each one and Afton never said, "trick or treat," no matter how hard I tried to get her to say it. We played a few games in the kiddie arcade and got a few prizes. We also had our picture taken by the photography business there. It turned out pretty good, even though both girls weren't smiling. Afton had so much fun "dancing" on the DDR game that she didn't want to leave it. She kept making up her own moves and everything. It was too cute, I wish I had gotten some pictures but it was pretty dark and crazy inside. After that we took the girls to a few family members. Then we got home, checked out the stash and got the girls in bed.
Tad and I decided to watch a scary movie so we borrowed The Grudge from my sister. Unfortunately, poor Tad who's never seen it before, was disappointed to find me sleeping about halfway through the movie. I was so exhausted, I couldn't keep my eyes open. He told me he didn't want to watch it by himself so he ended up watching some tv show. Oh well, maybe next Halloween! Oh the sweet life of parenthood!

Don't you just love little chubby baby hands?

Aren't these AWESOME?!

Afton was a little afraid of the candles in the pumpkins

My little Cindy Loo Who!

Us outside the Trunk or Treat

Pebbles and Makeup

2010-10-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

So here are more pictures. These are just random ones that I've taken recently. Reesa's hair is crazy so I'm always trying to put it up. I think she looks like Pebbles from the Flinstone's. She's so cute and so silly all the time. I'm trying to work on uploading some videos of her cracking up at Afton. It will be a treat if I can get them up. The last two, I decided to have a make-up day with Afton. We decked her all out and now I know blue eye shadow is not the best on her. But it was still fun anyway. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

A day at the zoo

2010-10-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

So one of the other things we did this past summer was go to the zoo in Idaho Falls. I thought it might be a bit dinky, but it turned out much better than I thought. Unfortunately, the little snow leopard was the last thing I got a picture of. After that we saw a lion and lioness. The lion would just stare at this little baby. Then he'd walk around and come back to watching the baby. Kind of creepy, but cool too! They had zebras, flamingos, turtles, monkeys, birds of all kinds, the little lambs that Afton got to feed. At first she thought it was fun and then they started to scare her. The monkeys were soooo cool! We saw so many and they were all very interactive. The craziest thing were these HUGE turtles. So big they had a hard time walking. I thought they were animatronics. This lady next to me said she'd found out that they were real. It was insane!

At the end we went into the little gift shop to just look around and they had these masks. Tad was holding Afton on his shoulders and I decided to try on the lion mask. I walked around and stopped in front of them and growled. I have never seen Afton so scared and heard her scream sooo loud! It cracked me up, as well as the cashiers. Afton just screamed in her sweet little alto voice for like 30 seconds. Oh man, what a way to end a great day!

Here's Afton checking out the cool little penguins.

And then there's my little open-mouthed Reesa! She was sooo good!

These two bears got in a little tiff right in front of us! Pretty crazy!

There were two camels and this was a lazy one, but their humps were all wobbly. It was funny.

This was a leopard. He just kept sitting there so this was the best we could do.

There was a tiger in the whole and you can kind of see the form of him in there, but he wouldn't come out.

Tad and Afton just being goofy!

Here's another picture of the leopard. I wish that post wasn't in the way, but there were like five other people trying to take a picture around me.

Here's something

2010-10-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am, a day later than I thought, but it's for good reason. We were decorating yesterday. Afton and Tad and I made Halloween decorations on Monday night for FHE. We didn't get them all finished and put up because it was bed time so yesterday Afton and I finished it up. It looks sweet! Afton was such a good helper coloring and telling me everything looked good. She's so sweet! I'll post pictures as soon as I take some. ;) Anyway, I think I need to finish up with my summer posts.

After we got back from Georgia, I bought a little kiddie pool for the girls and had tons of fun sitting out in the sun with them. Reesa loved just playing with toys in the water. Afton loved running from the pool all over the yard and tracking that grass into the pool for Reesa to eat. Isn't she so nice? We took the girls to the zoo as well. It was soooo much fun. It was actually a nicer zoo than I thought it was going to be and the animals were pretty cool. Afton had a great time running around looking at all of the different animals and Reesa was just chillin' in the stroller. Other than that we didn't do much, but it was a great summer hanging out with family and each other! So here are a few pictures!

Apparently, blogger is going under construction and is having issues until then, so in the meantime enjoy this little treat of a picture! This is Reesa by the way, just an alien version!

Something to look forward to

2010-10-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, I've been really bad at blogging! I hadn't realized it had been so long. Either it's been really busy around here or I have nothing to blog about. (It's the first one.) I don't know who keeps up with us anymore but for anyone out there, I will be blogging tomorrow! With pictures of course. Have a good day, until then!

Love, gotta have something to keep us together, Love

2010-08-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

Today is our anniversary! Woop-yeah! Four years ago, today I married my best friend. It feels like some days it's been longer and some days not as long, but today, I'm just proud of where we are. We have come so far in our relationship that it makes me excited for the next years and what we will do together. It's weird to say that it's only been four years but I think that the number isn't as important as the time during those numbers. We've had rocky roads and smoother roads, but I can't imagine going through it all with anyone else.

Tad is a special person. If you know him personally you know what a fun-loving guy he is. He can make you feel comfortable within seconds. To him it doesn't matter what you look like, dress like, or sound like, it only matters what he can do to make you feel like you have an instant friend. He loves to laugh and has the best dimples E-V-E-R! Tad is someone you can talk to about anything. I've loved him for that. He won't make you feel like a dingle, even if you do/say something "dingley." He will always tell me, "Cara, you are way smarter than a dingle!" (Thanks Mom and Dad for sharing that story and letting us carry it on!) He is very protective of me, which is something that I have grown used to and come to cherish. That is how he tells me how special I am to him. It's his way of saying, "Cara, you are number 1 in my life."

He is one of the biggest goobers I have ever met. I love that we can be goobers together. He makes me feel beautiful, even after my "post babies" body. I love him from his toes up to his face...and his hair! (How do you not love those curly-q's?)

Here's to four years down and plenty to go!! I love you TAD!

Changing

2010-08-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

This post is more of a journaling kind of post so just as a heads up, it won't have any pictures.

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 6:45, not because one of my children was crying or my husband was snoring, or the sprinkler was spraying our window, but it was something much more impactful. (Is that how it's spelled?) I woke up from one of the most realistic dreams I have ever had.

This is my dream.
All day, Tad and I had been trying to actually spend quality time together. Something was always interrupting us and that wasn't unusual. What was unusual was the sense that we only had a certain amount of time to do so. There was a man who kept coming to the door dropping off packages, like the UPS guy, but it was like every hour or every half hour he was there...ringing the doorbell, bringing in more boxes, over and over. It was as if he was the one lurking in the corners of our home, just waiting for something. I don't know if he was good or not, but he was constantly there. There was also a little boy. He was blond, had glasses, was rambunctious, but not annoyingly so. He was just a little boy. He would be running around, just playing, and then he came up to me and said, "You have one hour!" in the most joyful, childlike way. He didn't have to say anything more...I knew what he meant.

I tried to just sit and talk with Tad, just do something of quality with him, but we kept being interrupted. It wasn't annoying. Tad and I would just joke around, like any other day, I guess not wanting to turn our time left with each other into something negative. We went to the kitchen to make dinner and started it up. There was the delivery guy, just standing there in the corner, not saying anything. I knew he was there but didn't acknowledge him. I don't know if Tad knew he was there. Then I saw the little boy again, across the street. He didn't have to yell, I could hear him. He said, in that same fun-loving childish voice, "Okay, you have 30 minutes." Again, I knew.

I turned to Tad a hugged him. "Oh, dear goodness." I was crying. I didn't want to say good-bye but I knew that if I didn't then I wouldn't have another chance. I just clung to him crying. I only had 30 minutes and I had two other people I needed to say good-bye to. Oh, my sweet girls. How do you say good-bye to your children? My heart was wrenched. I ached to stay with my family, my husband, my girls. My heart breaking, I was thinking of my little Reesa when I woke up crying.

I looked at the clock: 6:45 a.m. I am alive. There is no little boy. Tad is sleeping in bed next to me. I can't stop crying so I snuggle up to Tad trying not to wake him up. It was so real. I knew I was being called back home in my dream and that I would have to leave my family behind. I just kept replaying it over and over in my mind. Tad of course woke up because by now I was really crying. He just hugged me as I cried. I eventually stopped and told him some of the dream. Then I asked him if he could give me blessing. The moment he started talking I naturally started crying all over again. In the blessing I was told to seek. Seek for answers, seek to understand the atonement, seek. I don't think I've ever been told to do something so specific over and over again.

As I went through my day, I couldn't shake the feeling that I needed to spend time with my children and with my husband. I could just be spooked out by my dream, but so what? If I am, is it a bad thing to forget the computer, the tv, books, "me-time", job searching and everything else that become distractions? We cleaned the house, went out for breakfast, bought diapers, made dinner together, I went visiting teaching. We had Family Home Evening at the park, made brownies, played toys with the girls, went down the slide, talked about things we were grateful for, said prayers together. I fed the baby her favorite baby food (carrots) and watched as she rubbed it all over her face and in her hair, watched as Afton devoured some chocolate that was going into the brownies and got brownie mix all in her hair. Tad and I danced in the kitchen, I read my morning scripture study out loud to the family, we turned on some music and all danced around. I watched Reesa laugh as she bounced on my hip, changed a few poopy diapers and helped Afton go #2. (The most dreaded thing in the world!) All of these things may not seem any more exciting than any other day, but it was perfect.

Obviously, I am still alive, but I think I am changed. How do you go back to "normal" life when you know that at any moment something can go horribly wrong and any one you love can be taken from you. I'm not sure what I am going to find in all of my seeking, but I do know that I don't ever want to be unprepared. I want my life to be filled with good. I want my girls to know that I love them more than life itself, but that I have made a promise to my Father in Heaven to do His will, whatever that may be. I cannot regulate what happens in my life, but I will do what I can to make it a good life. A life filled with service, love, diligence; I want to be a doer. Someone who is always working for good. I want to live with my family again, for eternity. If that is going to happen, I cannot be unprepared.

I'm sorry if this sounds like ramblings of a wife and mother gone insane, but I just needed to write this down. The past little while of our lives have been interesting. We know we need to move on with our lives, leave Rexburg and start. We had a friend who passed away recently and that has changed me too. He was such a good, amazing person, definitely a doer. I realized at his passing that I needed to do more. Scripture study has become more constant not only in my personal life, but in our family's life as well as prayer. I have made it a goal to pray every morning and night, and I feel so good when I do. Afton has started saying her own prayers at night after our family prayers. It all feels good. All these things have made me feel like that saying, "a rough stone rolling" being shaped as the pieces get chipped away to reveal something beautiful. Not something beautiful on the outside, because those pieces got chipped off, but beautiful on the inside. That's where the most inspiring thing was hidden. Anyway, I hope that if you are reading this, you can find that need to make your life a good one.

Georgia on my mind

2010-08-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

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My crazy friend, Meagan, and my crazy sis, Leisha

Just a few of my sweet pea

Oh my "Afty Baft"

A day at the park...check out the shades

Reesa did not like the grass...hmmm who does that remind us of?

Trying to cheer her up

Just a goober!

Aww...look at that chubbers...the baby I mean :)

Afton decided to try on Aunt B's makeup and muck-lucks

Showing us her make-up

Looking at the "Mr. Ray's"

These were so cool

Aww...mommy and Lela

She was sooo good and a cutie of course

The "Dory" fish of course

Uncle Jon getting freaked out by the sting rays

Brave little Afton touching all the fish

Aunt B practising her photography skills

What a tall penguin she would be

All the penguins

"I lub the sharts"

I love Reesa's face

The "nemo" fish

Cool jellies

Man he is ugly

This tank was huge and had like 4 sharks with all the other fish

Aunt B and Afton

These are glass jelly fish that this guy makes

Reesa taking a look at the jellies, she kept hitting her head on the tank

These jellies were so cool

Aunt Lela and Uncle Jon

Oh she's so cute, but I'm not partial

The smaller leaf looking this is a seahorse, crazy huh?

This was pretty much Afton all day

Oh Dad, your face isn't that bad

Me and my Daddy-o

Touching more fish

Crazy cool froggy

Blue poisin dart frogs

A couple of gators

One of the biggest turtles

This picture still creeps me out, he was coming straight for us

The cute turtles

A huge stingray

All the girls

Silly turtle

Long neck turtle

This one looked like branches on a tree

Getting ready for the IMAX

Aunt B and Afton in her glasses

Grammy and Afton

Awww...Poppy and Afton

Poppy and Reesa

The girls could only last so long after bedtime

The "Little Man" who is now a taller man

So here is the next part of our summer. The girls and I got to take a trip down to visit my family in Georgia. It was so much fun and definitely worth the traveling hassles. We just had so much fun playing around with each other every day. Jon and Leisha were nice enough to come over A LOT, so I could see as much of them as possible. My mom bought a little swimming pool for Afton and Reesa to play in and we went to the park a few times. I got to play some tennis, which I'm not as good at anymore, but we all had fun playing together. My best friend, Meagan came to visit from Florida for a few days. It was awesome to have her finally meet all the family and I always love spending time with her. She's always so much fun to be around and makes me laugh. We all got to go to the Tennesee Aquarium, which was awesome. They had so many different things and Afton loved it. She still talks about all the animals she saw. She's getting so big now everything she says makes sense and her little memory is great. We loved every minute and wished Daddy could have been there with us but of course he had to work. I guess we'll just have to go live with my family while Tad does his grad school so we can take Daddy with us to the aquarium. I have some cute videos to try and upload and of course the next part of our great summer!

The wedding, the sea, with some Carluccio's and belly blowing!

2010-08-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

So here is the next part of our summer...Oregon and Washington. Russell and Trish got married in the Portland Temple and it was beautiful. We took Leo the Uplander on his first road trip. He did well and the girls did pretty good too. It was a very pretty drive and we loved the area. The wedding was beautiful. The first few pictures are from the wedding day. I forgot my camera for the reception but that was fun too! The food was awesome and it was decorated with sea shells and stuff. Super cute! Russell sang a really cute song that he wrote for Trish and had their first dance as husband and wife to "Hey Soul Sister." Goobers! That night we stayed across the street from Trish's fam in a house owned by some friends' of theirs. It was just a couple minutes from the beach, so the next morning while everyone went to clean up the church the girls and I went for a walk on the beach. It was beautiful. Afton made some friends with some dogs and their owners or in other words she chased after a dog saying, "I WANT TO SEE THE DOGGY!"

After that we headed to lunch with all the family and drove on to Washington to visit Tad's cousins, Joe and Leah and thier beautiful daughter, Naomi. We haven't seen them since they left Rexburg and it was soooo much fun. Leah was an amazing host making us all the best dinners, breakfast, lunch and of course desserts ever! We tried to keep our eyes pried open every night to play as many games with each other as possible. We went on long walks through the beautiful neighborhoods and down to the waterfront catching up on everything that we've been missing out on not being near each other anymore. It was so good to see them and I hope that one day we can live next to each other. Leah is such an amazing example and always inspires me to become better. Joe is not only a good cousin to Tad, but a great friend. They are such good people and we are grateful to have them in our lives! We always have something strange and funny happen when we get together and this time was no exception. I'm not saying that Tad blew raspberries on Joe's belly or anything, but it got crazy! *wink, wink*

Anyway, I'll end here and start in tomorrow in the next part of our summer!

Easter bunnies lay eggs? What?

2010-08-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

So here we are still trying to work out the kinks with our computer and blogger. In the meantime, here are a couple pictures from a long time ago. These are from Easter when we went down to Utah. We met up with Tad's family and had such a good time. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but Afton and Reesa both look so young. It was so fun to spend all that time with Tad's parents, Russell and Trish and some long lost cousies that we haven't seen in forever. The night before easter, we sat up talking about different things. We talked about what kind of twisted world we were teaching our children about. That big fluffy bunnies come and lay eggs full of candy (which bunnies in the real world never lay eggs, just in case you were wondering). What weirdo's we are! Anyway, it was much enjoyed even though it didn't make much sense.
The next part in our summer was Russell and Trish's wedding. Hopefully, I'll get that added tomorrow.

Hello, Is It Me You're Looking For

2010-05-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

Well, sorry it's been a while. I get frustrated not being able to upload my pictures and never want to blog again. Lately, we haven't been doing much but the next few weeks will be crazy so I better blog now or you guys will think we'll fallen off the face of the earth.

I'll start with Tad-a-lad. He's still working the same old job which is becoming a constant struggle for him. He recently interviewed for an Accounts Payable position within the same company, but they said he was much more valuable where he is. (Plus they would have to pay him the same rate when they could pay a much less qualified person $10/hour.) He was disappointed, but not too upset having prayed about it a lot. We just kept praying that whatever our next step in life be, we would find it out through this somehow. Well, our next step is Grad school...officially. We've been saying that for a little while now, but we know that is what we need to do. Tad recently bought one of those humungo study books for the gmat and will be taking that this fall. We would like to be in school by next fall, so we'll see how that works. Tad is constantly busy and always working hard. He comes home and still manages to have enough energy to lighten my load. He teaches sunday school every other week, and is a district supervisor for home teaching. He usually takes a few nights a week to go play ultimate frisbee or just workout. What a guy! He is very excited to be seeing his family this weekend for Russell and Trish's wedding. We will head out to Oregon tomorrow after work! The last of the Dickerson's will be married!

Then there's me. I have gotten back into doing all my crafty stuff. I have made a few leg warmers for the girls which I think are adorable, but some (Tad) may argue with that. I made Afton a couple dresses, Reesa and myself a couple skirts and there's probably more to come. A sister in the ward bought my nursing cover at an auction so I made that and will be making another one for someone else in a few weeks. I really enjoy making things because I have never done it before. I am definitely not the best seamstress, but I am learning. It makes me feel productive, so if anyone is in need of something, let me know! I have been trying to get back into reading. I miss those days, when I can just sit on the couch and read a good book for an hour or so. Mostly, those days are gone because I now have two children who require much of my time. I may someday miss these days, but for now I miss the quiet reading days. The girls and I will be heading down to Georgia for a visit with my family at the beginning of June. We are so excited to just be able to have the girls get to know the family better. I love our families and wish we could live closer to them, maybe one day we'll get there. I randomly get to work out in the morning before Tad goes to work, but I hate having to wake up, so it doesn't happen very often. Other than cleaning, cooking and thousands of loads of laundry I'm not doing much.

Afton is getting so big!! I love this little girl. Just this morning I was feeding the baby back in the girl's room and Afton decided since I couldn't read her her book, she would read it to herself. She sits in an empty diaper box and reads Toy Story, Remy, and Monsters Inc. It was so cute to listen to how much of those stories that she already knows just by looking at the pictures. Some days she'll quote a page from the Monsters Inc. story to herself over and over. "'Boo,' somting said. It's liddle dirl. 'Ahhh...' Sulley steamed. Monsters thought tids were not safe." She loves to run outside, play with her sidewalk chalk, sing songs, read stories and watch movies. She gets to watch movies about once a week and watch Playhouse Disney on Saturdays, so when those times come around she loves it! She is always making Reesa laugh and is beginning to be such a good helper. Yesterday, she pulled a chair up to the counter while I was cooking dinner, grabbed the sponge and preceded to clean the dishes. She told me she cleaned all the dishes! What a big girl! We love her, even when she tells me that she's swallowed a coin, or is choking on her hair clips, or grabbing poop out of her diaper and many more wonderful things.

Reesa is such a chubby wubbers. I love this sweet little girl. She is so good and so cuddly. She wakes up every morning smiling and just chatting with herself. She loves to be held, loves to pull my hair or Afton's as much as possible. She doesn't really like fruit yet, but she loves veggies. She eats a lot, smiles a ton and loves to watch Afton run and jump around the house. She looks just like Tad minus the bigger lips. She's not rolling over or really making any effort to move in that direction, but she is almost sitting up by herself. She's just my little cutie pie!

I am so grateful for the beautiful daughters and the wonderful man in my life. It's a good life!

Cutest little things!

2010-05-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

There's another awesome giveaway at makeit-loveit.com! The cutest crafty things can be seen at www.minimebabygear.com. Go take a look!

Conspiring Mac's!

2010-05-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

I officially hate Mac + Blogger together! Does anybody have problems uploading pictures from their Mac's to Blogger? If so, what do you do? Let me know what solutions or issues you guys have! Thanks.

More Pictures

2010-04-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Kacie, who did an aMaZiNg job posted more pictures of us on her blog. Go check them out at eyecandybykacie.blogspot.com!

Sneak Peak

2010-03-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

Family pictures

2010-03-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

We just took some family pictures on Saturday. Thanks Kacie Hanna for taking our pictures! She was awesome and got some good ones!!

Take a sneak peak at: http://eyecandybykacie.blogspot.com/

Love my cutie pies and my handsome husband!

Can you see it?

2010-03-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I posted all these pictures and the next time I looked at my blog, most of them weren't viewable. Let me know if it's the same for you guys. If you can see or cannot see my pictures please let me know. I'll try and have Tad take a look at the comp but apparently Mac doesn't do well with blogger. Anyway, thanks and sorry.

I know, I know it's been forever

2010-03-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

It's been forever! I can't believe how long it's been. A lot has happened, as you can tell by all the pictures, but I still have more to post. I hope I can get this video uploaded so we'll see.

Anyway, Afton's birthday was on the 16th of February. The Saturday before we took her to this place called R-jump at the movie theater here in town. It's just a bunch of inflatable things to slide and jump on. She didn't really like those but she did like the mats all over the floor. She would run up and down them and jump all over them. We got some cotton candy too which she didn't really like and ended up feeding to me. On Tuesday we just had our cousins, Katie and Dallin, come over for dinner/cake and presents. It took me about two days to make her cake. I made a very dumbed down version of Mickey Mouse clubhouse. This was my first experience with fondant and it took a long time but it was fun to learn something new. She got some great presents and she has enjoyed them all. I can't believe that she is already 2! I look at her and just keep thinking where did all that time go. She's so big. She's a great helper too. She loves to do things for me, or Reesa or Tad. However, not so much for herself. Strange, but true. She loves Pixar movies and Playhouse Disney, but she also LOVES books and singing songs. She can sing the alphabet, Wheels on the Bus (and all the verses), Do as I'm Doing and many more. My favorite thing is at night when I put her to bed I usually will sit with her, stroke her hair and talk to her about how good she was that day, sometimes she will put her hand to my face and stroke it. I love those moments when she will just randomly show me so much affection. Or when we can just sit and laugh and laugh. She is a great daughter and I feel so blessed to have her in my life.

Reesa is the cutest little happy baby ever! She is a great sleeper, eater, and laugher(?)! I love to try to make her laugh. She's just a ball of fun. She loves to jabber, be held, and she absolutely LOVES to watch and talk to Afton. Every night after family prayer in the girls room, we try to have Afton talk to Reesa. Reesa will just crack up laughing. It is by far the best moment of motherhood I have had. I love these girls!!

Tad is a working maniac. He has been trying to work out some issues with his technicians and other stuff at work. After his shift, he will have to drive to Rigby or worst case scenario, Idaho Falls and back about twice a week, sometimes more to drop off R&D samples. But he does get a little bit of release when he gets to play Ultimate Frisbee on Tuesday nights. Saturdays are definitely sleep-in days for him. Every other Sunday he teaches Gospel Doctrine and he tries to be as active in church activities/services as possible.

I am not doing much, just staying at home and trying to keep the house clean, after Afton has decided to line the floors with paper to jump on. Wednesdays, I take the girls to a playgroup which has been great for us to get some time out of the house. I quit my monthly trial at the gym so I am trying to get as much exercise as possible without having to pay an arm and a leg for gym memberships. I tried doing Zumba which is pretty fun and a great work-out, but the times don't usually correspond with my available time. I don't have a calling yet, other than a visiting teacher, but I have found that that deserves a lot of my attention. Not that these women are needy, but I have had many callings in Visiting Teaching capacities that have helped me to realize the importance of making sure I am doing all that is necessary for these sisters. I have been really wanting to start something of my own, a business of some kind, so if you have any suggestions let me know!

Well, that's it for now!

2010-03-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

Watch out for this one!

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2010-03-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

What a ham!

2010-03-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

2010-03-20T08:20:00.000-07:00