Tulip Festival 2008 and My Birthday

OK, so I need to figure how to do the slide shows because we have so many good pictures from the Tulip Festival this year. Until I do that, you just get to see some of my favorite pics! We actually went on my 29th birthday (yikes!), which was on May 3, with Curtis and Amanda and their sweet little girls. We had such a great time! We parted ways after walking around the grounds for a couple hours at Thanksgiving Point and Todd and I grabbed a bite to eat at the deli there. They have "Thanksgiving" sandwiches that I love—turkey, cranberry sauce, lettuce and cream cheese on whole wheat! Yummy. After that we went shopping so Todd could "give" me my presents. I ended up getting a really cute outfit that consists of a black shirt and white skirt. (I have the black shirt on in the picture with Brock and Mia's headstone if you want to see it! It's from Down East.) After that we continued our good day of eating and went to Cheesecake Factory, my favorite restaurant ever! We shared the most fattening but completely delicious appetizers called Buffalo Blasts. These puppies are shredded chicken stirred with buffalo sauce and then fried in wonton wrappers. THEN you dip them in more buffalo sauce and chunky blue cheese dressing. These things were to DIE FOR, and would actually probably make you die if you ate all of them. Luckily we only had two each. :) We also shared a yummy entree and a piece of cheesecake. I can honestly say I was sick after that meal, but is was soooo good. Sunday we went to my parents house in Morgan and had another good dinner. Then I was spoiled and given some great presents from them as well. All in all it was a successful birthday. Now let's hope the big 30 goes just as well next year . . .  





P.S. I'll try to post more pics later—for some reason it's been a struggle just to get these ones on here!

Cute, not sad!

I've had a lot of people ask me what Brock and Mia's headstone looks like, and I always say that it is so cute! I'm sure that sounds weird to people sometimes because it was such a sad thing that happened, but I'm so proud of how cute we always make things look. This year for the twins birthday we celebrated by giving them a little shepherd's hook and wind chime. We also took some cute tulips, and my mom added some other spring flowers. So to answer the question sad or cute, my vote is for cute! 

A Flying Todd

Well, last Friday was Todd's lucky day! He was invited to go flying with my uncle Roland, who happens to be a pilot with his own little plane. Todd loves it whenever he gets to go with Rol—he just thinks it is the best. I however get very nervous, and being sure I'm not the only one that hears about small plane crashes on the news ALL OF THE TIME, I'm sure you all won't think I'm too paranoid. He always seems to come back though and my uncle says once we have a little one on the way, Todd won't be allowed to go with him anymore. So anyway, this ended up being one of Todd's longest flights in the little plane because they flew to Vernal to have lunch with my uncle's brother. Todd finally remembered to take his camera this time and he got to take some really cool pictures as they flew over Flaming Gorge. He had so much fun!

Happy Birthday Babies!

Most of you will probably say that you can't believe it's already been a year since our sweet twins came and left us so quickly. I tend to agree with most of you, but there are days that make it seem like it happened a whole lifetime ago. Good Friday, a day that sounds nice to most, is what we refer to now as Bad Friday. That was the day we went to the hospital last year for our big ultrasound. That was the day we were told that I wouldn't leave the hospital until our babies were born. That was the day we were told that it would be a miracle for our babies to make it through. It was definitely NOT a Good Friday. Two weeks later, in the early morning hours of April 17, Brock and Mia came and went without a breath. It was heartbreaking—the biggest heartbreak either Todd or I have ever suffered, but it was also an amazing blessing that only strengthened the bonds of love and loyalty between us. We spent a wonderful horrible day together, making memories and taking pictures. We talk about our angels often, and to them as well, asking them to send their brothers and sisters soon, and telling them that we miss them very much. We can't wait to see them again one day, as they are part of our eternal family. It will be such a sweet reunion! We love you babies! We're so glad you're ours! Happy Birthday! 

Tag—Oh the Memories!

20 Years Ago:

I was almost nine years old, and probably watching my dad's Star Wars movies over and over and maybe slipping in a little Fraggle Rock now and then. I also was probably out riding my bike with the "banana" seat and hangin' out with my cousins.  

10 Years Ago:

I would have been 19 and almost finished with my first year of college. I also sent off my "missionary" and was totally sad, but for no reason since he came home a weirdo and now I'm married to the greatest man in the WORLD! I probably decided that I would major in Communications, either Public Relations or Journalism (I ended up graduating in Journalism but went back and forth until the last semester of my senior year!) 

5 Years Ago:

I was a newly wed and just hung out with my cute hubby Todd in our apartment, which was fondly known as "the complex" because all of Todd's best friends lived there as well. We had a great time!

3 Years Ago:

I was probably just going to work every day and doing the editor thing. We were living in our house in Layton at the time, and little did we know we'd sell it in a few months after putting a For Sale sign up in our yard for 1 day! 

1 Year Ago:

I had been in the hospital for about two weeks hoping that our twins wouldn't come too early, but unfortunately they did. I took my maternity leave anyway for a break from "real" life. Man last year war really rough, but we made it and are all the stronger for it!

So Far This Year:

I have cut my hours at work to 30 and by doing so made it so I have Fridays off every week, and I work from home on Wednesdays for only 6 hours. I love it so much! Todd and I are trying all sorts of things to get pregnant on our own—Robitussin, Basal Body Temp taking, special Fertilaid vitamins, Clomid, and an OV Watch that I sleep with every night! We'll see how it goes, but I'm thinking it would be nice to just do in vitro again and be done with it all! 

Yesterday:

It snowed. I worked like crazy at the office, but one of my authors sent me flowers because she knew she was being a pain. How nice was that? Todd and I made Taco Salad for dinner, which tasted totally awesome. It wasn't anything special though, we think we were both just REALLY hungry.

Today:

I went to work at the office again today (I'm normally at home) because I took tomorrow off and still had a lot to get done. After work Todd and I had dinner and I went to our YW activity. Now I think I'm going to watch American Idol, or at least the last 5 minutes . . . 

Tomorrow:

We're going to Morgan tomorrow to visit Brock and Mia's grave. We have some cute things we're going to put up there that I'm really excited about. Maybe we'll go to lunch at Taggarts too. That would be sooooo yummy!

This Year:

I better get pregnant or else! But, I say that every year, don't I? At least there's still like 8 months left. Who knows, maybe I could have a baby by the end of the year. That would be an even better goal, don't you think?

I now tag: Amanda, Julie, Randee, Jenni, and Cordia!

Done!

So it took me about 2 months to read all 3 books in the Twilight series, but I wish I would have had the time to read them all in just a few days! When being a book editor is your everyday job, sometimes it is hard to get in the reading mode once you get home from work! I missed the good ol' days of staying up until 3 a.m. finishing a book that I just couldn't put down, but I could never do that now! If I did, I'd take the risk of falling asleep at my desk the next day. You don't know how hard it is to fight those afternoon sleepies! 

Anyway, I actually do want to write about these books—all of which I thought were great! I'd heard about them for quite a while and finally decided it was time I bought into the trend of reading about vampires and werewolves, literally. I was at Costco one Saturday and they had all 3 books there in hardback for $10 each. I thought that was a great deal, so I bought all of them. Todd didn't approve because he didn't think it was smart to buy the books before I knew if I actually liked them. I bought them anyway. My interest was definitely piqued, and it turns out that I really enjoyed the books. They were fun, exciting, and full of cheesy romance. Don't get me wrong though—I'm always a sucker for a good love story, no matter how cheesy! Anyway, after finishing Eclipse, I feel like I'm totally torn in the little love triangle that is brewing in Bella's life. Who should she be with? Vampire or werewolf? Both can protect her, but both are so dangerous. What does everyone else think? And if you are one of the few people that haven't read these books, I suggest you start them soon!

New pictures of the girls!

Abby J . is so sleepy and cute. I love the little flower in her plethora of dark hair—she has to have one since she lives in Hawaii!

Our blonde beauty, McKell Rae, being held by her big brother Logan. She's so cute and little, and I still just can't believe all that hair! :)

My new "nieces"

Well, two of my cousins, who are more like siblings to me than cousins, had babies this week! (That's why I call their kids my nieces and nephews!) I'm so excited and can't wait to go snuggle these new additions to our extended family. The first baby came on Tuesday, March 11, and they named her Abigail Janice Steele. She was 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 inches long, and has lots of dark hair (which I hope will turn red like her mommy's!). Abby and her proud parents live in Hawaii, so Todd and I will have to plan a trip so I can hold her. They'll be coming for a visit in July though, so I may just have to hold out until then. The second baby came on Wednesday, March 12 and was named McKell Rae Phillips. She was 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long, and had TONS of blonde curls. Apparently she had all the nurses cooing over her and they were fighting about who got to bathe her and fix her cute blonde hair! I'm sure you can tell what picture McKell is in. :) Hooray for babies! 

P.S. I'll post some newer pictures as soon as I get them!