More Birthday Fun

One cool thing about me and Bill is that our birthdays are only 12 days apart, so we have a lot of fun celebrating our birthdays around the same time. This year we were down in St. Louis for my birthday. And, as always, it was a lot of fun. One unique thing that happened on this trip is that we got our hotel upgraded. Recently we've been using "name your own price" on Priceline, and we've gotten some pretty great deals. This time we were originally supposed to stay at the Marriott. However, when we got there they told us that they had overbooked because of a conference or something, so there were no longer any rooms available. To make it up to us, they got us rooms here:


The Hilton St. Louis Frontenac

It is a beautiful hotel, and we both wished that we could have stayed there more than just one night.

Since that day was my birthday, Bill surprised me with a few great gifts. First he gave me a beautiful card with a sweet message inside. Then he gave me a big box of chocolates that we were able to share together. His last gift was a beautiful ring to temporarily replace my wedding ring, which for some reason I haven't been able to wear.

The next day we were able to go to the temple with Bobby and Susan. Bill, Will and Alice joined up with a Primary group who were doing different activities around the temple while Kayla and I hung out in the ancillary building. We had a wonderful session together, then we joined Bobby and Susan at the Magic House. This is a MASSIVE building with TONS of things to do. Susan and I decided that it would probably take months to get through everything enough that you were bored with it. Will and Alice had a great time. Unfortunately most of the pictures I took didn't turn out that great, but here are a few that are ok.




This is a horrible angle, but Will had a lot of fun pretending to shop at the grocery store.


Please excuse the lady on the left. This place is really crowded, so it was a little difficult to get a good picture without having other people in it.




And to top off the birthday weekend, Bobby and Susan were nice enough to make me a yummy birthday cake that we got to enjoy together today after church. It was an awesome weekend and we all had a lot of fun.

Happy Father's Day

Just a quick note to all the men and fathers out there who have touched my life or my family's life. Specifically my dad, father-in-law, grandfathers, brothers-in-law, uncles, cousins, and of course my wonderful husband. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing examples. Thank you all for being in my life and for all you do for your own families. We love you.

Where does the time go?

I was changing Kayla's diaper earlier, and when I was done I put her on her tummy for a minute. As soon as she was down, she tried turning over. I don't remember Will doing this so early!! She didn't quite make it all the way, but it made for a good excuse to take a cute video.

"You've had a birthday, shout hooray"

Who knew silly Primary songs made good blog post titles :-) Anyway, as mentioned previously, yesterday was Bill's birthday. We had fun celebrating yesterday and today.


Sorry for the horribly dark picture. I got up early Sunday morning and decorated part of the kitchen. I made a sign that said "Happy Birthday Daddy", then put a balloon next to where Bill sits.


I made a pancake breakfast for Bill, which has turned into a birthday tradition (the birthday person gets to pick what they want for breakfast). Will helped me pick out Bill's balloon, and has decided that he's the one that gets to play with it, which is why he is holding it.


A side view of Bill's birthday cake. We had Bobby and Susan and Alice over for cake and ice cream. We love getting together with them, and this was a perfect excuse to do so.


For those who don't know, June 14th is Flag Day, so I made a flag cake. I was pretty happy with it, and it tasted pretty good too.


And of course, the birthday boy with his cake. Hope you had a fun birthday honey!

On this day in history

A great man was born...my husband Bill. And boy, are we lucky that he was! He is such a wonderful husband and father. He unselfishly gives of his time, even when he doesn't have any, for his family. He loves me unconditionally, even on my emotional roller coaster days. He works hard at whatever it is he's doing. He is always willing to serve others. He's just a great person all around. Will, Kayla, and I love you honey! Happy Birthday!

All you ever wanted to know about me and more

I saw this on a friend's Facebook page and thought it looked like fun.

1. How old will you be in five years? 33

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today? Will

3. How tall are you? About 5 feet, if that

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks? Celebrating Bill's birthday, Father's day, my birthday, having some of our family here for Kayla's blessing, celebrating our anniversary

5. What's the last movie you saw in theaters? Night at the Museum 2

6. Who was the last person you called? Bill

7. Who was the last person to call you? My sister-in-law

8. What was the last text message you received? My sister telling me she was bored

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail? I think it was Bill

10. Would you rather call or text? Call

11. Are you going to give out your cell number here? Nope

12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced? Divorced

13. When is the last time you saw your mom? Last summer

14. When is the last time you saw your dad? Last summer

15. Have you ever been to a concert? Quite a few

16. What are you wearing right now? Exercise clothes

18. Where is your favorite place to be? Anywhere with my family

19. Where is your least favorite place to be? The grocery store - especially when I'm hungry :-)

20. Africa-New Zealand-Japan? New Zealand

21. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years? Hopefully done with graduate school, in a real house, and busy with lots of fun stuff

22. Do you tan or burn? Depends on if I remember to put on sunscreen

23. What did you fear as a child? Snakes, spiders, thunder, heights - those are also current fears

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh? Being silly with Kayla

25. How many TV's do you have in your house? If you count our computer, two

26. How big is your bed? Queen

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer? Desktop

28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on? With, duh!

29. What color are your sheets? Flowered

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? Two

31. Whats your favorite beer? Rootbeer

32. What do you like about fall? Will's birthday and Thanksgiving

33. What do you like about winter? Christmas, Bill getting a month off from school

34. What do you like about the summer? Playing outside, Bill being less busy

35. What do you like about spring? How pretty everything becomes

36. How many states have you lived in? 2, including current state

37. What cities/towns have you lived in? Orem, Provo, Urbana, Savoy

38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet? bare feet

39. Are you a social person? Only with people I know really well

40. What was the last thing you ate? Crackers and cheese

41. What are your plans for tonight? Shopping and maybe going out for ice cream

42. Plans for tomorrow? Cleaning, planning Bill's birthday and Father's day

43. What are you listening to? Will and his cousin playing

44. Who was the last person you im'd? Erika

45. What instant messenger service do you use? Facebook and Skype

46. How is your hair currently? Short and straight

47. Are you wearing shoes? No

48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average? I drink out of one of those big water bottles from the hospital, so I don't know what that would be equivalent to in glasses

49. What do you drink in the morning? Milk or juice

51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed? If you're facing the bed, it's the left

52. Do you know how to play poker? Nope

53. Do you like to cuddle? Definitely

55. Favorite TV show? Of all time? Dancing with the Stars Now? Ugly Betty

56. Do you eat out or at home more often? At home

57. What are you currently drinking? Nothing at the moment, but usually water or milk

58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? My cousin's little boy

59. Do you want kids? Already have two, and would like at least a couple more

60. Have you ever been to a live television show taping? Yes

61. Have you ever gotten stitches? Yes

62. Have you ever ridden in a fire truck? No

63. Do you prefer the ocean or a pool? I'll say pool only because I haven't been to the ocean since I was a little girl

64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seat? Window

65. Do you know how to drive a stick? Nope

66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on? Presents for my family

67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7? My "pretend" wedding ring (The real one doesn't fit right now, so I just wear one that I've had for a long time)

68. Have you ever broken a bone? Don't remember

69. If yes, how.

70. Where are you going to be working this summer? At my house, at the park, at the church, wherever Will wants to go

71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? No

72. What is the main ring tone on your phone? Just the standard ring

73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little? I don't personally, but I'm sure my parents or grandparents do

74. What is the closest red object to you? The light at the bottom of the mouse

75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth? Yep

76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? Closed, cause that's where Kayla sleeps

77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees? Uhh....bear I guess

78. Last food you bought? Dinner at Culver's

79. Last movie you watched? Toy Story 2

80. What color is your swim suit? Don't have one at the moment

81. Can you change the oil on a car? Only if someone is right next to me walking me through it :-)

82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? Nope

83. Have you ever ran out of gas in the car? Nope

84. Favorite Candy? Take 5, Snickers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey's...I'm a chocoholic

85. What was the last book you read? In the middle of re-reading the Harry Potter books. On the 5th one right now.

86. Do you read the newspaper? Only if it's around the house

87. Do you read any magazines? Ensign, Children's Friend, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens, People

88. What was the last thing to make you laugh out loud? Watching Will and my niece Alice dance together

89. What do you fear most? That someone in my family will get hurt

90. Do you dance in the car? Not really, mostly just singing

91. What radio station do you listen to? Mix 94.5

92. Who is in the picture frame closest to you? There are 3 all next to each other - One family picture, one of just me and Bill, and one of Will by himself

93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper? Ideas for Will's Primary talk

94. What is your favorite candle scent? Anything citrus

95. What is your favorite board game? Sequence

96. What time is it? 11:16 am

97. What is on the wall directly to the right of you? A painting done by Bill's grandpa

98. Who was your favorite teacher in middle school? Mrs. Thompson

99. What is the longest you have ever camped out in a tent? A week (girl's camp)

100. Who was the last person to text you? Erika

And here are a couple of pictures of my cute kids for making it through this long post

The Gospel According to Will

I was helping Will write his Primary talk yesterday, and I thought I'd share some of his words of wisdom.

Me: "Will, do you know what faith is?"
Will: "Faith is Clifford" - We had a quick lesson on faith after this

Me: "Do you feel happy or sad when you make a bad choice?"
Will: "I feel sad"
Me: "Do you think Heavenly Fathers is happy or sad when we choose the right?"
Will: "Happy"

I think he's going to do a great job on Sunday, don't you?

She's even cute when she's sleeping!

I seriously can't get over how cute this little girl is.




She's going to hate me for this one when she's 16 :-)

Our smart boy

Please forgive the overabundance of blog posts the last few days. I guess I'm making up for lost time. Anyway, here's a video of Will saying his scripture that he gave in Primary a little while ago.

Movies and Me

I saw this on a few of my friends' blogs, and I thought it was fun, so I thought I'd add my two cents to the blogging world.

Cheesiest movie you'll actually admit to liking

-Galazy Quest. I've always liked both Tim Allen and Alan Rickman, so having them both in the same movie was fun. It's funny, it's corny, you gotta love it.

Movie everyone else loves that you don't

-Indiana Jones. Any of them. I don't know why, I just can't get into these movies.

Movie you've seen recently that you would NOT recommend
-Intolerable Cruelty. Technically I saw this movie a few years ago, and technically I didn't actually see the whole movie, because my mom and my sister and I walked out of it after about 10 minutes. Let's just say that the 10 minutes I did see were horrible. Maybe the title of the movie should have tipped me off about the content.

Movie you own that no one else has heard of

-Split Infinity. I don't technically own this movie at the moment, but since my dad helped with the music, and since my family owns it, I think it counts. It's a really cute movie from Feature Films for Families that I have always liked.

Movie you could watch over and over again


-I couldn't decide between Little Women and Charly. I have seen both of these movies a million times, and Little Women still makes me feel good and happy, and Charly still makes me cry like a baby.

Favorite Christmas movie

Jim Carrey's version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I love the older version also, but Jim Carrey is hilarious.