Proof

Here is proof that a "Techer" does indeed live in our house.

I am married to a "Techer".

While my high school self would cringe at that thought, my 25 year old self couldn't be happier.

So here he is reluctantly showin' off the uniform (minus the ID badge). Lookin' good you techer, you.

She has a fetish

A shoe fetish, that is.

These boots of Daddy's go all the way up her leg. In fact, I think they are longer than her leg.

They can't be that comfortable to wear. Sitting down is much better, but then Daddy has to hold them up because steel toe boots are way too heavy.
Then she thought she would give my running shoes a go. They were a bit easier than the boots.

Here's a video of the shoe fun. Sorry it's sideways and a bit dark.

Lemi Shine

There are times in my life when I am grateful that there are people that know a heck of a lot more than me.

Ok, so I am always grateful for those people, but there are times that I am REALLY glad I know some of those all-knowing people.

My mother-in-law seems to be one of those people. She has answers to a lot of questions. Questions that I think there are just no answers to. But then she proves me wrong.

We had a predicament when we moved to Casper.

Our dishwasher would leave this hard, white residue on all of our dishes.

Since it would be a sin to have a dishwasher and not use it, we used it anyway and figured we would deal with it.

Well, by the time we moved to Laramie, some of our dishes had started to look pretty bad.

I was starting to fret when I was unpacking and realized just how badly some of our dishes looked.

I was worried we would have to throw out some of our stuff because the only way to get some of that residue off, was by scraping. Lots and lots of scraping. And some stuff was just not scrapable, if you know what I mean.

It would have taken hours...maybe even days.

I was really worried. What was I going to do?

But then, my sweet mother-in-law came to the rescue.

She saw our problem and immediately gave us cure.

It's called Lemi Shine.

(I know I am probably out of the loop and everyone already uses this, but I am ok with that.)

You put it in your dishwasher where the soap goes and let it do its magic by removing the hard water, white residue stuff.

Let me tell you. It is AMAZING!

My dishes look better than ever.

You can see for yourself....

Before:

After:

Look. It's practically sparking. :)

15 Months Old

Our little Layna is now 15 months old.

Only 3 more months until nursery! I really never understood what the big deal was about nursery until Alayna started walking.

Now, in church we can barely contain her in an aisle. She LOVES to walk. It doesn't matter where. In fact, most of the time it is in the opposite direction than where we want her to go.

Trust me when I say that she loves to roam. She doesn't care if she can see mom or dad. She doesn't care if she knows the people that she walks up to and says hi.

Maybe you will understand just how much this little girl loves walking, when I say that we went shopping the other weekend at some outlet malls and she had to walk with us to each store. There was no carrying her. She put some serious mileage on that day.

Maybe all the walking is why she has such an obsession with shoes. I don't know. But now it's not just her own shoes that she loves. Anyone's shoes will do. Even if they are several sizes too big.

Over the last few weeks we have discovered a lot of things that Alayna loves:

• Twirling. Here's a video of her doing just that. She gets pretty dizzy.
  

• She loves the musical Annie. You will find her dancing right along with the characters.
• Climbing. Oh, how she loves climbing. It has resulted in several falls. She hasn't gotten too many bumps and bruises...yet.
• Holding baby Connor. Connor is Alayna's newest cousin. She loves to hold him and "beep" his nose. (push his nose and I say "beep"). She would hold him all day long if she could, but I don't think Connor would like that. Besides, he already weighs over half her weight and he is not even a month old. :)
• She loves her baths. Can you tell she loves splashing?

• And of course, she LOVES accessories. You will find several of the necessities in this picture: A Sweater. (If she gets into her dresser, she will rummage through all the clothes to find a sweater for me to put on her.) A hair bow. (If I leave any hair accessory down where she can reach it, she will try and put it in her hair.) Shoes. (Notice how well these red w/white polka dot shoes match her ensemble. :) A purse. (Inside you will find her play cell phone, an empty chapstick, and her binky. You know, the essentials.)

She also loves to make a good mess. Here she has some Desitin smeared on her face. What was really funny about this, was she was rubbing it into her skin like she was applying face lotion. She doesn't miss a thing.
Over the past few weeks Alayna has also started talking and signing a lot more. She is pretty good at communicating what she wants with her signs and a few words. She is even starting to develop some good manners. She can sign please and thank you. Although she signs please way more than thank you.

She has also learned the signs for shoe and car.

And she can say thank you, boo (when you pull her shirt over her head while getting her dressed), wow, yeah, and oh.

She has just learned to blow kisses and blow on her food whether it is hot or not.

She is 31 1/8 inches long and she weighs 20 lbs. 3 oz.

I'll just leave you with one last picture. Here she is after church. Couldn't quite get a smile...what's new.

Until next month....

It's really quite simple

To answer some of your questions, I'll give you a little run down on how to make the bow holders.

Find an old picture frame that you don't use anymore.

Decorate it.

Since my large frame was a flat, wooden one. I decided to use a little mod podge and some leftover fabric scraps.

The smaller frame was the perfect color so I just decided to add a bow.

Once the frames were all decked out, then I hot glued strips of ribbon to the back of each frame.

The more strips, the more bows will fit. (I ended up adding more than I thought.)

Once it's dry, clip the bows onto the ribbon and walla!

You're finished.

Last, but not least, find a nice place to hang on the wall.

You can't get much easier than that.

I had to do it

With the hair bows accumulating, space to store them was decreasing.

Which is the reason for my latest project.

You see, I had to do it. This project was practically calling to me.

Actually it has been calling to me for quite sometime, but I just couldn't find the exact materials I wanted to make them.

That is, until we moved.

You know those items that when unpacked, you can't seem to find a place for them? If you are like me, they sit around until everything else is put away so I can contemplate where to put them. This time, those few items were some old frames that I had no use for.

Then I had an aha moment and I created these:

And there you have it. Another project checked off my list.

Confessions

There is nothing like have 20 whole minutes of running time to think about random things.

Here's a few of my jumbled thoughts:

• I wouldn't consider myself a runner. While I do enjoy it now, I simply do it to burn calories and for the sense of accomplishment I feel when I am done. I am definitely not the fastest and I can't run the farthest.
• If you would have told me two years ago that I would be a person who looks forward to exercising daily, I would have said you were crazy.
• Listening to an I-pod while running really does make the time go by faster. (Dan just got an I-pod touch, and I have been borrowing it for my running sessions.)
• The altitude here is seriously kicking my bum.
• When I was little I wanted to be a "singer/dancer".
• Teaching Kindergarten was seriously my dream job. I loved it. It was perfect for me.
• If there was a way to be a full-time mom and a Kindergarten teacher, I would do it.
• I am stubborn. I always have been. When I put my mind to something, I will do everything I can to achieve it.
• Having said that, I once grew my hair "long" (past my shoulders) just because someone told me I couldn't do it. (I had short hair for several years prior to this.)
• I am technologically impaired at times. I really wish I wasn't.
• Alayna's new obsession with accessorizing has made me wonder if I need to accessorize more.
• We don't have cable (and haven't for about a year and a half) and I am ok with it.
• I am addicted to the TV show Smallville. Ok, maybe not addicted, but I am really into it. My little brother got us into it. We are borrowing the seasons from his friend and we can't get through them quick enough.
• I start babysitting my nephew tomorrow. I am excited and nervous about it. There will be two of them and one of me....

Well, I'll leave you with that. Although that was a mere fraction of my thoughts, I hoped it proved to be a little interesting.

I have just been informed...

that this way of eating pears has apparently gone out of style. It's much to slow. It's all about the fast approach. Drinking the pears. Followed by "ah." (Imagine her saying this as if she just quenched her thirst.)

Guess they're good that way. Definitely saved me some time.

Now, on to the main course.

And in case you were wondering...I have no idea what is going on with her hair. Let's pretend that Dan fixed it. :) Just kidding.

Personal Maid

Ever since Alayna has been eating "real" food, I have been wanting a maid.

Someone to clean up the life cereal that gets stuck to the floor along with the dried up macaroni and cheese and whatever else finds its way onto my kitchen floor.

It just so happens that I found her.

My very own personal maid.

Yes, she may be scantily clad, but you just can't be picky.

Although, for some reason I don't think this picture would be as cute if she was 14.

We'll work on cleaning while fully clothed.

Two Thousand Ten

I have to admit.

It seems a bit surreal.

Entering a new decade and all.

New year means new goals. Or old goals that I have not accomplished yet.

Here they are. My goals for 2010:

• exercise daily (except for weekends. I am not a weekend exerciser.) for at least 30 minutes
• meal plan weekly
• write in my journal at least once a week
• read scriptures everyday (personally and with Dan)
• Pray morning and night (personally and with Dan)
• Read Ensign each month
• Comment more on other people's blogs. (For some reason I am not very good at this. I really do love reading all of your blogs. I just am horrible at leaving a comment.)
• Try new hobbies (I had this goal last year and it totally worked. I now can add crafting and running to my hobbies. Let's see what this year brings.)
• Read at least two new books a month (I've upped the number of books this year.)
• Become a better at budgeting. (This is something I started last year and I actually have enjoyed. I have it on my list this year because it is something that can always be worked on.)
• Build up Food Storage.
• Visit Teach monthly
• Organize time better (This will be KEY if I want to accomplish any of these goals.)
• Be a better wife and mother
• Laugh more
• Love more
• Learn more

Now that I am completely overwhelmed and you think I am crazy...

It's time to get started.

Here's to a wonderful 2010 filled with accomplishing goals!

A year in review

2009 was a....challenging year for our family.

Let me clarify by saying there are such things as good challenges and bad challenges, or maybe I should say, wanted challenges and unwanted challenges.

We were recipients of both kinds of challenges this year.

This is true for every year, but this last year seemed to have more than usual.

It truly was the most unique year we have had together.

2009 was filled with learning, love, laughter, humility, joy, sadness, compassion, hope and much much more.

Here is a little of our year in review:

I found my crafty gene. It may not be as developed as others, but I have to admit I LOVE doing crafts.


I somehow convinced my understanding husband that I needed a treadmill. And since it's arrival I have run everyday (Minus vacation. It's a sin to exercise during vacations and holidays.) I am actually liking it and it has become part of my routine. (Gasp.)

Alayna started out the year looking like this:

She kept growing...

and growing...

and growing...

and growing...

until she looked like this:

This last year was a learning year as a mommy. There is nothing that can truly prepare you for motherhood. It is a learning experience. It is one of those good challenges. I am grateful for that challenge.

We traveled a lot. Vegas, Laramie, Casper, Mt. View and Utah to name a few.

The company Dan was working for shut down most of their plants, so we found ourselves looking for new employment.

We moved in with my parents for a few weeks until Dan's job was finalized. Despite worrying about being a burden and having to swallow our pride, it was great.... at least for us. I think the Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sarah, and Uncle Jordan enjoyed themselves too.

My not-so-little brother came home from his mission in Guatemala. I was so excited! It is so nice having him (and his sense of humor) back.

We moved to Casper.

We moved again.

Alayna turned ONE!Dan turned 30.

We moved to Laramie.

Dan started at WyoTech.

I turned a Quarter of a Century.

We celebrated our Fifth Anniversary!

And much more.

Looking back, I can honestly say that I am so glad that this year was the way it was. In January, I never would have thought that by December we would move four times, be back in Laramie, and Dan be in school.

It has been a whirlwind, but I wouldn't change it.