top 30 reasons why I love ryan

1. today when OU lost, he didn't rub it in my face. it was probably REALLY hard for him, but he didn't.

2. our biggest and baddest fights are about football. (could be worse!)

3. starting today, after one last birthday buzz, he is growing his hair out just for me (hooray!!)

4. he gave me kate

5. he likes everything I cook

6. he is patient enough to live with my parents so we can save money

7. he is smart and ambitious

8. he is applying to columbia just for me

9. today when natalie asked him if I was getting fat yet, he said no

10. he loves being around kate

11. he makes really yummy pasta

12. he loves to be clean and organized

13. I HATE folding laundry, so he always does it

14. he takes me backpacking, camping and hiking with him...which I wouldn't be doing alone, thats for sure!

15. he really loves his family

16. I HATE doing dishes, so he always does it

17. he didn't make fun of me (too much) when I went maternity shopping several months before I was pregnant

18. he understands my need to exercise and he is willing to stay up after a long night at work to watch kate so I can

19. he is caring and compassionate in his job. its nice to see thank you notes from people who have watched their loved ones in ryan's care

20. he makes me laugh

21. kate's eyes light up when he walks into the room and she points and screams and says "da da!!"

22. he is always so thoughtful when it comes to buying me presents

23. he is patient with me when I come home from work and am so tired all I want to do is lay down on the couch....even though he's been running after kate all day long already

24. he always does the driving on long car trips

25. he is kate's favorite person to go swimming with and they do it often

26. he moved to tucson after graduation so I could be by my mom (and despite the tucson heat!)

27. he flosses his teeth....often

28. he weighed more than me, even at the very largest point of my pregnancy....not by much!!

29. he makes me laugh (although not always out loud)

30. he is totally in denial that he's an OLD MAN

Happy Birthday Ryan!! I love you!!

kate's big bed quilt!

okay, so its not so much a *quilt* as it is a bunch of cute fabric, but just look at that potential! I ordered it on ebay and I'm so excited to get started. its not enough to do the whole thing, so I need to go do some matching! here is the pattern for the quilt! it makes me so happy just looking at it!! hopefully I feel the same after I start sewing!

I've been tagged!!

thanks, hilary, for giving me an excuse to blog. why do I feel so busy lately?!?! sigh. anyways, here I go.

what was I doing 10 years ago?

I was *gulp* 14 ready to turn 15 in a month! HA, I'm young! let's see now....I was living in South Jordan, Utah going to South Jordan Middle School. I was in 9th grade and I had a huge crush on a boy who played bass with me in orchestra.

what was I doing 5 years ago?

I was starting my dental hygiene degree at Utah Valley State College. I was a little bitter because I didn't want to leave byu and thought I wanted to graduate from there and then go to dental school instead. (boy, am I glad I chose the path I did!) for the first time, I was living in provo not in the dorms! I lived in shirepoint with miriam, annie and michelle and, boy, was that a fun time!

what was I doing 1 year ago?

Kate was 5 months old and I was finally brave enough to leave the house 2 days a week to work at the wonderful office that I'm working in now. we had just moved in with my parents and getting settled into our shared life (that we still enjoy).

what was I doing yesterday?

I worked all day long and went to olive garden for lunch with the girls from work. we got endless soup and salad (mmmmm.....) and the waiter was so slow that lots of them left hungry still!! kelley and I had more time, so we stayed behind to handle the check (and get REALLY full) and the waiter made up for his slowness by giving us a whole cup of andes mints to share with our friends who had left. yeah....we ate most of them in the car! but we saved a few for them. then I finished out the work day and went home and read the last 150 pages of my book club book! (oh why did I procrastinate?!) we read "three cups of tea" by greg mortensen and it was really good. I was in charge of the discussion so we had it at my house and we ate artichoke jalepeno dip and chocolate. once everyone left, we watched the dancing with the stars results show and went to bed!

six places I would rather be:

somewhere it looks like fall
backpacking havasupai
rocky point
somewhere tropical
getting an ultrasound and finding out what this baby is!

5 treats that I love:

ice cream
root beer floats
strawberries
m & ms
twizzlers

what I would do with a million dollars:

not worry about money!! I would accept ryan's admission into columbia, get a NICE new york apartment and put him through school without starving so he could make me MORE money! and since I have so much money, I would go see the rockettes and radio city music hall at christmas, go to as many broadway shows as I could and fly home to see my family whenever I wanted! oh man....I wish I had a million dollars!

5 favorite TV shows:

the office (although I redact that statement after tonights episode if pam and jim get together), survivor, psych, heroes, and chuck was really funny if anyone missed it.


most memorable thing right now:

how ADOREABLE kate is when she wants to do everything just like us! last night mom was mopping the floor and kate was begging to mop too so we gave her the swiffer mop and she was doing it right along with grammy!! (and she looked SO cute!!) oh man, I love her

I'll just say "TAG, you're it" because I don't know if I know 5 people who read this and do their own blog too! so, if you are reading this and have your own blog, TAG, its your turn!

it isn't fair...

it isn't fair that pregnancy moodiness caused me to get really mad at ryan this morning (in a crying fit) because he ate the last bagel and that was the only thing that sounded good to me.

seriously, who is this monster I'm turning into?!?!

it isn't fair that they had the primary program today in sacrament meeting. we have the most amazing primary teachers in our ward and the program was just beautiful. the ward missionaries had urged everyone to invite their friends and the program had a simple and stirring missionary message with testimonies and the story of the restoration and ended with a beautiful arrangement of "I know that my Redeemer lives"...

....which caused me to be a bawling mess (especially after the bagel incident)

it isn't fair how adoreable kate looked in her new dress today at church. even though it was a *chilly* 88 degrees outside, I couldn't help but dress her in the fall dress!! she got lots ohhs and ahhs!! seriously, could I LOVE her any more?!?!

busy busy busy

oh man, am I tired. I've been THINKING about blogging all week long, but I haven't really gotten around to it.
wednesday was my big combined YW sewing projects and monday and tuesday were spent getting ready for that. it turned out so great, I'll have to get pictures of how great their bags are!! I bought all the fabric at a big joanns sale and I was so excited to actually see them turn into something! we had a relief society sister and a sewing machine to each YW and it was perfect! so, phew!! check that off!
then this was a big weekend with our youth retreat. friday we went up the mountain to a campground, ate tin foil dinners, played a game, and planned 6 months worth of combined activities. we met at the church at 5:30 and we didn't get home until 10:15! I was exhausted after that....and then we had to wake up for an 8 am service project to round out the retreat! we went to this horse ranch that some people in our ward are the heads of and did work around the property. we were out in the hot sun (remember, its still in the 90's here!!) weed wacking around corral fences and landscaping a yard. (here in tucson that means hauling and spreading rocks!) as the pregnant girl (ha! I'm milking this!) I got the most coveted job of just driving a truck around and giving out water bottles. I felt like a cowgirl, driving around a ranch with horses all around me. we got a lot done and it was nice, but when I got home at 1:00 I was DONE!! but I did update all the things I missed out on posting for the week! after that, I'm sitting on the couch and watching football for the rest of the day!!

thanks aunt jenny and uncle bill!

yesterday kate got a fun package in the mail from aunt jenny and uncle bill!! I put it on the kitchen floor and let kate open it all by herself!



she sure looks like she needs a dress in these pictures, doesn't she? why she is wearing only a diaper and sandles, I have no idea!

she was SO proud of her new dress!! and look at that hat!! I can't wait to have her wear it!! it looks like the perfect dress to take pictures of her playing in leaves or standing near a pumpkin, doesn't it? sigh, I miss fall!!

thanks again jenny and bill!! we sure love you guys! thanks for keeping clothes on my naked baby's back!

major food aversions

so this time last pregnancy I had absolutely no signs that I was pregnant at all. nothing!! I was feeling pretty good this time too until I started getting big food aversions. and guess what my biggest one is:

cafe rio!! how can this be?!?! we went twice when we were in utah and I was first pregnant (and no one knew) and I just felt icky by the end of the weekend from eating too much (in general). so this tuesday when mom and dad went up to mesa to go to the temple, they stopped at cafe rio in chandler on the way home and picked up some burritos for us. when mom told me on the phone I was kind of like "hmmm....I guess that will be okay" but I wasn't really feeling it. well, when she got home with it...NO WAY! one bite and I was done. ever since then if anyone even says cafe rio, I'm ready to gag. I really can't see how something can go from your favorite food to the ickiest thing in the whole world so quickly, but it has. I've had smaller aversions and times when nothing sounds good and then all of a sudden a bagel sounds good and I have to run to the store to get one.
last pregnancy I was so excited to FEEL pregnant. now I take it back.

Devin and his eagle

a week ago, devin had his eagle court of honor. I guess he already was an eagle scout after his board of review way back when he did that, but it was still a fun party. the court of honor was with him and 2 other boys from the ward. they did all sorts of things for them. that morning they went and had breakfast at the air force base officer's club with senator Jon Kyle. (devin didn't get to go because he was taking the ACT, but they said it was a pretty amazing experience.) then they had gotten all these letters of congradulations from president bush and our state's senators, representatives, mayor of tucson, etc. and then mom also ordered him a flag that had hung over the united states capital. pretty spiffy, huh?

(dad getting his father's pin)

it was a lot of work in decorating and getting the lunch ready and all of that so everyone was glad it was over! but way to go devin! we're proud of you!

pacifier free!!

so, I've been thinking about some things I would like to have happen before baby #2 comes...still a ways away, but you can never start planning too early, right? so I was thinking
#1 eventually transition to real bed
#2 start on potty training
#3 no more pacifiers
kate has really only been a bedtime pacifier user for her entire life except for on vacations when I use it way too much. so I had this goal in my mind when I went to take kate to bed 3 nights ago. I looked everywhere in and around her bed and there was no pacifier. (usually we just take it out of her mouth, throw it back in her bed, and leave it ready for the next sleepy time.) I really did not want to go downstairs and search for it so I laid her down, wrapped her up, gave her a kiss (and she gave me a good *smack* back) and left the room and I didn't hear a PEEP! I tried it on the next nap and she had no problems. the pacifiers are all long gone and she didn't even notice!
was it supposed to be this easy?!?!

we are pregnant!

that last post was totally a hint and totally a gift to my loyal blog readers. you got to be the first to know! (except for my mom, if you count speculation....it is really hard keeping a secret from her when we're living in the same house!!) here are the answers to your questions:

-as far as I know, the due date is around April 26.....so yeah, right around kate's birthday. I'm kinda bummed about that, but what can you do? I go to the midwives for the first time on tuesday and we'll see if they want to do an ultrasound like they did last time to determine the due date. (I was 10 days late before I finally got a positive test and that was a blood test!...it took that long with kate too, which is probably why she came 10 days late.)

-I'm feeling great! just a little tired. and its definately a must eat situation when I get hungry.

-AND, my sister jen is pregnant and due in the beginning of may...could we have planned it any closer?!?! my mom is stressing out a little about that. she's at least relieved that neither of us are due around devin's graduation the end of may!

every once in a while I'll point to my belly and tell kate there is a baby in there, but she just gets confused because "baby" means her baby doll, not mommy's belly. it will be fun when she starts to understand. so thanks for reading my blog! I'll keep you updated!

let's try this again!

so this morning we took kate to the splash park to see if she would like it a little more than last time. she's a little older and a little wiser and we were hoping a little bit more brave! and she did do better than last time!

last week when we were going to the stake center to trade in our recommends for the new barcode ones, kate was in awe of the kids running around and squealing in the gym. she just stood there and watched. she didn't want to play!! just watch!! thats basically what she did today was watch all the kids run around and have fun. she did have fun splashing in the littlest puddles

and then at the end she was brave enough to run through them...with some help from daddy!

between the splash park and the regular slide park there was a big grassy area roped off with CAUTION tape!! apparently kate likes to push the boundaries!

what a little rebel!

yummy dinner

so mom and I were wondering what to make for dinner tonight and I was thinking of making the yummy garlic chicken pizza that was on hilary's blog...but then that led to a craving for this:

bruschetta!! oh yummy!! ryan ate it in italy and we have been to a couple of italian restaurants that have it. I think its made lots of different ways, but this is how I first had it and its yummy!! its just garlic bread, fresh basil, mozzarella and tomato and you dip it in balsamic vinegar.

and yes, we are applying to LOTS of school on the east coast and its not to escape family! ryan just picked them all out! the phoenix and portland schools were crossed off because they wanted some random classes and he didn't want to take any more classes! kinda sad because he shadowed a CRNA at the VA hospital and the manager there is one of the head people at the school in phoenix (they send interns down here and lots of other places from that school) and she kinda interviewed him and she said she was going to recommend him for admission. hopefully everyone else will hear his credentials and want him just as bad. because who wants to live in phoenix, really? its HOT up there!

the final decision!

well, not really....there are still a lot more decisions to make! but we did finalize the schools to apply to! here they are in no particular order (except that the top one is my favorite!):

-COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - Manhattan, New York

-Westminster College - Salt Lake City

-Gonzaga University - Spokane, Washington

-Texas Wesleyan University - Fort Worth, Texas

-Baylor University - Houston, Texas

-Virginia Commonweath University - Richmond, Virginia

-Old Dominion University - Norfolk, Virginia

-University of Pittsburgh- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I think ryan has a good chance of getting into any of them. so we'll see where they ask him to come interview and I'll keep you posted. I think all of them will be a fun, exciting and scary adventure!

(sorry hilary, no anesthesia programs at Idaho Falls University)

has dani been replaced?!?!

right before we had family home evening we were sitting in the living room watching monday night football when I looked up and saw this:

I was thinking just a little while earlier that it has been forever since I blogged and I haven't really had anything to talk about. I've felt out of the swing of things ever since taking that trip to utah. but today I cleaned my bathroom, folded my laundry and cleaned both kate's and my rooms and I felt better.

I spent all the rest of my spare time today working on ryan's application stuff. he narrowed it down to 8 schools (actually, thats kinda "widened it out" to 8 schools since we were only doing 4 a little while ago) and so I was getting transcripts ordered and working on gathering things for his letters of recommendation. it wore me out! and he still has to do that hard part which is writing the essays! yikes! but it feels good to be a little further along. I really like being organized so it was nice seeing this happen and making my little chart to cross things off of as we do them.

cheerleader kate

go cougars!

hooray for BYU!!

we're home and we had a great time in utah! it went by really fast and a lot of it was spent moving dani in and going to walmart to get stuff for dani....and eating. oh boy did we eat! the byu game was very fun but VERY hot!! we felt like we had never left tucson!

I think she looks really hot in this picture: and I thought I looked really hot in this picture:
(yeah right!)

I'm trying to post a video of her cheering, but it will take me longer than I have on my lunch break!! I'll try again later!