Trip Home...

I know I'm slacking. You people will just have to wait until we are back in the Caribbean. I'm not spending my vacation doing my blog! Haha! :) I do have lots of pictures though of our trip to New York, Salt Lake, Christmas in California, Disneyland, New Years (soon to come), etc. So you will just have to wait :)

Getting ready to go!

Well, finals are finally finished for Tom and we are ready to head on our way!!! Well, he has one more tomorrow morning, but it is a really easy one so it just counts a little bit ;) This is a picture of Tom holding all the material he needed to know for finals. This is not including all of the material covered in text books. This is just the material from the teachers themselves. Yeah...crazy. So while Tom was taking his finals and I was packing/cleaning/getting ready to go, I wanted to make sure that some of Ella's winter clothes fit her. So we started playing dress up, and this is what we got!

She loves her boots and hat!

She was running around the house in a hat, a coat that is a little too big, tights, and boots. No shirt or anything, it was so funny!

We leave for New York tomorrow afternoon. We originally had a nine hour layover at JFK, so we were like, "What the heck...lets just stay in a hotel, spend a day there, and leave the next morning??" So that's what we're doing! We are going on a boat tour of New York and going to Central Park, Times Square, Serendipity, etc. We are pretty excited :) Then we are flying to Utah and spending a few days there. Afterwards, we are flying to California with Dana and Cheri, the boys are driving. We will spend Christmas and New Years there, then we fly back to the island. I'm really glad we are breaking up the flight there by spending a night in New York. Ella is an absolute NIGHTMARE when we fly, so its good that it isn't aaaaallllll 20 hours of traveling in one day. I'm not looking forward to ANY of the traveling part, though...so wish me luck!

Yesterday was a sad day....we said goodbye to our really good friends, the Fentons. She was my only Mormon friend on the whole island. *sigh* It's really sad that they are gone. I'm sure we'll run into them sometime. I mean, what Mormon doesn't have a reason to ever go to Salt Lake?? Hahaha! There is a new Mormon couple coming...I hope the wife is nice and we get along! Haha! I hope the Fentons flights went okay! They have crappy traveling, too! They were flying to Miami, a five hour layover, flying to Billings, an hour layover, etc. etc. Man oh man...and they have three kids! Wishing the best of luck to them.

Anyway, I'll put some more pictures/videos up probably after the trip. Don't expect anything while I'm on vacation, though...its vacation!!! :)

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day....

That was my day yesterday. I didn't want to post about it, then, though 'cause I thought I might cry. That is why I did the Christmas post instead...ya know...try and brighten things up a bit :)

So let me tell you why my day was terrible, horrible, no good, and a very bad day.

I drove into Philipsburg to meet with this lady, Bernadine, because she is giving me a job as a piano teacher. I met with her and went to her house to look at her music studio. I will start working in January on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4-6 teaching piano lessons. Suh-weet! It pays REALLY well, too, so I have a feeling that I will be saying good bye to ICM!

Her place was waaaay into the mountains into a kind of local, scary area, so we drove her car. I parked my car in one of the free parking spots across the street from the Police Station. We were gone about an hour and a half or so, and when she dropped me off, I noticed there was a car parked directly behind my car, so I couldn't back out AT ALL! I was like, "what?!" I had some othe errands to run, so I thought I would do those, and maybe the car would be gone when I got back. I have Ella during all of this, too, mind you. Oh, and at Bernadine's house, her place is NOT baby proof at all, so the whole time I was chasing her around and trying ot keep her happy. That is SO tiring and gets REALLY frustrating. So keep in mind my mindset already.

Because we are leaving so soon, I cleaned out the car that morning and took out Ella's stroller 'cause I didn't think I would need it at all. Of course. So now I'm stuck walking all over Philipsburg CARRYING Ella! She is over 20 pounds and that is HEAVY to carry after a while! Ugh. So I walk all the way down to Rima's for some last minute Christmas shopping. On the way back, Ella wants to walk. So she walked the whole way by herself! She is so sweet :)

Anyway, I get back to my car, and there is still that stupid white car parked behind me. So I figure, "Oh! I'm right next to the police station, they're supposed to help people...maybe they can help me???" I go inside, tell the guy the situation and he is like, "UGH, well you probably parked somewhere you weren't supposed to!!!" And I said, "I didn't see any signs or anything??" And he says, "Well, did you get the number off the plates?" I said, "no?" And he goes, "*SIGH* WELL??!!!" I was like, "Uh....I'll go get them...." So I walk BACK out to the stupid parking lot and get the numbers: M 7058 (so if any of you see the owner....DONT PARK BY THEM!) adn go back inside and give them to the guy. He says, "Yeah, that's a police officers car, you're just going to have to wait till he gets back." I give him this look of "Uh...okay...when's that gonna be." And he's like, "He shoudl be back in half an hour." Great. So then, because obviously TELLING me how stupid I am isn't enough. He makes me follow him back to the parking lot where he points to the signs (which are handicapped signs) and says, "SEE??? YOU CANT PARK THERE!" I said, "Those are handicapped signs! I didn't park there! I'm parked NEXT to them!" And he says, "Those are POLICE parkings! Didn't you see the NP on the ground??"

Okay. I probably should've noticed the NP, but come on! It's high season, I was trying ot meet this lady, Ella is screaming in the back seat, there are NO parking spots ANYWHERE and I finally see one I can squeeze into! UGH!

So I go BACK into the police station and waited for half an hour for the stupid car to get moved. The guy finally comes, and as we're walking out to the car, it starts POURING rain. UGH!!!!! After all of this, I STILL had to run a bunch of errands. I coulda killed someone.....

I ran all my errands and get home and find out that our a/c isn't going to be able to be fixed when it was scheduled. We have been without air now for a whole week and there isn't even a schedule date of being fixed. It's kind of a long story with lots of drama between the home owners association guy, Robert, and the company manager, Anthony. It's kind of interesting, except we're stuck in the middle. Grrr....I'll keep you updated on this. Cross your fingers our air gets fixed soon. It hasn't been too hot, but we don't want to sleep with the doors open at night: no screens, rats, cockroaches have been a problem. And poor Ella is completely drenched in sweat when we pick her up out of her crib in the mornings :(

Only four more days...*sigh*

Tis the Season!!

Two thumbs WAY up for Christmas time! Woooooweeee do I LOVE the holidays!

Well, living down here, it is kindof hard to get motivated to decorate and stuff, especially since we aren't going to be here for Christmas, or New Years. So we did what we could :)

We strung lights around our living room....and see that little white glow? That is our tree! :) Yay!! There was a little miscommunication I believe, about this tree. We bought it off some fellow students and the box was pretty small. I thought that it was one of those trees you put together, 'cause our tree back home was like that, and the box is much smaller than the actual tree. Well, for our FHE we were going to assemble and decorate the tree....when I pulled it out of the box. That was it! Haha! It was the whole tree! And its pre lit....and pre decorated! Hahaha! It was pretty funny :) I was like, "Ah....well.....that was fast!" Hahaha! :)

Our stockings were hung by the front door with care...knowing that in less than a week, we wouldn't be there! WOO WOO!!!!! :)

This is our cute little tree :) Hehe

Okay, here are just some cute pictures of Ella because, honestly, who doesn't think she is the cutest thing ever? Haha! :) She has a tendency of going through my underwear drawer, or the hamper, and pulling out all the silky stuff? So this is my slip that she was wearing around the house. Silly girl!

She woke up with major bedhair the other day, so I had to take a picture :) She is holding a Snickers bar, too. No, I didn't let her eat it.

Anyway, that's all for now! Less than a week! WOO WOO!!!!!!

My sweet, sweet daughter!

Well, I haven't put any pictures of Ella up in a post or two...so here some are :)

My daughter is SUCH a shoe girl!! She goes through my shoes all day. I'll find one shoe of each pair all over the house. The other day I heard a "clop clop" and found her in my high heels! Haha! I'll put a video at the end of this, so you can see....

We went to Burger King the other day while we were grocery shopping. She doesn't like the chicken nuggets...just the hamburgers! What kid doesn't like chicken nuggets?? Crazy baby! :)

Where's the baby??

Peek-a-boo!!! She likes to hide and play with us :)

All pretty and ready for church. Grandma-by-the-beach got her this dress. She got it from a store that only sells clothes that were used on t.v.'s or movies! I guess this was on a Nickelodean show!

So I keep forgetting that the videos are sideways when I turn the camera....so just tilt your head :) Sorry about that...

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Yeah, I know. I'm such a slacker! I have failed to post a bunch of recent events! Sorry! :) I'll give sum-ups instead.

Thanksgiving was super fabulous! Of course, I don't have any pictures, so you will just have to use your vivid imaginations.

On Thanksgiving day, we went to the school for their Thanksgiving lunch. Free food, right? That evening, I baked a ham for our Thanksgiving party at Megan F.'s place. Oh man....can I just say that my ham was seriously the best thing I have ever eaten?! OH MY GOSH!! I did this yummy pineapple glaze and served it with two different sauces: a pineapple suace and a honey mustard sauce that Tom likes. Oh man...it was so yummy. We are still eating leftovers. Mmmmm....

The party at Megans was really fun, too! Pretty much everyone was from our church, except Damen. They invited the Del Sol couple and Christina and Matthew Curzon. We had such yummy food! Pies, sweet potatoes, ham, turkey, etc. Mmmmm......Tom made his famous pecan pie, too. So good!

That was Thursday night, then on Friday night we had our SO Thanksgiving party. If I had've known the school was doing a thanksgiving party, we probably wouldn't have scheduled a SO one, but oh well. We had about 30 people show up, which was a pretty good turn out. The food was super yummy! Jill K. and I tried to make turkeys....wow....I think it was a pretty traumatic experience for both of us! Haha! I'm never going to make a turkey again. It was sooooo disgusting. Oh man. It turned out okay in the end, but the whole process was just horrible! It was huge, and slimey, and heavy, and smelled like raw chicken, and just.....*gag* ugh! It was terrible! Yeah...Tom and I don't like turkey that much anyway, and it was WAY too much effort for something we don't really like! So we will be sticking to ham, thankyouverymuch!

Saturday was super fun, too! That morning was Megan F.'s birthday, so we went over to her place for waffles and ice cream. Yes, waffles and ice cream. I know it sounds kinda nasty, but wow! It was SO good! It was like having an ice cream cone for breakfast! Who wouldnt' like that?! It was a fun morning activity.

That evening, I went out with the girls to this restaurant Le Chalet on the French side. It was a a fondue restaurant. The food was okay, but really expensive. I figured that I could make the fondue at my home and cut the cost by over half. So yeah...I don't think we'll be going again. It was good, though, adn the company was fun too :) After dinner, we went to the Sopranos Piano Bar. I know what you're thinking, "Laura....in a bar???" Yes. I was in a bar! Yes. I ordered some drinks. Two cokes, to be exact. :) The bar tender laughed at me when I asked for my tab! Haha! I hope he wasn't expecting a tip! We ladies danced and drank the night away. I actually left around 1:00a.m. because Tom had called my cell, even though I didn't notice it! So I rushed home and new I was in big trouble! Haha! I was way past curfew and Tom didnt' exactly know where I was...soooo yeah....he wasn't too thrilled about being so worried about me. Such a loving husband. He said I was grounded for the rest of the weekend! Haha! I swear, I spent my whole teenage years grounded...and now married life too! Haha! :)

It was fun hanging out with all those girls, though! I feel like I don't do many things because I have a baby and am supposed to be a "responsible mother and wife" so I just stay at home all the time, or do "kid" activities, so it was fun to get all dressed up and hang out with the girls. Even though everyone was drinking, I still had a good time. They were dancing like crazy on the dance floor and everything! haha! Good times. I had a good talk with the piano guy, too. He thought it was so crazy that I was a musician, too. So we made fun of American Idol and modern pop stars. Then he found out I was Mormon and got the biggest kick out of that, too. Funny guy. He and his wife travel all over the world while he plays in bars/restaurants. His next stop is Latvia, then Berlin, then Aruba! Crazy!

Anyway, that is a little update of my last week or so. Today is the "5th Semester Going Away Party" at Pineapple Petes. I have to leave soon to make sure the tables are all set up and everything. I hope lots of people show up!!! :)

Really quick, random funny story :)

So I was sitting at the computer trying to find a site that would explain to me how to cook/baste/prepare a ham. Our little computer chair is one of those white lawn chairs...very ghetto...but it works, right??

So I'm sitting there, and all of a sudden Tom slips onto the chair behind me, so now I'm sitting on his lap still trying to find a "ham site" when all of a sudden...

"Are we sinking?....."

SNAP!!!!!

CRASH!!!!

We fall to the floor!!!!! The leg of the chair broke out from underneath us!!! Hahaha!!! We were laughing so hard! I told Tom that his big butt was gonna break the chair, but he never listens to me! Hahahah!!!! Good times :)

Our only casualties were Tom scratched his ankle and smooshed his foot. I scratched my foot and hit my butt cheek real hard. Good thing I landed on soft, squishy Tom! Hahahah!!! :)

Anyway, just thought that might give some of you a laugh...

Go Cougars!

Okay, so I know the Cougars just lost their last game, but that's okay. We were feeling in the Cougar-spirit anyway :) This was a super fun-filled weekend!

Saturday, I had a Master class piano lesson by this little Dutch old man. He performs all over the world and teaches at some university in Ohio (I didn't catch the name). He is AMAZING. So I had a piano lesson with him, which was SUPER AWESOME! I forgot how much I absolutely LOVE the piano. It was also super nice playing on a REAL piano! Haha! Just listening to those overtones....aaaaah.....sooooo full of tones....I love it. Can I just say that piano is pretty much the most awesome instrument ever? Yes. Ever. Man oh man. I love it. :)

Also, while I was there, I met this lady who owns a piano teaching school here. She offered me a job as one of her teachers!! The students pay $65 for 45 minute lessons. The school gets $5 and the teacher gets $60! YEAH! $60 for 45 minutes!!!! So I'm meeting with her next week to figure out a schedule starting in January. She also said that since I live so far away (I'm not sure where she lives, but when she heard I lived in Maho, she said it was really far away), she said that she has an extra piano that we could put in my apartment so I could teach lessons in my place! MY OWN PIANO!!!! FREE OF CHARGE!!!!! HA! IM SO EXCITED!!!! :) I told her that would be totally awesome and that I would absolutely LOVE to do that! So yeah...I meet with her sometime soon to figure out all the details. If I teach piano lessons, even one a week, I'm making more than I did in ICM...so yeah...good-bye ICM!

So the master classes were from 10-4. I only stayed till 3. The first lesson was in Dutch, the second was in French. Then my lesson, then some little old lady who was playing pieces I had already played, so I left early. That meant Tom was on his own ALL day with Ella! I met them at Eleanor and Kareem's house 'cause they were having a Michigan Football BBQ. Michigan lost, though, it was sad. I was SO impressed, though, when I saw Ella. Talk about ADORABLE! She was wearing her BYU jersey, had a cute little jean skirt on, had socks AND her little blue tennis shoes. The best part of all was that Tom had put her hair in pigtails! ALL BY HIMSELF!!!! I was SO impressed!!!! Talk about the ultimate man! What other guy can fix a car AND put a baby's hair in pigtails?! I know....and he's mine. :)

Sunday afternoon, I performed in a little concert for the master class participants. Most of the partipants played, but I did happen to be the oldest student. I don't care though. It just goes to show that I didn't quit when I was 12 or something. Some of the kids were pretty good...others...not so much. :) Oh well, though. At least they're all playing the piano! Two thumbs WAY up for music lessons! I didn't play super great at the recital, but that's okay. I haven't performed in, like....I do'nt know....3 years?! That's a long time to not perform! It felt good, though. I played the Prelude of Bach's 3rd Englische Suite. It is SUPER hard...so I didn't feel too bad when I messed up a little. Even the teacher said to me, "Wow...always in a rush! Don't rush so much...take it one note at a time...slow down in life..." It was very cute :) You have to imagine that with a heavy Dutch accent. It was so fun!

So that was our fun weekend! This week is going to be fun-filled, too! I have Bubble-Tea tonight, Thanksgiving on Thursday, the SO Thanksgiving party on Friday, and Megans birthday on Saturday! Phew! Busy week! :) I'm excited, too, that Dr. Atchley is GIVING the SO two free turkeys for our party!!!! Talk about COOL! Turkeys are so expensive here!

Well, I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures from Thanksgiving, I'll post those next week!

Have you ever....? (Stolen from Nicki!)

Key
L = Laura
T = Tom - I had to guess his, so they might not be completely accurate
E = Ella

1. Started your own blog - L
2. Slept under the stars – L&T
3. Played in a band – L
4. Visited Hawaii - L&T
5. Watched a meteor shower - L&T
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland – L&T&E
8. Climbed a mountain – L&T
9. Held a praying mantis – L&T
10. Sang a solo – L
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris - L&T
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - L&T (Does Lake Powell count as a sea?)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - L&T
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France - L
20. Slept on an overnight train - L
21. Had a pillow fight – L&T
22. Hitch hiked - T
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - L&T
24. Built a snow fort - L&T
25. Held a lamb - L
26. Gone skinny dipping - L
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - L&T
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset – L&T
31. Hit a home run - T?
32. Been on a cruise - L&T&E
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person - L&T
39. Gone rock climbing – L&T
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David - L&T
41. Sung karaoke – L
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt - L
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - L (dessert?)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight – L&T
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted - L
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - L&T
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris - L&T
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling – L&T
52. Kissed in the rain – L&T
53. Played in the mud – L&T
54. Gone to a drive-in theater - T
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China - L
57. Started a business - T
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason - L
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - T
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Cam - L
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy – T
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square - (Soon!)
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - T
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle – L&T (Does a scooter count?)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican - L&T
82. Bought a brand new car - Scooter? L&T
83. Walked in Jerusalem - T
84. Had your picture in the newspaper – L&T
85. Read the entire Bible - L&T
86. Visited the White House – T
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox – L&T
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - L&T
92. Joined a book club - L
93. Lost a loved one - T
94. Had a baby - L
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake - yuck!
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone – L&T
99. Been stung by a bee – L&T

Poor Parenting...

This is a sad post. Poor little Ella and her terrible mother!

There is a chair in our bedroom that Ella is not allowed to climb on. Well, she was climbing on it and I wasn't paying attention and BAM! She tips the chair over and smashes to the ground! So I rush over and she is totally bawling! I pick her up and she looks fine, so I'm walking around trying to soothe her. I look down at my shoulder where she is crying and I'm covered in blood!!!!

This picture doesn't really do it justice. There was blood everywhere - the floor, the chair, me, Ella...

So I look in her mouth and her tooth is totally knocked loose! So I rush to the dentist where the dentist tells me:

"Well, teeth at this age are really resilient so it should be fine, just no hard foods, bottles, pacifiers, sippie cups, etc. If it isn't swollen in the next couple days, it'll be fine, just a little crooked, but if it starts getting swollen we have to pull it."

So I was a good parent adn didn't give her a bottle or anything. It was heartbreaking listening to her cry at bedtime and nap time 'cause she wanted a bottle. It's her only real "soother". Some kids suck on their thumbs or have blankets...Ella has her bottle. Little sweetie pie.

Well, a little while later, I noticed this on my dresser...

Yes, those are four little Ella-teeth marks. She slammed her teeth into the dresser!!!! SAD!!!!

Well, that was a couple of days ago, and her teeth are getting ALL better! The one front one is just a little crooker, but that's okay. She just has one scraggle-tooth, but its better than having NO tooth!! :)

So this entry is for all you moms or moms-to-be that have traumatic experiences with your children. :) It helps to know that other parents have had things like this happen, too!

Fun fill weekend!!

Well this weekend was pretty exciting! We had our pre-block fundraiser which went pretty well. We sold burritos, drinks, goodies, etc. It was fun hanging out with the girls. : )

Monday was block, so I didn't do anything exciting, but I got Tom a "Men's Treatment" at a day spa here for our anniversary. He got a massage, facial, and manicure. He said it was pretty nice :)

Tuesday, though, was the best day! My friend, Erica, babysat Ella for us and we celebrated our anniversary. We went horse back riding down in Cay Bay and got to go swimming with the horses! It was really fun! I'm not a very good horseback rider and I'm always scared the horse is going to fall or something, but it was fine :) We went from 4-6 in the evening, and it was so nice 'cause it started cooling off and the weather was just BEAUTIFUL! It was very fun to do something kind of adventurous with my honey :)

After horseback riding, we went home and got ready for dinner. We were pretty stinky from the horses and sweating and being in the ocean. So we got ready and went to dinner at Bajatzu in Maho. Wow...so good. I highly recommend it! Mmmm....you even get a salad AND a side with every entree! No free refills, though, unfortunately. :) It was super yummy. It was so nice to sit down and have some one-on-one time with Tom! We sat there and talked for HOURS. It was fabulous :)

Afterwards, we went and picked up Ella, who I guess was kind of a butt for Erica! Some people's children...then we took her home and we all went to sleep!

This is just a cute picture of Ella :) It doesn't really have anything to do with anything.

Happy Anniversary :)

This is post is dedicated to Tom. Well, Tom and me. Our four year anniversary was this last week. Yes, it is the week before block so No....we haven't celebrated yet, but we will. :) So here is a little "Tribute to Us" post. It's sort of like a "History of the Couple: Tom and Laura"

Tom and I met in February, 2004. I had just started my first semester on campus at BYU. My first semester was spent in Vienna, Austria. The first week of class, I met a boy named Channon in my German class. I thought he was a nice kid, so I started hanging out with him and all his room mates. This group of three boys: Channon, Tom, and Shawn, ended up being known as "The Collective". (That part is a long story, ask if you wanna hear it).

"The Collective"

(Shawn, Channon, Tom)

After a few wonderful weeks of "The Collective", I decided that I wanted to start dating Tom...the quiet one. I told Channon to set us up. So he did! Our first sort-of date was to a basketball game. I don't think it counts, though, because I was the third or fourth girl that Tom called and the only reason he called was because he HAPPENED to be driving right by my apartment. But nonetheless, our first one-on-one encounter was a BYU Basketball Game.

It was a pretty fun date, so we decided to go on some more. Tom bought us symphony tickets, so that was our next date. I think it was our first official date because he actually planned on calling me ahead of time :) He brought me flowers and everything. We ended up running a little bit late, so instead of eating at a fancy restaurant, we ate at Wendy's! We were in full formal gear and everything! It was pretty classic :)

After the symphony, we continued dating and it was a pretty fabulous summer. Well, one thing led to another and we were engaged in July 2004. Tom proposed to me in a pretty fabulous way. He was living in Chicago and I was in Salt Lake going to school and Tom had thoroughly convinced me that he did NOT have time to get a ring over the summer. So he was flying down to go on a family trip with me. After I picked him up from the airport, we were driving around down town, then decided to walk through some of the main sight seeing spots. We stopped over by Abravenal Hall (our first date) and he said, "Hey, let's sit down...I wrote you a poem." I was like, "You wrote me a poem?" If any of you know Tom...he isn't really the poem-writing type of guy :) So he wrote me the cutest, sweetest, funniest poem I've ever heard and at the end he asks if I would be his wife! I said YES!

Then we went to Lake Powell with my family! Perfect Timing!!!

(Horrible hair, I know.)

We were married on November 5th, 2004 in the Los Angeles Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was pretty much the perfect reception. I'm not going to put a bunch of pictures up (they're on my facebook if you're curious). We had a HUGE jazz band, a beautiful cake, a sit-down dinner with synchronized serving, and TWO ice sculptures! We even had waiters walking around with hors'deuvers (sp??) and everything! It was pretty spectacular :)

Since we've been married, we've been on MANY adventures. We've gone to LOTS of sporting events:

This is us at the ginormous Mountain West Basketball Championship series in Las Vegas. Tom won tickets to all the basketball games. Let me tell you...that was a lot of basketball! It was really fun, though!!!
We've been to a Dodgers game in Los Angeles, and a Diamond Backs game in Phoenix, a Bees game in Salt Lake, and a Cubs game in Chicago.

And of course...a couple football games. "A couple" meaning every single one every season except two: one the weekend we got married, and one the weekend we had to go to California so I could have surgery on my arm. Tom still blames me for both of those :) hahaha!

We've been to lots of musical events, too. This is us at a Killers concert. We've seen The Killers and Yellowcard. We've also seen LOTS of operas and symphonies.

We've been to Italy and seen the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Florence, etc.

Even St. Anthony's tongue and chin...

(This is us right after we landed in Italy...soooo sleepy....)

We finished school and continued our adventures:

We certainly do like to travel...

We've been to Hawaii and flown over the erupting volcano... (I'm 7 months pregnant, too!)

We went to the beaches on Hawaii, too...

Tom is a huge support of my music, too. He came and watched me perform with a heavy rock band when I was 9 months pregnant!! Pretty hard core, huh??

Well, since we had been happily married for a while, we decided to expand our family. And move to the Caribbean!

We're quite the happy little family...

And go on lots of adventures together :)

So this is a tribute to being married for four years and all the adventures, laughs, tears, and memories we have shared along the way. My husband is the best husband in the world. He loves me so much, and I love him. There are literally hundreds of reasons why I love Tom. Aside from the fact that he is the most loving, considerate, supportive, wonderful husband ever, here are anther 50 reasons why I love Tom, in no particular order:

1. He loves me back.
2. He always tries to understand my music mumbo jumbo.
3. I have convinced him that Blink 182 is not that great of a band.
4. He constantly tries to teach me football mumbo jumbo.
5. He used to take Ella to the beach when we first moved here, so I could take a nap because Ella was waking up almost every hour....every night...
6. He studies so hard because he wants to do well so our family will have some financial security.
7. He opens jars for me that are too hard for me to open.
8. He reaches things on the top shelf that I can't reach.
9. I can talk with him about anything and we can have ginormous discussions that we disagree with each other on...but we know its just the discussion topic that is different between us.
10. He'll sit through four hours of opera and barely even complain about it. BARELY!
11. He would do absolutely anything to make me happy.
12. He lets me pick out his clothes sometimes.
13. He lets me buy shoes...even though I absolutely do NOT need anymore!
14. He rewarded my good grades with shoes in college :)
15. When I was pregnant, he would go to the store and buy me more fruit snacks or popsicles.
16. He opens the door for me.
17. He sometimes sings in the silliest voice that makes me smile
18. He rubs my back and plays with my hair
19. He does the sweetest, most thoughtful things when I least expect it.
20. He stands up for me to anyone else no matter what, even if I'm wrong...but then later explains to me why I shouldn't have been doing what I was doing!
21. I can cry on his shoulder.
22. He is so strong in the gospel that sometimes I can lean on him for support...especially down here...
23. We can laugh about how crappy things are till our eyes tear up.
24. Sometimes he teases and tickles me until the wee hours of the morning.
25. He deals with my temper tantrums and tizzy fits with just smiles and nods.
26. He'll go shopping with me...even if its torture.
27. We can talk about anything for hours.
28. He is Mr. Fix-it with everything. He's pretty good at it, too...except the computer :) hehehe
29. He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty doing manly man stuff, but can be just as metro when needed.
30. He is so stinkin' smart, but isn't big-headed about it.
31. He makes me laugh and smile more than anyone.
32. He gives the best hugs and kisses.
33. He manscapes for me.
34. He does a victory dance when he beats me at cards...it kind of makes me want to punch him...but its just so stinkin' cute :)
35. He can be just as competitive as me.
36. He deals with my selfishness and is slowly teaching me to think of others before myself.
37. He teaches me how to be a better person in all aspects of things.
38. He helps keep me motivated in whatever I need motivation in.
39. He supports all the things I do and totally helps me do whatever I need to do.
40. He is such a good parent to Ella.
41. He changes poopie diapers with minimal complaining (NO complaints now, actually, since the poop in the crib episode)
42. He loves to cuddle as much as I do.
43. Whenever I do something real dumb, he totally puts up with me and doesn't make me feel too stupid :)
44. He loves to listen to me play the piano and loves listening to the songs I've written...even if they're crappy.
45. He tells me I'm cute all the time.
46. If its something really important to me, he lets me do whatever I want: wedding planning, baby decorations planning, etc.
47. He will take the back seat to my over-dominating-sometimes-aggressive personality.
48. He doesnt' think I'm too loud.
49. He has the best bear-paw hands to hold.
50. He's just so darn good-lookin' I can't keep my eyes off him.

WARNING: This is Controversial! :)

This is from my facebook, in case you read it before...
I voted YES on Proposition 8. Let me give you a few points why:

- Because I don't want my children taught in school that a man who is married to a man, or a woman married to a woman is a family. Call me a traditionalist, but its been working so far, hasn't it??

- Because I am religious and I believe in God and the Bible and the Bible gives a big, fat, "NO" to same sex relations. Period.

- Because we live in a democracy where I can have my own opinion.

- Because I want the family unit to be protected. Yes, the family unit as a mom, a dad, and maybe some kids. The family unit is the core of society, and if we lose that....well...we don't have much else. A family is a core unit with certain roles to be filled. Isn't just two people who happen to love each other. That is a "couple". A family is much, much more than that.

- Because I can't believe the Supreme Court overturned a decision that the people of California already voted on! That's a little too much power I think.

-Because 50, even 20, years ago, this would not have even been an issue. I'm sure our grandparents are shocked.

Things that make me upset that Prop 8 is even an issue:

- We already voted on it. Duh. It shouldn't be coming up again so soon.

- People need to read their Bibles. I can't believe people who say they are religious are voting No on this. God gave certain commandments, did He not?? I don't think they are optional - stand up for it.

- I'm disappointed that conservatives are targeted for being bigots. I thought we all had rights to our own opinions? Hmm???

-While I'm flattered that people are making such a big deal about the LDS church involvement with this - I didn't think people would be so threatened by our church - I'm a little disappointed that other churches aren't doing more.

Now realize that just because I voted YES on Prop 8, doesn't mean I'm a hater. I like lots of people who strongly believe in voting NO on Prop 8, but that doesn't necessarily mean I have to like their decisions. If I had a good friend that picked their nose, they would still be my friend, but I wouldn't like that they picked their nose! I also don't care what people do behind closed doors, but that's where it should stay: behind closed doors! I don't feel it is appropriate to push your beliefs on me or my children, especially with something that is so personal and private. I definately do NOT feel they should be teaching sexual preferences in school either - that is a personal decision and I don't want any public school telling my child their personal beliefs. Teachers are not allowed to give political preferences in school, why should they give sexual preferences????

I believe society as a whole to be somewhat conservative. I think the media and the loud minority make it seem like it is much more liberal. This is the time where people need to stand up for what they believe in, irregardless of what people may think of them. I'm sick of people pushing my beliefs around and telling me I'm a bigot for feeling what I feel. Why does being a conservative make me a bigot? Should I call you a destroyer of society because you are liberal? No. We all have our opinions and it should be equally fair to voice all of them. I think that conservatives get the short end of the stick on this, but don't be afraid to tell people what you think! Go Team Conservative!!! :)

Halloween!

Ella was born on Octobr 24th, so when she had her very FIRST Halloween, there wasn't much we could do with her. She was born too close to Halloween to buy her a costume (they were completely sold out at Babies R Us AND Target in her size) and I didn't know when she would be due, so I couldn't order anything. Needless to say, all she had was a Halloween shirt!

This year, though, she had a costume and everything! She was Minnie Mouse with ears and everything :) She was SO cute! We bought the costume at Disneyland when we were in California and I dressed her in it at the park and everything. It was very cute.


We went to the Spouses Org. Halloween Party that was arranged by Lacey, Angela, and Jenni. Wow - it was SO FUN! I had a really good time! The food was good, the decorations were cute, and the games were fun, too! I have to say, I'm impressed with the potluck food from these girls. Back home, the potlucks were always sketchy 'cause people made weird casseroles and stuff. Here, everyone really does make their best dishes! Mmmmmm......

Anyway, at the Halloween Party, there were games like Pumpkin Darts, Musical Chairs, Make Your Own Halloween Necklace, and Guess How Much Candy is In The Jar - which Tom won, bytheway...yes...he won 325 pieces of bubble gum! We shared some with the Fentons :)

This is Ella checking out Luke and Kathy's baby, Lilly. I know, such a cute costume! Ella was obsessed with her! She kept running over and poking her in the face and just looking and talking to her! It was very cute, but I was worried she was going to wake her up! Don't even tell me that Ella wants a little sister....not gonna happen for a while. I'm not even THINKING about it until Ella is potty trained!!! (Refer to previous post)

Tom didn't want to dress up 'cause he is a big party poop, but I dressed up like a Gypsy. I didn't have a costume or anything, I just kind of put it together myself. It was kinda dorky, but I like dressing up for Halloween.....until I got to the party and saw that none of the other parents dressed up! I felt like such a nerd! Oh well....if everyone else wants to be party poopers...they can. :) Haha!

After all the games and stuff we went out in the parking lot and did Trunk-or-Treating. It was cute! Everyone decorated their trunk with Halloween stuff, it was very cute. The good thing about having not very many kids trunk-or-treating is the parents have to get rid of all their candy, so they give away handfuls at a time! Haha! :) Ella was cute. Every time I would say, "Trick-or-treat!" She would wave! Hahaha! :) Little sweetie pie.



Anyway, Halloween was super fun and I'm sad its over! Now, I guess we can look forward to the Thanksgiving Potluck! Two thumbs up for Halloween and the Spouses Organization!