Walk MS Was Awesome!

As many of you know, our family has been very busy with moving and renting homes and such, so I have not had time to update my blog until now, but finally I have a moment to post some cool pix of Walk MS Salt Lake City, and Walk MS Provo. Enjoy!

Emily, Me, Rachel, Jessica, Jen, Shelley, Anna

Kim, Mama Judy, Zane, Me, Jen

Mickey, Evana and Matt, Me, Isaac in the back, Kim Lau's cute boyfriend, Kim

Aimee, Chantell, and Vanessa... the Mary Kay entourage!

Jessica, Shelley, baby Anna, Selena

Here is an action shot of the Fam.

Heather, Brian, Pam, Kimmie, Jen, Megan, Mama Judy, & Ny in the stroller

Near the end of the walk, a sweet older lady tripped and caught her fall with her face. Ouch! I called 911 while Eve got right in there to stop the bleeding. Eve is my hero! The poor lady wasn't responding for a while, but then was able to answer a few simple questions. We left as soon as the fire fighters came to the rescue.

This was taken at the Provo Walk.

Ally, Lori, and Jessica are holding my darling little Nyah.

This photo was also taken at the Provo Walk. Interestingly, out team shirt won the Best T-Shirt Award at this walk. I was surprised, but it was a cool moment :-)

Our team was so cool, everyone had such a great time. I don't have the team photo from either walk yet, but as soon as I do I will post it here if anyone wants to steal it. The Hoppers raised almost $3500 this year, which is just a bit better than last year. WoooHooo! It has been such a great experience to help this awesome cause, and see so many others do the same. Some of the girls on our team helped us make a team flag, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of it other than in the team photos that I don't have quite yet. Krista and all the girls who came made it a really sweet flag, and I can't wait for everyone to see it. Stay tuned....

To Catch Up...

I have so much I want to blog about, but so little time to do it in. Here is what I can cram in for the moment!


My sister in law Kim won tickets for raising money for Walk MS to the David Archuleta concert and gave them to Zane! She had to work the night of the concert, so I got to go with him instead of Aunt Kimmie. Zane loves David like you wouldn't believe. Every time I turn on the radio he asks if I can try to find an Archuleta song. I told Zane that David is a member of the same church that we attend. One day I was cleaning the living room because someone from church was coming over. Zane excitedly asked, "is it David Archuleta?" I said "No, unfortunately we would have to win a chance to see him." And then, like a week later, Kim won tickets! Zane was THRILLED to say the least!

Me and Zane chillin' before the concert


Me and Zane goofing off with earplugs.

Zane in front of the crowd. As the crowd began to do the wave before David came on, Zane asked, "why are they doing that?" and I said, "because it is fun." He then put his hands in the air and said, "Wooooooooooo!" He LOVES the wave. Also, right as David was about to come out everyone was chanting, "Da-vid, Da-vid, Da-vid" so of coarse Zane jumped right in and joined the millions of excited fans in welcoming David onto the stage :-)

Since the show started at 7:30 (Zane's bedtime), and there were 2 opening acts, it was quite late by the time David came out. Zane danced to the first 3 or 4 songs and then conked out on his seat. I leaned him against me for most of the rest of the show, but I figured we should leave before the crowd since Zane was out of it.... and waaaaaay to heavy for me to carry!

The next morning I got up bright and early to run my first 5k. This was taken right after I finished. My time was 31 min and about 27 seconds. That is about a 6mph run!

Later that day we all went to the park. Jeff played ball with the kids, and coincidentally, they had a ball doing it ;-)

The swings were next. Nyah giggled the whole time, and I couldn't stop chuckling about Zane's hat and glasses.

Here is a photo of Nyah's first rock climbing experience. She really enjoyed it. She sure makes one cute little monkey girl.



Here is a shot of Zane's new shark tooth. See the little white dot behind is front bottom tooth on the left? The one on the other side has started to come in too, so we have been wiggling the baby teeth every day to try to prevent him from needing them to be pulled. I hope they come out soon.

There is so much more to tell, but I am so tired, and I need to get to bed. I hope I will have time to post Walk MS photos soon. Until then....

Twilight and Everything Since Twilight

I have been such a slacker. Hmmm, I think this is becoming a habit. Maybe I should look into changing that. Anyway...

The Twilight Party

Krista and Tiff threw a great Twilight party a week or so ago. It was so fun to hang out with the girls and have a good time. Here are a few highlights:

Alyssa, Me, Edward, Tiff

Alyssa, Sherami, Edward, Me

Alyssa, Edward, Me
Wow, with that pasty white skin and those glowing red eyes you might think I was a vampire... and not the vegetarian kind...
(Minus the incredible beauty, of coarse:-P )

Jen, looking beautiful.
Her name tag says: HELLO My name is Bella Swan (I wish)

Krista gave us the idea to make Twilight shirts. Mine says:

Forget Princess... I want to be a Vampire

Here is a close up. (Sorry for the boob shot!) My name tag says: Hello my name is Rosalie (Don't hate me because I'm beautiful).

Thanks for the name tag idea Jen! I figured if she got to be Bella, at least I could be the most beautiful girl Bella had ever seen ;-)

Oh, and thanks to my sister in law Jenny for helping me make my shirt. She is a computer whiz!

Paula and Sarah
Paula's shirt says: Move Over Cullens

Sarah's shirt says: I like men who sparkle

There were lots of great shirts and outfits. I wish I had gotten more photos. Thanks Krista and Tiff, and thanks to everyone who was there, it was so much fun!

Zane's Snowboarding Lesson

Last week Zane had his second snowboarding lesson. He has had one this year and one last year. I wish he could've had more, but it is so expensive. Thanks to his grandparents he has had a few lessons and also owns all his own gear. He LOVES snowboarding! Here are a few of the shots I was able to get:

Zane in his cool boarding gear.

During the lesson.

After the lesson. He is always making silly faces!

Kindergarten Speech Festival

Challenger has a speech festival every year, and each kid gets to learn and perform a speech (in kindergarten it's a poem) in front of the class and their parents. Then the teachers choose the top 3 and send them to compete against all the top kids from all the classes in their grade. Zane was one of the top 3! His poem was Mice by Rose Fileman.

Zane didn't win, but I thought he did a fantastic job. He had to change poems at the last minute, and was able to learn all that in one afternoon. What a great kid he is.

Several other things have happened that I want to share, but this is getting long. Check back next week to see about Zane's first concert, his first adult tooth, Nyah's pink toenails and new jelly shoes, Nyah's first try at rock climbing, and my first 5k run ever.

Flower Gardens and Toes

Thanks for all the potty training advice. I LOVE hearing what my friends have to say about thing like that. You guys are great!

It has been getting warm these past few days, and Jeff's sister Kim has had a few days off ( which is rare), so we decided to start working in our yards. We started yesterday and pruned back all of her big dead bushes and shrubs. We cleared out lots of old ugly bark and our neighbor Rob helped us fix the drip line. Today we planted lots of plants, flowers, bushes, and bulbs all over both of our yards. It has been so fun. I only hope the snow doesn't come back with a vengeance and ruin it all!!!

Earlier today Jeff's sister Kim took Nyah and Megan (my niece) to the nail shop to get pedi's. Nyah and Megan were so thrilled that they got their toes painted with flower designs! So cute! If I had a working camera I'd post a pic of Ny's toes. She chose a bright pink polish, and I think Megan chose blue. Nyah hasn't stopped talking about getting her toes done with Aunt Kimmie and Megan all day long. She is such a girl, and I am thrilled for her.

Potty Training Blues

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. My camera has been broken, and I usually blog around my photos. In the meantime I will have to just work with what I have.

I have been trying to potty train Nyah, and I have to say things aren't going so well. I decided to start training a few months ago when she told me she had to poop and I put her on the potty just in time. I figured she was telling me she was ready... I guess I was wrong!


This is what I have tried so far:


1. I took her to the store to choose her own big girl undies.

2. I bought candy to give her each time she sits on the potty (one piece only).

3. I purchased 3 big things she wanted (barbie, pink dress, necklace) and told her she could earn them by putting her pee and poop in the potty.

4. I have filled her with her favorite beverages and set the timer for 30 minute increments. Every time the timer went off I out her on the potty. (She never peed in the potty that day. She decided she had to pee during the time she was playing.)

5. Pull-ups mixed with bribery and praise about being a big girl.



NONE OF THIS WORKED!!!!!! Any Ideas? I know she is capable, she just doesn't WANT to! Isn't there a way to get her to want to? I am open for any and all ideas. As a matter of fact, I am BEGGING for ideas!


P.S. I remember having a bit of a tough time training Zane, but back then I was in much better health and was able to devote all day for several days to training. Now that I need rest and exercise every day to be healthy, it seems impossible. What do you guys think?

Getting Ready: Walk MS 2009

Many of you know that I was a team captain for the MS Walk last year. It was such a great experience to see how many thousands of people really cared about raising money to fight MS. I looked around and saw many teams of people who were there in support of a friend or a family member with MS, and it actually brought tears to my eyes. It really makes me want to be a participant in other great cherity walks such as the one for breast cancer, just to be a part of another group who is so committed to helping others with a disease. It was truely a spiritual experience, you know the kind you have when you are surrounded by good on every side, the kind that has such an impact on your spirit that it moves you to become a better person. I love that feeling.

I wanted to post some photos from the event last year, but my computer is acting up, so I will just post this one of our team. There are a few members that didn't make it on time to be in the photo, but most of them are here. If there is anyone who is interested in joining the Hoppers for 2009, just click on this link and sign up. The event is Sat, April 11th in the A.M. I don't have the exact time yet, but last year we were done before lunchtime. If you decide to join us, I promise it will be a fun, rewarding, bonding experience that you won't soon forget!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/UTUWalkEvents?px=4644547&pg=personal&fr_id=10742&et=Vi13VqXNmu1lerbB5HMIWA..&s_tafId=104873

If you decide to sign up, you may be asked to enter a team password. If so, it is hoppers.

P.S. Ellie is one of my sisters-in-law (sort of... lol) that is on our team, and she is making doggie biscuits for Valentines day (anyone love their doggie?). She is selling a bag for $3 or two bags for $5, and all the money she collects will go to the MS Society via the Hoppers on the day of the walk. If you would like a bag or two of yummy home made doggie treats for your pup, shoot me an email and I will give her your order. It's for a great cause! Thanks Ellie, you rock!

My Top 5

1. Being with my family, doing just about anything.

2. Going to the gym... it better start showing sometime soon...

3. Hanging out with girlfriends.

4. Chocolate. Preferably dark.

5. Relaxing at the beach. I miss those days.

Thanks for the tag Krista. I tag Selena, Amy W., Chrystal, Becca, and Rachelle.