The Davis Family Blog

Maggie is Here!!!

2011-09-10T11:57:00.003-06:00

Margaret Elizabeth Davis was born on Tuesday August 30th at 7:19 pm. She weighed 7lbs 7 ounces and was 20 inches in length. We are so blessed that she is healthy and strong and doing very well. She is an angel and is now sleeping 6 hours every night. She looks just like her brother did when he was a baby, except she doesn't have the big chubby cheeks and bulky body, but everything else looks just like him. She also has a gorgeous little dimple on her left cheek that shows up every time she smiles and I love it. Tucker has been amazing with her too. He is very protective of her and he has been so understanding when it comes to all of the time I spend taking care of his new sister. Luckily we have had lots of company who have been so helpful.

There have been a lot of things that have been different with this pregnancy and baby, but the most important difference was having JC here for everything. It is amazing to see him bond with his baby girl right from the start.

A few of his favorite things

2011-08-17T17:59:00.024-06:00

I just wanted to catch up on some of the pictures I took in July and August and then I mention a few of his favorite things down at the bottom of this post. That is mostly for me to just keep record of so I won't ever forget these things in his life.

This was a 4th of July Ward Party.

Happy 4th of July! Tucker loved helping me make these patriotic strawberries and pancakes.

We Love our Country and the Marine Corps. Tucker is really good at the Pledge of Allegiance.

JC had the day off, so we went to a little park in Sacramento. It was fun but way too hot for this pregnant laday.

Tucker's cousins- Blake, Gavin and Gracie came to visit with my brother (Uncle Mikey).

Party in Tucker's room! The kids were watching a movie on the ipad.

Tucker loves to draw pictures for "Mag."

Where did he learn how to do this?? I'm so shocked!

One of Tucker's favorite activities with his daddy....Legos!

I'm so antsy for our little girl to arrive, I'm going crazy! I'm trying to fix everything, clean everything, and I'm buying way too much girlie stuff. When you get a 15% discount from Target, it's hard not too pick up a few girl things every time you go. Not good! Tucker knows she's coming soon too. Whenever we go to the store, and he sees something pink or purple, he holds it up to my tummy and tells Maggie to look at it. He'll say "Mom! This is for Maggie!!" Then he'll show her (or my stomach) and throw it in the cart. He wants to buy her everything!! He doesn't usually want to pick anything out for himself, just her. It's really cute.He loves to tickle my tummy, read to my tummy, sing to my tummy and kiss my tummy because he knows she's watching and listening to him. He adores her so much already. I'm afraid he thinks he'll have an automatic playmate when she gets here, but I'm trying to let him know she's going to be too tiny to play right now. I know he understands though because he knows for the first little while, she's just going to be watching him play. Besides Maggie, Tucker has many favorite things in his life...

1. Blankets. He has a million blankets. (His blue blanky that has been attached at his hip since he was born is now his "Baby Andrew." As soon as we found out we were having a baby, we were going to name our boy Andrew and our girl Maggie- so he turned his blue blanky into his baby brother "Andrew.")

2. Still loves Chocolate Milk and probably always will. His favorite thing to eat has always been toast, but this year it has been Blueberry Eggos. He could eat this all day. It's definitely his favorite thing to eat right now. He also loves Green Peppers. Not sure why but they are his favorite thing to snack on.

3. Robots. I used to make up silly stories about a Robot every night who would go on a new adventure each night and Tucker loved it. The first time I made this story up, I randomly named the Robot- "Robotdabotbot" and he laughed so hard! That was for a few months but I think he's over those stories now. I think those stories sparked his obsession with Space and Mars though and I will mention that later.

4. Books. We just read two or three books every night now and this is something he loves doing with me. It's our quiet time together (the only quiet time I get with him.) We also love to snuggle up on "Papa's" bed which is actually the guest bed and read books during the day sometimes. He loves The steam shovel book and all of the Dr. Seuss books but his favorite book is called "I STINK!" He knows this book by heart and it's hilarious. He loves to say the part "puppy poo" and then yell gross, yuck! He thinks it's so funny. We just got two new books that he loves as well. One is a Spiderman book and the other is the Dr. Seuss book about the planets.

5. Tom and Jerry. I had to stop letting him watch this for a while because he thought it was ok to act naughty like the cat and mouse. So for about a week we stopped letting him watch it while I explained that we don't act naughty like the cat and mouse. So now he can watch it and he's fine, but I also make sure it's not the only cartoon he's watching. There are definitely better ones out there that at least make it a little educational. I still can't get to a point where I'm ok with batman or any superhero shows. We have some of the books but I'm not ok with the cartoons yet. He's not even 4 yet! His favorite movie though is Peter Pan. He laughs so hard during most of the movie, and then when he's done, he likes to pull out his light saber and Mickey mouse light sword to play pirates with someone.

6. He is obsessed with Space and in particular, Mars, and I have a feeling that is because of the stories about the Robot. Our friend, Robotdabotbot, is from Mars- so now Tucker is obsessed with Mars. I've introduced him to more planets though with his new favorite puzzle. Along with outer space, he loves volcanos, tornados and things like that he can watch on youtube.

7. Puzzles and games. He is still obsessed with puzzles and has been since he was a baby. His new favorite is the space puzzle. He also enjoys playing our Book of Mormon bingo game for FHE on Mondays.

8. The ipad. This was supposed to be mine and it still is but he seems to spend more time on it than I do. I have to put a timer on so he isn't on it all of the time or else he would be.

9. Prayer. He loves to say his prayers and they are so cute. They are usually different but he always says "us, family, friends, bowling (not sure why but he has a bowling game on the ipad he likes), Jesus, Mars, McAlpins, Davis', beds, food, school, angels and the prophet." There is usually more he will mention but those are the ones he usually says and he doesn't like it when you try to tell him to include someone or something while he is praying. He'll get upset, but he doesn't mind doing it to me and JC while we are praying;-)

10. He really likes his primary teacher, Amanda. She is so cute with him and the other kids. She works at the Disney store and got him a "big brother" gift for when Maggie arrives. She is so sweet.

11. He has an activity book that he enjoys working on during the day. Sometimes we forget but he usually remembers and loves doing the worksheets they have in there. He loves learning so much- it's fun to watch him soak things up like a sponge. He can retain a lot more information than I can- that's for sure. Along with his workbook, I put tons of paper in a 3-ring binder for him and he can color in that book forever. He prefers markers though- so I usually have his arms to wipe down when he's done, and sometimes his face too.

12. Sports- in particular basketball and baseball. I'm not just saying this because he's a boy- he really really loves these sports and I'm sure as soon as Football season starts up, he's going to love football too. JC and Tucker love playing basketball together and my favorite sport to play with him is baseball. I can't do very much being so close to my due date with Maggie, so I just sit and pitch it to him while he bats, or I will sit and throw the ball to him while he dives after it just to throw it back to me. We have a lot of fun with baseball. I have him signed up for Soccer starting in October so we'll see if he enjoys that as much as he has in the past.

These are most of the things I can think of right now, but I'm sure there is more- like wrestling with his dad, playing legos with Dad, cooking with mom, etc. but those are the main ones in his life right now. I want to write all of this down so I include it in his 3-year book for Christmas. It's amazing to watch this guy grow and I don't want to forget anything.

Just for me

2011-08-09T16:39:00.011-06:00

I have a little over two weeks before our baby girl arrives, so I wanted to get a quick post up before that day comes.

Over the past few weeks, we've had a couple of little accidents that I just wanted to write down and record for my memory. I am always thankful for the precious little life of my son but these moments give me a huge punch in the soul to help me realize how blessed I am. I don't ever want to take the fact that he is in my life for granted. I strive to be present or "in the moment" in his life by doing things that he enjoys everyday. I have always had a guilt of not being able to have a sibling for him as a playmate so he is used to me and JC (when he is home) being his buddy. I'm not going to lie though- he gets to have friends over to the house a lot more than most kids and I'm ok with that:-) Tucker hates doing anything by himself, he just loves being around people. We have a huge playroom upstairs for him that I thought he would love playing in, and he does...when JC or I or other kids are in there with him.

Anyway- a few weeks ago, one of my friends from college came into town and invited me over to her parents house for a play date with our kids along with one of her friends from around here and her kids as well. Tucker can swim fine with his life jacket on, but if he doesn't have that on, he doesn't know how to swim. They had been swimming for a while and eventually they got tired so three of the little ones decided to play in the yard chasing each other and running around. Well, I took his life jacket off so he could run without being so uncomfortable. (I shouldn't have done that.) He and the other two kids just played in the yard for the next hour, so I just thought they weren't going to get back in the pool. Well, I became a little too casual as I was talking to my friends. The next thing I know, my friend hears something, I turn around and Tucker is in the deep end of the pool on the little stair choking up water. I book it over to him and he just had this scared little look on his face that broke my heart into a million pieces. I did everything I could not to cry (and that is next to impossible for me) and held him for the next 15 min letting him know how much I loved him and how dangerous it was to get in the pool without a life jacket. Believe me though, I have given myself many talks about being too casual around a swimming pool. I know everything I should have done and everything I will and won't do around pools from now on. Many moms don't get a second chance so I am just grateful no harm came to my son.

The next accident actually happened when JC and I were on a date. We have the best babysitter in the entire world. She is adorable and amazing and the poor girl experienced something I never want to experience. We came home from our date and she said they "had a little incident." I was thinking he broke something or he wouldn't go to bed or something like that. So I told her to wait and tell me what happened when we got in the car. So we got in the car and she just started crying. I was trying to comfort her and she apologized for crying and told me that Tucker choked on his hotdog. She said she had got up to get him a drink and turned around and saw him choking. She began hitting him on the back and was about to stick her finger down his throat when the hotdog came up. He was pretty scared so she made him feel better and gave him some water. She didn't know if she should tell me or not but I told her how grateful I was that she told me and that I wasn't mad at all. I was just happy she was there for him and didn't leave him alone to eat or anything like that. She did everything right and I let her know that. I just felt bad she had to go through that but also grateful that nothing serious ended up happening.

I remember when I didn't have anyone to worry about but myself- it was so easy. Now I worry 24/7 for 2 other people in my life and soon to be 3. I would always worry about my husband when he was in the Marine Corps and thought it would get better with his new job but I never stop worrying about people I love. I especially worry for my little 3 year old who is so independent. I want to make every move for him but I can't. These experiences in his life are not only learning experiences for him but me as well. I also worry about my unborn daughter- am I squishing her, is Tucker crushing her, is she getting the right nutrition? When she is born, the worries will quadruple. These are just part of the joys of being a mom. Thinking of others and not always myself. Even though life was easier when I only had myself to worry about, it wasn't better. My life is full and amazing and so fulfilling. I feel so loved and blessed- unlike any feeling I ever felt when I was only taking care of myself.

I can't describe what it feels like when your son tells you he loves you "infinity and beyond." It's better than any "A" I got on any paper, any good reviews as a teacher, better than anything I've ever won or accomplished in my life. I'm just blessed beyond my belief and will always be so thankful for my family.

Monterey

2011-07-04T09:58:00.010-06:00

A few weeks ago, Tucker and I had to get our blood drawn. His was a test for allergies, mine was for something that had to do with my pregnancy. I went first to show him that it would be ok, then it was his turn. He asked me if they were going to "poke" him and I said yes, but that he would be fine just like I was fine. He rarely cries when he gets his shots, but shots are different and he knew it. He saw that the needle stayed in my arm for a few minutes, so he freaked out and started screaming as loud as he could- "get me out of here, get me out of here!" over and over. He was bawling his eyes out. I've never seen him that scared in all three years of his life. I had to hold his legs between my legs and then wrap my arm around the arm that wasn't going to get poked and this was difficult. I saw how strong my son was in that moment and he was so much stronger than I thought. It took two people to ultimately put the needle in his arm. As soon as they did it, he started screaming "mommy mommy- owie, owie, owie!!" So the first thing I thought of was to sing "I am a child of God" in his ear and it calmed him down in less than a second. (I'm sure I sounded awful though because I was trying not to cry while singing to him). Then I sang "Teach me to walk in the Light," and he didn't say a word. He told everyone later when they asked what happened, he said "The doctor poked me- then my mommy sang to me." He is my angel!

I just wanted to write down another quick thing that he did. He came into my bathroom while I was showering and he said, "Mom, I just need to tell you something." Then I said OK- what do you want to tell me? Then he said, "Mom, thanks for playing cars with me." Then he left. I felt so appreciated:-) I play a lot of cars, read lots of books, play lots of games, kick a lot of soccer balls, color on tons of paper and no one told him to say thank you that day- he just said it. I love my son so much.

The weekend after we got our shots, we went to Monterey for a little family trip in June. We spent a couple of days just having fun!

Pictures!

2011-06-15T14:20:00.016-06:00

I have tons of pictures since I never really posted any over the past 8 months- so I will just do a big post of pictures. The first few are from the beginning of the year and the last few are pictures I've taken since we've moved to California.

Tucker and his Davis cousins at Gimi School! (JC's mom has a preschool in her basement for her grandchildren and it was amazing!)

He has a new preschool now but still asks if he can go to Gimi School every time.

My family and a few of my cousins tubing down Soldier Hollow

Tucker and his McAlpin cousins at Soldier Hollow

Still obsessed with puzzles! He has been since he was a baby:-)

Tucker and his cousin Ashlen! I just love his smile in this picture.

My sister and I took our boys to Disneyland. We were so happy that my sister in law (Autumn) met us there with Gracie and Blakers.

We met Jimmer at Smashburger in Orem!! We went out to eat with everyone who helped us move our stuff into the truck and luckily- we picked Smashburger. Jimmer was so nice and wanted Tucker to warm up to him before they took a picture so he chatted with my son for a minute before his friend took the picture. I didn't want to be in the picture, I was going to take it, but his friend told me to get in. I wasn't going to argue:-)

PS- I want to thank everyone who helped us move our stuff into the truck- they are actually the nice ones from that day!!

CALIFORNIA! We said goodbye to Utah in April and now we are currently living in California. We aren't sure how long but I will enjoy this weather as long as I can!

JC's mom and dad drove out with us to help us get moved in. We were so grateful for their help- especially since I couldn't do very much. We miss them!!!

Easter!! Tucker and mom colored Easter eggs for everyone- including Maggie!

He really really loves helping me cook!

A perfect Mother's Day! I love my son and my soon to be daughter.

I've never seen a 3 year old kick a ball like he can. He's really aggressive when he plays soccer with his daddy.

His new toy- the trampoline!!! We love it!

Papa and Tucker put the entire thing together. It only took 6 hours- that's all.

Tucker and daddy riding go carts at some fun place around here.

Basketball- his favorite sport.

Tucker and his new preschool. I didn't think I was going to make it through his first day. It was so sad for me to leave my best little buddy for a while that day. I'm getting better though. He's just growing up too fast!!

Margaret Elizabeth Davis...

2011-06-09T16:28:00.006-06:00

Tucker is going to be a big brother!!! Her name will be Margaret Elizabeth- but we will call her Maggie.

Tucker already talks about her like she is the fourth member of the family. He sets out cars for her to play with, bingo cards and books as well. He knows that she still needs to grow in mom's tummy though- so he is patiently waiting for her arrival. He will come up to me and kiss me on the tummy every once in a while because he wants to give her a kiss. He is going to be an amazing big brother. I just hope he doesn't mind sharing mom when she gets here:-)

It wasn't easy getting this little girl here. It was almost 3 years of feeling heartache, stress, frustration, depression, loneliness, worthlessness and every emotion you can possibly think of in your vocabulary. Those years were learning years for me, a type of refiners fire that tested my faith and I pray that I have learned everything that I needed to learn. I know my faith is so much stronger because of those years and my calling as a Relief Society teacher in my church was a blessing beyond anything I will ever know. I am already in love with this baby just as much as I am my son. She kicks me like crazy every day and I love it. It is the best feeling. The back aches are another story....I don't love those so much but the pain is worth it and I will gladly take it and all of the other uncomfortable symptoms of pregnancy because it means I'm pregnant. I'm so happy and thankful for this baby girl.

Besides my gratitude to my Heavenly Father, I am also thankful for modern medicine and the amazing doctors who performed the procedure of In Vitro on me back in December.

If anyone is looking for a fertility doctor in Utah....PLEASE DO NOT go to Doctor Peterson at the University of Utah. I have so many issues with him but it gets my blood boiling so I won't go into that here, but

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE call Dr. Richards. He is the partner of Dr. Marrs who flies up to Utah every other month from Los Angeles to perform In Vitro. They are so kind and they are absolutely brilliant experts in their field. The website for their information is- http://www.richardsinvitro.com/

That is our big update, besides the fact that we moved from Utah to California two months ago, and that is another reason I decided to start blogging again- so family can check in and see what we are up to:-)

2010-10-02T22:01:00.000-06:00

Whatever....

2010-06-09T23:43:00.007-06:00

I was going to explain in full detail exactly why I decided to run a half marathon without training but I won't. I know it's not a big deal to most of you out there because there are lots of people who run marathons and run them on a regular basis (like my little sis who does this and triathlons), but if you know me- you know that I am not an athlete and I am definitely not a runner. I run on a regular basis but not enough to train for a half marathon. I'm not competitive- I leave that to my husband, he's very athletic and very competitive. If you challenge him- he'll win, guaranteed.

So, I'll just say it was a glorious day for me when I ran across the finish line. For some reason I still had this nagging inner voice telling me I wasn't good enough to even try it but when someone tells me I can't do something or I'm not good enough, I try as hard as I can to do it anyway. Yes, I'm slow but I really don't care. The people who love me don't care either. I'm sure if I trained, I would have been faster. I was just tired of putting it off for reasons beyond my control. I really wished my husband could have been there, but he was training some guys for the Marine Corps at Camp Williams that morning. I was just so happy to see my dad, my mother in law and of course, by biggest fan- my baby boy:-)

Past few months

2010-05-10T23:05:00.009-06:00

Since the end of March, there has been so much going on- so I'll just give a very broad update.

I turned 30 the end of March and a week later JC turned 30! Woo Hoo! Really weird. JC had to work in San Diego the week of my birthday and I didn't think it was really fair that he got to go to San Diego on my birthday- so I went along!!! JC's parents were so sweet to watch Tucker for us. We had a great time.

This is the base where JC worked that week.

Dinner at Sea Port Village just behind our hotel. Happy Birthday to us:-)

While we were there, we drove up to San Clemente to see my brother and sister in law and my nieces and nephews. They had a wonderful birthday dinner for me. Thanks family! Autumn gave me a really good book for my birthday called "Shanghai Girls." After I read Hunger Games, and Catching fire, I started Shanghai girls and haven't been able to put it down. It's definitely a book I would recommend for girls/sisters. It's historical fiction which is my favorite genre.

My friend Meg from high school lives out in San Diego and is about to marry a marine in June. I'm so excited for her. She took me to lunch on my birthday and gave me an update on all my friends from back home. She is so sweet, I loved being able to see her and go shopping that afternoon:-)

When I got off the plane, my amazing friends from college who mean the world to me and their hubbies were waiting to surprise me at my house. I love my friends so much! I can't wait for our girl trip to New Port!

My son! He's awesome- what can I say?

Best Buddies- I love it!

So handsome:-)

I threw a shower for my future sister in law, Aly, at my house. I think I had about 40 people show up. CRAZY! JC's little brother is marrying a wonderful girl. We love her!

This is a little out of order. This was Easter. Tucker and his cousins had a fun Easter egg hunt at Gimi and Pa's house.

We loved painting eggs and decorating them with stickers. This little guy loves stickers!

And...we were able to go to the Dinosaur museum for free the day I ran the Thanksgiving point Half Marathon. I'll update on that later. This post is already too long;-)

The beginning of April, my dad came out to Park City for a week. Tucker loves playing with his Papa and I love being able to spend as much time with my dad as I can. We had so much fun and loved that Uncle Matt came to hang out with us that week too!

Matthew turned 33!!!

I'll have to do another update soon because we just got home from a fun trip to Coronado with JC's family. Hopefully it won't take me another 2 or 3 months to do another post. We'll see.

Count Down....

2010-03-19T22:33:00.006-06:00

Spring is almost here! I'm so ready for warmer weather, playing outside, fun vacations, etc.! I know I need to do an update and I will soon, but for now- I'm just going to post some pictures from this winter.

He put his boots on all by himself. He was so proud!

His hiding spot. He thinks I'll never find him but it's the same place every time;-)

Tucker and Pa Pa!

All of his cousins on the McAlpin side came to visit!

He loves to jump from the 4th stair- it freaks me out!

This was not posed- I promise! He's not a little gangsta either!

His favorite food- French Fries! He always blesses french fries in his prayers.

Christmas and New Year's Eve 2009!

2010-01-07T21:44:00.008-07:00

I will always appreciate having my husband home for Christmas because not having him home at Christmas 2 years ago was awful. I can't say it was the worst because I had my beautiful baby boy with me and wonderful family to surround me. I'm just always grateful for the gift of time with family.

The Holidays of 2009 were wonderful!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year

2009-12-17T20:48:00.006-07:00

I'm so bad at blogging these days that I thought I would just go ahead and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year at the same time because I can guarantee I won't be posting again until 2010.

I've been so blessed throughout my life in so many ways. There are days that I forget that, and I'm ashamed to ever come across as ungrateful for anything. I thank my Heavenly Father EVERY day for my husband and my son. There isn't a single item on this earth I cherish more than my family and I know that because of my Savior- I will be with them forever. Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer gives purpose to my life. I know who I am because of Him. I'm thankful for His birth, His Life, His teachings and His Atoning Sacrifice. I'm thankful for Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel in these latter days. It is because he saw our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ, that I am even aware that my Heavenly Father hears my prayers, just as he heard Joseph Smith's prayer in the Sacred Grove. That is my testimony and there is no conclusion to it. I just wish I could say it as eloquently as President Hinckley and the 12 apostles did back in January of 2000.

Merry Christmas!

PS- I took Tucker to visit my family down in California. We missed JC so much while we were there. Tucker had so much fun at Disneyland and Wild Animal Planet.

Family Picture

2009-10-05T21:48:00.009-06:00

My friend, Becky Kimball, just took our family picture this past Saturday and yes- I already have the pictures. Does that ever happen?!? This girl is amazing- I just love her!!!

Here are a few of my favorites:-)

Guilty

2009-09-28T14:36:00.008-06:00

"The tendency to focus on the insignificant at the expense of the profound happens not only to pilots, but to everyone. We are all at risk." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Yesterday, we had an amazing Relief Society Lesson given on the talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf back in April and Saturday night, I was able to watch the Women's Conference Broadcast. I had a chance to think about so many things in my life and while I can't fix all of them, I can make certain changes. Although I've cut back on blogging a lot, I still feel guilty when I do blog- especially after reading this quote by President Uchtdorf. Blogging is insignificant and while I focus on what I am going to post next, what is passing me by in other areas of my life?? Does blogging make me a better person? No. And I realize that I need to focus on things that make me better. Easier said than done, but I'm vowing to make a more conscientious effort. So- I will be cutting back on blog posts significantly and keep most of my thoughts to my journal. I still recommend LDS journal to everyone!!

Anyway- so here is our quick update from the past month.

Uncle Matt came to town and went with us to the Dinosaur museum!!!

Don't worry- I knew my purse was wide open.

Tucker got another hair cut! This time at "cookie cutters." He loved this place!!

And. . . I just love this picture of my T-man!

Double Date with Matt and Melodie. We played nine holes of golf on the most gorgeous day surrounded by the glorious mountains that I LOVE so much!! We had so much fun!!!

Tucker at his daddy's football game.

And. . . I love this picture too. He LOVES cars and trucks and trains so much and his favorite movie is "Cars." I thought it only fitting to get him these pajamas.

JC's aunt Cheryl stopped by to visit us and brought Tucker the cutest Halloween place mats. He opened them up and yelled "COOL!!" First time I've heard him say that in the right context.

And then, this past weekend, Tucker was invited to Bella's "Princess and Pirates" birthday party! He had so much fun and Bella was the perfect little Birthday Princess. Her sweetness matches her beauty:-)

Mykelle was the perfect Cinderella! What a cool mommy!!

Tucker was obsessed with the Pumpkins.

And. . I just love this picture of T.

Even though Tucker still loves his puzzles, they are getting to be a little too easy for him. So I mix all of the pieces to each puzzle together and then let him figure out where they all go. It keeps him busy for at least a few minutes:-)

Summer Fun in Utah

2009-08-24T13:16:00.008-06:00

We've had a wonderful summer so far! Here are a few things we've been doing that I haven't added into our previous summer posts this year.

1. Playing with cousins

2. Playing at Gimi and Pa's house

3. Celebrating!

4. We went to the art museum at BYU and hopefully we'll make it to the dinosaur museum soon.

5. Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house and dedication.

6. Hanging around the house learning the alphabet. He knows about 90% of the alphabet already. He's been able to do a 3 year old alphabet puzzle since he was 17 months. I'm so proud. Oh, and we've been watching the movie "Cars" over and over again. He's obsessed! Whenever we are home, he will find the remote wherever it is and run to us and say "mamote cars, mamote cars!!!"

7. A little mommy and daddy time here and there:-)

8. The park in our neighborhood! He loves it!

9. And of course- pool time at the gym!!!

(Whenever we're outside, Tucker loves to play in this huge pile of rocks in front of our house. Now the pile is gone, but it was there for a while and he loved playing in the rocks and throwing them in the grass, at cars, at me, etc. He thought he was pretty funny and it was:-) He has also enjoyed helping me weed this summer. He knows exactly where the weeds are and he pulls them!!!! He's been momma's little helper in the yard this summer.)

Tucker and Ethan both loved playing in the rocks!

More of July 2009

2009-07-27T14:58:00.012-06:00

This month has been so much fun!! I know there are about 4 days left in the month and anything can happen in 4 days, but I have so much to post, I thought I'd just get a head start. For the first half of the month, my little sis came to stay with us along with her two little guys, Ethan and Luke. Tucker had a blast with his cousin Ethan, who he likes to call "Ethie." It was so cute to watch them play and laugh together. They're already great buddies:-) I love it!

My dad flew out to California so he could give her a little company in the car, and let's be honest- it wasn't just the company, it was more for assistance;-) I'd need help as well with two little ones under the age of 2!! They are in the process of moving to Seattle, so she came to stay with us before they moved into their new home. My dad stayed a little while longer and we loved having him here. Tucker especially loved it- he couldn't stop saying "PaPa" the entire time my dad was here. I'm grateful my dad was able to come out and spend time with his grandkids:-)

Ethan, Tucker and Luke enjoying tubby time!!!

Ethan turned two while he was out here visiting, so my sister planned a little party with friends and family. Luckily Brett was able to fly out and celebrate with him. We loved having Brett here for the few days he was able to visit.

We love you Ethie!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Tucker and Ethan playing in Tucker's little pool. So Fun!!

Tucker and his PaPa

Our two bad habits- the binky and the bottle. Oops!!! We're going to have to break down sooner or later Rae!!

Also this month, Tucker was able to go to Discovery Gateway with his other cousins, Ashlen, LoLo and Mo. He had so much fun!!! He didn't want to leave- he was ticked when we had to go. Sorry buddy:-)

Tucker and I have been going to the pool a lot this summer. Our gym has an awesome pool for kids of all ages. I love it and so does Tucker. It's our fun time every day.

This isn't our pool, but we went to this little park while Rae Lynn and her kids were here.

Last Tuesday, one of my best friends from BYU, Anne and her husband invited us to go to a Bee's game with them. We had a blast!! Tucker loves baseball:-)

He also LOVES trains!! He's almost obsessed with them. He liked them before Ethan came to town but now he can't live without them, so he really enjoyed this little train ride at the baseball game.

And I have to mention the fact that one of my other "bestest" friends from college, Becky, came to town with her family. I'm so happy they were able to stop by and see us. I've been dying to see Hailey!!!!

I think I'm all caught up for now!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T19:24:00.018-06:00

I know this post is a few days late, but better late than never! I had an awesome 4th of July and I hope everyone else did too. I'm incredibly grateful for the blessing of this great country and the freedoms we are able to enjoy. I'm grateful to be able to worship Almighty God in a beautiful church building each week. I feel guilty that I take this blessing for granted sometimes. I appreciate the sacrifices of those past and present that have allowed me to be where I am today- even just for the feeling of safety each night as I put my son to bed. Thank you!

I started that day off with a little 10K:-) I decided the day before to run the Freedom Run down in Provo. I thought I'd just do it by myself and I did, but I ended up seeing one of my really good friends, Aubrey, when it was over.

I also found out that some of my other friends had done it- I just didn't see them! Anyway- I accomplished the two goals I had set for myself- 1. Don't ever stop to walk and 2. Don't come in last. I was actually pretty proud of my time.

I was so happy to see my favorite guys there at the end. My hubby, my son and my daddy!

Every year JC's grammy and great aunts have a 4th of July picnic- so we went to that in the afternoon.

This is one of JC's distant cousins, but she is so cute- she is such a sweetheart! You would never guess in a million years that not only does she play the bagpipes, but she is amazing at it!!!

That night we had a big party at our house!!! It was so much fun having everyone over. JC's family came over as well as my aunt and uncle.

We are in the process of getting a back yard put in- don't mind all the dirt in the back ground:-)

Then we went up behind my house to watch the fireworks show!

Happy 4th!!!!

Lake Powell

2009-06-22T21:50:00.006-06:00

Last week, JC and I left Tucker with his Gimi and Pa (JC's parents) while we took a little vacation down to Lake Powell with JC's lifelong friends, Brett and Matt and their wives.

Here we all are before we attempt to go tubing. It was definitely interesting trying to get us all to stay on.

We had such a great time, we've decided to make it an annual trip- woo hoo!!! I've missed the lake over the past few years. JC and I used to live by the ocean, but I'm a much bigger fan of the lake than I am the ocean. I grew up going to the lake with my family- so it was nice to go back to my happy place:-)

I haven't been wake boarding since I was at BYU, but no big deal- it was like riding a bike! I just have to say how proud I am of JC too. JC is an athlete in every sense of the word so it didn't surprise me that he did so well his first time on a wake board:-)

JC's best friend, Brett and his wife and son Jayden.

Aubrey knee boarding!!

JC and I on one of the sea doos.

Brett

Brett's parents met us down there the 2nd day and brought the Jet Skis.

The Guys

We hiked to Rainbow Bridge one day- Beautiful!!

This is how the guys started out tubing-

And this is how they ended- hilarious!

Me and JC

Brett and Kelly- perfect form!!

Kelly

Thanks for the fun trip guys!! Can't wait till next year:-)

And the rest of May....

2009-05-26T13:33:00.005-06:00

My Anniversary is a huge part of the month of May, but so is Mother's Day! One of the greatest feelings in the world is the love that continues to grow inside of my heart each day for my son. I am truly blessed, and this experience of motherhood is one that I will never take for granted. The reality of how fast time goes by as well as how fragile life is hangs around the back of my mind daily, so I'm doing my best to enjoy every single second, even the messes:-)

He melts my heart!!!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-05-14T22:42:00.011-06:00

JC and I have been married four years now! It's hard to believe it's been that long sometimes and other times it seems like it's been a lot longer than four years- in a good way:-) I mean at this point I feel like I have known JC my entire life. It's hard to remember my life before him, but I do know and can honestly say- life is much better with him than without him.

JC and I have been apart as much as we've been together and although I thought I wasn't strong enough to handle either deployment, I realize that I had underestimated myself. I know Heavenly Father knew I could handle it but I didn't know I could until JC finally came home both times. I felt like I could finally breathe again after holding my breath for eight months straight. I don't know what it's like to run a marathon, but I can only imagine that it would feel the same way to me- like I would never make it to the end. I know our marriage is stronger for the experiences we've endured together and I can only be grateful for the opportunities I'm provided to become a stronger and better person.

JC and I didn't meet by accident. When I look back at how we met- there was something that brought us together and I know that for a fact. Everything just came together way too perfectly.

He is the most amazing man I've ever met and the best father and husband in the world.

Speaking of JC being gone- he is gone today on our anniversary, but that's ok. We celebrated Tuesday by going to the Keane concert and spending the night up in Park City. We were just 7 rows back from the stage- it was awesome!!! We had so much fun:-)

We had a very nice surprise that night. We knew we were going to see Keane, but we had no idea who was opening up for him, until we got there. We were so excited when we found out it was Mat Kearney. He is one of my most favorite singers. (Ps- he has a new album coming out in a few days).

Thanks for watching Tucker Gimi:-)

First Hair Cut!

2009-04-23T13:57:00.008-06:00

Yesterday, I was in a big hurry to take Tucker to get his very first haircut before his class started at the Little Gym. Obviously I was in such a hurry, my mind left me and I ended up forgetting my camera! Luckily, the girls at the salon were so nice they offered to take a picture with their camera and email the pictures to me:-) I will definitely be going back to them again- especially since they did such a good job!

Just as a side note- I tried cutting Tucker's hair a month or so ago and even though I thought I did a good job, I realize now that I didn't. I wish I knew how to cut little boys' hair, but I don't. Oh well- I'll leave it up to the pros!!!

BEFORE- see, I don't know how to cut hair:-)

DURING

AFTER!!!

AND yes- he was just fine. He didn't cry, he just sat there and ate his pretzels and sucked on his sucker!

Moving on. . . to April

2009-04-16T14:29:00.013-06:00

Is it just me or was anyone else irritated that the main stream media refused to report on the Tax Tea parties across the country? I didn't even know these were taking place until I turned to the Fox News Channel. I like to switch up news channels every once in a while to get other points of view, but I ended up realizing- once again- how biased the news really is. Seriously! The main topic of one news channel was still STILL the President's new dog. WHO CARES about the President's dog!!! They knew they couldn't fill all of their time with the dog, so they reported on nothing about Obama prepping for his trip to Mexico. In other words- they were struggling to fill in any air time so they wouldn't have to cover the "extremists" who care about the fiscal irresponsibility that is going on in our government.

I ended up watching a lot of what was going on across the country- thanks to Fox News. I'm usually not an outspoken person on news channels and how ridiculous they are- but yesterday- a majority of them were ridiculous. I've already gone through my frustrating times with the media while JC was in Iraq- it will never end! I just wish I could actually trust the news- it sounds cliche- but I would really like a news channel "I could trust." They all have their own agenda and it's disappointing.

ANYWAY-

I hope everyone got their taxes turned in on time:-) I can't believe it's already the middle of April! I wish it felt like April, but instead- Today- it feels like January. No wonder I went on a rant in the beginning of this post. I think this weather is making me irritable. As much as I love fresh powder up on the slopes, I'm ready for Spring time weather!!! Speaking of the slopes- JC and I decided to celebrate our birthdays together by going skiing last Friday. It was perfect! My camera only lasted for one picture and then died. That's ok though because this is a good one:-)

We also celebrated our birthdays together over at JC's parent's house. JC's mom made us our favorite meal (the one we came to an agreement on) and then she made our favorite desserts. Mine of course, as always, the cookie cake. Thanks Cyd!

JC's birthday just so happened to land on the Saturday of Conference weekend, so I persuaded JC's best friend and his cousin Mark to come over with their families in between the last session of Conference and Priesthood. JC's mom was able to come up as well. The cake I made for JC looked pretty ghetto, but it definitely tasted good!

I love conference weekend for many reasons. I LOVE President Monson and all those who serve and I'm thankful for the messages they share with us every April and October of each year as well as their messages provided in the Ensign. I am grateful for all that they do and pray for them daily. For any of my friends who aren't of my faith- you can click here to find out more:-)

Tucker wore his snazzy PJs to listen and I made him a Mickey Mouse pancake Sunday morning, even though he has no idea who Mickey Mouse is yet.

Tucker- ready for Conference;-) Yeah Right!

And then of course Easter. I am so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. It's easy to worry about what I'm going to put in Tucker's Easter basket or what we are going to do for his Easter Egg hunt, what he's going to wear, etc when I really should be worried about how I am going to teach my son of the Savior of this world and how important his life, sacrifice and atonement was and is to each of us. I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to teach Tucker:-)

Tucker was able to go to our ward/neighborhood Easter egg hunt Saturday morning.

Then, the next day- on Sunday- Tucker went to Nursery for the very first time!!!! He's such a big boy! It was hard to believe that this day actually came. He did so well! He didn't cry or even flinch when JC and I left the room. He played the entire two hours. I was the one going and looking through the window of the room every 15 min or so. I was so proud of him! He's amazing!!!

This is Tucker right after church. He wasn't too enthusiastic about taking pictures- he just wanted to blow bubbles.

We thought Meg could come over and cheer him up:-)

After church, we went to my in-laws for another Easter egg hunt and dinner. Tucker had a blast of course.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter:-)

So much to say. . . March part I.

2009-03-24T12:37:00.014-06:00

March has been pretty busy so far and that's why I've decided to do an early post. I love this month!!! This time of year makes me so anxious for Spring/Summer to arrive. It was pretty warm here for a little while and then of course we went away for a week and came back to snowy weather- Yuck!!! I can't wait to get that Vitamin D back into my skin- I've been missing the sunshine and hate the pasty white skin I've been sporting around like it's no big deal!! It's ok though- the older I get, the more I don't care about a tan as much as I do wrinkles. Plus- being tan in Utah during the winter looks a little silly to me. I realize that now- I didn't while I was at BYU. Just one more thing I like to look back on and laugh:-)

First of all, my sweet sister in law, Kenzie, had her baby boy earlier this month and he is absolutely adorable. We are so happy for their darling little family!!! Welcome AJ!

Somehow Kenzie managed to have a baby and then two days later put together a birthday party for her little girl, Ashlen. Wonder Mom- seriously!

Speaking of another wonder mom- my incredible friend Mykelle had a birthday yesterday and I just have to say how much I love this girl.

She has been one of my bestest friends for almost 10 years and I absolutely adore her. I admire her in so many ways and I always know that I can count on her. She's almost my twin. Even though she was born in Utah and I was born in Georgia- our moms had each other almost on the same day. Earlier this month we had a play date with our kiddos and her sisters' kids as well. We had a great time hashing out the finale of the Bachelor:-)

Also- JC's best friend, Brett had a birthday March 15th and his wife invited us to go skiing with them at Sundance to celebrate! Any reason to go skiing and I'm there!!! Happy Birthday Brett!

One of my other closest friends had a birthday too. My roommate at BYU the last 2 years I was there, Torrey, had her birthday earlier this month and I just have to say Happy Birthday to her too!!! Love you Torrey!!!

And finally. . . .

JC and I were able to fly out to California to attend the baby blessing of my sister's baby boy, Luke. He is such a sweetheart! We love him so much and we were so happy to be able to spend time with Rae Lynn and her family. Tucker LOVED playing with his cousin, Ethan and that weekend he was able to spend time with the rest of his cousins on the McAlpin side as well. He was also very happy to see his grandma and "pop pop."

It just so happened that Michael and I had our birthdays around this same week, so my family decided to celebrate that Saturday. Thanks for the party fam! AND. . . Happy Birthday big brother:-)

While we were their, JC and I drove into San Francisco for a day and were able to visit Pier 39, Golden Gate Park as well as the Golden Gate bridge. I couldn't leave until we had a picture next to the bridge- of course:-)

I'm so happy that one of my closest friends from college was able to drive into the city and meet us at the park. I haven't seen Kati since our girl trip in southern California over a year ago. Anytime I'm in an area where I can see friends- I have to see them!!! I love my friends so much!!! Thanks for hanging out Kati!!! I just have to mention that this is another wonder mom- she has three little boys who are awesome! I have a hard time keeping up with Tucker- I don't know how she keeps up with all 3:-)

February Highlights

2009-03-03T22:27:00.008-07:00

Ok- so I know I haven't gone private like I said I was going to, but eventually I will get around to it. It probably won't be for a while though. I'm just going to hang on to everyone's email address until that time comes.
February came and I don't know where it went or what happened:-) My brother Matt was here visiting for the first week or so and we had a lot of fun while he was here. Tucker loved having his uncle around to hang out with him.
I went with some friends to the Katy Perry concert earlier in the month and had a blast. My friend Becky invited me to go with her and I just have to say how much I love my friend Becky. She is so much fun!!!

Tucker started classes at a place called Little Gym. My sister kept telling me about this "Little Gym" place where she would take her son, Ethan, each week and I finally gave in and checked it out. I was smart and signed up for a later class so JC could go too. We LOVED it!!! Tucker has so much fun and he loves his teacher. She is really good with the kids and works hard with each of the little ones to help develop different developmental skills.
Oh- never mind the ghetto diaper hanging out of my son's pants:-)

Later in February- JC's mom got all of us tickets to attend the open house of the Draper temple. The beauty of each temple is so unique in it's own right, but the feeling is the same whenever I enter a temple. I'm always in awe, every temple I've been in is so breathtaking. It amazes me though that I can personally tell a distinct difference between entering a temple that hasn't been dedicated yet and one that has already been dedicated by a prophet who has been called by the Lord. I've been to other open houses and it is the same thing. It's easy for me to get caught up in the decor, but nothing compares to the beauty of the spirit that takes you away from the trials of the world whenever I'm blessed to do temple work.
It would be so nice to go anywhere and feel that same peacefulness but it's pretty close to impossible. I know that's why it is so important to make your home a temple because we all need that peace and spirit in our lives- especially in these difficult times.

I hope everyone had a good February!!!

Oh, and I forgot to add that JC's cousin Mark and his family came over for dinner one night. Tucker loves his little cousin Teddy!!

January Highlights

2009-02-03T11:10:00.006-07:00

1. Everyone from my side of the family (except my sister, Brett and Ethan) came out to stay with us for a week in January. We had a house full but it was fun. Michael and Autumn and their kids came out to go skiing and attend the Sundance film festival- so they actually ended up staying at Snowbird most of the time. It was also my Dad's Birthday- so we had a couple of celebratory dinners for him:-) Love you Dad!!

2. I was able to go to a Cooking Class with my mother-in-law taught by the runner up of Top Chef last year. Her name is Kelsey and she's adorable. She's moving to New York with her hubby in a month so I'm glad I was able to get in on one of her classes!! I had a lot of fun and we were able to get the recipes to some pretty deleesh stuff!!

3. Once again the team I was going for in the Super Bowl won- so JC gets to plan Valentine's Day!! Thank you Stealers. Although deep down- I was actually rooting for the Cardinals. I think Kurt Warner is a great person and I usually go for the underdog.

I know it's February now, but I just have to add another highlight-

My little sister just had her second baby, Luke, on February 3rd around 12:30pm. He weighed 7lbs 9 ounces. You can see pictures on her blog!!!!

Girls Night Out. . .

2009-01-26T16:07:00.005-07:00

Last week two of my really close girlfriends and I went up to the Sundance film festival in Park City. We had fun!!! The paparazzi were all over us;-)

My cousin's husband, who also happens to be Zach Effron's Dad in High School Musical, was promoting his documentary. It was hilarious!

Good Times!!

Checking In-

2009-01-13T19:54:00.005-07:00

It's hard to believe I haven't done a single post since 2008:-) I've been thinking it over though and I have finally made up my mind on blogging.
I plan on doing updates once a month- maybe twice. I have been so frustrated that I can't turn my blog into a journal- so I've been exploring other options. Yes- the blogger and I are going to be on a little break.
I'll keep it up for friends and family who are far away, but that's about it. Which means I will more than likely go private soon.
I'm actually excited about this because I'm going to start using LDS journal. I can be a lot more personal and write more about my son than I can on my blog. PLUS. . . I can turn those posts into a book.
So check back in every once and a while and if I don't have your email address, let me know what it is. I'll get it straight to my email before it is published on here- so I won't even have to post it in my comments. That way random people won't get your email. Even if you are a friend of a friend of a friend- or whoever. Let me know and I'll invite you to have access to my blog:-)

On another note! I have to brag. . . . My cousin is out of control. She is all over the place. I just picked up "W" magazine last month because she was on the cover- and don't mind the fact that Brad Pitt came right after and sometime before her was Angelina!!! Plus she is now on the cover of Vogue for February- Looking very beautiful!!! Anyway- she presented an award at the Golden Globes this past Sunday with DWIGHT!!!! He's my favorite Office character!!! Anyway- I'm a little proud:-)

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T21:28:00.007-07:00

This was Tucker's second Christmas but his first Christmas with his Daddy:-) It was so nice to be able to spend this special time together as a complete family. I'd like to say that I was a really nice person to be around last year at this time, but I'm not sure I was. I just missed my husband and I think it showed. We're all together now though and I couldn't be any happier. There are times when I am constantly reminded of the war we are engaged in, but through it all- I am grateful to know that peace will reign on this earth again and the only One who can spread unity throughout the world is the Prince of Peace- Our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am truly grateful for His birth, His life, His example, His teachings and His sacrifice. I pray that I always remember Him in everything I do.
One of the great things about living in Utah is being able to spend more time with JC's family. We love living so close to them because we are able to get together often. Before Christmas, we were all able to go up to see the lights at the SLC Temple and afterwards we bombarded Gimi and Pa's room at the Marriott and watched the BYU bowl game (I'm not going to even talk about that).

Tucker was able to have tubby time at the hotel with his cousins!

Every Christmas Eve, JC's family gets together at his grandparents house. I got Tucker dressed up and couldn't resist taking these pictures!!! He's the most handsome little guy in the world:-)

He didn't spend too much time in his cute outfit. I eventually changed him into his pajamas.

Here we are in front of our little Christmas tree. So sad, but it worked for us for many reasons but the two most important were-
1- It wouldn't hurt Tucker if he pulled it over on top of himself
2. Let's be honest. . . . we waited too long and every place in the world and online was out of the kind of tree we wanted.
So we were happy with our little tree this year:-) Luckily we had it left over from our little apartment in California.

Later that morning we headed over to JC's parents house to continue celebrating! Gimi and Pa gave him this adorable rocking horse.

While we were at Gimi and Pa's house, JC's brother- Wyatt (Elder Davis)- called from his mission. It was so good to hear from him and to hear his testimony through the little things he would say and the experiences he would share. We are so grateful for him and all of the missionaries around the world who serving the Lord. I am so blessed to have the gospel in my life.
I love this picture of Wyatt.

Christmas Time....

2008-12-19T08:35:00.007-07:00

I've been horrible at blogging these days, but I have many good excuses. (I'll spare you on what my brother, Matt, says about excuses- it's not good though).

NUMERO UNO- My husband has been gone for the past 10 days- he gets home tomorrow (yay), so we haven't been doing anything fun together as a family.
2. I feel like the only thing I've been doing lately is Christmas shopping, wrapping and cleaning,and who wants to hear about that?!?
3. It has been snowing like crazy here. I love watching the snow fall, but I hate having to drive in it- especially now that I have T. man riding with me.
I do love to ski in it though and I'm hoping JC reads this post and realizes how badly I want to go skiing with him- SOON:-)

ANYWAY- here are a few things I can blog about.

1. I went to the Festival of Trees here in Utah for the first time. My sweet neighbor, Kristen, invited me to go with some other friends from the neighborhood and I really enjoyed looking at all of the different Christmas trees. Many of the trees were dedicated to people who had passed away and others were dedicated to people diagnosed with a serious illness. The money that was made from this event was donated to the Children's Hospital in Salt Lake.

While we were there, we took our kids to see Santa. Tucker was not a fan. This picture breaks my heart. I'm a horrible mother. Did I need a picture that bad?!?

I loved this tree. Very creative. My brother-in-law, Jason, would appreciate this one.

2. I love my neighbors and my neighborhood. When I began thinking about what I was going to do for neighbors' gifts this year, I became a little overwhelmed. That's when I opened my front door and saw a flyer explaining the annual neighborhood gift giving party. Instead of giving gifts to our neighbors, a couple in the neighborhood hosts a party and people bring the money they would spend on neighbors' gifts and donate that money to the Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. I LOVE this!!! I think every neighborhood should do something similar.

3. Our friends Brett and Kelly just had their baby boy- Jayden. He is an angel!
This is JC holding Jayden.

3. My second attempt to get Tucker to warm up to Santa didn't turn out as I had hoped. We went out to eat with Gimi and Pa for Pa's birthday and then we all went over to the mall to take pictures of the cousins with Santa in their matching pajamas Cyd made for them.
I don't blame Tucker for being upset this time. This Santa was a little grumpy. I don't think he was the real Santa;-)

4. One of the many things I'm grateful for in this life is friendship and I can't even imagine my life if I hadn't met the sweet friends I made at BYU. Throughout my years in college, I was able to meet so many wonderful people and I've been blessed to still have a handful of them in my life. There is one group of girls I get together with each year for our annual Christmas party. We've been having these parties for about 10 years now and we are still going strong. We aren't lucky enough to have everyone there each year, but we do what we can. This year it was Ashlee, Anne, Becky and me. We missed everyone else so much. I know we have all moved on with our lives but I know that I will always have a place in my heart for these girls. They were my family when I was away from mine. I love them:-)

If I don't get another post in before the Holidays are over,
MERRY CHRISTMAS and/or Happy Hanukkah!!

OH MEXICO!

2008-12-01T10:34:00.018-07:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving with my side of the family and even though we didn't do the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner, we were just thankful to all be together. I don't see my side of the family as often as I would like, so I appreciate any time I get to spend with them. My brothers and my sister and I are all so different but we get along really well and we always have a fun time. Unfortunately JC and I were at a disadvantage from the beginning with a very sick baby boy. My little champ was trying so hard to get well before our trip but he was struggling.
The week before we left for Mexico, Tucker picked up a virus which led him to throwing up, diarrhea, a loss of an appetite along with a high fever. I didn't know if we were going to be able to go to Mexico, but luckily I was able to see my doctor the day before we left and he gave me the approval. Shew!!!!!
Even though we were approved to go didn't mean we would have smooth sailing on our trip, and I was fully aware of that. I just didn't know to what extent. The first flight was fine, it was only an hour and a half to Arizona, but the connecting flight was where we ran into trouble. We were about an hour outside of Puerto Vallarta when Tucker had a huge blow out- not just in his diaper, but all up his back, down his pants and onto the airplane seat. It was everywhere!!! Luckily he wasn't sitting on either me or JC- that would have stunk;-) Haha.
So we cleaned him and the seat up as much as we could and put Tucker into the extra clothes I packed in my purse. I thought we were fine for the rest of the flight until he leaned over onto me and puked everywhere!!! Poor little guy!! My heart was aching for him.
I was so relieved when we eventually landed and made our way over to our hotel so I could put Tucker in the tub and let him relax. The next two days Tucker spent as much time as he could recovering from his horrible sickness. He was such a trooper- he just laid on me and JC and snuggled into us every chance he got. As much as we hated having him sick- we loved the snuggles he gave us.

His cousins were trying so hard to make him feel better:-) Tucker loves you guys!

Other than that- we had a blast!! We missed one night of craziness when my siblings stayed up all night playing pranks on my parents. They told us about all of the food they ordered to my parents room at 2am. My brother gave the guy extra money to sing a Happy Birthday song to them. My dad wasn't happy at the time, but the next day he thought it was pretty funny. Most of the days we spent by the pool and the beach. JC and my brothers and Brett (Rae Lynn's hubby) rented a jeep and went off roading one day.

I just loved relaxing at the hotel- it was a gorgeous place and I didn't really care to leave anyway.

We actually ate Thanksgiving dinner at a stake house Thursday night- which was fun. It wasn't Turkey- but that's ok, it was still good.

Our nights were fun too- we had too many people to fit into one room, so we usually hung out in one of the conference rooms playing games one night and doing an FHE activity another night.

Tucker loved his daiquiris!!!

I love my sis!

Tucker loves Ethan! Poor Ethan looks tired in this picture- I don't blame him- I think it was midnight:-)

We walked down the beach, ate lunch and got ice cream with the kids, my dad, my brothers, Melodie and her parents one day.

Alex, JC, Tucker and Gavin!!

These little tikes are so stinkin cute!!

We're so happy Melodie's parents were able to come!

Hangin out in the pool. Autumn brought this float for Gracie- it was perfect for the babies.

On our last night, we had our family pictures taken on the beach- Yes, it was by a cheesy photographer- but it was either that, or ask random people to take pictures with 20 different cameras. That's why I ended up organizing our family picture so it would be as least stressful as possible. I still think they turned out pretty good.

So despite having a sick baby on our vacation, we had such a good time in Mexico. I love my family and I'm so grateful for them! We Love you guys!!!

Keeping it to myself. . .

2008-11-17T22:05:00.011-07:00

I have a million things I'd love to say about this election (more so on Proposition 8), but I've decided that I'm going to keep it to myself. I might get antsy and actually post my opinion on this year's election in the near future, but for now- I'll just give an update on the Davis Family:-)
So Yes- I voted. I wish I could have been in California to vote YES on Proposition 8 (even though it passed without me), but since we left California (sniffle sniffle) a year ago- I'm now registered in Utah. I was still very happy to vote anyway, and I do love Utah just as much as California. I just miss my McAlpin family. Anyway- so I took Tucker to vote with me. I thought I'd start teaching him how important it is to vote starting now:-)

And here is an update on the past few weeks-

JC and I were lucky enough to have a weekend to ourselves. As much as I hate going even a minute without my little guy- it was nice to be able to drop him off at his Gimi and Pa's house and just spend time relaxing with JC. We had the Marine Corps Ball again this year- this was our 4th ball, and we always have so much fun because they hold these events in the nicest places all over the country.
This picture is of us from the Marine Corps Ball in Vegas at the MGM Hotel back in 2005. I wore the same dress this year and JC, of course, has the same uniform with a little more hardware/ribbons from serving in Iraq. I didn't take as many pictures of us this year as I did then. Oh well!

We had a great time though- and so did everyone else- as you can tell from this picture I took. JC and I were sitting at our table and I looked up and saw a Marine dancing on the table. I haven't seen that in the past years of going to these events so I had to take a picture:-) It's still hard for me to get used to men older than my husband calling him "Sir." I love going to Marine Corps events and admiring all of the men and women who have served our country- It's amazing to me.

JC LOVES Buffalo. . . . Buffalo WINGS!!! Hahaha. . ok not so funny, but the picture is.

Here is my Sara Palin/Tina Fey pose:-) I hope Tucker doesn't turn out to be as big of a nerd as his momma.

The view from our room was AMAZING!!!!

Earlier this month we had a BIG snow fall - so the next morning I put Tucker in his adorable little snow suit and decided to go play in it. JC threw Tucker in the snow and I don't think I have to tell you how upset Tucker was. He was done after that!

JC got a good workout in- Thanks for shoveling!!

And here's a random picture of Tucker after he finished Lasagna or Spaghetti or something with red sauce. I can't remember. GROSS!

And last but not least- my mother-in-law (Cyd- aka "Gimi") had a birthday earlier this month and we celebrated over at JC's grandmother's house. Gimi is an amazing woman and I'm so blessed to have her in my life. She is the ultimate example of class and beauty- she can do anything. Yes- she really can. A little intimidating but very admirable and it gives me something to work towards. I'm grateful we live so close so she can teach me the things she knows- and so Tucker can spend time with her as welll. We love you Gimi!

Finally-

2008-11-04T15:53:00.002-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

2008-10-31T16:31:00.009-06:00

Tucker and I were so happy that JC was able to come home early from work and hang out with us on Halloween. As soon as he came home, we took Tucker down to the park so we could video him climbing up the slide. He's been able to do this for a while now, but we didn't get it on camera until Friday. It's crazy how fast he can just climb up this big slide. He's definitely a monkey!

Then we came home and hung around until it was time to take Tucker Trick or Treating. He only made it to three houses- but he loved taking the candy and then giving it back to the person who gave it to him. I hope he continues to share as he gets older:-) Doubt it!

I decided to dress him up as a monkey this year. I thought that I might as well dress him up in the cutesy things he won't ever wear when he's older. He was an adorable little monkey. We ended up telling everyone that he was curious George because he is definitely a curious little monkey. We need to baby proof our cabinets!!!

He was mad at his daddy because JC wouldn't let him play out in the street.

Then we headed home to hand out candy to the other trick or treaters in the neighborhood. Everyone looked so cute!! And now I can add on to my list of reasons I love having a house. It was so much fun having the little kids come to our door all dressed up!
These are some of Tucker's really good friends!!

Later that evening we went to Gimi and Pa's house to take pictures, eat Chili and -Tucker's favorite- Tubby Time with his Pa! We had a great Halloween even though Tucker is still recovering from his lack of sleep that night. Oh ...Good Times!!!
Tucker- Curious George, and his cute little Golfer cousin- Mo.

The cutest little fairies- Katelynn and Brooklynn.

Tucker with JC's best friend- Brett.

Tucker's beautiful cousin- Ashlen....

And her sister- Gus Gus!

These pictures were taken back in September when we first bought the costume.

Does Anyone Know....

2008-10-28T12:43:00.002-06:00

How to turn their blog into a journal???? My whole purpose for blogging is to keep a journal- I'm much better at typing than handwriting and I like that I can put pictures with the different events. I've heard of BLURB and I downloaded it onto my computer just to find out that it doesn't work with Blogspot. I'm just wondering if anyone knows of a way to do this:-)

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Boy!!

2008-10-21T20:05:00.020-06:00

On Monday my precious little angel turned 1!!! This past year has been one of the hardest but one of the best years of my life. I hated not having JC home the first 6 months with Tucker, but the reunion for our little family was unforgettably the sweetest moment I've ever experienced. I feel as though we've been together since Tucker came into this world and I'm so grateful to know that know matter what- we can be together forever:-)

Here are a few things about Tucker to mark his one year birthday-

1- He loves wrestling with his daddy and doesn't mind beating JC up every once in a while. You can tell he thinks he's a big boy when he's around his daddy. I told JC it will be nice to have a body guard in a few years. If I need someone to take JC out- Tucker will take care of me:-)

2- He is always so sweet and gentle with his momma. One time he finished wrestling with his daddy and JC thought he was going to tackle me too, but he came over, grabbed my hand and gave it a huge open mouth kiss:-) My heart melted.

3- He's so patient. There are so many examples I could give that could explain this, but I don't know where to start. He's just a very patient child- NEVER throws any sort of tantrum or screaming fit even when he's tired.

4. He LOVES playing with other kids. The more company he can play with the better. He loves playing with his cousins and his neighbors and he never gets sad or upset when he's around them- even if he gets trampled sometimes, he just loves the company.

5. He LOVES Dogs and Animals- I took him to Barnyard Boo at Thanksgiving point last week and he went crazy on the pony- He loved it!!! He kept rocking back and forth on the pony- I think he wanted to go faster:-) Thanks Hannah and Jen for meeting us there- we had so much fun!

6. If he knows I don't want him to go somewhere in the house or get into any of the drawers in the house- he'll go straight for them just to tease me or make me chase him.

7. He's the best eater in the world. He'll eat any vegetable, fruit, meat, and especially any treat you'll give him.

8. He has been the fastest crawler in the world. He'll be all the way up our stairs before I can get around the corner.

He actually just took his first steps yesterday (2 days after his birthday)!!! I was saying prayers with him and when I opened my eyes to see what he was up to, he was walking across his room!!!

9. He loves books- especially if I do funny voices with the words. He screams with excitement.

10. He hates wearing socks and shoes

11. He has always loved having water poured on his head while taking a bath. It's hilarious!

12. He loves it when I brush his teeth. (he has 4 up top and 2 on bottom)

13. He's super tough. He maybe cried 15 seconds when he got his one year shots.

14. He loves to let his mommy and daddy know that he loves us. Every night before he goes to bed, we say prayers with him and then I do my best to sing him songs before he gets into his crib and as I sing, he lays his head on my shoulder. It is one of my most favorite times of day.
Poor little guy is going to think anyone can sing after listening to me every night.

Here are a few pictures from his Birthday. We're pretty sure he had really a good time:-)
And pretty sure he doesn't like this silly hat!

He loved having help from his cousins and friends opening his gifts! He couldn't have done it without them!

I loved making his cupcakes and train cake- although I was rushed and got sloppy on the decorating of the train:-) Oh well- I don't think Tucker cared!

That morning he opened one gift on our bed. We had so much fun celebrating this little guy's birthday! We love you sweetheart!!!!

Photos of Tucker

2008-10-15T18:40:00.007-06:00

Thanks Leslie!! These turned out amazing! If you are interested in a photographer- check out the LM photography link on the side of my blog:-)

I wasn't behind him singing "the wheels on the bus" to make him smile for this picture. Oh well!

Georgia

2008-10-07T10:52:00.029-06:00

Georgia....

Last Wednesday, we packed our bags and headed back to my hometown in Georgia. This is a picture of a river that runs parallel with the road that leads to my neighborhood. It's as though you are driving through a tunnel of trees- I love it.

I was really excited to have my ten year reunion this year because it gave me an excuse to take JC and Tucker home with me. Although I haven't lived in Georgia for the past 10 years, it is where I was born and raised and my roots are as southern as you can imagine. It is a beautiful place to live and I've been so blessed to live in many amazing areas of the country since leaving Georgia. We live in an incredible country and I'm so thankful for all of the opportunities it provides me and my family.

So we flew into Atlanta around 11:45pm Wednesday night and after getting all of our bags and picking up the rental car, we didn't get to my house until about 2am. Tucker was wide awake and excited to play with his grandma and grandpa McAlpin.
We didn't have any problems sleeping in the next day. When Tucker woke up he was ready to play with the dog. Tucker LOVES dogs!!!

When we finally got ourselves out the door, we headed up to Darlington Lower School- where I attended elementary school. My best friend growing up, Jennifer, now works there along with her mom who was one of my 2nd grade teachers. I loved seeing them!
Me and Jennifer then. . .

Me and Jennifer now. . .

After that, we went to lunch with one of my sweetest friends in the world, Rachel, and her husband Jason. Rachel boarded at my school when we were in high school and now lives there with her husband, Jason, who coaches Darlington's Varsity football team. Rachel and I were happy our husbands got along so well. They do have one major thing in common- Football:-)

After that, we drove to the middle and upper school campuses where I went to school and then quickly headed over to the retirement home where my 88 year old grandmother and 89 year old grandfather live. They are doing really well for their age and I'm so happy I was able to see them and have them meet Tucker.

Friday we woke up and drove to Atlanta to see my sweet Aunt Ora and Uncle Dan. I was super close to my Aunt and Uncle growing up and I've always adored them. You would never know that she has MS and that my uncle had cancer recently. They look amazing! It was so much fun showing Tucker and JC off to my aunt and uncle. They told my dad that they couldn't have imagined me with anyone else besides JC. They said he was perfect for me and I agree:-)

Later that evening we got ready and headed over to the Pigskin Picnic and the Homecoming/Alumni football game. This was so much fun for me because I was able to see so many friends I hadn't seen in a really long time. There were a lot of people there from my class as well as the classes before and after me. It was great to be able to see everyone.
My school ended up beating the other team by 30 points or so that night- Go Tigers!!! Yes, I used to cheer:-)
This is a picture of 4 out of the 5 girls that cheered together from my class. I love these girls and miss them so much!! We had so much fun catching up!

I was surprised to see that the cheerleaders don't make big banners for the players to run through anymore- they now have this big blow up tiger that they run through. Things have definitely changed;-)

Tucker loved the balloons!

JC and Tucker were awesome! They hung in there and let momma socialize all night!

This was my middle school principal who is still the principal and is still coaching the boys Varsity Basketball team. He coached my brothers! He's been there 41 years now!! He's amazing and we love him.

Another picture of the girls I cheered with and Gordon. He played football and I was his secret cheerleader in high school.

Jennifer, me, Tucker and Rachel!

Saturday we woke up and drove to Alabama to attend a neighborhood party with my grandparents. JC wasn't used to this kind of neighborhood party. My grandparents lived on a lake in Alabama when I was growing up and on our way to the party we stopped by that lake house to show JC where I spent a lot of my time when I was little.

Then we headed to the party for this neighborhood. Even though my grandparents live in a retirement home now, they still have the lake house in Alabama and that's why we went to this party. I could have thought of a million other things I'd rather show JC, but it meant a lot to my grandparents that we were there- listening to old people sing George Jones and Tammy Wynette karaoke. We were the youngest people there by far! Oh well, good times!

That night we got ready for the alumni cocktail party before my actual class party. I was glad we went over to the cocktail party because I saw a lot of my old teachers as well as my old cheerleading coach. I loved her! The cocktail party is just a party the school puts on so they can take everyone's class picture in front of the steps of the President of Darlington's house. It's one of the oldest houses in my hometown. It's a beautiful southern home.

This wasn't everyone. There were people running late and others who just went to the reunion and not this part of the alumni weekend of events. That's why there aren't many people in this picture.

This is me, Molly- the other girl from our class that we cheered with, Rena Cooper- my cheerleading coach and Rachel.

Me and Mr. Moss- the Dean of Students. He helped me through the application process of getting into BYU. Thank You Mr. Moss!

Mrs. Eberhart- one of my 5th grade teachers, and Mrs. Kothe- my keyboarding teacher. I'm so glad I took that class. I can type so fast thanks to her:-)

After that, we went to my class party downtown and JC was amazing!!! He took so many pictures and just let me go talk to EVERYONE all night. Luckily it was in a fun place and there were other husbands there in the same boat that he was able to hang out with. He was definitely a sweetheart all night and my friends loved him!

This is a picture of my really good friends- Berry, Meg, Emily, Molly, Paige and in front is me and Jennifer.

A portion of my class who decided to come to the reunion.

My good friends- Nathan, Betsy and Jordan

More good friends- Meg and Lou

And more- Lauren, me, Molly, Gordon, Gillian and Regan

Mary-Winsten, Erika, Me, and Lauren

Rachel, Jennifer, me and Berry

Me and Rachel!

Paige and me! I love this girl- we grew up together- from Kindergarten to Senior Year. That's like most of us though besides the friends that boarded in the dorms in high school.

Christy, me and Valerie all grew up together too.

These girls all boarded in the girls dorms in high school (besides me).

Sunday- we went down to the farm where my dad grew up and I was also able to visit the grave site of my Granny and Grand Dad. I love them and miss them! I know my dad gets his sweet heart from my Granny- she was so darling!!

That night we were able to get a few conference talks in before my grandparents came over to eat dinner with us. My mom made a wonderful southern meal before Tucker dove into his cake and presents. I'm thinking Tucker doesn't like frosting!

And Monday our trip came to an end- we packed up and headed to the airport that morning. We had a wonderful time! Thanks mom and dad for letting us crash at the house and for taking care of us while we were out there.

Things to do this Fall

2008-10-01T08:30:00.011-06:00

1. Waste a lot of money on gas driving through the canyons. Fall doesn't last very long, and I want to enjoy it as much as possible. (JC's Aunt Jen took these pictures- Unbelievable!!!)

2. Take Tucker to a BYU football game and take him to his daddy's football games:-)

3. Bake as much as possible. I don't know what happens to me, but when fall comes, I love to Bake and Cook! I'll have to post some recipes soon.

4. Go to Gardner Village

5. Take Tucker on a hay ride up at Sundance

6. Go Hiking in the canyon- check!

7. Watch Women's Conference up at the Conference Center- check! Thanks GIMI!!! (JC's mom got tickets for the girls to go last weekend)

8. Take Tucker to the Barnyard Boo at Thanksgiving Point

9. Decorate our front door with Fall decorations- check!

10. Take JC and Tucker back to Georgia for my 10 year reunion:-)

If anyone has any other suggestions of what I might be able to do to enjoy this season- let me know!

Happy 75th Birthday Grammy!

2008-09-21T15:19:00.006-06:00

JC's Grammy turned 75 this year and you would think she was only 45! She is in amazing shape and she is ALWAYS happy!
JC's mom put a book together for her and everyone in the family had to write one thing they've learned from her, and this is what I wrote-

The one thing I have learned from grammy is to never speak poorly of anyone. I've never heard her say one bad thing about anyone and that is something I admire so much about her. I love grammy's positive outlook on life and the way she stops to smell the roses. She truly enjoys life to the fullest! I've loved grammy from the moment I met her. I do feel as though she is just as much my grammy as she is JC's grammy. I love her so much and I'm so grateful to have her amazing influence in my life as well as Tucker's life. Thanks for everything Grammy!

Yesterday, everyone surprised her and took her up to Sundance to hike Stewart Falls. She loves the canyon and loves being with her family- so we hope she enjoyed her birthday!
Tucker got off to a rough start, but as soon as his daddy started running around with him, he was fine.

Finally....

2008-09-13T22:16:00.006-06:00

I haven't seen my Torrey in a really long time and even though I haven't been missing her that much, Tucker was getting a little upset that he hadn't seen her in a while. Just kidding! I have missed her tons and it is about time that we actually hung out. (PS- My Torrey is not a typo, that's what I call her.)

They invited us over for a BBQ after we watched BYU destroy UCLA!!!! Go Cougs!

Where it all Started

2008-09-12T11:47:00.004-06:00

So I was looking at all of the pictures on my computer that my dad gave me and I came across this one. Hilarious! My Granny Bug and Grand Dad in the middle of the cast of the Dukes of Hazzard- the original cast. Crazy! Well, that's where it all started for my aunt, uncle and cousins (back in Georgia). They eventually moved to Hollywood and the rest is history. I love my family- they've been in the movie/TV business for a while now. My cousin Blake's career has taken off lately. She's always either in magazines or on the cover. She was just recently on the cover of Seventeen, Lucky, VANITY FAIR, and this month- it's COSMO. Crazy! Don't mix her up in that Hollywood crowd though- she's very down to earth and is the biggest sweetheart in the world!
Blake is the second one in from the left.Yeah- just hangin out at MTV!

A Day I'll Never Forget

2008-09-11T15:19:00.003-06:00

I remember the day we were attacked. I remember the weather, I remember what I was doing, where I was going, and how I felt. The one thing I don't remember is the amount of times I cried that day and ever since while remembering. Tears have poured out for complete strangers who lost their loved ones and I still cry whenever I think about that time.
I don't know anyone who lost a friend or family member in those attacks. All I do know is that I cry because no matter what, we are brothers and sisters- it doesn't matter what political views we have, what color we are, what religion we belong to, or what country we live in. We are all here on this earth together. There is so much hate in the world and I don't know if it has always been this way or if it just gets worse as time goes on. I'd love to protect my son and my little family from all of it, but I can't.

I love this quote by President Hinckley-

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."

I believe that with all of my heart, and I do know that there is also a lot of love in this world as well. I don't think I've prayed as hard in my life as I did those 15 months my husband was gone. Both times he came home, I knew the Lord had heard my prayers. I'm so proud of this country and for the men and women who do everything they can to protect it- the people in uniform as well as those who have been doing their jobs so we wouldn't be attacked again. I'm so grateful.

I've been listening to some of the family members at the 9/11 memorial in NYC today and I heard a wife of one of the victims ask us to never forget. I won't.

Football Season....

2008-09-08T19:38:00.004-06:00

JC loves his football, and he's pretty darn lucky to have a wife that loves watching it as well or at least doesn't mind having it on- ALL OF THE TIME. Just kidding:-)
I have my reasons or loving football season.
1. It's on during my favorite time of year- FALL.

2. I love going for teams against my husband's teams- because he is soooo competitive. I've won a few bets over the past three years. He loves the Bears, and if I had to choose my top three NFL teams, they would be
a. The Falcons- because I'm from Georgia
b. The Colts- I've loved Peyton Manning ever since he played for Tennessee. I also think he has the funniest commercials on Television
c. The Redskins- the only NFL game I've actually been to is a Redskins game and as much as I love the cheap seats, I was able to watch from a box with catered food. Shashasha:-)
----It's pretty much a given that my college team is BYU. I do love watching the SEC games too.

My third reason for loving football season is that it gives us an excuse to have friends over for parties.
This past Sunday, we had Mykelle, Riley and Bella over to watch the Bears vs. the Colts. Fun times!!!

Catching up again

2008-08-24T20:43:00.010-06:00

I've needed to update our blog for journal purposes, but I've been really lazy with the updates these days. So here is my attempt to do a quick update:-)

Last weekend we went with JC's family to watch Brian Regan, one of the funniest comedians I've ever seen, perform at Thanksgiving Point. He is hilarious and all of his jokes are clean- and to my standard that makes him better than the rest. He doesn't have to cuss or tell dirty jokes to make people laugh. A lot of the humor is mainly in his facial expressions while telling his jokes- we love it!

Then for Family Home Evening on Monday night we went to the Buzz game with JC's cousin, Mark, and his wife, Jessica, and their beautiful baby boy- Teddy! To our surprise, JC's other cousin- Mark's sister- Amy was there too! I haven't seen Amy in a really long time, so it was nice to see her.

This past Saturday morning, JC took me and Tucker rock climbing with him and his marines. I've never been rock climbing before, so I was a little apprehensive in the beginning, but I did it! I didn't go to the top because my hands started sweating half way up thanks to my huge fear of heights, but it was a lot of fun! I'm always up for trying new things. Tucker really had a good time and that's what mattered to me:-) JC made it to the top with no problems- of course- this is second nature to him.

And last night we went out with our really good friends, Mykelle and Riley, to see A MidSummer Night's Dream that was being performed up at Sundance. I love Shakespeare, and I love Sundance- it was a great night!

Camping, 4-Wheeling, Swimming

2008-08-14T16:56:00.009-06:00

Last weekend we went camping with our friends- the Seales and the Ashdowns. It was Tucker's first time camping and his first time 4-Wheeling.

Brett, Kelly and the girls!We had a blast! Tucker loves riding on the 4-wheelers!!! After Tucker's short ride on a few trails, JC and I ended up following Brett to the very top of the Mountain. I wish there was a word worthy enough to describe the beauty we were able to enjoy that day.

I also just have to say that this was real camping- and when I say real camping, I mean no bathrooms:-) The only part I wasn't prepared for was the cold. It was fine during the day, but the temperature dropped that night- big time. Thank goodness I brought Tucker's two warmest blankets and his warmest pajamas.

Thanks for the fun weekend Brett and Kelly!!!

And yesterday- My friend Terra invited us over to go swimming! I think I've mentioned before that Tucker is a water baby, so I don't have to say how much he really enjoyed the pool. I can already tell Michael Phelps has inspired this little guy:-)
It was so fun to finally see Terra, Destiny and Jane again. Destiny and Jane both have beautiful new baby girls that I had not seen yet. Thanks again Terra!

Excusez-Moi! Smash Who?!?!

2008-08-11T15:35:00.026-06:00

I DON'T THINK SO! If you didn't see the United States of America's 4x100M Men's Free Relay team kick France's butt- I highly recommend you clicking on this link. Bad idea to trash talk our guys- it just fuels them to win:-) In your face France!

I recorded this event last night and watched this amazing competition when I woke up this morning- Unbelievable!

Now I have to say- I claim the title "World's least Athletic Human Being," but I do love watching the Olympics. I remember doing a book report in first grade on an olympic athlete I had never even watched but had heard so much about even more than 10 years after being the first gymnast to score not only a perfect 10, but seven of them! I loved going to my gymnastic classes because of Nadia Comaneci.

Speaking of gymnastics- when the olympics came to Atlanta, Georgia- my home state, I had never been so moved by any moment in the history of any competition as I had been when I watched the United States women's gymnastics team take the gold thanks to Kerri Strug-taking the last vault on a sprained ankle and landing perfectly- AMAZING!

I could go through so many more competitions I've been lucky enough to watch- Michael Johnson, Rulon Gardner- who beat the unbeatable Russian, 1992 Men's USA Basketball Dream Team, Misty May and Kerri Walsh- in Athens and now, Michael Phelps in 2004 and now in 2008, the list could go on and on, but I want to highlight the people JC and I are keeping an eye on during these olympic games.

Michael Phelps- of course!

USA redeem Team of Basketball- looks like we might be back in the games- keep your fingers crossed:-)

Misty May and Kerri Walsh

Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal

Natalie Coughlin

Tyson Gay

Women's Gymnastics Team

Venus and Serena Williams

and my favorite olympian this year- Darra Torres!

By the Way- this is a true symbol of Peace! An Olympian from Georgia and an Olympian from Russia. Thank goodness for the Olympic athletes who set good examples:-)

Play Date

2008-08-05T14:05:00.004-06:00

Yes- Tucker had a date with four little girls the other day. A play date:-) And if we are being technical- we could say six girls if you include me and Kristen. Tucker always has a play date with me though.

He loves our neighbors! Thanks for coming over girlies!

By the way- he climbed up a slide at our playground the other day. All the way to the top!

Just Because....

2008-08-05T09:42:00.005-06:00

I love this little guy! I go to bed every night excited to see him again in the morning. No words can express the gratitude in my heart for this precious angel. He is so sweet to me and his laugh is so contagious. I love my little family so much.

And Another Quick Trip to Cali

2008-08-03T20:42:00.005-06:00

This past weekend I flew down to California for my niece, Alexandra's baptism. I can't believe this beautiful little girl is eight years old! I feel like she just entered this world yesterday. It's crazy how fast time flies.

Alex is the most mature eight year old I know. She obviously gets that from her momma because her daddy- my brother- acts like he's five years old most of the time. I love it though. They are always having a good time!

I'm so blessed to have such a special niece in my life- she's amazing and I'm so happy that I was able to fly down and be a part of such a special occasion in her life.

PS- this was the first time I've ever spent a night away from my son. I cried when I had to leave him, but as soon as I was able to sleep in the next morning- I was ok:-)

Our little Mowgli

2008-07-31T11:49:00.007-06:00

Tucker has been crawling for a while now, but the funny thing is that whenever he doesn't like the way something feels on his knees, he lifts them up and crawls like Mowgli from the Jungle Book. He's pretty fast too- it's hilarious. This past Monday night, JC surprised us and took us to the Buzz game. Tucker's first baseball game! I guess the Buzz will have to do for now until we can fly out to the Braves games in Atlanta. Unfortunately, JC is a Yankees fan and might try to take Tucker to one of those baseball games in New York.

We can't come to a peaceful compromise, so we decided that we will take Tucker to a Braves vs. Yankees game and whoever wins that game will determine who Tucker will support for the rest of his life. Or we might just do it the easy, and normal way and let him decide what team HE likes best as soon as he's old enough:-)

So Tucker's favorite toys aren't the ones we buy for him, but the nice clean shoes people wear all day long as well as my cell phone.

Oh..... and the other day Tucker and I stopped by JC's office in downtown Salt Lake. The location is great- right down the street from the temple.

Tucker Loves his Daddy!!!

Daddy's Home!

2008-07-27T14:15:00.004-06:00

Tucker kept looking out the window for his Daddy:-)

After three very long weeks, he's finally home! Yay!

Now.....let's see if we can just keep him here!

My Mosaic

2008-07-25T16:07:00.004-06:00

My friend Merrilee had this activity posted on her blog and I thought it might be fun. It was interesting to see all of the different pictures pop up. (See if you can guess what my answers were before you look at them below.)

Here's how you do it-

a. type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.

b. using only the first page, pick an image

c. copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The questions-

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. What is your favorite drink?

7. Dream Vacation?

8. Favorite dessert?

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. One Word to describe you?

12. Favorite Animal?

My answers (this is exactly what I typed into Flickr search)

1. Beth

2. Chicken

3.Darlington School

4. Purple

5. Christian Bale

6. Water

7. Italy

8. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

9. Super Star

10. Family

11. Fabulous

12. Puppies

Quick Trip to Cali

2008-07-14T19:03:00.011-06:00

My husband is gone again and I'm completely sad about it of course, but I couldn't have thought of a better way to help time go by faster than to go down to California and be with my McAlpin family. This past weekend I was able to go down to San Diego for Melodie's baptism. It was an amazing family occasion and I would have been heartbroken if I had missed it. Melodie is one of the greatest girls I know and I'm so blessed to have her apart of our lives. Matt is one lucky guy:-)

AND. . . . It just so happened that my adorable little nephew's birthday was this past weekend as well. We love Ethan so much!!! Happy 1st Birthday buddy!

Ethan looks just like his daddy but he's got a whole lot of his momma's spunk in him. We celebrated his birthday Friday night and then we had a big party at Del Mar beach with friends and family Saturday afternoon.

Tucker took his first little swim in the ocean too. He loved it- he loves the water! He would stay in the tub all day and night if I would let him. He's definitely a water baby:-)

Here are the three little munchkin cousins:-) They are so much fun!!!

Tucker and Ethan were so cute in this stroller hanging out together but I think Rae Lynn was ready to separate them:-)

Tucker loves Ethan's new chair!

I had so much fun with my family, I just wish JC could have been there. Everyone wished JC was there this past weekend. We love you and miss you so much Love!

Tucker had enough of the camera by the end of the trip- he started to come after me. I love this picture! He gets this scary face from his daddy:-)

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-06T20:56:00.009-06:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July weekend! I couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate this incredible holiday than being able to participate in my husband's promotion to Captain!!!! He requested that me and his mom pin his Captain's bars onto his uniform- (part of the ceremony). It was amazing to witness this event as he swore to defend the constitution and our country. I am so proud of him and I wish there was a word perfect enough to describe how incredible he is but there isn't one. This promotion was a lot calmer than his first one when he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. His first promotion was during his first deployment to Iraq and in the middle of his ceremony, alarms started going off telling them to take cover because they were being attacked by mortars. Luckily no one was hurt:-)

I feel like I write/talk about the military a lot, and because I do that, I feel like people get tired of it- but that's our life. We try as hard as we can though to make sure there is a good balance in our lives. When we lived in California, we lived off base so we could live as much of a civilian life as possible. JC always left his work at work and never brought it home. We did as many activities outside of the military as we could in order to get away from the thoughts of future departures and absences from each other in our lives. Unfortunately, I never escaped the anxiety of having my husband leave. Even though we have tried to distance ourselves from the hectic lifestyle of the military, we are still very proud to be a part of this amazing organization and we feel nothing short of appreciation and gratitude for the opportunities it has provided us to learn more about who we are.

So JC is gone again for another 3 weeks:-(

Fortunately, this time he is just gone to participate in a training session for his new recruiting job and more than likely, he won't have to leave again after this. I guess I'm still just a little bit sensitive since he just came home 2 months ago. We are grateful that he is getting this incredible training by people who teach employees of the Fortune 500 companies. I'm so jealous that he is going back to VA and not only VA- Leesburg VA!!!!! I almost started crying when I found out that was where he was going. For those of you who don't know, I taught 6th grade English at Leesburg Middle School, and a huge part of my heart is still back there. I would go with him, but he is going to be in classes all day long, 6 days a week. Plus. . . my brother's girlfriend is getting baptized this Saturday, and I'm going to San Diego to be there for that special occasion! Yay- we love Melodie and we are so happy for her!!!

My husband told me he was going to be looking at our blog to see pictures of Tucker since he wasn't taking any with him, so I'm going to add a few pictures that my sister in law, Kenzie, took of him.

The Latest-

2008-07-01T14:06:00.014-06:00

I don't like getting behind when I blog because I can never figure out a good title for a post that includes lots of events. So excuse my creativity:-)

First of all I have to say Happy Birthday to my sweet sister in law- Kenzie. It was this past Sunday and unfortunately she spent her birthday morning listening to me and JC speak in church. She's a sport! Thanks for always being so sweet Kenzie- we love you!

Second, last week- we went up American Fork Canyon with JC's family to roast marshmallows. I LOVE that canyon. I love being anywhere in the mountains!

Third, last Friday I went with JC's mom, grammy and sisters up to Sundance to eat lunch, and ride the lift. Then Tucker and I decided to go mountain biking:-)

Fourth, JC had his football championship game on Saturday and of course they won. This league is rough- it's full of college football players, ex college football players and I wouldn't be surprised if any of them played pro. It's fun to watch. I love watching JC play football- he's so hot right now.

Fifth, we went and ate brunch up at a place called Zermot on Sunday after JC and I spoke in church. It was so yummy!!! Tucker loved the merry go round!

Sixth, yesterday JC and I went to go visit Tucker's newest little cousin, Teddy. Mark and Jessica are the cutest parents! We are so happy for their little family. We were also happy to see that JC's Aunt Anne was there. She is amazing- we are always happy to see her whenever we get the chance! Tucker wasn't very happy. I think it was because I put him in pajamas that were too small for him- oops! I hate it when he grows out of things over night.

Oh, and most importantly.........Tucker is definitely crawling now!!!! He's been able to crawl a few strides here and there, but last week he just started crawling everywhere. He loves it!

Father's Day- Plus. . .

2008-06-21T09:48:00.012-06:00

I'm so happy JC was home for his first Father's Day. I would have been heartbroken if he wasn't here, and I'm sure he would have been too. We are so blessed to be a family again and so grateful JC is home. Tucker loves his daddy!!!

Tucker really enjoyed this Father's Day because he was able to spend it with his dad, both of his grandpa's and his great grandpa (Grandpy) too!!

This past Thursday, my sweet friend Tiffany came over with her two precious little girls. It has been so long since I've seen Tiffany! I've missed her so much. Tiffany and I met back in the dorms at BYU and have been friends ever since. Thank goodness for blogs! I love being able to stay close to friends that I'm not able to see very often.

Tucker loved Kamrynn and Kennedi- he was going crazy! Although I don't think he's ready for girls yet. If I have anything to do with it- he won't date until he's 21:-) I think I'll make exceptions for the girls of my friends though.

So with all of that girl time, I thought it was time for Tucker to spend some time with a few boys. So our sweet neighbors, Brad and Chanel, came over for dinner Friday night with their two adorable little boys. Tucker had a blast with these guys! Dax and Tucker especially had fun together- throwing the basketball back and forth.

My little man in mamma's Sunglasses:-)

Very Funny JC!!!! (JC knows how I feel about giving Tucker treats) He was too cute though- I had to laugh at this.
My big man mowing our lawn.
JC's sister took pictures of Tucker- I love this one!

JC walked in and found Tucker like this one day. He woke up from his nap and we saw that Tucker had taken his diaper off!!! When did he decide it was ok to do that????

AND. . . . . Congratulations to my sweet, sweet friend Anne!!!! She just had baby Kate this past Monday. She is so beautiful and we are so happy for her darling family. Ashlee and I went to see her on Tuesday and you can't even tell she just had a baby. We love you Anne!!!! Anne is the one on the right- Ashlee couldn't keep her hands off Kate- she wanted to eat her. How crazy is that?!!?!?

Springville Museum of Art

2008-06-13T10:11:00.003-06:00

JC's grandmother- "Grammy"- has a sculpture on display at the Springville Museum of Art, so we decided to take Tucker down to the museum to look at all of the artwork. I feel so dumb though because I didn't take a picture of her sculpture. It's beautiful. I believe I was feeding Tucker his bottle while we were looking at it so that's probably why I didn't take a picture. Instead I took a picture of Tucker with his Gimi- (JC's mom)- looking at some contraption. He loved it!!

Celebrity Playlists

2008-06-09T11:11:00.015-06:00

I could have actually named the title of this post- "Too much time on our hands." JC has had this month off and we are really enjoying our time together, especially when JC comes up with hilarious ideas like this one. He thought it would be a good idea if we made our own celebrity playlists just to see what we would choose and why. We both have a lot of similar taste in music but we also have very different opinions about music as well. For example- he hates country music, I love it. I hate Nirvana and he likes them for some odd reason. "To each his own" though right??

Anyway here are our lists, enjoy-

(I'd also like to tag everyone to do the same thing)

Beth's playlist- (let me first just say that I had a really hard time only picking 15. That's why you'll see that I put a big group together at the end. These aren't in any particular order either.)

1. Grey Street, and Love of My Life- Dave Matthews Band. DMB is one of the best bands EVER! I love all of the instruments they use for each song, but Grey Street is by far my favorite DMB song. It brings back a lot of memories for me during particularly confusing time in my life. Love of my life is just a beautiful song they did with Santana that I love listening to.

2. Chasing Cars- Snow Patrol. One my most favorite love songs. It reminds me of the time I would just sit and wish JC were with me while he was gone during his first deployment. Snow Patrol is an amazing group with too many great songs to choose from, but this is my favorite.

3. Lovestoned- Justin Timberlake. My favorite song to dance to:-) I can't dance at all, but I do anyway and Justin's latest CD and all his remakes with Timbaland are a lot of fun.

4. Sleeping with the Telephone- Reba and Faith Hill- Two of the most amazing female country artists came together to create a song just for me. I was so excited to see Reba's new album with all of her duets and as soon as I saw that she did one with Faith, I went straight to it, listened to it and just started crying. I heard this song for the first time about 2 days before JC left for this last deployment. It tore my heart into many pieces to say the least. (Faith is my idol by the way)

5. Stronger- Kanye West. I'm not a huge fan of Kanye, but this song is one of the best songs to workout to.

6. Mr. Brightside, For Reasons Unknown- Killers. The Killers are one of the best groups out there. I know Mr. Brightside was probably over played but I can still listen to it over and over. It never gets old for me. I also love singing to the song "For Reasons Unknown." I loved this concert too.

7. Don't Leave Home- Dido. Please! Dido is one of the best singer/song writers. Her lyrics are amazing! This song- Don't Leave Home- was on our wedding album because it reminded me of JC when we were dating. I'd always play this song for him. White Flag is another favorite of mine along with all of her other songs.

8. Baby Mine- Allison Krauss. This particular song reminds me of my baby boy- so sweet. I love it! I love Allison Kruass's voice, music, everything. I could listen to her and Union Station all day.

9. Belief- John Mayer. John Mayer is by far, the best performer I've ever seen. His music gets better and better with each album he puts out. Belief is a powerful song- the lyrics are incredible. I also love a song called Belief by Gavin Degraw. JC and I both really like John Mayer andGavin Degraw.

10. Easy Silence- Dixie Chicks. Ok, I went through a period where these girls were all I listened to. Then they decided to disrespect our President and country, so I swore them off. Then I decided to give them another chance and they pulled through for me. I love every single song they have ever made- even "Not ready to make Nice." "Easy Silence" is my favorite though. It actually reminds me of the outdoors/nature. My favorite place in the world is the mountains/canyons- it's an "Easy Silence."

11. Fix You- Coldplay. My favorite band in the world. They are one of the best things that has ever happened to music. "Fix You" is a very therapeutic and comforting song- I never get tired of it.

12. The Olive Tree- Felicia Sorensen. My favorite church song. It reminds me of Enya. It's a very soothing, as well as uplifting song.

13. The Prayer, Rapsodia- Andrea Bocelli. The most beautiful voice in the world. These are my two favorite songs by him.

14. Somewhere only we Know- Keane. This song reminds me of DC, one of the best times in my life. JC and I would listen to this while we were dating.

15. (OK this is my group of songs- so I'm not going to explain why I love each of them. This is my rock genre and I had too many to leave out)

Beck- Lost Cause

White Stripes- Icky Thump

Red Hot Chili Peppers- Hump de Bump

Led Zepplin- Black Dog

Linkin Park- Hands Held High

Johnny Cash- Long Black Veil

Metallica- Enter Sandman

JC's List-

1. Pyramid Song – Radiohead - Thom Yorke is a musical genius. This song has an incredible atmosphere to it. Relaxing, soothing, yet with a touch of paranoia to keep you from falling asleep.

2. For You - Coldplay – The best Coldplay song written. Chris Martin wears his heart on his sleeve on this one. It is a B-side from “The Scientist” EP. Crazy good. Crazy relaxing.

3. Believe Me Natalie – The Killers – I could put any song from The Killers catalogue on this list – I love them all – but this song perfectly fuses guitar and synth. The lyrics aren’t half-bad either.

4. Everything I am/I Wonder – Kanye West – The two best songs from the best rapper around. On “I Wonder” I feel like Kanye climbed inside my head and found the lyrics to this song. “Everything I am” an amazingly deep rap song. I love that he doesn’t rap about money, cars and girls, like everyone else.

5. Without it – Mute Math – This band should be huge!!! Mute Math blends two of my favorite genre’s seamlessly, Alternative and electronica. Their whole CD is amazing (they only have 1 CD out).

6. Sunday Morning – Maroon 5 – This song reminds me of Maryland/Virginia, which was a great time in my life (I met Beth and graduated from the academy).

7. Last Night/My Love – Justin Timberlake – I might lose cool points with the guys for this choice, but JT is the man. “Last Night” is my favorite song he sings – I love the bridge. My Love – if I was going to bust out my Chris Brown/MJ dance moves in front of thousands, I would do it to this song and this song only. My favorite song to dance to.

8. Belief (Acoustic Village Sessions version) – John Mayer – John is the best musician of my generation. Bold statement, but I believe it. He is a true student of music. This song is the most powerful on my list. Possibly my overall favorite. Lyrics are ridiculous.

9. Human Nature – Michael Jackson – The best song on the #1 album of all-time. I have loved this song since I was 5. Still gives me chills when I listen to it.

10. All Apologies – Nirvana – I listen to this song when I am angry. It is my comfort blanket. Kurt Cobain was beautifully angry.

11. Sideways/Let the Drummer Kick – Citizen Cope – “Sideways” one of my very favorite love songs. “Let the Drummer Kick” is insanely catchy. Very creative.

12. Somewhere a Clock is Ticking – Snow Patrol – Sonically pleasing. Snow Patrol always leaves you wanting more. One of my all-time favorite bands. If you only know their commercially successful songs, I recommend digging deeper.

13. Maybe I’m Amazed – Jem – This song is beautiful. Remake of a Paul McCartney classic. Jem is my favorite female artist. Beautiful voice.

14. Rockstar - N.E.R.D. – I felt I had to liven up the playlist a bit. This is my favorite song to workout to. A song for the kids.

15. Sexy Love – Ne-Yo - This is the ringtone on my phone when Beth calls. This song reminds me of her. Need I say more?

Loving Life

2008-05-31T22:51:00.004-06:00

So, we've been back in Utah for a few weeks now and we've been loving life. JC has had all of

this time off and won't have to go back to work

until the end of June. His time off was definitely well deserved and we are taking full advantage of it. We have been having so much fun just being a family. We're also having a lot of fun decorating our new house too. We love it! I'll update pictures of the house sometime soon, but for now I'll just post new pictures of Tucker:-)

He's having so much fun with his daddy! Tucker is an amazing little guy- he is so calm and sweet. We just took him to his first movie in the theatre and he didn't complain one time. I went to the movie expecting not to watch it, but to my surprise- I saw the whole thing.

He does so many fun new things every day- it's hard to keep up with all of them. He loves sucking on people's noses- it's hilarious. He growls like a tiger- a little tough guy

like his daddy. He won't sit still when I change his diaper. He only cries when I don't get food in his mouth fast enough. Seriously. . . he freaks out when I take the spoon out of his mouth. I have to be so fast between each bite. He loves to stand up. He's ready to walk and he's not even crawling yet. We're still waiting for that big day.

Heaven!

2008-05-13T21:29:00.014-06:00

He's home!!! Well, at least home, meaning the beautiful US of A. JC is still in California finishing up some work until Friday and as much as I love California, there is no place like home. I'm really starting to feel like our new home in Utah is finally home. It will feel that way even more so once JC gets here. Rae Lynn and Brett were so wonderful to let us stay with them in San Diego that entire time. We love you guys!
So here's a recap-

My dad flew to Utah so he could drive down with me and Tucker to California. Thanks Dad! He'd drop anything for us and we love him so much!

Tucker and I stayed at Rae Lynn's house for the first week. Tucker loved being able to play with his cousin Ethan. I loved watching them together- they were so cute. When one cried the other cried and it actually made me laugh.

Tucker hanging out with his other cousin, Ashtyn, another night.

So Tucker and I patiently waited while the military continued to set my husband's arrival date back. Talk about frustrating! We weren't sure what to do so Rae Lynn took us to La Costa resort just down the road from her house and I took Tucker swimming for the first time. His cousins joined him the next day. Tucker LOVES the water- Just like his momma!

Anyway- so after all of that waiting- JC finally came home and my heart let out a huge sigh of relief and an enormous thanks to my Father in Heaven for bringing my son's father home safely to us. It's hard to put into words the feelings I felt, but most of all it was a feeling of peace and thanks. I thought I've experienced many things in life, but nothing beats seeing your husband hold his baby for the first time and even though it wasn't right when he was born, it doesn't matter- it's the same. They clicked right from the start. I knew they would. Tucker loves his daddy so much- almost as much as me;-) Just kidding! They get along great.

Gimi made signs so JC could find us:-)

Alex and Gavin made JC a cute sign!

This is a picture of Tucker with every single one of his cousins. They were all there to welcome JC home! Thanks for all of the support guys- we love you so much!

We all went out to dinner that night at Pizza Port- next to the beach in San Diego. It was sad because we saw that it was right where the man was killed by a great white shark while training for a triathlon. That's why I don't do triathlons. Kidding, that's why I've retired my scuba certification. That was just a little bit of FYI. Sort of irrelevant to the post. Oh well.

JC and I stayed at the Marriott in Del Mar that week so JC could spend some alone time getting to know his son.

I've loved seeing JC change Tucker's diapers and attempt putting him to bed. JC just gets so excited to see Tucker no matter what time of day it is- so it's kind of hard for JC to keep Tucker calm in order to get him to sleep at night, but he's getting there.

JC's entire family came down to welcome him home and my family was there as well. We thought that since both families were there in California, it would be a good time to bless Tucker. So we blessed him that Thursday and it was as though JC had known him since he was born. They are so close already- the blessing was so beautiful. I'm so grateful for my amazing husband. Thank you Michael and Autumn for letting us bless Tucker at your house- everything was perfect!

The rest of our trip was pretty much just hanging out and playing while JC worked half days. He took this past Friday off so we could take Tucker to Disneyland and California Adventure! He loved it;-) I think. . .

Anyway- sorry for the long delay of an update. I've been wanting to post for a while, but things have been very busy. We've just been adjusting back into family life and it has been wonderful. If I've learned anything over the past 7 months. . . it's that every child DESERVES a MOTHER and a FATHER. I've also learned that even though I know I can do it by myself, that's not the way it's supposed to be. I only did it because I had to and I was given that particular trial for a reason and I might not know what that reason is now, but someday I will. I just have to be grateful for the trials in my life that are put there to make me stronger. I've learned how to be grateful for trials from my dad- He always tells me to be thankful. I'm actually still learning;-)

Oh... and I love Mother's Day! This experience of being a mother is incredible:-) I couldn't be happier!

Just Waiting

2008-04-25T08:26:00.002-06:00

I haven't been staying as updated in the blogging world as I usually do, but I have a very good reason. A few weeks ago, my brother, and his wife and their kids along with my dad and my other brother, Matt- drove all of our stuff from California up to our new house in Utah. It was fun having them stay with me and Tucker. After they left, I kept myself very busy unpacking everything and trying to get as much done as possible before I had to leave for California. (I'll post pictures when I get back home.)
Now I am just hanging out in California waiting for JC to get home! Just a few more days:-) I probably won't post again until we actually get back home, and that won't be until the middle of May sometime.
I just want everyone to know that I miss you and will be checking your blogs whenever I get a chance.

JC's Birthday Week!

2008-04-01T11:32:00.020-06:00

Usually I wouldn't even attempt to do this because JC does not like the spotlight being on him- ever. The last thing he wants is me boasting to everyone about him on his birthday- which isn't even until April 4th, but I wanted to post a few days early. Good thing he loves me, otherwise I wouldn't be able to get away with this! He checks in on our blog every once in a while so Happy Birthday Love! Tucker and I can't wait to see you! Soon- very soon!

Let me just say- first off- that he is my hero- I know I'm cheesy when it comes to saying anything about him, but it's all true. He would probably make fun of me for saying it, that's why I'm posting it instead! I'll just list a few of the many things I love about him.

1- He doesn't understand why people adore him so much (even strangers). Everywhere we go, people are drawn to him. He leaves a lasting impression on everyone, even people he barely meets for a second. He had me hooked from the first second I saw him;-)

2-He is very honorable and always "chooses the right." He is filled with integrity and is an example to all of those around him, especially me.

3- He is very very trustworthy. There isn't anyone else in the world I trust more than him.

4- He is very courageous and very brave. I think that speaks for itself, given his job. You have to have those attributes to be a Marine, but I'm sure it took a bit more courage to walk away from his very pregnant wife and leave for 7 months. Which leads me to his next quality-

5- He is very trusting. He knew he had to trust Heavenly Father to take care of me and Tucker while he was gone. He also trusted me to pick out our house without him actually being here- he has only seen pictures. That's a huge deal- I don't think I could have done that.

6- I love the way he lovingly makes fun of me- it makes me laugh.

7- He likes what I cook, even if it's bad.

8- He lets me be me and loves me know matter what. I'm a pretty big nerd, but he loves me for it.

9- I love that he went to the Naval Academy and played football there. I think it's really hot! He actually took me there (to Annapolis) on one of our first couple of dates and that is where I fell pretty hard for him.

10- I love how committed he is to anything in his life. Not only to me and Tucker but he also commits himself to fulfilling any calling he is asked to do (even though he doesn't think he does), and he is very committed to doing his best at his job. It's actually crazy how hard he works- it wears me out to just hear about his days.

11. He's very athletic! Very hot!! He is going to be a great coach to Tucker. Good thing JC is athletic because I don't have an athletic bone in my body. Oh well!

12- He's brilliant! Almost every Ivy League school I could possibly list wanted to recruit him right out of high school.

13- He is very talented at EVERYTHING- He is amazingly artistic, and is an incredible writer as well.

14- He would do anything in the world for me. He has me on a higher pedestal than I think I deserve to be on.

All of these things make him an amazing husband, and I know that even though he is on the other side of the world, these things make him an incredible father as well.

We Love You!

B and T