Laura and Eliza

NEW POST ON NEW BLOG

2009-03-16T16:33:00.001-06:00

CHECK OUT THE NEW BLOG FOR A NEW POST....LAMBSONLOOP.BLOGSPOT.COM

NEW BLOG ADDRESS

2009-03-12T21:53:00.002-06:00

Ok! So the wedding and honeymoon are over so Nate and I have been thrown back into the regular swing of things. Fun and sad at the same time. But since its no longer just me and Eliza, we have now changed our blog address to http://lambsonloop.blogspot.com.....my email address is laura.lambson@gmail.com...just thought I would give you all a little update. All of our updates will now be on the new blog. I'm not taking this one off quite yet because I need to make sure I can scrapbook all of the events on this blog. GOOD LUCK TO ME!!! HAHA! Oh! And this picture is just a fun sneak peek to our new little family! Thank you Molls! You're a genius!

CHANGING BLOG ADDRESSES

2009-03-03T16:16:00.002-07:00

Well...due to soon-to-be family additions I will be changing my blog address. We won't just be the "mommy and eliza fam" anymore. So, as soon as the wedding and honeymoon are over, I will let all of you know what the new address will be. I probably won't have time to update THIS blog before Friday, so hope all is well with everyone and we will chat in a week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATE!!

2009-02-24T22:22:00.003-07:00

It's Nate's birthday tomorrow, the 25th. I know I'm not gonna have time to blog tomorrow so I thought I would now, while I have a second. Nate is turning 32!!! WHAT AN OLD MAN!!! Funny how he looks younger than ME! We are going to have a very fun evening. Not sure what we're gonna do. Probably go to dinner and get a Red Box movie to watch after Eliza goes to bed (Kaya and Aivery will be with their mom). We will probably be asleep before we can press PLAY. These days we don't do well with watching movies at night. Obviously we have BUSY lives!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATE!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

PRE-Engagement Pictures

2009-02-16T23:51:00.004-07:00

OK! So Mollie is actually going to be taking our engagement pictures when she gets here a couple of days before the wedding, but we needed a picture to send out in the announcements. So, we had Nate's friend's wife, Camille shoot some pictures of us. She is such a sweet girl and she takes really awesome pictures! Here are some of my favorites!!

From a lot of the pictures you can probably tell that we had a really good time! Nate and I were laughing at each other most of the time. HAHA! Poor Camille! She was so patient. Posing for pictures is such an awkward thing for me. Thank you Todd and Camille for taking time away from your new, sweet little baby to help us out! The pictures turned out GREAT!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

VALENTINE'S WEEKEND

2009-02-16T23:08:00.003-07:00

Well, it's 11:30pm and I am so very tired. But, I thought that I would blog a little bit about our weekend. Of course we were in Logan. I got to take care of the kids on Thursday and Friday. Kaya had his pre school Valentine's Day party. He was so excited to hand out his candy and valentines to everyone in the class. The rest of the weekend we went sledding (pictures to come), organized and Nate and I went on an afternoon date. I'm gonna have to say, I enjoy evening dates more because then we come home to our kids SLEEPING!!! HAHA!

This is an old picture of Nate and me but I just got it from his phone this wk end and it is one of my favorites so I wanted to post it in my Valentine post. This was the BEST Valenetine's Day EVER!! I'm not to mushy, cheesy, over-the-top kinda gal when it comes to love. In fact, it's a good thing Nate gets me cuz I'm not very good at expressing how I feel. But I really have to say (keeping my pride in tact...HAHA!) that I think I am the luckiest girl ever! Nate treats me like I've always wanted to be treated. I know he loves me and I know he loves Eliza as well. We make a great team! He doesn't let me get away with anything I shouldn't get away with which can be frustrating but we just laugh about it most of the time! I would rather be with him and our kids than anyone else. When I am doing something, anything, I want him there. I feel blessed to be able to be marrying such an amazing man! I'm excited to have the little family (OK! So its not little...we're actually outnumbered which is scary!) that we will have and the life that we are going to be able to live. What a cute Valentine I had and get to HAVE forever! I LOVE YOU NATE!!

...That wasn't too mushy right? HAHA!

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

I LOVE ELLEN!!!

2009-02-09T20:28:00.001-07:00

Seriously!!! This is the funniest thing I've seen in a LOOOONG time! Watch and ENJOY!

AGGIE BASKETBALL GAME...

2009-02-09T10:20:00.003-07:00

This weekend while I was in Logan, Nate and I went to a Utah State University basketball game. It was quite an experience, let me tell ya! HAHA! I've never seen such devoted fans! The game was really good too, but watching how "in sync" the entire forum was, was hilarious!!! They were pretty mean to the opposing team (Louisiana Tech). I told Nate that I wouldn't be surprised if one of those players decked the guys that were screaming "YOU SUCK!!" at them! I was laughing the whole time! For those of you that know me pretty well, you know I'm not a HUGE sports fan...but I loved this game!! I told Nate whenever we could get free tickets then I would for sure love to go!

We had a really fun weekend! Eliza was with her dad (I missed her so so so much) so that was a bummer, but we had a ton of fun with Kaya and Aivery. If any of you are ever in Logan, be sure and eat at Fredericos!!! SO YUMMY! Their pizza is delicious!

HOW CUTE IS THIS???!!!

2009-02-03T22:43:00.003-07:00

Is this not the cutest thing?? I got it today to be the header of my "family picture wall" in my house. I just need to reitterate the my house part!! I get to have an amazing husband, a new little family added to my existing tiny family AND a house to decorate (little by little) and make my very own!!!! I'm so excited! How did I get so lucky?? But really...what do you all think of this cute thing I bought? I LOVE IT!!!

I'm Getting Married!!! (oh! and I got a new car)

2009-01-27T23:33:00.007-07:00

For all those who know me or keep up with my blog know that that I have been dating this really awesome guy, Nate, for about 5 months now. Things have been amazing! Better than I ever thought a relationship could be really. I got pretty lucky, I will have to admit! Every second we are together, even with our kids, is so much fun! There's always so much to talk and laugh about. Our kids keep us super busy; there is never a dull, thats for sure. Well...maybe there are a few "dull moments" but let me tell ya, we live for those moments when there's nothing to do. HAHA! So, last night, it was official and now we're engaged! Nate surprised me with this awesome Yukon we'd been looking at. I was shocked because he had just told me that day that it had been sold...sneaky sneaky...so he had the kids in the car, all holding signs that spelled out "will you marry me?" SO CUTE?? I mean, I couldn't have said no even if I wanted to. HAHA! Which I never woulda said no. So, thats that! We're getting married on March 6th and then Eliza and I will be moving to Logan, UT to start our new little family! HOORAY!!! Here's a picture of what my car looks like, except mine's a dark gray! Love it!

OH! By the way! Just a quick "thank you" to Phatty...we love you and thanks for helping Nate and I get together! You're the BEST! We owe ya one!!

KAYA'S BIRTHDAY

2009-01-27T23:27:00.002-07:00

Kaya turned 5 on the 19th of January! He was so excited to have some of his friends over that night to have cake and ice cream. April, one of Nate's good friend's wives made Kaya a bicycle cake. Oh my gosh! It looked amazing! She has talent! My mom and dad were there along with some other really fun people. I really lucked out on the fun-ness factor when I started dating Nate...WOOHOO! It was really fun! Kaya loved all of his presents and had a great time!!

SNOWMOBILING

2009-01-27T22:57:00.002-07:00

I went on my very first snowmobiling excursion a couple weeks ago. Nate took me along with his good friend Kendall up Providence Canyon. That's actually just right up the street from Nate's place. It was a BLAST!!! SO MUCH FUN! The mountains were so pretty with all of the snow on the trees. Plus it was nice to hangout with Nate WITHOUT kids!! Kendall was off most of the time doing dangerous, crazy stuff on his sled.

MAN OF MY DREAMS...HAHA!

2009-01-27T22:27:00.002-07:00

DON'T JUDGE ME....

....HE REALLY IS SO CUTE!!!!

CHRISTMAS POSTS...FINALLY!

2009-01-27T18:21:00.002-07:00

I know Christmas was a really long time ago, but I thought I would post a few pictures of our fun time! We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home. It was so quiet because everybody was in California. We were a little bit sad but enjoyed the quaintness of the holiday. I was REALLY bummed to not have Nate and the kids there but the day after Christmas we got to go to PHX where Nate's brother Ryun and sister, Angie and her family live. It was a blast! Eliza was glad to be back with Kaya and Aivery and enjoyed her time with the multitude of kids.We went to the zoo and to the park and bummed around the house. It was so much fun! I loved being with the Lambson family as well. Such FUN people!! After PHX we headed to California. We had a little Christmas with our family down there and then my neice Madi turned 8 so she got baptized!! It was an eventful Christmas! I loved every minute of it. Oh yeah! And when we were in California, I became obsessed with the WII. I want one, but I think I might never get anything else accomplished except to improve my score on the "Dancing with the Stars" game anyway. HAHA! Why Mom WHY did you bless me with such horrible rhythm??? AHHHH!! Here's a fun slideshow of our busy Christmas holiday:

MY NEW BLOG TITLE QUOTE

2009-01-23T10:31:00.003-07:00

I was looking at a blog called Le Love today (thank you Azy for referring people to it...) and I found this quote that I LOVE LOVE LOVE! I know, its a little bit cheesy and for those of you who know me, know that "cheesy" bugs me...but I truly think this one is such an amazing explaination of what LOVE really is. So I put the quote as my title quote on my blog. It says: "Love is a friendship set on fire". Isn't that so true??

We ARE alive...PROMISE!!

2009-01-13T11:33:00.002-07:00

I promise that we still exist! Life has been so crazy busy. The holidays were insane with a trip to Arizona and from there a trip to California, when I got home I went to Logan to be with Nate and the kids (I missed them when I was in CA) and then...SCHOOL!! Its AGAIN taken over all of my free time. GEEZ! HAHA! I promise one of these days I will post pictures, maybe tomorrow...who knows! Hope all is well with everyone!

A Lazy New Years Day Tag

2009-01-01T16:45:00.003-07:00

I am: a mom, daughter, sister, friend
I think: life can be crazy stressful
I know: that I can love
I want: the people I love to be happy
I have: the best life
I dislike: confrontation
I miss: Nate, Kaya and Aivery :(
I fear: losing someone that I love
I feel: very happy
I hear: my family laughing
I smell: black eyed peas
I crave: Cadbury Flake candy bars...YUMMY!
I usually: try to make the best out of every siuation
I cry: not very often
I search: for continual happiness
I wonder: if Eliza is having fun with her daddy
I regret: some of my choices
I wish: the people I love can be happy forever
I love: so many people
I care: about so many things, its hard to keep track sometimes...
I always: want to do whats right
I worry: way too much!!!
I am not: at my best, physically
I remember: that the day Eliza was born was the best day ever!
I believe: that without the gospel I would be in a lot of trouble
I sing: just like Celine Dion...HAHA!
I argue: with Nate, but I never win :( How is that fair??
I write: pretty good papers for school
I win: NEVER!!
I lose: at least one pair of socks everytime I wash clothes.
I don't understand: the way people think sometimes.
I can usually be found: at school or in Logan
I need: to lose some weight
I forget: life before Eliza
I am happy: with the way my life is going.
I tag: Mollie Salazar, Karly Cahoon, Melissa Leavitt, Tifany Bell

Sledding

2008-12-24T09:43:00.002-07:00

On Saturday we got to go sledding up in Logan. It was so much fun! Aivery was a little bit sick so she wasn't as excited as Kaya and Eliza. Kaya LOVED his new sled. Eliza never wanted to get off the one she was riding. No body would share with me until I pitched a fit (just kidding!). Nate was being the grown up of the group. HAHA! It was snowing and we loved every minute of it!! I'm starting to really love the snow. For those of you who know me well, you know thats odd! Maybe its the people I get to be with in the snow that makes it worthwhile. Probably thats the reason ;)!!!!

Silly Eliza

2008-12-24T09:27:00.002-07:00

The other night after Eliza's bath she wanted to get into one of the drawers. She proceeded to take my little rollers and stick them all over her hair. It was so funny because I could tell she knew exactly what she was doing. I thought it was hilarious, but she just acted like it was a normal part of her "going to bed" routine. Obviously during finals I was not home much to see this. What a silly baby!

I'm Sorry I'm so Behind!!!

2008-12-24T09:11:00.003-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Nate and his kids came down to Orem. We had a great time! Friday afternoon we watched Christmas movies, my dad decorated cookies with them and when Nate finished work and got down from Logan, we went and looked at this park that had really cool Christmas lights. The kids thouroughly enjoyed themselves. Aivery slept through the Christmas lights, poor baby! She was so sleepy!

Saturday afternoon Eliza went with her dad and Kaya and Aivery went with their mom, Nate and I got to go on a date. I know this sounds a little twisted, but I'm gonna have to say that passing our kids off to their other respective parents and being able to go be ALONE - with NO kids, is quite a treat! Nate and I went to Salt Lake City, ate at the Nauvoo Cafe (YUM!) and then went to see the Joseph Smith movie. My friend Sage and her boyfriend came and met us. It was such an awesome movie. It made me appreciate so much more the sacrifices that were made so that this complete gospel could be restored! I am so grateful for that! All of the blessings in my life have been because of the faithfulness of Joseph Smith and the early members of the church. Where would I be without the gospel and its teachings? HA! In a lot o' trouble I'm guessin'!

It was a great weekend!

DECORATING THE CHRISTMAS TREE

2008-12-12T15:29:00.011-07:00

Last weekend we, of course, went to Logan to be with Nate and the kids. We had a really good time! We got to put up the Christmas tree and play with friends. Eliza got to go be with her dad from Sunday until Tuesday. On Saturday night, Nate and I had the chance to go on a date. Something that is very rare, so we appreciate those few hours of alone time so much! I always look forward to my weekends in Logan with Nate and the kids. This weekend they get to come down here. So FUN!!!!!

Aivery and Eliza were all bundled up to go look for a Christmas tree. It just so happened to be FREEZING cold on Friday night so I didn't want the little girlies to get cold. Aren't their hats so CUTE!!!

Aivery is the only kid that would stand in front of the tree...we went a little too late to have every single kid in a cooperative mood! HAHA!

Saturday morning, Nate was wrestling with Kaya and Aivery. Eliza thought it looked like fun so she joined in...

Eliza kept pulling on the lights and the ribbon. The tree wasn't super sturdy yet. I kept telling her not to do that, but, she's only 17months old so she didn't really understand. Nate caught me on camera scolding her...NICE! All 3 kids got in trouble one time or another during the Christmas tree process.

As you can see, getting the Christmas tree was quite the process...with 3 kids running around, the fits, stops for lunch and naps - including a nap for Nate and me - naturally, it was a little bit difficult to get it done all at once. But, we enjoyed it all the same. The kids were very excited to be able to help decorate it!

It was a great weekend! Hope everybody has a beautiful Christmas tree like this one!

BOONDOCKERS PREMIER

2008-12-12T15:19:00.004-07:00

A month or so ago I went to my friends' snowmobiling movie premier. It just so happens that Nate is one of the riders in the movie so that made my viewing experience even better! I was very proud of all my friends! Nate didn't get to go, I was so bummed! The joys of being a parent, I suppose. If any of you might be interested in watching an awesome movie full of skill and adrenaline, go to Boondockers website and check out what they have.

ENJOY A SNEAK PEAK:

WHAT AM I THANKFUL FOR?

2008-12-10T17:19:00.002-07:00

I did a Thanksgiving blog post but I think I better do a blog about what I am thankful for. I've been thinking about this alot lately. I think that it is always beneficial to reflect on what is important in your life when things get hard. And TRUST ME! Last week was hard! So here it goes:

1. Being a mom - #1 blessing ever!
2. My family
3. The gospel
4. Nate and his 2 little ones
5. My education
6. The scriptures
7. The prophet
8. Having a place to live
9. Having people around that I love
10. Having people around who love me
11. Havig the means necessary to live
12. Transportation
13. Photography
14. Blogs
15. Friends
16. Eliza's cute little expressions
17. Chocolate
18. Doctors
19. Medicine (especially when Eliza is sick or teething)
20. The priesthood
21. My covenants
22. The ability I have to realize what is important in my life
23. Internet
24. Showers
25. Massages
26. Cellphones
27. Weekends in Logan
28. My testimony
29. My epidural when I had Eliza
30. Being able to stay home with Eliza
31. Prayer
32. Computers
33. Eternal families
34. Our country (even tho its getting a little bit scary)
35. Disneyland
36. My parents helpfulness
37. Ceiling fans (get it Nate??)
38. My past experiences, good and bad
39. Personal drive
40. Clothes (even tho I never go shopping anymore)
41. Vacations
42. Alone time with Nate (very rare)
43. Hugs and kisses from Eliza
44. Christmas time
45. The beach
46. Cuddling
47. Hot tubs ;)
48. Facebook
49. Frozen chocolate pie (YUM)
50. 2nd chances
51. Forgiveness
52. YUMMY food
53. Clean diapers
54. Bedtime
55. MY bed - so comfy!
56. TV (when i get time to watch it)
57. Good shampoo
58. Waxed eyebrows
59. Getting my hair done
60. Relaxing
61. Being with my family
62. Being with my friends
63. Nice weather
64. Beach
65. Rain
66. Laying on the couch reading a book listening to the rain
67. Having a reason to have hope
68. Eliza's sweet spirit
69. A clean house
70. A clean bathroom
71. Clean sheets
72. The gym (even tho I very rarely go)
73. Christmas cards
74. Good restaurant service
75. Diet Coke
76. Diet Pepsi
77. Being wanted and needed
78. Movies
79. People Magazine
80. Fast food (I KNOW! BAD!)
81. Trashy TV
82. Nordstrom
83. DVR
84. Ghost Hunters
85. Twilight book series
86. Remotes
87. The ability to forgive
88. Sensitivity
89. The temple
90. Dates with Nate
91. Garbage disposals
92. Dishwashers
93. Vacuums
94. My laptop
95. My camera
96. Open mindedness
97. Vicotria's Secret pear lotion (YUMMY SMELL!)
98. Super Nanny
99. Eliza's smile
100. Being able to be pregnant (even though I hated being sick!!)

WOW! 100 things I'm thankful for! There's so many other things I'm thankful for...these are just a few!

A WONDERFUL WEEKEND IN CALIFORNIA!

2008-12-01T13:22:00.006-07:00

The day after Thanksgiving we all went to the beach. Nate, Eliza and I went down before everyone and drove along Pacific Coast Highway. Beautiful! We stopped along the way in Laguna and played on the beach a bit. Eliza LOVED it!!! It was a fabulous day to walk along the beach. Miss Eliza ran towards the ocean, chased birds and fell face first into the sand. It was lovely, but it didn't seem to phase her much.

Later on we made our way to meet my family in Newport Beach. We ate at Ruby's Diner. A family favorite. The sunset was gorgeous! My parents were nice enough to take Eliza home for us so Nate and I got to hang out on the beach. So relaxing! What a fun day!

Eliza got to hang out with her dad on Saturday. Nate was very impressed with the beach on Friday so I decided it might be fun to take him to Malibu. We found this really pretty, virtually empty beach and hung out there for a bit and then headed back to Carrie Beth's house for some pizza.

This was truly the most relaxing vacation I have had in a very long time! I loved being with my whole family for Thanksgiving and having Nate there was the best! I hope everybody else's Thanksgivings were as awesome as ours!!

NEXT UP: December- McAllister Birthday Month!!!

BEST THANKSGIVING EVER!

2008-12-01T13:03:00.004-07:00

After the pictures we moved the party over to Carrie Beth and Jay's house. It was such a yummy meal! No stuffing...BOO! But altogether, the best Thanksgiving meal I have ever had. I have to tell the funniest story ever at Carlos' expense. HAHA! First, a little background. Carlos is from Mexico so they don't really celebrate Thanksgiving there. A couple of years ago before he and Mollie were married we were in California for Thanksgiving. Carrie Beth made deviled eggs for the meal (YUM!). Carlos asked what they were and we told him. Later in the meal he asked us to pass the "evil eggs." We laughed so hard! It's a good thing he has a good sense of humor. Well, this Thanksgiving we were all talking about how we all hated sweet potato casserole except mom and dad. A few minutes later I heard Carlos say to Mollie, "I really like the dessert. Its really good!" Mollie looked at him and goes, "Baby, those are sweet potatoes. Not the dessert." HAHA! I could not help but bust out laughing. Carlos being the great guy that he is and knowing we weren't making fun, laughed with us. It was so funny! He will never live that down! WE LOVE YOU CARLOS!!!

After dinner Eliza's dad came and picked her up so that my family and I could go see the movie 4 Christmases. That was such a funny movie. Everyone should see it! It was a little bit foul in parts but I really enjoyed it! Thanksgiving Day was so much fun! I love being with my family and having Nate there was the best! We did miss Kaya and Aivery! It would have been perfect had they been able to come!

Family Pictures

2008-12-01T12:42:00.005-07:00

My whole family plus Nate went down to California for Thanksgiving. Nate's kids were with their mom so they didn't get to come :( Nate and I headed down Wednesday night after he finished working and met up with the fam at Mollie and Carlos' house. Thanksgiving Day we thought it would be a great time to get family pictures. We haven't had one of those in years because the family keeps changing. So, before dinner, we went to a really pretty park in Redlands and took pictures. It was a lot less painful then previous family picture sessions. Nate was nice enough to snap the photos. Here are a few fun ones:

Mollie does such a great job!!! I know I've said that time and time again, but she's awesome! We are blessed to have such an amazing photographer in our family. Nate did a GREAT job too! HAHA!

Catching up....

2008-12-01T12:22:00.003-07:00

Oh WOW! I have been the worst blogger ever this last couple of weeks. Life has been super busy! Last weekend we went and had a great weekend in Logan. Nate and I got to go on a mini date on Friday night. Its always nice to escape from parenthood even for a couple of hours. HAHA!

Saturday night the kids wanted to watch some fireworks go off. They had so much fun! Eliza wasn't TOO sure about the whole operation, but she warmed up to them towards the end. I will have to admit, I enjoyed watching the fireworks go off and seeing the kids reactions were priceless!

Later Saturday night, Nate made some yummy peach cobbler. The best I've ever tasted actually. He brought me a rose too! SO NICE! I haven't gotten flowers in a really long time!

We have so much fun when we get to go up to Logan! Eliza likes playing with the kids. She really shows her true colors when she can play with other little ones. So, thats what we've been up to....

I Can't Sleep...

2008-11-18T23:40:00.023-07:00

...so I decided to do a random blog. I found this on a blog I was looking at and decided it might be fun. If anyone wants to do this, just go to Google Image search, put in the answer to each question and choose your favorite image from the FIRST set of results. SO FUN!!

MY AGE:

25

A PLACE I'D LIKE TO TRAVEL:

HAWAII

MY FAVORITE PLACE:

BEING WITH THE PEOPLE THAT I LOVE

MY FAVORITE OBJECT:

MY CELL PHONE

MY FAVORITE FOOD:

MEXICAN FOOD

MY FAVORITE ANIMAL:

YES NATE!! I LOVE DOGS! SO, PHOEBE STAYS ;)

MY FAVORITE COLOR:

ELIZA LOOKS SO CUTE IN PINK

THE TOWN WHERE I WAS BORN:

WEST COVINA, CA - LOVELY PLACE ISN'T IT?

A PAST PET:

A PAST LOVE:

I USED TO LOVE SHOPPING, BUT...ITS IN THE PAST NOW. SNIFF SNIFF!

MY BEST FRIEND'S NICKNAME:

MOLLIE'S NICKNAME HAS ALWAYS BEEN "MOLLS"

MY SCREEN NAME:

LAURA2282

MY FIRST NAME:

MY MAIDEN NAME:

MCALLISTER

MY CURRENT LAST NAME:

CAPUA

ONE OF MY BAD HABITS:

I STRESS WAY TOO MUCH! ASK ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME WELL...

MY FIRST JOB:

SERVER AT JER'S PIZZA...SO FUN! :/

MY GRANDMOTHER'S NAME:

DORIS LILLIAN

MY COLLEGE DEGREE:

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW:

BLOGGING...NOW GOING TO BED!

SUNNY PHOENIX

2008-11-11T08:58:00.004-07:00

This weekend Nate and I ditched our cute little kiddos and went on a fun excursion to Phoenix. His sister and brother live down there and Nate wanted to visit them. We stopped at Lake Powell on the way down. I had never been there before so I wanted to see what all the hype was about.

It was really pretty there! I was excited to finally see it. The water was too cold though so we couldn't go swimming. I was a little bit bummed about that.

Once we got to Phoenix we just relaxed. It was a nice break from the norm. Nate and I went hiking on Saturday afternoon. It was only about 80 degrees so it was a great day to be outside!

The rest of the time we hung out with Nate's fun family. We had such a great time! We missed our kids though. Weird huh? HAHA!

Seems like I'm on trips alot doesn't it? I do get to have a ton of fun lately! Its awesome! NEXT STOP: California for Thanksgiving! YAY! I'm so excited!

HELP WITH MY RESEARCH PAPER...

2008-11-10T18:14:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone! So, I'm writing a research paper for my English class. I need a few primary sources which are interviews or questionnaires. I'm hoping some of you would want to help me out and fill out this questionnaire below. It would be greatly appreciated!! OK! So here it goes...

• How do you define loyalty?
• Who are some examples in your life who have helped you determine your definition of loyalty?
• How would you excuse or justify being disloyal if you ever were?
• Who do you consider loyal?
• Who do you consider disloyal?
• Using 5 adjectives, what does marriage mean to you?
• How does it feel when someone close to you is disloyal?

You can send your responses to my email: laura.capua@gmail.com. Thank you so much everyone! You're awesome! Who knows, your quote may be in my research paper. HAHA!

LADIES & GENTLEMEN...

2008-11-04T22:01:00.004-07:00

OUR NEW PRESIDENT...

The Obama Roll! | Funny Jokes at JibJab

...I HOPE THIS "CHANGE" IS FOR THE BETTER!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN Weekend

2008-11-03T20:28:00.005-07:00

This weekend Eliza and I went to Logan so we could hang out with Nate on the kids. It was such a fun time! We went trick or treating around the neighborhood, the kids had lots of candy and they were so adorable in all of their costumes. Kaya was a bat, Aivery was a PERFECT little Tinkerbell and Eliza was a fancy witch. Let me tell ya...finding Miss Eliza's costume was somewhat of an ordeal!!! Ugh! But the night was very fun! I made chili and my parents came up to see the kids trick or treat. The rest of the weekend was full of taking care of kids. Nate and I snuck in a night out on Saturday night. It was so nice to get away for a few minutes. We saw the movie Changeling. Very good movie! Angelina Jolie did a great job! It was kind of a sad story though. Made me appreciate having Eliza! Hope everybody else's Halloween was fun!

MOVIE REVIEW: High School Musical 3

2008-10-28T22:49:00.003-06:00

Yes folks! I did it! I went and saw High School Musical 3. I was very excited about this movie. I pretty much KNEW I would enjoy it. Go ahead! Tease if you must! However, I'm gonna have to say I wasn't all that impressed. I knew it would be cheesy, I mean COME ON! Its a movie about high school kids singing their way thru their adolecense. Not realistic! But, this was BAD cheesy! Like, their were a couple of times when I was embarassed for the people in this movie. The whole movie didn't transition well, the acting was horrific and the songs were not quite as good as the 2nd movie (don't judge me for saying that). Altogether, I feel like I should've waited for it to get to the dollar movie or even till it came to the Disney Channel. Eliza enjoyed the movie quite a bit though. She was dancing, laughing and squealing the whole time. She was the most entertaining part of that 2 hours in the theater. In fact, the last song of the movie (LAME!) she wanted to go down to the front of the theater and dance. SO CUTE! She was twirling and running around. She was very proud of herself. MAN!! That little sweetie is getting so big! I can't believe it! So, that's my review of High School Musical 3. Maybe I'm just getting to OLD for this kind of thing. I am going to be 26 in a couple months (just so you know...that makes me SO sad to say that!) - UGH! Go see it though if you have kids, they would probably enjoy it. They don't know that dancing on a rooftop in the rain, singing to your high school sweetheart isn't realistic. HAHAHAHA!!!

Shall I Explain My Excitement??

2008-10-27T23:32:00.001-06:00

JUST WATCH!!!

TRY IT!!

2008-10-27T23:19:00.000-06:00

You Belong in 1997

With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

WHAT A WEEKEND!!

2008-10-26T22:10:00.002-06:00

This has been quite the weekend BUSY BUSY!! I went to Logan on Thursday morning and helped with Nate's kids. Its so fun to be able to hang out with those cuties all day! I loved it! We carved pumpkins and played! It was a BLAST! Saturday we all got to go to the snow mobiling show in Salt Lake. I have some friends that are big time snowmobilers so we went go see them. They have their own company called Boondockers and they put out videos of them sledding. Its pretty freaking cool! Nate is in the videos as well, so I get all proud. We went to my parents house for the rest of the weekend. It was really fun just hangin out. The kids got to decorate Halloween cookies with my parents so they were pretty stoked. All in all, we had a GREAT weekend!! Now for another busy week...

MY DAUGHTER: The Clepto

2008-10-26T21:51:00.004-06:00

While we were paying for our pumpkins on Thursday night, my daughter turned into a thief! I truly thought I raised her right. Though, she is only 16 months, I may not have covered the fact that stealing is not ok!! Since Kaya and Aivery have come into the picture I have stressed the whole sharing idea. Maybe she just thought that the store should share. I DUNNO!! Anyway...here's the story in a nutshell (apparently, I share too much info on my blog...what do you guys think?). We were standing in line at the checkstand, Nate was paying for the pumpkins. Aivery had been eyeing he candy but we told her that she couldn't have it, MEAN! I KNOW!! Well, Nate finished paying and I looked over at Eliza. She had a little truffle in her hand, NO! Actually...her MOUTH! I was mortified! I didn't know what to do! I really thought about running, WHAT A BAD MOM/PERSON!! Nate got BACK in line to pay for the stupid truffle while I stood there embarassed and Eliza sat there like nothing was out of the ordinary. Looking back, its pretty funny! But at the time, I really just wanted to crawl into a hole. So, thats the sad stry of how my daughter became a criminal. HAHA! Any of you parents out there had an experience like that??

There she is! The criminal with the evidence all over her face and hands!!! GEEZ! You'd think she'd be a little bit more discrete ;) Who raised her anyway??

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And the offender is behind bars! We are all safe from this 16 month old delinquent!!!

Lord of the Ring

2008-10-26T21:20:00.005-06:00

OK! So this story deserved it's very own post. Last Saturday night when we had our bonfire on the beach, Carlos dropped his ring in the fire ring. I saw him do it and he seemed shocked but was trying to remain silent so Mollie didn't realize it. Well, that didn't last very long. Here's the experience in a series of pictures:

After saying a little prayer, Mollie and Alli came across a guy with a metal detector. Though the metal detector isn't what found the ring, the guy gave us a few tips and some tools to look and TA-DA! Alli found it! HOORAY!

MORAL OF THE STORY: PRAY! It works!! HAHA!

Girls' Trip to California

2008-10-25T14:51:00.002-06:00

Alli and I had so much fun in California!! We got to go to Disneyland and spend the day...JUST US! I didn't have to worry about kids. My parents were awesome enough to let me leave Eliza with them for a few days so that I could have a little break. YUP! They are saintly! I bet you all wish you had parents like mine, don't you?? We also got to go see Wicked. I've told you in a previous post how much I love that show! I seriously could go see it all the time if I had the money to do it!!! Saturday we went to the beach, walked around Balboa Island and in the evening my friend Karly came down with her cute dog and we had a bonfire. Carlos lost his wedding ring in the fire. That story deserves a blog post dedicated to just that alone, so look for that soon! On Sunday evening we all went to Carrie Beth's house to hang out and eat dinner. After dinner Carlos turned on TV and we started watching The Ring. I have never wanted to see that movie. I don't like that kind of movie genre. Its not fun to watch, I stress the whole time. Well, Carlos snapped some mighty fine pictures of Carrie Beth and I freaking out. Alli cracked up the whole time. Why is it funny to watch people be miserable, I wonder??? Monday night we came home. We had the best time! I was sad to leave, but excited to get home to see Eliza, Nate and the other kiddos! I missed them! Sorry, this is a brief overview, but I think you all get the point that it was a good time!! Hope all is well!!

Weekend in Idaho

2008-10-13T20:53:00.004-06:00

This weekend Eliza and I went with Nate and the kids up to Pocatello and Idaho Falls, ID to see his family. It was really fun! We went to the Idaho Falls High School football game on Friday. Nate's brother in law is one of the coaches for the team so we went to be supportive. The weather took a turn for the worse and we pretty much FROZE!! It was an exciting game though. Saturday morning we woke up and drove in the SNOW down to Pocatello. That night we went to the Lava Hot Springs with Nate's brother and sister in law. It was a lot of fun! I wasn't what I thought it would be. I thought the hot springs were very rural and natural. They were "natural" but they were like little pools. It was so relaxing. I had a great time! I cannot believe how cold it was in Idaho though. The weather men said it was going to be snowing and everything, but for some reason, I guess I didn't believe them. Eliza and I got home this afternoon. Back to reality I guess, well...until Thursday morning when Alli and I go to CALIFORNIA. Woohoo!

Aivery and Eliza had so much fun on the way up to Idaho. They play so cute together.

When we got home from the hot springs I think Nate was going up to check on the kids and he found Kaya conked out on the stairs. It was so funny!!

Eliza thought it was very interesting to walk around and play in the snow. Obviousley she is not used to such a thing...neither is her mommy!

Nate's parents live in the mountains above Pocatello. They frequently have deer ouring their property. The kids always got so excited when they would see deer around the house. Kaya even saw a rabbit!

On the way home last night the kids were so tired. A weekend not in their own beds, off their schedule completely took a toll. However, atleast one child remained awake the whole way home. CRAZY!!

Very Scary!

2008-10-06T10:25:00.003-06:00

So Friday I headed up to Logan again to help Nate out with his little cuties. Saturday evening Nate and I started on our way down to my house. I was in my car and Nate was behind me in his. I must have been fixing my iPod or something because I didn't notice that Nate wasn't behind me anymore. My phone started ringing...it was Nate. That was weird! He told me that there was just a big wreck and that the truck almost hit him. YIKES!! I immediately got a stomach ache and then turned around. When I got closer I heard sirens and saw this (the picture to the left). I couldn't see Nate or his car. I got super nervous. I finally got to Nate. He had to write a witness report. Apparently Nate was was driving and this big truck that was in the "suicide lane" started coming over into oncoming traffic. Nate got out of the way, thankfully, but the stupid truck clipped the side of another car and then rolled. The kid who was driving the truck acted really suspicious and the police told us that he was being really uncooperative. That was seriously so scary!
The rest of the weekend was really fun! We watched General Conference on Sunday and just hung out. It was a nice, relaxing weekend!!

TAGGED! AGAIN!

2008-10-05T23:09:00.002-06:00

HOW TO PLAY: Go to your pictures and choose the 4th picture from the 4th file and post it!

This is a picture of Mollie and Carlos coming out of the Salt Lake temple right after their sealing. What a special day!!

Thanks Mel!! That was fun!

I TAG: Mollie, Megan, Carly, Morgs, Karly, Kira & Michelle....GO!

IS THERE REALLY ANYTHING BETTER THAN THIS??

2008-10-05T22:24:00.004-06:00

Here are the rest of the pictures Mollie took of Eliza at the "photo shoot" a couple of weekends ago. Is she really not the yummiest baby ever?? I love this little baby!

...More Pictures from My Talented Sister

2008-10-02T16:21:00.002-06:00

TAGGED! All Who Read This...Must Do This!

2008-10-01T00:34:00.002-06:00

1. What is your occupation right now?
**Mommy and student

2. What color are your socks right now?
**Black

3. What are you listening to right now?
**Just the hum of the baby monitor

5. Can you drive a stick shift?
**I could if I had to, but I'm not very good at it.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
**Nate

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
**Of course

8. How old are you today?
**OLD!! 25!!

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
**Well, none really. But if I had to choose...football!

10. What is your favorite drink?
**Diet Pepsi - I need to drink more water though.

11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
**Oh yes! And NOW! After having a child, my hair has turned this awful mousey blonde. GROSS! So to avoid disgusting everyone around me, I do highlights.

12. Favorite food?
**Oh gosh!! I don't know. I guess anything that isn't good for me. HAHA!

13. What is the last movie you watched?
**The Women- it was pretty funny! A little bit inappropriate, but funny still the same. I know! I'm terrible.

14. Favorite day of the year?
**Any day that I get to be with people I care about.

15. How do you vent anger?
**I usually will tell my mom or Alli how I feel and then I get over it. I don't get super angry very often so, this is kind of a hard question to answer.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
**Cabbage Patch Dolls

17. What is your favorite season?
**Depends on where I live. When I lived in California I loved Spring, Florida-winter, but in Utah I like Fall cuz its not too cold and its not too hot.

18. Cherries or Blueberries?
**Oh no! I LOVE both!

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?
**Um...sure!

20. Who is the most likely to respond?
**Mollie probably. Maybe Tifany or Karly.

21. Who is least likely to respond?
**Carly! She doesn't like these things I don't think.

22. Living arrangements?
**Eliza and I live with my parents.

23. When was the last time you cried?
**Oh...its been awhile. I don't cry very often anymore. I kinda feel like its a waste of time.

24. What is on the floor of your closet?
**Shoes

26. What did you do last night?
**Studied, watched "Friends" and talked to Nate

27. What are you most afraid of?
**Losing someone I love and care about, letting someone down and not being good enough.

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
**Plain

29. Favorite dog breed?
**Well, a shih tzu of course!!

30. Favorite day of the week?
**I LOVE the wk ends!!

31. How many states have you lived in?
**I think 5

32. Diamonds or pearls?
**Neither reall. I'm not that fancy.

33. What is your favorite flower?
**I dunno...red roses I suppose.

34. How did you meet the person who sent this to you?
**I actually don't remember...sad huh!

Two Peas in a Pod

2008-09-28T20:52:00.003-06:00

I just needed to take a little minute to talk about my cute neice Megan. She is the SWEETEST 13 yr old I have ever met (well...sometimes!). She's an incredible girl with a very good head on her shoulders. She has strong, valid opinions about life. She reminds me (and my family) a little of myself at her age. She's beautiful inside and out and I am so proud to be her Auntie Laura. Love you Megs!!!

Mystery Pictures!

2008-09-28T20:44:00.004-06:00

I honestly have NO clue where these pictures came from. I might have taken them, but I really do not remember doing it. I think my life has gotten a little bit hectic, what do you think? They are cute pictures, none the less so I needed to post them.

Now this one I KNOW I didn't take!! I just found it on my camera as I was looking through my pictures. It was too funny to not post. HAHA! Sorry Nate! I couldn't help myself. ;)

WHAT FUN!!

2008-09-28T19:14:00.013-06:00

**WARNING!! LONG POST WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN PICTURES!!**

This was such a fun weekend. Thursday, Nate and I went to lunch at Guru's in Provo. I had school after that until about 6:30pm and then I headed up to Salt Lake to a University of Utah girls' volleyball game with my friends Alli and Krista. After the game we went to dinner at Z Tejas at the Gateway. I don't highly recommend that place. It was ok though...good guacamole! Friday, Eliza and I went up to Logan to spend some time with Nate and his kids. It was a blast!! Nate had to work until 4pm so I took all 3 kids to the park. They loved it! Kaya and Aivery especially liked the tire swing. I decided it was time to move onto another part of the park when Kaya said that the spinning was making him sick to his stomach. I didn't really feel like cleaning up throw up. The kids loved the swings and playing in the sandbox. It was so fun! I was glad I was able to spend some time with the kids all together and help Nate out at the same time.

After Nate got home from work, we watched the kids play for a little while and tried to relax. Its a little bit tough we we've got 3 kids running around though. Later that evening we made pizza from scratch. Kaya was so excited about it! He would ask about every 5 minutes after Nate got home, "Can we make pizza NOW?!" We finally gave in. The pizza was pretty good! I didn't think it would actually be that yummy with Pillsbury crust, but it really was!

After dinner, Nate was ready to put the kids to bed. Aivery likes for Nate to lay by her and watch Teletubbies while she falls asleep. Eliza thought that was such a good idea, so she went over to observe what was going on. I had to snap a picture, it was too cute!

I put Eliza down while Nate was getting Kaya to bed. I needed a little bit of relaxation time before I headed back home...a 2 hour drive. Nate and I hung out for a bit and then around 11pm, I got on the road. I was SOOO tired, but I'd had such a good time, I was ok driving.

Saturday morning my sister Carrie Beth and her 2 girls Megan and Madison came in from California. It was so good to see them! I took Madison and Eliza and met Nate, Kaya and Aivery at the Aquarium in Sandy. The kids LOVED looking at the fish! I knew Eliza would like it, but I wasn't sure if the other 3 kids would enjoy looking at a bunch of fish in fancy tanks. They seemed to have a good time though my neice Madison kept saying, "You know Laura, The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach [in CA] is much bigger and better this one." Ahhh! The truthfulness of 7 year olds.

After the aquarium we went and met my parents and Carrie Beth at Gardner's Village. We walked around in the shops. I thought for sure that Kaya would HATE walking around in the shops, but he was a super sport and did GREAT!! So did Nate for that matter ;)! We let the kids watch the ducks and then we had a very yummy dinner at Archibald's Restaurant in Gardner's Village. The kids did so awesome! I promised Kaya if he was so good that we would get him a pumpkin because I thought we could buy one there, so when I went to go buy one I found that you actually COULDN'T buy them, they were just for "show" (DUMB!). He was crushed! I felt terrible!

Nate got Kaya and Aivery ring pops for being so nice while we were there. I thought Aivery's tounge was a crack up so I had to take a picture...Kaya's tounge was equally as green, but he was pretty tired of pictures by the end of the day. HAHA! We had the MOST fun hanging out with my family! I was so glad Nate came down with his kids. A fabulous couple of days!

This afternoon/evening my family and I drove up the Alpine Loop. I actually had never done that before. I'm not good with roads that "loop" so I wasn't all that excited for this little trip. The leaves were changing though and it ended up being such a BEAUTIFUL drive. We stopped at some picnic tables right by Timpanogos and had a picnic. Eliza played by the water - I don't know why that girl loves the water so much! It was a blast!!

I'm not sure if this weekend can be topped! I guess we shall see next week! Hope all is well with everyone! TAKE CARE!!

MOLLIE: Miracle Worker

2008-09-24T23:36:00.003-06:00

So...here's a couple of pictures that Mollie took of Eliza and me. They are amazing!! She could take the ugliest person alive and make them look fabulous! THANKS MOLLS!!

Is Eliza's beenie not the cutest thing????

Explaining "Dream Come True" Post

2008-09-23T21:44:00.003-06:00

I saw this on a friend's blog and I thought it would be fun to do. Everyone who knows me, knows that I consider Zac Efrom my "inappropriate crush." I have liked him since he was in the first HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL movie. I think he was like 16 yrs old in that one, so thats why I label my crush on him as "inappropriate." Watch the video below and just think about how excited I would be if this was REALLY me. HAHAHA! ENJOY!!

Dream Come True!!

2008-09-23T21:41:00.001-06:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Just Needed to Show Off My Sweet Little Girl

2008-09-23T13:19:00.004-06:00

THIS PICTURE IS ON MOLLIE'S PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG, BUT I NEEDED TO PUT IT ON MINE TOO!!

HOW CUTE IS SHE...I MEAN, REALLY!!!????

No Pictures...SORRY!

2008-09-22T12:13:00.003-06:00

Hello All! I don't have pictures for this post. I was very lame and didn't take any on my camera. SORRY! Eliza got to spend a lot of time with her dad this week. He was here for his brother Chris's wedding. I attended that reception on Wednesday night in Sundance. It was a beautiful reception and it was nice to see some of my old friends. I'm so happy for Chris and Azy!! Friday Nate came down from Logan so we went with Phatty, Alli and Mollie to dinner at Ruth's Diner in Salt Lake. It was so much fun! After dinner we headed back to Phatty's place to watch a movie. We watched "Baby Mama." I don't know why, but that movie cracks me up. Saturday morning Nate and I attended the funeral of one of his former co-worker's baby. The baby was exactly one year to the day younger than Eliza. He had a heart condition that could not be treated so he passed away. The funeral was so inspirational. I don't know if that's a very appropriate way to describe such a sad occasion, but it really humbled me. I think so often we take for grantid how healthy our kids are. It made me really think about how grateful I am for my daughter and the fact that she is healthy. Another thing that touched me was the enthusiasm of this little boy's family. They KNOW they will see their sweet little boy again, and he will be healthy. Seriously! What an amazing thing. It again made me feel so blessed to know of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. No matter what happens here on earth, if we live righteously, we get to be with the people we love most in this world for eternity. How awesome is that?! It gives me such a good and peaceful feeling to know that the Lord loves me and only wants me to be happy.
After the funeral, Nate and I headed up to Logan. We went to lunch and then just hung out and relaxed all day. It was so much fun!! I missed Eliza so much but I knew she was enjoying time with her dad.
Mollie was the photographer for Chris and Azy's wedding so she got to stay up here for the weekend. Sunday we went up to downtown Lehi and took some pictures. Alli came down and Mollie got some beautiful pictures of her and her sister Emily. I wanted some of Eliza and I. Eliza had more of the idea of running around instead of taking pictures but we ended up getting some very cute ones. I'm excited to post those in a couple of weeks.
I had such a fun weekend!! Now its back to reality and studying. SO SAD! Carrie Beth, Megan and Madison are coming up on Friday so I'm really looking forward to that. Hope all is well with everyone!!

All I Can Say is...SO MUCH FUN!!

2008-09-13T23:40:00.007-06:00

**WARNING!! LOTS OF PICTURES!!**

I have had THE best weekend!! Seriously, I feel so lucky to have such fun friends. I get to do the most exciting things. Things I never thought that I would be able to do. It's so awesome! Friday afternoon I met my friend Nate for lunch. Then Friday night I headed BACK up to Salt Lake for Alli's "girls" birthday dinner. We went to Baxter's American Grille. It was pretty yummy! They had the most amazing onion rings. YUMMY!! AND! The most delectable chocolate dessert. HEAVEN! After that we went and saw the movie "The Women." Pretty sure you all can skip that one. I thought it was ok. Not worth $8 though. It was such a great night!! I love hanging out with the girlies.

Today Eliza and I headed up to Logan to hang out with Nate and his 2 kids Kaya (4 1/2) and Aivery (2 1/2). They were so adorable! We played in the backyard, colored, ate at McDonalds and then went to a little pond by Utah State University to feed the ducks. The kids loved it! I had so much fun watching everyone. As I have said in previous posts, Eliza LOVES water! So she went straight for it. A few minutes into feeding the ducks she decided to sit down in the water...FULLY CLOTHED!! It was pretty cute! I just took her pants of and let her go with a diaper and a shirt. Kaya and Aivery had so much fun! Those 2 are the funnest kids! I'm so glad Eliza got a chance to play with them. When we came back to the house, I put Eliza down for a nap, the other 2 played outside and Nate and I watched a movie. I LOVE the movie "The Breakup" as does Nate so we watched as much as we could but ended up falling asleep for a few minutes here and there. It was such a fun day...its been such a GREAT weekend!!

VOTE FOR MY TALENTED SISTER!!

2008-09-10T23:26:00.003-06:00

Ok EVERYONE! Its time to do what comes natural...support quality workmanship and a worthy cause. My sweet sister Mollie, as many of you know, is a fabulously talented creative photographer in California. She puts a fresh look on people's memories that no one has thought of. I'm not promoting her because she's my sister, I'm doing it because she is the best in the business. I'm not sure you could find another person out their with more heart and raw talent than her. She's AMAZING!!

Below is the information you need from Mollie HERSELF. She is truly brilliant! But, don't take my word for it. Click here and be prepared to be to be absolutely mystified. Really! Do it! And then follow the instructions below and go VOTE!!

Hi everyone,

I have a favor to ask of you. I am on the Fox LA website and they are having a contest for the Best of LA. I am, obviously, going for the best wedding photographer in LA. If I could win this or even come in the top 3 or 5 it would be HUGE HUGE HUGE for my business. Pretty much I would be set. Photographers that win, their business' BOOM!! It is based on votes, so all I would need for you to do is login and vote for me. Right now, I am tied for FIRST! That is crazy to me, but voting just started yesterday, so we have a while to go.

What you do is:

1. Go to

http://myfoxla.cityvoter.com/mollie-jane-photography/biz/118117

2. Click on vote.

3. This will take you to an area where you will create a username and enter your email, birth year and gender and zip code.

4. After you click sign up and vote it will tell you to check your email.

5. You will have an email from myfoxla HOTLIST Accounts. You will just click on the link where it says "To complete your registration, please click on the link below:"

6. That will say vote confirmed. If you want you can write a comment, but I don't think you have to. But if you click on the button you can see my standings.

I just checked and I am still in first, but a Kimberlee Miller is sneaking up! AHHHH!

It only takes a minute, I promise.

VOTE FOR ME! VOTE FOR ME! VOTE FOR ME!

Thanks so much!

Mollie

Alli's Birthday Weekend Get-a-Way!!

2008-09-08T14:53:00.003-06:00

Friday night Phatty, Alli, Emily, Melissa, Krista and I all headed up to Rexburg, ID. It was Alli's birthday wish to go to Jackson Hole, so we granted it. We stayed at her grandma's house in Rexburg on Friday night and then headed to Jackson Hole in the early afternoon. We had a BLAST! We took some pretty pictures at a designated "picture spot" that showed a beautiful view of the Tetons. We went on to Jackson and went on the Alpine Slide. I remember going on that when I was a kid. It was so fun! And being with such an awesome group of friends made it even more great!! Phatty and Krista HAD to head back for the University of Utah/University of North Las Vegas game. Silly college football fans! HAHA! After they left we went to Bubba's BBQ for lunch. It was heavenly! We then went shopping around Jackson Hole. It really is an overly expensive place, but the atmosphere and the weather was so nice! One funny story. Kinda shows how dumb I can be sometimes. In the pictures in the slideshow, you can see us taking pictures with a stuffed buffalo. Well, I walked up to it and said, "Hey Alli! Lets take a picture in front of the moose!" Everybody looked at me. I couldn't figure out WHY everybody was staring at me, but then Alli said, "Laura, did you just call that a 'moose'?" I looked over at it, still wondering what was so wrong with my question. I then realized it was a buffalo and I quickly said, "No, I mean the buffalo." In my defense, I had just seen a moose stuffed animal, ALRIGHT!? HAHA! On our way home from Jackson that evening we were contemplating what we were going to do the rest of the night. When we got back to Alli's grandma's house, there were sloppy joes waiting for us. They were so yummy! Alli's mom and grandma were so hospitable. It was so nice! After dinner we headed out to our friend's little party and ran into some people that Alli knew from when she went to BYU-Idaho. We decided to go 4 wheeling at the sand dunes. By this time it was 11pm, but we were so excited! Going 4 wheeling was THE BEST decision we made all weekend. It was SOOO much fun! I'd never really done EXTREME 4 wheeling before, but it was AWESOME!! I want to go again really soon! So, that was our weekend. We had the best time ever! I'm so glad that we went. Thanks for the most awesome weekend ever Alli! Happy Birthday!!

THANKS MOM & DAD!

2008-09-08T14:00:00.004-06:00

I just need to take a little time to tell my mom and dad "thank you!" Honestly, without their love and support, adjusting to this new part of my life would have been a nightmare. They have made the transition very smooth. I'm not sure I can express my appreciation enough. They take Eliza while I'm at school and when I'm with my friends. They allow me a life outside of being a mom. Even though I make being Eliza's mom my #1 priority in my life, they help me so I don't go insanely NUTS! I truly could NOT ask for better parents. I have the best family ever! So, THANK YOU Mom and Dad! You are SAINTLY! You make my life! LOVE YOU BUNCHES!!

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ELIZA

2008-09-08T13:46:00.004-06:00

I LOVE spending my days with Eliza. Recently those days have become very eventful and some what exhausting. Here are some pictures to kind of give you some justification to my the word "exhausting."

WAKE UP!! Time for a bottle.

She loves getting into purses. No one's belongings are never safe from my little one.

See what I mean?!

It's hard to tell this sweet face "No!"

Q-Tip in the ears

She always wants to do make-up with Mommy. I fear I've created a Primadonna. OH DEAR!

Bathtime! That means almost BEDTIME!!

Can you all kind of see where I'm coming from when I say "exhausting" now? But, no matter how tired I am at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade the day's events for ANYTHING! I love this little girl, messes and all ;) !!

An Amazing Year!

2008-09-01T13:02:00.000-06:00

BACK TO SCHOOL!

2008-08-27T18:49:00.002-06:00

I started school today. I only had 2 of my 5 classes, but I can already tell that this semester is going to kick my behind. My history class is requiring me to read "1776" and write a book review about how I felt about it. I can already tell you, I'm going to HATE this book! BOO! And then I also have to write another paper on my perspective of both presidential candidates. That assignment I think I might enjoy. I have been wanting to learn more about Obama and McCain but have never had the time. Now I HAVE to! My math class is supposedly easy, but that subject is so hard for me for some reason. I could write a paper in my sleep, but ask me to figure out the simplest long division and I get so stressed out. My teacher seems nice though so hopefully he will be willing to help me.

My mom and dad are so nice to watch Eliza in the evenings. Tuesday and Thursday I have classes during the day so John's mom has offered to take her on Tuesdays and my awesome friend Lisa will watch her on Thursdays. I have such great friends and family! I am so grateful to everyone that has been willing to help me so that I can get my degree. Thank you SO MUCH!!

I HAVE A CONFESSION

2008-08-26T20:37:00.004-06:00

OK! So my confession is this...I think I'm in love with the Jonas Brothers. What is my problem?! I am 25 years old and I love teen idols that my little nieces love. Why is that so wrong to me? I mean, seriously! I don't think any of them are over 18. Joe, the one that I think is the cutest was born in 1989. This is so wrong! GEEZ! First Zac Efron and now the Jonas Brothers? I think I need some help. I do like their songs though. I downloaded them onto my iPod. OK! That doesn't sound any better. I think I'm a lost cause. Oh well! So I like teen idols...what's new?

A FUN DAY AT THE AQUARIUM & THE COSGRAVES

2008-08-26T20:00:00.004-06:00

Today we went to the aquarium up in Salt Lake. It was nothing like the Monteray Bay Aquarium in Northern California, but for Utah, it was pretty fun. Eliza loved looking at the fishies. We went with my friend Sara and her cute little boy Miles. We started the day out with lunch at yummy Los Hermanos and then headed to the aquarium. I bought a membership so that we could go back. I'm glad I did because it will be a good place to go every once in awhile for an hour or so. Eliza seemed to really enjoy looking at all the fish. She also really loved pushing the stroller, almost, it seemed, more than looking in the fish tanks. Miles was a trooper. He loves the sharks and the sting rays (I think that's what they were). Eliza wasn't too sure about the sting rays, but she liked splashing in the water. It was cute! We had a lot of fun! I'm glad that we went! I love hanging out with Sara. She's such a fun girl! She's been in the position I am in right now in life, so its kind of nice to bounce thoughts off of her. She's pregnant with twins, as you can see in the pictures, she looks AMAZING!

A little bit later today, Eliza and I stopped by my friend Jessie's house. She was my friend in Florida and just moved back out to Utah. I am really so excited! I went over to see how her house was as she is in the process of moving in. It looks great! She's so creative and has such an amzing eye for home decorating. We played with the kids. After Eliza got over her fear of the unfamiliar environment, she enjoyed hanging out with the Cosgrave kiddos.

ELIZA & JOCELYN HAD A LITTLE KID ARGUMENT ABOUT WHO GOT TO PLAY ON THE SLIDE.

ELIZA THOUGHT THE SLIDE WAS A PRETTY FUN NEW TOY

COOPER, ELIZA & JOCELYN...BY THE END OF THE WAGON RIDE ELIZA WAS SITTING NEXT TO COOPER AND HE HAD HIS ARM AROUND HER. CUTEST THING EVER! THEY REALLY ARE MEANT TO BE ;)

JESSIE HAD TO CHASE THE BABIES AROUND WHILE I TOOK THIS PICTURE. COOPER THOUGHT HE WAS SO FUNNY RUNNING AWAY FROM HIS MOMMY.

WHAT A FUN DAY!! I LOVE MY LITTLE BABY GIRL! AND...I REALLY DO HAVE SUCH GREAT FRIENDS!!

Just Some Very Cute Pictures of My Little Cutie

2008-08-25T20:39:00.001-06:00

i mean seriously...

...is she not the cutest thing you have ever seen?

Finishing Out the Summer with One Last Trip to California

2008-08-25T18:30:00.010-06:00

Well folks! Once again, we went on a trip to California. We had the BEST time! Eliza did very well on the plane. My friend Alli came with us and was so helpful that the trip down went so smooth. Thanks Alli!! We went down on Saturday morning. Unfortunatly, I had a little bit of the flu so I felt like garbage, but on Sunday I was feeling better but still a tad yucky. All was gone on Monday morning when we left for Sand Diego.

ELIZA LOVES TO READ BOOKS. SHE LOOKED VERY INTO READING HER BOARD BOOK...LIKE SHE WAS READING A NOVEL OR SOMETHING. HAHA!

Alli, Eliza and I left early, early to go down to my friend Megan's house. Megan was so nice to let us stay with her so we didn't have to drive home late Monday night. When we got to Megan's, we got all of stuff together and headed to Sea World. I hadn't been since I was a kid and Alli hadn't been ever, so we were excited! It still smelled the same as I remembered it. Fishy! Eliza LOVED every minute of Sea World. All of the ocean animals were so fascinating to her. She growled and barked depending on the animal. I think the seals were her favorite because they came right next to her behind the glass. We really had the best time! I'm so glad that we decided to go there.

MEGAN, THE KIDDOS & I IN FRONT OF THE FLAMINGOS. THEY REALLY ARE PRETTY BIRDS.

ELIZA LOVED THE SEALS AND THEY REALLY LOVED HER TO. THEY CAME RIGHT UP TO HER. SO SWEET!

ME, ELIZA, MEGAN, RYAN & ALLI IN THE "SHARK ENCOUNTER" EXHIBIT

ALL OF US WAITING FOR THE DOLPHIN SHOW TO START. ELIZA THOUGHT THE DOLPHINS WERE SO FUN. WHEN SHE WASN'T GETTING INTO OUR BAGS, SHE WAS POINTING AND BARKING.

ALLI & I RIGHT BEFORE WE WENT ON THE WATER RIDE. I THINK IT WAS CALLED "JOURNEY TO ATLANTIS."

ALLI & I RIGHT AFTER "JORNEY TO ATLANTIS." UM...WE LITERALLY HAD A BUCKET OF WATER DUMPED ON US BEFORE WE WENT DOWN A HILL OF WATER AND WERE SPLASHED WITH ANOTHER LOAD OF WATER. LOVELY! IT WAS REFRESHING THOUGH. ;)

MOMMY & ELIZA WATCHING SHAMU SWIM AROUND

OH REALLY!! HOW SWEET IS THAT?!

RYAN & ELIZA IN THE POLAR BEAR CAVE

I THINK RYAN WAS MORE INTERESTED IN ELIZA'S HAIR THEN WITH THE POLAR BEAR. ELIZA COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT SHE WAS SEEING.

Later that night, Megan was so nice to watch Eliza and Alli and I went to Old Town San Diego. We went to the Whaley House which is supposedly one of the most haunted places in America. I saw no ghosts. I left somewhat relieved, but a little disappointed at the same time. After the Whaley House we went on a ghost tour around Old Town with a paranormal investigator. Again, no ghosts. We went into a cemetary though and let me tell you! I will NOT do that again. Way to creepy! The next day we went to this very cute little restaurant down by the beach called The Cottage. It was so very yummy. I got french toast with strawberries and whipped cream. DELICIOUS!! Eliza even had homemade oatmeal with brown sugar and pears. She seemed to like it. She is not a very good eater on vacation, so its hard to tell. After breakfast, we went to the beach. How relaxing! I love to just lay on the beach.

ODE TO THE BEACH!! ESPECIALLY SAN DIEGO BEACHES. AHH! THE LIFE!!

SO MUCH FUN!

On Wednesday it was my neice Megan's 13th birthday. I honestly CANNOT believe she is 13. It makes me so old. She, Alli and I went shopping for some clothes for her and then went to lunch. My sister Carrie Beth made some yummy cupcakes and we had a little bit of dinner and then headed back to Mollie's to put Eliza down. She was so tired from our excursion to San Diego. Thursday Mollie, Alli and I went to Universal Studios. I hadn't been there since my senior year in high school. I remember I went there instead of Prom. I still do not regret that decision. We had the best time! We went on all the rides. My sister was nice enough to take Eliza for the day so that the 3 of us would be free to wonder around Universal Studios. Thanks CB and kids! Alli left Thursday night to go home and go back to work. The vacation calmed down then. I was pooped! We rushed and rushed all over the place so I was excited for a relaxing next couple of days. Friday I went to lunch with my friend Tifany and then came back to Carrie Beth's and relaxed.

RED CARPET SISTERS

AFTER THE SIMPSONS' RIDE. NOT REALLY ALL THAT FUN. MADE ME SICK!

THE 3 OF US WITH ZORRO. I THOUGHT ZORRO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HOT! NOT SO MUCH THIS ONE. I WAS A LITTLE BIT DISAPPOINTED. ;)

RIDING THE STAR WAY DOWN TO THE LOWER PART OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Saturday was my neice Megan's "friend party." Later in the afternoon Mollie, Tifany and I went to my friend Daniel's wedding reception in Lancaster while Eliza's dad took her to the San Diego Zoo. Daniel and his new wife Heather are the cutest couple! I've known Daniel since we were kids in Rancho Cucamonga. We actually went to Homecoming together, just as friends, but he was always just a very sweet guy. Heather is so sweet as well. I've only met her a couple of times but she is just an amazing girl. She has a "princess voice." She could totally be Cinderella at Disneyland.

IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHO TOOK THEIR PICTURES...IT WAS MY CUTE, TALENTED SISTER, MOLLIE! WWW.MOLLIEJANEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

I really had the best time in California but I am so glad to be home. I start school on Wednesday so I have so much to do to get everything in order. I'm taking Eliza to the aquarium tomorrow with my friend Sara and her little boy Miles to have one last really FUN day before I get busy with school. I will post pictures of that tomorrow if I have time. Hope everyone got their last "Summer Hoorahs" in! I would love to hear about them!

TAKE CARE!!

MySpace & Facebook

2008-08-22T23:46:00.002-06:00

I have decided today that I dispise MySpace! So, I deleted my account. I know, this might be uninteresting to some people, but I think MySpace is from the Devil HIMSELF!! I've had some very crappy experiences on there which give me really bad memories, so...I've decided to get out of the YUCK! I like Facebook a lot better. I can keep in touch with people and not have to deal with the filth that is MySpace. Hooray! I'm so glad I made this decision. I feel so much better already. HAHA! Alright! Go back to your busy lives and forget my silly random comment.

CAMPING, well...not really

2008-08-21T22:50:00.004-06:00

A few of us went up American Fork canyon last Friday to have a little bonfire. Everyone except Alli and I stayed to camp, but since we had to catch a plane the next morning, we got to go home that night to get a good night's rest so that we would be all ready for our vacation to California the next day. I dodged camping once again. Everyone thinks I need to learn how to camp though, so we have an actual camping trip planned in 2 weeks. YAY!

We rode 4 wheelers, ate s'mores, hot dogs, bratwursts, dutch oven raspberry cobbler (YUMMIEST THING EVER!!) and I had a couple bites of a chicken tin foil dinner. It was super fun to just hang out with new people. I am in California right now. I will be home Sunday and I will post lots and lots of fun pictures! TAKE CARE!!

PHATTY & ALLI RIDING THE 4-WHEELER

PHATTY & ME

THE SMOKE FROM THE FIRE FOLLOWED ME EVERYWHERE I WENT. UGH! I SMELLED DISGUSTING BY THE TIME THE NIGHT WAS OVER. CAN YOU SEE THE GROSE SMOKE?

A PHENOMENAL WOMAN

2008-08-14T17:19:00.003-06:00

This week has been a week of contemplation for me. I am so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; to have the knowledge that I have of this amazing, fully restored Gospel. I love that I know that no matter what happens here on Earth, if I live faithfully and obediently to the Lord's commandments, I can have an eternal family. I am comforted to know that life is just a moment and that there is so much more after death. What a blessing!

On Sunday night my sister Mollie called me and told me that our friend Amber had passed away. I was immediatly devastated. I couldn't breathe. Amber was an amazing person; only 25 yrs old. She was genuinley kind and considerate. I loved her the second I met her over 7 yrs ago at the BYU/U of U baseball game. She made you feel like you were the only person that mattered when she would be around you. She was an AMAZING mother; a FABULOUS wife! Not only that, but her faith in the Savior was apparent in everything she did. She radiated light and optimism. I look up to her more than anyone. Her husband Trevor is equally as special. Talk about a power couple! Their love story is timeless! They were so happy and in love, even after 2 kids, under 3 yrs old and 7 yrs of marriage. What an inspiration! Her death is a huge loss to so many people. At her funeral this afternoon I found that everyone felt the way I do about Amber (and Trevor). She is so loved and adored by many! I feel very blessed to have had her touch my life. She will be a part of my heart forever. She will be missed tremendously, but never forgotten.

"GORGEOUS!!"

2008-08-11T16:35:00.003-06:00

ALRIGHT! Eliza has officially reached "girly girly" status. She loves to sit and watch me do my make up in the mornings (or afternoons - whenever I have time to get ready). She also like to pretend that she's doing her own make up as well. It's pretty cute! Then on Saturday I was getting ready to go out. Eliza saw my necklace and immediatly wanted it. I tried to distract her with something else, but...what Eliza wants, Eliza gets sometimes (I am in so much trouble!). I finally gave in and put it around her neck. She wanted to see herself in the mirror so I lifted her up. I said to her, "Oh Eliza! You look gorgeous!" in a very dramatic, exaggerated tone while throwing my head back to make this situation an even bigger deal. Eliza started doing the same thing. She also (I don't know where she got this from) flipped her invisible hair with her hands and said, "Mama! Gis-gis!" She continued to repeat this the entire time she had my necklace on. Needless to say, she was less than pleased when it was time for me to leave and I needed my necklace back. I did a quick trade with another necklace and she seemed somewhat appeased. So then yesterday she wanted my necklace and my bracelet again. When I gave it to her she wanted to look in the mirror. When I took her to the mirror she flipped her "hair" and threw her head back and said, "Oh Mama! Gis-gis!" My family and I cracked up! What a funny baby! I remembered that I had a little baby necklace that my friend Jessie gave me for my baby shower before Eliza was born. I got it out and put it on her. She was more than thrilled! Today she has needed it on all day. She walks around the house saying, "Gis-gis!" I put the bracelet that matches the necklace on her and that made her even more excited. It doesn't quite stay on because her wrists are too tiny but she carries it around anyway saying her new favorite word: "Gis-gis!" My dad said, "Oh Eliza! You look so pretty!" when she walked into his room and waited for a compliment but when he said that Eliza quickly corrected him, "NO! Gis-gis!" Oh dear! I'm a little bit worried, but pretty entertained at the same time. HAHA!

FUN NIGHT OUT!

2008-08-11T00:09:00.003-06:00

On Friday night I went and hung out with some of my friends in Salt Lake. We went to the Salt Lake County Fair and watched the Demolition Derby. I've never seen one before so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but it was a lot of fun! There were lots of interesting people to watch at the fair. LOVED IT!!

Me, Emily, Fatty, Alli & Fatty's friend (YIKES! I forgot his name)

After the Demolition Derby we went to Johnny Carino's. Mollie met us there after her wedding shoot. It was a lot of fun to sit, eat, chat and laugh! Good times! I was very naughty as far as my diet goes though. I think I was just starving though after not eating for a month that I actually HAD to eat or I was going to shrivel up and die. OK! That's a little bit of an exageration, but I was really hungry. I've only had that happen a couple of times during this very long month, so I think I've done pretty well. YAY ME!

Melissa, Emily, Alli, Me, Mollie & Christa. SO MUCH FUN! YUMMY FOOD!

BOOK REVIEW: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

2008-08-09T10:17:00.005-06:00

Alright! I am officially in the deepest depression of my life. How can it be that I am finished with the Twilight series? What am I going to do when I'm doing cardio at the gym? What am I going to read before I go to bed at night? It's the saddest day!! That being said, I have to say, this book was truly the best one of the series! Naturally, it being the last one, it should be, but this was more than I expected. All of the other ones took just a little bit of time to get into. This one was a non-stop action, love story with amazing family dynamics throughout the entire book. I was impressed with the way the love triangle between Edward, Bella and Jacob worked itself out. I was a tad bit surprised (you will understand when you read it), but all together warm and fuzzy. The beginning was a little bit bizarre but entertaining all the same. I just really loved this book. Now, I'm back to reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Its been a little bit hard to get into thats why I didn't finish it before I started Breaking Dawn (I was much too excited!). But, I'm going to stick with it and I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend Breaking Dawn to adults. It's a tad bit to mature -in my opinion- for YOUNG adults or younger, but I'm sure you all can make the call for your own kids. I was going to get the whole series for my neice for her 13th birthday, but it's just a little bit much for her sweet, innocent little mind. BUT! I loved every aspect of it! I can't say it enough!

Eliza's New Sandals

2008-08-07T18:44:00.003-06:00

When I was a kid, I always had a pair of Salt Water Sandals. I swore my kids would always have a pair, however my cute little Eliza was never fond enough of shoes in general for me to spend a huge amount of money on them for her. Well, she's walking now and so she actually has to have shoes at this point. Though she has been walking, she's still pretty wobbly. I talked to my sister Carrie Beth and she said that I should invest in Salt Water Sandals now, because her kids learned to walk while wearing them. I honestly think they are the cutest things so I immediatly went online and ordered some. I pretty much choked when I put my credit card information in the computer. Its not very often that I buy something that expensive for my one year old, but I bit the bullet and did it anyway. I LOVE them and she is loving them as well! They may be ugly to some of you, but they are truly a past time for me so it's only natural that I would pass my past time down to my daughter. PLUS! She seems to feel more sturdy in them and so she has been walking around more and more. SO FUN! I love all the little milestones lately. AND! I love her sandals!

Thank you for my Salt Water Sandals Mommy!!

I will show them off to EVERYONE!!

My View of the Gym

2008-08-06T11:45:00.002-06:00

OK! So this passed week I have decided to keep myself and my body where I want, I need to go to the gym 5 times a week. I have really learned to love my 1/2 hr on the treadmill and then another 1/2 hr of weight lifting. Its hard, but I know that I will be pleased with the results. I already am! HOORAY! That being said, there is something that really drives me nuts about the gym. Today especially I noticed how ridiculously vain people are. They come to the gym looking hot and then just walk around waiting for another hot person to wallk up and talk to them. Its so annoying to me! Then they continue to check themselves out in the mirror. What is that all about?! I guess to each his own, but honestly, is the gym somewhere to find someone or keep yourself healthy? I guess it all confuses me because I actually wear CLOTHES to the gym, and my priority is to get into shape, not check guys out or be checked out. Whatever! That's just my gripe. HAHA! Ridiculous, I know!

My Sweet Little Puppies

2008-08-06T11:32:00.002-06:00

So those of you who are frequent viewers of my blog know that Eliza and Phoebe are best friends. They share everything...even their toys. Well, just recently (as of yesterday) Eliza has stepped up her version of "sharing toys." Just so you all know, I didn't allow this to happen much longer than to take pictures and laugh for a few minutes. Eliza has decided to copy Phoebe's way of playing and carrying things around in her mouth. You think that's funny? Well, Phoebe isn't thrilled with the idea of Eliza wandering around on hands and knees with her toys in her mouth. Yesterday she decided to challenge Eliza by trying to reclaim her toys out of Eliza's mouth. It ended up in a tug of war; Phoebe was growling and Eliza was cracking up. It was pretty entertaining, so obviousley I had to grab my camera. Just so you all know, I took the toy away from Eliza right after I finished taking pictures.

Later that night, after a long playing session and stress, Phoebe was POOPED! While my family was in the living room just chatting after Eliza had gone to bed I looked at Phoebe and this is what I saw. How funny is that! Poor little puppy, having to deal with silly little Eliza. HAHA!

TAGGED!

2008-08-04T21:40:00.002-06:00

How To Play This Game of Tag:
Post these rules on your blog
List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post.

JOYS
1. Eliza
2. Being a mommy
3. My family and friends

FEARS
1. Losing the people I love
2. Not being good enough
3. Ghosts

GOALS
1. Be a good mom
2. Be a GREAT wife (someday) and mom
3. Finish school

CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS
1. The "Twilight" series
2. Getting my body back to better than pre-Eliza (yes! I will blame my body on Eliza and the rest of my kids as long as I live...its my right as a mother HAHA!)
3. Trying to manage my money correctly

RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME
1. I love, love, love Disneyland and I'm not afraid to brag about it!
2. I use humor to get out of uncomfortable conversations or situations
3. NOTHING is more important to me than having a family!

NOW I TAG: Kira, Alli, Mollie, Melanie & Tifany!!

Hazards of a Walking Child & Yummy Cheesecake!

2008-08-04T19:44:00.005-06:00

On Saturday evening Eliza was so glad to be out of the car and home after dinner that she turned into a maniac. A funny maniac I have to add. She zoomed up the first flight of stairs onto the landing that led to the other flight of stairs. She reached for the rungs on the banister so that she could stand up and do kind of a "neener! neener! neener!" thing, however, she missed and banged the right side of her face on a rung. She was devastated for a little minute but she is a busy little girl and there really was no time for feeling sorry for herself apparently. I felt terrible though! It was immediatly bruised! I wanted to cry! My mom felt equally, if not more terrible because she had been the one coming after Eliza to play when it happened. Ugh! The hazards of pre-toddlers! The bruise was worse than the picture yesterday. It was all the way up close to her eye. People at church just kept looking at her, only a couple of brave people asked what happened. I wanted to get up and bear my testimony in sacrament meeting about what happened so that everybody would know and all the old ladies would stop looking at me like I was some neglectful mother. Did their kids not ever have falls? No? Just mine? Alrighty then! I hate it when Eliza hurts herself for a couple of reasons. 1) My poor little cutie gets hurt! It makes me so sad that I couldn't do anything for her; that I wasn't fast enough! And 2) Like I said, people look at you like you should have done something. WAH! You can't win as a parent, I'm convinced! She's doing great though, she doesn't even notice it. Just me and my sweet sister Mollie who continues to say, "G'all Laura! It looks like its getting worse!" REAL NICE!

OK! So it doesn't look quite as bad in the pictures, but it really is sad looking. Poor Little Baby!

Before the tragedy of Saturday evening everything was just peachy! We went with Carly to the Layers Clothing sale in the morning that wasn't all that great, but it was still fun. Later we went to lunch with Vicky (Mamaw), Carly and cute Jude at Cheesecake Factory. For those of you who know me, you know I LOVE going out to eat, however, it just isn't as glamourous when I have to have stupid salads with low calorie dressing all the time. GRR! I had an herb crusted salmon salad with balsamic dressing (lo-cal). It was actually pretty yummy! After lunch was finished, Carly ordered cheesecake. I was so sad, but Eliza enjoyed it for me. She was obsessed! She wanted to get every bit off of the fork. It was hilarious! When we left the Cheesecake Factory, we headed up to Chris and Azy's cute little apartment. They are getting married next month. The apartment was adorable. Very much their style! Wood floors, original hardware on the doors. It was the cutest! It made me very jealous! I wanted so badly to have my own place. One day! We had a very fun day! Eliza performed perfectly! She's such a funny baby...I mean, little girl!

BOOK REVIEW: Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

2008-07-31T18:49:00.002-06:00

Alright everyone! I decided to finish Eclipse due to the fact that the next book in the Twilight series is coming out on Saturday morning and also the fact that I happen to be completely in love, unrealistically with Edward Cullen (I CAN do that, ya know!). This love story had my heart beating fast the whole time I read it. The beginning was a tad bit slow, however when it got moving, it didn't stop. I was literally at the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading. I didn't want to stop. I think Eliza might feel a little bit neglected at this point. Poor little girl! She will understand one day! I could totally picture everything that was going on. Thanks to the cast of the new characters for the Twilight movie being revealed, I finally had a clear picture as to what they looked like. Before that, my ideas kept changing as I would watch a show or see a picture in a magazine. I would think to myself, "Oh that guy would make a GREAT Edward!" or "That girl would be perfect if she played Bella!" I know, its very sad, but these books have consumed me. I want a love story like that! Where is MY Edward?! HAHA! OK! That was a teensy bit cheesy, but I will have to admit, I thought that a couple of times as I was reading the books. Eclipse was truly excellent! I read it in about 5 days, it would have been shorter had I not had to sleep or be a mom, both things that are essential and I enjoy. Eating these days doesn't seem to be ESSENTIAL because of my diet (that is working, by the way), so I didn't really have to stop reading for that. I absolutely loved this book! I loved all three! I can't wait till Saturday to start reading Breaking Dawn! Until then, I will be reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer as well. I am officially back into reading! It's my escape from my crazy life. What kind of books do you guys enjoy? I thouroughly enjoy books like the Twilight series. Suspensful mysteries with a little bit of CLEAN romance. So much fun!

Cute Pictures of Eliza, SHE'S WALKING!! & My Testimony of Isagenix

2008-07-26T20:54:00.004-06:00

Hello Everyone! Just thought I would post some really cute pictures of Eliza. She has turned into the funniest baby lately! I mean, she's always been funny, but now she KNOWS it and so she hams it up whenever she can. She cackles, squints her nose and eyes. It's really just hysterical! With Isagenix I have to have 2 shakes a day that I mix in the blender. She always acts so surprised even when she knows its coming. She opens here mouth really wide and sometimes lets out a little gasp or squeal. I have yet to get my camera to take a picture in time, but when I do I will be sure and post it. These are just some really cute, random that I've taken this week. She is so FUN!!

Eliza sitting in her little rocking chair, rocking her babies (that was supposed to be her "time-out" chair...so much for that!!

Eliza has learned to climb under this bar stool. Its so cute! To get out she tries to do limbo underneath the wrung in front of her. It's hilarious because she thinks she is so funny!!

This is her little sad lip, or...her kissing lip. If she's sad she pouts her little mouth and if she wants to give a kiss, she does pretty much the same thing. Unfortunatly, its usually only the dog and her stuffed animals that get the luxury of a smooch from Eliza.

Some FUN news! Eliza is officially a walker. I keep trying to get it on video but when I pull out the camera she throws herself on the ground and cracks up. Its become somewhat of a game for her. I am so proud of her though. When that girl decides she's going to do something, she does it! But, not until she is darn, good and ready. I wonder where she got that from ;)?

For my Isagenix update...like I said in the title, I truly have a testimony of this program. It has worked so well for me. Its been tough, I'm not gonna lie, but so worth it. I have 2 weeks left and I am so excited to see the final results. Honestly, anyone out there who is looking to lose some weight go to www.realityweightloss.tv. You will LOVE it!! My brother in law Carlos sells and consults for the product. He is a great coach! There were a couple of days where I just wanted to lay in my bed and cry because I was so hungry, but I knew it would get better. Well, Carlos told me it would, I was going purely on faith. But it has turned out great so far. I'm very impressed! I still have a little ways to go, but I'm sure that it will turn out great!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! TAKE CARE!!

P.S. Eliza is teething so she has drool on her shirt in the pictures under the stool. I don't usually allow my child to run around with dirty, foul clothes on :)!!

MOVIE REVIEWS: The Dark Night & Mamma Mia

2008-07-19T19:19:00.004-06:00

I saw 2 movies this weekend. I know! Its been crazy, yet enjoyable. It keeps my mind off how I haven't eaten. Anyways...lets begin with the review. Last night (Friday), I went with some of my friends to see Batman: The Dark Night. I was a little bit worried to see it because so many people said it was so dark and kind of violent. I don't like having my eyes shut most of the movie, so I was a little bit concerned. I had also heard Oscar buzz about the late Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. That made me very curious. Let me tell you guys, it was AWESOME! I have to admit, it was a little bit dark and quite violent, but it the movie was well made. Christian Bale just makes my heart happy though. I think I would watch anything he was in. Heath Ledger was so good! I knew he was a good actor, in fact one of my favorite movies is A Knight's Tale. He was pretty yummy in that movie. Anyways, Heath Ledger did so great, he deserves an Oscar whether he has passed away or not. His character was pretty scary and unpredictable yet somewhat charming. Does that make sense? I tend to be attracted to "bad boys," I need to work on that. All that being said, I would totally recommend this movie to anyone. Well, maybe not for young kids. I want to go see it again!

Today I saw Mamma Mia with my mom and dad and Eliza. Eliza LOVED it! She watched it, danced and absolutly cracked up. It was so funny! I was in tears laughing so hard at her. I thought it was an OK movie. The music was fun! I'm not a huge fan of ABBA, but if I didn't think about the fact that it was their music, I enjoyed it. The story was weird and I kind of felt like they could've maybe found better singers than Meryl Streep and Pierce Bronson. Yeah, they're great actors...legends, but not singers. It was awkward to watch them try and sing. So, I don't know whether I recommend it or not. I haven't seen the Broadway play so I have nothing to compare it to, so maybe I should go see that. If you do go see it, tell me if you think Pierce Bronson reminded you of the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz when he sings. HAHA! Go see it for yourselves though, that's just my opinion. And, its almost not fair because I saw Batman last night. It's hard to compare the two.

So, there are my reviews of those two movies. I had a fun time seeing both. Good company, good times! Let me know how you all felt about these movies if and when you see them. Take care everyone! Have a good rest of your weekend!

Memories of Us...

2008-07-18T00:40:00.001-06:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! 2. Next (if you choose to), re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

YAY! This will be way fun!

My new title quote

2008-07-17T21:00:00.002-06:00

I came across this quote tonight and I absoultely LOVE it! It helps that it is a quote by Bill Cosby. I think he's hilarious and truthful at the same time. If you have a chance to watch "Bill Cosby Himself," I would recommend it. It will keeping you laughing all night. Plus! It CLEAN!! Go figure! I decided to put it on my title because it is very true.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." -Bill Cosby

How true is that!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt33zqib2qk

Click there! Its so stinkin' funny!

P.S.

2008-07-15T21:45:00.002-06:00

Eliza took her first steps today!!! She's taken one here and one there, but tonight...3 steps! The cool part is that when she did it, we were talking to her dad over webcam. I panned over to her right when she was taking the steps, so he got to see. He was so excited! My cute little girl! She's getting so big!!

One Cute Picture of Eliza

2008-07-15T21:00:00.002-06:00

What a sweet picture of my big girl! This is just one of many that Mollie took for her one year old pictures. I will post more soon, but I absolutely LOVE this one! She loved the ocean. She went right for it when we put her little bikini on. I know, a bikini on a baby, judge me if you will, but it was too dang cute to pass up. Thank you Mollie for being my sweet sister and taking such beautiful pictures of my daughter!

Isagenix

2008-07-14T14:01:00.003-06:00

OK Everyone! I officially started Isagenix today. It is a 30-day program. I get to have a shake for breakfast, a 400-600 calorie lunch and a shake for dinner. I think it is going to be a little bit rough to start, but it will get easier. I was going to post my weight and everything on here to keep me motivated, but after weighing myself this morinng and taking my measurements, I have decided to keep that information to myself. I'm just a tad embarrased by the results. Anyways, wish me luck!

St. George Historic Town Square & Brigham Young's Winter Home

2008-07-13T23:37:00.007-06:00

We left California yesterday. I was so sad to say goodbye to my sisters and their families. We’ve had Amanda, Madison and Brandon with us for the last 3 weeks. It was so much fun! They were all such big helps. So, needless to say, I was pretty depressed to leave. It was a precious time. We stopped in St. George on our way home because, again, driving the whole 10 hours with Eliza would have been a nightmare. When we got there we could tell Eliza had cabin fever BAD! I took her to the little park they had by the hotel but that didn’t seem to tide her over. My mom and dad got back with Café Rio. I was starving! We decided to go over to the town square and eat outside. It was really great weather for St. George in July. When we got there I was so excited because they had this little water pool thing that some kids were playing in. There were also some little waterfalls. I knew Eliza would be in love. I quickly finished my burrito and took Eliza to play in the water. She was in HEAVEN! I had so much fun watching her splash around in the water. She even tried to drink out of one of the waterfalls. She was so cute! There was a water thing that sprayed from the ground. I figured Eliza would like that, but she wasn’t quite as impressed with that as she was with the waterfalls. It was so fun!!

This morning we went and ate at Bear Paw Café for breakfast. So YUMMY! We decided to drive by the Brigham Young house. I wanted to see what it looked like and lo and behold! It was opened for tours. We weren’t going to church today since we were traveling so we decided to go on the tour. Thanks to Ghost Hunters, I had the guts to actually go in this house. Before, I would’ve never done that. I didn’t like old things; that included houses. It was very informative. I learned why St. George was called St. George and why it was nicknamed “Dixie.” I’m glad we went. However, I am so very glad to be home. We had such a fun week but now its time to be home and get my little girl back into her normal routine.

The front of Brigham Young's house

Living Room

Kitchen Area

A very cool stove in the kitchen area

One of Brigham's wives room (NO! We don't still practice polygomy!)

Brigham's Room

Brigham's Room Again

How the house was ventilated - I can't remember how the sister missionary explained it, but it was very neat!

The room outside of Brigham's room

First Presidency & Twelve Apostales of the Church when Brigham Young was prophet. This picture was fun to look at!

All together, I think that we had a very successful and entertaining trip home. Eliza had a good time playing in the water and I really enjoyed learning more about the Church in the early years. The members went through a lot of yucky trials; trials that cannot even compare to what we face today. I'm grateful for their diligence and faith. Without that, I wouldn't be where I am today. Seeing this house and hearing the stories made my testimony of the gospel grow even more and I am grateful that I am able to raise my daughter knowing the principles that will help us to return to our Heavenly Father.

Rockin' Out

2008-07-13T23:34:00.002-06:00

My brother-in-law Jay had a pair of Bose earphones. Those are seriously heavenly if you are trying to drown out kids screaming and your child crying. This whole week I was completely addicted to Ghost Hunters, so whenever I got a free minute I would turn on my laptop and watch my show. Eliza always wants to play with my laptop, so finally, after much begging, I gave in and let her come up on the couch and put the earphones on. What is sad, is when I handed the earphones to her, she knew exactly what to do with them. Oh dear! I turned on my music from iTunes and she just started rocking out. It was so cute! Her dad was there to see her be so silly. I yelled to Mollie to grab my camera and start snapping pictures. We got some pretty cute ones I think.

When in California...

2008-07-13T23:05:00.008-06:00

While one is in California it would be an absolute shame to not go to the beach. So, on Tuesday we all headed down to Newport. Newport is our old stomping grounds. While I was growing up we spent many days lying on the beach, walking around Balboa Island, eating at Ruby’s Diner on the pier. So much fun! While we didn’t get the chance to lie on the beach, Eliza did get her chance to go into the Pacific Ocean for the very first time. She’s been in the Gulf of Mexico, but never the Pacific Ocean. Mollie took Eliza’s one-year-old pictures on the beach. Eliza headed immediately for the water when we got her in her bathing suit. I didn’t think she would be that excited, but she wanted nothing to do with just sitting on the beach. That made for some difficulty for Mollie, but she’s a professional so she worked with it. By the end we were all covered with sand and the bottoms of our jeans were wet. Eliza didn’t seem phased by it at all (one-year-old pictures still to come…). We met up with the rest of our family after we finished taking the pictures. We went over to Balboa Island to walk around. The homes are so beautiful there. I love to just look at them and daydream about someday being able to own one. DREAM is the key word here. I don’t think I could afford one on a Utah teacher’s salary. What a shame. We had such a good time at the beach! Being there is one of my favorite past times, so bringing my daughter there to experience it (even at such a young age) it very exciting for me!

Eliza and me on the pier next to Rubys

Eliza was enjoying some yummy food at one of my favorite places, Ruby's

Riding the ferry to Balboa Island

Grammy & Eliza on the ferry to Balboa Island

Sleepy Baby

On the ferry ride back

On Thursday night we had a BBQ at Carrie Beth’s pool. What a great time! My dad marinated some chicken and Carlos made some yummy carne asada. Mmmm! Before we ate, my niece Megan had Eliza in the pool. Eliza tends to be pretty wiggly and at the same time very independent, so when I heard this blood-curdling scream, I was ready to take action. I looked over and there was Eliza with her mouth and chin covered in blood. Megan told me that she smacked her mouth on the side of the pool. I wasn’t surprised at all. I got her all cleaned up and she was immediately ready to get back in the pool. Her lip was swollen for a couple of days, but it is healing nicely.

P.S. As long as I live, I will not put captions under my pictures on my blog. What a bloody nightmare!!

Moving Mollie & Carlos In

2008-07-13T22:58:00.002-06:00

We moved Mollie and Carlos in on Monday afternoon. It was also a very hot day. We were all so very sweaty. I think the only thing that kept me going was knowing that we wouldn’t be lifting heavy things in all day long. Mollie, Carlos, my dad and I knocked it out in about an hour and a half. My mom generously volunteered to stay at my sister Carrie Beth’s house to put Eliza down for a nap. I know, what a challenge. Moving in wasn’t too bad though. We kept each other laughing. Well, I think the fact that my bum sweat all the way through my pants kept everyone in hysterics. I’m glad I could keep the mood light.

On the Way to California...

2008-07-13T22:43:00.003-06:00

We left for California on Saturday morning. I could tell that Mollie and Carlos were really excited, but I was so not! I didn’t want them to move. But, I knew that that is what they wanted and needed to do. It was chaos in our house on Saturday morning but it slowed down once we got on the road. I drove Mollie’s car, my parents drove theirs and Mollie and Carlos rode in the moving truck along with Phoebe. We had quite the caravan. We stopped in St. George for In-n-Out. We love that place! I hear that they are going to put one in Orem. Very dangerous for me, but at the same time, super exciting! After In-n-out we drove to Mesquite, NV; its only about 30 minutes away from St. George. With Eliza and the other kids tagging along, driving the whole 10 hours to California in one day is not even close to possible. I think we all would have killed each other by the time that trip was over. It was so hot!! The air was not even refreshing when we got there. I was so glad to get in the hotel. On Sunday morning we left to finish the trip. It went quite smooth, thank goodness!!

Ghost Hunters

2008-07-13T22:42:00.002-06:00

I have discovered this great new TV show. It is called Ghost Hunters and it is on the Sci-Fi channel. My niece Amanda introduced me to it while she was here. I was immediately hooked which is weird because those of you who know me know that the idea of a place being haunted really makes my skin crawl. I can’t even go into an antique store without getting all creeped out. I probably would have never watched this show had Amanda not pulled it up on the computer, but I’m so glad that she did. I LOVE it! The “hunters” are very down-to-earth guys who are out to disprove a haunting. Basically, they go into a place and try and figure out alternative reasons for the claims of a haunting. I think it is a very smart way to go about it. I was intrigued by their techniques. I think if anyone out there is afraid of ghosts or anything like that, you should watch this show. It really helped me to start to be comfortable with the paranormal. OK! I sound crazy, but you really have to know me to know about my fear of anything haunted. Just watch the show, you will get hooked!!

Time Out

2008-07-13T22:40:00.001-06:00

Eliza received her first time out. I know! She’s only ONE, but she was seriously out of control. She would scream and scream if the kids were playing with her toys or getting too close to her. The shrieking was going to the center of my brain so I had to do something. I’m pretty sure that she didn’t learn anything from it, but you know, at least I got a break. I’m sure any of you mothers reading this can relate.

Little Pool...Big Kids (4th of July)

2008-07-13T22:32:00.004-06:00

Our 4th of July wasn’t too eventful. The kids were still here and so we were playing with them and getting packed up to head to California to help Mollie and Carlos move. We had a pretty fun day. After doing some packing we went to Carl’s Jr. for some lunch. It had a play place so the kids enjoyed some quality time sliding down slides and crawling through plastic tunnels. Germs, germs and more germs! YUCK! Thankfully Eliza is still too little to enjoy the disgusting-ness that is Carl’s Jr.’s play place. I’m not sure what I will do when she can go in those. I guess I will just have to get over it. Anyways, after we ate we were planning on going home, grabbing our swim suits and going up to Mollie and Carlos’ apartment to swim and finish up the last minute packing. We decided against that though because we all had way to much packing to do for ourselves to get ready to go to California the next day. So, we brought out the baby pool and the kids swam their little lives away. Eliza loves the water. She always has, so it was fun to watch her splish and splash. That was our 4th of July! Oh yeah! And we ate Little Caesar’s $5 pizzas. Sounds fun, right? I had a good time. Sometimes the pressure of holidays is too much, so I tend to enjoy relaxing and spending quality time with my family.

Eliza's 1st Birthday Captured by Mollie Jane Photography

2008-07-13T22:28:00.001-06:00

I know I already put a few pictures up of Eliza’s 1st birthday party, but I have to put a few more. OK! A BUNCH more! But, these are pictures taken by my sister Mollie. She is such an amazing photographer! I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to have her to take such beautiful pictures of my cute little one year old. I still can’t believe that my baby is ONE!! There were so many photos that I loved, that I just put them in a slideshow so you all don’t have to keep scrolling down. ENJOY!

TAGGED!

2008-07-02T23:18:00.003-06:00

Kacy tagged me, so I'm going to respond since my little cutie is asleep and I'm putting off sleep myself. And we all know, I like putting as much personal information on the internet as possible. HAHA!

1) LAST MOVIE I SAW IN A THEATRE?
Kung Fu Panda. I thought it was really cute!

2) WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
Well, nothing right now. I am making it a goal to read when Eliza goes down for her afternoon nap at around 2pm. My dillema is that General Hospital is on at that time too. Its just a hard choice! Watch my soap and fill my head with unnecessary trash or read and maybe, just maybe become a little bit more intelligent. Tough decision. I saw this book at Target tonight that I want to read called "The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes" that I want to read. But I need to finish "Eclipse."

3) FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Hmmm...nobody likes to play board games with me. I'm too competetive.

4) FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
Well, I guess I really love all the trashy magazines. You know, the ones by the checkstands in the grocery stores? I always read "People."

5) FAVORITE SMELLS?
I know its weird, but I love the smell of gasoline. I love the smell of Eliza's baby soap (Baby Magic). And I love the smell of rain. Oh and the beach! YUMMY!

6) FAVORITE SOUNDS?
Eliza playing in her crib in the morning, her laugh and (sometimes) her little squeals.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Kacy, I'm going to agree with you and your friend, GUILT is the WORST!!

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Usually I wake up to Eliza either crying or talking over the monitor so I always think to myself, "Its too early Eliza! Go back to sleep for a little while."

9) FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
I really like Noodles & Company. Their Pasta Fresca is divine!

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?
I really have NO idea. I'm not even thinking about having more children anytime soon.

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D......
Pay off my families bills, take care of my family as much as possible, pay off all my bills (including my school loans) and then invest the rest. OK! Lets be honest, I would buy Eliza and myself some clothes and other fun stuff and possibly take a great vacation as well as the other things I mentioned.

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
Not REALLY fast, but I do drive over the speed limit most of the time.

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Nope. I do sleep with a big pillow that I call my "man pillow" though. I got used to cuddling with it when I was pregnant. Its helped me sleep more comfortably.

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
Most of the time cool. I loved Florida storms! I miss Florida alot for the summer afternoon rains. I do not however enjoy snow storms. They are scary and they make me ornery when I have to drive in them.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
My grandpa's Volvo. I had that till I moved to Florida, but my dad kept it until about a year ago when it finally gave up the ghost.

16) FAVORITE DRINK?
Diet Pepsi

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
Organize my room, finish scrapbooking (that takes lots of money too), clean out my car, finish putting Eliza's room, read more...you know, stuff like that.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
I'm not a huge fan of broccoli so I'm pretty sure I wouldn't eat the stems.

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
I like mine how it is. Its easy to maintain and it doesn't cost a fortune everytime I do it.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
Glendora, CA
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Orem, UT
Rexburg, ID
Highland, UT
Bradenton, FL
Sarasota, FL
Livonia, MI

21) FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
I don't really like to watch sports.

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU.
OH! Kacy is truly the nicest person. She is so sweet and bubbly! I wish we would hang out more (Did you hear that Miss Kacy?)

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
Boxes of my parents stuff and an empty laundry basket (Its empty! How amazing!)

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?
SURE!

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Um, I think neither. I'm more of an afternoon person.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Sunny side up if its done right.

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?
Anywhere that I can get a little quiet minute. I do like getting a massage though. What a treat!

28) FAVORITE PIE?
Chocolate Silk.

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
I'm not usually a huge ice cream fan but I do like the chocolate ice cream with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups at Coldstone.

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Well, maybe Carly or my other friend Karly. Maybe Megan. I don't know. I guess we will find out.

I TAG:
Karly
Carly
Megan
Chrissy
Alli

Have fun girls!

A Fun Filled Few Days!

2008-06-28T22:42:00.017-06:00

Hello Everyone! Hope you all are doing well! We have been having a really fun last few days. To start off, of course on Wednesday we had Eliza's 1st Birthday Party. That was a blast! I mentioned in my last post how I put Eliza's picture on Good Things Utah (I'm still very excited about that, by the way!). This is the picture that was on there. It wasn't my favorite, but when I was choosing it, I didn't realize it was the one where she wasn't smiling. But oh well! She's so cute anyway.

Well, on the opening of that show on Wednesday they had a guest cohost. She brought all of the ladies these cute little gifts that her mom made and put in a store called The Cannery in North Ogden. They were pink and brown flowers and I thought that they would be perfect for Eliza's room. Well, the store was in North Ogden and for those of you who aren't familiar with Utah, North Ogden is about an hour and a half away. I gave up on the dream of having those flowers for about a minute, but I really NEEDED to have them. So, Friday my dad, Mollie, Eliza and I headed out on the long trip to North Ogden to get my sweet find. Seriously, they will look so cute once I get them up into her room. Look how adorable:

Many of you have seen her room or atleast the quilt Eliza's sweet Mamaw made so you know how fabulous it matches. I'm so excited! After we went to The Cannery (Thank goodness I only set my sights on those flowers! Believe me, I could have spent a fortune in there!) we were starving so we went to the Union Station Grille. It was in the old Union Train Station. The food was just ok. I heard it was GREAT, so I wonder if I just got the wrong thing. Eliza was a gem on this long trip! She slept all the way there and all the way back. What a good baby!

When my neices and nephew got home from playing at their friends' house in American Fork (we picked them up on our way home), we waited for my mom to get home from work and then we went to this place called "Max & Cheese." It's this really cute restaurant that features mostly kid's food. It's little logo or whatever says "Grown Ups Tolerated." It was a fun little place. I think the kids really liked it.

Today, Saturday, we headed up to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake. I had actually never been up to the zoo in the 7 years that I have lived here (minus almost 2 years in Florida). I was really excited because Eliza had never been to the zoo at all and she loves animals so I figured she would be over the moon with excitement. Every animal that she sees she growls. Whether it be a bird or a lamb, whatever. Its so funny! She's finally started to understand the sound a dog makes though since our dog Phoebe barks at any sound she hears.

The first thing that we did at the zoo was head over to the White Alligator Exhibit. OK! Anybody who knows me, knows I am deathly afraid of many reptiles, mostly alligators and crocidiles. I lived in Florida for 2 years people! They walked down the street like it was normal! I had nightmares that they would come into my house or that they were chasing me down the street. My friend's little twins used to say (when they were 2 yrs old)- "Alligators will eat you for dinner!" I believe them! They are scary! So, needless to say, I was not excited to go see this "amazing" alligator. White and rare or not, its still an alligator. But I went anyway. It was actually quite interesting to see such a white animal. I wanted to know how they become like that, but I didn't feel like sticking around so close to it to actually find out the information. The kids loved it though and we ended up going back through before we left.

We next headed over to the elephants. Eliza was in awe of these animals. Naturally she growled at them and tried to get their attention by a scream and then a growl while waving her arm. It was too funny! Did you know elephants are pregnant for TWO YEARS?! Ugh! Disgusting! There are days when I thank the Lord that I am HUMAN. But then again, there are days when I do just the opposite. What would I have done if I had to be pregnant for 2 years? Oh my goodness!

Brandon wanted to go and see the gorillas next. I don't generally like the zoo. I think it smells and I don't actually LOVE animals enough to go look at them all day. This is unmistakably true with monkies. Uhh! This exhibit stunk so bad. I tried not to complain too much because Eliza was in love with the gorillas! WHY?! We spent so much time in there. I swear, Eliza and Brandon could have watched them all day. It was kind of fun though, the baby gorilla swang (swung?) right up by Eliza and looked at her through the glass. She was extatic! Silly Mommy though couldn't get the camera out in time. But watching Eliza's face when that monkey came close to her... that made the disgusting smell totally worth it.

WHO MEASURES UP BETTER?

ME?

OR MY DAD?

HAHA! I might say ME these days.

There was a merry go round at the zoo so we thought it might be fun to let the kids ride it. Eliza seemed very excited when she saw all of the animals. She showed her enthusiasm by growling the whole time we were in line. My kid! HA! She is so funny! Eliza and I rode on the wolf. It was the closest thing to a dog and I knew she would get a kick out of riding on a "dog-dog". Brandon rode an eagle, Madi- a dolphin and Amanda chose a seal. It was so great! I put Eliza on the wolf by herself but she wanted me on with her. I haven't ridden on a merry go round in ages! It took me back to the good ol' days free from stress.

After the merry go round Eliza started to get tired so we laid her down in her stroller and she fell right to sleep. Bless her heart! We'd been dragging her around for 2 days straight without her regular naps. She's been so good!

I won't bore you all with many more details, but we saw the penguins exhibit. That was really interesting because I thought those were birds that live in the cold. They were outside and it couldn't have been less than 95 degrees today. How did the penguins not melt? One little guy must have gotten too hot so he very slowly inched his way to the water. It was funny because he seemed pretty nervous about it. HAHA!

We saw lots of other animals. I actually had a really good time. For not being a huge fan of the zoo, I enjoyed myself. I know everybody else had fun too. The kids were sad to leave, but they got some pretty cool souveniers to take home. Eliza was an angel and the other kiddos were perfect! Here are some other pictures that I won't explain. This post is getting pretty long.

Across the street from the zoo is a place called Pioneer Village. I have never been there either. It is where the "This is the Place!" monument is. A little history behind that monument. It stands where Brigham Young stood in 1847 when the saints got to the Salt Lake Valley. Brigham declared, "This is the place!" and they began to settle in Utah. I find that history very interesting and I would have liked to walk around but everyone had had it with the heat and they were hungry (I was too!) so we decided to do it another time. Maybe when its not so hot.

On our way to eat dinner at Paradise Cafe in Sugar House we heard a scrapping sound coming from outside the car. I just thought it was because we were on a construction road and the car was vibrating from the paving being uneven. But, I got out of the car at the stop light and lo and behold! We had a flat tire. Brandon was so sad because he wanted McDonald's in THE worst way (apparently he wouldn't have liked anything at Paradise Cafe)! We pulled into a parking lot across the street from a McDonalds and proceeded to make the arrangements to fix the tire. Such a bummer! But we got Eliza out of her carseat and she made herself "comfortable" wandering all over the car. She has started climbing up on things, so she had a great time doing that. She's also made it a habit to pull her hair out now. Its the best thing ever (please sense my sarcastic tone)! That's why her hair looks the way it does in these pictures. Lovely!

Anyways, so that's been our fun few days so far. I have been having so much fun having my neices and nephew here. Eliza loves having them here as well. She and Amanda have such a great time together. Amanda and Madison are such great helpers! I have to tell a sweet story. Sorry this post is so long and boring, but I have to tell this if not for anything else but to tell my sister and brother in law what a great job they are doing with their kids. Amanda came upstairs tonight after she had gone to bed. My mom and dad had gone to the store and I was on the phone. So I just said, "What's up?" She looked at me with these tired eyes and said, "I'm scared and I think its because we forgot to say a prayer." I was immediatly humbled by this 10 year old's humility. She knows the comfort that talking to Heavenly Father brings. I quickly got off the phone and we went downstairs, got on our knees and said a prayer. When she stood up she said thank you and I could see how much that prayer comforted her. Amanda taught me a couple huge lessons tonight. How important it is to be humble and what it means to have pure faith. What an amazing little spirit she is. Good job CB and Jay!

This was a long post! Are you all awake still? Hope all is well with everyone!

TAKE CARE!
LAURA & ELIZA

MY BIG, NO...LITTLE GIRL!

2008-06-26T16:02:00.003-06:00

So, it seems like Eliza is so much more of a little girl today. She's not my baby anymore. I can't figure out if it's just a psychological thing on my part or if being one year and one day old can actually mature a baby into a little girl. It kind of makes me sad. She's even eating better, which let me tell you, is a dream come true! She used to be the most TERRIBLE eater! Anyways, here's what struck me today. She got this dolly from her aunts and uncles on the Capua side (Thank you Amber, Chris, Carly, Tanner & Danielle) that comes with a bottle. This afternoon when she woke up from her nap she wanted the dolly and the bottle. She went and sad in the rocking chair in her room and fed the baby its bottle. Is that grown up or what?! My dad and I just looked at her with excitement, but at the same time I was so sad because she's not a baby anymore...sniff! sniff!! Anyways, here are some pictures:

How cute is that?! Oh how quickly they grow up! Do any of you moms out there with babies who have turned a year ever felt sad that your babies were getting so big?

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY ELIZA!!

2008-06-25T22:54:00.005-06:00

Now that I have the reminiscing over with, I will tell you about Eliza's 1st birthday. What a great day we had! Since my dad has been off school he has been so nice in the mornings to take Eliza so I can sleep in. This morning was no exception, but I woke up earlier than normal because I wanted to see my little Birthday Girl. SAD! She was taking a nap. So, I went downstairs and turned on Good Things Utah and ate a donut. Good Things Utah is a show that comes on at 10 in the mornings here in Utah. The ladies that host the show are so funny! Well, not so much funny as totally cheesy. My sister and I can only describe this show as "So Utah." But I love it! Anyways, towards the end of the show everyday they do this little mini segment of babies who are turning one that day. Well of course I had been planning on sending my child's picture in to be on the segment when they turned one since before Eliza was even thought of. So, I sent in Eliza's picture on Monday so that it would be up today. I was a little bit worried because I sent it Monday night and it has to be there 2 days before the actual birthday, so I wasn't sure if it was going to make it on for her official BIRTHDAY day or not. I watched intently hoping to see her picture and there it was! I was so excited!! That will always be a fun memory. Anyways...when my dad and I screamed when her picture came up, the dog barked and then Eliza woke up. Dang it! But that was ok because I wanted to give her a big birthday hug and kiss. The rest of the morning and afternoon was full of getting her party ready for 5 o'clock. I made pasta salad, cut up tomatoes for the hamburgers, my dad (what a saint!) ran around getting last minute groceries like picking up the cute cake, I picked up balloons and her little ONE YEAR OLD cake (by the way, Albertsons makes ONE YEAR OLD cakes for FREE! Amazing! Just a little tip!). It was a busy afternoon but all so worth it! Oh! I also wrapped all of Eliza's presents because, for some reason, I never like to think ahead and do that kind of stuff the day before or something. That would clearly be too organized. The party started at 5 with my parents and myself still running around taking care of last minute things (if anyone has a solution to getting RID of the last minute run around, I would love to hear it). It was so fun! John's sisters Carly and Danielle and his brother Chris all came and hung out for a little bit. Eliza LOVES Carly! Then our family friends Kaylene and Bryant came and brought their cute little boy Carter. My friend and Eliza's babysitter Lisa came with her two kids Olivia and Coleman. Then it was the rest of the fam: Mom, Dad, Phil, Mollie, Carlos and Carrie Beth's kids Amanda, Madison and Brandon. A couple of neighbors stopped by as well. It was a really great time! Eliza devoured her cake again. She was a disaster to clean up. Even after I gave her a bath she still had chocolate frosting in her ears and nose. What a mess! I literally had to hose her down before I took her inside to put her in the bath, thats how messy she was. I'm so glad we went all out for her party! Mollie took some great pictures (as usual) that I will put up later. Here are some highlights:

WHAT A FUN AND EVENTFUL DAY! I can't wait to post the pictures Mollie took. She's so awesome! Hope all is well with everyone!

TAKE CARE!
LAURA & ELIZA

Remembering...One Year Ago Today

2008-06-25T21:41:00.010-06:00

I just wanted to take a little bit of time and remember the day Eliza was born. So, if you all have heard this story, feel free to skip over this blog post. I remember being 38 weeks pregnant and thinking, "Oh my! I am going to be pregnant FOREVER!" I hadn't had a very easy pregnancy and I was just ready to be done. Plus, I felt like a whale. I had Eliza on a Monday, but I started having contractions on that Saturday before while my parents, Megan (Duzy) Tanner and I were walking around Park City. For those of you who are not familiar with downtown Park City, the streets are very steep to walk up. Anyways, my contractions continued throughout that night and calmed down on Sunday during the day. They started getting worse and worse as Sunday night into Monday morning went on. I truly felt like I was going to die! At about 5:30am, I went up to my mom and dad's room and begged to go to the hospital. The pain was too much. I was either labor or something was very wrong. I had my money on the labor idea. (A little background on my situation: John and I were still married and he was doing a rotation down in California. I was living at my parents' house and working.) My mom and I headed to the hospital at about 6:30am. I waited to call John so he could head up here until I knew they were going to keep me. The nurse checked me, and sure enough, I was dialated 4cm. HOORAY!! I did not want to be sent home. I called John right away and he got on a plane. Thank goodness there was an anesthesiologist on the Labor & Delivery floor at American Fork Hospital because, let me tell you, I was SO VERY done with the ouchy contractions. Ugh! Even if I could get pregnant right now, I wouldn't because I still remember what the pregnancy and contractions feel like. I got my epidural about 20 minutes after I got to the hospital and then I was in HEAVEN! I was totally relaxed! I had the most amazing nurse who even came in and gave me a back massage. What an angel! I loved being in labor. I had nothing to do, I wasn't hurting and everyone was around me making sure everything was ok. John's family came to visit, my family was there. My sweet brother came in and out all day to check on me. All in all, it was fabulous! Except for the fact that I was hungry! When John got there the doctor uped my Pitocin so that I would progress faster. OH! And another thing that was so fun about being in labor, I had a cathder!!! Anyone who knows me knows that I have a bladder the size of a pea and being pregnant made it so very much worse, so being free of having to get up and go to the restroom every 5 minutes (thats NOT and exaggeration) was absolutly wonderful! OK! So, John got there and then they broke my water. Unfortunatly at that point, my epidural slowly started to wear off and I could feel the pressure to push. I was so sad to feel anything at all. So the nurse had me practice pushing. At one point they brought out a mirror so I could see the baby's head. YUCK! That was not a pretty picture. I quickly ordered the mirror away. I pushed for about an hour and a half which is apparently normal for first time deliveries. How come other women who have their first babies push only 3 times and the baby is out? I don't get it! Needless to say, the pushing made me really tired. I loved my doctor though. Dr. Andrea Smith with Legacy OB/GYN. Anyone in the Utah County area who needs a good baby doctor, SHE is one of a kind. I loved her! Anyways, as I pushed I got really excited to see my baby. I was curious to see if she was really a girl and if she really had as much hair as the ultrasound techs had said. At 7:59pm on June 25th, 2007, Eliza Capua was born with a FULL head of dark hair with a smooshed in nose weighing 5 pounds 14 ounces and was 18 inches long. I could not believe how tiny she was. I honestly could have sworn I was pushing out a 9 pound baby. She was so sweet though and I could not believe that she was actually here. Its amazing! When I held my new little baby girl, I felt so much love for her. I never knew I could love someone I had just barely met, but that moment, I felt like I might just explode with love. I also knew that she was the light of my life. It was just such a wonderful feeling. There was such a spirit of calmness and peace in that room through all of the caos. What a fabulous moment! (P.S. Pardon my double chin in this picture; the picture was taken at a bad angle )
I adore being Eliza's mommy! This past year has been the best one of my life dispite all of the yuck that went one. I just focused on Eliza as my "Number 1" and we got through it. She has the sweetest little spirit. She is so stubborn yet so funny! I can't help but laugh in adoration when she throws her little fits. I love having to chase her aroung the house. And, don't tell her this, but I love when she wakes up at night. I live to have those tender little moments with her when there's no one else around and I'm the one she wants and needs. I love how in the mornings she sees me and wants to love me. Eliza is...the only way I can explain it is "love." She has shown me what pure love is. She has taught me how to be unselfish. She's schooled me in so many other subjects as well that I can't remember right now, but all I know is that she is the light of my life. She was the day she was born and she is even more so today on her first birthday. I love my little Eliza!

**Please excuse my mushy, sentimental walk down memory lane. I just felt it was appropriate to remember.

Drinking out of Straws

2008-06-24T21:49:00.004-06:00

Tonight, we all went to the mall. My sister Carrie Beth's kids are here and so we all needed a little outing. My mom and I also needed to get the rest of Eliza's birthday presents for tomorrow. After we went to the Gap we were so thirsty so we went and got some water. Eliza wanted to put the straw in her mouth but I knew she wouldn't get anything out of it; she just likes to chew on it. I turned to my mom and said, "Oh man! She's going to be hard to get off of a bottle." As we were walking back to our car I heard my mom say, "LAURA!" I turned around and there was my cute little Eliza drinking water out of the straw! I know! Maybe not a big deal to other people, but I was so excited! This means that she won't be walking around with a bottle in her mouth when she's 5. Either that or WE would be feeding her when she's 5. She won't even hold her own stinking bottle. She's ONE people!! That may sound exaggerated, but my child is THE MOST stubborn baby I have ever even heard of. It doesn't help that she came from 2 of the most stubborn people alive. HOORAY Eliza!! I didn't have my camera, so I had to take a picture on my neice Amanda's phone. The quality of cell phone cameras aren't that great.

Eliza's Capua Birthday Party

2008-06-15T17:21:00.007-06:00

Last night John put together a little party for Eliza's 1st Birthday. He starts his residency in California next week so he won't be here for her actual birthday on the 25th of this month. We went out and got all of the cute party favors including birthday hats. The theme was "1st Birthday Princess." So fun! She loved her little cake. She absolutly devoured it! Her Papaw, Uncle Tanner, Uncle Chris and (soon to be) Aunt Azy all came. Her Mamaw and aunties got stuck in Lake Powell so they weren't able to come. It was such a fun party!

I KNOW! So many pictures! But it's her 1st Birthday for Pete's sake! We are having a party for Eliza on the 25th. I'm so excited! If anyone in the area wants to come, let me know. It's going to be the best 1st Birthday Party ever!

LAURA

Mollie Jane Pictures of John & Eliza cont...

2008-06-15T17:13:00.005-06:00

Here are some more pictures of the photo shoot with John and Eliza. Mollie also took pictures of John's sister Carly's cute little family so I included some of those cute ones.

So cute! I swear, Mollie does such an amazing job! And ya know! My little girl is just adorable if you ask me. ;)