MissAndyD

Half-way over??

2011-05-04T07:28:00.011-10:00

I am going to update with photos and captions mostly...Life has been GREAT! We are loving Florida and being a family. We want all of our friends and family to how much we love you guys and miss you. {is that enough sunshine for you}

We just asked Max, "what he would like to do today?" and he replied "I have a hypothesis"!

Max's new car...the Karmann Ghia. He loves to help dad work but more than that he loves all of dads tools.

Max LOVES playing ghost...and dress up in general. And yes those are red fingernails. I ask you is it really so wrong to paint boys fingernails??

Don't really know how this happened...
Max the Chinese Dragon or 'Toothless' from How to Train Your Dragon.
My second Ragnar relay in Florida. We ran from Miami to Key West! It was awesome!!
The two Andrea's...

Max got a wild hair and decided it was time for a buzz...what could I do about it??

Max taking a nap with Charlie. Charlie is a good sport...most of the time.

Grandma and Grandpa Derrick came to visit!! We had so much fun...We went to the beach, Disney Land, The Science Museum, on an airboat ride and saw lots of gators!

We also had half of the Tyler's out! Here we are taking a break between activities...Max somehow stole everyones watches.

Max turned 4 years old on April 9th!!! He had a pirate party, arrgh!! We had a treasure hunt and played games like Sink the Ship, Hook the Booty, Pop the Cannons, Eye Spy, Swashbuckling sword fight and best of all they got to beat the mean pirate pinata...We ate Pirate cupcakes with Treasure inside...and all the pirates got to take home a GOLD fish. It was lots of fun!

Last Sunday I had a great time at St. Anthony's triathlon in St. Petersburg FL.I'm excited to say I beat my last Olympic tri time by about 30 minutes!! Wahoo...all this Ironman training has paid off. Next race less than two weeks :) 70.3 Florida Ironman at Disney World.

Well that's about it...until next time :)

Family Pictures

2010-12-17T06:07:00.006-10:00

Thanks to an awesome photographer Natalie Haws Simpson we got some great family pictures.

Feburary - March - April - May

2010-05-29T10:47:00.014-10:00

My new goal is to update quarterly with pictures and a list....I just don't have the free time like I used to and quite frankly right now the desire to blog. I do however love looking back on things that have happend so keeping the blog going is the sensible thing. It has now been about four months since my last post. I will try and keep my list short, considering the previous.

Visit from three different family members. Uncle Mick and Aunt Marie, or as Max would put it Uncle Marie and Aunt Mick. It must flow better that way? As well as both sets of grandparents.

Record breaking cold weather and freezing temps in Florida. It almost killed all our pinnapple plants but I am happy to report that we have a real little live growing pinnapple!

A brithday weekend with our friends Kevin (Max named him capin), Tracy and Tristin Plenzler in St. Pete. Thomas the Tank Engine made an apperence and we had to go. Max loved the 25 minute train ride on Thomas and all the activities. When we were driving home Max said 'Tristin is my best friend' 'Tristin is happy'. Very cute.

Ben finished all the work on our rental house!

I finished the SL Marathon and the Disney Half Marathon!

Max can ride his big wheel!
Ben and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary!

Found a starfish and a crab and LOTS of awesome seashells a the beach.

Picked strawberries at the farm and made lots of freezer jam. (I ate it all in two months...it was a lot of freezer jam).

Four fun filled trips to Disney World. 2 Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Epcot. Remind me never to go down there in the summer, yuck!

Days of our Lives

2010-01-07T14:43:00.005-10:00

Happy new year! I am excited for 2010...let the fun begin. Max has been so funny lately and I have been meaning to write all of them down but lets face it blogging just doesn't happen very much anymore. Max is talking really good, I can understand most of it :) He told me the other day while I was making his bed "good job mom, thanks for helping, your a good helper". Another day he told me "good job going potty mom...you get a potty treat". And then after going to the dreaded doctors office he said "had fun at the doctors". He says 'ya' to all questions that are asked and repeats the question back as if it is the correct answer. If I ask a yes or no question and he doesn't answer I tell him to 'say yes or no'. He then answers, 'say yes or no'. We have been working on saying the right answer to questions like whats your name, and how old you are. When asked 'what is your name?', he answers 'Max' which sounds like Matt to most people. Then when asked 'how old are you?' he then responds 'Max'. Ask him a second or third time and he might answer '2'. The cutest is he knows his nickname...so ask him what his 'other name' is and he will answer 'buster'.
As for new things with Ben and I...I joined a running group out here that has been fun. I am registered to run in the Disney Princess (all women) half marathon in march and then hopefully do the Salt Lake classic marathon the next month. I've found some new hobbies using old license plates and oil cloth. Then just being with friends and having fun with family.
Ben is almost done with his massive house project that he has taken on himself. He has done a really good job and hopefully we will be able to rent it out soon. He has been biking a lot and getting in shape to ride 60 miles to and from work now that Allegiant is moving half its fleet down to the Orlando Airport. Ben is more or less motivated by saving money on tolls and gas then getting in shape, it just happens to be a good side effect of saving money.
We are all moving to a new house on Saturday which we are very excited for. It has a nice big back yard for Max and the dog we are going to get (not really) but the back door has a doggie door so why not? It is in the same ward with all our good friends and still by all of our neighbors and Max's friends.
I just wanted to include that Max loves taking pictures whenever he can get his hands on my camera. It was hilarious yesterday he walked around taking pictures of himself and would laugh while saying 'look at this picture' haha ' look at this picture'. So here are a few of his amateur photos from the daily life of Max.

Happy Halloween Y'all

2009-10-31T14:01:00.003-10:00

Hope Uncle Tom doesn't mind us borrowing his chaps...Thanks!

A Little List

2009-10-08T02:56:00.002-10:00

A list about me, us and we three...

a new house
a new friend
one appendix removed
two marriages
saved a lizard
new bike group
potty training conquered
missandyd @ Fawn
dislocated shoulder
good movies
two flat tires
four new molars
conference
new phone
fun trip planned
one happy family!

Heartattack{s}

2009-08-26T01:17:00.003-10:00

I have been thinking about posting each one of these stories on their own because I think they deserve equal attention. Then I came across this picture and thought that it would tie things together very nicely. Max is growing up! He is talking a lot more, wearing 'fast car' underwear and going potty like a big boy, putting himself in time outs and lot of other cute things. Max has been a really easy kid...he doesn't ever get sick, he sleeps great, he doesn't jump off tables or do crazy stunts. But the last couple of months he has given me a few heart attacks...So story #1,
We had gone to New Smyrna Beach for the day with our good friends the Giffins. They had access to a million dollar condo on the beach. (Which by the way was awesome and when I am rich and famous that is where I will live). We spent the morning on the beach playing in the sand and ocean (and no this doesn't have anything to do with sharks). Then we went to play in the private salt pool for a few minutes, sit in the hot tub and just relax and rinse off. Then we took the elevator up to the condo for lunch. Max loved the elevator. There were mirrors on the ceiling and shiny brass buttons to push and hand railings he could swing on. We went inside and all had pizza and drinks, the kids watch cartoons, we sat on the balcony and max ran between the two. After a few minutes I realized I hadn't seen Max. I went inside and asked the kids if they had seen him. Nope. My first thought was the elevator! I ran out the front door into the hallway and he wasn't there. So I went back into the condo and looked in all the rooms. This was a big condo, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 tv rooms, wash room, big front room and kitchen...so it took me a minute to look but I kept thinking about that dang elevator! By then Ben was helping and the kids. I couldn't ignore that prompting so I went back out the front door into the hallway, pressed the down button on the elevator and the doors open and out walks this little blonde haired boy in wet swim trunks. To this day I cringe to think about what could have happened.
Story #2, Max and I were over at Jack-Jack's house (Max's new BFF). The Gable's live in this beautiful old house that was built in 1905 with a huge yard equipped with fountain and gazebo. Anywho, I was in the dinning room finishing up dinner and talking. Max had gone out side to play with Jack-Jack's big dump truck. I kept my eye on him and he was being so good and then I realized that I hadn't glance for a few minutes. I got up, went outside to see if he had wandered deeper into the yard. Nope. I checked the garage...nope. (all of this happening in a matter of seconds) I look around the side of the house and there he is driving Jack-Jack' big dump truck in the middle of the ROAD! I jump off the stairs and ran over to him just as a car was telling him to go home. Luckily they live on a country road with no traffic except for their two neighbors up the street. Needless to say this one also kept me up at night.

Story #3, When we were in SLC this last time we had a big family dinner up at Uncle Steve and Aunt Liz's house. As soon as we walked in the door Max went to explore the house. One minute he is there and the next he is gone. Those baby leashes aren't seeming so inhumane anymore. I looked around and heard someone say 'Max went upstairs'. I looked in the boys rooms...no Max. I looked in Chole's room...no Max. I looked in the Bathroom...No Max. So I went all the way down stairs...no Max. Where the heck?? I then went all the way upstairs into Liz and Steve master bedroom and there, on the balcony is Max trying to squeeze under the railing to get a red matchbox car that had fallen onto the roof! Uncle Steve being a compassionate great uncle, with Max, climbs onto a chair, over the railing, onto the roof and lets Max get the matchbox car. Thanks for showing my child how to climb onto a roof.

Another Fun Time in the Desert

2009-08-15T09:45:00.004-10:00

We had lots of fun in SLC as always. The weather was nice and dry, a good change from the thick humidity. I think my favorite part of going to SL is that Ben and I get lots of chances to be together...alone. We are super lucky anyway cause we get lots of time together in Florida but we always have our cute little buster with us (which we love). But I love just hanging out, us two :) We spent a night up at The Bird and it was great. We watched TV (which we never get to do because we don't have TV at home) we hiked, went out to dinner, went to the steam room and just sat on our scenic mountain view balcony and read our books! It was so relaxing and quiet. Ahhhh. It was so beautiful! All the wildflowers were in bloom and the crisp mountain air was so refreshing. Now for you mountain folk reading this your probably like yea, yea whats the big deal. But let me emphasis that I miss the MOUNTAINS! I miss the huge rocks, towering cliffs, little streams and pine trees everywhere. The sounds the smells and even the little woodland creatures. We did see a moose and a cute little fox which made our mountain getaway complete.
Well Max couldn't get enough Grandma and Pampa time. He was in heaven. He even pointed out when everyone (Us, G&G Tyler and G&G Derrick) was standing in a circle talking that there are "two grandmas".

Max was very excited to eat blackberries at grandma Tyler's. He always talks about it. Everyday he would go outside in the back yard and pick off a few berries and eat them. I asked if he would pick one for me and he would go over and pick it and start walking back but it never made it to my mouth. It was just to long of a walk with a tempting blackberry in hand.

Max went to the zoo twice, Liberty Park a couple of times and got lots of rides in the Jeep with big bumps. He ate lots of ice cream and cookies. It was great fun!

Trapper Keeper

2009-08-12T06:45:00.004-10:00

Max loves catching frogs and lizards. He is pretty good at the frog thing but those lizards are fast. He has gotten a few tails but only a couple whole lizards. The tails are so gross they just wiggle around on the ground, yuck! The little frogs are so cute. They are everywhere when it rains too. Max is so gentle with them too, its pretty cute. And when they wiggle around in his little cave of a hand he laughs and giggles. When I here that giggling I know exactly what he is doing. He is good at catch and release but every once in a while he wants to keep them and bring them in the house.

#654

2009-07-27T07:59:00.003-10:00

Last Saturday's tri was lots of fun even though I was all by myself. I didn't get eaten by any alligators or swamp things...I followed Suzi's advice and swam in the middle of everyone so that they were the first to get picked off. The water was nice and warm to swim in, it was great! It was about 850M and I was happy with my time. I had a little two minute run up to the transition area from the water. Then I hopped onto my bike and raced out. It was a weird course for the bike I thought...it went through some little neighborhoods and had a lot of turns. It totally slowed me up! No not really it gave me time to rest for a second. Anyway, I am for sure going to work on my biking more. I was ok with my time there but I think I could really shave off some time. It was a shorter ride with only about 13 miles. Then back to the transition area and off on my run. It was a short run of 2.65 miles so I didn't really have to worry about pacing myself...I could just run all out, but I was a little tired so I kept pace with a long leg amazon woman in front of me and that was good enough for me.
I am really glad that I made it in time cause I would have been super bummed. I woke up at 5:15am and I had to be all set up and ready to go at 7am. I had about a 40 minutes drive and so I thought I had plenty of time to get down there and pick up my packet and stuff! I got lost like three times and had to ask for directions twice! I am totally investing in a TomTom...it happens way to much. Well I finally found the park and then there was a line to pay and get into the park! Ahhhh! I made it by the skin of my teeth everyone. With ten minutes to pick up my packet, pay for my one time insurance, get set up and get body marked. I am glad somebody else was behind on time because they didn't close the transition area right on time so I made it. Phew!
I love it! I am looking forward to another sprint tri in August then a couple of relay tri's in September and in November (crossing my fingers) the Ragnar Relay from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Ocean.

Alligators and Amebas

2009-07-16T09:02:00.003-10:00

I have been preparing for another triathlon lately and with it finally around the corner I have been doing a lot of mental run throughs. How much time I need to drive down to Orlando, unpacking my things from the car, fixing a flat tire before the race, setting up in the transition area, getting dressed and undressed, etc. etc. When I think about all that my heart just starts to race! I am very excited...except...I was under the impression that it was bad to swim in the rivers and lakes out here. Ummm, alligators...and ummm, what about amebas?? Does anyone else out here worry about that? Maybe I am a little paranoid. They wouldn't have hundreds of people swimming in a lake if it wasn't safe would they? I mean I have swam in a lake before. And practicing in a clean (sort of) chlorinated swimming pool is one thing, but warm Florida, alligator and ameba, green lake? It just keeps getting bigger and bigger in my head alliGATOR...amEBA. Maybe I should invest in those nose pincher things and some ear plugs. Once the whistle starts I know that I won't think about because I will be to busy trying not to drown and get kicked in the face. I can't wait! I am to excited. I think my heart rate is at 160 right now just typing this. I am going to go cool down now...I will let you know how it goes.

Rain, Rain Go Away

2009-05-31T09:39:00.006-10:00

We have been enjoying lots of rain lately. Enjoying it i guess cause we weren't flooded out of our house. My heart goes out to all the people that have had to leave their homes because a lake moved in. There has been a lot of water...and this is just the start of the season. Every day for the past week or so it has poored and poored!

It is hard to remember being inside all winter long. We didn't know what to do without the park and the pool! I would seriously go crazy...maybe that is why I love the spring time. Winter is over and I get to be outside again. Max had to make the most of the breaks in between storms. He loved wearing his boots and playing with the umbrella.

One Week Later

2009-05-16T10:25:00.003-10:00

Last Saturday was my 25k that I had been looking forward to for a while!! I loved getting out there and seeing all the strong athletes and the people like me that are there to just have a good time. It's great that everyone shares a common love for running. I love the anticipation before the race to! Even during the race I had such a sense of excitement or maybe its was because I had to go to the bathroom so bad from drinking all that Gatorade!

Grand Rapids was really pretty! It rained on us for the first two miles so I was totally wet the entire time but it wasn't so bad. My shoes were a little soggy and totally smell now. But that's just an excuse to get new ones, right? I felt awesome the whole time and even the last 6 miles I just wanted to go! It was hard to pace myself cause I was so excited. But I picked up the pace the last 6 and then the last mile I just ran as hard as I could. It felt great to cross the finish line. I couldn't believe that it was over so soon. All that waiting and looking forward to this trip and it was over. I am really looking forward to more races and the best part was is that I did it with my friend! What a great memory! Thanks Kristine!!

Map My Ride/Run

2009-04-29T09:49:00.002-10:00

So I have been running and biking a lot of new routes lately. (I like to mix things up a little down here in Florida). Not so much when I am biking but when I run I am always wondering how far I have really gone. I generally just calculate things in my head or when I lose track I just go off my time. Sometime afterwards I take a little car ride to see exactly how far I did go. I found this free website that keeps track of all your workout stuff! It even saves all your routes and calculates the mileage, which I am the most excited about. So instead of always having to google map your routes EVERY time or even taking a short car ride (but long enough for your legs to cramp up) it saves it for you and also track your fitness. Way cool.
I am getting ready to run a 25k with Kristine on the 9th and am running out of places to go on my long runs. I hate to do a short run twice! Capital B-oring! Here in Sanford to some of the neighborhoods are to hoodish to run through so I am sort of limited around here. But most of them are so beautiful. I love having year round good weather to workout in! Here is my route I did today and it was so fun. So just go to mapmyrun.com for running or mapmyride.com for biking and have a good workout!

More Grandma and Grandpa

2009-04-27T09:04:00.007-10:00

In March grandma and grandpa Tyler come out to Florida. In April grandma and grandpa Derrick came out to visit us too. We have had lots and lots of fun having our parents out here! Max has especially loved having them around.

Max thought is was so cool to take pictures of all his toys. He loved grandmas camera.

Our main street is being renovated so we stopped to look at the 'back-hoes' on our way home from the park. Grandpa always has just as much fun as Max!

Here we are at New Symrna beach. I love the beach. We built sand turtles, buried feet and flew a kite. The most exciting part was to watch the coast guard speed past us at a few hundred feet above the ground.

2 Years Old Already!

2009-04-09T07:54:00.000-10:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX!! We had lots of fun for Max's birthday. Ben had the entire day off (Hooray) so we had a great family birthday! We went to Sea World and saw Shamu and the dolphin show but most of all we saw Manatee!! Max was so excited to see the Manatees, go figure. The were actually really cute. There were big heads of lettuce floating in the water and they were just munching away. So we were there for a while watching them float and eat. Max fell asleep towards the end of the Shamu show cause he was so worn out watching the Manatees. We walked around, had some lunch and called it a day and headed home. Oh and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a stuffed Manatee from the one of many gift stores at Sea World. He even brought the Manatee to church today. He hasn't put it down.

We have so much fun with Max!! We are so lucky to have such a sweet little guy that makes our family complete. Our lives wouldn't be the same without him...Happy Birthday Maxie!

Everything leads to Something

2009-04-07T14:09:00.004-10:00

I am a big believer that every experience (good or bad) you have in your life prepares you for something that you will experience later on in life. Now I don't want to get to philosophical or anything but every now and again something happens in my life that allows me to draw upon past experiences and I am so thankful for those little learning moments. It is almost like when you learn a new word that you have never heard and suddenly that new word is EVERYWHERE! That is what I am talking about...anyway.

So remember how Max loves his Signing Time movies? Before he could talk he was such a good little signer. Well now he is doing a lot more talking and not very much signing. The whole reason I taught him sign in the first place was so that he communicate before he was able to talk. It worked out really well. A couple months ago we got a new neighbor upstairs from us. He is super nice and he is also deaf. He was so surprised to learn that I had taught Max some sign. I was also really excited that we could communicate fairly well (mostly with his ability to read lips) but with a few sings and using the sign alphabet we are able to talk. He is really patient and teaches Ben and I new signs. We are having fun getting to know him. From now on I will think of Max's signing as another language instead of a bridge of communication between him and I. If we keep signing and talking he will grow up knowing another useful language.

I thought that I would throw in some old movies of Max signing....ahhh. But they are on our old comupter dang! maybe later :)

Just Living

2009-04-02T15:59:00.005-10:00

Wow, I missed a whole month! I guess we have been having to much fun around here. Actually its due to our dying computer...it was a long and slow death. That and our Internet connection was not that great. I would sit down to check email and I would be one sentence into typing and the computer would shut down! So between the computer shutting down without notice and our very low wireless signal I haven't done much of anything on the computer.

I have however read a couple books in my spare time. First was Icy Sparks. Has anyone read this one?? It was great. Another memoir, this one is about a ten year old girl who develops turrets syndrome. Its on Oprahs book list (not the reason I read it, but). Some funny, sad and very human experiences in it. I liked it. Also the Alchemist. I am not quit done but so far so good.

Kristine, my friend, called me a couple of weeks ago and invited me to do a 25k with her in May. I was all for it! I need some kind of goal and what better than to do it with a friend! I am really excited. I have been looking and finding all sorts of awesome triathlon and duathlons and even running races but have yet to sign up for anything. They are all expensive and I swear there is always a conflict. I did a 5k a couple weeks ago and it was really fun. I even got a two friends from my ward to do it with me. I set my goal at 25 minutes and made it! I got fourth place and won a Hummer! Well I did get fourth place for my age group and 24th place over all. I love the excitement in the air! That is what is the most fun for me.

Max is a little swimmer! Michael Phelps watch out! He jumps (falls) into the pool all by himself and swims to you without any help. At first my heart stopped but now I am ok. He does really good. He spends a lot of time under water. He will come up for air and go right back down and just look around. I bought some goggles for him to try but he doesn't like them. Maybe it was the suction?? Ben and Max will jump from the hot tub to the pool and back again. Everytime Max comes up with a huge smile on his face. The pool is freezing too! Max loves it.

I know this looks weird but this is how he sits in the hot tub...he must like the sound.

Vomit, Barf, Puke, Throw up, how ever you say it, it still smells the same

2009-02-20T16:02:00.004-10:00

Ever since we moved into our new apartment it has been really tough picking up free Internet! Maybe we need to stop being cheapskates and just get our own service huh! That is just one excuse why I haven't posted for a while. Also I haven't wanted to relive the last week of my life. The morning that we were to leave SL Max barfed. Just a little, not enough for me to say 'oh man he is sick, lets wait to get on a five hour full flight back home'. I thought hmmm that's odd and then fed him breakfast. A few hours later my mother-in-law dropped us off at the airport and said goodbye. We made it on the flight and got a whole row in the back of the plane. Twenty minutes into the flight Max fell asleep on the bench and thing were going great! Ten minutes after he fell asleep he sat straight up, looked at me and pucked everywhere!!! I wanted to die! Then he did it again! I cannot tell you how gross it was, well I can...it was GROSS! I was wet through my shirt and pants my skin smelled! His blanket was covered in curdled strawberry milk, eggs and strawberries. It was leaking through the crack in the seat onto the floor in back of us where a poor lady was sitting. And the smell!! I think I am going the puke just thinking about it. I did have a moment of haha when I thought of Chunk in the Goonies but that quickly faded. So four hours of puke smell later we arrived and I was so glad that was over. But boy was I in for it. That night Max was doing better. We all took baths when we got home and he was in good spirits. At four or so in the morning I went into check on him cause I hadn't heard him at all that night. What is that smell!! I put my face down to get a better smell and felt if he was wet. He was totally wet! I turned on the night light to change him...I looked in his crib and my baby was sleeping in POO!!! He had exploded out the front! Out the back! Out the sides and it was everywhere! I asked Ben earlier in the night which would have been worse barf or poop! Well they are equally bad in my book. The next few days consisted of lots of bad diarrhea and vomit. Later I got sick and then Ben got sick...you should have seen us we were miserable. We didn't do anything for the whole week! I am so glad that is over it was one nasty stomach bug!
On the less gross bodily function part I started a new blog! A craft blog! I've been filling up my free time with things other than blogging so I started a blog on my free time activities! Come visit me here. I put up a cute sock monkey pattern for everyone.
For more fun barf stories visit my friend Kristine. I am afraid to say that she out does me on the barf stories, note the -ies!

There is a first for everything

2009-02-04T09:26:00.005-10:00

Max went skiing for his first time last saturday. My brave stud muffin of a dad took Max in the pack-pack down the slopes at Alta. Mike (my brother) took great pictures and videos of the two making their way down. When my dad would stop Max would say GO! and when he would turn Max would say TURN! (If you listen close you can here him). He loved it. He also really enjoyed to chair lift but hated putting on mittens. Yea for free skiing after three!

Fall photoshoot with Jenny

2009-01-28T10:18:00.004-10:00

My beautiful friend Jenny took time this fall to take pictures of Max and I up at Memorial Grove. The colors up there were amazing! I love fall in Utah. I am so excited to have such a talented friend! She has started her own photography business and blog here. Go take a peek...I love looking at pretty pictures!

Thanks for the list Noelle...I was bored

2009-01-18T16:41:00.004-10:00

Here is a list of 99 things that you can copy and paste. Then you bold the things that you've done.

1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty18. Grown your own vegetables19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight22. Hitch hiked23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill24. Built a snow fort25. Held a lamb26. Gone skinny dipping27. Run a Marathon28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice29. Seen a total eclipse30. Watched a sunrise or sunset31. Hit a home run32. Been on a cruise33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing40. Seen Michelangelo's David 41. Sung karaoke42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight46. Been transported in an ambulance47. Had your portrait painted48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling52. Kissed in the rain53. Played in the mud54. Gone to a drive-in theater55. Been in a movie56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class59. Visited Russia60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies62. Gone whale watching63. Got flowers for no reason64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma65. Gone sky diving66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt73. Stood in Times Square74. Toured the Everglades75. Been fired from a job76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person80. Published a book81. Visited the Vatican82. Bought a brand new car83. Walked in Jerusalem84. Had your picture in the newspaper85. Read the entire Bible86. Visited the White House87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox89. Saved someone's life90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club93. Lost a loved one94. Had a baby95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone99. Been stung by a bee

Fun at the Beach

2009-01-18T13:49:00.002-10:00

Last Saturday we took a trip to the beach early in the morning. No one is really there in the winter time except for people running, biking or just taking a stroll. No one sun bathing cause it is just a little on the cold side. There might be a few but their probably from Utah where it is 30 degrees and 70 degrees feels like the middle of the summer. That is a little to cold for me. My mom would never let us swim in our little pool unless the red dial on the outside thermometer was at 82 degrees (she even had a froggie sticker to help us know where 82 was). So just wading for me thanks. We wondered around picking up sea shells and rocks and I even found a couple sand dollars. There was a retaining wall that was spray painted with a big face on it. Ben loves to see Max kiss everything, plants, trees you name it he kisses it. Ben told him to kiss the face and we got some funny pictures. I love the beach! The day was so nice and the waves were low and calm. We even saw a pod of dolphins swimming and jumping just where the waves started braking. Sigh, I love it.

Memoir'sss

2009-01-16T08:22:00.008-10:00

A few months ago I was reading a friends blog and she talked about a book that she had just read. Whenever I hear about books from others I am more likely to read it than just browsing the book store in hope to find a title that sounds good. Well in this particular entry by Katie peeked my curiosity so I kept my eye out for this one. When Ben and I took our little trip to Knoxville TN we stepped into a used bookstore to browse. Low and behold there it was, $3!! I started reading it on the flight home. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I couldn't put it down it was such a good read! I laughed so hard but also got sick to my stomach listening to her life story. Her alcoholic dad and hair brained mother really put these children through the ringer but Jeannette seemed to put a almost positive twist on her life. Walls really tells a good story.

The next book I read was a little more normal (normal as compared with the previous book) but SO funny! A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel. I loved this book! I wish I could go through and quote all my favorite lines and stories. Like when her sister tells her she was adopted (not true).Then Zippy goes to her mother and asks if it was true and her mother confirms that she was indeed adopted, from a band of traveling gypsies. The stories that she told were so hilarious that I found myself all alone totally laughing out loud! Defiantly one worth picking up!! It is fun to read someone eles inner thoughts and take on life. Now I am in the middle of reading Change Me Into Zeus's Daughter by Barbara Robinette Moss. I have had it for while...I think I picked it up in Hawaii and just never gotten around to it. It starts off similar to The Glass Castle, an alcoholic father (but normal mother) and six children starving. It is so sad that children have to grow up under horrible circumstance that they themselves can not help. I will let you know how it turns out. I didn't mean to read memoirs all in a row but that just what I picked up and it has been a good change from the normal fiction stuff. Everyone needs a change now and then right??

I don't feel like dancing anymore.

2009-01-08T08:08:00.003-10:00

Jeez has that been up for long enough now! I have really been meaning to write about a few things but really have not felt like blogging. I have kinda gotten out of the habit/desire to write about things that are going on. So this entry will be a bunch of little things that I have been meaning to write down.

So Sunday was fast and testimony meeting at church. It was a great meeting. There were three more minutes on the clock and I for some crazy spiritual reason got up with Max and headed to the pulpit. I just wanted to express my overwhelming gratitude for our Savior and the love he gives me. I made it short and sweet, one cause it was the end of the meeting and two because Max was reaching and squirming for the mic. Amen, and just when I turned to go, Max got the mic and bore his testimony in one clear word...Airplane. Wish you could have been there!

On Christmas Eve day we went to go look at the big airplane that Dad flies. We took and Ben (Max's friend) and Matt (Ben's dad) too. I made sure I had my camera and when we got to the plane what do you know, the card was not in the camera! Dangit!! We could have gotten so many cute pictures. Ben and Max had soooo much fun climbing on the seats, opening and closing the windows and running down the isles. When we finally made it to the cockpit the climbed up into the seats and they were in heaven. They made airplane noises, said airplane repeatedly and pushed all the buttons. I bet we played in there for at least an hour. Later they walked around outside and touched the planes nose and its dirty wheels. They walked around holding hands pointing at the airplane and telling each other 'airplane, airplane'. It was lots of fun. Hopefully we can do this more and get the airplane bug out of Max before he grows up!

Max is a character! He has been lots of fun lately (not that he isn't always fun). He kissed my glasses yesterday during our storytime before naptime. He thought he was so funny and I thought it was so funny that he thought he was so funny that we just sat there and laughed. He has been going around the house and labeling things as mama's or dada's. Most of the time things are dada's but when something is mine he says mada's. I guess he knows how things work in this family! He loves his little friend Ben. They came over for dinner one night and played and had so much fun. The next morning the first thing Max said was 'Ben?' Ben let Max borrow a toy (Max really just wouldn't give it up so Ben didn't really have a choice) and the whole time he had it at home he would say Ben's, Ben's.

He is growing up so fast. He has gone potty twice (in the toilet), is loving nursery, loves playing with other friends, drinking out of cups (with minor spills)and using utensils, folding his arms and closing his eyes during prayers and brushing his teeth. So much fun! Speaking of growing up I have wanted to post this picture of my Dad and Max doing yard work together. This picture reminds me SO much of my brother Jonathan. My dad use to do the same thing with him when he was little. It was quit weird to remember the way Jonathan looked in the 'pack-pack' and then to see my own child in it too blond hair and everything!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T04:05:00.006-10:00

Warning...boring to everyone except grandma and grandpa :)

What a way to start the Christmas season!

2008-12-15T14:46:00.001-10:00

We had Grandma Ann come out and visit...MERRY CHRISTMAS to us! Max was thrilled to see Grandma walk in the door but he really wanted to know where the dog was? He saw Grandma, gave her a hug and said 'Sadie'?? We all cracked up. Max would not let her out of his sight. He wanted grandma for everything naptime, bedtime, bath time. It was a great break for me!

Ben and I got an early Christmas present from G&G Tyler. An overnight babysitter! We hopped on a plane went to Knoxville, TN. I know, random, but it was a lot of fun. A new adventure. We went to dinner, walked around the historic Marysville town, went to a used bookstore (Ben's favorite), and went into a couple galleries. It was a lot of fun walking everywhere and just being able to spend time together, alone. We took a break and went to see a movie and then hopped back on the plane and flew home. Next time we go we are going to Dolly Land...as in Dolly Parton. They have a whole theme park dedicated to her! Weird, but we really wanted to see the smokey mountains so next time I guess.

Max and Grandma had lots of fun while we were gone. They went to the downtown festival here in Sanford, the zoo and Toys r'us and got airplanes. That is Max's only word right now, airplane, airplane, airplane! Everything is an airplane. In a book about elephants there is a picture of a teter-toter and it is a airplane. Birds are airplanes. He wants to watch the airplane part in signing time over and over. It is cute. The only books he wants to read are airplane books and he has been sleeping with at least one airplane in his hand for nap time and bed time.

We went to Blue Springs National Park and saw Manatee's. They are so neat! There was one right under us so we got a really good look at her. It came up to breath and look around a couple times. They are so cute and big. We walked up and down the bridges/walkway in the rain and Max just wanted grandma to hold him the whole time. Another day we drove out to New Smyrna beach. We walked around the little beach town and then went and chased birds on the beach. It is weird to go to the beach wearing coats! But it was lots of fun to walk around and pick up shells and stuff. Then the night before it was time to say goodbye we went to dinner and had some soul food. We ate Ox tail (kinda like roast beef with bone in the middle), Chitterlings (intestine, not my favorite), Collard Greens, BBQ Ribs, fried Talpia (fish, yumm), cornbread, mac and cheese it was yummy. We loved having Grandma out here and can't wait for her to come back. She left us with lots of rest, airplanes and cookies. Thanks Grandma Ann!

HappyLittleArtist

2008-12-01T13:49:00.005-10:00

So my friend Annie and I have found a new obsession. Making super-duper cute headbands! Fabric is so addicting...and we are addicted. It is so fun to mix and match fabric patterns and textures and make one of a kind headbands . Every one we make I want to keep for myself. Since I never do my hair anymore I love using this as my do. It makes me feel sort of put together.

Annie took it one step further and made matching skirts for little girls. (She has a cute little girly girl that she can dress up.) They are so cute! We put a shop up on Etsy.com for your viewing and buying pleasure. I LOVE Etsy!!!! Also since it tis' the season we are participating in some local boutiques. There will be a booth at the Art Market (1602 East 2100 South) at the Garden Center (at the north-east side of sugarhouse park). The hours are this Thursday 2-7, Friday 10-7 and Saturday 10-5. Also Annie's talented friend is doing a 'give-away' on her blog if you make a comment. You could win a free headband/skirt combo!

And thanks to Jenny for doing all our awesome photography. She took pictures of Max and I in Memory Grove and they turned out so good!! She says she is just practing but they look professional to me. I am so excited to frame them. Her little girl Savanah is so cute in this pic.

It's a Small World After All ride ROCKS!!

2008-11-29T10:28:00.005-10:00

We finally did it! The Magical Kingdom at Disney World that is. We have been here for more then eight months and have yet been to a theme park. It was fun and it brought back all those childhood memories. Ben could not stop going on the Small World ride, he just want to go again and again. There was SO much to do. I feel like we got to see a tenth of what there is to see. For the record though we rode the Disney choo-choo train (after we changed Max's explosion of a diaper), Aladdin's flying carpets, Peter Pan, It's a Small World after all (our personal fav), Dumbo. We took a swamp safari boat ride and climbed in the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house. Then Ben and I took turns watching our 34" tall son while we individually rode Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and the other one. We decided that next time we will take Max he needs to be 44" tall.

Max got to the end of the ride and very intensely signed more, more, more! Luckily no one was in line for It's a Small World and we got to go three times in a row!

Novembuuuurrrrrrrr!

2008-11-28T03:59:00.003-10:00

When we came back from Utah about a week ago I thought I was leaving the cold weather behind. We got back and I felt like I hadn't left, I even came down with a cold! Today is really nice but it is going to start raining tomorrow according to the forecast.

It was so nice to get to experience the seasons in Utah. We even got to see snow while we were there! I went with Mike and Miken to see Warren Miller and I got all excited for the winter and thought that I wouldn't get to see any snow while I was there. But we got enough in the mountains that Snowbird even opened that weekend! It of course melted the next day in the valley but Max and I had fun playing in it.

I love the leaves and all the colors! It was nice to spend some time outdoors even though it was cold. Max did not like the winter coat he had to put on. The snow distracted him enough that he forgot about it. He just wanted to be outside all the time, cold or not.

We walked down to tracks a few times and went for a rides. We rode downtown to see all the big cranes and machines working. We rode up to the hospital to see the mountains but then the best part was walking home. Max picked up every leaf, chestnut and stick he could find. He would 'haa-yaa' with the sticks and throw the rocks. It took a long time to walk four blocks but he did it all himself and loved it. He was such a good walker (and napper after all that walking).

He really started talking while we were in Utah. He totally jabbers but is really good at saying NO and EAT. He says 'mam-ma' for grandma and ''pam-pa' for grandpa. Of course mama and dada. 'Dink'= drink, juice, ''cak-cak' = pancakes, 'um-me' = oatmeal, meat, moon, 'side' for outside, and a few more but I can't think of them, oh 'pease'= please.

We're going on a witch hunt, We're going to find a big one!

2008-10-31T06:27:00.000-10:00

The last couple of days have been tons of fun! Halloween is the start of the holiday season and what a way to start. First of all the weather in Utah has been so nice the past week. Low 70's during the day and 50's at night (my favorite). The leaves are all sorts of beautiful colors and the sky is a perfect blue contrast. I love Utah! The day before Halloween I met up with my beautiful friend Loni and her two kids at Gardner Village. There were witches everywhere! We walked around and looked at the shops, tried to take pictures of three kids and then had dinner at Archibald's. Yumm. Max has been such a good little walker lately that I decided not to bring a stroller. The consequence to that decision was that he tried to steal every stroller that was empty. He did a good job keeping up and Devon was so nice and gave Max a few rides in Tessa's stroller. Then after we left we headed to G & G Tyler's to carve pumpkins. Max loved this!! I put him right up on the counter to help Grandpa T spoon out the guts. He got his own spoon to scoop with and even confiscated grandpas spoon. He would reach in and feel around and dig a little. He really like dropping his spoon inside and fishing it out. He was so excited that he kept saying 'HI' to everyone that was gathered around. I think everyone got a hi from Max.

The next day was Halloween and I really didn't know how I was going to a) get the costume on Max and b) keep it on without him hating me for the rest of his life. He did not like it. I tried it on him a few times before and he just cried and screamed. I decided that bribery was my best bet. I got a cookie for each hand and put him in a fast as I could. He was soooo cute!! I took him to the mirror so he could look at himself. I guess he decided that it was ok because he kept it on for the next half hour so I could take pictures. I wanted to get as many pictures as I could just in case I wasn't able to get the costume back on him later for trick-or-treating. After his nap grandma T came over a bribed Max into his costume with a pumpkin Pez dispenser. Then we headed down to Grandpa T's office for the Halloween party. He trick-or-treated at all the different offices and got some black balloons (so much better than the candy). Max was so good! He kept the costume on ALL night! My favorite part was watching him from behind because he had a major elephant wedgie all night. It was so cute. We went to the circle party and had root beer and grapes. He got lots of candy and had fun looking at all the different costumes that the kids wore. What a trooper!

Grandpa T even dressed up as Santa for Halloween...they also turned on the lights for the full effect.

leafs, sticks and rocks

2008-10-30T09:32:00.006-10:00

Blogging is so many different things for so many different people. There are all kinds of blogs out there from political blogs to mommy blogs to decorating blogs and my favorite rants and rave blogs (no, not really...I would rather read something uplifting). Anyway, blogging for me has been a good way to keep in touch with family since we have been moving around so much. I have always been terrible at keeping a journal, but my wish for this blog is that it can be a journal. I want to be able to write down the good things in life that happen because sometimes those are the hardest to remember. I want to be able to recall those perfect still moments in life when I am absolutely in love with Max. My days go by and sometimes I have a hard time remembering what we did the other day and even what day it actually is! I want to remember. This is how I am going to do it. My goal for this blog is to remember all the small simple things in my days. So if your looking for excitement and a really entertaining blog, sorry, cause I will be writing about leafs, sticks and rocks from now on.

Uncle Mike and Max...deffinatly a strong Derrick gene

Still a squirt bottle addict.

2008-10-30T02:58:00.001-10:00

I finished The Host about a month ago and am now just finishing my half done post. So for all you Stephanie Meyer fans out there have you finished her non-Twilight book? What did you think? Have you seen the trailer yet?? I was surprised that she had a trailer. It took me a few hundred pages to get into this book. I didn't get totally into it until about page 400 and then I couldn't put it down. I stayed up one night until 2 am reading it. Arrgh.
The hardest thing for me was the beginning. I could not separate Melanie from Wanda. It really bugged me and I could only read a few pages at a time. That and the whole conflict within herself thing going on and on and on started to get on my nerves. The whole 'that's not my nature' bit. S.M. has a tendency to drawl things out for a long time (like with Bella and her 'I'm-the-victim').

I would recommend it. On a scale from 1 to 10 I would rate it a 6.5 (It needs a half in there). Did anyone else read it??

Play me some blues...

2008-10-18T17:18:00.004-10:00

Grandma Derrick is always looking for new ways to be entertained by Max. Yesterday she pulled out a harmonica for Max to play. Man he took off. He loved it and that is all we have been listening to. Here is a little clip of the song and Max telling all about it...

Just watch Max not me....

2008-10-11T04:46:00.008-10:00

So we have had a web cam for a while and I wanted to test out the video feature...Max was so nice to cooperate with me. He was pretty funny when I was replaying these little clips he would follow the signs in the video. So these are mostly for the gradparents/family but feel free to watch them.

dough·nut: a small cake of sweetened or, sometimes, unsweetened dough fried in deep fat, typically shaped like a ring or a ball.

2008-09-27T12:06:00.011-10:00

I miss the mountains!!!! I miss the sounds. The smells. The flowers. The dirt. You never realize what you have until its gone. Florida is so flat. I think the highest elevation point is like 80 feet. The only hill close by is the landfill. It is my goal to make it to the mountains at least once during our visits to SLC.

The three of us went to doughnut falls. It was short and sweet but worth it. When I was younger this was the hike that the YW did every girls camp. I even had a b-day camp party and hiked up there once. Oh the memories. It looks a lot different know after the side of the mountain slid off and covered the doughnut. That was the best part of the whole hike, being able to hike up into the cave and watch the water thunder down into the carved out dome. We would eat our lunches up in the cave.

We crossed the river and then waded out onto a little island to throw rocks. Max had fun watching Ben make huge splashes with the big rocks. Max went for the big ones too but then opted for the pebbles because he could actually pick those up.

Nothing going on

2008-09-22T07:02:00.003-10:00

The reason for my few and far between posts is because we went to Salt Lake again. It was lots of fun as usual I get to see friends, have babysitters and see family. Max loved being with Grandma and Grandpa Tyler. He got really good at saying 'Sadie', the family German Shepard. He would say it over and over and he even started telling her to sit. Grandpa Derrick took him to the zoo a couple of times to see the 'Li-La's' a.k.a. gorillas. Max got lots of trips to Emo for ice cream and ate just about every last blackberry on the bush in the backyard. I would let him go outside to play in the backyard with Sadie and when I would check on him he would be standing at the blackberry bush with blackberries all over his mouth. He would stand there saying 'cucka' as he was eating because the only berries left were the red unripe berries. He loved jumping on the tramp with anyone who would take him. It was one of the first things he wanted to do in the morning and it didn't matter if the sprinklers were on or not.

Before we left Florida it was still up in the air about where Ike was going(no pun intended). So being kinda paranoid about the rising lake level out our front door we put our piano up on blocks just in case. Well thankfully nothing happened while we were gone and the water is starting to go down. But man is it stinky! There are lots of dead fish and crap all along the walkway and the road. I guess that is better than having stinky crap in your house so I won't complain! So pretty much there is nothing going on.

Day Tripper

2008-09-08T09:13:00.004-10:00

On Saturday we decided to go and visit the oldest continuously occupied settelment in the nation, St. Augustine. It was founded in 1565 by the Spanish. 1565! We walked down St. George street and looked at all the old buildings and tourist traps. We also visited Castillo de San Marcos the fort of St. Augustine. The city had pirate attacks! I love the feeling you get when you visit somewhere old and historical. All the building were so neat to look at. Aside from it being a BILLION degrees, paying to do anything and swarming with people it was a fun day. My favorite was the fort. All the walls of the fort were made from crushed sea shells. Did you know that Florida doesn't have any rocks?? It is one big sand box. We got there just in time to see the voluteers, dressed up in costume, fire the cannons from the wall just as they would have in battle. It was really loud. After the cannons fired Max looked at Ben and signed 'hurt' because it was to loud! What a funny guy!

The walls are made out of Shells! Can you tell??

The other day...

2008-09-08T02:12:00.003-10:00

Max asked to go for a bike ride! It was so cute we put him in his stroller and he started protesting and then signed bike. Well first he wanted his hat/helmet (which was a surprise. he hates it). Then he signed bike. So we opted to go for a bike ride up to the local DQ. Along the way we took pictures of the neverending rising water in Lake Monroe. The grass, roads and little park ponds have blended into one big mess.

At least someone was having a good time with it.

Here we are a the DQ. Max got his first brain freeze, poor guy. But we had to laugh. His face turned red and he just let out one big scream. Then he was done.

Horay for Dilly Bars!

Yesterday on our before bedtime walk Max turn and looked at me and signed ice cream. Ben and I craked up! It had been a couple of days since DQ and he remembered the sign for ice cream. He kept signing it over and over. If he could talk more he would say 'you don't have ice cream for me? What is the big idea!'. Cause that is what he looked like when I said I don't have any right now.

WARNING!! You might split a gut...

2008-09-04T01:49:00.003-10:00

My awesome brother-in-law Tom in on a mission in San Paulo Brazil. Every week the family gets emails from Tom updating us and making us laugh. The one we got yesterday had Ben and I down on the ground crying. I thought some of you could use a good laugh...Ok, im going to let you guys in on some secrets, I have been pulling a lot of pranks on my old comp j silva. When he was here I pulled a prank that I saw on the office, and when he was sleeping I put his missionary name tags in jello, and then told him breakfast was ready in the morning, and he didn’t even see his tags until he hit them with his spoon. I laughed, then I hid all of the things that we had behind our house, like clothes drying, and many other things, and told him we had been robbed, about half an hour later when he was about to call the president I told him I was joking. Again I laughed. One time I woke him up with a fire cracker, he woke up really fast, and I laughed. And there have been a couple other things, all of which made me laugh really hard. And yes, he is really good natured, so he took them all in stride really well, and laughed right along side me. Right now, I am dressed in jeans and dress shoes with long black socks, my byu shirt tucked in, hair parted down the middle, and glasses. A nerd. My new comp thinks I am one of the biggest nerds he has met. And I will let him think that for a little bit longer. I will break the truth to him sometime today. The sisters here almost died from laughter when they saw me.

Blue Steel Baby

2008-09-02T08:31:00.002-10:00

Is he cool or what...he sure thinks he is. I just think he is so darn cute! He puts on such a serious face when he has his sunglasses on. When Ben or I make a big deal about the coolness he gets this funny little smirk on his face as if to say either 'I know' or 'you guys are totally lame'. Anyway it is cute...and he loves to put them on when we go running. People get a kick out of it.

Max loves taking pictures of himself. Maybe he is trying to capture his coolness. It almost looks like he is doing the Blue Steel look that Ben Stiller perfected in Zoolander. Anyway, this is what I find on my card when I download pictures. Random, out-of-focus, ???? pictures. He loves the flash...that is what he really attracted to. He points the camera at himself and presses the button and just waits for the flash. He laughs and does it again and again. The below two pictures are when I am trying to get a candid shot. The flash goes off and he zeros in on the camera and is determined to take it away from me. Then the following pictures are the outcome on my confiscated camera.

The water is five feet high and rising

2008-08-31T02:06:00.005-10:00

(Befores and afters)

In my whole life I never wished that it would stop raining. I don't think Utah has seen, in a whole season, as much water as Florida sees in a day. It is crazy how much water there is...it is almost enough to makes us kinda nervous. I think we probally have only a couple more feet left before the water is sloshing at our front door. An older local guy said in all his life he has only seen it like this twice before. I only have one picture of Lake Monroe before the rising water. I took a few picture to show you how much the water has risen.

Hopefully this is not a sign of what is to come...

2008-08-29T13:29:00.000-10:00

We went flying while we were in SLC. Ben knew a guy who knew a guy that had an old SMALL plane that we could take flying. Max took a little snooze on the way down to the Provo airport where the SMALL plane was parked. When we walked out of the FBO to see the planes his eyes just lit up. There were so many! And they were so close!! He was so excited. He was a little stunned at first but then an airplane took off and he totally got the big picture. 'these are the one that I see flying in the sky!' At the little po-dunk airports everything is in close proximity that the plane taking off wasn't very far away. Then a helicopter came in to land. At one point he had both hands pointing at two different planes. He was obviously pulled in two directions and couldn't decide which one to watch.

We got to the SMALL plane and while Ben checked out the plane I let Max climb in the plane. His little mind was going a million miles an hour. He was all over the place. Touching the dials, pulling and turning the yoke so the flight controls would move up and down, opening and closing the door and windows. He was so excited he just kept signing airplane over and over. He would hold his hand up for extra emphasis too.

We started the plane, taxied out and took off and flew around for while. Max played musical laps with Ben and I. He would climb onto Ben's lap and fly the plane. Ben did zero g's (where you pitch the plane up and then pitch down so you get the feeling of being weightless) and Max was a little scared. That's when he came back to me, for the comfort hug. Then he would go back to Ben for more.

Cute friends!

2008-08-28T10:07:00.003-10:00

Since I have been MIA for the last few weeks not only haven't I posted but I haven't looked at anyones blog. So I took time out last night and checked up on all of you! And can I just say that I have some of the cutest friends ever! I went down my whole list of people and instead of commenting on every blogs posts (since they were all so fun to look at) I thought that I would just tell you all that I think you all are so cute and looks like everyone is having so much fun. I know that most of you count on getting a comment from me every day (right!?!) so I just wanted to tell you sorry also. I really do love you! All of you! Thanks for not blocking me from your blog either since I haven't been around to make comments.

Fay a drop of golden sun...

2008-08-27T06:45:00.002-10:00

Wow, I have missed all of August! I have so much to post about our exciting month...where do I start? We have been in SLC for most of the month attending a family reunion and a wedding. (And I have been totally OCD about the new Stephanie Meyers book, Breaking Dawn) Which were all a lot of fun. While we were there enjoying the crisp mountain air and dry valley heat we missed tropical storm Fay in Florida. She sounded like a pretty bad storm. As soon as we landed I could tell that the ground was just completely saturated with standing water. Ponds and lake were filled to capacity and in lots of cases overflowing. This storm gave me a glimpse of what a swamp/wetland habitat looks like. If you close your eyes and think of the Everglades or pictures of a swamp it is not hard to pictue what Florida looks like right now. The once muddy and grassy ground now looks like a smooth reflecting glass with trees sticking out of it. We live right across the street from St. Johns river which eventually flows into the ocean. The water is normally 6 to 7 feet below the dock but now after all that rain it is 2 inches away from over flowing. In the next couple of days it is predicted to cress and overflow as the storm heads north and as more storms come. Luckily Ben and I had minimal water damage. Other people in our apartment complex where not so lucky. They have big blue tarps hanging over their roof and windows. Hopefully the next big storm will not turn towards Florida. I think it needs to dry out here a little before Gustav comes closer or else we might have a swimming pool in our living room. Remind me why we got ground level/lake view apartment again?

Just my luck...

2008-07-31T05:36:00.002-10:00

Ben was feeling really generous the other day and offered to wake up with Max that following morning, on his day off, so that I could sleep in AS LATE AS I WANT. I wish I could stretch it out all day long but somehow my sleeping in habits have vanished since Max came along. Anyway, what a nice guy. We stayed up a little later than usual watching a movie because hey I get to sleep in right! I think I slept a little more soundly that night because I knew that I didn't have to wake up at 6 o'clock in the morning to make eggs. Like clock work Max started talking away at 5:55am and I woke up and thought to myself 'Ha he's awake and I get to go back to sleep'! I look over at my other sleeping baby and he was SOUND asleep, not even a hint of 'I think I heard the baby'. It was ok, Max was not crying yet so I just rolled over and figured when Max started to cry I would nudge Ben and then he could go get him. I must have fallen back asleep cause I woke up at 7:05 and Ben was still asleep and everything was quiet. Why was everything so quiet? Is Max ok? Did he fall back asleep? Something by the way he never does. I went to go check on him and lo and behold he had FALLEN BACK ASLEEP!! WHAT! On my morning off he falls back asleep! He slept until 8:30...so did Ben..and so did I. It all worked out great but why can't that ever happen to me! Just once!

Blue Springs with Ted and Sarah

2008-07-28T03:33:00.008-10:00

On Thursday we all went to Blue Springs Park. We bought some tubes and put our sunscreen on and hiked up river to float down the river. We bought Max a special bodysuit (seen below) for the occasion. I have always been really against these little suits because they look so dorky, but my imagination kept getting the better of me and I kept picturing Max jumping out of my arms while we were floating down river and sinking to the bottom. Then me being the vertically challenged person that I am, I could see myself not being able to touch the bottom to save him and you can guess the rest. Anyway, I gave in and got the dork suit so it would be harder for him to possibly drown. It was so much fun to float down the river. Max loved it he totally just chilled in my arms which was a nice surprise for me cause I thought he would be all over the place hence the dork suit. He just sat back and was so excited to be on the 'boat'. The trees were so tall and covered with moss and it was just green every where. It was super hot again so the water felt so nice and it was so clear. It wasn't to crowed either. Ben and Ted attacked each other and Sarah and I just relaxed and floated down the river. It was so fun that when we got to the end we had to go again. It was a lot of fun and we left just in time for the afternoon thunderstorms.

Beach Day

2008-07-24T14:28:00.005-10:00

On the top of Sarah and Teds to do list was the beach. Yesterday we drove down to New Smyrna to spend the day surfing, boogie boarding and playing in the water. We had a lot of fun and it was such a nice day. The sun was out and there was a nice sea breeze. First thing was first, we rented a surf board and hit the waves. They were perfect for beginners (and me). Max loved running around in the sand and coming out in the waves with me. After an hour of playing Max and I went back out in the waves to cool off and he fell asleep on my shoulder while we were standing in the waves. He was one tired little guy. I was offered some shade under someones umbrella and I sat there while Max took a hour long nap. It was so nice of those ladies to share their shade. We would have roasted other wise. Sarah and Ted were pros on the surf board. They got up a ton. We took our small grill and grilled some hot dogs for lunch. In Hawaii we could always spot a tourist because their skin was the color of a tomato. Well the same goes for Florida. Even though it is summer, and Ted and Sarah did put on sunscreen, they still got burned. It was lots of fun and I am happy to report that the shark attack that happened yesterday did not affect any of us. Phew!!

Gator Land with Ted and Sarah

2008-07-23T04:09:00.001-10:00

Yes we are still alive...I can't believe how fast time goes by sometimes. It has been a little rough lately with Max, he is getting two new teeth (do kids get molars this young? Cause that's what they look like). He is a good sleeper but he has been restless during naps and night time since these teeth decided to come in. During the day he is just really needy and sad so needless to say my blogging time or free time has been spent sleeping or just relaxing. Actually I think it has been a combination of that and that there hasn't been anything really going on. But now I finally have time and something to write about! Uncle Ted and Aunt Sarah are here to visit!! I am way excited that they are here. I grew so attached to these two when Ben and I were staying with the Tylers. They were so fun to hang out with and I miss them!

Today we went to Gator land. There were lots and lots of huge crocs and a stifling heat wave. The first thing we did when we got to the park was see a wresting show. Can I just say that even though I am not partial to reptiles and non-fuzzy/cute animals I felt really bad for these guys. I couldn't watch the show without feeling sad for these animals. They have a few crocs swimming in a moat that encircles a sand stage where they are wrestled for our entertainment. The wrestlers get in the two foot deep water, grab the crocs by their tails and heave them up and out of the water onto the sand and are then poke, prodded and wrestled. Anyway, enough animal rights talk. We all had a lot of fun walking around and looking at all the crocs and really bad tourist tank tops. They also had other animals there. They had lots of beautiful colored parrots, a petting zoo(no crocs involved) and even a splash park which was heaven sent since it was SOOO HOT! We climbed to the top of a tower that over looked a river spotted with crocodiles. They were HUGE! I had a brief moment of fear at the top when I imagined myself accidentally loosing hold of Max and him climbing over the edge into the river and me jumping in after him and then finding him but not being able to hoist him up to someone and then eventually being eaten by crocodiles. (Can you image my dreams at night?)

At the top of the tower we were able to get above the tree line a little and see a big storm that had been looming for about an hour coming our way. As soon as we got down it dumped! It was like someone had popped a water balloon above our heads. Everyone was huddled under the cover walkway including two peacocks waiting for it to pass. It didn't pass and we got drenched going to the car. At least Max liked running in the rain. It was a fun day just hanging out. Max loves to have Ted and Sarah around. He was very confused when he woke up in the morning and they were here but after a couple of minutes he climbed into their laps just like old times.

Again?

2008-07-04T05:42:00.004-10:00

Now that Max can walk around and go and pretty much do what he wants, with a few exceptions, he is so busy. There is so much that captures his attention that the saying 'so much to do so little time' certainly applies to Max. For him to do everything he want he has to go full speed ALL the time. I don't mind keeping up but it is the falling over and over that I hate. Some days are defiantly better than others, but on this particular day he fell numerous times and he seemed to keep falling face first onto everything. The law of attraction could be at work here, I don't know? His poor little lip turned into a poor huge lip! Once on the concrete outside, again on the table and then last but certainly not least the carpet inside. I don't know where his hands were but they weren't in front of him that is for sure. Sad little guy. Yesterday he managed to scrape both his knees within seconds of each other. So much for a night time walk. Do you ever notice that when your trying not to hit something or drop something that's exactly what happens?! This is the story of my life. Stuff like this always happens to me and I get so frustrated at how clumsy I can be sometimes. The earliest memory I have is when I was learning to ride a two wheeler at my elementary school playground. I had finally gotten the hang of it and I was riding around in circles while my dad took a much needed rest. Well I decided to ride over and show him how good I was at riding. I headed right over to the jungle gym that he was sitting on and slammed right into it. I remember my dad yelling 'brake, BRAKE'! It was like a magnet I couldn't do anything. Speaking of magnets, excuse me I have to laugh out loud here, I remember this one time when I was roller blading with my best friend. We were going home to my house and that ment lots of steep hills. We were nearly to the end of one hill and she couldn't brake hard enough to slow down. Panic struck and she slammed right into a huge wall that was a window to a restaurant. Being the good friend that I am I laughed at her, sorry Annie. But seriously how would you like to be the person sitting on the other side of the window eating your sandwich?

Smocking 101

2008-06-24T14:13:00.005-10:00

Here is my first smocked outfit. Ann (Ben's mom) was so nice to show me how. She has a little machine that pleats the fabric. Then you watch a lot of Jane Austin movies and follow a pattern. It is really fun and I have another that I am working on for Christmas. He wore this on Sunday and I thought he looked so cute! This other one was an Easter present from Grandma Ann. Cute huh!

Rain Rain

2008-06-21T05:35:00.004-10:00

The past few afternoons we have had some awesome thunderstorms roll by. Max and I got stuck in the rain one day and got very wet. It was lots of fun to teach him what rain was. He kept singing water, it was cute. So the next day when it rained he wanted to go outside and play in the rain again.

Don't you wish you were little again! I love the rain, I remember playing outside in the rain with my brother Mike. We lived at the bottom of a really big hill so the water would come rushing down the gutters. We both would sit or stand in the gutter and let the water run over our feet and play human dams. It was great.

Belated Birthday

2008-06-18T07:02:00.007-10:00

We are back home sweating it out in Florida. It is so hot here! It was nice to experience a 40 degree temperature change. I love Utah in the spring time...the smells, the flowers and the cool morning air. Here it is just hot and humid ALL the time. No good smells like Utah or Hawaii. Mmmm, Hawaii...the ocean breeze, the plumeria trees and hibiscus. Every new place comes with their own sounds and smells. Florida sounds like loud thunder and frogs at night. I haven't figured out a smell yet.
So we are back home after a great trip to SLC. Max loved spending time with the grandparents and the dogs and I loved spending time with Ben, alone. It has been just over two month since Ben and I have had time to spend together without Max. It was so fun. Max had lots of fun going to the zoo and the park to feed the ducks. Jumping on the tramp and playing with the dogs. It was a good vacation and we look forward to another one soon. Hopefully the flight will be better next time around. Here is my theory on why that flight was so horrible. 1) All the flights before this one Max wasn't walking. 2) We woke him up from his nap early. 3) It was right during bedtime, which we though would be great cause he would just fall asleep. 4) I wasn't really prepared with the best toys or treats. At least the flight home was not as bad as the one going to SLC. Grandma Derrick bought Max a DVD player with some movies to watch on the way home which he loved. Thanks goodness for Signing Time. I came prepared with better snacks and toys and a squirt bottle! He did a lot better and I think having his own seat really help both of us out. It was great to not have to hold him the entire time and try to kept him from bothering the people next to us. All though the guy in front of us wasn't to keen about having Max sit behind him. He and his wife kept giving me the evil eye through the seat. What do they expect a one year old to do just sit there? It would be nice, but give me a break! Max would play with his tray table, stand up to look at the TV screen that was on the back of the headrest and bump the seat a little. I understand that this could get old and I did my best to control it. Hey at least he wasn't screaming his guts out! I would gladly trade him seats, hahaha.
While I was in SLC I got Max's birthday pictures from April that we left behind when we first came out here. I had his B-day party the day that we were leaving to move out here and I didn't have time to download the pictures. So here is Max's first birthday party.

Aunt Mieken, Uncle Mike, Uncle Jon and Grandma and Grandpa Derrick over for Max's party.

Max's birthday hat.

An airplane cake for Max and yummy cupcakes for everyone else. Mmmmm sugar rush just before we head to the airport.
Uncle Ted gave Max a snugly soft monkey for his birthday. Max found its nose. Max kept giving it hugs and kisses, totally unprompted, it was so cute! He would just snuggle it. Needless to say it is one of his favorite stuffies.

Terror Flight

2008-06-08T16:44:00.002-10:00

Oh man! What a crazy flight we had last night. I can't believe that Ben and I are still alive. Max has always been such a good traveler. Walking on to the plane should have been my first indication of how the rest of the flight would be. Something just set him off and he cried the whole way down the isle to seat 40C, which is pretty much the back of the plane. Of course I was the last person to get on the plane and I know everyone was looking at me passing by thinking GREAT I hope she isn't my neighbor! I know because I used to be one of those people. Max thankfully stopped crying but he was super wiggly the entire time. I have never been so exhausted in my life. I tried everything I knew to keep him entertained. We did have some quiet times where he would sit and read some stories and I though he would doze off but it was just the calm before the storm. It was four hours and forty minutes of a sleep deprived, board, hyperactive child trying to be held in one position. Two things which are totally contradictory in my book. I can get Max to sit through the sacrament, not sacrament meeting, just the sacrament and that is all. He is not one to sit and be held. All and can say, and Ben would totally disagree, is that I was so glad that he was there to share my pain! So what things keep your children entertained? Ben keeps saying NyQuil over and over but I think that it would have the opposite effect on Max. I need some tricks now cause I am not looking forward to the return flight!!

¿Cómo se dice beach ?

2008-06-03T06:09:00.005-10:00

On Saturday we went to New Smyrna Beach again but this time we had friends. These are our neighbors from Columbia! Senor Roger, senora Syda and senor Roger peqeño. They speak very little English and we speak even less Spanish but somehow we manage to communicate. Our conversations consist of two dictionaries and charades. Ben met Roger and little Roger at the pool on afternoon with Max. About a month later Ben went over to their house with a calendar and a dictionary to figure out when would be a good time to have dinner together. After two hours Ben came home and said dinner was next week. It was six o'clock and dinner was right on time. Usually I am way ahead or way behind on dinner but tonight I was right on time. 6:20, 6:30 and nobody yet. Ben and I laughed and said maybe our communication was wrong and we got the dates mixed up or something. No they were just an hour late. Aside from that we had a good time. Max slept the whole time and little Roger watched Stuart Little. We laughed showed pictures and had a good time. Roger says that Ben is his English teacher and I look like Miss America. Aren't they nice? Any one who says I look like a Miss America is my friend. They have lived here about a year. We don't know any details but in a nutshell they had to move away from Columbia for their safety and they came here not knowing any English (leaving their jobs behind, Syda was an accountant and Roger served in Iraq and was an Engineer). Syda works 60 hours a week for minimum wage and Roger just got layed off. We all have our own trials but I would not like to go through what they went through. Anyway we went to the beach on Saturday and had lots of fun. Little Roger was really scared of the ocean and Max loved it. We saw dolphins swimming and jumping. I just followed Max around while he looked at sea shells, did hand stands on his head and played in a little water pool.

Little Roger is 3 and isn't to found of Max since Max is always trying to play with his toys. Max commandeered Roger's beach chair but he was nice and let him sit in it. Big Roger always like to point out how dark he is compared to Ben and Max. Here he is showing the contrast.

We had lots of fun and we love being in a beach state!

Toys

2008-06-02T04:35:00.005-10:00

Max is so disenchanted with baby toys. He likes them but he like things like vacuums and hairdryers so much more. I don't get it...anything but toys! His number one thing that he LOVES is the vacuum cleaner. He will stand at the closet door, knock on it and rub his chest saying please for the vacuum (along with a very agitated whine). Other things that are on the top of the list are the hairdryer, iron, sonic toothbrush, water spray bottle, egg beater, broom and of course our cell phones. He also loves to help me do the dishes! I put dishes in and he takes them out. Just the sound of the dishwasher door opening and he comes running. I guess it is a baby thing...anything that we use seems so much better to them.

Why is Max being so quiet...

2008-05-30T14:37:00.003-10:00

I can't wait until meal time with Max gets cleaner and shorter! I swear I feel like I am feeding and cleaning him all day. I even have to go to great lengths sometimes to entertain this child in his highchair. Sometimes I pull him up to the utinsil drawer so he can pull wooden spoons and spatulas out. Other times he points to everything in the kitchen and I walk around saying this? this? this???? Handing him a variety of things. Well on this particular day we were sitting by the pen drawer. I thought that he would love to play with some highlighter markers. You know the kind where they snap into each others bottoms and make long swords. I made sure that the caps were on tight and handed over a three marker sword. It kept him entertained long enough to finish breakfast. (He is way into puzzle kinds of things, making things fit together and putting one object into another...like making marker swords.) I was cleaning up...feed, clean, clean, feed...I thought to myself Max is being very quiet I wonder what he is up to. Then I turned around to see him walking into the kitchen with a marker in hand and bright yellow highlighter scribbled on his face. He pretty much wore it for the rest of the day. Isn't motherhood great! (I not being sarcastic either) I thought it was so cute!

This picture is for Aunt Charlotte...Congratulations on graduation!!

Aloha Max

2008-05-30T09:52:00.003-10:00

We took these pictures of Max in Ben's old Aloha outfit that he wore when he was little. I think this is the last time he will wear this outfit because he growing like a weed!

Are you hurt?

2008-05-25T09:12:00.002-10:00

Max started signing hurt a few days ago. In the signing time movie it shows babies crying with very sad faces and moms hugging and kissing them better. You can show where you are hurt by pointing your pointer fingers together over your owie. You can also ask where are you hurt by waving your pointer finger back and forth, like saying no, no. So I want to know how you teach the concept of being hurt without actually hurting? Well Max has had a little confusion when it comes to this. Max surprised me the other day when I stubbed my toe on his highchair while he was eating. While I was bending over in agony and saying owie, owie (I am G rated people) I managed to stand up and point to my owie toe. Max proceeded to wave his finger asking 'where is your owie?' I just started to laugh and showed him where it was. I was so excited that he caught on without me coaxing him. Then the next day or so I was changing his diaper and I pinched him. He cried and signed hurt. So I gave him a hug and was so excited that we could add this to our list of learned signs. Well now it has been a couple of weeks since our first incident. Now it has turned from 'ouch you pinched me' to 'you took that away from me and now I am hurt.' He signs hurt whenever he cries about anything. It is SOOO funny to see when he think he is hurt. We are working on it though...he scratched his finger on the sidewalk and so I showed him that this is an owie. I just need to be on top of it so when he hurts himself I need to stop and say 'where' and 'hurt' then kiss it better. Pretty cute.
Along the same note he learned poop yesterday! It was hilarious!! We both (Max and I) were totally laughing! He was sitting in his highchair when he started grunting. Now he knows what potty is, so I said potty. He looked like he got it. Then he just let one rip so I said 'poop'. He just busted up laughing! He just kept signing it over and over. Then today when I was telling Ben about it I asked Max so show dad what the sign for poop was. He totally started laughing and signing poop!!! What a funny little sense of humor.

A true Floridian

2008-05-24T06:07:00.003-10:00

Max and I were on our usual morning run along the lake. We stopped to see a duck and give it a cracker. Then just as we started running again there it was just a little ways away...an ALLIGATOR!! My first sighting! I was so excited, but I didn't have anyone to show it to besides Max and he had now idea what I was talking about. I have been waiting to see one and beginning to think it was just a myth that alligators lived in the lakes. All I could see was it flared nostrils poking up out of the water followed by two bulging eyes and a few spikes. It was probably as long as I am tall. It was so cool! So now I feel like I can say I am a real Floridian!

I love being 'IT'

2008-05-22T04:33:00.002-10:00

Ok, so I am finally going to do my tags-thanks Noelle and Loni. I have a 'husband' tag and a 'six random things' tag. Loni put it perfect when she said, "Just goes to show you how terrible I was at childhood games, when I was 'it' I was too slow to tag someone else so I remained 'it' for a long time."
So here we go...

1.How long have you been together? 8 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours and 5 minutes.

2.How long did you date? 4 months...oh my gosh!

3.How old is he? 30

4.Who eats more? Ben

5.Who said 'I Love You' first? Me

6.Who is taller? Ben, but I think he shrunk a couple of inches.

7.Who is smarter? I think we have to include Annabell here. She was potty trained faster than either Ben or I. Though come to think of it Ben learned how to fetch pretty quick.

8.Who does the laundry? I don't even think that Ben knows which one is the washer and which one is the dryer.

9.Who does the dishes? Both, Ben washes by hand and I use the dish washer. Ben likes to wash by hand because as soon as the rack fills up that means he is done and that the rest of the dishes 'need to soak'.

10.Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do and I get the soft pillow too.

11.Who pays the bills? Both of us.

12.Who mows the lawn? That is way we live in an apartment complex.

13.Who cooks dinner? That depends on your definition of cook...we both do. Ben does a little more I think.

14.Who is more stubborn? Me

15.Who kissed who first? Ben kissed me first then I kissed him back.

16.Who asked who out? Kristine. She lined us up on a blind date. Yea for Bob Dylan!

17.Who proposed? He did.1

8.Who is more sensitive? Me, but secretly I think its Ben.

19.Who has more siblings? Ben, three brothers and three sisters. I have two awesome brothers.

20.Who wears the pants in the relationship? Pants?

I think six random things is a lot harder than just answering questions but anyway...

1.Last September I did the Ogden Valley Triathlon, my first ever. I loved it! I did the Sprint distance which was::: Swim 750 meters, Bike 18 miles, Run 3.1 miles. My number was
3564, my total time was 01:50:35.33 and Max was 5 months old. My awesome sister in-law did it with me and we had so much fun. The energy that was there was so exciting, it felt like kissing Ben for the first time...hahaha! Next time I will really cut down on my transition time, I think I wasted a lot of time there. I think the most awkward thing was my wet suit (in Florida we don't need wet suits! Hooray!). I had to turn it inside out and roll it up my body. Getting a wet one off was hard...good thing that the transition area was a little ways away from the lake cause I had time to peel it off. It was a good learning experience for future triathlons...Ironman here I come!

2. My childhood movie crush was Atrau from the Neverending Story. And it wasn't just because he had white stallion. I still have a soft spot in my heart for him but now it has been replaced by Ryan Gosling. Did you know that he used to be a practicing Mormon??

3. I love to sew and be creative. My mom taught me to sew on her old machine when I was in fifth grade. I would sit upstairs in my room and make millions of little pillows. Now I have graduated into big pillows. I love to embroider things too. A few years ago I found a new passion of quilting. I joined a group that met every month and exchanged squares. I learn lots of neat tricks. I finished my first quilt a few years ago and am in the middle of one now.

4. I used to play doggie dress up, but not so long ago Annabell wore a pink princess costume for Halloween. But now I have Max as my muse. I loved to crimp and primp my pet pooch Bismark. From when I was about 2 my dog endure me dressing him up, brushing him and giving him bubble baths. I really did crimp his (yes it was a he) hair and curl it with a curling iron. I puffed it up and put hairspray on him. Poor dog! I can't believe my mom let me...or maybe she didn't know?

5. I love breakfast foods. I could eat them for every meal. I love french toast and german pancakes...and eggs and toast and pancakes. I love it all. I also can't eat lunch foods before I have breakfast. Even if it is one o'clock and I haven't eaten yet I still can't muster to eat a sandwich.

6. My first date with Ben was a blind date thanks to Kristine. Ben had tickets to a Bob Dylan concert with Paul Simon opening. We doubled with his friend Rich Green. We went to the Training Table for dinner. Ben was recovering from a car accident and was using crutches to walk. For those of you that live outside of Utah and have never been to the Training Table you order your food on a telephone and they buzz your table when it is ready to be payed for and picked up. Our buzzer went of and Ben asked me if I would mind getting the food since he obviously wouldn't be able to carry it back to the table. I said sure, paused for a second then reached for my purse and went to get the food. I paid for the food and brought it back to the table. It was so yummy! I love that place. We got in the car and turned the corner when all of the sudden Ben said 'Stop, I forgot to pay'. I said 'I got, it don't worry'. We all just laughed and Ben was so apologetic. His excuse now is that he was too doped up from all the pain meds.

Now I could tag a few people but I don't want to leave anyone out of the golden opportunity of doing their own tag. So if you read this all, TAG, your it.

new smyrna beach

2008-05-18T15:17:00.003-10:00

Saturday we went to beach...it was fun watching Max. He thought the sand was great and he loved to pick up the sea shells. I think the water was a little to cold for his liking though. The waves were pretty good...every night on the news they say that the rip current warning is high so watch out. "If you do get suck in a rip current, don't panic and swim parallel to shore until you can get in". Friday the lifeguards rescued 17 people at Daytona Beach! Don't worry we didn't go to that beach :)

Quote of the day...

2008-05-15T05:06:00.003-10:00

So Ben and I were hanging out sitting on a bench in the park. Max was a little ways away just walking around, he sat down to look at the grass...

" I wish I had something to throw at him. Like a tennis ball or something."

Pennsylvania

2008-05-15T04:07:00.005-10:00

Ben and I were so excited when Allegiant Air offered Ben a job. Excited of course for obvious reasons like the free flight benefits, but most of all because Ben is able to be home EVERY night. That was one of the reasons we went to Hawaii too. It has been awesome to be a normal family and have lots of time to spend together.

This month Ben was able to hold a line instead of being on reserve. But since he was the last one on the list to be a line holder of course he got the ONLY line that had a three day trip! What do ya know huh! Ben flys three legs before ending up in Allentown PA, spends the night there and has the whole day in Allentown to sit around, spends another night and comes home the next morning. It would be awesome if you were somewhere like New York or Honolulu but Allentown?? What is there to do...Max and I went up with Ben to hang out.

It was the most fun we have had in a while. We got a ride into a little town called Bethlehem on a donkey I mean in a van. We just wondered around all day. The town was started in the mid 1700's by a German religious group called the Morovian's. There were really neat old buildings and things to look at, cute shops and yummy places to eat. There were cool old mansions and small stone houses that looked like they belonged in Europe. It reminded Ben of Finland.

Max was soooo good the whole day. He took a couple of short snoozes and was awake and happy for the trip. Bedtime was a little rocky but we got through it. Well of course I forgot the camera when we went into Bethlehem...I swear we really went though. But I did manage to get a picture of the end of the trip. Max was so excited to see plane up close! He was pounding on the window and yelling when the airplane pulled up to the gate. Little did he know that dad was the driver. It was a little to far away to see. But he totally put two and two together and figured out the the planes he sees in the sky are the one that are here on the ground. After the first flight he was pretty surprised to see dad walk out of the cockpit! It took him a second to recognized Ben. It was a lot of fun and a good mini trip!

That was too much fun

2008-05-06T14:11:00.003-10:00

This is Max's new ride. It is lots of fun to have a new mode of transportation. This is a combination of one nap and brick paved roads...there is no hope of staying awake for more than 10 minutes. He really likes it, but the first time in the seat he did not want to wear his helmet. He screamed and pulled it off, but he finally gave in and he doesn't mind it now.

We are back in business!

2008-05-05T09:32:00.002-10:00

Yea! Our computer is fixed! We totally thought that the computer was a gonner. Ben being that resourcful person that he is, found a inexpensive, faster and bigger hard drive and installed it all by himself! He is a man of many talents. So Ben showed me this finnish YouTube video and can I say that not only can the Finnish people dance but boy can they sing!

There is hope

2008-05-02T07:12:00.002-10:00

My husband is so smart and resourceful! We think our computer will last a little longer, maybe. Right now our computer will run only when it is placed on its side...go figure. Anyway, our hard drive has a bad spot in it and he thinks he found a program that will reprogram our computer to work around the bad spots?? I wish that I was more computer savvy so I could explain it. I guess it means that not all is lost and mom we will now be talking on camera sideways. Oh the things we take for granted. It isn't so bad using the library computer or even the business center computer...but now I have to take Max with me and that doesn't allow for much time!

A sad day...

2008-05-01T12:30:00.002-10:00

Well it finally happend...our computer died. Just when I was doing so good at honoring my new years resolution too. It has served us well, keep us in your prayers. Love you all. Till we meet again.

Water Baby

2008-04-28T04:16:00.004-10:00

I am so happy that Max likes to play in the water! I love swimming and playing in water too. I would be so bummed if he was scared or cried when he got wet or put his face in the water. But he does it all on his own. He dunks himself, climbs in and out by himself and loves it when Ben does huge splashes right in front of his face. There is also a hose at one end of the pool that he loves to play with.

We went to the zoo a couple times last week and played at the water park. Max loved it!! There are palm trees with water coming out of the leaves, animals with water spraying from their mouths and fountains of water coming from the ground. He had a blast and it was so fun to watch him. He would walk and stand up all by himself. I guess he just needed the right motivation. He would scream at the other kids cause they were all screaming. He just went from one fountain to the next. He had a lot of fun and a really good nap!

Here are Ben and Max playing in the pool at the apartment. I love my guys they are so handsome!

Aaa-lo-haa Kurt and noelle

2008-04-26T06:23:00.009-10:00

So we have these awesome friends that we left behind in Hawaii, Kurt and Noelle. We get the chance to talk on the phone every now and again but I am always checking up on them via http://reynoldsrus.blogspot.com/. In my internet routine I opened up their blog and the new post had before and after pictures of them. WOW!! They tried this new workout together and can I just say they look awesome!! So I wanted to pay tribute to them for working so hard to get in shape. You guys look awesome! We miss you!

When we moved to Kailua they were one of the first people we met and we totally got along. They had a little girl, Drew, who was only 3 months old at the time. Ben and I loved Drew she was so cute and fun to watch grow up...anyway they now have a little guy named Brody. He is so flippin cute! Max and him are just about one month apart. I wish we were still around because they would best friends!

He we all are on a trip to Maui at the top of Wanahaukalugie, oh I mean Haleakala.

Here we are at the lighthouse looking over at Wiamanalo Beach.

Aloha Kurt and Noelle!

No title needed

2008-04-25T16:00:00.003-10:00

I had to post this picture just for the sheer joy that it will bring to me to know that you will be laughing out loud just like I did when I saw this. Ben and I were scrolling threw the new pictures and we just about peed our pants, well I did almost. This is lunch time with dad. Max's new favorite thing to eat are strawberries. He packs his mouth so full of strawberries that he looks like a little chipmunk. I don't know why I bother cutting them up. Ben's new past time is making smoothies with the 'Magic Bullet' (thanks Ann!). So this day Max had strawberries and a blueberries smoothie for lunch.

Finnish Disco

2008-04-21T09:56:00.002-10:00

Can he just stay litttle please.

2008-04-19T04:27:00.003-10:00

Max is growing up so fast! He can now sign please, dog, milk, more, all done and bird. What a little smarty pants. Just in the last week or so he has really picked up on doing new things. He points to things that he sees. He will even do the Dr. Evil 'shhh' when he points to me or want to touch pointer fingers together. SO cute! When I go for morning runs along the boardwalk he points to all the birds and waves hi to all the other walkers and fishermen (there are people fish in the lake all day every day).

Does this remind anyone else of E.T.?
Max thinks he is so big when he sits in a chair all by himself.
Opening a birthday present from Grandma Tyler.
Max is giving Dad a pat pat on his head
He is so close to walking all by himself!

Central Florida Zoo

2008-04-18T05:29:00.005-10:00

Among all the fun things to see and do here in Florida there is the Central Florida Zoo. We decided to buy a year pass so that we would have somewhere fun to go anytime we wanted. The funny thing is it is cheaper than Hogle Zoo and you get like seven more months to visit the Zoo during the year hence winter. Burrrr!

It is small but fun. There is a little water park fountain area like at The Gateway. They have a train and a petting zoo! We visited the petting zoo the other day and it was so fun. Max loved it. Tina the Lama was there and Max touched her ear. He giggled so hard! He fed the goats for about two seconds and decided that he didn't like them taking away the food that was intend for them. So he played this little game where he would put his hand out to give the goats their food and then take

it away. He would turn around take a couple of steps away from the goats and then turn back around to do this all over again. I think he caught on to 'if I have food in my hand the animals will come'. It was pretty funny. I think Ben and I fed the animal more hoping that Max would catch on. He really like to watch the Leopards (East high bonzai).

If you will notice to Max's apparel...Yea long pants and shirt...Florida had a little cold spell and I was freezing! What a pansie huh. I think it got down to like 40 at night. At least it made for a good day at the Zoo.

We baby proff our house, do you?

2008-04-17T14:29:00.003-10:00

When we moved into our apartment I specifically asked for large cupboards because my baby like to climb in them. What do ya know they had some! When we were shopping for various household items at Wal-Mart(I know, I know...WAL-MART!! Sue me.) we couldn't leave without some baby proof latches for all the cupboards. At Grandma Tyler's Max had free roam of the kitchen cupboards and drawers and he loved it. Me too, but now that we are in a smaller kitchen and tall items such as a large box of Cheerios, Pam and even syrup do not fit in the top cupboards. We are forced to put them down below. Much to Max's dissatisfaction we had to baby proof all the cupboards in the apartment. Even though they are all locked he still tests each and every one to see if maybe just maybe it will open. He even pushes me far away from them just to make sure I am not touching it there by making it stay closed. So tonight when I was doing the dishes he did his little routine of testing each one. I opened one for him because I was running out of ideas to keep him occupied before bath time. He fit perfectly inside and it kept him entertained just long enough for me to finish cleaning the kitchen.

Don't bother me, I'm watching baby signing time...

2008-04-13T11:33:00.002-10:00

Max's favorite movie is Baby Signing Time. He loves them! He would sit for hours on end if I would let him. This is the assumed position to watch Rachel, Alex and Leah. Nothing bothers him either. He is totally in the zone. It was awesome this morning to plug it so I could get ready for church!

So thanks Grandma Derrick for the b-day presents. And Happy Birthday MOM!!!

Florida Beaches

2008-04-10T08:30:00.008-10:00

We drove down to Daytona Beach the other day. All I can say is that I was definatly missing Kialua Beach. It was cold and the sand was like gray clay and stuck to everything. Ok, I do have to say that it was overcast, cold and really windy. So, maybe if it wasn't for that the beach would have been fun and closer to Hawaii standards.

Max really liked it though. He would get down on all fours and grab the sand and move it around. For a split second I took my eyes off him and he totally put a handfull of sand in his mouth! Sick! But he didn't really seem to care so whatever.

Neither Ben or I know that much about Florida yet, but I hear that Daytona is not that great of a beach to go to. It would be like going to Ala Moana Beach in Hawaii, sort of. So hopefully we can find a Kailua Beach out here. I want to try Coco Beach next. I also want to go to a Nascar race! We drove past the big raceway and it looked like it would be so fun...you have to do it at least once I guess. It is good that I'm in a new place with things to do, now I will have something to blog about. Ha!

Here is Max returning to sea.

Missing the snow...NOT!

2008-04-10T04:47:00.004-10:00

I love being back in the sunshine and humidity! I was looking through some random misplaced pictures and found these. Although I love SL and had lots of fun this winter I most definatly love being in my swim suit and slippers! On one of our adventures we took Max cross coutry skiing up East Canyon. We had a lot of fun. Max loves being in the backpack and going places. It must be being up high where he can see everything?? It was actually pretty warm this day and really sunny. Max looked so cute in his red santa claus snowsuit. To bad Ben didn't have a matching one this picture would have been so much cuter!

Happy Birthday Max!!

2008-04-09T14:52:00.008-10:00

Max is one year old today! Before we left Salt Lake I threw him a early birthday party. I wanted to have everyone there for his number one so we had a little party on the day we were leaving. (I will post on it later)But, since today is the actual day we had to do something. The UPS man delivered a b-day present from G & G Derrick. Signing Time DVD's!! Max's favorite movie! Max and I went swimming and watched signing time. When Ben got home from work we walked down to the local 7-11 and got birthday ice cream sandwiches. It was really funny to watch Max eat his ice cream. His took a huge ol' bite and just sat there for a couple minute and let it melt in his mouth. After a few minutes he held up his hand "ice cream sandwich"! We love being parents! Max is so fun to hang out with and is such a happy little guy.
ICE CREAM!!

Moving

2008-03-24T13:41:00.003-10:00

It is finally here! We just finished packing our moving truck, well almost. I am so tired so I had to take a break. Ben is so excited for the 4 day road trip he can hardly stand it. OK I lied there too, but we really are excited to finally be moving to Florida. Ben will start he exodus on Wednesday and I will leave Saturday. We love you all and will miss everyone! But don't you worry we will be back! Chao!!

Viva Las Vegas

2008-03-18T16:54:00.005-10:00

Here are some pictures from when we went with Ben to Las Vegas for his interview with Allegiant Air. Max won big and he was accused of counting cards.

So we smuggled him out in the suit case.

Allegiant Air watch out...

2008-03-01T17:24:00.004-10:00

Ben has finally made it through training at Allegiant Air. He has spent the last two months down in Las Vegas doing some intense training. He is now online in Sanford Flordia, which is just outside of Orlando. Here is the offical class picture. Can you guess who the class clown is?

Happy New Year

2008-01-10T17:18:00.000-10:00

One of my new years resolutions...Update my blog more than once a year! 2007 flew by. Max had his nine month check up today. NINE months! He crawls everywhere including up and down the stairs. He waves and claps to people especially dogs. He has four teeth which have inspired a few nickname such as Hungry Hippo and Fang. He loves to read and play with Saddie (the big German Shepard). In his short little life he has been to Detroit (to visit the Orme family), Seattle and Las Vegas. He was really good on all the trips and even won big in Vegas, OK maybe not.

Halloween was fun. Max was a Pirate, ARRRGH! He went trick-or-treating at Annie's and Grandma Derrick's.

He was really excited for Christmas Breakfast, oh and the presents. Santa gave his a rocking horse that makes galloping and neighing sounds. He loves it and he also got a really plush bath towel that he loves since that is his favorite activity. If I rolled him up in it he would lay there all day.

Maxedon cutie pants

2007-06-15T17:30:00.000-10:00

Max was born on April 9th 2007 at 9:35pm (he waited just long enough for dad to show up!). He weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was 21 inched long. He is the cutest little guy and is already 10 weeks old. At the doctors yesterday he weighed in at 12 lbs 14 oz! What a chunk! His little legs are getting so chubby. I love them. We went swimming this week for his first time and he loved it. He was so excited all he could do was coo and flail he arms and legs.

Vacation in Hawaii with Annie

2006-08-10T12:24:00.000-10:00

Annie and me visiting the mormons and the Laie Temple on our way to the North Shore.

Manauwili Falls...right before Annie jumped in.

Annie, me and the mokes...

The Lighthouse hike...we are almost to the top

This was the funnest vacation!!

2006-08-09T11:08:00.000-10:00

Me and Ben sittin in a tree...k.i.s.s.i.n.g...We were on our way to Manauwili Falls.

This is the Falls...there were three jumps...med high, high and higher...

One of the many beautiful and exotic flowers along the trail...

Buoy Tree

2006-06-20T14:51:00.000-10:00

One of the many cool things I see on my way to school.

Yesterday I was outside doing the wash (most wash rooms are outside/garage in Hawaii). I heard these chickens clucking like crazy. Anna likes to follow me outside and sneak into the back yard when I have my back turned, so I figured that all the clucking was because Anna was interrupting some wild chickens. So I ran back there to see what was going on. Good thing they were up on the wall, but they were watching her very intently. Anna on the other hand was oblivious. There are chicken everywhere out here! The dang roosters wake me up every morning! A girl in one of my classes told me that her 11 year old son and his friends catch the roosters and tie a leash around its neck. Then they go and find another rooster and plop the hostage rooster right down in front of the other so they can fight. And then she told me of some workers that were working next door to her house and one day they had a barbecue going on...They had caught one of the neighborhood chickens and cooked it up for lunch!!!

Things that are new...

2006-05-22T22:34:00.000-10:00

Things that are new...month, apartment, dish towels, school, bad hair cut, jobs and a new TABLE!!! The first one ever in the Tyler household, behold...

and babies...congratulations Abby!

Swept Away

2006-03-20T14:47:00.000-10:00

Ben and I went on the best hike the other day. It was the first sunny day in like three WEEKS! We started on the light house hike but took a detour down to the ocean and some pools. The cliffs were really cool and the sound of the waves were so loud! I love Hawaii! We hiked down to the rocks and walked around on them. I am kinda chicken when it comes to the ocean. It's so big and strong you really don't know what could happen. So the waves were crashing so hard against the rocks and the water would shoot up in the air and crash down onto the rocks. Well Ben being the daredevil he is decided he wanted a better view.

"That is the dumbest idea! Don't climb over there!"

"You always forget that I'm invincible!"

"didn't you see that AMF video when that girl was 'getting a better view' and she got swept away by that big wave?"

"OK I will go on that part up there...see it's totally dry so the waves don't go up there."

"Be careful motard"

Uncle Alan and Aunt Brenda...Great!

2006-03-02T12:10:00.000-10:00

So a while ago my most favorite extended aunt and uncle came to Hawaii for a long needed vacation. They spent two weeks on Maui and Kaui. At the end of their trip they spent a Sunday afternoon on Oahu. So in need of a spiritual uplifting experience they came to sacrament meeting with Ben and I. It was really fun to see them for a few minutes. I usually only get to see them at the Burr reunions so this was a treat! I always look forward to hanging out with them at our family gatherings. My favorite memory of Uncle Alan is the surprise scream I heard from the next-door tent as he found his sleeping bag stuffed with grass. I don't remember who got who first I just remember laughing so hard...so thanks for playing along Uncle Alan.

SLC here I come!!

2006-02-06T11:41:00.000-10:00

I am flying to Salt Lake tonight and I will be there in the morning! Yipee!! I am so excited to see my mom and dad and mike and Jon and Chap and Ann and Steve and Tom and Ted and Sarah and Char and Leah and Liz and Steve and Chole and Tommy and Ethan and Annie and Eric and Izzy and Loni and Matt and Devon and Grandma and Grandpa and everyone!!! I might not go back to Hawaii...OK I guess I will just for Ben ;)I didn't name Leo cause while I am flying there he will be flying here. To bad so sad, I will miss him. Viva Salt Lake or whatever.

Hunny Bunny Benny!

2006-02-02T10:00:00.000-10:00

I have the best husband in the whole world! He takes such good care of me! I have issues about being on time...to anything. I always try and squeeze in more things than I have time for and therefore am running around in the mornings like a mad girl. It is amazing that I was never late for work as a flight attendant. With all the time restrictions and deadlines...I am patting myself on the back right now! So yesterday we added up our monthly expenses for January and oh my heck we spent a ton of money on food! I couldn't believe it! Well, I can believe it cause food out here is so gosh darn expensive. Milk for $4-$8, canned goods over a dollar a can, pineapple $4lb! PINEAPPLE don't they grow that here? Anyway our solution was to not make so many trips to the little expensive grocery stores (Safeway)and stockup at Costco and make lunches for work. So this morning Ben got out of bed earlier than usual to make lunches for both of us! He is so great! Guess who will be the one to make school lunches for the kids.

Four Things

2006-02-01T14:40:00.000-10:00

So I read this on a couple different sites today and since I know that I won't be tagged I just tagged myself.
Four jobs I've had...

1. Ice cream scooper girl at Snelgroves Ice Cream or Squirrels Brothers as it is now called.
2. I worked at a dry cleaners and I don't know what I really was but I hated it. I put the clothes in the machines, tagged them, wrapped them in plastic and alphabetized them. I also cleaned the outside windows on Saturday mornings in the dead of winter! I had to steam press my fingers back to life after - it was freezing!
3. I was a lifeguard and was commonly mistaken for a Mexican.
4. Flight attendant for Skywest Airlines. What happens at 34,000 feet stays at 34,000 feet.

Four movies I can watch over and over...

1. Goonies
2. Monsters Inc.
3. Young Frankenstien
4. Emma

Four places I have lived...

1. SLC
2. SLC
3. Leesburg Virginia, almost
4. Kailua, Hawaii

Four TV shows I love...

1. Desperate Housewives
2. Crossing Jordan
3. Animals Cops
4. Any home remodel or design show

Four places I've vacationed...

1. Paris, France
2. Helsinki, Finland
3. Vancouver, Canada
4. Southern Utah and Uinta Mountains

Four of my favorite dishes...

1. Cheese Ravioli
2. Mochico Chicken w/ brown rice
3. Brisket (my moms)
4. Chicken Chimichanga

Four sites I visit daily...

1. World News
2. Celebrity News
3. UnCommonGoods
4. Google

Places I'd rather be right now...

1. Body Boarding
2. Surfing
3. In bed
4. SLC

No Can! Can!

2006-01-27T09:14:00.000-10:00

So Ben and I were at L&L Drive in the other day (Bens most favorite place to eat). We were reading through a newspaper ad and we came across this one! I think Jay Leno would appreciate this one....

"If you get one Honda or Acura,

Sta' broke, get one brada come yo' house

feex um no joke He go make um solid

like one rock Das da guy dey call Hondoc"

The most GIANORMUS pancakes in the whole world

2006-01-19T16:36:00.000-10:00

We (Ben and I) spent a couple days on the Big Island with our friends Jeremy and Amanda. It was awesome! They were staying at this beautiful house on the Wiakaloa golf course. It was totally something out of a dream home magazine! There was a beautiful infinity pool that looked over the golf course and ocean. The bathroom was the coolest! If you didn't feel like taking a shower inside you can just take a step outside into a tropical waterfall shower that is enclosed by volcanic rocks. It was great being rich for a couple of days. On our last day Jeremy and Mandy insisted that we go to breakfast at this one restaurant. They supposedly had the best pancakes with coconut syrup. I suffer from an extreme case of indecision and I couldn't decide between the delicious pancakes that they raved about or eggs an bacon. I wanted a little of both so I asked Ben if he wanted to try the pancakes so I could try some of them. Somehow in my asking I made him feel like he had to order the pancakes that he didn't really want but wanted them because I wanted them. What a Guy! So The waitress brought out our order and as she walked by the tables people began to giggle and point. Jeremy and Mandy were rolling! These pancakes were HUGE! GIANORMOUS! They were bigger than the restaurant sized plate, they were falling off the plate! They were about an inch and a half thick with a 15 inch diameter! 3 of them! It was the funniest thing ever! Mandy took an 1/8 and I took an 1/8 and the rest was for Ben. (It was like eating 12 village inn funny face pancakes.) It turns out that on a previous trip that Jeremy and Mandy had taken she and her sister in-law ordered these pancakes as a side order to their main course. They said it was the funniest thing ever so they had to try it on someone! We took a picture but unfortunately we have this problem of deleting pictures accidentally. Like the one time I deleted a picture of Annie (bff) and I in Paris on the Eiffel Tower! DUR! We fed the rest of the two and a half pancakes (Ben could only eat half of one) to the fish outside. They were huge too! I wonder how they got to be so big? The coconut syrup was great by the way!

Annabell

2006-01-10T11:39:00.000-10:00

This is Anna in Utah just a few weeks before she came to Hawaii. She loved to sit in the back yard and watch the neighbors. What a clean little baby!

Here she is on the beach. She still doesn't like the water to much but she loves the soft sand. She loves the sand so much she eats it!?! Gross! When we say "you wanna go to the beach" she turns her head like she knows what your saying and then just goes nuts. As soon as she gets on the beach all she wants to do is run. If you have ever been around pugs you know when they get really excited and they run as fast as they can it always turns into a circle. We call it a rip. Depending on the space available when she rips it turns into a big circle or small circle and sometimes it turns into a figure 8 (by they way she does a perfect figure 8 when she runs on the beach!) Its hilarious! Furniture doesn't get in the way either she just goes over or under. Man can she rip!

Holiday Mondays

2006-01-09T09:21:00.000-10:00

I have this so called workout routine that I try and do every week. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a 5:30 Yoga class. Then Wednesdays and Fridays are 6:30 Step class. I was lucky enough to have the Monday after New Years Day off. I don't know about the rest of you but whenever a holiday is on a Monday it throws off my entire week!! I went to a 6:30 class on Tuesday and a 5:30 on Friday! I was totally screwed up. On Friday I went home after work and took my time getting ready cause hey its a 6:30 class night, no need to hurry. I brushed Anna, vacuumed the floors and got dressed. I even left a little early so that I could get a good spot. I pulled into the parking lot and drove by the aerobics room (the windows face the parking lot) and saw everyone working out! Why is everyone working out without me? Did they started early? Did I miss an announcement? What time is it? What day is it? Crap! I got my day/time wrong again for like the billionth time this week. Now don't get me wrong I love holidays even when they are on Mondays but someone needs to invent a anti-retard-forgetting-days gizmo or something!!

Hello Blog World

2006-01-06T14:53:00.000-10:00

This is my first time! So be easy on me. What freedom to be able to talk about anything! Almost. So, I got a shopping spree for Christmas. I was so excited! I have been really good to not spend money on stuff that I don't need since we moved to Hawaii. Now, whenever I get money as a gift it not as easy to spend so I hang on to it. This is a big deal I don't want to spend it frivolously; I have to make a very smart decision on what I spend my free money on. I must LOVE it to buy it. That should be my motto all the time but I find it easier to spend money when I shouldn't. So I went to the mall, which by the way shopping in Hawaii sucks, I found the best deal on the cutest swimsuit! What luck I love it and it's on sale! I am making a GOOD choice! Good Me! So I bring it home just to find out that the right boob pad is missing! Dang! Just a minor set back, it's OK I'll just go back down to the mall tomorrow. So I put my cute polka dot suit back in its bag and hang it on the back door. Well that night I was cleaning and I always put the trash by the back door to take out when I finish mopping the floor. Ben and I gathered up the trash (or rubbish as the locals say) and took it out. We had lots of rubbish because Christmas had just happened. Well a couple days later I am like "Where's my cute new teeny weeny polka dot bikini?" I turned the house upside down. All that straightening I did the day before, ruined. It's now where to be found! In the process of retracing my steps and grilling Ben it came to me, did I throw it away!?! Why me!! I can't believe it! Merry Christmas!