sweet little angel boy

Last night, I couldn't sleep. My heart was heavy. I felt empty. Lonely. Sad. And, this morning, when I woke up, I felt the same...except my heart not only felt heavy, but it was racing too...and aching. And my arms were aching...aching to hold my son again. It was two years ago that our little Isaac Joshua made his struggle to to enter mortality. In fact, today is the two year anniversary of his birth, and his death. As sad, and as hard as this experience was for us, I wouldn't change anything about it. I trust Heavenly Father so much. I trust that he knew what he was doing when he decided to take our son. I trust that it is all part of his plan for our little family. I have faith that Isaac is busy about his Father's work. His dad blessed him shortly after his birth, that he would be a missionary; so that is exactly what I picture when I think about him. I picture an adult spirit (not the helpless baby that we held in our arms for an entire night...and into the day). I picture him busy, and happy, and working, and teaching, and running. I picture him as a missionary. He's just away on a mission...that's all. When I think about it that way, it's a lot easier to bear. But I guess today, because it's his birthday, I just miss him a little more than usual. What I wouldn't give to be able to hold him...just one more time. I guess I will just have to be patient, and wait for the day that the Lord will give him back to us. I'm so grateful that he has made us this promise, and I will continue to do what is necessary to receive this blessing.

Shortly after we lost Isaac, my brother Aaron, and his wife Dorothy, sent us a book that they had made, full of beautiful pictures of our son, taken by Dorothy. On the final page of the book, they included a list that they had put together. The truths included on this page, have had an impact on me, and have given me added hope, that I will yet see my son again; and that he is doing just fine. Thought I'd share the list:

10 Truths about Isaac Joshua...

1. He will always be your son.
2. He follows the Savior, for he accepted his plan.
3. He completed his mortal mission.
4. He is among the most righteous, inasmuch as he was not required to endure mortality.
5. His Spirit is adult in stature.
6. He is an Heir of the Celestial Kingdom.
7. He is redeemed from the temptations of Satan.
8. He is now busily engaged.
9. He is with loved ones.
10. He will receive a perfect body in the resurrection.
11. You will be blessed to raise him during the millennium.
12. He will be blessed to experience all of mortality’s goodness during the millennium.

(I added a couple of things to the list.)

Happy Birthday Isaac, Our Sweet Little Angel Boy...Until we meet again.

a special blessing given...

to a special little boy.

My nephew, Lincoln Christian Barney, was blessed by his father this last Sunday. It was a very special blessing, and I felt the spirit as I listened to the beautiful blessings promised to this little person, contingent upon his worthiness to recieve them. One of my favorite parts, was when he was blessed to have compassion, and love for other people...characteristics that he will learn from his mother. If there is one thing I know through observing my sister Kim, it's that she really does care about the feelings of others. Last night we went to a baseball game, and I watched her as she worried about making sure everyone was happy and that they felt included. I have learned a lot of really important life lessons from my little sister Kim...she is a wonderful example to me; and I have no doubt that little Lincoln will learn compassion, and devolope a love for others, simply by following the example of his mother.

the temple and the lake...

really have nothing in common, other than the fact that the bulk of our day was spent at these two places. I was really grateful for the opportunity to attend the Mesa temple this morning, with my wonderful spouse. Regretfully, it'd been way too long since we attended together. Brooke was kind and willing enough to take Ruby for us. [I have some serious reservations about getting babysitters, so it's always nice when family steps in (or good, trustworthy friends), so that we can have some peace of mind in knowing that Ruby is happy, and well cared for.] So anyway, back to the temple experience. Because of the solemn and hollowed place that is the temple, and the sacredness of what happens inside, I will refrain from sharing too much. I will say, however, that I had a spiritual experience (which is too personal and sacred to publish on the web), that certified to me, the love that the Lord feels for his children. He is not only mindful of us, but of those who have gone on before us. He blessed me today, with knowledge and understanding, and peace...the kind of peace only felt through His Spirit. I am grateful that I was in the right place, at the right time; so that I could be enlightened and blessed with a portion of His light and knowledge.


A counselor in our bishopric has a boat which he takes out probably once a week. He's been inviting us to go out for at least a couple of months now. However, for one reason or another, we haven't had the opportunity to go out with him, until today. Ruby was adorable...clad in her pink (wetsuit looking) sun suit, her floppy sun hat, her adorable pink sunglasses, and a great big neon-green life jacket. She was so stinkin' cute, and had a great time too. The water was so warm (in fact, warmer than the August/September, Lake Powell "bath tub" water that everyone raves about...which to me, never felt all that warm), so we would periodically dip Ruby in the water to get her wet, and to cool her off. She was just in heaven. John wakeboarded, and then I too, tried my hand at it. I never really did get the wakeboarding thing down, but then again, (before today), I had never really given it much of a shot. I had a lot of fun today though, and thought to myself...man, I think I could get used to this! Of course, I'm no pro, but I sure enjoyed myself out there.

I'm grateful for days like today, where I am able to feel of the Lord's love for me, as I strive to honor his commandments; and relish time spent with the most precious of all gifts...my beloved family.

spaghetti mama

Just thought I'd share a few of my grimy girl at dinner tonight. We let her have at it with her spaghetti; and boy let me tell you, she was lovin' every bite! (I'm loving the orange brows...)



...that is, until she got distracted by her napkin, and started a game of Where's Ruby?...There she is! (aka peek-a-boo).


...and then, for some odd reason, she began throwing temper tantrums.

... that was my cue to quickly get her bathed...and into bed!

her little tricks...

Seriously, this girl keeps me laughing on a daily basis. She's been doing this new trick lately where she hides her pacifier in our shoes. For the last three or four days, as I go to put my gym shoes on, I find one...sitting right inside. Yesterday, I caught her in the act...leaving a gift for her daddy.


She's still really in to this mimicking thing, too. I had left my swim suit on the floor after returning from the pool yesterday , and as I was changing, I looked down, and saw this...

lovin' miss jones...

We saw Norah Jones in concert last night. Very different from the Goo Goo Dolls, of last week...in fact, if I were to make a comparison, I'd say the two sets were like "night and day". I think it was because of Norah's easy-listening sound, but no one stood up the entire time (except for during the encore). Which was really kind of nice, because sometimes I would rather just sit, and enjoy the show, but can't, because of the one or two people (or the one or two rows of people), standing right in front of me. The place was extremely quiet throughout the entire set. I don't know if it was credited largely to last night's significantly older crowd, or because of her plaintive genre, but it was almost eerie how quiet it was. We had ordered some nachos to share, and believe it or not, were having a hard time eating them for fear that the sound of our chips crunching, would disrupt the other guests. We were laughing so hard whenever either of us took a bite, and when the crowd would clap, we took advantage of the noise, and each shoved like 5 in our mouths at once...ha ha ha.
I really did love the the show...Norah is so so pretty, and has ridiculous talent. She's, without a doubt, one of my favorites. Thanks to my sweet husband, for his efforts in keeping our marriage alive, and to the Turley's for watching Ruby, so that the two of us could just let loose, and enjoy...

fathers

Today I'm grateful for these men, who have each played a special fatherly role in my life. In particular, my dad, a father of seven...whom I love, revere, honor, and respect; and my wonderful husband, John, who is the father of our sweet angel boy- Isaac, and Ruby- our precious little gem. What a joy it has been for me to witness, firsthand, these men honoring the most important role...of Father.


Grandpa Waterman (my step mom Lynell's dad), John (my husband), Vaughn (my mother-in-law's husband), and Dad


Jerry (my father-in-law)

These pictures were taken the day Ruby was blessed. I'm privileged to have so many wonderful father figures in my life. I'm also grateful for their worthiness in giving, and also participating in priesthood blessings; and for their uprightness in holding this most sacred power. These men, are men of God; and I wish to recognize them this Father's Day...
Thank you!-Dad, John, Grandpa Waterman, Jerry, and Vaughn. You have all blessed my life... just by being you. Love you!

Happy, Happy Fathers Day!

here's one for...

grandma Judy!



At UVSC, John was a member of a non-profit organization- The Cancer Crusaders, whose primary emphasis was raising skin cancer awareness. The founder and CEO of the organization, gave us this little sun suit (when she found out that I was having a girl). It's from a line by Stingray Australia, a company that makes sun safe clothing designed to protect against the sun's damaging ultra violet rays.
We were telling grandma Judy about it, and promised to post a picture...so Judy, this one's for you!

and a couple of ruby and her daddy at the pool today...

date night...

Last night John and I had the rare opportunity of going out...just the two of us. (Ruby hung out with Grandpa Jerry and Cheryl.) We saw the Goo Goo Dolls and Lifehouse (who opened for them), in concert. Both bands preformed really well...the sound was fab, and the acoustics of the venue couldn't have sounded better. I guess the only not so great (but I guess pretty entertaining) part of the night, was Robby Takac- the Goo Goo dolls' bassist, and one of the founding members. He had a few vocal numbers that just made us laugh. He sounded strange...really strange. I don't even know how to explain it, it was just weird...(but at least provided us some first rate entertainment value).
All in all, we had a wonderful time, and can't wait to do it again in a couple of days...
(Norah Jones baybee!)



Yeah, these pictures are pretty crappy, I know...it was just too dark for my little camera to handle.




lovin' the show!

i've had it...

we're moving back to Utah!

I'm not kidding when I say that not two minutes after publishing my last post, I went into the kitchen, and lo and behold, right there on my kitchen floor...was a baby scorpion! I didn't hesitate...I quickly ran to the closet, grabbed my chuck taylor, and smashed it's little brains out! Sorry, that was graphic, but he had no business, in my house. AHHHHH!

@#$%!!!! ...parts 2 & 3

So no, they weren't crawling all over my face, but they were crawling in my house. That's right, John found two more scorpions within the past couple of weeks. I thought it was pretty funny how he told me about them. The first one he found about three weeks ago, in our laundry room. Luckily, dead. (Due to the spray that our exterminator used on the inside of our house.) But anyway John said "um, I don't want to freak you out..." okay, is it just me, or when someone starts off by saying "I don't want to freak you out, but..." doesn't that alone just freak you out? He then preceded to tell me about his finding. So, I guess that wasn't too funny, but I find the next way quite comical. It was last Saturday. I was sitting on the couch, John was in the kitchen. Suddenly, and very out of the blue, he nonchalantly says, "hey babe, with all that construction going on across the street, just make sure you really keep an eye out for scorpions in the house." Now I know that he didn't want to scare me, and was simply trying to protect me, but why in the world would he bring it up, out of the blue...unless, he had spotted another one! Sure enough, he had killed one that was crawling around in our kitchen sink. Man, I'm telling you, those things scare me so bad...and especially now that I have a little one. (Everything changes when kids enter the picture. Don't you think?) Well, needless to say, I'm just glad that I didn't see them, or I think we'd be moving back to Utah...(Because mice and rats are so much better...hahaha.)

she's a mini me!

just thought this was funny...

left: me (2 years) right: Ruby (1 year)

my little parrot...

For the past month or so, Ruby has been mimicking (or at least attempting to mimic) everything we do and say. I think her favorite thing to copy is the tongue clicking thing. Whenever either John or I do it, she immediately starts up, and doesn't stop. She copies us when we nod or shake our heads, when we dance, when we laugh, really, you name it...and she copies it.

She's also been expanding her vocabulary lately. When we were at the pool today, I decided to test her to see what she knew. I started with "Ruby, hi", and she repeated "hi." I said "Bye" and she, in the sweetest little voice, and most darling little wave, said "Bye." I continued by saying mama, dada, mommy, daddy, grandma, grandpa, please, uh oh, baba (for bottle), and so on...anyway, without hesitation, (and very clearly I might add), she repeated every single word to me. Definitely one of those laugh out loud, proud mom moments for me...

transporting prisoners...

So I get this call last night from the sister missionaries, asking if I'd be willing to help them out for a few hours this morning. So I'm thinking...Okay, I can do this. I served a mission. I know how much missionaries appreciate members that are willing to accompany them to an appointment, or do exchanges, or whatever. I'm actually getting kind of excited, as I think about sharing my testimony, and assisting the sisters in answering questions...
But then Sister Sheffield says, "Well, actually, we need you for something kind of different. We'd like you to go out to Phoenix with us, to pick up an investigator, and then we'll just bring her back here, to Mesa".
"Okay, " I say, "that'll work...I'll be there to pick you up at 6:30." And then, I hang up the phone, and John starts questioning everything... "What's their investigator doing out in Phoenix?" and "Why is it their responsibility to go pick her up?" and "That's surely out of their zone, and probably even a different mission...do they have permission to go outside their designated boundaries?" Honestly, they were all legitimate questions, just not ones I had initially thought of. Nonetheless, I had given my word, and really felt fine about it, and like I said earlier, I was happy to be able to help, and to serve.
So it's 6:30 AM, and I'm waiting outside the sisters' apartment...ready to take them where they need to go. When three cute, young, vivacious missionaries, jump in the car, and announce "Okay, are you ready to take us to the Prison?" Suddenly my car comes to a screeching halt...no, I'm kidding, but I did say "Oh, the prison...are you serious?" (but in a really polite way.) They went on to tell me that it was a 30 year old woman, whom they had been teaching, and who also had a bit of a drinking problem. Apparently one night, her drinking caused her to do some unthinkable acts, which ultimately landed her in prison. Well, according to this woman's husband, she had served her time, and was being released. He hadn't been able to get work off, and so she had requested that the sisters come and get her. They had indeed, received permission from the President, but were instructed not to take their own car, but to have a member drive them out there. So here we are, four girls driving the scary streets of south Phoenix, passing through all kinds of homeless, scary, diverse (to say the least) groups of people. We had been instructed to pick her up at 7 Am, at the circle K, just down the street from the facility. We waited, and waited, but no Julianna. The girls go in the circle K. They come out. They scour the parking lot. They give a homeless man a Book of Mormon. But still no Juliana. By now it's like 7:45. So we decide to just go to the prison, and ask for her ourselves. And this is where it gets really bizarre. The lady at the counter says, "yeah, we definitely have an inmate by that name, but she did not get released today. In fact, she doesn't even have a release date. She's not going anywhere for a while!" The sisters were super disappointed, and confused...and I was (I'll be honest) relieved...but also confused. Why did her husband tell us that she'd be released today?... when she really didn't even have a release date. Why were we supposed to pick her up at that scary circle K, swarming with, how can I put this politely?...destitute souls? Did the president really approve this? and if so, did he know the whole story? I don't know...it all seemed a little weird; but, like I said, I was happy to help...and especially glad that we made it back unharmed. When all was said and done, I considered the trip an adventure; but hope and pray I won't ever be asked again to...transport prisoners.

i promise...

no more birthday stuff after this. But, I just really wanted to post a few more clips of Saturday. The first one is of Ruby in the pool at her party. She was having the best time walking along the top stair, while holding onto the ledge of the pool...(plus it's fun to see all the people in Grandpa Jerry's pool!)
The next two, I took after all the guests had left. We brought Pugsley (the neighbor's dog, that Jerry is taking care of), out to see Ruby. She was so cute, and it was so funny to watch. You can tell that she really wants to pet him, and play with him; but you can also see her fear and reservation when Pugsley gets too close...

her very own cake...yum yum

thought it might be fun to post some video clips of Ruby relishing her cake...



just minutes later...

birthday bliss...

a few pictures from the big day...


Here's my little angel in her birthday dress that her daddy and I picked out for her before she was even born...


Our ruby girl...


Here we are splashin' in grandpa jerry's pool...


Lovin' the cake...i mean, seriously- lovin' it!

Because I was at girl's camp over Ruby's actual birthday (June 4th), we decided to pretend that it was on the 9th this year. (That's the beauty of having a one year old, who's too young to know better.) So anyway, we got her out of bed in the morning, and her daddy made her favorite breakfast dish...pancakes mmmmm (it's funny because every time we give her something that tastes really yummy, she goes mmmmm). After breakfast, I took her out on a bike ride. It was great because, not only was I able to get my workout in, and Ruby able to enjoy the beauties of the outdoors...but, we were both able to spend some good "mommy/daughter" time together, too! Later in the afternoon, we had a really fun pool party and BBQ at grandpa Jerry's house. My favorite part was watching Ruby attack her cake. It was so funny...she didn't have an ounce of reservation like a lot of one year olds do...nope, she just went in for the kill! In fact, after about 5 minutes, we finally had to take it away from her because 1) she was starting to choke/gag on it and 2) if not, she would have eaten the entire thing, and made herself sick.

We had about 44 people there, including all of Ruby's aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents (that live here in Arizona), as well as many of her adorable friends (and parents) from the ward...
Wow! It's still hard for me to fathom that my baby's one!

Here are some highlights from the festivities...

our miracle...

When I woke up this morning, my heart was filled to overflowing with gratitude for the special gift Heavenly Father blessed us with just one year ago...our little miracle, our little Ruby Christine. It's hard to believe that it's already been a year, but it's also hard to believe that it's only been a year. What an amazing journey it's been, and what a privelege to be Ruby's Mother.
Happy Birthday to our clever, hysterical, blissful, jubilant, playful, complaisant, audacious, cheerful, beauteous, blue-eyed...one year old, Ruby Christine!

Happy Birthday, Beautiful Ruby Girl!

Camp Lo Mia...

I spent Sunday, Monday, and part of Tuesday up at Lo Mia, (our stake YW girl's camp). When first asked if I would be able to go up (and take over for the camp director, who wasn't able to stay the whole time), I was excited, looking forward to it, and committed to go. However, as time went on, I'll admit, I didn't have the best attitude about the whole thing. You see, I realized that Monday was Ruby's birthday, and I couldn't bear the thought of being away form her on her very first birthday! Saturday night I was bawling like a baby, and trying to come up with some sort of solution, excuse, or reason for not going. Luckily, I quickly snapped out of that! I had given my word, and committed to be there, therefore, I was going...end of story. I am so stinkin' glad that I went! The Young Women in our ward are beautiful, and fun, and happy, and hilarious; and, I'm glad I had the chance to enjoy their beautiful spirits. We did a lot of laughing, and a lot of screaming (there were tons of bugs), and a lot of playing, talking, eating, singing (Aren't those camp song ridiculous?), and some crying (we were, on more than one occasion, touched by the Spirit). It was a wonderful bonding experience for everyone that attended...but, especially, for me. (And really, Ruby had no idea that I was away for her Birthday. We'll be celebrating it this Saturday.)
Monday, we had our humanitarian day, where the girls (and leaders) worked for five hours, making dolls, balls, picture books, ABC books, blocks, and quilts, for children of third world countries. It was beautiful to see the hundreds of young women, working and serving, not once complaining, all the while happy...with smiles lighting their faces. They truly had lost themselves in the Lord's work. It touched me in a way that I can't even describe, and will forever have an impact on me.
I love my calling to work with the YW. They have taught me so much. They are young, and sweet, and pure, and forgiving, and full of love...everything that I desire to emulate. They are not only my young women, but they are my daughters, and my friends...and I love them.



Kailey and Allison


Kailey, Kareena, and "Gasolina"


Jenny serving watermelon


Me, Kareena, Briana, and Jenny, waiting for the buses to take us home!


Allison and Bailey (two of my Beehives)


Sweet Dara


Sis Hamula (YW Pres.) and Me (2nd Counselor), the two leaders representing our ward


Some of the balls and bears we made as part of our humanitarian efforts


The dolls...


all of the toys on display in the lodge (the quilts are in the background)


Bria, Ammah, Bailey, Allison, and Kailey...singing camp songs before dinner


Brianna and Kara

surprise!!!

John and I have been talking forever with our friends, Dallas and Amber, about getting together for a dinner date. Amber and I have developed a wonderful friendship over the past several months, and often laugh at the fact that we still haven't done anything with the husbands. Well, finally, last Saturday we planned on going out... just the four of us. We had agreed on Vito's for the place, and were supposed to meet them there at 6 PM. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the friendly staff, who told us that the other couple had already been seated. The hostess then escorted us through the restaurant, and to the table, where the Turley's were sitting there waiting for us. Well, at least that's what I thought was going to happen. Instead she lead us to an enclosed room within the restaurant which contained a couple of large tables, and seated at one of the long tables, were a bunch of my girl friends...waiting for me to arrive! Amber and Brandy had lined up the whole thing; and it was all in honor of my 30th Birthday! Not only was it exciting for me to look around and see many of my ward friends there, but if was such a surprise to see that Amber had also invited my two sisters-in-law, Lori and Julie! John (who of course, knew about the entire thing), stayed for only a minute or two, and then he and Ruby left me there to enjoy a night out with the girls. We had a wonderful time at dinner, talking and laughing, and enjoying each other's company. The girls gave me a darling gift basket full of all kinds of lotions, bath gels, and various spa items, which, of course, I loved...and can't wait to use! They then took me to an improv comedy club out in Scottsdale, and that is where the fun began! Amber had planned, (and had lined everything up beforehand), for the actors to do a spoof...of my life. That's right, of my life! The director asked John to fill out a questionnaire which contained the following questions (I also included John's answers):


FULL NAME: Nicole....

WHERE WAS SHE BORN: Utah...

WHEN WAS SHE BORN: May...

WHAT ARE HER PARENTS NAMES: Brian and Christine

NAME OF SIBLINGS (oldest to youngest include yourself): Nicole, Aaron, Matt, Kim, Rachel, Angie, Erica

FONDEST MEMORY AS A KID (UNDER 16YRS): When she was 8 yrs old, her parents remodeled her bedroom. This was a complete surprise to Nicole. She was told she could not enter the room for a few weeks because of some work her father was doing. They painted the room, added wallpaper, got her a new bed, refinished furniture. It was one of the greatest days of her life and a complete surprise!

WHAT HIGH SCHOOL DID SHE ATTEND: West Jordan High School (Utah)

WHAT SPORTS / ACTIVITIES DID SHE DO: P.R.I.D.E. was a traveling song and dance group geared towards discouraging middle school and elementary age kids from using drugs. She was also a Student Body Officer, and held the office of Civic Vice President. This role discussed school issues with city leaders and also helped plan dances and activities for the student body.

WHAT WAS THE NAME OF HER PROM DATE: She went to a few dances, but the most memorable were with a blind boy named George and another date was with a mentally challenged boy named Scott.

WHAT COLLEGE DID SHE ATTEND: Weber State University in Utah (She attended for one quarter))

WHERE DOES SHE WORK NOW (please describe what you do also): She is a stay at home mom (she did work for Nordstrom for 10 years. She was a manager in Women’s shoes, kids shoes and BP)

WHAT IS HER FAVORITE HOBBY: Blogging. She also loves crafts, scrapbooking, swimmming, and most importantly-Shopping! She is a master at shopping for clothes, shoes and accessories.

HOW DID SHE MEET HER HUSBAND: John applied for a job at Nordstrom and became an employee of her same department (women’s shoes). Funny story about how we met:

She was working at Nordstrom in the Women's shoes department. I applied for a job there to be on the sales floor but they did not have any openings. The only opening they had was a stock position in the back room three days a week. I took that job trying to work my way onto the sales floor. The rest of this story was told to me from Nicole. Apparently the single girls who worked at the cash register (I think there were four of them) used a code acronym to refer to me as HSB. This stood for Hot Stock Boy. Well, these girls would write notes back and forth to each other (opening shift leaving notes to the closing shift and vice versa) writing things like, "I got to work with HSB today", "HSB said hi to me today" etc. Nicole saw these notes over and over not knowing who HSB was (she was not part of the cashier girls group- oh, at this point she was now a manager and we just started to hang out secretly because no manager could date one of their employees). One day, when she saw another one of these notes and was asking the girls who HSB was, it hit her that HSB stood for Hot Stock Boy. When she blurted that out in front of the cashier girls, they all started screaming/laughing. She then broke the news to them, that HSB was hers.

HOW MANY CHILDREN: Two

WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES (oldest to youngest): Isaac (he passed away at birth) and Ruby (she will be one on June 4th)

WHAT IS A LIFE LESSON SHE’D LIKE TO PASS ON TO HER CHILDREN: Express your feelings often, to those you love. You never know when they may leave this earth.

MOST DARING THING SHE'S EVER DONE: She served an LDS mission in Argentina. While there, she had to visit a man who had a large gated property and on that property, he had 63 stray dogs (this is a true count, and not an exaggeration) that he had taken in. She had to walk through the yard (which was very big) with all of these dogs loose, to visit this man.

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: When Nicole brought a boy home that she really really liked, her mother called her “fruit bum”. She had never called her that before. She had to convince the guy that it was just something totally random that her mom had come up with, and that there was definitely not a story behind it.


So, the host had me stand up while he wished me a Happy Birthday, and then went on to divulge (to the entire audience) most of the information contained on the form. I was embarrassed (to say the least)...but also thought it was hilarious, and couldn't stop laughing. After asking me to sit down, he then turned the time over to the actors, who improvisationally and wittily, enacted the scenes from my life. It was beyond funny...we were all laughing so hard!

I just have to say, that I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends. Because I am so shy, I always feel like I have the hardest time making new friends, and was actually really nervous to make the move to Arizona, for that very reason. Surprisingly, it's been a smooth transition, as Heavenly Father has indeed blessed me with the choicest of friendships...

(Now, I dare any of you to try and top that 30th b-day, which was literally a two week celebration! I truly feel like the luckiest of girls... )



I realize that this is a horrible picture, as most of our faces are cut in 1/2...but it's all I have, so it'll have to do. Clockwise from front left: Tara, Lori, Brooke, me, Brandy, Amber, Emily, Syd, Mayte, and Casslyn. (Julie left before the picture was taken.)


Check out that massive salad! We were all dying laughing!
(notice our goofy waitress in the background)